Hong Kong: DC election arrangements ready

Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman David Lok said today the arrangements for tomorrow's 2023 District Council Ordinary Election are ready.

Mr Lok and Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang accompanied Chief Executive John Lee to visit the District Council geographical constituency polling station at Ningnan Secondary School to inspect the set-up and on-site rehearsal this morning.

Arrangements for the elections are ready and electoral staff are in the final preparations and rehearsal, and will spare no effort to discharge their duties to ensure a smooth and accurate conduct of the poll and count tomorrow, Mr Lok noted.

More than 600 District Council geographical constituency (DCGC) polling stations will be set up to serve about 4.33 million electors. A total of 18 District Committees constituency (DCC) polling stations will also be set up across the city for about 2,500 DCC electors to cast their DCC votes.

Mr Lok reminded DCC electors to cast their DCC and DCGC votes respectively at two polling stations.

He then joined Mr Tsang to inspect the near boundary polling stations set up at Hong Kong Taoist Association Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Kap Yan Directors' College.

The commission chairman extended his thanks to staff of the Registration & Electoral Office and other relevant bureaus and departments for their efforts, and called on registered electors to fulfil their civic responsibility and vote tomorrow.

This story has been published on: 2023-12-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
World's deepest underground lab expanded to help China detect dark matter

Xinhua) 09:43, December 09, 2023

* The world's deepest and largest underground physics laboratory went operational Thursday in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

* A laboratory that can shield cosmic rays and provide an experiment environment and facilities with an extremely low radiation background becomes a prerequisite for dark matter detection.

* After about three years of construction, the DURF welcomed its first batch of teams. As a major national project, the facility will develop into a world-class platform integrating multiple disciplines including particle physics, nuclear astrophysics and life sciences.

CHENGDU, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The world's deepest and largest underground physics laboratory went operational Thursday in southwest China's Sichuan Province, as physicists moved in and started their research in the second phase of the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL).

The second phase project, or the Deep Underground and Ultra-low Radiation Background Facility for Frontier Physics Experiments (DURF), boasts the deepest, largest, ultra-clean underground space for scientific research. A total of 10 teams from universities and research institutions are stationed there and will seek to unveil the mysteries of the universe.

DARK MATTER DETECTION

In the vast universe, visible matter varying in size from a grain of dust to a planet like Earth or nebulae, only accounts for about 5 percent of the total mass of the universe. The remaining 95 percent consists of dark matter and dark energy.

The probability of dark matter interacting with visible matter is so low that it is very difficult to detect it directly, while ubiquitous cosmic rays can also greatly interfere with the efforts of physicists to detect dark matter.

Therefore, a laboratory that can shield cosmic rays and provide an experiment environment and facilities with an extremely low radiation background becomes a prerequisite for dark matter detection. The United States, Japan and some European countries have built underground laboratories meeting this requirement.

In 2009, Tsinghua University and the Yalong River Hydropower Development Company, Ltd. began to build the first phase of CJPL at a depth of 2,400 meters under the Jinping Mountain in Sichuan's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

This aerial photo taken on Nov. 8, 2023 shows the tunnel entrance of the China Jinping Underground Laboratory in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)

The first phase was completed and put into use at the end of 2010, featuring a room capacity of about 4,000 cubic meters. Thanks to rocks as thick as 2,400 meters, the laboratory is exposed to only a tiny flux of cosmic rays which is only a hundred-millionth of that found on the surface.

Two research teams, China Dark Matter Experiment (CDEX) group from Tsinghua University and PandaX group from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, were deployed in the first phase of CJPL. They now have a number of scientific achievements under their belts, elevating China's dark matter direct detection experiments to an advanced level on the global stage.

SECOND PHASE CONSTRUCTION

Given their growing list of achievements in the first phase of CJPL, it was felt that the research teams needed more space to carry out further studies. In 2014, Tsinghua University and the Yalong River Hydropower Development Company, Ltd. agreed on a plan to build a second phase to expand total room capacity at the facility to about 330,000 cubic meters.

To ensure the cleanest possible environment for the second phase of this project, builders had to meet the requirements of ultra-low cosmic ray flux, extremely low environmental radiation, extremely low radon concentration, and ultra-clean space.

For example, radon gas constantly released by surrounding rocks is a major source of interference in deep underground experiments. The construction team invented waterproof and radon suppression technology, and used special materials to lay a protective layer with a thickness of 10 centimeters on the surface of the cavern, thereby blocking 99 percent of the radon gas released by the surrounding rocks.

This photo taken on Nov. 7, 2023 shows the interior view of the first phase of the China Jinping Underground Laboratory in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)

Background radiation of building materials and equipment were also taken into account. All materials and equipment must have a radiation background of less than three times that of the radioactivity level of rocks surrounding the cavern, and such materials and equipment could only be used after strict laboratory inspection.

Workers also laid about 10 km of ventilation pipes to supply fresh air with low radon content to the laboratory. For experiment spaces with special requirements, specially developed devices are provided to adsorb radon in the fresh air.

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE

After about three years of construction, the DURF welcomed its first batch of teams. As a major national project, the facility will develop into a world-class platform integrating multiple disciplines including particle physics, nuclear astrophysics and life sciences.

The study of dark matter is a new starting point for human beings seeking a better understanding of the universe, and is currently among the hottest research topics in the fields of particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics, which means it is of great significance for frontier science research, according to scientists.

During the construction of the facility, various scientific research teams continued their exploration efforts.

The CDEX group innovated high-purity germanium detectors, upgrading the devices from the initial 1 kg to 10 kg, and is now planning to build a tonne-class detector.

Meanwhile, the liquid xenon detector of the PandaX group was upgraded from 120 kg to 4 tonnes. This group now plans to develop a 30-tonne or even 100-tonne dark matter detector, to boost their detection capabilities.

This file photo shows the PandaX-4T experiment facility at the second phase of the China Jinping Underground Laboratory in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Yalong River Hydropower Development Company, Ltd./Handout via Xinhua)

In 2022, by using the CJPL, the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics Experiment (JUNA) revealed the origin of the calcium found in the first stars. JUNA successfully verified the hypothesis that calcium comes from a key breakout reaction of the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen cycle, confirming the origin of the calcium contained in these stars.

Reviewers of the journal Nature said that this study can be seen as a great experimental success, and that it provides new insight for future nuclear astrophysics studies.

"Whether we will find dark matter or not, every step we take is a step into the unknown, so every small step forward is a huge leap," said Liu Jianglai, chief scientist of the PandaX group. "This is the fun of doing basic research."

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Schwab, 56, was known by the name Tonie and previously worked for North East ISD. Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima

A Schertz woman was killed Thursday when an off-duty police officer in Chicago lost control of her vehicle while reaching for her phone, according to Chicago media reports.

Maria Schwab, 56, was on a sidewalk in the River North area of Chicago when she was struck by the off-duty officers white SUV, according to WGN9.

The accident occurred when the officer reached down to grab her phone, which had fallen inside the car, CBS2 reported.

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Her car jumped the sidewalk when she overcorrected to avoid crossing over the median line, striking Schwab.

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The medical examiner identified the victim as Schwab after she was pronounced dead at Northwest Memorial Hospital.

Police said the officer has been relieved of her duties, according to Chicago media reports.

She was cited for failure to reduce speed, failure to stay in a lane, negligent driving and driving while operating a cell phone.

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The officer has not been identified by authorities because no criminal charges have been filed, according to CBS2.

There was a holiday party for the Chicago Police Department at the nearby House of Blues at the time of the accident, but it has not been determined whether the officer was at the event.

Schwab, known as Tonie, was working for education company Amplify and previously worked at North East ISD, according to social media posts from friends.
Bariloche's soaring mountains and scenic lakes are part of what reminds its visitors of Switzerland. Francisco Ramos Mejia/Getty Images, Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

This month, I visited Bariloche, an Argentine town that is often compared to Switzerland.

Located in Patagonia along the banks of the Nahuel Huapi lake, the town does have a Swiss feel to it.

Germans, Swiss, and Italians immigrated there in the 1800s, thus giving it its European vibe.

People love drawing comparisons between Switzerland and other places around the globe.

Take, for example, Jim Thorpe, a town in Pennsylvania that's been deemed the "Little Switzerland of America." There's also Uruguay, which in 1951 was declared the "Switzerland of South America" by a New York Times article because of its banking regulations at the time.

More recently, however, some in the travel industry have crowned another town the "Little Switzerland of South America"  this time for its scenic views, architecture, and European feel. I visited San Carlos de Bariloche, located in Argentina's Patagonia region, earlier this month.

Here's what it was like.

Bariloche is located in western Argentina, near its border with Chile. It's in the north of Patagonia, the geographical region that straddles the two countries.

San Carlos de Bariloche is in the middle of Argentina, near its border with Chile. Google Maps

Tucked into Patagonia's Lake District and Argentina's Nahuel Huapi National Park, the city is a dream for outdoor enthusiasts.

A view of Argentina's Lake District, where Bariloche is located. Christine Phillips/Getty Images

I visited with family this month, and was blown away by how much it resembled Switzerland.

Business Insider's reporter at Nahuel Huapi Lake. Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

From town, you can see Nahuel Huapi lake, the glacial body of water that Bariloche is situated on.

A view of Nahuel Huapi Lake from Bariloche. Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

The town's architecture was reminiscent of Europe. That's because Germans, Swiss, and Italians immigrated there in the 1800s, and again after World War II.

A building in Bariloche's city center. Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

Walking through Bariloche's main street felt like strolling through an alpine village.

A building in Bariloche's city center. Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

There were tons of quaint chocolate shops, another callback to the town's European roots.

Mamuschka is a Barilcohe-based chocolatier. Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

Though I didn't visit it myself, Bariloche is also home to the Llao Llao Resort, a massive estate that looks like it belongs in the Alps.

The Llao Llao Resort in Bariloche, Argentina. Francisco Ramos Mejia/Getty

Instead, my family and I stayed at an Airbnb that felt like its own private Swiss retreat.

A view from an Airbnb outside of Bariloche, Argentina. Jordan Parker Erb/Business Insider

Between the architecture and scenery, I can totally see why Bariloche gets compared to Switzerland.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Nahuel Huapi, located in Bariloche, Argentina. Alex Joukowski

Read the original article on Business Insider
Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign has reached out to the Libertarian Party in Iowa to inquire about running for president on the party's ticket.

Campaign operatives for Ramaswamy attended a local party event this week, and Ramaswamy has had conversations with two Iowa Libertarian officials, including one instance where he expressed interest in joining the ticket, one of those officials confirmed.

Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and author who in 2004 voted for a Libertarian presidential candidate, has openly criticized Republican leadership and policy as he seeks the party's presidential nomination in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

But he has struggled to gain traction in Iowa and other early states, Ramaswamy's potential defection to a third-party ticket could shake up an election that already contains several independent hopefuls.

Asked Thursday if he would run under the Libertarian ticket should he be defeated in the Republican race, Ramaswamy told the Register, "No." But he held out the possibility the Libertarian Party might nominate him.

"I expect to get the GOP nomination," Ramaswamy said. "I have strong libertarian instincts. I can't stop them from nominating me, and I would be proud if they did."

Iowa caucuses: Vivek Ramaswamy challenges Gov. Kim Reynolds, GOP on carbon capture pipelines

Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy arrives at the Family Leader's Thanksgiving Family Forum, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Ramaswamy spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the Register on Friday morning that the candidate was running as a Republican, not a Libertarian, and that the campaign was focused on bringing libertarians to support Ramaswamy in the Republican caucuses.

At a campaign event focused on eminent domain last week, Ramaswamy spoke briefly with Ryan Kurt, chair of the Polk County Libertarian Party. Kurt said that when he told Ramaswamy his role, the Republican candidate "mentioned that he might be interested in pursuing the Libertarian ticket."

"I told him if you're going to do that, you might want to start talking to some libertarians," Kurt said.

Days later, Kurt said he received a call from Ramaswamy's campaign asking if it could send representatives to the Polk County chapter's monthly meeting Wednesday. During that meeting, Ramaswamy's representatives discussed "logistics of a possible LP run and some of the nuances of Iowa politics," including the ability to be nominated for multiple party caucuses, Kurt said.

However, the staffers "expressed that they're not currently planning any sort of pursuit of the LP ticket," Kurt said.

Ramaswamy told the Register he hadn't known his staff had attended the event, but he approved of their doing so.

"I wasn't aware of that, but sounds good," he said. "We go everywhere."

Weeks earlier, at a Thanksgiving party, Ramaswamy met with Jules Cutler, the chair of the Iowa Libertarian Party. A fellow attendee snapped a photo of the encounter, which Cutler said happened purely by chance and lasted "less than a minute."

"I introduced myself as the chair  and I jokingly asked why he's not running on the Libertarian ticket," Cutler said.

She said she'd met multiple Republican candidates this cycle, including former Vice President Mike Pence and radio host Larry Elder. She said her conversation with Ramaswamy was being "blown out of proportion."

A number of candidates have filed for Libertarian Party's 2024 presidential nomination; in Iowa, the Libertarian Party earned enough support last cycle to qualify as an official party for this coming election. The state party plans to hold caucuses on Jan. 15, the same night as Republicans and Democrats.

In addition to the Republican and Democratic fields, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein have all launched campaigns as independent candidates for 2024.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Caucuses: Ramaswamy campaign flirts with Libertarian Party ticket
Tennessee voters are asking a federal judge to stop a new polling place law from going into effect before the next election on March 5.

Former Knoxville mayor Victor Ashe, the League of Women Voters and others filed an injunction Dec. 8 related to their lawsuit challenging a state law that requires a voter to be a "bona fide" member of a political party to vote in the primary election. The voters are trying to persuade the judge that the law is too vague and could be used against individuals that party leaders don't like  for any reason.

"In the next primary, plaintiffs will not be able to navigate how to vote without unreasonably risking prosecution. This will lead plaintiffs and others either to simply not vote or risk criminal prosecution for exercising their fundamental right to vote," they argue in the new filing.

The law requires polling places to post signs informing voters it is illegal to vote in a primary election without being a "bona fide" member, but those details aren't defined by the law. The law would come into play for the first time in the March 5 local and presidential primary election. The March 5 presidential primary is part of Super Tuesday, when voters in Tennessee, 14 other states and one territory will select more than one-third of Republican Party delegates.

Ashe told Knox News the ultimate goal of the lawsuit is to stop the law permanently. But since the legal process takes time, an injunction is the only way to ensure signs aren't posted at polling places in March.

"We're hopeful that the injunction will be issued," he said, adding he wants people to feel comfortable and encouraged to vote in the March primary, which includes both important local races and the presidential candidate vote.

The lawsuit alleges there is no legal mechanism to determine a voter's "bona fide" party credentials and the law could spark voter confusion. Tennessee does not require voters to register by political party, meaning voters choose at the polls what party primary ballot they prefer.

"In the current political climate  where a single critique of a former president can subject even lifetime party stalwarts to derision as 'RINOs' (to use an example of a Republican term) and exile from party membership, and where state and nationwide parties often seek to expel their members for conduct having little to do with genuine belief in the partys platform  it is impossible for voters to have confidence that their 'bona fides' are sufficient to avoid prosecution come voting day," the injunction says.

Along with Ashe, the League of Women Voters of Tennessee and Knoxville voter Phil Lawson filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville.

This new law will have a chilling effect on Tennesseans exercising their right to vote and creates unnecessary confusion for voters, Debby Gould, president of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, said in a statement. The League of Women Voters will continue to fight to ensure that all voters are empowered at the ballot box and can feel confident in their right to vote.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Voters ask judge to stop Tennessee voting law before the March primary
Semafor Signals

Hong Kong will hold local elections on Sunday  a test of the citys enthusiasm towards a patriots only system that has effectively prevented opposition candidates from running.

Residents will vote for fewer than 20% of the citys 470 district council seats, while the rest will be chosen by Hong Kongs chief executive John Lee. Candidates deemed disloyal to Beijing are barred from standing  although many of them are already in self-exile, or behind bars.

Analysts predict that turnout on Sunday will be less than 30%  down from more than 70% in 2019, when opposition leaders won by a landslide.

SIGNALS

Semafor Signals: Global insights on today's biggest stories.

Hong Kongs government has rolled out a series of incentives to encourage locals to vote. Authorities have organized free concerts and fun fairs to create a happy atmosphere, VOA reports, and have offered nursing homes one-off allowances of HK$2,500 ($320 USD) to help senior citizens cast ballots. The citys flagship carrier Cathay Pacific has offered discounted airfares from China to Hong Kong to make it easier for residents based on the mainland to return to the city to vote. Despite these efforts, many say they wont participate. If I voted in the election, it would seem like I support the governments efforts to tighten control over Hong Kongs civil society, one Hong Konger told VOA, with another saying the elections are simply seeking to reinforce the governments control while so-called patriots reap the benefits.

The upcoming elections are a parody of democracy, one Hong Kong-based analyst told the Financial Times, saying that residents dont have a voice anymore  with their only options to show loyalty to the government or leave the city. A professor at Johns Hopkins University told the FT that the notion of a free election in Hong Kong is dead and that the governments efforts to encourage voting are unlikely to yield results. Authorities are cracking down on those calling for a veto of the election arresting a 38-year-old man for inciting a boycott while an exiled political commentator has been placed on a wanted list.
Plans for an innovative $1.1 billion fertilizer plant in north Richland that could lead the world on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture industry are moving fast, said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

He visited the Tri-Cities on Friday to meet with the Atlas Agro team planning a green fertilizer plant that would produce nitrogen fertilizer using clean energy and hydrogen separated from water.

Fertilizer production now contributes about 2% of all carbon emissions, Inslee said at a news briefing after meeting with Atlas Agro in Richland and Tri-Cities area legislators.

An Atlas Agro factory like the first one planned for Richland, the Pacific Green Fertilizer Plant, would reduce global carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 500,000 cars, according to the companys website.

The European fertilizer firm Atlas Agro has about 70% of the Richland projects design completed, has raised $315 million in equity income and has started the permitting process, Inslee said.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray have voiced support for Atlas Agros plan to construct a $1.1 billion carbon-free fertilizer plant at Stevens Drive and Horn Rapids in north Richland.

In October, the Department of Energy announced that it will invest up to $1 billion in a clean energy hydrogen hub in Washington, Oregon and Montana with projects that are planned to include Atlas Agros plant after negotiations are completed.

In March, Atlas Agro signed a $9.1 million deal for 150 acres at Stevens Drive and Horn Rapids Road northwest of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The deal with the Port of Benton followed eight months of discussion between Atlas Agro and the Tri-City Development Council.

It looks like a real project with a real future, Inslee said.

Richland power MOU signed

However, questions remain about powering the proposed project.

Atlas Agro plans to make hydrogen through water electrolysis using energy from renewable sources. Then it will split off nitrogen from the air to mix with the hydrogen to produce ammonia for ammonium nitrate fertilizer.

Heat produced as a byproduct of the plant processes also has potential agriculture uses, Inslee said, mentioning potato projects.

Atlas will need to secure up to 300 megawatts of electricity to power electrolyzers to produce hydrogen and then ammonia to make nitrogen fertilizers.

That is about three times more power than Richland currently requires to serve all its customers combined.

Atlas Agro plans to build the first-ever carbon-free fertilizer production plant at a cost of $1.1 billion on 150-acres on the northwest corner of the intersection of Stevens Drive and Horn Rapids Road near Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland.

The city is getting behind Atlas Agro as the local utility provider, approving a memorandum of understanding to provide electricity to Atlas Agro at its Tuesday meeting.

The agreement essentially makes Atlas Agro a customer of Richland Energy Services, the city-owned utility. Atlas Agro will bear all expenses needed to deliver power via the Bonneville Power Administration.

It is the first in a series of agreements involving Atlas. On Dec. 19, the city council will consider a facilities agreement with BPA, which currently delivers about 110 megawatts to the city.

Clint Whitney, director of the city-run utility, confirmed the city doesnt have 300 megawatts to spare.

Nevertheless, the new MOU states Richland is willing and able to serve the plant and notes that the city has submitted a request to BPA to connect Atlas to its system.

The city is in between, he said.

BPA limits new customers for its cheapest Tier 1 power to 10 megawatts.

Need for clean energy

None of the agreements specify how the electricity will be generated, though Atlas pledged its plant will rely on clean energy and mentioned new nuclear last spring when it agreed to buy land from the Port of Benton.

The proposed hydrogen hub to include the Richland fertilizer plant is planned to produce hydrogen by using existing clean and abundant hydropower resource to produce the greenest hydrogen in the nation, said a release from the offices of Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., in October.

The region is rich in hydropower, but a huge amount of additional power needs to be produced in the state as Washington builds a high tech economy with an industrial base in clean energy systems, Inslee said.

He mentioned the possibility of wind  including offshore wind  solar and fusion production, plus battery and pumped hydro storage.

Gina Zejdlik, Atlas Agro director of policy and government relations, and Dan Holmes, Atlas Agro North America executive director, stand in March 2023 at the 150 acres on the northern edge of Richland the Port of Benton commission voted to sell to the company earlier in the day. Atlas Agro plans to build the first-ever carbon-free fertilizer production plant at a cost of $1.1 billion on the land.

The Tri-Cities area will need the governors help in legislators efforts to obtain more power from Bonneville Power Administration, said state Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, after Inslees discussion with Atlas Agro.

More power from BPA will drive innovation, and attract and recruit more companies like Atlas Agro, said Sen. Matt Boennke, R-Kennewick.

Continuing to produce reliable baseload power at the four lower Snake River dams in Eastern Washington is important to grid reliability and making the transition from environmental cleanup of the Hanford nuclear reservation to a clean energy center on former Hanford site land, which would include Atlas Agro, he said.

Connors also mentioned the need to work toward nuclear energy production.

The Atlas Agro plant would employ 160 people once it begins operations.

Gov. Inslees Tri-Cities visit

Inslee also on Friday got an update on another clean energy project at the Bioproducts, Sciences & Engineering Laboratory.

It is a joint laboratory of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University Tri-Cities on the WSUs Richland campus.

He met with scientists, students and university officials to discuss PNNLs efforts to create sustainable jet biofuel using cover crops as feedstock.

Earlier this year, the governor signed Senate Bill 5447, creating tax credits to incentivize production in Washington of sustainable aviation fuel.

Inslees day in the Tri-Cities also included a roundtable discussion on addressing the fentanyl crisis.

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Editors Note: The names of the sex workers in this story have been changed to protect their identity out of concern for their safety and that of their families.

Katerina was lightly dressed for winter in a mini-skirt and short fur jacket as she stood alongside the road of a dimly lit park and waited for clients looking for sex.

She looked tired, and her attempts to disguise the dark circles under her eyes with a bit of makeup hardly hid what she had been through.

Katerina, 32 years old, was born in Donetsk, now occupied by Russia. She started working as a sex worker when she was 14, she told the Kyiv Independent.

I left home when I was 10 years old, and I was living at a train station, she recalled. I met another girl who showed me I could make money that way.

Russias war against Ukraine has made what was already a risky profession even more dangerous. Some soldiers, a significant portion of sex workers clients, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and can be prone to violence.

Clients also have fewer means to pay pre-war prices for sex and social services for sex workers have decreased since the start of the full-scale invasion.

As millions have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the hostilities, some women, displaced and unable to find other forms of employment, have turned to sex work.

There are an estimated 3.7 million people displaced in Ukraine as of November, according to a report from the UN. Women and children make up around 90% of people fleeing the crisis, and are at risk of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, according to the UN.

Sex workers dont always report abuse due to fear they will be held responsible, as prostitution is illegal in Ukraine. Every second sex worker doesnt seek help in case of violence against them, according to the latest survey by Legalife-Ukraine, Ukraine's leading sex workers' organization.

The police widely ignore them, and sex workers, seen as fallen women among some institutions, are often considered second-class citizens with no access to proper legal protection or healthcare.

As a result, sex workers engage in unsafe sex that puts them at a higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis.

On alert, Katerina looked at the parked cars with apprehension, weighing which one to approach.

Since the full-scale invasion started, she says more clients than usual are on drugs, dont have the means to pay, and soldiers often arrive in unstable mental states. She has refused more than she did before the war.

Whats the point of going with them if I know theyre not gonna pay, and if I dont know how soon Ill come back if I even come back? she said.

Ukrainian women fight escalated gender-based violence amid war Editors Note: This story was sponsored by HIAS and VOICE non-profit organizations that together work on solving the issue of violence against women and girls in Ukraine, under the project Partnering for Change: A Project Partnership Centering Women and Girls in the Ukraine Regional Response. Wome The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

Riskier conditions for refugees

An estimated 86,000 sex workers were providing services in 2019, according to a report by the charity Alliance for Public Health.

Its hard to estimate the current number of sex workers in the country, but the demographics have changed, Nataliia Isaieva, the head of Legalife-Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent.

Sex workers often have a hard time finding any other form of gainful employment. Over 40% of Legalifes survey respondents have no other source of income than sex work.

Theyre often single mothers with a low education level who cant earn money, find a job, rent housing, or support their family, especially when they have many children, Isaieva said. So they start working (as sex workers), she said.

Some refugees who had never provided sexual services before had turned to sex work when they were forced to move to other cities with higher rents, Isaieva said.

Polls showed that 15% of sex workers started after the full-scale invasion, according to a Legalife survey conducted among 340 sex workers published in December 2023.

Katerina confirmed an increase of internally displaced people among sex workers not far from the spot where she works. Some are teenagers, around 17 years old or younger, and under the influence of pimps to whom they give most of their earnings.

There are a lot of them, theyre all very young and half-naked, sometimes they stand with just a fur coat and nothing underneath during winter, she said. Most of them are on drugs.

Sex workers who earn for themselves and are not part of a network cannot be considered as having been trafficked, Natalia Holynska, an anti-trafficking project manager at Caritas Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent.

Still, some women agree to have sex to survive, which is a form of trafficking, Holynska said.

They provide sexual services not for money but for food or for someone to help them set up somewhere. Refugees are particularly vulnerable to this form of trafficking when they flee from the frontline.

When they settle in a new city and struggle to find a job, they can be easy prey for human traffickers who lure them with jobs in the service industry or massage parlors, she said. Its a trap, Holynska said.

Even for those who work for themselves, its hard to make a living out of sex work.

The war has significantly reduced the number of clients, said Katerina, who has four young children to support and struggles financially.

She said she charges between $16 and $55, depending on her service, but its far from stable. Sometimes I earn over $200 an hour, sometimes nothing for five hours straight.

She needs armor. Female Ukrainian soldiers call for equality Many passersby raise their heads when walking past the Princess Olga monument in downtown Kyiv. Some even stop, gazing at the statue with surprise. Although it has been there for years, it seems the monument has never gotten as much attention as it has in recent weeks. In early September, The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

Fear of soldiers

Ukraines mobilization changed the clientele, especially near the frontline. Sex workers now have to work with soldiers whose behavior can be unpredictable, putting sex workers at risk.

No less than 70% of sex workers said providing sex services had become more dangerous since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to Legalifes survey.

The girls are afraid, they try not to go with them, Isaieva said. Theyre scared, but they still provide services to the military because this is the only opportunity to earn money.

In the southern city of Mykolaiv close to the southern front lines, the majority of the clientele is from the military, which means sex workers dont always have any other choice than working with them.

The curfew put in place during the war added to the danger because some women are sometimes forced to stay the entire night at a clients place, Isaieva said.

In Mykolaiv, the curfew lasts from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., which means an entire night with potentially abusive clients.

They can only work during the day, or theyre forced to work until the morning, she said.

Maria, a 46-year-old sex worker from Luhansk, had a few bad experiences with soldiers, who constitute most of her clientele. Boisterous and heavy set, she left the Russian-occupied city in 2014 with only a few plastic bags.

After a few years of sex work in the street, she found a stable job, but then Covid-19 hit, and she lost her job. She had to return to sex work to make ends meet. Her financial situation worsened after the full-scale invasion, and the clientele, too.

At first, they were normal, and I respect our military, but I had some bad cases, like this guy, when I wished something bad happened to him, she said without elaborating. Theyre mentally unstable.

During the discussion, another sex worker came out of a car and joined the conversation. She had blood on her nose. She quickly wiped her wound and refused to say what happened.

Its okay, its nothing, she said with a pale smile.

Domestic violence victims struggle to get help amid war: If Russians dont kill me  he might After three missed calls, Kristina picks up the phone and says, barely above a whisper: I cant talk now. Im not alone. When calling back, she turns on the tub in the bathroom so her husband cant hear her. For several months, she had been gathering the strength to The Kyiv IndependentThaisa Semenova

Lack of support

Prostitution is illegal in Ukraine. Sex workers can get a fine of up to Hr 300 (roughly $8), while human trafficking is punishable with up to 15 years behind bars.

The problem is not the fine, but the fact that with such a record, the person will no longer be able to get a job, Diana, a former sex worker whos now Legalifes coordinator, told the Kyiv Independent.

The security service of any company can refuse anyone who has a prostitution record, she said, although these records are not grounds for refusal by law. Sex workers are often considered second-class citizens and are associated with disease by potential employers.

On the other hand, the reluctance of the police to accept complaints from sex workers creates a climate of impunity for clients mistreating them. The profession is stigmatized, and sex workers are scared to report abuses.

Sex workers dont file complaints because theyre afraid they will bear responsibility for the abuse in the eye of the law. They know they wont easily find legal support. Legalife is one of their few resources for legal advice.

The police say, Don't be a sex worker, and no one will rape you, Isaieva said. A sex worker is raped, infected with disease, and its still her responsibility, according to the police.

The police used to take small bribes from Katerina, but they lost interest when the full-scale invasion started, she said.

They dont touch us, I guess they have enough work, she said. Sometimes they come to us and ask if were okay.

Maria hasnt had contact with the police for a long time too, she said.

Hide the girls: How Russian soldiers rape and torture Ukrainians BUCHA, Kyiv Oblast  A week before she would have turned 23, Karina Yershova was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv. They tortured her and most likely raped her, Karinas stepfather Andriy Dereko told the Kyiv Independent. Then, they shot her in the head. It was The Kyiv IndependentAnna Myroniuk

Health issues

Sex workers have a hard time finding medical support as doctors treat them like fallen women due to their post-Soviet mentality, Katerina said.

Once a doctor knows that youre a street worker, hell treat you differently, she said.

In 2023, 60% of sex workers who turned to medical institutions for help faced stigmatization and discrimination by medical personnel, Legalifes survey showed. Instead, they turn to NGOs to get medical advice and support.

Maksym, a paramedic who works with Legalife and declined to give his full name, regularly meets with sex workers to advise them on treatment, but he told the Kyiv Independent that he cant legally prescribe them medicine as a doctor can.

He started helping sex workers when the full-scale invasion started because doctors wont listen to them, he said, and therefore cant treat them with adequate care. There are not enough tolerant doctors in the country, he said.

HIV and syphilis are among the most reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases among sex workers, according to Isaieva.

In 2023, almost 10,000 new cases of HIV and over 2,700 cases of AIDS were reported in Ukraine in 2023, according to the Health Ministry.

The numbers may be higher, as, according to estimated data, by the end of 2021, every fourth person with HIV did not know their status, and people in occupied territories are not part of the statistics.

Cases of syphilis are still undocumented at a nationwide level, which makes it hard to track, but the epidemic could spread when untreated soldiers come back from the frontline, Isaieva said.

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, social workers had fewer condoms to distribute and fewer clean needles to prevent sharing among drug users because all the prevention programs came to a standstill, which raised the risk of HIV and other diseases.

Isaieva was approached by the National Council and UNAIDS, the UNs program on HIV/AIDS. The program wanted to deliver 200 condoms per sex worker per year, a meager amount considering that sex workers use at least two condoms per client.

On the front line, condoms are not always available, Isaieva said, which puts sex workers and their clients at risk.

Yet, far from the front, Marias biggest fear is not her personal safety, health, or which client shell have.

Im more afraid of meeting people I know because I dont want anyone to know I work here, she said.

A few steps away, Katerina leaned over the window of a car. After a swift negotiation and another cigarette, her silhouette got in the car before disappearing into the night.

Olenivka POW camp, where Ukrainians were tortured, was likely supervised by a high-ranking official from Moscow Kirill Popov, the first deputy head of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Services Moscow branch, is likely to have overseen the work of the Olenivka POW camp, located in the occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast. The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
In 2023, the Ukrainian agricultural sector did not reach pre-war indicators

Ukrainian agrarians, according to the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business (UCAB), in 2023 notably increased grain crops by 10%, oilseeds by 18%, sugar beets by 29%, and meat production by 3%, while experiencing a 2% decrease in milk and a 5% decrease in egg production compared to 2022.

The revival of agriculture in wartime conditions is an extremely challenging task for Ukrainian farmers, the business communitys statement said.

The seemingly good indicators of 2023 actually entail significant financial losses due to low prices for grain and oilseeds in the domestic market, restricted and complicated exports. The production of most grain and oil crops is unprofitable. And in the absence of changes, next years indicators are unlikely to be positive,

Read also: Ukraine tightens restrictions on grain exports

UCAB emphasized that there can be no talk of reaching pre-war indicators at the moment, as the trends of 2023 only show better dynamics compared to 2022.

Business association analysts pointed out the increase in the production of grain crops to 60.8 million tons, attributing it to favorable weather conditions, which, despite a decrease in fertilizer use, helped farmers achieve good yield results. Production volumes remain 31% lower than the 2021 figures.

Read also: Ukraine pauses WTO grain export lawsuits against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia

Regarding the increase in the production of oilseeds to 20.7 million tons, they explained that, in addition to weather conditions, the change in the structure of sown areas in Ukraine played a role.

The presence of advanced internal processing, lower physical yield of oilseeds compared to grains, their higher price, and consequently, a smaller share of significant logistical costs during export make oil crops more attractive for cultivation, according to the UCAB, adding that production volumes remain 10% lower than pre-war figures.

The production of sugar beets at 11.7 million tons exceeded pre-war levels, but only due to the fact that on the occupied territories and territories where hostilities are currently taking place, unlike grain and oil crops, sugar beets were not grown due to unfavorable natural-climatic conditions.

The growth in the production of all kinds of meat in 2023 to 3.1 million tons is mainly due to poultry farming, said UCAB. However, production volumes remain 9% lower than the 2021 figures.

Read also: Ukraine increases grain exports year-over-year

Milk production continues to decline; in 2023, it decreased by 2% to 7.5 million tons. A similar situation is observed with chicken eggs, of which 5% less will be produced in 2023  11 billion pieces, UCAB noted.

It was previously reported that the reopening of the border with Poland would impact Ukrainian cheese producers.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Two Clark County parents who were found guilty of starving their adopted son to death in 2020 were sentenced to prison on Thursday.

Felicia Adams-Franks and Jesse Franks were sentenced to 35 and 30 years in prison, respectively, for domestic violence homicide in the death of their 15-year-old son Karreon Franks and were additionally charged with criminal mistreatment of Karreons two teenage brothers.

In October, a jury found the couple guilty of withholding food and water from Karreon while he attended school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tillamook rushes to build bridge in 10 days as weather could divide the Oregon Coast

Karreon died the day after Thanksgiving in a Vancouver hospital, where records show he was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 61 pounds. Attorneys argued he lost 47% of his body weight when he stopped getting free meals at school as the district moved to remote learning during the pandemic.

Prosecutors previously said the couple committed deliberate cruelty and engaged in a pattern or practice of assault or torture of Karreon, who was severely disabled.

Court documents show the couple first turned themselves in during the spring of 2021. They were charged with the domestic violence homicide of Karreon and the criminal mistreatment of his two teenage brothers.

VIDEO: Oregon waterfalls at full force after atmospheric river

When KOIN 6 first covered the story in 2021, neighbors said the Franks had mentioned keeping food from their children. In court, one of the surviving brothers reportedly testified that his food was restricted and that he was locked in a room and hit with a paddle and electrical cord.

A law firm representing Karreon and his two younger siblings previously said his death could have been prevented.

According to the Davis Law Group, an investigation revealed that an initial complaint had been made in 2017  nearly three years before Karreon died.

Enormous catastrophe: Multnomah County urges state to deny Zenith air permit

Prosecutors say the children were restricted access to food and given physical punishment, but the parents attorneys said Karreon had medical conditions that resulted in his death.

Davis Law Group claimed the states social workers assigned to the complaints never talked to Karreon, even during a visit shortly before he died.

Instead of making sure to contact the boy and get the boy immediate medical attention, the state sat on its legs and essentially the boy died a week later from starvation, Attorney Chris Davis said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Sean Diddy Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.



Sean Diddy Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Trigger warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault and rape.

Diddys legal issues may have quieted down after he settled in the bombshell sexual assault lawsuit from Cassie, but now it appears theyve just expanded thanks to a new gang rape lawsuit filed on Wednesday. - Shanelle Genai Read More

Read more





Birthplace of Martin Luther King in Sweet Auburn quarter in Atlanta Georgia USA



Birthplace of Martin Luther King in Sweet Auburn quarter in Atlanta Georgia USA

A woman was arrested for attempting to burn down the birth home of legendary civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Atlanta police were called to the scene on the evening of December 7 after a group of out of towners spotted the suspect and held her until local authorities arrived. - Angela Johnson Read More





Paramedics Jeremy Cooper, left, and Peter Cichuniec, right, at an arraignment in the Adams County district court at the Adams County Justice Center January 20, 2023.



Paramedics Jeremy Cooper, left, and Peter Cichuniec, right, at an arraignment in the Adams County district court at the Adams County Justice Center January 20, 2023.

As the trial for two paramedics charged in the death of Elijah McClain continues, the latest testimony comes from the man who determined his cause of death. - Kalyn Womack Read More





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The Public Square is a Viewpoints feature that seeks engagement from readers to questions on various issues of the day. Follow The Oklahoman on Facebook and on Twitter @TheOklahoman_ for weekly prompts for The Public Square.

Legislators are beginning to address Oklahoma's budget for consideration in the 59th Legislature. What issues would you like to see adopted by the Legislature in 2024?

Send your thoughts to yourviews@oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Legislature is planning state budget. What's important?
The only people who seem to regard democratic freedoms and economic opportunity as worth living (or even dying) for, are the ones who are struggling to get into countries like this one.

I say seem because that is obviously not literally true. But it appears to be the received opinion of most of the governing class, whatever their official party affiliation, who now hold huge swathes of their native populations in contempt.

Indeed, some aspiring political leaders have made this quite explicit, viz Hillary Clintons basket of deplorables remark which helped Donald Trump win the White House. What is going on here?

There is a mass global movement from the unfree world to the free one. The values and lifestyles that are being treated with such casual disdain, or even contempt, by their rightful inheritors in the West are obviously thought worth risking your life for in the less privileged corners of the globe.

Something has gone very wrong with the understanding that should exist between those who govern (or would hope to govern) the democratic nations and their electorates.

The promise of a society based on liberal democratic government and free enterprise is that it will enable self-determination and the right to personal fulfillment.

Freedom under the rule of law and the right to pursue individual potential and reap the just rewards of your success are what this system and its institutions are all about.

To so many of the peoples of the world, this clearly appears to be heaven on earth, an unimaginable dream in the places where they were born or now find themselves through historical misfortune.

So they are arriving in numbers that are unsustainable in advanced countries which in post-war times have, with public consent, developed expensive welfare systems.

It is not acceptable as it might once have been to let in vast numbers of people and then just leave them to survive (or not) in whatever way they can find. There must be provision for their safety and care, and respect for their cultural differences  which creates problems even in tolerant and generous nations like this one.

Ironically, the great migration presents a critical challenge to the most basic principle of democratic accountability which takes for granted that the will of the electorate must be the first priority.

It is precisely the liberty those migrants are seeking  the idea that government must obey the will of the people rather than the other way round  that is being threatened by the reluctance of the governing class to respect the views of its own people who are deeply anxious about the numbers of incomers.

But it is not just on the matter of immigration that this relationship between the political class and the electorate has been broken.

There is a daunting conceptual framework which permeates the communications of public authorities and quasi-governmental agencies that is alien to the general public, not only in its vocabulary but in its assumptions and tacit values.

The official attitude is barely concealed: anyone of any social class, economic status or political inclination, who does not immediately understand and accept the premises of this approved mindset is ignorant, vaguely ridiculous and, above all, unworthy of participation in public discourse.

This palpable loathing is hurriedly and unconvincingly concealed at election times when the views of real people do matter if only for a moment. But the voters are becoming less easy to fool.

Their protests, their fears, even their conscientious concerns can be written off in an instant, following the election victory of one or other of the benign oligarchs who always know best.

How have we got here? The West, as everybody knows, won the great ideological battle of the last century. The contest between democratic freedom and autocratic command economies was definitively settled.

Communism, in its true revolutionary form is now nothing more than a tiny cult perpetuated by eccentrics most of whom never lived under its appalling, full-blooded reign.

But instead of flourishing in this historic moment of moral triumph, democracy and its owners are indulging in a collective nervous breakdown.

Instead of embracing the victory which was, extraordinarily enough, accomplished without the Third World War which was once believed to be inevitable, and appreciating the lesson that this victory presented, the free world is drowning in self-doubt and recrimination.

It is the language of cultural guilt and remorse that dominates elite political dialogue. Those populations who accepted the responsibility of personal liberty  and whose conscience and courage made the free society possible  are now treated like fools (or worse) when they protest at the arrogance of an elite ruling class who know almost nothing about life as it is lived by ordinary people.

This is where the populist demagogues come in. Donald Trump in America, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, and the AFD in Germany: personalities and messages which should be an obvious danger to a society that relies on tolerance and mutual respect to justify its freedoms, gain influence by appearing to speak for those who have been abandoned by respectable political voices.

They have grasped that there is now a huge cohort of people who have been discarded by the post-industrial economies and disowned by governments which do not know what to do with them and are just waiting for them to die off.

There is nothing new here. Aspiring despots in the modern era have always played this card: no one else in national life understands your discontents, so I will speak for you. I will lead you out from under the domination of this clique of supposed leaders who ignore your needs and your dissatisfactions.

The one hopeful sign in all this is that the voters  those ordinary people who still believe that a free country is possible  have not lost their nerve. Democracy remains their system of choice.

They are waiting, quite impatiently now, for some decent politicians to make it clear that they are listening to what should be the most important voices in the room.

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John Kirby, the Coordinator of the White House National Security Council, commented sarcastically on the announcement by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin regarding his candidacy in the presidential elections of Russia, scheduled for March 2024.

Read also: PACE recognizes Russia as dictatorship, recommends states cease all contacts with Putin

The issue came up during a White House briefing.



Journalists asked Kirby how he could comment on Putin's "re-election," to which he humorously implied the Russian elections would not be competitive.

"Well, this will be quite a race, won't it? That's all I can say about it," replied the representative of the U.S. president's administration.

Putin announced his participation in the 2024 Russian presidential elections on Dec. 8. This will be his fifth term as the Kremlin dictator.

Earlier, it was reported that the Russian militant Artem Zhoga had "asked" Putin to run for president during an awards ceremony in Moscow.

Read also: Putin's re-election vote to last three days, Russian Central Election Commission says

In addition, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation has approved the dates for the elections, which will last for a record three days  from March 15 to 17, 2024.

Putin has held the position of president longer than any other Russian leader since the time of dictator Joseph Stalin, surpassing even Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year term: from 2000 to 2008, and then from 2012 to the present.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The White House reiterated President Bidens pledge that he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden, if he is convicted amid his ongoing legal battles.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president had not changed his mind on the statement in the wake of new tax crime charges brought against the younger Biden in California, when reporters asked.

Nothing has changed, Jean-Pierre said Friday during a gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Las Vegas. That is still the case.

Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on three felony tax charges in relation to tax evasion and filing a false return, and six misdemeanor charges for failure to pay taxes between 2016 and 2019. The charges mark his second indictment from special counsel David Weiss.

During the gaggle, Jean-Pierre deflected questions on how the president reacted to his sons additional charges and if the two had spoken since.

I mean, the president has said this before, and he will continue to say, which is that he loves his son and supports him as he continues to rebuild his life, Jean-Pierre said in a gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One.

Im going to be really careful and not comment on this and refer you to Department of Justice or my colleagues at the White House Counsel, she added.

The press secretary also refused to comment on any private conversation between Biden and his family members.

Her comments echo what the White House said in September when asked if Biden would commute his son.

Combined, Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.

Im not going to go beyond telling you all what the President has said over and over again, Jean-Pierre concluded Friday. Hes proud of his son, and he is  proud of him building his life back up.

Hunter Biden was already facing three felony gun charges and is under investigation for alleged tax misconduct after a plea deal crumbled earlier this year. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has also opened a probe into his prior business deals.

Bidens attorneys and Republican lawmakers have since argued over whether his testimony in the case should be public or private. Hunter Bidens attorney Abbe Lowell sent the Kentucky Republican a letter claiming a public hearing would ensure transparency, and accusing the committee of using closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort, the facts and misinform the American public.

In response, Comer and House Judicial Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) threatened to hold the presidents son in contempt if he does not appear for a closed-door deposition next week.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan.  A Kansas inmate is sentenced in connection to the 2019 stabbing of an other inmate inside the Lansing Correctional Facility in Leavenworth County.

Lee B. Jacobs, 42, who is associated with white supremacist groups, was sentenced for separate charges of attempted aggravated battery and trafficking contraband within a correctional facility.

View the latest Weather Alerts in the Kansas City region on FOX4

He was given a three year and 10 month prison term for the battery charge and a one year and seven month term for trafficking. The sentences will run consecutively, totaling five years and five months, beginning after the completion of his ongoing sentence.

According to court documents, Jacobs and another inmate, Andrew Hogue, were charged following the attack that occurred in April 2019 in the maximum custody dining hall.

Jacobs and Hogue were seen hitting the victim during a fight that lasted several minutes.

The victim was stabbed multiple times with an improvised device.

Baby from Missouri infected with dangerous bacteria found in formula

Jacobs, Hogue and the victim were members of the Kansas Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang in the prison system, according to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

A coded message was used to order the attack on the victim, who had fallen out of favor with the gang. The victim survived the injuries he sustained during the attack.

Hogue was convicted of aggravated battery following a guilty plea in April 2022 for his role in the attack.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
We regret to inform you that Ken Paxton is at it again.

When the Texas Senate declined to remove him from office during an impeachment trial in September, Paxton immediately went back to his regular activities, which is to say he started using the office of attorney general to sue anybody and everybody, usually in service of some political cause.

Some of these lawsuits make sense, and favorable results could help Texans. Others seem like theyre obviously intended to stir up controversy and redirect taxpayer-funded resources to issues outside of Texas scope. And some look designed to gin up a Republican base thats preoccupied with causes few others notice or care about and to burnish Paxtons political credentials, perhaps for a run at higher office.

On Tuesday, Paxton joined two conservative media companies in one of his most brazen attempts to take on the federal government. Paxton joined the Daily Wire and The Federalist to sue the State Department and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for what the attorney general called engaging in a conspiracy to censor, deplatform, and demonetize American media outlets disfavored by the federal government.

The lawsuit says the companies are suing to halt one of the most audacious, manipulative, secretive, and gravest abuses of power and infringements of First Amendment rights by the federal government in American history. The suit claims to have details of federal censorship via the Global Engagement Center, the State Department organization that purports to counter foreign propaganda. In this case, the suit alleges it sponsors Newsguard to censor domestic speech like the media organizations listed in the suit engage in.

There may be some merit to the lawsuit. Federal law prohibits the State Department from using funds to influence public opinion, and the concept is entirely antithetical to a functional and robust free market and free press. The suit will have to play out.

Of course, Texas supports the First Amendment  as everyone should  but why does it fall to the taxpayers of Texas to subsidize legal representation for media outlets? Should the suit prevail, how would a win benefit the people who the attorney generals office is supposed to help? The single mother trying to get child support, residents in border towns overwhelmed and in need of resources, the victims of crime trying to seek recourse?

You would think Paxton might be chastened about using the power of his office to help specific, politically aligned allies. Despite his acquittal in the Senate, few can have looked at the details of his extensive efforts to help a developer, Nate Paul, with his own legal battle with the feds. As we warned at the time, the Senate signed off on this favoritism, and Paxton is happy to continue it in service of his own career.

The Federalist and the Daily Wire are both well-known outlets on the right, and their content attracts particularly pro-Donald Trump audiences. As much as Paxton might support the ideas in this lawsuit, its a political entanglement the state does not need.

Soon after his trial ended, Paxton sued Pfizer for misrepresenting COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. That one, at least, might represent aggrieved Texans who thought the inoculations were oversold. But it undermines vaccination efforts and, ironically, seeks to diminish one of Trumps signature achievements. And after all Trump has done for Paxton, too.

The AG also opened an investigation into Media Matters, a progressive group that tracks conservative media, for potential fraud. In that case, Paxton moved on behalf of X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk. You know, one of the richest men in the world. Once again, how exactly does this help everyday Texans?

Time and again, Paxton has shown he has no shame about using state resources to advance the causes of himself and his political allies. Since his impeachment trial, he seems to have ratcheted this penchant up a notch. Texans deserve a strong advocate as attorney general, but the office should stay focused on pressing issues that affect the 30 million people who live here, not the MAGA fanbase foaming at the mouth online over the latest outrage.

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Five Republican senators have called on United States President Joe Biden's administration to impose a China travel ban to prevent the spread of the "mystery illness" to the American country.

The lawmakers argued that a travel ban is needed due to the Asian nation's "long history of lying about public health crises." They noted that it was also because of the World Health Organization's (WHO) "slavish deference" to China's rulers.

GOP Senators Call for China Travel Ban

Last month, the global health agency requested information from China regarding the sudden outbreak. It then held a teleconference with Chinese authorities where officials said that the pneumonia was caused by a common bacteria, mycoplasma, as well as seasonal viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, and the flu.

During interviews, American public health experts seconded that assessment and said that the spread was most likely due to China recently ending its COVID-19 lockdowns in January. They added that the Asian country was experiencing the same return of seasonal respiratory diseases that the U.S. and other nations did earlier, as per Politico.

While the WHO has advised against imposing travel restrictions, the Republican senators in question, Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, J.D. Vance, Tommy Tuberville, and Mike Braum, said they do not trust the WHO or the Chinese.

They argued that a travel ban now could save the United States from death, lockdowns, mandates, and further outbreaks down the road. They also cited former United States President Donald Trump's decision to stop travel with China in January 2020.

While no prominent Democratic lawyer has echoed the calls for a travel ban, some have expressed concern about the situation. Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin said that he was frustrated with China's transparency and the information that it was sharing with the outside world.

In the letter, the Republicans said that during the coronavirus pandemic, the CCP's obfuscation of the truth and its lack of transparency resulted in the U.S. having a lack of knowledge about the disease and its origin, according to Fox News.

Read Also: House Kicks NY Rep. George Santos Out of Capitol Hill

China's Outbreak of "Mystery Illness"

The GOP senators noted that China reported an increase in a mystery illness that it claims to be pneumonia caused by known pathogens since mid-October. This disease is reportedly a special hazard for children and has caused hospitals in the northern parts of the country to be burdened.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Many Cohen echoed the WHO's assessment. She noted that American officials have been in touch with Chinese authorities, academic experts, and health workers.

Cohen said that what they have been able to ascertain is that there is no novel pathogen amid the outbreak in China. She added that the surge in respiratory illnesses is related to upticks of known viruses and bacteria in China's pediatric population.

Experts added that some of the same pathogens are already on the rise in the United States as winter approaches. A professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Dr. William Schaffner said that there is no place in the world that does not have mycoplasma, rhinovirus, or the influenza virus, said the New York Times.

Related Article: Javier Milei To Meet With Top Biden Adviser, Other Officials Over Economic Policies

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Phoenix police car

A woman was arrested on suspicion of killing her husband on Friday afternoon, according to Phoenix police.

At about 1:20 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to a home near 4700 N. 39th Drive regarding an injured person, Phoenix police said in a news release.

Police said when officers arrived, they found 89-year-old Harold Hostetler with serious injuries and that he died on the scene.

Police said his wife, Lawanda Hostetler, 52, left the residence before police arrived and later returned and was detained. She was arrested on suspicion of murder, according to the news release.

Additional details about what led up to the murder are part of an active investigation, according to police.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lawanda Hostetler arrested on suspicion of killing husband in Phoenix
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) A woman will spend decades in state prison for a deadly Shippensburg shooting in April, the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office announced.

Breanna Black, 34, was sentenced to spend between 30 and 60 years on Friday by Judge Jessica Brewbaker, according to the DAs Office. She pleaded guilty to criminal homicide  murder of the third degree and person not possessing a firearm.

On April 9, 2023, Beth Schwartz, 48 was shot in the chest by Black after the two got into a verbal altercation over the phone and then in person.

Schwartz was able to call 911 to say she was shot by Bree and that she was dying, a news release states. She was rushed to Chambersburg Hospital and then York Hospital but died despite life-saving measures.

The sentencing fell on Schwartzs birthday. Many family members in attendance spoke about how she was full of life and that her family had been impacted since her death.

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They described Beth as the fun aunt who was full of life, a statement from the DAs Office reads. They noted Beth was a fighter who even in her last moments helped achieve justice for herself by calling 911 and giving emergency and law enforcement personnel vital information about the shooting.

First District Attorney Courtney LaRue prosecuted the case.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
A woman shares her secrets for keeping her marriage strong for over 40 years with spontaneous dates and lots of affection

Rita Smith has been married to her husband for 42 years.

Smith films TikToks of their marriage and sex life, including their spontaneous hotel dates.

Smith spoke to Business Insider about how she and her husband keep their partnership strong.

In a TikTok nearing one million views , Rita Smith, 62, gleefully packs lingerie into an overnight bag. "My Man Planned a Spontaneous Date to bring in Thanksgiving and I'm gonna be HIS Turkey" reads the caption as she holds fistfuls of pink, purple, and red lace panties.

Smith and her husband have been together for 42 years, she told Business Insider. She met her husband, Theodore Smith, Sr., 64, when they were teenagers. He would pass by her parents' house all the time until one day, he stopped by and asked for her number. They were married when Smith was 19 and Theodore was 21.

While Smith said their marriage has always been strong, she said it's gotten even better over the years since their three kids moved out and they became empty nesters.

"You get to communicate a lot and get to know each other even more," Smith said. "You get a lot of intimacy in."

Smith spoke to BI about how the couple keep the spark alive in their four-decade marriage  and how their sex life keeps getting better.

They go on spontaneous date nights

The Smiths on a night out together. Rita Smith

Smith said one of the things that keeps her marriage exciting is how her husband surprises her with date nights that he plans out.

"He is so romantic and he's so spontaneous," she said. "I have to keep up with him."

Smith said he'll sometimes call her, ask if she's free, and tell her to get ready for a night at a hotel.

"He's a fireball," she said, "but you know what, both of us are like that."

They maintain constant intimacy

Beyond date nights, Smith said that she and Theodore are intimate in many different ways.

"I love to be touched," she said. They make sure to hold hands together while walking down the street or go out to look at Christmas lights.

They also communicate often. Smith said her husband calls her daily, sometimes within 15 minutes of leaving the house.

"These things just keep me on high," she said. "It makes me feel like a real queen."

They're deeply grateful for each other

The Smiths' vow renewal ceremony on their 25th wedding anniversary. Rita Smith

Smith said that neither she nor her husband had this kind of relationship modeled for them by their parents, which makes it all the more special that theirs is so loving and secure.

"I wanted a different marriage," Smith said. "I knew what I wanted and I knew what type of man I wanted, and when I got blessed with that, I have such a gratitude for that."

Smith said she was abused as a child by her mother, and that she was "so broken" when she first got married to Theodore.

"Even when I had those different moods and was feeling that hurt and that pain from my past, he cultivated me," she said. "He prayed for me. He really stood the test of time with me."

To this day, she said they "do a lot of laughing, intimacy time with each other, getting to know each other, encouraging each other, building each other up."

"I've had this type of love for 42 blissful years, since day one," she said. "And he never changed. His love for me is consistent."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A map provided by Bri Ledsome showing the route her Lyft driver took in the opposite direction of where she was headed.

Bri Ledsome was looking to meet up with a loved one Wednesday night. Instead, her Lyft driver took her 60 miles the opposite way into Kentucky.

Ledsome said she was picked up by the driver in a van in downtown Cincinnati and her destination was northeast of the city. She said it was a longer drive, but that she even spoke to the driver ahead of time to make sure it wasn't a problem.

When the driver entered Kentucky, she felt like something wasn't right and told him he was going the wrong way. She said he just laughed and kept going.

Ledsome also said she saw he had two devices with GPS on them. One was set to where she wanted to go, while the other was set to a location seven hours away.

"I think, like most women, I immediately wanted to believe I was wrong," Ledsome told The Enquirer via direct message on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I was looking for any reason why I could perhaps be wrong about the situation, how there was an innocent explanation. Once I saw the second GPS, I knew I couldnt wait."

She also spotted two knives and pepper spray in the vehicle.

She shared her location with friends, called 911 and used the panic button in the Lyft app, which connected her via text message to ADT, a security provider. It was the ADT representative who told her police were on the way. But cell service along the AA Highway was spotty.

"I knew I needed to stay strong for a while because I wasnt going to succeed at this quickly without service and with 20% battery left," she said. "Once I heard cops had been dispatched, the adrenaline faded and it was just fear."

Maysville police intervene

Now 60 miles from home, Ledsome watched as an officer with the Maysville Police Department pulled the van over. The officer was looking for the van because of Ledsome's calls for help, according to police documents, but the driver was also speeding.

Maysville police documents show that the driver told police he was headed somewhere in Ohio and was just following his GPS. He showed the officers a GPS device that showed the same destination Ledsome was trying to get to, a report states.

"When asked if he was taking a longer route to the destination for more money, (he) began to act like he did not understand what I was saying," the officer wrote. "It appears that during the interview he was attempting another route to possibly make more money to which he denied during the investigation."

The Enquirer is not naming the driver because, as of Friday, no charges have been filed against him.

Ledsome said the officers took her to a police cruiser to let her charge her phone. She said she was trembling and terrified by the end of the ordeal.

Eventually, the officers took her to a gas station to wait for a friend to pick her up.

The driver was released. Police said he was "talked to about the situation, then sent on his way back to Cincinnati." Ledsome said Friday that the police have not contacted her. She said she was in communication with Lyft.

Lyft's response

Lyft told The Enquirer Friday that the driver's account has been temporarily suspended.

Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and we never want anyone in our community to feel unsafe," a statement from a spokesperson said. "We reached out to offer our support to the rider, stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation."

Ledsome said she is still processing what happened and still doesn't know the true intent of the driver.

"Best-case scenario, he was confused and had no ill intent," she said. "Worst case? This was a trafficking situation. This was a nefarious attempt."

Ledsome takes to social media to tell her story, spread awareness

In an X thread that had about 2.6 million views as of Friday evening, Ledsome recounted what happened to her before Lyft and the Maysville police released statements. Many people expressed that they fear the same thing happening to them while using rideshares.

Others doubted parts of her story or flatly told her she was making it up.

"Its heartbreaking. But predictable. We have a habit of not believing survivors when they share their experiences," Ledsome said. "But I didnt decide to put this out there for retweets - I did it because if you dont know how to confront situations like these - that will happen - this violent epidemic continues to rage."

Ledsome, who works for Women Helping Women, said situations like this can happen to anyone, but there are organizations that provide education and help.

Helping Survivors has a guide on rideshare safety and recommends verifying that the driver matches the one listed in the app and contacting police immediately if you fear you are in danger.

If something feels off, it probably is," Ledsome said. "Trust yourself. Stay vigilant. It could save your life.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'It was just fear': Lyft driver takes woman 60 miles the wrong way
A British company has been accused of commercialising surrogacy by offering prospective mothers Apple watches, theme park tickets and even sex toys.

My Surrogacy Journey, which is based in London, aims to facilitate arrangements between people wanting a child and women willing to bear them.

In a video aimed at attracting new surrogate mothers, the firm says it has over 50 member benefits including a Gusto Food subscription and an Ann Summers gift card.

Current law in the UK says that surrogate mothers cannot be paid except for their reasonable expenses.

Some agencies inform prospective candidates that they can expect to receive between 20,000 to 80,000 in expenses, although campaigners say surrogates typically receive 10,000-15,000.

However, concerns have been raised that the law is not fit for purpose and the subject formed the basis for a recent consultation by the Law Commission.

Helen Gibson, the founder of Surrogacy Concern, which lobbies against the liberalisation of domestic surrogacy law, said: We have been concerned about the activities of this agency, and others, for a while.

Law out of date

Andrew Percy, a Tory MP who leads the all-party parliamentary group on surrogacy, said: The UK system is based on altruism but the law is out of date. That is why it is important that the recent Law Commission proposal for new legislation is implemented as soon as possible.

Michael and Wes Johnson-Ellis, who run My Surrogacy Journey, said: My Surrogacy Journey was established in 2021 with the ambition to change the landscape of UK surrogacy, by offering safe, innovative, and professional support. Our support comes in many guises: legal, practical, professional, or clinical.

Our strong team of 28 (which includes healthcare professionals) ensures everyone is educated about surrogacy and that even involves understanding the legal framework of UK surrogacy.

My Surrogacy Journey is not in favour of a commercial model of UK surrogacy, of any kind (including commercial-lite) and have made this clear in all our campaigning since 2016. The Law Commissions recommendations to government also are not in favour of a commercial model.

All our surrogate membership benefits comply with what are allowed as reasonable expenses and comply with the latest final bill delivered by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission. Both permit expenses/benefits in their final bill which was released in March 2023.

The company said the Ann Summers gift card was their most popular benefit.

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The House is set to vote to censure Democratic Rep. Jamaal Brown after the lawmaker pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building that caused a chamber session to be temporarily delayed.

The Republican censure resolution passed with only a few Democratic votes as the majority of the left-wing party stood by Bowman in opposition to an effort that they argued lacked credibility and integrity.

Jamaal Bowman Censure Vote

The lawmaker now becomes the third Democratic House member to be admonished this year through the censure process. It is a punishment that is one step below expulsion from the House.

In a statement on Wednesday, Bowman said that it was painfully obvious to himself, his colleagues, and the American people that the GOP is "deeply unserious and unable to legislate." He added that the censure efforts against him demonstrated their inability to govern and serve the people of the nation.

The vote to censure Bowman ended with a tally of 214-191 and comes after nearly a year of chaos and retribution in the House of Representatives.

The chamber has seen the removal of a member from a committee assignment, the first ouster of a speaker in the history of the U.S., and the expulsion of a lawmaker since just the beginning of this year, as per the Associated Press.

The censure resolution was introduced by Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, who claimed that Bowman pulled the fire alarm in September on purpose. She argued that the Democrat did so to "cause chaos and to stop the House from doing its business." It was during a time when lawmakers were scrambling to pass a bill to avert a government shutdown.

In her statement, McClain said that it was reprehensible that a member of Congress would make such efforts to prevent House Republicans from bringing forth a vote to keep the government working and the American people receiving their paychecks.

Read Also: Senate Republicans Block Financial Aid for Ukraine, Israel, Threaten Border Security

Pulling of a Fire Alarm

In October, Bowman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count for the indictment, which took place in the Cannon House Office Building. The Democrat agreed to pay a $1,000 fine and serve three months of probation. After that, the false fire alarm charge is expected to be dismissed from his record under an agreement with prosecutors.

Video and eyewitness testimony regarding the incident revealed that Bowman pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building on the Capitol complex. This was done despite there being no emergency going on at the time, according to Fox News.

Later on, Bowman denied pulling the fire alarm on purpose and said that he was rushing to make a vote and tried to get through a door. He claimed that he thought that the switch he pulled would open that door.

A censure is considered to be a rare move made by lawmakers but Republican efforts have resulted in the censure of two other Democrats since June. After the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson called for Bowman to present himself in the well of the House chamber, said CNN.

Related Article: US Prepares for New UN Resolution for Ceasefire in Gaza

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Ukraines Presidential chief-of-staff Andrii Yermak met with U.S. businessman and philanthropist Alexander Soros, the Chair of the Open Society Foundations network, Ukraines Presidents Office website revealed on Dec. 9.

Yermak thanked Soros for participating in the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which took place in Kyiv on Dec. 8. During the meeting, Yermak emphasized the global visibility needed for cases of Ukrainian minors deported by Russia. He proposed publishing a book featuring stories about these children and involving globally recognized personalities in facilitating their return to Ukraine.

Read also:

Yermak also thanked the businessman, the son of the billionaire financier George Soros, for signing the Memorandum of Cooperation between Ukraine's Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Daria Herasymchuk and the Open Society Foundations. This collaboration aims to protect the rights of children affected by Russias armed aggression and supports the implementation of Ukraine's President's Plan Bring Kids Back UA, focusing on the return of young citizens illegally deported by Russia.

Read also: Ukraine could lose the war without US aid  Zelenskyys Chief-of-Staff

Expressing gratitude for the adoption of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Olena Zelenska Foundation and the International Renaissance Foundation, Yermak mentioned a $1 million allocation to support children in Ukraine, particularly those in large foster families in frontline, liberated, and affected regions.

The chief of staff informed Soros about initiatives involving religious organizations in addressing humanitarian issues and discussed projects for veterans' support and rehabilitation.

Yermak said he highly appreciated the Memorandum of Cooperation between the International Renaissance Foundation and Ukraines Health Ministry, focusing on psychological rehabilitation support for military personnel's family members, war casualties, prisoners of war, and internally displaced persons. Within the framework of the Memorandum, pilot projects will be implemented in two institutions in Odesa.

"Your family does a lot for Ukraine: important projects to protect our people, strengthen democracy, for the success of the Ukrainian state," he said.

Yermak and Soros also discussed the possibilities of developing the Ukrainian economy, including Ukraines recovery and reconstruction.

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
New York Attorney General Letitia James said that experts called for former President Trumps defense this week actually helped her legal case alleging Trump and his company falsified business records.

Donald Trump can continue to try to distract from reality. You can continue to call me names, she said in a video message Friday. But as the judge said today, The standard is truth. And the truth is on our side.

With a smile on her face, James recapped the testimonies of three expert witnesses called for Trumps defense and explained how each one actually helped prove her case that Trump and his company committed fraud.

Jamess case specifically alleges that Trump and his company knowingly falsified financial statements, inflating and deflating the values of assets to get better insurance and loan terms.

Over the past few days, we continue to hear testimony from the defendants many expert witnesses, she said. And one of these experts admitted that the valuations of some of the properties on Donald Trumps statement of financial condition were neither proper, nor reasonable.

Another witness, James said, was asked by Trump personally to help his case at his Mar-a-Lago club, a conflict of interest. A third had their fees paid by Trumps political action committee.

He testified that the value of Donald Trumps triplex was inflated. That we can agree, she said of the third witness. But he also had a lot to say about Donald Trumps statements of financial condition, even though he has not prepared a financial statement since the 1980s.

Trump himself is expected to testify in court Monday, the second time he takes the stand in the case. He will take questions from his attorneys as part of his defense.

When he has nothing to hide, its the best thing you could do is put this great witness on that is going to stand up and tell you the truth, lawyer Alina Habba said in a Fox News interview Friday.

Trumps previous stint on the stand was bombastic and met with pushback from the judge, who said his testimony was akin to a political rally.

He also faces a gag order in the case, limiting what he can say about court employees and certain details of the case publicly. He has challenged the order.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former House member George Santos is out of Congress and making short videos for cash on a phone app. Democrats have nominated his predecessor, Tom Suozzi, to, they hope, flip his district back to their party.

And Rep. Elise Stefanik (R- N.Y.), the fourth-ranking leader among House Republicans whose support was pivotal in getting Santos elected?

No hard feelings, according to some of her fellow New York Republicans who led the fight to get rid of Santos and buoy their own reelection prospects.

George Santos is responsible for George Santos actions, Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) told HuffPost.

Stefanik was an avid supporter whose endorsement served to encourage donors to give to the relatively little-known Santos, according to some of the givers. (Santos would later be charged with using donors credit cards to fund a lifestyle that included Botox injections and subscriptions to OnlyFans, a creator website known for explicit content. Santos has denied the charges.)

Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (third from left) speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 2.

Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (third from left) speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 2.

But after his election, outlets like The New York Times began questioning Santos background, which Santos himself said he had embellished, and some Republicans began quietly distancing themselves from him.

I didnt know about his resume or not, but I always had a few questions about it, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the now-former House speaker, told reporters in early 2023.

In February, as more and more of Santos deceptions came to light, Stefanik held fast when pressed about her role in his election.

I stand with my colleagues in supporting those Republican candidates who helped deliver this [House] majority, she told reporters at a New York press conference. Elections matter, and the voters of that district are going to decide.

The voters of Santos Long Island congressional district now face the choice of whether to elect a different Republican after he lost his House expulsion vote on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis 311 to 114, with two voting present.

The suburban district, which includes parts of Queens, has a Democratic tilt, having supported President Joe Biden by 8 percentage points in 2020. But Republicans are optimistic about Long Island in general, having posted some surprise wins in local contests there in November.

In the scheduled Feb. 13 special election to replace Santos, Suozzi is set to face either private security entrepreneur Michael Sapraicone or Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip, who is a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces.

The most vocal supporters of Santos expulsion on the GOP side were several other New York Republicans, who worried that his continued presence in the House, and the rising tide of public opinion against him after he was charged with federal crimes, might endanger their reelection chances in their own swing districts.

Rep. Anthony DEsposito (R-N.Y.) was one of the main advocates for kicking Santos out. He, too, declined to blame Stefanik for Santos being in the House of Representatives in the first place.

The only person that bears responsibility for George Santos is George Santos, he told HuffPost.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) also had little patience for assigning blame over Santos becoming the first House member since 2002 to be expelled and the first ever to be ejected without being accused of disloyalty to the United States or being convicted of a crime in court.

I think you guys have exhausted your coverage of George Santos. I mean, what else is there to talk about? Lawler said.

George Santos is responsible. The guy is a liar and a con man, he said.

For Stefanik, who rapidly ascended the ranks of leadership in the House conference by shedding her policy-heavy background to become a solid supporter of former President Donald Trump, backing Santos was an uncommon political misstep.

Now-former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) leaves the Capitol after being expelled from the House of Representatives on Dec. 1.

Now-former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) leaves the Capitol after being expelled from the House of Representatives on Dec. 1.

She replaced anti-Trumper and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in the role of conference chair and refrained from running for the whips post, the next rung up, once Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) announced that he was seeking the position. Emmer briefly was the House GOPs pick to become the next speaker after McCarthy was ousted from the spot in October, but he failed to gain enough support to make it to a floor vote.

Stefanik declined to comment Thursday, referring a reporter to her staff and saying, Someone will follow up with you. Requests for comment to her office were not returned.

Stefaniks role in Santos brief but troubled time in Congress is unlikely to fly completely under the radar going forward, though. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the leader of House Democrats, hinted at this during a press conference held the day before Santos expulsion vote, without directly naming her.

House Republicans knew a lot about George Santos before he was elected and, we have reason to believe, either intentionally kept that information out of the public domain or willfully turned a blind eye, Jeffries said. Why? Because House Republicans needed George Santos vote.

Elise Stefanik is a [Make America Great Again] extremist who, in lockstep with the rest of the Republican Party, repeatedly protected George Santos at the expense of Nassau and Queens residents, said Ellie Dougherty, a spokesperson with the House Democrats campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

While Republicans will be held accountable for their shameless record of propping up corruption, Democrats will remain laser-focused on sending Tom Suozzi back to Congress to lower costs, make our communities safer and restore trust, she said.
FILE - University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill listens during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Washington. Magill has resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the schools conduct policy. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  The University of Pennsylvanias president has resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the schools conduct policy.

The chairman of the Ivy League school's board of trustees, Scott Bok, also resigned immediately during a trustees meeting Saturday evening, just hours after Bok announced Liz Magill's departure as president in just her second year.

Bok, a supporter of Magill's, defended her through several months of criticism over the universitys handling of various perceived acts of antisemitism.

He called her a good person and talented leader who is not the slightest bit antisemitic, but gave a legalistic and wooden response after being worn down by months of criticism and hours of questioning in the congressional hearing.

Following that, it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit, Bok said in a statement also announcing his resignation.

The university said Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the universitys Carey Law School. She has agreed to keep serving as Penns leader until the university names an interim president.

Calls for Magill's firing exploded after Tuesdays testimony in a U.S. House committee on antisemitism on college campuses, where she appeared with the presidents of Harvard University and MIT.

Universities across the U.S. have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide and fallout from Israels intensifying war in Gaza, which faces heightened criticism for the mounting Palestinian death toll.

The three presidents were called before the committee to answer those accusations. But their lawyerly answers drew renewed blowback from opponents, focused particularly on a line of questioning from Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who repeatedly asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate Penns code of conduct.

If the speech turns into conduct it can be harassment, yes, Magill said. Pressed further, Magill told Stefanik, It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman.

Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth gave similar responses to Stefanik, and Bok pointed that out.

Magill made a very unfortunate misstep  consistent with that of two peer university leaders sitting alongside her  after five hours of aggressive questioning before a congressional committee," Bok said.

Still, criticism of Magill rained down from the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, members of Congress and donors. One donor, Ross Stevens, threatened to withdraw a $100 million gift because of the universitys stance on antisemitism on campus unless Magill was replaced.

A day later, Magill addressed the criticism, saying in a video that she would consider a call for the genocide of Jewish people to be harassment or intimidation and that Penns policies need to be clarified and evaluated.

It did not quell criticism.

In a statement Saturday, Stefanik said Magill's forced resignation is the bare minimum of what is required" and said Harvard and MIT should follow suit.

One down. Two to go, Stefanik said, adding that this is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most prestigious higher education institutions in America."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. said Magills resignation allows Penn to chart a new course in addressing antisemitism on campus.

Bok said he was asked to remain as chairman to help with the transition to a new president, but decided that now was the best time for him to leave.

Even before Tuesday's hearing, Magill had been under fire from some donors and alumni this fall. Some also had called for the resignation of Bok, who had defended Magill amid criticism over the universitys handling of various perceived acts of antisemitism.

That included allowing a Palestinian literary arts festival to be held on its campus in September featuring speakers whose past statements about Israel had drawn accusations of antisemitism.

A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, Magill, 57, is the daughter of a retired federal judge and was dean of Stanford Universitys law school and a top administrator at the University of Virginia before Penn hired her as its ninth president last year.

Bok is chairman and CEO of investment bank Greenhill & Co.

Earlier Saturday, New York's governor called on the state's colleges and universities to swiftly address cases of antisemitism and what she described as any calls for genocide on campus.

In a letter to college and university presidents, Gov. Kathy Hochul said her administration would enforce violations of the state's Human Rights Law and refer any violations of federal civil rights law to U.S. officials.

Hochul said chancellors of the State University of New York and City University of New York systems confirmed to her that calling for genocide of any group or tolerating antisemitism violates codes of conduct on their campuses and would lead to swift disciplinary action.

A popular chant at pro-Palestinian rallies at Penn and other universities has been falsely misrepresented in recent months as a call for Jewish genocide.

Experts and advocates say the chant, Israel, we charge you with genocide, is a typical refrain heard at pro-Palestinian rallies. Jewish and Palestinian supporters both acknowledge protesters arent saying We want Jewish genocide.

___

Associated Press writers Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey, and Phil Marcelo in New York contributed to this report.
An elderly woman pushes a wheelbarrow past campaign posters in Mabvuku on the outskirts of Harare, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. Zimbabwe was holding by-elections Saturday for nine seats in Parliament after opposition lawmakers were removed from their positions and disqualified from standing again in what they have called an illegal push by the ruling ZANU-PF party to bolster its majority and have the power to change the constitution. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)  Zimbabwe is holding special elections Saturday for nine seats in Parliament after opposition lawmakers were removed from their positions and disqualified from running again. The opposition called it an illegal push by the ruling ZANU-PF party to bolster its parliamentary majority and possibly change the constitution.

This may allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 81, who was reelected for a second and final term in August amid international and regional criticism, to run for another term.

All nine opposition lawmakers from the Citizens Coalition for Change party that were removed were elected in the national vote in August. But an official claiming to be the secretary-general of the party recalled them from their positions in the weeks after that election.

CCC leader Nelson Chamisa said the official, Sengezo Tshabangu, held no position with the party and his instructions should be ignored. But Zimbabwean courts recognized Tshabangu's authority, ruled to remove the opposition MPs and declared them on Thursday ineligible to run.

This is not an election. This is not democracy, opposition deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba told The Associated Press.

Another late-night court ruling Friday left the ZANU-PF candidate set to win one of the seats in the capital, Harare, uncontested.

The CCC said on the eve of the special elections that it had launched an appeal with the Supreme Court, demanding that eight of its candidates appear on the ballots. It didnt list a name for the Harare seat.

The main opposition party said the removal of its lawmakers is a brazen attempt by the ruling party to increase its control in Parliament and has accused ZANU-PF, which has been in power since the southern African country's independence in 1980, of using the courts to help it do that. The CCC said ZANU-PF was using Tshabangu and the courts to decimate the opposition.

The battle lines have been clearly drawn, the CCC said Saturday in a statement on social media site X. The actions of the court officials who contributed to the demise of democracy in Zimbabwe will be recorded in the countrys history.

ZANU-PF won 177 out of 280 parliamentary seats in the national election but needs another 10 seats to gain the two-thirds majority it requires to change the constitution. That would allow it to remove term limits for presidents, among other things.

Saturdays special elections are just the start. Tshabangu has recalled dozens more opposition lawmakers, local councilors and mayors. More elections are due in the coming months.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said ZANU-PF is using institutions like the courts and the police force to suppress opposition and criticism.

The U.S. State Department said last week in the run-up to the special elections that it was placing visa restrictions on Zimbabwean individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Zimbabwe. It said they had been involved in excluding members of the political opposition from electoral processes, but didn't name anyone.

ZANU-PF has denied any links to Tshabangu and his recall of opposition lawmakers, calling it an internal squabble in the CCC. The ruling party's spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said ZANU-PF is not responsible for the chaos and disorder within the opposition.

Rights groups have also warned of an upsurge in violence against opposition activists since the August elections. The country has a long history of violent and disputed elections.

Last month, a CCC activist  Tapfumaneyi Masaya  campaigning in the Harare constituency was found dead after unidentified people forced him into a vehicle, according to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group.

Masaya's killing followed other attacks on opposition figures since the Aug. 23 election. The country is going in a dangerous direction, the CCC said.

Mnangagwas term is due to end in 2028 and some within his party have called for him to remain past the current two-term limit. He came to power in 2017 following a coup that removed autocrat Robert Mugabe, who was Zimbabwe's leader for 37 years.

Under Mugabe, Zimbabwe's economy collapsed and it was put under U.S. and European Union sanctions over alleged human rights abuses.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
OSAKA, Dec 09 ( News On Japan ) - The Osaka Motor Show, one of the largest motor events in western Japan, kicked of Friday with car manufacturers from around the world showcasing cutting-edge technologies focusing on innovative new modes of mobility.

This year's show, "Go! Future  The Future of Cars", at Intex Osaka, started on Dec 8 and features 39 brands from countries including Japan, China, and Germany.

On display are electric vehicles, including cars equipped with autonomous driving technology, featuring seats that face each other in the front and rear.

From this year, the Osaka Motor Show has been rebranded as a "Mobility Show," introducing experience booths that propose new modes of mobility, not just automobiles.

"Taste Road", which brings together gourmet foods from all over the country, is also available at the venue.

The Osaka Motor Show will be running until Monday, Dec 11.
The Japanese Consulate in San Francisco says one of the people killed in a campus shooting in Las Vegas has been identified as a Japanese woman in her 60s.

Takemaru Naoko, an associate professor who taught Japanese language and culture at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, was one of three people who died in the attack on Wednesday.

The university said Takemaru was a noted scholar, author and award-winning educator who recently marked her 20th year as a faculty member. It said she was extremely dedicated to her students.

Police say they shot and killed the 67-year-old suspect at the scene. They say the man, a former professor at a different university, had applied for jobs at several universities in Nevada but been turned down.

US President Joe Biden mentioned the shooting in a speech delivered in Nevada on Friday.

He said he would pray for the families of the victims, "whose hearts have been broken by yet another horrific gun violence."

Biden called for tighter gun control, citing the many cases of mass shootings this year. He said, "This is not normal and we can never let it become normal."
TOKYO, Dec 09 ( News On Japan ) - As the spotlight intensifies on the illegal export of Lexus luxury cars, believed to be intended for use in North Korea, experts are pointing to the possibility of involvement by North Korean embassies overseas.

On Thursday (Dec 7), Kanagawa Prefectural Police searched a used car dealership in Chiba Prefecture on suspicion of illegally exporting Lexus SUVs.

According to investigators, in July, a ship carrying the cars set sail for Bangladesh, but it was discovered en route that the destination had been changed to the local North Korean embassy there, and the shipment was temporarily detained.

The following month, the cars were re-exported under the guise of being sent to Singapore, but they were actually transported to Bangladesh and then believed to have been brought into North Korea.

Former member of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea Sanctions, Katsuhisa Furukawa, said "Overseas (North Korean) embassies have played an important role in arranging the transportation of goods for these illegal exports. Lower-ranking diplomats are often the ones managing these transactions."

In an interview with ANN, a male business owner said, "I heard that dealing with the embassy could reduce taxes."
The City of Council Bluffs will help Acadia Healthcare seek economic development incentives for its proposed behavioral health hospital.

The Council Bluffs City Council voted Nov. 27 to approve a joint application between the city and Acadia to the Iowa Economic Development Agency for financial assistance for the health care companys project at the southwest corner of South 24th Street and Richard Downing Avenue.

Under the states Targeted Jobs Withholding Tax Credit pilot program, a company can receive a rebate of up to 3% of its payroll withholding taxes  matched by the city  for up to 10 years. The withheld funds would be directed to the project budget on a quarterly basis.

To qualify, the company must create at least 10 jobs at or above the citys hourly wage threshold. For Council Bluffs, that threshold is set at $26.35 an hour for fiscal year 2024.

In the application, Acadia estimates that the new facility will have 144 full time positions, of which 54 would qualify for the tax credit. Those jobs have an estimated wage of $49.12 per hour, or $102,169 annually.

The city is also utilizing its urban revitalization property tax incentive program for the new hospital, which allows the owner to have their taxes abated or exempted on a new development for a period of time.

This means you always pay taxes on your base valuation amount or how much your assessed value was prior to completing the new project, Council Bluffs Community Development Director Courtney Harter said in an email.

Using the Acadia hospital as an example, Harter said that the companys current assessed valuation, before any construction began, is $30,400.

When they complete the proposed $60 million project their assessed value will increase to $60,030,400, Harter said. They will always have to pay the taxes that are due each year on the $30,400, but can choose between two abatement schedules for the $60 million, or what we call the increment created.

The tax abatement is only available for the construction of the hospital, not the property itself, which means that if the property value goes up, Acadia will have to pay taxes on that new valuation, Harter said.

One of the two abatement schedules that Acadia gets to choose from is a three-year 100% abatement on the increment created  anticipated to be $60 million  meaning the company would not have to pay taxes on that portion of its tax bill for three years.

The other abatement schedule is a 10-year sliding scale, where in the first year the company doesnt have to pay taxes on 80% of the increment created, then 70% in the second year, 60% in the third year, 50% in the fourth year, 40% in both the fifth and sixth years, 30% in the seventh and eighth years, and 20% in the ninth and 10th years.

Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and Acadia Healthcare announced plans for the state-of-the-art behavioral health care facility in July. The new hospital will include 24 inpatient beds for children and adolescents, and it will also offer intensive outpatient services.

The 82,799-square-foot hospital would have 169 parking stalls and available space for future expansion. Construction is planned to start in March with completion in August 2025.

The hospital is expected to open in 2026 and will operate as a partnership between Jennie Ed and Acadia.

More information is available at bluffsbehavioralhealth.com. A groundbreaking ceremony has yet to be announced.
London authorities revealed that six former Met police officers were given suspended prison sentences for sending racist WhatsApp messages regarding Megan Markle and members of the royal family.

Commander James Harman, who leads the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, issued a statement saying that the racist and discriminatory messages were "absolutely appalling."

Met Police Officers Charged Over Racism

He added that given the defendants previously served as law enforcement personnel, the latest incident will most likely damage confidence in policing even further. All of the defendants, who are all retired, were changed following an investigation conducted by the BBC's Newsnight program.

The probe found that all six of the men sent the messages between August 2018 and September 2022, which is a period when they had all already left the police force. Three of the alleged messages featured racist comments regarding Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, King Charles' younger son.

Another one of the messages also included an image of the late Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip. The others referenced Charles' eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, as per Reuters.

On top of the messages targeting royal family members and those close to them, they also referenced British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The latter is the region's first prime minister of color.

Five of the six suspects, who are all in their 60s, pleaded guilty to sending offensive messages in September. They were all sentenced on Thursday to between six and 14 weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

They had worked in various departments at the police force but had all served in the Diplomatic Protection Group. The group has, in the last two years, seen one former member convicted of murder and rape and another jailed for carrying out 24 rapes and other sex offenses over two decades.

Read Also: James Cleverly Announces Increase for Salary Threshold Foreign Workers' Visas

Targeting Royal Family Members

Last month, a trial at City of London Magistrates' Court convicted one of the suspects, 62-year-old Michael Chadwell of sending an offensive message despite pleading not guilty. He was sentenced to 10 weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, according to LiveMint.

Metropolitan Police is Britain's largest police force and it has been beset by scandals in the last few years. These include racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Chief Mark Rowley will be responsible for managing the force and removing unsuitable individuals.

Chadwell was also found to have shared a graphic that was created by someone else in the "Old Boys Beer Meet - Wales" group of retired officers. The photo featured differently colored parrots above an image of children of different races.

The text of the image said, "Why do we cherish the variety of color in every species but our own?" Underneath was a comment in response that said, "Because I have never had a bike stolen out of my front yard by a parrot."

The six individuals include Chadwell, 66-year-old Peter Booth, 67-year-old Anthony Elsom, 65-year-old Trevor Lewton, 65-year-old Alan Hall, and 62-year-old Robert Lewis. The Government department said that Lewis was a Home Office official before he was dismissed for gross misconduct last November, said Yahoo News.



Related Article: Boris Johnson Apologized for his Handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic

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The two remaining members of West Africas G5 Sahel alliance  Chad and Mauritania  have indicated they were paving the way to dissolving the anti-jihadist grouping after the other three founding countries left, citing the failure to achieve its objectives.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday (6 December), Chad and Mauritania said they take note and respect the sovereign decision of Burkina Faso and Niger to leave the alliance, following in the footsteps of Mali, which quit in 2022. The G5 Sahel alliance, which included Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, was launched in 2014, with a France-backed counterinsurgency force added in 2017, but it has secured only modest results, even as insecurity remains a major issue across the Sahel.

They will implement all necessary measures in accordance with the G5 founding convention, notably Article 20, the statement added. The article says the alliance can be dissolved at the request of at least three member states. Military rulers in Burkina Faso and Niger announced recently that they had decided to quit all instances of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force, having accused Paris of exercising an outsize role after years of French deployments on their territories. The organization is failing to achieve its objectives, they said. Since the creation of the joint anti-terror force, violence has continued to spread, leaving thousands of civilians and fighters dead and displacing millions, in turn contributing to political instability in the region.
Morocco has called for strengthening regional and international cooperation to counter the growing threat posed by terrorists, organized crime networks, and separatist group in Africa.

Speaking during a UN Security Council debate on Transnational Organized Crime, Growing Challenges & New Threats, Omar Kadiri, Moroccos Deputy permanent representative to UN, voiced concern over the expansion of criminal networks and terrorist groups which have exploited the momentum of international trade and the rapid development of information & communications technology (ICT) to carry on their criminal activities.

The North African Kingdom condemns the proven link between organized crime, terrorist groups, and separatists in Africa, said the diplomat, noting that this threat requires law enforcements capacity-building and enhanced cooperation between States.

He stressed the importance his country gives to the fight against terrorism by working to develop national, regional, and international policies to combat this scourge and its financing, through an approach based on cooperation and the exchange of information and good practices.

This strategy has contributed to foiling several terrorist plots in numerous countries thanks to Moroccos intelligence input and cooperation, said Mr. Kadiri

The North African Kingdom hosted this week the 47th Conference of Arab Police & Security Leaders Conference and will host the 2025 General Assembly of Interpol, he said, affirming that these events show Moroccos firm commitment in the global fight against terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking.

Following the debate, the Security Council adopted a statement calling on all Member States to improve border management and international cooperation to effectively constrain the spread of transnational threats.

It also urged Member States to strengthen their judicial, law enforcement and border-control capacities and to develop their capabilities to investigate arms-trafficking networks.
The Charter of African Ulema (Muslim scholars) was officially launched during the 5th regular session of the Higher Council of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema. The event, which took place December 6-7, unfolded in the sidelines of the conference held in Fez.

The Charter, launched at a ceremony held at the library of Al Qarawiyyin in Fez, serves as a comprehensive reference document, defining the doctrinal path and aligning with the objectives of the Scholars within the Foundation. Functioning as a doctrinal guide, this charter becomes a valuable resource supporting the scientific endeavors of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Scholars. Its purpose is to safeguard the Scholars and fulfill the Foundations overarching objectives.

The Foundation envisions the Charter of African Ulema, whose formulation was decided during the 3rd regular session of the Higher Council in December 2019, as a doctrinal document and a fundamental pillar for the collective action of African Scholars. The aim is to achieve the noble goals set by Commander of the Faithful, King Mohammed VI.

The charter, considered a significant communication tool among Ulema and a major reference in the institutions history, is built upon five balanced and complementary pillars. Its foundational principle is to anchor and consolidate common religious aspects concerning beliefs, doctrines, and behaviors across the African continent.

The launch ceremony was attended by key figures, including Heads of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema sections in several African countries, the Secretary-General of Moroccos Higher Council of Ulema, Mohamed Yessef, the Secretary-General of the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulema, Ahmed Abbadi, and the Secretary-General of the Higher Council of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema, Mohamed Rifki.

The Higher Council of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema also decided to kick off the African Muftis Council platform, alongside other projects and activities slated for 2024.

This platform aims to strengthen ties between religious scholars in Morocco and their counterparts in other African countries, as it is designed to explain Islamic principles to the faithful, emphasize Islamic values, and guide the work of muftis using scientific principles and rules.

This digital tool aims to showcase the rich Muslim heritage concerning fatwa issues, printing and publishing fatwa works across African countries.

The platform will facilitate exchanges between the faithful and African muftis, exchange of experiences among African researchers in fatwa science through digital media, popularize manuscripts on fatwa in Africa, and raise awareness of the efforts of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Scholars while contributing to developing communication means for Muslims.

The Foundations four permanent commissions, covering Scientific and Cultural Activities, Sharia Studies, Revitalization of African Islamic Heritage, and Cooperation and Partnership, have greenlighted various projects.

Primarily, the commissions are focusing on launching WEBTV, a digital television channel pertaining to the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema. This channel will broadcast scientific programs, training and awareness sessions, debates, as well as educational programs targeting illiteracy, Arabic language teaching, and training for imams and preachers.

The commission responsible for revitalizing African Islamic heritage has also given the nod to creating a digital library for the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Scholars.

They have additionally approved launching an encyclopedia covering scholars, works, and Islamic civilizational monuments in Africa. This includes authenticating manuscripts from African heritage and organizing training sessions and conferences on the subject.

Among the greenlit projects are the organization of an international scientific symposium on the Commandery of the Faithfuls efforts to enhance communication between scholars in Morocco and other African countries.

This project adds to the fifth edition of the Holy Quran memorization and recitation competition organized by the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema, and the inaugural Hadith competition by the Foundation.

The Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema was set up in 2016 as a new milestone in Moroccos efforts to disseminate its Islam of the middle path, a doctrine based on tolerance, intercultural dialogue and respect of other faiths.

The academic institution, set up at the initiative of King Mohammed VI, was meant to enhance further the special religious and cultural ties existing between Morocco and African countries, and to be a forum where Ulema from Morocco and other African States can discuss the Islamic thought, and to unify and coordinate their efforts to disseminate the values of tolerant Islam.
i LOVE this, for a few reasons. 1, good for him, he deserves the world, i feel blessed being able to watch him play in my lifetime. 2, i hate the dodgers and this means my favorite player (jd martinez) no longer has the option of returning to play for them again, hooray!!! 3, blue jays fans getting a nice slice of humble pie after yesterday is just too good

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Its mean, but the oops, spoke too soon signings always make me cackle. Also, Rogers could totally afford $700 million. Canadians are getting screwed on telecom bills and they dont even get Shohei, tsk.

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It was either pay him and give the NHL rights to TSN, or... idk because they can't afford both!



BlogTO probably in shambles rn because they can't speculate how Rogers will overcharge customers as a result.

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Humble pie? We are very used to being used as bargaining chips for players to drive up their value just to end up in New York/LA tyvm! Kawhi 2.0 anyone?

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Blue Jays fans getting humble pie? For getting excited at the prospect of the best player in the world potentially signing with them over the Dodgers like every other fucking superstar? lmao

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jd martinez is a huge republican douchebag tho so i hope he stays unemployed forever

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Everyone was speculating $500 million, $600M as a stretch. My conspiracy theory is that Dave Roberts running his mouth cost them another $100M. Only 10 years, too! Holy shit!







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I believe he was never going to leave the west coast tbh.

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I think hed consider it for an absolute shitload of money, but yeah, the Dodgers had the edge from the outset, and I dont think hed take a 40-year payment plan from another team.

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He has had TWO Tommy John surgeries and the Dodgers still thought this was a good idea? Get money Shohei but also Im glad to see the Dodgers out of the race for any FAs for the next decade lol

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he took massive deferrals so they could still be competitive. its over 40 years.

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the Dodgers will absolutely not be out, lol, they Bobby Bonilla-ed this contract so they will still spend like they're drunk at the strip club

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Shohei's contract will pretty much pay for itself. The entire nation of Japan about to buy Dodgers jerseys. Plus its deferred. There are luxury tax/CBT implications at least so it's not nothing, but this won't limit the Dodgers as much as ppl think.

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Honestly insane!!! Happy for Dodgers fans, but so genuinely so glad that the Phillies were not in the running bc that is too much fucking money, lol.

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Theyre spending so much money on someone who needs UCL surgery?



I know nothing about baseball (have seen moneyball twice) but surely a torn UCL is not a good thing. They need to hire me instead Im a CFA (albeit level 1), CPA not to mention a CIA  and can run a mean excel model Ill sort out their statistics better than Jonah Hill ever could. They can give me a one (1) million! abd homeboy could still get a cool 699 milli win win



Edited at 2023-12-09 08:56 pm (UTC)

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he's the first two-way player in like 100 years (since Babe Ruth, and they eventually took Ruth off pitching). yeah, this is second TJ surgery but even if his pitching never recovers, he still rakes. he really is possibly the biggest deal ever



that all said this is about $100 million more than I was expecting

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LOL aren't those 2 teams rivals?

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Who?



Angels and Dodgers? Not really, no. They play in different leagues. Dodgers are NL and Angels are AL.



Dodgers rivals are primarily the Giants.



Sometimes we get testy with the Diamondbacks and Padres.



And we also hate the Astros due to their World Series cheating.



Angels are just a team we sometimes play.

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lol I feel like an Angels fan would give a different answer

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Angels aren't relevant enough to be a rival to the Dodgers lbr

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the angels are too mediocre to be rivals with anyone

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Is he the guy people were calling the next Babe Ruth?

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yes

but he's actually better than babe ruth

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This was not the news I wanted to see Apple News push  Live footage of me, an Angels fanThis was not the news I wanted to see Apple News push 

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Life long fan here, and I'm actually glad. I wanted him to go to the Dodgers in hope that it gets under Arte's skin. I wish he'd just sell the damn team already. They're never going to be anything with him there.

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I don't blame him for leaving, but damn this hurts 

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Im just ready for whatever it takes to have my Dodgers stop choking during the first round of playoffs.

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Tracking a private jet? Hope they consulted us Liverpool fans on how to do that

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LOL, Toronto sports fans (and I say this as a Toronto sports fan)



Rogers doesn't have that money unless they're giving up the NHL rights. But even then, they've been a flop with those rights and lost money on it. So did they have the money in the first place?

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Idk much about his baseball but hes always seemed like a nice person on jpn programs so I hope this is a good move for him!





I remember a jpn show saying he wanted to stay on the west coast bc its easier for his family (and jpn fans) to watch his games in real time and I wonder if that played any part in this choice tbh.

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London-based commodities broker Marex has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York in a huge blow to the City after a drought of floats this year.

Marex confirmed today it has submitted a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO in New York next year, meaning one of Londons top private financial services firms will opt to list its shares across the Atlantic.

The size and price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, the firm said today.

The initial public offering is expected to commence after the completion of the SEC review process, subject to market and other conditions.

The targeted valuation is set to be between $2.2bn and $2.8bn, around three to four times more than its previous goal when Marex attempted to list on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times

Marexs IPO had been hotly contested after it was forced to shelve its float in London in 2021 due to volatility in the markets.

As a London-headquartered firm, the decision to float across the Atlantic will strike a huge blow to the Square Mile and regulators amid a drop-off in listings this year. The London Stock Exchange and City grandees have been hit by a steady stream of firms heading towards New York, including the chipmaker Arm earlier this year.

Companies have taken aim at a lack of liquidity in the Capital and lacklustre valuations. The reported $2.2bn target price tag in New York will raise fresh questions over the health of Londons capital markets, despite London Stock Exchange Group chief David Schwimmer saying the valuation gap was a myth last month.

A record set of results for London-based commodities broker Marex revived the prospect of an initial public offering (IPO) for the firm earlier this year  but bosses then said they may be eyeing New York as the destination.

Marex, one of the worlds largest privately-owned commodities brokers and clearing houses, reported a 53 per cent surge in adjusted pre-tax operating profit to $121.7m (97.3m) in April, as net revenue jumped 29 per cent to $701m.

The record results come after the firm snapped up ED&F Man Capital Markets last year to boost its metals business and expand in fixed income and equities. The deal saw the firm boost its client funds by 139 per cent to $12bn, with $4.5bn added through the takeover.

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The worlds second-biggest coal company is looking to get out of the coal business. For years now, Glencore has stayed stalwart in its dedication to the coal sector, reaping the benefits as other companies have dropped out of the market under increasing pressure to phase down and phase out the worlds dirtiest fossil fuel. But now the company is preparing for its own exit from the coal sector, signaling that coals terminal decline could be just around the corner.

Late last month the coal giant, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, inked a multibillion-dollar deal that agrees to purchase the coal business of Canadian mining firm Teck Resources  and then get rid of all its coal mines, in what the Wall Street Journal called a move that represents the companys biggest strategic shift in years. So why buy the coal business in the first place? To facilitate a smooth and lucrative exit from coal so that the company can finish its ongoing pivot toward being a metals transition company  and make a whole heap of money in the process.

The deal will allow Glencore to combine its own significant thermal coal business with Tecks metallurgical coal assets, all of which will be packaged together and sold off as a stand-alone coal business within two years of the deal at an insane profit. Some analysts estimate the new coal company could be worth between $22 billion and $35 billion when it lists, the Wall Street Journal reports  a far higher valuation than even the largest U.S. coal companies. The company will be listed in New York, as Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle believes that U.S. investors are more pragmatic and focused on returns compared with Europe, where decisions seem more influenced by environmental, social and governance concerns.

Coals decline cannot be attributed to corporate social responsibility and general do-goodery, however. One of the key drivers of flagging coal demand is the tapering off of Chinas economic growth. The country, which has an outsized presence in all global energy markets, and especially so in coal markets, has reached its own economic inflection point after decades of breakneck economic growth and rapid-fire infrastructure additions. According to EIA projections, if Chinas near-term growth were to slow by another percentage point, this would reduce 2030 coal demand by an amount almost equal to the volume currently consumed by the whole of Europe. For companies like Glencore, the writing is on the wall. The world will continue to consume plenty of coal over the next decade or so, but at a continuously decreasing rate  not great for business.

Going forward, Glencore plans to focus on the metals that are expected to power the green energy transition. The green energy revolution is fueling a modern-day gold rush for key rare earth minerals and metals that are foundational to the infrastructure needed for solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and more. The scale of the coming demand is enormous. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that global renewable capacity additions will grow by a whopping 107 gigawatts (GW) to reach more than 440 GW in 2023, the largest absolute increase ever. At the same time, electric vehicle sales are expected to expand by 35% by the end of this year to reach 14 million, in an increase that the IEA has called explosive.

Cornering the largely as-yet untapped rare earth minerals market presents a major economic opportunity, and countries around the world are currently racing to shore up supply chains and acquire reserves as quickly as possible. Demand for elements such as cobalt and lithium is already soaring  and Glencore wants to be the key supplier. We have some of the best future-facing metals in the world, Nagle said this past week, referring to Glencores nickel, copper, cobalt and zinc assets. This will be the go-to metals transition company in the world.

Glencore has long been considered as one of the last bastions of coal investing, and its exit from the industry is indicative of much larger market forces that will soon make coal an unprofitable pursuit. The International Energy Agencys new World Energy Outlook 2023, their flagship annual report, predicts that coal consumption will peak by 2030. This marks a major turnaround and a hopeful milestone for climate goals coming off of a banner year for coal brought on by the European energy crisis. The transformation of a coal company into a green energy supplier is a strong symbol of the unstoppable tide of the ongoing global energy industry transformation.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

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A gunshot was fired and an employee was injured in a robbery Friday at a Family Dollar store in South Omaha, according to authorities.

An employee told Omaha police officers that a suspect walked into the store at 5135 S. 36th St., displayed a gun and demanded cash from the register, according to a press release from the Omaha Police Department.

A different employee engaged the suspect and a shot was fired inside the store, according to the release. The suspect then fled from the store on foot.

An employee was taken to a hospital with an injury that was not believed to be a gunshot wound, the release said. As of Friday evening, police were unsure if anyone was injured by the single shot fired inside the store.

The robbery remains under investigation. Anyone with information who wishes to remain anonymous is asked to contact Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, at www.omahacrimestoppers.org or on the P3 Tips mobile app.
A former postal carrier was sentenced to one year of probation for not delivering mail in Gretna.

The sentence, imposed Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Nelson against 38-year-old Kevin Radik of Omaha, comes after the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General began investigating him earlier this year.

The inspector generals office began the investigation after receiving reports that Radik was not delivering the weekly ads and newspapers to an apartment complex along his route, according to a press release from acting U.S. Attorney Susan Lehrs office in Nebraska.

The release said investigators saw Radik on video moving a postal bin from a postal vehicle to his personal car. Court documents show that 20 pieces of mail were found in Radiks car after he consented to investigators searching his vehicle.

Lehrs office said that Radik admitted that he had not been delivering the bulk of business mail to the apartment complex since last December or January. Radik had worked as a postal carrier in Gretna since 2009.

Instead, Radik would throw the mail away in a dumpster. Lehrs office said Radik had intended to also throw away the mail that was found in his car. Radik said not delivering the mail saved him five minutes on his route, according to the press release.
EU-China summit in over four years, held in Beijing, leaders from both China and the European Union emphasized the need to view each other not as rivals but as potential partners in addressing mutual differences.

The meeting, marked by its high stakes amidst rising geopolitical tensions and a complex trade relationship, was a significant diplomatic engagement, as per Al Jazeera.

EU-China Summit Ends Without Major Commitments

Chinese President Xi Jinping and top EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, discussed various pressing issues. President Xi cautioned against confrontation due to differing political systems, while von der Leyen stressed the importance of fair competition in the single market.

The conference ended without any fresh, substantial commitments from either side, regardless of the conversation. The European Union expressed concerns over Beijing's import restrictions and the subsidies provided to China-based firms, which they believe place European companies at a competitive disadvantage, contributing to the bloc's massive trade deficit with China.

The scale of trade between the EU and China is monumental, with daily trade in goods amounting to 2.3 billion ($2.5 billion). However, EU imports from China now exceed exports by nearly 400 billion ($431 billion), a deficit that has been growing rapidly. Von der Leyen remarked on the unsustainability of such imbalances, though no immediate solutions were agreed upon during the summit.

The discussion also extended to the subject of trade imbalances, with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang engaging in in-depth talks with EU officials. Michel underscored the expectation for China to improve market access and the investment environment for foreign companies.

A contentious issue discussed was the suspicion of Chinese firms circumventing sanctions, indirectly supporting Russia's military actions in Ukraine. EU leaders urged China to take a stronger stance against such activities. The bloc is considering including sanctions on Chinese companies suspected of facilitating this circumvention in its upcoming package of sanctions.

China's position on the war in Ukraine was also highlighted as a defining factor in EU-China relations. Despite offering a neutral stance and proposing a peace plan, China has not severed ties with Russia, a point of concern for the EU, according to Euronews.

Read Also: Germany's Scholz Begins Hanukkah with Calls for Solidarity with Jews

Addresses Middle East Crisis and Tensions

The leaders discussed the war in the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of providing humanitarian aid. The EU, being a significant donor to the Palestinian territories, has increased its aid, contrasting with China's relatively modest contribution.

Von der Leyen and Michel also expressed concerns about tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The EU opposes any change to Taiwan's status quo and is alarmed by increased military activity in the region.

Regarding trade, the EU leaders pressed China to address the issue of trade imbalances and to use its influence to deter Russia from continuing its aggression in Ukraine. The European Union, aligning with the United States, has labeled Beijing a "strategic rival," focusing on 'de-risking' its supply chains and limiting dependence on Chinese firms.

The summit, however, did not yield significant breakthroughs. Trust issues persist, stemming from unfulfilled promises to open China's market to European businesses and concerns over Beijing's policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The EU's growing alliance with the United States, especially in the context of the Ukraine war, has further complicated relations.

China, under President Xi's assertive foreign policy, has sought to bolster its global influence, but tensions with the West continue to rise. The European Union, while seeking to balance its economic ties with China, remains cautious, reflecting the complex and evolving nature of EU-China relations, The New York Times reported.

Related Article: London Jewish Community to Push Through With Public Celebration of Hanukkah

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A few years ago, Sasha Berscheids husband asked her what she wanted for Christmas.

Berscheid didnt have an answer. A mother to two young children and working full time, she was exhausted.

I found myself struggling, she said. I just dont know how single moms do it.

That sparked an idea. Berscheid posed a question on social media about whether any women needed to be adopted  have gifts provided for their children  for the holidays. Over 80 women responded.

They were asking for basic needs like socks and underwear, Berscheid recalled. I knew something needed to change.

Thus Berscheid formed the nonprofit Project Intentional. In turn, Project Intentional created the Winter Wonder Land Emporium Holiday Store to give parents, or caregivers, a venue to pick out free small gifts for their children each holiday season.

The third Winter Wonder Land Emporium Holiday Store will be held at the Baxter Arena from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. People can attend the event by signing up for tickets online through the holiday stores Facebook page.

Berscheid said this years Emporium Holiday Store will pair 1,500 caregivers with free gifts for about 6,000 children spanning in age from newborns to 18 years old. The gifts have been purchased with $134,050 contributed through donations. Gifts include toys, books and hygienic products as well as a few treats.

About 300 volunteers will be on site. More than 70 nonprofits will also be at the arena that day manning booths that can link attendees to resources, including job interviews and free legal advice.

We want to educate and empower the people that were adopting with resources that are in Omaha so that they can have a better life, Berscheid said.

Overall, the Winter Wonder Land Emporium Holiday Store is a labor of love, she said.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of December 2023
BLOOMINGTON  A 45-year-old Bloomington man was released from police custody after being charged with possession and sale of cocaine in Bloomington.

Ricardo A. Felder, who is also known to reside in Riverdale, in Cook County, appeared in a Thursday detention court hearing in Bloomington. He is charged with five counts of delivering a controlled substance (Class 1 and 2 felonies), possession of a controlled substance (Class 1 felony), and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (Class X felony).

In probable cause statements, Assistant States Attorney David Fitt said on three occasions, Felder sold cocaine to a confidential informant with Illinois State Police Task Force Six.

Fitt said on Oct. 11, Felder sold a half gram of cocaine for $120. Then on Oct. 18, Fitt said Felder sold 1.2 grams of cocaine for $120. On Tuesday, he said an informant made the third purchase of $150 from Felder, who delivered 1.5 grams of cocaine.

The prosecutor said police located Felder on Wednesday in Bloomington. Fitt said an officer approached Felder, but he did not stop when he was ordered to and instead entered a restaurant on East Grove Street.

Felder was then seen discarding items, Fitt said, and authorities recovered a scale and two bags. He said one bag held 26.3 grams of cocaine, and the other had 3.3 grams of crack cocaine. Felder was arrested a short time after leaving the restaurant, he said.

Fitt said Felder admitted to police that he uses cocaine but claimed that he does not sell it. The prosecutor said Felder also stated only two or three cocaine users would call him for help acquiring cocaine, and that he would only sell $30 worth out of his personal stash.

Fitt then noted evidence showed Felder was selling larger amounts of cocaine, and he was found with $1,500 cash at the time of his arrest. Fitt motioned for Felder to be detained before his trial, on the basis of statutory dangerousness standards.

Theres no question that this defendant is a drug dealer, Fitt said, adding Felder's charges could warrant severe penalties if he is convicted.

McLean County Public Defender Ron Lewis represented Felder at the hearing, and acknowledged that one of the seven felonies Felder is charged with is detainable and ineligible for a sentence of probation.

Lewis then said all other charges his client faces are not eligible for detention, and no evidence had been shown that Felder presents a threat to the community. The public defender said no weapons were involved in the matter, and Fitt had tried statutory gymnastics to manufacture a basis of dangerousness in his argument.

Fitt countered that poisoning the community by dealing drugs is dangerous, and that not all drug dealers need guns to be a threat to society.

Judge Scott Black said he agreed that selling cocaine is a threat to the community, but that Fitts argument had not shown that pretrial release conditions were unable to mitigate threats to the public. Black denied Fitts petition to detain Felder before his trial, and ordered Felder to not consume or possess any alcohol, cannabis or any controlled substances without a doctors prescription.

Felder is scheduled for an arraignment hearing at 9 a.m. Dec. 28.

Where do US opioid trials and settlements stand? Explaining the current state of the opioid crisis Purdue Pharma Other drugmakers Distribution companies Pharmacies Consulting company
Question: Illinois has hundreds of commercial radio stations. Can you name the very first one and in what Central Illinois town it was launched?

Answer: Launched 102 years ago, in 1921 atop James Bushes grain elevator in Tuscola was WDZ, the third radio broadcasting facility in all of America. It moved to Decatur in 1949. Thats where, 74 years later, its still on the air.
Imagine a lobbyist approaching a legislator and promising that if the member voted for a specific bill the lobbyist would contribute to their campaign committee.

Lobbyists have been convicted here for doing just that, going back to at least 1982.

Legislators would be violating state law if they made that deal. The statute prohibits legislators, candidates and others from promising anything of value related to State government, including any action or inaction on any legislative or regulatory matter, in consideration for a contribution to a political committee, political party, or other entity that has as one of its purposes the financial support of a candidate for elective office.

So, when I saw a recent candidate endorsement questionnaire, thats the first thing which came to mind. But after I thought about it and did some research, I decided that my initial impression may be wrong. Even so, I came away from this believing that organizations which send out these questionnaires need to rethink their approaches, and legislators definitely need to study what theyre signing.

Equality Illinois latest endorsement questionnaire informs candidates: We will consider your votes on the following bills as well as your responses to the following questions.

The first question involves legislation to fully implement the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act from 2021. Will you recommit to voting for this initiative? legislators are asked.

To be clear, it doesnt look like theyre violating state law, nor are the many other groups which ask similarly worded questions. As you can see above, the law as written is aimed at legislators and candidates, and the criminal case law in question (People v. Brandstetter) was a straight-up offer of a $1,000 campaign contribution for a vote. Equality Illinois CEO Brian Johnson said the questionnaire was vetted by longtime elections attorney Michael Dorf, who Johnson said, sees no legal issues with our questions or our process.

Equality Illinois Johnson insisted that a positive answer on any one question does not guarantee an endorsement, nor does a negative answer on any one question guarantee a nonendorsement. It is instead a totality of factors, including their voting history, their level of support for the LGBTQ+ community broadly, their partnership with LGBTQ+ community groups, their connection to the LGBTQ+ community, and their answer to the four questions posed to them. Those questions are part of a holistic picture, Johnson said.

Illinois is among a minority of states that doesn't require the teaching of sex ed, Johnson said, and thats what the bill on the questionnaire is about making sex education mandatory in public schools. Illinois law currently allows school districts to opt out. LGBTQ+ kids are literally dying, Johnson said, pointing to a decline in the number of schools offering sex ed during the past few years. LGBTQ+ youth have higher rates of bullying, higher rates of mental health challenges, and higher rates of suicide. When schools refuse to teach public health and safety education, LGBTQ+ kids suffer; some with their lives.

So, Johnson said, knowing whether a candidate is willing to support legislation that will save kids lives  while not dispositive  is very important to our Board in making their endorsements.

Jay Young of Common Cause Illinois told me, the prohibition in Section 5-30 applies to legislators and candidates and not to groups like Equality Illinois, so there isn't anything unlawful about their questionnaire.

But does that mean legislators and candidates could be the ones in hot water if they pledge to vote for a bill on an endorsement questionnaire?

Common Causes Young wondered whether candidates and legislators, shared the same understanding about providing a holistic picture that Equality Illinois claims to be looking for.

I'm not sure that that comes across fully in the language of the questionnaire that plainly states We will consider your votes on the following bills as well as your responses to the following questions, Young said.

Also, would the group really endorse someone who answered No on that very important question? Johnson said they could in certain circumstances, like if a strong supporter opposed it over a local issue or faced a homophobic opponent with a decent chance of winning.

The bottom line, though, is that associations, legislators and candidates really need to think these things through. Are the groups putting legislators and candidates in any sort of jeopardy? And are the legislators and candidates opening themselves up to criticism or worse?

Yes, these groups need to know who theyre dealing with. I can certainly see the nuance here. But others may not be so inclined.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has urged all member-states participating in the 2023 UN (United Nations) Peacekeeping Ministerial to convert the knowledge and insights that will be shared at the meeting into tangible actions.



Delivering a speech during the ministerial meetings first day, she emphasised that current security challenges facing the globe demand sustained commitment and collaboration; hence, implementing knowledge acquired at the meeting will contribute to global peace and security.



I urge each participant to translate the insights gained and commitments made during our time together here into tangible actions that will contribute to global peace and security, she encouraged.



The flagship event, co-hosted by the United Nations and the Republic of Ghana, marks the fifth of such meetings at the ministerial level and is the first to be held on the African continent.



She further highlighted that the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial is a platform for the exchange of innovative approaches, best practices and lessons learned in the field of peacekeeping  adding that the in-depth knowledge shared by participating nations will deepen the globes collective understanding, and also provide a solid foundation for developing comprehensive strategies to address contemporary peacekeeping and security challenges.



Ms. Botchwey noted that she hopes the event will be marked by a rich tapestry of ideas, perspectives and collaborative efforts, as well as a continuous collective commitment by all member-states to strengthen UN peacekeeping operations.



She is expectant that the depth of discussions, diversity of viewpoints and pledges made at the meeting will be underpinned by the strength that arise from the worlds unity in addressing multifaceted challenges which define our global landscape today.



The minister called on all participating nations to explore some of Accras historic sites  such as the iconic Black Star Square and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum among others.



Commenting on the choice of venue for this years UN peacekeeping ministerial meeting, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said it is fitting to hold the meeting in Accra because Africa is a continent where the majority of peacekeeping operations take place  and Ghana as a country is one of the most important troops and police-contributing countries, and certainly one of the biggest troops and police-contributing countries in Africa.



Mr. Lacroix in his remarks commended the country for hosting the meeting, and outlined political recommitment to peacekeeping, opportunity to celebrate the achievements of peacekeepers and knowing the pledges of member-states as the three main reasons for the meeting.



He explained that the political recommitment of nations is critical to peacekeeping, because the UN as a whole is operating against the backdrop of a more divided world and a more divided international community  adding the presence of all member-states in Accra is a reflection of that strong commitment.



Mr. Lacroix underscored the ministerial meeting as a platform to celebrate the achievements of peacekeepers, noting that it is important since they risk their lives every single day to protect the lives of hundreds and thousands of civilians.



He also emphasised the individual contributions of member-states and their security agencies in providing training, technology and partnerships.



Theres nothing we can do without the contribution of our member-states, without the men and women, the units, the individual police and military officers, the support that all of us can provide in terms of training, technology and partnerships, he emphasised.





Source: B&FT









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Former President John Dramani Mahama has petitioned the Ghana Police Service to investigate the unauthorized use of his credentials by supposed social media personalities he believes to be New Patriotic Party (NPP) activists.



In a petition dated October 2, 2023, Mahamas lawyers expressed concern over the circulation of a document on social media platforms bearing his seal and signature.



The document titled Memo: Support for the Occupy the BoG Demonstration was signed by Joyce Bawah Mogtari, who works closely with Mahama. However, the lawyers stated that the document was not authored or issued by their client and that the individuals responsible for its publication were members of the NPP.



Mahamas aide, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, took to X on Thursday, December 7, 2023, to express their hopes that the police would enforce the law and protect the countrys democracy.

She emphasized that disinformation was detrimental to democracy and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.



It was revealed that false information had been spread using a forged letterhead of the office of John Mahama. Two months ago, a formal complaint was filed with the Ghana Police Service by Mahamas team, urging action against those responsible for spreading misinformation. Mogtari expressed optimism that law enforcement authorities would take swift action to protect the countrys democracy.

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.

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The shimmering green, red and purple curtains of the northern and southern lightsthe aurorasmay be the best-known phenomena lighting up the nighttime sky, but the most mysterious are the mauve and white streaks called Steve and their frequent companion, a glowing green "picket fence."

First recognized in 2018 as distinct from the common auroras, Stevea tongue-in-cheek reference to the benign name given a scary hedge in a 2006 children's movieand its associated picket fence were nevertheless thought to be caused by the same physical processes. But scientists were left scratching their heads about how these glowing emissions were produced.

Claire Gasque, a University of California, Berkeley, graduate student in physics, has now proposed a physical explanation for these phenomena that is totally different from the processes responsible for the well-known auroras. She has teamed up with researchers at the campus's Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) to propose that NASA launch a rocket into the heart of the aurora to find out if she's correct.

Vibrant auroras and glowing phenomena such as Steve and the picket fence are becoming more common as the sun enters the active period of its 11-year cycle, and November was a good month for Steve observations in the northern latitudes. Because all these transient luminous phenomena are triggered by solar storms and coronal mass ejections from the sun, the approaching solar maximum is an ideal time to study rare events like Steve and the picket fence.

Gasque described the physics behind the picket fence in a paper published last month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and will discuss the results on Dec. 14 in an invited talk at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

She calculated that in a region of the upper atmosphere farther south than that in which auroras form, electric fields parallel to Earth's magnetic field could produce the color spectrum of the picket fence. If correct, this unusual process has implications for how physicists understand energy flow between Earth's magnetosphere, which surrounds and protects Earth from the solar wind, and the ionosphere at the edge of space.

"This would upend our modeling of what creates light and the energy in the aurora in some cases," Gasque said.

"The really interesting thing about Claire's paper is that we've known for a couple of years now that the Steve spectrum is telling us there's some very exotic physics going on. We just didn't know what it was," said Brian Harding, a co-author of the paper and an SSL assistant research physicist. "Claire's paper showed that parallel electric fields are capable of explaining this exotic spectrum."

The paper was a side project from Gasque's Ph.D. thesis, which is focused on the connection between events like volcanoes on Earth's surface and phenomena in the ionosphere 100 kilometers or more above our heads.

But after hearing about Stevewhich has now become an acronym for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancementat a conference in 2022, she couldn't resist looking into the physics behind Steve and the picket fence.

"It's really cool," she said. "It's one of the biggest mysteries in space physics right now."

The physics of Steve and picket fence

The common auroras are produced when the solar wind energizes particles in Earth's magnetosphere, often at altitudes higher than 1,000 kilometers above the surface. These energized particles spiral around Earth's magnetic field lines toward the poles, where they crash into and excite oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the upper atmosphere. When those molecules relax, oxygen emits specific frequencies of green and red light, while nitrogen generates a bit of red, but primarily a blue, emission line.

The colorful, shimmering curtains that result can extend for thousands of kilometers across the northern or southern latitudes.

Steve, however, displays not individual emission lines, but a broad range of frequencies centered around purple or mauve. And unlike auroras, neither Steve nor the picket fence emit blue light, which is generated when the most energetic particles hit and ionize nitrogen. Steve and the picket fence also occur at lower latitudes than the aurora, potentially even as far south as the equator.

Some researchers proposed that Steve is caused by ion flows in the upper atmosphere, referred to as subauroral ion drift, or SAID, though there's no well accepted physical explanation for how SAID could generate the colorful emissions.

Gasque's interest was sparked by suggestions that the picket fence's emissions could be generated by low-altitude electric fields parallel to Earth's magnetic field, a situation thought to be impossible because any electric field aligned with the magnetic field should quickly short out and disappear.

Using a common physical model of the ionosphere, Gasque subsequently showed that a moderate parallel electric fieldaround 100 millivolts per meterat a height of about 110 km could accelerate electrons to an energy that would excite oxygen and nitrogen and generate the spectrum of light observed from the picket fence. Unusual conditions in that area, such as a lower density of charged plasma and more neutral atoms of oxygen and nitrogen, could potentially act as insulation to keep the electric field from shorting out.

"If you look at the spectrum of the picket fence, it's much more green than you would expect. And there's none of the blue that's coming from the ionization of nitrogen," Gasque said. "What that's telling us is that there's only a specific energy range of electrons that can create those colors, and they can't be coming from way out in space down into the atmosphere, because those particles have too much energy."

Instead, she said, "the light from the picket fence is being created by particles that have to be energized right there in space by a parallel electric field, which is a completely different mechanism than any of the aurora that we've studied or known before."

She and Harding suspect that Steve itself may be produced by related processes. Their calculations also predict the type of ultraviolet emissions that this process would produce, which can be checked to verify the new hypothesis about the picket fence.

Though Gasque's calculations don't directly address the on-off glow that makes the phenomenon look like a picket fence, it's likely due to wavelike variations in the electric field, she said. And while the particles that are accelerated by the electric field are probably not from the sun, the scrambling of the atmosphere by solar storms probably triggers Steve and the picket fence, as it does the common aurora.

Enhanced auroras exhibit a picket fence-like glow

The next step, Harding said, is to launch a rocket from Alaska through these phenomena and measure the strength and direction of the electric and magnetic fields. SSL scientists specialize in designing and building instruments that do just that. Many of these instruments are on spacecraft now orbiting Earth and the sun.

Initially, the target would be what's known as an enhanced aurora, which is a normal aurora with picket fence-like emissions embedded in it.

"The enhanced aurora is basically this bright layer that's embedded in the normal aurora. The colors are similar to the picket fence in that there's not as much blue in them, and there's more green from oxygen and red from nitrogen. The hypothesis is that these are also created by parallel electric fields, but they are a lot more common than the picket fence," Gasque said.

The plan is not only "to fly a rocket through that enhanced layer to actually measure those parallel electric fields for the first time," she said, but also send a second rocket up to measure the particles at higher altitudes, "to distinguish the conditions from those that cause the auroras." Eventually, she hopes for a rocket that will fly directly through Steve and the picket fence.

Harding, Gasque and colleagues proposed just such a sounding rocket campaign to NASA this fall and expect to hear back regarding its selection in the first half of 2024. Gasque and Harding consider the experiment an important step in understanding the chemistry and physics of the upper atmosphere, the ionosphere and Earth's magnetosphere, and a proposal in line with the Low Cost Access to Space (LCAS) program sponsored by NASA for projects like this.

"It's fair to say that there's going to be a lot of study in the future about how those electric fields got there, what waves they are or aren't associated with, and what that means for the larger energy transfer between Earth's atmosphere and space," Harding said. "We really don't know. Claire's paper is the first step in the chain of that understanding."

Gasque expressed appreciation for the input from people who study the middle ionosphere, or mesosphere, and the stratosphere, whose ideas helped her puzzle out the solution.

"With this collaboration, we were able to make some really cool progress in this field," she said. "Honestly, it was just following our nose and being excited about it."

In addition to Harding, her other co-authors are Reza Janalizadeh of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Justin Yonker of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland, and D. Megan Gillies of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

More information: L. Claire Gasque et al, It's Not Easy Being Green: Kinetic Modeling of the Emission Spectrum Observed in STEVE's Picket Fence, Geophysical Research Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1029/2023GL106073 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters
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Environmental activists display placards during a demonstration at the venue of the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai.

The last time carbon dioxide in the atmosphere consistently matched today's human-driven levels was 14 million years ago, according to a large new study Thursday that paints a grim picture of where Earth's climate is headed.

Published in the journal Science, the paper covers the period from 66 million years ago until the present, analyzing biological and geochemical signatures from the deep past to reconstruct the historic CO 2 record with greater precision than ever before.

"It really brings it home to us that what we are doing is very, very unusual in Earth's history," lead author Baerbel Hoenisch of the Columbia Climate School's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory told AFP.

Among other things, the new analysis finds the last time the air contained 420 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide was between 14-16 million years ago, when there was no ice in Greenland and the ancestors of humans were just transitioning from forests to grasslands.

That is far further back in time than the 3-5 million years that prior analyses have indicated.

Until the late 1700s, atmospheric carbon dioxide was about 280 ppm, meaning humans have already caused an increase of about 50 percent of the greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the atmosphere and has warmed the planet by 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to before industrialization.

"What's important is that Homo, our species, has only evolved 3 million years ago," said Hoenisch.

"And so our civilization is tuned to sea level as it is today, to having warm tropics and cool poles and temperate regions that have a lot of rainfall."

If global CO 2 emissions continue to rise we could reach between 600800 ppm by the year 2100.

Those levels were last seen during the Eocene, 30-40 million years ago, before Antarctica was covered in ice and when the world's flora and fauna looked vastly differentfor example huge insects still roamed the Earth.

Ancient plants

The new study is the product of seven years of work by a consortium of 80 researchers across 16 countries and is now considered the updated consensus of the scientific community.

The team didn't collect new datarather, they synthesized, re-evaluated and validated published work based on updated science and categorized them according to confidence level, then combined the highest-rated into a new timeline.

Many people are familiar with the concept of drilling into ice sheets or glaciers to extract ice cores whose air bubbles reveal past atmospheric compositionbut these only go back so far, generally hundreds of thousands of years.

To look further into the past, paleoclimatologists use "proxies": by studying the chemical composition of ancient leaves, minerals and plankton, they can indirectly derive atmospheric carbon at a given point in time.

The researchers confirmed that the hottest period over the past 66 million years happened 50 million years ago, when CO 2 spiked to as much as 1,600 ppm and temperatures were 12C hotter, before a long decline set in.

By 2.5 million years ago, carbon dioxide was 270-280 ppm, ushering in a series of ice ages.

That remained the level when modern humans arrived 400,000 years ago and persisted until our species began burning fossil fuels at large scales.

The team estimates that a doubling of CO 2 is predicted to warm the planet by 5-8 degrees Celsiusbut over a long period, hundreds of thousands of yearswhen increased temperatures have rippling effects through Earth systems.

For example, melting the polar ice caps would reduce the planet's ability to reflect solar radiation and become a reinforcing feedback loop.

But the new work remains directly relevant to policy makers, stressed Hoenisch.

The carbon record reveals that 56 million years ago, Earth underwent a similar rapid release of carbon dioxide, which caused massive changes to ecosystems and took some 150,000 years to dissipate.

"We are in this for a very long time, unless we sequester carbon dioxide, take it out of the atmosphere, and we stop our emissions sometime soon," she said.

More information: Toward a Cenozoic history of atmospheric CO2, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adi5177 Journal information: Science

 2023 AFP
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Credit: NASA

The two small moons of Mars, Phobos (about 22km in diameter) and Deimos (about 13km in diameter), have been puzzling scientists for decades, with their origin remaining a matter of debate. Some have proposed that they may be made up of residual debris produced from a planet or large asteroid smashing into the surface of Mars (#TeamImpact).

An opposing hypothesis (#TeamCapture), however, suggests the moons are asteroids that were captured by Mars's gravitational pull and were trapped in orbit.

To solve the mystery, we'll need material from the moons' surfaces for analytical analyses on Earth. Luckily, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) will launch a mission, named "Martian Moon eXploration" (MMX), to Phobos and Deimos in September 2024. The mission will be carried by a newly designed rocket, the H-3, which is still under development.

The spacecraft is expected to reach Martian orbit in 2025, after which it will orbit Phobos and finally collect material from its surface before returning to Earth by 2029.

This will make it the next in a series of recent missions bringing material from space back to Earth, following on from Jaxa's successful mission to asteroid Ryugu (Hayabusa2), as well as Nasa's Osiris-Rex mission to asteroid Bennu and the Chinese Space Agency's Chang'e 5 mission to the Moon.

Giveaways

If an impact origin did indeed occur, we would expect to find similar material on Phobos to that which is found on Mars. While we do not have any material returned directly from Mars (yet), we are lucky enough to have rock that has been ejected off its surface which eventually found its way to Earth.

These meteorites may therefore be similar to the material returned from Phobos, providing a fantastic comparison.

In the case of a captured asteroid origin, however, we are more likely to find material on Phobos that is found on other asteroids in our solar system. The prevailing hypothesis in the #TeamCapture group is that the moons are made up of the same rock as meteorites, called carbonaceous chondrite. Thankfully, we have plenty of such meteorites and samples that we could compare with the Phobos material.

Comparing meteorites and material brought back from Phobos will be a fantastic tool for helping us understand the origin of the two moons. Once we have material in the laboratory, rigorous analytical techniques can be applied to the samples.

One such technique is oxygen isotope analysis. Isotopes are versions of elements whose nuclei have more or fewer particles called neutrons. Oxygen, for example, has three stable isotopes, with atomic masses of 16, 17 and 18.

The sum of the isotopic ratios of oxygen-17/oxygen-16 and oxygen-18/oxygen-16 is denoted as 17O, and is characteristic of specific parent objects. Depending on where in the solar system a rocky body is formed, a distinct oxygen composition is acquired and retained in the rocks. For example, rocks from Earth have 17O of around 0, while meteorites from Mars have 17O of around ~0.3. Therefore, rocks from Earth and Martian meteorites can be readily separated from one another.

If Phobos formed in the same or at least similar location in the solar system to Mars, we would expect the composition of the material brought back by MMX also to have 17O of around 0.3.

As mentioned previously, #TeamCapture suggest a carbonaceous chondrite-like origin for Phobos. All known carbonaceous chondrites studied by scientists have revealed negative isotopic 17O, ranging from -0.5 all the way down to -4. Oxygen can therefore be an extremely powerful tool in deciphering the origin of the moons of Mars, and should be a high priority for the mission once material is returned to Earth.

If Phobos does indeed represent an ancient fragment of Mars, it could comprise the most primitive of Martian material. Mars has experienced a wide range of processes that have altered the rocks on its surface, including wind erosion and water alteration. Based on features such as dry river beds observed from orbiters such as Viking, it is clear that water on Mars once existed.

This water likely originated from a mix of asteroids and comets, and volcanic activity. Mars also retained a thick atmosphere, which allowed water to be present as a liquid on the planet's surface.

Phobos, on the other hand, has remained an airless body where processes such as contamination from water have not occurred (though minor impact events may have taken place). This means that samples returned from Phobos could provide extremely important insights into the original water content of Mars, and a window to processes that occurred in the early solar system.

MMX is one of the most exciting planned missions in space exploration. With less than a year to go, our fingers are already firmly crossed for a successful launch, sample acquisition, and sample return. Many scientists including myself would absolutely love the possibility of one day studying those samples.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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In late October 2023, a young sea otter pup was found in the remote coastal town of Seldovia, Alaska, stranded and calling out in distress with no mother in sight. After being rehabilitated, fed and healed, the tiny otterbarely over a month oldbegan a cross-country trip to his new home in Chicago.

After being rescued by the Alaska SeaLife Center, the 10-pound male northern sea otter received a warm welcome at Shedd Aquarium in late November. He has remained behind the scenes at the aquarium, where animal care and veterinary staff are monitoring and caring for him around the clock.

The newcomer will eventually join the five southern sea otters at SheddLuna, Cooper, Watson, Suri and Willowwho are also rescues. Temporarily referred to as Pup EL2306, he has been forming bonds with staff and reaching development milestones at the otter nursery before he can meet his peers and experience his new habitat at Shedd.

Stranded sea otter pups require constant care. Aquarium staff feeds the new pup every three hours with formula in a bottle and small pieces of clam; they also groom him with soft towels and engage him with enrichment activities.

In a news release, Shedd Aquarium said not many facilities in the United States have the space, staff and experience necessary to provide rescued otter pups with the care they require. Only 11 institutions, including Shedd, provide homes for sea otters that cannot be rereleased.

Because sea otter pups depend heavily on their mothers for the first year of their lives, the federal government usually designates orphaned northern sea otter pups as non-releasable if they are found stranded when young.

"At Shedd, we are dedicated to the care of animals here, there and everywhere; we stand ready to assist in times of need," said Peggy Sloan, chief animal conservation officer at the aquarium. "With this newest addition to our rescued population of sea otters, we're committed to his long-term care and continuing to create connections for Chicagoans to this important keystone species."

As keystone species, sea otters help maintain the balance of their ecosystems. For instance, they keep kelp forests healthy by eating sea urchins that graze on giant kelp; if otters disappeared, urchins would decimate kelp which many other species depend on for food and shelter.

Northern sea otters are found in the Aleutian Islands, southern Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, California and as far as Japan. According to Shedd Aquarium, sea otter populations in south-central and southeast Alaska have stabilized or are increasing.

But the last two decades have seen a decline of northern sea otter populations in southwest Alaska. Under the Endangered Species Act, they are considered "threatened." According to Shedd, this is due to predation, overharvest, fishery interactions, disease and oil spills.

The sea otter species as a whole is listed as "endangered" on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Commercial fishing and industrial pollution, as well as rising ocean temperatures due to climate change, are some of the ways in which human activities particularly endanger the species.

Shedd will continue sharing updates on the pup's development, when he can be expected to join the sea otter habitat, and plans around naming him. Last year, the aquarium let the public vote on Willow's name.

2023 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The U.S. Census Bureau's disability questioning changes concern some advocates. Recently, the U.S. Federal Statistical System's principal agency said that it wants to change its most comprehensive survey of American life.

The Bureau of Census added that these adjustments will align the United States with international standards, making the disability questions comparable to those in other countries.

However, disability experts and advocates are worried that it could negatively affect the U.S. Here's what they explained.

US Census Bureau's Disability Questioning Changes

According to Fox News' latest report, the disability question changes are expected to better capture how disabilities happen in the real world, as explained by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The agency explained that the current question system for disabled people-with just yes-or-no boxes-doesn't account for variations or nuance.

Fortune reported that the U.S. Census Bureau could start implementing its proposed changes on the American Comprehensive Survey question as early as 2025; if given the final approval.

As of writing, the ACS is considered to be the most comprehensive survey of American life. Aside from disabilities, this survey also covers income, family life, education levels, internet access, commuting time, and military service.

The U.S. Census Bureau said that it was the National Center for Health Statistics that specifically asked it to adjust the ACS. Right now, the statistical agency is accepting public comments on the proposal until Dec. 19.

Read Also: Non-ADHD People Taking Adderall At Risk of Decreasing Productivity

ACS Adjustments Lead to Concerns

After hearing that the ACS survey could be adjustments, many advocates and experts shared their concerns. They explained that these changes could lead to inaccurate disability records among Americans.

"The bureau has spent time, money, and energy trying to improve counts of racial and ethnic minorities who have been historically undercounted," said Prof. Scott Landes of Syracuse University.

"But the statistical agency seems willing to adapt questions that will shortchange the numbers of people with disabilities," he added.

Landes (who is visually impaired) said that the disability questioning changes are illogical since they seemingly offend those who are disabled but might not be considered as one because of the ACS survey adjustments.

To learn more about the backlash that the Census Bureau faces because of the ACS changes, you can click here.

Related Article: Walmart Stores To Ease Shopping Tasks for People With PTSD, ADHD

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The central region of the Milky Way galaxy as captured by the Subaru Telescope. The image shows many stars in a field of view about 0.4 light-years across. The star S0-6 (blue circle), the subject of this study, is located about 0.04 light-years from the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*, green circle). Credit: Miyagi University of Education/NAOJ

This week we look at migratory stars, communicative children and how to make the best cup of coffee, as well as examining some of the latest COVID advice.

Tourist identified

Stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxythat's Sagittarius A* on its tax formscouldn't have formed in such an intense gravitational environment; they had to form elsewhere and migrate toward Sag A*.

Now, researchers at the Miyagi University of Education have proposed that one particular star, S0-6, formed in a now-extinct dwarf galaxy absorbed by the Milky Way, comprising the first observation of an extragalactic stellar tourist in the galaxy.

Dwarf galaxies are small, composed of up to several billion stars, often orbiting larger, more populous galaxies. The Milky Way has about 20. The researchers estimate that S0-6 is 10 billion years old and in their study, determined that its chemical composition is similar to stars found in dwarf galaxies.

Children communicative

So Noam Chomsky's whole career has been spent piling up evidence that the structure of language is biologically established in the human brain and genetically inherited and that all humans share the same biolinguistic framework regardless of language differences.

Even hard-core prescriptivists these days are like, "Yeah, yeah, biolinguistics is probably right, but quit splitting infinitives anyway." Researchers at Georgia State University now propose that there is a genetically inherited, universal nonverbal communication system. They conducted an experiment with English-speaking children and Turkish-speaking children, ages three to 12.

The researchers asked them to use their hands to act out specific actions like "running into a house." The differences between the two languages mean that a Turkish speaker has to use two sentences, one entailing running and the other entering the house. But English speakers can communicate the action in a single sentence.

When children spoke and gestured at the same time, gestures followed the separate conventions of the two languages. But when children communicated the action nonverbally, their gestures were similar.

Grind wet

Coffee has been around so long that you'd think straining water through ground-up beans would have been perfected centuries ago, like finding the area of a triangle. But with the increasing granularity of scientific inquiry, scientists are now looking at coffee grinding at the level of electronsspecifically, the process of grinding coffee, which produces static electricity, causing ground coffee to clump and stick to the sides of the grinder.

Researchers at the University of Oregon report that moisture directly impacts the amount of charge that builds up during grinding, reducing static electricity and greatly affects the quality of the resulting coffee.

"Water not only reduces static electricity and therefore reduces mess as you're grinding, but it can also make a major impact on the intensity of the beverage and, potentially, the ability to access higher concentrations of favorable flavors," says Christopher Hendon, a computational materials chemist. The researchers note that it doesn't matter whether the moisture is added before grinding or if it already resides in the beans themselves.

Resilience cozy

The COVID pandemic and the resulting lockdowns and working from home had unexpected impacts on many couples. Researchers at Rutgers University examined behaviors that helped couples endure the effects of the pandemic by recruiting romantic couples from across the U.S., who completed weekly surveys of relationship characteristics and the impact of the pandemic on their personal lives from March to May of 2020.

They found that couples who exhibited resilience behaviors were most likely to have positive outcomes. These include increasing levels of support for partners, maintaining old routines, and creating new ones. The least effective approach for couples turned out to be using jokes and humor as a resilience method.

They note that some partners may have felt that jokes were an inappropriate response to the severity of the pandemic, but also that joking is probably not beneficial for reducing uncertainties in a romantic relationship.

 2023 Science X Network
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Scientific diver Morgan Murphy-Cannella holds bull kelp with a dark patch of reproductive spores as she surveys a reforestation project, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Kelp forests play an integral role in the health of the worlds oceans, one of the issues being discussed at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

A welding hammer strapped to her wrist, Joy Hollenback slipped on blue fins and swam into the churning, chilly Pacific surf one fall morning to do her part to save Northern California's vanishing kelp forests.

Hollenback floated on the swaying surface to regulate her breathing before free diving into the murky depths toward the seafloor. There, she spotted her target: voracious, kelp-devouring purple urchins.

Within seconds she smashed 20 to smithereens. "If you're angry, it's a cathartic way to get it all out," Hollenback joked. "It's ecologically sanctioned mayhem."

The veterinarian who lives in Berkeley, California is part of a crew of volunteers who swim, snorkel and dive armed with pick axes and hammers on a sole mission: To crush purple urchins that largely destroyed 96% of California's iconic bull kelp forests between 2014 and 2020, and with it harmed red abalone and other sea life they supported.

The pilot project off the Mendocino County coast is one of many initiatives California is testing to save such leafy marine ecosystems, which are declining worldwide due to climate change.

Kelp forests play an integral role in the health of the world's oceans, one of the issues being discussed at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai.

Scientific diver Ian Norton checks a chart as he surveys a bull kelp reforestation project, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. California's coast has bull and giant kelp, the world's largest marine algae. Urchins have hurt both species, though giant kelp forests have fared better. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Based on early observations, efforts like urchin culling appear to be helping.

Biologists say they have started to see small successes with the experiments started several years ago, offering hope of reversing destruction likened to a rainforest being clear-cut.

Healthy patches of kelp and schools of fish returned this summer to small sections where urchins were crushed at Caspar Cove, 160 miles (200 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

Nearby at Albion Bay, where commercial divers removed many of the urchins in 2021, biologists put tiny kelp grown in a lab on 98-foot (30-meter) lines. In August, they discovered the kelp not only had reached the surface, but was reproducing.

"That's the first time we know of that happening in an open coastal environment," said Norah Eddy of The Nature Conservancy, one of several organizations participating in the experiment. "What we want is for the kelp to start putting out babies. This is showing these methods can be done in these kinds of rugged environments."

Scientific diver Morgan Murphy-Cannella swims past bull kelp as she surveys a reforestation project, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Kelp forests play an integral role in the health of the worlds oceans, one of the issues being discussed at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

There are still huge challenges to overcome before California's bull kelp is on the path to recovery. But scientists say the progress has relieved fears the forests were lost forever.

"This is really setting the system up to hold on to the kelp that we do have until we're in a better place," said Kristen Elsmore, a senior scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Scientists will be collecting data over the next three years to determine what methods are most effective as California builds its first plan to restore and manage kelp.

Kelp was so abundant that the state managed it solely as a fishery, overseeing commercial and recreational harvests. Under the plan, kelp will be managed now as an ecosystem, reflecting the heightened understanding of kelp's importance.

"Kelp forms whole forests that are supporting so many other species and so it just has this cascading effect on the near-shore ecosystem when you lose your kelp," Elsmore said. "You're losing a whole forest, not just one species."

Joy Hollenback holds the hammer she uses to crush urchins, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Hollenback is part of a crew of volunteers who swim, snorkel and dive armed with pick axes and hammers on a sole mission: To crush purple urchins that largely destroyed 96% of California's iconic bull kelp forests between 2014 and 2020, and with it harmed red abalone and other sea life they supported. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

The plan could inform restoration efforts from Australia to Chile, where kelp faces similar threats.

"The ultimate goal is for these systems to really be self-sustaining and the restoration part to really just be giving it a gentle nudge in the right direction," the scientist said.

Kelp has been disappearing as a warming planet raises ocean temperatures.

Along the West Coast, the problem started after 2013 when a warm water mass nicknamed "the blob" developed off Alaska and stretched south, lingering for four years as it wreaked havoc on marine ecosystems all the way to Mexico's Baja California peninsula.

At the same time, a mysterious wasting disease decimated sunflower sea stars, causing their arms to fall off and turning them into gooey masses, killing 90% of the population.

The star fish is the main purple urchin predator. After the disease killed more than 5 billion sea stars, the urchin population exploded, devouring kelp and leaving seascapes with almost nothing but the spiny, globular echinoderms.

In this image provided by The Nature Conservancy, Josh Russo smashes urchins Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, at Van Damme State Beach, near Caspar, Calif. From urchin crushing to lab-grown kelp, efforts to save California's kelp forests show promise. Credit: Ralph Pace/The Nature Conservancy via AP

The kelp loss prompted the California Fish and Game Commission to close its recreational red abalone fishery in 2018. Commercial harvests of red urchins have also been hurt. Red urchins are favored over the purple urchins because they contain more edible uni or roe inside, but commercial divers say the amount has shrunk with less kelp.

Bull kelp, an annual seaweed, starts as a microscopic spore that grows up to two feet (.6 meters) per day until it reaches up to 98 feet (30 meters) before dying off in the cooler months. It flourishes in cool, nutrient-rich waters.

California's coast has bull and giant kelp, the world's largest marine algae. Urchins have hurt both species, though giant kelp forests have fared better.

Some believe the only way to restore kelp is to reduce the purple urchins, which can go dormant for years only to remerge and eat new kelp growth. Chefs have started serving purple urchins to build a market.

Artist Margaret Seelie holds an urchin during an event to remove them with the hope of restoring kelp forests, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Urchins have hurt both giant and bull kelp, though giant kelp forests have fared better. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

"Sometime it does feel weird, like you're killing this animal that's a native species, but it's for the greater good," said Morgan Murphy-Cannella of Reef Check Foundation, the kelp restoration coordinator involved in the kelp planting at Albion Bay. Its volunteers monitor kelp forests from Canada to Mexico.

Josh Russo, a former abalone fisher and founder of the Watermen's Alliance, a coalition of spearfishing clubs, helped start the urchin crushing.

The first group was mostly local divers armed with sledgehammers, Russo said, laughing. After struggling to swing them underwater, they turned to small welding and furniture hammers and icepicks.

Volunteers have cleared 80% of purple urchins from a section at Caspar's Cove, Russo said. It is one of two spots where California allows recreational licensed fishers to take an unlimited amount of purple urchins.

Scientific diver Morgan Murphy-Cannella carries her gear after surveying a bull kelp reforestation project, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in near Caspar, Calif. California's coast has bull and giant kelp, the world's largest marine algae. Urchins have hurt both species, though giant kelp forests have fared better. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

But the urchin crushing is not without controversy. Some fear it could spread urchin eggs, exacerbating the problem.

Russo's seen no evidence of that. Instead, he said, the density of urchins has lessened in the 100-by-100 yard (91 by 91 meter) section, where schools of juvenile rock fish swished this summer amid the towering algae.

"This went from being urchin barren to just full of life again," Russo said.

Scientists say nothing can replace natural predators, like the sunflower sea star.

After learning to breed it in captivity, biologists are building a stock to reintroduce it. Sunflower sea stars are at four California aquariums, including the Birch aquarium in San Diego that induced the spawning of three in October.

At least four sunflower star fish also were spotted off the Mendocino coast this year, which Elsmore said "is super exciting" since none were seen for years there.

Scientific divers Rachael Karm, left, and Vini Souza talk on the beach after surveying a bull kelp reforestation project, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Kelp forests play an integral role in the health of the worlds oceans, one of the issues being discussed at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Scientific diver Rachael Karm holds bull kelp with a dark patch of reproductive spores as she surveys a reforestation project, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Kelp forests play an integral role in the health of the worlds oceans, one of the issues being discussed at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Artist Margaret Seelie, right, smiles as she loads urchins into her kayak, caught by Keevan Harding, left, during an event to remove urchins with the hope of restoring kelp forests, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Seelie uses the colorful urchins for various elements in her artwork, including as dye for clothing. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Scientific diver Ryan Yee checks a gauge as he descends to remove urchins at a project site by the Bay Foundation off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, near Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Once a vast kelp forest, the area is now largely barren, overrun by urchins. The Foundation's Kelp Forest Restoration Project aims to remove much of the urchins in the hope of bringing back the kelp forests. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Keevan Harding places urchins in a net bag during an event to remove them with the hope of restoring kelp forests, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

One small section of kelp floats on the surface as scientific diver Ryan Yee, below left, waits to climb back into the boat after culling urchins at a project site by the Bay Foundation off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, near Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Once a vast kelp forest, the area is now largely barren, overrun by urchins. The Foundation's Kelp Forest Restoration Project aims to remove much of the urchins in the hope of bringing back the kelp forests. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Decomposing urchins sit in a bin, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Fort Bragg, Calif. Urchins have hurt both giant and bull kelp, though giant kelp forests have fared better. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

In this image provided by The Nature Conservancy, sunflower sea stars are visible in a tank Friday, July 9, 2021, in Friday Harbor, Wash. The star fish is the main purple urchin predator. Credit: Ralph Pace/The Nature Conservancy via AP

A diver waves to a girl as he cleans the glass of the Birch Aquarium's giant kelp forest exhibit, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in San Diego. The exhibit, complete with moray eels, leopard sharks and sea bass, is designed to give visitors a sense of how a healthy kelp forest could look like. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Divers remove their gear after culling urchins as a strand of kelp floats past at a project site by the Bay Foundation off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, near Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Once a vast kelp forest, the area is now largely barren, overrun by urchins. The Foundation's Kelp Forest Restoration Project aims to remove much of the urchins in the hope of bringing back the kelp forests. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Bull kelp lines the beach, washing ashore after days of large surf Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in a bay near Caspar, Calif. California's coast has bull and giant kelp, the world's largest marine algae. Urchins have hurt both species, though giant kelp forests have fared better. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Keevan Harding dives down in search of urchins during an event to remove them with the hope of restoring kelp forests, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, near Caspar, Calif. Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

There's still much to learn. Kelp has not come back in all spots cleared of urchins, and scientists don't know why.

But the crushing is helping buy time to find permanent solutions.

Events run April to September and draw people from across Northern California.

On a Saturday in September, volunteers included a paralegal, a factory worker, university students and a landscape contractor whose two Australian shepherds, "Swimmer" and "Breaker," watched patiently from the beach. One artist collected the urchins to make purple dye for clothing.

Hollenback, the veterinarian, started participating in May 2022 after seeing the events on Facebook. She has hammered as many as 82 urchins in the 50 seconds she can hold her breath. On this day the sea was too turbulent at Caspar Cove so the group diverted to a neighboring bay to seek urchins.

"It can feel counterintuitive to kill animals when my job is to save them," she said. "But this is helping to save the entire ecosystem."

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A Putnam man was arrested on Monday, Dec. 4 for allegedly fatally injuring a cat according to a New York State Police news release on Tuesday.

State Police in Granville arrested Christian A. Nichols, 23 of Putnam, New York, for two counts of misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and aggravated cruelty to animals in accordance with the Agriculture and Markets Law, according to the press release.

Police said on Friday, Nov. 24 at about 11 a.m. troopers received a complaint that a cat was missing and the owner believed it had been intentionally injured. The investigation determined Nichols, who is known to the cats owner, reportedly fatally injured the animal.

The cat was located deceased with an apparent gunshot wound and other injuries in the area near its home. A long gun and an expandable Billy Club, that the police say is illegally owned, was located in Nicholss home and seized as part of the investigation, according to police.

Nichols was arrested in Glens Falls and transported to the state police station in Granville for processing. He was arraigned at the Granville Town Court and released on his own recognizance.
The Fort Edward Village Office has advised that due to a water break, a BOIL WATER NOTICE has been issued for residents in the following areas:

Marion Street (from Mechanic Street)

Ridge Street



Fort Edward residents in other areas are not included in the Boil Water Notice at this time.

Sign up for notifications with NY-Alert at https://alert.ny.gov

BOIL INSTRUCTIONS:

In order to ensure that disease-causing organisms do not exist in your drinking water, you must boil water or use bottled water, certified for sale by the New York State Dept of Health, for all culinary uses.

All tap water for human consumption should be boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute and then cooled prior to use.
The national blood shortage continues to be an issue for the American Red Cross and a number of reasons have contributed to the shortage from the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and busy schedules for donors, officials told The Post-Star this fall.

The Northern New York chapter of the American Red Cross said that donations over the summer months were low and they are still recovering from the need for red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. Red Cross Public Affairs representative Mary Alice Molgard said the shortage is still very real but not an emergency.

We saw a significant drop off of donations during the summer and weve seen some recovery, but its very slow, Molgard said. We are very much trying to get the public back into the habit of donating.

In a more recent interview Abigail Adams, Regional Communications Director American Red CrossEastern New York Region said the shortage has abated, but the need is there.

This is a time when blood donations slow downfor the holidays, flu season, and weather, Adams said. There is always a need for donors, and lots of factors impact us. Theres nothing better than giving the gift of life, and we could really use the donations right now.

From the wildfires of the North West and Hawaii, to hurricanes that flooded the Hudson Valley, all weather events meant there were less blood donations coming in from those affected areas. Molgard said although there are dedicated donors that come in every two weeks, its not possible to supply the demand from their donations alone.

People were focused on other things and very honestly, people were less focused on giving blood and it wasnt on top of their agenda when a hurricane just passed through your town, Molgard said earlier this fall.

Molgard said that the pandemic steered one of the most helpful demographics for not only donations, but also volunteers. With the elderly population having a higher risk of catching the virus, many stayed home to protect their own health.

Beyond the need for blood donation, the organization is in need of volunteers as well.

Busy schedules were also highlighted as a reason for a drop in blood donations, according to Molgard. When asked how long it takes to donate, she said its about 15 minutes to register and 30 to 45 minutes for the donation.

According to the American Red Cross website, Nearly 5,000 units of platelets and 6.500 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S. Approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed daily as well.

A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood.
The United States and Iraq's authorities said Friday morning, December 8, that the US Embassy in Baghdad was targeted by a rocket strike, which resulted in some damage but did not fatally hurt anybody.

Since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict, no assault has been verified on the embassy situated in the strongly defended Green Zone of Iraq's capital. Located on the western bank of the Tigris River, the Green Zone is home to Iraqi government buildings and embassies.

In the two months after Israel went to war with Hamas, Iraqi militias backed by Iran have claimed responsibility for hundreds of strikes against American outposts in Iraq and Syria. According to the US military, 78 strikes on American sites have occurred in the last seven weeks, with 37 incidents occurring in Iraq and 41 in Syria.

Another Attack on US Site

In a report by ABC News, an Iraqi security officer said 14 Katyusha rockets were launched on Friday, with some of them hitting the ground near the US Embassy and others exploding in the river beneath. The official confirmed that there were no reported casualties, but material damage was inflicted by the rocket strike.

Meanwhile, according to a US military officer, coalition and American personnel were targeted in a multi-rocket strike near the embassy complex and the Union III facility, which contains coalition headquarters. The source went on to say that there were no reports of injuries or damage to infrastructure.

Two rocket salvos hit the US Embassy at about 4:15 AM (0215 GMT), as per an embassy spokesperson.

No one organization has taken credit for launching the missiles as of Friday morning. However, initial signs reportedly pointed to militias associated with Iran.

"We again call on the government of Iraq, as we have done on many occasions, to do all in its power to protect diplomatic and Coalition partner personnel and facilities. We reiterate that we reserve the right to self-defense and to protect our personnel anywhere in the world," the embassy representative said, according to Fox News.

For legal reasons, all three officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Also Read: UN Struggles To Continue Funding for Peacekeeping Missions as Nations Call for Reform

Remarks From Iraq's PM

The statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that it is absolutely unacceptable to strike diplomatic missions. He condemned the attack as a betrayal of Iraq's security and stability and vowed to track down those responsible for it.

With the help of a combination of parties sponsored by Iran, Sudani seized power in Iraq. On the other hand, he supports the continuous presence of American soldiers in his nation and wants good ties with the US to remain.

Also Read: China Tells EU Officials Not to Be Rivals or Seek Conflict Despite Political Differences

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UNITED NATIONS  The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Friday backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticized the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas' attacks in Israel and to acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule and "only plant the seeds for the next war.

The United Nations chief and many Security Council members had demanded an immediate humanitarian cease-fire Friday, but United States opposition virtually doomed any action by the U.N.s most powerful body.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and other leading Arab nations and Turkey were in Washington on Friday on a rare joint mission to press the Biden administration to drop its opposition to a cease-fire given the soaring death tolls. They were scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday afternoon.

One, the top diplomat of Jordan, told reporters in Washington that the killings of Palestinian civilians in Israels bombardment and siege of Gaza were war crimes and threatened to destabilize the region, the U.S. and the world for years to come

If people are not seeing it here, we are seeing it," Safadi said, adding: Were seeing the challenges that we are are facing talking to our people. They are all saying were doing nothing. Because despite all our efforts, Israel is continuing these massacres.

Israels more than two-month military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territorys Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

The Security Council was scheduled to vote Friday afternoon on a resolution by the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the 15-member body, demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Woods statement to the council Friday, however, signaled the United States will veto the resolution.

Wood criticized the council for not condemning Hamas surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 240 hostages.

He said a cease-fire would leave Hamas in charge of Gaza, still holding more than 100 Israeli hostages.

No government would allow such a threat after the worst attack on its peoples in decades, Wood said, stressing that a halt to military action would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution.

For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate cease-fire, Wood said.

The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of an humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Guterres said he raised Article 99  which hadnt been used at the U.N. since 1971  because there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza. The U.N. anticipates this would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt, he warned.

Gaza is at a breaking point, he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.

Guterres said Hamas brutality against Israelis on Oct. 7 can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations, he stressed.

The U.N. chief detailed the humanitarian nightmare Gaza is facing, citing intense, widespread and ongoing Israeli attacks from air, land and sea that reportedly have hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 health care facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

Over 60% of Gazas housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85% of the population has been forced from their homes, the health system is collapsing, and nowhere in Gaza is safe, Guterres said.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the council that Israels objective is the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip and the dispossession and forcible displacement of the Palestinian people.

If you are against the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people, you have to be in favor of an immediate cease-fire, Mansour said. "When you refuse to call for a cease-fire, you are refusing to call for the only thing that can put an end to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

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A judge on Friday rejected a motion by former Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano to dismiss a state corruption case, saying prosecutors had presented sufficient testimony to justify the grand jurys decision, NJ.com reported.

Troiano, who last month was voted back onto the City Commission along with incumbents Steve Mikulski and Krista Fitzsimons, had argued prosecutors withheld contradictory evidence from the grand jury that indicted him and two other city officials.

Troiano, Mikuslki and another former mayor, Pete Byron, are accused of defrauding taxpayers by accepting state health insurance benefits to which they werent entitled. They are charged with official misconduct, theft and related offenses.

Byron also pleaded guilty to federal charges related to false tax returns earlier this year.

Troiano and Mikulski ran on the same ticket in the November election. Byron resigned from the commission in September but then kept his hat in the ring for reelection. The commission is currently made up of Mikulski and Deputy Mayor Fitzsimons. An interim mayor has not been named.

Wildwood is scheduled to reorganize in January, at which point Troiano, Mikulski and Fitzsimons will appoint a new mayor from among the three of them.

Troiano spent years on the Board of Commissioners, including two terms as mayor starting 20 years ago. He originally served from 2003 until 2009, when a recall election removed him from the board. He returned in 2011, falling short in a reelection effort in 2019 in another crowded field with several of the same names on the ballot as this year.
OCEAN CITY  The local Board of Education had an evening of transitions Thursday, which was the last meeting for three board members and for Scott McCartney, the interim superintendent of schools appointed in the summer.

Two board members fell short in their reelection bid this year, Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes and Robin Shaffer, and former board President Joe Clark, who has spent more than 15 years on the school board, decided not to seek reelection.

That will mean three new board members and a new interim superintendent for the district in January.

At the Thursday meeting, the board approved Terrence Crowley Sr. as the new interim superintendent. Crowley has had a career in education, including time as the superintendent of schools for Cape May County, and is set to retire from the New Jersey Department of Education.

There was no immediate response from the district to an emailed question about how much Crowley will make as interim superintendent.

His son, Terry Crowley Jr., is the 1st Ward councilman for Ocean City.

The district expected to have a new, full-time superintendent chosen by now to replace Matthew Friedman, who left the district for another job in March after less than a year in the position. Before that, Kathleen Taylor left in 2021, and Tom Baruffi filled in as interim super until Friedman got the job,

In October, months into the second superintendent search in two years, the board decided to start over.

Ocean City taps interim superintendent, with some dissent OCEAN CITY  With time running out before the current superintendent leaves the district, th

We have reached the point in the current search process where we find ourselves with no candidates that would be aligned with the districts visions and goals to carry us forward in a passionate, engaged, collaborative and stabilizing, educational-centric manner, board President Chris Halliday said at the time.

At the meeting, the board and participants held a moment of silence for a longtime superintendent. Donald Dearborn, a lifelong educator who led the district from 1992 to 2005, recently died. He was 84 and lived in Galloway Township.

Board attorney Michael Stanton credited Dearborn with the construction of Ocean City High School, where the board meets.

It would certainly not have been built as soon as it was and as well as it was, under budget, if it had not have been for Dr. Dearborn, Stanton said. I cant say how much this high school meant to him.

The board will have three new faces in January, with the election of Michael Allegretto, Jocelyn Palaganas and Corey Niemiec. Allegretto formerly served on the school board. Niemiec narrowly beat Shaffer, who was elected to an unexpired term in 2022 and was seeking a full term on the board.

While Clark was the longest-serving board member, Shaffer was one of the shortest, with a single year on the board. But Shaffer built a high profile for a school board member, including as a candidate backed by the national organization Moms for Liberty.

At the Thursday board meeting, several members said they do not agree on every issue but still build close bonds with one another.

We always listened to one another, William Holmes said, while member Kristie Chisholm spoke of her time serving with Gallelli-Keyes, saying they did not agree on much in their first year on the board.

Shaffer concedes narrow loss in Ocean City school board race With the mail-in votes counted, voters did not return Robin Shaffer to the Ocean City Board of Education, with candidate Corey Niemiec edging ahead in the final count.

As time has gone by, its changed, she said, saying she loved seeing Gallelli-Keyes at school events.

Comments from the board about Shaffer focused on his advocacy. Shaffer proved a lightning rod for criticism, with rallies and vigils held on behalf of LGBTQ students after his election with Liz Nicoletti and Catherine Panico last year in a campaign focused on parents rights and opposition to the sex education content of state standards.

During his year on the board, some of Shaffers efforts were dismissed as political, but members said they looked forward to his remaining involved.

You should be commended for your passion, Holmes told Shaffer. You dont give up. Youre a bulldog.

Passion appeared to be abundant in Ocean City in relation to the school district, as advocates, students and parents pushed for acceptance of and protections for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming students.

On Thursday, supporters of Shaffer alleged it was the conservatives that were bullied, threatened and harassed. Resident David Hayes said at the meeting that Ocean City has had serious problems with bullying, and stated that children learn it from adults, board members and their parents.

He said supporters of parents rights have been ostracized, attacked on social media and harassed in person.

Unfortunately, the extreme liberals and the left wing will resort to any tactic, however illegal, to silence the conservative values Ocean City was founded on, he said.

Graphic novel challenged at Ocean City school board Anger, criticism over a book fair offering at Ocean City school brings parents to a Board of Education meeting.

His wife, Marie Hayes, described the criticism as bigotry, and said the fight is not over, saying she and others are dedicated to protecting children and persevering parents rights.

It will never be over. Whats going on in our community is evil, she said.

At his last meeting as a board member, Shaffer continued to push, this time to name Lauren Gunther as interim superintendent. Gunther is the districts director of student services, and has been backed by Hayes and others for the position of superintendent this year, with the argument that the district should promote from within.

Shaffers motion did not come up for a vote. Stanton said the district did not have a contract negotiated with Gunther to vote on.

Shaffer supported Crowleys appointment but had asked for a discussion during the vote. He was told that could only take place in a closed session, and that the vote was already underway.

At the close of the meeting, Clark challenged the remaining board members to continue to work on upcoming issues, citing dwindling enrollment and the possibility of district regionalization, while describing the search for a superintendent as the most important job.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, said Friday he will run for reelection to the House of Representatives rather than for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

He also will chair the Donald Trump election campaign in New Jersey, Van Drew said in a video announcement Friday.

Im humbled that so many of you have asked me to run for U.S. Senate. For a guy from Dennis Township, its pretty special to be asked to run for one of the highest offices in our land, Van Drew said.

In September, Menendez, his wife and three New Jersey businessmen were indicted on bribery charges involving benefits to the Egyptian government, and Van Drew said he was considering entering the race for Menendezs seat on the GOP side.

Van Drew said Friday it was too risky to give up a House seat in the current circumstances.

South Jersey cant risk losing our seat in Congress. All hell would break lose if the Democrats ever took back control of our House, Van Drew said.

He also called on voters to support Trump for president.

Van Drew joins NJ congressmen voting to expel George Santos All 12 House of Representatives members from New Jersey, including U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, voted Friday to oust U.S. Rep. George Santos over his ethics and criminal charges.

Trump called him and asked him to lead his New Jersey campaign, Van Drew said.

We need him, Van Drew said of Trump. Im all in for President Trump ... to restore our country and most of all and always for South Jersey.

Van Drew said one of the reasons he wants to stay in the House is to continue exposing Biden Family corruption from my seat on the Judiciary Committee.

In October, Menendez pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. He remains in office and seems prepared to run for reelection in 2024, even though Gov. Phil Murphy and other state Democratic leaders have asked for his resignation.

U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd, has said he will seek the Democratic nomination for Menendezs seat, as has Tammy Murphy, the wife of Murphy.

On the GOP side, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner is seeking the Senate seat next year.
NORTHFIELD  Rabbi Michael Feshbach and his congregation at Beth Israel Synagogue wanted to ensure that Hanukkah would shine even brighter during these challenging times.

In the wake of terror and fright, acts of hatred and war raging on in Europe, a pandemic not quite fully in the past, still we turn to our collective recollection of celebration, Feshbach said.

Hanukkah, or the Jewish Festival of Lights, marks the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It began at sundown Dec. 7 and is celebrated over eight nights. Each night, Jewish people light the menorah, adding another flame each day, until on the final night eight flames burn brightly. It is a time for joy, family and gift-giving.

This year, the war between Hamas and Israel casts a shadow over the celebration, with 1,200 people killed in the initial terror attack, and more than 200 soldiers and civilians, including women and children, taken to Gaza as hostages. Since then, more than 14,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli air and artillery strikes.

Feshbach and other local Jewish leaders said the spirit of Hanukkah should be remembered in these difficult times. Helping others and celebrating community are some ways to achieve that.

In the first weeks of the war, we had a wonderful Challah-for-Israel, where people came, baked a challah and made a contribution, Feshbach said. The contributions went to the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross  Magen David Adom.

Rabbi Aaron Krauss of Beth El Synagogue in Margate said this year they are saying special prayers for the victims in Gaza and Israel.

People can come into the synagogue to pray, or we have an option for people to stay home and pray over Zoom. This is especially good for the elderly population, Krauss said. Prayers are for lasting and true peace.

Beth El has had several opportunities to help Israel through partnerships with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

We have certainly supported them in any way we can with financial donations, Krauss said.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as the JDC, is a relief organization based in New York City that has been providing assistance to Jewish communities in Israel and around the globe since 1914.

Krauss, who said he holds out hope next year will be a more peaceful one, said support from the larger community has been positive.

I have received quite a few good wishes from the Christian community. People have been very generous and kind, Krauss said.

For Feshbach and his congregation, finding ways to help others has proven effective.

Beth Israel is holding a holiday toy drive for the local womens shelter. Unwrapped toys or gift cards are welcomed for donation, ensuring the joy of Hanukkah reaches those close to home who need it most. The synagogue encourages everyone to bring what they can to Beth Israel by Dec. 17.

Holiday shopping in Ocean City: Hometown briefs Ocean City's annual Earlier than the Bird downtown shopping extravaganza will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The synagogue also is partnering with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive at the Joseph Ashner Memorial Auditorium from 1 to 6 p.m. Dec. 20. Those interested in participating can call 800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org, and enter the code BethIsraelNorthfield to make an appointment.

Among other communities celebrating Hanukkah, Stockton University students can participate in these events at the Chabad House at 118 E. Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway Township. There was to be a Hanukkah film night Saturday. At 4 p.m. Sunday, students can attend a Hanukkah celebration with food, live music, caricatures and more. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, a latke cooking competition will be held. Scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday is a glow party during which students can celebrate the Festival of Lights with style.
WEST WILDWOOD  More than 13 acres have come on the market in this tiny borough, potentially the site of the largest development project the community has seen for decades.

What will happen to the undeveloped stretch of marsh and trees will depend a great deal on who buys it, and possibly even more on what the state will allow.

Some portion of the area is definitely wetlands, said Tai Menz, the Realtor listing the property.

Youll be able to build on it somewhere, Menz said Monday. That just comes down to finding the right buyer and figuring out a way to move forward.

One parcel, described in the listing as 0 Center Ave., includes more than 12 acres, running from near the West Wildwood fire station on North Drive to a section just past Bay Avenue on the northwest side of the community. The asking price is listed at $5,999,999.

A second property, at 1.77 acres, sits in the middle of the other property and is listed separately at $1.5 million. Menz said both parcels were once owned by the same family, but that portion had been sold some time ago.

West Wildwood is one of the smallest municipalities in New Jersey, with a little over 600 residents on three-tenths of a square mile, mostly covering a small back-bay island connected to Wildwood by a two-lane bridge. In the busy summer, there are about 5,000 people in the community.

The properties in question stretch along about a quarter of the island and are officially part of the municipality, according to Elaine Crowley, who is the boroughs Planning Board secretary along with other roles at Borough Hall.

Theres no water. Theres no sewer. Theres no streets. All of that would have to be developed, Crowley said.

Could new plans bring progress to long-dormant Wildwood bayside property? Its been decades since a bayfront area of Wildwood has been declared in need of redevelopment, and still longer since it was used as a municipal dump. A new proposal will finally resolve environmental issues, according to a consultant.

Menz, with Coastline Realty, has copies of plans for the properties showing streets and maps, as he said it was planned to be part of the borough.

It was meant to be developed at some point, he said. The combined properties would have enough developable land for houses, condos, a hotel or marina or another plan.

Menz is pragmatic about the development opportunities. If someone paid the asking price, the cost of preparing plans and acquiring the needed state and local approvals would likely be millions of dollars more, before any work could begin.

Its essential to acknowledge that this is a sold as-is transaction, but no worries you have probably done this a time or two, our information has been derived from public sources, reads the posted description of the land. The responsibility for securing approvals, including local and state permits, as well as CAFRA and DEP authorizations, rests with the buyer.

That will include determining how much of the property is wetlands, which are strictly protected. Most of West Wildwood is zoned residential, but most of these properties are listed as marine commercial, Menz said. Two sections are in the conservation zone.

As he described it, the properties make more sense if thought of as blocks, rather than lots, and the listing shows where planned streets would be on the old maps.

There are multiple marshy private islands dotting the bays between the mainland and the beach resorts of the barrier islands of Cape May County. Most have seen use by duck hunters and others, such as Cowpens Island off Ocean City that had literally been used as grazing pasture more than a century ago.

In 2022, the owner of No Mans Island near West Wildwood offered the 19-acre parcel for $125,000, down from the original $200,000 asking price. There did not appear to be any chance it could be built on, and aside from several stories from Philadelphia and North Jersey media, there did not seem to be much interest.

Cape May opens new firehouse Firefighters from throughout Cape May County and beyond joined officials and residents for the opening of the new $5.13 million headquarters of the Cape May Fire Department on Wednesday.

Menz said he sold that island to its current owner for about $7,500, one of several parcels his father owned as part of a duck hunting business decades ago. He does not believe there is any possibility the state would allow construction there, but does believes there is potential for the West Wildwood site, describing trees and shrubs as well as tidal streams and marsh grass.

Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he could not comment on a proposal that has not been submitted, much less one that has not even been planned yet.

The DEPs Coastal Management Program outlines state authority over the coastal zone under multiple state acts and rules, including the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, which is better known as CAFRA; the Wetlands Act of 1970; the Waterfront Development Law; the Coastal Zone Management Rules and others.

The listing has drawn some interest from national home construction companies and other potential investors, but there is nothing solid yet, Menz said. A buyer would need deep pockets.

Its a large project, he said. Once the amount of wetlands have been determined, once plans are drawn and a likely lengthy approval process undertaken, any development would need electricity, sewer and water lines and roads to serve the property.

You have to factor in infrastructure costs. I think everybody would be realistic, he said. That could mean finding other areas to offset any proposed wetlands disruption or even adjusting the asking price based on the level of interest from buyers.

Obviously, theres a value to it. Its figuring out what that value is, Menz said.
Darkness in sparkling candle-making factory; Massive blaze at Talawade area also injures 10 others, four fight for their life with 90 per cent burns

Six women employees of a sparkling candle manufacturing factory died while 10 others sustained burn injuries when a fire broke out at the unit situated in the Talawade area of Pimpri Chinchwad on Friday afternoon.



While the dead have not been identified yet because their bodies have been charred, the injured are undergoing treatment at Sassoon General Hospital in Pune and Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri. They are factory owner Sharad Sutar (45), workers Shilpa Rathod (31), Pratiksha Torne (16), Apeksha Amol Torne (26), Kavita Ganesh Rathod (45), Renuka Maruti Tatode (20), Komal Choure (25), Suman (40), Usha Sitaram Padve (40), and Priyanka Amol Yadav (32). The workers were paid Rs 300 per day.



The fire broke out around 2.45 p.m. in the factory that is situated on Plot No. 252, Jyotiba Nagar in Talawade. The unit runs on the premises of Rana Engineering. Sparkling candles, which are used mostly on cakes during celebrations, are made of chemicals that bring out the sparkles when lit.



The sudden explosion in the afternoon shocked everyone. Since the shutters were closed, there was no way that the workers could escape. There was a lot of acrid smoke that billowed after the explosion and they got trapped inside. The local citizens alerted the fire brigade and the police. Without waiting for anyone to arrive, they a few injured women and ferried them to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri.



Balaji Vaidya, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations Fire Department official, said: We rushed to the spot and we noticed some drums containing chemical substances catching fire. With the help of six fire tenders, we controlled the fire, and the injured were rescued. We had to forcefully enter the unit as the shutter was closed.

PCMC commissioner Shekhar Singh rushed to the spot and said, As per primary information, six people have died. It seems to be the sparkling candle-making factory. The injured have been rushed to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) and Sassoon General Hospital. We have alerted the doctors there.

Deputy commissioner of police Kakashaheb Dole said, A factory is run by the name of SNS by Sharad Sutar, who is one of the casualties. From five sides, the manufacturing unit was covered with iron sheets and had one front entrance which had a shutter. The electricity supply to this factory was also procured illegally. At present, we have come to know that no permission from our department was procured by the owners, nor was it procured by the person who is running this business.

There are as many as 32,000 commercial establishments in the Pimpri Chinchwad area for which women's self-help groups have been asked to carry out fire audits on the field. Sapna Waikar, who is a part of such an SHG, shared: We have been given the responsibility to inspect fire safety measures at various factories in this jurisdiction. On three occasions, we visited this factory but they did not entertain us. When we tried to procure information about their activity, they showed us the Sho Act licence of the company which never mentioned the activity that was carried out. When we asked them for details, they refused and asked us to leave. When we tried to get some clues, we noticed that some people were carrying out welding work. We never thought that it was a candle factory.



Mom and daughter injured

Ganesh Rathod's daughter was living with them post her divorce. Not to be a burden on her father, she was working in the factory along with her mother. Both Kavita and Shilpa are struggling with death.



Severe burns

Four of the injured women have suffered more than 90 per cent burns. The other six injured received 60 to 70 per cent burns. The condition of four women is critical and one woman has been put on artificial respiration. Currently efforts are being made to save ten patients, said Dr. Nikhil Panse, Department of Burns, Sassoon Hospital



Illegal manufacturing unit

The owner of the premises had given the unit to a fabrication workshop on a rental basis. Some of this space was given to make firecrackers  like keeping sub-tenants by the tenants. This candle manufacturing unit was unauthorised, as the area falls under the red zone, and was being operated only with a Shop Act license. There was no facility for fire audit or fire safety.

Body identified by anklet

Due to fire most of the bodies are burnt into ashes. It is a testing time for the families to identify the correct body. While a person was identified based on a silver anklet, the police have clarified that until the DNA test of all the dead is done, no bodies will be given to family members.
Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao has directed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to furnish reports outlining both short-term and long-term measures to address the prevalent water shortage in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The directive was issued on Thursday during the first meeting of a special committee, headed by Rao, which has been constituted to address the water scarcity issue in the two cities. The reports have to be submitted within 15 days of the meeting.

The committee was formed in compliance with a Bombay high court order in April this year during the hearing of a PIL filed by city residents over the issue of water shortage.

The meeting was attended by Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh, PMC chief engineer (water supply) Nandakumar Jagtap department and PMC and officials from both municipal corporations. Besides, around 60 members from the panchayat, advocates, society chairmen, secretaries and representatives from various federations were also present. The meeting focused on the problem of water scarcity in Wagholi, Sus, Bavdhan, Pashan, Baner, Ambegaon, Narhe and Lohegaon.

According to PMC officials, residents in Wagholi and Lohegaon purchase about 40 MLD of water from private tankers. In this view, a tender has been initiated to make arrangements for water supply to this region with an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore. The proposed water source for this supply is Bhama Askhed dam. However, the project is expected to be completed in 2.5 years.

Satya Muley, an advocate, told Mirror, Earlier, as many as 11 city NGOs had served a legal notice for contempt of court to the PMC, the PCMC and the PMRDA over their failure to constitute a committee even after the high court order. In response, a special committee was formed. However, only around 50 representatives of housing societies could attend the first meeting due to short notice. I was present at the meeting as well.

Jagtap, who also heads the PMC water department, said, Excessive pricing and sale of adulterated water by private tankers are some of the issues raised by citizens. A report is being prepared outlining the measures to curb these unethical practices.

He said the meeting also discussed the problem of acute water shortage in newly-merged villages due to inadequate infrastructure and limited sources of water.

Issues raised in the meeting

During the meeting, residents highlighted that housing societies in certain areas with 600 to 1,000 flats have been deprived of water supply for 5-7 years. In particular, some societies in Pashan have endured the problem for the past 25 years. The problem is exacerbated due to the supply of adulterated and unclean water by tankers, leading to severe health problems. Moreover, this water is priced at Rs 800 to Rs 2,000 per tanker. In certain areas, water is supplied at low pressure while frequent water cuts under the guise of maintenance have become the norm.

Solutions discussed

Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh said he will take concrete steps to resolve the problem by December 2024. The meeting encouraged residents to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs) in their societies to recycle water which can eventually help in meeting the shortfall. At the same time, it will be ensured that drinking water is not used for construction-related activities.

A decision was made to convene meetings every month even though the high court has mandated a meeting every two months. Besides, both the civic bodies have been directed to submit a presentation of measures taken by them during the next meeting.
Moline residents will be living the high life with a second dispensary opening in the city.

This now marks three dispensaries in the Quad-Cities region after Terrace Cannabis opened in Moline this summer and Nature's Treatment opened in Milan in 2020.

Revolution Dispensary opened at 4301 44th Ave. in Moline Friday morning with a large crowd welcoming the store to the community. In addition to door busters and other incentives offered by the dispensary, a ribbon-cutting was held to mark the occasion.

Charles Bolden, CEO of Bolden Investments LLC, said in a news release he was thrilled to partner with Revolution Global to open the new store. The goal is to provide a a location where customers can turn to for quality products and support.

We see tremendous growth potential in the cannabis industry, and our partnership with Revolution in opening this dispensary is just the beginning of our commitment to this flourishing market," he said. Moline is a community we're excited to be a part of. Our partnership with Revolution not only creates jobs but also contributes to the local economy and offers residents access to high-quality cannabis products in a safe and welcoming environment.

Bolden said the city's commitment to working with his team on the dispensary made for a smooth process to getting the doors open. Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati echoed that sentiment, saying Moline is "open for business" and that she is always glad to see people interested in investing in Moline.

Work to make cannabis legal in Illinois was a long-time coming and a true bipartisan effort, said Sen. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island). He was in the Illinois House when the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which he voted for, passed in 2019.

Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline) agreed, saying since the legalization he has heard from many constituents who tout the benefits of medical cannabis. He was not in the state legislature during the legalization process.

Lack of access to those products is something he hears about often, too, he said. Having another dispensary in Moline not only helps those that need the medical benefits but economically supports the city.

"Economic development continues to be key to our area and this business brings jobs and badly needed tax dollars to our community," he said.

Customers are able to pre-order and order products online and at the store. Upon entering, customers will need to provide ID to verify they are at least 21 years old.

The dispensary is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Flashback: Recreational pot sales begin in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020 Sunnyside
Stellantis has stated its intention to lay off thousands of workers from its Jeep assembly facilities in Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan. The automaker claims that California Air Resources Board's (CARB) emissions regulations have placed it at a disadvantage in the market.

Stellantis--the parent company of Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, and Fiat, among others--has warned that 2,455 employees at the Jeep Grand Cherokee assembly plant in Detroit and an additional 1,225 employees at the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator assembly plant in Toledo could lose their jobs, Electrek reports.

In an article by The Detroit News, Stellantis intends to reduce output at its Toledo facility by moving from an alternative work schedule to a conventional two-shift operation and by eliminating one of its three shifts at its Detroit plant, which is influenced by lagged sales of the Jeep brand. As early as February 5, 2024, layoffs will begin.

Limitation on ICE, EV Inventory Distribution

Stellantis has been vocally opposing Biden's initiatives to increase the use of electric vehicles (EVs) and decrease carbon emissions. The carmaker, along with other businesses, claims that the industry stands to lose billions of dollars via too stringent restrictions.

Reuters reports that Stellantis has restricted the distribution of its internal combustion engine (ICE) and EV inventory to retailers located in the 14 states that have implemented the emissions regulations set out by CARB.

This means that only SUVs accessible in certain states would be plug-in hybrids. All other versions, such as all-electric or ICE vehicles, would have to be ordered in advance, Electrek points out. Dealers in states that do not follow California's standards had the opposite situation, with an inventory of ICE-only vehicles and zero or just a handful of hybrids.

According to The Drive, Stellantis has to prioritize the sale of zero-emissions cars and plug-in hybrids to meet the sales requirements in the 14 states that follow California regulations.

See Also: Cheapest Tesla's US Federal Tax Credit Will Be Halved in 2024

Disadvantage for Stellantis

The drawback for Stellantis, however, is that in 2020, the Big Four (Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and BMW) reached a special deal with the state of California to operate under a separate agreement, with sales throughout the country serving as the benchmark for compliance rather than sales in CARB states alone. Since such targets are more manageable, Stellantis argues this changes the situation and hurts their business.

According to Bloomberg, when the first four manufacturers joined the deal with California, Geely and Volvo followed suit. Stellantis, however, was denied membership.

Stellantis believes it is being penalized because, in 2019, along with other carmakers (including Toyota and General Motors), Chrysler openly questioned California's power to set its own regulations.

Stellantis filed a petition with the California Office of Administrative Law on Thursday, December 7, alleging that the state had signed an "underground regulatory scheme" with other car companies.

See Also: Ford Reports $1.7 Billion Lost in Earnings, 100,000 Car Decline in Sales Due to Strike

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On Wednesday, after two days of deliberation, a Louisa County jury convicted Roy Patterson III of possession of a dangerous weapon while under the influence, while acquitting him of charges of attempted murder, first-degree burglary and going armed with intent.

The seven-man, five-woman jury began deliberation on Dec. 5. The trial started Nov. 28.

If Patterson, 40, of Oakville, had been convicted of all four charges he would have faced up to 56 years in prison. The attempted murder charge is punishable by a term of incarceration of up to 25 years in prison.

Sentencing for the serious misdemeanor of possession of a dangerous weapon while under the influence is set for Dec. 22. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in prison.

I dont know that it was a complex case, but it certainly came down to credibility and the jurys openness to reviewing some more objective evidence, defense attorney Scott Schroeder said.

He said Patterson is pleased with the outcome.

Court records show Patterson has a limited criminal record in Louisa County, with most of the other charges being traffic violations.

Patterson was charged on March 25 after an incident in which Jack Leffel, 49, also of Oakville, was seriously injured when a shotgun discharged. According to police reports, at about 1:15 a.m. Louisa County Sheriffs deputies, Columbus Junction Police, Oakville First Responders and Wapello Ambulance responded to a 911 call from Leffels residence stating he had been shot.

On arrival, the responders found Leffel had been shot once in the abdomen. Officers determined an altercation had occurred where Patterson entered Leffels residence with a semi-automatic shotgun and a dispute took place. Law enforcement alleged Patterson had shot Leffel.

During the trial, Patterson maintained the shotgun had remained on a sling over his shoulder. He said it had discharged when Leffel had tried to wrestle it away from Patterson. During the trial, forensic evidence showed that the wound Leffel suffered happened at very close range and the angle showed the barrel of the gun at a steep downward angle, not consistent with most intentional shootings.

The arrest report said Patterson and his wife had gone to Leffels residence earlier for a few drinks. His wife had left while he stayed. Upon arriving home, Pattersons wife told him she saw Leffel pour something into her drink. There was no confirmation of this at the trial. Patterson testified that Leffel had a history of violence and Patterson took the shotgun because he was afraid Leffel may get violent when questioned.

The report said Patterson had a blood-alcohol level of .106, which shows he was intoxicated at the time of the shooting. Deputies responded to Pattersons residence in Oakville, where Patterson gave himself up.

Patterson, who is a trained paramedic and has previously worked for Muscatine Fire and Rescue, said on the stand that he had tried to find Leffels phone to call for an ambulance, but was not able to find it so he went back to his house  about 300 yards up the street  to call. He also said there was no emergency aid he could have rendered. When first responders arrived, they transferred Leffel to a hospital without performing any first aid.

During the trial, deputies testified that they had handled the shotgun without gloves. Testimony from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab also showed Leffels DNA was on the gun after he had claimed since the beginning of the case he had not touched the shotgun.

What was unusual about this  and I dont remember in 28 years of prosecuting and defending ever seeing law enforcement ever having to interview a victim three separate occasions over the period of about six hours, Schroeder said. In our opinion it was to try to get his story straight.

He said it had been 16 days before deputies got a statement from Leffel, but had still charged Patterson. He believes some of Leffels statement had contradicted some of the charges.

Schroeder commented that Patterson has already spent 120 days in jail and he hopes that this can just be time served for the possession of a dangerous weapon while under the influence charge. He plans to ask for a continuance until January because he believes the sentence request will be contested.

Photos: Burn pit homicide trial, November 2023 Sayvonne Eugene Jordan VIDEO: Murder arrest in missing persons case, January 2023
A 44-year-old Rapid City man pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon to first-degree manslaughter about a month after a woman died at Monument Hospital in Rapid City. The day before her death, she arrived at the emergency room unconscious in an ambulance with head trauma and other bruising.

Pedro Simental faces one count of first-degree manslaughter for the death of 40-year-old Edleigha Little, who died on Nov. 9. Simental appeared at his arraignment before Circuit Court Judge Matt Brown from the jail through video conference and acknowledged he understood the charges and potential penalties he could face.

First-degree manslaughter is a class C felony with a maximum sentence of life in prison and up to a $50,000 fine.

According to police reports, on the evening of Nov. 8, an unknown male called 911 and asked for an ambulance for an unconscious woman in a room at the Stardust Motel at 520 East North Street in Rapid City.

The ambulance came and took the woman to the hospital. At about 3 a.m. on Nov. 9, hospital staffed called the police. Little had multiple bruises on her legs in different stages of healing and bruising on her right eye and on both eyebrows. A scan of her head showed internal bleeding.

Police spoke with Simental the same day, but he did not implicate himself in any way, according to a probable cause affidavit.

An autopsy conducted on Nov. 13 showed the womans cause of death was blunt force trauma to the left side of her head, and law enforcement conducted a follow-up interview with Simental.

During the Nov. 13 interview, he described a physical altercation between him and Little, according to the affidavit. During that altercation, he may have struck the victim in the left side of her head with a can.

Simental allegedly told law enforcement he struck Little because she grabbed his Denver Broncos jersey and he heard it tear.

Simentals next court hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Jan. 12. His defense attorney Conor Duffy said he wanted to put the state on notice that he will likely address bond at the hearing.

Simental is currently held at the Pennington County Jail on a $500,000 cash only bond.
The Children's Home Society of South Dakota, a key player in the states social services network, has announced an ambitious relocation and expansion with the establishment of a new campus in the Black Hills region.

Established in 1893, the Children's Home Society of South Dakota stands as the oldest nonprofit human service organization in the state, with a rich history as the primary orphanage and adoption agency in South Dakota. Currently operating from Rockerville, CHS has expanded its scope over the years under the accreditation of the Joint Commission and the licensure of the South Dakota Department of Social Services. The long-standing institution has been a pillar in providing crucial services to the community, continually adapting to meet the evolving needs of children and families in the state.

The decision to consolidate CHS facilities into one location in the Black Hills aims to enhance service delivery and efficiency. The new campus, previously the site of National American University, sits on 12 acres with an additional adjacent 17 acres purchased for future expansion. The move will bring together various services under one roof, making it more convenient for families, staff, visiting care providers, and members of the co-located Child Advocacy Center, including the Rapid City Police and Pennington County Sheriffs Office.

"We are announcing our largest commitment yet to children and families in Rapid City and the Black Hills," Michelle Lavallee, CEO of CHS, said.

The new facility will continue to provide comprehensive care, including residential treatment and education for children aged 4 to 14, foster care, adoption services, forensic interviews, and child abuse prevention training. It will also allow for the expansion of community-based services and the Childrens Home Child Advocacy Center.

The anticipated start of construction is late 2024, with the move-in date targeted for mid-2026. CHS's current facility in Rockerville will eventually be sold.

The new location will enhance the organization's ability to serve more effectively, according to Lavallee.

"Home is about the community you're in... This move gives us an extraordinary opportunity for the children and families of the Children's Home to be in the full extent of community and belonging," Deb Soholt, CHS board president, said.

The relocation of the CHS to a central area in Rapid City is set to open significant partnership opportunities with the Rapid City school district. CHS's day program, noted for its unique inclusion of parents along with children, is an aspect that sets it apart from many public education offerings, said Nicole Swigart, superintendent of Rapid City Area Schools.

The move is anticipated to facilitate the integration of students requiring trauma care into a supportive educational setting. The proximity of the new CHS campus to the town is expected to enhance access and foster collaboration, which is considered vital for the community's well-being.

"I see Rapid City Area Schools partnering with Children's Home Society in this move and working really closely together," Swigart said.

Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun publicly expressed his support for the new Children's Home Society project in Rapid City. CHS is essential for supporting children who may not have the advantage of growing up in stable family environments, Salaman said.

The proximity of law enforcement and other essential services, along with comprehensive safety measures, will be set in place for safety and security regarding community concerns about the new facility.

We know that this area can be quickly responded to, but we also know there's a lot of protocols in place to help make sure that the kids are safe, Salamun said. If they're safe, they can thrive. And that's what it's all about.
Corvallis Middle School is the pilot location for a youth peer-to-peer anti-vape education program called ReACT.

Jenna Pateman, Ravalli Countys Tobacco Prevention Specialist, based out of the Public Health Office in Hamilton, said vaping is a huge problem for middle school age youth.

It is huge in high school but it is becoming even more of an epidemic for middle schoolers, Pateman said. We are hoping that by targeting students in seventh and eighth grade we can stop them before they start, or get them the education before they are addicted. In Montana, one in three teens are addicted to nicotine.

Seventh-grade students in the CMS ReACT group said they joined ReACT with the hope of making a difference.

I dont think people should vape, Risa Zeiler said. It can destroy your life and it leads to a bunch of illnesses and mental health issues. That isnt something anyone should have to live with. It may be cool at the moment but when you have to live with these issues, youll seriously regret it.

Iain Beach said he felt positive the group could have an impact.

I like to help my community, he said. This helps the community not vape. There should be fewer people buying vapes and getting sick.

JJ Jones said the ReACT group is growing stronger.

I know a lot of people who are family and used to be friends who are now in a really bad place, she said. I want to help people so they can prevent their life from going in the wrong direction and stay on the right path.

She said medical issues are the worst thing about vaping.

My uncle died from cigars and vape users can easily go from vaping to cigarettes to cigars and these just ruin your lungs, Jones said. You can get lung cancer and die. It is a horrible thing to go through. It is really sad.

Tanner Glenn said he joined because of personal experience.

My brothers, well, they are legal now but they snuck vape smoking, he said. It is just not good for people to get in the habit of vaping or sneaking.

The eighth-grade members in ReACT said the group stands strong together.

Caden Wiediger, president of CMS ReACT, said peer-to-peer mentoring will help kids stop vaping and make the community better.

Hes never tried vaping.

My friends wanted me to but I never did, he said. [Vape companies] try to try to target kids with fun flavors and fun designs. They try to target kids for their money because they dont care what happens to the kids, they just want their money.

As president he leads the meetings and helps teach the educational materials.

Kids have better therapy hearing information from their peers, he said.

Landon Watrous said ReACT is encouraging and supportive.

I dont like vaping because people I know used to do it, he said. Im trying to be against it. I dont want to try it at all. My family has had a history of smoking. Its a family curse, or a family addiction. Im going to help peers. The people who make vapes dont care if anyone dies, its just all about the money.

The group discussion on Monday was about how vaping costs money and students get vapes from friends, or from stealing money. They said this year vapes shapes can look like highlighter markers and air pods.

Watrous said ReACT meetings teach kids to resist peer pressure.

Some kids are scared to say no, he said. They may be called a scaredy-cat and so they try it and get addicted.

Patemans goal is to reach each school in the Bitterroot Valley.

I educate students in sixth through eighth grade about the dangers of nicotine and vaping, she said. Corvallis has been awesome about piloting this group and educating on a peer-to-peer level. Students can come to me confidentially but there are some things kids dont want to talk to adults about.

She will train students to reach out to the resources such as My Life, My Quit which is the Montana Quit Lines answer to youth vaping.

https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/helping-teens-quit/indepth is the program from the American Lung Association. It is self-guided and includes information about vaping and tobacco, and provides stress relief activities to support quitting.

This is our first year doing it so we are excited to see the difference it can make and what it can evolve into, Pateman said. It is a free, confidential resource for kids who are vaping. ReACT teaches kids that vaping isnt just cotton candy-flavored water. The ReACT kids educate their peers and get them alternatives to just saying no. They also make it be cool not to vape.

Principal Richie Borden said the ReACH program is successful and important.

It is nice to have the relationship with Jenna, Borden said. She has been coming the last couple of years and presenting to our seventh- and eighth-grade kids on the dangers of vaping. If we do have a student who is caught bringing a vape to school and they are cited for it, she does the class with them.

He said that he used to have cited students complete an online class and receive certification for completing the class.

It was good, but now we have a connection to someone who went to school here and has been a valley resident for a long time, Borden said. Shes been a good resource for us.

Pateman said the course she does with students caught with vapes in Corvallis and Florence schools is called InDepth.

It is in lieu of a Minor in Possession (MIP) for first-time offenders, she said.

ReACT Montana empowers youth to engage and inspire others with a goal of being the first tobacco-free generation in Montana.

The ReACT website https://mtreact.com/who-we-are/ says, We dont sit around. We stand up, speak out. We reACT to the lies and manipulation from Big Tobacco and the Vaping Industry.

The reach Pateman, contact her at the Ravalli County Health Department, 205 Bedford St., Suite L, or call 406-210-5304.
As Stevensville looks to expand, the town finds itself at the end of its pipes.

Decades-old claims to water are insufficient for future growth and one subdivision already appears to be violating the law.

Attorney Ross Miller, a water rights specialist hired by the city, said the town never considered the need for expansion when it staked its water rights decades ago.

Neither did many other cities as they encounter difficulties with growth because of limited water rights. New rights were being created regularly in the 1980s and '90s, but times have changed since then, he said.

The science became clearer that we, the state of Montana, were overusing our water, Miller said. Municipalities like Stevensville didn't plan so much for the future prior to 1990, because water law and water rights were relatively simple back then. And then the laws got more complicated as we realized we needed to protect our own streamflows to have healthy rivers.

Miller said that now a new subdivision wants to develop in Stevensville, but the town cant allow that until it expands its water rights. This includes a subdivision built in the late 2000s that is in violation currently. Miller said as long as the town makes a good-faith effort to address the violation, the town shouldn't face any legal trouble. Still, that can take time.

Were trying to get this resolved as fast as we can to resolve the current violation that it's under and to be able to provide water to adjacent subdivisions that meet other sufficient requirements, he said. So, it's a problem weve got to solve.

Stevensville began working on expanding the geographic area for one of its three wells early last year. The proposed expansion would increase the area from 1,010 acres to nearly double that. The current area established in 1984 essentially only covers where water was being used at that time, and not where it might be used in the future.

However, after filing an amendment to the Montana Water Court for the adjustment in June 2022, the court ultimately denied the citys motion this September, even after public engagement to refine the amendment.

The court cited inadequate city planning by Stevensville as part of its reasoning for the denial, with not enough of a historically demonstrated intent shown by the city to expand. The denial states it took more than 40 years after the town had claimed the well in 1957 to show any plans for future growth. 2002 is the earliest documented study forecasting future growth in Stevensville.

Mistakes were made, Miller said. But to give benefit to the people that were operating the water systems back then, it was just a totally different world in terms of regulations and documentation.

Miller said he was surprised by the ruling, saying the denial represented the largely new and changing area of water law.

In October, Miller went to the Stevensville Town Council where the council decided what to do next with the town's water. The council was left with two options: appeal the ruling with a projected 50% chance of success by Miller or, (what was plan B initially for the city) take the issue to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and resolve it there. The council chose to go to the DNRC in October.

The town is now in the beginning phases of solving their water rights problem with the DNRC, according to Miller, with the first of many meetings occurring in November.

In his closing speech to Town Council, former mayor Steve Gibson said the city is closer than ever to making progress on their water rights for future growth. He estimated the process could finish in 2024.

You imagine this should have been done starting back in 1984, but previous administrations have dropped the ball, Gibson said. Were further along on something we have neglected for years and years and years.
Electric cars have existed since at least 1834, long before gasoline cars were invented. Since the beginning, they have faced the same hurdles they do today: limited driving range and a lack of charging infrastructure.

In 1835, blacksmith Thomas Davenport of Vermont built the first useful electric motor. While other inventors, including Michael Faraday, had previously built small devices that moved using electricity, Davenports are the first with the power to do actual work. He reportedly used one of his new motors to power a small carriage.

In 1884, famed English inventor Thomas Parker The Edison of Europe  created the first commercially viable electric car. Unlike many of Parkers other inventions, such as electric trams, underground lighting and a smokeless fuel called Coalite, his car attracted little interest.

Fleets of electric taxi cabs are introduced in both Paris and New York in 1897. One year later, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche builds his first car, the Egger-Lohner Model C.2 Phaeton, which is powered by electricity.

In 1899, the first speeding ticket in America is given to the driver of one of New Yorks electric cabs. Hes pulled over by a bike riding police officer while driving 12 mph in an 8 mph zone.

In the early 1900s, electric cars rise to prominence as more viable alternatives to steam cars, which can take 45 minutes to start in the morning, and to gasoline cars, which have to be cranked to start and required complicated gear shifting. Electric cars are advertised as especially suitable for women, given their lessened physical demands. By the turn of the century, more than a third of all cars on American roads are electric. The electric cars prominence will be short-lived, however, as technological advancements soon give gasoline power an overwhelming lead.

Ford Motor Co. introduced the Model T in 1908. Thanks to repeated improvements in its production, this gasoline-powered car will become ever cheaper to buy and nearly ubiquitous on American roads. Even so, Henry Fords wife, Clara, drives an electric car which she prefers to her husbands noisy creations.

In 1912, General Motors introduced the electric starter on the Cadillac Touring Edition, eliminating the need to crank the engine. This invention removed one of the most objectionable aspects of a gasoline-powered car. Over the following decades, electric cars virtually disappear from the roads, as gasoline and diesel power take over.

In 1958, one answer to the electric cars shortcomings was thought to be an onboard nuclear reactor. Fords Nucleon concept car (really just a prototype) is envisioned as having a reactor core that can power the car for 5,000 miles. After that, spent fuel rods would be swapped out at a convenient service station. The Nucleon was designed based on the assumption that, someday, nuclear reactors could be made safe enough for use in cars.

Major automakers hadnt totally given up on the potential of electric cars. In 1964, General Motors experiments with the Electrovair, a Chevrolet Corvair converted to run on batteries. Years later, GM also creates the Electrovette, an electric Chevrolet Chevette.

In 1967, American Motors Corporation (later absorbed by Chrysler) unveiled the Amitron, a prototype electric car. The company said it plans to offer the Amitron for sale in just a few years; that never happened.

Next week, part 2.
As darkness fell on the first night of Hanukkah in the Bitterroot Valley, more than 50 people gathered at the main entrance of the Ravalli County Fairgrounds to light the menorah and celebrate the beginning of Judaisms eight-day Festival of Lights.

Rabbi Chezky Vogel of the Chabad Jewish Center in Missoula, along with his wife and Jewish Center co-director Rochi Vogel, hosted the ceremony.

We love coming out here to Hamilton every year, Rabbi Vogel said. I'm particularly happy that we were able to kick off the festivities here in Hamilton. Many of the calls of support that I've been getting over the last few months  support for the Jewish people, support for our brothers and sisters in Israel  have been from this part of Montana. We're from Missoula, but many of the calls and emails and messages for bouquets of flowers even, a lot of them are coming from here. So it's particularly meaningful for us to be able to kick off Hanukkah here.

This years ceremony comes amidst the backdrop of a bloody war in the Middle-East and rising anti-Semitism in the U.S. Earlier the same day, Congress held a hearing regarding anti-Semitism on college campuses that drew heavy criticism from across the political spectrum against the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT.

Online chatter has also become increasingly alarming as billionaire Elon Musk publicly recently endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jewish communities push hatred against Whites on his platform X.

The world needs Hanukkah more than ever, Vogel said. That message of hope and light, the idea that we increase every single night. That's something that we could all get around.

Vogel opened the ceremony with the story of Hanukkah and why it is important to remember the meaning behind the celebration.

These stories are important, he said. Because when we celebrate a holiday, its not just to add some color to our Jewish lives. Those holidays have layers and layers of meaning, and the layers of meaning that come forth, come forth through the story. And that's why every single holiday, whether it's at the Passover Seder, whether it's the holiday of Purim, where we read the Megillah, the book of Esther, or on Hanukkah as well, it's always customary. A big part of the observance is to tell the story, to relive the story to see its meaning  its application to today. The story of Hanukkah has a very eerie application today.

Hanukkah means dedication in Hebrew. The holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century B.C., after a small group of Jewish fighters called the Maccabees liberated it from foreign forces.

With a small supply of oil found in the temple  enough for only a day  the menorah was lit, and miraculously stayed lit for eight days. The lighting of the candles, as well as the emphasis on cooking foods in oil such as donuts and potato pancakes called latkes, memorialize this long-lasting oil.

For Bitterroot Valley Jews, the ceremony was a time for celebration as well as reflection. Chaya Ojeda, 31, of Florence attended the event with her husband Zev and their four children. She said it was comforting to see so many people there, and know they are not alone.

It reminds me that we're not these little islands here in the valley of Jewish families, Ojeda said. That there actually are other people here in the valley. It kind of connects us to some of our Missoula Jewish community also. But yeah, the bigger thing is looking around and remembering like, oh, we are not alone. We actually do have a community here that we can keep in touch with, stay connected with.

Her husband, Zev Ojeda, 38, said he appreciated that the county made a space for them to celebrate publicly.

It's definitely great to just see that, he said. We are on county property and the fact that the county made space available for us to practice our faith here  it's a pretty cool day to be in a place where the local government respects our religion and our practices and makes a space for us to do it. One of the things we love about Ravalli County is how very Christian everything is... It's cool to us. It's not our religion, but it's nice to see religious people, you know, and so, for them to also extend that to us, its meaningful.

Rabbi Vogel said the best way people can express support for the Jewish community this Hanukkah season is to reach out.

if you know any Jews, your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers, reach out to them, and tell them that you're there for them, that you support them, Vogel said. There's nothing more meaningful than that. Also, speak up, be vocal. Support the Jewish people on a public platform, on your Facebook page, Instagram or whatnot. That has a very powerful impact in the type of world we live in today. So yes, be public about it. Don't be ashamed. You're on the right side, you're fighting the good fight.
Is remote work losing favor with employers? GM recently sent a letter to employees that as of January 2024, it will strictly enforce its rule that employees be on-site three days a week with limited exception.

Employees are pushing back, including those seeking reasonable accommodations due to a disability.

Last month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the employer in a lawsuit filed by an employee terminated in April 2019 where she sought a reasonable accommodation to work part time and remotely. The court ruled that the employer demonstrated these were essential job functions. Under federal law, employers do not have to remove essential job functions to accommodate an employee.

The employee, Cierra Geter, sued her employer, Schneider National Carriers Inc., a transportation and logistics company with 24/7 operations, for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it terminated her after she sought an accommodation.

Geter alleged she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and took a leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act. When this period ended, she sought accommodations to work part time and remotely. The company temporarily accommodated her, but then she continued to ask for these accommodations and was eventually terminated after the proposed accommodations appeared permanent.

The central issue in the case was whether Geter was qualified to do her job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Geter worked as an area planning manager (APM), and a primary duty of her role was supporting drivers. Her job description included regular and consistent attendance and timeliness.

Geter worked a grueling schedule  three days a week from 11 p.m. to 10 a.m., sometimes working alone.

It went undisputed that drivers appreciated when APMs were on-site, and this was a reason for the expectation by the employer to have her on-site when working.

The companys Flexible Work Accommodation policy permitted flexible work arrangements at the discretion of the company. The companys Remote Work Policy permitted telework at the approval of supervisors. Remote work was designed to be temporary, and the company did not allow perpetual remote work.

The appeals court concluded that full-time work was an essential job function, even though the job description did not explicitly state the job requirement was full time, and the employers flexible work arrangement policy permitted flexible work on a case-by-case basis.

A key analysis was the courts consideration of the consequences of not requiring the incumbent to perform the function. The fact that the employer temporarily got by during a short leave of absence is not dispositive. The court held that the employer was entitled to substantial weight on essential job functions.

In holding that in-person work was also an essential job function, the court rejected the employees argument that the company was able to make alternative arrangements during COVID-19 as evidence it could be performed remotely. The court held, This argument lacks merit. The bare feasibility of temporarily suspending a function in response to the COVID-19 pandemic does not demonstrate that the function was not essential.

The court added, Because Geters argument that Schneider should return to its pandemic-era policies collapses into an argument that Schneider should effectively excuse Geter from performing a fundamental function of her job, we reject it.

There is a definite divide on what employees want and employers believe they need relative to on-site attendance for office jobs. Employers are seeing the negative effect of remote work to the companys culture and, like GM, are taking a firmer stance on expectations.

To address requests for accommodations to work remotely, employers need to consider all requests on a case-by-case basis and should never flat-out reject a request for an accommodation. They are required to engage in the interactive process to determine if a reasonable accommodation can be provided. Employers should be able to defend their decisions if they determine that on-site attendance is an essential function, including considering the job description and the impact on the employer if the employee failed to work on-site. Mere preference does not amount to an essential job function.

Ideally, job descriptions outline whether predictable, reliable and on-site attendance are essential to successful performance of the job.

Employers also have a duty to determine if there is a vacant open position for which the employee is qualified as an accommodation if the employer determines it cannot provide a reasonable accommodation for the employees current role. This would be a lateral transfer or a demotion (the employer is not required to give a promotion), and the employee must be fully qualified for the position.
Authorities are investigating after two people were found dead in a New Kent County home.

Sheriffs deputies were called to the house in the 7500 block of English Boxwood Lane in Quinton at around 8:35 p.m. Wednesday. The home is in the Patriots Landing community north of Pocahontas Trail.

The bodies were taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, where officials will confirm their identities.

In a statement on Friday, the county Sheriffs Office said: At this time the investigation is ongoing and there is no threat to the community.

Hanover authorities: 2 arrested in shooting of horse Hanover investigators and Chesterfield County police on Dec. 5 arrested Jacob Brady, 20, of Richmond, and Robert Kelley Jr., 18, of North Chesterfield, in two separate operations, police said.
Thieves wearing ski masks broke into the $7 million home of Keanu Reeves in the Hollywood Hills and escaped with a stolen gun, according to a police report made on Friday, December 8.

Police sources informed TMZ that at about 7:00 PM local time on Wednesday, December 6, the actor's home was initially checked after an anonymous tip about a suspected intruder. However, no one was located at the scene. The alarm began beeping around 1:00 AM the following day, prompting the officers to return almost five hours later.

Targeted Again

A group of guys wearing ski masks were seen on surveillance footage by the police breaking a window and entering the celebrity's property, which had a value of almost $7 million, as reported by the New York Post.

The suspects allegedly stole a gun from the residence before running away, according to the police. One of the sources indicated that Reeves was not present at the residence during that time.

In their investigation, detectives have reviewed footage captured by security cameras both inside and outside the residence. They are particularly trying to determine whether the first contact that was made on Wednesday night was from someone who was merely scoping out the residence.

See Also: Sofia Vergara Requests Restraining Order After Unstable Stalker Aggressively Harassed Her

Similar Events

A similar incident occurred in 2014 when Reeves dealt with two separate break-ins.

At the time, a lady in her mid-40s had reportedly broken into the home where the actor was staying and had fallen asleep in the library chair. Reeves woke up and spoke with the unidentified lady who supposedly claimed to have come to see him before he dialed 911.

Days later, when he was out, another woman was said to have entered his house via an unlocked door. Reportedly, she undressed, hopped in his shower, and skinny-dipped in his pool before the cleaning staff contacted the authorities.

Psychological exams were conducted on both ladies after they were apprehended.

Apart from these incidents, Reeves and his girlfriend, Alexandra Grant, were both served with a temporary restraining order earlier this year, targeting a guy who asserted his connection with the actor.

The 38-year-old trespasser allegedly broke into the actor's Hollywood Hills mansion six times between November 5, 2022, and January 20 of this year. Court documents reportedly show that the trespasser made many attempts to make contact with the actor each time.

A special security detail was hired by Reeves to probe the supposed intruder, who had posted many times online claiming to be a blood related to the actor. The intruder made some strange social media postings in which he identified as Jasper Keith Reeves and expressed his desire to have the actor "in charge" of him. Additionally, he indicated his desire to transfer his "personal rights" to the actor.

See Also: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Faces New Rape, Sex Trafficking Lawsuit in New York After 4th Woman Accuses Music Mogul of Gang Raping Her

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch filed a lawsuit against the Richmond School Board on Friday over the boards decision to withhold an external investigation into the June 6 shooting death of an 18-year-old graduating student and his father outside of the Altria Theater after Huguenot High Schools commencement ceremony.

The suit asks the court to order the School Board to produce a copy of the report to the newspaper.

Richmond Public Schools previously denied the newspapers public records request for the report, saying that it is subject to the attorney-client privilege exemption laid out in Virginias public record laws.

The lawsuit filed in Richmond Circuit Court on Friday is an effort to enforce the newspapers rights and privileges under Virginias Freedom of Information Act.

In the lawsuit, the newspaper argues that the attorney-client privilege exemption does not apply in this case because the report was commissioned for operational advice, not legal advice. Virginias public record laws recognize that not every consultation with an attorney is privileged.

The school division initially conducted its own investigation, which it released to board members, but not to the public, due to student privacy laws. Several board members found the internal report to be inadequate and in August voted to authorize a third-party investigation of the circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting.

School Board members reviewed the commissioned report from the Sands Anderson law firm at a Nov. 6 meeting during closed session, but were not allowed to take the report away with them.

At a Nov. 20 meeting, School Board member Jonathan Young, who represents the 4th District, introduced a proposal to release the third-party investigation. The motion failed on a 6-2 vote with one member abstaining.

The Times-Dispatch filed a public records request with the school division the next day. One week later, the school division responded and said it is withholding the 32-page report in its entirety.

New Southern restaurant Farm + Oak is now open in Innsbrook Farm + Oak is now open in Innsbrook at 3601 Cox Road in The Shoppes at Twin Oaks in the former home of Natalies Taste of Lebanon.

Its awfully important in any circumstance, but particularly when youre talking about safety, and particularly when youre talking about a loss of life at a school-related event, that we are prepared to answer the hard questions, Young said during an interview with the newspaper after the Nov. 20 meeting.

The public is at a disadvantage if they are unable to see the very audit, the very investigative report that we commissioned for the purpose of holding us accountable. Its just very counterintuitive.

The school district declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday.

PHOTOS: GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
06-20-1962: Workmen measure Monumental Church with mammoth 'yardstick' Richmond's old Monumental Episcopal Church is hving its measurements taken. The measurements are needed to draw up plans for the proposed restoration of the 150-year-old church.

In June 1986, Historic Richmond Foundation leader John G. Zehmer Jr. (center left) reviewed roof plans with architect Kenneth MacIlroy at Monumental Church on East Broad Street in Richmond. The historic church, built as a memorial to those killed in the 1811 Richmond Theatre fire, was getting a new copper roof as a step toward preserving the building.

From the Archives: Monumental Church

Monumental Church on East Broad Street was built in 1814 as a memorial to those killed in the 1811 Richmond Theater fire. This fire killed 72 people including Virginias governor. That night, nearly 600 people had filled the theater for a post-Christmas day performance which was a local highlight of the holiday season. However, disaster struck when a chandelier was raised into the rafters before it was completely extinguished and in mere minutes, the building was consumed by flames.

The building was designed by Robert Mills, Americas first native-born architect and the only architectural pupil of Thomas Jefferson, according to the Historic Richmond Foundation which owns the building today. Mills won a competition to construct the memorial in 1812. The 70-foot octagonal auditorium was accentuated with Roman, Greek and Egyptian motifs and funerary imagery. The Richmond church is considered the most elaborate example of the four domed churches that Mills designed during his career. Nationally, it is considered one of the earliest and best examples of Greek Revival.

Monumental Church was deeded to the Medical College of Virginia in 1965. In 1971 it was designated a National Historic Landmark and Historic Richmond received the building in 1983 and continues to maintain it today.
Michael Paul Williams Columnist Follow Michael Paul Williams 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

During the 1950s and 1960s, African American civil rights leaders agitated for the desegregation of public schools, equal access to public accommodations, fair housing and unfettered access to the ballot.

During the past decade, they have been powerful voices decrying the brutalization of Black people by the police.

But Wednesday, they won something far more dubious: the protection of menthol cigarettes, a known nemesis of Black life.

After lobbying by the Rev. Al Sharpton, former NAACP head Ben Chavis and others on behalf of the deep-pocketed cigarette industry, the Biden administration moved to delay, at least until March, a planned Food and Drug Administration ban on menthol cigarettes that was supposed to go into effect by the end of December. Some public health officials fear that the delay will become the death knell for the planned ban on menthol cigarettes, a product that the tobacco industry strategically marketed toward Black people.

According to Truth Initiative, nearly 9 out of 10 African American smokers use menthol cigarettes. More than 39,000 African Americans die from tobacco-related cancers each year. And research shows that if menthols were banned in the U.S., more than 44% of African American menthol smokers would try to quit.

The cooling sensation of menthol makes the cigarettes easier to inhale, creating a more pleasant smoking experience. The blatant targeting of this product to Black smokers was made easier by redlining and housing segregation. The 1990 unveiling by R.J. Reynolds of a premium menthol brand called Uptown was denounced as slick and sinister by then-Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, young people, racial and ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, women, people with low incomes, and people with mental health conditions are more likely than other populations to smoke menthol cigarettes, which are harder to quit.

Truth Initiative, citing the devastating toll of tobacco products on minority communities, calls tobacco a social justice issue.

Apparently, these civil rights leaders didnt get the message.

I certainly didnt see that there were any clues that would have led me up until now into believing that we were going to be reversing course, said Dr. Robert Winn, director of Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. But you know, clearly things happened.

Well, politics happened  were poised to enter a presidential election year. And clearly, the Black Lives Matter fervor of three years ago has fallen out of season.

I am gutted, to be honest, said Mignonne Guy, an associate professor of African American Studies at VCU who specializes in medical racism and health inequities. But Guy, who spoke to the Congressional Black Caucus on the issue, said she wasnt surprised at the delay.

Hope is a powerful drug, right? I dont know if its more powerful than nicotine, but hope is a powerful drug. And Id hoped that the federal government would finally do the right thing, she said.

Obviously, the post-George Floyd mea culpa is over. That window closed, which is why I wanted them to move fast. Because I knew that window would close.

Black civil rights leaders should be advocating for whats best for Black health and Black lives instead of shilling for a tobacco industry desperate to protect a product that in 2021 made up 37% of all cigarette sales in the U.S., according to the CDC. Then again, the tobacco industry is known for its strategic philanthropy to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Black institutions.

The civil rights leaders apparently had success in arguing that the ban would create a black market for menthol cigarettes that would result in police targeting Black people  not unlike what occurred in the case of Eric Garner, who died from a chokehold by a New York City police officer in 2014 after being accused of selling loosie cigarettes.

This is a cynical fearmongering ploy. Its hard to see how the hypothetical spate of menthol-related civil rights abuses outweighs the 45,000 Black lives lost each year to tobacco-related illness. Guy described this messaging as a propaganda tool by the tobacco industry that plays on Americas basic sentiment that Black people are criminals.

The smokescreen of potential unintended consequences is a poor excuse to protect menthol cigarettes and the profit margins of tobacco companies. And here, Ill add that for me, this isnt business, its personal: My father, a longtime menthol cigarette smoker, was a lung cancer victim.

Al Sharpton or Ben Chavis or (civil rights lawyer) Ben Crump talking about cigarettes and Black Lives Matter in the same breath, you have to wonder where their priorities are, Guy said.

Meanwhile, Canada, our neighbor to the north, has banned menthol cigarettes without the nightmare prohibition scenarios predicted here. The European Union did the same in May 2020.

Even if the data is tight, the science is right, there is this other cultural issue in which  sometimes, because of history and because of many other things  it gets conflated and interjected into a discussion that it probably shouldnt be in, Winn said.

In Virginia, if menthol cigarettes were no longer available, its estimated that an additional 16,900 adults would quit smoking, including an additional 6,200 non-Hispanic Black adults, according to the CDC.

Even the best data and the best science have to run up with the unfortunate, and the sometimes irrational, level of societal prejudices and history. And even some good things can get caught up in the buzz saw of historical injustices, Winn said. The result, even on a matter that we know will save lives, attaches political or cultural issues that can then undermine these efforts.

Winn says that in light of this delay, public health advocates need to return to the Biden administration with more compelling data and a more compelling story about why this matters, while also engaging individuals and groups opposed to the ban.

The only way it becomes a final loss is if we dont get back up, dust ourselves off, come up with better data, come up with more partners to bring to the table, and come up with better engagement of community ... particularly those communities that are most at-risk.

Guy says researchers and public health advocates, outmanned and out-resourced, need to pivot from policy to community-based cessation and prevention efforts. If this ban freeze becomes permanent, the federal government needs to invest money and resources toward research on smoking cessation for menthol cigarettes.

Weve studied menthol as if its a regular cigarette. It is not a regular cigarette, which is why (the FDA) has a case to ban it, she said. Once the science is there, then we can try to implement cessation in our own communities.

Absent a ban, that sounds like a plan. On menthol cigarettes, we cant count on Big Tobacco, politicians or civil rights leaders to do the right thing.

From the Archives: Photos of the Richmond region in the 1980s
QUESTION: I hired a new customer service manager six months ago. Unfortunately, she just quit, saying that she just couldnt stand the stress of having to deal with upset customers. Thats part of the job. Why did she take the job if she couldnt handle this stress?

ANSWER: Perhaps she didnt have a complete understanding of what the job entailed. A realistic job preview is a tool organizations use to convey both the positive and negative aspects of a job. For instance, when Polly worked in manufacturing, she used to take prospective hires into the plant to smell the odors, feel the heat or cold, and get a true picture of the working environment. She would have candidates load 20-pound boxes on pallets for 15 minutes. Afterward, she would explain to the candidates that their job would include stacking boxes for several hours each day. Applicants not interested in the position would self-select-out at that time.

It isnt all about the negative. Giving a realistic job preview also includes explaining what is great about your organization, what makes you different or special, and what benefits you offer. In our company, Polly spends time with each employee to discuss their career aspirations. At times, this means helping them find the next step in their career outside of our organization or helping them apply to graduate school. This kind of career counseling is something that makes us different from other employers.

You are not alone in failing to provide an accurate job preview. We ran across an example of an associate minister who didnt understand the true job requirements. The church had a strong senior minister who wanted things done in a particular way. The search committee should have explained to the prospective candidate that her job was to do what the senior pastor instructed  not that she would have a collegial relationship and be a co-equal with autonomous responsibility for her areas of the church. The committee should have explained that this was a great church, financially strong, growing and healthy with an involved congregation because of the leadership of the senior pastor. The associate could learn a lot from this leadership. However, there should be no question as to who was in charge. Given this reality check, she might have declined the job offer or the relationship might have progressed differently.

In another example, a bookkeeper felt that she had been deceived. During the interviewing process, the owner had described a situation that was quite different from reality. For instance, the books were in much worse shape than described, the office was a mess, there were no standard processes, and the owner had failed to mention the infighting, squabbling and disrespect among current employees. Prior to her first day on the job, she didnt understand that she would be working in a basement at a table in a kitchen.

Finally, the owner had given her the idea that she would be in charge of all things financial. In reality, he had a difficult time letting go of making all of the financial decisions. She left, in part, because her expectations had been shattered. She said she might have taken the job for the challenge if she had known the truth. Unfortunately, she no longer trusted the owner to be honest and therefore couldnt work for him.

Finally, a plumber had owned his own business for more than 20 years. He had been the boss. He and his wife had made all the decisions for their business. He sold the business because he was tired of the pressures and responsibilities that come with operating a small business. The plumber had expected that he would be able to run the plumbing division of the company to which he sold his business. He expected to have authority and autonomy without the risk and pressures that come with owning your own business. He didnt have a realistic picture of what it would mean to report to a general manager and have to follow a strategy, rules and processes set by others.

Once rested, his need to be the boss redeveloped. He began to balk at decisions made by the general manager, telling the plumbing crews that they should follow his orders instead. He became disruptive in meetings and subversive in his dealings with employees and customers. The plumber felt that the company had misled him as to his role and responsibilities. In this situation, a realistic job preview might have uncovered information that would have squashed the sale. This would have been preferable for both parties. The maintenance company spent a lot of money for little value.Human resources, owners and hiring managers are often reticent to tell potential employees the negative aspects of jobs and organizations because they want to fill their open position and they dont want to discourage prospective employees. However, in our experience, honesty is absolutely the best policy. Even if the employee stays with your organization after finding out the truth about working conditions, shattered expectations kill motivation. All jobs and organizations have warts. Dont try to hide them. Instead, give a balanced profile  a realistic job preview. Tell the truth about the negatives. Employees will respect you for doing so.
Playa del Carmen taxi driver assaulted on Riviera Maya highway

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  A taxi driver was taken to a Playa del Carmen hospital Friday after being assaulted by passenger. Another passing taxi driver noticed the female driver and stopped to help.

She had been hit in the back of the head with a blunt object during an alleged assault by her passenger. The incident was reported outside a Riviera Maya theme park around 10 kilometers south of Playa del Carmen.

A fellow taxi driver was traveling the Riviera Maya highway when he saw the taxi pulled over and the woman driver struggling with her door open. She was found alone and bleeding from her head.

The passing taxi driver put her inside his car while he called for an ambulance.

Initially, the woman thought she had been shot, however, a medical assessment revealed she had been hit in the head by an object.

Exact details surrounding the 3:30 p.m. assault are not known.
NATURAL BRIDGE  Nearly 100 animals, both alive and dead, were seized from the Natural Bridge Zoo in Rockbridge County Wednesday, according to court documents, as the Office of the Attorney General Animal Law Unit conducted an investigation.

The Office of the Attorney General Animal Law Unit offers support and prosecution of animal cruelty cases upon request of a local Commonwealths Attorney or law enforcement agency, Victoria LaCivita, attorney generals office communications director, said in an email Friday. Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot comment further.

But LaCivita added that a tiger from the zoo had been euthanized.

The tiger was euthanized with consent of the owners to humanely end its suffering upon recommendation by the specialist veterinarian following their examination, LaCivita wrote.

An attempt to contact zoo officials by email Friday was unsuccessful.

This is what led up to the investigation, according to search warrants certified in Rockbridge County:

Debbie Mogensen, the owner of the zoo located in the 5700 block of Lee Highway in Natural Bridge, hired a person who later became a confidential informant. He worked at the zoo between March and October as a farmhand and groundskeeper.

During his employment, the confidential informant recorded his observations and conversations with other employees and documented the animals and their habitats.

Among the documented animals was an elephant named Asha. Her keeper, Mark Easley, had worked at the zoo for over 15 years.

The confidential information reported that on April 12, Easley told him that it is important to get keeper respect from any of the animals in the park. He advised [the confidential informant] to always jab them where bone is close to flesh. Make it count.

On May 8, the informant reported that Easley said the only reason you hit an elephant is for intimidation, and that he was not Ashas friend.

Im not her friend, Im her boss and you gain respect through fear, Easley said, according to affidavits.

The confidential informant also documented Ashas living conditions, which were substandard, affidavits read. She stood and slept in her own urine, was chained when unattended and given cold baths.

The affidavits also say that Asha, who has lived as a solitary elephant for decades, has very little enrichment. Asha sways and rocks from side to side in order to soothe herself and relieve boredom and stress.

On June 3, the confidential informant documented, Easley said Asha carried 166 zoo guests on her back, affidavits read. The next day, she carried 191.

A sign hear the zoos elephant ride area sets the ride weight limit at 250 pounds. But the confidential informant regularly saw two adults plus a child riding Asha at one time.

The confidential informant also documented issues with other zoo animals, including a female zebra that appeared to have a medical issue with her rear hoof/leg. The zebra had been given medication that was expired and prescribed for another animal.

The informant also observed a cassowary with a broken/chipped beak and diarrhea, passing undigested food.

On Oct. 25, additional animals were observed suffering from dirty water, lack of food and enrichment and physical impairments like overgrown hooves and unaligned beaks.

The most alarming issue was a deceased goat in the African Pygmy Goat exhibit, an affidavit read. This deceased goat remained there for over an hour unnoticed by staff and by the time we left was bloated and stiff.

Similar issues were observed during a visit to the zoo by confidential informants on Nov. 4. Coming from boxes inside the capuchin exhibit were large number of electric cords, which were plugged into other cords secured with electrical tape that appeared to be hazardous, affidavits continue.

Asha, the elephant, was also observed again on Nov. 4. She had marks on her skin that matched the riding harness and straps that she had on during elephant rides, affidavits read. Ashas skin also appeared dry and flaky.

We believe there to be a direct and immediate threat to the health and safety of the animals belonging to and residing at Natural Bridge Zoo, affidavits read.

On Wednesday, police executed the first of two search warrants at the zoo. Eighty-nine living animals were seized. Another 28 deceased animals were removed from the facility, including the euthanized tiger, a white Bengal, according to the executed warrant document.

Police also seized one giraffe skin, two giraffe tails, giraffe and zebra legs, one giraffe head, one mandrill head, one bongo pelt, one zebra pelt, five baggies of frozen giraffe feces and three specimen jars labeled Asha. Electronics, including cellphones, documents and logbooks were also seized.

On Thursday, police executed a second search warrant at the zoo, this time looking for medications, including bottles of ketamine and expired gabapentin in the Mogensens residence.

From the property, law enforcement seized 30 drug-related items, including a lidocaine injectible.

Virginia State Police are assisting the attorney generals office in its investigation, Sgt. Rick Garletts, public information officer in the state police Salem division, said in an email Friday.

Were running point, LaCivita confirmed. We cant say anything more at this time.

The attorney generals office provided additional court documents to The Roanoke Times late Friday that said 95 animals had been seized from the zoo.

The documents also said four giraffes, three females and one male, have not been impounded but there will be a hearing for seizure to determine whether the animal(s) have been subject to cruel treatment or neglect. That Rockbridge General District Court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
A man who police said ambushed a Clifton Forge police officer outside police headquarters Friday night while armed with a knife was shot.

Virginia State Police are investigating the attack and gunfire that left the 24-year-old knife-wielding man flown to Roanoke for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

State police said the incident happened at 9:37 p.m. Friday at the rear entrance of the Clifton Forge Police Department.

The 24-year-old, whose name has not been released pending warrants being served on him, assaulted a police officer who had just left the building and knocked him to the ground, state police said.

While the officer was on the ground, the subject advanced on the officer and was shot. The attack was an unprovoked, ambush style attack, according to a statement issued by state police Sgt. Rick Garletts.

State police investigators will turn their findings over to Alleghany Countys commonwealths attorney, Garletts said.
MULLINS, S.C.  McCormick Elementary School staff and administrators hosted their first Epic Parent Resource Retreat Night offering free dinner and an informational meeting with several community partnering agencies.

A group of parents and students met with representatives from Pee Dee Healthy Start, Clemson Extension, Pee Dee Mental Health and Community Student Initiative.

Assistant Principal Shauna Stanton said the event is a helpful tool.

The main reason we did this was to try and be an outreach to our parents, Stanton said. We want to give them resources to better help themselves and their children. This was the first successful event and we plan to have more.

Community Student Initiative coordinator Carolyn Wilson said she enjoys continuing to serve the school district.

I have done retreats years back but this is the first one weve had here, Wilson said. There are a lot of resources in Marion County and the Pee Dee area and we just want to help people tap into it.

Wilson said more activities are planned for the future.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Mostly cloudy early, then sunshine for the afternoon. High 74F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear with gusty winds developing late. Low 51F. S winds shifting to W at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
U.S. business insiders find China's tourism market more attractive due to wider opening-up

Xinhua) 09:47, December 09, 2023

Tourists visit the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

China is expected to be "a top travel destination by mid-2024," and with its wider opening-up, people are "excited to go there," said Carmen Mcleod Whitaker of Atlanta's IHG, an attendee at the 2023 United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) Annual Conference and Marketplace.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. business insiders who attended a five-day travel industry event here have seen greater opportunities from China's tourism market in the near future as the country is introducing more opening-up measures on traveling, including new visa policies.

China is expected to be "a top travel destination by mid-2024," and with its wider opening-up, people are "excited to go there," said Carmen Mcleod Whitaker of Atlanta's IHG, an attendee at the 2023 United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) Annual Conference and Marketplace concluding on Wednesday.

"Asia tours are big right now ... China is an up-and-coming destination that we expect to see really nice recovery in 2024," said Kirk Demeter, a tour operator of Asia Answers.

This year's conference has witnessed in particular a national tourism promotion event named "Nihao! China" being held in Los Angeles, which brought together more than 800 guests from the 2023 USTOA Annual Conference and Marketplace.

Attending the event, Guo Shaochun, China's consul general in Los Angeles, introduced to the guests China's opening-up measures on traveling, including its new visa policies.

Mutual decisions reached by the presidents of the two countries at the summit in California last month would directly benefit the tourism industries of both countries, including increasing direct passenger flights, holding a high-level dialogue on tourism, and streamlining visa application procedures, among others, Guo said.

"Our cooperation in tourism has evolved from a mere exchange of tourism markets to a comprehensive industry-wide cooperation. China and the United States have formed an all-round and high-level cooperation pattern in the tourism industry," he said.

Guo also introduced the latest optimization of China's visa policies to the attendees, most of whom are tour operators, saying the continuing reform of the visa policies will be helpful for U.S. business insiders to design and develop more tour products specific to China.

"You are welcome to visit China, to experience its rich history and culture, witness its breathtaking natural landscapes, savor delicious Chinese cuisine, and enjoy the convenient transportation and other tourism services," he said.

Terry Dale, president and CEO of USTOA, told Xinhua that he visited China twice and had some "amazing memories" of China, from seeing the Great Wall to tasting delicious food.

"The American people are very hopeful to visit China," said Dale. "I totally agree with what a member of USTOA said: 'People will never regret going to China.'"

"Tourism is all about bringing countries together and benefiting from cultural exchanges. When people have an opportunity to experience each other in person, they see we're all the same -- we are all human," he said.

"Our clients are ready to go (to China). You must see the scope of China to believe it -- it is one of the greatest civilizations in the world ... And it has fast trains, great air connections, world-class hotels, and a wonderful cuisine that varies tremendously by region," said Bob Drumm, CEO of one of America's oldest tour companies, Alexander and Roberts.

Throughout the year, China and the United States have increased flight frequencies multiple times. Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that in the winter-spring flight season, the number of direct regular passenger flights between the two countries is expected to increase from 48 to 70 per week.

But tour operators like Martin Chan of Ritz Tours, one of the largest travel agencies handling tours to China from the United States since 1999, hope for more.

"All we are waiting for is more airline space -- there's currently not enough capability on flights to China to expand demand," said Chan, who wished to send more U.S. tourists to China in the future.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his intention to seek another term in the upcoming March 2024 elections, which possibly extend his tenure in office until 2030 at the earliest. He announced the news Friday, December 8, following a Kremlin ceremony, CNN reported.

During the elections that will be held on March 17, 2024, Putin will run for president for a fifth time. He has been in office for almost 20 years and wants to continue firmly holding on to power.

In addition, this will be the first presidential election in which citizens of the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson--all of which were seized by Russia from Ukraine during the conflict--would be able to cast ballots. Local elections in these places, which authorities supported by Russia allegedly staged, were already denounced by the international community as being fraudulent.

The Kremlin has issued no official statement about Putin's candidacy as of yet.

Rise to Power

When Boris Yeltsin suddenly handed Putin his presidency on New Year's Eve 1999, Putin had already served as acting prime minister of Russia since August of that year.

He stepped aside in 2008 after serving two four-year terms as president because he could not legally seek reelection. In place of him, Dmitry Medvedev was inaugurated as president, and Putin was re-elected to the position of prime minister.

However, he got back into the presidency in 2012 and has not let go of the reins since. Putin was able to secure his reelection in 2018, and in 2021, he signed a bill that allowed him to seek reelection for two further six-year terms.

See Also: US Accuses 2 Russian Hackers of Sophisticated 'Spear Phishing' Campaign To Interfere With 2019 UK Election

Autocratic Leadership; War in Ukraine

In March next year, Putin is anticipated to encounter little resistance. However, political opponents who dared to challenge his autocratic leadership faced the same consequences: exile, incarceration, or mysteriously executed deaths.

In August, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was handed a 19-year jail term on accusations of extremism. The detention of Navalny, according to him and his followers, was an attempt to censor his criticism of Putin for political reasons.

In 2020, he was sent from Russia to Germany after his poisoning with the nerve toxin Novichok, which was used during the Soviet period. After being airlifted from Omsk, a city in Siberia, Navalny turned up comatose at a Berlin hospital. CNN and Bellingcat found the Russian Security Service responsible for Navalny's poisoning.

Russia adamantly denies any role in the poisoning of Navalny. Putin said in December 2020 that the Russian security services "would have finished" the assassination attempt on Navalny if they had desired to do so.

Despite its costs, the war in Ukraine is still widely supported in Russia, even if it is hard to assess.

The Kremlin strives to keep the Russian public insulated from the fight, but Ukraine has frequently attacked towns throughout Russia, even the Kremlin.

Earlier, Russia announced a 170,000-troop surge earlier this month as its invasion of Ukraine continues.

See Also: Vladimir Putin To Make Rare Visit to Saudi Arabia, UAE To Discuss Israel-Hamas War

@ 2024 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
SIOUX CITY  The Sioux City Community School District's student population is very diverse, with more than 47 different home languages being spoken.

Karen Harrison, director of development of the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation, said many students arrive in the district from warm climates and aren't dressed for cold winter weather.

"They hear they're coming to Iowa, but they have no idea what the Iowa weather is like. Can you imagine coming from somewhere like maybe Mexico or Africa?" Harrison said.

The Sioux City Public Schools Foundation's annual cold weather clothing campaign encourages Siouxlanders to help "Clothes the Gap" for families who have experienced some setbacks, are on free and reduced lunches, or have immigrated to the area, by donating new winter wear. On average, 70% of the district's 15,000 students and their families are in need of some assistance.

"Last year, we did have quite a few apartment fires which displaced a lot of families, and some of those families lost everything," Harrison said. "With our clothing closet that we have, we were able to help get clothes to those families that were in need immediately through our equity department and through our counselors or school staff."

Winter clothing drive Karen Harrison, director of development of the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation, stands along a rack of winter coats that have been donate

Coats, hats, gloves/mittens, boots, sweaters and long pants are being collected for toddlers, youth and teens. The clothing can be dropped off at the district's school buildings or the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation office, 627 Fourth St.

Personal care hygiene items and laundry detergent are also being accepted, along with monetary donations, which will be used to purchase needed items.

Harrison said the clothing drive has been going since roughly 2018 and is part of the "equity pillar" that the foundation assists with.

"These are adult problems kids shouldn't have to worry about," she said. "But Maslow's hierarchy of needs is making sure those basic needs are met so they can concentrate on their education."

Harrison said the drive is "usually quite successful." Last year, she said the campaign brought in three $1,000 donations. When the need for coats is exhausted, she said any left over money supports the purchase of caps and gowns for graduating seniors or free period products for students. This year, Harrison said there is a special need for adult sized clothing for high school students.

"That's always a need, and my high schools told me that's something that they're really lacking," she said. "They hang up the coats by the entrance, and then the kids can nonchalantly just walk up and grab what they need."
SAC CITY, Iowa  The Sac County Sheriff's Office gave its first update in more than a week on Wall Lake, Iowa resident David Schultz who was reported missing on November 21.

Saturday morning, Sac County Sheriff Ken McClure said in a release that the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has assisted with a forensic search of David Schultzs phone and confirmed he has "not legally gone through a U.S. border crossing" and is still missing.

McClure said the last time Schultz was seen was on an Iowa Department of Transportation camera on "Hwy 20 west of MM 126 truck stop heading west." According to McClure: Schultz, a 53-year-old married truck driver and father of two, had his vehicle called in by a Sac County Secondary Road employee at 3:04 p.m. on November 21 after it was discovered parked on the "traveled portion of the road at the intersection of D-15 (190th Street) and N-14 (Union Ave.)."

"It was reported that this semi had been sitting there since early morning. Responding deputies determined that it was David Schultzs. The semi was shut off, and inside deputies found David Schultz's wallet and cell phone," McClure said. "David Schultzs driver's license was in the wallet. Investigators would later learn that nothing was missing from the wallet."

Following the discovery, McClure said county investigators searched the area on foot and with a K-9 and requested assistance from the Iowa State Patrol airwing unit.

"A state patrol pilot flew the surrounding area and did not detect a heat signature that would be consistent with a person," McClure said. "For the next two days, law enforcement, area firefighters, and volunteers expanded the ground search on foot and with the use of drones. Nothing of significant value was located."

To further the search, McClure said Sac County Sheriff's detectives and Lake View Police traveled to the Eagle Grove area (in Wright County) and, with help from the Wright County Sheriff's Office, found the hog confinement Schultz was supposed to load up from.

"Load crew members were interviewed, and load records were obtained," McClure said. "Investigators learned that Schultz had picked up his load but had been late to arrive and he was the last truck loaded. Schultz left at about 10:50 p.m."

At some point in Schultz's journey, McClure said cellphone data shows Schultz traveling to "the intersection of Hwy 20 & Hwy 71 junction."

"There was not any usable video from the DOT camera at Hwy 4 and Hwy 20, and there is no video of Schultz stopping at the truck stop at Hwy 4," McClure said. "Cellphone (data) shows Schultzs phone arrives at Hwy 20 & 71 at about 12:18 a.m. The data shows the phone traveling north to where the truck was found. Data suggests the truck may have been there since 12:40 a.m. on November 21, 2023."

Investigators obtained video surveillance, per McClure, from "an area business was obtained near Wieckman Hog Buying station." McClure said: "This video shows that David Schultz never made it to Wieckmans. Law enforcement has searched for additional video footage from Eagle Grove to Fort Dodge but has not located any."

Since Schultz's disappearance, the United Cajun Navy, a Louisiana-based nonprofit, and volunteers have scoured more than 100,000 acres in and around Sac County. In addition to Sac County, Lake View, Iowa DCI and Wright County law enforcement officials, the Iowa State Patrol and Minneapolis Police have helped look for Schultz.

Schultz's wife, Sarah, has repeatedly called the disappearance "suspicious" and said "This is not something David would do. He would never leave. His family is his life."

Sarah Schultz last saw her husband at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, November 20. She said David had been working all day and asked her to grab him a change of clothes.

"He had to do another Seaboard load from Eagle Grove to Sac City," she said. "He just washed up and changed and gave me a kiss and ran out the door. He's always in a hurry."

Sarah Schultz said David was eager to get his work done and come back home, since her daughter and grandson were visiting from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. However, on Tuesday morning, Schultz found the man whom David hauls livestock for on her doorstep.

"He said, 'Have you spoken to Dave?'" Schultz recalled. "I said, 'No.' He said, 'No one can get ahold of him and the pigs haven't been dropped off yet.'"

McClure said anyone with any information is asked to contact the Sac County Sheriffs Office at 712-662-7127 or their local law enforcement agency.
ATLANTA  An effort to access voting system software in several states and provide it to allies of former President Donald Trump as they sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election has raised serious threats ahead of next year's presidential contest, according to a group of experts who urged federal agencies to investigate.

The letter sent by nearly two dozen computer scientists, election security experts and voter advocacy organizations asks for a federal probe and a risk assessment of voting machines used throughout the country, saying the software breaches have urgent implications for the 2024 election and beyond. The breaches affected voting equipment made by two companies that together count over 70% of the votes cast across the country, according to the letter.

The multistate effort to unlawfully obtain copies of voting system software poses serious threats to election security and national security and constitutes a potential criminal conspiracy of enormous consequences, the group wrote in a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, special counsel Jack Smith, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. We must protect our most sacred tenet of democracy  the security of our vote.

The letter, sent to the agencies this past week, was organized by the left-leaning group Free Speech for People, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on election and campaign finance reforms. The group also has filed challenges in a handful of states seeking to ban Trump from the ballot in 2024 under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Trump's loss in the 2020 election helped fuel unfounded conspiracy theories around voting machines that in turn led to threats against election workers, a push in many conservative counties to hand-count ballots and defamation lawsuits by companies that make the equipment. Authorities in three states  Colorado, Georgia and Michigan  have charged people in connection with breaches at local election offices, but there has been no public indication of a federal probe.

The letter outlines what is known publicly about the efforts to access those voting systems, which began in the weeks after the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. It cites a Dec. 18, 2020, meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump allies, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, discussed a desire to access voting machines in presidential swing states Trump lost, according to congressional testimony. It also details subsequent efforts to secure that access.

Powell, Giuliani and Trump were among 19 people charged this summer in Fulton County, Georgia, where state prosecutors have alleged they were part of a conspiracy to overturn Trumps loss in the state. That included the unauthorized breach of voting systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia.

Powell has since pleaded guilty to reduced charges and has agreed to testify against her co-defendants. Prosecutors alleged she had conspired with others to access election equipment without authorization in the county and hired a computer forensics firm to copy software and data from voting machines and computers.

The letter to federal officials cites various documents and news reports to highlight potential connections between Powell and three people charged in a similar effort in Michigan, where state prosecutors allege there was unauthorized access to ballot tabulators in three counties. Powell has not been charged in the Michigan case.

In addition to Georgia and Michigan, the letter mentions voting system breaches or attempts to access voting-related systems in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada and Colorado as well as various individuals involved in the efforts. It stresses that possession of voting system software could enable people with ill intent to practice how to meddle in the 2024 election, allowing them to identify vulnerabilities and test potential attacks.

And they could use their knowledge of the software to fabricate evidence of stolen votes, either for disinformation or to challenge election results, the letter said.

In Colorado, former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters has pleaded not guilty to state charges alleging she was part of a deceptive scheme to provide unauthorized access to the countys voting systems during a May 2021 breach that eventually resulted in a copy of the voting system hard drive being posted online.

Peters, whose trial is scheduled for next year, has said she had the authority to investigate concerns that the voting equipment had been manipulated. She has appeared at several events with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump ally who has promoted election conspiracy theories.

Among the 22 people who signed the letter to the federal agencies was Douglas W. Jones, a computer scientist who said the effects of the various breaches were not limited to the local election offices where they occurred because the voting system software involved is used by many offices across the country. The letter says those involved accessed equipment made by two of the leading manufacturers, Dominion Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software.

In 2024, no matter which way the election goes, election deniers on one side or the other could easily grasp on the breaches following the 2020 election and suggest that those breaches allowed the 2024 results to be cooked, he said.
Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.
The Republican Party of Iowa has released precinct locations for the 2024 Republican presidential caucuses.

Iowa Republicans will caucus at 7 p.m. Jan. 15, 2024, holding the first contest in the GOP presidential nominating cycle. As the caucuses are party-run meetings, many of the caucus precinct locations for GOP participants may not be the same as their voting locations.

To find their precinct, Iowans can go to the Iowa Secretary of States website and enter their home address. Then, find their precinct's caucus location on the Republican Party of Iowa's website listed under their county.

The Republican Party of Iowa noted caucus sites are subject to change, and encouraged caucusgoers to check the website before they head out to caucus on Jan. 15 to ensure they have the correct location.

To participate, individuals will need to be a registered Republican voter and have a valid form of ID.

People wishing to register as a Republican on caucus night will need to bring an ID and a proof of address, such as a utility bill, paycheck or other document.

The Republican Party of Iowa has debuted a new website with a guide to participating in the 2024 caucuses, and includes information on caucus participation requirements. For more details, people can go to https://www.iowagop.org/2024caucus.

Iowa Democrats presidential caucuses will follow a different schedule. State Democrats will still hold in-person caucuses Jan. 15 to conduct party business, but there will be no expression of presidential preference at the event.

The party approved a new system that will have Democrats announce the results of a mail-in presidential preference process on March 5, Super Tuesday.

The change came after Iowa Democrats lost their spot in the national partys nominating calendar earlier this year under an effort to redesign the calendar in a way that better represented the party's demographics.

Precinct locations for the in-person Democratic caucuses have not yet been released, according to the Iowa Democratic Partys website.

Presidential preference cards will be mailed starting Jan. 12.

Democrats have until 5 p.m. on Feb. 19 to request a card on the IDP website, iowademocrats.org/caucus.

New Haley ad features deployed husband

Nikki Haleys presidential campaign released a new ad featuring her husband, who is currently on his second deployment with the U.S. Army in Africa.

Its the second ad from Haleys campaign on broadcast and cable TV and across digital platforms, and is part of a previously announced $10 million ad-buy for television, radio and digital ads running in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The new ad, American Strength, features the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador talking about her husbands first deployment to Afghanistan and the difficulty he had transitioning to regular life when he returned.

Michael Haley is a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard.

Haley, on the campaign trail, often talks of her husband's military service and being a military spouse, and how that informs her foreign policy views and priorities if elected.

When Michael returned from Afghanistan, loud noises startled him. He couldnt be in crowds, Haley says in the ad. The transition was hard. Some people ask, why sacrifice? Why serve? Why fight?

I know why. Because if Russia wins, China wins. If Hamas wins, Iran wins, she says in the ad. And if evil succeeds it puts all of us at risk. American strength doesnt start wars. It prevents them. Thats what Ill do as president.

Haley, both on the campaign trails and debate stage, has lambasted President Joe Bidens handling of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and has said that the United States needs to be more aggressive than the Biden administration in response to Iran and China.

Nikki Haley will stand up for America and stand up to our enemies just like she did at the United Nations, Haley campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement. She will prevent war and make America more secure.

New site encourages Iowans to join Progress Iowas storytelling effort

Progress Iowa launched a new website Friday as a resource for Iowans to share their stories and advocate for a range of issues, including support for public schools, protecting access to abortion and reproductive health care, workers rights and the opportunity for every Iowan to thrive.

Every day were building the foundation for long term progressive change and IowaVoices.org will play a key role in our organizing effort, Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa, said in a statement. We know that every time someone shares their story with their friends, neighbors, and community, its a step in the right direction. And our research proves that this kind of storytelling works. We hope that anyone interested in making a difference will visit IowaVoices.org and work with our incredible team to tell their story.

Anyone who visits iowavoices.org will be able to read, watch and listen to the stories of fellow Iowans, and will be invited to tell their own personal story by connecting with Progress Iowa staff.

Mary Stewart, a retired educator and Progress Iowa storyteller from Ottumwa, said: Sharing our stories and hearing the stories of others creates understanding and allows us to see the world through others' eyes.

Our shared stories let us know that we are not alone, that our concerns, our joys and sorrows are also shared. They build community and in community we find hope.

Photos: Former President Donald Trump speaks at Commit to Caucus event in Waterloo Trump 1 Trump 5 Trump 11 Trump 18 Trump 21 Trump 23
This installment of Why Is This Song No. 1? is momentous for at least a couple of reasons. First, as of this month, this Slate series is 10 years old. We launched it in December 2013 with an entry on the EminemRihanna duet The Monster (not an auspicious kickoff songits neither artists best chart-topperbut the hits got better from there). Second, the best gift I could have received for my 10-year Slate column anniversary is a Hot 100 topper that is musically superb, sets a historic chart record, defies normal pop logic, reveals something magical about how the charts work  and that I somehow, amazingly, predicted would reach No. 1. Merry Christmas, Brenda Leeand congratulations to both of us.

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Rockin Around the Christmas Tree, a 1958 recording that never cracked the Top 10 in its day, is now, 65 years later, the No. 1 song in America. In December 2021, I did a whole episode of my Slate podcast Hit Parade about the performers behind holiday chestnuts, an episode that was themed around the possibility that Brenda Lee might pull this off. And now, even earlier than I forecast, its happened. As with Mariah Careys All I Want for Christmas Is You, which belatedly reached No. 1 four years ago, a mix of very 21st-century factorsstreaming, video, playlistingbrought about Lees chart feat.

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In the process, Lee sets all sorts of new Hot 100 milestones. For starters, taking six and a half decades to reach No. 1 makes Rockin  the slowest-climbing chart-topper ever, surpassing the mere quarter-century it took Careys 1994 recording to reach the top. More impressive, Brenda Lee, 78 and still rockin, becomes the oldest living person to score a No. 1 song in America, surpassing in one fell swoop previous female record-holder Cher, who rang the bell with Believe in 1999 at age 52, and the prior all-genders record-holder Louis Armstrong, who was 62 when his take on Hello, Dolly hit No. 1 in 1964. This is also not Lees first No. 1 songin late 1960, as a teen idol, she topped the chart with I Want to Be Wanted. And therein lies another record: The 63 years between Wanted and Rockin  give Lee the longest gap between career chart-toppers, again beating (more than doubling) Cher, who went 25 years between Dark Lady and Believe.

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Heres the craziest footnote of all: Lee is the Hot 100s first-ever septuagenarian chart-topper, but with a song she recorded at age 13. I dont know what you call thatits so unprecedented, its not really a benchmark we chart nerds trackbut lets agree to call this the Hot 100s biggest artist timewarp: some kind of reverseMarty McFly feat of chart science. (You know that new sound youve been looking for? Well, listen to this!!) Though Lee is a certified legendone of only two woman inducted into both the Rock & Roll and Country Music Halls of Fameshe is not blase about this weeks good news.* If I may borrow a little Yiddish for Hanukkah, I dare you not to get a little verklempt when watching this low-tech video of an overwhelmed, humbled Lee finding out shes top of the pops.

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A bit about our latest Hot 100 commander: Brenda Mae Tarpley, born into deep poverty in Atlanta in 1944, began singing professionally as young as 5 and appearing on television at 10. Between those two milestones, her father died when Brenda was 8, making her the familys breadwinner. By age 11, she had adopted the stage name Brenda Lee and was signed to Decca Records. Lee never grew taller than 4-foot-9so when, at age 12, she recorded the cracking rockabilly song Dynamite, the industry nicknamed Brenda Little Miss Dynamite. Even at that tender age, Lee was a spitfire. Her singles, like the telephone-number song Bigelow 6-200, had remarkable grit. At a time when Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson was revolutionizing the role of women in both rock n roll and country, Lee was doing much the same, nearly a decade younger. One Step at a Time garnered airplay on both Top 40 and country radio in 1957.

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Lee finally had her major breakthrough at the end of 1959 with Sweet Nothins, a remarkably self-assured single that made both the Hot 100 (No. 4) and even the R&B chart (No. 12). And it opened very memorably, with Lee cooing, UH-HUH, honey  (If that opening sounds familiar to 21st-century ears, thats because Kanye West sampled it on Bound 2, his schmoopy 2013 ode to future wife Kim Kardashian.) By the start of the 60s, Brenda Lee was established as a teen idol, at a time when most teen idols were boys. She parlayed that image into her first chart-topping hit, the unrequited-love weeper Im Sorry. Produced by the legendary Nashville producer Owen Bradley, pioneer of the countrypolitan sound made famous by Patsy Cline, Im Sorry topped the Hot 100 in July 1960. Three months later, Brenda Lee had her second No. 1, an adaptation of the Italian song Per Tutta la Vita that was anglicized as I Want to Be Wanted.

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Striking while the iron was hot, Decca chose late 1960 to rerelease a single Lee had recorded back when she was 13 and that had flopped during the holiday seasons of both 1958 and 1959. Now that Lee was famous, they figured theyd have better luck. It was not only produced by Owen Bradley, it was written by Johnny Marks, the same man whod penned Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Holly Jolly Christmas. Marks wrote Rockin Around the Christmas Tree specifically for Lee, giving it teen-idol energythe song opens with lyrics about a Christmas party hopand a rockabilly sound that was both country-friendly and pop-conversant. As usual, Lees sassy voice was wise beyond her years. Rereleased in November 1960, Rockin  finally cracked the Top 40, peaking at No. 14 in a brief four-week chart run.

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Between 1960 and 63, Brenda Lee strung together a near-unbroken streak of a dozen Top 10 singles that blended the ascendant modes of girl-group, countrypolitan, and teen pop, all before her 20th birthdayclassics like Fool #1, You Can Depend on Me, and Break It to Me Gently. This run made Lee a bigger chart titan than we remember today. According to chart historian Joel Whitburn, the top five pop acts of the 1960s, based on Hot 100 performance, were the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Brenda Lee, and the Supremes. After Lee scored her final (new) Top 40 pop hit in 1967 with Ride Ride Ride, she pivoted seamlessly to country music, scoring hits like Nobody Wins (No. 5 country, 1973) and Big Four Poster Bed (No. 4 country, 1974). She collaborated with the Oak Ridge Boys, Willie Nelson, and in 1984, on her last major hit, with country legend George Jones.

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So: Brenda Lee was an affirmed legend before age 60, before digital music, and before streaming rebooted the charts, making it possible for holiday hits to go much higher on the Hot 100 than they ever had before. Its only in the 21st centuryand really, only the last five to 10 yearsthat holiday songs have achieved chart peaks commensurate with their cultural stature.

The top five pop acts of the 1960s, based on Hot 100 performance, were the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Brenda Lee, and the Supremes.

To explain how this happened, I need to briefly recap the chart arcana I explained when Mariah Carey scored her belated ho-ho-holiday topper in 2019. Before the digital era, Christmas music was a bad fit for the charts. These songs are played very intensively for only four to six weeks per year. That window wasnt long enough for the old physical-goods system to reflect just how popular seasonal hits are. Again, at its original peak, Rockin Around the Christmas Tree only charted four weeks, peaking at No. 14. That was pretty typical for a holiday song in those days; at the height of the Four Seasons fame in 1962, they issued a falsetto-laden cover of Santa Claus Is Comin to Town, and it peaked at a modest No. 23 on the Hot 100, in a three-week chart run. Right through the end of the 20th century, holiday music charted poorly. In 198485, Band-Aids charity megasingle Do They Know Its Christmas? only reached No. 13 in America, and Whams now-cherished Last Christmas didnt chart at all.

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In the case of Careys All I Want for Christmas Is You, several changes in Billboard methodology made its coronation possible: the advent of the digital download in the mid-00s, which made any song purchasable and hence fair game for the charts; the elimination, in the early 10s, of Billboard rules preventing catalog or gold musicold hitsfrom returning to the charts (thus, whether its Dreams, Running Up That Hill, or A Holly Jolly Christmas, if an old song amasses big enough numbers, it can chart again); and, most important, the launch of streaming music. It turns out that counting every time somebody plays a songnot just the moment somebody purchases a song, or the estimated radio audience for a songgives a whole new sense of a hits magnitude. Streaming finally gave Billboard the fine-tuned metrics, at scale, it needed to track holiday songs properly. As more Americans switched from buying to streaming their musicand playing themed Spotify playlists, which juice the stats for perennial favoritesChristmas songs not only did better on the charts; for one month per year, they utterly dominated. Every December since the late 10s, the Hot 100 has become swamped with Christmas music, shoving current hits by Taylor Swift, Drake, and the Weeknd temporarily out of the way to make room for Bobby Helms, Burl Ives, Andy Williams, Brenda Lee, Wham, and Mariah Carey.

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For the past four holiday seasons, Careys chestnut has returned to No. 1, tallying a total of 12 weeks on top, and each year, Lees evergreen Rockin  has risen to No. 2, hitting a ceiling behind Carey. Getting past Mariah, the self-dubbed Queen of Christmas, seemed like an impossible task. Lees hit would inch ever closer to Careys, only to fall short as the calendar flipped past New Yearsall the holiday hits would tumble off the Hot 100 in January, and the whole Sisyphean cycle would begin again 11 months later. (I began to picture Brenda Lee as the Tom Cruise character in Edge of Tomorrow.)

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But as the 2022 holiday season was drawing to a close, the streams for Lees Rockin  edged out Careys Christmas for just one week, and Mariah remained atop the Hot 100 overall thanks only to her slightly stronger radio airplay and download sales. Lees management and label got the message: Carey was vulnerable, and No. 1 was possible. This season, in honor of Rockin Around the Christmas Trees 65th anniversary (a flimsy but fair pretext), Team Brenda pulled out all the stops, booking her on TV, shooting a brand-new music video, even getting her on TikTok. The video, especially, is a hoot: In a very modest home festooned with a red curtain and a perfectly ordinary tree, the 78-year-old Lee greets and cooks a holiday feast with guests (country-music eminences Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood) while lip-syncing her own teenage vocals. Its like Peter Jacksons misbegotten video with the reanimated Beatles, only not creepy and with all the participants still alive.

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Speaking of the Beatles, allow me to make an analogy to the Fab Four (something I have done way too many times in this columns history), because I think it gets at a more basic question: Why, out of all the holiday hits swamping the charts each year, does Brenda Lees bop come out at or near the top? Why this Christmas song? I think it has something to do with how digital music reveals our fondest song preferences, and the role songs fill in our lives.

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Back in 2010, after years of negotiations between Apples Steve Jobs and the estates of the Fab Four, the Beatles catalog of songs was finally released on the iTunes Music Store, with all their songs downloadable for a buck. Apple trumpeted the arrival like an event, but chart-watchers like me were also hotly curious: What would happen when you allowed the public to download any Beatles song, untethered from albums or from physical goods? Which LennonMcCartney classics would dominate at iTunes: No. 1s like She Loves You, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Let It Be? Turns out, it was none of those. When the first week of Beatles download data came in at Billboard, the top seller was a song that not only never hit No. 1, it had never even been released as a singleand it was a George Harrison song: Here Comes the Sun. At the time, I explained away this result as one of market availability. As a nonsingle in 1969, Sun was hard to buy on its ownyou had to either buy the Abbey Road LP or the 1973 blue compilation. It wasnt a hit, so it didnt make most Beatles greatest-hits collections, including the bestselling 1 CDmaybe casual Beatles fans were just filling that gap in their collections? But my 2010 theory was wrong: As the years have gone on, the publics love for Sun has only deepened. When Spotify came to America in 2011, Sun established itself as the Beatles top stream. It still holds that distinction a dozen years later, far and awayHere Comes the Sun is the only Beatles song to surpass a billion streams on Spotify.

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I take away a couple of lessons from the Sun revelation. First, when it comes to the charts, metrics matter. We had no idea how beloved George Harrisons Abbey Road deep cut was, because the charts and the marketplace didnt provide a yardstick. On a truly even playing fieldone made possible by digital technology, where all songs are equally consumablethe market forms a consensus. Second, songs are both inspiring and functional. Here Comes the Sun makes sense as a Fab Four favorite, because it soundtracks life passages and times of change. You can picture all of the occasions a listener might find Sun hopeful, heartening, and hymnlike.

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Similarly, Brenda Lees Rockin Around the Christmas Tree finally achieved its destiny because of better metrics, and because its a truly versatile holiday song. The old charts system couldnt capture the depth of the publics love for any holiday hit. But once digital music flattened the competitive field, Rockin  flattened the holiday competition (everything except Mariah Careys own juggernaut, and the two now appear to be neck-and-neck). Id even go so far as to say digital music helped make Rockin  what it became. Playing music is now so frictionlessand zapping the songs we dont like so easywe are all contributing to a live holiday music test every December: at our tree-trimmings, office parties, shopping trips. Lees hit would have lost out to Bobby Helms, Andy Williams, or Wham by now if it wasnt so alluring. And thats where function comes in: Rockin  is midtempo, family-friendly but sophisticated, twangy but soulful, danceable but not too heavy, expertly sung but easy to sing along with, catchy and multigenerational. It may not be a song for all seasonsit would sound odd in Julybut its worthy of all audiences.

Related From Slate How Mariah Carey Composed a Christmas Classic Worthy of the Great American Songbook Read More

This holiday season is turning out to be a good one for former also-rans of the Christmas canon. Over in the United Kingdom, chart-watchers are betting that the Pogues and Kirsty MacColls classic Fairytale of New Yorkwhich only reached No. 2 in the 1987 edition of the annual U.K. Christmas No. 1 chart sweepstakesmight finally take the crown in the wake of Pogues frontman Shane MacGowans death. It would be a fitting parallel with what Brenda Lee just pulled off in America. Ill confess, I have no idea if this will be Rockin Around the Christmas Trees last week on topwill it now repeat at No. 1 year after year, the way All I Want for Christmas Is You has? Mariah Carey is a tough competitor, and I expect her Lamb army to fight back against any permanent merry-season usurpation. Also, given the way the Christmas canon evolves, albeit very slowly, I can foresee songs like Last Christmas or, years from now, Ariana Grandes Santa Tell Me, taking a turn at the top of the heap. However these hits fare, they will take their cues from Little Miss Dynamite, who showed Christmas competitors the new old-fashioned way.
Keeping up with Donald Trumps court schedule is a dizzying task, since he faces two federal trials, a criminal trial in Georgia, and two separate civil and criminal trials in New York. (Oh, and hes running for president.) To make things easier, well be recapping the biggest Trump trial news at the end of each week.

An appeals court upheld the gag order on Trump in his election interference case, though the court modified it so its easier for the former president to publicly comment on people involved. In the meantime, Trump is doubling down on his attempts to argue that he cant be tried for interfering in the 2020 election because of presidential immunity, while Jack Smith is drawing on Trumps history of making baseless voter fraud claims to build his case. Heres what you might have missed this week.

Trumps Gag Order Can Mostly Stay in Place

An appeals court ruled on Friday that significant portions of Judge Tanya Chutkans gag ordershes overseeing the Department of Justices election interference caseon Trump could stay in place, while some parts needed to be pulled back. Thats because the panel felt Chutkans order sweeps in more protected speech than is necessary.

The three-judge panel upheld the part of the order that banned Trump from publicly commenting on any known or potential witnesses, but tweaked it so that the order only applied if Trump was commenting about their participation in the DOJs case. Chutkan had also banned Trump from publicly criticizing special counsel Jack Smith, which the appeals court struck down. Now, Trump will be allowed to speak freely about Smith in public and criticize his indictment.

Lastly, the appeals court ruled Trump is only banned from publicly commenting on members of Smiths team, relatives of lawyers involved in the DOJs case, or court staff, if those statements are likely to materially interfere with the DOJs work in the election interference trialthat may sound familiar: Judge Arthur Engoron, overseeing Trumps New York civil fraud trial, also issued a gag order that banned Trump from attacking his court staff.

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Trumps lawyers are expected to again appeal this new decision all the way up to the Supreme Court, but it remains to be seen whether theyll decide to take it up. Writing for Slate, Robert Katzberg argues its a golden opportunity for the court to recover some of its soiled reputation.

Trump Appeals Presidential Immunity  Decision

Speaking of the Supreme Courtthere was a new development this week in another matter that Trumps team has vowed to pursue all the way to the nations highest court, if need be.

Trumps legal team has been trying to get Jack Smiths election interference case dismissed on the grounds that, as president at the time, Trump had absolute immunity from prosecution for actions committed in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 election. His lawyers filed an appeal arguing as much, which the judge in that trial firmly rejected last week. Just because he was president at the time, Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote, that position does not confer a lifelong get-out-of-jail-free pass. But Trump isnt leaving it therehis lawyers filed a request to put the proceedings on hold while they appeal Chutkans decision.

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It can take significant time for an appeal to work its way up through the courts, and this could delay the start of the federal election interference trial. That trial had been scheduled to start on March 4obviously not great timing for Trump, since its in the middle of primary season, just one day before Super Tuesday.

The next step is for a three-judge appeals court panel to be named, at which time a new date will be set for the appeals process to move forward. Its unclear how long the panel will take to weigh in, since theyll be considering a pretty weighty question: Can a former president be shielded from criminal prosecution, even if hes no longer in office? If they side with Chutkan, and Trumps team appeals that, thats when the Supreme Court could decide to get involved. Trumps lawyers have already signaled theyre planning to take this all the way to the highest court, though its always possible the justices will decide to sit this one out.

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The high court considered a similar question under Republican President Richard Nixon, when they considered whether presidents could be shielded through executive privilege when responding to subpoenas. (The court ultimately decided that they cant be.) Well be keeping an eye on that three-judge panel!

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Others Could Testify Against Trump

Mike Pence is on the witness list for the Georgia election interference case, CNN reported, citing multiple people whove viewed the list. In the lead-up to this indictment, Georgia prosecutors didnt interview Pence, but he did cooperate with the Department of Justice in its similar election interference case.

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Pence has not been charged in any of the cases Trump is facing, but in the weeks following the 2020 election, Trumps lawyers and advisers tried to convince him to play a key role in the fake electors scheme: They wanted him to refuse to certify the results of the 2020 election. During those meetings, Pence took contemporaneous notes, which he ended up handing over to the DOJ, and they reportedly showed the former vice president gently trying to shut down Trumps plan.

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Georgia prosecutors witness list names almost 200 people, including Trumps ex-Attorney General Bill Barr, former Justice Department officials Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Donoghue, and former aide Steven Bannon.

Jack Smith Wants to Use Trumps Voter Fraud Claims From 2012 and 2016

The special counsels office filed fresh court documents in their election interference case, offering a sneak peek into their strategy. Smith wants to prove Trump has a history of spreading lies about U.S. elections, pointing at old tweets he made that suggested there was voter fraud during the 2012 and 2016 presidential electionseven though he won in 2016.

As early as November 2012, the defendant issued a public tweet making baseless claims that voting machines had switched from then-candidate Romney to then-candidate Obama, wrote Molly Gaston, senior assistant to the special counsel. During the 2016 presidential campaign, the defendant claimed repeatedly, with no basis, that there was widespread voter fraud.

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Smith is arguing that this proves Trump had a common plan to claim fraud whenever he didnt like the outcome of an election and serves as a motive for his fake electors scheme.

To further make his point, Smith also noted Trumps history of being noncommittal on a peaceful transfer of power. During a news conference in September 2020, two months before the presidential election, Trump famously refused to agree to a peaceful transfer of power and began sowing doubt about mail-in ballots. We want to haveget rid of the ballots and youll have a very transwell have a very peacefulthere wont be a transfer, frankly; therell be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it, said Trump.

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Similarly in 2016, during a presidential debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton, when Trump was asked whether he would accept the results of that election, he only said he would look at it at the time.

Related From Slate 'Tis the Season for Trump to Fight Gag Orders Read More

Accounting Expert Testifies Trumps Property Valuation Was Not Fraud

The defense has been presenting its case in the former presidents New York civil fraud trial. This week, Eli Bartov, an accounting professor at New York Universitys Stern School of Business, testified that, based on his evaluation of Trumps financial documents, There is no evidence whatsoever for any accounting fraud.

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Bartov acknowledged there were errors in those documents, including an overinflated valuation of Trumps apartment in Trump Tower between 2011 and 2012, but that difference did not amount to fraud. There is no evidence here of concealment, said Bartov. Its true this is an error. But it is no fraud. Instead, Bartov said it was a calculation error that should be blamed on Trumps external accounting firm for not catching it. Eric Trump, the former presidents second son, was also scheduled to testify this week, but the defense decided to cut his testimony.

Next week, Trump is expected to take the witness stand again in this case, this time testifying for his defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently praised the strengthening military alliance between Russia and Iran, attributing significant progress in the war in Ukraine to this partnership.

During a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Kremlin, Putin expressed his gratitude to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the support that has given Russian forces a strategic advantage in the ongoing conflict, as per Mail Online.

Iran's Military Support Fuels Russia in War

This alliance has seen a steady influx of Iranian military supplies to Russia, including kamikaze drones, artillery shells, and bullets. These supplies have been crucial for Russia as it faces international sanctions. Putin's acknowledgment of this support comes amidst reports of significant Russian losses in the war.

In his dialogue with Raisi, Putin remarked on the positive momentum gained over the past year due to Iran's assistance. Despite setbacks, Russian forces are now reportedly regaining ground, with the war reaching a stalemate as winter approaches.

Putin's diplomatic efforts extend beyond Iran, as he has been actively engaging with leaders across the Gulf region to elevate Russia's role as a regional power broker. His visit to the UAE was met with a warm reception, though a somewhat awkward interaction occurred during a press conference with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Ukraine has been strengthening its own military capabilities. Ukrainian Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin announced agreements with two American companies for joint production of 155mm artillery shells in Ukraine. This move, expected to take a few years to implement, is critical as the demand for these shells has skyrocketed since Russia's invasion.

The European Union, however, faces challenges in meeting its production targets for ammunition, a situation that could have significant implications for the continent's security. Prof. Justin Bronk from the Royal United Services Institute warned of Europe's vulnerability to Russian aggression, especially if a conflict between the United States and China were to occur, according to The Telegraph.

Read Also: London Jewish Community to Push Through With Public Celebration of Hanukkah

Iran, Russia Ink New Deal to Combat Western Sanctions

Meanwhile, Iran and Russia, both facing Western sanctions, have inked a new deal to counter these economic measures. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met in Moscow to formalize this agreement. This meeting was part of the "Caspian Five" summit, which also included leaders from central Asian nations bordering the Caspian Sea.

In their joint declaration, Russia and Iran emphasized efforts to overcome the impact of unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. Lavrov stressed the importance of coordinated global efforts to counter these sanctions, which he views as a substitute for diplomacy.

As part of their military collaboration, Iran has been a key supplier of drones and weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine. There are also concerns about Iran potentially sending ballistic missiles to Russia, a claim supported by US intelligence. In return, Iran is set to receive Russian Su-35 fighter jets and Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters, as confirmed by Iranian Deputy Defence Minister Mahdi Farahi.

With respect to the balance of power and the continuing crisis in Ukraine, this emerging alliance between Russia and Iran, characterized by mutual military backing and an agreement against Western sanctions, portends a huge geopolitical change, Express reported.

Related Article: Germany: Extensive Search of Properties Linked to Hamas Backers Conducted by Police

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It doesnt need to be expensive to start a business. There are plenty of industries and types of startups that require very little upfront. If you only have a small amount to spend or just want to turn a profit quickly, here are a few business ideas you can start for under $1,000.

Can You Start Your Own Business for Less Than $1,000?

Yes, many business and consumer services can be offered with very little upfront cost. Even some product-based businesses dont require much capital. Most successful business owners that start with under $1,000 do so with online business ideas, like VA services, affiliate marketing sites, or dropshipping businesses.

Sell Your Business ChatGPT Prompts for Business Discover the Zoho Ecosystem Advertise Your Business Here

Our Methodology to Choose the Top Businesses to Start with Under $1000

When evaluating businesses that can be started with $1000 or less, our methodology revolves around analyzing key factors crucial for the successful initiation and sustainability of low-cost business ventures. We employ a 1 to 10 rating scale for each criterion, where higher scores indicate a better fit for entrepreneurs with limited capital. This scale assists aspiring business owners in identifying opportunities that are not only financially feasible but also have a viable potential for growth and profitability.

Initial Investment Requirement (Rating: 9/10)

We assess the extent to which each business idea can be realistically initiated with a budget of $1000 or less. Ideas that require minimal upfront investment and have lower operating costs rate higher.

Market Demand and Profitability (Rating: 8/10)

Analyzing the market demand and potential profitability of each idea is crucial. Businesses that cater to a clear market need and have a solid potential for profit within a low-cost model score highly.

Skill and Knowledge Requirements (Rating: 7/10)

The level of specialized skills or knowledge required is evaluated. Business ideas that leverage common skills or offer easy learning curves are preferred, making them accessible to a broader range of individuals.

Small Business Deals

Scalability and Growth Potential (Rating: 8/10)

We consider the potential for scaling the business in the future. Ideas that can start small but have room for growth and expansion, even with limited initial investment, are rated favorably.

Flexibility and Work-Life Balance (Rating: 9/10)

The flexibility offered by the business in terms of work hours and the ability to maintain a work-life balance is assessed. Businesses that allow for flexible operation, particularly important for small-scale entrepreneurs, score higher.

Ease of Marketing and Customer Acquisition (Rating: 8/10)

We evaluate how easily the business can attract and retain customers, especially with low-cost marketing strategies like social media and word-of-mouth. Businesses that can effectively utilize low-cost marketing channels are rated higher.

Legal and Regulatory Considerations (Rating: 7/10)

The legal and regulatory requirements for starting and operating the business are analyzed. Business ideas with fewer compliance hurdles and minimal legal complexities are preferred for their ease of setup.

Innovation and Market Differentiation (Rating: 7/10)

The uniqueness and innovative aspect of the business idea are considered. Ideas that offer unique solutions or fill a specific niche in the market are viewed more favorably for their potential to stand out in the marketplace.

Businesses You Can Start With 1000

If youre looking for small business ideas that dont require much upfront capital, here are several options to consider.

1. Affiliate Marketing Business

Affiliate marketers earn income by posting advertising and affiliate links on their own websites. Each time someone clicks through one of these links and makes a purchase, the site owner gets a small commission. There are tons of business niche examples within this field. You can share anything from clothing and decor products to software and services for a business-to-business market. You just need a website or active social media accounts and relationships with brands that offer affiliate programs.

2. SEO Specialist

Many companies hire SEO businesses to improve their visibility on search engines like Google. This is generally a fully online business. So you just need a website and some expertise to get started. It may also help if you have existing experience in this area and contacts with other business professionals. Otherwise, you may need to invest in some online advertising to get your first clients.

3. Catering Business

A catering business doesnt require a physical location. So this is one of the main food service options that you can start without a huge upfront cost. To start your own catering business, youll need some cooking supplies and enough extra to purchase ingredients. Then you can use the earnings from each job to grow.

4. Social Media Coordinator

If youre interested in starting a social media business, offer your services online to brands that interest you. This really just requires a smartphone, computer, and internet connection. You may also benefit from a website and maybe some online or social media ads, depending on your existing contacts.

5. Local Airport Shuttle Business

Airport shuttles and executive transportation companies provide transportation services to and from the airport or other local spots. If you already have a quality vehicle, this business requires next to nothing to get started. You may spend your initial money on a website, booking app, or local advertising.

6. Landscaping Business

A landscaping service is a perfect option for those who love spending time outside. You just need some basic lawn care tools and transportation to get started. Most people interested in this type of business already have at least a lawnmower and a truck. Then you can use the profits from your initial jobs to invest in larger machinery, if necessary.

7. Food Delivery Services

You can start a business delivering food with just a mode of transportation and a way for people to contact you. This may include a website, an app, or even just a phone number. Some delivery businesses focus on carryout from restaurants, while others offer groceries or general errand services. So you can choose a niche within this area.

8. Online Print Shop

If youre looking for art business ideas that are cheap to start, consider selling prints of your work online. You can offer digital files for sale on your own website or on marketplaces like Etsy. You dont even need a space for inventory or printing if you stick with digital files. But it also doesnt cost much to offer physical prints of your work.

9. Event Photography Business

As an event photographer, you travel to clients for their weddings or special occasions and then provide them with digital photos. There are some nice cameras available used for under this price. Then you can upgrade or purchase additional lenses once youve shot a few events and made some extra cash.

10. Handyman Business

It doesnt cost much to offer basic repair services to local homeowners. If you already have some simple tools, you can use your startup funds to advertise locally or set up a website. However, many handyman businesses and local service providers simply use local marketplace or review sites to increase their visibility.

11. Packing and Moving Business

People moving to new homes are generally willing to pay for services that make the experience easier. If you already have a truck, you can offer full-service moving to local residents. If not, start by helping them pack or store items and then invest in other options like truck rental services as you get the extra funds.

12. Personal Trainer

Starting a personal training business really just requires access to gym space. You can even welcome clients to your home or offer personal training online. There are lots of fitness business resources available online. So you can research your favorite exercises and even get certified to offer specific types of services or classes.

13. Subscription Box Business

Subscription box businesses send out curated selections of products each month. Many of these are small. So you shouldnt need a ton of inventory to get started. And you can run this type of business from home, as long as you have enough room to sort items and get products ready for shipping.

More Ideas for Businesses to Start With 1K

Those are just a few examples of business ideas you can start for under $1,000. There are several more industries you can enter and serve potential clients with little to no money. If youre still looking, here are even more options to consider.

14. Business Consulting Services

A business consultant can start working with clients virtually. So all you need is a computer, an internet connection, and some business expertise to offer. You can even specialize in a specific area, like helping startups with the formation or providing input on marketing materials. Most business customers are happy to connect with consultants via email or video chat. And there are also other consulting business ideas that may include digital marketing consultants or those specializing in a specific industry.

15. Cleaning Business

To start a cleaning business, you really just need some basic supplies and a way to get to each job. This is a classic steady-income business, as long as you can gain clients who are willing to work with you on an ongoing basis. There are also specialized services in this industry. For example, you may offer options like carpet cleaning or providing professional disinfecting services to offices or medical facilities.

16. At-Home Hair Salon

If youre looking for beauty business ideas, a home-based or mobile hair salon can be inexpensive to start. You just need basic hair tools and maybe a website. Many stylists offer on-site services for special events like weddings, so you dont need a physical location. Other beauty business suggestions may include on-site makeup or nail businesses.

17. Online Jewelry Shop

Just about any business in the online handmade marketplace can be started without a ton of upfront cash. For a jewelry shop, you just need a few basic supplies and materials, like wires, clasps, and beads, to get started. You can also build your own website or rely on marketplaces like Etsy to keep costs low.

18. Mobile Coffee Cart

A coffee shop certainly costs more than $1,000 to start. But you can offer basic options from a mobile cart. You just need a coffee maker or dispenser, some cups, and a place to store them. You may also need a vendors license to sell products in busy commercial districts. This type of business often does well around office buildings or areas with lots of foot traffic.

19. Self-Published Author

If you have a book idea in mind, consider writing and self-publishing using online resources like Amazon. It mostly just requires your time to get your ideas into a digital document. Then you may invest in an editing service or rely on trusted friends and advisors to hone your work and get it ready for readers.

20. Wholesale Bakery

If you love baking, you can start a baking business without a dedicated storefront. You may need a permit and inspection for a home kitchen. But then all it takes is some basic ingredients and baking gear to get started. And you can sell anything from bread to cookies directly to local bakeries or even offer them online.

21. App Developer

With some basic app development skills, you can build your own mobile or desktop applications and earn income from sales or in-app purchases. These require very few resources to get started, as long as you already have a computer and access to development software or programs. Alternatively, you may offer app development services to other businesses. In these cases, youd charge a fee for the development of the app upfront.

22. Dating Site

There are dating sites for nearly every niche and interest group. All you need is a website and/or app to get started. Then you can charge users a fee to sign up or use the platform. Or you may earn income through other avenues like online ads. This same concept can apply to many other niche websites that people are willing to pay to use. For example, you could offer a membership site for business owners to connect or a mentorship community for youth in your community.

23. Mobile Auto Detailing Service

There arent a ton of automotive business ideas that you can start without significant startup costs. But a detailing business just requires some basic cleaning supplies. Then you can travel to your clients to provide services. Some local advertising or a website may also be beneficial. Over time, you can scale this business by hiring employees and expanding your service area. Or you may invest in a physical location with a full-service car wash.

24. Professional Organizing Business

Home organizing is a huge area of interest right now. If you have strong organizational skills, consider offering these services to others in your community. Just start your own website and advertise online or take out an ad in your local classified section. You may even offer additional services or niche down to a specialty like office organization services or hoarder cleanouts.

25. Social Media Influencer

All you need to start your own influencer social media business is your own accounts and a consistent posting schedule. Over time, with enough interaction, you can start to build relationships with brands and post sponsored content to your audience. There are even agencies and marketplaces that connect brands and influencers. Many influencers also brand out with additional revenue streams like their own product lines or affiliate income. However, this isnt an overnight business idea; it often takes years to start earning income this way.

How Do I Choose the Right Business Idea Under $1,000?

Choosing the right business idea under $1,000 requires careful consideration of your interests, skills, and market demand. Follow these steps to help you make the right decision:

Self-Assessment: Identify your strengths, passions, and expertise. Consider what you enjoy doing and what skills you already possess that can be leveraged for a business idea.

Identify your strengths, passions, and expertise. Consider what you enjoy doing and what skills you already possess that can be leveraged for a business idea. Market Research: Research potential business ideas to understand their demand and viability. Look for industries or niches with growing customer bases and limited competition.

Research potential business ideas to understand their demand and viability. Look for industries or niches with growing customer bases and limited competition. Low-Cost Ventures: Focus on businesses that require minimal upfront investment. Look for opportunities that can be started from home, online, or with essential tools and equipment.

Focus on businesses that require minimal upfront investment. Look for opportunities that can be started from home, online, or with essential tools and equipment. Profit Potential: Evaluate the profit potential of each business idea. Consider factors like pricing, recurring revenue opportunities, and scalability.

Evaluate the profit potential of each business idea. Consider factors like pricing, recurring revenue opportunities, and scalability. Feasibility: Assess the feasibility of implementing your chosen idea with the available resources and budget. Avoid business ideas that exceed your financial constraints.

Assess the feasibility of implementing your chosen idea with the available resources and budget. Avoid business ideas that exceed your financial constraints. Passion and Interest: Choose a business idea that aligns with your passion and interest. Running a business can be challenging, but being passionate about your work can keep you motivated.

Steps to Choose the Right Business Idea Under $1,000 1. Self-Assessment Identify your strengths, passions, and expertise. Consider what you enjoy doing and what skills you already possess that can be leveraged for a business idea. 2. Market Research Research potential business ideas to understand their demand and viability. Look for industries or niches with growing customer bases and limited competition. 3. Low-Cost Ventures Focus on businesses that require minimal upfront investment. Look for opportunities that can be started from home, online, or with essential tools and equipment. 4. Profit Potential Evaluate the profit potential of each business idea. Consider factors like pricing, recurring revenue opportunities, and scalability. 5. Feasibility Assess the feasibility of implementing your chosen idea with the available resources and budget. Avoid business ideas that exceed your financial constraints. 6. Passion and Interest Choose a business idea that aligns with your passion and interest. Running a business can be challenging, but being passionate about your work can keep you motivated.

What Are Some Tips for Starting a Business on a Tight Budget?

Starting a business on a tight budget requires careful planning and resource management. Here are some tips to help you succeed:

Create a Detailed Budget: Prepare a comprehensive budget outlining all the necessary expenses, including equipment, supplies, marketing, and licenses. Stick to the budget and avoid unnecessary expenditures.

Prepare a comprehensive budget outlining all the necessary expenses, including equipment, supplies, marketing, and licenses. Stick to the budget and avoid unnecessary expenditures. Utilize Free or Low-Cost Tools: Take advantage of free or affordable online tools for tasks like website building, graphic design, and social media marketing.

Take advantage of free or affordable online tools for tasks like website building, graphic design, and social media marketing. Minimize Overhead Costs: Operate from home or consider shared workspaces to save on office rent. Negotiate with suppliers for discounts, and try to secure cost-effective deals.

Operate from home or consider shared workspaces to save on office rent. Negotiate with suppliers for discounts, and try to secure cost-effective deals. Focus on Lean Marketing: Use digital marketing strategies like social media, content marketing, and email campaigns to reach your target audience without breaking the bank.

Use digital marketing strategies like social media, content marketing, and email campaigns to reach your target audience without breaking the bank. Emphasize Customer Service: Word-of-mouth referrals can be powerful for a new business. Provide excellent customer service to build a loyal customer base and gain positive reviews.

Word-of-mouth referrals can be powerful for a new business. Provide excellent customer service to build a loyal customer base and gain positive reviews. Start Small and Scale: Begin with a minimum viable product or service and gather feedback from early customers. Use their input to refine and expand your offerings gradually.

What Is the Most Profitable Business You Can Start with 1000?

There are many profitable industries and successful business owners that have started with under $1,000. Your most profitable business idea may vary depending on your interests and expertise. However, online businesses like consultants, social media managers, and influencers tend to turn large profits quickly. And service businesses like photographers and auto detailers can be quite profitable as well.

What Are the Cheapest and Easiest Business Ideas to Start?

The cheapest and easiest businesses to start are generally those where a process or marketplace is already available to connect you with customers once you have a product or service to sell. For example, you can start a virtual assistant business and use online job sites to connect with clients. Or you may make a handmade product and sell it on online marketplaces.

What Are Some Small Town Business Ideas to Start for Less Than $1,000?

The local businesses that tend to be the least expensive to start are generally those that offer services and can be run from home. For example, you may offer local moving services, handyman repairs, or even landscaping services.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can You Start Your Own Business for Less Than $1,000?

Yes, many business and consumer services can be offered with very little upfront cost. Even some product-based businesses dont require much capital. Most successful business owners that start with under $1,000 do so with online business ideas, like VA services, affiliate marketing sites, or dropshipping businesses.

What Is the Most Profitable Business You Can Start with $1,000?

The most profitable business idea may vary depending on your interests and expertise. However, online businesses like consultants, social media managers, and influencers tend to turn large profits quickly. Service businesses like photographers and auto detailers can also be quite profitable.

What Are the Cheapest and Easiest Business Ideas to Start?

The cheapest and easiest businesses to start are generally those where a process or marketplace is already available to connect you with customers once you have a product or service to sell. For example, you can start a virtual assistant business and use online job sites to connect with clients. Or you may make a handmade product and sell it on online marketplaces.

What Are Some Small Town Business Ideas to Start for Less Than $1,000?

The local businesses that tend to be the least expensive to start are generally those that offer services and can be run from home. For example, you may offer local moving services, handyman repairs, or even landscaping services.

Remember that the success of any business venture depends on various factors, including market demand, competition, and your dedication to making it work. Be sure to research and plan thoroughly before starting your own business.

Conclusion

The notion that you need substantial capital to start a business is a misconception that continues to deter aspiring entrepreneurs. As evidenced by the diverse range of business ideas mentioned above, there are numerous opportunities to launch a successful venture with a budget of less than $1,000. These ideas span various industries and leverage different skill sets, making them accessible to a wide array of individuals. Whether youre a seasoned professional or a newcomer to the world of entrepreneurship, theres likely a business idea that aligns with your interests and resources.

One of the key takeaways from exploring these business ideas is the increasing prominence of online ventures. In todays digital age, the internet has democratized entrepreneurship, enabling individuals to create and grow businesses from the comfort of their own homes. Online businesses, such as affiliate marketing, social media coordination, and e-commerce, offer relatively low barriers to entry. They allow entrepreneurs to tap into global markets and generate income without the need for physical storefronts or large initial investments. This shift towards online entrepreneurship highlights the importance of staying adaptable and tech-savvy in the ever-evolving business landscape.

Furthermore, the list of business ideas emphasizes the significance of aligning your venture with your passions and expertise. When youre genuinely interested in and knowledgeable about the products or services you offer, your enthusiasm shines through, attracting customers and fostering long-term success. Starting a business is not just about making money; its about creating a fulfilling and sustainable endeavor that resonates with your personal and professional goals.

As you embark on your entrepreneurial journey with a modest budget, remember that success is not guaranteed overnight. Building a profitable business takes time, dedication, and continuous learning. It involves adapting to market trends, refining your offerings, and finding innovative ways to connect with customers. Patience and perseverance are essential virtues for any entrepreneur, especially those starting on a shoestring budget.

In addition to passion and persistence, resourcefulness is a critical trait for budget-conscious entrepreneurs. Many of the business ideas mentioned here involve leveraging existing platforms, tools, and marketplaces to minimize costs. Utilizing free or low-cost digital tools, negotiating discounts with suppliers, and exploring alternative workspaces are just a few strategies to keep expenses in check. The ability to maximize your resources and make smart financial decisions can be the difference between success and failure in the early stages of your business.

Moreover, these business ideas illustrate the power of scalability. While you may start with limited resources, your goal should be to expand and grow your venture over time. Reinvesting profits, attracting new customers, and diversifying your offerings can lead to substantial growth. Whether you begin as a one-person operation or with a small team, envision the potential for your business to evolve into a more substantial enterprise.

Finally, remember that starting a business is not a solitary endeavor. Building a support network of mentors, advisors, and fellow entrepreneurs can provide valuable guidance and insights as you navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. Seek out resources in your community, join online forums, and attend networking events to connect with like-minded individuals who can offer advice and encouragement.

In conclusion, the entrepreneurial landscape is ripe with opportunities for those with limited initial capital. With the right idea, a passion for what you do, and a commitment to smart financial management, you can turn your dream of business ownership into a reality. As you explore the diverse array of business ideas presented here, take the time to assess your own skills, interests, and market conditions to determine the best path forward. Starting a business with less than $1,000 is not only feasible but also a testament to the boundless creativity and resourcefulness of entrepreneurs in todays dynamic business world.

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Starting a business can be an exciting venture, but it also comes with many challenges. One of those challenges can be determining the best way to set up and register your business. One critical step in the business startup checklist is registering a DBA (Doing Business As). In this article, well cover what a DBA is and how to register one. Lets get started!

What is a DBA?

A DBA, or Doing Business As, is an alternative name for a business that may be different from the legal name of the registered owner.

This allows businesses to operate under multiple names without having to register a completely new business entity.

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A DBA can also be used to protect the identity of a companys owners or provide extra privacy in business operations.

When registering a DBA, you will need to take care to ensure the name isnt infringing on any existing copyright laws or brand names.

What a DBA is Not When You Conduct Business

Its important to understand that a DBA is not the same as other legal business entities, such as a corporation or LLC. A DBA is simply an alternate name for conducting business and does not guarantee protection from personal liabilities.

As you learn how to start a business, here are five key points to keep in mind with regard to DBAs:

Small Business Deals

Tax Identifier: A DBA does not provide a unique tax identifier like an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

A DBA does not provide a unique tax identifier like an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Legal Structure: A DBA cannot change the legal structure of the underlying business entity.

A DBA cannot change the legal structure of the underlying business entity. Ownership: A DBA does not establish ownership of the company or trademark any products or services.

A DBA does not establish ownership of the company or trademark any products or services. Filing Papers: A DBA registration is often filed without needing extensive paperwork.

A DBA registration is often filed without needing extensive paperwork. LLC Protection: Filing a DBA will not protect the owner from personal liabilities in the way an LLC can.

Do I Need a DBA?

Deciding whether or not you need a DBA (Doing Business As), also known as a fictitious business name, depends on various factors related to your business structure and operational needs. Lets delve into why and when different types of business entities might require a DBA:

Sole Proprietorship

For sole proprietors, registering a DBA is often essential. This is particularly true if you plan to conduct business under a name other than your own legal name. A DBA allows sole proprietors to use a more marketable business name without forming a corporation or LLC, offering flexibility and simplicity in branding.

Its also crucial for practical reasons  banks typically require a registered DBA for opening a business bank account under your business name, and it may be needed for legal or contractual purposes.

Partnerships

Similar to sole proprietorships, partnerships benefit from a DBA for enhanced professionalism and broader business opportunities. Registering a DBA allows partnerships to operate under a business name that reflects their joint venture, rather than using the partners individual names.

This can be critical for marketing, legal contracts, and financial transactions, helping to establish a separate business identity and facilitating smoother business operations.

Franchise

For franchise owners, a DBA is often necessary to align with the franchisors brand while adhering to local legal requirements. Registering a DBA in each state where the franchise operates ensures consistency in branding and legal compliance. It allows franchisees to use the franchisors trademarked name legally and helps in protecting the brand identity across various locations.

LLC

While an LLC (Limited Liability Company) already offers a degree of separation between personal and business liabilities, registering a DBA can further enhance this distinction.

For LLCs operating under different trade names or exploring diverse market niches, a DBA is useful for each unique business operation. It allows for easier management of different business lines under one LLC umbrella and can be beneficial for branding, legal contracts, and financial transactions.

By understanding these different scenarios, you can better determine whether a DBA is necessary for your business. Remember, the requirements and benefits of a DBA can vary based on your specific business activities, structure, and the legal landscape of your operating region.

Taking this DBA quiz can provide additional tailored insights for your business, helping you make an informed decision about whether registering a DBA aligns with your business objectives and legal requirements.

Pros of DBA

A Doing Business As (DBA) registration offers several advantages for businesses and can be beneficial in many areas. Here are some of the main benefits of registering a DBA:

Establish Credibility  When you register a DBA, your company is legally recognized by the state. This adds an extra layer of credibility to your business that can help you attract customers, investors, or creditors compared to operating under a sole proprietorship or partnership.

 When you register a DBA, your company is legally recognized by the state. This adds an extra layer of credibility to your business that can help you attract customers, investors, or creditors compared to operating under a sole proprietorship or partnership. Brand Protection  Using a DBA helps protect your trademarked brand name from being infringed upon by other companies outside of your network.

 Using a DBA helps protect your trademarked brand name from being infringed upon by other companies outside of your network. Separate Identity  Although filing as an LLC provides protection from personal liabilities, having separate legal entities like DBAs give businesses added legitimacy while also providing extra protection in taxes, contracts, and other aspects of operating within their respective jurisdictions.

 Although filing as an LLC provides protection from personal liabilities, having separate legal entities like DBAs give businesses added legitimacy while also providing extra protection in taxes, contracts, and other aspects of operating within their respective jurisdictions. Add Flexibility  Perhaps the most obvious advantage of using a DBA is the flexibility it provides for those who want to operate under an alternate name without forming a new corporation or LLC.

 Perhaps the most obvious advantage of using a DBA is the flexibility it provides for those who want to operate under an alternate name without forming a new corporation or LLC. Cost Savings  Registering a DBA is usually much cheaper than forming a corporation or LLC, so if your goal is simply to operate under an alternate name without incurring additional expenses then setting up a DBA might be the way to go.

Cons of DBA

Although there are numerous advantages to registering a DBA, there are also some drawbacks that are important to consider. Here are a few of the most common disadvantages of setting up a DBA:

Limited Liability Protection  As mentioned earlier, DBAs provide some protection from personal liabilities but it is not as comprehensive as what you would get by forming an LLC or corporation.

 As mentioned earlier, DBAs provide some protection from personal liabilities but it is not as comprehensive as what you would get by forming an LLC or corporation. Restricted Trading and Transferring  Depending on the state in which your business is registered, using a DBA may limit you from trading stocks, transferring interest, and engaging in other activities usually reserved for incorporated entities.

 Depending on the state in which your business is registered, using a DBA may limit you from trading stocks, transferring interest, and engaging in other activities usually reserved for incorporated entities. Confusion for Consumers  The use of multiple DBA names may confuse potential customers and impact your ability to build brand recognition within a given market.

How to Get a DBA: Your Complete Guide as a Business Owner

Getting a Doing Business As (DBA) registration for your business can be rewarding and beneficial in several areas, including the protection of your brand and additional recognition as a legal entity. Here is a complete guide on how to get a DBA:

Step 1: Research Whether You Need One

The first step in the process of setting up a DBA is to do some research and determine whether its necessary or not. Depending on the type of business youre running or the activities you plan to undertake, registering as an LLC or corporation may provide better protection than simply filing a DBA.

Step 2: Choose Your Name Carefully

When selecting your name for the DBA, make sure it isnt too similar to any current businesses in your state so as to avoid potential trademark infringement issues. Also, ensure that your proposed name complies with all federal, state, and local rules and regulations pertaining to doing business as names.

Step 3: Check For State Registration

Check with the Secretary of State or county clerks office in the state you are operating in for information about registering for a DBA. Many states require you to register before you may begin operations under that name. This helps protect your brand from other businesses in your area that could potentially use the same name.

Step 4: Fill Out the Necessary Forms

Once you have done some research and decided on your preferred name, proceed by filling out forms provided by the Secretary of States office. Make sure all form data provided is accurate so as not to risk rejection during processing. Also, pay attention to any fees attached to registering a DBA before submitting it for consideration.

Step 5: File Your Fictitious Name Statement

After completing your forms with accurate information and paying associated fees, submit them together with any necessary documents required by your state law such as proof of identity or the existence of the company. Once this process has been completed successfully, you should receive confirmation from your states Secretary of State Office that your registration was approved and accepted. At this point, you will officially become part of their registration database with an approved DBA name.

The DBA Filing Deadline

The DBA filing deadline varies from state to state but in general, you should submit your application as soon as possible to ensure your business is properly registered.

To ensure no delays or potential fines, make sure to check the exact requirements for your state before submitting a DBA filing.

Depending on the state law you may have to submit it within days of establishment or not at all. Some states allow a certain period after which DBAs expire if not renewed.

Each county may also require separate filings and regulations pertaining to DBAs, so be sure to research this ahead of time in order to comply with all applicable laws.

Tips for Filing a DBA

Filing a DBA (Doing Business As) can be an essential step for many businesses. It allows your business to operate under a name different from its legal, registered name. Here are some detailed tips to guide you through the process:

Know Your State Requirements

Every state has its own set of rules and regulations for filing a DBA. Its crucial to familiarize yourself with the specific requirements of your state to ensure compliance. This includes understanding deadlines, fees, and any unique filing procedures.

Some states may require publication of your DBA in a local newspaper, while others may have different renewal timelines. Check with your states Secretary of State website or a local small business development center for accurate information.

Gather All The Necessary Documents

Prepare all required documents before beginning the filing process. This typically includes valid identification (like a drivers license or passport), proof of your business address (such as a utility bill or lease agreement), and potentially additional paperwork depending on your states requirements. Having everything ready beforehand can streamline the filing process and prevent delays.

Choose A Name For Your Business

Selecting a unique and appropriate name for your business is crucial. Conduct a thorough search in local business databases to ensure that your desired name isnt already in use. Remember, your DBA name should align with your brand identity and be easily recognizable to your customers.

Some states have specific restrictions on the kinds of names you can use, so its important to verify these details as well.

File The Appropriate Forms With The Secretary Of States Office

Once you have all the necessary documents and have chosen a suitable name, complete and submit the required forms to your states Secretary of State office. Be sure to include the correct filing fee, which varies by state. Some states allow online filing, while others may require mail or in-person submissions. Ensure that all information is accurate and complete to avoid processing delays.

Create An Operating Agreement For Your Business

For certain business structures, like LLCs, its advisable to create an operating agreement. This document outlines the ownership structure, roles, and responsibilities of each member, and the operational procedures of the business. While not always required, an operating agreement is crucial for clarifying the legal structure and operational guidelines of your business, especially when using a DBA.

Submit A Registered Agent Notification To Your State Government

A registered agent acts as your businesss official point of contact for legal documents. When you file your DBA, you may also need to submit a registered agent notification. This is particularly important if your registered agents details change.

The registered agent must be available during standard business hours and is responsible for receiving important legal and tax documents on behalf of your business.

By following these tips, you can navigate the DBA filing process more confidently and ensure that your business complies with all the necessary legal requirements. Remember, while the process can vary slightly from state to state, the fundamental steps remain largely the same.

The Bottom Line

A Doing Business As (DBA) provides a valuable tool for entrepreneurs seeking to operate under an alternate name distinct from their registered legal entity. This flexibility allows businesses to establish a unique public identity, making it easier to connect with customers and establish a recognizable brand presence.

Properly navigating the process of setting up and registering a DBA is essential to ensure compliance with regulations and unlock the full potential of the new name. Heres how following the right steps can lead to a compliant and successful DBA implementation:

Distinct Public Identity: Registering a DBA enables businesses to operate under a name that better aligns with their brand vision, target audience, or specific product lines. This distinct public identity can enhance brand recognition and set the stage for effective marketing and customer engagement.

Registering a DBA enables businesses to operate under a name that better aligns with their brand vision, target audience, or specific product lines. This distinct public identity can enhance brand recognition and set the stage for effective marketing and customer engagement. Legal Compliance: Following the correct process for setting up and registering a DBA ensures that your business operates within the bounds of the law. Failure to properly register a DBA can lead to legal complications and potential financial penalties.

Following the correct process for setting up and registering a DBA ensures that your business operates within the bounds of the law. Failure to properly register a DBA can lead to legal complications and potential financial penalties. Business Startup Checklist: Having a comprehensive business startup checklist at hand can be an invaluable resource when setting up a DBA. This checklist should cover the necessary steps, documentation, and deadlines involved in the registration process.

Having a comprehensive business startup checklist at hand can be an invaluable resource when setting up a DBA. This checklist should cover the necessary steps, documentation, and deadlines involved in the registration process. Benefits Utilization: A registered DBA unlocks various benefits for businesses, including improved branding, marketing opportunities, and better customer recognition. These advantages can contribute to business growth and success in the competitive marketplace.

A registered DBA unlocks various benefits for businesses, including improved branding, marketing opportunities, and better customer recognition. These advantages can contribute to business growth and success in the competitive marketplace. Compliance with Applicable Laws: Each jurisdiction may have specific requirements and regulations for registering a DBA. By following the right steps, businesses can ensure compliance with all relevant laws and avoid potential legal issues down the road.

Each jurisdiction may have specific requirements and regulations for registering a DBA. By following the right steps, businesses can ensure compliance with all relevant laws and avoid potential legal issues down the road. Smooth Transition: Properly registering a DBA allows for a seamless transition to the new name without disruptions to business operations. This smooth implementation minimizes confusion among customers, vendors, and other stakeholders.

Properly registering a DBA allows for a seamless transition to the new name without disruptions to business operations. This smooth implementation minimizes confusion among customers, vendors, and other stakeholders. Brand Strategy Alignment: Ensure your chosen DBA aligns with your overall brand strategy and values. A well-thought-out name can strengthen your brands positioning and resonate with your target audience effectively.

Ensure your chosen DBA aligns with your overall brand strategy and values. A well-thought-out name can strengthen your brands positioning and resonate with your target audience effectively. Regular Review: Regularly review your DBA registration to ensure it remains up-to-date and reflective of any changes in your business. This includes updating the name if there are shifts in products, services, or branding.

Regularly review your DBA registration to ensure it remains up-to-date and reflective of any changes in your business. This includes updating the name if there are shifts in products, services, or branding. Seek Professional Advice: When in doubt, seek legal and professional advice to ensure compliance and address any concerns related to the DBA registration process. Professional guidance can offer clarity and peace of mind.

In conclusion, setting up and registering a DBA is a strategic move for businesses seeking a unique public identity and brand presence. By following the correct procedures, businesses can operate legally under their new name and leverage the benefits it brings to establish a stronger market presence and customer connection.

Aspect Description Definition A Doing Business As (DBA) provides business owners with an alternative name for their entity, distinct from the legal name registered with the state. This alternate name allows businesses to establish a unique public identity for their operations, enhancing branding and customer recognition. Purpose The primary purpose of a DBA is to operate a business under a name that better aligns with its brand vision, target audience, or specific product lines. It allows businesses to present themselves with a more marketable and recognizable name to enhance their competitive edge. Legal Compliance Properly registering a DBA is essential to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Failure to register a DBA can lead to legal complications and potential financial penalties, making adherence to the registration process crucial for a seamless and legally sound operation. Steps for Registration The process of setting up and registering a DBA involves several key steps, including choosing a unique and available name, verifying its availability with the appropriate authorities, filing the necessary paperwork, and meeting any jurisdiction-specific requirements. Business Startup Checklist A comprehensive business startup checklist can serve as a valuable tool when registering a DBA. This checklist should include essential tasks, deadlines, and required documentation to guide entrepreneurs through each step of the registration process with confidence and efficiency. Benefits and Branding Opportunities Registering a DBA unlocks various benefits, including improved branding, marketing opportunities, and better customer recognition. The DBA allows businesses to establish a distinct public identity, fostering a strong brand presence that resonates with their target audience. Compliance with Jurisdiction Regulations Each jurisdiction may have specific requirements and regulations for registering a DBA. Adhering to these regulations ensures legal compliance and minimizes the risk of facing legal challenges related to the use of the alternate business name. Smooth Transition Properly registering a DBA enables a smooth transition to the new name without disruptions to business operations. A seamless implementation minimizes confusion among customers, vendors, and stakeholders, allowing for uninterrupted business activities. Alignment with Brand Strategy Businesses must ensure that the chosen DBA aligns with their overall brand strategy and values. A well-thought-out name can reinforce the brand's positioning and effectively resonate with the target audience, supporting long-term business growth and success. Regular Review Regularly reviewing the DBA registration is essential to keep it up-to-date with any changes in the business, such as new product lines or rebranding efforts. Ensuring the accuracy of the registration helps maintain a strong brand identity and prevents potential issues. Seek Professional Advice When in doubt or facing complexities during the registration process, seeking legal and professional advice is advisable. Professional guidance can offer clarity, address concerns, and ensure a smooth and legally compliant DBA registration for the business.

Am I legally required to have a DBA to operate under a different name?

Generally speaking, you are not legally required to register a DBA in order to operate under a different name than your legal name.

That said, its important to check the local rules and regulations of your state or jurisdiction as they may require some businesses to register their DBAs and/or obtain a small business license.

How long does a DBA (Doing Business As) Last?

A DBA typically lasts as long as the business is in operation, but it can be renewed at any time if needed. Generally, a DBA will remain in effect until the business owner decides to close an inactive business or until there are changes made to the name or the state laws that require a renewal of registration.

How do taxes work with a DBA?

Taxes for a DBA can vary depending on the type of entity or if youre operating your business in multiple states.

Generally, DBAs registered as sole proprietorships are subject to self-employment taxes, while DBAs that are corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs) may be eligible for different tax treatments.

It is important to consult with a tax professional to determine the best option for filing any taxes associated with a DBA.

Can I use the same DBA as someone else?

No, it is not possible to have two businesses with the same DBA. The name chosen must be available and not infringe on any other existing businesses names. Before registering a DBA, it is important to check with the Secretary of State in your state that the name you desire has not been taken. The secretary of states website will also typically provide guidelines for completing the registration process.

What is the difference between DBA and LLC?

The main difference between a DBA and an LLC is the type of legal structure they provide. A DBA is used to register a business name under an individual, allowing them to use that name for their business.

An LLC provides more formal legal protection and structure than a DBA does. With an LLC, liability is limited to the assets of the business and not the personal assets of its owners, while DBAs provide no such protection.

Do you need a business bank account to apply for a DBA?

No, you do not need a business bank account to apply for a DBA. The registration process can be done online and will typically require providing proof that the name is available in your state. Once the paperwork is approved, you may open a business bank account if necessary.

Is LLC better than DBA?

It depends on the individuals needs and goals. An LLC provides more formal legal protection and structure than a DBA, while liabilities are limited to the assets of the business rather than personal ones.

LLCs must also file annual reports and pay taxes in most states, while DBAs typically do not have such obligations. Therefore, an LLC may be better for certain types of businesses compared to a DBA.

Either way, make sure to close an inactive business to avoid any potential confusion or legal issues.

What is a DBA example?

If your companys official legal business name is XYZ Enterprises LLC but you want to open a liquor store under the name ABC Liquor Store, you can register the DBA ABC Liquor Store. This would allow you to use the DBA for business transactions and documents without having to change your legal business entity name.

How do I transfer my DBA to an EIN?

Once a business has a tax ID, the small business owners may decide to operate under one or several DBAs (Doing Business As). Regardless of whether taxes are paid through an SSN or EIN (Employer Identification Number), these DBAs are essentially nicknames for the existing business and therefore dont require separate tax IDs.

How much does a DBA cost?

The cost of registering a DBA varies from state to state but is typically less than $100. Some states may also require additional fees for registering at the county level, so be sure to research your own state before beginning the registration process.

Make sure to also do proper research if youre planning to register your business in another state. Having a small small business compliance checklist may be helpful.

Is a DBA a business entity?

No, a DBA is not its own legal business structure or entity. It simply allows the owner to conduct business under a name that is different from the one they would normally operate with. For example, getting certified as a woman owned business or applying for certain grants may require a DBA, as many of these programs have specific criteria that must be met.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/us-judge-approves-settlement-that-bars-separation-of-migrant-families-on-southern-border-1115490889.html

US Judge Approves Settlement Barring Separation of Migrant Families on Southern Border

US Judge Approves Settlement Barring Separation of Migrant Families on Southern Border

A US judge approved a settlement that bars US officials from separating migrant families that illegally cross the US southern border, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a press release.

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"A federal court has approved a historic settlement involving the American Civil Liberties Unions years-long lawsuit on behalf of thousands of traumatized children and parents who were forcibly torn from each other under the Trump administrations illegal zero-tolerance practice of separating families at the border," the release said on Friday. The US government is barred from re-enacting the zero-tolerance policy over the next eight years, the release said, adding that the settlement takes effect on December 11. According to the ACLU, the settlement also offers aid to an estimated 4,500-5,000 children and their parents. The US government, the release said, will continue to identify families that were separated, fund their reunification in the United States, and provide a pathway for them to seek asylum in the country.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/it-is-broken-us-politics-use-border-policies-as-bait-in-spending-bill-battle---analysis-1115468989.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/west-doubts-ukraines-ability-to-conduct-major-counteroffensive-until-2025---reports-1115489267.html

West Doubts Ukraine's Ability to Conduct Major Counteroffensive Until 2025 - Reports

West Doubts Ukraine's Ability to Conduct Major Counteroffensive Until 2025 - Reports

The West believes Kiev will most likely fail to launch another significant counteroffensive until 2025, as the Ukrainian forces need time to recover after this year's failed military campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing Western diplomats and military strategists.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the newspaper that his country was forming brigades for "new counteroffensive and defensive operations," but Western military strategists reportedly said it was rather shifting to defensive positions, which, in particular, could be confirmed by Ukrainian troops digging trenches near Krasny Liman. 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 Valery Zaluzhny said in an interview with the Economist that Kiev's counteroffensive had reached a "stalemate."

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/canada-faces-wave-of-reverse-immigration-amid-economic-strain-1115501093.html

Canada Faces Wave of Reverse Immigration Amid Economic Strain

Canada Faces Wave of Reverse Immigration Amid Economic Strain

There's been a noticeable spike in Canada's emigration rate rcently. The initial six months of the year saw roughly 42,000 people emigrate, following 93,818 in 2022 and 85,927 in 2021.

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Canada's housing shortages and skyrocketing living costs are transforming the dream of prosperity into a survival challenge for many immigrants, media reports say.These hardships are prompting a growing number of immigrants to reconsider their decision to move to the 'Great White North', leading to increased emigration.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has championed immigration as a panacea for Canada's aging demographic and sluggish economic growth.According to Statistics Canada, this policy has driven the nation's population growth to its highest rate in over 60 years. However, Trudeau's approach overlooked the negative sides of rapid population influx, which have caused a reversal of the trend.Problems include inflated housing costs that are far outstripping incomes.Renting or buying a home in Canada now eats up a staggering 60 percent of household income rising to some 80 percent in Toronto and 98 percent in Vancouver. In response, Trudeau's government has set a cap on immigration of 500,000 people per year from 2025, aiming to ease the strain on the housing market.The first half of 2023 alone saw about 42,000 departures, on top of the 93,818 in 2022 and 85,927 in 2021.Although these numbers dipped during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are rising again  signaling a potential flaw in the government's immigration-centered strategy according to the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) and Statistics Canada.Although the current emigration figure is smaller than the 263,000 immigrants arriving during the same period, the steady increase is causing concern and could undermine Trudeau's immigration policies. In the past eight years, his government has granted permanent residency to a record 2.5 million people.Emigration as a percentage of Canada's overall population reached 0.2 percent in the mid-1990s and currently stands at about 0.09 percent. While these figures are relatively low, the rising trend is alarming. Lawyers and immigration consultants caution that the trajectory could tarnish Canada's reputation as a top destination for immigrants if it accelerates.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231025/food-banks-in-canada-registered-record-19mln-visits-in-march-1114479097.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/death-toll-in-gaza-strip-from-israeli-strikes-rises-to-17700---health-ministry-1115502619.html

Death Toll in Gaza Strip From Israeli Strikes Rises to 17,700 - Health Ministry

Death Toll in Gaza Strip From Israeli Strikes Rises to 17,700 - Health Ministry

The death toll from the Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip has increased to 17,700 people since October 7, with over 48,000 people injured

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"The number of Gaza Strip residents killed due to Israel's aggression since October 7 has risen to 17,700, with 48,780 injured," Qudra told a press conference.On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border. 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 ground incursion into the Gaza Strip with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The truce was extended several times and expired last week.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/gop-refusing-public-hunter-biden-hearing-over-worries-party-may-be-implicated-1115491034.html

GOP Refusing Public Hunter Biden Hearing Over Worries Party May Be Implicated'

GOP Refusing Public Hunter Biden Hearing Over Worries Party May Be Implicated'

Sabrina Salvati, an activist and former educator, sat down with Sputniks Political Misfits to share her thoughts on Thursdays indictment against Hunter Biden.

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The Republican Party's refusal to hold a public hearing with Hunter Biden stems from the GOP's fear that testimony revelations could ultimately implicate party members and shed negative light during an election year, an activist told Sputnik on Friday.Sabrina Salvati, an activist and former educator, sat down with Sputniks Political Misfits to share her thoughts on Thursdays indictment against Hunter Biden, as well as the GOPs planned impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.I think this is a way for them to get Hunter Biden on something, said Salvati when asked if a normal person would be charged in this manner, or if Bidens social status put a particular target on his back.And those charges, actually, in reference to the Ukraine business dealings, would actually implicate Joe Biden as well. So it seems like theyre trying to find something to get Hunter Biden on. So I dont know whether this is really going to pass. And I also noticed Hunter Biden is agreeing to testify and wants to do so publicly, whereas the Republicans want to do so privately, she continued.When asked why Republicans seem committed to having Hunter Biden testify privately, Salvati explained that it could be because Hunter Biden will not go down alone.If that were to happen and he did take other people down with him - and it wasnt good for the Republican party - well then you have this public display and there will be a public outcry as well towards the Republican party, Salvati explained, adding that it would most likely create an atmosphere of criticism towards the GOP.I do not think this is contempt against Congress, though, she said, adding that Biden's willingness to testify does not necessarily draw out a contempt against Congress charge.Salvati further explained there may also be some Republicans who dont want too much negative attention to go towards President Biden, because they dont want former US President Donald Trump to be elected to the Oval Office.She then explained it would be back to the drawing board for Republicans.Salvati also emphasized the importance of having Hunter Bidens business dealings in Ukraine investigated, adding it would likely implicate President Biden. She noted prosecutors will oftentimes try and convict a criminal of a lesser charge if they have difficulty in proving bigger charges.At the same time, House Republicans are attempting to connect President Biden to his sons foreign business dealings as part of an impeachment inquiry. Republicans are threatening to charge the younger Biden in contempt of Congress if he fails to appear for a private deposition at the Capitol. They have refused his offer to publicly testify."Contrary to the assertions in your letter, there is no 'choice' for Mr. Biden to make; the subpoenas compel him to appear for a deposition on December 13. If Mr. Biden does not appear for his deposition on December 13, 2023, the Committees will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings," Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote in a letter to Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/theyre-trying-to-kill-me-hunter-biden-sounds-off-on-gop-effort-to-strike-at-joes-2024-bid-1115488481.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/hunters-criminal-case-funding-rows-in-congress-may-force-biden-toward-ukraine-peace-deal-1115486028.html

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hunter biden, joe biden, analysis, us politics, impeachment, indictment
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/israel-plans-to-end-operations-in-southern-gazas-khan-yunis-in-3-4-weeks--reports-1115495417.html

Israel Plans to End Operations in Southern Gazas Khan Yunis in 3-4 Weeks  Reports

Israel Plans to End Operations in Southern Gazas Khan Yunis in 3-4 Weeks  Reports

Military operations by the Israeli army in the southern Gaza Strip's largest city of Khan Yunis might end in three to four weeks, media reported, citing a senior Israeli defense official.

2023-12-09T09:22+0000

2023-12-09T09:22+0000

2023-12-09T09:22+0000

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palestine-israel conflict

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gaza strip

israel defense forces (idf)

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The operation in Khan Yunis has just started, an official told media outlet on Friday, adding that the Israeli military believed that the leadership of Palestinian movement Hamas was located there. According to the source, the high-intensity phase of the conflict between Israel and Hamas will last for three to four weeks. According to the report, the United States does not give Israel a clear deadline for the end of the operation, but points out that time is limited and it is necessary to end the fighting as quickly as possible and with fewer civilian casualties. Washington prefers Israel finished the high intensity phase of the operation in the Gaza Strip by the end of December, and Israel aims at the end of January 2024, the report added. On Tuesday, Head of the Israeli General Staff Herzi Halevi said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had moved to the third phase of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip and was surrounding Khan Yunis. On October 7, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border. 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 ground incursion into the Gaza Strip with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The truce was extended several times and expired last Friday.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231206/scott-ritter-israel-headed-for-strategic-defeat-in-gaza-1115409414.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/japan-advised-to-go-nuclear-as-us-umbrella-frayed-irreparably-1115493637.html

Japan Advised to Go Nuclear as US 'Umbrella' 'Frayed Irreparably'

Japan Advised to Go Nuclear as US 'Umbrella' 'Frayed Irreparably'

Japan, which has embarked upon an unprecedented military build-up of late, is at a historic crossroads, and must develop nuclear weapons, former editor for The New York Times Barry Gewen has argued.

2023-12-09T08:19+0000

2023-12-09T08:19+0000

2023-12-09T08:25+0000

world

japan

us

tokyo

washington

fumio kishida

military & intelligence

nato

nuclear

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Japan, which has embarked on an unprecedented military build-up of late, is at a historic crossroads, and must develop nuclear weapons, former editor for The New York Times Barry Gewen has argued.Citing the current geopolitical situation in Asia, and the present disarray in Washington, Japan really does not have any other choice, he wrote in The National Interest.According to the author, the circumstances that led Tokyo after its defeat in World War II to officially pledge that its armed forces' role would be purely one of self-defense, "no longer exist, he argued in the outlet. At the same time, the American nuclear umbrella that previously offered Japan military protection was described as increasingly frayed, probably irreparably.Next, the report rationalized the need to set up a new nuclear state on Russias border, regurgitating the traditional US-fueled claims of Japan being threatened by neighboring countries. An increasingly assertive China, North Korea with its expanding military clout, and Russia were all cited as reasons why US guarantees of protection could ostensibly no longer serve as a foundation for Japans security. The author posed the simple question: Would America be willing to risk the destruction of Los Angeles to protect Tokyo? Furthermore, he underscored that Washington has demonstrated many times that it would pursue its national interests even if it damages the interests of its allies.The United States has proved to be impetuous and sanctimonious, canceling agreements with Russia, invading Iraq and Afghanistan, and intervening in Libya with little consideration of the long-term consequences, emphasized the report. Japan should not have to be relying on decisions of impulsive and unreliable leaders in Washington, the author of the report stated.At this point, it should be noted that Russia, as a member of the United Nations Security Council and a nuclear power, is strictly guided by the tenet that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Russias nuclear doctrine clearly forbids the preemptive use of nuclear weapons, stating they are regarded exclusively as a means of deterrence, their use being an extreme and compelled measure. Another "vulnerability" cited in the report was the dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, claimed both by Japan and China (Beijing refers to them as the Diaoyu Islands). The report comes as Japan has been beefing up its military, bolstering rapprochement with NATO, while echoing the same "threat" allegations that Washington typically conjures up. Boosted defense is ostensibly needed to "deter" China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and, possibly, Russia. Tokyo has also been spending more and more money on American weapons, while filling Washington's coffers.Article 9 of Japan's war-denouncing constitution prohibits offensive actions by the nation's military. However, a succession of Liberal Democratic Party governments  including the present one led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida  have sought to rewrite that charter to loosen the restrictions on arms exports, allow overseas deployments in support of US-led military interventions, etc. In December 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas government approved three policy documents  the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy, and the Defense Buildup Program  which envisage doubling the nation's defense spending within the next five years. For fiscal year 2024, Japan's Defense Ministry has requested the largest defense budget in its history, worth a whopping $53 billion, 12 percent higher than in 2023. Furthermore, the United States has also boosted trilateral security cooperation with Japan and South Korea.The increasing militarization of Japan over claims of having been threatened by neighboring countries has been slammed by North Korea, with the DPRK's media slamming it as a "smokescreen" to justify Tokyo's intention to become a major military power. The burgeoning trilateral military alliance uniting Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul was described as fraught with the prospect of World War III by North Koreas Rodong Sinmun.Moscow has also warned of the "confrontational nature" of political and military interaction between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul, aimed at escalating the situation in the Asia-Pacific under the pretext of "response to global challenges and threats."Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, previously warned of the militarization of Japan with the support of the United States, with the country's self-defense forces being transformed into a full-fledged army capable of attacking, in a "gross violation of the results of the Second World War."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231106/japan-may-sacrifice-own-defense-industry-to-continue-buying-us-weapons-as-yen-plummets-1114751212.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230411/how-many-nukes-does-russia-have-in-2023-and-what-kinds-are-there-1107385137.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230905/japans-pursuit-of-boosting-military-spending-aims-to-shape-country-into-us-proxy-1113127841.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231105/north-korea-us-japan-south-korea-military-alliance-could-trigger-world-war-iii-1114742729.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/osprey-safety-issues-investigated-as-aircraft-claims-lives-of-eight-us-service-members-1115492339.html

Osprey Safety Issues Investigated as Aircraft Claims Lives of Eight US Service Members

Osprey Safety Issues Investigated as Aircraft Claims Lives of Eight US Service Members

More than 50 troops have been killed in crashes of the troubled aircraft.

2023-12-09T04:41+0000

2023-12-09T04:41+0000

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Various debacles often serve to raise the question of whether the military-industrial complex exists to serve the United States or the United States exists to serve the military-industrial complex. The story of the V-22 Osprey is one of those debacles.The Osprey is a revolutionary piece of equipment, in theory. The aircraft is able to take off vertically like a helicopter but rotate its propellers horizontally to fly like a prop plane.The technology would seem to combine the best of both worlds, combining a helicopters ability to take off and land in small spaces and whisk soldiers to faraway battlefields with the speed of an airplane. The US Marine Corps, which operates most of the Ospreys in service, has called it a game-changing assault support platform.The only problem is that the Osprey often tends to crash and kill its operators. Just recently it happened off the coast of Japan, resulting in the grounding of the entire fleet.The incident resulted in the death of eight Air Force Special Operations Command members on board. A preliminary investigation blames the crash on a material failure  that is, a problem with the aircraft rather than the actions of its crew.The Osprey has been dogged with questions for years about its safety. The operation of its rotating propeller system places stress on the aircrafts equipment unlike that experienced by any other vehicle.Key to the issues suffered by the Osprey is the functioning of a special clutch that connects engines on either side of the aircraft. Investigators believe the equipment wears out quickly, with fatal consequences. A 2022 Osprey crash in California created a fire that was so severe that the aircrafts flight data recorder was destroyed.Some 50 service members have been killed in Osprey crashes, and the aircraft has been grounded multiple times before. Some believe insufficient material strength is the cause of the vehicles problems. But the ultimate root cause remains unknown, and the US military is investigating the issue.In the meantime, families of US service members will have to consider whether they want them to effectively serve as guinea pigs for the testing of the MICs most famous boondoggle.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231207/us-navy-grounds-all-osprey-aircraft-amid-probe-of-deadly-crash-off-japan-coast-1115441994.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220704/video-of-us-mv-22-osprey-crashing-into-uss-green-bay-in-2017-goes-viral-1096931526.html

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Up to 600 North Korean refugees have reportedly "vanished" after being forcibly repatriated from China back to North Korea, where they likely face severe punishment.

The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), based in Seoul, South Korea, highlighted this alarming situation, underscoring the likelihood of imprisonment and abuse at the hands of North Korean authorities, as per NBC News.

China Deports North Korean Refugees in Record Numbers

These repatriations, which occurred in October, represent the largest mass deportation of North Korean refugees in recent years. Human rights activists and family members of the deportees have raised alarms about the high risk of torture, forced labor, and even execution that these individuals may face upon their return. They have called on international powers, including the United States, to pressure Beijing to cease this practice.

The TJWG and Global Rights Compliance, a human rights law firm, released a report detailing the deportations and the desperate need for more protection for these refugees. The report also notes that over 70 percent of the deportees are estimated to be women.

Notably, both the North Korean and Chinese governments have remained silent on the issue, neither confirming nor denying any knowledge of the mass deportation.

Under international law, notably the UN Refugee Convention of 1951, nations are urged not to return refugees to their countries of origin if they face the risk of persecution - a principle known as "non-refoulement." Despite this, a 2013 United Nations report found that most North Koreans repatriated from China have faced harsh conditions and severe punishment.

Among those deported was Kim Cheol Ok, a North Korean woman who fled to China during a severe famine in 1998. Her sister, Kyu Li, a refugee herself, expressed her concerns and highlighted the exploitative conditions North Korean women face in China due to their undocumented status, according to Newsweek.

Read Also: Oakland: Public School Educators to Hold Unauthorized Teach-In, Present Pro-Palestinian Lessons

More North Korean Refugees Face Deportation from China

The TJWG has expressed fears that an additional 1,100 North Korean refugees currently held in Chinese detention centers could be deported at any moment. Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, a legal analyst for the NGO, shared insights into the intelligence gathered on these deportations, including the tracking of detainees across North Korean detention centers.

The report raises serious concerns about the fate of these individuals, who, like thousands before them, are likely to face harsh treatment by the North Korean regime. This situation underscores the regime's efforts to block citizens' access to the outside world and punish those who attempt to leave.

Global Rights Compliance partner Catriona Murdoch emphasized the responsibility of the international community to end China's repatriation practices and the need for significant international pressure to prompt Beijing to change its course.

The disappearance of these refugees highlights a grave human rights issue, with fears mounting that many more North Koreans could vanish into the abyss upon forced return to their homeland. Human rights organizations, including the TJWG and Global Rights Compliance, are calling on international powers to intervene and prevent further human rights violations, The Sun reported.

Related Article: 'Pathetic Beanstalk': Locals of UK Town Upset Over Skinny Christmas Tree

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/pork-pay-raises--shiny-new-toys-defense-authorization-act-keeps-war-machine-churning-1115491827.html

Pork, Pay Raises & Shiny New Toys: Defense Authorization Act Keeps War Machine Churning

Pork, Pay Raises & Shiny New Toys: Defense Authorization Act Keeps War Machine Churning

The annual National Defense Authorization Act mandates billions of dollars towards bases, weapons systems, and service member pay, but a controversy over the new Space Force headquarters remains unresolved.

2023-12-09T04:13+0000

2023-12-09T04:13+0000

2023-12-09T05:03+0000

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national defense authorization act (ndaa)

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Even in our era of polarization and the ever-present threat of government shutdown, US military spending remains a key priority of bipartisan compromise each year. The latest consummation of these efforts emerged late Wednesday night when lawmakers in the House and Senate released a draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2024.The 3,093-page bill is set to increase US military spending to $886 billion, a 3% increase from the previous year.In addition to mandating spending on weapons and other equipment, the NDAA is an important statement of defense and security policy for the year to come. Here, Sputnik breaks down the revelations contained within and their implications for US foreign policy.Familiar FoesUS tensions with various foreign powers have crystallized in recent years with Israels campaign in Gaza and Russias special military operation in Ukraine. Our nation faces unprecedented threats from China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, reads a joint statement from the House and Senate Armed Services Committee.Although the country hasnt gone to war in some 40 years, Chinas economic rise remains a primary concern for US policymakers, something thats reflected in defense policy. The US continues to build its presence in the Pacific, with this years NDAA authorizing the transfer of three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia.The move represents a significant acceleration of timetables as previously the subs were not scheduled to be sent to the country until 2032. Australia has concurrently agreed to provide $3 billion to invest in US shipyards, at the behest of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS).The bill also mandates significant investments in bases and fueling facilities in Japan. Meanwhile, the act enforces a prohibition on contracting with entities that operate within the Russian energy sector. Subsections offer insights on military cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic and Iran-Russia nuclear-related cooperation.28,500 US troops will remain stationed in South Korea while the two countries will deepen nuclear deterrence coordination aimed at the North Korea (DPRK). The United States killed some 20% of the North Korean population in the Korean War in the 1950s.Human ResourcesThe United States is in the midst of a major recruiting crisis, consistently failing to achieve annual enlistment targets. The military plans to address that by enacting a 5.2% pay raise, reportedly the largest in more than two decades. The pay hike will see entry-level service members paid about $1,100 more per year.The NDAA also mandates monthly bonuses to be dispersed to junior members at the discretion of service secretaries.House Republicans have attempted to boost service member pay to ensure no member of the US military makes below the equivalent of $15 per hour, although the White House has stated their opposition to the measure until comprehensive reviews of the matter are completed.Several bullet points within draft NDAA proposals relate to improving conditions in military barracks. The bill mandates the replacement of substandard barracks over the next five years and mandates a uniform standard between both government and privately-run housing. Finally, the bill establishes civilian oversight of housing for enlisted members to improve conditions.A Government Accountability Office report earlier this year that demonstrated deplorable conditions in many barracks generated significant embarrassment for the US military.Finally, Congress is seeking to mandate a review and possible reinstatement of service members who left the armed forces over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Its estimated that more than 7,000 troops left the Army, Navy, and Marines over the issue.Planes, Tanks, and WeaponsCongress repeatedly allocates funds over and above what the Pentagon requests for various weapons systems. The practice boosts local economies by keeping weapons plants humming in House districts throughout the country, a phenomenon known as military Keynesianism. It also keeps military contractors happy, although some have questioned whether the largesse contributes towards an optimally-functioning military.$1.2 billion is dedicated towards upgrading the M1 Abrams tank fleet over the next year, almost double the $698 million the Pentagon requested. Extra funds are also allocated to continue the development of next-generation M1E3 Abrams technology, although it will not be completed for 2024.$674 million is allocated towards procurement of the Self-Propelled Howitzer Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program, $205 million more than the original request. Meanwhile, $380 million is set aside for the purchasing of CH-47 Chinook helicopter, more than $177 more than was requested. The development of the new CH47F Block II remains ongoing, with $41 million allocated for research of the technology.Meanwhile, controversy continues over the planned headquarters for the new Space Force branch first announced by former President Donald Trump. Trump wanted the headquarters built in Huntsville, Alabama, a decidedly more Republican-leaning locale than the Colorado Springs, Colorado location preferred by Biden. Funding has been blocked until the Department of Defenses Inspector General completes an investigation of the matter.At the same time, the Space Development Agency is investing in low Earth orbit satellite constellations for missile tracking and data transport. $317 million is allocated towards the building of six Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, while several studies are mandated to investigate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve various operations within the military.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230311/swift--severe-costs-us-lawmakers-push-sanctions-mechanism-to-deter-china-from-russia-support-1108287776.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230927/us-house-advances-amendment-to-slash-defense-secretary-austins-salary-1113743726.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230924/us-soldiers-treated-worse-than-garbage-while-white-house-keeps-throwing-money-at-ukraine-1113636879.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230922/almost-half-of-us-fleet-of-f-35s-not-capable-of-flying-at-any-time---watchdog-1113572686.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/russia-wont-agree-to-minsk-30-deal-on-ukraine-heres-why-1115498952.html

Russia Won't Agree to 'Minsk-3.0' Deal on Ukraine: Here's Why

Russia Won't Agree to 'Minsk-3.0' Deal on Ukraine: Here's Why

Recent weeks have seen a flurry of media reports and remarks by officials on possible peace talks aimed at ending the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine. But the trust deficit between Moscow and Washington appears to be simply be too great after the Wests thirty-year continuum of deception, says Russian foreign policy strategist Dmitry Suslov.

2023-12-09T14:27+0000

2023-12-09T14:27+0000

2023-12-09T14:27+0000

analysis

russia

ukraine

valery zaluzhny

viktor suslov

volodymyr zelensky

moscow

nato

kremlin

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Ukrainian Armed Forces commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhnys admission to British media at the start of November that Ukraines counteroffensive has faltered and that there would be no deep and beautiful breakthrough has been followed up with a series of reports in US and European media about Western officials broaching the subject of peace talks, and even pressuring President Zelensky to make a deal.Publicly, US officials have put on a stiff upper lip, assuring that any peace negotiations will be on termsacceptable to Ukraine to try and convince the rest of the world that the Ukraine campaign has not been a failure and that the supply of tens of billions of dollars in NATO military hardware hasnt been for naught.Russia will either have to come to the negotiating table on terms that would be acceptable to Ukraineor they will face a stronger Ukraine, backed by a stronger defense industrial base in the United States, in Europe, and in Ukraine that has more ability to go on the offense, US deputy national security advisor John Finer warned during a talk at a DC neocon think tank this week. The Kremlin rejected Finers comments as absolutely unrealistic.I dont think that there are necessary preconditions for peace talks, Russian foreign policy strategist Dmitry Suslov told Sputniks New Rules podcast.Leading American neoliberal and neoconservative geopolitics experts realize this, the observer believes, hence the sudden calls for a truce, some type of diplomatic settlement or at least a freeze on the conflict.Russias Real ConcernsOne recent report by a well-respected US journalist suggested that forces behind the scenes in Washington have put out feelers for a peace deal with Russia involving freezing the conflict along its current frontiers, in exchange for a rump Ukrainian states inclusion into the NATO bloc.Such talk focused territory marks a fundamental misunderstanding of Russias actual security concerns, Suslov stressed.Moscow, Suslov said, is focused not on territory, but on Ukrainian-NATO relations, the future of NATOs presence in Ukrainian territory, the future of Ukrainian militarization versus demilitarization (as outlined in the Russian Foreign Ministrys December 2021 draft treaties on ironclad security guarantees).Accordingly, without Western readiness to address those issues, the Russian government will be extremely unlikely to entertain talks of peace or even a truce, the analyst believes.Trust DeficitFundamentally, Suslov says, the focal point of the Russia-West crisis lies in Moscows utter lack of trust in the United States and its allies after decades of deception.Russia was sincerely interested in their implementation, but now we know that there was no intention to implement them from the Western side and that the West needed those agreements in order to win time and militarize Ukraine for a future war against Russia, Suslov added, recalling recent remarks on this score by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, ex-German chancellor Angela Merkel, and former French president Francois Hollande.Western powers sabotage of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in the spring of 2022  held in the first weeks after Russia kicked off its special military operation, were the latest example of Moscows utter inability to trust the West, according to Suslov, who recalled that at that time, Moscow was ready to return to the pre-conflict lines in exchange for security guarantees on Ukraines non-bloc status.The goal was to get rid of Russia as a great power, to solve the Russian question in international relations and substantially shift the global power balance back into the Wests favor, Suslov stressed. Because if you eliminate Russia as a great power, then you encircle China and then the correlation of forces between the United States and China also shifts in favor of the United States. That was what the West wanted. And all their rhetoric about helping Ukraine is just a lie. Because in fact, they are sacrificing Ukraine for the sake of undermining and defeating Russia. So having said all of that, of course there is no trust.Suslov is confident that Russia will not agree to any Minsk 3.0 type peace deal to satiate NATO elites now that they are losing, and that Moscow will not entertain Ukrainian membership in the Western bloc.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231206/scott-ritter-zelensky-in-dire-straits-as-ukraine-wont-get-operational-pause-in-winter-1115426496.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231205/peace-talks-with-russia-uk--us-seeking-quick-face-saving-exit-from-ukraine-debacle--cia-vet-1115412473.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/uk-media-mum-on-shocking-claims-boris-johnson-sabotaged-russia-ukraine-peace-talks--1115230732.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230320/a-fateful-error-history-of-natos-expansion-1108611973.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/russian-pm-mishustin-congratulates-rossiya-segodnya-agency-on-its-10th-anniversary--1115492843.html

Russian PM Mishustin Congratulates Rossiya Segodnya Agency on Its 10th Anniversary

Russian PM Mishustin Congratulates Rossiya Segodnya Agency on Its 10th Anniversary

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin congratulated the staff of the Rossiya Segodnya media group on its 10th anniversary and wished them "new creative ideas, more successes and victories, good health and happiness".

2023-12-09T06:15+0000

2023-12-09T06:15+0000

2023-12-09T06:15+0000

russia

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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin congratulated the staff of the Rossiya Segodnya media group on its 10th anniversary and wished them "new creative ideas, more successes and victories, good health and happiness."The prime minister emphasized that the media group "confidently occupies leading positions and sets high journalistic standards in the media space of our country and beyond its borders," and that its news resources working around the clock "in dozens of languages provide a wide audience of readers and listeners with reliable and objective information about the most important events in the world."The Rossiya Segodnya International Media Group unites the Russian-language information resources RIA Novosti, Sputnik Radio, PRIME, InoSMI, Baltnews, Ukraine.ru, Social Navigator, KOT, and Arctic.ru. Abroad, it is represented by the Sputnik International News Agency and Radio.One of the main products of the media group is news feeds in Russian, English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Farsi. Rossiya Segodnya is Russia's largest producer of information products aimed at international audiences, the business community, government agencies, and the widest range of users.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/trump-blasts-birdbrain-haley-bobblehead-desantis-reveals-why-ramaswamy-won-debate-1115502732.html

Trump Blasts 'Birdbrain' Haley, 'Bobblehead' DeSantis, Reveals Why Ramaswamy Won Debate

Trump Blasts 'Birdbrain' Haley, 'Bobblehead' DeSantis, Reveals Why Ramaswamy Won Debate

38-year-old biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy spent the evening tearing into former Trump UN ambassador Nikki Haleys alleged corruption and neoconservative agenda at the fourth Republican presidential debate Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Trump himself was nowhere to be found, with preferring to skip the debates, for now.

2023-12-09T18:59+0000

2023-12-09T18:59+0000

2023-12-09T19:12+0000

americas

donald trump

nikki haley

vivek ramaswamy

tuscaloosa

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republican

the united nations (un)

gop

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Donald Trump praised Vivek Ramaswamys performance at this weeks GOP primary debate, crowning the businessman the winner in a Truth Social rant in which he savaged everyone else involved, including the moderator.Calling former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson dead due to his failure to qualify for the debate, Trump suggested that then again, so is Ron, whose weird bobbing head and fresh mouth, make his high heels look good, the 'high heels' remark being a reference to unverified reports that the Florida governor wears lifts.But the biggest loser was the debate moderator, Megyn Kelly, in Trumps estimation. What the hell happened to her? She has lost whatever she once had, which wasnt very much. Some things never change! the former president wrote, harking back to a feud he has had with the television presenter going back to 2015, when he first announced his candidacy for president as a Republican.Trump, famous for the epithets he uses to attack his political opponents, has yet to come up with one for Ramaswamy, who is polling in fourth place behind himself, DeSantis, and Haley with a RealClearPolitics estimated average of five percent support.The 38-year-old businessman has been labeled Trump-lite by the Haley campaign, and called the 77-year-old former presidents most obvious heir by some media pundits after saying his disagreements with Trump are very small and that policy wise, the two men are aligned 90-plus percent.There are some small differences. I would rescind affirmative action. I would militarize the southern border instead of just building the wall. I would shut down the US department of Education, not just put a good person, [former Education Secretary] Betsy DeVos, on top to reform it, Ramaswamy said in an interview earlier this year.Instead of targeting the front runner, Ramaswamy spent most of Wednesday nights debate attacking Haley, DeSantis and Christie, accusing them of licking Donald Trumps boots for years, for money and endorsements.The businessman concentrated on Haley, holding up a placard with the words Haley = Corrupt, and calling her career an example of the revolving door dishonest dealings that plague Washington.And when I said they were bought and paid for, I meant the Republican establishment, not the Democratic establishment. Now you have Reid Hoffman, the person whos effectively George Soros junior, funding lawsuits across this country against Donald Trump to keep him off the ballot, funding left-wing causes. We discovered this week that he was one of Nikki Haleys largest supporters. Larry Fink, the king of the woke industrial complex, the ESG movement, the CEO of Blackrock, the most powerful company in the world now supporting Nikki Haley. And to say that that doesnt affect her is false because after that meeting later that day she says that every American needs to be doxed by having their ID, their government issued ID tied to what they say on the internet, Ramaswamy added.Haley clarified that her husband went bankrupt but that she did not, and admitted that she served on the board of Boeing for ten months, and that she loves and is proud of the company. And in terms of these donors that are supporting me, theyre just jealous. They wish that they were supporting them, the politician said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231207/republican-reckoning-gop-must-win-over-undecided-moderates-to-clinch-2024-victory-1115464809.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231207/fourth-gop-debate-marked-by-spirited-attacks-but-still-no-trump-1115444823.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231206/trump-alternative-debate-full-of-candidates-better-at-taking-on-biden-than-gop-frontrunner-1115437153.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/us-arab-post-war-gaza-scenario-talks-doomed-while-israel-bombs-enclave---expert-1115498208.html

US-Arab Post-War Gaza Scenario Talks Doomed While Israel Bombs Enclave - Expert

US-Arab Post-War Gaza Scenario Talks Doomed While Israel Bombs Enclave - Expert

Negotiations between the US and its regional allies on Gazas post-war governance are unlikely to achieve results while Israel bombs enclave, Shahram Akbarzadeh, told Sputnik.

2023-12-09T16:03+0000

2023-12-09T16:03+0000

2023-12-09T16:03+0000

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Negotiations between the US and its regional allies on Gazas post-war governance are unlikely to achieve Washington's aims, Shahram Akbarzadeh, expert in the Middle Eastern politics at Deakin University, told Sputnik.Biden administration officials are reportedly working on a scenario for Gazas post-war future. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on December 8 with a delegation of representatives from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority.US officials want both Gaza and the West Bank governed in future by a unified government led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority (PA).But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared at odds with the Biden administration, ruling out the idea that the West Bank-based authority could run Gaza."There will have to be something else there. There won't be a civilian authority that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, to wipe out the state of Israel," Netanyahu said in November.It is difficult to predict possible results of negotiations between the US authorities and the Palestinian administration on Gazas future, Dr Vladimir Morozov, Associate Professor, vice-Rector, MGIMO University, told Sputnik.The Palestinian-Israeli issue clearly cannot be resolved without US participation, he emphasized. But the outcome of talks should rule out Israel occupying the Gaza Strip, installing a temporary military administration there, or creating a buffer zone further eroding the territory of the enclave. That is what the Americans are working on now, I believe, Dr Morozov said.Shortly before the meeting, Washington vetoed a UN resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza  the only council member to do so.US officials recently met with PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh to seek his input regarding a plan for Gaza after the end of hostilities.Hamas could play a role in that scenario as a junior partner under the broader Palestine Liberation Organization, Mohammed Shtayyeh added, helping build a new independent state that includes the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Hamas before October 7 is one thing and after it is another thing. If they are ready to come to an agreement and accept the political platform of the PLO, then there will be room for talk. Palestinians should not be divided, Shtayyeh said. The PA Prime Minister insisted that Israel will fail in its goal to wipe out Hamas, clarifying that Hamas is not in Gaza only. Hamas is in Lebanon, everybody knows Hamas leadership is in Qatar and they are here in the West Bank. Talks on a Gaza scenario come as Israel continues its war on Hamas, with the civilian death toll in the enclave continuing to mount.According to Shtayyeh, every effort by PA ministers to interact with Israeli counterparts has been rejected.Look at what Netanyahu has been saying  no return to the Palestinian Authority, no two-state solution. What does this mean?" the Palestinian prime minister asked. "Netanyahu wants a continuation of a military occupation of the Palestinian territory. This is not acceptable.Two-State Solution 'Not Matter of Next 10 Years'Representatives of the Biden administration will need to work out the details of what life in the Gaza Strip will look like after Israels military operation, Vladimir Morozov stated. Everything that has happened, he said, is because the international community failed to deal with the Palestinian issue after the quartet of international mediators ceased to exist in 2014. Attempts to reach a final settlement through talks at that time failed, with both Israelis and Palestinians rejecting a framework agreement that might have served as a basis for a future final accord.After the start of the Ukrainian crisis, the US and their allies in the West stopped cooperating with Russia within the framework of this quartet, and therefore, we have todays dire situation, the pundit said.The two-state solution, ostensibly supported by the international community and Biden reiterated in his November op-ed can be considered as a guideline, but "not a matter of the next 10 years, Morozov argued.Many humanitarian problems will need to be resolved, the current humanitarian crisis dealt with, and these issues will be uppermost after the end of the Israeli military operation. Sectarian conflict among Palestinians is also a problem: Hamas not only controls the Gaza Strip but also has significant support in the West Bank, where the more moderate Fatah party controls the PA. Hamas does not recognize Israels right to exist, the expert noted.Washington is delusional if they expect that Israeli actions have killed the two-state solution, Akbarzadeh stressed, but acknowledged that there were no immediate or near future prospects" for that to materialize.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/us-only-administration-with-leverage-to-stop-israeli-assault-end-humanitarian-crisis-in-gaza-1115484109.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231101/blinkens-wishful-thinking-why-us-peace-plans-for-gaza--israel-are-out-of-touch-1114646362.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231012/two-state-solution-or-one-state-agreement-what-are-the-options-in-palestines-path-to-statehood-1114148856.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231206/scott-ritter-israel-headed-for-strategic-defeat-in-gaza-1115409414.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/us-opposition-to-ukraine-aid-grows-amid-heavy-losses-of-western-equipment---reports-1115493993.html

US Opposition to Ukraine Aid Grows Amid Heavy Losses of Western Equipment - Reports

US Opposition to Ukraine Aid Grows Amid Heavy Losses of Western Equipment - Reports

The US does not want to help Ukraine because of the huge losses of Western equipment and the outcome of the counteroffensive, writes Military Watch Magazine.

2023-12-09T07:30+0000

2023-12-09T07:30+0000

2023-12-09T07:31+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

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nato

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military aid

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A growing number of voices in the US do not want to help Ukraine because of the huge losses of Western equipment and the outcome of the counteroffensive, Military Watch Magazine writes.The article points out that cutting off aid could completely undermine not only Kiev's ability to sustain military operations, but also the Ukrainian state's ability to perform even the most basic functions.According to the article, Russia is seizing more and more trophy samples of Western equipment, while the Ukrainian Army is just leaving them on the battlefield.In addition, there are fears in the US about the reputation of the best American tank, the M1 Abrams, according to the article.The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev sent 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.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231208/west-doubts-ukraines-ability-to-conduct-major-counteroffensive-until-2025---reports-1115489267.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/watch-russian-drone-take-down-ukrainian-hexacopter-by-ramming-it-1115493510.html

Watch Russian Drone Take Down Ukrainian Hexacopter by Ramming It

Watch Russian Drone Take Down Ukrainian Hexacopter by Ramming It

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of a drone ramming a Ukrainian drone known as "Baba Yaga" with its own drone.

2023-12-09T06:18+0000

2023-12-09T06:18+0000

2023-12-09T06:18+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

video

ukraine

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uav

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The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of a drone ramming a Ukrainian UAV known as the "Baba Yaga."The ministry said that while returning from an aerial reconnaissance mission, the operator of the Russian drone spotted a Ukrainian "Baba Yaga" hexacopter in the air that was returning to the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces."The operator of the Russian UAV made a decision to shoot down the hexacopter of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. After gaining altitude, his UAV took a suitable trajectory and rammed the enemy drone from above, which fell on our territory," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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Russian drone operators from the Far Eastern Airborne Forces in the area of Artemovsk in the DPR shot down a Ukrainian drone Russian drone operators from the Far Eastern Airborne Forces in the area of Artemovsk in the DPR shot down a Ukrainian drone 2023-12-09T06:18+0000 true PT1M01S

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/weird-biomass-protects-chinas-great-wall-from-ravages-of-time--research--1115497439.html

Weird Biomass Protects China's Great Wall from Ravages of Time  Research

Weird Biomass Protects China's Great Wall from Ravages of Time  Research

A recent breakthrough is altering established beliefs in historical conservation. Commonly, the growth of plants on old structures is considered detrimental. But biocrusts are unique due to their non-invasive root systems, making them more compatible with preservation activities.

2023-12-09T12:54+0000

2023-12-09T12:54+0000

2023-12-09T12:54+0000

beyond politics

science & tech

earth

china

society

great wall of china

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The iconic Great Wall of China, a symbol of Chinese civilization for over two millennia, has an unexpected protector in the form of biocrusts, new research has found. These "living skins," composed of bacteria, moss, lichen, and other organisms form a protective layer on soil surfaces, crucial in safeguarding parts of the Wall against environmental damage.A recent study published in Science Advances underscores how biocrusts defend the wall from elements like wind and rain, potentially slowing its deterioration. Their impact is especially significant on sections built from compacted soil vulnerable to erosion. Biocrusts, covering about 12 percent of the Earth's land surface, are predominantly found in drier climates like northern China.Soil scientist Bo Xiao and his team from China Agricultural University conducted a comprehensive study on the Great Wall. They found that biocrusts  primarily moss and cyanobacteria  covered over two-thirds of the studied sections. The team compared the physical properties of biocrust-covered parts with those of bare, erosion-prone, compressed earth areas. The research team found that the sections blanketed by biocrusts created a stabilizing layer, reducing porosity and boosting strength, thereby enhancing the durability of the cultural heritage site.This discovery is reshaping traditional views in heritage conservation. Typically, plant growth on historical structures is seen as harmful, but biocrusts are an exception. Their lack of invasive roots makes them less damaging and more helpful in preservation efforts. However, these biocrusts face threats from climate change and land use changes, which could reduce their protective abilities.Scientists are now investigating ways to cultivate biocrusts, leveraging these findings to preserve the Great Wall and possibly other cultural heritage sites. Though still in its early stages, the research highlights the importance and potential impact of protecting the Great Wall, a testament to Chinese heritage.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20181022/woman-great-wall-fall-1069110579.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20190222/saudi-crown-prince-great-wall-china-1072655306.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231209/yemens-houthis-say-ready-to-let-all-vessels-pass-via-red-sea-except-israel-related-ships-1115503225.html

Yemen's Houthis Say Ready to Let All Vessels Pass Via Red Sea Except Israel-Linked Ships

Yemen's Houthis Say Ready to Let All Vessels Pass Via Red Sea Except Israel-Linked Ships

Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, is ready to allow vessels of all countries pass through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea except those ships that are related to Israel, a spokesman for the rebel movement said on Saturday.

2023-12-09T21:57+0000

2023-12-09T21:57+0000

2023-12-10T07:12+0000

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"Yemen's armed forces reaffirm their commitment to continue global trade traffic through the Red and Arabian seas for all vessels and all countries except the ships related to Israel or those that will ship cargo to Israel's ports," Yahya Saria said in an announcement aired by Arab broadcasters. The Houthis would prohibit all vessels going to Israel if the Gaza Strip did not receive food and medical supplies, the spokesman added. Since October, the Houthis have conducted multiple missile and drone attacks threatening civilian infrastructure in Israel and commercial shipping operating in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The attacks have been carried out amid the current hostilities in the Gaza Strip between Palestinian movement Hamas and Israel that have left left 1,200 people killed in Israel and 17,700 in Gaza.

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Leaders from throughout the community saw the inner workings of the Western Sugar Factory Wednesday as staff hosted roughly 30 visitors for the Scottsbluff/Gering Chamber of Commerces annual tour.

The chamber holds the event every year to raise money to provide scholarships to students pursuing ag-related careers. Following an informational presentation about the factory, attendees were divided into groups and sent out with guides through the factory.

The presentation included information about Western Sugars history as well as where the cooperatives farmland is located and how it operates. Grower Brandon Hessler led the presentation with the help of a couple videos to explain the processes that bring sugar beets to the factory, and sugar to the table.

He said the cooperative has been grower owned for 21 years and covers 110,000 acres across four states. Those states are Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming, with 45,000 of those acres located in Nebraska.

The Scottsbluff factory was built in 1910. Hessler said that although there are plenty of parts in the factory that show its age, there are plenty of new additions and parts as well.

He also spoke about how technological advances have streamlined the process for growing, harvesting and processing the crops. With new seed varieties, the need for herbicides has decreased and as the components used to the factory have been simplified, Hessler said the hiring process has become easier as well.

He explained that they are also able to use a vast majority of the product they produce, as even the sugar they lose when it turns into molasses is sold as cattle feed.

During the tour, attendees were led through the facility and shown where the different steps of the process are conducted.

In the lab, Kevin Starr, who has worked at the factory for years and was leading one of the tour groups, explained the importance of quality control.

We cant run without these folks, Starr said. It is quality from one end to the other. Theres times we stop the whole operation because these folks tell us its not a quality product.

He said the methods that are used have become more advanced, but the actual process of extracting sugar from the beets has not changed much since it was created.

This is the way we do it, we dont make any sugar, we take away whats not sugar, Starr said.

Staff also led the group through the manufacturing side of the factory, including the control room where workers monitor production levels.

He explained part of the purification process using limestone and hot water. As the product is heated up to near its boiling point, limestone is added to remove undesired substances.

We put limestone rock and water in it and it breaks down into a slurry, Starr said. Most of the impurities will attract to the lime juice.

He said since the limestone is heavier, it will settle on the bottom of the solution where it can be removed. He also said that following the purification process, the solution resembles pale beer.

Attendees on the tour were a mix of farmers, some manufacturing interests and residents of the area who were interested in the factory. One of these was Bill Trumbull and his wife, Cheryl, who said he has always been curious about the factory.

Trumbull said that he had lived in the area his entire life and while he had always been surrounded by sugar beets and their production, he never knew much about it.

Weve wanted to do it for a number of years and it never worked out, Trumbull said.

While the recent harvest is over, work remains at the factory through the winter as crews will continue to produce and refine sugar from this years crop of sugar beets.
Ethan Crumbley, the suspect in the Michigan school shooting that killed four students in November 2021, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.

The then 15-year-old was said to have walked into Oxford High School and later pulled a gun out of his backpack and fatally shot 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, and 17-year-old Madsyn Baldwin.

Michigan School Shooter Sentenced

The crime occurred after Crumbley met with school staff and his parents on the morning of that same day. On Friday, just before the sentencing, Crumbley addressed the court and said, "I am a really bad person. I have done some terrible things. I have lied and I'm not trustworthy. I hurt many people."

The defendant added that he wants his peers to "feel safe and secure" and expressed his regret for the things that he did. In October 2022, Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 counts, including four counts of first-degree murder.

During a Miller hearing that started on July 27, Oakland County prosecutors have argued to determine whether or not the now-17-year-old suspect can be sentenced to life in prison without parole. This is a consequence that is typically given to adult offenders, as per Fox News.

Crumbley also said that he would try his best in the future to help other people, noting that it was the only thing left that he could do. The defendant asked the judge, Kwame Rowe, to impose the sentence that was asked by his victims.

In a notebook that was presented as evidence during a hearing on July 27, the shooter wrote that he was "going to spend the rest of my life in prison rotting like a tomato." In September, Rowe agreed that Crumbley could face a sentence for the shooting that devastated the Oxford, Michigan, community.

On Friday, the judge called the defendant's shooting "torture" and an "execution." It marked the first criminal case in the United States when a defendant has been charged with and convicted of terrorism resulting from a mass shooting.

Read Also: Los Angeles: Serial Killer Wins $700,000 in Lawsuit From Santa Monica Before Killing 4 People, Including Homeless Men

Fatally Shooting Four Students

Crumbley's sentencing came after the court heard emotional testimony from witnesses earlier in the day. The father of one of the victims said that they were all miserable. Buck Myre said that his family has a permanent hole that can never be fixed, according to the New York Post.

Baldwin's mother, on the other hand, recalled seeing her daughter's lifeless body at the medical examiner's office following the shooting. She said that when she looked through the glass, her scream could have shattered it.

The mother of Shilling told the shooter, who was sitting with his head down in court, that he executed someone who could have been a friend when he needed one most. Jill Soave noted that if Crumbley was lonely, miserable, and lost, her son would have been a friend if he asked.

The judge in the case noted that Crumbley shot Shilling at point-blank range after being told to get on his knees. On the other hand, the defendant shot St. Juliana a second time after she was on the ground, and as the suspect put it, "to finish the job by shooting her again," said CNN.



Related Article: Senator's Son Charged With Manslaughter for Fatal Crash That Killed Sheriff Deputy

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A Gering man convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl has been sentenced to two years in prison.

During a sentencing hearing Thursday, Scotts Bluff County District Court Judge Andrea Miller sentenced Eduardo Salinas Jr., 38, to two years in prison, with credit for 170 days already served, on a charge of child abuse, a Class IIIA felony. He was sentenced to 18 months of post-release supervision. Salinas is also required to register as a sex offender.

In August, Salinas agreed to a plea agreement, pleading no contest to the child abuse charge in exchange for the dismissal of four counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, a Class IB felony; four counts of incest of a child under age 18, a Class IIS felony.

Charges against Salinas stemmed from an investigation that began in November 2022 after Project Harmony, a child advocacy organization, contacting Gering Police. A counselor reported a girl, identified between the ages of 12 and 16, had disclosed allegations she had been sexually assaulted multiple times.

Police arranged for the girl to be interviewed at CAPstone, where she alleged that incidents of forcible sexual assault had begun in October 2022. The girl alleged Salinas had also forced her to watch pornography, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
The Scottsbluff and Gering school districts saw notable improvements in statewide assessment and classification in the 2022-2023 school year.

Each year, data from the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) test, along with other factors like attendance and graduation rates, is used to inform a rating through AQuESTTAccountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow.

Overall, Scottsbluff Public Schools saw its rating improve from good to great, with several buildings seeing notable ratings improvements along the way.

Lincoln Heights, Longfellow and Westmoor all moved up to an excellent rating, while Roosevelt improved from needs support to improve to good. Lake Minatare moved from excellent down to great despite consistently high proficiency scores in all three test subject areas.

SBPS also saw improvement at higher grade levels, with Bluffs Middle School moving from good to great. Scottsbluff High School maintained its good rating from the previous school year.

Compared to the state as a whole, Scottsbluff excelled in mathematics, with all tested grade levels except 11th exceeding state averages.

English language arts (ELA) and science proficiency generally increased across the district, but remained below state averages.

Mike Mason, executive director of curriculum and instruction, credited teachers and administrators for the improvement seen in Scottsbluff schools. He said he had never seen the districts educators as focused and intentional as they were during that assessment year.

It was definitely the hard work that our teachers, principals and content area specialists put into getting our students prepared last school year. It really made a difference. They worked hard, they were intentional and focused, and I think that shows in our results, Mason said.

SBPS managed to surpass the state average in math proficiency, cementing the subject as a strength for the district. Mason said that math scores have recovered more quickly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic than other subjects, particularly ELA, which he said will take more time to correct.

There are lasting effects of COVID, he said. We feel like were headed in the right direction with ELA as well. Each grade saw pretty significant improvement.

Gering Public Schools also saw ratings improvements, with Lincoln and Northfield both attaining great ratings while Gering Middle School and Gering High School both went from needs support to improve to good.

Geil Elementary maintained its great rating from the previous year, and the district as a whole remained good.

Gering superintendent Nicole Regan focused on the consistent proficiency growth that fueled those rating improvements across the districts five schools, she said.

We feel really good about the immense growth weve had in all of our buildings, Regan said. Its been a very positive outlook showing the hard work our teachers and students have done.

Regan acknowledged that there are many other aspects of what goes on in a school district than are captured in the NEP snapshot or AQuESTT classification.

Kory Knight, the districts director of curriculum and assessment, went into greater detail on how the rating system functions.

There are tenets that count and tenets that do not count, she said.

Some of the tenets that exist, but do not count toward AQuESTT classification involve developing and maintaining community partnerships, career and civic readiness and educator effectiveness.

Further, Knight explained that sometimes the classification system can make it difficult for high performing districts and schools to show improvement.

Each school is given an initial rating based on its test scores. For example, Geil was given a great rating. Afterward, certain bumps are applied based on particular criteria such as chronic absenteeism, English language learners, test participation and growth in the percentage of proficient students in each subject, with different weights applied to those different subjects.

In the case of Geil, which already had high proficiency ratings in the last testing year, its amount of growth was not high enough to receive any bumps for academic improvement. Its chronic absenteeism rate was also very low, so no bumps were available for improving it.

Because of this, Geils rating remained the same as the previous year, as great rather than improving to excellent, according to Knight.

When it comes to continually improving the districts classification, she said Gering schools will likely see an increased focus on supporting English language learners and standardizing some systems across the district to allow for a greater feeling of consistency for students and staff.

Both districts opted to take the NSCAS three times throughout the school year, with only the spring session counting toward state assessment. Mason said that the extra practice and insights provided by multiple testing helped educators make informed decisions on instruction.

Our teachers really bought into that and used that data along the way to address the needs of our students and where they were at, Mason said.

Knight said the same is true in Gering, where teachers use results from the fall and winter testing sessions to look for proficiency holes that can be filled via instruction and intervention ahead of the spring session.

You dump your resources into the areas where theyre needed the most, she said.

That direction of resources, along with effective community partnerships, is what drove the universal upward trend at all GPS buildings, Regan said.

It extends beyond our school walls, she said. We know we need partnerships with our community to continue that academic focus.

When it comes to how the assessment results are applied at SBPS, Mason explained that it gets used in a top-down view by administration and by classroom teachers to help target individual needs.

Were using it to guide instruction, intervention and supports for our students, Mason said. Our teachers really dig into that data, trying to identify areas of weakness and strength and capitalizing on those.

Both districts saw strong performances at the elementary level in addition to notable improvement in their middle grades, which are traditionally an age where proficiency rates begin to see a dip.

Its true that the older kids get, we start to see that gap get wider, Mason said. But our middle school results were really good, and we really feel like they showed some good growth there.

Gering Middle School also saw significant improvement in ELA and math proficiency, which Regan and Knight credited to several efforts being made at the school to better understand the unique minds and needs of middle grade students.

Though some initial data was made available to districts as early as spring of this year, a good amount of whats needed to start making meaningful changes to curriculum and instruction did not come until summer or fall. That information will roll forward and be applied to help improve performance in the second half of the 2023-2024 school year.

I think were doing all the right things and heading in the right direction. We know we can get better, we just have to keep going, Mason said.

Both districts acknowledged that the Nebraska Education Profile only tells a partial story. They encouraged families and taxpayers to remain engaged and keep their eyes open for what the assessment doesnt take into account.

Its about more than just a test, Regan said. Its about meeting their needs in so many ways to ensure that theyre successful and career ready by the time they graduate. We are here to provide the best academic experience for their students.
For more than four decades Moose compiled "Out of Our Past," one of the most popular features published in the Statesville Record & Landma
Beverly Maurice emphasized she will represent all of Iredell County as she filed to run for seat on the Iredell County Board of Commissioners.

Maurice said through living and working in Iredell County, she brings the skill set, ethics, responsibility, leadership, and thoughtful guidance needed to represent all of Iredell County when working with the board to carry out the responsibilities of representing the residents in keeping Iredells government strong, healthy, and equitable.

I see several holes in our county that Id like to address when I serve on the Iredell Board of Commissioners. One hole is our lack of public transportation in and between Statesville and Mooresville. Another hole is a staffing shortage for the Statesville Police Department. Yet another hole is not completing the building of the new school while we have new developments being built. I understand these all take a high level of logistics but that does not make them unachievable, Maurice said.

Maurice said while not being a politician, she believes her education, career, jobs and volunteer work positioned her perfectly at this time for this role.

Maurice, running on the Democratic ticket, has an undergrad degree in Therapeutic Recreation with minors in biology (honors) and psychology (honors) from Catawba College in Salisbury. She also holds an Master of Science in Bioethics from Clarkson University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York.

Her primary career was as a developmental therapist for children from birth to age three with special needs, going into their homes and day cares to deliver services in Iredell and Davie Counties.

She has also worked as a customer service representative for self-funded medical and dental group plans, as an insurance clerk for physicians, and currently as a high school substitute teacher.

She also has been the president and lay clergy of Congregation Emanuel for the last eight years, and a guardian ad litem for Iredell County for nine years. She is co-chair of Iredells Clergy for Healing and Justice, Inc., serves on Gordon Hospice Houses Ethics Committee, and on the Committee of Iredells Walk to End Alz (Alzheimers), as well as being a member of Statesvilles NAACP.

Maurice noted she has delivered clergy blessings at both Statesville and Mooresville United Ways Longest Table, is a founding member of Statesvilles PFLAG, and a Holocaust educator.

Maurice has three adult children, an extra adult child, stepchildren, two grandsons, two dogs, several grand-dogs, many step grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. It would be my honor to serve you, my fellow citizens of Iredell County, Maurice said.
One of my favorite senior stories unfolds as follows: A widow calls her best friend. I have the most exciting news Im really anxious to share it with you, but do not want to tell you over the phone. Can we meet for coffee tomorrow morning?

Of course, said her friend. How about ten oclock at our usual place? Perfect Just wonderful See you there! Both arrive about the same time and find a secluded corner table. After coffee is ordered and theyre alone, the widow, leaning toward her friend says breathlessly, I want you to be the first to know Im Im having an affair! Her friend was silent for what seemed much longer than it really was, then asks in a matter-of-fact manner, Are you having it catered? It happened during my freshman year of college; I was only 18. She was the older woman  25 or so. I was much too shy to ask; it didnt seem to matter at the time.

It all began one cold, wintry December afternoon. She saw that I was alone and cold. It was almost like a dream. She was an attractive woman who, little did I know, had begun to make a name for herself in Hollywood. And, miracle of miracles, with a genuine smile, this attractive brunette opened the door and invited me to share the warmth of her space.

Although it happened so long ago, I remember my pulse racing, my heart beating almost audibly and my breathing was barely under control. Whats more, as this magical interlude continued to unfold, almost immediately I began to suspect that the warmth gradually enfolding me must have emanated from her very presence. At first, I could find no words. When I did, I dont remember what was said. She smiled again and seemed to understand my virginal bemusement. Perhaps this was not the first time for her, but it definitely was for me. For some time, my id and super-ego were engaged in a ferocious psychic battle for supremacy. Little by little, it became clear that her expression of kindness helped me feel both comfortable and accepted. Fate, no doubt, had ordained this fortuitous encounter; a voice deep inside gently whispered, it was meant to be; this is La dolce vita!

Before I allow my solo flight of fancy to self-destruct before it ever leaves the runway, Id best return to the wretched road of reality. The road in this case was U.S. Highway 64 from Morganton to Rutherfordton, and I was more than halfway home in my hitchhiking odyssey that had begun some two hours before in Boone. A few miles south of Morganton, I stuck out my thumb again and hoped for the best. Finally, a car slowed, eased off the roadway and waited for me to get in. The woman passenger asked where I was going and allowed that they, too, were bound for Rutherfordton. At some point in our conversation, I soon realized this was Norma Moore.

Most folks, even those of my generation, will ask, And who is Norma Moore? Her major role at that point in her career had been playing opposite Tony Perkins in Fear Strikes Out  a bio-pic about the life of Boston Red Sox outfielder, Jimmy Piersall. Much of the film dealt with Piersalls much-publicized career battle with bi-polar disorder, on and off the field. Perkins played Jimmy; Norma played his wife. The film debuted in 1957, the same year as An Affair to Remember. And while it attained modest success nationwide, it was a super hit in Rutherford County.

So, when Norma introduced herself in an unassuming manner, I was well aware of her fame from having seen the movie as well as having read articles in the local papers; this was the Norma Moore. A few days later, I was working my holiday job at the local mens clothing store in downtown Rutherfordton. When Norma and her male companion entered, the owner recognized her and with borderline obsequiousness welcomed her to the store. Shed come to buy a Christmas gift for her dad (her parents still lived in Rutherfordton). I really dont know if she or her companion recognized me from our shared travels of a few days before, or if I, borrowing a phrase from the Bard, Screwed my courage to the sticking place and reintroduced myself. In any event, the owner soon made it politely, but firmly clear that he personally would handle any/all commerce to be done with Ms. Norma Moore. While I understood I was to make myself scarce, its a small store so it took little effort on my part to eavesdrop while perfunctorily dusting the Dobbs hat boxes at the rear of the store.

Of special interest, and I believe Norma herself brought it up, was her most recent film; it had come out a year or so after Fear Strikes Out. In fact, it was currently playing at the Tri-City Drive-in Theater, our countys major passion pit at the time. The countys three newspapers were all running bold headlines with slight variations of Rutherford Countys Own Norma Moore, starring in Unwed Mother. Norma professed to my boss, Mr. Padgett, that when she took the film, roles were few and far between and (she) never imagined it would make it back to Rutherford County. I never saw the film, but after reading a synopsis, it seemed quite tame, certainly by todays standards. In the final analysis, however, I suppose for Norma, Unwed Mother was really not An Affair to Remember. On the other hand, if for her, Unwed Mother was a forgettable experience, my fleeting encounter with Norma, though perfectly innocent (alas), was An Affair to Remember.

NOTE: Norma later married, becoming Norma Frank; settled down in Hickory and became active with the Hickory Little Theater. Soon after this story was printed in the Hickory Daily Record in March of 2021, Norma emailed me. We exchanged several emails and she said when I was in Hickory we should get together for coffee. Its yet to happen, but if/when it does, at least, I wont be hitchhiking from Boone!
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Teams of veteran negotiators fanned out Friday at the United Nations climate conference with orders to get the strongest, most ambitious agreements possible, especially on the central issue of the fading future of fossil fuels for a dangerously warming planet.

The leadership of climate talks, called COP28, sent out four pairs of veteran and high-level ministers to push countries together on four key but stubborn issues as the summit went into its second week after a day of rest Thursday.

New proposed language on how to curb warming released Friday afternoon strengthened the options for a phase-out of fossil fuels that negotiators could choose from. Four of the five options call for some version of a rapid phase-out.

Major oil-producing nations were always seen as likely to resist that, and multiple news organizations reported late Friday that OPEC's top official, Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais, wrote to member countries urging them to reject any text that targets fossil fuels rather than emissions. OPEC didn't immediately respond to an emailseeking comment.

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, called the letter "shameful."

"These letters show that fossil fuel interests are starting to realize that the writing is on the wall for dirty energy," Sadow said in a statement. "Their fossil fuels have imperiled the planet, pushed millions of people to the brink of survival and sadly, too many over that line. Climate change is killing poor people around the globe and these petrostates don't want COP28 to phase out fossil fuels because it will hurt their short-term profits."

Earlier, Adow was among environmental advocates who had some optimism about the expanded 27-page draft language.

"The bare bones of a historic agreement is there," Adow said. "What we now need is for countries to rally behind the stronger of the options and strengthen them further."

Making a possible final document stronger was also a priority for top United Nations officials.

"It's go time for governments at COP28 this week," U.N. Climate Chief Simon Stiell said at a news media event. "If we want to save lives now and keep (the international goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, of warming since preindustrial times) within reach, the highest ambition COP outcomes must stay front and center in these negotiations."

Stiell underlined the challenge ahead if the world doesn't limit emissions, describing ice shelves melting to cause catastrophic flooding in coastal cities around the globe.

"If we pass these key thresholds, we can never go back from the planet's perspective," he said. A report released Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit warned that melting of ice sheets could reach the point of no return with more warming.

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber said he was "quite positive, hopeful and optimistic" that the summit could bring a "paradigm shift centered around and based on the science."

Members of the four pairs of high-level special teams  who will work with negotiators from nearly 200 countries  said they, too, thought they'd be able to get the job done.

"I think there is some momentum. Having spoken to all parties' groups of countries for months now there really is this sense of urgency," Denmark's Environment Minister Dan Jorgensen told The Associated Press. "We need an agreement, so I am optimistic."

EU countries, some Latin American countries and the small island countries often victimized by climate change are aligned on calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels, negotiators said.

Two groups of countries are likely to oppose, in some manner, a full and quick phase-out of fossil fuels, World Resources Institute CEO Ani Dasgupta said. One is developing nations, such as India and Indonesia, that think they need fossil fuels to power up their economies, but with financial and other aid they can be pulled out of that position, he said.

The other group are fossil fuel producers. The United States is the biggest oil producer in the world and Special Envoy John Kerry earlier this week said the U.S. is committed to supporting strong phase-out language. But a big country looming against it is Saudi Arabia, a close partner of the United Arab Emirates, the country hosting and running the conference, Dasgupta said.

The UAE has a lot to gain from a successful climate conference and "I think they will bring Saudi Arabia as close as possible," Dasgupta said. When asked at a news conference about working with Saudi Arabia, al-Jaber, who also leads his country's national oil company, avoided answering that part of the question.

The Arab group is a major blocker so far, a negotiator said on condition of anonymity to avoid affecting negotiations.

European negotiators provided some extra hope. The EU goal is to cut emissions by 55% by 2030, but European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said Friday that the European parliament hopes to do better than that and instead slice 57%.

Negotiators said there is a sense of urgency because of floods, droughts, storms and heat waves in a world that keeps setting heat records.

"We cannot negotiate with nature," Jorgensen said. "The climate cannot compromise."

As analysts and activists examined the new text, they kept looking for more clarity  especially when it comes to fossil fuels and adaptation plans.

The frequent use of phase-out in the draft is good, "but it also has terms that would leave parties in an ambiguous position," said Jamal Srouji of World Resources Institute. He worried that it would not tell people clearly "who needs to do what when."

"We have never been closer to an agreement on a fossil fuel phase-out," said Oil Change International's Romain Ioualalen.

Massive die-off of Pacific Northwest trees linked to climate change
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 Amazon logo is seen, Sept. 6, 2012, in Santa Monica, Calif. Attorneys for Amazon on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 asked a federal judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commissions antitrust lawsuit against the retailer, arguing the agency is attacking policies that benefit consumers and competition. Credit: AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File

Attorneys for Amazon on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust lawsuit against the e-commerce giant, arguing the agency is attacking policies that benefit consumers and competition.

Amazon's response came more than two months after the FTCjoined by 17 statesfiled the historic complaint against the Seattle-based company, alleging it inflates prices and stifles competition in what the agency calls the "online superstore market" and in the field of "online marketplace services."

In its 31-page filing made in a federal court in Washington state, Amazon pushed back, arguing the conduct that the FTC has labeled anti-competitive consists of common retail practices that benefit consumers.

The FTC's complaint, filed in September, accused the company of engaging in anti-competitive practices through measures that deter third-party sellers from offering lower prices for products on non-Amazon sites.

The agency said Amazon buried listings offered at lower prices on other sites. Simultaneously, it noted Amazon was charging merchants increasingly higher fees and driving up prices for products on its own site. It also alleged Amazon kept sellers dependent on services, such as its logistics and delivery service, which have allowed it to collect billions in revenue every year.

In its request for a dismissal, Amazon said the lawsuit faults Amazon for featuring competitive prices and declining to feature uncompetitive ones.

"Amazon promptly matches rivals' discounts, features competitively priced deals rather than overpriced ones, and ensures best-in-class delivery for its Prime subscribers," the company wrote in the filing. "Those practicesthe targets of this antitrust Complaint benefit consumers and are the essence of competition."

Amazon also pushed back against allegations it conditions Prime eligibility on productswhich denotes fast shippingon whether sellers use its fulfillment service, Fulfillment by Amazon.

An unredacted version of the FTC's lawsuit unveiled in November alleged Amazon used a toolcodenamed "Project Nessie"to predict where it can raise prices and have other shopping sites follow suit. The agency said Amazon used the algorithm to raise prices on some products and kept the new elevated prices in place after other sites followed its lead.

In its filing Friday, Amazon said it experimented with the "automated pricing system" Nessie years ago. It posited Nessie was intended to "match to the second-lowest competitor instead of the absolute lowest" for "limited products and duration." The company also said it stopped the experiments in 2019, and matches its prices to the lowest prices today.

Amazon also pushed back on the agency's allegations that the company is a monopoly. It said in its filing that it faces competition from small retailers to large online and brick-and-mortar businesses like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Apple, among others.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The United States has once again used its veto powers to block a resolution by the United Nations Security Council that is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as the conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group continues.

In a statement, the U.S. ambassador said that a permanent ceasefire prior to the militant group being dismantled would only sow the seeds of another conflict in the future. As the UN Security Council voted on the resolution, civil order continued to break down in Gaza as aid groups have had difficulties delivering supplies.

US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution

The resolution had the support of the majority of the members of the Security Council on Friday. It would have demanded a permanent ceasefire in the embattled region and sides with Israel. The U.S. veto showed that it was siding with its Middle Eastern ally that said putting an end to the war now would only ensure the conflict erupts again sometime in the future.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the majority of the Security Council's members backed the measure. They argued that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where roughly 2.2 million Palestinians live, could threaten world stability, as per the New York Times.

The latest UN Security Council resolution was submitted by the United Arab Emirates, it isolated the United States, which said that it would use its veto power on the Council to once again block any efforts to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

After the vote, Robert A. Wood, who was representing the U.S. on the Security Council, said that he had already tried to negotiate changes to the resolution. However, he noted that nearly all of their recommendations fell on deaf ears.

Wood noted that the recommendations included a condemnation of the Hamas militant group's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, as well as an endorsement of Israel's right to self-defense. The Security Council's newest resolution had 13 supporting votes, with the U.S. the only opposing vote while Britain abstained.

Read Also: US Prepares for New UN Resolution for Ceasefire in Gaza

Calling for an Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

The vote on the resolution came after Guterres made a rare move on Wednesday when he formally warned the 15-member council of a global threat from the war that has lasted for two months now, according to Aljazeera.

Wood said that while the U.S. government strongly supports a durable peace where both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, they do not support the calls for an immediate ceasefire. He argued that Hamas has no plans to see such a peace or find a two-state solution.

U.S. and Israel have opposed a ceasefire, arguing that it would only work to benefit Hamas. Instead, Washington supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages who were taken by the militant group during its initial attack.

Various human rights groups and NGOs swiftly condemned the U.S. decision to veto the Security Council's resolution. In a statement on Friday, Human Rights Watch said that by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover, the U.S. risks complicity in war crimes, said Politico.



Related Article: Putin Commends Military Alliance Between Russia, Iran for Helping Moscow To Move Forward With War in Ukraine

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A vendor selling Street Sense, a local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors, takes a donation for a paper while wearing a sign saying she can accept donations from cashless apps like Venmo and CashApp, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington. The transition to a cashless society has impacted street-level charitable giving  from individual donations to panhandlers to the Salvation Army donation kettles. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

John Littlejohn remembers the days when lots of people had a couple of dollars to spare to buy a copy of Street Sense, the local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors.

Today, he's finding fewer people are walking around with spare change. Even well-meaning individuals who want to help are likely to pat their pockets and apologize, he said.

"I would be out here for six or seven hours and wouldn't get more than $12 to $15," said Littlejohn, 62, who was homeless for 13 years. "People are like, 'I don't leave the house with cash.'"

But just as technological shifts helped create the problem, further advances are now helping charitable groups and advocates for the unhoused reach those most in danger of being left behind in a cashless society.

A special Street Sense phone app allows people to buy a copy electronically and have the profits go straight to him. Thanks to Social Security and his income from Street Sense and other side gigs, Littlejohn now has his own apartment.

One of the larger shifts in Western society over the past two decades has been the decline of cash transactions. It started with more people using credit cards to pay for things as trivial as a cup of coffee. It accelerated as smartphone technology advanced to the point where cash-free payments became the norm for many.

This shift has been felt keenly in the realm of street-level charitable givingfrom individual donations to panhandlers and street musicians to the red Salvation Army donation kettles outside grocery stores.

Tonya Williams, right, a vendor who sells street Sense, a local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors, gets more papers to sell from Street Sense staff member Aida Peery, left, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington. The transition to a cashless society has impacted street-level charitable giving  from individual donations to panhandlers to the Salvation Army donation kettles. Street Sense vendors now accept donations from cashless apps like Venmo and CashApp. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

"Everybody just has cards or their phones now," said Sylvester Harris, a 54-year-old Washington native who panhandles near Capital One Arena. "You can tell the ones who really do want to help you, but even they just don't have cash anymore."

The cashless world can be particularly daunting for the unhoused. While electronic payment apps such as PayPal or Venmo have become ubiquitous, many of these options require items beyond their reachcredit cards, bank accounts, identification documents or fixed mailing addresses.

Charities have struggled to adapt. The Salvation Army has created a system where donors can essentially tap their phones on the kettle and pay directly.

Michelle Wolfe, director of development for the Salvation Army in Washington, said the new system is only in place in 2% of the collection kettles in the greater Washington area, but it has already resulted in increased donations. The minimum cashless donation is now $5, and donors routinely go as high as $20, Wolfe said.

At Street Sense, similar advances were necessary to keep up with changing consumer habits. Around 2013, executive director Brian Camore said he started receiving "anecdotal reports left and right" from vendors saying people wanted to buy a copy but had no cash. Each vendor purchases the copies from Street Sense for 50 cents and sells them for $2.

"We were losing sales and had to do something about it," he said. "We recognized that the times were changing, and we had to change with them."

Eventually he heard about an affiliate paper in Vancouver that had developed a cashless payment app and licensed the technology. Vendors can now redeem their profits at the Street Sense offices.

Sylvester Harris, a 54-year-old Washington native who panhandles near Capital One Arena, poses for a photo on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Washington. Credit: AP Photo/Ashraf Khalil

Thomas Ratliff, Street Sense's director of vendor employment, deals directly with the paper's approximately 100 sellers. He cited the COVID-19 pandemic as an extra factor making life difficult for his team.

For starters, it scared people away from using cash for fear that paper money exchanges would be an infection vector. But the most damaging part was the permanent reduction in the number of people working from downtown offices, cutting off Street Sense's main customer base.

"Commuters have always been the best customers compared to tourists," he said.

But without that steady stream of familiar commuters, Ratliff said his vendors have had to expand their territory. Instead of concentrating on the downtown business district, Street Sense vendors now often travel by Metro to places like Silver Spring, Maryland, to find commercial areas with steady foot traffic.

Ratliff now finds himself doing tech support for his vendors, helping them navigate the complexities of a modern online presence. Among the most common problems: "Changing emails, losing or forgetting passwords, losing your documents."

Certain payment platforms like Venmo and Cash App are more unhoused-friendly because they do not require a bank account, just a phone number and email address. But even that can be daunting. Ratliff said many of his vendors often change cellphone numbers, and a steady phone number can be a key element in verifying your identity on these apps.

Others have taken the technology a step further, developing apps that aim to not only enable cashless donations to the homeless but also to steer them into support systems that can help get them off the streets. The Samaritan app takes a deeply personal approach by allowing donors to essentially help sponsor an unhoused person without using cash.

A vendor selling Street Sense, a local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors, holds up her sign saying she can accept donations from cashless apps like Venmo and CashApp, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington. The transition to a cashless society has impacted street-level charitable giving  from individual donations to panhandlers to the Salvation Army donation kettles. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Currently operating in seven cities, including Los Angeles and Baltimore, the program distributes special cards to unhoused people containing a QR code that enables individuals to donate directly to someone's account. The app itself contains dozens of mini-profiles of local unhoused individuals describing their situation and immediate needs. Donors can give money to fund specific needs, from groceries or a deposit on an apartment to clothing suitable for a job interview.

"It's a lot harder to walk by someone when you know even 1% of their story," said Jon Kumar, the Samaritan app's founder. "It personalizes the person in needtheir personality and the tangible specificity of their needs and goals."

Kumar licenses his app technology to charities, and recipients can redeem their donations by meeting with a case managerwhich serves as a route to provide other services like counseling or drug rehab. In addition to the direct donations, recipients can also receive $10 or $20 bonuses for reaching certain benchmarks, such as meeting with a case manager, submitting a job application or even reaching out to an estranged family member.

"No one is going to pay their rent through street donations. But if our platform helps a person press into their housing search, their employment search, their pursuit of recovery, those types of things are a lot more impactful," Kumar said.

These efforts to transcend the cashless technology gap have seen their share of trial and error over the years. Wolfe said the Salvation Army originally tried out a system using a QR code that proved to be "too clunky and took too long."

Kumar's early efforts included an experiment with giving unhoused people Bluetooth beacon devices that enabled app users to see which beacon holders were in their area and donate to them. But the beacons needed regular battery changes, and the model was eventually abandoned.

None of these solutions is perfect, and plenty of people are still being left behind. Ratliff said many people simply don't have the temperament or personality for the job.

Tonya Williams, a vendor who sells Street Sense, a local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors, holds up a piece of paper she carries with her stating her Venmo address, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington. The transition to a cashless society has impacted street-level charitable giving  from individual donations to panhandlers to the Salvation Army donation kettles. Street Sense vendors now accept donations from cashless apps like Venmo and CashApp. Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

"You have to have nerve to sell a paper and reel in customers," he said. Others are disabled or frail and "not up for the physical stresses of selling out there."

Kumar, the Samaritan app developer, said many unhoused people "are not a great fit for this kind of intervention."

Some have deeper mental or emotional issues that make the level of structure required by the program impossible to navigate.

"Many of the people we're trying to serve are in need of more intensive, perhaps permanent support in terms of their mental health," he said. "Those folks, because of the polychronic nature of their challenges, they're constantly left behind."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO  Free Report)  Zacks Research upped their FY2024 EPS estimates for American Eagle Outfitters in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 5th. Zacks Research analyst R. Lohia now anticipates that the apparel retailer will post earnings of $1.32 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.23. The consensus estimate for American Eagle Outfitters current full-year earnings is $1.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Eagle Outfitters Q4 2024 earnings at $0.41 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.19 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.36 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS.

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American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $12.50 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a market perform rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $17.45.

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American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $20.17 on Thursday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12 month low of $9.95 and a 12 month high of $20.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.49.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Toroso Investments LLC purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,861,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 230,578 shares of the apparel retailers stock valued at $2,721,000 after acquiring an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,929,999 shares of the apparel retailers stock valued at $34,574,000 after acquiring an additional 265,284 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Jacob Asset Management of New York LLC grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 52.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jacob Asset Management of New York LLC now owns 11,569 shares of the apparel retailers stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.10% of the companys stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,951,803. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,951,803. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 40,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $782,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 172,186 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,366,236.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 13th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. American Eagle Outfitterss payout ratio is 36.04%.

About American Eagle Outfitters

(Get Free Report)

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc operates as a specialty retailer that provides clothing, accessories, and personal care products under the American Eagle and Aerie brands in the United States and internationally. The company provides jeans, apparel and accessories, and personal care products for women and men; and intimates, apparel, activewear, and swim collections.

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Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,666 shares of the restaurant operators stock, valued at approximately $7,842,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 350.0% during the 1st quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 18 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 185.7% during the 1st quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 20 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 240.0% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 17 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 320.0% during the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 21 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.19% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $2,330.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, October 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,391.00 to $2,260.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,950.00 to $1,865.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $2,280.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. They set a buy rating and a $2,375.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $2,180.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 1,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,042.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,794.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,034 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,195,488.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 1,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,042.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,794.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,034 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,195,488.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,199.81, for a total value of $2,404,392.33. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $51,358,964.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,677 shares of company stock valued at $9,405,538. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of CMG opened at $2,242.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,020.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,998.10. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,344.05 and a 1 year high of $2,248.39.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The restaurant operator reported $11.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.46 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 45.26% and a net margin of 12.27%. Chipotle Mexican Grills revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 44.04 earnings per share for the current year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TYL  Free Report) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,524 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 362 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLCs holdings in Tyler Technologies were worth $8,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Tyler Technologies by 239.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,669 shares of the technology companys stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tyler Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $281,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tyler Technologies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Tyler Technologies by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 26,417 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $11,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Tyler Technologies by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,620,687 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $674,968,000 after purchasing an additional 46,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TYL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Tyler Technologies in a report on Monday, November 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Tyler Technologies from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Tyler Technologies from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Tyler Technologies from $465.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $442.43.

Tyler Technologies Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:TYL opened at $403.07 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $396.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $394.76. Tyler Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $301.69 and a 12 month high of $426.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.79.

Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.19. Tyler Technologies had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm had revenue of $494.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $495.47 million. Equities analysts predict that Tyler Technologies, Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tyler Technologies

In related news, Director Glenn A. Carter sold 500 shares of Tyler Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.32, for a total transaction of $189,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,011 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $762,812.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Glenn A. Carter sold 500 shares of Tyler Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.32, for a total transaction of $189,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,011 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $762,812.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman John S. Marr, Jr. sold 6,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.06, for a total transaction of $2,658,890.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 51,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,020,775.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,612 shares of company stock valued at $17,280,224 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the companys stock.

Tyler Technologies Company Profile

(Free Report)

Tyler Technologies, Inc provides integrated information management solutions and services for the public sector. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Software, and Platform Technologies. The company offers financial management solutions, including modular fund accounting systems for government agencies or not-for-profit entities; utility billing systems for the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services; products to automate city and county functions, such as municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal and business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management; student information and transportation solutions for K-12 schools; and financial management systems.

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Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes (OTCMKTS:CYRBY  Get Free Report) and MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA  Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer cyclical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MFA Financial has a beta of 2.01, meaning that its stock price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Profitability

This table compares Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes and MFA Financials net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes N/A N/A N/A MFA Financial -0.50% 9.34% 1.90%

Dividends

Earnings and Valuation

Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. MFA Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.8%. MFA Financial pays out -368.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

This table compares Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes and MFA Financials top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes $888.00 million 1.96 $169.36 million N/A N/A MFA Financial $482.42 million 2.32 -$231.58 million ($0.38) -28.87

Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes has higher revenue and earnings than MFA Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

57.8% of MFA Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of MFA Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes and MFA Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes 0 1 0 0 2.00 MFA Financial 0 2 4 0 2.67

MFA Financial has a consensus target price of $12.10, suggesting a potential upside of 10.30%. Given MFA Financials stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MFA Financial is more favorable than Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes.

Summary

MFA Financial beats Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes

(Get Free Report)

Cyrela Brazil Realty S.A. Empreendimentos e Participacoes develops, constructs, and sells residential properties in Brazil. It is also involved in the provision of construction management and technical consultancy services related to real estate. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

About MFA Financial

(Get Free Report)

MFA Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. The company invests in residential mortgage assets, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets. MFA Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in New York, New York.

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Tefron (OTCMKTS:TFRFF  Get Free Report) and Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB  Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Tefron and Kontoor Brands top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Tefron $222.31 million N/A $7.45 million $0.48 7.81 Kontoor Brands $2.63 billion 1.16 $245.49 million $3.76 14.40

Kontoor Brands has higher revenue and earnings than Tefron. Tefron is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kontoor Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Tefron 3.04% 13.18% 4.70% Kontoor Brands 8.01% 75.07% 14.19%

Analyst Recommendations

This table compares Tefron and Kontoor Brands net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Tefron and Kontoor Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Tefron 0 0 0 0 N/A Kontoor Brands 0 0 7 0 3.00

Kontoor Brands has a consensus target price of $59.29, indicating a potential upside of 9.48%. Given Kontoor Brands higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Kontoor Brands is more favorable than Tefron.

Volatility & Risk

Tefron has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kontoor Brands has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Kontoor Brands beats Tefron on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tefron

(Get Free Report)

Tefron Ltd. engages in the design, development, production, marketing, and sale of intimate apparel and activewear, and leisurewear worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Brands and Retail. It offers women's intimate, and active and lounge wear; and men's underwear, activewear, and baselayer products. The company was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Misgav, Israel.

About Kontoor Brands

(Get Free Report)

Kontoor Brands, Inc., a lifestyle apparel company, designs, produces, procures, markets, distributes, and licenses denim, apparel, footwear, and accessories, primarily under the Wrangler and Lee brands. It licenses and sells apparel under the Rock & Republic brad name. The company sells its products primarily through mass merchants, specialty stores, mid-tier and traditional department stores, company-operated stores, and online. It operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Kontoor Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

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Sampo Oyj (OTCMKTS:SAXPY  Get Free Report) and ZTE (OTCMKTS:ZTCOY  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Sampo Oyj and ZTEs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sampo Oyj N/A 13.19% 2.93% ZTE 5.89% 13.25% 4.04%

Risk & Volatility

Sampo Oyj has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZTE has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Analyst Ratings

0.0% of Sampo Oyj shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Sampo Oyj and ZTE, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sampo Oyj 0 1 2 0 2.67 ZTE 0 0 0 0 N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sampo Oyj and ZTEs top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sampo Oyj $8.66 billion 2.56 $1.50 billion $1.27 17.38 ZTE $17.75 billion 0.53 $1.06 billion $0.47 8.60

Sampo Oyj has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ZTE. ZTE is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sampo Oyj, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Sampo Oyj pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. ZTE pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Sampo Oyj pays out 66.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ZTE pays out 14.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Sampo Oyj beats ZTE on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sampo Oyj

(Get Free Report)

Sampo Oyj, through its subsidiaries, provides non-life insurance products and services in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Baltic countries. It operates through If, Topdanmark, Hastings, Mandatum, and Holding segments. The company offers household, homeowner, motor, accident, travel, boat, forest, livestock, property, casualty, liability, car, van, bike, and cargo insurance. Sampo Oyj was founded in 1909 and is based in Helsinki, Finland.

About ZTE

(Get Free Report)

ZTE Corporation provides integrated communication information solutions in the People's Republic of China, rest of Asia, Africa, Europe, the United States, and Oceania. It operates through three segments: Carriers' Networks, Government and Corporate Business, and Consumer Business. The Carriers' Network segment provides wireless access, wireline access, bearer systems, core networks, telecommunication software systems and services, and other technologies and product solutions for meeting carries' requirements. The Consumer Business segment offers smart phones, mobile data terminals, family terminals, and fusion terminals, as well as related software application and value-added services. The Government and Corporate Business segment focuses on providing informatization solutions for the government and corporations through the application of products, such as communications networks, Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People's Republic of China.

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L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX  Get Free Report)s stock had its outperform rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canadas target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.91% from the companys current price.

LHX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised L3Harris Technologies from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $198.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $224.00 price objective on shares of L3Harris Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Raymond James raised L3Harris Technologies from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on L3Harris Technologies in a research report on Monday, September 11th. They set a buy rating and a $193.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on L3Harris Technologies from $162.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $223.88.

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View Our Latest Research Report on L3Harris Technologies

L3Harris Technologies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LHX opened at $195.81 on Thursday. L3Harris Technologies has a 1 year low of $160.25 and a 1 year high of $221.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $182.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.09.

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.95 billion. L3Harris Technologies had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 7.96%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that L3Harris Technologies will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward J. Zoiss sold 4,742 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $900,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,183 shares in the company, valued at $5,164,770. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of L3Harris Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in L3Harris Technologies by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 230 shares of the companys stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in L3Harris Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,925 shares of the companys stock worth $1,234,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in L3Harris Technologies by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the companys stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in L3Harris Technologies by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC now owns 14,635 shares of the companys stock worth $2,865,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in L3Harris Technologies by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 6,236 shares of the companys stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.33% of the companys stock.

L3Harris Technologies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

L3Harris Technologies, Inc, an aerospace and defense technology company, provides mission-critical solutions for government and commercial customers worldwide. The company's Integrated Mission Systems segment provides multi-mission intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems; and communication systems, as well as fleet management support, sensor development, modification, and periodic depot maintenance services for ISR and airborne missions.

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IFP Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE  Free Report) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,898 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 6,171 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Incs holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 444.4% during the second quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 490 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Nextera Energy Inc purchased 3,097,524 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.21 per share, for a total transaction of $74,991,056.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,097,524 shares in the company, valued at $99,201,056.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $105.00 to $96.00 in a report on Thursday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $73.14.

View Our Latest Research Report on NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $59.70 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $88.61. The stock has a market cap of $122.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.08. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. NextEra Energys revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.4675 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. NextEra Energys payout ratio is currently 49.47%.

NextEra Energy Profile

(Free Report)

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear, coal, and natural gas facilities. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.

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Six French teenagers were convicted on Friday by a juvenile court in relation to the 2020 beheading of a school teacher conducted by an Islamic extremist.

The attack shocked the European nation and put the spotlight on the real-world dangers of online hate speech. The victim in the case was Samuel Paty, who was a history and geography teacher.

French Teenagers Convicted

Paty was killed near his school after showing his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a debate on free expression. The Islamic extremist who attacked him was identified as Abdoullakh Anzorov, who was a young Chechen who became radicalized and later killed by law enforcement personnel.

The French court found that five of the teenage defendants, who were aged 14 and 15 at the time of the crime, were guilty of involvement in staking out Paty and identifying him for the assailant.

The sixth defendant, who was 13 at the time of the incident, was found guilty of lying about the classroom debate in comments that aggravated online anger against the school teacher, as per ABC News.

Following the French court's ruling, the six defendants left the courtroom without speaking a word. Some of them had their heads down as they listened to the judge's verdict regarding their case. One of them appeared to have been wiping away tears.

The teenagers were all students at Paty's school and they acknowledged wrongdoing as they testified that they did not know that the teacher would be killed. One of the teenage defendants was given a six-month prison term but was allowed to serve under house arrest with an electronic bracelet.

The other five were given special suspended sentences of between two and three years that required them to stay in school or jobs. The sentences against the teenagers included special educative follow-up measures that also involved their families.

Read Also: China Tells EU Officials Not to Be Rivals or Seek Conflict Despite Political Differences

Islamic Extremist Killing of School Teacher

Anzorov allegedly stalked Paty's school on the day of the killing and enlisted the help of five teenagers in exchange for roughly $320. He told them that he wanted to confront the school teacher and force him to apologize for his actions, according to the New York Times.

Despite the convictions, officials did not identify the suspects in the case as they were all tried behind closed doors by a criminal court for minors. The defendants all walked in and out of the courtroom on Friday wearing masks, hoodies, or sunglasses to hide their faces.

The murder of Paty came after much larger terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that left hundreds of people dead. However, the nature of the violence surrounding the school teacher's death was devastating in a different way.

The situation comes as Muslims and migrants from the Arab world argue that they face widespread discrimination and racism in French society. They added that French traditions of keeping religion out of public spaces have been wielded selectively.

French politicians, particularly those on the right, have frequently leaned into rhetoric that portrays Muslims and Arabs as violent and uncivilized, said Aljazeera.



Related Article: French Officials Believe Islamist Extremism Led to Paris Attack, Killing 1, Injuring 2 Others

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State of Wisconsin Investment Board lifted its stake in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP  Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 322,358 shares of the pipeline companys stock after acquiring an additional 6,749 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned 0.14% of Targa Resources worth $24,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Glenview Trust Co increased its position in Targa Resources by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 2,894 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Targa Resources by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 47,658 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $3,868,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in Targa Resources by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,933 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Targa Resources by 75.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 338 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in Targa Resources by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 6,368 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. 90.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on TRGP. Barclays lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $104.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Targa Resources news, insider Robert Muraro sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.03, for a total value of $900,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 187,021 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,837,500.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 58,066 shares in the company, valued at $5,225,940. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.03, for a total value of $900,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 187,021 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,837,500.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,335,330. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $86.56 on Friday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $85.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66 and a beta of 2.22. Targa Resources Corp. has a one year low of $64.85 and a one year high of $91.43.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 19.08%. On average, analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 30th. Targa Resourcess dividend payout ratio is currently 52.36%.

About Targa Resources

(Free Report)

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. The company operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation.

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State of Wisconsin Investment Board decreased its stake in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL  Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,647 shares of the companys stock after selling 2,065 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Boards holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $23,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 931.4% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 746,911 shares of the companys stock worth $146,679,000 after acquiring an additional 674,497 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 8.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 557,284 shares of the companys stock worth $110,342,000 after acquiring an additional 45,722 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 11.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 333,996 shares of the companys stock worth $65,590,000 after acquiring an additional 33,458 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Investment Managers International boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 29.5% during the second quarter. Natixis Investment Managers International now owns 14,954 shares of the companys stock worth $2,937,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 21.8% during the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the companys stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $185.00 to $141.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $173.00 to $118.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Estee Lauder Companies from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, September 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $250.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $206.00 to $199.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $179.14.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $133.73 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 87.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.03. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $283.62.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.53 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Estee Lauder Companiess payout ratio is 173.68%.

Estee Lauder Companies Profile

(Free Report)

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.

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The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL  Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $135.50.

Several analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Allstate from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, November 24th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $135.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, October 20th.

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Insider Activity

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

In other news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.79, for a total value of $539,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,848,105.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . In related news, EVP Mark Q. Prindiville sold 10,951 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.43, for a total transaction of $1,483,093.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,426.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.79, for a total transaction of $539,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,711 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,848,105.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the companys stock.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Allstate by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,850,782 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $3,442,082,000 after acquiring an additional 745,096 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Allstate by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,294,372 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $2,430,978,000 after acquiring an additional 181,050 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Allstate by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,039,351 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $669,221,000 after acquiring an additional 499,056 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Allstate by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,926,917 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $660,318,000 after acquiring an additional 172,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Allstate by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,815,257 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $643,015,000 after acquiring an additional 63,438 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL opened at $139.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.98 and a 200-day moving average of $115.94. Allstate has a one year low of $100.57 and a one year high of $142.15. The company has a market cap of $36.46 billion, a PE ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The insurance provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $14.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.78 billion. Allstate had a negative net margin of 3.51% and a negative return on equity of 10.95%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.56) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Allstate will post -1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Allstates payout ratio is presently -44.89%.

Allstate Company Profile

(Get Free Report

The Allstate Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty, and other insurance products in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Allstate Protection; Protection Services; Allstate Health and Benefits; and Run-off Property-Liability segments. The Allstate Protection segment offers private passenger auto and homeowners insurance; other personal lines products; and commercial lines products under the Allstate and Encompass brand names.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,136 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 14,901 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in Southern were worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total transaction of $693,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,868.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,674,744. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $693,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,990,868.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,705,000. Company insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Bank of America raised Southern from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Southern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $73.20.

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Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $71.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $77.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.55. The stocks 50 day moving average is $68.16 and its 200-day moving average is $69.17. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $58.85 and a 12 month high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.38 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 11.60%. Equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 20th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 17th. Southerns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.08%.

Southern Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report) by 65.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,649 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after buying an additional 11,734 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in TJX Companies were worth $2,514,000 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 the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 51.2% in the second quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 305,546 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $25,907,000 after buying an additional 103,462 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 15.4% in the second quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,426,000. State of Wisconsin Investment Board raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.3% in the second quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 1,366,023 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $115,825,000 after purchasing an additional 18,073 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 4.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,543,024 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $3,946,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.28% of the companys stock.

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TJX Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

TJX opened at $89.13 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.92 and a fifty-two week high of $93.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firms fifty day moving average price is $89.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.78. The company has a market capitalization of $101.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.88.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

TJX Companies ( NYSE:TJX Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 15th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. TJX Companies had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 62.67%. The company had revenue of $13.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be paid a $0.3325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. TJX Companiess dividend payout ratio is presently 37.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 35,907 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.29, for a total value of $3,206,136.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 595,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,144,604.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TJX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $99.75.

View Our Latest Stock Report on TJX Companies

TJX Companies Company Profile

(Free Report)

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP  Free Report) by 50.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,539 shares of the railroad operators stock after selling 12,793 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNP. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,388 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,046 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,933,582 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $389,153,000 after purchasing an additional 21,361 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 20,508 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $4,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 12,535 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $2,565,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.36% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 1,274 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction on Monday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.24, for a total transaction of $258,927.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,991 shares in the company, valued at $6,501,850.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Union Pacific from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $223.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Union Pacific from $285.00 to $275.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong 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 $238.96.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on UNP

Union Pacific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNP opened at $229.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $140.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. The firms fifty day moving average is $213.96 and its 200-day moving average is $212.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.72. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $183.69 and a 52 week high of $240.48.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The railroad operator reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 49.14%. Union Pacifics revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Union Pacifics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.90%.

About Union Pacific

(Free Report)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, and other agricultural users; petroleum, and liquid petroleum gases; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

Further Reading

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Marshall Wace LLP decreased its stake in Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV  Free Report) by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,356 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 99,549 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.14% of Veeva Systems worth $42,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Veeva Systems by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,520 shares of the technology companys stock worth $8,210,000 after buying an additional 3,154 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veeva Systems by 76.8% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the technology companys stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Veeva Systems by 5.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 66,496 shares of the technology companys stock worth $13,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Veeva Systems by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 574,955 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $113,686,000 after purchasing an additional 121,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its holdings in Veeva Systems by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,851 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.07% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VEEV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Veeva Systems from $181.00 to $160.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Veeva Systems from $220.00 to $213.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Veeva Systems in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on Veeva Systems from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Veeva Systems from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $214.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veeva Systems news, Director Timothy S. Cabral sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.74, for a total value of $1,687,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,391 shares in the company, valued at $7,321,797.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Timothy S. Cabral sold 10,000 shares of Veeva Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.74, for a total value of $1,687,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,321,797.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew J. Wallach sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.15, for a total value of $895,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 114,025 shares of the companys stock, valued at $20,427,578.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,530 shares of company stock worth $10,300,980 in the last ninety days. 10.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veeva Systems Trading Down 0.1 %

VEEV stock opened at $172.70 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $189.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.71. Veeva Systems Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.00 and a 12-month high of $225.49. The company has a market capitalization of $27.75 billion, a PE ratio of 49.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 6th. The technology company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $616.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.98 million. Veeva Systems had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 11.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Veeva Systems Inc. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veeva Systems Company Profile

(Free Report)

Veeva Systems Inc provides cloud-based software for the life sciences industry. It offers Veeva Commercial Cloud, a suite of software and data solutions, such as Veeva customer relationship management (CRM) that enable customer-facing employees at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; Veeva Vault PromoMats, an end-to-end content and digital asset management solution; Veeva Vault Medical that provides source of medical content across multiple channels and geographies; Veeva Crossix, an analytics platform for pharmaceutical brands; Veeva OpenData, a customer reference data solution; Veeva Link, a data application that allows link to generate real-time intelligence; and Veeva Compass includes de-identified and longitudinal patient data for the United States.

Further Reading

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Alpha Delta Kappa, Epsilon Chapter

Alpha Delta Kappa, Epsilon Chapter, met Nov. 15, at Barr Middle School for its monthly business meeting with 22 members and two guests attending.

Bianca Ayala, an Epsilon member, presented an informative program, Adventures in Spain regarding her three week teaching experience in Barcelona, Spain.

After the program, President Norma Gauthier called the meeting to order. News was shared that Ayala will become the new Gates Elementary principal beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Also, Amanda Levos received a Distinguished Program Honorable Mention Letter for the program she presented to Epsilon Chapter in the spring of 2023.

It was announced the Nebraska Alpha Delta Kappa State Conference will be April 4, 2024, at the UNO Thompson Center in Omaha.

Members participated in the Tri-Chapter Holiday Tea on Dec. 4 at St. Leos Catholic Church. Chapter meetings were from 5-6 p.m., with all three chapters joining together from 6-7 p.m. for a Christmas Tea.
The Central Nebraska Home and Outdoor Living Expo will return to Grand Island in 2024 for the 49th year.

From Friday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 28, in the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, experts will host booths and how-to seminars on the latest in home-improvement products and services. Visitors are invited to browse and ask questions about homebuilding, remodeling, landscaping and more.

Weve enjoyed bringing these professionals in home remodeling and building to Grand Island for the last 49 years, said Greg Geis, immediate past president of the Central Nebraska Home Builders Association. January is our preferred date because our builders, remodelers and landscapers arent quite as busy and they can take the time to exhibit, speak with attendees interested in building or remodeling, and get attendees their quotes and put on a schedule.

CNHBA sponsored the Home Show for 45 years and are now producing it following Bill Jacksons retirement in 2020.

Featured products and services include remodeling materials, kitchen items, appliances, flooring, garage doors, siding, windows, heating and cooling systems, water conditioning systems and more.

Returning to the show for a fourth year is Mike Wenzl (Wenzl Construction) and his private collection of John Deere antique tractors.

This year for the kids, Wildlife Encounters will be on site, educating and entertaining families with the animals they bring to the stage. Kids will be able to see an alligator open its huge jaws, a serval jump 6 feet in the air, and even help hold a giant boa constrictor.

Four shows will be on Saturday and two shows on Sunday. Admission to see Wildlife Encounters is included in the expos entry price. Parents must accompany their children during the shows.

Seminars on Saturday are free with admission and feature topics regarding building homes as well as products and services needed for the interior/exterior of homes. Certified professionals host the seminars, offering tips, tricks, demonstrations and advice.

Both the Wildlife Encounter showtimes and the seminar schedule can be found on Central Nebraska Home Builders Association website at www.buildcnhba.com.

Show hours are 4-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28.

Admission is $5 to the show and seminars. Children 12 and younger will be admitted at no charge when accompanied by an adult.

For more information visit www.buildcnhba.com.
Nebraska Extension launching new management training program for meat processors

LINCOLN  A new Meat Processing Management Training program offered by Nebraska Extension is designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of individuals in the meat processing industry over a yearlong intensive course that will begin in March.

The program is tailored for owners, managers and management-track employees of small meat processing plants, with custom-exempt and federally inspected plants encouraged to apply. It will offer a blend of virtual and in-person sessions to deepen participants understanding of critical aspects of the industry and assist them with working toward a successful and profitable future.

Focus areas will include business operations, using data, retail strategies, regulatory compliance, human resources and more. The course will consist of three in-person meetings, a site visit to each plant by course instructors and monthly online programs that will include typically recorded lectures, live review and a presentation with a producer.

The program is being produced by Nebraska Extension, the Center for Agricultural Profitability and the Department of Animal Sciences Meat Science program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

This initiative represents a significant step in supporting and advancing the meat processing sector, offering a platform for professionals to grow and excel in their field, said Elliott Dennis, assistant professor and livestock marketing specialist with the Center for Agricultural Profitability.

To ensure effective learning and personalized attention, Dennis said, there is a $2,500 enrollment fee per processing plant, which includes a $2,000 deposit that will be returned to those who complete the program without missing more than two activities or the site visit. Up to two individuals per plant may participate.

More details, a program schedule and requirements are posted on the Center for Agricultural Profitabilitys website, https://cap.unl.edu/processors. The application is open there until Jan. 20.

Registration open for annual Local Food, Healthy Farms Conference

COLUMBUS  Registration is open for the 2024 Local Food and Healthy Farms Conference, scheduled for Jan. 25-27 at the Rivers Edge Conference Center in Columbus,

The Nebraska Sustainable Ag Societys annual conference has been a mainstay event for over four decades for farmers to connect and share knowledge. For the third year, the conference is a collaborative partnership with University of Nebraska Extension and Nebraska specialty crop growers to provide the most dynamic and comprehensive farming and local food systems conference in the state. The conference invites attendees to learn, connect, and collaborate for a more resilient food future.

Conference highlights include:

More than 30 sessions on topics that span the agricultural and local food system spectrum, including farm financial and transition planning, farm skills, field crops, livestock, farm and food policy, urban agriculture and local food access and more.

New Thursday pre-conference workshops that will provide more in-depth training in regional food systems, communication, and farm/ranch resources.

 Keynote addresses from Nancy Williams, co-founder and CEO of No More Empty Pots in Omaha where she and her team have advocated and put into action their mission to improve self-efficacy, regional food security, and economic resilience of urban and rural communities; and Michael Foley, co-owner and operator of Green Uprising Farm, a small (very small), diversified, family farm in Willits, northern California.

 Several opportunities to network with other farmers, researchers, sponsors, service agencies, and consumers including a Friday evening reception and exhibit hall.

The cost is $80 per day or $150 for both days and includes meals and access to all conference events. Scholarships are available. Register by Jan. 13, 2024, at sustainablenebraska.org/2024conference-registration.

Extension webinar to focus on Fundamentals of Feeding the Cow

LINCOLN  Feed costs are often the largest category of expense for cow-calf producers in Nebraska. Understanding how the cows nutrient requirements change throughout the year and how to cost-effectively meet those requirements with the feed resources available can greatly influence an operations bottom line.

Nebraska Extension will host a four-session webinar series in January that will explain the fundamentals of understanding a cows nutrition requirements and the options available to meet a cows needs with grazed or harvested feed. The series will be offered from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, Jan. 15, 18, 22 and 25.

Topics to be covered include:

What impacts a cows nutrient requirements and how do they change throughout the year?

How do you read and understand a feed test analysis as well as a feed tag? What do the numbers mean?

When comparing feed options, which is the best buy when all things are considered?

What are things to consider when developing a year-round feeding plan?

The cost of the course is $50 and includes a notebook of Nebraska Extension resources. The course is limited to 35 participants.

To register, visit https://go.unl.edu/feedingthecow by Jan. 8 to ensure webinar resources are received before the series begins. A computer and internet connection will be needed to participate in the webinar series.

For questions about the webinar series, please contact Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Educator, at 308-235-3122 or aberger2@unl.edu.
United States President Joe Biden is set to unveil a massive $8.2 billion funding during his trip to Las Vegas that is meant for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country.

The projects include efforts to spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could, in the future, link Nevada and California as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Biden administration said that the 218-mile train route that links Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California could one day serve more than 11 million passengers per year.

Biden's $8.2 Billion Rail Project Funding

The president's government is hoping that the investment through federal and state partnership programs will help boost prospects for the long-discussed project. Supporters argue that it could revitalize travel in the American West but critics believe that it is too costly for the country.

Another electric rail line that is getting funding has been billed as the country's first high-speed route. It would eventually be able to traverse California's Central Valley and extend to San Francisco and then on to Los Angeles. The trains that would travel the route are expected to reach speeds of up to 220 miles per hour, as per Fortune.

The funding that Biden is expected to showcase will not nearly be enough to cover the full costs of either one of the projects. However, it signals the administration's commitment to spurring train travel in a country that has long celebrated the spirit of fast cars and open highways.

In a statement during a conference call with reporters, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the bottom line is that under the Biden administration, they are delivering world-class passenger rail service that Americans should be able to expect.

There are other train projects that would get funding, including upgrades to heavily traveled corridors in Virginia and North Carolina. The eventual goal would be to link Richmond and Raleigh by rail.

The Democratic president's trip to Nevada was initially planned to showcase the $3 billion federal investment in the high-speed rail line from Las Vegas to the greater Los Angeles area. However, following the mass shooting on Wednesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, his trip to the region would take a more somber note, according to CBS News.

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Trip to Las Vegas

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden will address the shooting incident during a speech to Las Vegas union members on Friday. However, it was not immediately clear whether or not the Democrat would visit the campus.

The $3 billion funding for the Las Vegas-Los Angeles is about a third of the total projected cost of the new Brightline West train line. That is expected to be completed before the 2028 Olympics which will be held in Los Angeles.

The Democratic leader also emphasized that his predecessor failed to deliver on promises to invest in U.S. infrastructure. Biden said that his rail funding would help in reducing travel times, helping the environment, and creating more jobs for people.

On top of his planned railway funding, Biden could also address the shooting in Nevada. He said that he would not rest until they do all they can to prevent more families and more communities from being victims of gun violence, said ABC News.



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Hornady recently donated $56,138.50 to the GRACE Cancer Foundation in Grand Island, with a matching amount going to the American Cancer Society for a total donation $112,277, split evenly between the two organizations.

Through this initiative, Hornady has now donated more than $1 million over the last several years through a joint contribution to the GRACE Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society.

We are so grateful to Hornady for their continued support of the GRACE Cancer Foundation, said Sarah Koch, executive director of GRACE Cancer Foundation. With over $600,000 generously donated from Hornady since 2013, we have been able to help so many local cancer patients and their families, we are incredibly thankful for their partnership, support, and belief in the mission of the GRACE Cancer Foundation.

The donation was calculated using a portion of each box sold of Hornady Critical Defense Lite ammunition in 9mm and 38 Special. Critical Defense Lite features a pink bullet tip and pink ribbon packaging to help showcase the fight against cancer.

The GRACE Cancer Foundation assists cancer patients who live within 40 miles of Grand Island, or are being treated at the Grand Island or Hastings Cancer Centers. Help is available through several methods, such as gas cards, assistance with medical bills, household expenses, and more.

The American Cancer Societys mission is to free the world from cancer by funding and conducting research, sharing expert information, supporting patients, and spreading the word about prevention.

Central Valley Ag delivers value to member-owners through patronage

YORK  Central Valley Ag continues to give back to its member-owners demonstrating the cooperative spirit. Recently, the CVA Board of Directors approved the distribution of patronage to its member-owners.

A total payout of $29.5 million dollars in patronage refunds was approved based upon the continued success of the cooperative. Of this amount, 75% (or $22.0 million) will be paid out in cash. The balance of the patronage ($7.5 million) will be allocated in the form of non-qualified deferred patronage, which means recipients will pay taxes only on the cash portion they receive now and will only pay taxes on the non-qualified equity when it is redeemed in future years.

We could not provide this payout to our patrons without the support of our member-owners and our outstanding group of employees, said Carl Dickinson, president and CEO of Central Valley Ag, I am very proud of CVAs performance this last year and am excited to share the cooperatives success with our members owners; without their loyalty this would not be possible.

Patronage is calculated based on volume during CVAs fiscal year. Fiscal year 2023 began Sept. 1, 2022, and ended on August 31, 2023. Checks were mailed to patrons on Nov. 22.
KEARNEY  Delegates representing farm and ranch families from all 93 Nebraska counties outlined key agriculture policy priorities and elected new leaders for Nebraska Farm Bureau as part of the organizations 106th annual meeting and convention Dec. 3-5 in Kearney.

Delegates discussed a wide range of agricultural policy issues to provide direction for the organization.

Livestock production is vital to Nebraskas economy, Farm Bureau members say, but they believe process for livestock facilities to be sited continues to be a challenge for farmers and ranchers. Delegates approved policy to support livestock producers and remove speculative barriers from zoning decisions, as well as ensuring those decisions are made in a timely manner.

Today, Nebraska represents the third largest agriculture production complex in the country worth $100 billion, said Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue. Growing the livestock sector is key in growing that worth another $20 billion in the next five to 10 years. Streamlining the process for livestock facilities to be approved would not only make sense for farmers and ranchers, but would also add more revenue for local economies.

While in recent years progress has been made to address the states overreliance on property taxes, a situation that has led to Nebraska being one of the highest property tax states in the nation, it was evident in discussion by delegates that more work is needed. Delegates voted to support tax changes that help grow communities and that do not harm agriculture.

We have made tremendous strides working with the governor and the Legislature in delivering property tax relief, equaling a 28% decrease in agricultures property tax burden, McHargue said, but the three-legged stool of taxes is not balanced and that was reflected in discussions at our Annual Convention.

Nebraskas farmers have expressed concern for the labor shortages in Nebraska, taking a position of support for legislative and non-legislative efforts to address those concerns. Delegates also set policy to address the emerging issues related to polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.

PFAS are chemicals that have been used in many consumer products since the 1940s, McHargue said. As regulatory agencies continue to develop strategies concerning PFAS contamination, NEFB members passed policy stating farmers and ranchers should not be held liable for the cost of chemical contaminants and cleanups where they had no management oversight or control of decision making.

National policy issues advanced to the American Farm Bureau Federations annual meeting and convention in January include a limited regulatory role for the federal government on Artificial Intelligence as well as supporting EPA pesticide label changes that give applicators broader options to make pesticide applications and more credit for utilization of best management practices.

Our delegates covered several issues that make a difference in the lives of farmers, ranchers, and all Nebraskans, McHargue said. Their strong leadership is critical to not only growing agriculture, but the prosperity of our entire state.

In addition to setting state and making national policy recommendations, delegates also held elections for positions on the Nebraska Farm Bureau board of directors.

McHargue, a Merrick County Farm Bureau member, was re-elected as the organizations President. McHargue and his wife, Judi, raise corn, popcorn and soybeans utilizing organic and conventional cropping methods and run a nursery and finishing hog operation near Central City.

Andy DeVries, a Keith County Farm Bureau member, was re-elected to serve as the representative for the Northwest Region. DeVries raises corn, popcorn, soybeans and dry edible beans on the family farm near Ogallala.

Adam Boeckenhauer, a Dixon County Farm Bureau member, was elected to serve as the Northeast Region representative. Boeckenhauer and his wife, Michelle, have a row crop operation, grow alfalfa and raise cow/calves near Wakefield.

Greg Hoegermeyer, a Washington County Farm Bureau member, was elected as the Producer/Ag-Related Business At-Large representative Hoegermeyer and his wife, Patti, have a diversified livestock, grain and forage operation near Herman.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. More than 55,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraskas economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.
KEARNEY  Hall County Farm Bureau members Josh and Jill England were honored with the 2023 Nebraska Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award.

The award was announced Dec. 5 at the We Love Our Members luncheon at the Nebraska Farm Bureaus 106th annual convention in Kearney.

The Englands are the fourth generation to farm their familys land near Doniphan and were recognized for their ongoing involvement and commitment to agriculture.

Josh grew up on the farm that was homesteaded by his family in 1920 and they continue to raise corn and soybeans.

After completing his degree in criminal justice, England said knew he belonged on the family operation.

Jill grew up on a diversified row crop and cattle operation near Pender. She says her love of agriculture started early on as she was involved in her FFA program, serving as a Nebraska State FFA officer.

She works as a recruiter for a hospital system while supporting their operation on the farm.

The Englands were married in 2021 and have a 1-year-old daughter, Logan.

They farm more than 1500 irrigated acres of corn and soybeans in Hall County.

In the coming year, they will begin to transition the farm as Englands dad starts to retire.

The Englands are active Hall County Farm Bureau board members. Josh was elected to serve as the 2024 chair of the Young Farmers and Ranchers committee, where they both serve as the Central Region representatives.

Jill also recently completed her 2023 Nebraska Farm Bureau Leadership Academy experience.

The Englands are also involved in their community with Josh serving on the local fire department and both are involved in their communitys Legion.
Manhattan, KS (66502)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning, then some snow showers this afternoon. High near 30F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Watching a potential winter storm. Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low 9F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.
CARBONDALE  Its not uncommon to see decorated Christmas trees in public spaces during the month of December. For parents who've lost a child, the tree in the lobby of SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale is special. It gives them a way to remember that child during this joyous time of year.

Debbie Lewis was at the hospital visiting her newborn grandson and stopped by to look at the tree. She asked Jamie Carney, coordinator of the hospitals I Lost a Child group, if ornaments from previous years were still on the tree.

Lewis daughter, Rebecca Parnell, died in 1999 as the result of an undiagnosed metabolic disorder. She was born in 1997. Newborns were not tested for those illnesses in 1997. Her new grandson was tested shortly after birth.

I Lost a Child started at the hospital in 1980. The group is open to anyone whos lost a child or is affected by the loss of a child, including parents, grandparents, siblings and other family member. The group has sponsored a Memory Tree each year since at least 1990.

The tree is to honor and memorializes every loss, Carney said.

ILAC and the hospital will host a Memory Tree ceremony from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, in conference room C. The event will have a time for sharing, personalizing ornaments and hanging them on the tree.

Kasey Fred, a founder and director of the Tender Mercies Foundation of Southern Illinois, knows how important it is to remember those children. Fred lost twin daughters  one was stillborn and the other died shortly after birth.

She said parents who have lost a child dont get to do the things that other parents do to make memories with their children, like celebrate birthdays, holidays or graduation. That is why the Memory Tree is so important.

We still get to love our children and let people know they still matter, Fred said.

She said people used to not talk about the death of infants. Life went on with little or no mention of the loss.

My husbands grandma lost a baby and became my person. We healed together, Fred said.

The Tender Mercies Foundation began in 2015. They give tangible gifts to parents whose child has died, not wanting them to leave the hospital empty-handed. They also come up with different ideas to support people through grief.

Fred said after the initial period of intense grief, it is important to do something to remember your child. One thing theyve seen people do is paying for a birthday cake for someone else. It is a simple, charitable way to remember a child.

Its so important to tell your story, Fred said. In the eight years we have done this (Tender Mercies), we have learned from every single person.

For more information on ILAC, visit the Birthing Center at sih.net or call 618-549-0721, ext. 65224.

More information about Tender Mercies can be found at tendermerciesfoundation.com.
ROMEOVILLE  The suspect in the September shooting deaths of a suburban Chicago family was in a relationship with one of the four people slain and his girlfriend allegedly helped plan the killings, police investigators said.

Alberto Rolon, Zoraida Bartolomei, and their two sons, ages 7 and 9, were found shot to death on Sept. 17 in their home in Romeoville, about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Days later, suspect Nathaniel Huey Jr., 31, died in a car crash in Oklahoma that also killed his girlfriend, Ermalinda Palomo.

The Romeoville Police Department said Thursday in a posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, that detectives have determined that Huey and Bartolomei "had a relationship together" and that Rolon and Palomo were both aware of it.

Police said their investigation is nearly complete and the "evidence indicates Palomo had prior knowledge of Huey Jr.'s intent to commit the murders, was involved in the planning, and drove the vehicle to the crime scene."

Police said "digital evidence" shows that vehicle traveled from Huey and Palomo's home in Streamwood to the victims' home in Romeoville, about 35 miles away, and then back to Streamwood "at the time the murders took place."

Palomo drove the vehicle, with Huey as the passenger, and evidence shows he "exited and re-entered" the vehicle during that drive, police said.

The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday that a Sept. 17 Romeoville police bulletin it obtained through an open records request named Huey as a suspect in the quadruple homicide, advised that he had stopped going to work and was aware police were pursuing him, describing him as acting "irrational and erratic."

A Streamwood police report from Sept. 19 states that about a month before Romeoville police found the family shot to death at home, Palomo had asked Huey to leave, prompting him to threaten to "take everyone down," according to the Chicago Tribune.

That report adds that another member of Huey's household called police on Sept. 19 to report Palomo as a missing person and said Palomo had left the house earlier that day and described her as "fearful."

"She was very scared and kept telling (the caller) 'I love you,'" the report stated.

Later on the morning of Sept. 19, Catoosa, Oklahoma, police found Huey dead and Palomo critically injured with gunshot wounds in a crashed, burning vehicle. Palomo died shortly afterward in a local hospital, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Palomo's family attorney, JohnPaul Ivec, said in a statement in September that Palomo "had nothing to do" with the Romeoville killings and the family knows "without a shadow of a doubt that at the time of the murders in Romeoville, Ermalinda was home sleeping."

Ivec said Friday the family was aware of Thursday's statement by Romeoville police but that he and the family wonder how police learned what they claim in their statement, saying "they make a conclusion but they don't say how they know."

When asked what the family's reaction was to the police allegation that Palomo was involved in planning the killings, he said they had no comment.

"They're not making any more comments. They're just trying to heal," Ivec told The Associated Press.

The Romeoville family's death marked the 35th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. Since then, there have been a total of 42 mass killings in the U.S., it shows.

At least 217 people have died this year in those killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people have died within a 24-hour period, not including the killer  the same definition used by the FBI.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into law a measure that will allow for the limited development of new nuclear power generation technology in the state.

The measure, House Bill 2473, does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that are already operational in the state, but rather allows for new smaller-scale emergent technology.

Since 1987, the state has had a moratorium on any new nuclear power construction until the federal government designates a long-term disposal site for nuclear waste  something that has never occurred. The new law will take effect June 1, 2024, but because permitting nuclear energy takes many years at the federal level, the earliest a nuclear project could be brought online in Illinois would be in the 2030s.

HB 2473 creates a regulatory structure for the construction of small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. The bill limits the nameplate capacity of such reactors to 300 megawatts, about one-third the size of the smallest of the six existing nuclear power plants in Illinois. It also requires the state to perform a study that will inform rules for regulating SMRs, which must be adopted by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency by January 2026.

The bills proponents say its a necessary step as Illinois tries to end its reliance on carbon-emitting power sources over the next two decades. But its opponents say it distracts from Illinois efforts to deploy 100% renewable energy production and is an endorsement of unproven technology.

The bill passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, 44-7, and the House, 98-8, on the final day of the fall veto session last month. The opposition came exclusively from Democrats. Pritzker vetoed an earlier version of the measure but helped usher the compromise through the legislature.

The bills sponsors said after its passage that it has the potential to bolster Illinois electric grid reliability as the states energy mix becomes increasingly reliant on intermittent technologies such as wind and solar.

Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, sponsored the bill in the Senate, while Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, was its House sponsor. Rezin noted last month that she is particularly interested in the potential for SMRs to be developed at the sites of former coal plants, avoiding the need to build new transmission lines, although that process could take many years.

David Kraft, an outspoken critic of nuclear energy and head of the Chicago-based advocacy group Nuclear Energy Information Service, testified against the measure at several points during the legislative process.

Kraft said he was concerned about the lack of existing SMR installations and the unproven nature of the technology. While some nuclear reactors of this scale exist in other countries, no commercial SMRs have ever been built in the United States.

Counting Illinois, 11 states currently have some level of nuclear construction bans on the books. Since 2016, five other states have either repealed or weakened their bans. Several of the states that have lifted their bans have done so to pave the way for SMR technology.

But the biggest U.S. player in that industry has seen several recent setbacks.

In November, NuScale Power  the only company with a federally approved SMR design  announced that it was canceling its highly watched Carbon Free Power Project in Utah, which would have been the first commercial project with a NuScale reactor. Still, its leaders say the company will continue with its other projects, which are at varying steps of regulation and planning.

Rezin told Capitol News Illinois last month she hopes Illinois and other states moves to reverse their construction bans will encourage nuclear energy development in the U.S.

Pritzker did not issue a statement but signed the bill along with 15 others that were sent to his desk following Novembers fall veto session. That included a measure a that would require the state to purchase exclusively zero-emission vehicles, such as electric vehicles, after Jan. 1, 2030.

Senate Bill 1769 excludes law enforcement vehicles and vehicles purchased by the Illinois Department of Transportation as part of a program that provides buses to some mass transit systems.

Photos: Pritzker Military Archives Center
SPRINGFIELD  U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, has endorsed former gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey's GOP primary challenge of incumbent Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, in Illinois' 12th Congressional District.

Calling him "MAGA to his core," Miller touted Bailey for his conservative positions on guns and abortion, challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 mandates and his background as a farmer. She said "he will be a conservative champion for the America First movement in downstate Illinois.

Bost's campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

The endorsement, first reported by conservative website Illinois Review and then confirmed to Lee Enterprises by Bailey's campaign, is stunning yet unsurprising.

Miller and Bailey, who share the same sphere of influence in deeply conservative southeastern Illinois, have been close allies for years. It was at former President Donald Trump's rally for Miller just outside of Quincy in June 2022, for example, where Bailey received the former president's endorsement in his unsuccessful campaign for Illinois governor.

Miller's backing of Bailey can also be viewed as payback. Bost endorsed then-Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, over Miller last year in the 15th Congressional District GOP primary, which was a post-redistricting incumbent-versus-incumbent clash that Miller ultimately won with Trump's help.

Still, it's rare for a sitting member of Congress to endorse a primary challenge to a colleague of the same party.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's campaign arm, is backing Bost. And even conservative allies of Miller, like Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have lent their support to the incumbent. Bost also has a sizable fundraising advantage over Bailey.

There are few differences between Bailey and Bost's deeply conservative political views, meaning the race so far has largely been about personality, style and approach to the job.

Bailey has sought to paint five-term incumbent Bost as a Washington insider who has lost touch with Southern Illinois voters. Meanwhile, Bost has leaned into his experience, saying late last month that "you need someone to understand how policy works and how the rules work" in the halls of power.

Bost and national Republicans have sought to portray Bailey, who served two terms in the state legislature before running for governor, as a has-been show horse with little experience or interest in actually governing.

Bailey, in his statement thanking Miller for her endorsement, indicated that he will join Miller in the far-right House Freedom Caucus if he is elected. Bost, though having a conservative voting record, is not a member of the caucus.

Miller, first elected in 2020, is one of the most conservative members of Congress. Her tenure has not been without controversy.

In early January 2021, Miller made remarks about Adolf Hitler at a pro-Trump rally outside the Capitol. ("Hitler was right on one thing. He said, Whoever has the youth has the future, she said, speaking about the need to reach young people.) This drew widespread condemnation, some calls for her to resign and  eventually  an apology.

And at the Trump rally last year, Miller called the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade "a victory for white life," which her campaign quickly said was a verbal gaffe and that she meant to say victory for right to life.

Still, none of that prevented her from winning another term in her conservative rural Central Illinois district.

Her endorsement is a boost to Bailey.

But the most coveted prize in the race would be the backing of Trump, who has endorsed both candidates in the past but has stayed neutral in this race.

The former president won 70% of the Southern Illinois-based congressional district's vote in 2020. Both candidates have endorsed the former president's 2024 campaign.

The primary election is March 19.

The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024 1. West Virginia 2. Montana 3. Ohio 4. Pennsylvania 5. Arizona 6. Nevada 7. Wisconsin 8. Michigan 9. Texas 10. Florida Analysis: Pennsylvania moves up list of contested Senate seats in 2024
CHICAGO  After a story time session with 3-, 4- and 5-year-old students at the Grayslake Early Childhood Center, local law enforcement leaders and state representatives met with educators to discuss the relationship between early childhood education and crime prevention.

Deterrence has been the primary focus of crime policy, Lake County States Attorney Eric Rinehart said. But, its Rineharts mission for the prosecutors office to think more broadly about crime prevention, starting with education as the first step.

If a crime has happened, we are at the end of the story. Something terrible has happened, Rinehart said. When we talk about early childhood education, were talking about the beginning of the story, and were talking about making a deep, deep investment in our children, in the mental health needs of our children, or helping children to have the skills they need to lead a fulfilled life.

In Illinois, the early childhood education system is dire, state Rep. Laura Faver Dias, D- Grayslake, said  albeit better than some states  with not enough spots for children in education and child care centers.

In Lake County, there are 50,000 children age 6 and under, but there are only 17,000 spots in private and public early childhood education sites  leaving 33,000 kids without a spot in early education.

Thats 33,000 children whose parents arent able to participate in the economy, Dias said.

Statewide, only 30% of kindergartens enter their first year of full-time school prepared. Rinehart said its disturbing that seven out of 10 students start school already behind.

State Rep. Joyce Mason, D- Gurnee, said its important to have law enforcement officials at the table when talking about early education, because they see the potential outcomes of educational gaps firsthand.

I think (law enforcement) has a very unique perspective on why the people they encounter are there, Mason said. So to be part of the conversation and say, Yes, we know that. If you had invested in this person, if they had gotten the child care or education or mental health service that they needed, they may not have met me.

For every $1 spent on early childhood education, the state gets a return of $7 throughout that childs life, Mason said. Investing in early education can help reduce the amount of resources law enforcement needs, she added.

Educators are thrilled criminal justice and law enforcement officials are thinking about early education as a method of crime prevention.

Heather Lorenzo, director of student services at Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46, said its extremely exciting that not only educators are invested in early childhood education, but that law enforcement and elected officials are invested in expanding early education programming.

We have an incredible program with a ton of services that are high quality for students, Lorenzo said. But to expand that opportunity to more of our community and broaden that access, funding is the crux of that accessibility. It allows us to expand in facilities space, it allows us to expand in our personnel and also provide high quality materials.

Across the education system, Lorenzo said investments should be made in raising salaries to match the experience of educators, including in Grayslake, where Lorenzo acknowledged the district is in a better position than others to recruit and retain staff.

Investments into early childhood education are being made by the state. For fiscal year 2024, more than $300 million in the budget is dedicated for early childhood priorities  including Gov. J.B. Pritzkers Smart Start initiative.

Mason, who chairs the Childcare Accessibility and Early Childhood Education Committee, said the funds will be used to expand early childhood education spots because there is a huge gap between whats available and whats needed.

There are some regions of Lake County, like Beach Park, that are considered a child care desert, she said.

Mason said a single agency tasked with overseeing all early childhood programs, a plan supported by Pritzker, would help the work educators do, as well as streamline information for families by having it all in one place.

Currently, there are three state agencies that oversee early childhood education and care  the Department of Children and Families, Illinois State Board of Education and Department of Human Services.

Ive been talking to early childhood educators, and Im being told they are spending all their time trying to figure out whos responsible for what, trying to take the same information and put it in three different reports, And if theres trouble, theyre like, Who do we call? Mason said. Its like too many cooks.

Regardless of the challenges, evidence shows early childhood education helps set students up for success throughout their life and the entire learning experience, according to Lorenzo, who oversees the Early Childhood Center in Grayslake.

A program like this offers a variety of learning opportunities that appeal to both cognitive and academic learning, preparedness but also social and emotional support, Lorenzo said. It just really leverages their readiness to be ready in kindergarten with the academic rigor that theyre going to experience.

Photos: Illinois State Fair political days through the years 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2009 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2005 State Fair 2004 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2006 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2018 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2021 State Fair 2021 State Fair
A team led by Clemson University is receiving a second multimillion-dollar federal grant to continue research into the nations most devastating citrus disease, an arboreal affliction that costs Florida alone $1 billion annually.

Feng Luo, the Marvin J. Pinson Jr. 46 Distinguished Professor in the School of Computing, is the principal investigator on the project, funded with $4.1 million from the U.S. Department of Agricultures National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Students in Feng Luos group have the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research. Those pictured are (from left): Pei Xu, Zhijie Li, Mingqi Li, Dan Zhang, Luo, Jing Wang, Melanie Lambert, Feiyang Cai, Xiaoyan Han and Grayson Byrd.

With the funding, the team will deepen its research into Huanglongbing (HLB), known commonly as citrus greening disease, which has posed a significant challenge to citrus farmers.

Co-principal investigators on the project include: Yongping Duan and Matthew Mattia, both of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Fred G. Gmitter, Zhanao Deng, Mark A. Ritenour, John M. Chater, Zhengfei Guan, Jude W. Grosser, all of the University of Florida; Olufemi Alabi of Texas A&M; and Chandrika Ramadugu of the University of California, Riverside.

Despite the severity of the disease, efforts to curb HLBs spread and mitigate its effects have been piecemeal. The research aims to counteract the disease and ensure that the future citrus varieties developed are both hardy and economically viable for commercial production.

At Clemson University, were dedicated to delivering a top-tier educational experience for our students while making impactful strides in research, said Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones. This grant, led by Feng Luo, exemplifies our ambition to push boundaries in research and, in the process, enact positive change both in our nation and globally. Our endeavors in addressing citrus greening disease underscore our commitment to transformative solutions that transform our world.

HLB is a bacterial disease that affects citrus trees, leading to misshapen, bitter fruits and eventually killing the tree. It is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid insect. Since its arrival in Florida in 2005, citrus production has declined by more than 80% in the state.

The grant will enable Luo and his team to explore various ways of developing citrus cultivars that are highly tolerant or resistant to HLB. Cultivars are plant varieties that have been produced by selective breeding to be used by growers in cultivation.

By employing artificial intelligence algorithms, the team will be able to sift through the genetic information of citrus plants at a speed and precision unachievable by traditional methods. This not only accelerates the identification process of HLB-resistant variants but also ensures that the selections will enable sustainable production for the citrus industries.

The research builds on a previous study that began in 2017 and was funded with $4.3 million from NIFA, also with Luo as principal investigator. In that first phase, researchers demonstrated that citrus plants that are resistant or tolerant to HLB can be selected in commercial groves and breeding orchards for large-scale cultivation.

However, the selection and evaluation process still requires a long time, and the second phase will be aimed at finding ways to speed it up. Researchers also plan to use the second phase to transition from the lab to the field, conducting evaluations in Florida, Texas, and California to test the real-world efficacy of their findings.

Our goal here is about more than scientific exploration, Luo said. Its about practical solutions that can help growers more quickly. The selected citrus cultivars will be the most durable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective solution to this devastating disease so far.

Gmitter said he was excited to collaborate on the project.

Working alongside such a dedicated team, were channeling our collective expertise to identify citrus varieties that can stand tall against HLB, he said. Through our combined efforts and expertise, were aiming to develop solutions that are both scientifically sound and practically applicable in the field.

Duan agreed.

Its truly exciting to collaborate with such a passionate team, he said. As we dive deeper into the genetic intricacies of citrus plants, this collective endeavor brings us closer to turning the tide against HLB and ensuring a prosperous future for our citrus growers.
A Chinese spy balloon was spotted flying over the Taiwan Strait. This was confirmed by Taiwan's Defense Ministry, claiming that the surveillance balloon's appearance happened while there was a large-scale movement of military ships and aircraft in the area.

Since China's surveillance aircraft was seen before Taiwan's presidential election, some experts are concerned that this could be the Chinese government's way of interfering with the political event.

Here are other details shared by the Taiwanese Defense Ministry.

Chinese Spy Balloon Appears in Taiwan Strait, Defense Ministry Claims

According to Fox News' latest report, Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced that the Chinese spy balloon was spotted passing southwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Thursday, Dec. 7.

The defense agency added that the surveillance aircraft continued flying to towards east before disappearing; officials speculate that the balloon was heading into the Pacific Ocean.

As of writing, Taiwan's Defense Ministry is unsure if the spy balloon was operated by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Republic of China's military branch.

The Defense Ministry's spokesperson also said that they have no additional information regarding the spy balloon as of writing. What they do know is that the incident happened around a month before Taiwan's presidential election, which is scheduled for January 2024.

"I'm not aware of the situation, and it is not a diplomatic question," said Defense Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

Previously, the Taiwanese government warned that they would shoot down spy balloons that entered their air space. However, officials didn't confirm if it took down the latest Chinese surveillance balloon or if other actions were taken.

Read Also: US Intel Claims Chinese Spy Balloon Program Suspended-Here's Why

China Announces Taiwan Presidential Election Interference Plan

CNN reported that the Chinese government has interference plans that could affect Taiwan's presidential election in 2024. This was revealed by CCP's fourth-ranking leader Wang Huning during a high-level meeting.

He urged other Chinese officials to be more discreet and effective in their work to disrupt the upcoming Taiwanese presidential election. Huning said that efforts by different departments to influence the small island's political activity are already being coordinated.

Attending Chinese authorities were ordered to coordinate their efforts with the People's Liberation Army's Base 311 and the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department.

If you want to learn more details about China's interference plans against Taiwan's presidential election, you can click here.

Related Article: Is North Korea's Spy Satellite for Self-Defense? Kim Jong Un Defends Surveillance Tech Against Criticisms

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BLYTHEWOOD -- The South Carolina Highway Patrol, in partnership with the SC Troopers Association and Walmart, brings comfort to children across the state ahead of the holiday season.

Shop with a Cop 1 The South Carolina Highway Patrol, in partnership with the SC Troopers Association and Walmart, brings comfort to children across the state ah

More than 130 children who have been affected by a highway tragedy joined SC Highway Patrol Community Relations Officers and troopers on Thursday, Dec. 7, at seven different Walmart locations across South Carolina to participate in the SC Highway Patrol 2023 Shop with a Cop event.

Shop with a Cop 2 Each child was gifted a $150 Walmart gift card to spend how they wished, provided by anonymous donors to the SC Troopers Association.

These children have endured so much tragedy at such a young age. It can be hard to wrap your head around it, said Col. Christopher N. Williamson, Commander of the SC Highway Patrol. If we can provide a little comfort to these kids in some capacity and put a smile on their faces, even for just one evening, then weve done our job today.

Each child was gifted a $150 Walmart gift card to spend how they wished, provided by anonymous donors to the SC Troopers Association. The Highway Patrols Victim Services Unit set up the partnership with seven Walmart stores across the state and then identified children in need who have been greatly affected by a traffic collision in 2023 that resulted in a fatality or life-altering injury.

We see the heartache that these families have to wrestle with every day. At times, you feel helpless, said Crystal Salley, SC Highway Patrols Victim Services Unit manager. Its opportunities like this that keep you grounded. I cant begin to describe how grateful we are for our partnership with Walmart, the SC Troopers Association, and for the private donors who made this event possible.

The Shop with a Cop events are aimed to foster positive relationships between the youth and local law enforcement, as well as spread some holiday cheer for children in need. The South Carolina Highway Patrol adopted seven families last year as part of their Christmas Initiative, however, partnerships and generosity from the community allowed for the program to be significantly expanded in 2023.
Four South Carolina State University computer science and cybersecurity students participated in a national artificial intelligence conference at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Tellajah Jon'Nae Chalk, Chester; Dierra Jasmine Haynes, Orangeburg; Keshawn Jamal Burns, Graniteville; and Joshua Jiles Taylor, Columbia, were selected to attend AI & Education: Inclusive Innovation for Student Success.

SC State students at the AI conference. SC State students Joshua Taylor, Tellajah Chalk, Dierra Haynes and Keshawn Burns at the AI conference.

The conference was a chance for the students to network with industry leaders and peers while discussing AI and its emerging capabilities and ethical standards that must be considered in using the technology.

Part of our mission is to give our students the best tools to make an impact, and that includes the ability to build their professional networks while they are still enrolled, SC State President Alexander Conyers said. Our students can hold their own with any students in the country given the right opportunities and motivation.

SC State students, administrators were able to network SC State students and administrators were able to network with AI industry leaders and other students at a national level during the conferenc

Ms. Chalk, Ms. Haynes, Mr. Burns and Mr. Taylor represented the power of an SC State education at a national level during this conference, he said. They certainly made us proud beyond measure.

SC State is designated as an Academic Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense Education for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency. The program is led by Dr. Nikunja Swain, chair of SC States Department of Computer Science and Mathematics.

The trip was coordinated by SC States Enrollment Management Division through its partnership with Ed Advancement. Along with Conyers, the SC State students were joined on the November trip by Dr. Manicia Finch, vice president for enrollment management; Dr. John M. Lee Jr., vice president for institutional advancement; and Matthew Wade, admissions counselor.

Upon learning about the event, Finch immediately advocated for the participation of the students and other team members.

Because SC State is a designated Academic Center of Excellence, I knew our students needed to be represented and have a voice during this discussion, Finch said. The students and Dr. Swain were so excited that they were chosen they selected a five-hour course for the students to take prior to the event to ensure they felt comfortable amongst Harvard and MIT professionals.

The conference explored where generative AI could lead to transformative improvements in teaching and learning, student support, and career access and success. It also addressed such critical topics as mitigating bias, lack of access, and governance challenges. By working together, educational leaders and students can shape AI-based innovations to focus on the needs of under-resourced students and institutions.

At the MIT Innovation Headquarters, Conyers was featured in the panel discussion, Ready or Not, Here AI Comes: Building Tech Readiness for AI-enabled Insights. The panel shared lessons from two institutions and what precursors to AI are necessary for institutional readiness.

The panels concept:

When cell phones proliferated globally, some countries used the new technology as a way to leapfrog. They skipped the arduous process of running copper phone lines across the landscape and went right to a mobile-enabled age. It may be possible for the same to happen with higher education when it comes to student support technologies.

AI-enabled analytics that take in data from myriad on- and off-campus sources can help with student recruitment, persistence, and graduation. But leapfrogging doesnt mean skipping investments in infrastructure completely, it just means jumping right to the most modern ones.

For higher education, this includes digitizing any remaining analog processes, developing a data lake or similar structure to combine data sources, and creating the guardrails and governance systems to protect it.

The conference was sponsored by Ed Advancement in collaboration with Axim Collaborative, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Khan Academy, MIT Media Lab, and MIT Open Learning

SC State students and administrators were able to network with AI industry leaders and other students at a national level during the conference at Harvard and MIT.
(TBTCO) - Gia ca phe hom nay (11/1) tai thi truong trong nuoc noi dai chuoi ngay i len. Ghi nhan cho thay, muc giao dich cao nhat trong cac ia phuong uoc khao sat la 70.500 ong/kg. Trong khi o, gia tieu dao ong trong khoang 78.000 - 80.000 ong/kg sau khi uoc ieu chinh giam ong loat. oi voi cao su, gia ky han tren hai san giao dich uoc ieu chinh tang duoi 2% trong phien sang nay.
09/12/2023



Everton are hopeful that James Garner can overcome a stomach illness in time to face Chelsea Everton are hopeful that James Garner can overcome a stomach illness in time to face Chelsea

Just three days after their stirring victory over much-vaunted Newcastle, Everton are back at Goodison Park for another huge game, this time against big-spending Chelsea.

Were it not for the Premier Leagues overly-punitive 10-point deduction, the Toffees would come have come into the weekend sitting a point and a place above the West Londoners in 10th; as it is, they hauled themselves out of the relegation zone with that 3-0 win over the Magpies and are not looking to get themselves further up the table in the coming weeks.

Sean Dyche had to put out a patched-up midfield on Thursday night with Amadou Onana ruled out with a calf injury and James Garner succumbing to illness earlier in the day but the manager is hopeful that both players could at least be in the squad this time.

Onana was rated as touch-and-go for the Newcastle clash but the medical staff erred on the side of caution but Dyche has indicated that there is a chance the Belgian could at least make the squad to face Chelsea.

Article continues below video content

Garner, meanwhile, will be assessed to see whether or not his stomach flu was a 24-hour thing and whether he can keep food down to regain his strength ahead of the match.

Meanwhile, Seamus Coleman will be checked to see whether he can play twice in such a short space of time so soon after returning from a long absence. The skipper came off after 67 minutes on Thursday with what initially appeared to be a knock but he was able to run off the pitch and Dyche assured reporters afterwards that there was no significant problem.

Chelsea could have as many as 10 players ruled out for varying reasons but they have a large squad that can easily absorb a loss of personnel on that scale. Conor Gallagher serves a one-match suspension for picking up two yellow cards against Brighton last weekend and Christopher Nkunku is unlikely to feature but Rameo Lavia and Malo Gusto will be given late fitness tests. Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Trevor Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukuwuemeka, and Chukwunonso Madueke are all out until the New Year.

After making a disappointing start by their standards with just one Premier League win to their name until they won at Fulham at the start of October and struggled for consistency since, Mauricio Pochettinos side have been showing of late signs that the Argentine is starting to get his arms around the job he took over the summer.

They thrashed Tottenham 4-1 in North London last month, albeit with the help of two red cards for Spurs, held Manchester City to a 4-4 draw at home and overcame Brighton at Stamford Bridge despite playing the second half with 10 men but Everton will take heart from their last two away games where they lost 4-1 at St Jamess Park and 2-1 at Old Trafford in midweek.

Manchester Uniteds ability to force mistakes from Chelseas defence with a dogged press bodes well, as, of course, does the Blues recent attacking form which has seen them register an average of 19 shots in their last three matches.

Everton have found this to be a profitable fixture in recent years, winning it four seasons in a row before losing narrowly on the opening day last season under Frank Lampard, and the Goodison faithful will be hoping their team can carry forward the momentum from successive wins over Forest and Newcastle and resume the trend of victories over Chelsea.

Kick-off: 2pm, Sunday 10 December, 2023

Referee: Michael Oliver

VAR: Stuart Attwell

Last Time: Everton 0 - 1 Chelsea

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Garner, Harrison, McNeil, Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin

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A 62-year-old Casper man was found guilty of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder after a 12-person jury deliberated over the verdict until late Friday night in Natrona County District Court.

George Dickerson committed the second-degree murder of Andy William Martin, Jr. and attempted second-degree murder of Rose Dennis. He pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency in February.

Dennis, 84, is Dickersons mother-in-law. Martin, 76, was Dennis husband.

Dickerson went to the couples home on the evening of Jan. 7, where he got into an altercation with Martin; it is believed to be over Martins treatment of the couples home healthcare workers.

Dennis and Martin sustained stab wounds.

Martin had multiple injuries across his face, neck, arms and hands, Dr. Peter Schilke, a forensic pathologist specialist, said in court Thursday. He died from sharp force injuries, and the manner of death was homicide.

Dennis also sustained multiple injuries but survived after emergency surgery.

Dickerson testifies

Dickerson took the stand Friday morning to testify in his own defense. He spoke in a calm and direct tone, only breaking to clear his throat.

How do you feel this morning, George? Marty Scott, Dickersons public defender, asked.

Doing good, thank you, Dickerson responded.

He went on to detail his relationship with Dennis and Martin. Dickerson wasnt really close with them besides the regular family gatherings and holidays, but he had seen more of them in recent years, he said in court Friday. They began needing additional help, as both of their health declined.

Dickerson would regularly go to his mother-in-law and her husbands Paradise Valley home to check in on them or provide assistance, he said. For example, Martin would sometimes fall and was unable to stand back up on his own.

Was there any strain on your relationship with Rose? Scott asked.

On occasion, I mean she was my mother-in-law, Dickerson said. With most in-laws... no one is ever good enough for your children.

During the first week of January, Dickerson and his wife both became sick, he said. When he went to the pharmacy to pick up some prescription antibiotics and steroids, his antidepressant refill was also ready.

He had always taken two 75 mg capsules, but this prescription was a new single dose of 150 mg, Dickerson said. Only, he didnt notice.

Dickerson took his regular dose of two pills on the morning of Jan. 7, which was actually double was he was meant to take, he said.

He went to a successful job interview that afternoon, Dickerson said. He said that he felt the best he had in a long time.

Afterwards, Dickerson went to the Backdoor Lounge, where he drank two double shots and two singles, he said. He then went back home to take a nap.

Dickerson had a very vivid and violent dream, he said. He woke up feeling agitated and angry, and he believed that Dennis was in need of help.

He got in the car to head over to the couples home on Begonia Street, but he can only remember the ride in short bursts, Dickerson said.

When Dickerson arrived, he said he knocked twice, entered the home and called for Martin. The couple was in their bedroom.

Dickerson and Martins conversation escalated, and Martin allegedly came at him in a threatening manner, he said.

Normally, I wouldnt have been scared of Andy, Dickerson said.

Dickerson said he then struck Martin. Dennis started slapping at Dickerson to get him to stop. He shoved her, and she fell off the bed.

The next thing I remember, I was washing my hands in the sink in the bathroom, Dickerson said. They were dirty... bloody.

He said there was absolutely no reason this should or could have happened, Dickerson said. He allegedly felt like he was in a dream and was waiting to wake up.

The antidepressants were extended release, which is allegedly why Dickerson felt great in the afternoon but fell into this state by the evening, Scott argued.

Dickerson headed to his church afterwards, disposed of his bloody clothes and drove home in subfreezing temperatures in my underwear, he said. He allegedly believed coming home practically naked was better than coming home in bloody clothing.

He said he didnt realize it was real until after he got home.

I went to bed hoping I was going to wake up and none of this was real, Dickerson said.

The next morning, Dickerson allegedly told his wife that he wouldnt be back in time for church and was probably going to jail, he said. He again allegedly took a double dosage of his antidepressants.

My intention was to call the police, and take my own life, Dickerson said.

Why didnt you take your own life? Scott asked.

I dont know, Dickerson said.

No mental illness defense, doctor says

Although Dickerson may have had interactions from his medication, Dr. Brian Bitting found that he was still mentally responsible.

Bitting was Dickersons designated examiner months after the incident. Bitting spoke Thursday about his report in Natrona Count District Court.

In Wyoming, the defendant has the burden of proving that as a result of mental illness or deficiency, he or she lacked the capacity to either appreciate the wrongfulness of the alleged conduct or to conform to the requirements of the law, according to state statute.

Still, not every mental illness meets Wyoming statute. It has to be so severe it changes a persons perception of reality.

Dickerson not only didnt have a qualifying mental illness, but even if he did, he appreciated the wrongfulness of what he did and could have behaved in accordance with the law, Bitting said.

Bitting used an example to demonstrate the importance of moral conviction when considering mental illness. Dickerson, he said, lacked this.

If a person thinks their neighbor is a CIA agent trying to kill them, they might kill them first to protect them and their family, Bitting said. Theres a believed moral conviction.

But if a person just feels they have a moral conviction, thats not enough, Bitting said. For example, if someone steals your car, so you steal theirs in return because it feels fair. That argument doesnt stand in a court of law.

Closing arguments

Dickersons actions were completely out of character, which exemplifies this is someone who is under the influence of a medication...causing someone not to think straight, Scott, his public defender, said during closing arguments on Friday.

The why is the heart of the case, Scott said.

Scott argued that Dickerson dumped his bloody clothes at his own church, where his wife also works. These arent the actions of someone who was methodically covering their tracks, he said.

Theres no evidence that he tried to clean up blood at the scene, Scott said.

A mental illness defense can include involuntary intoxication, Scott said. He argued that Bitting made a misapplication of Wyoming law when analyzing Dickerson.

Scott argued there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt of attempted second-degree murder. Theres only evidence that Dennis got hurt during the altercation, he argued.

If it was so obvious that George Dickerson was deserving of a guilty verdict... why has the state overexaggerated the evidence? Scott said. ... Theyre making stuff up and just hoping youll buy it.

On the other hand, Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen said during closing arguments Friday that Dickerson couldnt blame drug manufacturers, not the pharmacy either.

The precision of it all  Dickerson knowing the address, where the victims were, their names, where he was, what he was driving  all point to him being aware and conscious, Itzen argued.

Itzen said Dickerson disposed of his clothes, cleaned himself and tampered with the crime scene, so hes concealing evidence at that point.

Were left with Andy Martin dead...Rose Dennis clinging to life, Itzen said. He took one too many pills, and all of this happened?

He faces no less than 40 years in prison for the charges. Dickerson is held without bond until sentencing.

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CHEYENNE  Its pretty clear that property tax reform will be the most important non budget item to be considered in the 2024 budget session.

That session, which begins two months hence, on Feb. 12, already has 27 bills ready to go. All are committee bills which gives them the best chance of meeting the two thirds majority vote required for debate in the short budget session.

Two are revenue committee bills:

House Bill 3 gives tax exemptions to residential property owners aged 65 and over who have lived in the property as their primary residence for 30 years. The exception would be 50% of the assessed value of the property.

This bill is comparable to a law in the State of Colorado. In Colorado, however, the eligible homeowner need only to live in the residence for 10 years.

I realize many Wyoming lawmakers hate having anything in common with that so-called liberal state on the southern border. But this shows again that soaring property values are not just a Wyoming problem. It is nationwide.

House Bill 3 will also reduce property tax revenue for cities, towns and counties and schools. A Legislative Service Office staff note said the lawmakers might want to reimburse local government for that lost revenue.

Reimbursement in fact, could well be essential for the passage of House Bill 3. Representatives of the cities towns counties and schools will be watching this one.

House Bill 4 expands the existing property tax refund program for low income people to five more income tiers to expand it to help more people. Originally adopted in the 1970s it languished in recent years for lack of money from the Legislature. It recently picked up support as one easy way to help low income people faced with a jump in property valuations and taxes.

This bill has the support of Gov Mark Gordon and is the most likely to pass.

The cost of the new program would be $1.48 million for the 2025 tax year and $1.56 million for 2026.

The estimate is based on the 2022 household participation rate it 9.5% statewide, ranging from 3.4% to 21.4% among the counties, according to the Legislative Service Office.

The range of percentages shows the big disparity of wealth among Wyomings 23 counties.

This disparity extends to residential property taxes.

Although the tax rate is the same the increase in value  price  is what is pushing up the property tax bills that so excite property owners.

But that condition isnt to the same in all 23 counties That is what makes is so difficult for the legislature to find a mechanism to provide property tax relief without violating the constitutions equal and uniform rule.

Regarding the constitution, I will be curious to see whether a proposed bill or bills to allow state funds to be used for non public schools can be fashioned so they dont bump into Article 1, Section 19 of the Wyoming Constitution.

No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to any sectarian or religious society or institution. it says.

During the last session 20 or more bills were introduced dealing with property tax relief.

One that passed and will be on the ballot next November is a proposed constitutional amendment to separate residential property in as separate class in the constitution.

Currently residential property is dumped into an all other category that includes commercial and agriculture property.

Being separated out will allow the Legislature to deal with it without regard to the equal and uniform within each class constitutional requirement.

And there are many bill drafts sponsored by individual legislators that may also get bill numbers. They wont have the advance of committee sponsorship though but they might get introduced and get a hearing.

Now fairly recent development is a non-legislative effort to get an initiative law on the ballot for a tax break through reduction of the first $50,000 of assessed valuation.

Here again, passage of this proposal will hurt local governments.

Back to Colorados property tax problem.

The states main problem is TABOR, the taxpayers bill of rights passed by voters in 1992.

The Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) Amendment was approved by voters in 1992. This constitutional amendment limits the amount of money governments in the state can keep and spend. Unless the voters approve, excess revenue must be refunded to the taxpayers. It has been questionable whether this was totally successful. Officials were crafty in finding ways to circumvent the rules and keep government alive.

Last month Colorado voters tackled property tax reform and relief.

Sixty percent of the voters rejected Proposition HH, which would have allowed hundreds of dollars in property tax relief each year for the homeowners.

The plan however would also cut the amount of taxpayer refunds and would have increased spending on schools.

The resounding defeat was a blow to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis who was trying to reduce housing costs.

Conservative groups spend millions to kill it because they thought it was an attack on the TABOR refund program.

According to the Associated Press even liberals were cool about the idea.

The wording of the ballot proposed itself was partly to blame.

Voters complained that the ballot question was to complicated they could not understand it and so voted no.

Even supports said they were confused over how it would work.

Theres a lesson from Colorado there for legislators hankering to put anything on the ballot dealing with taxes or whatever.

Keep it simple.
GLOBAL growth is expected to remain weak, with the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region projected to experience 2% GDP growth in 2023. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that T&Ts economy is on a broad-based recovery path. Explore these and other international, regional and local economic insights from the Chambers Trade & Business Development Unit.
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Data from the years of Christmas Bird Counts shows a decline in many species of birds include the blue jay. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Information gathered during the Christmas Bird Counts helped to put an end to the killing of birds, like the roseate spoonbill, for the feather trade. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Birdwatchers of all skill levels and volunteers will count birds, like this Northern Harrier, in the Christmas Bird Count. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Birdwatchers of all skill levels are welcome to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count. Counts are held around the country from December 14 to January 5. Photo Credit: Kathy Adams Clark. Restricted use. Kathy Adams Clark/Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions

Want to join historys longest-running citizen-science project? The National Audubon Society will conduct its annual Christmas Bird Count from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5, and you can participate.

The count began on Christmas Day in 1900 when ornithologist Frank Chapman organized 27 volunteers to count North Americas population of winter birds. They tallied 90 species of birds in 25 North American locations.

It was an era when beautifully feathered egrets, herons and spoonbills were vanishing. Market hunters were slaughtering the birds for their feathers, which were used in the decorative womens hat trade. Then women helped organize the Audubon Society to protect those beautifully plumed waterbirds.

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Chapman and his team saw threats to other birds as the 20th century brought about rapid urban expansion that threatened to displace songbird habitat. Nor had the gruesome Christmas Day side hunt  in which shooters would compete for the most birds and animals killed in a single day  gone away.

Chapman conceived the idea of people counting the number of bird species rather than shooting them. His conception of a Christmastime bird count has continued uninterrupted since 1900 and expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Christmas Bird Count To participate in the Christmas Bird Count, review the list of local counts at https://houstonaudubon.org/birding/christmas-bird-counts/upper-texas-coast.html.

Each count occurs on one calendar day between Dec 14 and Jan 5.

Each count lists a compiler who organizes the count, so contact the compiler shown for any local CBC that interests you.

Youll be assigned to a team that will tally birds on a specified date.

Carry binoculars, a note pad, and wear outdoor clothing and appropriate shoes or boots.

Take insect repellent, sunscreen and hat.

If you live within a CBC circle and have experience identifying birds, you may be able to count birds in your yard.

Last year, more than 76,000 volunteers participated in Christmas Bird Counts, covering 2,621 locations in the Western Hemisphere. Volunteers tallied almost 43 million birds throughout the hemisphere, including about 39 million in the U.S.

Christmas Bird Counts are divided into geographical locations called CBCs. Each is defined by a circle 15 miles in diameter covering any land mass, which often includes water. CBCs are named after cities, parks, creeks or other geographical features within the count circle. Local examples are the Houston CBC, Spring Creek CBC and the Freeport CBC.

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If the first Christmas Bird Count was important for documenting bird life, its even more important today. Up to 100 million birds were being tallied 30 years ago during Christmas Bird Counts, compared to only 43 million last year. Thats a 57% decline.

The decline has been caused by several environmental factors, chief among them loss of habitat. The result is a precipitous decline in local songbirds such as eastern meadowlarks, Carolina chickadees, blue jays and even mockingbirds.
It was one of the best tributes (eulogies) I saw or heard, and perhaps the best speech Presi
Dogs are friendly creatures. Consider Dormie, who was put on trial in 1921 for killing cats but was found not guilty, which is as close as we can get to a legal ruling declaring hes a good boy. We bred friendliness into dogs over the course of many centuries. Dogs are genetically different from their ancestors, the wolves, who were friendly only occasionally.

But this friendliness gene has some other possible effects. Find out below, along with some information about a truly noteworthy sandwich.

15 A World of Babel Its all Greek to me, we say, about something unintelligible. In Bulgaria, they say, Its like youre speaking Patagonian. The Czechs say, This is a Spanish village to me. While the Albanians say, Please stop speaking Chinese.

14 Fort Blunder In 1816, America started work on a fort on Lake Champlain, to guard against Canada. A year into construction, surveyors realized they were actually building the fort in Canada itself, and they had to abandon it.

13 Lyin Crook In 2014, police at a New York bus station saw a man with a toy stuffed lion, wearing a D.A.R.E. shirt. The lions shirt read D.A.R.E. to resist drugs and violence. Police searched the lion and found it contained weed, cocaine and LSD. Advertisement

12 The Handy Acorn During the Civil War, one tool for carrying secret messages was a brass object shaped like an acorn. This object went in the rectum.

11 Go On and On New Zealand has siren battles, where each car has dozens of speakers to blast music the loudest. Rather than heavy metal, music with low bass is the most effective, which is why Celine Dion songs are especially popular. Advertisement Advertisement

10 Gum Machines Theres a reason slot machines traditionally show pictures of fruit, as well as the mysterious word BAR. Originally, these machines dispensed chewing gum as prizes. The fruits represent different gum flavors, and BAR derives from a logo for an old chewing gum company.

9 Hard Wood Wood is judged by how hard it is, and this is measured using something called the Janka Hardness Test. The wood is scored according to how much force is necessary to fire a steel ball at it so hard that the ball stays embedded. Advertisement

8 I Love Trash A decade ago, Sweden was building a system of burning waste to produce heat and electricity. Unfortunately, it turns out garbage isnt as energy-dense as other fuels, so they soon found they didnt have enough garbage to feed the furnaces theyd built. Advertisement

7 More Lying Crooks Your cars gas gauge says the tank is full before youve really filled the tank, and it goes on saying the tank is full for quite a bit after it starts to empty. The reason is that if drivers see the gauge go down soon after filling up, theyll feel unsatisfied too quickly. Advertisement

6 Beer on Tap In Germany and Belgium, trucks sometimes cant transport beer away from breweries fast enough. Several cities set up beer pipelines that send the stuff continuously to taverns. They also construct special temporary beer pipelines for festivals. Advertisement Advertisement

5 A Business Gamble In 1975, FedEx was out of money. Founder Fred Smith took the last $5,000 to Vegas and hit the blackjack tables. Losing this might have earned him a reprimand or two, but he came away with $27,000 and wired it back to the company.

4 The Nice Gene We can trace the friendliness of dogs to a specific gene not present in wild animals. This same gene can appear in human DNA, in which case it expresses itself as a developmental disorder known as Williams-Beuren syndrome. Advertisement

3 Fish Madness The Romans enjoyed dining on a hallucinogenic fish, known as sea bream. The fish doesnt qualify as a psychedelic, but it does qualify as a deliriant  i.e., it makes you delirious. Advertisement

2 The Science of Stereotypes One popular idea says were either ectomorphs, mesomorphs or endomorphs, depending on whether our digestive tract, muscles or nerves dominate. According to one theory, ectomorphs are smart, mesomorphs are competitive and endomorphs are selfish. In other news, some theories are stupid.
Gov. Katie Hobbs said shes willing to have Arizona National Guard members on the border to help deal with migrants  and to reopen the Lukeville port of entry  but not on her dime.

She wants the Biden administration to reimburse Arizona $512 million for what she claims the state has spent on border operations, ranging from law enforcement to her busing migrants elsewhere in the country due to the federal governments failure to secure our border.

Hobbs provided no breakdown on how she came up with that figure. But it does include financing Arizonas busing of migrants to other states, a program that has moved more than 26,000 out of Arizona at a cost of $5.7 million.

In a letter Friday to President Biden, the Democratic governor noted there are 243 state Guard troops already on federal active duty in Southern Arizona. She wants Biden to reassign them to Lukeville where they would operate the border crossing.

Customs and Border Protection shuttered the port of entry on Monday to redirect the staff there to help the Border Patrol process the flood of migrants asking for asylum.

Hobbs is planning to visit Lukeville Saturday, Dec. 9, to get briefed on the situation there. And she is allocating $5 million to step up National Guard coordination with local law enforcement if the border crossing is not reopened.

A switch in position

Hobbs desire to reopen the port with Arizona National Guard soldiers is a departure from statements she made less than a week ago when she dismissed a request by Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, to have the state run the port of entry. She said at the time the solution is for the federal government to do its job and secure the border, saying if Washington provided more resources to hire agents, there would be no need for the closure.

And now? The safety of our citizens and the prosperity of our economy are intertwined, Hobbs wrote to Biden.

The recent decision to close the Lukeville port of entry has led to an unmitigated humanitarian crisis in the area and has put Arizonas safety and commerce at risk, the governor said. Our ports of entry are essential to our states economy, and it is vital that they be properly staffed and resourced to continue to fuel economic growth in the state.

Whats different, said gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater, is who picks up the tab.

The Biden administration says that they need manpower because they dont have enough manpower to both process migrants and keep the port of entry open, he said. So we are offering manpower to reopen the port of entry.

But the soldiers Hobbs is offering to the president are not under her control but are under the command of the U.S. Department of Defense.

We are asking him to do it, Slater said.

Those 243 soldiers activated under federal control already are performing other border-related functions. There was no immediate response from U.S. Northern Command on what those soldiers are now doing.

If the soldiers could operate the port of entry, that would include being able to identify the documents needed to enter the country and what kinds of items can be brought here legally, all of which are spelled out in federal laws and rules. Slater said they would be operating under the supervision of federal officials.

That presumes CBP has staff available: The whole purpose of the closure was to free up those operating the crossing  23 according to one report  to deal with migrants. Slater brushed aside any concern. You dont need 23 people to supervise, he said.

Precedent for state deployment

Hobbs remains adamant she wont be using her power as commander in chief of the state Guard to deploy soldiers at state expense.

There is, however, precedent for state deployment.

Her predecessor, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, sent Guard troops to the border in 2018 to assist federal agents. The soldiers were assigned duties such as helping with secondary inspections at commercial border crossings, doing things like operating X-ray machines.

That was before the latest flood of more than 2,000 people crossing the border daily in the U.S.-Mexico borders Tucson sector alone.

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma added his voice Friday, saying there is a role for the Guard along the border, if not assisting federal agencies than at least helping out local police and sheriffs. The Peoria Republican faulted Hobbs for not doing even that.

Republicans in the Legislature specifically funded a mission of the National Guard to provide support to law enforcement on the border, he said in a written statement. Gov. Hobbs cut that mission short to instead aid in the transportation and housing of illegal aliens.

His charges are based on how the state was supposed to use $209 million originally appropriated in 2022 for the Border Security Fund. Of that total, about $20 million was allocated to have Guard soldiers and airmen on state active duty provide support to law enforcement in Cochise, Maricopa, Pinal, Santa Cruz and Yuma counties.

Slater said there are two flaws in what Toma is saying.

One, he said, is that the state is not paying for housing any migrants.

He also said Hobbs did nothing illegal by diverting funds to instead bus migrants elsewhere.

A provision in the state budget for the current fiscal year, enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature, says that dollars deposited into the Border Security Fund can also be used for a laundry list of other purposes beyond preventing entry into this country of those who are not here legally.

Hobbs said she is using the funds to put migrants on buses to ship them elsewhere in the country. She said, however, that what shes doing  an extension of the program that Ducey started before she took office in January  is far different than what is being done by Texas Gov. Abbott who, under the banner of Operation Lone Star, has sent more than 50,000 migrants to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. That has provoked outrage from the Democratic mayors of those cities.

Were certainly not sending people just randomly to places, Hobbs said. Were sending them where they need to go.

Thats why she has not gotten complaints from leaders in those other states, she said. Were coordinating with folks on the ground.

Were not just randomly sending people, she said. Were getting folks to as close to their destination as possible where they have sponsors, where they have support, where they have resources.

Hobbs on Friday joined with other Democratic officials across the nation in lashing out, saying the Biden administration is failing to address problems at the border.

It is absolutely straining our capacity, which is why we have continued to talk to the feds about the need for additional support, Hobbs said.

Ill again share my continued frustration at this situation and their lack of response thats costing the state of Arizona taxpayers, Hobbs continued. And our capacity is at its limit right now.
A new Raytheon engineering office at the University of Arizonas south side tech park will help foster defense research collaborations and develop new UA talent, the defense giant said as the site was opened this week.

Raytheon President Wes Kremer and UA President Robert C. Robbins helped cut the ribbon during a private ceremony at the new office Thursday at The Refinery, a four-story building built for and leased by the UA in the tech park area of The Bridges multi-use development near East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway.

Raytheon announced in January it would open an office in 14,000 square feet of office space at The Refinery, which opened in early 2022 and also houses Tech Launch Arizona and other UA offices.

The company shares the secure top floor with UA Applied Research Corp., or UAARC, a nonprofit corporation set up by the university to handle sensitive defense and security projects.

Kremer said the new office, which will host about 100 employees, is an extension of Raytheons current research collaborations with the UA, citing expanded wind tunnels used to research hypersonic aircraft and research at the UAs highly rated Wyant College of Optical Sciences, and future work with UA-ARC.

What we want to do here is we want to continue to foster community, Kremer said in an interview. We have a lot of different things going on here with the University of Arizona, we have the hypersonic wind tunnel, the optics lab, we have all kinds of things that are going on here in Tucson, so we just want to continue to drive the innovation in that.

Raytheons presence at The Refinery is part of a larger effort to expand community ties with Arizonas universities to help with recruiting, as well as research and development.

In July, the company announced it would open a 28,000-square-foot engineering design center at ASUs SkySong Scottsdale Innovation Center to further research and create a steady a pipeline of new workers.

We know that when we recruit locally, we do better, and so were going to try to work both Skysong and here as a base for recruiting, Kremer said.

Robbins said Raytheon has been a major partner in research and supporter of the UAs optics and aerospace schools, citing its advocacy in securing federal funding for major upgrades to the UAs hypersonic wind-tunnel facilities.

Raytheon  a major provider of front-line missiles and other defense systems for the U.S. and allied nations  is Tucsons biggest employer with about 12,000 workers at its main manufacturing campus at Tucson International Airport, a major facility at the UA Tech Park on South Rita Road and some smaller local offices.

The companys proximity to UA-ARC is fortuitous, Robbins added.

Therell hopefully be some cross-pollination and some collaboration, realizing that they probably have to keep things pretty separate, but just having like-minded types of activity here is, I think, advantageous for both institutions and also for the community, he said, adding that Raytheons presence will help attract other tech tenants to The Refinery.

Besides Tech Launch Arizona, the universitys technology commercialization arm, The Refinery hosts the University of Arizona Online, Distance and Continuing Education and an incubator outpost and programming through the University of Arizona Center for Innovation.
A second woman has contracted Tucson police about an incident thats similar to an attempted abduction reported near the University of Arizona campus, officials say.

On Friday, Tucson police issued a news release about a reported abduction attempt that occurred about 8 p.m. Thursday south of campus near North Mountain Avenue and East Eighth Street, Tucson police said Friday in a news release.

In that incident, a woman walking west on Eighth Street said a man got out of a vehicle that was following her and grabbed the woman from behind.

During the struggle, the woman dropped to the ground and started screaming. The man ran back to the car and drove off, police said.

After news reports about the attack, a woman contacted police to report a similar encounter the day before.

That woman told police that about 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, she was followed by a man driving a car just east of campus near North Campbell Avenue and East Third Street.

She provided investigators with an updated description of the man and the car he drove.

The attacker is now described as a heavyset man with a dark complexion. He is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall with a close buzz haircut, police say.

The vehicle is a dark, purplish four-door hatchback or crossover with a dented front bumper, tinted windows, and no front license plate.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME, the anonymous tips line.
Tucson police are investigating an attempted abduction Thursday night of a woman walking near the University of Arizona campus.

The incident occurred about 8 p.m. south of campus near North Mountain Avenue and East Eighth Street, Tucson police said Friday in a news release.

The woman was walking west on Eighth Street when she noticed a vehicle was following her. At some point, the driver parked, got out of the car and grabbed the woman from behind, the release said.

During the struggle the woman dropped to the ground and started screaming. The man ran back to the car and drove off, the release said.

Police searched the area but were unable to find the attacker, the release said.

The attacker is a heavyset man about 5-feet 10inches tall who wore an orange fleece hoodie. He drove a blue or purple four-door vehicle, possibly a Toyota Prius, with tinted windows and dents along the front.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME, the anonymous tips line.
A man convicted of killing a Tucson police officer is off Arizona's death row after a ruling earlier this year by the Supreme Court that he's entitled to be resentenced.

And Pima County Attorney Laura Conover must decide this month whether to try to get John Montenegro Cruz back on death row for killing Tucson Police Officer Patrick Hardesty or keep him behind bars for life.

The Supreme Court ruled Cruz should be resentenced because jurors in his case were wrongly told that the only way to ensure he would never walk free was to sentence him to death when a life without parole sentence was an option. Court documents cite several jurors who explained they would have chosen life without parole over death, had that been a known option. A Pima County Superior Court judge last month vacated the original death sentence and sent Cruzs case back to the county for resentencing.

Conover says that this time around her office is determined to follow the law.

"Both the Attorney General and the Pima County Attorneys Office are required to follow orders of the United States Supreme Court, she wrote in response to claims made to the media by Michael Storie, the Hardesty family's attorney. "So, when the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the States previous position was in error, the State followed the instructions of the Supreme Court.

Cruz was convicted of the 2003 murder of Hardesty. Hardesty and another officer were investigating a hit-and-run crash that led them to Cruz, who attempted to flee and shot Hardesty five times.

Conover said that before she must decide by the end of the month if Cruz should be resentenced to death, she will speak to the Hardesty family about the sentencing as is required by law.

According to Conover, the victims have been invited to have that meeting and the family attorney, Storie, has been contacted by phone and email in an effort to make that happen.

Any allegations that her office has ignored the victims family are false, Conover says.

But Storie said the Hardesty family was caught off guard by news that their loved ones killer could overcome his death sentence.

(Hardestys brother) Ed is sickened by the way this is being handled by the county attorney who continues to lie to the citizens of Tucson about this case, Storie said. I join in Eds disgust and also am saddened that this county attorney has lost the respect of virtually all law enforcement in southern Arizona.

Brick Storts, the trial attorney for Cruz, said its about time the error made 20 years ago be rectified.

Storts said he was the initial catalyst to this turn of events, having raised the sentencing issue long ago. Storts said he "felt very strongly about the states error when he tried the case, knowing jurors had been made to think that the only sentence that would keep Cruz off the streets forever was a sentence of death.

In reality, Cruz could have been given life without parole and would never leave the prison grounds until its time for him to be buried, Storts said.

According to Storts, who said he hasnt followed the case much since he defended Cruz in court, the high courts ruling was a welcome surprise. He was more surprised to be quoted in the courts opinion.

I didnt want him to get the death penalty, he said. Now, Storts might get to see that happen, ending a saga that he started two decades ago.

Whatever is decided, Conover said, will be dictated by the law.

"The change in the States position was ordered by the United States Supreme Court, she wrote in her statement. "Both the Attorney General and the Pima County Attorney are required to follow the dictates of the Supreme Court."

Despite this, Storie contends Conover, a Democrat elected to her post in 2020, has already made her decision to take the death penalty sentence off the table for Cruz. He said it was no surprise that Cruz would be granted this relief based off of Conovers public stance against the death penalty.

Shes already made her mind up, Storie said. This (interim) is all just a horse and pony show.

Meanwhile, The Maricopa County States Attorneys office has issued its own brief regarding Cruz case as the ruling with impact several defendants in the offices jurisdiction.

Because several defendants prosecuted by MCAO have similar (claims) now pending in the Arizona courts, the courts decision in this case will likely impact those cases, Maricopa County Attorney Deputy County Attorney Rachel Mitchell wrote in the court brief. Thus, MCAO has an interest in the issues and determination of justice is this case.
Cindy Zokhrouf has been on top of the world for much of the past four decades, and she owes it all to the Southern Arizona Hiking Club.

Since she joined the group as a self-described hiking neophyte in 1986, she has climbed roughly 290 mountain peaks in Arizona and elsewhere, including every peak you can see from Tucson, north, south, east and west, she said.

Im now 80 years old and still hiking, Zokhrouf said. I credit the hiking club with this passion Ive followed in my life. Its opened up my life for me and brought me so many friends and adventures.

SAHC will mark its 65th anniversary on Tuesday night with a history presentation during its monthly meeting.

Any celebrating there is to be done beyond that will happen where it usually does with this bunch: out on the trail.

Blacketts Ridge

Before the sun was even up on the first Monday after Thanksgiving, club members were already gathering in the parking lot at Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.

The destination that day was Blacketts Ridge, a roughly 6-mile-long, out-and-back route that climbs almost 1,800 vertical feet up the northern flank of the Catalina Mountains.

Guide Jim Hambacher described it as a regular training hike for the club. About a dozen people showed up to take part.

Hambacher said he joined SAHC 17 years ago and became a guide seven years ago after his retirement from Texas Instruments freed him up on weekdays.

Now, he leads hikes a couple of times a week. He estimates he has made the climb to Blacketts Ridge about 300 times.

It takes a lot to keep Hambacher off the trail.

For example, he said, the club shut down completely for a few months during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, but he and some of the other regulars kept hiking together anyway.

Then, about 15 months ago, Hambacher went in for a triple bypass. He was back on the trail 8 weeks after the surgery.

I like to hike solo, too, but its safer in a group, he said. My wife was glad when I decided to join a group.

At the trailhead

The Southern Arizona Hiking Club was launched in casual fashion by Arizona Daily Star reporter Pete Cowgill in 1958.

He simply ended one of his weekly Tucson Trails columns with an open invitation: Anyone interested in forming a hiking group should meet him at noon that day at Hutchs Pool in the Catalina Mountains.

A freak snowstorm prevented the first organizational meeting that November, so Cowgill tried again the following month. And so it was that at Hutchs Pool on Dec. 14, 1958, a hiking club was born.

As Cowgill described it in Tucson Trails two weeks later: The club doesnt have a name yet, it doesnt have a written constitution, it doesnt have a membership list; in fact about the only thing the club has is a desire to go hiking.

So thats what they did. On Dec. 28, 1958, he and his 11 fellow charter members met at 9 a.m. and climbed Wasson Peak, the highest point in the Tucson Mountains.

In the more than six decades since, SAHC has grown into one of the largest and now oldest clubs of its kind in Arizona  and maybe anywhere else.

Im happy and proud to be the founder of the club, Cowgill, age 93, told the Star in 2018, on the occasion of SAHCs 60th anniversary. Its a good outfit.

He died a few months later in March of 2019, but his legacy lives on  not just with the club but in the maps, guidebooks and actual trails people still use to explore the outdoors.

Over the years, Cowgill and other SAHC members published full-color topographic trail maps for the Catalina, Rincon, Santa Rita and Chiricahua mountains

In 1975, he and fellow charter member Eber Glendening published "The Santa Catalina Mountains: A Guide to the Trails and Routes," an essential, pocket-sized manual now on its fourth edition.

Zokhrouf said there are a number of trails around Tucson that were built, improved and even named by club members, including one along the east side of Bear Canyon in the Catalinas.

The club has been around so long now that a few of the routes established by members arent hiked anymore because people dont know about them, she said.

Hiking community

Newly elected club president Tamara Derickson said the current membership stands at 811, down from a pre-pandemic peak of well over 2,000.

Members range in age from their late 20s to their late 80s, but retirees make up the largest block.

More experienced hikers serve as guides, a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of the nonprofit volunteer group.

The calendar on the SAHC website features at least one hike almost every day. On particularly busy dates, members can choose from as many as six separate outings, from walking on a sidewalk all the way to hiking mountain peaks, Derickson said.

Club members also venture out of state and occasionally overseas to tackle national parks and mountain ranges far from Tucson. Debolt said several such trips take place each year, with as many as 60 people participating at a time.

Derickson is a relative newcomer. She joined about two years ago, shortly after she moved to Tucson.

I didnt know the area, and I didnt know much about hiking, she said. The club means a lot to me. Its been a really good community.

Nancy Debolt didnt have much hiking experience, either, when she joined SAHC about 13 years ago, after she retired.

Since then, I have seen more of Southern Arizona and more of the whole state than I ever thought I would, said Debolt, who now serves as the clubs new member and orientation chairwoman.

She is one of about a dozen club members who have completed every section of the Arizona Trail, which stretches 800 miles across the state from Mexico to Utah.

The accomplishment earned her an award from SAHC, which also recognizes members for such feats as finishing every trail in a given mountain range or conquering a certain number of peaks or canyons.

Our founders were really into bagging peaks, Debolt said. It kind of gets in your blood once you get started.

Her own trail

Zokhrouf can certainly vouch for that.

She grew up in New York State, where the outdoors called to her at a young age. We played in the woods. We didnt call it hiking, she said.

Zokhrouf moved to Tucson in 1984 and officially hit the trail for the first time with a guy she was dating. The relationship didnt stick, but the hiking did.

Inspired  and, in some cases, joined  by her fellow club members, Zokhrouf went on to climb 13 of the 17 highest peaks in the U.S. and stand atop the highest points in 45 of the 50 states.

She also served on the SAHC board of directors and, in 1992, authored its first comprehensive list of canyons across the region. She hasnt hiked them all, she said, but shes hiked a lot of them.

Zokhrouf insists she has slowed down a bit since she turned 80. Of course, her version of slow is different from other peoples.

Photos: Southern Arizona hiking club, through the years Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 1999 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 1996 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 1996 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 1995 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 1996 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 1997 Pete Cowgill, 2018 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 2001 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 2005 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 2005 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 2008 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 2023 Southern Arizona Hiking Club, 2023

She still hikes twice a week or so. Most Wednesdays, she leads an off-trail bushwhacking group, though she skipped her most recent outing so she could join another guides hike in Sabino Canyon. The trek covered 9 miles with 1,100 feet of elevation gain, just another walk in the park for her.

Joining the Southern Arizona Hiking Club was the best thing that ever happened to me, Zokhrouf said. I found my passion.
Tucson Unified School Districts security chief says his armed officers haven't withdrawn their guns at any incidents; that the number of officers and monitors at middle and high schools is adequate; that social media continues to be a safety issue; and that buying cameras for schools with recently-approved bond money is a priority.

Security director Joseph Hallums, in an interview Friday with the Arizona Daily Star, said the districts armed security officers are trained to use their weapons to defend themselves.

His department is treated like any other private security team, under Arizona law, Hallums explained. The school superintendent has the authority to allow the individuals to carry weapons, he added.

TUSD's armed staff includes 10 school safety officers  one per high school  who help keep an eye on TUSDs campuses.

They work in tandem with unarmed school monitors throughout the district. School monitors are not hired under Safety and Securitys umbrella, but by the schools themselves.

The two high school campuses with the fewest safety staff members (school security officers and monitors) are Pueblo High School (one staff member for every 289.2 students) and Cholla High School (one staff member for every 281 students), Hallums recently reported to a TUSD budget committee.

The principals of Pueblo, 3500 S. 12th Ave., and Cholla, 2001 W. Starr Pass Blvd., weren't available for interviews, a TUSD spokeswoman said.

Part of the variance is because individual schools are charged with hiring monitors and determining how many, based on school finances and need, Hallums told the Star.

Additionally, a campuss footprint must be considered. Hallums used Santa Rita High School, 3951 S. Pantano Road, as an example.

TUSD high schools safety and security staff Campus Monitors/Security Officers Student Population Ratio (Safety Staff:Students) Catalina High School 4 613 1:153.25 Cholla High School 6 1686 1:281.0 Palo Verde High Magnet School 4.5 692 1:153.8 Pueblo High School 6 1789 1:298.2 Rincon/University High School 9.75 1327 1:136.1 Sabino High School 4 865 1:216.3 Sahuaro High School 5 1396 1:279.2 Santa Rita High School 4 347 1:86.8 Tucson High Magnet School 11 3061 1:278.3 Source: Data from TUSD Budget Advisory Committee meeting, Nov. 30.

You don't necessarily have a significant student population, but you still have that large footprint of an entire high school that needs to be supervised.

Santa Rita is TUSDs high school campus with the closest margin of campus safety staff-to-student ratio, with one safety staff member for every 86.8 students.

Often, the monitors hail from the school neighborhoods, making them more connected with students and families, Hallums said.

He called them the eyes and ears in TUSDs hallways.

Their role is to not necessarily get directly involved in anything, but they can provide those eyes and ears to keep a pulse and provide us with information, being that reporting mechanism between not only school safety, but also the administration.

TUSD middle schools monitor staffing School Safety/Security Staff (FTE) Student Population Ratio (Safety Staff:Students Booth-Fickett Math/Science Magnet School 6.625 368 1:55.5 Borman K-8 School 2 461 1:230.5 C.E. Rose K-8 School 1.9988 769 1:384.7 Dietz K-8 School 2.25 351 1:156.0 Drachman Montessori Magnet School 1.5 312 1:208.0 Hollinger K-8 School 2 606 1:303.0 Lawrence 3-8 School 3 257 1:85.7 Mary Belle McCorkle Academy of Excellence 4.75 1065 1:224.2 Miles Exploratory Learning Center 1.5 298 1:198.7 Morgan Maxwell K-8 School 2.5 372 1:148.8 Pueblo Gardens K-8 School 1.75 334 1:190.9 Roberts/Naylor K-8 School 1.625 622 1:382.8 Robins K-8 School 2.25 481 1:213.8 Roskruge Bilingual Middle Magnet School (K-8) 4.25 573 1:134.8 Stafford K-8 4 372 1:93.0 Alice Vail Middle School 3 582 1:194.0 Dodge Traditional Magnet Middle School 2 411 1:205.5 Doolen Middle School 3 490 1:163.3 Gridley Middle School 3 516 1:172.0 Magee Middle School 3 303 1:172.0 Mansfeld Middle Magnet School 3 832 1:277.3 Pistor Middle School 4 640 1:160.0 Secrist Middle School 3 254 1:84.7 Utterback Middle School of the Arts 0 232 - Valencia Middle School 3 584 1:194.7 Wakefield Middle School 2 268 1:134.0 Source: Data from TUSD Budget Advisory Committee meeting, Nov. 30. Some monitor positions are unfilled.

Amy Klinger, a national school safety and school crisis response expert, said having those connections is important.

"There can be a silo of the people dealing with it in the hallway, and all the others that could be doing something to fix it or determine the larger issues," said Klinger, co-founder of The Educators School Safety Network and a professor at Ashland University in Ohio. "It's really a question of if you want to fix the problem and prevent the problem, or you just want to always be reacting."

There are no priority campuses within TUSD, Hallums said.

Theres prioritization as far as what we're implementing across the district, but I wouldn't say we have specific schools, although there are some that have just seen more wear and tear on their schools that I would like to get to first.

The district's governing board granted $2.5 million to the safety and security department in 2022. Hallums said the priorities of that funding have been taken care of.

Those had to do with installation, additional security cameras and security (glass) film, which is a good thing to have, especially around entry doors, Hallums said, adding that improving access control was also a priority, specifically departing from physical keys.

Safety and security efforts will be getting additional funding through the TUSD bond package approved by voters in November.

Some of that funding will go towards security cameras, which Hallums called force multipliers.

Being a 24/7 operation, we can't cover 220 square miles in 87 schools with two or three people that we have on at night, Hallums said. Allowing the cameras to be able to do that will be huge help to keep our physical infrastructure safe.

Physical borders around schools are important, too, as shown in early November, when a 44-year-old man tried to gain entrance into Anna Henry Elementary School, 650 N. Igo Way.

According to reports, the school went into immediate lockdown, as did nearby Sahuaro High School.

The man, who claimed to have an explosive device, was arrested on suspicion of felonies including interfering with an educational institution and making a terrorist threat.

Still, Hallums said social media is one of the districts biggest threats.

It's difficult to navigate from the security side of things, because there's so much anonymity, there's so many ways that people can hide and the sheer volume that there is on social media, he said.

Hallums called current efforts purely responsive.

Again, tracking down the individuals that are actually responsible for posting certain things or threatening our schools is difficult to track.

In September, multiple fights broke out and Tucson police were called to Tucson High Magnet School, 400 N. Second Ave., spurred by social media posts alleging a student brought a weapon to school. The Tucson Police Department later determined the social media threat was unfounded.

The melee resulted in six students arrests. One monitor was injured.

Would more security staff members  including monitors  be helpful?

Of course we would love to have more personnel, Hallums said. But anybody that works around me will hear me say any dollar that we spend comes out of the classroom. I always have that calculus in my head.
BARC Animal Shelter remains one of several locations in Houston that offers pet adoptions. For those looking to gift pets this holiday season, PETA and the ASPCA recommend choosing a shelter, rescue or responsible breeder as a place to start. Karen Warren/Staff photographer

Houston area animal control officials are warning holiday shoppers against giving animals as gifts, even as animal shelters across the country are overflowing with pets.

We dont recommend gifting an animal during the holidays, said Eddie Miranda, Harris County Public Health spokesperson.

Harris County Public Health oversees Harris County Pets, which takes in between 20 to 60 animals a day, or about 16,000 a year.

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As an alternative, Miranda suggests finding a shelter that offers a gift certificate to pay for adoption fees instead. He said that when thinking about buying an animal as a gift, match potential between the animal and the giftee is important.

The person that youre gifting would select that animal if they choose to do so at their own discretion, he said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says even though animals look good under the Christmas tree that doesnt mean itll be a good holiday gift for someone else.

Caring for animals is an enormous responsibility, and they should never be carelessly given as gifts to anyone, PETA officials said in a statement. Many people who receive animals as gifts find that theyre unable to make the lifelong commitment to caring for their new animal companion, no matter how much theyd like to make it work.

With a 10 to 20-year financial commitment, PETA says gifting a pet may also mean gifting debt. Its why they say its imperative to know if the person will be able to make space and time for the pet along with the financial responsibility it will comes with.

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Costs can add up quickly, not only for food but also for vet visits and emergency care when the dog swallows a sock or the cat takes a few bites from a toxic houseplant, PETA said.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals only advises giving a pet to those who have expressed interest in owning and can take care of it. Additionally, the organization urges those interested in pets to seek out animal shelters, rescues or responsible breeders to find a match. The ASPCA insists age plays a major part in the gift-giving process as well.

If the recipient is under 12 years old, the childs parents should be ready and eager to assume care for the animal, the ASPCA said in a statement. If the gift is a surprise, the gift-giver should be aware of the recipients lifestyle and scheduleenough to know that the recipient has the time and means be a responsible owner.

With the holidays being one of the busiest times of the year, the ASPCA encourages spending ample time with the new addition to the family.

The recipients schedule should also be free enough to spend necessary time to help assure an easy transition into the home, ASPCA officials wrote in a statement. This is especially important during the holidays..."
Tucsons favorite annual holiday tradition, the Winterhaven Festival of Lights, returns for its 74th year this weekend.

The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 in the Winterhaven neighborhood near East Fort Lowell and North Country Club roads. The festival runs from 6 to 10 p.m. every day through Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

The annual light festival is free to walk through, but visitors are encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. There will be donation boxes near each of the neighborhoods four entrances, according to the festivals website.

In 2022, the Tucson community donated $57,336 and 42,016 pounds of food to the Food Bank during the Festival of Lights, according to the festivals website.

A new element at the festival this year is Silent Adventures  a silent-disco-meets-flash-mob tour where attendees can sing and dance to a festive playlist through the streets of Winterhaven in a 40-minute tour led by talented guides, according to their website.

But what about the hayrides, trolley tours and party bikes? Dont fret  those are still transportation options available for an additional cost. However, unlike previous years, there will not be a drive-thru night at this years festival.

Hayride prices range from $13 to $21 per person, depending on the day and time. Discounts are also available (most nights) for those who donate food to the food bank, according to Winterhaven Rides website.

Trolley tour tickets range from $16 to $20 per person ages 13 and older and $12 to $15 for children ages 5 to 12, according to the Winterhaven Trolley Tours Facebook page. Ticket prices vary depending on the week, with higher ticket prices implemented after Dec. 15.

A ride on one of the Arizona Party Bikes will cost you $22 per seat or if you want to rent out the whole bike for you and 13 other friends or family members, it will cost $330, according to Arizona Party Bikes website.

Reservations are encouraged for hayrides, trolley tours and party bikes.

For a list of frequently asked questions regarding this years event or a map of the Winterhaven neighborhood, check out the Winterhaven Festival of Lights website.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

I grappled with the timing as I sat down to write this piece. Is it appropriate to discuss digital literacy as a human right amid the backdrop of global conflicts and egregious human rights violations in the Middle East and other parts of the world? But as I reflect on the complex and nuanced fabric of our society, I realize that we must be adept at addressing multiple critical issues simultaneously. Looking at the more than 2.3 million men and women incarcerated in the U.S. and the 700,000 released annually into a world they are ill-prepared for, Im convinced that this topic not only deserves attention but demands it.

Digital literacy might sound like a high-tech term, but in reality, its as basic as knowing how to navigate a smartphone or send an email. Its about connecting in a world where almost everything happens online. This skill is a lifeline for those of us reentering society from prison. Its not just about being tech-savvy; its about having the key to unlock doors to a new life. When this key is withheld from the incarcerated because its viewed as a privilege, its not just a missed step; its a serious violation of human rights.

With joblessness the No. 1 predictor of recidivism, the recidivism rates in Arizona and nationally  36.3% and 68%, respectively  speak volumes about a system that falls short in preparing its returning citizens for success. This failure becomes more evident when we consider the evolving job market. Analysis by the National Skills Coalition and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta indicates that 92% of jobs require digital skills. Even entry-level positions in many sectors now demand a basic understanding of digital tools.

The requirement only escalates as one looks at growth-oriented jobs, which increasingly rely on more advanced digital competencies. When individuals lack these skills, they are locked out of significant job market segments. This exclusion extends beyond just employment. It affects their ability to engage in essential day-to-day activities, from managing finances to accessing health care services to connecting with loved ones.

Viewing digital literacy as a privilege undermines the reality of our digital age. It is a right that should be accessible to all, especially to those already facing numerous reintegration barriers. Equipping the incarcerated and recently released with these skills gives them a fighting chance at employment and acknowledges their right to participate in and contribute to our society fully.

My story mirrors this struggle. After 25 years in an Arizona prison, re-entering society was daunting. Released on house arrest, I couldnt return to my pre-incarceration job in construction. Following my parole officers advice, I reached out to a renowned second-chance employer in Phoenix. Surprisingly, they offered me a position. My lack of basic digital skills  not knowing what Control-Alt-Delete meant  should have been a deal-breaker. In any other company, it would have been. Thankfully, the hiring manager, herself formerly incarcerated, chose to teach me from scratch, offering a vital bridge to a new start. However, such opportunities are scarce for the 699,999 others released annually.

A report from MIT Technology Review further highlights the dire need for Internet access in prisons as a tool for education and reintegration. This perspective is in line with the principles of digital inclusion, which advocate for equitable access to technology and digital literacy education. Such measures are key to opening doors to employment opportunities and enhancing societal engagement. To make this a reality, systematic change is necessary  a thorough revamp that acknowledges the indispensable role of digital skills in the modern process of reintegration.

As we observe Universal Human Rights Month, we must recognize that denying digital literacy and inclusion violates fundamental human rights. Its a call to action for policymakers, educators, and community leaders to prioritize digital literacy as a cornerstone of rehabilitation and reintegration efforts.

By addressing this critical need, we have the power to transform lives, reduce recidivism, and build a more equitable society. The time to act is now  not tomorrow, not for the next generation, but today. Ensuring digital literacy for all, particularly the most marginalized, is imperative. This isnt merely about fairness. It is a fundamental matter of human rights  a decisive step towards justice and equality for every individual.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Re: the Dec. 4 article Few employers try incentives to bring workers back of office.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips Associated Press article indicated that few employers are adding amenities to attract employees back to the office. Yet, many are mandating back-to-the-office work replacing work-from-home. The result is that many workers, especially Gen Zers, are refusing to comply with these mandates and are leaving companies that do not allow flex work or offer amenities to attract people back.

In Tucson, I live a ten- to twenty-minute drive from at least five world-class spas. None mandate people to come to them. The moment you walk into one of those places you feel relaxed, and ready to let go of any tensions you may have. They are designed to do so, from the shape of the buildings to the colors and textures on the walls and floors and furniture, to the air you breathe, and the calming sounds you hear, the lighting and beautiful views and access to nature.

So why cant organizations who want their office workers to return to work, create environments to attract employees to the office, rather than forcing them back?

Im not advocating that offices should be spas, but my over two decades of research with the U.S. General Services Administration, using wearable devices to measure the health, stress, and wellbeing impacts of workspaces in five federal buildings across the U.S., is providing a prescription for how to design workspaces to enhance both physical health and emotional wellbeing. We know from this research the precise sound levels that enhance physiological wellbeing; the precise humidity levels that reduce stress; the office layouts that most encourage movement during the day, reduce stress in the evening, enhance sleep quality at night, and reduce fatigue the next day; the precise light levels and time of light exposure (morning light) that improve sleep quality, help you fall asleep faster and leave you in a better mood the next day. If all this sounds like it is reminiscent of what a spa does, youre right. And the GSA is using this data to inform post-COVID re-entry into the office across the federal government.

Clean air and good ventilation are also essential to reduce spread of germs and allergens, but thats not enough. Workers will not be attracted back to a dark, noisy, high-walled cubicle farm, no matter how great the ventilation. Designing spaces to attract people back to those now only 30-40% occupied downtown office towers, will help head off the predicted downtown apocalypse when companies shrink their footprints while renewing their leases.

More importantly, it will help employees stay resilient. The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine has defined seven domains of integrative health. Theres resilience (reducing stress); movement; environment (green spaces, nature, clean air, light); relationships; nutrition; spirituality; and sleep. It may be hard to actively remind yourself to engage in these practices on a daily basis. But if your workspace helps you passively engage in integrative health practices, it could be your new gym  or spa, if designed right.

Americans spend an estimated 90% of their time indoors, much of that in their workplaces. We can and should design and operate workspaces, as the spas do, to support all seven domains of integrative health. The guidelines that we and others have identified through our wearables research provides a roadmap for wellbeing workspaces that enhance movement and relationships, offer spaces for mini-meditation breaks, provide acoustic solutions to optimize sound levels to reduce stress, optimize lighting to improve nighttime sleep quality and humidity levels to reduce stress and protect from infection, and offer healthy food choices at work. Importantly these spaces must be designed with the individual in mind.

Intentionally designing to optimize wellbeing will both attract people back to those half empty shared workplaces and help keep workers happier, healthier, and more resilient.
A man is dead after he was struck by a vehicle while trying to help divert traffic around a crash Friday morning, the Tulsa Police Department reports.

Officers were responding to an injury crash around 4 a.m. at the intersection of East Pine Street and North Mingo Road, TPD reported in a social media post. A short time later, the call was updated to include a man being struck by a vehicle.

Police learned that a car leaving a business parking lot crashed with a car heading northbound on Mingo just north of Pine.

According to police, a man walked out onto the road and attempted to direct traffic around the collision when a car heading southbound struck him.

Tulsa Fire Department started life-saving measures, but the man died after arriving at a hospital.

Police say the driver of the vehicle that struck the man stayed on scene and cooperated with investigators. No charges are expected to be filed at this time.

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Coverage of State Superintendent Ryan Walters

Oklahomans first elected State Superintendent Ryan Walters in 2022.

He previously served as the state's education secretary; appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in September 2020.

Before then, Walters was CEO of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma and spent eight years as a high school history teacher in his hometown of McAlester. The Oklahoma State Department of Education named Walters as an Oklahoma Teacher of the Year finalist in 2016.

Walters also taught AP U.S. history at Millwood High School and McAlester High School in a pilot course through the Oklahoma Supplemental Online Course Program; and served as the executive director of Oklahoma Achieves, an education initiative of the State Chamber of Oklahoma.

The following is coverage of the superintendent by the Tulsa World newsroom. To send a news tip, contact Staff Writer Andrea Eger at andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com.
To extend compassion to the children at Children's Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City during the Christmas season, the Institute for Cultural Exchange with France, or Idecaf, on Saturday opened the 'Vide-Grenier Solidaire - Charity Old Goods Fair, which facilitated the buying, selling, and exchanging of used products that retain value.

Participation in the fair required renting a booth, with a fee of VND1 million (US$41.27). For students, a reduced fee of VND500,000 ($20.64) was applicable.

Customers visit and shop at a handmade goods stall. Photo: Minh Chau / Tuoi Tre News

The organizers assured that all the proceeds generated from booth registrations and donations placed in the charity box will be directly given to children facing challenging circumstances at the infirmary.

Around 20 booths were presented at the event, predominantly showcasing items such as clothing, stuffed animals, paintings, handbags, chocolate, cosmetics, and various other handmade or gently used items that remain in good condition.

The event drew attendees of various age groups, mostly from 17 to 30 years old. Furthermore, there was notable interest from the international community.

Dat, 26, the owner of the painting stall, said he had sold about four paintings.These paintings were drawn by university and high school students. Depending on the artists, 50-100 percent of profits will be donated to children at Children's Hospital 2. Photo: Minh Chau / Tuoi Tre News

Nguyen Dieu Huong, a 28-year-old stall owner, expressed her motivation for attending the event.

Upon discovering the organizers' announcement about the charitable gathering on Idecaf Facebook fanpage, she promptly secured a booth to contribute VND1 million ($41.27) to patients at Children's Hospital 2.

Furthermore, Huong affirmed her commitment to donate 100 percent of her proceeds from the event to support the children.

Linh, a fourth grader, helped her mother sell goods at the event.

In a commendable display of community spirit, she also invited a group of her classmates to join.

Linh (right) and her classmates come to the fair to help her mom. Photo: Minh Chau / Tuoi Tre News

I feel happy to be able to assist individuals of my age who are facing challenges, Linh smiled from ear to ear.

Truong, 21, a university student, enthusiastically shared his thoughts at the event where he just bought 5-6 items.

"The ambiance is vibrant, with everyone exuding friendliness. I found the event to be deeply meaningful and compassionate. We could benefit from more occasions like this," he said.

The event organizers will provide a comprehensive update on the total contributions made by participants.

The one-day event wrapped up at 5:00 pm on Saturday.

At the market, 10 optional teddy bears just cost VND100,000 ($4.13). Photo: Minh Chau / Tuoi Tre News

A little boy helps his mother look after the clothing counter. Photo: Minh Chau / Tuoi Tre News

Items at the event are priced affordably, attracting numerous shoppers. Photo: Minh Chau / Tuoi Tre News

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The number of searches for tourist attractions in Vietnam by international tourists during 2023 has shot up by nearly three times year on year, according to a recent report by digital travel platform Agoda.

Exactly, the searches for travel destinations in Vietnam in 2023 have soared by 298 percent from a year earlier, as shown in the 2023 Search Data Report issued by Agoda on Thursday.

The report shows the travel trends of international tourists to Vietnam, along with those of Vietnamese travelers who want to explore global destinations.

Vu Ngoc Lam, Agoda country director for Vietnam, commented that Vietnam has been becoming more and more attractive to international tourists, with the nation becoming ever more accessible.

This has been attributed partly to the countrys loosened visa policies, Lam said.

In addition, Vietnamese authorities have effectively promoted the nations images to international tourism markets, he added.

The top five countries with the most searches for Vietnamese destinations included South Korea, America, Japan, Thailand and Singapore.

According to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism for the first 11 months of 2023, the five above countries were all in the group of large markets that sent travelers to Vietnam in the same period.

Specifically, there were 3.2 million arrivals of travelers from South Korea to Vietnam during the said period, accounting for 28.5 percent, the highest rate in the total number of international visitors.

The next position went to China with 1.5 million visits, followed by Taiwan, the U.S. and Japan with 758,000, 658,000 and 527,000 visits, respectively.

Talking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, an Agoda representative said that there are always differences between the number of searches for a certain destination and the actual number of travelers who will actually visit it, due to various reasons.

For example, if customers search for South Koreas Seoul, but the related booking platform has no type of hotel they want, they may select another destination.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese tourists are also looking for overseas destinations to satisfy their passion for travel, with searches for international destinations skyrocketing by up to 45 percent, according to the report.

The top five searched international markets for Vietnamese travelers are Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.

Also according to the report, searches by Vietnamese travelers for domestic destinations also increased by 17 percent, with the top five searched attractions being Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, Da Nang, Hanoi and Da Lat.

Agoda, headquartered in Singapore, is a part of the U.S.-based Booking Holdings Inc., the world leader in online travel and related services.

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The Saigon Urban Street Fest has unfolded with a captivating array of contemporary circus, comedy, and free street dancing in front of the Saigon Central Post Office in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

The festival, officially launched on Friday morning, hosts various performances and street art activities daily from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm through Sunday.

Noteworthy performances included live music by the Whee! band and a moving art presentation by Felix Nguyen.

Each evening, the German dance group The Funky Monkeys collaborates with Vietnamese artists to deliver engaging performances that feature contemporary circus, comedy, and street dance in a harmonious fusion of cultures.

Children contribute to a collaborative painting at the Saigon Urban Street Fest in front of the Saigon Central Post Office in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, December 8, 2023. Photo: Supplied

Trang Duong, a representative of the organizing committee, highlighted the collaboration between the Goethe Institute in Ho Chi Minh City and the virtual art campus artLIVE in bringing the German artists to the Saigon Urban Street Fest.

The Funky Monkeys dance group spent over 20 days in Ho Chi Minh City practicing and collaborating with local artists for their performances.

Beyond the stage performances, the festival offers attendees the opportunity to engage in various street art activities.

Artist Thao Xeko created three works depicting Ho Chi Minh Citys architectural marks, street food culture, and various street art forms like graffiti, skateboarding, hip-hop, and circus.

Additionally, attendees can collectively contribute to a fourth work centered around the theme of Saigon Urban Street Fest.

Miss Peace Vietnam 2022 Tran Thi Ban Mai contributes to a collaborative painting at the Saigon Urban Street Fest in front of the Saigon Central Post Office in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, December 8, 2023. Photo: Supplied

In collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the organizers initiated the creation of the largest doodle about Ho Chi Minh City tourism in Vietnam.

This collaborative painting, assembled from 22 pieces measuring 2x1.5m each, showcases images and tourism values of Thu Duc City and the 21 districts of Ho Chi Minh City.

Participants have displayed their artistic talents in completing these paintings.

The events organizers anticipate recognizing the collaborative painting as a Vietnamese record during the closing ceremony of the Saigon Urban Street Fest, coinciding with the conclusion of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week 2023.

They also announced that a portion of the revenue generated from the festival would contribute to the Draw Your Dream fund, benefiting children across the country, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, ethnic minorities, and pediatric cancer patients facing financial difficulties.

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China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City: a resounding success forged by 15 years of joint efforts

Xinhua) 09:50, December 09, 2023

This aerial view taken on June 16, 2023 shows a view of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in north China's Tianjin Municipality. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

TIANJIN, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- In 2008, the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, the world's first eco-city jointly developed by two countries, began construction by the Bohai Sea.

Fifteen years on, the eco-city has flourished on what was once barren land, cultivating over 260 species of plants. This ecological miracle has been made possible through the joint efforts of China and Singapore.

On Thursday, the 15th China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Joint Steering Council Meeting was held in north China's Tianjin Municipality. The two countries agreed on further cooperation in promoting the green and low-carbon development of the eco-city.

Also on Thursday, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Green Innovation Park, a central part of the eco-city, was inaugurated, marking a new stage of development for the eco-city.

Chi Fenglong, one of the first technicians to work on the construction of the eco-city, now works and lives here. When he first arrived here 15 years ago, he was shocked by what he saw. "There was not a single tree, road, or building," Chi recalled.

"To build an eco-city here was not like cracking a hard nut, but more like cracking a really hard stone," Chi said, adding that the first challenge was to turn saline soil into plantable soil.

Through various efforts such as ecological restoration, water landscape reconstruction, and greening projects on saline soil, the eco-city began to take shape and prosper.

Chi has held on to his 17 notebooks, which record the change of salt content in the soil and the growth of various plants in detail. It took relentless efforts for the salt content to finally achieve the standard value needed for plant growth.

By 2021, 191 species of birds and 265 species of plants had been found in the eco-city and its surrounding areas.

"From a simple natural ecosystem to a complex ecosystem where human and nature coexist in harmony, the eco-city now provides a rich living space for different groups of animals and plants," said Mo Xunqiang, a scholar at the school of geography and environmental sciences of Tianjin Normal University.

Now, more than 150,000 people live in the eco-city and its construction has branched out into various avenues.

The eco-city is now home to many smart and green communities, where buildings are equipped with solar panels on the roof, solar-powered seats offer wireless charging, and supermarkets are equipped with energy-saving lamps in the shape of leaves.

Moreover, the Zero Energy Building ensures a guaranteed supply of energy, including heating and electricity, by solely relying on solar power. This impressive feat is representative of the green architecture of the eco-city.

"No matter how cold the weather is, the temperature and the humidity throughout the whole building remain constant," said He Rui, a staffer of Tianjin's Binhai branch of State Grid, one of the developers.

According to He, the building's production capacity of renewable energy is greater than or equal to its energy consumption, enabling it to achieve "zero energy consumption" without the need for any external energy input.

In addition, a real estate registration center with a construction area of 3,500 square meters has been turned into a zero-energy smart building, marking the first time such a building has been put into practical use in Tianjin.

The energy self-sufficiency rate of the building can reach 112 percent, which can save 172,000 kWh of electricity per year, reduce 329 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, and save more than 45 percent of energy compared to ordinary energy-saving buildings.

China and Singapore have also made efforts to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction, and explore new paths of green and low-carbon development for the eco-city.

The two countries jointly formulated an action plan for achieving the "dual carbon target" for the eco-city, explored a carbon reduction path in communities, factories and industrial parks, and carried out green electricity trading in the eco-city.

Thanks to smart technologies, as well as the utilization of solar, geothermal and wind energies, more green buildings have been erected in the eco-city and a growing number of green industries are prospering here.

According to the latest official data, the carbon emission intensity of the eco-city per unit of GDP is 145.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per million U.S. dollars, which is considered to be at an advanced level compared to other cities across the world.

After 15 years of development, the eco-city now covers a total area of 22 square kilometers, including a green area of 11 million square meters. The coastal waters have all achieved good water quality.

Wang Guoliang, director of the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City administrative committee, hails the prosperity of the eco-city as a unique path of green urban development.

"China and Singapore set the vision of building a sustainable city since the beginning of its construction by drawing on advanced concepts and technologies, and carrying out in-depth cooperation in planning and design, as well as environmental governance and urban construction," said Wang.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
The Galveston County Commissioners Court. Image via Google Maps. Google Maps

Galveston County is moving forward with its 2024 election using district maps that multiple courts have ruled violate the Voting Rights Act by denying Black and Latino voters an equal opportunity to participate in the political process.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Thursday overruled a district court judge who tried to enforce previous maps on the county while the case works its way through the legal circuit. The county will proceed barring a last-minute intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ive never seen anything like this before, said Mark Gaber, senior director for redistricting at the Campaign Legal Center, which represents one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

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MORE ON CASE: Galveston 2024 elections to move forward under old maps, judge rules

The maps dismantle the district represented by Commissioner Stephen Holmes, all but ensuring his defeat in 2024. Holmes, who is Black, represents the only district in the county in which a majority of residents are people of color.

Holmes did not respond to a request for comment by Friday afternoon.

We are pleased and encouraged that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 11-6 today to stay the District Courts order imposing Map 1 on Galveston County, County Judge Mark Henry said in a statement. The Fifth Circuit correctly decided that changing election maps too close to an election would confuse voters.

Gaber, however, argued that the circuit courts decision to install the new maps, days after Judge Jeffrey Brown ruled that the county should move forward with a map more closely resembling what the precincts looked like before redistricting, flies in the face of recent Supreme Court guidance.

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The Supreme Court for years has been telling courts not to issue conflicting late-breaking decisions in the middle of or on the precipice of an election deadline, he said.

What began as a simple lawsuit alleging the county violated the law by carving up the Commissioners Court precincts into four majority-white districts has since evolved into a complex series of rulings.

First, Brown, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in October ruled that the countys new maps violated the Voting Rights Act. The county appealed that decision to the 5th Circuit, which in November upheld Browns decision that the maps violated the law but broached the possibility of holding a special hearing, called an en banc hearing, to consider overturning precedent requiring the circuit court to make that finding.

The full court  comprising 17 circuit court judges  agreed to that hearing, but it isnt set until May, which is after the primary for the elections. Brown then intervened and ruled that the county should install maps keeping the precincts largely intact, but the 5th Circuit late Thursday issued a stay on the judges orders.

A majority of the Fifth Circuit agreed that the County is likely to prevail on our argument that the Voting Rights Act does not support the Plaintiffs coalition district theory, Henry said. We will do our duties to conduct the upcoming commissioners election under Map 2, which we voted to adopt almost two years ago as the elected representatives of the People of Galveston County."

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The issue at hand deals with how courts have traditionally interpreted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires districts to be drawn in such a way that they ensure minority groups can elect their preferred candidates, said Derek Muller, a professor of law and an expert in election law at the University of Notre Dame. Many courts have allowed claims under the section on behalf of a coalition of minority groups, as in the Galveston County case. But the 5th Circuit has now expressed a desire to revisit that precedent.
The European Union flag

The European Union will find a way to provide financial and military assistance to Ukraine, even if Hungarian PM Viktor Orban vetoes the planned allotment of EUR 50 billion ($55 billion), Reuters reported on Dec. 8.

Read also: Hungary calls for strategic debate on EUs policy towards Ukraine

According to an unnamed high-ranking official, EU country leaders will keep their promises.

"We know how existential it is; European leaders are responsible people - at least 26..., they will stick to their commitments," the source said.

The official mentioned that if Orban vetoes the pledged EUR 50 billion for Ukraine, which is intended to be delivered by 2027, the bloc could allocate a smaller amount of money over a shorter period, or the remaining 26 EU countries could continue their aid to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.

The official also suggested the possibility of reaching a compromise with Hungary, as happened in December of the previous year when the EU allocated EUR 18 billion to Ukraine. However, he added that many members within the bloc are disappointed by the Hungarian government's stance.

Read also: Orban opposing EU accession talks with Ukraine, calls EU membership plan 'poorly prepared'

"Across the board ..., the Hungarian hooligans are a problem when it comes to our policy vis-a-vis Russia's aggression against Ukraine," they added.

Read also: Dragon Capital boosts Ukraine's 2023 growth forecast despite Russian aggression

Previously, Hungary threatened to block the planned EUR 50 billion aid package to Ukraine. Orban also threatens to block EUR 500 million of planned military assistance and to veto the upcoming decision on starting accession talks for Kyiv to join the EU.

On Nov. 8, the European Commission recommended starting accession talks for Ukraine and Moldova to join the EU.

Read also: EU gives Hungary 900M to unblock 18B aid package for Ukraine

Afterward, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the European Union should not begin negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the bloc, stressing that this is Hungary's "clear position" on the matter.

Story continues

Ukraines National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) secretary Oleksiy Danilov later said that Ukraine is ready to make compromises with Hungary for EU membership.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
HA NOI  Motorcycle sales in Viet Nam have showed a modest increase in the recent quarter, however cumulative sales since the beginning of the year significantly decreased compared to the same period last year, according to the Viet Nam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM).

In the third quarter 2023, VAMM members including Honda, Piaggio, Suzuki, SYM and Yamaha Motor Vietnam were reported to sell a total of 610,635 motorcycles of all types, a 3.69 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter. However, members total sales in the first nine months of 2023 of nearly 1.84 million vehicles represented a 16 per cent decline compared to the same period last year.

Honda Vietnam, which holds more than 80 per cent of the motorcycle market share among VAMM members, experienced a decrease in sales as well. In October 2023, Honda Vietnam sold 180,881 motorcycles, reflecting a 25.7 per cent decrease compared to the same month last year. For the fiscal year 2024 (from April 2023 to March 2024), Honda Vietnam's total motorcycle sales reached 1,171,108 units, showing a year on year 12.9 per cent decrease.

It's important to note that the provided sales figures only represent VAMM members and do not reflect the entire Vietnamese motorcycle market. Other commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Kymco, Ducati, Kawasaki, BMW, Benelli, Harley Davidson, Triumph, Royal Enfield, Motorrad and Peugeot, as well as electric vehicle brands like VinFast, Selex Motor, Yadea and Dat Bike, are present in the market but their business results are not disclosed.

Industry experts attribute the decline in the Vietnamese motorcycle market to several factors. Firstly, there is a lack of completely new or breakthrough models, with most offerings upgraded or improved versions. This lack of novelty might not attract consumers. Additionally, the economic situation in Viet Nam is still challenging after the COVID-19 pandemic, leading consumers to tighten spending. Fluctuations in gasoline prices and concerns about environmental pollution are also driving some consumers to switch to electric vehicles.

Based on expert forecasts, it is unlikely that VAMM members will achieve sales of more than three million vehicles in 2023, as they did in 2022, due to economic factors and the increasing market share of electric vehicle products.

Trend of using green vehicles

According to the evaluation conducted by Vero, a brand communication consulting unit in ASEAN, Viet Nam has a thriving electric motorbike market. The country's high number of motorbikes on the streets has driven the continuous development of the electric motorbike industry. In recent years, electric motorbike sales in Viet Nam have grown by approximately 30 to 35 per cent, making Viet Nam the largest electric motorbike market in the ASEAN region and the second largest globally, only after China.

A report from motorcycledata.com suggests that due to increasing gasoline prices and growing environmental concerns among consumers, electric motorbike sales are expected to surpass those of gasoline motorbikes.

Data from Vero IQ indicates that the annual growth rate of users searching for electric motorbikes is 71 per cent (data from January 2019 to March 2023). This demonstrates that Vietnamese consumers are gradually recognising electric vehicles as environmentally friendly transportation options.

Apart from VinFast, a domestic car company that focuses on producing pure electric vehicles, Yadea, the largest electric motorbike manufacturer in the world based in China, invested US$100 million in an assembly factory in Bac Giang Province. The factory is expected to have a production capacity of two million electric motorbikes per year.

VinFast, in its report, recorded impressive revenue from electric motorbikes in the third quarter of 2023. They delivered 28,220 vehicles, a 177 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter and a 113 per cent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

Despite the growth of the electric motorbike market, joint ventures in Viet Nam have not fully transitioned to this type of green vehicle. Piaggio announced plans to introduce the Vespa Elettrica electric vehicle in 2018 but has not yet launched the product. Meanwhile, Honda Vietnam, on the other hand, collaborated with Vietnam Post to pilot delivery using the Honda Benly-e electric vehicle.

In 2022, Honda Vietnam registered for industrial design protection for the U-Go electric vehicle, but no experimental results or plans have been announced as of now. By the end 2022, Yamaha Motors Vietnam began selling the first electric motorbike model, Yamaha Neo's, and has not introduced any other electric motorbike models thus far.

The electric motorbike market in Viet Nnam is dominated by domestic companies such as VinFast, Dat Bike and Selex Motor, along with Yadea from China.  VNS
HA NOI  The plastic industry is currently experiencing a decline in revenue, but there are notable differences in business performance among enterprises.

BMP, NTP, AAA: Profit growth

Binh Minh Plastic Joint Stock Company (BMP) reported third quarter 2023 revenue of VN926 billion, down 38 per cent. However, profit after tax exceeded VN208 billion, an increase of more than 19 per cent.

In the first nine months of 2023, Binh Minh Plastics achieved a revenue of VN3.7 trillion, down 15.8 per cent, but their profit after tax reached VN784.1 billion, a remarkable 75 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. The profit exceeded the annual plan by 20 per cent (VN651 billion).

One of the key factors contributing to Binh Minh Plastics' improved profitability is the advantage they have in input materials. Nawaplastic Industries, a member of the SCG Group (Thailand) and owner of the Long Son Petrochemical Complex, is a shareholder of Binh Minh Plastics. This help the company import raw materials (petrochemical) at preferential prices from Nawaplastic Industries and maintain a stable supply. Binh Minh Plastic mainly utilises primary plastic pellets, including PVC, PP and HDPE, all derived from petrochemical.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company, the price of PVC continues to decline due to ample supply and low demand, which has helped Binh Minh Plastics maintain favourable profit margins. It is estimated that their profit for 2023 will reach VN1 trillion, indicating a 47.2 per cent increase compared to 2022.

Tien Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company (NTP) also experienced significant profit growth in the third quarter of 2023, thanks to a notable decrease in input prices. Despite a 6 per cent decrease in revenue to VN1.3 trillion, their profit after tax increased by 76.7 per cent during the same period, reaching VN148 billion.

In the first nine months of 2023, Tien Phong Plastic achieved revenue of over VN3.83 trillion, down 7.2 per cent, while profit after tax decreased by 3.8 per cent to VN394.7 billion.

For the year 2023, Tien Phong Plastic aims to achieve a revenue of VN5.88 trillion and a pre-tax profit of VN535 billion. As of the end of September, the company had accomplished 67 per cent of its revenue plan and nearly 87 per cent of its profit plan (reaching VN464.64 billion in nine months).

An Phat Xanh Plastic Joint Stock Company (AAA) is another business that has achieved high profits through cost optimisation. In the third quarter of 2023, they recorded a profit after tax of VN103.5 billion, representing a 35 per cent increase compared to the same period.

This growth was attributed to increased revenue and reduced costs. However, over the first nine months of the year, the company experienced a decrease of more than 16 per cent in both revenue and profit after tax, reaching VN9.9 trillion and VN217 billion, respectively.

Pha Le Plastic Technology and Production Joint Stock Company (PLP) achieved a 25.3 per cent growth in revenue and a remarkable 149 per cent increase in profit after tax, amounting to VN443 billion and VN7.8 billion, respectively. Their profit surged due to tight operating cost control. However, the consolidated profit decreased by more than 30 per cent from the same period.

Despite the challenges faced by the plastic industry, these companies have implemented various strategies such as cost optimisation and favourable input material prices to achieve profit growth.

DAG, DPC, TPC: Losses

The challenging economic situation, especially in the real estate market, has also had a negative impact on the financial performance of various plastic enterprises.

For instance, ong A Plastic Group Joint Stock Company (DAG) incurred losses primarily due to raw material factors. In the third quarter of 2023, the company generated revenue of only VN3.7 billion, resulting in a negative profit after tax of VN3.9 billion.

Over the first nine months of the year, their revenue amounted to VN17.2 billion, reflecting a decline of 38.3 per cent, with a negative profit after tax of VN144.5 billion. The consolidated business results were even worse, with a loss of VN16.2 billion in the third quarter and a cumulative 9-month loss of VN181.9 billion.

ong A explained that the company's main domestically sourced raw materials experienced price increases during the same period, leading to higher costs compared to achieved sales revenue. Additionally, the company faced significant increases in other expenses, including late tax payments and fines. Despite the decrease in revenue, they still had to cover factory operating costs, business management costs, depreciation costs, and production and business activity expenses.

Similarly, Tan ai Hung Plastic Joint Stock Company (TPC) incurred a loss of VN51 billion in the first nine months of 2023. The company's leaders attributed this loss to a decrease in sales volume, resulting in reduced revenue. Furthermore, despite the decrease in sales, interest expenses and business management costs remained unchanged, contributing to the overall losses.

a Nang Plastic Joint Stock Company (DPC) made efforts to boost sales activities and develop business plans for market expansion. This helped them achieve a VN6.3 billion revenue in the third quarter of 2023, a 25 per cent increase compared to the same period.

However, due to the increase in cost prices, as well as sales and business management expenses, the company incurred a loss of VN1.3 billion in the third quarter, with a cumulative loss of VN3.6 billion over nine months.  VNS
Hana Ikramuddin is a Hearst Fellow for the Houston Chronicle.

Raised in the Twin Cities, Hana majored in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

She has held internships with the Star Tribune, APM Reports and Sahan Journal. In her free time, she loves to cook, make chai and take care of her houseplants.
HCM CITY  More measures are needed to encourage and improve market access for domestic enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that account for 97 per cent of the country's total businesses, experts said at a seminar entitled "The ASEAN Market: From Initiative to Action" in HCM City on Friday.

At the seminar, which was jointly organised by the Enterprise Development Department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the attendees said that these measures are aimed for breakthroughs in the upcoming period, especially as the majority of exported goods come from foreign companies operating in Viet Nam.

Nguyen uc Trung, deputy director of the Enterprise Development Department, commented: "Economic integration in general and ASEAN co-operation in particular bring many economic development opportunities.

However, Trung said, these results do not fully reflect the potential for trade development among ASEAN countries.

At the same time, Viet Nam's SMEs face many challenges in harnessing these opportunities," Trung said.

Concurring with Trung, participants at the seminar revealed that ASEAN members have focused on big markets such as EU and the US.

The over 600-million-person ASEAN market has lagged behind, said Nguyen Huu Nam, deputy director of VCCI.

Nam suggested that companies should focus on ASEAN markets.

To tap the ASEAN market, Nam and other experts told the seminar that companies must study and implement digital transformation and net zero, as well as food hygiene.

SMEs should also co-operate with others to build up a community, they said.

Only 39 per cent of the ASEAN market has been exploited. Over 60 per cent has been untapped so the potential is big for Vietnamese enterprises, experts stressed.

At the seminar, over 100 delegates, including associations and business communities from Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries exchanged views on the prominent new opportunities in cross-border trade, particularly within ASEAN.

They highlighted the new opportunities in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and relevant free trade agreements.

Among these measures, the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA) is considered an important driving force to boost intra-ASEAN trade.

In recent years, Viet Nam has made significant progress in regional and international economic integration.

From 2010 to 2021, trade between Viet Nam and ASEAN has seen remarkable growth, with exports increasing from US$9.3 billion in 2010 to $29.1 billion in 2021.  VNS

At the "The ASEAN Market: From Initiative to Action" in HCM City on Friday, the Enterprise Development Department officially introduced the SME Information Gateway at https://business.gov.vn  an electronic information connection platform.The website provides information and support services to businesses through integrating information about enterprises, advisory networks, programmes, small and medium-sized enterprise support policies, business guidance, industry-specific research reports, market information, digital transformation programmes, innovation, business design feedback reception, and State-owned enterprise information disclosure. Individuals and organisations accessing the SME Information Gateway can utilise information and services for production and business activities, as well as connect and participate in global supply chains, expand markets on modern, convenient, and secure technology platforms.Meanwhile, the ASEAN Access portal at https://aseanaccess.com is the main business information portal in the ASEAN region, with over 3,100 registered small and medium-sized businesses and nearly 50 network partners and service providers.Sita Zimpel, Project Director at the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) who is responsible for developing these two portals, said key features on the ASEAN Access portal enable users to conveniently exchange information about the market, participate in business connection events, and access online training to support businesses in expanding their operations to regional and international markets.  VNS
HA NOI  The Paris Agreement requires a detailed breakdown of emissions inventory data in various sectors such as energy, agriculture, land use, forestry, waste management and industrial processes. Countries are gradually required to control at least 85 per cent of the total national emissions from sources within the scope of these sectors.

The determination of the inventory areas provides a basis for ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses to review and enhance existing databases to meet the demand for sector-specific greenhouse gas inventories.

Nguyen Tuan Quang, deputy director of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), stated that, according to the regulations in Government Decree 06/2022/N-CP on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the ozone layer, facilities listed in the inventory must establish and submit greenhouse gas inventory reports to competent authorities for assessment and emission monitoring.

Therefore, establishing and operating an online facility-level greenhouse gas inventory reporting system is crucial. This is also a significant challenge for Viet Nam due to limitations in awareness and technical capacity at facilities and local levels.

Viet Nam has strongly committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. MONRE has drafted a decision for the Prime Minister to issue an updated inventory of sectors and facilities required to conduct greenhouse gas inventories.

The total number of facilities listed in the updated inventory is 2,893 (an increase of 981 facilities, a 51.3 per cent increase compared to 2022), estimated to account for approximately 34.5 per cent of the total national greenhouse gas emissions. These are facilities with high greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors that need strict management of emissions, implementing emission reduction activities from now until 2030, playing a crucial role in achieving emission reduction targets set by the nation by 2030.

In the manufacturing and industry sector, there are 2,261 facilities, including power plants and industrial facilities with annual energy consumption of 1,000 TOE or more (an increase of 599 facilities compared to 2022).

In the transportation sector, there are 81 facilities, including freight transport businesses reviewed by the Ministry of Transport, proposed to be included in the inventory, with total annual energy consumption of 1,000 TOE or more (an increase of 11 facilities compared to 2022).

In the construction sector, there are 140 facilities, including cement production companies and commercial buildings with annual energy consumption of 1,000 TOE or more (an increase of 36 facilities compared to 2022).

In the resource and environment sector, there are 70 facilities processing solid waste with annual operating capacity of 65,000 tonnes or more (a decrease of six facilities compared to 2022).

The agriculture and rural development sector has 341 facilities operating in livestock farming with estimated annual greenhouse gas emissions of 3,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more.

MONRE stated that, currently, the agriculture and rural development sector of Viet Nam, especially the livestock farming sector, has recovered strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic, occupying an increasingly significant proportion of the total national greenhouse gas emissions. However, the inventory in Decision 01/2022/Q-TTg does not include these facilities in this sector.

To achieve the goal of managing greenhouse gas emissions for the entire economy, the addition of facilities in the agriculture and rural development sector to those required to conduct greenhouse gas inventories is appropriate.

The issuance of an updated inventory of sectors and facilities required to conduct greenhouse gas inventories by the Prime Minister is essential to implement the provisions of the Environmental Protection Law, and contribute to the effective implementation of the Party's resolutions, the State's policies on coping with climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also demonstrates the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in fulfilling international commitments on climate change.  VNS
HA NOI  Affirming that ethnic minorities are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese ethnic community, the Vietnamese Party and State always attach importance to ensuring political, economic and cultural rights and no discrimination against ethnic minorities, including the right to participate in the State political system, especially the countrys top legislature  the National Assembly (NA).

Viet Nam is home to 54 ethnic groups including 53 ethnic minority groups with more than 14 million people, accounting for 14.7 per cent of the countrys population.

The political rights to vote and to run for office are among the basic human rights recognised in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

In Viet Nam, the right to participate in elections and run for office is stipulated by the constitution as a basic right and obligation of citizens, including voters of 53 ethnic minorities.

The 1992 Constitution and the 2013 Constitution recognise equality before the law of all Vietnamese citizens, regardless of ethnic minority or majority, race or religion, and without discrimination, including the rights to vote and run for office.

During the elections for NA deputies and People's Councils at all levels, the State and the Viet Nam Fatherland Front have made efforts to ensure the proportion of voters, especially the proportion of National Assembly ethnic minority deputies.

The proportion of NA deputies who are ethnic minorities in recent tenures has always remained high, even higher than in People's Councils at all levels. Many officials from ethnic minority groups have held important positions in the country's leading agencies.

The principle of equality in the election of NA deputies and People's Council deputies has been applied in every stage of the candidacy and election process. Equality in elections is a principle that ensures objectivity and impartiality so that all citizens have the same ability to participate in elections, prohibiting any discrimination in any form.

This principle also requires a reasonable proportion of nominated officials to run for NA deputies, People's Council deputies at all levels, and the number of elected representatives in each locality.

Ethnic minority groups and women must have an appropriate proportion of representatives in the NA and People's Councils.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh expressed a special affection for the ethnic minority community. Right after the country gained independence, he wanted all ethnic minorities to have representatives in the National Assembly to represent their groups.

He said: "Kinh or Tho, Muong or Man, Gia Rai or Ede, Xo ang or Ba Na and other ethnic minorities, are all descendants of Viet Nam and brothers. We live and die together in any happy or miserable circumstance.

In the recent election terms, voter turnout in ethnic minority areas has been high. The role of ethnic minority representatives in the state apparatus and political organisations has been enhanced, demonstrating Viet Nams efforts in domestically applying the CERD convention and ensuring the political rights of all citizens, including ethnic minorities.

Nguyen Lam Thanh, deputy chairman of the NA's Council for Ethnic Affairs, said the proportion of ethnic NA deputies has increased significantly through the years, from 34 out 333 deputies (10.2 per cent) at the first term to 89 put of 499 deputies (17.8 per cent) in the 15th tenure between 2021 and 2026.

He said every NA tenure has had representatives from 28 to 32 ethnic groups. To date, a total of 52 out of 54 ethnic groups including the Kinh ethnic group, and 51 out of 53 ethnic minorities have had representatives in the NA throughout history.

Only two ethnic groups, O u (population under 1,000 people) and Ngai (population under 2,000) have not had any NA representative. Viet Nam has set the goal of having those two ethnic groups in the NA, he said.

The outcomes show that during recent years, Viet Nam has made various efforts to ensure political rights, including the right to vote and run for election for ethnic minorities, and ensure the appropriate rate of ethnic groups in the NA as well as People's Councils at all levels.

Encouraging ethnic minority engagement in politics

Thanh said quality of human resources among ethnic minorities in general is not high. They have not accessed many opportunities for employment at State agencies and political organisations, and as a result few candidates meet the criteria to run for election.

Barriers in social integration due to prejudices and cultural differences make ethnic minority people lack confidence. Some voters are not fully aware of their rights and obligations in elections, and the need for electing representatives at the top legislature.

Thanh pointed out that introducing personnel to elected positions and building high quality human resources are important steps to encourage the engagement of ethnic minority groups in the NA.

For officials who have potential, but have not yet met the standards of professional qualifications or political theory, training must be urgently provided but quality must be guaranteed. Ethnic minority officials need to be assigned to take on various important tasks at grassroots levels, he said.

He also emphasised the need to offer training to NA deputy candidates and improving capacity for ethnic minority NA deputies.

He also proposed the State to enforce more specific and appropriate policies to improve the quality of education, especially at high schools in ethnic minority areas.  VNS
HA NOI  Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received visiting Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in Ha Noi on December 8, expressing the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV)s readiness to enhance ties with political parties of Belarus.

The host leader appreciated the Belarusian Government and peoples assistance for Viet Nam throughout different periods in history, affirming that despite changes in the world, the two countries have still maintained their traditional relations and promoted cooperation in training human resources for Viet Nam.

"Viet Nams foreign policy is independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and multilateralisation and diversification of external relations," he stated, noting that the country always attaches importance to developing and consolidating relations with traditional friends, including Belarus, and progressive forces in the world.

The Party leader recalled the assistance that the former Soviet Union, including Belarus, gave to Viet Nam, asking the Belarusian Government to continue providing favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to live, study, and work in the country.

Highly valuing the outcomes of Golovchenkos talks and meetings with Vietnamese leaders, General Secretary Trong noted the progress in the two countries relations and expressed his belief that the PMs official visit would create a new impetus for the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation in the time ahead.

He also suggested some major orientations and measures for promoting bilateral ties to a new level, adding that the CPV is ready to foster cooperation with political parties of Belarus.

For his part, PM Golovchenko highlighted the Belarusian Government and peoples impression of General Secretary Trong when the Party leader visited his country in the past, and that they considered the General Secretary as a great friend of Belarus.

He informed his host about the outcomes of his talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and offered congratulations on Viet Nams enormous achievements gained over the past years.

He said he believed that under the leadership of the CPV, led by General Secretary Trong, the Vietnamese people would obtain even greater achievements in national construction and development.

Belarus always treasured the traditional friendship between the two countries and viewed Viet Nam as a leading partner in Southeast Asia, the PM affirmed, stressing that his country attaches importance to the cooperation between its political parties and the CPV, which is an important channel for stepping up the countries relations.

Sharing his hosts view on the strides in bilateral relations, Golovchenko agreed with the major measures that should be taken to develop substantive ties, including in trade.

At the meeting, General Secretary Trong presented the Belarusian PM with his book on the building and development of Viet Nams comprehensive and modern diplomacy with the characteristics of Vietnamese bamboo. VNA/VNS
BANGKOK - National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong inh Hue had a meeting with Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida in Bangkok on December 8 as part of his ongoing visit to Thailand.

The top legislator conveyed Vietnamese senior leaders regards to the Thai King and Queen, and briefed the host on the outcomes of his talks and meetings with President of the National Assembly and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate of Thailand, and the Thai Prime Minister.

Hue expressed his belief that under the reign of the King, the Thai parliament, Government and people would continue to reap greater achievements in national construction and development, enhancing the country's role in the region and the world.

He affirmed that Viet Nam always attached great importance to fostering the enhanced strategic partnership with Thailand, and hoped that the two countries would soon elevate their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time.

The King spoke highly of NA Chairman Hue's visit, and highlighted the close and long-standing relations between Thailand and Viet Nam and the need to continue strengthening bilateral ties.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn expressed his pleasure at the sound development of the Viet Nam-Thailand relations and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Thailand's House of Representatives and Viet Nam's National Assembly.

He recalled his good impression of Viet Nam during his visits in 1992 and 1997 as the Crown Prince of Thailand.

The King agreed with NA Chairman Hue's proposal that the King, the Royal Family and Government of Thailand continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Thailand to settle down, and supporting the development of Vietnamese culture and language in the country, including President Ho Chi Minh relic sites, Vietnamese pagodas, Viet Nam Town and Vietnamese study centres.

NA Chairman Hue highly valued the previous visits to Viet Nam by King Maha Vajiralongkorn as the Crown Prince, as well as trips by members of the Thai Royal Family, which contributed to fostering the friendship and all-round cooperation between the two countries.

The Vietnamese NA leader said he would tour Udon Thani Province and thanked Thailand for supporting the formation of the first Viet Nam Town in Thailand, which is also the first in the world.

On the occasion, NA Chairman Hue conveyed the invitation from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Vo Van Thuong to invite the Thai King to visit Viet Nam at an appropriate time.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue on December 8 also visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand.

Briefing the embassy's staff on the outcomes of his talks and meetings with Thai parliament's leaders, he said that the two sides agreed on many important orientations for the bilateral relations in the future.

NA Chairman Hue highlighted the growing Viet Nam-Thailand relationship with bright prospects.

Currently, Thailand was Viet Nam's second biggest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said, noting that the two sides were striving for $25 billion in bilateral trade in a more balanced direction. This was also a task of the embassy and especially the Vietnamese Trade Office, he stated.

He lauded the efforts by Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh as well as the embassy's staff in preparing for his visit.

He asked the embassy, together with other relevant agencies, to continue working hard to prepare for the elevation of the Viet Nam-Thailand ties in the future.

At the same time, the embassy should promote the similarities between the two nations to further bolster partnership between the two countries as well as cooperation in the Mekong sub-region, the NA leader said.  VNA/VNS
BEIJING  The strengthening of solidarity and friendship and the deepening of mutually-beneficial cooperation between China and Viet Nam is in the common interests of both sides and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Wang Wenbin has said.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping and his spouse will make a State visit to Viet Nam on December 12-13 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse, and President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse.

Speaking at a regular press conference in Beijing on December 7, Wang noted that right after the 20th National Congress of the CPC, CPV General Secretary Trong made a visit to China from October 30 to November 1 at the invitation of Xi.

During the visit, leaders of the two countries had an in-depth discussion on major orientations to promote the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Viet Nam and China, said the spokesperson.

This year had seen frequent high-level interactions, close exchanges between various ministries and localities, and deeper cooperation in various fields, which had brought benefits to the peoples of the two countries, he added.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI - The upcoming State visit to Viet Nam by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping from December 12 to 13 will contribute to deepening the bilateral cooperation framework for a long-term future of relationship between the two countries, said Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu.

In an interview granted to the press, Deputy FM Vu highlighted the development of the Viet Nam - China relations, saying that Viet Nam and China have many similarities as they share a border and are Communist party-led socialist countries. The two countries have traditional friendly relationship, so they value the relations with each other and determine the bilateral relations as the priority direction in each country's foreign relations.

Since the two nations established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership 15 years ago, the relationship between the two Parties and States had developed substantively, firmly and comprehensively across spheres, Vu said.

Political relations developed strongly, he said, adding that all-level meetings between leaders of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly and fatherland front agencies of the two countries had been regularly conducted.

Many visits of senior Vietnamese and Chinese leaders marked important milestones in the relationship between the two countries, including the historic visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong in October last year.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two sides has been further intensified, according to the official. China has been Viet Nam's largest trading partner for 20 consecutive years, and Viet Nam currently is China's biggest trading partner in ASEAN, and 4th largest trading partner in the world after the US, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

The two-way trade increased nine times to nearly US$180 billion in 2022 from $20 billion in 2008. Chinas investment in Viet Nam rose more than 10 times to $25 billion over the last 15 years. In 2023, China ranks fourth among countries and territories investing in Viet Nam.

People-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities of Viet Nam and China have recorded many practical results. So far, nearly 60 provinces and cities of Viet Nam have set up friendly and cooperative ties with Chinese localities. Socio-political organisations, and localities of both sides have established and periodically organised many cooperation mechanisms and programmes. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, China continuously led in the number of tourists to Viet Nam for many years.

The two sides have gained many achievements in building a shared land border of peace, friendship and cooperation, contributing to the socio-economic development of localities along the border.

The two countries have maintained negotiations and intensified collaboration to, together with parties involved, control disagreements and differences in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), thus contributing to ensuring peace and stability in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) and the region.

Regarding expectations on the Viet Nam visit by CPC General Secretary and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Deputy FM Vu said that this would be the first visit by the top leader of the Chinese Party and State to Viet Nam since the 20th CPC National Congress, and one year after the China visit by CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

"This visit, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Viet Nam and China, is expected to be a new milestone in the two countries' relations," he stated.

Deputy FM Vu underlined three major expectations of both sides in this visit.

Firstly, it is the expectation for a "new positioning" and "new level" of bilateral relations.

On the foundation of important achievements that the two sides have gained over the past 15 years, leaders of the two Parties and countries are expected to further deepen the bilateral cooperation framework for a long-term future of ties between the two countries in a sustainable and substantial and effective direction, contributing to peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

Secondly, substantial cooperation outcomes are also expected. Leaders of the two Parties and countries are expected to define major orientations and focus as well as specific measures to foster their collaboration in all fields, meeting the interest of both sides.

There will be likely a large number of documents signed in many fields, creating an important basis for agencies, localities, people and businesses to cooperate more effectively in the coming time.

Thirdly, it is the expectation about the spillover effect of the visit to all levels, sectors, and people of all walks of life. This visit, along with the visit of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong last year, is hoped to continue to create strong motivations and momentum for the two countries' sectors, localities and peoples to continue to maintain and develop their existing relationships, thereby building a solid and good social foundation for the development of bilateral relations.VNA/VNS
SEOUL  Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have signed an administrative deal on the implementation of a bilateral agreement on social insurance.

The deal was signed by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Nguyen Ba Hoan and Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination of the RoK's Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) in Sejong City on Friday.

The bilateral agreement on social insurance is expected to create favourable conditions for the flow of workers and protect the rights and interests related to social insurance of workers from both countries.

It aims to avoid double social insurance contributions paid by Vietnamese and Korean citizens working in each others country.

The agreement, which will take effect from January 1 next year, will facilitate information sharing between the two countries' enforcement agencies, helping to strengthen labour management in a more convenient and effective manner.

Hoan highly appreciated the cooperative relationship between Viet Nam and the RoK over the past 30 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties.

To promote their collaboration in the future, he suggested the two sides continue to coordinate closely in implementing the bilateral agreement on social insurance, improving the quality of labour management, sharing information and implementing policies to ensure benefits for workers of the two countries in line with the signed agreement.  VNS
BAC LIEU  Bac Lieu Province has developed agricultural production towards adapting to climate change and advanced farming techniques to improve production efficiency.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province has fresh, brackish and salt water areas and diversified natural conditions of geography, weather and soil, along with advantages for developing agriculture, especially organic agriculture.

Agricultural production is the provinces strength.

However, it is one of the deltas provinces which have been hardest hit by climate change, especially saltwater intrusion and rising sea levels.

The impact of climate change, such as saltwater intrusion and drought, has affected agricultural production, causing poor harvests and disease outbreaks.

To mitigate the impact, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has implemented various measures to assist farmers to cultivate crops and animals which suit with natural conditions of each locality.

It has researched and created new crop varieties which have high quality and adapt to natural challenges in each locality, such as saltwater intrusion, drought and flooding, and transferred them to farmers for cultivating.

It has develop advanced farming models such as Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VIetGAP), integrated pest management and methods such as three increases-three reductions, and one must-five reductions.

Under the one must-five reductions method, farmers must use certified seeds, and reduce seedlings, nitrogenous fertiliser, plant-protection chemicals, and irrigation and post-harvest losses.

Farmers are instructed on the method of direct seedling in growing rice instead of using the transplanting method.

Farmer Ngo Thanh Tu in Hong Dan Districts Ninh Thanh Loi Commune said: I see this direct seedling method saves time on sowing, and labour and production costs.

Using the direct seedling method, farmers enjoy many conveniences and can proactively manage water resources, fertilising, tending and harvesting, he said.

Farmers in the provinces coastal areas are implementing a shrimp-rice farming model in which they grow rice in the rainy season and breed shrimp in the dry season in the same field.

Local authorities have encouraged farmers to expand the model as it adapts to climate change and is environmental friendly because farmers use few chemicals in growing rice and breeding shrimp.

The provinces shrimp-rice farming has increased from 22,134ha in 2010 to 43,000ha last year.

Besides shrimp-rice farming, Bac Lieu is a leading province in developing high-tech shrimp breeding under an intensive farming method.

It has 25 companies and 830 households applying high-tech shrimp breeding on a total of 4,607ha, accounting for 3.26 per cent of the provinces total shrimp areas.

It has developed five high-tech aquaculture areas with a total of 3,900ha in Bac Lieu City, Hoa Binh and ong Hai districts.

It has applied high-tech and organic farming methods for 8,386ha of rice, 71ha of vegetables and 15ha of fruits.

More rice farmers in the province have rotated growing rice and other crops in the same field or switched completely to growing other high value crops to adapt to climate change.

In Phuoc Long Districts Vinh Phu ong Commune, farmers used to grow two rice crops a year. Under the encouragement of local authorities, they have switched to grow other crops such as corn, water melon and sponge gourd, and earn higher profits than growing rice.

Phan Van Thong in Vinh Phu ong Communes My 1 Hamlet said the profit of growing corn is three to four times that of growing rice.

He earns a profit of nearly VN70 million (US$2,900) from growing three corn crops a year on his 4,000sq.m field, he said.

Truong Thanh Tuyen, director of the Quyet Tien Cooperative in My 1 Hamlet, said the cooperative has assisted its 173 members to grow suitable crops, and they have good income.

The cooperative sells seeds and materials on credit to the members and collects payment after they sell their harvest, he said.

It has linked with traders in wholesale markets to secure stable outlet for the members, he said.

The members earn a profit of VN150 million ($6,200) per hectare a year from growing corn and other crops, he said.

The cooperatives glutinous corn has been recognised as a three-star product under the countrys One Commune  One Product programme.

To effectively restructure crop cultivation, the department has instructed localities to strengthen advocacy activities about restructuring and develop linkages among stakeholders in producing and selling agricultural produce to secure stable prices and outlet for farmers.

Luu Hoang Ly, director of the department, said production of agricultural produce that meets food safety and adapts to climate change is a necessary demand.

To develop farming models sustainably, construction and non-construction projects coping with climate change have to be implemented effectively, especially for zoning and selecting crops which are suitable with each locality's conditions, and there should be long-term orientation to secure stable outlets, he said.  VNS
Updated indictments came down Thursday in the 2017 killings of a mother and her infant daughter at a park on Tradinghouse Lake.

A McLennan County grand jury issued superseding indictments of Christopher Paul Weiss in the Nov. 5, 2017, shootings of Valarie Martinez and her infant daughter, Azariah Martinez.

Weiss has been held since Nov. 8, 2017, in McLennan County Jail on $1 million bond following his arrest in Temple.

The original charge of capital murder remains in place for Weiss, though only for the infant, said in court documents to be his daughter by Valarie Martinez. The grand jury on Thursday issued a first-degree felony murder indictment against Weiss in Martinezs killing.

Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Scott Wells, who took over the case in May after McLennan County DA Josh Tetens recused his office, got the updated indictments. At the time of the killings, Weiss was married to another woman, who since divorced him. Tetens recused his office because McLennan County Executive Assistant DA Michel Simer handled Weiss divorce when she and Tetens were in private practice together before Tetens election.

A Dallas County DAs spokesperson declined comment on the reason for the change in indictments, saying the office does not comment on pending cases.

At a status hearing in October before Judge Thomas West of Wacos 19th State District Court, Wells took the death penalty off the table, saying he would seek a sentence of life in prison without parole if the jury convicts Weiss of capital murder. West set the trial for the first week of April.

In Texas capital murder convictions, the only sentences the law allows are death or life in prison without possibility of parole. For a conviction on murder charged as a first-degree felony, the punishment range is five to 99 years or life in prison, and the convict could eventually be eligible to seek parole.
Kris Kolb, CEO and founder of Patriot Bolt and Fastener, and John King, owner and found of JK Welding, pose next to "Big Tex the Incredible Hex" Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Peter Warren/Staff Writer

Kris Kolb has nothing against the country of Slovenia.

But when Kolb, the CEO and founder of Patriot Bolt and Fastener in Humble, found out the world's largest hex nut was located in Komenda, Slovenia, he decided to dethrone the country of its crown.

"No better place to have that record in than Texas because everything's bigger in Texas," Kolb said.

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That vision came to fruition Friday when a small team placed a 16-foot-tall, 19-foot-wide hex nut nicknamed "Big Tex the Incredible Hex" on Patriot Bolt's property. The nut itself was crafted by JK Welding, a Houston based welding company.

It breaks the Slovenian hex nut's record, which is listed on the Guinness World Record website as 3.6 by 4.16 meters. That correlates to about 11.8 by 13.6 feet.

A verifier from Guinness World Records wasn't able to attend the event Friday. But Kolb said his team has the application in place and expects it to be officially recognized soon.

"We didn't want to do just a little bit bigger," Kolb said. "We might hold it for a little while."

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The hex nut, which weights about 8,500 pounds, is painted silver with "Patriot Bolt" scripted on the top part of the nut and "Made in Texas" on the bottom. The diameter of the opening is 10 feet. It is designed so, theoretically, if someone ever needed a hex nut of this size, it would be able to be used.

After deciding to break the record, Kolb reached out to JK Welding owner and founder John King to see if he'd be interested in taking on the project.

"I'm like, 'I'm your guy. You called the right number.'" King said. "We build all kinds of artistic art type pieces, and this is one of them. We're very proud of this."

King said he loves challenges, and has embraced doing other projects like this over the years. He highlighted the world's largest wind chimes, located in Abilene, and a 50-foot cross as two other projects that emphasize that.

He said it took his team more than 450 man hours over six weeks to finish.

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Eduardo Hinojosa, who works for JK Welding and attended Friday's installation, said it was satisfying to see the project turn out like it did.

"I've never been a part of anything of this magnitude." Hinojosa said. "This concept was pretty fun."

The installation took about two-plus hours Friday and was slowed down by windy conditions. The nut had to be removed from a truck bed, flipped from its side to standing up right and then moved by crane to its permanent location in front of the Patriot Bolt building.

King said it's rewarding to create something that can make "a footprint" in Houston.

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McLennan Community College trustees will interview candidates in February to fill the District 7 seat that Trustee Geneva Watley will leave this month.

Watley submitted her resignation to the board Wednesday, effective Dec. 31. She has served as District 7 representative since 2008.

The longtime MCC trustee gave no reason for her resignation in her two-sentence statement, saying "it has been a honor to serve on this board."

Board Chair Earl Stinnett Sr. said Watley had considered stepping down for more than a year, and he had tried to talk her out of it. He said she chose to wait until the board's newest members, Jonathan Hill and Ilda Sabido, had been on the board for awhile. Watley, a retired McGregor educator, could not be reached for comment.

MCC President Johnette McKown expressed sadness on Watley's decision to resign in a statement released Friday.

"She is possibly the nicest person I have ever known," McKown said. "Geneva cares about what is important. She cares about people and wants the best for everyone whether that might be our students, our employees, or our community. Her quiet but strong presence will be missing from the board table. She has been a friend to all of us."

Watley's current six-year term ends in May 2025, and MCC trustees intend to appoint someone to fill the seat until then.

Applications for the post can be downloaded from the college's website and can be submitted in person to the president's office after Jan. 2, or by email to Lindsey Vanek, lvanek@mclennan.edu, by the deadline of 5 p.m. Jan. 18, 2024. Trustees will interview applicants Feb. 12 with a vote for the new trustee at the board's Feb. 27 meeting.

To serve as a trustee, a person must be a qualified voter who has lived in Texas for at least a year and in District 7 for six months prior to the appointment.

Watley's district encompassed west McLennan County, including McGregor, Crawford, Eddy and parts of Hewitt. Stinnett said Watley had served as a mentor when he was new to the board, and she was known as an advocate for students.

"She really had a heart for the students," he said. "She had been an educator her whole life. Her primary goal was to make sure that students were taken care of and served well."

Watley's departure leaves Stinnett the trustee with the second-longest tenure, following K. Paul Holt, who has been on the board since 1999.

She is the third trustee with more than 20 years on the board to leave in the last four years. Bob Sheehy Jr. chose not to run for reelection in 2019, while Pauline Chavez did the same after her term ended in May 2023.
CEDAR FALLS  Its been a long and winding road spanning a half dozen years for the pending vision for revitalizing College Hill.

Attorney Eashaan Vajpeyi spoke Monday to the City Council on behalf of the Concerned Citizens of College Hill. Its a group of primarily landlords who he says control an estimated 700 bedrooms; current and former business owners; and others who dont like the way the Hill is and dont like the direction for revitalization.

He says his group, not part of the College Hill Partnership, opposes those pushing for what he argues will lead to College Hill becoming an under-parked congested area.

It seeks to put you and the next council in the impossible position of being seen as anti-College Hill if you dont adopt their entire slate of proposals, Vajpeyi contended about the proposed vision plan debated for months. He said if the vision plan is adopted, the new zoning will be a foregone conclusion.

Developer Brent Dahlstrom pushed back against those concerns in a telephone interview Friday. He is a supporter of form-based zoning, which would allow for higher residential density and little to no parking in a push for more walkable communities.

I think other communities have had great success with (form-based zoning) like Iowa City and Des Moines and other communities across the country, he said. Hes been involved in building and owns three prominent buildings in the Hill business district as well as at least five properties on College Street.

When you think about College Hill or Main Street, you think about places that we love because we can walk around, especially on College Hill, where the vast majority of those people that are up there or living up there are walking to and from college every day, said Dahlstrom.

He argues that all the buildings constructed on College Hill the last four decades came with very few, if any parking stalls.

How could you, its a dense area of buildings and thats what makes it special, right? he said. From his time as a student at the University of Northern Iowa, there isnt this great memory of having a great parking spot, theres a memory of walking around with your friends and enjoying the different places.

Dahlstrom noted respect for Vajpeyi but called him a paid lobbyist for landlords on College Hill who are concerned with competition coming their way and charged the group as being responsible for stopping the revitalization of College Hill.

Vajpeyi has said its a little bit of a coincidence that Dahlstrom and others properties have code violations that go uncited and nothings been built since a 2019 parking study backed the necessary parking requirements. He thinks theyre biding their time to see if they can get a better deal on the parking.

Is it correlation, causation, coincidence? I dont know but there just hasnt been a lot of development on the Hill recently, the attorney said. He pinpointed Dahlstrom as the person behind the first development on the Hill that was problematic with the parking and the second building proposed was him again.

Dahlstrom said he absolutely plans to construct that second building, which would have an L-shaped design with apartments and retail, in 2024 whether or not the zoning is overhauled. It was proposed in 2018 as taking up three properties: 2119 College St., 1003 W. 22nd St. and the former Gingers bar location at 922 W. 22nd St.

The first multi-use building was constructed in 2017. Urban Flats, 917 W. 23rd St. slipped through the cracks when Vajpeyi said staff decided that the building code allowed for dozens or hundreds of bedrooms to be built on top of a commercial space requiring zero parking.

This highlights a systemic problem existing in our citys government, a staff-driven government with too much autonomy and deference, said Vajpeyi. "City staff can present anything that will gain support from officials and other citizen decision makers because of an old unspoken adage around these chambers: If its okay with staff, its okay with me.

Amanda Huisman, a city spokesperson, pointed to past meetings when the process for the vision plan was described. The council approved a consultant for the process involving public input. It also discussed the plans area and identified priorities later adopted by resolution.

Following plan adoption, no action has been taken to revise zoning per the plans recommendations in this area, following the councils direction, she said.

The College Hill vision plan had been a constant source of debate leading up to the election after a process unfolded leading to form-based zoning in downtown.

The plan, in its conclusion, states the community vision will lay the foundation for tailoring the citys new form-based regulations specifically to implement the College Hill vision plan.

Vajpeyi said his group feared wholesale adoption of this plan. ... Form-based zoning would be rammed through as consistent with the visioning plan regardless of whether, in and of itself, it was the appropriate or correct solution to what ails the Hill.

The council previously adopted the plan. But, most recently, it was rescinded in a 4-3 vote, which was vetoed by Mayor Rob Green. The council then overrode his veto, action requiring a supermajority, in a 5-2 vote.

Councilmember Gil Schultz was the flip flop because he agreed with pushes for revitalization. But he wanted to reduce the plans scope to an area most people referred to as College Hill.

Three new members will take seats on the council in January and Danny Laudick will be sworn in as the new mayor. That may lead to the plan being brought back to the table for a vote.

A few of Gary Kelley's College Hill Arts Festival posters 100617bp-kelley-gary-01 gary-kelley-2018-chaf-poster 052418bp-CHAF-poster gary-kelley-chaf-poster gary kelley CHAF 2013.jpg CHAF 2020 kelley artwork .jpg
WATERLOO  After piloting the Waterloo Regional Airport for nine years, Keith Kaspari is ready for takeoff.

Hes been in the aviation industry for almost 35 years. His last day is Jan. 26.

Its been a thrill, it really has, and I cant believe how fast the time has gone, Kaspari said. Ive gotten to the point in my working life that I still want to work because I enjoy work but I want to do something a little bit different.

Even though he led the airport through one of the tumultuous times for airports during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said he is very proud of what he has done in less than a decade.

A lot of the airports infrastructure, both for planes and for passengers, has been improved, renovated or reconstructed.

For pilots and aircraft employees, the runways, taxiways and hangars have seen changes. Just finished this year is a $700,000 project for the pavements airplanes drive on. Although thats a big tab, Kaspari said the expensive pavement reconstruction is more cost effective in the long run than multiple repairs that would require more maintenance, resulting in more money spent.

The taxiways, or where aircraft move to go toward hangars and terminals without interfering with planes taking off or landing, now have LED lighting that will last longer and be more energy-efficient to save money for the city.

That project was funded from $2.2 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds from the state. The rest of that money, as well as funding from other state and federal grants, is going toward repaving part of the passenger parking lots and installing a canopy structure.

The last thing anybody looks forward to is brooming or sweeping snow from their car, Kaspari said. Hopefully this will take care of a lot of that.

Hes kept his passengers in mind during his tenure. Recently, the airport has added an X-ray machine to screen checked baggage instead of having Transportation Security Administration employees checking bags by hand. There is also a similar machine for carry-on luggage.

The computer screen shows a 3D image that TSA officers can use to identify items in the bag, resulting in fewer bag checks. The agency is required to screen all checked luggage for explosives and other security threats.

Youre going through the safest and, truly, most up to date technology that the TSA has for screening, Kaspari said. (That) provides that extra little benefit, that extra layer of security  and passenger confidence in flying from Waterloo.

Kaspari is also proud of the lack of financial headaches the airport causes for the city.

He said that along with the airport board and elected city officials, new rates and charges have allowed the airport to increase revenue for operations and maintenance and to remain financially self-sufficient.

Many small commercial service airports cannot make this claim, he said. Today, and since 1999, (Waterloo Regional Airport) is not and has not been a burden on the citys general fund.

One example Kaspari gave to prove this was that, when he started in 2014, the airport was $700,000 in debt to the city. As of the end of the most recent fiscal year, June 30, the airport needs to pay back $154,514. Kaspari said he believes that debt will be paid off in the next few years.

However, he does have some regrets as his employment wraps up. He wishes that he could have been able to provide another airline, a third daily flight or another destination than Chicago. He said the pandemic affected that dream. He said if American Airlines rebids for airport services in the spring, he hopes a flight could go to Dallas Fort Worth, the airlines headquarters.

I think Dallas service would be huge for the area, he said. But if it doesnt happen, it doesnt happen and well continue to march forward with service to Chicago.

Currently, the airport provides two daily departures to Chicago OHare through American Airlines.

In May, the airport will allow airlines to bid on how many flights they provide and to where. He said theres an opportunity for American Airlines, or another airline, to really bring their A game.

I think (the potential new services) would serve us well moving forward from a growth standpoint and to get our passengers where they need to be in a timely fashion, he said. It would allow us to regain the passenger and consumer confidence traveling from Waterloo.

Kaspari said the airport serves 14 counties and about 400,000 people per year.

As for the new airport director, which the city is currently looking for, he hopes they will continue to develop the airfield because theres still a lot of work to do.

Once Kaspari leaves, he said he isnt sure what he will do with his spare time. He could potentially work in the aviation sector but probably not airport management. He also hopes to pursue more volunteer work.

He plans to stay in the Cedar Valley with his wife, Donna, and his two basset hounds Mr. B and Sully.

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WATERLOO  LeChristopher's Southern Cuisine will host a lunch starting at noon on Sunday.

The meal will be served at the Jubilee United Methodist Church Freedom Center, 1621 E. Fourth St.

The menu consists of baked chicken, collards, yams, macaroni and cheese, beans, beef roast, salmon crochets, mashed potatoes and gravy and other treats and desserts.

The suggested donation is $20 for adults and $15 for children under 10.
Its starting already. People are expressing dislike when someone wishes them happy holidays. Somehow this phrase is interpreted as showing a lack of respect for Christmas or perhaps even Christians. Setting aside the fact that some people apparently enjoy getting upset, lets look at this more closely.

Dec. 25 is rapidly approaching. Our government has declared it a holiday, but thats not unusual since we have 11 federal holidays. It was so designated to commemorate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth over 2 millennia ago. He was an incredible person who made a huge impact on the direction of humanity and clearly deserves the recognition and honor. It is estimated there are about 210 million Christians in the United States out of a 330 million population, and they celebrate Dec. 25 as Christmas. To them it is a religious holiday.

But what about the other 120 million Americans who are not Christians? Dec. 25 could be a difficult day for them, especially if they practice other faiths. It may be especially problematic for those kids who may see their Christian friends celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday with gift giving and their family doesnt.

Thinking about it, we see that actually over time Dec. 25 has evolved into a day of celebration of two things: Commemoration of the birth of Jesus and also as a secular day recognizing Santa Claus and gift giving.

Our perception of Santa is heavily influenced by Clement Moores, A Visit from St. Nicholas and perhaps the Coca-Cola company. This is a wonderful poem about a jolly old elf called St. Nicholas who historically was celebrated as a great gift-giver. In the poem, he is giving gifts to apparently total strangers simply because he cares about people. It was his way of showing concern and love. What a neat idea.

Several points about the poem. First, nowhere in it does it refer to Santa Claus, just St. Nicholas. It seems Santa Claus evolved from Dutch traditions regarding Saint Nicholas, but as I said our perception of Santa came mostly from the poem. Second, while the poem refers to Christmas, it is mostly in the context of the day, not entirely as a religious holiday. The children are hopeful the gift giver would fill their stockings. No mention of Jesus or Christianity.

All of this provides an easy out for those of faiths other than Christianity. Instead of celebrating Dec. 25 as a religious holiday, they can justifiably celebrate it as a secular holiday commemorating a generous person who gave gifts to strangers to show they mattered and were cared about. Today, both Christians and other faiths celebrate the secular holiday somewhat in the spirit of St. Nicholas. We give presents to those we care about and think about all year long but choose Dec. 25 to show it.

So when someone says happy holidays it is not meant to belittle or minimize your beliefs. Its really a caring comment. It simply means no matter what you are celebrating, whether you its Dec. 25 as a religious holiday or in the spirit of St. Nicholas or Santa Claus or another faith or anything else, just enjoy the day.

So, merry Christmas, happy holidays, peace and love.
HARRISBURG, Pa.  The University of Pennsylvania's president resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school's conduct policy.

The chairman of the Ivy League school's board of trustees, Scott Bok, also resigned immediately during a trustees meeting Saturday evening, just hours after Bok announced Liz Magill's departure as president in just her second year.

Bok, a supporter of Magill's, defended her through several months of criticism over the university's handling of various perceived acts of antisemitism.

He called her a good person and talented leader who is not "the slightest bit antisemitic," but gave a legalistic and wooden response after being worn down by months of criticism and hours of questioning in the congressional hearing.

"Following that, it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit," Bok said in a statement also announcing his resignation.

The university said Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the university's Carey Law School. She agreed to keep serving as Penn's leader until the university names an interim president.

Calls for Magill's firing exploded after Tuesday's testimony in a U.S. House committee on antisemitism on college campuses, where she appeared with the presidents of Harvard University and MIT.

Universities across the U.S. have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide and fallout from Israel's intensifying war in Gaza, which faces heightened criticism for the mounting Palestinian death toll.

The three presidents were called before the committee to answer those accusations. Their lawyerly answers drew renewed blowback from opponents, focused particularly on questioning from Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who repeatedly asked whether "calling for the genocide of Jews" would violate Penn's code of conduct.

"If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, yes," Magill said. Pressed further, Magill told Stefanik, "It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman."

Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth gave similar responses, and Bok pointed that out.

Magill made a "very unfortunate misstep  consistent with that of two peer university leaders sitting alongside her  after five hours of aggressive questioning before a congressional committee," Bok said.

Criticism of Magill rained down from the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, members of Congress and donors. One donor, Ross Stevens, threatened to withdraw a $100 million gift because of the university's "stance on antisemitism on campus" unless Magill was replaced.

A day later, Magill addressed the criticism, saying in a video that she would consider a call for the genocide of Jewish people to be harassment or intimidation and that Penn's policies need to be "clarified and evaluated."

In a statement Saturday, Stefanik said Magill's "forced resignation" is the "bare minimum of what is required" and said Harvard and MIT should follow suit.

"One down. Two to go," Stefanik said, adding that "this is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most 'prestigious' higher education institutions in America."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said Magill's resignation allows Penn to "chart a new course in addressing antisemitism on campus."

Even before Tuesday's hearing, Magill was under fire from some donors and alumni this fall. Some also called for the resignation of Bok, who defended Magill amid criticism over the university's handling of perceived acts of antisemitism.

That included allowing a Palestinian literary arts festival to be held on its campus in September featuring speakers whose past statements about Israel drew accusations of antisemitism.

A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, Magill, 57, is the daughter of a retired federal judge and was dean of Stanford University's law school and a top administrator at the University of Virginia before Penn hired her as its ninth president last year.

Bok is chairman and CEO of investment bank Greenhill & Co.

Earlier Saturday, New York's Gov. Kathy Hochul called on that state's colleges and universities to swiftly address cases of antisemitism and what she described as any "calls for genocide" on campus.

In a letter to college and university presidents, she said her administration would enforce violations of the state's Human Rights Law and refer any violations of federal civil rights law to U.S. officials.

Hochul said chancellors of the State University of New York and City University of New York systems confirmed to her "that calling for genocide of any group" or tolerating antisemitism violates codes of conduct on their campuses "and would lead to swift disciplinary action."

A popular chant at pro-Palestinian rallies at Penn and other universities has been falsely misrepresented in recent months as a call for "Jewish genocide."

Experts and advocates say the chant, "Israel, we charge you with genocide," is a typical refrain heard at pro-Palestinian rallies. Jewish and Palestinian supporters both acknowledge protesters aren't saying "We want Jewish genocide."
For many busy people, researching each candidate isnt possible. The Houston Chronicle editorial board offers an alternative: informed candidate recommendations from nonpartisan journalists informed by facts, borne of careful analysis. This year, we're sharing what we're learning as we go about our research. The process for the mayoral endorsement started with written questionnaires and one-on-one interviews on video. Later on, we will meet with leading candidates in one room for the endorsement screening.



Here's how U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee responded to the questionnaire:

Why are you running?

I am running because I love Houston and want to bring my broad experience to help build its future. I will use the experience I gained at City Hall as an at-large council member working under two mayors, chaired many council committees successfully, served as a deputy agriculture commissioner for the State of Texas and as a municipal judge, and my 28 terms serving in Congress delivering results for Houston. I have impacted every bayou in the city of Houston providing flood mitigation federal funding. I have been a leader in securing federal housing dollars. As a member of the Homeland Security Committee I have been a leader in human and sex trafficking. And I have steered federal funds to the Houston Police Department and HISD for science and research projects. I am known for working hard and delivering results. I want to lead Houston into the future.

Tell us about yourself.

I am serving in my 28th year as the U.S. representative for Texas' 18th Congressional District. Before serving in Congress, I served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council which gave me first hand experience in City Hall under Mayors Kathy Whitmire and Bob Lanier.

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I was named by Congressional Quarterly as one of the 50 most effective Members of Congress and the U.S. News and World Report named me as one of the 10 most influential legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also, the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint initiative between the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, named me the second most effective Democrat in Congress during the 114th Congress, and the most effective Democrat in the Texas delegation during the 115th and 116th Congress.

What qualifies you to be mayor?

My years of experience working at the state, local and federal levels has offered me a much broader understanding of the inner workings of government and how these bodies work together for the greater good of the public. I am the only candidate running for mayor with this level of experience. As a member of the United States Congress and a senior member on the House Budget Committee that prepares a $6.5 trillion dollar budget every fiscal year, I understand the process of crafting budgets and negotiating the details. I have always been a consensus builder and that is why I have been successful in moving legislation through Congress no matter which party is in control.

As a former at-large member of the Houston City Council, I worked with mayors Kathy Whitmire and Bob Lanier and I understand the roles of the mayor and city council which is important when working on very complex projects and issues in city government and I also understand the roles of our department heads.

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Ive worked with five presidents from both parties to deliver for Houston: Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, and Clinton. That tradition of building consensus will not cease when I am your mayor. With revenue caps throwing a wrench in our cities financial ability to deliver on the basics, now more than ever we will need federal assistance to bridge the gap. We will deliver on our foundational responsibility to provide essential city services, regardless of neighborhood.

I will also be an ambassador for the city. My extensive relationships in corporate America and my relationships worldwide with foreign governments will play a significant role in luring new investments into the city of Houston. When I am mayor I will continue to work with the many consulates we are fortunate to have in the City of Houston and build upon those relationships for economic opportunities.

What sets you apart from other candidates?

I am married to Dr. Elwyn Lee and I am the proud mother of two outstanding children and grandmother of two lovely twin grandchildren. My daughter graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University and came back to Houston to work in public service and my son attended Morehouse and graduated from Harvard University, and he is a political consultant, helping progressives win races all across the country.

My broad experience at the local, state, and federal levels sets me apart from other candidates. It gives me a much broader perspective on how to leverage resources for our city.

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What is your proudest professional accomplishment?

I am proud to, after many years of celebrating Juneteenth as a state holiday, finally get this day of remembrance celebrated as a federal holiday through bipartisan legislation I authored. Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday nearly four decades ago. I also introduced and got passed the National Emancipation Trail Act working with Sen. John Cornyn in the Senate which will be the first trail of its kind in the United States. This trail will become an economic boost to our economy by telling the story of freedmen from Galveston to Houston.

What works in Houston and what doesnt?

I am very proud of the work of our first responders, both police and firefighters. They are diligent and hardworking men and women while every day we go about living our lives knowing that they will be there in the time of need. We must invest in them for their quality of life and the quality of life of this city by ensuring that they have the proper resources and manpower to continue their good work.

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Crime and improving public safety continues to be the number one concern for Houston residents. When I become mayor, addressing crime and ensuring the safety of our residents will be one of my top priorities. We must prioritize reinvestment in underserved communities and implement policies that address the underlying economic factors contributing to crime. I am committed to enhancing violence prevention and intervention programs while ensuring that our police department receives sufficient funding and resources to address the growing population and the persisting crime challenges faced here at home. My administration will take a comprehensive approach that focuses on both prevention and enforcement. This includes investing in community policing initiatives, expanding violence intervention programs, and improving collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and community organizations like our super neighborhoods.

Our permitting process must be streamlined and efficient so developers have a welcoming sign in the city of Houston. My administration will ensure that the office is properly staffed and that the skill set of staff is experienced and understanding of the process. The deadlines for approval must be enforced.

Houstons economy, our education system, affordable housing, and public safety  all are at the forefront of my agenda. I will work to build a Houston where every member of our community has equal opportunities to succeed, thrive and shape the future of their families and of our great city. I believe economic prosperity, affordable housing and small business development are crucial. I will prioritize initiatives that provide support, resources and access to capital for small and medium-sized businesses, fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth. By investing in job training programs and advocating for fair wages, we can empower all Houston residents to thrive and contribute to Houston's economic success.

Describe your vision for Houston.

My vision is for a city that is more inclusive, promotes economic opportunity, and affirms all communities. The mayor is the CEO for the city and I want to see all services performing at the highest level. Houston is an international city and it is time we leverage our biggest asset  our people. My vision is a city that Pops! We have not reached our greatest potential and the best is yet to come. I want to lead that charge into the future as one of Americas greatest destinations for families and businesses.

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Describe your top three to five priorities.

Public safety: My administration will prioritize public safety by addressing crime and gun violence through implementing strong community policing strategies. We will analyze and target sectors of high crime, weed out high crime through building community police relationships, hire more cadets and provide professional development training, collaborate with the ATF to curb gun trafficking, work with all law enforcement to stop gun violence, work with the federal government for violence prevention dollars, provide work training and after school programs, restore neighborhood policing, and create more police satellite facilities through public/private partnerships. We will allocate resources for violence intervention programs and ensure increased access to mental health services.

Infrastructure: Repairing and upgrading critical infrastructure will be a key priority. We will prioritize the repair of water and wastewater systems, enhanced street lighting, and invest in high-tech flood mitigation efforts. Building more strategically placed and coordinated detention ponds will help prevent flooding and protect communities. It is crucial to ensure that federal and state funds are distributed fairly among neighborhoods to address disparities and prioritize the most pressing infrastructure needs.

Economic diversification: We will work towards diversifying Houston's economy by providing support for small businesses and creating opportunities for new businesses to thrive in the city. This includes implementing initiatives that foster entrepreneurship and offering resources and guidance for small and new business owners. We will also promote education and collaborate with four-year universities and community colleges to enhance educational opportunities, aligning curriculum with the needs of the evolving job market and attracting industries that can contribute to the city's economic growth.

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Housing and Homelessness: The country has to collectively admit that we have a growing homeless problem and it cannot just be considered those people on the streets. They are real people coming from real families who in many cases just need a helping hand. The city should create stronger partnerships with faith-based organizations who have the resources and have been at ground zero for many years plugging this hole of homelessness. The federal government, with my persistence, has provided seed funding to better understand the extent of this societal problem, but it has to do more. These programs should help fund faith-based organizations and other NGOs as partners in combating this situation. It will truly take a village to lift the boats of homelessness. Houston should lead this fight as an example to the nation.

Describe your strategy for getting things done.

I have never accepted NO as the answer for solutions. I ask WHY NOT. You do this by having a clear forward-thinking vision for the city and an approach that brings people together. That has been my approach in Congress to bring $900 million to help build Metro, billions of dollars in relief following Hurricanes Ike and Harvey. I am known for working hard and delivering results  I will do the same for the entire City of Houston. I don't just talk, I deliver.

How would you deal with the city's budget?

I will surround myself with experts on the citys budget and work collectively with department heads and City Council members to devise a realistic budget that will still maintain city services and allow the city to grow. The revenue cap is going to pose a vast array of challenges for us to maintain our present level of city services. Not only must we identify better areas that would be better suited for private/public partnerships, we must work with federal agencies to secure additional funding. We must fill in the gaps currently being filled by ARPA funds by being aggressive in the federal grant process to provide much needed assistance to our city.

How would you lead a Democrat-controlled city in a Republican-controlled state?

During my time in Washington and throughout my political career, I have consistently delivered results for Houston, regardless of who was in power. From presidents Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, and Clinton, from speakers McCarthy, Pelosi, Ryan, Boehner, Hastert, and Gingrich, I have never let partisanship get in the way of serving our communities. I will use my experience to continue a working relationship with state leaders as I have done my entire career.

How would your personal worldview or partisan affiliation influence your decisions?

My north star is to always be fighting on the side of what is right and ensuring that all people are treated equally and to seek out resources for the most vulnerable and the working men and women of this great city. I also believe that we must work together, both public and private sectors, to grow this city into the future.

Whats something some people misunderstand about you?

I am very active in protecting the rights of others and sometimes that activism can be misunderstood. I am a bridge-builder who brings people together to solve big problems and my record of results shows the strength of that approach. I have one of the best records of bipartisan legislation in the entire Congress.

Whats one of your favorite Houston places?
Well, lets see, MBS of Saudi Arabia can either go visit a Western Satanic Banana Republic called United Kingdom, or meet with the Leader of the Free World?

~~ Man, I can see how that might have been a very hard decision to decide! ~~

Saudi Arabia scrapped plans for Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to visit London earlier this month, days before he hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Riyadh, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing UK government officials.

No-brainer and MBS made the right decision

WtR
Children in Baraboo and surrounding communities got a head start on holiday celebrations by receiving gifts and household necessities and bonding with area first responders.

The nonprofit Baraboo Community Heroes sponsored the Holiday with a Hero event on Wednesday at the Baraboo Arts Center. Children of families in Baraboo and nearby communities went shopping with police officers, firefighters, paramedics and healthcare workers at Walmart in the city. The children then returned to the arts center to receive food items, household necessities, and other free items, as well as food and beverages from area first responders.

The organization held fundraisers throughout the year to prepare for the event, and secretary Kortnee Carroll said this years event was its best in its seven-year history. Holiday with a Hero was formerly known as Kops for Kids, but changed its name with other first responders joining the event.

As the community kind of evolved, we decided we wanted to involve more of the first responders, said Spencer Nett, Baraboo Community Heroes vice president. We try to incorporate the full scale of the heroes.

Baraboo Community Heroes toured schools in the Baraboo School District to determine which students and their families need help during the holidays, Carroll said. Involvement in Holiday with a Hero carries no income requirement, Nett added.

(Students) bring a letter home to their parents and figure out what they want, bring it back to us, and were able to pair them up (with a first responder), Carroll said.

The nonprofit has a year-round initiative to fund the Holiday with a Hero event, Nett said, adding that all items purchased at Walmart and received at the arts center are funded through donations. A bowling tournament and bingo events are among the fundraisers during the year.

Each participant in Holiday with a Hero gets roughly $200 to spend at Walmart, Carroll said, adding that some accompanying workers will exceed that with their own money.

We make sure that they have boots, socks, all of that stuff that they need, and then theyre able to get toys or whatever they want, Carroll said. Were making sure theyre getting whatever they want for Christmas.

The program started out with the stipend for Walmart spending, which youngsters were using to purchase blankets and other household necessities, Nett said. The nonprofit began raising funds for those items so the Walmart allocations could be used on wants instead of needs.

Carroll lauded the support for the program by area residents and businesses, saying that after putting out a social media post indicating the desire for various items, Baraboo Community Heroes received a garage full and truckloads full of donations  Amazon packages stacked up the wall from the community.

Sysco, Second Harvest and Wisconsin Dells-based Happy Kids Network all contributed to the event, Nett said, along with area dentists and law firms.

Its truly heartwarming to see all of them come together for the kids, he said.
The Baraboo Civic Center has more energy efficient lighting after a project largely funded by the citys energy nonprofit.

Powered Up Baraboo celebrated the buildings new LED lighting installations in various areas of the building during the late afternoon hours on Monday. The new energy efficient bulbs are installed in all of the centers rooms, the nonprofits co-chair, Marianne Cotter, said, adding that the organization raised $20,000 for the project.

City officials and Powered Up Baraboo began discussing the project in 2019. The nonprofit worked with Parks, Recreation and Forestry director Mike Hardy and Ald. Tom Kolb, among others, to assess the lighting situation in the building and gauge costs and benefits of switching from fluorescent tubes to LEDs, Powered Up Baraboo board member Rick Eilertson said.

Its a wonderful example of different people in the community coming together and working on this, said Powered Up Baraboo co-chair Beth Persche.

During its meeting on Feb. 28, the Common Council approved the LED lighting project and created the Carbon Reduction Special Revenue Fund, which will be funded through energy savings from projects that increase efficiency. Those funds will then be used to help spur more energy efficient projects in other city facilities, each of which would be approved individually.

Hardy said his department moved into the Civic Center in 2009 but the building needed numerous upgrades and repairs at the time. In 2012, the center received a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

The new ventilation was part of the departments goal for increased efficiency, and after it was installed, the focus shifted to lighting. Powered Up Baraboos formation and requests for projects helped spur the new LED project, Hardy said.

The Carbon Reduction Special Revenue Fund will be open for at least 10 years, according to Powered Up Baraboo. On Feb. 28, 2033, the fund can either remain open or be dissolved, and any remaining funds would be spent on green projects.

Hardy and Eilertson toured the Civic Center prior to the project, and another Powered Up Baraboo member, Richard Peidelstein, joined online. He said the condition of the building was better than anticipated, making the lighting and potential other projects less costly.

I love lighting because there is really nothing to maintain, Peidelstein said.

Eilertson said LED lights do not need to be replaced anywhere near as often as fluorescent or incandescent ones. Wisconsin Electric was able to use existing light housings to install the LED lamps, according to company owner Tom Roll.

We go from a 33-watt bulb to a 14-watt LED with a 50,000-hour expectant time, Roll said. Cost reduction on something like that is around 50 percent.

Peidelstein, a former physical plant operator at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo for 30 years, received Powered Up Baraboos 2023 Climate Champion Award just before the nonprofit and community members toured the Civic Center. Persche said much of his work with the health provider was in energy improvement, including engineering for hospital expansion that maximized efficiency.

The hospital created the Preservation of the Earth Committee in 2015, Persche said, which Peidelstein chaired. He has also utilized an energy efficiency software program that has helped guide energy efficient projects at the hospital and in Baraboo, Persche added.

Part of Richards work there included being a member of a steering committee for creating a system of establishing baseline or benchmark energy use for all the hospitals in the SSM Healthcare system, Persche said.

Peidelstein joined Powered Up Baraboo soon after its creation in 2019 and began gauging energy use in municipal buildings.

I and some of my coworkers always took it on ourselves to make sure things were efficient in the buildings we worked in, Peidelstein said.

He said buildings he had worked in, particularly in the healthcare field, were operated based on reliability and comfort and had not emphasized energy efficiency as much.
A new Portage business offers people the chance to exchange their gently used and unwanted clothing for items that are new to them, as well as a friendly conversation.

We are a totally family-run business, said Bridget Drennon, owner of Uptown Exchange. Its also not just selling clothes here ... I am here to personally know people, which I do. I really put my heart into it.

Uptown Exchange, 119 W. Cook St., is a consignment boutique and thrift store that buys and resells name brand clothing, shoes and accessories.

Drennon said the business, which she runs with her 15-year old daughter, has been slowly collecting inventory since its doors opened in July, but now that it is fully stocked, is ready to announce its grand opening.

Uptown carries mens, womens and childrens clothing and offers customers three different buying programs.

An exchange program that Drennon came up with ties into the name of her store and is already being heavily utilized. It is more tailored towards children who wear clothing sizes 0 to 14-16, as it offers customers the opportunity to exchange gently used clothing that may have just simply been grown out of, said Drennon.

Karen DeSanto leaving Boys and Girls Clubs after 12 years Karen DeSanto is stepping down as CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of West-Central Wisconsin. Under her leadership, the chapter has added locations in Reedsburg and Portage, along with Baraboo and Tomah.

I thought to myself, If there is still life to peoples old clothes, why not just let them exchange them? said Drennon. It then became the whole part of my name.

Customers using the exchange program can receive in-store credit, Drennon said, so if they dont see something they like or in the right size during their visit, they can come back another time.

The store also offers a consignment program, in which sellers receive at least 50% of what their item sells for, Drennon said. Items that arent sold after a period of time are returned to the owner. People may also get up to 60% for higher-end items and 70% for homemade items, such as tumblers, T-shirts and holiday gifts.

A full buy-out program is also offered, which is similar to Platos Closet as it buys items outright for a percentage of what they are worth. The program works great for those who want cash on the spot, and dont want to wait to for items to sell on consignment in order to receive money, Drennon said.

Drennon, a widowed mother of four, is far from new to the consignment business, as Uptown is her second store location in the area. She recently closed her first business, Sweet Bs in Montello, after a three-year run in order to focus solely on her Portage location.

(Running two stores) was getting nuts. I was racking my brain between both locations, said Drennon. So I decided to not put one foot in each business and to fully dedicate whatever I have of me into one solid running location ... Plus I love spending time with my babies, too.

Governor's council lauds Dells HS as 'pioneer' of financial education The Governor's Council on Financial Literacy and Capability praised Wisconsin Dells High School's "amazing" work, calling it one of the "pioneers of financial education."

Since Montello is a small community and almost everybody there goes to Portage anyway, Drennon said, she hopefully wont lose any of the business from her regular customers.

Drennon said moving her store to Portage was an easy decision as she has lived in the area for about 25 years. Her father bought a farm in Mauston in the late 1990s and moved the family up from Chicago in search of a simpler life, she said.

It was always his dream to kind of move up here and break away from the city, said Drennon. He wanted to provide his kids with the country-style kind of life. And he did a really good job because I couldnt imagine raising my children anywhere else.

Drennon said she has loved being in Portage so far and has received a great deal of support from the community since Uptowns doors opened.

All the businesses downtown have kind of welcomed me with open arms ... The Chamber of Commerce has also been great, she said. Its been nothing but good stuff.

Uptown Exchange is located in the heart of Portages downtown district, next door to The Mercantile, and is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Jesse DeFosse steps down from Wisconsin Dells council Jesse DeFosse resigned from the Wisconsin Dells common council on Nov. 20 after serving 12 years.
Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the court to intervene after a Travis County district judge ruled that Kate Cox, 31, could terminate her pregnancy after her fetus was diagnosed with a rare and usually fatal condition. Eric Gay/Associated Press This image provided by Kate Cox shows Kate Cox. A Texas judge has given the pregnant woman whose fetus had a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to the states ban that took effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. It was unclear Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 how quickly or whether Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, will be able to obtain an abortion. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble says she will grant a temporary restraining order that will allow Cox to have an abortion. (Kate Cox via AP) Associated Press Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from Dallas-Fort Worth, sued the state of Texas in order to get an abortion. Kate Cox via AP

The Texas Supreme Court late Friday temporarily blocked a judges decision to let a Dallas woman get an emergency abortion.

Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the court to intervene after a Travis County district judge ruled on Thursday that Kate Cox, 31, could terminate her pregnancy after her fetus was diagnosed with a rare and usually fatal condition. Cox argued that carrying the pregnancy to term could risk her health and fertility because she already had delivered two other children via cesarean section.

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The high court is expected to issue a final ruling in the case, although its unclear when. The order on Friday was brief and unsigned by any of the nine justices.

While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the states request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied, said Molly Duane, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights who is representing Cox. We are talking about urgent medical care.

Cox is 20 weeks pregnant, according to her attorneys. They say she and her husband found out last week that her fetus has trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder that carries a low likelihood of survival, according to court records filed earlier this week.

In its request to the justices, the attorney generals office said time was of the essence.

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Nothing can restore the unborn childs life that will be lost as a result, the office wrote.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a response, urging the Supreme Court to deny the request, which it called stunning in its disregard for Ms. Coxs life, fertility, and the rule of law.

Plaintiffs agree that urgent action from this Court is necessary  specifically, to remind the Attorney General that he does not exist outside the systems of laws of which he is an officer, and that he must follow court orders just like the citizens he purports to serve, the center wrote in its response.

Abortion is banned in Texas, except to save the life of the pregnant woman or prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function. Coxs Houston physician, Dr. Damla Karsan, had not performed the abortion out of concern of violating the ban, which brings steep penalties including prison time and hefty fines.

Despite the judges order, Paxton warned the three hospitals where Karsan has admitting privileges that they still could face civil or criminal penalties if they allowed the abortion to take place.

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We feel it is important for you to understand the potential long-term implications if you permit such an abortion to occur at your facility, Paxton wrote. He went on to say the judge is not medically qualified to make this determination and it should not be relied upon.
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Ryan ONeal, who rocketed to a best actor Oscar nomination at 29 as the Harvard swain of a doomed beauty (Ali MacGraw) in 1970s smash-hit tearjerker Love Story, died Dec. 8 after decades of illness, including leukemia in 2001 and stage 4 prostate cancer in 2012.

My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us, his son Patrick ONeal wrote on Instagram.

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Starting out as a Golden Gloves boxer, ONeal landed early bit parts on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Leave It to Beaver and a bigger role for five years on the soapy hit Peyton Place, which also launched Mia Farrow. But his real breakout was Love Story, one of Paramount Pictures biggest hits  Patrick ONeal said it saved the studio. It collected seven Oscar nominations, including one for best picture. It won for best music.

It also made him an A-list star opposite Barbra Streisand in Peter Bogdanovichs 1972 screwball comedy Whats Up, Doc? and 1973s Paper Moon, which earned his costar daughter Tatum an Oscar.

In his most prestigious film, Stanley Kubricks Barry Lyndon (1975), he played a poor Irish rogue who traveled Europe trying to pass himself off as an aristocrat. He often used his boyish, blond good looks to play men who hid shadowy or sinister backgrounds behind their clean-cut images.

Filming Kubricks three-hour movie was tedious work, however, and Kubricks notorious perfectionism created a rift between him and the actor that never healed.

ONeals career continued with roles on TVs Bones and Desperate Housewives, but his private life with actress Farrah Fawcett and his tumultuous family life often upstaged his professional life.

Twice divorced, ONeal was romantically involved with Fawcett for nearly 30 years, and they had a son, Redmond, born in 1985. The couple split in 1997 and reunited a few years later. He was by Fawcetts side as she battled cancer, dying in 2009 at age 62.

He told Piers Morgan in 2011 that watching Love Story upset him. I lost Farrah to cancer, and I just wonder [why] that played out that way for me. One was just a big deal and so successful, and then in real life it was just the opposite, a tragedy.

With his first wife, Joanna Moore, ONeal fathered actors Griffin ONeal and Tatum ONeal. He had son Patrick with his second wife, Leigh Taylor-Young.

Love Story popularized the catchphrase Love means never having to say youre sorry. At 76, he toured with MacGraw in the play Love Letters, and told Playbill, Love does mean never having to say you're sorry. Ali doesn't believe it, but I do. It just means: 1) You don't have much to say you're sorry for, and 2) If you do, she knows you're sorry.

In remembering his father, Patrick wrote: My dad was 82 and lived a kick ass life. I hope the first thing he brags about in Heaven is how he sparred 2 rounds with Joe Frazier in 1966, on national TV, with Muhammad Ali doing the commentary, and went toe to toe with Smokin Joe. YouTube has it and trust me, its so awesome. Ryan by a majority decision.
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In a video shared on Instagram Story, the 36-year-old Canadian rap star appears to be in good spirits as he serenades Flacka by singing his track 'Feel No Ways' at their table.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Drake's recent trip to Turks & Caicos features a blossoming romance with a bartender named Flacka. While she was in her off hours, the "Certified Lover Boy" artist took her for dinner together.

In a video shared on Instagram Story, Drizzy appeared to be in good spirits as he serenaded Flacka by singing his track "Feel No Ways" at their table. Flacka herself seemed to be enjoying the moment, biting her meals as she looked at the camera.

Flacka documented the night out on her Instagram feed. Sharing a photo of her and the Grammy-winning rapper standing closely to one another, she wrote, "Turks Terrible Twins," adding a pink heart emoji.

The post didn't go unnoticed by Drake. In the comment section, he replied, "Flacccccccacita the one and only no duplication could never be in a new location we drink enough for two vacations tequila and salt waterCOMBINATION."

Drake reunited with Flacka when he and his crew hit an intimate beach club named Noah's Ark. The emcee, who's nicknamed Flacka "The Pride" of Turks, made sure to get additional face time with her at the bar on Wednesday afternoon, December 6.

Drake previously gave a shout-out to Flacka his "Her Loss" track "P***y and Millions". "Flaca, Flacasita/ I know that I'm not in love, she don't love me either," he raps in his verse. "It's just hard to find the love, this s**t keep on gettin' deeper/ Who said it's cheaper to keep her?/ I'd rather release her.".

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Instagram Celebrity

The 'Vandepump Rules' star denies claim that he only saw Rachel as 'some hot girl,' insisting that their relationship was much 'deeper' than most people think.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Tom Sandoval fell "fully in love" with Rachel Leviss. The 40-year-old star broke up with Ariana Madix after it emerged that he had a months-long affair with Rachel, and Tom has now rubbished the suggestion that she was "just some hot girl" to him.

"We were best friends. It's heartbreaking to go through. I was fully in love with her," Tom explained during an appearance on "Two T's in a Pod" podcast.

Rachel, 29, entered a mental health facility in April, and Tom tried to help her through her struggles by overhauling his own lifestyle. He said, "I'm like, 'She can't drink, she can't smoke. I'm gonna quit.' I haven't gone this long without drinking since I was 16. It's been eight months. I stopped for her. I was there in any way that she needed me."

Tom also believes their romance was much "deeper" than most people realise. He shared, "She's not just some hot girl. I was a model for 15 years, it's deeper than that. It's more than that."

The affair prompted widespread criticism and Rachel previously took to social media to apologise to Ariana. She wrote on Instagram, "I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana (sic)."

Rachel also promised to reflect on her mistakes, admitting that she needed to make "healthier choices." She said, "I am reflecting on my choices, speaking to a counselor and I am learning things about myself such as my patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved."

"I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships. I am taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices (sic)."

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Harris County voting stickers at a polling site on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer

Eighteen candidates for Houston mayor, controller and City Council were on the ballot for Saturdays runoff elections, which continued a trend of meager voter turnout during this election cycle.

State Sen. John Whitmire cruised to victory to become Houston's next mayor, securing 64.4% of the vote. His opponent, U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee, finished with 35.6%. Whitmire will succeed term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Attorney Chris Hollins will be the city's next controller after winning his race against former Harris County treasurer Orlando Sanchez, while three incumbents were among seven City Council winners during the runoffs.

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RUNOFF VOTER GUIDE: Guide to Houston mayor, controller and City Council races

Heres a look at some of the key numbers from this years election cycle.

63: Whitmire is known as the 63rd mayor of Houston, but only 53 people have held the position. Five mayors have gone on to hold a total of 14 non-consecutive terms. Oscar Holcombe, for example, is remembered as the 43rd, 45th, 47th, 50th and 52nd mayor for his disjointed tenures spanning from 1921 to 1955.

28.8: Whitmire's margin of victory over Lee, by percentage points. The margin far surpassed the almost 7% lead he received in Novembers general election.

10: The number of City Council incumbents who were reelected during last month's general election or Saturday's runoffs. City Council incumbents had a clean sweep, continuing a strong track record from recent election cycles. All eight incumbents on the ballot held onto their seats during the 2019 general election or runoffs. Eight of nine incumbents secured another term in 2015.

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68,000: The approximate number of Harris County residents who cast ballots on Saturday. That represented a significant 38% drop from the more than 110,000 voters who made their pick for mayor on Nov. 7.

11%: The early voting turnout in Harris County of eligible registered voters for Saturdays runoffs. It was roughly the same as the early voting turnout in 2019, when Mayor Sylvester Turner defeated attorney Tony Buzbee in a runoff.

450: The number of polling sites that were open to voters on Saturday, down from 701 for the Nov. 7 general election. Only a handful of polling sites reported technical issues last month.

4,200: The approximate number of clerks needed to run those 450 polling sites on Saturday, according to the Harris County Clerk's Office. Last month, it took about 6,450 clerks to run the 701 polling sites.

8,264: The number of polling machines needed at the 450 polling sites, according to the clerk's office. This included voting machines, ballot scanners and other accessory devices. Last month, there were 13,028 machines allocated to 701 polling sites.

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2,000: The approximate number of "I voted" stickers distributed to each polling site on Election Day, according to the clerk's office.

1: The number of runoff polling sites that are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The only fully-compliant polling site is the Harris County Sheriff's Office at 701 North San Jacinto St. Last month, only two of the 701 polling sites were fully ADA compliant: the Harris County Sheriff's Office and Bill and Cindy Haskett Junior High.

27 seconds: The average time that a voter waited to cast a ballot during early voting for the runoffs, according to the clerk's office. Before the general election, voters waited an average of 30 seconds during early voting.

451,203: The number of Harris County residents who cast ballots in the Nov. 7 general election. The total represents just 17% of all registered voters in Harris County  about the same percentage who cast ballots in 2019.

247,969: The number of Harris County residents who voted in the Nov. 7 mayoral race specifically. That was about 21% of the registered voters who were eligible to vote in that election. In November 2019, about 241,000 Harris County residents voted in the mayor's race, or 22% of eligible registered voters.

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46: The number of years since a Houston mayor has won a runoff after finishing as the runner-up in a general election. Jim McConn last achieved the feat in 1977. The top finisher in Houstons last 20 mayoral elections either won outright or went on to win in a runoff.

15 to 20: The percentage by which turnout typically drops from a general election to a runoff, according to a Chronicle analysis of recent election cycles.

42.5: The percentage of City Council races that have gone to runoffs in the five general elections since the legislative body expanded to 16 seats. Four races went to runoffs in 2011, five in 2013, seven in 2015, 11 in 2019 and seven in 2023.
Instagram Celebrity

The former 'Ugly Betty' actress remembers 'one of the most vulnerable memories' of her childhood as she grew up in poverty and couldn't afford lunch at school.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - America Ferrera didn't have money for lunch when she was at school. The 39-year-old actress was one of six children with a single mother and recalled that while she "didn't know the facts" about her family's poverty at the time, she feels as if she was "shaped" by having to get through the school day hungry.

"One of the most vulnerable memories of childhood is that my mother was a single mother, for the majority of my childhood, and I was the youngest of six kids. It was touch-and-go and we struggled. I remember in fifth grade," she said on BBC Radio 4 show "Woman's Hour".

"I didn't even really know the facts, and I was too ashamed to ask but I basically spent all of fifth grade going to school with no lunch and getting through the school day hungry. That is an experience that shapes you as a child when you're so personally acquainted with what it means to be in a different circumstance to people around you."

The "Barbie" star is the daughter of Honduran immigrants and went on to add that she ended up "confused" growing up in a time where the American dream had promised her "equality and freedom" and yet having to go through an experience that didn't match up with what she had been promised.

"To feel that you don't feel necessarily like a different species but it's what is happening nonetheless. Being taught that there is equality and freedom, I deeply believed in the American dream and in the promise of America because that is what I had been taught to believe, not only by my immigrant parents but from my education."

"But it wasn't long before it started to feel confusing. I was in, I believe, in third grade when there was a proposition on the Californian ballot that would basically take away public services from undocumented families including children in public elementary schools."

"I remember my mom pulling me to one side before school and say 'If somebody comes and asks you where you're from, you did nothing wrong, you don't need to be afraid. You were born in this country.' I was so young and I didn't understand!"

"I was quite young when I realised I had a sense of my identity and I hold onto the feeling that there is justice and equality but I was having an experience that didn't reconcile and so I became aware of things because I had to."

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Movie

The actor who plays Oompa-Loompa in the 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' prequel explains why he felt nervous to meet his younger co-star for the first time.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Hugh Grant felt "nervous" to meet Timothee Chalamet. The 63-year-old actor stars alongside "Call Me by Your Name" star Timothee, 27, in the new film "Wonka" but admitted that he was apprehensive to work with his young co-star - who has already been nominated for an Oscar and received critical acclaim since starting his career seven years ago - because he thought things had gone "a bit too well" for him.

"I was a bit nervous of him. I don't like people who are too successful, and I thought his career had gone a bit too well!" he told People.

But the "Bridget Jones' Diary" actor revealed that things turned out well in the end between himself and Timothee, as he revealed that his co-star would often "gossip" with him about those around them on set. He said, "But I did warm to him, he gave me good gossip!"

However, the "Love Actually" star - who plays the Oompa-Loompa in the prequel to Roald Dahl's classic novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - appears in CGI form and had to record all of his lines off set in a nearby tent. He said, "I couldn't be on the set because I'm too big. But I was in a tent just nearby with my helmet on with all the cameras. A highly complicated business!"

Despite not being face-to-face on set, director Paul King explained that he wanted "as much chemistry" as possible between the pair to form a comedy double act. He said, "They have a kind of banter through the movie and they're sort of slowly becoming a double act as the movie goes on, and that's something I think is very hard to do if you're never in the same room together."

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Cover Images/JENNIFER GRAYLOCK Celebrity

Having been named in Diddy's fourth sexual assault lawsuit, Harve vows in a statement that he 'will vigorously protect my reputation and defend my name' because the claims are not true.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Former Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre has denied all allegations leveled at him in a new lawsuit. Having been named in a new sexual assault lawsuit along with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Harve issued a statement shutting down the accusations.

"This is a tale of fiction. I have never participated in, witnessed, nor heard of anything like this, ever," Harve said in a statement to TMZ Hip Hop. "These disgusting allegations are false and a desperate attempt for financial gain."

Harve went on to vow that he "will vigorously protect my reputation and defend my name." He then stressed, "Those who know me recognize that these claims are not true."

In the lawsuit, a woman identified as Jane Doe claimed that she was "sex trafficked" and "gang raped" by Diddy, Harve and another man in 2003 when she was 17 and Diddy was 34. She is represented by Douglas Wigdor, the same lawyer hired by Cassie when she sued her ex Diddy for the same accusations.

Some photos later surfaced, showing the rapper and the plaintiff. In the image, the woman, whose face was blurred to protect her identity, was seen sitting on the hip-hop mogul's lap in the studio. Other photos displayed the woman posing in Diddy's studio, with her pointing to the sign "PD" on the wall in one of the pictures.

Diddy himself has also shut down the allegations. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," he declared on Instagram. "For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy."

"Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday," the music mogul added. "Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."

Previously, Diddy settled the lawsuit filed by his ex Cassie, just one day after she filed it. He was later slapped with a second lawsuit by another woman, Joi Dickerson-Neal, who accused him of rape, drugging and revenge porn back in 1991. On the same day, a third woman, identified as Jane Doe, dragged Diddy to court as well, claiming that he and R&B star Aaron Hall took turns raping her and her friend at an MCA Records event in New York City in the early 1990s.

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Cover Images/Ismael Rosas/EyePix Celebrity

The Oscar-winning actor steps out with a mystery woman, who looks eerily similar to his wife of 25 years, as they leave the Art Basel event in Miami together.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Will Smith has been spotted with a Jada Pinkett Smith look-alike in Miami after making headlines with their relationship drama. The actor was seen stepping out with a mystery woman, who looks eerily similar to his wife at the Art Basel event on Friday, December 8.

In photos obtained and published by Daily Mail, the 55-year-old Hollywood star flashed his megawatt smile as he exited the international art fair with the woman close behind. They reportedly departed the location together in the same limousine.

They continued to hang out together that day as the Oscar winner and the woman were later seen at famed pizza restaurant Lucali. They were reportedly joined by friends during the meal.

Will appeared to be in good spirits making his way through the parking lot, smiling when noticing the paparazzi. He also appeared to have a brief interaction with a woman who was doing the splits on the sidewalk. He rocked a casual ensemble consisting of a gray striped polo and matching cargo pants teamed with gray sneakers.

His female companion wore a simple white tee and jeans. She added a set of open-toed heels, stylish sunglasses and a designer handbag to her chic look as she rocked a closely-shaven hair style.

Will was seen with the mystery woman after Jada revealed in October that they had been separated since 2016, but had no intention to legally divorce. She later confirmed that they reconciled after the Oscar incident where Will slapped Chris Rock, though she refused to call their relationship "marriage."

Giving an update on their relationship, the 52-year-old actress said during an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" that they're "staying together forever." The "Red Table Talk" host then seemed to suggest that their attempts to live separately have been unsuccessful, saying, "I tried. We tried."

Joking about rumors about their marriage troubles, Will recently said that he "started making my own problems" because "life is going too well." He added at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, "I have made tons of mistakes. [Quincy Jones] has always made himself available. He wants me to win as a human. He is devoted to me as a human, not just as an artist."

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Variety Movie

The 'West Side Story' star, who receives huge backlash for her casting as Snow White in Disney's upcoming live-action 'Snow White' movie, discusses the online trolls on Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Rachel Zegler doesn't entirely condemn the hate comments she's received. The actress, who received huge backlash for her casting as Snow White in Disney's upcoming live-action "Snow White" movie, discussed the online trolls in a new episode of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series with Halle Bailey.

During the sit-down, both Rachel and Halle reflected on the online harassment that both of them faced due to their castings. Halle experienced the racist backlash after being tapped to play the first black Ariel in "The Little Mermaid (2023)".

"You proved them wrong with grace," Rachel told Halle in "Actors on Actors", which was released on Thursday, December 7. "I was so inspired by the way you handled anybody who had anything bad to say about it."

Rachel then asked, "Did you ever let it affect you at all? You definitely didn't publicly." Halle responded, "Of course. I mean, we're sensitive. We're human beings. I get my feelings hurt if my cat doesn't want to sit next to me," with Rachel noting, "I'm the same way."

Halle explained, "That's what people don't realize: We're granted amazing opportunities and able to be seen on massive screens, but there is a dissociation. People start taking you away from being a real human being that has feelings and reacts to things. That was definitely something that I had to navigate."

The one half of Chloe X Halle said that it "turned out to be the most beautiful lesson - to block any naysayers or negativity out." She added, "Also, I'm an Aries, so I'm a fire sign. People are like, 'Oh, she's so sweet. She's so nice.' But a lot of times when I see stuff online, I get mad. It's hard being women under the spotlight. People are so critical and say anything that they would never say to your face."

As for Rachel, she pointed out that she would choose "thankfulness and gratefulness" for peace. "As much as you'd like to remind people verbally that being in the spotlight doesn't absolve you of your humanity - that you're allowed to have human moments - it doesn't necessarily do what you want it to do. It fuels them more," she shared.

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" star added that she's "so thankful for those moments because it started to make me feel like solid Teflon. That nothing can hurt anymore because they've said the worst that can be said."

She continued, "You just say, 'Thank you so much for this. I have a lot of love in my life, and I'm very thankful.' We get to do our work and have that speak for itself instead."

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Music

The new track is the fourth single of Cole Bennett's debut compilation album, 'All Is Yellow', which also features appearances from the likes of Kid Cudi, Lil Durk, Juice WRLD and Cordae among others.

Dec 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Jack Harlow and Dave have joined forces for Lyrical Lemonade's new single, "Stop Giving Me Advice". Aside from working together on the tune, the "First Class" hitmaker and the U.K. rapper linked up for its official music video.



The black-and-white visuals, which was helmed by Cole Bennett, shows Jack and Dave trading bars while strolling around London. In his verse, the Louisville emcee spits, "All this unsolicited advice from the guys gettin' booked for a quarter of my price/ All this red carpet s**t, brand partnerships, I must've let y'all forget that boy nice/ No Sprite, but life givin' me lemons with the limelight."

Dave then chimes in, "I know you feel love, feel shame, feel pride, I can see it in your eyes." He continues, "I met a fan at work, he told me it's his job on the side/ As if I'm unimpressed by his every day life."

"Stop Giving Me Advice" is the fourth single of Cole's debut compilation album, "All Is Yellow". Aside from Jack and Dave, other artists who contribute to the project are Kid Cudi, Lil Durk, Lil Tracy, Corbin, Juice WRLD and Cordae (YBN Cordae).

"Stop Giving Me Advice" arrived nearly a month after Jack dropped his latest single, "Lovin on Me". With the track, he spent a remarkable third week at Number 1 in the U.K. all-genre singles chart and the Hip Hop/R&B chart in the country.

Additionally, Jack scored his third No. 1 on Billboard's Streaming Songs charts, accumulating an impressive 22.2 million official U.S. streams. This achievement follows his previous chart-toppers, "Industry Baby" alongside Lil Nas X in 2021 and "First Class" in 2022.

"Lovin on Me" has also secured the top spot on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. The song's popularity extends beyond streaming numbers, as it has garnered 12.2 million radio audience impressions and 13,000 downloads.

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All India Gaming Federation(AIGF), the apex industry body for online gaming in India announces a strategic partnership with Neokred Technologies, a leading Embedded Beyond Banking as a service solutions provider to introduce a groundbreaking initiative the "Game Bureau." This revolutionary platform has been launched in a quest to enhance onboarding, fraud prevention, user insights and scoring measures to help online skill gaming companies assess and identify their customers effectively.

The Game Bureau is a solution exclusively for AIGF, to harness the power of Neokred's advanced algorithms and technology to provide gaming companies with a comprehensive view for managing users from onboarding to activity monitoring with a scoring system based on diverse parameters.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Roland Landers, CEO of AIGF said, Game Bureau marks a significant milestone in our on-going efforts to build a safe online gaming landscape in India. Together with Neokred, we will be setting a new benchmark for fraud prevention, user authentication, and overall customer experience in the online gaming industry.

Game Bureau includes a centralized repository, real-time monitoring features that actively track and analyze customer profile, allowing seamless entry for genuine customers while triggering immediate notifications for suspicious or potentially fraudulent users.

The streamlined identity authentication process ensures that genuine customers experience a frictionless onboarding process, contributing to a positive customer experience and encouraging continued engagement.

Mr. Landers further added, The Indian online gaming industry is mainstream today and one of the fastest growing sectors within M&E industry, hence the challenges associated with user identification and security become extremely important. With this association, AIGF aims to empower online gaming companies to navigate these challenges seamlessly. AIGF is excited about this partnership, and we look forward to adding another robust mechanism, in the online gaming space, guided by the principles of integrity, innovation, and player-centricity.

Neokreds Technology is designed with a keen focus on compliance with regulatory standards, facilitating easier adherence to data protection and privacy regulations through centralized identity data. Tailor security thresholds according to specific requirements with Neokred's technology, allowing customization to align with risk tolerance and security policies.

Commenting on the partnership, Vivek Sridhar, Chief Business Officer of Neokred stated, We are excited to partner with the All India Gaming Federation and are committed to bring innovation and security in the online gaming industry. With Game Bureau, powered by Neokred, we aim to redefine the standards of fraud prevention, user authentication, and overall customer experience. Together, we envision a safer and more secure online gaming environment for AIGF and its stakeholders, setting new benchmarks for the industry.

By leveraging Neokred's ProfileX Stack and compliance-focused technology, the initiative not only strengthens security but also ensures a frictionless journey for genuine gamers. 'Game Bureau' stands as a testament to AIGF and Neokred's shared commitment to fostering a safe, transparent, and thriving online gaming environment.
Anxiety over AI outsmarting and killing humans must not distract us from its here-and-now risks, cautions Jaspreet Bindra, Founder, The Tech Whisperer Ltd., UK.

Perhaps it was Joe Biden who watched himself, or rather his deep fake, which prompted him to push the AI regulation nuclear button. Ive watched one of me, Mr Biden said in NYT, where he referred to an experimental deep fake of himself that his people showed him that could create a very convincing presidential statement. I said, When the hell did I say that?

Every week sees a slew of launch announcements in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The last week, however, was marked by a rush of declarations on how to regulate it. It began with the US surprising the world with Joe Bidens Executive Order requiring AI majors to be more transparent and careful in their development.

The most impactful takeaway from Bidens Executive Order is that BigTech and other big foundational model developers like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, etc., must divulge the results of the red teaming safety tests that they must do on each new model, before it is released to the public. These results will be vetted to a high bar on standards by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This brings it on par with chemical, biological and nuclear infra testing. The watermarking of AI-generated to clearly mark AI-generated content is very welcome for everyone and should help discern big fakes (like the one that Biden fell for).

The US Order was followed by the Global AI Summit convened by Rishi Sunak, attended by 28 countries (China, included) and boasting the star power of Elon Musk, Demis Hassabis and Sam Altman. This led to a joint communique on regulating Frontier AI. The EU is racing to be next, China has something out, and India is making the right noises. OpenAI announced a team to tackle Super Alignment, declaring that, We need scientific and technical breakthroughs to steer and control AI systems much smarter than us.

The race to develop AI has turned into a race to regulate it. There is certainly some optimism here  that governments and tech companies are awake to the dangers that this remarkable technology can pose to humankind, and one cannot but help applaud the fact that they are being proactive about managing the risks. Perhaps they have learnt their lessons from the ills that social media begat, and want to perform better this time. Hopefully, we will not have an AI Hiroshima before people sit up to the dangers of it.

On closer look, most of this concern and regulation seems to be directed towards what is loosely called Frontier AI  that time in the future when AI will become more powerful than humans and perhaps escape our control. Most of the narrative around regulating AI seems to be focused on this future worry. My belief, however, is that we need to worry far more about the here-and-now, and the current issues that AI has. Todays large language models (LLMs) often hallucinate, playing fast and easy with the truth. AI powered driverless cars cause accidents, killing people. Most GenAI models are riddled with racial and gender biases, having been trained on biased supersets of data. Copyright and plagiarism problems abound, with disgruntled human creators filing lawsuits in courts for redressal. And then, the training of these humongous LLMs spews out CO2 and degrades the environment.

Instead of super-intelligence-caused doomsday scenarios, which have a comparatively tiny probability, we need to focus on the many immediate threats of AI. More likely, it will be a malevolent state actor who uses deepfakes and false content at scale to subvert democracy, or maybe a cornered dictator who turns to AI-based lethal autonomous weapons to win a war he is losing.

AI might not harm us, but a human using AI could. We need to regulate humans using AI, not AI itself.
Iconic denim brand Lee today announced that it has onboarded Sara Ali Khan as its brand ambassador in India. It has also launched a new brand campaign titled Lee: Home of the Real Denim that aims to enhance Lee's reputation as the preferred denim brand for young audience.

Lee, the legendary denim brand has maintained its strong connect with the millennials and Gen Z. Today, it is synonymous with denim and serves as both a symbol of globalization and a youthful spirit. Ever since 1889, Lee has always stood for its pioneering spirit and innovation, such as the worlds first-ever zip fly jeans  101Z in 1927, iconic Hair-on-hide leather label and Lazy S back pocket stitching. The legendary denim brand has thus transformed from a practical-and-durable-workwear maker to a contemporary-and-trendy fashion giant.

Denim never goes out of style and through the two ad films, Lee highlights the narrative If its not Lee, its not Denim. The campaign focuses on holistic and self-deprecating humour with stylish, fun andmodern women in the forefront. Sara making an entrance embodying fashion police and donning the ever-so-easy and comfortable denims from Lee makes the audience question their fashion choicesand make a mental note to switch over to Lee. Sara, with her magnetic presence, brings the films the required flavour and attitude.

Heres the link to the first film that will go live on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google apart from OTT platforms on 10th December 2023. The first film will run for a month and the second film will go live in January 2024.

Commenting on the campaign, Nitin Chhabra, CEO, ace turtle said, We are delighted to have Sara Ali Khan as the brand ambassador of Lee in India. Sara embodies the spirit of Lee with her authenticity and flair. Lees legacy extends to over a century combining the heritage of denim with the contemporary ethos of embracing ones true self. We are confident that the campaign will help to build on Lees brand equity and help us drive more customers to our retail stores and online channels. We aim to significantly grow Lees business in India by the end of the current fiscal year.

Expressing her excitement, Sara Ali Khan said, "The brand's rich heritage, coupled with its contemporary edge, resonates with my personal sense of fashion. I am delighted to be part of Lee's narrative, embracing its legacy and, more importantly, fuelling a new denim fervour among the vibrant and diverse young consumers of India. It's not just about fashion; it's about connecting with the spirit and style of today's generation, creating a statement that transcends time."

ace turtle is the exclusive licensee of Lee in India and other South Asian markets. Lee is currently available at exclusive brand outlets and leading departmental store chains such as Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons and Centro among others. The legendary global denim brand is also available online at its dedicated webstore www.lee.in along with popular online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Ajio, Tatacliq and Nykaa.
Motorola, Indias best 5G smartphone brand and Pantone, the global color authority, have teamed up for the second year to create devices in the Pantone Color of the Year. The Pantone Color of the Year 2024, PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, reinforces the importance of human connection and so do the devices chosen to represent it  the motorola razr 40 ultra and motorola edge 40 neo.

Motorola is the first and only smartphone brand to collaborate with PANTONE, in line with its commitment to differentiate with design & colours while enriching peoples lives through meaningful innovation. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Pantone Color of the Year program with the chosen color PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz. A velvety gentle peach hue, PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz has a cozy, tender essence that embodies feelings of togetherness, community and collaboration.

Of their continued partnership, Ruben Castano, Head of Customer Experience and Design at Motorola, said, As technology becomes intertwined with humanity, we trust color to provide a tool for expression and deeper, more meaningful experiences with our devices. This includes going beyond devices and into the software itself. The Pantone Color of the Year 2024 does just that as it blends the virtual world we live in and our desire to establish deeper connections and well-being.

The choice of PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz complements Motorolas mission to make technology more accessible and help consumers use technology to connect intentionally. When selecting devices to feature PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, Motorola reflected on the color message and its emphasis on the power of human connection, finding that the motorola razr 40 ultra and motorola edge 40 neo embodied this mentality.

It has been wonderful to work with Motorola and see their dedication to enabling creativity, connection, and personalization through color across their devices, and this years color carries particular importance to harnessing connection, community and personal wellbeing, Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, said. Our Pantone Color of the Year 2024, PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, seamlessly blends the virtual and real life, making it an ideal color for the physicality of digital devices. We are excited to see how our audiences leverage the features Motorola offers to enable and facilitate further connections.

The razr 40 ultra with its iconic flappable design boasts the world's largest external 3.6-inch Poled display with its fastest 144Hz refresh rate, with 1100nits peak brightness. This flip phone is super slim when folded and has a gapless design, thanks to its industrys 1st dual axis teardrop hinge design thus ensuring the phone is also infinitely flexible at multiple flex angles. When opened, the phone has a nearly creaseless 6.9 polled display with upto 165Hz refresh rate and 1400nits of Peak brightness. This iconic flip phone is equipped with a powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, ensuring a seamless experience. The device was earlier launched in Pantone colour of the year 2023 Viva Magenta and received tremendous response from the consumer. The smartphone with the Peach Fuzz edition will be available soon in India.

The motorola edge 40 neo is a device that puts color at the center of design. And the PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz hue in vegan leather beautifully complements the devices warm and contoured design. The smartphone is the worlds lightest 5G phone with IP68 underwater protection, making it impervious to dust, dirt, sand, and even a 30-minute submersion in 1.5 meters of fresh water. Furthermore, its 144Hz 6.55-inch pOLED curved display with support for a billion colours and impressive peak brightness and is complemented by a 144Hz refresh rate which makes the UI super smooth and fluid. The motorola edge 40 neo is also a processing powerhouse, boasting the Worlds 1st MediaTek Dimensity 7030 lightning-fast processor which is a 6nm chipset supporting Wi-Fi 6E for incredible speeds and has MediaTek HyperEngine game technology for the best gaming experience. Not just this, the device support 14 5G bands which is the highest in the segment.

Both devices are designed with connection and personality at the center and offer features developed to enhance our common humanity. These include Motorolas latest software offerings, Moto Unplugged and Family Space. Both apps embrace the balance between connectedness and rest, security and boldness. With Moto Unplugged, users now have the ability to enter a special mode, allowing them to tailor a break time to meet their individual needs. They can choose to access only necessary apps for a set timeframe and limit their overall apps consumption. The user can select permitted apps and notifications, as well as require a password to end their session. Then, when they are ready to unplug, select a time frame and start a digital break. While Family Space encourages families to explore technology with guidance and grace. Moto unplugged feature will be available soon in razr 40 series devices in India.

The motorola razr 40 ultra and motorola edge 40 neo in the Pantone Color of the Year 2024 will be available soon in the Indian market.
Lizbeth Medina was a cheerleader at Edna High School. Courtesy Jacqueline Medina

Police have released photos of a man they suspect is connected to the killing of Edna teen Lizbeth Medina.

The Edna Police Department shared photos Saturday of a man and an associated vehicle it suspects was involved in the crime, which is being investigated as a capital murder case.

The photos show a man in a black Volcom sweatshirt; the man may have a tattoo behind his right ear, according to an EPD news release.

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The unidentified man was driving a silver Ford Taurus from a model year believed to be between 2010 and 2018.

Medina, 16, was found dead in her home Tuesday night after her mother noticed she was missing from a Christmas parade she was supposed to participate in with her high school cheerleading squad.

Texas Rangers were called in to assist in the investigation, according to a release.

A Friday vigil has been rescheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at the Jackson County Courthouse, and attendees are asked to wear white in remembrance of Medina.

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SIAL INDIA and Vinexpo India, two leading global events in food and spirits, showcased cutting-edge products that seamlessly blended the worlds of wine, beverages, and culinary delights. As the curtains draw to a close tomorrow, anticipate a spectacular finale to this show.

The EU, as the Region of Honour, hosted a conference today The EU and India: a partnership in food excellence. The panellist explored ways to guarantee the safety, quality, authenticity and sustainability of agri-food products, trends in F&B innovation and products not yet widely available on the Indian market, The session was addresses by Mr Janusz Wojciechowsksi EU Commissioner for Agriculture and other high-level speakers.

The French Patisserie Competition was organized by IFCCI and was hosted at SIAL INDIA. H.E Thierry Mathou, the French Ambassador to India attended the competition and gave away awards to winners. Chef Astik Oberoi of Leela Palace won the French Patisserie Competition.

SIAL India received an excellent response from the industry, with the participation of over 20 country ambassadors, 300 national and international exhibitors. It was a grand platform where global buyers and sellers got ample networking opportunities via a hosted buyer program. New products, Latest technology and product innovation will be displayed from countries like Austria, European Union, France, Greece, Italy, Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkiye, Thailand, USA and more.

The event was inaugurated by Mr Janusz Wojciechowsksi, Agriculture Commissioner of the European Union in the presence of Smt. Anita Praveen, IAS Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries Government of India and Shri. Abhishek Dev, IAS Chairman, APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Development Authority) Ministry of Commerce & Industry Government of India, and Ambassadors from participating countries.

Another interesting segment seen here was innovative and new products. South Korean products gained a lot of popularity. South Korean Kimchi is not just a culinary trend; it's undergoing an innovative transformation with the introduction of Kimchi with salad powder by Spicy Witch. This fermented Kimchi Powder streamlines the preparation process, delivering a ready-to-consume dish in 3 minutes. Its versatility allows seamless integration into vegetable dishes or salads, enriched with unique seaweed extracts. This groundbreaking product debuted in India through the esteemed SIAL innovation platform.

In the realm of detox beverages, attention is drawn to 'Kombucha,' introduced by You and I. The Kombucha powder is a powerhouse of probiotics and low-calorie goodness, available in five flavours. Its standout feature is the single-stick-to-go convenience  simply add it to water for a refreshing drink.

Making its Indian debut, Kizable from Florida presents 'Kizandy,' an organic, mouth-watering candy in five distinct flavours, adding a sweet note to the South Korean culinary invasion.

On the tea front, TEA Bro, an Assam-based startup, unveils instant-flavoured Tea in eight varieties. The beauty lies in its simplicity  add hot water, and savour the tea directly without any waiting period. Its portability and exquisite taste position it as a game-changer, seamlessly blending traditional flavours with contemporary convenience.

The live cooking show was presented by many chefs. Chef Manisha Bhasins Millet Risotto and Smoked Chicken was the recipe of the event, whereas Nishant Choubey's Rice Flour Pancake, Rosella Marmalade and Cranberry Jam didnt fail to sweeten the taste buds. Chef Rakhee Vaswani introduced the audience to Chocolate tasting from countries like Spain, Poland, Ireland, and Cyprus.

The event is powered by The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI), and was supported by the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI). Comexposium, France and Inter Ads have jointly organized the SIAL India event.
Federal authorities are investigating a plane crash that happened Friday in Mobile County.

A Cessna 150 plan crashed in the Mobile River just east of Mt. Vernon around 11 a.m., according to Kendra R. McKinney, a senior trooper with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

The state police did not release details about how many people were on board.

McKinney said state police turned over the investigation to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Further details havent been released.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Friday called out what he viewed as Democrats hypocrisy on guns, claiming two prominent Democratic senators favor an assault weapons ban yet want undocumented immigrants to serve in the military.

I heard Sen. Durbin now wants illegal immigrants to serve in the military because we cant find enough Americans. Did I just not hear on the floor Sen. [Dick] Durbin and Sen. [Chuck] Schumer are against assault weapons? I heard that, the Alabama Republican said Friday on the Senate floor, referring to his colleagues from Illinois and New York.

But they want to turn around and give an assault weapon to a Chinese or a Russian or Iranian thats come into this country illegally to protect the American citizen of the United States of America. Have we lost our minds? Tuberville continued.

Make no mistakeDems will take every chance they can get to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, including promising U.S. citizenship if they serve in our military.



The oaths we swear to protect this nation, and the freedoms and liberties we fight to preserve, are not for sale. https://t.co/wCEY52Gt1K  Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) December 8, 2023

Alabamas senior senator appeared to be referring to Durbins support of the Enlist Act, a bill from Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, his Illinois counterpart, that would allow DACA recipients, those with temporary protected status and those with an approved petition for an immigrant visa to enlist in the military.

Emily Hampsten, a spokeswoman for Durbin, suggested Tuberville mischaracterized the bills intent.

We are not talking about giving assault weapons to people as they cross our border,she said. The Enlist Act would expand the DoDs authority to enlist individuals who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years AND meet all of the services qualifications for military service.

Duckworth proposed the measure as a way to help the military make up for its recruitment shortfall.

Our military services are facing unprecedented challenges meeting their recruitment goalsin part due to a historically small pool of eligible recruits, she said when she introduced the Enlist Act. With my Enlist Act, we can start addressing this recruiting crisis by enabling the Department of Defense to expand the pool to include long-time residentslike DACA recipients, folks who have Temporary Protected Status and those who have an approved petition for an immigrant visa, subject to visa caps. Allowing highly qualified, long-time residents of our great nation the opportunity to serve the country theyve come to love is a common-sense way to give the services better access to talented potential recruits and improve our militarys readiness in the process.

DACA recipients are undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before they were 16 years old and continually resided in the country, among other criteria.

Temporary protected status is not granted to people from China, Russia or Iran, the three countries mentioned by Tuberville. The list of countries, designated by the Homeland Security Department, includes nations that are in the middle of civil war, that have had a natural disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

It also does not include Mexico, the country where most undocumented immigrants come from.

Schumers office could not be reached for comment.

Updated Dec. 13 at 5:42 p.m. with comment from Durbin.










English News To understand China, key lies in understanding Chinese modernization

Alwihda Info | Par pd - 9 Decembre 2023



Realizing modernization is the common aspiration and due right of all peoples. As China's own future is closely connected with that of other countries and peoples, China will strive to provide new opportunities for world development, add new impetus to humanity's exploration of paths towards modernization and make new contributions to the theory and practice of humanity's modernization as it makes new progress in Chinese modernization.

By He Yin, People's Daily Chinese President Xi Jinping on Dec. 2 sent a congratulatory letter to the 2023 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou) held in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province.



"To understand China, the key lies in understanding Chinese modernization. China is advancing the noble cause of building a great country and national rejuvenation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," Xi said. "China's future is closely linked with the future of the entire humanity."



Xi's letter scientifically analyzed the general trend of the world today. It noted that to understand China, the key lies in understanding Chinese modernization, conveying the message that China looks forward to working hand in hand with the rest of the world to realize global modernization that features peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and prosperity for all.

The Understanding China Conference celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over the past 10 years, Xi has sent congratulatory letters, delivered video speeches, or met with foreign representatives at the conference, expounding on China's path and propositions to help the international community better understand China.



Facing accelerating changes unseen in a century and intertwined risks and challenges, China has acted as a responsible major country, making significant contributions to solving common problems and enhancing the well-being of mankind. The importance of understanding China and working together with China to create a better future is becoming increasingly prominent.



To understand China, the key lies in understanding the significance of Chinese modernization to the world. Thanks to a century of exploration and struggle, China has found the development path that suits it. It is now advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts by pursuing Chinese modernization.



Chinese modernization is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development.



Chinese modernization is deeply rooted in its fine traditional culture and reflective of the advanced nature of scientific socialism. It emulates and absorbs all outstanding achievements of human civilizations, represents the future direction of human progress, and displays a new prospect distinct from the Western model of modernization, thus creating a new form of human advancement.



Chinese modernization expands the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization, and provides a Chinese solution to aid the exploration of a better social system for humanity.



To understand Chinese modernization, we need to see the opportunities brought to the world by Chinese modernization. As the largest developing country, China has always placed its own development within the larger context of human development and created new opportunities for the development of the world through its own development.



Xi said that China is committed to broadening the convergence of interests with other countries, and will continue to provide the world with new growth momentum and opportunities through its own development.



As the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation unfold, China firmly adheres to the win-win strategy of opening up, accelerates the creation of a new development pattern, and promotes high-quality development. This will provide the world with more and better products made and created in China, and with a Chinese market of a larger scale and stronger demand.



Former Chancellor of Austria Wolfgang Schussel said that China has been building a market-oriented business environment, governed by the rule of law and internationalized, demonstrating its determination to adhere to a high-level opening up. Both China and the world stand to benefit from these efforts.



To understand Chinese modernization, we need to see that the modernization China is pursuing is not for the country alone. China looks forward not only to pursuing modernization for all developing countries through joint efforts, but also to realizing global modernization that features peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and prosperity for all.



Eying on the historical development of mankind with a broad vision of the world, Xi has proposed to build a community with a shared future for mankind, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. These have contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to promoting the progress of human civilization and building a better world, and assisted other developing countries in exploring a path to modernization that suits their respective national conditions.



Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf believes that the important initiatives proposed by Xi have provided significant public goods for the world. When these initiatives are accepted by people who pursue peace and development, a road to common prosperity is built.



Realizing modernization is the common aspiration and due right of all peoples. As China's own future is closely connected with that of other countries and peoples, China will strive to provide new opportunities for world development, add new impetus to humanity's exploration of paths towards modernization and make new contributions to the theory and practice of humanity's modernization as it makes new progress in Chinese modernization.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Full text of President Xi Jinping's 2024 New Year message China's first domestically-made large cruise ship makes commercial maiden voyage China to work with rest of world for common good of humanity Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
Last night, I watched a documentary about the Gestapo. It occurred to me that it used the same tactics as the bumbling joke that currently occupies the Bully Pulpit and his minions. I did some research to substantiate my thoughts.

History

The Geheime Staatspolizei, abbreviated Gestapo, was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. It was created by Hermann Goring in 1933 by combining various political police agencies of Prussia into one organization. On April 20, 1934, oversight passed to Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel (the SS, originally Hitlers personal body guard), who was also appointed chief of German police by Hitler in 1936.

Tactics

The Gestapos power focused upon Hitlers political opponents through lies, atrocities, and reprisals. It often made up facts against political opponents in order to achieve its objectives. Those political opponents included people deemed dangerous to Nazi policies and politics. They could arrest and imprison anyone and always assumed that their targets were guilty. Once arrested, people found it difficult to prove their innocence.

The Gestapo crushed opposition through actions, both legal and illegal, such as fear and intimidation. It operated without any civil or criminal restraints. Propaganda, which included censoring the media, kept the majority of the population in line.

Sound familiar?

The Department of Justice

I begin with Attorney General Merrick Garlands lie about DOJ investigators being nonpartisan. He said, Justice Department prosecutors are nonpartisan. They dont allow partisan considerations to play any role in their determinations. To Scott Pelleys question, And this is not peculiar to the Trump investigations?, Garland responded, This is the rule for all investigations.

The DOJ today is increasingly motivated by partisanship. The PATRIOT Act laws were designed to fight terrorism. But they have been transformed into tools by which the DOJ keeps constant tabs on law-abiding Americans and threatens to disrupt their lives if they dare act contrary to Joe Biden.

Republican lawmakers blasted Biden over the weaponization of the DOJ after it charged former president Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents. Yet it has not charged Biden after a similar investigation yielded classified documents at his Delaware home.

Wrote Danielle Wallace of Fox News, The DOJ turned a blind eye to blatant violations of 18 US Code 1507  the provision that prohibits people from protesting at the homes of Supreme Court justices. By not prosecuting them, the Biden administration legitimized the protests last spring.

Barack Obama weaponized the Deep State, the massive unelected bureaucracies that represent the big in big government, in an effort to transform America into a socialist nation. Joe Biden has taken it one step farther by empowering the Deep State to crush his political opponents. Who could have dreamed 20 years ago that Gestapo tactics would rule the USA?

Biden has compared Americans who disagree with him to racists and terrorists. According to a report ordered by Biden, domestic political extremism is the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today. His DOJ has labeled parents as domestic terrorists if they oppose the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools, as well as Catholics who protest at abortion facilities.

Garland delivered his most ridiculous lie when he claimed that the DOJ doesnt prosecute many Antifa pro-life pregnancy attacks because they happen at night. Said Garland to Senator Mike Hill (R-Utah), there are many more prosecutions [of pro-life groups]. ... 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.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation

The FBI uses Gestapo tactics. It has assumed vast investigatory powers and vast discretion to determine who is a political enemy of Biden and the Democrat party. These are not tactics used by constitutional republics, where the rule of law and the rights of the public reign supreme. They are the tactics of an authoritarian organization, where secret police control the populace through intimidation, fear, and official lawlessness on behalf of Bidens sycophants. Its the FBI that does the dirty work of ensuring compliance, keeping tabs on potential dissidents, and punishing those who dare to challenge him.

You would think the FBI would concentrate its effort to stem the tide of rising crime and violence. But no! Bidens DOJ has focused the FBIs attention on cracking down on domestic terrorists, on conservative parents concerned about their children being indoctrinated in public schools, on Republicans who questioned the validity of the 2020 presidential election, and on those who didnt accede to COVID-19 mandates.

Drawing a card directly from the Gestapo playbook, numerous FBI agents have said that bureau leadership is pressuring agents to create domestic terrorism cases by labeling individuals as white supremacists. The agents say agency heads have already determined that White supremacy is a problem and has established a policy to prioritize racially motivated domestic extremism.

Under Biden, the FBI has become the embodiment of how power, once acquired, is easily corrupted and abused.

The Internal Revenue Service

The Tea Party, a national grassroots movement, emerged in 2009 in cities across the U.S. to fight then-president Obamas spending agenda and government takeover of American health care. Bureaucrats at the IRS noticed and stopped it. In 2016, three years after the IRS admitted that it gave extra scrutiny to conservative groups, it released a list of targeted organizations. Sixty groups on the list had the word tea in their name, 33 had patriot, eight referred to the Constitution, and 13 had 912, the title of a conservative movement, in their names. Another 26 group names referred to liberty. The list raises questions such as how wide the IRSs net was when it went after nonprofit groups for unusual scrutiny.

ProPublica, a progressive investigative journalism group, published in 2021 an article to expose how some wealthy Americans exploit the tax code to pay less in taxes. About the article, Charles Cooke of National Review wrote, There are only a few ways in which the information ProPublica examined could have made it onto the internet. It could have been leaked by someone who works for  or with  the IRS. ... Or it could have been surreptitiously released by a member of Congress or a Biden administration staffer. Whichever one of these happened, the conclusion must be the same: We cannot trust the IRS. (Emphasis mine.)

As Betsy McCaughey of Real Clear Politics wrote, [the IRSs] magnified clout will be used to muzzle and punish political critics. Thats a serious blow to our freedom.

Bottom Line: With every passing day, the Biden bunch borrows yet another tactic from the Gestapo: secret police, courts, and agencies; surveillance; lies; censorship; intimidation; harassment; entrapment; indoctrination; and indefinite detention. Bidens weaponization of the DOJ, the FBI, and the IRS, which should be completely non-partisan and non-biased, is an assault on our civilization. The problem is, The MSM wont point it out!

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Lets imagine that a complete societal collapse occurs in the near future. With New York high school students hunting down their teachers for supporting Israel, the FBI continuing its own hunt of J6 political protesters, and rising violent crime throughout the United States, this scenario does not seem so remote.

Unfettered illegal immigration and the replacement of Western civilization with a suicidal devotion to some amorphous, multicultural pustule have shattered the unifying bonds of a shared culture. Institutionalized racism in the form of government, academic, and corporate DEI initiatives that have replaced merit with skin color and oppression index scores has divided the population even further. The demonization of mainstream political opinion as extremist, far right, or even as prima facie evidence for domestic terrorism has ensured that roughly one-half of the body politic can no longer express its views without threats of criminal sanction and career retaliation.

Any American who opposes Marxist globalism, Deep State imperialism, bureaucratic tyranny, or central bank money manipulation is labeled a threat. Any American who strenuously defends free speech, religious liberty, private property, the right to self-defense, and any other personal freedom that guards the individual against intrusions from the State is labeled a threat. Any American who objects to the global elites obsession with global warming or who believes real science is never capable of reaching a dogmatic consensus is labeled a threat. In other words, the U.S. government and its globalist allies view at least a couple hundred million Americans as enemies of the State.

In functioning democratic republics, vicious ideological disagreement does not normally set a nation on fire. Political factions with great hostilities toward each other can coexist when political outcomes are determined by a set of agreed-upon rules. Democratic elections, republican virtues such as civil respect for political minorities, and constitutional safeguards that ensure the preservation of individual rights all foster a kind of governmental fairness that allows even polarized societies to flourish. However, when certain speech is censored as hateful or as misinformation, when the criminal justice system selectively prosecutes individuals based on their political affiliations, when nobody has any faith in the legitimacy of an elections outcome, and when constitutional rights are regularly disregarded or overridden by the State, then peace breaks down quickly.

When the normal release valves for civil disagreement disappear and the State chooses to perpetually torment certain citizens for their beliefs, those victims of the governments authoritarianism are left in a social wilderness. The deprivation of their civil rights within the governing system leaves them with a choice: to abandon their principles and avoid persecution or to operate beyond the constraints of the system. Whenever and wherever such a choice has been foisted upon a population, civil conflict becomes the unavoidable result.

What makes our circumstances particularly incendiary is the extent to which the American ruling class has taken sides. Corporate oligarchs, the entrenched bureaucratic government, and the State-controlled press have joined together to push extremely divisive moral, economic, and political worldviews upon the American people. By doing so, they have not only burned the bridges responsible for maintaining cultural peace but also destroyed any potential off-ramps that might allow these institutions to alter course as future events transpire.

In the past, multinational corporations could expect liberty-minded Americans to more or less respect the movements of free markets, even when they disagreed with the outcomes, such as the offshoring of American jobs to more business-friendly environments. Now, however, after not only witnessing China and other foreign adversaries buying up companies and properties in their own backyards but also enduring transnational behemoths haranguing Americans for not sufficiently embracing transgenderism, electric vehicles, white privilege, limitless immigration, and other tenets of the woke faith, a substantial percentage of formerly free market Americans subsequently view the financial class with irate suspicion.

Instead of facilitating the free trade of goods and services, large companies have revealed themselves to be exclusively interested in long-term monopolies, government partnerships, and social control. Corporate oligarchs have chosen to proselytize Americans into accepting the World Economic Forums trans-human, technocratic, feudalistic project of global management, and, by doing so, they have made themselves enemies to all freedom-supporting human beings. While defaming anyone to the right of Marx as a fascist, corporate boardrooms incestuous relationship with government-wielded power has brought fascism back to life. Freedom-minded Americans now know that neither corporations nor the governments that they furtively control are their friends.

If and when civil order breaks down, there will likely be no circumspect public division between those elites who betrayed liberty and those elites who did not. Because of the overwhelming unanimity of elite support for the Marxist globalists program of radical change (or the noticeable silence of those companies, politicians, and institutional parties in the face of this civilizational onslaught), when the fire finally rages, it will consume all.

The central bank money printers, corporate kings, global warming zealots, government technocrats, clandestine security services, and bureaucratic authoritarians have created a quintessentially zero-sum game. Therefore, when regular people are finally forced to defend their way of life against tyrannical aggression, they will conclude that no person in a position of authority today is without some guilt. The graveyard of burned bridges and detonated off-ramps all around us has ensured that there will be no future safe space.

In a discussion with Tucker Carlson, astute public policy critic Michael Shellenberger says bluntly, We know that the pillars of civilization are cheap energy, meritocracy, law and order, and free speech, and all four of those pillars are currently under attack. Because of governments sustained offensive against the very pillars necessary for prosperity and peace, there is a widening gulf separating the priorities of global elites and the general populations that they insist on ruling. Shellenberger looks at the climate change conference now taking place in Dubai and sees it as nothing less than an anti-human death cult. Carlson agrees and concludes, Its not environmentalism. Its the snarling face of tyranny.

Americans have a history with tyranny  their national ethos is predicated upon its destruction. For two and half centuries, Americans have celebrated their ancestors victories over the British Empire and the creation of a new country hostile to aristocratic entitlements and founded on a sincere devotion to the protection of individual lives, an individuals liberties, and an individuals ownership of private property.

Now Americans are waking up to a collectivist nightmare that devalues individual life and discards individual liberty as a relic from the past. As the U.S. government takes increasingly unconstitutional and un-American actions against its citizens, the public is grudgingly accepting the distasteful reality that tyranny not only quietly returned to Americas shores many decades ago but also did so through a united front that includes central bank money-printers, a stealthy army of national security forces, a permanent D.C. Deep State, and a cabal of Wall Street financial elites. While the State-owned-and-operated press corps betrayed their journalistic duties to guard Americans freedoms and reveal objective truths, those with the largest megaphones accepted lucrative deals to become the governments slavish spinmeisters and propagandists. Even religious leaders have become mouthpieces for Marxist globalisms anti-human death cult now in full swing.

What this means is that when social collapse occurs, it will be widespread and devastating and will require a great deal of endurance to make it to the other side. However, Americans are in much better shape than those nations of people who have no history of self-government, respect for personal property, or devotion to human liberty. Already, small towns of people are organizing for future calamity by speaking clearly about their agricultural resources, potential monetary needs, and capacity for self-defense. Soberly preparing for the globalists planned destruction is how we will all survive.

Image via Pxfuel.
Almost all Windows and Linux devices are vulnerable to a new form of LogoFAIL firmware attack, according to cybersecurity group Binarly.

The new cyberattack is reportedly capable of hacking computers by targeting the device's boot-up sequence, allowing bad actors to high level of control over the device.

Binarly noted that the malware can bypass Intel's Secure Boot and other similar protections against so-called bootkit infections.

The cybersecurity firm already that noted it "has detected parsers vulnerable to LogoFAIL in hundreds of devices" from Lenovo, Supermicro, MSI, HP, Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, Samsung, and Intel.

This means there is no stopping hackers from hijacking virtually all hardware makers for both consumer- and enterprise-grade models.

Worst of all, the attacks prey on over two dozen vulnerabilities that have existed for years. Binarly only detected hackers using the exploit in under a year.

Also Read: Google, Apple Rolls Out Emergency Updates to Fix Zero-Day Exploits on Chrome, iOS

How Does the New LogoFAIL Firmware Attack Works

As a firmware attack, LogoFAIL does not require physical access to devices to remotely control them.

According to Binarly, LogoFAIL attack can be executed via "image parsers" during the boot-up sequence of the device.

There, hackers will be able to disguise themselves as part of the operating system and gain access to personal files in the devices. Of course, this can only work if the infected device is connected to the internet.

New discoveries of system vulnerabilities only serve as "further proof of the endemic security problems that affect the firmware supply chain ecosystem," BinarLy stated.

How to Protect Devices from Firmware Cyberattack

While there is not much program and software developed to counter this specific exploit, Binarly advised Windows and Linux users to know how to detect similar attacks in the future.

It is also advised to not put all personal data in one device or connected to one device to prevent bad actors from gaining full access to all identity verification requirements.

Constantly updating the device can also work as big tech companies regularly provide security updates to their live services.

Related Article: How to Secure Your Personal Data on Google Chrome
An Israeli-born restaurant co-owner in Philadelphia was recently harassed and his restaurant vandalized by a large group of pro-Hamas protesters who gathered outside his Israeli-style falafel shop, called Goldie. Hundreds of protesters took to the City of Brotherly Loves streets calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, chanting inane ditties like "Goldie, Goldie, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide." Some of the demonstrators actually stormed Goldie, shouting their slogans and spraying graffiti, according to officials.

Not to be outdone, a group of Pro-Palestinian students from The New School in New York City recently blocked the entrance to one of the colleges main buildings as they protested the schools interim president for condoning genocide by not calling for the destruction of Israel. Approximately 40 students blocked the entrance to The New School University Center-- which contains classrooms, studios, a library, and a dining hall-- for two hours while waving Palestinian flags and donning the terrorists' signature keffiyeh scarves.

Meanwhile, back on Capitol Hill, a hearing on growing campus anti-Semitism was held, during which Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) repeatedly asked the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates each universitys rules or code of conduct. One might think that a remarkably easy query to answer, and yes, she told them that, but none of the presidents simply answered yes. In fact, all three stated that the answer to that poser lies in the context surrounding the call for genocide. Because, you know, there is good genocide and bad genocide, apparently. Two of them suggested that the speech must turn into conduct in order to violate their schools rules.

Incredibly, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, seemingly not grasping the concept of genocide, said it would if the comments were targeted at individuals. Okey-dokey, then. Kornbluth also noted that calls for intifada could be anti-Semitic depending on the context, when calling for the elimination of the Jewish people.

Yes, if calling for the elimination of the Jewish people isnt considered anti-Semitic, one could scarcely conger up what would be. For context, it may be helpful to note that Ms. Kornbluths school currently teaches faculty and staff that using a gender-dysphoric persons actual name instead of their new chosen name is a violent act.

At one point, Rep. Stefanik said to the higher education heads, I am asking, specifically calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment.

To which University of Pennsylvania president Liz McGill replied, If it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment. This prompted Stefanik to follow up by saying, So, the answer is yes?

McGill answered: It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman.

So, these Ivy League presidents say that if you actually start trying to exterminate Jews-- severely and pervasively exterminate them-- they would consider that bullying or harassment. But just calling for them to be eliminated-- on an occasional basis-- is not. And hate speech? Pshaw!

Well, that clears it up. I feel much better now!

Try to picture openly speaking of the genocide, elimination, or extermination of any other group of people. Blacks? Gays and lesbians? Transgenders? Mind-blowing. Impossible.

Sometimes you look back on something horrific like, say, the Holocaust, and think to yourself: how could this have happened? Some refuse even to believe that it did.

And then you look around today and see things like thisand are immediately both sadder and wiser.

And you think to yourself: 1938? Again?

Image: Screen shot from Twitter video
Heres an old Jewish joke that Ive been telling for years, and it goes back even further than that; I mightve first heard a version of it told by Jackie Mason. Its been repeated with various changes in the world leaders about whom its told. This is the latest incarnation of it, which Ive updated for current events. And, in light of those current events, its not nearly as funny as its been in the past, but the point it makes is probably more important than ever.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Jerusalem, and is being hosted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken, who is [ostensibly] Jewish himself, tells Netanyahu that he has always wanted to visit the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall, one of the worlds holiest places.

The Western Wall is what remains of the Second Temple, where Jews have been praying since 200 years before the birth of Christ and 900 years before the religion known as Islam ever appeared.

Image: The Western Wall by DGtal. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Blinken tells Netanyahu that he wants to ask God for a special blessing at the Western Wall. Netanyahu is thrilled. What a wonderful idea! he tells Blinken. For over 2000 years, its been said that when one prays at the Western Wall, God hears every word!

So they go to the Western Wall, and Blinken puts on a yarmulke, which Israelis call a kippah, and he stands right up against the Wall and touches it, like Orthodox Jews and many others do, and begins to pray.

Oh Heavenly Father, Blinken intones, I pray for a special blessing for my Israeli hosts, and for all the people of this Holy Land! Be they Jew, Christian, or Muslim, may they all enjoy peace, good health, and prosperity!

Netanyahu says, What a lovely prayer and a truly noble wish, Secretary Blinken! From your lips, to Gods ear, when you pray at the Western Wall!

And Blinken continues, Heavenly Father, I ask for a truly special blessing, on behalf of not only myself but also President Biden and his entire administration, and even former President Obama: May the Israelis find it in their hearts to understand Hamas and the people Hamas represents and who support Hamas. And as Israel responds to the murders, the taking of hostages, the rapes, the torture, the mutilations, the beheadings of children, and all the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated on October 7, may that response be tempered by compassion, restraint, moderation and, above all, proportionality!

Whereupon Netanyahu taps Blinken on the shoulder and says, Hey, Schmuck! Youre talkin to a wall!!

Authors Note: Stu Tarlowe has, since 2010, contributed well over 150 pieces to American Thinker. In addition to being an entrepreneur, raconteur, chanteur, boulevardier and dilettante (in the best sense of the word), he is a semi-retired Boardwalk Pitchman and a joke collector and joke wrangler. His personal pantheon of heroes and role models includes Barry Farber, Jean Shepherd, Long John Nebel, Bob Grant, Rush Limbaugh, Aristide Bruant, Col. Jeff Cooper, Rabbi Meir Kahane, G. Gordon Liddy, Hunter S. Thompson, Emmett Grogan, Theo Kojak, Paladin and Rin Tin Tin. His Substack newsletter, Stus Stack oStuff, has lain fallow for more than a year, but hes lately been threatening to revive it.
Many of President Trump's speeches have invested an inordinate amount of time untangling the mind-controlling rhetoric spun by the Democrat-affiliated media.

A review of the false leftwing narratives that were freely published over and over again and patiently and repeatedly debunked by the Trump administration include:

No topic was off limits, and Trumps views were unfiltered, uncensored, and even avidly rehashed in political news and on social media during the Trump era.

A staunch believer in the First Amendment, President Trump preferred to spend lengthy sessions chatting with reporters and his audience to repeatedly expose fake news or clarify unfiltered leftwing accusations instead of ever issuing any directive to censor them.

Conversely, Obamas blatant suffocation of the press was exposed in 2013 by New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan, who said, its turning out to be the administration of unprecedented secrecy and unprecedented attacks on a free press. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Obama-Biden regime contained control freaks regarding the First Amendment.

David E. Sanger, the veteran chief Washington correspondent of the New York Times, proclaimed, This is the most closed, control-freak administration Ive ever covered.

Meanwhile, Obamas White House website touted, Government should be transparent, and Transparency promotes accountability which was fawned over by his supporters but did not represent reality.

"He promised to be a different kind of president," said Jerry Kammer, a former Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and affiliate of the Center for Immigration Studies. Kammer added, "But he has only suppressed efforts to disclose the government's misdeeds. His administration has been untransparent at so many levels."

Its hypocritical, New York Times reporter James Risen told Times columnist Maureen Dowd over lunch in 2014. A lot of people still think this is some kind of game or signal or spin. They dont want to believe that Obama wants to crack down on the press and whistleblowers. But he does. Hes the greatest enemy to press freedom in a generation.

In view of current Obama 2.0 press and speech control issues, it might help to review some details.

In 2010, the Obama administration renewed the questionable Bush-era subpoena against Risen to force him to reveal his source of CIA leaked information. In February 2011, federal investigators reportedly spied on Risen, which included scrutinizing his credit reports, personal bank records, phone logs, and movements.

Additionally, the Obama White House consistently blocked Fox News reporters from information, such as excluding Fox from a White House conference call about the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in 2013 and barring it from an all-network CIA briefing.

What's more, Obamas DOJ labeled Fox News reporter James Rosen a criminal co-conspirator under the Espionage Act of 1917. The White House's excuse was that Rosen used a State Department contractor as a source for a story. The FBI collected the phone records of Rosens parents, and the DOJ seized e-mails from Rosens personal Gmail account. Obama's DOJ seized the records of at least five phone lines connected to Fox News.

However, Fox wasnt the only news source pressphobe Obama was threatened by.

In May of 2013, the Associated Press revealed that the DOJ had secretly obtained records on all phone calls made by specific AP journalists (as well as general news staff), potentially compromising many sources totally unrelated to investigations.

To sum it up, a 2013 CBS report declared that the Obama administration created a culture that made government officials afraid to talk to the press, had heightened surveillance and prosecution of both reporters and their sources, and restricted information that allowed reporters to hold the government accountable for its actions.

By 2014, the Obama administration had even set the record for denying the most Freedom of Information Act requests of any administration. Then, it beat its own record in 2015.

Fast-forward to the Obama 2.0 administration represented by straw president Joe Biden, dubbed the king of censorship by the Boston Herald. Positioned in the White House by hook or by crook, as they said back when America was great, the unprecedented control freak has double-downed and created a blatant censorship network.

However, in 2023, United States District Court Judge Terry Doughty confirmed that government agencies, such as the FBI, operated with Big Tech (Twitter and Facebook) to manipulate perceptions during of the 2020 election anomalies.

Even better, in the landmark free-speech case, Missouri v. Biden, the Supreme Court validated that the Biden White House censored opposition to leftist narrative, which included news suppression of the origins of COVID-19, vaccine side effects, false mask-efficacy, details about the war in Ukraine, and 2020 election ballot schemes.

Unsurprisingly suppressed in leftwing echo chambers was the July 4, 2023 ruling by Justice Doughty, who blocked contact between Biden administration officials and social media companies, ruling that the two were working together to censor speech.

This was palpable evidence of annihilated democracy. Therefore, the question is, why would Democrats even think of inviting in another Biden administration? More significantly, just what is President Trumps communication style that liberates America from the stress of unprecedented control-freaks? Certainly, it is not like Obama-ish canned rhetoric because the crowd inevitably begs to hear their favorite story.

When this happens, Trump, like a patient dad, caves in, and takes out a worn paper from inside the breast pocket of his suit jacket. He starts to read The Snake. It is now a favorite MAGA family tradition, this poem is a silent promise made together as a pro-God, pro-Constitution community always to cherish and protect freedom but also to experience a shared understanding about why their fellow man is historically duped by socialism.

Trumps communication style is liberating indeed.

Here is a short version of the lesson, written by civil rights activist Oscar Brown Jr. in 1963:

On her way to work one morning Down the path alongside the lake A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew Oh well, she cried, I'll take you in and I'll take care of you Now she clutched him to her bosom, You're so beautiful, she cried But if I hadn't brought you in by now you might have died Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight But instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite I saved you, cried that woman And you've bitten me, why? You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die Oh shut up, silly woman, said the reptile ,with a grin You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in."

Marie Hembree, M.A. Ph.D. (ABD) is an Academic Success instructor in Title One schools and an academic journalist in California, completing a dissertation in the Communication discipline.

Image: Official White House photo, via Flickr // public domain
In today's 'oh spare us' news, the left is having an absolute cow over Israeli troops flushing out Hamas terrorists from their snake holes and then forcing them to strip down to their underwear to prove to that yes, they were surrendering, and no, they didn't have a gun in their pants or a shiv in their shoes, or a strap-on bomb in their pocket, or a dynamite pack in some orifice, which is a pretty standard military safety precaution.

Historic pictures



Hamas terrorists mass-surrendering to Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/htntsLTHsg  Visegrad 24 (@visegrad24) December 9, 2023

Get a load of this from Qatar-linked al-Jazeera:

Shawan Jabarin, director of the Al-Haq human rights organisation, said he was shocked to see images that reminded him of the treatment of detainees and prisoners of war during World War II. This [is] inhuman, it amounts to torture and more than that, its a war crime and a crime against humanity, he told Al Jazeera.

Inhuman? Actually, it's standard operating procedure for wartime. Nobody made Hamas start the war. They chose to do it themselves, and they chose poorly. Now they're humiliated as losers as they rightly should be, given the heinous nature of their crimes.

Some common sense here:

It is stunning to me that so many people do not get this is a freaking WAR.



They have not studied wars in the past, even more importantly ancient wars.



They pretend not to know why the soldiers are stripped down. Anyone who has studied war tactics knows why. https://t.co/50TUiVgBPV  Denise (@Likeshesays) December 9, 2023

And speaking of crimes, it's significant that they actually now resemble these gangsters in the prisons in El Salvador, which won its war on crime by having to do this:

El Salvador. This is what prisoners look like. pic.twitter.com/tK4HXEDyfe  MelloVox (@Mellovox) December 8, 2023

Oh boo hoo. Do the crime, get treated like a criminal, that's how it goes.

There's little arguing that the kind of "warfare" Hamas practiced on unarmed women, old people, and children on October 7 was crime, too. Real men don't "fight" the helpless. Real men don't shield themselves with women and children and stuff their rockets in hospitals, mosques and school houses. Nor do they wear uniforms. But criminals certainly do.

Notice that the #HamasTerrorists don't wear uniforms what so ever. This way, if they are killed, they can say Israel is killing civilians. pic.twitter.com/6URQjuJdap  Danny Daniel (@DannyDan1970) December 5, 2023

In that regard, the nearly naked photos of the defeated Hamas thugs serve as fair warning not to do this if you want to stay out of one of these lineups. It's the same warning that exists from the photos in El Salvador.

Fat, flabby, Hamas terrorists sitting on the ground in their underwear is not a good recruiting tool for terrorist sign-ups. Makes one wonder if that's what really bothers them.

But the hand-wringing doesn't stop. The clowns howling said nothing about Israeli women being raped, or Israeli men being raped, or women and children tied together and burned to death. They said nothing about a mass spray shooting at a concert that left more than 200 dead in that place alone. They said nothing about the taking and torturing, raping and beating of hostages. They were silent when a young Israeli woman was dragged through the streets of Gaza, nearly naked, spat on, danced around, and then beheaded and some of her remains left in some road where people could find it. They said nothing when Hamas baked a baby in an oven.

Now they're surrendering in droves and the photos are getting out showing them in a rather humiliating manner. It's the humilation of Hamas that gets them, not the crimes of Hamas against against innocent Israelis and others.

They hate the thought of Hamas humiliated, maybe even more than the thought of Hamas defeated. They're upset at how gross they look, with the paraded terrorists in the photos obviously never having missed a meal:

This signals the end for Hamas in Gaza, as clear as the weapon's embrace and the chubby belly of this heinous figure. Victory for humanity as more Iranian proxy-armed terrorists surrender today.#HamasisISIS #Israel pic.twitter.com/IfhODQr4gx  Amjad Taha   (@amjadt25) December 9, 2023

I think we found out whose been stealing all the humanitarian aid rations. Allahu Snackbar!! #HamasTerrorists pic.twitter.com/5zGuuxVfak  Adam Seegz (@aSeegz) December 8, 2023

They're vile terrorists and now they've got what was coming to them. The Israelis, of course, are being gentle on them, given the killings and thievery they've done, subjecting them to some kind of due process. Hamas would have massacred them if it was the other way around.

But the left has no shame here, they can't live with the thought of the entire world poking fun at their doughy, flabby, unwashed, hog-sized tubbalard heros who made them so proud on October 7 back when they went around raping and murdering Jews.

Image: Twitter screen shot
I suspect that Barack Obama consciously chose not to allow the world to see his full communist, socialist, leftist leanings while he was still POTUS. And so I fear that many have become convinced that he is a real American.

That is the crux of the matter: dont you ever wonder about anyone who is so totally dedicated to the destruction of America? And how many still consider him an American? A professional politician can be very good at being a politician while not being very good at being an American.

There are three things that motivate every professional politician: power, money, and sex, in no particular order. One or more is the prime motivator for every professional politician. Everything else that they can possibly want is connected to and dependent on those three.

Obama wanted at least one of those, probably even two. He wanted his legacy as the first black president to be clean for the history books in the future, not to be vilified as another Karl Marx. It would not be clean to go down in history as one of the greatest anti-America presidents in history. He knows that he is still young enough, charismatic enough, connected enough, and is becoming wealthy enough to get away with it.

Please do not give up on America. The forces of evil never give up on their assault. The defenders of American liberty should not give up, either. We may as well get used to that truth and never completely relax. If we relax, the attacks of the left will intensify even more.

Now does it all make more sense? You know, Im thinking this could be the case with more professional politicians than just Mr. Obama.

James L. Beam is a pseudonym.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
PornHub is the worlds largest online corporate purveyor of pornography. Technically, its for adults only, but children seek it out. An undercover video has revealed that writers who work for PornHubs parent company, Aylo (formerly known as Mindgeek), have a definite agenda: They want to introduce children to transgender and other non-heterosexual forms of sexuality in order to convert them.

The video comes from Arden Young, who works for Sound Investigations, an undercover investigative group. She spoke with Michael Knowles about her investigative video. Here are both her investigative video and her interview with Knowles:

NEW UNDERCOVER VID



P*rnhub Parent Aylo Employee: Kids Will Find Their Kink on Aylo Site



Aylo Writer: 12-Year-Olds Watching Trans P*rn Probably Helps a Lot



Push Stuff Thats Less Accepted Get More Men, Straight Men, in on [Gay & Trans P*rn], Toopic.twitter.com/YzwsmDNIfx  Sound Investigations (@SoundInvestig) December 6, 2023

EXCLUSIVE: Top PornHub staff admits to inserting gay and trans themes into mainstream porn to convert straight men pic.twitter.com/w8otDNm4Du  Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) December 6, 2023

If you dont want to watch the videos, the key quotations come from Dillon Rice, a senior script writer, because even porn needs a storyline:

Lets say youre 12 years old, youre still figuring out your sexuality, maybe even your gender, wouldnt it be helpful to see not a celebration but maybe just a  normalization of something that you think is what you want? Rice is seen saying. Rice went on to specifically reference a pornography site centered around transgender individuals, remarking, Lets say I was 12 and I saw TransAngels  it would help me figure out what I do like and what I dont like. [snip] Rice remarked that while some platforms are primarily for straight men, the company tries to push the envelope as much as you can and be like, can I hint at bi content here  what if we brought a trans talent onto the site  you kinda take those risks to broaden it a little more. Rice added youre always trying to push a little further. They need to try to push stuff that is  less accepted, like putting a trans male or trans female in a scene, Rice said. See if you can convert somebody.

Lady Gaga famously sang Baby, I was born this way back in 2011, when we were still being told that homosexuality was immutable, making abusive any efforts to reprogram children and adults identifying as homosexual. However, once the Supreme Court found an imaginary right to same-sex marriage in the Constitution, the left immediately moved on to the next battle: transgenderism.

Suddenly, we were told that, while sexual attraction is fixed, biological sex is not. Of course, the reverse is true. Biological sex is fixed, while sexual attraction can be mutated.

Most children will follow the sexual attraction aligned with their biological sex. However, there are children who are not attracted to the opposite sex. In my personal experience of having known many gay men and lesbian women (I did, after all, grow up and work in San Francisco), every last one of them had dominant mothers and either physically or emotionally absent fathers. Every last one of them.

Many people who opt for same-sex attractions will also acknowledge that they were affected by early sexual experiences, whether with pedophiles or people their own age. The reality is that sex is both a physical and mental experience. If people are exposed to the physical part of sex before they have a strong mental sense of themselves, they will associate pleasure with whatever that first interaction was. That means, if its gay porn or weird transgender stuff, that may continue to be a sexual trigger.

This can happen to adults, too. Just think of the Wachowski brothers who came up with the Matrix movies. Both brothers now claim they are women. One of them (and I have no idea which one) admitted that the trigger for deciding he was a she was watching transgender pornography. Without that, its highly likely he would have continued until death being what he was born to bea man, albeit probably a gay man.

So yes, the LGBTQ+ crowd and other people whose lives are defined entirely by their genitals (whether they like them or not) want to convert your children.

Image: Drag queen story hour, another conversion effort.
Recently, more than a dozen state attorneys general signed a letter to media outlets such as the New York Times and Reuters, putting them "on notice" that providing material support to terrorist organizations like Hamas is illegal.

Would this be necessary if we actually had a free and unbiased press? Shouldnt journalists already know this?

Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird initiated the letter, which expressed concerns that journalists embedded with Hamas may have deep connections to the terrorist organization "and may have participated in the October 7 attack."

In fact, mainstream media outlets even reportedly hired Palestinian photojournalists.

The state AGs referenced a letter a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent to Reuters recently that asked the outlet "how its journalist knew to be available for the October 7 attack. The letter also urged Reuters to address whether it had prior knowledge of the attack-- or if one of the organizations journalists had been in contact with Hamas before the attack.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) also sent a letter last month to Attorney General Merrick Garland, CNN, the Associated Press, Thomson Reuters, and the New York Times, in which he asked for details surrounding reporters embedded with Hamas.

Cotton wrote:

I write regarding reports that so-called 'journalists' employed by the Associated Press, CNN, New York Times, and Reuters accompanied Hamas terrorists into Israel during the October 7 terror attack. These individuals almost certainly knew about the attack in advance, and even participated by accompanying Hamas terrorists during the attack and filming the heinous acts. In at least one case, one of the individuals affiliated with these media outlets even took a selfie while being kissed on the cheek by a Hamas leader who helped mastermind the attack.

Wow. So much for fair and balanced. Its hard to claim youre a detached, objective, observer when a terrorist mastermind of the very attack you are currently covering is smooching you on the cheek while you are taking a selfie.

Who can forget the great photojournalists of yesteryear-- like Heinrich Himmler, Charles Manson, and Timothy McVeigh?

Sadly, much of what we are told-- and shown-- by the press is fake news.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
I dislike the International Red Cross (which is, I hasten to add, a separate organization from the American Red Cross). Going back at least as far as World War II, the International Red Cross hasnt been a friend to Jews. This trend continues, with the latest example being its sickening scolding of an Israeli family for daring to ask that it deliver medicine to their daughter being held hostage in Gaza.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (aka the ICRC, the Red Cross, or the International Red Cross) got off to a strong humanitarian start. Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, came up with the idea in 1859 after witnessing the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino, fought during the Second Italian War of Independence.

When the fighting ended, around 40,000 soldiers were left dead or dying on the battlefield. Dunant convinced the local population to ignore the side on which the soldiers fought and, instead, to step in and provide relief to all the wounded men. Dunant later wrote about this experience and, by 1863, concerned Genevan citizens formed the organization that led to the Geneva Convention and the creation of the International Red Cross.

Image: IRGC logo (edited). Public domain.

During World War II, members of the ICRC famously visited Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia, which the Nazis had set up as a waystation to Auschwitz and other extermination camps. Conditions were deplorable, with roughly 33,000 people dying in Theresienstadt before even being shipped to the gas chambers. Of the 144,000 who passed through the camp, only 23,000 survived the war, an 84% death rate. Nevertheless, when the Nazis allowed members of the ICRC and the Danish Red Cross to visit in June 1944, the latter were totally taken in by a quick paint and clean-up job that the Nazis performed.

One could say that the Nazis were masters of fakery, so the ICRC could be forgiven for being tricked. The camp had been cleaned up, flowers planted, and prisoners roped into performing as if they were happy, on pain of death. (All those involved in the Potemkin Village charade were then immediately sent to death camps.) With war raging, how picky were the Red Cross delegates going to be about an interned populationalthough they might have wondered where the rest of Czechoslovakias Jews were or why, specifically, the Jews were being interned at all.

However, the ICRC showed its true colors when it refused to admit Israels national emergency medical service to join its rank. Israel originally created its Magen David Adom (or Red Star of David) when it was still under the British Mandate. However, although the modern State of Israel came into existence in 1948, it wasnt until 2006 that the ICRC recognized it.

The alleged reason for this refusal was the Jews stubborn insistence on using a Star of David rather than a cross. However, in 1929, the ICRC admitted into its ranks the Red Crescent, representing the former Ottoman Empire. The crescent, of course, is the symbol of Islam. The ICRC then refused to acknowledge any new emblems, despite Israels creation and the fact that Israels mortal enemies got to keep that crescent.

Still, Israel persisted and, as noted, in 2006, it got ICRC admission. It turns out, though, that this may have been a wasted effort. Thats because the ICRC, like the UN, is another ostensibly neutral organization that has chosen sides in this conflict. Thats the only explanation for this news report:

Families of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas were reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross in a recent meeting, with the Red Cross telling one family they need to think about the Palestinian side, KAN has reported. Roni and Simona, the parents of Doron Steinbrecher who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kfar Azza on October 7, were invited to a meeting with the Red Cross this past week. Doron needs a medication she takes daily and her parents thought that the Red Cross was finally willing to transfer the medication to her, but instead, they were sat down and reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross. Think about the Palestinian side, the representatives of the Red Cross told Simona, according to KAN. Its hard for the Palestinians, theyre being bombed.

Talk about mission creep! As I wrote at the top of this essay, the whole purpose of the organization was to provide care without taking sides. And yet here we have a civilian who was violently seized and is being held prisoner, but the ICRC is refusing to get her the medicine she needs. Henry Dunant is rolling in his grave over this disgusting conduct.

(The American Red Cross, as I said, is entirely separate from the ICRC and does not suffer from the same shortcomings. Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881. It has never had a connection to the ICRC.)
A survivor of Hamas captivity recently said he was held hostage by a United Nations Relief and Works Agency teacher.

UNRWA (for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) is a U.N. organization purportedly intended to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees, not to take or guard hostages for Hamas.

UNRWA, with headquarters in Gaza, has also been frequently and credibly accused of having its relief trucks being utilized as vessels to transport rockets and ammunition into Gaza for the Hamas terrorists to use. Moreover, the food that UNRWA brings to Gaza allegedly is often sold in markets and supermarkets rather than distributed free of charge to the needy. Some say UNRWA is engaged in nepotism and profiteering in its aid distribution.

This is not surprising. So many U.N. peacekeeping troops have been accused of sexual abuseand worse-- in so many places over so many years it would make Jeffrey Epstein jealous. The U.N. is neither particularly competent nor discerning in its moral values. The late great writer and investigative humorist P.J. ORourke noted that a U.N. famine relief convoy was once delayed by a day because its Italian members lingered too long over lunch.

Even more preposterously, the U.N. recently picked The Islamic Republic of Iran to chair its Human Rights Council.

Ronald Reagan once famously said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were Im from the government and Im here to help. Something similar could be said of the U.N. and its affiliated organizations.

Image: Flag of the United Nations, via Wikipedia // public domain
Hunter Biden got some bad news this week: Indictment in California and allegations that he failed to pay nearly $200,000 of income tax in the year 2019.

We can thank Judge Maryellen Noreika for this, as Jonathan Turley points out:

Five months ago, exasperated Biden defense counsel Chris Clark snapped at federal prosecutors to just rip it up after a plea bargain hit a snag in a hearing before Judge Maryellen Noreika. They did and, for the first time, Hunter could be facing a real chance for jail time. The six misdemeanor charges and three felonies carry a potential sentence of 17 years for alleged tax evasion and filing a false return. It could have been worse. The Justice Department inexplicably allowed the statute of limitations to run on the most serious allegations involving payments from years going back to 2016. Those are mentioned in the narrative of the indictment but not charged as separate offenses. None of this would have happened if Judge Noreika did not ask a very simple question about the plea agreement and a sweeping immunity provision buried in its language. Many judges would have likely flagged through the agreement and given Hunter the sweetest of sweetheart deals. Noreika noticed that the deal seemed to give Hunter immunity for any crime going forward and asked the prosecutor if he had ever seen any agreement like this one. He honestly answered no. It was later learned that there was a push within the Justice Department to have no charges at all brought against Hunter in an investigation that was heavily laden with special treatment, according to IRS whistleblowers.

Thanks, Judge -- and those whistleblowers mocked by partisan congressmen.

Of course, the real issue is Hunter's father and just how much he may have benefitted from any of this. So far, President Biden has denied everything, including that his son was doing business with other countries.

Maybe it was all a coincidence, as President Biden's defenders want you to believe.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that dad and son were flying on the VP's plane to Ukraine and other destinations.

Or maybe the son was kidding when he said that the big guy was sitting next to him.

Or maybe the time has come to put Joe away and prepare that much-anticipated convention when the party elites go around the delegates and nominate someone else. Sorry Kamala.

I don't know where all of this is going. However, Joe Biden has a bad moon rising and we can thank Judge Noreika for that.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Image: United States District Court for the District of Delaware
Korea and the United States agreed Saturday to strengthen their cooperation in next-generation technologies, such as bio, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, battery and energy technology, according to the presidential office.

The agreement was reached during the inaugural Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue held between the two countries at the presidential office in Seoul.

During the meeting co-chaired by Korean National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and his U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan, both nations decided to explore ways for cooperation between semiconductor technology centers, which their governments are pushing to establish in their respective countries.

They also pledged to broaden opportunities for supporting joint research projects between Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

In the bio sector, the countries will invest at least $10 million in supporting research collaboration between the two institutions.

The countries also agreed to initiate a civilian-government meeting involving the governments and pharmaceutical companies of the two countries in the U.S. next year to strengthen the supply chain for drugs, among other plans aimed to facilitate corporate cooperation in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.

The battery and clean energy sector will witness an expansion of research and development collaboration between state think tanks of the two countries for the development of next-generation batteries, according to the presidential office.

Washington will cooperate with Seoul on various international AI-related meetings it will host next year, including a mini virtual summit on AI safety, a global AI forum and a summit on the responsible use of AI in the military domain, also known as REAIM 2023.

The two countries are also expected to cooperate in the construction of information and communications technology infrastructure in third countries, such as Southeast Asian nations, and in the field of international standards, such as 5G and 6G.

"Korea has positioned core and emerging technology policies as a crucial pillar of its security policy, and is pushing for the enactment of related laws, the establishment of a pan-governmental joint response team for technology leaks, and the expansion of global joint research budgets," Cho was quoted as saying during the meeting.

In response, Sullivan said he was pleased to hold the meeting and hoped the two allies will continue to strengthen cooperation in the field of core and emerging technologies. (Yonhap)
The Scottish Government must not prolong the legal battle following a defeat over Holyroods gender reform laws, former SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes has warned.

First Minister Humza Yousaf claimed devolution was fundamentally flawed following the Court of Sessions ruling that the UK Government had acted lawfully in using a Section 35 order of the Scotland Act to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining royal assent.

The legislation simplifies the process for transgender people to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) and officially change their legally recognised sex.

I previously argued that Scot Gov shouldnt contest S35 unless there was a v high chance of success. A loss for Scot Gov would obvs absorb public funds but could also embolden future UK Govs to interfere in devolution, which no party of independence wishes to see. /1  Kate Forbes MSP (@_KateForbes) December 9, 2023

The legal challenge cost the Scottish Government around 230,000 and ministers now have three weeks to decide whether they want to appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court.

In her ruling, Lady Haldane, who presided over two days of evidence in September, said the Scottish Governments petition fails, dismissing arguments from Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain that Scottish Secretary Alister Jack launched the never-before-used power because of a policy disagreement.

She also agreed that reserved equality laws would be altered by the Scottish legislation because it would mean the GRC would be altered by removing the gender dysphoria diagnosis.

Mr Yousaf said on Friday he would take time to consider the judgment, however his leadership rival has warned that appealing against the decision could exacerbate divisions rather than heal them.

Instead, she urged the First Minister to work with MSPs to develop a reformed Bill that works for campaigners on both sides of the argument.

 Today's judgment confirms beyond doubt that devolution is fundamentally flawed. The Court has confirmed that legislation passed by a majority in Holyrood can be struck down by Westminster. The only way to guarantee we get true self-government is through independence.  Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) December 8, 2023

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the former finance secretary said: I previously argued that Scot Gov shouldnt contest S35 unless there was a v high chance of success. A loss for Scot Gov would obvs absorb public funds but could embolden future UK Govs to interfere in devolution, which no party of independence wishes to see.

The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP added: Most worrying, it has created a period of great uncertainty and fear for trans people and women and girls, deepening already bitter divisions. All politicians must heal divisions not exacerbate them. That means listening.

The priority should now be to give security and clarity to trans people & to women & girls. I urge the Gov not to prolong the legal battle further. I have confidence in our citizens & democratic processes to safeguard rights of everybody in a reformed Bill if we listen to all.

During the leadership contest earlier this year, which saw Ms Forbes come a close second to Mr Yousaf, the gender reforms were a significant part of the debate.

Ms Forbes has been a strong critic of the proposals in their current form and she said she would not have voted for the Bill if she had been in parliament instead of on maternity leave during the crucial vote.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters are calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they march from Bank to Parliament Square on Saturday.

The march began at Bank Junction at midday and will finish in Westminster later this afternoon, following a route that takes it past St Pauls Cathedral and Somerset House.

People on the march held signs with the words Free Palestine and End the siege.

Demonstrators are calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas (James Manning/PA)

Some protesters chanted: One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.

They also chanted the controversial slogan: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.

A post on Palestine Solidarity Campaigns website says: Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9 to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza.

Previous weekends have seen thousands of protesters and counter-protesters converging on the capital.

The Metropolitan Police tweeted that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, the force said.

A protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will take place tomorrow, beginning at Bank junction in the City of London from midday. Conditions in place under Sec 12 of the Public Order Act require protesters to stick to the agreed route as shown in the map below. pic.twitter.com/2I273YLIll  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) December 8, 2023

He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

Earlier, the Met Police said that protesters must stick to the agreed route, under Section 12 of the Public Order Act.

Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm, it said.

It comes after the UK chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza  a motion that was vetoed by the US.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in Parliament Square to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The protesters marched from Bank Junction to Westminster, with many holding signs with the words Free Palestine and End the siege.

Some protesters chanted: One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.

They also chanted the controversial slogan: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

The Metropolitan Police said that 13 protesters were arrested, mostly for offensive placards.

Police said that one woman was arrested after the forces specialist Voyager CCTV monitoring team identified her as being wanted for an offence that occurred at a previous protest on October 28.

It comes after the UK chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza  a motion that was vetoed by the US.

Lebanese-American Nadim Hussami, 44, said that the Government should demand a ceasefire.

They should ask for an immediate ceasefire and not veto or abstain from UN Security Council resolutions, he said.

Jocelyn Cruywagen, from South Africa, said that no-one can be free until Palestinians are free.

We were oppressed by white people, as black South Africans we had to fight for our freedoms, we are still not entirely free, she said.

It takes so much time.

The words of Mandela are, if the Palestinians are not free, we cannot be free, the world can not be be free.

Protesters on the Embankment during a pro-Palestine march (James Manning/PA)

She said that the Government must call for a permanent ceasefire.

They should ask for the land to be restored to the Palestinians, she said.

The wall needs to come down.

Londoner Kelly Hunter, 60, said she felt helpless watching the news.

I have come on every single one, I am a Londoner, she said.

I feel helpless, I cant sleep at night.

I am watching this genocide. I will do everything I can in my power to march against it.

Previous weekends have seen thousands of protesters and counter-protesters converging on the capital.
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's southeast on Saturday sweated through a heat wave that raised the risk of bushfires and led authorities to ban fires in large parts of New South Wales state.

The nation's weather forecaster predicted a maximum temperature in Sydney, Australia's most populous city, of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), almost 15 degrees above the average December high for the city.

At Observatory Hill in the centre of Sydney, the capital of News South Wales, the temperature was 38.9 C (102 F) at 1 p.m. (0200 GMT) on Saturday, according to forecaster data.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in Sydney it was "a time to ensure that we look after each other and stay safe".

"Today in Sydney, and in other parts of the east coast, it's a reminder that there just might be something in this climate change stuff," Albanese said, according to a transcript.

The heat heightens the risk of bushfires in an already high-risk fire season during Australia's December-February summer due to an El Nino weather event, typically associated with extremes such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts.

New South Wales fire authorities said on social media platform X that a fire ban was in place for large swaths of the state, including Sydney, given "very hot, dry and windy conditions" brought by warm northwesterly winds.

There were 71 grass and bushfires - 21 of them uncontained - burning across New South Wales on Saturday, the state's Rural Fire Service said.

Authorities are concerned about a return of dangerous fire conditions this summer after Australia's last two fire seasons were quiet compared with the 2019-2020 "Black Summer" that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.

In a warning on Friday, the forecaster said "severe heat wave conditions" would continue in much of New South Wales into next week, with peak temperatures predicted for the weekend.

At Sydney's Coogee Beach, head lifeguard Clive Stiff said the extreme heat meant a busy Saturday for those on patrol.

"We're mostly worried about sun safety and hydration, both for members of the public and members of the Patrol of course," Stiff said.

Beachgoer Carley Carr took a more relaxed view of the heat.

"It's about time that we had a good summer. So we'll be down at the beach probably early and staying inside for middle of the day," Carr said.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith and Stefica Nicol Bikes in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Diane Craft and William Mallard)
GREEN BAY  A barge delivered the last major pieces of equipment Friday to the Broadway Mill for Georgia-Pacific's more than $550 million expansion project in Green Bay.

The mill already made recycled tissue products for the away-from-home market that would people would find in restaurants, hotels, airports and other similar locations.

The expansion will allow the facility to also produce Brawny paper towels and other premium private level brands, according to Georgia-Pacific.

A dryer hood is moved off of a barge on Friday at the Georgia-Pacific Broadway mill in Green Bay. The barge delivered a Yankee dryer, TAD dryers and hoods for the mill's Brawny expansion project.

Construction began in July 2022, and it's expected to be done next year.

On Friday morning, a barge carried a new Yankee dyer, through air dried (TAD) dryers and hoods to the mill, at 1919 S. Broadway along the Fox River.

The equipment's arrival marked "a big milestone," Dean Wesolowski, the expansion's operations manager, said in a news release. Given this, we expect to start up the new paper machine sometime during the first half of 2024.

A Yankee dryer is unloaded off a barge Friday at Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill in Green Bay. The equipment, made by Valmet, left Sweden in October and passed through Milwaukee before arriving in Green Bay.

More: $550 million expansion at Broadway Mill is less than a year away from being done

Georgia-Pacific is adding an eighth paper machine at the Broadway site, which uses TAD technology to create "improved softness and absorbency," according to a November update from the company.

The expansion spans roughly 600,000 square feet, with multiple connected buildings. It stretches from South Broadway down to the river and wraps around the mill.

A barge docked on Friday at the Georgia-Pacific Broadway Mill in Green Bay. The barge delivered a Yankee dryer, TAD dryers and hoods for the mill's Brawny expansion project.

Last month, Georgia-Pacific said last major structural beam was added.

The company expects to add at least 100 new jobs to the mill's 850 current employees.

Weighing about 150 tons, the Yankee dryer delivered Friday was by made by Valmet in Sweden, according to Georgia-Pacific. Valmet also manufactured the TAD dryers at its facility in Maine, according to a news release.

The Yankee dryer left Sweden in September and arrived in Milwaukee on Oct. 23, Georgia-Pacific said. It was loaded on the barge carrying the TAD dryers from Maine on Dec. 6, and all the pieces arrived at the Broadway Mill for unloading Friday, according to the company.

Reach Becky Jacobs at bjacobs@gannett.com or 920-993-7117. Follow her on Twitter at @ruthyjacobs.

A TAD dryer arrives at Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill on Friday in Green Bay. The equipment was made by Valmet in Maine, and it is part of Georgia-Pacific's more than $550 million expansion project.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Georgia-Pacific receives machinery for Green Bay mill expansion
The leaders of four armed gangs in Haiti, including one who is the target of a $2 million FBI bounty and forced the evacuation of personnel from the U.S. Embassy this summer, have been hit with economic sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department.

The sanctions by the Biden administration were announced Friday shortly before a United Nations sanctions committee also designated the same individuals. They will now join the only other person on the U.N. sanctions list: Jimmy Barbecue Cherizier, a former police officer who became a gang leader.

The four gang leaders named by Treasury and the U.N. are Vitelhomme Innocent, head of the Kraze Barye gang and subject of a $2 million reward by the FBI for information leading to his arrest; Johnson Izo Andre, who leads the 5 Segonn/5 Segond gang and is wanted by the Haiti National Police for various crimes including assassination and has been identified by survivors as being responsible for 1,035 documented cases of sexual violence in 2022.; Renel Ti Lapli Destina, a key ally of Andre who has been indicted on charges of hostage taking by the U.S. Justice Department, and Wilson Joseph, also known as Lanmo Sanjou, who heads the 400 Mawozo gang and has also been indicted in the U.S. for his role role in the armed kidnapping of U.S. citizens in Haiti, including 16 missionaries.

Andre, Destina, Innocent, and Joseph are each being designated for being a foreign person who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse and for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to the leaders or officials tenure in their roles as leaders of criminal gangs in Haiti, the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control said.

With gangs controlling at least 80% of the Haitian capital, the four gang leaders are behind much of the spiraling violence, which is now spreading into the countryside, according to a new U.N. report.

The gang leaders are among 15 people, including politicians, who were recently cited in a recent report by a U.N. panel of experts tasked with unearthing the role of the countrys politicians, business sector and gangs in the ongoing violence that escalated after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise more than two years ago. The slaying created a power vacuum and left a weakened Haitian state unable to control its own territory.

Soon after Treasury made its announcement on Friday, a U.N. sanctions committee also announced its designations, which were the same individuals being hit by the Biden administration. This is not the first time gang leaders in Haiti have been designated with economic sanctions, which bans them from making financial transactions. and prevents others from doing business with them. However, critics have questioned their effectiveness given that gang members often dont have bank accounts or property in foreign countries, much less travel visas.

When you sanction gang leaders, there is an effect you are not going to get.... It doesnt mean that they are going to stop doing what they are doing, said Gedeon Jean, the founder of the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights., which monitors kidnappings. What the population is looking from from the international community are actions with a direct impact.

With the individuals designated for U.N. sanctions being only gang members who everyone already knows, Jean said, the public will not take the international community seriously.

Since last fall, both the U.S. and Canada have come to rely on economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool in Haiti, where elections havent been held since 2016. Efforts to schedule them hit another roadblock this week when a civil society coalition known as the Montana Group rejected a proposal by the 15-member Caribbean Community that would have them and others share power with Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

The Secretary-General is concerned over the limited progress in the inter-Haitian dialogue towards a lasting and inclusive political solution to restore the countrys democratic institutions, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, said Thursday.

Where Canada has imposed sanctions against 28 Haitian citizens, including two former presidents and two former prime ministers, to try to respond to the political crisis and spreading gang violence, the U.S. process has been slower and more laborious.

Diplomatic sources familiar with U.N.. negotiations said the four gang leaders were decided on after weeks of intense negotiations at the U.N. Security Council where at least one country, China, opposed the sanctioning of political figures despite the report by the U.N. panel of experts.

Last year, the U.N. made its first designation, Cherizier.

The leader of one of Haitis most powerful gang alliances, G9 Family and Allies, Cherizier is accused of multiple human-rights abuses, including a 2019 massacre in La Saline neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. His nearly six-week-long blockade of Haitis main fuel terminal, Varreux, in 2022, led the United States to author a resolution setting the foundation for a Haiti sanctions regime at the U.N. It also prompted the U.S. to support the request by the Haitian government for the deployment of an international armed force to help police combat gangs.

The objections by China as well as Russia, which has publicly criticized Canada and the United States for issuing their own sanctions ahead of the U.N., is less about Haiti and more about the challenge facing U.S. diplomacy.

It may be convenient for its own reasons for China to object to a broadening of Haiti sanctions policy, but thematically it alludes to a broader challenge facing U.S. diplomacy an extraordinary wide universe of U.S. sanctions (some very long term) that includes Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, China, etc and behind it an increasingly complicated bureaucracy in Washington to make sense of all of it, said Georges Fauriol, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Jeffrey Feltman, a former U.N. political affairs chief and expert on U.S.-China relations, said China and Russia take great satisfaction from the catastrophic situation in Haiti, since it does not affect them directly but is a seemingly insolvable dilemma for Washington.

Why would China and Russia readily sign onto any initiative, such as sanctions, that reduces the pressure on the United States? Feltman said.

He noted how during discussions about authorizing a U.S.-supported multinational security support mission to Haiti led by Kenya, China hinted at that it would veto the Security Council resolution because it was respecting the sovereign right of the Haitian government to request external support. It then allowed the resolution to pass by abstaining, along with Russia.

In reality, China enjoyed watching the United States stuck with the Haiti problem and resorting to the diplomatic equivalent of begging for help, Feltman said.

Haiti observers have mixed views on sanctions.

U.S. sanctions have become something of a default response in the absence of the hard work of creative and engaged diplomacy, said Fauriol. U.S. policy toward Haiti over the past 18-plus months fits that general profile.

Fauriol said that while sanctioning Haitian gang leaders provides the appearance of a response, in practice it has limited impact on the character and scope of gang violence in Haiti. But hes not sure that broadening U.S. sanctions to a wider universe of Haitians will produce the desired effect.

It strikes me as well-intentioned but lacking a longer term purpose, Fauriol said. It sends the message that Washington can make their lives difficult and addresses what many critics of US policy like to point to  the role of the oligarchs. Sanctioning strictly political actors has its logic, but in Haiti that overlaps with a wider business and civil society community.

The public disclosures behind individual sanctions are often rather opaque, he notes, a repeated criticism also of Canadas designations, which have even less detail that the ones by the United States. This leads to social media speculations... and the uneasy feeling that much of this has little meaningful impact as far as the overall situation in Haiti is concerned, he added.

But Fauriol isnt ready to completely dismiss sanctions, at least coming from the United Nations, which effectively bans individuals from visiting most nations around the world..

If the U.N. sanctions regime is limited only to gang members, that may still be valuable to the degree that it hopefully tightens the layers of multilateral restrictions on criminal networks tied to the Haitian environment, he said. It might also force U.S. policymakers and the U.S. Congress to come more directly to grips with one factor of the Haitian crisis that is energized by U.S. inaction  flow of guns and ammunition from the U.S. to the entire Caribbean Basin.
By Jon Dunbar

There are always reminders about how Confucian Korea is, and how thats the basis for its deeply conservative heritage, or its rapid economic development. But thats not necessarily the case, according to one German academic, who calls such views far too superficial.

Contrary to what many people think, Korea is not at all a Confucian country  and never really was, Werner Sasse said in an online invite to his lecture, titled Is THAT what Confucius said? Saving Confucius from Confucianism, scheduled for Dec. 12 at KOTE in central Seouls Insa-dong area.

There are Korean scholars and educators who try to revive Confucianism in the face of a perceived spiritual and moral lack of direction in contemporary Korean society, Sasse said. As my reaction as a Westerner to this trend, I will talk about Confucius influence in the history of Western philosophy as the basis for my views of Confucianism, then about universal ideas in the Confucian traditions, and finally about ways to re-read and re-interpret the Selected Sayings (a.k.a. Analects, Lunyu/Noneo) in a way suitable for the 21st century.

Sasse studied Korean studies, Chinese literature and general linguistics at Bochum University in Germany in the early 1970s. He was an assistant professor of Korean studies at the university from 1975 until 1988, at which point he became a full professor and founded the universitys Korean studies department. In 1992 he moved to Hamburg University where he founded another Korean studies department. He was a guest professor at Chonnam University in Gwangju in 2007, and a chair professor at Hanyang University from 2008 to 2011. He was also president of the Association of Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE) from 1999 to 2003.

The hybrid lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. this Tuesday at KOTE in central Seouls Insa-dong. Entry costs 10,000 won, or 5,000 won for students of all ages with valid student ID, and is free for RAS Korea members. Those who wish to view the lecture live online should register in advance to receive a Zoom address. Visit raskb.com for more information.








A Danish man was hit with a substantial fine after using a toaster to warm his EV battery. The toaster ended up catching fire and damaging the car, as well as the neighbor's home. PELLE RINK/AFP via Getty Images

A Danish man sparked a house fire after trying to use a toaster to warm his electric-car battery.

No one was hurt in the fire, but it destroyed the EV and damaged a neighbor's house.

Cold weather can damage an EV's fuel economy.

Toasters, they're great for warming up Pop-Tarts and bagels, but not so great for warming up an electric vehicle. In case you're wondering why not, a Danish man tried and is now paying the price  literally.

The man end starting a fire that engulfed his EV, according to Danish authorities.

"The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm," the police said in a daily report, according to AP.

The fire damaged both the owner's home and a neighbor's home, though nobody was injured, according to the authorities.

The fire took place in Stenlille, Denmark, which is about 40 miles from Copenhagen. Police determined that the fire was probably due to the toaster. Now, the EV owner has to pay a fine for his actions.

In most cases, electric vehicles are less likely to catch on fire compared to gasoline-powered cars. Only around 25 out of every 100,000 EVs sold catch fire, compared to 3,475 out of every 100,000 gas-powered vehicles, according to 2022 data from Kelley Blue Book.

EV fires typically only happen when there is damage to the EV battery, from water or a car accident, for example. When EVs do catch on fire, however, the blaze is more difficult to control compared to when a gas-powered car catches fire. EV batteries can overheat or over-pressurize, which can cause fires and explosions.

Your EV's mileage and efficiency can take a hit during the cold winter months. An EV's fuel economy can decrease by about 39-41% when temperatures lower to 20F, according to the EPA and Energy Department. But that doesn't mean you need to sacrifice a kitchen appliance to keep your car warm.

In 2016, Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Transportation Research spoke to Business Insider about how to warm up your EV. It recommends plugging your car in before driving to prevent draining your battery. Many plug-in EVs also now have a smartphone app that lets you heat up your EV with the tap of a button.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Hi there, its Rachyl Jones with the tech team. In the U.K., the target on Microsofts back just got a little bigger.

The U.K. antitrust regulator said on Friday it is considering launching a probe against Microsoft and OpenAI over their multibillion-dollar partnership. Microsoft last month obtained a nonvoting position on OpenAIs board, following the dramatic ousting and return of OpenAI chief Sam Altman. In light of these governance changes, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inviting relevant parties to comment on whether the partnership constitutes a relevant merger situation that could stifle competition in the U.K. Depending on what information the authority gathers, a formal investigation could follow.

The speed at which artificial intelligence (AI) is scaling across use cases and markets is unrivalled in economic history, the CMA said in a release. Competition in the space is critical to ensure safety and growth, it added.

The CMAs announcement comes just two months after the regulator okayed Microsofts $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, following a hefty review process that ended with Microsoft agreeing to sell off a small part of the business. The EU is also investigating the company for the first time since 2008 over bundling its work messaging app Teams with other Office products, as David Meyer previously covered in Data Sheet.

The big question here is whether Microsoft has control over OpenAI, absent an official acquisition. This acquisition of control, as the CMA calls it, can occur when one party has material influence, de facto control, or more than 50% of the voting rights over another entity. Earlier this year, Microsoft held a 49% ownership stake in the ChatGPT makers for-profit arm, Fortune reported.

Microsofts shiny new board seat is very different from an acquisition, vice chair and president Brad Smith posted on X, adding that rival Googles purchase of DeepMind in the U.K. is a better example of an acquisition. The inquiry represents the first time regulators are challenging the $10 billion deal between the two companies, and it could result in interest from other major regulatory powers.

The invitation to comment is the first part of the CMAs information gathering process and comes in advance of launching any phase 1 investigation, CMA mergers director Sorcha OCarroll said in a statement. Parties have until Jan. 3 to weigh in.

Rachyl Jones

Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Data Sheet? Drop a line here.

Todays edition was curated by David Meyer.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
By Bassam Masoud and Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel ordered residents out of the centre of Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis on Saturday and pounded the length of the enclave, after the United States wielded its U.N. Security Council veto to shield its ally from a demand for a ceasefire.

Since a truce collapsed last week, Israel has expanded its ground assault into the southern half of the Gaza Strip by pushing into Khan Younis. Simultaneously, both sides have reported a surge in fighting in the north.

Israel said its campaign was making progress. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israeli forces had killed at least 7,000 Hamas militants so far, without saying how that estimate was reached, and military chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi told soldiers "we need to press harder".

An official toll of all deaths in Gaza compiled by the Palestinian health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave exceeded 17,700 on Saturday, with many thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble. The ministry has previously said about 40% of deaths were of children under 18.

Israel's Arabic-language spokesperson posted a map on X highlighting six numbered blocks of Khan Younis that residents were told to evacuate "urgently". They included parts of the city centre that had not been subject to such orders before.

Israel issued similar warnings before storming eastern parts of the city and residents said they feared new evacuation orders heralded a further assault.

"It might be a matter of time before they act against our area too. We have been hearing bombing all night," said Zainab Khalil, 57, displaced with 30 of her relatives and friends in Khan Younis near Jalal street where troops told people to leave.

"We don't sleep at night, we stay awake, we try to put the children to sleep and we stay up fearing the place would be bombed and we'll have to run carrying the children out. During the day begins another tragedy, and that is: how to feed the children?"

In central Gaza, Israeli tank shelling resumed on Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, local residents said. According to Palestinian health officials, seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike in Bureij. Israeli forces could not immediately be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, with food and medical supplies scarce, a senior U.N. World Food Programme official said a new system could bring aid into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, potentially allowing imports to ramp up. However, Israel has not yet agreed to open the crossing.

The vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have already been forced from their homes, many fleeing several times. With fighting raging across the length of the territory, residents and U.N. agencies say there is now effectively nowhere safe to go, though Israel disputes this.

In Khan Younis, the dead and wounded arrived through the night at the overwhelmed Nasser hospital.

A medic ran out of an ambulance with the limp body of a small girl in a pink tracksuit. Inside, wounded children wailed and writhed on the tile floor as nurses raced to comfort them. Outside, bodies were lined up in white shrouds.

THOUSANDS MISSING PRESUMED DEAD

Footage obtained by Reuters inside another hospital in Deir al-Balah, the Jaffa hospital, showed extensive damage from a strike on a mosque next door. The obliterated ruins of the mosque could be seen through the blown-out windows.

Medical workers in northern Gaza, where some of the heaviest fighting is taking place, accused Israel of targeting hospitals and ambulances.

An ambulance worker in Gaza City's Shejaiya district told Reuters that emergency crews were often unable to respond to calls from the wounded and that their teams came under Israeli fire, asking that his name not be printed for fear of reprisals.

Mohammed Salha, a manager at al-Awda hospital, said Israeli forces had besieged the hospital for days with tanks, shooting people trying to get in or out. They shot dead a woman in the street and a hospital worker standing at a window, he said.

The health ministry said Israeli forces had shot dead two medical staffers inside Kamal Adwan hospital, also in northern Gaza, on Saturday.

Jaffa Medical Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, said it had stopped operating on Friday due to extensive damage when Israel bombed a mosque nearby.

Northern Gaza families were posting messages on the internet pleading with emergency crews to venture into Gaza City.

Asked for comment on Palestinian accounts of attacks on medical facilities, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said it followed international law and takes "feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm".

The military has previously said Hamas operates from medical facilities, releasing footage to support that claim. Hamas has denied doing so.

U.S. VETO MAKES WASHINGTON 'COMPLICIT'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Washington's veto at the United Nations on Friday to reject a vote by 13 of the Security Council's 15 members backing a humanitarian ceasefire resolution, saying: "Israel will continue our just war to eliminate Hamas."

Four European Union countries want the bloc to debate the Gaza situation and call for a ceasefire when EU leaders meet next week.

Israel launched its campaign to annihilate Gaza's Hamas rulers after their fighters burst into Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Some 137 hostages remain in captivity as thousands of Israelis on Saturday rallied in Tel Aviv to demand their release.

Israeli forces say they are limiting civilian casualties by providing maps showing areas that are safe, and blame Hamas for harming civilians by hiding among them, which the fighters deny. Palestinians say the campaign has turned into a scorched-earth war of vengeance against the entire population of an enclave as densely-populated as London.

Washington has said it told Israel to do more to fulfill promises it made to protect civilians in the next phase of the war. But Washington still backs Israel's position that a ceasefire would benefit Hamas, and on Saturday the Biden administration bypassed the U.S. Congress to approve an emergency sale of ammunition to Israel.

"We do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the Security Council on Friday.

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, condemned the U.S. veto as "inhumane". Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority which lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007, said the veto made the United States complicit in Israeli war crimes.

(Reporting by Bassam Masoud and Salem Mohammed in Gaza, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Dan Williams, Ari Rabinovitch, Emily Rose and Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis and Jonathan Landay in Washington, Michelle Nichols in New York and Reuters bureauxWriting by Peter Graff and Angus McDowall, Editing by William Maclean and Conor Humphries)
Muhammad Alyan said he and his family were forced to flee the northern Gaza Strip last month, heeding evacuation orders by the Israeli military. He said they left their home in Gaza City and traveled south on foot to Khan Yunis, some 15 miles away, where they sheltered in a school with scores of other displaced families.

But Khan Yunis, like other areas in southern Gaza where civilians were told to go, is no longer safe as the Israeli military expands its offensive across the entire 140-square-mile enclave.

"There's nowhere left to go," Alyan told ABC News on Dec. 5 as he and his family left Khan Yunis. "Two days ago, they dropped papers from the sky on Khan Yunis saying that we must evacuate and head to the south, meaning where should we go?"

Alyan and his family are among the more than 1.8 million people who are internally displaced in Gaza -- about 80% of the population -- amid Israel's ongoing war against the territory's militant rulers, Hamas, according to data from the United Nations. More than 17,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces there since the war began two months ago, according to figures released by Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health and the Hamas government media office.

"They want people to die," Alyan said of the Israeli military's additional evacuation orders. "What is happening to us is not war on the resistance, but a war on people, a war on citizens."

MORE: 'No walls to protect them': Gaza families brace for winter

PHOTO: Palestinians inspect the damage in a residential area in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, following Israeli air strikes, Dec. 4, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images)

It's the latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by an unprecedented incursion of Hamas militants and other Palestinian militant groups from Gaza into neighboring southern Israel on Oct. 7. More than 1,200 people were killed in the terror attack and over 200 others were taken hostage back to Gaza, according to numbers released by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

A seven-day truce at the end of last month saw a hostage-prisoner exchange between the sparring sides as well as the delivery of some humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza. But since fighting resumed on Dec. 1, Israel has vowed to pursue Hamas wherever the militants are, bombing hundreds of targets each day in both the north and south of Gaza, with a particular focus on Khan Younis, according to the IDF. There are no air raid sirens or bomb shelters in the besieged territory.

Many of Gaza's residents who had sought safety in Khan Younis have now moved to Rafah, about 6 miles away, which is as far south as they can go. But even areas there have been bombed by the IDF in recent days, officials said.

"Israeli forces' bombardment is ongoing following another evacuation order to move people from Khan Younis into Rafah. The order created panic, fear and anxiety," Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said in a statement on Dec. 4. "We have said it repeatedly. We are saying it again. No place is safe in Gaza, whether in the south, or the southwest, whether in Rafah or in any unilaterally so-called 'safe zone.'"

The IDF maintains it is only targeting Hamas and other militants in Gaza and alleges that Hamas deliberately shelters behind civilians, which the group denies.

"We want civilians not to be in the area where we are fighting," IDF spokesperson Lt. Col Jonathan Conricus told ABC News on Dec. 4. "We want to focus our firepower on Hamas and Hamas only."

MORE: People in Gaza share what life is like amid bombardment of Israel-Hamas war: 'We're all humans'

PHOTO: Palestinian civilians flee Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army called on people to leave certain areas in the city, as battles between Israel and Hamas militants continue on Dec. 3, 2023. (Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, scores of people were seen traveling from Khan Younis to Rafah in cars, on horse-drawn carts and by foot, carrying as many belongings as they could from bags of clothes to mattresses.

"There is no safe area," one man, who did not give his name, told ABC News on Dec. 5. "Wherever you go, there is bombing."

Another fleeing resident, who also did not give his name, told ABC News: "I moved from Karama to Deir al-Balah to Khan Yunis and now, Im going to Rafah and got nowhere after that."

Some have chosen to stay behind in Khan Younis, knowing that they face the same risks wherever they go.

"I went to the market today to buy a bag of tomatoes and some vegetables for my family, but I did not find anything," Hamza Ibrahim told ABC News on Dec. 5. "We die every day because there is no food. And if there is food, it will be many times more expensive than the previous price."

"There is no safe place here, even in Rafah and Khan Younis, in the middle and from north to south," he added. "We either stay in our house and die hungry, or go out and die by indiscriminate bombing."

The city of Rafah is nestled along Gaza's southern frontier with Egypt, which so far has not fully opened its border to fleeing Palestinians. Gaza is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians who have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas, which the United States has designated a terrorist organization, came to power in 2007. Human rights organizations have long described the densely populated strip as the world's largest open-air prison, due to Israel's generalized ban on travel for Gaza residents as well as Egypt's restrictive policies at its shared border.

MORE: 'We wait for you': Mother of hostage held by Hamas fights for son's release while grieving his absence

PHOTO: Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis, Dec. 8, 2023. (Mohammed Dahman/AP)

Now, as Israel's war rages on and Gaza's already fragile health care system grapples with the mounting casualties, organizations are urging the international community to act. In a Dec. 6 letter to the 15-member U.N. Security Council, which has yet to adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the "situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region."

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza," Guterres wrote.

Earlier in the war, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over northern Gaza urging civilians to evacuate and head south to safety. More leaflets have fallen over southern Gaza this week, but with some delivering a different message.

The leaflets, which the IDF confirmed it had distributed, were all written in Arabic and included the emblem of the IDF as well as a Star of David. Some that arrived in Khan Younis on Dec. 8 quoted a verse from the Quran: "Soul for a soul, eye for an eye."

On Dec. 5, leaflets landed along the outskirts of Khan Younis in a graveyard where those killed in the war continue to be buried. Those leaflets cited another Quranic verse: "The flood took them as they were cruel."

The gravedigger there, Yousef Tafash Abu Hatab, said he has never had to bury so many families at a time and people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. But even laying the dead to rest is considered a luxury when bombs are raining down from the sky.

"We do not want to build buildings -- all buildings have been destroyed," Hatab told ABC News. "We want to bury our dead."

Gaza residents say 'there's nowhere left to go' amid Israel's relentless bombing originally appeared on abcnews.go.com


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Gwyneth Paltrow looked like royalty at the closing ceremony of the Red Sea Film Festival on Thursday dressed head-to-toe in a radiant yellow.

Eamonn M. McCormack

The Iron Man actor made a glorious entrance on the red carpet in a grand sunny yellow gown by Carolina Herrera that featured shirred puff sleeves, ruched detailing, a belted bow at the waist, and a center slit. Paltrow kept the vibrancy going with gold strappy open-toe heels, glimmering gold drop earrings, and various gleaming gold rings. Staying on theme, her glowy glam consisted of shimmery pink eyeshadow, rosy cheeks, and a peachy glossy lip. She finished off the look by pulling her shiny blonde locks back into a sleek low ponytail.

Daniele Venturelli

The Goop founder made multiple appearances at the 10-day festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which showcases and celebrates a range of films. On Wednesday, she spoke with Jomana al-Rashid, the first female CEO of the Saudi Research and Media Group, about her career and shared that her mom inspired her to pursue acting.

My mother is an actress. She did mostly theater. And so I grew up as a little girl watching her rehearse plays and running around the theater, she said in front of an audience, according to Variety . My mother would even say she always felt a bit insecure. When she was on stage, she was the most powerful, integrated force of nature that I have ever seen. And so I wanted to be that.

Joe Maher

Paltrow displayed another powerful, vibrant look on Monday at the 2023 Fashion Awards, stepping out in a stunning scarlet red vintage Valentino ensemble. She layered a dramatic sweeping feather cape over a floor-length strapless gown, which featured a plunging cutout along the neckline. Keeping things monochromatic, she added matching pointed-toe stiletto heels, and to up the ante even more, she accessorized with diamond drop earrings and diamond statement bangles. Duly dressed for the occasion, she presented Valentino Garavani with the Outstanding Achievement Award.

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WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, said in an interview that hed endorse former President Trump for president in 2024 and would serve in his cabinet if given the opportunity.

McCarthy recently announced his resignation from Congress at the end of the year in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, saying he would serve America in new ways and promised to continue to recruit our countrys best and brightest to run for elected office.

He told CBS News Robert Costa in a preview of an upcoming interview to air Sunday that he expects Trump to be the Republican nominee.

Between a Biden-Trump rematch, McCarthy said he expects Trump would win in 2024 and that Republicans will gain more seats in the House and overtake the Senate.

"Can he count on your support?" Costa asked to which McCarthy replied "yes."

When pressed further on whether that was an endorsement, McCarthy said, I will support President Trump."

Asked whether he would be willing to serve in a Trump cabinet, McCarthy said, In the right position. Look, if Im the best person for the job, yes.

I worked with President Trump on a lot of policies. We worked together to win the majority, but we also have a relationship where were very honest with one another, he said.

At the New York Times Dealbook Summit last month, McCarthy warned Trump hell lose the 2024 race if he bases his campaign on revenge and said former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley would make a good running mate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McCarthy endorses Trump in 2024; says he would serve in Trump cabinet 'in the right position'
Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson had a contentious meeting Monday with the vendors of the county's election software, in which she claimed the company wasn't properly training her on the equipment, repeatedly criticized South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson and revealed near the end of the meeting that a group of at least two dozen of Anderson's supporters had been listening in to the hour-long call  unbeknownst to the rest of the participants.

Anderson said during the meeting she's looking for extensive checks both before and after the 2024 election and has said that shes still not sure she can trust the citys voting systems.

The video was posted by "Midwest Swamp Watch," a YouTube channel that promises to "monitor the activities of the MN, SD and National Political Swamp Creatures." It features a short introduction from Rick Weible, an election denier who supported Johnson before turning on her shortly before the 2022 election and calling her campaign "a complete fraud."

On the call were a number of executives and employees from Election Systems and Software, an Omaha-based company that provides voting machines across the country, including in Minnehaha County. Six members of the Secretary of State's office, including Johnson herself, were also on the call.

Anderson was joined by Mike Mathis, an elections coordinator for the county who has been involved with South Dakota Canvassing Group, an election security group that has called for banning machines and electronics from the voting process, as well as preventing mail-in voting and ballot harvesting. Mathis said at an Aug. 2, 2022 meeting of the Minnehaha County Commission that he had "no confidence" in the state's elections.

Chris Wlaschin, ES&S' chief security officer, said the equipment they provide goes through multiple tests, as does the software used to tabulate votes. He emphasized the devices did not connect to the internet.

But he did note that some devices use modems to quickly transmit some results, and added Minnehaha County does not. He said many states are pulling back from modems, which security experts say is a good idea.

Yet, Anderson raised concerns about a recent election in which ES&S machines had seen some votes flipped in a Pennsylvania judicial election. She was told by Wlaschin that the mistake had been due to a clerical error that was caught and fixed.

Wlaschin also recommended a "more robust" series of tests prior to the April 9 election to ease any concerns.

Mathis then questioned what reports he'd be able to look at "to know there's no weird stuff going on" during the election. Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Kathy Rogers said there was a "plethora of reports" that are produced by the machines, and encouraged pre- and post-election auditing to ensure that everyone felt at ease.

From that point, the call got less friendly. Anderson asked why she was the only auditor in the state asking these questions, and said she felt "attacked" for doing so.

Anderson added training she had been told would take place on Nov. 16 had been delayed due to two questions she had asked ES&S, and said she felt like the number of ES&S executives on the call was an intimidation tactic.

Rogers assured her that the amount of people on the call was an effort to be transparent and answer any questions she may have, but Anderson said she still didn't feel that she could trust the county's voting systems.

Pretty much every day thats my question that I get asked, 'Is do you trust our system? How can we trust it?'" Anderson said. "In all honesty, I cant give an answer that I trust the system because I'm in the dark. I cant even get training to happen without going through this call with 12 people or however many people are on this call. I want to understand the system and get the training for myself, and for Mike, because thats whats supposed to happen.

Anderson said she wanted to audit "the entire system, start to finish," and expressed concern about procedures prior to her time as county auditor, including county employees having access to the rooms where voting machines are stored and equipment she said was being kept from her.

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"My electionware management laptop is being held hostage by the IT department," Anderson said. "They dont think that it should be under my control. And I am the election official. It should be under my control and I should know how to operate it. Not IT. They do not swear an oath to me, so they should not have that computer.

Anderson added she was considering canceling a planned vacation to ensure the training was completed, saying, "Im not getting support from our Secretary of States office, and Im not getting the training I need from ES&S right now.

After several more mentions of an audit, Rogers asked what she was hoping to accomplish.

Anderson said she'd like to ensure all passwords were reset, make sure no modems were present in machines and check that software versions were up to date.

Rogers recommended using a Voting System Test Lab, one of two independent labs accredited by the Election Assistance Commission to do that. Those would require state approval and would incur extra costs, she added.

By using one of these accredited voting system test labs," Rogers said," you can be assured that the people touching your voting system actually are safe and secure themselves and will do no harm to your voting system."

Mathis then asked if a "highly respected" person from South Dakota would be able to be present and perform their own inspection, though he did not name who that person would be. In an interview, Anderson said she knew the persons identity but would not share it, as she had not spoken further with ES&S about the process.

Rogers said they hear similar requests often, and said they don't recommend it, as "there are people out in the world who also want to do harm."

"But your guys there!" Mathis said. "If your guys there, what can he do? I mean, we would make sure that he wouldnt touch the machine, your guy would be there, present. So what could he do? I mean he could do no harm, right?

Mathis continued that they'd want the individual to look for modems and do an inspection of the machine.

"Both Leah and Is reputation is totally on the line. What if it comes out years down the road that there were modems in these machines, and we never  all your studies are great. The people want somebody that they know and trust to do a study. And I do too!"

Rogers emphasized that no one who is not an election official could touch or have physical access to the election equipment, but that others could be there and ask questions. She also recommended that someone from the Secretary of State's office be present to answer any legal questions.

To that, Anderson replied that They havent proven to be very helpful with any other legal questions that Ive had as an auditor, and Im always referred to my own states attorney, so if anybodys gonna be present I suppose it would just be my states attorney."

Anderson then said she was aware that someone had tried to invite the members of the Minnehaha County Commission to the call, several of whom have been critical of Anderson.

"You know, I dont work for them, I work for the people. And ES&S is a vendor that the county pays a lot of money to. And most vendors that we pay money to really want to work with us, and I know you guys do as well now, youve said that, so I appreciate that. But the people that I work for, theyre not being part of this meeting, but they are listening, and they are here to support me. And so I just want to let you know that especially Monae, you also work for the people, and you havent been very supportive of the people."

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At this point, Anderson rotated a nearby laptop, revealing a group of two dozen people, including Weible, who had been listening in on the call from another location, and later gave Anderson a round of applause after the call had ended.

"So this is my room full of people," she said. "I just want you to know that this time I have a lot more witnesses that know that were gonna get this training and I hope that its gonna happen without any hitches."

Rogers said that while she didn't appreciate the move, no one had said anything they regretted during the call, and concluded by saying that their role was simply to build a voting system, and that no one was forced to be a customer of ES&S.

"Yeah thats correct," Anderson replied. "Its actually our Secretary of States Office that has forced us to either hand count or go with ES&S. We dont have any other options. So I respect what you do at ES&S, I want to be able to trust every aspect of the count, and maybe we compromise and we let the tabulators count the ballots but we dont use the reporting software I dont know what the answers going to be but you know, well figure it out.

Apart from introducing herself at the beginning of the meeting, Johnson said nothing during the meeting, a fact Anderson criticized her for. Johnson's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Rogers said they would provide Anderson with a statement of work about the training to be provided, including more information about auditing.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Minnehaha County auditor voices doubt on countys voting system
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday that a man raised in England who converted to the faith as an adult will be the newest member of its top governing body, filling a vacancy created when a member died last month.

Patrick Kearon, 62, becomes the first new member since 2018 named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who serve lifetime appointments helping to oversee the business interests and global development of the faith known widely as the Mormon church. Quorum members are under the church president and his two top counselors, and all 15 of those leaders are men in accordance with the all-male priesthood.

This sacred call is so very daunting and humbling to me, Kearon said in a statement Friday.

Kearons selection was not unexpected, said Mormon scholar Matthew Bowman, who called the new apostle a rising star widely beloved among the faithful. Its rare, however, for the president to select an apostle who converted rather than someone whose family has been in the church for generations, he said.

Most members of the Quorum have been on a leadership track for most of their lives, and that means then that people who join the church as adults tend to not get on that conveyor belt, said Bowman, a religion professor at Claremont Graduate Universities. The church has also historically given preference to senior leaders who served missions  a milestone that Kearon missed due to joining later in life.

Like most new appointees, Kearon served as the senior president of a middle-tier leadership council called the Presidency of the Seventy, often a stepping stone to higher office. He is well known for his 2016 speech urging compassion for refugees fleeing war-torn parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Kearon was born in the city of Carlisle in the Cumbria area of northwest England and was raised in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, according to his church biography.

He said he gained an appreciation for the faith when he lived briefly in California with a Latter-day Saint family and was baptized by missionaries he met a few years later in his mid-20s, in London.

Before climbing the ranks of church leadership, he ran his own communications consultancy and served on the boards of charities, schools and an enterprise agency.

He fills the seat of M. Russell Ballard, who died last month at 95. As the second-longest tenured member of the Quorum, Ballard was second-in-line to become church president. The longest-tenured member becomes the new president in a longstanding tradition meant to ensure a smooth transfer of power.

The church made history with its last two appointees in 2018, when the first Latin American and Asian apostles were selected for the previously all-white Quorum.

With Kearons appointment, all three new additions to the Quorum made by President Russell Nelson have been international. More than half the faiths 17 million members live outside the United States, according to church statistics.

I think it speaks to the fact that Nelson is very much oriented towards making the church more international and rooting its future and its vitality in the international arena rather than the United States, Bowman said.
Pic story of herders in Xinjiang, NW China

Xinhua) 09:59, December 09, 2023

Baht (C) chats with her youngest daughter via video call during a gathering in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht Turlksi, a 53-year-old herder, lives near the majestic Baluke Mountain, which lies in the south of Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Every year between late November and early December is the time for Kazak herders to stock meat for winter. During the traditional festive practice, herders share the fruits of their work and replenish energy for the winter. It is also the time for family gathering and relationship strengthening.

Baht and her husband Habudelashen Nusupbek invited family members, neighbors and friends in the festive practice this year. Each person was assigned with specific tasks, such as preparing, cleaning and filling the beef sausages. After over two hours of work, the meat needed during the winter has been placed on the drying rack, waiting to be air dried.

Once the work was done, people returned to the warm home, talked animatedly and played the ethnic musical instrument dombra. Food is also essential during these gatherings. They had potatoes and beef for one meal, and steamed beef for another.

On the first day, they prepared meat for their own, and the second day for Baht's eldest daughter living in the town. However, Baht's youngest daughter, who is studying at Xinjiang Medical University, could only join the gathering virtually through video. Later, Baht will send cooked beef and other food from hometown to her youngest daughter.

"She could have various food options at school, but she still might miss the taste of home," Baht said. "We have done this every year, eating meat and gathering together. These define family for us."

After the gathering, the winter pasture returned to tranquility. Baht's family has been continuing to pursue a happy life through hard work.

Habudelashen Nusupbek (L) wiggles to enjoy music with his relatives and friends during a gathering in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This combo photo shows Baht's youngest daughter with the package sent by Baht at Xinjiang Medical University in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Dec. 3, 2023 (above, photo taken by Xinhua photographer Hu Huhu) and the foods in the package (bottom, photo taken on Dec. 3, 2023). (Xinhua)

Habudelashen Nusupbek (C) plays dombra and sings during a gathering in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This combo photo shows Habudelashen Nusupbek making grazing tools for sale at home on Feb. 11, 2023 (above) and herders asking the price of the grazing tools at Baht's shop on Nov. 30, 2023 (bottom) in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Relatives of Baht chat and sing during a gathering in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

A dish of potatoes and beef is pictured during a meal at Baht's home in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht milks a cow to make milk tea for guests at the yard of her home in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht (L) prepares to serve guests noodles with her eldest daughter and sister-in-law (C) in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht's eldest daughter (R) and sister-in-law prepare food for guests in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht prepares to serve guests beef and noodles in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek (R) passes dombra to a guest in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek waits for the sheep's return after grazing in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek (R) and other families unload forage transported by his son-in-law in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht tastes beef cooked by her eldest daughter while stuffing beef sausages with her relatives and friends in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht greets her husband who returns from grazing at the yard of her home in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht's brother (1st R) plays dombra and sings a song praising the pasture in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This combo photo shows guests eating steamed beef at Baht's home in Yumin County on Nov. 30, 2023 (above) and Baht's youngest daughter sharing foods sent by her mother with her friends at Xinjiang Medical University on Dec. 3, 2023 (bottom) in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
By Jon Dunbar

Building security can now breathe a little easier, as George King, the guy who was caught freeclimbing Lotte World Tower half a year ago, has left the country.

Back on June 12, King made worldwide headlines when he was caught halfway up the tower, the world's sixth-tallest. After being escorted down, he was detained for about three days before being released.

It was reported that police investigated him on charges of trespassing, but as he hadn't entered the building, they forwarded the case to the prosecution on charges of business obstruction. After months of waiting to find out his punishment, and if he'd be imprisoned (again, as he had previously served three months of a six-month sentence for free-climbing the Shard in London), he was issued a fine.

"The punishment was indeed settled out of court with a 5 million won fine, paid by my sponsor: RIOT Labs," he told The Korea Times.

The "British Spider-Man," as the media dubbed him  not to be confused with Tom Holland or Andrew Garfield  faded from the headlines, especially when another King (no relation) made even bigger news with his own infiltration, but he remained in Korea the whole time, living free.

During the investigation, he was banned from leaving the country, but after it was all over, he wasn't ready to depart.

"I stayed for so long in Korea simply because I did not get bored  every single day from the start to the finish was extremely eventful. The fast-paced lifestyle of Seoul mirrored my character perfectly. I found a second home here," he said.

"It helps that the Koreans are generally a very welcoming and appreciative culture of people. Respect and politeness seems to be at the forefront of their thinking in their day to day interactions with people," he said. "I also like how I can leave my laptop on the table in a cafe to do a phone call outside and return to see that it remains unstolen. You do not get this kind of reception in London."

He spoke enthusiastically of exploring Seoul's underground techno scene, claiming to have explored "every single techno club in Seoul." He said his favorite was Faust, "a Berlin inspired techno club in Itaewon, where you can often find pounding industrial-style techno ricocheting off the walls of its misty interior." He also mentioned attending a 72-hour rave at Beton Brut, also in the Itaewon area.

He continued climbing during his stay, but not buildings  instead he explored the country's many mountains.

In order to survive in Korea without any income and being unable to leave, he relied on community support, settling in the Itaewon/Haebangchon area for the rest of his stay.

"Around a week after getting released from jail, I needed a haircut and so searched online for an English-speaking barber. I found Blackmarket Barbershop in Itaewon and made my way towards it," he said. " I sat in the barber chair and asked Beau Walder for a skin fade. Beau asked what I was doing here in Korea and so spoke at length about my story of climbing Lotte World Tower."

After the haircut, they had a beer together and got to know each other more. As well as being a barber, Walder specializes in screenprinting. Later on, they discussed the idea of collaborating together on a screenprint, combining Walder's skills with King's adventures.

"Beau and I were both mutually inspired by each other's work so we felt it was important to create a piece of art which symbolized time together," King said. "We became transfixed with the idea of creating a print from my story of climbing and jumping off Europe's tallest roller coaster. We felt the stunt was appropriate because it represented the courage involved when facing the metaphorical highs and lows of life."

With materials bought in Euljiro, they made 30 screenprints with four gradient layers on 700 grams per square meter cushion paper. The print, which they named "Virtus" (a term he said comes from Ancient Rome and means courage combined with military strength) is now available for purchase. The limited-edition copies are signed and numbered are on sale at Blackmarket and online via the Blackmarket store.

"The process of printing mimicked how I would approach climbing a building in relation to the meticulous calculations  I felt at one with the process," King said.

"I feel very inspired to continue making art out of my work. As my stunts develop, I will also make screenprints out of the photography which comes from them."

Additional punishment

After months of putting off preparations for his eventual departure, King went to the immigration office on Nov. 24. "Something I have been putting off for several months in order for me to remain put in Korea," he said. "Due to no visa, I was an illegal immigrant in Korea and so I was a little bit nervous as to what the verdict could be. "

While having coffee at a cafe next door, he noticed a banner at the office offering a fine exemption and suspension of entry restrictions to all illegal foreign residents who voluntarily depart Korea by the end of the year.

He got his hopes up, but then found out that his criminal record exempted him from the benefits of the voluntary departure scheme. He was given the option to pay a 3 million won fine, or face a five-year re-entry ban.

"Due to my insufficient funds I chose the second option, so I have a five-year ban from re-entering Korea," he said. "If I had the funds I would most definitely pay the 3 million won fine, as I dearly do love Korea. I hope to be back after five years and if there is an option to pay the fine overseas in order to reduce the ban from re-entering, then when I have the money, I would be willing to do that."

Life after Korea

After so much time away, he noted that he has checked in with his family in the U.K. since returning.

"They are very happy to see me back at home. Of course my family would have liked to have me home as opposed to being away for six months in Korea.but they were also happy to see that I was experiencing an eventful lifestyle in a completely different culture," he said. "Ever since I was young I was curious about exploring my surroundings and actively pursuing experiences which scare me. My current lifestyle of traveling the world climbing buildings has never been a surprise to my family  it is all I have ever done."

While he said his interest in future stunts has not being diminished, as he still has aspirations to complete an urban freebase (climbing and flying off a skyscraper), he said he's also done some reflecting.

"During my time in Korea I have had time to reflect on my capitalization processes of my 'lifestyle,' he said. "It seems as though the idea of my main source of income, being solely sponsorship for doing highly dangerous activities, does not feel sustainable."

He said he is going to focus on his public speaking, with plans to tour across the U.K. and Europe. "During the course of 2024 I will be giving talks concentrating on fear with the context of my story," he said.

He also said he's interested in documenting his story, and by the end of next year he hopes to complete his first book, "a book I started writing whilst in HMP Pentonville prison in 2020."

Also, after finding his love for screenprinting at Blackmarket, he will continue developing art out of the photography that comes from his work. He hopes to release another screenprint in a few months.

Visit @shardclimber on Instagram or @GeorgeKing-de1ms on YouTube to watch videos of him in action.
Mackenzie Phillips and Norman Lear at a premier party for Netflix's "One Day at a Time" in 2016. The actor starred in the original series as Julie, and played Pam, a therapist, in the reboot. (Steve Cohn / Invision / AP)

Mackenzie Phillips was just 16 when she met with Norman Lear to talk about playing rebellious teenager Julie Cooper in his sitcom One Day at a Time. She was by then an established actor, known for roles in American Graffiti and the TV movie Go Ask Alice, and had had to grow up fast in a famously dysfunctional showbiz family.

Still, she was intimidated.

I remember thinking, Oh my gosh, I am going to go sit down with the Norman Lear. He said, Mackenzie, close your eyes. And I felt completely safe with him, so I closed my eyes. And he said, Your face in repose tells a story that people need to hear. And I've carried that sentence with me for, what, 50 years? The man is unforgettable, recalled Phillips, speaking by phone this week, following Lears death at 101.

The hugely influential TV producer helped transform American culture through sitcoms that blended laughter with serious topical issues including One Day at a Time, which centered on a divorced mother and her two teenage daughters.

When she heard the news of his death Wednesday morning, I felt like someone shot an arrow through my heart, said Phillips, who grieved for Lears family but also the whole country. We lost a very important voice who started talking about social justice long before it was even a term.

He obviously was way before his time, she continued. I think he had a deep understanding of marginalized communities and wanted to shed a light on underrepresented portions of the population.

One Day at a Time, which aired on CBS from 1975 to 1984 and was a Top 20 hit for most of its run, starred Bonnie Franklin as Ann Romano, a woman raising two adolescent girls largely on her own while also trying to compete in the job market after years as a homemaker. Julie, Phillips brash character, and the quieter Barbara (played by Valerie Bertinelli) were loosely based on Lears own daughters. Phillips saw Lear as a quasi-paternal figure, and said she and Bertinelli even called Lear Uncle Norman. Though less overly political than Maude, it captured an experience that was relatable to many women at a time when divorce rates were skyrocketing and second-wave feminism was changing the American workplace.

Read more:Appreciation: Seeing people like me on TV led to my career. I have Norman Lear to thank

Norman fought for what he felt was right, and he wanted to represent what a single mother raising two children alone looked like, Phillips said. [Ann] was dating and having sex and her kids were growing into young women and had questions about birth control and losing their virginity and all these things that were absolutely explosive in the 70s. People just weren't talking about this stuff.

Phillips recalled that as color-coded script revisions came in each week, she always looked forward to the yellow pages labeled Lear polish in the upper-right hand corner to indicate changes he had personally made to the script. Every time I got a Lear polish script in my hand, I was like, 'Oh my God,'" said Phillips, who still has her scripts in storage.

As One Day at a Time reached the height of its popularity, Phillips struggled behind the scenes with drug addiction and was fired from the show  twice. Phillips said her relationship with Lear was strained for a brief period of time after her departure, though it was probably more awkward for me because I felt shame and regret and sadness.

But Norman just always had open arms and love [for me], with a little bit of trepidation," she said. "Like, I love her so much. Do I take a chance of loving her that much again? Or is my heart going to get broken again?' As our relationship rekindled and grew, those things fell away.

Despite what happened on One Day at a Time, Lear was always in my corner, Phillips said. Our paths would cross here and there over the years and he would always grab my face and say, Oh, there's that punim  the Yiddish word for face.

Phillips, who now works at a drug treatment center in Los Angeles, also starred as Pam, a therapist, in a rebooted version of One Day at a Time that aired on Netflix (and later moved to Pop). Lear was closely involved in the new series, which featured a Cuban American family in Echo Park. It was just incredible and full circle to be able to sit on a set with him again on the stage with him again, she said. He was just always so witty, charming and acerbic at times, but just delightful. He was a man full of grit and he was laser-focused on what was important to him.

Rob Reiner, left, with Norman Lear in 2013. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)

For Rob Reiner, who played Archie Bunkers liberal son-in-law Michael Meathead Stivic in All in the Family, the news of Lears death, though not unexpected, was devastating.

I knew he wasn't going to be around much longer but it still hurts. He's like a second father to me and I couldn't be closer to a male role model in my life, said the filmmaker by phone Thursday, while en route to tape a special for Dick Van Dyke, who turns 98 this month and, like Lear, was a close friend of his father, Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 at 98.

These people that were big in my father's life and I spent a lot of time with  theyre all getting older and going," said Reiner, who has known Lear since childhood and says he was one of the first people to think he had a knack for performing.

"Norman tells a story that I was playing jacks with his daughter Ellen, who is my age, and I was apparently explaining how jacks worked," he said. "I was doing it in a funny way and he was laughing. He told my father, Your kid is really funny. My dad said, What are you talking about? That kid? Hes surly. I think I was 8. He was the first guy that recognized I had any talent  or at least talent in explaining how to play jacks.

Some years later, Lear would cast Reiner in All in the Family, which would become his most celebrated sitcom  winning 22 Emmy Awards and reigning as the No. 1 show in the Nielsen ratings for five straight years.

Well before streaming, Tivo  or even VCRs  the CBS series had a unique power to steer the national conversation. During the waning days of Vietnam and the rancor of the Watergate era, the conflict between Meathead, an educated, politically progressive hippie, and Archie, a working-class bigot, resonated with millions of Americans. You had to watch it when it was on and 45 million people are having the shared experience. And the next day, you see people and you talk about it. Did you see what they said? And you'd have a conversation. Now everybody's kind of stuck in their own little silos, Reiner said. I think, in a way, he brought people together. Half the people liked Archie, and half the people like my character.

Read more:Archie Bunker couldn't exist today. That's why we need him more than ever

Reiner remembered how Lear fought back when the network threatened to pull a controversial episode of All in the Family in Season 1 before the sitcom became a breakout hit.

Norman said, Fine, you don't have to air it but call me in the Fiji Islands because I'm quitting," Reiner recalled. There's a Yiddish word that I used for him, its kochleffel, which is a ladle that stirs the pot. That's what he liked to do. He was fearless. Somebody asked me once if it was tough for him to deal with the censors and the network executives and I said, This is a guy who flew 52 bombing missions over Nazi Germany during the Second World War. I don't think he had a problem with network executives. They didn't scare him that much. He stuck to his guns and did what he thought was right and God love him for it because he created some great, long-lasting, groundbreaking television.

The cast of "All in the Family," from left, Rob Reiner, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers and Carroll O'Connor. (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

Reiner said Lear provided invaluable support as he moved from acting into directing, a transition that would lead to acclaimed films including The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally. He financed the first four films I made. If it wasn't for him, I would never have gotten to make Spinal Tap because he had faith I could do it, said Reiner.

When Columbia Pictures almost canceled the filmmakers third feature, Stand by Me, days before production was to begin, Lear stepped in to finance the project with his own money. The film went on to become a critical and commercial hit  and is widely regarded as a modern classic.

But for Reiner, Lears biggest influence was his political advocacy. When he started People for the American Way, I saw you can use your celebrity to try to affect change, so that got me into doing that kind of thing, said Reiner, who has been active in liberal politics for decades.

In films like A Few Good Men and Ghosts of Mississippi, Reiner said he tried to follow the example Lear set by telling stories that were both entertaining and socially relevant. That's a tough thing to do. He did it with not just All in the Family but Maude and The Jeffersons and Good Times.'

Reiner, who is producing a documentary about Christian Nationalism called God and Country, said he remains committed to carrying on Lears political and creative legacy.

Here we are, less than 80 years after he defeated fascism and we see fascism creeping back into society, Reiner said. I had many conversations with him in the last year or so. He said, I can't believe this country's become a country I don't recognize anymore. We have to honor him by continuing to fight. Otherwise, what is he doing, you know, risking his life flying 52 missions over Nazi Germany?

Reiner was able to say a few words to Lear over the phone shortly before he died, when he was still awake but unable to talk, and said that hed seen him regularly over the last few months. Id always tell him I love him, Reiner said. "Love you more, hed say.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates voted unanimously Wednesday to indefinitely postpone decisions on an ordinance that proposed salary increases and removing health benefits for its members and the county Board of Regional Commissioners. The Assembly could vote on Dec. 20 to ask the commissioners to take action on the health insurance issue on a new proposal introduced Wednesday.

The vote was prompted by a legal opinion that said the assembly does not have the authority to act on the health insurance under state law. The legal opinion came from attorney Michele E. Randazzo of KP Law, the counsel for both bodies, who also said the salary stipulations are within the assemblys authority based on the countys home rule charter.

The proposed salaries for the assembly delegates are $5,000 annually plus an additional $2,000 for the speaker and $1,000 more for the deputy speaker. The assembly salaries have been $1,000 a year since 1992.

The three regional board member salaries proposed are $15,000, a $1,000 increase, and an additional $2,000 for the board chair.

We need a conversation first about the health care issue, Assembly of Delegates member Mary Chaffee of Brewster said. The Assembly of Delegates voted unanimously Wednesday to indefinitely postpone decisions on an ordinance that proposed salary increases and removing health benefits for its members and the Board of Regional Commissioners.

On the health insurance proposal

The assembly, as the countys legislative body, does not have the authority to limit participation or establish requirements for participation in the countys health insurance plans that contradict those outlined in Chapter 32B of the Massachusetts General Laws, Randazzo said. Instead, that determination is reserved to the Board of Regional Commissioners, she said, therefore that section of the ordinance is not legally effective or permissible.

Based on that opinion, all the delegates agreed to sever Section 3 that pertained to the health care insurance.

We need a conversation first about the health care issue, Mary Chaffee of Brewster said. John Ohman of Dennis said it would be better to deal with the sections on salary without the ambiguity of the KP Law opinion.

Randazzos opinion further explained the law that states an employee must work at least 20 hours per week regularly to be eligible for health insurance benefits and that it would apply to both elected and appointed officials. Persons elected by popular vote may be considered eligible employees during the entire term for which they are elected regardless of the number of hours devoted to the service of the governmental unit, the law states.

Assembly Deputy Speaker Randi Potash of Chatham and Chaffee presented another resolution Wednesday that was not discussed or acted on the first time, as is the assemblys practice. The resolution asks the board of commissioners to remove the insurance eligibility for the assembly and the board. Let the commissioners deal with it, she said. The resolution was based on the premise that the delegates and commissioners do not work the required 20 hours a week.

What about the proposed salary increase?

The assembly had little discussion Wednesday on the original ordinance, but its finance committee discussed it at length on Monday and voted unanimously to strike the health insurance section. In addition, on motions by James Killian of Sandwich, the committee voted 3-2 not to recommend to the full assembly either of the ordinances salary proposals. Potash and Susan Warner of Yarmouth were in the minority on the salary votes.

Several finance committee members commented that they were not drawn to the assembly because of the compensation. Killian said he was unaware of the compensation when he ran for the assembly. No one is here for the money, but for community service, he said. We dont need an increase. Its more problem than its worth.

Brian OMalley, delegate from Provincetown, who is not a member of the finance committee, however, commented Monday that he was one of the assembly delegates who started the conversation about the salary disparity based on the work they do. This doesnt feel even, he said. He recommended discussing the issue with the board of commissioners.

J. Terence Gallagher, Eastham delegate, called into the meeting from Japan Monday saying he enjoys the fact of having health insurance. As a self-employed person for 25 years, he also submitted a long letter explaining the benefits of the health insurance for him. He called the proposed ordinance a cost-cutting measure masquerading as a salary increase, saying the total value of the proposed reduction in benefits far exceeds the proposed total increase in salary.

Gallagher strongly opposes eliminating the benefit and said it reduces the incentives to run for office. For the past five years, I felt taken care of, and now I do not, he stated in the letter.

The total cost of the health insurance for five or six assembly delegates and one commissioner totals about $170,000, or about $31,000 per person. The new resolution from Potash and Chaffee states that if all the eligible members participated in the county insurance plan the cost would be $561,507.

A vote on the latest proposal to send the decision on insurance to the commissioners may take place Dec. 20.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: New salary, health insurance plan for Assembly, Commissioners deferred
WASHINGTON  Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani faces a trial on Monday to determine how much he owes a mother-daughter team of Georgia poll workers who were harassed and threatened after he defamed them on national television with false and lurid claims of election fraud.

Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss sued Giuliani, a lawyer for former President Donald Trumps reelection campaign, in December 2021 after hed accused them a year earlier of committing election fraud while counting votes in Atlantas State Farm Arena.

The women said they suffered an onslaught of violent and racist threats and harassment after Giuliani, comparing the mother and daughter to drug dealers, named them at a state legislative hearing and in news interviews. State election officials investigated Giuliani's claims and found no widespread fraud in President Joe Bidens victory.

In August, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled Giuliani liable for defamation after he refused to contest the lawsuits major accusations. Howell has already ordered Giuliani to pay Freeman and Moss $89,172 for legal fees and for his businesses to reimburse them $43,684 in sanctions for refusing to share emails and other records in the case.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani addresses reporters outside the Merrimack County Superior Court, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Concord, N.H. Giuliani plans to sue President Joe Biden for calling him a Russian pawn during a 2020 debate.

What are Rudy Giuliani's other legal cases?

Mondays trial is part of a series of civil and criminal cases nationwide stemming from the hotly contested 2020 election.

In one of the most serious cases, Giuliani and Trump are both co-defendants in a Georgia election racketeering case filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis that charges them in a criminal conspiracy to overturn that states 2020 results.

Both men have busy legal dockets.

Giulianis Washington, DC, civil trial starts the same day Trump is set to retake the witness stand in a $250 million civil real estate fraud trial in New York.

And Giuliani, who gained international fame as Americas Mayor after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, faces disbarment proceedings in Washington over his false allegations of voter fraud in Georgia and other states.

Trump also faces federal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and over his refusal to return classified documents after leaving the White House, as well as state charges in New York over hush money payments to an adult film actress.

How did Giuliani defame Freeman and Moss?

Freeman and Moss' lawsuit against Giuliani alleges he made them scapegoats who became the objects of vitriol, threats, and harassment.

Giuliani accused the election workers under false pretenses of excluding observers during the vote count, of introducing suitcases of illegal ballots, counting the same ballots multiple times and surreptitiously passing around flash drives, the lawsuit said.

At a meeting with Georgia lawmakers on Dec. 10, 2020, Giuliani said they had stolen votes in plain sight and that 12,000 to 14,000 ballots had been illegally counted. Biden won the state by 11,779 votes.

In an allegation thats come back to haunt him, Giuliani told lawmakers Freeman and Moss were "quite obviously, surreptitiously, passing around USB ports as if theyre vials of heroin or cocaine."

But Freeman and Moss testified at a U.S. House hearing that they were passing ginger mints.

State investigators found Giulianis allegations were baseless. Officials found ballots werent counted multiple times, as he had charged, and the suitcases of ballots were routine storage containers. A hand recount of ballots confirmed Bidens victory, the first in Georgia by a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 30 years.

On Jan. 6, 2021  the day of the Capitol riot  a crowd on foot and in vehicles surrounded Freeman's house, the lawsuit said. She was forced to flee her home for two months, at the recommendation of the FBI, and she shuttered her online business.

They tried to force their way into my moms house to do a citizens arrest on Shaye and me, Freeman told the Congressional committee investigating the attack on the Capitol. There is nowhere I feel safe  nowhere.

"Both Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss received an immediate onslaught of violent and racist threats and harassment," the lawsuit said. Giuliani's "lies had instant and profound consequences."

Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker, and her mother Ruby Freeman, right. The House select committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riots continues to reveal the findings of its investigation.

How did Giuliani respond to the lawsuit?

At first, Giuliani denied the lawsuits allegations through his lawyer, Joseph Sibley.

The onetime top federal prosecutor in Manhattan later told the judge he couldnt hand over relevant emails and records to Freeman and Moss because his electronic devices had been erased after the FBI seized them during an unrelated criminal investigation. (No charges were filed in that investigation.)

Giuliani had a version of the documents stored with a company called TrustPoint. But Freeman and Moss found the archive unsearchable.

Howell ruled in August that Giuliani had "donned the cloak of victimization" and paid only "lip service" to sharing evidence. She found his concessions "turned slippery on scrutiny" with "excuses designed to shroud the insufficiency" of his compliance with court orders.

"The fact that Giuliani is a sophisticated litigant with a self-professed 50 years of experience in litigation  including serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York  only underscores his lackluster preservation efforts," Howell wrote.

Former New York City Mayor and former personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, leaves the U.S. District Court on May 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. Two election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss of Fulton County, Georgia, sued Giuliani for defamation.

Giuliani aiming for appeal?

By summer, Giuliani told the court he would not contest Freeman and Moss defamation charges, but he said he wouldnt agree to damages  setting the stage for Mondays trial.

"Giulianis stipulations hold more holes than Swiss cheese," Howell wrote in August, finding him liable for defamation.

Giuliani made an 11th hour request for Howell to hear Mondays case alone, but she ruled that a jury would be better able to weigh how much he should pay Freeman and Moss. Howell called Giuliani's claims that he cannot afford to reimburse the women for what he already owes them"especially dubious" because he paid TrustPoint $320,000, listed his New York apartment for sale at $6.5 million and flew in a private jet to his arraignment on criminal charges in Georgia.

Giuliani appears to be conserving his arguments in the case for an anticipated appeal. In choosing not to contest the defamation allegations, Giuliani held onto the chance to argue that his comments about the women were constitutionally protected speech.

Judge Howell said she expects an appeal, based on Giulianis failure to share evidence in the case under a process called "discovery."

"The reservations in Giulianis stipulations make clear his goal to bypass the discovery process and a merits trial  at which his defenses may be fully scrutinized and tested in our judicial systems time-honored adversarial process  and to delay such a fair reckoning by taking his chances on appeal, based on the abbreviated record he forced on plaintiffs," Howell wrote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rudy Giuliani faces defamation trial over false claims of election fraud
A crucial deadline is coming up for borrowers with commercially held federal loans and those who were in delinquent status before the pandemic payment pause.

Borrowers with commercially held federal loans have until Dec. 31 to consolidate their loans to qualify for the one-time payment adjustment, which can help them get closer to or achieve a discharge through their income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.

For borrowers in default, Dec. 31 is also the deadline to enroll in the Fresh Start program to get in good standing to be eligible for the one-time payment adjustment and to qualify for an income-driven repayment plan that could lower their monthly payment.

These borrowers must take the following steps by the end of the year.

Read more: How to apply for IDR forgiveness

A student wears a money lei, a necklace made of US dollar bills, at a graduation ceremony in Pasadena, Calif., on June 14, 2019. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) (ROBYN BECK via Getty Images)

Borrowers with commercially held federal loans

The majority of loans through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program are commercially held because the program and Education Department worked with private lenders to provide student loans guaranteed by the federal government.

But these loans dont qualify for some federal student loan relief programs, like the one-time payment adjustment, which counts certain months that were previously ineligible for student loan forgiveness such as time in forbearance, deferment, or payments before consolidation.

Similarly, Health Education Assistance Loans, or HEAL loans, are treated the same as commercially held FFEL loans for the one-time payment adjustment.

The only way for borrowers with these loans to qualify is to consolidate into a Direct Consolidation Loan.

To do so, first find out if your FFEL loan is commercially held or held by the Education Department. Log in to your StudentAid.gov account and view the My Loan Servicers section of your dashboard.

If the servicer name starts with ED, your loan is held by the Education Department and you do not need to do anything as the one-time payment will be automatically processed for loans held by ED. If not, then the loan is commercially held and you need to consolidate to qualify for the one-time payment adjustment.

Read more: Student loan issues? Here's how to file a complaint with the Department of Education

Federal Student Aid - U.S. Education Department (US Dept of Education)

To consolidate, you can only file for direct loan consolidation on the Federal Student Aid website at https://studentaid.gov/loan-consolidation/. There is no fee to apply and the application takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Due to the restart of payments, loan consolidation can take several weeks to process. After you complete your application, a loan servicer processes it. The loan servicer processing your consolidation application may be different from your current loan servicer.

You should continue your monthly payments with your current loan servicer until you are notified that your consolidation application is complete.

After your loan is consolidated, you may have a new loan servicer.

Read more: Should you refinance your student loans?

Borrowers in default

Borrowers in default also are up against the clock. Thats where the Fresh Start program comes in.

Announced last year, the one-time, free temporary program is an initiative to get default borrowers back into good standing and qualify for other relief programs that could help them meet their debt obligations.

For instance, borrowers in Fresh Start can move from their default loan servicer to a regular loan servicer, making them eligible for forbearance, deferment, and income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, where a monthly payment of $0 counts as payment.

Getting their loans in current status can also remove default from their credit reports and stop collections, collection fees, and wage garnishments.

Borrowers with William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Perkins Loan, and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) loans that are owned by ED or commercially held are eligible for Fresh Start, according to the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Fresh Start Fact Sheet.

Before the pandemic, 7.5 million borrowers were in default and normally the rehabilitation of default loans requires at least nine on-time payments, Mark Kantrowitz, author and student loan expert, previously told Yahoo Finance. The pandemic forbearance payment pause applies towards the required on-time payments, helping to get default borrowers in good standing.

Source: NASFAA (NASFAA)

Borrowers have two options to get into the Fresh Start program.

The first path is for borrowers to return to school before Fresh Start ends on Dec. 31. The school will then process the Fresh Start paperwork for the borrower.

The second way is for borrowers to contact the Education Department or your loan servicer to register for the program by Dec. 31. If you have been in default for more than 360 days, you may have a default loan servicer or had your loan sent to a guaranty agency.

If your loans are held by ED you can start the process three ways:

Online at https://myeddebt.ed.gov/, or

Phone at 1-800-621-3115 or if you are deaf or hard of hearing, the TTY number is 1-877-825-9923), or

Mail at P.O. Box 5609, Greenville, TX 75403 with your name, social security number, date of birth, and stating that you want to use Fresh Start to bring your loans back into good standing.

If youve been in default for more than 360 days, Maximus Services Inc. processes these federal loans. If Maximus isnt your federal default loan processor, it may have been sent to a guaranty agency.

A list of guaranty agencies that ED uses can be found on the default website and below.

U.S. Department of Education Guaranty Agencies (U.S. Dept of Education)

Ronda is a personal finance senior reporter for Yahoo Finance and attorney with experience in law, insurance, education, and government.

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It can take 20 minutes to fast charge an electric car up to 80%. But what if you could just change the batteries like they were AAs in a toy, and be back on the road fully charged in a handful of minutes?

It seems like an obvious solution, but there have been some famous failures with battery swapping. A decade ago, Tesla announced it would build out a network of battery swapping stations that could change out Model Ss battery pack in 90 seconds. But like many of CEO Elon Musks publicly-announced ideas, it was later dropped with Musk claiming customers werent interested.

And in 2013, an Israeli company that promised battery swapping called Better Place went out of business after burning through $850 million in cash and deploying only about 1,000 cars, according to reports at the time.

But the idea has become a reality, again, at least in Asia. Chinese EV maker Nio has been offering battery swapping for its vehicles since 2019. Nio now claims to be the worlds largest operator of battery swapping technology having performed over 32 million battery swaps since then at more than 2,100 stations.

The tire of an electric vehicle in position for battery swapping inside the Ample machine. - Courtesy Ample

Now Stellantis, the global automaker that makes Jeep, Dodge and Fiat vehicles, is also trying out the idea on a small scale  with a crucial difference  in hopes of incorporating it in future EV models.

Stellantis is working with a company called Ample that has created a new battery swapping system it says can work in virtually any shape or size of vehicle. It says the system doesnt require any automaker to alter its vehicle to fit a special battery pack.

With Amples system, the entire battery pack  which can weigh more than 1,000 pounds  doesnt get replaced as a single unit. Instead, a number of individually sealed battery modules about the size of a desktop computer are taken out by automated machinery and replaced one by one. In this way, all the vehicles batteries can be quickly replaced in easily manageable chunks rather than in a single huge slab.

That means it might take five to, at most, 10 minutes to change batteries, depending on the size of the vehicle and how many modules there are, instead of the 90 seconds Musk had promised. But having separate small battery packs provides numerous advantages.

First, the equipment required to change the batteries can be small. Amples battery swap stations, which handle the work automatically, look like backyard sheds with an extra-thick wall. The wall is where the battery modules are stored and charged. Theres no need to dig a hole in the ground underneath the battery swapping station, either, as might be the case if the equipment needed to handle entire big, heavy battery packs.

Because the batteries dont need high-powered DC fast charging  they have plenty of time to charge inside the hut wall  the battery swapping stations dont require the kind of high-wattage power connections fast-charging stations do. That simplifies their installation, said Khaled Hassounah, founder and chief executive of Ample.

Also, the vehicle itself can be of any shape or size. An SUV, car or truck doesnt need to be designed around an Ample battery pack. The battery modules fit into a container on the underside of the vehicle where a battery pack would usually go. The container is adapted to the size and shape of the vehicle. A large vehicle could simply hold more battery modules while a smaller vehicle would hold fewer of them.

Besides Stellantis, Ample is also working with heavy equipment maker Mitsubishi Fuso on a battery-swapping test with commercial trucks in Japan. In the United States, the system is being tested with a variety of different Uber vehicles around the San Francisco Bay area. Amples 12 battery-swapping stations in the Bay area are used a few hundred times a day, according to the company.

The Ample battery modules can still be charged in the vehicle at a regular EV charger, so drivers would have the option of either plugging in or swapping batteries depending on the situation. As usual, most EV owners could still plug their cars in overnight at home.

Stellantis has not said it will necessarily incorporate the system into its EV models for sale around the world. Next year, Stellantis will use the Ample battery swap system in a fleet of 100 Fiat 500e electric cars in Spain that are part of the companys Free2Move car-sharing service.

The Fiat 500e, a tiny electric car with a range of about 150 miles, provides a perfect test case for battery swapping, said Ricardo Stamatti-Avila, Stellantiss vice president for charging and energy.

If you want to extend the range of a car, the answer right now is you just throw more batteries at it, he said. But when you have limited real estate, like in a Fiat 500, that means wed need to make the car bigger, and then its not a Fiat 500 anymore, right?

Even with larger vehicles, Amples battery swapping system could free drivers from having to buy lots of extra battery power they might only rarely use, as they do now. Customers could just rent the extra battery packs they need for the occasional long trip, said Stamatti-Avila.

If the system works well in Spain, he said, Stellantis will look first to commercial fleet customers to start building up an infrastructure of swapping stations. Ordinary retail customers could start using the system once there are a good number of swapping stations available.

On the other hand, if Stellantiss Spanish experiment doesnt pan out, this whole battery-swapping thing might just never be talked about again, as happened with Tesla.

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By Humeyra Pamuk and Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The shells are part of a bigger sale that was first reported by Reuters on Friday that the Biden administration is asking the U.S. Congress to approve. The larger package is worth more than $500 million and includes 45,000 shells for Israel's Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the U.S. weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though U.S. officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.

Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn't align with Washington's effort to press Israel to minimize civilian casualties.

A State Department official said on Saturday that Washington continues to be clear with the Israeli government that it must comply with international humanitarian law and take every feasible step to avoid harm to civilians.

The proposed sale conveys U.S. commitment to Israel's security and it will bolster Israel's defensive capabilities, the official said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.

The sale will be from U.S. Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.

"Israel will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense," the Pentagon said, adding that there will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of the sale.

Israel's Merkava tanks, which uses 120mm shells, are also linked to incidents that involved the death of journalists.

On Thursday, a Reuters investigation revealed that an Israeli tank crew killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded six reporters by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were filming cross-border shelling.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Mike Stone in Washington and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; editing by Diane Craft)
Douglas Sacha - Getty Images

As fun as it is to have a pizza party, it always ends with the same dilemma: figuring out where to store the leftovers. Finding enough room to fit a pizza box is a near impossible task. So if youve ever given up and kept your leftover pizza on your kitchen counter, youre not alone.

Health officials often warn against storing food at room temperature for prolonged periods of time because of the risk of food-borne illness. But there are many foods that can hang out at room temperature without harboring germs.

Bread and tomatoes, for example, shouldnt be refrigerated anywayand thats two thirds of a pizza, right? So can we get away with keeping our pizza on the counter and spare ourselves from playing a game of refrigerator Tetris?

Were breaking down everything you need to know about storing pizza and whether your pie can stay at room temperature.

Is It Safe To Leave Leftover Pizza Out?

Aleksandr Zubkov - Getty Images

Sorry to break the news, but pizza should absolutely not be stored at room temperature overnight. In fact, it shouldnt even spend more than a few hours on the counter. The temperature range of 40-140F is widely known as the temperature danger zonea.k.a. the climate where bacteria can thrive.

The USDA reports that bacteria can start taking over your leftovers in as little as 20 minutes. And after two hours, it's deemed unsafe to eat left-out pizza at all. In mild to moderate cases, getting food-borne illnesses from room temperature food means stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. But more serious cases involve hospitalization and even death, like this 2008 case involving leftover pasta.

There are certain ingredients that have a much higher risk factor when it comes to bacteria growth, and it mostly comes down to the level of moisture and protein present. Baked goods like bread, cakes, and cookies all have relatively low protein and moisture levels (and are often preserved with plenty of fat and sugar), which means they can safely sit out on the counter for a few days.

Pizza, on the other hand, has plenty of protein and moisture that can invite harmful bacteria. The dough itself doesnt present much danger, but the sauce, cheese, and toppings definitely do. Cheese, alongside milk and other dairy-based products, is one of the most at-risk ingredients. The FDA notes that the high levels of protein and moisture in cheese make it especially vulnerable for bacterial growth.

The same goes for the sauce and certain toppings. Cooked vegetables (like peppers. mushrooms, and tomato-based pizza sauces) contain a lot of natural liquid which can cause bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli to grow.

How To Properly Store Leftover Pizza

monkeybusinessimages - Getty Images

Just because you cant keep your pizza box on the counter overnight doesnt mean you need to show the entire thing into your refrigerator. Actually, its recommended that you take your slices out of the box before storing them.

The climate of your fridge, aside from being cold, is also really humid. So, if stored in an open container like a pizza box, your slices will gradually absorb some of the ambient moisture. Not only does that make your crust sad and soggy, it also infuses your leftovers with whatever other smells are floating around in the fridge. Yuck!

So your safest bet for storing pizza is transferring your slices into an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Make sure to label your container with the day you first ate it, then keep it in the refrigerator for no longer than four days. And, according to the USDA, you can pop your leftovers in the freezer and theyll stay good for up to two months.

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The national security advisers of South Korea and Japan agreed Friday on the need to strengthen solidarity with the international community in order to respond firmly to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, the presidential office said.

National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba held talks in Seoul ahead of Saturday's trilateral meeting with their U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan.

The two sides agreed that North Korea's "unprecedented" provocations are posing a "serious threat" to peace and stability in the region and beyond, the presidential office said in a press release.

"They reaffirmed the need for South Korea-Japan and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, and the strengthening of solidarity within the international community, in order to firmly respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations," it said.

North Korea successfully placed a military spy satellite into orbit last month, after two failed attempts earlier in the year.

Cho and Akiba also discussed bilateral relations, noting the seven summits between their leaders this year, and agreed to expand areas of cooperation to produce more tangible results for the two countries' peoples, including in security and economic issues and people-to-people exchanges.

In a separate meeting later in the day, Cho and Sullivan shared their opinion that Seoul's suspension of an inter-Korean military tension reduction accord was a carefully considered measure in response to Pyongyang's repeated violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Last month, South Korea suspended part of the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement that called for a series of military measures to reduce tensions along the border.

The two officials also reaffirmed that their countries remain open to dialogue with North Korea.

They expressed that the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains stronger than ever, and is a core pillar of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, pledging cooperation on Indo-Pacific strategies, new technologies and economic security, according to the presidential office.

President Yoon Suk Yeol later hosted a dinner at his official residence for the three national security advisers, the presidential officer said.

"South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation has become more important than before under a situation where armed conflicts are occurring at places in the world and the rule-based order is being threatened," Yoon said during the meeting.

"I hope the agreements from (the trilateral summit at) Camp David could be smoothly implemented and this momentum can continue," the president said, referring to his summit with President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in August.

During the meeting at Camp David, a U.S. presidential retreat, the leaders pledged to develop the trilateral partnership into a comprehensive cooperation mechanism. (Yonhap)
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS.France will allocate 15 million euros in emergency aid to Armenia to assist forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France said in a statement.

France will continue its support for Armenia and the Armenian people following the November 30th vote in Parliament, providing 15 million in emergency aid for Armenia and refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

This additional aid will help support the efforts by NGOs, the ICRC, the Armenian Red Cross and UN agencies to welcome and look after the social, medical, educational and financial needs of these particularly vulnerable populations. This latest aid package brings our 2023 contribution to 27.5 million, reads the statement.

It is noted that emergency medical supplies were also turned over to the Armenian authorities, and French hospitals are caring for several burn patients.

According to the statement, this support is accompanied by fundraising efforts by civil society organizations and local governments to help the Armenian people.
The police and other law-enforcing agencies in Ladakh, too, have been put on high alert, reports from Leh and Kargil said

The official sources said that the J&K police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) permanently standing guard at hundreds of pillboxes and sandbag bunkers in the cities and towns and those sent out on a daily basis for performing law and order duties will be joined by additional armed personnel to reinforce security and thwart off threats to peace. (PTI Photo)

SRINAGAR: As the Supreme Court of India will pronounce its judgement on a batch of pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 on December 11, the people and politicians of Jammu and Kashmir are waiting for the crucial moment with hope, apprehensions and anxiety.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have decided to enhance security measures across the Union territory ahead of the Supreme Courts judgment on Monday. The police and other law-enforcing agencies in Ladakh, too, have been put on high alert, reports from Leh and Kargil said.

The official sources said that the J&K police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) permanently standing guard at hundreds of pillboxes and sandbag bunkers in the cities and towns and those sent out on a daily basis for performing law and order duties will be joined by additional armed personnel to reinforce security and thwart off threats to peace.

Makeshift checkpoints and drop gates, in addition to the existing ones, are also being laid in select areas of Srinagar and Jammu, along with some other towns, the sources said.

The police and other law enforcement agencies are keeping a watch on the activities of the Opposition parties and their leaders and tracking the movements of former militants, stone-pelters and other potential troublemakers, a police official who spoke to this newspaper on the condition of anonymity said.

He, however, termed these measures a routine exercise carried out by the law-enforcing agencies to strengthen their grip over the ground situation at such times.

Former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed apprehension that the Opposition leaders in the Kashmir Valley might be placed under house arrest ahead of the SCs verdict on Article 370 petitions.

They need an excuse to put us under house arrest and they have an excuse. As we are unaware of what the decision will be, so are they. If they know, then there should be an investigation, he told the media in the southern Kulgam district.

The concerned police officials have been asked to track and monitor social media activities more vigorously in the coming days to ensure no attempts are made through them to encourage or stir up trouble. Following the security review meeting that additional director-general of police (law and order) Vijay Kumar presided over here on Friday, the police said that stringent actions will be taken against individuals involved in any misconduct or inappropriate use of social media.

Reacting to it, Iltija Mufti, daughter of and media advisor to former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, in a post on X said, Two days before SC declares its verdict on Article 370, JK police declares punitive action against those indulging in mischief on social media & breachers of peace. Seems like they already know the verdict.

The PDP chief said that the J&K administration has, through its latest actions, indicated that the verdict of the SC will only be to further the BJPs agenda.

BJPs J&K unit chief Ravinder Raina urged the Opposition parties, including the NC, the PDP, the Congress, the J&K Peoples Conference and the Apni Party to welcome the Supreme Courts verdict with respect when it comes.

He told the media here: We all must respect the decisions of the courts. Ours is a democratic country where the rule of law prevails. Our judges are competent and impartial, able and fair. We have complete trust in them.

At Fridays security meeting, which was attended by Kashmirs chief administration officer (divisional commissioner) Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, IGP V. K. Birdi, DIGs of all ranges, DIG (CID), SSP (Kashmir police control room) and Srinagar-based deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, Mr Kumar was briefed on the prevailing law and order situation in the Valley and possible developments that may unfold following the verdict.

Mr Kumar asked the officers to maintain close watch on ground-situation and heighten vigil in potential problem areas.
40 machines, extra bank staff to count notes

Bhubaneswar: For the fourth consecutive day on Saturday, the officials of the Income Tax (I-T) department continued their crackdown on liquor manufacturers and traders in Odisha.

After recovering around Rs 200 crore recently, the I-T department officials recovered 20 more packets of cash from the house of one Bunty at his Sudhapada house in Balangir town.

Bunty works as a manager of a country-liquor manufacturer.

The I-T department officials suspect that the cash found from Bunty's house would be around Rs 100 crore. However, there is no confirmation from the I-T department about the exact amount of the money recovered from Bunty's premises.

Initially, the income tax team loaded the money in a pickup van filled with bags and boxes and later shifted to the currency chest of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Balangir .

How much money has been seized from the manager's house will be cleared only after the counting of the cash.

However, counting money for income tax and bank officials has also become a herculean task. Several bank employees have been deployed in two shifts to help the I-T department officials count them. Around 10 cash counting machines have been sought from nearby banks. It is also said that the machines are even getting out of order while counting the money.

As per the Reginal Manager of the SBI, around 50 employees from several banks are counting the cash with the help of 25 counting machines. "We are trying to finish the counting in the next two days. Saturday and Sunday are holidays, so we will have more counting machines here with us. There were 176 bags of cash, out of which we have only counted cash from 40 bags."

The liquor manufacturer in question is a stakeholder of Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies, one of the biggest country liquor manufacturers and selling companies in western Odisha. The Income Tax has raided the offices and residences of all the persons linked to this group.

The I-T sleuths also raided Boudh Distillery Private Limited (BDPL) which is a subsidiary of Baldeo Sahu Infra Private Limited.

According to sources, the group is allegedly linked to Dhiraj Sahu, a Congress' Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand, whose family members run the business.

While an investigation is underway to find out the source and owner of the money, Income Tax DG, Sanjay Bahadur, who was in Odisha during the I-T raids, said that the details regarding the raids will be shared by the I-T media cell in Delhi.

The non-stop I-T raids have been going on in different places in Odisha since Wednesday. From Sambalpur to Rourkela and Bolangir to Sundargarh, investigations and raids are going on in several western Odisha towns.

Apart from Balangir, counting of huge amounts of money recovered from Dhanupali country liquor distillery and Badabazar area in Sambalpur is also underway. Similarly, raids have been conducted on the house and office of country liquor distillery owner, Rajkishore Prasad Jaiswal, a liquor trader at Sargipali in Sundargarh district.

National politics has also heated up as the link of Jharkhand Congress MP and liquor baron Dhiraj Sahu has come to the fore in the alleged tax evasion case.

A 20-member Income Tax analysis team from Hyderabad arrived at Bolangir on Saturday to assist in the ongoing investigation regarding the seizure of huge cash. The team is likely to examine electronic gadgets, including computers of the liquor traders' firm and others.

As per Balangir SBI Regional Manager, around 50 employees from several branches of the SBI are engaged in the counting of the cash with the help of 25 counting machines.

"We are trying to finish the counting in the next two days. As there is a holiday on Saturday and Sunday, we will have more counting machines available with us. There were 176 bags of cash, out of which we have only counted cash from 40 bags worth Rs 46 crore. If no more cash comes, we will hopefully finish the counting by Sunday night," he said.
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP legislature party is scheduled to meet on Monday to elect its leader

Amid deepening suspense over the chief minister face in MP, outgoing chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who appeared not to have given up hope of his retaining the post, on Saturday posted a cryptic message in his social media account which read, Sabhi ko Ram Ram (My greetings to all). (PTI)

BHOPAL: The BJP legislature parties in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are scheduled to meet on Sunday and Monday respectively to elect their leaders and end the week-long suspense over the chief minister faces in the two states.

However, sources indicated that bumpy rides are ahead for the observers, appointed for the two states to oversee the election of leaders of the BJP legislature parties there.

Supporters of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and former chief minister of Chhattisgarh Dr Raman Singh may mount pressure on them to retain the two regional satraps as chief ministers in their respective states, senior BJP functionaries in the two states indicated to this newspaper on Saturday.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP legislature party is scheduled to meet on Monday to elect its leader.

The meeting of the BJP legislature party is scheduled to be held at four pm on Monday for the election of its leader, state party president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said here on Saturday.

He said that the three observers appointed by the parliamentary board of the party to oversee the election process would be present on the occasion.

Sources said that the three observers are scheduled to arrive in Bhopal on Monday morning to attend the meeting.

The three observers appointed for Madhya Pradesh are Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, national head of partys OBC wing Dr K Laxman and BJP national secretary Asha Lakda.

Amid reports that the partys Central leadership may opt for fresh faces as chief minister in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, names of former Union ministers Prallhad Patel and Narendra Singh Tomar, and BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya as prospective chief ministerial candidates for MP are primarily making rounds in the BJP circles here.

However, one should not hazard a guess on any name at the juncture. BJP may also spring a surprise by announcing another name for the post, a senior BJP leader indicated.

Sources said that the three observers may also hold one-to-one meetings with the newly elected MLAs of the party if there will be lack of consensus on the choice of the Central leadership on the new chief minister in the BJP legislature party meeting.

The BJP MLAs will have a significant say on the selection of the chief minister, sources said.

Replying to a question by reporters here on the issue, the state BJP chief said that, (The matters relating to) who will be chief minister, who will be deputy chief minister and if there will be a post of deputy chief minister or not, will be decided by the Central leadership of the party.

He later hastened to add that the BJP legislature party would elect its leader.

Amid deepening suspense over the chief minister face in MP, outgoing chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who appeared not to have given up hope of his retaining the post, on Saturday posted a cryptic message in his social media account which read, Sabhi ko Ram Ram (My greetings to all).

The social media post by Mr Chouhan has created flutter in the BJP circles here with various sections making different interpretations of the message as to if he is indicating to bow out of the race for CM post or saying he is very much in the race.

Mr Sharma however suggested not to read much into the post, saying that It is a customary way of greeting to people by a person as per our culture (prevailing in the Hindi belt).

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP legislature party is scheduled to meet in Raipur at 12 pm on Sunday to elect its leader.

The BJP legislature party of Chhattisgarh will meet on Sunday to elect its leader, BJPs media wing in the state said on Saturday.

Three observers appointed for Chhattisgarh by the party, Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and BJP national general secretary Dushyant Gautam are scheduled to attend the meeting.

Besides, senior party leader Om Mathur, who was the election in-charge of the party for Chhattisgarh, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who was co election in-charge for the state and BJP national general secretary Nitin Naveen are also scheduled to attend the meeting, the partys media wing said.

Sources disclosed to this newspaper that Mr Mathur who is scheduled to arrive in Raipur on Saturday night may hold discussions with Dr Singh to pave the way for the party leaderships plan to appoint a fresh face as chief minister of the state.

Names of former Union ministers Vishnudeo Sai and Renuka Singh and state BJP president Arun Sao are making rounds as prospective chief ministers of Chhattisgarh.

However, Dr Singh has also thrown his hat into the ring in the race, his supporters said.
Knives are out for veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath ever since the party suffered a shock defeat in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party top brass mulled the choice of chief ministers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the main claimants for this coveted post were forced to rein themselves in. Though former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje did meet a group of newly-elected legislators loyal to her, she was constrained from challenging the party leadership because she has to consider her son Dushyant Singhs political career. Similarly, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh has to necessarily lie low because of his son Abhishek, who won a Lok Sabha seat in 2014 but was denied a ticket in the 2019 general election after the BJP wipe-out in the 2018 state election. Then there is Madhya Pradeshs Shivraj Singh Chouhan who is grooming his two sons  Kartikeya and Kunal  in politics. Apparently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were not pleased with Chouhans efforts to promote his sons by taking them with him to public functions. At one point, Chouhans wife Sadhna was always in the news and was privately referred to as his fund manager. She has not been seen or heard in public for the past several years. The political future of the four sons appears uncertain.

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Knives are out for veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath ever since the party suffered a shock defeat in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. As president of the partys state unit, Kamal Nath, who led the election campaign, had convinced the Congress leadership that they were on their way to wresting the state from the Bharatiya Janata Party. No sooner were the results declared that conspiracy theories started doing the rounds. The chatter in the party is that there was internal sabotage and that Kamal Nath gave up the fight weeks before polling day. It is being whispered that the former chief minister was under pressure to forgo the election as his businessman nephew Ratul Puri is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation for several fraud cases. He was taken into custody and is currently out on bail. Others in the party maintain it was Mr Naths over-confidence which did the Congress in. Mr Nath and his coterie members, they charged, were so sure of forming the next government that they started acting as if they were already in power.

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And in Rajasthan, former president of the Congress state unit Sachin Pilot is enjoying the plight of his bete noire, outgoing chief minister Ashok Gehlot who has come under sharp attack from his officer on special duty Lokesh Sharma. Not only does Mr Gehlot suffer the ignominy of a defeat but he has now to contend with Mr Sharmas public barbs. Denied a ticket in the recent election, Mr Sharma launched an all-out offensive against his former boss, saying that Mr Gehlot was solely responsible for the partys marginalisation and that Mr Gehlot did not provide the right feedback to the Congress leadership and did not allow an alternative leader to emerge in the state. This last bit is obviously music to Mr Pilots ears given his long standing battle with Mr Gehlot for greater political space. Mr Pilot has not made any public statement but he is not averse to drawing the medias attention to Mr Sharmas outburst against Mr Gehlot.

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Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav was quick to lash out at the Congress after its poor performance in the three Hindi heartland states. But reports from Lucknow suggest that Akhileshs party is in no better position in Uttar Pradesh. It is expected that as the biggest Opposition party in the electorally important state, the Samajwadi Party would line up a series of political activities to energise its own cadre and highlight peoples grievances. But Akhilesh Yadav and the other Opposition parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress, seem to have given up the fight. BSP chief Mayawati surfaces occasionally to issue a statement while the Congress UP-in charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is busy campaigning in other states. In contrast, the BJP has been preparing for the polls for the past several months. Its state unit and local leaders are constantly organising some programme or the other, be it a voter awareness campaign, helping people with scrutiny of electoral rolls or taking out yatras in their respective constituencies. They are visible and vocal but the same cant be said about the other Opposition parties.

#

After the Congress losses in the three Assembly elections, there is a buzz in the party about the need for a generational shift and replacing the old guard with younger leaders. Sceptics maintain this may prove difficult as the Congress has so far failed to groom a second line of leaders, pointing out that it could not even find chief ministers from its own ranks. Two of its three chief ministers  Siddaramaiah and A. Revanth Reddy  are lateral entrants to the party. The Karnataka chief minister is from the Janata Dal family while the new Telangana chief minister began with the ABVP and was with the Telugu Desam Party before joining the Congress. In fact, this is a sore point with Congress old timers who feel outsiders are being rewarded while loyalists have been ignored.
The national security advisers of South Korea, the United States and Japan vowed Saturday to strengthen cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats while also deepening their cooperation on supply chains, technology protection and other economic security issues, the three sides said.

The agreements were announced during a joint press briefing following trilateral talks between National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba.

The meeting was held to follow up on agreements reached during a landmark trilateral summit involving President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in August.

"We reaffirmed North Korea's obligation under U.N. Security Council resolutions to denuclearize and ban military cooperation, and agreed to strengthen cooperation among the three countries to secure the international community's strict implementation," Cho said at the briefing at the presidential office.

Cho said they also agreed to pursue trilateral security cooperation without delay, including through the real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data and by drawing up multiyear plans for trilateral military exercises.

"In addition, we agreed to promptly and effectively push for follow-up measures to the Camp David agreements in the areas of cybersecurity, the economy, advanced technologies and development cooperation, and to further strengthen our comprehensive cooperation in the economic security field, such as on supply chains, technology protection, joint research and AI governance," he said.

Both Sullivan and Akiba said the three sides discussed North Korea's growing military cooperation with Russia. The deepening partnership between the two countries is suspected to have helped North Korea successfully place a military spy satellite into orbit last month after two failed attempts earlier in the year.

Akiba especially noted their agreement to strengthen trilateral cooperation against North Korea's illicit cyber activities that fund its nuclear and missile development.

Sullivan, meanwhile, outlined their joint commitment to working together on other regional and economic issues, including their efforts to finalize a new supply chain early warning system and launch joint global development projects.

"We will continue to stand together against economic coercion," he said. "And we will continue to stand up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation in the East and South China seas."

Sullivan and Akiba expressed their thanks to Yoon for hosting them for dinner Friday.

Sullivan said he conveyed Biden's "warm greetings" and his personal commitment to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the trilateral partnership among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

Akiba said he also conveyed Kishida's strong commitment to further developing the South Korea-Japan relationship and the strategic cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. (Yonhap)
It has become more than apparent by now that those at the helm in the Congress are just incapable of decisive and strategic planning.

The results of the recent five Assembly elections signal both a victory for democracy and a crisis for Indias democratic system. It is a victory because citizens have democratically voted out governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, voted back the government in Madhya Pradesh, while giving a new party, ZPM, the mandate in Mizoram. It is a crisis, because as a consequence of these results, it increasingly appears that the Opposition  a vital element in a democracy  is fast evaporating.

Yes, there are still several states where Opposition parties are in power. But their sphere of influence is restricted to just their state. There is thus no pan-Indian Opposition party to challenge the BJP. For this disproportionate dominance of only the BJP, the Congress is squarely responsible. For decades now, the party is in verifiable decline. The last time it won an absolute majority on its own was in 1984. After that, it has only been in power in coalition governments.

Following the spectacular victory of Narendra Modi in 2014, the decline of the Congress has been relentless. It may have won a few state elections, but at the national level, for a party which always had a pan-Indian footprint, the Congress seems to have all but collapsed. In 2014 it won 44 seats; in 2019, just 52. The reasons for this precipitate plunge are known: Inept leadership, defunct organisation, no convincing counter-narrative, rootless coterie, lack of a credible face, and  the visible elephant in the room  the stranglehold of the Gandhi family, which insists in projecting an incompetent electoral product in Rahul Gandhi. The paralysis in timely decision making, seen in Rajasthan in the rift between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, and in Chhattisgarh in the Baghel-Singh Deo conflict, was appalling. It has become more than apparent by now that those at the helm in the Congress are just incapable of decisive and strategic planning. Their belief is that a problem will go away by not dealing with it, or by sheer attrition. And, an even bigger weakness is to see genuinely talented leaders among its fold, as a threat not a strength.

Although there is a president of the party, the experienced Mallikarjun Kharge, all issues need the imprimatur of not only Rahul Gandhi, the dynastic de facto head of the party, but of Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi as well, a process that inexorably delays matters. In Rajasthan, all matters were left to Gehlot, who to protect his own turf from the threat of Sachin Pilot, retained his supportive gang of MLAs even though it was obvious that their popularity on the ground was deeply eroded. In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath was given a free hand, which was possibly a wise decision, but there was no audit of candidate selection, or supplementary effort to bolster and strengthen his campaign.

The Congress refuses to understand that you cannot build a super-structure of success on a non-existent foundation: A grassroots organisation and cadre. In the absence of these, one over-hyped Bharat Jodo Yatra, and an aggressive media cell are no substitutes. In addition, there is unsustainable arrogance and entitlement, which treats other Opposition parties with scant respect, and often inexplicable hostility. The tragedy is that instead of reinventing itself, the Congress only attempt is to find some alibi to justify the status quo and protect the family. The most recent example is to blame EVMs for the election debacle. If the causes of failure are not honestly and courageously recognised, how can remedial action be taken? The ideology that made Congress the dominant party for decades  democracy, pluralism and inclusion  is still relevant to the country. But the vehicle and the leadership that exists today is incapable of credibly and effectively projecting it.

If this was not enough, the attempt to forge Opposition unity came too late. The INDIA alliance met for the first time in June 2023 in Patna. What were they doing since 2019? Even worse, nothing happened after that first meeting. A serious alliance would have, immediately after the Patna meeting, set up a secretariat, come out with a common minimum programme, and created a working group on feasible seat adjustments. But none of this happened. A month later, the alliance leaders met again at Bengaluru, and five weeks later in Mumbai, with nothing to show accept a photo-op and a sumptuous dinner. A follow-up meeting in Bhopal was cancelled. A meeting called on December 6, was also deferred, because many parties of the alliance refused to attend.

Moreover, constant bickering between Opposition alliance members has only further increased. Now, as the recent elections show, if the Congress, which is in direct fight with the BJP in some 200 seats in north India, cannot deliver, the alliance itself has no meaning, and each party will just go back to defending its own state fiefdom. In fact, most other Opposition parties have begun to consider the Congress as a liability, that brings little to the table but claims, as a matter of right, a disproportionate share of seats.

It is argued that the BJPs writ south of the Vindhyas is limited. This is only partially true. In Karnataka it has a strong hold, and the same voter who brought the Congress to power in the state, may vote very differently in the parliamentary elections, if the choice before her is Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi. Moreover, the BJP today is an inherently expansionist party, and has a 24/7 electoral machine to back it. It is significant that, even in Telangana, which Congress wrested this time from the BRS, the BJP won as many as eight seats. In Andhra Pradesh, it cannot be ruled out that a government may be formed with BJP as an alliance partner.

The BJP is neither infallible nor unblemished, but it is almost certain that it will now win the 2024 elections. At present, on an all-India scale, there is no rival to its combination of leader, narrative, organisation, cadre and will to power. The country needs a stable government. But can a democracy do without a strong Opposition?
by Mathias Hariyadi

Convened by Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, the Peaceful Indonesia Forum issued a statement calling for free and fair voting, following a clash between opposing political factions that left one person dead last month.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  Some two and a half months before the country goes to the polls on 14 February 2024, Indonesia's religious leaders, convened by Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, have expressed concern over growing acrimony in the country, calling for a fair and peaceful election.

On Tuesday, from the cardinal's residence at the archdiocesan see in Jakarta, the heads of various religious organisations, gathered for what they called the Peaceful Indonesia Forum, issued a statement in which they addressed what they view to be some key issues in the upcoming election.

They stressed the importance of national unity that should be defended by all parties, the need to uphold the principles enshrined in Pancasila (Indonesias foundational principles), and the 1945 constitution.

Religious leaders also recommended that all candidates respect a free and fair electoral process, and that all misleading information be avoided.

"This forum was created in response to destructive social tensions that could endanger the unity of the Indonesian people," said Izzul Muslimin, spokesman for the group, which includes Christian Churches, Kong Hu Cu Matakin, Nusantara Spiritual, Buddhists, Hindus, and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Although presidential candidates have pledged their commitment to the rules of democracy, many in Indonesia fear that the parties' most ardent supporters may carry out violent actions.

In late November, a clash between two different groups of political supporters in Bitung, North Sulawesi province, resulted in the death of one person.

This is not news in Indonesia; back during the 2019 elections, violence broke out, which religious leaders say could jeopardise harmony in todays Indonesian society.
by Alessandra Tamponi

Mongolia signed a declaration with other countries in favour of the development of nuclear power to reduce greenhouse gases. This is one of the country's latest initiatives to promote its domestic mining industry, which represents an important part of the countrys economy. This will require a reassessment of relations with Russia.

Ulaanbaatar (AsiaNews)  At COP28, more than 20 nations agreed to a declaration to triple nuclear energy capacity, stressing the key role nuclear power can play in achieving zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Supporters include countries like the United States and France, which already have nuclear power plants, but also countries such as Mongolia.

The growing support for nuclear power is no surprise. Despite its risks, it is considered a non-negligible solution for the decarbonisation of those sectors defined as hard to abate, such as heavy industry, shipping, and aviation.

Mongolia's support for the declaration is just one of the latest actions it has taken in favour of nuclear power, which requires important uranium reserves, which it has.

Uranium mining would come on top of extracting other minerals that are essential for the energy transition (like copper) and an important base for the country's economy.

According to the World Bank, the mining sector made up a quarter of Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 and 80 per cent of its exports.

Under Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, the sector promises to become one of the pillars for Mongolias post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

So far, 10 uranium deposits have been discovered in the country with about 160,000 tonnes; this would place the country first in Asia and 12th in the world in terms of output.

Although mining has not yet started, such quantities could ensure not only the development of Mongolias own nuclear power industry (crucial for a country that still gets 80 per cent of its energy from coal burning), but could also place the Asian country in an internationally strategic position.

Partly because of the coup d'etat in Niger that is forcing Europe to diversify its uranium supplies, other countries had already shown interest in Mongolia.

In October, France and Mongolia signed a US$ 1.7 billion deal that would see French state-owned Orano operate the Zuuvch-Ovoo mine in southwestern Mongolia. The project will begin next year with production expected by 2028.

However, by opening its resource sector to international players, Mongolia may find itself at odds with Russia, which begun the exploration of the first Mongolian deposits in the 1950s when the country was still within the Soviet sphere of influence.

Since then, Russian companies have played a leading role in Mongolia. Russian scientists have trained Mongolian scientists on nuclear development, while in the 1980s and 1990s the Soviet Union, then Russia was the main buyer of Mongolian uranium. Today, not even China has agreements with Mongolia to mine the metal.
Today's headlines: Japan's prime minister is set to replace his right-hand man. Indonesias president blames human trafficking for the increase in Rohingya arrivals. Laos is proposing new economic reforms that do not convince the population. Due to climate change, a flower sacred for one of Taiwans indigenous people is disappearing.

GAZA  ISRAEL

The United States vetoed a UN Security Council's calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that it could be the start of even fiercer clashes. Washington has also called on Israel to make a greater commitment to the protection of Palestinian civilians. Israel recently released pictures of dozens of half-naked men captured by Israeli security forces, claiming they were Hamas fighters. Several Palestinians recognised friends and relatives, saying that they are civilians and have nothing to do with the armed group.

JAPAN

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering replacing Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, after he was accused of raising 100 million yen (US$ 69,000) in political contributions without reporting them over the past five years. The chief cabinet secretary is the prime minister's de facto number two. Matsuno's departure would be another blow to the Kishida government, which recently saw its approval rating hit an all-time low after more than two years in office.

INDONESIA

Indonesian President Joko Widodo claims that human trafficking is behind the arrival of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Indonesia. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 1,200 Rohingya, who are a persecuted minority in Myanmar, have landed in Indonesia since November. The high number of arrivals is generating negative feelings and resistance in Aceh, the countrys westernmost region where most of the landings have taken place.

LAOS

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone announced that his government was introducing new measures to address the country's economic problems, including the imposition of exchange rate controls and regulating food prices, actions that workers have criticised for having already been implemented in the past without success.

TAIWAN

The Dendrobium orchid, or golden grass orchid, is disappearing from the island due to climate change. Known as the "God Flower" to Taiwan's indigenous Tsou people, it is used for all kinds of ceremonies. According to the native tribe, it is no longer cold enough in winter to allow the buds to form and bloom in the spring.

RUSSIA  CYPRUS

A group of FBI agents arrived in Cyprus from the United States to help the local police investigate cases of possible violation of sanctions by Russian oligarchs, The Guardian reports. The US agents will explore what role lawyers and accountants in Cyprus, through contacts in the Turkish side of the island, have played in helping the oligarchs get around restrictions for the past 10 years.

TAJIKISTAN

I urge you to immediately end the repression of peaceful demonstrators, community leaders, journalists and activists in Tajikistan, as well as all forms of transnational repression, said Senator Ben Cardin, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during hearings on the actions of authoritarian regimes against dissidents abroad.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian was one of the lucky ones to get their hands on the first Tesla Cybertrucks delivered. He is now driving the vehicle on a daily basis. But his wife Serena Williams might not be able to ride in it because shes under contract with Lincoln.

SUV

EV

Full Self-Driving

Sharing first impressions of my Cybertruck after picking it up last week... runs smooth, smells nice, and reminds me of an APC from Aliens ???? pic.twitter.com/Ak7O4yGkCJ  Alexis Ohanian ???????? (@alexisohanian) December 5, 2023

23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams has been under contract with Lincoln for the past five years as a Brand Ambassador, after her previous stint with Aston Martin. She filmed her latest advert for the Navigatorthis past summer. According to the contract, like all brand ambassadors, she can use only Lincoln vehicles for official outings. Alexis Ohanian took his brand-new Tesla Cybertruck to the Art Basel in Miami. Those who spotted his electric pickup truck took to former Twitter/current X, and Alexis confirmed his presence in Miami by re-sharing the tweet that reads "Damn, shes a badass. Temporary tags with a cool 'LA' decals." "It was," Alexis captioned the tweet.The Reddit co-founder drives the Cybertruck VIN 003, a detail that he confirmed while driving it back home on December 1, a day after having his vehicle handed over during the event at the Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. Its smooth, drives a lot like my Model X, it smells nice, he says. Everything seems right except for the fact that his head is very close to some bar in the headliner. Ohanian is 65 (1.97 meters).After five days with the Cybertruck, the 40-year old uploaded a video about his experience at the factory and shared his impressions on his brand-new, which he calls "very futuristic."He is one of the ten who got the early delivery. He was called by someone from Tesla asking him if he wanted to receive his truck sooner than he was actually expecting it. His vehicle might as well be the Foundation Series variant, which customers allegedly received for $120,000.According to Tesla, this limited edition is fully optioned. It is a tri-motor variant with premium equipment andcapability, among others.Back in November 2019, when Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck, the entry-level version started at $39,900. Four years and infinite production delays later, it kicks off at $60,990.Jay Leno has also been spotted driving a Tesla Cybertruck with VIN 005. He said, though, that it did not belong to him, but to a friend, and we tend to believe him. Jay Leno was nowhere in sight at the event on November 30.Teslas chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, owns Cybertruck VIN 002. Days before the event at the Giga Texas, he was spotted driving a Stealth Matte Black Cybertruck while leaving a cars and coffee' meeting.
We have seen so many movies about the end of the world that we have come to believe that the apocalypse, whenever it comes, it will be staged in Hollywood. In Netflixs Leave the World Behind, Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke are facing a cyberattack. At one moment, their own car is attacked by Teslas.

Leave the World Behind is the apocalyptic thriller that brings into the spotlight the story of a family of four. Based on Rumen Alams 2020 novel, the action intensifies as the four of them have to go through moments of panic caused by a global attack. Julia Roberts plays Amanda Sanford, while Ethan Hawke is Clay Sanford. The two of them pack their bags and leave home to spend several days in an Airbnb in Long Island, away from the buzz of everyday life. But unexpectedly, the owners of the house, G.H Scott (MAhershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myhala Herrold), show up at the door, speaking of a massive blackout happening in New York.Eventually, Amanda, Clay, and their children have to leave, planning to stop at Amandas sisters house in New Jersey. G.H warns them that they will have to drive through New York City, where they can't be sure of the state of things. But they dismiss the warning and drive off in their Jeep Grand Cherokee. The blackout and the havoc it caused turn out to be the least of everyones problems.But on the way to New Jersey, they run into what seems to be a traffic jam on the highway, the kind we have seen in so many apocalypse movies, with people trying to get away and save their lives. This time, though, it is not a traffic jam. There are dozens of Tesla Model 3 cars, all new, all crashed, and all abandoned there.They realize there is something wrong and run back to their Jeep, in an attempt to speed off. But to make things even worse, in a Hitchock-kind of scene, Teslas, presumably on Autopilot, start gunning for them, as Amanda understands that they are the victims of a cyber attack with the Model 3s being remote-controlled. She pressed the accelerator, trying to get her family out of the way of the furious attack.Sam Esmail, the creator of Mr. Robot, puts viewers through the intense moments of a self-driving Teslas going crazy and other transportation being hijacked. One of the moments of the action- and panic-packed trailer shows a massive cargo ship gunning for the beach, with onlookers finding it hard to believe that it is not going to stop in time. It is the moment that Amanda and Clay realize that transportation has been hijacked.
Xiaomi will soon become the first technology company to launch a car built from scratch, as the company is expected to officially announce its first model in the first quarter of 2024.

The vehicle is all but confirmed, as Xiaomi still keeps the juiciest details away from our eyes and ears, but the first Xiaomi Car , internally codenamed Modena, is making good progress behind the closed wheels of the Yizhuang factory.Xiaomi has started building models whose role will be to serve as exhibition vehicles in the company's stores. The factory has a target of 300 vehicles in December, with the output to increase slightly in January.All models are supposed to help the Chinese tech giant continue the product line verification phase and build the necessary inventory for exhibition vehicles.The company has reportedly encountered several production challenges, including in the manufacturing process, but engineers are working around the clock to address them before the mass production phase begins. A large OTA update has already been shipped, presumably to address bugs in the car's software, though no specifics are available.Xiaomi's pilot production phase advances slowly as the company focuses exclusively on the stability side of the process. It's not yet aiming for high volumes, trying to make sure everything runs properly before it starts mass production. The preparatory phases are common for new vehicle releases, but Xiaomi handles every step with extra care, mainly because it's the company's first vehicle. Xiaomi eventually plans to launch three models in the coming years, with a hybrid model codenamed Kunlun reportedly in the design phase.Xiaomi is working on multiple fronts to prepare for the launch of its first vehicle and is already making changes to the store network to have enough space for cars. Certain non-essential products in the company's lineup are removed from stores or moved to new locations, as it wants cars to steal everybody's attention.The first car to wear the Xiaomi badge is the SU7, an electric sedan that borrows design cues from the Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan. The vehicle was unveiled by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with the spec sheet revealing two versions. The entry-level configuration will develop 295 horsepower and use a single electric motor, while the top sibling will sport two units for a total output of 664 horsepower.Xiaomi is expected to officially take the wraps off the vehicle in early 2024, while mass production should kick off in the first half of the year. The company plans to produce approximately 100,000 units in 2024, with the output to double in 2025, especially as it aims to expand the vehicle lineup with new models. The second Xiaomi vehicle should launch in late 2025 or early 2026.
The Volkswagen Group is a monster of a company. Not only is it there at the top of the industry when it comes to total sales each year for years now, but it also controls some of the world's most prestigious car brands.

Photo: Ducati

Photo: Ducati

Alongside the mainly European Skoda, SEAT, and Cupra, Volkswagen's watching eye also supervises the businesses of Lamborghini, Bentley, and Porsche, making for one of the most diverse portfolio in the entire automotive industry.Through Lamborghini and Audi, Volkswagen also owns one of the planet's most important motorcycle brands, Ducati. As one of the few car companies to also be in the business of producing two-wheelers, VW had no way of missing out on the chance of creating some incredible crossovers that would have otherwise been impossible.Taking advantage of Ducati's image of being a prestigious and highly competent bike maker, Volkswagen probably had an important role in the creation of the incredible Diavel 1260 Lamborghini in 2020, and the Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini last year.The success of these limited edition bikes probably made the other brands in the VW portfolio, especially Bentley, quite jealous. I like to imagine reps of the British carmaker heading over to the dwelling of its German overlords and demanding for them to receive the same attention from the Italians as Lamborghini did.Or maybe it was the other way around, and Ducati shopped through the VW portfolio for another collab victim, but whatever the case the reality remains: Volkswagen listened, so enter the Ducati Diavel for Bentley, the result of the first-ever collaboration between the two brands. It too will be a limited edition run, it comes with unique features and appointments, and it's insanely expensive (for a motorcycle, that is, not for a Bentley).As usual with such special edition bikes, Ducati did not tamper with the mechanical bits of the two-wheeler, offering the same Diavel V4's 1,158 cc Granturismo engine in the frame, rated at 168 horsepower and making its presence felt through carbon fiber dual exhaust.Beyond that, although the Diavel remains largely recognizable as a Diavel, it comes with a multitude of throwbacks to the Bentley Batur. That's the most powerful production car the Brits have ever made, with no less than 730 horsepower coming out of the W12 twin-turbo engine, it too made in limited numbers (just 18 units).It all starts with the way the bike touches the ground. It does so by means of purpose-built forged wheels, which have been shaped in such a way as to remind of the wheels seen on the Batur. Both of them come painted in Dark Titanium Satin but have some surfaces visibly machined to a more impressive effect.Then, the side air intakes of the bike borrow their shape from the car's front grille; the rear extractors have been shaped like the ones on the Bentley, while the front fender, fairing, and upper side of the fuel tank show basically the same lines as the car's hood.Last but not least, since a motorcycle does not have an interior, all Ducati could do to replicate the inside of the Batur was to give the Diavel a seat in black Alcantara.When all the reshaping of the body was done, Ducati turned to Bentley for the paint, and chose the Scarab Green from the Mulliner catalog, offsetting the hue with tons of carbon fiber elements.Ducati will make just 500 units of the Diavel for Bentley, and they are meant for the general public. Well, at least for the people who can afford to spend about $70,000 for one.These bikes will be delivered to their owners in a specially designed and personalized wooden crate. The package will include a certificate of authenticity, a passenger seat that can be installed on the tail, and a cover.To make sure nobody mistakes these bikes for something else, each bike will have the name of the model and the production number inscribed on a plate that's inserted in the cover of the vertical head.Because Ducati was never one not to take things a little further, the DIavel for Bentley special edition will have its own... special edition, this time meant exclusively for Bentley owners.Technically based on the same Diavel V4, this run of just extra 50 bikes will be eligible for customization at the hands of Mulliner, and their owners can opt for several different parts, including seat, front brake calipers, carbon fiber parts, and wheels. A matching jet helmet and a technical jacket are also thrown into the mix.Naturally, the number of options made available for the 50 bikes, along with the status of the people who will buy them, means the price for these examples is a lot higher, sitting at a whopping $90,000. That's more than a lot of the cars in the Volkswagen Group portfolio are going for.The pricing for the two kinds of special edition bikes are probably hard to understand without the proper context, so maybe this will help: a normal Diavel V4 for normal people sells for around $27,000.
A recent court victory for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery was confirmed Saturday after Japan decided not to appeal the earlier ruling, sources said.

On Nov. 23, the Seoul High Court had overturned a lower court's rejection of a damages suit filed by "comfort women" and ordered Japan to pay 200 million won ($151,780) in compensation to each of the 16 victims.

Japan had two weeks in which to file an appeal but chose not to do so, according to the sources.

The victims filed the suit in 2016, but the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case in 2021, citing sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that allows a state to be immune from a civil suit in foreign courts.

Last month, however, the Seoul High Court overturned the lower court's decision and ruled the defendant must pay the full amount requested by the victims.

The court handed down the ruling on the grounds that, under customary international law, "It is reasonable to recognize the jurisdiction of Korean courts over the defendant Japanese government."

The court also said at the time that the acts committed by Japan were considered "illegal according to Korean civil law."

Whether the victims will receive their money is another matter. Unless the Japanese government voluntarily offers the compensation, the victims will have to identify Japanese assets that can be seized by a court and wage another legal battle.

Tokyo has maintained that it has no obligation to follow the ruling by a Korean court.

In response to Japan's decision not to appeal, an official from Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday that Korea "will try to ensure the two countries will remain engaged in future-oriented cooperation."

"Our government has continued to try to restore the honor and dignity of the victims of wartime sexual slavery," the official added. "We also respect the 2015 agreement reached between the countries on settling the issue of wartime sex slaves. That position has not changed over the years across different administrations."

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol government for being "subservient to Japan."

"Japan has made such a shameless response as the Yoon government has taken a submissive stance," DPK spokesperson Rep. Kwon Chil-seung said in a briefing. "The (South Korean) government should act properly to Japan so that the victims can receive sincere apologies and compensation." (Yonhap)
9 December 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

Following an important development on the way leading to the lasting peace in the South Caucasus between Azerbaijan and Armenia, there is new hope in the region for ending the 200-year feud between the neighbours. On 7 December, negotiations between the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia reached an important agreement. The sides agreed to take tangible steps to build confidence between the two countries.

It is important to recall that until today Azerbaijan, under the leadership of the head of the country President Ilham Aliyev, has done tremendous work to achieve sustainable peace in the South Caucasus. As the proverb goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Despite the stones thrown from different directions of the geopolitical world, Azerbaijan was able to hold back the onslaught of aggression, propaganda, and slander and achieved its goals.

Having agreed among themselves on the principles of humanism and based on qualities of goodwill, Azerbaijan released 32 Armenian servicemen. It should be noted that the list excludes and cannot include the leaders of the separatist regime who committed war crimes against humanity, such as Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, Ruben Vardanyan, Vagif Khachaturyan and Alesha Khosrovyan.

In its turn, Armenia, on the principles of humanism and goodwill, releases two Azerbaijani servicemen. In addition, as a kind gesture, Armenia withdraws its candidature to the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in favour of Azerbaijan's candidature.

Thus, we can happily state that the first bricks have been laid on the way to building a lasting peace between the two countries in the South Caucasus. Numerous provocations and proposals by international communities to mediate failed, and in the end, the parties themselves concluded that matters should be resolved without mediators.

Western structures and organisations that nurture hatred and enmity towards the South Caucasus and the Islamic world in recent decades have made great efforts and actions to consolidate this ideology in the minds of society. Behind the curtain, the main instigators of propaganda of Islamophobia and hatred towards Azerbaijan are always hidden.

Now the world can take a sane look at the circumstances of the last months, where anti-Azerbaijani statements were propagated and resolutions were adopted against Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev's speech at the "Garabagh: back home after 30 years. Accomplishments and challenges" forum reinforces the truth of what he said.

The reconstruction works being carried out in the liberated territories will soon possibly welcome not only Azerbaijani IDPs from the First Garabagh War but also the Armenians. At the forum, Ambassador Matthew Bryza asked the President a question regarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, its restoration, the return of Azerbaijani IDPs and the return of the Armenian population.

In his response to the question, the President reminded that after the end of the Second Garabagh War, Azerbaijan repeatedly suggested and stated that Azerbaijan considers the Armenians living in Garabagh as its citizens.

These citizens (Armenians) were manipulated by the separatists and perceived the word reintegration with fear. The only thing they had to do was to apply for Azerbaijani citizenship, but they refused due to the pressure exerted by the separatist clan.

At the moment, there is a special electronic website for acquiring Azerbaijani citizenship, which many Armenians have already applied for. Azerbaijanis do not hate Armenians, despite the bloody past that the separatists brought to the territory of Azerbaijan, and wish peace and prosperity to all neighbours of the South Caucasus.

Organisations that froze for a long period and left for later important issues in solving conflict situations have not justified themselves. The UN and the EU are mostly corrupt and promote the ideology and world order established by the ruling elite of the Western countries without considering anyone.

That is why the President was asked a question at the forum about the possibility of the Organisation of Turkic States becoming a security alliance against foreign forces, a kind of NATO of Turkic states.

With great potential, great geographical coverage, and huge energetic resources, which today more than ever are a matter of national security and a source of independent existence, it is important to strengthen the alliance of Turkic States.

"Our geography (OTS) covers an area from Europe to Asia and even to East Asia. We already have some transport infrastructure that can be utilised now and we are doing so. We have developed a friendly environment along the East-West corridor route. So why not join our efforts?"

Thus, in the end, it was proved once again that no foreign forces and international organizations either cannot solve any problems or do not want to solve them. Besides, it demonstrated that countries can solve their problem without any mediators. So, since Armenia has always evaded direct talks without mediators, we hope that they discern right from wrong, understand where they made a blunder and will continue this initiative and at last permanent peace will come to the region.

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Abbas Ganbay is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @Noend33

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 December 2023 16:45 (UTC+04:00)

Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres welcomes the joint statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan announcing a series of confidence-building measures and reaffirming their commitment to normalize bilateral relations, Azernews reports, citing Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric.

The United Nations encourages the parties to build on the agreement to advance mutual confidence and secure long-term peace for the benefit of their populations and the region, the spokesperson added.

On December 7, 2023, the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia released a joint statement. Two countries reconfirmed their intention to normalize relations and reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenian military servicemen.

In its turn, driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Armenia releases 2 Azerbaijani military servicemen, the Joint Statement said.

As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supported the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy. The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan do hope that the other countries within the Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijans bid to host. As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Azerbaijan supports the Armenian candidature for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 December 2023 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

Farda Asadov, Ph.D., head of the Department of History and Economy of Arab Countries at the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Academician Z M Bunyadov of ANAS, participated in the International Silk Road Forum organized by the Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization of the Islamic Countries (ICESCO) in Rabat, Morocco, Azernews reports.

Institute of Oriental Studies said that well-known historians of ICESCO member countries gave speeches and discussed the historical relations connecting the People's Republic of China with the Islamic world and the current cooperation projects at the forum. The day after the official program of the conference, a seminar dedicated to the heritage and values of Ibn Battuta, the famous traveler of the Islamic world, was held in the Chinese cultural center in Morocco.

At the forum held at the headquarters of ICESCO and subsequent events, Farda Asadov gave a speech on "Trade cooperation between Arabs and Caspian Turks on the Silk Road" and spoke about the historical importance of trade relations between China and the Muslim world in the early Middle Ages.

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9 December 2023 12:37 (UTC+04:00)

Ulvi Bakhshaliyev was recalled from the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Belarus, and simultaneously, from the position of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Azernews reports.

The corresponding order was signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

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9 December 2023 17:40 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijans Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev has met with his Russian counterpart Alexei Overchuk in Moscow, Azernews reports.

They reviewed the topical issues on the agenda concerning bilateral trade and economic cooperation within the Azerbaijan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

The co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Commission highlighted the positive momentum in trade development, underscoring the productivity of the bilateral cooperation.

The Deputy PMs expressed their readiness to continue the constructive dialogue aimed at strengthening the Azerbaijan-Russia relations in all areas.

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9 December 2023 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

Pakistans jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan added his voice Thursday to criticism from human rights groups about the expulsion of illegal Afghan refugees from the country, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

1.5 million refugees are not much of a burden for a nation of 250 million people. There is a fear of a permanent rift in the long-standing relationship between the two countries, considering the way Afghan refugees are being expelled, Khan, who is currently languishing a jail in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi, wrote on X.

Pakistan gave a one-month deadline in October for all undocumented foreigners to leave by Nov. 1 or face forcible expulsion.

Afghanistan, the UN, Amnesty International and other organizations have opposed Islamabads decision to evict the undocumented refugees and said the return must be voluntary and without any pressure.

Khan observed that Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly and neighboring countries, whose people are bound in centuries-old relations.

Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees for 40 years but the fruits of this years-long hospitality are being wasted just because of a poor strategy,  wrote Khan.

He warned that the forced expulsion of the refugees may result in a permanent rift in relations between the neighboring countries.

Khan urged the government to revisit the policy and adopt a respectful strategy to repatriate Afghan refugees.

Nearly 500,000 undocumented Afghan refugees have left Pakistan in the last month, according to the Afghan interim government.

The latest UN figures indicate that 1.3 million Afghans enjoy the status of registered refugees, while 880,000 have legal status to stay in Pakistan.

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9 December 2023 22:20 (UTC+04:00)

Belarus and Equatorial Guinea may set up a joint venture for fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. Possible cooperation avenues were discussed as Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Sergei Bartosh met with the Equatorial Guinea minister of agriculture, livestock and rural development, Azernews reports, citing BelTA.

Sergei Bartosh arrived in Equatorial Guinea as part of the Belarusian government delegation.

During the negotiations the parties discussed promising cooperation avenues. Those include the construction of agrotowns and the training of Equatorial Guinea specialists in Belarusian agriculture education institutions, the possibility of setting up a Belarus-Equatorial Guinea joint venture for fishing for aquatic biological resources in the Atlantic Ocean, their processing, and export. The parties identified the provinces where further work will be done to build the agrotowns.

Negotiations were also held at the end of the day to reconcile the bilateral cooperation documents Belarus and Equatorial Guinea are supposed to sign at the top level, the press service of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry said.

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By Nam Hyun-woo

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung are engaged in a closely contested race in a poll gauging public opinions on who should be the next president, fueling speculation that Han may enter politics in the near future.

In a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, 19 percent of respondents selected Lee, who competed against President Yoon Suk Yeol in last year's presidential election, as their preferred next president, with Han closely following at 16 percent.

This marks the first case of Han, an outspoken former prosecutor widely seen as a close aide of President Yoon, competing with Lee within the survey's margin of error, which is plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

Despite his defeat in the presidential election in March last year, the liberal main opposition leader has been maintaining a solid lead over other presidential hopefuls, such as conservative Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and former DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon.

Han, who first made it into the monthly Gallup survey in June with 4 percent, has been enjoying a stable upward trajectory. He reached a personal best of 16 percent in this months survey, up 3 percentage points from a month earlier.

Gallup Korea attributed Hans rise to recent speculations whether he will run in the general elections next April.

Han is gaining keen political attention ahead of the general elections as a notable figure of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), and he is also expanding contact with the general public.

During a visit last month to Daegu, a conservative stronghold, Han said the general elections are very important for the peoples livelihood. On Wednesday, the justice minister attended a PPP lawmakers meeting at the National Assembly and talked about the importance of immigration policy.

Though Han has yet to show any intention to enter politics, pundits are already seeing him as the linchpin of the conservative bloc, given his unwavering personality and public popularity.

Meanwhile, the survey showed that 51 percent of respondents said opposition party candidates should gain more Assembly seats during the general elections to contain the Yoon administration. This surpassed 35 percent who said ruling party candidates should outnumber opposition to support the government.

Yoons job approval rating remained flat at 32 percent from a week earlier.

The poll surveyed 1,000 adults from Dec. 5 to 7. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commissions website.
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Song Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), was questioned by prosecutors Friday as part of an investigation into a cash-for-votes scandal surrounding the party's 2021 leadership election.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office brought in Song for his first questioning on charges of bribery and illegal political funding connected to the scandal, which lasted for 13 hours.

Prosecutors launched an investigation in April into allegations that Song's campaign distributed cash envelopes totaling 94 million won ($70,996) to 20 DPK lawmakers and other party members in the runup to the party's leadership election in May 2021, which he ultimately won.

Prosecutors suspect Song's involvement in the handout of 20 cash envelopes to lawmakers at National Assembly buildings, each containing 3 million won.

Rep. Youn Kwan-suk, who worked for Song's campaign, is currently standing trial on charges of handing out the cash envelopes.

Suspicions against Song also include that he took 40 million won in bribes from a former chief of the Yeosu arm of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry via his support group, the Research Institute for Peace & Livelihood, in return for business favors.

Song accused prosecutors of "a politically orchestrated investigation" against him as he spoke to reporters before entering the prosecutors office.

"Having been unable to manipulate evidence connected to cash envelopes, they have pushed headlong to search and question about 100 people around me and open separate investigations," Song said.

The former DPK leader reportedly used his liberty to remain largely silent throughout the questioning.

He also accused the prosecution of attempting to taint the DP's image in the run-up to April's general elections, saying he will again keep silent if he is summed for another questioning.

The former DP chair returned home in May from Paris, where he was a visiting professor at the ESCP Business School, and has since vehemently denied his involvement in the scandal, accusing the prosecution of an illegal investigation targeting him.

Prosecutors are widely expected to consider seeking an arrest warrant for Song, given his reluctance to speak to prosecutors and denial of the charges. (Yonhap)
Understanding that there are two firm positions concerning the Open Border Crises, but many realties regarding its current, and, or projected real impacts to the functioning, sustainability of this Constitutional Republic: What position below best represents what you know to be true regarding this impactful policy?

0% The United States' must continue the Executive initiative of Open Borders until a Democratic Congress can codify full Demographic Inclusion by keeping the Biden /Harris Open Borders policy in place.34.62% Our United States' borders are sovereign just as are our self-governed citizens, where borders must be maintained, monitored and defended, which is the position of core Republicans.3.85% I am in favor of Open Borders to make my America more of a global community; however, the federal government must now fix problems that "Red State" governors have caused in our cities.61.54% I do NOT favor the Democratic Socialists' disruption of the cultural fabric of my Representative Republic, and there will be Treasonous Hell to Pay when the certain calamity begins in earnest.
Is it good policy? Yes.

Does it belong in the budget? Yes.

Is it good policy? Yes.

Does it belong in the budget? No.

Is it good policy? Sadly, Yes.

Does it belong in the budget? Yes.

Is it good policy? Yes

Does it belong in the budget? Yes.

Is it good policy? Yes.

Does it belong in the budget? No.

Is it good policy? Yes

Does it belong in the budget? No

Is it good policy? Yes

Does it belong in the budget? Yes

Is it good policy? Yes

Does it belong in the budget? No

Is it good policy? Yes

Does it belong in the budget? Yes

This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation . The author of this post is Dr. Andy Jackson I wrote last April about how the proposed state budget includes several good election policies, even if not all of them belong in a budget bill.I evaluated those reforms on two criteria: are they good public policy and do they belong in the budget?1. SBE/USE OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT (HAVA) FUNDSThis section directs the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) to use funds from the federal government to maintain and update voter lists, perform record-keeping in compliance with federal law, and retain or hire up to 15 people for those purposes.2. SBE/POST-ELECTION AUDIT REPORTI have noted the need for reforms in election audits (pages 143-153). This reform does not do that, but it does require the SBE to provide more audit information than is currently required, a welcome increase in transparency.3. SBE/PROHIBIT ERIC MEMBERSHIPThe Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) helps states clean their voter rolls by sharing data on registered voters who have moved to new states. The General Assembly provided funding for the SBE to join ERIC as part of the 2022 budget. Since then, it has become clear that ERIC will not institute reforms to protect data privacy and fix other deficiencies.This budget would repeal funding for the SBE to join ERIC.4. SBE/FUNDS FOR VOTER IDThere is a chance that the North Carolina Supreme Court will reinstate voter ID this year. If that happens, this budget section will provide $3,500,000 to implement voter ID. The money will return to the general fund if the voter ID is not reinstated. [NOTE: The North Carolina Supreme Court reinstated voter ID in April.]5. PROHIBIT PRIVATE MONETARY DONATIONS IN ELECTIONSThis section would prohibit the SBE and county boards of elections from receiving private funding (so-called). The ban is good policy because private groups should not have the power of the purse over those administrating elections. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a Zuck Bucks ban in 2021. While this section deals with a budgetary issue, it does not include an outlay of funds, and so fails the Balfour test.[The ban on private funding has been removed in the latest version of the budget, although it is in another election bill (S747).]The election section in the latest version of the budget (hat tip to WRAL) contains those and several other changes. Here are the additions, judged on the same criteria:6. CORRECTION REGARDING COLOR PHOTOCOPIES OF IDENTIFICATION/ABSENTEE BALLOTSThis allows people to make color copies of driver's licenses, learner's permits, or special identification cards if done to send as part of an absentee ballot request. Making color copies of those documents is normally illegal as a measure against identity theft.7. EXPAND PERMITTED USES OF MOBILE VOTER ID FUNDSThis section gives county election boards more flexibility in how to spend funds the General Assembly had previously allocated for implementing voter ID. If specifically allocates one million dollars to8. ALLOW SECURE PHOTO ID STORAGE BY STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS OR COUNTY BOARDS OF ELECTIONSThe North Carolina State Board of Elections may maintain a secure database of voter photographs to help county boards with producing IDs.9. STATEWIDE ELECTIONS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMThe SBE's State Elections Information Management System (SEIMS) is aging and in need of an upgrade. This section would provide an initial $5.6 million, enough to cover the first two years of the multi-year project. The upgrade is needed to provide greater data security and more efficient election administration. The funds were already provided in an earlier version of the budget but not in a dedicated section.A final new section provides funding to the SBE to help implement Senate Bill 749 if that bill becomes law.The bottom line is that the budget contains several good election reforms even if not all of them belong in a budget
Here are 30 gastroenterology and endoscopy centers that were opened or announced in 2023:

1. West Virginia University Medicine Fairmont Medical Center opened two new endoscopy and gastroenterology suites.

2. Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Peak Gastroenterology Associates opened a new location in Lone Tree, Colo., with an endoscopy center opening in late December.

3. Southern Gastroenterology Associates opened its second location in South Boston, Va.

4. Exton, Pa.-based U.S. Digestive Health opened a new office in Langhorne, Pa.

5. Opelika-based East Alabama Health opened the new Gastroenterology Center of East Alabama Medical Center to identify, treat and prevent gastrointestinal conditions and digestive issues.

6. A first-of-its-kind gastrointestinal disorder center is being planned on the Mercy Hospital campus in Oklahoma City following a $7.5 million philanthropy gift.

7. Private equity-backed US Digestive Health opened a new office in Langhorne, Pa., adding to its more than 33 locations and 19 ASCs.

8. Idaho Falls Community Hospital opened a new partner clinic, Pediatric Gastroenterology of Idaho. The facility is Idaho Falls' first full-time pediatric gastroenterology clinic.

9. Monterey (Calif.) Bay Endoscopy Center opened a second location in Salinas, Calif.

10. Point Pleasant, W.Va.-based Rivers Health, formerly Pleasant Valley Hospital, transitioned to offering gastroenterology care.

11. Columbus (Neb.) General Surgery added the first gastroenterologist in the Columbus community, Tyler McVay, MD. Previously, the community had been without a specialist in the field, leaving patients to travel to Omaha or Lincoln, Neb.

12. Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare opened a new OSF Medical Group gastroenterology office in Ottawa, Ill.

13. Ocean Springs, Miss.-based Singing River Health System opened a digestive clinic that will offer GI services from Gulfport, Miss.-based Singing River Digestive Clinic in Bay St. Louis and Ochsner Health Center.

14. Katy, Texas-based Gastro Health & Nutrition opened its third clinic in Houston.

15. Jacksonville, Fla.-based gastroenterology provider Borland Groover broke ground on a new endoscopy center and ASC in St. Johns County, Fla.

16. Tampa-based Florida Medical Clinic added a gastroenterology practice at its Wesley Chapel, Fla.-based Epperson/Watergrass campus.

17. York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health is opening an outpatient endoscopy center in spring 2024.

18. Ohio Gastroenterology Groups purchased a medical office building near its Columbus headquarters for $1.5 million. Ohio Gastroenterology will move into the building in 2026 when its current tenant's lease expires. It will also continue to occupy its headquarters nearby.

19. Exton, Pa.-based U.S. Digestive Health relocated its office to a shopping center in Downingtown, Pa., to join its affiliated endoscopy center, Central Chester County Endoscopy.

20. U.S. Digestive Health opened a new gastroenterology office in Collegeville, Pa.

21. Cleveland Clinic's Weston (Fla.) department of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition  part of its digestive disease center  established a center for pancreatic care.

22. Nashville, Tenn.-based gastroenterology practice Digestive and Liver Health Specialists added a fourth location in Clarksville, Tenn.

23. U.S. Digestive Health moved into an expanded office space in Broomall, Pa.

24. Providence, R.I.-based University Gastroenterology opened its expanded infusion center, which will provide GI and non-GI care to patients in an outpatient setting.

25. The department of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Cleveland Clinic Weston (Fla.) created the Center for Human Nutrition for patients with gastrointestinal conditions.

26. Princeton (N.J.) Medicine Physicians opened a new specialty practice in Hillsborough, N.J., focused on gastrointestinal and endocrinology care.

27. Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Digestive Health Institute opened a comprehensive, multidisciplinary clinic that will provide tailored treatment plans for patients dealing with digestive conditions.

28. Austin (Texas) Gastroenterology opened a new clinic in Leander, Texas.

29. Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health opened an outpatient endoscopy suite.

30. Hartford (Conn.) Healthcare launched a digestive health institute focused on digestive disease management at Hartford Healthcare's acute care hospitals, ASCs and endoscopy centers.
Penny Castellano, MD, was named president of the Emory Healthcare Physician Division, a newly created position, as well as interim director of Emory Clinic.

In the inaugural role, Dr. Castellano will be responsible for the alignment of Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare's outpatient clinics with its 11 hospitals, according to a Dec. 6 news release.

She will also have strategic and operational oversight of the health system's physician practices, inclusive of Emory Clinic and Emory Specialty Associates. She will work closely with Heather Dexter, president of the Emory Healthcare Regional Hospital Division, and Matt Wain, president of the Emory Healthcare University Hospital Division.

Dr. Castellano has held many leadership roles within Emory Clinic and the Emory University School of Medicine, according to the release. These roles include division director for general gynecology and obstetrics, vice chair for clinical affairs and interim chair of the department of gynecology and obstetrics on multiple occasions. She is currently associate director and chief medical officer for Emory Clinic and Emory Specialty Associates.
Palestinian, Arab and Muslim officials condemned Israel on Friday after images of detained Palestinian men stripped to their underwear in Gaza circulated on social media.

Senior official of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group, Izzat El-Reshiq, accused Israel of "carrying a "heinous crime against innocent civilians."

Reshiq, who is in exile abroad, urged international human rights organisations to intervene to show what happened to the men and help secure their release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was concerned by the images and that all detainees must be treated with humanity and dignity in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, whose country backs Hamas, also criticised Israel, accusing it on X of "barbarity in the treatment of innocent captives and citizens".

Israeli TV on Thursday showed footage, which Reuters has verified, of what it said were captured Hamas fighters, stripped to their underwear with heads bowed sitting in a Gaza City street.

"We are talking about individuals who are apprehended in Jabalia and Shejaia (in Gaza city), Hamas strongholds and centres of gravity," Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy told a briefing when asked about the images.

"We are talking about military-age men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago."

Israeli's military has been telling civilians to leave areas where it plans to operate after launching its campaign to eliminate Hamas in Gaza following the Islamist militant group's Oct. 7 killing spree in Israel.

One photo showed more than 20 male detainees kneeling on the pavement or in the street, with Israeli soldiers looking on and dozens of shoes and sandals abandoned in the road. A similar number of detainees, also semi-naked, were crammed into the back of a truck nearby.

Some Palestinians said they recognised relatives in the images and denied they had links to Hamas or any other group. Some, they said, were boys or youths.

Reshiq said the detainees had been captured at a school in Gaza that was being used as a shelter after weeks of Israeli bombardments that have displaced many Gazans.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, speaking at an news conference ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said doctors and journalists were among the men captured and "humiliated."

Hamas held Israeli forces responsible for the lives and safety of the detained men, Reshiq added.

"And we urge human rights organizations to immediately intervene to expose this heinous crime against innocent civilians taking refuge in a school, which had turned into a shelter because of Zionist aggression and massacres, and to put pressure by all means to secure their release," he said.

The London-based Arabic language news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said one of the men detained was its correspondent Diaa Kahlout. It urged the international community and rights groups to denounce the arrest of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists called for his release.

Some Palestinians identified the place where the men were captured as the northeastern town of Beit Lahia, an area that Israel had warned civilians to leave and has been encircled and besieged by Israeli tanks for weeks. Reuters confirmed the location was Beit Lahia.

Hani Almadhoun, a Palestinian American based in Virginia, said he saw relatives in one image including his 12-year-old nephew, and that they had no links to Hamas or other factions.

Later on Friday, Almadhoun told Reuters Israeli forces released 12 of his relatives and in-laws, after detaining and interrogating them for 12 hours at a site within Beit Lahiya town. Hamas-run government media office also confirmed Israel freed some of those it detained but it was unclear how many remained in its custody.

"We strongly emphasize the importance of treating all those detained with humanity and dignity, in accordance with international humanitarian law," Jessica Moussan, ICRC Media Relations Advisor, Middle East, said in a statement.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission in London, said on X the images evoked "some of humanitys darkest passages of history." Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi said on X the incident was "blatant attempt at the humiliation & degradation of Palestinian men...stripped & displayed like war trophies." (Reuters)
Theodore DeWeese, MD, is the new CEO of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine and dean of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. DeWeese was named interim dean and CEO in July 2022 following the retirement of Paul Rothman, MD. On Dec. 8, he was promoted to the permanent position, becoming the medical school's 15th dean and the health system's third CEO, according to a news release from the university.

"Over the past 18 months, Ted stepped into the role of interim dean and delivered a staggering record of accomplishment, setting Johns Hopkins Medicine on the path to financial transformation, ensuring greater faculty compensation, and launching our reimagination of the life and basic sciences at Johns Hopkins," university President Ron Daniels said in the release. "He has done so with high standards, bold vision, deep understanding of the practice and purpose of medicine, a joy in discovery, and a palpable love of this place and its exceptional people."

Dr. DeWeese joined Johns Hopkins Hospital as a radiation oncology resident in 1991. He became the founding director of the medical school's radiation oncology department  a role he held for 15 years before becoming vice dean of clinical affairs in 2018.

After growing up in public housing in Denver, Dr. DeWeese said he never expected to go to college, let alone helm Johns Hopkins Medicine.

"It was certainly against all odds, but that's part of the magic of this place," he said in the release.
Four health systems in Oregon are seeking to resurrect a lawsuit in which they contend the state's inadequate mental healthcare system is causing them to be overburdened with psychiatric patients whom they're ill-equipped to care for, The Lund Report shared Dec. 7.

Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health; Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth; Bend, Ore.-based St. Charles Health and Renton, Wash.-based Providence jointly filed the lawsuit last September, claiming Oregon Health Authority violated patients' civil rights by failing to provide enough treatment options.

On Dec. 2, the health systems filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a district judge's dismissal of the lawsuit this spring.

The health systems claim they are caring for civilly committed patients for 120 days or longer, even though the inpatient acute care model is only designed to care for such patients for seven to 10 days.

The appeal contends that Oregon Health Authority is legally obligated to provide care for civilly committed patients and that hospitals are only approved to provide short-term care for this patient population.

Read the full report here.
On Dec. 8, the FDA approved the nation's first medicine based on CRISPR gene-editing technology to be used as a treatment for patients with sickle cell disease, a major scientific advancement that opens the door for future gene therapy approvals for inherited disorders.

The FDA approved exagamglogene autotemcel, or exa-cel, marketed as Casgevy, to treat sickle cell disease in patients 12 and older. The medicine is made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics. It's meant as a one-time therapy that works by using CRISPR technology to remove the disease-causing gene from a patient's stem cells.

"As scientists, the fact that we have arrived at a potential curative treatment for sickle cell disease in a relatively brief period is a testament to the power of resolute researchers in this field who have never stopped," Eric Kmiec, PhD, founder and executive director of the Christiana Care Gene Editing Institute in Newark, Del., told Becker's. "For the first time, we have what appears to be a safe and curative treatment for one of the most painful diseases that cuts life short."

A months-long process is required before a patient actually gets modified stem cells reinfused, experts told NBC News. The process starts with a series of blood transfusions over several months. From there, stem cells are extracted from a patient's bone marrow and sent off to a lab where they are edited. Physicians must then ensure no flawed stem cells remain, so patients undergo chemotherapy to destroy their bone marrow before the gene-edited stem cells are reinfused.

About 100,000 Americans, the majority of whom are Black, are estimated to have sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder. Previously, the only known cure for the disease was a bone marrow transplant from a donor. Experts are not yet calling Casgevy a cure, given questions that remain about potential long-term effects.

The data is promising and Casgevy has shown to be effective, though its $2.2 million price tag may keep it out of reach for many patients, experts say. Forty-four patients in a clinical trial, including 30 who had at least 18 months of follow-up care. Of those, the treatment has been successful in 29 and met the primary efficacy outcome  freedom from severe pain and organ damage, known as vaso-occlusive crises.

"I think I've been cautiously optimistic about this intervention," Sharl Azar, MD, medical director of the comprehensive sickle cell disease treatment center at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Becker's. "I [am] absolutely excited by this," but he added, "the next question immediately on my mind is, what is Medicare and Medicaid going to cover? Then we can sort of begin to set the criteria for how this falls into our algorithm of management overall."

When considering the amount of money the healthcare system spends on the care for a single sickle cell patient annually, Casgevy's price does start to balance out, Dr. Azar said. However, the price doesn't include costs associated with the treatment, such as a hospitalization.

"It is remarkable that finally we are focusing on the Black population first, who are most affected by his disease," Dr. Kmiec said. "This priority is long, long overdue," he said, echoing Dr. Azur's same concerns around pricing and access.

"We must work with the healthcare industry and pharmaceutical companies who will market, produce and deliver the treatments to make sure that all people can get access" Dr. Kmiec said. "What can they do to make treatments more affordable and more available? What can they do to support continued research to assess the long-term effects this treatment may have? And how can we make this easier to deliver?"

Because administration of the therapy requires specialized experience in stem cell transplantation, only nine hospitals have so far been authorized to offer it, including Boston Medical Center and the University of Chicago/Comer Children's Hospital.

The FDA on Dec. 8 also approved a second gene therapy for sickle cell disease from drugmaker Bluebird Bio. The cell-based gene therapy, Lyfgenia, was approved to treat patients aged 12 and older.
Here are 30 hospitals and practices adding spine and orthopedic robots in 2023:

Note: This is not an exhaustive list.

1. C. Kris Hanby, MD, performed the first robot-assisted total knee replacement in northern Arkansas using Zimmer Biomet's Rosa robot at Precision Surgical Center of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers.

2. Tallahassee (Fla.) Orthopedic Clinic added Zimmer Biomet's Rosa Knee System to its facility to aid joint replacement procedures.

3. The North Canyon Medical Center in Gooding, Idaho, has added Globus Medical's robotic spinal surgery navigation system, Excelsius GPS, to its practice.

4. Brooke Army Medical Center has addedMedtronic's Mazor X Stealth Edition guidance system for spinal surgery.

5. Benefis Health System in Great Falls became the first system in Montana to utilize the Zimmer Biomet Rosa Knee System surgical robot.

6. Tulsa Bone and Joint's Union Pines Surgery Center is the first ASC in Oklahoma to offer procedures with Mako SmartRobotics.

7. Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, Ark., is the first in the region to use the Zimmer Biomet Rosa hip system.

8. Price, Utah-based Castleview Hospital added robot-assisted knee and hip replacement surgery. The robot-assisted procedures will be performed using Zimmer Biomet's Rosa System.

9. Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital in New York City has added a Stryker Mako robot for hip and knee replacements.

10. Goshen (Ind.) Orthopedics has become the only practice in the county to add a Mako robot for hip and knee replacements, and one of the select few in Northern Indiana.

11. Gillette, Wyo.-based Powder Surgery Center is the first surgery center in the state to utilize the Rosa Knee robotic surgery assistant.

12. Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cayuga Medical Center added Smith + Nephew's CORI surgical robot for total and partial knee replacements and revision knee joint surgery.

13. Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wis. added the Cori robot for knee surgeries.

14. Coastal Orthopedics, based in Bradenton, Fla., invested in two new surgical robots to assist in total and partial knee replacement procedures at its outpatient surgery center. The new robotic-assisted systems are Cori, by Smith+Nephew, and Velys, by DePuy Synthes.

15. The University of Alabama Birmingham added the ExcelsiusGPS spine robot. The hospital is the only one in the city to use the robot. It was added on the heels of the hospital's milestone 20,000 total robotic procedures, which was surpassed earlier this year.

16. Phoenix-based Abrazo Health is growing its robotic spine program and added the ExcelsiusGPS to its Glendale, Ariz.-based Arrowhead Campus. This is the second ExcelsiusGPS robot the health system bought. In 2021, Abrazo West Campus in Goodyear, Ariz. added the robot and surpassed 100 cases with it in 2022.

17. Maysville, Ky.-based Meadowview Regional Medical Center has added a Mako robot for partial and total knee replacements. Meadowview's orthopedic care center received the robot on Aug. 16 and completed two surgeries.

18. Resurgens Orthopaedics' Austell, Ga., location has become the first practice in the region to offer robotic assisted total knee replacements using Smith + Nephew's CORI Surgical System.

19. Fremont, Calif.-based Washington Hospital Healthcare System recently debuted Think Surgical's TMINI miniature robotic system.

20. Alabaster, Ala.-based Shelby Baptist Medical Center added the Mako robot system to assist in knee and hip procedures.

21. Oxford-based Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi completed its first total knee replacement with Zimmer Biomet's Rosa robot.

22. Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital performed its first total knee replacement surgery using robotic assistance.

23. Mercy Hospital in Rogers, Ark., added Medtronic's Mazor X spine robot.

24. San Jose, Calif.-based Good Samaritan Hospital added Zimmer Biomet's Rosa robot for total joint replacement procedures.

25. Integris Health Edmond (Okla.) Hospital added a Stryker Mako robot for joint replacement procedures.

26. Baltimore-based Mercy Medical Center added Zimmer Biomet's PersonaIQ "smart implant" technology for knee replacement surgeries.

27. Jersey City (N.J.) Medical Center added the ExcelsiusGPS spine robot.

28. New Hartford-based Central New York Brain and Spine Neurosurgery added an ExcelsiusGPS robot for spine surgery in partnership with Rome (N.Y.) Health.

29. HCA Heart and Spine Hospital in Dallas added the Excelsius3D spine imaging system.

30. Homer, Alaska-based South Peninsula Hospital has added Stryker's Mako robotic system for total knee replacements.
Terri Hooley: A messy, amazing life story that can still surprise, from war protest to paramilitary attack

The Good Vibrations Records founder is about to turn 75. Stuart Bailie has written a book about his messy, amazing life

Terri Hooley outside his Good Vibrations record shop in Belfast

Stuart Bailie Sat 9 Dec 2023 at 09:40

Terri Hooley became famous in the era of punk rock in Belfast when he founded Good Vibrations Records and presented the first Undertones record, Teenage Kicks, to a delighted world.
The Bishop of Down and Dromore has said he is deeply sorry for the hurt and pain inflicted in the 1970s by a late Church of Ireland rector.

The Right Reverend David McClay made the comments following the conclusion of a civil case arising out of the alleged historic child abuse by a late Church of Ireland rector.

A man who claimed he was sexually molested as a child by a Church of Ireland minister is to receive 100,000 in damages.

The settlement was reached in Eddie Gormans action over the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of clergyman and scout leader Bill Neely.

Read more Man awarded 100,000 in damages over claims of historic sex abuse by Church of Ireland minister

Mr Gorman, 61, claimed he was groomed and repeatedly assaulted by Neely over a three-year period during the 1970s.

The attacks were carried out at the clerics Mount Merrion parish in east Belfast and a campsite in Crawfordsburn, Co Down, it was contended.

Neely was transferred to Co Tipperary in 1976 and removed from his scouting role the following year. He died in 2009.

Mr Gorman sued the Church of Irelands Diocese of Down and Dromore, and the Scouts Association.

Eddie Gorman (Pic: Sunday Life)

He alleged negligence in allowing Neely to carry out the abuse and failing to ensure his safety.

No admission of liability was made by the defendants.

The Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Right Reverend David McClay, issued a statement following the conclusion of the civil case.

He stated: I have been both shocked and saddened to hear of the pain and hurt inflicted in the 1970s by the late Church of Ireland rector.

"We are prevented under the new Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act, which received Royal Assent in 2022, from either identifying the complainant or the clergyperson involved.

Any young person who suffered abuse should know that it was not their fault and that such evil acts can never be excused.

I am deeply sorry for the hurt that was caused to the victim. Saying sorry is inadequate, but its important that the victim hears our heartfelt, deep and sincere apology for the terrible pain he and his family endured.

I am willing to meet with the victim to express this apology face-to-face if the victim felt that would bring healing or add to a sense of closure.

We pledge ourselves to listen to and care for victims and survivors of abuse in any and every way that we can.

Our Church has robust processes and procedures in place today to protect children from the risk of abuse.

"Trained safeguarding staff can offer professional, practical advice to help ensure children are protected from harm by any person in a position of trust in the Church in as far as humanly possible.

He continued: Our God is full of grace and truth, a God of love to whom every individual is someone treasured. Abuse perpetrated on children, young people and adults at risk of harm is abhorrent and something that deeply pains us.

This marks the conclusion to this long-running case. It is my fervent hope that the victim can feel his suffering has been fully recognised and acknowledged and that he can receive a sense of closure.

In the mid-1990s, the Church referred a complaint against the rector to the RUC. The police conducted an investigation, and a file was passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for final decision. In January 1996, the DPP wrote to the RUC recommending no prosecution.

I would encourage anyone who has been abused by an individual in a position of trust in the Church to report what happened to the appropriate police authorities and to know they can come forward and be supported and heard by our safeguarding staff.

We are always willing to provide ongoing pastoral support to anyone who comes forward.
Some of the items seized today by detectives investigating criminality linked to the West Belfast UDA. Picture: PSNI

Police have arrested a man and seized a quantity of suspected Class A drugs in an operation linked to the West Belfast UDA.

Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Irelands Paramilitary Crime Task Force conducted searches on Saturday, December 9.

Detective Inspector Corrigan said: Officers carried out a search at a property in the Shankill Road area of North Belfast as part of an ongoing investigation into criminality linked to the West Belfast UDA.

"A number of items have been seized including a vehicle and a quantity of suspected Class A controlled drugs during the proactive policing operation and have been taken away for further forensic examination.

A 45 year old man was arrested on suspicion of Possession of Class A controlled drugs and possession of Class A controlled drugs with intent to supply. He is currently in police custody at this time.

The Paramilitary Crime Task Force continue to seize and remove dangerous and harmful drugs from the streets whilst also disrupting paramilitary finance streams linked to the sale of these drugs.

Police have asked anyone with information about the supply of illegal drugs to contact them on 101 and assist them in their efforts to make this country a safer place for all.

Information can also be provided, anonymously, to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The cold conditions are causing problems on the roads (stock image)

A three car crash on the M2 motorway Belfast bound has been moved to the hard shoulder/bus lane.

The crash, which was in the outer lane, occurred near motorway services and junction 4 at Sandyknowes.

All traffic lanes are now open but delays are still expected.

Meanwhile, the double pedestrian crossing on the Malone Road/Rosemary Park (near House of Sport Roundabout) in Belfast was not working on Thursday morning due to damage in a crash on Wednesday afternoon.

Road users are asked to approach with caution, and be watchful for pedestrians trying to cross the road at this location.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip from north to south on Saturday in an expanded phase of its two-month-old war against Hamas, after the United States wielded its U.N. Security Council veto to shield its ally from a global demand for a ceasefire.

Thirteen of the Security Council's 15 members voted for the resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that was blocked by Washington. Britain abstained.

Since a truce collapsed last week, Israel has expanded its ground campaign into the southern half of the Gaza Strip by launching the storming of the main southern city Khan Younis. Simultaneously, both sides have reported a major surge in fighting in the north.

Residents of Khan Younis said on Saturday that Israeli forces were ordering people out of another district just west of positions the Israelis stormed earlier this week, suggesting a further assault could be imminent.

The vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have already been forced from their homes, many fleeing multiple times. With fighting raging across the length of the territory, residents and U.N. agencies say there is now effectively nowhere safe to go, though Israel disputes this.

Israel has blocked Gazans from fleeing along the main north-south route down the spine of the narrow strip, and is shunting them instead towards the Mediterranean coast.

In Khan Younis, the dead and wounded arrived through the night at the overwhelmed Nasser hospital. A medic ran out of an ambulance with the limp body of a small girl in a pink track suit. Inside, wounded children wailed and writhed on the tile floor as nurses raced to comfort them. Outside, bodies were lined up in white shrouds.

A house in the city was engulfed in a roaring blaze after being struck overnight.

Zainab Khalil, 57, displaced with 30 of her relatives and friends in Khan Younis west of the Israeli positions, said troops had ordered people in nearby Jalal street to leave, "so it might be a matter of time before they act against our area too. We have been hearing bombing all night."

"We dont sleep at night, we stay awake, we try to put the children to sleep and we stay up fearing the place would be bombed and well have to run carrying the children out. During the day begins another tragedy, and that is: how to feed the children?

Nassar and another southern hospital, al Aqsa in Deir al-Ballah, reported 133 dead and 259 wounded between them in the past 24 hours, raising an official toll already at nearly 17,500, with many thousands more missing and presumed dead.

There were no new figures on Saturday for dead and wounded from other parts of Gaza, including the entire northern half, where hospitals have ceased functioning and ambulances often can no longer reach the dead.

"We believe the number of martyrs under the rubble might be greater than those received at hospitals," health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Reuters.

Fighting in the north has been its most intense in parts of Gaza City and settlements on its northern edge, where huge explosions could be seen from across the fence in Israel. Northern Gaza families were posting messages on the internet pleading with emergency crews to venture into Gaza City to rescue loved ones still trapped there.

"We appeal to the Red Cross and the civil emergency to immediately go to Attallah house. People are besieged inside their house in Jala street in Gaza City, near Zaharna building. The house is on fire," wrote members of the Attallah family.

Israel launched its campaign to annihilate Gaza's Hamas rulers after the Iran-backed Islamist group's fighters burst across the Gaza border fence on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 hostages in a rampage though Israeli towns.

It says it is limiting harm to civilians by providing them with maps showing areas that are safe, and blames Hamas for causing civilian deaths by hiding among them, which the fighters deny. Palestinians say the campaign has turned into a scorched-earth war of vengeance against the entire population of an enclave as densely-populated as London.

Washington has said it told Israel to do more to protect civilians in the next phase of the war than it did so far. This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was a "gap" between Israel's promises to protect civilians and the outcome on the ground.

But Washington has continued to support Israel's insistence that a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas.

"We do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the Security Council before exercising Washington's veto.

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, condemned the U.S. veto as "inhumane." Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement: "A ceasefire will be possible only with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas."

The White House on Friday said more could be done by Israel to reduce civilian casualties and the U.S. shared international concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"We certainly all recognize more can be done to try to reduce civilian casualties," White House national security council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. (Reuters)
Police are appealing for information following an assault in the Glenrosa Link area of north Belfast last week when a man was treated for serious head injuries.

Police received a report that a man aged in his 40s was assaulted in the Glenrosa Link area of north Belfast at around 12.45am on Sunday, December 3.

The PSNI said: Officers attended alongside colleagues from NIAS and the man was taken to hospital for treatment to serious head injuries, where he remains at this time.

A 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He has since been released on police bail to allow for further enquiries.

The area was heavily populated at the time of the assault and police are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident.

The PSNI is also particularly keen to speak to anyone who offered the victim assistance before the ambulance arrived.

Anyone with any information should contact Police on 101 quoting reference 993 of 03/12/23.

You can also submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ .

Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.
Flooded Football pitches at Downpatrick leisure centre as storm Eoin passes over Northern Ireland. Picture by Peter Morrison

Flooded Football pitches at Downpatrick leisure centre as storm Eoin passes over Northern Ireland. Picture by Peter Morrison

Parts of Downpatrick have again experienced flooding as experts keep a close eye to ensure the local community is protected after recent devastation.

Around 30 premises used by businesses, some who have traded in the town for more than 50 years, were flooded after the River Quoile's banks burst last month.

More than half the businesses who applied for the governments one-off payment of 7,500 following the recent floods in Downpatrick have now been informed that they would not be eligible to receive this financial support.

The relief scheme worth 15m is being administered by Newry Mourne and Down District Council, and also offers rates relief for affected businesses.

Those who have had insurance initially in place have said that they will not receive the support, despite some not receiving the full amount they require from their insurers.

Storm Elin had drenched and battered much of the UK by Saturday afternoon, while Storm Fergus is expected to have a similar impact on Sunday  prompting fears of flooding.

A wind warning was in place for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone until midnight on Saturday which was expected to impact on travellers.

Commenting on the situation in Downpatrick, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Rivers agency said: We have checked the areas and there has been very marginal differences, a few inches increase in the car park for example.

That said given the forecast suggests the rain will soon pass and rivers levels have stabilised, we are currently content that no further action is required.

As always we will keep a close eye on rivers levels. We don't plan to carry out a further on site check today, but we will tomorrow to coincide with the rainfall forecast.

We do appreciate the amount of water in the Quoile system at present so I can assure you a focus will remain on Downpatrick, until we see more favourable conditions emerge.

SDLP councillor Conor Galbraith said updates hed been receiving suggested everything is under control at the moment.

He added: There is quite a bit of surface water in the Grove Shopping Centre car park but, the guys from the Rivers agency are monitoring the situation and have two teams in the area.

The Quoile river is actually lower compared to when we had the massive floods a few weeks back.

So my understanding is that DfI Rivers think its going to be reasonably okay.

Storm Elin was named by the Irish meteorological service, Met Eireann, as a series of weather warnings were issued across the British and Irish isles.

A second weather system, moving in on Sunday, has been named as Storm Fergus by the forecaster, with fears it could reintroduce some gusty winds, especially in western areas, alongside further rainfall.

The most impactful winds of the storm are expected to hit Ireland.

The Environment Agency has also issued 33 flood warnings for England - meaning flooding is expected - including for the River Ouse at York.
DUP leader facing a decision similar to 1998Changes to red tape and cash package mooted, but deputy leader plays down speculation

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson faces what some unionists have called his David Trimble moment amid speculation the DUP is on the cusp of a deal to return to Stormont.

As talks with Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris resume on Monday, rumours over an agreement are mounting, with one source indicating it could include changes to trade bureaucracy and a big financial package from London.

While the DUP denied a breakthrough was imminent, others hinted at a December 18 deadline for a pre-Christmas deal.

Talks between the parties and the NI Secretary will take place at Hillsborough Castle on Monday to discuss Northern Irelands finances.

A source has told this newspaper they believe that the DUP is set to end the political stalemate, having secured various practical easements on trade bureaucracy between goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland and a significant financial package from the Treasury.

Another source close to the talks said there was extra emphasis on the latest round of negotiations, pointing that any deal to restore Stormont before Christmas realistically had to be in place by the start of the following week, December 18.

Speaking yesterday, however, DUP deputy leader Gavin Robinson said there is still work to be done before his party is prepared to get back around the Executive table.

The power-sharing institutions collapsed in February last year when Paul Givan resigned as First Minister as part of the partys protest over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Since then the DUP and the Government have been locked in talks aimed at restoring functioning devolution.

The Government had hoped to assuage the DUPs concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol by introducing the Windsor Framework earlier this year.

The framework did not, however, satisfy the DUP.

Yesterday, Mr Robinson, the East Belfast MP, said there was still work to do.

Jeffrey Donaldson said a number of weeks ago that we will not be calendar-led, he told the BBC. The issues that we are raising with the Government have been long in fruition.

It is a matter for the Government whether they are prepared to recognise the harm that they caused to Northern Ireland, recognise that the Windsor Framework was significant progress in that endeavour, but there is still more work to be done.

DUP deputy leader Gavin Robinson (PA)

The MP for East Belfast added that the prize for agreeing a deal with the Government would be beneficial for public services in Northern Ireland.

What we have seen over the last number of months is a total failure by the Government to seize that opportunity on resolving the issues of the Windsor Framework and fail to seize the opportunity to recognise that without a significant change to the way Northern Ireland is funded our public services are going to falter. To my mind, that is not good enough for our people, he added.

Chris Heaton-Harris said last week that the Governments talks with the DUP were in their final, final stages.

Sinn Feins Conor Murphy said his party hopes the DUP will go to Mondays meeting prepared and ready to go back into government.

I hope they do the right thing and join the rest of us in power-sharing, he said.

They have left us without a government here for almost two years now.

The consequences of that have been very dire for our public services and to say to people they are not in any hurry to fix this, I think, is absolutely reprehensible.

It is very clear to all of us that the patience which had run out some time ago among all of the parties and the public generally has now run out with the British Government, so I think the DUP are at decision time and they need to do the right thing over the next couple of days and come to the meeting on Monday prepared and ready to go back into the Executive.
The male motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene (PA)

A motorcyclist in his 20s has been killed in a crash in Co Cork.

Gardai attended the scene of the single-vehicle road traffic collision, which occurred on the South Ring Road in Cork city on Saturday morning.

The male motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.

His body was removed from the scene to Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

Two lanes of the N40 have been closed eastbound as Garda forensic collision investigators conduct an examination of the scene.

Gardai in Cork are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact them.

Investigations are ongoing at this time and anyone with any information is asked to contact Gardai citing reference PR20879/2023.
Kate Forbes urged the First Minister to work with MSPs to develop a reformed Bill (Jane Barlow/PA)

The Scottish Government must not prolong the legal battle following a defeat over Holyroods gender reform laws, former SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes has warned.

First Minister Humza Yousaf claimed devolution was fundamentally flawed following the Court of Sessions ruling that the UK Government had acted lawfully in using a Section 35 order of the Scotland Act to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining royal assent.

The legislation simplifies the process for transgender people to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) and officially change their legally recognised sex.

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The legal challenge cost the Scottish Government around 230,000 and ministers now have three weeks to decide whether they want to appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court.

In her ruling, Lady Haldane, who presided over two days of evidence in September, said the Scottish Governments petition fails, dismissing arguments from Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain that Scottish Secretary Alister Jack launched the never-before-used power because of a policy disagreement.

She also agreed that reserved equality laws would be altered by the Scottish legislation because it would mean the GRC would be altered by removing the gender dysphoria diagnosis.

Mr Yousaf said on Friday he would take time to consider the judgment, however his leadership rival has warned that appealing against the decision could exacerbate divisions rather than heal them.

Instead, she urged the First Minister to work with MSPs to develop a reformed Bill that works for campaigners on both sides of the argument.

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Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the former finance secretary said: I previously argued that Scot Gov shouldnt contest S35 unless there was a v high chance of success. A loss for Scot Gov would obvs absorb public funds but could embolden future UK Govs to interfere in devolution, which no party of independence wishes to see.

The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP added: Most worrying, it has created a period of great uncertainty and fear for trans people and women and girls, deepening already bitter divisions. All politicians must heal divisions not exacerbate them. That means listening.

The priority should now be to give security and clarity to trans people & to women & girls. I urge the Gov not to prolong the legal battle further. I have confidence in our citizens & democratic processes to safeguard rights of everybody in a reformed Bill if we listen to all.

During the leadership contest earlier this year, which saw Ms Forbes come a close second to Mr Yousaf, the gender reforms were a significant part of the debate.

Ms Forbes has been a strong critic of the proposals in their current form and she said she would not have voted for the Bill if she had been in parliament instead of on maternity leave during the crucial vote.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used a speech on human rights to accuse the West of barbarism over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia.

Mr Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity.

All the values relating to humanity are being murdered in Gaza.

In the face of such brutality, international institutions and human rights organisations are not taking any concrete steps to prevent such violations.

The human rights declaration, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on December 10 1948, enshrines a standard for human rights and freedoms for all people.

Israeli soldiers patrol as the smoke rises from the Gaza Strip after Israeli strikes (AP)

Referring to Fridays US veto of a United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, Mr Erdogan said a fairer world was possible, but not with America, because the USA stands with Israel  From now on, humanity wont think the USA supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Turkeys human rights record during Mr Erdogans two decades in power has come under frequent criticism over the targeting of government critics and political opponents, the undermining of judicial independence and the weakening of democratic institutions.

Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on preventing and violence against women and has failed to implement European Court of Human Rights judgments.

On Saturday, the Turkish President defined Islamophobia and xenophobia, which he said engulf Western societies like poison ivy, as the greatest threats to human rights.

Mr Erdogan criticised the US and the West on human rights grounds (AP)

He told the cheering audience that the only value the West holds on to is its barbarism. We have seen this example of the Wests barbarism in all those unfortunate events that they either supported or perpetrated.

Mr Erdogan cited the 2019 attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a gunman killed 51 people, as an Islamophobic attack that was legitimised and even encouraged by the West.

According to their understanding, non-Westerners dont have the right to enjoy those universal human rights  they overlook Islamophobic attacks and they show the twisted perception and mentality of the West, he said.

In October, Mr Erdogan told a massive protest crowd in Istanbul that his government was preparing to declare Israel a war criminal due to its actions in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government said in response that it would reassess its diplomatic relations with Turkey.
Some of the lodge members at the front of City Hall

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators held a protest outside the BBC in Belfast on Saturday over its coverage of the war in Gaza.

Despite the bad weather, the gathering outside Broadcasting House on Ormeau Avenue listened to speakers and backed calls for those in support of Palestine to stop paying the corporations licence fee.

A speaker at the rally outside Broadcasting House

The demonstration is the latest in a series of large rallies which have been protesting against Israels bombardment of civilians in its bid to defeat Hamas after the group attacked the country on October 7.

The BBC has defended its coverage of the conflict, saying it has provided audiences around the world with coverage and first-hand testimony of the atrocities committed by Hamas and the suffering in Gaza.

On Saturday, Gaza residents reported air strikes and shelling in the northern part of the strip as well as in the south, including in Rafah, which lies near the Egyptian border. The UN also warned that half the population of Gaza was starving and nine out 10 ten people could not eat every day.

Meanwhile, at City Hall, a south Belfast Orange lodge held a protest march calling for action on issues affecting the Sandy Row community and Northern Ireland in general.

Some of the lodge members at the front of City Hall

Members of Botanic Temperance LOL 1119 and an accompanying band made their way to the front gates of the grounds from Sandy Row Orange Hall, where they were addressed by former DUP politician Billy Dickson.

Issues that they claim need addressed include the lack of redevelopment of derelict buildings in the Sandy Row area, a shortage of social housing and the sharp increase in the number of student apartments in south Belfast.

The demonstration also called out restrictions on parades by the loyal orders, the abandoning of flying the Union flag over City Hall year-round, the growth in dual language usage and the Windsor Framework.
Public Domain

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter were married for a remarkable 77 years before Rosalynn died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96. They are the longest-married couple in American presidential history.

News of Rosalynns death came just several days after the former first lady had entered hospice care at the couples home in Plains, Georgia, where Jimmy has also been on hospice since February. In May, The Carter Center, a humanitarian organization the couple founded together, announced that Rosalynn had been diagnosed with dementia.

Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished, the former president, 99, said in a recent statement. 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 Carters grew up in the same small town of Plains, Georgia; Rosalynn was friends with Jimmys younger sister Ruth. The couple went on their first date to the movies in 1945 while Jimmy was home for the summer before his final year at the U.S. Naval Academy. Afterwards, Jimmy told his mom: Shes the girl I want to marry. In Rosalynns 1984 memoir, she wrote of their first date: The moon was full in the sky, conversation came easy, and I was in love.

The pair tied the knot on July 7, 1946 in their hometown shortly after Jimmy graduated from college. They went on to have four children and 22 grandkids and great-grandkids.

The couple is known for their steadfast love, support and admiration of one another and have also been candid about the difficult periods in their marriage.

Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life, the couples daughter Amy Carter said in a tribute during Rosalynns memorial service on Tuesday.

Below are some of the memorable things the Carters have said about one another and their marriage over the years.

On growing up together:

I spent a lot of time at [the Carters] house, but he was always off at school. He was so good to Ruth. He would write her letters, and she talked about him all the time. And she had his photograph on the wall in her bedroom. And I literally did fall in love with that photograph.  Rosalynn told ABC News in 2021

On how he felt after their first date:

I cant really quantify it or describe it in words. But I knew that she was quiet. She was extremely intelligent. She was very timid, by the way, beautiful, and there was just something about her that was irresistible.  Jimmy told Oprah in 2015

On missing her while serving in the Navy:

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. While Im 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 doesnt to me.  Jimmy wrote to Rosalynn in a letter 75 years ago

On building their partnership:

Over the years, we became not only friends and lovers, but partners. He has always thought I could do anything, and because of that, I/we have had some wonderful adventures and challenges.  Rosalynn said at Jimmys 90th birthday celebration in 2014

On how their dynamic changed over time:

Weve come to understand each other much better. I was by far the dominant person in the marriage at the beginning, but not anymore. Shes just as strong, if not stronger than I am. Shes fully equal to me in every way in our relationship, in making business decisions, and she makes most of the decisions about family affairs. And I think it was a struggle for her to achieve this degree of independence and equality in our personal relationship. So, to summarize, years ago we had a lot of quarrels  none serious, particularly  but now we dont.  Jimmy told Playboy in 1976

On working closely together:

Jimmy and I had always worked side by side; its a tradition in Southern families, and one that is not seen as in any way demeaning to the man. Once the press and our persistent opponents heard about my attendance at the (Cabinet) meetings, very soon it was rumored that I was telling Jimmy what to do! They obviously didnt know Jimmy!  Rosalynn wrote in her 1994 autobiography First Lady from Plains

On Rosalynns smile:

Shed smile, and birds would feel that they no longer had to sing, or it may be I failed to hear their song.  Jimmy wrote in his 1995 book Always a Reckoning and Other Poems.

On their keys to a happy, healthy marriage:

We have a couple of rules that we follow. We give each other plenty of space. She has a lot of interests that I dont share. We get together whenever we can. But I have a lot of interests that she doesnt share. And secondly weve had a standing rule that we follow pretty meticulously, sometimes with great difficulty. That is not to go to sleep angry. We have a lot of arguments. We have 21 grandchildren and four children so we have a lot of arguments about our family. But we try to get over that argument before we go to sleep. Jimmy told Bill and Melinda Gates in 2017

On how their love has grown over the years:

For 75 years of marriage weve always gone deeper in our love for one another. I think thats a kind of extraordinary thing. Doesnt happen to very many couples, but it certainly happened to us.  Jimmy told Good Morning America in 2021

On the key to longevity:

Its hard to live until youre 95 years old. I think the best explanation for that is to marry the best spouse, someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life.  Jimmy told People Magazine in 2019

On the best thing that ever happened to him:

The best thing I ever did was marrying Rosalynn. Thats the pinnacle of my life. Weve had 69 years together  still together. So thats the best thing that happened to me.  Jimmy told C-SPAN in 2015

This post was originally seen on www.huffpost.com.
Moriah Prichard thought her boyfriend Troy Goldschmidt was being pulled over in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for a routine traffic stop, but what she didn't know was that the whole thing was planned and that her boyfriend was about to propose to her. In the video, the officer asks Goldschmidt to step out of the car after there was "an issue with his license plate." When Goldschmidt steps out of the car, the police officer asks him "You all set?" Soon after, another police officer asks Moriah to step out of the car as well, telling her that there was just a small issue with Goldschmidt's license plate. While making small talk with the officer, Moriah turns around to see her boyfriend seemingly being put into handcuffs. The officer assures her that it was just a "routine thing" but when she turned around, Goldschmidt was on one knee proposing to her. Watch the sweet video below!
The White House mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement on Friday that he would run for re-election in 2024, suggesting that the result was highly unlikely to be in doubt.

"Well, that's going to be one humdinger of a horse race, isn't it?" National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about Putin's bid to extend his decades-long grip on power.

"That's all I've got to say on that."

The 71-year-old Putin has led Russia since the turn of the century, winning four presidential ballots and briefly serving as prime minister in a system where opposition has become virtually nonexistent.

U.S. President Joe Biden, 81, who faces an uphill task in his own reelection battle next year, said earlier this week that Putin had to be stopped as the Kremlin leader pushes on with his invasion of Ukraine.

Biden was urging Congress to approve fresh military aid for Kyiv before it runs out at the end of this year, warning that Putin "won't stop" with Ukraine and could go on to attack a NATO country. (AFP)
Shamsuzzaman Dudu, vice chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, appears at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka after police arrested him for a complaint filed over a BNP rally that turned violent, Nov. 6, 2023.

Four activists from Bangladeshs main opposition party have died in prison in recent days, BNP officials said Friday, while more than 20,000 members have been arrested and locked up since late October during the run-up to national polls.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Oct. 28 stepped up its program of anti-government street protests and launched a transportation blockade in an effort to force the Awami League-led government to step aside for a neutral caretaker administration to oversee the general election, set for Jan. 7.

The demonstrations disintegrated into violence but have largely subsided after the government arrested tens of thousands of activists from the party, BNP officials said. However, sporadic reports of the torching of buses and trucks continue to emerge.

Since Oct. 28, at least 13 people from the BNP side were killed in clashes in the streets during the protests or in officer-involved shootings or altercations with police and supporters of the ruling party, according to BNP sources.

Of those who died, some died in police firing, while some bodies were found after police raids. Some others died due to torture in prisons, said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior party figure.

He described the conditions in cramped jails as inhumane.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal rejected the allegations that any BNP activists had died in custody because of foul play or while under physical duress.

No person is tortured in jail. Those who fall ill are treated according to proper guidelines, he told BenarNews. BNP makes various complaints only to get political advantages.

The BNP was holding mass street protests throughout the year before late October when it launched its program to shut down Bangladeshs public transportation system and highways.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party have refused to give in to the BNPs demands that it resign and make way for a caretaker government. Meanwhile, the BNP is set to boycott next months election in which Hasina looks poised to clinch a fourth consecutive term.

The last two elections under Hasina were controversial. In 2014, the BNP and its allied parties boycotted national polls, resulting in the ruling party winning more than half of the parliamentary seats uncontested.

Despite the BNPs participation in the 2018 election, the ruling Awami League and its allies secured more than 95% of the parliamentary constituencies amid widespread reports of fraud and intimidation.

Falling sick

Bangladeshs prisons have traditionally been overcrowded.

According to the most recent government data from September, the nations 68 prisons hold 77,203 inmates  approximately double their intended capacity.

In a prison in the northeastern city of Rajshahi, authorities confirmed the death of A.K. Azad Sohail, 35, on Thursday, who had been imprisoned since Nov. 18.

Shamim Reza, his elder brother, told BenarNews, Sohail was granted bail by a Natore court on Nov. 30. When I went to the prison with the courts order, my brother was not there because he had been transferred to a hospital.

I found him seriously ill at the hospital. But when they arrested him, he was a healthy person, he said.

Sohail died eight days later.

A Bangladesh Nationalist Party activist peers through a prison van window near a Dhaka courthouse, Nov. 23, 2023. [Jibon Ahmed/BenarNews]

Mushfiqur Rahman, a prison official, told BenarNews that Sohail had suffered a stroke on the evening of Nov. 29 and was first taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a major hospital in Rajshahi city, where he was pronounced dead.

On Dec. 1, Asaduzzaman Hira Khan, a BNP activist from Gazipur, died in Kashimpur Central Jail, one of the countrys largest high-security correctional facilities.

Amirul Islam, a warden, told BenarNews that Khan had been transferred to a hospital in the morning when he reported having chest pain. A doctor pronounced him dead hours later.

Three days earlier, another inmate, Golapur Rahman, 63, had died under similar circumstances at the same facility. Rahman, a BNP activist from Chittagong, had been in prison since Oct. 28.

On Nov. 30, Imtiaz Ahmed Bulbul, an activist from Dhaka, died six days after he was sent to the prison in Gazipur.

Bulbul also fell sick and was declared dead when he was transferred to a hospital, according to Rizvi, the senior BNP official.

Faruq Faisel, who heads the rights group Ain-O-Salish Kendra in Dhaka, called the in-custody deaths worrying.

It is the governments responsibility to provide those in prison with treatment properly, he said.

The government cannot escape responsibility for these deaths.

The government is not only  keeping the opposition members in jail but is creating a culture of fear through extreme repression, he added.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Cloudy. Snow showers developing this afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this evening. Low 32F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
BENNINGTON  The town is considering an application for $120,000 in state grant funding to evaluate and design a tree-top level viewing tower near the summit of Mt. Anthony.

The Bennington Select Board will consider the request Monday, which was described in a memo from Community Development Director Shannon Barsotti.

Barsotti said shes preparing an application to the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative program for funds to do public outreach, an engineering analysis of the soils; project cost estimating, preparation of permitting and construction documents; architectural plans and legal documents covering public access, liability insurance and long-term maintenance.

Cooperative effort

Barsotti noted that the proposal, which has been discussed by local hiking enthusiasts and tourism officials for several years, has been a cooperative effort involving the Vermont Land Trust, which holds a conservation on the land, the Bennington Area Trail System group, and the property owner -- SVHC Realty, a real estate entity associated with the Southwestern Vermont Health Care system.

The proposed site is part of the 371-acre former Southern Vermont College campus, which the health care organization acquired in 2020 at a bankruptcy court auction with the primary goal of protecting the land from undesirable development.

A development firm, Alfred Weissman Real Estate, LLC, now has a purchase and sale agreement and is pursuing a plan to restore the historic Everett Mansion on the campus property and create a five-star rated luxury resort with visitor lodging and recreational amenities.

New trail access

Jim Sullivan, the former longtime executive director of Bennington Regional Planning Commission, is expected to give a presentation of the proposal to the select board on Monday.

Sullivan said Friday that he worked as a volunteer with the Bennington Area Trail System group to create new access to the proposed site for the observation tower, which would stand about 70 feet high, or at tree-top level in that area.

The panorama would encompass views of the Northshire area, New York state and Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts, among other scenic locations.

Sullivan said the trail to the viewpoint connected some old logging trails and created some new sections. He said the trail also features other overlook points with scenic views, some of which will include a bench for hikers.

The trail extends uphill from a trail called Zaphods Run, which was named after his dog, Sullivan said.

We found a way to build a new trail to extend Zaphods Run up to this ridge just below the summit, but it is still on property that is owned by SVHC Realty, he said.

The Vermont Land Trust is involved because it holds a conservation easement on about 200 acres along the mountain side, extending west behind the Everett Mansion on the former campus.

Donald Campbell, regional project director with the Land Trust, said Friday, "If the group planning this viewing platform is successful, the project will not only be a destination hike with a staggering view, it will also be a glimpse into the canopy of a northern hardwood forest. Because the land is conserved, VLT has been consulted throughout the conceptualizing phase. We will continue to both support the effort and to ensure that it has no adverse impact on the forest."

Historic precedent

It has been obvious going way back that this is a great view from the top of the mountain, and between 1864 and 1882 they built three towers, Sullivan said.

According to The Shires of Bennington, a book published in 1976 by the Banner and historian Tyler Resch, The almost indefatigable George Wadsworth Robinson between 1864 and 1882 erected  three wooden towers for excursionists on Mount Anthony, but one by one the elements toppled them all.

Robinson was proprietor of the historic Walloomsac Hotel in Old Bennington.

Sullivan said a drone was used to survey at the proposed observation level to determine how high a tower would have to be.

So we figured that out and its basically 70 feet, and that gets it right at the tree-top level, he said. We dont want to go higher than that because we dont want it to be visually obtrusive.

With a tower, only a few trees would have to be cleared, he said, compared to creating a ground-level overlook at the location, which would require significant tree clearing.

Preconstruction only

At this point, Sullivan said, there is no request for construction funding for a tower.

This is what VOREC calls a project development application, he said, adding that the expectation, if everything is done properly with this grant, with the design and planning done and all the agreements [between the parties] done, then youd be very well positioned to apply for construction funding.
This Story in History is selected from the archives by Jeannie Maschino, The Berkshire Eagle.
PITTSFIELD  A group of demonstrators gathered downtown Friday to mourn the lives of those killed in Gaza and call on elected officials to support an immediate, permanent cease-fire in the war.

They were about 15 people who were mostly strangers until about a month ago, when they coalesced behind their shared mission of pressing for the cease-fire, said organizer and Berkshire chef Farah Momen.

They gathered on the sidewalk outside the Silvio O. Conte Federal Building, where U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, has an office. A similar demonstration was held there last month.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 17,487 people have been killed in Gaza since Israeli forces launched ground and air attacks in response to cross-border attack by the militant group Hamas that killed about 1,200 in Israel. About 240 others were taken hostage during the attack in Israel; 140 of whom are thought to still be held captive in Gaza.

On Friday, the United States vetoed a United Nations draft resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire, after a temporary cease-fire collapsed early this month.

"This is not justified, legal or mundane," Momen said. "These are murders that take place because our elected officials allow them to."

She spoke after demonstrators took part in a six-car procession in the North Street area, where they drove the downtown stretch with garlands and the Palestinian flags on their cars.

The procession proceeded without issue, then returned to the federal building. There, they took turns reading prayers and poems, including the poem "If I Must Die" by Palestinian academic and activist Refaat Alareer, who was killed this week in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.

Joining the demonstration was Caren Beilin, a professor who is Jewish and said the demonstration was comprised of those from different faith backgrounds, as well as those who don't subscribe to any religious views at all. The group brought a large visitation stone, a Jewish tradition upon visiting of a gravesite.

It was a symbolic gesture, she said, because for so many of those lost in the crisis, there is no gravesite to mark.

"They're under the rubble," she said.

She said she was taught to resist in the face of genocide, which she sees happening now today in Gaza.

"As a Jewish person who is a third-generation survivor of a very horrible genocide, the Holocaust, I have, for a long time felt that it is a Jewish duty to stop genocide where we see it," Beilin said. "I was taught 'never again'; I took those words to heart."

After the vigil, the demonstrators dropped off at the federal building a binder that contained names of Palestinians killed. Neal and his staff weren't there, but a security guard said he would get it to lawmaker's office.

A spokesperson for Neal did not respond Friday to an Eagle request for comment or a question about whether he supports a cease-fire. After the Oct. 7 attack, Neal said, Israel has a right to defend itself and its people, and the United States stands firmly with our ally."

"We demand that he call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire," said demonstrator Ben Grimes. "Every day that he doesn't, more children and innocent civilians will die."
Explainer: Unpacking strategic importance, global impact of China-EU relations as emphasized by Xi

Xinhua) 10:02, December 09, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who are in China for the 24th China-EU Summit, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who were in China for the 24th China-EU Summit.

Xi underscored that China-EU relations not only hold strategic significance but also have a worldwide impact, carrying implications for global peace, stability, and prosperity, amid the increasingly turbulent international situation.

Why did Xi emphasize the strategic significance and global impact of the China-EU relationship?

UPHOLDING APT DESCRIPTION OF PARTNERSHIP

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the China-EU Summit mechanism. Xi called on both parties to draw on history, acknowledge the trend of the day, and uphold the apt description of their relationship as a comprehensive strategic partnership.

China always recognizes the EU as a strategic force in the international landscape and takes nurturing China-EU ties as a foreign policy priority. Xi's repeated advocacy of the China-EU partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization distinctly displays China's consistent stand.

China and the EU are partners, not adversaries -- they offer each other opportunities, rather than threats, with their mutual benefits far outweighing differences.

Since the end of last year, Xi has held multiple meetings with leaders of the EU and its member states. Under their strategic guidance, high-level dialogues in areas such as strategy, trade and commerce, green development, and digital affairs have yielded substantial outcomes, reinforcing positive momentum in China-EU ties.

Indeed, differences in historical and cultural backgrounds, levels of development, and ideologies do exist between China and the EU. Nevertheless, as Xi stated, "We should not view each other as rivals just because our systems are different, reduce cooperation because competition exists, or engage in confrontation because there are disagreements."

TIGHTENING BOND OF SHARED INTERESTS

At present, China and the EU have established a framework for multifaceted, multi-layered, and broad-spectrum exchanges and cooperation. This is particularly evident within the economic sphere where their relationship exhibits a high level of complementarity.

During the meeting, Xi emphasized that the two sides should do more to enhance the breadth and depth of cooperation and strengthen the bond built on shared interests.

Xi proposed "three partners": key partners for economic and trade cooperation, preferred partners for scientific and technological cooperation, and trustworthy partners for industrial and supply chain cooperation.

These three elements -- "key," "preferred," and "trustworthy" -- paint an optimistic vision for the coexistence of the Chinese and EU economies. They underscore China's positive intentions and sincerity in pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation with the EU.

Amid the slow recovery of the global economy, bilateral trade between China and the EU reached a record high last year, totaling 847.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 2.4 percent year on year. This year, German automaker Volkswagen announced a 1-billion-euro investment in China to establish a new center for development, innovation, and procurement for fully connected electric cars. Furthermore, Spanish grinding machine manufacturer Danobat Group established its sixth-largest experience center in Shanghai this year, accelerating its localization strategy in China.

China is currently pursuing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. "Chinese modernization and European integration are strategic choices that China and Europe have made respectively with the future in mind. The two sides should respect and support each other, and leverage the complementarity of their development strategies for common progress," Xi said, pointing out the direction for China-EU cooperation.

PROVIDING GREATER STABILITY FOR WORLD

Xi views China and Europe as two major forces, markets, and civilizations on the world stage. In this meeting, Xi further explained this perspective, describing them as "two major forces advancing multipolarity," "two major markets in support of globalization," and "two major civilizations championing diversity."

The decisions made by China and the EU, respectively as the largest developing country and the largest union of developed countries, are of global importance. Their advocacies, oppositions, and cooperation on various issues carry significant implications, especially in the midst of major changes unseen in a century.

It can be said that if both China and the EU choose dialogue and cooperation, bloc confrontation can be avoided; if they both opt for peace and stability, a new Cold War can be prevented; if they both embrace openness and win-win cooperation, global development and prosperity can have greater hope.

In today's world, when it comes to peacefully settling international and regional hotspot issues and properly addressing major global issues that concern the future of humanity, such as climate change and artificial intelligence, both China and the EU need to practice true multilateralism. This entails engaging in dialogue and cooperation, as well as strengthening communication and coordination in multilateral platforms such as the United Nations.

"It is incumbent on both sides to provide greater stability for the world and stronger impetus for development," Xi said.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, Commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces Col.-Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, right, and Roman Mashovets, deputy head of the Presidential Office, look at a map during their Nov. 30 visit to the front-line city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. Zelenskyy says the war with Russia is in a new stage.
'There are ambulance deserts here.' What happens when a broken economic model puts emergency services at risk in Berkshire County? The funding for life-saving services, and the people who provide it, remains a growing problem for Berkshire Countys ambulance services, whether theyre run as nonprofits, private companies or town departments. The way these services are funded is a nightmare. It makes no sense."

If youve ever called for the police, fire department or an ambulance in a time of need, it would seem some combination of strange and cruel to assert that the service youre reaching out for in that moment is not essential. Yet in Massachusetts, one of those things is not like the other. And it might not surprise some of our Berkshire neighbors who live in ambulance deserts that emergency medical services is the odd one out.

Its hard to think that in one of the most progressive and prosperous states in the union known for being a leader in health and human services, a modern public service like EMS is not regarded by the commonwealth as essential. That officially means there is neither a requirement for a community to provide coverage nor availability of vital state funding for the entities that provide that coverage. As such, those EMS entities struggle to make ends meet while providing a service that, while apparently not essential, fills a pressing community need in a region with rural communities far from hospitals, many road miles and a graying population.

Recent Eagle reporting highlights the financial struggles to stay afloat for EMS services across the Berkshires. The recent collapse of Adams Ambulance Service is but one example. While some ambulance squads in the county are municipally backed, many are private companies that operate as nonprofit or for-profit. Both types are facing an uphill battle to provide the expected services amid what many in the industry refer to as a broken economic model.

Over the last half-century, ambulance services have expanded and advanced considerably from their humble origins as a mere swift ride to the nearest hospital. Ambulances are now bigger and better equipped, essentially mobile mini ERs with staff given the requisite training, equipment and compensation to operate them. That has doubtlessly saved lives and improved patient outcomes in countless cases. But that costs more than a couple volunteers with a refurbished hearse and a stretcher. Ambulance services are now a critical component of emergency care  something literally guaranteed across the county yet not deemed essential in our state and many others.

EMS leaders for years have flagged increasingly anemic reimbursement rates from both Medicare and private insurers alike. Add on the costs of equipment and training that have risen with modern medical advances, and thats a rough funding equation that will only get worse as reimbursement rates trend down while the costs of operating a modern ambulance service rise. Something has got to give  and an increasing number of regional EMS leaders fear that something might be significantly increased response times for life-saving services. Since that would be unacceptable to the quality of life for our fair county, we think something major in policy must be the thing to give. The only silver lining to this increasingly tight financial squeeze on ambulance services throughout the region is that folks outside the services themselves are beginning to see the full scope of the problem and push for solutions.

The way these services are funded is a nightmare. It makes no sense, said state Sen. Mark Paul, who represents all of Berkshire County in the Legislatures upper chamber.

We agree. So what can be done?

One small but meaningful thing weve highlighted previously that the Legislature can do presently and relatively painlessly is to stop pushing unfunded mandates on EMS services. A particularly nonsensical example is Neros Law  a well-intentioned measure meant to aid medical transport of police K-9s that requires specialized training and equipment for which the ambulance squads are on the hook. It is quite rich to withhold essential status from these services as they affect people while granting this preferred status to animals, albeit animals who perform important work for the community. We believe the Legislature should think twice before piling on unfunded obligations like this one. And if it wants to go further in supporting EMS, the Legislature should think about funding the mandates its already piled on  from Neros Law to requiring ambulance services to provide free flu and COVID vaccines to staff as well as maintaining the records.

Something that municipal leaders can do is use tax revenue to support EMS organizations serving their communities  or, perhaps more efficiently, envision municipally backed programs with an eye toward smart regionalization with neighbors. Thats what Lee and Stockbridge are pursuing together, a wise effort weve applauded previously. While it comes with a sizable price tag, it will provide a modern public safety complex near the two towns shared border, security of services backed up by the tax base and, with any luck, downstream savings from consolidation. That endeavor has only one more official hurdle: majority vote approval on Lees townwide election ballot this spring to exclude the projects funding debt from the requirements of Proposition 21/2.

Still, for some municipalities looking to do the right thing to stabilize and secure EMS services for their residents, it presents a similarly steep financial cliff as the one facing private EMS entities. Just as those companies will struggle to get the number of customers to make the reimbursement math work, many rural communities face taking on a much larger burden per taxpayer by supporting modern-day EMS services. Even communities with very low ratios of population to road miles require modern, quality care from well-trained EMTs and expensive equipment. Thats not cheap, but as our neighbors who have called for help in a medical emergency would likely agree, it is, in fact, essential.

The state should recognize that, especially for rural corners of the commonwealth like ours where EMS services are more likely to struggle financially while an increase in response times to far-flung areas can mean the difference between life and death. It seems obvious that public safety services like police and fire are deemed essential. Yet we imagine most of our Berkshire neighbors, on average older than the rest of the state, are more likely to call for an ambulance than a fire truck or a police cruiser. So why should that vital public service go without recognition and vital funding from the state?

We were pleased when Gov. Maura Healey appointed Massachusetts first ever director of rural affairs. As we see it, this issue of EMS viability is an issue disproportionately affecting our county and other predominantly rural corners of the commonwealth. Massachusetts should join 13 other states and D.C. in regarding emergency medical service as essential, thereby opening up state funding possibilities for often overlooked communities that still deserve quality emergency services.
Of the children born to Mary and Joseph, obviously the most famous and most important one was Jesus. But while he was the first, he was not the last. Some denominational traditions, primarily Roman Catholics, hold to the concept of the perpetual virginity of Mary. This means she remained a virgin even after Jesus was born. As you will soon see, the Bible is clear that Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus was born.

For those who choose not to believe Mary and Joseph had other children together, one suggestion is those children were from Joseph's previous marriage. This doctrine does not align with Scripture and reflects tradition and narrative rather than Biblical doctrine. There is no Biblical evidence that supports Joseph having a previous wife, nor is there support that says Mary remained a virgin after Jesus was born. Mary and Josephs marriage functioned like any other marriage after Jesus was born. This means they engaged in sexual relations and Mary gave birth to other children.

What Were the Names of Mary and Josephs Other Children?

Isnt this the carpenter? Isnt this Marys son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Arent his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him (Mark 6:3).

The Bible identifies the names of Mary and Josephs other children here in Mark 6:3 as well as Matt. 13:55. In both passages, James is listed first, which, according to tradition, would suggest that James is the oldest of the children Mary and Joseph had together.

There is nowhere in the Bible that mentions the names of their daughters. Neither do we know how many they had. Because both Matthew and Mark use the term sisters (plural) then we know they had at least two daughters, but it could be more.

It is safe to say altogether, Mary and Joseph had at least seven children. One which was born by divine, miraculous birth and at least six who were born by natural birth.

What Was It Like Being Jesus Sibling?

I wonder what it must have been like to grow up in a home where Jesus is your older brother. Those are footsteps any sibling would struggle to walk in. However, his family was probably not much different from any other family.

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, He is out of his mind (Mark 3:20-21).

We dont know much about Jesus childhood, as the Bible does not give us much insight into what that was like. That alone could imply that his childhood was most likely uneventful. While he was the Messiah, I dont think he went around the house or his neighborhood proclaiming that while he was growing up. If he had done that, then when he identified who he really was, it may not have been as shocking to them.

The Journey to Faith for Mary and Josephs Children

One thing that is easy to overlook when you think about Jesus brothers and sisters is they had to take that same journey we all must take to come to faith in Jesus as Messiah. Initially, his brothers did not believe in him. It might be safe to add his sisters into this mix as well.

Jesus brothers said to him, Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. For even his own brothers did not believe in him (John 7:3-5).

This again reminds us of the difficulty of growing up in a household where Jesus is your sibling. Taking that step from Jesus being one who lives in your household to Jesus being the savior of the world is not an easy leap. Yet this is the reality we are all faced with.

In Matthew, Jesus asked his disciple this question.

But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am? (Matthew 16:15).

The question he asked of his disciples is the same question we must all answer. His family members had to do the same thing.

The Children of Mary and Joseph Became Followers of Christ

We know that during the life of Jesus, his brothers shifted from unbelievers to believers. The Bible does not declare when it happened, but we know it did. After Jesus death and resurrection, Jesus brothers are among the one hundred and twenty praying in the upper room.

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:14).

The Bible does not mention it, but I wonder if his sisters were among the women who were praying there. We know that Mary and his brothers were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and became contributors to the birth of this new church that was formed in the book of Acts.

The One Child of Mary and Joseph We Know the Most About

Of all the children of Mary and Joseph, besides Jesus, the one we know most about is James. Like his other family members, James started as a skeptic but became a follower of Jesus. He went from being a cynic to a champion, and became an influential leader in the developing church. By the time we get to Acts 15, James is standing and addressing the council at Jerusalem regarding how to address the Gentile converts who were coming to Christ.

The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. Brothers, he said, listen to me (Acts 15:12-13).

Even though there are many James mentioned in Scripture, this could not be the Apostle James because he had been killed by Herod. This James is also the same one who eventually wrote the book of James. He went from being a skeptic to being a servant while counting it joy to suffer trials and persecutions for the name of Jesus Christ.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1).

The Other Sons of Mary and Joseph

Outside of James, the other sons of Mary and Joseph became traveling ministers of the gospel.

Dont we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lords brothers and Cephas? (1 Corinthians 9:5).

We dont know where they went or who they ministered to, but they proclaimed the message of the gospel as well. There was also one other author among the group. Judas (also known as Jude) was a half-brother of Jesus and wrote the book of Jude.

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James (Jude 1:1).

Final Thought

While the story of Mary and Josephs other children may not have started well, it looks like it all ended well. They grew up with Jesus and, while they did not believe at first, they eventually came to know he was truly the Messiah and savior of the world. I wonder how they looked back on their childhood memories once they understood that truth.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Jude Beck

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.

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Want to deep dive into the life and faith (or lack of faith!) of a certain person in the Bible? Scroll through our amazing catalog of podcast episodes on different characters in the Bible and learn more!

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.

If youve ever felt like Jesus couldnt love you, then please keep reading. The Bible is filled with unlikely people Jesus loved.

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New initiative launched to promote sustainable waste management practices across BRIC campuses

In a groundbreaking session marking the inaugural gathering of the BRIC Society, Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh emphasised the need to define "Bio-Vision" for Bharat. This significant move comes after the recent registration of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC) following Cabinet approval on November 10, 2023.

Highlighting India's bio-economy growth, Dr Singh noted a thirteen-fold increase in the last decade. Quoting Prime Minister Modi's aspiration for India to enter the top-10 countries in the global biotech ecosystem, Dr Singh sees BRIC as a testament to achieving this goal by uniting brilliant minds on a single platform through the spirit of Sabka Prayas.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, has received Cabinet approval to streamline its 14 Autonomous Institutions (AIs) under BRIC for centralised governance, maximising biotech research impact nationwide.

Seeking input from accomplished institution-builders, the Minister urged the BRIC meeting to define the "Bio-Vision" for Bharat. BRIC will maintain distinct research mandates for its 14 subsumed institutions, governed by a unified Governing Body.

To enhance scientific capabilities, BRIC will introduce new PhD programmes, common course curricula, and additional scientific positions. The BRIC Society will oversee 14 renowned institutions, including the National Institute of Immunology, National Brain Research Centre, and Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing.
Global healthcare conference aims to create a dynamic platform for cross-industry collaboration

Indias first free private rural medical college, Sri Madhusud Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SMSIMSR) organised a two days Global Health Conference on the theme  Augmenting Synergies for Universal Healthcare, in association with The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi.

Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Founder of SMSIMSR, Spiritual and Social Leader of the Global Mission of Nutrition, Education and Healthcare inaugurated the conference in presence of industry leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders of the life sciences and healthcare industry at Sathya Sai Grama at Chikkaballapur district in Karnataka on December 8, 2023.

In his message Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, said It is great to see that the Sri Madhusudan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research is focusing on creating a holistic ecosystem for ensuring last-mile access to healthcare services. Initiatives like yours will ensure that competencies are built in our ecosystem for effective healthcare service delivery for India's citizens and will promote role-based learning rather than rule-based and competency-based learning, and also enhance policy-making in the field of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. I am confident that the discussions during the conference will be of high order and will be in line with the vision of creating a developed India by 2047.

Dr M Srinivas, Director of AIIMS New Delhi said in his opening remarks said Sri Madhusudan Sais institutions are a unique example of how free treatment and free medical education are given. I am very happy that the conference is deliberating on affordable and equitable healthcare. We, the tertiary centres take care of the super specialties, while Sri Madhusudan Sais institutions are also focusing on primary and secondary care, which is really commendable.

Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Founder of SMSIMSR, said, To make healthcare accessible, available, affordable and equitable for all is the aim of this conference. Hence, it is important for all of us  pharmaceutical industry, healthcare industry and healthcare technology industry, to come together for universalisation of healthcare. This conference will lead of practical and implementable solutions in this line.

This global healthcare conference aims to create a dynamic platform for cross-industry collaboration and foster dialogue between key contributors of the healthcare sector from pharmaceutical industry leaders, regulators and researchers, to hospital administrators and medical professionals, healthcare technology innovators, Government officials and policy makers, insurance companies, academicians, and medical students.

Over the two days, talks by prominent healthcare specialists, panel discussions on key themes by experts from different sectors of healthcare, alongside networking opportunities to foster connections and partnerships will take place.

The conference covered issues of interest to pharma and healthcare industry under the following sessions in which experts and industry leaders shared their views on topics such as Sustainable Practices and Green Chemistry Initiatives - Achieving Self-Reliance in KSMs and APIs; Value Creation through Product Innovation in Pharma; Best Practices in Storage and Distribution of Pharmaceutical Products; Last Mile Medicine Delivery through e-Pharmacies and other Tech Enabled Services; Enhanced Patient Outreach by Hospital Chains - Serving the Last and the Least; Producing Better Quality Drugs and Regulatory Landscape; Strengthening Primary Health Services for Universal Accessibility; Utilisation of Government Schemes with Support from NGOs to reach the last and the least.

Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) spoke on Pharma Industry - the Road Ahead, while Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India spoke on Pharma Regulations and Quality and Dr C Sreenivas, Chairman, Sri Sathya Sai Health and Education Trust spoke on Strategies for Making Healthcare Accessible and Affordable.

Photo caption : From left to right - Dharma Data, Former Drug Control Director, Andhra Pradesh and Advisor, Sri Madhusudan Sai Institution of Medical Sciences and Research; Dr Minu Bajpai, Executive Director, National Board of Examinations and Former Dean of Academics, AIIMS, New Delhi; Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Founder, Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research; B N Narasimha Murthy, Chancellor, Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence and Ramesh Babu Potluri, Chairman and Managing Director, SMS Pharmaceuticals.
A trial of an experimental HIV vaccine in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa has been stopped early after preliminary data suggested it would not be effective in preventing infection, according to the trial's chief investigator.

Source: Reuters.

The news is the latest blow to efforts to find an effective vaccine against a virus that has so far claimed about 40 million lives globally. Another 39 million are living with HIV, the majority of them in Africa.

The trial for the vaccine, part of a wider initiative called PrEPVacc, began in December 2020 with the enrolment of 1,512 healthy adults aged 18 to 40 and was due to end in 2024.

Pontiano Kaleebu, chief investigator for the programme, said on Thursday, 7 December, the programme's independent data and safety monitoring committee had "recommended that even if we continue we will not be able to show that the vaccine can be effective".

While there are drugs that can reduce the risk of getting HIV and treatments that can control the virus and prevent people from developing Aids, the deadly immune condition resulting from untreated HIV, experts say an HIV vaccine would be an important tool in ending Aids as a public health threat.

The trial, led by African researchers with support from various European institutions like Imperial College London, was testing two different combinations of experimental HIV vaccines.

It was also testing a new form of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a drug that reduces the risk of getting HIV, to see if it was as effective as existing drugs. That part of the trial is ongoing.

Participants were mostly drawn from populations at high risk of infection like sex workers, gay men and fishermen.

A statement released on Wednesday, 6 December, by the vaccine trial programme said the failed trial, which was the only remaining active HIV vaccine efficacy trial in the world, underscored "how challenging it is to develop an effective HIV vaccine".

Researchers in South Africa terminated another trial in 2020 after tests of a vaccine in more than 5,000 people failed to show benefits.
Compare the Market AUs sixth annual Most Searched Cars report shows that Toyota still keeps its crown in South Africa after replacing the nations previous most searched brand, BMW, in 2022.

Before 2022, BMW had been South Africas top brand for four years in a row. In 2023, BMW took second place, and Volkswagen came third in South Africa.

Toyota also maintained its top position as the most searched car brand globally. Across the 155 countries that were analysed, Toyota was number one in 64 of them, while Tesla made an incredible leap onto the rankings, scoring second with 29 countries.

While Toyota has been the number one car brand globally for four years in a row, Teslas spectacular comeback saw Toyotas lead shorten from 69 countries in 2022 to 64 in 2023.

Tesla just beat out BMW, which was the top brand in 26 countries. The previous third-place winner Mercedes-Benz was pushed off the podium altogether, coming fifth with six countries. Audi was ranked fourth being the number one brand in seven countries for 2023.

The image below shows the number one brand in each of the 155 countries analysed by Compare the Market.

Image supplied

To see more information, including a breakdown of results in each country, visit: https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/car-insurance/features/most-searched-car-brands-2023/.
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Associate Professor of Education Alison Riley Miller with Andrew McCollough

Each year, the department presents a local educator with the Education for the Common Good Award to honor their dedication to teaching, learning, and the broader community of educational professionals. Awardees are chosen because their ongoing work represents three core values of the Education Department:

Be aware of the big picture

Embrace theory and practice

Live in and model a spirit of inquiry

This year, the Department selected Brunswick High School science teacher and science department head Andrew McCullough. Andrew graduated first from Brunswick High School, and then from Connecticut College where he majored in biology and minored in theater, and from the University of Southern Maine where he received his masters degree.

McCullough was presented the award by Associate Professor of Education Alison Riley Miller on November 9 during the Brodie Family Reception & Dinner.

Miller explained that McCullough epitomizes the principle of embracing theory and practice in his educational approach. She described how he passionately engages his students in immersive, real-world learning experiences. For years, he has led students into the field to participate in community science projects centered around understanding invasive green crabs and at Wharton Point on Maquoit Bay, where students engage in seeding baby clams. According to Miller, these activities underscore his commitment to fostering practical learning while also educating his students on ecological awareness.

Miller added that McCullough recognizes the importance of the 'big picture' by extending his impact past the classroom and field trips. He actively participates in mentoring aspiring educators, sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience. From guiding students in teaching pathway courses to collaborating with the Bowdoin Teacher Scholars program, Andrew plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of education more generally.

Miller said McCullough also embodies a relentless spirit of inquiry, encouraging curiosity and empathy among his students and colleagues alike. Miller highlighted his class trips to Wharton Point and Maquoit Bay as a perfect example of his dedication. Through his passion for the experiences on the trips, his students are exposed to new ideas and are encouraged to challenge themselves and be inquisitive about the world around them. The students get to engage in experiential learning, which fosters a greater curiosity of the earth and its various biological and ecological systems.

The Education for the Common Good Award honors an educator who has created positive change and dedicated themselves to the community. The Education Department is thrilled to honor McCullough for his work educating students and mentoring teachers at Brunswick High School.
A Sinn Fein councillor for East Cork, Danielle Twomey, has announced she has resigned from the party due to being in an environment that does not "respect or value" her.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) she said: "As of today I have resigned from the Sinn Fein party. I will continue my next few weeks as an independent with Cork county council.

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"This year has taught me to not allow yourself to be subject to environments that dont respect you or value you. #lifeistooshort."

As of today I have resigned from the Sinn Fein party.

I will continue my next few weeks as an independent with cork county council.



This year has taught me to not allow yourself to be subject to environments that dont respect you or value you.#lifeistooshort Advertisement  Danielle Twomey East Cork (@cllr_twomey) December 4, 2023

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Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Ms Twomey gave the reason behind or departure from the party.

This has been coming for a long time.

"The undercurrent in the party has been toxic. Its something weve been trying to flag.

"Structures are implemented but not adhered to. Theres no real democracy in the party.

She stayed in the party for so long because she felt she owed her friends and fellow members, but said party staff were not supportive of her.

"I've had relationships with people who've become friends. The people of the party are fantastic  the issue is the party staff, the people who manage things.

What led me to leave was that members were being abusive and causing others to leave meetings in tears.

Management were told this, and we were told that it was a conflict of personalities.
NAGOYA, Dec 09 ( News On Japan ) - Chubu International Airport has a new spin on promoting Nagoya's famous foods, with suitcases full of sample dishes revolving around the baggage carousel while travelers pick up their luggage.

Samples created by Sample Kobo, a manufacturer based in Gifu Prefecture, began their journey Friday in the domestic baggage claim area.

The company's president announced, "We hope that displaying various local menus from Aichi, Gifu, Mie, and other parts of the Chubu region, will encourage people to visit."

In collaboration with the airport, they developed original food samples -- classic Nagoya fare like chicken wings and hitsumabushi (eel over rice) -- that fit perfectly into a suitcase.

The revolving sushi, popular among foreigners, includes samples crafted from real fish, impressively recreated, down to the scales.

Should the idea prove popular among travelers, more varieties of mouthwatering dishes could be added to the sample smorgasbord.
Shane MacGowan's funeral is the main story in Saturday's newspapers as tributes to The Pogues frontman dominate front pages.

The Irish Times and Irish Examiner both carry front page stories on the last goodbye for MacGowan.

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Supermacs boss Pat McDonagh has said he has received 'ransom' demands of 2 million to withdraw bogus planning objections, according to the Irish Independent.

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The Echo leads with a story on a warning to drug users after eight heroin overdoses in Cork city.

The Irish Daily Star, Irish Sun and The Herald all lead with Shane MacGowan's funeral.

Our weekend big read includes two great sports pullouts, @starchicmag and five pages on the great send-off for Shane MacGowan RIP pic.twitter.com/iku8ulKELQ Advertisement  Irish Daily Star (@isfearranstar) December 9, 2023

Today's front page of The Irish Sun pic.twitter.com/jgtx9aDxbF Advertisement  The Irish Sun (@IrishSunOnline) December 9, 2023 Advertisement

The Irish Daily Mail leads with a story on internal briefings that warned Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly that the HSE would fail to reach key targets.

Saturday's front page pic.twitter.com/jRP6mdaIpt Advertisement  The Irish Daily Mail (@irishdailymail) December 8, 2023

In the North, the Belfast Telegraph also leads with Shane MacGowan's funeral.

Developments with the British prime ministers Rwanda plan continue to lead the UK's papers.

The Times reports Rishi Sunaks emergency Rwanda legislation has been given only a 50 per cent at best chance of successfully getting removal flights off next year in an official legal assessment for the UK government.

The Times: PMs chance of Rwanda plan success 50% at best #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/4oD2V24usR  George Mann (@sgfmann) December 8, 2023

The Guardian says the UK Home Office has been ordered to reveal the full costs of the prime minister's plan to the public accounts committee.

The Guardian: Home Office told: reveal full cost of Rwanda plan #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/KBGhqKa6nL  George Mann (@sgfmann) December 8, 2023

Tory rebels are plotting to derail the law, according to the i.

The i: Angry MPs plotting to derail PMs Rwanda law #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/iKKMn3flZC Advertisement  George Mann (@sgfmann) December 8, 2023

And The Daily Telegraph leads with comments from former UK immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who accuses Mr Sunak of failing to keep his word on doing whatever it takes to stop the boats.

 The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:



'Jenrick: Too many migrants to integrate'#TomorrowsPapersToday



Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/ktYLYuMV49  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) December 8, 2023

Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror says Nigel Farages team has been accused of using doctored photographs in an effort to win votes on Im A Celebrity.

Britain's King Charles is refusing to be emotionally blackmailed over the book row with the Duke of Sussex, according to The Sun.

On tomorrow's front page: Sources close to King Charles say he was 'not concerned' by his name appearing in the Dutch version of Endgame. He is refusing to be emotionally blackmailed by his own son as Harry repeatedly uses kids in family feud. https://t.co/BopbBG8kOA pic.twitter.com/oSkfqguciX  The Sun (@TheSun) December 8, 2023

The Independent leads with the US urging Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.

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Independent digital front: US piles pressure on Israel over conduct of war #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/bV7TlQiyDN  George Mann (@sgfmann) December 8, 2023

The festive season takes centre stage across the rest of the front pages, with the Daily Mail reporting UK postal workers have been told to prioritise money-spinning parcels such as Amazon deliveries at the expense of letters, including Christmas cards.

The FT Weekend says disruption in the Panama and Suez canals is threatening global supply chains in the run-up to Christmas.

Financial Times: Supply chains at risk for Christmas #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/2XNY5yCYmg  George Mann (@sgfmann) December 8, 2023

Five million Britons are planning to spend Christmas abroad to escape the cost-of-living crisis, according to the Daily Express.

And the Daily Star says there has been a drop in the number of professional Santas available at Christmas grottos.

Daily Star: 16 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS AND

THERES A SANTA SHORTAGE #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/bkfRodLIdC  George Mann (@sgfmann) December 8, 2023

The New York Times leads with a story on the European Union agreeing a deal on the world's first comprehensive AI rules.
Israeli warplanes have struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardments, including some of the dwindling slivers of land Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the territorys south.

The latest strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, despite it being backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations.

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The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the UK abstaining.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said before the vote: Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread.

He said Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.

Mr Guterres told the council that Gaza was at a breaking point with the humanitarian support system at risk of total collapse, and that he feared the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.

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The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss.



I urge the Security Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians & the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.https://t.co/Qp1IVfwS2J pic.twitter.com/3zFvLtc5CV  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 8, 2023

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Gazas borders with Israel and with Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving Palestinians with no option other than to try to seek refuge within the territory.

The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war has surpassed 17,400, the majority of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, accusing the militants of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with its evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way.

On Saturday, Gaza residents reported air strikes and shelling in the northern part of the strip as well as in the south, including the city of Rafah, which lies near the Egyptian border and where the Israeli army had ordered civilians to evacuate to.

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Palestinians sit by the building of the Al-Nadi family destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip (AP)

The main hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah received the bodies of 71 people killed in bombings in the area over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.

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The hospital also received 160 wounded, the ministry said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, the bodies of 62 people and another 99 wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital over the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold on northern Gaza, where furious fighting has underlined heavy resistance from the territorys Hamas rulers.

Tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area despite evacuation orders, six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in during the war sparked by Hamas deadly October 7 raid targeting civilians in Israel.

  Health care workers



 Hospitals



 Ambulances



They are all protected under the rules of war. pic.twitter.com/DZqdEer31A  ICRC (@ICRC) December 8, 2023

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas raid, and more than 240 people were taken hostage. A temporary truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

More than 2,200 Palestinians have been killed since the December 1 collapse of the truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas health ministry.

Despite growing international pressure, the Biden administration remains opposed to an open-ended ceasefire, arguing it would enable Hamas to survive and pose a threat to Israel.

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Officials have expressed misgivings in recent days about the rising civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis, but have not pushed publicly for Israel to wind down the war, now in its third month.

Relatives and friends of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group call for their release during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Hostages Square at the Museum of Art, in Tel Aviv (AP)

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant argued a fresh truce would be a victory for Hamas. A ceasefire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza, and signalling terror groups everywhere, he said.

Stand with Israel in our mission  we are fighting for our future, and we are fighting for the free world.

As fighting resumed after a brief truce more than a week ago, the US urged Israel to do more to protect civilians and allow more aid to besieged Gaza. The appeals came as Israel expanded its blistering air and ground campaign into southern Gaza, especially the southern city of Khan Younis, sending tens of thousands more fleeing.

Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren coastline in the south, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians who have headed there portrayed a grim picture of desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and poor hygiene facilities.
This week is full of festive offerings

Fiction

1. The Christmas Book Club by Sarah Morgan is published in paperback by HQ. Available now

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by HQ Stories (@hqstories) Advertisement

Is it really Christmas without a seasonal offering from the Queen of Christmas novels, Sarah Morgan? The Christmas Book Club puts friendship and romance against the odds at the forefront of the story. Three friends, Claudia, Erica and Anna, are all approaching big changes in their lives. Claudia has lost her job, Erica is mourning the death of her mother and Anna is dreading her children leaving home for college. Friends since their college days, the three women book a trip to Maple Sugar Inn in Vermont for their annual book club catch-up. There is more than meets the eye at the picturesque hotel theyve chosen, and owner, widow Hattie, is nursing her own broken heart while raising her boisterous daughter. Long-held secrets are shared and difficult decisions are tackled by all the characters. A rich story that is hard to put down and will warm even the coldest Grinchs heart  its a delight to read.

9/10

(Review by Rachel Howdle)

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2. The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett is published in hardback by Viper. Available now

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Janice Hallett yet again returns to an amateur theatre group for a delightful and puzzling Christmas book. The novel sees her come back to the world of her debut thriller, The Appeal, and spend time again with the Fairway Players as the reader is challenged to solve the mystery by being drip-fed information. What is a true delight is seeing how through the medium of text messages and emails, this group is just as dysfunctional and full of small-town mindless as in the original, if not more so. Of particular interest to those who enjoyed the Fairway Players machinations the first time around will be how the power dynamics in the group has changed, just before a dead boy emerges from a beanstalk.

7/10

(Review by Charlotte McLaughlin)

3. Midnight At The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan is published in hardback by Sphere. Available now

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A sequel to The Christmas Bookshop, we follow Carmen as she tries to raise funds to save the old-fashioned bookshop she manages in Edinburgh. A suitably Christmassy read that stays on the right side of being too sweet as Colgan makes her characters likeable but not infallible, with some slivers of reality mixed in too  plus a cheesy Netflix movie that is filming in the shop. If you have read the previous book, the characters may have more depth, although it is enjoyable enough as a standalone read with some evocative descriptions of an Edinburgh winter that will make you want to jump on the next train there.

7/10

(Review by Anita Chambers)

Non-fiction

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4. The Twelve Quizzes of Christmas by Frank Paul is published in hardback by Oneworld. Available now

If you are a fan of a quiz with a difference, and something to keep the mind busy as you lead up to the main festive event, this is the book for you. This is a must for any ardent and discerning quizzers  although its definitely not for the fainthearted. The 12 quizzes are placed within tales and can sometimes lose you in their complexity, meaning it requires a fair amount of perseverance. It includes  as well as the obvious 12 quizzes  a scorecard, hints and the answers, with guides throughout, as to where to look for these. There are excellent illustrations  ideal for anyone who is a serious quizzer.

7/10

(Review by Joanne Brennan)

Childrens book of the week

5. A Christmasaurus Carol by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Shane Devries, is published in hardback by Puffin. Available now

Tom Fletcher, founding member of the band McFly and now a bestselling author, continues to fuel childrens imaginations with his latest Christmasaurus instalment. The bestselling series returns with a fabulous character from Dickens A Christmas Carol  no other than Ebenezer Scrooge. When Scrooge leaps from the pages of the original book and starts to wreak havoc in the modern world, it is down to William Trundle and his family to take action. Scrooge is determined to spread misery and his bah humbug attitude. He seems intent on de-Christmassing everything  can William, Santa and the Christmasaurus dinosaur put this right and return the end of December to the joyous occasion it should be? With minor peril and several twists and turns, this book is a delight for younger readers.

9/10

(Review by Jane Kirby)

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BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 2nd

HARDBACK (FICTION)

1. The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman

2. The Secret by Lee Child & Andrew Child

3. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

4. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

5. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

6. A Stroke Of The Pen by Terry Pratchett

7. In Memoriam by Alice Winn

8. The Winter Spirits by Bridget Collins & Imogen Hermes Gowar

9. The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

10. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)

1. Private Eye Annual: 2023 by Ian Hislop

2. Politics On The Edge by Rory Stewart

3. Rambling Man by Billy Connolly

4. Guinness World Records 2024

5. The Woman In Me by Britney Spears

6. Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

7. How They Broke Britain by James OBrien

8. 5 Ingredients Mediterranean by Jamie Oliver

9. Unruly by David Mitchell

10. The Diary Of A CEO by Steven Bartlett

(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)

1. Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

2. The Woman In Me by Britney Spears

3. Unruly by David Mitchell

4. Loosely Based On A Made-Up Story by James Blunt

5. Endgame by Omid Scobie

6. The Trial by Rob Rinder

7. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

8. Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger

9. The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters

10. How They Broke Britain by James OBrien

(Compiled by Audible)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used a speech on human rights to accuse the West of barbarism over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia.

Mr Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity.

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All the values relating to humanity are being murdered in Gaza.

In the face of such brutality, international institutions and human rights organisations are not taking any concrete steps to prevent such violations.

The human rights declaration, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on December 10 1948, enshrines a standard for human rights and freedoms for all people.



Israeli soldiers patrol as the smoke rises from the Gaza Strip after Israeli strikes (AP)

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Referring to Fridays US veto of a United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, Mr Erdogan said a fairer world was possible, but not with America, because the USA stands with Israel  From now on, humanity wont think the USA supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Turkeys human rights record during Mr Erdogans two decades in power has come under frequent criticism over the targeting of government critics and political opponents, the undermining of judicial independence and the weakening of democratic institutions.

Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on preventing and violence against women and has failed to implement European Court of Human Rights judgments.

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On Saturday, the Turkish President defined Islamophobia and xenophobia, which he said engulf Western societies like poison ivy, as the greatest threats to human rights.



Mr Erdogan criticised the US and the West on human rights grounds (AP)

He told the cheering audience that the only value the West holds on to is its barbarism. We have seen this example of the Wests barbarism in all those unfortunate events that they either supported or perpetrated.

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Mr Erdogan cited the 2019 attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a gunman killed 51 people, as an Islamophobic attack that was legitimised and even encouraged by the West.

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According to their understanding, non-Westerners dont have the right to enjoy those universal human rights  they overlook Islamophobic attacks and they show the twisted perception and mentality of the West, he said.

In October, Mr Erdogan told a massive protest crowd in Istanbul that his government was preparing to declare Israel a war criminal due to its actions in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government said in response that it would reassess its diplomatic relations with Turkey.
The Israeli military is rounding up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation during its search for Hamas militants, as the UN warned that its aid operation is in tatters.

The detentions pointed to Israeli efforts to secure the militarys hold on northern Gaza as the war enters its third month.

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Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underlining Hamas heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss.



I urge the Security Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians & the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.https://t.co/Qp1IVfwS2J pic.twitter.com/3zFvLtc5CV Advertisement  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 8, 2023 Advertisement

The first images of mass detentions emerged on Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, their hands bound behind their backs.

UN monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys from the age of 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

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In other developments, the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the UK abstaining.

A boy weeps as he sit next to portraits of Lebanese journalists who were killed by Israeli strikes (AP)

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Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council that Gaza is at a breaking point and there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the groups October 7th attack that sparked the war.

The air and ground campaign by Israel initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south.

A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where most of the territorys population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

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Another Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip (AP)

In central Gaza on Friday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets on the refugee camps of Nuseirat and Maghazi with a message for Hamas officials.

The leaflet read: To Hamas leaders: A life for a life, an eye for an eye and whoever started is to blame. If you punish, then punish with the like of that with which you were afflicted.

The message blends a popular Arabic saying with a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

The leaflet leaves out the rest of the verse, which says it is better to patiently endure afflictions without retaliating.

Hours later, a strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.

The Geneva Conventions preserve our humanity.



 The Geneva Conventions prevent unimaginable suffering.



 The Geneva Conventions save lives.



The Laws of War explained  https://t.co/0aN6MECynD  ICRC (@ICRC) December 7, 2023

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said on Friday that those detained in northern Gaza were military-aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in the past 48 hours, some 200 people have been detained. Dozens have been taken to Israel for interrogation, including Hamas commanders, he said.

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Authorities were questioning the detainees to determine whether they were members of the militant group, Mr Levy said, indicating there would be more such sweeps as troops move from north to south.

The London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed, or The New Arab, said one of the men seen in the images of the detainees is its Gaza correspondent Diaa al-Kahlout, and that he was rounded up with other civilians.

The Israeli assault has obliterated much of Gaza City and surrounding areas in the north. Still, tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain there, though the UN says it cannot confirm exact numbers. Some are unable to move, others refuse to leave their homes, saying the south is no safer or fearing they will not be allowed to return.

Palestinians search for the bodies of the Al-Hor family killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza (AP)

Heavy fighting has been underway for days in Jabaliya refugee camp and the Gaza City district of Shujaiya. The UN said Jabaliyas Al Awda Hospital  one of two hospitals still operating in the north  was surrounded by Israeli forces and sustained damage from Israeli shelling. It said Israeli sniper fire into the hospital has also been reported.

On Thursday in Shujaiya, a prominent poet and English professor, Refaat Alareer, was killed, along with his brother, sister and her four children, when Israeli shelling hit the house they were staying in, according to colleagues at We Are Not Numbers, a non-profit organisation he helped found.

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Days earlier, Alareer wrote on X that his walls were shaking from bombing, shelling and gunfire. The last poem he wrote and shared on social media read, If I must die/ let it bring hope/ let it be a tale.

Israel says 137 hostages are still in captivity out of the roughly 240 abducted by militants during the October 7 attack.

There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.



 @antonioguterres warns that the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza no longer exist. https://t.co/mgIWu1Mciw pic.twitter.com/xRAtfDB2Tt  United Nations (@UN) December 9, 2023

There has also been a dramatic surge in deadly military raids and an increase in restrictions on Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting have packed into Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and Muwasi, a nearby patch of barren coastline. Israel has designated Muwasi as a safe zone.

But the UN and relief agencies have called that a poorly planned solution.

We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore, the UNs humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said on Thursday.

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The pace of Israels military assault has left no place safe in the south, where the UN had planned to aid civilians. That plan is in tatters, he said.

Israels campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the territorys health ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and took more than 240 hostages. The military says 93 of its troops have been killed in the ground campaign.
Rishi Sunaks emergency Rwanda legislation has been given only a 50 per cent at best chance of successfully getting removal flights off next year in an official legal assessment for the UK government.

Attorney general Victoria Prentis has been told that the legislation leaves a significant risk of the European Court of Human Rights blocking planes to Kigali, the Times first reported.

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The assessment is likely to toughen the British prime ministers battle to get his divided Tory MPs to support his new Bill that he hopes will revive the stalled 290 million policy.

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Meanwhile, Robert Jenrick, who resigned as UK immigration minister over the legislation, has argued it will fail and that any suggestion it will remove small boat arrivals swiftly is for the birds.

He also publicly called for Britain to leave international treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights in an article for the Telegraph that will be interpreted as a setting out of his stall for a future leadership contest.

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Mr Sunak is fighting to convince Conservatives not to rebel in Tuesdays crunch vote as he seeks to pass a new legislation in response to the Supreme Court ruling the Rwanda scheme is unlawful.

More moderate Tories are concerned about telling courts they must find that the East African nation is safe.

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But some on the right want to go further in disapplying the European Convention on Human Rights. Both wings are seeking their own legal advice.

But the Timess report states that asylum seekers will be able to lodge legal challenges against their deportation based on individual circumstances despite Mr Sunaks Bill.

The advice was said to centre on the European court in Strasbourg blocking flights by granting an interim injunction as it did in June last year.

There appears to be disagreement over whether ignoring such injunctions would be a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

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The advice from the government legal department was said to have been signed off by top lawyer Sir James Eadie, who advocated for the UK Home Office in the Supreme Court case.

(PA Graphics)

Not disputing the advice, a UK government official said: We do not comment on or share Government legal advice and it would be very wrong for anyone recently departing Government to do so.

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Ministers are reassured that this Bill goes as far as it can within international law and therefore ensures we can get flights off to Rwanda next year.

One source backed up the report, while another sought to argue the advice was just one of the opinions the government had sought.

In an article for the Telegraph, Mr Jenrick said some of the countrys finest legal minds have determined that migrants will be able to lodge legal appeals against removal and that they could be taken off flights in considerable number.

The idea, therefore, that this Bill will guarantee all those arriving are detained and swiftly removed is for the birds, he wrote.

Mr Jenrick, who had long been allied to Mr Sunak before his resignation this week, argued that stopping Channel crossings would be easier if we extricated ourselves from the complex web of international frameworks.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak held a Downing Street press conference to defend his plan (James Manning/PA)

It will only become painfully more apparent that these outdated treaties cannot be renegotiated any time soon, so they must give way, he said.

Mr Jenrick also said that the Tories will be treated to red-hot fury at the ballot box unless they bring down current levels of legal immigration, which he argued makes integration impossible.

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On Rwanda, the prime minister took the middle option by choosing to disapply parts of the Human Rights Act with his Bill rather than the European law which the right have been lobbying for.

The entire policy was attracting fresh criticism when it emerged that the UK had paid an additional 100 million on top of the 140 million already paid to Kigali.

UK ministers are expected to pay another 50 million next year for the policy first announced in April last year but has so far been unsuccessful in removing a single migrant.

Failure to win Tuesdays vote could plunge Mr Sunaks leadership into a fresh crisis.

New legal migration minister Tom Pursglove suggested the British government could be open to compromises with would-be rebels.

A UK Home Office spokeswoman said: The Government is committed to doing whatever it takes to stop the boats and get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.

Rwanda is ready to welcome large numbers of people relocated there. It is a safe country that cares deeply about supporting refugees and our Safety of Rwanda Bill will make this absolutely clear in UK law.
The Texas supreme court has paused a judges ruling that approved an abortion for a woman whose foetus has a fatal diagnosis.

The move halts an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the US.

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The order by the all-Republican court came more than 30 hours after Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother-of-two from the Dallas area, received a temporary restraining order from a lower court judge that prevents Texas from enforcing the states ban in her case.

In a one-page order, the court said it was temporarily staying Thursdays ruling without regard to the merits. The case is continuing.

Molly Duane, a lawyer at the Centre for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Ms Cox, said: While we still hope that the court ultimately rejects the states request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied.

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Ms Coxs legal team have said they will not share her abortion plans, citing concerns for her safety. In a filing with the Texas supreme court on Friday, her attorneys indicated she was still pregnant.

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It is the first lawsuit of its kind since the landmark Roe v Wade legislation was overturned last year (AP)

The woman was 20 weeks pregnant this week when she filed what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind since the landmark US supreme court decision last year that overturned the Roe v Wade abortion rights ruling in America.

The order issued on Thursday only applied to Ms Cox and no other pregnant Texas women.

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Ms Cox learned she was pregnant for a third time in August and was told weeks later that her baby was at a high risk for a condition known as trisomy 18, which has a very high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth and low survival rates, according to her lawsuit.

Furthermore, doctors have told Ms Cox that if the babys heartbeat were to stop, inducing labour would carry a risk of a uterine rupture because of her two prior caesarean sections, and that another C-section at full term would would endanger her ability to carry another child.

Republican Texas attorney general Ken Paxton argued that Ms Cox does not meet the criteria for a medical exception to the states abortion ban, and he urged the states highest court to act swiftly.

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Future criminal and civil proceedings cannot restore the life that is lost if plaintiffs or their agents proceed to perform and procure an abortion in violation of Texas law, Mr Paxtons office told the court.

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He also warned three hospitals in Houston that they could face legal consequences if they allowed Ms Coxs physician to provide the abortion, despite the ruling from state district judge Maya Guerra Gamble, who Mr Paxton called an activist judge.

On Friday, a pregnant Kentucky woman also filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, is about eight weeks pregnant and she wants to have an abortion in Kentucky but cannot legally do so because of the states ban, the suit said.

Unlike Ms Coxs lawsuit, the Kentucky challenge seeks class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and want to have an abortion.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters are calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they march from Bank to Parliament Square on Saturday.

The march began at Bank Junction at midday and will finish in Westminster later this afternoon, following a route that takes it past St Pauls Cathedral and Somerset House.

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People on the march held signs with the words Free Palestine and End the siege.

Demonstrators are calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas (James Manning/PA)

Some protesters chanted: One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.

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They also chanted the controversial slogan: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.

A post on Palestine Solidarity Campaigns website says: Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9th to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza.

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Previous weekends have seen thousands of protesters and counter-protesters converging on the capital.

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The Metropolitan Police tweeted that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, the force said.

A protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will take place tomorrow, beginning at Bank junction in the City of London from midday.



Conditions in place under Sec 12 of the Public Order Act require protesters to stick to the agreed route as shown in the map below. pic.twitter.com/2I273YLIll Advertisement  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) December 8, 2023

He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

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Earlier, the Met Police said that protesters must stick to the agreed route, under Section 12 of the Public Order Act.

Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm, it said.

It comes after the UK chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza  a motion that was vetoed by the US.
The US has vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The vote came amid Palestinian civilians facing what the UN chief called a humanitarian nightmare.

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US deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticised the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamass October 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israels right to defend itself.

He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and only plant the seeds for the next war.

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For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire, Mr Wood said.

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In a vain effort to press the Biden administration to drop its opposition to a ceasefire, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and other leading Arab nations and Turkey were in Washington on Friday. But their meeting with secretary of state Antony Blinken was scheduled to take place only after the UN vote.

Israels more than two-month military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territorys Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

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The council called the emergency meeting to hear from secretary-general Antonio Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which enables a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security.

He warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian ceasefire.

(PA Graphics)

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Mr Guterres said he raised Article 99  which had not been used at the UN since 1971  because there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza. The UN anticipates this would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt, he warned.

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Gaza is at a breaking point, he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.

Mr Guterres said Hamass brutality against Israelis on October 7 can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations, he stressed.

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The UN chief detailed the humanitarian nightmare Gaza is facing, citing intense, widespread and ongoing Israeli attacks from air, land and sea that reportedly have hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 healthcare facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

More than 60% of Gazas housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85% of the population has been forced from their homes, the health system is collapsing, and nowhere in Gaza is safe, Mr Guterres said.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, told the council that Israels objective is the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip and the dispossession and forcible displacement of the Palestinian people.

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli ground offensive on the Gaza Strip set up a tent camp in the Muwasi area (Fatima Shbair/AP)

If you are against the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people, you have to be in favour of an immediate ceasefire, Mr Mansour said. When you refuse to call for a ceasefire, you are refusing to call for the only thing that can put an end to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

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Israels UN ambassador Gilad Erdan stressed that regional stability and the security of Israelis and Gazans can only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated  not one minute before.

So the true path to ensure peace is only through supporting Israels mission  absolutely not to call for a ceasefire, he told the council. Israel committed itself to the elimination of Hamass capabilities for the sole reason of ensuring that such horrors could never be repeated again. And if Hamas is not destroyed, such horrors will be repeated.

In Washington, Jordans top diplomat told reporters that the killings of Palestinian civilians in Israels bombardment and siege of Gaza were war crimes and threatened to destabilise the region, the US and the world for years to come.

If people are not seeing it here, we are seeing it, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said, adding: Were seeing the challenges that we are facing talking to our people. They are all saying were doing nothing. Because despite all our efforts, Israel is continuing these massacres.
Equippers Revolution - "Forevermore" | DREAM Label Group

Los Angeles, CA (December 8th, 2023)  Today, New Zealand group Equippers Revolution releases their second track from their upcoming 2024 album. The song, titled Forevermore was produced in Auckland by David Darby and Joshua Huirua and co-written by David Darby, Joshua Huirua, Rachel Stevens, Kenan Stephenson. The devotionals lyrics mixed with its pop sound will surely encourage you as you sing along.

Forevermore is a song about remaining in Christ, and declares that we are His forevermore - Kenan Stephenson, Equippers Revolution

Listen or Buy Forevermore here

Connect with Equippers Revolution:

Web | YouTube | Facebook | instagram | TikTok



ABOUT EQUIPPERS REVOLUTION:

Equippers Revolution is the sound of the Revolution Youth Movement, from Equippers Church, Auckland, New Zealand. Its core members have grown up in the church, and have been a part of the youth worship team for over 10 years. The creative collective is made up of youth leaders and high school students, and their music has always had the aim of connecting young people to Jesus.
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A clear majority of Australians want the federal government to cut migration after a surge in arrivals since the pandemic, as the prime minister pledged to return the countrys overseas intake to sustainable levels in a landmark policy to overhaul the visa system.

In an exclusive survey, conducted for this masthead by Resolve Political Monitor, 62 per cent of voters said the migration intake is too high, while only 16 per cent of voters believe the government is running the migration program in a carefully planned and managed way.

Labor will on Monday unveil its long-awaited migration strategy, which will include measures to rein in overseas student numbers that have fuelled a record migration intake on track to surpass 500,000 this year. Among the changes will be stronger English language proficiency requirements for students.

Italian Giorgio Rocchi, a carpenter working in Canberra on a skilled migrant visa, said the complexity of the migration system saw many workers give up and leave Australia. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The findings highlight the scale of public concern about the fiercely contested issue, and the challenge facing the government as it seeks to balance business demands for skilled workers with community anxiety about housing supply shortages and pressures on infrastructure and essential services.
A pay dispute between the state government and paramedics will be heard by the industrial tribunal on Monday afternoon, as the health minister expresses serious concerns about impacts on services.

Almost 2000 of the states 5000 paramedics are withholding their registrations amid failed pay negotiations between the government and the Health Services Union. The paramedics will be legally unable to attend triple zero calls from January 1 if they do not apply for renewal.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said on Saturday the pay dispute would be heard by the industrial tribunal on Monday. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Health Minister Ryan Park said he and senior NSW Health bureaucrats had briefed cabinet on Saturday morning, telling them the matter would come before the Industrial Relations Commission at 2pm on Monday.

We informed cabinet that we are very, very concerned with that threat; we are very concerned about the impact that would have on triple zero services, he told reporters on Saturday afternoon.
Manila: The Philippines has accused Chinas coast guard of illegal and aggressive actions after using water cannon and acoustic blasts during a run-in on Saturday in the South China Sea.

Manila said the coast guard had fired water cannon at a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel conducting a regular resupply mission.

A Chinese ship fires water cannon at a Philippines vessel. Credit: Philippines Coast Guard

The Philippine task force for the South China Sea, an inter-agency government body, called for China to stop its aggressive activities in the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both countries.

The water cannon had been used at least eight times on Saturday on Philippine civilian vessels, damaging communication and navigation equipment of a fisheries vessel directly and deliberately targeted by the China Coast Guard, it said.
United Nations: The United States has vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by almost all other Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war goes into its third month.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Palestinians sit by the building of the Al-Nadi family destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp. Credit: AP

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticised the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas October 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israels right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and only plant the seeds for the next war.

Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution, Wood said before the vote. For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Joe Biden is said to be considering sending migrants trying to enter the United States to safe third countries as part of a compromise to help him secure funding for Ukraines military struggle against Russia.

To appease Republicans who say that the situation at the US southern border has become unmanageable, discussions are reportedly under way to identify countries where migrants would be sent to live while their asylum claims were processed.

US President Joe Biden. Credit: AP

Donald Trump agreed a similar deal with several countries in Central America, including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Critics of that policy pointed out that many migrants were fleeing those very countries because they were anything but safe and were often plagued by gang violence and poverty.
They marked some of the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world. A ban on smoking for future generations was subsequently proposed in the United Kingdom, with other countries also considering similar rules. But axing the world-leading legislation was among the 49 priorities listed by Prime Minister Chris Luxons first 100 days. Loading A 36-year-old can smoke, but a 35-year-old cant? ... That doesnt make a lot of sense, he said when asked about the decision. The ACT party, then represented by sole MP David Seymour, was the only party to oppose Arderns gun law reform in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosques massacre.

Now, with ACT part of the governing coalition, (with Seymour to become deputy prime minister halfway through the term as part of their agreement), it has won several concessions from the National Party to deregulate firearms. This includes rewriting the Arms Act and go to a graduated system not unlike the way you get a drivers licence, according to Seymour. A legally binding target to lower New Zealands jail population is also being abandoned. Labour had pitched the policy during its ill-fated campaign, but new policing minister Mark Mitchell says the policy was focused on emptying out New Zealands prisons rather than trying to reduce crime. The deputy political editor of the New Zealand Herald, Thomas Coughlan, said the recent election result was more about the Labour government being voted out more than the new government was voted in. Its very difficult to say this is the policy agenda that people wanted, Coughlan said.

There was certainly a sense under Labour the pace of change was too fast but the new government, and particularly some on the coalitions fringe, has perhaps misinterpreted that as a desire for rolling back those changes rather than just slowing them up. Loading Indigenous policy The new government has also vowed to rebrand dozens of government departments that use Maori names, which could reportedly cost millions of dollars, a move quickly adopted and rolled out by Labour. Under Labour there was an explosion of new departments and agencies and they usually had a Maori name first and English second, if they even did [have English] at all, Coughlan said.

It seemed like that was a straw that broke the camels back. The last 20 years, the use of Maori language has been widespread, no reaction to it  all of a sudden over the last couple of years the reaction has exploded. The new governments Indigenous policies saw thousands of protesters rally this week as the parliament convened for the first time since the October election. Protesters hold the Maori flag in Auckland this week. Credit: NZ Herald/AP Organised by the Maori Party, its co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the new policies of Luxons administration would take New Zealand back to the 1800s. The most controversial aspect would introduce a bill that reinterprets the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi  the countrys founding document  which outline the need for the government to partner with Maori, protect Maori resources and address the impact of colonisation.

Sex education Also included in the new governments agenda was the move to scrap gender and sexuality education, known locally as RSE. The pledge to refocus the curriculum on academic achievement and not ideology, including the removal and replacement of the gender, sexuality, and relationship-based education guidelines is one that has drawn particular outrage. 40 days and 40 nights: It took almost six weeks for the three parties to form a coalition agreement. Credit: AP

My initial reaction was dismay, education union NZEI president Mark Potter, a Wellington-based primary school teacher, told AAP. The one thing our children dont need is less education in the area of relationships and health. The inclusion of the clause to scrap gender and sexuality education in the coalition deals caught the eye because the issue did not feature in the election campaign. Loading Electric Vehicles Labours incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  which offered rebates of up to $NZ7015 ($6500) for electric vehicles and slapped $NZ6900 fees on high-emissions vehicles  are gone.

The coalition parties had framed the legislation as unfairly targeting farmers and tradies and successfully relabelled the policy as the ute tax. Scrapped too are plans to install 10,000 new electric vehicle charges across New Zealand. Work has stopped too on the Auckland Light Rail, an embattled project that was intended to have already been completed but was labelled a white elephant by Luxon during his election campaign. Luxon and his wife Amanda. Credit: Getty The changes represent a return to an earlier status quo. Like many other democracies, through, controversy frequently centres on cultural issues. The uptick in Maori names for government departments under Labour, for example, has topped the incoming governments agenda. Thats one of the areas where the pace of change was a bit fast for people, Coughlan said.
The U.S. Navy will deploy robot submarines within the next decade to keep tabs on China. (Photo: US Navy photo)

In recent weeks, the southern Red Sea has become a volatile zone of conflict, with Yemen's Houthi rebels escalating attacks on commercial vessels linked to Israel and broadening their targets to include all ships heading to the region. This surge in aggression has sparked a significant response from the international community, with major shipping companies like Maersk and Zim Integrated Shipping Services suspending operations or rerouting to avoid the troubled waters, leading to a spike in insurance premiums and shipping costs.

The United States, recognizing the growing threat to global trade and regional stability, is actively seeking a solution that avoids a broader regional war. As part of these efforts, the U.S. is expediting the establishment of a multinational escort fleet, "Operation Prosperity Guardian," to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels through the southern international waters of the Red Sea. Oman's mediation efforts to persuade the Houthis to cease their attacks in the Red Sea add a diplomatic dimension to the crisis.

However, the U.S. faces a complex geopolitical landscape. Despite the formation of the Red Sea escort fleet, there are indications of internal discord among allies and a lack of consensus on a military response. With the U.S. presidential election on the horizon, the Biden administration is cautious about escalating conflicts, particularly in a region as sensitive as the Middle East. As the situation unfolds, the U.S. and its allies must navigate a precarious path between deterrence and escalation, all while ensuring the safety of international shipping lanes.

The strategic significance of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint for global trade, has been brought into sharp focus by the Houthi rebels' control of key areas in Yemen, including the major port city of Hodeidah. The threat posed by the Houthis extends beyond regional security, impacting the global supply chain and the movement of crucial commodities like oil and agricultural products.

As the international community grapples with the implications of the Houthi aggression, the need for a coordinated and effective response has never been more urgent. The U.S.'s strategy in the Red Sea will not only shape the immediate security situation but also define its role and influence in a region that is at a critical juncture. The coming weeks will be a test of diplomacy, military strategy, and international cooperation, with the security of one of the world's most crucial maritime corridors hanging in the balance.
The Philippines wants Chinese vessels off its territorial waters in the South China Sea, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. is not taking 'No' for an answer. In the photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visits China. (Photo: Reuters / How Hwee Young)

The South China Sea, a crucial maritime region entangled in a web of territorial disputes, has witnessed a significant escalation of tensions. The Philippines has leveled serious accusations against China for employing aggressive tactics against its fishing vessels, marking the latest development in a long-standing territorial dispute involving several countries.

In an alarming incident, the Philippines alleged that the Chinese Coast Guard used water cannons to block three of its government vessels from delivering essential supplies to Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal. This area has been a flashpoint since Beijing's seizure in 2012, leading to continuous harassment of Philippine fishermen by Chinese boats.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, in a vehement condemnation, described China's actions as "illegal and aggressive." The footage of the incident showed Chinese ships directing powerful water blasts at the Philippine vessels, an act seen as a blatant violation of international norms.

Reacting to the incident, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, took to social media to express solidarity with the Philippines, denouncing China's behavior as a violation of international law and a danger to lives and livelihoods. She reaffirmed U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

This development comes amid a backdrop of increasing friction between China and the Philippines over sovereignty claims, exacerbated since Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s assumption of the Philippine presidency. Notably, the Philippines has recently conducted joint air and sea patrols with the U.S. and Australia, signaling a strengthening of military alliances in the face of Chinese assertiveness.

China, on its part, has asserted control over what it claims as its territorial waters, justifying its actions as "control measures" against the intrusion of Philippine vessels into these waters. Beijing's expansive claims over the South China Sea, which an international tribunal invalidated in 2016, have led to the construction of artificial islands and a heightened military presence in the disputed waters.

The situation remains tense, with the Philippines planning to send a Christmas convoy of around 40 boats to Thitu island and troops garrisoned on a warship in the Second Thomas shoal on December 10. The convoy's purpose is to distribute gifts and provisions, but it also serves as a symbol of Philippine presence in the contested region.

The Scarborough Shoal, crucially located within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, has become emblematic of China's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. The region is a vital conduit for over $3 trillion in annual ship-borne trade, with claims from various countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

As tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea, the international community watches closely, gauging the potential implications for regional stability and global maritime trade. The Philippines' strong stance against China's latest maneuvers highlights the deepening complexities and the urgent need for a peaceful resolution in one of the world's most contested maritime regions.
The 17th edition of the World Branding Awards honoured the success and achievements of some of the Worlds Best Brands as National, Regional, and Global Winners. The 2023 - 2024 World Branding Awards saw over 1,500 brands from more than 40 countries nominated as Brand of the Year. Of these, less than 200 were declared Winners.

The prestigious Award Ceremony was held at the home of the awards, Kensington Palace, United Kingdom. It welcomed over 100 guests worldwide and was hosted by acclaimed television presenter, David Croft.

Global winners who proved excellence and impeccable branding in their industry include Yakult (Japan), CoCo (Taiwan), LURPAK (Denmark), Marriott International (USA), and The Body Shop (United Kingdom).

Winners from India include HDFC Bank, Himalaya, IndianOil, and Zee TV. Other National tier winners include Cine Yelmo (Spain), City Chain (Hong Kong), Blacklist Coffee Roasters (Australia), Sukiya (Japan), and Spritzer (Malaysia), Boots (United Kingdom), Royal Umbrella (Thailand), and Janji Jiwa (Indonesia), to name a few.

Only 14 brands were selected to receive the Regional Tier award this year, including Nippon Rent-A-Car (Japan), GIG (Kuwait), MR.DIY (Malaysia), M-150 (Thailand), HECOM (Hong Kong), and VITADAY (Thailand). These brands were voted as consumers' favourites in 4 or more countries across 3 or more areas in a specific geographic region.

This is a celebration of the continuous efforts that is vital to building outstanding brands. To stay relevant as a brand, brands must build an image that resonates and lasts. This means not only building up a culture and community around the brand through marketing, but also ensuring that all generations continue to find the brand interesting, said Mr Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum.

More than 150,000 consumers participated in the nomination process globally this year. On average, there are only 5 winning brands in each country, proving that winning a World Branding Award is a remarkable accomplishment.

For more information and the full list of winners, visit awards.brandingforum.org.

ABOUT WORLD BRANDING AWARDS

The World Branding Awards is the premier awards of the World Branding Forum, a registered non-profit organisation. The awards recognise the achievements of some of the worlds best brands.

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On the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel, it becomes imperative to reflect on the legacy of a man whose contribution to society extends beyond the eponymous Nobel Prizes. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1833, Nobel was an inventor, engineer, and industrialist, but more importantly, he was a visionary. His life's work, culminating in the creation of the Nobel Prizes, offers profound lessons for career aspirants in India and around the globe. Nobel, who once said, "Justice is to be found only in imagination," reminds us that the pursuit of ideals and the drive to innovate can lead to monumental achievements.

Nobel's belief in the power of imagination as a cornerstone of justice and progress is a call to action for individuals seeking to make an impact through their careers. His inventions, most notably dynamite, revolutionized industries and paved the way for technological advancements. As career seekers in India navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing job landscape, embracing creativity and imagination becomes essential. Aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs can draw inspiration from Nobel's unwavering dedication to his work and the creative problem-solving that characterized his approach to challenges.

Contributions Beyond Inventions

Alfred Nobel's legacy goes far beyond his inventions. most enduring contribution is undoubtedly the Nobel Prizes. These prestigious awards were established through his will to honor outstanding contributions to humanity. The Nobel Prizes serve as a testament to Nobel's unwavering commitment to progress and excellence. They recognize and celebrate the power of human intellect and spirit in various fields such as Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace.

For aspiring individuals in India and around the world, the Nobel Prizes represent the pinnacle of achievement. They inspire and motivate young minds to strive for greatness and make a positive impact on the world. The possibility of leaving an indelible mark on society and being recognized for exceptional work is a powerful driving force for many individuals starting their careers. The Nobel Prizes symbolize the potential for greatness and serve as a constant reminder of the importance of pushing boundaries and pursuing excellence in one's chosen field.

Annual Commemoration

Every year on December 10th, the Nobel Prize ceremony is held in Stockholm, Sweden, to honor the passing of Alfred Nobel. In the past, the first winners were kept a secret until the actual ceremony in 1901. Although the announcement of Nobel Laureates now happens in October, the tradition of presenting the prizes on December 10th has endured. Alfred Nobel's impact goes beyond his inventions, as his commitment to acknowledging excellence and fostering global unity continues to shape the world in the fields of science, literature, and philanthropy.
COP28 in Dubai has been a whirlwind of announcements, protests, and behind-the-scenes maneuvering. At the global conference, four leading global bodies have called for concerted action to ensure sustainability reporting can help provide better information for those driving climate action across the business world.

They underlined the potential and importance of a global approach to sustainability reporting standards in enabling decision-making, as well to channel more equitable investment.

Here are five key takeaways from the conference:

1. The Oil Sector Digs In

A leaked letter from OPEC revealed their intention to block any mention of a fossil fuel phase-out in the final agreement. This blatant attempt to protect their interests exposes the deep divide between the fossil fuel industry and the global push for climate action.

2. Azerbaijan Takes the Helm

Despite being heavily reliant on oil and gas, Azerbaijan has been chosen to host COP29 next year. This decision raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the influence of fossil fuel interests on future climate talks.

3. Big Ag Flexes Its Muscles

The agriculture industry doubled its lobbying presence at COP28, aiming to influence climate policies in their favor. Their focus on intensive farming and greenwashing practices raises questions about their commitment to true sustainability.

4. Activists Raise Their Voices

From demanding climate finance to calling out fossil fuel greenwashing, protests and marches filled the air outside the conference venue. This grassroots movement highlights the growing public demand for swift and decisive action on climate change.

5. The Economic Cost of Inaction

A new study predicts a -72% GDP reduction for both the UAE and Saudi Arabia if they fail to align with the 1.5C climate goal. This stark economic reality underscores the urgency of transitioning away from fossil fuels and embracing sustainable energy solutions.

COP28 may not have delivered the transformative outcome many hoped for, but it has laid bare the major challenges and conflicting interests that lie ahead. While the oil industry digs in its heels, the voices of activists and the stark reality of climate change are growing louder. It remains to be seen whether world leaders will rise to the occasion and choose to act on science and public demand, or succumb to the pressure of vested interests. The future of our planet hangs in the balance.
Every year on December 11th, the International Mountain Day is held to promote global awareness about the importance of mountains and the need to conserve and properly manage these critical ecosystems.

History of International Mountain Day

International Mountain Day has its origins in the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), often known as the Earth Summit, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chapter 13 of Agenda 21, titled "Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development," recognised the important role of mountains in sustainable development and called for their conservation and management during this historic meeting. In response to this call, the United Nations General Assembly established December 11th as International Mountain Day in 2002, with effect from 2003. The goal of this decision was to create global awareness about the value of mountains and the need to encourage sustainable mountain development. Since its conception, International Mountain Day has acted as a platform to showcase mountains' unique contributions to the globe.

International Mountain Day 2023 Theme

This year's International Mountain Day topic is "Restoring mountain ecosystems," which corresponds to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. This Decade, co-led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme, seeks political backing, scientific knowledge, and financial resources to scale up restoration initiatives and avoid future deterioration of mountain ecosystems.

Significance of International Mountain Day

Mountains, in addition to providing stunning scenery, also house 15% of the world's people. They are home to over half of the world's biodiversity hotspots. They are areas with a substantial number of flora and animals that are vulnerable and on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately, mankind overuse mountains (too many mountains are destroyed to create space for structures and towns). Climate change also poses a significant threat to their survival, as the earth continues to warm.

How to celebrate International Mountain Day

International Mountain Day can be observed in a variety of enjoyable and informative ways. Get out to your local mountain and explore everything it has to offer. Get out there and explore, whether it's a day in the countless parks and hidden locations that can be located in their rocky landscape, or beautiful tourist towns like Leavenworth, WA. Hiking aficionados will like the many routes and secret spots, as well as being able to explore the remote locations that few people visit. Because of the difficulties in developing them, there is generally always an opportunity to enjoy nature in all its splendour.
By SA Commercial Prop News

A new R1 billion mixed-use development in Cape Town CBD gets green light despite facing objections. Cape Town CBD File photo.



A new R1 billion mixed-use development in Cape Town CBD has been given the go-ahead despite facing objections.

Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, last week gave the final approval for the development of a R1 billion, multi-use development in the CBD  between Riebeeck Square on Buitengracht Street and the historic Bo-Kaap neighbourhood.

The development is set to provide 4 000m of retail space, lifestyle activities and 250 residential apartments. The building currently on the site houses a car dealership.

ALSO READ: Cape Town's formula for success

The proposed development has since the onset been met with fierce opposition from the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association.

Osman Shaboodien, chair of the association, said that there has been a long battle to try and make the development more acceptable to the residents of the Bo-Kaap. He certainly is not happy with the approval of the development by De Lille and claims it is only welcomed by developers and the City Council.

ALSO READ: Port Elizabeths inner-city renewal on track



The building will have a major impact on the day to day living of the residents in Bo-Kaap. It will impact traffic, retail, offices and privacy  not to mention the environment, blocking sunlight, creating shadows and blocking our beautiful mountain view, said Shaboodien.

The developer of the property, Jose Rodrigues, said that the development will target a Green Star rating by incorporating environmentally sensitive development and modern energy efficient technology.

Construction could start in June or July this year. During the two year construction phase he expects up to 500 direct and indirect jobs to be created.

Rodrigues emphasised that the development will be fully aligned to the objectives of the City of Cape Towns new spatial planning legislation and will help meet the residential demand of the CBDs growing population.

ALSO READ: Nedbank backs Umhlanga's new mixed-use development with R1bn

Regarding a petition by Bo-Kaap residents opposing the development, Rodrigues said there was a normal public participation process with the window for comments even extended to 90 days instead of the required 30 days. He said he has met with representatives of the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association and explained to them that it would not be viable to start a redesign from scratch.

The City of Cape Town predicts that Cape Town will require an additional 500 000 new residential units by 2032, which equates to nearly 32 000 new units per year.

With over R8bn worth of construction already earmarked for the city centre over the next four years, Cape Town is well ahead of other South African metros in terms of infrastructure, business growth and its ability to attract investment
Every year on December 11, UNICEF Day is observed. The acronym UNICEF refers for United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, and the organization's mission is to save children's lives by delivering humanitarian relief around the world. It also protects children's rights and assists them in reaching their full potential from childhood to adolescence. UNICEF was founded after World War II and became a permanent organisation in 1953.

How does UNICEF work?

UNICEF works in over 190 nations and territories. It also works in the world's most difficult regions to reach the most vulnerable children and young people. They are represented by 34 National Committees, seven regional offices, a research centre in Florence, a supply operation in Copenhagen, a shared services centre in Budapest, and other offices in Brussels, Geneva, Seoul, and Tokyo. Approximately 85 percent of our employees work in the field. Its headquarters are located in New York.

History of UNICEF Day

The United Nations assistance and Rehabilitation Administration established UNICEF in 1946 to offer emergency assistance funds for children and mothers affected by World War II. The United Nations General Assembly established the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) that same year to better institutionalise post-war relief activities. UNICEF is totally funded by government and private donations. UNICEF's 137 government partners, as well as intergovernmental organisations and inter-organizational arrangements, contributed $4.7 billion to the organisation in 2019.

UNICEF Day Theme 2023

The theme of UNICEF's World Children's Day in 2023 will be "For every child, every right." This yearly event serves as UNICEF's dedicated day of action for and by children. The fundamental goal of World Children's Day is to raise awareness about children's rights and to improve their general well-being.

Objective of UNICEF Day

UNICEF believes that every child should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. There should be no discrimination, and every child should have an equal chance to develop. UNICEF's key priority are to address food insecurity, education, health, and sanitation.
The mission to ascend Mount Everest seemed unattainable over the last century. At least 50 unsuccessful ascent attempts are recorded in official statistics. Only in 1953 did Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach the top, after which the number of successful ascents increased substantially. And, because to contemporary technology, practically any well-trained individual can now climb Everest. Climbers have established their own unique records on Mount Everest, the land of records.

List of Top Mount Everest Climbers

Reinhold Messner

He was the first person in history to climb Everest alone, without the use of an oxygen tank. Even though the ascension coincided with the monsoon season, it did not deter the extremists. Reinhold was born and nurtured in the breathtaking scenery of Italy's South Tyrol. He set an impossible-to-believe record. He was the first person in history to climb all 14 of the world's eight-thousanders, or mountain peaks higher than 8000 metres. When he climbed Mount Everest alone on August 20, 1980, he was so exhausted that he didn't even sense a moment of solemnity.

Sharon Wood

Sharon Wood made Canada proud by being the first North American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 20, 1986, before turning 30. She followed a new route from the Rongbuk Glacier in the Himalayas of southern Tibet to the west end of the mountain. She ascended without the assistance of Sherpa with her crew Ed and Dwayne Congdon.

Erik Weihenmayer

Eric Weihenmeier, who was entirely blind at the time, reached the peak of Everest in 2001. He lost his sight at the age of 13, but this did not deter him from reaching new heights, both literally and metaphorically. Eric also climbed Mount Huntington in Alaska (3,731 metres), Mount Marmolada in Italy (3,342 metres), and Gannet Peak in the United States (4,209 metres) in 2015. At the same occasion, Weihenmeier returned to Everest in 2004, climbing to a height of roughly 6,500 metres with a group of blind youngsters.

Jurg Marmet

He was a participant of the Swiss Mount Everest and Lhotse Expedition in 1956, which made the second and third ascents of Everest, as well as the first ascent of Lhotse. PhD in human toxicology (1957), chemical engineer (1952). Positions in management in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, food, vitamins, and fine chemicals. CEO of an international research and business organisation. In 1992, he retired.

Jordan Romero

Jordan Romero became the youngest Everest summiteer in 2010; he was only 13 years old at the time. The young daredevil was accompanied by his parents and three Sherpa guides: Ang Pasang, Lama Dawa, and Lama Karma. Such an extreme accomplishment necessitated lengthy acclimatisation and rigorous training - the Romero expedition spent almost 50 days in the Himalayas. They chose a path from Tibet up the mountain's northern slope for the ascent. route is regarded safer since route avoids the perilous Khumbu icefall; yet, it is more technically demanding to climb. Jordan was also too young to obtain an expedition licence, therefore he chose the Tibetan side of Everest.

Edmund Hillary

Edmund Hillary was born in Tuakau, New Zealand on July 20, 1919. He had previously climbed mountains in New Zealand and Europe (the Alps) before attempting Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary was a member of Lord John Hunt's British expedition. He arrived at the summit around 11:30 a.m. He became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. Mount Ollivier was his first major accomplishment; he climbed it in 1939.

Santosh Yadav

On May 12, 1992, Santosh Yadav was 24 years old when she climbed atop the world's most imposing natural structure. For these extraordinary ladies, one is never enough because she is the first in the world to climb it twice. Her encore performance came a year later, when she ascended with an Indo-Nepalese adventure team.
Pleasant Hill police have arrested a former officer after a lengthy standoff at his home. The ex-Pittsburg detective had shot his wife Thursday and fired at armored cars Saturday outside his Pleasant Hill home, police said. Brittany Hosea-Small/Special to the Chronicle 2021

A former police detective was taken into custody after he shot at armored vehicles from inside his Pleasant Hill home early Saturday on the third day of a standoff between him, a SWAT team and crisis negotiators, police said.

Chunliam Saechao, 40, barricaded himself in his home Thursday after shooting his wife when she tried to get inside through a barricaded garage door, according to police. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and released. Just before 8 a.m. Saturday  more than 36 hours after police first arrived at Saechaos home  he willingly exited the house and surrendered to an FBI SWAT team, according to Pleasant Hill police.

Jail records show Saechao was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of attempted murder and assault with a firearm.

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Throughout the standoff, Saechao had been active on X, formerly known as Twitter, with posts leaning into far-right conspiracies and, police said, indicating he is in a mental health crisis.

Police responded to his posts throughout the standoff, at one point saying: Its the police department, please answer our calls. We want to help you through this peacefully.

As of Saturday afternoon, Saechaos posts were all still visible on X, including several where he threatened to kill any police officers that tried to enter his house. When asked whether if it would take any action to disable the account, X issued its standard reply: Busy now, please check back later.

After responding to the initial event Thursday, officers left the scene after several hours of trying to make contact with Saechao, they said. Capt. Matt Kristic of the Pleasant Hill Police Department told the Chronicle that leaving was a tactical decision made in hopes of deescalating the situation and reaching a peaceful conclusion.

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Kristic said police continued to monitor the area around Saechaos house and his social media, where Saechao continued to post, according to police. On Friday night, Kristic said new information led police to believe Saechao now posed a threat to himself and the public. Officers returned to the scene with a felony warrant for Saechaos arrest.

During the standoff, police shut down several roads in the area and ordered nearby residents to shelter in place for more than 12 hours as they tried to negotiate with Saechao via telephone and loudspeaker, authorities said. At one point, Saechao fired several rounds at armored police vehicles parked outside his house using both a rifle and a shotgun, police said. No officers were injured.

After Saechao was arrested, police reopened local roads and lifted the shelter in place order. As of Saturday night, law enforcement were still searching Saechaos home and investigating his motive for barricading himself inside, according to Kristic. Police had not yet determined how many weapons were inside the home.

Saechao is a retired detective with the Pittsburg Police Department who had served in the U.S. Marines. Kristic said Saechaos status as a former police officer and member of the armed forces did not influence any decision-making during the standoff.

We acknowledge this prolonged and serious event caused great disruption and stoked fear within the Sherman Acres neighborhood and the surrounding community. De-escalation tactics, including disengagement, are routinely utilized in hope for peaceful resolutions, such as this one, the Police Department said in a public statement Saturday. We are relieved that the tactics employed led to a peaceful resolution, avoiding any bodily injuries or fatalities to members of law enforcement or the surrounding community.
Animation in Europe, a federation of national animation producer associations from across Europe, met in Barcelona in late November to discuss the most urgent issues facing the European animation sector. The group created a list of suggestions for European policymakers to consider, which was published earlier this week.

This was the second edition of the forum, titled Animar_BCN, and more than 80 experts, including government officials, broadcasters, educators, and industry veterans from 25 countries, were involved in this years summit.

For three days, attendees participated in discussions meant to improve the foundations on which the European animation industry functions. The group focused on five hot-button issues this year:

The investment of media services (especially global entities such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney) in animation content.

Direct public and tax-related funding in European animation.

The legal framework for international animation co-productions.

Market financing, equity investment, private-public co-financing, and cash flow facilities.

The distribution of European animated productions in Europe and globally.

According to Animation in Europe president Philippe Alessandri:

Animar_BCN has established itself as a pivotal political forum, playing a crucial role in addressing the complex challenges facing our industry. Its not just a meeting place; its a breeding ground for innovative ideas and realistic recommendations, which are essential for the sustainability, future, and vitality of European animation. This convention has become a catalyst for meaningful change, where thought leaders come together to shape the future of our industry.

Marta Alonso, vice president of Animar_BCN co-organizer Proanimats, added:

The success of Animar_BCN can be attributed to its unique ability to centralize the collective interests of the European animation industry, transcending the usual territorial or specific concerns of individual actors. This congress has emerged as a beacon of unity, fostering a collaborative spirit that encourages a holistic approach. By bridging diverse perspectives, Animar_BCN has become a vital platform for shaping a cohesive and dynamic future for animation across Europe.

Conclusions reached by the think tank will be sent to policymakers across Europe and presented at Annecys MIFA in June next year. Their recommendations include:

Introduce a requirement to consider the diversity of genres and age demographics within the European quota and investment obligations. Global and national media companies operating in Europe are held to certain production quotas, and Animation in Europe is asking for the regulations on those quotas to be more inclusive.

Revise the AVMS (audiovisual media service) Directive and its guidelines to better achieve the initial goal of involving streamers in the financing of European works. Notably, the group wants user-submitted streaming platforms such as Youtube to be held to the same standards as editorial streamers like Netflix and Prime Video.

Urgently work on a legal framework that acknowledges animation specificities to encourage and streamline European co-productions for series.

Establish effective funding support for dubbing to enhance the distribution of European animation series and films across Europe and internationally.

Create a meeting platform or event for production companies who wish to scale up and for equity investors interested in audiovisual content.

Classify children and youth-aimed content as difficult productions, which would allow for higher public financing support as well as enhanced development funding.

Facilitate better access to international co-productions for low-capacity countries by revisiting Creative Europe guidelines and improving minority co-production schemes.

Animar_BCN is an initiative of several Spanish producer groups backed by ICEC (the Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises), ICEX Invest in Spain, Animation in Europe, and CEE Animation.
In his three decades at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Andreas Deja supervised animation for many of the studios most noteworthy characters, including Jafar in Aladdin, Scar in The Lion King, Gaston in Beauty and The Beast, and Lilo in Lilo and Stitch. Now, Deja proudly makes his Oscar-qualified directorial debut with the musically-charged action short Mushka.

But Dejas journey from Disney to Mushka is anything but ordinary.

Deja was an 11-year-old in Germany when he saw his first Disney film. I went to the theater to see The Jungle Book, and my life changed that day, he recalls.

It was then that his fascination and love of drawing and making art came to life. It hit me immediately that I had to be part of it. Like many, his childhood was filled with Disney animated films such as Mary Poppins, The Aristocats, and many more featuring classic music by the acclaimed songwriting duo The Sherman Brothers.

Deja only spoke German at the time, so he asked his English teacher to help him write a letter to Disney, and to his surprise, the studio answered. They told me that if I wanted to pursue animation as a profession, I would have to start by drawing animals as well as people, he remembers. Throughout childhood and into art school, Deja did just that. As a student in art school, he again wrote to Disney, this time including samples of his drawings, after reading about a new training program headed by Eric Larson, one of Walt Disneys Nine Old Men.

Larson replied by saying that he thought I had what it took, and I nearly fainted, Deja recalls. The next step for the young artist was to take a leap of faith and move to Los Angeles with the promise of a six-week training program and no long-term job offer. That temporary job became a 30-year career at Disney, where Deja also had the good fortune to meet and befriend one of the greats behind those classic songs from his childhood, Academy Award-winner Richard Sherman (The Jungle Book, Marry Poppins).

In late 2010, the feature animation industry was changing, and Deja left Disney for new challenges. His passion for hand-drawn animation pushed him to launch his own project, where he would both animate and direct for the first time. I was excited and scared, he says. I had always been very happily focused on one character. Now I was faced with learning all aspects of making an animated film!

I wanted something substantial to animate, something that had a story and believable characters. I started asking myself a series of questions. What do I like to draw the most? was first. Because of my love of animals, I knew a tiger would be really fascinating. I realized if I pair it up with a little girl, there would be a nice contrast in terms of that relationship, and it would be exciting to build a story around that.

As Deja began working on Mushka, he met an old friend for lunch and a reunion that would significantly impacted the films future. As he tells it, I was having lunch with Richard Sherman at the time, and he asked me what I was doing now, having left the studio [Disney]. I very casually shared my thoughts and early planning on a story about a girl and a tiger for a project I wanted to animate and direct. To Dejas surprise, Sherman immediately wanted to know more about it. It was early in the process, and we barely even had the title, but his interest encouraged me to elaborate, and I must have told the story particularly well that day.

Richard got really excited about Mushka, Deja recalls. His fingers started tapping on the side of the table. Then he said, Oh, this is interesting. Maybe somebody here at this table with a musical background could write some music or a song for the film. I couldnt believe it.

Sherman wrote the Mushka theme that is used throughout the film as well as Mushkas Lullaby, which plays during the films end credits. Composer Fabrizio Mancinelli used Shermans music, in various tempos, throughout the films score. I hear a bit of a John Williams tone to it, but it all started with this amazing and unexpected gift by Richard Sherman, Deja explains.

Never in my life did I think that a project of mine would feature music from the man who had such a huge impact on my childhood. Im honored and grateful for this beautiful circle of life moment we have had in creating the film.

In deciding on a style for Mushka, Deja thought back to those first tune-filled Disney films he had seen as a kid, including The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, and The Sword in the Stone. They were drawn in a great sketchy way, he recalls.

The characters had black outlines, and there is a beautiful looseness to that kind of animation that Ive always loved. So, this being my first solo project, I thought I really want to do that style, too! With Mushka, Deja wanted something that almost looked unfinished and had artistic human touches.

Thats the idea behind the artistic style, he says.

While Deja animated much of the film himself, he called upon colleagues to join him along the way. The animation roster ranged from veteran talents like Andreas Wessel-Therhorn, Greg Manwaring, Steve Gordon, and Tim Ingersoll to rising newcomer Courtney DiPaola. Natalie Franscioni-Karp painted most of the films backgrounds.

Our crew was small, says Deja. My freelance artists might only be available for two weeks before they had to move on to another project. But because we didnt have a studio looking over our shoulders, we could work at our own pace.

Im very proud of what weve accomplished with Mushka, says Deja. The thrill of directing a project and seeing it all come together has been so gratifying to me, not just as an animator but the whole thing. With Mushka, Ive proven to myself that even at my level of experience and age, Im up for new challenges.

I hope Mushka will remind audiences that there is still a magical aspect to drawings that come to life and that there is still tremendous value to hand-drawn animation  it can act and tell you a great story. These drawn characters have feelings that bring joy and make you really feel something.

If you had told that 11-year-old boy seeing The Jungle Book for the first time that he would one day direct and animate a film with a tiger as the main character and a song by the composer of those wonderful tunes from his childhood, he would never have believed it, says Deja. Im so proud of what Ive accomplished in my career, and Mushka really has been the experience of a lifetime.

Learn more about the film at MushkaTheMovie.com.
A silo at the site of the Idaho-Maryland Mine in April 2021. Rise Gold Corp. hopes to reopen the historic mine, but some locals are opposed. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle A railway and the surrounding landscape looking toward the Idaho-Maryland Mine are seen in 1893 in Grass Valley (Nevada County). Searls Library, Nevada City A steel mineshaft cap, now covered with graffiti, at the site of the idled Idaho-Maryland Mine in April 2021. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

In Californias long affair with gold, the 160-year-old Idaho-Maryland Mine stands as one of the great mother lodes.

From the 1860s to 1956, its 73 miles of tunnels, an hour north of where the discovery of gold kicked off the historic rush of Forty-Niners, bustled on and off with rickety mine cars and workers in hard hats.

During its run, the mine unearthed some of the largest underground treasure California has seen. In total, more than $4 billion worth of gold, by todays prices, was pried from the site, near Grass Valley in Nevada County.

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Next week, Nevada County officials are scheduled to decide whether the rights to mine gold at the complex are still valid. The verdict will determine whether a mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, can proceed with plans to reopen the storied facility and revive a rich but controversial piece of Californias past. Company representatives believe one of the worlds highest-grade gold reserves remains nestled underground.

Grass Valley miners at the Idaho-Maryland Mine are seen in the 19th century, sometime after the Gold Rush. Searls Library, Nevada City

While some wax nostalgic for the regions Gold Rush, many in the area dont want to see the now quiet Sierra foothills 60 miles northeast of Sacramento return to their industrial heyday. Plans by Rise Gold Corp. and its local subsidiary call for up to 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week drilling and rock processing at the eastern edge of Grass Valley, which today is popular with retirees, Bay Area transplants and tourists.

Theyre talking about putting the mine in the middle of a residential area, said Ralph Silberstein, a Grass Valley resident and president of the Community Environmental Advocates Foundation, which promotes sustainability in the county and has organized a campaign against the mine. It has too many impacts.

Beyond noise, another concern is environmental harm. Even as the commercial pursuit of precious metal has largely ceased in Gold Country, iron and sulfuric acid from mining in previous centuries still pollute creeks, and arsenic from blasting is pervasive in soil. Some also worry that if the mining tunnels are dewatered, the water table could drop and cause nearby wells to go dry.

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Representatives of Rise Gold, which began acquiring property and mineral rights in the area in 2017, have been working to assure the community that modern mining is different, and much less destructive, than in the past.

Signs in opposition to reopening the Idaho-Maryland gold mine line a road outside Grass Valley (Nevada County) in April 2021. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

We arent reproducing the same type of operation that existed before, Joe Mullin, president and CEO of Rise Gold, told the Chronicle.

Drilling would take place hundreds, if not thousands, of feet below the surface and be virtually unnoticeable, according to the environmental documents prepared for the county. Most of the noise from aboveground activities would fall within the countys noise standards, the documents suggest. Also, todays mining laws are much more restrictive in terms of cleanup.

Mullin said the operation would yield more than 300 full-time jobs, with pay in excess of $140,000, including benefits, and produce more property tax than any other business in the county.

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The companys interest in reopening the Idaho-Maryland Mine was prompted by recent exploration efforts at the site, which revealed lucrative deposits of gold, potentially worth billions, employees say. The fact that tunnels have already been built, they say, gives the company a leg up at getting at the anticipated fortune.

Gold is visible in a core sample that was taken at the site of the Idaho-Maryland Mine, as seen in April 2021. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Still, extracting gold from within the earth remains a difficult and expensive endeavor, mining experts say. The handful of gold operations that still exist in California are mostly pit mines, where the valuable metal is plucked out near the surface.

Whether Rise Gold can move forward with its plan to reopen the tunnels hinges on the companys bid to prove vested mining rights.

Vested rights are generally exercised to ensure a property owner can continue a certain activity when authorities restrict that activity at a later date. Proving the right often involves showing the activity has continued since it was regulated.

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Company officials have petitioned the Nevada County Board of Supervisors to confirm vested rights for the mine, which would allow mining to resume without the rigorous county approval process.

Rise Gold has asserted that even if mining hasnt continued since the county required a use permit, the intent to mine was never abandoned, which the company says preserves the vested right.

Not only was there no intent to abandon the right by us or the previous owners, but there were efforts to reactivate the mine, Mullin said.

County planning officials, however, say the argument falls short.

An electric trolley is seen in this historical photo from the Idaho-Maryland Mine in Grass Valley (Nevada County). Searls Library, Nevada City

In a report issued last week, county staff concluded that the vested rights expired as early as 1956, when mining ceased on the property and the equipment was liquidated. The site has since had other owners with different pursuits, such as timber production.

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The Nevada County Board of Supervisors, though, reserves final say on the matter, and a public hearing on the vested rights is set for next Wednesday.

Even if the companys petition is denied, the pursuit of mining is not dead.

Rise Gold is already knee-deep in motions to try to get permitted by the county for new mining activity, a process that was put on hold when the company instead sought to exercise vested rights. The permitting process got less encouraging for Rise Gold, though, when the countys Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors not give the go-ahead.

Opponents have vowed to fight the project, no matter what route Rise Gold takes to reopen the mine.
Victor Pierre Peter Serodino III was born on September 4, 1957, in Paris, France, and passed away on December 6, 2023. He was a son, brother, and father, but most importantly, he was a great friend.

Peter grew up on Signal Mountain, attended Signal Mountain Elementary and the Westminster School followed by The University of Richmond (Class of 79). After college he entered the family business and made the bold decision to lead Southern Marine Construction as president, building commercial docks and managing marine construction projects all throughout the Southeast and Midwest.

He was an avid aviation enthusiast with thousands of hours spent in the pilot seat, that, combined with his big heart and spirit of giving, led him to volunteer Angel Flights for those with emergency medical needs. He was recognized as Tennessee Pilot of the Year in 2011 by Airlift Hope for the countless flights he had made for people in need. He was an early supporter of Skyuka Hall School and served on their board.

Peter was preceded in death by his mother, Elizabeth Joyner Serodino.

He is survived by his father, Victor (Pete) Serodino Jr.; two sons, Peter IV and David; two grandsons, Gunner and Sebastian; three sisters: Patricia Borsch of Tequesta FL, Michelle Hunter of Chattanooga, Catherine Siracusa of Geneva Switzerland; seven nieces and nephews, and his companion of many years, Fran Thomason.

In lieu of flowers, Peter would like donations to be made to Skyuka Hall School, The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanoogas Emergency Relief Fund, or Angel Flight Southeast Inc

There will be a Celebration of Life reception for family and friends at the Southern Belles Dockside Bar and Grille from 2-4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15.

Arrangements are entrusted to Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, 423 877-3524, lanefh.com.
An electrical fire at a home on Agnes Avenue in Chattanooga has displaced two adults and one teenager on Saturday.

It happened at 6 a.m. when the residents called 911 to report seeing smoke in their house. Red Shift units responded and saw smoke coming from the eaves of the structure. Fire was found at the back of the residence. A water supply was immediately established and fire attack initiated, along with a search of the dwelling.

All occupants had made it out safely.

Crews extinguished the fire and checked for extension as the 7 a.m. shift change got underway with personnel being swapped out on the scene.

There were no injuries. The American Red Cross will be assisting impacted residents.

Engine 4, Engine 15, Quint 6, Ladder 13, Squad 13, Squad 1, Battalion 1, Battalion 2, and Battalion 3 responded, along with HCEMS and CPD.
A conceptual rendering of the California High Speed Rail train. The Biden administration pledged billions for the high-speed rail project, but completing it will take billions more. California High-Speed Rail Authority

President Joe Biden on Friday touted the billions of dollars his administration recently committed to passenger rail projects, including a little more than $3 billion for Californias slow-moving high-speed rail project in the San Joaquin Valley.

The two biggest projects  and recipients of the federal funding  are both in California: the California High Speed Rail project between San Francisco and Los Angeles and Anaheim, and a largely private project called Brightline West between Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County on the outskirts of Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The $12 billion project is projected to open before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

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Speaking in Las Vegas, Biden hailed the California high-speed rail project as the most ambitious rail project in the Western Hemisphere and boasted that it would offer weary travelers the chance to ride from Southern California to the Bay Area in three hours versus the current six- to eight-hour drive. Biden said hes long supported the California project  even restoring cuts implemented during the Trump administration  and said he would continue his backing. Folks, were just getting started now.

On Friday morning, Brian Kelly, the CEO of the High-Speed Rail Authority, said that the $3 billion federal investment, which will go toward purchasing six electric trains and completing construction in the Central Valley, will keep the project on schedule. The authority hopes to begin service between Bakersfield and Merced between 2030 and 2032.

Most construction so far has been focused in Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties where at least 10 major viaducts, bridges and overpasses and underpasses have been constructed.

It could not be done without this investment, Kelly said. Its huge.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Central Valley Rep. Jim Costa and former California Gov. Jerry Brown each emphasized how the project is necessary not only to reach Californias climate goals, but to catch California  and the rest of the U.S.  up with places such as Europe and Asia, where high-speed rails are widespread.

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We hear that were going to compete with China. Well, China has 20,000 miles of high-speed rail, Brown said. So weve got to get going.

Pelosi mentioned a trip to China during which she took a high-speed rail from Beijing to Tianjin  roughly the same distance as San Francisco to Fresno  in just under half an hour.

We have to be on the forefront as well, she said. And everyone in our country is not attuned to that, but I hope that by example California will show them the way.

But Brown added that the billions wont be enough to achieve the ultimate goal  linking the Central Valley to economic centers like the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Were going to spend billions more. Thats what it takes, he said. You want to be No. 1 in the world? You gotta spend big bucks.

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But getting sustained funding as costs have ballooned from the original $33 billion estimate  the entire project is now expected to cost more than $100 billion  has proven difficult as questions arise about the projects viability. Lawmakers said Friday that more funding at the federal level will be needed to get the project to the finish line.

Sustained federal funding would not only complete Californias high-speed rail dreams and visions, but really will lead as an example for a network across the country, Costa said.

Thats what its going to take, he said. That federal partner on the long-term just as we have under the federal highway system.

The $3 billion investment, he said, was a first step in that goal.

Asked about the projects past struggles and whether this new round of funding will have oversight, Kelly said the rail authority has made an effort to turn the management around and move forward and regularly reports its progress to the inspector general, the California Legislature and the public.

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We havent been silent or quiet about the fact that the project got off to a tough start, he said. The reason were performing better is because we made important steps to manage risk, govern the project and be very transparent about what were doing.

Brown added that the federal funding, despite the projects many obstacles, was a big vote of confidence from the president.

This is a question of can America make it or not? he said. I say we can, and this project is going to lead us on our way.

Were not going away, Pelosi added. This is going to happen.  We have to have high-speed rail.

In addition to the two big high-speed rail projects, Bidens passenger rail plan also includes up to $500,000 each to plan for new or expanded rail service on the Capitol Corridor route between San Jose and Auburn with extensions to San Francisco, Novato, Salinas and Reno; the Central Coast Corridor with more frequent service between San Jose and San Luis Obispo and possible service to Santa Cruz and Watsonville, and rail service between Sacramento, Chico and Redding.

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President Joe Biden speaks at the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Department of the Interior in Washington, Nov. 30, 2022. Biden will sign an executive order during a 2023 tribal nations summit that aims to make it easier for Native Americans to access federal funding and have greater autonomy over how to invest those funds.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland speaks remotely during the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit. Haaland announced on Dec. 6 that the National Park Service will collaborate with tribes on a theme study that will focus on the Indian Reorganization Period to help broaden the understanding of an important chapter in American history.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen before sunrise on Capitol Hill in Washington, March. 21, 2022. On Dec. 4, 2023, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would shield members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids.(
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From a young age, you were probably taught in school that men took up hunting while women were given the chore of gathering during prehistoric times.

And for decades, scientists were convinced that this was the caseearly humans living in foraging societies had a clear division of labor.

However, new research has shattered the long-held belief that only men were hunters and women were strictly gatherers. It turns out that women were just as involved with hunting as men were.

For one, there were just not enough people around to assign specific tasks to certain genders. Whenever something needed to be done, someone would do it, no matter the nature of the task.

According to the American Anthropological Association, females are better equipped for endurance activities, such as running.

Men may come out on top when it comes to strength and speed, but women have more staying power, which is crucial for chasing down animals.

The higher levels of estrogen and adiponectin found in the female body helps delay fatigue by burning fat and glucose, which are key fuels during endurance activities. Adiponectin also protects muscles from breaking down.

Furthermore, women have wider hips, allowing them to take wider strides. Their larger steps helped them travel longer distances faster while expending the least amount of energy possible. Overall, prehistoric womens physiology provided them with the ability to hunt more efficiently and give chase for longer.

Even if the findings of the new study arent taken into consideration, other evidence points to women being hunters.

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Home Politics Does the Moral Majority still impact American politics today? Conservative Christians discuss impact, legacy and ongoing relevance of movement

Editors' note: This is part 4 of The Christian Post's year-long articles series "Politics in the Pews: Evangelical Christian engagement in elections from the Moral Majority to today." In this series, we will look at issues pertaining to election integrity and new ways of getting out the vote, including churches participating in ballot collection. We'll also look at issues Evangelicals say matter most to them ahead of the presidential election and the political engagement of diverse groups, politically and ethnically. Read part 1, part 2 andpart 3 at the links provided.

The Moral Majority was the most influential 20th century conservative Christian political advocacy group in the United States, according to prominent Christian activists who credit the movement with making the religious right a force in American politics today.

Founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell in 1979, the Moral Majority advocated for conservative positions on issues like abortion, homosexuality and school vouchers. It also helped millions of Christians register to vote.

Although the organization dissolved in 1989, many believe the Moral Majority continues to have a lasting impact on 21st century U.S. politics.

The Christian Post spoke with longtime conservative Christian activists to discuss their memories of the Moral Majority, its long-term impact, and what, if anything, they believe has replaced it in the modern day.

The booster rocket phase of Evangelical politics

Gary Bauer, a longtime conservative Christian activist who served as head of the Family Research Council from 1988-1999 after serving under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, told CP he was "assigned to work on the values issues during his time in the administration, including school prayer, sanctity of life issues, and school choice.

That election in 1980, that was the election where there was such a dramatic shift of Midwestern Catholics and Southern Evangelicals from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party, Bauer said, adding, these issues were the things that drew those voters to Reagan."

Bauer, who now leads American Values, said he began representing the White House at Moral Majority meetings so that he would become well known in that community.

The activist told CP that Reagan was aware of the importance of promoting traditional American values and, along those lines, became the first president to regularly refer to the sanctity of life in the State of the Union address."

He issued sanctity of life proclamations during his presidency, Bauer continued. Its been forgotten now, but he actually, while president, wrote a pamphlet, a little booklet, just on the issue of the sanctity of life, which had never been done before by a sitting president, or any president really.

Another item championed by the Reagan administration, according to Bauer, was to require federal bodies to have the pro-family equivalent of an environmental impact statement whenever they proposed new rules.

Under the law today, if you are building a project, you've got to file a statement on how the project will impact negatively on the environment, he explained. So, we put out an executive order that required every government agency, when they proposed any regulation or sent the regulatory proposal to the White House, to include in that what the impact would be on the family.

Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, who in 1995 was the subject of a Time magazine cover story about his activism, worked alongside the Moral Majority in the 1980s.

I was in North Carolina in 1984 when the Moral Majority was a major player in turning out Christians and mobilizing Christians. Dr. Falwell came to North Carolina on a couple occasions, and I got the opportunity to visit with him, Reed added.

I also worked with a guy named Lamarr Mooneyham, the head of the North Carolina Moral Majority. He was the head of the state chapter, and I was organizing Christian young people, so we collaborated on that. And then Dr. Falwell spoke at a number of student conferences that I organized in the '80s.

Shortly after Falwell shut down the Moral Majority in 1989, Reed was hired to serve as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition, a similar organization founded by televangelist Pat Robertson.

Reed saw the political work of Robertson and Falwell as being the twin engines of the booster rocket phase of the re-engagement of Bible-believing Evangelical Christians in national politics following generations of a self-imposed internal political exile that dated back to the Scopes trial in 1925.

Falwell was an enormously influential figure in fundamentalist and Independent Baptist circles. He proved to be a remarkably adept strategist and operator who was able to build a broad coalition that included pro-Israel Jews, Mormons, and Southern Baptists, among others, Reed continued.

In other words, he showed himself to be far more ecumenical than I think anybody would have anticipated. In working with others whose theology he did not share, he blew the trumpet and issued the clarion call for Christians to come out of the pews and get into the precincts and make a difference.

While viewing the Moral Majority as indispensable to the rise of Evangelical civic engagement in the late 20th century, Reed felt the group was sometimes limited in its tactical and strategic prowess.

They did rallies all over the country that mobilized and activated Christians, but in terms of building a county-by-county infrastructure or a state-by-state infrastructure, or a precinct-by-precinct trade worker infrastructure, that never really happened at Moral Majority. That ended up being the work of the Christian Coalition in the 1990s, Reed said.

Kris Ullman is the president of the conservative group the Eagle Forum, a group whose founder, anti-feminism activist Phyllis Schlafly, often worked with Falwell on various political issues.

Ullman moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, with her family as a teenager, which meant she heard a lot about the Moral Majority and Jerry Falwell."

I did grow up in a very conservative, pro-life family, she said. It was nice at that time to know that there was an organization of primarily Baptists who were fighting on a lot of the same issues.

Knowing that there was this group of very conservative citizens and this organization that was rallying conservatives to the pro-life, pro-family cause had a big impact on me.

Galvanizing people of faith

When looking at the long-term impact of the Moral Majority, Bauer said an example of the enduring influence is found in the still-existing voting bloc of religious Americans.

The group of people that are motivated to vote based on their views on the role of the family, the role of religion in our society, those kinds of issues, which continues to be a significant voting bloc in American politics, Bauer said.

Particularly on the Republican side, candidates (presidential and congressional) will do all sorts of things to try to signal to those voters that they're going to be somebody that would be sensitive to those concerns, try to represent the values of those voters.

Bauer believes that the rise of Donald Trump was an example, pointing out that, initially, there were questions that values voters had about whether he was the real thing or not.

According to Bauer, Trumps decision to have Republican Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate in 2016 and his promise to fill Supreme Court vacancies with pro-life nominees helped him make much-needed inroads with conservative Christian voters.

Trump directly said, I will fill any Supreme Court vacancy that occurs in my presidency with nominees who are committed to the sanctity of life, he noted. Even George W. Bush wouldn't say that. He used to say, Well, I'll put strict constructionists on the Supreme Court."

Not only did Trump say it  and I think that had a great deal to do with his election  he got three opportunities and appointed three justices that fulfilled his promise and, as a result, Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Ullman believes that when the Moral Majority was formed, it was a time where political activism on behalf of religious people was really just beginning.

It was a time where [people of faith] started to think that they could have an impact on politics through elections, on public policy through issues. I think that they galvanized religious people to get more involved in the political process, she added.

Before, people kind of thought that your religion, your faith and your politics were meant to be kept separate. They were one of the groups that really allowed people to get involved and to realize that they could take their faith into the public square.

Reed also saw the work of the Moral Majority and Robertson as being a decisive turning point that dramatically changed the look of U.S. politics.

If Jerry Falwell in 1979, and later Pat Robertson with his endeavors, had not made it clear to Evangelical Christians, Bible-believing Christians, that they had a moral and a spiritual obligation to bring their values into the public square and make a difference in public policy, I think we'd have a very different country today, Reed said.

Dr. Falwell was a historic figure in more ways than one, but just the difference that he made politically in the trajectory of the United States was a historic achievement by itself.

'More fractured than we were in the '90s'

Reed said another clear example of the long-term impacts of the Moral Majority are the many born-again Christians who hold or recently held positions in the federal government.

I mean, you got a born-again Christian as Speaker of the House. You had under Donald Trump probably more conservative and Evangelical Christians serving at every level of government, he said.

Whether it was Sarah Huckabee as press secretary, or Dina Powell who was deputy national security advisor, Ben Carson in the cabinet, Sonny Perdue in the cabinet, Sam Brownback at the State Department, Mike Pompeo at the State Department, Betsy DeVos at Education. I could just go on and on and on.

There are many Christians in federal government that most folks don't even know," Reed said. They're not household names, they're staffers. But they all came out of the pro-family and pro-life movements. And all of that is a legacy of the Moral Majority and the work that came after it.

Regarding what group, if any, currently serves as the replacement for the Moral Majority, Reed cited groups like his organization, Faith & Freedom Coalition, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Reed, who described the Christian Coalition as a successor organization, said it was the intermediate rocket that took conservative Christian activism from Earth's atmosphere to other planets.

Ullman isn't sure there is one organization that filled the role of the Moral Majority, believing that conservative Christian activism is a lot more fractured than we were in the '90s.

She cited examples of groups like FRC, Catholic Vote and Focus on the Family, which each seem more centered on one particular religious denomination than the Moral Majority was.

Even though we work together on similar issues, I think what I'm seeing now is that people are being drawn towards groups that identify to a particular faith, Ullman told CP.

Bauer believes that there are all kinds of groups out there that work on the "same types of issues, listing as examples the Faith & Freedom Coalition, Focus on the Family, FRC, and the American Family Association.

He noted that Faith & Freedom Coalition, which spends tens of millions of dollars during election seasons trying to mobilize the Christian vote, does a tremendous amount of work in elections, passing out voter guides and so forth.

I think its had a real influence on American politics, Bauer told CP.

Bauer also believes that conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation, which was not started to deal with these issues, has over time focused on family values matters, adding that the conservative think-tank realized that this is where the real passion is for the conservative movement.

There's a lot of people at the state level, state family policy councils, who fight on these issues. So, it really has multiplied to be many, many different organizations, Bauer concluded.
Home Opinion An amazing story of redemption out of Pearl Harbor

December 7th, 1941 is a date which will live in infamy, declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Japanese pilot that led the infamous raid on Pearl Harbor is the subject of a new fascinating book, Wounded Tiger by T. Martin Bennett. Christian apologist Josh McDowell calls Bennetts book, mesmerizing.

I spoke with Bennett on my radio show about this amazing story of violence, repentance, redemption, and forgiveness. I have been aware of Fuchidas incredible story before, having produced a TV segment on his conversion for D. James Kennedy Ministries-TV about 30 years ago.

When Bennett read an old book, Gods Samurai, about the life of Fuchida, he said, Wow. This is one unbelievable story ... If it was fiction, it wouldnt work. But its true.

Commander Mitsuo Fuchida led the raid on Pearl Harbor, the outpost in Hawaii, where the United States had aircraft carriers, other ships, and many airplanes. Fuchida is the one who yelled into the static-filled airplane radios the attack code, Tora! Tora! Tora! That means Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!

This surprise attack by some 350 Japanese planes in the wee hours of that fateful Sunday morning killed about 2,400 Americans. It was the worst attack on American soil by an enemy, until 9/11.

Why did the Japanese even bomb Pearly Harbor in the first place? Bennett writes of the Japanese leadership, Their agreed-upon strategy was solely to assault and cripple the Americans and quickly secure terms of mutual nonaggression, allowing Japan free reign in greater East Asia.

Japanese Emperor Hirohito understood himself to be, notes Bennett, a living god to whom his subjects owed absolute obedience.

A month before Pearl Harbor, Japans Prime Minister Hideki Tojo appeared on the cover of TIME. Tojo told Hirohito near that time, Your Majesty  At the moment, our empire stands at the threshold of glory or oblivion.

Bennett observes, Japan was at its strongest, and America at its weakest. The Empire of Japan was finally poised for conflict and to secure its place in history.

Before the surprise attack, Fuchida declared to his fellow pilots, In the event we fail to destroy the aircraft on the ground, or we lost the element of surprise, I will give the signal for the dive bombers to begin the attack.

Fuchida continued, Years of training and careful planning have brought us to this moment in time ... Our duty is not only to protect the untarnished past of our ancestors, but to annihilate the enemies of Japan and to establish a new order for the future, the imperial way!

After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor led by Fuchida, America was stung into action. General James Doolittle quickly organized bombardiers to attack targets in Japan.

One of the pilots flying in General Doolittles squadron was Sergeant Jacob DeShazer. Alas, his plane was shot down, and he ended up as a prisoner for the duration of the war. The Japanese did not look kindly on anyone who surrendered.

The Japanese treated their prisoners of war in subhuman ways. DeShazer developed an intense hatred for the Japanese guards who tortured him. He became consumed with thoughts of revenge.

But somehow he got his hands on a tattered copy of the Bible, and he read it. He was deeply touched by the prayer of Jesus from the cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, and His command that we are to love even our enemies. As with so many before and after him, Jesuss forgiveness transformed DeShazer.

After the war, DeShazer returned to the former enemy, Japan, as a missionary to bring the love of Jesus to the people. His story was written up in a small booklet, and a copy of this tract fell into the hands of the disheartened, disillusioned Fuchida  whose god (the emperor) had been defeated.

Amazingly, Fuchida too experienced the forgiving love of Jesus Christ. He even returned to Pearl Harbor on the 25th anniversary of the attack in 1966, asking for forgiveness. He came bearing a gift  a Bible with Luke 23:34a inscribed in it, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

This is a powerful story and not well known. Portions of T. Martin Bennetts book, Wounded Tiger, are posted online.

In this fallen world, war can be a necessary evil. What the Japanese did in World War II was inexcusable. How redemptive it is that the lead pilot in the opening drama of the Japanese-U.S. conflict found a higher purpose in life.

Tragically, we were unprepared for what happened at Pearl Harbor  contrary to George Washingtons well-known maxim of peace through strength. But out of the evil and the ashes of Pearl Harbor has come this reminder of how Gods amazing grace is greater than all mans evil.
Home Church & Ministries Turning a corner today: 142 Mississippi churches leave UMC over homosexuality debate

The United Methodist Church has approved the disaffiliation of 142 Mississippi congregations, joining more than 7,000 churches that have left the mainline Protestant denomination since 2019.

At a called session held at Anderson United Methodist Church of Jackson on Saturday, the UMC Mississippi Conference approved the disaffiliations of 142 churches in the state.

The voting was focused on the district level, with eight different ballots focusing on different areas within the UMC Mississippi Conference. The ballots were centered on the Brookhaven and East Jackson Districts, the East Jackson and Greenwood Districts, the Greenwood and Hattiesburg Districts, the Hattiesburg and Meridian Districts, the Meridian and New Albany Districts, the New Albany and Seashore Districts, the Senatobia and Starkville Districts, and the Starkville, Tupelo and West Jackson Districts.

One of the congregations approved for disaffiliation was Christ United Methodist Church of Jackson, reportedly the largest UMC congregation in the state, whose members voted 717-112 in October to leave the denomination.

Following a performance by the Anderson UMC choir, Mississippi Bishop Sharma Lewis said the disaffiliation votes had been approved, and that the vote tallies for the individual churches would be made available later.

I dont want you to clap, said Lewis after announcing the result, with those gathered remaining silent. This is still sensitive and painful. But we are turning a corner today.

In June, the Mississippi Conference voted to approve the disaffiliation decisions of 189 churches, which at the time represented about one-fifth of the regional bodys member congregations.

Over the past few decades, the UMC has experienced a divisive debate on whether to allow the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of clergy in romantic same-sex relationships.

Although efforts to change the rules at General Conference have always failed, progressives within the denomination have often refused to enforce or follow the rules, leading many conservatives to seek leaving the UMC.

In 2019, at a special session of General Conference, delegates voted to add Paragraph 2553 to the UMC Book of Discipline. The measure creates a temporary process for congregations to disaffiliate from the UMC over the homosexuality debate. The provisions of Paragraph 2553 will expire at the end of the year.

The number of congregations that have left under Paragraph 2553 since 2019 passed the 7,000 mark in November, with more than 5,000 churches having disaffiliated this year alone.

Of the congregations that have left, over 3,000 opted to affiliate with the Global Methodist Church, a recently launched theologically conservative alternative to the UMC.
Home Church & Ministries Arizona street preacher moved out of ICU as police still search for answers to mysterious shooting

An Arizona evangelist shot last month while promoting a church service has been moved out of the intensive care unit but is still in a "delicate" condition, his family says, as police have released surveillance video and a $10,000 reward is offered for answers.

Detectives released video footage this week of a gun incident involving Hans Schmidt, a 26-year-old outreach director at Victory Chapel First Phoenix Church who was struck by a bullet while street preaching on the evening of Nov. 15 before evening service.

Schmidt, a father of two small children and a newly married military medic, was on the corner of the intersection at 51st Avenue and Peoria Avenue when the shooting occurred.

Schmidt's father, Eric, told ABC 15 this week that his son was moved out of the intensive care unit and into a long-term care facility within the hospital. Eric Schmidt said that when he visited his son over Thanksgiving, he could open his eyes.

"Hopefully he keeps trending positively the way it's been going because he's still in a delicate condition," said Eric.

The surveillance video released Tuesday shows Schmidt standing at the street corner. After some time, the preacher fell forward and then got back up to his feet. Shortly after, it was discovered that he had an unexplained wound on his head.

"In the video, you can see Schmidt is on the street corner. You see a lot of cars driving by, a lot of people in the area, but it doesn't seem like anybody else is reacting to what happened. He gets back up, picks up his belongings, but we do not see anybody else driving by that seemed like something ordinary is going on," Glendale Police Sgt. Randy Stewart said, according to Fox 10 Pheonix.

Gina Winn, the public information officer for the Glendale Police Department, said during a November press conference that officers responded to a call for service about a male who arrived at a local hospital with a severe head injury.

"Initially, it was believed this was due to an assault, but it was later determined the subject had sustained a gunshot wound," Winn said.

It is unknown how Schmidt was shot and if the shooter was in a car or on foot at the time of the incident. It is unknown if Schmidt was targeted or if it was a random act of violence.

The Glendale Police Department requests that anyone who knows any details about the incident come forward immediately. A $10,000 reward is being offered through Silent Witness for information related to the case.

Winn said in November that since the intersection is busy, someone likely knows what happened.

"We believe there is somebody within the valley that does know something about what happened," Winn said.

"This is a horrible, horrible offense," Winn continued. "We have a 26-year-old who was a military medic. He is recently married. He has two small children, and he is currently in a critical state. It is imperative that the public reach out if you do have information so that we can bring justice to Hans and his family."

Sgt. Stewart told Fox 10 Tuesday that the last information he heard related to Schmidt's condition victim was that he was not yet able to speak.

"Last I heard, he was not, but I didn't hear if he was actually talking today or not," Sgt. Stewart said.
Home U.S. Gavin Newsom cancels in-person tree-lighting ceremony, cites Gaza protests Decision comes after Christmas references scrubbed from state websites

The governor of California is canceling a nearly century-old Christmas tree lighting tradition at the state Capitol, citing the threat of pro-Palestinian protests.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom will host the 92nd annual California State Capitol Tree Lighting in a pre-recorded virtual ceremony Wednesday, according to the governors office.

In a statement Tuesday, a spokesperson for Newsom said the decision was made after protests across the country were held in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, including in New York, where seven people were arrested last week at the citys Christmas tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.

"As we continue to see protests across the country impacting the safety of events of all scales  and for the safety and security of all participating members and guests including children and families  the ceremony this year will be virtual," the statement read. "The program is unchanged and viewers can tune in Wednesday evening to watch this years festivities."

In response to Newsoms announcement, X CEO Elon Musk replied, Wow.

The lighting of the approximately 60-foot red fir  which will be held remotely  will be livestreamed and shared on Newsoms official media accounts, the spokesperson said.

Californias annual tradition, which dates back to the 1930s, was held virtuallyfor the first-time ever during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Under Newsom, California enacted what many saw as draconian health guidelines for gatherings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, including banning any gatherings of more than three households and urging people to collect names and other information for contact tracing purposes.

This year, however, protesterswith the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights held a march and rally at the state Capitol to call on the governor to support a ceasefire in Gaza.

Several of the protesters held signs with messages such as Newsom is complicit in genocide and No celebrations while silent on genocide.

SACRAMENTO | Right now, Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights are marching to the State Capitol. They want Governor Newsom to support a ceasefire in Gaza, adding he should be ashamed for moving a scheduled tree lighting for tonight to a virtual event. @kcranewspic.twitter.com/Hw1enNKvS6  KCRA Lee Anne Denyer (@KCRALeeAnne) December 6, 2023

In addition to scrubbing the Christmas tree ceremony, the very mention of Christmas has been removed from the websites of at least two California state agencies, including from the governors official website, which makes no mention of the Christmas holiday in its official press release for the tree-lighting ceremony.

By comparison, Newsoms official announcement of the 2019 ceremony referred to the ceremony as the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and made five separate references to the Christmas holiday.

A 2021 statement from Newsoms office similarly omitted all references to Christmas and opted instead to refer to the tree-lighting event as an opportunity to highlight Californias diverse holiday traditions, native heritage and spirit of inclusion.

The word Christmas was also removed from the announcement posted on the websites of other California state agencies, including the Department of Developmental Services.

According to state records, the first use of the California State Capitol was held as a Chistmas celebration in December 1869, while the first tree lighting ceremony began in 1931 with former Gov. James Rolph.
Chinese FM pledges enhanced educational, agricultural cooperation with Mali

Xinhua) 10:04, December 09, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop on Dec. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday held talks with Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, vowing enhanced cooperation with Mali in education, training, medical care, and agriculture.

Noting the China-Mali friendship was forged by the older generations of leaders of the two countries, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China fully understands and respects the independent choice of the Malian people and never interferes in other nations' internal affairs, adding China believes that Mali has the wisdom and ability to solve temporary difficulties, grasp the destiny of national development and progress in its own hands, and realize lasting peace and tranquility.

China is willing to work with Mali to firmly support each other, jointly protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, Wang said.

In recent years, a number of practical cooperation projects between China and Mali have been successfully implemented, bringing benefits to the Malian people, said Wang, expressing the hope that the Malian side can continue to take concrete and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel in the country.

Noting Mali and China enjoy a long history of friendship and share similar positions on significant issues of principle, Diop said China is a reliable friend and partner of Mali. He added Mali abides by the one-China principle and hopes to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China and learn from China's successful development experience.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop on Dec. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Megan Fan Munce is a reporter who joined the San Francisco Chronicle as part of the two-year Hearst Journalism Fellowship, spending her first year of the program at the Houston Chronicle.

Munce grew up in San Jose before attending Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, graduating with a B.S. and M.S. in journalism and a second major in political science.

She previously worked as an audience engagement fellow and a reporting fellow at the Texas Tribune, as well as an audience intelligence intern for KQED.

She can be reached at Megan.Munce@sfchronicle.com.
Home Entertainment Church of Highlands Pastor Chris Hodges son wins on 'Wheel of Fortune'

Alabamas largest megachurch, Church of the Highlands, recently celebrated a unique achievement. Michael Hodges, son of the churchs founding Pastor Chris Hodges, emerged victorious on the popular game show Wheel of Fortune, bagging a total prize of $52,650.

Hodges, hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, appeared on an episode broadcast Thursday, securing a win. His success in the bonus round came with the correct answer to the puzzle, Opening a jar, AL.com reported.

The popular American TV game show, developed by Merv Griffin, has been broadcast without interruption since January 1975. It involves contestants engaging in a game where they solve word puzzles akin to hangman, with the aim of winning cash and prizes. These rewards are determined by the spin of a large carnival-style wheel.

The winner, Michael Hodges, is a former pastor of the Greystone campus of Church of the Highlands. He now holds the position of vice president of spiritual development for Highlands College. He is married to Katie Hodges, and the couple have two children. Michael is one of Pastor Chris and his wife Tammy's five children.

This win comes after other significant developments for the Church of the Highlands.

In September, the church inaugurated a new permanent location for its Alabaster campus, which was founded in 2015. Previously meeting at a local middle school, the campus first worship services at the new site on Highway 119 saw an attendance of nearly 3,000 people, spread over three services.

Layne Schranz, a member of the Highlands Senior Pastor Leadership Team, previously spoke to The Christian Post about the campus strategic location in the community and the congregations enthusiasm for serving in the name of Jesus. It allows us to expand both our service to the community and what we offer to those who call Highlands home, he said.

Further expanding its reach, the Church of the Highlands is set to open a second satellite campus in Huntsville. The congregation will initially meet at a local movie theater, with the campus completion expected next year. Schranz highlighted the churchs tremendous growth and expressed excitement about Gods influence in these developments.

Founded in 2001 by Pastor Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands has not only grown significantly within Alabama but has also extended its influence beyond state borders.

In 2019, the church opened its first campus outside Alabama in Columbus, Georgia. Kyle Jackson, the campus pastor, explained that the establishment of the Columbus campus was driven by the demand from small groups in the area, despite being a 45-minute drive from the nearest campuses in Auburn and Opelika.

Today, Church of the Highlands boasts over two dozen campuses.
Home Education UPenn loses $100M donation amid calls for president to resign: 'Appalled' University among 3 others facing House investigation over antisemitism

A major donor to the University of Pennsylvania pulled a $100 million gift from the school to express his disgust toward President Liz Magill's recent testimony before Congress regarding the school's response to on-campus antisemitism.

Lawyers for Ross Stevens, a Penn alumnus who is founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, fired off a letter to UPenn senior vice president and general counsel Wendy S. White on Thursday, according to Axios.

Stevens and his company "are appalled by the Universitys stance on antisemitism on campus," according to the letter. He also cited Magill's recent congressional testimony as a major reason for yanking his funding.

Magill was among multiple university presidents earlier this week who dodged direct answers to a question from Rep. Elisa Stefanik, R-N.Y., who demanded during a hearing to know whether calling for Jewish genocide amounted to a violation of their schools' code of conduct against bullying and harassment.

Magill was met with apparent surprise from Stefanik when she claimed that context would determine whether calls for Jewish genocide amounted to a violation of the school's code of conduct.

Magill later released an apology video following the backlash, claiming that during her answer, she "was focused on the university's long-standing policies  aligned with the U.S. Constitution  which say that speech alone is not punishable."

In response, Stevens said he would be withdrawing approximately $100 million worth of limited partnership units in Stone Ridge, which were given to the school in 2017 with the intention of funding the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance.

The letter suggested that Stevens would be open to reconsidering his donation withdrawal if the school replaces Magill.

Magill is facing increased pressure to resign after her congressional testimony. The board of the Wharton Business School conducted an unprecedented eight meetings since Nov. 16 regarding "hate-based behavior" against Jewish students on campus, according to a letter first obtained by campus newspaper The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The board said they remain "deeply concerned about the dangerous and toxic culture on our campus that has been led by a select group of students and faculty and has been permitted by University leadership."

"As a result of the University leadership's stated beliefs and collective failure to act, our board respectfully suggests to you and the Board of Trustees that the University requires new leadership with immediate effect," the board added.

Other donors have also pulled their funding from UPenn, including businessman and former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr., who sent a scathing email to Magill in October accusing his alma mater of exhibiting "moral relativism" that has rendered the institution "almost unrecognizable."

UPenn is among three universities that will be subject to a Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives committee, which is also investigating Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose presidents also face widely criticized congressional testimony regarding antisemitism.

Harvard President Claudine Gay also apologized for her congressional testimony, telling the Harvard Crimson that she failed to adequately condemn threats against Jewish students because she "got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures."

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is slated to look into each university's learning environments and disciplinary procedures, and issue subpoenas if necessary.

A University of Pennsylvania spokesperson told CP on Friday that the university is aware of the investigation and intends to cooperate fully.
Home Entertainment 'Wonka' review: Timothee Chalamet honors whimsical world of Roald Dahl in wholesome prequel

Willy Wonka, the iconic character from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is one of the most beloved characters in childrens fiction and film, brought to the big screen by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp in 1971 and 2005, respectively.

But how did Willy Wonka become the quirky, colorful chocolatier with a penchant for everlasting gobstoppers and teaching children lessons about behavior, greed and humility?

"Wonka," starring Timothee Chalamet and directed by Paul King (the "Paddington" movies), tells the backstory and character development of Willy Wonka before he became the legendary candymaker known for his astonishing array of fantastical candies.

The film, hitting theaters Dec. 15, is a loving tribute to the whimsical and magical world Dahl created: a wholesome story filled with humor, heart and music. Through humor and dance numbers, it highlights the power of tenacity and kindness, even in the face of evil.

What's it about?

Wonka opens with a young Willy, who arrives in London after his adventures at sea. Hes determined to fulfill his promise to his mother (Sally Hawkins) to open a chocolate shop and use his wealth of confectionary knowledge.

However, his plans are complicated by financial struggles  he rapidly goes through his 12 sovereigns  and conflicts with a host of sinister individuals determined to foil his plans. These include the greedy Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman), who wants to keep him as an indentured servant of sorts, the menacing Chocolate Cartell, comprised of Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) and their gatekeepers, corrupt chocoholic clergy members and police. Complicating matters is a sullen Oompa Loopa (Hugh Grant), who keeps stealing Willys chocolate late at night, exacting revenge for the time the confectioner stole three cocoa beans from his island.

Not one to be deterred by seemingly impossible circumstances, Willy, aided by a young ally, Noodle (Calah Lane), concocts a plan to establish a secret candy store. Along with a band of quirky new friends, Willy works tirelessly to fulfill his dreams while dodging shady characters and elevating his friends in the process.

Woven throughout the brightly-colored story are rousing musical numbers, including the uplifting "For a Moment," the anthemic "A World of Your Own," and the jazzy "Youve Never Had Chocolate Like This," featuring whimsical candy creations. The costumes are elaborate, and the set is detailed, making it a feast for the eyes.

Is it safe for families?

Rated PG, Wonka is notably devoid of foul language and sexual content. There is some slapstick violence, and the clergy in the film are portrayed as corrupt  the Chocolate Cartell pays them off in chocolate to keep their secrets in a safe underneath the cathedral. However, they are aware of their faults: Forgive me, I am a sinner, a weak and wicked chocoholic, one priest notably declares at the end.

There are plenty of sweet (if sometimes haphazard) subplots throughout the film, most notably the friendship between Noodle and Willy. Noodle teaches Willy to read, while the candymaker introduces the young girl to the life-changing world of chocolate and helps her escape her Oliver Twist-like surroundings in a decrepit laundromat.

Chalamets Wonka differs significantly from Gene Wilders darker, more sarcastic interpretation and Depps odd and off-putting version of the character. Fresh-faced and optimistic, he brings his own brand of earnest goodness to the role, elevating kindness and selflessness.

Though Dahl was not a Christian  he was known for his skepticism toward organized religion  he consistently promoted morality through his work. For example, characters who exhibit humility and kindness, like Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, are rewarded, while those who are greedy, selfish or cruel face consequences (like being turned into a giant blueberry).

Its this same spirit that permeates 2023's Wonka. Though Willie is repeatedly maligned, betrayed and swindled by a host of eccentric adversaries, he remains gentle, treating others with kindness and respect. Ultimately, the good guys win, and the bad guys lose; good triumphs over evil.

Overall, Wonka is a lighthearted, enjoyable adaptation that offers a musically vibrant experience for viewers. At a time when Hollywood seems particularly out of touch regarding the content families and children want to consume, Wonka serves as a sweet holiday escape the whole family can enjoy.
Home Opinion America: Theres no negotiating with Hamas

On October 7, 2023, after Hamas unleashed carnage worse than ISIS against innocent civilians  including children, women, and the elderly  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NPR that Israel is committed to doing three things in Gaza: destroy Hamas, free the Israeli hostages, and give Gaza a different future. Israel has sought peaceful diplomacy, only to their detriment. Now, they are taking necessary measures to ensure the safety of Israel and its citizens.

This was the largest attack against Jews since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago. Of those so viciously slaughtered, at least 27 are Americans. Others are missing and presumed kidnapped by the terrorists.

Negotiations for the release of hostages provide a gleam of hope amid an extremely difficult time of war. The temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas resulted in a swap of more than 81 hostages being held by Hamas at an extremely high price  180 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Also, humanitarian, medical, and fuel aid is being allowed into Gaza.

Hamas has released at least 60 Israeli women and children and 21 people of other nationalities, and more hostages are prayerfully going to be released by Hamas in the days ahead. Horror stories of what the hostages have endured since that dreadful October day are beginning to surface.

Unimaginable terror inflicted by Hamas

The reports from the war zone are heartbreaking. I have seen images that I will never forget.

Hamas infiltrated Israel and went door to door  grabbing babies, slaughtering infants and moms with kids. If they could not enter a home, they burned it down and shot people as they ran outside. Hamas beheaded both IDF soldiers and babies. It terrorized, intimidated, and slaughtered elderly men and women. It even targeted a concert for peace, chased down attendees, and used humans for target practice.

These acts of terror by Hamas are the worst evil I have ever seen. When entering the areas that Hamas invaded, the Israeli soldiers were not prepared for what they saw  some babies were beheaded and other babies were strangled, hung by their mothers undergarments, while parents were forced to watch in horror before they were killed.

A mortician described the autopsy of a burned corpse. The person was burned alive, and the mortician knew that because soot was found in the bodys trachea. The people hid in a bomb shelter and the entire group was burned alive. Despite his many decades of doing autopsies, the mortician began to cry and could not finish describing what happened.

There is no boundary Hamas will not cross, and the terror they are inflicting is unimaginable.

Tragic result of culture-wide indoctrination

I have studied Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for many years. The indoctrination of this kind of terrorism at the level weve witnessed since October 7 is pervasive like a malignant cancer. If we do not want to see the gut-wrenching slaughter of innocent people, then we must defund terrorism globally. Golda Meir, the prime minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War, said it best, You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.

The Palestinian Authority has been indoctrinating children for decades to kill Jews and slaughter infidels  which includes anyone who will not submit to Islam and Sharia law. From birth, these children are taught to perform hate-filled songs and plays and are cheered on by their parents and the government to kill Jews and destroy Israel. The children are filled with rage and hatred for America and Christians. At school, these kids act out the simulated slaughter of Jews and infidels.

The Palestinian Authority in Gaza and throughout its schools systematically trains children to commit acts of terror. Our weapon is our Islam, and our ammunition is our children, a young girl about the age of 7 sings into a studio recording mic. The scenes are disturbing with the children  from the time they can walk  being indoctrinated to believe that the highest honor is to be a martyr.

A2021 UN Watch document submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council outlines the extent of the indoctrination of child soldiers by the PA and Hamas in violation of international law. The Secretary-General of the United Nations received this excerpt of a written statement from Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31: United Nations Watch is deeply concerned by Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas recruitment and use of Palestinian child soldiers in violation of international law  Both the PA and Hamas routinely indoctrinate Palestinian children to aspire to martyrdom through armed confrontations with Israel.



Hamas is using its own people, families, and children on the front lines of the war. They are causing casualties to their own people. For example, we now know that the command center for Hamas was strategically placed beneath a Gaza hospital. Additionally, Hamas constructed an elaborate underground network, including an armory and 311 miles of tunnels dug in part with money from American taxpayers. Unfortunately, it is reported that hostages remain in the underground network of tunnels where rescue is difficult.

America must not open doors to terrorism

The United States needs to understand Hamas terrorists culture-wide goal of martyrdom and infatuation of killing the infidels. This entire culture glorifies death and the murder of Jews.

During Joe Bidens recent visit to Israel, he said he wants to give $100 million to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is insane! Hamas still has hundreds of hostages, some believed to be American. There was no mention of them at the time of Bidens announcement  just free money to a Hamas-run government that sponsors terror! The Palestinian Authority will be doling out almost 3 million dollars to the families of terrorists as part of a program that incentivizes terrorism in October 2023. Biden has donated your hard-earned U.S. tax dollars to fund terrorism.

While President Trump was in office, he demanded that the Palestinian Authority stop doling out blood money. Trump cut off aid, and Biden reinstated it. We have no business sending money to terrorists who target innocent people, babies, the disabled, and even the elderly who survived the Holocaust. They should be condemned and sanctioned  not supported  by our White House!

Wemust take a strong stand against the exporters of terror and apply severe sanctions to prevent further terrorist acts. Now, some are calling upon America to allow the Palestinians immediate entry into our country. America must not become a haven for Hamas or the Palestinians. Of course, we feel compassion for these people, but discernment is needed. The families dont need to leave Gaza. Israel opened a corridor to southern Gaza as they target northern Gaza where Hamas is embedded.

Egypt, which borders Gaza, refuses to allow the Palestinians to enter. Even though Egypt is primarily Muslim, the government knows the kind of people who live in Gaza. They do not care for life  neither Jew nor Christian nor Muslim.

Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Andy Ogles (R-TN) have introduced the Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission Act, or the GAZA Act. Rep. Tiffany said: We cant let President Biden abuse our parole and visa rules to bring unvetted Palestinians into American communities the way he did with thousands of unvetted Afghans. This bill will prevent the Biden administration from issuing visas to Palestinians.

Congress must pass the GAZA Act to protect our national security and block the Biden administration from throwing open our doors to welcome terrorists. We cannot open our doors to this insanity!

Right now, America is facing a test. How will we respond? It is critical that we take a strong stance against these horrors by defunding terrorism through every avenue possible. Also, we must stand together against the ghastly violence happening against Israel and keep it from spreading around the world. Congress must swiftly act to condemn such violence and do everything to stop it from spreading to America!
Brian Houston announces plans for online ministry and new church in 2024

Brian Houston is making plans for 2024 to be his comeback year after a tumultuous season that saw him resign from the leadership of the church he founded, Hillsong, and stand trial and eventually be acquitted of accusations that he covered up his late father's abuse.

The 69 year old shared in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he and wife Bobbie are getting ready to launch a new ministry.

"Bobbie and I are starting a weekly online ministry and church in 2024," he said. "I'm excited about building this new community."

He did not share any additional details but the announcement comes not long after his daughter Laura Toganivalu and her husband, Peter, stepped down earlier this year as leaders of Hillsong's youth ministry, Hillsong Young & Free, before announcing plans for a new church.

It has been a bumpy couple of years for Houston after he stepped down as global senior pastor of Hillsong in 2022. Senior leaders said that at the time that he had breached the church's pastor's code of conduct by entering the hotel room of an unidentified woman for 40 minutes while under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs during the church's annual conference in 2019.

Other complaints against Houston alleged that he had sent an "inappropriate text message" to a staffer in 2013. The staffer resigned shortly after.

A few months later Houston addressed his departure from Hillsong, denying that it was because of alleged misconduct and accusing Hillsong leaders of issuing public statements that had "made my position untenable".

Earlier this year, Houston was acquitted of criminal charges that he covered up abuse committed by his late father, Frank Houston, in the 1970s.

He had always denied wrongdoing and the Sydney court ruled in his favour, finding that he had a valid reason for not reporting his father's abuse because he believed that the victim did not want the abuse to be reported to police.

But in another dramatic turn of events this year, Houston pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and received three years' probation and a $140 fine. He was also made to take part in an alcohol programme for DUI offenders.
Finding God in life's busyness

Born Free is a new book exploring how God can be experienced in the midst of life's demands. Author Katharine Hill, a former solicitor, offers guidance on how we can achieve stillness and create 'margin' for God every day.

Christian Today spoke with Katharine to hear about what inspired her to write the book and how we can meet God in the busyness of life.

What sparked your desire to write this book?

It's been a long journey for me, something that's been growing for a long time in terms of wanting to go deeper with God, and trying to work out how to do that within the demands of everyday life.

Like any journey there have been milestones on the way - and looking back one significant milestone came as a result of a friend asking me a simple question. If I'm honest it was the kind of question that pops up on my social media feed and generally makes me hit the delete button straight away! But I felt I should at least give it the time of day. The question was this: 'If you were to describe yourself as an animal, what animal would you be?" I found the answer came quite easily  I was an ant. I'm busy and productive, I'm quite small and I've got big capacity. I also remembered that the ant is praised for her industry in the book of Proverbs - and I decided it was a good question after all. But then she asked a follow up question 'If you could be any what animal would you like to be?' It's unnerving when a simple question reveals an uncomfortable truth about our lives. In that moment I realised I didn't want to be a busy little ant!

Instead my mind went to a scene from a trip I'd made to South Africa a few years before. After a week of delivering parenting seminars our hosts had taken us on a short safari. It was evening and the sun was setting, casting long shadows across the ground. In the evening light we saw a lioness beneath a tree, surrounded by her cubs. She was peaceful and calm, fully alert, scanning the horizon for movement  she was attentive and yet completely still. In that moment I knew the answer: I wanted to be a lioness. Instead of rushing around being busy like the little ant, I wanted to be someone who lived from that quality of attentive stillness.

Another milestone in my journey came in the Covid pandemic. Our kitchen calendar is the motherboard of our family life, each month packed full of appointments - work meetings, event tours, family engagements, or coffee with friends. There was a moment during lockdown when I turned over the calendar, and instead of thirty jam packed squares there were 30 white spaces, and I found my heart missed a beat. I realised that as hard as Covid had been, here was what the Bible calls 'treasure in the darkness'. Here was an opportunity to slow down, to learn to live differently. But the challenge was how to continue to live like that when lockdown ended and the diary filled up again.

You write that you didn't notice words like 'efficiency' or 'productivity' being used in the Bible to describe Jesus. As believers we are called to follow Jesus' example. How can we achieve this in the midst of a busy life and how can we maintain a kingdom mindset?

I think firstly, work is a really important part of our lives. There is a whole chapter in my book about work. God calls us to work and to be productive but not to do it to the extent that everyone around us and our own souls miss out in the process. I think one of the practical things we can do is to build margin into our day. If we read the gospels we see that Jesus was interruptible. Most of the miracles that take place are an interruption. He's on his way to heal Jairus' daughter and the woman who was bleeding for twelve years touches his cloak. He's on his way to the Passover and blind Bartimaeus calls out. He's preaching and there are some people lowering their friend through the roof. And each time he's able to stop and give them his attention. I think if we can build those margins in, then we'll find we have the space to respond to the interruptions of life, and so often that's where God meets us.

The pandemic saw society come to a standstill. Did this have any impact on your time with God?

Yes. Firstly there was such pain and heartache, particularly around families that caused me to want to pray for all those who were suffering. In those early days when we didn't know how it was going to turn out, the vaccines had not been introduced yet, there was definitely a call to pray for people. My heart especially went out to parents trying to juggle homeschooling alongside their other responsibilities, often in cramped conditions. Whatever our context it was a challenging time. But alongside that there was a chance to be more reflective and to live at a slightly slower pace and recalibrate what our priorities were. For me this was an opportunity to learn something different and then not to lose it.

Psalm 46:10 says 'Be still and know that I am God'. Can you recall a time you were reluctant to 'let go and let God'?

When life has been going well and family life has been relatively stable, the challenge has often been to do things in my own strength, to just to keep going and not take that moment to pause and be still. I believe this Psalm was written in the context of the turmoil of nations at war. Like every family we have had times of trauma, and in those moments there is also that temptation to not step back and allow God to be God. The verse says 'be still and know that I am God' - He is God, not us. I think sometimes it is so easy to think we are in control. But that was one thing that Covid taught us: we are not in control.

Has technology facilitated your walk with God?

It has facilitated my walk and at the same time has been a distraction. In lockdown everything went online, it had to. I think technology has been a lifeline for us but also there are some incredible challenges. For me my phone can be a big distraction. If I'm in the coffee queue, waiting for the bus, or for the checkout to become free I find myself automatically reaching for my phone, scrolling through Instagram or checking emails. There's nothing urgent to attend to  in spare moments it's just become a habit. In terms of the positive, I have done a number of online conferences. I am part of the Order of the Mustard Seed, which is part of the 24-7 Prayer movement, and in that context every morning since lockdown I pray with a group of people on Zoom. It's an amazing opportunity to pray with people from all around the world. That's been incredibly enriching for my husband and I to be involved in.

Do you have an anchor verse you lean on in times of distress?

Yes, several but I think one I come back to time and time again is Deuteronomy 33:27 where it says "underneath are the everlasting arms". I often read this verse and also offer it to others to read in times of trouble. It's just that reassurance that God is there - yesterday, today and in the future.

You write that spirituality is not a 'one size fits all'. What do you mean by that?

God has made us all unique and different and there are different ways that we connect our hearts with Him. For me listening to worship music or being out in creation feeds my soul. For others it might be studying the Bible, doing something creative, or spending time in fellowship with others. There's a book by Gary Thomas called Sacred Pathways where he explores all the different ways we can best connect with God, and I've found it freeing to discover how different we each are and how we can grow in our walk with him in a way that suits our personality.

How important is fellowship and how have you benefited from prioritising fellowship?

I'm an extrovert but I have introvert needs, and over the years I have discovered I need to guard time on my own as well as time with others. I love meeting with others and engaging in big celebrations with lots of people and worship. I think most important for me has been meeting up with others regularly to pray. John Wesley in the early Methodist Church used to meet other Christians in groups and they would ask each other 'how is it with your soul'. I think for all of us it is key that we find people who will ask us this.

How has your prayer life changed with each season of your life?

When I was a young lawyer, it was quite regimented. I had grown up with the understanding that you had your early morning quiet time and that was something you had to tick off as a completed task at the beginning of the day, alongside cleaning your teeth. In many ways I'm very grateful for that because it has been an important rhythm that I've known from my early years.

When we had our 4 children, all quite close in age, any rhythm of prayer went out of the window, and I just had to learn to grab the opportunity when I could. I think I learnt in those times, and more recently, how to turn to God in the everyday moments.

In the Message translation in Matthew 11, Jesus says, 'Walk with me, work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythm of grace.' It is something that we can do all the time and not just in a half hour in the morning. There are many references in the Bible to people praying three times a day, and I've discovered that's a routine that works for me. First thing in the morning, simply saying the Lord's prayer at lunch time, and then taking a moment again at night. That for me is a helpful rhythm.

What advice would you give to new believers in the faith to maintain the hunger for God's word?

I would say, find what rhythms work best for you and are enjoyable, a little like exercise. If we find exercise that is enjoyable we are more likely to do it. Four things that help me spend time in God's presence are finding spaces that are calm, comfortable, concealed, and carefree. So find something that works within your season of life, that works with your personality remembering that God delights to meet with us. Of course it's also about intentionality and choice, but remembering He's more ready to meet with us than we are Him. And I would also say: this isn't about a tick list, this is about a relationship. We are made to be in relationship with others, so make sure you have people that will cheer you along on the journey!

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Police drop hate crime charges against Tory councillor

Police have dropped all charges against a Tory councillor who was arrested for a hate crime after he shared his support for Christian expressions of free speech on social media.

Cllr Anthony Stevens, a member of Wellingborough Town Council, was arrested at his home in August after he tweeted his support for fellow Conservative councillor, King Lawal.

Lawal was suspended by the local Conservative branch and lost his position in several organisations after tweeting that "pride is sin". He has since been reinstated by his local Conservative Party group.

Police arrested Stevens at his home in front of his wife and children for apparently breaching section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986.

The arrest came after he posted a number of tweets in support of Lawal. In one post, Stevens retweeted a petition supporting the reinstatement of Lawal which he captioned with the words: "If you value free speech please sign and share."

In another post, he shared a video of Lawal speaking on GBNews to Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg about his suspension. He captioned the post: "That is my friend, everyone has a right to their beliefs, people can disagree as is their right but to ruin their standing because of them is wrong."

Stevens, who was supported by the Christian Legal Centre, said that when he was taken to the police interrogation room, he was told he had been arrested for allegedly 'inciting racial hatred', a charge he called "ridiculous".

He also claimed that the police tried to intimidate him into not speaking with the media about his case. He has since made a complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

At the time, Lord Macdonald, former director of public prosecutions, shared concerns about Stevens' arrest: "It is essential that police officers are properly trained in the importance of free speech rights and the particularly strong protection that the law gives to political speech.

"Some cases reveal an alarming ignorance and are bound to chill public participation in democratic debate. Causing offence is not, and never should be, a crime. If it becomes so, we will lose something precious treasured by generations of Britons."

The Crown Prosecution Service informed Stevens this week that the case against him has been dropped and further action will be taken.

Stevens gave a cautious welcome to the news: "Yes, I have been vindicated and I am relieved that no further action will be taken, but look what I have been put through. My reputation, business, health and even my relationships, have been seriously affected by this abuse of police power.

"There will always be a note on my police file saying that I was investigated for a 'hate crime'  that is wrong."

He continued, "The accusation of racial hatred was ridiculous and insulting and was an attempt to smear me. My only crime had been supporting the only black local councillor in Northamptonshire and his freedom to express his Christian beliefs."

He went on to say that 'hate crime' laws are being weaponised to "shut down free speech".

"I believe my case is a worrying sign of potential things to come," he said.

"In a true democratic society, you cannot have people being arrested for a few tweets. We must have debate; we must have the freedom to criticise and offend each other; otherwise this country is heading towards a very dark place."
Authorities responded to reports of students bringing guns to two San Francisco high schools Friday morning, according to the Police Department. Jacom Stephens/Getty Images

Officers responded to reports of students bringing guns to two San Francisco high schools Friday morning, according to the Police Department.

San Francisco police said school staff responded to three cases of students bringing weapons to school  two at George Washington High School in the Outer Richmond, and one at Galileo Academy of Science & Technology in the Russian Hill neighborhood. In all three cases, the weapons were not used, according to Laura Dudnick, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Unified School District.

Officers were first called to Washington High School just after 9:30 a.m. after school staff reported a student had brought a firearm in a bag, according to the Police Department. Before officers arrived, the student got in a physical struggle with a school staff member over the bag, during which the student was injured, officials said.

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Paramedics treated the student at the scene and transported the youth to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The student was later transferred to police custody.

Just after 10 a.m., while officers were still on campus, school staff alerted them that a second student had brought a gun to school, according to police. Officers detained the student and discovered that the weapon was an air gun, authorities said.

Around the same time, police received a separate report about a student at Galileo bringing a firearm to school, according to police. When officers arrived, school administrators informed them that the student had fled, authorities said.

Police said the investigations into all three cases were ongoing, but they did not believe the incidents were related. No charges have been filed, authorities said.

Dudnick said the school district has no reason to believe the students intended to use the weapons on campus.

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Dudnick did not comment on whether the schools would be taking specific disciplinary action against the students, but the districts student handbook notes the punishment for bringing a firearm to school is immediate suspension and expulsion referral.

The safety of our students and staff is our No. 1 priority, Dudnick said in a statement. Bringing a weapon to school results in serious consequences.
Emergency department Doctor Sarah Dunn examines a patient at Adventist Health hospital in Sonora on March 28, 2022. Thousands of Californians face higher medical costs after contract negotiations between Adventist and insurer Blue Shield of California broke down. Max Whittaker/Special to the Chronicle Nurse Kristen Marin gives a patient an IV at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital on Aug. 25, 2021. Thousands of Californians face higher medical costs after contract negotiations between Adventist and insurer Blue Shield of California broke down. Deanne Fitzmaurice/Special to The Chronicle

Thousands of Californians may have to pay out-of-network medical costs to go to their nearest hospital after contract negotiations between Adventist Health and Blue Shield of California  a major health care provider and health insurer in the state, respectively  fell through last week.

Adventist Health and Blue Shield had been in talks to reach a new contract for about 11 months, but failed to come to an agreement about reimbursement rates before the previous contract expired Dec. 1. This means people who had Blue Shield plans could be on the hook to pay higher out-of-network rates for hospital services such as lab tests and imaging, or have to travel long distances to seek care at an in-network hospital.

The development affects all of Adventists 17 hospitals in California, including Adventist Health St. Helena and Adventist Health Mendocino Coast. It applies to people with Blue Shield commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medi-Cal managed care plans.

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It does not affect services at most of Adventists outpatient clinics. Those services are covered under a separate contract slated to expire in March or April 2024.

Blue Shield will continue to cover emergency care, the insurer said.

Adventist also contracts with insurers Anthem and Aetna, and says that patients who wish to continue receiving covered hospital services in the affected locations can contact those plans.

Its not clear how many people are affected by the disruption in coverage. But in Tuolumne County alone, more than 6,000 Blue Shield members are no longer covered for hospital services at Adventist Health Sonora, an Adventist spokeswoman told the Union-Democrat.

In some rural parts of the state, including Mendocino County, Adventist is the only hospital or the closest one for miles, making the situation particularly concerning for patients belonging to Blue Shield who may have to drive further for in-network care or shoulder higher costs to pay for care at Adventist that is now considered out-of-network.

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Contract negotiations are common between health care providers and insurers, and disputes often arise over reimbursement rates. In those cases, both sides sometimes agree to extend the contract by a few months to give themselves more time to negotiate without disrupting patients coverage.

Nurses walk through the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital on Aug. 25, 2021.Thousands of Californians face higher medical costs after contract negotiations between Adventist and insurer Blue Shield of California broke down. Deanne Fitzmaurice/Special to the Chronicle

Both Adventist and Blue Shield said they are disappointed they were not able to agree on terms for a new contract, and that they are willing to keep talking.

We are deeply disappointed that we are unable to reach an agreement with Blue Shield, Adventist said in a statement. We remain open to discussions and will provide an update should the current situation change.

Adventist said that in cases of emergencies, patients should go to the nearest hospital, regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.

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Adventist said some people may be able to continue receiving hospital services at in-network rates by requesting continuity of care benefits from Blue Shield. This may be granted if the nearest hospital to a patients home is more than 30 miles away or if a patients in-network provider cannot perform the service they need.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Its hard to miss an enormous human being like Dawand Jones, but the Browns will definitely miss him on Sunday.

Jones, the Browns excellent rookie right tackle, has been ruled out of the Jaguars game Sunday with a right knee injury suffered in practice on Thursday. James Hudson III will start in his place, meaning the Browns are down to their fourth and fifth tackle options with Geron Christian starting on the left side in place of Jedrick Wills Jr. Theyve also been without starting right tackle Jack Conklin (knee) all season.

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Joseph Shapiro stands near where he was attacked in October 2022 in San Francisco. Shapiro was arriving at his work when he was hit over the head by a man with a broomstick. Police told him he was required to make a citizens arrest because the crime was a misdemeanor. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

Joseph Shapiro heard the screaming first.

But, as the then 68-year-old law firm administrator stepped out of a cab in front of his downtown San Francisco office one morning last October, he didnt think much about it. Hed recently moved from Pennsylvania to a neighborhood not far from the Tenderloin, where such sounds were commonplace enough that he barely registered them anymore.

Then came the hard crack of something hitting his head  and the sudden, sharp sensation of pain in his skull and shoulder.

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I was so stunned, Shapiro told me recently. It took me a few seconds to understand what had happened.

Shapiro didnt initially connect the pain in his head to the screaming hed heard moments earlier. But then he turned around and saw this guy wielding a big stick and running to the side of the building, and realized he had just been assaulted.

Dazed, Shapiro grabbed his phone and called 911. Police arrived on the scene about six minutes later  during which time Shapiro observed the aggressor continuing to scream and threaten people with a broomstick, according to a call transcript I obtained from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.

How is clobbering somebody over the head with a large wooden stick a misdemeanor? Its not, under anybodys definition, Joseph Shapiro says of being assaulted. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

To Shapiros astonishment, however, police told him he had to sign a citizens arrest form for the alleged offender, identified as 45-year-old Billy Jiles Holdman III of San Francisco, to be taken into custody.

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Why are you asking me to arrest him? Shapiro remembers asking the police. This just makes absolutely no sense.

Californias citizens arrest process  a little-understood procedure thats been in place since 1872  has significant implications for how law enforcement handles lower-level crime.

Under the state penal code, without a warrant, law enforcement officers cant arrest someone for most misdemeanor crimes unless the offense happens in their presence  or unless a witness signs a citizens arrest form.

For example, if a store clerk sees an individual stealing $200 worth of merchandise  theft less than $950 is a misdemeanor under California law  and a police officer isnt present, the clerk would need to sign a citizens arrest form for law enforcement to take the suspect into custody.

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For felonies and other serious offenses, police without a warrant dont need to witness the crime to arrest someone  they just need probable cause.

The reasons for this stretch back to the founding of the United States, Andrea Roth, a criminal justice law professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, told me: We didnt have these professional police forces at the time the Constitution was written, so we did really rely a lot more on citizens for certain types of law enforcement.

The Fourth Amendment also established warrants as a prerequisite for most arrests. One historical exception is a felony committed in the presence of a law enforcement officer, Roth said. If its just a misdemeanor, theres less of a justification for deviating from the traditional warrant requirement to get an arrest if an officer doesnt directly witness the crime.

This makes sense: The Founding Fathers, wanting to protect against the government intrusion they experienced under colonial British troops, sought to ensure people couldnt be arrested and held against their will for no reason or simply because someone accused them of committing a minor crime.

But the assault against Shapiro wasnt a minor crime  which raises the question of why he had to sign a citizens arrest form in the first place.

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The 911 call transcript shows that operators categorized it as an aggravated assault or assault with a deadly weapon and flagged it as a top priority for police.

Yet police appear to have originally handled the attack as a misdemeanor. According to police spokesperson Kathryn Winters, the investigating officer spent a not insignificant amount of time explaining the citizens arrest process to the victim.

Shapiro was dumbfounded.

How is clobbering somebody over the head with a large wooden stick a misdemeanor? Shapiro asked me. Its not, under anybodys definition.

Under the California penal code, aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on various factors. According to the police report, Shapiro didnt have any visible injuries and refused multiple offers of medical treatment.

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But Shapiro was 68, and the crime could qualify as elder abuse. (Shapiro later took himself to the emergency room and was diagnosed with a potential concussion, according to medical records I reviewed.)

And according to the police report, another witness saw Holdman screaming and chasing a different unknown victim that morning before striking the hood of a nearby truck with the broomstick in an angry manner, creating a 2-foot-long dent that the owner estimated would cost about $1,500 to repair.

Furthermore, when police officers ran a warrant check on Holdman, they discovered he had two outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants in San Mateo County, their report shows.

Ultimately, San Francisco police booked Holdman on several felony charges  which needed to be approved by a supervising officer  including aggravated assault.

But the only charge to which Holdman ultimately pled guilty was misdemeanor vandalism.

He dented the car. That was more important than denting my head, Shapiro said.

In the months after the attack, Shapiro waited for District Attorney Brooke Jenkins office to call him about appearing in court to testify against Holdman. Finally, Shapiro said, he called the office himself  and learned that the case was over and the most serious charges had been dropped.

I was pretty livid at that point, Shapiro told me.

Shapiro said the office told him that prosecutors had made several unsuccessful attempts to reach him. But, Shapiro said, he never received a voicemail.

It would have taken them five minutes to find out how to get in touch with me, Shapiro said. But they couldnt be bothered.

In a statement, the District Attorneys Office said, When we are unable to get in touch with victims or witnesses, we proceed in good faith, and work to advance justice in accordance with professional and ethical guidelines. The office added, We only bring forth charges that we can prove.

For Shapiro, the experience solidified everything Ive been hearing about street crime in this city  that its not being dealt with.

I thought when they replaced the DA ... part of this was about finding somebody who was going to pay more attention to street crime, Shapiro said. But this happened under the new one, so 

More than a year after his attack, Shapiro is still dealing with its consequences.
CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday said the generative artificial intelligence craze is only beginning, adding that stocks associated with AI have more room to run even after this week's huge gains.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told Cramer this week that generative AI will make his company's web services tens of billions of dollars in the future as enterprises switch from computing on premises to the cloud. To Cramer, this theory suggests any pullback in AI stocks will just incentivize buyers.

"The AI stocks may have room, maybe a lot of room to run, even though they were up big this week," Cramer said. "If, as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told me, 90% of software is still on prem, not the cloud where ChatGPT lives, then I think any dip will indeed be met with buying, not selling, because the wonderment and astonishment, people, is just getting started, and what humongous trend ever stops when it's only one year old?"

According to Cramer, generative AI is "anything but a cheap sleight of hand," and will change the way people do their jobs and approach challenges.

Microsoft stands out as a leader in the AI space, in part because it owns half of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which brought this new technology into the mainstream. Unlike some of its peers, Microsoft is seeing tangible profits from its AI venture Co-pilot, Cramer said.

In addition to Amazon and Microsoft, Cramer also highlighted Nvidia as a big name in AI. He said the company's CEO, Jensen Huang, was prepared for the AI craze. Well before ChatGPT went viral, Huang demonstrated the power of generative AI for Cramer, using the new technology to create a seascape work in the style of post-impressionist painter Paul Cezanne at Cramer's request.

"The cynics say that the AI moves, it's just too big already," Cramer said. "I can tell you from my face-to-face talks with people in Seattle, this move's just getting started."
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price denied reporter Emily Raguso access to her news conferences. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle

Earlier this month, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price turned me away from a news conference, a clear violation of my First Amendment rights.

On Nov. 29, I showed up at her headquarters for a press event on victim services. But an inspector for her office who recognized me motioned me off to the side. A few minutes later, two Price staffers asked to talk to me. They told me I was not welcome.

They rejected my media credentials and questioned my legitimacy as a news reporter, despite my 20-year career in the field. They left after a prolonged debate. And then Price walked out of the elevator and denied my request.

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Over the years, Ive been a crime reporter in Modesto and run a community news site in Albany. Then I worked at Berkeleyside for a decade, covering cops, city council, development, breaking news and more. Last year, I launched my own local news outlet, the Berkeley Scanner, where I focus exclusively on public safety, including the Alameda County District Attorneys Office.

What happened outside the press room was the culmination of a fractious relationship that began in February when I published an expose surfacing concerns from veteran prosecutors about how Price was running the office. They said Price had put some of the most experienced prosecutors on leave without cause and abruptly transferred others, walking longtime staff out of the building and decimating morale. They questioned early charging decisions and said Price was on the hunt to find office leaks. Since then, despite many media inquiries and interview requests, I have struggled to get my questions answered.

I have repeatedly fallen off her email announcement list and, when I asked to be put back on in October and November, was told only that my request was under review.

Some of Prices employees have also made it clear that I am disliked because of my coverage.

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Heres the thing: Legally, the government does not get to decide who is a journalist and who can attend general news conferences. Officials can choose whom to grant exclusive interviews and whom to call on in the press room. But they cannot keep you out of the room altogether. Under the law, if you gather news and report to the public, you qualify as a journalist.

The District Attorneys Office put forward several reasons for excluding me. But none were legally defensible and, upon scrutiny, fell apart.

First, they said they had to limit access due to security concerns and that my credentials were insufficient. I did have active credentials, which I displayed. But why would I need special credentials when they immediately recognized me and knew me to be a reporter? I watched all the other reporters go into the press room without being stopped or asked for identification. And I was never asked to leave the building. Would either be true if there had been an actual security concern?

Until Price took office, the district attorney worked out of the main Oakland courthouse by Lake Merritt, where there are metal detectors and Alameda County Sheriffs deputies at the door. For unknown reasons, Price moved her headquarters to a much less central building where those measures werent in place, ultimately creating her own problem. If the office does have safety concerns, the solution is to add security. Its not to keep out working journalists whose coverage has included critical reporting.



The District Attorneys Office also claimed to be following longstanding practices that predated Price, practices that required a certain newsroom structure to qualify as a reporter. Trouble is, the standards they described are not widely held and the previous district attorney, Nancy OMalley, had no such rules.

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There has never been an incident where a member of the press was excluded from a press event, OMalley said by email of the District Attorneys Office, dating back to Earl Warren. We have always upheld the belief that the First Amendment lifts up Free Speech and a strong press corps is important.

Prices office later announced that my removal from the press list had been an oversight  but failed to explain why the oversight was not corrected when I repeatedly raised the issue over a six-week period.

When Price put me back on the list, in the face of mounting pressure, her office said she now plans to develop guidelines for clear and transparent media credentials  that balance the need for public safety alongside accommodating todays journalists, adding: This critical work is long overdue at the Alameda County District Attorneys Office.

OMalley took issue with that assertion, saying, It is simply not true that changes in practice and policy are long overdue. History shows that the only needed change is within the current administration.

First Amendment experts also have questioned the need for media credentials because, again, the government should not be in that business. In San Francisco, where some smaller outlets have been excluded from media events, groups that include the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter, part of one of the most established journalism organizations in the nation, are fighting that battle as we speak. But what it really comes down to is that, if someone in a press conference creates a problem, that can be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Heavy-handed screening of reporters, under seemingly false pretenses, is not the answer.

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Despite Prices claims that her office is committed to transparency, what happened to me seems emblematic of something else. And its not the only thing thats happened. Breaking the longstanding precedent set by OMalley, the Alameda County District Attorneys Office under Price no longer provides basic charging documents to reporters by email. Some journalists, including me, have been singled out for intimidation and smear tactics by the Price campaign.

As for me, this entire episode has been an important reminder about the critical role the First Amendment plays in our democracy.
A photo shows the logo of the ChatGPT application developed by OpenAI on a smartphone screen, left, and the letters "AI" on a laptop screen, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on Nov. 23, 2023.

The European Union on Friday agreed to landmark rules for artificial intelligence, in what's likely to become the first major regulation governing the emerging technology in the western world.

Major EU institutions spent the week hashing out proposals in an effort to reach an agreement. Sticking points included how to regulate generative AI models, used to create tools like ChatGPT, and use of biometric identification tools, such as facial recognition and fingerprint scanning.

Germany, France and Italy have opposed directly regulating generative AI models, known as "foundation models," instead favoring self-regulation from the companies behind them through government-introduced codes of conduct.

Their concern is that excessive regulation could stifle Europe's ability to compete with Chinese and American tech leaders. Germany and France are home to some of Europe's most promising AI startups, including DeepL and Mistral AI.

The EU AI Act is the first of its kind specifically targeting AI and follows years of European efforts to regulate the technology. The law traces its origins to 2021, when the European Commission first proposed a common regulatory and legal framework for AI.

The law divides AI into categories of risk from "unacceptable"  meaning technologies that must be banned  to high, medium and low-risk forms of AI.

Generative AI became a mainstream topic late last year following the public release of OpenAI's ChatGPT. That appeared after the initial 2021 EU proposals and pushed lawmakers to rethink their approach.

ChatGPT and other generative AI tools like Stable Diffusion, Google's Bard and Anthropic's Claude blindsided AI experts and regulators with their ability to generate sophisticated and humanlike output from simple queries using vast quantities of data. They've sparked criticism due to concerns over the potential to displace jobs, generate discriminative language and infringe privacy.

WATCH: Generative AI can help speed up the hiring process for health-care industry
'A healthy relationship with work'

Her company's stance is critical to Naumova's relatively low stress level during the end-of-year rush. Many clients spend the bulk of their marketing budgets between Black Friday and the New Year. Even so, Naumova says her company completely shuts down from December 22 to January 3, and she's taking off the prior week, too. "Honestly, work isn't my top priority right now," she says. "My main focus is on my mental health. I do love my job, but I wouldn't sacrifice anything for it." Her boss doesn't hold it against her: Naumova's employer is proactive in promoting a "healthy relationship with work, especially for us Gen Z people," she says. "Lately, I've been dealing with some anxiety for personal reasons," she says, "so I just went to my boss, asked for some time off for mental health, support on a few projects, and decided to skip going to the office until the end of the year." Her company has a three days in-office policy, but Naumova will return to that schedule in January. That's generous by U.S. standards, where just 17% of workers say they're getting more remote work flexibility during the holiday season, according to Monster. Her colleagues encourage each other to fully unplug during their scheduled time away, too, which helps, she says. It's a well-communicated expectation that everyone should actually get to enjoy and decompress on holidays.

How she gets ready for her time off
Smoke rises over Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel on Dec. 9, 2023.

Israel ordered residents out of the center of Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis on Saturday and pounded the length of the enclave after the United States wielded its U.N. Security Council veto to shield its ally from a demand for a cease-fire.

Since a truce collapsed last week, Israel has expanded its ground assault into the southern half of the Gaza Strip by pushing into Khan Younis. Simultaneously, both sides have reported a surge in fighting in the north.

Israel said its campaign was making progress. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israeli forces had killed at least 7,000 Hamas militants so far, without saying how that estimate was reached and military chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi told soldiers, "We need to press harder."

An official toll of all deaths in Gaza compiled by the Palestinian health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave exceeded 17,700 on Saturday, with many thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble. The ministry has previously said about 40% of deaths were of children under 18.

CNBC couldn't independently verify the number of deaths reported.

Israel's Arabic-language spokesperson posted a map on X highlighting six numbered blocks of Khan Younis that residents were told to evacuate "urgently." They included parts of the city center that had not been subject to such orders before.

Israel issued similar warnings before storming eastern parts of the city and residents said they feared new evacuation orders heralded a further assault.

"It might be a matter of time before they act against our area too. We have been hearing bombing all night," said Zainab Khalil, 57, displaced with 30 of her relatives and friends in Khan Younis near Jalal Street where troops told people to leave.

"We don't sleep at night, we stay awake, we try to put the children to sleep and we stay up fearing the place would be bombed and we'll have to run carrying the children out. During the day begins another tragedy, and that is: how to feed the children?"

With food and medical supplies also scarce, a senior U.N. World Food Programme official said a new system was being tested to bring aid into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, potentially allowing imports to ramp up. However, Israel has not yet agreed to open the crossing.

The vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have already been forced from their homes, many fleeing several times. With fighting raging across the length of the territory, residents and U.N. agencies say there is now effectively nowhere safe to go, though Israel disputes this.

In Khan Younis, the dead and wounded arrived through the night at the overwhelmed Nasser hospital.

A medic ran out of an ambulance with the limp body of a small girl in a pink tracksuit. Inside, wounded children wailed and writhed on the tile floor as nurses raced to comfort them. Outside, bodies were lined up in white shrouds.
If an in-law lobs a passive aggressive comment or a more direct insult your way, "just agree and play along," she says. "Be very smiley."

Holidays at your in-laws' house is not one of them, says Sara Jane Ho , a Harvard-trained etiquette expert. Ho is the founder of the finishing school Institute Sarita, host of the Netflix show "Mind Your Manners," and author of an upcoming book, also called "Mind Your Manners."

There are many environments where it would benefit you to check any people-pleasing tendencies at the door: work, romantic relationships, even friendships.

No matter how rude your spouse's parents are, it's not your job to reprimand them, Ho says. It's your partner's job.

"If you want to piss off your in-laws, let your spouse do it, not you," she says.

In the moment you should only be agreeable. And you can let your spouse do the "dirty work" of explaining to their parents why certain comments are inappropriate, Ho says.

The same rule applies when your parents say something that makes your partner uncomfortable.

"You need to take care of your parents and they need to take care of their parents," Ho says.
Palestinians are inspecting the debris at the Jaffa Mosque, which was hit by an Israeli bombardment, in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on December 8, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Israel said Friday that the military was rounding up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation, searching for Hamas militants, while desperate Palestinians in the south crowded into an ever-shrinking area, and the U.N. warned that its aid operation is "in tatters."

The detentions pointed to Israeli efforts to secure the military's hold on northern Gaza as the war entered its third month. Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underscoring Hamas' heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The first images of mass detentions emerged Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, their hands bound behind their backs. Some had their heads bowed. U.N. monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys from the age of 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

In other developments, the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council that Gaza is at "a breaking point" and "there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system."

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the group's Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Israel's air and ground campaign initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south. A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where nearly the territory's entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

In central Gaza, Israeli planes on Friday dropped leaflets on the refugee camps of Nuseirat and Maghazi with a message for Hamas officials.

"To Hamas leaders: A life for a life, an eye for an eye and whoever started is to blame. If you punish, then punish with the like of that with which you were afflicted," the leaflet read, cobbling together a popular Arabic saying with a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

The leaflet left out the rest of the verse, which says it is better to patiently endure afflictions without retaliating.

Hours later, a strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.
With repayment of student loans starting again after a three-and-a-half year pause, college debt is top-of-mind for many borrowers who won't be eligible for new relief plans from the Biden administration. That could come at the expense of saving for retirement, as paying down these loans can cause Americans, especially prime-working-year Americans, to forgo saving for through tax-advantaged workplace plans like 401(k)s. But there's good news: After Jan. 1, more workers may be able to both pay off debt and build towards a more secure retirement.

A provision in the Secure 2.0 retirement-savings overhaul, which takes effect in January, allows employers to match employees' student loan payments with tax-advantaged contributions into their retirement accounts. This means that  starting as early as January  student loan borrowers from a host of employers could get matching funds without depositing money in their retirement account.

"Many people have to choose between paying down their student loans and contributing to a 401(k) because they don't have enough disposable income to do both," said John Newcome, senior consultant at Kelly Benefits Strategies. "Not only are they not saving for their future, they're leaving employer money on the table because they aren't taking advantage of the match."

Here's what employees, and their employers, need to know about the new opportunity:

Prime-working-year borrowers dominate $1.6 trillion in debt

There are about 43 million student-loan borrowers owing a collective $1.6 trillion, and borrowers in their prime working years have the highest portion of student-loan dollars outstanding. Not surprisingly, student loan debt can have a debilitating effect on people's overall finances.

Forty-six percent of student loan borrowers said their loans have impacted how much they contribute to their retirement plans, according to a recent Morning Consult survey of about 500 student-loan borrowers between the ages of 18 and 39. And a whopping 94% of young student-loan borrowers expressed interest in an employer-provided 401(k) contribution as they pay off school loans, according to the survey commissioned by Abbott , whose groundbreaking 401(k) matching program for student debt borrowers, introduced in 2018, paved the way for broader adoption.

Borrowers in the age group of 35 to 49 have the highest percentage of student-loan dollars outstanding, followed by those ages 25 to 34, according to federal student loan portfolio data. This data underscores the widespread benefit a matching program can have. Research has shown that employees who have "a strong financial footing in the short-term and the long-term tend to have longer tenure with an employer," said Tom Armstrong, vice president of customer analytics and insight at Voya Financial.

How a company student loan match will work

How much a company matches will depend on its 401(k)-plan design, said Melissa Elbert, partner of wealth solutions at Aon, a retirement benefits consultant for employers. In Abbott's case, for instance, employees who are eligible for the company's 401(k) and who apply at least 2% of their eligible salary toward paying down an eligible student loan will receive a 5% company contribution into their Abbott 401(k) annually. Employees don't have to put any money into their retirement plan to get this company contribution.

Why more employers should adopt the savings idea

Benefits consultants said the program stands to help companies attract and retain talent. Those that offer it will have a competitive advantage.

Abbott said its program has produced meaningful results. For starters, employees who participate in its Freedom 2 Save program are 19% more likely to stay at the company. What's more, some employees have managed to pay down all their student debt  as much as $60,000 over a few years  while amassing retirement savings, the company said. More than 2,600 total employees have enrolled since the program's inception, according to company data.

To help other companies considering this program, Abbott created a publicly available blueprint, with suggestions on how to get started. This includes notifying their record keeper and deciding whether to allow employees to self-certify their student loan payments.

"If more employers had a similar program, the impact on student loan debt would be significant," said Mary Moreland, the company's executive vice president of human resources.

Formal announcements are lacking, but many companies are in the process of evaluating the program with the intent to adopt it as soon as possible, said Joel Shapiro, president of the retirement division at NFP, a benefits consulting firm. "Virtually all of our clients are considering it. They realize that it's that important to their personnel," Shapiro said.

Why an employer would decide not to offer this benefit

Employers have limited dollars to use for benefits, so they have to determine where best to use them, said Kim Cochrane, retirement plan advisor and consultant at HUB International. She recommends employers survey their employees about their strongest needs. "Even if you offer a student-loan benefit and it only solves a need for 20% of your employees, that doesn't mean it's a bad thing," Cochrane said.

Companies are likely to incur additional costs since they will presumably be contributing matching funds for employees who didn't previously participate in the company's 401(k), Shapiro said. How much extra this could cost would depend on several factors, including how many people participate, which is why modeling is important, he said.

Other options to help workers with student loan debt

Some employers have programs to help employees pay down their student loans, without tying it to retirement.

Through the Cares Act and an extension, employers can pay up to $5,250 to repay employee student loans through December 31, 2025, tax-free to employees and tax-deductible for the employer. Newcome predicted that the tax-advantage is likely to be extended, but even if it isn't, some companies will continue to help with student debt payments because it's an important benefit for employees "staring down the barrel of debt."

Indeed, recent research from Voya found that 81% of working Americans with a student loan would be interested in participating in an employer-offered student loan repayment program and 83% agree or strongly agree that they would be more likely to work for an employer if the company offered student-loan debt repayment assistance. What's more, a notable 83% of working Americans with a student loan said they would save more money for retirement if their employer helped pay off their student loan debt, according to the research.

The data reinforces why many employers are looking for ways to help employees tackle student loan debt. Companies can choose to institute a matching program as well engage in more traditional repayment assistance, benefits providers said.

What employees should do

Employees should ask their companies if they plan to offer a 401(k)-matching benefit. If employers know that an employee needs a particular benefit, they may be more inclined to offer it, Cochrane said.

And, as soon as they are able, employees should commit or recommit to saving for retirement, Elbert said. "If you delay saving for retirement for 10 years, it could reduce your retirement savings by around 30%, so you're going to have to work for longer to make up for that. If the employer provides this benefit that will help a little bit, but it's not going to cover the full amount."
The desire for picture-perfect skin is creating a boom that investors can ride. Skincare has grown increasingly important to consumers with the rise of social media. Having  and sharing  a "routine" or "regimen" to protect the health of one's skin has become mainstream. Beauty sales are typically divided into four main categories. Skincare was the only one to post above-average growth on an annualized basis between both 2015-2019 and 2019-2022, per Euromonitor data. It's expected to grow at an average of 6% each year between 2022 and 2027, in line with the broader industry. Makeup and hair care are projected to show similar annualized growth from 2022-2027, but off a smaller base. Both categories also have had a choppier track record in recent years. Annualized growth in fragrance expected to rise at a more rapid pace of 7%, Euromonitor said. Global skincare is poised to crack the $200 billion mark by 2027, according to Statista . The firm's forecast amounts to a nearly 29% increase from 2018. 'Gorilla grip-like' stickiness Analysts posit that consumers tend to have more loyalty and trust associated with skincare brands than other areas like makeup. That can create stickiness in the skincare subsector that's good for long-term business. In other words, a typical purse may have name-brand face cleanser next to private-label mascara. If you look in that same purse a month later, the owner may have swapped their mascara brand, but likely not the cleanser's. "Beauty is kind of similar to having a Birkin but wearing a Target T-shirt," said TD Cowen analyst Oliver Chen, referencing the ultra-expensive Hermes bag. "Customers don't necessarily go, 'Oh, I'm this kind of shopper.'" Industry followers also noted that skincare is less cyclical than other beauty sectors. That's because it can be considered more of a necessity, while other beauty products can be characterized by consumers as a splurge. Because of this, consumers are viewed as less likely to switch to a cheaper brand of skincare or stop buying it altogether than other beauty items if personal finances deteriorate. "Just because she has less disposable income, she's not going to stop doing her skincare regimen," D.A. Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser said. Skincare has been able to sustain its pandemic boost after consumers started paying more attention to their products and skin health during lockdowns, according to Bolton Weiser. Makeup, on the other hand, has seen more tumultuous patterns: a lockdown-induced pullback was succeeded by a post-pandemic boom, only to now cool again as habits normalize. Men are also more likely to use skincare products while overlooking other subsectors, creating a bigger market for the former, analysts said. Some have gone so far as to argue that certain beauty companies should be seen as consumer staples rather than discretionary names given the modest cyclicality in skincare. The sector is also favored for its relative profitability. "There are some sort-of discretionary stocks that are really just like three staple stocks in a trench coat because they're not going anywhere," Motley Fool investment analyst Shelby McFaddin said. She added that the industry as a whole has "gorilla grip-like" stickiness. Stocks to watch Beauty companies typically span the gamut, offering products for everything from foundation to face wash. Some corporations are more exposed to the skincare subsector than others, but analysts said that isn't a silver bullet when deciding where to invest. Bolton Weiser and Chen both noted Estee Lauder has the largest share of business in skincare. But global skincare means exposure to China, which is actually a reason for pause on the stock. "If you're big in skincare, you're big in Asia," Bolton Weiser said. She said current challenges are more reflective of the lingering impacts of pandemic lockdowns and supply chain snarls than of demand itself. The stock has dropped 46% this year. But Wall Street sees a reprieve on the horizon: the average analyst has a buy rating and price target suggesting shares could add 7.5% in the next year, according to LSEG. Coty has been largely spared from these inventory problems given that it's less connected to skincare. However, Chen said that the product family can become a bigger part of Coty's story as the company looks to build out its market share in the category. The stock, which is less than $1 above where it finished 2019, has an average rating of hold from analysts. Still, the upside implied by the average price target is about 10%, per LSEG. COTY EL 5Y mountain Coty and Estee Lauder over the past half decade. Chen called Sephora parent LVMH a big winner to watch, saying it's extremely diversified within the beauty landscape. Retailer Ulta Beauty has become an industry favorite on Wall Street, with the average analyst surveyed by LSEG holding a buy rating and price target implying nearly 11% upside. The stock has underperformed the broader market this year, gaining just under 3%. Chen called Ulta one of his top retail stock picks around Black Friday alongside Walmart as consumers focus on value this holiday season. Ulta is a good choice because the company sells a range of beauty products across price levels, the analyst said. Ulta's attempts to broaden offerings for people of color could benefit shares in the long term as the importance of diversity and inclusion within beauty grows, Chen added. The retailer has an accelerator for early-stage beauty companies serving consumers from diverse backgrounds. Focus on innovation Increased innovation and medicalization of skincare is another industry trend market participants are watching. With this in mind, Strategy Asset Managers CEO Tom Hulick said L'Oreal is a company that is ahead of the curve on anti-aging science. He pointed to investments going back more than two decades in skin cell biology research. Motley Fool's McFaddin said L'Oreal has unique products that would be hard for consumers to part with such as creams to fight dark spots. The company is also less focused on brand esteem than competitors, making it better positioned to act in a promotional environment, she said. ELF YTD mountain E.l.f. this year In the same vein, Chen said E.l.f. Beauty is a particularly quick innovator. The company finished its $355 million acquisition of skincare brand Naturium in October. It has been a banner year for E.l.f., with shares up more than 130% since the start of 2023. The average analyst polled by LSEG sees more steam ahead with a buy rating and a price target reflecting the potential for another 10% gain. That climb comes amid a period of strong earnings and guidance. Notably, E.l.f. has raised its full-year outlook for the past two quarters. E.l.f. is known for its marketing on TikTok in a bid to reach younger consumers. It's a popular place for finding products and brands given the ubiquity of "get-ready-with-me" videos and the growth of influencer marketing. Clips captioned with the hashtag #SkincareRoutine have garnered more than 71 billion views on the ByteDance-owned platform as of early December.
AVDIIVKA, UKRAINE - DECEMBER 7: Ukrainian military soldiers fire from the MT-12 or 2A29 gun "Rapira" is a Soviet smoothbore 100-mm anti-tank gun on December 7, 2023 in Avdiivka, Ukraine. Both Ukraine and Russia have recently claimed gains in the Avdiivka, where Russia is continuing a long-running campaign to capture the city, located in the Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Region. (Photo by Kostya Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

Russian warplanes fired 19 long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine on Friday, killing one civilian in a central region, wounding eight and damaging an industrial facility and power lines, Ukrainian officials said.

On the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line in the war against Russia, Ukrainian officials said Moscow's forces pressed on with a drive to encircle the shattered eastern town of Avdiivka.

Officials also reported heavy battles in the northeast near Kupiansk, a town seized by Russian forces soon after their February 2022 invasion but later retaken by Ukraine.

The missile strike on Friday morning was the first big salvo Russia has fired at targets, including the Ukrainian capital, in weeks. Russia has mainly been using drones for its overnight attacks.

One person was killed and eight injured in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app. Two wounded were in serious condition.

Air defenses shot down 14 incoming missiles over the region outside Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk region, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments.

The strike damaged power lines, an unnamed industrial facility and more than 20 homes in the towns of Pavlohrad and Ternivka and two villages, Lysak said. Images from the site, posted on social media, showed buildings with damaged rooftops and shattered windows.

Russia used seven Tu-95 bombers to launch missiles at different regions across the country, the air force said.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said the Ukrainian capital had been targeted but that all the missiles were downed by air defenses as they approached.

Missile debris smashed windows and walls in private homes in the Kyiv region, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said, with air alerts in force for two hours.

Officials reported an earlier overnight missile attack on the northeastern Kharkiv region.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill testifies before a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing titled "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., on Dec. 5, 2023.

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned on Saturday after receiving criticism for her testimony at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism where she struggled to answer a question about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated the college's rules.

UPenn Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok also said he would step down following the announcement of Magill's resignation.

Magill decided to "voluntarily" tender her resignation but will remain a tenured faculty member at the university's law school, according to a UPenn statement.

Magill and Penn's Board of Trustees did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Magill has faced mounting pressure to resign over the past few days after she wavered on whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate Penn's code of conduct at a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing.

Over 70 lawmakers signed a bipartisan letter on Friday calling for the resignation of Magill, along with Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, who similarly floundered on the question.

"One down. Two to go," said House Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, the congressmember who posed the question at Tuesday's hearing. "This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most 'prestigious' higher education institutions in America."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 9)  Three crew members of a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel have been declared dead after they were found unconscious while their ship was sailing in the waters off Bolinao, Pangasinan on Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday.

The bulk carrier ship MV Blue Cecil was from Portland, United States and was headed to Singapore as its next port of call.

The PCG said BRP Malabrigo was ordered to coordinate with the foreign vessel for a meetup in the waters off North of Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro, to assist in the transfer of its deceased crew members.

The foreign vessel intends to anchor at the vicinity waters off the Manila Anchorage Area, the PCG added.

According to the PCG, the company of the foreign vessel has already arranged the transfer of the deceased seafarers and had coordinated their arrival at the Port of Manila.
Part of a California law allowing three-strikes inmates to seek reductions in their life sentence if their third felony conviction was neither serious nor violent was ruled invalid Friday by a state appeals court. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Part of a California law allowing three strikes inmates to seek reductions in their life sentence if their third felony conviction was neither serious nor violent was ruled invalid Friday by a state appeals court, which said it conflicted with the voters intent to protect the public.

In a separate case Friday, another state appeals court relied on another section of the same law to order resentencing, with a possible release from prison, for a man serving 11 years for a 2016 assault conviction.

The 2021 law, SB483 by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, was a follow-up to Proposition 36, the 2012 ballot measure that narrowed the three strikes law approved by the voters in 1994.

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Three strikes required a prison sentence of 25 years to life for anyone with two past convictions for serious or violent felony who was convicted of any new felony. Those with one prior serious or violent felony conviction would have their sentence doubled for a second felony conviction.

Prop. 36 barred a 25-to-life term for inmates whose third felony had not been serious or violent, unless the sentencing judge decided that the inmate would be dangerous if released. SB483 tightened that standard by requiring a sentence reduction unless the judge found by clear and convincing evidence that the inmate would pose a danger.

But the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Ventura said the new standard was inconsistent with the will of the voters who approved Prop. 36.

The 2012 ballot measure was intended to balance (easing) the harshness of the original Three Strikes law with protecting public safety, Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert wrote in the 2-1 ruling, citing a state Supreme Court decision that upheld Prop. 36. SB483, as applied to the case before the court, unconstitutionally eliminates the public safety half of the balance, Gilbert said.

Prop. 36 allowed the Legislature to change its provisions by two-thirds majority votes in both houses, but SB483 was approved by only a majority vote, noted Gilbert, an appointee of former Gov. Jerry Brown. He was joined in the majority by Justice Kenneth Yegan, appointed by former Gov. George Deukmejian.

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In dissent, Justice Hernaldo Baltodano, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, contended there was no conflict between SB483 and Prop. 36. Quoting language in the 2021 law, he said both measures were intended to ensure equal justice and address systemic racial bias in sentencing.

And in this case, he said, the finding that defendant Edgardo Ortiz Guevara could be dangerous if released had been made by a judge at a 2015 hearing and was not reargued by the prosecutor at his latest hearing in June, when the judge ordered him released. That ruling was blocked by the appeals court, and he remains in prison.

Guevara was convicted of felony spousal abuse in Santa Barbara County in 2009 and, because of two prior convictions for serious felonies, was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison. Because state law does not classify that crime as a serious or violent felony, he was eligible to seek a reduced sentence under Prop. 36, but a judge reaffirmed his life sentence in 2015, citing evidence that he was a gang member and had possessed blade weapons in prison.

Based on SB483, Superior Court Judge Von T. Nguyen Deroian reduced Guevaras spousal-abuse sentence in June to eight years that he has already served, but the appeals court overturned that ruling Friday. His lawyers could seek review in the state Supreme Court.

The decision prevented a dangerous individual from being automatically released by bypassing the three-strikes and parole processes, said Marguerite Clipper Charles, a deputy district attorney in Santa Barbara County.

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The California District Attorneys Association also argued against the sentence reduction, but Attorney General Rob Bontas office, which usually sides with the prosecution, asked the court to uphold the challenged section of SB483 in Guevaras favor. So did Michael Romano, director of the Three Strikes Project at Stanford Law School, which worked to pass both Prop. 36 and SB483.

The idea that Prop. 36 was intended to be the sole remedy for nonviolent Three Strikers and proactively foreclosed future reforms is just not true, Romano said Friday.

In another case, the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego cited SB483 to order a new sentencing hearing for Robert Carter Jr., who pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in 2016 and is serving an 11-year term because of a previous felony conviction.

Riverside County prosecutors had consented to Carters current sentence in a plea agreement, and argued in the current case that they should be allowed to withdraw the plea agreement if the judge plans to reduce the sentence. Another state appeals court had agreed with that argument in a case from Del Norte County in October, but the 4th District disagreed Friday.

The 2021 law was intended to reduce excessive sentences, and In our view, the Legislatures clear directive is that any reduction of the defendants sentence on resentencing shall not be a basis for the prosecutor or the court to withdraw from a plea agreement, Justice Martin Buchanan wrote in a 3-0 decision.
Check out how the field of medicine worked in the past, and it looks laughably primitive at best. At worst, youll have trouble believing anyone could possibly have agreed to the sort of stuff they got up to back then. It sounds like someones playing a joke on you by telling you these facts  or like someone was playing a joke on the patient. This is true whether were talking about stuff in ancient times or even medical practices from a generation or two ago.

The same may be true when our distant descendants look back at our own strange ways of healing each other. To them, it will sound like we were all living in a horror movie. Or, as with the following practices, like we were all living in a porno.

4  Medical Examinations? Sounds More Like Sex to Me  Doctors have grown more and more skilled at looking inside our bodies to spy whats going wrong in there. Only occasionally do they now need to slice us open to peer within (a method that, originally, worked best on dead subjects, or swiftly resulted in dead subjects). We instead came up with X-rays, then ultrasound, then CT, then PET, then MRI and more. Conceivably, in the future, doctors will scan patients and learn everything they need to know, noninvasively, with zero discomfort. At that point, how do you think someone will feel looking back at a gyno examination chair, which spread the patients legs apart? Medwish Oh, so this is some 21st-century sex swing? We call these doctor visits intimate exams, and our friend from the future, whom we contact via time travel (lets call them Zarno), will think this was a most intimate encounter indeed. More details about this exam would seem to confirm their suspicions that this was just sex with extra steps. The doctor inserts his fingers into the woman? In the future, they call this fingerbanging, and it is an exclusively sexual practice. If the doctor is palpating the patient with the other hand at the same time, as is standard, Zarno can only assume this is an attempt to deliver two kinds of orgasm. As for the practice of putting fingers in the vagina and anus simultaneously, well, Zarno is an expert at this move and cant imagine how the doctor fooled anyone into thinking this served a medical purpose. Advertisement Of course, gynecologys normal today, and the taboo against gynecology is currently a relic of a dumber era. But the timeline of medicine isnt a simple progression from ew, sex to its no big deal. You know how, today, we hear 19th-century stories of doctors masturbating women as a supposed hysteria cure? Haha, I bet both doctor and patient got a kick out of that! we say. Zarno will say the same thing about us. National Cancer Institute In Zarnos time, this is a sex manual, given to each curious first-timer. As for men, its not like their checkups are especially chaste. A doctor inserts fingers into male patients as well  and Zarno is hardly surprised at this point, because if a patient has no vagina, and they go to the doctor for sex, the anus is the most obvious route. You might explain that men needed rectal exams for their prostates, and this just proves Zarnos point. Surely some scan existed that could detect the prostates size, but if you want the prostate massaged, for the sake of pleasure, fingers are the only way. And the doctor would cup the guys balls at the same time? How could that not be sexual? Advertisement No, no, youd say. This was all very professional. For starters, in all these examinations, whether on men or women, the doctor would be wearing latex gloves. Latex?! says Zarno. Thats what you just told me 21st-century folk used to wear during sex, on their penises!

3  Tampons? Thats a Band-Aid Solution  A Perverted One Youve surely already heard a run-down of peoples issues with tampons, whether from someone extolling the virtues of their menstrual cup or a stand-up comedian who decided to riff on the first thing they saw when they were brainstorming jokes back at home. Or maybe you heard about some culture that never used tampons and now are scandalized by the idea. Maybe you dismissed this latter group as old-fashioned prudes. Right now, though, imagine someone looking at tampons not as a new solution but as something people used centuries ago. Zarno might look at one and say, When you were bleeding, you just plugged yourself up? Why didnt you stop the bleeding, once and for all? Annie Spratt/Unsplash If I cough up blood, I dont put cotton in my mouth. I seek treatment. Advertisement Advertisement In Zarnos time, people still naturally menstruate  genes wont evolve past that anytime soon. But stopping menstruation is a trivial matter of getting the right hormones in your system, and everyone in the future takes that route. The only reason to ever dispense with hormones and grow a thick uterine lining will be if you want to get pregnant, at which point your periods will halt for a new reason. Pregnancy, by the way, will happen the moment you want it to, and no other time, thanks to an easy procedure theyll invent. People will have as much sex as they like, but they wont have sex in order to get pregnant. The very idea of thinking about babies while in the middle of sex will sound deeply wrong. Even in the 20th century, the birth-control pill could have largely eliminated periods, but the usual course of the medication involved a week of needless placebo pills that made women bleed on schedule. The motivation behind these placebo pills is disputed; one confusing explanation is doctors thought youd forget to take your pill if you stopped getting periods. Zarno wont understand this at all. Then theyll get a look at this device that people used to treat the symptoms of periods, not the cause: Jamin Mahmood Advertisement Oh, they say. I get it now. Thats a sex toy. It most definitely was not, you say, and this takes some convincing. To Zarno, the idea that people tried to just soak up blood in this way still sounds absurd. After all, when people bled for other reasons, from some injury, no one ever stuffed cotton into their wounds, right? As it happened, people did do that to deal with wounds, hence the popular (but misleading) factoid that tampons were originally used to treat gunshots. But Zarno doesnt know this, and it takes additional arguing from you to explain theres nothing erotic about inserting a tampon. Fine, says Zarno eventually, but whoever invented this must have thought there was. Advertisement Clearly, some dude enjoyed the thought of where this phallic object was going. Clearly, that dude went on to become King. Advertisement

2  Podiatrist? You Mean Foot Fetishist With each decade, feet become more sexualized. Not so long ago, when people saw bare feet pop up repeatedly on-screen, they had no idea this proved the directors predilection for such imagery, and it fell to us to inform the world. Weve moved from there to the present, in which some noted figures refuse to ever show feet in public, for fear of fans gratifying themselves over the sight. Ayo Ogunseinde/Unsplash We refuse to include a toe pic here, out of respect. Clearly, the day will come when feet are considered the most erotic body part of all. Also, well have eliminated all of todays foot issues, thanks to technological advancements in footwear. So, people of the future will look back with extreme skepticism on the idea that foot medicine was its own specialty. For someone to pursue medicine and then to decide to dedicate their career to fondling feet rather than saving lives, well, Zarno knows only one possible reason for that: a foot fetish. Advertisement In reality, while podiatrists are not MDs, they are indeed doctors. They completed four years of postgraduate education plus years of residency in addition to the basic bachelors degree. Other doctors pursue careers in urology or gynecology without any sexual urge of their own guiding them, but this point wont convince Zarno, who already does believe those doctors are sex fiends. Also, some of those doctors are sex fiends, which is all the ammo Zarno needs to condemn them all. Wine France/Wiki Commons Plus, look at all this outcry over pedophiles. That word means people who like feet, right? Advertisement And what about this reflexology, asks Zarno next. Are you going to tell me that these people, who rubbed feet without any medical degree, were legit, and the clients were actual patients? No, you concede. They were not legit. Those people must have been perverts  practitioners and patients both. Advertisement
The secret to Triumph the Insult Comic Dogs success is a great marriage for him to poop on.

Robert Smigel has been a household name to comedy fans since he originated the position of head writer on Late Night with Conan OBrien in 1993  but Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is even better known by anyone who has ever had a bone to pick with Star Wars superfans, American Idol contestants or the Democratic National Convention. With one of the most illustrious IMDb pages in comedy, Smigels single most impressive achievement is making a bow tie-wearing, cigar-smoking dog puppet the most popular insult comic on TV  well, actually, its his second most awe-inspiring accomplishment, behind marrying fellow comedy writer and producer Michelle Saks.

On a recent episode of Conan OBrien Needs a Friend, Smigel discussed the origins of his venerated ventriloquism act, revealing that the original Triumph puppet was actually purchased by Saks after Smigel absolutely nailed an impromptu bit while furniture shopping. Some couples split up because of a cataclysmic trip to IKEA  the Smigels turn couch shopping into comedy history.

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I have to credit my wife, Smigel explained when Conan asked about the origins of the character that quickly became a star on Late Night in the late 1990s. I found Triumph on this rack of whimsical puppets when we were newlyweds and we were hunting for furniture, Smigel recalled, I immediately put on one of the dog puppets, (and I) sniffed her ass with it right in the furniture store. And, of course, she found it funny, because she's the perfect woman for me.

Saks' perfection wouldn't stop there, however  as Smigel remembered, Then she surprised me in February, two months later with seven of these puppets. And that gave me the idea for this Westminster thing, referencing Triumph's first ever appearance on Late Night when, in February 1997, Conan brought him on to parody the prestigious Westminster Dog Show in a cabaret-style puppet show that ended with Triumph's first-ever insult comedy set.

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From there, Triumph took off as arguably the greatest original character from Conan's late-night run, and he continues to poop on his targets today. Smigel and Saks went on to have three children together and are still happily married  and, if Smigel ever runs into writer's block, he can always just ask his wife to help him pick out a chaise lounge.
In 2022 Ukraine conducted a crowdfunding campaign to raise $25 million so Ukraine could build at least a hundred USVs (Unmanned Surface Vessels). These were used to carry out a series of attacks on Russian warships, ports, and other coastal targets in Black Sea. Ukraine needed to protect its coastal waters and use of the Black Sea for shipping that carried Ukrainian exports and imports.

Ukrainian President Zelensky backed the USV program because Ukraine didnt have any warships and the Russian Black Sea Fleet was vulnerable because Turkey has threatened to close the Dardanelles strait to additional Russian warships seeking to enter the Black Sea and reinforce the depleted Russian Black Sea Fleet. The narrow Dardanelles is the only way in or out of the Black Sea and an international treaty allows Turkey to limit warships access to the Dardanelles in wartime. Turkey is more concerned about the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea and the continued movement of ships carrying Ukrainian grain out and commercial cargo for Ukraine coming into the Black Sea.

Ukraine did not invent the concept of USVs but did find new ways to use them in wartime. Ukraine, a country without warships, has used UAVs, USVs and guided missile and glide bombs to attack and disable Russian naval bases in the Black Sea and gradually destroy the Russian Black Sea Fleet. This reduced Russian naval activity in the Black Sea and eliminated a major threat to commercial shipping and use of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The Russian Black Sea Fleet had been a source of attacks on the south by launching Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities.

Ukraines USVs have also proved effective at destroying or disabling Russian warships in the Black Sea and forcing the surviving warships to move to more distant ports. This includes the primary Russian naval bases in the Black Sea, which were Sevastopol in Crimea and Novorossiysk on the east coast of the Black Sea. Novorossiysk had a small naval base facility added in 2012. Ukrainian UAVs and USVs succeeded in driving the Russian Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol so Novorossiysk is being used to host its surviving remnants. While Novorossiysk is mainly a commercial port, exporting oil and other goods produced in the area and handling most of the imports, most of that has been halted because the Ukrainian USVs make the Black Sea a dangerous place for Russian ships of any type.

Even Novorossiysk is not safe from the USVs and now Russia is considering building a naval base and a shipyard in Georgia, a small country over 800 kilometers from Crimea and the port of Sevastopol. Ukraines present USVs normally have a maximum range of 800 kilometers and a top speed of 80 kilometers an hour, so theyll need new ones to hit any new Russian port in Georgia.
George Santos seamless transition from disgraced former congressman to Cameo star is an even more iconic career evolution than the time Santos branched out from Destinys Child and went sextuple platinum with his debut solo album Dangerously In Love.

The House of Representatives has long been a Mecca to those born without shame, but, for so many unrepentant con-men, their clowning careers end the second the electorate loses interest in their antics. Santos, however, is in a different strata of compulsively lying congresspeople, and his ambitions stretch far beyond Capitol Hill  hes coming for the whole world, $500 at a time. Following his expulsion from Congress, Santos joined the bespoke celebrity shout-out platform Cameo to sell short videos to adoring fans and amused foes alike, quickly making more money off of birthday wishes and bizarre advice videos in two days than he ever earned from his congressional salary. Santos has even filled Cameo commissions from the likes of Jimmy Kimmel and Democratic senator John Fetterman as they attempted to humiliate the Republican firebrand, but these embarrassments have done nothing to stop Santos from raking in the rewards of being famous and shameless.

Santos fee started at $200 when he first tapped into the potential of Cameo, but his price continues to climb as his popularity on the platform increases exponentially. Cameo cofounder Steven Galanis has called Santos an absolute whale for his immensely profitable profile, and, thanks to one passionate whale-watcher, almost 100 of these custom videos are available for viewing on the TikTok channel @georgiescameos. Here are the funniest requests Santos has fulfilled, from Furries to facial injections
Sweet and adorable tend not to be words associated with Batman, but then again, neither is Christmas. Which is why Merry Little Batman, which premiered yesterday on Prime Video, is an endearing addition to a franchise thats been in our lives on the big or small screen in some capacity since we were born. This is hardly the first time someone came up with the idea of making the Dark Knight funny, but this animated movies kid-friendly vibe and generally good-natured spirit is rare for Gothams most famous resident. Even when the humor gets too juvenile and the plot goes slack, Merry Little Batman is a minor little yuletide treat. Its fun to see Bruce Wayne as a sappy single dad.

Directed by Mike Roth, the film is actually more about Batmans kid, Damian (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), an eight-year-old who dreams of being a crimefighter like his pop. Its almost Christmas, and he lives in big, empty Wayne Manor with Bruce (a very appealing Luke Wilson) and Alfred (James Cromwell). Whos his mom? The film is coy about her identity, but if you know your Batman lore, theres one hint that makes it fairly obvious. Regardless, Merry Little Batman explains that, when Damian was born, Batman decided to double his efforts to clean up lawlessness, resulting in a Gotham City thats now lauded as the safest place in the world. (As an example of this movies breezy, non-cutting sense of humor, Arkham Asylum has been transformed into Arkham Daycare.) Batmans arch-enemies are either in jail or in retirement. Life is good.

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Still, raising a willful boy like Damian is tricky, especially when he keeps bugging Bruce for superhero gadgets for Christmas. Bruce, reasonably, thinks Damian is too young, but he does surprise his son with a utility belt  albeit one thats more of a caped-crusader starter kit. (For instance, the bat-boomerang is made of harmless foam.) Damian is impatient to grow up, but he loves his dad, who he looks up to, not fully appreciating that Bruce wants nothing more than to ensure that his son doesnt have the same traumatic childhood that he had.

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Their father-son domestic bliss is interrupted when, for the first time in years, Batman gets a ring on the bat-phone, being sent on a mission by the Justice League to take care of a problem in Nova Scotia. He hates to abandon his boy on Christmas Eve, but duty calls, with Bruce insisting that Damian stay at Wayne Manor until he gets back.

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Soon enough, however, it becomes apparent that Batman has been lured away as part of a nefarious plan to rob Gothams wealthiest homes by two clumsy sidekicks of a mysterious supervillain. No worries, though: This allows Damian to have an opportunity to try out his Batman skills. In a clear nod to Home Alone, he takes care of the crooks thanks to some mildly violent hijinks, although they do escape with his utility belt. Scared that his dad will be mad at him for letting the belt be stolen  thereby demonstrating hes not mature enough yet to be a superhero  Damian goes after them, learning that they work for the Joker (David Hornsby), whos ready to start trouble after a long hiatus.

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Long before Tim Burton and Micheal Keaton gave us 1989s blockbuster Batman, the Dark Knight had been portrayed on television and movies in the form of Adam Wests campy interpretation. That was an era before Hollywood really took comic books seriously, so treating a guy running around in a silly costume as a big joke seemed the right approach. It was only after Burton brought a gloomy grandeur to the property, inspired by the more hard-edged graphic novels, that Batman became the Batman most modern audiences think of. (Not that those movies didnt have their share of wry one-liners.) Not long after, though, Joel Schumachers Batman films, especially 1997s love-it-or-hate-it Batman & Robin, reintroduced a cheeky sense of humor  arguing that, honestly, a real-life Batman is kind of ridiculous, right? In the ensuing years, Batman has veered back and forth between dark and light: The Christopher Nolan trilogy treated Bruce Wayne as a complicated, tormented figure, while the Batman of The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie (voiced ingeniously by Will Arnett) was a loving sendup of the characters most overwrought qualities.

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DC has worked overtime ensuring that viewers of every age will get a little Batman in their lives at all times. Between Batman: The Animated Series, Teen Titans, Gotham, DC League of Super-Pets and the big-budget movies with Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, you really cant escape the Dark Knight. Merry Little Batman is a minor addition to that canon, but its modesty is one of its best qualities. Its not as funny as, say, The Lego Batman Movie, but its also not as smugly backslapping, either. There are definitely insider-y jokes that only work if youve invested a good chunk of your waking hours thinking about Batman  naturally, Batman & Robin gets poked  but its prevailing ambition is to be an enjoyable, touching Christmas story involving Bruce, his son and some of Batmans most notorious foes. Theres never really any danger or big stakes in Merry Little Batman  its mostly a way to kill some time during the holidays with your kids. You could do a lot worse.

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This largely snarkless comedy is very much pitched to an audience about the age of Damian, the jokes tending to be of the Oh, brother! level of sophistication. (At one point, a frustrated Joker declares hes so fed up hes gonna move to Metropolis.) I wouldnt describe the film as especially witty  although there is one bit about Batmans potential death thats really sharp  but its sweetness isnt cloying. And in its own quiet way, Merry Little Batman does satirize the Batman mythology, without calling much attention to that fact.

Simply having Bruce be a single dad gives the film an amusing take on the Caped Crusader: This isnt a brooding Batman but, rather, a regular guy just trying to figure things out. (Hilariously, this Bruce does possess a magnificently over-the-top jawline, truly the most important aspect of being a good Batman.) Watching the Dark Knight have to put up with an eight-year-old is consistently endearing, especially because he clearly loves the kid and is glad to have hung up his bat-outfit to be a full-time father. The juxtaposition of our image of who Batman is supposed to be versus the Batman we see here is Merry Little Batmans best running joke.

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While Batman finds himself stuck in Nova Scotia  the cold weather knocks out his jet as well as his communications capabilities  its up to Damian to save the day, taking on the Joker and other familiar baddies like the Penguin, Bane and Poison Ivy. I dont think its a spoiler to report that the kid will demonstrate hes got the goods, but hell also learn some heartfelt lessons along the way  as will his superhero dad. I rarely LOLed during Merry Little Batman, but I appreciated its easy-going approach to tweaking the property, finding fresh ways to mock Batman and the Jokers two-sides-of-the-same-coin feud and suggest that Mr. Freezes ice-related puns really suck.

None of this is groundbreaking comedy, but Merry Little Batmans gentle subversion of Batmans Why so serious? legacy is a balm all the same. Few Batman movies are about the love of family  the dudes so busy being a weird loner he barely has time for anyone  but this one, happily, is. This is hardly the most compelling Bruce Wayne, but hes easily the warmest. Yes, we all know he lost his parents at a young age  that doesnt mean he cant still have a holly jolly Christmas.
Dependence on network time

The Air Interface Encryption ( AIE ) keystream relies on network time, which is publicly broadcast in an unauthenticated manner. This allows for decryption oracle attacks and may lead to loss of confidentiality and authenticity. This vulnerability is deemed critical.

CVE-2022-24401  This problem can be fixed by installing a firmware upgrade.  This problem can be fixed by installing a firmware upgrade. Backdoor in TEA1

The TEA1 algorithm has a backdoor that reduces the original 80-bit key to a size which is trivially brute-forceable on consumer hardware in minutes. This is a critical flaw that leads to loss of confidentiality and authenticity. The researchers believe that this is a deliberately created weakness to provide intelligence services access to the traffic.

CVE-2022-24402  This problem can be fixed by using E2EE on top of TEA1.  This problem can be fixed by usingon top of TEA1. Lack of ciphertext authentication

The lack of ciphertext authentication of AIE allows for malleability attacks. This may eventually lead to loss of authenticity.

CVE-2022-24404  This problem can be fixed by installing a firmware upgrade.  This problem can be fixed by installing a firmware upgrade. Weak anonymisation

The cryptographic scheme used to obfuscate radio identities, has a weak design that allows attackers to deanonymize and track users.

CVE-2022-24403  This problem can be fixed by using E2EE on top of TEA1.  This problem can be fixed by usingon top of TEA1. DCK can be set to 0

A flaw in the authentication algorithm allows attackers to set the Derived Cipher Key ( DCK ) to 0. This may lead to loss of authenticity and partial loss of confidentially.

CVE-2022-24400  This problem can be fixed by migrating to TAA2 (long-term).  This problem can be fixed by migrating to TAA2 (long-term).
The Danish Straits are the only exit from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Russia uses this route to move two million barrels of oil exports a day. That requires about three Aframax class tankers. The Afra stands for, Average Freight Rate Assessment. This is about insurance for the ship and its cargo of oil and is popular with this ships that transport about 600,000 barrels of oil. This is a popular capacity because tankers that size can user most ports to unload the oil after docking and connecting to a local oil pipeline system. Larger tankers require a deepwater oil discharge point father out to sea where the water is deep enough to handle the deep draft of tankers that carry two million or more barrels of oil.

Russia has a problem with its oil exports because of Western economic sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. The sanctions sought to put limits on how much money Russia could make with its oil exports. The sanctions limited how much oil Russia could export and how much they could charge for it. This led to less oil entering world markets and that drove up the average oil price. That was another incentive for Russia to smuggle oil and thats what was going on in the Danish Straits, where unidentified, and possibly uninsured, Aframax tankers were believed to be carrying Russian oil to international customers that were willing to accept smuggled oil, especially at a slightly lower price to reflect the risks of dealing with illegal goods. Much of the smuggled oil went out via the Danish Straits because the Danes only had a few small (280 ton) Diana-class Patrol Vessels to police this traffic and these boats were not enough. Their armament consists of two 12.7mm machine-guns per boat and a crew of nine. Thats not enough firepower to intimidate a much larger tanker and not enough sailors for boarding parties to inspect the tankers.

Once in the North Sea and then the Atlantic Ocean, the unidentified, unregistered and possibly uninsured tankers carrying embargoed Russian oil head for distant ports where cargoes of petroleum lacking the proper paperwork are purchased at a discount. The sanctions limit the price of Russia can receive for its oil to $60 a barrel. If Russia can effectively conceal the origins of its oil exports, they can get a higher price. The smaller Aframax type tankers are the perfect size for oil smugglers because Aframax class ships are able to dock and unload cargo in just about any commercial port.
A country without political forecasters is like a church without a prophet.

It lacks direction and misses crucial messages. I cannot blame my fellow emaSwati for lacking this very crucial personality trait. How I wish I also have it! The school system does not provide lessons on political science, comparative politics as a field of political science, international relations, justice and philosophy.

In Eswatini, I am yet to see a tertiary institution with a fully fledged Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Philosophy and Justice Studies.The only liberal course we have is law and history. Journalists are fortunate that they are exposed to a variety of disciplines. They interact with a host of professionals. Overall, the education system does not produce forecasters and scientists in politics. I am lacking as well. This is what the late Mhlatane High School Head teacher and Liqoqo member Michael Waqunga Dlamini used to complain about. He was of the view that political science should be taught at secondary school.

Recognisably, we do have politicians and political leaders in our beautiful country. It is important though that I mention that political leadership is not defined by a book. Instead, it is defined by us as a nation. It is a pity that a nation that does not have political forecasters is sitting on a ticking time bomb. It is always reactionary to calamities and it is always vulnerable to political shocks. A nation with forecasters is proactive. Politics is like weather. It keeps on changing. Therefore, it is critically important that we subject it to regular forecasts. If Eswatini had forecasters, they would have long predicted how emaSwati may conduct themselves at the Peoples Parliament of 2028 or 2033.

Importance

In fact, a think-tank with excellent advisory skills, honest and loyal to emaSwati and their leaders, would have analysed and provided data for the political consciousness of our future generations. In 2012 and 2016, William Mkhaliphi from Vuvulane spoke his mind about issues of national importance. He was 82 years in 2016. He was not just a young man but he openly criticised the royal family inside the cattle byre.

Reports emerged that he was assaulted by police after he had made his submissions. His wife, Ntombi Lessiah Dlamini, was terribly heartbroken when she saw her husband being attacked by the law enforcers. She later collapsed and died from a stroke-related illness. Mkhaliphi alleged that his wife was affected by the incident wherein she saw police trampling upon her husband. Mkhaliphi was adamant that his wife would still be alive were it not for the abuse he suffered at the hands of the police. His sin, he said, was openly talking about issues that affected farmers around Vuvulane.

That was very bad of us a country to condone this unprofessional police conduct. Let me return to the subject. If you want to learn the skill of political forecasting, one ought to start with the basics: Will Cyril Ramaphosa win the 2024 presidential elections in South Africa? The question why do you say that leads you to the acquisition of excellent political forecasting skills.

Why did Mkhaliphi speak like this? How many Mkhaliphis will attend Sibaya in 2018, 2023, 2028 or how many liberal minds the country shall have among the traditional regiments? I foresee members of Inyatsi and other regiments speaking undiluted politics in 2033. Instead of forecasting the future, the police assaulted Mkhaliphi for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of expression. Eswatini has a youthful population and the literacy rate is improving. Jobs that were previously reserved for Standard Two dropouts are now being occupied by those who completed Form V certificate holders.

I know of several university graduates who are public transport drivers. When Sibaya probably reconvenes next year, a good forecaster will tell you that it may be dominated by liberal minds. They will openly question sacred cultures and politics of the country. They will speak about these issues inside the cattle byre. Lets briefly analyse the 2023 Peoples Parliament to get to know what I am talking about. Inside the cattle byre, some people exercised bravery and called for the release of former members of Parliament Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube.

Appreciation

Responding to a question on who should be appointed into the office of prime minister, they suggested that the King should appoint self-exiled Mduduzi Gawuzela Simelane. They knew Simelane is a fugitive from law. Without fear, they suggested that the former Siphofaneni MP should return to the country to lead government. Our analysis must not only be bias towards those who made such a submission but the receivers. How did they receive the message? Its a fact that they were not booed but some people clapped hands in apparent appreciation of what they had submitted to the leaders of the country. . Mind you, we were made to understand that the appointing authority was listening to the submissions. Were they heckling? Certainly not! They knew the appointing authority would not accept this recommendation. They only wanted to send a statement. This is the very statement that must teach us to predict the future. Ten years ago, such a statement would not have been made inside the cattle byre.

What has changed?

If we were to predict or forecast correctly or incorrectly, Sibaya is becoming a liberal platform. I would not be surprised at hearing political slogans being chanted inside Sibaya. It is time that we sit down and devise a good political strategy for the country. The political economy of the country is in our hands and we are keeping it for the future generations. Sometime ago, I hinted on the seven generation stewardship. I urged the nation to embrace this concept. It is a concept that urges the current generation of humans to live and work for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future. If you are a minister today, you create a working environment for the politician who shall be in charge of your current ministry in the year 2100.

The Seventh Generation Principle, therefore, is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. Current humans in power should bear in good mind that whatever decision they take, they are basically taking resolutions that will affect the future leaders of the country. I mean those who will be in charge of Eswatini in 2100 or 2170 when all of us living in the present would have long died. Incorporating this concept into our economic and political system definitely speak to the concept of good political forecasting.

Why 10 senators didnt campaign?

Four women representing regions have been elected to the House of Assembly. They are now lawful legislators entrusted with the responsibility to serve the interests of emaSwati. In terms of Section 86 (1) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini), the House of Assembly shall form itself into an electoral college and elect four women on a regional basis. This occurs when it does appear that female members of Parliament do not constitute 30 per cent of the total membership.

According to the Constitution, the list of nominated candidates shall be published in at least two local newspapers and the electronic media on at least three consecutive days. After 10 days from the date of last publication, the House shall meet to vote for one woman from each of the regions. Electoral procedure is spelt out in the supreme law and I am happy with this arrangement. The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), which is in charge of the elections, also delegated powers to Parliament to introduce campaigns for the candidates. Prior to election day; the electoral college had been made to understand and analyse the candidates legal knowledge, understanding of society and culture, verbal communication skills, analytical thinking skills and the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning.

They knew who they should elect to represent Manzini, Hhohho, Shiselweni and Lubombo. It may be a valid argument and a very compelling school of thought that the majority rule compromises quality. If quality is guaranteed in an election system or in a democracy setting, Dr. Comfort Shongwe, Vusi Mkhumane, Gideon Mhlongo, Mphilo Dlamini, among others, would be members of Parliament. Therefore, I put it to the world that popularity shall always define the outcome of an election.

If quality is guaranteed, five backbenchers would be Cabinet ministers. The model of democracy that we adopted as Africa promotes quantity.

Emerson P argues that many societies take decisions, even the most complex decisions, by reducing what should be a selection of options to a stark choice. I agree with him. After I had witnessed the election of the four women to Parliament and how they campaigned, I still dont understand why the same system was never used during the election of the 10 senators.

They should have been given an opportunity to campaign. Only the Kings appointees do not have the privilege to market their personal manifestos to the Electoral College. Where elections are held, it is important that we ascribe to the principles of elections. The 10 senators would have spent some money, if they had, on their campaigns. The nation was made to understand that some candidates ended up using the power of money to amass votes from certain members of the Electoral College.

Violation

Section 94 (2) of the Constitution gave legislators the greenlight to introduce a law that would govern the elections of senators. However, they did not include the campaign period in the Senate Elections Act of 2013. That was absolutely in violation of the principles of democracy. It meant that candidates would campaign clandestinely. Reads Section 94 (2) of the Constitution: Ten senators, at least half of whom shall be female, shall be elected by the members of the House in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law at their first meeting so as to represent a cross section of the Swazi society.

The Senate Elections Act is so poor that it only talks about voting, secret ballot, ballot boxes, ballot papers and other things that do not represent the quality that we so desire to have in Senate. Section 5 (1) of the Senate Elections Act reads: When the House of Assembly first meets after any general election and as soon as the House shall have elected a person to be speaker in terms of Section 102 of the Constitution, the House shall immediately proceed to the business of the election of senators.So fast!

When did the speaker hold his campaign? When are the 10 senators going to campaign? On the day of nomination, the speaker shall call for nominations of candidates for election in the female and male category, Subsection 2 reads. It goes on to say that An unsuccessful candidate in the recent general election shall not be considered for nomination and every candidate for election shall be proposed by a member and seconded by another member. We must think about amending the Act to accommodate the campaigns.
In a September letter, Travelers said it was not renewing its contract with the city because of the citys approach to risk and safety management creates an unacceptable increase in the hazards contemplated for the city.

The citys insurance will be up 64.4% for 2024, going from $1,167,650 to $1,920,000, according to Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi. This comes after the city switched to the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal after Travelers Insurance told the city in a September letter it would be dropping them.

While Mayor Ron Kim had indicated that lawsuits the city was facing due to prior administrations' actions was the reason for Travelers not renewing its insurance, other officials indicated it was due to the citys lack of a risk and safety director.

Account Commissioner Dillon Moran said Thursday that plans are already in the works to hire someone in the position, which was moved back under his oversight from the mayors office Tuesday night during the City Council meeting. Outgoing Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino was the only council member to vote against moving the position back to the accounts department.

He and Sanghvi had previously supported the position being put under the mayors department.

Montagnino said because the risk and safety director needs to work closely with the city attorney, who is already under the oversight of the mayors office, it makes sense to keep the risk and safety position there. Montagnino has previously criticized Kim for not hiring someone to fill the position. Kim had indicated that the assistant city attorney was handling the duties of the risk and safety officer.

Kim provided no comment at the meeting Tuesday as to why he supported moving the position back to the accounts department. However, at a Nov. 28 special meeting, Kim said he changed his stance on what department the position should fall under following conversations he had during the election cycle. Kim lost his re-election bid to Republican challenger John Safford.

Elections matter, he said. I was wrong when we moved it over. Now were moving it back. I listened to what the people said and apparently one of the things they felt is this should be properly in accounts.

It doesnt really matter what department oversees the risk and safety director, as long as they have someone in the role, said Department of Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub, who abstained from the original vote to move the position.

Ultimately, where the role sites is secondary to having a quality director of risk and safety who is an expert in this space and two city attorneys, one of which works with the risk and safety director to ensure quality of process and legal input, Golub said in a statement Thursday.

While Sanghvi indicated some of the increase to the citys insurance rate is due to nationwide trends, she also said that having someone in the role of risk and safety will help the city with liability issues.

Our liability insurance is up almost $1 million from 2023 to 2024, she said at the meeting. Our city cannot continue doing this. Having a risk and safety person who knows their job can help with these issues.
TSHANENI  Temperatures dropped this past week, but for Vuvulane High School, the impact of extremely high temperatures left a deep scar.

In a tragic incident that occurred over a week ago, a teacher collapsed and died at a school in Eswatini, allegedly due to the extreme heat.

The deceased teacher, identified as Sabelo Malambe, was approximately 52 years old at the time of his passing. The unfortunate incident took place amid a high-temperature alert issued by the Eswatini Meteorological Services, as communicated by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).

The warning, which spanned from November 22 to 26, 2023, highlighted the potential risks posed to human health and the environment.

The forecasted temperatures during this period were expected to reach as high as 37C to 41C in the Lubombo region, 34C to 38C in the Hhohho and Manzini regions, and 32C to 36C in the Shiselweni region. According to Mambes wife, he appeared to be in good health when he left their residence.

Collapsed

However, Malambo collapsed while at school, and the sweltering temperatures were cited as the primary cause of his collapse in the autopsy results she added. Mambes wife also mentioned that he had pre-existing health conditions. The autopsy, was conducted to determine the exact cause and manner of his passing. This medical procedure involves a thorough examination of the deceased persons body, including internal organs and structures, to gather crucial information about the cause of death.

The news of Mambes untimely demise, has left not only his wife devastated, but also fellow teachers and pupils at the school. They expressed deep concern over the recorded high temperatures and the potential risks they pose to individuals well-being. The incident has been particularly traumatic for the school community, as it occurred during school hours. Upon Malambes collapse, the authorities were immediately notified, and the police were called to the scene. He was swiftly transported to the nearest health facility, where medical professionals pronounced him dead.

Meanwhile, this is the second traumatising incident for the pupils of Tshaneni. This publication had also reported on November 18, 2023, that a bus conductor was stabbed to death by a kombi driver. It reported at the time that a confrontation is said to have ensued between the duo, resulting in the conductor being stabbed. The incident was said to have happened in full view of pupils, who were mainly pupils from Vuvulane High School. The incident was said to have left the pupils traumatised.

Death

Malambes death is also said to have been reported to the Tshaneni Police Station. The Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati had confirmed the sudden death of Malambe over a week ago when the incident had happened. Meanwhile, high temperatures are not only affecting the kingdom but also the neighbouring South Africa (SA). The scorching heat was reported to be the highest ever recorded with some experts linking this to global warming.

The Times of Eswatini also recently reported that a heatwave will affect South Africa (SA) but fortunately, the kingdom will not be affected despite that many weather patterns that occur in SA do affect Eswatini. The Head teacher of Vuvulane High School, Thulani Manyatsi, when sought for comment on the matter stated that he was not in a position to do as it was best for the family to comment. He also said he was not privy to the results of the post-mortem.
An honor guard from the San Francisco Police Department stands in the rain before a wreath laying ceremony for the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March at the Presidio's World War II West Coast Memorial Saturday, April 8, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
A 12-foot menorah had its four candles lit on the mainstage to close out Sundays Chanukah on Jay celebration inside Key Hall at Proctors Theatre, Dec. 10, 2023. The event, traditionally held on Jay Street was moved indoors due to inclement weather. Sunday was the fourth day of the Jewish holiday.
Ford China registers record-high vehicle exports in 2023

Xinhua) 10:05, December 09, 2023

A Ford new energy vehicle is displayed at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

SHANGHAI, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Ford China has announced a historic high figure in its annual vehicle export from China to the overseas markets, surpassing 100,000 units for the first time in 2023, said the company.

This milestone comes amid a broader trend of expanding vehicle exports from China. In the first ten months of 2023, nearly 4 million vehicles were exported from the Chinese automotive market, up almost 60 percent from the same period last year. These figures position China to potentially become the world's leading vehicle exporter in 2023.

"Reaching the milestone of 100,000 vehicle exports is the result of win-win cooperation with our Chinese partners," said Sam Wu, President and CEO of Ford China.

Wu noted Ford's China-designed and manufactured products have a competitive edge in international markets thanks to China's industrial capabilities and cost advantages.

Currently, Ford China mainly targets overseas markets in regions including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, according to the company.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
MBABANE  Putting peoples lives at risk.

The Eswatini News has reliably been informed that a consignment of expired medical drugs, some dating back to as far as 2010, is currently being kept at the Central Medical Stores (CMS) in Matsapha, as the country presently has no proper incinerator machine to burn some of them as per the health protocol. These drugs are said to be valued at over E10 million and they include injections, cringes, pills and bottled medicine, among others.

Investigations by this publication have uncovered that this health facility (CMS) is currently cluttered with medications, some of which are either no longer required or well beyond their expiry date. This comes amid concerns that the improper disposal of such drugs can lead to a safety issue for people as well as the environment.

A senior Ministry of Health officer, who asked not to be revealed, noted that accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse are just a few problems that could arise by unused or expired prescription drugs being thrown in the trash from where they could be easily retrieved and abused or sold illegally.

These medicinal drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a doctors prescription or supervision. Safe removal of old or expired medicine protects you and others. Proper disposal of drugs can also prevent the negative and toxic effects on our environment that can take place if the drugs are not disposed of correctly, the officer warned.

Burn

Asked why it is taking government such a long time to get rid of the expired drugs, the officer stated that it may be due to a number of reasons, most of which paid little attention about the health of the people. At the moment, the country does not have proper incinerators to get rid of these expired drugs because such is only available in South Africa. This means the expired drugs have to be taken to South Africa to be burnt, but this has not happened over a long period now. It is a shame that at this time and age, our country still lacks proper incinerators to deal with the issue of expired drugs, she further said.

She pointed out that those involved in drug supply management must be familiar with the problem of drugs reaching expiry dates before the stocks are used, stating clearly that expired drug stocks presented problems with serious implications. Expired drugs imply financial losses because they should no longer be distributed and must be discarded. Expired drugs must be disposed off safely, without harming people and the environment. Pharmaceutical products may lose their potency in the degradation process. Physical changes may also lead to reduced absorption, rendering the products less effective. It is stated that the manufacturer of a pharmaceutical product can only be held responsible for any harmful effects of the product within its shelf life and only if the product was transported and stored under the conditions recommended by the manufacturer.

Auditor

Interestingly, according to the Auditor General (AG) Forensic Investigation Proposal report, the government accounting system showed that the Ministry of Health spent over E1 billion on medical drugs in the financial year ended March 31, 2022 while the ministry spent E690 million on medical drugs. The AG reported that the recurrent expenditure stood at E503 million, while drugs trading account was at E187.1 million in the financial year ended March 31, 2021.

There was then a need to ascertain why there are shortages of medicines when government had spent these amounts, the AG stated. Eswatini Environmental Authority Communications Officer Belusile Mhlanga said to her knowledge, some expired medical drugs were destroyed using Municipal City Councils incineration machines. I am also aware that there are medical drugs that can only be destroyed in South Africa because we do not have such machines in the country. I would have to verify, which of the expired medical drugs are being kept at CMS before making an informed comment, she said.

CMS Assistant Director Thembi Gama acknowledged their failure to dispose of expired medical drugs, pointing out that the country currently does not have suitable facilities to dispose of unserviceable stock. She explained that the private sector, that once assisted with disposal of the waste, no longer use incinerators but instead used boilers that did not have the required temperatures for disposal of pharmaceutical waste.
There is a very curious and worrying fact about immigration that we seldom look in the face. Soon after the EU referendum, I revisited Boston, the Lincolnshire town where local people had been distressed by the arrival of huge numbers of migrant workers. I suspect the vote to leave was very high there.

And I spoke (among many others) to Eastern Europeans who were still living and working in and near the town. Many of these migrants had been surprised and upset when, after the vote, locals had come up to them and asked: 'Why are you still here?'

Those locals had thought, as I did and do, that the referendum was really a national vote on mass immigration, in which millions of Labour voters were finally free to say what they really thought about it.

They had also thought, quite mistakenly, that it would lead to an instant change. But of course it has not. Because huge political and economic forces in this country continue to favour large-scale immigration.

Soon after the EU referendum, I revisited Boston, the Lincolnshire town where local people had been distressed by the arrival of huge numbers of migrant workers. I suspect the vote to leave was very high there (stock image)

And I spoke (among many others) to Eastern Europeans who were still living and working in and near the town. Many of these migrants had been surprised and upset when, after the vote, locals had come up to them and asked: 'Why are you still here?' (stock image)

A lot of employers, especially in such areas as the building industry, actively prefer workers from abroad to the products of British schools. They have in general been properly educated in the basics, and have got used to the sort of discipline that our schools no longer impose. In many cases they have had the sort of vocational training that has virtually disappeared in our education system, in favour of inflated GCSEs and A-levels and great mountains of social-science degrees.

In the same way, our major political aim is the maintenance of a vast health service, free at the point of use, employing 1.5 million people. Almost one in five of these are foreign nationals. Yet this country has large numbers of young people aged between 16 and 24 and 'not in education, employment or training', currently estimated at nearly 800,000. Why can they not work in 'our' NHS? I'd guess it is because the NHS would rather recruit abroad.

Adult social care, likewise, employs many hundreds of thousands, probably slightly more than the NHS. Growing numbers of workers in this sector have also come from abroad. The grim truth is that, in recent decades, our society has been almost designed to require migrant labour to keep it going. Much of this results from the stealthy social revolution that began 60 years ago.

The huge and irresistible pressure on women to go out to paid work in factories and offices has deprived society of an enormous amount of unpaid labour, once devoted to the care of small children and of the old and infirm. The enormous increase in the costs of maintaining a 'normal' standard of living (again compelling both parents to go out to work, often for long hours) has made large families hard to afford.

The tax and benefits system (unlike in some continental countries) turns a cold, unsympathetic face to full-time parents who would prefer to stay at home.

In many cases they have had the sort of vocational training that has virtually disappeared in our education system, in favour of inflated GCSEs and A-levels and great mountains of social-science degrees (stock image)

Yet this country has large numbers of young people aged between 16 and 24 and 'not in education, employment or training', currently estimated at nearly 800,000. Why can they not work in 'our' NHS? I'd guess it is because the NHS would rather recruit abroad (stock image)

The ready availability of contraception, of abortion effectively on demand and of the 'morning after' pill has made it simple for couples to keep their families small.

The national fertility rate has dropped steeply since 1965, when these social changes got under way. It is distressing to wonder how many missing men and women have been contracepted or aborted out of existence in the last six decades, as we have pursued  and failed to achieve  the affluent, liberated society we were promised. So who will do the menial jobs, from lifting potatoes to caring for the old and infirm? Who will pay the taxes to support the NHS and pay the pensions? Who looks after the old and the very young?

And who will educate and train the skilled and semi-skilled workers, the nurses and doctors and all the other vital workers we are now so bad at turning out? There have always been two solutions to this.

The first would be to reverse the social revolution that (among many other evils) wrecked state education, stole fathers from children, conscripted young mothers into the world of wage slavery, turned marriage into a minority pursuit and unleashed dangerous drugs into our midst.

The other is to carry on as we have been, and to import people from elsewhere who can still do the things we cannot do or are not prepared to do. If you really want to bring mass immigration to an end, as I think many do, you will have to accept a deep and lasting counter-revolution.

Keir's a 'conservative' just like Blair. What bilge

I remember Sir Anthony Blair being sold round the conservative parts of the British media, back in 1996. He admired Mrs Thatcher, we were told. He was really pretty conservative, tough on crime etc.

I was amazed (and actually gnashed my teeth, an unpleasant sensation) as I watched apparently intelligent people fall for this bilge. He and his aides were obviously just saying it, and were so profoundly cynical that they did not care what they said. In subtitles to an Election broadcast in May 1997 they would go on to lie that the Tories would abolish the state pension, a falsehood so disgusting that I am amazed it is not more widely known.

Well, ignore this pitiful attempt to suggest that Sir Keir is a bit of a Tory. He is no such thing

At that time the Labour machine were guarding a secret so dangerous that it would not come out for decades. Blair himself had been a Trotskyist at Oxford (we still know very little about this episode) and a large share of his senior colleagues had similar revolutionary backgrounds, in those days kept carefully hidden. The Blair government would turn out to be the most radical since Cromwell, vandalising the constitution, breaking up the Kingdom, launching a huge sexual revolution.

Well, ignore this pitiful attempt to suggest that Sir Keir is a bit of a Tory. He is no such thing. As I explained on BBC Question Time on Thursday night, to the usual gasps of disbelief, he too has a deeply radical past and has said plainly that he does not in any way disown it.

Given the power to do so, he will transform this country for the worse, as Blair did.

Don't believe me? You will, but only when it is too late.

'Legal' weed? It might as well be...

Strolling (as I sometimes do) along one of the grimmer streets of Whitechapel in East London, I came across a bold poster featuring a figure of Father Christmas in shades and smoking a dubious cigarette, and the words 'Legal Weed Straight To Your Door', pictured.

I came across a bold poster featuring a figure of Father Christmas in shades and smoking a dubious cigarette, and the words 'Legal Weed Straight To Your Door', pictured

I can't see how it can be legal, but in reality it might as well be, as the utter police surrender to marijuana reaches its final stage. And to think I used to debate with pro-drug academics who claimed with a straight face that this country groaned under the severe and cruel prohibition of dope. It was a big lie then. It is a gigantic lie now.
A plastic surgeon has revealed the one thing you can do everyday that'll slow down the aging process - and it'll take 20 minutes or less.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Faryan Jalalabadi, from Beverly Hills, California, shares wildly popular anti-aging tips on TikTok.

In one recent video giving 'anti-aging tip 192,' the doctor explained how spending time in the sauna for just 15 to 20 minutes can help slow down the aging process and improve collagen production.

However, the TikTok-famous plastic surgeon advised against spending too much time in the sauna, which could have terrible consequences.

Beverly Hills, California-based plastic surgeon Dr. Faryan Jalalabadi told his followers to spend 20 minutes in the sauna once a week, and daily if possible

Sweat it out: Here's how spending time in the sauna saves your skin Dermatologist Dr. Erin Gilbert, MD, PhD told Dermstore sweating releases toxins

By releasing toxins, you're unclogging your pores

The process increases circulation which makes your skin look better and will give you a glow

More blood flow also means rosy cheeks without applying blush Advertisement

'The sauna slows down the aging process of the skin. It improves collagen and elastin production. It detoxifies the skin through the sweating process,' Dr. Jalalabadi declared, adding that spending time in a sauna is especially good for your heart and lungs.

'It improves the circulation of the blood flow to your skin,' the content creator continued.

'It releases little proteins that protect your DNA and your cells from aging by the shock of the heat,' Dr. Jalalabadi told his followers, adding that you only need 15 to 20 minutes to see all the benefits.

'Every day that you do this, it is an anti-aging practice,' the Californian continued.

However, Dr. Jalalabadi did warn that it's possible to overdo it and warned against pushing yourself to do 40 minutes, which could prove dangerous and lead to exhaustion, dehydration dizziness, nausea, headaches or even heat stroke. The doctor went on to explain that sauna time is not beneficial for people with the skin condition melasma, where brown patches appear on the face, because it exacerbates hyperpigmentation.

'Get in the sauna, everyday if you can,' Dr. Jalalabadi ended the video.

Commenters were in awe of the advice, with many joking that they'd simply go outside in Texas or sit in their car for the same impact.

'Free outside sauna in Houston, Texas for 6 months,' one follower joked, which just so happens to be the doctor's hometown.

Another wrote, 'I live in Texas. I don't need a sauna. I need a cold plunge.'

'Staying single stops the aging! Been single forever and I'm almost 80,' a third commenter quipped.

'The sauna slows down the aging process of the skin. It improves collagen and elastin production. It detoxifies the skin through the sweating process,' the plastic surgeon said

But Dr. Jalalabadi warned against spending more than 20 minutes in the sauna because he said it could be dangerous

People joked about their own anti-aging techniques in the comments, including living in a hot climate and staying single

'Perfect, my car has no AC so I'll chalk that up to sauna time then,' someone else joked.

Dr. Jalalabadi often shares his anti-aging tips in short video clips that are easy to digest.

In recent videos, the plastic surgeon advised his followers to avoid consuming processed sugar, lift heavy weights to maintain bone density, and take cold showers to improve your hair and skin.

The influencer has amassed more than 36,000 TikTok followers who tune in for his easy anti-aging tips, especially since many involve small lifestyle changes instead of expensive skincare products.
Three decades ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday in the time-honoured tradition of all young people who think they are an adult but have no real idea about life, duty or personal responsibility - I got smashed. In fairness, I had quite a lot to get smashed about. I had spent the whole of my 20s in one seedy rental after another while I supported myself with part-time jobs and tried to be a writer. But a week before my 30th, I got my first book deal and, the day before, I got my first real job in journalism. I had always said I wanted to be a writer by the time I was 30 and I did it with 24 hours to spare. If I had spent my 20s in poverty-stricken, yet hedonistic, self-indulgence, my 30s were a wake-up call. Two years after that birthday party, while I was still single and living in a bedsit, I found myself pregnant with my first child.The father and I moved in together six weeks before our baby was born, at a stage in our relationship when I was saying: 'Do you, um, have sugar in coffee?' Bit of a steep learning curve, the autumn of 1996. That baby, Alice, is now 27 and lives in Berlin. Her sister, Mabel, is 22 and on the cusp of leaving home - and the man I got to know while we changed nappies together is 63 and staring at retirement. And me? Implausibly, I'm 60. How the hell has that happened?
Christmas party season is here, and many of us can relate to the struggle of finding something appropriately festive to wear.

So it's no wonder people from around the world have taken to social media to ask strangers' advice on their party ensembles, however some of the outfit suggestions have raised eyebrows for all the wrong reasons.

One woman who wanted to reuse a pale green dress she wore to a summer wedding to a party-goer was told it was far too revealing, while another was told a bustier was 'unsuitable' for her office Christmas party.

FEMAIL takes a look at Christmas party outfits that divided opinion and broke the internet. Would you be brave enough to wear any?

The Reddit user opted for the ASOS DESIGN Curve cowl neck pencil midi dress, costing 38

GREEN SUMMER DRESS

A woman from Bristol, posted on the PlusSizeFashion thread Reddit page asking for feedback on her 38 frock.

She shared a picture of herself donning an asymmetrical sage green dress, with the material on one side coming down just past her knees, paired with open toe heels.

She wrote of the ASOS DESIGN Curve cowl neck pencil midi dress: 'Wore this dress to a wedding in the summer. Do you think it would be ok for my work Christmas party?

'Dont have many dresses that I like. Always feel self conscious in dresses and is hard to find ones to fit my chest and also bum. Thank you.'

Users were quick to chime in with their opinions and compliment the dress.

One Redditor wrote 'the dress is beautiful, and you look gorgeous in it. In my opinion its a bit too summery for a Christmas party. I guess it depends on venue and dress code.

She suggested 'maybe you could add darker accessories? like a dark green shawl/cardigan as well as a darker shoe and some nylons/tights to make it more winter appropriate'.

Others penned 'Would be sooooo pretty with a faux fur jacket omg' and 'Yes definitely.. a bit of sparkle needs adding for a Xmas vibe. I love outfits you can wear multiple times in different seasons'.

However, some users dubbed the frock as 'too summery' and 'too chesty' for a work event.

Someone explained 'I love the dress on you, but the neckline is waaaay too deep and the slit up the side is also a bit too far for a company party'.

Another added 'It depends on what you do for a living. As a summer dress its ok but depending on the type of Xmas party, it may be a bit over the top in how revealing it is'.

Meanwhile, one user wrote 'Too summery for winter. Too chesty, too much leg for a work event'.

While another woman divided opinion which left some to question whether it's 'suitable attire' for an office celebration

ZARA BUSTIER

Another woman divided opinion with a Zara top that some said was not 'suitable attire' for an office celebration.

The party-goer took to UK parenting forum Mumsnet to discuss the details of her ensemble.

She explained that she had found the top she wanted to wear - an asymmetric bustier from Zara - but was struggling to pick out the shoes, earrings and trousers to team the 59.99 garment with.

While many said they loved the outfit option, one person suggested it was too 'revealing', and another was left warning some 'boobs were probably too big for this'.

In a post titled 'Bustier for office Christmas party', the woman explained: 'I'm planning to get this bustier from Zara for my office Christmas party, which is black tie/cocktail dress code. (It will come back into stock in time. It WILL.)

'What would you pair it with?,' she asked. 'I'm thinking chandelier earrings not unlike the model's and maybe some wide-leg velvet trousers in a contrasting tone?

'Shoes? I don't want to wear heels if I can help it,' she concluded in the post, shared on November 19.

However, her post caused a mixed reaction.

One person wrote: 'Are you absolutely sure that this is suitable attire for your office Christmas party?

'I'd have thought most people wouldn't consider something so revealing in my honest opinion.'

The original poster rushed to reply, saying: 'If a cocktail dress is acceptable, why wouldn't trousers and a top be?

'I would be revealing less skin than most people in dresses, unless they wear maxi dresses, and pretty much all of it would be shoulder. I won't look busty in it, because I'm not.'

She continued: 'Here's how it looks in a straight shot from the front where the model isn't bending towards the camera. It's not a revealing garment.'

Others agreed with the woman, with one individual saying: 'I agree it is not a revealing garment, but how often will you end up wearing it? Is it really worth it for an office Christmas party?

'I think it's lovely and actually fairly modest in that your boobs are covered,' said another.

New York City-based influencer Roan McLean shared the lacy outfit she put together on her TikTok account before heading to a party she was attending in a professional capacity

LACE CATSUIT

Another party goer raised eyebrows with a very revealing ensemble which she wore to her work Christmas party.

New York City-based influencer Roan McLean shared the lacy outfit on her TikTok account before heading to a party.

For the occasion, she opted to wear a see-through lacy bodysuit with equally racy black lingerie, with a blush pink winter coat to keep the chill out.

While some people loved the outfit and said they would wear something similar if they had Roan's looks, others said the bodysuit was too revealing for a festive party, even if she was attending an event for influencers.

She paired it with a lacy black bra and a thong that left very little to the imagination.

While Roan was confident about the look she put together, other felt it was a bit racy for a festive occasion.

'Dont take the coat off at the party,' one sneered. 'We go to very different holiday parties,' one said.

'Too scandalous? Ya think,' one added.

Some said they loved the look and that they didn't understand the negative attention Roan's outfit was getting.

'My insecurity could never but you ROCK this suit, damn girl,' one said.

Katie Oldham, from Brighton, said the view of her outfit from the back 'humbled her real quick'

SEQUINNED CO-ORD

When Katie Oldham, from Brighton, found a silver sequined two-piece ahead of her company's celebrations, she went in feeling confident and chic.

That is, until she caught a glimpse of what it looked like from behind in the background of a colleague's photo.

The fashionista uploaded a TikTok featuring three photos she had taken on the night of the party which has gone on to amass over five million views.

With her hair styled in 70s-inspired curls, Katie paired her statement co-ord with a brown faux-fur jacket and happily posed for photos with a drink in hand.

She captioned the images: 'What I thought I looked like at the office Christmas party...'

The clip then jumps to another photo where Katie's back is visible in the background.

Using a skull emoji, she captioned the photo: 'What everyone else saw.'

'How to get humbled real quick,' Katie hilariously captioned the video.

Since sharing the TikTok earlier this month, Katie's video has racked up over 486,000 'likes' and viewers reassured her she looked 'gorgeous' in her outfit.

One replied: 'Baby the back view is none of your business, out of sight out of mind! You look gorgeous.'

'Most relatable thing I've ever seen,' another added.

Erika wore this heart-print pink bralette to an unnamed Helsinki restaurant and security guards felt was 'inappropriate'

BRALETTE AND MINI SKIRT

Elsewhere a woman was kicked out of a restaurant over her 'inappropriate' outfit.

Erika Helin, who won Miss Finland in 2018, was enjoying a night out in Helsinki when she was approached by a security guard at the unnamed restaurant bar.

For her evening with friends, the beauty queen wore a pink heart-print bralette with a black tiered mini skirt and high heels.

Although she was allowed entry to the establishment, Erika claimed on Instagram that staff backtracked later in the evening and told her she had to leave.

Detailing the incident on her Instagram Stories, the social media star - who boasts 116,000 followers - described the security guard as a 'jerk'.

She wrote: 'Unexpectedly, the jerk came to get me, told me that I had to leave [and] dragged me out of the bar.'

Erika says she was too shocked to 'object in any way' while he 'loudly critcised [her] choice of outfit' and said it violated the restaurant's dress code.

She continued: 'In my opinion, it is contradictory to even take a customer in if the outfit is not suitable.

'Its a little sad that your own body is inherently obscene and provokes reactions. Im sad that weve been a customer for years but this left [feeling] me really bad.'

Admitting that she can't see the problem with her ensemble, Erika added: 'Maybe Im too used to the dressing culture of my other home country  [it's] much more relaxed there.'

She then went on to top a series of photos of the outfit on her feed and labelled the security guard a 'misogynist'.

However, the post sparked debate in the comments - with some arguing that staff were right to kick Erika out.

One wrote: 'It looks more like a bikini top, and you can't go to a bar wearing them.'

Another added: 'Its a good outfit to go to the BEACH.'

Meanwhile, a third said: 'Totally inappropriate for a restaurant.'
As Christmas Day approaches, the royal family will no doubt already have their December 25 planned to the last detail - but as The Firm enters its new era under the reign of King Charles, things are set to look a little different this year.

Last Christmas, the royals experienced their biggest change for decades as they celebrated their first festive period without Queen Elizabeth II, who had passed away just a few months earlier.

However aside from Her late Majesty's noticeable absence, the royal family's December 25 largely followed traditions that are always observed.

This year, as King Charles settles into his reign and the family itself looks a little different to previous years, a few changes are likely to be made to the Christmas fanfare.

Of course, some things will remain as always; such as gifts being exchanged on Christmas Eve and the Christmas Day service at Mary Magdalene Church. But some things are likely to break from tradition this year...

A big Christmas! The future King and Queen pictured in 2022 with the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Pictured: The Royals on Christmas Day last year)

Family reunion: As usual, Prince William and Princess Kate will join the King and Queen at Sandringham on December 25, alongside other senior royals

Camilla's family invited

Tom Parker Bowles attending the Cigar Smoker of the Year Dinner & Awards 2023 at Boisdale of Canary Wharf on December 04, 2023 in London, England

Festive family affair: The Queen is thought to have invited her two children Tom Parker Bowles, 48, and Laura Lopes, 45, and her five grandchildren for Christmas at Sandringham for the first time (Pictured in 2018)

For the first time, Queen Camilla's children and grandchildren look set to celebrate Christmas this year with their mother and King Charles, after reportedly being invited to Sandringham.

Laura Lopes, 45, and Tom Parker Bowles, 48, did not spend Christmas with their mother last year, despite her being Queen.

But they are expected to descend on the Norfolk estate this year, along with Camilla's grandchildren.

Food critic and MasterChef star Tom Parker Bowles has two children, Lola, 16, and Freddy, 13 with his ex wife Sara Buys.

Meanwhile, the Queen's daughter Laura Lopes shares daughter Eliza, 15, and twins Gus and Louis, 13, with Harry Lopes.

Will Fergie have a seat at the table?

Sarah Ferguson attends the photocall ahead of the Red Cross Charity Event on November 09, 2023 in Rome, Italy. She may be making an appearance at Sandringham this year

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is rumoured to be invited to Sandringham this year.

Although she and Prince Andrew have been divorced since 1996, the pair remain firm friends and now jointly look after the late Queen's Corgis, Muick and Sandy.

It is not confirmed if Fergie, who is carving out a new career for herself as an agony aunt after an entertaining stint on ITV's This Morning, is definitely invited to Sandringham, but she will likely want to be with her grandchildren on the big day.

This year, Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, welcomed their second son Ernest into the world, who was born at the end of May.

It meant Fergie became a grandmother for the fourth time, as she also has a step-grandson, Wolfie Mapelli Mozzi, seven, granddaughter Sienna Mapelli Mozzi, two, and August Brooksbank, three.

A much bigger dining table

The gorgeous Norfolk estate has been the location of the Royals' Christmas celebrations for years

King Charles and Queen Camilla will adhere to royal convention and attend church on Christmas Day at Sandringham.

However, the addition of Camilla's family, and maybe Fergie as well, means that Christmas lunch will be a bigger affair than usual.

Unlike other years, when their Christmas lunch was served in the Sandringham dining room, the festive meal is thought to be taking place in the larger ballroom this year.

A little bit more festive cheer

Christmas came early at Windsor Castle this year as the Royal family shared pictures of the lavish decorations in November

Last Christmas was marred with sorrow for the royals as it had only been a few months since the Queen died.

And while the memory of Queen Elizabeth and other lost family members will still weigh heavily on the royals during the festive period, it's likely this year will make room for a little more festive cheer.

The family will have plenty to be grateful for after a year which saw King Charles and Queen Camilla crowned at the Coronation at Westminster Abbey in May.

They will also be celebrating little Ernest's first ever Christmas after his birth in May - which will no doubt spread joy.
The woman screams and runs laps around the beach as she bursts with emotion

A marriage proposal can be one of the most memorable and special moments of a person's life, with many to-be fiances going above and beyond to ensure it is as romantic as possible.

Although one future groom opted to keep the gesture simple and popped the question by the sea, it is his girlfriend's excitable reaction that has truly pulled on the heartstrings of thousands on TikTok.

An unnamed young man had set up his camera to record the all-important proposal while visiting a vacant beach in October with his girlfriend, in a video shared by @looneymemes.

The man stood in front of the camera and held his arms out to his girlfriend, who smiled and looked into his eyes seemingly nervously.

As the gentleman reaches into his pocket, the young woman breaks into hysterics and gasps while doing a double-take at her boyfriend.

A young man set up his camera to record an all-important proposal while visiting a vacant beach in October with his girlfriend, who responds after becoming overwhelmed with joy

Unable to contain an eruption of joy and shock, the woman jumps around in a circular motion and dances on the spot while screaming, as her boyfriend looks on in a fit of laughter

Unable to contain an eruption of joy and shock, the woman jumps around in a circular motion and dances on the spot while screaming, as her boyfriend looks on in a fit of laughter.

She then excitedly runs laps around the sand and makes a break for the sea, before doubling back to her partner.

Comically composing herself, the woman takes on a more formal stance and listens intently as her boyfriend repeats the question.

Throwing her arms in the air and grinning from ear to ear, the young woman nods her head and wraps herself around her now-fiance, who embraces her in a tight hug.

Over 16,000 comments were left by viewers who were consumed with emotion following the sweet proposal, with many expressing the desire to experience a similar reaction from their spouse.

One person wrote, 'Wish I knew love like that,' while another said, 'We all deserve this! Congratulations!!'

A fellow viewer jokingly warned the man in the footage: 'You break her heart, we're all coming after you. Priceless reaction.'

One inspired individual said, 'If this ain't the energy I ain't even getting on my knee,' while another wrote, 'No fancy proposal. Just two people inlove together at a beach.'

She then excitedly runs laps around the sand and makes a break for the sea, before doubling back to her partner

Comically composing herself, the woman takes on a more formal stance and listens intently as her boyfriend repeats the question

Over 16,000 comments were left by viewers who were consumed with emotion following the sweet proposal

A final touched commenter wrote: 'The fact that she ran away and then came back and was like "okay ask me..." stood really still and then burst with excitement again.'

In April, a Sydney man faked the kidnapping of his girlfriend during a trip to Lebanon in a wild prank that has been dubbed 'the most controversial marriage proposal ever.'

Footage of Adam and Vanessa's surprise engagement was posted on TikTok by his sister Tahlia in early April, and captioned 'how my brother decided to propose in Lebanon'.

In the video, Vanessa could be seen happily sipping coffee in back seat of a car near Anfeh, in the country's north-west, with her aunt and sister.

Strangers in balaclavas then stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road, opened the doors while holding fake guns and dragged the screaming women from their seats.

In April, a Sydney man faked the kidnapping of his girlfriend during a trip to Lebanon in a wild prank that has been dubbed 'the most controversial marriage proposal ever'

As her blindfold was removed, Vanessa burst into tears when she realised Adam, her boyfriend of ten years, was standing in front of her holding a large bouquet of flowers.

Vanessa was visibly shaken and confused as she was held hostage and driven to a mystery location - she kept trying to remove her blindfold, but was repeatedly ordered to stop.

As her blindfold was removed, live music started playing and her family members started squealing with joy.

Vanessa burst into tears when she realised Adam, her boyfriend of ten years, was standing in front of her holding a large bouquet of flowers.

Days later, Vanessa uploaded photos of the engagement on social media - featuring photos of her and Adam kissing and looking into the sunset. She said it was a 'dream come true'. There was no mention of the fake hostage situation.

Tahlia told Daily Mail Australia that Vanessa always wanted to be proposed to in Lebanon and she was 'genuinely happy' with the engagement.
It's safe to say Hailey Bieber has become a beauty icon with flawless makeup looks many of us try really hard to emulate.

The model and entrepreneur radiated on the red carpet of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 3rd Annual Gala on December 3 with a shimmery eyeshadow and illuminating cheeks.

Want to beam at your next holiday party a la Mrs. Bieber? It will take more than the right products to get her gorgeous glow.

Just like an artist that needs to prepare his/her canvas before creating a masterpiece, so should you maintain your skin health - both internally and externally - to achieve your festive glam.

It's safe to say Hailey Bieber has become a beauty icon. The model and entrepreneur radiated on the red carpet of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 3rd Annual Gala on December 3 with shimmery eyes and illuminating cheeks

Start with the insides

Everyone wants glowing skin, but many fail to recognize that skin health starts with the gut.

'More and more research is emerging on the importance of a balanced gut microbiome for optimal skin health,' says Emma Lewisham, founder of luxury natural skincare brand Emma Lewisham.

If the microbiome is out of balance, it can directly effect the texture and appearance of the skin.

'Before I start my skincare routine, every morning I take Beauty Chef Gut Primer and BePure Two Probiotic for optimal gut and internal health,' said the expert.

'I have experienced a notable difference in my skin's clarity and glow using these products.'

Before makeup application, Emma starts by cleansing her face to ensure a fresh foundation

Cleanse deeply without stripping away moisture

Before makeup application, Emma starts by cleansing her face to ensure a fresh foundation.

'The Emma Lewisham Illuminating Oil Cleanser is great because it deeply cleanses the skin while providing rinse-resistant hydration,' she reveals.

'A lot of cleansers can strip the skin of essential moisture which reduces the skins natural glow. If I have an event, I will also use our Illuminating Exfoliant as a mask for 10-15 minutes before cleansing.'

Use products with brightening ingredients

Eye makeup is an integral part of a complete makeup look and often the focus.

But prior to applying any makeup to the lid, dabbing an SPF cream the delicate area is a crucial step in maintaining an eye area that appears smooth, hydrated, and youthful.

'Be sure to go with an eye cream that visibly brightens and firms the eye area as the brightening will help with the overall glow of your makeup look, while also serving as a great primer,' says Emma.

Next the beauty expert applies her brand's Skin Reset Serum.

'Our founding product, I developed this as a natural alternative to traditional brightening products. It has been independently scientifically proven to reduce hyperpigmentation and outperform industry-leading brightening products. An absolute must-have for glowing skin.'

'More and more research is emerging on the importance of a balanced gut microbiome for optimal skin health,' says Emma Lewisham, founder of luxury natural skincare brand Emma Lewisham

From skin tint foundations to shimmer shadows and glow highlighters, there are a plethora of products to create a glowing complexion.

But first, cream!

As a final step in her skincare prep, Emma applies a brightening day cream.

'The trick for glowy skin is always going for brightening-targeted products. Brightening creams have become a favorite amongst makeup artists for glowing skin  especially ones that contain hyaluronic acid for immediate plumping hydration as well as ethically sourced mica which softly reflects light to smooth and illuminate the skin.'

She adds: 'I will often do a bit of facial massage using various tools while I apply this to encourage blood flow to the face for extra glow.'

'I will often do a bit of facial massage using various tools while I apply this to encourage blood flow to the face for extra glow'

Give your face a massage

TCM Wellness Expert and founder of 001 Skincare, Ada Ooi, reveals a few easy facial massages that take just 10 minutes.

In addition to using your hands, you can use a beauty tool.

If you don't have one, no problem! Ada says a spoon can be just as effective. Use both sides of the utensil and the tip of the handle.

In addition to getting the blood circulating, 'massaging also stimulates the muscle and lymphatic system,' shares the expert.

'Massaging in the right lymphatic flow direction gives that extra pressure to enhance draining toxins, making space for more efficient oxygen and nutrients delivery.

'There are also many acupressure points on the face, which in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) they relate to different parts of the body and can affect different organ systems.'

Before rubbing-down, Ada suggests applying a good face oil. She recommends the Vit F Detox Sebum Concentrate because it contains cooling ingredients like watermelon oil to regulate sebum and soothe sensitivity.

Ada's techniques:

'Tap from forehead to the chin.

You can do lighter taps by controlling your wrists, or loosen your wrists when tapping to give a more dynamic motions in your taps.

This is great for stimulating blood circulation to these epidermis.

Pinching is great for treating the jowls. Starting from the middle of jaw line at the chin, pinch with one or two hands from the chin to below the ears along the jaw line on one side, then repeat the other side.

You can use your knuckles to perform a lot of massage techniques, using these knuckles of your second finger, point them under your brow bones and swipe over with slight pressure to the forehead to the hairline. You can move back and forth.

Rest your knuckles of both your second and third fingers, right under the orbital bones (caution not too close to the eyes), you can then tilt your head down and let the gravity does its job.

Meanwhile You can also move your knuckles to massage from the under eyes to the ears.

Do the same but with knuckles of three fingers including the ring finger on both hands and massage right under the cheek bones for lifting.

Finish with using your whole palms, comforting stroking with lifting motions from the chin to the forehead.'

Femail's picks:

The Holiday Glow Trio by Emma Lewisham, $60; emmalewisham.com

Left: BePure Two Probiotic, $49; bepure.com. Right: Gut Primer by The Beauty Chef, $69; thebeautychef.com

Left: Magic Eye rescue by Charlotte Tilbury, $65; charlottetilbury.com. Reset Serum by Emma Lewisham, $152; emmalewisham.com
A woman has divided the internet after claiming she was offered $200,000 for her Doberman pinscher puppy  and turned it down.

Alexis Elliott, a bottle server in Los Angeles, shared the wild story on TikTok, saying she would never give up her five-month-old dog, Remi, whom she purchased from a breeder when she was eight weeks old.

'Someone offered us $200K for our puppy, and I told my husband absolutely f*****g not because I birthed her,' she said in her video. 'Would you guys sell your dogs for $200K? Like that is my baby.'

Elliott insisted she wouldn't give away her puppy for any amount of money, even though she would be making a huge profit.

Alexis Elliott, a bottle server in Los Angeles, went viral on TikTok after claiming she turned down an offer of $200,000 for her Doberman pinscher puppy

The dog mom insisted she would never give up her five-month-old pup, Remi (pictured)

The average cost of a Doberman pinscher puppy from a reputable breeder is between $1,500 and $2,500, according to Doberman Planet.

'It just got me thinking. I'm like, "I wonder if people would have taken that $200K?"' she explained while posing the question on TikTok.

Poll Would you sell your dog to a stranger for $200,000? Yes No Would you sell your dog to a stranger for $200,000? Yes 128 votes

No 325 votes Now share your opinion





Elliott reiterated that this was not a joke or a hypothetical situation, saying she and her husband received a 'legit' offer.

'I [would] never sell her,' she added in the caption.

The video has been viewed more than 935,000 times and has received nearly 5,300 comments since it was posted on December 4.

Many people admitted their dogs would be long gone if they were offered that amount of money, and some even shamed Elliott for turning it down.

'In this economy, I wish I had so many puppies to sell for $200K a piece,' one person responded.

Another added: 'The privilege to be able to say no to 200K'

'I told my husband absolutely f*****g not because I birthed her,' she said. 'Would you guys sell your dogs for $200K? Like that is my baby'

Elliott purchased Remi from a well-known Dobermann breeder when the puppy was eight weeks old and started training her immediately (pictured)

Elliott's video has been viewed more than 935,000 times and commenters were divided over what they would have done in her situation

'Its a crime to not accept 200K,' someone else claimed.

Others agreed with her and insisted they would never sell their dog to a stranger no matter what they were offering.

'I feel like anyone willing to pay 200K for a dog probably doesnt have the best intentions with the dog,' one user pointed out.

'I wouldnt sell my dog for 1 million,' someone else claimed.

'I would never sell my dog for anything. I love her way too much. Id probably sacrifice my life for her,' another commented.

Elliott hit back at her critics the next day after being accused of 'white privilege' and 'giving rich' because of her stance.

'No, it's giving a conscience. It's giving guilt,' she said.

Elliott hit back at her critics the next day after being accused of 'white privilege' and 'giving rich' because of her stance

Elliott shared some of the nasty comments she received, including messages from people who said they'd give up their dogs for next to nothing

'The amount of comments that say they would give up their dog for $200K or for $20 really hurts my soul,' she said

The animal lover recalled how she fostered a puppy for a month and the dog's adoptive family lost her in one day.

'I don't trust anybody else with my dog other than me and my husband,' she said.

Elliott later shared some of the nasty comments she received, including messages from people who said they'd give up their dogs for next to nothing.

'This is just why certain people should not have pets,' she argued.

'The amount of comments that say they would give up their dog for $200K or for $20 really hurts my soul,' she added in another video.

'I think there should be more regulations on who gets a puppy. If you're truly willing to give your dog away for $20, please give it to a rescue.'

There were also plenty of people who accused her of making up the story, insisting no one would be willing to pay that much money for a dog.

In Elliott's most recent video, she explained how she signed a contract stating she wouldn't resell her dog

After pulling out the document, she read the section in which she agreed not to sell or give away her dog out loud

Elliott reminded viewers that she lives in Los Angeles, where many people are incredibly wealthy and frivolous with their money.

'I had a table spend $30,000 on liquor the other day. I don't think you understand how irresponsible people are in LA,' she said.

In Elliott's most recent video, she explained how she signed a contract stating she wouldn't resell her dog.

'It seems like a lot of people don't understand what goes on when you purchase a puppy from an ethical breeder. So I'm going to give you a quick education lesson,' she said.

She used the app's greenscreen function to show the lengthy application she had to fill out to buy Remi from a well-known Dobermann breeder.

Elliott then pulled out the contract and read the section in which she agreed not to give away her dog out loud.

When she signed on the dotted line, she vowed that she would not 'sell, place, or abandon this animal to a shelter, rescue, individual, or by another means, but agrees to return this animal to the breeder.'
Prince Andrew ignored any rumblings of royal drama as he headed for a ride in Windsor today.

The Duke of York, 63, sport a brown ensemble as he rode with a male groom.

Taking no notice of the gloomy December morning, the royal trotted along while chatting to the aide.

Dressed in traditional riding gear, Andrew donned a black hard hat and khaki jacket, while adding a pop of colour with a pink polo neck.

The royal is a regular rider and is often spotted on his horse near his Windsor Park home.

Prince Andrew ignored any rumblings of royal drama as he headed for a ride in Windsor today

The Duke of York, 63, sport a brown ensemble as he rode with a male groom

It comes as, the father-of-two joined his brothers King Charles and Prince Edward for a pheasant shoot.

Charles, 74, was spotted driving around the grounds of Windsor - just hours before he unveiled new statues of his late parents at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in London.

The monarch was dressed casually in a shirt and a green jacket with a cord collar for the shoot on Armistice Day.

The King was seen sharing a laugh with the passenger in the car, who was presumably a member of his security team.

Although Andrew and Edward were not pictured with Charles, the monarch is believed to have enjoyed an afternoon in his brothers' company before heading to London.

The pair have been at loggerheads over Charles' demands that Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, move out of the 30-room royal property - which has problems with damp and requires several million pounds-worth of repairs - into somewhere smaller, such as Harry and Meghan's old home, Frogmore Cottage.

The Mirror reported last month that Andrew had been granted a 'stay of execution' after Charles accepted his brother should be given time to prove he can pay for the mansion's upkeep.

Multiple well-placed sources in royal circles have told the Mail that the prince isn't being 'realistic' about his financial situation after being forced to step back from public duties.

The royal, 63, sported an all-navy ensemble for his equestrian endeavours this morning. He teamed blue jodhpurs with a matching zip-up jacket and a helmet while sitting atop a chestnut horse

He smiled during the ride, enjoying the autumnal surroundings, which appeared to be near his home, Royal Lodge

A family friend said: 'It's all a bit cloud cuckoo-land, I'm afraid. No one, not least His Majesty, believes there is any realistic, long-term chance of the Duke of York being able to keep the roof at Royal Lodge over his head.

'It's a massive property and estate that requires a huge amount of upkeep.'

The King's powers to remove Andrew are limited because he took on the late Queen Mother's Grade II-listed property from the Crown Estate in 2004 on a long-term lease and has funded many millions of pounds worth of renovations. If King Charles did persuade him to move, then the Crown Estate could even end up owing Andrew money.

Meanwhile, Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson made her debut as a This Morning host alongside Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary today.

The Duchess of York appeared on This Morning where she acted as an agony aunt for people with relationship problems

During the love and relationships segment, the Duchess, 64, acted as an agony aunt, offering advice to two couples struggling with intimacy issues in their marriages.

And there was a running theme in Sarah's responses, with the mother-of-two suggesting both callers reignite spark by spicing things up in the bedroom.

'Get a lovely saucy underwear department in your chest of drawers and you really make the hair, you know, blow dry the hair and take him out on a treat.

'It's the element of surprise and it will bring the magic back into your relationship,' the ex-wife of Prince Andrew continued.

In another part of the show, the three presenters interviewed Sir Cliff Richard - and Sarah was noticeably starstuck.

I cant get over it, its just incredible, she said.

'You know, Sir Cliff, sitting here with you, Im lost for words and thats very unlike me.
MANZINI  A late inyanga, Tiyabusa Tinyanga KaNgwane Bhembes home, was one of the homes damaged by the hailstorm yesterday in the late afternoon.

Bhanyaza Bhembe who is the late inyangas son disclosed that the windows of all the houses at his family home, which is geographically located at Timbutini had their windows damaged by the heavy hailstorm which hit that area and also Bhudla, both in the Manzini Region under the Mafutseni Constituency.

Damaged

Almost all of the cars in the family compound were damaged by the hailstorm and also windows of all the houses were not spared. Even the roofings of the houses were damaged too, said Bhembe in an interview with Eswatini News. Moreover, Bhembe disclosed that this tragedy happened at a time when a coffin of one of their family members had arrived from Dups Funeral in Manzini. We were preparing to bury our family member tomorrow (today) morning and today (yesterday) we were planning to have a night vigil in preparation. Now the house that had housed the coffin has no windows and is flooded, disclosed Bhembe.

Affected

Meanwhile, Lucky Ginindza who was at the homestead to pay his last respects, disclosed that it is not only the Bhembe homestead that has been affected by the hailstorm. Over six homes from both Timbutini and KaBhudla have had their houses windows damaged by the hailstorm, said Ginindza. Meanwhile, Bhembe appealed to emaSwati to assist their families as they try to rebuild, what has been damaged by the storm.
Princess Charlene of Monaco stunned in a silver ensemble as she posed with Father Christmas at the Christmas Ball of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco on Friday.

The former Olympian, 45, was without her husband Prince Albert at the festive event.

Opting for classic Hollywood glamour, the South African born royal was sure to heads in the fitted glittering dress which she paired with diamond earrings and a bold make-up look.

With a striking red lip and smokey eye, the Princess styled her hair into a choppy bob.

It comes just a day after Charlene was joined by Princess Stephanie at the inauguration of the Christmas village in Monaco

Princess Charlene of Monaco stunned in a silver ensemble as she posed with Father Christmas at the Christmas Ball of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco on Friday

Princess Charlene of Monaco stunned in a silver ensemble as she posed with Father Christmas at the Christmas Ball of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco on Friday

Opting for classic Hollywood glamour, the South African born royal was sure to heads in the fitted glittering dress which she paired with diamond earrings and a bold make-up look

The royal added festively glamorous as she donned a red tartan ensemble to attend Christmas illuminations last night.

Former Olympian Charlene, 45, attended the event with her husband Prince Albert II, 65, both of whom appeared in good spirits at the do. They were accompanied by Princess Stephanie of Monaco

Mother-of-two Charlene was elegant and sophisticated, with her now trademark blonde pixie cut neatly styled into a side parting.

And she added to her old-school glamorous appearance with a classic make-up look.

Her fresh complexion was the picture of health. She wore a classic cats-eye make-up style, wearing liquid black eye-liner with a flick, and voluminous eye lashes.

But the centrepiece of her elegant make-up style were her lips, which were impeccably lined and filled in with a classic red colour.

Meanwhile, her husband was also dapper, in a dark two-piece suit, which he wore with classic lace-up shoes and a dark jacket.

The couple both smiled as they posed for photographs together, and with the President of Monte-Carlo Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM) Stephane Valeri.

Parents Princess Charlene and Prince Albert did not appear to be accompanied by their eight-year-old children, twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella.

Princess Charlene (pictured) was the picture of old-school glamour, with a festive red, tartan coat and and elegant make-up look complete with red lip

The royals attended an event showing off the Christmas illuminations in front of the Monte-Carlo Casino (pictured on December 7)

Prince Albert of Monaco (pictured, left) and Princess Charlene of Monaco (pictured, centre) with and President of Monte-Carlo Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM) Stephane Valeri (pictured, right) as they pose for a photograph during the inauguration of the Christmas village in Monaco, on December 7

The couple's festive outing follows a recent appearance they made at the end of November, when they attended a glitzy gala for the Monaco National Day.

Once again, mother-of-two Charlene, was the image of sophistication in a long-sleeved sequined scarlet gown, accentuated by a bright red lipstick.

She once again opted for an Old Hollywood-esque look, styling her blonde tresses into gelled curl.

Again, she opted for a dramatic make-up look with long eyelashes and dewy blush.

Charlene was the very image of old school Hollowood glamour, with her blond pixie cut gelled into a side parting, and a classic red lip

Princess Charlene (pictured, centre) appeared to be deep in conversation with Princess Stephanie of Monaco (picture, left) and Prince Albert (pictured, right)

Meanwhile her husband sported a traditional ensemble with a fitted black jacket and navy trousers.

The royals were presented with flowers, and were pictured being greeted by an adorable group of children donning traditional Monegasque costumes.

National Monaco Day is also known as The Sovereign Prince's Day, and the date of the celebration is chosen by the reigning Prince.

Traditionally, the Princes chose the day of the saint they are named after. But when Prince Albert inherited the title, he decided to choose the same day as his father rather than the day of Saint Albert, which would have been November 15.

It is typically celebrated with fireworks over the harbour the evening before, and a mass in Monte Carlo the next morning.

Earlier in the day, the couple donned patriotic attire to celebrate the National Day of Monaco on Sunday - and their two children followed suit.

Charlene has been enjoying a busy few weeks of public engagements, and was spotted earlier in November helping to hand out gifts at Monaco's Red Cross Christmas giveaway.

The royal wore a navy wool gilet as she joined Prince Albert and their niece, Camilla Gottllieb, 25, at the Royal Palace in Monte-Carlo for the outing.

The royals are pictured during the festive event with children dressed in Father Christmas-style outfits during the event

Prince Albert (pictured, left) and Princess Charlene (pictured, centre) and President of Monte-Carlo Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM) Stephane Valeri (pictured, right) inaugurate the Christmas village in Monaco

Charlene appeared relaxed as she handed out presents to the event's attendees.

The annual charity distribution is part of a number of events organised by the Red Cross in the run-up to Christmas in Monaco and sees members of the royal family gift presents to those in need.

Charlene wrapped up from the cold in a navy wool gilet with leather lapels, which she layered over a black roll neck jumper and trousers.

The event saw members of the royal family speak to some of the Red Cross volunteers who took part in the gift distribution.

They also listened to the story of vulnerable people who were stocking up on gifts ahead of Christmas.
Well, this is quite the departure. Previous years' Christmas cards from the Waleses have been all woollens and wellies: lots of khaki, checked shirts, hearty outdoor settings, that sort of thing  think Sloanes on safari.

This is far more, dare I say it, California-cool than Norfolk pheasant-shoot.

Stylish, monochrome, relaxed hands-in-pocket, jeans, no socks. (No socks!) Still, at least they're wearing shoes. Granted, plimsolls. But no bare toes. Not yet, at any rate.

It's giving Ralph Lauren (literally: there's a branded polo emblem on Prince George's chest), it's giving Dyson Airwrap hair multi-styler and dryer, it's giving Mr Darcy in a white shirt.

Prince George looks every inch the debonaire future young Duke, hand in pocket, knee bent, steady gaze, as though leaning on a marble mantelpiece scanning the room for debutantes. Is that a small glass of port he's hiding behind his mother's back?

The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George in their black-and-white shot

Previous years' Christmas cards from the Waleses have been all woollens and wellies: lots of khaki, checked shirts, hearty outdoor settings, that sort of thing  think Sloanes on safari (pictured in 2018)

Prince William is the beaming, benevolent patriarch, paw resting affectionately on the shoulder of the family's youngest. Indeed, Louis looks the very spit of Grandpa Middleton (if one can say such a thing these days; one doesn't want to be accused of 'unconscious bias').

The Princess of Wales is fabulous, as always, her dazzling smile pure head girl/homecoming queen perfection, her long locks framing her face with enviable lustre. But the real star of the show, this centrepiece of Royal appreciation, is Princess Charlotte.

Charlotte is only eight but the camera already adores her

She's only eight, but already the camera adores her. And she seems at ease, calm and composed, an intriguing combination of her mother's beauty, the late Queen's poise and self-assurance  and Princess Diana's magnetism. A superstar in the making.

But it's not what you might call 'traditional'. Indeed, the overall effect is the kind of image you'd expect to see on the front cover of a magazine, not a mantelpiece. Hardly surprising, really, since it was created by fashion (and fashionable) photographer Josh Shinner, a regular on publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Esquire.

The professionalism is unmistakable, from the studio backdrop to the impeccable lighting and the chic, understated yet achingly luxurious styling.

It is quite a move for the Waleses, and very much a clear signal that they intend to be in all aspects a 'modern' Royal Family.

By contrast, Charles and Camilla have stuck to tradition in their Coronation-themed card. That shiny purple on the King's waistcoat is more than a little reminiscent of the coveted hazelnut one in the Quality Street tin.

King Charles, wearing his purple satin Coronation tunic, and Queen Camilla are seen smiling at May's ceremony on this year's Christmas card

All that red draping and white ermine is very Father Christmas, too, the gold pure Ferrero Rocher. There's a whiff of old-fashioned tinsel to it, and why not? Pass the cooking sherry, this one's a granny-pleaser

All that red draping and white ermine is very Father Christmas, too, the gold pure Ferrero Rocher. There's a whiff of old-fashioned tinsel to it, and why not? Pass the cooking sherry, this one's a granny-pleaser.

Of course, it was Harry and Meghan who originally adopted the more urbane feel of the Waleses' card for their own official photographs.

For example, a similar uniform to the one seen here of jeans, megawatt smiles and no socks was the order of the day two years ago when Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet celebrated their first Christmas of 'freedom'. The snapper for that 'Happy Holidays' card was Alexi Lubomirski, also responsible for the couple's studiously spontaneous black and white engagement and wedding photographs.

Diana was famous for her collaborations with fashion photographers

Like Shinner, Lubomirski, whose website describes himself as 'a conscious voice who captures the world around us and inspires positive change' also has an impressive CV, counting Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt as his celebrity subjects, plus a variety of high-end brand campaigns, including Dior and Ralph Lauren.

It's also worth remembering that we've been here before. Princess Diana was famous for her various collaborations with fashion photographers such as Patrick Demarchelier and Mario Testino, the results of which helped turn her into the enduring style icon she remains today.

If asked, the Prince and Princess of Wales would no doubt dismiss any parallels with the Sussex aesthetic as pure coincidence.

But in a year when Prince Harry has, not to put too fine a point on it, dumped buckets of vitriol all over his brother and sister-in-law, it's very gratifying to see such a defiantly joyous show of Yuletide unity.
Vanessa Lyndon lives by the motto 'never put anything on your skin you wouldn't put in your mouth'.

The 51-year-old was inspired by the phrase, told to her by her best friend Mel who died of cancer almost 20 years ago, and uses it as the ethos behind her natural skincare brand Vanessa Megan.

She has always been a fan of natural remedies from her days growing up on a farm in rural Western Australia healing spider bites with honey.

She also studied biochemistry and herbology to help find non-toxic skincare solutions for Mel while she was going through treatment.

Vanessa told FEMAIL she started formulating natural 'food grade' skincare products as a hobby while working as an actress and model alongside big names in the business.

In 2013, she launched Vanessa Megan to a loyal fanbase she gained from selling her remedies at Bondi Markets and chatting to women about their beauty and skin woes.

The brand is now a multimillion-dollar empire and is on track a 70 per cent growth in sales since last October alone.

Vanessa Lyndon (pictured) started her own skincare brand, Vanessa Megan, after years of formulating her own completely natural 'food grade' products

Vanessa's deep understanding of what nasties are in big brand skincare products and the natural ingredients we should use instead comes from years of studies and a keen interest in non-synthetic chemicals.

She started looking into natural ingredients when Mel was battling an aggressive melanoma as she wanted to know what chemicals would help and hinder her health while undergoing treatment.

'Mel was such an advocate. She was a vegetarian and always very healthy but it was a melanoma that got her in the end. It spread to her lymph (nodes) and brain. It was quite a quick bloody thing,' she recalled.

'It was that time when I was seeing her go down so fast that I was experiencing and understanding what was in skincare.

'I couldn't believe that we weren't educated about it and all of these ingredients exist. We're pretty good with our foods like we know what the fats are and carbs and sugars.'

Vanessa said she 'went down the rabbit hole of biochemistry' and dove 'head first' into looking at the most beneficial non-synthetic ingredients and how they affect the skin.

What she found was alarming.

She was always a fan of natural remedies from her days growing up on a farm to her studies to find non-toxic skincare solutions for her best friend Mel who was being treated for cancer

'Mineral oil, which comes under the guise of liquid paraffin, is a petrochemical. It's the second biggest cause of ageing and more carcinogenic than smoking. It's like putting Glad Wrap on your skin so nothing good can go in,' Vanessa explained.

Parabens was another ingredient used in many beauty and skincare products; Vanessa avoids it as it has been linked to breast cancer.

'Parabens are an ingredient that mimic oestrogen. They're used in deodorants and when people use them under their arms. It's very close to the breast tissue,' she said.

'They're finding parabens in the tumours of breast cancer patients. That's why we're seeing a lot of paraben-free products right now. They're also linked to hormone disruptions.'

According to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, several studies have sown parabens, found in things like sunscreens, makeup and even mouth wash, can affect normal breast cells and potentially lead to abnormal growths.

'Another ingredient that scares the absolute bejesus out of me is Phthalates which is in perfume and just so toxic,' Vanessa added.

'Perfumes are a melting pot of toxins. They use a synthetic toxic ingredient to take away bad smells so that you only smell the good smell.'

Vanessa started formulating natural skincare products as a hobby while working as an actress and model where she worked alongside big names in the business

In her late teens and early twenties Vanessa was jetsetting around the world modelling with the likes of Claudia Schiffer in Paris when she suddenly had a change of heart.

'When I was 23, I went through a mid-life crisis, I just thought there's more to life than being a human coat hanger, I wanted to be a bit more creative,' she said.

Vanessa turned her sights to acting. She graduated from NIDA and landed roles in the US and Australia but was still pursuing her skincare hobby on the side.

'I was working with Ray Liotta and Dom Purcell, some big names which was so exciting but at the same time moonlighting with my skincare and going to the Bondi markets and educating women about what they were putting on their skin,' she said.

Through her twenties and thirties, she bought ingredients and herbs wholesale to making remedies for her migraines as well as her then-partner's eczema and psoriasis.

'A friend asked me what I was doing on the weekend. I said, 'I'm making a cream for (my partner) and she was like, 'You are not'. I just thought because I'd been making cream for eight years, everyone made cream right?' she said.

Vanessa immediately invited all her friends around to teach them how to make their own skincare.

'They brought their Tupperware containers. Someone had the calculator, someone was measuring, someone was pouring. They saw the ingredients in their raw form and we made a cream,' she said.

'These were really intelligent, savvy women in the eastern suburbs of Sydney and they weren't aware what they're putting on their skin.'

Vanessa started selling her homemade products at Bondi markets and spreading the word about what she was learning.

In 2013, she started bottling and selling her homemade products under the name Vanessa Megan at Bondi markets while talking to women about her skincare knowledge

'It was always the education piece I was pushing, but in doing that there were people going, 'Well, you're educating me, now give me something for a solution for this',' she said.

In 2013, she started bottling and selling her homemade products under the name Vanessa Megan at Bondi markets while talking to women about her skincare knowledge.

'I did a lot of my market research when I was at the markets. People come up and go 'You've got this. But what about this?', 'My baby is getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Can you make something?' and I'm like, 'Yes, come back next week and I'll have something',' she said.

'It was just like wildfire. It went from Bondi markets to health food stores locally and nationally within six months then internationally within a year,' she said.

Vanessa's acting career waned when she met her husband and started having kids so she turned her full attention to developing her brand.

'We really weren't quite sure where we fit in Australia. We had elevated the brand, and it was a bit too expensive for health stores, and we didn't necessarily want go into the big department chains stores,' she said.

Vanessa pitched her products to luxury spas who started using Vanessa Megan on their clients.

In the past four years Vanessa Megan has turned over more than $8million and just had its biggest month bringing in $500,000 in September

Vanessa still sells the cream she used to make for her former partner to clear up his eczema and psoriasis: 'I knew it worked and that's now our Rose and Calendula Moisture and Face Cream'

'A lot of people don't know the brand exists so by people going to a spa, experiencing it and having on their skin they're like, 'Oh my god, this is really working on my skin',' Vanessa said.

In the past four years Vanessa Megan has turned over more than $8million and just had its biggest month bringing in $500,000 in September.

Under the brand, Vanessa still sells the cream she made for her former partner all those years ago.

'I'd make that cream and his eczema would disappear. I knew it worked and that's now our Rose and Calendula Moisture and Face Cream. I've always kept that because it's soothing and calming,' she said.

Vanessa's best selling product for the last two weeks has been the Metamorphosis The Other Lips Balm Vaginal Moisturiser, which only launched last month.

With overseas opportunities to scale the business even further, Vanessa Megan is looking to raise capital to expand the businesses growth, the business is looking to raise up to $1.4 million with Equity Crowdfunding platform Birchal.
Women, I don't mean to alarm you.

But it appears the married men among us have a serious problem they urgently want addressed. Yes, I would almost go so far as calling it a national outcry.

How do I know? Well, they confess it to me every week during the Saucy Secrets confessional I host on Instagram. The same dilemma is appearing time and time again by a vast array of men, all with the same issue.

Now, prepare yourselves... it appears they are all highly frustrated that their partners don't like giving blowjobs.

Yes, it's true. There are a LOT of marriages currently stuck in a blowjob-free zone. Most of the men who confess to me about this issue are going so far as looking for BJs elsewhere - or at least considering it - and justifying it with a simple, 'Well, if she doesn't want to give me one, I'll find someone else who is happy to.'

Uh, unless you are in an open marriage, I don't think that's how these things work.

Women, I don't mean to alarm you, but it appears the married men among us have a serious problem they urgently want addressed: they are all frustrated with their lack of blowjobs

Most of the men who confess to me about this issue are now looking for BJs elsewhere

Confessions include:

1. 'My wife doesn't give BJs. An ex (also married) has recently made contact and we've been messaging reminiscing about how good the sex was. She's offered to give me one last no-strings-attached BJ. I am worn, what to do?'

2. 'My wife hates giving blowjobs so I go to a brothel about once a month to release tension. Worth every penny.'

3. 'Been with my partner for 10+ years, can count on one hand the number of BJs I've gotten. She hates giving them, I'm 'eh' on them, but would still be nice on occasion.'

I have thoughts on this, oh so many thoughts.

As someone who quite enjoys doing the 'act' myself, I am a little perplexed by the problem. I mean, sometimes I can't even get warmed up without some reciprocal oral action. There's something very sexy about doing this particular 'job' for someone else knowing they will be wildly turned on by it. It gets me hot under the collar just thinking about it.

So imagine being in a marriage, which you would hope is for life, knowing that you may never enjoy the beloved BJ ever again.

Here's a tip, lubricate our minds and you might get us lubricated elsewhere. Women require more than a smacked bum and a 'you wanna?' to get in the mood

Fellas, in the fine words of Taylor Swift, perhaps you should come to the conclusion 'It's me. I'm the problem, it's me'

It sure seems grim. But, fellas, I fear you are looking at this all wrong.

I would suggest you ask yourself why she doesn't like giving you such a pleasurable act. Could it perhaps have anything to do with you? Are you doing things that warrant some extra loving?

Are the lawns mowed? Have you helped around the house? Have you taken the kids off her hands for a much-needed break recently? Or are you just grunting at her as a form of foreplay? It happens far more often than we women would like to admit.

Here's a tip, lubricate our minds and you might get us lubricated elsewhere. Women require more than a smacked bum and a 'you wanna?' to get in the mood.

A friend of mine recently confessed her husband had let himself go. She said while she regularly goes to Pilates classes and trims 'the bush' to keep herself looking fit, healthy and fresh, he has chosen to go the other direction. She complained that once they got married, he stacked on the kilos and stopped putting in any effort.

Whereas she once used to rip his clothes off, now she's questioning whether he's had a shower before getting into bed. He's a tradie and the thought of him stomping around in the sun all day and then coming home and expecting action while still wearing the remnants of the day - including sweaty under-regions - is all just a bit yuck.

Another friend complained her husband's constant farting and lack of personal hygiene really turned her off the idea of heading south. She said it physically made her gag.

In fact, a recent study by UK retailer Currys revealed that one in five men admitted to wearing the same dirty undies for a week, while every woman in the study said they changed their undies daily. Are these the very same men who sook and complain about a lack of action down there? You have to wonder

I think it's interesting that so many men have said they go looking for their beloved blowjobs somewhere else when they could be getting them at home simply by making a few simple tweaks to their lifestyles.

So fellas, in the fine words of Taylor Swift, perhaps you should come to the conclusion 'It's me. I'm the problem, it's me.'

Pick up a vacuum, give the house a nice clean-up, head to the gym, buy a nice cologne, shower before bed, and maybe you will just happen to find yourself in a better position. A sexual one.

Just a thought
Every day we choose what meals, snacks and drinks we'd like to tuck into.

But rather than this choice being completely within our control, genes could be dictating what, and how much, we eat.

One in particular, called MC4R, is vital for regulating body weight.

While everyone has two copies of it, some people who have a mutated version find it much harder to resist the urge to eat.

Studies suggest that people who carry the variant weigh nearly 20kg (3st 2lbs) more than their peers.

One gene in particular, called MC4R, is vital for regulating body weight. While everyone has it, some people who have a mutated version find it much harder to resist the urge to eat

Melanocortin-4 receptors (MC4R) have been linked to obesity since the 1990s.

When it works properly, it produces a protein that signals to the brain's appetite sensors when the body has enough fat stored and, therefore, when it is full, experts say.

However, if one or both copies of this gene are faulty, it can incorrectly flag to the brain that it is lacking in fat stores  fuelling a desire to overeat.

NHS genetic tests for severe early-onset obesity can detect the mutation and some online tests, costing up to 800, claim to spot it as well.

A 2021 study by researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of Cambridge revealed just how much of an impact this genetic quirk can have.

They looked at the data of 5,724 children born in Bristol between 1990 and 1991.

What is melanocortin-4 receptors (MC4R)? Melanocortin-4 receptors (MC4R) have been linked to obesity since the 1990s. Everyone has two copies of the gene. When it works properly, it produces a protein that signals to the brain's appetite sensors when the body has enough fat stored and, therefore, when it is full, experts say. However, if one or both copies of this gene are faulty, it can incorrectly flag to the brain that it is lacking in fat stores  fuelling a desire to overeat. A Cambridge University study suggests that three in 1,000 people have the mutation. This group were 17.8kg (39lbs) heavier by age 18, on average, than those who did not have it, according to the findings. They also had a BMI score that was 4.8 points higher and carried 14.8kg more fat. However, studies also show that there are nine mutations to the MC4R gene can help people stay skinny and dodge type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. Around six per cent of people are thought to be carrying these. Advertisement

Results showed 17 (0.3 per cent) had mutations in one of their copies of MC4R, which caused their brains to sense that they had less body fat than they actually did.

At the age of 18, those with the mutation were 17.8kg (39lbs) heavier, on average, than those who did not have it, according to the findings.

They also had a BMI score that was 4.8 points higher and carried 14.8kg more fat.

The scientists, who shared their results in the journal Nature Medicine, warned that those who carry the variant risk entering adult life with a 'substantial burden' of excess fat.

They suggested that the so-called obesity mutation may affect up to 200,000 Brits and 1million Americans.

Professor Giles Yeo, a geneticist who studies obesity at the University of Cambridge and co-author of that study, discussed the research this week at a Royal Society conference.

He said: 'You can't magic energy into your body and you certainly can't magic the energy away.

'The only way you're going to be able to gain weight is to eat more than you burn, and ergo, the only way to lose weight is to burn more than you eat. Clearly your body weight is a function of physics  but that is the how.

'Where the biological variation lies, where the interesting things that we can do and think about lies, comes in the why  why do people behave so very differently around food?'

He said genetic modifiers, such as MC4R mutations, run through the entire process of food intake, which is controlled by the brain.

Discussing whether obesity is a choice, he said: 'Am I giving anyone any excuse? Hopefully the answer is no.

'But I think you've got to consider your genes like a hand of cards  you get bad hands.

'And the only people you can blame are your parents because that's where it's come from. But you can win with a bad hand, it's just more difficult.'

Professor Yeo said: 'We do not lose or gain weight overnight. We just don't. Any given meal, no matter how big, is not going to perceptibly change your body weight. Your body weight is a function of thousands of different feeding events over the past few years.

'But imagine if because of your genetic hand of cards, you're a few percentage points less likely to say no [to overeating]  five per cent.

'Five per cent over thousands of eating events is hundreds of thousands of calories.'

He added: 'Until we in society understand that for people with obesity, it's always going to be more difficult, they're fighting their biology, we're never going to be able to fix the problem.'

A separate study suggested that mutations in the MC4R gene fuels unhealthy food choices.

Researchers at Cambridge recruited people who had a healthy weight and were obese, with some of the latter having MC4R mutations.

They were offered three bowls of chicken korma and three bowls of Eton mess  each of which either had a low, medium or high fat or sugar content  and told to pick the option they liked the most and eat as much as they wanted.

Those with the mutation ate almost twice the amount of high-fat curry than their slimmer counterparts and 65 per cent more than others who were obese but did not have the genetic quirk. However, they ate significantly less of all Eton mess variations compared to the other two groups.

The team concluded that those with the gene prefer high-fat food without realising it, a habit which contributes to their weight problem.

They suggested that the MC4R mutation may be a way of the body protecting against starvation by encouraging the consumption of high-fat food.

Research has also suggested that MC4R is involved in the development of obesity-related health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Scientists believe this is down to the molecule having a role in maintaining healthy insulin levels and blood pressure.

Yet, being obese can lead to both conditions and may be a simpler explanation.

However, studies also show that there are nine mutations to the MC4R gene can help people stay skinny and dodge type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. Around six per cent of people are thought to be carrying these.
President Joe Biden's former Covid advisor has admitted the pandemic may have been borne out of a laboratory leak in Wuhan.

Speaking at a New York City health conference this week, Dr Raj Panjabi, former Special Assistant to the President, described the lab leak theory as 'plausible' and called on Governments around the world to 'do more to keep labs safe.

Biden called former President Donald Trump 'nakedly xenophobic in May 2020, for suggesting Covid was the result of Chinese experiments gone wrong.

But now the FBI, Department of Energy and many scientists and US government officials believe it is the most likely origin of the pandemic.

However, the official line from Biden's White House is that the origin of Covid remains uncertain  a view echoed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who said there is 'no definitive answer' to the question.

President Joe Biden 's former Covid advisor has admitted the pandemic may have been borne out of a laboratory leak in Wuhan

But ex-Covid adviser Dr Panjabi appeared to veer away from the party line this week saying: It is plausible that Covid originated in a lab accident in Wuhan...we have got to do more to keep labs safe.

He also issued a chilling prediction: There's a 50/50 chance of another pandemic happening by 2050.

'The risk of a pandemic is only growing in the modern world,' Dr Punjabi said in a speech at the Forbes Healthcare Summit 2023 earlier this week.

'There is a 50 percent risk one will happen in the next 25 years. This is because of globalization, or what I call the three Ps.

These are: Pathogen spillover [when diseases jump from animals to humans]... planes [global travel], and poor public health systems that are shattered and lack investment.

Dr Panjabi worked for the Biden administration from 2021 to late 2023 where he advised on their response to Covid and future pandemic threats, such as monkeypox

Dr Panjabi is a physician specializing in infectious disease and epidemiology. He has also been named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.

Panjabi worked for the Biden administration from 2021 to late 2023, playing a key role in two public health crises: the Covid-19 pandemic and the monkeypox outbreak that began in the Spring of 2022.

He also led the White House strategy for boosting Covid vaccine uptake in the US and abroad  a program that saw 1.1billion shots distributed to third-world countries.

Safety practices in US scientific laboratories are gaining increasing attention from Government officials, in a bid to prevent future pandemics.

Congress is currently considering tighter regulation of labs, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee currently holding hearings on the subject.

Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology, where crucial data was wiped by Chinese scientists

In September, Republicans escalated their Covid origins investigation, demanding the Biden administration and other politicians comply with their requests  or face being subpoenaed.

In a letter sent to HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra first obtained by DailyMail.com, the Republicans wrote they 'expect full and timely compliance' with their requests, which have gone unanswered since they launched the probe in February.

And Dr Anthony Fauci has finally agreed to testify to Congress on his involvement in the public cover up of Covid's origins.

The onetime White House doctor will be grilled on his former department's funding of dangerous experiments in Wuhan, as well as the stark difference between his public and private comments about the lab leak theory.

He is due to speak in front of the House in January, which will be the first time he has testified under oath since his infamous showdown in front of the Senate in July 2021.

Shi Zhengli - dubbed the 'Bat Lady' or 'Bat Woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses - works at the Wuhan Institute of Virology

The lab leak theory of Covid was dismissed as a conspiracy in the early days of the pandemic by leading figures including Dr Fauci.

Dr Panjabi is just the latest high ranking official to give credence to the lab leak theory, after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former top health official Dr Robert Kadlec and former national security director John Ratcliffe all came out in support of it.

Speaking to Sky News last month, Dr Ratcliffe said: Its more than just a possibility, its certainly a probability and its probably a certainty.

Dr Rober Kadlec, who initially worked with Dr Fauci to hush the lab leak theory, has suggested in a report that Covid likely escaped during the work of scientist Dr Zhou Yusen at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

He filed a patent for a Covid vaccine in February 2020, which suggested he had been working on it for months.

Countless reports have revealed lax practices at US labs - including a military research facility Fort Detrik, in Maryland.

The lab is accused of leaking Ebola and Anthrax into local water supplies in May 2018 after a tank holding wastewater from labs became over-pressurized and sprayed infectious waste for three hours.

There are also suggestions that pandemics have been caused by lab leaks before, including the 2004 and 2005 influenza outbreak.

Researchers said the strain that caused it bared a remarkable resemblance to one that had been spreading decades earlier.

Dr Martin Hirsch, a virologist in Massachusetts who previously worked in top-level virus research labs, told DailyMail.com: It is extremely important that we maintain rigorous procedures for safety at BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs.

Scientists also should not be cavalier about what they work with and how they work with it.

'I feel strongly that laboratories should be closely monitored.

Their experiments should not be done unless there is a very good reason and they are done under very rigorous containment procedures.'
A female nurse clinician overseeing a drug trial in the early 1990s posed a question that she noticed the male volunteers were reluctant to address.

That is, save for one brave soul. Asked if there were any noticeable side-effects to the treatment he had been receiving, he confided the truth: he had been having robust erections throughout the night.

'At this point many of the other men admitted they had, too,' says Dr David Brown, one of the team of three involved in inventing the drug in question.

It was certainly an unexpected reaction from the participants, all former miners from the Welsh coal-mining town of Merthyr Tydfil.

It had been hoped that the drug being tested by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, a compound named UK-92,480 now better known as sildenafil, would relax the blood vessels around the heart to improve blood flow and help those suffering from angina and other heart issues.

Yet, while sildenafil did indeed make a set of blood vessels dilate, it was not in the area expected: instead, it was in the penis. In other words, the drug worked but in the 'wrong' part of the body.

Cast of Men Up: Peetham 'Pete' Shah, Meurig Jenkins, Eddie O'Connor, Colin White

BBC drama Men Up, executive produced by Dr Who writer Russell T. Davies, will tell the extraordinary story of how a group of everyday men from Merthyr Tydfil inadvertently altered the course of pharmaceutical history  and almost didn't

This happy accident would lead to the birth of one of the greatest and most lucrative discoveries in medical science, a 'potency pill' better known to its many millions of users around the world today as Viagra. The little diamond-shaped blue pill would go on to become one of Pfizer's biggest income-generators.

By 2018, 20 years after it first hit the market, 62 million men had bought it globally. It raked in $500 million in revenue for its creator in the first few months of sales alone  and many tens of billions of dollars since.

Now, 30 years after those Welsh miners reported on their unexpected bodily reactions, the story of Viagra's unlikely provenance is set to be brought to life on the small screen.

BBC drama Men Up, executive produced by Dr Who writer Russell T. Davies, will tell the extraordinary story of how a group of everyday men from Merthyr Tydfil inadvertently altered the course of pharmaceutical history  and almost didn't.

'There were so many things that combined to make this happen. It could have been missed if that one miner and our clinical research associate had not overcome her embarrassment to relate it to me,' as Dr David Brown puts it today. 'The drug wouldn't exist.'

Certainly, in 1993, the idea that you could pop a pill to 'cure' erectile dysfunction seemed like little more than science fiction, although it had not stopped men trying all kinds of 'remedies'.

'The Egyptians believed that it was the result of an evil spell and they prescribed that the dried, powdered hearts of baby crocodiles should be rubbed on the genitals as a cure,' sex historian Alix Fox tells the Mail. It was just one of many alarming 'treatments' deployed over the years.

'The Ancient Greeks thought that nettles, spicy peppers, and crushed up 'blister beetles' containing a burning chemical called cantharidin could help, as they believed that making the body hot would result in a hotter night of sex,' says Alix.

'Other cultures recommended potions made from goose tongues, vulture lungs and rooster testicles.'

Meurig Jenkins, played by Iwan Rheon, features in the BBC documentary

One trialist was Idris Price, who would sign up for clinical tests in between jobs

In the 19th century, electricity was used to 'zap' limp penises into life, says Alix, while in the 1920s, Russian-born experimentalist Serge Voronoff became convinced that transplanting monkeys' testicles into the scrotums of human beings was the way forward. 'Thousands of men were desperate enough to give it a go,' says Alix.

In reality, nothing really made much difference, and pharmaceutical companies largely concentrated their efforts on other medical issues, among them Pfizer which, by the early 1990s, had decided to trial a new heart medication to treat angina and hypertension. The Pfizer scientists  among them Dr David Brown  had identified a molecule that lowered blood pressure in animals, and hoped it would have the same effect in humans.

It had taken his team, Nicholas Terrett and Andrew Bell  both of whom were named on the subsequent Viagra patent alongside David Brown  years to identify this molecule but, once tested, results were disappointing.

'We were getting some effects in angina but not as big as you would want for it to be marketable, especially given there were other treatments,' says David. 'It got to the point where I presented to senior management in 1993 and they said, 'We're going to close the project unless you get better results very soon.'

'Fortunately, we had another study already under way.'

That study was unfolding in a clinical unit in Merthyr Tydfil. The town had suffered terribly from the closure of the coal mines in South Wales, with many men out of work. So for the 20 test volunteers the 300  worth ten times that in today's money  was a godsend.

One trialist was Idris Price, who would sign up for clinical tests in between jobs after he was laid off from the local steelworks. 'The money from the trial was very important to my family as we had nothing in those days,' Idris told BBC documentary Keeping It Up, aired this week.

Certainly, in 1993, the idea that you could pop a pill to 'cure' erectile dysfunction seemed like little more than science fiction, although it had not stopped men trying all kinds of 'remedies'

Keeping It Up: The Story of Viagra tells of how the drug was discovered in Wales

It allowed us to get in extra food and, instead of having two bags of coal for the fire, we had five. It was actually a doddle, easy money which came in handy.'

He and his fellow volunteers took the pill three times a day for ten consecutive days.

He said: 'We were told nothing about the drug apart from the doctor said the tablet is for angina and you might have side-effects... A lot of the boys were nervous about what was going to happen.'

What happened changed the course of medical history. It just needed one of the subjects to pluck up the courage to admit to the unintended side-effect. 'You have to remember these were different times, and sex was not as openly talked about,' says David.

His supervising assistant was embarrassed to relay to him what some of the volunteers had reported. 'I've still got a picture in my mind of her with a bright red blush on her face,' adds David.

Once made aware, however, he was immediately in no doubt about the commercial implications of the drug  although he had to persuade the head of clinical research.

'He was not interested at first  not unreasonably  but I was so determined that I basically closed the office door and said I wasn't leaving until he gave me the money,' says David.

'That was huge insolence on my part as he was several levels senior to me, but he listened and he personally took a risk by giving me the money, knowing that his seniors were negative about the project.'

It was one of the serendipities that allowed Viagra to happen: another being that a recent scientific paper had explained the biochemistry of what happened in a penis during an erection. 'We knew because of that publication that our drug would increase that natural drive,' says David.

The timing of the paper was important, as was a project that David and a colleague had proposed to Pfizer on male impotence several years earlier. Although it was rejected at the time, the commercial analysis had been done

Moira Davies, played by Joanna Page , in BBC's 'Men Up'

Perhaps the most compelling evidence of its efficacy, though, was not scientific but incidental: many patients refused to give their medication back

The timing of the paper was important, as was a project that David and a colleague had proposed to Pfizer on male impotence several years earlier. Although it was rejected at the time, the commercial analysis had been done.

'So I knew there was a huge unmet medical need and a big commercial opportunity for Pfizer,' says David. 'These things all came together at once in my mind.'

Events moved quickly. Pfizer ran an initial study on 12 men with an impotence problem in Southmead, Bristol. 'They showed them blue movies to try to generate erections, and measured them on a RigiScan, a device which measures how rigid the penis gets,' says David. 'In 11 out of 12 we got a real response. You couldn't miss it.'

This was fairly extraordinary, but the second study, in February 1994, was even more transformative as it took the dosage down from three pills a day to one. 'This is still how it's sold today,' says David.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence of its efficacy, though, was not scientific but incidental: many patients refused to give their medication back.

'After the second study, the patients were allowed to take the drug home to have sex with their wives but they had to give it back after a week if they hadn't used it,' says David.

'No one gave it back. In fact, one patient wrote to me saying, 'I know I promised to give it back, but this is the first time I've had sex with my wife in 20 years.' It was actually very moving.'

So successful were the trials that the drug  now bearing its brand name Viagra  was approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment for erectile dysfunction in March 1998, five years after that brave Welsh miner had remarked on its unusual but not unwelcome side-effect.

So successful were the trials that the drug  now bearing its brand name Viagra  was approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment

The pill was coloured with that famous blue hue because the shade was believed to suggest cool, calm, masculine confidence

'It was actually proving the safety not the efficacy that took the time in later years,' says David. 'We knew it worked from the off, really, but it had to be tested on many more people to prove it was safe.'

Nothing was left to chance, adds Alix, including the marketing.

'The pill was coloured with that famous blue hue because the shade was believed to suggest cool, calm, masculine confidence, while the diamond shape was intended to hint at the diamond-hard results it would deliver,' she says.

To call it a game-changer is an understatement: almost immediately after it launched, it was being prescribed at a rate of around 10,000 a day.

It went on to become one of the most prescribed drugs in history, as well as suffusing effortlessly into popular culture: within months of its launch, Nicole Kidman's sultry turn in West End hit The Blue Room was described by a critic as 'pure theatrical Viagra', while that same year, ITV's This Morning, then fronted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan, asked three couples to trial it and report the results on live morning television. Richard and Judy later confided that they too had tried it.

'It makes everything last longer,' said Madeley. 'But it's not in any way an aphrodisiac.'

David Brown recalls the madness of the time all too well. 'I went on a weekend holiday to Berlin with my wife Ann in June 1998, put the television on in the hotel room and it was all about Viagra. I turned to my wife and said: 'Pfizer don't need to market this drug. It's more like anti-marketing to try to control the excitement.' It was everywhere.'

So lucrative was the pill that copycat versions sprang up around the world, despite Pfizer holding the patent. In 2011, a Mormon, Kelly Harvey, developed a Viagra alternative called Stiff Nights, which quickly swept the U.S.

To call it a game-changer is an understatement: almost immediately after it launched, it was being prescribed at a rate of around 10,000 a day

The town had suffered terribly from the closure of the coal mines in South Wales

His version was a little red pill  sales pitch 'Regain the Thunder'  based on a plant called golden speargrass.

Only later did Harvey find his natural herbal extract was also laced with sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. Now making millions, he continued to supply it anyway until he was arrested by the FDA amid reports that some users were suffering from medical complications.

He was sentenced to three years in prison but Stiff Nights remained in circulation, and two years later the family of a man from Missouri claimed he had died after taking it.

Even legitimate use of sildenafil led to unexpected consequences: it emerged that rates of sexually transmitted diseases in elderly men in Florida had soared in the first few years after Viagra got its licence.

It appears that many visited prostitutes to test out their new-found sex drive. Other countries, among them the UK, reported a rise in divorce cases sparked by what was called 'Viagra-fuelled adultery'.

'Now men have a drug to help them get it up and get going, they have also shown a worrying tendency to get up and leave  for younger women,' as one sex counsellor put it to a newspaper reporting on the phenomenon.

None of this detracts, for David, from the extraordinary positive effect of what he calls a 'unique drug'  one that is both highly effective and has almost no side-effects. 'There is almost no other drug you can say that about,' he says.

Unsurprisingly, he remains deeply proud of the part he and his colleagues played in solving a problem that he always saw as a medical issue every bit as potent as others.

What's more, he is still seeking breakthrough drugs. Healx, the company he co-founded in 2014 with Dr Tim Guilliams, is using the lessons learned from identifying Viagra. 'They have been built into our artificial intelligence approach to inventing new medicines,' says David. 'I believe we can do it again and again.'
A row has erupted between cardiology experts and GP leaders over prescribing a breakthrough heart drug that could save tens of thousands of lives.

The medicine, called inclisiran, is a twice-a-year jab that slashes levels of so-called bad cholesterol by more than 50 per cent after just two weeks. It has been approved for use on the NHS since 2021 for patients with stubbornly high cholesterol levels who have already suffered a heart attack.

NHS England say the drug could prevent 55,000 heart attacks and strokes within the next decade, saving 30,000 lives, at a cost of just 45 a dose.

But the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and British Medical Association (BMA) have refused to back plans to allow GPs to directly prescribe inclisiran. The organisations  two of the UKs largest bodies representing doctors  argue that their members dont have enough time to offer the drug, as patients on it have to be carefully monitored, and also claim theres not enough proof that its effective and safe.

This means that most inclisiran prescriptions are written by a specialist, forcing some patients to travel hundreds of miles to see the relevant doctor or wait as long as a year for an appointment.

Click on this week's Medical Minefield podcast to hear why doctors are at war over a 45 cholesterol-busting drug

Broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, pictured, has said she has been treated with a twice-yearly jab which has dramatically slashed her levels of 'bad' cholesterol

Specialists have hit back, labelling the RCGP and BMA as Luddites. Speaking to the MoS, Professor Derek Connolly, consultant cardiologist at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said: More than 200,000 patients worldwide have taken inclisiran over the past seven years. We have clear data that it is safe, that it reduces cholesterol and that this will cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Doctors delaying the rollout of inclisiran are Luddites  they dont like change and are needlessly depriving patients of a potentially life-saving drug.

Inclisiran, also known as Leqvio, is a new breed of drug that reduces LDL, or bad cholesterol, which damages artery walls, leading to a build-up of plaque which can block blood supply and trigger a heart attack or stroke.

In contrast, good cholesterol, known as HDL, helps remove other forms of cholesterol from your bloodstream. Higher levels of HDL are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

Inclisiran is known as a small interfering RNA, or siRNA, which works on a genetic level to inhibit the production of PCSK9, a protein involved in the regulation of LDL. Reducing PCSK9 helps the liver remove more LDL from the blood.

And the need for the drug is clear. For decades, statins  daily pills which reduce LDL levels by 30 to 50 per cent  have been the gold standard treatment for high cholesterol. The tablets, offered to anyone found to be at greater than a ten per cent risk of a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years, are taken by more than eight million Britons.

But research shows about half of those taking them fail to reach healthy cholesterol levels. Some stop taking the medication, while others find theyre unable to take a high enough dose, often blaming side effects such as muscle aches.

Professor Derek Connolly, consultant cardiologist at Sandwell and West Birmingham said: 'Doctors delaying the rollout of inclisiran are Luddites  they dont like change and are needlessly depriving patients of a potentially life-saving drug

Inclisiran is designed to be taken alongside statins or other cholesterol-lowering medication, including ezetimibe and bempedoic acid, in order to reduce levels sufficiently.

Last year, broadcaster and menopause campaigner Mariella Frostrup revealed she suffers from heart disease and was on medication you inject twice a year which was a life-saver as statins didnt work for me. Although she didnt name the drug as inclisiran, she said it dramatically affected my cholesterol.

Experts say that, all told, around 300,000 people in the UK  with stories similar to Mariellas  could be eligible for inclisiran, but just 20,000 have been offered it so far.

In a bid to increase uptake, earlier this year inclisiran maker Novartis cut the cost of the injection from about 2,500 to 45.

The plan was to get 100,000 people on to the drug every year, says Professor Kausik Ray, a consultant cardiologist at Imperial College London and lead investigator on a major inclisiran trial. It was on this basis that the drug firm gave the UK such a good discount.

Inclisiran was approved in 2021 for high-risk patients by drug watchdog the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) after trials showed it drastically cut LDL levels and there were no safety concerns. It pointed out there was a clear need for more cholesterol-lowering medicines to reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes the NHS tackles  each accounts for about 100,000 hospital admissions every year in the UK.

Experts say that, all told, around 300,000 people in the UK, but just 20,000 have been offered it so far

But the RCGP and BMA almost immediately released a joint statement calling into question the decision. It said that, from the trial data, it was unclear how much inclisiran reduced heart attack and stroke numbers. It also raised concerns over as yet potential unknown long-term side effects and the possible additional capacity or resources on GPs if they prescribed it.

NICE categorised the drug as a black triangle medicine, which means it requires enhanced surveillance due to limited long-term safety data. Any clinician who prescribes inclisiran has to report all suspected adverse reactions to health authorities.

These measures are not unusual for new NHS treatments. Currently there are more than 500 licensed drugs used in the NHS which are part of the black triangle scheme. No safety concerns about inclisiran have been raised through the scheme since its approval two years ago.

Some patients told the MoS that they have to travel hundreds of miles to access inclisiran because their local GP will not offer it

However, when we contacted the RCGP it said its position on the drug remains unchanged. It does not plan to update its stance until 2026, when the results of a major long-term trial showing how many heart attacks and strokes the drug prevents are expected to be released. But experts argue that this shows a misunderstanding of the science behind inclisiran.

Every single cholesterol-lowering drug, including statins, has been approved before the long-term benefits were shown, says Prof Ray. We know the drug drastically cuts the amount of LDL cholesterol in the body, which is directly linked with the rate of heart attacks and strokes, and is safe for use.

So, how does the new drug work? Inclisiran is one of a number of new therapies called small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs. These treatments essentially modify the genetic code inside cells, changing how the body functions. Genes send commands to cells to produce molecules critical for the functioning of the body and these commands are conveyed within cells by what is known as messenger RNA (mRNA). However, sometimes they can create unwanted molecules that lead to diseases. In patients with very high cholesterol levels, the liver produces too much of a protein called PCSK9. These proteins inhibit the livers ability to breakdown bad LDL cholesterol linked with higher rates of heart attacks and strokes. Inclisiran works by binding to mRNA strands that create the PCSK9 protein, interfering with the way they work. This means vastly fewer of these proteins are made and the liver mops up more LDL, removing it from the circulation. That, cardiologists believe, will protect patients from heart attacks and strokes. Inclisiran is not the only game-changing siRNA drug. This year, a US study found that siRNA zilebesiran can switch off high blood pressure. This technology will be used in medicine to treat everything, says Professor Derek Connolly, consultant cardiologist at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. These drugs are convenient, effective and appear to trigger very few side effects. This is undoubtedly the future. Advertisement

It is ridiculous to argue that we need to wait until 2026 to offer it to patients. This position is simply being used as a shield for inaction and patients are getting caught in the middle of the dispute.

NICE has also hit back. Last night, the watchdog told the MoS that, prior to the approval of inclisiran in 2021, the RCGP was invited to raise any concerns it had. No appeals were received, said a spokesman.

Experts say this disagreement has had a chilling effect on the rollout of inclisiran. Since its approval, local medical committees across the country have said they will not prescribe it, according to a report in the British Medical Journal.

A senior GP, who asked to remain anonymous, said: This resistance from GPs to prescribe inclisiran is a direct result of the RCGP and BMA letter.

Practices claim they are not offering the drug because of the lack of data  but really most of them dont want to take on the additional workload as they dont see it as an essential service.

Most GPs have got used to offering statins for high cholesterol and are resistant to giving injections for the condition, even though its no harder than a simple flu jab or Vitamin B12 injection.

Some patients told the MoS that they have to travel hundreds of miles to access inclisiran because their local GP will not offer it.

Chris Crick, 53, from Cheshire, was told he would have to see a local cholesterol specialist  known as a lipidologist  to receive the jab after he suffered a heart attack last year. However, he was warned the wait for an appointment would likely be more than a year.

Im intolerant to statins  they cause pain all over my body and leave me incredibly weak  so I need another option, says the construction site manager.

The father-of-two was eventually able to find a consultant who would prescribe him the medicine. However, starting next month, he will have to make the 400-mile round-trip to London to get the jab  which takes less than two minutes to administer.

If I dont take drugs to keep my cholesterol down I could be at risk of another heart attack, he says. It doesnt make sense that I have to travel so far to get this treatment.

Another patient, 61-year-old John Fuller, a banker from East Sussex, has suffered from stubbornly high cholesterol despite being on statins since his 30s. He says his local GP practice refused to prescribe him inclisiran.

I take the very highest dose of statins but my cholesterol levels are still too high, particularly since I also have kidney disease, which can get worse if you have too much LDL, he says. The GP said hed never heard of the drug [inclisiran] so couldnt prescribe it. John was able to find a cardiologist in London who would prescribe him inclisiran and he began taking it earlier this year. However, he says he still wants his GP to prescribe it to him.

It takes a whole day for me to go and get this treatment because I have to travel into London, he says. Why on earth am I being forced to go to this effort when the NHS has already agreed that my GP should be administering it?

Experts say a major reason why many GPs refuse to offer inclisiran is that they believe they are not being paid enough to give the jab. Following drug firm Novartiss decision to bring down the cost per dose, the NHS also reduced the amount GP practices are paid for each jab from 10 to 5.

Andy Parkin, medical director of the Kent Local Medical Committee, told the British Medical Journal that practices would lose money by prescribing inclisiran. He claims this is as the reduced payment does not cover the cost of administering the jab and then monitoring patients.

Experts say they are frustrated that a disagreement over a 5 charge is impacting the medical care of thousands and argue that NICE will have to rethink the situation if GPs continue to resist.

Theres no reason this could not be handled by pharmacists, Prof Connolly says. Its just as simple to administer as a flu jab and doesnt require any follow-up checks, other than an occasional cholesterol test which GPs surely cant object to doing.

I regularly prescribe this drug to patients. It gets their cholesterol levels down and there are no major side effects. But there arent enough specialists like myself to administer this drug to everyone who needs it. There are hundreds of thousands of people whose cholesterol is dangerously high in this country  it doesnt make any sense that GPs are resisting attempts to tackle this national health issue.

Last night, Dr Michael Mulholland, Honorary Secretary of the Royal College of GPs, reinforced its position on inclisiran.

He said: GPs absolutely want to do our best for patients and to reduce their cardiovascular risk. However, inclisiran is still a black triangle drug  one for which full safety data is not yet available  and there are insufficient resources within primary care to monitor its effects.

Wed usually expect such a drug to first be prescribed at specialist hospital clinics, where patients can be more easily monitored.

Before GPs become responsible for prescribing inclisiran, we need assurance that the evidence base on its safety is secure, and for the risks and benefits to patients to be clearly established.

An NHS spokesman said: Supporting people to lower their cholesterol is one of the key ways in which GPs and their teams can prevent heart attacks and strokes and save lives, and inclisiran is an effective, NICE-recommended cholesterol drug that provides an additional treatment option for NHS patients.

While inclisiran is one of several NICE recommended therapies GPs have in their toolbox, the majority of primary care networks are using it and thousands of patients are benefiting.
Frazzled as in messy?

Thats it.

Whos advising that?

Ideal Home.

Ideal Home wants me to trash my house?

Tastefully. Youre aiming to balance maximalism with careful curation... much like the charming chaos of our favourite romcom heroines.

Er, sorry?

The magazine explains: Its a relatable trend thatll make you feel like youre in a Richard Curtis film.

Although maybe not his new one.

Genie?

Exactly. The Guardian says its unremittingly awful.

Gloss over that one then and imagine the Curtis movie heyday.

Im imagining...

Apparently, youre aiming for an interior styled as though Hugh Grant is your love interest.

Floppy-fringed Hugh Grant

So, Im dating an ageing actor?

Not 2023s Hugh Grant. The floppy-fringed, year 2000 version.

OK, apart from Hugh Grant, what else goes in this house?

An abundance of swiss cheese plants.

Anything else?

Clashing wallpapers patterned with monkeys and bright chevron.

Sounds hectic.

Well, strap in, because youre also aiming for handcrafted wooden pendants hung on door handles and around light fixtures.

Hugh likes those, does he?

Definitely. And remember to scatter bundles of handpicked roses.

Where?

Anywhere that isn't already taken by 'lovingly displayed trinkets'.

Does this fantasy life with Hugh Grant feature any uncluttered surfaces?

Absolutely not! Uncluttered surfaces are anathema to frazzlers.

Its not just interiors, then  people can be frazzled, too?

Yes. Obviously, you know about the TikTok fashion trend #frazzledenglishwoman?

Obviously but just remind me.

It first appeared last year but has had a resurgence recently and now has 16.4 million views.

Why the resurgence?

Because frazzled English women (FEW) populate the sort of Christmas movies that inform the look.

Such as?

Renee Zellweger in Bridget Joness Diary, Kate Winslet in The Holiday and Keira Knightley in Love Actually.

Frazzled heaven: Bridget Joness den, catnip to Hugh Grant circa 2000

And whats in FEWs capsule wardrobe?

Skinny scarves, shapeless knitwear, jewel-coloured tights, knee-high boots and a baker boy cap. Just think Y2K.

Y2... what?

Year 2000. Although FEW doesnt do capsule (too minimalist) or indeed wardrobe (too restrictive).

Where does she keep her clothes?

Artfully draped over something squashy covered in boucle, though given the choice shed be in pyjamas. And wellies.

Together?

If she could get away with it. Crocs are also permissible although anachronistic for the late 90s iteration of FEW.

But what does she wear to work? I assume she isnt rich.

No, and neither are her friends. They all work in publishing or maybe a book shop.

Are her friends FEW, too?

Definitely not. There can only be one frazzler in the group otherwise things get way too shambolic.

Who are her sidekicks?

A cynical American and a gay best friend.

And they all hang out in her charmingly frazzled home?

They do, and this is just the time for her to maximise the chaos-chic.

How will she be doing that?

By following Ideal Homes advice to playfully build upon your foundation with tumbling quilts.

Are they telling us not to make the bed?

Exactly. Unmade is very now  searches for ruffled bedding are up 35 per cent on Etsy.

What about cooking? Presumably even frazzled people must eat.

Yes, although sourcing culinary items among the lovingly displayed trinkets is problematic and commonly results in much overuse of the word bugger.

How will FEW cope?

Shell probably just end up bunging a few crisps in a bowl.

What kind of crisps?

Oh, come on  you do the maths.
Renowned antiques dealer and designer Marin Montagut talks us through the artistic collections that fill every corner of his French home

My parents were antiques dealers, and my grandmother was an artist, so I grew up surrounded by a multitude of objects. As soon as I could walk, I was taken to antiques shops, resulting in a taste for collecting that had been passed down the generations.

Many of my current collections are connected to childhood memories. The artists palettes Ive accumulated take me back to my grandmothers house, where I would spend hours watching her paint.

This curated display includes handmade and eye-catching items from Montaguts Insta-famous Paris store (en.marin montagut.com)

In my home, I wanted to reinvent the spirit of what the Germans call the wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities). These held collections of rare and unusual objects and were found in the castles and aristocratic homes of Central Europe. My wonders are more modest. They are often humble tokens of everyday life, examples of folk art and cut-paper dioramas I have made that depict everything from flaming hearts to hot-air balloons.

A pink bedroom wall in Montaguts Normandy house, with favourite hand, heart and natural-history motifs

When I travel, especially to Italy and Portugal, I always return with suitcases full of marvellous finds. From Italy I brought back silver ex votos (votive offerings to a saint or divinity) in the shape of a hand, face, foot and heart, from which I had moulds made to reproduce them in porcelain. In Portugal, I was fascinated by registos, ancient reliquaries with painted and decorated frames, which now constitute my biggest collection. I hung them together to create an expansive wonder wall along the staircase. Interspersed among them are hearts once made by nuns using plain cardboard embellished with beads and embroidery.

Many of Montaguts collections are connected to his childhood: these palettes link to his artist grandmother, whom he loved to watch at work

Another of my favourite collections is of popular religious art figurines called santibelli (beautiful saints). Despite the Italian name, these statuettes of the Virgin Mary, made of terracotta and painted in bright colours with gold accents, are from Provence. They owe their name to the Italian immigrant peddlers who used to hawk them in the streets of Marseille; up until the end of the 19th century, they were manufactured in the citys workshops, where nativity figurines were made.

In his home studio fresh flowers and eclectic objects mix with Montaguts sketches and mood board. Industville.co.uk sells vintage-style ceiling lights

It is said that fishermens wives always kept one at home as a talisman to protect their husbands when they went to sea.

Whenever I go antiques hunting, I never approach it with a preconceived idea. Curiosity for the unexpected and the joy of finding something: thats what I look forward to on days when I head out in search of new gems to showcase in my home. I will always find space for them.

Montaguts home is filled with items from his eponymous collection, as well as pieces gathered over years of antiques hunting

This is an edited extract from Extraordinary Collections by Marin Montagut, published by Flammarion, 35. To order a copy for 29.75 with free UK delivery until 24 December, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937

Montaguts passion for plaster casts, displayed on columns and sculptors easels, is evident throughout his home. They add height and play with light, he says. Salvesen graham.com sells a wide range of floral wallpapers

Montaguts golden rules for curating curios

1

Dont hide your favourite plates in cupboards: display them on the wall like a mural. The more you group together the more deliberate and less like your grandmas house it will look.

2

Even if you have a small collection, its better to display it grouped in one place so it tells a story. I put my collection of painters palettes together on a bench to create a focal point.

3

Organise by category such as style, colour, size or height for a curated look. On shelves, keep items you use or love most at the forefront, with taller or less-loved items at the back.

4

If collections need to be kept in storage to save on space, try to make sure any cupboards are glass-fronted so you can still admire them. Open shelving also works well.
MANZINI  Inyatsi Group Holdings says it is puzzled by FESBCs claims of unfair competition.

The company said such claims were equivalent to a second terrorism attack against it. This was said by Inyatsi Group Holdings management during a press conference yesterday, at the companys head office in Manzini. The management was led by the Groups Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Derrick Shiba. The CEO said it saddened them to meet in the boardroom to defend the companys image once more. He said there had been publications accompanied by a circulating letter from the Federation of Eswatini Business Community (FESBC) about Inyatsi Group Holdings alleged unfair competition to local businesses.

Transgression

As a result of these incidences, Shiba said it was prudent that to set the record straight that Inyatsi Group Holdings is wholly owned and run by emaSwati. He said they believed that the companys transgression, was its pursuit of a robust growth strategy through the acquisition of businesses.

He said all business acquisitions were done in a fair and transparent manner, after being approached by various business owners, who sought to exit their businesses.

Shiba said all the acquisitions were conducted on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. The CEO said the acquisitions complied with the letter of the law and all requisite regulatory and legal approvals were obtained, including but not limited to the approval by the Eswatini Competition Commission.

He said some of the companies with which the group did business acquisition with were on the brink of closing.

Investor

This included Maloma Colliery Limited (coal mine), which was going to close in about two to four years, under the leadership of a foreign investor.

He said Infracast PTY (Ltd) was first sold about five years before it was acquired by the group. The CEO emphasised that, due processes and procedures were followed to the letter. He said they were concerned that the buzzwords in the statement were; unfair competition to other businesses, which was far from the truth. The CEO said Inyatsi Group Holdings had been in operation for over 40 years in Eswatini and beyond. As soon as the company came into the control of emaSwati and headquartered in Eswatini, he said it sought to invest in Eswatini with the sole aim of improving the lives of the citizens of the kingdom.

Turnover

To date, he said Inyatsi Group Holdings had over 6 000 employees, with a turnover of E15 billion and an annual wage bill of E622 million.

In the last two financial years, he said the group paid over E1 billion in taxes, royalties and dividends. Currently, he said the group had six active projects in five countries and had presence in 11 countries. He disclosed that the projects in these African countries were valued at E4.8 billion. He said the organisation ensured continuity by going into Africa to pursue opportunities for business, which has resulted in it securing projects worth about E4.8 billion.

Furthermore, over 80 emaSwati are employed in these countries, exporting skills, the CEO said. He said they were shocked to see some emaSwati attacking local investments, instead of supporting them. The CEO said they viewed this bad publicity and destructive criticism, as a second terrorist attack against the organisation following the arson attacks which were also fuelled by similar negative talks about the establishment. Two years ago, he said there was a clear and constant attack on the establishment on social media platforms and later on, it moved to violent arson attacks. He said it was for this reason that they wanted to respond to the aforementioned claims by setting the record straight.

Attacks

We do not want these claims to culminate or manifest into another violent attack that might also affect the safety of our employees. Instead, we want to sit down and talk, Shiba said. On the other hand, Paul Lwiindi, the Groups s CEO Investments, said it looked as though they had been found guilty of hard work and high performance culture. Testament to that, he said they turned the fortunes around at Maloma Colliery Limited. In that regard, Lwiindi said, despite the fact that Maloma Colliery Limited had been in existence for 31 years, it was facing imminent closure, just about three years ago, before they took over.

He said the investment in the mine had allowed for the extension of the mines life, by at least 20 years. As part of the investment, he said, they had been deliberate at Maloma, in up-skilling their employees by exchanging programmes with other mining houses in the continent. He said they had also recruited a mine manager with over 25 years of deep level underground mining experience, which was also an effort to bring up their local skills.

Again, he said, Maloma mine have contributed to the improvement of the road leading to the mine. Lwiindi said the road did not only benefit the mine, but also the local communities.

On top of that, he pointed out that about 80 per cent of the staff were local community members. As an organisation, Lwiindi said, the company had an open door policy. He said they had never stopped anyone who wanted to engage them. What they did not want to see, he said, was irresponsible statements about the establishment.

Violence

We will not tolerate malice that can culminate in violence, he said. He added that the approach which was used by FESBC puzzled them, as they could sense that there were elements of an aggrieved former employee of the organisation. Maloma Colliery Limited CEO Jabulile Shabangu said the company had invested over E700 million since the takeover. Shabangu disclosed that over E350 million had been paid to the Government Treasury in dividends and taxes since 2022. She said the company created over 900 direct jobs and expanded exports beyond South Africa.
In acrimonious divorces fathers are encouraged to use their children as a weapon  and now family courts are being accused of wrongly taking kids away from their mothers. Stella Wainwright investigates the growing controversy

'Suicidal is how Jenny felt when her eight-year-old daughter was taken away from her last year. She was told there would be no communication between them for six weeks. I dont think there is anything more devastating than being separated from your child, she says.

Who had ordered this separation? A religious cult? Was Jenny a neglectful mother? No, it was a UK family court that had found her guilty of parental alienation  deliberately turning her daughter against a father from whom Jenny was estranged.

In high-conflict separations, where differences cannot be resolved through mediation and a battle for parental residence ensues, this concept is increasingly being introduced by legal teams. Shockingly, says the BBC, which aired its programme Mums on the Run: Failed by the Family Court in autumn, parental alienation has led, in some cases, to children being forced into contact with convicted paedophile fathers.

An England-wide survey by Manchester University was revealed in the BBC report. The 45 mothers of the children in the study all detailed serious health problems (which they attributed to the stress of court proceedings) including miscarriages, heart attacks and suicidal thoughts. The concept has been cited separately in the deaths of some women.

The phrase parental alienation was first coined in the 1980s by controversial US psychiatrist Richard Gardner. He claimed that some women in divorce cases were brainwashing their children to believe their fathers had abused them, recommending reprogramming by forcibly removing the child from its mother for a period of time.

Its a national scandal: a handy tool for abusers

Sarah (an insider high up in the family court judicial system) says that, despite the findings in the survey and the BBC report, parental alienation does actually happen on the ground, adding, There genuinely are some women who maliciously set out to cut fathers out of their childrens lives, sometimes claiming physical or sexual abuse when it hasnt happened.

This, however, does not satisfy critics. Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno, who led the Manchester University research, said at the time of publication that the credibility given to the concept of parental alienation was a national scandal and that it represented nothing less than a handy tool for abusers.

In recent years concerns have been raised over inappropriately qualified psychologists appearing in family courts as experts in parental alienation when there is no such specialism, especially when they recommend an intervention (such as therapy) that they will benefit from financially. Labour MP Alex Cunningham has been quoted as saying that unregulated self-declared experts [individuals with little to nothing in the way of formal qualifications or accreditation] are invited to give evidence [even though they] may in fact have a vested financial interest in diagnosing so-called alienation which they can then be paid to treat.

These growing concerns have resulted in MPs calling for an inquiry into the use of the concept in court. Former shadow cabinet member Jess Phillips, who campaigns for justice in the family courts, has claimed that fancy lawyers use parental alienation to argue women are mad, hysterical, bad.

The problems, say campaigners, are exacerbated by the secrecy surrounding proceedings in family courts. A law passed in 1960 means that nothing that happens can be reported without the express permission of the judge. In other words, those in the system cant speak openly about their experiences. While undoubtedly this protects children against identification, critics argue that it makes it impossible to effect change in a system that has some very serious flaws.

In light of this, the women who spoke to YOU  including the court insider  could only do so anonymously, therefore their names have been changed.

Anna, 37

When Anna split from her husband after 11 years, her boys, aged six and nine, didnt want to see their father. She says it became increasingly hard to get them to go for their weekend visits. He would resort to pulling them away as they clung to her, peeling their fingers from around her neck.

I wasnt trying to keep them from seeing him, she says. I just didnt want to force them to go. He said they didnt want to go with him because I had bad-mouthed him. He couldnt accept that they didnt want to be with him because he had behaved so badly. He couldnt address his own failings, so he had to make it something that I had done.

They didnt want to go because he was very authoritarian and heavy-handed with them. Very angry. But then, despite his strictness, on the flip side he was behaving like a teenager, introducing them to a lot of new girlfriends and leaving inappropriate things around the house, such as erotic underwear. One day my little boy came back distressed after finding drugs. The boys told me they felt unsafe with him.

After her ex secretly recorded a conversation with Anna where she told him that his behaviour was erratic, he accused her of parental alienation and threatened to use the voice recording in legal action.

He found experts who specialise in parental alienation to argue for him in court. My barrister told me she didnt know whether I would lose custody of my children. I was horrified. I had night terrors and the doctor prescribed antidepressants. I was in hell.

Desperate to keep my boys, I engaged with the parental alienation experts my ex had found. They run a reprogramming course which I felt was designed to push my exs agenda. I thought that if I didnt agree that I had turned my children against him, I would lose custody. It broke my heart. Now they live with me, and he sees them for a few hours every other week.

Jenny, 48

In my case, the court decided that I had turned my child against her father, and that the way to rectify the situation was to reprogramme her by sending her to live with him for almost two months. No contact between us. It was devastating. My daughters voice wasnt listened to in court because the assumption was that she must have been influenced by me.

People think you must have done something wrong, but I hadnt. My ex has been abusive, controlling and wanted full custody of our child at all costs. He used expensive lawyers to argue that I was alienating him and called a parental alienation expert to prove his case.

This expert made me enter a reunification programme. It was forced therapy. My responses were constantly monitored for anything that might suggest I was anti my childs father. You are obviously desperate to have your child back, so petrified of saying the wrong thing. I felt I needed to actively promote my exs character to appease them.

It felt like a witch hunt. The person running the course told me, You are too close to your daughter, but obviously as a single parent you are close. If you say your ex is abusive, they say its because you have an agenda. And because of the secrecy surrounding the family courts, you feel you cant risk talking to anyone, so you suffer in isolation. It makes you feel like youre going mad.

My daughter has a depth of trauma that I cant even begin to describe. Shes very clingy as she is terrified that we will be separated again. She has trouble sleeping and will shake when she hears sudden noises at night. We cant even talk about the time we were separated. She now has a mistrust of authority and is highly anxious.

My ex and I now share responsibility for our daughter, but that time was the darkest of my life. I feel fortunate though, compared to the women who still dont have access to their children.

THE LEGAL LOWDOWN

by lawyer Elizabeth Fletcher, director and mediator at FLiP (Family Law in Partnership)

What constitutes parental alienation?

Cafcass (cafcass.gov.uk)  in effect the courts social worker  defines it as when a childs resistance/hostility towards one parent is not justified and is the result of psychological manipulation by the other parent.

What happens if you are found culpable?

The ultimate sanction for a parent who is proven to be alienating a child against the other parent, and refusing to desist, is a change of the childs residence from one parent to the other.

How reliable are the experts?

In most cases a court-appointed state welfare officer completes a report. Some families appoint an independent social worker, which they pay for privately and jointly.
A decade ago, superstores and changing shopping habits threatened their existence; then the pandemic made them more essential than ever, says David Aaronovitch

Whenever the Peppercorn is closed because its owners take a day off (which is almost never), I am seized with the fear that maybe theyve shut down for good.

It nearly happened ten, or was it 15 years ago? Theres a block of flats about 150 yards from our house, with three shop spaces underneath. Peppercorn once took up two of those spaces but then fell on hard times. One of its staff had a breakdown, thought that a man in the house opposite was having an affair with his wife, broke in and started a fight. The business almost went bust but, in the end, halved the shop size (and the rent) and now the other part is a dog grooming spa and daycare centre called Sniffles.

The we sell everything ethos of the corner shop was celebrated in the 70s sitcom Open All Hours

I shop at Peppercorn most days that Im working from home. For lemonade, for peanut butter, for hummus, for chocolate, for muesli, for teabags. Almost any excuse, really. Stencilled on Peppercorns metal roll-down is a picture of a typewriter and the legend aspire to inspire others and the universe will take note. No one seems to know why its there, but for a writer its an invitation.

Theres only ever one person working in Peppercorn, and its either Bulent, a wiry, smiley man in his mid-40s, or his cousins wife, Yazmina  similarly aged  who is slower to the grin, but when you get to know her will often show a gold tooth or two and is a lovely person. Both are from central Anatolia via Istanbul, and I think bought the shop from the original Turkish owners. On slow days, Yazmina will be found listening to soap operas on Turkish radio  which are slightly more declamatory than The Archers and with fewer sound effects  or calling her mother in Izmir. Either way, its drama.

The end of the school day brings a small rush of parents and their primary-age children, which is jolly. And Ive also learnt that nothing says divorce quite like a man in late middle age who comes in at 5pm to buy a bottle of whisky. At 8pm on a winters night the shops lights decorate the whole road.

Its not just me who finds excuses to visit Peppercorn. Alma, aged 19 months  my first grandchild  has taken to Bulent and returns his huge smiles whenever she passes, which is often, because she insists. Theyre friends, too. Thats what a corner shop is.

I was probably Almas age when I first went inside the Cabin, the newsagents near where I was brought up. And like most kids, the first and last thing I saw on display were the sweets. Which led to my first, and more or less last, act of proper criminality when  aged about five  I half-inched a bright green packet of mints. As a Marxist, my mother might have believed that property was theft, but shed been strictly brought up and believed even more that theft was theft, so she marched me back inside to give back the mints (which I didnt even like) and apologise. I have a half recollection of the Cabins owner, a slightly portly, red-faced, greying man probably called John.

In some ways a residual feature of a former age, A really good corner shop can define an area

Only in my student days and early adulthood  when I was footloose and fancying everything  were corners shopless. As soon as I settled down and became a placed creature, corner shops became a part of my life again.

But for a while it looked as though mine might be the last generation to see them. In 2010 a report for the Greater London Assembly noted that, The relentless expansion of the supermarket has prompted the dire warning that by 2015 the small independent retailer may have completely disappeared from our shopping streets, with newsagents, convenience stores, independent petrol stations and grocers the most likely candidates.

Tobacco sales had collapsed, newspaper and magazine sales had taken a dive, booze was also down. But somehow the convenience store sector hung on, not least because hipsters with green ideas and no cars colonised the cities.

And then it received a big boost in the most unlikely circumstances. As the pandemic was declared and we locked down and socially distanced, the corner shop  within walking distance and with no queues  became suddenly attractive again. By last year the supposedly dying sector was forecast to grow at between 1.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent. In 2022 average weekly sales in independent convenience stores were estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000.

Family-run corner shops  the type I love  are only a subset of all convenience stores. And I think convenience is not the most important thing they offer. Rather they are connection stores; they connect the customer with the place, with the owners and with other people. They can give a sense of being recognised, in a very small way; of being cared for.

The corner shop is in some ways a residual feature of a former age. When I was very small it wasnt just the milkman and the postman who came to the door, but the coal merchant, Viv, the woman from the Co-Op who did the rounds with her insurance stamps, and the rag-and-bone man. Just as a century before them there had been the lamplighter and the knife sharpener and a century before that the watchman with his five oclock and alls well.

A really good corner shop can define an area. Before moving to our current home, we lived for ten years in a network of London streets that had one famous pub  the Pineapple  and one famous shop, Mehmets.

Mehmet sold (and I hope still sells) all the usual things and then some less usual, including fresh bagels and croissants on Saturday morning and Londons best samosas, made at home by an Indian woman in the next street. When Mehmet got into trouble with the local council for selling Christmas trees off the pavement, residents wrote to the local paper in his support. Estate agents would mention Mehmets in their property descriptions. I wanted to stay in the area just because of him, but I lost that battle.

Then, last year, I saw an interview with him online. Ive been open for about 35 years, he said, but its been a rocky two years and hopefully its going to get better now. The rent is always high: Ive got to work all the god-given hours in the shop to pay my rent.

One retail consultant who recently completed a detailed study into the corner shop sector found shopkeepers operating on impossibly narrow margins while working 80-hour weeks and paying themselves as little as 4 an hour. Who can do that forever? But life is bleaker without the corner shop, as anyone with no car living in a place where the local shop has closed will know. As anyone who lived through the pandemic will realise.

In that 2010 London document I mentioned earlier, there was included a plan for what has become known as 15-minute neighbourhoods, where shopping locally could be encouraged. But even that plan concluded that in the end, it is the responsibility of Londoners to reconnect with their local small shops and to recognise their value once again.

True for London, true for everyone. In Sevenoaks in Kent, a friend was telling me, a Mr P (his surname is actually Patel) has run a corner shop for years just opposite the gates of a school. The tradition is that on their very last day, the children get to sign their names on Mr Ps ceiling.

Try doing that in Waitrose.
The competition watchdog is taking on Microsoft again  this time over its partnership with the maker of ChatGP.

In a shock move, the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) said yesterday it is examining the tech giant's multi billion-pound relationship with OpenAI and whether it could be considered a merger.

The CMA is the first authority to question the tie-up but other regulators around the world are expected to follow the UK's lead.

Head-to-head: CMA boss Sarah Cardell is challenging Microsoft  run by chief executive Satya Nadella - again

Unconfirmed reports last night said The US Federal Trade Commission is also looking into Microsoft's investment in the company.

It is the second time CMA head Sarah Cardell has challenged Microsoft in recent months following a blistering public row over its 53billion takeover of Call Of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

Cardell has been on a mission to crack down on the powers of big tech companies and their ability to stifle British business.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 and Microsoft  run by chief executive Satya Nadella  holds a 49 per cent stake in the business after 10.3billion in investment.

But the UK regulator is questioning whether a tie-up has taken place by stealth and if the two businesses are not distinct in terms of who controls them. The watchdog said it had started an 'information gathering process' ahead of an investigation that would look at the impact this would have on Britain's Artificial Intelligence market.

OpenAI, meanwhile, continues to reel from a boardroom drama last month, which saw founder Sam Altmann ousted and reinstalled in a matter of days.

Altmann initially said he would defect to Microsoft, heading up their 'advanced AI research' unit but it was quickly agreed he would return to OpenAI.

Row: The latest advance by the CMA comes shortly after it resolved its bust up with Microsoft over video game maker Activision Blizzard

The saga has raised eyebrows at the watchdog, which is examining whether Microsoft has 'de facto' authority over OpenAI.

A spokesman for the regulator said: 'The CMA is now determining whether the Microsoft and OpenAI partnership has resulted in a merger situation and, if so, the potential impact on competition.'

The spokesman added that this was a pivotal moment for the much-hyped technology, whose expansion and impact 'is unrivalled in economic history'. Microsoft president Brad Smith immediately shot back, denying that it had acquired OpenAI.

He said: 'Since 2019, we've forged a partnership with OpenAI that has fostered more AI innovation and competition, while preserving independence for both companies.

The only thing that has changed is that Microsoft will now have a non-voting observer on OpenAI's Board, which is very different from an acquisition such as Google's purchase of DeepMind in the UK.'

But Microsoft's backing has been crucial to the company's growth  with their bosses seen at events together. OpenAI has been at the forefront of AI technology, emerging onto the scene with ChatGPT, a chatbot that can churn out human-like content based on prompts.

'There is no OpenAI without Microsoft leaning in, in a deep way, to partner with the company and its mission,' Microsoft boss Nadella has previously said.

The latest advance by the CMA comes shortly after it resolved its bust up with Microsoft over video game maker Activision Blizzard.

The CMA had initially blocked the deal in April over concerns about competition in the gaming market, sparking fury from Microsoft.

At the time, Smith slammed the move as 'bad for Britain' and declared that 'the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business'.

Cardell, meanwhile, blasted the tech company for its 'corporate lobbying' tactics but the CMA eventually gave the deal the green light in October.

Microsoft, OpenAI and other interested parties will have until January 3 to provide comments to the regulator.
A light flickered at the end of the dark corridor, illuminating a single wooden door that had been bolted shut.

Olexiy, bloodied and with his hands tied behind his back, was pushed towards that door from which the piercing cries became louder and louder.

His heart pounding, it was at this moment that Olexiy recognised an all too familiar voice  one that had been welcoming him home for years.

Legs buckling beneath him, he realised it was the screams of his friend and neighbour Roman he could hear.

'I felt dead in that moment,' Olexiy says, his voice faltering as he remembers what the Russian soldiers did. 'It wasn't like screams I'd ever heard before.'

Just days earlier, the two friends had helped each other put their nation's blue and yellow flags along their street in Kherson to mark Ukraine's Independence Day on 24 August 2022 in a defiant stand against the men who had terrorised them and their neighbours for more than six months.

But the Russian soldiers had found them, raiding their homes the next morning.

In the days, weeks and months that followed, Olexiy and Roman would be beaten to within an inch of their lives, tortured with electrical shocks to their ears and genitals, waterboarded and have guns placed on their temples as part of mock executions.

The two men are now sharing their stories with MailOnline to show the reality of Vladimir Putin's war and to dispel any notion that the war crimes they witnessed and endured for months are too horrific to be real.

Roman identified this image as from the torture chamber where he was held by Russian soldiers in Kherson in 2022

Pictured: A door in the basement of the building, which was used as a torture chamber in Kherson, as pictured on December 10, 2022

Roman (pictured after his release) was beaten within an inch of his life, tortured with electrical shocks to his ears and genitals, waterboarded and had guns placed on his temples as part of mock executions

The first to be taken was Roman, 38. He remembers how the Russians, armed with guns, barged into his home where his wife, 10-year-old daughter, elderly mother and sister were living. They began rifling through his belongings, breaking glass and furniture as they went - all while the family watched in utter terror.

With bated breath, Roman saw the soldiers find his phone where he knew he had pictures of himself and Olexiy standing arm-in-arm next to the Ukrainian flags they had put up.

'They found the pictures and a conversation with my sister in which I had called the Russian soldiers "Orcs",' Roman tells MailOnline from his home in Kherson. 'They didn't like that,' he said, twisting his hands in his lap.

Roman, who worked as a taxi driver before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, recalls how the soldiers grabbed him and marched him out of his home. They hauled him into a waiting car as his heartbroken daughter Violetta cried as she clung to her mother's waist.

As soon as they put him in the car, Putin's men blindfolded Roman and tied his hands behind his back before they took turns to pummel him with punches in a sickening attack that left Roman with a broken rib.

Roman knew exactly where they would take him. 'I knew about the torture chamber in Kherson and how the people screamed there,' Roman says, his voice becoming quiet.

The father-of-one remembers how the car took a sharp left turn and skidded on the gravel before coming to a sudden stop. Then the door opened.

His blindfold now wet from the blood seeping from the huge gash on his head, Roman was pulled out of the car by the soldiers and marched towards a building, his feet dragging on the gravel before he was taken down a set of stairs where a door was opened and closed behind him.

Roman would later learn they dragged him into a room the Ukrainian prisoners called the 'glass room' because of its large windows on one end, through which the other inmates were unable to avoid seeing their fellow countrymen be tortured as they screamed in pain.

It was here in this dark room with the yellow chair that Roman was tortured for three days.

'On the first day, they attached electrical currents to my ears. The power from the electrical shock was so powerful that it threw me out of my chair,' Roman says, recalling how some prisoners he knew broke their legs after being thrown from the chair.

'Then on the second day, they put electrical currents to my genitals,' Roman says, his face grimacing at the thought of what the Russians did to him with the Dynamo machine.

'I can't even describe the pain. It's like nothing I've ever felt,' he says, twisting his hands uncomfortably and looking away. Roman later suffered from hallucinations.

'The Russians said torturing us with electrical shocks was "humane" because it didn't leave marks on the body,' he adds while shaking his head.

He says on the third day, the snarling Russian soldiers dragged Roman from his cell and dragged him to the room with the yellow chair again. They sat him down and asked him what his favourite method of torture was.

A smile reaches Roman's face as he says: 'I joked with them and said, "How could I possibly choose one method when it's so enjoyable".'

But he looks down as he remembers what the Russian soldiers did to him then. 'They pulled my head back and began waterboarding me. Whilst they were doing this, one of them took a knife and started to stab my leg,' he says.

'I don't know how long the torture would go on for, time had no meaning then.'

As the Russian soldiers beat, electrocuted and waterboarded Roman over those three days, they would constantly threaten to kidnap his family and bring them to the torture chamber.

'They said they would torture all of my family,' Roman says, his hands shaking as he takes a drag of his cigarette.

Olexiy (pictured with his wife) was tortured for four days by the Russian soldiers. 'They beat me all over my body with their fists, they kicked me and beat me with sticks,' Olexiy says. 'They would constantly point guns at my head saying they were going to shoot me.'

Pictured: One of the Ukrainian flags with the slogan 'Kherson is our city' that was placed in Kherson by Roman and Olexiy

Pictured: A corridor inside the torture chamber in Kherson

Plastic ties for torture and a broken chair are seen inside a basement of a building used by Russian soldiers as a torture chamber in Kherson on December 10, 2022

All he could think about while the Russian soldiers tortured his body and mind was his family and seeing them again. 'I have four women at home - my mother, my wife, my daughter and sister - I knew I had to come back to them and survive for them.'

After those three days, Roman was thrown into a cell on the second floor with nine others. Here, he would sleep on a piece of cardboard and use a bottle for a pillow.

He says the worst thing about the torture cell was the sound of the men and women screaming in agony and the crunching of their bones  those screams still replay in his mind when he closes his eyes to sleep.

'I could hear the screams of those being tortured on the first floor every single day,' Roman says. 'It was the most horrific and terrible noise. For two months, I heard the screams of other people.'

It was Roman's screams of pure agony that Olexiy heard on the day he was dragged into the torture chamber and along the dark corridors towards the wooden door.

'There was a room that had been bolted shut but inside I could hear the screams of about five people inside. It wasn't like screams I'd ever heard. They were hysterical. And then I heard the scream of my friend Roman.'

When asked about how this made him feel, Olexiy looked down at his hands, unable to speak. And then quietly, he says: 'In three words, I felt dead.'

Before, the two friends would often joke together while sharing a beer outside their neighbouring homes  it was the only thing that kept them sane when the bombs began raining down on them and the men with guns rolled into their city on tanks.

But their laughter was soon replaced by the sounds of their cries as they were beaten and electrocuted within an inch of their lives.

Olexiy was tortured for four days by the Russian soldiers. 'They beat me all over my body with their fists, they kicked me and beat me with sticks,' Olexiy says. 'They would constantly point guns at my head saying they were going to shoot me.'

'And then they would put electrical shocks from a military field phone on my ears and genitals,' Olexiy says, his voice becoming quiet, as he recounted how the shocks continued for an hour with only 30-second breaks. 'The pain was indescribable.'

'The Russian soldiers would call the machine their "detector of lies" because they thought I would tell them everything that I knew,' he says.

But Olexiy said he knew he had to 'hold on' and not tell them anything about how he'd previously helped the Ukrainian military or secretly delivered food and supplies to his neighbours in Kherson.

'The torture was like playing with death,' Olexiy says. 'If they knew the truth of how I'd helped the Ukrainian military, I wouldn't be sitting in front of you now.'

After four days, the torture stopped and Olexiy was pushed into a cell with eight others where he had no idea what would happen to him.

Both Roman and Olexiy say the soldiers forced the prisoners to learn the words of the Russian national anthem and sing on cue whenever they banged on their cell doors.

'If someone didn't know the words, they would be electrocuted and tortured,' Roman says.

The beatings and torture were so horrific that one of Roman's cellmates, a man in his 50s named Ihor, died, he said. 'He didn't wake up. They hadn't let him sleep for the first three days and tortured him,' Roman says. 'We all thought we'd end up like that.'

Roman is pictured with his friend, a Ukrainian soldier, after he was released from the torture chamber

Markings made by detainees on the wall of a basement in a building used by Russian soldiers as a place of torture in Kherson on December 8 2022

Outside one of the torture chambers used by Russian soldiers in Kherson

Roman would be kept in this 'hellhole' for two months before he was released by some stroke of luck. He says all of his cellmates were gathered outside the torture facility one day and the Russian soldiers put 64 prisoners in two vehicles.

'There was no place for me,' Roman says, explaining that he feared they would shoot him dead. 'But I escaped. And at that moment, I didn't feel happiness or relief.'

'I felt incredibly scared because I understood the Russian soldiers could return to his home and take me to prison again and torture me. There were no thoughts about freedom or happiness,' Roman explains.

Days later, Olexiy was bundled into a car and taken to a police station where the Russian soldiers told him he had to sign documents. 'They wanted to take me to occupied Russian territory,' Olexiy says, explaining that a bus arrived to take them away.

But by 21 October, Ukrainian soldiers had closed in on Kherson and were attacking the Russian soldiers there. 'The Russian soldiers started panicking and tried to put everyone on the bus, but there was no place for me and a couple of other prisoners,' Olexiy says.

'The soldiers left me there and I managed to escape. They were in a panic and were burning documents.'

While Roman felt no happiness or relief when he was released, Olexiy says that for him, he 'felt free in that moment'.

Olexiy raced home, eager to see his beloved wife again after so many months away.

'She flung open the door,' Olexiy says, smiling. 'She was so surprised to see me again. She thought I'd been killed. I felt such a sense of euphoria at being able to hold her again and hear her voice.'

In the first hour back at home, Olexiy had his first bath and haircut in months. He and his wife also burned his bloodied clothes.

But nothing could erase what had happened to Olexiy and Roman.

When asked about the impact his time in detention had on his health, Olexiy looks down and is silent for a few moments.

Olexiy, his face gaunt, says: 'It's had a very bad impact on my life. My health has become very bad. The electric shocks have given me heart problems and I already had issues with my health before.

'It's like I've started a second life. There's nothing good anymore. Nothing brings me happiness anymore.'

His hands resting on his lap, Olexiy adds: 'The Russians bring no good here. I was a sailor before the war and I've lost my job, they've destroyed my life along with millions of other Ukrainians.'

But Olexiy said he's been moved moved by the amount of support from the UK and other Western countries in terms of solidarity and the deployment of weapons to Ukraine.

'I am so grateful to the British people for their solidarity and support of Ukrainians,' Olexiy says.

For Roman, he says it's hard to put into words how the months of torture have impacted his life.

'It's completely changed me, the impact is huge,' Roman says. 'I feel on edge and scared all the time. I still have nightmares about the torture and what they did to me. I sleep very badly.'

Roman, who now delivers humanitarian aid to families living near the frontlines, says that the shelling of Kherson by Russian forces re-traumatises him constantly. 'It brings back the trauma because it makes me panic and scared again,' Roman explains.

'This has become the reality for Ukrainians,' Roman says. 'The fact that we have survived through these really terrible things is a reflection of how incredible Ukrainian people are.'

Roman, smiling now, adds: 'We've survived by having a sense of humour, my jokes keep me sane. The Russians can never take that away from us.'

But both Roman and Olexiy realise there are hundreds more Ukrainians like them who were never able to escape the Russians and their torture chambers.

'I always think about the people in captivity in occupied territories,' Olexiy says. 'I can't imagine what they are suffering.'

He says that he wanted to share what happened to him to show what those in captivity will be suffering and facing every day at the hands of Russian soldiers.

Olexiy says: 'There will be thousands of Ukrainians in captivity at this moment. And we can't reach them. I think about them often.

'I wanted to show, by sharing my story, what they will be suffering every single day.'
A dad accused of being part of a large-scale drug supply network has had the money he won in a recent poker tournament seized by police during raids across Sydney.

Andy Roberts, 49, was arrested at his home in the city's east, at 3pm the Wednesday before last.

According to a well-placed source, police seized those poker winnings as an apparent proceed of crime , along with 20 grams of ketamine, 15 grams of MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms and $120,000 in cash.

In the months leading up to his arrest, Roberts was the runner up in a poker tournament at St. George Leagues Club earning him $26,280 in tax-free prizemoney.

Roberts was taken to Waverley Police Station and charged with nine offences, including two counts of large commercial drug supply and two counts of dealing with proceeds of crime.

Andy Roberts (dressed in a festive cat-themed get-up) was arrested at his home in North Bondi, in Sydney's east, last week

Prior to his arrest, Roberts placed runner-up in a King room poker tournament at St. George Leagues Club. Above, a smiling photo

Days later, cops raided Roberts' home while he was still in his underwear

He was one of eight people arrested by Strike Force Shiel, a six-month investigation by the State Crime Commands Drug and Firearms Squad into drug supply throughout Sydney.

The multi-agency investigation focused on a syndicate operating on the NSW Central Coast.

On Thursday, he faced Waverley Local Court when he was formally refused bail, and will appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on January 16.

In the years before his arrest Roberts briefly worked as a furniture removlist and is known to frequent Beach Road Hotel in North Bondi.

Strike force detectives, State Crime Command squads, the dog squad, the riot squad and the Australian Border Force used warrants to search homes across Sydney.

Roberts pocketed $26,280 in tax-free prize money

Mr Roberts and he partner live together in the Nancy St property

He was arrested at his home before being taken to Waverley Police Station dressed in grey shorts and a red Hawaiian shirt

Men aged 29, 32 and 46 were arrested at an address in Beverley Hills, and a 63-year-old man was arrested in Campsie.

Police also arrested a 38-year-old man in Rouse Hill, plus a 31-year-old man in Neutral Bay.

Strike Force detectives carried out warrants at Mr Roberts North Bondi home

A prohibited weapon was also seized

20 grams of ketamine, 15 grams of MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms and $120,000 in cash were seized

During the raids, police seized illegal drugs, gold bullion, prohibited weapons and a phone case that unfolds into a plastic gun capable of firing bullets.

Police also allegedly seized close to $360,000 in cash, 12.5kg of heroin, 8kg of methylamphetamine (ice) and 10kg of cannabis.
Dramatic details have emerged about the arrest of a high school maths teacher accused of sending explicit messages to a young boy.

Roberto Charles Messina, 51, was fired following his arrest at John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School in Mirrabooka, north of Perth, last week.

Messina appeared at Armadale Magistrates Court on Friday accused of attempting to procure a child under 13 for sexual activity.

A teacher at the school has described the details of Messina's shock arrest to Daily Mail Australia, claiming it took place within the sight of a group of students.

Roberto Charles Messina (pictured), 51, was fired following his arrest at John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School in Mirrabooka last week over child exploitation charges

The teacher, who has requested to remain anonymous, said that Year 7 students had been sitting in an assembly in the central quadrangle being given end of year certificates.

She said police entered the school's maths office which was situated nearby and that 'all the kids were watching it unfold in front of them'.

The teacher claims police brought Messina out past the students to the front of the school.

'The students then filed past, going back to their classrooms and they saw the police speaking to [Messina]', she said.

'They looked out of the classroom window to see the head of maths get handcuffed and put in a car'.

The teacher said the situation was 'a lot for the students to cope with'.

'I have never heard of a teacher being arrested at school before, especially in the middle of the day when the lessons are in full swing,' she said.

Western Australian Police said detectives had searched Messina's Wattle Grove home and seized various electronic devices.

Police allege Messina used a number of online sites to speak with someone he believed was a young boy and that these conversations were of a sexually explicit nature, including sharing sexual images.

Messina has been charged with intent to procure a person believed to be under 13 years for sexual activity, possessing child exploitation material and distributing it.

A teacher at the school has claimed Messina's arrest took place in front of a group of students

The married father's charges do not relate in any way to students at the Anglican school he has been teaching at for the last 16 years.

It has also been revealed that Messina's had taught at one of Perth's most elite private schools in the early 2000s, the West Australian reported.

In March 2005, Messina was suspended before leaving Guildford Grammar School, where he was believed to have worked as a Year 8 mathematics teacher.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Messina's suspension from Guildford Grammar School was related to the matters over which he is currently charged.

John Septimus Roe said in a statement that it had taken swift action after learning of the charges.

'John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School has taken immediate action to terminate the employment of a 51-year old member of staff charged by Police, on 31 November 2023 with child exploitation offences,' the school said.

'The staff member held a valid Working With Children Check  a compulsory screening by the WA Government, and was a member of the Teacher Registration Board of WA'.

The school said Messina had completed the relevant Child Safe induction course for staff and was bound by the Staff Code of Conduct.

The school said Messina's employment was terminated upon learning of the charges

Principal Jason Bartell said the school was shocked by the charges and appreciated the work of investigators 'in this very serious matter'.

He also said students and staff members had been offered counselling.

Messina did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until his next court appearance on January 12.

A WA Government spokesperson said they were unable to provide comment as the matter was before the courts.

'The paramount consideration is the best interests of the children,' they said.
EXCLUSIVE

Fiery text messages have emerged between a Channel Ten reporter who was having a nervous breakdown and Scott Morrison's office over the former prime minister's infamous handshake with a bushfire victim.

Daily Mail Australia revealed on Monday how former Canberra political reporter Tegan George, 38, says she was left suicidal and turned to alcohol after being traumatised by the bushfire crisis.

Ms George says she suffered PTSD and nightmares after seeing apocalyptic scenes of dead livestock killed in the blazes and terrified families fighting for their lives and homes.

She says she is haunted by the harrowing scenes she witnessed while covering the devastating fires around the NSW South Coast for Ten between December 31, 2019 and January 5, 2020.

But in the midst of the mayhem, she publicly branded the PM a liar after she filed a report on Cobargo bushfire survivor Zoey McDermott refusing to shake Mr Morrison's hand on January 3, 2020.

Mr Morrison grabbed Ms McDermot's hand anyway and heard the pregnant mum's pleas for more support for the local fire service before telling her, 'I understand' and walking away.

Ms McDermott later slammed the PM for turning his back on her after she had just lost everything in the bushfire which razed her home.

Fiery text messages have emerged between Channel Ten reporter Tegan George (pictured) who was having a nervous breakdown and Scott Morrison's office over the former prime minister's infamous handshake with a bushfire victim

But the PM told reporters: 'We talked about what she was asking for, which was greater support for the firefighting effort in that part of New South Wales.

'So we talked about that.'

In a tweet that day, Ms George accused the PM of lying about the conversation, sparking a furious reaction from the Prime Minister's Office.

After a terse exchange of messages between Ms George and one of the PM's media advisers, Ms George told colleagues the PMO was 'going' her 'for tweeting ScoMo lied'.

She posted them a screenshot of the terse exchange with the PM's Office over the row.

'Hi Tegan, re your tweet - can I please clarify what you say the PM lied about exactly?' former PM media staffer Kate Williams messaged Ms George at 7.49pm on January 3, 2020.

'Hey Kate, I've spoken with Zoe personally and she says the PM did not talk to her and what he is saying did not happen,' replied Ms George. 'He has said twice now it did.'

The PM's Office fired back: 'Sorry, he spoke to her on camera? What did he say happen that didn't happen?'

The tweet triggered a terse exchange between George and the Prime Minister's Office

Tegan George publicly branded the PM a liar after she filed a report on Cobargo bushfire survivor Zoey McDermott refusing to shake Scott Morrison's hand on January 3, 2020

Ms George replied that Ms McDermott felt the PM had not talked to her and told the PMO that she would be happy to clarify his claims because the footage appeared to contradict him.

'They spoke on camera,' replied Ms Williams. 'Understand she may feel a certain way but you're the one calling the PM a liar.

'So you need to be able to back up what he is lying about. He said he would pass on concerns about the RFS...'

Ms George forwarded the exchange to Ten's political editor Peter van Onselen asking for advice. He promised his support but warned her not to call anyone an outright liar.

'I'll always back you up on stuff like this,' he told her in a text that night. 'Just for your own back of mind thoughts - and I hope you know I'm no jelly back!

'But I try and avoid the word liar just because they do get rather angry about it. I know twitter hates phrases like "loose with the truth" or "deliberately misleading" etc.

'But they make it much harder for them to have a whinge...just keep that in mind if you'd rather not always end up in a slanging match.'

He added 'That said, it's a good way to start to be firm so they don't try and mission creep everytime when complaining to you.

'If she's unhappy with you simply saying you're confident in your position having talked to the woman then tell her she has to take it further - which means taking it to me.

'That will end it.'

Ms George thanked him for his advice and added: 'That sounds like a good plan. Thank you.

'I told her I stuck by my tweet and perhaps the PMO should put this much energy into helping out Zoe and her family ... that didn't go down well hahaha.

'I ended up saying so you're saying at best he was deliberately misleading? Haven't heard back since but if so do I will tell them to take it up with you.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Williams for comment.

Ms George is still a Ten employee but has been on sick leave since June 2021 and currently has two legal actions underway against her TV network bosses.

Ten's political editor Peter Van Onselen pledged his full support to Ms George and told her to tell the PMO to take it up with him if they wanted to pursue it, adding: 'That will end it'

Tegan George says the trauma of the bushfires in Bega, Bermagui, Merimbula and Cobargo which she covered between January 1-5 in 2020 wrecked her mental health and career

Tegan George's lawsuit alleges the experience left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse/dependence

Ms George is suing Network Ten for personal injury caused by their alleged negligence and breach of duty of care in a fresh legal action against the TV station in ACT Supreme Court.

It follows another lawsuit she filed in the Federal Court in February 2022 claiming Dr van Onselen, 47, sabotaged her career and tried to make a star out of another reporter to 'get back' at her.

Dr van Onselen is one of several senior employees named in that lawsuit, which alleges Ten failed to provide a safe working environment for her at the Canberra bureau.

He is named again in the latest legal action, which was launched in March this year with an updated statement of claim made in October which links the two cases.

Dr van Onselen is understood to have been working in Melbourne for The Project prior to going on leave over Christmas and played no part in Ten's bushfire coverage.

Ms George said the trauma of the bushfires in Bega, Bermagui, Merimbula and Cobargo which she covered between January 1-5 in 2020 wrecked her mental health and career.

Her claim against Ten said the trauma left her 'intermittently incapacitated for work from February 27, 2020 and then totally incapacitated for work since June 7, 2021.

It alleges the experience left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse/dependence.

Ms George said she now suffers panic attacks and suicidal thoughts and has had to be admitted to full-time psychiatric care.

She still suffers 'distressing dreams' about the bushfires and is haunted by the memories of the suffering she witnessed and what she went through personally.

Her legal action says she can't sleep as a result, struggles to concentrate or focus her attention, and has 'numbness on the left hand side of her body'.

She is still unable to work, the court documents say, and she has 'feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness'.

Former Canberra political reporter Tegan George says she is haunted by the harrowing scenes she saw while covering the catastrophic fires around the NSW south coast

Tegan George says she suffered PTSD and nightmares after seeing apocalyptic scenes of dead livestock killed in the blazes and terrified families fighting for their lives and homes

She has 'reduced energy, motivation and interest and engagement in enjoyable activities', the court documents allege, and suffers headaches and jaw pain.

Ms George needs to take several drugs, including 'increased dosage' of antidepressants fluoxetine and venlafaxine, tranquilliser diazepam and the anti-panic attack/PTSD drug Sertraline.

The legal action claims Ten ignored George's symptoms of 'psychological disturbance' and failed to protect her against criticism of her work by Dr van Onselen and former executive editor Anthony Murdoch.

Ms George also alleged her sick leave triggered by the trauma was questioned by the TV station's network news content editor, Ross Dagan.

She claimed was put under pressure to become involved 'against her will' in a workplace action against a colleague.

She said Ten failed in its duty of care to her by not giving her bushfire training in advance of being sent out to cover the blazes, failing to minimise the risk of injury and failing to identify the risk to her health and safety.

'A reasonable person would have seen a person of normal fortitude might suffer a recognised psychiatric illness if reasonable care was not taken,' alleges the lawsuit.

'But for the [trauma], she would not have developed the psychological response to subsequent workplace events that she ultimately did - which culminated in her being incapacitated for work on June 7, 2021.'

Ten's formal defence denies all allegations of negligence and says George's claim relies on the 'benefit of hindsight'.

It adds: 'No contemporaneous "warning signs" were reasonably apparent to the defendant.'

The bushfires lawsuit against Ten has been filed through Sneddon Hall & Gallop Lawyers in Canberra, a different law firm from George's earlier legal action against Ten, which is being pursued by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.

A spokesman for Ms George told Daily Mail Australia it was the latest attempt by her to expose 'the horrible way' Ten allegedly treats its staff.

She and a colleague had to dodge flames by zigzagging through remote backroads to try to reach safety - and never knew if they were driving into an inferno, she alleges

George alleged TV bosses ordered her to drive into danger zones at the height of the fire crisis despite safety fears and ash falling from the black skies above her

'Both legal cases have caused Ms George considerable stress and ill health,' said a Maurice Blackburn spokesman.

'She is determined to continue both cases to expose the horrible way Network Ten treats its staff, particularly female journalists, and to expose how it has allowed a work place culture that is hostile and toxic towards women.'

Ten responded to the new claim by Ms George by insisting that staff were supported by the TV network.

'Supporting our staffs wellbeing and ensuring a safe working environment is a key priority for Network 10,' said a spokesman.

'We offer a comprehensive employee assistance scheme and bespoke health and wellbeing services for news staff who require additional support, including for dangerous and affecting environments.

'We work very hard across our entire business to ensure we have supportive work environments.
On a fine spring Saturday in early May 2015, the Gehricke family gathered for a picnic in northern Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state.

Parents Jens-Uwe and Victoria, along with children Maxim, Julius, Freya and Inga, spent the day with family friends and planned to have a barbecue in the evening.

With sunset approaching, several of the children at the picnic went out into the forest to collect firewood as the adults prepared the meal.

But during that brief window in time, disaster struck. Inga had vanished.

Her disappearance sparked an investigation that continues today, and soon drew comparisons to the case of Madeleine McCann eight years earlier.

Like Maddie, Inga was a young girl with blonde hair, blue eyes who vanished without a trace. The case drew national attention, sparked wild theories, and questions about what happened to her persist even now.

And as with the investigation into Madeleine by British and Portuguese police, the case has been closed and reopened by German authorities, dashing and raising the hopes of Inga's devastated family whose anguished wait for answers continues.

But there is another similarity between the two cases: the suspected involvement of German convicted child abuser and drug trader Christian Brueckner.

Here, MailOnline looks at what we know about Inga's disappearance, what stage the investigation is at, and why Brueckner is a person of interest...

And as with the investigation into Madeleine McCann by British and Portuguese police, the investigation into Inga has been closed and reopened by German authorities, dashing and raising the hopes of Inga's devastated family whose anguished wait for answers continues

Blonde, blue-eyed Inga Gehricke (pictured) disappeared on May 2, 2015 during a family barbecue in a forest in Germany 's Saxony-Anhalt state. She has never been found

Christian Brueckner, a suspect in the McCann case, is reportedly among those suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Inga

Inga was just five years old when she vanished on May 2, 2015.

It was a Saturday, and she and her family had travelled the 40 miles from their home in Schonebeck to Wilhelmshof in Stendal, which is about 75 miles west of Berlin.

According to accounts from people who were there, the family met friends who lived and worked at a care home facility that looked after the mentally ill and disabled.

They gathered on the edge of the campus, which is made up of several buildings including homes for the residents, dormitories for the staff, as well as stables.

A large forest flanks the campus to the north, east and west, while federal highway 188 runs to the south - with more forest and a field on the other side.

The group set up in the north-east corner of the grounds where there was a barbecue area and fields to play in. Witnesses describing how Inga had happily played with other children throughout the day.

There was no reason to believe anything could go wrong.

The group had decided they wanted to do a barbecue, so as day turned to evening, the preparations began for dinner.

But as the children played happily and the adults chatted while the cooking began, Mr Gehricke saw his daughter for the last time.

Wearing a butterfly T-shirt and blue jeans, she was carrying two large bottles of water to help set the table for the barbecue which was lit in the clearing, before going off to play on the edge of the forest.

Two of the other children saw her heading back through the trees towards the friends' home at about 6.30pm, as the afternoon light was beginning to dim.

That was the last time anyone saw Inga.

As the children returned to the camp one by one, there was no sign of the girl.

Mr Gehricke said: 'It was only 100 metres to the house. But she never got there.'

The adults went out looking for the youngster, assuming she must have taken a wrong turn and would easily be found nearby.

However, as the hours went by, things became increasingly desperate.

They searched all night, and the next day some 500 locals joined in the hunt. The huge forest area around Wilhelmshof was combed for days, in vain.

Desperate to stay positive, Mrs Gehricke has since said: 'I thought: You will definitely find my child, it is just a matter of time.'

But she said the fear grew increasingly strong that Inga must have been kidnapped, adding: 'Then you mistrust everyone at that moment.'

The family called the police who initially suspected she had run into the forest that spans around 20 square miles, prompting a wider search of the immediate area, but this proved fruitless, and the hunt for Inga expanded in the following days.

A pictured of Madeleine McCann (left) taken in Portugal shortly before she went missing is seen next to a picture of 5-year-old Inga Gehricke (right), who disappeared on May 2, 2015 without a trace on a family outing in Wilhelmshof near Stendal

The case quickly drew comparisons with the 2007 disappearance of Madeline McCann, a British girl who vanished from her family's hotel room in Portugal at the age of three

On May 4, two days after her disappearance, 1,000 police officers were joined by volunteers, helpers from the fire department and a technical response agency.

Helicopters with thermal cameras and sniffer dogs were also sent into the field, but it proved difficult to find even a trace of the young girl.

There was also little in the way of sightings for police to go off, something which was largely put down to the density of the forest.

One man came forward to say that he heard screaming on the day Inga vanished.

With the vast police resources not picking anything up, it soon became clear that the youngster was not going to be found in the forest.

After four days and nights of searching, which included pumping out ponds as well as checking tripping hazards and slopes, the search of the woodland was called off, and on May 7 police officially said a crime was the most likely explanation

Reimar Klockziem, the head of the investigation, told reporters in Germany that Inga's disappearance was 'inexplicable and unbelievable'.

It was like she had been 'beamed away from the world', he said.

At the same time, media interest in the case was growing, and comparisons were soon made between the disappearance of Inga and that of Madeleine McCann in 2007, who was three when she disappeared in Portugal.

As with Inga, Madeleine had been away from home with her family when she went missing, and extensive investigations found little to no trace of her, with a kidnapping soon deemed to be the most likely cause.

Despite Inga's face being plastered all over the German press, a 25,000 euro reward being offered for information about her whereabouts, and cops receiving more than 2,000 tip offs, police found no solid leads to advance the case.

Publication Bunte said in May 2020, that 'only a few missing person cases are not cleared up in Germany for a long time. One of them is that of Inga.'

Profiler Axel Petermann told Bunte that, unusually, there was 'no recognisable motive, no crime scene, no traces of a crime, and no body.'

After two years of dead ends, the German police made the difficult decision to close the case in 2017, leading to immense disappointment among Inga's family.

That same year, her parents Jens-Uwe and Victoria divorced.

Nevertheless, they have both said they are united in their belief that Inga is still alive.

In the years since, as hope has faded over the mystery ever being solved, criticism of the police's handling has grown louder.

Earlier this year, the lawyers for Inga's parents, as well as her older brother, accused the police and judiciary of mishandling the case.

They said despite the 2,000 trips, investigations came to nothing.

At the time, Berlin-based lawyer Steffen Tzschoppe - who represents some of Inga's family - told Germany's Bild newspaper: 'There are still plenty of investigative approaches that have never been pursued.

'So far we have largely fallen on deaf ears with the investigation requests and suggestions. The files reveal that investigative approaches have also been stopped through active action,' he added.

While the investigation has yet to result in any charges, there have been two key suspects in the case: Martin H. and Christian Brueckner. Much of the criticism levelled at the police has been in relation to the handling of suspects.

Tzschoppe told politicians in February that 1,900 pages of investigation files on the activities of Martin H., a convicted paedophile, had simply disappeared.

And earlier this year, it emerged that police had found a sex doll in his abandoned house that they bizarrely revealed resembled Inga.

Investigators then checked on a new lead that linked her disappearance with the 41-year-old, who is originally from the same region where the five-year-old vanished.

Earlier this year, it emerged that police had found a sex doll in a convicted paedophile's abandoned house that they bizarrely revealed resembled Inga

Martin H's abandoned house is seen in this general view. The offender is already serving prison time for child sex abuse

Tzschoppe told the Bild: 'He originally comes from near Stendal, not far from Wilhelmshof [district], where Inga disappeared.'

The lawyer claimed authorities had a 1,900-page file on the offender, who is already serving prison for previous sexual abuses of children.

The officers were reportedly puzzled and concerned when they rushed inside the offender's ruined house in the area of Scheuder, near the town of Dessau in Saxony Anhalt, and found bricked windows, soundproof doors and countless mattresses placed inside a basement dungeon.

The dungeon could only be reached through a hatch estimated at 40 by 40 centimetres (15.7 by 15.7 inches) in size, police reported.

They also discovered full bondage kits and sex toys.

Later on, during their search of his Berlin flat, they found silicone sex dolls, one of which reportedly bore a striking resemblance with then-five-year-old Inga.

Tzschoppe said: 'In May 2015, shortly after Inga's disappearance, this offender used an excavator on his property.' Martin H. had reportedly also dismantled his car on the property at the same time, claimed the lawyer.

Unwilling to reveal too many details, he added: 'The Stendal investigators dropped the trail because they believed the man's alibi.

'In my opinion, however, the alibi is very doubtful,' he added.

Tzschoppe pointed out the mistakes in the previous investigations and revealed that detectives hadn't analysed the paedophile's extensive file yet for further possible links, and he claimed that they reportedly stopped further examinations after only 11 days of investigations into Martin H. in 2019.

Meanwhile, Christian Brueckner - who according to German investigators is the chief suspect in the Madeleine McCann case - has also reportedly been among those suspected of being involved in Inga's disappearance.

At the time of her disappearance, 43-year-old Brueckner lived in a caravan at the site of an abandoned factory in Neuwegersleben around 68 miles from where Inga vanished.

And the day before Inga disappeared, a police record places him in Helmstedt, which is between the two locations.

The highway police there had recorded a minor parking incident at an A2 autobahn service station  and Brueckner was at the wheel.

It took investigators eight months for their inquiries to take them to Brueckner's dilapidated caravan in February 2016. More than 100 officers descended on the old pallet factory, at the end of a long tree-lined dirt track on wasteland on the outskirts of the hamlet of Neuwegersleben in former East Germany.

They spent a week digging holes. Nothing was found except Brueckner's USB stash of child abuse. He was prosecuted over the vile images but he was never charged with Inga's disappearance.

Brueckner has been linked to a series of other child abductions and murders in Portugal and Germany, making him among the top suspects in Inga's case.

He is currently in jail in Kiel, in the German state of Schlweswig-Holstein, for drug dealing, and is appealing against a conviction for the 2005 rape of a woman near the Praia da Luz resort where Madeleine McCann went missing.

In the case of McCann, Brueckner's lawyers are said to have been given hope by recent claims that German investigators failed to find physical evidence tying him to the girl during a search in Portugal earlier this year in an area near a lake.

Last month it was reported that he might have taken photos of the missing toddler and buried them in an underground hideaway at a reservoir in the Algarve. He is alleged to have taken 'trophies' from his victims in the past.

Pictuerd: The site of an abandoned box factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany, where Christian Brueckner lived in a caravan and hid child pornography among animal bones. Police raided it in 2016 looking for missing Inga Gehricke

More than 100 police officers descended on the site in February 2016 (pictured), digging holes looking for missing Inga

Justizvollzugsanstalt Kiel in northern Germany where Brueckner is currently being held in jail

As of yet, neither Martin H. or Brueckner have been charged over Inga's disappearance, and the mystery over what happened to her remains unsolved.

But her family were offered a glimmer of hope when Germany's 'Cold Case Forest Review Group' picked up the case in April.

Since then, investigators have been pouring over 40,000 pages of documents and chasing up on leads that were not followed up previously.

It's understood that the new team are using new digital methods of investigation, which helps visualise and link possible connections and leads.

Tzschoppe, Inga's brother's lawyer, said of the team to Bild: 'They are very committed officials who described their activities to us in a very impressive way.'

Hope were bolstered last week with the news that the team had deployed specially trained cold case sniffer dogs to the region where Inge vanished.

Former cop Axel Hehl, an ex-police officer who founded the 'Victim Recovery Dogs' association, said he participated in the search with his cold case sniffer dogs that specialise in searching for corpses.

Axel said: 'The trained dogs' noses sniff out smells and the smallest particles that arise when a person decomposes.'

The dogs were taken for investigation in the Uchtspringe area on Saturday, December 2, near to Wilhelmshof.

Axel told local media: 'After our advance team in the summer, we were now on the search with four dogs.'

According to reports, the dogs stopped at one spot, seemingly sniffing something.

He added: 'I'm 85 per cent sure there's something there.'

Whether the new cold case team will be able to give the Gehricke family answers to what happened on May 2, 2015 remains to be seen, but there is at least a sense that the investigation is back on track.
'No one ever tells us what the Democrat platform is or what the Republican platform is,' said Georgia state Rep. Mesha Mainor in her cramped office.

'They just say you're a Democrat. And this is how you vote.'

That was not good enough for Mainor, an African-American in a state where the Black vote powered Joe Biden to Georgia's 16 electoral college votes in 2020.

Earlier this year the woman elected as a Democrat in 2020 did the unthinkable, crossing the aisle to become the only Black Republican in the state legislature.

Her decision was driven by failing schools, the need for better security on the streets of Atlanta, and a growing sense that Democrats were not acting in the best interests of her Black constituents.

Georgia State Representative Mesha Mainor defected from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party after finding herself out of step with Democrats in Atlanta, Georgia

Her move illustrates how Democrats could be losing support ahead of the 2024 election. A poll for DailyMail.com found Donald Trump leading Joe Biden in the state by 39 percent to 36

READ MORE: Economic worries and political weariness in Atlanta's bellwether precinct give a taste of 2024 Advertisement

The switch triggered a rapid backlash, including a torrent of online abuse from people telling her to kill herself or making reference to 'Aunt Jemima.'

But during an interview with DailyMail.com she said she was confident that she could win reelection as a Republican in a largely Black and impoverished district.

Her town hall events have become busier since she switched, she added, suggesting that she was in step with her voters and a growing mistrust of Democrats.

'I feel like the story is going to be especially among minority voters that we've been listening to you guys for 50 years,' she said.

'You can't keep telling us one more law that we're gonna believe. We're done.

'And I'm just the first Black Republican in metro Atlanta that has ever been in a position like this.'

Georgia's Black voters could be key not just to how the state awards its electoral college votes, they could decide who wins the White House in 2024.

They make up about a third of the electorate in of the tightest battleground states.

In 2016 Georgia went for Trump before flipping to Joe Biden by just 0.2. percent of the vote.

Exit polls show he won it with 88 percent of the Black vote.

This time around he might have to find votes elsewhere. A poll of 550 likely voters in the state for Dailymail.com found that Biden has the support of 54 percent of Black respondents, while Trump has 16 percent.

J.L. Partners polled 550 voters in Arizona, in Georgia and Wisconsin. The results show Joe Biden in danger of losing two states that helped him win in 2020

Mainor, pictured with her fellow Georgia lawmakers in 2021, said she has taken on a slew of hate from her former Democratic colleagues after leaving the Party  and said others are scared to follow her lead because of the backlash she received

The sample size is small and does not have the sort of statistical weight to allow firm conclusions.

However, it reflects other polls that show Trump is making inroads with a bloc that helped Biden to victory in 2020.

A recent New York Times and Siena College showed in a head-to-head contest, 22 percent of Black voters in six battleground states would support Trump.

Mainor said it was only recently that she began to rethink what she had learned about politics growing up.

'It wasn't until I got elected, and was actually reading the legislation and I was going to the Democrat leadership saying this does not help Black people ... this does not help my community,' she said.

One of the flashpoint issues was 'school choice,' in a city where children are falling way below expected levels of literacy. Only 32 percent of Georgia fourth graders were proficient in reading in 2022, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Mainor, a graduate of Washington, D.C.'s Howard University, knew the importance of education from an early age. Her mother made sure she got a leg up, using someone else's address to enable her daughter to avoid the local failing school in favor of a better place in a more affluent neighborhood.

The solution for another generation of children, said Mainor, was to use state and federal cash for vouchers that parents at the worst performing public schools could use to access private schools.

Mainor started her political career working with late Rep. and Civil Rights icon John Lewis, who died in July 2020

Mainor published examples of the abuse she suffered after announcing her party switch

The troubling messages include racist slurs and make reference to racist stereotypes

But Senate Bill 233, which would have paid $6000 per student to schools, was killed off in Georgia Assembly's last legislative session by Democratic opposition.

Critics said it would take money out of the public school system to help those who could already afford to pick up part of a private school bill.

Mainor said the reasoning was wrong.

'It actually doesn't even matter how you get to the opportunity. What matters is how fast you can give them the opportunity,' she said.

'So the Democrats prefer to say, let's wait and fix the broken system.

'Well, I'm almost 50. And the system has been broken for over 50 years. So how much more waiting do you want?'

Another flashpoint was bill setting up an oversight panel for prosecutors.

Democrats opposed the measure, which they said was intended by Republicans to rein in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her prosecution of Trump for fighting the 2020 election result.

'It wasn't about Donald Trump,' said Mainor.

When she was the victim of a stalker, she discovered that the prosecutor in the case was friends with the defendant's attorney. It was the sort of thing that greater oversight might have prevented, she said.

In Georgia, Biden has lost 11 points with a chunk saying they don't know how they will vote

Former President Donald Trump has a three point lead over President Joe Biden in Georgia, according to a new poll conducted by J.L. Partners for DailyMail.com

Mainor announced on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 that she was switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, saying Democrats had driven her out for refusing to follow party orthodoxy. She is seen here in the House chamber of the Georgia Capitol in March

Corwin Monson, a former campaign volunteer, was sentenced to a year in prison and two years of probation in 2021.

Getting tougher on prosecutors, she added, would also improve the prosecution rate of police officers in fatal shootings, which is a huge issue for the Black population.

'This bill is about prosecutors that don't do their job,' she said.

In 2021, she was also one of only three Democrats in the state House to support a G.O.P. bill to curb the powers of counties to reduce funding for the police.

Over time she became isolated within her party.

'It was stressful. I would walk into rooms with Democrats and they rolled their eyes at me,' she said. 'They would literally be in my face pointing their fingers in my face.'

She announced he switch of July 11, saying that she had been forced out by colleagues for they way she questioned policies taken as articles of faith by the rest of the caucus.

That should be a lesson to Democrats, she said, if they wanted to keep hold of Georgia's electoral college in the presidential election next year.

'I think Democrats are not listening to voters. I think they're listening to themselves,' she said.

'And they're gonna lose because whoever is actually listening to them, whoever is actually listening to voters, is who is gonna get their vote.'
Residents in a quaint market town have blasted their council for lining the high street with 3ft planters and double yellow lines.

Business owners in Otley, West Yorkshire, say the situation is a 'nightmare', with the 'bonkers' boxes full of shrubs blocking parking spaces for shoppers and killing their trade.

Others claimed the planters have caused damage to their cars because they narrow the road and cause prangs.

Shopkeepers also raised concerns for disabled and elderly residents who struggle to access the shops because they cannot park outside.

Leeds City Council (LCC) say the boxes are 'aesthetically pleasing' but locals claim the high street is 'dying' as a result.

Residents and traders have hit back at Leeds City Council for keeping the planters in place in Otley high street, West Yorkshire

Business owners say the situation is a 'nightmare', with planters blocking parking spaces on the main road

The planters, pictured lining the high street in Otley, were installed during the Covid pandemic

During Covid parking spaces across the country were quietly replaced by seats and cycle bays called 'Parklets' as authorities waged war against Britain's motorists.

The troublesome wooden structures often extended off the curbs into two parking spaces to give pedestrians more space.

They were blasted by campaigners who called them 'absolutely crackers' and accused councils of making life 'as miserable as possible for drivers'.

The Otley planters were introduced as a social distancing measure to keep people two metres apart, but have remained in place ever since.

Steve Nelson, owner of The 20p Shop on the high street, said they are going to 'kill off' trade on the high street.

He explained: 'The planters stop people coming into the shops.

'People who are disabled or old can't park by the shops because of the planters.

'When people are donating stuff to my shop, or the charity shops along here, they have to park across the street and run back and forth with the donations.

'It's okay if you're like 20 years old not 75, it's a nightmare.

'Otley used to be a vibrant market town with stalls all around  it's dying and that is a very large part due to the council's inability to assist the traders here.'

Shop assistant Sue McKie, 56, said the scheme was 'bonkers'.

Shen added: 'we don't need them and everyone hates them  it makes dropping stuff off and picking stuff up extra tricky.

'They simply make no sense, just being here. The pandemic ended two years ago, but we have these things now as a legacy to try and kill off the very businesses that survived.'

Melissa Widdowson, manager of the neighbouring charity shop, Cancer Research UK, said there was now 'nothing encouraging people to come to Otley' because of the lack of parking.

Locals have blasted the planters with one resident claiming saying 'everyone hates them'

Shoppers say the barricades in Otley high street makes packing their items away hard work

She said: 'It's a nightmare for delivery drivers and other dropping stuff off  many a time the binmen cannot park and then the rubbish remains.

'There's nothing encouraging people to come to Otley with parking so tight and people start moving them and nobody knows if you can park in the space or not.

'Years ago, both sides of the street used to be full with market traders, but lots of the traders are not there this year'.

Carol Robinson, a retired teacher and resident of the town said: 'It's hard enough on businesses in a cost of living crisis, but when things are in place to stop people picking up and dropping off at the shops  that's just madness.

'Sainsburys gets very busy with parking and people can't just stop off and pick up stuff like they used to.'

Ken Norrington, 81, said: 'These giant beds are not even a thing of beauty, I have no idea what anyone thinks they are adding to the town.'

Former mayor of the town, Nigel Francis, said it makes no sense to have rows of planters with double yellow lines inside.

He said: 'They [the council] seem to have a fixation for making the town traffic free, but that makes it almost customer free for some of the shops  there is no appreciation of what they are doing to a once thriving market town.

'Things like this on a main street in a busy town, just doesn't help the traders at all.'

Abdul Celal Arik, who owns Mardini Cafe, claimed his car had been bumped into four times in the last year because of the planters narrowing the road.

He said: 'My car insurance has gone up  I've been hit in the rear of the car twice on the back wheel arch and on the driver's side front and that's all down to the planters making the road extra narrow.

'We are near the countryside and the people round here have tractors and big trucks and these things narrow the road  it's ridiculous when they should be encouraging customers to the businesses here.

'The other day some big thing with a spacecraft style engine was coming down the road  I've been here around 18 months and these things should have gone by now.'

At Yorkshire Trading Company, manager Matthew Hampshire, 46, said: 'Nobody wants them [the planters]  they get in the way.

'People come in here at this time of year for Christmas trees, but they often stop buying them when they realise there is nobody available to help carry their shopping 300 yards up the street to a parking spot.

'They have just painted in some brand new double yellow lines and that's lunacy as they are inside a wall of planters. It's all ridiculous and no good for businesses at all.'

Speaking in March last year, a spokesperson for Leeds City Council said the planters were first put in as a more 'aesthetically pleasing' alternative to social distancing restrictions erected during the pandemic.
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In some instances, members of congress have bought into companies just days before their prices have boomed, earning them tens of thousands of dollars

A separate tracker which follows trades by Nancy Pelosi reveals her investments have increased by 50 percent in the past 12 months

A tool which mimics the trading activity of Congress members has gained 21 percent in the past year, performing twice as well as the stock market average

Investors dedicate countless hours to solving the mystery of how to beat the stock market - and many lose millions of dollars in the process.

But the answer might be simple: Just copy Congress.

A tool which copies trades made by members of Congress and their families has gained nearly 20 percent this year  performing twice as well as the stock market average of eight to ten percent.

And a separate tool which is dedicated to tracking Nancy Pelosi's investments reveals her portfolio has returned a remarkable 50 percent in the last 12 months, vastly outperforming the 17 percent gains of the benchmark S&P500 index of America's top companies.

The tools were created by Quiver Quantitative, which uses public disclosures from members of Congress to mirror their trading activity and track the results.

A tool which copies investments by members of Congress and their families has risen 20 percent in the past 12 months. The green shows the Congress tracker has far outperformed the the S&P500, represented by the gray line, since April 2020

A separate tool focused solely on Nancy Pelosi's portfolio shows that her investments have risen by around 50 percent across the past 12 months. Pelosi's investments are illustrated by the blue line, while the grey line shows the performance of the S&P500 across the same period

Pelosi's portfolio has outperformed the broader stock market by a huge margin and Quiver Quantitative estimates she 'has made almost 100x her congressional salary off of her trading'

The disclosures reveal some politicians have displayed a near-prophetic ability to invest in companies just days before their stock prices explode. Some sit on congressional committees linked to the firm's they've invested in.

James Kardatzke, CEO of Quiver Quantitative, told DailyMail.com: 'You can almost certainly see instances where there seems to be people acting on information that they may have been receiving in committee meetings, or may have been receiving just based on the nature of their job.'

Quiver Quantitative has singled out several trades for their success. None of the members of Congress have been accused of insider trading.

The trades Quiver Quantitative has highlighted include the purchase of up to $115,000 of Lockheed Martin stock by Representative Scott Franklin on September 12, 2022.

Franklin, a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, which regulates government expenditure, bought stock in the defense company weeks before it announced better-than-expected revenues thanks to demand for F-35 fighter jets.

The stock price increased 18 percent on news of the company's financial results, which were published on October 18 2022, resulting in a gain of up to $20,000 on Franklin's initial investment.

Franklins spokesman told DailyMail.com he is not personally involved in any stock transactions and has a broker who manages his investments.

They said: 'He has instructed the broker to diversify his portfolio across various sectors of the economy to spread the investment risk.

'His broker has unilateral authority over which stocks to buy or sell and in what amounts.'

The tracker added Tesla stocks in May after Congressman Josh Gottheimer (left) and Senator Tommy Tuberville invested in the carmaker. Within weeks the stock increased by 64 percent

Representative Mark Green bough up to $250,000 worth on NGL Energy stock on March 24. The stock has risen by 70 percent and Quiver Quantitative estimates that Green has 'made more money off of his NGL Energy trading than he has off of his congressional salary this year'

On May 15, the tool added Tesla stocks to its portfolio after purchases by politicians including Senator Tommy Tuberville and Representative Josh Gottheimer.

The share price then increased by 64 percent in just 36 days. The tracker offloaded its Tesla stock following the sale of shares by Gottheimer and Tuberville, Quiver Quantitative said.

In a third example, Representative Mark Green bought up to $250,000 worth of NGL Energy stock on March 24. The stock has risen by 70 percent since.

Filings show Green has made several more purchases of shares in the company since - with trades totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars - and Quiver Quantitative estimates that Green has 'made more money off of his NGL Energy trading than he has off of his congressional salary this year'.

Quiver Quantitative's separate tracker for Nancy Pelosi's trading activity has returned around 50 percent since last December.

Pelosi has profited hugely from massive gains this year in the stock price of Nvidia, the chipmaker whose valuation has passed $1 trillion thanks to the AI boom.

Pelosi also owns millions of dollars worth of Microsoft and Apple stock, which have both risen by around 55 percent since the beginning of the year.

Rep. Gottheimer said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'Prior to taking office, I turned over management of my retirement savings and investments to a third party, who has full investment discretion. Throughout my time in Congress, decisions related to my managed investments have been made at the direction of that third party.'

A spokesperson for Tuberville said: 'Senator Tuberville has long had financial advisors who actively manage his portfolio without his day-to-day involvement.'

The offices of Pelosi, Green and Franklin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kardatzke said it's hard to say with 100 percent certainty that trades are 'improper or someone is active with inside information'.

Pelosi has profited from massive gains this year in the stock price of Nvidia, the chipmaker whose valuation has passed $1 trillion. She also owns millions of dollars worth of Microsoft and Apple stock, which have both risen by around 55 percent since the beginning of the year

'Tracking what members of Congress are doing can give you insights that you might not be able to find anywhere else in terms of how a company might perform in the future [and] how they might be affected by the government,' he said.

He said the tools were also key to help improve accountability and transparency.

'Our hope is that sometime in the near future, there's better regulation regarding congressional stock trading, and possibly even a ban on members of Congress trading stock.

'I think, obviously, the more people that pay attention to this data and the more people that call out members of Congress when they trade in suspicious or improper ways, I think the sooner that's likely to happen,' he said.

Current rules allow members of Congress to trade stocks freely, but they must report their trading and they are barred from using non-public information to inform their purchases.

But the fine for lawmakers who break the rules is typically just $200.

Earlier this year, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Senator Josh Hawley formally introduced the 'Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act', which would prevent members of Congress, the president, vice president and other White House officials - along with their relatives - from trading stocks.

But Kardatzke added that while many pieces of legislation have been introduced to curb the practice, few ever make it to a vote.

He said his firm has been 'surprised how consistent' the gains of stocks chosen by Congress have been.

Gottheimer's statement said he has supported bills to tighten the rules around trading by Congress and added: 'I don't believe Members of Congress, judges, or any government employee in a policy role, should be involved in the day-to-day trading of securities, including crypto currencies.'
Guthrie and Lauer initially had a bitter falling out after he was fired from NBC for sexual harassment in 2017

Sources tell DailyMail.com that Guthrie was hesitant about attending at first because she 'refused to be in the same room' as Lauer

Disgraced Today Show host Matt Lauer and current host Savannah Guthrie will both attend the wedding of former NBC producer Jen Long today

Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie will reluctantly come face-to-face with her former friend and co-host Matt Lauer today, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The former colleagues will be celebrating the nuptials of NBC producer Jen Long to Reid Sterrett with several other longtime employees.

Sources told DailyMail.com that Guthrie initially was hesitant to accept the invitation because she 'refused to be in the same room' as Lauer after his firing in 2017 for sexual harassment when the pair were co-anchoring together.

But sources claim that Guthrie had a change of heart and will put up with Lauer being in the same room for the sake of her longtime friend's big day.

Savannah Guthrie and former co-host Matt Lauer will come face-to-face today at a wedding after Guthrie previously refused to be in the same room as him

The former Today Show colleagues will be celebrating the upcoming nuptials of NBC producer Jen Long to her fiance Reid Sterrett with several other longtime employees

Lauer has been living a quiet life out of the spotlight since his firing. He has been dating Shamin Abas since 2019 and the pair were seen together last month taking a stroll in The Hamptons

Long, who left NBC's Today in 2019 after 21 years, worked closely with both Lauer and Guthrie before jumping ship to be an executive producer of The Tonight Show.

Guthrie, who still anchors the show, was quoted as becoming tearful after announcing Long's departure, saying that the entire team would be waving 'pompoms' for her friend in her new role.

Long has since returned to Today and now again works closely with Guthrie.

Long worked closely with both Lauer and Guthrie at the Today Show

The frosty relationship between the former co-anchors has escalated to the point that they are unable to talk to mutual friends about the situation.

Sources claimed Guthrie was not interested in patching up her friendship with Lauer following the scandal.

A year after his dismissal, the 51-year-old admitted that she had not seen her co-anchor since but 'tried to keep in touch' via text.

Lauer, a father-of-three, was left feeling 'betrayed' by his former co-anchor after she called the allegations 'shocking and appalling' on air.

Both Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, who replaced Lauer, made several comments about the accusations on the show.

The guestlist for Long's wedding includes NBC weather man Al Roker, who rebuilt his relationship with Lauer following his cancer diagnosis, and several other network staffers.

Lauer was accused of sexual harassment and rape by former network employee Brooke Nevils, with several other women coming forward with similar accusations.

Nevils confirmed that she made the complaints to Ronan Farrow for his 2019 book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.

She claimed that he raped her in his hotel room at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where she was working for NBC's Meredith Vieira. Lauer has insisted all of his encounters were consensual.

Lauer was left feeling 'betrayed' by his former co-anchor Guthrie after she called the allegations 'shocking and appalling' on air. The guestlist for Long's wedding includes NBC weather man Al Roker, who rebuilt his relationship with Lauer following his cancer diagnosis

Lauer was accused of sexual harassment and rape by former network employee Brooke Nevils, with several other women coming forward with similar accusations

Both Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, who replaced Lauer, made several comments about the accusations on the show

It is unclear if Lauer will be accompanied to the wedding by his longtime girlfriend Shamin Abas, whom he began dating in 2019.

The pair were seen together last month taking a stroll in The Hamptons.

He has been living a quiet life since the firing and his subsequent divorce from Dutch model Annette Roque, his wife of 20 years. In 2018 Lauer agreed to pay his ex-wife $20million in the settlement.

'Matt and Annette have had an incredibly difficult year,' a source said at the time. 'They both wanted to settle their divorce amicably for their children's sake but it hasn't been easy.'

Last year he sold his 12-bedroom estate in the Hamptons for $44million after three years on the market and a price drop.

'He sold because he wants to spend more time at his place in New Zealand,' a source told People last month. 'He feels peace there, loves it, loves the people, and it's good for his productivity level.'

The source added, 'Matt has some projects he is working on, and Bryant [Gumbel] has been encouraging and inspirational for him. They talk regularly.'

It's unclear if those 'projects' include making a comeback to television.

Long and Sterrett, CEO of a Maryland-based home buying company, are asking wedding guests to donate to their honeymoon in an undisclosed location, as well as listing Celeste bedding worth $350 on their registry.

Bathrobes costing $200 are still available as gifts for the happy couple, with guests already purchasing a $600 Crate and Barrel pan set and $320 Wusthof knife block.
As soon as he opened the overhead locker that pong so familiar to Rory Stones nostrils started wafting through the cabin.

Passengers glanced round in his direction, a new sense of urgency to disembark written on every face.

What was that smell? Prime suspect Mr Stone affected innocence as the bag he removed from stowage was eyed suspiciously.

Luckily this flight was a short hop to Luton. The cheese dubbed the worlds smelliest had only just begun to permeate its environment.

Its influence on a long-haul flight may be best left to the imagination.

The Kings expression seems to say it all

The world's stinkiest cheese! The Minger - created by professional cheesemaker Rory Stone.

Scottish Daily Mail's Jonathan Brocklebank samples the pungent Minger cheese

In the years after Highland cheesemaker Mr Stone unleashed his most pungent product on the market it became a cult favourite whose reputation  inevitably  went before it.

Only, perhaps, by clipping a clothes peg over the nose before tasting could it be any other way.

But it was not just the smell  which Mr Stone happily admits is offensive  that kept it out of the mainstream.

More obnoxious still in the eyes of industry buyers was the name its creator chose: Minger.

Change it, the experts told him. The name stays, he replied.

The deadlock looked set to keep Minger off major supermarket shelves and posh restaurant menus indefinitely  until last week, when Asda decided to take a punt on it.

This week, it is probably the most talked about cheese on the planet. Now neither the smell nor the name is the problem.

The biggest issue is figuring out how on earth to keep up with demand.

Production is about to rise from 30 tons of the cheese a year to 70, putting Mr Stones Tain-based business at full stretch.

If any other retailer takes it on then were really going to have to scratch our heads, he says.

He well remembers his run-in with Waitrose which, as a family supermarket, refused to countenance such a name appearing in its stores.

Upmarket cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield was similarly sniffy.

They said we love the cheese but we cannot pass that over to Michelin-starred restaurants, recalls Mr Stone, 59.

They said theres no way, its tacky, its crass, youre closing more marketplaces down than youre opening.

In one upmarket Scottish restaurant which did put the cheese on its tasting menu, a printing error left the name a letter short.

Even Mr Stone, who defends Minger to the hilt, was horrified by this.

One distinguished patron who has not expressed a view  though has certainly taken delivery of Minger  is the King.

Charles visited Mr Stones business Highland Fine Cheeses a decade ago before this most controversial product was created but, ever since, the cheesemaker has sent a selection to the Castle of Mey in Caithness whenever the King is staying there.

Minger is invariably included and, though it remains unclear whether His Majesty had tried it, there have certainly been no complaints.

The same cannot be said for Mr Stones wife Jacqui who disapproved not only of her husbands name for this cheese but also with his choice of nomenclature for other signature products including Fat Cow and Blue Murder.

It caused many an argument and we have decided that in order to keep our marriage going its best that we dont try to work together, admits father of two Mr Stone.

She said it will be disastrous, it will be embarrassing for the children.

She kept finding urban dictionary definitions and saying absolutely not, you cannot call it that.

But he did  and this week the malodorous product with the equally disagreeable name was flying off the shelves.

Mr Stone says the initial Scottish stores-only deal with Asda is being extended to the rest of the UK  and now an agreement with Morrisons is in the pipeline too. Minger, the ugly duckling of the cheese world, is suddenly a swan.

It started innocuously enough when Asda issued a routine announcement about its new line of artisan products for this years festive cheeseboards.

These would include Fat Cow, Blue Murder and Minger, which it described  somewhat diplomatically  as a pungent cheese and runny when ripe.

The supermarket offered no comment on the name that had kept it on the margins for so long.

Within hours, Minger was making headlines across the UK as the worlds smelliest cheese  pongier than the infamous Stinking Bishop made in Gloucestershire; whiffier even than Epoisses, from Burgundy, which was notoriously banned from the Paris Metro following complaints from passengers.

The cheesemaker from Tain, Ross-shire, was coaxed down to London for a round of broadcast interviews, which is why he found himself on an easyJet flight with a bag packed with ripening Minger samples and queasy passengers all around.

While there, the media requests kept coming: a drivetime slot on Australian radio; an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Everyone wanted to know about Minger.

So what is the story of the cheese that has risen to glory in spite of beginnings which marketing wisdom suggests should have seen it sink without a trace?

Well, part of it, surely, is the delight which its genial producer takes in giving its aroma a bad press.

Its a bit obnoxious, he tells me. You are kicking the dog or checking out grandpa to make sure hes still with us  its not good.

It smells like somethings gone badly, he was quoted elsewhere as saying.

Theres nothing subtle here and no nice way to describe the smell  its simply bad, was another of his scathing reviews of his own work.

He describes the odour as unctuous, cabbagey, even vile and warns against travelling with it for too long in the car, particularly in warm weather.

Thats when you go Oh no, theres something not right here, he laughs.

He receives reports of domestic strife over his whiffiest concoction  spouses refusing to have it in the fridge and insisting that it is either consumed immediately or binned outside.

But another part of the story, as almost all who have tried it agree, is it tastes nothing like it smells. Indeed, the contrast between its assault on the nose and the subtle pleasures it brings to the palate is widely admired by the cheese cognoscenti.

At George Mewes Cheese in Glasgows Byres Road, where Minger has been selling steadily for more than a year, cheesemonger Andrew Barrett says it is one of his favourites.

Its a really nice cheese whose name is a lot worse than its bite, he says. Its got a lovely peanutty flavour.

We do a Scottish cheeseboard selection and its one of the superstars of that.

Its one of those funky washed rind cheeses that youre normally used to seeing coming out of the Champagne region of France.

And yet, he says, it is that name which accounts for a substantial proportion of the sales, particularly in the festive season.

A lot of people buy it for pals as a joke because its a minging cheese, he says.

Is it really the smelliest in the shop? He looks doubtful. Of the Scottish ones, definitely.

Mingers creator says that it was born following a conversation with Scottish chef Nick Nairn. He said to me, You know, at the end of dinner when the cheese board comes out, Im looking for that little, gooey smelly bit of joy thats trying to get off the plate.

I thought, well, me too, because I love Reblochon and Epoisses.

I adore those flavours and smells and of course the aroma is horrendously off-putting but the taste is to die for.

Shortly afterwards, rifling in the back of a chiller, Mr Stone found a sample of brie that was so far past its best it had begun to morph into a different kind of cheese entirely.

It was developing the brevibacterium typical of washed rind cheeses and  rank as it smelled  he just had to try some.

I thought, Oh my God, I love that. Ive always been trying to get our cows milk cheeses to develop those flavours.

And so the ambition crystallised: a washed rind Scottish cheese that made no apologies for its stinkiness. In fact, he decided, he would call it Minger.

By then, Mr Stones taste for colourful names was already legion in cheesemaking circles.

In partnership with Alex James of the rock group Blur, his firm had produced a cheese called Blue Monday.

When the two parties went their separate ways, James registered the brand name and threatened to sue when Mr Stone kept using it.

My lawyer said it should be Blue Murder because it was costing quite a lot of money to fend him off. And I thought, yeah, Ill go for that and for some reason the West of Scotland just loved it. They immediately made a connection with Taggart.

As for Minger, well, the name appears to have done little to discourage Asda customers. They were sold out in the branch I visited.

And so my own square of the stuff came from George Mewes Cheeses together with the fun fact that its bright orange rind cultivates the same bacteria which forms in your shower if you dont clean it.

Brevibacterium accounts for smelly feet, too.

Back home I gingerly removed the outer packaging and prepared for the assault on the nostrils which, when it came seconds later, was brutal yet less so than I had feared.

Rather more disturbing was the sight of the creamy goo breaching its rind and oozing along the cheeseboard, almost as if it were alive.

If the intention was to create a cheese which gave the diner the impression it was trying to escape, Mr Stone had certainly succeeded.

Cutting a corner off, I noted this chunk was trying to flee my cheese knife, but I swiftly smeared it over an oatcake, took a bite and at once experienced the magic.

There were hints of lemon, a mild nuttiness and  yes  I could taste what the experts at the cheesemonger had described as flavours of the farmyard.

What I couldnt taste was anything that I could square with the pong now establishing itself in my kitchen.

That sounds exactly right, says Mr Stone when I report back. Are you keeping it in the fridge? Is there a whiff coming as soon as you open the door?

When I tell him it is well wrapped up and not causing any undue offence he advises me that this is clearly quite a young cheese with maturing still to do.

Indeed, the use by date of December 27 confirms it.

By Christmas Day, he says, it will be at its peak.

In the interim, there are questions to ponder after a week that turned conventional thinking about artisan Scottish cheese on its head.

How does a small Highland firm employing 12 people cater for supermarket-scale demand for a product which, until a few days ago, was not even its own biggest seller?

Was its name, ultimately, a help or a hindrance? In the beginning it slammed many more doors shut than it opened, says Mr Stone. Now he is not so sure.

Deadly on the nose, Rory Stone, creator of the worlds stinkiest cheese

And how was it that Asda  not perhaps the most noted of suppliers of artisan cheeses  managed to steal a march on its rivals, winning global publicity into the bargain?

Asda, of all people, laughs Mr Stone. I mean, really? What have they brought to speciality cheese?

I would imagine what they have gained from this is every other buyer is sitting in their office cowering at the moment, waiting for somebody to kick in their door and say, Why didnt you do this?

I dont think that can be bad news for us.

The sweet smell of success, it turns out, can just as easily be a stink.
A Portland bartender has been found guilty of murdering her boyfriend after having a heated argument about the meaning of Thanksgiving.

Barbara Michelle, 44, shot and killed Justin Williams, 41, outside the Bluebird Tavern in Portland last year after the both of them had an alcohol-fueled quarrel.

Williams died two days later at the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

She was arrested immediately after police arrived at the scene and was arraigned at Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Michelle explained she acted out in self-defense, but the jury did not think it was viable.

They found her guilty of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon as well as driving under the influence of intoxicants.

She will be sentenced early next week.

A Portland bartender has been found guilty of murdering her boyfriend after having a heated argument about the meaning of Thanksgiving (Pictured: Victim, Justin Williams)

Barbara Michelle, 44, shot and killed Justin Williams, 41, outside the Bluebird Tavern in Portland last year after the both of them had an alcohol-fueled quarrel

Michelle testified that after her bartender shift ended at the Perch Tavern, she waited for her new boyfriend to see him.

According to the killer, Williams was annoyed she hadn't been answering her phone after he arrived but surveillance footage showed the two were soon happily drinking.

The couple then drove to the Bluebird Tavern, where Williams was a regular, to continue drinking.

She further told the court that the Native American couple began to argue about the meaning of Thanksgiving.

The attorneys said there was a difference in opinion as Michelle did not celebrate Thanksgiving, but Williams did.

Michelle claimed she tried to de-escalate the situation and said: 'He kept poking at me. He was being rude. So rude. He just kept standing over me.'

But footage showed Michelle leaning into Williams and gesturing in his face as he stood passively in a corner.

Officers responded to the 8700 block of North Lombard Street on the report of a shooting

At the time of her arrest, a witness said Williams and Michelle had been asked to leave the bar when they began arguing loudly and appeared drunk.

Prosecutors noted that Michelle's last words as she left the tavern were 'I'm going to kill him.'

While Michelle testified that the comment to the tavern's bartender was 'exasperated humor,' Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero told the jury: 'Such jokes don't turn out to be funny when a man ends up dead.'

Camera footage shows the couple shoving each other.

At the same time, two bystanders told the police the pair continued arguing, with Michelle eventually pulling a revolver from her purse and yelling that she would 'blow his head off.'

Defense attorney Joshua McCain told the court that Michelle told Williams to stay away from her while she held the gun, but he stepped forward and she fired a warning shot into the ground.

'He still doesn't stop coming at her,' McCain said.

Michelle then shot Williams once in the chest as he took another step forward, lodging a bullet in his spine.

'You don't get to shoot somebody because they pushed you,' Marrero said. 'She brought a gun to a shoving match.'

The court could sentence Michelle for at least 10 years of prison next week.
There was a time when the search for Katrice Lee was a fun, joyous thing. Her big sister Natasha remembers the ritual of 'silly hide-and-seek games' when Katrice was a toddler.

Sometimes Katrice  five years younger  would be there to meet her as she got off the school bus, but often she would get home to discover her little sister hiding behind the curtains for Natasha to 'find'.

'Of course, her feet would always be poking out the bottom,' Natasha recalls.

If only it were so easy now. It is hard to believe, given the vividness of her family's memories of her, but it is 42 years since Katrice Lee simply vanished. Her family have never stopped looking for her.

Natasha tells me that when she got married a few years ago, she had a tiny red button from Katrice's cardigan sewn in her wedding dress, 'so that it would sit near my heart. She should have been walking behind me, as a bridesmaid. All I had was a button.'

Katrice Lee, who vanished from a supermarket near a British Army base in Paderborn, Germany on her second birthday in 1981

The two-year-old has not been seen since November 28 1981, when she disappeared on a shopping trip with her family

There was a time when the search for Katrice Lee was a fun, joyous thing. Her big sister Natasha (left, with her sister before she disappeared) remembers the ritual of 'silly hide-and-seek games' when Katrice was a toddler

Katrice Lee's mother Sharon and sister Natasha have never given up hope finding answers over his disappearance

The case of Katrice Lee is one of the most baffling and heartbreaking Missing Person stories in living history.

How can a child simply vanish in a matter of minutes?

Yet it happened, in 1981, on Katrice's second birthday, of all days, on a trip to the supermarket with her mother and auntie to buy party supplies.

The family were living in British military accommodation in Germany at the time, and the trip to the local NAAFI store was a routine one.

Except on this particular November day, Katrice's mother, Sharon, forgot to pick up crisps, so dashed back to get some, leaving her in the care of her aunt  or so she thought. In the few minutes it took her to return, Katrice was gone. Each adult thought the little girl was with the other.

Nowadays the disappearance of a British toddler from a supermarket would be front page news, with every twist and turn in the ensuing investigation followed. The politest thing the family can say about that today is: 'What investigation?'

At first, it was assumed  by the Royal Military Police which headed the hunt for Katrice  that the child had simply wandered off and drowned in a nearby river. Yet no body was ever found, and by the time it was acknowledged that she could have been abducted, as her family always believed she was, it was too late.

Witness statements were not taken until weeks later  even years later in some cases; roads were not closed, nor Katrice's description circulated.

It must be the most horrific situation for any parents to be trapped in, but imagine being the remaining sibling, particularly if you blamed yourself for Katrice's disappearance, as Natasha always has done.

Then aged seven, she refused to go to the NAAFI store that fateful day. 'Which meant I wasn't around to do what a big sister should do  look out for her,' she tells me.

She has been searching ever since, desperate for her family's story to be concluded. 'One way or another,' she points out, lest you think she is the sort to cling only to fairy-tale endings.

Katrice Lee pictured as a baby with her parents Richard and Sharon, and older sister Natasha (right)

Natasha (left) with her sister Katrice, who vanished in Germany in 1981

Katrice's mother Sharon and sister Natasha appeared on ITV's Daybreak to discuss her case over 30 years after she disappeared

Richard Lee (right), the father of missing toddler Katrice Lee and Richard O'Leary (left), senior investigating officer at Royal Military Police, arrive for a press conference near the Benteler Arena in Paderborn, Germany, in May 2018

Now there has been a particularly poignant twist in this awful story. Richard Lee, the girls' father, continued to serve in the Army until 1999, notching up 34 years of distinguished service. Last week, frustrated by the perceived lack of support the family have received from the military and the Government, he declared that he will hand his medals back, in protest.

A march on Downing Street is planned for next year, when he will make the symbolic sacrifice.

The family's issues? There are many, but the most important is that they want an independent inquiry, and for the search for Katrice to be handed to a civilian police force  as would have happened had the family been in Germany on holiday.

'This has always come under the jurisdiction of the Royal Military Police, who were out of their league from the start,' argues Richard. 'The lies and the cover-ups since have beggared belief, and all the while there is a chance that Katrice is still out there, living with another family, unaware that she is even Katrice.'

Natasha adds: 'My dad was prepared to give his life for Queen and Country, so those medals mean everything to him. But Katrice, and the truth about what happened to her, means more.'

Richard and Sharon split up in 1989, their marriage unable to bear the strain associated with a missing child. But they remain united in their search for Katrice. 'Both my parents are in their 70s. I don't want them to go to their graves never knowing what happened,' says Natasha.

All three agree to speak to me  patiently answering questions that are being asked four decades too late  and what emerges is a story of a family destroyed.

At her home in Gosport, Hampshire, Sharon produces a clutch of photographs of Katrice that even the family didn't know existed until a decade ago. 'My ex-husband's sister died, and these were brought out,' she explains. 'All these years and we'd only had a handful of pictures. That makes these so precious.

'I got such a jolt when I saw this one. See that expression on her face? That's the way I always remembered Katrice. She didn't have that look in the pictures we had previously. I only regret that we didn't have these pictures when we had artist's impressions done of how Katrice might look now. Did we send pictures out into the world that even Katrice wouldn't recognise as herself if she saw them?'

Heidi Robinson pleaded guilty to a malicious communications offence in September 2019 after impersonating missing toddler Katrice Lee

A Missing Persons poster for Katrice Lee was shared decades after her disappearance, showing renditions of how she may have looked at different stages of her life

Police and British soldiers investigate an area during the search for missing two-year-old British Katrice Lee near the Benteler Arena in May 2018

If Sharon and Richard's lives were derailed by the disappearance of Katrice, their eldest daughter's was shaped by it.

'When I was seven I was told to pray to God, and if I prayed hard enough he would bring Katrice home. So I prayed and prayed, and he didn't bring her home. I don't believe in God now,' Natasha says.

While her parents clearly tried to protect her, they could not. Her most vivid childhood memory is of her mother screaming on the day Katrice disappeared. 'I will never forget the sounds she made. They haunt me.'

She talks of a recurring childhood dream where she runs towards a pram in excitement, and turns back the hood  only to find Katrice's head.

'You were quite a disturbed child, Natasha,' says Sharon.

'That's what happens, Mum,' Natasha replies.

Only in recent years has Natasha accepted that she needed counselling to help her process the loss of Katrice. 'I don't know who I would be if it hadn't happened,' she says. 'That's a big thing to live with in itself.'

We return to November 28, 1981. Richard  then a sergeant in the King's Royal Hussars  had driven Sharon, her sister Wendy (who was visiting for her niece's birthday) and Katrice to the store, and waited in the car for them. It was busy because it was the last Army payday before Christmas and Katrice  'who was at that age', explains her mother  refused to go in the trolley. Only when she was at the checkout did Sharon make the snap decision to dash back for crisps.

'Did she wander after me? Go in the other direction? We don't know,' she says. 'The fact is, one minute Katrice was there; the next she wasn't.' The following hours were a blur. Both the Royal Military Police and local police were quickly on the scene, but seemed convinced that they were dealing with a lost, not abducted, child.

'They kept asking if she liked ducks, and I said yes, all children like ducks,' says Sharon. 'I wish I hadn't. They were fixated on the belief she had fallen in the river. My feeling is they made a huge mistake  and by the time they realised it, the cover-up had started.'

Little wonder they are bitter about their treatment at the hands of the Army. They were left floundering. Appallingly, they still haven't been allowed to see the full Army files, but Sharon is aware of one report where she was described as 'a woman of limited intelligence'. She isn't, patently. But even if she were, why should that be relevant?

'They tried to blame me,' she says. 'Whether it was to cover up their own failings, I don't know, but there certainly was no 'help' there. We were distraught, but it took six weeks for the Army liaison person to actually come to see us. On the night Katrice disappeared I had to be sedated, but they wouldn't even send out an Army doctor to give me the jab; I had to go to the clinic. The Army washed their hands of us.'

Natasha blames them for trying to stop the story becoming the talking point it needed to be.

'The British Army had one of the biggest PR departments of any, even in those days. It could have pulled out all the stops to raise awareness, had it wanted to. But it didn't want to know.

'At one point Dad was told, point blank, that the Press weren't interested in Katrice. He said: 'I beg to differ. I have a German journalist who wants to speak to me about what has happened, and I am seeing him tonight.'

'His superior lifted a book on Army rules and regulations and said he should throw it at him.'

Richard speaks to me separately from his home in Hartlepool, and goes further. 'It continued like that. I was marked as a trouble-maker.

'When, a few months later, Margaret Thatcher's son went missing [Mark Thatcher disappeared for six days in 1982 while competing in a motor racing rally in the Sahara desert], I wrote to her, saying 'Welcome to the parents-of-the-missing club' and asking for her help with Katrice's case. I was reprimanded for it.'

He never got a reply from Mrs T, and continued to write to successive Prime Ministers over the years.

Just over a decade ago, and largely due to the perseverance of the family, the case was reopened when the Ministry of Defence finally acknowledged that its original investigation was 'flawed'.

In 2018 a team of Army divers did trawl the river near where Katrice had gone missing, but no body was discovered. It was no surprise to Richard, who argued that she would never go near a river. 'She hated water. She hated even being in the bath. No one ever listened.'

He maintains that 'someone walked out of that supermarket with Katrice'.

An arrest was made in the case, but no charges were brought. Successive moments of hope that, as Richard puts it, 'there might be a breakthrough', have stalled.

Last year a long-promised 'father-to-father' meeting with the then PM Boris Johnson did happen, but Richard says: 'Nothing came of it. I wrote afterwards, asking for an inquiry, and for Katrice's case to be investigated by a civilian force, as it would have been if we'd been any other family.'

He never got a reply. 'Politicians move on,' he says. 'We cannot.'

Sharon knows she is the woman every mother dreads becoming. She has met Kate McCann (mother of Madeleine, the three-year-old who disappeared while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007) a few times now, through her charity work, and says she was hurt when Kate first refused to meet her.

'When we did meet she apologised, but said she hadn't been able to bear the thought that one day she would be me, still not knowing 30 years on. I understand that.'

Sharon's is an impossible burden. 'People say I should move on,' she says. 'But you can't if you don't know. How do you grieve for a child when you do not know if they are alive or dead?'

The attention the family have had from members of the public has been a double-edged sword.

Over the years they have been targeted by trolls. In 2013 a woman called Donna Wright, from County Durham, was prosecuted for stalking after subjecting Natasha and her mum to a cruel deception in which she pretended to be Katrice and then bombarded them with hateful messages. 'She said to my mum  and I will never forgive her for this  'I have four kids. I managed to go the supermarket without losing any of them.' '

There have been similar trolling incidents since, with yet another one just a few weeks ago. 'This one has been DNA-tested and she is not Katrice, yet she is convinced she is,' says Natasha.

Their Facebook group is no longer an 'open' one, accessible by all. Members wanting to join have to be approved. Yet they need the internet  and its myriad complications  more than ever.

'In some ways I want to switch it all off, but we still need people to help,' says Natasha. 'I know, even as I'm dreading the next message dropping in, that it could be the one. It could be Katrice.'
A well-liked pastor from New Hampshire killed himself just two days after his church fired him for the 'sexual abuse of minors'.

Jarrett Booker, 37, was adopted at 18 months and raised in Virginia - before attending Liberty University. He moved to New Hampshire to work as a pastor at the Nashua Baptist Church.

Booker's employment was terminated on November 25 after church officials learned of an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the pastor.

On November 27 - just two days after his termination - Booker took his own life.

The pastor recently celebrated his 11-year-anniversary with his wife Rachel - with whom he shared a son, Eddie.

Jarrett Booker, 37, was adopted at 18 months and raised in Virginia - before attending Liberty University. He moved to New Hampshire to work as a pastor at the Nashua Baptist Church

Booker's employment was terminated on November 25 after church officials learned of an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the pastor

The pastor recently celebrated his 11-year-anniversary with his wife Rachel - who he shared a son, Eddie, with

Booker's wife Rachel wrote on Facebook that the last two weeks have been a 'blender of emotions' for her.

Rachel said that she and her son Eddie are 'eternally grateful' for every prayer and words of encouragement as they are starting to build a life as a team of two.

In an emotional post, she said: 'Sin is dark, and it destroys. We hate it, we are grieved by it, and we continue to pray for all of those who have been hurt. JB had his demons, I won't pretend that he didn't. His choices caused harm.'

Nashua Baptist Church released a statement addressing their decision to fire Booker and their response to the news of his suicide.

'On November 22 we became aware of a criminal investigation concerning credible allegations of sexual abuse against minors, implicating Jarrett Booker.

'Jarret had been an integral part of our church, serving as Pastor of Worship and Youth Ministry for nearly a decade.

'These allegations prompted an internal review which revealed further evidence of misconduct.

'Regardless of the outcome of any criminal investigation, this behavior undeniably violated the moral and ethical standards we expect of our leaders and did not uphold the standards of our faith.

Church officials revealed that they made the decision to immediately terminate Booker's employment on November 25, three days after they became aware of the investigation.

On November 27 - just two days after his termination - Booker took his own life

Nashua Baptist Church released a statement addressing their decision to fire Booker and their response to the news of his suicide

Booker's wife Rachel wrote on Facebook that the last two weeks have been a 'blender of emotions' for her

There was an outpouring of support for Booker on social media as friends and family learned of his suicide. One friend even described the pastor as 'one of the best guys I knew'

The Elders and Deacons of Nashua Baptist Church said in response to the news of their former-employee's suicide: 'Regrettably, on the evening of November 27, Jarrett Booker took his own life, refusing to face the consequences of his actions. This event added immeasurably to the complexity and pain of the situation.'

'Nashua Baptist Church unequivocally condemns all forms of abuse. It is evil and our God hates it,' the statement said.

There was an outpour of support for Booker on social media as friends and family learned of his suicide.

One friend even described the pastor as 'one of the best guys I knew'.

A family member said Booker was 'one of the most gentle, loving, kind, Godly men I know!'

Sgt. John Cinelli, the public information officer and communications division supervisor for the Nashua Police Department, confirmed Booker was being investigated for child sex offenses.

'We learned of the alleged crimes through an investigation by another police department,' he said. 'The investigation is still ongoing even though the suspect is deceased.'
It was Ryan O'Neal's charisma and good looks that convinced the Paramount executives to hire him, against their instincts, for the role in Love Story. The film would become a decade-defining smash hit, earning O'Neal an Oscar nomination and cashing in as the highest-grossing movie of 1970.

But it was his fiery temper, drug and alcohol addiction, tempestuous love life and headline-grabbing family that kept him in the public eye.

O'Neal, who died on Friday at the age of 82, was as famed for his personal life as his films - romances with Barbra Streisand, Joan Collins, Diana Ross, Bianca Jagger, Angelica Houston, Ursula Andress, and particularly his relationship with Farrah Fawcett.

The father of four admitted that he once tried to hit on his daughter Tatum, not realizing who she was.

He was arrested after firing a gun at his son Griffin, who had his own lengthy history of arrests, and was charged with negligence after a boating accident that killed Francis Ford Coppola's son Gian-Carlo.

None of Ryan O'Neal's relationships captured the public imagination as much as his rollercoaster romance with blonde bombshell Farrah Fawcett; pictured 1989

O'Neal is pictured in 2010 with his daughter Tatum O'Neal, who won an Oscar aged 10

O'Neal speaks at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, in Washington, in 2011

O'Neal is seen with his son Patrick, in May 2022. Patrick O'Neal, the most stable of O'Neal's four children, works as a sports caster, as a Los Angeles Angels TV play-by-play announcer

O'Neal was arrested again after police found him and his youngest son Redmond taking methamphetamine at the actor's Malibu home in 2008. Redmond, too, has a complicated and sad story, and is currently in the Patton State Psychiatric Hospital in San Bernardino.

His son Patrick is the only one of the three to emerge unscathed: Patrick is an actor and sportscaster, and was the one who announced his father's death.

O'Neal's last major role was with his daughter in a 2011 reality show, 'Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals,' on Oprah Winfrey's cable channel, OWN. She starred alongside her father in Paper Moon and won an Oscar at the age of ten for Best Supporting Actress - making her the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award.

But the pair had become estranged, with Tatum accusing her father of physical and emotional abuse, and severing contact for 25 years.

The Oprah series left the impression that the two had ended their long estrangement, he later said it was not true.

'We're further apart now than we were when we started the show,' he said.

EARLY YEARS

O'Neal was born in Los Angeles, his father a screenwriter and his mother an actress.

At the age of 17 he joined his globetrotting parents in Germany, and landed his first role: a stunt man on the television series Tales of the Vikings.

O'Neal, left, and Ali MacGraw hold hands as they are introduced for a talk with students on the campus of Harvard University in 2016

O'Neal kisses MacGraw backstage during the 74th annual Academy Awards in 2002

He returned to LA, and at 18 landed his first stint in jail - 51 days, after a brawl at a New Year's Eve party.

O'Neal became a TV actor, and was seeking to break into Hollywood at a time when executives very much looked down on television.

He played the wealthy man about town, Rodney Harrington, for five years on the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place before Ali MacGraw - who had won Best Newcomer at the Golden Globes the year before - lobbied for his casting alongside her in a new film.

'Jon Voight turned the part down. Beau Bridges was supposed to do it,' he told a reporter in 1971. 'When my name came up through Ali, they all said 'No.'

'Ali said, 'Please meet him.'

That film, Love Story, sent both their careers stratospheric.

At the age of 29, he became a household name, and was honored with the only Oscar nomination of his career. He lost to George C. Scott, winning with the war epic Patton.

But O'Neal's film, co-starring MacGraw, was the highest grossing of the year.

And throughout the 1970s O'Neal would remain one of the biggest movie stars of the decade - his relationship with Farah Fawcett cementing his status.

TATUM AND GRIFFIN ARRIVE: O'NEAL'S FIRST MARRIAGE

O'Neal's first marriage was to Joanna Moore, which lasted from 1963 to 1967 - eventually ending due to his infidelity, and her alcoholism. She was a great beauty, who had a fling with Elvis Presley while filming 1962's Follow Your Dream.

O'Neal and wife Joanna Moore are seen in June 1965 with Tatum and eight-month-old son Griffin

O'Neal, Moore and their two children in August 1965

Tatum O'Neal, left, and her father in March 2010

O'Neal was her third husband, and they had two children: Tatum and Griffin. But her drug and alcohol addiction was a constant theme, and left both their children scarred. Tatum would detail the chaos in her autobiography, writing about missed meals, syringes around the house, and her mother taking a 15-year-old boyfriend.

O'Neal would later say: 'I got married at 21, and I was not a real mature 21.

'My first child was born when I was 22.

'I was a man's man; I didn't discover women until I was married, and then it was too late.'

She remarried, and spent her later years supported by her two children: she died in 1997 at the age of 63.

PATRICK IS BORN: O'NEAL'S SECOND MARRIAGE

O'Neal left Moore in 1967, and that same year married Leigh-Taylor Young, his Peyton Place co-star.

Their wedding was spontaneous: While in Hawaii for a promotional event for the show an ABC manager suggested they marry at his home.

They had a son, Patrick, who became an actor and a sportcaster.

The couple divorced in 1971.

Patrick O'Neal works as a sportscaster

FARRAH FAWCETT ENTERS THE SCENE

By 1979, O'Neal would be with the person widely believed to be the love of his life - Farrah Fawcett.

The pair never married, but were on-and-off for 20 years, splitting for good in 1997, and then reuniting in 2001 and remaining together until her death in 2009.

Their radiant good looks and megawatt glamour made them a golden couple in the 1980s - but behind the scenes Ryan was voraciously unfaithful; pictured 1982

Farrah herself told TV Guide in the 1990s: 'Sometimes Ryan breaks my heart. But he's also responsible for giving me confidence in myself'; pictured 1985

O'Neal and Fawcett struck up their whirlwind affair in 1979, when her marriage to the much older actor Lee Majors was on the rocks; O'Neal and Fawcett are pictured 1981

She reunited with Ryan in 2001 and kept acting into the 2000s - but her career was cut short by two brutal bouts of anal cancer; they are pictured in 2004

They welcomed a son called Redmond in 1985, but he grew to suffer serious addictions and mental health problems; the couple are pictured with Redmond in 1995

They had one son together, Redmond, now 35, in 1985.

Their relationship seized headlines, and fascinated the public - punctuated by his outbursts and wild behavior.

She dumped him the first time after finding him in bed with actress Leslie Stefanson.

O'Neal left a trail of chaos in his wake.

CHILDREN AND CHAOS

His son Griffin would tell Vanity Fair that his father introduced him to cocaine at the age of 11 - and then 'insisted' he take it.

In 2007, O'Neal was arrested for shooting at Griffin, which he said was self-defense. No charges were ever filed.

In 2008, O'Neal and his youngest son, Redmond - whose mother was Fawcett - were arrested after they were found with methamphetamines at O'Neal's Malibu home.

Redmond's life continued to spiral dramatically downwards.

Redmond O'Neal is seen in one of his many mugshots. He is now in a psychiatric hospital

Tatum O'Neal is pictured with her brother Griffin

And the rancor between O'Neal and Griffin remained: when Fawcett died aged 62, in June 2009, O'Neal banned Griffin from her funeral.

'I came from a not-so-nice kind of a world,' he on 'Larry King Live' that same year.

'We were a kind of a battling and kind of crazy family.

'And she was so nice. And the crazy, sad part was that she stayed nice all the way to the end. It broke my heart when I was not allowed in to say goodbye to her.'

At the funeral, O'Neal hit on Tatum - his own daughter.

'I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me,' he told Vanity Fair.

'I said to her, 'You have a drink on you? You have a car?'

'She said 'Daddy, it's me  Tatum!' I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it's my daughter. It's so sick.'

Tatum added: 'That's our relationship in a nutshell. You make of it what you will.

'It had been a few years since we'd seen each other and he was always a ladies' man, a bon vivant.'

'I'M A HOPELESS FATHER'

Griffin told the magazine, in 2009: 'He was a very abusive, narcissistic psychopath. He gets so mad he can't control anything he's doing.'

Redmond's problems dramatically worsened after his mother's death, when he inherited $4.5 million and blew it on drugs.

Redmond O'Neal with his parents Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett in April 2003

His first stint in rehab was in 2004, but he was constantly in and out of treatment, and was jailed for drug possession.

In May 2018 Redmond carried out an armed robbery at a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles, and then randomly stabbed five men on the Venice Boardwalk, seriously injuring two.

He was declared unfit to stand trial on charges of attempted murder and robbery, and remains in a psychiatric facility.

O'Neal admitted: 'I'm a hopeless father. I don't know why.

'I don't think I was supposed to be a father. Just look around at my work  they're either in jail or they should be.

'I have nice grandchildren, though.'
An eight-month-old baby has been left brain damaged after contracting meningitis from a bacteria found in her baby formula.

Baby Mira White from Sikeston, Missouri was tragically infected by cronobacter sakazakii, an invasive bacteria that sparked a recall of certain powdered baby formula in 2022.

Mira, and another baby from Kentucky, who tragically died in November as a result of the infection, both consumed powdered infant formula made by Abbott Nutrition, the company at the center of last year's crisis.

Prematurely-born Mira White was diagnosed in early March, just six weeks old, with a brain infection caused by the bacteria found in her formula.

The cronobacter sakazakii bacteria was detected in an open container of Similac NeoSure formula in her home.

Baby Mira White from Sikeston, Missouri was left brain damaged after contracting meningitis from a a bacteria found in baby formula

Now her mother Asian Davis (pictured) is suing Abbott, the maker's of the formula, claiming she was sold a defective product

Mira's mother, Asian Davis, is now suing Abbott claiming the company sold her a defective product and that it should have warned parents of premature babies that powdered formula can cause serious disease.

However, Abbott has denied that the bacteria originated in the product.

Investigations found the bacteria was not discovered in unopened cans of Similac NeoSure formula from Mira's home.

The bacteria are found naturally in the environment and can make their way into infant formula after the packaging is opened.

FDA investigators also said they 'did not identify a causal link' between Mira's infection and the Casa Grande, Arizona, factory that made the formula marketed for premature babies.

Abbott officials said they found no cronobacter in batches of formula at the plant.

FDA officials said there was no evidence that the two infants infections were linked to manufacturing and saw no reason to issue new recalls.

'There is no indication of a broader public health concern related to this product at this time,' the FDA said in a statement.

In March, within days of feeding Mira the formula, Asian Davis, 33, noticed a difference in her daughter.

'She stopped eating and sucking,' Davis, who has four older children, told Fox 4.

'That mother instinct came in and I said, 'Something's wrong with my baby.'

After multiple different tests, doctors diagnosed Mira with bacterial meningitis caused by cronobacter sakazakii found in her spinal fluid and blood.

Brain scans showed neurological damage and missing tissue caused by the infection.

Mira has suffered nearly constant seizures and inconsolable bouts of crying since falling ill.

'It affected her brain real bad,' Davis said. 'She'll grow, but it will be a slow progress.'

The cronobacter sakazakii bacteria was detected in an open container of Similac NeoSure formula in her home

In March, within days of feeding Mira the formula Davis noticed a difference in her daughter

'She will need surgeries, she might need a wheelchair,' Davis said. 'She might need that stuff for the rest of her life' she explained.

'It affected her brain real bad,' Davis said. 'She'll grow, but it will be a slow progress' .

Davis said she is suing to raise awareness about the dangers of the rare bacteria  and to provide financially for Mira's future care.

'She will need surgeries, she might need a wheelchair,' Davis said. 'She might need that stuff for the rest of her life' she explained.

In Kentucky, the FDA said it 'has not found evidence' of contamination after a November 21 inspection at an Abbott plant.

However former FDA official Frank Yiannas tolf Fox 4 a negative test does not guarantee there is no contamination.

'A positive test result means a lot. A negative test result doesn't mean anything,' he explained.

Last year federal investigators shut down an Abbot formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan after four infants were infected with the bacteria, two of whom died.

Inspectors found widespread contamination in the plant.
Met Police said two women ran off towards the the A10 after the attack

Police are investigating a possible hate crime after a young Jewish woman was 'violently assaulted and robbed', the Met has said.

At around 4.30pm on Thursday, the 20-year-old was robbed on Rostrevor Avenue in Stamford Hill, north London, by two women who ran off towards the A10, the Metropolitan Police said.

She was reportedly left bruised, but did not need to go to hospital.

Footage of the incident circulated online after it was tweeted by neighbourhood watch group Shomrim.

The clip shows the victim walking along the path, followed by the two women, before one of them appears to hit her around the head twice.

She then crosses the road before she is grabbed by the two women and struck multiple times.

One of the women then pulls the victim onto the tarmac, before being pinned down and hit repeatedly. The pair then appear to take her belongings.

The two women then walk off down the street, as a group of people stop and check on the victim - who is still on the floor.

Detective Inspector Mike Herrick is leading the investigation from the robbery unit and said the woman was terrified.

He said: 'This was a shocking incident and terrifying experience for the victim who was lucky to not receive more serious injuries.

The clip shows the victim walking along the path, followed by the two women, before one of them appears to hit her around the head twice

At around 4.30pm on Thursday, the 20-year-old was robbed on Rostrevor Avenue in Stamford Hill, north London (pictured)

The Met Police then later confirmed that the woman was Jewish (stock image)

The two women then walk off down the street, as a group of people stop and check on the victim - who is still on the floor

'We don't underestimate the psychological impact of offences such as these and we are offering her every support as we work to identify the suspects.

'We know footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media and understand that there will be added concerns about the motivation behind the attack.

'We will of course keep an open mind about the motive and continue to work closely with the local community to allay any fears.'

The force later confirmed that the victim is Jewish.

The Met tweeted: 'Video footage of a young Jewish woman being violently assaulted and robbed in Haringey yesterday has been widely shared this evening.

'We are not sharing the video in full, but we can confirm that an investigation has been launched.

'Officers take any suggestion of hate crime incredibly seriously and our investigation will include a thorough assessment of the motive for the attack.'

Anyone with information which could assist the investigation is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 5505/07Dec.

Information can also be shared with the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.
More than 90,000 folk gathered in Dubai this week for Cop28, the annual United Nations-sponsored climate change jamboree which is meant to produce agreements to reduce emissions of CO2 and, thereby, mitigate the global rise in temperatures.

That's well over twice as many as gathered in Glasgow only two years ago for Cop26  a remarkable increase. I wonder why.

I'm sure it's nothing to do with the fact that Dubai is somewhat sunnier and warmer in December than Scotland's largest city, with beaches and swimming pools Glasgow can only dream of; or that it has massively more five-star hotels, glitzy restaurants and well-stocked bars  plus extensive flight schedules with the rest of the world for those unable to cadge a lift on one of the hundreds of private jets that headed for Dubai and reduced to the indignity of flying commercial.

The fact that Dubai is the business hub of a country (United Arab Emirates) which owes its wealth and influence entirely to fossil fuels  and which is ramping up its output of oil and gas  certainly hasn't deterred thousands of climate activists from flooding in from all over the world to join the jamboree.

Some of them were shame-faced enough to point out that, though they had emitted copious amounts of CO2 to get there, they were being ferried around in electric vehicles. They didn't mention that more than 80 per cent of the UAE's electricity is generated by natural gas.

King Charles touched down in Dubai to urge us all to do more to reduce our carbon footprint. Naturally, he flew by private jet

The fact that Dubai is the business hub of a country (United Arab Emirates) which owes its wealth and influence entirely to fossil fuels  and which is ramping up its output of oil and gas  certainly hasn't deterred thousands of climate activists from flooding in from all over the world to join the jamboree

For those of you offended, even disgusted, by the planet-sized extravagance, waste and hypocrisy of Cop28 I say: Take heart!

Dubai marks the beginning of the end of the whole Cop (Conference of the Parties) process.

For all its relentless global gallivanting and grand-sounding declarations, the circus has achieved next to nothing since it was launched in 1995. (Remember the 'Glasgow Climate Pact'? Nope, me neither). It is now destined to descend into irrelevance.

Of course, Cop will continue to gather in exotic climes, an annual boondoggle for green grifters, renewable energy hucksters, two-faced fossil fuel executives, snake oil 'scientists', political and royal virtue-signallers, billionaire hypocrites, a compliant media addicted to green propaganda and disingenuous green-washers.

There are too many vested interests  and so much fun still to be had  to close the circus down. They will also assemble in increasing numbers: on current growth rates there will be 45 million people at Cop46.

But as a vehicle for dealing with climate change, it's over.

Despite all the warm words and protestations of earnest resolve to make a difference, it's becoming increasingly clear that nobody is taking any notice of it. The more Cop talks and grows, the faster CO2 emissions expand.

Electricity generation in China and India  still hugely coal-fired in both countries  and booming oil and gas production in America have caused the biggest increases in global greenhouse gas emissions since 2015, when the Paris climate agreement was signed.

This negotiation was seen at the time as a sign of achievement by the Cop process, but is now in pieces.

For all its relentless global gallivanting and grand-sounding declarations, the circus has achieved next to nothing since it was launched in 1995

More than 5 trillion has been spent globally on renewable energy over the past couple of decades, including vast sums on 300,000 wind turbines. Yet fossil fuels still account for more than 80 per cent of the world's energy consumption, which is broadly where it was at the end of the last century.

As Cop28 convened in Dubai, it was revealed that the world had used record amounts of coal, oil and natural gas in 2023. U.S. energy officials now predict that CO2 emissions will continue to rise for the next 30 years.

As I write, the usual wrangling over the final communique is under way in Dubai. The delegates are arguing about whether it should settle for a vague and meaningless 'orderly and just' phasing out of fossil fuels or simply avoid the issue altogether. How this is resolved really doesn't matter.

The Saudi energy minister has already categorically ruled out any phase-out  and he speaks for the world's biggest oil exporter.

The UAE's Sultan Al Jaber, president of Cop28, greeted delegates with the claim that there is 'no science' to indicate that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global warming to 1.5c. He added that those who argued for phasing out fossil fuels wanted to 'take the world back into caves'.

These statements are, of course, controversial and contentious (though none of the green activists in Dubai glued themselves to the streets in protest  again, I wonder why).

But they are hardly surprising: the Sultan is also head of the UAE's state oil company, just one of the many anomalies surrounding gathering in Dubai to discuss climate change. There is, however, a blunt honesty about his remarks which is rarely emulated by dissembling Western politicians.

John Kerry, President Joe Biden's climate tsar, regularly travelled the globe in a private jet lecturing the rest of us on how we need to get to net zero. He never mentions that America is producing record amounts of hydrocarbons.

As Cop28 convened in Dubai, it was revealed that the world had used record amounts of coal, oil and natural gas in 2023. U.S. energy officials now predict that CO2 emissions will continue to rise for the next 30 years. Pictured: Activists participate in a demonstration at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit

In September, it pumped out 13.2 million barrels of crude oil per day  the highest level ever. It is also now the world's largest producer and exporter of natural gas. So just why Kerry is fit to lecture us on net zero is far from clear.

Plain folk are tired of climate change lectures from the high and mighty. King Charles touched down in Dubai to urge us all to do more to reduce our carbon footprint. Naturally, he flew by private jet. The implication of what he says is that you should cancel that Ryanair flight to Benidorm.

He then spent time with the Emir of Qatar, who has an entire fleet of private jets, and the Sultan of Brunei, who has 7,000 luxury cars. But you need to trade in your dirty old banger for an electric vehicle you can't afford.

Nothing has done more than the hypocrisy of the rich and powerful  intimately wrapped up in the Cop process  to undermine public support for climate change policies. Politicians still mouth the platitudes of net zero, but they are retreating from the strategy at an ever faster rate of knots.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has recently pulled back from unpopular targets for increasing the sale of electric vehicles and installing heat pumps to replace gas boilers.

But he's still insisting that more than one in five cars sold next year is battery-powered, and four out of five by 2030.

Yet Britain, which accounts for less than 1 per cent of global CO2 emissions, is still bizarrely doubling down on reducing that by even more. It has yet to dawn on our political or media elite that the only real beneficiary is China.

Along with much of the West, we have been prepared to deindustrialise in pursuit of the chimera of net zero while China has used it to mount a second Industrial Revolution.

Along with much of the West, we have been prepared to deindustrialise in pursuit of the chimera of net zero while China has used it to mount a second Industrial Revolution. Pictured: Guohua Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Dingzhou, Baoding, in the northern China's Hebei province

We have just lost our last blast furnace and one of our six oil refineries. Our aluminium smelters and fertiliser factories disappeared some time ago. But it's worse than that.

Politicians from Gordon Brown to Boris Johnson to Keir Starmer talk airily about hundreds of thousands of new green jobs. It's not true to say they never materialise. They do.

In China, which now produces more than 75 per cent of the world's solar panels, most of the world's wind turbines (including those installed in the UK), 75 per cent of the lithium batteries used in electric vehicles  and one in three of EVs sold in the UK. The hallmark of Britain's net zero strategy is not a lack of realism. It's stupidity.

There is another way, though it's getting late. Climate change discussions are marred by green zealots constantly resorting to the most extreme predictions of global disaster. They scare the young but they are not backed by the science.

That said, there is a need to reduce CO2, best done by investing in the necessary technology, which means large-scale battery storage for renewable power generation and capturing and storing carbon when burning fossil fuels.

Unleashing our technology resources and expertise on a grand scale in these directions with massive public and private investment would carry public opinion and be far more palatable than the hair-shirt approach of the Cop process  especially when those keenest on hair shirts have no intention of wearing any themselves.
GSLP Youth to Hold Public Meeting Inviting Young People to Discuss their Views on Lowering the Voting Age to 16

On 22 November 2023, the Government published a Consultation Paper seeking the publics opinion on lowering the voting age to 16. The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2023.

In response, the GSLP Youth Committee will be hosting a public meeting, open to all 15 to 30-year-olds, in order to discuss young peoples views on this topic.

The meeting will be at the GSLP Main Street Office at 239 Main Street, on Tuesday 19 December 2023 at 19:00.

The GSLY invites as many young people as possible to register their interest in the event by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Food and drink will be provided at the meeting.

Chairman of the GSLP Youth, Sam Marrache, said:

Lowering the voting age to 16 is something that has been much discussed in Gibraltar for several years now. In fact, in the referendum of 24 June 2021, 16- and 17-year-olds were afforded the right to vote for the very first time.

I have long been an advocate of lowering the voting age but appreciate that there are differing opinions in this respect. I therefore look forward to our public meeting next week during which young people will be invited to freely express their views on this topic.

Encouraging political debate is something which as a youth section we have always worked hard towards. This is the perfect opportunity for more young people to step forward and voice their opinions on this constitutionally important matter.

Please register interest for the meeting by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Integrating migrants into society is 'impossible' at current levels Robert Jenrick has warned just days after he suddenly quit as immigration minister.

The Conservative MP resigned from his role, which had held for just over year, on Wednesday in staunch opposition to the Prime Minister's Rwanda Bill.

Jenrick argued the bill would fail, adding that any suggestion it will remove the arrival of small boats quickly 'is for the birds'.

Last night he claimed the Tories would face the 'red-hot fury of voters at the ballot box' unless further action it taken to bring down the high levels of immigration to the UK.

The MP for Newark went on to accuse Rishi Sunak of failing to keep his word 'to do whatever it takes' to stop the boats.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has warned integrating migrants into society is 'impossible' at current levels - just days after he resigned from his post

Jenrick argued Rishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill would fail, adding that any suggestion it will remove the arrival of small boats quickly 'is for the birds'. Pictured: Migrants carrying a boat near Gravelines, near Dunkirk in October

Writing in the Telegraph he said: 'GP services and hospitals do not grow on trees. Integration is impossible if you let in over 1.2 million new people as we have done over the last two years.

'There is no better example of the failed Westminster consensus over the last 30 years than allowing historically unprecedented levels of immigration, resulting in disastrous consequences for the country and at every stage ignoring the express wishes of voters.

'Centre-Right parties across Europehave a choice: begin to deliver on themainstream concerns of ordinary people when it comes to immigration, or face their red-hot fury at the ballot box.'

The former minister went to argue that the Government's plan to reduce net migration from 745,000 to the 2019 level of 226,000 is a 'considerable way off'.

The onslaught of criticism comes as the Rwanda legislation was only given a '50 per cent at best' chance of successfully getting removal flights off the ground next year, according to an official legal assessment for the Government.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis has been told that the legislation leaves a significant risk of the European Court of Human Rights blocking planes to Kigali, the Times reported.

It is the latest stumbling block Mr Sunak is facing, with the assessment likely spark the PM to toughen up his battle to get divided to Tory MPs to support the new Bill and revive the 290million policy.

The former minister went to argue that the Government's plan to reduce net migration from 745,000 to the 2019 level of 226,000 is a 'considerable way off'. Pictured: Migrants in a dinghy sail toward the south coast

Migrants move a smuggling boat into the water as they embark on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France last year

Lines of boats believed to have been used by migrants to cross the English Channel are stored at a lorry storage depot in Dover, Kent

Mr Sunak is fighting to convince members of his party not to rebel on Tuesday's crunch vote, with some more moderate Tories expressing concerns about whether the East African nation is 'safe'.

Others on the right of the party, however, want to go further in disapplying the European Convention on Human Rights. Both wings are seeking their own legal advice.

But according to The Times, asylum seekers will still be able to lodge legal challenges against their deportation based on individual circumstances despite Mr Sunak's bill.

The advice from the Government Legal Department was said to have been signed off by top lawyer Sir James Eadie, who advocated for the Home Office in the Supreme Court case.

It appears to have been built off the European court in Strasbourg blocking flights by granting an interim injunction as it did in June last year.

Not disputing the advice, a Government official said: 'We do not comment on or share Government legal advice and it would be very wrong for anyone recently departing Government to do so.

'Ministers are reassured that this Bill goes as far as it can within international law and therefore ensures we can get flights off to Rwanda next year.'

One source backed up the report, while another sought to argue the advice was just one of the opinions the Government had sought.

Since its introduction, the Rwanda policy has attracted criticism and was hit with a fresh wave when it emerged that the UK had paid an additional 100 million on top of the 140 million already paid to Kigali.

Ministers are expected to pay another 50 million next year for the policy first announced in April last year but has so far been unsuccessful in removing a single migrant.

Failure to win Tuesday's vote could plunge Mr Sunak's leadership into a fresh crisis.
The YMCA has been slammed with a $20 million lawsuit after a 5-year-old boy drowned in the deep end of their daycare pool while just one lifeguard watched all 38 children.

Auston Wingo Jr., 5, was at a daycare program at the YMCA in Pulaski County, Virginia, on December 6, 2021, when tragedy struck.

The little boy was swimming in the pool amongst nearly 40 other children - some couldn't even swim - while just one lifeguard was on duty.

According to a lawsuit filed on December 4, Auston was never given a flotation device or a swim test before he got in the pool - which left him fending for himself when he ended up unsupervised in the deep end.

Auston was found 'floating face down underwater' by two other children, according to the complaint.

Auston Wingo Jr., 5, was at a daycare program at the YMCA in Pulaski County, Virginia , on December 6, 2021, when tragedy struck

The little boy was swimming in the pool amongst nearly 40 other children - some couldn't even swim - while just one lifeguard was on duty

The five-year-old later died in hospital from drowning injuries - with one of his lungs being 'completely full of water,' legal documents said.

Neither the lifeguard on duty or the three other daycare workers watching the 38 children noticed Auston struggling in the eight-feet deep end.

The family's attorneys Dirk Padgett and Steve Baker said the child was 'ignored, unattended, forgotten and neglected.'

Padgett and Baker filed the $20 million lawsuit on behalf of the Wingo family against the YMCA in Pulaski County and the employees involved.

They are seeking $15 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages and additional costs and interest, according to the complaint.

An investigation into the drowning showed that Auston's death was not an 'intentional act'.

According to investigators - one of the three daycare workers had taken some children to the bathroom while the remaining two were left to watch the 'larger than normal' crowd of kids in both the shallow and deep end of the pool.

There were reports that the lifeguard on duty was distracted by her phone while Auston was drowning - she has been named as a defendant in the case.

The complaint said she had an 'unobstructed' view of the area of the pool where Auston was struggling to stay above water.

Auston 'frantically fought for his life in eight feet of water' and went under 'approximately thirty six feet in front of the lifeguard stand,' according to the complaint.

Padgett and Baker filed the $20 million lawsuit on behalf of the Wingo family against the YMCA in Pulaski County and the employees involved

The five-year-old later died in hospital from drowning injuries - with one of his lungs being 'completely full of water,' legal documents said

Auston was a student at Critzer Elementary School - he was described as having an 'unshakable optimism' by those who knew him

After the two children found Auston's lifeless body - one of the daycare workers finally pulled the little boy out of the deep end.

When Pulaski police officers showed up at the YMCA - Auston was unresponsive. He was airlifted to the nearby Roanoke Memorial Hospital and declared dead at 10:16 pm, according to police reports.

Dave Adkins - CEO of the YMCA - put out a statement saying staff members were 'devastated' by Auston's death.

'While we cannot comment on pending litigation, the Y takes all allegations of misdoing very seriously and are fully cooperating in all facets of the legal process,' Adkins said.

Attorneys for the YMCA told McClatchy News: 'While a tragedy occurred here, it did not occur for the reasons alleged in the lawsuit.'

Auston was a student at Critzer Elementary School - he was described as having an 'unshakable optimism' by those who knew him.

Pulaski County Public Schools wrote on Facebook that it was 'devastated' by Auston's death the day after his drowning.

'Auston was a kindhearted kid who exhibited unshakable optimism and an incredible love for his family, especially his older sister Tatyana,' the district said. 'He will be missed far beyond what words can convey.'
A sixth person has been arrested after a controversial ruling from the High Court that released 140 immigration detainees including hardened criminals.

The Australian Federal Police said a 36-year-old Eritrean-born man was arrested late on Friday in Melbourne's west after he failed to comply with a curfew set out in laws rushed through parliament in response to the High Court's ruling.

Temesgen Tsegay Gebreyonas is set to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday.

It follows a 39-year-old man arrested in Brisbane on Thursday morning.

That man was taken into custody by Queensland police on an outstanding NSW revocation of parole arrest warrant, in relation to a serious assault offence.

'He was taken to the Brisbane watchhouse, where NSW officers will travel to extradite the man in the coming days,' NSW Police said in a statement.

Pressure is mounting on the Albanese government as the opposition demands an apology to Australians.

Asked when he was planning to sack Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government's response.

'Ministers O'Neil and (Immigration Minister) Giles have done more to address this issue in a month than those opposite did in nine years,' he told parliament.

Home Affairs minister Clare O'Neil (pictured) faces mounting pressure after yet another recently released detainee was arrested on Friday

Six of the 148 recently released asylum seekers have been arrested since being freed. Pictured is a recently released detainee in Sydney

Labor and the Coalition worked together to pass laws last month that require released detainees to wear ankle monitors and follow strict curfews.

The government has been scrambling to respond to the High Court's decision, which overturned 20 years of legal precedent to rule indefinite detention of non-citizens unlawful when there was no prospect any country would resettle them.

The ruling resulted in 140 detainees released into the community, some of whom had served prison sentences for violent offences.

Further preventative detention amendments to the Migration Act passed parliament on Wednesday night.

The curfew breach carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $93,900 fine.

A 45-year-old man was the fourth former detainee to be charged after he allegedly broke the curfew of his visa conditions and stole luggage from Melbourne airport.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the government owed Australians an apology and answers for 'not even having laws ready for preventative detention'.

'We might not have had these people, at least two of them arrested, because they might have been put back behind bars where they belong,' she said.

'Critically now the test for this government is what are they going to do to make sure women and children in Australia are safe.'

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the federal government was hamstrung by the High Court decision.

Ms O'Neil took steps to implement preventative detention legislation, typically applied to terrorists and spies, in order to lock up some of the detainees.

'If it were up to me, all these people would never have been released from detention,' she said.

The High Court ruled it was unlawful for the federal government to indefinitely detain non-citizens. Pictured is Villawood Detention Centre in south-west Sydney
It is not unusual for a prime minister to have one rump of rebellious MPs on his or her backbenches causing trouble. Rishi Sunak has the misfortune to have two.

With both flanks threatening to scupper his flagship Rwanda scheme, he must feel like his head is clamped in a vice.

One faction believes the Government's emergency legislation, designed finally to get the deportation flights off the ground, is too severe. The other thinks it is weak to the point of being unworkable.

Applying pressure from one side are the so-called One Nation liberals, upset the Bill not only clips the wings of unelected judges, but reins in their beloved Human Rights Act.

Putting Mr Sunak under duress from the opposite side is the Tory Right. Since the policy allows Channel migrants to lodge legal challenges against removal to Rwanda, they say, it will be doomed to failure.

Home Secretary James Cleverly (right) and Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta (left) sign a new deal on a reworked asylum scheme in Kigali, Rwanda, onTuesday

If Mr Sunak fails to get the Rwanda legislation through the Commons, he would be in a profoundly perilous position. Pictured: Britain's Home Secretary James Cleverly arrives at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda

But before attempting to scuttle the plan, these vain and arrogant rebels should take a deep breath. The Prime Minister insists his Bill is not just the best chance of stopping the small boats; it is the only chance. This newspaper wholeheartedly agrees.

The Rwanda deterrent would serve the needs of Britain's law-abiding citizens, rather than line the pockets of foreign criminals and encourage people to put themselves, and their rescuers, in danger.

Forcibly removing even a few illegal migrants would seriously compromise the evil trade. Would they pay smugglers thousands of pounds if there was the prospect they'd end up in Kigali, not Kent?

But we'll only know whether or not the scheme works when the first deportee lodges an appeal and the courts rule.

So we strongly urge rebel MPs to show common sense, to compromise  and to come together. Over 13 years, the Conservatives have been elected on a promise to control our borders. Immigration is now the No 1 concern among 2019 Tory voters  miles ahead of the economy.

Killing off the Rwanda scheme prematurely would prove the Government was unable  or unwilling  to carry out their instructions, spelling annihilation at the ballot box.

With tiresome predictability, the Left has exploded in confected outrage at the plan costing 300million so far, despite never being used. But this is sheer hypocrisy. These hand-wringers bleat on about how stingy Britain supposedly is with foreign aid. Yet the money handed to Rwanda is transforming its infrastructure.

And to put it in another context, that sum barely covers the bill for putting Channel migrants up in hotels here for a month.

Incredibly, there is talk among disgruntled Tory MPs of a leadership challenge against Mr Sunak. This would be madness. The party has had three prime ministers in 15 months. Installing a fourth would be prima facie proof it needed putting out of its misery.

Ordinary, pragmatic people across the nation are appalled by the distracting and damaging internecine warfare. It is time the Conservatives started behaving responsibly.

Make no mistake: The only person whose interests are served by the ongoing instability is Sir Keir Starmer, who will end up in No 10 by default. Yet he has no alternative plan to tackle illegal immigration.

Despite Labour's huge poll lead, there is no hankering among voters for the deeply unconvincing Sir Keir. How much better it would be for the country if Tory MPs trained their fire on him  not their own leader.

Royal Mail's Xmas fail

In these troubling days, receiving a Christmas card from a loved one is a small pleasure. So how dispiriting that bosses at the Royal Mail stand accused of prioritising money-spinning packages over festive post.

Customers have already switched in their droves to e-cards because of the company's increasingly shoddy service.

If bosses can't even be bothered at Christmas time, why should customers bother with them for the rest of the year?
A coroner has slammed 'poor practice' in the treatment of a nurse who died after her cancer was missed amid a string of blunders by doctors at the same hospital where she worked.

John Gittins said that had Catherine Jones, who had ovarian cancer, been properly treated, she could have survived.

Giving a narrative conclusion yesterday FRI after a five-day inquest, he highlighted opportunities at Maelor Hospital, in Wrexham, North Wales, which could have avoided the 'catastrophic outcome'.

Mrs Jones, 35, died in November 2016, four years after a senior doctor recommended her right ovary and fallopian tube should be removed as part of treatment for a cyst.

But although Mrs Jones herself also backed the same surgery, only a lesser procedure took place to remove the cyst in July 2013 because doctors carrying out the operation admitted they did not see the recommendation on the medical notes.

Catherine Jones, 35, who had ovarian cancer, could have survived if she had been properly treated, a coroner said

Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales (pictured) where Mrs Jones worked and had her operation

It followed a biopsy taken that year was wrongly reported as 'benign' when it had been 'borderline' cancerous.

The doctor who recommended removal of the ovary and fallopian tube in November 2012, gynaecological oncologist Philip Toon, said that procedure could have saved Mrs Jones's life.

Mr Gittins agreed. He said: 'It would have prevented the catastrophic outcome which ensued.'

The growth returned and in June 2016 Mrs Jones underwent a full hysterectomy, when a cancerous tumour weighing 2.5kg (5  lbs) was removed.

But she was wrongly given the all-clear, only for cancer to be rediscovered that September.

Mr Toon, who operated in June 2016, denied he had missed cancerous cells in Mrs Jones's abdomen.

But Mr Gittins said: 'The presence of a soft tissue ovoid lesion was not identified either in surgery or on a subsequent scan, and she didn't undergo chemotherapy.'

When Mrs Jones was being treated for cancer in October 2016, a doctor admitted she was not aware of a scan which had been carried out two weeks earlier, and ordered another one.

Widower David Jones, 45, pictured outside the inquest hearing, whose wife Catherine died aged 35 after doctors missed her cancer

Chemotherapy did not take place because Mrs Jones contracted an infection.

Another clinician told the inquest doctors sometimes had to work without full medical notes, while a clinician also mistakenly reported Mrs Jones's ovaries were still present in the autumn of 2016 months after they had been removed.

The coroner said he would be making recommendations to prevent the risk of future deaths - including raising the lack of electronic records with the Welsh Government.

Louis Browne, representing Mrs Jones's family, called her death 'wholly avoidable'.

Widower David Jones said after the inquest 'very many risks' remained, adding: 'We have exposed a catastrophic catalogue of failings.'

He added: 'My fear is that based upon the number of issues that I have encountered and been made aware of to date, together with the number and breadth of professionals involved, then patient safety has been and continues to be compromised.

'To have witnessed my wonderful 35- year-old wife being catastrophically let down was appalling. To have watched her endure immense pain was horrendous. To have seen her suffer colossal emotional turmoil was heartbreaking To know that this situation could have been avoided is overwhelming and unbearable.'

Mrs Jones (pictured) died in November 2016 after she became unwell again earlier that year

Mr Jones had earlier she was a 'beautifulshining star', whose life came to a 'painful, traumatic and unnecessary end'.

David Jones, 45, a chartered engineer, said all who knew his late wife had their lives 'enriched by her'.

And Mr Jones, who married her in 2010, said the couple had looked forward to travelling the world together.

He said the cardiology nurse had achieved so much but also had 'so much potential', and had captured the situation in her own words, telling him before she died that 'at 35 I have not yet lived my life'.

He described how they had bought their dream home in Hawarden, North Wales, in 2015, but that she didn't even get to celebrate their first anniversary there.

By that time, she had been readmitted to Maelor Hospital having discovered her cancer had been missed during previous tests and had returned.

Mr Jones said: 'The news was devastating and she had not been expecting it, her surprise and disbeliefwill haunt me.

'The enormity of the news in October 2016 opened up beneath us an unstoppable sink hole.'

But he added: 'Catherine wanted those responsible to be held to accountto prevent others from being at risk.'

Mr Jones said that there had been a series of mistakes at Maelor, including senior clinicians not taking responsibility for listening to patients, not reading scan requests properly and not following appropriate guidelines.

'Patient safety has been and continues to be compromised,' he said, adding that it had been 'horrendous' to see his 'wonderful wife be let down' and 'to know the situation could have been avoided.'

He added that she had 'died an undignified and premature death in the hospital she worked in and had trained in'.

Since his wife's death, Mr Jones has fought to establish the truth about her care by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which runs Maelor Hospital.

His solicitor Richard Jones has previously described the widower as 'Wales's answer to Erin Brockovich'  the single mum who managed to prove a power company was polluting a US city's water supply.

Brockovich's story was turned into a Hollywood blockbuster starring Julia Roberts.

BCUHB's acting deputy CEO, Dr Nick Lyons, said the board would be reviewing care in 'several hundred' cases where inquests are to take place.

He said: 'n this case, we unreservedly accept the findings of the Coroner. We will respond to his specific concerns and list the actions we will take to guard against such failings, in due course.

'Most importantly, I would like to offer my condolences to Catherine's family and apologise for the failings in her care.'
A group of Scotland Yard officers are under investigation after a brawl broke out following a work Christmas party.

Four officers from the Met's Territorial Support Group, known as the riot squad, have been placed on restricted duties after a fight erupted on the night they were out for Christmas drinks.

Police received multiple calls at around 11pm on December 1 after people were seen fighting on Jubilee Bridge by Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, in central London.

The four off-duty officers involved in the scuffle are no longer on public-facing duties but no arrests have been made.

Sources claimed that the officers from the Met's Territorial Support Group and Taskforce public order units were on a pre-Christmas night out before a fight broke out with a number of Romanian men.

Four officers from the Met's Territorial Support Group, known as the riot squad, have been placed on restricted duties after a fight erupted on the night they were out for Christmas drinks. Pictured: Territorial Support Group vans at Just Stop Oil protest

Police received multiple calls at around 11pm on December 1 after people were seen fighting on Jubilee Bridge by Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, in central London. Pictured: Territorial Support Group van watches over a group of squatters

Yesterday police said they are keen to speak to a group of Romanian men who may have information about the incident.

The force has made a voluntary referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Detective Inspector Nicholas Goldwater, who is leading the investigation, said: 'Our CID team is working alongside colleagues from the Directorate of Professional Standards to ascertain the facts of the incident, which led to numerous calls being made to the police that night.

'We are pursuing all lines of enquiry to establish what happened, including viewing a large amount of CCTV footage.

'These CCTV enquiries are lengthy and ongoing.

'We would like to hear from anyone who was involved - including a group of men we believe to be of Romanian heritage - who may have information about the incident.' The Met said it had voluntarily referred itself to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and that it was awaiting guidance on whether it would investigate independently or refer the incident back to the Met.

An IOPC spokesman said: 'We were notified by the Met about this incident on Monday. We've asked for more information so we can assess what further action may be required from us.'
London's lack of tax-free shopping resulted in European stores cashing in instead during a booming Black Friday weekend.

American and Chinese consumers who once splashed their cash in the UK's designer stores shopped in Paris and Milan, where they can benefit from a 20 per cent VAT refund.

There are tax-free shopping schemes across most of Europe, but the UK's version was scrapped by Rishi Sunak in 2021 when he was chancellor. As affluent tourists from the US and China return to the UK after the pandemic, there are fears British retailers are missing out.

The Mail's Scrap the Tourist Tax campaign is calling for the break to be reinstated.

More than 400 firms have signed an open letter calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to remove the tax. New data reveals that US tourists splashed the cash in European cities last month.

American and Chinese consumers who once splashed their cash in the UK's designer stores shopped in Paris and Milan, where they can benefit from a 20 per cent VAT refund. Pictured: Christmas shoppers in London

There are tax-free shopping schemes across most of Europe. Pictured: Christmas lights in Milan

More than half of all spending by American tourists in Europe during the Black Friday period was in France, which took 55 per cent of sales. Pictured: Giant Father Christmas and Christmas tree decoration in Paris

Tax-free sales to US tourists grew by more than 50 per cent across Europe on Black Friday compared to 2019, rising to 70 per cent on Cyber Monday

Black Friday is an American discount shopping holiday which happens the day after Thanksgiving. But it has become a crucial sales day for retailers around the world in the run-up to Christmas, including in the UK.

Tax-free sales to US tourists grew by more than 50 per cent across Europe on Black Friday compared to 2019, rising to 70 per cent on Cyber Monday.

There was a 100 per cent surge in tax-free spending by American visitors in Europe on November 20, launching the shopping bonanza. The amount spent per transaction increased by more than 65 per cent compared to the previous week, according to the data from retail payment provider Planet.

More than half of all spending by American tourists in Europe during the Black Friday period was in France, which took 55 per cent of sales. It was followed by Italy, which accounted for 19 per cent.

Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail, said: 'This is yet another piece of evidence showing the damage being done to the British economy by ending tax-free shopping.'
A 'depraved' man who raped a woman as she slept on the Piccadilly Line in front of a horrified passenger and her 11-year-old son has been jailed for nine years.

Just three hours before the horrific attack, Ryan Johnston, 37, chased two women to their home after they saw him masturbating while looking through the window of a house at around 5am near Bounds Green tube station in north London.

Johnston banged on their door and put his hand through the letterbox after the women managed to get inside safely before eventually leaving, British Transport Police said.

Later on that morning on February 23 2020 he boarded a Piccadilly Line train at Heathrow Terminal Five where he walked through the carriage and approached a young woman who was asleep, the force said.

He first exposed himself to the woman, who had been out with her friends, before putting his genitals in her hand.

Ryan Johnston, 37, (pictured) was convicted of rape and sexual assault after attacking a woman on the Piccadilly Line. Yesterday he was jailed for nine years

The 'depraved' man attacked a woman on the Piccadilly Line between Hounslow West and Heathrow Terminal 5

Johnston then sexually assaulted and then raped the 20-year-old woman, who was returning home from an evening out with friends, in front of other passengers, the CPS said.

The attack, which happened during a two-stop journey between Hounslow West and the airport, was witnessed by a French national travelling with his 11-year-old son, and they reported the incident to police.

But the incident was not captured on CCTV and officers were unable to identify the victim at the time of the attack, the BTP said.

Johnston was arrested at HMP Brixton - where he was serving time for burglary - in December 2022, after a BTP review of historic rape cases led to his identification.

Detectives also identified the victim in the same month.

The French national was flown over to the UK to testify at the trial, where they helped to rebut Johnston's claim that he knew the complainant and that she had consented, the CPS said.

A jury found Johnston guilty of all five charges following a two-week trial at Inner London Crown Court in August. He was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Johnston then sexually assaulted and then raped the 20-year-old woman, who was returning home from an evening out with friends, in front of other passengers, the CPS said

Throughout his trial he was described as an 'abhorrent' attacker and called a 'serious danger to women'.

Yesterday he was put behind bars for nine years, handed a further five on licence, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He was charged with rape, attempted rape and two counts of sexual assault, while he was also charged with outraging public decency in relation to another complainant.

Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Paul Attwell of the BTP's Major, Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: 'Johnston's brazen attack in front of witnesses highlights his lack of shame or remorse for his actions, something which continued throughout his trial.

'I am thankful his violence and despicable actions have been recognised by the guilty verdicts and significant sentence.

'His depraved actions will have a life-long impact on the victim and those who witnessed this.

'I am thankful for their bravery throughout this investigation. I hope they can now find some comfort in the fact justice has been served.'
Boris Johnson has denied offering to be injected with Covid on live TV at the start of the pandemic.

The former prime minister's chief of staff, Edward Udny-Lister told the Covid Inquiry last month that the PM wanted 'to be injected with Covid-19 on television' in March 2020 to 'demonstrate to the public that it did not pose a threat'.

But in a written statement to the inquiry, which was published after his two-day appearance at the inquiry, Mr Johnson said: 'Neither on January 29, 2020 nor on February 5, 2020 was I asked a single question about Covid during Prime Minister's Questions.

Boris Johnson has denied offering to be injected with Covid on live TV during the pandemic

Boris Johnson wanted to be injected with Covid live on TV 'to show it did not pose a threat', the Covid-19 inquiry heard from Lord Edward Udny-Lister, Mr Johnson's former chief of staff

'I am asked whether at this stage I compared the disease to swine flu or said it was just a scare story.

'I certainly may have drawn parallels with previous public health threats... But I could see enough just from the reporting from China, let alone Italy  that this could be a very serious threat.

Equally, the later suggestion that, in around March 2020, I volunteered to be injected with the virus on live TV; I reject and attach little credence to the source of that account.'

Mr Johnson also denied claims made by his former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, that he said he would rather 'let the bodies pile high' than impose another lockdown in September 2020.

He said: 'I did not say this. What makes this especially absurd is that I am supposed to have said it on October 31, 2020, when the decision to lock down had in fact already been taken.'
The 240million spent on the Rwanda deal is equivalent to just 30 days of housing Channel migrants in hotels, a minister insisted yesterday.

Lord Sharpe told peers that critics of the sum are 'missing the point', as asylum costs spiral by billions of pounds a year.

He said that when the removals programme is up and running, taxpayers will acknowledge it is 'good value for money'.

The minister was speaking after the Mail revealed yesterday that an extra 100million payment to the east African nation was signed off earlier this year.

It came on top of previous sums totalling 140million, leading critics of the scheme to dismiss the Rwanda deal as a 'costly farce'.

But Lord Sharpe told the House of Lords: 'Those focusing solely on the cost of the partnership are somewhat missing the point. The simple fact is the daily cost of hotels for migrants is now 8million. The cost of the UK's asylum system has roughly doubled in the last year and it now stands at roughly 4billion.

Lord Sharpe told peers that critics of the sum are 'missing the point', as asylum costs spiral by billions of pounds a year

It came as a blame game erupted over the latest 100million sum, with Downing Street saying it had been signed off by former home secretary Suella Braverman (pictured)

'The payments made so far to Rwanda represent about 30 days of hotel costs.'

He added: 'When this plan succeeds, as I think it will, I think British taxpayers will acknowledge it actually represents good value for money.'

It came as a blame game erupted over the latest 100million sum, with Downing Street saying it had been signed off by former home secretary Suella Braverman.

Asked who approved the money, which was sent in April, a No10 spokesman said: 'The Home Secretary.

'This is as set out in the original memorandum of understanding with Rwanda.'

Responding to No 10's remarks about the 100million payment being agreed by Mrs Braverman, an ally of the former home secretary said: 'It was approved by the Prime Minister. Of course it was. The Home Office doesn't just go sending millions to foreign governments without top-level sign-off.'

Downing Street rejected any suggestion that PM Rishi Sunak had misled MPs over the cost of the Rwanda scheme, for which another 50million will be paid in April.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'The Tories have wasted an astronomical 290million of taxpayers' money on a failing scheme which hasn't sent a single asylum seeker to Rwanda.'

The Home Office's top civil servant was yesterday handed a dressing-down by two senior MPs over the latest payments.

Labour backbenchers Dame Meg Hillier, the chairman of the Commons' public accounts committee, and Dame Diana Johnson, who is the chairman of the home affairs committee, accused Sir Matthew Rycroft of failing to reveal details of the Rwanda costs when he was questioned about them over the last fortnight. They said they had called in government auditors over the matter.
Minister Feetham visits Deloitte

The Minister for Justice, Trade, and Industry, Nigel Feetham KC MP, recently visited Deloitte Gibraltar at the invitation of the firm.

This visit reflects the Ministry's ongoing efforts to engage with stakeholders in the financial sectors.

During the visit, Minister Feetham had the opportunity to engage with Deloitte's management. Emphasizing his dedication to an inclusive approach, Mr. Feetham also spoke directly with the staff, encouraging open communication and sharing valuable insights.

One notable aspect highlighted during the visit is Deloitte Gibraltar's Graduate Training Programme. The Minister commended the firm's proactive efforts in nurturing young talents, aligning with his vision of creating opportunities for professional growth and development within the Gibraltar financial sectors.

"Deloitte's commitment to professional development, particularly through their graduate training programme, is commendable. It aligns perfectly with our shared vision for Gibraltar's future  a future that thrives on empowering young talents and creating a robust and dynamic business community," remarked Minister Feetham.

As part of the ongoing dialogue with industry players, the Ministry for Justice, Trade, and Industry continues to explore avenues for collaboration and innovation that contribute to Gibraltar's economic growth and prosperity.
Rishi Sunak is adamant he will not back down and accept substantial changes to his Rwanda plan  despite pressure from backbenchers for a compromise.

As MPs prepare to spend the weekend poring over the details of the draft legislation, sources told the Mail that there was 'no way' of amending it without jeopardising the entire policy.

It comes despite legal migration minister Tom Pursglove suggesting the Government could be open to compromises with rebel Tories unhappy with the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

He said ministers would 'engage constructively with parliamentarians around any concerns that they have and handle that in the way that we would any other piece of legislation'.

But a government source said Mr Sunak would not back down.

Rishi Sunak is adamant he will not back down and accept substantial changes to his Rwanda plan  despite pressure from backbenchers for a compromise

The source said 'significantly weakening' the legislation would mean that no flights would get off the ground, and 'going beyond what the Rwandans are comfortable with' would result in the partnership collapsing.

'There is no way of amending this without jeopardising getting flights off the ground,' they added.

The Bill will be debated by MPs in the Commons on Tuesday. It is expected to clear its first parliamentary hurdle and be approved at second reading.

But No 10 has delayed an expected showdown with backbenchers until after Christmas, when a series of amendments will be made at committee stage.

Even if the legislation is approved by the Commons it is likely to run into difficulties in the Lords, where the Government has frequently struggled to get Bills through unscathed.

Mr Sunak is facing a rebellion from both wings of his party  with some on the Right believing his plan will be ineffective.

But Tory moderates think it goes too far in over-riding the Human Rights Act and using the law to over-rule the Supreme Court's verdict that Rwanda is not a safe place to send asylum seekers.

Mr Sunak insisted yesterday the proposed legislation was 'not only the right approach, but the only approach' to get deportation flights off the ground before the next election. Yet MPs from both wings of the party look set to demand amendments in order to secure their support.

A senior Right-wing Tory told the Mail: 'If we don't get something that works, No 10 knows what that means they know that the PM is in personal peril at the moment.

'They are not going to be so obdurate as to invite a storm of [no confidence] letters going into Sir Graham Brady, are they?'

Another source on the Right of the party added: 'All Bills can be amended.'

Tory veteran Sir Bill Cash has assembled his 'star chamber' team of legal experts to scrutinise the draft legislation this weekend, and a verdict could come as soon as tomorrow.

Meanwhile, former solicitor general Lord Edward Garnier is advising the One Nation faction of Conservatives. He has compared the 'extraordinary' Bill to ruling that 'all dogs are cats'.

No 10 has delayed an expected showdown with backbenchers until after Christmas, when a series of amendments will be made at committee stage

Mr Sunak was warned by senior government lawyers that the legislation was at risk of failure because it would allow migrants to lodge challenges against their individual removal, it was reported yesterday.

But Downing Street said: 'We expect that those able to provide compelling evidence about specific individual risks will be vanishingly narrow and that's why we believe that this is the best approach to get flights swiftly off the ground.'

Tory Right-wing backbencher Jonathan Gullis urged ministers to publish the legal advice, telling Sky News: 'I'd be quite keen to see the Government produce the legal advice that was given to the Home Office, and therefore No10 as well, so we can actually see what they said.

'I hope it [the Bill] works, but I am sceptical at the present time.'

Mr Sunak, members of his Cabinet and party whips are expected to spend the weekend calling colleagues in a desperate bid to convince them to back the Bill.

A Tory source said: 'They've got a choice as to whether they back something that gets the flights off, or if they decide that ideological purity is more important than delivering what British people want.'

It comes as speculation mounts that the Prime Minister could face a leadership challenge in the coming weeks, with MPs on both sides of the party enraged at Mr Sunak's handling of the legislation.

One former cabinet minister told the Mail Mr Sunak 'spoke like a desperate man' when he addressed Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee on Wednesday evening. They added: 'He looked like there were headlights coming straight at him.. And he was mindful he needed to do something to avoid them, but he is a worried man.'

The MP cautioned Mr Sunak against calling a general election to dodge a Tory leadership election. 'Unless Rishi says, and he would be very unwise to say so, 'back me, otherwise I'll call a general election'  if he's going to do that, his name would be mud and dirt in legacy.

'We are 20 points behind because of him, his inability to lift us from the opinion polls in the year that he's been there, and if he says 'I'm going to take you to a general election', that is unthinkable  unless he becomes unhinged.'
Millions of dollars of steroids have been seized and three people have been arrested after police busted the largest syndicate of its kind in Victoria.

On Friday, police cracked the 'sophisticated' drug ring after a months-long investigation into reports steroids and other prescription medications were circling around gyms in Melbourne.

Police allege two men bought drugs from an overseas supplier and resold them online while based out of a gym in Port Melbourne.

It's alleged they have hundreds of customers, including some with links to organised crime.

Detectives from the North West Metro Regional Crime Squad arrested two men, aged 27 and 32, after a seven month investigation.

A search of their Docklands apartments allegedly revealed multiple distribution centres with millions of dollars in illegal steroids and medication. Police also seized $130,000 in cash.

On Friday, police cracked the 'sophisticated' drug ring after a months-long investigation into reports steroids and other prescription medications were circling around gyms in Melbourne

The amount of drugs seized was so large that detectives will have to return to the address for a second time to retrieve the rest of the evidence.

Investigators subsequently searched a Port Melbourne gym, where they also located a large amount of illegal steroids.

A fifth warrant carried out at a property in Flemington found another $45,000 in cash and more illegal steroids.

The two men will appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court today on Saturday.

They have been charged with a range of offences including trafficking a commercial quantity of prescription medication, trafficking anabolic steroids, trafficking diazepam and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

A 37-year-old woman was also arrested and charged for possessing methylamphetamine. She will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on February 26, 2024.

Police allege two men bought drugs from an overseas supplier and resold them online while based out of a gym in Port Melbourne

Victoria Police said it will take investigators a number of days to count and weigh the drugs and cash, but the stash is believed to be worth millions of dollars.

Detective inspector Patrick Watkinson said the steroid bust was the largest the state had ever seen.

'We've uncovered a sophisticated drug distribution centre - the biggest of its kind in Victoria,' he said.

'What caught our attention is that they're allegedly selling drugs to organised crime figures, and not only profiting heavily from it, but also facilitating their luxury lifestyle.

'The community may think dealing with performance-enhancing drugs is harmless, but we're looking at the bigger picture here - which is to target all aspects of organised crime including the people associated with it.

Detective inspector Patrick Watkinson said the steroid bust was the largest the state had ever seen

'We want this to send a message to those associating with people who have links to organised crime. If you're connected - even in the slightest way - the chances of your activities being detected is increased.

'This work is about limiting the networks and connections of organised crime figures. We want those causing harm in our community to feel the pressure from all angles.

'Medication should be supplied by accredited doctors and pharmacists, not personal trainers at a gym.'

ACT Policing also executed a number of warrants on Friday and arrested a group of people allegedly involved in the syndicate.

NSW Police also carried out a number of warrants connected to the drug ring.

Further charges are expected to be laid.
A Florida Hospital is pushing for a re-trial after Maya Kowalski won her lawsuit against the establishment - claiming that a biased juror on the case compared doctor Sally Smith to a Nazi organization.

Last month Maya Kowalski was awarded more than $200 million as she won her lawsuit against the Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital which was found liable in her mom's death.

Jurors ruled in favor of the teen, whose story is the subject of Netflix documentary 'Take Care of Maya', finding that the hospital had falsely imprisoned her. Maya, 17, was just 10, when she was removed by the state after doctors accused her parents of faking symptoms for her rare condition - complex regional pain syndrome.

The jury found the emotional distress caused to her mother Beata Kowalski - who was forbidden from seeing her daughter for three months - led to her suicide in 2017.

A month later - the Florida hospital has claimed that Juror No. 1 - Paul Lengyel - had extreme dislike of one of the defense witnesses, a hospital employee named Sally Smith - a claim that Maya has called 'absolutely disgusting'.

Last month Maya Kowalski was awarded more than $200 million as she won her lawsuit against the Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital which was found liable in her mom's death

A month later - the Florida hospital has claimed that Juror No. 1 - Paul Lengyel - had extreme dislike of one of the defense witnesses, a hospital employee named Sally Smith (pictured) - a claim that Maya has called 'absolutely disgusting'

Exhibit A is a piece of notebook paper with notes from 'Juror No. 1' in which every time Sally Smith is mentioned the letter S at the beginning of each name is written differently than any of the other S's on the page

Three exhibits were attached to the filing of the motion for a new trial. Exhibit A is a piece of notebook paper with notes from 'Juror No. 1' in which every time Sally Smith is mentioned the letter S at the beginning of each name is written differently than any of the other S's on the page.

'Juror No. 1 has printed letter 'S' throughout the note normally, with a curve in the spine, EXCEPT that he printed his 'S' with sharp angles when printing Dr. Sally Smith's name,' the second supplemental motion reads.

'Both the second and third times that Juror No. 1 prints Dr. Sally Smith's name, the letter 'S' is shaped in a manner identical to the symbol of the Nazi Schutzstaffel.'

Smith investigated the Kowalski family for the possible child abuse of their daughter Maya in relation to her mysterious medical problems and troubling treatment history.

The 10-year-old was diagnosed with CRPS and had been receiving $10,000 'ketamine transfusion' every three to four weeks to help deal with the disabling pain Maya faced.

Smith had suspected that Maya was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy and was convinced she was abused by her parents - and as a trusted professional known for identifying cases of child abuse, the hospital and state followed Smith guidance and removed the young girl from her family.

Maya stayed at the hospital - barely stepping outside - for months, spending Halloween, Christmas, New Year's and her 11th birthday inside the hospital.

The motion filed insinuates that the juror is likening Sally Smith's attitude and behavior to that of the Nazis in the Schutzstaffel organization.

Maya, 17, was just 10, when she was removed by the state after doctors accused her parents of faking symptoms for her rare condition - complex regional pain syndrome

John Hopkins All Children's Hospital has filed for a retrial in the case brought by Netflix 's Maya Kowalski

'The SS lightning bolts is a symbol often used by neo-Nazis and white supremacists,' the motion said.

'The lightning bolts were part of the uniform of Nazi SS soldiers. Often the SS lightning bolts are used to show support for hateful beliefs and ideologies.'

'Printing the first letter of Dr. Smith's first and last name in this manner makes clear Juror No. 1's bias and prejudice against Dr. Smith (and thus Defendant), equating Dr. Smith with a notorious Nazi organization,' the filing continues.

'Juror No. 1's reference to Dr. Sally Smith with the use of Nazi symbolism demonstrates a clear bias, prejudice and prejudgment against her and thus Defendant.'

Maya and her attorney Gregory Anderson are appalled by the hospital's efforts for re-trial.

'The worst allegations I can possibly imagine against this poor man who did nothing more than give nine weeks of his life to helping the community and his civic function,' Anderson said. 'Alleging the most horrific things you can imagine against him and I find it nauseating.'

'I think it's just absolutely disgusting,' Maya added. 'I don't even know how someone could come up with such a harsh accusation like that. But I am confident in my trial team and I think we'll be successful.'

The now 17-year-old was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) aged 9, but was taken to hospital with severe pain Oct 2016, aged 10

Maya's mom, Beata, (right) took her own life after she was diagnosed with a depressive mood and adjustment disorder upon being separated from Maya for almost three months

The hospital had previously alleged that Juror No. 1 shared information about the case with his wife in an effort to win a new trial - saying that the wife then posted the confidential information in online, pro-plaintiff communities.

Lawyers representing the hospital in the case brought by the Kowalski family argue that jury foreman Paul Lengyel's wife, Yolanda, attended at least one day of the trial in Venice, meaning she could have heard attorney discussions with the judge that were made outside of the jury's presence.

Court documents state that Yolanda Lengyel posted on live YouTube feeds of the trial and in a Facebook chat group largely supportive of the Kowalski family.

She is also accused of meeting with a social media influencer known as Jules, who, the motion states, is connected to the Kowalski family.

It cites as evidence a video Jules posted on her TikTok page stating that she gave Maya Kowalski her rosary beads before Maya's live testimony on October 9.

Yolanda Lengyel also allegedly discussed on social media questions her husband intended to ask of witnesses and about a juror note sent while the jury was deliberating, the motion states.

'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.

Attorneys for the hospital also alleged that Juror No. 1 also 'may have harbored ill feelings' toward the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Joe Biden botched his big announcement about rail investment on Friday, declaring that the federal government would spend 'over a billion, three hundred million, trillion, three hundred million dollars'.

The president was in Las Vegas, unveiling $8.2 billion in new federal funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country. Among them is a new line from the Nevada city to Los Angeles, which when completed - potentially as soon as 2028 - can carry over 11 million passengers a year, powered entirely by renewable energy.

Biden mocked his predecessor for repeatedly promising Infrastructure Week, but failing to deliver.

'Trump just talks the talk. We walk the walk,' said Biden, speaking at a hall for unionized carpenters.

'He likes to say America is a failing nation. Frankly, he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. I see shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky. People hard at work rebuilding America together.'

Joe Biden on Friday announced $8.2 billion in investment in railways - but stumbled over the sum

But he stumbled over the cost of the project, tripping over the millions and billions in his speech.

He also repeated his oft-told story about how frequently he traveled on Amtrak.

Biden spent years commuting between his Delaware home and Washington DC, and told how a member of the train crew told him he had read that Biden reached the million-mile mark on Air Force Two.

But, the employee, Angelo Negri, said, they knew he had actually traveled further on Amtrak.

Biden told the crowd: 'He said, 'Big deal, Joey.' He said, 'We just had a retirement dinner in Newark, New Jersey You know how many miles you've ridden?'

'I said, 'No, Ang.'

'And he said, '1,000,327 miles. I don't hear any more about the Air Force.'

'Well, guys, I  I'm a rail guy, not a joke.'

The story was debunked years ago: The million-mile mark on Air Force Two was not reached until September 2015, and Negri had retired from Amtrak in 1993. Negri died in May 2014, before the milestone was reached.

Biden told the crowd of union employees at a carpentry factory that, unlike Donald Trump, he 'walked the walk'

Not yet seen in the US, the technology will grant the train the ability to traverse the desert in just two hours as opposed to the usual four or five. The cash infusion, meanwhile, is unprecedented for a private firm, and comes months after the Florida company asked for it

Biden also used his visit to Las Vegas to address this week's shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that killed three people and wounded a fourth.

Biden again called for Congress to act on an assault weapons ban.

'I'm not going to rest until we do all we can to prevent more families and more communities from being torn apart by gun violence,' Biden said.

Friday's trip was planned before the shooting and Biden's focus on train service is little surprise for a president who is a big passenger rail advocate.

Biden has championed several major federal spending investments in passenger rail travel, including last month when he announced $16 billion in federal investments for rail travel along the busy Northeast Corridor.

Making high-speed rail a reality in California won't be easy, though, since its first-in-the-U.S. project has long been plagued by extended deadlines and cost overruns.

The infrastructure could be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics

A rendering of the high-speed California-to-Las Vegas train, which will make stops in Rancho Cucamonga, Hesperia, Victor Valley, and Las Vegas. It connects to an existing commuter line that extends to Los Angeles

Travelers will make the journey at speeds of roughly 200mph, along routes that follow preexisting highways through the arid Nevada desert

The plan has been funded by some prior federal grants, as well as a bond fund approved by voters in 2008, and revenue from the state's cap-and-trade climate program. But that adds up to a total far below the project's estimated costs, now at more than $100 billion.

California Republicans have long been critical of the project, but even some state Democrats have become more vocal in their skepticism.

Construction and land acquisition is underway in the Central Valley. But Brian Kelly, the project's CEO, has long said a fresh infusion of federal cash is an important part of advancing the project.

The Biden administration had previously signaled support for the project when it restored nearly $1 billion in federal money that the Trump administration tried to revoke.

Asked about rising costs and growing delays on the high-speed line, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged in a call with reporters: 'They are facing a lot of the challenges that come with being the very first at anything.'

He added: 'For all of these projects, we would not be funding them if we did not believe they can deliver.'
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has hit back at Harvard President Claudine Gay's apology for her controversial congressional testimony on antisemitism.

Gay told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday that calls for a 'genocide of Jews' on Harvard's campus would only constitute harassment 'depending on the context.'

In an interview with the prestigious college's student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, Gay apologized for the remarks and said she became caught up in 'policies and procedures'.

In response to the apology Republican congresswoman Stefanik wrote on X 'No, Dr. Gay. You were given an opportunity to speak your truth. And you did.

'Not once. Not twice Not 5x. Not 10x I asked you 17x(!!!) in the hearing about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates code of conduct.'

U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) during the tense House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing

Harvard President Claudine Gay at the congressional hearing on Tuesday

Adding: 'You spoke your truth under oath 17x. And the world heard it.'

The Committee's hearing saw testimony from Gay and the president's of MIT, Sally Kornblut, and Upenn, Elizabeth Magill, on the rise of antisemitism on their campuses since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.

During a heated exchange Stefanik asked Gay: 'At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment?' Stefanik asked.

'It can be, depending on the context,' Gay responded.

The remarks triggered immediate backlash and led 74 members of congress to call for Gay, and the other testifying presidents, to resign.

'Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses,' the letter led by Stefanik reads.

Adding: 'Anything less than these steps will be seen as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture'.

The leadership of Harvard Hillel have also said they do not trust Gay to protect Jewish students at the University.

The hearing also saw widely criticized testimony from MIT president Sally Kornbluth (left) and University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill (right), both of whom have faced calls for their resignation in the aftermath

Writing for DailyMail.com Stefanik said: 'This congressional hearing should never have been complicated or controversial. Yet in failing to stand up for American Jews, we can only assume that these three presidents are apathetic to the egregious antisemitism they couldn't condemn.

'In the days following the hearing, millions have joined my call for them to be fired.'

Adding: 'If Harvard, MIT, and UPenn want to restore any shred of legitimacy, these institutions must find their moral clarity.

'That starts with the immediate dismissal of these three pathetic presidents.

'The world is watching and waiting.'
One of Australia's most recognisable bikies is in a stable condition in hospital after he was stabbed in the neck during a brawl outside a Perth music festival.

Dayne Brajkovich, 44, was rushed to hospital after he was allegedly stabbed about 9.50pm on Friday night as festivalgoers were leaving Ministry of Sound Classic at Kings Parks in the city's CBD.

The notorious bikie was a former sergeant-at-arms with the Hells Angels before he was kicked out of the club in 2022 following a dispute with the local president.

WA Police confirmed a man in his 40s was treated at Royal Perth Hospital for a serious laceration injury to his neck which required surgery.

He is reportedly set to be discharged on Saturday evening, with Perth detectives meanwhile investigating the incident.

Dayne Brajkovich and wife Jacinta resemble a painting on their tropical vacations, with Brajkovich famously tattooed on literally every inch of his body

The notorious bikie (left, with partner Jacinta) was a former sergeant-at-arms with the Hells Angels before he was kicked out of the club in 2022 following a dispute with the local president

WA Police are looking into whether outlaw motorcycle gangs are behind the brawl with a group of people who witnessed the incident saying those involved had left the area 'on several motorcycles'.

'A large number of people were in the immediate vicinity of the incident, and detectives are seeking any vision taken that shows the incident or the people involved,' a police spokesperson said.

One person took to social media to say they had been at the event and there were 'heaps of cop cars racing in and a police chopper was over King Parks at about 10.30pm'.

Before he became Australia's most recognisable bikie, Brajkovich was a fresh-faced teenager without a tattoo in sight

No suspects are in custody as of Saturday afternoon.

Brajkovich, who has only done one stint in jail for selling MDMA, claims he has left the bikie and drug-dealing scenes and is focused on his property assets.

He owns at least three houses in the Perth area.

Anyone with information on the stabbing is asked to contact police.

Brajkovich, who is almost wholly covered in tattoos, is a regular in WA newspapers having gained notoriety for beating up Rebels boss Nick Martin weeks before he was assassinated at Perth Motorplex in 2020.

He previously told The West Australian when he left the Hells Angels club he confronted the then-president at the clubhouse on a Friday night.

'I didn't have anyone else, so I brought (wife) Jacinta. She would follow me anywhere,' he said.

Booted out of the Hells Angels by head honchos, Brajkovich (pictured with wife Jacinta Hill and stepdaughter Audrina) is focused on his real estate empire, owning three investment properties in the Belmont area of Perth

He added he also brought his 'favourite homemade steel knuckledusters to see if they still worked'.

'To be honest, he (the gang president) had a broken leg and was on crutches, but he was always boasting about being ex-military and ex-SAS.'

The pair fought with Brajkovich saying he smashed a stool into the man's broken leg for good measure and he walked out no longer a member.

He also made headlines when he walked into Perth Mint in June 2022 and bought $27,000 worth of gold bullion.

Despite the Mint requiring in-depth background checks on customers deemed 'high-risk', Brajkovich's lawyer said he merely had to show his driver's licence.
Australians are divided after spotting a backyard tent being rented out for over $80 a night on a popular accommodation site.

A prospective Sydney visitor was looking through the options on booking.com when they stumbled across the unusual offer.

'Just looking at accommodation for Saturday night and came across this 'hotel' - a tent in some random backyard,' the person said on social media before joking that it looked 'in 'tents''.

According to booking.com, the rental offers visitors their very own 'soundproofed tent,' flush with a jacuzzi, terrace, and flatscreen TV.

'Set in Doonside, 18 km from Western Sydney Stadium ... an outdoor tent, shared bathroom offers airconditioned accommodation with a terrace and free Wi-Fi,' the listing reads.

'The property has quiet street views and is 25 km from Qudos Bank Arena and 25 km from Sydney Showground.

The tent has been set up in the backyard of a Doonside home. Picture: Booking.com

'The property has quiet street views and is 25 km from Qudos Bank Arena and 25 km from Sydney Showground', the listing reads

'The homestay has a flat-screen TV. Towels and bed linen are offered in the homestay. This homestay is non-smoking and soundproof.'

While some commenters have sympathised with the need to make money amid the cost-of-living crisis, others have slammed the set up as an illegal cash-grab that should be reported to the local council.

'Like do they have council approval for a start, who are the people in the house? So many questions!,' one person replied.

'I'd believe it, cost of living crisis is real. People doing whatever they can to earn more income,' wrote another.

'Can you share the link please? Happy to give the council a call,' a third posted.

Other commenters turned their attention to the homestay conditions and questioned how visitors would survive the heatwave set to sweep across the city this week.

'It's going to be 43 and thunderstorms on Saturday in parts of Sydney. Last place I'd want to be baking in a tent!,' a person wrote.

'$86 to be cooked alive in a bed of your own juices!?!? F***ing hell. Should be taken down by the website as part of quality control.'

'Ha ha wow this is bold. Asking $86 is an absolute stretch too,' a third wrote.

While some commenters have sympathised with the need to make money amid the cost-of-living crisis, others have slammed the set up as an illegal cash-grab that should be reported to the local council

For a five night stay from Monday to Friday, the tent would set you back $247 but the owners ask for higher rates over the weekend

The post received no shortage of comments as other Aussies debated whether they would stay at the booking for that price.

'I mean it's kinda a good use of space, but holy s*** $86 is a lot. You could rent a 1 person studio for the same (price) in a more convenient area,' one person remarked.

'People are renting tents in a lounge room as a long term rental! I guess they thought 'why not?'' another wrote.

'Airconditioning, soundproofing and flat screen TV??! Living the high life with this one,' someone else joked.

For a five night stay from Monday to Friday, the tent would set you back $247 but the owners ask for higher rates over the weekend.

Its unique selling points certainly got people talking.

'Soundproofed tent. Interesting,' a commenter noted.
A white New Jersey man sobbed in court on Friday after he was sentenced to eight years in prison for racially abusing his black neighbors.

Edward Mathews, 47, went viral in July 2021 when he was seen hurling racial abuse at a black neighbor and spitting on him.

It later emerged that Mathews had for years terrorized black people living in the Essex Palace condominium in Mount Laurel, 17 miles east of Philadelphia.

Victims told how Mathews had fired BB pellets at their cars, called them 'monkeys', put feces on their properties, and sent them threatening emails and letters.

On Friday, a shackled and handcuffed Mathews, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, apologized for 'my insensitive and disrespectful words in the past,' the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Edward Mathews, now 47, was seen in July 2021 squaring up to a black neighbor - spitting on him, calling him the n-word and a 'monkey', and saying he was 'from Africa', during a confrontation outside his Mount Laurel, New Jersey home

Mathews had been a source of concern in the community for several years

He expressed remorse that his actions destroyed his marriage and hurt his family, saying his wife filed for divorce and sold their townhome.

Mathews' ex-wife, Shannon Schwartzhoff, told DailyMail.com in 2021 that he was not a racist, saying: 'A lot of his best friends are black.'

Schwartzhoff blamed his racist outburst on his alcohol consumption.

'He was drunk,' she said. 'And he has been having a lot of problems in the neighborhood with the Home Owners' Association. There's been some money gone missing and he is trying to stop that.'

Mathews was seen spitting on his black Air Force serviceman neighbor, telling him he was from Africa and using the N word.

Mathews, a construction foreman, has spent the last two and a half years in jail and lost all of his possessions, he said on Friday.

'Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future,' he told the judge. 'I want to commit to rebuild the community.'

Edward Mathews, now 47, was arrested shortly after the July 2021 incident and has been in jail ever since

Mathews was arrested and charged with bias intimidation and harassment

Shannon Schwartzhoff, 51, who still co-owns a two-bedroom townhouse with her ex, admitted she was angry at Mathews over the incident but claimed he's not 'as bad as everyone thinks he is'

The assistant county prosecutor, Jamie Hutchinson, read victim impact statements from four current or former residents of the Mount Laurel condominium association - the four, mainly in their 60s and 70s, were too concerned of reprisals to speak in court.

LeRon Brown, the former homeowners' association president, who is black, and his wife, Denise, who is white, moved out in 2021 after numerous altercations with Mathews.

The couple had lived there since the development opened in 2001.

'The actions of what he did will forever stay a nightmare of the fear and anxiety he bestowed upon me,' Denise Brown wrote in a statement.

'I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and trusting no one.'

Another black member of the homeowners' association also moved away following Mathews' abuse.

Hutchinson also cited Mathews' extensive criminal record.

He has had 11 felony convictions since 1995, including for drugs, which barred him from having weapons - and yet a slingshot and 30 rounds of ball-bearing ammunition were found in his home, plus hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Judge Gerard Breland ordered Mathews to pay $4,408 in restitution and undergo racial sensitivity training in prison, The Inquirer reported.

Mathews has been in custody since his arrest, and will get credit for the 886 days spent in jail.

He will be eligible for parole in about 16 months.
The United States has vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The resolution put forth on Friday was backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations.

Supporters of the call for a ceasefire called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the Israel-Hamas war goes into its third month.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

The United States' isolated stand reflected a growing fracture between Washington and some of its closest allies over Israel's monthslong bombardment of Gaza.

US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood raises his hand during a United Nations Security Council meeting on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on December 8

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, flanked by representative of Arab countries, speaks to the press after a United Nations Security Council meeting on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on December 8

France and Japan were among those supporting the call for a cease-fire.

In a vain effort to press the Biden administration to drop its opposition to calling for a halt to the fighting, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey were all in Washington on Friday. But their meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken took place only after the U.N. vote.

Along with the vote, the Arab diplomats' mission served to shift responsibility more squarely onto the United States for protecting Israel from growing demands to stop the airstrikes that are killing thousands of Palestinian civilians.

'What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?' United Arab Emirates deputy ambassador Mohamed Abushaha asked after the vote. 'Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?'

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called the resolution 'imbalanced' and criticized the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israels right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and 'only plant the seeds for the next war.'

'Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution,' Wood said before the vote. 'For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate cease-fire.'

Israels military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza - 70% of them women and children - and wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territorys Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Abushahab, the UAE diplomat, said before the vote that the resolution, which his country sponsored, had garnered nearly 100 co-sponsors in less than 24 hours, a reflection of global support for efforts to end the war and save Palestinian lives.

After the vote, he expressed deep disappointment at the U.S. veto and warned that the Security Council is growing isolated and 'appears untethered' from its mandate to ensure international peace and security.

Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere of France, a veto-wielding permanent council member who supported the resolution, lamented its lack of unity and pleaded 'for a new, immediate and lasting humanitarian truce that should lead to a sustainable cease-fire.'

Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky called the vote 'one of the darkest days in the history of the Middle East' and accused the United States of issuing 'a death sentence to thousands, if not tens of thousands more civilians in Palestine and Israel, including women and children.'

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attends a news conference about the Israel-Hamas war Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi speaks during a news conference about the Israel-Hamas war Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a news conference about the Israel-Hamas war, and pressure to reduce civilian casualties, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a news conference about the Israel-Hamas war, and pressure to reduce civilian casualties, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

He said 'history will judge Washingtons actions' in the face of what he called a 'merciless Israeli bloodbath.'

The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of an 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Guterres said he raised Article 99 - which hadnt been used at the U.N. since 1971 - because 'there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza.' The U.N. anticipates this would result in 'a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,' he warned.

Gaza is at 'a breaking point,' he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.

Guterres said Hamas brutality against Israelis on Oct. 7 'can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.'

'While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations,' he stressed.

The U.N. chief detailed the 'humanitarian nightmare' Gaza is facing, citing intense, widespread and ongoing Israeli attacks from air, land and sea that reportedly have hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 health care facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

Over 60% of Gazas housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85% of the population has been forced from their homes, the health system is collapsing, and 'nowhere in Gaza is safe,' Guterres said.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the council that Israels objective is 'the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip' and 'the dispossession and forcible displacement of the Palestinian people.'

'If you are against the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people, you have to be in favor of an immediate cease-fire,' Mansour said. 'When you refuse to call for a cease-fire, you are refusing to call for the only thing that can put an end to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.'

After the vote, he called the U.S. veto 'disastrous' and said it was 'a terrible day for the Security Council.'

'We reject this result, and well continue resorting to every legitimate avenue to stop these abhorrent atrocities,' Mansour said.

But Israels Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked the United States for its 'bold leadership.'

'A cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza, and signaling terror groups everywhere,' he said in a statement. 'Stand with Israel in our mission. We are fighting for our future, and we are fighting for the free world.'

In Washington, Jordans top diplomat told reporters that the killings of Palestinian civilians in Israels bombardment and siege of Gaza were war crimes and threatened to destabilize the region, the U.S. and the world for years to come.

'If people are not seeing it here, we are seeing it,' Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, adding: 'Were seeing the challenges that we are are facing talking to our people. They are all saying were doing nothing. Because despite all our efforts, Israel is continuing these massacres.'

Amnesty Internationals Secretary General Agnes Callamard criticized the U.S. for continuing to transfer munitions to the Israeli government 'that contribute to the decimation of entire families.'

And Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch, said that by providing weapons and diplomatic cover to Israel 'as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the U.S. risks complicity in war crimes.'
A prominent fitness influencer and business owner allegedly directed the sale of steroids and other drugs, including to an undercover police officer, using the online moniker 'Flame King', a court has been told.

Team Future Muscle owner Nathan Williamson and personal trainer Daniel Tenace fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday charged over the alleged largest-ever steroid haul seized by police.

Police allegedly found millions of dollars worth of steroids and medicine and more than $300,000 in cash at both men's addresses, as well as at a gym in Port Melbourne and a property in Flemington in the CBD.

Officers swooped on Mr Williamson, 32, at Crown Towers on Melbourne's South Bank on Friday following a sprawling months-long investigation targeting drugs allegedly being circulated in the city's gyms.

Police allege Mr Williamson and Mr Tenace, who both work as personal trainers, bought drugs from overseas suppliers before reselling them to hundreds of Australian clients out of a unit in the Port Melbourne area.

Nathan Williamson has been charged with allegedly trafficking steroids and other drugs

'We have obtained CCTV of both Williamson and Tenace coming and going from that address on South Wharf Dr, Docklands, with large boxes and packages,' Detective Inspector Melanie McNamara told the court.

'The address was set-up as almost a distribution centre for drugs, which were lined up and set-up in their names with prepaid tracking Australia Post bags and labels. All that is still being processed by police.'

Both men, who have no criminal history, were granted bail by Magistrate Daniel Muling after their mothers Naomi Williamson and Rosaria Weimer agreed to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in surety.

Under their bail conditions, both men are required to report to police twice weekly, cease association with one another, and surrender their passports. They are also subject to a curfew from 10pm to 5am.

The arrest comes more than eight months after police first launched an investigation into the alleged distribution of performance-enhancing drugs at Melbourne gyms, beginning on April 5.

Police facts state officers were later executing a search warrant at a unit on Napier St in Essendon for an unrelated matter when they saw a parcel being delivered with a return address in Yarraville.

The parcel allegedly contained a cocktail of controlled substances, including testosterone. Police subsequently searched the man's phone and found emails with 'Next Knows Pharma' and 'Flame King'.

Police tracked the parcel back to the Australia Post Business Hub in Port Melbourne where CCTV allegedly captured Mr Williamson sending the parcel to Essendon and several others on August 7.

Over the following three months, police continued to track multiple parcels containing various drugs allegedly delivered by Mr Williamson and Mr Tenace from the Port Melbourne business hub.

On August 28, a covert police operative engaged Next Knows Pharma to request the purchase of steroid-based products. The next day, they received a message from 'Flame King' who police allege was Williamson.

The following week, police collected from the requested locker a parcel which had been sent from the Port Melbourne business hub and allegedly contained a number of drugs, including testosterone.

Victoria Police said it will take investigators a number of days to count and weigh the drugs and cash, but the stash is believed to be worth millions of dollars

CCTV obtained from the post office allegedly showed Mr Tenace delivering the parcel, as well as about 10 others. The operative proceeded to purchase more items which were sent off for analysis.

On October 20, a homeowner claimed to have been delivered a parcel which did not belong to them. They allegedly observed a large quantity of liquid vials inside after opening one of the parcels.

'A male had attended their address to collect the parcel ... They left a number and returned the following day and when asked by the occupant what the vials were, the man said they were medicinal products,' the facts allege.

'The packaging appeared to be the same as a prior incident, and CCTV was obtained from the address. The male was later identified as Mr Tenace. The phone number was the same as a previous incident.'

Police were told by Australia Post multiple people had complained about parcels being sent to their address, with staff telling officers Mr Williamson and Mr Tenace collected those which had been refused delivery.

Officers ultimately swooped on Mr Williamson while he was at the Crown Towers with another person on Friday. The duo had not been seen after checking into room about 3pm the day prior.

The pair accompanied police to the residential address of Mr Williamson, a father of two, at South Wharf Rd. Mr Tenace's address, located on the same road, was the first to be searched.

Inside, police allegedly uncovered a vast cache of drugs sprawled throughout the apartment, including steroids, diazepam, Cialis, growth hormone, and different types of prescription medication.

A further search of Mr Tenace's car allegedly revealed more vials of steroids as well as Australia Post receipts. Mr Tenace was arrested and transported to Melbourne West police station.

Police carried out further searches at another address on South Wharf Dr listed in Mr Williamson's mother name, where they allegedly located more large quantities of packaged anabolic steroids.

Team Future Muscle owner Nathan Williamson and personal trainer Daniel Tenace fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday charged over the alleged largest-ever steroid haul seized by police

Detective McNamara said police were still at the address and did not have a 'final number' on what they allegedly found there, but said at Mr Williamson's nearby address they allegedly further located Valium and a suspected peptide.

More than $130,000 in cash was also located at the Mr Williamson's address, though the court was told some of the cash may be proven to be from a payout Mr Williamson had received from Victoria Police.

A search of the Crown Towers room also allegedly uncovered two phones, an iPad, two small crystals believed to be meth, as well as cash, and various credit and debit cards, including in another person's name.

Ms McNamara told the court she could not give an estimate on how long analysis being undertaken on the substance would take, and said police would also be issuing warrants to a number of banks.

The amount of drugs seized was so large that detectives will have to return to the address for a second time. Investigators also searched a Port Melbourne gym, where they also allegedly located a large amount of illegal steroids.

The pair were charged with a range of offences including trafficking a commercial quantity of prescription medication, trafficking anabolic steroids, trafficking diazepam and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

A 37-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with possessing methamphetamine. She was granted bail to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on February 26, 2024.

Victoria Police said it will take investigators a number of days to count and weigh the drugs and cash, but the stash is believed to be worth millions of dollars.

Detective Inspector Patrick Watkinson said the steroid bust was the largest the state had ever seen

Detective Inspector Patrick Watkinson said the steroid bust was the largest the state had ever seen.

'We've uncovered a sophisticated drug distribution centre - the biggest of its kind in Victoria,' he said.

'What caught our attention is that they're allegedly selling drugs to organised crime figures, and not only profiting heavily from it, but also facilitating their luxury lifestyle.

'The community may think dealing with performance-enhancing drugs is harmless, but we're looking at the bigger picture here - which is to target all aspects of organised crime including the people associated with it.

'We want this to send a message to those associating with people who have links to organised crime. If you're connected - even in the slightest way - the chances of your activities being detected is increased.

'This work is about limiting the networks and connections of organised crime figures. We want those causing harm in our community to feel the pressure from all angles.

'Medication should be supplied by accredited doctors and pharmacists, not personal trainers at a gym.'

ACT Policing also executed a number of warrants on Friday and arrested a group of people allegedly involved in the syndicate.

NSW Police also carried out a number of warrants connected to the alleged drug ring.

Further charges are expected to be laid.
HMGoG Christmas donation to The Mindspace Project

His Majestys Government of Gibraltar has once again made its annual donation to a local charity instead of sending official Christmas cards.

On Thursday afternoon the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, presented a 3000 cheque to representatives from The Mindspace Project, Galadriel McGrail Polston, Kationa Matto and Abigail Manasco, at No6 Convent Place. The Mindspace Project work in offering a holistic approach to helping, healing and equipping members of our community with tools to navigate their emotional and physical wellbeing.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: The Mindspace Project have been carrying out extremely important work since the height of the pandemic in 2020. I am delighted that this donation is going towards an effort that will assist with the wellbeing of both adults and children in our community.
Qantas has banned travellers from filming and taking photographs on board without permission as part of a new rule to protect the privacy of staff and passengers.

Travellers will need consent to film other passengers or airline staff on board a Qantas aircraft after the carrier introduced the change on November 8.

Under section 12 of 'Conduct During Flight' which is part of the airline's conditions of entry passengers must now 'seek consent before filming or photographing Qantas Group staff, contractors or other customers.'

Qantas has banned travellers from filming and taking photos of staff and other passengers without permission on board it's aircraft (pictured stock image of a person taking a photo inside a plane)

The move was made to protect staff and other passengers from ending up on viral social media videos.

Travellers however will be allowed to take photos and videos of views when they are on board.

They can take selfies but they will need permission if photos and videos feature other passengers.

A spokesperson from Qantas told Daily Mail Australia the rule is designed to make sure people take photos and videos responsibly.

'We know that lots of our customers want to film and photograph their journey and our policy is designed to make sure they can do that safely and respectfully,' the spokesperson said.

'It doesn't prevent customers from taking photos or videos of themselves, their family and friends or out of the window.'

Several travellers praised the move online saying that it was 'about time' the airline made the change.

'Finally! What a great move!,' one user wrote on the Australian Frequent Flyer site.

'It really bugs me how many people film everything lately. Especially other people's misfortune,' another user said.

'I totally agree with this decision, I always feel annoyed for other passengers who are clearly not happy to be filmed.'

Others however weren't happy about the move with one traveller saying the rule could stop people taking snaps of the views outside.

The airline (pictured stock image) said the move would protect the privacy of staff and other travellers

Passengers will still be allowed to take selfies and pictures of outside from the window (pictured stock image of a person taking a pictured from a window seat inside an aircraft)

'As someone who travels with their GoPro I do find this change concerning as I tend to mount the GoPro to the window when flying to capture some nice plane [views] for my trip reports,' they said.

Previously, the airline's staff could decide whether travellers would be allowed to film on board the aircraft.

Qantas now has the strictest on-board filming rules among Australia's major airlines with rival airline Virgin only allowing passengers to use phones and cameras for personal use.

The airline's budget carrier Jetstar is not understood to be implementing the new guidelines.
A friendly deer that won the hearts of Hutchinson residents was sadly euthanized after officials decided the animal had become too tame.

Bucky the deer was a regular and welcome visitor to neighborhoods on the city's north east side with residents even petting the wild animal.

On Tuesday however Wildlife and Parks officials were called to an active public safety issue involving Bucky.

'Frankly a line was crossed that was to the detriment of the species' Nadia Marji from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks told the outlet.

'It was well intended by these folks' she added of the resident's care for Bucky.

Bucky the deer won the hearts of Hutchinson residents but was sadly euthanized after officials decided the animal had become too tame

'All the kids in the neighborhood loved him' Hutchinson resident Aaliyah Davis said

A game warden caught Bucky, took him to a private farm and 'humanely euthanized' the animal.

'All the kids in the neighborhood loved him' heartbroken Hutchinson resident Aaliyah Davis told KSN news.

'They loved seeing him, they considered him one of Santa's reindeer.

'He was the cutest thing. He loved the kids and when the kids went to go pet him.'

Concerned residents had previously reached out to nearby Hutchinson Zoo to inquire after the possibility of Bucky moving to the facility.

However, the zoo was unable to accommodate the deer as his tameness was considered a potential safety issue.

A game warden caught Bucky, took him to a private farm and 'humanely euthanized' the animal

'They don't always realize that they're deer, and we are humans, and when it comes to rut season for white-tailed deer specifically, they may look to humans for mates as opposed to deer,' Zoo Director Nicole Mantz said.

Mantz also said Bucky's unknown health status was a concern, as he may have had a chronic wasting disease, an exposure risk to the rest of the zoo's animals.

'There is still that exposure to the disease for the rest of our animals,' Mantz explained.

Adding: 'Not only would we have to cull the rest of our herd, but we would also never be able to have a member of the deer family on zoo grounds.'
This is the shocking moment two men fought each other with ladders after one was filmed taking down a Palestine flag.

The video emerged online and was secretly filmed by a member of the public.

You can see through curtain blinds a bus stop in Tower Hamlets, London.

A man in a white top and white woolly hat with the England flag on it is seen with two sets of ladders.

The man puts one of the ladders on top of a metal box, possibly a wheely bin, and begins to climb up the ladder to try and get a flag off of a lamppost.

A guy took down a Palestine flag In Langdon Park Tower Hamlets. pic.twitter.com/1fXkUnPzC2  London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) December 8, 2023

The man in the white hat can be seen trying to take down the Palestine flag from a lamppost

In the video, you can hear the person filming it saying: 'Oh my God! I can't believe this random dude is trying to get the flag off.

'Some random dude.'

The man climbs to the top of the ladder, grabs the Palestinian flag and yanks it down.

But as he does so, a car can be seen parking up.

The driver then gets out and pushes the metal box that the ladder was resting on, almost knocking the man in the white hat to the floor.

But the man in the white hat manages to maintain his footing, grabs the ladder and swings at the driver.

The driver gets hold of a ladder and the man in the hat gets another ladder and the two can be seen brawling with them.

'Obviously racist,' says the woman filming the incident.

A passing driver got out of his car and began to brawl the man in the whit hat. They both used ladders as weapons

Then another passerby grabs the ladder from the man in the white hat and he runs away.

A Met Police spokesman said: 'At 12.15pm on Friday, 8 December police were called to Burcham Street, Poplar by a man who reported he had been assaulted.

'Officers attended and spoke to the man who was seen by paramedics for non-life threatening injuries.

'The man had climbed a ladder to remove a Palestinian flag from a lamppost when a man who was driving past stopped his car, got out and kicked the ladder away.

'A fight broke out between the two men, both wielding ladders, before a third man also joined the incident.

'Officers are investigating. At this early stage no arrests have been made.

'Anyone with information should call 101, giving the reference 3914/08DEC. Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555 111.'

The Palestinian flag has become a divisive issue lately due to the flared tensions caused by the war between Israel and Hamas.

There have been several marches in London alone and hundreds across the world as people march in solidarity for the Palestinian cause, due to the high civilian death toll caused by Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

However, some of the marches have been criticised due to the antisemitism of some of the participants.

Also, the marches attracted counter-protests from the far-right.
The first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska has warned the world will 'let Ukrainians die' if they do not continue their support as the war with Russia comes towards the end of its second year.

Speaking with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Ms Zelenska said the world cannot 'get tired' of the conflict - as a US deal to secure more financial aid appears increasingly out of reach.

The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on pairing the funding with changes to America's immigration and border policies.

Support for further financial support for Ukraine is dwindling amongst Republicans, as the White House warns a failure to provide more aid by the end of the year could be catastrophic for Ukrainians.

Ms Zelenska has now said a slowdown in aid represents a 'mortal danger' and that it is a matter of life and death.

Speaking with the BBC 's Laura Kuenssberg in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Ms Zelenska said the world cannot 'get tired' of the conflict

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska visit a memorial in Kyiv

The Ukrainian first lady said: 'We really need the help. In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die.

'And if the world gets tired, they will simply let us die.'

'It hurts us greatly to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help may fade. It is a matter of life for us. Therefore, it hurts to see that.'

US Republicans are attempting to force Democrats to agree to harsh measures on the border and immigration as part of the deal which would guarantee more aid to Ukraine.

But this has sparked backlash from the President's own party.

'Trading Ukrainian lives for the lives of asylum seekers is morally bankrupt and irresponsible,' Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill. posted on X as part of a coordinated campaign by Hispanic Democrats.

Britain's Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron, spoke in Colorado this week, urging the Americans to stay the course.

'If we let Putin win in Ukraine, it will be somewhere else next,' he said. 'It could be a Nato country  so that could mean American lives. It is the great test for our generation.'

Ukraine is facing particularly tough conditions on the battlefield as winter brings freezing temperatures and poor weather to follow a summer counter-offensive that did not achieve as much as was hoped.

A spokesperson for Putin's foreign ministry yesterday threatened strikes against other NATO countries as the Kremlin warned a nuclear war is closer than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Maria Zakharova - spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry - warned the West that the advanced F-16 fighters delivered to Ukraine will be a fair target for Russia if they are based in NATO countries.

She said that the fourth-generation fighter jets could be based in Poland, Slovakia and Romania, meaning NATO is 'getting deeper' into the Ukrainian conflict.

A Ukrainian T-64 tank is pictured as Ukrainian soldiers face increasingly tough conditions as winter arrives

The Ukrainian first lady said: 'We really need the help. In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die'

Ukraine is facing particularly tough conditions on the battlefield as winter brings freezing temperatures and poor weather to follow a summer counter-offensive that did not achieve as much as was hoped

In August, the United States approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russia. They are expected to arrive in Ukraine next year.

READ MORE: As Russia tries to exploit any Ukrainian weakness in the most brutal and pitiless way, Zelensky faces ANOTHER war against a growing army of critics and presidential rivals at home Advertisement

It comes as Putin confirmed he will seek another term as Russian president, aiming to extend his rule of over two decades.

Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the presidential election next March that he is all but certain to win.

Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power, despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his countrymen's lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia - including one on the Kremlin itself - and corroded its aura of invincibility.

A short-lived rebellion in June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Putin could be losing his grip, but he emerged with no permanent scars. Prigozhin's death in a mysterious plane crash two months later reinforced the view that Putin was in absolute control.

Putin, who was first elected president in March 2000, announced his decision to run in the March 17 presidential election after a Kremlin award ceremony, when war veterans and others pleaded with him to seek reelection in what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described as 'spontaneous' remarks.

'I won't hide it from you - I had various thoughts about it over time, but now, you're right, it's necessary to make a decision,' Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin after the event. 'I will run for president of the Russian Federation.'
King Charles is refusing to let himself be emotionally blackmailed by Prince Harry over the royal race row after Omid Scobie released his book Endgame.

A Dutch version of the book had to be hastily pulled from shelves after it revealed the names of the two members of the royal family accused of raising 'concerns' over Archie's skin colour.

Sources close to the King, who Scobie accuses alongside the Princess of Wales of discussing Archie's skin, have said he is 'not concerned' at being named and is instead 'full of energy'.

They told the Sun King Charles has informed friends he will 'not be emotionally blackmailed by his own son'.

It comes as Dutch publishers hit back at Scobie after he blamed them for the error which led to the two names being revealed.

King Charles is reportedly refusing to let himself be emotionally blackmailed by Prince Harry over the royal race row after Omid Scobie released his book Endgame

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have denied briefing Scobie ahead of his book

The royal family and the Sussexes have so far remained silent on the book's content.

Scobie has long been seen as Harry and Meghan's preferred royal journalist, but it is understood they deny having any role in briefing him for Endgame.

In a potential olive branch Prince Harry recently phoned his father on his birthday from his home in California.

He and his wife have hinted they would accept an invitation to Sandringham for Christmas, although it is unclear if they would be invited.

It comes after the couple were evicted from Frogmore Cottage in the summer, with Scobie claiming Prince Harry phoned his father when the news arrived, saying: 'Don't you want to see your grandchildren?'

In the version published in the UK, Scobie claimed he was unable to name the two people allegedly involved in the discussions for legal reasons - but the names were published in Holland.

The author used a newspaper column to say that the publisher was sent one version of his book to work on with the understanding that the translation would be updated for a final version.

Scobie had initially denied that he had revealed the names of the two royals in his much criticised book

In a statement to MailOnline publisher Xander Uitgevers called Omid Scobie out by saying he was 'factually incorrect'

The book claimed Meghan had named the King as well as daughter-in-law Kate in letters she wrote to him on the issue

The Dutch version of Endgame, which has had to be pulled from bookshops and pulped

But in a statement given to MailOnline the publisher disputed this, calling him out by saying he was 'factually incorrect'.

A spokesman for the publisher Xander Uitgevers said: 'Omid Scobie's explanation in his column in iNews about the Dutch editorial process of the Dutch edition of Endgame is factually incorrect and we do not recognize ourselves in his representation of the events.

'Xander Uitgevers is not allowed to say anything about the content, we therefore refer to the agent UTA.'

Scobie had initially denied that he had revealed the names of the two royals in his much criticised book.

He admitted for the first time on Friday that both names were in an early draft that he said had been written at 'lightening speed'.

He wrote in the i: 'To be clear, the only publisher I worked directly with was the one covering the US and UK.

'I spent almost two months with independent British barristers and in-house legal counsel to ensure that every detail in the finished book was legally watertight'.

He added: 'Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and uncleared text was provided to the Dutch publisher in order for them to start work on the translation, with the understanding that their translation would be updated to reflect the final version of the book I officially submitted'.

His statement, appearing to shift the blame on to the Haarlem-based publishing house, has now been called into question by its director Anke Roelen.

Copies of the Dutch version had to pulled from bookstores across Holland with an amended version going on sale on Friday.
The Met Office has issued a new weather warning as maps show which additional parts of Britain face rain, floods and 70mph winds over the weekend.

Storm Elin, named by Met Eireann, the Irish meteorological service, is battering parts of the UK and Ireland with strong winds and heavy downpours.

It comes as yellow alerts for rain and wind have been issued for southern Scotland and Northern Ireland, while a separate wind alert covering parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England came into force at 9am today.

Much of Ireland is also under wind warnings on Saturday with Met Eireann cautioning severe gusts could cause disruption and travel difficulties, and parts of England could see up to 30mm of rain.

Areas with Irish Sea coasts could see gusts of up to 70mph, with parts of the Midlands, northern England and Northern Ireland experiencing wind speeds of between 45 and 55mph, the Met Office said.

Wind speeds will increase in the west this morning then across other areas through the afternoon, before easing slowly from the west through the evening.

For Sunday, the Met Office issued a yellow warning as another weather system, named as Storm Fergus, is moving in on Sunday and could bring with it further rainfall and gusty winds, especially in western areas.

Two cars drive through deep floodwater today near Dorchester in Dorset

Drone footage shows flooding in fields near Dorchester in Dorset

A swan swims by a bench after the River Nene broke its banks in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

Vehicles create a splash as they are driven through a large puddle following torrential rain in Greenwich, South East London this morning

Members of the public get caught in a heavy downpour of rain on Oxford Street in central London on one of the busiest weekends for Christmas shoppers

Flooding in York this morning where the River Ouse has broken it's banks & risen to 3.62m flooding roads & property

SATURDAY: Yellow alerts for rain and wind have been issued for southern Scotland and Northern Ireland, while a separate wind alert covering parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England came into force at 9am today

SUNDAY: For tomorrow, the Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain for parts of northern England, spanning from Sheffield to Carlisle

Cars couldn't go any further on a flooded road near Ely, Cambs, on Saturday morning

The road in Ely, Cambs, was completely submerged in water and resembled a river

A car parked over large puddles on Wimbledon Common in south-west London

Homes and businesses may experience flooding as up to 80mm of rain falls in some parts of the UK, the forecaster said.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said a band of heavy wind and rain will move from the south-west of the UK towards the north-east on Saturday, 'bringing with it heavy rain for much of the country'.

He said: 'By the afternoon most of the heavy wind and rain will have passed and it will just be showers for southern areas.

'We will also be seeing some quite strong winds in Wales, the Midlands, northern England and Northern Ireland, particularly coastal communities around the Irish Sea. We're in for a wet and windy weekend.'

The bad weather could cause delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport, and coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities may be affected by spray and large waves, the forecaster said.

The unsettled weather will continue into Sunday and next week, with a chance of further weather warnings.

For tomorrow, the forecast warned of a band of rain moving across the area in the morning, followed by a drier interlude, before heavy showers in the evening.

Members of the public attempt struggle with umbrellas as they cross London Bridge during torrential rain in central London today

Horse riders were out on a waterlogged Wimbledon Common in south-west London this morning

A jogger runs over puddles on a waterlogged Wimbledon Common south-west London this morning during heavy rain

Members of the public attempt to shelter as they cross London Bridge during downpours

Homes and businesses may experience flooding as up to 80mm of rain is expected to fall in some parts of the UK. Pictured: Drone footage taken yesterday of floods in Somerset

A Land Rover and Nissan drove through a large puddle in Dorset yesterday as the region battles heavy rain

Vehicles drive through floodwater on the A35 at Winterbourne Abbas in Dorset yesterday

Mr Dixon continued: 'There is another area of low pressure coming on Sunday with the possibility of further warnings being issued.

Rain of 30-50mm is expected to fall widely in southern Scotland, with possibly 60-80mm over higher ground, the Met Office said.

This comes as forecasters say some areas will face 'frequent showers' and even rumbles of thunder through Friday - before a huge bank of rain hits the south-west into Saturday.

Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin said of Friday morning's weather: '(It will be) a wet one for Northern Ireland, there will be frequent showers for north Wales, north-west England, much of central and southern Scotland.

'Parts of southern England, East Anglia may stay dry and bright - but it's a bit misty and murky to start the day.'

Conditions will worsen into Saturday as the rain creeps up the country into the north of England and southern Scotland - before skies brighten up in the afternoon.

But Sunday will also see 'unsettled' weather with bands of rain sweeping north and east across much of the country - paired with high winds, including gales.

A road sign is almost completely submerged as floods continue to hit Somerset

Drone footage shows a house struggling with flooding as parts of Somerset are submerged

A car drives through flooding in Norfolk yesterday as the region continues to struggle with rain fall

DEVON: In Axminister the River Axe burst its banks after heavy overnight rain causing surrounding fields to become saturated

DORSET: Deep floodwater blocked part of the road near Honeycombe Farm on the B3163 following Thursday's heavy showers

SOMERSEET: A horse rider is seen forcing to disembark and walk her animal through knee-deep rainwater

It came after Thursday's torrents saw schools opening or closing late with a horse racing event being called off at Wincanton because of the miserable conditions.

Parts of Devon and Cornwall were left underwater with a number of roads being forced closed following the onslaught of showers, with fields across the counties left saturated.

Devon County Council Highways said that Tavistock, Lee Mill and the River Axe had all been affected with staff at the Axminister Inn claiming people were finding it hard to get in and out of the market town.

Cars were pictured forcing their way through deep flood waters in Dorset and in Somerset a horse rider was seen forcing to disembark and walk her animal through knee-deep rainwater.

A yellow weather warning from the Met Office remained in place for parts of Eastern Scotland overnight, warning that more travel disruption could be expected.

The miserable weather is expected to continue today with unsettled showers, long spells of rain and windy blusters hitting most of the country. Coastal gales are expected in some parts of Wales and the southwest.

Up to four inches of rain are expected to fall by the end of the weekend, with the wet weather showing no signs of easing.

Homes and businesses have been worst affected by the floodwater, which was caused by heavy showers and melting frost.

On Friday morning, 68 flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency remained in place, while a further 197 flood alerts were issued.

Low cloud will clear to leave a brighter start for many on Friday with heavy showers slowly moving into parts of the north and west

Temperatures will remain milder on Friday but showers and blustery winds will continue

DEVON: Axminster was just one region severely affected by flooding on Thursday

CUMRBIA: Earlier this week parts of the county faced snow, with the melting ice increasing the risk of flooding

FLOOD ALERTS: On Friday morning, 68 flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency remained in place, while a further 197 flood alerts were issued

The forecaster's meteorologist Alex Deakin said Britons will have a 'wet and windy weekend' with a number of low pressure systems blowing over from the Atlantic.

Met office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong added: 'Low pressure will drive several days of unsettled conditions, with heavy rainfall the main concern.

'We have issued a number of severe weather warnings for rain across the UK. As much as 80mm (3in) of rain could fall in some areas of the West, particularly on higher ground'.

'The rain will be falling on already very wet ground. And where there is still lying snow in the north west of England and Scotland, snow melt will exacerbate the risk of flooding.'

Weatherman Simon Patridge told the Sun: 'By the end of the weekend we could see up to 4in fall. It's a really unsettled pictures at the moment. Rainfall totals are going to be mounting.'

Yesterday Scotland was put on avalanche alert after a heavy snow forecast was issued, with the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) issuing a 'considerable' alert.

It warned that the chance of 'snowslips' in the Northern Cairngorms had increased from low to moderate, adding 'avalanches likely'.

Meanwhile in South Cumbria a district nurse was forced to use a tractor to get around to her patients.

Ashleigh Mayvers, 33, told local paper the Mail: 'Even with the tractor, it was difficult at times to keep it under control in the snow.'

Flood alerts were put in place across the country on Thursday with warnings that the heavy showers could cut off some communities, create poor driving conditions and close roads.

The Met has warned that journey times are likely to be made longer due to spray and flooding on roads, while bus and train services will probably be affected.

It is also likely that some homes and business will experience flooding as up to 80mm of rain falls in some parts of the west of the UK.

Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said: 'After a relatively calm day on Wednesday, wet and windy weather will move in from the west on Wednesday night.

NORFOLK: The Met Office warned driving conditions may be problematic as roads flood. Drivers yesterday were seen making their way through surface water on A1101 in Welney, Norfolk (pictured)

NORFOLK: Cars make their way through surface water on the A1101 in Welney, Norfolk yesterday. The Met Office has forecast heavy rain and strong winds for much of the country thanks to a low pressure system sweeping the UK

NORFOLK: Cars make their way through surface water on the A1101 in Welney in Norfolk, where the River Delph and New Bedford River flooded yesterday

'Low pressure will drive several days of unsettled conditions with heavy rainfall the main concern. We have issued a number of severe weather warnings for rain across the UK, as much as 80mm of rain could fall in some areas of the west, particularly higher ground.

'Higher ground in eastern Scotland could even see up to 100mm of rain. Our warnings are likely to be updated so keep up to date with the Met Office forecast.

'The rain will be falling on already very wet ground and where there is still lying snow in the north-west of England and parts of Scotland, snow melt will exacerbate the risk of flooding.

'It is important to check for flood warnings in your area issued by your local environment agency.'

In Wales, there is one flood alert for South Pembrokeshire. In Scotland, there are flood alerts for Fife, Tayside, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee and Angus, and Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City.

Environment Agency flood duty manager Kate Marks warned Britons to keep clear of floodways as heavy rain sets in.

'Significant river and surface water flooding impacts are possible in parts of the South West of England on Thursday and Friday, with minor impacts also probable elsewhere in the country,' she said.

'We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.'

NORFOLK: The River Delph and New Bedford River have flooded the surrounding area in Norfolk yesterday

LONDON: Commuters brave the freezing fog in Richmond south-west London on Wednesday morning

DERBYSHIRE: Temperatures hit -6C in rural Derbyshire on Wednesday, leaving the air cold and streets frosty

RAC Breakdown spokesman Simon Williams also urged drivers to be wary of flooded roads, saying that those in the 'worst-affected areas will need to be on their guard for floods and standing water'.

He added: 'Anyone tempted to drive through water that is too deep for their vehicle is risking their safety and a very expensive repair bill near to Christmas or, worse still, the prospect of an insurance write-off.

'The best advice is to turn around and go another way if there's any doubt about the water's depth.

'From a road safety perspective, we urge drivers to slow down and leave plenty of stopping distance behind the vehicle in front.

'It's also important to remember the risk of losing control due to aquaplaning, which is what happens when a layer of water gets between the tyres and the road surface, making it impossible to steer, brake or accelerate.'
The Coutts bank apprentice and her fellow honeytrap killer who lured a 'Sugar daddy' into a deadly murder with three other men have been jailed for a total of 100 years.

Vishal Gohel had been expecting to have sex with three women, but was gagged and beaten when their male accomplices arrived to rob him in January last year.

The meeting had been organised by Yarley Georgia Bruce-Annan, an apprentice at Coutts bank, who referred to 44-year-old Mr Gohel as her 'Sugar daddy' and the number '67' because she thought that was the amount of money he had.

Bruce-Annan, 22, conspired to rob Mr Gohel with Faith Hoppie, also 22 in what was described in St Albans Crown Court as a 'honeytrap', where the women gained access on the promise of sexual liaisons which never happened.

Instead, they were at Mr Gohel's property on Bushey High Street near Watford to allow their male accomplices inside to steal property.

The court heard that when Mr Gohel could or would not transfer cash, he was fatally beaten and throttled.

Prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC told the court a neighbour noticed Mr Gohel's front door was ajar and the kitchen light left on on January 23 last year. He knocked on the door and went inside to find Mr Gohel on the floor of the bedroom.

Vishal Gohel, 44, was killed in his flat in Herts, near Watford, when the three men ambushed him and beat him - leaving him with fatal injuries, the court was told

Yarley Georgia Bruce-Annan, of Harts Lane in Barking, was convicted or murder and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob. She was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years.

Faith Hoppie, of Blake Avenue, Barking was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. She was sentenced to 8 years.

The court heard that the father-of-two had gaffer tape around the lower part of his face, and that his iPhone and iWatch had been taken.

A post-mortem examination found he had suffered a significant blow or blows to the head.

'Both sides of his face were injured', Ms Newell said. 'There was internal bruising to his scalp, eyes and jaw. There was brain damage and his voice box had been fractured, consistent with squeezing of the neck.

'He was ambushed in a group attack in his own home.

'No attempts had been made to contact the emergency services, but there had been efforts had been made to clean the flat. He was dead or dying when they left the flat. There was no attempt to provide assistance to him'.

The jury heard that the victim had been in contact with Bruce-Annan on January 22 last year via Craig's List.

The female defendants had left Barking in a cab, costing 42.75, and arrived in Bushey at 1am in the morning. The men, Tevin Leslie, 23, Sakeen Gordon, 22, and Brandon Browne, 23, arrived in Leslie's Audi at 02:25.

Browne had been picked up in Bromley and Leslie then drove to Ealing to collect Gordon, who is his cousin.

'It was the culmination of a plan that had been brewing throughout the day,' said Ms Newell to the court.

Tevin Leslie, 23, of Hurst Street, Brixton, London was convicted of murder. He had admitted conspiracy to rob

Sakeen Gordon, 22, of Uxbridge Road, Ealing was convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob

Mr Gohel had been recorded on CCTV footage at a convenience store near his home at 22:25, where he purchased alcohol, soft drinks, cigarettes and condoms. He had borrowed 100 in cash from his mother, and withdrew 100 from a cash machine.

'No attempts had been made to contact the emergency services, but there had been efforts had been made to clean the flat' He was dead or dying when they left the flat. There was no attempt to provide assistance to him,' said the prosecutor.

Bruce-Annan, of Harts Lane in Barking, was convicted or murder and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob. She was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years.

Hoppie, of Blake Avenue, Barking was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. She was sentenced to 8 years.

Bus driver Leslie, of Hurst Street, Brixton, London, was convicted of murder. He had admitted conspiracy to rob, and was jailed for life with a minimum term before he can apply for parole of 26 years.

Gordon, of Uxbridge Road, Ealing, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.

Browne, of Laburnum Road, Rochester, Kent, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. He was sentenced to 15 years.

A third female defendant was cleared of all charges.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Gohal's aunt Bonny Rigby Williams told the court her nephew was 'charming intelligent handsome and driven'.

Brandon Browne, 22, of Laburnham Road, Rochester, Kent was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob

The court heard Mr Gohel was found dead in the bedroom of his flat when they noticed his door had been left open

'He had a wicked sense of humour who would bring us to side-aching laughter with his impressions and story-telling', she said.

Addressing the defendants, she said: 'It was painful to see the total lack of remorse shown by anyone of you.'

'You were the last things he saw as he begged for his life. We are appalled by casual way the crime was committed'.

In a heartfelt tribute, Mr Gohel's family said: 'Our beloved son Vishal was just 44 years old when he was brutally murdered. He was in the prime of his life.

'He was a father and best friend to his two wonderful boys. He was also a son, grandson, brother and friend. He was a wonderful father and the damage caused to his young boys by this heinous crime is indescribable.

'We are a very close and joyful family. We did everything together. Vishal was an integral part of our family. Now we have been pitched in a deep pit of grief, doubt and fear.

'No matter how many years these criminals spend in prison, nothing will make up for our loss, but we are heartened to know that our justice system works.

'We hope this will be an example to other young people that crime never pays. That the only way to achieve your dreams is through hard work, diligence and perseverance just as our beloved Vishal did'.

Sentencing, Judge Richard Foster told the defendants: 'The facts of this case are as tragic as they are sordid. What began as a sordid little enterprise ended up as a tragedy.'

Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit (MCU), said: 'I am pleased that justice has been done and these evil individuals have been convicted of this brutal killing.

'My thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Gohel, who miss his presence in their lives every day. I hope the guilty verdicts give them some peace at least.

'We quickly found evidence of a honeytrap where the women had gained access on the promise of sexual liaisons that never happened. They then let their male accomplices in to steal property.

'But this wasn't just a robbery. Mr Gohel, who had visited a local cashpoint and shop earlier that night, was brutally killed.

'He must have been terrified and would undoubtedly have suffered during the brutal attack that killed him. No attempt was made to phone an ambulance.'
Israeli Defence Forces have revealed footage of soldiers engaged in a battle with Hamas gunmen in a school in Gaza, before they find an entrance to an underground tunnel which leads to a nearby mosque.

The footage shows Israeli soldiers shooting into a dark corridor within the school complex, which is strewn with bits of wood and other debris.

The IDF says the video is taken in Shejaiya, northern Gaza, and that it shows soldiers from two units coming under fire from a Hamas terror cell.

It comes as the US last night vetoed a UN motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, prompting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to say the nation is 'complicit in war crimes'. The UK abstained, while the other 13 nations on the council voted in favour of the motion.

The Hamas-led Palestinian health authority this morning said 17,487 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, when Hamas terrorists broke through the Israeli border and killed around 1,200 people.

The footage shows Israeli soldiers shooting into a dark corridor within the school complex

Debris and bullet holes can be seen everywhere in the short clip

It says Hamas fighters attempted to lure Israeli soldiers into an ambush with gunfire and explosives but were neutralised.

A second video shows the devastation of the neighbourhood and what appears to be a dark tunnel leading into the ground.

The IDF said this was a tunnel shaft, found inside one of the school's classrooms, that lead to a nearby mosque.

Sharing the video on X, Israeli spokesperson Daniel Hagari wrote: 'As part of the activities of the fighters of the 188th Brigade's combat team in the heart of the Shejaiya neighborhood, forces from the Counter-Terrorism Unit (LOTR) along with fighters from the 74th Battalion of the Hamas Terrorist Squad encountered a school complex in the heart of the neighborhood.'

Israel claims to have killed all the gunmen in the area and found a number of weapons, grenades and ammunition.

It also said the tunnel shaft is part of 'an extensive underground route' in Shujaiya.

Israel is under increasing pressure to ensure the safety of civilians in Gaza. The nation says Hamas are using civilians as human shields and operating out of civilian buildings.

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

It is thought Hamas still hold around 137 Israeli hostages. Last night the IDF admitted two of its soldiers had been seriously wounded in a failed attempt to free hostages.

Israel claims to have killed all the gunmen in the area and found a number of weapons, grenades and ammunition

The IDF claims to have killed all Hamas gunmen in the area and says Hamas tried to lure its soldiers into a trap

The walls inside the school complex are riddled with bullet holes and other damage

It claimed to have killed numerous Hamas militants, but was unable to retrieve any hostages.

Earlier in the day, Hamas said its fighters had stopped a rescue attempt and clashed with Israeli special forces.

It claimed an Israeli soldier who was being held hostage was killed by Israeli air fire meant to protect the withdrawing forces.

Aid agencies warn that a humanitarian disaster in Gaza is worsening by the hour with most of its 2.3 million people homeless and trapped in a tiny, embattled coastal enclave, with little food, water, medical care, fuel or secure shelter.

With basic infrastructure devastated, phone and internet services frequently disrupted, and a number of health statisticians having been killed or gone missing, there is increasing concern that Gaza health authorities will be unable to continue keeping an accurate count of the casualty toll.

The UN has warned that civilisation in Gaza is on the brink of complete collapse and that there are no facilities able to cope with the humanitarian crisis.

The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time of the UN Charter, which enables a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security.

He warned of a 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Guterres said he raised Article 99 - which hadn't been used at the UN since 1971 - because 'there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza.'

Firefighters battle flames in a building hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip

A ball of fire rises above a building during an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday

A woman tries to salvage some books inside a nursery hit by Israeli bombing in Rafah on Saturday

Smoke rises following an Isareli airstrike om Gaza's al-Shuja'ia district as seen from Nahal Oz, Israel, on Saturday

Smoke rises from the Gaza strip amid Israeli strikes throughout the region

A child is rescued from rubble in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike

Wounded Palstinians are treated on the floor of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza

The UN anticipates this would result in 'a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,' he warned.

Gaza is at 'a breaking point,' he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.

It was reported on Saturday that with almost no clean water or food available, bags of flour are now being sold for as much as 107 each.

Over 60 percent of Gaza's housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85 percent of the population has been forced from their homes and the health system is collapsing, the UN was told.

Distressing images of seriously wounded Palestinians being treated on the floors of hospitals, which are doubling up as bomb shelters for tens of thousands of people, have been sent our by journalists working in the region.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant argued a fresh truce would be a victory for Hamas. 'A ceasefire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza, and signalling terror groups everywhere,' he said.

'Stand with Israel in our mission - we are fighting for our future, and we are fighting for the free world.'
Oliver Dowden said Bristol University should no longer receive public funds after it axed the National Anthem from its graduation ceremonies after students claimed it was 'offensive'.

The Deputy Prime Minister criticised the university's decision to slash the anthem on X: 'If Bristol University are too ashamed of their British heritage, presumably they no longer want to be subsidised by British taxpayer?,' he wrote.

The anthem has not been played since last year's ceremony with the university saying it regularly updates its graduation ceremonies.

God Save The King will now only be played when a member of the Royal Family is present.

Some students at the 147-year-old university have suggested the National Anthem was culled because it is 'irrelevant', 'old-fashioned' or might even be 'offensive to some'.

The Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden (pictured) criticised the university's decision to slash the anthem

The anthem has not been played since last year's ceremony with the university (pictured) saying it regularly updates its graduation ceremonies

God Save The King will now only be played when a member of the Royal Family is present

Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan also criticised the university and said: 'This is ridiculous. Universities should stand up for our British values and stop giving in to woke ideology.'

It comes just weeks after the university vowed to remove slave trader Edward Colston's emblem from its logo, after his statue was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest in the city in June 2020.

Layla Daynes, 21, told The Sun: 'The monarchy isn't really relevant to my generation, so it wouldn't be missed.'

Free Speech Union director Toby Young asked: 'Why are Britain's most prestigious universities openly contemptuous of the country's history and heritage?'

A University of Bristol spokesperson said: The University routinely updates aspects of its Graduation ceremonies, which included the 2020 decision that the National Anthem would be played when representatives of the Royal Family, such as the Lord-Lieutenant, are in attendance."

Some students at the 147-year-old university (pictured) have suggested the National Anthem was culled because it is 'irrelevant', 'old-fashioned' or might even be 'offensive to some'

Oliver Dowden and Gillian Keegan both criticised the university's decision on X

In a now-deleted Tweet, Harriet Bradley, 78, who worked at Bristol University, called for 'someone to blow up the venue' where the Jewish Labour Movement is hosting its annual conference

It comes after a former Labour councillor and Emeritus Professor Harriet Bradley, who used to work at the university, called for 'someone to blow up the venue' where the Jewish Labour Movement is hosting its annual conference.

The 78-year-old has since deleted the tweet.

The offensive post has led to a furious backlash from the Jewish community, with the sociology professor, who studies the 'inequalities of class, gender, ethnicity', being reported to the police and her former employer.

Avon and Somerset Police are reportedly investigating the matter as an 'incident of malicious communications'.

Daniel Sugarman, who is director of public affairs for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, responded: 'I checked to see if this tweet was real. It is.

'I'm currently sitting in the building where Jewish Labour held their conference last year, so you can appreciate this is of some additional concern to me. An Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Bristol.'

In late November the university announced it would distance itself further from slave trader Edward Colston following a public consultation centered on whether seven buildings named after families - including Wills and Frys - with links to slavery should be renamed.

Professor Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor and president of the university, announced the decision to strip Colston's emblem in an open letter, in which she also apologised to those who had experienced racism at the institution.

The personal emblem of the 17th century merchant - a dolphin - was incorporated into the design of the university's modern logo in 2003 from the coat of arms awarded at the institution's foundation in 1909.

A university 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 former girlfriend of Meredith Kercher's killer who claims she was raped and assaulted by him has been described as 'a woman of courage' by her lawyer.

The 23-year-old is said to be determined that 'truth triumphs' after reporting her ordeal to Italian police after the end of her relationship with Rudy Guede.

MailOnline has been told that Guede, 36, who served 13 years in jail for the infamous murder and sexual assault of Miss Kercher, 21, in Italy intends to deny the new allegations.

A legal source close to him said it was believed he had 'concrete elements to defend himself'.

The Ivory Coast drifter is expected to enter a defence when he is 'interrogated' by a judge in a private hearing on Monday at a court in the historic town of Viterbo, north of Rome.

The 23-year-old is said to be determined that 'truth triumphs' after reporting her ordeal to Italian police after the end of her relationship with Rudy Guede (pictured in 2016)

Guede, 36, was released from prison in June after serving 13 years for the murder and sexual assault of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher (pictured) in Perugia, Italy, in November 2007

Guede is working as a researcher and librarian at the Centre for Crime, Judicial and Sociological studies in the centre of Viterbo

His alleged latest victim has claimed she was repeatedly abused by him during their relationship between September last year and August this year.

The allegations are said to include claims of sexual violence and 'being forced to have sexual intercourse against her will', along with assaults which left her with injuries.

The alleged victim's lawyer Francesco Guido described her as 'a young and courageous girl who is facing a very difficult time.'

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, he added: 'My client believes she is the victim of a series of criminal crimes, the most serious of which is sexual assault.

'She had a relationship with Mr Guede and there were several criminal episodes including some cases of sexual violence.

'They had known each other for a few years and the relationship lasted for some time. When she reported Mr Guede, her relationship with him had already ended.

'The girl is very distressed. She is young, she is only 23 years old, and when she met Mr Guede, she was much younger.

'She is very tired right now. She is going through a very difficult time psychologically.

'She is a young woman, full of courage. She knows perfectly well that she would have a difficult time reporting, but she decided to do it anyway so that the truth triumphs.'

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito both spent four years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder

Pictured: Rudy Guede seen recently while on day release in Italy in 2021

Guede is also working part-time at a local pizzeria since his release from prison six months ago

The alleged victim started dating Guede following his release from Viterbo prison. He still lives in the historic town where he works in a local library and at a pizza restaurant.

Mr Guido said she had known about his high profile conviction for the murder of British university student Miss Kercher in the hilltop town of Perugia in November, 2007.

He added: 'She was very young and very inexperienced. Even though she knew about the crime in Perugia, she evidently trusted him.

'She is an Italian girl who only has a foreign mother while her father is Italian, and in fact she is an Italian citizen in all respects.'

Miss Kercher from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found semi-naked and with multiple stab wounds after she was sexually assaulted in her bedroom in her shared house in the Umbrian capital just weeks after arriving for a year abroad on her Leeds University course.

The horrific case made headlines around the world when her American student flatmate, Amanda Knox, who was aged 20 at the time, became a suspect.

Knox and her Italian boyfriend at the time Raffaele Sollecito were initially convicted of the murder of Miss Kercher, faking a break-in, and sexual violence. They served nearly four years in jail before they were sensationally acquitted.

Guede was originally sentenced to 30 years for murder at a fast track trial in 2008 after his DNA was found on Miss Kercher's body and in her room.

But his sentence was reduced to 16 years on appeal, and he was granted day release from Viterbo prison in 2017 to complete a master's degree in sociology.

Guede was entrusted by social services in December 2020 to carry out the rest of his sentence doing community service.

He was freed from prison on parole in November 2021 after a further cut in his sentence due to his good behaviour.

Guede was accused of assaulting his girlfriend just six months after being discharged from his murder sentence in June this year.

It was revealed this week that a judge had ordered him to wear an electronic tag and not go within 500 metres of his former partner, pending a future potential trial.

Prosecutors had asked him to be placed under house arrest, but the judge ruled that the restraining order banning contact with her was sufficient.

Amanda Knox speaks to the media during a brief press conference in front of her parents' home March 27, 2015 in Seattle, Washington

Raffaele Sollecito (pictured), who was acquitted over the Brit's murder along with Amanda Knox, said 'it seems Guede has not changed' after he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend

- Rudy Guede, left, is greeted by an unidentified person as he leaves the penitentiary for a temporary release of thirty-six hours, in Viterbo, Italy, on June 25 2016

The move has allowed Guede to continue with his part time jobs working as a researcher and librarian at the Centre for Crime, Judicial and Sociological studies in the centre of Viterbo and at the town's Sapori pizzeria.

One of his colleagues at the pizzeria told MailOnline that Guede had been on a 'forced holiday' due to the case he faced and he had not been at work since last Monday.

The colleague added: 'He is at home. I don't know when he is coming in.'

Mr Guido said the victim did not want to talk directly to the media about her ordeal.

He told local media: 'She is a 23-year-old girl who has suffered trauma and who now also finds herself catapulted into a media event much bigger than her.'

Mr Guido added: 'It was not easy for her to report her partner. She first had to rationalise the episodes that happened.

'She needed time and the need to do an internal process, reflections on a personal level which in the end led her to denounce her partner. A very strong act, certainly.'

Prosecutors are said to have medical records detailing treatment the girl received, which she says were for injuries inflicted by Guede.

Mr Guido told MailOnline that the victim could not be identified under Italian law as victims of sexual violence were 'subject to a series of protection programmes'.

He said that Guede's appearance in Viterbo court on Monday would involve him being 'able to present his narrative of the facts and give his version'.

The lawyer added: 'It is not a public hearing. It is an interrogation that takes place behind closed doors, where only the person under investigation and his lawyer will participate.

'He will certainly have to appear in court in Viterbo and only his presence together with his lawyer in front of the Judge is expected. I will go to the hearing in Viterbo later.'

Guede's murder trial heard how his fingerprints and a palm print stained with the blood of Miss Kercher were found in her bedroom.

He claimed he had gone to the apartment with Miss Kercher, and had consensual sexual activity with her.

In a story which was rejected by prosecutors, he said he went to the bathroom and emerged to see a shadowy figure standing over her with a knife as she lay bleeding on the floor. A piece of broken glass by his footprint pointed to him having broken in.

Following Miss Kercher's death, he fled by train to Germany where he was arrested days later.

Guede later told his victim's parents in a letter that his hands were stained with her blood because he was trying to save her.

La Repubblica newspaper reported that Guede wrote: 'If my hands are stained with blood it is because I tried to save Meredith.

'Fear took over and I ran away like a coward leaving Mez perhaps still alive. I will never stop regretting this.'

Following his release from prison, he continued to maintain his innocence, saying: 'The sentence I had to serve in the name of the law has ended. Now I am left marked by the judgement of strangers, by the slanted glances as I pass.'

Knox and Sollecito spent four years in prison after initially being convicted of Kercher's murder before being acquitted in 2011.

They were convicted again in 2014 by an appeals court in Florence, which ruled that the multiple injuries on Kercher's body suggested that Guede could not have acted alone.

Italy's highest court overturned the decision in a definitive ruling in 2015 which described 'stunning flaws' in the investigation that led to their convictions.

Sollecito reacted angrily this week to news of the sexual violence allegations faced by Guede.

He told La Stampa: 'It seems Guede has not changed I don't follow Guede's life, but certainly in light of what happened today it seems to me that he hasn't changed.

'What he was before entering prison, what we read in the documents, is sadly reconfirmed and equally sad. We see that he has not repented.'

Miss Knox came under suspicion of the murder of Miss Kercher after Italian law enforcement officials believed she was acting strangely.

She was the one to first call the police after she discovered Miss Kercher's bedroom door locked and blood in the bathroom.
Fort Johnson, LA (71446)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible late. High 71F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

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Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 54F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Bill Maher has branded students at Ivy League colleges as being 'f***ing idiots' over anti-Semitism on campuses.

The late night comedian hit out institutes like Harvard, UPenn and MIT who were grilled earlier this week in Congress.

Addressing the ongoing issue, Maher said: 'The bigger scandal here is these are the biggest, most esteemed colleges in the country and they've raised a bunch of f***ing idiots.

He added: 'Do I really think they want to wipe out the Jews? I don't. They live by buzz words and what they read on TikTok, they want to be an ally.'

College campuses have become a hotbed for angry protests and rising incidents of antisemitism since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted two months ago.

Dave Rubin goes too mask off for even Bill Maher and then hilariously tries to recalibrate in real time pic.twitter.com/u1LxPNquON  The Serfs (@theserfstv) December 7, 2023

The late night comedian hit out institutes like Harvard, UPenn and MIT who were grilled earlier this week in Congress

Harvard students are seen attending a pro-Palestine rally after the Hamas attacks in October

Maher had previously said Harvard students who played down the Hamas massacre in Israel were just as bad as Donald Trump.

His remarks came after Harvard President Claudine Gay spoke before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday.

Gay said then that calls for a 'genocide of Jews' on Harvard's campus would only constitute harassment 'depending on the context'.

The Committee's hearing saw testimony from Gay and the president's of MIT, Sally Kornblut, and Upenn, Elizabeth Magill, on the rise of antisemitism on their campuses since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.

During a heated exchange Congresswoman Elise Stefanik asked Gay: 'At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment?' Stefanik asked.

'It can be, depending on the context,' Gay responded.

The remarks triggered immediate backlash and led 74 members of congress to call for Gay, and the other testifying presidents, to resign.

'Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses,' the letter led by Stefanik reads.

The committee also heard from Liz Magill, President of the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT's Sally Kornbluth.

Harvard President Claudine Gay during the congressional hearing on Capitol Hill earlier this week

The hearing also saw widely criticized testimony from MIT president Sally Kornbluth (left) and University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill (right), both of whom have faced calls for their resignation in the aftermath

Adding: 'Anything less than these steps will be seen as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture'.

The leadership of Harvard Hillel have also said they do not trust Gay to protect Jewish students at the University.

In an interview with the college's newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, Gay apologized for the remarks and said she became caught up in 'policies and procedures'.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee are now probing Harvard, MIT and UPenn following testimony earlier this week.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, who quizzed the three leaders, has slammed the presidents as morally bankrupt - and swore to hold the schools accountable.

The trio all agreed that reprimanding students who call for a Jewish genocide was not paramount - but instead, they said the blatant antisemitism is 'context' specific.

Since the conflict in the Middle East started in October, campuses have seen a rise in tension over the war.

The conflict has prompted strong international reactions, ranging from peaceful protests to acts of violent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

The Anti-Defamation League reported a nearly 400 percent spike in incidents in the US between October 7 and October 23.

The University of Pennsylvania came under fire earlier this month after anti-Jewish slogans were projected onto three of the school's buildings.

One message splashed across the John M Huntsman hall said: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'.

The University of Pennsylvania came under fire after anti-Jewish slogans were projected onto three of the school's buildings

One message splashed across the John M Huntsman hall said: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'.

Slogans projected on Penn Commons read: 'Zionism is racism' and demanded UPenn president Liz Magill call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

These projections followed the school increasing security and contacting the FBI over a string of reports of threats against Jewish students.

UPenn said that several of its staff members received 'vile, disturbing anti-Semitic emails' threatening violence against Jews on campus.

University president Liz Magill also acknowledged 'swastikas and hateful graffiti' at the school.

At Harvard University the Palestinian Solidarity Committee has been condemned for issuing a letter on October 7.

Palestinian supporters gathered at Harvard University to show their support for Gaza, and their hatred for Israel, at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14

Co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations, stating: 'We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.'

Some of the signatories have been named and shamed, and billionaire financier Bill Ackman is demanding that companies refuse to hire them.

Harvard's president apologized for the statement, and said it does not represent the views of the university.

The prestigious institute has also been host to large scale Palestine protests from students.

At MIT, the university refused to suspend students who participated in an unauthorized anti-Israel protest due to fears agitators could be deported.

A group called the Committee Against Apartheid organized the protest and upon learning what was happening, a group of Jewish and Israeli students showed up to stage a counter-protest.

The statement issued by Kornbluth - who has served as president of the university since January - said after the confrontation between protestors erupted 'we had serious concerns that it could lead to violence.'

This is a math class this morning at @MIT. Professor allows students to say and free Palestine and wave the Palestine flag in front of the class pic.twitter.com/PDVdzOgI5e  Sal Gueli (@sal_gueli) November 10, 2023

MIT students staged an unsanctioned anti-Israel protest in the university's main entrance hall on Thursday

As is the case with many prestigious American institutions of higher education, a significant portion of MIT's student body is international students.

Columbia University also launched an antisemitism taskforce to tackle 'terribly resilient form of hatred' after a number of Jewish-related assaults and harassment on campus.

Other incidents at campuses include Jewish students at Cooper Union, also in New York City, being forced to take shelter inside a library on campus to avoid a pro-Palestine mob.

Late last month, a group chanting 'Free, free Palestine' held a protest in the lobby of the college near Astor Place in Manhattan.

The crowd barged past a security guard and attempted to storm the library, where Jewish students had taken refuge. Those inside were later let out.
The decorated navy veteran has been charged with attempted arson and interfering with government property

A female military veteran who tried to burn down Martin Luther King's childhood home by pouring gasoline over the front porch has been identified.

Laneisha Henderson, 26, has been pictured for the first time since she was prevented from torching the historic building by tourists visiting the landmark.

The decorated navy veteran from Brandon, Florida, has been charged with attempted arson and interfering with government property over the incident following her arrest on Thursday.

She was also seen trying to yank the screen door off the front of the property, which was built in 1895 and was MLK Jr's home until he was 12.

She was prevented from setting the Atlanta home ablaze by bystanders who saw her dousing the property's windows in gasoline.

Laneisha Henderson has been identified as the woman caught on camera dousing Martin Luther King's childhood home in gasoline

The 27-year-old is charged with attempted arson and interfering with government property

Henderson is a decorated navy veteran who received medals for good conduct among other awards

Henderson's Facebook page states she is from Atlanta and lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

The Eufala High School graduate enlisted in the Navy for four years and was given medals for good conduct, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Passing tourists intervened once they saw Henderson try to ignite a lighter on the lawn, with two visiting cops from New York ultimately restraining her.

Eyewitness Zach Kempf, 43, who was visiting the federal landmark from Salt Lake City, was among those who stepped in.

Kempf said the woman had a 'nervous energy' about her, adding: 'But she wasn't aggressive.'

He added 'Obviously, the house is so important, and Im really glad nothing happened to it. But I feel like now Im mostly just concerned for her well-being.'

The woman is then said to have relented in her attempts to burn the home and started to walk away.

The off-duty officers restrained her, with another part of the video shared showing the woman with a knee on her back.

The Atlanta landmark was constructed in 1895 and was MLK Jr's childhood home until he was 12

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the Good Samaritans had helped 'save an important part of American history tonight.'

Shortly after her arrest, the woman's father and sisters arrived at the scene. They said that they had been trying to track her down because they were worried about her and found her through a tracking app on her phone.

Henderson's dad told WSB-TV that she had been missing for two days and was mentally distressed.

The home is located in Atlanta's historic Sweet Auburn section and is undergoing renovations and is closed to the public until 2025.

Atlanta Fire Department Battalion Chief Jerry DeBerry echoed the police chief's words, saying that if the witnesses any longer, the home could have been lost forever.

'It could have been a matter of seconds before the house was engulfed in flames,' DeBerry said.

'Tonight, an unfortunate incident occurred at the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an individual attempted to set fire to this historic property. Fortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful, thanks to the brave intervention of good Samaritans and the quick response of law enforcement,' the King Center said in a statement.

'We thank the Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Fire Department, the National Parks Service, and Mayor Andre Dickens for leading the efforts to ensure the safety of our cherished national landmark and its adjacent neighbors. Our prayers are with the individual who allegedly committed this criminal act,' the press release continued.

Congress declared the home a National Historic Site in 1980, and the National Park Service began offering tours.

Judy Forte, the Superintendent of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, said the organization is looking at increased security measures following the incident.
A Houston hoarder was found dead under four-feet of debris inside his townhome after residents had not seen him in months and grew concerned over a 'foul odor.'

The decomposed body of the man in his mid-70's was found in a northwest Houston townhome Friday.

Houston police and fire officials responded to neighbors calls after the odor got 'too bad to ignore.' The condition of the home was so concerning, police had to enlist the aid of Texas EquuSearch on Friday to locate a man's body.

Responders - equipped with Hazmat suits, gloves, and masks - recalled the shocking scene upon entering the home. They described being greeted by rats, and massive piles of debris that obstructed all pathways.

'You think you've seen everything, and then you realize you haven't,' Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, told ABC 7.

A Houston hoarder was found dead under four-feet of debris inside his townhome after residents had not seen him in months and grew concerned over a 'foul odor'

The decomposed body of the man in his mid-70's was found in a northwest Houston townhome Friday

Health and safety concerns caused delays in the efforts to dig through the debris and uncover the man's body.

Officials told ABC13 that there was nowhere to walk.

Miller said a cadaver dog found the badly decomposed body after clearing nearly four feet of debris.

'I don't understand how anyone could live in those conditions,' Neil Zimmerman, a neighbor, told the outlet.

The homeowner, who neighbors said they hadn't seen in months, was known for his hoarding problem in the community.

Neighbors said the crisis had developed over years. They previously attempted to help the man but he refused to accept further assistance when a state agency wanted to exterminate the rats in his residence, which he called his 'pets.'

They described being greeted by rats, and massive piles of debris that obstructed all pathways

The homeowner, who neighbors said they hadn't seen in months, was known for his hoarding problem in the community

Responders - equipped with Hazmat suits, gloves, and masks - recalled the shocking scene upon entering the home

Luis Miranda, a home owner's board member who joined the effort to clear the home said the stench was too foul to ignore.

'When I knocked, as soon as I opened the screen, I could smell the foul odor,' Miranda said to ABC 13.

'I didn't think we would get all the boxes out of the way. They just caved in on him,' he added.

Neighbors said they wished they could have helped the man soon and said they felt terrible nobody came to check up on his but felt like they did all that they could have.

'It is super sad. Nobody is here to claim him or check up on him,' Miranda said. 'I feel like we did what we could, but we just had nowhere else to go. We tried the city. We just couldn't get help for him.'

The cost of the costly hazmat bill will likely fall on the Home Owners Association, board members told ABC 13.

Neighbors said the crisis had developed over years. They previously attempted to help the man but he refused to accept further assistance when a state agency wanted to exterminate the rats in his residence, which he called his 'pets'

The cost of the costly hazmat bill will likely fall on the Home Owners Association

Houston police and fire officials responded to neighbors calls Friday after the odor got 'too bad to ignore'

Health and safety concerns caused delays in the efforts to dig through the debris and uncover the man's body

Neighbors said they wished they could have helped the man soon and said they felt terrible nobody came to check up on his but felt like they did all that they could have

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences collected the body from the scene.

A cause of death has not yet been announced.

Experts said they've seen a rise in hoarding since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hoarding has become more common during the Covid pandemic and experts pin the blame on a combination of anxiety, grief, and the ease of one-click shopping, according to an October report.

More extreme than a tendency to hold on to a few trinkets for sentimental value or stocking up on a few extra packages of toilet paper, hoarding behavior is often a symptom of more severe anxiety or obsessive-compulsive issue.

Before the covid-19 pandemic locked the globe in its vice-like grip, between two and three percent of the worlds population were obsessive hoarders. But that rate is believed to have shot up four percent since spring 2020.

Cleaning crews that bravely traverse crowded apartments often collect hundreds if not tons of garbage. It is also not uncommon to uncover long-dead pets and human excrement.

People struggling with mental health conditions such as OCD before the pandemic saw their symptoms worsen when much of society went into an extended lockdown, suddenly deprived of easy access to treatment and support from loved ones.

Psychiatrists have designated hoarding disorder as its own distinct diagnosis, though it has historicially been considered to be a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which affects roughly 2.5 million adults, or 1.2 percent of the US population

In the early stage of the pandemic outbreak when the novel virus and where it came from was still shrouded in mystery, the world was forced into mandatory periods of quarantine when it seemed that much of peoples lives were suddenly outside of their control.

A cleaning crew focused on hoarding took a shot of empty food containers, bottles, newspaper and garbage piled waist-high in the living room of an elegant pre-war condo building in New York city

They found hundreds of used toilet paper rolls, baby wipes and garbage made the bathroom of this posh apartment inaccessible

It is not uncommon for hoarders to collect animals thinking they are doing them a favor. In reality, those environments are not suitable for animals. The cleaning crew discovered a dead husky in its case in a posh New York apartment building

Dr David Nathan, a psychologist at Minneapolis-based Allina Health, told UPI: As the pandemic was a very difficult experience for all involved, we saw increased rates of all stress reactions, and that includes increases in hoarding behaviors.

Hoarding disorder typically begins showing itself during adolescence and snowballs from there.

Severe hoarding is therefore more common in older adults than their younger counterparts.

While hoarding disorder is its own diagnosis, its links to OCD have been well-established.
Sellers who used e-commerce platform Jane.com claim they are struggling to recover their millions of dollars owed to them following the abrupt shutdown of the site.

Documents reveal that the Utah-based online marketplace owes more than $10.1 million in sales to over 1,300 sellers after it announced its closure last month, NBC News reported.

Employees and sellers said they were 'misled' by Jane.com, a platform once lauded as an alternative to Amazon with a focus on female-owned small businesses and female consumers.

The company, founded by Megan and Michael McEwans in 2011, had stopped fulfilling orders and communicating with sellers in early October, business owners said.

The shutdown has also left sellers scrambling to find alternative platforms to sell their items, particularly during the holiday season.

Sellers on the e-commerce platform Jane.com, founded by Megan and Michael McEwans(pictured) in 2011, claim they are owed millions of dollars following the abrupt shutdown of the site in last month

Dana Hicks (pictured), the owner and CEO of the T-shirt retailer, noticed delays in payments and asked the company's staff what was happening before being told the issues were due to a staff member being on leave

Employees and sellers said they were 'misled' by Jane.com, a platform once lauded as an alternative to Amazon with a focus on female-owned small businesses and female consumers

'It's been a shock,' Dana Hicks, the owner and CEO of the T-shirt retailer Limeberry Designs, told NBC.

'It was hard this weekend going through a Black Friday without the typical Jane numbers that you see.'

Hicks had been selling graphic T-shirts on Jane.com since 2014, achieving over $2 million in sales last year, with 90 percent of these sales attributed to Jane.

She noticed delays in payments from Jane.com in October asked the company's staff, who said the issue was due to an employee on leave.

The payments dropped from three or four times a week to one, she said. By October 26, she had not been paid in more than a week.

On the same day, the co-founder Michael wrote an email, apologizing for the delays in payments and assuring her.

'Hi Dana, I'm sorry you're experiencing a slower payment schedule. I assure you we're doing our best to get to everyone paid,' he wrote.

He mentioned a new product feature called Moments, which he said would help with 'driving more engagement with your products.'

'Although this isn't a solution to your immediate problem, over the long term, if sellers participate and take advantage of the opportunity, I believe it will,' he wrote.

Documents reveal that the company owes more than $10.1 million in sales to over 1,300 sellers after the Utah-based online marketplace announced its closure last month

The payments dropped from three or four times a week to one, Hicks said. By October 26, she had not been paid in more than a week

The founders Michael and Megan, now divorced, played no active role in the company's daily operations

The founders Michael and Megan, now divorced, played no active role in the company's daily operations.

Documents revealed that they each received $350,000 annually from the company until the end of 2022.

In early November, after Hicks inquired about her payments again, Jane.com paid her $40,000, a part of the money she was owed.

Hicks was not the only seller who experienced the issue, as many large sellers pulled their products off of the website after the company stopped making payments.

Mike Allen, a co-owner of the clothing company Johnny Threads, wrote in an email: 'They had stopped paying us for approximately 5,000 orders that were shipped and delivered spanning back to early October.'

On November 17, Jane.com signed its assets over to DSI Assignments, a company that will help liquidate the business' assets to repay creditors in the Court of Chancery in Delaware, where Jane was registered.

At the time, sellers had suspected the company was on the brink of collapse after being ghosted for weeks.

'It's been very disappointing as a small business owner.  It's going to devastate families,' Jen Abegg, who started selling jewelry on the platform for more than ten years, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

The website of Jane had been 'down for maintenance' since November 17.

Hicks had been selling graphic T-shirts on Jane.com since 2014, achieving over $2 million in sales last year, with 90 percent of these sales attributed to Jane

Documents published by DSI Assignments reveal that the company owes more than $10.1 million in sales to over 1,300 sellers, including 13 who are owned more than $100,000 each

DSI said it is looking for buyers and trying to maximize the value of Jane's assets, which could help in repayment to creditors and sellers, but Allen said he's not optimistic

Documents published by DSI Assignments reveal that the company owes more than $10.1 million in sales to over 1,300 sellers, including 13 who are owned more than $100,000 each.

A private group on Facebook called 'Jane sellers helping each other' was created as vendors are trying to reconnect with each other and searching for solutions.

'This is a group is for former Jane sellers to come together and unite,' they wrote in the group description.

DSI said it is looking for buyers and trying to maximize the value of Jane's assets, which could help in repayment to creditors and sellers, but Allen said he's not optimistic.

'It's obvious there will not be any money for us,' Allen wrote.

Two unnamed sellers filed reports with the Lehi Police Department, but no enough evidence for criminal fraud charges were found, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune.

DSI asked sellers to file claims for money they are owed by March, but there's no guarantee that they will recover it, as they are 'unsecured creditors' whose debts are not backed by assets.

'In most of these cases, whilst there can be a bit of financial negligence, it's usually not deeply criminal,' retail expert Neil Saunders of GlobalData said.

'It's just companies not projecting cash flow properly or taking on too much debt and not being able to repay.'
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has accused President Joe Biden of failing to secure the southern border, and is seeking half a billion dollars in federal reimbursement for the state's spending on the crisis.

In a letter on Friday, which Hobbs released publicly, the governor requested more than $512 million in federal funds to reimburse state spending on migrant transport, drug interdiction, and law enforcement 'due to the federal government's failure to secure our border.'

It comes after Customs and Border Protection encounters with migrants at the southern border reportedly hit a one-day high of 12,000 on Tuesday, including more than 10,200 who were detained illegally entering the US from Mexico between ports of entry.

On Monday, CBP closed the Lukeville border crossing in Arizona indefinitely, in order to surge agents from the crossing to help arrest and process a flood of migrants walking across the border to claim asylum.

The desolate area around the remote crossing has become a global migration route in recent months, with smugglers dropping off people from countries as far flung as Senegal, India and China.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has accused President Joe Biden of failing to secure the southern border, and is seeking half a billion dollars in federal reimbursement

Biden is under pressure from fellow Democrats in Arizona to address the border crisis there, as overwhelmed officials shuttered legal crossings to focus on processing asylum seekers

Most of them are walking into the US west of Lukeville through gaps in the wall, then turn east toward the official border crossing to surrender to the first agents they see to claim asylum, according to the AP.

Hobbs in her letter slammed the closing of the Lukeville crossing, saying it 'has led to an unmitigated humanitarian crisis in the area and has put Arizona's safety and commerce at risk.'

'Our ports of entry are essential to our state and our country's economy, and it is vial that they be properly staffed and resourced to continue to fuel economic growth in the state,' she added.

Hobbs called for National Guard members who are currently on active federal duty be mobilized to assist CBP in manning the Lukeville crossing, so it can be reopened.

The White House and CBP did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com on Saturday morning.

In a statement last week, CBP said it was 'surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants' and will 'continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.'

The agency blamed the hundreds of people arriving daily around Lukeville on 'smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals.'

Alongside Governor Hobbs, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema have slammed the Lukeville closure and demanded better solutions from Biden's administration.

'This is an an unacceptable outcome that further destabilizes our border, risks the safety of our communities, and damages our economy by disrupting trade and tourism,' they said in a joint statement.

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday in Lukeville, Arizona. A surge of immigrants illegally passing through openings cut by smugglers in the border wall has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities, causing them to shut down several international ports of entry so that officers can help process the new arrivals. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A surge of immigrants illegally passing through openings in the border wall has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities. Pictured: Migrants are processed Friday near Lukeville

CBP closed the Lukeville border crossing in Arizona indefinitely, in order to surge agents to handle the flow of illegal crossings. Above, the crossing remains closed on Friday

In a letter on Friday, which Hobbs released publicly, the governor requested more than $512 million in federal funds to reimburse state spending on the border crisis

'The Federal Government must act swiftly to maintain port of entry operations, get the border under control, keep Arizona communities safe, and ensure the humane treatment of migrants.'

Kelly and Hobbs, both Democrats, and Sinema, an independent who was elected as a Democrat, also criticized 'partisan politicians who parrot talking points while watching the border further deteriorate.'

They said those politicians should instead 'reject the echo chamber and work with us to get something done and keep our communities safe.'

An average of 3,140 people in vehicles and 184 pedestrians entered the U.S. daily in Lukeville during October, according to the U.S. Transportation Departments latest figures.

Travelers will still be able to cross into or out of the United States through Nogales, Arizona, a three-hour drive to the east, or San Luis, Arizona, a two-hour drive to the west.

CBP has not commented on when the Lukeville crossing will reopen.
Police are hunting for a pro-Palestine protester who waved a 'Final Solution' placard comparing Israel to Nazi Germany as thousands of people descended on the capital on Saturday to call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Metropolitan Police says it has made 13 arrests - largely for the carrying of offensive signs - on Saturday as images circulating online showed signs referring to Israel's sustained attacks on the Gaza Strip as 'genocide'.

One of the signs made a reference to the 'final solution' - a term used by the Nazis to refer to the genocide of Jews.

A spokesperson for the Met told MailOnline the force was 'not aware of any arrests in relation to this specific placard but officers are aware of the image and are actively investigating'.

Another sign featured pictures of Gaza with the caption: 'Israel's Gaza Holocaust', while a third added: 'One Holocaust does not justify another'.

Saturday's protests, attended by thousands, came a week after smaller demonstrations were held in boroughs across the capital, away from the centre of London.

Police detain a person during the pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday. The Met says it has made 13 arrests, mostly related to offensive signs

Officers encircle a person as they are detained at the corner of Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade in central London on Saturday

Police detain a protester as a man wearing an orange 'observer' vest looks on in Whitehall

One sign pictured at the march made a reference to the 'final solution' - a term used by the Nazis to refer to the genocide of Jews

Another person held a sign with pictures of devastation in Gaza accompanied by the caption: Israel's Gaza Holocaust

The march began at Bank Junction at midday on Saturday

People of all ages marched through the streets of London on Saturday afternoon

A woman joins the march in solidarity with Palestinians in London on Saturday

A protester holds a bundle made to look like the wrapped corpse of a child during protests in London

In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, the Met said the protest had largely dispersed.

It added: 'There have been 13 arrests so far, mostly for offensive placards but some for other offences including possession of drugs and obstruction.'

READ MORE: Amazing moment man takes down Palestine flag flying in Tower Hamlets - only to be attacked by passing driver before they battle each other with LADDERS Advertisement

The Met has deployed a specialist CCTV team, known as Voyager, to monitor the pro-Palestine protests and identify alleged lawbreakers.

It has shared appeals on social media asking for help in identifying some protesters over alleged offensive placards.

Other arrests on Saturday included a woman who was wanted for an offence said to have taken place during a protest on October 28.

The march began at Bank Junction at midday on Saturday and is set finish in Westminster later this afternoon, following a route that takes it past St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House.

On X, the force said its Public Order crime team are investigating a series of signs for possible offences.

Protesters are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the US vetoed a UN resolution last night, as the body warned a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the region.

Protesters speaking to the PA news agency said that the Government should demand a ceasefire.

Lebanese-American Nadim Hussami, 44, said: 'They should ask for an immediate ceasefire and not veto or abstain from UN Security Council resolutions.'

A man marches with a sign reading 'freedom for Palestine' - with a cat on his back - in central London on Saturday

Protesters march through central London towards Parliament Square to demand a ceasefire - as St Paul's Cathedral looms above them

The protest wrapped up late on Saturday afternoon after following a route that took it past St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House

Police officers speak with pro-Palestine protesters during Saturday's march

Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died since the militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, prompting several similar protests across the country

People on the march held signs with the words 'Free Palestine' and 'End the siege'

Some protesters chanted: 'One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state'

Jocelyn Cruywagen, from South Africa, added: 'We were oppressed by white people, as black South Africans we had to fight for our freedoms, we are still not entirely free.

'It takes so much time. The words of Mandela are, if the Palestinians are not free, we cannot be free, the world can not be be free.'

She said that the Government must call for a 'permanent ceasefire', adding: 'They should ask for the land to be restored to the Palestinians. The wall needs to come down.'

Londoner Kelly Hunter, 60, said she felt 'helpless' watching the news.

She said: 'I have come on every single one, I am a Londoner. I feel helpless, I can't sleep at night.

'I am watching this genocide. I will do everything I can in my power to march against it.'

Previously, the Metropolitan Police had tweeted that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. It is not thought that this is the same person pictured with the 'final solution' sign.

'As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany,' the force said.

'He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.'

A short while later, police said a second protester had been arrested for holding an 'offensive' placard.

The Met issued a dispersal order under Section 35 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act which covers Westminster, Soho and Mayfair.

A spokesperson said: 'Anyone in the area who is directed by an officer to leave and fails to do so can be arrested.

'Orders under Section 60 and Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act are also in place in the same area until the same time.

'They provide officers with additional search powers to prevent violence/disorder and the power to direct the removal of face coverings.'

The march began at Bank Junction at midday on Saturday and is set finish in Westminster later this afternoon

One sign read: '10,000 children' and others urged for the 'genocide' to cease

People on the march held signs which bore the words 'Gaza Stop the Massacre'

Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters take part in a minute of silence

One sign read: Imperialism, Settler-colonialism, Racism, Apartheid, Ethnic cleansing and Land theft as an acronym of Israel

Hundreds of officers are policing the march, including officers from as far as Manchester who have been brought in for additional support

NEWCASTLE: Protesters carried a giant Palestinian flag as they marched along the city's waterfront on Saturday

Protesters in Manchester clashed with police - one waving a sign that read: 'Genocide is not a form of defence'

Protesters staged an occupation of Glasgow Central Station on Saturday in one of a number of rallies to take place across the country

Protesters in Glasgow waved Palestinian flags as they chanted slogans (left). Some even sat down on the station concourse as the protest unfolded (right)

People on the march held signs which bore the words 'Free Palestine' and 'End the siege', while some protesters chanted: 'One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.'

They also chanted the controversial slogan: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' and 'From London to Gaza, Globalise the intifadas'.

READ MORE: Gripping moment Israeli soldiers battle Hamas gunmen in Gaza school - then find tunnel leading to nearby mosque Advertisement

An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.

A post on the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) website reads: 'Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9 to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza.'

Protests were held elsewhere in the UK today as part of the the ongoing 'days of action' movement organised by groups including the PSC, Stop the War Coalition and Friends of Al-Aqsa, a pro-Palestinian organisation.

In Newcastle, hundreds marched along the city's waterfront beneath its bridges before assembling at Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

Protesters could be seen arguing with police in Manchester city centre; one woman waved a placard reading 'genocide is not a form of defence'.

In Glasgow, protesters occupied the city's Central Station concourse and chanted 'ceasefire now' as they sat on the terminal floor.

Sharing video of the crowd inside the railway station, the Glasgow chapter of the Stop the War Coalition tweeted: 'Glasgow Central Station occupied...Ceasefire now!'

Thousands of protesters have been seen in the capital in previous weekends. The largest counter-protest, on Armistice Day, saw gangs of far-right thugs clash with police around the Cenotaph and more than 100 people arrested.

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

Israeli's military has stepped up its ground offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip in recent days after decimating much of the north of the occupied territory in its mission to 'exterminate' Hamas.

Earlier, the Met Police said that protesters must stick to the agreed route, under Section 12 of the Public Order Act.

'Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm,' it said.

Hundreds of officers policed the march, including officers from as far as Manchester who have been brought in for additional support.

As the demo reached Parliament, dozens of police officers surrounded the statue to Winston Churchill.

Speeches were given by a number of speakers, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. A minute of silence was also held.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to march to Parliament Square, demanding ceasefire, showing solidarity with Palestinians

Signs called for an immediate ceasefire, to 'free Palestine' and 'end apartheid'

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies

As the demo reached Parliament, dozens of police officers surrounded the statue to Winston Churchill - as speeches supporting Palestine were voiced

Pro-Palestinian placards are pictured during a National March for Palestine in central London on Saturday

An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy

One woman at the march held a sign which referred to Israel as 'Israeliars'

Thousands are thought to be in attendance at the march this afternoon

Marchers in London held signs reading 'Free Palestine' and 'Stop the genocide'

Thousands of protesters walked through Trafalgar Square on Saturday

Thousands of protestors and counter-protesters have been seen in the capital in previous weekends

A grey day in London didn't dampen the spirits of thousands of people in the capital

Protesters in Trafalgar Square during a pro-Palestine march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in central London

People were seen holding balloons which were later released during the protest

Pro-Palestinian protesters march from Bank of England to Parliament Square as flags are flown in solidarity

One demonstrator denied that any of the signs or behaviour of protestors had been offensive, saying: 'There's been nothing offensive today. I don't accept there has been anything offensive'.

A booklet which previously heaped praise on terror organisation Hamas and branded them a 'resistant movement' was on sale without its pages on Hamas for the first time since the protests began.

It previously said it showed 'unconditional' support for Hamas, said it won 'wide popularity' among Palestinians and went on to say: 'We consider Hamas to be a resistance.'

The new version sees the pages that had praised Hamas removed.

It comes after the UK chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza - a motion that was vetoed by the US.

Earlier this week, pro-Palestine protesters were filmed chanting 'from the river to the sea' while disrupting an exclusive Chanel fashion show in Manchester that police had banned local people from watching from their balconies.
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized following an outbreak of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

All five cases of the tickborne disease were identified in Southern California and involved people who had been to Tecate, Baja California, in the previous two weeks.

Four cases were minors and three were US citizens, with all five occurring since July.

The CDC is now warning anyone with symptoms to commence treatment immediately, without waiting for test results.

'If a person develops a rash or fever after being bitten, they should see a doctor, tell them about the tick bite, when they were bitten, and where they think it happened,' the agency said.

Three people have died and five have been hospitalized after contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tickborne disease

All five cases of the tickborne disease were identified in Southern California and involved people who had been to Tecate, Baja California, in the previous two weeks

RMSF is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the Americas.

The bacterial disease spread through the bite of an infected tick, including the American dog and Rocky Mountain tick, and cannot be transmitted from person to person.

Most people who get sick with RMSF will have a fever, headache, and rash. RMSF can be deadly if not treated early with the right antibiotic.

There is no vaccine against RMSF, it can only be prevented by taking precautions against sustaining tick bites.

The CDC recommends using insect repellant and protective clothing.

Around one in 20,000 people are bitten by a RSMF infected tick, which carries a bacterium called Rikettsia ricketsii.

Jackson Oblisk, contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever, leaving him with a rash all over his body, a high fever and whole-body swelling in 2019

Jackson became so sensitive that his mother, Kayla (right) said he could barley be touched without screaming in pain. The CDC is urging anyone with symptoms to begin treatment immediately without waiting for test results

When they bugs bite and burrow their heads under a human's skin, the ticks can transmit the vicious bacteria to that person.

The bacteria quickly spread throughout the bloodstream and into the lymph nodes and system that carry immune cells and fluids.

Ricketsia ricketsii attacks the blood vessels, and the damage they inflict can cause leaking, which in turn prompts swelling.

The infection is most common in five to nine-year-olds.

Between 3,000 and 7,000 cases of RMSF and other spotted fever rickettsioses are reported in the United States each year.

It comes after a two-year-old Kentucky boy was left in a coma for a week after contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in 2019.

Jackson Oblisk was hospitalized with a fever of 105 and a pink dotted rash all over his body before the infection attacked his brain and he slipped into a coma.

His mother Kayla Oblisk said the youngster was in so much pain he could not be touched without screaming.
The wife of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who died by suicide has filed a $20 million wrongful-death claim against the county over 'zombie' cops struggling with stress due to excessive overtime.

The claim was filed Thursday by attorney Brad Gage on behalf of the family of Deputy Arturo Atilano-Valdez, who shot himself at home on Nov. 7, leaving behind wife Michele Atilano and two daughters.

Atilano-Valdez was one of four LASD employees to die by suicide within 24 hours.

Michelle blamed years of working in jails and mandatory overtime for the depression of her late husband.

'The public is not safe,' she told KTLA 5. 'All you have are a bunch of deputies who are zombies  zombies walking around tired, always tired. They're not even there. How are they going to save lives?'

The wife of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who died by suicide has filed a $20 million wrongful-death claim against the county over 'zombie' cops struggling with stress due to excessive overtime

Atilano-Valdez was one of four LASD employees to die by suicide within 24 hours

The grieving widow spoke out, claiming she didn't receive the necessary support or help from his employers that could've saved his life.

'My daughters cry every night when they go to sleep,' she told KTLA 5. 'It's just me and my daughters left now.'

She described the night her husband died as she and her daughters were in their bedrooms when they heard a 'single pop' that sounded like fireworks.

Atilano-Valdez was sitting on the couch when he shot himself to death.

Michelle recalled the traumatizing evening and how she tried to shield her husband's body from their daughters by throwing a blanket on him.

She said her husband shot himself after dealing with excessive stress due to working mandatory overtime.

'The deputies are working so much overtime that it's literally causing death,' said Brad Gage, Michele's attorney.

'Their conscious disregard of the safety and rights of the employees is part of the lawsuit,' Gage said to the outlet.

Atilano-Valdez started his career in 2001 and spent the last 12 years assigned to jails despite requests to be transferred, the claim said.

He saw doctors and therapists but the overtime and 'virtual imprisonment' became too severe, it added.

Sheriff Robert Luna, who took office last December, addressed overtime and other strains on deputies during a press conference this week, saying it was unacceptable that there have been eight employee suicides in the past year.

The claim was filed Thursday by attorney Brad Gage on behalf of the family of Deputy Arturo Atilano-Valdez, who shot himself at home on Nov. 7, leaving behind wife Michele Atilano and two daughters. Pictured: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and United States Court House, Hall of Justice

As of Nov. 5, the department was short 1,200 sworn deputies and 1,600 professional staff members, he said.

'We are working on a multiphase plan to reduce mandatory overtime ... we have some units that are working mandates between eight and 12 a month,' he said. 'That concerns me greatly from an employee wellness perspective.'

The number of psychiatric doctors hired by the department has been boosted to more than 20, he said.

'We tell people there's no shame in raising your hand and saying, 'I need help, I need to talk to somebody' because our employees see things on a daily basis that people shouldn't see,' the sheriff said.

He said he believes a lot of wellness issues involve untreated post-traumatic stress disorder.

A similar $20 million claim was filed last month in the case of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who was fatally shot by a gunman while driving a patrol car on Sept. 16. A claim is a required step before a lawsuit.

His parents claimed that required overtime left him too fatigued to stay alert to such threats.

They are set to file a $20million lawsuit against the sheriff's department and county leaders.

Law enforcement officers have a 54 per cent increase in suicide risk compared to the civilian population, a 2022 study found. Illustrative image shows LA County Sheriff members at a graduation ceremony in 2019

Pictured: Robert Luna speaks at a press conference in October. Sheriff Luna said on Tuesday the department was 'beyond saddened' to learn of the deaths of four past and present staff

Investigators said Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was ambushed September 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.

The family are accusing the defendants of putting law enforcement officers at risk by making them work excessive overtime because of severe understaffing, their attorney announced Tuesday.

READ MORE: More cops died from suicide than were killed in the line of duty in 2019, study finds Advertisement

The deaths of three current and one former LA Sheriff's Department employees by suicide within 24 hours have prompted a plea for police staff to check on the wellbeing of colleagues.

Veteran commander Darren Harris was found dead in his home in Santa Clarita at 10:30am on Monday. Anonymous sources told the LA Times Mr Harris died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Department did not confirm the reports.

Authorities then reportedly found the body of retired Sergeant Greg Hovland at his Quartz Hill home hours later at 12:53pm, and an unnamed jail official known as a custody assistant was found at a residence in Stevenson Ranch at 5:40pm.

The death of a deputy who worked in a jail was reported at 7:30am on Tuesday. The unnamed employee was found unresponsive at home and pronounced dead at a hospital in Pomona, CA.

Sheriff Robert Luna said in a statement on Tuesday the department was 'beyond saddened to learn of the deaths'.

'It has sent shock waves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family.

'During trying times like these it's important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends,' he said.

Newly-engaged Clinkunbroomer, 30, was killed in earlier this month while sitting in his patrol car at a red light

It is not known if the four men knew each other or what links they may have had.

Studies have shown law enforcement teams with fewer staff are more at risk of employee death by suicide - a finding some have put down to the effectiveness of mental health and peer support programs found in larger teams.

All four deaths are being investigated as deaths by suicide, but the causes of death have not been established by the Los Angeles County medical examiners office, law enforcement sources said, as reported by NBC.

In 2020, 116 police officers died by suicide while 113 died in the line of duty, a figure increasing to 150 by 2021.

Law enforcement officers have a 54 per cent increase in suicide risk compared to the civilian population, a 2022 study found.

While national suicide rates fell three per cent from 2019 to 2020, according to CDC data, the rates among first responders showed little to no decrease between 2017 and 2020, the study found.
Passengers were captured praying and screaming in terror as a plane suffered sudden depressurisation with oxygen masks released in Russia's third flight horror in as many days.

The 111 people on board were seen uttering prayers and screaming in terror as the crew on board the Airbus A319 lost height to cope with the emergency after taking off from thermal resort Mineralnye Vody, before plunging into an emergency landing.

Terrifying footage shows the masks being released on the state-owned Rossiya airline aircraft, which was headed to St Petersburg.

One passenger described the scary moment that the masks overhead dropped around 20 minutes into the flight.

'We started to drop sharply', they said. 'Everyone's masks dropped down over their heads'.

Another said everyone was 'stressed' revealing that 'children were screaming [and] women were praying'.

The 111 people on board were seen uttering prayers and screaming in terror as the crew on board the Airbus A319 lost height to cope with the emergency

One passenger described the scary moment that the masks overhead dropped around 20 minutes into the flight

Terrifying footage shows the masks being released on the state-owned Rossiya airline aircraft, which was headed to St Petersburg

Another praised the crew, telling Fontanka news: 'It was very scary. But the stewardesses were fearless, carrying water [to passengers]. They smiled'.

According to reports, the plan returned 'safely' to the same airport it had taken off from, where it was met by fire crews and ambulances.

Russia is in the midst of an unprecedented spate of air incidents, with reports suggesting Western sanctions are hampering the servicing and maintenance of planes, with problems obtaining spare parts.

Just a day earlier, 'micro-explosions' led to fires in both engines of a Boeing 737 S7 airline plane bound for Moscow from Nobosibirsk, Russia's third largest city.

Passengers on board said the fires began as the plan was on the runway taking off.

The pilots immediately called for an emergency landing and brought the aircraft down safely at Novosibirsk's Tolmachevo Airport with no casualties among passengers or crew.

The captain told the passengers on landing that both engines were 'out of order' and the aircraft needed to be towed from the runaway after the brakes overheated.

And a day prior, a Tu-204 cargo aircraft was involved in an engine 'explosion' heard from the ground after take off from Ulan-Ude, Siberia.

The S7 airline plane with 175 passengers was flying from Novosibirsk - Russia's third largest city - to capital city Moscow. The fires started as the plane was on the runway taking off, passengers said

Another aircraft on fire on Thursday after take-off from Ulan-Ude in Siberia

Frightening footage showed the aircraft ablaze as it jettisoned fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing.

An investigation is underway by the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor's Office.

Since 2022, airlines in Russia have been asking staff not to enter equipment defects in flight log books, according to reports.

In the first eight months of this year, there were 120 air accidents in Russia involving civil aircraft operated by Russian airlines. Ut's more than double the number in recent years, despite significantly fewer flights as a result of the ongoing war with Ukraine.
A Florida woman charged in the murder-for-hire plot of her former son-in-law claims she is being subjected to 'cruel and unusual punishment' while in prison.

Donna Adelson was arrested last month at Miami-Dade Airport, one week after her son Charles was convicted of hiring hitmen to murder her son-in-law Dan Markel.

Adelson, 73, had been attempting to fly to Vietnam on a one-way ticket investigators said, which has no extradition treaty with the US.

Since being taken into custody her lawyer, Marissel Descalzo, filed a motion alleging jail staff are forcing her to eat with her hands and sit naked.

The motion, seen by CNN, argues that the alleged treatment is a violation of her Sixth Amendment rights.

Donna Adelson was seized at Miami-Dade International Airport and booked into the county's Corrections and Rehabilitation facility last month

Charles Adelson (pictured) paid to have law professor Dan Markel - who was married to his sister, Wendi Adelson, killed

The outlet reported that Descalzo is seeking for the court to release Adelson so she is on house arrest or force the jail's hand to improve her conditions.

Descalzo is also requesting the court issue Adelson with a 'psychological evaluation' that would place her in a different unit. A hearing on the allegations is due to take place on Monday.

Adelson was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire killing of Dan Markel, her former son-in-law.

Dan Markel, a dad-of-two, was shot as he sat in his car outside his home

Her son Charles, a dentist, was convicted of the murder of Markel one week before her arrest.

Charles had organized the killing through his girlfriend Katie Magbanua who then employed her ex-boyfriend Sigfredo Garcia and his friend Luis Rivera to carry out the killing.

Markel's death had revolved around a court battle that he had won to stop Adelson's daughter Wendi from moving from Tallahassee to South Florida with her two sons.

Markel was shot in the head as he sat in his car outside his Tallahassee home, after taking his kids to daycare and going to the gym.

The Adelsons immediately became suspects after Wendi Adelson told detectives that the killing of her ex-husband could have been arranged on her behalf, saying her parents were very angry at Markel.

The court heard that Donna Adelson hated Markel and was desperate to find a way to overcome his determination to stop his two sons moving to South Florida.

Markel had asked a judge to prevent her from having unsupervised contact with her grandkids and prosecutors uncovered a July 2013 email in which she reacted to the court ruling.

Sigfredo Garcia, left, and his friend Luis Rivera, right, had been hired to carry out the killing

Dan Markel (right) was shot dead outside his home in 2014. He was married to Wendi Adelson (left) but amid their bitter divorce the pair were fighting about where their kids would live. It was during this time that Markle was shot dead

Its time to take control of your life and not let Jibbers think hes just won anything by having you remain in Tallahassee, eight hours away from the only family you have, and lose out on what will be a job that will afford you and your children advantages that they will never otherwise be able to enjoy, she told her daughter.

Lets show this **** what will make him absolutely miserable. You know his weak points; money, religion, control.

Authorities say the Adelsons considered offering Markel $1 million to let his ex-wife and sons move, but then Charlie Adelson and other members of the family began plotting his death.

During his trial, it was shown that Charles paid Magbanua $138,000, which she split with the killers.

The family then gave her a no-show job at their dental practice and other payments totaling more than $56,000. Charlie Adelson also gave her a used Lexus.

Magbanua and Garcia were convicted of first-degree murder and Rivera is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against them.

Katherine Magbanua pictured in court in 2019

Wendi wanted to move from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to her family. However, a judge at the time ruled that Wendi Adelson couldn't relocate without Markels consent and he refused, saying she couldnt move the children to Miami

Investigators were able to track phone records showing numerous calls between Charlie Adelson and Magbanua, her and the killers and Charlie Adelson, and his mother and his sister in the hours before and shortly after the killing, as well as large monetary transactions between the family and Magbanua.

Charlie Adelson was arrested last year after technicians enhanced a recording made of him and Magbanua inside a Mexican restaurant in 2016 while they were under surveillance discussing the extortion attempt.

In the conversation, Adelson told Magbanua that she would need to meet with the extortionist and agree to a one-time payment.

During the trial, Wendi took the stand to testify that her family had nothing to do with the 2014 murder of her ex-husband. She denied having any knowledge of the murder-for-hire plot or any involvement herself.

Wendi, who works as an attorney, ended up moving to Miami days after her husband was shot. She was granted limited immunity for her testimony.

Wendi Adelson and her father, dentist Harvey Adelson, have not been charged, but Campbell said the investigation remains open. They have denied involvement.
Peter E. Gordon in the Boston Review:

In Germany, public discussion of Hamass brutal October 7 attack and Israels devastating counterassault has been uniquely constrained. The horrors of the Shoah and the genocide of nearly six million Jewsnearly a third of the world Jewish population at the timeleft German citizens with a singular burden of responsibility to ensure that the Jewish minority would never again be exposed to such crimes. Since its founding in 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany has upheld what amounts to an official policy of unequivocal support for Israel. This remains largely the case even today, despite marked changes in Israels political culture and the rise of far more militant voices on the religious right over the last few decadesvoices that claim all territories (including both Gaza and the West Bank) for the Jews alone and at times have called for the expulsion of Palestinians, even the 20 percent who are officially Israeli citizens and have their own political parties.

At the same time, many in the Palestinian diasporaincluding the descendants of those who fled their homes when Israel was founded in 1948live in Germany. Berlin alone is home to an estimated 35,00045,000 individuals of Palestinian descent. The historical irony is striking: the region once home to a flourishing Jewish subculture, which was targeted for extermination, is now home to the largest Palestinian community in all of Europe.

More here.
Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who resigned under a cloud, would win a special election to replace under-fire New York City Mayor Eric Adams if such a vote were held today, according to a new poll.

The poll from political consultancy Slingshot Solutions released on Saturday showed Cuomo beating Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in a simulated ranked-choice voting election to replace Adams.

The survey also found that a majority of voters  52 percent  say Adams should resign if he is indicted in an ongoing FBI probe into allegations of campaign finance violations.

Adams had not been charged and denies any wrongdoing, but last month the FBI searched his electronic devices as part of a reported probe into possible illegal campaign donations from foreign entities, including the Turkish government.

The new poll illuminates a path to political comeback for Cuomo, the Democrat who was once touted as a likely presidential contender, but who resigned as governor in 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, which he denied.

Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who resigned under a cloud, would win a special election to replace under-fire New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a new poll finds

Cuomo would enjoy support from 22 percent of New Yorkers in a bid for mayor if Adams resigns or is removed from office, outstripping Jumaane Williams with 15 percent

The new polls shows that Cuomo would enjoy support from 22 percent of New Yorkers in a bid for mayor if Adams resigns or is removed from office, outstripping Williams with 15 percent.

In a simulated ranked-choice vote, the multiple-choice method New York City now uses for local offices, Cuomo emerged victorious in an instant runoff after 11 rounds of elimination, beating Williams 64 percent to 36 percent.

However, more than a third of voters in the simulated election indicated they were not sure who they would vote for, leaving a large block of votes up for grabs.

For weeks, multiple media reports citing unnamed sources close to Cuomo have indicated he is considering a mayoral bid, in what appear to be trial balloons for a potential run.

A spokesman for Cuomo declined to comment on his potential interest in the mayor's office when reached by DailyMail.com on Saturday morning.

'While Andrew Cuomo leads the field due in large part to his name recognition, the significant division within the field shows there are many New Yorkers who are looking for other options or have not yet made up their minds,' said Slingshot Founding Partner Evan Roth Smith, who conducted the poll.

'These numbers show Cuomo well-positioned, but a special election would be up for grabs, as 'not sure' is currently the leading choice,' he added.

Meanwhile, the Slingshot poll showed support for Adams, the once-popular mayor, is plunging.

A majority of voters  52 percent  say Adams (above) should resign if he is indicted in an ongoing FBI probe into allegations of campaign finance violations

In a simulated ranked-choice vote, the multiple-choice method New York City now uses for local offices, Cuomo emerged victorious in an instant runoff after 11 rounds

A majority of respondents believe Adams did something either unethical or illegal, with 26 percent of voters saying they believe he broke the law, and 34 percent saying they believe he did something unethical, but not illegal.

Adams' favorability rating in the poll was just 36 percent, with 50 percent of voters holding an unfavorable view of the mayor.

If an indictment is filed, Adams will either be forced to battle through a legal fight while in office or step down. New York Governor Kathy Hochul would also have the option of removing him from office if formal charges are filed.

Should the latter scenario arise, it could lead to a chaotic, 60-day open election to find a replacement

Much of the buzz around Cuomo would depend on the outcome of the federal investigation into Adams.

After the FBI seized his phones and iPad during the first week of November, the first-term Democrat reiterated Tuesday that he was cooperating with what he called a 'review' and said he wouldn't speculate on its outcome.

The federal investigation burst into public view on November 2 when agents searched the home of Adams chief fundraiser during his 2021 mayoral campaign, Briana Suggs.

If Adams resigns, he would be immediately replaced with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (above) for 60 days until an election is held

The development prompted Adams to bail out of a scheduled White House meeting and fly home from Washington, later explaining he wanted to be among his staffers because 'a leader needs to be here during those difficult times'.

Four days later after the search at Suggs home, FBI agents stopped Adams as he was leaving a public event, asked his police security detail to step away and took his electronic devices.

The U.S. attorneys office in Manhattan, which is overseeing the probe, is declining to comment. A spokesperson for Suggs has also declined to comment. Neither she nor Adams has been accused of wrongdoing.

The New York Times reported that a search warrant indicated authorities have been examining whether the Adams campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, funneled through straw donors.
A 72-year-old man from Oregon has been jailed for 12 years after rigging his home with 'intricate and deadly' booby traps inspired by Indiana Jones.

Gregory Lee Rodvelt armed his home in the small town of Williams after he lost his property in a lawsuit and it hospitalized one FBI bomb technician in September 2018.

One booby trap included a hot tub which was set to roll down a hill like the infamous boulder scene from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie in 1981.

Rodvelt was found guilty of assaulting a federal officer and using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on June 2.

He was sentenced to 12 and a half years in a federal correctional facility by US District Court Judge Michael J. McShane on Wednesday.

Gregory Lee Rodvelt, 72, from Oregon, has been jailed for 12 years after rigging his home with 'intricate and deadly' booby traps inspired by Indiana Jones

One booby trap included a hot tub which was set to roll down a hill like the infamous boulder scene from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie in 1981

'This individual went through great efforts to set intricate and deadly concealed traps to prevent FBI agents from doing their job,' FBI special agent Kieran L. Ramsey said following the sentencing.

'These were no joke. Mr. Rodvelt knew he was breaking the law and his reprehensible actions are what landed him this sentence.'

Rodvelt set up the booby traps to keep the government from taking his home. He placed traps like a wheelchair that discharged a shotgun and a hot tub that would roll down a hill when triggered.

A real estate lawyer tasked with selling the property had requested the police after finding a sign warning that the home was 'protected by improvised devices.'

When bomb technicians from Oregon State Police and the FBI arrived at the property, they noticed steel animal traps affixed to a gate post, as well as under the hood of the minivan that was blocking the gate.

Homemade spike strips were also spotted which the attorney had already driven over in the past.

After disarming the traps, the FBI agents and bomb squad moved towards the residence.

'They observed a hot tub that had been placed on its side and rigged in a manner that when a gate was opened it would activate a mechanical trigger causing the spa to roll toward the person who had opened the gate,' said the U.S. attorney's office for Oregon.

Police compared the scene to one from one Indiana Jones film that sees Harrison Ford forced to outrun a giant stone boulder that he inadvertently triggered by a booby trap switch.

After making it past the hot tub, a bomb squad and FBI agents approached the property's manufactured home and blasted open the fortified front door.

Rodvelt armed his home in the small town of Williams after he lost his property in a lawsuit and it hospitalized one FBI bomb technician in September 2018

Then they encountered a rigged wheelchair Rodvelt placed in the front entryway of the home designed to trigger a homemade shotgun device.

As the agents entered the home, the wheelchair discharged a .410 shotgun shell that struck the unidentified FBI bomb technician below the knee.

The agent yelled 'I'm hit!' when blood started gushing from his leg. He was taken to the hospital and treated for the leg injury.

But Rodvelt had left even more booby traps. In the garage, agents found a rat trap modified to accept a shotgun shell.

The trap was unloaded but it connected to the main garage door so it would be tripped when the door was opened.

The technicians also found the windows had been secured from inside and there were security doors at both the front and back of the property.

There appeared to be bullet holes in the front door from shots fired within.

Investigators said Rodvelt had admitted to setting up the booby traps during an interview.

'During the interview, Rodvelt stated that he set up fishing line and a tripwire across the property gate that went to a round hot tub that was on its side set to roll down the hill and hit whoever comes through the gate,' agents wrote in the criminal complaint.

'Rodvelt described it by referencing "the stone rolling down in the Indiana Jones Movie".'

Rodvelt had lost the home in an elder abuse case involving his mother.

At the time of the incident, Rodvelt had been in an Arizona jail since April 2017 on charges of unlawful possession of explosives, but courts had released him for two weeks so he could prepare to turn over the property.
Locals are pinning their hopes on former President Donald Trump

More than 30 percent of the town's residents live below the poverty line

The annual Christmas parade in West Monroe, Louisiana, last week featured floats with redneck themes

Leroy the Redneck Reindeer, along with monster trucks and motorized scooters, led Louisiana's annual Redneck Christmas Parade where marchers tossed toilet paper and ramen noodles at the crowds.

Photos and videos captured quirky scenes, including a deer head with a red nose, the Grinch on a motorized La-Z-Boy, and signs with messages like 'kiss ur cuzin' and 'crack is wak'.

Despite the holiday atmosphere, locals noted the challenging reality in Bawcomville, where a third of the residents live below the poverty line, struggling to find housing and feed themselves amid economic difficulties.

'We'd rather be out in the woods, be out in the country  sit back on the porch, bonfire, cold beer,' Bryan Barker told CNN, explaining what 'redneck' means to him.

'We have Leroy the Redneck Reindeer. You can't get any more redneck than that,' he said as he pointed to the deer with a red nose attached on his float.

Leroy the Redneck Reindeer(pictured), along with monster trucks and motorized scooters, led Louisiana's annual Redneck Christmas Parade where marchers tossed toilet paper and ramen noodles at the crowds

A line of monster trucks paraded through the streets of West Monroe, Louisiana, last week as part of the annual Bawcomville Redneck Christmas Parade

Despite the holiday atmosphere, locals noted the challenging reality in Bawcomville, where a third of the residents live below the poverty line, struggling to find housing and feed themselves amid economic difficulties

Photos and videos captured quirky scenes, including a deer head with a red nose, the Grinch on a motorized La-Z-Boy, and signs with humorous messages like 'kiss ur cuzin' and 'crack is wak'

A line of monster trucks paraded through the streets of West Monroe, Louisiana, last week as part of the annual Bawcomville Redneck Christmas Parade.

Meanwhile, a stark reality behind the cheering crowds was unfolded as the route went past people residing in mobile homes, abandoned stores and tents.

'People don't realize this is kind of like a Third World country,' Rachel Holmes said. She was at the parade with Debi Mayo for Bawcomville Hope, a non-profit organization that offers food to people in needs.

'It's a terrible situation we're in. Even people with jobs are suffering because of the high price of the economy,' Mayo said.

The pair said the economic strife has forced some homeless people in the area to reside 'in the woods and makeshift tents.'

A stark reality behind the cheering crowds was unfolded as the route went past people residing in mobile homes, abandoned stores and tents

Other key elements featured in the parade include empty beer cans, leaf blowers, trash trucks , buses and tractors

Marchers at the redneck parade tossed toilet paper and ramen noodles at the crowds

The crowds reveling in floats with redneck themes also confront a harsh reality, with over 30 percent of Bawcomville residents living below the poverty line, according to data from DATA USA

In the marching crowd was Shane Wooten, a real estate agent dressed as the Grinch in a motorized La-Z-Boy

'It's just not your typical Christmas parade. It's something to laugh about,' he said as the parade was about to start from Riser Elementary School's parking lot.

Other key elements featured in the parade include empty beer cans, leaf blowers, trash trucks and tractors.

The crowds reveling in floats with redneck themes also confront a harsh reality, with more than 30 percent of Bawcomville residents living below the poverty line, according to data from DATA USA.

When asked about the metrics indicating an improvement in America's economy, residents responded, 'That's a big fat lie.'

Toni Boler, a parade spectator, said: 'Just look at our pocketbooks  What little people may have been able to save from the stimuluses we got  all that is gone.

'People are living off credit now, if they even have that,' she said, adding that her property taxes, property insurance, and utility bills had become more expensive.

'I don't know how these families that come to this redneck parade  this community  even can't buy groceries.'

When asked about the metrics indicating an improvement in America's economy, residents responded, 'That's a big fat lie'

Toni Boler, a parade spectator, said: 'Just look at our pocketbooks  What little people may have been able to save from the stimuluses we got  all that is gone

'People are living off credit now, if they even have that,' she said, adding that her property taxes, property insurance, and utility bills had become more expensive,' Boler said

Boler said she's working with the Louisiana Department of Health to find people 'with serious mental illness a way to get out of the nursing homes.

'But we really kind of hit a roadblock because there's no place for people with mental illnesses to go  There's no housing for people.'

'I think there's a lot of the population that gets lost  that the administration is worried more about things they don't need to be worried about, instead of what's really going on with people that are out here trying to work,' she said.

Locals are pinning their hopes on former President Donald Trump to rescue them from economic challenges.

'We hope Trump gets back in there. Maybe he can straighten it out  Because it wasn't in this turmoil when he left. All this has managed to happen in the last three years.' Mayo said.

Residents said President Joe Biden has no clue about how to combat the economic crisis

Locals are pinning their hopes on former President Donald Trump to rescue them from economic challenges

'We're counting on him,' Jane Temple said, adding that she could not wait for the 2024 election for Trump

'We're counting on him,' Jane Temple said, adding that she could not wait for the 2024 election for Trump.

'I think he cares. I may be wrong, but I think he does. For the most part, when he was in office, even with everything going on, he accomplished a lot.'

She added that Trump is not perfect, but in her view, President Joe Biden has no clue about how to combat the economic crisis.

The convenience store owner William Thompson said he had seen many people in the area struggling with meth and fentanyl.

'I blame Biden for that, too,' he said.

'If [Trump] is in jail, I'd vote for him,' Thompson added. 'Because he's the only president in my knowledge who's given back to the people and helps the people.'
A California moving company that uses student athletes as movers is being sued for violating age-discrimination laws.

Meathead Movers, a company that prides itself on using clean-cut youthful workers, is being pursued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The Fresno based business is said to have failed to recruit and hire workers over 40 into positions within the company.

Employment lawyers and trade groups have said the case will shine a light on how the agency plan to approach antidiscrimination laws, after President Biden appointed commissioners to tackle the problem.

Many of the allegations from the EEOC say that Meathead Movers focus marketing and hiring that might discourage older workers from applying.

The company that prides itself on using clean-cut youthful workers who must jog from truck to house when not handling goods

The Fresno based business is said to have failed to recruit and hire applications over 40 into positions within the company

Images from their website and social media show movers for the company are all relatively young people who are physically fit.

Employees also compete in the Meathead Olympics in which they compete against each other by assembling and jumping over boxes.

Workers are frequently pictured with biceps, and are seen jogging from a truck to a house when not carrying any furniture.

According to the EEOC, current employees are asked to scour local gyms, colleges and places where they would frequent to pick up new employees.

The agency had started an investigation into the company in 2017 on its own back, and not from a complaint.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the agency and Meathead Movers had attempted to negotiate a settlement in their case.

The outlet reported that the EEOC had wanted around $15 million from the company, before dropping this to $5 million. Meathead Movers offered to settle for $750,000.

Speaking to the WSJ, company owner Aaron Steed said: 'We are 100% open to hiring anyone at any age if they can do the job.

'People love working at Meathead, or they are turned off by how hard it is. You have to move furniture and run to get more.'

Employees at the firm also compete in the Meathead Olympics in which they compete against each other by assembling and jumping over boxes

Current employees are asked to scour local gyms, colleges and places where they would frequent to pick up new employees

Steed added: 'We had no idea we were doing anything wrong by being a moving company that hires a lot of student athletes.

'We want to change and evolve, but we cant agree to go out of business doing it.'

Collin Flynn, founder of Iowa-based UniMovers, told the WSJ that students make great employees with schedules that fit the industry.

He also added that due to the job being physically demanding, having physically fit young people works best.

He said: 'They know they are going to get young people with strong backs, and they are going to be moving quick. We charge by the hour.'

Meanwhile Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, said age-related lawsuits could make companies less likely to higher older people due to them being a liability risk.

Company owner Aaron Steed, seen here, disputed the claims made by the agency saying they would hire anyone of any age

He told the outlet: 'It is the most counterproductive of all the major areas of discrimination law. It makes them less employable late in their careers because they are known as litigation dangers.'

Anna Park, regional attorney for the Los Angeles District Office, said: 'Excluding older workers based on their age for marketing purposes is unlawful.

'Employers should remember that setting criteria and recruiting based on a persons age violates federal law.'

Los Angeles District Director Christine Park-Gonzalez commented: 'The incorrect and unfair assumptions that someone cannot perform a job because of their age, or that clients would prefer younger workers ,are the impetus behind the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

'The EEOC will continue to ensure an even playing field for applicants and employees in the workplace.'

The focus by the Biden administration on age discrimination comes as America's workforce ages, with nearly a quarter of workers being 55 and older.

The Labor Department estimates that the number of people aged 65 and older in the workforce will grow by a third over the next decade.
Trump has declared Megyn Kelly the 'biggest loser' of the low rating fourth GOP debate after she accused him of being weakened by age.

The former president hit out at the debate's host as well as almost all the presidential hopefuls who appeared in a rant on his Truth Social account.

His comments came the same day Kelly claimed Trump had 'lost multiple steps' mentally during in an appearance on fellow conservative Glenn Beck's podcast.

Trump, 77, has declined to participate in the debates and so far had refrained from giving his opinion on his fellow hopefuls' performances.

But he waded in to slam his opponents and the host of 'history's lowest rated presidential debate' after it took place in Alabama on Wednesday.

Trump branded Megyn Kelly the 'biggest loser' of the fourth GOP debate, which he was notable absent from

His comments came after Kelly claimed Trump has been weakened by age since his successful 2016 campaign

The two have a rocky history which began after Trump attacked Kelly for putting his derogatory remarks about women to him in a presidential debate in 2015

'The biggest loser was Megyn Kelly, what the hell happened to her?' Trump said.

'She has lost whatever she once had, which wasnt very much. Some things never change!'

His stern words came just hours after she made a comment about him on Thursday.

In an appearance on fellow conservative Glenn Beck's podcast, Kelly had said, 'there's no question Trump has lost a step - or multiple steps'.

Kelly and Trump previously came to blows during a presidential debate for the 2016 election after Kelly grilled the property tycoon on his attitudes towards women.

A rattled Trump went after the former Fox talk show host over the 'nasty' questioning in subsequent interviews, including one with CNN where he said: 'You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.'

He then boycotted a subsequent debate as Kelly was one of the moderators.

Trump also slammed fellow presidential hopefuls Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie's performance in the debate

The former president took to truth social to delivery a blistering attack on his rivals' performance and moderator Kelly

The two appeared to have buried the hatchet, with Kelly interviewing Trump earlier this year and even begged him return to the debate stage to shake up the dynamic.

But she's not the only one in Trump's crosshairs, with the former president slamming four of his rivals.

'To begin with, I thought Ron DeSanctimonious was terrible, with his bobble head facial movements & his walking on eggs, but that Sloppy Chris Christie was worse,' Trump mused.

'Hes not fit, mentally or physically, to be President plus, he suffers from TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome, at levels not seen before.

'In other words, he is a sick puppy. On top of it all, his poll numbers are just 1%, in a class with Aida Hutchinson. Hes dead, but so is Ron, whose weird bobbing head and fresh mouth, make his high heels look good - Hes walking on eggs!'

He said that Nikki Haley, who he referred to as 'birdbrain' looked 'different and lost' but awarded her second place.

He declared Trump-fan Vivek Ramaswamy the winner thanks to his loyalty.

'Vivek WINS because he thinks lm great,' Trump added.

The businessman himself was notably absent once again from the debate in Tuscaloosa.

Trump named Vivek Ramaswamy, an avowed supporter, the winner of the debate due to his loyalty

The public however declared Ron DeSantis the winner of the Republican debate, according to polling data from The Washington Post.

The poll found that 30 percent of respondents thought that the Sunshine State governor won. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley came in second, at 23 percent, followed by former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie at 19 percent and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trailing at 16 percent.

However all are being blown out the water by Trump, who continues to dominate the Republican Primary.

According to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight, Trump is now on track to win around 60 percent of the votes in the contest, which begins with the Iowa Caucus on January 24.
*If you need to speak to someone, you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org*

*If you need to speak to someone, you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org*

A struggling mother unlawfully killed her 10-year-old son who was a 'very cheerful child' before taking her own life, an inquest has heard.

The bodies of Adalia Baptisa, 30, and her son Frederico Baptisa-Mendes were found in a decomposed state more than seven weeks after their deaths.

They were discovered in their council flat in the Holbeck area of Leeds in September last year, Wakefield Coroner's Court heard on Friday.

Analysis of their mobile phones showed they were last used in late July and coroner Oliver Longstaff read statements which suggested this was probably the time at which they died.

The alarm was raised by teachers after Frederico did not return to school following the summer holidays and police went to investigate on September 15 last year.

The bodies of Adalia Baptisa, 30, and her son Frederico Baptisa-Mendes (both pictured) were found in a decomposed state more than seven weeks after their deaths

The court heard how Ms Baptisa was struggling to cope with her son's autism.

Frederico was diagnosed with autism in 2019 and joined Richmond Hill Primary, which specialises in helping children with complex communication difficulties.

Detective Inspector Suzanne Hall said in a statement read to the court: 'Adalia struggled to come to terms with that diagnosis.'

The court heard how there was evidence from Ms Baptisa's computer that she had accessed numerous websites about euthanasia and related topics.

Her father, who lives in Portugal, said in a statement that his daughter 'appeared to be stressed' and had been looking at 'dangerous' websites.

Ms Hall said in her statement: 'I'm satisfied there was no third party involvement in the deaths.'

She said it appeared Ms Baptisa's actions 'had been planned for a while' and that 'Frederico was killed by his mother'.

Mr Longstaff read a statement from Muneer Hussain, a taxi driver who took Frederico to Richmond Hill Primary School every day, and who had become concerned about getting no reply from the flat in early September.

He informed the school and continued to visit to try to pick Frederico up for school, but did not see him.

Mr Hussain said he knew the youngster as Freddie and said: 'He was a very cheerful child and was always ready to go.'

He said he 'was always smiling' and loved 'wearing hats' and Super Mario. He also said Frederico loved his mother.

Police cordon at the council flat in Holbeck, Leeds

The school raised the alarm with police after he failed to return to school after the summer break despite a 100 per cent attendance record the previous year.

No one answered and so the officers forced entry with the help of a locksmith. There, they found both Ms Baptisa and Frederico dead.

The coroner heard how Ms Baptisa and Frederico were Portuguese, although she was born in Angola, and they came to the UK about 10 years before their deaths.

Neighbours described Ms Baptisa as 'quiet' and had not seen her for several weeks before her body was discovered by the police.

Rachel Law, who is the head of the Rainbow Base at Richmond Hill Academy, said Frederico was a 'happy' boy and the school was shocked to hear of his death.

Information taken from Ms Baptisa's computer showed she had been researching methods to take her son's life for several months.

Ms Baptisa's cousin, Cintia Costa, said: 'My cousin suffered from depression and [Frederico's] autism which sadly became too much for her to cope with.'

The coroner recorded conclusions that Frederico was unlawfully killed and Ms Baptisa died as a result of suicide.
Hunter Biden's attorney has spoken out to slam the tax evasion charges against the president's son, claiming that nobody similarly situated would be criminally charged.

'Where's the fairness, justice and decency in this?' attorney Abbe Lowell said in an interview with CNN on Friday, after Hunter was hit with nine new charges carrying a penalty of up to 17 years in prison.

The 56-page indictment filed by Special Counsel David Weiss accuses Hunter of scheming to avoid $1.4 million in taxes he owed from 2016 through 2019, while spending lavishly on drugs, prostitutes, and an extravagant lifestyle.

'The charges in this new tax indictment talk about a period where Hunter was at the lowest ebb of his addiction,' said Lowell.

'And like people in that regard, and I know everybody in America either has somebody in their family or friends who suffer from addiction, he certainly did things that he's not proud of.'

Hunter Biden's attorney has spoken out to slam the tax evasion charges against the president's son , claiming that nobody similarly situated would be criminally charged

'But wait, what happened since?' Lowell continued. 'He got himself sober in 2019. And he paid all the taxes that are owed in this indictment more than two years ago with interest and penalties.'

'Nobody in that position would be charged the way he was yesterday, nobody,' the lawyer argued.

Hunter already faces separate firearm charges in Delaware, raising the possibility he could be headed toward trial in two different cases as his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for re-election.

The charges against Hunter could add to the political complications for his father, President Joe Biden, who looks likely to face a close presidential race where Donald Trump is the leading contender for the GOP nomination.

Criminal tax cases generally are very rare, Beverly Moran, a tax law expert at Vanderbilt University, told the Associated Press.

The average American has almost as good a chance of winning the lottery as being criminally prosecuted for tax fraud, she said, based on 2021 data from the Internal Revenue Service.

"Most people who commit tax fraud go through their entire lives without anything happening. They don't audited, they don't get caught, they don't get prosecuted," she said. "But if they get prosecuted, they get convicted."

Of the 665 cases that were referred for prosecution in 2021, about 90 percent resulted in a conviction, the IRS data shows.

'Where's the fairness, justice and decency in this?' attorney Abbe Lowell said in an interview with CNN on Friday, after Hunter was hit with nine new charges

The 56-page indictment filed by Special Counsel David Weiss accuses Hunter of scheming to avoid $1.4 million in taxes he owed from 2016 through 2019

Tax evasion can lead to jail time, however. Actor Wesley Snipes spent three years in prison after being convicted in 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns in a case where he owed about $7 million in back taxes.

Cases against celebrities and other high-profile people can also generate attention that helps convince other people to file their taxes on time, Moran said.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday predicted that Hunter would have to serve jail time, even if he inked a new plea deal.

Christie, who's running for the 2024 Republican nomination, spoke to NBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon.

'I'm sure that he could negotiate a plea at this point, but it's not going to be the kind of sweetheart deal he got before,' said Christie, a former federal prosecutor. '

And my guess is that with the combination of the gun charges and the tax charges that Hunter Biden is going to have to do time in jail.'

The White House has repeatedly insisted that President Biden would not pardon his son, a position that Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday has not changed.
Israel will continue its 'just war to eliminate Hamas' in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed as he thanked the United States for blocking a United Nations ceasefire bid.

The US, a key ally of Israel, was the only member to veto the UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, while the UK abstained in the vote, despite widespread international support.

The humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly dire as Israel continues to push ahead in its relentless bombing campaign, with warplanes striking southern areas that the IDF previously described as safe zones for evacuating Palestinians.

With the war - sparked by Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on Israel - now in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, with the majority of victims being women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

It comes as new analysis has found that the civilian proportion of total deaths rose to 61 percent in the first three weeks of Israel's 'Swords of Iron' operation. Israeli academic Yagil Levy said the figure was higher than in previous assaults on Gaza, describing it as 'unprecedented killing'.

Relatives of the Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks mourn as they receive the dead bodies from the morgue of An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza

A ball of fire rises above a building during an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

Palestinians look at houses destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Makeshift tent camps housing Palestinians displaced by intense Israeli bombardment, with many seeking refuge in open areas around the Raed al-Attar Mosque in Rafah, southern Gaza

An Isareli army rescue helicopter used to transport soldiers wounded in the Gaza operations, lands at Nahal Oz, Israel

'The broad conclusion is that extensive killing of civilians not only contributes nothing to Israel's security, but that it also contains the foundations for further undermining it,' the sociology professor said of his findings, published by Haaertz.

'The Gazans who will emerge from the ruins of their homes and the loss of their families will seek revenge that no security arrangements will be able to withstand.'

Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment on Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land that Israel had described as safe zones when telling Palestinians in the south to evacuate.

Residents 'are being told to move like human pinballs - ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival,' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the UNSC vote.

Gaza's borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles long by about 7 miles wide.

At least 17,700 Palestinians have been killed and 48,780 wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Hamas-run ministry, said that in recent hours two paramedics were wounded when Israeli forces targeted an ambulance while it was working to evacuate wounded patients from Gaza's European Hospital.

He denounced what he called Israel's war against hospitals, ambulances and medical teams.

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harm's way. I

Rubble surrounds what appears to be a children's playground, destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on December 9

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to the hospital in Deir al Balah on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023

Palestinians assess the destruction to houses following an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Saturday, December 9, 2023

Palestinians look at houses destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023

Israel says Hamas operates from within hospitals and has released footage supporting the claim, and it has also targeted in the past ambulances it says were used by Hamas. Hamas has denied this.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza and for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to highlight threats he sees to international peace and security.

Criticism of the US is mounting from around the world following its rejection of the resolution, after US deputy ambassador Robert Wood called the resolution 'imbalanced'.

Israeli soldiers patrol as the smoke rises from the Gaza Strip after Israeli strikes on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

He slammed the council after for its failure to condemn Hamas October 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself.

He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and 'only plant the seeds for the next war.'

'I very much appreciate the correct stance the US took at the United Nations Security Council... Therefore, Israel will continue our just war to eliminate Hamas and achieve the rest of the war's goals,' Netanyahu said of the decision.

A staunch ally of Israel, the US also approved the emergency sale of tank ammunition worth more than $100 million to Israel.

A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 7, 2023

'What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?' United Arab Emirates deputy ambassador Mohamed Abushaha asked after the vote.

'Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?'

Gazans have reported ongoing airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border - one area the Israeli army had told civilians to go. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high children's tables were strewn with rubble.

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment on Rafah, Gaza Strip

'We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights,' said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib.

In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold, despite heavy resistance from Hamas.

Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US for blocking a United Nations ceasefire bid

The military said it found weapons inside a school in Shujaiyah, a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, and in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from a U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

As bombs continued to rain down on Gaza, IDF chief Herzi Halevi declared his forces must 'press harder' to dismantle Hamas's terror network.

'Every day, we're seeing more and more terrorists killed, more and more terrorists wounded, and in recent days we're seeing terrorists surrendering - this is a sign their network's falling apart, a sign we need to press harder,' Halevi said at a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.

Shocking images released this week showed Palestinian men stripped to their underwear, bound and lined up as IDF troops stood guard in areas of northern Gaza.

A day after Israel confirmed it was rounding up Palestinian men for interrogation, some of those who had been freed told reporters they had been badly treated while in captivity.

Osama Oula, one of a group of 10 boys and men dropped off at a hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah after being freed, said Israeli forces bound him and others with zip ties, beat them for several days and gave them little water to drink. Some were not allowed out to use the toilet.

Once freed, barefoot and in their underwear, they were told to walk south, he said.

Dozens of captives are reported to have been paraded through Palestine Square in Gaza City, with shoes and sandals strewn across the street in one image

Another man, Ahmad Nimr Salman, showed his marked and swollen hands from the zip ties. He said his 17-year-old son, Amjad, was still held.

'They used to ask us, 'Are you with Hamas?' We say 'no,' then they would slap us or kick us,' he said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the alleged abuse.

Israel says its troops stripped the detained men to check they were not concealing weapons or suicide bombs.

The IDF says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive since Hamas terrorists' deadly October 7 raid in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

About 240 hostages were taken, with dozens released during a recent temporary truce.
Three people have died and almost 200 patients have been evacuated after a fire tore through a hospital on the outskirts of Rome.

The blaze broke out in the ground floor emergency room of the San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) hospital in Tivoli at around 11pm on Friday - the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a public holiday in Italy.

The flames spread to a few other wards, 'but the smoke went everywhere,' chief prosecutor Francesco Menditto told the AP news agency, prompting the mass evacuation of the facility.

Using fire engine ladders to reach patients on high floors, fire and police rescue crews worked through the night to evacuate the 193 patients.

Officials say patients in intensive care were immediately transferred to other hospitals in ambulances, while those in less critical condition were moved into a nearby public gym before being moved elsewhere.

Fire engines sit outside the San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) hospital in Tivoli, Rome, Italy following a fatal fire on Friday

Fire crews used power tools to cut holes in balconies to enable the transfer of patients onto waiting raised platforms

Emergency services on the scene outside the hospital on Saturday, as an investigation was launched into the cause of the blaze

The fire broke out in the hospital in Tivoli, a popular tourist destination on the outskirts of Rome, at around 11pm on Friday

Francesco Rocca, governor of the Lazio region, confirmed at the scene that three people had been killed. An investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the fire.

However, the governor acknowledged that there had been 'notable delays' in updating Italy's aging hospitals with sprinkler systems and other fire safety infrastructure.

The fire department initially said four people were killed. Menditto said during a news conference that only three deaths were directly caused by the blaze, while a fourth death was unrelated to the fire.

He said prosecutors do not believe the fire was set intentionally but the working hypothesis guiding the investigation was related to manslaughter charges, without any suspects identified.

Dramatic video released by the Vigili del Fuoco, Italy's national fire and rescue service, showed fire crews trying to reach the upper floors of the hospital on ladders to get to patients as smoke billowed out.

Crews could be seen dampening down parts of the building, which had been blackened by smoke, and using power tools to cut gaps in balconies to enable patients to be transferred onto waiting raised platforms.

Local politicians have praised firefighters and police officers for a 'truly exceptional' overnight operation to evacuate the patients, especially those who could not walk on their own, and to get them transferred to other hospitals.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and interior minister Matteo Piantedosi offered condolences to the families of the victims.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Meloni wrote: 'I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the fire that broke out in the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital in Tivoli and my closeness to all those affected.'

The building was left blackened by the fire, which is believed to have broken out on the ground floor

Police on the scene on Saturday morning. Investigators say the smoke rapidly spread throughout the building

Mr Piantedosi added in a separate post: 'I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the fire that broke out yesterday at the Tivoli hospital, and my closeness to all those who were injured.

'My applause and gratitude go to the firefighters and police force personnel who immediately intervened.

'The speed with which the structure was evacuated and the courage and commitment in putting out the flames made it possible to save more than one hundred people, preventing the toll from the fire from assuming even more tragic dimensions.'

Rome's chief firefighter, Commander Adriano De Acutis, said crews were now focused on securing and removing valuable medicines, especially drugs used to treat cancer, since the hospital will be unusable for the foreseeable future.

Tivoli, which is located about 20 miles northeast of the center of Rome, is a popular tourist destination.

It is best known for the archaeological sites of Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
A man has fought a 'seven-year battle to expose the truth' after his wife's 'avoidable' death from ovarian cancer.

Catherine Jones, 35, of Hawarden, north Wales, had scans completed in 2012 that identified an ovarian abnormality and she underwent surgery.

But a biopsy was then 'wrongly classified as benign' and there was no follow-up, senior coroner John Gittins told her five-day inquest hearing at Ruthin.

In June 2016 it was identified that there was development of a malignant disease process 'which would probably have been identified sooner if the 2013 sample had been correctly classified'.

Mrs Jones, a qualified NHS nurse, had further surgery but she sadly died in November 2016 after the aggressive cancer had spread and she contracted an infection while in Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Catherine Jones, 35, wanted those responsible to be held to account, her widower told the inquest

Widower David Jones, 45, pictured outside the inquest hearing, whose wife Catherine died aged 35 after doctors missed her cancer

The inquest heard Mrs Jones' consultant had made a handwritten note on a scan in 2012 proposing that she should be placed on a waiting list for removal of the right ovary and fallopian tube. It 'would have prevented the catastrophic outcome which ensued,' the coroner remarked.

But due to the absence of 'cohesive' recording, the planned procedure never happened.

'The failure to require scans before surgery in 2013, given an interval of eight months, is below an acceptable standard of both care and practice,' the coroner said.

Not seeing patients in clinic prior to the day of surgery to discuss consent also represented 'poor practice,' the coroner said.

Mrs Jones was described as 'a precious daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin and aunt to a large and loving family'.

She worked at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital and Glan Clwyd Hospital during her career as a qualified nurse. Her husband David went on to tell the hearing about their plans to settle down after securing the keys to their 'dream house' in Hawarden on October 23, 2015.

He said: 'We looked forward to enjoying our home together for a lifetime with family and friends. Unfortunately, she did not even get to celebrate the first anniversary of living in our new home.

'Instead, she was in a Wrexham Maelor Hospital bed having found out that cancer had been missed for over a month and had even been confused with a non-existent ovary. Her plans to entertain family in our home over Christmas and on so many other occasions will now never materialise.'

He told the coroner that 'the events that followed in Wrexham Maelor Hospital opened up beneath us like an unstoppable sink hole'. He said: 'She was determined to not only survive and get on with her life, but also to get to the bottom of why she had been so badly let down.

'Catherine wanted to see those responsible held to account and ensure that actions were taken to prevent others being let down and put at risk. Her concern was growing daily at the number of issues that she was encountering with her care.'

Mrs Jones died on November 10. Her husband said: 'Catherine had enormous potential, so much to offer and so many plans for 2017 and beyond. She captured the unbelievable nature of this catastrophe in her own words, 'At thirty-five, I have not yet lived my life'.

'I am utterly devastated and can't believe that my journey through life with Catherine physically by my side came to a painful, traumatic, distressing and unnecessarily premature end. No longer will I be able to see her smile, take her hand in mine or dance with her.

'Catherine could have shone even brighter, fulfilled her ambitions, saved more lives and offered so much more, if, she had only been allowed the time on this earth to realise her full potential and live her full life.'

David and Catherine Jones on their wedding day. Mr Jones says he is 'utterly devastated' their life together came to a 'painful, traumatic and premature end'

Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales (pictured) where Mrs Jones worked and had her operation

He told the coroner he believes there had been 'a catalogue of issues and questions to be answered' regarding the death of Mrs Jones.

He added: 'To have witnessed my wonderful 35-year-old wife being catastrophically let down was appalling.

'To have watched her endure immense pain was horrendous. To have seen her suffer colossal emotional turmoil was heartbreaking. To know that this situation could have been avoided is overwhelming and unbearable.'

Mr Gittins said: 'The risk of future deaths still applies.'

The coroner added he would raise the 'slow' progress of an electronic records system in Wales with the Welsh Government. A second prevention of future deaths concern involved BCUHB and 'the right hand not knowing what the left was doing'.

Dr Nick Lyons, acting deputy CEO of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said they were reviewing their investigations awaiting inquests and the Ombudsman. Access to patient records had been an issue during the inquest and Dr Lyons said there still weren't fully electronic patient records, perhaps the 'gold standard'.

Dr Lyons said: 'The issues raised within this inquest have given us a further opportunity to reflect on how we investigate failures in care. With this is in mind, the Board has already instigated a review of several hundred investigations liable for reporting to His Majesty's coroners across North Wales.

'It is important to all of us we are confident in the processes we use and that the findings we make are of the highest quality. Only by doing this can we be assured we are fulfilling our duty of candour.

'In this case, we unreservedly accept the findings of the coroner. We will respond to his specific concerns and list the actions we will take to guard against such failings, in due course. Most importantly, I would like to offer my condolences to Catherine's family and apologise for the failings in her care.'
Sue Halpern in The New Yorker:

A little more than a year ago, the world seemed to wake up to the promise and dangers of artificial intelligence when OpenAI released ChatGPT, an application that enables users to converse with a computer in a singularly human way. Within five days, the chatbot had a million users. Within two months, it was logging a hundred million monthly usersa number that has now nearly doubled. Call this the year many of us learned to communicate, create, cheat, and collaborate with robots.

Shortly after ChatGPT came out, Google released its own chatbot, Bard; Microsoft incorporated OpenAIs model into its Bing search engine; Meta debuted LLaMA; and Anthropic came out with Claude, a next generation AI assistant for your tasks, no matter the scale. Suddenly, the Internet seemed nearly animate. It wasnt that A.I. itself was new: indeed, artificial intelligence has become such a routine part of our lives that we hardly recognize it when a Netflix algorithm recommends a film, a credit-card company automatically detects fraudulent activity, or Amazons Alexa delivers a summary of the mornings news.

But, while those A.I.s work in the background, often in a scripted and brittle way, chatbots are responsive and improvisational. They are also unpredictable. When we ask for their assistance, prompting them with queries about things we dont know, or asking them for creative help, they often generate things that did not exist before, seemingly out of thin air. Poems, literature reviews, essays, research papers, and three-act plays are delivered in plain, unmistakably human language. Its as if the god in the machine had been made in our image.

More here.
The Scarborough Shoal is also a fertile fishing ground

The shoal is small, but seen as a strategic location for both countries

A Chinese coast guard has shot water cannons at a Filipino boat near Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the latest incident in the South China sea.

The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard on Saturday of using the water cannons to 'obstruct' three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near a reef off its coast.

A video shared by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships shooting water cannons at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels.

The shoal - found 150 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon - is small, but seen as a strategic location for both countries, while also being a fertile fishing ground.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement that 'Chinese Coast Guard ships utilized water cannons to obstruct and prevent' government vessels from delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats.

A Chinese coast guard has shot water cannons at a Filipino boat near Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the latest incident in the South China sea

The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard on Saturday of using the water cannons to 'obstruct' three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near a reef off its coast

The multi-agency task force said it 'vehemently condemns the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia'.

But Chinese state television said the country's coast guard had used 'control measures in accordance with the law' against the Philippine vessels that had 'intruded' into waters around the shoal.

China snatched control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines in 2012 following a tense standoff.

Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon, where fish are more plentiful.

Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, countries have jurisdiction over the natural resources within about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of their shore.

The incident drew international criticism of China and its coast guard.

US ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson condemned China's 'aggressive, illegal actions' against the Philippine vessels.

A video released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed China Coast Guard ships shooting water cannon at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels and hitting them with the powerful blasts of water

The shoal - found 150 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon - is small, but seen as a strategic location for both countries, while also being a fertile fishing ground

Japan's envoy Kazuhiko Koshikawa expressed serious concern 'about the dangerous actions' by the Chinese coast guard.

One boat's communication and navigation equipment sustained 'significant damage', the task force statement said.

Some Filipino crew also experienced 'severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation' after Chinese vessels used what was believed to be a 'long-range acoustic device', it said.

The mission to distribute fuel and food to more than 30 fishing vessels near the shoal was 'ongoing', the task force said, accusing the Chinese coast guard of deploying inflatable speed boats to 'drive away' the fishermen.

'To prevent the distribution of humanitarian support is not only illegal but also inhumane,' the task force said.

Aerial surveillance by the BFAR also showed a floating barrier had been reinstalled across the entrance to the shoal and was being guarded by Chinese boats, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

Filipino fishermen reported that the China Coast Guard installed the barrier early Saturday, the task force said.

That comes after Philippine coast guard personnel in September cut a Chinese-installed 300-metre-long barrier in the same area, setting it adrift and sparking a diplomatic row.

The Philippines and China have a long history of maritime incidents in the contested South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars of trade pass annually.

That is despite the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016 that China's claims over the waters have no legal basis and its construction of artificial islands in disputed waters was illegal.

Beijing refused to take part in the proceedings and has ignored the judgement.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea.
Thousands of Christmas fans flocked to the streets of New York City as the booze-fueled SantaCon crawl returned to the Big Apple this weekend.

Revelers dressed as St. Nick, the Grinch, elves, and various other Christmas-themed characters took to the streets, navigating through Manhattan while the New York Police Department braved the anarchy.

The festivities kicked off at 10am on Saturday morning, starting from bars and clubs in midtown Manhattan and are anticipated to conclude at 8pm in the East Village.

Ahead of the expected blowout, New York City's transit police announced a city-wide ban on alcohol on subway platforms and trains, attempting to limit those who may have had too many spiked eggnogs.

Passengers heading into Manhattan from New Jersey and suburbs in New York are prohibited from drinking alcohol from 4am Saturday through Saturday noon.

Thousands of Christmas fans flocked to the streets of New York City on Saturday morning as the booze-fueled SantaCon crawl returned to the Big Apple this weekend

One naked cowboy partygoer will definitely be feeling the chill as he poses with a Santa in Times Square

A group of female Santas brave the cold as they hit the streets ready to party in NYC

A group of festively dressed women put on a performance at the iconic Coyote Ugly bar in the East Village, Manhattan

Revelers dressed as St. Nick, the Grinch, elves, and various other Christmas-themed characters took to the streets

Participates navigated through Manhattan while the New York Police Department braved the anarchy

The festivities kicked off at 10am on Saturday morning, starting from bars and clubs in midtown Manhattan

The event is expected to to conclude at 8pm in the East Village

'Ensuring everyone has access to safe and orderly travel is a top priority,' MTA Police Chief John Mueller said in a statement earlier this week.

'The holiday season is a wonderful time of year, and we want everyone to get to their destination smoothly and on time while enjoying the festivities.'

SantaCon began in San Francisco in 1994 and and has since spread to almost 300 locations, but the event in NYC has been the biggest.

Organizers described the event as 'a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy.'

Participants are encouraged to donate $15 to charities as an entry fee into dozens of participating venues.

Hours after the event started this year, organizers posted what they called 'six F's' on X, formerly Twitter, to remind partygoers to follow the rules and stay sober.

'Don't f**k with kids, NYPD, bar staff, yourself, charity, or NYC,' organizers wrote in the social media post.

'The sleigh is flyin' fast now. For the best results at SantaCon NYC don't forget the 6 F's! Know em, Live em, Love em,' they wrote.

A group photo captured at the intersection of the 39th St and Broadway was posted around the noon on social media as boozy Santas partying throughout the city.

One Santa forgot his sleigh and poses in Manhattan on a motorbike at the annual NYC SantaCon

A group of festive friends are ready to party in the Coyote Ugly bar in Manhattan

Ahead of the expected blowout, New York City's transit police announced a city-wide ban on alcohol on subway platforms and trains, attempting to limit those who may have had too many spiked eggnogs

Passengers heading into Manhattan from New Jersey and suburbs in New York are prohibited from drinking alcohol from 4am Saturday through Saturday noon

SantaCon began in San Francisco in 1994 and and has since spread to almost 300 locations, but the event in NYC has been the biggest

Organizers described the event as 'a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy'

Participants are encouraged to donate $15 to charities as an entry fee into dozens of participating venues

Hours after the event started this year, organizers posted what they called 'six F's' on X, formerly Twitter, to remind partygoers to follow the rules and stay sober

'Don't f**k with kids, NYPD, bar staff, yourself, charity, or NYC,' organizers wrote in the social media post

A group photo captured at the intersection of the 39th St and Broadway was posted around the noon on social media as boozy Santas partying throughout the city

For locals, the surge in public intoxication is not especially merry especially after a reveler reportedly peed in the middle of a McDonald's in front of a child in 2019.

A wild brawl between a group of Santas was caught on camera in 2018, while in 2016 a Santa hitched an illicit ride on the back of a fire truck, leading the person who shared the image to sum up the feelings of many in New York: 'Make this day end.'

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked that a GrinchCon could be set up in opposition to the polarizing event. She suggested a 'tea and coffee crawl' could be established, spreading 'peace and quiet'.

In 2013, New York police lieutenant John Cocchi, in an open letter to NYC bars, called on businesses to boycott the event where 'thousands of intoxicated partygoers roam the streets urinating, littering, vomiting and vandalizing.'

A long list of incidents that landed attendees on the naughty list led Curbed Magazine to praise how, when the Coronavirus pandemic shut down the US economy in 2020, the cancelation of Santa Con was 'a single bright spot' worth celebrating.

For locals, the surge in public intoxication is not especially merry especially after a reveler reportedly peed in the middle of a McDonald's in front of a child in 2019

A wild brawl between a group of Santas was caught on camera in 2018, while in 2016 a Santa hitched an illicit ride on the back of a fire truck

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked that a GrinchCon could be set up in opposition to the polarizing event

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested a 'tea and coffee crawl' could be established, spreading 'peace and quiet'

In 2013, New York police lieutenant John Cocchi, in an open letter to NYC bars, called on businesses to boycott the event

The event was described as 'thousands of intoxicated partygoers roam the streets urinating, littering, vomiting and vandalizing'

A long list of incidents that landed attendees on the naughty list led Curbed Magazine to praise how, when the Coronavirus pandemic shut down the US economy in 2020, the cancelation of Santa Con was 'a single bright spot' worth celebrating

For those looking to understand why a fun-filled day of alcohol could anger New Yorkers, a scathing New York Times op-ed from 2013 attempted to sum it up.

Comparing the day to 'spoiled eggnog', the 'obnoxious' event was slammed for losing its counter-culture roots, concluding that 'participating in the Big Apples version of SantaCon is about as anti-establishment as a trip to Disney World.'

Ironically, the parade's reputation as an obnoxious, marketing-filled drinking campaign is a long way from its roots.

The Big Apple was not always running the show, as SantaCon - which now covers over 300 cities and 44 countries - dates its history back to Scandanavia in the 1970s.

Beginning as a performance art protest in Denmark, the first of the conventions was a political demonstration in contrast to the event's current insistence on being 'non-political.'

Danish art collective 'Solvognen' decided in 1974 to protest perceived inequalities in society in a bizarre way, with 75 members dressing as Santa pretending to slowly understand more about the consumerism and greed ruining the holiday, reports Vox.

For those looking to understand why a fun-filled day of alcohol could anger New Yorkers, a scathing New York Times op-ed from 2013 attempted to sum it up

The 2013 article compared the day to 'spoiled eggnog', the 'obnoxious' event was slammed for losing its counter-culture roots

The New York Times op-ed read: 'participating in the Big Apples version of SantaCon is about as anti-establishment as a trip to Disney World'

The parade's reputation as an obnoxious, marketing-filled drinking campaign is a long way from its roots

The Big Apple was not always running the show, as SantaCon - which now covers over 300 cities and 44 countries - dates its history back to Scandanavia in the 1970s

Beginning as a performance art protest in Denmark, the first of the conventions was a political demonstration in contrast to the event's current insistence on being 'non-political'

Danish art collective 'Solvognen' decided in 1974 to protest perceived inequalities in society in a bizarre way, with 75 members dressing as Santa

Santas reportedly caused chaos as they snuck into parties and disrupted holiday bashes

At first day the protests were fun and easygoing, including Santas being serenaded by angels on the streets of Copenhagen.

By the end of their days-long performance art piece, Solvognen had worked themselves into a frenzy, and were destroying buildings with pickaxes while Santas flung out presents for free.

Scenes of anarchist Santas being arrested became iconic in Denmark, and the 'Santa Claus army' (Julemandshren) was even officially added to the Denmark Culture Canon to name it as a landmark moment in the country's cultural history.

A Mother Jones article on the phenomenon in 1977 caught attention overseas, and a San Francisco secret society known as the 'Cacophony Society' eventually held its own version in 1994.

Santas reportedly caused chaos as they snuck into parties and disrupted holiday bashes, described by a member in 2014 as 'a little mocking of a bulls*** holiday which was demonstrably based on an unholy alliance of religious hypocrisy and mercantile lust.'

Although initially meant to be a one-time-thing, the campaign quickly escalated, sometimes dubbed as 'Santarchy.'

At first day the protests were fun and easygoing, including Santas being serenaded by angels on the streets of Copenhagen.

By the end of their days-long performance art piece, Solvognen had worked themselves into a frenzy, and were destroying buildings with pickaxes while Santas flung out presents for free

Scenes of anarchist Santas being arrested became iconic in Denmark, and the 'Santa Claus army' (Julemandshren) was even officially added to the Denmark Culture Canon

A Mother Jones article on the phenomenon in 1977 caught attention overseas, and a San Francisco secret society known as the 'Cacophony Society' eventually held its own version in 1994

Santas reportedly caused chaos as they snuck into parties and disrupted holiday bashes

A member described it as 'a little mocking of a bulls*** holiday which was demonstrably based on an unholy alliance of religious hypocrisy and mercantile lust'

Although initially meant to be a one-time-thing, the campaign quickly escalated, sometimes dubbed as 'Santarchy'

By 1966, Oregon had joined the fun thanks to its own Cacophony Society, before SantaCon parades were almost nationwide by 2000 as they became synonymous with pub crawls.

The pub crawl - where participants trawl from bar to bar drinking as much as they can - has also seen the event become dominated by alcohol, rivalling Halloween and St Paddy's Day as the heaviest days on the drinking calendar.

Usually populated by 20 and 30-somethings, SantaCon is ostensibly a charity event, as organizers in New York urge attendees to donate $15 to take part, although it does not appear mandatory.

New York City serves as the global hub of the day's partying, working in a similar way to the city's huge Thanksgiving and St Paddy's Day parades as other metros hold their own smaller jamborees.

By 1966, Oregon had joined the fun thanks to its own Cacophony Society, before SantaCon parades were almost nationwide by 2000 as they became synonymous with pub crawls

The pub crawl - where participants trawl from bar to bar drinking as much as they can - has also seen the event become dominated by alcohol

The event rivals Halloween and St Paddy's Day as the heaviest days on the drinking calendar

Usually populated by 20 and 30-somethings, SantaCon is ostensibly a charity event, as organizers in New York urge attendees to donate $15 to take part, although it does not appear mandatory

New York City serves as the global hub of the day's partying, working in a similar way to the city's huge Thanksgiving and St Paddy's Day parades as other metros hold their own smaller jamborees

Whether it has actually changed in the last two years may depend on who you ask, but the organizers insisted that despite its flaws, Santa Con is carried out in the right spirit

This has also caught the ire of both New York residents and law enforcement, with the one of the rowdiest recent editions coming in 2015 when five Santas were arrested.

Organizers have tried to turn the event around, and insisted the year after it was cancelled by the Covid-19 pandemic that it had 'changed significantly for the better.'

Whether it has actually changed in the last two years may depend on who you ask, but the organizers insisted that despite its flaws, Santa Con is carried out in the right spirit.

'We agree that there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior including public drunkenness, urination, or rude behavior,' SantaCon said.

This is not only prohibited by the stated rules of the event, but actively discouraged by the crowds of Santas themselves, who are, for the most part, responsible, creative, community-minded New Yorkers.

'NYC Santa realizes that he has a responsibility to New York City and its citizens.'
New York City nightclub identity and restaurateur Rocco Ancarola has died at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.

Ancarola, who is of Italian descent, had been the driving force behind popular night time haunts in the city including Ciao Bella, Boom, Pink Elephant and Lavo.

Born in Johannesburg, Ancarola moved to New York in the 80s in pursuit of an acting career and had minor roles in films including 'Wall Street' alongside Michael Douglas.

Ancarola became a household name after appearances on Real Housewives of New York City with then girlfriend Sonja Morgan.

His sister revealed that they had decided to take him off life support after his health struggles.

Ancarola had been the driving force behind popular night time haunts in the city including Ciao Bella, Boom, Pink Elephant and Lavo

In recent times, Ancarola became a household name after appearances on Real Housewives of New York City with then girlfriend Sonja Morgan, the couple are seen here

After moving to New York in pursuit of an acting career, he starred alongside Michael Douglas in 'Wall Street'

In a post, seen by Page Six, she said: 'Derek Banton,[his] childhood friend, slept at the hospital with Rocco.

'[Taking him off life support and] letting Rocco breathe on his own was the most difficult decision my siblings and I had to make.

'He loved every person who phoned and visited; that kept him alive to fight the cancer.'

Page Six reported that a group of nightlife players gathered at Bijoux in the city on Thursday night to celebrate his life.

Images of Ancarola online show him rubbing shoulders with the likes of his Wall Street costar Michael Douglas, Cuba Gooding JR, and Jordan Belfort.

Ancarola previously told Page Six about being invited to Belfort's home to stay for the summer in 1998.

'I got a call one day from Hampton magazine founder Randy Schindler, and Randy said, "I know this guy who has a big mansion. He just got divorced. Why dont you stay at his place this summer with all your girls?",' he said.

Ancarola had been running Boom Bistro in Sag Harbor, Long Island, at the time of the call and loaded up a minivan to move out to the mansion.

'Jordan was living the high life, entertaining models and Russian call girls, and all sorts of hangers-on. The party didnt stop,' he added.

In 2011, he suffered an aortic aneurysm that required him to have open heart surgery, which prompted a fundraiser that brought in over $130,000.

Ancarola had previously spoken about this near death experience in Social Life Magazine.

Ancarola is seen here alongside Jordan Belfort, who he previously said he first met after spending a summer at his mansion in the late 1990s

In 2011, he suffered an aortic aneurysm that required him to have open heart surgery, which prompted a fundraiser that brought in over $130,000, he is seen here with Cuba Gooding Jr

His sister said in a post on social media that her and her siblings made the decision to take him off life support

He said: 'I came within an inch to dying that Thanksgiving Day on 2011. I was thankfully admitted to one of the best trauma units on the East Coast, at Newark University Hospital and lucky to be operated on by a team of great surgeons.

'When I came out of my medically induced coma, my doctor told me to thank god. He told me very few people get a second chance in life. And I was lucky enough to be one of the chosen.'

Since his passing on Thursday, tributes have been pouring in on social media for the nightlife guru.

DOM nightclub owner Albert Trummer told DailyMail.com: 'Rocco dedicated his life and love for hospitality and NYC.

'He is leaving beautiful memories and the best parties in NYC ever. His warm welcome and big smile will live with us forever. NYC lost one of the greatest nightlife impresario's and loving friend.'

Ancarola was born in South Africa and was of Italian descent, he moved to New York City in the 1980s

Lavo resident DJ Paolo Vincenti said: 'If NYC nightlife has a godfather, it's you. Your GoFundMe was the greatest line-up of music talent in history, so in the end, you did throw the greatest party of all time.'

In a social media post seen by TimesLive, South African Pam Mbatani said: 'I find it difficult to put into words the depth of the loss I'm feeling. Rocco wasn't just a friend, he was a brother, a mentor, an uncle to my daughter Aria and a beacon of joy.

'From the moment we met [in New York] Rocco embraced me as his 'little sister from South Africa'.

Friend Inna DeSilva told Page Six: 'He was the greatest host on the planet. '[Its] very difficult to find anyone else on that level.'
Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright got a 'thrill' out of positioning his victim's bodies, according to a true crime expert - as the serial killer was re-arrested by police over an unsolved murder more than 20 years ago.

Wright, 65, is serving a whole-life term for the murder of five women over the course of six weeks in 2006, for which he was jailed in 2008.

But the killer has been arrested by police for a second time in connection with the unsolved murder of teenager Victoria Hall, whose naked body was found dead 25 miles from home in 1999 after she disappeared following a night out.

True crime presenter and psychologist Emma Kenny has suggested that Wright, who targeted sex workers in his killing spree, got a 'thrill' out of arranging some of his victims' bodies in the shape of a crucifix to be discovered by police.

He was the subject of an episode of the documentary series The Killer in My Family in 2019, in which Wright's father Conrad spoke of his struggle to comprehend what was happening in his son's head as he murdered five women.

Steve Wright is serving a whole-life term for the murder of five women in the space of six weeks in 2006

Victoria Hall (pictured) was found dead in 1999 after disappearing on a night out. Her naked body was found in a ditch 25 miles from where she had last been seen

TV psychologist and true crime presenter Emma Kenny (pictured) believes Wright got a 'thrill' out of exhibiting his victims' bodies

Former QEII steward Wright was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of Annette Nicholls, 29, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Tania Nicol, 19, with the judge recommending that he never be released.

All five women were sex workers who had turned to prostitution in order to fund drug habits. Two of their bodies were found arranged in the shape of a crucifix.

His DNA was found on three of the women's bodies, while fibres from his clothing, car and home were discovered on all five. All five women were asphyxiated.

Presenter Emma Kenny - best known for her role as a resident therapist and agony aunt on ITVs This Morning - suggested on the programme that Wright enjoyed the 'drama' of his killings and wanted police to see his 'work'.

However, only two of the bodies - those of Anneli Alderton and Annette Nicholls - were laid out in the shape of a crucifix - an attempt, Emma suggested, to throw police off the trail as they looked for patterns in each of the slayings.

She said on the programme: 'Steve Wright chose to position two of the women's bodies in the crucifix position.

'One, probably to try and throw the police off course because the other bodies hadn't been dealt with that way.

'Secondly, potentially for dramatic effect, because unusually a lot of killers like to leave their 'work' with a certain mark.

'Most importantly because there was some thrill at the end of doing that, of creating that and making that body look a certain way. So, he was enjoying his work.'

Judge Mr Justice Gross pointed out the 'macabre' way in which Wright had arranged two of his victim's bodies as he gave the killer a whole life term.

Anneli Alderton, 24, was one of Wright's victims in his six week murder spree in 2006 that targeted sex workers. Her body was found arranged in the shape of a crucifix

Annette Nicholls was last seen on December 8 2006 and found four days later - her body also arranged in a crucifix shape

Tania Nicol (left) had been carrying out sex work to fund a heroin addiction. Gemma Adams (right) was Wright's first victim

Mother of three Paula Clennell was one of Steve Wright's victims in the latter months of 2006

The judge added: 'You killed them, stripped them and left them ... why you did it may never be known.'

Wright's father Conrad told the programme that his son's killings may have been linked to his sexual frustrations.

He told BBC News in a previous interview that he felt a degree of guilt for Wright's crimes, adding that his relationship with his son was 'non-existent'.

Conrad said at the time: 'You feel sort of responsible in a way - you brought the boy on to the Earth - and if it weren't for you, he wouldn't have been there, and if he weren't here, they wouldn't be killed, would they?'

Wright was re-arrested by Suffolk Police earlier this week in connection with the death of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, who was last seen in the early hours of September 19 1999.

Ms Hall lived half a mile from Wright at the time she was killed. The teenager had gone out with a friend to the Bandbox nightclub in Bent Hill, Felixstowe.

They then went to get some food at the Bodrum Grill in Undercliff Road West, before beginning the walk back to Trimley St Mary.

They parted at around 2.20am near to the junction of High Road and Faulkeners Way. Victoria was just yards away from her home.

Five days later, on Friday 24 September, Victorias naked body was found in a ditch beside a field by a dog walker in Creeting Lane, Creeting St Peter, approximately 25 miles away from where she was last seen.

The case went cold until September 2019 when police announced that the case, known as Operation Avon, was live again after new information came to light.

Wright was first arrested in connection with the killing in July 2021 and was subsequently released under investigation. He was then re-arrested on Wednesday before being released pending further enquiries.

In a statement issued in September, on the 24th anniversary of Ms Hall's death, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick said the force remained 'fully committed' to finding Ms Hall's killer.

He added: 'If you have any information - no matter how insignificant this may seem - we want to hear from you. It is never too late.'
Today, Zara Kundra celebrates the 11th birthday her family feared she would never see, after developing life-threatening leukaemia.

But she is fast returning to a normal life, thanks to an unknown baby born a decade ago  and the public-spirited parents who froze the blood from its umbilical cord.

When Zara was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, an aggressive blood cell cancer, doctors launched a worldwide search for a bone marrow donor  but couldn't find a match.

'We didn't know what we were going to do,' recalls her mother Taruna. 'It was such devastating news, we didn't know what the future held for Zara.'

Medics then widened the search to include frozen umbilical cord blood  which is rich in the same stem cells found in bone marrow  and discovered the ten-year-old sample in a US blood bank.

Zara Kundra is celebrating the 11th birthday her family feared she would never see, after developing life-threatening leukaemia, but was saved thanks to stem cells from the umbilical cord of a baby born a decade ago

A worldwide search for Zara, pictured with her brother Sammy, on the bone marrow register drew a blank but she was almost a match with cells in a frozen umbilical cord in the US

'It was amazing,' said 41-year-old Mrs Kundra from her Basingstoke home. 'A stranger's baby saved my daughter and I thank that mother every day of my life. I would love one day to meet her.'

Mrs Kundra had first noticed something was wrong with her daughter in October 2019 when she started developing bruises.

They took her to their GP and had blood tests which found Zara's levels of healthy white blood cells were life-threateningly low.

'Amazing': Zara with her mother, Taruna, and father, Vikas, underwent the stem cell transplant last June at the Royal Marsden

Mrs Kundra said: 'We were told we had to take her to hospital straight away. We had moved to Kuwait and had chemotherapy there. It was during Covid and my husband Vikas and son Sammy [now nine] couldn't come to the hospital so our family was separated, which was heartbreaking.'

Six months later, and back in the UK, Zara went for a check-up which found the leukaemia was back. 'We were devastated,' said Mrs Kundra. Now the only option was a bone marrow transplant.

The worldwide search drew a blank, but cells in the umbilical cord blood in the US were a three-quarters match.

Mrs Kundra said: 'They said it was good enough for a transplant, and it was Zara's only hope.'

The family had moved to Kuwait just before Zara's diagnosis and she underwent chemotherapy, but was separated from her father and brother due to Covid restrictions at the time

The operation was carried out in June last year at the Royal Marsden Hospital in West London.

But the incomplete match led to a dangerous complication as the donor cells attacked Zara's own cells, seeing them as foreign.

Road to recovery: Zara underwent the life-saving procedure at the Royal Marsden last year

'Doing so well': Zara leaves the Royal Marsden following her procedure to recover at home

Mrs Kundra said: 'Zara was so poorly she lost 11lbs in five days and over last Christmas she was very sick.'

But in April she had recovered enough to start back at school for one day a week, and in September she started back full time.

Mrs Kundra said: 'It's wonderful to see her doing so well after all she's been through. It's amazing to think a stranger's baby saved my daughter's life. That baby will be ten now. We are so thankful.'

For more information about donation, visit anthonynolan.org
Three Republican presidential hopefuls crossed paths again in Iowa on Saturday, just days after a contentious debate that devolved at times into personal insults.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy all attended the 'Faith And Family' forum in Sioux City, where they made their case to voters in the key primary state.

Ramaswamy's flair for stunts was on full display, as he challenged a college student to match him in doing 30 pushups outside the forum, which was held at Dordt University.

Rep. Randy Feenstra and his wife, Lynette, hosted the event focused on the candidates' religious faith and family life at the small Christian college in northwest Iowa, a more rural, conservative corner of the state.

The candidates all brought family members, with DeSantis appearing alongside wife Casey, Haley attending with daughter Rena, and Ramaswamy toting young son Karthik.

Just campaign thingsVivek Ramaswamy does 30 pushups with a Dordt University student outside of Rep. Randy Feenstras Faith and Family forum in Sioux Center, IA. pic.twitter.com/UqLAq6MvTp  Kendall Ross (@kendall_ross_) December 9, 2023

A a forum on Faith and Family on Saturday, Vivek Ramaswamy challenged a college student to match him in doing 30 pushups

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks alongside his wife Casey DeSantis during the "Faith and Family with the Feenstras" event

Also attending the event was Texas Pastor Ryan Binkley, a longshot candidate for the Republican nomination.

Iowa holds its first-in-the-nation caucuses on January 15, making it a key state for candidates seeking to challenge Donald Trump, who holds a commanding lead in the polls.

DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy last appeared together in Iowa before Thanksgiving, at the Family Leader's roundtable discussion, which was an uncommonly friendly gathering.

At Saturday's event, the candidates were able to make their cases to voters uninterrupted, unlike at Wednesday's debate, which devolved into bitter acrimony.

According to the Des Moines Register, DeSantis spoke about the role faith communities can play in public policies.

He said he created a program in Florida that relies on churches to help provide services to those in need.

'And guess what, once that happens, they don't go back for government assistance,' he said. 'They're on a pathway to prosperity.'

Ramaswamy took the stage to discuss his Hindu faith, and predicted a wave of nontraditional caucus-goers would support him.

He described how the core values of Hinduism overlap with those of Christianity.

Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy walks on stage with his son Karthik during U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra's Faith and Family with the Feenstras event

Republican presidential candidate former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, left, speaks as her daughter Rena, right, looks on during the forum

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a sign reading "Nikki = corrupt" referring to former Governor from South Carolina and UN ambassador Nikki Haley at the last debate

'My parents instilled in me my faith from a young age, and though I left it probably for much of my 20s and late teen years, I definitely came back to it with conviction,' he said, according to the Register.

'My faith teaches me there's one true God, that he put each of us here for a purpose, that we have a duty to realize that purpose, that God works through us.  That's the core of my Hindu faith.'

After speaking, the businessman spoke with a group of male college students outside the forum, where he did his 30 pushups after issuing his challenge.

Ramaswamy, 38, completed the challenge, although by the final pushups he appeared to be flagging noticeably, video from the event shows.

Haley, who was raised in a Sikh household but now identifies as Christian, said she would put Christian values at the center of her administration if elected.

The former South Carolina governor recalled the 2015 shooting at Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston, where a white supremacist killed nine black churchgoers.

Haley said that a few days for before the shooting, she had called for a state day of prayer, which she credited with preparing the state for the racist shooting.

Following the shooting, Haley order the Confederate flag that flew outside the South Carolina statehouse be removed.

'It was a tough process, but at the end of it, we didn't have violence, we had vigils,' she recalled.

'We didn't have protests, we had hugs. And we showed the entire world what strength and grace look like,' crediting prayer.
She called the surgery 'the greatest thing that's ever happened to me'

Labour MP Jess Phillips said the operation was not done for cosmetic reasons

Labour MP Jess Phillips accused male MPs of harbouring an obsession with the size of her chest after revealing she has had breast reduction surgery.

Ms Phillips said the operation, which she underwent two years ago, was not done for cosmetic reasons but helped relieve a lifetime of neck and back pain.

However, she also blamed 'the male gaze', adding: 'All they're talking about is your cleavage, especially in this place.

'I couldn't wear anything that didn't make me look like a tent or trying to look sexy. If you wear anything even slightly tight and you have big boobs, you're done for.'

She called the surgery 'the greatest thing that's ever happened to me', apart from her husband and children, and dismissed criticism that her decision was anti-feminist.

Labour MP Jess Phillips accused male MPs of harbouring an obsession with the size of her chest after revealing she has had breast reduction surgery

Ms Phillips said the operation, which she underwent two years ago, was not done for cosmetic reasons but helped relieve a lifetime of neck and back pain

She said: 'People can think whatever they like. But I paid for it with money that I earned. It cost six grand. In London it's ten grand, so it's cheaper in Birmingham.

'I get the feminist argument. Why do I feel this way? It's undoubtedly because of the male gaze. But the outcome is, I feel better. I can exercise more. I'm healthier. It's my body, my choice.'

The Birmingham Yardley MP, who last month quit Sir Keir Starmer's Shadow Cabinet over his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, also told The Times Magazine it felt 'exhausting' that misogyny, sexual harassment  and even rape  were still part of parliamentary life.

Why do I feel this way? Because of the male gaze

'It feels a little bit like two steps forward, one step back,' she said.

'It isn't a man's world. It's a world in which women are much more tired than they used to be. People will refer to any argument you make, regardless of how economic it might be, as being emotional. 'The honourable lady is led by her heart, and who could blame her?' F*** off, I'm led by the data.

'I do still feel like women have to club together to get heard  across parties as well.

'It feels like we can't just say something  20 of us have to say something. That's annoying.'

Ms Phillips, 42, said her decision to quit as Sir Keir's Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding was amicable, and added that she was not taking sides in the Gaza conflict and instead trying to get British Gazan families, including some of her constituents, out of the area.

She also told the magazine that Israel had 'a right to defend itself' and that she had not joined any pro-Palestinian rallies.

'It worries me that they're anti-Semitic,' she said. 'The idea that Jewish people feel frightened to share their identity is chilling.'
The BBC has been ordered to hand over a cache of thousands of emails that will reignite the scandal surrounding Martin Bashir's controversial interview with Princess Diana.

A leading judge has slammed the broadcaster over its attempts to keep secret the potentially explosive documents, which could expose an ongoing cover-up of what executives knew about the shamed journalist's disgraceful conduct in securing his scoop.

In a damning ruling obtained by The Mail on Sunday, the judge questioned the Corporation's honesty after it fought a two-year campaign to keep the emails under wraps.

This newspaper can exclusively reveal how, in an extraordinary intervention, Judge Brian Kennedy KC has ordered BBC bosses to immediately disclose large numbers of the messages and voiced his 'serious concern' at their attempts to keep them secret. As of last night, the Corporation had yet to comply with his demand.

The MoS understands the BBC has already spent around 100,000 of licence payers' money in legal fees on the secrecy battle.

The BBC has been ordered to hand over a cache of thousands of emails that will reignite the scandal surrounding Martin Bashir 's controversial interview with Princess Diana (pictured)

Viewed by 23 million people, Bashir's 1995 Panorama interview with Diana was hailed as the scoop of a generation. Pictured: Martin Bashir out for a walk last month

The documents could reveal how three years ago senior BBC figures covered up incriminating information about the Corporation's 'woefully ineffective' investigation into rogue reporter Bashir.

Viewed by 23 million people, Bashir's 1995 Panorama interview with Diana was hailed as the scoop of a generation. The Princess declared 'there were three of us in this marriage'  referring to Charles's then-mistress Camilla  and spoke of her post-natal depression and bulimia.

Timeline of the scandal that shames TV chiefs November 20, 1995 Martin Bashir's sensational Panorama interview with Princess Diana is aired on BBC1 in a scoop that goes around the world. April 7, 1996 The Mail on Sunday reveals that Bashir had two fake bank statements made just weeks before the interview. The BBC falsely claimed the documents were not connected to the Diana interview. But it was confirmed 25 years later that Bashir used the fakes to convince Diana that people close to her had been paid to spy on her. 1999 Bashir moves from the BBC to ITV. September 2016 Despite long-standing rumours about Bashir's methods, he is rehired by the BBC and later becomes religious affairs editor. October 19, 2020 The BBC releases a 67-page dossier of memos to journalist Andy Webb which detail its botched internal investigation into Bashir in 1996. But some incriminating documents are omitted. November 7, 2020 The Daily Mail reveals how Earl Spencer has 37 pages of handwritten notes which exposed, for the first time, the lies Bashir peddled to land his scoop. May 14, 2021 In a damning report, Lord Dyson, a former Supreme Court judge, says Bashir engaged in 'deceitful behaviour' and the BBC 'covered up' what it knew. December 2023 Judge Brian Kennedy orders the BBC to disclose large numbers of emails bosses sent in 2020, when the scale of Bashir's deceit emerged. Advertisement

Bashir, however, had shown Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, forged bank statements to gain access to the Princess and then tricked her by peddling a string of smears and lies, including claiming that Prince William's watch had been bugged to record her conversations.

Suspicions about Bashir's methods were first raised five months after the interview when the MoS revealed he had ordered a graphic designer to fake bank documents.

But the full extent of Bashir's deceit only came to light in 2020 when the BBC was forced to release a 67-page dossier of memos and minutes from 1995 and 1996, after a Freedom of Information request by investigative journalist Andy Webb.

Mr Webb, however, believed the BBC had still not released all of its incriminating evidence and that its failures to investigate Bashir had been far more extensive than the documents showed.

Indeed, it later emerged that some key documents were omitted from the dossier, including a bombshell 1996 memo by former BBC executive Anne Sloman that indicated a cynical attempt to cover up what the Corporation knew of Bashir's activities.

'The Diana story is probably now dead, unless Spencer talks,' she concluded in the memo that only came to light the following year.

While the BBC withheld this damning document from Mr Webb, it did make public another memo that made a false  and highly defamatory  claim about the Earl.

In the document, a confidential 1996 briefing to BBC governors, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, then head of news and later director-general, wrongly claimed Earl Spencer colluded with Bashir by showing him the bank statements of his former head of security.

The allegation has been emphatically denied by the Earl.

Increasingly suspicious that the Corporation was still trying to cover up the scandal, Mr Webb requested further internal documents sent by BBC managers between September 2020 and November 2020.

But his request  once again using Freedom of Information laws  triggered an extraordinary legal battle, in which the BBC hired an expensive legal team led by barrister Jason Pobjoy, who also represented Boris Johnson during the Partygate allegations.

After claiming its archive contained no further documents, the BBC later revealed it had discovered 3,288 emails linked to the Bashir scandal.

But of these, the BBC agreed to send Mr Webb only 71 redacted messages, equivalent to just two per cent of the documents.

In the document, a confidential 1996 briefing to BBC governors, Lord Hall of Birkenhead (pictured), wrongly claimed Earl Spencer colluded with Bashir by showing him the bank statements of his former head of security

It insisted that around 3,000 of the remaining emails were 'irrelevant' and that others contained 'legally privileged' information.

Mr Webb estimated the BBC could be sitting on up to 10,000 pages of undisclosed material.

Frustrated by the stonewalling, and in a dogged attempt to force the BBC to release the emails, Mr Webb took his case to the information rights tribunal, which heard his case over two days earlier this year.

READ MORE: Prince William is accused of silencing Diana by stopping the BBC re-broadcasting her Panorama interview with Martin Bashir to protect the Firm by Omid Scobie in his new book Advertisement

His bid was supported by Earl Spencer who, appearing as a witness, told how he had contacted the BBC 17 years ago raising his concerns about Bashir's interview 'but nothing happened'.

Now, in a stunning victory for press freedom, the MoS can reveal that Judge Kennedy has ruled the BBC should publish all the emails it insisted were 'irrelevant'.

He also ordered that the Corporation carry out a search for new documents and look again at emails that it considered were 'legally privileged'.

The judge lambasted the BBC's 'inconsistent, erroneous and unreliable' handling of Mr Webb's request, branding it 'an unsatisfactory state of affairs'.

'The BBC's piecemeal and disjunctive approach to its searches for information responsive to the request, and its handling of the request more generally, is a cause of serious concern,' he added.

The judge found that the BBC 'never conducted an initial search' for the emails after it received Mr Webb's Freedom of Information request in June 2021. It then carried out 'insufficient searches' when Mr Webb challenged the limited disclosure.

He ruled that Mr Webb was asking to see information that is of 'considerable public interest' but that the BBC had conducted 'inefficient, ineffective and inadequate searches' for it. Judge Kennedy also dismissed the BBC's justification for refusing to reveal huge numbers of emails which it had deemed 'irrelevant', saying this was not an 'appropriate test' when deciding whether to withhold information.

Doubts about the methods used by Bashir to secure his interview with Diana began to surface in early 1996

'It is not clear why the BBC has gone to such lengths to withhold information that it classes as 'irrelevant', despite that information falling within the scope of the search parameters that it devised and used,' he said.

And in a humiliating blow to the BBC, Judge Kennedy said he understood why Mr Webb questioned the Corporation's honesty, or 'good faith'.

He said: 'Although the BBC has accepted and apologised for their mistakes, its errors have 'significantly contributed to [Mr Webb's] scepticism of the BBC's good faith which, in our view, is not without cause'.

While he issued directions for the BBC, the case has not yet been concluded. This weekend, Mr Webb was contacted by Phil Harrold, chief of staff to BBC director-general Tim Davie, who said the Corporation was 'treating this matter seriously' but, despite the judge's direction, he did not commit to releasing the emails.

Mr Webb last night told the MoS: 'I'm delighted at the tribunal's judgment after all this time but hugely disappointed that the BBC have decided not to comply.'

Doubts about the methods used by Bashir to secure his interview with Diana began to surface in early 1996.

In April of that year, this newspaper ran a front-page story revealing that Bashir had used fake bank statements 'just weeks before his astonishing broadcast'. We know now those fake documents were used to fuel Diana's paranoia that people close to her were selling secrets to newspapers.

The BBC issued a statement to the MoS claiming the documents were never connected to the Panorama interview. It is now known, however, that BBC bosses knew Bashir had admitted showing the statements to Earl Spencer.

In 2021, former Supreme Court judge Lord Dyson found the BBC carried out a 'woefully ineffective' probe into the scandal and 'covered up' what it knew of Bashir's 'deceit'.

The BBC last night accepted that 'mistakes have been made in this case', adding: 'We have worked to improve our processes since and we have apologised to Mr Webb and the tribunal.

'We are currently considering the tribunal's decision carefully and it would not be appropriate to comment while the legal proceedings are ongoing.'

BBC bosses who fought to keep THOUSANDS of documents linked to Bashir's infamous interview with Diana under wraps have questions to answer

By Andy Webb, Investigative Journalist

A veteran journalist and filmmaker, I'm used to battling with big and powerful institutions to discover their secrets. But my two-year legal tussle with BBC bosses has been quite extraordinary.

They have fought tooth and nail to keep 3,000 documents linked to Martin Bashir's infamous interview with Princess Diana under wraps  equal to more than 10,000 pages of undisclosed material.

Earlier this year, over two days, I argued my case to Judge Brian Kennedy KC, overseeing an information tribunal. I urged him to agree with me that it is overwhelmingly in the public interest for these internal emails to be divulged to the public.

Lined up against me was the BBC's formidable six-strong legal team, led by barrister Jason Pobjoy, who represented Boris Johnson during the Partygate allegations. It's perhaps no surprise the Corporation has spent an astonishing 100,000 of licence-payers' money, just on their external legal fees.

You may well ask what else is there to say about Bashir's outrageous entrapment of Diana?

Andy Webb says the BBC have fought tooth and nail to keep 3,000 documents linked to Martin Bashir's infamous interview with Princess Diana under wraps. Pictured: Bashir in 2005

We know that the reporter only landed his sensational 1995 interview with the Princess by peddling a litany of lies and smears to her. We also know, thanks to Lord Dyson's excoriating report in 2021, that BBC bosses at the time covered up much of what they knew about Bashir's deceit.

But I have long believed that there is a much bigger story here and that the Corporation's attempts to hush up this scandal did not end 28 years ago.

Indeed, I believe that in 2020, when the scale of Bashir's deception finally began to emerge, senior figures currently running the BBC planned a completely new and cynical campaign to mislead the public about what was known about the reporter's nefarious activities.

Emails may reveal the BBC tried to blacken Earl Spencer's good name

That is why I was delighted to learn Judge Kennedy has ordered the Corporation hand over huge swathe of emails sent by BBC managers between September and November 2020.

Since his ruling  and his blistering condemnation of the BBC  I've had messages of support from some of those most closely affected by the Corporation's past conduct, including Patrick Jephson, Diana's former private secretary.

Most significant of all has been the reaction of Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, who was delighted that the truth might now emerge.

Crucially, the emails I have fought so hard to see may now reveal that the BBC attempted to blacken the Earl's name.

Who in the BBC hierarchy authorised the release, to me, in October 2020, of the extraordinary memo which falsely claimed that Spencer had colluded with Bashir? That Spencer had shown Bashir the bank statement of an ex-employee?

This was an astonishing allegation, and totally untrue. But why did the BBC make it public?

And why did the BBC withhold a crucial 1996 memo, from another BBC executive, that indicated a cynical cover-up and declared: 'The Diana story is probably now dead, unless Spencer talks'?

Thanks to Judge Kennedy's ruling, all may soon become clear.

I firmly believe that last week's judgment is a sign that the last remaining cover-up of this sordid saga has begun to unravel. The remaining secrets surrounding the Bashir scandal might now finally see the light of day.
Travelers can soon indulge in a world of pure imagination as Booking.com introduces new Willy Wonka-inspired hotel suites in New York City and Los Angeles.

To celebrate the release of the Warner Bros. Pictures film Wonka, the accommodation website is offering guests the opportunity to stay at Wonka's Sweet Suites, featuring life-sized chocolates.

These unique accommodations can be found at the Park Lane hotel in NYC and Viceroy Santa Monica, each offering 'full of adventures inspired by the beloved chocolatier, allowing guests to feel 'main character energy' during their travels.'

The company said the hotels are 'transformed into sugary wonderlands inspired by the highly anticipated film,' and the stays will be 'complete with activities fit for a candy connoisseur.'

Wonka, which will hit theaters on December 15, narrates the wondrous and wholly original story of Roald Dahl's famous chocolatier and stars Timothee Chalamet as its title character.

To celebrate the release of the Warner Bros. Pictures film Wonka , Booking.com is offering guests the opportunity to stay at Wonka's Sweet Suites, featuring life-sized chocolates

These unique accommodations can be found at the Park Lane hotel in New York City and Viceroy Santa Monica in Los Angeles, California

Wonka, which will hit theaters on December 15, narrates the wondrous and wholly original story of Roald Dahl 's famous chocolatier and stars Timothee Chalamet as its title character

The stays will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis for two pairs of guests on December 13 at noon EST. Each stay is scheduled for December 15 and 16 and is priced at only $12.15.

'At Park Lane New Yorks conservatory suite and Viceroy Santa Monicas palmetto king suite, guests will enjoy all-you-can-treat experiences and edible amenities such as limited-edition, fun, and imaginative Wonka Magic Hat Gummies,' Booking.com said.

Other treats include 'life-sized chocolate confections, a replica of the tree in Wonkas candy shop, and a decadent chocolate bar bed topped with marshmallows set amidst cotton candy clouds for the sweetest dreams, like those in the new film'.

In addition to the overnight stays, the experience will come with tickets to watch Wonka in theaters, vintage destination posters and stamp wallpaper inspired by the chocolatiers travels, candy-inspired beverages, and more.

If the suits were booked by level 2 or level 3 members of the company's loyalty program Genius, Wonkas sweet suites experience will be upgraded to include a free chocolate-infused breakfast, the company said.

Those who have a Booking.com account will automatically enjoy free lifetime access to exclusive travel rewards, starting from a ten percent discount toward hundreds of accommodation and select car rentals.

The origin tale on Willy Wonka - based on Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - hits UK theaters on December 8 and US theaters December 15

The stays will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis for two pairs of guests on December 13 at noon EST

Each stay is scheduled for December 15 and 16 and is priced at only $12.15

The origin tale on Willy Wonka - based on Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - hits UK theaters on December 8 and US theaters December 15.

The embargo for reviews and reactions lifted last month as the world premiere took place in London, prompting a flurry of positive tweets from fans.

Wonka also features Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, and newcomer Calah Lane.

Chalamet earned $9M to portray the titular character after beating out Tom Holland, Donald Glover, Ezra Miller and Ryan Gosling for the role.

The eccentric genius, who delighted in punishing naughty children, was memorably originated by Gene Wilder in Mel Stuart's 1971 beloved classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
As a veteran journalist and filmmaker, I'm used to battling with big and powerful institutions to discover their secrets. But my two-year legal tussle with BBC bosses has been quite extraordinary.

They have fought tooth and nail to keep 3,000 documents linked to Martin Bashir's infamous interview with Princess Diana under wraps  equal to more than 10,000 pages of undisclosed material.

Earlier this year, over two days, I argued my case to Judge Brian Kennedy KC, overseeing an information tribunal. I urged him to agree with me that it is overwhelmingly in the public interest for these internal emails to be divulged to the public.

Lined up against me was the BBC's formidable six-strong legal team, led by barrister Jason Pobjoy, who represented Boris Johnson during the Partygate allegations. It's perhaps no surprise the Corporation has spent an astonishing 100,000 of licence-payers' money, just on their external legal fees.

You may well ask what else is there to say about Bashir's outrageous entrapment of Diana?

We know that the reporter only landed his sensational 1995 interview with the Princess by peddling a litany of lies and smears to her. We also know, thanks to Lord Dyson's excoriating report in 2021, that BBC bosses at the time covered up much of what they knew about Bashir's deceit.

The BBC have fought tooth and nail to keep 3,000 documents linked to Martin Bashir 's infamous interview with Princess Diana (pictured) under wraps

The remaining secrets surrounding the Bashir scandal might now finally see the light of day. Pictured: Martin Bashir last month

But I have long believed that there is a much bigger story here and that the Corporation's attempts to hush up this scandal did not end 28 years ago.

Indeed, I believe that in 2020, when the scale of Bashir's deception finally began to emerge, senior figures currently running the BBC planned a completely new and cynical campaign to mislead the public about what was known about the reporter's nefarious activities.

That is why I was delighted to learn Judge Kennedy has ordered the Corporation hand over huge swathe of emails sent by BBC managers between September and November 2020.

Emails may reveal the BBC tried to blacken Earl Spencer's good name

Since his ruling  and his blistering condemnation of the BBC  I've had messages of support from some of those most closely affected by the Corporation's past conduct, including Patrick Jephson, Diana's former private secretary.

Most significant of all has been the reaction of Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, who was delighted that the truth might now emerge.

Crucially, the emails I have fought so hard to see may now reveal that the BBC attempted to blacken the Earl's name.

Who in the BBC hierarchy authorised the release, to me, in October 2020, of the extraordinary memo which falsely claimed that Spencer had colluded with Bashir? That Spencer had shown Bashir the bank statement of an ex-employee?

This was an astonishing allegation, and totally untrue. But why did the BBC make it public?

And why did the BBC withhold a crucial 1996 memo, from another BBC executive, that indicated a cynical cover-up and declared: 'The Diana story is probably now dead, unless Spencer talks'?

Thanks to Judge Kennedy's ruling, all may soon become clear.

I firmly believe that last week's judgment is a sign that the last remaining cover-up of this sordid saga has begun to unravel. The remaining secrets surrounding the Bashir scandal might now finally see the light of day.
Commentary: China-EU relations demand "threefold approach" in new era

Xinhua) 11:06, December 09, 2023

This photo taken on Nov. 15, 2023 shows part of the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

It is essential for the EU to recognize that China's development has brought peace, cooperation, and prosperity both domestically and internationally.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the European Union (EU) has been in place for two decades, enduring the challenges of a volatile global landscape.

Now, standing at the threshold of a new era, both sides seek a fresh upgrade and transformation anchored in an innovative "threefold approach."

First and foremost, the foundation of China-EU relations should be built upon accurate mutual understanding.

China has consistently regarded Europe as a crucial strategic partner. French enterprises were among the first foreign businesses to enter the Chinese market following China's reform and opening-up policies.

Fu Cong, Chinese ambassador to the EU, said that China-EU relations are built on a foundation of solid public opinion, extensive common interests, and similar strategic aspirations.

Over the years, China has steadfastly supported European integration and the EU's efforts towards "strategic autonomy," maintaining extensive communication and coordination with it in regional and international affairs.

It is essential for the EU to recognize that China's development has brought peace, cooperation, and prosperity both domestically and internationally.

China remains committed to enhancing convergence with other countries, injecting new momentum and opportunities into the world through its dynamic development.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping put it, "a just cause should be pursued for the common good."

As the world's largest developing country, China consistently upholds a global perspective and sticks to the Chinese path to modernization.

A China-Europe freight train which departed from Duisburg of Germany arrives at Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen)

China has benefited the world based on its own development, sharing its opportunities with others. Thus, it has made a positive contribution to global peace and development.

Secondly, the relationship between China and the EU should be based on a correct perspective, avoiding a narrow-minded "zero-sum game" mindset that usually favors single industrial or personal interest.

Instead, a holistic approach should be adopted to promote the overall development of China-EU relations from the perspective of humanity as a whole.

The EU itself is a modern entity with a global vision and aspirations. Functioning as a normative power, the EU provides rules and standards for global governance in areas such as climate change, environmental management, and economic and trade cooperation. The EU inherently carries a sense of "mission" in addressing global challenges.

In the new era, facing a series of global challenges such as climate change, food crises, geopolitical tensions, and digital technology governance, European leaders often emphasize, "unity is strength."

Progress in advancing industrial upgrading, green development, environmental protection, and global peace and development can only be realized through mutual understanding, mutual respect, and solidarity between China and Europe. Collaborative efforts should be made towards the common goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

A visitor takes photos of an exhibit during the 3rd China-Europe International Art Biennial in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/He Canling)

Finally, a solid public opinion basis should be cultivated as the root of China-EU relations. Both sides boast rich histories and profound cultural heritages. While the Chinese people appreciate European literature, art, and architecture, Europeans have a strong interest in the culture of China.

China's recent visa-free policies for multiple EU countries' citizens mark a new step in fostering closer ties between people of both sides, a testament to China's sincerity and goodwill.

"Amity between people holds the key to sound relations between states," Xi has said in many speeches.

With the increasing convenience for businesspeople, scholars, scientists, tourists, and students to travel between China and Europe, the bedrock of public opinion between the two is bound to strengthen.

The evolving dynamics of China-EU relations demand a much-needed boost using the "threefold approach," so that the China-EU partnership can address the "changes on a scale unseen in a century" in the new era, navigate the complexities of the modern world, and contribute to global stability, prosperity, and the well-being of people on both sides and the world at large.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Alexandra Jacobs at the New York Times:

Much of Zero at the Bone is set a long way from Yale: in the hot, flat, scrubby towns of Texas where Wiman grew up, the apparent golden child of a deeply tarnished family, my father vanishing, my mother wracked with rage and faith, my siblings sinking into drugs and alcohol, my own mind burning at night like an oil fire on water. (He mentions only briefly an opiate addiction of his own, and spends maybe a little too much time recapping an abandoned bildungsroman in service of the theory that God is a failed novelist who seems conflicted about how  or whether  to finish us.)

Along with humanitys end in the main, Wiman has been forced to confront his own end in the particular. His refusal to submit to Americas cancer camaraderie, instead trying to explain the otherworldly intimacy of its pain, reminded me of Barbara Ehrenreich. Through the rooms/the white minders come and go/with their upbeat and their bags of blood, he writes Prufrockishly of hospital treatment.

more here.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents about the dangers of high-powered, pea-sized magnets found in toys after several deaths have been link to their ingestion.

The federal agency estimated that ingestion of the magnets led to at least seven deaths, and 2,400 hospital emergency room visits from 2017 to 2021.

One company has recalled a set containing them after it became aware of their life-threatening materials.

But at least five other companies that also sold the magnetic balls refused to recall their products - so the Commission is alerting consumers, a spokeswoman told The New York Times

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents about the dangers of high-powered, pea-sized magnets found in toys after several deaths have been link to their ingestion

The federal agency estimated that ingestion of the magnets led to at least seven deaths, and 2,400 hospital emergency room visits from 2017 to 2021

Neodymium Magnetic Balls sold by XpressGoods, a North Carolina company, from July 2021 through May 2022 were recalled on Thursday. Five other companies refused to recall their products

The hazardous magnets can kill children if two or more are swallowed as they can attract each other in the stomach, perforating intestinal walls, twisting and blocking intestines - which could lead to infection and blood poisoning.

Neodymium Magnetic Balls sold by XpressGoods, a North Carolina company, from July 2021 through May 2022 were recalled on Thursday.

The company has offered full refunds for the Chinese-made product and directly contacted purchasers of the roughly 700 units it had sold.

Made from rare-earth metals, each ball measures five millimeters. The safety commission said the magnets were stronger than permitted by federal toy regulations.

'Consumers should stop using the recalled magnetic balls immediately, (and) take them away from children,' the commission said in an online notice.

The commission did not say who manufactures the balls.

The hazardous magnets can kill children if two or more are swallowed as they can attract each other in the stomach, perforating intestinal walls, twisting and blocking intestines - which could lead to infection and blood poisoning.

Buckyballs are popular toys sold in the form of metal spheres, which can be stacked into any shape thanks to their magnetic properties. They have caused death by ingestion

In 2019, a Chinese boy reportedly nearly died after sticking 53 magnetic beads into his penis out of curiosity.

Then 14-year-old Jiang Hua inserted them into his urethra and thought he would be able to remove them himself.

After inserting them into his penis, he thought he could squeeze them out himself. But instead, they were being pushed further and further inside.

In the process, he crammed more balls up there in a desperate attempt to draw them out with their magnetic force.

Local reports state his underwear was 'soaked with blood' the next day, forcing him to admit to his grandfather what he had done.

He was rushed to Wuhan Children's Hospital where doctors described him as pale, vomiting, dizzy and in shock.

They surgically removed the magnetic balls, which had clumped together in two strings and reportedly caused life-threatening hemorrhaging.

He was taken to the children's hospital at 11pm that night. Overnight, the hospital director and urologist Dr Wang Jun operated to remove the string of beads. He saved the teenager from a 'critical condition', local reports said at the time

Another 12-year-old boy had balls removed from his bladder at the same hospital after inserting them into his penis two months before.

After being pulled aside by doctors, he admitted he had forced Buckyballs into his urethra while 'exploring his anatomy'.

In 2019, a Chinese boy reportedly nearly died after sticking 53 magnetic beads into his penis out of curiosity

A 14-year-old boy from China nearly died from severe bleeding from his genitals after sticking 53 magnetic beads into his penis out of curiosity. Doctors removed 31 beads from the boy's bladder two months after he'd inserted them (pictured)

A 12-year-old boy had the same magnetic toys removed from his bladder at Wuhan Children's Hospital after inserting them into his penis two months before (pictured)

Doctors were faced with a challenge to remove the magnetic balls because they are slippery and can collect in a cluster.

'Buckyballs' have been scrutinized for being a danger to children, causing death in some cases where they have been ingested.

'Buckyballs are magnetic, so they attract each other. They tend to slip when trying to grasp them, or they form a large ball-shaped cluster.

'It was very difficult to retrieve them. In the end, we removed all 31 by pumping his bladder with air.'

The medic noted that filling the young patient's bladder with air made it easier to locate and grasp the foreign bodies, and also avoided the need for a more invasive surgery.

Buckyballs are popular toys sold in the form of metal spheres, which can be stacked into any shape thanks to their magnetic properties.

They were banned in the US in 2012 after thousands of children ingested them, leaving some dead.

However, they were put back on the market after a leading company, Zen Magnets, appealed.

Dr Jun and colleagues urged parents to be wary of the toys and to teach teenagers about their bodies at the time.

The department receives more than 10 cases of similar foreign bodies every year, the vast majority of which are adolescent children, and the majority of boys, according to reports.

Experts say that Buckyballs are more dangerous than other foreign objects - whether inserted in the genitals or eaten.

The balls are drawn to each other through different organs, which can cause perforations. In the intestine, this could lead to life-threatening.

The Fisher-Price Smart Bear was discontinued in 2019 over safety concerns

Experts also warned this year to avoid putting some so-called 'smart toys' under the Christmas tree this year. Parents are being warned over privacy issues in youngsters' devices such as the Echo Dot smart speaker and Fire tablet (file picture)

Experts also warned this year to avoid putting some so-called 'smart toys' under the Christmas tree this year, after the publication of a 'Trouble in Toyland' report from the US PIRG Education Fund.

Consumer protection experts say that microphones and cameras in the toys - as well as AI and personal data storage - are placing children's privacy at risk and heighten instances of grooming and even kidnapping.

'Our children's holiday gift wish lists may be filled with stuffed animals that listen and talk, devices that learn their habits, games with online accounts, smart speakers and watches, or all kinds of toys that require you to download an app,' the report said.

'All smart toys may pose a risk to children, depending on the specific toy, the age of the child, the child's technical skills and their capacity to understand what's OK and what's not.'

As the range rapidly expands, the $17 billion smart toy industry is set to double by 2027.

In an effort to protect children from a new wave of threats, report authors Teresa Murray and R.J. Cross advised parents to exercise caution over smart toy purchases.

Consumer protection experts say that microphones and cameras in the toys - as well as AI and personal data storage - are placing children's privacy at risk and heighten instances of grooming or kidnapping. The Meta Quest 3 headset could harm 'developing brains' experts say

An unidentified 11-year-old girl from Wayne, New Jersey was kidnapped and taken across state lines by a 27-year-old Darius Matylewich to Bear, Delaware

They warned against some games, including the popular app Roblox, the Meta virtual reality headset and, as a more traditional choking-hazard, water beads, which the report says 'can be deadly'.

The research comes after a series of incidents where toys placed children in danger.

Last month, an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped on September 10 from Wayne by a man she met while playing Roblox online.

Police say 27-year-old Darius Matylewich took the girl from her hometown after chatting on multiple gaming platforms. She was found safe a short time later, about 135 miles away from her home.

Roblox software allows users to play a wide variety of games and chat with others online - it is one of the most popular mobile games this year.

Roblox denied that the pair met on their game and said they 'take the safety of our users, particularly our youngest users, incredibly seriously' and are 'committed to providing a positive and safe experience for people of all ages'.
Australians have made it clear they believe there is one major policy change the federal government could make to fix the country's housing crisis.

A new poll has shown that almost two-thirds of Aussies want Anthony Albanese's government to cut migration after numbers surged since the pandemic ended.

The Resolve Political Monitor for Nine newspapers found that 62 per cent of voters said the migration intake - which is set to top 500,000 this year - is too high.

In a sign that the government has taken notice of the public's concerns, it will announce on Sunday that foreigners who buy houses in Australia and leave them empty will be hit with a massive tax hike.

This is designed to get rid of so-called 'ghost mansions' in some of Australia's wealthiest suburbs - houses left empty as the owners watch their value rise.

A new poll has shown that almost two-thirds of Aussies want Anthony Albanese's government to cut migration after numbers surge since the pandemic ended. Mr (centre) is pictured with Rio Tinto Chief Executive Iron Ore Simon Trott (left) and Federal Minister for Resources Madeleine King (right)

The Resolve Political Monitor for Nine newspapers found that 62 per cent of voters said the migration intake - which is set to top 500,000 this year - is too high (stock image)

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is also set to announce plans to help ease the rental crisis, such as cuts to fees paid by overseas investors who want to build homes to rent.

On Saturday, Mr Albanese said the government would bring immigration back to what he believes is a sustainable level after a huge post-Covid increase.

The overhaul follows a review which found Australia's immigration system was 'badly broken' and in need of a 10-year rebuild, he said.

READ MORE: Major backdown by Anthony Albanese's government as it readies to slash record immigration numbers Advertisement

'What we know is that we need to have a migration system that enables Australia to get the skills that we need but make sure the system is working in the interests of all Australians,' he said.

The Prime Minister said there was always going to be a jump in immigration after Covid-19, but that current projections were lower than before Australia shut its borders during the pandemic.

Treasury forecasts also showed the intake is expected to decline substantially over the coming financial year.

The review, conducted by former Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet head Martin Parkinson, found abuses of Australia's acceptance of international students.

'People are coming here, enrolling in courses that don't really add substantially to either their skills base or to the national interest here,' Mr Albanese said.

'So it's not in the interests of our neighbours, nor is it in the interests of Australia, that there not be a crackdown on this. We're determined to do that.'

He said the review 'found that it was a deliberate decision to neglect the system and that it was so badly broken, according to Parkinson, it required a 10-year rebuild. Well, we are determined to fix this.'

Among the changes to be announced in the coming days will be stronger English language proficiency requirements for students.

The Resolve survey showed a strong preference for bringing allowing skilled workers rather than students into Australia, and low support for giving priority to refugees and asylum seekers.

The government will announce on Sunday that foreigners who buy houses in Australia and leave them empty will be hit with a massive tax hike. A house auction in Sydney is pictured

Business organisations want the government to have a large skilled migration intake to help fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in construction, health, housing, engineering and technology.

The building industry alone said it needs 480,000 new workers over the next three years - from Australian apprentices to skilled foreign workers - to fill new jobs and replace retiring tradies.

The government's announcement came as an Eritrean-born man became the sixth former immigration detainee arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a curfew.

The AFP arrested and charged the 36-year-old on Friday night after he was located in inner Melbourne.

The man allegedly breached the conditions of his visa by failing to observe his residential curfew obligations, with the offence attracting a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $93,900 fine.

The government has been scrambling to respond to a high court decision, which overturned 20 years of legal precedent to rule indefinite custody of detainees unlawful when there was no prospect of resettlement.

The Opposition has demanded that the government apologise to Australians over the affair.

Among the changes to be announced in the coming days will be stronger English language proficiency requirements for students. An entrance to the University of NSW is pictured

But Mr Albanese said Labor had a legal obligation to respond to the court's decision and had no interest in risking the consequences of pre-empting such processes.

He said the government got very clear and explicit advice on the issue but despite making it available to the Opposition, it had been ignored.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia grew 2.2 per cent to 26.5 million people in the 12 months to March 31, roughly marking the period after the international borders were reopened.

Net overseas migration accounted for 81 per cent of this growth and added 454,400 people.
Scott Bok, Chair of the school's Board of Trustees, announced his own resignation just moments later

Liz Magill resigned from her post following fierce backlash to her controversial congressional testimony over antisemitism on campus on Tuesday

The president of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down from her role on Saturday

The president of the University of Pennsylvania has resigned from her post following fierce backlash to her controversial congressional testimony over antisemitism on campus.

Liz Magill, alongside the president's of Harvard and MIT, was summoned before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday by lawmakers concerned by reports of a rise in antisemitism at leading universities.

They faced heated questioning from committee chair Congresswoman Elise Stefanik but failed to assert that calls for genocide against Jews on campus would definitively constitute harassment.

Following international outcry, including more than 70 lawmakers calling for her resignation, Magill stood down on Saturday.

Pressure is now growing for the president's of Harvard and MIT whose testimony largely mirrored Magill's, with congresswoman Stefanik writing 'One down. Two to go' on X.

The president of the University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill has resigned from her post following fierce backlash to her controversial congressional testimony over antisemitism on campus

U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik during the tense House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing

Scott L. Bok, Chair of the school's Board of Trustees, later announced his own resignation following Magill's decision to step down, effective immediately

'This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most 'prestigious' higher education institutions in America' Stefanik wrote on Saturday evening.

Adding: 'Harvard and MIT, do the right thing. The world is watching.'

Just minutes after Magill's statement the chair of the Upenn's board of trustees, Scott Bok, also resigned.

Bok's Vice Chair, Julie Beren Platt, has been named interim chair of the board.

In a statement issued Saturday evening Magill wrote: 'It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution.

'It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn's vital missions.'

In his own resignation statement Bok defended Magill as a 'good person' who is 'not the slightest bit anti-Semitic' but had made a 'misstep' after 'months of relentless external attacks.'

'Today, following the resignation of the University of Pennsylvania's President and related Board of Trustee meetings, I submitted my resignation as Chair of the University's Board of Trustees, effective immediately,' he said in a statement.

'While I was asked to remain in that role for the remainder of my term in order to help with the presidential transition, I concluded that, for me, now was the right time to depart.'

Magill resigned on Saturday following calls for her to quit which only ramped up after she appeared before Congress to explain her response to the anti-Semitism

Harvard President Claudine Gay at the congressional hearing on antisemitism on campus

The hearing also saw widely criticized testimony from MIT president Sally Kornbluth

He acknowledged that Magill had made an error during her disastrous Congressional testimony and described it as a 'dreadful 30-second sound bite'.

Bok added: 'Former President Liz Magill last week made a very unfortunate misstepconsistent with that of two peer university leaders sitting alongside herafter five hours of aggressive questioning before a Congressional committee.

'Following that, it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit.'

He wished Magill 'well in her future endeavors' and praised her as a 'good person and a talented leader who was beloved by her team'.

He continued: 'She is not the slightest bit anti-Semitic. Working with her was one of the great pleasures of my life.

'Worn down by months of relentless external attacks, she was not herself last Tuesday.

'Over prepared and over lawyered given the hostile forum and high stakes, she provided a legalistic answer to a moral question, and that was wrong.'

Magill was slammed for her testimony, in which she said that reprimanding students who call for a Jewish genocide was not paramount - but 'context' specific.

She was asked a 'yes or no' question on whether calls for the genocide of Jews counted as hate speech, and repeatedly said it depended on the context.

On Wednesday she attempted to clarify her comments, but the damage was done: a wealthy alumnus withdrew a $100 million donation, and her remarks were roundly condemned by the ADL, the White House and politicians across the board.

Magill issued a groveling video statement attempting to explain her failure to condemn calls for the genocide of Jewish people on campuses.

She said she was not 'focused' on the issue, and said she wanted to 'be clear' that calls for genocide were 'evil, plain and simple' - although she said the blame lay with her university's policies and the constitution, rather than with her.

Magill said: 'There was a moment during yesterday's Congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies.

'In that moment, I was focused on our university's long-standing policies - aligned with the U.S. Constitution - which say that speech alone is not punishable.

The former president will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law

The university's board held crisis talks on Tuesday but 'nothing' happened, according to sources. A second meeting was set for Sunday before the announcement came

'I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It's evil, plain and simple.'

Magill said she hoped to draw a line in the sand, and clarify her position.

'I want to be clear: a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening, deeply so,' she said.

'It is intentionally meant to terrify a people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries, and were the victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust.

'In my view it would be harassment or intimidation.'

But, Magill said, it was not officially classed as harassment - a policy she said was outdated and needed review.

Magill pledged to work to update the existing rules.

'For decades under multiple Penn presidents and consistent with most universities, Penn's policies have been guided by the Constitution and the law,' she said.

'In today's world, where we are seeing signs of hate proliferating across our campus and our world in a way not seen in years, these policies need to be clarified and evaluated.

'Penn must initiate a serious and careful look at our policies.'

She concluded that she was 'committed to a safe, secure and supportive environment so all members of our community can thrive. We can, and we will, get it right.'

On Thursday, as the House Education Committee said they were investigating the issue further, the board of Wharton - the world's first business school, founded in 1881 at the University of Pennsylvania - said Magill needed to resign.

In a letter addressed to her, they said leadership of the university needed to change 'with immediate effect'.

Magill on Wednesday tried to explain her equivocation when asked if calling for the genocide of Jewish people was hate speech

In a letter addressed to Magill, the Wharton Board said leadership of the university needed to change 'with immediate effect'

'As a result of the University leadership's stated beliefs and collective failure to act, our Board respectfully suggests to you and the Board of Trustees that the University requires new leadership with immediate eect.'

The board, in a letter first obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian, describes their concern about 'dangerous and toxic culture' at Penn that they said the University leadership has allowed to exist.

The letter added that the University leadership 'does not share the values of our Board.'

The House Education and the Workforce Committee said it will probe the elite schools with the 'full force of subpoena power,' after presidents Claudine Gay, Sally Kornbluth, and Magill's astonishing words and actions.

Her resignation comes after crisis talks where 'nothing' happened were held earlier in the week.

The Board was due to meet again Sunday to discuss Magill stepping down before she offered to go.

At the time of her resignation, a petition calling for her to be sacked had received more than 26,000 signatures.

Magill had been in post since July last year, but her and it appears her poor stewardship of clashes between Pro Palestine and Israel supporters will become her legacy.

Several high profile donors threatened to withdraw or have already removed their funding amid the controversy.

Among them was Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of New York-based Stone Ridge Asset Management, who said he withdrew his $100 million donation in disgust over Penn's handling of anti-Semitism.
A homicide investigation has been launched after a woman was found streets away from a house fire before dying at the scene.

The woman was found with critical injuries on a Brimstone Court at Kallangur, in Brisbane's north, at 7pm on Saturday.

Emergency services had been called moments earlier to a house fire after a property burst into flames on nearby Frances Court.

The woman was declared dead shortly after she was found with critical injuries while a man was found nearby with serious burns and rushed to hospital.

Police have commenced a homicide investigation after a woman was found critically injured near a house fire

The man is assisting police with their inquiries.

Moreton Police district detective inspector David Harbison said there was no danger to the public.

'This matter is very much in its infancy,' he said.

'It's not appropriate to release any further details at this point, the investigation is unfolding as we speak.'

Fire crews arrived to find smoke billowing out of the front room of a property.

They were able to bring the blaze under control by 8pm with part of the property's ceiling collapsing.

A neighbour told the Courier Mail that it had been a chaotic scene.

'We were just inside and heard all the sirens,' Amber Joslin said.

A man who was found near the scene of the blaze was rushed to hospital with serious burns

She said the man who was taken to hospital was found on her street.

'Thank god the kids aren't home tonight,' she said.

'We are pretty freaked out.'

Police urge anyone who may have seen anything in the area at the time of the incident, or who may have relevant dashcam/CCTV footage to contact them.
A young man was rushed to hospital after being shot in a Melbourne strip club, in what police believe was a targeted attack.

Emergency services were called to The Men's Gallery on Lonsdale Street in the city's CBD following reports of a suspected gunshot just after 4am on Sunday.

A man believed to be in his late teens or early twenties was found injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

A young man was rushed to hospital after being shot in a Melbourne strip club, The Men's Gallery (pictured), in what police believe was a targeted attack

A blood stain is seen on the footpath at the crime scene on Sunday morning. Detectives from the Armed Crime Squad are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting

On Sunday morning, the area was cordoned off by police who interviewed witnesses from both inside and outside the venue.

One witness told Today they heard an argument between two men before before shots were fired.

The alleged offender fled in a vehicle, while the victim was rushed to hospital where he is in a stable condition.

Police are treating the incident as a targeted attack.

On Sunday morning, the area was cordoned off by police who interviewed witnesses from both inside and outside the venue (pictured)

The alleged offender fled in a vehicle, while the victim was rushed to hospital where he is in a stable condition

'Detectives from the Armed Crime Squad are investigating the circumstances surrounding a shooting in Melbourne this morning,' a spokesperson for Victoria Police said.

'Emergency services were called to Lonsdale Street, near the intersection of King Street, following reports a man had been injured just after 4am.

'Police have been told a suspected gunshot was heard before the man was found in Lonsdale Street.

'The injured man, believed aged in his late teens or early twenties, has been taken to hospital for treatment and is not being forthcoming with information to police.'

Anyone with information, CCTV or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
Police are hunting for a pro-Palestine protester who waved a sign on Saturday comparing the IDF's rounding up of Palestinians in their underwear to the execution of Jewish people by the Nazis during the Second World War.

The Met Police shared an image of the woman - wearing a beanie hat and a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf - on X, formerly Twitter, following Saturday's protests.

Images of the sign were shared by others on social media: it shows a photograph, taken during the Second World War, of German police preparing to execute Jewish men and boys in Poland.

Alongside it, the placard features a photograph of Israel Defense Forces soldiers with dozens of Palestinian men who had been stripped to their underwear - and the caption: 'Spot the difference?' The other side read: 'Stop killing children.'

Elsewhere, video was shared of a protester with a microphone and amplifier calling for 'victory to the intifada' during the protest; 'intifada' is an Arabic word referring to a rebellion, uprising or resistance movement.

The Metropolitan Police has asked for the public's help in identifying a woman carrying a sign comparing the IDF's treatment of Palestinians to Holocaust victims

The sign compared a scene of Nazis preparing to execute Jewish men and boys to the IDF's capture and stripping of Palestinians

Victory to the intifada, apparently. This the Communist bloc pic.twitter.com/ULA07Hcno6  Yonatan  #AdoptIHRA (@__jacker__) December 9, 2023

Images of Palestinian captives stripped to their underwear by the IDF were shared earlier this week; it was not clear whether they were civilians or Hamas fighters

One sign pictured at the march made a reference to the 'final solution' - a term used by the Nazis to refer to the genocide of Jews

Another person held a sign with pictures of devastation in Gaza accompanied by the caption: Israel's Gaza Holocaust

Photographer Stuart Mitchell shared a video of an exchange he had with the woman holding the sign on the social network.

He asked: 'Are they Holocaust victims in your poster? Is that appropriate?' She appears to acknowledge his questions but does not respond further.

He also attempted to bring the sign to the attention of police officers monitoring the rally. The Met says the officers did not stop to engage with him because they were following the woman holding the sign.

In a series of tweets, the force said: 'We are appealing for the public's help to identify the woman below as part of an investigation into a placard carried at the protest earlier today. We would also appeal to the woman to come forward.'

It later added: 'The officers didnt stop because as the video was being filmed, they were already following the person holding the placard while waiting for other officers to reach them. That was their focus.

'The density of the crowd meant that they ultimately lost sight of her prior to other officers arriving. We are now appealing for the publics help to identify her, or for her to come forward.

The photograph on the right was shared by Israeli media and shows IDF troops rounding up a number of Palestinian men who had been stripped to their underwear.

When asked about the images, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari seemed to confirm that the men had been taken prisoner but did not clarify whether those pictured were members of Hamas or civilians.

He suggested that the men had been stripped to make sure they were not carrying weapons; they were believed to have surrendered in the Jabalia refugee camp and other areas around northern Gaza.

The origin of the image on the left has never been fully ascertained, but is believed to show naked Jewish men and boys being rounded up by German police following the invasion of Poland in 1939.

One example was been captioned: 'Photograph of the abuse of Jews before execution, Sniatyn, Poland (now Ukraine), 11/05/1943'. An investigation carried out by the Guardian in 2004 was unable to confirm the story behind the picture but it forms part of several collections of Holocaust historical material around the world.

Elsewhere, a man was heard encouraging people to chant 'victory to the intifada' as he marched through central London with a microphone and amplifier.

'We can't stop until Palestine is free...we can only stop when imperialism has been crushed and the imperialists defeated under the boot of the people.

'That is the only way we will win and we can never stop until that day.'

He added: 'That's why we say: From London, to Gaza.' Others responded: 'Victory to the intifada.'

'Intifada' is an Arabic word that in this context refers to the uprising of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation.

Police detain a person during the pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday. The Met says it has made 13 arrests, mostly related to offensive signs

Officers encircle a person as they are detained at the corner of Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade in central London on Saturday

Police detain a protester as a man wearing an orange 'observer' vest looks on in Whitehall

There are two recognised Palestinian intifadas: the first, six-year resistance between 1987 and 1993, and a second intifada from 2000 to 2005. Some commentators have referred to events following the October 7 attacks as the 'third intifada'.

It has also been used in a wider context to refer to a number of civil uprisings throughout the Middle East.

It came as Scotland Yard continues to search for others waving allegedly offensive signs during today's pro-Palestine march in the capital - as well as earlier marches since Hamas' murderous incursion into Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people.

Enquiries are ongoing into a 'Final Solution' placard that also Israel to the Nazis as thousands of people descended on the capital on Saturday to call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a proscribed terror group in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police says it has made 13 arrests - largely for the carrying of offensive signs - on Saturday as images circulating online showed signs referring to Israel's sustained attacks on the Gaza Strip as 'genocide'.

One of the signs made a reference to the 'final solution' - a term used by the Nazis to refer to the genocide of Jews.

A spokesperson for the Met told MailOnline the force was 'not aware of any arrests in relation to this specific placard but officers are aware of the image and are actively investigating'.

Another sign featured pictures of Gaza with the caption: 'Israel's Gaza Holocaust', while a third added: 'One Holocaust does not justify another'.

Saturday's protests, attended by thousands, came a week after smaller demonstrations were held in boroughs across the capital, away from the centre of London.

The march began at Bank Junction at midday on Saturday; the Metropolitan Police later said the area around Whitehall was 'largely clear' after the protest

People of all ages marched through the streets of London on Saturday afternoon

A woman joins the march in solidarity with Palestinians in London on Saturday

A protester holds a bundle made to look like the wrapped corpse of a child during protests in London

In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, the Met said the protest had largely dispersed.

It added: 'There have been 13 arrests so far, mostly for offensive placards but some for other offences including possession of drugs and obstruction.'

READ MORE: Amazing moment man takes down Palestine flag flying in Tower Hamlets - only to be attacked by passing driver before they battle each other with LADDERS Advertisement

The Met has deployed a specialist CCTV team, known as Voyager, to monitor the pro-Palestine protests and identify alleged lawbreakers.

It has shared appeals on social media asking for help in identifying some protesters over alleged offensive placards.

Other arrests on Saturday included a woman who was wanted for an offence said to have taken place during a protest on October 28.

The march began at Bank Junction at midday on Saturday and is set finish in Westminster later this afternoon, following a route that takes it past St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House.

On X, the force said its Public Order crime team are investigating a series of signs for possible offences.

Protesters are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the US vetoed a UN resolution last night, as the body warned a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the region.

With the war now in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, with the majority of victims being women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

It comes as new analysis has found that the civilian proportion of total deaths rose to 61 percent in the first three weeks of Israel's 'Swords of Iron' operation.

Protesters speaking to the PA news agency said that the Government should demand a ceasefire.

Lebanese-American Nadim Hussami, 44, said: 'They should ask for an immediate ceasefire and not veto or abstain from UN Security Council resolutions.'

A man marches with a sign reading 'freedom for Palestine' - with a cat on his back - in central London on Saturday

Protesters march through central London towards Parliament Square to demand a ceasefire - as St Paul's Cathedral looms above them

The protest wrapped up late on Saturday afternoon after following a route that took it past St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House

Police officers speak with pro-Palestine protesters during Saturday's march

Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died since the militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, prompting several similar protests across the country

People on the march held signs with the words 'Free Palestine' and 'End the siege'

Some protesters chanted: 'One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state'

Jocelyn Cruywagen, from South Africa, added: 'We were oppressed by white people, as black South Africans we had to fight for our freedoms, we are still not entirely free.

'It takes so much time. The words of Mandela are, if the Palestinians are not free, we cannot be free, the world can not be be free.'

She said that the Government must call for a 'permanent ceasefire', adding: 'They should ask for the land to be restored to the Palestinians. The wall needs to come down.'

Londoner Kelly Hunter, 60, said she felt 'helpless' watching the news.

She said: 'I have come on every single one, I am a Londoner. I feel helpless, I can't sleep at night.

'I am watching this genocide. I will do everything I can in my power to march against it.'

Previously, the Metropolitan Police had tweeted that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. It is not thought that this is the same person pictured with the 'final solution' sign.

'As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany,' the force said.

'He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.'

A short while later, police said a second protester had been arrested for holding an 'offensive' placard.

The Met issued a dispersal order under Section 35 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act which covers Westminster, Soho and Mayfair.

A spokesperson said: 'Anyone in the area who is directed by an officer to leave and fails to do so can be arrested.

'Orders under Section 60 and Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act are also in place in the same area until the same time.

'They provide officers with additional search powers to prevent violence/disorder and the power to direct the removal of face coverings.'

The march began at Bank Junction at midday on Saturday and is set finish in Westminster later this afternoon

One sign read: '10,000 children' and others urged for the 'genocide' to cease

People on the march held signs which bore the words 'Gaza Stop the Massacre'

Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters take part in a minute of silence

One sign read: Imperialism, Settler-colonialism, Racism, Apartheid, Ethnic cleansing and Land theft as an acronym of Israel

Hundreds of officers are policing the march, including officers from as far as Manchester who have been brought in for additional support

NEWCASTLE: Protesters carried a giant Palestinian flag as they marched along the city's waterfront on Saturday

Protesters in Manchester clashed with police - one waving a sign that read: 'Genocide is not a form of defence'

Protesters staged an occupation of Glasgow Central Station on Saturday in one of a number of rallies to take place across the country

Protesters in Glasgow waved Palestinian flags as they chanted slogans (left). Some even sat down on the station concourse as the protest unfolded (right)

People on the march held signs which bore the words 'Free Palestine' and 'End the siege', while some protesters chanted: 'One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.'

They also chanted the controversial slogan: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' and 'From London to Gaza, Globalise the intifadas'.

READ MORE: Gripping moment Israeli soldiers battle Hamas gunmen in Gaza school - then find tunnel leading to nearby mosque Advertisement

An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.

A post on the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) website reads: 'Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9 to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza.'

Protests were held elsewhere in the UK today as part of the the ongoing 'days of action' movement organised by groups including the PSC, Stop the War Coalition and Friends of Al-Aqsa, a pro-Palestinian organisation.

In Newcastle, hundreds marched along the city's waterfront beneath its bridges before assembling at Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

Protesters could be seen arguing with police in Manchester city centre; one woman waved a placard reading 'genocide is not a form of defence'.

In Glasgow, protesters occupied the city's Central Station concourse and chanted 'ceasefire now' as they sat on the terminal floor.

Sharing video of the crowd inside the railway station, the Glasgow chapter of the Stop the War Coalition tweeted: 'Glasgow Central Station occupied...Ceasefire now!'

Thousands of protesters have been seen in the capital in previous weekends. The largest counter-protest, on Armistice Day, saw gangs of far-right thugs clash with police around the Cenotaph and more than 100 people arrested.

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

Israeli's military has stepped up its ground offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip in recent days after decimating much of the north of the occupied territory in its mission to 'exterminate' Hamas.

Earlier, the Met Police said that protesters must stick to the agreed route, under Section 12 of the Public Order Act.

'Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm,' it said.

Hundreds of officers policed the march, including officers from as far as Manchester who have been brought in for additional support.

As the demo reached Parliament, dozens of police officers surrounded the statue to Winston Churchill.

Speeches were given by a number of speakers, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. A minute of silence was also held.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to march to Parliament Square, demanding ceasefire, showing solidarity with Palestinians

Signs called for an immediate ceasefire, to 'free Palestine' and 'end apartheid'

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies

As the demo reached Parliament, dozens of police officers surrounded the statue to Winston Churchill - as speeches supporting Palestine were voiced

Pro-Palestinian placards are pictured during a National March for Palestine in central London on Saturday

An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy

One woman at the march held a sign which referred to Israel as 'Israeliars'

Thousands are thought to be in attendance at the march this afternoon

Marchers in London held signs reading 'Free Palestine' and 'Stop the genocide'

Thousands of protesters walked through Trafalgar Square on Saturday

Thousands of protestors and counter-protesters have been seen in the capital in previous weekends

A grey day in London didn't dampen the spirits of thousands of people in the capital

Protesters in Trafalgar Square during a pro-Palestine march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in central London

People were seen holding balloons which were later released during the protest

Pro-Palestinian protesters march from Bank of England to Parliament Square as flags are flown in solidarity

One demonstrator denied that any of the signs or behaviour of protestors had been offensive, saying: 'There's been nothing offensive today. I don't accept there has been anything offensive'.

A booklet which previously heaped praise on terror organisation Hamas and branded them a 'resistant movement' was on sale without its pages on Hamas for the first time since the protests began.

It previously said it showed 'unconditional' support for Hamas, said it won 'wide popularity' among Palestinians and went on to say: 'We consider Hamas to be a resistance.'

The new version sees the pages that had praised Hamas removed.

It comes after the UK chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza - a motion that was vetoed by the US.

Earlier this week, pro-Palestine protesters were filmed chanting 'from the river to the sea' while disrupting an exclusive Chanel fashion show in Manchester that police had banned local people from watching from their balconies.
The Prince and Princess of Wales' Christmas card for 2023 is many things: understated, casual, and packed with cool, contemporary style.

But William and Kate's card is also curiously reminiscent of cards in years gone by - particularly those curated by William's mother, Diana.

The 1992 Christmas card issued by the then-Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales shows a very relaxed William and Harry posing in front of a lightly textured backdrop in white shirts and matching trousers.

It bears a striking resemblance to the card issued by William and Kate this year - from the understated dress of its subjects down to the positioning of the chair at an angle against the background.

William sits in the chair giving a delicate smile, a hand resting casually on the arm of the seat, while Harry stands on the opposite side behind his older brother, a hand resting on the opposite arm and the backrest.

The Christmas card photo issued by the Prince and Princess of Wales this year is a cool, contemporary and understated picture packed with style

But the set up of the photo - from the dress of its subjects to the low-key background and the positioning of the chair - bears a remarkable resemblance to the photo of Harry (left) and William (right) used in Diana's 1992 Christmas card

Charles and Diana posed for a similar photograph for their 1984 Christmas card - complete with a cheeky Prince William and a tiny Prince Harry, who was born in September that year

The Prince and Princess of Wales' card last year (above) was a very relaxed affair - though the 2023 card remains far less formal than that distributed by the Prince's father, King Charles

Previews of the cards that will be given to friends, family and staff of the Prince and Princess of Wales were issued on Saturday night - and spoke to the family's love of understated, informal photographs to accompany their festive greetings.

The black and white image chosen by William and Kate shows the pair smiling alongside sons Prince George, 10, Prince Louis, five and Princess Charlotte, eight, who, like her father 31 years ago, is sat in a chair at the front of the group.

The three men and boys are dressed in matching plain shirts - George opting for a Ralph Lauren Polo number - and dark trousers and shorts, while Kate and Charlotte have opted for denim jeans.

And while the proud parents and oldest son George have opted for dark, formal-looking shoes, Louis and Charlotte have been kitted out with matching trainers.

William, Kate and their children photographed at Windsor earlier this year by acclaimed photographer Josh Shinner, who has shot portraits of famous faces including Florence Pugh, Jodie Comer and Sam Smith.

Kensington Palace said of the photo's release: 'The Prince and Princess of Wales are very pleased to share a new photograph of their family.'

This year's card, while informal, shows more restraint than some of their previously issued season's greetings.

William and Kate's first card as Prince and Princess of Wales was a relaxed affair - showed the couple with George, Charlotte and Louis, all in trainers, on a stroll in Sandringham Estate, Norfolk.

It was shot by one of their favourite, and most trusted, photographers, Matt Porteous - and showed a relaxed Kate in jeans, a broderie anglaise shirt and Superga pumps.

William and George wore shirts and polo shirts from Ralph Lauren, and while the Prince of Wales opted for Jeans both George and Louis were dressed in chino shorts. Charlotte wore a denim playsuit embossed with decorations of strawberries.

The King and Queen's Christmas card is an altogether more formal affair, showing Charles and Camilla inside Buckingham Palace shortly after the coronation in May

The photograph was one of several taken of the King and Queen in full royal regalia on the day of the coronation (pictured: another of the series of pictures)

Previous cards issued during their tenure as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were similarly relaxed and often colourful affairs, such as their 2018 card, in which they sat on a tree trunk in Anmer Hall in Norfolk.

It also continues a tradition of relaxed festive greetings by the Prince of Wales - cards issued by Charles and Diana were similarly informal affairs.

With its subtle backdrop, this year's card also bears a remarkable similarity to that issued by Charles and Diana 1984 - complete with a cheeky Prince William and a tiny Prince Harry, who was born in September that year.

The King and Queen, meanwhile, opted for a Coronation photograph taken at Buckingham Palace to grace their festive card.

The formal image, showing Charles and Camilla in the palace throne room following the ceremony in May, was taken by photographer Hugo Burnand, who captured the couple standing side by side.

Charles wears the Imperial State Crown, while Camilla wears Queen Mary's Crown; the King is also pictured wearing a coronation tunic and the robe of estate.

Made of purple silk velvet embroidered in gold, the robe was worn by King George VI in 1937.

The Queen is wearing her robe of estate made by Ede and Ravenscroft and designed and hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. She also wears her coronation dress designed by Bruce Oldfield.

It is the couple's second Christmas card since Charles became King last year, following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 2002.
Monogramming is the ultimate touch of luxury - and all the rage at this time of year.

It was a must-have for A-listers in years gone by. Hollywood movie legends Cary Grant and Clark Gable would meet once a year to exchange monogrammed Christmas gifts.

From bedding, towels and throws to cushions, coasters and mugs  today there are plenty of things you can put your own stamp on  for your own home or as a gift for loved ones.

Jane Wiest, founder and director of interiors and monogramming company Initially London, says: Personalised home decor provides you with the opportunity to incorporate features into your home that express your distinct personality.

Wiest says she has seen a clear resurgence of people wanting to monogram items at home - both in personal spaces in the house such as the bedroom - and on show on table linens for dinner party guests to admire.

Custom-made style: Napkins with guests initials by The Embroidered Napkin Company will add a touch of class to your Christmas dinner table

Bespoke bedding

Initials  accompanied by a family crest if you have one  can be embroidered onto pillowcases, sheets and duvet covers.

For pillowcases, monogramming can be in a corner at the closed end of the pillowcase or take centre stage in the middle.

Duvet covers are likely to see the detail to the side though you can choose the positioning.

Try collections from Gilly Nicolson where you can select your preferred sheeting colour, design and choose your monogramming from 400 stitch colours (from 48, gillynicolson.co.uk).

Turn the tables

Table linen  tablecloths, runners and napkins  plays a big part of the look of your dinner parties.

Theres an elegant selection of napkins at The Embroidered Napkin Company who work with Sophie Conran and Rebecca Udall.

You can choose napkin shape, fabric, edging and colour, and for the monogramming, the colour and style of the embroidery (from 12, theembroiderednapkincompany.co.uk).

Cute cushions

Monogrammed cushions and throws are the perfect finishing touch to a well-dressed sofa or bed.

Plenty of High Street retailers now sell alphabet cushions including Dunelm as well as online at Etsy.com.

Cut and dried: A set of personalised towels by The Fine Cotton Company

Couples can declare their love and commitment on a cushion by adding both of their initials. The couples initial cushion from Kate Sproston Design is grey wool with a choice of colours for the piping.

You can add your initials joined by an ampersand or love heart (49.50, notonthehighstreet.com).

At Initially London, you can commission a velvet cushion with your own design of initials (from 60, initiallylondon.com).

For throws, try the soft handloomed herringbone design from Living Roots and add your initials or full name (41.90, notonthehighstreet.com).

For bathrooms, having your towels marked with your name adds a certain something to your shelving display.

Try designs from the Fine Cotton Company where you can select luxurious towels to be embroidered (from 16, thefinecotton company.com).

Quirky kitchens

Luxury kitchens company Tom Howley can monogram numerous areas in a kitchen, such as the pantry or the much-coveted island.

A popular talking point is personalising the combined utility and boot room  affectionately known as a bootility room  with your beloved pets name (tomhowley.co.uk).

You dont always need to go bespoke if youre in the market for personalised mugs and coasters.

Compliment your tablescaping with monogrammed glassware at Next, from tumblers to generous gin balloon glasses (from 5, next.co.uk).

Mugs bearing letters of the alphabet are popular at Anthropologie  the Mezze monogram mugs are a must-have (12, anthropologie.com)  and coasters can be a nod to the trend, too.

Try the bistro-tiled Margot coasters (10, anthropologie.com).

Festive favourites

Glass hot air balloon monogram Christmas tree decorations at Anthropologie are a playful addition to baubles (10, anthropologie.com).

Try the beaded Christmas tree decorations which come in all letters of the alphabet at Dunelm (3) or splash out in Fortnum & Mason on its alphabet Christmas decorations.

Each enamel ornament is hand-decorated with a letter in Fortnums signature Eau de Nil and finished with a gold rim (14.99, fortnumandmason.com).

Elsewhere, John Lewis has new pop-up personalisation stations where you can get items monogrammed for 8 each.
It's been almost 60 years since Roald Dahl wrote his children's classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Yet many of us still daydream about the fantastical treats he imagined for eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.

Now, those of you with a sweet tooth will be pleased to hear that many of these treats are no longer limited to our imaginations.

From lickable wallpaper to rivers of chocolate, food scientists are working hard to make Roald Dahl's ideas a reality.

As the new Wonka movie hits cinemas this week, MailOnline reveals the incredible Wonka creations that now exist in the real world.

As the new Wonka movie hits cinemas this week, MailOnline reveals the incredible Wonka creations that now exist in the real world

READ MORE: Warning over fake Wonka chocolate bars amid fears they could be unsafe to eat Advertisement

Lickable wallpaper

One of the first treats the children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory encounter is the 'lickable wallpaper'.

'Lick an orange. It tastes like an orange. Lick a pineapple. It tastes like a pineapple. Go ahead. Try it,' Gene Wilder's Wonka encourages the characters.

While this might seem like fantasy, food scientist Professor Alan Chalmers says this is actually easy to make.

'This would be quite straightforward to do,' he explained.

'You simply need to embed the food-safe chemicals for each of the components of the desired flavour into the wallpaper  and as it is licked, so the flavour will be perceived.'

Real-life Willy Wonka, Heston Blumenthal, brought this to life for his 2010 series 'Heston's Feasts'.

In the show, Heston extracted the flavours of prawn cocktail using various techniques to create a flavour paste that could be applied to the wall.

 Slide me  Making lickable wallpaper is surprisingly easy as all it takes is coating a wall with chemicals that mimic the flavour of various foods

READ MORE: Forget oysters! Champagne pairs just as well with PILCHARDS Advertisement

His guests were then invited to lick the coloured shapes to taste the food.

In the film, Wonka enthusiastically tells the children: 'The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!'

While there are no snozzberries in the real world, Professor Chalmers says this wouldn't be a problem.

Using a technique called 'virtual flavour', Professor Chalmers says we can extract the chemical components of flavours to dream up entirely new tastes.

Professor Chalmers told MailOnline: 'Because virtual flavour is a simulation  we can add and subtract to any of the flavour components and move from one point in flavour space to any other point.'

He says that we are capable of 'going on a journey through all the possible flavours until you come to one that you like.'

READ MORE: Scientists discover the secret formula that makes chocolate MELT in your mouth Advertisement

Chocolate waterfall

What part of Wonka's Chocolate Factory could be more iconic than the vast chocolate waterfall?

In the films, Wonka explains that all the chocolate in the factory is mixed by waterfall and is 'untouched by human hand'.

However, the real-life version was very much touched by human hand - as it was built into a 32ft climbing wall.

In a promotional event for the Rocky biscuit bar, Alton Towers erected an enormous scratch-and-sniff monolith.

The tower included a four-tonne chocolate waterfall, with 70,000 litres of chocolate flowing down it every hour.

However, real-life chocolate waterfalls wouldn't be much use in a factory as chocolate must be mixed with additional fats to flow freely at lower temperatures.

Commercially available chocolate fountains require around half a cup of oil per five pounds of chocolate to flow smoothly.

 Slide me  A real-life chocolate waterfall was built in 2012 complete with a 32 ft climbing wall and four tonne flow of liquid chocolate

The chocolate waterfall might be a great idea in a fantasy story, but in reality, it is an oily chocolate mess as Peter Andre found at when he attempted to climb it

TV chocolate

In the films, Wonka's latest and greatest invention is the television chocolate.

The maverick chocolatier uses television cameras to beam a giant bar of chocolate from one end of the room to a TV screen at the other.

Charlie is then able to reach right into the screen and pull out a perfectly formed, and edible Wonka Bar.

While technology might not quite let you pull food out of the screen, techniques now exist that can allow you to taste it.

Japanese researchers from Meiji University have developed the Taste the TV (TTTV) which allows you to lick the screen and taste what is being shown.

The device contains a carousel of 10 flavour canisters that spray onto a roll of hygienic film that is placed over the screen.

These flavours combine to produce the tastes of foods like milk chocolate or pizza.

 Slide me  Although scientists aren't quite able to transfer whole chocolate bars by TV, they are now able to transmit the taste of chocolate

However, Professor Chalmers says that getting the TV taste exactly right would be a difficult challenge.

'A real flavour is analysed to extract its flavour components including taste, mouthfeel and smell,' he explained.

'There are only 5 basic tastes  sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami and three mouthfeels  oily, astringent and capsaicin.'

Smell is much more complex, Professor Chalmers says, with a single cup of coffee having up to 10,000 different smells as part of its flavour.

If we just want to approximate the taste, this might take between six or nine smell compounds to get close to the taste of our TV chocolate.

A recipe made up of these chemicals could then be broadcast to TTTV sets around the world for people to taste along with their favourite shows.

The Taste the Television project has created a screen that can be coated with flavour chemicals to recreate the flavour of images on the screen for viewers to lick

Sugar balloons

Of course, not all of Willy Wonka's secret recipes stayed quite so secret.

In the 2005 Tim Burton film we see how spies from a rival candy maker steal the recipe for Wonka's candy balloons.

Kids blow up these pink sugar balloons to vast sizes before popping and eating them.

While the concept might seem air-headed, these inflatable treats have since become quite popular.

The edible candy balloon first made an appearance in 2014 when fine dining restaurant Alinea included them on their $210 (167) tasting menu.

The balloons were completely edible even down to the string which was made of dehydrated green apple.

For an extra joyful touch, the balloons were even filled with helium so that guests could inhale the gas and enjoy speaking in a squeaky voice.

 Slide me  Just like in the films, the recipe for sugar balloons has spread widely from its original inventor and now appears as a popular party treat

Real-life candy balloons use sugar and helium to make a treat that can still bring a sense of childlike joy

Since then, the treats have left the menus of high-class restaurants and become a popular treat for parties.

Since the balloons are quite simple to make, they can be created on demand.

Oxfordshire-based company Lick Me I'm Delicious has even created a mobile cart capable of whipping up these Wonka-esq delights.

Event manager, Alanya O'Donnell, said: 'Edible balloons was something Charlie [the company's founder] had seen being done in Michelin star restaurants out in America. So we thought this would be great to launch a machine that creates edible balloons on en-masse for events.'

The balloons come in six different flavours including, passion fruit, bubble gum, and apple pie.

'There are a lot of science experiments that go into it to make the perfect mix', Ms O'Donnell told the Oxford Mail.

However, just like for Willy Wonka, the exact formula still remains a secret.

Oxfordshire-based Lick Me I'm Delicious has now developed a mobile cart capable of producing candy balloons on demand

Three-course dinner gum

Unfortunately, just like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, three-course dinner gum isn't quite ready just yet - but it could be on its way soon.

In the books and films, this is a special piece of gum that reveals the flavours of each part of a three-course dinner in turn.

First Violet Beauregarde tastes a starter of tomato soup, followed by a main course of roast beef, and finally blueberry pie.

Of course, the gum isn't quite ready and the disastrous side effects see Violet blow up like a giant blueberry.

In real life, the challenges of making the gum work aren't quite so dramatic.

Making gum taste like each of the three ingredients separately is no problem.

As YouTuber Bryton Taylor shows, simply powdering or making an extract of each of the flavours can create a gum that tastes of all the parts of a roast dinner.

Getting gum to taste like dinner is no problem, but making the flavours come one after another requires advanced nano-technology which isn't quite ready yet (stock image)

The difficulty is getting one flavour to come after another in succession.

However, Professor Dave Hart of the Norwich Institute of Food Research claims to have found a way of making this a reality.

Using nanotechnology, he says it could be possible to create nano-capsules of flavour that would release at different times.

Professor Hart said: 'Science and technology is changing the future of food, and these nanoparticles may hold the answer to creating a three-course gourmet gum.

'The tomato soup capsule would break on contact with saliva, followed by roast beef and blueberry pie in stronger structures providing a sequential taste explosion as you chew harder.'

So, while it isn't ready right now, kids of the future could one day be chewing on three-course dinner gum.
Study believes AI could assist doctors and help with NHS staff shortages

Artificial intelligence could provide the 'ultimate second opinion' as it is just as good as doctors at analysing X-rays, scientists have claimed.

Tests using AI software on millions of old scans diagnosed conditions at least as accurately as radiologists 94 per cent of the time.

The joint study by Warwick University and King's College London suggested it could prove vital in avoiding human error when checking patients' results.

The AI software, which can scan X-rays as soon as they are taken, is able to understand the seriousness of each condition and flag the more urgent ones immediately.

The study's authors suggested it could be used to screen X-rays, freeing up time for busy doctors to focus on more critical patients and helping deal with chronic NHS staffing shortages.

Researchers first fed the AI model - called X-Raydar - nearly three million historic chest scans from 1.5million patients and then taught it to check for 37 possible conditions (Stock image)

A recent survey by the Royal College of Radiologists found a lack of specialist staff was leading to longer wait times and delays in treatment at nearly all UK cancer treatment centres.

Researchers first fed the AI model - called X-Raydar - nearly three million historic chest scans from 1.5 million patients and then taught it to check for 37 possible conditions.

The software - which flags any abnormalities with a percentage chance of them being present - was found to be 'just as accurate or more accurate than the doctor's analysis' for 35 out of 37 conditions.

Dr Giovanni Montana, professor of data science at Warwick, and lead author, said: 'This programme has been trained on millions of X-rays and is highly accurate.

Dr Giovanni Montana (pictured), professor of data science at Warwick suggested the tool could also be used as a screening tool - allowing radiologists to focus on the more challenging and critical tests instead.

'It eliminates the elements of human error, which is unavoidable, and bias. If a patient is referred for an X-ray with a heart problem, doctors will inevitably focus on the heart over the lungs.

'This is totally understandable but runs the risk of undetected problems in other areas. This AI eliminates that human bias - it's the ultimate second opinion'.

With half of X-rays finding no abnormalities, he suggested the tool could also be used as a screening tool - allowing radiologists to focus on the more challenging and critical tests instead.

Co-author Professor Vicky Goh of King's College London said: 'AI programmes available to us in the NHS only have a limited scope. Comprehensive AI programmes like this will be the future of medicine, with AI acting as a co-pilot for busy doctors.

'With the acute shortage of radiologists in the UK, programmes like this will facilitate interpretation and reduce delays for diagnosis and treatment.'
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Even in off-peak seasons, Europe's main tourist destinations see lengthy queues and sky-high hotel prices.

There are alternatives on the Continent, though - eye-catching hidden gems unscathed by large crowds, with stays that don't cost the earth.

Picturesque Lake Ohrid falls into this category, as revealed by solo traveller Natasha Whitley in a fascinating and informative TikTok video.

Lake Ohrid, which straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia and Albania, gives Lake Como a run for its money for scenery and is cheap as chips, with Natasha asking her 69,400 followers: 'Why is nobody talking about one of Europe's most underrated and affordable spots that's perfect for a weekend getaway?'

In the video she describes Lake Ohrid, a Unesco World Heritage site, as one of the highlights of a trip she took around the Balkans. A place that's uncrowded and 'so peaceful to walk around'.

Solo traveller Natasha Whitley, known online as @travelsbytash, reveals the delights of Lake Ohrid in a viral TikTok video. In the video she describes Lake Ohrid, a Unesco World Heritage site, as one of the highlights of a trip she took around the Balkans

Lake Ohrid straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia and Albania

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Natasha, known online as @travelsbytash, said: 'Obviously you cant quite beat Lake Como, with its beautiful scenic towns like Bellagio. However, Lake Ohrid is actually twice the size of Como [138 square miles vs 56 square miles], which I didnt realise.

'And I would say the water is more stunning - its crystal clear.'

Natasha reveals in the clip that for her three-night trip she stayed at Sunset Lake Hostel in Ohrid town, North Macedonia, on the northeastern shore of the lake.

The price? Just 7 a night.

Sharing the various activities tourists can participate in, she says on the clip: 'You can go kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding, which looks so good.

'The most popular thing is to visit the Church of St John, which is placed right at the edge of the lake. It's got an amazing view. It's so picturesque.'

Natasha said there are plenty of things to do at Lake Ohrid, from kayaking to visiting the photogenic Church of St John (right). She said the church comes with 'an amazing view'

Natasha said her favourite experience in Ohrid was exploring the lake by boat. She commented: 'The water is stunning and we went to a secluded little beach - it was just the best'

Natasha (above), claimed the water in Lake Ohrid is 'more stunning' than Lake Como's

There are also dozens of hiking trails visitors can walk if they fancy, plus a 'gorgeous old town' and a park filled with tortoises ('so random'.)

Speaking to MailOnline, Natasha said her favourite experience was a boat trip that explored the lake.

Natasha said the voyage was organised through Sunset Lake Hostel.

The traveller continued: '[It] took four hours, with unlimited wine and it literally only cost 8 each!

'The water is stunning and we went to a secluded little beach. It was just the best!'

In her TikTok video, she adds: 'It is such good value. It's run by the hostel owner, who is amazing, and he always kept filling up our glasses.'

Natasha's boat trip, with unlimited wine, was organised by the owner of the 7-a-night hostel she stayed in

Natasha described the food in Ohrid as 'really reasonable and affordable'. Another highlight was an Irish bar (right), where the drinks were 'pretty cheap'

Natasha's TikTok video of Lake Ohrid has gone viral, raking in 122,800 views and tempting others to book their own flights

Natasha's trip to Ohrid took place in September, with temperatures in the mid-20s

Another highlight was an Irish pub with 'pretty cheap' drinks, and the food, which was 'really reasonable and affordable'.

Natasha said a must-have local delicacy was 'burek' - a popular street-food pastry enjoyed in places throughout the Balkans.

She told MailOnline: 'One of the bakeries in Ohrid sold unique flavours of burek, including chicken curry and pizza. They were so delicious and only cost 1 each.'

While Natasha said she wouldn't rush back to Lake Ohrid any time soon, in favour of exploring new places, she told MailOnline: 'I was definitely tempted to extend my time whilst I was there, as many others did.'

Natasha's TikTok video of Lake Ohrid has raked in an impressive 122,800 views, and has even inspired some users to book flights. One person wrote: 'Added to the list.' Another commented: 'Wow, that looks amazing!'

One person asked: 'What time of year did you go? It looks so beautiful and warm.' To which Natasha replied: 'Start of September! It was mid-20s. Was perfect!'
A full-time traveller who hopes to visit every country in the world has revealed the best destinations for first-time backpackers to explore.

Seasoned backpacker Tom Grond quit his nine-to-five government job 11 years ago and has been travelling ever since.

The 39-year-old from Holland has now visited over 159 countries, documenting his adventures on his blog TravelTomTom and across various social media platforms.

His nomad lifestyle has attracted quite the following, inspiring people to embark on their own journeys and visit untouched corners of the globe.

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Tom shared some 'cheap' and 'affordable' spots for beginner travellers to visit - and revealed which places to avoid.

Seasoned traveller Tom Grond (pictured) has shared his recommendations for where beginner travellers should explore. Here the 39-year-old is pictured in Bali, Indonesia

The Holland-born traveller said he always tells first-time travellers to visit Southeast Asia - explaining that the region is 'catered for tourism, young people and backpackers'. Above Tom is pictured exploring Bali on a motorbike

Tom said: 'When it comes to the first steps into the big travel world, I always recommend Southeast Asia.'

The traveller explained that the region, which comprises 11 countries, including popular destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, is 'catered for tourism, young people and backpackers'.

He said: 'Travelling in Southeast Asia is simply uncomplicated. You don't need to be a seasoned traveller.'

One primary reason why it is so easy to travel, Tom said, is because 'it's so cheap'.

He claimed that anyone can afford to travel to Southeast Asia if they save up a 'little money', which makes it an ideal first-time destination.

Safety is another reason why it is such a popular and sought-after destination,' Tom added, explaining that there are hundreds of thousands of other backpackers all exploring the same region.

Tom said anyone can afford to enjoy Southeast Asia if they 'save up a little money' - claiming that the region is 'so cheap'. He's pictured here at Oniria resort in Bali

Praising the simplicity of the region, Tom said: 'The weather is good, and you dont need to carry a lot of clothes.'

He said travellers can enjoy the 'island life' and bring the bare minimum with them.

'Save some money and then go to the countries that are affordable and avoid countries that are expensive,' he said, adding that Nepal and Pakistan are some of his personal favourite destinations to visit.

He said that both countries boast 'beautiful scenery' and 'super hospitable people' that are always 'friendly and open to strangers'.

While luxurious destinations may seem tempting to explore as a beginner traveller, Tom explained that they are often too expensive to enjoy.

Tom said Nepal and Pakistan are some of his personal favourites. He is pictured above in Pakistan at Badshahi Mosque in Lahore

Tom told first-time backpackers to avoid countries such as Hawaii (pictured) and Australia - claiming that they are 'too expensive' to enjoy

Comparing Australia to Southeast Asia, he said: 'Australia is way too expensive and there's actually not so much to see or do.'

In addition, he described Hawaii as another expensive and overrated destination to visit as a beginner backpacker.

Recounting his own experience of visiting the U.S state, he said: 'I went to Hawaii, and I thought "wow, this is amazing", but after five days I thought theres no point me staying here as I dont have enough money to enjoy it.'

He added that beginner travellers should also steer clear of the Middle East as 'it's more complicated and often really expensive'.

While he said Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey, Syria or Iran are 'really cool destinations to visit', he explained: 'You need to be a more seasoned traveller. There's more of a culture shock.

Tom warned first-time travellers away from Middle Eastern countries, which he said are more 'complicated' to navigate. He is pictured left at Krak des Chevaliers, a medieval castle in Syria, and on the right in Turkey

'You can't do what you want, you have to live up to the regulations, and as a first-time traveller it's a bit more complicated.'

He said: 'All the other continents are a bit more complicated, and thats why I always send everyone on their first trip to Southeast Asia.'

Further advocating his case, Tom said Southeast Asia has 'beautiful landscapes and mountains that you wouldn't see anywhere else'.

He added: 'The culture is super captivating, and the people are very welcoming.

For more from Tom visit his blog at www.traveltomtom.net.
From a penny in the black pudding to kissing under the mistletoe, Christmas traditions are not just about Santa in the UK. But what about traditions celebrated in countries across the globe?

Whether it's chocolate filled shoes, an evening roller skating or eating KFC, other nations have their own peculiar ways of celebrating the festive period.

Stress Free Car Rental have rounded up the weirdest and most wonderful traditions you need to know about.

Japan - KFC Christmas dinner

Christmas dinners in Japan look very different to most countries - there are no signs of turkey, pigs in blankets or Yorkshire puddings.

The Japanese typically celebrate with a meal from KFC for Christmas, with some pre-ordering their chicken meals months in advance.

Long queues are expected on the 25th outside KFC restaurants, as the nationwide tradition unfolds.

Christmas dinners in Japan look very different to most countries - there are no signs of turkey, pigs in blankets or Yorkshire pudding

Stores get a holiday-themed makeover in the run up to Christmas, decked out in red and green and even KFC's mascot, Colonel Sanders, gets dressed up, with life-size models seen around Japanese cities, dressed as Santa Claus.

The KFC Christmas bucket, commonly called a barrel instead, comes with a limited edition Christmas-themed collectable plate.

Not surprisingly, the week leading up to Christmas Eve is the most profitable week of the year for the franchise, scooping up 38,000,000 (6.1billion Japanese yen) in 2018, and reaching record sales of 44,000,000 (7.1 billion yen) in 2019.

Poland - speaking animals

It's common to wonder what your pet is thinking and what they would tell you if they could speak - in Poland, there's a festive myth where this becomes a reality.

It is believed that during the Christmas Eve dinner, animals are given the gift of speaking for the night.

According to legend, this is thanks to the animals who helped receive baby Jesus during his birth.

As a result, polish children often try to get a word in with their often confused dogs and cats.

Germany - chocolate filled shoes

On the evening of the 5th December, a day before Saint Nicholas Day, German children polish their shoes and leave them on the street or near the fireplace.

Later, they will find them filled with chocolates and sweets from Nikolaus (St. Nicholas) as a reward for good behaviour.

Tangerines and small gifts are also commonly included in the shoes, similar to the concept of a Christmas stocking.

Some reports even say that naughty children will find a rotten potato in their footwear, rather than treats.

On the evening of the 5th December, a day before Saint Nicholas Day, German children polish their shoes and leave them on the street or near the fireplace

Venezuela - roller skating

For some, Christmas eve means a trip to the pub with friends and family - to others, it's a cozy night in with a hot chocolate and a festive film.

To those in Venezuela, it's a fun night of roller skating.

On Christmas Eve, residents of Venezuelas capital city, Caracas, will be seen travelling to Christmas mass on roller skates.

Skating is such a popular tradition that the streets are closed to cars, allowing skaters to travel safely and enjoy this fun Christmas activity.

China - Santa's 'sisters'

If you're in China for Christmas, you'll be surprised to see no sign of little green elves helping Father Christmas.

Santa is known as 'Sheng dan Lao ren' and his helpers are called sisters.

This means that the Father Christmases dressed up in shopping centres will have costumed women by their side, and not pointy-eared elves.

The sisters often wear red and white and follow him around, as elves would.

The Netherlands - an early Christmas

Contrary to the UK, the evening of December 5th is the most exciting Christmas day for children as it is the time Sinterklaas arrives with presents.

Kids will leave a shoe by the fireplace, sing Dutch Christmas songs and wait for their gifts to arrive.

It marks the beginning of festive celebrations and the man himself will often arrive mid November for various events and parades

It marks the beginning of festive celebrations and the man himself will often arrive mid November for various events and parades.

Sinterklaas is based on Saint Nicholas - however the tradition goes that he lives in Spain with his helpers, the Pieten and his white horse.

The Pieten, again similar to elves, are his helpers and dress in brightly coloured clothing to hand out sweets to children.

Italy - bagpipe playing shepherds

Italian tradition sees bizarre bagpipe-playing shepherds perform tunes in piazzas, normally dressed in traditional sheepskin and wool cloaks.

They're known as the zampognari and they perform traditional hymns and music, in parts of Italy such as Naples and Rome

The pipers travel in pairs down from their mountain homes for a festive spectacle.

They're known as the zampognari and they perform traditional hymns and music, in parts of Italy such as Naples and Rome.

It's said that you'll hear them before you see them so listen up if you'll be in Italy for the festive period.

Romania - slaughtering of a pig

Romania's Christmas traditions are very unique, and arguably the most important is the slaughtering of a pig.

Families will gather in rural areas to sacrifice one of their pigs and use the meat to cook Christmas meals.

It usually takes part on December 20 and is called ''Ziua de Ignat,' which translates to Ignatius Day.

Although, some Romanians believe the tradition is cruel so it's not as popular as it used to be.

Australia and the US- surfing Santas

Christmas in Australia is during the Summer, so it is common to see surfing Santas in bright red fleece suits, lined with white fur and big black boots.

Taking place on the 24th on Cocoa Beach in Florida, hundreds of surfers will catch a wave at the free event

Finally, the Spanish Christmas lottery is the biggest in the world and almost everyone in the country plays

The tradition has also extended to the US, and on Christmas Eve morning in particular, people from across the country gather to watch surfers dressed as santa take to the waves.

Taking place on the 24th on Cocoa Beach in Florida, hundreds of surfers will catch a wave at the free event.

Spain - Christmas lottery

Finally, the Spanish Christmas lottery is the biggest in the world and almost everyone in the country plays.

People usually take part with friends, coworkers or neighbours because and it pays out over two billion euros each year.

Known as El Gordo Spanish Lottery, it takes place on December 22 in Madrid and is the biggest and most popular draw of the year - tickets have already been on sale for a while.

The tradition began all the way back in 1812 and remains an exciting one for Spanish people today.
Each year, millions of people flock to Paris to see the Eiffel tower, sip on coffee its quaint streets and eat delicious food.

But recently visitors are being warned to be extra vigilant as ever more street scams are popping up in the French capital.

Now, an Italian tourist in Monmarte, Paris, has warned of a terrifying new scam that he fell victim to in 'broad daylight' and left him visibly shaken.

Fabrizio Moroni, who goes by @fabriziovmoroni on TikTok, moved to Paris to study French in September this year - he's also a content creator who documents his travels.

The student made a video recounting his scary experience and how he escaped - the clip has been seen by more than 640,000 people in just a few days, with many others in the comments revealing that they've been in a similar situation.

An Italian tourist in Monmarte, Paris, has warned of a terrifying scam that he fell victim to in 'broad daylight' and left him visibly shaken

Red faced and teary eyed, he told viewers 'It happened to me too, I mean it happens to everyone once in your lifetime in Paris but yeah, I was a victim to a bracelet scam in Monmarte.

'Sorry for my eyes and voice but I'm kind of shocked, the whole thing was very scary'.

He explained 'I was in Monmarte with my friend and we were just walking down the stairs and having a good time and then as we got to the bottom of the stairs, I wasn't even looking around I was just talking to her.

'I see this man coming up to me and he was very kind of intimidating cause he was a very big tall man.

'He came to me and he said 'take it, take it'. I was like 'no thank you, no thank you,' until he grabs my arm aggressively.

'Like, it hurt me. He literally said 'it's a friendship symbol, it's offensive if you don't take it' and the more I would kind of resist to it, then more men, other scammers, would start walking towards me.'

As Fabrizio began to realise he was being circled, other men who were with the scammer began to chime in.

He said 'The other man was like 'respect him, respect him', stay still. I was like 'I am respecting him, I just don't want it - please let me go'.

Fabrizio Moroni, who goes by @fabriziovmoroni on TikTok , made a video recounting the scary experience and how he escaped

'By the time I said this there were literally six or seven men surrounding me and I was in the middle of them.

'My arm was of course still blocked, I had my wallet in my pocket and my phone in my other pocket.

'I was like, it literally takes them one second now to rob me of everything and just leave and there was nobody around, no police'.

The Italian added 'This was certainly not the first time that they did this.

'At some point I had this strength, I don't even know what to say, the courage, to say let me go and I managed to push two of them aside and run.

'I ran for my life, I literally ran without even looking back. So please, please be careful if you ever go to Monmarte'.

The terrifying incident took place on the steps of the Sacre Coeur Church in Montmartre - a popular area for tourists.

He warned 'Make sure that you walk down the outer stairs, the one on the sides, not the central one that gets to the very bottom of it and stay safe.

The terrifying incident took place on the steps of the Sacre Coeur Church in Montmartre (pictured) - a popular area for tourists

'If you ever see anyone approaching you with a bracelet just run away'.

Fabrizio told MailOnline 'It was very shocking, I go to this place every other weekend and it never occured to me this would happen, but I do usually take the other stairs.

'I usually go around and take the outer stairs but this time I didn't think about it. I was with my friend and the whole thing happened in a matter of seconds. I didn't have the time to process what was going on.'

It's the first time someone has tried to scam him since he moved to the French capital and the experience has left him feeling more unsafe.

The student explained 'I knew that they would stop you and try to sell you a bracelet in a friendly way, but I didn't expect them to be as aggressive.

'I remember once, it was about to happen to me to in Milano but I said no a few times and they left, but in this case, the more I said no, the more the guys would surround me.

'The guy that kept saying 'respect him' started putting it in a way that I was the problem, that I was being disrespectful, that I was not being kind to them, whereas I was literally being assaulted by seven men'.

When Fabrizio mouthed 'help' to his friends, the fraudsters allegedly got even angrier.

He believes there's 'nothing he could have done' and for a second he even thought : 'Is this it?'

The student said 'My friend tried to step in but they got in the way, so she really couldn't do anything, and a guy also tried to to grab her her wrist.

He explained 'At some point I had this strength, I don't even know what to say, the courage, to say let me go and I managed to push two of them aside and run'

'In this moment I found this strength to kind of push them away and then we started to run'.

As well as making sure you take the other set of stairs, walk around or opt for a cable car instead, a more general rule is to 'never take anything from anyone'.

He explained that even though in his case, it was literally tied to him, in less extreme incidents, people 'want to be kind and they accept because they trust the person that it will be for free'.

Adding 'But then, the moment they accept the bracelet, they will start asking you for money in a very forceful way.

'There are many scams going on and until last week, I didn't feel like they actually were there, because I never was victim to any of those.

'Ever since that I'm more like, okay, yeah, I actually have to be more careful.'

Despite still being shaken up by the incident, Fabrizio says that it's a very common scam around Europe and he doesn't believe Paris itself is a dangerous place - he just wants to warn that tourists get 'targeted' more than French people.

Remaining positive, he advised 'this shouldn't scare people away from visiting Paris.

'It should just let them know that as much as any other major city, people have to be a little more careful, especially when visiting the most touristic areas in the city like this one or the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre'.

Commenters quickly chimed in to share their own similar experiences and help warn others.

One user revealed 'Same thing in Montmartre and they also showed a knife'.

Remaining positive, he advised 'this shouldn't scare people away from visiting Paris. It should just let them know that as much as any other major city, people have to be a little more careful'

Another wrote 'it happenned to me in the exact same situation, walking down these stars. Less agressive but disturbing.

'I took it off in public toilets and washed my hands. I didn't wanted to take this energy home'.

Fabrizio replied 'I only kept it to make this video but I threw it right after'.

Someone else added 'It happened to me too and Im French, but it helped because I know what to do. Its just because I know how to threaten them in French and to get them out of my face you can also scream'.

However, the TikToker said 'Unfortunately there was nothing I could have done to avoid it, except for not taking those damn stairs'.

Another questioned 'Yikes. Im going there next weekend. Was it late?,' to which he revealed '2pm broad daylight'.

Meanwhile, others penned 'Also happened to me in London and Athens!! Be careful and try to appear confident' and 'this happened to me too!! but one of my friends came up and pushed the guys off me, thank goodness for that'.

One viewer advised 'Happened to me in 2011, happened to my partner in 2017. Keep your hands in your pockets, be COLD and ignore people.'
A Brit who moved to America has revealed one of the biggest culture shocks she experienced - on the very night she arrived in the states.

Amber Peacock, who goes by @_apeacock on TikTok, makes videos about the differences she's noticed since doing the big move.

She recently shared what her biggest issue is and asked viewers for help, in a video seen by more than 1.5 million people.

The thing that had been puzzling her was actually the differences in bedding - leaving her confused and searching Target for two hours.

The Briton captioned the clip: 'This wasnt a great start on our first night living in the US but hopefully you can help me out'.

A Brit who moved to America has revealed one of the biggest culture shocks she experienced, on the night she arrived in the states - and it's not what you'd expect

She told viewers, 'Good morning America, I need your help.

'I've just popped into Target to pick up some deodorant because I ran out yesterday and it reminded of an unresolved trauma that I have from the very first night that we arrived at our new home in the US, after moving from the UK.

'Probably my first big culture shock. So picture this, we get to our new house, we have dinner, we put Rory to bed, we realise that we don't have any bedding.

'No worries I said, there's a Target a mile away. I'm just gonna go there, it's 8pm, they're still open.

'I found the bedding section and immediately went into panic mode.'

The mother of one revealed 'Everything is so different here. In the UK, you would buy a fitted sheet, a duvet and a duvet set.

'You'd have to make two choices - one, what colour you want your duvet set, two, how thick you want your duvet.

'That's it, ten minutes, in and out, wham bam, thank you, done, bed, go. I was in there for nearly two hours, trying to figure out what I should buy to make the bed.'

She told viewers ''I found the bedding section and immediately went into panic mode'

Amber discovered 'So we do have duvet sets, couldn't find any duvets. We also have comforter sets, we also have quilt sets, we have just sheet sets, we also have shams'

A comforter (pictured) is a type of bedding made of two lengths of fabric that are sewn together - it differs from a duvet as it comes with a non-removable cover

She wanders around the store, examining what they have to offer and showing her followers.

Amber discovered 'So we do have duvet sets, couldn't find any duvets. We also have comforter sets, we also have quilt sets, we have just sheet sets, we also have shams.

'What the f*** is a sham? In the UK a sham is like a fake like a sham wedding would be a fake wedding - don't think it has the same meaning.

'Here we have pillow covers and pillowcases, what's the difference?'

She added 'And of course we have everything in a million different fabrics, sateen, satin, temperature balancing, perfectly relaxed, jersey, velvet.

'I do know what a bed skirt is but does anyone still use those?'

The TikToker ended her video with a desperate plea to Americans to give her advice: 'Please, somebody tell me how I'm supposed to make the bed and what I'm supposed to put on it because I'm pretty sure I've still not got it right.

'Just being back in this aisle is giving me the shivers, don't even get me started on the price of all this'.

It turns out that Amber is not the only one who's confused by the selection - other Brits chimed in with their questions in the comments.

One person asked 'Did we ever figure out exactly what a comforter is?,' meanwhile another wrote 'I thought a duvet and comforter were the same thing?'

Another shocked Briton queried 'wait so if you want to change the design on your bedding you have to buy a new comforter ??? isn't that a pain to wash'.

Amber replied 'Yes! Machines are a lot bigger here but still a pain'.

Someone from the US explained, 'If you need warmer bedding you get a comforter set. If you need cooler bedding you get a quilt set. Get a high thread count sheet set'.

Another chimed in with, 'Pillow cover: protects pillow (dont need one). Pillow case goes over that. Sham is fancy pillow case that matches the comforter. Comforter is like a duvet that you dont need to cover.

'Quilt is a quilt. Sheer sets have flat, fitted and pillowcases included. Sham also means fake here too. And fancy pillow case'.

However, others joked 'there are no rules with bedding. Do what you want' and 'I would be just shipping it from the UK'.
From excited children running wild and unwanted presents to family feuds and tasteless turkeys - Christmas can be stressful.

We have all contemplated jumping on a plane to a tropical beach or romantic city to spend December 25 alone - but how of many of us have actually taken the plunge?

New data by HomeExchange has revealed that December solo holidays are on the rise, with 30% of Brits saying they would love to go away by themselves over the festive season.

While home exchanges in particular are proving popular as Yuletide travellers channel their inner Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet to jet off to a stranger's home like in Christmas classic - The Holiday.

Solo Christmas exchanges have increased by 72% globally and 133% for members based in London, with hopeful travellers want to meet their own Jude Law and Jack Black.

Home exchanges in particular are proving popular as Yuletide travellers channel their inner Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet to jet off to a stranger's home like in Christmas classic - The Holiday

A further 42% of Brits admitted that spending Christmas on holiday alone sounds far more appealing than spending the day with extended family.

While the idea might sound fun, actually ditching your loved ones for the big day can be a different story.

So, how many people are actually going through with the idea?

Almost one in 10 admit they have already relished in embarking on a Christmas trip by themselves.

This year, 39% of Brits have chosen to spend Christmas Day by themselves with a further 30% saying they would consider being alone over the extended Christmas period.

HomeExchange data also shows a global increase of 119% for solo holiday exchange requests compared to last year.

In London alone, requests for spending the Christmas holidays flying solo are up a staggering 253% annually.

Liz Ho, a camping blogger and YouTuber who lives in Worcestershire, will be ditching her typical Christmas day traditions for a trip to Scotland's national parks.

Liz Ho, a camping blogger and YouTuber who lives in Worcestershire, will be ditching her typical Christmas day traditions for a trip to Scotland's national parks

On a solo road trip, the travel enthusiast and blogger aims to visit Cairngorms, Loch Lomond, and Glencoe.

She told MailOnline: 'I decided to solo travel this Christmas to step out of my comfort zone.

'I usually spend the holidays with family but I wanted adventure and reflection. Camping solo will allow me to deeply connect with nature.'

It will be very different from her usual December 25, which involves spending the morning with her parents and siblings before hosting Christmas dinner at her home.

Liz revealed: 'More people are choosing solo vacations to take a break from busy family traditions, experience new places at their own pace, and enjoy quiet reflection.

'The holidays can be a thoughtful time for self-care. On Christmas day, I plan to hike through Glencoe and camp under the stars. I will journal, practice landscape photography, and videotape well-wishes to my subscribers.

She admitted there are parts of a regular Christmas she will miss, like 'being with family, joking with everyone' and her mothers 'best cooking'.

The travel pro gushed: 'Nothing smells more like Christmas to me than her roast and pies in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Michelangelo Turillo, is doing a home swap this Christmas to leave behind the cobbled streets of Italy for the busy bustle of London

'My friends and family were surprised at first about me going alone.

'They wanted me to be safe and with everyone, but after I told them why, they've been very understanding. They know how much I like seeing new places and learning about myself.

'Christmas can feel stressful too. Making sure everything is ready for guests and that no one is upset takes work.

'The rush to get things done is tiring. This solo trip allows me to step back from all that. I can relax in nature and spend time on my own thoughts.'

She hopes the trip will be 'peaceful and rejuvenating' - the blogger advises anyone wanting to do the same to research thoroughly, build an itinerary but stay flexible, share your plans with trusted contacts, and embrace spontaneity! Solo travel is deeply rewarding'.

Meanwhile, Michelangelo Turillo, is doing a home swap this Christmas to leave behind the cobbled streets of Italy for the busy bustle of London.

He explained 'He explained, 'I'm eager to explore beyond London - places like Nottingham, Leeds, York, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, and Bath. Each city has its unique charm and stories to tell'

He revealed: 'The UK's mix of history and cultures intrigued me. I want to explore Roman and Celtic legacies while enjoying modern life.

'I'm drawn to spending Christmas in London. It's about embracing a different cultural experience and honouring my parents' resilience, teaching me to face important moments with an open heart.'

He'll be spending the festive period in Whitechapel, where he will stay for 18 days.

As a keen tango dancer, he hopes to 'share the holiday spirit with someone special' as 'dancing the tango and exploring places introduces you to new friends'.

Michelangelo said he 'can't wait to soak in the festive vibes' and 'explore nearby historical sites and cultural offerings'.

He explained: 'I'm eager to explore beyond London - places like Nottingham, Leeds, York, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, and Bath. Each city has its unique charm and stories to tell.

'This is my fifth exchange, they reshape how I see travel and the idea of home with each new experience'.

Robin Wilt, 44, from Florida, will be swapping states and taking up a home exchange in North Carolina for Christmas.

She told MailOnline: 'The Chapel Hill homeowners reached out to me and I figured, why not?! I haven't been to the Chapel Hill area before and in general, I love to travel anywhere and everywhere.

'I've also been a bit travel deprived since leaving my corporate job two years ago to focus on my business. I haven't gotten to travel as much as I usually do, so Home Exchange has been providing those opportunities for me that are a bit easier on the pocket book.

Robin explained: 'During my solo holiday my plans right now are to decompress, re-centre, create and explore.

'There is something so rejuvenating to my soul to be in the mountain air and in nature hiking and contemplating life.

'My travel strategy is to research things to do before the trip and then when I get there, I like a combo of planned excursions and winging it.'

She's admitted that previously, she's always stayed home and close to her family for Christmas, but as she's getting older, she's 'taking advantage' of the freedom her 'single status and remote working provide'.

Adding: 'And I'm single, so if cupid wants to set me up like Cameron or Kate, I'm open!

'I think the things I'm most looking forward to is the opportunity to do something new and out of my comfort zone.

'I believe having these opportunities allows us to grow as people. I also tend to get a lot of ideas or downloads from the Universe when I'm in the mountains.

'I feel so inspired and clear. I also love meeting new people, and I love to dance and do yoga, so I'll likely find some studios and socialize a bit'.

The traveller is also planning to start some new Christmas traditions for herself: 'a movie on Christmas eve or taking myself out to eat for the first time on Christmas day. I'm open to suggestions as well!'

It comes as Home Exchange, the home swapping site used in The Holiday, launched a Solo Holiday Party Pack competition, which is open to all solo travellers planning a trip by themselves this Christmas.

The feast includes all 24 grocery items shown in the film, including red wine, fine cheeses, pasta sauce, snowmen cookies, nuts, olives, mince pies, bread, chocolates and Christmas cake, not forgetting a bottle opener and a copy of The Holiday on DVD to watch while you tuck in.
Vanessa Feltz is a woman on a mission as she has been out living her best life 330 nights in a row because finding a man 'is a numbers game'

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the TV sensation explained that she isn't particularly looking for love but believes she will eventually find 'something nice'.

She revealed that while she does not have a criteria list for her next man, she does want someone with a 'twinkle in their eye'.

Vanessa, 61, was engaged to cheater Ben Ofoedu, 51, but split from him in January after 17 years after she found 'sex texts' to another woman.

Since then, the blonde beauty has become one of the nation's social butterflies as she spends her recent days launching her new clothing company - 4Love - and fills her evenings with family and friends.

Vanessa Feltz told MailOnline she is a woman on a mission and has gone out 330 nights in a row because finding a man 'is a numbers game'

The TV sensation explained that she isn't particularly looking for love but believes she will eventually find 'something nice'

Vanessa, 61, was engaged to Ben Ofoedu, 51, but spit from the cheater in January after 17 years because after he was unfaithful (pictured in 2018)

Talking of her newfound single and dating life, Vanessa said: It's not easy, and it does take guts.

'I've told people millions of times ''it's a numbers game'' and I do believe that.

'I mean you go on as many dates as you can and you might eventually find something nice. And that is what I am doing, I am doing my best.'

While the star has been on a fair few dates since her devastating split she spilled that someone notable has yet to come into her life.

She said: 'I have been on a few dates and nobody notable no, unfortunately.

'I just want somebody who has got something about them. Just a thing, you know. They don't have to be handsome. They don't have to be a particular profession.

'They don't have to, but just something like a twinkle in the eye and a giggle and a joke and a something, you know, because some people are very, very flat and sort of straight, you know, they do.

Since then, the blonde beauty has become one of the nation's social butterflies as she spends her recent days launching her new clothing company - 4Love - and fills her evenings with family and friends

While the star has been on a fair few dates since her devastating split she spilled that someone notable has yet to come into her life since she appeared on Celebs Go Dating

When asked if she is looking for something serious, Vanessa joked: 'I don't know about serious; anything will be good in a storm. I'm looking for any old thing, yeah. Roll in the hey...'

'You end up having this conversation that's so kind of polite and there's nothing wrong with it. But there's nothing right with it. It's not, you know, it's not exciting.'

The fashionista revealed that while she is not looking for love and does not feel rushed to jump into something soon, she would like a companion.

She revealed that since being single, many people have warned her how hard it is to date, and sometimes she wishes that people wouldn't comment.

When asked if she is looking for something serious, Vanessa joked: 'I don't know about serious; anything will be good in a storm. I'm looking for any old thing, yeah. Roll in the hey...'

'No, no, no, I'm not. I'm not looking for anything, is the truth, but it would be nice. I would like to end up with someone I like that likes me to. I think that would be nice, ' she added.

'I think most people would, but I'm not in this sort of panicked rush to do it, and I know it is not easy, and unfortunately, everyone keeps telling me how difficult it is. I wish they wouldn't, but they really do.'

Vanessa did try her hand at Celebs Go Dating when she was ready to dip her toes in the dating pool again.

This will be the first year Vanessa will spend Christmas without Ben in 17 years, but she is not letting the absence taint her festivities. She revealed that she will be travelling to Ireland to see her grandchildren and will be having a 'traditional' Christmas complete with matching pyjamas

She said while the reality show had its ups and downs, she would happily do it again.

She said: If I'm still single by next year, I'll do it again. With pleasure. And this time, I'll be on my best behaviour.'

The star was slammed for 'delusional superiority' and 'rude attitude' on the show, but an unlikely army of Generation Z supporters on TikTok accused the Channel 4 show's matchmakers of 'gaslighting her' over her forthright behaviour.

This will be the first year Vanessa will spend Christmas without Ben in 17 years, but she is not letting the absence taint her festivities.

She revealed that she will be travelling to Ireland to see her grandchildren and will be having a 'traditional' Christmas complete with matching pyjamas.

Vanessa has kept busy this year and has even brought out her own clothing line, 4Love, this Christmas as she wants women of all ages to feel just as free-spirited and outgoing as she is.

Talking of her new clothing line, she said: 'I realised that there was a real gap in the market for a woman of a certain age, now that can be any age, it could be 20, it just depends on your personality.

'A woman of a certain age who wants to look pretty, feminine, life-affirming, joyful, colourful, celebratory but not attention seeking, tacky, overtly sexy.

'So every one of these dresses just goes on over your head, no zips, no buttons, nothing. No fastening. I'm single; I've got no one to do me up.'

Vanessa's new clothing brand, which can be accessed through her Instagram, has been an enormous success so far as the TV personality explained that they started selling out of garments in the first two days.

Vanessa, pictured in dresses from her new clothing line, has kept busy this year and has even brought out her own clothing line, 4Love, this Christmas as she wants women of all ages to feel just as free-spirited and outgoing as she is
Netflix fans have been raving about an action-packed new series, branding it one of 'the best shows' they have seen on the streaming platform.

Described as an 'epic cops-and-robbers action thriller', Criminal Code sees a team of investigators trying to find a mountain of money that has been stolen in a large-scale robbery at the Brazil-Paraguay border.

Diligently using DNA evidence to find over 50 men involved in the crime is no easy feat, but for federal officer officer Benicio (Romulo Braga) the mission is more than work - it's personal.

Directed and produced by Heitor Dhalia, and written by Bernardo Barcellos, Criminal Codes follows lone-wolf Benicio as he continues to go rogue on investigations.

But his behaviour is not totally amiss, as he is on the hunt for the thieves who killed his partner during a huge prison break three months prior.

Viewers have been raving about Criminal Code, a new 'epic cops-and-robbers action thriller', calling it one of 'the best shows' on Netflix

The show is a retelling of 2017 caper, which sees lone wolf police officer Benicio (Romulo Braga (left) on the hunt for the assailants of an armed heist with Suellen (Maeve Jinkings, right)

For Benicio this is more than just an investigation - this is personal as he believes the people responsible for the caper are those who murdered his partner (pictured)

When he hears of the armed heist on the border, he is certain he knows who is behind it - Sem Alma (Thomas Aquino) - the man who killed his colleague.

In a bid to bring justice to the criminals, Benicio partners up with a new officer - Suellen (Maeve Jinkings) - and the pair are willing to do whatever it takes.

As time goes on, law enforcement on both sides of the border begin to hone in on the thieves using any methods they can - even if that means trolling the gangs' abandoned vehicles for DNA.

The new heart-racing series as been a hit among Netflix viewers, bagging a Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score of 100 per cent.

Many took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to gush about the streaming services' new show.

One wrote: 'Criminal code on Netflix is sooo good! Binged the whole 8 episodes in a day & a half. They need a second season ASAP.'

'I just finished Criminal code on Netflix that was one of the best shows I done seen in a minute.'

'Criminal Code on Netflix is f*****g hands down one of the best shows I've ever seen on Netflix.'

Benicio gets involved with solving the heist because he believes Sem Alma (Thomas Aquino, pictured right) - the man who killed his colleague - is behind the crime

Law enforcement painstakingly use DNA evidence to track down over 50 of the men involved

The series has received rave reviews, scoring a 100 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and fans labelling it as one of the 'top three shows ever'

Others labelled is the 'best' series on Netflix at the moment, with another quipping: 'Criminal Code is the best heist series I've watched since Money Heist.'

'Criminal Code on Netflix.. top three shows ever.. and Ive seen them all.'

'Whoever wrote Criminal Code on @netflix did a great job,' said another.

Criminal Code is a fictionalised portrayal of a real armed heist that happened in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, in 2017.

In the real life story, the robbers ran away with several million dollars in cash after they used trucks and extra-heavy-duty safes thieve from the local Prosegur headquarters - a security company.

The crime was achieved with the help of several well-known Brazilian gangs, and was the first large-scale international robbery committed by people from the country.

The 2017 led to Brazilian federal police using DNA to track down over 50 of the assailants, and even revealed several people the shadows who were participating in organised crime.
The former spouses of TJ Holmes and Amy Robach are now dating - one year after the TV stars sparked uproar with their scandalous romance.

But, the shock spouse switch-up is not the first time betrayed partners have found comfort in one another - as Shania Twain's lasting love with husband Frederic Thiebaud has proved.

The pair sparked up a surprise relationship in 2008 after Shania's husband Robert 'Mutt' Lange had an affair with her former best friend Marie-Anne Thiebaud - the wife of Frederic.

The pair subsequently tied the knot in 2011 and have been happily wed ever since.

Now, as Marilee Fiebig, the ex-wife of Holmes, and Robach's former husband Andrew Shue, grow closer in the wake of their heartbreak, DailyMail.com looks back at Shania's shock romance...

Marilee Fiebig, the ex-wife of Holmes, and Robach's former husband Andrew Shue have grown close in the wake of their exes' scandalous romance over the past year - but they're not the first

Shania Twain, 58, wed music producer Robert 'Mutt' Lange, 75, back in 1993 - after he heard her original songs from her debut album.

He offered to work with her and the pair cultivated a relationship on the phone for months before their fateful first meeting in June 1993 at Nashville's Fan Fair.

Just six months later they wed on December 28 1993 and were considered one of Hollywood's strongest couples.

They went onto welcome a son, Eja, in 2001.

However, cracks began to appear in the marriage. The couple had moved to Switzerland for a simpler life away from the limelight after the country star had seen her career sky-rocket to become a best selling cross-over artist.

Shania and Marie-Anne were very close friends. They had met when Marie-Anne was employed to be the assistant and interpreter of Lange.

Shania Twain sparked up a surprise relationship with Frederic Thiebaud in 2008 after Shania's husband Robert 'Mutt' Lange had an affair with her former best friend Marie-Anne Thiebaud - the wife of Frederic. (pictured 2019)

Shania, 58, wed music producer Robert 'Mutt' Lange, 75, back in 1993 - after he heard her original songs from her debut album (pictured with Lange in 2003)

Shania found out about the affair between Lange and her best friend the day after he asked her for a divorce.

She previously said of the moment: 'I had a total panic attack. I just told her that she was a bad person - that's all I could get out!'

'When I left her, I thought, "You're such a wimp, you coward!"'

In the days following the split in 2008, Shania said she went into a tailspin.

'I was ready to die', she wrote in her memoir From This Moment On and said she barely ate or slept.

She says she even wrote an email to Marie-Anne to beg for her husband back writing: 'I am dying, and I can't take it any more. This is killing me. Have mercy'.

But although she pleaded - she never got an explanation or any details about the relationship from either her husband or Marie-Anne.

What had made the pain worse is that she had confided in Marie-Anne about the trouble in her marriage and her fears that she thought Lange was having an affair.

But Marie-Anne dismissed Shania's concerns and told her she had nothing to worry about, making her feel 'foolish' for even suggesting it.

Shania is pictured with former best friend Marie-Ann - who came into her life as Lange's assistant and interpreter

Shania married Frederic six months after her divorce was finalized in 2011 (pictured 2018)

When she finally plucked up the courage to ask her if something was going on between her and her husband Marie-Anne said to her tearfully: 'I'm heartbroken that you would even think that I was hiding something from you.'

But Frederic was the one to finally tell Shania the truth.

He informed her that he had found phone bills, hotel information and receipts and had remembered seeing a garter belt and lingerie in luggage for a trip she was taking to be 'alone'.

In the book Shania wrote: 'I was disgusted that another woman's lust for a lifestyle upgrade was worth the devastation of my family'.

But in what has turned out to be a 'twisted' piece of irony. Shania and Marie-Anne's ex-husband turned to each other during their time of need, finding friendship which turned into love.

The couple eventually married in January 2011 in an intimate beach ceremony in Puerto Rico - six months after Shania's divorce was finalized.

She said: 'I don't take any day for granted any more. Fred has give me a new lease on love.'

Shania said she was initially dubious about getting together with her love rival's ex-husband and 'worried about what people would think of the relationship'.

Shania has said: 'Mutt and I parent well together  for people who dont talk to each other. Well just text' (pictured 2000)

But Frederic won over Shania little by little and calls his bride, 'Sunshine'.

He has surprised her with romantic gestures like flying her to a Swiss glacier and renting out a movie theatre for a intimate dinner for two.

'To express my love, words are not enough. I'm more in love with her every day', Frederic said.

Earlier this year Shania revealed Lange is still in a relationship with Frederic - 15 years after their affair was exposed.

Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast with co-hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, the Man! I Feel Like A Woman songstress said she and Lange co-parent son Eja, now 22, but never speak.

She said: 'Mutt and I parent well together  for people who dont talk to each other. Well just text.

'We both love our son so much, so we dont play any games like that. We have the same priority; we share spaces for him. No nonsense there.'

Confirming Lange was still with Thiebaud, she spoke about the beginning of her relationship with Frederic, branding the romance a 'beautiful surprise' and 'what she deserved'.

She quipped about the couple 'playing musical chairs' when they swapped, but said she 'didnt really know Fred very well' before their respective splits.

She said she saw 'how gracefully and graciously he was dealing with navigating the same pain' after the affair was exposed, and while she felt 'fragile', he seemed 'thoughtful.'

She said: 'Freds so smart. This is one of the smartest people I know, [and] he didnt know [about the affair] either. That helped me feel better. I got what I deserve. I got the greatest man on the planet'.
Sylvia Hoeks has been seen for the first time on the set of the Anna Nicole Smith movie Hurricanna.

Hoeks looked very much like the frequent Playboy cover girl and stand-out Guess model she is portraying.

The 40-year-old actress wore her hair bright blonde like Anna's as she modeled a hot pink top under a leopard print puffy jacket with worn-in denim jeans and sneakers. She also had a stuffed black bag over her shoulder. She was also seen with a cap on as she held onto a purple purse.

The star was seen walking outside a stone building in Los Angeles.

This comes a day after the actress shared a photo of herself in character as Anna for promotional purposes.

Sylvia Hoeks has been seen for the first time on the set of the Anna Nicole Smith movie Hurricanna

Sylvia looked very similar to the late Guess icon as she strolled on set (Anna Nicole R in 2005)

Hoeks looked very much like the frequent Playboy cover girl and stand-out Guess model she is portraying

Anna on the cover of Playboy in 1993 when she was Playmate Of The Year for the publication edited by Hugh Hefner

This comes a day after the actress shared a photo of herself in character as Anna for promotional purposes

Hoeks is a Dutch actress and former fashion model.

She is best known for her roles in the films Blade Runner 2049 and The Girl in the Spider's Web.

And she also has appeared as Queen Kane in the Apple TV+ drama series See.

Holly Hunter was also seen on set in a white shirt and dark slacks. She plays Smith's therapist.

This is the first time Playboy model Anna's final days before she died at age 39 are being explored.

Hurricanna and will cover the end of her life when her therapist (played by Hunter) tried to save her life but then by accident helped spell her doom, according to Deadline.

The buxom blonde pinup fell from grace before her death from drugs at age 39 in 2007.

The director is Francesca Gregorini from Killing Eve. She is the step daughter of Ringo Starr and her mother is actress Barbara Bach.

The script is from Rachel Sarnoff and Matt Sarnoff.

The actress wore her hair bright blonde like Anna. Here she had a cap on

The actress had on denim jeans and sneakers. She also had a purple bag in her hand

Hurricanna will show Smith at the end of her life when she was out of the limelight and taking drugs. Seen in 2004, three years before she died

This new film Hurricanna is set at the end of Anna's life when she was out of the limelight and taking drugs.

Her therapist, Khristine Eroshevich, was trying to help her by prescribing prescription drugs but then only made things worse.

The movie will zero in on the 36 hours before she died in Florida.

She was found dead at age 39 in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino as a result of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

Playboy cover girl and Guess pinup model Smith seen in an iconic Guess ad

Her Guess ads looked very much like her Playboy shoots; seen in the 1990s

According to Deadline, producers describe the project as exploring the 'immense hurricane-like force that was Anna Nicole Smith, and the fateful string of events that led Anna to destroy everything in her path, including herself and those closest to her.'

Smith became famous as a nude model for Playboy then became a model for Guess. She also starred in movies such as Naked Gun 33 and Skyscraper.

In 1994, she wed 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall. Many saw that as a move to gain his fortune.

When he died in 1995, she fought to get money out of his estate.

Hunter is well known for The Piano, The Firm, Broadcast News, The Big Sick and Batman Vs Superman.

She also starred in Succession.

Holly Hunter is playing a therapist who tried to help Anna
Tom Hamblet has been named the winner of MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 during a tense final on Friday - despite admitting he was 'gutted' to have initially been chosen as a contestant.

The sous chef, 24, crafted an 'absolutely banging' three-course menu in the final challenge beating Kasae Fraser and Tommy Thorn to the prestigious trophy.

He impressed judges Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace with his intricate dishes which were branded 'absolutely banging'.

Following the news Tom told The Times that he initially had reversions about competing in the BBC competition.

Saying: 'I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the whole UK. My dad asked what was the worst that could happen? I was gutted when I was chosen  and so nervous.'

Tom Hamblet has been named the winner of MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 during a tense final on Friday - despite admitting he was 'gutted' to have initially been chosen as a contestant

The sous chef, 24 (C) crafted an 'absolutely banging' three-course menu in the final challenge beating Kasae Fraser (R) and Tommy Thorn (L) to the prestigious trophy

During the final three-hour challenge Tom's winning menu started with a poached native lobster tail with cherry tomatoes, while the main course was a seared beef fillet with an oyster mushroom and oyster tartare.

He finished with an olive oil sponge filled with an olive oil jam served with a fennel seed ice cream.

After being crowned champion, Tom telephoned his parents - who are both chefs at the South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, Sussex, where he works in the three AA Rosette restaurant, Camellia.

'I remember the first few rounds as I was getting through, I didn't really get much of a reaction out of my dad,' Tom said of his executive chef father.

'I felt like he sort of knew that I could go as far as I wanted. They were both really happy but he sort of was quite reserved with it.

'And then the further I started getting he started really being like 'bloody hell - you're doing it.'

'People will have seen his reaction when I called him to tell him I won - they had to bleep out his swearing.'

Tom said his pastry chef mother would 'rush' to pick him up from the station after filming MasterChef each day 'so she could hear all about it first'.

Following the news Tom said he initially had reversions about competing in the BBC competition and din't want to 'embarrass himself in front of the UK'

Nevertheless his cooking impressed judges Marcus Wareing (R) Monica Galetti (L) and Gregg Wallace (C) with his intricate dishes which were branded 'absolutely banging'.

During the final three-hour challenge Tom's winning menu started with a poached native lobster tail with cherry tomatoes, while the main course was a seared beef fillet with an oyster mushroom and oyster tartare

Tom said he went into the competition 'hoping to just get past the first round', but credits his father and girlfriend for pushing him to apply for the competition.

He said: 'I used to watch it religiously when I was younger...I never thought I'd be on there myself and I (would) never have dreamt that I'd be standing there in that kitchen holding the trophy.

'And before the first day in MasterChef I did panic and watch six hours of it as research - I must have watched every skills test in the last four years.'

After being crowned champion, Tom telephoned his parents - who are both chefs at the South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, Sussex, where he works in the three AA Rosette restaurant, Camellia

Tom said he went into the competition 'hoping to just get past the first round', but credits his father and girlfriend for pushing him to apply for the competition

Tom said he is doing a restaurant takeover for three months from the start of January where he works at the Camellia restaurant to 'progress my learning'.

'South Lodge is where I did my apprenticeship around all the sections, and I've worked there for the last couple of years so to now do a residency at Camellia feels like I've come full circle,' he said.

The chef added he would one day like to have his own restaurant but he does not want to 'rush it' off the back of winning the BBC show.
Ellie Leach has said she is 'living in the moment' ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final after fuelling romance rumours with her partner Vito Coppola.

The former Coronation Street star, 22, is gearing up to perform two new dances during the live show and is trying to 'focus on the present.'

Ellie and the Italian professional dancer, 31, were seen putting on a very steamy display during a 13-hour training session this week as they prepare to battle it out for the Glitterball trophy.

Speaking to The Mirror, the pair gave an insight into their competition practise and admitted they try to not think about the final.

Ellie explained: 'Very much we live in the moment. We dont really allow ourselves to think into the future. If well be in the final, if well win. We take every day, every minute as it comes.'

Ellie Leach, 22, has said she is 'living in the moment' ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final after fuelling romance rumours with her partner Vito Coppola, 31

Ellie and the Italian professional dancer were seen putting on a very steamy display during a 13-hour training session this week as they prepare to battle it out for the Glitterball trophy (pictured on the show last week)

She continued: 'When you think too much into the future you forget to live in the present and those little moments that you might miss out on. We dont want to miss out on anything.'

Vito added: 'We are so, so focused on practising every day. The only thing we do  we practise. Then just have a good sleep and...It all starts again.'



The pair have sparked much speculation over the nature of their relationship after appearing cosy in rehearsals, with Vito even calling Ellie 'my baby' in an Instagram post.

However, they are yet to confirm their romance.

Ellie and Vito are preparing two dances for Saturday's semi-final - a Cha-Cha to the Bette Midler version of 'Mambo Italiano' and a Couples' Choice dance to a Dua Lipa medley.

They will battle it out against the three other remaining couples: Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.

The pressure is on for the contestants as they are learning two new dances ahead of the BBC show at the weekend.

Last week Ellie and Vito's quickstep scored second in the leaderboard with 36 after Layton and Nikita.

Speaking to The Mirror, the pair gave an insight into their competition practise and admitted they try to not think about the final

Ellie explained: 'Very much we live in the moment. We dont really allow ourselves to think into the future. If well be in the final, if well win. We take every day, every minute as it comes'

Fans were left fuming that Ellie and Vito were not given full marks for their dance to Belle from Disney's Beauty and The Beast during musicals week.

Despite topping the leaderboard for several weeks, the pair are yet to achieve the perfect 40 as judge Craig Revel Horwood has refused to use his 10 paddle for them.

The pair failed to score the perfect 40 yet again as they received four nines from the judges placing them second on the leaderboard with 36.

And loyal fans took to Twitter as they shared their anger of the soapstar's scores.

One wrote: 'Sick of Ellie and Vito not getting the 40!'

It comes after it was claimed that Ellie and Vito have been secretly seeing each other for over a month.

The couple has been under the spotlight after being accused of faking their romance in order to help win votes, but a source close to Ellie revealed they have been together for a few weeks.

Things between the Coronation Street actress, 22, and the Italian pro dancer, 31, are 'genuine' - a source told The Mirror.

The couple seems happier than ever on Saturday night as they danced the quickstep to Beauty And The Beast's Belle.

Vito reportedly has visited the actress' home several times outside of training while Ellie has confided in friends about her new relationship with the dance pro.

'Initially, they were friendly but as the weeks went on, their relationship changed. Ellie has made it clear to friends how happy she is with Vito,' said the friend.

They will perform a Cha-Cha to the Bette Midler version of 'Mambo Italiano' and a Couples' Choice dance to a Dua Lipa medley

Strictly fans were left fuming over their score last weekend in musicals week

The pair failed to score the perfect 40 yet again as they received four nine's from the judges placing them second on the leaderboard with 36

'She's not the kind of person to fake something like that for votes. Putting on a showmance isn't her style  what you see with her is what you get. When Ellie started Strictly, she was self-conscious and unsure. Now she's radiating confidence, which is lovely.'

A second source detailed how the duo's increasing closeness has become obvious not only backstage but also while promoting the show together.

They said: 'Ellie and Vito have become so close that they're often seen all over each other, and the chemistry is striking. The rumour they're more than friends isn't openly discussed, but it's widely understood.'

Representatives for Ellie, Vito and Strictly previously declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
Julia Fox put on a typically edgy style display on Friday as she stepped out in a black veil.

The 33-year-old Down the Drain author was dressed as a gothic bride with the veil with lace and feather trim as she strutted down the street.

The Uncut Gems actress added a satin midi length skirt with a lace hemline and hit the sidewalk in black leather platform shoes with buckles going up her legs.

Fox flashed the lower end of her flat midriff as she styled a zip-up black hoodie that read 'New York' across the front with her outfit.

The bombshell media figure wore exposed Calvin Klein x Palace underwear with a white waistband.

Julia Fox put on a typically edgy style display on Friday as she stepped out in a black veil

The 33-year-old Down the Drain author was dressed in a black veil with lace and feather trim as she strutted down a residential street

To accent her goth-inspired getup, Julia carried a heart-shaped fuzzy black handbag with a long, silver chain strap.

Her red-tinted locks were worn loose underneath her veil and her face was done up with heavy black eye makeup.

The trendsetter showed off a pale matte lipstick and stark, dark liner lined her plump pout.

The outing comes months after Julia admitted that she has been 'going for grotesque' when in comes to her subversive fashion choices.

It's part of what she refers to as her 'post-men era.'

While discussing her involuntary weight loss with The New Yorker in September, she explained, 'The losing of the weight, the eyebrows, the clothes, all the things I did  I think I was going for grotesque.'

The mother-of-one added, 'I wanted to look a certain way where the girls would appreciate it and the men would despise it.'

After enduring a challenging period in her life, Fox expressed that she had unintentionally been 'burning everything off and losing weight so rapidly.'

The Uncut Gems actress added a satin midi length skirt with a lace hemline and hit the sidewalk in black leather platform shoes with buckles going up her legs

Fox flashed the lower end of her flat midriff as she styled a zip-up black hoodie that read 'New York' across the front with her outfit

She noted, 'And men started reacting like, "Wait, what happened to her? She used to be so hot."'

The superstar explained, 'And I leaned into it. I was, like, "Oh, great, they hate me  and I love it." The more they hated me, the more fun it was to keep doing it.'

The Italian-born beauty later added, 'I just go after these guys that I know will be bad for me, but I'm just bored, or something.

'I want to go on a wild ride, to burn it all down. I'm not seeking an emotional connection with them.'
Derek Hough gave his fans an update on the health of his wife, Hayley Erbert, in a post shared on his Instagram account on Friday.

The 38-year-old professional dancer's spouse underwent emergency surgery on Thursday evening after she was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma following a performance in Washington, DC, on their Symphony Of Dance tour.

Cranial hematoma is defined as a collection of blood within the brain, which commonly occurs after a blood vessel bursts.

Hough began his message by revealing that Erbert, 29, had responded well to her course of treatment.

'Hayley has always inspired me with her will, her strength, and her resilience and no more so than in the last 48 hours. She is now on the long road of recovery,' he wrote.

Derek Hough gave his fans an update on the health of his wife, Hayley Erbert, in a post that was shared on his Instagram account on Friday; they are seen in 2021

The Dancing With The Stars judge then spoke about the gratitude he felt for all the well wishes that had been sent by his fans.

'Words cannot express how grateful and thankful we are for the support and love that you have given us. The kindness that we've been shown in this incredibly unfathomable, and life changing time is immeasurable,' he wrote.

He concluded by writing: 'The offers of assistance that have poured in have been so humbling and appreciated. Our hope is that as a family, we can somehow and someway pay it forward.'

Hough previously spoke about Hayley's health on his Instagram account on Thursday evening.

He wrote that, following their performance, his wife 'became disoriented and was taken to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required an emergency craniectomy.'

A craniectiomy is defined as a procedure where a piece of skull is removed in order to reduce swelling on the brain.

Hough then added that, at the time, his wife was listed as being 'in stable condition.'

The television personality concluded his message by expressing his gratitude for the efforts of his wife's medical team.

The 38-year-old professional dancer's spouse underwent emergency surgery on Thursday evening after she was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma following a performance in Washington, D.C., on their Symphony Of Dance tour

Hough began his message by revealing that Erbert, 29, had responded well to her course of treatment; they are seen in 2022

The Dancing With The Stars judge then spoke about the gratitude he felt for all the well wishes that had been sent by his fans; he is seen with Erbert in 2022

Hough made his initial announcement regarding Hayley's health on his Instagram account on Thursday evening

Hough then added that, at the time, his wife was listed as being 'in stable condition'

'I want to thank the first responders and medical personnel who have cared for and continue to care for her. I ask for your prayers and positivity during this time.'

Hough's sister, Julianne, shared a message on her Instagram Story and asked her fans to 'pray and send all your love, healing and light' to her sister-in-law.

The professional dancer and Erbert began initially met in 2014, although they did not begin dating for another two years.

The pair went Instagram official with their relationship in 2017, and they went on to tie the knot this past August.
Scarlett Johansson led the star parade at a ritzy jewelry event.

The 39-year-old actress -who recently attended the 2023 Natural History Museum Gala - put on a leggy display at the event celebrating her ambassadorship with David Yurman on Friday night.

The Her. actress donned a black LBD which showed off her shoulders and featured white puffed out sleeves.

She teamed the leggy dress with a pair of black leather pumps.

Scarlett accessorized with a pair of dangling, diamond-encrusted white gold earrings featuring a massive emerald.

Scarlett Johansson led the star parade at a ritzy jewelry event

Her signature blonde tresses were worn in a an elegant updo tied together with a black bow.

She showcased her natural looks with complementary make-up topped off with shiny nude lip.

Scarlett even posed for a few snap with the co-founders and designers of David Yurman, Inc. David and Sybil Yurman.

In early 2022 Scarlett became the first ever celebrity spokesperson for David Yurman.

The high-end, celeb favorite jewelry company was launched in the 1980s and is best known for its signature twisted silver designs.

'Growing up in New York, I've always felt connected to David Yurman,' the Match Point star told People at the time in March 2022. 'The Yurmans and their designs always embodied New York for me  bold, fresh and just a bit of edge.'

The Black Widow star added, 'When Evan [Yurman] approached me with this opportunity and shared his vision for the campaign, I already felt so linked to the brand that it was a natural fit.'

Meanwhile, last month Scarlett took legal action against an AI (artificial intelligence) app which used her name and likeness for an advertisement just weeks after Tom Hanks was forced to warn fans over something similar.

The 39-year-old actress put on a leggy display at the event celebrating her ambassadorship with David Yurman on Friday night

The Her. actress donned a black LBD which showed off her shoulders and featured white puffed out sleeves

Scarlett accessorized with a pair of dangling, diamond-encrusted white gold earrings featuring a massive emerald.

She teamed the leggy dress with a pair of black leather pumps

She happily posed for the cameras

Scarlett even posed for a few snap with the co-founders and designers of David Yurman, Inc. David and Sybil Yurman

She shared a giggle with David

Scarlett and Sybil chatted the night away

In early 2022 Scarlett became the first ever celebrity spokesperson for David Yurman

The high-end, celeb favorite jewelry company was launched in the 1980s and is best known for its signature twisted silver designs

The talented actress posed for a few snaps with fellow guests

The actress seemingly appeared in a 22-second ad which was posted onto X (formerly Twitter) by an artificial intelligence image-generating app called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar.

Representatives for the actor confirmed to Variety that the wife of SNL star Colin Jost is not actually a spokesperson for the app and that her attorney, Kevin Yorn, has handled the situation in a legal capacity.

The lawyer told the trade publication: 'We do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have.'

The advertisement appeared on social media on Saturday, October 28 and has seemingly disappeared since.

Meanwhile, last month Scarlett took legal action against an AI (artificial intelligence) app which used her name and likeness for an advertisement just weeks after Tom Hanks was forced to warn fans over something similar ; she is seen in New York earlier last month

According to Variety the vanished advertisement began with an old clip behind the scenes of her Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Widow as she says: 'Whats up guys? Its Scarlett and I want you to come with me'

The site reports that a graphic then covers her mouth and it transitions to AI-generated photos that resemble the star as a fake voice imitating Johansson continues to speak to promote the app.

The AI Scarlett said: 'Its not limited to avatars only. You can also create images with texts and even your AI videos. I think you shouldnt miss it.'

According to Variety the ad contained fine print that read: 'Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.'

The publication notes that many states have strict laws when it comes to rights of privacy and that California provides a civil claim for the unauthorized use of one's 'name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness' for the purpose of advertising or promotion.
In the early days of Kanye West's career as a hip hop artist, he adopted the use of a bear mascot that ended up being on the cover of his first three studio albums, including his debut, The College Dropout (2004).

Designed, printed and shipped by Sam Hansen alongside his business partner Bobby Naugle, the so-called College Dropout Bear was used for various album cover art, videos, promotion and merchandise.

In recent months, the oldest of West's four children with Kim Kardashian, North West, started channeling her dad's mascot by donning the bear outfit and lip-synching along to some of his songs in TikTok clips this past Halloween.

So it seemed like the perfect time for Naugle to reconnect with North's famous mom about getting her daughter some of the original merchandise from her dad's early era.

On Friday, Kardashian took to her Instagram page to share her thanks and gratitude to Naugle for his generous offer, all while never asking for any money in return, according to the Skims founder.

Kim Kardashian took to Instagram on Friday to thank Bobby Naugle, a man involved in the designed and merchandise business for Kanye West's early College Dropout Bear

In her Instagram post, Kardashian, 43, thanked Bobby Naugle for reaching out to her and offering to send some old Kanye West merch to her daughter North and her other three kids

The reality star thanked Naugle for sending her some old Ye merch, and then shared a picture of one of the rapper's old shirts, along with a photo of Ye wearing it back in the day

KIm began by sharing a photo of herself posing arm-in-arm with Naugle when she shared her kind words about him and explained how he helped produce the mascot.

'Bobby Naugle, who designed the college dropout bear in 2003 and worked on the tours in the early years handling the merch  reached out to me in 2022 because he wanted to gift North some of the original merch that he helped produce,' she wrote in the caption. 'He asked for nothing in return.'

She went on to explain how they never lost contact with each other over the course of the next year.

'We stayed in touch since then and after being approached by a few collectors and auction houses regarding other collectables he owned from 20032005, which included first-hand sketched and Kanye's original personal pink RL polo, Bobby felt it be most appropriate to give them to our kids, again, asking for nothing in return,' she added.

The reality star and entrepreneur ended the post by thanking Naugle for his kind offer.

'I would like to publicly thank Bobby for his kindness and generosity (it's very rare in this industry), when he could have easily made a lot of money from selling off these items instead,' Kim K wrote.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashian star also shared a photo of one of the early t-shirts Kanye West wore with his name and logo on the front that was sent to her, along with an old image of the rapper wearing it.

The mother of four, whom she all shares with Ye, also posted an image of that original pink RL Polo shirt that she mentioned in the caption, which was among the merch gifted to her, North, and her other three children: Saint, eight, Chicago, five, and Psalm, four.

The first commercial use of the bear mascot came on the the cover art for West's debut single Through The Wire in September 2003.

The character would later appear on the cover art of West's debut studio album The College Dropout in February 2004.

The album's cover was handled by art director Eric Duvauchelle of Roc-A-Fella Records, which depicts the Dropout bear in a school gymnasium, wearing a suit coat, red t-shirt, and jeans.

Continuing with the so-called College Dropout Bear, West used it again for the cover of his sophomore LP, Late Registration in 2005, and the follow up Graduation in 2007.

North and her three siblings also got one of her dad's favorite pink PL Polo shirts, along with other items that were part of the merch list in the 2000's

The first commercial use of the bear mascot came on the the cover art for West's debut single Through The Wire in September 2003, which led to it being used for the cover of his debut studio album The College Dropout (2004)

Continuing with the so-called College Dropout Bear, West used it again for the cover of his sophomore LP, Late Registration (2005)

The legendary hip hop star also used an animated version of the bear for his third stusio album Graduation (2007)

North has been channeling her dad's mascot that culminated with a series of TikTok videos over the Halloween holiday in 2023

in the videos, the oldest of West and Kardashian's four kids dances along to a few of her father's songs dressed in the College Dropout Bear suit

Over the years the bear has become sort of an anthropomorphic symbol and character for Kanye West himself

Over the years the bear has become an anthropomorphic symbol and character for the rapper himself.

Just this past Halloween, a video was shared on the TikTok account that North shares with her mom, showing the 10-year-old dancing around while dressed as the bear featured on her dad's third album, Graduation.

Complete with a gold watch and chain, North shared three videos in which she dances to her father's songs I Wonder and Can't Tell Me Nothing, as well as a sped-up version of Estelle's 2008 hit, American Boy, which is a Graduation-era hit featuring the rapper.

The College Dropout Bear's most recent appearances came with the promotion and artwork for West's collaborative album Kids See Ghosts with Kid Cudi in 2018.
Lori Harvey wowed on Friday as she hosted a brunch for her Yevrah Swim brand during Art Basel in Miami.

The 26-year-old entrepreneur sizzled in a slinky and stylish champagne-toned two-piece look that exposed her flat abdomen.

Harvey looked stunning in a low-cut tank top with a subtle ruffled neckline that flashed her busty cleavage.

The outfit sparkled with its sequin-covered material as she donned waist beads around her trim midsection.

The look included a matching midi-length skirt, and she rounded out the ensemble with strappy nude-toned heels.

Lori Harvey wowed on Friday as she hosted a brunch for her Yevrah Swim brand during Art Basel in Miami

The 26-year-old entrepreneur sizzled in a slinky and stylish champagne-toned two-piece look that exposed her flat abdomen

Harvey looked stunning in a low-cut tank top with a subtle ruffled neckline that flashed her busty cleavage. The outfit sparkled with its sequin-covered material as she donned waist beads around her trim midsection

The footwear exposed her pristine white pedicured toes.

Harvey, who is the daughter of comedian Steve Harvey, wore her lustrous dark locks in voluminous curls.

Her mane was framed by her signature baby hair and the tresses were arranged in an undefined side part.

Coordinating with her waist beads was a complementary necklace that rested between her cleavage.

The SKN by LH founder was typically stunning with her visage made up with flattering cosmetics.

Her cheeks were warmed with a rosy hue and her plump pout was coated in a nude pink with brown lip liner.

Lori, who recently split from beau Damson Idris, wore a gold watch and flaunted a nude manicure on short nails.

At her event, she mingled with guests that included model Chanel Iman, influencer Toi Pina, and Russian model Kristina Romanova.

The look included a matching midi-length skirt and she rounded out the ensemble with strappy nude-toned heels

Her mane was framed by her signature baby hair and the tresses were arranged in an undefined side part

Coordinating with her waist beads was a complementary necklace that rested between her cleavage

Harvey looked like she was having as ball as she laughed during the sit-down meal

The SKN by LH founder was typically stunning with her visage made up with flattering cosmetics. Her cheeks were warmed with a rosy hue and her plump pout was coated in a nude pink with brown lip liner

At her event, she mingled with guests that included model Chanel Iman

Iman, who welcomed her third her child in September, stunned in a strapless white jumpsuit. She wore a chain link necklace and tiny, delicate earrings as she posed with host Lori

The megastars flashed their megawatt smiles as they posed for snapshots

Lori, Chanel, and Tori gathered together for a photo-op

Lori held a fruity-looking beverage as she affectionately embraced Chanel

Lori wore gold earrings as she enjoyed her star-studded shindig

Iman, who welcomed her third her child in September, stunned in a strapless white jumpsuit.

The 33-year-old model looked great as she wore her raven-hued, collarbone-grazing locks in a deep side part.

She wore a chain link necklace and tiny, delicate earrings as she posed with host Lori.

Chanel beamed with a natural glow that was accentuated with warm-toned cosmetics.

Kristina also looked incredible in a brown and cream mini skirt paired with a classic button-up white shirt.

The stunner showed off her long legs before wrapping up the ensemble with nude-toned pointy-toe heels.

Her long and glossy brunette hair was parted down the center and pulled back into a low ponytail.

Valentina Ferrer joined the party in a denim maxi skirt and chunky black boots.

The 30-year-old Argentine model and actress teamed it with a white Prada tank top that revealed her fit arms.

Her dark, straight hair was styled in an abbreviated center part with long, face-framing pieces left out at the front.

She carried a black purse over her shoulder and commanded attention in a face of glowy makeup.

Kristina also looked incredible in a brown and cream mini skirt paired with a classic button-up white shirt

The stunner showed off her long legs before wrapping up the ensemble with nude-toned pointy-toe heels

Valentina Ferrer joined the party in a denim maxi skirt and chunky black boots

She carried a black purse over her shoulder and commanded attention in a face of glowy makeup

Ferrer took her seat at the elaborately decorated tablescape

Stephanie Rufo looked great standing beside Lori in a strapless pink mini dress

Anastasia Soare suited up in a black blazer and nude-colored blouse

Lori launched her swimwear range this past August and she created, designed, and modeled the twelve pieces to introduce it.

At the time, Harvey showcased her 5ft3in hourglass figure in several creations from her nineties-inspired 'Euro Summer' collection.

Yevrah, which is Harvey spelled backwards, offers sizes ranging from XS-XXL and prices are between $90-$180.

The Memphis-born socialite's 'chic staple swimwear pieces' were designed to 'accentuate and compliment the body perfectly' and the entire 'labor of love' was 'almost two years in the making.'
Nigel Farage's girlfriend Laure Ferrari has been pictured with her arm in a sling after suffering a minor injury while surfing.

The 44-year-old appeared to be on the mend after the accident, which occurred earlier this week, as she joined the I'm A Celebrity stars' loved ones at their hotel to greet the latest evictee Marvin Humes.

According to The Sun, Laure was taken to hospital to have her arm checked over, and is expected to wear the sling 'for a week or two.'

Despite the injury, Laure was in good spirits as she chatted with the other family members and eliminated celebrities, including Frankie Dettori.

Just days earlier, Laure had been spotted frolicking on the beach in a pink bikini, as she made the most of her Australia trip during Nigel's absence.

Nigel Farage's girlfriend Laure Ferrari has been pictured with her arm in a sling after reportedly suffering a minor injury while surfing

The 44-year-old appeared to be on the mend after the accident as she joined the I'm A Celebrity stars' loved ones at their hotel to greet the latest evictee Marvin Humes

Laure arrived at the Marriott Hotel in Surfers Paradise on Sunday and is staying at the luxury hotel while Farage has spent 18 days sleeping on a camping bed eating rice and beans.

She has not been joining the friends and family cohort that leaves at 5.30am each morning from the Marriott and drives to the jungle in case they are required to greet their loved ones off the bridge after a live elimination.

Instead, Nigel's 18-year-old daughter Isabelle has been making the trip as she will be officially greeting him and accompanying her father to the hotel.

Since deciding to join Nigel in Australia, Laure has finally spoken about their unconfirmed relationship.

Speaking to the Mail, she said: 'I really believe Nigel can win. I see it as a duty to support him. When he was invited on to I'm a Celebrity, we talked about it.

'I saw it as a massive opportunity for him to shine. He was more thoughtful about it. He consulted his family and friends. It was a team effort that got him to appear.'

When asked about his bare bottom being shown to millions of viewers in the jungle shower, she replied: 'He's got a great bottom, what's wrong with that?'

French right wing politician Laure and Nigel have been linked since 2017 after she moved into his 4 million Georgian home in Chelsea and was seen taking the bins out.

Despite the injury, Laure was in good spirits as she chatted with the other family members and eliminated celebrities, including Frankie Dettori

Nigel has reached the last four during this year's I'm A Celebrity, and is just one day away from a spot in the final

She joined the other celebrities' friends and family at their hotel in Queensland, ahead of greeting Marvin Humes, who was the latest star to be voted out of the jungle

Also spotted at the hotel was Nick Pickard, joined by his partner Sarah Corrin after being voted out of the jungle earlier this week

After his jungle exit, Marvin was greeted with a hero's welcome as he headed to the hotel with his wife Rochelle

He was embraced by fellow campmate Nick, while the other celebrities cheered his return

Marvin narrowly missed out on a place in the final four after being voted out during Friday's episode of the ITV show

After waiting to greet Marvin on the other side of the jungle bridge, Rochelle beamed as she joined her husband back at the hotel

At the time Nigel dismissed the idea of an affair as 'crackers' as he had just announced the separation from his wife of 18 years, Kirsten.

Laure, who is 15 years Farage's junior, met the politician 10 years earlier in 2007 when she was working as a waitress in Strasbourg.

After the exchange with the then 28-year-old, Nigel appointed her as a parliamentary assistant in charge of environmental issues in the UK - her first job in politics.

From there she was made PR director of Nigel's parliamentary group Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy in 2009 and eventually worked for the French nationalist party.

In 2017 - right when she moved in with Nigel as a 'lodger' - she headed up a Eurosceptic think tank which was accused of illegally diverting 400,000 of public money to UKIP - before the UK General Election and Brexit referendum.

Amid these accusations, the pair were seen enjoying a drink at a London pub together locked in conversation before both discreetly exiting a chauffeur-driven Range Rover.

It was reported that 'Nigel's attention was only on one woman all night' but they appeared cautious to be seen together with Nigel continually denying claims of a romantic relationship.

He told the Mail on Sunday: 'She is someone I have worked with and known for a long time who wanted somewhere to stay for a week that wouldn't cost her any money.

'It's a working relationship. You can inflate it however you want to.'

Laure was living with Nigel at the time because she needed accommodation and had nowhere else to stay - according to the former politician.

It was announced that same month, in February 2017, the father-of-four and his German wife Kristen had been 'living separate lives' for years and Nigel had moved out of their family home in Kent.
Love Island Australia star turned influencer Cassidy McGill was enjoying a day out at at Bondi Beach on Saturday.

The blonde, 27, showed off her incredible figure in a blue bikini with a multicoloured digital pattern throughout.

The swimwear, which featured tied straps, put her physique on display as she exited the water.

The reality star wore makeup for her swim, including a peachy blush and a hint of lip gloss.

She completed the look with a pearl choker and earrings while wearing her blonde locks down around her face.

Love Island Australia star turned influencer Cassidy McGill (pictured) was enjoying a day out at at Bondi Beach on Saturday

Cassidy splashed about in the shallows, cooling herself off among the gentle waves on what was a hot and sunny day.

It comes after the television personality revealed shocking details about her living situation.

Cassidy admitted that she was living in an expensive, beachside apartment in Sydney just to 'keep up appearances'.

She was asked why she isn't 'in love' with her apartment anymore in a Q&A when she made the admission.

The blonde, 27, showed off her incredible figure in a blue bikini with a multicoloured digital pattern throughout

The swimwear, which featured tied straps, put her physique on display as she exited the water

The reality star wore makeup for her swim, including a peachy blush and a hint of lip gloss

In a video posted to Instagram, she added that while she often gets compliments on her pad from fans, she insisted that 'social media is a f**king lie'.

'I'm about to offload something that's been plaguing my mind for a while,' her post began.

'When I moved into this apartment, I think I felt as if I had something to prove. I was getting a lot of pressure about not having started my own business and not seeming successful.'

'People were asking what my next steps were in my career. I had just bought my dream car so I guess I wanted to keep going. '

'I needed to move because my car didn't fit in my current space and when I found this apartment I thought this might be flashy enough to appease people.'

Cassidy splashed about in the shallows, cooling herself off among the gentle waves on what was a hot and sunny day

Her G-string bottoms put some skin on display

She completed the look with a pearl choker and earrings while wearing her blonde locks down around her face

'I've found it really hard to be naturally in love with this space and call it home. It's an absolute waste of money.'

She added that she wants to downsize to a cheaper two bedroom apartment and preferably in an 'Art Deco building'.

Cassidy also said she isn't 'broke' and it's her choice if she does decide to downsize.

'But if I move out of this space into something not as nice I don't want to have to constantly defend my decision and explain it was a choice and not because I'm broke or whatever these keyboard warriors will come up with,' she said.

It comes after the television personality revealed shocking details about her living situation

Cassidy admitted that she was living in an expensive, beachside apartment in Sydney just to 'keep up appearances'

In an accompanying clip, Cassidy thanked her concerned followers for reaching out and said she needs to remind herself to just 'do what makes her happy' rather than worry what anyone else thinks.

'Everyone's idea of success is different... social media is such a f**king lie,' she said.

Fans were quick react to the image on social media, with one writing: 'That's just disappointing.'

Days later, McGill issued another statement, this time revealing she had sought therapy as a result of the public backlash.

Cassidy rose to fame on the very first season of Love Island Australia in 2018.
Channel Nine's Andy Lee has announced that he is set to commence work on a planned $5million renovation of the derelict Melbourne mansion he bought in 2021.

Located in Hawthorn, the once grand home was left wasting for a decade before Andy, 42, and his long term sweetheart Rebecca Harding, 31, snapped it up for a whopping $8.5million.

And to celebrate their elaborate plans for the 150-year-old property, Andy and Rebecca threw a Christmas party for their neighbours last week.

The Hundred host told the Herald Sun on Saturday that he decided to start work on the mansion next year after part of the remaining roof fell in.

Andy explained the reasons why the couple decided to host a Christmas in the mansion which sits a prime location overlooking the Yarra River.

Channel Nine's Andy Lee has announced he is set to commence work on a planned $5million renovation of the derelict Melbourne mansion he bought in 2021 with his long term sweetheart Rebecca Harding (both pictured)

'We said ''you have stared at this place for 30 years in this (rundown) state, so if you have never been in, come and see it. It will be your last chance to see it in this state before the possums, rats and pigeons get evicted'' he said.

'I am worried they (the possums, rats and pigeons) might have squatters rights since they have been there so long'.

He added that he waned the guests that currently the house has no running water, electricity or a toilet.

Pictures loaded to Andy's social media show that the enormous two-storey property is in an advanced state of disrepair.

The Hundred host told the Herald Sun on Saturday that he decided to start work on the mansion next year after part of the remaining roof fell in

Located in Hawthorn, the once grand home was left wasting for a decade before the glamour couple snapped it up for a whopping $8.5million two years ago

To celebrate their elaborate plans for the 146-year-old property, Andy and Rebecca threw a Christmas party for their neighbours last week (pictured)

The damage includes decay from leaks, wrecked ceilings, cracked plaster and crumbling walls.

It comes after Andy and Rebecca won council approval for their development application back in June.

Plans for the site include adding a second building which will be connected by a tunnel to the original Italianate mansion, which was built around 1876.

Other highlights planned for the 1950square metre holding include a home theatre, a gym, a swimming pool and a 'mega bedroom'.

In a statement to the Herald Sun, Boroondara Council confirmed it had issued a notice of decision to grant a planning permit for the Yarra Grove address.

Meanwhile, Lee and Harding have battled rumours they have secretly wed for years.

Andy and Rebecca won council approval for their development application back in June

The damage includes decay from leaks, wrecked ceilings, cracked plaster and crumbling walls

Engagement rumours were sparked in 2020 when Lee posted a photo of Harding hiding her left hand while celebrating her 30th birthday.

'Is there a ring she's hiding with her left sleeve?' one eagle-eyed follower wrote, keen to see if the pair were about to share exciting news.

They briefly split for six months back in 2016, and Rebecca spoke about their separation on The Lady Brunch.

'I was 24 when I met Andy, so still at uni and it was very different to my previous life. But anyway I got over that and now we are as happy as ever,' she said.
The Foo Fighters are currently performing their first national tour Down Under since 2018.

And the famed American musicians have delighted their Aussie fans by including a raunchy throwback number called 'Big Balls' in their set list as a tribute to local rock heroes AC/DC.

But instead of the song being performed by frontman Dave Grohl, 54, the lead vocals for the cheeky tune are sung by a member of the Foo Fighters road crew, Australian guitar tech Fiona Owen.

A fan video loaded to YouTube recorded at the Foo Fighters Perth concert last week shows the pint-sized and heavily tattooed Owen, in black shorts and singlet, howling the song's racy lyrics.

Foo Fighters have included Owens and the song in their for act for their Australian stadium tour to pay tribute to their musical heroes AC/DC reports The Daily Telegraph.

As part of their tribute to AC/DC the Foo Fighters have handed over the lead vocals of Big Balls to a member of their road crew, Australian guitar tech Fiona Owen (pictured performing the cheeky number with Foo Fighters in Perth last week)

The Foo Fighters (pictured) are currently performing their first national tour Down Under since 2018 and they wowed Aussie fans with a tribute to local music heroes AC/DC

Originally recorded in 1976 by AC/DC for their Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap album, Big Balls is notorious for its naughty lyrics that play on a popular slang term for a part of male anatomy.

AC/DC formed in Sydney in 1973, became one of Australia's most successful band's of all time selling an estimated 200 million albums in a career that has lasted 50 years.

Meanwhile, Dave Grohl charmed his local fans on Friday when he took time out to volunteer for Melbourne 's The Big Umbrella, a street kitchen charity for the homeless.

The famed 54-year-old hitmaker was spotted serving food and spreading some Christmas cheer at the kitchen's site in Federation Square.

Foo fighters have included AC/DC's raunchy 1976 number Big Balls in their set. Pictured: AC/DC rehearsing in the USA in 1977

Grohl put in long hours on the food line before flying out for the Foo Fighters next show in Sydney.

It was an especially impressive effort from Grohl, since it came after Foo Fighters had just completed packed shows at Melbourne's AAMI Park on Monday and Wednesday.

According to its official website The Big Umbrella, established in 2010, was set up to support the homeless and 'food insecure.'

It's now recognised as as an emergency food relief organisation 'supporting communities affected by wildfires, floods, earthquakes, storms and pandemics,' the website explains.

The organisation shared several images of Dave helping in the kitchen and called him an 'amazing volunteer'.

Meanwhile, Foo Fighters arrived Down Under last week ahead of their first national tour of the country since 2018.

Grohl charmed his local fans on Friday when he took time out to volunteer for Melbourne 's The Big Umbrella, a street kitchen charity for the homeless (pictured)

The rock band were forced to cancel their 2022 tour of Australia after the sudden death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The rocker died suddenly in his hotel room in March last year at the age of 50, just hours before Foo Fighters were due to perform at a festival in Colombia.

Foo Fighters kicked off their Aussie stadium shows in Perth on November 29 and have already completed their scheduled dates in Adelaide and Melbourne, and Sydney.

Their next show will be in Brisbane December 12.

Foo Fighters kicked off their Aussie stadium shows in Perth on November 29 and have already completed their scheduled dates in Adelaide and Melbourne, and Sydney, while their next show will be in Brisbane December 12
The eliminated I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants have been making the most of their time in Australia after leaving the jungle.

Nick Pickard's girlfriend Sarah Corrin took to Instagram on Saturday to share an array of snaps of some of the former campmates enjoying a boozy day out at a beach club.

Nick, 48, Frankie Dettori, 52, Nella Rose, 26, and Fred Sirieix, 51 were joined by some of their loved ones for a day at La Luna Beach Club.

Sarah posed with Hollyoaks actor Nick, Nella and some of her loved ones in one shot, while another showed Frankie, Fred and Nick posing together in their swimwear.

Fred wore his beloved speedos for the snap, while Nick covered up a bit more in a pair of red and white striped swim shorts. Frankie kept it simple in a pair of dark shorts.

(L-R) Frankie Dettori, Fred Sirieix and Nick Pickard posed in their swimwear for some snaps as they enjoyed a boozy day at a beach club in Australia after leaving the I'm A Celebrity jungle

Nick's girlfriend Sarah Corrin (pictured left) shared an array of photos on Instagram showing the former I'm A Celeb contestants making the most of their time in Oz

Another photo shared by Sarah showed Frankie, Fred and Nick posing together in their swimwear again, this time in front of a pool and Nick had decided to cover his torso from the sun by wearing a black T-shirt.

Jockey Frankie was the first to be eliminated from the jungle, while TV personality Fred was the third and actor Nick was the fourth celeb to be given the boot. YouTube star Nella was the second star to be voted out.

Sarah was there to greet Nick when he got voted out of the show, embracing him in a sweet hug as he walked across the famous bridge.

The couple live together in Liverpool but their relationship has remained out of the public eye.

They have been dating for several years and Sarah was the first family member to arrive in Australia to support Nick.

She told MailOnline she had been begging family and friends to vote the soap star for his first Bushtucker Trial.

'I've still yet to see him do a Bushtucker Trial and all my friends and family are like, "What shall we do?" And I keep saying, "Vote! Vote" and people are like you're not meant to vote him in but I think we are! I think he'd enjoy it,' she said.

Marvin Humes was the sixth contestant to be voted off the show on Friday after Danielle Harold on Thursday.

(L-R) Frankie, Fred and Nick looked like they were having a blast at the beach club after leaving the I'm A Celebrity jungle

Actor Nick hugged jockey Frankie, wrapping his arms around his waist for another photo taken at the beach club

Nick was greeted by his girlfriend Sarah - who has been sharing the Instagram photos - as he became the fourth star to be eliminated from I'm A Celebrity this week

This now leaves Josie Gibson, Sam Thompson, Nigel Farage and Tony Bellew as the final four contestants.

Speaking to Ant and Dec after his elimination, Marvin reflected on his 'bromance' and close friendship with Made In Chelsea star Sam.

The pair have repeatedly kept the camp entertained with duets and movie-style performances, and Marvin confirmed he has invited Sam to sing with JLS.

He vowed: 'We said to Sam as well, he's got to come and perform with me and the lads at some point next year.'

Commenting on his own tunes during his stint in the jungle, Marvin quipped: 'I didn't stop singing did I? I never sing that much, not even in JLS!'

When asked who he wants to be crowned the 2023 winner, Marvin named both Sam and boxer Tony as he showed his support for his pals.

The I'm A Celebrity 2023 winner will be announced on Sunday night's episode.
Chloe Ferry has been called out for another alleged Photoshop fail.

The Geordie Shore star, 28, took to Instagram on Friday to share some snaps of herself in a skintight blue catsuit in a local cafe in Newcastle for a sponsored post.

Chloe's outfit hugged every inch of her surgically-enhanced curves with the zip partially undone, teasing a glimpse of her ample assets as she enjoyed a sweet treat.

Despite many fans showering the reality TV star with compliments, others accused her of photoshopping her snaps again after noticing the tiles looked a little strange behind her.

One person questioned: 'Is that some crazy wavey floor tiles?'

Chloe Ferry has been accused of photoshopping her pics again after social media users noticed the tiles looked a bit strange behind her

The Geordie Shore star had been posing with a sweet treat for a sponsored post when fans noticed the alleged Photoshop fail

Social media users commented on the tiles not looking how they usually would behind Chloe in the images

Other Instagram commenters insisted Chloe looked great, with one person calling the reality TV star 'unbelievable looking'

Another added: 'Girl if you're going to photoshop your pictures, stop standing on or in front of lined backgrounds lol'

Other social media users appeared to ignore the Photoshop remarks and just commented on Chloe's appearance.

One commenter called Chloe 'unbelievable looking,' while another gushed over her hair and many simply used emojis.

The latest alleged Photoshop fail comes after Chloe was accused of editing a bikini snap earlier this year.

The star had just back from soaking up the sun in Spain in September and shared a healthy dose of bikini shots with her fans over on her Instagram.

Chloe posed in a skimpy khaki bikini which left little to the imagination.

However, fans didn't hold back as they suspected all wasn't what it seemed with the snaps as they pointed out the apparent editing fail.

Her followers spotted a blurred green smudge on the inside of her upper leg suggesting the photo had been tampered with.

The 28-year-old was accused by fans of editing her sizzling Instagram bikini snaps earlier this year - with fans noticing a green blur by her bikini bottoms

Chloe showed off her enviable curves and surgically enhanced assets as she posed in a skimpy khaki bikini which left little to the imagination in the snaps shared in September

Chloe was also criticised by fans in July for allegedly photoshopping a picture of herself in a bikini while on holiday in Ibiza

The observant fan commented on the post: 'It's been photoshopped Zoom in on the first pic near her inside leg you will see a smudge of green.'

Before that, Chloe had been caught out earlier this summer back in July while holidaying in Ibiza.

The star was criticised by fans after she uploaded a picture of herself looking sensational in a barely-there white bikini top and matching bottoms with high- waisted string straps.

Chloe posed for the snap alongside Wayne Lineker, 61, at his O Beach Club on the Balearic island.

However all wasn't what is seemed as eagle-eyed fans noticed the picture appeared to have been altered as the wood in the background behind Chloe looked bent.

Taking to the comments section, one person wrote: 'First rule of photoshop don't stand next to straight lines.'

Another person added: 'Is it me or is that wood bent.'
Strictly's Bobby Brazier received some dance pointers from famous choreographer Jason Gilikson ahead of the much anticipated semi-final on Saturday.

Bobby, 20, danced alongside Strictly pro partner Dianne Buswell, 34, before professional ballroom dancer and choreographer Jason Gilikson stepped in to give him some pointers.

The EastEnders actor looked in his element during rehearsals as he wrapped his arms around Dianne as they practiced this week's fance.

Nigel Harman's elimination has left the contestants feeling shaken as the remaining couples make last-minute preparations ahead of the semi final Saturday evening.

For Saturday night's show the final four pairings will be set to perform two dances in a bid to make it to the final.

The rehearsal snaps come after former Strictly dance professional Brendan Cole said the pair are being 'overmarked' after they received a 34 out of 40 for their salsa to (I've Had) The Time Of My Life from the hit 1987 movie Dirty Dancing last week.

Strictly's Bobby Brazier was spotted in the zone on Tuesday as he received some dance pointers from famous choreographer Jason Gilikson ahead of the much anticipated semi-final

Brendan also revealed that what the judges see compared to what the viewers see are two very different things, and he didn't agree with the couple's scores.

The dancer, who starred on the show between 2004 to 2018, told Sky Bingo: 'Bobby shouldn't have had anywhere near 34, but that's the nature of the beast. What the judges see and what we see on television is often different...

'It's not always that easy to compare the two. In the studio you get a hyped audience, you get the audiences' reaction, you get different lighting effects that we don't see at home, plus [the judges] tend to really like him as a personality on the show.'

It comes before Bobby's nan was recently banned from appearing in the Strictly audience over a bitter family feud.

Jackiey Budden, who is Bobby's maternal grandmother, reportedly had a falling-out with Bobby's father, Jeff Brazier, and since then she has been unable to secure a seat at any of this series' live shows.

Poignantly, it meant that she missed Bobby's emotional tribute to his late mother  and her only child  Jade Goody two weeks ago.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, friends of the family have claimed that Jackiey and Jeff, who has looked after Bobby since Jade's death in 2009, had a falling out a few years ago and have not been able to make amends since.

Sources have also claimed that the 66-year-old is now desperate to make peace so that she can watch her grandson in next week's Strictly final if he gets past the semi-final.

In the snaps Bobby, 20, can be seen dancing alongside Strictly pro partner Dianne Buswell , 34, before professional ballroom dancer and choreographer Jason Gilikson stepped in to give him some pointers

It comes after the exit of Nigel Harman left the contestants feeling shaken as the remaining couples make last-minute preparations ahead of the semi final Saturday evening

For Saturday night's show the final four pairings will be set to perform two dances in a bid to make it to the final

Bobby and Dianne are preparing two dances for Saturday's semi-final - a quickstep to Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin and a paso doble to Run Boy Run by Woodkid

It comes after Bobby confirmed in 2021 during an Instagram video that he was back in contact with his grandmother after losing touch.

He said: 'I didn't see her for ages  for way too long  but I went to see her twice recently. And honestly if there's one woman you shouldn't underestimate, it's my nan. Honestly, she's like a wizard! It's nuts.'

Meanwhile, Bobby told the Mail of how he was inundated with letters following his tribute dance to his mother, who died of cervical cancer when he was just four years old.

He said: 'There's been a lot (of letters). I haven't opened or read a lot of them but I've seen there's been a lot of people writing.

The rehearsal snaps come after former Strictly dance professional Brendan Cole said the pair are being 'overmarked' after they received a 34 out of 40 for their salsa to (I've Had) The Time Of My Life from the hit 1987 movie Dirty Dancing last week

Brendan also revealed that what the judges see compared to what the viewers see are two very different things, and he didn't agree with the couple's scores

'We connected to a lot of people and communicated and translated something and that's what I wanted to do. I think that's what happens when you dance authentically and from your heart. I'm really glad that that happened.'

The EastEnders actor also confessed that he 'loved' his status as a sex symbol among his army of young fans, thanks to his Strictly performances.

Bobby and Dianne are preparing two dances for Saturday's semi-final - a quickstep to Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin and a paso doble to Run Boy Run by Woodkid.

They will battle it out against the three other remaining couples: Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola, Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.
Armie Hammer's ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers is joining a bunch expats and exes of the rich and famous for a new docuseries on Hulu.

In a trailer for the new docuseries, Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise, Elizabeth, 41, opens up about the island and how it became a safe space for her before the shocking allegations of rape and cannibalism surfaced about the Call Me By Your Name actor, 37.

'Grand Cayman has been a sanctuary for me. I moved here with my husband three years ago, but things have changed,' Chambers said in a preview for the upcoming series, which dropped earlier this week.

She continued: 'Even in paradise, it's hard to know who to trust.'

Armie Hammer 's ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers is joining a bunch expats and exes of the rich and famous for a new docuseries on Hulu

The trailer proceeds to show a bunch of photos of the former couple - who settled their custody dispute this summer - and clips from episodes of the show where the cast lounges in the sun.

Nick Cannon's ex-fiancee Selita Ebanks, 40, then says: 'This island is a playground for the rich and famous.'

'It's called the 'Cayman Curse.' People who move to the island with their significant other.... it never lasts,' cast member Courtney McTaggart says.

The trailer then flashes to the many headlines that appeared when Chambers filed for divorce from Hammer in 2020.

Chambers confesses, 'I went through a very public divorce that was riddled with scandal.'

Hammer and Chambers announced their separation after 10 years of marriage in July 2020 following disturbing allegations that Hammer had perpetrated violent abuse on women, which he has vehemently denied.

Chambers previously discussed the breakdown of her marriage in a candid chat with Elle magazine.

In February, the mother-of-two told the publication that cracks had been showing for months, with the actor's behavior during lockdown proving to be the final straw.

On Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise, Elizabeth, 41, opens up about the island and how it became a safe space for her before the shocking allegations of rape and cannibalism surfaced about the Call Me By Your Name actor, 37

The trailer for the upcoming series just dropped and in it Chambers says: 'Grand Cayman has been a sanctuary for me. I moved here with my husband three years ago, but things have changed

The couple were on holiday with their children Harper, eight, and Ford, six, when Covid cases began to spike in the U.S, so they decided not to return to Los Angeles but instead quarantine in the Cayman Islands with Armie's father and stepmother.

Yet their already strained marriage began to break down even quicker, with Elizabeth describing Armie as 'the worst' during quarantine.

For his part, Armie has described the time as being a 'very complicated, intense situation, with big personalities all locked in a little tiny place,' likening himself to a wolf 'caught in a snare' that wants to 'chew his own foot off.'

Despite their struggles, Elizabeth was left blindsided when her husband decided to leave the family and return to California, where he helped a friend restore an old motel outside Joshua Tree National Park.

'Even in paradise, it's hard to know who to trust,' she added

The trailer then shows a bunch of photos of the former couple - who settled their custody dispute this summer - and clips from episodes of the show where the cast lounges in the sun

'My heart was broken in nine million pieces, and I still drove him to the airport,' she confessed.

She added: 'Marriage is always going to be difficult, and, as with any relationship, you go through a process. Especially if you throw success and fame into the mix; it just becomes more magnified

[Over time] your partner is learning things about themselves,' she said. 'They're growing, you're growing; you hope that you're growing together.'

Ultimately, they had grown too far apart to make their relationship work.
Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum's newborn daughter's birth certificate has been revealed, three weeks after they announced the birth of their second child.

In documents filed with L.A. Countys Vital Records, obtained by The Blast, the couple's little girl's full name is listed as London Marilyn Hilton Reum.

The birth certificate also confirms she was born on November 11, 2023, at 11:43 a.m. at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The infant's birth weight and height was not listed on the document.

Mom-of-two: Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum's newborn daughter's birth certificate has been revealed, three weeks after revealing they secretly welcomed a second child (seen in March 2023)

London's birthday falls on the lovebirds' second wedding anniversary, and just ten months after her big brother, Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum, was born January 16.

Both London and Phoenix arrived to the world via surrogate, with Hilton and Reum, both 42, keeping both pregnancies under wraps, even from family and friends.

While Hilton revealed London's first name and gender last month, she has yet to post any pictures of her baby girl.

The unusual moniker is no surprise as she actually decided on the name 10 years ago.

Talking on a live chat episode of her podcast back in March, she teased that she had picked out the name London if she ever had a daughter over a decade 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.

'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.

She also told Ellen DeGeneres on her show back in 2022 that she had her daughter's name planned.

Little girl: In documents filed with L.A. Countys Vital Records, obtained by The Blast, the couple's little girl's name is listed as London Marilyn Hilton Reum

Full house: The birth certificate also confirms she was born on November 11, 2023, at 11:43 a.m. at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (seen on November 4, 2023)

She explained: 'The girl is gonna be named London Marilyn Hilton Reum.

'Marilyn after my grandmother and London because it's my favorite city and I think Paris and London sound cute together.'

Paris also wanted to keep the theme of cities running in her children, as her son is named after Phoenix in Arizona.

She previously said: 'It was hard to pick (Phoenix) because a lot of the cities that I like just wouldn't sound good as a name.

'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.
Jennifer Lawrence seemed relaxed as he enjoyed a walk in New York with a friend Saturday.

The actress, who has pushed back against allegations she had plastic surgery, bundled up in a large black puffy coat with orange lining in the cool and cloudy conditions.

The No Hard Feelings star, 33, wore a green sweater which was French tucked into her straight leg jeans.

A white T-shirt peaked from beneath the sweater's crew neck collar.

The Hunger Games star stepped out in gray sneakers and appeared to be makeup free.

Jennifer Lawrence seemed relaxed as he enjoyed a walk in New York with a friend Saturday, bundled up in a black puffy coat with an orange lining

Her long, blonde hair was styled straight and she war round rose colored sunglasses.

Her pal was wrapped in a mauve puffy jacket over a black raglan shirt and black athleisure pants and sneakers.

A raspberry toned sweater peaked through as the companion used the long sleeves to keep her hands warm.

She appeared makeup free and parted her long, blonde hair on the side and brushed it straight.

In a recent chat with Kylie Jenner Interview magazine, the Oscar winner opened up about hiring security after her son Cy, almost two, was born.

She shares the tyke with her husband, Cook Maroney, and said becoming a mom made her anxious and begin to experience 'intrusive thoughts.'

Jennifer said she initially wanted her security team to be 'invisible,' though she quickly found out that that approach wasn't feasible or helpful.

'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,' 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, 33, wore a green sweater which was French tucked into her straight leg jeans. A white T-shirt peaked from beneath the sweater's crew neck collar. Her pal was wrapped in a mauve puffy jacket over a black raglan shirt and black athleisure pants and sneakers

The Oscar winner opened up about the anxiety she felt after having her son Cy, almost two, and hiring security for her family's protection. She shares the tyke with her husband, Cook Maroney (Pictured in New York in March)

One of Jennifer's next projects will allow her to show her comedic chops. She has signed on for the horror comedy Die, My Love, described as a dark comedy about 'mental health and the breakdown of a marriage' (Pictured in New York in November)

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 stated.

One of Jennifer's next projects will allow her to show her comedic chops again.

After getting big laughs in the Netflix comedy, No Hard Feelings, as a woman hired to help a withdrawn teen get some life experience before he goes to college, she has signed on for the horror comedy Die, My Love.

Scottish director and writer Lynne Ramsey described the film to Variety as being 'about mental healthand the breakdown of a marriage. But its really f**king funny.

At least I think its funny,' she added, 'But Im [from Glasgow], so Ive a really black sense of humor.'
Doctor Who viewers heaped praise on Neil Patrick Harris' performance as The Toymaker on the BBC show on Saturday night.

The American actor, 50, made his debut on the smash hit sci-fi show in the third and final 60th anniversary special, starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate.

Neil portrayed devious villain The Toymaker, who last appeared on the drama in 1966, when he was portrayed by Michael Gough in The Celestial Toymaker four-part storyline.

Showrunner Russell T Davies previously described Neil's new version of The Toymaker as the 'greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced' as the villain made his grand return in the episode titled The Giggle.

Putting his own twist on the character, viewers were left seriously impressed by his peformance as they took to social media to gush over his 'creepy' nature and eerie laugh.

Doctor Who viewers heaped praise on Neil Patrick Harris' performance as The Toymaker on the BBC show on Saturday night

Writing on X - formerly known as Twitter - fans argued Neil was 'perfect' for the role as they admitted they were left with 'chills' watching his performance.

One said: 'What a gift to have Neil Patrick Harris on this episode,' a second wrote: 'Well, Neil Patrick Harris does creepy pretty good.'

A third commented: 'Ten Seconds into #DoctorWho and @ActuallyNPH has me in the palm of his hands! This is a villain!'

Another tweeted: 'Not even a fan of Neil Patrick Harris and he's already giving me chills as the Toymaker #DoctorWho,' and one added: Neil Patrick Harris is perfect as The Toymaker.'

'He is recognising me, are you not pleased Doctor, to see me again after so many years!'

The original Toymaker caused William Hartnell's first Doctor to become invisible for two episodes in 1966 and had a number of living toys as his servants.

The Toymaker was an enigmatic being from outside of time and time, and David Tennant's Doctor theorized that he had allowed the villain to break into reality by playing a game at the end of the universe.

In the second 60th anniversary special Wild Blue Yonder, the Doctor cast salt on the ground in a bid to trick two villains, which allowed The Toymaker to travel into the real world.

Neil portrayed devious villain The Toymaker, who last appeared on the drama in 1966, when he was portrayed by Michael Gough in The Celestial Toymaker four-part storyline

Putting his own twist on the character, viewers were left seriously impressed by his performance as they took to social media to gush over his 'creepy' performance

Writing on X - formerly known as Twitter - fans argued that Neil was 'perfect' for the role as they admitted they were left with 'chills' watching his performance

On Saturday, eerie scenes saw the Doctor come face-to-face with The Toymaker once again as the villain turned the human race mad and into puppets for his enslavement and amusement.

Upon meeting The Toymaker, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) asked The Doctor: 'Who is he?' to which The Doctor appeared terrified as he said: 'The Toymaker.'

'We meet again Doctor,' The Toymaker declared, before disappearing to play 'hide and seek' as his creepy laugh echoed around his toyshop.

As Donna and the Doctor tried to find their way around his toyshop, which became a maze of doors, Donna asked: 'Who is the Toymaker, what is he?'

To which the Doctor explained: 'When I was young, I was so sure of myself, I made a terrible mistake. I let the TARDIS fall into another realm... where science is a game and all of us are toys.

'He found his way into reality and I think it's all because of me. I got clever didn't I, I cast that salt at the end of the universe, I played a game and I let him in.'

The Doctor appeared terrified of The Toymaker as he tearfully told Donna that he didn't think he would be able to save her from the formidable villain.

The Toymaker had turned human beings on Earth mad, before challenging the Doctor to a deadly game - which put the planet at stake - forcing the Time Lord to accept to try and save Earth.

As well as his terrifying nature and ability to change reality on Earth, The Toymaker also brought an injection of song and dance into the episode as he invaded UNIT.

The villain suddenly appeared in UNIT's base singing and dancing to the Spice Girls' anthem Spice Up Your Life and proceeded to turn people and weaponry into toys to win the battle.

In a tense face-off with the Doctor, The Toymaker then shockingly shot the Doctor, forcing him to regenerate.

On Saturday, eerie scenes saw the Doctor come face-to-face with The Toymaker once again as the villain turned the human race mad and turned humans into puppets

Upon meeting The Toymaker, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) asked The Doctor: 'Who is he?' to which The Doctor appeared terrified as he said: 'The Toymaker'

Donna and the Doctor then tried to find their way around his toyshop, which became a maze of doors as The Toymaker tricked them with his games

The Doctor appeared terrified of The Toymaker as he tearfully told Donna that he didn't think he would be able to save her from the formidable villain

He said: 'I played one game with the First Doctor, I played the second with this Doctor, so your rules declare that I must play the third game with the next Doctor!

As his regeneration began, the Doctor said: 'It's time, here we go again! Alonzee,' however David's face remained as he seemingly didn't regenerate.

He then asked Donna: 'Could you, pull? It feels different this time,' and as she tugged on his arms, Ncuti Gatwa appeared alongside David's Doctor, making his debut in the role.

In an unexpected twist, both David and Ncuti's Doctors remained on screen, with Ncuti shouting: 'No way!' - his first words as the Doctor.

David said: 'You're me,' while Ncuti replied: 'No, I'm me. I think I'm really, really me! Oh-ho-ho I am completely me! Don't just stand there, push!'

When asked what happened, Ncuti's Doctor said: 'Bi-generation, I have bi-generated. There's no such thing, bi-generation is supposed to be a myth, but-!'

The pair of Doctors then faced off with The Toymaker together and managed to beat him at his own game, sending the villain out of existence.

David's Doctor said: 'Best of three, and my prize, Toymaker, is to banish you from existence, for ever!'

'No, you can't. But I - not fair, please,' the Toymaker said, before giving the ominous warning: 'My legions are coming.'

However, it appears that it is not the end, as a mystery hand was seen picking up the Toymaker's gold tooth as it was left behind - after The Toymaker had told the Doctor how he defeated villain The Master and trapped him in the tooth.

Elsewhere in the episode, Bonnie Langford made her hotly-anticipated return, over three decades after she originally boarded the TARDIS.

The Toymaker then invaded UNIT after challenging The Doctor to a game with high stakes, and got his hands on one of their deadly machines

In a tense face-off with the Doctor, The Toymaker then shockingly shot the Doctor, forcing him to regenerate

Ncuti Gatwa then made his hotly-anticipated debut as David regenerated - but there was a huge twist

All was not as it seemed as a huge twist saw both versions of the Doctor remain on screen, rather than one regenerating into the other as normally happens on the sci-fi series

The pair of Doctors then faced off with The Toymaker together and managed to beat him at his own game, sending the villain out of existence

Elsewhere in the episode, Bonnie Langford (right) made her hotly-anticipated return, over three decades after she originally boarded the TARDIS

Bonnie made her debut on Who back in 1986 as Melanie alongside the Sixth Doctor Colin Baker

The actress reprised her role as the Doctor's former companion Melanie Bush, who was working at UNIT alongside returning character Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave).

Bonnie made her debut on Who back in 1986 as Melanie alongside the Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, and went on to be the companion for the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.

She came face-to-face with David's Doctor as he was brought into UNIT to help figure out who was sending the human race into madness, with everyone becoming convinced they were right, causing havoc on the streets.

Laying eyes on Melanie once again, the Doctor grinned and threw his arms around her and said it was 'the best news' that she was working with military organisation UNIT.

Melanie told Donna: 'I was like you, I was one of his companions!'

She then revealed that she had spent time travelling the stars after leaving the Doctor, before deciding to return back to Earth.

She shared: 'I had to face up to the one thing I'd been running away from, I had nothing, my family all gone. But then Kate offered me a job, and here I am!'
The party in the private bungalow at Los Angeles' famous Beverly Hills Hotel was in full swing. In one corner stood Bond girl Britt Ekland sipping champagne.

In the other, a household name A-list actor was 'high as a kite', surrounded by giggling starlets. As the champagne corks popped, one man sat quietly watching the scene.

The party would continue for three days  with guests coming and going at all times of the day and night  but Dodi Fayed did not sleep a wink.

This was one of his infamous '3Cs' parties  champagne, cocaine and caviar  and Dodi stayed up the entire time snorting 'industrial quantities' of cocaine in full view of his guests.

As the sixth and final season of The Crown prepares to release the last part of the story on Netflix from Thursday, one man watched the first four episodes with a growing sense of incredulity.

Diana walking with Dodi Fayed, pictured walking on a pontoon in the French Riviera resort of St. Tropez on Augus,t 22, 1997

Dodi's fiancee Kelly Fisher who says Diana was unaware he would spend the day with her, then sleep with Kelly at night

While the series' opening episodes focused on Dodi's summer fling with Princess Diana and the couple's death in a Paris car crash in August 1997, it left out the one thing all Dodi's close friends knew his 'rampaging' cocaine addiction.

Paul Cohen met Dodi in 1980, the year Dodi arrived in Hollywood as 'executive producer' of the Oscar-winning film Chariots Of Fire.

The Goldcrest movie had been funded by his billionaire Egyptian father Mohamed Al Fayed as a way to give his wayward son a 'job', but Dodi had no interest in making films.

London-born Cohen, a Hollywood talent manager who was introduced to Dodi via his long-time client Ekland, said: 'Britt knew Dodi from London. When Dodi came to LA she said, 'You have to meet this friend of mine'.

It is inconceivable he wasn't using when he was with Diana... but I don't think she knew

'Dodi had no interest in making Chariots Of Fire. The great love of his life wasn't women or film. It was cocaine. People think of Dodi as a great seducer of women because he was photographed with gorgeous actresses such as Brooke Shields and Winona Ryder and, of course, because of his relationship with Diana. But he was weirdly non-sexual.

'He'd take industrial quantities of cocaine and become withdrawn and paranoid.

'Women were always hitting on him because he was nice looking and generous with money but in all the years I knew him I never got the impression that he was a womaniser.

'In the beginning I asked someone if he was gay because he showed so little interest in the beautiful women who were always around.

'When I got to know him I realised he just wasn't interested in sex. He was hit on all the time, by women and men, but he would shrug it off.

'Everybody in Hollywood knew about Dodi's rampaging drug habit.

'It's inconceivable to me that Dodi wasn't using when he was with Diana. I don't for a minute think she knew about it because they were together such a short time but if The Crown's researchers had talked to any of Dodi's friends his cocaine use would have been one of the first things that came up. It dominated his life.'

Chariots Of Fire director David Puttnam revealed that on one of the rare days Dodi showed up on set he kicked him out  for offering the cast cocaine. Puttnam arrived to shoot his film about the 1924 Olympics to find several cast members whose 'mood had clearly been altered' by what he believes was cocaine provided by Dodi.

Puttnam revealed: 'I said to Dodi, 'With the best will in the world, Dodi, this didn't happen. And I never want to see you again around my cast and crew'.

'It was very unpleasant. He was one of the laziest human beings I've ever come across. So the idea of him being an executive producer was always going to be hopeless because he had the attention span of the average flea.'

Cohen is more charitable about his old friend. 'Dodi was sweet and shy, that's one of the things The Crown does get right. He was a lost soul. He wanted everyone to be happy but he never seemed happy himself.

'He was a generous friend but you always got the feeling there was a emptiness inside him. It was obvious his relationship with his father was at the root of it.

Dodi desperately wanted his father's approval. He lived this lavish lifestyle but he hadn't earned any of it.

'He lived life at the mercy of his father. When Mohamed called he would drop everything. He'd say, 'It's my dad' or, more often, 'It's the boss'. He would visibly change. He would be like a little boy.

'Mohamed would cut Dodi off financially all the time. It was a real mind**** for Dodi.'

Dodi was given a $100,000-a-month allowance from Mohamed.

In LA he rented homes on the beach in Malibu and in the heights of Beverly Hills but would most often be found at his favourite haunt, a 1,500-a-night bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Strip where stars like Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin stayed. 'He was soft-spoken and elegantly dressed,' Cohen said.

Dodi flew back to LA for a business meeting after the yacht trip with Diana, then returned to Paris for what would be his final days. He died, aged 42, when drunk driver Henri Paul slammed the Mercedes he and Diana were travelling in into a post inside the Alma tunnel

While the series' opening episodes focused on Dodi's summer fling with Princess Diana and the couple's death in a Paris car crash in August 1997, it left out the one thing all Dodi's close friends knew his 'rampaging' cocaine addiction

'He would wear the most beautiful silk shirts, always unbuttoned by one button too many, and was incredibly well-groomed. We became friends because there was a genuine sweetness about him. His parties were legendary. He'd call up and say: 'Are you up for the 3Cs?' That was his code for champagne, caviar and cocaine.

'Back in the Eighties you couldn't go to any party in Hollywood without seeing cocaine. But I've never seen drugs on a scale like Dodi's, before or since. You'd go into his bungalow and there would be bowls of it on every table. He had silver platters on the coffee table piled high with the stuff. There was no pretence at hiding it.

'Dodi's parties would go on for three days. People would come and go but he'd sit there taking drugs the whole time.

'Not everyone there was a druggie. I'm not into drugs and a lot of people were there because it was the place to be. You never knew who was going to walk in the door. There was always a buzz in the room. It was where the beautiful people came.

'The champagne never stopped. Nor did the caviar. It was excessive even by the standards of the '80s, which were pretty wild.'

While there is no suggestion his guests shared his enthusiasm for drugs, Dodi's parties were a giddy mix of celebrity and beauty.

A-Listers such as Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando would mingle with comics like Robin Williams and John Belushi. Perma-tanned actor George Hamilton was a friend (although famously health conscious). Dodi was linked to Barbra Streisand, Brooke Shields, Julia Roberts and Frank Sinatra's daughter Nancy as well as a string of models including Marie Helvin and Prince Andrew's former flame Koo Stark.

None of them shared his enthusiasm for drugs and all moved on once they realised the extent of his 'problem'.

He lived life at the mercy of his father... he would be like a little boy

As Dodi's drug-use escalated, so did his paranoia. 'He was sweet but paranoid about getting kidnapped,' Cohen said.

'We would go to a restaurant called Trumps. He had a limo with an armed chauffeur which we would be in and then there was a car behind with a minimum of three bodyguards in it.

'When we got to the restaurant one would stand at the door and the other two would have eyes on him at all times. His signal was to raise an arm and the bodyguards would rush in.

'I said to him, 'Why are you so worried about your safety when no one knows who you are?' He shrugged and said: 'People know my father is rich'.'

Dodi wasn't being completely paranoid. At the time, there had been some high-profile kidnapping cases. Frank Sinatra Junior had been abducted by kidnappers a few years before and the wife of an executive who worked for media mogul Rupert Murdoch had been snatched and killed by a gang who thought she was Murdoch's then-wife Anna.

Cohen said: 'Dodi knew a Getty heir who had been kidnapped in Italy, which may have fed his paranoia.

'We rarely went out. Dodi didn't eat much because of the drugs but when he did it was mostly room service. Hairdressers, manicurists and masseuses would come to him.

'It struck me that he was quite lonely. I'd tease him about being so reclusive because he wasn't famous.'

All that would change when Dodi met Diana in summer 1997.

At the time, she was recovering from the end of her relationship with surgeon Hasnat Khan, the man many have called her 'true love', and Dodi was engaged to model Kelly Fisher.

As The Crown's recent episodes show, Dodi's father engineered the relationship, encouraging his son to romance Diana even though Dodi was with Kelly who he had met at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

While Dodi was wooing Diana in the South of France on his father's superyacht the Jonikal, Kelly was on a smaller rented yacht a short tender ride away.

Kelly later told me: 'I don't think Diana had any clue he was with her by day and sleeping with me at night.'

For Cohen, like many of Dodi's friends, the romance with Diana was a bolt from the blue. 'He'd tried to clean up his act,' he said. 'His father wouldn't put him in rehab for the drugs because he was embarrassed that people would find out.

'Dodi told me he'd been to a clinic in Switzerland where all his blood had been 'swapped out' to cure his cocaine problem. I don't know if he was sober when he died.

'Like most of his friends, I found out about Diana when the kissing pictures were published.

'Everyone in Hollywood was talking about it because it was such an unlikely match. We all knew Dodi had his issues and that he had another girlfriend-slash-fiancee.

'So when it came out that he was with Diana, people who knew him were in a state of shock.

'She's the last person I would have imagined Dodi ending up with.'

Dodi flew back to LA for a business meeting after the yacht trip with Diana, then returned to Paris for what would be his final days.

He died, aged 42, when drunk driver Henri Paul slammed the Mercedes he and Diana were travelling in into a post inside the Alma tunnel.

Chariots Of Fire director David Puttnam revealed that on one of the rare days Dodi showed up on set he kicked him out  for offering the cast cocaine. Puttnam arrived to shoot his film about the 1924 Olympics to find several cast members whose 'mood had clearly been altered' by what he believes was cocaine provided by Dodi

Cohen said: 'I often wonder if Dodi's drug use played any part in the accident.

'When he was high on cocaine, he would get paranoid. In LA he would look behind him all the time. Maybe he urged the driver to go faster.'

For now, Cohen prefers to remember his friend with fondness.

'Dodi was a good guy. He was flawed but he was a kind man, a gentle man. I always thought it was ironic his death was overshadowed because of Diana.

'He was a good guy, that's what I want people to know.

'Even in death he wasn't the main headline.'
With a 67million fortune and a gift for wizardry, you'd think there was nothing Emma Watson couldn't fix.

But it seems there is no magic spell powerful enough to restore a dented Audi A3.

The Harry Potter star appeared to have suffered an uncharacteristic mishap in the vehicle, which was spotted with noticeable damage to its front wing.

As studious Hermione Granger in the film series about J.K. Rowling's boy wizard, she might have invoked a Reparo spell with a flick of her wand for a seamless repair.

But having hung up her Hogwarts robe 13 years ago, Ms Watson had to make do with duct tape.

The British actress, 33, was seen arriving in the patched-up car to a lunch date with a mystery man at upmarket eaterie The Ivy in North London's St John's Wood last week.

With a 67million fortune and a gift for wizardry, you'd think there was nothing Emma Watson couldn't fix

But it seems there is no magic spell powerful enough to restore a dented Audi A3. The Harry Potter star appeared to have suffered an uncharacteristic mishap in the vehicle, which was spotted with noticeable damage to its front wing

She spent two hours inside the restaurant with the dark-haired man before they left separately  although Ms Watson was spotted moments later picking him up from the next street.

Ms Watson, who is thought to have been single since ending her romance with Sir Philip Green's son Brandon, drove off with the man in the passenger seat.

Over the years she has dated Made In Chelsea's Francis Boulle, Spanish musician Rafael Cebrian and fellow Oxford graduate Will Adamowicz. But none have lasted.

Ms Watson has become one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses. Starring roles in Beauty And The Beast and in Greta Gerwig's Little Women have cemented her career beyond her iconic role as Hermione in the Harry Potter franchise.

But she has also become known for her outspoken views on feminism and politics  pitting herself against J.K. Rowling by openly backing trans rights.

As studious Hermione Granger in the film series about J.K. Rowling's boy wizard, she might have invoked a Reparo spell with a flick of her wand for a seamless repair
Will Smith was spotted with the mystery woman, who looks strikingly similar to his estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith, for a second time during Miami's Art Basel events.

The I Am Legend star, 55, was dressed casually in a white polo shirt and black cargo pants.

Will kept some distance from the woman with a shorn head as the two took in the shows during the art fair in South Florida.

The Oscar winner's megawatt smile was on full display as he conversed with his group of friends.

She wore a light brown, long-sleeved, belted jumpsuit with bejeweled black flip flops.

Will Smith was spotted with the mystery woman who looks like his estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith for a second time during Miami's Art Basel events

Previously, Will and the mystery woman were spotted very near each other at the international art fair.

Though the kept some space between them while at the art show, they departed the location together in the same limousine, according to onlookers.

Smith was later spotted with the woman and other friends at famed pizza restaurant Lucali - a favorite of Jay-Z and Beyonce, as well as the Beckhams.

The latest outing comes after after Will admitted he made 'a ton of mistakes' in his marriage to Jada, who revealed that they have been living apart since 2016.

At the Red Sea International Film Festival in in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last week, the King Richard star opened about about his personal life, including his many publicized ups and downs in recent years, along with some insight into his career.

He seemed to be comfortable talking about his 'many adversities' over the past couple years and how he's tried to learn from his mistakes to move forward.

'I have made tons of mistakes,' Smith admitted to the lively crowd at the film festival, appearing to allude to the marriage issues as well as his now infamous Oscars slap of host Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards.

'Fame is a unique monster and I've had to be really careful,' he added.

The I Am Legend star, 55, was dressed casually in a white polo shirt and black cargo pants

She wore a light brown, long-sleeved, belted jumpsuit with bejeweled black flip flops

Will kept some distance from the woman with a shorn head as the two took in the shows during the art fair in South Florida

Previously, Will and the mystery woman were spotted very near each other at the international art fair

Though the kept some space between them while at the art show, they departed the location together in the same limousine, according to onlookers

Smith was later spotted with the woman and other friends at famed pizza restaurant Lucali - a favorite of Jay-Z and Beyonce, as well as the Beckhams

Open book: The latest outing comes after after Will admitted he made 'a ton of mistakes' in his marriage to Jada, who revealed that they have been living apart since 2016

'I have made tons of mistakes,' Smith admitted to the lively crowd at the film festival, appearing to allude to the marriage issues as well as his now infamous Oscars slap of host Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards

The latest outing comes after after Will admitted he made 'a ton of mistakes' in his marriage to Jada, who revealed that they have been living apart since 2016

At the Red Sea International Film Festival in in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last week, the King Richard star opened about about his personal life, including his many publicized ups and downs in recent years, along with some insight into his career

'I have made tons of mistakes,' Smith admitted to the lively crowd at the film festival, appearing to allude to the marriage issues as well as his now infamous Oscars slap of host Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards

Despite the fact that Will and Jada have been separated for seven years, they have no plans to divorce.

Last month Jada confirmed she has no plans to divorce Will after recently revealing they've been secretly separated since 2016.

'We're staying together forever,' Jada told Drew Barrymore on the Drew Barrymore Show. 'I tried. We tried,' alluding to her and Will's years-long separation that they kept tightly under wraps from the public.

Previously, at a publicity event for her tell-all memoir Worthy, Jada revealed that she was 'not leaving Will's side' and he's 'not going to leave' hers.
Her fashion label has been in the red since she launched it in 2008.

But this year her fortunes have turned around  thanks to a 30 eyeliner which has flown off the shelves so quickly that her team are struggling to keep up with the demand.

Mrs Beckham's Satin Kajal Liner, which comes in 16 colours, has been hailed as 'the perfect piece of make-up' by not only women in the UK, but also across Europe and in America since it launched.

Its popularity has been boosted by the former Spice Girl also offering tutorials on social media platforms TikTok and Instagram  and friends of the star say that she too uses it everyday.

A fashion insider told The Mail on Sunday: 'This has been an absolute gem of a product for Victoria.

Her fashion label has been in the red since she launched it in 2008. But this year her fortunes have turned around  thanks to a 30 eyeliner which has flown off the shelves so quickly that her team are struggling to keep up with the demand

Mrs Beckham's Satin Kajal Liner, which comes in 16 colours, has been hailed as 'the perfect piece of make-up' by not only women in the UK, but also across Europe and in America since it launched

'It has become so popular Team VB say that they can't get it made and out there quick enough. While it might seem expensive compared to high street ranges, ordinary women are buying it and then learning how to use it by watching Victoria's tutorials.

'There are other products being launched and the fashion is becoming more popular but the eyeliner is the stand out. It has been a triumph.'

In March, her main financial backer, David Belhassen, gave the first positive forecast for the company, saying that the brand was expecting to turn a profit when accounts are published in January, with revenue up almost 50 per cent to 58 million.

In 2020, Mrs Beckham's losses were 8.6 million, but at the end of 2021 her namesake brand saw revenue grow by 13 per cent to 40.9 million, cutting net losses to 5.8 million. Over its 15 years, the business has also borrowed 30 million from other parts of the Beckham empire.

Those close to Mrs Beckham say that she is 'immensely proud' of the eyeliner, while its tens of thousands of fans say that it is easy to use, stays in place and are impressed with the range of colours.

Mrs Beckham extended her fashion brand in 2019 when she launched her beauty range which was inspired by her own signature 'smokey eye' for which she has become known. Insiders at the London-based company say that, unlike other beauty brands, she is concentrating on eye make-up, and recently launched a mascara as well as eyeshadow sticks and eyebrow pencils.

Speaking to Vogue France in October, Mrs Beckham  who will turn 50 in April  said: 'It's such an exciting time. This year, we made a profit. This takes time, especially for an independent brand.

'This is just the beginning. I have lots of ambitions and I work hard to achieve my goals. I never wait for things to fall into my lap. Now that I have laid down the groundwork, the real work can begin.'
Strictly Come Dancing is waltzing to Buckingham Palace for a royal spectacular to mark 20 years of being on TV, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

In what will be a first for the programme, an episode during next year's series will be screened live from the central London residence  and there will almost certainly be an appearance from Queen Camilla, who is a huge fan of the show.

Strictly sources say the BBC and royal officials have already decided which room the show will be held in, believed to be the ballroom, and it is understood the episode will mirror the familiar show set-up at Elstree Studios as much as possible.

One insider told The Mail on Sunday: 'There have been talks going on for some time now. Camilla loves Strictly, so what a dream this is for her. It has been about getting the timing right and 2024 is the year.

'Strictly started in 2004 so it is two decades. There is huge excitement about this happening  it is going to be quite a night.

Strictly Come Dancing is waltzing to Buckingham Palace for a royal spectacular to mark 20 years of being on TV. Pictured: Annabel Croft performs on Saturday night's show

Inside the ballroom at Buckingham Palace where sources say Strictly will be filmed for the special edition of the show

'The Queen has been a long-standing fan of the show, so it feels like a perfect fusion. There has already been so much thought that has gone into this, the room has been selected and it will be absolutely stunning.'

Camilla's love for Strictly is well known. In April 2022, she told 2021 winner Rose Ayling-Ellis she had voted for her, adding: 'I don't know how you did all those dances.'

Strictly sources say episode will mirror the familiar show set-up at Elstree Studios as much as possible. Pictured: Ellie Leach with her dance partner Vito Coppola

Queen Camilla, pictured earlier this week, is said to be a long-standing fan of the popular show

As well as the fleet-footed Queen  who danced with Craig Revel Horwood and Brendan Cole on the Strictly Christmas special in 2017  another royal who will be delighted to see the show staged at the Palace is Princess Charlotte who, her mother Kate revealed last year, 'loves ballet and tap'.

The Princess of Wales herself is another keen viewer and only last week, took Charlotte and Prince Louis to the Strictly studios, where they were said to be 'overjoyed' to watch the dress rehearsals.

READ MORE: Kate Middleton 'enjoys secret visit to Strictly Come Dancing studios alongside Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 5' Princess Kate Middleton enjoyed a secret visit to Strictly Come Dancing studios Advertisement

Sources have said it is likely that the semi-final of the show will be held at the Palace, because it would be 'almost impossible' to have a large number of couples taking part there.

The finale is also too much of a huge production to take away from Elstree, in Hertfordshire, and there is expected to be a reduced audience size at the Palace because of the room being smaller than the usual studio.

It is understood that there were vague plans to hold Strictly in Buckingham Palace last year to mark the end of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

However, her ailing health meant the plans were shelved and the project reworked.

Buckingham Palace's ballroom was completed in 1855, during the reign of Queen Victoria.

It was originally known as the Ball and Concert Room, and features a musicians' gallery complete with an organ, which will mean that Strictly's orchestra  led by conductor Dave Arch  can take part.

During Victorian times, there were frequent formal dances held in the stunning room, which  at 120ft long, 60ft wide and 45ft in height  is the largest room in the Palace.

A Strictly spokeswoman declined to comment.
Most people  particularly as they get older  have needed to wee more often than normal at some point.

And there's usually a simple explanation, like having drunk too much liquid.

But what if needing to pee a lot is a constant problem? Do you just put up with it  perhaps chalking it off as an inevitable part of ageing  or should you get it checked out by a doctor?

Most people  particularly as they get older  have needed to wee more often than normal at some point. However, it can be a sign of a problem, such as diabetes, bladder infections and an enlarged prostate (shown in graphic), says Dr Babak Ashrafi, from Superdrug Online Doctor

'Concerns about increased frequency of urinating is something that is commonly expressed by patients and can be distressing,' said Dr Babak Ashrafi, from Superdrug Online Doctor.

'It's important to know that a rise in the need to urinate may indicate a range of issues, so it's wise to seek advice from a healthcare professional.'

So, what could those issues be?

Diabetes

Dr Ashrafi said: 'Diabetes can cause increased urination due to elevated blood sugar [glucose] levels.

'The kidneys work to eliminate excess sugar through urine, leading to increased thirst.'

According to Diabetes UK, the urge to drink more fluids is because the body can become dehydrated as a result of this process.

So, if you're suddenly peeing more, and also very thirsty, it's a good idea to get your blood sugar levels checked, according to Dr Ashrafi.

Other signs of diabetes can include 'unexplained weight loss and fatigue'.

How often should I pee? It is normal to need to pee around four to eight times per day and possibly once in the night, doctors say. This is based on drinking around one-and-a-half to two litres per day. Needing to go more frequently, or getting up every 30 minutes to an hour, can be a sign of frequent urination. However, what is normal varies between people. Those who are drinking lots of fluids, taking certain medication, are pregnant, aged over 70 or have an enlarged prostate may need to pass urine more often. Advertisement

Infections

Infections like cystitis irritate the bladder and urethra, causing a frequent and urgent need to urinate.

Dr Ashrafi said additional signs of cystitis include pain or a burning sensation during urination, as well as cloudy or strong-smelling urine.

Mild, short-term UTIs can sometimes clear up on their own, especially if you stay well hydrated.

But Dr Ashrafi recommends seeing a doctor if it's your first time experiencing these symptoms, they worsen or don't clear up after a couple of days.

Additionally, he advises seeking medical help if you notice an increase in pain and other worrying symptoms, such as a fever or feeling generally unwell.

Anyone who notices blood in their urine should see their GP.

Prostate enlargement

Benign prostate enlargement (BPE) is very common in men over the age of 50  although it can occasionally affect younger men too.

Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) stresses that it isn't caused by cancer, and doesn't increase the risk of getting the disease.

It basically means the prostate  a small, walnut-sized gland located between a man's bladder and rectum  has increased in size, which can cause men to feel like they need to pee more, especially at night.

PCUK says around a third of men over the age of 50 have urinary symptoms, and the most common cause is BPE.

'Prostate enlargement can obstruct the urethra, causing difficulties in starting or stopping urination and resulting in a weak urine stream, which then contributes to an increase in the frequency of urination,' Dr Ashrafi said.

The good news is, BPE can be managed  you don't have to just put up with it. GPs can assess whether any further tests should be carried out.

Menopause

Many women going through menopause report needing to pee more urgently, and the NHS reports that around 70 per cent of females say their urinary incontinence began after their final menstrual period. This is linked to a depletion of oestrogen in the urinary tract and vagina.

'Menopause brings hormonal changes that can affect the urinary system,' Dr Ashrafi said.

'Vaginal dryness, hot flashes, and mood swings may be accompanied by an increased frequency of urination.'

Gynaecological issues

Gynaecological problems can also be accompanied by the need to pee more.

Dr Ashrafi said: 'Another reason for increased urination in women can be gynaecological problems, such as pelvic pain, abnormal bleeding, and discomfort during intercourse.

'These can lead to changes in bladder function, resulting in an increased urge to urinate.'

Dr Ashrafi recommends keeping a track of your symptoms and checking in with your GP. You may need further tests to rule out any underlying causes, as well as advice for managing symptoms.

Pelvic floor issues

Weak or damaged pelvic floor muscles  the muscles spanning the bottle of the pelvis  in both men and women can lead to increased urination.

Dr Ashrafi said: 'Pelvic floor issues, such as weakness or dysfunction, may result in incontinence and difficulty controlling bowel movements.

'These issues can contribute to an increase in the frequency of urination.'

For women, this may be linked to childbirth, age and hormonal changes.

But anyone can potentially be affected  it could also follow injury or other health problems, for example.

Simple pelvic floor exercises are proven to help. Dr Ashrafi recommends speaking to your GP or physiotherapist for advice.

Ageing

Dr Ashrafi said: 'Ageing can lead to gradual changes in bladder function, resulting in reduced bladder capacity and weakened pelvic muscles.'

He said this can then 'contribute to a higher frequency of urination'.
One in four iPhones could soon be manufactured in India as Apple joins a growing list of companies seeking to reduce their reliance on China.

The tech giant is aiming to build more than 50 million phones in India annually within the next two to three years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Despite the mass expansion, China will remain the largest producer of iPhones - which cost up to $1,599 - thanks to its mammoth Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou.

Firms have become increasingly worried about their overdependence on China, fueled by diplomatic efforts by the US and its allies to block Beijing's access to advanced technology.

One in four iPhones could soon be manufactured in India as Apple joins a growing list of companies seeking to reduce their reliance on China , new reports state

Despite the mass expansion, China will remain the largest producer of iPhones - which cost up to $1,599 - thanks to its mammoth Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou. Pictured: the latest iPhone 15

Last month it emerged Walmart had increased its imports from India while Microsoft's LinkedIn axed its China-focused jobs app.

Apple has been gradually boosting its reliance on India - though it has faced challenges from poor infrastructure and restrictive labor rules.

Labor unions pushed back on calls by companies to implement a 12-hour work day similar to those in China.

But earlier this year Karnataka state decided to extend its limits to 12 hours from nine, though companies must have approval to do so. Under the new rules, companies can also employ women on overnight shifts without seeking government approval.

So far, the WSJ reports that Apple and its suppliers - which include Taiwan-based FoxConn - believe the transition has gone well.

A Foxconn plant is now under construction in the southern state of Karnataka and is expected to start operating in April. This location is set to make 20 million mobile handsets annually within the next two to three years, sources told the WSJ.

So far, the WSJ reports that Apple and its suppliers - which include Taiwan-based FoxConn - the transition has gone well. A Foxconn factory in southern China is pictured in 2010

Apple has been gradually boosting its reliance on India - though it has faced challenges from poor infrastructure and restrictive labor rules. Pictured: a worker at a Foxconn factory in 2010

A second iPhone plant is also being planned - though it is still in the early stages.

Foxconn signaled its commitment to India in late November when it invested the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in the country.

Research firm Counterpoint estimates that global iPhone shipments last year totaled more than 220 million.

DailyMail.com reached out to Apple for comment.
Fair trade watchdog CCI is conducting a market study to assess the impact of artificial intelligence on the competition landscape, the regulators chief Ravneet Kaur said on Friday.

In recent times, there has been an increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in several sectors.

We are doing a market study on artificial intelligence... In that study (we will) try to understand the dynamics better. We can differentiate what kind of AI that we would like to support and which one is stifling competition, Kaur said at an event organized by industry chamber FICCI here.

This can provide valuable insights into the competitive landscape.

The CCI has the mandate to curb unfair business practices in the marketplace across sectors and also promote fair competition.

Since its inception, the CCI has cleared 1,000 combinations, mergers & acquisitions cases, Kaur said.

The CCI has played a key role in regulating and ensuring a competitive market in the country.
India has a two-to-three-year window to capitalise on the global strategy of de-risking from China and the government needs to be very alert to come up with a set of policies that make the shift of businesses to India attractive and easier, NITI Aayog CEO Subrahmanyam said on Friday.

Addressing CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2023, Subrahmanyam further said India is in a sweet spot due to the outcome of geopolitics and the fact that the country has a young working-age population.

So I think, in the next 15 to 20 years time span, India has an opportunity in manufacturing. But the opportunity and the window for India is at best two to three years, because supply chains are unwinding, theyre becoming shorter, and theyre looking for new geographies.

This is going to be a two-three year phenomenon, and then supply chains will get frozen, he said.

Subrahmanyam pointed out that it is not just non-Chinese companies but even Chinese companies which want to move out of China because of labour shortages.

They are having a shortage of demand because there is a population shift in terms of the age, a shortage of labour supply, the rising cost of labour and the stressed capital markets, he said. Noting that the capital market system is under stress in China, Subrahmanyam also said it is a very clear signal to big MNCs from their capitals that de-risk from Beijing.

So even if global trade does not grow in total, there could be a shift in trade from one geography to the other. So that is something which India can capitalize in the short run, he emphasised.

The NITI Aayog CEO opined that to attract businesses from China, India will have to compete with Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico and Bangladesh.

So I think ...We need to be very alert to come up with a set of policies, a set of programs to make doing business and shifting business to India attractive, he said.

Subrahmanyam also pointed out Indias customs rule doesnt allow import of used goods when companies shift the factory as they move pre-owned stuff. So you need to allow that to happen as there are half-a-dozen other countries who are going to be competing with you to get the shift out of China, he said.

On the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), Subrahmanyam said Indian companies need to adapt fast to the carbon tax if the major markets are moving in that direction.

The fights will be fought by the government at the international level. But at the bottom level, for survivals sake, I think companies will need to adjust and the government would have to come up with policies to facilitate that, he added.
Nayara Energy, Indias second-largest private oil firm, on Friday said it will start operations of a new polypropylene plant in the first half of next year, marking its entry into the lucrative petrochemical sector.

In the last financial year (April 2022 to March 2023), Indias consumption of polypropylene stood at 6.4 million tonnes, of which around 1.6 million tonnes or around 25 per cent was imported.

With wide applications in segments like packaging, automotive applications, consumer durables and lifestyle products, the demand for polypropylene (PP) is projected to rise.

Nayara is well on track for its entry into the petrochemicals sector with its upcoming 4,50,000 tonnes per annum polypropylene plant expected to be commercially operational during H1 2024 - when Nayara expects the demand to accelerate and margins to kick in, the firm said.

As Indias GDP grows, the demand for polypropylene is expected to grow to around 7.5 million tonnes in the next two years, creating sufficient room for new and upcoming domestic capacities.

Nayara said it will be the first polypropylene (PP) producer in the country using the latest phthalate-free catalyst for the entire PP production. Phthalate-free grades will provide cleaner PP for pharma, health and hygiene applications.

Our customers are also expected to achieve higher throughput, quality consistency and smooth processing with our PP grades produced using advanced catalyst and technology platform, it said. We will be packaging our products in pilferage-contamination proof HDSS bags. Our customers will also have the advantage of our all-India sales distribution network and strong technical support. We believe it will be the best product in India for food applications.

Presently, refinery-based PP economics are lower due to strong fuel cracks and lower PP prices (which have fallen significantly in the last 18 months).

This is the cyclical nature of the business and the long-term prospects of the industry remain bright.

Importantly, integrated refineries with Petchem portfolios are expected to achieve margin resilience through business cycles as compared to standalone refiners.

At the same time, we are actively considering increasing investment in the India growth story, especially in the petchem sector, Nayara said.

With its strategically located refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat, which is the largest petrochemical consumption region in the country, the company is positioned to make a strong entry into this high growth segment.

Nayara operates a 20 million tonnes a year oil refinery at Vadinar and also has more than 6,500 petrol pumps in the country. It delivers about 8 per cent of Indias refining output.
The BJP fought the Assembly elections on Modi charisma and won but it may have to rework its strategy in the South for 2024

BJP will go into 2024 polls with more aggression, renewed strength and confidence which will be laced and embedded in Modi Magic and centers ten-year achievements but its southward journey has been stopped by Congress in Telangana though it has won 8 seats in the House 119. Eerier, BJP had to face defeat in Karnataka and the loss of its ally, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu had also put the saffron party in a dilemma.It was all the way Modi through collective leadership led by the PM did wonders for the BJP in these poll-bound states. A huge gamble and risk was taken by RSS and BJP's high command to make Modi as face of these assembly polls but it paid rich dividends.

It did help in generating the trust of voters who did not hesitate in reposing faith in his leadership though the situation would have been different had CM candidates been declared by BJP. Modis outreach to tribals also created history as they shifted their loyalty from Congress and supported Modi who promised to look after their welfare in future.

The caste census narrative of Congress was neutralized by PM who stressed the need to have faith in four castes viz. women, youth, farmers and the poor, such connotation worked to the hilt. PMs focus on the Congress partys image of corruption also neutralized the anti-incumbency factor in MP besides women voters overwhelming support of welfare schemes of the Shiv Raj Singh government.

Contrary to it, Hindutva's dose in Rajasthan bore the fruit which was compounded by the fielding of ministers and MPS who influenced surrounding assembly segments. It was true in MP also which is considered the factory of experimentation of Hindutva politics. The well-oiled machinery of RSS strengthened the killing spirit of BJP cadres in these poll states besides vast resources at BJPs command.

Last but not least, the poll management and strategy of Union Home Minister Amt Shah and party president, J.P.Nadda was successful in putting the rivals on the mat which matters a lot in winning the elections.

Bjp May Re-Work Its Strategy For South. While riding high on the extreme popularity of Modi coupled with the Ram Temple-led Hindutva campaign, the BJP may rework its poll game plan for the south to improve its performance in 2024.

According to national president, J.P.Nadda, BJP will focus on the new game plan to have allies in the south and people will vote for PM Modi owing to their faith in his guarantee to fulfil poll promises, unlike the opposition which believes in misguiding the voters to win elections. Nadda is confident about victory in 2024 as cracks have appeared in INDIA which happens to be the group of contradictions and satraps of inflated egos.Congress' defeat may be a good omen for INDIA The experts feel that Congress party's defeat in Madhya Pradesh and its failure to retain Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh may act as a blessing in disguise for the future of INDIAFirst, Congress's victory could have enhanced its bargaining power but defeat has snatched it from the grand old party.

Second, it will bring Congress to at equal playing level with other constituents of INDIA thereby neutralising any iota of arrogance and inflexibility.

Third, the jolt to Congress will act as an eye-opener to leaders like Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav etc. who may be forced to shed anti-Congress rhetoric and see reasoning in 2024 polls while agreeing to the seat-sharing formula in states like Delhi and Punjab (AAP)and West Bengal (TMC) and Samajwadi Party(UP)respectively.Fourth, the critics of Kejriwal and Mamata argue that both leaders may face corrupt cases and land in jail if Modi returns to power for the third time which may be the predominant reason for their desire to be part of the INDIA alliance.

Fifth, Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar was feeling alienated due to political maneuvering by Congress which was aiming at a pivotal role in the new INDIA Bloc. One cannot deny the fact that it was Nitish Kumar who had been responsible for bringing warring regional straps to one platform but hurdles were created in assigning him the important position of convener of INDIA. Now Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge has convened the meeting of INDIA to iron out differences and move forward with an eye on 2024. The biggest challenge INDIA faces relates to seat sharing and the finalisation of the common minimum programme. The glitches are huge and may require flexibility and a broad-minded spirit of Give and Take to make the INDIA alliance a reality because it is still confined to paper only.

Congress was optimistic about metamorphosis in its fortune as it expected to retain Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and snatch power from the saffron party in Madhya Pradesh. Modi factor has dashed their hopes to the ground as BJP has performed exceedingly well in three states. But BJP proved an outside ring player in Telangana and it will have to console with an increase of its one-seat tally to 8.

The BJP and RSS will bank on the Modi factor and the centres ten-year performance to win in 2024 but there will be a dire need to formulate a new poll strategy for the South as dominance in Hindi states may not be sufficient. The scare of Modis return to power for 3rd successive time may contribute to this phenomenon.

(The writer is political analyst and senior journalist, views are personal)
When a candidate uses his money to bribe the voter, it is treated as corrupt practice, but when his party bribes voters using public money it is not treated the same way

Taking a cue from the practice of mesmerizing voters with freebies - an acronym for something is given free of charge - started by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the February 2020 Delhi elections, early this year, in Karnataka elections, the grand old party (GOP) gave five guarantees (a more respectable nomenclature for freebies) on a grand scale. These delivered the intended result.

In the just concluded elections in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, the guarantees have occupied the centre stage in the manifestos of all parties expanding their scope and scale. Apart from free electricity, subsidized gas cylinders, free smartphones and tablets, free education/access to English-medium schools, OPS (old pension scheme) etc, the parties have tried to outsmart each other by promising cash transfers.

In Rajasthan, the GOP promised Rs 10,000 every year to the female head of the family under the Griha Lakshmi Yojana. In MP, BJP has promised Rs 1,250 per month under Ladli Behna Yojana; the amount will gradually be hiked to Rs 3,000 per month. Additionally, under the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana, girls will get Rs 200,000/- till they get married. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP has promised Rs 12,000 per year to married women under the 'Mahtari Vandan Scheme'. In Telangana, the GOP has gone a step ahead by promising 10 grams of gold in addition to Rs 100,000/- cash to women getting married.

In the past, farm loan waivers have been a favourite with most parties. This time, they have also gone for a hefty increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for farmers. In MP, BJP has promised MSP of wheat at Rs 2,700 per quintal - 27 per cent higher than the current Rs 2,125 per quintal (fixed by the Centre). For paddy, it has promised an MSP of Rs 3,100 per quintal - 42 per cent higher than the current level of Rs 2,183 per quintal; ditto in Chhattisgarh.

The guarantees are being justified as welfare schemes. This is a farce. A welfare scheme is rooted in three basics viz. the state assistance goes to persons who are poor and primarily focused on bare essentials such as food, fuel, water, housing, education and health; it should be backed by well-orchestrated efforts to garner revenue so that budgetary position is not destabilized; finally, it is given for a limited period after which the beneficiaries should stand on their own.

Mooted with an eye on winning elections, freebies defy these cardinal principles. Barring a few instances where the poor tag is appended to the Scheme, most of them are given to all and sundry. The parties promising these freebies dont even make an assessment of the funding required forget making efforts to garner resources. Finally, no party ever whispers about exiting from the scheme.

In such a scenario, destabilisation of the State budgets is inevitable. In Karnataka, the five guarantees promised by the GOP imposed additional liabilities of around Rs 62,000 crore thereby doubling its fiscal deficit (FD) to over Rs 120,000 crore. The precariousness of the situation can be seen from a comment by the Deputy CM The government has no money to give to the MLAs for carrying out development work; courtesy the poll guarantees.

In MP, at the current rate of Rs 1250 per month to 12.5 million beneficiaries, the Ladli Behna Yojana costs the state exchequer about Rs 18,750 crore per annum. This will go up to Rs 45,000 crore per annum as the quantum of assistance eventually goes up to Rs 3,000 per month. Meanwhile, the promised hike in MSP to farmers in MP and Chhattisgarh will dent their budgets. For instance, MP will have to spend Rs 5000 crore more on its purchase of paddy.

Unlike any well-intentioned scheme that could have a sun-set, a poll-induced guarantee once given, is more likely to stay eternally and over time, the quantum of assistance will only increase. Besides, it will have repercussions at the all-India level.

For instance, in view of the impending Lok Sabha elections next year, there could be pressure on Modi to give a similar hike in MSP as promised by MP and Chhattisgarh. That will upset the Centres budget drastically. Since 2021-22, the tax revenue of both the Centre and states have been increasing at a rapid pace and this is helping them rein in their FD levels. If the taxpayers realise that their contributions are being used to indiscriminately give poll-bound freebies to all and sundry, it may even trigger non-compliance amongst them.

The giveaways covering a wide spectrum of items besides large-scale cash transfers also become a breeding ground for corruption. This is evident from the inclusion of millions of ineligible or fake persons in the list of beneficiaries. For instance, during scrutiny of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), 24 million ineligible farmers were found to have received income transfers in 2021-22 under the Scheme.

The biggest damage freebies inflict is to change the mindset of people in a way that makes them complacent towards work. When, people get access to most of their basic needs free of charge that too perpetually, they wont be inclined to make efforts. Whichever way one looks at it, freebies are a recipe for economic disaster. The only way to avoid it is to prohibit parties from promising doles. The question is: who will do it?

In an order in S Subramaniam Balaji vs the Government of Tamil Nadu & Ors in July 2013, the Supreme Court (SC) observed that the distribution of freebies of any kind influences all people. It shakes the root of free and fair elections to a large degree. Yet, it held:-

the promises in the election manifesto cannot be construed as corrupt practice under the Representation of People Act (RPA), or any other prevailing law and, hence, distribution of freebies cant be stopped when the ruling party uses public funds for this purpose through the passage of Appropriation Acts in the state Assembly.

After nearly nine years, of hearing a PIL seeking directions against freebies on January 25, 2022, the SC observed This is no doubt a serious issue, budget for freebies is going above the regular Budget. This disturbs the level playing field. Yet, on August 3, 2022, it threw the ball in the court of political parties asking them to enact a law on curbing freebies. When the latter are deeply rooted in this practice, why would they enact a law to curb it?

A big deterrent is none other than the SC order of July 2013 which says  it cant be construed as corrupt practice Within the meaning of section 123(1)(A) of the RPA, 1951, the expression bribery has been defined to mean any gift, offer or promise by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent of any gratification with the object of inducing an elector as a reward to his candidature.

The irony is when a candidate uses his own pocket money to bribe the voter, it is treated as corrupt practice, but when the party on whose symbol he is seeking election bribes voters using public money, the top court doesnt treat it that way. Currently, a three-judge bench, headed by CJI is hearing a plea to take a re-look. Will it alter its stance?

(The writer is a policy analyst, views expressed are personal)
Nature of AI will be inherently changing the face of work and we have to understand the technology behind it and be careful in how we use it

Back in late 2022, few were surprised to learn that someone in Silicon Valley had finally managed to build a better chatbot. A chatbot that could actually raise the bar in terms of what consumers should expect? Many agreed that it was about time.

What almost no one had prepared for, on the other hand, was a chatbot of the kind eventually unveiled. ChatGPT, it soon became clear, as hundreds of thousands of people gave the tool a try, was more than just the latest iteration of artificial intelligence (AI) -powered customer-assistance software. Many used the word revolutionary to describe what the system was capable of doing. Others said the technology seemed sentient like they were interacting with another human and not a machine.

And now, attention is turning to the technologys next phase: the one where businesses put it to work. Across industries and at companies of all types and sizes, there are already countless examples of ChatGPT deployments in action.

From wow to wait and see

In nearly every case, business leaders acknowledge that its still early days for ChatGPT. Theyre trailing the technology, playing with the tool, getting a feel for what it can and cannot do. According to the Dell Technologies 2023 Innovation Index report, 59% of Indian businesses are currently investing or exploring the feasibility of investing in AI to advance innovation.

Many say theyve already seen enough to know that they could be onto something big. In a report on generative AI that McKinsey published soon after ChatGPT was made available to the public, they pointed out that the technology is one of several recently released platforms that make up the latest class of deep learning systems.

Challenges and opportunities

Platforms like ChatGPT are trained on data from the internet, not on information held by individual businesses. This is getting underlined starkly with businesses not knowing how to fully extract value from data coming through AI channels employed across supply chains. The chatbots also come with their limitations. They will be vulnerable to inaccurate information and bias if the input is not tailored to these chatbots. The rampant use of ChatGPT might also open channels to security threats.

ChatGPT is exciting for Indian businesses but it is changing every day. The nature of AI will be inherently changing the face of work. We have to understand the technology behind it and be careful in how we are using it. ChatGPT might be very smart but it is far from perfect.

(The writer is a lead solution architect, at Dell Technologies India, views expressed are personal)
Amid a prolonged deliberation over the appointments of new heads for the States won by the BJP last week, the party appointed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda as central party observers for the election of legislature party leaders in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, respectively.

The legislature party leaders will become Chief Ministers of the three States and the meetings to elect them may take place over the weekend. There is a view within the party that its leadership may usher in fresh faces at the helm of these States.

Singh will be joined by the party's vice president Saroj Pandey and its general secretary Vinod Tawde as central observers for Rajasthan amid an intense buzz within the BJP that the leadership will bring in a new leader, ignoring the claim of two-time former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Sources said Raje has been making efforts to get onto the hot seat and in this regard she called on Party chief JP Nadda.

The choice of Singh, one of the senior most BJP leaders and a Rajput leader, is likely to help build a consensus around the leadership's chief ministerial choice among MLAs, a number of whom are seen as supporting Raje.

Khattar will be joined by the party's OBC Morcha head K Laxman and its secretary Asha Lakra for the Madhya Pradesh legislature party meeting, while Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP general secretary Dushwant Kumar Gautam will be central observers for Chhattisgarh along with Munda.

In Madhya Pradesh where the BJP scored its biggest victory among the three States with a two-thirds majority, current Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's stake has gone up with the win but there is a view that the party leadership is looking at a leadership change after his 18-year uninterrupted stint in power except for 15 months after the 2018 Assembly polls.

The BJP is looking to hand over the reins to an OBC or tribal leader in Chhattisgarh to ST leaders like Lata Usendi, Gomati Sai and former Union Minister Renuka Singh as they are natural contenders for the top job besides State party president Arun Sao and bureaucrat-turned-politician O P Choudhary, both from backward castes.

The party will like to pick at least one woman Chief Minister at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been highlighting women voters' support to the BJP and often speaking of the need for women-led development. Two of three observers for Chhattisgarh are from tribal communities while Gautam comes from the Scheduled Castes.
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra was expelled on Friday from the Lok Sabha after the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest.

After a heated debate over the panel report during which Moitra was not allowed to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the TMC member for "unethical conduct", which was adopted by a voice vote and the House was adjourned immediately.

The Ethics Committee report found Moitra guilty of 'unethical conduct' and contempt of the House for sharing her Lok Sabha credentials, including the user ID and password of the Lok Sabha Member's portal, with unauthorised persons. This had an irrepressible impact on national security.

Moitra received backing of her party as well members of the INDIA Bloc of Opposition parties on the action without giving her a chance to defend herself in Parliament.

TMC supremo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee denounced the expulsion of her MP from the Lok Sabha and termed the move as a "betrayal" of India's parliamentary democracy. Mamata expressed her disappointment as Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not intervene in the matter.

The motion moved by Joshi said Moitra's "conduct has further been found to be unbecoming as a Member of Parliament for accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest which is a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable conduct" on her part. Joshi urged the House to accept the recommendation and finding of the committee and "resolve that continuance of Moitra as member of Lok Sabha is untenable and she may be expelled from the membership of the Lok Sabha".

Ethics Committee chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar tabled the first report of the Committee on the complaint filed by BJP member Nishikant Dubey against Moitra.

Reacting sharply to her expulsion, Moitra equated the action with hanging by a "kangaroo court" and alleged a parliamentary panel was being weaponised by the Government to force the Opposition into submission. She told reporters outside Parliament that she has been found guilty of breaching a code of ethics that does not exist and that there was no evidence of cash or gift given to her. We are ready for Mahabharat in Parliament, Moitra said in an obvious reference to the Draupadi episode in the epic.

As soon as the House met after adjournments again at 2 pm, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion for discussion on the panel report. Speaker Om Birla said if some strict decisions have to be taken against any member, they have to be taken to uphold the dignity of the House.

He said it was painful that at times the House has to take up such matters. But, he said, it is because the dignity of the institution has to be maintained at any cost. Birla said it was the collective duty of the House to take steps to ensure the prestige of the institution remains unblemished.

He said the House will discuss the report for half-an-hour but Opposition members insisted that more time be given. Trinamool Congress and other Opposition members demanded that Moitra be allowed to put her views in the House, which was turned down by the Speaker citing past precedence.

Birla observed that in 2005, the then Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had in a directive disallowed 10 Lok Sabha members, who were involved in a 'cash for questions' scam, to speak in the House. Joshi said in 2005 the then Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee had moved a motion to expel 10 members on the same day the report was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

INDIA Bloc leaders accused the BJP-led Government of doing "vendetta politics". Mamata Banerjee extended gratitude to the INDIA alliance leaders for supporting Moitra, stating, "I commend the INDIA alliance for standing united and resisting the BJP."

Janata Dal (United) MP Giridhari Yadav who is also member in the Ethics Committee took a jibe at the ruling dispensation and questioned why Nishikant was called for questioning while businessman Darshan Hiranandani was not. He reminded the House he does not upload questions on the Lok Sabha's website himself as he does not know how to operate a computer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, highlighting the progressive development of relations between India and Russia under Modi's guarantee. Putin also said he was "surprised" by Modi's tough stance on defending the national security interests of India.

While addressing the "Russia Calling!" Forum, Putin said Modi cannot be intimidated by any pressure from unfriendly countries, reported TASS news agency. "I want to say that relations between Russia and India are developing progressively along all trajectories, and the main guarantor of this is the policy pursued by Prime Minister Modi," the Russian leader said at the event.

Speaking on international pressure, Putin said he "cannot imagine that Modi could be frightened, intimidated or forced to take any actions, steps, decisions that would be at variance with the national interests of India and the Indian people".

"I just look at what is happening from the outside, and sometimes, frankly speaking, I am even surprised at his tough stance on defending the national interests of the Indian state," Putin further noted in his praise of Modi at the investment forum.

The Russian President also asserted the importance of increasing settlements in national currencies between Russia and India, emphasising that Russia stands for a "truly democratic model" of global economic development, reported Sputnik.
State BJP President and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi made a big attack on Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the Congress Party on Friday. Addressing a press conference at the state office, Marandi said that around Rs 300 crore cash recovered in the IT raids from various locations of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu belongs to top Congress leader and Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

He said that its links are connected to Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. This money is from the hard-earned money of the poor and is related to liquor scam, the compiler of which is also from Jharkhand. There is a possibility that this money was kept to influence the election results.

He said that I suspect that after the ED raid in Jharkhand, there was discussion overnight about carrying money in ambulances towards Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. This discussion is happening even today after the recovery of such a huge amount.

He said that even before this, crores of rupees had been recovered in the ED action in Jharkhand. The state of corruption is such that gold was bought with looted money, buried in the ground and hidden. He said that as the investigation intensifies, all this will gradually come to light.

He said that Modi's guarantee is to extract every penny from those who looted the poor and hoarded their money. The looted money of Jharkhand will have to be returned to the public.

He said that an FIR should be registered against MP Dheeraj Sahu immediately and he should be arrested and he should be strictly interrogated.

He said that the Prime Minister is committed to a corruption-free India. He said that the state BJP will not tolerate the looting of public money. The party will struggle continuously by raising this issue from the House to the streets.

Marandi said that there will be a protest and demonstration on December 10 against the corruption prevalent in Jharkhand, including the demand for the arrest of MP Dheeraj Sahu in all the districts.

State General Secretary Dr. Pradeep Verma, State Media In-charge Shivpujan Pathak and Spokesperson Pratul Shahdev were also present in today's press conference.
Pb SEC announces bye-election of Mansas Bhamme Kalan village on Dec 24



Chandigarh: Punjabs State Election Commission on Friday issued election schedule and notification vide which the bye election to the post of Sarpanch (woman) of Bhamme Kalan village in Mansa district, has been announced. The desirous candidates can file their nominations up to December 13, 2023, in the office of the Returning Officer and the poll will be held on December 24, 2023 (Sunday), and the result will be declared on the same day. All voters entered in the electoral roll are eligible to participate in the election. The Model Code of Conduct within the revenue jurisdiction of said Gram Panchayat has come into force with immediate effect.



Punjab BJP to hold demonstration against Cong today



Chandigarh: The Income Tax raids on Congress Rajya Sabha member Dheeraj Sahu have revealed the true face and character of the grand old party as well as of India Alliance; and the discovery of huge cache of black money is just a tip of the iceberg, said PUnjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Friday. He said that the saffron party would be holding demonstrations against the Congress in the entire state on Saturday, and the district presidents have been instructed to hold massive protests against this blatant corruption.



Dr Dogra honoured during VRSI-2023 annual conference



Chandigarh: Formerly the head of Ophthalmology Department at PGIMER, Chandigarh, and Chandigarh's renowned retina specialist Dr Mangat Ram Dogra, has been honoured with the prestigious Dr Badrinath Oration at the 32nd conference of Vitro-retinal Society of India (VRSI) 2023, at Thiruvananthapuram. He is currently working as the Director of Retina Services at Grewal Eye Institute. The distinguished award recognizes Dr Dogra's lifelong dedication to combating Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)  a disease of the retina in premature babies and if not diagnosed and treated in times it leads to irreversible blindness.



Punjabs 14 HEIs under umbrella of BSM formulate Research for Resurgent Punjab



Ropar/Bathinda: In a path-breaking initiative, in a meeting held in IIT Ropar under the umbrella of Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM) have united to pioneer the Research for Resurgent Punjab (RRP)  aimed at developing an all-encompassing solutions addressing critical challenges faced by Punjab. Led by eminent figures in academia and education, including IKGPTU-Kapurthalas former VC Prof Rajneesh Arora, Central University of Punjabs vice chancellor Prof Raghavendra P Tiwari, IIT-Ropar director Prof Rajiv Ahuja, among others, the RRF pledges a holistic approach to research and development.



HAU and Indian Oil Corporation to assist farmers in establishing Beekeeping



Chandigarh: In collaboration with Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar, the Haryana government has aimed to generate interest among landless, unemployed, and illiterate rural men and women towards beekeeping. It has also aimed to establish small beekeeping units as a form of self-employment, receiving both financial and technical assistance, said a spokesperson. He said that an MOU has been signed between the University and Indian Oil Corporation Limited in the presence of the Vice Chancellor of CCSHAU and the Executive Director of Northern Regional Pipeline on behalf of IOCL. The spokesperson highlighted that Haryana is one of the leading states in honey production among states and represents the entire country in beekeeping areas. He emphasised how landless, unemployed, and illiterate farmers in the state can strengthen their economic situation by adopting beekeeping as a means of employment.



On Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, over 51,000 people join programs



Chandigarh: On the eighth day of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, programs were organized at 120 locations in Haryana, attracting participation from more than 51 thousand people, a government spokesperson said on Friday. Over 15 thousand people availed of health checkups at health camps, with 11,389 individuals undergoing TB screening. During the Yatra, 331 people utilized the Ayushman Card Camp, while 334 sought information at the PM Swanidhi Camp. Furthermore, 216 individuals attended the Aadhar Card Camp, and 99 farmers gained insights into natural farming, he added.
The RWA of Signature View Apartments in northwest Delhi on Friday said it has warned DDA about the dilapidated condition of four blocks which can fall anytime.

The DDA in response said it would see if these buildings can be demolished independently, it said.

A meeting of the Residents Welfare Association with the DDA was held on Thursday.

The apartment complex in Mukherjee Nagar, built in 2007-09 with 336 MIG and HIG flats, has some construction issues and is up for demolition by the Delhi Development Authority.

RWA president Amrendra Kumar Rakesh said the body has asked the DDA for a safe evacuation of residents and start of rent payments for the new accommodation.

We brought to the notice of DDA officers the run-down condition of four blocks D, E, I and L which are in the most dilapidated state as per IIT Delhi report and were recommended for immediate evacuation and dismantling, Rakesh said.

He said it has demanded the DDA to immediately start paying rent to the residents of D and E block - which, he said, can fall anytime - and facilitate their relocation as almost all the owners or allottees have submitted their consent.

The RWA told DDA officials that if it allowed this demand then most of the residents would be ready to vacate the flats. We also said if the demand is accepted, the RWA will not go to court or support the nine petitioner's various demands in the petition, Rakesh said.

RWA told DDA if it did not agree to our demand of rent with vacation, then RWA will be left with no option but to approach the court, he said.

The DDA had earlier offered to pay the residents rent only if all 336 flats are vacated. The RWA challenged the condition citing its inability to get all 336 flat owners to handover their keys at once, and requested the authority to bring down the 100 per cent vacation clause to 75 per cent, in the hope that the rest will follow suit soon.

But since the residents of nine apartments have moved the Delhi High Court and got a stay order on further action by the DDA, the matter now lies with the court, the DDA had said.

The RWA said it has informed the DDA that 100 flats already lie vacant and around owners of 210 have submitted consent for vacation till Thursday.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, conducted a review of the law and order situation as well as the ongoing development works in Noida, Greater Noida, Noida Authority, and Meerut division at the auditorium of Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida.

During the review meeting, he emphasised the participation of universities in the statewide campaign against illegal drug dealers. The chief minister asked the universities to establish internal teams dedicated to addressing the issue of drug addiction.

He directed senior police officers to intensify and enforce stringent measures in the ongoing anti-drug campaign. The chief minister said that suspicious people hovering around universities and educational institutions should be investigated. The chief minister stressed the importance of taking decisive action against those enticing students into the world of illegal drugs, including the seizure of their assets. Furthermore, he instructed the establishment of rehabilitation centres within medical colleges.

While reviewing the Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra, the chief minister emphasised the inclusion of a maximum number of citizens and beneficiaries of various schemes. He also sought updates on the ground-breaking ceremony, New Noida development, and theme-based parks. The officers also gave information to the chief minister about waste management, startups, YEIDA Master Plan-2041 and the New Delhi-Mumbai Greenfield Expressway through a presentation.

Yogi also instructed officials to ensure the installation of high-quality CCTV cameras as part of the Safe City initiative. He further directed to establish a control room to store the CCTV footage.

The chief minister issued directives to ensure the timely submission of master plans by authorities to the government. Additionally, he emphasised the need to formulate a comprehensive plan for the removal of illegal encroachments.

He provided strict instructions for the timely resolution of matters related to IGRS and revenue. Furthermore, officers were directed to address issues raised by public representatives with both efficiency and quality in a timely manner.

Among those present at the meeting were Noida MLA Pankaj Singh, Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, MLC Shri Chand Sharma, Divisional Commissioner, Meerut Selva Kumari J, Police Commissioner Lakshmi Kumari, District Magistrate Manish Kumar, CEO Noida Authority Lokesh M, CEO YEIDA Arunveer Singh and CEO Greater Noida Ravikumar NG.
The Delhi High Court on Friday said the Delhi Medical Council should be more effective and have its presence on ground to deal with the problem of quacks and sought its stand on verification of doctors.

A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan issued notice to the National Medical Commission (NMC) as well as the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) on a PIL on the issue of fake and unqualified doctors and asked them to file their replies.

This is a problem that the society is facing at large... DMC has to be more effective. The fact that DMC is not having the desired impact is a problem, observed the court.

Your control at the ground level is not there it seems... Today your presence is not felt at ground. You have to be a lot more present on ground, it added.

The court also issued notice to the Delhi government and the Centre on the public interest litigation (PIL) by five persons, including a minor boy who suffered brain injury at birth due to unqualified doctors.The bench, also comprising Justice Mini Pushkarna, said the council has to supervise all doctors and suggested that their names can be published in public domain so that everyone can cross-check their credentials.

We may be inclined to direct that verification can be done by a committee... Take instructions, the court said.

Some process of verification may have to be initiated, stated the court.

The court also said a change has to come from within and it cannot be superimposed on the authorities.

You have to see that the degree of the doctor actually matches the practice. He may be having an MBBS degree it the practice may be different, which cannot be allowed, stated the court as it asked DMC to take action so that its presence is felt at ground level and corrupt practices are taken care of.

Lawyers Praveen Khattar and T Singhdev, appearing for DMC and NMC, respectively, said that the petition did not mention that certain litigation was ongoing between the authorities and some of the petitioners.

The counsel for the petitioners said all details have been mentioned and argued that unqualified doctors were doing a crime and the process of verification must be dirceted to be undertaken.

People are dying in top hospitals of Delhi. Quacks are sitting, the lawyer argued.

The petitioners before the court are the minor, his mother, a class IV employee of NDMC, who was stated to have lost his daughter to medical malpractice and two lawyers and have sought directions to the authorities to conduct a time bound verification of medical qualifications and educational certificates of all the medical practitioners practising across the NCT of Delhi.

The petitioners, represented by lawyers Sachin Jain and Ajay Kumar, said in their plea that the fact that a large number of fake doctors are practising in Delhi is a testament to the failure of the regulatory body in performing the critical function for which it was constituted, i.E., to ensure that no unqualified person practices modern scientific medicine.

The persons who profess to be doctors, but do not either have the educational qualifications or degree certificates on the basis of which they could have lawfully granted registration as a medical professional, pose a grave danger to the health of the public at large and violate the fundamental right of Right to Life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the petition said.
Discussions were held and memoranda of understanding were signed during sectoral sessions on real estate, healthcare and manufacturing at the Global Investors Summit-2023 here on Friday.

In the session on real estate, Urban Development and Housing minister Prem Chand Agarwal said that the attraction for Uttarakhand can be gauged from the rising number of people undertaking the Char Dham Yatra which had reached 56 lakh this year. A floating population of about seven crore arrives in Uttarakhand in a year. The minister said that Haridwar-Rishikesh will be redeveloped on the lines of Varanasi in the future. Housing and Urban Affairs ministry economic advisor Dinesh Kapila said that the real estate sector was regulated properly after the RERA Act in 2016 and the trust of people in this sector has increased after that. He stressed on the need for drafting policies which make land affordable and easily available.

Additional chief secretary Anand Bardhan said that the completion of the Delhi-Dehradun economic corridor in the near future will reduce the distance by road between these two cities to two and half hours. Uttarakhand also benefits from having the capital city closest to Delhi-NCR, he said. The State government is making the land pooling rules easier and simplifying housing bylaws, Bardhan added. Various possibilities were also discussed during a panel discussion in the session.

During the session on healthcare, investors assured support to the governments efforts in expanding quality healthcare services to the distant mountainous regions of the State. MoUs worth Rs 18,500 crore have been signed in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector in the initial phase of the summit. The government and investors decided that the measures for grounding of the proposed investment should be expedited. Women Empower and Child Development minister Rekha Arya said that special focus is being laid on encouraging participation of the private sector. For the convenience of investors the State government has made customised policies and simplified the rules. The government is according top priority to further improve health services and make them more accessible in the State, she said.

Health and Family Welfare secretary R Rajesh Kumar outlined the investment possibilities in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector while also informing about the related policies of the State government. The cooperation of the private sector is necessary to meet the quality healthcare demands of a rising population amidst increased awareness on health.

In the session on manufacturing, investors referred to Uttarkahand as an attractive investment destination.

Skill Development and Animal Husbandry minister Saurabh Bahuguna said that the State government has executed various reforms in different sectors and is continuing the process. The government has made amendments according to the times in the old policies and also brought new policies in different sectors based on the suggestions of industrialists and investors. Industries secretary Vinay Shankar Pandey said that the government has introduced 27 new policies in different sectors and made amendments in the old MSME policy in addition to umbrella policy functioning in various sectors. Industrialists and investors shared their experiences and suggestions during the session. They said that Uttarakhand is an attractive destination for investment. They also expressed interest in establishing enterprises especially in the pharmaceutical, automobiles, health and wellness, hospital, Ayurveda, aroma and other sectors in the State.
In a shocking case, a man was killed allegedly by his neighbour just for spitting pan masala outside his house. The incident took place in the Kotwali Nagar area of Sitapur district.

The victim, identified as Anurag (28), reached his house in Ambedkar Nagar Colony late on Wednesday night. He spat outside the house of his neighbour, Narendra Mohan alias Lucky. It resulted in a dispute between Anurag and Narendra. As the dispute escalated, Anurags neighbour brought a sharp-object and attacked him. He then fled the scene, leaving Anurag bleeding.

Anurags family members rushed him to the district hospital, where he was admitted to the emergency ward. However, his condition did not improve and the doctors at the hospital referred him to KGMU Trauma Centre in Lucknow where he succumbed. The bereaved family members created a ruckus. In the meantime, police reached the spot on being informed and tried to reason with the protesting family members.

They assured them proper action and also passed on the message to their counterparts in Sitapur. CO, City, Sushil Kumar Singh said that the dispute started after Anurag spat pan masala outside his neighbours house.

The police had initially registered a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) but after the victim died, the case was filed under Section 302 (murder). The police said they were now trying to arrest the accused, Narendra, who is absconding.

In another incident in Amethi, the body of a 33-year-old man was found hanging from a tree near a pond on Thursday evening, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Ansar, a resident of Phula village in the Mohanganj Kotwali police station area, they added.

The villagers spotted Ansars body found hanging from the tree about 8 kms from his house, Mohanganj Kotwali SHO Dhirendra Yadav said. The police recovered the body and sent it for autopsy, Yadav said. Ansar worked at a bakery in Mohanganj, the police said. More details will be revealed once the autopsy report is received, the SHO said, adding that further investigations are underway.
To transform India into a developed country by 2047, we must connect our institutions to industry and set goals for the next 25 years, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said while addressing the fifth convocation ceremony of Bennett University in Greater Noida on Friday.

When the countrys population of 142 crore moves forward with one voice and resolve, there is no reason why our country cannot become a developed India, Yogi said.

As part of the event, the chief minister planted saplings on the university campus. The vice-chancellor of the university presented him with an angavastram.

On this occasion, a BTech student presented a portrait of Shri Ram Darbar to the chief minister.

In his address, the chief minister extended best wishes to the graduating students and said: Our university convocations are a transformed version of ancient Indias university and Gurukul convocations. The universities of ancient India were renowned centres for research and development for graduates worldwide.

Mentioning a verse from the Taittiriya Upanishad, Satyam vada dharmam chara svadhyayananma pramadah, Yogi emphasised the importance of speaking truth, practising righteousness, avoiding laziness in self-study, and staying on the path of truth and righteousness. He urged the graduates to avoid negligence in virtuous actions, seize opportunities for greatness, and show respect to parents, teachers, and guests as if they were deities.

What we commonly refer to as religion in everyday life may not be true religion; it could be just a part of it, he philosophised. He mentioned that rituals and worship practices could not be considered as religion as these are personal activities.

Religion is a broad concept that inspires us to follow the path of duties, ethical values, and virtuous conduct. Whenever the youth of India has followed this path, India has quickly become a major force in the world, the chief minister said.

Further discussing the Panch Pran of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yogi said that every Indian should adopt this resolve, regardless of the field they are working in. This can only happen when we have a vision of Nation First in front of everyone. Prioritising the country over personal and family interests is crucial for national progress, he added.

Lauding the accomplishments of Bennett University, the chief minister said that it has achieved many successes in just seven years. He emphasised the universitys progress towards becoming a global institution and also stressed on the importance of educational institutions making efforts for their local communities.

Furthermore, he highlighted the need for institutions to connect with industries for India to establish itself as a developed country.

The chief minister appreciated Bennett University by noting that it has collaborations with more than 20 CEOs from different industries, guiding the students. He also guided the students on the importance of a clear vision, teamwork, and gaining experience, particularly in the context of the challenges posed by encephalitis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He mentioned that India has the highest youth population globally and that the state has the maximum number of youth in the country. He emphasised the need to move forward with this strength, stating that success in life comes through hard work and dedication. He assured the university continuous support from the state government.
With the assertion that India is all set to become the third largest economy of the world during his third tenure at helm, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Investors Summit-2023 at Forest Research Institute (FRI) Dehradun on Friday. Congratulating the Uttarakhand government for the success of the rescue mission in Silkyara, Uttarkashi, the PM said that one gets a feeling of divinity and development in Uttarakhand. Terming Uttarakhand as the best example of the growth story of India, the PM said that the effect of the double engine government is clearly on display in the State. He said that both Union and State governments have put in tremendous effort in increasing connectivity in the State. Modi said that with completion of the Delhi-Dehradun expressway the distance between the two cities will be covered in only two and half hours. He added that the work on Rishikesh- Karnprayag rail project, Char Dham project and others are going on and the State government is also increasing helicopter services in the State. Modi said that Uttarakhand presents a golden opportunity for investors with the kind of connectivity and environment the State offers. In a veiled attack on the Congress party, the PM said that the approach of earlier governments was to keep the border areas away from development but this approach has now been changed. He said that the government is focussing on theme based tourism and added that Uttarakhand is all set to emerge as a strong brand in the tourism sector.

Remembering his comment made during his Kedarnath visit, the PM said that the words that the third decade of the century will belong to Uttarakhand had emanated from his mouth. He expressed satisfaction that his words are being realised on ground.

Modi said that just like the businessmen his government also does its SWOT analysis. The analysis shows that there is an increase in aspiration, hope, confidence and innovation in the country. Referring to the results of recent assembly elections, the PM said that aspirational India seeks a stable government and the people are voting for good governance and track record of the government.

The PM congratulated the State government for launching the House of Himalayas brand. He said that the new brand strengthens the concept of vocal for local and local for global. He said that the government has taken a target to make two crore Lakhpati Didis and concepts such as the House of Himalayas are a step forward in fulfilling the target of empowering women.

Welcoming the participants, the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the objective of the summit is to take the State forward on the path of development by striking a balance between ecology and economy. He said that when Modi was CM of Gujarat, he started the Vibrant Gujarat conclave which has now become a model for others and taking inspiration from it the Uttarakhand government is organising the investors summit. He declared that the summit will be organised every two years. The CM said that grounding of projects worth Rs 44,000 crore has been done in the inaugural session of the summit. Exhorting the investors to invest in Uttarakhand, the CM said the State has a good investment ecosystem, excellent law and order, investment friendly policies and good climate. He said that a mega convention centre will be constructed in the State. The CM said that the State government has appointed Nivesh Mitras who will be the single point of contact with the entrepreneurs wishing to invest Rs five crore and more in the State.

The governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh, former chief ministers, ministers, MPs, MLAs and others attended the inaugural session of the summit.
Putting the onus of the success of the INDIA bloc in 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Mahan Dal have urged Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav to develop a spirit of sacrifice if the alliance is genuinely committed to fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Both the parties have also asked for expediting the process of the sharing of Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in a months time.

EVM ka rona mat rona (Dont cry over the Electronic Voting Machine), If the opposition block delays the finalisation of seats, it will prove to be a damp squib against the BJP in 2024, said Keshav Dev Maurya, the president of Mahan Dal, which was an ally of the Samajwadi Party in the 2022 UP Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, Ram Ashish Rai, state president of the RLD asked the SP president to expedite the process of seat sharing of Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. He said this process should be completed in months time.

Little time is left for the general election and the process of seat sharing among the INDIA partners has to be completed at the earliest, otherwise it will be difficult to counter the BJP, he said.

He further said that if the seat-sharing arrangement is not finalised soon, the INDIA alliance would prove to be ineffective against the BJP, which was resurgent following its recent victory in three state assembly elections.

RLD had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2022 UP assembly election in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Relations of the two parties soured over seat sharing in urban local body elections held in May last year.

However, sources in Samajwadi Party said that the party could not decide on seat sharing as the decision regarding this would be taken in the meeting of the leadership of the opposition block.
Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar chaired a meeting with officials of departments related to essential services in his office auditorium as per a pre-planned program. In the meeting Kumar said that the Election Commission is working with the aim of achieving the goal that not a single voter should be left out. In order to ensure that officials and personnel working in essential services like Railways, Health, Fire, Electricity Corporation, Media etc are not deprived of their right to vote during the elections, the Election Commission has not only organized a one-day special in these institutions.

By setting up a camp, any kind of problem related to voter ID cards of all the employees will be solved, along with this, arrangements for postal ballots will be made for those voters who are not able to be at the booth on the day of polling due to being connected with essential services.

In the meeting, Deputy Election Officer (Headquarters) Sanjay Kumar, Junior Election Officer Sunil Kumar Singh, Deputy Director of Health Services Dr. Anil Kumar, Fire Commissioner Amit Kumar Singh, General Manager of JVNL Sunil Kumar, AGM of BSNL R.R. Tiwari and B Singh, ADRA's APO Gautam Kumar, Diwakar Kumar from Doordarshan, Field Publicity Officer of PIB Mahvish Rehman and Shilpi from All India Radio and officials and personnel of the Chief Electoral Office were present.
Enthused by the potential of Uttarakhand and overwhelmed by the warm reception they received in the Global Investors Summit-2023, the top industrialists of the country appeared positive about investing in the State. In his address in the inaugural session of the summit, the director of Adani group, Pranav Adani said that Uttarakhand has become an important gateway for investment. The group which already has its foothold in the State in the ambitious city gas distribution project and cement plants in the State has made up a plan to expand its business. Adani said that a new Rs 300 crore plant will be set up in Roorkee while a Rs 1,400 crore grinding unit of four million tonne capacity will be set up in the State. These ventures will create 6,000 employment opportunities. He added that the group is planning to develop an aero city near Pantnagar.

The chairman and the managing director of Jindal group Sajjan Jindal said that the company will set up two power plants of 1,500 MW capacity each in the next five years. The Jindal group will also invest Rs 15,000 crore in pump storage facilities. Jindal said that the JSW Foundation has started a clean Kedarnath project under which the temple premises will be made free from plastic waste. The MD of the ITC group, Sanjeev Puri said that the company is planning to open four new hotels in Uttarakhand. He added that the company will set up an integrated pulp unit in the State with an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore.

Yoga Guru and founder of Patanjali group Swami Ramdev exhorted the investors to invest in Uttarakhand. He said that he had nothing when he came to Uttarakhand and now has built a business empire worth thousands of crores of rupees. Ramdev promised that the Patanjali group will invest Rs 10,000 crore in Uttarakhand and will create ten thousand new employment opportunities.

The CEO of Emaar India Kalyan Chakrabarti said that the company will invest Rs 5,000 crore in building townships in Uttarakhand. The founder of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, R Dinesh said that the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs 12,000 crore with Uttarakhand government. The venture will create 7,000 employment opportunities, he said.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) plans to invite Rahul Gandhi, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (Uttar Pradesh in-charge) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to lead the Parivartan Yatra to be taken out from Shakumbhari Devi, Saharanpur to Naimisharanya, Sitapur.

The Parivartan Yatra, expected to be launched later this month, is likely to extend for nearly 25 days to connect with the people. With a Soft Hindutva agenda in mind, the Yatra is planned to commence and conclude at prominent Hindu religious places.

We want Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to visit Saharanpur for the launch of the Parivartan Yatra later this month, said Imran Masood, a former MLA who joined the Samajwadi Party before the 2022 Assembly elections. He switched to the Bahujan Samaj Party after elections, and returned to the Congress fold following his expulsion from the BSP.

Though senior leaders assert that the yatra will connect with the people of all classes and communities, the origin and culmination points suggest the route has been worked out to give a Hindutva push to the event. After Saharanpur, the Parivartan Yatra will cover Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Kheri before reaching Sitapur.

We propose to connect with the people of all castes and communities. We will visit all the religious places on the way that may include the dargah in Saharanpur, Bareilly and other places, said UPCC general secretary Anil Yadav.

We will invite all the senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. We are giving final touches to the route of the yatra and names of leaders who may attend it, Yadav said.

The Congress has been out of power in the state since 1989. Over the years, it has been making efforts to connect with different sections of society to win back its lost support base. It recently launched Dalit Gaurav Samvad to woo the Dalits on the death anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram on October 9. It has also undertaken programmes to woo the backward classes and the Muslims in recent months. The party is a part of INDIA, a bloc of major opposition parties formed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress entered into electoral alliances with the BSP and the Samajwadi Party in the 1996 and 2017 UP Assembly elections, respectively, but these alliances did not benefit the Congress.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the party contested 114 seats in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, but it only won seven seats. It secured 6.25 per cent of the total votes polled and 22.09 per cent in the seats it contested. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it received 6.36 per cent of the votes. However, its performance deteriorated in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections when the party had no alliance with major political players. It won only two seats and managed to secure 2.36 per cent of the votes.

Ajay Rai said the party high command would take a call on the issue of alliance and seat sharing ahead of 2024 polls. He, however, confirmed that the state unit proposed to invite senior leaders for the yatra.
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured people that "money looted from the public will be returned", the Income Tax (I-T) Department on Saturday intensified its crackdown on a liquor distillery group in Odisha.

After recovering around Rs 225 crore till Friday, the I-T sleuths seized another 20 bagloads of cash from the house of a countrymade liquor manufacturer in Sudapara area of Bolangir district on Saturday.

The amount of money recovered from Sudapara is being counted, an official said, adding it is expected to be over Rs 50 crore.

I-T sleuths had on Friday taken 156 cash-loaded bags to the SBI main branch at Bolangir for counting.

I-T DG Sanjay Bahadur, who has been camping in Bhubaneswar for the last three days, however, refused to divulge details on the ongoing raids.

"Our people are working on it," he told reporters on Saturday.

Sources said that while 150 officials were taking part in raids on the liquor distillery group, the I-T department has also engaged another 20 officials from Hyderabad for verification of digital documents recovered from different places during the raids.

The seized money was being counted at two SBI branches at Sambalpur and Bolangir, sources said, adding that counting of the cash, mostly in Rs 500 denomination notes, has become a herculean task and machines have developed glitches due to the heavy load.

Note-counting machines have also been brought from various banks to streamline the process, they said.

After conducting raids on manufacturing units and premises of stakeholders associated with Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies, one of the biggest countrymade liquor manufacturers in western Odisha, the agency is now targeting offices and residences of all the persons linked to this group, sources said.

The I-T raids started from Boudh Distillery Private Limited (BDPL), a subsidiary of Baldeo Sahu Infra Private Limited, they said, adding that a group was allegedly linked to a Congress MP from Jharkhand.

The raids were conducted in Sambalpur, Rourkela, Bolangir, Sundargarh and Bhubaneswar.

Modi, while sharing a news report on the raids, said in a post on X: "Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the speeches of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar on Saturday paid rich tributes to veteran Kannada actress Leelavathi who passed away on December 8. Thousands of people also paid their last respects to her.

Modi said he was saddened to hear about the passing of the legendary Kannada film personality.

"A true icon of cinema, she graced the silver screen with her versatile acting in numerous films. Her diverse roles and remarkable talent will always be remembered and admired," the prime minister said in his condolence message.

Siddaramaiah, who visited Ravindra Kalakshetra where the mortal remains of the actress were kept, called her a complete actress.

"Whichever role she performed, she did it with honesty and integrity. She used to pour her soul to bring the character to life," the chief minister said after laying a wreath on her body.

Leelavathi acted in period movies, films with social messages and mythology and in every film, she did justice to her character, he added.

He recalled that her role in 'Bhakta Kumbara' was unforgettable, and it remained etched in his memory forever.

Leelavathi's son Vinod Raj, who is also an actor, said the final rites will take place at their farmhouse at Soladevanahalli on the city outskirts.

The body of the 86-year-old actor is kept at the Ambedkar Ground in Nelamangala on the city outskirts where a steady stream of people paid their homage.

Leelavathi, who had acted in over 600 movies, including those made in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, was hospitalised on Friday following respiratory complications and age-related ailments.

The Karnataka government has announced that the actress' funeral will be performed with state honours.
The US has vetoed a draft resolution on the raging Israel-Hamas conflict in the UN Security Council that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in war-ravaged Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages taken by the Hamas militant group.

The 15-nation Council met on Friday to vote on the resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. The resolution got the backing of 13 Council members who voted in its favour while the United Kingdom abstained.

The voting on the resolution came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a rare move, had invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter to appeal to the Security Council for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and to avert a "humanitarian catastrophe, which he said has potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians and peace and security in the region.

Ahead of the vote, Guterres urged the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.

In the Explanation of Vote, US Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, said it is incomprehensible why the resolution's authors have declined to include language condemning Hamas' horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

He said that despite a rushed process and lack of appropriate consultation by the resolution's authors, the United States engaged in good faith on the draft resolution.

We proposed language with an eye toward a constructive resolution that would have reinforced the life-saving diplomacy we have undertaken since October 7; increased opportunities for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza; encouraged the release of hostages and the resumption of humanitarian pauses; and laid a foundation for a durable peace, he said.

Wood said, unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored. And the result of this rushed process was an imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality, that would not move the needle forward, on the ground, in any concrete way. And so, we regretfully could not support it.

UAE's Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative Mohamed Abushahab expressed deep disappointment with the outcome of the vote.

Regrettably, and in the face of untold misery, this Council is unable to demand a humanitarian ceasefire, Abushahab said.

Let me be clear. Against the backdrop of the Secretary-General's grave warnings, the appeals by humanitarian actors, and the world's public opinion  this Council grows isolated. It appears untethered from its own founding document, the UAE envoy said.

He questioned what message the Council is sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza? Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?

UK's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country cannot vote in favour of a resolution which does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7.

Calling for a ceasefire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage, she said.

Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such an attack can never be carried out again," she said.

And so that we can work meaningfully towards a two-state solution, which delivers statehood for the Palestinians, security for Israel, and peace for people on both sides, she said

That's why we abstained on this resolution," she added.

Guterres said that he had written to the Council invoking Article 99 "because we are at a breaking point. There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.

We anticipate that it would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt, he said.

The UN chief voiced concern that the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.

We have already seen the spillover in the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security, Guterres said.

In his letter invoking Article 99, Guterres noted that more than 1,200 people were brutally killed, including 33 children, and thousands were injured in the abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on October 7, which he has repeatedly condemned.

Guterres voiced concern that civilians throughout Gaza face grave danger. Since the start of Israel's military operation, more than 15,000 people have reportedly been killed, over 40 per cent of whom were children, he said.

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan thanked the US for its veto decision, but some rights groups like Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and Amnesty International criticised the move.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour also condemned the US veto, with Mansour calling it a sad day. Hamas, also condemning the veto, described it as an "immoral and inhumane position," CNN reported.

As the only country that abstained, the UK's Mission to the UN said the country could not vote on a resolution that "does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on the 7th of October."

UN director at Human Rights Watch Louis Charbonneau said that once again the US used its veto to prevent the Security Council from making some of the calls the US itself has been demanding of Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including compliance with international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and releasing all civilians held hostage.

By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes, Charbonneau said.

Last month, the UN Security Council finally overcame deadlock and adopted a resolution in the Israel-Hamas conflict when it called for urgent humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout Gaza to allow unhindered humanitarian access in the strip. The adoption of the Malta-drafted resolution last month came after four failed attempts in the Council to take action on allowing humanitarian access in the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out after the militant group attacked Israel on October 7.
Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS  Free Report) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,679 shares of the transportation companys stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth $27,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 216.0% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 58.45% of the companys stock.

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United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $156.30 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average is $149.14 and its 200 day moving average is $164.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $133.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $197.80.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

United Parcel Service ( NYSE:UPS Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The transportation company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.04. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 43.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $21.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 13th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 10th. United Parcel Services dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $186.00 to $178.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $195.00 to $184.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $173.00 to $160.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, TheStreet cut United Parcel Service from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $188.91.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on UPS

United Parcel Service Profile

(Free Report)

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.

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Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,413 shares of the transportation companys stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 78.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,980 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,204 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 6,520 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,847 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $980,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 17,972 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.58% of the companys stock.

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Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ALK opened at $35.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The companys 50 day moving average is $34.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Alaska Air Group ( NYSE:ALK Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The transportation company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.04). Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

ALK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $41.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.25.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Alaska Air Group

About Alaska Air Group

(Free Report)

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operated airlines. The company operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing and Airbus jet aircraft for passengers and cargo throughout the United States, and in parts of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belize; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States and Canada.

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Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV  Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,100 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DOV. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dover in the first quarter worth about $206,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Dover by 65.8% in the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,038 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Dover by 10.4% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 79,665 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $11,763,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel grew its position in Dover by 15.3% in the second quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 137,680 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $20,329,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Dover by 8.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,992,891 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,126,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.97% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DOV. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Dover from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Dover from $171.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Dover from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Dover from $149.00 to $145.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Dover from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $162.23.

Dover Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE DOV opened at $143.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.21. Dover Co. has a 52-week low of $127.25 and a 52-week high of $160.66.

Dover (NYSE:DOV  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Dover had a net margin of 12.09% and a return on equity of 26.23%. Dovers revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Dover Co. will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Dover Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Dovers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total value of $1,988,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,938 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,103,196. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Anthony K. Kosinski sold 664 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.64, for a total transaction of $94,048.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,333 shares of the companys stock, valued at $755,366.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $1,988,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,938 shares in the company, valued at $5,103,196. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dover Company Profile

(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.

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IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (BATS:VLUE  Free Report) by 36.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 52,870 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 14,024 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Incs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF were worth $4,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $11,666,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000.

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iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Price Performance

Shares of BATS:VLUE opened at $96.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.56. iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF has a 1 year low of $71.21 and a 1 year high of $89.40.

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Enhanced Value index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities. Stocks are selected and weighted using fundamental metrics (earnings, revenue, book value and cash earnings), aiming for exposure to undervalued stocks in each sector.

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Pic story: Kazak herders stock meat and enjoy family gathering in Xinjiang

Xinhua) 11:10, December 09, 2023

Habudelashen Nusupbek walks his horse at a winter pasture in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht Turlksi, a 53-year-old herder, lives near the majestic Baluke Mountain, which lies in the south of Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Every year between late November and early December is the time for Kazak herders to stock meat for winter. During the traditional festive practice, herders share the fruits of their work and replenish energy for the winter. It is also the time for family gathering and relationship strengthening.

Baht and her husband Habudelashen Nusupbek invited family members, neighbors and friends in the festive practice this year. Each person was assigned with specific tasks, such as preparing, cleaning and filling the beef sausages. After over two hours of work, the meat needed during the winter has been placed on the drying rack, waiting to be air dried.

Once the work was done, people returned to the warm home, talked animatedly and played the ethnic musical instrument dombra. Food is also essential during these gatherings. They had potatoes and beef for one meal, and steamed beef for another.

On the first day, they prepared meat for their own, and the second day for Baht's eldest daughter living in the town. However, Baht's youngest daughter, who is studying at Xinjiang Medical University, could only join the gathering virtually through video. Later, Baht will send cooked beef and other food from hometown to her youngest daughter.

"She could have various food options at school, but she still might miss the taste of home," Baht said. "We have done this every year, eating meat and gathering together. These define family for us."

After the gathering, the winter pasture returned to tranquility. Baht's family has been continuing to pursue a happy life through hard work.

Baht Turlksi (L) chats with the guest (C) in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This photo taken on Nov. 30, 2023 shows a plate of steamed beef in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek puts corned beef and beef sausages on a drying rack in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht Turlksi fills beef sausages for her daughter in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This aerial photo taken on Nov. 30, 2023 shows the residence of Baht Turlksi's family at a winter pasture, at the foot of the Baluke Mountain, in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek (1st L) cuts beef with his relatives and friends at the yard of his home in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek drives goats at a winter pasture in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek cuts beef at the yard of his home in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht Turlksi (R, front) puts a clean tablecloth on a table in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht Turlksi (R) waits for guests at the yard of her home in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Baht Turlksi (C) fills beef sausages while chatting with her relatives and friends in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This photo taken on Dec. 1, 2023 shows the residence of Baht Turlksi's family with a vehicle parking beside in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Elder guests chat and play cards while a child waiting for the dishes to be served in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This aerial photo taken on Dec. 1, 2023 shows the residence of Baht Turlksi's family at a winter pasture, at the foot of the Baluke Mountain, in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Habudelashen Nusupbek applies salt and garlic on cut beef in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (Image By Arrangement)

Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will inaugurate a kidney centre and research hospital and launch a Rs 700 crore drinking water project for Uddanam area in Palasa in Srikakulam district on December 15.

This was announced by fisheries minister Dr Seediri Appala Raju while conducting a review meeting with Srikakulam collector Srikesh Lathkar and SP G.R. Radhika as also senior officials in Srikakulam on Friday.

Narasannapeta MLA and former deputy chief minister Dharmana Krishnadas was also present.

The minister told the heads of department to turn the event into a festival. "Send invitations to all the MPTCs, ZPTCS, municipal counsellors and corporators," he said.

The Chief Minister would also set the foundation stone for an industrial park in Srikakulam. Collector Lathkar said the CM would arrive in Makarampuram village under Kanchili mandal by helicopter from Visakhapatnam. He would inaugurate YSR Sujaladhara, a drinking water project having a capacity of 20,000 kilo litres. The Roads and Building department would prepare a helipad in the village for the CMs landing.

The Chief Minister would fly to the kidney research centre by helicopter. He would address a public meeting on the railway grounds. The problem of water logging should be attended to at the meeting venue, officials were told.

The collector also asked the officials to make provisions for drinking water, food etc for the gathering and sanitise the entire area. He told the revenue staff to arrange four counters for Jagananna Ku Chebudam.

SP Radhika said 2,000 civil and armed reserve police personnel would be deployed for the Chief Ministers visit.
Former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao takes his first steps, assisted by doctors, after his hip surgery at a city hospital on Saturday. (DC)

Hyderabad: Former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao was making satisfactory progress following Fridays left hip replacement surgery, according to a bulletin on his health released by Yashoda Hospitals on Saturday.

It said that Rao was not experiencing pain, and took a few steps on Saturday with the help of a walker under the supervision of the orthopaedic surgeon who operated on him.

A team of doctors is monitoring Raos health and healing. As per the international practice guidelines which prescribe that the patient be made to walk within 12 hours of the surgery, Rao was "mobilised from the bed and made to walk under the supervision of the surgeon and physiotherapy team. He has been given a schedule of exercises for his rehabilitation and speedy recovery," the bulletin said.

It may be recalled that Rao fell at his farmhouse late on Thursday night and suffered a fracture in his left hip joint.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' via video conferencing, in New Delhi, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI:Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a virtual interaction with women beneficiaries of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY), emphasised on unity among women, cautioning them against "divisive politics" that aimed to create rifts among them. He stated that women form a powerful collective, transcending any divisions, and can face challenges together.

"All women should remain together. Nowadays, some people are creating rift among women... All women have one caste which is so big that they can together take on any challenge," he said. The Prime Minister warned women to be wary of attempts to sow discord among them through divisive political strategies.

Reflecting on the outcome of the recent Assembly polls, Modi asserted that results affirmed the credibility of Modi's Guarantee. He highlighted the importance of winning people's hearts over social media and expressed gratitude to the voters who trusted his guarantees. Modi emphasised that the BJP government was dedicated to serving the people, considering every individual, especially the poor, as a VIP.

Addressing the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra's objective, Modi discussed the government's efforts to ensure timely and widespread implementation of flagship schemes. He underscored the impact of these initiatives, including enrolling of new beneficiaries for the Ujjwala scheme, instant distribution of Ayushman Bharath health insurance cards, health check-ups, and the participation of women in development programmes.

Emphasising women-led development, Modi said women constituted 70 per cent of the beneficiaries of the PM Awas Scheme and they were also the majority Mudra beneficiaries. He mentioned initiatives like 'Lakhpati Didis' through skill development and 'Namo Drone Didi Abhiyan.'

The Prime Minister pointed out that numerous rural families had benefited from government schemes without the need for repeated visits to government offices. He emphasised the government's commitment to identifying and reaching out to beneficiaries, earning the trust reflected in the term "Modi's Guarantee."
Telangana Chief Ministers handing over the list of ministers with portfolios to the Governor Tamilsai Soundarrajan.

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday made a please-all allotment of portfolios to his Cabinet ministers after taking approval from the Congress central leadership, giving Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka the crucial finance and energy ministries and N. Uttam Kumar Reddy irrigation and civil supplies.

With the capital city of Hyderabad and surrounding areas turning weak spots for the Congress, the Chief Minister retained the municipal administration and urban development portfolio and is likely to focus on urban development at least for six months. He also retained the home portfolio with himself.

Though it was rumoured that senior leaders vied for the crucial revenue portfolio, Revanth Reddy picked Khammam strongman Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who played crucial role in securing a large number of seats in Khammam and Warangal for the party, for the job and also entrusted him with the responsibility of handling the media by allotting him the information and public relations portfolio.

Senior Congress leader and minister Damodar Rajanarasimha was given the important portfolio of health and medical education and Jupally Krishna Rao was allotted excise and tourism.

Revanth Reddy also made a smart move by handing over information technology and industry to D. Sridhar Babu who according to partymen is best suited for the two portfolios held by former minister K.T. Rama Rao in the previous regime. Sridhar Babu is known for his no-nonsense approach and sophistication and ability to converse with the leadership of IT and industry groups. He will also hold the legislative affairs portfolio.

D. Anasuya (Seethakka), a confidante of the Chief Minister, was allotted the important portfolio of panchayat raj, which deals with rural administration, along with the women and child welfare ministries. Veteran Tummala Nageswara Rao was allotted agriculture and textiles, Ponnam Prabhakar, a BC communities leader from the combined Karimnagar district, transport and BC welfare. Konda Surekha was allotted environment and forests along with the endowments ministry. Komatireddy Venkat Reddy got roads and buildings and the cinematography portfolios.

"While the Chief Minister has ensured that all the ministers got good portfolios, he also displayed political shrewdness with regard to allotting portfolios like finance, energy and civil supplies as the ministers will have ensure fund availability, power supply and paddy procurement or face criticism for poor performance," a senior Congress leader pointed out.

Another move of the Chief Minister  appointing six-time MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) as the pro-tem Speaker  also kicked off a political row with the BJP seeing an attempt by the Congress to reach out to the Majlis. "We have been predicting that the Congress and the Majlis will reach an understanding," said Union minister and state BJP chief G. Kishan Reddy.

However, irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that no motives should be seen in the government following the tradition of making most senior legislator the pro-tem Speaker. "Going by seniority I should have been the pro-tem Speaker but since I did not submit my resignation to the Lok Sabha, I cannot take the oath," he said. On a possible Congress-MIM pact, he said it was for the state and central leadership of the party to decide.




Telangana New IT Minister D Sridhar Babu

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddys chose of minister D. Sridhar Babu to head the crucial information technology and industries portfolios was welcomed by observers.

All eyes were on the Chief Ministers selection as the two portfolios were handled by BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao ever since Telangana state was formed. The BRS reaped rich dividends sweeping the capital city and surrounding areas in the recently held Assembly polls and the constant focus on IT and infrastructure development is believed to have been the sole reason for the BRS success in the capital region.

Sources said that Revanth Reddy wanted Sridhar Babu, a well-informed politician and good communicator, to handle the two important portfolios with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls which are hardly six months away. Industry is expected to react positively to the development, sources added.

The government wanted to put on the fast-track the projects that are in the pipeline and the new ones that are expected to come up, as well as clinch big ticket projects to send a strong message that it was for continuity to achieve better economic growth. The Chief Minister had made it clear during the election campaign that the citys economic growth was very essential as it fed other areas of the state.

A senior industries official told Deccan Chronicle that at least 20 projects or initiatives could be immediately grounded to achieve quick results. Sources said talks were in an advanced stage with an electric vehicle manufacturer, who has a presence in the state in electronics sector, to set up a unit. There has been a demand from the industry to give preference to expansion of the existing units on par with new ones.

"We have TS-iPASS for new industries or businesses as a single window clearance cell. But, expansion and renewal of licences is also laborious. Presently the entrepreneurs were made to run around to get their work done," the official said adding that a new legal framework can be brought in to make renewals hassle-free.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the Opposition on the issue of corruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said, "It is Modis guarantee that they will have to return every penny looted from people." Tagging a news report of the Income Tax department recovering Rs 220 crores in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Congress MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, the PM attacked the Opposition party.

"Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty," he said in a post with several emojis. The news report also showed a picture of several almirahs stuffed with currency notes. With the Lok Sabha elections approaching, Prime Minister Modi has turned up the heat on Opposition parties in his posts on X.

He, in a recent post, had cited a news clip to take a swipe at Opposition leaders and their "ecosystem", saying they might remain happy with their arrogance, lies, pessimism and ignorance, but people should be beware of their divisive agenda as a 70-yr-old habit which cannot go away so easily.

After the PM raised the issue, the BJP trained its guns on the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Opposition alliance.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. (PTI Photo)

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy left for Delhi on Friday evening to meet the party top brass to discuss allocation of portfolios to newly-inducted ministers into his Cabinet and MLC nominations. He will return by Saturday morning to attend the Legislative Assembly session at 11 am besides launching Maha Lakshmi free bus travel scheme for women.

On arrival in Delhi, Revanth Reddy met AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal. Sources said that he submitted proposals on the portfolios to be allocated to the ministers. He also discussed Cabinet expansion plans to fill the six vacancies. However, the Cabinet expansion is expected to take some time.

The upper limit of Telangana Cabinet is 18, including the Chief Minister. On Thursday, Revanth Reddy and 11 ministers took oath.

There are two MLC vacancies under the Governor's quota. Four incumbent BRS MLCs will tender resignations as they have been elected as MLAs  Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, Kasireddy Narayan Reddy, Kadiam Srihari and Padi Kaushik Reddy.

Revanth Reddy is learnt to have discussed the six MLC vacancies with Venugopal and the possible Congress candidates for those seats. There is no minister from the minority category in the Cabinet and Revanth Reddy proposes to take a minority leader into his Cabinet by nominating him as MLC. The name of former minister Mohd Ali Shabbir is doing the rounds as he had left his Kamareddy seat to Revanth Reddy to take on BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
Edison International (NYSE:EIX) pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 4.26%. EIX has a dividend yield higher than 75% of all dividend-paying stocks, making it a leading dividend payer. The company has been increasing its dividend for 21 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio is 97.20%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, EIX will have a dividend payout ratio of 61.66% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Read our dividend analysis for EIX.
PulteGroup, Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods brand names. As of December 31, 2022, it controlled 211,112 lots, of which 108,848 were owned and 102,264 were under land option agreements. In addition, the company arranges financing through the origination of mortgage loans primarily for homebuyers; sells the servicing rights for the originated loans; and provides title insurance policies, and examination and closing services to homebuyers. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dundalk Chamber of Commerce President, Una McGoey, has said that the decision by SalesSense International, now known as Uniquely, to expand in Dundalk not only reflects the town's attractiveness for business investment but also underscores our community's resilience and potential for growth.

Ms McGoey made the comments to the Dundalk Democrat, following two notable milestone announcements last Friday week by the sales and service outsourcing partner when it confirmed, a significant investment in the North-East region and M1 Corridor  within the next 18 months, and plans to create over 100 new job opportunities.

It also confirmed that, effective immediately, as part of a strategic rebranding initiative and expansion, the company will operate under its new name, Uniquely.

The company in its announcement, said that its new redefined corporate identity has been specially tailored to meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

This expansion, it went on to say, is not just a testament to Uniquelys commitment to the local economy but also an indication of the vibrant opportunities that exist in this dynamic region of Ireland.

In addition, the company hopes to expand its footprint even further in the coming years, both in Ireland and abroad.

At the announcement on Friday, Gerard Teahon, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Uniquely said:

Today is an exceptionally proud day for all of us in Uniquely. As a result of our unwavering focus on operational excellence, clients are increasingly coming to us to help them with their development and growth objectives and this significant investment of over 100 new job opportunities is in response to increased demand for our services across all our business areas.

At Uniquely, our vision is to create extraordinary experiences, that push the possibilities of careers, businesses and our category. We collaborate with leading banks in Financial Services on innovative care solutions, we are pioneering sustainable strategies in Utilities, and we are transforming communications sales and support in the Telecoms sector.

Across all these domains, our central mission is to elevate standards in customer support and engagement, ensuring exceptional care is woven into the fabric of every sector we touch.

In addition, people are at the heart of everything we do at Uniquely including these new employment opportunities, which are a welcome investment for our sector, the local economy and the North-East region, as well as contributing to the sustained reputation of the M1 Corridor as an international hub for businesses.

Dundalk Chamber of Commerce said that it applauds the company's commitment to corporate social responsibility and its proactive engagement with the local community.

This expansion, strategically positioned within the M1 Corridor, aligns with Dundalk Chamber's mission to foster collaboration between businesses and contribute to the corridor's overall prosperity.

The Chamber added that it looks forward to the positive impact of Sales Sense International's expansion on the local economy and job market, supporting the continued growth and vitality of the community.

Established in 2006, Uniquely says that it boasts a wealth of experience in diverse markets, collaborating with various organisations to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction.

Its expertise, rooted in knowledge and practical experience, spans service solutions in sectors such as Energy, Financial Services, Medical Technology, Telecoms, Media, and Retail.

Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheal Martin TD, was at Uniquely for the announcement. Mr Martin said, Im particularly pleased to announce Uniquelys plans to create 100 new jobs at its customer engagement centre in Dundalk.

Above: At Uniquelys customer engagement centre in Dundalk were (r to l) Michael Carey, Chairman of Enterprise Ireland; Tanaiste Micheal Martin; and Gerard Teahon, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Uniquely; and Uniquely worker, Nicole Mackle. Picture: Arthur Carron

This is a significant milestone for this Irish-owned company, previously known as SalesSense International, and testament to its consistent investment in its workforce, and in solutions for banking, energy and telecoms.

Todays announcement is a great boost for Dundalk and the wider North East area, and it paves the way for even further innovation. I want to wish the Uniquely team every success in its ongoing expansion.

Michael Carey, Chairman of Enterprise Ireland, who was also present on Friday said that, todays expansion announcement is testament to the innovative offering, exceptional talent and cutting-edge services that Uniquely provides to their global customer base.

It comes as a great boost for Dundalk as well as the wider North-East region and paves the way for this innovative company to significantly scale its business globally.

The announcement from Uniquely follows on from the recent announcement by Anord Mardix, of a 27 million investment to expand its operations in Dundalk, which is expected to double Anord Mardix's footprint in the region and create 200 new job opportunities.

Congratulating Anord Mardix on the announcement, Dundalk Chamber President, Una McGoey, said that this investment demonstrates the town's appeal for global industry leaders, and we are thrilled to witness the positive impact it will have on our local workforce and economy.

Dundalk Chamber of Commerce says that Anord Mardix has a strong history of innovation and excellence in providing critical power solutions worldwide.

It adds that the company's commitment to corporate social responsibility and community engagement aligns seamlessly with Dundalk Chamber's mission to foster economic development and collaboration within the region of the M1 Corridor.
Following the success of her second solo exhibition I Brought You Flowers this past summer, contemporary Irish artist Anna McKeever has unveiled her new collection of work, Solas, which draws inspiration from a range of mythic Irish landscapes and locales including the Cooley Mountains in Carlingford, County Louth and Newgrange in County Meath.

This collection of eleven oil-on canvas paintings explores the influence of ancient Celtic beliefs and mythology in the context of the modern Irish landscape. The pieces combine to form a fascinating hybrid of ancient Irish mythology within a modern, vibrant landscape of colour and texture. Anna draws inspiration from pagan beliefs that recognised the profound importance of light through her own signature style.

Solas is the Irish word for light, brightness and enlightenment. The Celts recognised the sun in particular as a powerful deity representing life, warmth and vitality. It was believed to have a direct impact on the fertility of the land, crops and livestock, Anna explains.

A Belfast-based artist with a growing reputation across Ireland and internationally, Annas work is immediately recognisable. In this collection she seamlessly blends ancient mythological themes with contemporary colour and texture. Celtic symbols are etched into the work itself, and the paint is applied liberally and without abandon. The result is a fascinating hybrid of ancient and modern.

Commenting on the creative process which produced Solas Anna says:

I find it interesting that even in this modern era there is still a connection to ancient myths and legends. This juxtaposition of the ancient and modern weaves its way through the work - creating a storyboard without words.

I was influenced by myths I heard in my childhood, legends of the borderlands; the Cooley Mountains, Cuchulainn, and the Tain Bo Cuailng. I visited the ancient site of Newgrange and have always been aware of thin places - where the Celts believed a spiritual atmosphere of a location made it easy to connect with God, as though there is no barrier between heaven and earth. The energy of these places resonated more to me than more modern religious doctrine.

"It was important for me to honour the Irish landscape whilst incorporating the myth and legend that has shaped it. It has been a fascinating journey to create this body of work.

Anna describes the effect of light that plays on the landscape as well as the symbolic power of light in her paintings of Newgrange, Winter Solstice and the Cooley Mountains. I love how transient light is here. A sunbeam can break through the clouds and in a split second, the entire landscape changes.

Commenting on the creative process which produced Solas Anna says:

I find it interesting that even in this modern era there is still a connection to ancient myths and legends. This juxtaposition of the ancient and modern weaves its way through the work - creating a storyboard without words.

It was important for me to honour the Irish landscape whilst incorporating the myth and legend that has shaped it. It has been a fascinating journey to create this body of work.

Art enthusiasts can view the full exhibition at Anna McKeevers Ormeau Road-based studio, 455 Ormeau Road, Belfast, on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am  4pm or by appointment. Visit www.annamckeever.com for more information.
THE 81st anniversary of the Cork Harbour Tragedy will be commemorated at a wreath-laying ceremony in Cobh later today organised by Irish Defence Forces veterans charity, ONE.

Honouring the five Irish Naval Service and Cork Harbour Commission personnel who tragically lost their lives in Cork Harbour in 1942, the ceremony will begin at 11am and will see 12 wreaths laid in their memory at the East Beach Monument.

The maritime tragedy occurred on December 12, 1942.

That evening, Ireland's first naval merchant ship, the Irish Poplar, was approaching Cork Harbour when tragedy struck.

Used to complete transatlantic voyages and deliver essential supplies to a neutral Ireland during WWII, the vessel was due for an annual refit at Cork Dockyard.

Under wartime regulations, every ship entering the harbour had to be inspected for weaponry and ammunition before docking.

Four members of the Irish Marine Service  the forerunner of the current Naval Service  Frank Lloyd, Frank Powell, Patrick Wilshaw and William Duggan, along with John Higgins and Jimmy Horgan from the Cork Harbour Commissioners, braved 20-foot waves and gale force winds to board the ship.

With no lighting, and operating in treacherous conditions, the launch boats collided with the Poplar's propellers destroying the launch boats and capsizing the men into freezing cold waters. Five members of the inspection party lost their lives in the accident.

The bodies of two of the men, John Higgins and Frank Powell, were never recovered.

Each year, on the Saturday closest to December 12, ONE (Oglaigh Naisiunta Na hEireann) hosts a remembrance ceremony to honour the five men who lost their lives while serving their country.

It is with pride that we honour the five Irish men who lost their lives in the Cork Harbour Tragedy of 1942," Cormac Kirwan, Irish Defence Forces veteran and CEO of ONE, said ahead of this year's commemoration.

John Higgins, Frank Lloyd, Frank Powell, Patrick Wilshaw and William Duggan made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and safeguard their country and its people.

On the 81st anniversary of this tragedy, we remember these men and ensure that their bravery and heroism will never be forgotten.

Among those laying wreaths at todays ceremony will be the Deputy Mayor of County Cork, Cllr John Healy; Commodore Michael Malone, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service (FOCNS), and the families of the deceased men.
RESIDENTS of a housing estate on the northside of Cork city are calling for Cork City Council to address outlying maintenance issues in their homes.

The Cork City Council Housing Directorate met some of the residents of Fairfield Meadows in Fairhill on Thursday to hear their concerns and observe some of the maintenance issues that need addressing.

Lisa McNamara shows where rain water came in under her front door at her home in Fairfield Meadows in Fairhill despite having been repaired recently. Picture: Howard Crowdy

It comes following years of concerns about the living conditions of some residents being raised by local councillors and a gathering of some residents at the entrance to the estate last month, calling on Cork City Council to step up and carry out required maintenance works on their homes.

In 2018, 1.1m in funding for repairs to homes in Fairfield Meadows and Fairfield Lawn was secured as part of an 11m loan-funded scheme which saw 1,200 local authority homes in Cork city earmarked for repairs or upgrades.

Outlying issues

Residents have said, however, that there are still outlying issues with some of the houses, which have led to rat infestations, dampness and mould, leaks, and blocked drains.

One resident raised concerns about flooding in her house, saying her house is destroyed in heavy rainfall and that she has to use cardboard and towels to try to prevent flood water from coming in through the front and back doors.

Following a walk-around of some of the houses in the estate with the Cork City Council Housing Directorate on Thursday, Director of Housing Niall O Donnabhain committed to issue an update to ward members.

Speaking to The Echo, Socialist Party councillor Brian McCarthy said: Some of these people have issues with sewage coming into their houses and there are issues with damp, mould, plumbing, with leaks  theres a huge list.

Theyve been getting onto the council about this... Im confident that now that the residents have come together to fight collectively on this issue as one voice, it will put enough pressure on the council that we will be able to get the repairs done that are needed to be done here.

Pictured reviewing the condition of houses in Fairfield Meadows in Fairhill were local councillors Kenneth Collins, Mick Nugent, Brian McCarthy and Tony Fitzgerald with residents Lisa McNamara, Theresa and John Kelleher. Picture: Howard Crowdy

Estate 'a concern for some time'

Fianna Fail councillor Tony Fitzgerald said the estate has been a concern for some time and that the residents have endured a lot of challenges in terms of dampness in the houses.

Its a relatively new estate, he said. Funding has been secured, when I was Lord Mayor we did provide an 11m loan and this estate was included in that, to renovate it.

So work has been ongoing but it needs high priority. I am delighted that the Director of Services Niall O Donnabhain and his team have taken the time to come up here following requests from all of the public reps and we will work together in the North West Ward to address the issues for the families.

Lisa McNamara, a resident of Fairfield Meadows in Fairhill, shows where the water poured in from her shower into the lounge area of her home with the crack in the ceiling still visible. Picture: Howard Crowdy

Sinn Fein councillor Mick Nugent, who has a motion being put forward at Cork City Council asking that the local authority ringfence any funding remaining from the 1.1m allocated to Fairfield Meadows and Fairfield Lawn for housing maintenance, said: It was good that they had senior members of the housing directorate here today [Thursday] to meet with residents and discuss with them housing maintenance issues.

The motion that Ive put forward to City Council now is saying if there is any funding left over out of that 1.1m, that it would be ringfenced for housing purposes within the estate and perhaps as well maybe for public realm improvements if required also.

Councillor Kenneth Collins said that it is unfortunate that the allocated funding still hasnt fixed what needs to be done.

People deserve to live in better, warmer homes and that they dont have to be ringing Cork City Council all the time to get the repairs and maintenance crews out to fix things all the time, he said. The people living there are the salt of the earth and all they want is to live in proper homes that are habitable for people.
EIGHT drug overdoses relating to a powder being sold as heroin have been reported in Cork city in 36 hours, the HSE has confirmed to The Echo.

The executive has now issued an extreme-risk drug warning after a nitazene-type substance had been linked with what it described as recent cases of serious overdose in Cork city.

David Lane said that they want to get the message out to people using illegal substances that this is circulating in the city and to be extra careful at this time.

The HSE described nitazene as a strong synthetic opioid that can cause serious overdoses, hospitalisations, and drug-related deaths.

HSE general manager social inclusion and primary care for the Cork and Kerry region, David Lane, told The Echo that following the overdoses, analysis had been conducted by Forensic Science Ireland which confirmed the presence of trace amounts of the substance in the samples taken.

We have seen eight overdoses in Cork in the last two days, and one of the things that we want to get out there as a message to services and to people using illegal substances is that this is circulating in the city and to just be extra careful at this time, said Mr Lane.

Serious overdoses in Dublin

The extreme risk warning follows dozens of serious overdoses in Dublin in the past month, and Mr Lane said that services in Cork had been on tenterhooks expecting the contaminated drugs to arrive in Cork.

Local wrap around supports in place with @cldatf to respond to the emergence of nitazenes on the Cork drug market.@corkcitycouncil putting alerts in public places throughout the City today to raise awareness of current risk and recommending #HarmReduction pic.twitter.com/HEZdxA01wW  HSE Drugs.ie (@drugsdotie) December 8, 2023

The HSE said that the drug can be found in pills or powder, with current overdoses being linked to powder.

We started to see this week an unusual number of overdoses happening [in Cork city], becoming aware very quickly that we could have been facing something similar to Dublin, Mr Lane said.

We were able to get our hands on a sample of the products that were being used and in the last couple of days we were able to get that tested very quickly, and we got the results back on that yesterday and they [told] us that the product that was circulating in Cork was contaminated with nitazenes.

In a statement issued yesterday, the HSE said it was issuing a risk communication to people who use heroin in Cork city, following a number of non-fatal overdoses on Wednesday, December 6 and Thursday, December 7.

It said it had been confirmed through analysis that a trace amount of a nitazene-type substance has been identified in a light brown powder associated with Cork city overdoses.

Appeal for caution

Professor Eamon Keenan, HSE National Clinical Lead, Addiction Services, said: We are urging extreme caution following eight overdoses related to a powder being sold on the heroin market in the Cork region.

Preliminary laboratory analysis has confirmed that recent overdoses may be caused by nitazenes, a potent and dangerous synthetic opioid.

The HSE said ongoing analysis is being conducted on the sample to identify the exact composition of the substance.

In a list of recommendations, the HSE urged drug users to treat all substances with caution, warning you cant be sure of whats in it or its strength.

The HSE has issued a warning regarding a number of overdoses in the Cork City.



Analysis conducted by Forensic Science Ireland confirms a nitazene type substance identified in a light brown/sandy coloured powder.



We ask people to take extra care and follow #harmreduction pic.twitter.com/hpBtluzY5D  HSE Drugs.ie (@drugsdotie) December 7, 2023

Urging extra caution at the moment, the HSE recommended that drug users not buy new types of drugs, or new batches, or purchase drugs from new sources.

The HSE also urged drug-users to carry naloxone, a medicine used to rapidly reverse or reduce the effects of an opioid overdose.

A spokesperson for Cork Simon told The Echo: We are working closely with the HSE and other service providers in the city to make sure everyone were supporting is aware of the current risks and knows what to do should they find themselves in need of help.

We are actively advising people of what they need to know to keep themselves and others safe, to keep in close contact with us and not to be afraid to seek medical help if someone is unwell, no matter the circumstances.

For more information, support and harm reduction, go to drugs.ie or contact the HSE Drug and Alcohol Helpline on 1800 459 459 or email helpline@hse.ie Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5.30pm.
SENIOR cycle students from three secondary schools in Cork city attended a careers event organised by the Access to Education, Bridge to Employment programme.

To mark College Awareness Week, students of Terence MacSwiney Community College, North Monastery Co-educational Secondary School, and Mayfield Community School attended the event involving many businesses and colleges.

This is the fifth phase of the programme, which is supported by Johnson & Johnson.

It aims to encourage and assist students in Cork city to stay in school and progress to further and higher level education, with a particular focus on Stem disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and maths).

Partners in the programme include Johnson & Johnsons Cork-based companies, Janssen Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceutical, and DePuy, as well as Munster Technological University, University College Cork, Cork Education and Training Board, Junior Achievement, and Business in the Community.

The careers event was held in North Monastery Co-Educational Secondary School and allowed senior cycle students from the three participating schools an opportunity to engage with people from a range of different occupations.

The schools students met engineers, scientists, medical professionals, business leaders, artists, social care workers, and more, and students who are currently studying for jobs in these industries were on hand to talk about third-level options in pursuing these jobs.

The programme, which is working with current sixth-year students who will sit their Leaving Certificate in 2024, aims to support long-term collaboration and partnership amongst business, educators, community-based organisations, and parents to help young people build a better future.

It also aims to build students confidence and widen their horizons through interaction with significant adults who will mentor them, provide them with information, and support them in carving out a career path.
JEWELLERY, designer fashion, candles and artwork will be among the items on sale at a Christmas fair on Sunday in aid of the Greater Chernobyl Cause.

The Greater Chernobyl Annual Christmas Craft Fair will take place from 11am to 5pm in the Marian Hall, Ballinhassig.

All items are being donated for the event by artists from across Cork city and county and will be sold for discounted prices.

The Greater Chernobyl Cause has penetrated war-ravaged areas of Ukraine inaccessible to many other relief efforts.

Their work includes bringing essential supplies to forgotten villagers close to the Russian border, who are desperately trying to survive.

The charity is also supplying financial aid to various humanitarian hubs in Ukrainian towns including Lviv, Kviv and Kharkiv. The latter has been dubbed the city with no windows due to constant shelling.

The charity is also providing support for Ukrainian refugees on their arrival to Ireland.

Representatives from the organisation often meet with refugees at the airport, transporting them to hubs and assisting with the registration process.

Direct access is also arranged with the various authorities.

To find out more about the charity or to donate, visit www.greaterchernobylcause.ie.
A 35-year-old man was arrested and charged with having images and videos of prepubescent boys at his home in Cork.

Detective Garda Alan Johnson arrested the man at Cork District Court and charged him with the single count.

It states that on March 24, 2020, at his home he did knowingly have at his home in his possession child pornography, namely 191 images and videos of prepubescent boys.

The charge alleges that 66 of the images and 63 videos were in the most serious category, showing children in or observing sexual acts, and 58 images and four videos in category 2 which depict children with their genital area exposed.

Defence solicitor, Eddie Burke, suggested that there should be an order prohibiting identification of the accused in case it would identify any children.

Sergeant Pat Lyons said that, for the moment, the State agreed that there should be a reporting restriction in relation to identifying the accused. However, he said that this matter may be revisited.

Judge Mary Dorgan made the order in relation to not identifying the accused.

Sgt Lyons said the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided that the case should be dealt with by indictment at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

The DPP said a signed plea of guilty could be entered in the district court for sentencing in the circuit court.

Mr Burke asked for a copy of the prosecution statements to consider if there would be a signed plea of guilty or if a book of evidence would have to be prepared.

Judge Dorgan adjourned the case until February 13, 2024 for that purpose.

One of the bail conditions requires the accused to sign on once a week at his local garda station.
A SILVERSPRINGS family has paid tribute to their late father by climbing Strickeen Mountain in his name while raising funds for the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF).

Michael Coffey, who was well-known in the area and had spent many years working in the financial sector, passed away suddenly last year at the age of 58.

Michael was originally from Killarney and, over the years, had maintained his ties with Kerry and had many friends from the area.

Given his Kerry connections, his family felt it would be fitting to climb Strickeen Mountain near the Gap of Dunloe in his memory.

The climb was organised by Michaels son Jordan, who climbed the mountain alongside his partner Laura, his mother Marian, his sisters Emma and Michelle, and their partners Scott and Keith.

Michaels grandson, Tyler, aged 11, also completed the climb on the day, making him one of the youngest people to reach the summit.

Thanks to all of the kind donations, the family raised more than 3,000 through the climb for the Irish Heart Foundation.

At a special presentation last week, they handed the fundraising cheque to Paddy OBrien, ambassador for the foundation.

In accepting the cheque on behalf of the IHF, Mr OBrien praised the Coffey family for their endeavours and thanked them for their generous donation to the IHF in their fathers memory.
A four-year-old girl from Carrigaline was given the honour of turning on the Christmas lights at the Crann Centre for a very special festive event.

Kaelyn Murphy, who has spina bifida, is one of the children availing of the services at the charity's centre which provides support for adults, children and families living with neuro-physical disabilities.

Five-year-old Rhys Morrissey from Ballincollig enjoying a spot of colouring with the help of Paul Cooney (left) and Jack Fielding before paying a visit to Santa.

Kaelyn and her family visited the centre to take part in their accessible Christmas experience recently.

For the event, a team of Crann Centre staff and volunteers from BioMarin and VelocityEHS decorated the centres accessible playground and reception area.

Elves from Talos Limited were brought in to help wrap presents for Santa, who arrived at his grotto for an extra special visit.

Seven-year-old Zoey O'Riordan from Ballincollig enjoying a visit to Santa. Pic: Brian Lougheed

Some 50 families from around Munster were greeted by the team of elves and were brought to a magical wonderland, where activities included Christmas cookie making, design-your-own-tree-decoration, face-painting and a stop at Santas grotto.

'A special moment for us'

Kaelyn's mother Amanda Shannon said Kaelyn and her siblings were thrilled to meet Santa.

Its just a very special moment for us, we do a lot of stuff in the Crann Centre so then to experience Christmas with them in their winter wonderland is fantastic, she said.

Kaelyn and her brother and sister were delighted to meet Santa and they even got a bit of Christmas magic so they loved it.

10-month-old baby Arly O'Riordan from Ballincollig and mum Laura get close up to one of the toy soldiers on duty at the centre.

Cranns chief executive Padraig Mallon said that Christmas at Crann was a wonderful event which the charity had been fortunate to put on for the last three years.

Our staff have been assisted by a fantastic group of volunteers to create a Christmas experience that is easy to access in a comfortable environment, Mr Mallon said.

Four-year-old Kaelyn Murphy from Carrigaline, along with her mum Amanda Shannon and 10-year-old brother Jake, and five-year-old sister Annabelle had the honour of switching on the Christmas lights at the centre. Also included is Padraig Mallon, CEO at the centre. Pic: Brian Lougheed

One of the key issues that continuously comes through from families of children with disabilities and from people with disabilities themselves is social isolation so we want to give people the opportunity to be together at Christmas.

This has been a great team event for our staff thats a culmination of a lot of work and we have received great support from businesses both locally and nationally and Id like to thank everyone for making this event possible, he added.

Support from community and sponsors

Over 470 families have now availed of services at the Crann Centre, and the charity said it is determined to grow its community and bring more support and services to families in 2024.

Mum Laurane Foley and her son Alex with Santa's helper at the Christmas Experience. Pic: Brian Lougheed

Staff at the Crann Centre said the Christmas at Crann event would not be possible without the support of Community Foundation Ireland, the Late Late Toy Show Appeal, Rethink Ireland, Talos Limited, BioMarin, Smyths Toys , VelocityEHS, Greenveldt, Inniscarra Christmas Tree Farm, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Smarttech 247, Mandiant, Google and Buckley Bros Builders.

For more details on how to support or donate to the Crann Centre or to avail of their services go to www.cranncentre.ie
TRANSPORT Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is being urged to reverse a policy that has seen the street lights on a busy Cork road permanently turned off.

TII confirmed that the street lights have been switched off on the N40/N22 Ballincollig Bypass (mainline plus N40 junctions 1 and 2, and N22 junctions 2 and 3) for environmental reasons.

Outages have also been applied on parts of the M7/M8 and on the N25 Waterford in the southern region.

A spokesperson for TII told The Echo that the move is part of a national programme in response to the EU Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU.

Electricity consumption

The spokesperson explained that electricity consumption on route lighting on national roads and tunnels represents 45% of TIIs total electricity use.

This represents a major element of the electrical energy consumption for TII, the spokesperson said, adding that it therefore has become an important focus in terms of meeting the National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAP) requirements set out by the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources.

The spokesperson continued: In the case of the national road network, any such proposed reductions should not compromise any aspects of the safety of the road network.

The objective has been to identify inconsistencies in the provision of motorway lighting, particularly at motorway junctions, and to commence a move towards general consistency which would be in line with current road lighting design standards.

Pilot project

TII first turned off the street lights for a pilot project at four motorway junctions in 2017, and reported no adverse effects following a year of monitoring, leading them to apply the same measures to a further 20 roads the following year and more in subsequent years.

Cork South Central Senator Jerry Buttimer raised concerns about the lights on the N40 at this weeks meeting of the Cork City Joint Policing Committee (JPC), saying that he had noticed how dark some areas of the road were.

Calls for policy to be reversed

Speaking to The Echo, the Fine Gael senator said: I understand that environmental issues are behind the policy, but surely we are in a situation where we can use a different type of lighting, fittings or bulbs to reduce the carbon footprint without turning them off completely.

He added: Road safety is a serious issue, especially at the moment when we have such an increase in fatalities, this policy has been going on for a while but I think it compromises road safety.

In Cork, if you drive from Ballincollig to Bishopstown Court, it is particularly difficult in very bad weather, and there is also ponding on sections of the road.

Senator Buttimer called on TII to reverse the policy.
A motorist driving erratically on Wilton Road refused to stop for gardai and took off at speed, driving through red lights until he was stopped after 10 minutes and caught with over 5,000 worth of cannabis.

James Brennan of Lisadell estate, Maryborough Hill, Douglas, Cork, faced sentencing at Cork District Court on charges including having cannabis for sale or supply and driving when his blood tested positive for benzoylecgonine.

Sergeant Pat Lyons said the incident occurred shortly before 2am on August 2, 2022, when Garda Ryan Dillon observed a car being driven in an erratic manner on Wilton Road.

Blue lights and siren were activated.

He failed to stop during ten minutes of dangerous driving, including going through red traffic lights at Togher Road/Clashduv Road junction on the incorrect side, Sgt Lyons said.

The 32-year-old was arrested and it was accepted that he panicked when he saw the gardai, and that he co-operated from the moment of his arrest.

Defence solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said the 32-year-old admitted having the cannabis for sale or supply.

He acknowledges the pursuit  he knew he had the material in his possession and it was fear of apprehension.

But on being apprehended he was amenable to gardai. He was forthcoming.

It was something of a watershed moment. It was a group activity where the cannabis was shared with friends rather than being a commercial activity, Mr Buttimer said.

Judge Mary Dorgan said: It is one of the better probation reports I have ever read but I am very concerned about the value of the drugs.

The judge said she would adjourn sentencing until March 12, 2024 and that in the meantime the accused would have to provide the results of three urinalysis tests.
ALTHOUGH poet Victoria Kennefick is based in Kerry at present, shes a Cork woman through and through and, for that reason, her appointment as Cork County Councils new writer in residence for the next 10 months was a source of great delight for her, she said.

In her role, the award-winning poet, whose collection Eat or We Both Starve (Carcanet Press 2021) won the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize, will return to her native county to organise a programme of workshops in libraries in Bandon, Cobh, Kanturk, Carrigaline, and Mitchelstown.

The 10-month stint for the Shanagarry poet will include engagement with writers groups and community organisations as well as young people. She will be visiting libraries and also providing guidance online.

Victoria Kennefick has been announced as Cork County Council Writer in Residence

Following her appointment, Victoria said Cork County Council had provided her with many opportunities as an emerging writer in the past and that it was an honour to pay it back in this way.

I am delighted, as a Cork woman, to be returning to my native county to collaborate with writers, students, and readers in developing and enriching their relationship and engagement with literature, she said.

I am looking forward to meeting and collaborating with writers all over the county.

The Mayor of County Cork Frank OFlynn said the authority was delighted to be working with a writer of Victorias calibre.

Her experience and enthusiasm for writing in all its forms will lend itself to a very successful residency, said Mr OFlynn. This is a fantastic opportunity for aspiring writers and readers in the county to engage with a published writer. With this residency, we aim to promote creative writing and reading contemporary literature in the community.

Victorias second collection is Egg/Shell (Carcanet Press, February 2024) and is available for pre-order now. She is currently working on her first novel.

The residency is managed by Cork County Council Library and Arts Service. This position is supported by The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaion and Creative Ireland.
TROCAIRE has thanked people in Cork for their donations, which the charity said has recently helped to deliver medical aid to civilians in Gaza.

The Irish NGO launched its Christmas appeal this week which is focusing on Children in Conflict.

Speaking in relation to Gaza, Trocaire CEO, Caoimhe de Barra, said the situation is posing huge challenges for Trocaires partners but they are making a difference thanks to the support of the public in Co Cork.

Trocaires partner organisation, Medical Aid for Palestinians, is working against the odds in Gaza to ensure that those injured, many of them children, receive urgent medical care to give them the best chance of survival.

Another partner, Caritas Jerusalem, has seen their medical centre and clinic in Gaza City damaged in the bombardment but staff are continuing to strive to provide whatever medical support they can.

This life-saving work has been made possible by the generosity of people here at home, she added.

Ms De Barra backed calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The recent temporary truce allowed for limited humanitarian aid to reach those desperately in need of food, water, and medical assistance, and the release of hostages, she said, but added that "a pause is not enough".

A permanent ceasefire needs to be brokered to bring an end to the hostilities that have seen thousands of Palestinian and Israeli civilian lives lost, the majority of them women and children, she said.

Ms De Barra also moved to remind people that not alone in Gaza are children bearing the brunt of violence and conflict.

From Gaza to Ukraine, from Ethiopia to Sudan, today we are highlighting the fact that over 450 million children in the world - one out of every six young lives - are living in a conflict zone, she said.

To donate to Trocaire visit www.trocaire.org.
TWO healthcare units in Cork city have received top honours at the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Awards, which recognise the efforts hospital and healthcare settings make to provide nutritious meals to staff and visitors.

The South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital and Cork University Hospital both achieved gold certification, and were among the 21 healthcare sites providing healthier meals for almost 18,000 health service employees honoured at the national ceremony.

Emma Balmaine, Irish Heart Foundation CEO , Jackie Doody, South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital Cork, and Sarah O'Brien, HSE Programme Manager, Healthy Eating Active Living Programme

The 2023 Happy Heart Healthy Eating awards ceremony took place at the Gibson Hotel, Dublin.

The awards, a joint initiative of the Irish Heart Foundation and the HSE, have been running for more than 25 years.

Irish Heart Foundation CEO Emma Balmaine congratulated the award winners at the ceremony, saying: The Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award programme has been the flagship of our health promotion initiatives for several decades now, which we have been able to develop with support from the HSE.

The World Health Organization identifies the workplace as one of the best places to positively influence peoples cardiovascular risk through encouraging and promoting healthy eating and other healthy behaviours.

Healthcare workplaces are ideal settings to promote healthy eating because many people eat one if not two meals per day at work.

Sarah OBrien, national lead for the Healthy Eating Active Living programme in the HSE, added: Our staff in the HSE are our most valuable resource  supporting their health and wellbeing in the workplace is a key priority for us in the Health Services.

Creating a healthier food environment and providing healthier options at mealtimes supports our staff to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

The awards recognise the hard work and dedication to quality improvement and those sites that are committed to prioritising the development of environments that support healthy eating."
IF you saw someone falling into the River Lee in Cork city, how would you respond? Would you spring into action and try to rescue them?

Unless you are a hero who wears a cape for a living, its a question that is impossible to answer, until you find yourself in that scenario.

It was a situation that Corkman Ted Kelleher found himself in one spring evening 33 years ago - and he wasnt found wanting.

Its a remarkable story of a truly amazing and heroic act.

Ted, who was 50 at the time and a sales manager at Easons, was driving a van on the city quays by Michael Collins Bridge, heading in the direction of Penrose Quay, on Tuesday, March 28, 1990, when his passenger, Jo Martin, saw a woman fall into the Lee.

Ted sprang into action. He jumped from his van and ran across the bridge, but by this stage the woman was floating face down in the water.

He threw in a lifebuoy and called to her, and, on receiving no response, urged two passers-by to help him. What happened next is extraordinary.

These men held Teds ankles, while he hung suspended upside-down from the Michael Collins Bridge. He managed to grab the woman by the collar of her coat as she floated past.

I held on for about 10 minutes till the Gardai arrived, Ted, who was 6ft and about 16 stone, told a Cork Examiner reporter.

I have to congratulate the two fellas who held my ankles, Im no lightweight by any manner of means!

Without a doubt, Ted saved the life of that woman with his quick-thinking and agility that day.

It was lucky for her too that the clocks had just gone forward an hour, meaning it was still just about daylight when she fell into the chilly Lee, otherwise she may never have been seen again.

Ted is a very brave man, without him, the woman would have drowned, Garda Michael Healy, who arrived at the scene with colleague Denis OMahony, told the Examiner.

The woman, who was said to be from Kanturk but living in Cork city, made a quick recovery and was only taken to the South Infirmary to be detained overnight for observation. She was released the next day.

At the time, in 1990, there was talk of a bravery award for Teds incredible life-saving act, but it never materialised. Sadly, he passed away in 2005, aged 65.

All these years later, you might think it is too late for his heroics to be recognised - but with a little bit of a push, perhaps we can still salute him posthumously.

******

Teds son, Barry Kelleher, contacted me this week out of the blue to see if we had any details of his fathers heroics. I was delighted to unearth for him the Examiner report in 1990, written by my fellow Saturday columnist in The Echo, Ailin Quinlan.

The story of the river rescue is legendary in the family, said Barry, of Cathedral Road in Cork city.

Dad was a real Corkman - born and reared under the bells of Shandon. He and my mother, Eily had six children.

Ted, like most heroes, was a modest chap.

At the time of the rescue, he was in touch with local public representatives who were pushing him to receive some recognition for his feat, recalls Barry.

He was more concerned about the lady who he rescued than any publicity. Dad never met her, but he thought about her every day for months after.

Ted, who worked for 40 years as a van salesman before getting the sales manager job with Easons, passed away in 2005 - never sick a day in his life, said Barry - 16 months after Eily.

At the time of his death, he had six grandchildren. There are now 15, and three great grandchildren.

The older of the kids are amazed that Ted never received or went about getting merit for his actions. They are now pushing for recognition.

It would be great if we could gain recognition for dads outstanding act of bravery.

******

Each year since 1947, courageous feats across Ireland have been recognised by Comhairle na Mire Gaile, the Deeds of Bravery Council, which was founded to enable State recognition of exceptional acts.

Over the years, it has awarded medals and certificates to deserving cases: people from all walks of life and all sections of society who have saved a life involving personal risk to them. People who never knew they were capable of heroic acts, until they were staring at life-or-death situations.

It is the only civilian awards programme of its kind in Ireland, and it is also in the Councils remit to recognise people after their death.

A few weeks ago, James Nicholl, a former member of the Defences Forces, was awarded a posthumous gold medal, after he died while attempting to save a man drowning in the Liffey in April. He was among 26 people to be honoured for their selfless acts of bravery at a ceremony in Dublin.

In total, 14 gold medals have been awarded by the Comhairle since 1947, many of them posthumously. Could our man Ted Kelleher be recognised next year?

I cant see why not. Under the rules, a deed of bravery means an effort to save human life involving personal risk. The deed must have been committed after July 4, 1945, in Ireland or on an Irish-registered ship.

The Council that adjudicates on who should receive an award is chaired by Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail, TD, and within its ranks are the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, and Senator Jerry Buttimer, as well as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

I will be sending this article to the two Cork representatives of the Bravery Council, in the hope Ted Kellehers quick-thinking and bravery can finally be honoured. I will also be sending it to the Councils nominations file via email - the deadline for next years awards is April 30.

After all, no good deed should go unrewarded - even 33 years after the event.
Fiona Magennis

The enormity of the situation at the Stardust nightclub was brought home to a garda on duty in Coolock Station on the night of the fire when he asked a colleague on site how many ambulances were required and was told whatever you can get, an inquest has heard.

This was something that we had never experienced previously, said former garda sergeant Thomas Vennard. We never had a major fire like that.

The inquest jury at Dublin District Coroners Court also heard on Friday that Stardust manager Eamon Butterly remained on site with bar manager Brian Peel and others at the complex after the scene was closed for preservation.

Bernard McMahon, a sergeant attached to Coolock Garda Station at the time of the fire, told the inquest he was off duty that night but received a call at home telling him there had been a fire and he was required for duty.

The inquest heard Mr McMahon was tasked with preserving the scene at approximately 3.45am after the fire was extinguished and bodies removed to the morgue.

At one stage between 4am and 6am I saw about five men whom I recognised as Mr Butterly and Mr Brian Peel in the foyer of the Silver Swan, Mr McMahon said in his original 1981 statement to gardai, which was read into the record today. I inspected this part of the premises at 6am. These men were still seated in the foyer of the Silver Swan talking to each other.

Asked by Patricia Dillon SC, for Dublin City Council, if he had gone to Mr Butterly and Mr Peel and had any conversations with them to say he was closing the scene, Mr McMahon said: Not that I can recall.

However, he said he had earlier expressed to Mr Butterly that he was very unhappy with people being on the premises.

The witness earlier told Simon Mills SC, a member of the coroners legal team, that he had visited the site of the Stardust complex on two occasions prior to the blaze when he had observed fire exit doors locked with chains.

He said he discussed the use of padlocks with Mr Peel who told him this was the only way to keep the gougers out.

Asked by counsel if he understood from Mr Peel that there was a policy to have these doors locked while functions were taking place, Mr McMahon said it was.

Procedures

The witness said he wanted to make clear to the bar manager that he wasnt satisfied with the procedures in place at the Stardust because of the number of people that attended functions there at the time.

At the conclusion of his evidence, Mr McMahon said he wished to express his condolences to the families of the 48 people who lost their lives.

I was affected myself, and my family, and I just can appreciate what they have gone through in the meantime, he said. I think its ironic that after 42 years were still here.

Patrick Colleran, a Garda Inspector with 20 years experience at the time and who was on duty at the communication centre in Dublin Castle, said the first call about the fire was received at 1.46am.

Mr Colleran told Mark Tottenham BL, a member of the coroners legal team, that he was the senior garda officer on duty at the centre that night.

He told counsel stage one of the Major Accident Plan had been put into operation at the scene at 2.06am and he directed the implementation of stage two at 2.12am on foot of information from the garda officer in charge at the scene. He said this was co-ordinated from Dublin Castle.

A Superintendent and the Assistant Commissioner were informed of the situation and they both came directly to the centre and assisted in the overall direction of the operation, Mr Colleran said in his 1981 garda statement, which was read into the record today.

Provisions for traffic management to allow emergency vehicles to easily access the site were put in place and portable lighting from Dublin airport and garda workshops were also sent to provide assistance at the scene, he said.

After the injured were conveyed to emergency departments, Gardai were directed to each of the hospitals concerned with a view to compiling a list of names and addresses of all involved. This information was channelled back to the centre.

At 2.20am it was indicated from the scene that the fire was then under control and that it appeared all of the injured had been removed to the hospitals, Mr Colleran said in his statement.

At 2.33am confirmation was received from the scene that the three bodies had been located in the building and confirmation of the finding of other bodies were transmitted to the centre at intervals later.

Three special telephone numbers were set up at Dublin Castle to deal specifically with queries regarding the fire and these numbers were passed to RTE with a request that they be broadcast to the public in early news bulletins.

Patrick OConnell told the inquest he had been a member of An Garda Siochana for almost three years and was attached to the crime task force at the time of the fatal fire.

He said he arrived at the scene at 2.05am and observed smoke and sparks coming from the roof of the building.

He said he entered the building through exit five with other officers and assisted in the search and removal of bodies. Mr OConnell said a large number of bodies were located mainly around the table and chair area of the dance floor.

At 3.30am he escorted the first ambulance to the city morgue and remained there on duty recording and assisting in the transfer of bodies into the morgue, Mr OConnell said in his original garda statement, which was read into the record today.

The garda said he and his colleagues made space inside the morgue by moving trollies to try to accommodate the large amount of bodies which were being brought in.

He said there were eventually 40 bodies throughout the morgue and a number of army men then arrived and began to erect a tent in the yard of the site.

The inquest continues on Monday.
High Court reporters

Bank of Ireland Mortage Bank is not entitled to possession of the home of a deceased Co Sligo woman because it waited too long to bring an action in respect of the property, the High Court has heard.

The property in question is located at Mount Edwards Heights, Ballinfull, Co Sligo and for many years was the home of Bridget Cunningham, who died in July 2008.

In 2006/2007, when she was 86, the deceased borrowed 60,000, via a 'Life Loan' mortgage from the bank to carry out improvements on the property, which consists of a rural detached cottage and six acres of farmland.

The bank, which claims that it is owed approximately 150,000 including interest in respect of the loan from the estate, commenced proceedings against Mrs Cunningham's estate seeking possession of the property, in 2019.

The property has been valued at 180,000, the court heard.

In proceedings before Mr Justice David Nolan at the High Court on Friday, the late Mrs Cunningham's daughter, Teresa Gillespie, acting in her capacity as executrix of the estate, claims the bank's action should be dismissed as it is statue barred, and out of time under the 1961 Civil Liability Act.

Represented by Martin Hayden SC, she claims the bank should have brought its claim for possession within two years of Mr Cunnigham's death.

BOI claims that Mrs Gillespie has no defence to the claim.

The court heard that under the terms of the 'Life loan', no repayments were expected during Mrs Cunningham's lifetime, and it only became due and payable on her death.

No repayments have been made on the loan, which was secured by way of a charge over the deceased's property.

In 2015, the bank represented by Brian McGuckian Bl, formally called on the estate to make a full repayment on the loan.

Mrs Gillespie extracted a grant of probate over the estate in April 2021.

A solicitor, nominated by the bank had been previously been granted limited probate over the estate in 2019. The solicitor was subsequently replaced as executrix by Mrs Gillespie.

Mrs Gillespie claims the bank's application for possession has been made outside of the legal time limits allowed and is statute barred.

It is also claimed that the bank is not entitled to seek the level of interest being charged on the loan.

She said that she had been contacted by the bank on several occasions after her mother's death.

In an affidavit to the court, Mrs Gillespie said that in 2019, a bank representative suggested to her that she should "as a gesture of good faith with the bank, make a payment on account against her mother's loan debt". She did not take the bank up on that suggestion.

She also claims that the property has been vacant since her mother's death, and rejects claims made by the bank that she has been living there.

Following the conclusion of submissions from the parties, Mr Justice Nolan said he was reserving his decision and will deliver judgement at a later date.
Putin announces plans to run for president in 2024

Xinhua) 11:21, December 09, 2023

This photo taken on Dec. 7, 2023 shows a screen displaying Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the 14th VTB "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua)

MOSCOW, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Friday his plans to run for reelection next year, said the Kremlin.

The announcement was made during an informal conversation between Putin and participants of Russia's special military operation, following a ceremony where he awarded Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia.

"I won't hide that I have had various thoughts at different times. But now, you are right, now is the time to decide. I will run for President of the Russian Federation," the Kremlin said, citing Putin.

On Thursday, Russia's Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, voted unanimously to hold the next presidential elections on March 17, 2024.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front-row taxi ride.
Del Peru para el mundo! ?????? Se declara Dia Internacional de la Papa, cada 30 de mayo, gracias al rol fundamental de este tuberculo para la seguridad alimentaria y la nutricion mundial. pic.twitter.com/qwEc8jQjio
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

Thirteen Security Council members voted in favor of a brief draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates on Friday, while the United Kingdom abstained, Al Jazeera reports.

While the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution, Al Jazeera quoted Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN as saying.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. France welcomes the positive signal sent by the joint statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan and the goodwill gestures by both countries, particularly regarding a prisoner exchange, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France said in a statement.

We hope these announcements are a first step toward resolving the situation of prisoners, detainees and the disappeared, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France.

France supports the swift resumption of negotiations on a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the support of the EU and the United States.

The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France added that, as the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs has said repeatedly, there can be no lasting peace without respect for international law and the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders between the two nations.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Egyptian and Russian presidents, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Vladimir Putin, have discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the issues of delivery of humanitarian assistance to the enclave in a telephone conversation and agreed on continued efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Palestinian sector, the Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said, Tass reports.

The sides also discussed "Egypts efforts on delivery of most humanitarian assistance required for providing support to Gaza residents to the sector," the spokesman added.

''Al-Sisi and Putin agreed on "continuation of seriously reaching a ceasefire in the sector, as well as making sure that the international community assumes responsibility for reaching this target," he noted.
A mum was horrified after catching a delivery driver urinating on her property, before using his "dirty hands" to leave a note to say her package had been delivered.

Lydia Davis and her husband Clarke were stunned when they spotted the unusual activity on their Ring doorbell camera last weekend, with the mum of two admitting they were "furious".

Camera footage shows the man ringing the doorbell of their home bouncing from foot to foot as he waits for someone to answer. When no one does, he places the parcel on the ground in front of the door then turns around and appears to relieve himself against the brick wall. The delivery man then appears to post a note through the door.

The delivery man appears to turn around and urinate on the wall before leaving the parcel and walking off. Source: JamPress

Mum watched on in horror

The mum of two young children watched the entire scenario play out on the camera in front of her. "Initially I was staring, looking to see what he was doing, and when I realised he was urinating on the wall I was angry," the 32-year-old said.

"Then the fact that he had his dirty hands touch and post our package made me even more angry. Our little ones walk and play out the front sometimes so to have someone wee there is out of order and disgusting".

"Part of me thinks 'Oh its only just weeing on our wall and then later on it rained, and its gone'. But it was just the cheek of it more than anything," she added.

"Clarke saw it first and was furious  especially because it wasnt long ago that we paid to have the driveway done".

Company apologises, launches investigation

The couple, from Bristol in the UK, raised the issue with the delivery company Yodel who said a "full investigation" would be carried out.

"Ill make sure this is raised with the depot and it will be feedback to the driver to avoid this being repeated [sic]," a representative told the couple. The company says it "takes conduct very seriously".

Story continues

"This clearly does not meet the high standards we expect of all our drivers," they said in a statement. "We are in contact with Mr and Mrs Davis to apologise and arrange for the area to be cleaned. We are carrying out a full investigation and will be taking appropriate action."

with JamPress

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On Nov. 9, the Zonta Club of Auburn welcomed guest speaker Drew Scharoun, who is the vice president of the local chapter of Sleep In Heavenly Peace.

SHP is a nationwide program that builds beds and provides bedding to children in need of their own bed, and the students of the Z-Club at Auburn High School have been active in volunteering their services on a local level to help build these beds. The motto of SHP is, No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.

Drew shared that many studies have been conducted on the effects that lack of sleep can have on children. The following facts were taken from studies done at Harvard University, the National Science Foundation, Auburn University and The Better Sleep Council:

 Poor sleep can lead to hyperactivity issues as early as age 5.

 In teenagers, anxiety and depression are linked to poor sleeping habits 27% and 69% of the time, respectively.

 Kids who dont sleep well dont grow as well as their peers.

 Kids who get good sleep tend to get sick less frequently.

 Plenty of sleep usually translates to better grades, improved emotional health and a healthier home life.

 Sleep is a sort of recharge time for body and mind, and if its not adequate there are negative physical and mental effects.

 During sleep, cells can repair themselves, leading to better physical health.

 The brain and body release important hormones during a good nights sleep, leading to better physical and emotional health.

 Kids who dont get enough sleep tend to struggle with irritability, forgetfulness and emotional regulation.

 Kids who are sleep-deprived tend to struggle with being overweight or obese.

SHP was founded in Kimberly, Idaho, in 2012, and has provided over 100,000 twin beds to kids in need. These beds are built from scratch and volunteers are guided by an experienced onsite SHP volunteer in the use of power tools and the construction of the beds.

According to their website, SHP offers the following programs: Bunkbed Club, Bunks Across America, Deliveries Across America, Quilts Across America and Disaster Relief.

SHP has three ways to help and/or participate in their cause: donating funds to a family in need, volunteering to build the beds, and sponsorship. In addition, donations of sheets, pillows and blankets for single size beds, and help with deliveries on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, is always welcome. More information is available at the local chapter's website at shpbed.org/chapter.ny/auburn.

Since 1925, when the Zonta Club of Auburn was originally chartered, the club has been working to make the world a better place for women and girls. Through the years, the women of the club have come from various backgrounds and brought a broad range of education, experience and talents to our cause.

The Zonta Club of Auburn welcomes all those in the community who would be interested in our mission to join us as a member of the club, and help us to continue this important work.

Thank you to all those who support us throughout the year  it is deeply appreciated.

The Zonta Club of Auburn wishes everyone a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

We also want to honor the memory of three deceased members  Betty Mae Lewis, Monica Pierce and Barb Butler  who were longtime members of Zonta and always ready to help move our mission forward.

Visit our Facebook page @ZontaClubofAuburn, or for more information, contact Mimi White at (315) 730-7845 or mcw729@gmail.com, or Terry Mahoney at (315) 406-8572 or terembe@verizon.net.
Farms in 14 upstate New York counties are eligible for assistance after the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a disaster declaration this week.

The agricultural disaster declaration is in response to extreme weather, including flooding and a tornado, that occurred in July.

The declaration covers four primary counties  Clinton, Franklin, Lewis and Onondaga  affected by the storms. It also extends to 10 contiguous counties  Cayuga, Cortland, Essex, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and St. Lawrence.

Crop loss reports submitted to the Farm Service Agency were used to determine the counties considered disaster areas. Farmers will have an eight-month period to apply for emergency loans.

According to state Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball, July was one of the wettest months ever recorded in some parts of New York. The heavy rainfall caused significant crop losses in these areas.

Ball noted that extreme weather has caused "a significant amount of stress" for farms this year. In May, a late spring freeze caused crop losses, especially for apple growers.

"We encourage our farms to take advantage of the emergency loans available and to continue to report losses to lessen the impacts of these damaging weather events," he said.

The U.S. Small Business Administration also announced there are loans available for farm-related and nonfarm-related businesses that were affected by the extreme weather over the summer.
Two drivers were seriously injured in a head-on crash in Cayuga County this week.

The Cayuga County Sheriffs Office said in a news release that the accident occurred at about 5:20 p.m. Thursday on Route 90 near Creek Road in the town of Genoa when a vehicle traveling westbound went off the north side of the roadway. The vehicle came back onto the roadway and crossed into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head-on collision with a vehicle traveling eastbound.

The operator of the westbound vehicle was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. The operator of the eastbound vehicle was airlifted to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Both remained hospitalized Friday, police said, and there were no other passengers in either vehicle. The names of the drivers were not immediately released.

The cause of the crash was still under investigation Friday by members of the sheriffs office's Criminal Investigations Division and Accident Reconstruction Unit, and the office is requesting that anyone with more information on the accident contact Detective David Harkness at (315) 294-8143. Information can also be shared at cayugacounty.us/452/send-a-tip.

The sheriffs office said it was assisted by the King Ferry Fire Department, Genoa Fire Department, Locke Fire Department, Southern Cayuga Instant Aid, LifeNet, the Cayuga County Office of Emergency Services, New York State Police, the New York State Department of Transportation and Cayuga County E-911.
Ministers highlight South-South cooperation, China's role at UN climate conference

Xinhua) 11:23, December 09, 2023

DUBAI, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Government ministers and senior officials from Botswana, Laos, Ghana and a number of other countries highlighted here on Friday the importance of South-South cooperation in addressing climate challenges.

Speaking at a side event held at the China Pavilion of the COP28 climate conference, the senior officials stressed the urgency of taking cooperative measures to cope with climate change and emphasized China's leading role.

"Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing the international community," said Bounkham Vorachit, minister of natural resources and environment of Laos.

The minister said that in her country, climate change is having an impact on socio-economic development and people's well-being due to rising temperatures, fluctuations in rainfall, severe storms, frequent and prolonged floods and droughts.

She urged for global commitment and collaboration to solve the problem, saying: "South-South cooperation is increasingly playing a vital role as part of collective efforts in addressing climate change."

"China has become a global leader in utilizing green and low-carbon energies, as well as an active practitioner and supporter of the South-South cooperation, which also supports China's aim to become the largest contributor to climate action," the minister said.

Phildah Kereng, Botswana's minister of environment and tourism, shared a similar view on how to better tackle climate change.

Kereng told the gathering that China's commitment to South-South cooperation on climate change is aligned with the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and the pursuit of sustainable development.

"By sharing expertise, providing financial support, and facilitating knowledge exchange, China contributes to global efforts in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, fostering climate resilience, and promoting sustainable development in the context of climate change," she said.

The minister mentioned China's active participation in South-South cooperation frameworks such as the South-South Cooperation Fund on Climate Change, which aims to support developing countries in implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

"Through this framework, China provides financial and technical assistance to help countries transition towards low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways," said Kereng.

The minister also noted that cooperation with China has contributed to Botswana's development in various aspects, ranging from trade and investment to infrastructure development and capacity building.

Herbert Krapa, deputy energy minister of Ghana, said he believes in the power of South-South cooperation, and he acknowledged China's leadership in this field.

Krapa said that climate change can be felt anywhere, whether in Africa or in other parts of the world.

"You're feeling the effect of the devastation that the rising temperatures are causing everywhere in the world, and so, take action, proactively," he appealed to the audience.

In Ghana, and Africa as a whole, the major issues that need to be addressed include climate finance, technical capacity building, knowledge sharing as well as research and development, said Krapa.

COP28, or the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is being held here from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
DELHI, IndiaBesharam and Raj Armani were recently featured in India's Deccan Herald article, "When pleasure meets business: A look at Indias burgeoning sex toy industry."

The India Sex Toys Industry Report, featured by Deccan Herald, provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of the adult pleasure industry in India. It explores market trends, challenges, and the impact of industry leaders like Raj Armani in shaping the future of sexual wellness in the country.

The report sheds light on the transformative journey of India's growing sex toy industry, and at the forefront is Armani, a pioneer committed to destigmatizing and revolutionizing the adult pleasure landscape in India. His innovative approach and dedication to creating a safe and inclusive space for adult products have played a pivotal role in shaping the industry.

The India Sex Toys Industry Report delves into the industry growth, evolving consumer attitudes, and the potential economic impact. It explores the diverse range of products available, market trends, and the challenges and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs in navigating this unique sector. The report recognizes his efforts in challenging societal norms and fostering an environment where individuals can explore their desires without judgment.

As Besharam continues to lead the way in India's sexual wellness industry, it remains dedicated to innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction. The acknowledgment in the India Sex Toys Industry Report is a testament to its impact on the industry and its vision for a more progressive and accepting society.

To know more, follow @imbesharam on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

For more information, visit IMBesharam.com.
Jul 18, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) talks to reporters during All Star-Media Day at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As the MLB world holds its breath waiting for Shohei Ohtani to pick his next team, an unexpected contingent of people has a deeply personal interest in his decision.

The LA Times reported Friday that Japanese reporters who cover the superstar might be forced to uproot their families and move where Ohtani goes, provided he doesnt sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers or re-sign with the Angels.

Akiyuki Shiraishi, a reporter with Kyodo News, said hes already shopping for apartments in Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto, possible destinations mentioned for Ohtani.

My company said maybe Ill go, but its very costly, very expensive, Shiraishi told the Times. So we have to see if its worth moving, or is it better to just make trips. Its an honor to move somewhere Shohei is going. Maybe we wont see such a great player, such a great Japanese player ever again. So its an honor.

Taro Abe, a reporter with Japanese newspaper Chunichi Shimbun, is also facing the prospect of moving

I talked to my boss and if Ohtani goes to Toronto or Chicago or another city, I think Im going to move, said Abe, who moved to the U.S. specifically to cover Ohtani. Im 80%, 90% sure.

Japanese reporters also face the prospect of Ohtani going to Canada, which would necessitate them landing a visa.

No matter where Ohtanis Japanese media contingent lands, they and their families will face even more of an adjustment than they did when moving from Japan to Los Angeles. The LA region has more Japanese residents than any other area outside Japan.

My family is comfortable in Los Angeles, Abe said. Theres Japanese stores. A lot of Japanese restaurants and Japanese supermarkets. My family is comfortable. So my family doesnt want to move to another area. But, for me, Im not stressed because Im excited for another team, another culture.

[LA Times]
Screen grab: WWE

All things considered, CM Punks second promo following his return to WWE went better than his first.

Whereas his first promo  which came on WWE Raw two nights after his return at Survivor Series  didnt provide much substance aside from him telling the audience that he loved them while referring to WWE as his home, his promo on WWE Friday Night SmackDown felt more like an authentic version of Punk. While he still used WWE-speak  to the point that it seemed sarcastic  he also teased several future feuds, including with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens.

In true Punk fashion, the Chicago native also blurred the lines between fiction and reality as he made a reference to his controversial run in WWEs rival promotion, All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

I dont know who would feel comfortable working with somebody who randomly just punches people in the face backstage, Punk said. I mean, its 2023, ladies and gentlemen. You just cant be doing stuff like that. Thats insane.

"I don't know who would feel comfortable working with somebody who randomly just punches people in the face backstage" ?@FightOwensFight, you can't be doing that. ?@CMPunk #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/Rhld9Zahde  WWE (@WWE) December 9, 2023

For the uninitiated, Punks two-year run in AEW reportedly included two shoot (real) backstage altercations, including one with The Elite (Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks) and one with Jack Jungle Boy Perry. Punks incident with Perry, which occurred at the All In pay-per-view in August, resulted in AEW firing the 45-year-old for cause, which allowed him to sign with WWE three months later.

Although Punk has reportedly signed an NDA preventing him from discussing the altercations, his line on Friday was a clear reference to the circumstances that resulted in his departure from his former employer. But while Punk is well known for mentioning backstage happenings on-screen  look no further than his famous Pipe Bomb promo  this particular reference seemed to fall flat with the WWE audience.

Thats not to say that the audience pushed back on The Best in the Worlds nod to his former employer, but rather that it didnt seem to understand what he was talking about. As Punk made gestures to indicate he had just said something spicy  he literally pulled at his t-shirt collar  the fans in Providence, Rhode Island, didnt react to the line in any noticeable way.

Punks line likely would have landed in a city more known for having an insider audience, such as New York City, Philadelphia and of course, Chicago. But, as the ratings suggest, there isnt as much crossover between the WWE and AEW audiences as one might suspect and WWE crowds are less likely to include fans who are aware of the backstage happenings.

While most WWE fans are aware that Punk was previously in AEW, the reality is that theyre likely only vaguely familiar with why he left. Considering that WWE has painted Punk as a polarizing figure since his return, it will be interesting to see how it navigates an audience that doesnt seem to be in tune with his most recent controversies.

[WWE]




Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN. [Photo/Xinhua]

The United States on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally. The resolution, drafted by the United Arab Emirates and backed by more than 100 countries, gained support from 13 of the 15 Security Council members, with Britain abstaining. Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said China is deeply disappointed and regrets that the resolution was vetoed by the U.S.
A defense attorney argued Thursday that the man who as a 17-year-old fatally shot a Lincoln police officer during an escape attempt in 2020 should get a new trial because of a stack of legal issues at his first one, where he said prosecutors played to jurors' emotions and defense attorneys failed to object.

Robert Kortus of the Nebraska Commission of Public Advocacy, who is representing Felipe Gonzalez Vazquez, said he knows there's a high standard to reverse a jury verdict in a direct appeal, like this one.

He said the error has to be so egregious it results in such a high level of prejudice that no trial strategy could overcome it, resulting in a fundamentally unfair trial.

Kortus argued it rose to the level in this case.

"Some of this stuff is clearly not proper," he said of what went before the jury.

On Aug. 26, 2020, Vazquez, now 20, tried to escape from police who came to his parent's home to arrest him by breaking the window, jumping out and firing off three shots from a stolen gun.

One struck Lincoln Officer Mario Herrera.

He died 12 days later from the gunshot wound.

Last year, a jury in Columbus, where the trial had been moved, found him guilty. And Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen sentenced him to 129 years to life for murder, plus attempted assault on a second officer, escape and four gun charges.

On Thursday, Kortus told the justices to ask themselves what relevance there was for jurors to hear how Herrera's wife learned of the shooting. Or for the prosecutor to show her a large picture of him in dress uniform on the stand? Or why he offered a picture of the officer's Saint Michael's medallion, a symbol of the battle of good against evil? Or why jurors heard the devastating audio of Herrera screaming for help after he'd been shot and asking a fellow officer to tell his family he loved them?

"It's all stuff that has no relevancy to any element of the offense and is just there to pull at the heartstrings of the jury," Kortus argued.

Also improper, he said, was what he described as a general theme at trial of a lack of contrition by Vazquez and a suggestion that he was insolent and rude and needed to be punished. And the prosecutor making a point of Vazquez asking for a lawyer during questioning, something he has a constitutional right to do.

Kortus said he took a cumulative error approach to make his case, incorporating all the trial errors: prosecutorial misconduct, failure to object, jury instructions, everything.

"And you're trying to assess whether a trial was fair in the end," he said.

Justice John Freudenberg asked if Kortus could cite any cases where the Nebraska Supreme Court has overturned a jury verdict due to cumulative error.

Kortus couldn't, though he said the court has approached it as a viable option.

Assistant Attorney General Stacy Foust took issue with the defense's position that the state obtained Vazquez's conviction based on improper appeals on emotion to the jury, attacks on his character and negative inferences when he asked for a lawyer.

"The state's position is that none of that is true. The defendant was convicted because the evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to shoot at those investigators because they had him and he was not going to be arrested on that warrant," she said.

While some of the evidence was emotional, Foust said, it was admissible.

"His lack of remorse absolutely was relevant to his intent and to his credibility at trial," she said.

Foust said she wasn't aware if the Nebraska Supreme Court has ever found cumulative error. Regardless, she didn't think there was any error to cumulate in the first place.

Justices Stephanie Stacy and Jeffrey Funke both asked about the medallion and a pair of empty shoes. Why did they matter at all?

Foust said they were just identification items the investigator picked up from the hospital and the jury wouldn't be unduly influenced by it.

"They're pretty symbolic though," Funke said. "Does that tend to inflame the jury? To get their passions raised up and have them focus on those things instead of other things?"

Foust said no. The evidence just had to be taken into context.

There was no religious emphasis put on the necklace, she said. Herrera's wife, Carrie Herrera, was a foundational witness. And while the audio is hard to listen to, like gruesome crimes produce gruesome photos, the defendant's crime produced that audio recording, the best evidence of the shooting and the events immediately following it, she said.

"I do not think that the introduction of any of this evidence, individually or cumulatively, would have misled or unduly influenced that jury to convict the defendant of murder," Foust said.

The Supreme Court took the matter under advisement and isn't likely to rule until sometime next year.

Photos, video: End of watch for Investigator Mario Herrera Overpass Cruiser Car Watch Now: Bystander on how she is feeling Mayor, council Shield Procession Watch Now: Bystander on why hes there Draping Cruiser Watch Now: Vehicles lined up on overpass near Waverly Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Watch Now: Procession reaches downtown Lincoln Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Omaha procession Watch Now: Procession at 10th and K beside the County-City Building Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera procession 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7 Mario Herrera vigil, 9.7
EU should step out of its "systemic competition" thinking towards China

13:18, December 09, 2023 By Wang Ruiping, Li Hang ( Xinhua

This photo taken on Nov. 14, 2023 shows a JSQ freight train (L) preparing to depart at Langantan Station in Yongchuan District of southwest China's Chongqing. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

As pointed out by Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister, during a phone call with Borrell, China and Europe need to engage in more institutional dialogue, make up for the missed exchanges between China and Europe in the past three years of the pandemic, and inject new and strong momentum into the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU.

The boundaries of the relationship between the EU and China should be clearly defined in the dialogue, and the EU should discard its "systemic competition" thinking towards China.

The so-called "triptych" ("partner-competitor-systemic rival") of the EU towards China is the result of its long-term reflection. In particular, under the combined effect of multiple factors such as the U.S.-China competition, the COVID-19, and the Ukraine crisis, the EU's negative perception of China has increased.

Given that the EU cannot obtain complete decoupling from China, the coexistence of containment and cooperation will become the fundamental aspect of its strategy towards China. At present, China and Europe have not evolved into a comprehensive strategic confrontation.

DEFINITION OF CHINA

For a period of time, the EU has defined China as a "systemic rival", which has puzzled many Chinese scholars and think tanks.

What is even more confusing is that the EU has three definitions of China: "partner", "competitor," and "systemic rival."

For example, a strategic outlook document released by the EU in 2019 defined China as a "systemic rival," indicating a significant change in the EU's expectations for balancing EU-China relations.

In its first national security strategy released in June 2023, Germany mentioned China six times in the report, defining it as a "partner, competitor, and systemic rival."

For the EU, China is its most important partner in multiple fields. Meanwhile, the EU defines China as a "strategic competitor," which makes people feel like they are in a very extreme "tug of war," which is truly puzzling.

A staff member unwraps the packaging of Chinese-made micro inverters at the warehouse of Lauxx Energy in Ahrensburg, Germany, May 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

ANXIETY IN THE WEST

In the past few years, there have been some erroneous geopolitical perceptions in the Western world, including the EU, which have led to panic in the Western world:

For one thing, Western powers are deeply concerned about China's development. China has made rapid progress in recent years and may continue to maintain its development momentum in the coming years or even decades.

But some European scholars have pointed out that the EU's level of anxiety about China's development is far lower than that of the United States.

As early as 2014, the International Monetary Fund published a report stating that based on purchasing power parity (PPP) indicators, China has become the world's largest economy. And this is the first time since 1872 that the United States has been pushed out of the top spot by another country.

According to data from the World Bank in 2021, considering purchasing power parity factors, China's GDP is 27.3 trillion U.S. dollars, while the U.S. GDP is only 23 trillion dollars.

For another, the diversified changes in the post-war world order brought risks. No one can predict the future, and anxiety about the future may become a common issue for all humanity.

This anxiety stems not only from the emergence of more deadly infectious diseases, but also from global climate change, and the most worrying is the negative impact of the unstoppable progress of artificial intelligence.

Apart from direct armed conflicts (such as tense relations with Russia), the aforementioned challenges are factors that create a "systemic rival" for the EU.

WAY OUT OF "SYSTEMIC RIVALRY"

Firstly, to break away from "systemic competition," the key lies in maintaining continuous communication and improving communication effectiveness.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. Leaders from both sides have had frequent interactions, and China-Europe relations have shown a positive development momentum.

Since September this year, there have been frequent interactions between high-level officials from China and Europe, including the meeting between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, the 10th China-EU Economic and Trade High-Level Dialogue, and the 12th round of the China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue.

Secondly, to step out of "systemic competition", one should avoid exaggerating risks. Indeed, the EU has realized in recent years that it heavily relies on Chinese imports for rare earth minerals and some pharmaceutical products, but any necessary adjustments should not hinder sustained and strong cooperation.

One thing the EU must avoid is overestimating the risks of relying on China while underestimating the benefits of cooperation with China. In 2023, trade between the EU and the United States with China continue to maintain a strong growth, and it is unlikely that China-Europe relations will regress.

Thirdly, to step out of "systemic competition," it is necessary to avoid unnecessary panic about "values." As Augusto Soto, director of the "Dialogue with China Project," said, "if the EU strongly recognizes and affirms its own 'values' (which usually represent the whole of Europe), what is the significance of causing panic towards other values? Does the EU need to stir up panic about other political systems, believing that other systems 'defeat' the EU or want to disrupt the order in Europe? This sounds very absurd."

The latest positioning of the EU towards China is not a temporary phenomenon, but a result of long-term reflection.

The two sides have fully resumed exchanges at all levels, especially the successful high-level meetings in the fields of green development, digital development, and economy and trade, forming new consensus and results, demonstrating the resilience and vitality of China-Europe relations, and highlighting the global impact and significance of China-Europe relations.

Under the current situation, although the European side insists on the "triptych" of China, the bloc is obviously inseparable from China in the face of its own economic recession, the Ukraine crisis, global governance and other issues, so it still hopes to communicate with China.

This undated photo shows a factory of Bosch at Sino-German Industrial Park in Shunyi District of Beijing, capital of China. (Sino-German Industrial Park/Handout via Xinhua)

The boundaries of their relationship should be clearly defined in the dialogue, and the EU should move out of its "systemic competition" thinking towards China.

Firstly, both sides should resolve misjudgments and strengthen communication.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, previous exchanges between China and Europe have decreased. As contact resumes, the primary task for both parties is to identify areas of misjudgment or misunderstanding and further communicate on this basis.

Although it may be difficult for China and the EU to reach a complete consensus on some issues, both sides can clarify their own views, understand each other's "cards in hand," clarify the boundaries of their relationship, and try to reach a bilateral balance through dialogue. After all, dialogue is always better than no contact or direct confrontation.

Secondly, in recent years, the EU's policy towards China has gradually shown a trend of pan-security and pan-politicization, not only proposing the concept of "derisk," but also launching a series of corresponding policies.

But completely decoupling from China is not in line with the EU's own interests, and the EU cannot ignore China's role in global governance and response to hot-button issues.

In this situation, the EU is still willing to actively communicate with China and hopes to find internal consensus in its interaction with China.

As pointed out by Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister, during a phone call with Borrell, China and Europe need to engage in more institutional dialogue, make up for the missed exchanges between China and Europe in the past three years of the pandemic, and inject new and strong momentum into the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
A federal jury deadlocked Friday in their verdict for a former pastor on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation accused of sexually abusing children.

Dean Alan Smith, 67, has been indicted in U.S. District Court on five counts of sex crimes, with federal prosecutors alleging he molested four underage Native American girls, all of whom he fostered at his home in Lame Deer.

Jurors heard final arguments from the federal government and Smiths defense Friday morning. The final arguments concluded a trial that began Monday and included testimony from the four alleged survivors of Smiths abuse, and Smith himself. The Jurors deliberated for roughly seven hours, then announced the deadlock to U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters, who presided over the trial in Billings at the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse. Watters responded by giving the jurors a recess through the weekend.

We have four alleged victims," Watters said. Weve had three-and-a-half days of testimony and a total of 49 jury instructions.  I think given the complexity of the case and the number of instructions they had to read and follow, and just the nature of the case, that additional deliberation is called for.

When the jury announced their deadlock to Watters, the jury foreperson did not disclose votes of the jurors, but did confirm that they had not reached a unanimous verdict on any of the counts. Should the jury remain deadlocked after they reconvene Monday, it could result in a mistrial.

In December 2022, Smith was indicted in U.S. District Court following an FBI investigation. Sex abuse on the reservation, like other major crimes, is investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assisting those forces on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation is the locally operated Northern Cheyenne Investigative Services, launched after a campaign to have tribal members assume some control of law enforcement. In early January 2023, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council passed an ordinance excluding Smith from the reservation, Lee Newspapers previously reported, effectively banning him. Since the indictment, Smith said he and his wife had moved off the reservation and into a one-room apartment.

Smith came to Lame Deer in 2001 with his wife and stepchildren. They left Florida, where Smith said he was a church leader. Lame Deer is the tribal headquarters for the Northern Cheyenne. The reservation covers about 445,000 acres and is home to roughly 4,400 people, according to the latest U.S. Census data. He became pastor at Morning Star Baptist Church soon after the move despite, he said in court, having no seminary training. Over the next two decades, Smith, called Pastor Dean by many of those who testified, hosted prayer walks and family nights along with regular services through the church.

Smith also let the children of those who attended his church stay overnight at his house, located next to the church. Although some who stayed overnight were friends of his stepchildren, others came to his house when they had nowhere else to sleep. In 2017, after their own children had moved out, Smith and his wife applied to become foster parents. They had already known the first group of children they fostered for years, Smith said.

The children Smith fostered came into his home, according to court testimony, because social workers couldnt find any family members stable enough to safely care for them. To become a foster parent, Smith and his wife said in court, the couple went through a background check and filed some paperwork to receive their license through the tribe. They didnt receive any training for foster care from state or tribal officials, they testified.

As recently as 2020, according to federal data, about 9% of the children in Montana were Native American. However, they made up 35% of the children in the states foster care system. Earlier this year, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act, which gave Native American families legal preference in foster and adopting Indigenous children in the state. The Montana legislation was modeled after the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which was passed in response to Indigenous children being adopted and fostered outside of their respective tribes only to face physical and emotional abuse.

Smith allegedly abused the four girls at separate times between 2017 and 2020. Although all of them were children during that time, most were still under the age of 12. Two of the girls who testified in court are currently living with a relative in Billings. The other two remain in foster care.

Smiths position as a pastor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake said in his closing argument to the jury, earned him the trust of children and gave him access to the girls he abused. The evidence against Smith, he said, was in the testimony of the four girls who described graphically the alleged abuse.

Attorney Evangelo Arvanetes, who defended Smith along with Shenandoah Roath, told jurors in his closing argument that a man does not wake up one day in his 60s and decide to molest children. Smith, Arvanetes said, had no criminal history of sexual abuse. Multiple people, including his stepchildren, his wife and Rosebud County Commissioner Ed Joiner, testified that over the past 20 years they had not seen Smith behave unusually or inappropriately around children.

In total, Smith has been charged with one count of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact and three counts of abusive sexual contact by force and of a child. If convicted of the most serious crime, aggravated sexual abuse, he could be sentenced up to life in prison.
Last week, Washington Post columnist Robert Kagan wrote that the United States is likely to become a fascist dictatorship, thanks to greedy and craven Republicans who privately despise and fear Trump, but value their own power. MAGA acolytes responded to the piece in a typical Trumpian fashion. Matt Gaetz accused the Post of inciting the assassination of Trump, and J.D. Vance demanded the DOJ to open a criminal investigation against Kagan. Normal Americans who value the Constitution and democracy complained that the article didn't offer any potential solutions to what appears to be an inevitable and looming disaster for the country and the world.

Yesterday, Kagan responded with an opinion piece titled, "The Trump dictatorship: How to stop it." He isn't optimistic that his solution will work, not because it untenable, but because GOP lawmakers are more concerned with their own wealth and power than the fate of the country. "The formula for defeating Trump in November is simple enough: Unite the Democrats, and split the Republicans," he says.

Trump voters, he says, come in three varieties:

Trump cultists: This is the largest group, described as followers of what former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman called the "cult" of Trump. These are the folks who would vote for Trump, even if they personally witnessed him punting a baby. These voters are completely loyal and are seen as out of reach for Nikki Haley or any other candidate opposing Trump.

Pragmatic Trumpers: This smaller group doesn't have an issue with Trump as long as he can beat President Biden and the Democrats in the next election. They are reassured by polls suggesting Trump's potential to win, and their support is based on his perceived electability rather than personal loyalty.

Conditional Trumpers: The smallest segment, these are Republicans who say they will support Trump unless he is convicted. Recent polls indicate that this group comprises about six percent of GOP voters in key swing states. They represent a potential target for Haley or others trying to challenge Trump, as their support is conditional and might shift depending on Trump's legal challenges.

Kagan says the first step is to unite all anti-Trump elements within the Republican Party behind Nikki Haley, the most capable candidate to challenge Trump, and shift all financial and political support to her, thereby diminishing the relevance of other contenders like Ron DeSantis. Haley should raise doubts about Trump's electability by convincing pragmatic and conditional Trumpers that a Trump presidency threatens freedom, democracy, and the Constitution. Even if Haley loses the primaries (which is likely), she could run as a third-party candidate to split the Republican vote in the general election to draw Republican voters away from Trump, providing them with a constitutionally focused alternative.

Kagan isn't hopeful it will work. "At the risk of sounding Capra-esque," he concludes, "if every American who fears a Trump dictatorship acted on those fears, voiced them, convinced others, influenced their elected officials, then yes, that could make a difference. Another ship is passing that can still save us. Will we swim toward it this time, or will we let it pass, as we have all the others? I am deeply pessimistic, but I could not more fervently wish to be proved wrong."
Did you know that Corey Feldman has a rap career? The former child star has pursued a number of different media avenues since the height of his acting career in the 1980s, including several turns as a film director (his 2020 documentary The Rape of Two Coreys alleged that he and fellow 80s child star Corey Haim were sexually abused by Hollywood celebrities as children).

But Feldman also apparently has a music career  perhaps inspired, in part, by his long-time friendship with the late Michael Jackson. His most recent song, "Deceptive Deborah," was released this past September, and has so far garneredless than 10,000 plays on Spotify, apparently. (His 2016 collaboration with Snoop Dogg has accumulated around 250,000 plays over the years.)

Feldman is now taking his tunes on tour with  of all artists  the early 2000s rap-rock sensation Limp Bizkit. Yes, that's a real sentence I just typed, and not a nightmare dreamed up by an LLM AI.

Feldman also performed at Chicago's infamous RiotFest this past September, for which New Noise Magazine described as "Goonies Never Know When They Should Die:"

It felt, to me, like Riot Fest booked Feldman as a joke for attendees to go watch ironically and laugh at, which felt cruel. The chants of "Corey! Corey!" from the crowd sounded like when high school bullies pretend to be your friend so they can make fun of you. All of it gave me an uneasy feeling until Feldman actually took the stage and, only moments into the set, stopped the song and yelled at his band for not all being on the same count (they sounded fine). At this point, any sympathy I had for Feldman in this situation went right out the window. Feldman's performance is exactly what I expected from watching YouTube videos of him. The music is mediocre at best, but Feldman's choreography and stage theatrics are positively laughable. What's more, his attempt to brand himself as the "comeback kid" because he's a child actor who now has a relatively unknown music career seemed forced at best. And Feldman spent an inordinate amount of time on stage complaining about his ex-wives, which felt like a Hollywood cliche and a tad misogynistic. So yes, Feldman was basically booked as a joke, but by the end of the set, I was more comfortable with laughing at him.

Which is frankly a more glowing review than I expected.

Those of you in the Los Angeles area can also catch Feldman next weekend at the DesignerCon Collectibles MegaShow, which he is apparently headlining.
Merry Christmas, America! Finland has declassified its 60-year-old intelligence report into Lee Harvey Oswald, who stayed in Helsinki before heading on to the Soviet Union. Oswald, an assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, made a quixotic attempt to defect there; the commies saw him coming and only let him stay because he tried to kill himself after they told him to go home.

On the night of October 10, 1959, a young man identified as Lee Harvey Oswald arrived at Hotel Torni in Helsinki. Hailing from the United States, he checked into room 309, claiming a five-day stay. However, after just two nights, Oswald changed hotels, moving to the Klaus Kurki Hotel, where he stayed for an additional three nights. Despite Supo's efforts, the authorities were unable to determine Oswald's motives for his trip to Helsinki.

It's funny how this guy's meanderings become mysterious and intriguing in light of what he later did, becoming an assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
On Thursday, December 7, the Los Angeles Police Department took to The Social Media Platform Formerly Known as Twitter to issue a warning to the city's residents:

The LAPD is aware of possible first amendment activity in the Los Angeles area over the next few days. In coordination with the US Secret Service, additional uniformed personnel and other resources will be deployed to ensure the highest level of public safety.  LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) December 8, 2023

The LAPD is aware of possible first amendment activity in the Los Angeles area over the next few days. In coordination with the US Secret Service, additional uniformed personnel and other resources will be deployed to ensure the highest level of public safety.

Gotta watch out those dangerous first amendments out there! Good thing we have all those guns!

The LAPD spokesperson did offer some clarification in subsequent xtweets, basically saying that there might be some protests, and that violence of any kind will not be tolerated. Implied in that warning, of course, is that police violence will not only be tolerated, but very likely encouraged, as tends to happen at such events. (Unless the cops are busy playing Pokemon Go.)

Violence from robot police dogs will presumably be allowed as well.
A court in Sweden has thrown out Tesla's lawsuit against the country's postal service, which is backing Tesla mechanics' strike there by refusing to deliver plates for the U.S. carmaker. The labor unions are also now backed by dockers in Denmark and Finland, which are refusing to process Tesla vehicles destined for Sweden. The action is a response to Tesla's own refusal to recognize collective bargaining agreements with labor unions, which CEO Elon Musk describes as "insane" but is customary in Scandinavian industry.

A Swedish court ruled Thursday that PostNord will not be forced to deliver license plates for now. Possibly more concerning for Musk, however, will be the sympathy strikes spreading throughout Scandinavia as fellow unions coalesce their support behind the region's deeply entrenched principle of collective bargaining as a lynchpin of labor relations. Union members across a host of Swedish industries have joined the secondary strike action with members of trade union IF Metall, who have been embroiled in an ongoing battle with Tesla for around six weeks. Earlier this week, Denmark's largest trade union announced its own sympathy strike to prevent Tesla cars being delivered to Danish ports and transported into Sweden.

One of Elon's most obvious flawsand you have to hand it to the world's richest man for making it clear how wildly one can succeed despite having so many is thinking that Western laws, regulations and norms are homogenous and putting his foot in it when learning otherwise.
The company that had its plans to operate an asphalt plant in Hamburg shot down by the town Planning Board last month wants a judge to overturn the boards decision.

AL Asphalt Corp. challenged several town actions in a petition naming the Town of Hamburg, Town Board and Planning Board filed this week in State Supreme Court. The company also seeks at least $500,000 in damages.

The first action dates to 2019, when the company first proposed the plant at 5690 Camp Road, the site of a concrete plant. The Planning Board decided that AL Asphalt needed to complete a lengthy and expensive environmental impact study.

It took four more years before the Planning Board denied the application for the plant.

The companys legal action had been expected.

Proposed Hamburg asphalt plant rejected; developer plans to appeal The company proposing the plant, AL Asphalt, plans to challenge the town's action in state Supreme Court, according to its attorney, Ralph Lorigo.

You cant go to court until theres a final determination, said Ralph Lorigo, attorney for AL Asphalt.

AL Asphalt contends the Planning Board misclassified the project, the property was properly zoned for manufacturing and the proposed plant needed a short environmental review.

In January 2022, the Town Board removed bituminous processing facilities from being permitted in M-3 manufacturing zoning districts, and also prohibited them from locating anywhere in the town.

I am confident that that the town has made sure weve had a fair, open and transparent process, Hamburg Supervisor Randy Hoak told The Buffalo News.

Lorigo disagreed.

They changed zoning in the Town of Hamburg to totally exclude asphalt plants from the entire town. In my opinion, that is wrong, and it is directed toward this applicant, he said.

The company wants a judge to declare the two local laws invalid. Court papers also contend that the town violated the companys due process rights, and it is entitled to damages of no less than $500,000.

The Town Board also rezoned the 57-acre parcel from manufacturing to mixed use on Nov. 6, several days after the application for the plant was denied, a move AL Asphalt also is challenging.

To me, this is the political pressure that was put on the town by a lot of the nearby residents objecting to the asphalt plant, Lorigo said. In my opinion, the Town Board succumbed to that pressure.

The concerns of the public certainly mirrored the concerns that were identified by the environmental experts that we brought to evaluate the impact of an asphalt plant, the supervisor said. But just because that the concerns were aligned, doesnt mean we buckled to pressure.
One of the men convicted last week in Erie County Court of a 2022 West Amherst home invasion faces up to 25 years in prison when hes sentenced next month.

The other man, if the judge deems him a persistent violent felony offender, could face 20 years to life.

Jury finds two men guilty in 2022 Amherst home invasion Mark S. Shadle, 34, of Kenmore, and Jason K. Evans, 37, of Depew, were convicted of beating and tying up 72-year-old William LaPorta Sr. in his Bucyrus Drive home to steal cash, jewelry and coins on Oct. 28, 2022.

Judge Susan M. Eagan is scheduled to sentence Jason K. Evans and Mark S. Shadle on Jan. 18.

A jury  which deliberated no more than 90 minutes  convicted Evans, 37, of Depew, and Shadle, 34, of Kenmore, each of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary for the Oct. 28, 2022, home invasion on Bucyrus Drive that put a then-72-year-old man in a hospital intensive care unit for 18 days.

Prosecutors told the jury that Evans and Shadle were strung out on drugs when they broke into the home to steal things they could sell, simply to feed their urges.

Amherst home invasion victim testifies 'it broke my heart' former employee was one of the attackers Erie County prosecutors rested their case against Mark S. Shadle and Jason K. Evans early Wednesday afternoon at the conclusion of William LaPorta's testimony. Evans, 37, of Depew, and Shadle, 34, of Kenmore, each face first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary charges.

Under state law, a person may be deemed a persistent violent felony offender after being convicted of a third violent felony.

Shadle went to prison in 2010 after being convicted of weapons possession, two counts of attempted burglary and one count of attempted robbery, according state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records. He was sentenced to up to seven years and was paroled in 2016, according to the records.

'We going to jail probably,' suspect in Amherst home invasion texted girlfriend Jurors in an Amherst home invasion trial in Erie County Court on Tuesday heard more about what prosecutors have described as "breadcrumbs" in the "digital trail" they say link the suspects to the crime.

William LaPorta Sr., the victim of the home invasion, was hit on the head with his own cane, zapped with a stun gun and had a knife held to his neck, he testified. The robbers stole cash, coins and jewelry.

Evans was a former employee of LaPorta, a roofing contractor.

The evidence presented by prosecutors included a digital trail of cellphone and cell tower data that linked the defendants  through the locations of their phones, photos and internet searches  to the crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Christopher S. Safulko and Nicholas C. Bussi.
An Erie County judge on Friday sentenced an 19-year-old man to 23 years in prison for the fatal shooting of a Niagara Falls teen in Buffalo last year, according to county prosecutors.

Jaylin J. Reimers, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, also was sentenced by Judge Susan M. Eagan in county courts Youth Part to five years of post-release supervision once he is out of prison.

In October, Reimers pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the Aug. 19, 2022, killing of Emily Keiper, 16, on Elmer Avenue, in the citys Kensington-Bailey neighborhood.

Reimers and another juvenile were attempting to rob the 20-year-old driver of a vehicle of marijuana when the shooting happened, prosecutors said. Keiper was the passenger in a vehicle. The driver was not injured.

In court in July, Reimers made a statement, against the advice of his defense attorney, in which he described what happened as a complete accident.

At the same court appearance, Reimers complained about his attorney. Eagan assigned him a new one, but scolded him about his games playing and his twisting the facts about his legal representation and the proceedings against him.

Prosecutors had previously offered Reimers a plea deal in which they would request a sentence of 20 years in prison, plus five years of parole, if he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

The case against the other juvenile, who was 14 at the time of the crime, was previously transferred to Family Court.

Reimers was indicted in September 2022 on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery.

He was ineligible for youthful offender status, which would have lessened possible punishment, because he was facing armed felony charges, Eagan previously said.

Reimers pleaded guilty about a week before his case was scheduled to go to trial.
Cheektowaga cop injured in hit-and-run returns home

The Cheektowaga police officer severely injured in February by a hit-and-run driver is back at home.

Officer Troy D. Blackchief had been receiving treatment and rehabilitation at a number of out-of-state facilities, including in Chicago and Texas.

'A good man': Cheektowaga officer struck by stolen vehicle lauded as he fights to overcome injuries Doctors are "cautiously optimistic" about Cheektowaga Police Officer Troy Blackchief's recovery from his injuries, said Police Chief Brian Gould. Blackchief was critically injured when a stolen SUV plowed into him Monday morning.

Blackchief, 46, suffered a skull fracture, a traumatic brain injury and other injuries when he was hit at about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 6 on Union Road near the Kensington Expressway. He was deploying stop sticks, devices put in the road to deflate vehicle tires, as police pursued vehicles stolen in Depew.

We are so very happy to him back with us here in Cheektowaga, Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Coons said in an email Friday. He has had a long and arduous journey to get where he is now and to be able to come home to his family.

Blackchiefs return to the area was first reported by WIVB-TV.

Cheektowaga officer injured in crash awake, faces 'long and difficult' recovery Officer Troy Blackchief has regained "a level of consciousness," the Cheektowaga police chief said, and can communicate on a limited basis with family and medical staff.

At the time of the February incident, Blackchief had spent 17 years in the department. He previously worked as a corrections officer.

In a statement in March, Jen Blackchief, Troys wife, wrote, Our prayer is that he can re-create a life worth living. He is the most strong-willed person I know and if anyone can find his way back, its Troy.

Injured Cheektowaga officer faces intensive rehab, surgery to repair skull, wife says "Our prayer is that he can re-create a life worth living," Jen Blackchief, wife of Officer Troy Blackchief, wrote in a statement.

In May, a then-17-year-old from Buffalo was charged with nine felonies in connection with the incident, including second-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault on a police officer.

The vehicle that hit Blackchief was a 2015 Grand Cherokee, which was found later on Feb. 6 at a gas station at Kensington Avenue and Century Road in Cheektowaga, police previously said.

The other vehicle police were pursuing, a 2019 Jeep Cherokee, was also found later that day by Buffalo police on Nicholson Street, near Kenmore Avenue.

The accused, who is now 18, is due back in Youth Part of Erie County Court next month. He is out on bail.
Chinese EV carmakers reshaping Thailand's auto industry

13:28, December 09, 2023 By Chen Jiabao, Gao Bo ( Xinhua

Visitors view a BYD Dolphin electric car during the Thailand International Motor Expo 2021 in Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec. 1, 2022.

BYD secured the second spot with 2,627 orders so far in Thailand's motor expo, while other established and emerging Chinese brands also showed their presence with significant sales.

BANGKOK, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) have been emerging as the sales volume front-runners among over 30 car brands exhibited at the 40th Thailand International Motor Expo which is wrapping up its 12-day run.

Led by Chinese brands, EV orders in the top 10 list have outpaced those of fuel-powered cars for the first time.

"It's an unprecedented scene at the annual expo. Six from the top 10 list are Chinese electric brands, eclipsing the long-standing fuel-based brands. It's an unexpected turn for Thailand's automotive sector which has been dominated by Japanese fuel-powered cars," "Kun Racing", a noted Thai automotive YouTuber, commented in his review of the motor expo.

He highlighted the rising impact of Chinese EVs that is reshaping Thailand's automotive industry and expanding the new energy vehicle market.

According to expo data, BYD secured the second spot with 2,627 orders from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, trailing closely behind Toyota's 3,031 orders. Established Chinese brands like SAIC's MG and Great Wall Motors have maintained their sales edge. Newcomers including Neta, Changan and GAC Aion also achieved significant sales, forming a dominant presence alongside six major Chinese brands in the top 10.

Seven striking Chinese EV brands have stolen the spotlight at the Bangkok expo with diverse models. Exploring a green BYD ATTO 3, 33-year-old visitor Pawat expressed interest in switching to Chinese EVs due to their variety and cost-effectiveness amid rising fuel prices.

"Chinese electric cars offer diverse styles, high efficiency and exceptional battery life. They're a practical, cost-saving choice," said Pawat, who is looking forward to more Chinese EVs in Thailand.

Like Pawat, many Thai consumers have become fans of Chinese EVs. "After using Chinese electric cars, it seems like we never want to go back to fuel cars", a netizen said in reviews of the motor show. Some cheered for Chinese electric cars, citing an irresistible combination of environmental-friendliness and superior driving experiences.

Ke Yubin, general manager of BYD Thailand, told Xinhua that this year's motor show witnessed an increased presence of Chinese brands that provide Thai consumers with diverse choices through excellent products at affordable prices. He said this year marks a surge in Thailand's EV market growth.

"With thorough testings in the domestic market, we are bringing our rich technical expertise and stable products overseas. Next year BYD will commence production in Thailand, accompanied by a dedicated research and development team to develop products tailored for the Thai market," he said.

"To enhance service quality, we plan to increase 4S stores offering after-sales services and spare parts across Thailand."

Data from Auto Life, a leading Thai automotive media outlet, shows the sales volume of battery electric vehicle (BEV) in Thailand surged by 497 percent to reach 58,074 units in the first 10 months of this year, with Chinese brands commanding over 80 percent of the new market.

Kasikorn research center, a Thai think tank, anticipates that the sales volume of BEV could surpass 68,000 units by the end of 2023, increasing the market share from 1 percent in 2022 to 8.6 percent, and projecting it to rise to 10-12 percent in 2024 in the overall automobile market.

Kriengsak, director of the Thai Automotive Research Institute, noted the surge in Chinese EVs has bolstered the allure of electric cars and fostered the development of an EV industrial chain in Thailand, positioning the Southeast Asian kingdom as ASEAN's leading new energy vehicle market.

Apart from product enhancements and market expansion, Chinese EV companies aim to boost Thai technical expertise in the field.

Bao Zhuangfei, general manager of Neta Thailand, told Xinhua that Neta is initiating collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Education. The Chinese electric carmaker provides training to Thai technical school teachers in after-sales and electrical technologies.

Zhang Zhen, brand manager of the ASEAN region for Great Wall Motors, said the company plans to introduce new energy pickup trucks to Thailand next year.

"While Thailand's electric vehicle sales growth is promising, it's still in its nascent stage compared to fuel-powered cars," said Zhang. He anticipates more Chinese brands joining forces to expand Thailand's new energy market, offering an enhanced exposure of Chinese EVs to a wider consumer base.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
The Republican primary race for a rural Assembly seat in the Southtowns heated up this week with two endorsements and the involvement of a controversial political consultant with ties to former President Donald Trump.

Assembly Member David J. DiPietro, R-East Aurora, picked up two endorsements this week in his bid to stave off a Republican primary challenge by Mitchell A. Martin, an aide to Erie County Sheriff John Garcia.

DiPietro announced Wednesday that he has received the endorsement of the State Conservative Party, which may carry weight in the 147th District that includes towns in southern Erie County and in Wyoming County.

[BN] Politics Now : Two Republicans lost in November. Only one did so with class Both of them lost  one by 36 votes, the other by more than 36,000. It isnt the margins, though, that tell us something about todays Republican Party. It was how each candidate reacted in the face of defeat.

I have worked closely with the Conservative Party my entire career because we share core values, and I am humbled by and thankful for the support the statewide and county parties have always given to me, DiPietro said in a written statement. They are real and true leaders, by example.

DiPietro also touted the endorsement of North Collins Supervisor John Tobia, who previously appeared to endorse Martin for the seat. Tobia on Wednesday clarified that he mistakenly added his name to a list of supervisors and mayors in East Aurora, Orchard Park, Warsaw and 16 other towns and villages in Erie and Wyoming counties who came out last month in support of Martin.

I mistakenly endorsed someone other than Dave DiPietro, Tobia said in an email to The Buffalo News. He is a great advocate for my town and I strongly stand with him.

DiPietro, a conservative Republican who has held his seat for a decade, is receiving help from controversial political operative Michael Caputo, a former East Aurora resident who now lives in Florida and who said he serves as an adviser to former President Trump.

Caputo blasted Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker for not immediately endorsing DiPietro. When Martin announced his candidacy, Kracker said the party had not decided whom to endorse for the seat. The primary will take place in June.

A Republican chairman who leads by example, they build strong relationships with all the Republican incumbents to ensure they reach their full potential, while they help him achieve organizational goals, Caputo said. County Republicans are learning that Kracker does not understand his job.

Kracker said he has advised both candidates that they should appear before members of the GOP committee who live in the 147th District and make their case. He said he has tremendous respect for both DiPietro and Martin.

But Im going to oversee a bottom-up approach in this district, and listen to the men and women of the 147th about how they want the party to move forward, Kracker said.

Caputo said DiPietro called Kracker one month ago to discuss an endorsement but he said Kracker never returned DiPietros call.

I think not calling back an elected official from your party is unconscionable, Caputo said. Its malpractice.

Kracker said the allegation was just not true and that he has been in pretty regular touch with David. We spoke before the holiday and said wed get in touch sometime soon after the holiday, which I expect well do.

In 2020, Caputo took a medical leave from his position as the federal Health and Human Services department spokesperson after Politico detailed what it called Caputos efforts to interfere with the weekly scientific reports coming out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a disastrous rant in which he accused health officials of plotting against Trump.

Caputo, who was called before Congress to testify about allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, also came under fire for posting a video on Facebook Live in which he told supporters to prepare for what he predicted would be a bloody aftermath to the 2020 presidential election.

Caputo said DiPietro is his best friend and he is advising him in an informal capacity, as he has during DiPietros previous campaigns.
You may not have felt it, but that was the political ground shaking over near the Walden Galleria two weeks ago.

For the first time in recent memory, a local elected official who has identified as a democratic socialist actually won a seat in a general election.

In Cheektowaga, of all places.

After a recount that increased his election night lead of 36 votes to a final count of 53 votes, Brian M. Nowak on Nov. 22 became the Cheektowaga supervisor-elect after a hard-fought and at times nasty campaign.

Nowak, 36, becomes the youngest town supervisor in Erie County and the first millennial to win the top political office in Buffalos suburbs.

In style and substance, Nowak is not your average Western New York politician. Sleeve tattoos cover his forearms. He rarely wears a tie, preferring punk rock T-shirts and faded flannel. Politically, he may be a Bernie Sanders guy, but visually, he presents more like John Fetterman, the senator from Pennsylvania with everyman vibes.

Hes happy to debate the intricacies of government but sounds proudest while talking about his days managing a 7-Eleven  after he was caught driving drunk.

He always says that hes perfectly Cheektowaga and I think thats true, said Jessica Schuster, Nowaks campaign manager. As much as people try to wash that out of candidates, I look for that in people.

India Walton displayed a raw authenticity when she upset Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary. So did the three progressive Buffalo Common Council hopefuls who battled the Erie County Democratic Committee in June, failing to win a single race against more-moderate candidates.

While those progressives took on the Democratic machine, Nowak decided to work within it. His left-leaning views and independence mean Nowak will probably never be considered a party loyalist, but he has managed to build a solid working relationship with Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner, who is often vilified by other candidates on the left.

He realized that I am not a two-horned tailed devil, that I want to elect Democrats, that my door is open, and that he can rely on me and he can build a relationship with me, Zellner said. He realized quickly that there is a structure in place and if I work with them without selling out, so to speak, then I can probably get some things done for my community.

Nowak first made a name for himself in politics as the lead local organizer for Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign before he was elected to the Cheektowaga Town Board in 2017. But he said he doesnt have radical plans for Cheektowaga.

I dont think people should be nervous and expect the apple cart to be upturned, Nowak said. No ones going to have to be concerned that were going to nationalize grocery stores. Its not happening. Weve got a Town Board thats going to be three Democrats and three Republicans and in a lot of ways we just have to get back to basics as a town.

Focused on local issues

Nowak grew up in poverty in Buffalos Walden-Bailey neighborhood. He attended Seneca Vocational High School, Erie Community College and SUNY Buffalo State, studying history and graduating with a degree in education.

[BN] Politics Now : Two Republicans lost in November. Only one did so with class Both of them lost  one by 36 votes, the other by more than 36,000. It isnt the margins, though, that tell us something about todays Republican Party. It was how each candidate reacted in the face of defeat.

The night Nowak finished his schooling in 2011, he went out and celebrated, which he said was a stupid idea in retrospect. He was arrested for drunken driving and was convicted of misdemeanor driving while ability impaired as part of a plea agreement, he said.

Instead of getting a teaching job, Nowak went back to working at 7-Eleven and was manager of the store at Harlem and George Urban Boulevard. He said he improved the bookkeeping, managed 11 employees and significantly reduced theft.

Im kind of glad for that experience because it got me used to dealing with difficult characters and managing a budget and improving inventory, he said.

It taught him another lesson, too.

I learned that Im one of those people that cant drink, Nowak said. Im nearly five years sober at this point, and I think its best for myself and the town that I dont have a beer or a Jack and Coke or anything like that.

The young father now puts that energy into researching small ways that socialist ideas can benefit local communities, rattling off examples like the internet system in Chattanooga, Tenn., a publicly run flour mill in North Dakota and municipal electric in Springville.

Nowaks winning campaign formula involved knocking on thousands of doors, downplaying the Cold War connotation of the socialist label and staying away from divisive national issues. Instead, he says he won the support of the towns conservative Democrats by heeding the adage all politics is local.

One of the things Ive mentioned to folks is, you might not want to send me to Congress, but Im running for a job at the town, Nowak said. And what are the things I can control? When youre talking about how to deal with responsible redevelopment, or the potential of a dual taxing system, or how to make the most efficient use of our equipment  I mean, thats the stuff we should be talking about.

Md Mohsin, a Democrat who lives on Markus Drive, said Nowak made himself visible in the growing immigrant community by appearing at a local mosque. He said Nowak, who worked in merchandising at the Pepsi bottling plant on Walden Avenue, tried to help Mohsins friend find a job there after the man moved to Buffalo.

He sent me where he should apply and where he should go. This is a big help for any new people who come here with a family, Mohsin said. He tried to help. This is important.

Mohsin, who serves as a Pine Hill volunteer firefighter with Nowak, said he is less concerned with party labels than he is with local issues like getting halal meals in the schools or making improvements at Cheektowaga Town Park.

Political stuff, Im not that involved with anybody. Im not sure about his background, whats happening with Republican or Democrat. But personally, for years, I have thought he is a great guy. This guy knows small town.

Migrant controversy

Cheektowaga remains heavily Polish American but has changed in recent years into a more diverse mix that includes Black people moving from the city and a growing Southeast Asian immigrant population, including some who are Bangladeshi.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by a more than 2-to-1 margin, but political pros will note that many of those registered Dems  especially the older white ones  havent voted blue since the Reagan era.

Democrats may not have liked it, but those thorny national issues arrived in Cheektowaga this summer when two of the more than 600 migrants who came from the southern U.S. border were charged with sex crimes at a Dingens Street hotel.

Republicans put out ads accusing Nowak of making Cheektowaga a sanctuary town. Other ads urged people to vote for Nowaks Republican opponent, fellow Council Member Michael Jasinski, because he supported ending handouts for migrants.

During this period, The News spoke to Nowak one day after a heated Town Board meeting in which his political opponents accused him of corruption and tried but failed to censure him.

Dressed in a Dead Kennedys T-shirt at a coffee shop in downtown Buffalo, Nowak seemed calm despite the circus-like atmosphere at the Town Board meeting the night before and the nasty tone the campaign was taking. He said he understood why Dingens Street residents were upset about the migrant situation.

I talked to one of the guys just last night, he was worried about quality of life and neighborhood concerns, Nowak said. He criticized me at one meeting, he defended me at another. Reasonable guy, you know? And I wish they were all like that.

When the migrant issue died down, Nowaks campaign tried to inject some humor into the race, posting a blooper video on Facebook of Nowak messing up his lines while filming a political ad. Another popular social media post was a spoof of mega-star Taylor Swifts popular 1989 album, with Nowak pictured instead of Swift.

Nowaks appointment of Council Member Gerald Kaminski as his deputy supervisor may indicate his willingness to accept different viewpoints as he takes control of town government. Both men are Democrats, but they come from different eras.

Jerry turned 80 in November and Im 36, Nowak said. You talk to him about culture war stuff, thats where, Hey, I think youre wrong. But I learn a lot from him, too.

Nowak said he believes this sort of common ground can be found in the nitty gritty of town government  and by listening to residents who are not afraid to call him out.

Ive run two races in a town where someone like me, some folks would argue shouldnt exist, he said. You meet folks one-on-one, you hear them out, you earn their trust. Ive got my own ideas privately, of course, but I have 80,000 bosses, and its about doing some of the things they want to do.
The term masterpiece of biblical proportions might sound like hyperbole.

But at one of Western New Yorks most renowned places of worship, it happens to be true.

A replica of the Saint Johns Bible  believed to be the first hand-written and hand-illustrated interactive Bible created since the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago  is on display at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica. It will be part of an exhibit there through Jan. 7.

The seven volumes of the original manuscript feature 1,170 handwritten pages and 160 illuminations. Complete but unbound, the manuscript is the handiwork of Welsh calligrapher Donald Jackson and his 23-member team of artists and scribes, who took 15 years to bring it to fruition. It currently resides in Saint Johns Abbey in Collegeville, Minn.

This is no ordinary book.

It was created using rare Chinese ink from the 1890s; special quills fashioned from goose, turkey and swan feathers; 300 sheets of calfskin vellum as pages, illuminated with gold and silver leaf and platinum. He used egg yolk during the illuminations to bind the color.

Jackson completed the project in 2011 and was subsequently awarded the Papal Apostolic Knighthood in 2016.

With his team, Jackson went on to create a number of replications of the original manuscript that could travel across the world. Referred to as the Heritage edition, these are the only full-size, limited, signed and numbered fine art editions of the original manuscript. There are 299 Heritage editions, 170 of which have traveled around the world, including museums, churches, hospitals and private residences. No two Heritage editions are identical.

The Heritage Edition of the Bible has a temporary home at the basilica as part of its centennial celebration that honors the legacy of its founder, Father Nelson Baker.

On weekends, the book will be displayed at the OLV pulpit, while during the weekdays, it will remain downstairs at the Sisters of Saint Josephs Chapel for people to see.

John Ross, executive director of The Saint Johns Bible Heritage Program in Minnesota, gave an hour-long presentation on the work on Sunday and spoke of the modern references woven into the pages to encourage people of all faith traditions to experience the Saint Johns Bible.

We are all aware of the wars unfolding in real time, many of which have religious implications and religious beliefs behind them. Standing in contrast to that is the Saint Johns Bible that brings people together across many different traditions and faiths, Ross told The Buffalo News.

The Rev. David LiPuma, pastor of OLV, thinks the arrival of the Heritage edition to Buffalo is indeed timely.

It will be very inspiring for people to come and see it for themselves. It will also engage people more who will start thinking I probably should be reading the Bible. I should really be thinking about how it changes me and how I interpret it, and what it means to me. Thats what I love about this whole experience: the communal part of it, he said. Its the right thing at the right time with everything going on in our community right now.

The current transition in human communication from purely literary printed things to an electronic space has emphasized the importance of visuals, Ross said. Artwork and calligraphy alone help engage people more as they read through the Bible and experience it, he added.

The Heritage edition is designed to last for nearly a thousand years under normal wear and tear, he assured. While procuring one is a long process and requires training, Ross said he usually carries it as a checked-in baggage as he travels the world.

Nobody knows whats in there and for 15 years, I have never lost one. Fingers crossed, he laughed. With some good care and attention, she is fine.
PONTIAC, Mich.  A teenager was sentenced to life in prison Friday for killing four students, wounding more and terrorizing Michigans Oxford High School in 2021.

A judge rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.

My actions were what I chose to do. I could not stop myself. ... I am a really bad person. Ive done terrible things, Crumbley, who was 15 when he attacked his school in 2021, said before the sentence was announced.

He said he was sorry and pledged to change while behind bars.

Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the states highest court said the violent acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults.

Judge Kwame Rowes decision followed anguished remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them.

Your statements, Rowe said, do not fall on deaf ears.

Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism.

We are miserable. We miss Tate, said Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre. Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed  ever.

Nicole Beausoleil recalled seeing the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, at the medical examiner's office, her hand with blue-painted fingernails sticking out from a covering.

I looked though the glass. My scream should have shattered it, Beausoleil said.

Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have helped him navigate awkward teenage years.

If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend  if only you had asked, Soave said.

Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, looked down as Soave and others spoke. He also will have an opportunity to address the judge and possibly explain why he believes he should be spared a life sentence.

Kylie Ossege explained how she had urged Hana St. Juliana a thousand times to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet. Her classmate died.

Ossege, now a college student, was shot and continues to struggle with daily pain from spinal injuries.

Being able to swing a leg over my horse is my therapy. It is pure joy, she said of Blaze. I have not been able to do it for two years.

Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued Crumbley deserves an opportunity for parole after his sick brain is fixed through counseling and rehabilitation.

But St. Juliana's father scoffed at that possibility.

"There can be no rehabilitation, Steve St. Juliana told the judge. There is absolutely nothing the defendant can do to earn my forgiveness. His age plays no part.

In a journal, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. He made a video on the eve of the shooting, declaring what he would do the next day.

More than 20 people gave victim-impact statements by early Friday afternoon. Some wore shirts honoring the fallen students. The judge briefly allowed a framed photo of Myre to be placed near him.

Speakers recalled the day and its aftermath in details large and small. One woman said she's still anxious simply pulling into Meijer, a big-box store where families reunited immediately after the shooting.

Linda Watson said her son, Aiden, who was shot in the leg, still doesn't go to school for a full day. She recalled the family staying in a hotel because a nail gun being used in her neighborhood sounded like a real gun to him.

Aiden will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. ... This shooter  this monster  should have to feel everything hard and painful for the rest of his life," Watson said.

Like their son, Jennifer and James Crumbley are locked up in the county jail. They are awaiting trial on involuntary manslaughter charges, accused of making a gun accessible at home and neglecting the shooter's mental health.

Crumbley and his parents met with school staff on the day of the shooting after a teacher noticed violent drawings. But no one checked his backpack for a gun and he was allowed to stay.

The shooting happened in Oxford Township, about 40 miles north of Detroit. Besides the four students who were killed, six more students and a teacher also were wounded.

The Oxford school district hired an outside group to conduct an independent investigation. A report released in October said missteps at each level  school board, administrators, staff  contributed to the tragedy.

Crumbley's behavior in class, including looking at a shooting video and gun ammunition on his phone, should have identified him as a potential threat of violence, the report said.

Read more:

Yes, it's getting worse: New data shows mass shootings are more frequent Yes, it's getting worse: New data shows mass shootings are more frequent Mass shootings have been on the rise steadily for the past 40 years While shooting incidents show a gradual upward trend, the number of those killed is rising at an alarming rate Injuries have likewise risen significantly; one contributing factor: assault weapons
SALISBURY, Md.  Three times a week, on average, a police car pulls up to a school in Wicomico County on Maryland's Eastern Shore. A student is brought out, handcuffed and placed inside for transport to a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation.

Over the past eight years, the process has been used at least 750 times on students. Some are as young as 5 years old.

The state law that allows for these removals, known as petitions for emergency evaluation, is meant to be limited to people with severe mental illness, who are endangering their own lives or safety or someone else's. It's the first step toward getting someone involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.

But advocates say schools across the country are sending children to the emergency room for psychiatric evaluations in response to behaviors prompted by bullying or frustration over assignments. The ER trips, they say, often follow months, and sometimes years, of their needs not being met.

Black students are more frequently subjected to these removals than their peers, according to available data. Advocates point to students with disabilities also being removed at higher rates.

"Schools focus on keeping kids out rather than on keeping kids in," said Dan Stewart, managing attorney at the National Disability Rights Network. "I think that's the fundamental crux of things."

Schools in Wicomico County agreed not to misuse emergency petitions as part of a 2017 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. But while the number of suspensions and expulsions declined, mandated trips to the emergency room ticked up.

Last year, children were handcuffed and sent to the emergency room at least 117 times from Wicomico schools, about once per every 100 students, according to data obtained from public records requests to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office.

At least 40% were 12 or younger. More than half were Black children, even though a little more than a third of Wicomico public school children are Black.

'TRYING TO GET HIM OUT OF SCHOOL'

In interviews, dozens of students, parents, educators, lawyers and advocates for students with disabilities in Wicomico County said a lack of resources and trained staff, combined with a punitive culture in some schools, are behind the misuse of emergency petitions.

One Wicomico mom, who asked for anonymity because she feared retaliation from the school, recalled the terror she felt when her son's school called and said they were going to have him assessed for a forced psychiatric hospitalization. When she arrived at the school, she said, her son was already in handcuffs. He was put in the back of a police car and taken to the hospital.

"He said his wrists hurt from the handcuffs," the mother said. "He was just really quiet, just sitting there, and he didn't understand why he was in the hospital."

The practice isn't just happening in Wicomico.

Recent data shows New York City schools still call police to take children in emotional distress to the emergency room despite a 2014 legal settlement in which they agreed to stop the practice.

A Kentucky school district was found to have used a psychiatric assessment on kids more than 1,000 times in a year. In Florida, thousands of school-aged children have been subjected to the Baker Act, the state's involuntary commitment statute.

In a settlement with the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights, the Stockton Unified School District in California agreed to protocols that require other interventions before referring students with disabilities for psychiatric evaluation.

In Maryland, Wicomico uses emergency petitions more often per capita than almost every other Maryland district where data is available.

Baltimore City, for example, last year had 271 emergency petitions from schools, compared with Wicomico's at least 117, according to data obtained from law enforcement agencies through public records requests. But Baltimore's student population is five times as large.

Wicomico parents describe struggling to get support for their children when they fell behind on basics like reading and math in early grades. These gaps in learning can lead to frustration and behaviors challenging for teachers to manage.

The Wicomico mother whose son was handcuffed said she fought for years with administrators to obtain accommodations for her child, who is autistic, an experience echoed by other parents. Her son, who also has ADHD, was several years behind in reading by the time he got to middle school. The mother said he was sent to the hospital after an outburst rooted in frustration, not mental illness.

She recalled school officials telling her, "'He doesn't have special needs, he just has anger issues.' They were trying to get him out of the school."

Her son had grown increasingly discouraged and agitated over an assignment he was unable to complete, she said. The situation escalated, she said, when the teacher argued with him. He knocked a laptop on his desk to the floor, and the school called for an emergency petition. After being taken to the hospital in handcuffs, he was examined and released.

"After that, he went from angry to terrified," she said. "Every time he saw the police, he would start panicking."

A spokeswoman from the Wicomico County Public Schools said emergency petitions "are used in the most extreme, emergency situations where the life and safety of the student or others are at risk."

"(Emergency petitions) are not used for disciplinary purposes and frequently do not result from a student's behaviors," Tracy Sahler said in an email. "In fact, a majority of EPs are related to when a student exhibits suicidal ideation or plans self-harm."

School officials did not respond to questions about why the rate of emergency petitions was so much higher in Wicomico than in other counties in Maryland. The Sheriff's Department declined to share records that would show the reasons for the removals.

EDUCATORS STRETCHED THIN

By law, certain classroom removals must be recorded. Suspensions, expulsions and arrests are the most commonly documented indicators of racial disparities in discipline. Schools are required by law to publicly report the data, which often triggers oversight and investigations.

But with the exceptions of Florida and New York City, most places do not routinely collect information on removals from school for psychiatric assessments.

Without that data, there is no way to hold schools accountable, said Daniel Losen, senior director for the education team at the National Center for Youth Law.

"The civil rights of children is at stake, because it's more likely it's going to be Black kids and kids with disabilities who are subjected to all kinds of biases that deny them an educational opportunity," he said.

Families who have experienced emergency petitions say educators who can communicate with their child are stretched thin, and measures that could de-escalate a situation are not always taken. The day her son was sent to the hospital, the mother recalled, the administrator who had consistently advocated for him was out of the building.

In another instance, a middle schooler said the required accommodations for his learning and behavioral disabilities included taking a walk with a trusted educator when he became agitated. The day he was involuntarily sent to the hospital, that staff member was unavailable. He began yelling and spitting when an administrator blocked him from leaving on his own. He said that by the time police arrived, he was calm and sitting in the principal's office. Still, he was handcuffed and taken to the hospital, where he was examined and released a few hours later.

Because emergency petitions happen outside the standard discipline process, missed school days are not recorded as suspensions. For students with disabilities, that has special consequences  they are not supposed to be removed from class for more than 10 days without an evaluation of whether they are receiving the support they need.

"If you use the discipline process, and you're a student with a disability, your rights kick in," said Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates.

In many places around the country, the resources needed to support students with disabilities are scarce.

On Maryland's Eastern Shore, lawyers and advocates for families said the spectrum of alternatives for students is limited by both money and geography. Those can include private, out-of-district placements and specialized classrooms for specific needs like dyslexia, for example.

In cases where children need targeted services unavailable in the local district, the district must allow them to be educated outside the school system  and pay for it.

"You're stuck between a rock and a hard place because you're like, 'This kid needs more services,' but you can't get the school to agree," said Angela Ford, clinical director at Maple Shade Youth and Family Services, which serves children with emotional and behavioral disabilities in Wicomico.

ER TRIPS INCREASED AFTER SETTLEMENT

The 2017 settlement with the Justice Department required the Wicomico district to reduce the significant racial and disability-related disparities in suspensions, placements in alternative schools and other discipline measures.

The district agreed not to use emergency petitions "where less intrusive interventions  can be implemented to address the behavioral concern" and not to use them "to discipline or punish or to address lack of compliance with directions."

But since the settlement, many parents, teachers and community leaders said the district has seemed more concerned with keeping suspension numbers down than providing support for teachers to help prevent disruptive behavior.

"If we know how to handle and deal with behaviors, then we will have less EPs," said Anthony Mann, who was an instructional aide at Wicomico County High School last year and is a Wicomico public school parent.

Tatiyana Jackson, who has a son with a disability at Wicomico Middle School, agrees teachers need more training. "I don't think they have a lot of patience or tolerance for children with differences. It's like they give up on them."

Wicomico school officials said ongoing professional development for staff includes the appropriate use of emergency petitions.

"Each school has a well-trained team that includes a social worker and school counselor, with the support of school psychologists," said Sahler. "All supports that may be beneficial to assist the student are utilized. However, the safety of the student is paramount and the determining factor is ensuring that there is no unnecessary delay in obtaining aid for the student."

But Denise Gregorius, who taught in Wicomico schools for over a decade and left in 2019, questioned the feasibility of the discipline and behavior strategies taught during professional development.

What the teachers really want, she said, is more support.

After the settlement, which had a two-and-a-half year monitoring period, the number of suspensions and expulsions in Wicomico declined markedly  for Black and white students. But the number of emergency petitions, which don't appear in state statistics, has ticked up.

Other measures of exclusionary discipline remained high, including school arrests. In 2021-22, Wicomico had 210 school-based arrests  the second highest number in the state, while they were 15th in student enrollment. More than three-quarters of the children arrested were Black and 80% were students with disabilities.

"Monitoring the numbers doesn't bring you the solution," said Losen, from the National Center for Youth Law. In many districts, "the problem is more than what they're doing with discipline."

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

BLACK PARENTS POINT TO CULTURE PROBLEM

Some Wicomico parents and educators point to an insular culture in the school district where problems are hidden rather than resolved.

They are frustrated that there is no relationship with the county's mobile crisis unit, which is often relied on in other counties to help de-escalate issues instead of calling the police.

Jermichael Mitchell, a community organizer who is an alum and parent in Wicomico County Schools, said educators often do not know how to empathize and respond to the trauma and unmet needs that may lead to children's behavior.

"A Black kid that's truly going through something, that truly needs support, is always looked at as a threat," he said. "You don't know how those kids have been taught to cry out for help. You don't know the trauma that they've been through."

Studies have found Black and Latino children who have a teacher of the same race have fewer suspensions and higher test scores, but that diversity is lacking in Wicomico County. Wicomico schools have the largest gap between the number of students of color and teachers of color in the state.

Wicomico school officials said they do not discriminate against any of their students.

A Wicomico teenager described a years-long process of becoming alienated from school, with an emergency petition as the ultimate break. He said he was bullied in middle school over a series of months until one day he snapped and hit the student who had been taunting him.

The school called the police. He told the officers not to touch him, and that he needed to calm down. Instead, the officers grabbed him and shoved him into the ground, he said. He was handcuffed and transported to the emergency room. But when he returned, he said the only thing that was different was how he felt about the adults in the building.

"I got used to not trusting people, not talking to people at school," he said. "Nothing else really changed."

_____

This story about emergency petitions was produced by The Associated Press and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Who's teaching our kids? These 4 charts break down K-12 teachers by education level, race, and more Who's teaching our kids? These 4 charts break down K-12 teachers by education level, race, and more More than half of school teachers have earned a master's, making teachers among the most well-educated professionals The teaching profession is predominantly white, presenting potential disadvantages to minority students More than two-thirds of teachers are women; nearly 4 in 10 of all teachers have less than a decade of experience Salary increases steadily with experience, but after 20 years it plateaus
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  Israel said Friday its military rounded up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation, searching for Hamas militants, while desperate Palestinians in the south crowded into an ever-shrinking area and the U.N. warned that its aid operation is "in tatters."

The detentions pointed to Israeli efforts to secure the military's hold on northern Gaza as the war entered its third month. Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underscoring Hamas' heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The first images of mass detentions emerged Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, their hands bound behind their backs. U.N. monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys as young as 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

In other developments, the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council that Gaza is at "a breaking point" and "there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system."

Israel vowed to crush Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the group's Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Israel's air and ground campaign initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south. A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where nearly the territory's entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

In central Gaza, Israeli planes dropped leaflets Friday on the refugee camps of Nuseirat and Maghazi with a message for Hamas officials.

"To Hamas leaders: A life for a life, an eye for an eye and whoever started is to blame. If you punish, then punish with the like of that with which you were afflicted," the leaflet read, cobbling together a popular Arabic saying with a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

The leaflet left out the rest of the verse, which says it is better to patiently endure afflictions without retaliating.

Hours later, a strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said Friday those detained in northern Gaza were "military-aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago."

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in the past 48 hours, some 200 people have been detained. Dozens have been taken to Israel for interrogation, he said.

Authorities questioned the detainees to determine whether they were members of the militant group, Levy said, indicating there would be more such sweeps as troops move from north to south.

The London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed, or The New Arab, said one of the men seen in the images of the detainees is its Gaza correspondent Diaa al-Kahlout, and that he was rounded up with other civilians.

Heavy fighting has been underway for days in Jabaliya refugee camp and the Gaza City district of Shujaiya. The U.N. said Jabaliya's Al Awda Hospital  one of two hospitals still operating in the north  was surrounded by Israeli forces and sustained damage from Israeli shelling. It said Israeli sniper fire into the hospital has also been reported.

On Thursday in Shujaiya, a prominent poet and English professor, Refaat Alareer, was killed, along with his brother, sister and her four children, when Israeli shelled the house they were staying in, according to colleagues at "We Are Not Numbers," a nonprofit he helped found.

Days earlier, Alareer wrote on social media that his walls shook from bombing, shelling and gunfire. The last poem he wrote and shared on social media read, "If I must die / let it bring hope / let it be a tale."

Early Friday, Israeli troops made an unsuccessful attempt to free Israeli hostages at a location in Gaza. In the ensuing clash with militants, two soldiers were seriously wounded, and no hostages were freed. the military said. Hamas said its fighters fended off the attempt.

Israel says 137 hostages are still in captivity out of the roughly 240 abducted by militants during the Oct. 7 attack.

There has also been a dramatic surge in deadly military raids and an increase in restrictions on Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.

Israeli forces stormed into a refugee camp Friday in the West Bank to arrest suspected Palestinian militants, unleashing fighting with local gunmen in which six Palestinians were killed, health officials said.

Israel's campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took more than 240 hostages, according to Israel.
HAILEY, Idaho  Paul Rytting had been director of the Risk Management Division at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for around 15 years when a 31-year-old church member told him that her father, a former bishop, had sexually abused her when she was a child.

Rytting flew from church headquarters in Salt Lake City to Hailey, Idaho, to meet with Chelsea Goodrich and her mother, Lorraine, to discuss what he said was a "tragic and horrendous" story.

By that time, Chelsea's father, John Goodrich, had made a religious confession to a bishop with the church, widely known as the Mormon church, with details of his relationship with his daughter. Following church policy, Bishop Michael Miller had called a church Helpline, established to take calls from bishops about sexual abuse, and John Goodrich was quickly excommunicated.

After the excommunication, Chelsea and Lorraine reported Chelsea's claims of abuse to Mountain Home, Idaho, police. They backed up their accusations with recordings of conversations with John Goodrich in which he admitted to climbing into bed with his daughter when he was sexually aroused, though he insisted there was no direct sexual contact. Nevertheless, Mountain Home police arrested him and charged him with a variety of sex crimes.

At their meeting with Rytting, Chelsea and her mother had one overarching question: Would the church allow Miller to testify at John Goodrich's criminal trial?

Over the next four months, during multiple conversations, Rytting told Chelsea, Lorraine and Eric Alberdi, a fellow church member acting as Chelsea's advocate, that a state law known as the clergy-penitent privilege prevented Miller from testifying without the consent of the alleged perpetrator, John Goodrich. Without Miller's testimony, prosecutors dropped their case.

Next, Rytting offered Chelsea and her mother $300,000 on the condition that they agree to not use Chelsea's story as the basis for a lawsuit against the church  and to never acknowledge the existence of this nondisclosure agreement.

Today, Goodrich, who did not respond to questions from the AP, remains a free man practicing dentistry, with access to children.

The Mormon church, in comments to the AP, said, "the abuse of a child or any other individual is inexcusable." The church also noted that Miller would not be able to testify without the permission of Goodrich, and that the confidentiality agreement with Chelsea and Lorraine did not preclude Chelsea from telling her story.

All the conversations with Rytting, Chelsea, Lorraine, and Alberdi were recorded, and provided by Alberdi to The Associated Press.

Takeaways from the AP's investigation:

THE CLERGY-PENITENT PRIVILEGE

An earlier investigation by the AP revealed that more than half the states maintain the clergy-penitent privilege, which provides a loophole for clergy who are otherwise required to report child sex abuse to police or local welfare officials. As a result, some child predators who reveal their crimes to clergy in a confessional setting and do not turn themselves in to police are allowed to remain free, able to continue abusing children while presenting a danger to others.

Although child welfare advocates have attempted to change or eliminate the privilege, the AP found that lobbying by religious institutions including the Catholic Church, the Mormon church, and the Jehovah's Witnesses have persuaded state legislators throughout the country to maintain the loophole. Indeed, the AP catalogued more than 100 attempts to amend or eliminate the privilege, all of which failed.

NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS

Nondisclosure agreements, also known as confidentiality agreements, have been used frequently by the Mormon church and other organizations, including the Catholic Church, as well as individuals, to keep sex abuse allegations secret. Twenty-one years ago, the Catholic Church approved a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in which it pledged to eliminate the use of confidentiality agreements to settle child sex abuse claims, except in cases where the victims requested anonymity  a recognition of the role NDAs play in the cover-up of child sexual abuse. The Mormon church does not have a similar policy.

THE HELPLINE

The earlier AP investigation found that the Helpline plays a central role in the cover-up of child sex abuse in the Mormon church, even as the church claims its purpose is to provide bishops with guidance about sexual abuse reporting requirements. Initiated in 1995, when financial claims for sexual abuse against religious institutions were on the rise, the Helpline fields calls from bishops about child sexual abuse and directs the most serious cases to attorneys with the firm of Kirton McConkie, which represents the church.

According to the church, all information about child sexual abuse passed from church members to their bishops is confidential under the clergy-penitent privilege, and all information passed from the Helpline to church attorneys is confidential under the attorney-client privilege. Meanwhile, Rytting and other church officials have said in sworn testimony that the Helpline either keeps no records or destroys all records at the end of each day.

Or does it? During his conversations with Chelsea and Lorraine, Rytting said he could find out whether John Goodrich had previously "repented" for his relationship with Chelsea by checking Helpline records, seeming to contradict his sworn testimony in another child sex abuse case against the church.

In its comments to the AP, the church declined to answer questions about the apparent contradiction.

___

Rezendes reported from New York.

___
News / National

by Nkululeko Nkomo

AND HERE YOU ARE CAMPAIGNING ON ELECTION DAY.



It's illegal, you know it; not least because you are a lawyer and a politician who has contested in many elections before.



But you think the law does not apply to you, so you violate it with impunity and with reckless abandon  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) December 9, 2023

The Mayor of Bulawayo and prominent member of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), David Coltart, found himself at the center of a political storm after urging voters to support ZAPU candidates in the upcoming by-elections. The move drew sharp criticism from former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo, who accused Coltart of illegal campaigning on election day.Coltart took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration after CCC MPs were allegedly barred from contesting in the December 9 by-election. He tweeted, "Now that our 5 MP candidates in Bulawayo have been unlawfully barred from standing for election, I urge citizens to vote where possible for @ZapuPublicity ZAPU MP candidates. ZAPU is a democratic party and they will serve our interests much better than Zanu PF or pseudo Zanu PF candidates."The tweet immediately caught the attention of Professor Jonathan Moyo, who responded with a scathing rebuke. Moyo accused Coltart of knowingly engaging in illegal campaign activities, highlighting Coltart's legal background and extensive political experience."AND HERE YOU ARE CAMPAIGNING ON ELECTION DAY. It's illegal, you know it; not least because you are a lawyer and a politician who has contested in many elections before," Moyo remarked.Moyo went on to criticize Coltart for what he perceived as a blatant disregard for the law, accusing him of considering himself above the rules. "Shame on you, David Coltart. You can say and scream all you want, with all the support of Chamisa's trolls, but you and your lot are an embarrassment and a danger to society BECAUSE you never ever play by the rules; no, you are always a law unto yourselves."The former Cabinet Minister also took the opportunity to highlight what he characterized as Coltart's history of bending the rules to suit his own interests. Moyo referenced a past incident where Coltart allegedly claimed victory in a community candidate selection caucus despite finishing last among all candidates. Moyo asserted that Coltart's actions epitomized a dangerous mindset contributing to the current state of Zimbabwe."Zimbabwe is in a mess because of your type: one law for yourselves, as the self-proclaimed demo," Moyo's response abruptly ended, leaving room for speculation on the continuation of his thoughts.David Coltart later deleted the tweet on X.The exchange between Coltart and Moyo has ignited a debate on the role of politicians in adhering to election laws and whether advocating for alternative candidates on election day is a violation of electoral norms.
News / National

by Peter Matuka

A 30-year-old man from Chasamba Village under Chief Pashu in Binga, Givemore Munsaka, appeared before Hwange Magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Yolanda Kabasa on Tuesday morning, pleading guilty to charges of assault in a case stemming from a family conflict.According to State papers, the incident unfolded on November 6 when a dispute erupted between Mandlenkosi Ngwenya, the complainant, and Munsaka's young brother, Last Mumpande, at Chasamba Shopping Centre. The disagreement escalated to the point where Ngwenya bit Last Mumpande on the finger.Upon hearing about the incident, Last Mumpande reported the matter to his elder brother, Givemore Munsaka. Seeking retribution, Munsaka confronted Ngwenya and unleashed a violent assault. Reports indicate that Munsaka used open fists to strike Ngwenya multiple times across his body and, finally, resorted to using a brick to hit him on his back.The incident was reported to ZRP Kamativi, leading to ongoing investigations to apprehend Munsaka. During the court proceedings, Hwange Magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Yolanda Kabasa found Munsaka guilty as charged.As a penalty for his actions, Munsaka has been ordered to pay a fine of USD$50 by December 29. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a two-month imprisonment for the convicted assaulter.The case underscores the importance of resolving conflicts through peaceful means, highlighting the potential consequences of resorting to violence in personal disputes. Authorities encourage community members to seek mediation and legal avenues to address grievances rather than taking matters into their own hands.
Opinion / Columnist

Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi is the CEO of Hansole Investments (Pvt) Ltd and the current chairperson of Zimbabwe Information and Communication Technology, a division of Zimbabwe Institution for Engineers.

Do you know your neighbour? Criminals like armed robbers, murderers, rapists, pedophiles, etc live within our communities in Zimbabwe. There is nothing frustrating like waking up to a sitting room where the television, cellphone and laptop are gone, stolen. Criminals have entered your house. Armed robbers enter your property, rape your wife and daughter and statistics say," An estimated 200,000 household unlawful entry (burglaries) occurred each year on average from 2013 to 2021. In about 30% of these burglaries, a household member is present during the burglary. In 7% of all household burglaries, a household member experienced some form of violent victimisation."It seems as if there is never a day that goes by without a new crime being committed in the dense streets of Harare, the surrounding areas and Zimbabwe's major cities. The presence of known gangs and criminals has negatively impacted the lives of Zimbabwe's community by instilling fear and worry onto those looking to live peaceful and righteous lives. These criminals are known, some of them are in and out of prison and still return to the communities and terrorise them.Zimbabwe has about 30,000 wanted criminals and Zimbabwe's justice system still has a primitive way of advising the public in cases of wanted criminals and court sermons. They write the names of wanted criminals and display them at local police stations in this age and time of technology and social media. The world over including Interpol have developed a website where wanted criminals are published for the world to see. This has been filtered through to local areas. In countries the USA the local community policing teams publish wanted criminals within their communities on social media platforms so that they can be quickly apprehended. These are easy methods of pursuing criminals and bring quick justice. This is done as a method of informing communities and supporting other law enforcement agencies, to help identify criminals and speed the law enforcement process. Above that in every local area in the USA there is also a register of individuals who have been arrested for pedophilia offences. Pedophiles are required to report to the local police station if they want to leave their area.The Zimbabwe's Police General Headquarters (PGHQ) is using social media platforms to interact and communicate with the general public but this process is not being adopted at provincial, district and police station level. The success of using social media at the police's PGHQ should have been adopted at a lower level of the police force with the realisation that social media is of far greater use to law enforcement than ever imagined. PGHQ has recognised that a lot of present-day crimes are attached to social media, especially whatsApp. It even seems as though some crimes are connected with social media somehow as one or all of the parties involved in a crime, be it victims, suspects or witnesses, have access to social media. Even if the minuscule possibility existed that none of the persons involved were on social media, the crime would likely be discussed on social media by people who have become aware of it or the media organisations reporting it.What is worrying is the fact that serious criminals like armed robbers, rapists, murderers and even serious fraudsters, their photographs are not in the public domains. These serious criminals do not have their photos published anywhere on cyberspace. Even our local media houses will publish the article on the crimes that these criminals have committed and the picture of the serious criminals is rarely or never published. Media houses have journalists who are resident at local courts everyday, they take pictures and these pictures are rarely brought to the public domain. The communities, police, the courts and the media know these criminals but sadly they have decided to make their crimes known but they chose not to publish their pictures.However, people in general have stated that this issue of serious crimes can be improved by bringing the government and urging the police to effectively use technology and social media platforms to make the public aware of criminals in their communities. The time has come for our law enforcement agencies to have a central database of wanted criminals available online and on social media platforms. Having a database of wanted criminals can be beneficial for Zimbabwe as a nation in several ways:Enhancing public safety: A comprehensive database of wanted criminals allows law enforcement agencies to quickly identify and track individuals who pose a threat to public safety. It enables authorities to apprehend dangerous individuals and prevent potential criminal activities, thereby safeguarding the well-being of citizens.Efficient law enforcement: A centralized database streamlines the process of sharing information and collaborating among different law enforcement agencies. It enables seamless communication and coordination between local, regional, and national authorities, facilitating the swift apprehension and prosecution of wanted criminals.Crime prevention and investigation: By maintaining a database of wanted criminals, law enforcement agencies can proactively identify patterns and trends in criminal activities. This information can be used to develop strategies for crime prevention and allocate resources effectively. Additionally, the database can assist in ongoing investigations by providing valuable leads and information.International cooperation: A database of wanted criminals can facilitate international cooperation in combating crime. Sharing information on wanted individuals with other nations helps track down fugitives who may have fled across borders. Such cooperation improves the chances of apprehending criminals and ensures that they are brought to justice, regardless of their location.Deterrence: The existence of a robust database acts as a deterrent for potential criminals. Knowing that their identities and criminal records are readily available to law enforcement agencies can dissuade individuals from engaging in illegal activities or attempting to evade capture.It is important to note that the establishment and maintenance of a database of wanted criminals should be done in accordance with laws and regulations governing privacy and data protection. Safeguards should be in place to ensure the responsible and ethical use of such databases while balancing the interests of public safety and individual rights. The media fraternity should insure that there is a balance and help the nation identify wanted criminals by publishing photographs of criminals as a means of protecting the nations.
Chinese envoy advocates support for Security Council's efforts to save lives in Gaza

Xinhua) 13:43, December 09, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday underscored the need for all members of the UN Security Council to support the council's efforts to save lives in Gaza.

"China strongly calls upon all members to adopt a responsible approach, support the council to make the right decision between war and peace and between life and death. We must act for peace and act to save lives," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

He expressed his gratitude to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter and brought to the attention of the Security Council the situation in Gaza, "which may aggravate existing threats to international peace and security."

Zhang stressed that the situation and tasks in front of the council are very clear and definitive, that is "to act immediately to achieve a ceasefire, protect the civilians, and avoid a human catastrophe on a larger scale."

"The draft resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the Arab states reflects the universal call of the international community and represents the right direction for the restoration of peace. China fully supports this and has joined in co-sponsoring this draft resolution," he said.

The ambassador underscored that at this juncture, "only a ceasefire can save lives and avoid a bigger human catastrophe."

"With the constant bombing and shelling, there is no safe zone there. The war in Gaza has claimed the lives of over 17,000 innocent civilians. Over 1 million people have fled from the north to the south, only to find there's nowhere to hide and nowhere to go. This human catastrophe is too great for words to describe, and any waiting or delay means more death," said Zhang.

He further said that "only a ceasefire can avoid a regional havoc. The negative effect of the conflict is spilling over in an accelerated manner."

"The West Bank, the Lebanese-Israeli border, and the Syrian-Israeli border have frequently sounded the alarm. The crisis with a greater scope of impact is imminent, and tolerance or connivance is pushing regional peace and security towards a precipice," the envoy added.

"At this juncture, only a ceasefire can create the necessary conditions for reviving the political prospects for the two-state solution. The two-state solution is the fundamental way toward the peaceful coexistence of two states, Palestine and Israel, and the lasting peace in the Middle East," he said.

"Any action that allows the current conflict to drag on will only sow the seeds of hatred between the two sides and make the situation further deteriorate, and do more damage to the political prospects of the two-state solution," he said.

Zhang underscored that only a ceasefire befits the due role of the council. "The international community eagerly looks to the council to assume its primary function in the maintenance of international peace and security."

"The council has no other option but to act urgently without any procrastination to bring about a ceasefire and protect civilians. Any hesitation or excuse would be irresponsible," he stressed.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
British-based KYMA Battery Technologies has backed out of a plan to open a battery manufacturing plant in Chippewa Falls and instead chosen to build in a suburb of Detroit.

KYMA Battery Technologies was expected to revamp the old EOG Resources sand processing plant in the citys northeast corner at 1400 Halbleib Road. Plans showed KYMA anticipated opening a battery production facility at the 88-acre location, though the company was not going to operate on the entire site.

They were only going to operate on or occupy a very small portion of that site, city planner Brad Hentschel said Thursday. They weren't going to take up much space at all. They were going to use, I think, a 15,000-square-foot storage building initially, and if things were successful, they'd grow into another building. But there's still some sizable facilities there for reuse purposes with or without KYMA coming in. So we'll go back to the drawing board.

Instead of coming to Chippewa Falls, KYMA will move its facility to a suburb of Detroit, KYMA Battery Technologies representative Lesley Blaine told the Chippewa Herald on Thursday.

We've leased a building in Novi, Michigan, and that's where the business will be setting up, Blaine said.

Blaine declined to elaborate on the factors driving the firm's decision.

Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said he wishes nothing but the best to KYMA.

He said he wasnt too worried about the loss of KYMA business because the facility was only going to employ seven or eight people initially.

Maybe after a couple of successful years they were talking about hiring up to 20 people, he said Thursday. But this is not a huge job loss for us. Were not talking about an employer of a few hundred people.

In October, the Chippewa Falls Plan Commission voted to approve a conditional use permit for KYMA Battery Technologies.

At the time, company officials questioned several requirements the city included in the permit for the company to operate related to environmental and health protections.

The conditional use permit included 19 conditions the KYMA company needed to meet in order to operate in Chippewa Falls. These included the requirement that all transportation of batteries and battery components by truck and rail needed to conform to U.S. Department of Transportation requirements, batteries needed to be tested and inspected prior to shipping to the Chippewa Falls site and only batteries approved for reuse would arrive in Chippewa Falls.

In addition, the permit required the company to have a secondary containment system for potential stormwater and groundwater contamination.

The permit also stated damaged, defective or recalled battery components could not be stored at the site for longer than 60 days and that all batteries and components must be stored in a location with a fire detection and suppression system and the fire systems needed to be adequate in the opinion of the Chippewa Falls Fire Department.

Hoffman said Thursday some aspects of the permit conditions were no-brainers and werent debatable.

Youve got to have a fire suppression system. They said, Well there wont be any fires, and we told them theres no room to debate this. Youve got to have that. Its about safety, and any place in the U.S. is going to require that for a plant, Hoffman said.

City inspector and zoning administrator Paul Lasiewicz and Hentschel said at the October meeting the potential explosive nature of the lithium ion batteries as presented by KYMA Battery Technologies was the reason for requiring a conditional use permit.

Blaine appeared alongside Chris Gregory at the meeting for KYMA to provide several amendments to the proposed resolution. The pair said that they did not think a conditional use permit was necessary, according to meeting minutes.

Blaine followed up with additional information regarding the nature of lithium ion batteries. She said lithium ion batteries have different characteristics than traditional lead acid batteries. If lead acid batteries leak, it is liquid. Lithium ion batteries do not contain liquid, and if they leak, it is a gas. Lithium ion phosphate has a higher safety factor and is less likely for thermal runaway, Blaine said at the time.

She indicated the lithium ion batteries that KYMA uses are not classed as an explosive material, according to meeting minutes.

After the conclusion of the public hearing in October, the Plan Commission made some amendments to the plan and approved the conditional use permit with a 9-1 vote.

I certainly thought that they should have perceived that as a very positive reception from the planning commission, because a lot of those amendments that they at KYMA proposed were accepted, Hentschel said.

Hoffman said he had not heard from KYMA about the plans to relocate outside of Chippewa Falls.

Theyve not said a word to me, he said Thursday. They have a year to use the permit we approved. I dont know what happened, but maybe they wanted to be closer to other facilities of theirs in Michigan. Im just not sure.

Hentschel said there are a lot of reasons the company may have backed out.

We just dont know, he said. It could be regulatory, it could be leasing issues, it might be the conditional permit. Who knows. They havent told us a thing."

Hentschel said the 1400 Halbleib Road property is owned by an investment group and the hope is another company or multiple companies will show interest in the site.

It is zoned heavy industrial so there are a plethora of businesses that could comply with those requirements and start off within that zoning designation pretty easily, Hentschel said.
A narrowly divided UW Board of Regents on Saturday rejected an agreement between Universities of Wisconsin system President Jay Rothman and legislative Republican leaders authorizing UW system funding and pay raises in exchange for changes to universities diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

At an emergency meeting Saturday morning, regents voted 9-8 against approving the deal that could have provided UW-Madison a new engineering building, implemented pay raises for UW system employees and restored a $32 million cut Republicans made to the UW systems budget last summer.

The vote to reject the deal came after impassioned pleas to not harm students by caving in to Republican demands on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Other regents expressed concerns that approving the deal would set a precedent: that the UW system would need to fight for the release of funding already promised in state budgets or trade its core values for the approval of building projects.

The vote was an unusual show of division among regents and with Rothman. Most of Rothmans initiatives, such as automatically admitting Wisconsin high school graduates to system schools for which they qualify and launching the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, were well received by regents, and votes have often been unanimous.

Voting against the deal were: Board of Regents President Karen Walsh, Vice President Amy Blumenfeld Bogost, and Regents Angela Adams, Evan Brenkus, Edmund Manydeeds, John Miller, Joan Prince, Jennifer Staton and Dana Wachs.

Regents who voted in favor of the agreement were Robert Atwell, Hector Colon, Mike Jones, Jim Kreuser, Cris Peterson, Ashok Rai, Mark Tyler and Kyle Weatherly.

Regent and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly was not in attendance.

It was unclear where the UW system and any potential new deal will go from here.

Before the vote, Rothman encouraged regents to approve the deal.

Compromises needed to be made for us to reach an agreement, but in my experience, that is what is necessary and what it takes to reach a deal, Rothman said. I wanted to thank the regents for their input and feedback and guidance as we have worked through this process during multiple sessions and numerous other conversations that I had with a number of you.

Imperfect compromise

After the meeting, Rothman expressed his disappointment at the vote but said he respected the boards decision. UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin echoed the sentiment Saturday afternoon in a statement.

I recognize this was an imperfect compromise, but I nonetheless supported it as the best way to move the priorities of our campus forward, Mnookin said. I will continue to work with Universities of Wisconsin leadership, the regents, legislative leaders and governor on these important issues over the coming weeks and months.

The deal between Rothman, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, was finalized Friday. The deal would have traded a slate of Republican priorities, including reclassifying a third of the UW systems DEI employees into student success staff and a three-year moratorium on hiring additional DEI and administrative staff, for $800 million in spending, including pay raises, the engineering building and other infrastructure improvements, and $32 million in additional funding that Republicans have withheld for months.

Many aspects of the deal were placed on timelines. Legislative Republicans would have needed to approve pay raises for UW system employees by Dec. 31 and approve half a dozen building projects and demolitions by the end of the February floor session. The UW system would have been required to reclassify 43 of its DEI employees within the next two academic years.

Funding battle

Vos set off the monthslong power struggle between lawmakers and the UW system in May when he spoke out against the university systems DEI staffing and programming and threatened to cut funding in the next state budget.

Then, in October, Republicans on the employee relations board, including Vos, took up raises for all state employees except university employees over DEI programming.

While Republicans have held up the spending, Vos on Saturday sought to pin the blame for the impasse on the Board of Regents.

Its a shame theyve denied employees their raises and the almost ($1 billion) investment that would have been made in the UW system all so they could continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus, Vos said on the social media platform X.

It's a shame they've denied employees their raises and the almost 1b investment that would have been made in the UW System all so they could continue their ideological campaign to force students to believe only one viewpoint is acceptable on campus. https://t.co/q9yobBVqC7  Robin Vos (@repvos) December 9, 2023

In a statement Saturday, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he supported the regents decision to vote their values and urged Republicans to continue working with the UW system to find common ground. Evers is suing legislative Republicans over the withholding of UW system pay raises, arguing that the denial of funds already approved as part of the states two-year budget amounts to an unconstitutional legislative veto.

Its clear the regents are deeply divided over this proposal, have immense concerns about this process and the difficult position they were put in, and are all committed to their charge  doing whats best for our past, present, and future students, faculty, and staff, and the institutions that have defined our state for generations, Evers said.

Personal pleas

Regents on Saturday recounted deeply personal stories to explain their votes and urged one another to vote their consciences.

Manydeeds, an enrolled member of the South Dakota Standing Rock Sioux tribe, spoke about his years in a Native American boarding school, where he said he and his peers were not allowed to speak their native languages or dress in their cultural garments. Eliminating DEI practices on UW system campuses removes hope for students like him, Manydeeds said.

I am not going to take hope away from anybody. Doing this is going to take hope away from somebody, Manydeeds said. Do you know what losing hope looks like? There were no smiles in that school. There was no laughter. There were just sad eyes. And that haunts me to this day.

Other regents noted that, in surveys, students have said current DEI practices, including assigning people different job titles, establishing cultural affinity groups and the use of more inclusive terms, have not changed their perception of inclusion and belonging on campuses. Colon said he believed the proposal could allow the UW system to do things differently.

If we lived out equity, diversity and inclusion, through our UW System values, our actions, our culture, it becomes who we are and how we behave, Colon said. If we approach it this way, its not something that you can get rid of.

Regents who spoke in favor of the deal argued that a prolonged wait for pay raises was hurting UW system staff morale. Reading from a statement by shared governance leaders, Weatherly noted they were worried about having to negotiate for pay raises that were already promised.

The crude reality is that any minute we delay in the release of compensation packages (is) a minute that we lose more faculty and staff than we have already, due to devaluation, low salaries and lack of support from the state of Wisconsin, Weatherly read from the letter.
Several students were inducted into various international honor societies during Wayne State Colleges 29th annual Social Sciences Day sponsored by Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society for the social sciences.

Activities featured the induction of new members into honor societies of the social sciences.

Alpha Phi Sigma, the criminal justice honorary, is dedicated to the encouragement of academic excellence in criminal justice, social service, student support of the Wayne State Criminal Justice Department, and the development of leadership skills among its members.

Alpha Phi Sigma inducted 17 new members, including Carmen Westfall of Columbus and Laura Genchi of Schuyler.

Pi Gamma Mu is the international social sciences honorary. The mission of Pi Gamma Mu is to encourage and promote excellence in the social sciences and to uphold and nurture scholarship, leadership, and service. Pi Gamma Mu serves the various social science disciplines, which seek to understand and explain human behavior and social relationships as well as their related problems and issues.

Pi Gamma Mu inducted 26 new members, including Jasmyne McDonald of Bellwood, Carmen Westfall of Columbus, Hannah Woolsey of David City, and Sydney McKay of Humphrey.
When the Sears Hometown store on 23rd Street closed, it left a gap in the area appliance market, and Jeff Speidel, owner of Signature Appliance in Columbus, had the opportunity to fill it.

Having experience and seeing the potential in what used to be Family Video at 2457 33rd Ave., in the Centrum Plaza, Speidel moved his interests to Columbus and decided to open Signature Appliance.

"I'm from a family that owns Slumberland in Norfolk; my folks own that and they've run it for 40-some years. I've been in appliances for 30 years," Speidel said.

Sandie Fischer, vice president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, said that this is the chamber's only current appliance store on its roster, which is a big deal since losing Sears.

"We're super excited to have another appliance store in town, they're definitely going to help fill that niche," Fischer said. "(It's great) to have someone of this caliber, with a delivery person who can help deliver and get you set up versus other places where you have to set it up yourself."

Speidel enlisted the help of a veteran of the appliance world, Team Leader Carl Grube. Grube previously worked at an appliance store in Colorado, then the Sears Hometown store for 16 years, then moving to Bomgaars before Signature Appliance decided to move into town. When they moved in, Speidel said Grube was an obvious choice for his close-knit team.

"I'm used to it, I like it, I work with customers, I know a lot about the appliances already and I like working for a smaller company, a hometown type of store; that's what drives me to do it," Grube said.

The store carries a wide variety of machines, in every level of complexity from app-compatible microwaves and smart fridges to basic washers and dryers.

Grube and Speidel both said reception, even before their opening, has been good, and people have come in curious about what was moving in to the building. There are still some small things that need finished, but Speidel's excited to open and get himself and his crew doing what they do best: working with customers.

"I think (my favorite part) is when people are doing remodel or building a new home, it's helping them design that. We like to keep it simple for customers so they don't get stressed," Speidel said. "We become friends with these people; we're considered a team here, a family here. It's all about customer service, we're huge on customer service."

The opening date is set for Dec. 15 at 9:30 a.m. After that, the store will be open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. They are currently running a giveaway for a mixer on the store's Facebook page to build excitement.
A boil water advisory has been lifted in Greene County after a water main break this past week exposed residents to the risk of E. coli contamination.

Its the third such advisory Greene has had to issue in four weeks due to faulty pipes.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, December 9, 2023, the Boil Water Advisory has been lifted for all customers of Greene County Department of Water and Sewer, the county said in a statement Saturday. Residents can safely resume using their household water as normal.

The advisory was issued on Thursday after service interruption and loss of water pressure to some residences near the town of Stanardsville. The busted water main prompted the county to close schools and government offices for the day before reopening on Friday, though with restricted access to water.

After the repairs were made to the broken water main, a series of bacterial samples were collected and sent to a state-certified lab. All samples collected on December 7 and December 8, 2023, were absent of both total coliform and E. coli bacteria in the area where the Boil Water Advisory is currently being lifted, the county said.

The water main break is the third time in the past four weeks a boil water advisory has been issued in Greene County.

The first advisory on Nov. 13 affected Mountain Lakes Water Company customers in the Twin Lakes and Green Mountain Lakes communities. That advisory was lifted a week later.

The second advisory issued on Nov. 28 affected Ruckersville residents. That advisory was lifted on Nov. 30.

For more information, residents can contact the Greene County Department of Water and Sewer at (434) 985-1348.
The serial businessman whose companies helped shape the Charlottesville-area entrepreneurial world in the 1990s was found dead at his Albemarle County farm off Stony Point Road in an apparent homicide.

Emergency responders found the 52-year-old Phaedrus Acgtblu dead at his residence Thursday night, according to a statement from the Albemarle County Police Department.

"At this time, Mr. Acgtblus death is being actively investigated as a homicide," according to the statement. "No suspects have been identified."

Without providing a cause of death, the police statement indicated that police and fire rescue units were dispatched at 10:17 p.m. on a report of a medical emergency but subsequently made the homicide determination. Acgtblu's 35-acre farm is nestled into a hillside near a cluster of other residences off Stony Point Road, about a mile from Darden Towe Park.

Acgtblu, who was born Kent Schwager, rose to local fame in 1989, when still a University of Virginia student, when he launched Chariot Advertising, a mobile billboard service. He went on to create a painting and property maintenance company called Schwager Management Services.

However, his most headline-grabbing business may have been the Corner Meal Plan. This was a consortium he assembled of UVa-adjacent restaurants that allowed students to buy meals with a parent- or self-funded swipe card. Widely seen as a threat to on-Grounds dining halls, he later expanded the concept, and threat, into additional college towns. Still later, he created Vmeals.com, now Foodify, which allows companies to order catered food for the workplace.

In his later years, Acgtblu became a real estate investor with a handful of holdings across the Charlottesville urban area. Among his more notable properties were two buildings in or around the Woolen Mills neighborhood. One was a slender house on Carlton Road, and the other a disused brick power station, complete with smokestack, facing East Market Street.

At the time of his death, Acgtblu's plan to redevelop that power station was mired in litigation with the nearby Millhouse condominium complex, according to Albemarle County Circuit Court records.

Acgtblu was father to several children, and he was reportedly married to Robin D. Legallo, a pediatric pathologist at UVa Medical Center. The Daily Progress' attempts to reach her Friday evening were not immediately successful.

Albemarle County police urge anyone with information regarding the incident or potential suspects to contact the department's criminal investigations division at (434) 296-5807 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line at (434) 977-4000 or Crimestoppers@albemarle.org.
The University of Virginia broke ground on the Paul and Diane Manning Institute for Biotechnology Friday morning at Fontaine Research Park outside Charlottesville.

The Mannings, who have become a philanthropic and business power couple in the Charlottesville area, made a historic donation of $100 million to the school back in January to launch an institute focused on curing the incurable and becoming the vanguard of gene and cell therapies. UVa contributed another $150 million to the project, and the state budget allocated an additional $50 million.

Change the world was the motif of the day. The phrase was repeated by several of the prominent figures in attendance  Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Speaker of the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert, UVa President Jim Ryan, UVa Rector Robert Hardie, Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook and, the man of the hour, Paul Manning  who spoke to the crowd of roughly a hundred people packed into a tent in the parking lot of the Fontaine Research Park.

We are bringing together a collaboration and commitment to innovation that will truly change the world, Youngkin told the crowd. We wont just change the world of health care and biotechnology, but it will literally save lives. In addition to saving lives, this institute will create over 2,400 jobs by 2026. Right here in the commonwealth of Virginia.

During his remarks, Youngkin did more than discuss the profound impact the institute will have on the breadth of medical knowledge. He also announced that when he presents his budget plan to the General Assembly next week he will be asking them to pledge yet another $50 million into the Manning Institute, $27 million towards the Virginia Tech Patient Research Center and $13 million to go to Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Medicine for All Institute.

Youngkin laid out his dreams that the $90 million potentially invested into Virginias research institutes will establish Virginias own bioscience, biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing institution collaboration that is our own version of a Research Triangle.

Virginia officials have made it clear that the Research Triangle life science hub in North Carolina is the model for the new biotech campus at UVa. The Old North State's Triangle is anchored by North Carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and home to more than 250 businesses including multinational R&D operations and entrepreneurial-driven startups.

The four-story, 350,000-square-foot building that will one day anchor the Manning Institute was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects in collaboration with Alice Raucher, UVa's architect, according to Ryans introductory speech. Craig Kent, CEO of UVa Health, confirmed at the groundbreaking that 20 scientists have already been recruited for the institute and a committee is actively searching for a leadership team.

The building will be constructed on what is now the parking lot adjacent to the Aurbach Medical Research Building and the Sheridan G. Snyder Translational Research Building. Ryan said the structure will be environmentally sustainable with a centralized energy plant.

The Fontaine Central Energy Plant will demonstrate the Universitys commitment to being a leader in next-generation district energy systems, utilizing thermal energy generation and distribution technology including geothermal storage, low-temp hot water distribution and heat recovery chillers, Paul Zmick, UVas director of energy and utilities, said in a statement announcing the site plan. The use of these technologies will make this the first zero combustion fossil-fuel-free Central Energy Plant on Grounds.

Paul Manning, CEO and chairman of health care research investment firm PBM Capital, and his wife, Diane, a former anesthesiologist nurse, moved to the Charlottesville area from New Jersey in the mid-'90s.

Manning founded PBM Products, which evolved into the world's largest privately owned baby formula company, and headquartered the company in Gordonsville outside the city. In 2010, PBM Products was sold to Perrigo, a public pharmaceutical company, for more than $800 million. Later that year, he used the profits from that sale to form PBM Capital to provide dedicated capital to future health care investments. The Mannings have also expanded their business empire beyond health care in recent years and are now the owners of Southwest Mountains Vineyards in Keswick, which officially opened earlier this year.

In his remarks, Paul Manning explained how the couples road to fortune began sleeping on a mattress on the plywood floor of a factory he purchased in Washington, D.C., so he could produce and distribute vitamin C for local health and wellness stores. After marrying, the Mannings relocated to Central Jersey, where he had an executive position at a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm. Their three children, Bradford, Kaity and Bryan, were all born in New Jersey, but it was the various illnesses they were born with that drew them to Charlottesville and UVas medical facilities.

They inspire us, said Manning at the groundbreaking. Bradford and Ryan have a retinal disease called Stargardts, and Katie and Brad have Type 1 diabetes. And I know that cellular medicine and gene therapy are going to cure those diseases. ... I think that watching our kids and how well they have done is so inspiring, but we have goals to help millions of people like them.
The results of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh have underscored the extent of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) politicaland not only electoraldominance in these states and north and central India, in general. The outcome in Telangana, on the one hand, points to the process of recoveryeven though slow and perhaps inadequatethat the Congress has been undergoing since its victory in Karnataka. On the other, it also points towards the limits to the growth of the BJP in South India, at least for the time being. The Mizoram mandate affirms the reality and necessity of federalism as the contest was primarily between two regional formations, where the emergent one, the Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) overwhelmingly defeated the entrenched one, the Mizo National Front (MNF), with the supposedly national parties being at the electoral margins.

As compared to the 2018 assembly elections, Congress has maintained its vote share in all three central Indian states but the increase in the vote share of the BJPparticularly steep in MP and Chhattisgarhpropelled it to comfortable majorities. Politically speaking, state governments are not mere service delivery mechanisms but are vehicles to cultivate and consolidate the popular support base for the political parties around a larger ideological agenda. The BJP seems to have achieved this effectively in MP, whereas the Congress was not up to this task in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In fact, this limitation on the part of Congress is evident all over India as it has not been able to get itself re-elected to power in any state since 2013 and the BJPs strength in this regard is particularly evident in the central and western Indian states. This capacity to consolidate and retain power is influenced by the clear projection of political identity. In other words, the ability to convincingly tell oneself and the people that whose party you are. Which interests do you represent and prioritise? In more than one way, the BJP has been able to provide a clear answer to these questions, in social as well as ideological terms. The Congress seems to be chasing the elusive goal of being a catch-all party and in that process faltering with muddled messaging and no firm core base. The aspiration to be a catch-all party cannot be a starting position, but an end to be achieved through the protracted and painstaking process of building the core base. Even in its heydays, the Congress as a national level catch-all party was composed of multiple state units with a distinct social image and consolidated base. The incapacity to provide a clear answer to aforementioned questions was thrown into sharp relief in MP, where the state Congress president was seen hobnobbing with self-styled godmen and rhetorically staking a claim on Hindutva imagination and the de facto national leader of that party (though without any organisational position) was rhetorically claiming the social justice imagination by pitching caste-census as a central plank. Neither of these claims finds purchase with the electorate as in the BJP, there is already a far superior claimant to the earlier imagination with proven credentials and Congresss own credentials with respect to the latter have been shaky at best, particularly in central and north Indian states, considering the social composition of its leadership and their overall social outlook. A contrast can be seen in Karnataka where the Congress has indeed been able to claim social justice imagination as its own, and this also answers the cut-and-dried arguments of certain commentators who are hastily and even gleefully declaring the irrelevance of caste-census as a political plank. Its relevance and credibility depend on the credentials of those who are raising it.
(The Center Square)  The Texas Comptrollers Office has updated its list of companies with scrutinized business operations in Iran.

Comptroller staff evaluates companies and their operations to determine if they comply with Texas Government Code Chapter 2270, which prohibits state governmental entities from contracting with listed companies and requires state and local governments to divest any and all investments from them.

I am proud of the work we have done to ensure Texas tax dollars do not go to companies supporting the brutal, authoritarian regime in Iran, a regime which has provided material support to organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. Recent geopolitical events have made this work more important than ever, and I am grateful to the Texas Legislature for entrusting me with this crucial responsibility.

The companies on the list include: Beiqi Foton Motor Company Limited, China Railway Group Limited, Chongquing Changan Automobile Company Limited, Glencore PLC, Haima Automobile Group Company Limited, Hyundai Motor Company, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Lloyds Banking Group PLC, Norinco International Cooperation Limited, Renault SA, Sinopec Engineering Group Co, LTD, Vodafone Group PLC, and Zhejiang Shibao Company Limited.

Last month, Hegar added five companies to the states divestment list for advancing ESG, anti-oil and natural gas policies.

He also recently reminded businesses about Texas boycott Israel list after the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel. Hamas is one of 74 designated foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) on Texas FTO divestment list.

The Comptrollers office has identified hundreds of entities, organizations, and companies that are prohibited from state investments:

Companies that Boycott Israel

Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Scrutinized Companies with ties to Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Financial Companies that Boycott Energy Companies

List of Financial Companies that Boycott Energy Companies FAQ

Scrutinized Companies with ties to Iran

Scrutinized Companies with ties to Sudan

State governmental entities subjected to the investment prohibitions and divestment requirements, according to state statute include: Employees Retirement System of Texas, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Texas Municipal Retirement System, Texas County and District Retirement System, Texas Emergency Services Retirement System and the Permanent School Fund as well as political subdivisions.

In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed SB 253, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law, to amend state law expanding divestment prohibition provisions. Existing law prohibiting investment in Sudan was expanded to include Iran. The law also expanded prohibitions on the investment of public money to include companies with certain business operations with Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This year, the legislature passed another bill, which Abbott signed into law, designating Mexican cartels as FTOs for the first time in state history.

The list is regularly updated. When state government entities receive an updated list, they are required by law to notify the Comptroller's office within 30 days if any of their holdings are invested in any of the listed companies. By no later than Jan. 5 every year, theyre also required to submit a report to the Texas Legislature and attorney generals office identifying all securities sold, redeemed, divested or withdrawn in compliance with state law.
Guatemala's electoral court insisted Friday the results of elections won by anti-graft candidate Bernardo Arevalo were "unchangeable", after the prosecutor's office sought to annul them amid accusations of an "attempted coup."

Political outsider Arevalo, who is slated to assume office on January 14, has faced an onslaught of legal challenges since his surprise second-round election victory in August, including attempts to suspend his political party and stop him from taking power.

The 65-year-old's triumph and his pledge to fight graft are widely seen in Guatemala as alarming to the establishment political elite.

On Friday, prosecutor Leonor Morales said investigations have concluded that the election of Arevalo, his vice-president and parliamentarians was "null and void" due to counting "anomalies" in the first round in June.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) responded by saying "the results are validated, formalized and unchangeable."

TSE president Blanca Alfaro told reporters the elected officials must assume office in January as planned or else there would be "a breach of the constitutional order."

In Washington, the Organization of American States secretariat in a statement said it "condemns the attempted coup d'etat by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Guatemala."

"The attempt to annul this year's general elections constitutes the worst form of democratic breakdown and the consolidation of a political fraud against the will of the people," the statement added.

The OAS urged outgoing president Alejandro Giammattei, the constitutional and supreme courts and Congress "to defend the institutions and constitutional order of the country by taking action against the perpetrators of this attack in order to preserve democracy in Guatemala."

- 'Ongoing coup' -

Arevalo, speaking at a news conference, called the actions of the prosecutor's office an "absurd, ridiculous and perverse coup d'etat."

He called on Guatemalans to "energetically defend" the country from efforts by Attorney General Consuelo Porras and senior prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche to impede his taking power.

"The coup perpetrators are trying to destroy the democratic regime and put an end to the basic right of Guatemalans to live in freedom," he said.

Porras, Curruchiche and Judge Fredy Orellana -- who had ordered the suspension of Arevalo's Semilla (Seed) party -- are all on a US list of "corrupt actors."

Curruchiche was present at Friday's press conference, saying "the information that was recorded in the closing and counting act at all polling stations should be annulled."

This "criminal information" would be submitted to the TSE, he said, for a final decision.

The tribunal has already certified Arevalo's election, but last month it suspended his party for a second time over alleged irregularities with its registration. That investigation is led by Curruchiche.

On Friday, Judge Alfaro said the prosecutor's office had no authority to make the TSE annul an election.

This could only be done through an order from the Constitutional Court.

"Our president is... Bernardo Arevalo and our vice president Karin Herrera," said Alfaro.

The moves against Arevalo and his party have ignited mass protests by Guatemalans demanding the resignation of the three officials.

Arevalo pulled off a major upset by advancing to the runoff after a first round marked by apathy among voters.

Poverty, violence and corruption push thousands of Guatemalans abroad every year in search of a better life, many to the United States.

The United States, European Union, UN and Organization of American States have all expressed concern over the events in Guatemala.

The top US diplomat for Latin America, Brian Nichols, said on social media that Friday's actions by prosecutors were "another blatant, unacceptable attempt to defy the will of Guatemalans."

"Such actions jeopardize Guatemala's market-friendly reputation & will be met with a strong US response."

Rights groups have increasingly expressed concern over what they say are efforts to crack down on prosecutors and journalists in an apparent bid by the government to protect a corrupt system benefiting those in power.

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The late Raymond P. Ray Ansotegui, of Livingston, was posthumously inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Great Falls.

The first full-time professor to be nominated for the accolade, Rays impact was not measured by the number of cattle he roped or the prominence of a ranch, but by the number of students he influenced, who spanned multiple generations, according to his son, Raymond Ansotegui.

Ray, who died in March at his home in Livingston, was the nominated from District 9, which includes Gallatin, Meagher, & Park County. One living and one deceased person from each district were nominated based on notable contributions to the history and culture of Montana.

He belongs in the Cowboy Hall of fame, Ansotegui said. He didnt own a ranch, but influenced so many people.

Ray was the son of first-generation immigrants, from the Basque Country, an autonomous Spanish community, near the northern border with France. He grew up on a ranch in Paradise Valley, Nevada, and always wanted to be a cowboy, his son said.

In the late 1950s, at 12 years old, Ray began venturing out on a chuck wagon, minding cattle for up to two weeks at a time, on the open range.

Formative years spent on the Nevada range could have fostered the cowboys adaptive drive, contrasted by a colorful yet personable disposition. These unique acquired abilities enabled the cowboy to become a scientist. It wasnt long until word of the cowboy professor spread.

I never went anywhere where someone didnt know him, Ansotegui said, referencing a situation when he was traveling in Australia and ran into someone who had heard of his father.

Ray went on to write numerous papers on cow biology. However, the childhood acquired tenacity and rough-hewn, outdoor agrarian charm remained.

After becoming a tenured professor at MSU in Bozeman, Ray still looked like he belonged on a horse.

People meeting him for the first time assumed he worked on a ranch somewhere, Ansotegui said.

The cowboy professor often wore jingle-bob spurs, a type of metal tool on the heel of a riding boot, which jingles.

They drove me nuts, said Rays wife, Linda.

The pair met in Nevada, in 1972, when Ray was conducting 4-H presentations with the University of Nevada, Reno. The two bonded over a shared passion for horses and working cows. The couple moved from Nevada to Livingston in 1975.

Shortly after the move, Ray was hired for a one year teaching position at MSU, Bozeman, filling in for a professor on sabbatical. Before long, the one year job had morphed into a 32-year career as a professor.

Ansotegui, who graduated from MSU with a Bachelor of Science in Abused Land Reclamation, expounded on his fathers influence, not only as a parent, but as one of his professors.

During Ansoteguis first semester at MSU, Ray was the assigned animal science professor for the first class of the day. Throughout the semester, only one other student found out the animal science professor was his father. Ray never demonstrated favoritism in the classroom, and if anything, graded way harder and set standards high, Ansotegui said.

As the years passed, Ray became known as a frequent volunteer at innumerable rodeos and as a professor who was not above putting in extra work to place his students in future agricultural positions. Ranches would preemptively call his father, asking if he knew who the ranch should hire.

Rays lasting influence on ranches is through his students, according to his son.

He loved being a cowboy, teaching and people, Ansotegui said.
Will COP28 finally get it together, or will it just be one more round of Carry On Pumping?  Meteor Blades, climate reporter for Daily Kos online

Fretting over getting just the right Christmas gift for that special person? Not even sure where to start looking?

Not to worry.

A Place to Sleep, episode 8: Portland Portland is not unlike cities in the mid-Willamette Valley in that it spends a lot of time defining when and where homeless people can't sleep rather than where they can.

In case you havent heard, there is a jumbo international trade show happening right now in Dubai, the shining city named after an old Arab proverb that goes, They came with a lot of money.

Dubai is the capital of the worlds seventh-largest oil-exporting petrostate, the United Arab Emirates. Its a great place to visit and shop, with its massive, spanking-new skyscrapers and upscale stores all oiled up and air conditioned for the jet setters who flock there from around the globe. (Not much air conditioning for the citys poor, but  theyre poor.)

The show is called COP28, short for 28th Conference of Parties (to climate agreements), and its sponsored by none other than that august globalist outfit, the United Nations.

Ostensibly the conference is held for representatives of virtually all of the worlds nations, to hash out agreements intended to forestall the climate calamity. But, in the words of famed climate activist Greta Thunberg, those talks at previous COPs proved to be just a lot of Blah, blah, blah.

So this time, the real action in Dubai is the trade show, held in pricey pavilions immediately adjacent to the conferences deliberation chambers. And believe me, the big players are all there.

First and foremost are the representatives from the peterostates and global oil and gas conglomerates. They are fielding at least 1,300 lobbyists, many of whom are embedded in various nations COP delegations.

The beauty of that, from their point of view, is that all of the parties must agree on the exact wording of any resolutions the conference passes  meaning that a single petrostate can force phrases such as phase out fossil fuels to be changed to phase down fossil fuels, allowing for their continued extraction and burning.

To ensure that things go swimmingly for everyone, your host for the event  with its expected attendance of 200,000  is none other than other than his Excellency, UAE President Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is also the CEO of Adnoc, the UAE state oil company  and the president of COP28.

On top of all that hes a wheeler-dealer suspected, as evidenced by recently leaked emails, of using his COP28 connections to make back-room oil deals for Adnoc. What a guy!

But dont concern yourself with that stuff. Instead, just relish this opportunity to cut your own deal for that petro-project gift that keeps on giving by rubbing elbows with some of the worlds top oil execs.

OK. Maybe petroleums not your thing, or quite right for your special giftee. Thats OK. There are plenty of other carbon-emitter lobbies to shop.

To start with, theres the meat and dairy industry. President Al Jaber managed to get animal agriculture, which is responsible for more emissions than aviation, added to this years COP agenda  some believe to take the heat off oil.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by becoming a subscriber today.

So the North American Meat Institute, whose website still questions whether climate change is caused by humans, teamed up with assorted global producers and rented an entire pavilion at the conference to push full force their message that beef is sustainable because cattle graze  although most eat in feedlots.

Also, the Global Cement and Concrete Association is there pushing its message that concrete emissions are  nothing to worry about.

But there is something to worry about. COP28 will wrap up in a few days, so if you want to haggle for that gift, youd better hop in your jet right now and blast across your ecological house.
Nancy Blouin passed away at the age of 91 on Sunday afternoon November 27 after a short battle with cancer. She was born in Havre Montana on August 13, 1932, to Lee and Doris Grant. Her brother Gary completed the family.

In 1951 she married Ward Genger from Fairfield Montana. Out of that marriage came four future educators, Jody (Music/Elementary Ed.), Harold (Tres,) (Business/PE} Grant (Social Studies/PE) and Matthew (Dado) (Elementary Ed}.

One evening her father came home with a piano that he had won in a poker game. The piano became her companion and her lifelong passion. Nancy taught lessons to 100s of children and was well known for her ability to play at dances, church, and at impromptu events. -often playing by ear.

In 1966, Nancy began operating Nancys Gift and Apparel; a clothing store on Fairfield s Main Street. She sold the store in 1975. In 1979, Nancy began her formal music education, (To join the Family Business). She graduated from WMC in 1983 and began her teaching career. Nancy taught K - 12 Music in several schools in Montana and North Dakota.

In 1998 she married David Blouin. They spent their winters in Arizona, where she met many new friends. In 1999 she and David moved to Deer Lodge Montana to be close to her daughter, Jody. Nancy lived there until 2012 when she moved back to Fairfield where she was living at the time of her passing.

She was preceded in death by her parents; Lee and Doris, her husbands; Ward and David and her brother Gary.

She is survived by her children, Jody (Phil) Maxwell of Fairfield Montana, Tres (Barb) Genger of Cut Bank Montana, Grant (Boni) Genger of Joliet Montana and Dado (Gail) Genger of Augusta Montana, 9 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren. With one great and one great-great grandchild on the way.

Nancy will always be remembered for her ability to play the piano, passion for music, her strength of spirit, and feistiness. She will be missed by many.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday December 9, 2023, at the United Church of Christ in Fairfield Montana officiated by Pastor Mike Manuel.

Condolences to the family may be shared at www.frontierfuneralhome.com
A government review focused on putting an end to unfair practices in the egg supply chain will soon close for responses, with farmers urged to participate.

Defra's review is seeking input from egg sector groups on issues such as transparency, clarity of contractual terms and conditions, and data from the supply chain.

It follows a series of challenges experienced by the egg sector, including increased energy and feed costs, which have raised questions about the fairness of the supply chain.

Many farms have seen energy bills increase by tens of thousands of pounds while feed costs have risen by 50% or more.

Transport, labour and the cost of pullets have all gone up too, leaving producers struggling to make a profit, or in the worst cases, ceasing production altogether.

Defra said creating fairer supply chains would help to ensure that producers could operate with "greater confidence" while "protecting consumers access to high-welfare British eggs".

It follows reviews into fairness in the pork and dairy supply chains, with a further review into the horticulture supply chain planned later this year.

Announcing the review in late October, then-Defra Secretary Therese Coffey said egg producers should be paid a fair price for their produce.

At the Farm to Fork summit in May, the government pledged to support the farmers by undertaking a review into the egg sector to ensure fairness moving forward.

"I would now encourage all stakeholders from across the industry to take part in this review to ensure their voices are heard.

British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) has been calling for a review of egg supply agreements for producers for some time.

The body's CEO, Robert Gooch, said he welcomed the consultation: It is needed to provide further stability for the sector and to ensure that there is no repeat of egg shortages in the future."

The government's review, which closes for responses on 22 December, will focus on understanding how the contractual arrangements within the sector currently function.

It will also explore whether there is the need for further legislation to oversee the relationship between producers and buyers.

The views of egg producers, packers, processors, retailers and other stakeholders involved in the egg supply chain will be considered as part of the review.

Farmers also have an opportunity to help shape the future of the egg supply chain during an NFU consultation session on 14 December, at 3:00pm.

Led by Chief Poultry Adviser Aimee Mahony, attendees will have the chance to inform the union's response by taking part in snapshot polls and discussions.

Earlier this year, Defra outlined detail on regulations aiming to ensure supply contracts in the dairy sector are fair and transparent, with farmers being paid a fair price for their produce.

It has also committed to introducing similar regulations for the pork sector, including written contracts and regulations to collect and share more supply chain data to reduce ambiguity in the sector.
Shane MacGowan urged Johnny Depp to forgive Amber Heard, his widow has revealed.

Shane MacGowan was close friends with Johnny Depp

The late Pogues star sadly died aged 65 after battling pneumonia at his home on 30 November after months of battling ill health but on Friday (08.12.23) his wife Victoria Mary MacGowan revealed that prior to his death, he had had a "long conversation" with Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife regarding their court case.

The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star was awarded over $10 million in damages after suing his ex-wife over an op-ed that she wrote in 2018 about being a victim of domestic violence but Shane had asked him to "forgive" his ex-wife for what she had done and Victoria gave a nod to Johnny, who was in attendance his memorial service.

Victoria said: "I mean, he just loved humanity and he believed that God is love. And ultimately, God is compassion and God is forgiveness. So Shane, although in the early days when I first met him, he was a little bit slow to forgive Brits... He kind of came around to it, you know? And he started to really, really, really forgive everybody everything immediately.

"And I hope you don't mind me saying this.

"But when Johnny (Depp) had a court case involving his ex-wife, Amber, and Shane had a long conversation with you didn't he, and urged you to forgive Amber, which I'm sure you have."

During the ceremony, Johnny himself read a prayer in honour of 'The Fairytale of New York' signer - who had endured a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction - as he urged that others "reach out" to those around them who need help.

He said: "May we feel the pain of others, understand their need and reach out to all who suffer in any way with a continuous love that is rooted in faith and peace."

The Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan and musician John Francis Flynn performed 'I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day'.

The masses lined Dublin's streets as The Pogues' beloved songs blasted out as the hearse made its way from St Lotts Road in Dublin City Centre through to Tipperary.

The procession included a horse-drawn carriage, the Artane Band and a piper.

Rousing renditions of 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes' and 'Dirty Old Town' could be heard on Dublins southside, followed by the festive classic 'Fairytale Of New York'.

Shane's widow was seen putting on a brave face as she was pictured smiling in the funeral car.

A private cremation will follow the public mass.
The euro area saw a slight decrease in GDP by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, while the European Union (EU) maintained stability, showing no change compared to the previous quarter, according to Eurostat's recent estimate. This follows a modest growth of 0.1 per cent in both areas in the second quarter of 2023.

Year-over-year comparisons show a stable GDP for both the euro area and the EU in the third quarter of 2023, marking a shift from the growth rates of 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively in the previous quarter.

Among the member states, Malta led the growth with a 2.4 per cent increase in GDP, followed by Poland and Cyprus with 1.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively. In contrast, Ireland, Estonia, and Finland experienced the most significant declines, as per Eurostat.

Euro area saw a 0.1 per cent GDP dip in the third quarter of 2023, while EU's GDP was stable, following modest growth in Q2. Malta, Poland, and Cyprus showed GDP growth, while Ireland, Estonia, and Finland declined. Household consumption rose slightly in both regions, but exports and imports fell. Employment increased by 0.2 per cent in Q3 2023.

Household final consumption expenditure showed an upward trend, increasing by 0.3 per cent in the euro area and 0.4 per cent in the EU. Government final consumption expenditure also increased in both regions. However, gross fixed capital formation showed negligible changes. Exports decreased by 1.1 per cent in the euro area and by 1 per cent in the EU (after minus 1.1 per cent in the euro area and minus 1 per cent in the EU). Imports decreased by 1.2 per cent in the euro area and by 1.4 per cent in the EU (after 0.0 per cent and minus 0.1 per cent respectively).

In terms of contribution to GDP growth, household final consumption expenditure was positive, but changes in inventories negatively impacted both the euro area and the EU.

Employment figures brought a glimmer of hope, with a 0.2 per cent increase in the number of employed persons in both regions compared to the previous quarter. Year-over-year data showed a more robust increase in employment, with a 1.3 per cent rise in the euro area and a 1.2 per cent increase in the EU. Lithuania, Malta, and Spain recorded the highest growth in employment, while Estonia, Czechia, and Finland saw declines.

Eurostat's estimate puts the total number of employed persons at 216.6 million in the EU, with 168.7 million in the euro area.

However, productivity saw a downturn. Based on persons, productivity decreased by 1.2 per cent in the euro area and 1.1 per cent in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year. When considering hours worked, the decline was similar.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
Vicky Kaushal is yet again regaling the audience with his spirit of patriotism in the much talked-about drama 'Sam Bahadur'. The film is directed by Meghna Gulzar and is a biopic made on the country's first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Sam Manekshaw was an Indian Army commander and a great military strategist whose extraordinary qualities and unwavering dedication left an enduring impression on leadership. He showed his patriotism in his duty and fought multiple wars for our country.

If you're in the mood to indulge in some patriotic dramas and walk down memory lane by revisiting our nations' history, here's your binge guide. Take a retrospective dive by exploring some of the interesting and riveting series.

The Forgotten Army

A must-watch series, "The Forgotten Army" narrates the inspirational and genuine narrative of Indian soldiers battling for independence during World War II. Led by Subhash Chandra Bose, they allied with the Japanese army and marched towards Delhi with the war cry 'Chalo Delhi'. The series highlights the courage and loyalty of both men and women in the Indian National Army, who fought against all odds for India's freedom. This series is based on operations conducted by the Indian Army to stop terrorist attacks and spread of fake notes, eventually leading to the implementation of demonetisation. It's a captivating series of action, patriotism, and the often-overlooked sacrifices made by these brave soldiers. Don't miss this amazing journey available only on Prime Video.

Avrodh 2

"Avrodh 2" , an engaging military drama series, is a must-watch! In this movie, Waziri and Aziz plan to send counterfeit goods into India through various borders. At Kotla Camp, Zafar and Mujeed, disguised as shepherds with 12 other terrorists, embark on their mission. Pradeep, tipped off by Babrak about it, quickly alerts Imtiaz, setting the action-packed mission in motion. There are eighteen episodes of The series. The series is only on SonyLive, provides an original approach to learn about military operations and has an interesting plot.

Bose Se Netaji Tak

Amidst World War II, Subhash Chandra Bose's quest for India's freedom led him to unlikely alliances, earning him the title "Netaji." From Nazi Germany, he formed the Indian National Army, uniting compatriots to fight for independence in Southeast Asia. This portrayal honors Bose's legacy, blending history with creativity. For a trip down memory lane, tune in to the historic saga, Bose Se Netaji Tak only on Pocket FM.

Bose Dead or Alive

"Bose: Dead or Alive" is a gripping web series with nine episodes that unfolds the inspiring tale of Subhas Chandra Bose, a heroic freedom fighter. Rajkummar Rao brilliantly portrays Bose's journey as a revolutionary leader, showcasing his courage and deep love for the nation. The series vividly depicts the real-life story of Bose, who mysteriously disappeared in 1945 while fighting for India's independence from British rule. It's a must-watch patriotic series available exclusively on Jio Cinema, offering viewers a compelling glimpse into the remarkable life of this great leader.

State of Siege: 26/11

"Watch 'State of Siege: 26/11,' an emotionally charged and must-watch series loaded with patriotism. It's based on a true story where 10 young Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists attacked Mumbai for 'Jihad.' The 60-hour operation, led by Mumbai Police, Marine Commandos, and NSG, resulted in the capture of one terrorist, Mohammad Ajmal Kasab. ZEE5 is the location of this thrilling and powerful series that follows brave attempts to defend the city.
"Mission Raniganj" was released on Netflix on December 1st and scored 5.5 million viewing hours from 2.4 million views in its first three days. It is trending in the top 10 in 12 countries, including number 1 in India.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 7: Tinu Suresh Desai, the mastermind behind the cinematic gem Mission Raniganj, is basking in the glory of its success. The film, which soared to the number one spot on Netflix shortly after its release, has brought immense joy to Desai, celebrating the audience's unwavering affection for his creation.

The film's journey from the silver screen to the digital realm has been a remarkable one. Loved by critics and audiences alike, Mission Raniganj stands as a testament to Desai's ability to bring gripping narratives to life, rooted in realism yet rich in commercial appeal. The film's success extends beyond the theatres, running for over seven weeks, captivating and engaging audiences with its emotive storytelling.

Director Tinu Suresh Desai says "My vision isn't about chasing overnight success; it's about crafting narratives that resonate authentically with viewers", remarks Tinu Suresh Desai, reflecting on the exceptional love showered upon Mission Raniganj.

Desai's storytelling finesse shines through in this real-life-inspired tale, where viewers are transported into the treacherous world of a coal mine, experiencing the trials and dangers faced by miners firsthand. The film's ability to authentically portray the plight of these individuals has resonated profoundly with audiences, fostering a genuine connection that extends beyond the screen.

No doubt the film has its share of outstanding Directional sequences and extreme emotions along with clap traps. The flooding sequence and miners running for their life literally makes the audience pray for them. The interval point too makes the audience cry and wonder what will happen to the trapped miners. The dog's role and it's bond with his master, and it's importance in locating the miners brings goosebumps, as does the moment when the first miner exits the mines. The audience's emotions were at an extreme high. Last but not least, the climax sequence when Gill looses his signalling hammer and uses his Kada is stuff that Hindi commercial cinema is known for. All these sequences make Mission Raniganj a special film that is a must-see.

Tinu Suresh Desai S directorial acumen, coupled with Vipul K Rawal's captivating screenplay and Deepak Kingrani's realistic dialogues, has woven a narrative that transcends the need for extravagant publicity stunts. The film's success is a testament to the power of storytelling driven by emotion and sincerity.

With Mission Raniganj, Desai continues his streak of creating films that touch hearts, stimulate thoughts, and linger in the minds of audiences, solidifying his reputation as a filmmaker who prioritizes substance over spectacle.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 8, 2023) - CARLYLE COMMODITIES CORP. (CSE: CCC) (FSE: BJ4) (OTCQB: CCCFF) ("Carlyle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated December 1, 2023, it has closed its non-brokered private placement of flow-through-units of the Company (the "Offering") consisting of 4,501,762 units (each, a "Unit") of the Company at a price of $0.17 per Unit for gross aggregate proceeds of $765,299.

Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company issued on a "flow-through" basis (each, a "Flow-Through Share") pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act") and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each full Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one non-flow-through common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.30 per Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four months following the date of issuance (the "Date of Issue").

The aggregate proceeds of the Offering are anticipated to be used for exploration expenditures at the Company's Flagship Newton Project in British Columbia.

Finders' fees of $57,864.98 and 324,941 finder's warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") were paid in connection with Offering in accordance with the policies of the CSE and applicable securities laws. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Share (each, a "Finder's Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.17 per Finder's Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four months following the Date of Issue.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day after the Date of Issue, as set out in National Instrument 45-102 - Resale of Securities. None of the securities sold in connection with the Offering will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and no such securities may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Appointment of new CFO

The Company would like to announce and welcome Mr. Alastair Brownlow as its new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Brownlow is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a U.S. Certified Public Accountant (Washington) specializing in resource-focused accounting and finance. Mr. Brownlow has accumulated extensive experience working as CFO of TSXV and CSE listed mineral exploration and development companies throughout the world, including exploration and production companies in British Columbia. Mr. Brownlow also previously worked as an auditor in the British Virgin Islands focusing on financial and regulatory reporting of public and private funds and trust companies. Prior to this, Mr. Brownlow worked for a Canadian chartered professional accountant firm where he specialized in the mining industry, gaining significant accounting experience auditing mineral exploration and development companies in Canada and throughout the world. Mr. Brownlow has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with first class honours from Simon Fraser University.

About Carlyle

Carlyle is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties. Carlyle owns 100% of the Newton Project in the Clinton Mining Division of B.C. and is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "CCC", on the OTCQB Market under the ticker "CCCFF", and the Frankfurt Exchange under the ticker "BJ4".

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

CARLYLE COMMODITIES CORP.

"Morgan Good"

Morgan Good

President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information regarding this news release, please contact:

Morgan Good, CEO and Director

T: 604-715-4751

E: morgan@carlylecommodities.com

W: www.carlylecommodities.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company 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. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering.

Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management, including, without limitation, that the Company will be able to use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.

Additionally, forward-looking statements involve a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation: that the Company may not be able to use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this press release. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this press release by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this press release.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/190446
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / BioNxt Solutions Inc. ("BioNxt" or the "Company") (CSE:BNXT)(OTCQB:BNXTF)(FSE:BXT) announces that, further to its news release dated November 24, 2023, it has settled an aggregate of $2,581,096 in convertible debentures and interest (the "Debt") owed to an arm's length creditor of the Company (the "Creditor"). In settlement of the Debt the Company issued the Creditor:

162,192 common shares in the capital of the Company (the " Settlement Shares ") at a deemed price of $0.50 per Settlement Share; and

") at a deemed price of $0.50 per Settlement Share; and an unsecured convertible debenture with a principal amount of $2,500,000 (the "Settlement Debenture", and together with the Settlement Shares, the "Settlement Securities").

The Settlement Debenture is convertible, at the option of the Creditor, into common shares in the capital of the Company ("Shares") at a price of $0.50 per Share (the "Conversion Price"). Further, the Settlement Debenture will mature and be repayable on the date that is one year from the date of issuance (the "Maturity Date"), and bear interest at a rate of 8% per annum until maturity, which is calculated and payable semi-annually on the last day of June and December in each year. The Company has the right to pay all accrued and unpaid interest either in cash or in Shares at the Conversion Price, in its sole discretion.

The terms of the Settlement Debenture further provide that the Company may from time to time, at the Company's option, prepay all or part of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest without penalty or bonus. Conversion of the Settlement Debenture may be forced at the option of the Company if the 15-day volume weighted average price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange exceeds 250% of the Conversion Price.

Canaccord Genuity Corp. ("Canaccord") acted as the Company's advisor in connection with the settlement of the Debt. As consideration for its advisory services, the Company issued Canaccord:

250,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the " Advisory Shares ") at a deemed price of $0.55 per Advisory Share; and

") at a deemed price of $0.55 per Advisory Share; and 250,000 common share purchase warrants (the "Advisory Warrants", and together with the Advisory Shares, the "Advisory Securities"), each of which is exercisable by Canaccord to acquire one common share in the capital of the Company (an "Advisory Warrant Share") at a price of $0.55 per Advisory Warrant Share for a period of one year from the date of issuance.

The Settlement Securities, the Advisory Securities, and any securities issued upon conversion thereof, are subject to a hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Finder's Warrants

The Company is also in the process of correctively issuing 604,000 finder's warrants ("Finder's Warrants") to Canaccord in connection with the closing of the Company's non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of common shares in the capital of the Company ("Shares"), the details of which are included in the Company's news release dated October 27, 2023. It was the intention of the Company and Canaccord that the Finder's Warrants would be issued upon closing of each tranche of the Private Placement but the Finder's Warrant were not issued due to a clerical error.

Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Share (a "Finder's Warrant Share") at a price of $0.36 per Finder's Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. The Finder's Warrants and Finder's Warrant Shares, as applicable, are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

About BioNxt Solutions Inc.

BioNxt Solutions Inc. is a bioscience accelerator focused on next-generation drug formulations and delivery systems, diagnostic screening tests, and new active pharmaceutical production and evaluation, including: precision transdermal and oral dissolvable drug formulations; rapid, low-cost infectious disease and oral health screening tests; and standardization and clinical evaluation of emerging active pharmaceutical ingredients for neurological applications. The Company has research and development operations in North America and Europe, with an operational focus in Germany, and is currently focused on regulatory approval and commercialization of medical products for European markets.

BioNxt Solutions Inc.

Hugh Rogers, CEO and Director

Email: info@bionxt.com

Phone: +1 780-818-6422

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: BioNxt Solutions Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
New business listing backlinking service helps businesses across sectors improve their online presence, announces LinkDaddy.

Tallinn, Estonia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 8, 2023) - LinkDaddy is expanding its range of services with its Business Listing Backlinks for Citations - a solution designed to improve search engine visibility and make it easier for businesses to get found by customers on the market for their services.

More details can be found at https://www.linkdaddy.shop/business-listing-backlinks







LinkDaddy Releases New Business Listing Backlinks & Citation Service

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The announcement brings a content-based approach that leverages branded content published on hundreds of authority websites to create a backlink network for a client's business listings.

"If you just had your citations done and you now have a spreadsheet with all your business listings this is the gig to order to help get them indexed and powering up your website," said LinkDaddy founder and experienced SEO expert Tony Peacock. "Those links wont be very helpful if you don't backlink them - and this is what this gig is designed to do at an affordable price."

The process starts with a careful analysis of the client's keywords doubled by Google research to source relevant content that responds to the needs of the client's audience. LinkDaddy will then create niche-specific content optimized with each client's GMB listing, and publish it on hundreds of high-authority domains.

To ensure optimal linking, the agency structures it in three tiers: tier-3 URLs link to tier-2, tier-2 link to tier-1, and tier-1 link to the client's URLs. This offers more than 2,500 links as part of a single campaign, with more than 350 tier-1 links.

All posts are unique and designed to provide valuable information that answers specific questions that the target audience of each client may have. Since they are optimized to focus on ultra-specific topics and related keywords, clients will often see substantial benefits in organic Google ranking - many times as early as several days after the launch of the campaign.

"With this service our clients can power up their online presence with high-quality, business-listing citations," said Tony. "Our team will help them reach their indexing goals and improve their website's search engine ranking."

Interested parties can find more information at https://www.linkdaddy.shop/products/business-listing-backlinks

Contact Info:

Name: Tony Peacock

Email: tony@linkdaddy.com

Organization: LinkDaddy

Address: 6 Sepapaja, Tallinn, Harju maakond 11415, Estonia

Website: https://www.linkdaddy.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/190450
Highlights:



Alaska Energy Metals Corporation announces intention to conduct a non-brokered flow-through private placement

The TSX Venture Exchange has issued a bulletin publishing its acceptance of the Angliers-Belleterre acquisition

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alaska Energy Metals Corporation (TSX-V: AEMC, OTCQB: AKEMF) ("AEMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, it plans to conduct a non-brokered private placement of flow-through common shares at a price of $0.50 per share to raise gross proceeds of $1,000,000. The net proceeds will be used for exploration activities on the Angliers project. Finder's fees will be payable in connection with this financing.

The TSXV has published its bulletin providing final approval for the acquisition of the owner of the 141 BC is Arm's Length to the Company and its assets are comprised of the Angliers-Belleterre nickel-copper project (the "Angliers project") in western Quebec and approximately $2.8 million in cash. As previously announced on November 24, 2023, the acquisition of 141 BC was effected through a Share Exchange Agreement between the Company, 141 BC, and the securityholders of 141 BC dated November 7, 2023. AEMC issued a total of 31,827,720 AEMC common shares at a deemed price of $0.315 and 4,105,958 AEMC warrants. The warrants are exercisable at $0.80 for a period of two years.

The Angliers property is subject to a 2.5% net smelter returns production royalty that can be reduced to 1.5% by paying the royalty holders $1.5 million.

AEMC also provides the following updates with respect to its previously announced engagement of the following investor relations service providers:

MMG

Further to the Company's news release dated July 6, 2023, the Company clarifies with respect to its engagement of MMG Market Medium GmbH & Co. KG. ("MMG") that the total sum of 150,000 euros paid to MMG represents the total marketing expenditure budget and that only 15% (approximately, 22,500 euros) is retained by MMG as their fee. For more information about the Company's engagement with MMG please refer to the Company's news release dated July 6, 2023.

Apollo

Further to the Company's news release dated November 6, 2023, the Company clarifies with respect to its engagement of Apollo Shareholder Relations Ltd. ("Apollo") that the engagement may be renewed on a month-to-month basis in consideration for a monthly fee of $12,100. For more information about the Company's engagement with Apollo please refer to the Company's news release dated November 6, 2023.

About Alaska Energy Metals

Alaska Energy Metals Corporation is focused on delineating and developing a large polymetallic exploration target containing nickel, copper, cobalt, chrome, iron, platinum, palladium and gold. It's main projected, located in development-friendly central Alaska near existing transportation and power infrastructure, the project is well-situated to become a significant, domestic source of critical and strategic energy-related metals. The Company is now bringing forward the Angliers - Belleterre project in Quebec.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Gregory Beischer

Gregory Beischer, President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Gregory A. Beischer, President & CEO

Toll-Free: 877-217-8978 | Local: 604-638-3164

Sarah Mawji, Public Relations

Final Edit Media and Public Relations

Email: sarah@finaleditpr.com

Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation), including, without limitation, that (a) AEMC will conduct a non-brokered flow-through private placement. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve 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 statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If the Company updates any forward-looking statement(s), no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other 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 press release.
UEM Edgenta Berhad proudly announces a strategic partnership with KAIZEN Group. This collaboration seeks to create an integrated real estate services platform, harnessing UEM Edgenta's smart buildings and sustainability solutions to meet the escalating sustainability demands in Dubai and the broader Middle East market.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates--(Newsfile Corp. - December 9, 2023) - UEM Edgenta Berhad ("UEM Edgenta" or the "Company"), a leading provider of Asset Management and Infrastructure Solutions across the region, proudly announces its strategic partnership of a 60% stake in KAIZEN Group at the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC ("COP28") in Dubai. KAIZEN Group is a tech-enabled property management services company headquartered in the UAE.







Left to right: Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani, Managing Director, UEM Group (left); Datuk Amran Hafiz Affifudin, Chairman, UEM Group (second from left); Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director, Khazanah Nasional Berhad (third from left); YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (fourth from left); Syahrunizam Samsudin, Managing Director & CEO, UEM Edgenta (fourth from right) and Fadi Marwan Alnwilati Almasri, CEO, KAIZEN Group (third from right).

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With a remarkable 16-year track record, KAIZEN Group is a pioneer in tech-driven end-to-end property management services in Dubai. The group's comprehensive offerings span across the real estate services value chain, from Handover Services, Property Management, Investment Advisory, Lease Management to Owners Association management. It currently manages a portfolio of over 130 projects for some of the notable real-estate landlords and developers in the UAE.

Notably, KAIZEN Group clinched awards in various categories including 'Property Management Company of the Year,' 'Sustainable Community Award,' and 'Partnership Award-PropTech' at Smart Built Environment 2023, alongside the 'Happiest Residential Community of the Year' at Customer Happiness Awards 2023. In 2022, the company was honoured with the 'Best Property Management Company of the Year,' 'Most Customer-Centric Company of the Year,' and 'Best Digital Transformation of the Year' at IRECMS. Moreover, it was recognized as the winner of 'Property Management Company of the Year' and 'Partnership Award - PropTech' at Smart Built Awards 2022. Additionally, KAIZEN Group achieved a milestone in 2022 by being among the first management companies to obtain the WELL Health-Safety Rating for its portfolio from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).

The immediate synergy between UEM Edgenta and KAIZEN Group's property management and facility management capabilities is fast-tracking UEM Edgenta's vision to curate an integrated real estate services platform. Further value will be unlocked by bringing UEM Edgenta's smart buildings and sustainability solutions to meet the increasing sustainability focus in Dubai and the wider Middle East market.

"The principal goal of this partnership is to establish a comprehensive and integrated real estate services platform. Through the combined capabilities and brand franchise of UEM Edgenta, and KAIZEN Group, this strategic alliance is designed to adapt to the rapidly changing demand for end-to-end services and quality lifestyle experience by property owners and users, embedded with tech-driven and sustainability solutions," commented Syahrunizam Samsudin, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UEM Edgenta.

"A focal point of this partnership is to integrate smart building technologies and sustainability solutions into KAIZEN Group's operations, leveraging our Asseto, a Software as a Service ("SaaS") asset management platform; and sustainability solutions expertise such as Energy Efficiency and Energy Performance Contracts. This augurs well with the real estate sector's commitment to digitalisation and environmentally conscious practices", he added.

"As a purpose driven organisation, KAIZEN has always pioneered the industry in delivering unique solutions to our clients and customers. The partnership with UEM Edgenta is a continuation of our commitment to deliver unique value to our customers by leveraging on UEM Edgenta's leading technologies to transform our buildings to smart buildings, thus further reduce carbon footprint. Our strategic partnership is poised to redefine customer satisfaction by seamlessly integrating wellness, health, and happiness into every facet of our services. With a dedicated focus on our customers' well-being, we are committed to delivering unparalleled, holistic experiences that resonate at the core of our mission. The partnership will also enable us to expand regionally and deliver more memorable experiences to a wider market. The team at Kaizen and I look forward to unleashing the possibilities together with UEM Edgenta to propel our ability to achieve Kaizen's 2040 vision," commented Fadi Marwan Alnwilati Almasri, Chief Executive Officer of KAIZEN Group.

UEM Edgenta's vision to build an integrated real estate services platform is aligned with Dubai Master Urban Plan 2040 vision to enhance Dubai's reputation as the best city for living, as a role model for overall-well-being. This partnership firmly establishes UEM Edgenta as a key player in shaping the urban landscape in line with Dubai's forward-looking development goals; while at the same time reinforces the 'Edgenta of the Future 2025' vision to fortify its presence and influence in high-growth markets, simultaneously enhancing its services delivery and technology propositions.

UEM Edgenta Group is excited about the myriad of new opportunities and synergies this partnership brings, solidifying its position as a key player in delivering innovative and sustainable real estate solutions in Dubai and the broader Middle East.

Present together with Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UEM Edgenta, at the exchange of documents ceremony was Fadi Marwan Alnwilati Almasri, the Chief Executive Officer of KAIZEN Group.

For further information on UEM Edgenta's presence in the Middle East and its other initiatives, logon to https://www.uemedgenta.com.

Contact Info:

Name: Wan Laila Fatihah

Email: wanlaila@edgenta.com

Organization: UEM Edgenta

Website: https://www.uemedgenta.com

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Bollywood diva Alia Bhatt has had a dream 2023. After Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani took the ticket window by storm in July, Alias Hollywood debut Heart Of Stone, which also starred Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan, was also appreciated by fans. The year also had her attend the Met Gala and now shes once again grabbing headlines with her appearance at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

At the event, Alia Bhatt spoke about her love for films, while also sharing the cheat code to acting that she often turns to.

Alia Bhatt on her cheat code to acting

During an interaction at the Red Sea International Film Festival, Alia Bhatt, noting that she is inclined toward characters that require a change in dialect, revealed that she always used to imitate and pick up sounds from people.

The actress added that she chose films like Udta Punjab and RRR for her inclination towards changing her dialect, whether it is a different accent or when she had to learn a different language.

So, I take it upon myself as a challenge and I enjoy doing it. There is a lot of prep work but I feel it makes half of the job much easier where you can just give a completely new face to a character and that will not be anything like you, she said.

So, like Oh wow! What a great actor because shes not like that, the Gangubai Kathiawadi actress said, adding that its actually like a cheat code, which takes new lengths in ones performance.

Sharing her acting mantra, she also recited a popular line from her blockbuster film Gangubai Kathiawadi.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALIAS HARSHITA  (@aliabhatt_fantasy)



She also spoke about her experience of working with Shah Rukh Khan, saying she froze on the sets of Dear Zindagi before the very first shot.

On the work front

Last seen in Karan Johars Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Alia Bhatt is busy shooting for her next, Jigra, with Vasan Bala. The film is expected to hit the cinemas next year.
Over the past few weeks, theres been a rumour that all is not well within the Bachchan family. From Aishwarya cropping Shweta and Jaya Bachchan from a family photo on Amitabh Bachchans birthday to Abhishek Bachchan making a public appearance without his marriage ring, fans are convinced there is trouble in paradise at Jalsa. And now the latest report is that Big B has unfollowed his daughter-in-law on Instagram.

The Brahmastra actor, who follows a very small number of people, now doesnt follow Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, thus fanning rumours.

While a section of users asserted that they never followed each other, a few others speculated that it could be Big Bs privacy settings on his account that restricted people from seeing whom he follows.

All is not well between Aishwarya and Abhishek?

While theres no word from the families, fans cant help but only speculate about the developments.

In the meantime, the entire Bachchan family, including Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek Bachchan, his wife Jaya Bachchan, sister Shweta Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Bachchan, and her granddaughter Aaradhya Bachchan, was spotted at The Archies premiere in Mumbai.

While all seemed fine, it was just the Bachchans who knew the complete reality. In the wake of the speculations, reports have also suggested that Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Bachchans marriage has hit a rough patch in the past few months, further adding that the actress has been spending a lot of time at her mothers house.

For the unversed, Abhishek and Aish have been married for over 15 years now. They tied the knot on 20 April 2007 and welcomed their daughter Aaradhya in 2011.
Yesteryear actress Sharmila Tagore celebrated her 79th birthday on Friday in what was an intimate family affair at Saif Ali Khans Mumbai residence. In attendance were all her kids and their spouses. Sharmilas grandchildren, including Sara, Ibrahim, Taimur, Jeh, and Inaaya, were also present at the celebrations. Actress Kareena Kapoor shared some pictures from her mother-in-laws birthday party.

While the first few pictures show a sweet moment between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, another photograph shows Sharmila posing with her grandson Taimur.      --, read the caption.



Actress Sara Ali Khan also wished her grandmother on her birthday and shared a few moments from the party. The Simmba actress uploaded a few family pictures featuring Sharmila with Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Saba Ali Pataudi, Kareena Kapoor, Taimur, Jeh, and Ibrahim, indeed serving perfect family goals. This was followed by a video of the cake-cutting ceremony. Happiest Birthday Badi Amma, the caption read. Not to miss the family singing the Baar Baar Din Yeh Aaye song in unison.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sara Ali Khan (@saraalikhan95)



About Sharmila Tagore

Having made her acting debut at just 13 years old with Satyajit Rays Apur Sansar, Sharmila Tagores iconic presence in Indian cinema serves as a timeless testament to her work. From pushing boundaries for magazine covers to delivering power-packed performances in Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore etched her name as one of the leading actresses of her time. After working in several Hindi and Bengali films in the 1960s and 1970s, she returned to the set recently for Disney+Hotstars Gulmohar.

On the personal front, she married Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi, in 1969. The couple has three kids: son Saif Ali Khan and daughters Soha and Saba.
Akshay Kumar was recently seen in Mission Raniganj where he played the role of Indian mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill, who risked his life to save 65 trapped miner workers by constructing a capsule gill back in 1989. Directed by Tinu Suresh Desai and produced by Deepshikha Deshmukh, the film is now streaming on Netflix.

And in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the director and producer spoke about bringing this heroic chapter on the big screen and much more.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Tinu, what do you have to say about your film and the recent Uttarakhand rescue operation that happened?

People are definitely going to compare the two incidents. When this incident happened in 1989, and the incident that happened in Uttarakhand, comparisons were bound to happen but there were a lot of other things involved. The trapped workers got a lot of help of technology when they were trapped in Uttarakhand, but the workers didnt get the same facility back in 1989. They were stuck for 17 days and everyday was a new challenge, but what happened was there was a camera inside, because of which they were able to see what was happening outside and we were able to see their visuals.

After Rustom, what inspired you to make a film on a real life incident again?

When the story of Rustom came to me, I didnt know about the story of the Nanavati case. When I read the script, I really liked it; but Rustom is 80% fiction and Mission Raniganj is 90% real. I didnt intend to make a film on a real life incident again, but I feel fortunate to make a film on this subject. Mission Raniganj is one of the greatest rescue stories in Indian history.

Deepshikha, as a producer, what were the challenges you faced in recreating the year of 1989 when the rescue mission happened?

The challenges go up manifold when you make a film on the real life incident. It was important to have the right team so that whatever we put out looks and feels the same. Im grateful to the entire production team for being able to replicate the tunnel, the look of the miners, or the entire capsule. The capsule was so tiny in size that it was impossible for anyone to sit in and go through. When youre in a situation others have experienced themselves, your performance increases manifold. They all are phenomenal actors. Im extremely proud of this film and it has been extremely difficult and challenging. We have such beautiful messages pouring in ever since its release in October.

Deepshikha, what are your expectations from 2024 since you have Bade Miyan Chote Miyan coming up with Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff?

We are so excited for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, its a massive action entertainer, its a complete new universe we are pushing through.
The misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) for malicious purposes, such as revenge porn or spreading fake news, has been raising fears worldwide. Now, researchers are saying that apps and websites that use AI to undress women in photos are becoming increasingly popular.

According to social network analysis company Graphika, as many as 24 million (2.4 crore) people visited such sites in September alone, reported Bloomberg.

How the use of undressing sites and apps has increased? Lets find out.

Apps that undress women

These undressing, or nudify, sites and apps alter existing clothed pictures and videos of real individuals. It then uses AI to generate a fake nude image of them, noted Business Insider. Most of these nudifying apps work only on women.

Graphika said in its December report, A Revealing Picture, that it analysed 34 websites that offer these services, which it described as non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII).

The researchers found that the number of links advertising undressing apps rose over 2,400 per cent since the beginning of this year on social media, including on X and Reddit, reported Bloomberg.

The report mentioned that 53 Telegram groups used to access these services have at least 1 million users.

ALSO READ: How big is the deepfake problem in India and beyond

Dangers of deepfake pornography

The use of AI for generating non-consensual pornography has been a worrying trend for years now. Websites that create deepfake nudes  digitally manipulated images to make someone appear naked  have surfaced in the past few years.

The menace is all the more concerning as it is also being used to target minors. Last month, the deepfake images of female students of a New Jersey high school were circulated online.

In September, more than 20 girls fell prey to deepfake photos generated by the AI-powered app Clothoff which lets users to undress girls for free, reported Daily Mail. These fake nude images made using the fully clothed pictures posted on these girls Instagram accounts were then shared in WhatsApp groups.

Earlier this year, a teenage boy allegedly used AI apps to create deepfake images of female students at a high school in Seattle, Washington, as per the Daily Mail report.

According to a Vice report in 2019, a software called DeepNude was used to produce a convincing nude image of women in 30 seconds.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said: We are seeing more and more of this being done by ordinary people with ordinary targets.

You see it among high school children and people who are in college.

Psychotherapist Lisa Sanfilippo, whose expertise includes sexual trauma, told Business Insider earlier that creating false nude images is a major violation of peoples privacy that can bring intense trauma to the victim.

She said that for the victim seeing images of yourself  or images that are falsified to look like you, in acts that you might find reprehensible, scary or that would be only for your personal life can be very destabilising  even traumatising. There is no ability to give consent there.

Its abuse when someone takes something from another person that has not been freely given to them, Sanfilippo added.

With AI tools becoming more accessible, it has also become easier and cheaper to produce non-consensual sexually explicit content. From celebrities to a layperson, deepfakes can be deployed to target anyone with just a few clicks.

The availability of multiple open source diffusion models has also made it simpler to alter images, leading to the launch of these undressing websites and apps, Graphikas report said.

Bolstered by these AI services, synthetic NCII providers now operate as a fully-fledged online industry, leveraging many of the same marketing tactics and monetisation tools as established e-commerce companies. This includes advertising on mainstream social media platforms, influencer marketing, deploying customer referral schemes, and the use of online payment technologies, Forbes cited the report as saying.

The researchers warned: We assess the increasing prominence and accessibility of these services will very likely lead to further instances of online harm, such as the creation and dissemination of non-consensual nude images, targeted harassment campaigns, sextortion, and the generation of child sexual abuse material.

What have companies said?

As per Bloomberg, one of the apps has paid for sponsored content on Googles YouTube, making it the first to appear when the search word is nudify.

A Google spokesperson said that the tech giant does not allow ads that contain sexually explicit content.

Weve reviewed the ads in question and are removing those that violate our policies, the company told Bloomberg.

A Telegram spokesperson told Daily Mail, Since its creation, Telegram has actively moderated harmful content on its platform, including nonconsensual pornography.

Telegrams moderators actively monitor public parts of the platform and accept user reports in order to remove content that breaches our terms of service.

TikTok and Meta have reportedly blocked the search word undress to tackle the problem. Google has taken down some ads for undressing sites and apps/

A Reddit spokesperson told Bloomberg said the site does not allow any non-consensual sharing of synthetic sexually explicit material and had banned many domains following the research.

With inputs from agencies
The first week of December has been not without its drama. It all started with the election results of five states  Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. The polls were dubbed as the semi-finals before the 2024 general elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had reasons to smile as it won in the Hindi heartland. For Congress, the victory in Telananga was a silver lining. We tracked the election results and analysed what they mean for the two parties as politicians prepare for the big test next year.

The winter session of Parliament has been a stormy one. This weeks session concluded with the expulsion of firebrand Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra. Its been quite a saga.

In Rajasthan, there was tension after a leader of the Karni Sena was shot dead at his home. And the death of a young doctor in Kerala because of dowry shocked the country.

We rewind to the big stories from India in our weekly roundup.

1. The BJP won big in the Hindi heartland, where the party fought the elections under the banner of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now it has another task at hand, picking chief ministers. Will it be Princess Diya Kumari in Rajasthan? What about Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh? Theres talk that new faces could be picked over old warhorses. Heres why.

2. In Telangana, it was Congress state president A Revanth Reddy who changed the partys fortunes and wrested power from KCRs BRS. Reddy campaigned tirelessly for the elections and he won the hearts of the people and brownie points from top leadership.

There was some debate in the party and some opposition, but in the end, Reddy got his reward: the CMs post. In this piece, we talk about the rise of Revath Reddy.

3. In Rajasthan, the BJPs victory was marred by protests after the leader of the Karni Sena, Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, was shot dead at his home.

Rohit Godara, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, took responsibility for the killing. This is the same group that threatened Bollywood actor Salman Khan. What is the notorious band of criminals? Heres the story.

4. A heartbreaking tale came from Kerala. A young doctor died by suicide after her wedding was cancelled. The reason will shock you. Her family could not meet the dowry demands  a BMW, gold sovereigns and more.

We are ready to usher in 2024 and yet dowry continues to haunt thousands of Indian women. In this explainer, we tell you what the laws of the country say.

5. Now lets turn to women in politics. To be specific, Mahua Moitra. The Trinamool MP has been expelled from the Lok Sabha in the cash-for-query case after the ethics panel submitted its report.

Her decisions to share parliamentary credentials with an unauthorised person are considered serious misdemeanours by the committee. In this story, we explain what happened in the Lok Sabha and bring you details of the findings of the report.

6. Last week, we gave a little history lesson about Sam Manekshaw. This week, we talk about Shivaji. On 4 December, India celebrated Navy Day, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He announced that epaulettes on naval uniforms will feature the imprint of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. But why is the Maratha king called the father of the Indian Navy? In this essay, we take you to the 1600s.

Thats the big news from India this week. If you like our recommendations, keep coming back for more. Happy reading.
India has recently launched its first portable hospital that can be airlifted to a disaster area and assembled in an hour. The Aarogya Maitri Aid Cube was unveiled in Gurugram last week.

According to the Union health ministry, the mobile hospital can provide critical medical care, making it a lifeline in remote and tough terrains where immediate medical attention is needed, reported The Guardian.

What are the features of this Aarogya Maitri Aid Cube? Lets take a closer look.

What is Aarogya Maitri Aid Cube?

This flatpack field hospital consists of 72 small cubes equipped with tents and customised medical equipment, as per the British newspaper.

Built under the Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri (BHISHM), the hospital is reportedly designed to treat up to 200 patients.

The cubes, each of which weighs below 15kg and measures 38cm x 38cm x 38cm, are resilient enough to be dropped from a plane or helicopter, The Guardian reported.

As per The Hindu, the Aarogya Maitri Cube Cage has three frames containing 12 mini-cubes. A single cage can fit a total of 36 mini-cubes.

Project BHISHM, the worlds first completely indigenous portable hospital. A groundbreaking initiative aiding rescue missions worldwide. Building on the spirit of Vaccine Maitri, India introduces Aarogya Maitri, extending support globally. #ProjectBHISHM #AarogyaMaitri pic.twitter.com/ycOJz1hI0i  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) December 4, 2023

At least five trained people are needed to assemble the cubes into a functional hospital in an hour. These cubes can be flown to a war zone or a remote area hit by natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, reported The Guardian.

The product was developed under Prime Minister Narendra Modis ambitious Project BHISHM which aims to support developing countries affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crises.

How the portable hospital will help

The portable hospital is capable of facilitating life-saving surgery on remote and tough terrains. According to News18, the 72 cubes contain different equipment such as portable ventilators, solar panel-based generators, ultrasound machines, digital imaging radiography machines, defibrillators, high-mounted OT lights, stretchers, modern surgical devices, and portable laboratory.

PM Modi had personally given inputs to top officials from the health ministry and defence ministry. On his suggestions, a line of ayurvedic products was added to the list of items in the cubes, a government official involved in the project told News18.

HLL Life Care is the governments nodal agency for sourcing the Aarogya Maitri Cube, whereas the manufacturing has been undertaken by multiple sellers as it includes a variety of products, the official added.

Billed as the worlds first portable disaster hospital, the kit is waterproof and corrosion-proof. A tablet computer is installed inside the cube pack to prevent mistakes while setting up the structure, as per The Guardian.

Speaking to the British daily, Dr Ankita Sharma, a consultant with HLL Lifecare, said: If the immediate need at the site is for life-saving surgery, then the operating theatre can be assembled first. This takes just 10 minutes. The doctors can start surgery while the remaining cubes are assembled.

While 60 cubes will have the same content, the rest of the 12 can have products to meet specific needs. If its an earthquake where you get lots of fractures, then you pack in more cubes containing equipment for bone injuries and remove some of the bleeding injury kits needed for soldiers with bullet or bomb injuries, Dr Sharma explained to The Guardian.

A senior Health Ministry official told The Hindu in October that the portable hospital can provide critical medical care to 100 survivors for up to 48 hours, making it a lifeline on remote and tough terrains where immediate medical attention is needed. The cubes [which are self-sustained healthcare units] can handle bullet, burn, head, spinal and chest injuries, fractures, and major bleeding. India is now equipped and ready to supply this to any country in need.

According to Air Vice Marshal Tanmoy Roy, head of the BHISHM task force, The contents of the boxes will vary depending on whether they are being sent for assistance in natural disaster scenarios or to regions affected by war.

It can also be utilised in regions across India that need medical support due to epidemics, high elevations, or challenging landscapes. This could play a significant role in the management of public health, News18 quoted him as saying.

Roy said that the 72 cube boxes were built for a cost under Rs 2.5 crore. Doctors will not be there in war zones or disaster-hit areas to treat everyone. Hence, the kits are made very simple and can be used via tablet-based application which is provided within the kit.

While India has already given two Aarogya Maitri Cubes to Myanmar as a goodwill gesture, one is being prepared for Sri Lanka, a government official told News18.

With inputs from agencies
Emphasising the significance of supply chains, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underscored the crucial aspect of being Atmanirbhar (self-reliant), particularly for a large economy like India.

Referring to businesses as the engine for Indias progress, he urged business leaders to actively contribute to the development of domestic supply chains.

Jaishankar delivered these remarks at the 96th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Jaishankar said, I am not in any way, diminishing the importance of international trade, and I am not oblivious to the global supply chain. But I think its important, especially for big business in India, to help build Indian supply chains, to support Indian vendors because, at the end of the day, no country will be strong.

If it doesnt have its supply chain, if it doesnt have its basic requirements, certainly a large economy, a big nation like India, a nation with the kind of ambitions, and future that we have, it is very, very important that we are Aatmanirbhar, he added.

He further stated that today the role of business is much broader and it also serves the role of leading the countrys modernity and progress.

Business, today is something very much bigger than just business. All of you who are sitting here, in many ways, are leaders of modernity and progress. Because when you build the economy, when you build industry, as you expand services, as you propagate and spread technology, it is the ideas, the concepts, the projects that you do, and the mindsets that you have created as a result. I think that in many ways is the engine for Indias progress, he stated.

You are also builders of national strengththat is the largest responsibility that must be in your mind. One of our concerns in the post-reform period has been that while we have concentrated a lot on growththe fact is it is in our collective interest would argue in your interest that we build deep strengths at home. How many other economies, many other economies all of you admire, have done at their homes, Jaishankar added.

With inputs from ANI
There was a slight glimmer of hope during the seven-day temporary humanitarian truce from 24 to 30 November in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, that this truce could culminate into a lasting ceasefire. However, with Israel resuming its operations on 1 December in Southern Gaza with renewed force, the future presents a rather bleak picture for Gaza.

Responding to the brutal Hamas terror attack on 7 October which killed 1,200 Israeli citizens including children, infants, women and the elderly, Israel regrouped quickly and unleashed a ferocious assault into Gaza, coined as Operation Iron Swords. In 49 days of the war, before the truce came into effect on 24 November, Israel conducted over 7,500 strikes by air and artillery and moved ground troops and tanks into Gaza, cutting off Northern Gaza completely. In this intense targeting, more than 12,500 Palestinian civilians, mostly women, children and the elderly lost their lives.

Vowing revenge against Hamas, Israel was expected to unleash its full military potential to seek out and eliminate Hamas operatives, commanders, command centres etc. In the process, however, Israels strikes on hospitals in Gaza, UN-run facilities, schools and refugee camps causing mass casualties of innocent civilians led to global outrage. Coupled with it was the complete blockade into Gaza restricting any critical humanitarian and medical aid from entering Gaza. WHO, UN Relief and Works Agency, UN Population Fund and UNICEF, in a joint statement on 4 November stated that almost 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza every day. ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric, on her visit to Gaza on 4 December expressed grief at the humanitarian suffering, stating I have arrived in Gaza, where peoples suffering is intolerable. It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible.

In the current phase of war, Southern Gaza is bearing the brunt of Israeli attacks. In the six days since the truce failed on 1 December, Israel has already struck more than 700 targets in Southern Gaza. It has issued repeated warnings to people to move even more southwards, especially away from the city of Khan Younis where it suspects a major Hamas Command Centre. It may be recalled that Israel had similarly issued warnings to people in Northern Gaza in October, forcing around 1.1 million people to abandon their homes and move south. It also conducted specific and sustained operations in Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City claiming that it was a major command and control centre of Hamas.

Although Israeli forces did capture some weapons from the hospital and discovered entry into the underground tunnel network from the hospital compound, it could not conclusively prove its claims. It is now pinning its hope on the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza to conclusively unravel and destroy Hamass command network. Ground forces too have moved in on 4 December to complement the air strikes as Khan Younis and other parts of Southern Gaza are being targeted and isolated.

However, what is more important than the ongoing Israeli offensive in Southern Gaza, is what the expected end state of Gaza is. Is Israel planning to push out people from Southern Gaza too as it did in Northern Gaza? If yes, where will these three million people go if they escape alive? At the beginning of the war, most of the neighbouring Arab countries had stated that any kind of forced vacation of the population from Gaza was a red line and would not be accepted. When Israel asked people to move south from Gaza City, King Abdullah II of Jordan had said specifically on 18 October, This is a red line  no refugees to Jordan and also no refugees to Egypt. This is a situation that has to be handled within Gaza and the West Bank. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi echoed the same adding that if mass displacements take place, the Palestinian state that we are talking about and that the world is talking about will become impossible to implement. Observers are even calling this mass displacement Second Nakba following on from the first Nakba which led to the displacement of over 7.5 lakh Palestinians after the 1948 Israel-Palestine War.

To an objective observer, the red lines were violated the day the people in Northern Gaza were asked to evacuate en mass. With the same now happening in southern Gaza, the problem has become more acute. None of the neighbouring countries or any other Arab/Muslim nation is willing to take Palestinian refugees. There were some reports that Israel has prepared a contingency plan of vacating Gaza completely and keeping the displaced people in a small tented area in northern Sinai and Negev desert.

What is even more disturbing is the rather ambivalent stance taken by the regional countries on the war. Apart from statements to condemn Israeli strikes on hospitals etc., no concrete and collective stand has been taken. Despite extraordinary Summits of OIC, Arab League, GCC etc., no clear word has come out from the region. There were reports of a recent suggestion from Qatar that the Arab nations should boycott by stopping oil and gas supplies to the world if the bombing of Gaza does not stop. No Arab country has offered any support to it yet. The 44th session of the GCC Supreme Council held in Doha on 5-6 December too hasnt come up with any concrete reaction to the Israeli bombing in Gaza yet. All this only amplifies the sentiment that prevailed within the region before the war that the countries in the region were losing interest in the Palestine issue.

If Gaza is completely overrun, Israel may be able to claim military victory over Hamas now that the entire territory over which Hamas governed is vacated. It may also remove the threat of any terror attack from Gaza into Israel forever as also render the underground tunnel network worthless. With Gaza gone, there would be only limited stretches of the West Bank left for Palestinians to claim as their homeland. Will this be sufficient enough for a viable two-state solution, is a huge question. Will eliminating terror threats from Gaza eliminate threats for Israel? The answer to both is clearly No. Reflecting on the same, on 3 December, French President Emmanuel Macron also stated that there is no lasting security for Israel in the region if its security is achieved at the cost of Palestinian lives.

The anti-Semitic attacks across the world are increasing by the day. Mass protests have been held in support of Palestine across global capitals. Building upon the frustration of having lost the chance of an independent Palestine state, rogue attacks against Israeli citizens and Jews across the world could increase. Hamas may be defeated and maybe even eliminated but history suggests that ideologies like this do not die, especially if they enjoy external support. If not Hamas, another group could rise and take the fight to Israel.

The continuing offensive in Southern Gaza only indicates the worst fears coming true in Gaza, total obliteration and depopulation of this strip. If Gaza is lost forever, so will the hopes of millions of Palestinians praying for their own independent nation. Two months into the war, there are no signs of a ceasefire or a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile, Israel continues to pound Gaza vowing to eliminate Hamas, with innocent people caught in the crossfire, and nowhere to go.

The author is Assistant Director, MP-IDSA. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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A French juvenile court on Friday convicted six teenagers for their roles in the 2020 beheading of a teacher by an Islamic extremist, an attack that shocked the country and shone a light on the real-world dangers of online hate speech.

Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, was killed near his school after showing his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a debate on free expression. Attacker Abdoullakh Anzorov, a young Chechen who had become radicalized, was killed by police.

The court found five of the defendants, who were 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, guilty of involvement in staking out the teacher and identifying him for the attacker. The sixth defendant, 13 at the time, was found guilty of lying about the classroom debate in comments that aggravated online anger against the teacher. After the ruling, the six defendants left the courtroom without speaking. Some had their heads down as they listened to the verdict. One appeared to wipe tears.

The teenagers  all students at Patys school  acknowledged wrongdoing, and testified that they didnt know the teacher would be killed.

One was given a six-month prison term but allowed to serve under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. The others were given special suspended sentences of between two and three years requiring them to stay in school or jobs. The sentences included special educative follow-up measures that also involved their families.

Lawyers for Patys family decried the sentences as too lenient. Lawyers for the teenagers expressed relief.

Patys name was disclosed on social media after the class debate, during which he showed caricatures of Islams prophet published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

The publication had triggered a deadly extremist massacre in the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in 2015.

The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims in France and around the world, who see them as sacrilegious. But Patys killing reinforced the French states commitment to freedom of expression, and its firm attachment to secularism in public life  and especially in schools.

The five who identified Paty to the attacker were convicted of involvement in a group preparing aggravated violence.

The sixth defendant wrongly claimed Paty had asked Muslim students to leave the classroom before he showed the class the cartoons, and said the teacher punished her for accusing him of anti-Muslim sentiment. In fact, she was not in the classroom that day, and later told investigators she had lied. She was convicted of making false allegations.

The girls father shared the lies in an online video that called for mobilization against the teacher. Now incarcerated, her father and a radical Islamic activist who helped disseminate virulent messages against Paty are among eight adults who will face a separate trial for adults suspected of involvement in the killing, expected late next year.

The girls lawyer Mbeko Tebula said she, doesnt forgive herself for this lie.

She didnt imagine it would  turn into so much horror, he said. She was 13.

She will try to move forward, he said. She will try to rebuild herself as a woman. To live with this permanent guilt, which will not pass through her but will inhabit her.

Teachers at the school and Pats relatives were in the courtroom along with some of the defendants parents. Family members of the teenagers comforted each other afterward, some looking depleted or resigned. They refused to speak to reporters.

The media are not allowed to disclose the defendants identities, according to French law regarding minors.

The proceedings come weeks after a teacher was fatally stabbed in northern France in October in a school attack by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization. Another shock hit France last Saturday, when a man with a history of Islamic radicalism and mental illness fatally stabbed a 23-year-old German-Filipino tourist near the Eiffel Tower.

Both killings occurred in a context of global tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, which led French authorities to deploy 7,000 additional soldiers across the country to bolster security and vigilance.
The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israels Merkava tanks for use in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, according to four sources familiar with the matter, including a U.S. official and a former U.S. official.

The request is being made even as concerns grow about the use of U.S. weapons in a war that has killed thousands of civilians in the Palestinian enclave since Israel responded to an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants.

The potential sale, worth more than $500 million, is not part of President Joe Bidens $110.5 billion supplemental request that includes funding for Ukraine and Israel. It is under informal review by the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, which allows members the privilege to stall the sale, or have informal discussions with the administration about concerns.

The U.S. State Department is pushing the congressional committees to quickly approve the transaction, said a U.S. official and Josh Paul, a former State Department official, amid objections from rights advocates over the use of U.S.-made weapons in the conflict.

This went to committees earlier this week and they are supposed to have 20 days to review Israel cases. State (Department) is pushing them to clear now, said Paul, who in October resigned from the State Department in protest over what he called the administrations blind support for Israel.

The administration is also weighing using Arms Export Control Act emergency authorities to allow a portion of the ammunition, 13,000 of the 45,000 shells, to bypass the committee and review period, two U.S. officials said, although a final decision was yet to be made. The move would allow Israel to prepare for contingencies given the high tensions in the region, one of the U.S. officials said.

A State Department spokesperson said as a matter of policy, we do not confirm or comment on proposed defense transfers or sales until they have been formally notified to Congress.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat on the chambers foreign relations committee, said congressional view was a critical step for large weapons sales.

The administration should not consider short-circuiting the already short time frame for congressional review of this or any other arms transfer, he said.

Online images of the war show that Israel regularly deploys Merkava tanks in its Gaza offensive and on its southern border with Lebanon, where skirmishes have erupted since Oct. 7.

RISKING COMPLICITY

The tanks are also linked to incidents that involved the death of journalists.

On Thursday, a Reuters investigation revealed that an Israeli tank crew killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded six reporters by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were filming cross-border shelling.

Israel has sharply increased strikes on the Gaza Strip since a seven-day-long truce ended a week ago, pounding the length of the Palestinian enclave and killing hundreds in a new, expanded phase of the war that Washington said veered from Israeli promises to do more to protect civilians.

Gazas health ministry said the death toll from Israels campaign in Gaza had risen to 17,487.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the U.S. weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though U.S. officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.

Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesnt align with Washingtons effort to press Israel to minimize civilian casualties.

By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the U.S. risks complicity in war crimes, said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.

The United States on Friday also vetoed a proposed United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, a move that diplomatically isolated Washington as it shields its ally.

Earlier this week, Amnesty International said US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) were used by the Israeli military in two air strikes on homes full of civilians, the first time a rights group has directly linked U.S. weapons to an attack that killed civilians.

Israel says it is providing detail about which areas are safe for civilians and how to reach them, and says Hamas is to blame for harm that befalls civilians because it operates among them, an accusation the Islamist group denies.

Israel launched what it says is a campaign to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group attacked Israeli towns in a surprise cross-border incursion on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages.
Britain paid Rwanda an additional 100 million pounds ($126 million) in April, on top of 140 million pounds it previously sent, as the bill for its contested plan to relocate asylum seekers to the East African country continues to rise.

The Rwanda scheme is at the centre of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks strategy to deter illegal migrants but as yet none have been moved there because of legal battles since the scheme was announced in 2022.

The divisive policy is now seen as a threat to Sunaks leadership  with an election expected next year  after his immigration minister resigned this week.

On top of the 240 million pounds Britain has sent to Rwanda, London is also set to pay the East African country an additional 50 million pounds next year, according to a letter published by the British interior ministry on Thursday.

The revelations about the growing cost of a policy  which legal experts have warned could yet fail  was slammed by the opposition Labour party and will likely to draw fresh criticism from some lawmakers within Sunaks own party.

Britain cant afford more of this costly Tory chaos & farce, Labours shadow interior minister Yvette Cooper said on social media platform X.

But the new minister for legal migration, Tom Pursglove, justified what he called the 240 million-pound investment on Friday, saying that once the Rwanda policy was up and running it would save on the cost of housing asylum-seekers in the UK.

When you consider that we are unacceptably spending 8 million pounds a day in the asylum system at the moment, it is a key part of our strategy to bring those costs down, Pursglove told Sky News.

The money sent to Rwanda would help its economic development and get the asylum partnership with the UK up and running, Pursglove added. The payments to Rwanda were not linked to a treaty the two countries signed on Tuesday, the interior ministry letter said.

The treaty seeks to respond to a ruling by Britains Supreme Court that the deportation scheme would violate international human rights laws enshrined in domestic legislation.

The Government of Rwanda did not ask for any payment in order for a Treaty to be signed, nor was any offered, the letter said.

Sunak appealed to his Conservative lawmakers on Thursday to unite behind his Rwanda plan after Robert Jenrick quit as immigration minister on Wednesday, saying the governments draft emergency legislation to get the scheme up and running did not go far enough.
China lodged a protest on Saturday following discussions at the UN climate talks in Dubai that advocated for the inclusion of Taiwan.

Two of the dwindling number of countries that recognise Taiwan  Guatemala and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru  both hailed support from Taipei in addresses at the COP28 conference.

Marco Vinicio Ochoa, a vice minister from Guatemala, specifically acknowledged Taiwans contributions to international cooperation on climate change projects, urging their participation in the forum.

In response, a representative from Beijing objected, and said, A handful of countries ignored the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and made noises about the participation by the Taiwan authorities.

In fact, the Taiwan region can contribute to the global climate change fight through existing arrangements.

The United Nations booted out Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, in 1971 and Beijing in recent years has stepped up pressure on countries to refuse even a semblance of recognition to Taiwan.

Taiwan has nonetheless submitted an action plan to curb climate change to the UN climate body in line with the 2015 accord and in Dubai took out advertisements in public places to highlight its activities.

With inputs from AFP
The president of COP28 said on Saturday that while the climate summit was making progress, the pace was not fast enough and called on all nations to prioritise collective goals over narrow self-interest.

During a late-night session in Dubai, Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive leading the summit, expressed concern about the slow progress, stating, The window is closing to close the gaps. We are making progress, but not fast enough and not satisfying enough.

Jaber maintained a Tuesday deadline for negotiators to reach an agreement, even as tensions escalated, particularly regarding the proposal to phase out fossil fuels advocated by environmentally conscious nations. The OPEC oil cartel and Saudi Arabia, its member, led opposition to this initiative.

Despite his background in the oil industry, Jaber acknowledged the inevitability of transitioning away from oil, gas, and coal, though he did not explicitly endorse a rapid shift.

Calling for a collective effort, Jaber said, Now is the time to put aside self-interest for the common interest.

Now is the time to show maximum flexibility to find common ground. Now is the time to shift gears and get to consensus, he said.

I am convinced that there is a balanced and ambitious package out there that all parties can and should align around.

With inputs from AFP
The aspiration of achieving success in Canada is transforming into a struggle for survival for numerous immigrants, grappling with the exorbitant cost of living and a shortage of rental options.

The increasing trend of emigration suggests that newcomers are compelled to reconsider their decision to adopt Canada as their home.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has utilised immigration as a primary strategy to address Canadas significant challenge of an aging and decelerating population, contributing to economic growth and a rapid increase in the countrys population, as reported by Statistics Canada.

However, a reversal of this trend is gradually emerging. In the first half of 2023, 42,000 individuals left Canada, adding to the 93,818 departures in 2022 and 85,927 in 2021, according to official data.

The rate of immigrants leaving Canada reached a two-decade high in 2019, and despite a decrease during pandemic lockdowns, recent Statistics Canada data indicates a resurgence.

While this emigration is a fraction of the 263,000 arrivals during the same period, the steady rise is causing concern among observers. For a nation built on immigration, an increasing number of people leaving Canada threatens to undermine one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus key policies, granting permanent residency to a record 2.5 million people in eight years.

Emigration, currently at about 0.09 per cent of Canadas population, is seen as a potential challenge to the countrys appeal to newcomers. Lawyers and immigration consultants emphasise the importance of creating positive early experiences to encourage people to stay.

The skyrocketing housing costs are identified as the primary reason for immigrants considering leaving Canada.

With inputs from Reuters
European Union lawmakers reached a consensus on a far-reaching new legislation aimed at regulating artificial intelligence (AI), marking one of the worlds earliest comprehensive efforts to control the utilisation of this rapidly advancing technology with broad societal and economic implications.

Known as the A.I. Act, this legislation establishes a new global standard for nations aspiring to leverage the potential advantages of AI while striving to mitigate potential risks, including the automation of jobs, the dissemination of online misinformation and threats to national security.

While addressing a news conference, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola termed the law a balanced and human-centred approach that she stressed will no doubt be setting the global standard for years to come.The regulatory framework, which categorises AI applications based on risk and tightens regulation on higher risk levels, was initially proposed in 2021, according to a CNN report.

The risky uses of Artificial Intelligence have been banned. According to the law, those include systems that target certain vulnerable groups, biometric identification systems for law enforcement uses and artificial intelligence that employs manipulative subliminal techniques.Limited-risk systems, such as chatbots like OpenAIs ChatGPT, or technology that generates images, audio or video content, will face new transparency obligations under the law.

Thierry Breton, the EU Commissioner for Internal Market, stressed that the AI Act is much more than a rulebook. Taking to X, Breton stated, Historic! The EU becomes the very first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI The #AIAct is much more than a rulebook  its a launchpad for EU startups and researchers to lead the global AI race. The best is yet to come!Artificial intelligence entered the mainstream after the launch of OpenAIs ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022. Generative AI technology gained popularity and led to an AI arms race, according to a CNN report.

The EU took an early lead in the global race to draw up AI guardrails when it unveiled the first draft of its rulebook in 2021. The recent boom in generative AI, however, sent European officials scrambling to update a proposal poised to serve as a blueprint for the world.

The European Parliament will still need to vote on the act early next year, but with the deal done thats a formality, Brando Benifei, an Italian lawmaker co-leading the bodys negotiating efforts, told The Associated Press late Friday.

Generative AI systems like OpenAIs ChatGPT have exploded into the worlds consciousness, dazzling users with the ability to produce human-like text, photos and songs but raising fears about the risks the rapidly developing technology poses to jobs, privacy and copyright protection and even human life itself.

Now, the U.S., U.K., China and global coalitions like the Group of 7 major democracies have jumped in with their own proposals to regulate AI, though theyre still catching up to Europe.

Strong and comprehensive rules from the EU can set a powerful example for many governments considering regulation, said Anu Bradford, a Columbia Law School professor whos an expert on EU law and digital regulation. Other countries may not copy every provision but will likely emulate many aspects of it.

AI companies subject to the EUs rules will also likely extend some of those obligations outside the continent, she said. After all, it is not efficient to re-train separate models for different markets, she said.

The AI Act was originally designed to mitigate the dangers from specific AI functions based on their level of risk, from low to unacceptable. But lawmakers pushed to expand it to foundation models, the advanced systems that underpin general-purpose AI services like ChatGPT and Googles Bard chatbot.

Foundation models looked set to be one of the biggest sticking points for Europe. However, negotiators managed to reach a tentative compromise early in the talks, despite opposition led by France, which called instead for self-regulation to help homegrown European generative AI companies compete with big U.S rivals, including OpenAIs backer Microsoft.

Also known as large language models, these systems are trained on vast troves of written works and images scraped off the internet. They give generative AI systems the ability to create something new, unlike traditional AI, which processes data and completes tasks using predetermined rules.

The companies building foundation models will have to draw up technical documentation, comply with EU copyright law and detail the content used for training. The most advanced foundation models that pose systemic risks will face extra scrutiny, including assessing and mitigating those risks, reporting serious incidents, putting cybersecurity measures in place and reporting their energy efficiency.

Researchers have warned that powerful foundation models, built by a handful of big tech companies, could be used to supercharge online disinformation and manipulation, cyberattacks or the creation of bioweapons.

Rights groups also caution that the lack of transparency about data used to train the models poses risks to daily life because they act as basic structures for software developers building AI-powered services.

What became the thorniest topic was AI-powered face recognition surveillance systems, and negotiators found a compromise after intensive bargaining.

European lawmakers wanted a full ban on public use of face scanning and other remote biometric identification systems because of privacy concerns. But governments of member countries succeeded in negotiating exemptions so law enforcement could use them to tackle serious crimes like child sexual exploitation or terrorist attacks.

Rights groups said they were concerned about the exemptions and other big loopholes in the AI Act, including the lack of protection for AI systems used in migration and border control, and the option for developers to opt out of having their systems classified as high risk.

Whatever the victories may have been in these final negotiations, the fact remains that huge flaws will remain in this final text, said Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at the digital rights group Access Now.

With inputs from agencies.
The European Union (EU) has reached a tentative deal on a gas regulation that empowers member countries to prohibit Russian shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) without imposing new energy sanctions.

The European Parliament and the EU Council, representing member states, approved part of a comprehensive package on Friday. The package establishes common rules for natural gas, renewable gases, and hydrogen, aligning the EU with a transition from fossil fuels.

The regulation enables member governments to temporarily block Russian and Belarusian exporters from reserving the infrastructure capacity required for LNG and natural gas shipments.

The EU previously implemented a collaborative gas procurement initiative in order to replenish gas reserves ahead of winter and avoid a repeat of last years record-high energy prices and concerns about deficits in Europe resulting from Russias reduction of gas supplies.

The member nations of EU are also currently engaged in discussions over a proposal put forth by the Commission regarding the 12th package of economic sanctions imposed on Russia as a response to their invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.
Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted a selfie with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, taking the internet by storm. In no time, the post, both on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) became the top trending topic. However, more than the picture, the hashtag Melodi (Meloni and Modi) accompanied by it caught everyones eye.

#Melodi dominated Twitter, accumulating an astounding 1.28 billion impressions globally, with approximately 267,000 tweets and mentions. Melonis post incorporating this hashtag garnered about 45 million views, over 450,000 likes, and nearly 60,000 shares.

The selfie continued to sway the internet for quite some time. On X, for example, #Melodi remained the top trend for more than a day while on Instagram from December 1 to 5, the hashtag gained the highest interaction count, reaching a staggering 6.61 million.

The hashtag not only shook the internet but was also the top-searched keyword on Google between December 1 and 3 along with Meloni. Interestingly, Melodi attracted the highest search volumes on Google in Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, and Tanzania, showcasing global interest.

Meeting friends is always a delight. https://t.co/4PWqZZaDKC  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 2, 2023

Although witnessing a downfall before her post with Modi, Melonis Instagram follower count saw a substantial growth post-November 30. On the last day of November, Meloni had 2.15 million followers, but by December 5th, it surged to 2.30 million, indicating a 7 per cent growth within days.

Modi and Melonis growing friendship which has been frequently observed on international platforms not only indicates the strengthening of ties but also signifies a turnaround of relations between India and Italy during Modis tenure.

Relations between India and Italy hit rock bottom in 2012 after a case involving Italian marines and Indian fishermen where the former were accused of killing the former near the coastline in the south of Kerala.

Diplomatic ties between the two nations saw some improvement after former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni visited India in 2017, making it the first such visit in a decade.

After this, a virtual bilateral summit between PM Modi and the then-Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in 2020 further boosted relations between the two countries. The following year, PM Modis visit to Italy marked a milestone, being the first such visit in over a decade since former Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs trip in 2009.

Melonis selfie with Modi served as an icebreaker for India and Italy to collaborate on a larger scale. For example, Italy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and has actively engaged with New Delhi to work on initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Global Biofuel Alliance.

Meanwhile, trade between Italy and India has more than doubled in two years, reaching a record 15 billion euros by 2022.

Earlier this week, Italy formally withdrew from Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with some speculations suggesting that the decision was driven by the countrys growing ties with India.

Therefore, Italian PM Melonis selfie with PM Modi accompanied by #Melodi appears to be symbolic of the improving and shifting relationship between the two countries.
Haitham Al-Ghais, the secretary general of OPEC, warned member countries of undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels at the COP28 summit in a letter dated 6 December 2023. Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

By Lisa Friedman

8 December 2023

(The New York Times)  The head of the OPEC oil cartel, alarmed that nations gathered at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai are considering an agreement to phase out fossil fuels, has directed the groups members to scuttle any deal that would affect the continued production and sales of oil, gas and coal.

In a letter dated Dec. 6, Haitham Al-Ghais, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, warned all members that there was rising pressure at the summit to target fossil fuels. He called those plans politically motivated campaigns against oil-rich nations that put our peoples prosperity and future at risk.

It seems that the undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may reach a tipping point with irreversible consequences, Mr. Al-Ghais wrote. The letter was sent to top ministers in all 13 OPEC countries as well as 10 additional nations in an expanded group known as OPEC Plus, which includes Russia.

He urged the petroleum producers to reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions.

The burning of fossil fuels is dangerously heating the planet.

The letter, which was first reported by Reuters, is significant because, under U.N. rules, any agreement forged at the climate summit must be unanimously endorsed. Any of the 198 participating nations can thwart a deal.

OPEC declined to comment on the letter. It comes as government ministers and diplomats enter the most grueling period of the two-week summit, where they work into the night in scores of meeting rooms trying to hammer out an agreement across cultures, economies and politics by the Dec. 12 deadline. [more]

OPEC Leader Tells Members to Block Any Climate Summit Deal to Curb Fossil Fuels
The IDF struck a manned Hezbollah observation post in southern Lebanon in response to an alleged attack on the border.

Taking to X, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, Earlier today, IDF forces attacked a manned observation post of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah. In addition, the IDF forces identified terrorists who were at the anti-tank launching position, from where a shot was fired into Israeli territory last night. IDF forces attacked the squad.

Earlier on Friday, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli military is witnessing more Hamas operatives surrendering to forces amid the fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by The Times of Israel.

Hagari said, Our troops are operating in the heart of Hamass centres of gravity in the south and northern Gaza simultaneously, in Jabaliya, Shejaiya, and the Khan Younis area.

He noted that Israel is engaged in a fierce battle with Hamas terrorists. Hagari said, We are engaged in fierce battles with Hamas terrorists, who hide underground. We are killing many terrorists and seeing more and more terrorists surrendering in battle, and turning themselves into our forces.

Daniel Hagari said that the IDF, in the past 48 hours, has arrested over 200 suspects in the Gaza Strip. He said, Dozens of them have been handed over for interrogation by the Military Intelligence Directorates Unit 504 and Shin Bet in Israel, including Hamas commanders and Nukhba operatives.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said two soldiers were seriously injured during an operation to rescue hostages in the Gaza Strip overnight. He said the troops raided a Hamas site and killed terrorists who abducted and held people as hostages. He stated that the operation failed and no hostages were rescued, according to The Times of Israel report.

Hagari said, We will continue to act in a number of ways, operationally and with intelligence, with the Shin Bet, to return all the hostages home and to obtain information on them.

 Hamas tunnel shaft uncovered INSIDE a classroom that leads to a mosque in the heart of Shujaiyya. Hamas abuse of schools has turned childrens safe havens into terrorist hideouts. pic.twitter.com/iAns5J8FeX  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 9, 2023

Meanwhile, IDF said that jewellery worth USD 22,430 could have been put forward for buying fuel, electricity and water. However, Hamas political bureau head, Ismail Haniyeh, was purchasing luxury jewellery worth thousands of dollars. The IDF even shared pictures of the receipt on X.
Iran issued a warning on Saturday of the threat of an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the Middle East after the United States blocked a UN Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the chief diplomat of the Islamic Republic, also urged the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli troops rounded up Palestinian men in the northern part of the territory for interrogation, seeking Hamas militants.

The U.N. vote came after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and only plant the seeds for the next war.

Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 17,400, with more than 46,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.

With agency inputs.
Iran declared on Saturday that the efforts to revive the nuclear deal with global powers, which was effectively scrapped by former US President Donald Trump, are becoming increasingly useless.

Today, the more we advance, the more the JCPOA becomes useless, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a speech to students at the University of Tehran, using the initials of the official name of the nuclear deal, reported AFP.

The JCPOA, signed in 2015, involved Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

However, the deal lost its effectiveness when the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under Trump, who then reimposed sanctions. The subsequent reluctance of international banks and businesses to engage with Iran due to fears of violating US regulations further diminished the impact of the agreement.

Efforts to revive the deal by Trumps successor, Joe Biden, have been stalled since mid-2022.

Amir-Abdollahian said that due to the disregard for Irans red lines by the other party, there is currently no progress toward a return to the agreement. However, he clarified that this does not mean the agreement has been abandoned entirely, expressing a willingness to accept it with its flaws if it serves Irans interests.

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, called in October on the international community not to fail in Iran as it did in North Korea, which now has nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but since 2021 the UN body has struggled to monitor the development of its capabilities.

With inputs from AFP
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced on Saturday that Washington and its Asian allies are committed to maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait. Sullivan, during a joint briefing with counterparts from Tokyo and Seoul following a trilateral meeting in South Korea, reiterated their dedication to ensuring freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.

In recent weeks, naval vessels from the United States and its Western allies have increased freedom of navigation crossings in both the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. This move aims to emphasize that both areas are considered international waterways, eliciting dissatisfaction from Beijing. The comments underscore the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region.

We will continue to stand up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation in the east and South China Seas, Sullivan told reporters in Seoul, alongside South Koreas Cho Tae-yong and Japans Takeo Akiba.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has moved to strengthen ties between Seoul and long-standing ally Washington to counter rising threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. He has also sought to resolve differences with Japan, another close US ally and Seouls former colonial ruler.

In August, the three allies said a new chapter of close three-way security cooperation was beginning after a historic summit at Camp David in the United States. Beijing had lodged complaints over a statement released at the summit at the time, in which the three nations criticised Chinas aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea, which it claims most of.

China also claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, vowing to seize it one day, and officials in Washington  Taipeis most important ally  have cited 2027 as a possible timeline for an invasion. In April, South Koreas Yoon said tensions over Taiwan were due to attempts to change the status quo by force.The comment resulted in a diplomatic tit-for-tat with China, which is South Koreas biggest trading partner.

Last month, Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing made efforts to organise a trilateral leaders summit. The last such meeting was in 2019. Washington warned in November that military ties between North Korea and Russia were growing and dangerous and called on China to restrain Pyongyang.

On Saturday, Sullivan also said the three allies have launched new trilateral initiatives to counter the threats posed by North Korea, including deepened collaboration among their coast guards. The allies defence chiefs had earlier agreed to activate a real-time data-sharing operation on North Korean missile launches, starting this month.

The North successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit in November  with Seoul saying Pyongyang did so with Moscows help. North Korea soon after said its eye in the sky was already providing images of major US and South Korean military sites.

Washington, Tokyo and Seoul have led a chorus of global condemnation of the North for violating multiple UN Security Council resolutions, which bar it from tests using ballistic technology, used in both missiles and space launch rockets.

With inputs from agencies.
The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard of using water cannons to obstruct three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near a China-controlled reef in the South China Sea.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea stated that Chinese Coast Guard ships utilized water cannons to obstruct government vessels delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats.

This incident occurred near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area between Manila and Beijing, as both claim sovereignty over almost the entire waterway. A video released by the Philippine Coast Guard depicted China Coast Guard ships using water cannons on Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels, hitting them with powerful blasts of water.

China took control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines in 2012, and since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila claims harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon where fish are more abundant.

Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the Philippines main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, countries have jurisdiction over the natural resources within about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of their shore.

With inputs from AFP.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday denounced the United Nations Security Council after the US vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling the international body a protection council of Israel.

Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defence council, Erdogan said.

The United States on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Is this justice? asked Erdogan, adding that the world is bigger than five, a reference to the five veto-wielding nations in the UN Security Council.

Another world is possible, but without America, the Turkish leader said.

The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that? he added.

Every day the Declaration of Human Rights is violated in Gaza, he said, as the world this weekend celebrates the 75th anniversary of the declaration.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday said that the US is responsible for the bloodshed of children in Gaza after the country vetoed a UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire in the territory.

The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in Gaza due to its support for Israel, said a statement from Abbass office.

With inputs from AFP
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khans wife in the Toshakhana case, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

According to details, the NAB Rawalpindi has issued notice to Bushra Bibi. The NAB has summoned her on December 11 at 11 am (local time) in connection with the Toshakhana case, according to ARY News report.

NAB has also asked Bushra Bibi to bring the gold necklace, diamond ring and bracelet with her in connection with the Toshakhana case, ARY News reported.

Earlier, the Pakistan caretaker government included Bushra Bibis name on the Exit Control List (ECL), ARY News reported, citing sources. Imran Khan and Bushra Bibis names have been mentioned on the ECL in the National Crime Agencys (NCA) 190 million scandal, ARY News reported, citing sources privy to the development. Her name was included in the ECL on the recommendation of the NAB.

Bushra Bibi has been accused of keeping earrings, two rings, a pendant, a chain, and a bracelet from the Toshakhana gifts. In addition, she is accused of keeping gold, diamond, gold and diamond rings, necklace, earrings and bracelet.

According to NAB, the gifts were not submitted to the Toshakhana to calculate their price. The Toshakhana issue became a significant point in Pakistans national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified Imran Khan for making false statements and incorrect declaration.

The reference filed by lawmakers of the then-ruling coalition in 2022 alleges that the PTI chairman did not reveal details regarding the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana during his tenure as Pakistans Prime Minister, reported ARY News.

Later, the Islamabad High Court suspended the conviction of Imran Khan and granted him bail. However, a special court ordered to keep former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in judicial custody in the cypher case.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging the Election Commission of Pakistans (ECP) decision to disqualify him for five years, Dawn reported.

The ECP was named as a respondent in the petition. It urged the court to declare the electoral watchdogs notification disqualifying Imran Khan unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional, Dawn reported.

The petition also urged the Lahore High Court to suspend the ECPs notification until the final disposal of the case. In the meanwhile, this court may kindly be pleased to suspend the operation of the impugned notification dated August 8, 2023, till final disposal of the titled petition, it said.

This comes after the ECP on August 8 disqualified Imran Khan for five years after his conviction in the Toshakhana case for not sharing details of the gifts he received as Pakistans PM during his tenure.

An Islamabad trial court had found him guilty of corrupt practises by hiding the benefits he accrued from the national exchequer wilfully and intentionally, Dawn reported.

In its notification, the ECP cited the trial courts order and declared Imran disqualified under Article 63(1h) of the Constitution, read with Section 232 of the Elections Act, 2017.

With inputs from ANI.
US President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden has said critics of his father are trying to destroy a presidency through relentless attacks on him and also trying to kill me, in a podcast interview released on Friday.

The interview, conducted by his friend, the musician Moby, was released one day after the US Justice Department filed new criminal charges against Hunter, accusing him of failing to pay taxes while funding a lavish lifestyle. It was not clear when the interview, which took place at the younger Bidens art studio in San Francisco, was recorded.

The charges on Thursday come on top of a September 14 indictment against Hunter Biden for lying about his drug use during his purchase of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.

Hunter Biden, 53, has also been at the centre of an impeachment inquiry into his father by Republicans in the House of Representatives. House Republicans allege that Joe Biden, a Democrat, and his family improperly profited from policy decisions he participated in when he was vice president during President Barack Obamas administration in 2009-17.

I recognize that none of this is necessarily about me, Hunter Biden said. In their most base way, what theyre trying to do is theyre trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle, and so therefore destroying a presidency in that way.

His father is running for re-election in November 2024. The leading contender for the Republican nomination is former President Donald Trump, who has cheered the Biden impeachment inquiry.

Donald Trump was the first US president to be impeached twice, and was acquitted by the Senate both times.

Hunter Biden said some of his Republican critics, such as U.S. Representatives Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were not healthy people. Ive never witnessed anything like it, Hunter Biden said. Ive never witnessed the level of an invasion of privacy on any individual that I can possibly think of. Ive never witnessed a sustained attack on one person like this, he added.
Ukraine on Saturday strongly condemned Russias plan to hold presidential elections in the occupied territories in 2024 adding that the polls will be declared null and void and pledging to prosecute any observer sent to oversee them.

Russias upper house set the countrys presidential election this week for next March, and chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko said residents in four occupied Ukrainian regions would be able to vote for the first time.

Russia has reportedly taken control of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in the east and south of Ukraine, inviting criticism from Ukraine and the West. Moscow, however, does not fully control these regions.

It also seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

We call on the international community to resolutely condemn Russias intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and to impose sanctions on those involved in their organization and conduct, Ukraines foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kyiv has also opposed the sending of observers to the pseudo-elections, saying offenders would face criminal responsibility.

Any election in Russia has nothing to do with democracy. They serve only as a tool to keep the Russian regime in power, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin on Friday announced his re-election bid, allowing the Kremlin leader to extend his decades-long grip on power into the 2030s.

The presidential elections in Russia will be held over a period of three days in March. Critics of the Kremlin argue that the poll strategy would make the elections less transparent and have opposed the move.

With inputs from agencies
Ukraines first lady Olena Zelenska has warned that Ukrainians are in mortal danger of being left to die if Western countries do not continue their financial support for the ongoing war against Russia, which is well into its second year.

Ukraines first ladys comments come a day after Republican Senators in the United States blocked a key aid bill. It would have provided more than $60bn (47.8bn) worth of support to war-ravaged Ukraine.

Speaking hours after a Russian missile attack, she said: If the world gets tired, they will simply let us die.

The White House has warned that US funds for Ukraine could soon run out, but Republicans have held up a deal to authorise more assistance.

They are seeking to secure compromises from President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress on funding for US border measures, in exchange for their support. President Biden said the failure to agree to Ukraine aid would be a gift for President Vladimir Putin, warning history would judge harshly those who turned their back on freedoms cause.

Nearly two years since Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, the first lady expressed grave concern over delays in funding.

In an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Olena Zelenska told the BBC the slowdown in aid represented a mortal danger for her country.

We really need the help. In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die. And if the world gets tired, they will simply let us die, she said.

It hurts us greatly to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help may fade. It is a matter of life for us. Therefore, it hurts to see that, Ukraines first lady said.

The UK has also been urging politicians in Washington DC to agree to a deal for Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said on a visit to Washington this week that the US was the lynchpin of the Western coalition backing Ukraines fight against Russia.

He urged the US not to give Putin a Christmas present by blocking the billions of dollars of financial support required to continue the war against Russian forces.

There is little doubt that the international communitys attitude towards Ukraine has shifted. Full-throated support in Washington DC cannot be guaranteed  and yet the fundamentals of the conflict have not budged.

A country on Europes eastern flank, Ukraine is still fighting to repel Russian forces after the Kremlin launched an illegal invasion. Ukraine surprised the world when its armed forces prevented the country being overrun in February 2022. Many Western countries surprised them in return with the enthusiasm of their support.

However, Ukraine cannot keep going in the same vein without the wealth and backing of other countries. The first ladys warnings seem designed to make that crystal clear.
Seven mortar rounds landed near the US Embassy compound in Baghdad during an attack on Friday, a US military official said, in what appeared to be the largest attack of its kind in recent times.

US forces in Iraq and Syria were also targeted with rockets and drones at least five more times on Friday; three times at separate bases in Syria, and twice at the Ain al-Asad airbase which lies to the west of Baghdad, a different US defence official said.

The attacks were the most recorded against US forces in the region in a single day since mid-October, when Iran-aligned militias started targeting US assets in Iraq and Syria over Washingtons backing of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a call with Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, condemned the attacks and singled out Iran-aligned armed groups Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba for the recent targetting of US military personnel.

The United States reserves the right to respond decisively against those groups, Austin told Sudani, according to a Pentagon statement summarizing the call.

The embassy attack marked the first time it had been fired on in more than a year, apparently widening the range of targets. Dozens of military bases housing US forces have been attacked, increasing fears of a broadening regional conflict.

No group claimed responsibility, but previous attacks against US forces have been carried out by Iran-aligned militias operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

The US military official left open the possibility that more projectiles were fired at the embassy compound but did not land within it. The US officials said Fridays attacks caused no injuries, and the embassy attack caused very minor damage.

Explosions were heard near the embassy, in the centre of Baghdad, at about 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Friday. Sirens calling on people to take cover were activated. State media said the attack damaged the headquarters of an Iraqi security agency.

Sheikh Ali Damoush, a senior official in the Lebanese group Hezbollah, said in a Friday sermon that attacks by Iran-aligned groups across the Middle East aim to apply pressure for a halt to Israels offensive in the Gaza Strip. He did not refer specifically to Fridays attack.

US forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 84 times since October 17, the defence official said.

The US has responded with a series of strikes that have killed at least 15 militants in Iraq and up to seven in Syria. The State Department called on the Iraqi security forces to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators.

The many Iran-aligned militias that operate freely in Iraq threaten the security and stability of Iraq, our personnel, and our partners in the region, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The Iraqi government has repeatedly committed to protect diplomatic missions as well as U.S. military personnel, who are present in the country at Iraqs invitation. This is non-negotiable, as is our right to self-defence, Miller added.

Aside from its diplomatic staff in Iraq, the United States has about 2,500 troops in the country on a mission it says aims to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both Iraq and Syria before being defeated.

Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have been firing at Israel and ships in the Red Sea in a campaign they say aims to support the Palestinians. US warships have shot down several of their projectiles.
The Pentagon announced on Saturday that the Biden administration invoked emergency authority to permit the sale of approximately 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review.

The State Department employed an emergency declaration under the Arms Export Control Act on Friday to facilitate the immediate delivery of tank rounds valued at $106.5 million to Israel, according to a Pentagon statement.

The larger package, exceeding $500 million, encompasses 45,000 shells designed for Israels Merkava tanks, frequently deployed in offensive actions in Gaza, resulting in a significant number of civilian casualties.

As the conflict escalates, there is increased scrutiny on the utilisation of US weapons in the region.

Despite assurances from US officials that there are no intentions to impose conditions on military aid to Israel or consider withholding it, human rights advocates have expressed apprehension about the sale, asserting that it contradicts Washingtons goal of urging Israel to minimize civilian casualties.

A State Department official said on Saturday that Washington continues to emphasize to the Israeli government the importance of complying with international humanitarian law and taking all feasible measures to prevent harm to civilians.

The proposed sale is framed as a demonstration of the US commitment to Israels security, aiming to enhance its defensive capabilities.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.

The sale, drawn from the US Army inventory, comprises 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.

With inputs from Reuters
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday said that the US is responsible for the bloodshed of children in Gaza after the country vetoed a UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire in the territory.

The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in Gaza due to its support for Israel, said a statement from Abbass office.

American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution, sponsored by UAE, was divorced from reality and would have not moved the needle forward on the ground.

Abbas further said that US policy makes it complicit in the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Iran has issued a warning threatening an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the Middle East after the United States blocked the UN Security Council resolution.

Guterres had convened the emergency meeting after weeks of fighting left nearly 17,500 people dead in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children, according to the latest toll from the Hamas-run health ministry.

With inputs from agencies
The national security advisors of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Saturday urged for a more robust international effort to curb North Koreas advancements in nuclear weapons and missiles, as well as its military collaborations with other nations, citing concerns about potential arms transfers to Russia.

The meeting in Seoul took place amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, marked by North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns accelerated nuclear and missile program expansion and the endorsement of an escalatory nuclear doctrine allowing preemptive nuclear weapon use.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral security cooperation in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

In a joint news conference after the meeting, Cho said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Koreas obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its denuclearization and ban any weapons trade with other countries.

We agreed to strengthen coordination among the three countries to secure the international communitys strict implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, Cho said.

Cho said the three also highly praised South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia for announcing their sanctions on North Korea over its spy satellite launch last month. North Korea argues it has the right to launch spy satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhance the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

The United States, South Korea and Japan have agreed on new initiatives to respond to North Koreas threats in cyberspace, including satellite launches and cryptocurrency abuses, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.

Sullivan said the meeting followed up on commitments set forth at the Camp David trilateral summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in August, where leaders of the three allies pledged to deepen security and economic cooperation.

Weve also launched new trilateral initiatives to counter the threats posed by the DPRK, from its cybercrime and cryptocurrency money laundering to its reckless space and ballistic missile tests, Sullivan told reporters, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The allies coordinated efforts would also target potential threats of economic coercion, Sullivan said, and they have finalised work on a supply chain early warning system, agreed to at Camp David, in critical minerals and rechargeable batteries.

The Biden administration held the meeting at Camp David with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to project unity in the face of Chinas growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea.

North Korean state media said on Saturday that Pyongyang was determined to launch more spy satellites soon, calling space development part of its right to defend itself.

After talks with Sullivan and Japans Takeo Akiba, South Korean national security adviser Cho Tae-yong said the three had also exchanged ideas on Ukraine and Middle East issues.

Sullivan added that they continue to stand up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation in the East and South China Seas.

With inputs from agencies.
An extraordinary UN bid to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was blocked by the United States on Friday while Israeli forces continued a relentless offensive to destroy Hamas after its deadly attack two months ago on October 7.

The war has left 17,487 people dead in the Palestinian territory, mostly women and children, according to the latest count from the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas over its unprecedented attack on October 7 when militants broke through Gazas militarised border to kill around 1,200 people and seize hostages, 138 of whom remain captive, according to Israeli figures.

Vast areas of Gaza have been reduced to a wasteland. The UN says about 80 per cent of the population has been displaced, facing dire shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine, and the growing threat of disease.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked the rarely-used Article 99 of the UN Charter to convene an emergency Security Council meeting calling for an immediate ceasefire.

He urged the release of hostages, but said the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

But the US, which supplies billions of dollars in military assistance to Israel, vetoed the resolution.

Its deputy representative at the UN, Robert Wood, said it was divorced from reality and would have not moved the needle forward on the ground.

That was in spite of warnings from the World Health Organization that civilisation was collapsing in Gaza.

People are starting to cut down telephone poles to have a little bit of firewood to keep warm or maybe cook, if they have anything available, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the Security Council was complicit in the ongoing slaughter.

Battles on multiple fronts

Israels military said it had struck 450 targets in Gaza over 24 hours, showing footage of strikes from naval vessels in the Mediterranean.

The Hamas health ministry reported 40 dead near Gaza City in the north, and dozens more in Jabalia and the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

May God punish those who can see our suffering and remain calm, said one Gazan, Rimah Mansi, who told the media they had lost all those we love.

Israel has lost 91 soldiers in Gaza.

It said two others were wounded in a failed bid to rescue hostages overnight, and that numerous terrorists were killed in the operation.

Hamas claimed a hostage was killed in the operation, and released a video purporting to show the body, which could not be independently verified.

Hamas rocket parts, launchers and other weapons as well as a one-kilometre tunnel were found at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City, the army said, as it warned residents to move west.

Many of the 1.9 million displaced Gazans have headed south, turning Rafah near the Egyptian border into a vast camp.

Its so cold, and the tent is so small. All I have are the clothes I wear, I still dont know what the next step will be, said Mahmud Abu Rayan, displaced from Beit Lahia in the north.

The death count also rose in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot dead six Palestinians on Friday, the territorys health ministry said.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it had fired more rockets towards Israeli territory.

Protect civilians

An attack on the US embassy in Iraq deepened fears of wider regional conflict.

Salvoes of rockets were launched against the mission in Baghdads heavily fortified Green Zone, adding to dozens of recent rocket and drone strikes by pro-Iran groups against American or coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated near the US embassy in Amman to denounce Washingtons support for Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron was the latest world leader to push for more aid to Gaza, urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call to reopen the Kerem Shalom checkpoint that handled more than half of goods into the besieged territory before October 7.

The UN said 69 trucks carrying supplies and fuel had entered from Egypt on Thursday  well below the average 500 daily truckloads before the war.

US President Joe Biden earlier urged Netanyahu to open corridors to allow civilians to move safely.

Hanukkah

Israelis remained deeply traumatised by the Hamas attack and fearful for the fate of hostages as they marked the Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, which began Thursday.

A 138-branched menorah candelabrum was lit in Tel Aviv for the remaining captives.

The war has also led to deadly cross-border exchanges on the Lebanese frontier.

An AFP investigation into October 13 strikes in southern Lebanon that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six others, including two from AFP, found it involved a tank shell only used by the Israeli army in this region.

The nature of the strikes and lack of military activity in the immediate vicinity of the journalists indicate the attack was deliberate and targeted, the investigation found.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the strikes merit a war crime investigation.

Israels army said the strikes occurred in an active combat zone and were under review.
Pakistans former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that he was ousted from the government by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 for opposing Kargil and underlining the importance of maintaining friendly relations with India.

The three-time prime minister questioned why he was ousted from the office of the prime minister prematurely.

I should be told why I was ousted in 1993 and 1999. When I opposed the Kargil plan saying it should not happen I was ousted (by Gen Pervez Musharraf). And later what I said proved right, Sharif said during a party meeting in Lahore.

Sharif, who was on self-exile for four years, also mentioned the visit of two Indian prime ministers to Pakistan during his leadership.

We have delivered on every front. During my tenure as PM, two Indian prime ministers visited Pakistan. Modi sahab and Vajpayee sahab had come to Lahore, the former prime minister said.

He stressed the importance of improving relations with neighbouring countries of India, Afghanistan as well as Iran and strengthening relations with China.

He regretted that Pakistan lagged behind its neighbours in economic growth development.

Lashing out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) partys jailed former chairman Imran Khan, Sharif said he did not know why an inexperienced man was given the reins of the country.

The economy witnessed a downfall during Imran Khans government (2018-2202). Then the Shehbaz Sharif government took over in April 2022 and rescued the country from default.

With inputs from PTI
The World Food Programme (WFP) has said it was becoming impossible to get supplies to hungry people in the Gaza Strip as Israel stepped up its attacks on targets there in its war with Hamas.

With law and order breaking down, any meaningful humanitarian operation is impossible, the WFPs Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said in a statement after a visit to the Palestinian enclave on Friday.

With just a fraction of the needed food supplies coming in, a fatal absence of fuel, interruptions to communications systems and no security for our staff or for the people we serve at food distributions, we cannot do our job, he added.

The United Nations agency showed during a truce that collapsed last week that it was able to deliver if conditions allowed, and Skau, who is Swedish, called for a humanitarian ceasefire.

We have food on trucks, but we need more than one crossing. And once the trucks are inside, we need free and safe passage to reach Palestinians wherever they are, he added.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. (TPEM) have announced that they have signed an MOU to collaborate in establishing public charging stations across India.

The collaboration will use BPCLs fuel stations network and TPEMs insights from over 1.15 lakh Tata EVs on Indian road, to set up chargers at locations frequently visited by Tata EV owners. Additionally, BPCL will gather insights on charger usage to improve customer experience.

The two companies are also exploring the possibility of introducing a convenient payment system through a co-branded RFID card, making payment easier for Tata EV users and to encourage more people to adopt electric vehicles in the country.

BPCL has over 21,000 Fuel Stations across India and said that it is committed to a sustainable future by amalgamating strategy, investments, and environmental goals.

BPCL aims to install 7,000 electric vehicle charging stations by next year. To alleviate electric vehicle owners range concerns, BPCL said that it has initiated over 90 Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Highway Corridors across the nation, ensuring a fast-charging station approximately every 100 kilometers on both sides of major highways.

These corridors span more than 30,000 kilometers across various highways, assuring enhanced EV convenience and accessibility.

Commenting on this, Santosh Kumar, Executive Director In charge retail, BPCL said:

BPCL is constantly striving to align with the nations vision to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. BPCL steadily moving closer to goal to converting 7000 of our conventional retail outlets into energy stations which is a part of a comprehensive decarbonization strategy to support and prioritize sustainable initiatives. BPCL has already set up a very large network of fast charging stations across highways. EV is a field of collaboration and we believe that the joining hands with TPEM shall take the EV game of BPCL and TPEM to the next level.

According to Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.:

EV adoption is a key imperative to combat the deteriorating air quality in Indian cities. Wide-spread and reliable charging infrastructure will be a key catalyst for accelerating EV adoption in India. In line with our commitment to develop the charging ecosystem in India, we are delighted to announce our strategic collaboration with BPCL, which is aimed at accelerating Indias journey towards e-mobility. This collaborative partnership epitomizes our shared vision of fostering positive change  an enabling infrastructure for the growing EV customer base. It will benefit from TPEMs unparalleled EV usage insights, and BPCLs formidable nationwide network. It has the potential to reshape the landscape of charging infrastructure in the country.
WhatsApp Introduces New Voice Message Feature: Self-Destructing Secrets News -Shonit Khanna

Ever fancied whispering digital secrets that vanish after revealing themselves? If so, WhatsApp's latest update will feel nothing short of magical to you.

The platform's 'View Once' feature, which conveniently makes text, photos, and videos vanish after being seen, has now embraced voice messages with open arms. This novelty brings a whole new level of privacy to your conversations, ensuring your spoken words leave no trace-quite literally-once heard.

How to use WhatsApp Disappearing Messages?

Most Android WhatsApp users can now experience this new disappearing trick with their voice messages thanks to the most recent update. Curious to check whether you've got this secret agent tool in your tech arsenal?

Simply head to the Google Play Store, download the latest WhatsApp tidbit, and you're set to manifest voice messages that self-destruct!

The process to send a View Once voice message is as easy as pie. Begin by firing up WhatsApp and selecting the chat of your chosen recipient. Hold down the microphone icon located snugly at the chat box's bottom rightand voila!your message starts recording, ready to carry your voice into oblivion once heard.

As your words flow, look out for the lock icon that pops up. A simple upward swipe towards this icon andlike a magic wand wavea View Once icon will grace your screen. Tap on this icon before you've finished your verbal opus. Just like that, your regular voice message is prepped to vanish post-playback!

Listen, and Its Gone!

Once the recipient tunes into your message, these digital whispers self-destruct, leaving behind only a faint memoryor in WhatsApp's terms, a simple 'Opened' text. But wait, it isn't just about one-time listening. Should your message go unheard for 14 days, it'll take its secrets to the grave by disappearing from the chat.

A quick heads-up though, these View Once voice messages are akin to shooting starsbeautiful but untouchable. You cannot save them, star them, or forward the vanishing act. They are, by design, fleeting moments in digital time.

Level Up Your Messaging Game

View Once voice messages are not just about stealth; they also come with handy functionalities like Lock, Pause, Record, and Delete options. Lock in your message recording without the hassle of holding down the icon, or pause and resume when you need to catch a thoughtor breath. Made a blunder? The delete option lets you erase and start afresh with your clandestine missive.

In conclusion, WhatsApp's View Once feature is a game changer for those seeking an extra layer of privacy. It's a simple, yet brilliantly effective way to ensure that what you say, stays between you and the listenerand then, disappears into the ether. So go ahead, update your app, and step into the world of ephemeral voice messaging where your words are as fleeting as they are private.

Best Mobiles in India
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L, front row behind dancers) at the Vietnam Town in Udon Thani, Thailand. Photo courtesy of the National Assembly office

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue cut the ribbon on Saturday to launch the Vietnam Town in Thailand's northeastern Udon Thani province, which is the first in Thailand and the world.

The top legislator described the opening of the Vietnam Town as a new imprint of Vietnam in Thailand.

He expressed his delight that cultural and historical values of Vietnam have been promoted in Thailand, marked by Vietnamese pagodas and three relic sites dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh.

He thanked the administration of Udon Thani and sponsors for supporting the Vietnam Town project.

Underlining that it is the first and only Vietnam Town in the world, NA Chairman Hue said he believes that with the strong support of the local administration, the town will see bustle business, cultural and tourism activities, thus becoming a destination for Vietnamese in Thailand as well as tourists, contributing to enriching the local culture and fostering the friendship and attachment between locals and Thai people of Vietnamese origin here.

The Vietnam Town initiative should be multiplied in other suitable localities of Thailand, he said.

Udon Thani Governor Wanchai Kongkasem reviewed the friendship and cooperation between the two countries over the years.

He said that the Vietnamese community has acted as an important factor in promoting the ties between the two countries.

The official said the formation of the Vietnam Town is a symbol of the solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the two countries and peoples.

According to the Vietnamese Association in Udon Thani, the Vietnamese community in the locality comprises about 60,000 people.

The Vietnam Town is located in the Vietnamese market area in the city downtown, with 99% of residents being of Vietnamese origin. Along with the support of the local administration and Vietnamese in Thailand, the project has received sponsorship from a number of Vietnamese firms at home.
Thu Thursday

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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
An American teenager was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for shooting dead four students at his Michigan high school, with the case drawing additional attention because his parents are also facing charges.
China cuts visa fees by 25% for travelers from many countries including Vietnam

Foreign tourists arrive at Daxing International Airport in Beijing in April 2023. Photo by Reuters

China on Friday cut visa fees by 25% for travelers from countries including Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, from Dec. 11, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2024, according to statements from the Chinese foreign ministry and embassies.

The policy so far covers hundreds of millions of travelers from over a dozen countries and will make it cheaper for them to get a visa to travel to China.

This is the latest in a slew of measures China has recently taken to increase inbound travel from foreign tourists and businesspeople amid a sputtering recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

The visa fee for Vietnamese citizens entering China starts from US$45.
Spain expels two US embassy staff accused of bribing intelligence agents: Report

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 3:28 PM

Spain has expelled two American embassy diplomats accused of infiltrating the Spanish intelligence agency (CNI) through alleged bribing local officers, a report says.

Citing unnamed government sources, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Thursday that the pair, whom the daily did not identify by name or post, were quietly kicked out of Spain at Madrid's request after an investigation revealed that two Spanish intelligence officers gave information for "a large sum of money."

"At least two US agents stationed at the US Embassy in Madrid, who were directly involved in the recruitment of CNI spies, have been discreetly expelled from Spain," the paper said, describing only one of the local officers as being a "middle-ranking member of CNI."

According to the report, which received no immediate confirmation from either country, more than two American "spies" might have been involved in the case, which is sought to be kept secret by a court order.

Two CNI officers, a chief of area and his assistant, were arrested two months ago after they were noticed accessing classified information that was not part of their remit, El Pais said, adding that the two officers had purportedly been recruited by the two spies based at the US embassy.

Both Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares had separately spoken to US Ambassador Julissa Reynoso to ask for an explanation, El Pais further said.

The daily went on to say that after Reynoso was summoned, she said she knew nothing of the case and apologized.

"It's a very grave matter, since recruiting secret agents from a host nation to betray their own country is an openly hostile act done with enemy governments, but never with friends or allies," El Pais said.

Back in September, Russia expelled two American embassy diplomats, first secretary Jeffrey Sillin and second secretary David Bernstein, accused of working with a Russian spy.

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United States and the United Kingdom Sanction Members of Russian State Intelligence-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Group

U.S. Department of the Treasury

December 7, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the United Kingdom, designated two individuals associated with an advanced persistent threat (APT) group that is sponsored by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and has targeted individuals and entities in the United States, United Kingdom, and other allied and partner countries.

"As we have stressed through our bilateral actions over the past year, the United States and the United Kingdom stand together, steadfast against the Kremlin and its state-sponsored malicious cyber groups' efforts to target our democracies," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. "We will continue to leverage our collective tools and authorities to protect our citizens, our government networks, and our democratic processes."

The United Kingdom has sanctioned two individuals for engaging in spear phishing operations with the intention to use information obtained to undermine UK democratic processes. The United States, in support of and in solidarity with the United Kingdom, has also taken action against the same individuals, identifying their connection to the FSB unit and its activity that has targeted U.S. critical government networks.

FSB-SPONSORED SPEAR PHISHING

The Kremlin uses the FSB, one of its intelligence and law enforcement agencies, to advance the Kremlin's interests and to try to undermine the interests of the United States and its allies and partners. The FSB employs its cyber capabilities to refine its espionage, influence, and intrusion campaigns.

A unit within the FSB is responsible for an APT that has targeted the United States and other nations. The FSB unit, characterized by its highly tailored spear phishing, has been given several monikers by private cybersecurity firms, which includes "Callisto" or "Callisto Group," "Seaborgium," "Coldriver," "Star Blizzard," "Gossamer Bear," "ReUse Team," "Dancing Salome," and "BlueCharlie," among others.

Since as early as 2016, FSB-sponsored spear phishing campaigns have focused their targeting on the webmail accounts of entities associated with government, military, private organizations and news media across the globe and has expanded to include accounts of U.S., UK, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries' government, military, and government affiliates.

The FSB's spear phishing campaigns have been designed to gain access to targeted email accounts, to maintain persistent access to the accounts and associated networks, and to obtain and potentially exfiltrate sensitive information to advance the Kremlin's policy goals. For example, they have been linked to hack-and-leak operations, where stolen and leaked information is used to shape narratives in targeted countries and have conducted highly tailored spear phishing campaigns aimed at harvesting webmail, corporate, and governmental credentials.

In 2022, FSB actors were responsible for malicious cyber activity directed at facilities of a U.S. government agency. The malicious activity included impersonating agency employees and one Department of State employee by creating spoofed email accounts for the purpose of mimicking these employees in order to send spear phishing emails to unsuspecting and specifically targeted employees at the facilities.

FSB SPEAR PHISHING ACTORS

Two individuals associated with these spear phishing activities are Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko (Peretyatko), an FSB officer, and Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets (Korinets), an IT worker in Syktyvkar, Russia.

Between at least 2016 and 2020, Korinets fraudulently created and registered malicious domain infrastructure for FSB spear phishing campaigns. He would anonymously create shortened URL links that would be embedded in spear phishing emails. Korinets created at least 39 domains through 5 different domain registrars, using aliases and fake addresses in an attempt to obfuscate himself from the domains. Since the date of its activation until late 2019, a spoofed email account intended to mimic a retired U.S. Air Force general had sent at least 20 spear phishing emails, which included domains created by Korinets.

Also between at least 2016 and 2020, Peretyatko has used several email addresses that were designed to mimic legitimate management accounts of well-known technology companies to send spear phishing emails, some of which contained the domain infrastructure created by Korinets. In 2017, Peretyatko used a fraudulent email account to send spear phishing emails purporting to be from a major software company that directed victims to change their account password in an attempt to harvest their credentials; the link re-directed to a malicious domain created by Korinets.

Peretyatko and other FSB officers responsible for the spear phishing campaigns have researched new tools that would support their malicious cyber activities. One of the tools included malware that allows for the evasion of two factor authentication, another permits for the control of a device with limited risk of detection, and a third that allows access to webmail inboxes.

Korinets and Peretyatko are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended by E.O. 13757, for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, a cyber-enabled activity identified pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended.

In addition to the United Kingdom's action and OFAC's designation, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Department of Justice's Northern District of California has unsealed indictments of Korinets and Peretyatko for their roles in a criminal hacking conspiracy that included the targeting of U.S.-based entities and individuals, including employees of U.S. Department of Energy facilities. Similar to the United Kingdom's actions imposing sanctions, the Department of Justice's charges also allege the activity was conducted by a unit subordinate to the FSB.

Concurrently, the U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, engages in certain malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Under this reward offer, the RFJ program is seeking information leading to the location or identification of Peretyatko and Korinets.

Additionally, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published an advisory and an alert related to the malicious cyber activities with which Peretyatko and Korinets are associated.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the individuals described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of a blocked or designated person.

In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the individuals designated today may themselves be exposed to sanctions.

The power and integrity of sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Click here for more information on the individuals and entities designated today.

For information on spear phishing, please visit CISA's General Security Postcard on Phishing.

To report a cyber-crime, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

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December 8, 2023

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

NSA Focuses on Talent as Pace of Technology Quickens

The National Security Agency's ability to recruit and retain top talent is key to meeting the demands of the future, agency Director Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, said today.

Nakasone said the rapid evolution of technology continues to reshape the national security landscape and how his agency responds to new threats, but people remain central to the NSA's mission.

"A lot of times we think about the incredible technological capabilities and the high-speed computers that are there, but, at the end of the day, what makes us the agency that we are is our talent," he said during a discussion in Washington hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a trade organization focused on public-private national security partnerships.

Earlier this year, the National Security Agency launched its largest hiring surge in three decades with a goal of hiring more than 3,000 new employees by the end of 2023.

Nakasone said the NSA is "moving very quickly" to meet that goal, but said numbers are only part of the overall objective.

He said the agency has also focused on improvements to its recruiting and retention practices to ensure it attracts a "future-ready workforce."

"How do we think about a population that is over 50% today millennials and [Generation Z]?" he said. "Ten years ago, 70% of our workforce was baby boomers. Five years ago, Gen Z and millennials overtook baby boomers. Five years from now, 70% will be Gen Z and millennials."

"This is the workforce that is coming into our agency, so this is an agency that is looking much differently in how we retain our workforce," he said.

That approach includes a focus on adapting to work-life balance demands and easing career mobility between the government and private sector.

That workforce will be on the frontlines of significant change as the agency adapts to technologies a such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing a that Nakasone said will have a significant impact on the national security landscape.

The NSA has been forward-leaning in its approach to game these game changers.

Earlier this year, Nakasone, who also commands U.S. Cyber Command and serves as the chief of the Central Security Service, announced the creation a new entity to oversee the development and integration of artificial intelligence capabilities within U.S. national security systems.

The AI Security Center will become the focal point for developing best practices, evaluation methodology and risk frameworks with the aim of promoting the secure adoption of new AI capabilities across the national security enterprise and the defense industrial base.

The new entity will consolidate the agency's various artificial intelligence, security-related activities.

Nakasone said on Friday that the AI Security Center has begun bringing together a series of partners to tackle the issues linking AI to national security.

Recently, he said, the group released a report on AI security infrastructure in partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the United Kingdom's Government Communications Headquarters and other organizations.

"Artificial intelligence is probably the most transformative things that we're going to experience in our lifetime," he said. "We have to ensure that the information, the infrastructure, [and] the ability for AI to operate within this nation [is] secure."

"That's where the National Security Agency comes in," he said.

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US Deals with Allies Signal Concerns Over China's Disinformation Campaign

By Christy Lee December 08, 2023

Western foreign policy experts are welcoming recent U.S. agreements to jointly tackle foreign disinformation with Seoul and Tokyo, saying they are needed to counter Chinese efforts to undermine liberal democracies through the spread of fake news.

The U.S. signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday "to identify and counter foreign information manipulation," according to a State Department statement.

The agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed with South Korea in Seoul on Friday to cooperate in their efforts to tackle foreign disinformation. The agreements, the first designed to fight disinformation, were made during an Asia trip by Liz Allen, the U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.

They are designed to "demonstrate the seriousness with which the United States is working with its partners to defend the information space," according to the State Department's Wednesday statement, which did not specify any nations as threats.

In response, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Tuesday that he wants to stress that "China always opposes the creation and spread of disinformation."

He said, "What I have seen is that there is a lot of disinformation about China on social media in the U.S. Some U.S. officials, lawmakers, media and organizations have produced and spread a large amount of false information against China without any evidence, ignoring basic facts."

The agreements the U.S. made with its allies are "a deliberate acknowledgment of the threats posed by China," said David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.

"Disinformation is part of a deliberate long-term political warfare campaign by China to subvert the democracies of the U.S., the ROK and Japan as well as to undermine the alliance relationships to prevent unified action against China," Maxwell said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.

China is seemingly accelerating its social media operation aimed at influencing the U.S. election in 2024.

Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Nov. 30 that it took down 4,789 Facebook accounts based in China that were impersonating Americans, including politicians, and posting messages about U.S. politics and U.S.-China relations.

In the report on adversarial threats, Meta said China is the third-most-common source of foreign disinformation after Russia and Iran.

Dennis Wilder, a senior fellow for the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, said, "The Chinese, Russians, and others seek to disrupt the normal give and take of our political discourse."

Wilder, formerly National Security Council director for China in 2004-05 during the George W. Bush administration, continued to say the agreements Washington made with Seoul and Tokyo are "a significant step forward" as "democracies must work together" to offset "disinformation designed to influence electorate and sow overall dissent within our open political systems."

Beijing appears to be spreading anti-U.S. and pro-China messages in South Korea as well.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced Nov. 13 it had identified and taken down 38 fake Korean-language news sites operated by two Chinese public relations firms, Haimai and Haixun.

South Korea's National Cyber Security Center, which is overseen by NIS, released a report on the same day describing the kind of propaganda that the firms disseminated through the fake news sites by posing as members of the Korean Digital News Association. The organization oversees the copyrights of news articles posted by its members.

Using news site names such as Seoul Press with the corresponding domain name as seoulpr.com and Busan Online with busanonline.com, Haimai has been disseminating disinformation and operating the sites from China, according to the report. Busan is South Korea's second-largest city.

An article on Daegu Journal, another illicit site Haimai was running, stated in June that nuclear wastewater released from Japan would affect the South Korean food supply chain.

The National Cyber Security Center report also noted that U.S.-based cybersecurity firm Mandiant, owned by Google, released a report in July accusing Haimai of operating 72 fraudulent websites to spread anti-U.S. messages.

Cho Han-Bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told VOA's Korean Service on Tuesday that "China and North Korea have been attempting in various ways to influence South Korea's public opinion."

He said the influence campaign could affect South Korean politics and therefore Seoul's relations with Beijing or its stance on Pyongyang.

Kim Hyungjin in Seoul contributed to this report.

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Kremlin Propaganda on Uptick in Latin America

By Iryna Shynkarenko December 08, 2023

Javier Vrox, the host of a political program on a YouTube channel in Chile who constantly monitors social networks in his country, recently noticed an uptick in pro-Russian political messaging, which had already been common in the country.

"They copy and paste the same messages on social media a that [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy is an actor, that he is a funny president; they copy those videos of Zelensky's past TV series, making the point that he is an actor and a liar."

According to Vrox, such reports aim to convince Chileans that Ukrainians only pretend to be victims of Russian aggression but are themselves a regional threat, and that NATO and the United States, by that logic, are its partners and equally hostile to Chile while Russia is a reliable ally.

"I think they're doing a great job of tagging influencers, people from Twitter, now X, to share video messages and posts ... to create the idea that if you're a friend of the U.S., you're an enemy to Chile," said Vrox, who added that some posts referred to Ukrainian leaders as "Nazis," even though Zelenskyy himself is Jewish.

These sentiments are not shared by Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who has publicly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy in September 2023 during the U.N. General Assembly in New York to discuss a possible Ukraine-Latin America summit.

"Chileans don't really support Ukraine; they think that Ukrainians are trying to manipulate the media to look like victims," said Vrox. But "Boric supports Zelenskyy's government, so a weird situation has developed."

Well-funded network

James Rubin, the U.S. State Department's Global Engagement Center special envoy and coordinator, agreed in an interview with VOA last month that Russia is "covertly co-opting local media and influencers to spread disinformation and propaganda" in Latin America.

In a public statement issued on November 7, the State Department said Russia "is currently financing an ongoing, well-funded disinformation campaign across Latin America," spanning at least 13 countries, from Argentina and Chile in the south all the way to Mexico in the north.

"A cultivated group of editorial staff would be organized in a Latin American country, most likely in Chile, with several local individuals and representatives a journalists and public opinion leaders a of various countries in the region," the statement said.

"A team in Russia would then create content and send the material to the editorial staff in Latin America for review, editing, and ultimately publication in local mass media."

Christopher Hernandez-Roy of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, said Russia has a "legacy of propaganda" in the region going back to the Cold War.

Hernandez-Roy is a CSIS Americas Program deputy director and senior fellow.

The Soviets, he said, were "supporting revolutionary movements throughout the region, including military support in the case of Cuba, Nicaragua and other places, Central America in general, in the 70s and 80s."

The annexation of Crimea in 2014, he said, became the starting point of a new wave of disinformation in the region.

"It's around then that you start to see maybe an uptick in Russia's influence or trying to influence narratives in the Western Hemisphere," he told VOA. "In those three years a 2014, 2015 and 2016 a you start to see, for instance, 'Russia Today' coming online in Chile and Mexico, and I think in Argentina, as well."

According to an October report by the United States Institute of Peace, Actualidad RT (Russia Today in Spanish) and Sputnik Mundo are the key purveyors of Russian state media in the region. Hernandez-Roy said these two media organizations have about 32 million regular listeners in Latin America, which has 667 million inhabitants.

"So, [even] 30 million is quite significant, and those are [merely] the overt ways," he said. "Russia has a much more sophisticated apparatus than just simply its visible media outlets, [such as] using social media, sympathetic journalists, sympathetic influencers and Russian automated bots on social media. It can amplify its messages, which then are picked up by other sympathetic mechanisms."

"We know [Actualidad RT] have offices in Havana, Buenos Aires and Caracas," said Armando Daniel Armas, a Venezuelan opposition politician currently living in Europe. "We know that [Actualidad RT] have over 200 Spanish-speaking, let's say, journalists working in Moscow ... who allocate resources to find professional people, good people with content" to perpetuate Russian narratives on the ground in Latin American.

The object, according to U.S. officials, is to have Russian public relations and internet companies recruit and cultivate Latin American journalists, influencers and public opinion leaders to seed their publications and broadcasts with content favorable to Moscow while hiding any links to the Kremlin.

"They've been somewhat successful in using RT and Sputnik in Latin America," Rubin told VOA in November. "The difference here is they're trying to operate surreptitiously. They're trying to create content in Russia and launder it through Latin American journalists. They are covertly co-opting local media and influencers to spread disinformation and propaganda."

U.S. officials said it is unclear how many of the journalists and opinion leaders are aware they are being fed Russian disinformation, although a senior State Department official told VOA, "There are definitely some willing participants."

Others involved in the network may be sympathetic to the Russian viewpoints but unaware that the directions are coming from Moscow.

Russia's ultimate objective, said Hernandez-Roy, is to convince people in Latin America that Moscow is not the only one to blame a that there's blame on both sides in a war caused by the U.S. and NATO.

"Essentially, what they're trying to do is to make sure that the region is neutral," said Hernandez-Roy. "We're not talking about Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which, of course, are completely on the Russian side."

Soft diplomacy

Yuriy Polyukhovych, Ukraine's ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, points to another asset utilized to influence opinions in Latin American that Moscow has used since Soviet times: its diplomatic corps.

"Russian ambassadors, Russian embassies here are a part of Russia's propaganda machine," he told VOA. "They've been doing their work for many years. These are not embassies of four or five persons. These embassies have 60, 70, 80 people each. Imagine what can be done with such a group of people! According to our information, some work for the intelligence service."

At the same time, said Ukrainian Ambassador to Argentina Yuriy Klymenko, the Russian war against Ukraine at least somewhat undermined Russia's standing in Latin America, presenting a diplomatic opportunity for the United States and its allies.

"From my experience, it is now considered bad manners to invite representatives of Russia to diplomatic or other public events," he told VOA.

Yuriy Polyukhovych once called Latin America a region of "contact diplomacy," emphasizing the need to work directly with local populations to counteract Russian influence. Hernandez-Roy suggested the U.S. project more soft power in the region.

"The U.S. used to project much more soft power decades ago than today," he said. "Soft power means people-to-people exchanges, more high-level visits, cultural interchanges."

Kyiv, he said, should allocate more resources to the region and conduct active diplomacy with high-level visits and ambassadors to counter Russian narratives.

This story originated in VOA's Ukrainian Service. VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed reporting.

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Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari December 6th, 20:15

IDF Press Release

Press Briefing

06.12.23

IDF

Good evening,

The IDF Commando Division, the 98th Division, launched a combined assault on the Khan Yunis area in southern Gaza. Our forces are encircling the area, and the commando forces are currently conducting raids and battling Hamas terrorists. Our forces are striking targets using precise real-time intelligence; the soldiers are battling valiantly, eliminating terrorists, identifying underground infrastructure, and destroying weaponry. Simultaneously to the forces in the southern Gaza Strip, our forces are also continuing to advance in the northern Gaza Strip. The 36th Division and the 162nd Division are focused on the Jabalya and Shuja'iyya areas. It is important for the public to understand that in the past 48 hours, these three divisions, along with another division in the east, have been fighting intensely against terrorists. In the Jabalya, Shuja'iyya, and Khan Yunis areas, we have broken through their defensive lines. The terrorists are now emerging from the underground tunnels and engaging our forces in close combat, our forces are emerging with the upper hand. Our forces will continue to further our achievements in Jabalya, Shuja'iyya, and also in the Khan Yunis area - the heart of Hamas' terror.

In the north, throughout the day, the IDF attacked a Hezbollah operational command center and terror infrastructure. IDF forces responded with fire to the sources from which several rockets were launched into Israeli territory during the day.

The Aerial Defense Forces intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched towards our territory in the Red Sea area. This interception was carried out using the "Arrow" defense system with assistance from the "Iron Dome" system. The debris from the interception did not endanger the city of Eilat, and the threat was removed at long range, in the Red Sea. This terrorist activity is Houthi terror activity. It is regional terrorism - directed, funded, and orchestrated by Iran. It is a global problem - affecting all parts of the region. Our talks with the United States Central Command, as we understand, are already leading to the establishment of task forces in the Red Sea and other areas to address the issue. We are on a high level of preparedness in all sectors, both defensively and offensively.

On the Home Front, yesterday, we received further proof of how important it is to fully follow instructions, staying in a protected space for 10 minutes after hearing an alarm, and waiting until the debris from the interception is no longer a danger to civilians. We must not become complacent - these are life-saving instructions.

138 hostages kidnapped on October 7th are still being held in Gaza. We have a moral duty to do everything, everything, to bring them all home.

At this hour, our troops are battling bravely in Jabalya, Shuja'iyya, and Khan Yunis, to bring them all home. Today, we also notified families whose loved ones fell in defense of the State of Israel, and we embrace them in their difficult time. We also wish a speedy and complete recovery to all the wounded.

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The IDF is Publishing a List of Area Numbers to Guide Gazan Residents in Evacuating High Risk Areas

IDF Press Release

06.12.2023

Dear residents of Gaza, it is imperative you pay attention to the following map. Anyone who sees the area number which they live, or is near an area on the map, must track and follow the instructions of the IDF through various media outlets and obey them. This is the way to preserve your safety, your lives and the lives of your families.

Since the beginning of the war, Hamas has been using Gazan civilians as human shields and planting its headquarters and military infrastructure in their residential areas, hospitals, mosques and schools, turning civilian sites into military targets.

This violates international law and the rules of war, which explicitly state that civilians must not be used as human shields.

The IDF takes all possible precautions to avoid causing loss of civilian life or injury, adopting all available means. Therefore, it always sends messages to the residents of Gaza by asking them to evacuate the targeted areas that constitute the target of the army's activities.

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LAS VEGAS  The victims of this weeks mass shooting at UNLV were identified as faculty members who were gunned down by a man who had reportedly applied unsuccessfully for a professorship at the university. He was shot by police.

The Clark County coroner said Cha Jan Jerry Chang, 64, a professor of management information systems at the universitys business school, and Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, an assistant professor in accounting, died of gunshot wounds.

Chang joined UNLV as an assistant professor in 2001 and became an associate professor in 2007. Navarro Velezs research focused on cybersecurity disclosures and assurance, internal control weakness disclosure and data analytics.

On Friday morning, the Clark County coroners office identified the third slain victim as Naoko Takemaru, 69, who was an associate professor of Japanese studies. Takemaru taught all levels of Japanese language, grammar and culture and oversaw the entire Japanese Studies Program at the university.

A fourth victim (a visiting professor at UNLV) who had been upgraded to stable condition on Wednesday had been downgraded with life-threatening injuries as of Thursday, according to Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill.

In a letter to the university community published Thursday, UNLV President Keith Whitfield called Wednesday the most difficult day in the history of our university.

My heart breaks for the families, friends, and loved ones of Dr. Navarro and Dr. Chang, and for all of the victims of this senseless act of violence that has physically and emotionally affected so many, Whitfield wrote.

In a media conference Thursday afternoon, McMahill confirmed reports identifying the gunman as Anthony Polito, 67, of Henderson.

McMahill said Polito carried out Wednesdays shooting with a handgun that was legally purchased in 2022. He was carrying 11 magazines, he added, though he did not say exactly how many rounds were fired.

Police have yet to identify a clear motive for the shooting, though McMahill also confirmed that Polito  a semiretired professor  had applied for jobs at multiple Southern Nevada higher education institutions and had been repeatedly denied. He also appeared to be struggling financially and maintained a list of faculty at UNLV and Eastern Carolina University, a former employer, that he was seeking, though none were among the victims who were shot.

Police raided a Henderson apartment linked to Polito late Wednesday, in which a document similar to a last will and testament was discovered, McMahill said. He added Polito apparently mailed 22 sealed envelopes to various higher education institutions nationwide, and at least one of those envelopes contained an unknown white powder.

McMahill said Metro believed Polito acted alone and we have zero indication of any other suspects at this time.

Asked by reporters Thursday if UNLV ought to close its campus to non-students and faculty  as at least one online petition from UNLV students has suggested  Whitfield said his inclination was against the idea.

Instead, he said he favored other safety features, such as additional cameras, though he added administrators would take a close look at that.

What I hear from fellow presidents is that they dont feel that closing the campus actually ends up becoming a deterrent when theres an evildoer that wants to get in, Whitfield said. And if you have any kind of access to the campus which  were Las Vegas university  we have to make sure that we have access for you all to come and go.

As of Thursday afternoon, all university campus operations remain closed with the exception of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center and Dining Commons. UNLV announced that anyone who needs to access any essential belongings left behind on campus yesterday, except in Beam Hall, can make arrangements at the UNLV Transit Center.

Vehicles that were left on the main campus can be accessed and retrieved via Maryland Parkway.

McMahill said Wednesday an additional four people were transported to nearby hospitals after suffering panic attacks, and two officers were treated at University Medical Center for minor injuries that McMahill said were sustained while searching for victims.
UN envoy to assess Cambodia's human rights protections

Visit comes amid arrests and a blocked march ahead of Human Rights Day.

By RFA Khmer 2023.12.06 -- A U.N. official is in Cambodia for a five-day visit to assess its protection of human rights and freedom of expression ahead of this weekend's International Human Rights Day.

On Wednesday, as Vitit Muntarbhorn, a Thai national and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, kicked off his visit, police broke up a planned march by monks and youths from Siem Reap to the capital of Phnom Penh.

And in nearby Banteay Meanchey province, police arrested four people at the offices of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or LICADHO, the rights group told RFA.

During his Dec. 4-8 visit, Muntarbhorn is scheduled to meet with the government, human rights defenders, civil society organizations, youth groups, ethnic minority workers, journalists and media representatives, experts, diplomats, U.N. agencies and other stakeholders.

It comes about 100 days after Prime Minister Hun Manet took office, replacing his father who had ruled the country since 1985.

Opposition leaders and domestic and international civil society groups say that since taking office, Hun Manet has not been able to better administer democracy, respect for human rights, social crises and economic problems.

The visit is important because the special rapporteur will also raise the issue of rights activists, land activists, unions, and journalists in discussions with the government, Chhorn Sokunthea, the Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, told RFA.

"I do not expect any improvement because I see that recently, especially in 2023, Cambodia has a lot of issues related to the decline of press freedom, such as shutting down the independent press," she said.

March blocked

A group of monks, members of civil society groups and youth had planned a walk as a peaceful demonstration that would take them on a 300-kilometer (185-mile) trip to Freedom Park in the capital by Sunday, Human Rights Day.

But more than 20 police officers prevented the marchers from leaving the town, saying the march was illegal.

The group said that they had submitted a letter of notification to the Ministry of Interior and the Siem Reap provincial authorities before starting their pilgrimage, making it entirely legal.

"Legally, we informed them 24 hours before the march, and had less than 200 people, ... so no one should be stopping us," Ros Sotha, president of the Cambodian Human Rights Actions Committee, told RFA.

"The point is that we are following the law," he said. "The state [agents] always accuse civil society groups of doing the wrong thing, but this is not the case."

RFA was not able to reach Siem Reap Provincial Hall nor government spokesman Pen Bona for comment.

Foursome detained

Meanwhile, police in northwestern Cambodia briefly arrested four people who had visited LICADHO offices to obtain legal advice in connection with the case of Kang Saran, who was jailed for criticizing the government. The detainees were his wife Hang Trip, his daughter Seng Chantha and two of his neighbors.

LICADHO staff said the police entered the office without a warrant, and when asked, one officer said they just carried out orders from high up.

All four were released the same day, said Phon Chhin, the group's provincial for Banteay Meanchey province, told RFA.

One of the people who was detained said once they were taken to the police station, an officer said there was a small complaint against them, and then checked their cell phones without giving any reason. After that, the officers told the four they had been brought to the station because their boss wanted to give them gifts, said the person, who asked not to be identified.

They were each of them the equivalent of about US$25 in cash, a bag of rice and a box of instant noodles, she said.

Phon Chhin said the officer was likely lying and that his explanation was unreasonable.

Hundreds celebrate

Ahead of Human Rights Day, in the northern province of Preah Vihear, about 100 villagers, farmers and environmental activists gathered, saying they want to see the authorities stop allowing the powerful to exploit the land and natural resources, and respect human rights.

Hing Yoeun, who attended the celebration, said that attendees wanted to honor Human Rights Day and to promote the importance of protecting natural resources. He urged the relevant authorities to stop land encroachment and effectively prevent logging in Prey Lang.

The forest is a protected area, but illegal logging there is widespread.

"The local authorities have to participate in disseminating the messages of protection of our Prey Lang forest with honesty," said Hing Yoeun.

Heng Kimhong, director of the Cambodian Youth Network's Research and Advocacy Program, said that understanding the fundamental rights of citizens is important to prevent abuse from the rich and the powerful.

"The importance of planting democracy and human rights starts with the local people because they are vulnerable people," he said. "If they don't understand their human rights, they can be abused easily [in the process of] any development in their areas."

Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

Updates details about foursome arrested.

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Secretary Blinken's Call with Guyanese President Ali

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

December 6, 2023

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Guyanese President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali to reaffirm the United States' unwavering support for Guyana's sovereignty. The Secretary reiterated the United States' call for a peaceful resolution to the dispute and for all parties to respect the 1899 arbitral award determining the land boundary between Venezuela and Guyana, unless, or until, the parties reach a new agreement, or a competent legal body decides otherwise. Secretary Blinken and President Ali noted the International Court of Justice order issued on December 1, which called for parties to refrain from any action that might aggravate or extend the dispute. The Secretary reiterated that the United States looks forward to working closely with Guyana once it assumes its non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council in January 2024. The two leaders concluded the call by agreeing upon the importance of maintaining a peaceful and democratic Western Hemisphere.

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EODMU 8 Participates in NUSRET 2023 Invitational Exercise

US Navy

06 December 2023

From Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Waters

CANAKKALE, Turkiye -- Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 (EODMU 8) is participating in the Turkiye-led NUSRET 2023 invitational exercise from November 28 through December 6, 2023 in the northern Aegean Sea.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 (EODMU 8) is participating in the Turkiye-led NUSRET 2023 invitational exercise from November 28 through December 6, 2023 in the northern Aegean Sea.

NUSRET is a Turkish-hosted annual multilateral exercise for mine warfare units (surface, subsurface, and aerial) focused on Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) employment, shallow water search techniques, and interoperability among NATO Mine Warfare (MIW) battle staffs.

EODMU 8 will conduct dive operations and training to dispose of underwater mines. There will also be multiple, cross-training opportunities to build comradery among the EOD units from 15 participating NATO ally and partner countries. NATO Standing Mine Countermeasures Task Group-2 (SNMCMG-2) is also scheduled to participate.

"At a time when the world is concerned with the unprecedented mining of the Black Sea, this timely exercise provides an outstanding opportunity to train, share best practices, and collaborate with our highly capable NATO allies and partners," said Cmdr. John P. Kennedy, commanding officer of EODMU 8 and commander, Task Group (CTG) 68.1. "Our hope is to leverage each other's capabilities and work together to effectively de-mine the region and significantly reduce the risk to all mariners, particularly in the Black Sea."

In a statement announcing the start of the exercise, the Turkish Ministry of Defense, said, "The aim of the exercise is to provide training for participating units/commands in the planning, execution, and evaluation of mine warfare. It aims to enhance the interoperability of mine warfare elements from different countries, promoting their ability to work together."

EODMU 8 is part of the forward deployed Navy Expeditionary Combat Force Europe-Africa/Task Force 68, responsible for providing explosive ordnance disposal operations, naval construction, expeditionary security and theater security efforts to U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa and U.S. Sixth Fleet.

For over 80 years, NAVEUR-NAVAF has forged strategic relationships with our allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allies and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability throughout Europe and Africa.

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December 7, 2023

Transcript

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh Holds a Press Briefing

Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary

DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. I do have quite a few items at the top, so if you'll just bear with me, and then I'd be happy to jump in and start taking your questions.

So earlier this week, as you may have seen, Secretary Austin gave opening remarks yesterday at the Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference held here in Washington, D.C. The conference connected relevant U.S. and Ukrainian industry and government representatives to discuss initiatives that could enhance Ukraine's defense industrial base and and build on momentum generated by a successful event Ukraine hosted in Kyiv in September, 2023, all of which signals strong U.S. support for enhanced industry partnership.

As part of the conference, Dr. Bill LaPlante, Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment, convened the eighth meeting of the National Armament Directors under the auspices of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group today. The meeting is being held here at the Pentagon, the first time the forum has convened here in the United States. This meeting brings together more than 40 nations, NATO and the European Union to engage on industrial base and sustainment challenges in support of Ukraine both for their immediate requirements, while also supporting Ukraine's long-term defense and national security needs.

Later in the day, Secretary Austin hosted Ukrainian Minister of Defense Umerov for a bilateral meeting. Secretary Austin highlighted the department's ongoing activities to meet Ukraine's urgent requirements, including the announcement of the 52nd tranche of security assistance from DOD inventories for Ukraine. The package included additional air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition, antitank weapons and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia's ongoing war of aggression. This package utilized assistance previously authorized for Ukraine during prior fiscal years under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, but it is critical, as you all know, that Congress pass the president's National Security Supplemental Request to ensure we can continue to support Ukraine.

Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security because it helps prevent a larger war in Europe while strengthening our defense industrial base and creating skilled jobs back home here for the American people, and without additional funding, the department may soon reach a point where it can't sustain the current level of security assistance support to Ukraine.

Also yesterday, the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, in coordination with the department's V-22 Joint Program Office, announced an operational stand-down for all Osprey variants in the wake of the November 29th CV-22 mishap off the coast of Japan. This action is being taken out of abundance of caution while the AFSOC investigation is conducted. As each service conducts operational safety reviews within their fleets, each will reevaluate their respective grounding bulletins, and then determine timelines for resuming flight operations in close coordination with the Joint Program Office.

We'd also like to thank the government of Japan for all their assistance in the search and recovery efforts throughout this incident, and we will continue to work with them on sharing information and safety procedures during the investigation. Of course, our thoughts remain with the families of those airmen who were lost. Air Force Special Operations Command is investigating the CV-22 mishap, and I'd refer you to them for any additional questions.

Switching gears to Congress -- earlier this week, the Senate confirmed over 420 of our highly qualified general and flag officers. These holds have dragged on for months, degraded our military readiness, and forced far too many of our military families to put their lives on hold and endure even greater sacrifices.

And while this was welcome news, we still have dozens of officers that still have had holds placed on them, some of whom are four stars. We urge the Senate to confirm the remainder of our qualified military leaders as soon as possible so that we can have our team in place to meet this critical moment for our national security.

And shifting gears again -- next week, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will visit locations in Silicon Valley, California. She will visit the Defense Innovation Unit, where she will meet with DIU personnel who are accelerating the U.S. military's adoption of commercial technology to strengthen national security and she will also receive an update on DIU projects through a series of capabilities demonstrations. She will also meet with a wide range of industry leaders to discuss the department's Replicator initiative, discuss innovation across the department, and see demonstrations of A.I.-powered autonomous technologies.

And just one more item. Earlier today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Minister of Defense, to discuss Houthi threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. We will have a readout coming shortly, if you don't already have it in your inbox.

And with that, I'd be happy to open it up to some questions. Tara, do you want to start us off?

Q: Hi, Sabrina. First, on the Osprey...

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: ...the Osprey makes up a sizable portion of the Marine Corps fleet -- air fleet. How is the Marine Corps and Air Force and Navy going to mitigate the loss of access to this aircraft while this investigation's going on?

MS. SINGH: Well, because it's something that they are instituting, in terms of the stand down, I'd really refer you to them to speak to how they are managing this, this stand down, and how it's impacting or not their own operations. So I'd refer you to them to speak to that.

Q: But is the Secretary concerned about a loss of this many aircraft at once, with so many things going on?

MS. SINGH: The Secretary fully supports the services and their -- out of, you know, the abundance of caution to stand these -- these fleet -- these aircraft down. This is something that we've done before whenever there is a mishap that a Service feels needs either more investigation or just out of an abundance of caution. There have been stand downs of fleets before of other platforms. And so the Secretary of course supports the services' decision to do that. And again, I'd refer you to the services regarding their details on the pause of operations.

Q: And then the last, the Pentagon, for more than a year, has been trying to stand up a flight safety office where all of this data is supposed to go to be able to look across services, see trends. What's the status of that office? And is it looking at this incident?

MS. SINGH: I don't have a status update on the office, but as I mentioned in the beginning, we do have the Joint Program Office for this platform, that is coordinating with the Services and other customers who use the Osprey. So that is something that is, you know, a connecting office that is coordinating across the services and to our allies and partners, but I don't have an update for you on that particular office at this time.

Q: It is supposed to be at a Deputy Secretary of Defense level to really elevate flight safety, and when concerns are raised by maintainers or units, elevate them to a point where you get a very high level visibility. But it's been more than a year since the office was supposed to be up and running.

MS. SINGH: Yep. So again, I would say that, as you know, the Secretary takes safety and security as his -- one of his top priorities. We are -- the Services are, out of an abundance of caution, again, putting a pause on this platform.

I don't have an update for you on that particular office but it's not to say that safety and security of our service members is not a concern. That's exactly why you're seeing the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force do what they are doing. But I'd refer you to them to speak to more details on that. Yeah, thanks.

Lara?

Q: Yeah, can you please give us an update on the attacks in Iraq and Syria? How many have we had? How many injuries have there been altogether? And have there been any more incidents in the Red Sea since yesterday?

MS. SINGH: So in terms of any other additional instances or attacks since yesterday, I'm not tracking anything that's occurred in the Red Sea or at any of our bases. I believe as of today, there've been approximately 78 attacks on our bases, but I don't have anything that's happened within the last 24 hours.

Q: Is the department assess that there has been a slowdown in the attacks in the last couple days, a week or so?

MS. SINGH: Well, I mean, and I feel like I was asked this question a few weeks ago when there was, you know, an uptick in attacks, and yet we do have like, a day or two that we'll go without any attacks. So it's really hard to say.

I would direct you to the forces, these hostile militant groups that continue to attack our coalition forces and our troops in Iraq and Syria on why they are, you know, doing what they're doing and when they decide to do it.

But in the last 24 hours, we haven't seen any attacks on our forces. Should that change, of course we would let you know, but that's the latest that I have as of right now, when I'm standing up here.

(CROSS-TALK)

Q: ... the number of injuries?

MS. SINGH: Oh, I'm sorry. As of December -- as of, I would say, December 4th, it's still about 66 of our folks who have received non-serious, non-life-threatening injuries, all who have returned to work. I know you'll probably ask about TBIs but I just don't have an update for you on that at this time.

Janne?

Q: Thank you, Sabrina. The United States indicted four Russians for war crimes. Is this just because they started (the) war in Ukraine?

MS. SINGH: Yeah, that's something that I saw the Department of Justice announce yesterday. I'd direct you to them for more information.

Q: ... name of those peoples?...

MS. SINGH: I don't.

Q: Was Putin included?

MS. SINGH: Again, I would direct you to the Department of Justice, who launched -- or who announced that yesterday. I just don't have more information on those names.

Q: One more?

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: OK. The United States Space Force Command announced that the possibility of destroying North Korea's military satellite. And when do you think that time will be coming?

MS. SINGH: I'm sorry, I've not seen that report, but I don't have anything for you on that.

I'm going to go to the phones here. Idrees, Reuters?

Q: Hey, Sabrina. There have been a number of reports in the past couple of hours about the killing of the Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injuring of other journalists in Lebanon in October, and one of the stories from Reuters says definitively that an Israeli tank was responsible for firing two shells that killed Issam. Does the DOD have an independent assessment of what happened that day? Secondly, have you talked to the Israelis about the killing? And thirdly, do you believe Israel kills journalists as a matter of policy?

MS. SINGH: Thanks, Idrees. So in terms of an independent assessment, I just don't have that for you at this time. I've seen the reports out there but that's not something that we've been able to assess independently here in the building.

Again, I think you've seen with all of our readouts that the Secretary has had with Minister Gallant, with other senior leader engagements from across this administration, we continue to urge Israel to conduct its operations in a targeted manner as it is seeking out and addressing a brutal terrorist organization within Gaza. We continue to urge Israel to uphold the laws of armed conflict and humanitarian law and the protection of innocent civilians, which includes members of the press. And so that's something that has come up that we've talked about publicly. It has come up privately as well, and I'll just leave it at that.

Konstantin, Military Times?

Q: Thanks, Sabrina. I wanted to -- going back to the Osprey, in August, you said that the department has confidence in the Osprey as a platform. Given everything that's come out this past week, is that still true? Is that still an accurate statement?

MS. SINGH: Well, thanks, Konstantin, for the question, and I think as you heard me say to Tara earlier, again, we've seen this done before with other platforms. Out of an abundance of caution, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Navy are standing down their Osprey fleet. I would direct you to the Services to speak to of when they're going to be back up in the air.

But as you can understand, there will always be an inherent risk in military aviation, and to mitigate that risk, we will continue to maintain the high level of operational standardization for all of our pilots and for all of the crew. As you probably know, the Osprey is one of the premier assault aviation systems that we have. It is versatile. Its speed and its vertical lift capabilities are not met by any other platform existing in fixed or rotary-wing platforms, and so it's an incredibly useful platform for all of our Services to use. Again, out of an abundance of caution there has been a stand-down, and I would direct you to the Services for when those will be back up in the air.

All right.

Q: OK.

MS. SINGH: I will take one more from the phone, and then I'll come back in the room. Chris Gordon?

Q: Thanks, Sabrina. Senator Warren expressed concern during a Senate Arms Services Committee hearing yesterday about too many service members are receiving lasting injuries or losing their lives due to accidents. Does the Pentagon share that view? And what could be done to make training safer broadly? Does the department need to review training accidents in whatever form, aviation or other?

MS. SINGH: Well, thanks, Chris, for the question. Well, as you can see, I mean, the Air Force is doing an investigation right now into the mishap that happened off the coast of Japan. Safety/security of our personnel, whether it be in our Air Force, our Army, our Navy or our Marine Corps, we take that very seriously. That's something that the Secretary, I know, is a priority for him. And so we are evaluating any time that there is a mishap, and there is an investigation taking the lessons learned from that and applying it and making sure that safety protocols and procedures are followed and enhanced, if need be.

All right, I'm going to come back in the room. Tom?

Q: Thanks, Sabrina. A quick -- two questions. One, on the Osprey, do the services have a ability to do a standdown independently, or is that the to be Service wide?

MS. SINGH: It -- they can do it independently, yeah.

Q: So thanks. And the second question, unrelated to Osprey, the president of Guyana yesterday said that he's requesting U.S. military -- possible U.S. military support because of Venezuela's referendum and oil fields. This is not getting ahead of a decision, but this is the clarification. Would such a request stay at SOUTHCOM, or would it have to come to the Pentagon? How does that work?

MS. SINGH: Well, of course, any decision where it's requesting military support, of course, would originate at the COCOM, and then of course, flow up through OSD.

Q: Just thought I'd check.

MS. SINGH: Yeah, great.

Fadi?

Q: Thank you, Sabrina. I want to go back to Idrees' question.

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: So this is the -- is the -- you saw the report I guess you're talking about, the Human Rights Watch and amnesty targeting Reuters photographer, my late friend, and some of the -- and six other journalists, including Jazeera and AFP. This incident happened in Lebanon; didn't happen in Gaza, where Hamas exists. According to the reports, it was deliberate and it amounts to a war crime.

In addition to this discussion, does the Secretary support accountability when it comes to the killing of Issam Abdallah and the targeting of these journalists?

MS. SINGH: Well, first, Fadi, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that you knew this journalist, and of course, our thoughts on behalf of the department are with you and, of course, the family.

Look, we are in constant communication, near-daily communication with -- with the Israeli count- -- sorry, with the Secretary's Israeli counterparts, and also here from senior levels engaging with the Israeli government. You've seen all types, from the Vice President's Office -- her national security advisor was just in the region as well -- engaging with their -- his Israeli counterparts to discuss what is happening within Gaza and around Israel.

We do not want to see this conflict spread out into a wider regional conflict. As you know, we've sent and surged assets into the region to bolster our deterrence and send a message that we do not want to see this conflict widen, and that also means any conflict or clashes along the northern border.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The targeting of innocent civilians is something that we take very seriously. And so we are, in all of our conversations with the Israeli government, urging that they always take into account innocent civilians as they are conducting their operations against a terrorist organization that is Hamas.

Q: OK, and on a -- thank you.

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: On a separate issue, Israeli forces announced yesterday that they had received so far almost 10,000 tons of equipment and ammunition, and almost 200 air shipment. Are you able to say whether all of that came from the U.S., or what -- how the proportion of U.S. aid as part of what was announced?

MS. SINGH: I can't say for certain what part is U.S. support. We've been very clear that we're going to continue to support Israel with security assistance through FMS and FMF, and as long as, you know, they need that support to conduct their operations against Hamas. But in terms of the announcement that the Israeli government made, I can't tell you what specifically in that package that was delivered was U.S. military assistance. All I can tell you is that we are continuing to support Israel. I -- yeah, I'll just leave it at that.

Q: OK. (inaudible)?

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: For the future -- this is not a question.

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: Would you be able to compile the amount of assistance that's been provided, whether in...

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: ... dollar term or, I don't know, weight or whatever?

MS. SINGH: Yeah, that's some -- I mean, that's something that I know you've asked about. That's something that we're working through. The difference in what makes it difficult is that the way we provide security assistance, let's say, to Ukraine, is through coming off of our stock shelves and it's through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which is different from the funding mechanism such as FMS and FMF.

We are working on it. It's not that I've forgotten. I certainly haven't. As you know, we've said that we're providing, broad strokes, Israel with ammunition, precision-guided munitions and then air defense, of course, as well.

Nancy, yeah?

Q: I just want to start by reading, in Fadi's point, the war's two months today, and I think the information we've been asking for a few weeks...

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: ... given that at least part of it is paid for by tax dollars. I just want to reiterate how much we'd like to see that information as soon as possible.

I had a question about the Biden administration's announcement earlier this week kind of issuing a dire warning that if Congress has not passed funding for Ukraine by the end of the year it could affect resourcing for that war.

Some Republicans are saying that the situation is not as urgent as the administration has presented it because there's at least a billion in funds and given the pace of funding or weapons that have been provided so far that that money could stretch out for a bit of the time.

I wanted to know if you could give me a Pentagon assessment in terms of when funds could run out and how urgently this funding needs to be provided for Ukraine. Is there a point where the Pentagon feels without that funding in the next weeks it threatens the war itself?

MS. SINGH: Sure. So I think the assertion was that Ukraine doesn't need this funding and that they could manage with what we have left. Is that what you were summarizing?

Q: That the U.S. has enough funding. There's still enough remaining funding that it could last for - it could be stretched out for a few more months that it's not as urgent as the president presented yesterday.

MS. SINGH: Yes.

Q: He said it would be before the holidays --

(CROSSTALK)

MS. SINGH: Right, I would -- sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off -- I would strongly push back against that assertion. The biggest problem that we are running up against is we don't have enough money to backfill our own stocks, which means we don't have enough to continue to supply Ukraine with what it needs because it is our weapons, our capabilities, our systems being pulled off our shelves and being shipped over to Ukraine.

And so if we can't backfill, that's going to also impact our own readiness, which means that's going to impact what we can provide Ukraine. And so I would really push back on that assertion. And, you know, till very recently we've enjoyed bipartisan support from Congress and that security assistance has been critical in providing Ukraine what it needs on the battlefield.

And I would just remind you that everyone thought that Putin would Kyiv in three days. And the Ukrainians have done an incredible job of not only defending Kyiv but then there were other battles that they continue to push the Russians back, continue to push them into the east and into the south.

They are making very good use of our capabilities and not just ours, allies and partners as well, providing them with the weapon systems that they need. And so you've heard the President, you've heard the Secretary say it; we're in it with Ukraine for the long haul. It's not just about making sure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself on the battlefield. It's about making sure that Russia also gets the message that it cannot expand into other countries -- into other sovereign countries because that's exactly what Vladimir Putin wants.

And you know you've seen some support from both sides of the aisle in Congress. I think there's a small majority that oppose sending more funding for Ukraine. We're working through that. We believe that the urgent supplemental request that we submitted to

Congress is the right thing for Congress to pass and we're hopeful that it gets done.

Q: One last topic.

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: Can we get some sense of the number of stories that the Ike and Ford strike groups have conducted. Just I think we haven't had any real visibility as to how busy they've been as they have been in the Mediterranean. I'd love, if possible, something to add on that.

MS. SINGH: Yes, we can take that. Yes, no problem. Yes, over here.

Q: Thank you. Comparing to the last couple of weeks, we have very few attacks on international force and your force in Iraq. So do you believe it is because of your response to the previous attacks?

And if I may add this, do you believe the Iraqi government can protect your forces that are in Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq?

MS. SINGH: Well, just as you said, we're in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government. They have been one our partners in the region and within Iraq in protecting our forces. And of course the mission, the reason why we are in Iraq is to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. So the Iraqi military has been a partner in that effort.

Look, in terms of the attacks on our forces, I think it's important to remember that it's good that we have not seen attacks on our forces in the last 24 hours. We would like to see that continue. I can't speak to whether that will be the case. I can't predict the future.

But I would remind you that when we have decided to respond it has been deliberate, it has been effective, our strikes have been able to destroy weapons facilities, command and control node, storage facilities that these IRGC backed groups use.

So I think it's important that while we did see a spate of attacks against our forces, they were largely not successful with minor damage to infrastructure. And so of course we'll always respond back at a time and place of our choosing but I'll just leave it at that.

Yes?

Q: Thank you. I have two questions on Israel. Is this the first time for U.S. military to stop flying all Osprey variants at the same time? My second question, can you give us a sense of a rough timeframe of how long stand down will last. Is it likely to be a matter of weeks and months rather than days?

MS. SINGH: I'd refer you to the Services to speak to how long the stand-down will last. In terms of if this has been the first stand down, this has not. We've done this with other platforms. We've done it with the Osprey before. But I'd let the services speak to that.

Q: Thank you.

MS. SINGH: Yes. And then I'll come in the back.

Q: Thank you, (inaudible).

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: Why did it take a week to, you know, reach the decision to stand down?

MS. SINGH: Well, again, we started conducting the investigation as soon as the November 29th mishap happened. As the investigation was being conducted, the Air Force felt the need to issue that stand-down. But for more information I would direct you to the Air Force to speak to that.

Q: What is the potential material failure that was indicated in the preliminary investigation? Could you give us kind of more specific or clarification?

MS. SINGH: I unfortunately don't have more information. I would direct you to the air force to speak to that. Again, this is an ongoing investigation. So I certainly wouldn't want to get ahead of that at this time. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: As you mentioned at the opening when you came but there's a call between Secretary Austin and his Saudi counterpart and they were talking about the Houthis. So today the NSC Coordinator, John Kirby, he said we are not in unarmed conflict with the Houthis. So does the DOD share with Mr. Kirby this view, you are not in a war with the Houthis? And how soon you can prevent this conflict from widening and escalating?

MS. SINGH: Yes, absolutely we share that view. We're not in an armed conflict with the Houthis. We have seen drones and missiles shot from Houthi controlled areas within Yemen.

Not necessarily targeting our ships but of course targeting most likely commercial vessels that are transiting through the Red Sea. And so part of why we are in the region is to bolster our deterrence but to also ensure the free passageway of commercial ships that are transiting through one of the most vital water ways in the world.

And so yes, I completely agree with what Mr. Kirby said earlier today. We don't see conflict, we don't want to see this widen out to a regional war or into the larger region and that's why you've seen the Secretary make the decisions he did to send to carrier strike groups, one in the Eastern Med and then one of course in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, to deter, to send a message of deterrence, to send a message to Iran and its proxies who would want to inflict, whether it's damage or harm to U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria or disrupt commercial commerce in the Red Sea and in the region.

So that was a very deliberate decision by the Secretary.

Yeah?

Q: Yeah, thank you. So just to circle back on Ukraine, the Ukrainians have admitted that their counter-offensive has failed. Do you agree with that assessment? And do you believe the war is a stalemate? And then how do you think the Ukrainians can break out of that? Does, like, more money and weapons help, or do you think they need a new strategy?

MS. SINGH: I think your summary is a bit short. I don't think that they've -- would say it's failed. We have seen them make progress in the counter-offensive. It might not be the gains that they want to be making every single day but there is incremental progress. I think that's important to remember.

I'd let the Ukrainians speak to their own operations and how they can change what they need to do for the next phase of the war which is entering into winter. We have provided them the training, the equipment, the support that they need to be successful, and we feel very confident that they will be successful.

And part of that is also invigorating their defense industrial base, which is why you saw the Secretary speak at Commerce just yesterday about the need for industry to partner with Ukraine so they can have a robust defense industrial base as this war continues.

But I would let the Ukrainians really speak to their own operations and characterize what they see as success on the battlefield.

Q: Do you agree the war is a stalemate right now?

MS. SINGH: I would let the Ukrainians speak to their own operations. Again, we feel confident that they have what they need to be successful on the battlefield. Great.

I saw a question over here and then I'll wrap it up.

Q: I have two questions on the Middle East. The first is the U.S. sanctioned 13 individuals and entities that are funding the Houthis in Yemen. Do you believe that will slow down the amount of attacks that we're seeing in the Red Sea and that region over the coming weeks or is that something that'll be more long-term in slowing them down?

And then secondly, what is the Pentagon's assessment of Israel's campaign to eliminate Hamas in Gaza?

MS. SINGH: So in terms of the -- I think you're referring to sanctions that were issued by the Department of Treasury? I would direct you to them to speak more to the sanctions that were placed on those 13 individuals.

Look, when you're hitting a financial network, that has obvious effects. I can't predict that that slows down or stops any attacks. We can only continue to send the message that we do not want to see this war or a war widen into a regional conflict, and we will continue to respond, should our commanders of our ships feel the need to in self-defense.

And I'm sorry, your second question?

Q: Just the current assessment of Israel's campaign to eliminate Hamas in Gaza?

MS. SINGH: Oh, sorry. Look, I'd let Israel speak to that. We continue to engage with the Israelis on their targeting of a terrorist organization in Gaza. We are talking to them. The Secretary is talking to Minister Gallant on an almost daily basis still, getting updates, but also voicing support and concern where he needs to.

Did I see one more question? Nope. Yes, one in the back and then we'll wrap it up.

Q: Thank you. (Inaudible) from (inaudible). So Director Wray from the FBI said a few days ago in a hearing on the Judiciary Committee in the Senate that the United States, especially the FBI, is seeing alerts -- terrorist alerts that are unprecedented, and he even compared them, or accepted the comparison, to what the United States was seeing before 9/11.

Do you coincide with that? Are you also worried or are you concerned about an unprecedented level of terrorist threats, not only inside the United States but also to United States' interests abroad?

MS. SINGH: I would let the Department of Justice really speak to that and the Department of Homeland Security speak to the level of terrorist threats within the United States. That's not something this building can really speak to.

Of course, we always monitor threats around the world, threats to our partners and allies, and threats to our interests abroad. That's something that we're going to continue to do but I don't have anything to announce or read out in terms of anything that we've observed that would change our behavior.

All right, thank you very much.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3611088/

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December 7, 2023

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

Pentagon, Services Coordinating on Operational Stand-Down of Osprey Fleet

The Defense Department office that oversees the military's tiltrotor aircraft program is coordinating with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as they conduct an operational standdown of all CV-22 Osprey variants, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said today.

Singh said the decision by the services to ground their platforms was taken out of an abundance of caution as the Air Force continues its investigation following last week's CV-22A Osprey mishap off the shore of Yakushima Island, Japan that killed eight airmen.

She added that the decision by each of the services to conduct the operational standdown reflects the priority Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has placed on operational safety.

"The secretary fully supports the services and their [decision], out of an abundance of caution, to stand these aircraft down," she said.

Singh added that while there "will always be an inherent risk in military aviation," DOD consistently strives to mitigate that risk.

"We will continue to maintain a high level of operational standardization for all of our pilots and all of our crew," she said.

She said each service will determine guidelines for resuming flight operations in coordination with the DOD's V-22 joint program office after conducting operational safety investigations within their fleets.

The Air Force Special Operations Command is leading the investigation into last week's mishap.

Singh echoed Austin's condolences for the family and loved ones of the service members who were lost in the crash.

"The entire Department of Defense mourns alongside the families and the loved ones of those who lost their lives today in the service of their country," Austin said in a statement this week. "My heart also goes out to those who were serving alongside these brave men and women in Japan."

Singh added that the department is grateful to the Japanese government for their assistance in the search and recovery efforts.

"We will continue to work with them on sharing information and safety procedures during the investigation," she said.

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December 7, 2023

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

Chiefs Discuss Military Recruiting Challenges at Committee Hearing

The military's recruiting chiefs said they are making progress in meeting recruiting goals for fiscal 2024 even in the face of what one called "one of the toughest recruiting landscapes I've seen in over 33 years of service."

Army Maj. Gen. Johnny K. Davis, commanding general of the Army Recruiting Command made the comment before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday.

Davis testified alongside Navy Rear Adm. Alexis T. Walker, commander of the Navy Recruiting Command; Marine Corps Maj. Gen. William J. Bowers, commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command; and Air Force Brig. Gen. Christopher R. Amrhein, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service.

The Army, Navy and Air Force failed to meet recruiting goals in the fiscal year that ended in September. The Marine Corps and the Space Force made their goals, but the recruiting environment remains tough.

"This recruiting crisis certainly did not appear overnight and cannot be repaired overnight," Davis said.

All four men cited problems common to recruiting efforts across the services. They noted the percentage of American youths who qualify for military service has dropped, the COVID-19 pandemic limited the ability of recruiters to interact with potential recruits, the U.S. economy is booming with low unemployment, and the number of adult "influencers" with experience in the military continues to drop.

The numbers are daunting. The Army, the largest service, has a goal of recruiting 55,000 active-duty soldiers during fiscal 2024 and roughly 60,000 for the reserve components. The other services have smaller numbers, but similar challenges.

"The Army is an organization that teaches valuable skills and provides exceptional benefits," Davis said. "I want our nation's youth to know the Army is a career accelerator, and I need them to lead us into the future."

The Army Recruiting Command seeks to attract talent and reintroduce the Army to the American public. "We will not lower standards, we will not sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity," Davis said. "Our main initiatives over the past year have shown real promise, such as the Future Soldier Prep Course." The course has had 14,000 graduates, with 95 percent going on to finish basic training and become soldiers.

"We're still in the first quarter of the fiscal year, and [it's] too early to estimate where we will finish it, finish in 10 months, but I will say we're seeing momentum, and we'll continue to build upon it," he said.

The Air Force failed to make its requiting goals for the first time in 24 years, Amrhein said during his testimony. The Air Force recruiting chief specifically mentioned the declining propensity for young Americans to serve. "We've seen a steady decline in the military even being an option for our youth as they contemplate the future, with propensity dropping from 13 percent four years ago to 10 percent."

Amrhein also noted that only 12 percent of American youths have a parent who served in the military, compared to 40 percent in 1995. DOD's Joint Advertising and Marketing Research Service characterizes the youth market as "having transitioned from being disconnected with the military to mostly disinterested with it," the general said. "Reconnecting with our youth and breaking down unnecessary barriers to serve in our Air Force and Space Force is our priority over the next several years."

The Air Force Recruiting Service put in place changes, and Amrhein said he is cautiously optimistic about fiscal 2024. "We started with 32 percent of our active duty goal already identified and in the bank, compared to just 16 percent last year," he said.

The Marine Corps made its recruiting numbers. "Your Marine Corps exists to fight and win our nation's battles," Bowers told the senators. "Our performance in recruiting speaks for us. Our combat heritage is embedded within Marine Corps Recruiting Command's DNA; we share the same fierce competitive spirit to win, no matter the challenge."

Over the years, Bowers said, the corps has invested in the Recruiting Command, with service as a Marine recruiter seen as a plus for career advancement. "This has been and will continue to be our greatest source of strength, as we face what some have called the most challenging recruiting environment since the inception of the all-volunteer force," he said. "Marine recruiters will continue to meet the expectations of our nation by holding true to our warrior ethos and our core values of honor, courage, and commitment. We compete for the best people in every zip code in our nation, and our Marine recruiters actively attract and inspire those young men and women of character to take up the challenge of earning the title Marine."

The Navy is in the midst of changes to recruiting and is adjusting in real time. "While the Navy did not meet its recruitment goal for fiscal '23, we continuously adapted our processes to reduce an initially forecasted gap by 50 percent," Walker said. "As we begin fiscal '24, we are again faced with a challenging environment and continue to scrub our processes to remove inefficiency, add recruiters, and expand the pool of qualified and interested candidates."

The Navy has placed more recruiters in the field and established a national recruiting operations center. The Navy is also launching a marketing campaign to target adult influencers in young people's lives. Finally, the Navy has instituted a Future Sailor Preparatory Course at Recruit Training Command, Illinois, "to broaden the talent pool through physical fitness and academic enhancement ahead of recruit training," the admiral said.

"Today, our advertising remains nearly 100 percent digital, resulting in a 30 percent increase in national leads, in taking the message to where our future sailors are operating, which is online," he said. "Despite the recent and future challenges, our Navy team stands ready to take advantage of the opportunity to share positive military service experiences with future recruits and their influencers."

Walker called on the senators to do their part and asked each member to "consider personally engaging with their constituents and the media in a national call to service. Your public support for military recruiting will make a positive difference."

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Soldiers conduct pioneering communications demo at exercise Brave Partner

By Capt. Maria Salcido , 343rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Skopje, North Macedonia Dec 07, 2023

Soldiers with the 509th Strategic Signal Battalion, 2nd Theater Signal Brigade were the first in history to facilitate En route Mission Command outside of the U.S. while in flight with Stryker vehicles as a tactical command post aboard a military aircraft, which kicked off the U.S. Army Europe and Africa exercise, Brave Partner, Dec. 1, at Skopje International Airport.

Brave Partner is a short notice action planning exercise that aims to enhance regional partnerships and increase U.S. force readiness and interoperability in a realistic, multinational training environment, including roughly 180 U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment with support from 30 service members from the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia Dec 1-10, 2023, at Skopje International Airport and Krivolak Training Area, North Macedonia.

"I find it exceptionally phenomenal to have the opportunity to field equipment and work with partner units as well as partner nations," said Capt. Shenelle Stallings, 509th SSB Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment commander. "The cohesion and the trust we're building with one anotherbecause I'm from the 509th, and we're providing comms for 2CR, and we're in North Macedonia  so all those pieces coming together and seeing how these things work makes it all the more worthwhile."

Stallings said her team is making history by validating EMC that's first of its kind on a strategic network, and they're setting a foundation and building it from the ground up in their area of operation. They achieved excellent signal speeds that exceeded their expectations with minimal latency. They faced snow and heavy clouds, which had the potential to degrade signal transmissions. She explained that taxiing and takeoff were the most important parts of the test while transitioning between equipment from ground to air, and that was also successful.

"I was on a video chat the entire time, and it was crystal clear," said Stallings. "We use the Voyager 8 and the KAFMA antenna that allows us to reach back to our strategic network in Italy, and then we're also able to come here with our Starlink and transition to that seamlessly."

One of Stallings' soldiers, Cpl. Deandra Winston, is an expert on communications equipment and prefers the Voyager 8 transit case to bulkier equipment she's used in the past. She explained that tactical signal equipment is becoming increasingly innovative and mobile. Being able to connect users without waiting for equipment to be set up on ground is key.

"It will create an ease of understanding between troops that are coming and going and a faster understanding of the mission that needs to be executed," said Winston. "New technology comes out every day, and it's best to not be scared to try new tech. Everything takes time, and I understand that, but it's time to get rid of the old and use the new."

As part of USAREUR-AF's Tactical Mission Data Platform, 2CR's Stryker vehicles were a command post aboard a C-17 aircraft, demonstrating innovation and speed in exchanging information and tools between commanders en route in the sky and warfighters on the battlefield.

As this initial event for Brave Partner took place, the charter plane carrying a majority of the 2CR soldiers was also arriving at Skopje International Airport.

Army of the Republic of North Macedonia Sgt. Maj. Igor Petrovski, airport liaison officer, was on-site and coordinated the C-17's arrival as well as the charter plane's arrival that carried most soldiers who arrived for Brave Partner. He has a wealth of experience facilitating flights for NATO partners, including C-17s, C-130s and charter flights for the U.S.

The Republic of North Macedonia has a partnership with the Vermont National Guard through the Defense Department's State Partnership Program. Petrovski explained that his country's military hosts international exercises with NATO countries, including the U.S. Army, and especially the Vermont National Guard.

"We are brothers in arms with the Vermont National Guard," said Petrovski. "The partnership is leveled up year by year."

Army of the Republic of North Macedonia Lt. Col. Vladimir Cvetkovski, chief of the Host Nation Support Coordination Center, explained that North Macedonia is new to NATO with three years of membership, but they've taken many steps to maintain standards, and they are committed to training with the U.S. as well as keeping good relations with all of NATO.

"The U.S. is our strategic partner," said Cvetkovski. "We have very good support from the U.S."

A majority of Brave Partner is scheduled to involve live-fire ranges for 2CR soldiers to train with Stryker armored fighting vehicles. Cvetkovski explained that Krivolak Training Area has the best terrain and facilities for that type of training. He said the training area accommodates a variety of military vehicles, aircraft and munitions.

"We have a very good training area here," said Cvetkovski. "KTA is in the top 3 of all training areas in all of Europe."

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UN chief invoking rare clause shows 'dissatisfaction' toward Security Council failure to address intensifying Gaza crisis

Global Times

By Chen Qingqing Published: Dec 07, 2023 08:47 PM

With Israel's intensifying fighting in the Gaza Strip raising concerns over a worsening humanitarian crisis, UN chief Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time in his tenure, warning of severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. Some experts believed that invoking a rarely used clause in the UN charter hinted that the UN Security Council has not met its responsibilities in promoting a cease-fire due to the interference of the US, which has not exerted sufficient pressure on Israel.

Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the attention of the UN Security Council the situation in Gaza, "which, in my opinion, may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security," he said in a letter to the council, as this is also the first time invoking the article during his tenure as secretary-general.

The use of Article 99 is described by UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as a "dramatic constitutional move" that Guterres hoped would put more pressure on the Council - and the international community at large - to demand a cease-fire between the warring parties.

UN officials have also warned that the risk of "atrocities" is growing in Gaza, with Palestinians stuck in "deepening horror" as Israel intensifies its assault on the enclave, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

"The Israel-Palestine conflict has been lasting about two months with the humanitarian crisis aggravating despite a temporary cease-fire. The UN overall has not played its role of promoting peace due to the interference of the US, and its functions have been declining," Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

As long as Israel has not achieved its strategic goal of dismantling and eliminating Hamas, it will continue striking southern Gaza. Against this backdrop, the US, the only country in the world that can put certain pressure on Israel, has not fully exerted sufficient pressure despite several visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country, Sun said.

Blinken told officials in Israel's war cabinet that the Biden administration believed the conflict should end in weeks, not months, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday, citing some US officials with knowledge of the discussions.

The US and Israel have also used different rhetoric about war aims, with the US focusing on ending Hamas's hold on power and some Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, talking about eradicating the militant group - something Washington sees as impossible, the WSJ said.

Invoking Article 99 tells us the UN chief wants to play a more active role in urging the Security Council to address the growing security concerns, showing that he may have a certain degree of dissatisfaction with the council's actions, Tang Bei, associate professor at the school of international relations and public affairs at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Shortly after Guterres circulated his letter, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia announced they were calling for an emergency Security Council meeting on Friday, US media site Axios said.

The UAE later circulated a draft resolution to the other members of the Security Council that cites Guterres' letter and demands "an immediate humanitarian cease-fire," according to the media report.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also spoke with Blinken over the phone at the latter's request on Wednesday. The two diplomats exchanged views on the Israel-Palestine conflict and agreed to maintain communication regarding the situation in the Middle East. Wang stated that the urgent priority is to achieve a cease-fire and end the conflict.

Since the meeting between the heads of state of China and the US in San Francisco last month, the two sides have been increasing efforts in mediating the Israel-Palestine conflict, and "I still believe there's a window of opportunity to seek a phased cease-fire," Sun said, noting that Israel's scale of offensives in southern Gaza is limited, and there is a consensus between China and the US to protect civilians.

"China and the US are still exploring what order should be set up in Gaza, which Israel has different opinions on. But one consensus is that civilian causalities should be avoided, and two countries can reach more consensuses on establishing a humanitarian crossing and seeking a phased cease-fire," the expert said.

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Norway increasing support for forgotten crises

Government of Norway

Press release | Date: 07/12/2023

'The UN Central Emergency Response Fund saves lives and alleviates suffering in connection with forgotten humanitarian crises as well. Norway is now providing an additional NOK 55 million to the Fund,' said Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim.

'The Fund provides life-saving assistance and protection in areas where the scale of need is enormous, including in areas that are not receiving much media attention,' said Ms Tvinnereim.

Norway's additional contribution for 2023 was announced by Ms Tvinnereim at the High-level Pledging Event on the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) at the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Wednesday 6 December.

Rapid response to unprecedented humanitarian needs

Humanitarian needs are at a record high. The UN estimates that more than 360 million people are in need of emergency aid this year. Many humanitarian crises are being overlooked and are not receiving enough media coverage. These tend to be protracted armed conflicts, long-term political crises or climate-related crises, or some combination of these.

'The UN Central Emergency Response Fund is able to act quickly when a crisis strikes. We saw this after the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria earlier this year and following the recent flood in Somalia. The Fund also provides much-needed support to underfunded crises, such as in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen and Syria,' said Ms Tvinnereim.

The funding Norway provides through CERF is part of Norway's overall strategy to promote better coordinated, more effective humanitarian efforts at country level. The additional funding comes on top of Norway's annual fixed contribution to CERF of NOK 450 million. The fixed contribution is disbursed as early as possible each year to ensure that the Fund has flexible and predictable financing available when crises occur.

CERF is a vital part of the international response to humanitarian crises. The funds are allocated to UN organisations that carry out humanitarian efforts themselves and also provide funding to other humanitarian partners in the relevant countries.

Early action prevents suffering

'We must take action to better address the humanitarian consequences of climate change. Where possible, it is essential to take preventive action to avert crises. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund can provide funding so that response efforts can begin as soon as there are signs that a crisis is approaching. This enables us to limit the most serious impacts of crises such as floods and droughts,' said Ms Tvinnereim.

The countries that have received the most funding from CERF in 2023 are Sudan, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria. Norway has been one of the largest donors to CERF since it was established in 2006.

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Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari December 7th, 20:15

IDF Press Release

Press Briefing

07.12.23

IDF

Good evening.

Tonight, we mark two months since the beginning of the war, and light the first candle of Hanukkah. The first candle was lit by IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip and along all the state's borders. The days of Hanukkah symbolize the bravery and victory of our people.

The days that have passed shed more and more light on the courage of our citizens, active duty IDF soldiers, and reserve IDF soldiers, and security forces personnel. Men and women from all parts of Israeli society, each in their own way.

Hostages who have experienced and are experiencing hell, fought against the terrorists who abducted them and are showing immense mental strength. Citizens and soldiers who charged at terrorists to save lives. Reserve soldiers who left everything - family, work, studies, left and stood ready to defend the homeland.

Our soldiers who are now fighting do so bravely and courageously, led by their commanders.

We have lost some of our best in this fight, the cost of war is heavy. Each and every one of them is a hero of the State of Israel. They paid with their lives for our safety here. A little of their light repels much of the darkness.

Even now, IDF forces are intensifying the fight against Hamas's strongholds in the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip. We are in the midst of a stubborn war along the entire Strip. We are advancing in stages of the combat, killing terrorists, including senior commanders hiding in underground tunnels, and are also destroying terror infrastructure. The IDF and the ISA have arrested and questioned hundreds of terror suspects. Many of them, even in the past day, are surrendering themselves to us. The intelligence we gather from the questioning aids us in the continued fight. We are determined to dismantle Hamas, but the way is still long.

Today, I returned here after joining the Commanding Officer of the 98th Division in Khan Yunis. We entered the area together, he briefed one of the brigade commanders, I saw determined reservists, I saw them fighting, I saw them clearing the area, killing terrorists, searching for tunnels where the terrorists hide like cowards, waiting for them to come out to kill them. They are destroying the tunnels, clearing the area, and of course are searching for any lead on the hostages.

In the north, today we struck, using fighter jets, various terror targets, including terror infrastructure and an operational command center of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, and killed its terrorists. The strike was in response to the firing of an anti-tank missile from Lebanese territory towards the State of Israel, which resulted in the death of an Israeli civilian. We share in the family's sorrow. We are very highly prepared in the north and will respond severely to any terrorist act against Israel.

It is the first candle of Hanukkah, our hearts and thoughts are with the 138 hostages still held in Gaza. Together with them, all the fallen soldiers, in their bravery and spirit, illuminate for us the goal for which we are fighting - to bring the hostages back home and ensure the safety of the State of Israel.

This evening, we announced the fall of two IDF reservists in combat. Gal Meir Eisenkot and Jonathan David Deitch, lovers of the State of Israel, and its defenders. Gal fell in the battles of Jabalia and Jonathan in the Khan Yunis area. On behalf of the Chief of the Genral Staff and all IDF commanders, I extend my condolences to the families of all IDF fallen soldiers, the heroes of Israel. On a personal note, I would like to refer to Gal Eisenkot. In one of my roles, I was the assistant of Gadi Eisenkot when he was the Chief of the General Staff. I knew Gal personally, Gal was the salt of the earth, he enlisted in Shayetet 13 and then transferred to Maglan. He continued his life as a young man, started his academic studies, and volunteered for the IDF reserves. He was determined to fight terrorists in this war alongside his fellow soldiers. Gal is the salt of the earth, may his memory be a blessing. Each of the war fallen is a world unto themselves. I embrace the Eisenkot family and all the families of the fallen.

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ELKO  Amber Donnelli will be interim president of Great Basin College when Joyce Helens retires from the role June 30.

Donnelli said she has received a lot of support for her appointment, which comes with a 1- to 3-year contract the Board of Regents will later approve.

Thats been really nice, she said in a phone interview on Friday. I really appreciate the confidence people have in me. I feel prepared and ready for this role as interim president.

Donnelli said her vision is really to foster a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence, inclusivity and innovation. We know embracing innovation will be crucial in todays rapidly changing world.

Our students are at the heart of everything we do. I am committed to ensuring GBC students by providing resources, support and a well-rounded education that prepares them for their future. The landscape of higher education is evolving, and we must adapt, she said.

I am dedicated to staying ahead of the curve, anticipating challenges and proactively shaping the future of Great Basin College to meet the needs of our students, communities and society. We need to strengthen our ties with local businesses, organizations and residents to create a mutually beneficial partnerships that contributes to the growth and well-being of our communities, Donnelli said.

The local resident known for her work as a nurse and nursing educator is associate vice president of faculty success at GBC and is easing her way out of her post as dean of health science and human services, which she has held since 2013.

The Board of Regents voted unanimously at the end of November to appoint the GBC educator as interim president. A decision on whether to search for a new president or extend the official title to Donnelli will come after she is under contract.

Interim Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Patricia Carlton and Board of Regents Chair Byron Brooks met with GBC faculty representatives, staff and student representatives and community leaders seeking their input for appointment of the interim president, according to a briefing paper for the Board of Regents.

The brief paper states there was a consensus in favor of Donnelli as interim president and the GBC constituents also expressed a strong desire for the Board of Regents to appoint an individual with existing connections to the general GBC community and who has a deep understanding of the mission of a rural college, such as GBC.

A minority of those consulted, however, indicated the Board of Regents also should consider a search process for the position, according to the briefing paper.

Helens said while the decision on her successor is up to the regents, Donnelli always welcomed new challenges, and it was during the pandemic when she took on a greater role regarding contact tracing for rural Nevada that her leadership really grew.

Not long after that, she became associate vice president, closely working with Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs Jake Riveria, she said in a email.

The Regents took notice, and I made sure that they were aware of who she was and what she was accomplishing, Helens wrote.

Donnelli, 47, said in the interview she will work closely with Helens until she officially takes over on July 1.

She has been the primary investigator for the COVID-19 contact tracing grant since 2020, with teams in Elko, Lander, Eureka and Humboldt counties, so she keeps in her hand in nursing although her new job as an associate vice president involves overseeing academic support units, ensuring best practices and current technologies in student learning support and much more.

Ive run the number one nursing program in the state of Nevada for over 10 years, she said in the interview.

Her associate vice president job also includes overseeing grants and private donations, overseeing the quality of instruction by part-time faculty, leading recruitment, selection and valuation of full-time faculty and oversight of committees, according to the briefing paper.

Donnelli was curriculum coordinator at GBC from 2009 to 2013, chair of the Department of Health Science and Human Services from 2009 to 2013, manager of the Veterans Telehealth Clinic in Elko from 2006 to 2007 and Elko County School District nurse from 2005 to 2006.

Earlier, she worked as registered nurse at Elko General Hospital, later to become Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, from 2001 to 2005 and worked on American MedFlight in Elko from 2001 to 2002.

Donnelli additionally was a tenured nursing professor at GBC from 2006 to 2013.

She became a registered nurse at Great Basin College in 2001 and went on to obtain a bachelors degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2005, a masters degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2007 and a doctor of philosophy in nursing education degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2011.

The briefing paper for regents outlines her many leadership accomplishments, management accomplishments and budget management skills, the grants she has obtained for GBC, her publications, and her earlier work as an Elko County Ambulance Service volunteer.

Helens said in her email she began succession planning not long after she became GBC president almost seven years ago, and she learned then that Donnelli was interested in a larger role at the college.

I was impressed with her personal story of determination and saw she had a successful track record of creating innovative programs needed in Greater Nevada, she said, writing that she and Riveria mentored Donnelli.

Donnelli was named Preparedness Partner of the Year 2023 by the Nevada Emergency Preparedness Association, received the 2022 Legacy Award from the Beverly E. Coleman Nevada Health Foundation, was named Outstanding Alumni 2017 by GBC at Winnemucca, nursing leader under 40 by the Nevada State Board of Nursing in 2016 and received a nursing fellowship from UNLV for 2009-2011.

She is a native of the Elko area and the first college graduate in her family. She said her parents, Bruce Blackstock and the late Barbara Blackstock, always wanted me to go to college, and her first scholarship was from Barrick Gold Corp. Her father worked for Barrick, so she also was a summer intern for the mining company.

Donnelli and her husband Danny have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.

In her letter to faculty and staff after her appointment, Donnelli wrote: I am honored to be entrusted with the responsibilities of interim president, and I am excited about the opportunities for collaboration and growth that lie ahead for our community college. Your confidence in my abilities is both humbling and inspiring.
Hamas launches rockets from within humanitarian zones

IDF Press Release

Press Release

07.12.23

IDF

Yesterday, at 15:59, Hamas terrorists launched 12 rockets toward Israeli civilians in the city of Beer-Sheva in southern Israel. The rockets were launched from near tents of evacuated Gazan civilians in Rafah in southern Gaza and from next to United Nations facilities.

Attached are visuals from the launch site, by tents of evacuated Gazan civilians:

https://bit.ly/3GzU3oh

This evening, we announced the fall of two IDF reservists in combat. Gal Meir Eisenkot and Jonathan David Deitch, lovers of the State of Israel, and its defenders. Gal fell in the battles of Jabalia and Jonathan in the Khan Yunis area. On behalf of the Chief of the Genral Staff and all IDF commanders, I extend my condolences to the families of all IDF fallen soldiers, the heroes of Israel. On a personal note, I would like to refer to Gal Eisenkot. In one of my roles, I was the assistant of Gadi Eisenkot when he was the Chief of the General Staff. I knew Gal personally, Gal was the salt of the earth, he enlisted in Shayetet 13 and then transferred to Maglan. He continued his life as a young man, started his academic studies, and volunteered for the IDF reserves. He was determined to fight terrorists in this war alongside his fellow soldiers. Gal is the salt of the earth, may his memory be a blessing. Each of the war fallen is a world unto themselves. I embrace the Eisenkot family and all the families of the fallen.

At 12:52 yesterday, Hamas launched a rocket from inside a humanitarian zone. The rocket misfired, putting many Gazan civilians at risk. Attached is an illustration of the launch:



At 14:12 yesterday, Hamas terrorists launched a rocket from a humanitarian zone toward

Israel. Attached are pictures of the launch:





, utilising them for its acts of terror. Hamas cynically embeds itself in civilian infrastructure, schools, residential areas, near United Nations facilities and even in humanitarian zones - using the civilians as a human shield.

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Palestinian envoy to UN: Security Council will vote on resolution of Arab and Islamic countries for immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 7, 2023

New York, IRNA -- The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations announced that the UN Security Council will vote on the draft resolution submitted by the Arab and Islamic countries regarding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Friday.

The ambassador and permanent representative of Palestine to the UN said that the draft resolution before being presented to the members for revision was presented to prepare for a vote tomorrow.

Riyad Mansour continued that invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter is the right thing to do.

The UN Secretary-General's decision to invoke Article 99 to compel the Security Council to address the situation in Gaza is "the right thing to do".

Mansour told reporters that it was a "brave stance" by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and showed how "dangerous" the situation in Gaza is.

Referring to the draft resolution that is expected to be discussed on Friday, Mansour told reporters that "we sincerely hope that the UN Security Council will approve this [resolution]."

According to IRNA's reporter, the United Arab Emirates has submitted a short draft resolution to the Council, which calls for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire".

Iran's ambassador to the UN also said in its account on the X network that the delay of the Security Council in implementing a binding ceasefire for Gaza kills at least 250 innocent people every day.

Immediate action to stop the ongoing genocide in Palestine should not be discussed, rather it should be a mandatory priority.

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Death toll of Zionist regime's aggression in Gaza mounts to 17,177

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 7, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- As many as 17,177 Palestinians have been martyred in the Zionist attacks on the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Zionist regime's invasion of the area in October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson.

Ashraf al-Qudra said on Thursday that 350 civilians have been martyred in Zionist attacks in Gaza over the past 24 hours.

He also added that some 46,000 people have been injured in the Zionist invasion against Gaza Strip over the past two months.

The aggressions in Gaza followed an October 7 Al-Aqsa Operation against the Zionist regime by the Palestinian forces.

Analysts believe that the Palestinian operation in the occupied lands was a natural response to 75 years of oppression against the Palestinian people.

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President Raisi calls for urgent solution to stop war in Gaza

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 7, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called for an urgent solution to stop the war in Gaza.

In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, President Raisi emphasized the importance of preventing bombings in Gaza, where a child is martyred every ten minutes.

Raisi further stated that Iran and Russia have good cooperation in the field of energy, agriculture, and knowledge-based enterprises, and better steps can be taken in the interests of the two countries and the government.

Criticizing the unilateralism and unjust world order, he added that their manifestation can be seen in Gaza.

He also slammed the US and Western countries for their support for the Zionist regime's crimes in Gaza and expressed regret that international organizations and organizations claiming to support human rights have lost their effectiveness.

For his part, President Putin emphasized the importance of discussing regional issues, particularly Palestine.

He also highlighted that the relations between Russia and Iran are developing rapidly, adding that according to the plan, the signing of the agreement to establish free trade between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union is in Russia's plan.

President Raisi arrived in Moscow on Thursday at the official invitation of his Russian counterpart and was welcomed at Vnukovo International Airport by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

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Iran FM says terrible days awaiting Israeli regime amid powerful Palestinian response

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 7, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that Palestinian resistance fighters have so far given a powerful response to Israel's aggression on Gaza, and such a trend would make the coming days for the regime terrible.

"Islamic resistance has so far responded powerfully to acts of aggression by the Israeli regime, and with this trend, the coming days will be very terrible for the Israeli regime," Amirabdollahian said on Wednesday night in a phone call with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister.

Both condemned Israeli crimes against Palestinian women and children in Gaza, and called for immediate action by the international community to stop genocide and war crimes in the besieged territory.

The Iranian and Qatari officials also stressed the importance of increasing humanitarian aid sent to Gaza, and voiced support for efforts by UN Chief Antonio Guterres to halt Israel's attacks.

The Iranian and Qatari foreign ministers have held several phone conversations on Gaza since the Israeli regime began its war on October 7.

The talks are part of diplomatic efforts by Iran to support the Palestinian people and help stop the Israeli genocide.

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PM Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi hold Assessment at IDF Northern Command HQ

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

The 37th Government

07.12.2023

Prime Minister Netanyahu: "If Hezbollah decides to open an all-out war, then with its own hands it will turn Beirut and southern Lebanon, which are not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Yunis."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, today, held an assessment at IDF Northern Command Headquarters. Head of Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin, senior Northern Command staff officers and division commanders also participated. Participants reviewed the activity of IDF forces in the northern sector as well as the area intelligence assessment.

The Prime Minister, along with Maj.-Gen. Gordin, then visited an artillery battery in the Upper Galilee, where he spoke with reserve infantry and artillery soldiers, who have been serving on the forward line along the Lebanese border for the past two months.

Prime Minister Netanyahu heard about the soldiers' activity in the area and their readiness to continue ensuring the security of the country.

Prime Minister Netanyahu at the artillery battery in the Upper Galilee:

"I am here with reservists who are showing great spirit in their readiness for battle, to complete the job, to restore security, not only in the south but also in the north. This is our commitment.

This evening we light Chanukah candles. In times of combat, this candle shines light, also out of grief for our heroic sons and daughters who have fallen, for our hostages whom we have not yet returned but whom we will return, for the wounded who are suffering and for the civilians who have also fallen in heroic battles.

But I am impressed by the great spirit here. You have expressed it and I want you to know that this obligates us. The people are proud of you.

I also suggest that our enemies pay attention to this spirit because if Hezbollah decides to open an all-out war, then with its own hands it will turn Beirut and southern Lebanon, which are not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Yunis. We are determined to achieve victory and we will do so with your help."

Prime Minister Netanyahu was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Tzachi Braverman, and his Military Secretary, Maj.-Gen. Avi Gil.

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Moment of Truth for Israel's Government: Either Heed Biden Administration Limits Or Lose U.S. Support for Military Operation

J Street

December 7, 2023

Today marks two months since the October 7 attacks, each day filled with pain and grief as J Street remembers the victims of Hamas' barbaric attack - including family, friends and colleagues.

J Street has been unwavering in support of Israel's right - and the country's moral obligation - to respond to this attack, to defend itself and to ensure that Israeli civilians never again come under threat from Hamas's terror stronghold in Gaza.

The past two months have also brought brutal and horrific suffering to the people of Gaza, behind whom Hamas hides. The scope of the unfolding humanitarian disaster and civilian casualties is nearly unfathomable.

We have been unequivocal that Israel's military response must accord with international law, centering the protection of civilians and the provision of requisite humanitarian assistance. We were among the first to call for humanitarian pauses to facilitate the release of hostages - which remains a first priority - and urgently increase the flow of assistance to the people of Gaza.

Were there a path to an immediate end to the fighting - with Hamas unconditionally releasing all hostages, laying down its arms and arranging for its leaders to depart Gaza - we would support that path. Barring this, we remain convinced that long-term Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution demands removal of Hamas from operational control of Gaza.

While our belief in the legitimacy of a military operation remains unchanged, our support for the way in which that operation is conducted is not without limits.

As we have supported Israel's military operation, we have repeatedly said that Israeli forces must do their utmost to minimize civilian casualties, maximize humanitarian aid and clamp down on both settler and military violence against civilians on the West Bank. We have also urged the Biden administration to seek Israel's commitment to a vision for the 'day after' the fighting that leads toward Palestinian freedom and independence.

Most of what we have asked has, in fact, become US policy. The requests we have outlined have been made of Israel, both publicly and privately by the Biden administration. And our views on these matters have been echoed by the majority of Democrats in the Senate and House.

However, since fighting restarted last week, Israeli forces have resumed large-scale bombing and again cut or significantly reduced vital aid flows. Areas designated as "safe" for civilians have been bombed, and rising levels of disease, hunger and death have become both strategically and morally unacceptable.

We do not see that it is in the strategic interest of the state of Israel to pursue this campaign in a manner that generates more terrorists than it eliminates, alienates nearly the entire international community and doesn't actually advance the goals of the war.

We are fast approaching a moment of truth: What happens if the Netanyahu government continues to ignore the admonitions and guardrails that J Street, the Biden administration and many Americans - Jewish and not - support?

In our view, it is untenable for any ally receiving generous American economic, military and diplomatic support to act in a way that disregards the United States and our goals, values and interests.

The Prime Minister and the extremists in his Cabinet show no interest in cracking down on lawless and thuggish violence on the West Bank, in opening up anywhere near sufficient channels for humanitarian assistance in Gaza or in minimizing the level of civilian casualties there - even as we recognize that Hamas itself has placed civilians in the crossfire.

Perhaps most significant, the Netanyahu government has made clear it has no interest in establishing an independent Palestinian state at any point - the only conceivable long-term solution to the underlying conflict.

If Prime Minister Netanyahu fails to modify the nature of the military campaign or to take the steps urged by the United States, J Street will call on the Biden administration to change course. Over decades, the US has built up considerable leverage and capital with Israel, and the President should be prepared to wield it in telling Israel that the time has come to stop this all-out military campaign.

This is not a step we will take lightly. Whatever happens in the coming weeks, the US must remain steadfast in its commitment to ensuring Israel's safety, securing the release of hostages and working toward the defeat of Hamas and other terror groups.

But, as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has warned, the way the Netanyahu government is pursuing its current campaign threatens to lead to "strategic defeat." This is a risk not just for the US, but for Israel and the Jewish people.

We urge that Israel listen to US officials and recalibrate its military approach to be more strategic, targeted and limited, that there be openness to renewed negotiation for release of the remaining hostages, and that discussions begin now toward establishing the kind of transitional and multinational authority that would assume control of Gaza from Israeli forces post conflict.

This is a moment of truth for the US-Israel relationship. White House admonitions on these critical matters are not idle suggestions to be considered and ignored or dismissed out of hand. US security assistance is not an entitlement program to be provided in the form of a blank check.

The President has earned - deservedly - the friendship and the trust of the Israeli people. He should tap into the wellspring of good will to paint for the Israeli people a picture of the future that can be built for Israel in the Middle East and globally if it commits to what the United States is asking.

If we do not see evidence soon that the government of Israel is, in fact, making meaningful changes to its conduct of the war and its attitudes regarding post-war arrangements, then J Street will no longer be able to provide our organizational support for the current military campaign.

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German enhanced Vigilance Activity Brigade with HQ personnel at Rukla changed over

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2023-12-07

Development and Strengthening of the Armed Forces | International cooperation

The 41st Armored Infantry Brigade of the German Bundeswehr assigned to Lithuania as enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA) Brigade has transferred the mission to the 21st Armored Brigade. Respectively, Commander Brig Gen Christian Nawrat handed over to Commander Col Marco Eggert to ensure continued deterrence and defence.

Allied troops were welcomed and farewelled Thursday by Vice Minister of National Defence Zilvinas Tomkus and Commander of the 1st Division of the Bundeswehr Maj Gen Heico Hubner at a Hand Over-Take Over ceremony in Rukla.

"The German contribution obviously has a profound impact on the security of Lithuania and the entire Baltic region. Let me once again emphasize that the German presence on the ground is one of the key pillars of our national and regional security. We value every German servicemember in our territory who symbolize the unbreakable Allied deterrence and defence commitment," said Z. Tomkus presenting National Defence System Medals of Merit to the outgoing Allied troops.

Headquarters of the German 41st Brigade was implementing exercise planning of the military readiness plans, took part in training events organized by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, exercised with Lithuanian and Allied troops.

Units of the 413th Battalion of the Brigade organized bilateral tactical and live-fire exercises Fast Griffin and Griffin Lightning, the 411th Battalion trained redeployment of approx. 1000 troops and 320 pieces of military equipment from the home base to Lithuania via land, sea and air routes at Exercise Griffin Storm.

Commander of the 41st Armored Infantry Brigade Brig Gen Christian Nawrat said at the rotation and command changeover ceremony service in Lithuania had benefited his troops greatly. "We were given a marvelous opportunity to hands- on multilateral cooperation: we learned a lot about operational planning, logistics and other areas. The whole German Armed Forces will profit from our experience."

Commander of the next eVA Brigade Col M. Eggert spoke at the ceremony about the resolve of his troops to defence every inch of NATO territory. "We are privileged to take charge of security in Lithuania. We stand ready to deter and, if necessary, defence the eastern flank of NATO against any threat."

Germany announced its commitment to station a Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania in full volume earlier this year. Defence Ministries and militaries of both countries collaborate closely to implement the decision at the earliest. The implementation plan for the Brigade stationing will be signed later this year.

Germany has led the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania since its establishment in 2017. The multinational unit was reinforced immediately last year in the wake of Russia's wide-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last autumn the enhanced Vigilance Activity Brigade headquarters was deployed to Rukla to ensure coordination of the training, exercises and missions between the Brigade assigned to Lithuania and the Host Nation.

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Secretary General welcomes Luxembourg's NATO contributions, support to Ukraine

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

07 Dec. 2023

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden, in Brussels on Thursday (7 December 2023). Mr Stoltenberg congratulated Prime Minister Frieden on his recent appointment and thanked him for Luxembourg's contributions to NATO, including its participation in NATO's multinational battlegroup in Romania.

The Secretary General welcomed Luxembourg's commitment to increased defence spending and thanked the Prime Minister for his "commitment to have a concrete plan to reach 2% by the Washington Summit," adding "this is key for a fair burden-sharing on both sides of the Atlantic". Mr Stoltenberg also welcomed Luxembourg's participation in NATO's Innovation Fund and investments in NATO's high-end capabilities, including the next generation of NATO's AWACS early warning and surveillance aircraft. "This is one of NATO's biggest-ever joint capability purchases," he said and added that Luxembourg is at the forefront of NATO's technological and innovation agenda.

Luxembourg is one of 20 Allies participating in a coalition aimed to strengthen Ukraine's air defences. "This will help protect Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield. And protect people's lives in Ukrainian cities," said the Secretary General. Luxembourg also supports Ukraine through NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package.

In November, the NATO-Ukraine Council met at the level of Foreign Ministers in Brussels, where Allies agreed an ambitious work programme that will bring Ukraine closer to NATO. "Stepping up and sustaining our support is critical to help Ukraine weather the difficult winter ahead, and to ensure Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation. This is the right thing to do. It is also in our own security interest," Mr Stoltenberg concluded.

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UN chief asks Security Council to act to avert humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:15, December 07, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday asked the Security Council to act to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, said his spokesman.

In a rare move, Guterres wrote to the president of the Security Council to demand action, invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time since he became UN secretary-general in 2017.

Article 99 states, "The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

Given the scale of the loss of human life in Gaza and Israel in such a short amount of time, the secretary-general has delivered a letter to the president of the Security Council, invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres.

In the letter, which was made available by the UN Secretariat, Guterres appeals for a humanitarian cease-fire to be declared.

"The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis. I urge the members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. I reiterate my appeal for a humanitarian cease-fire to be declared," reads the letter.

"This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared from greater harm. With a humanitarian cease-fire, the means of survival can be restored, and humanitarian assistance can be delivered in a safe and timely manner across the Gaza Strip," it says.

More than eight weeks of hostilities in Gaza and Israel have created appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, says the letter.

More than 1,200 people were killed in the attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Oct. 7. Some 250 people were abducted, more than 130 of whom are still captive, it says.

Civilians throughout Gaza face grave danger. Since the start of Israel's military operation, more than 15,000 people have reportedly been killed, over 40 percent of whom were children. Thousands of others have been injured. More than half of all homes have been destroyed. Some 80 percent of the population of 2.2 million has been forcibly displaced, into increasingly smaller areas. More than 1.1 million people have sought refuge in UN facilities across Gaza, creating overcrowded, undignified, and unhygienic conditions. Others have nowhere to shelter and find themselves on the street. Explosive remnants of war are rendering areas uninhabitable. There is no effective protection of civilians. The health care system in Gaza is collapsing. Hospitals have turned into battlegrounds. Only 14 hospitals out of 36 facilities are even partially functional. The two major hospitals in southern Gaza are operating at three times their bed capacity and are running out of basic supplies and fuel. They are also sheltering thousands of displaced persons. Under these circumstances, more people will die untreated in the coming days and weeks. Nowhere is safe in Gaza, says the letter.

"Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to completely break down soon due to the desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible. An even worse situation could unfold, including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into neighboring countries," warns Guterres.

The current conditions are making it impossible for meaningful humanitarian operations to be conducted. While delivery of supplies through the Rafah border crossing continues, quantities are insufficient and have dropped since the humanitarian pause came to an end, he says in the letter. "We are simply unable to reach those in need inside Gaza. The capacity of the United Nations and its humanitarian partners has been decimated by supply shortages, lack of fuel, interrupted communications, and growing insecurity. Humanitarian personnel have joined the vast majority of Gazan civilians in evacuating to south Gaza ahead of advancing military operations."

At least 130 workers of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees have been killed, many with their families, since Oct. 7, says the UN chief.

"We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region. Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost," he says.

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There is an alarming disconnect between the Biden administrations rhetoric on Americas minerals challenge and the policy needed to address it. The mismatch between soaring mineral demand and our unsustainable reliance on overseas suppliers  notably China  is a clear danger in need of urgent action.

The presidents national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has warned that mineral supply chains are at risk of being weaponized in the same way as oil in the 1970s, or natural gas in Europe in 2022.

John Podesta, the White Houses lead energy adviser, recently said, Its just clear, to say it directly, that China has too much of a chokehold on critical minerals.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told the International Energy Agency that the fuel of this energy transitioncritical mineralsis going to make global energy security infinitely more complex and infinitely more important over the next few decades.

Granholm has also called for increased domestic mineral production to help meet the challenge. Last year, she told an energy conference that she was going to work to streamline the permitting process. She declared, It takes forever to get a new permit. How crazy is that?

Brian Deeseuntil recently President Bidens lead economic advisorrecently wrote an op-ed on the China minerals threat in which he said, Permitting laws will need to be reformed in order to expand domestic mining and processing of lithium, copper, and rare earths.

Theres real urgency for action from the administration. And yet theres also a bizarre refusal to advance domestic mining projects that could help to defang Chinas minerals arsenal and secure Americas supply chains. Along with land withdrawals and blocked mines, the Biden administration has formally recommended raising a host of new barriers to domestic production.

The recently released recommendations from the Biden administrations Interagency Working Group (IWG) on miningan effort more than a year in the making that was supposed to find solutions to Americas minerals challengeis an astonishing gift to China.

Rather than addressing the laundry list of U.S. mining projects that remain stalled in legal challenges or duplicative stages of permitting and environmental review, the IWG report proposes upending the nations foundational mining law, overhauling how the nation governs mining, and imposing potentially an 8 percent royalty on minersalong with a dirt tax that will cost miners hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Its impossible to see how such proposals can move the ball forward in building the mineral supply chains our nation so dearly needs.

Even if some of the most egregious recommendations are stopped in Congresswhere there is strong bipartisan opposition to what has been proposedthis report has gone over like a lead balloon with mining companies and investors.

The U.S. is quickly becoming an outlier among peer nations in how we treat our vast domestic mineral resources. Canada, Australia, the U.K. and even the European Union have all released roadmaps to ramp up domestic mineral production. Theyre working with urgency to streamline mine permitting and reduce the regulatory burden on the mining industry while providing incentives to encourage production of the minerals that will underpin the energy transition.

The obstructionist policies proposed in the U.S. couldnt be more different.

For all the rhetoric from the administration about the need to address the minerals challenge, the Biden administration has become the greatest impediment to actually doing so. There can be no mineral and supply chain securityno meeting the enormous mineral demand at our doorstepwithout fundamental recognition that we need more domestic mining and the policy to achieve it.

Editors note: On Aug. 1, citing national security concerns, Chinas commerce ministry imposed new restrictions requiring exporters to seek a license to ship some gallium and germanium compounds. Gallium and germanium are used in computer chips and LED bulbs. On Oct. 20, China announced it will now require export permits for some graphite products. Graphite is used in nearly all electric vehicle batteries. In response to Chinas graphite announcement, Nolan issued this statement:
US wades into Guyana-Venezuela dispute over Essequibo with drills

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 7:06 PM

The US is holding military drills in Guyana following a referendum in Venezuela where voters overwhelmingly supported their country's claim to the oil-rich Essequibo region.

"In collaboration with the Guyana Defense Force, the US Southern Command will conduct flight operations within Guyana on December 7," the American embassy in Georgetown said in a statement Thursday.

The US plan prompted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to warn against a war in South America.

"If there's one thing we don't want here in South America it's war," the veteran leader told a summit of the Mercosur regional bloc in Rio de Janeiro.

The disputed region has been controlled by Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, for more than a century, but Venezuela also claims sovereignty over it which comprises some two-thirds of Guyanese territory.

The 160,000 square km (61,776 square mile) territory around the Esequibo river has found significance in recent years, after the discovery of offshore oil and gas by US energy company ExxonMobil. The maritime border between the two countries is also in dispute.

Venezuela's electoral authority said on Sunday that all questions passed with more than 95% approval and at least 10.5 million votes were cast for 'yes'.

"Popular mandate is sacred," President Nicolas Maduro said at an event on Monday. "That is the path with which, as head of state, I'll take all my actions and all our actions from here forward."

"A new era in the fight for our Guayana Esequiba has begun," he added, using the proposed name for the new Venezuelan state. "Now we will recover Venezuela's historical rights."

Caracas claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border recognized as far back as 1777.

Essequibo is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Friday to discuss the heightened tensions, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is expected to determine where the region's borders should lie.

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Senior UN official slams Israel for leaving no safe place for civilians in Gaza, not even UN shelters

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 11:00 AM

A senior United Nations official says Israel has left no safe place for civilians in the Gaza Strip, denouncing Tel Aviv for its "blatant disregard" for human life in the war-torn Palestinians territory, after the occupying entity even hit UN shelters there.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), sounded the alarm on Wednesday, stressing that there is "absolutely no safe place" in the densely-populated Gaza for civilians, not even in UN shelters and so-called "safe zones" designated by Israel itself.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long suppression and devastation against Palestinians.

More than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and over 43,000 others injured since the onset of the current US-backed war.

In an interview with Associate Press, Lazzarini said that since the outbreak of the ongoing war on Gaza, more than 80 UN facilities in the Gaza Strip have also been "directly or indirectly" hit, noting that these facilities included sites that have been sheltering civilians.

According to the UNRWA chief, more than 220 Palestinians were killed in such strikes, and that 130 of the agency's employees also lost their lives in the war.

"I do believe that the blatant disregard of UN premises ... will require an independent investigation in the future," Lazzarini stressed.

The UN figures show that around 1.87 million Palestinians - more than 80 percent of Gaza's population - have already fled their homes.

Lazzarini also said that UN-run shelters, which are currently home to more than one million displaced people, are in "totally overcrowded, appalling sanitary conditions."

Separately on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter not used in decades, in a rare move to formally warn the UN Security Council of global danger from Israel's brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Article 99 states that the UN chief "may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

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Iran president says Palestine, swift end to Israel's Gaza war top of agenda of Russia visit

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 9:08 AM

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi says the Palestinian issue and the brutal Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip will be top on the agenda of his official visit to Russia.

Speaking to reporters before setting off for Moscow on Thursday, Raeisi said all Muslims and free nations are concerned about the current situation in Gaza.

He added that urgent efforts to stop the Israeli regime's bombing raids against Gaza, lift the blockade on the Strip, provide aid to the Palestinians in the war-hit teritory, and help the Palestinian people restore their absolute rights will be among other main topics to be discussed.

Iranian authorities have held talks with high-ranking officials from various countries about the Palestinian issue and Israel's ongoing onslaught against Gaza, which would be pursued during the visit to Moscow as well, he noted.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the coastal territory, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the regime on October 7.

Since then, the Israeli regime has also imposed a complete blockade on Gaza, impeding the Strip's access to food, water and medicine.

At least 16,248 Palestinians, including 7,112 children and 4,885 women, have been killed and more than 43,616 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the territory since the onset of the war.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi said the promotion of political, economic, trade, cultural and knowledge-based cooperation between Iran and Russia is also among other objectives of his visit, which is taking place at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Iranian president emphasized that the exchange of delegations between Tehran and Moscow showed that the two sides have taken steps to further promote relations in a bid to serve bilateral and regional interests.

Iran and Russia have a common stance on peace and stability in the region, leading regional and extra-regional developments and the fight against unilateralism, he pointed out.

Raeisi said the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Council and the BRICS group of emerging economies have prepared the ground for the expansion of Tehran-Moscow ties and relations with the regional and allied states.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov signed an agreement in Moscow to make joint efforts to counter unilateral sanctions imposed on the two countries.

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In rare move, UN chief invokes Article 99 of Charter over Israel's war on Gaza

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 7:56 AM

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter not used in decades, in a rare move to formally warn the UN Security Council of global danger from Israel's brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a letter to the UNSC on Wednesday, Guterres invoked the rarely-used Article 99, his equivalent of pushing the panic button, saying he believed the situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory "may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security."

"I've just invoked Art.99 of the UN Charter - for the 1st time in my tenure as Secretary-General. Facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, I urge the Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe & appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared," Guterres said on X.

Article 99 states that the UN chief "may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long suppression and devastation against Palestinians.

Over 16,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and more than 43,000 others injured since the onset of the current US-backed war.

"Hospitals have turned into battlegrounds", Guterres said in his letter, adding that amid the constant bombardment of all parts of Gaza "and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to completely break down soon."

"We are simply unable to meet those in need inside Gaza," the UN chief further said, warning that they are facing "a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system."

The move by Guterres means that he has called for a vote and a resolution against the war and in favor of peace in Gaza by the 15-member UNSC, as the UN's most powerful body.

In a statement to journalists along with the letter at the UN Headquarters on Wednesday, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stressed that this was the first time Guterres had felt compelled to invoke Article 99, since taking office in 2017.

Dujarric also explained that Guterres was taking the "dramatic constitutional move ... given the scale of the loss of human life in Gaza and Israel, in such a short amount of time."

"I think it's arguably the most important invocation. In my opinion, the most powerful tool that he [the Secretary-General] has," Dujarric added.

According to the UN, around 80 percent of inhabitants of Gaza are displaced and more than 1.1 million are seeking refuge in UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) shelters.

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Israel poses 'greater than ever' threat to global security: Iran

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 7:02 AM

Iran has warned that the threat posed by Israel to global peace and security is now "greater than ever" amid the regime's bloody aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani made the remarks in an X post on Thursday after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, urging the Security Council to act on the Gaza war.

Infuriated by Guterres' move, Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen claimed that the UN chief was supporting the Palestinian Hamas resistance group and called for his resignation, charging that his tenure was "a danger to world peace."

Kan'ani said the fact is that "the Zionist regime has been a real threat to global peace and security since its illegal establishment and that its true nature has become more obvious to the world after Operation Al-Aqsa Storm."

He was referring to the historic operation that Hamas conducted on October 7 against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

"The Zionist regime showed that it does not give any credit to international mechanisms and institutions," the Iranian diplomat said.

"Now more than ever, it (Israel) is a threat to global peace and security as well as the entire humanity. The world has a responsibility to deal with this global threat."

In his letter to the Security Council, Guterres said the war had brought the humanitarian system in Gaza to the verge of collapse and risked "aggravating" threats to "international peace and security".

He also called on the 15-member body to "press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and unite in a call for a full humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian resistance fighters.

In a statement to journalists along with the letter, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that this was the first time Guterres had felt compelled to invoke Article 99, since taking office in 2017.

He explained that the UN chief was taking the step "given the scale of the loss of human life ... in such a short amount of time."

Dujarric further described the use of Article 99 as a "dramatic constitutional move" that Guterres hoped would put more pressure on the Security Council - and the international community at large - to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

Since the start of the aggression against Gaza, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 16,248 Palestinians, including 7,112 children and 4,885 women, and injured 43,616 others.

Some 7,600 people are also missing and assumed buried under the rubble in Gaza, which is under "complete siege" by Israel.

An estimated 1.9 million people - roughly three-quarters of the Gaza population - have been displaced due to the genocidal Israeli assault.

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Iran FM urges Egypt to unconditionally open Rafah crossing to allow Gazans access to basic needs

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 6:32 AM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has urged Egypt to "unconditionally" open the Rafah crossing to allow the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip immediate access of to medicine, food, and fuel.

"It is highly expected that top authorities in Egypt will open the Rafah border crossing unconditionally to send medicine, food and fuel to the entire Gaza [Strip]," Amir-Abdollahian said in a post on X on Wednesday.

"Today, the eyes of the women and children of Gaza, who are without water, medicine, or food, are on the Rafah border and [they are waiting for] Egypt's decisive decision," he wrote.

The Rafah border, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, is one of two main crossings for inhabitants of Gaza and the only crossing that is not directly controlled by the Israeli regime.

All goods and humanitarian aid cross through the Rafah border. But because of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel, the border has only intermittently been open to Palestinians.

Palestinians have accused Egypt of bolstering the Israeli blockade of Gaza by refusing to reopen the Rafah crossing.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the coastal territory, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the regime on October 7.

Since then, the Israeli regime has also imposed a complete blockade on Gaza, impeding the Strip's access to food, water and medicine.

At least 16,248 Palestinians, including 7,112 children and 4,885 women, have been killed and more than 43,616 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the territory since October 7.

The Gaza-based Ministry of Health said Wednesday that a total of 800,000 Palestinians in the northern part of the besieged Strip are currently without health coverage.

The ministry warned against "acts of genocide committed by Israel in the northern Gaza Strip."

In a statement on X, the ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra said the Israeli occupation deliberately aims to undermine health care infrastructure in northern Gaza.

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Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians across West Bank: Health Ministry

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 6:14 AM

Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians, including two teenagers, during violent attacks across the occupied West Bank, amid the occupying regime's continuous bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli soldiers shot 16-year-old Omar Abu Bakr in the chest after storming the village of Yabad near Jenin on Wednesday.

The ministry also noted that 24-year-old Abdul Nasser Mustafa Riyahi succumbed to his wounds after he was shot by Israeli forces during a raid on the Balata refugee camp, east of the city of Nablus.

Palestine's official WAFA news agency also reported that clashes erupted after Israeli forces broke into the camp and surrounded a house.

"Confrontations broke out during which the soldiers opened live fire at the Palestinians injuring four. One of them later died of his wounds," the news agency said.

Earlier in the day, the health ministry said Israeli forces had killed two Palestinians during clashes in the villages of Tamun and the nearby Al-Fara'a refugee in the northern part of the West Bank.

The victims were identified as 16-year-old Abdul Rahman Imad Khaled Bani Odeh and 23-year-old Moath Ibrahim Zahran.

Israeli forces also raided the Dheisheh refugee camp, located just south of Bethlehem, wounding three Palestinians, one of them critically, the ministry said in a separate statement.

Israel has intensified its attacks against Palestinians throughout the West Bank since October 7, when it launched a devastating war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

At least 262 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more injured by Israeli troops in the West Bank since the Gaza war erupted, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry figures.

In Gaza, at least 16,248 Palestinians, including 7,112 children and 4,885 women, have been killed and approximately 1.9 million others displaced so far.

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Papua New Guinea, Australia sign security pact aimed at regional stability

The agreement underlines Australia's security role in the Pacific at a time of China-U.S. rivalry in the region.

By Harlyne Joku and Stephen Wright for BenarNews 2023.12.07 -- Australia will give new support to volatile Papua New Guinea's overtaxed police force as part of a broad security agreement that reinforces Australia's status as the main security benefactor for many of the Pacific's island nations.

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the agreement on Thursday in Canberra. Albanese said the pact was accompanied by a commitment of 200 million Australian dollars (US$131 million) in support of Papua New Guinea's national security priorities.

"This is a comprehensive and a historic agreement which will make it easier for Australia to help PNG address its internal security needs and for Australia and Papua New Guinea to support each other's security and the region's stability," Albanese said at a press conference.

The text of the agreement was published on the website of Australia's foreign affairs department, a pointed contrast to the secrecy that shrouds a security agreement signed last year between China and the Solomon Islands and which helped to galvanize renewed U.S. attention to the Pacific.

"In the world of many relationships out there, we choose to ensure we go deeper and strengthen our bond with Australia," Marape said.

"The signing of the strategic security agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea is a step in constructing our shared future."

Papua New Guinea, the most populous Pacific island country with more than nine million people and a former Australian colony, suffers frequent tribal violence and also grapples with corruption and lack of infrastructure. Its election last year was marred by dozens of deaths.

It has one police officer for about every 1,800 people, nearly four times less than the level recommended by the United Nations to ensure law and order, according to a Griffith Asia Institute report released earlier this year. The ratio of police to people has declined substantially in the past half century as Papua New Guinea's population tripled.

A joint statement from the two governments said they had agreed "full-circle support" for Papua New Guinea's internal security from police to courts and prisons.

With Australia's assistance, Papua New Guinea will set up a Port Moresby-based police training center with the aim of enabling the Pacific island country to recruit and train a larger, more capable police force, the statement said.

Papua New Guinea has offered to open the training center to the police forces of other Pacific island nations, it said.

The agreement covers traditional security concerns such as defense and policing as well as violence against women and children, biosecurity, cybersecurity and other areas. It allows for sharing of classified information.

Marape said the pact complies with Papua New Guinea's laws and doesn't require approval from his country's parliament.

Papua New Guinea's expansive defense cooperation agreement with the United States, signed in May but not yet ratified, has faced strong criticism in Papua New Guinea. The country's opposition leader has asked the Supreme Court to review its constitutionality.

Mihai Sora, an analyst at the Lowy Institute think tank, said the agreement makes Papua New Guinea's ambition to substantially increase the number of police officers more achievable though it still faces the constraint of limited financial resources.

"For Australia it's very much about bedding down the regional security order. So projecting to the region, to other Pacific countries that Australia is a trusted security partner," he said in a television interview.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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White House official urges Senate to ratify Law of the Sea

The treaty is key to US opposition to Beijing's vast South China Sea claims, but Washington is not a party to it.

By Alex Willemyns for RFA 2023.12.07 -- The U.S. Senate should ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea to pressure China to comply with its rules in the South China Sea, senior White House official Kurt Campbell said Thursday.

President Joe Biden last month nominated Campbell for the role of deputy secretary of state to replace the retired Wendy Sherman.

Known as Biden's "Asia czar," Campbell was architect of the Obama administration's Pivot to Asia, which sought to refocus the United States away from the Middle East, and now serves as Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on Biden's National Security Council.

Speaking at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Campbell said he wanted the Senate to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which governs what types of sovereignty claims countries can make to maritime areas.

The United States signed the treaty in July 1994, but the Senate never ratified it. Washington nevertheless says it abides by the treaty's rules, and often calls on China - a full party to the treaty - to do the same, which would invalidate many of its vast South China Sea claims.

But it would be easier for the United States to prosecute its case against China if the Senate removed the blurred lines, Campbell said.

"It makes it hard for other countries that we contest with, who say 'Hey, you know, you can't hold us accountable to something that's not your own law,'" Campbell said. "So it's been a challenge for us."

"Even our allies and partners say, 'Hey, wait a second. You're holding China to account to something you yourself haven't signed up for?'" he said, adding that it would be a priority for him if confirmed.

"We've gotten very close in the past; I'd love to get that over the finish line," he said. "It'll be challenging. I'm committed to it."

Bipartisan support

Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii sitting in as the temporary chair of the committee, said he thought "we can get the votes" to ratify.

"The politics has changed, as we understand the urgent need for us to act together collectively on competition with China," he said.

The committee in 2004 voted 19-0 to ratify the treaty, with support from the Bush administration, but the Senate never met for a vote due to opposition from "a small group of conservative Republicans," according to a Politico report from the time.

A bipartisan group of Senators has recently pushed for ratification to be reconsidered, with support from Democrats like Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republicans like Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

During his hearing, Campbell received glowing reviews from senators from across the aisle, and promised the committee he was committed to a bipartisan approach to foreign policy if confirmed to his position.

"I've spent an enormous amount of time with people on the Hill and on both sides of the aisle. Our best foreign policy initiatives are bipartisan, and they match the resolve of the executive and legislative branches," he said. "I promise to take that forward."

Popular vote

Only Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who serves as his party's ranking member on the committee, expressed any criticism of Campbell - and even then it was indirect, telling him that the White House's approach to China "is headed in the wrong direction."

But the senators were otherwise only prepared to offer praise for the nominee, who frequently led his responses by recounting obscure details of a recent lunch, coffee or conversation they had shared.

In the case of Risch and his rare criticism, Campbell said he was grateful for his staff speaking to him "clearly and unmistakably."

"I don't want to say that they schooled me," Campbell said, "but I really came away with a much deeper appreciation" of Risch's views.

Many senators were openly effusive.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, said Campbell was "most helpful, most insightful" when he himself served as U.S. ambassador to Japan under the Trump administration, and told the committee he was "delighted to see Kurt here in this position."

"The Indo-Pacific region is going to play a critical role in our world's future. It's home to 60% of the world's population, 50% of the world's GDP," he said. "Someone with Kurt's unique insight and capability and expertise in that region, I think, is going to prove invaluable to us."

Campbell began a response to a question from Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, about the Middle East by thanking him for hosting him for breakfast. He told the senator he would "make sure that your famous breakfast order is enshrined in the menu."

Merkley replied, without explanation, that it was called "The Trifecta."

Not just Asia

Campbell's only real test was the breadth of his knowledge.

Risch and Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey who served as the committee's chairman until he was charged with bribery offenses in September, noted that the deputy secretary of state position was a generalist role, not only focused on Asia.

He was accordingly grilled on Israel and Hamas, as well as on Turkey, Greece and Iran, among other countries. He told Risch, for instance, that the Biden administration would not seek to revive the nuclear deal with Iran that the Trump administration scrapped in May 2018.

Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, then attempted to stump Campbell on Africa policy, telling him most people did not "understand the emergence Africa will have in the next 50 years."

"Even by 2050 alone," Booker said, "they're gonna be so large that one out of every four people on the planet Earth will be African."

Without missing a beat, Campbell replied that his dissertation had been on the Soviet Union's foreign policy in South Africa.

"I am actually an old Africanist - my PhD thesis at Oxford [University] was on Africa," he said, adding it was well-received, too. "I remember I did get a call a few years ago saying, 'Congratulations, your thesis has won an award ... [for] the book made most relevant by history.'"

The committee was clearly impressed.

Schatz told Campbell he should reply to any written questions the senators have "as quickly as possible" to wrap-up the process.

"We are trying to expedite the consideration of your nomination," he said, "considering the importance it is to the State Department."

Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Manila embarks on 'name and shame' strategy to counter Beijing

Will neighboring countries follow the Philippines' assertive transparency campaign in the South China Sea?

By RFA and BenarNews Staff 2023.12.07 -- The Philippines has been leading a campaign of "assertive transparency" in dealing with China in the South China Sea, deemed successful by analysts and officials.

"Assertive transparency describes the tactic of deliberately seeking out the dark spaces where gray zone actors conduct their illegal, malign and coercive acts, and then exposing them to public view," said Ray Powell, a maritime analyst from Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation who coined the term.

Gray zone activities are generally not explicit acts of war but can be harmful to a nation's security. In gray zone situations, China has been utilizing the coast guard and its maritime militia "to manage the intensity of disputes so they do not lead to armed conflict, and to exert pressure on adversaries, thereby gradually expanding China's rights and interests," according to a report published this year by Japan's National Institute of Defense Studies.

Manila's answer was to embark on a campaign of assertive transparency, or - as Philippine officials put it - a transparency initiative, which "has proved to be a game-changer," according to Powell.

Another analyst, Collin Koh from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said the Philippines' open publicizing of maritime incidents with China and calling out Chinese aggression or intimidation, thus imposing reputational costs on China, "has not been observed before in Southeast Asia."

"Manila's new 'name and shame' strategy does appear to have put Beijing on the back foot, perhaps due to the element of surprise more than anything else," Koh wrote in Fulcrum, an analysis site by the research center ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, also in Singapore.

The analyst noted that so far, this strategy has not met with any backlash nor have there been any indications of coercive economic reprisals from China since it started earlier this year.

Trade and investment data appeared to be unaffected, said Koh, and the flare-ups in the sea "have not had any discernible negative impact on Chinese investor interest in the Philippines, especially in renewable energy and critical minerals."

Koh argued that China "probably does not want to cast itself as an increasingly less reliable and therefore unattractive trade and investment partner."

"Moreover, if China desires to uphold its image as a proponent of common development in the Global South and a strong supporter of economic integration, weaponizing trade and investment against the Philippines may be foolhardy."

Keep pushing for transparency

"I think we have been very effective with our transparency initiative," the Philippine coast guard's spokesman Cdre. Jay Tarriela told local radio station DZBB.

"When we started publicizing these things happening in the West Philippine Sea ... every time there is [China's] swarming and we publicize it, we can expect the Chinese government to pull out those Chinese maritime militia ships regardless of locations," said Tarriela, referring to the part of the South China Sea that falls within Manila's jurisdiction.

"We did that in Sabina Shoal, we did that in Iroquois Reef and now we have been doing that in Julian Felipe," the spokesman said. Julian Felipe Reef, internationally known as Whitsun Reef, is another disputed feature in the South China Sea where the Philippine coast guard spotted more than 100 Chinese maritime militia vessels over the weekend.

"The total number of ships was 135 when we publicized it but a few days later this number went down to 28. We are still hoping that they will leave in the next coming days," Tarriela said, "We'll keep on pushing for transparency, telling the world that the Chinese maritime militia are still occupying our exclusive economic zone [EEZ]."

An EEZ gives a state exclusive access to the natural resources in the waters and seabed.

Manila's strategy has received praise from some of its neighbors.

"The Philippine policy is very good and timely," said Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, a senior researcher at the Center for Sustainable Ocean Policy at the University of Indonesia.

He said that by publicly sharing information about incidents in the sea, the Philippines could rally support from other countries and pressure China to stop its aggressive actions as well as to abide by international law.

"I personally think Indonesia should have a similar policy of openly protesting or responding to China," the researcher told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.

"But I sometimes doubt the diplomatic strategy of the Indonesian foreign ministry, which does not want to expose or pressure China too much in the Natuna Islands for various considerations," he added.

Andreas Aditya Salim, co-founder of Jakarta-based think tank the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative, agreed that transparency is good.

"However, I don't think other countries can or are willing to adopt that approach. Indonesia, for example, has a 'no megaphone diplomacy' approach."

Chinese fishing boats and coast guard vessels have been accused of entering Indonesia's EEZ near the Natuna Islands and Chinese survey ships of loitering in the North Natuna area, where Indonesia's oil and gas exploration is underway.

New name for old approach?

Another neighbor of the Philippines, also a claimant in the South China Sea - Vietnam - may have played the assertive transparency card before, said a Vietnamese researcher.

"Basically it is a new name for some old tactics - 'naming and shaming' is one of them," said Nguyen The Phuong, who is doing a PhD in maritime security and naval affairs at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Canberra, Australia.

"Vietnam did employ this approach, for example in the so-called HD981 incident, when Hanoi allowed journalists to the site of the dispute to report on what was happening," said Phuong, "It was also assertive transparency."

The incident, dubbed the 2014 China-Vietnam oil rig crisis, erupted after China moved its oil platform Hai Yang Shi You 981 (known as HD981 in Vietnam) into the waters near Vietnam's coast.

After Hanoi's public protests and a stand-off that lasted more than two months China withdrew the rig.

"Hanoi will consider case by case and will be willing to do that again should another crisis occur," said the Vietnamese researcher. "The Philippines wants to remain strong and will use that approach more forcefully. Vietnam, on the other hand, will be more careful."

Differing with Manila, Hanoi has always maintained backdoor channels in dealing with Beijing, including the relationship between the two ruling communist parties that can serve as "an important mechanism for de-escalation," according to Nguyen The Phuong.

Manila has backing from its ally the United States, which constitutes "a significant factor but could also lead towards further escalation," he added.

The U.S. has repeatedly said that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty "extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft - including those of its Coast Guard - anywhere in the South China Sea."

"My sense is that the other claimants have mostly been satisfied to let the Philippines be at the center of Beijing's attention," said Ray Powell who runs a project called SeaLight at the Gordian Knot Center for Innovation.

"This allows them to avoid the direct blowback while quietly chiding Manila on how it doesn't know how to 'manage' its China relationship as deftly as they do," Powell told RFA.

However, Manila is shifting the spectrum of acceptable pushback.

"This should give other countries more confidence to respond to future provocations, since the Philippines has demonstrated that countries can resist China's aggression and not only survive but even thrive to some extent," said the analyst.

Jason Gutierrez in Manila and Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to this report.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Updates 3rd graf to correct sourcing.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 110 in November 2020, the Drug Addiction and Recovery Act, with 58.5% approval statewide.

As a result, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize user amounts of all drugsincluding hard drugs like heroin and methamphetamines.

Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana, in 1973.

Proponents, led by the George Soros-funded Drug Policy Alliance, spent millions of dollars promoting the initiative. Measure 110 faced little organized opposition.

Nearly three years into this experiment that proponents hoped would spark a nationwide relaxation of drug laws, many Oregonians have turned against the decriminalization initiative.

Amid a spiraling addiction crisis and rampant homelessness, a clear majority of Oregon voters now say they support repealing Measure 110. Drug-overdose deaths have skyrocketed and squalid homeless camps have proliferated.

An August Emerson College poll found 56% of respondents favored full repeal of the law, and 64% favored partial repeal by restoring penalties for possession of small amounts of hard drugs.

People laying across sidewalks openly smoking fentanyl or meth with no fear of consequences are common sights in Oregon cities like Eugene and Portland, where public drug use flourishes.

Business owners and local leaders are upset, but so are liberal voters who hoped decriminalization would lead to more people getting help. In reality, few drug users are taking advantage of state-funded rehabilitation programs.

People caught with a small quantity possession of hard drugs receive citations, like a parking ticket, and a $100 fine. Citations can be dismissed if the offender calls a treatment referral hotline. Only about 1% of people ticketed for drug possession have called the new hotline for help.

Most of the people smoking fentanyl or meth ball the citations up and throw them away. To many in law enforcement, issuing tickets is a waste of time. Fines are rarely enforced.

Before the law went into effect, people caught with small amounts of drugs were typically given a choice of court-mandated rehab or criminal sanctions such as jail time or probation.

Proponents badly misunderstood addiction, in the opinion of drug experts. It was a fantasy to believe decriminalizing drugs would result in users rushing in to volunteer for treatment programs.

The fundamental problem, according to law enforcement officers and drug treatment experts, is the threat of jail time hasnt been replaced with an incentive for addicts to seek treatment.

Change in the law is likely. A coalition of city officials, police chiefs and district attorneys recently called on the legislature to recriminalize hard drugs.

Max Williams, former director of Oregons state prison system, is skeptical the legislature will make adequate changes to the law. He heads a group drafting a measure for the 2024 ballot that would again make it a crime to possess hard drugs like fentanyl, while keeping funding for treatment (amend, not end).

Its clear a solid majority of Oregonians, both Democrats and Republicans, have buyers remorse for passing Measure 110. They recognize it has failed and requires reform.

The Oregon experience is causing other states to pump the brakes on drug-decriminalization, including California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Maine.

Washington state, which once seemed likely to follow Oregons lead, raised the states penalty for drug possession and criminalized public drug use this year.

In Nevada, a bill (SB242) to decriminalize user amounts of magic mushrooms and the drug ecstasy was introduced in the Nevada Legislature by Senator Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas).

Proponents claim these psychedelics are transformative for mental health. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has classified both as Schedule I substances, indicating a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.

The final version of SB242, signed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in June, only created a study group on decriminalizing these psychedelics.

With the drug-decriminalization failure in Oregon, other states should take notice.
Eight Asia-Pacific nations 'closed' to democratic freedoms: CIVICUS

The civil society group singled out Vietnam for 'transnational repression' against refugees in nearby nations.

By Mike Firn for RFA 2023.12.07 -- Civil society organizations, journalists and protesters in many Asia-Pacific nations are facing increasing repression, according to a new report by the CIVICUS Monitor.

Vietnam came under particular criticism for failing to honor its obligations as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.

CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, assessed conditions in 198 countries and territories for its "People Power Under Attack 2023" report, classifying eight in this region - Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Myanmar, North Korea Vietnam and Bangladesh - as "closed."

In Vietnam CIVICUS cited many cases of repression, including the March sentencing of land rights activist Truong Van Dung to six years in prison, and the eight year sentence against alleged anti-state propagandist Tran Van Bang, handed down in May.

Other imprisoned activists named in the report included Bui Tuan Lam, jailed for over five years for "propaganda;" anti-corruption campaigner Dang Dang Phuoc, who received an eight-year sentence; Phan Son Tung, handed a six-year term; and Nguyen Lan Thang, jailed for six years.

Conditions in Vietnam's prisons also worsened, the report said. Lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was assaulted by policemen in August after telling his family he'd been threatened by inmates.

CIVICUS also criticized Hanoi's growing use of censorship, blocking hundreds of websites and ordering social media platforms to take down "anti-state" posts.

People's freedom to protest was also curtailed with dozens of ethnic Ede demonstrators dispersed by armed police when they tried to block a drainage project in April.

"What we have seen is ongoing efforts to criminalize and jail human rights defenders including environmental activists and minority rights activists using a range of restrictive national security laws after unfair trials," CIVICUS Montior's Asia-Pacific researcher Josef Benedict told Radio Free Asia.

"It is extremely worrying that the authorities have continued to use torture and ill-treatment against political prisoners with the purpose of coercing confessions, obtaining information or punishing political dissidents for their opinions," he added.

Benedict called on the international community to put pressure on Vietnamese authorities "to release all political prisoners and repeal all restrictive laws."

He also urged Vietnam's neighbors to protect dissidents seeking refuge in their countries, citing the abduction of Duong Van Thai by Vietnamese security agents operating in Thailand and accusing Hanoi of "transnational repression."

RFA called Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get its reaction to the report but nobody answered.

Edited by 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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Azerbaijan, Armenia Agree To Several Goodwill Steps, Including Mutual Release Of Prisoners

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service December 07, 2023

Azerbaijan released 32 Armenian servicemen on December 7, while Armenia released two Azerbaijanis, according to a joint statement from the two countries that outlined other "tangible steps" toward building trust.

The statement from the office of Armenian Nikol Pashinian and the administration of the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said both sides viewed the prisoner release as "guided by humanitarian values, and as a manifestation of goodwill."

The names of the released servicemen have not yet been released.

The statement also said there is a historic opportunity to achieve long-awaited peace.

"The two states reaffirm their intention to regulate relations and reach a peace treaty based on respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement said.

European Council President Charles Michel hailed the agreement as a "major break through" in Armenian and Azerbaijani relations.

"Welcome in particular release of detainees and unprecedented opening in political dialogue," Michel said on X, formerly Twitter. "Establishing and deepening bilateral dialogue between sides has been a key objective of the EU-led Brussels process: today's progress is a key step."

He encouraged the leaders to finalize a peace deal as soon as possible.

In another goodwill gesture, Armenia expressed its support for Azerbaijan's bid to host next year's Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) and is withdrawing its own candidacy.

The two countries hope that other states of the convention's Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijan's bid to host the event.

Azerbaijan in turn expressed its support for Armenia's candidacy for membership in the COP Bureau of the Eastern European Group.

Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue their discussions on the implementation of more confidence-building measures, the statement said. They also call on the international community to support their efforts, which they said will contribute to building mutual trust between the two states and have a positive impact on the entire South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan and Armenian have been taking preliminary steps toward a formal peace agreement since Baku regained control over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September, resulting in an exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region.

Negotiators from the two countries last week led a meeting of their nations' border delimitation commissions and agreed to intensify future talks on the matter, which has been another focus of preliminary discussions.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-aremenia-good-will- steps-karabakh/32721137.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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U.S. Targets Financial Network Backing Huthis In Yemen Through Sales Of Iranian Commodities

By RFE/RL December 07, 2023

The United States has issued sanctions against 13 individuals and entities in Yemen and other countries that the Treasury Department says are responsible for providing millions of dollars' worth of funding to Huthi rebels in Yemen from the sale of Iranian commodities.

The individuals and entities sanctioned use a "complex network of exchange houses and companies in multiple jurisdictions" to funnel Iranian money to the Huthis, Iran's militant partners in Yemen, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a news release on December 7.

"The [Huthis] continue to receive funding and support from Iran, and the result is unsurprising: unprovoked attacks on civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping, disrupting maritime security and threatening international commercial trade," Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson, said in the news release.

U.S. warships operating in international waters in the Persian Gulf have responded to the attacks, which the Treasury Department said risk broadening the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU.

A top White House aide said on December 7 the United States believes that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is helping to plan and carry out the missile and drone attacks.

"We believe that they are involved in the conduct of these attacks, the planning of them, the execution of them, the authorization of them and ultimately they support them," deputy national-security adviser Jon Finer said at the Aspen Security Forum.

Iran denies involvement.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions imposed by its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) target a network that Iran-based Huthi financial facilitator Sa'id al-Jamal has relied on to send the proceeds of Iranian commodity sales to the Huthis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).

Two of the individuals designated for sanctions -- Bilal Hudroj and Ahmet Duri -- own companies that made millions of dollars' worth of financial transfers to Huthi rebels, according to OFAC. Their companies, based in Lebanon and Turkey, also were singled out for sanctions.

Five other companies among those blacklisted on December 7 operated in a similar fashion, handling funds on behalf of Jamal, including through one Yemen-based exchange that OFAC said was established 2021 as a means of bypassing U.S. sanctions imposed that year on Jamal's other exchanges.

The five companies include one based in Russia -- OOO Russtroi-SK. All five are owned by Deniz Capital Maritime, established in St. Kitts and Nevis by international businessman Fadi Deniz, who OFAC said maintains identity documents from multiple countries. Both Deniz and Deniz Capital Maritime were designated for sanctions.

The sanctions announced on December 7 also hit illicit agents that organized shipments on behalf of Jamal and arranged payments for vessels used to transport commodities, the department said.

The sanctions freeze any property belonging to the designated individuals and entities in U.S. jurisdiction and bar people in the U.S. from dealings with them.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/yemen-huthis-us-sanctions- iranian-commodities/32721131.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Welcoming the Release of Armenian and Azerbaijani Soldiers

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

December 7, 2023

The United States welcomes the announcement by Armenia and Azerbaijan of the release of two Azerbaijani and thirty-two Armenian detainees. This commitment represents an important confidence building measure as the sides work to finalize a peace agreement and normalize relations. We commend Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan for their joint efforts to lay the groundwork for a more peaceful and prosperous future for the people of the South Caucasus.

The United States will continue to strongly support efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace.



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Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Human Rights Leaders Before Their Meeting

US Department of State

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Thomas Jefferson Room

Washington, DC

December 7, 2023

SECRETARY BLINKEN: All right, well, good afternoon, everyone. I just had a few words I wanted to say at the top of our meeting, and I'm grateful to see each and every one of you. Seventy-five years ago in the aftermath of World War II, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, nations came together from around the world to affirm what was then a radical idea: that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. Those are the words at the heart of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

Delegates from around the world defined the rights in the Universal Declaration. And in a sense more than a declaration, it was a commitment, a commitment to actually promote human rights, to prevent violations, to defend victims, to hold perpetrators accountable. That is at the heart of what the world came together to agree to.

In the decades since, the United States has worked to make real our own commitment to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights - both here at home but also around the world. Defending human rights, affirming human dignity, simply put, reflects our values, reflects who we are. And at the same time, it advances our interests. When more people in more places have their rights respected, we know - we know from experience that the world is more peaceful, it's more secure, it' more prosperous, and so it's a better world for us as well.

President Biden has made promoting and defending human rights a priority for our foreign policy, and it's a priority for this department. It's a priority in every - in every bureau of this department, in every part of the world. Our efforts are especially important as the universality of human rights is under severe challenge and rights are being violated in far too many places. We see repression by autocratic regimes. We see the denial of opportunities because of people - because of who people are, where they were born, what they believe. And of course we see atrocities in the midst of conflict.

Just yesterday we made a determination that both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces in Sudan are engaged in war crimes. We're also seeing different forms of abuse being committed, including the misuse of emerging technologies to repress the rights of people.

I think as you look back at 75 years ago and what was on the minds as well as in the hearts of the drafters of the Universal Declaration, one of the things that they understood - and it's clear from the history of that period - is that there was a recognition that realizing human rights was going to be an ongoing process. It was not flipping a lightswitch. It is constantly a process. And in that process, we always have to strive to hold ourselves to the standards that we aspire to.

Human rights organizations like the ones represented at this table today and that I look forward to hearing from in just a couple of minutes are absolutely essential in that effort. They've been partners for decades, and they play a critical role, maybe a leading role in holding us accountable and making sure that to the best of everyone's ability the gap between our ideals and what we aspire to and the reality of what we're doing is as narrow as possible, if not completely eliminated.

So I just want to say to each and every one of you representing so many of your colleagues, we're grateful for the work that you do - the truly courageous work that you do - because you have so many people in areas of conflict doing the work, doing the reporting, bringing out the facts, bringing out the truth.

And I can tell you that from our perspective, from my perspective, that's absolutely essential to making the world a better place, a safer place. There's no better way to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration than meeting with the people who are actually on the front lines of human rights every single day, on the front lines of trying to make the commitments that were made so many years ago real. And so thank you for being here, and I look forward to the conversation.

Thanks, everyone.

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Treasury Targets Network Financing Houthi Regional Aggression

U.S. Department of the Treasury

December 7, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 13 individuals and entities responsible for providing tens of millions of dollars' worth of foreign currency generated from the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), to the Houthis in Yemen. Through a complex network of exchange houses and companies in multiple jurisdictions, these persons, under the auspices of U.S.-sanctioned Houthi and IRGC-QF financial facilitator Sa'id al-Jamal, serve as an important conduit through which Iranian money reaches the country's militant partners in Yemen.

"The Houthis continue to receive funding and support from Iran, and the result is unsurprising: unprovoked attacks on civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping, disrupting maritime security and threatening international commercial trade," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. "Treasury will continue to disrupt the financial facilitation and procurement networks that enable these destabilizing activities."

Since October, the Houthis have conducted multiple unprovoked missile and drone attacks threatening civilian infrastructure in Israel and commercial shipping operating in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. U.S. warships operating in international waters have had to respond in self-defense to missile attacks from the Houthis. Such actions further regional instability and risk broadening the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Today's action is being taken pursuant to the counterterrorism authority in Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. Sa'id al-Jamal was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, on June 10, 2021 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF. The IRGC-QF was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007 for providing support to multiple terrorist groups.

EXCHANGE HOUSES SUPPLYING IRANIAN FUNDS TO THE HOUTHIS

Iran-based Houthi financial facilitator Sa'id al-Jamal (al-Jamal) has for years relied on an array of exchange houses, both in Yemen and abroad, to remit the proceeds of Iranian commodity sales to the Houthi movement and IRGC-QF. Bilal Hudroj (Hudroj) of Lebanon-based Hodroj Exchange S.A.R.L. (Hodroj Exchange) has worked with al-Jamal to make financial transfers to Houthi officials in Yemen. Hudroj and Hodroj Exchange have sent millions of dollars and euros to Yemeni exchange houses aligned with al-Jamal, including Al Hadha Exchange Co. and AlAlamiyah Express Company for Exchange and Remittance, both of which were previously designated on February 23, 2022, pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, al-Jamal. At least some of these payments were made in direct coordination with senior Houthi members.

Hudroj and Hodroj Exchange have coordinated some of these financial transfers with Turkiye-based jewelry store and money exchanger Pirlant Istanbul Kuyumculuk Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Pirlant), also known as Jawhirah Exchange, and its owner Ahmet Duri (Duri). Duri has handled millions of dollars' worth of transactions on behalf of al-Jamal's network. Iranian money flowing to Yemen is deposited with Pirlant before eventually being transferred to Houthi-associated exchange houses in Yemen, including millions of dollars deposited by the IRGC in this fashion. The IRGC was designated on October 13, 2017, pursuant to E.O. 13224, for assisting in, sponsoring or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF.

Abu Sumbol General Trading (L.L.C) (Abu Sumbol) has operated in a similar fashion out of its headquarters in Dubai. Abu Sumbol has handled funds on behalf of al-Jamal, including funds connected to his business with Lebanese Hizballah. Employees of Abu Sumbol have collected millions of dollars in cash on behalf of al-Jamal that has then been transferred through an intermediary currency exchange.

Millions of dollars of al-Jamal's funds have been transferred to Yemen-based Davos Exchange and Remittances Company (Khaled Al Athari and Partner) General Partnership (Davos Exchange), an exchange house established by al-Jamal and a member of his family, Khaled Yahya Rageh Alodhari (Alodhari). Al-Jamal and Alodhari established Davos Exchange in 2021 as a means to bypass U.S. sanctions on al-Jamal's exchange house partners in Yemen and Turkiye.

Treasury-sanctioned financial facilitator Talib 'Ali Husayn al-Ahmad al-Rawi (al-Rawi) has sent millions of dollars to Davos Exchange to enable the al-Jamal network's trade-based money laundering operations with the IRGC-QF. Al-Rawi was previously designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, al-Jamal. Al-Rawi has previously worked with al-Jamal to transfer millions of dollars from U.S.-designated Syrian company Qatirji Group for purchases of Iranian petroleum products to U.S.-designated, Yemen-based, Houthi-associated exchange house Swaid and Sons for Exchange Co.

Bilal Hudroj, Ahmet Duri, Pirlant Istanbul Kuyumculuk Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Abu Sumbol General Trading (L.L.C), Davos Exchange and Remittances Company (Khaled Al Athari and Partner) General Partnership, and Khaled Yahya Rageh Alodhari are all being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa'id al-Jamal.

Hodroj Exchange S.A.R.L. is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Bilal Hudroj.

SHIPPING AGENTS AIDING THE SA'ID AL-JAMAL NETWORK

Illicit shipping agent and international businessman Fadi Deniz, also known as Fadi Gazogli, has organized multiple shipments on behalf of al-Jamal, to include arranging payments for vessels used to transport al-Jamal's commodity shipments. Deniz, who maintains identity documents from multiple countries, established the St. Kitts and Nevis-based company Deniz Capital Maritime Inc (Deniz Capital) in part to handle business for the al-Jamal network.

In addition to Deniz Capital, Deniz also directs or owns companies in multiple countries, to include Turkiye and Lebanon-based Vanessa Imex Group Ithalat Ihracat Ve Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Russia-based OOO Russtroi-SK, and United Kingdom-based Vanessa Group Limited and Deniz Capital LLP.

Fadi Deniz is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa'id al-Jamal. Deniz Capital Maritime Inc, Vanessa Imex Group Ithalat Ihracat Ve Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi, OOO Russtroi-SK, Vanessa Group Limited, and Deniz Capital LLP are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Fadi Deniz.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Click here for more information on the individuals and entities designated today.

###

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"We want to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace and cooperation"

Presidency Of The Republic Of Turkey

07.12.2023

Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Mitsotakis of Greece, President Erdogan said: "We want to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace and cooperation. We aspire to set an example to the world with the joint steps we will take as Turkiye and Greece."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece held a joint press conference following their talks in Athens.

Noting that this was the first presidential visit from Turkiye to Greece after 65-year hiatus, President Erdogan underlined that they want to enhance even further the positive momentum in the Turkish-Greek relations, and said: "

The fact that we are holding the 5th meeting of our High Level Cooperation Council today after seven years is an indication of this intention. I think we will not take such a long break for the next meeting, and that it will be beneficial for both our countries to hold this meeting at least once a year, as stated in the founding declaration."

"WE AGREED TO INCREASE OUR TRADE VOLUME TO $10 BILLION"

Stating that he had productive meetings with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, President Erdogan said: "During our bilateral meeting with Mr. Prime Minister, we discussed the steps that can be taken to improve our cooperation. We underlined the importance of keeping the channels of dialogue between us open at all levels within the framework of the continuation of high-level contacts. I underlined that the mechanism of the Turkiye-Greece High Level Cooperation Council, which was established during my term as prime minister, contributed to the advancement of our relations on the basis of a positive agenda. With the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighbourliness, we have confirmed at the highest level our will to enhance our relations. We are also pleased to see the concrete results of the work under the Joint Action Plan established in 2021. During our meeting with Mr. Prime Minister, we agreed to increase our trade volume, which is currently around $5 billion, to $10 billion. We pointed out the importance of transportation projects such as the construction of a second bridge at the Ipsala-Kipi Border Crossing."

Underscoring their wish to enhance relations both in tourism and culture, President Erdogan said: "During our talks with Mr. Prime Minister, we exchanged views on our stances with regard to the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, and asked our foreign ministers to resolutely address this issue. It is our sincere wish to resolve our current problems through constructive dialogue, good neighborliness and joint efforts within the framework of international law."

"A FAIR, LASTING AND SUSTAINABLE RESOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS ISSUE WILL BENEFIT THE ENTIRE REGION"

Stating that they also discussed with Prime Minister Mitsotakis how to improve cooperation in the fight against terrorism, President Erdogan said: "In this regard, we once again expressed our expectations. We especially welcomed the closure of the Lavrion Camp. I underlined the need for caution to prevent the formation of similar camps, which provide shelter to terrorists, in Greece. The Turkish minority in Greece and the Greek minority in our country are the building blocks of our human and cultural richness. The increase in the peace and welfare of minorities will positively affect our relations. We expressed our expectations for improvements in the situation of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace as required by international law. A fair, lasting and sustainable resolution of the Cyprus issue on the basis of the realities on the island will benefit the entire region."

Noting that they exchanged views with Prime Minister Mitsotakis on bilateral relations as well as current regional and global developments, President Erdogan said that they discussed the tragedy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially in Gaza.

"THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST NOT REMAIN SILENT IN THE FACE OF WAR CRIMES"

Recalling that Turkiye, from the very beginning, strongly disapproved of the targeting of civilians, President Erdogan said: "It hurts the consciences that the incidents turned into the collective punishment of the people of Gaza and that 17,000 innocent Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, have been massacred. The international community must not remain silent in the face of the ongoing crimes against humanity and war crimes. Establishing a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and ensuring the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid should be the priority of us all. With the latest developments, we have once again seen that the establishment of an independent, sovereign and territorially integrated State of Palestine within the 1967 borders is inevitable. As Turkiye, we have declared our readiness to take responsibility as a guarantor for the implementation of a fair peace. In the context of the extreme need for humanitarian aid in Gaza, we have been rapidly continuing our assistance since day one. I believe that the international community will also show the necessary sensitivity in terms of the continuation of aid."

Pointing out that Turkiye and Greece are two neighboring countries sharing the same sea, the same geography, the same climate and even the same culture in many areas, President Erdogan said: "While there may be disagreements even between two brothers, it is very natural for two neighbors to have differences of opinion. What matters is the will to resolve them. We want to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace and cooperation. We aspire to set an example to the whole world with the joint steps we will take as Turkiye and Greece. Let me be frank here; there is no problem that cannot be solved between us. As long as we act with goodwill, focus on the big picture, and do not stumble over molehills. I am also very pleased to see that dear Kyriakos shares the same view with us."

Thanking Prime Minister Mitsotakis for his kind hospitality, President Erdogan said: "I wish that our meetings will be auspicious for our countries and peoples. I would also like to express that we will be very pleased to host him in Ankara for the next meeting."

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Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York

7 December 2023

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Alright, good afternoon.

** Gaza

Just updating you on Gaza. I think that you all heard Martin Griffiths' press conference earlier today in Geneva. He said that given the military operations and the pace of them, no place is safe for civilians in southern Gaza, which he said that leaves the humanitarian plan in tatters.

But just to give you an update on what is going on. The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that hunger is spreading widely in Gaza and people are growing increasingly desperate trying to find food to feed their families. Cases of dehydration and malnutrition are rapidly increasing, according to them. Recent phone-based monitoring by WFP shows that between 83 and 97 per cent of families are not consuming adequate amounts of food, and in some areas as many as 90 per cent of households report spending a full day and night without any food  some for as many as 10 days in the last month.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that most patients and staff in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia were evacuated yesterday by Gaza's Ministry of Health, and the hospital largely stopped functioning and ceased admitting new patients. This is due to the intense fighting in its vicinity, compounded by the lack of basic medical supplies, by the lack of water, lack of food and the lack of fuel. Currently, only 14 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza are functional, and these only provide limited services. Among them, two small hospitals in the north and 12 located in the south are reportedly able to admit new patients.

Meanwhile, 80 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 69,000 litres of fuel entered from Egypt into Gaza yesterday. This is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between 24 and 30 November, and the average of 500 truckloads, including fuel, that entered every working day prior to 7 October.

Our ability to receive incoming loads of aid has been significantly impaired over the past few days by several factors. These include a shortage of trucks within Gaza, with some being stranded in the Middle Area, which has been severed from the south; telecommunications blackouts; and the increasing number of staff who were unable to report to the Rafah crossing due to the hostilities.

** Security Council

Back here, this morning, the Secretary-General addressed a Security Council in a meeting on transnational organized crime.

He said the activities of transnational organized crime take many forms, but the ramifications are the same: weakened governance, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death, and destruction.

Illicit financial flows are not abstract figures, he added. They amount to billions of dollars of missed development aid, lost livelihoods, and worsened poverty.

The Secretary-General highlighted priorities for action.

First, he said, we must strengthen cooperation as the only credible path to target the criminal dynamics that fuel violence and prolong cycles of conflict.

Then, Mr. [Antonio] Guterres added that we must strengthen the rule of law, strengthen prevention and foster inclusion.

And finally, at every stage, he told Council members, we must remain vigilant to the ever-changing nature of organised crime, and continually rethink our approaches - both in how we work and how we cooperate with others.

Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also spoke at the meeting this morning. We shared her remarks with you.

** Artificial Intelligence

And just after the Security Council meeting, the Secretary-General participated in the opening segment of the first in-person meeting of members of his Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.

He underscored the significance of the interim report  that will be completed by the end of the year  and how important that report will be in the global debate on AI governance, including in the leadup to the Summit of the Future, which will take place in September here in New York next year.

The Secretary-General also emphasized that the report should put forward ambitious recommendations on how Artificial Intelligence can help empower humanity.

The meetings will continue tomorrow.

** Central Emergency Response Fund

We have an update on the outcome of the high-level pledging event for the Central Emergency Response Fund  CERF, as we call it, and that meeting, you will recall, was held yesterday.

Forty donors announced contributions of more than $419 million for 2024. This exceeds the $409 million pledged at last year. So we say thank you.

So far this year, CERF has allocated more than $640 million to support millions of people in need of urgent assistance in some 40 countries and territories.

This included Sudan, the response to the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, as well as Gaza.

And to illustrate the critical role of the Fund, Martin Griffiths has allocated $4 million from the Fund to Madagascar and $5 million to Zimbabwe to take action ahead of droughts that are expected to be triggered by El Nino.

In Zimbabwe, the resources will also be used to respond to a cholera outbreak.

** Democratic Republic of the Congo

Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Bintou Keita, the Head of our Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), expressed concern over the intensification of fighting in the country's East.

She called on all parties to the conflict to defuse tensions and for M23 to immediately cease hostilities.

The UN Mission continues to work jointly with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) to protect civilians in the Sake area in North Kivu, including through robust and regular patrolling. The Mission is also continuing to provide protection to around 20,000 civilians, who have sought refuge inside its Kitchanga UN base over the past weeks.

** South Sudan

And in South Sudan, the UN Mission (UNMISS) participated today in a key meeting with the Government of South Sudan, and partners, on the status of implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement of 2018.

The Mission welcomed the recent deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces to Upper Nile state while urging the Government to provide necessary funds and attention to ensure a cohesive, structured security sector that can effectively protect civilians and provide a secure environment.

At the meeting, the Mission's Deputy Special Representative, Guang Cong, expressed concern over reports of violence in the Abyei Administrative Area and Warrap State, as well as the fighting and mobilizations in Leer and Guit in Unity State.

And with only 12 months to go to South Sudan's first post-independence elections, Mr. Cong encouraged the Government to enter 2024 with a renewed drive and a sense of urgency to implement the Peace Agreement.

** Darien Jungle

And our friends in Geneva, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and our friends in Geneva, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), today urged for a stronger response in the Americas as half a million people have crossed the Darien jungle  located on the border of Colombia and Panama  this year.

Both agencies warned of a worsening humanitarian emergency and called for a regional, comprehensive approach founded on cooperation and solidarity, and taking into account the situation in countries of origin, transit, and destination.

IOM and UNHCR are providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in the region, while also working with states and civil society to identify appropriate and long-term solutions to the challenges at hand.

** International Civil Aviation Day

And today is International Civil Aviation Day. The purpose of this Day is to help generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to the social and economic development of States.

** Questions and Answers

Spokesman : You get to board first if you have a question. Oh, you, alright. Go ahead, Edie. Yeah. She, Edie's always in first class. She gets upgraded.

Question : Thanks, Steph. The Secretary-General is going to be briefing the Security Council tomorrow morning on his Article 99 letter. Can you tell us what he's been doing since the letter was sent to the Security Council? Has he been meeting with Council members? Has he specifically spoken to any senior US officials? Because the US Deputy Ambassador made very clear on Monday that the Biden administration does not want a resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire now.

Spokesman : The Secretary-General has been quite busy since he sent the letter, picking up the phone. He had, by my count, seven phone calls with foreign ministers yesterday. And, yes, I will share the list with you. He spoke with the Foreign Minister of Jordan, Mr. Ayman Safadi; with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. He spoke with Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. He spoke with Mr. Sameh Shoukry, the Foreign Minister of Egypt. He spoke with Mr. Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State of these United States. He spoke with Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And finally, he spoke to David Cameron later in the evening, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. And as he makes more phone calls, we will share that with you. We will also try to share his remarks with you under embargo as early as possible. Amelie?

Question : Still follow-up on the letter. After the letter, the Israeli Foreign Minister accused the Secretary-General of being a danger for world peace because of his call for a ceasefire. Any response to that?

Spokesman : Would it surprise you if I said that we disagree? Dezhi?

Question : It's kind of a follow-up with Amelie's question, because not only the Foreign Minister  the Ambassador of Israel again called on the Secretary-General to resign immediately because of this, what he called a new moral law. Just now, you mentioned seven foreign ministers, UK, Saudi Arabia, US, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, and the UAE. Has the Secretary-General even tried to contact some Israeli officials on his own?

Spokesman : As I said, the phone calls are continuing, and I will let you know as soon as I have a list of more. He has been in regular contact with President [Isaac] Herzog. And I would add...

Question : Regular?

Spokesman : Yeah. What I would also add is that our operational contacts with Israeli authorities are continuing on a daily basis, if not around the clock on a political level, on an operational level, in terms of humanitarian assistance. We don't always come to an agreement, but I would say that the contacts remain highly professional on that end.

Question : So on this regular contact with President of the Israel, he didn't ask the Secretary-General to resign?

Spokesman : No.

Correspondent : Okay.

Spokesman : I mean, but, you know, again, I don't speak for... I only speak for the Secretary-General of this organization, right?

Correspondent : Yeah. I know. I know. I know. He will not...

Spokesman : And you could expect the Secretary-General to be at work tomorrow and until the end of his mandate. Madame?

Question : Steph, the US have accused the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of having committed war crime. What is the Secretary-General thinking about that? Will action be taken? And in the DRC, is Bintou Keita leaving soon?

Spokesman : Well, the only thing I do know about Bintou Keita is that she continues to be the Secretary-General's Special Representative with, of course, his full support. I mean, non-verbal responses to my statements aren't shown in the transcript, but no, I lost my train... she's... yes, I said what I said. And she's here, I mean, she's currently in New York. She's briefing the Security Council, I think, next week, and she will be speaking to you after she briefs the Security Council. So feel free to ask her any question. On the horrific, horrific suffering of civilians in Sudan that we've seen, and that frankly that the UN system has been talking about since the beginning, what we've seen in Darfur, the sexual-based violence, I think we have been extremely loud at condemning it, at calling for accountability, and there will need to be accountability. And we are, I know, different parts of the organization are continuing to investigate it. And we will continue to denounce it and bring it to light as much as we can. Stefano, and then Toshi, and then Ibtisam.

Question : Thank you, Stephane. One is a follow-up, a question and a follow-up. The follow-up first. About the letter, why was so necessary to say that the Secretary-General never done this in his mandate? I mean, since 2017, when he actually did it. Yes. He didn't mention Article 99 in the letter, but he did send that...

Spokesman : Why did I feel the need to mention it?

Question : No. Why was it necessary yesterday, and in general, keep this... because I saw the newspaper around the world, they all say for the first time, the Secretary-General did this...

Spokesman : Because it's true.

Question : Well, when he sent the letter to the Security Council about Myanmar, for example, wasn't that under Article 99?

Spokesman : I mean, we sent you the list of all the letters that have been sent, I would say, within the spirit, sometimes, of Article 99. This, the letter that he sent in Myanmar, and you no doubt you've read it or you could read, does not specifically mention Article 99. This one is the first one that mentions Article 99. So that's why we thought it was necessary to point that out.

Correspondent : Okay. But I understand. Maybe you pointed just out that they think it's the first time that the Secretary said...

Spokesman : Because it is. I mean, I, you know, I mean...

Correspondent : Well, I just don't understand because it was successful in the past.

Spokesman : No. No. You read the letter he wrote on Myanmar. There are two digits that are not there, and that's the number 9, and then followed by the number 9 again. So this letter mentions 99. So it is the first time he's actually mentioned that article.

Question : Can I just say it's, like, if I want to express my free opinion?

Spokesman : You can always express your free opinion.

Correspondent : And if... yeah. And if I do, one time if I don't mention the first amendment is, like, it's different. No, it's the same thing. So...

Spokesman : Listen, I'm not your editor and all I can say is...

Correspondent : No. Just but then the question.

Spokesman : What's your question?

Question : The US Mission has been repeating, just few days ago, that they prefer the Security Council stay out of the crisis at the moment because they want diplomacy on the ground. Apparently, they say that actually it's better, because the Security Council actually can complicate the situation. So, now, we have the letter of Secretary-General, of course. So did, and I asked you this before, did the Secretary-General had a direct contact with the US Government and especially in thinking to the White House, the President? When is... and that was the motivation to convince the US to... actually it's the Security Council that has to take care of the problem.

Spokesman : I don't know, Stefano. I don't know how to answer your question. All I can tell you is I think that the Secretary-General's expectations of the Security Council in living up to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations is very clear in the letter, in which he mentions Article 99 for the first time. Toshi, and then Ibtisam.

Correspondent : Thank you, Steph. I have a question on different topic, whether you like it or not.

Spokesman : Please. Yes, please, please.

Correspondent : A question on AI advisory board...

Spokesman : Yeah. The first. Yeah.

Question : In-person meeting. Do you know how many times they held virtual meetings before?

Spokesman : They met once. They had an inaugural meeting, which was virtual, and this is the first in-person one.

Question : So they have, like, two meetings in total?

Spokesman : Yes. Today and tomorrow.

Question : But why didn't you make it public? You know, I asked this because you have, like, 39 members, and I don't think you can include, like, all member's opinions in that report within, like, a few months. But if you make it public, it could contribute to the future discussions.

Spokesman : I mean, listen, you could argue it both ways, I think. It is also important for experts to be able to have open discussions in order to come to a consensus on a document. Listen, we all... I think everyone... let me put it this way. Most people may say different things in front of a camera when the camera is not on. It doesn't mean that... I mean, these are all people who are highly respected in their field. They are free to express themselves in interviews and whatever. But I think it's more conducive for the first time they meet that they'd be able to have an open and frank discussion and argue and disagree in a closed-door meeting in order to produce a report that will be made public.

Question : Yeah. Well understood. We are approaching to the end of this year. So do you know, like, vague... do you have a vague idea of a schedule of releasing the document so that I can take a...

Spokesman : We will try to get you a more precise answer so we can all prepare our ends of the year.

Correspondent : Thanks.

Spokesman : Ibtisam, please.

Question : Thank you. A quick follow-up first on Sudan. You talked about the sexual violence and the necessity of investigating. Who's going to investigate? Is there somebody, anybody in the UN bodies that is investigating? And then also in Sudan, regarding the Personal Envoy, did he start, Mr. [Ramtane] Lamamra? Did he start his work, his efforts?

Spokesman : I don't have an update. I will check on an update on his work, but he's officially started. Well, let me just get an update on his work. I should have had one. And I will get you a more precise answer on it, because I think I know which part of the UN is investigating, but I want to double-check before I say so in front of the camera.

Question : Okay. So my question also on Gaza, the Israeli Army arrested today, tens or maybe hundreds of Palestinian men. Among others, my colleague, the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed correspondent in Gaza, Diaa al-Kahlout. It is not known where they took him or his family members, but also other Palestinian men. I don't know if you saw the pictures. A lot of them were forced to take off their clothes, strip naked, and Al-Kahlout is not the first Palestinian who has been arrested since October. As you know, there is more than 75 Palestinians who were killed, journalists, I mean. But also more than, I think, if I'm not mistaken, more than 44 Palestinian journalists who were arrested since 7 October; 41 of them are in the West Bank, and three in Gaza. So do you have any comments on the pictures that's circulating around the media and specifically on the arrest of Diaa al-Kahlout? Thank you.

Spokesman : I mean, you know, I think the pictures we saw this morning are very concerning because people... everyone has a basic right to human dignity, and then the pictures in the way people are treated is very concerning. We have also, and will continue and underscore the risk that journalists are taking in covering the current conflict. Many of your colleagues have paid with their lives in Gaza, and it is incumbent that information as to the whereabouts and the reason behind the detention of journalists be made public as quickly as possible. Edith?

Question : Thank you, Steph. I believe you said that the report by the artificial intelligence panel is due by the end of the year?

Spokesman : Yes, ma'am.

Question : Is it going to go to the Secretary-General, or is it going to be made public, and if it isn't going to be made public, why not?

Spokesman : Very valid questions, and we will answer them as quickly as we can. Alan?

Question : Sorry, Stephane. Thank you. Today, Russian State Duma has adopted the address to the UN and to international parliaments, calling them to join the investigation against Ukraine's crimes against minors. Have you received it? And what would be your reaction to that?

Spokesman : I'm not aware, but I will check on the letter. Okay. Nabil, please.

Question : Thank you, Stephane. So this is not the first time that the UN personnel are targeted in conflicts. So has the UN received compensations before in any conflict before where some of their employees were...

Spokesman : I need to go back to a historical record on that. Okay. Monica, all yours. Thank you all. See you manana.

Question : Steph? Still online. Steph?

Spokesman : Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Correspondent : You always forget your online fan.

Spokesman : Oh, well. If you turn on your camera maybe.

Correspondent : Oh, you don't want to see me today.

Spokesman : Okay. Go ahead. Go ahead, Maggie.

Correspondent : Steph, an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] spokesperson said yesterday that they're not limiting aid into Gaza. The spokesperson said that they're checking trucks. But they're not the only ones who check the trucks. It's not just Israel and about the potential opening of Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings, the spokesperson said that Hamas is continuing to fire on those two crossings until now.

Spokesman : Well, on...

Question : So can you address those accusations?

Spokesman : Sure, on Kerem Shalom, there are discussions ongoing. Martin Griffiths, I think, addressed that in his press conference about two hours ago. And so he and his colleagues are in the lead on that, but there are discussions that are ongoing. Kerem Shalom is, by tradition, the kind of crossing for commercial goods, so they have the infrastructure to do the inspections and it would make things a lot quicker. It would save time, it would save money, it would save fuel to do that, and it would enable us to increase the volume. The challenges about the humanitarian aid access is the fact that there's fighting going on, right? That there's not enough fuel going in. All those things hamper our humanitarian operations. Okay.

Question : But the spokesperson said that they're not limiting what you can take in, including fuel. Is that correct?

Spokesman : There are...

Correspondent : I mean, we know...

Spokesman : There are agreements between the parties about what can go in and the volume that can go in. Thank you.

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Gaza fighting continues amid 'apocalyptic' conditions; Security Council to meet Friday

7 December 2023 - Two months to the day since Hamas' terror attacks in Israel prompted a massive Israeli military retaliation in Gaza, the situation in the war-torn enclave is becoming "apocalyptic" with hostilities making meaningful humanitarian efforts "nearly impossible", UN humanitarians warned on Thursday.

In a joint statement 27 aid organisations including UN agencies and their partners issued a call for an immediate stop to the fighting, stressing that conditions in Gaza are "amongst the worst we have witnessed".

Emergency meeting in New York

Meanwhile, in New York, Ecuador - which holds the presidency of the Security Council, announced that an emergency meeting to discuss the Palestine-Israel crisis would take place at 10 AM local time in New York on Friday.

UN chief Antonio Guterres called on the 15-member Council on Wednesday - invoking the rare but powerful Chapter 99 tool - to "press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe" and unite in a call for a full humanitarian ceasefire.

In a letter to the Council he highlighted the "potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region".

Permanent Representatives from the Arab Group of nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, addressed reporters outside the Security Council in New York late on Friday morning local time, calling for action towards a ceasefire in Gaza.

'No food. Just bombs'

Meanwhile on Thursday Israeli troops reportedly entered the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been sheltering.

Intense Israeli bombardments across the Strip and rocket firing by Palestinian armed groups into Israel have continued over the past two days, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said, and more than 100 people were reportedly killed on Wednesday in the bombardment of "multiple residential buildings" in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

"Almost no one in Gaza has enough food. In some areas, nine out of 10 people went a full day and night with nothing to eat," UN World Food Programme (WFP) representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Samer AbdelJaber, wrote on social platform X, while UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder, who recently returned from Gaza, summed up conditions in the enclave as: "No water. No sanitation. No food. Just bombs."

Humanitarian operation 'in tatters': Griffiths

"We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore," UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths told journalists in Geneva. He said that the humanitarian plan to protect civilians in the enclave is "in tatters" and no place is safe anymore as a result of the intense pace of the Israeli military assault in the south of the Strip.

He dubbed the current state of affairs "humanitarian opportunism" with aid deliveries which have become "erratic, undependable and frankly... not sustainable".

Mr. Griffiths stressed that the aid agencies on which the people of Gaza have relied on "for many decades" will remain by their side, but that the "only serious policy response" to the crisis is to silence the guns.

He also highlighted some "promising signs" in ongoing negotiations in the COGAT committee, which "meets daily and nightly" and brings together key stakeholders including the UN, Israel, Egypt and the United States, on aid access to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing from Israel.

"If we get that it would be the first miracle we've seen in some weeks and a huge boost to the logistical base of the humanitarian operation," he said. So far Rafah in the south of the Strip has been the only border crossing open for aid deliveries since those resumed on 21 October.

'We need peace for health'

UN health agency WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed support for Mr. Guterres' letter, stressing that "Gaza's health system is on its knees".

"We need peace for health," he insisted.

As of Wednesday, WHO had documented 212 attacks on healthcare in the Strip affecting 56 facilities and 59 ambulances. Only 14 out of Gaza's 36 hospitals are at least partially operational.

The latest facility to stop functioning, the Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia, saw the evacuation of most patients and staff by the Gaza health authorities on Wednesday due to intense fighting and a lack of essentials.

"This will deprive thousands of people of essential lifesaving care," WHO's Tedros warned.

In a statement on Thursday a UN-appointed independent expert condemned Israel's "unrelenting war" on the health system in Gaza. "We have descended into depths from which we must quickly emerge," said Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health.

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and are not UN staff; they do not receive payment for their work.

Aid distributions impeded

Meanwhile, stranded trucks, telecommunications blackouts and the inability of staff to report to the Rafah border crossing due to the hostilities have been limiting the UN's ability to receive incoming aid, OCHA said.

For the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday Rafah was the only governorate in Gaza where aid distributions took place, as according to OCHA the intensity of the fighting "largely stopped" operations in the neighbouring Khan Younis governorate. There has been no access from the south to areas north of Wadi Gaza since the pause in fighting came to an end on 1 December.

On Wednesday 80 aid trucks and 69,000 litres of fuel entered through Rafah into Gaza - "well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause", OCHA stressed.

Evacuations in Khan Younis

The fighting in Khan Younis has pushed tens of thousands of people to flee to Rafah in the past few days, OCHA said. On Wednesday five schools run by UN agency for Palestine refugees UNRWA and serving as shelters in eastern Khan Younis governorate were evacuated following orders from the Israeli military.

Additionally, an area accounting for about a quarter of Khan Younis city was designated by the Israeli military for immediate evacuation.

In Rafah, shelters are over capacity and new arrivals have been settling in the streets and in empty spaces across the city. UNRWA is supporting the displaced with tents while WFP is distributing hot meals, in the midst of what the UN agency has dubbed a "catastrophic hunger crisis" across the Strip.

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US Official Urges Approval of New Deals With Pacific Islands

By Nike Ching December 07, 2023

A senior U.S. administration official said the United States needs to move ahead and fulfill its commitment under new arrangements with three Pacific Island nations as Washington faces fierce competition from Beijing in the region.

The new 20-year funding programs for the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau are awaiting congressional approval. Under the new arrangements, the U.S. would provide defense and economic assistance while securing exclusive military access to pivotal areas across the Pacific.

Thursday, the nominee for deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, told a Senate panel that if Congress fails to fund the agreements, "you can expect that literally the next day, Chinese diplomats, military and other folks will be on the plane landing in" each of these island states, trying to "secure a better deal for China."

Campbell, currently the White House National Security Council's coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, also said it is critical for the United States to support its diplomatic personnel amid intense competition from China.

"I remember last year we went to the Solomons for the first time. We landed in our plane. We got off. We were met at the airport by one [U.S.] diplomat, probably the most hard-charging guy I've ever met, and he was exhausted.

"He was a one-person diplomacy in the Solomons, one of our most contested places, and was living in a hotel with his dog. And as we drove into town, we went by the gleaming Chinese Embassy [with] dozens and dozens of staffers," Campbell said during his nomination hearing.

In Beijing, Chinese officials have said competition should not define its relationship with the U.S.

"Major-country competition cannot solve the problems facing China and the United States or the world," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a readout after U.S. President Joe Biden's four hours of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 15 on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco.

Some U.S. lawmakers say they disagree with Beijing's assessment.

"China intends to replace us, probably by midcentury, as the economic, military and geopolitical leader of the world," Republican Senator Mitt Romney said during Campbell's nomination hearing Thursday. "They [China] say, of course, that they're worried about us, you know, constraining and containing them, which is laughable. They're all over the world, far more than we are."

Taiwan

Campbell told U.S. lawmakers that the Biden administration's budget request to Congress reflects the U.S. strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, including "to stand with Taiwan" and "to support the Philippines."

A turbulent year in U.S.-China relations culminated in talks between the country's two leaders in mid-November. Xi told Biden that Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in their bilateral ties. Ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was high on the agenda. According to a senior U.S. official, Xi signaled that he was unaware of plans for a massive invasion of Taiwan.

Despite this pledge, China has escalated military activities near the Taiwan Strait in recent months. The United States has voiced concerns about any Chinese interference through military coercion, as Taiwan prepares for a presidential election in January.

Some analysts say there must be credible threats and assurances on the part of the U.S. to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

"It is essential that Taiwan and the United States have the ability to threaten to impose a lot of pain and consequences on the People's Republic of China if it were to use force against Taiwan," Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund, told VOA.

Glaser added that there also need to be "some assurances" from the U.S., China, and Taiwan at the same time. For example, the United States has said it does not support Taiwan independence. If China does not use force, China should be assured that its real interests will not be damaged. If Taiwan does not declare independence, it will not be targeted with the use of force by Beijing.

Human rights

During Thursday's hearing, Senator Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said American foreign policy must be driven by core values, including promoting democracy, fighting corruption and defending human rights.

December 10 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Some human rights advocates said the way Washington manages the Israel-Hamas conflict, while safeguarding the rights and dignity of the Palestinian population, will have a significant impact on the perception of U.S. credibility and leadership on the global stage.

"The U.S. as a global leader should not selectively apply the universal human rights values when aligned with its foreign policy objectives and amplify voices that suit its agenda. Such positioning undermines the efforts of human rights advocates," U.S.-based Uyghur human rights lawyer Rayhan Asat told VOA.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with "a diverse group" of representatives from human rights organizations on Thursday at the State Department. A spokesperson said the secretary wants to learn about the challenges of their work.

If confirmed by the Senate, Campbell will replace Wendy Sherman, who retired in July, to become deputy secretary of state.

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There are three fewer people in the UNLV community. I have three fewer peers. And there is more gun violence in this country than ever.

Every mass shooting provokes the same cycle of thought and prayer. And it really is all that we can do in the moment of it. It was certainly all that I could do while waiting to hear if the brother who Ive known my whole life was safe.

But when we are outside of that present moment, there are opportunities to act. During the six years since the deadliest mass shooting in U.S history, which happened just a few miles away from this new tragedy, there have been opportunities for change. Across two Nevadan governorships, three Nevada Legislature sessions and two presidencies, there has been time. These are policy opportunities to protect the public that, most recently in Nevada, Gov. Joe Lombardo made the willing choice to reject on three separate occasions this May.

The causes of gun violence stem from a wide range of social and economic factors. Many gun-rights pundits, to the contrary, point to a near-singular explanation in mental health  while simultaneously ignoring and, more often actively eroding, any fix for this issue in every other facet of their policy stances.

Such proponents may be correct in that the linchpin of their sole argument is deeply complicated and varied in origin. However, the weight that it holds in this assertion as a singular explicatory driver, and the sources to which these claimants blame, are uncritical and flawed.

Prominent Republicans  including former President Donald Trump and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy  have argued in lockstep with organizations such as the National Rifle Association that violent media such as video games, not the physical tools used to perpetuate mass shootings, are among the primary causes for the loss of tens of thousands of American lives each year.

This contention is rebutted by the failure of testing performed by professional sociological and medical institutions to establish any causal link. But even if the voices directly funded by gun lobbies are correct in explaining this public health crisis so unilaterally, as a Canadian I can attest that across the northern border we watch the same movies, we play the same video games and we listen to the same albums. Canada also faces a national mental health crisis, and is even similarly witnessing a drastic increase in violent events. Yet when comparing the casualties of these circumstances, the smoking gun that differentiates the magnitude of them is as literal as it is metaphorical.

From the multifarious factors that are contributors to gun violence  including but far from limited to mental health  there is a much more concentrated source of gun violence: the firearms themselves. If there is one area in which preventative action can be most effectively and efficiently taken  where lives can be saved  that is it. The policy makers who can ignore the deaths, elevate the risks and profit from the markets that enable this violence have names and offices.

Although this opinion piece  and its message  is just one of many that has failed to pass in our law and policy, there is no ignoring the consequences of the decisions made for our public safety in Nevada, much the same as they have been made in legislatures across the country. There are so many avenues through which gun violence must be addressed, but there is one common denominator amongst it all: This does not happen at such scale, with such ease or with such impact without deregulated guns.
UN Aid Operation in Gaza in Tatters

By Margaret Besheer December 07, 2023

The United Nations humanitarian chief said Thursday that Israel's military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip is "a repeat" of the assault on northern Gaza and has left no place safe for civilians while crippling humanitarian operations.

"We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore," Martin Griffiths told reporters at the United Nations in Geneva and online. He said it has become a plan of "humanitarian opportunism"  getting in aid when and where they can.

"It's erratic, it's undependable, and frankly, it's not sustainable," he said, adding that the United Nations and humanitarian organizations would not abandon the people of Gaza.

Israel ramped up its military activity in southern Gaza on December 1, following the collapse of a seven-day humanitarian pause between Israel and Hamas, saying the leaders of the Hamas terror organization are hiding there.

Since then, aid deliveries have significantly dropped off. The U.N. says only 80 trucks with humanitarian supplies and 69,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza on Wednesday through the Rafah border crossing.

Guterres raises alarm

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday took the very rare step of invoking Article 99 of the organization's charter and referring the matter to the Security Council. It is the first time in his nearly seven-year crisis-plagued tenure that he has invoked the clause.

The council has been meeting on Gaza weekly since Hamas' October 7 terror attack. The attack inside Israel killed some 1,200 people; 240 others were abducted. More than 100 hostages have since been released. The attack prompted Israel's full-scale war to destroy the terrorist organization and its leadership.

Guterres has now further raised the alarm and pressured the council to take meaningful action. In his letter, Guterres told the council president that the current conditions on the ground make it "impossible" for significant humanitarian operations to be carried out, and he renewed his call for a humanitarian cease-fire.

"We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system," he warned. "The situation is fast deteriorating into catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region."

For weeks, humanitarians have been urging Israel to reopen another crossing point into Gaza, and Griffiths said there are "some promising signs" that Kerem Shalom, which is east of Rafah, could open soon. That would allow for scaled-up capacity and direct access to northern Gaza, where needs are acute.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson sounded less optimistic Wednesday, telling reporters in New York that the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings were attacked by Hamas on October 7.

"Both of them are under continuous fire by Hamas with mortars and rockets at this time," the spokesperson said. "And that's why we are also limited on what can be done at the crossings."

The Security Council will meet again Friday to discuss the situation, be briefed by Guterres, and possibly vote on an Arab-drafted resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the release of all hostages, and aid access.

A delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim countries was in Washington on Thursday to meet members of Congress and the Biden administration. Saudi Arabia's U.N. ambassador said they would also press for U.S. support at the Security Council.

Dire conditions

Humanitarians say they are running out of solutions for the people of Gaza. In a call with reporters, representatives from several international aid agencies said a permanent cease-fire is the only way to prevent the further loss of civilian lives, especially of children.

"We need a definitive cease-fire and the necessary conditions for a humanitarian response," said Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy for Save the Children. "If they are not put in place, more children's lives will be the cost."

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed; about 70% of them are reported to be women and children. Thousands more have been wounded.

Humanitarian groups say Israel's evacuation notices telling civilians to move from one area of the south to another are creating panic.

"People don't know where to go," said Isabelle Defourny, president of Doctors Without Borders France. "Those notifications don't spare civilians; it's a cruel system. They cannot really leave without a cease-fire."

They also dispute how safe the so-called safe zones are. Several have come under intense bombing.

"Israel's safe zones within Gaza are a mirage," said Oxfam's Palestinian policy lead Bushra Khalidi. "They are unprotected, they are not provisioned, and they are inaccessible."

Health care in Gaza is collapsing by the day. The United Nations says only 14 out of 36 hospitals across Gaza remain open to provide limited services. Only two small hospitals in the north and 12 in the south are reported to be able to admit new patients.

"Gaza's hospitals are becoming morgues before our very eyes. That is unacceptable," said Sandrine Simon, Medecins du Monde's advocacy and health director.

The situation has become so desperate in the south that one humanitarian worker told reporters that her colleagues on the ground are worried people will attack houses that have bathrooms.

The World Food Program warned this week that the renewed fighting makes the distribution of aid almost impossible and endangers the lives of humanitarian workers.

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Reuters, AFP Say Israeli Tank Responsible for Deadly Attack on Journalists

By VOA News December 07, 2023

Reuters and Agence France-Presse have each published an investigation into an October attack in southern Lebanon that killed a journalist and injured six others, saying their findings indicate the group was hit by Israeli tank rounds.

Each of the media organizations worked with outside experts to review video recordings, satellite images, witness testimony and munitions fragments, concluding that the rounds were 120-mm tank rounds used only by the Israeli military.

The attack happened Oct. 13 as the journalists gathered near the Lebanese border village of Alma al-Chaab to capture video of nearby areas where there had been cross-border clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters.

Reuters and AFP said the journalists were clearly identified as members of the press wearing flak jackets and helmets.

An initial tank round struck the group, followed quickly by a second, the news agencies said. Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed, while two of his Reuters colleagues and an AFP journalist were among those hurt.

At the U.S. State Department on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his deepest condolences for the loss when asked about the attack by a Reuters journalist.

"As someone who actually started his career as a journalist, this is something that's near and dear to my heart," Blinken said.

He added that it was important that this attack be fully and thoroughly investigated.

"My understanding is that Israel has initiated such an investigation, and it would be important to see that investigation come to a conclusion, and to see the results of that investigation," he said.

"We condemn Issam's killing," Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a statement. "We call on Israel to explain how this could have happened and to hold to account those responsible for his death and the wounding of Christina Assi of the AFP, our colleagues Thaier Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, and the three other journalists. Issam was a brilliant and passionate journalist, who was much loved at Reuters."

Reuters quoted Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, the Israel Defense Forces international spokesman, as saying, "We don't target journalists."

AFP Global News Director Phil Chetwynd called on Israel to give a clear explanation of what happened.

"The targeting of a group of journalists who were clearly identified as media is both inexplicable and unacceptable," Chetwynd said.

Human Rights Watch conducted its own investigation into the attack and said Thursday its findings "indicate that the journalists were well removed from ongoing hostilities, clearly identifiable as members of the media, and had been stationary for at least 75 minutes before they were hit by two consecutive strikes."

HRW said there was no evidence of a military target near where the journalists were working. The group said the strikes "were apparently deliberate attacks on civilians, which is a war crime."

Amnesty International also reviewed the attack, concluding it was "likely a direct attack on civilians that must be investigated as a war crime."

"Those responsible for Issam Abdallah's unlawful killing and the injuring of six other journalists must be held accountable," Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Aya Majzoub said in a statement. "No journalist should ever be targeted or killed simply for carrying out their work. Israel must not be allowed to kill and attack journalists with impunity. There must be an independent and impartial investigation into this deadly attack."

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters

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Leaders of Turkey and Greece Agree to Increase Cooperation

By VOA News December 07, 2023

Greece and Turkey made significant progress toward mending relations Thursday, as leaders of the neighboring countries agreed to several cooperative measures after years of tension.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Greek capital of Athens, where he met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The two reached agreements focusing on pursuing good neighborly relations, opening communication, lessening tension through military confidence-building, increasing trade and working to resolve issues in the Aegean Sea, where the two countries share a border.

"There is no issue between us that is unsolvable. So long as we focus on the big picture and don't end up being like those who cross the sea and drown in the river," Erdogan said. "We want to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace. Through the joint steps we will take as Turkey and Greece, we want to be an example to the world."

Disputes between the two countries include maritime boundaries and rights to explore for resources in the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean Sea. Tension has risen nearly to the point of war three times in the last 50 years.

Most recently, in 2020, warships from the two countries shadowed each other in the eastern Mediterranean.

Erdogan said as recently as last year that he had no interest in meeting with Mitsotakis. But the two have now met three times this year, with Thursday's meeting showing a stark departure from the usual rhetoric used between the two leaders.

Mitsotakis praised the mending relationship and set a "realistic goal" to double trade between the two from $5.4 billion to $10.8 billion over the next five years.

The Greek leader also said he would back holiday visas for any Turks visiting Greece and would support Turkey's request for a loosening of travel restrictions for Turks traveling to European Union countries.

An increased relationship with Greece is also a step toward Turkey improving relations with the EU, which the country has been attempting to join for two decades. Erdogan has made it a priority to increase cooperation with Western allies since being reelected in May.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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US Backs Guyana as Tensions Rise Over Contested Essequibo Region

By VOA News December 07, 2023

The United States reaffirmed its support of Guyana amid a growing dispute with neighboring Venezuela over the oil-rich Essequibo region.

Both countries claim the region, but it has been administered by Guyana since 1899 and represents two-thirds of its territory. Tensions rose over the weekend when Venezuela held a referendum in which the country voted overwhelmingly to establish a new state in Essequibo.

A ruling is pending from the International Court of Justice over the jurisdiction of the region, though Venezuela voted in the referendum to reject the ICJ's jurisdiction.

Following the results of the referendum, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered oil companies operating under Guyana's authority to halt operations in Essequibo within three months.

Guyana has questioned the legitimacy of the Venezuelan referendum. President Irfaan Ali said he would put the country's troops on high alert and that he was in contact with Guyana's partners, including the U.S., which announced joint flight drills with the Guyanese military.

Ali spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who reaffirmed the unwavering U.S. support for Guyana's sovereignty and called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

A group of U.S. senators also released a bipartisan statement condemning the Maduro regime in Venezuela and its actions toward Guyana.

Venezuela's "petulant saber rattling against Guyana" showed that the Maduro regime, "far from taking steps towards the meaningful return of democracy, is moving towards an even more brutal dictatorship," their statement said.

Analysts in Caracas suggest that Maduro used the referendum as a way to show strength and gauge support ahead of a reelection bid next year, rather than a genuine prelude to military action.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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Europe Fears Surge in African Migration as Niger Repeals Trafficking Law

By Henry Ridgwell December 07, 2023

The European Union has voiced concerns of a surge in migrants from Africa, after the ruling military junta in Niger repealed a law that had previously criminalized the transport of migrants in the country.

Known as Law 2015-36, the legislation was drafted in 2015 in coordination with the EU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. At the time, Europe was facing a migrant crisis, as more than a million people entered the continent from Turkey and North Africa. The law was implemented the following year.

As part of the 2015 deal, the European Union pledged over $5 billion in aid to stabilize economies and governments in the Sahel region to stem the flow of migrants.

"These projects had a number of objectives, including combating illegal migration, improving public infrastructure, improving border capacity  but also assisting displaced populations," explained Alia Fakhry, an expert on EU-Africa migration policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.

"One of these projects was the project that supported the Niger state to build its border capacity and to draft this new law that would criminalize irregular migration and its facilitation  the work of smugglers, basically. And it's this law that's now been revoked by the military junta," Fakhry told VOA.

The EU said in September that 876 suspected people traffickers were prosecuted under the law from 2017 to 2023.

However, on July 26, Niger's military ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup. Junta leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani announced in November that the government was repealing the 2015 migrant law and said that all convictions under the legislation would be quashed.

Tchiani did not give a reason for the move, although observers say he is likely seeking to gain local support and retaliate against the EU's decision to suspend aid payments following the coup.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on November 28, Ylva Johansson, European commissioner for home affairs, voiced fears of a new influx of migrants.

"There is a huge risk that this will cause new deaths in the desert. That's the most concerning thing, but it would also probably mean more people coming to Libya, for example, and then maybe also trying to cross the Mediterranean today to the EU," she said.

In a discussion paper published in September, the Council of the European Union had already expressed concerns over cooperation with the Nigerien military junta following the July 26 coup.

"Given Niger's role as a transit country, primarily through the Central Mediterranean route, as well as its status as a host country, it is crucial to direct our focus towards the aftermath of the events of 26 July," the paper said.

"The risk of the instrumentalization of migration exists in theory  although there is no evidence for this right now  or of a halt to cooperation on migration and border management with the EU. Various scenarios are now possible regarding the evolution of migratory flows transiting through Niger. Besides, close attention must be paid to other countries of the area, such as Mauritania, in which there could be migratory consequences of the coup in Niger," the paper said.

Critics say the 2015 law forced migrants to divert to more dangerous routes through the Sahara desert to try to reach Europe and exposed the migrants to abuses by the Nigerien security forces.

Local media report that the repeal of the law has been welcomed in Niger and that migrant traffickers are planning to resume operations. Its implementation in 2016 had devastated the local economy in migrant hubs such as Agadez, Fakhry said.

"A number of people simply went out of a job in the region," said Fakhry. "So, smugglers, of course. People who were facilitating the travel and journey of migrants. But also, a bunch of people who benefited directly or indirectly from the presence of migrants. These are people who were preparing and selling food, people who were selling water, offering accommodation, any other kind of service to migrants."

Before the law's implementation, the Nigerien army had often accompanied migrant convoys through the desert and demanded their own cut of the profits.

"There might be an objective to return to the pre-2015 situation where migrant smuggling created revenues for the military and for the state," Fakhry said.

Analysts say several factors will determine how quickly the migrant flows could resume, including the situation in the migrants' countries of origin and in transit countries north of Niger. The EU and individual European states have struck deals with Tunisia and Libya to clamp down on irregular migration across the Mediterranean Sea.

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Readout of President Biden's Call with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan

December 07, 2023

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. The leaders discussed the latest developments in Gaza. The President reiterated his commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, and thanked His Majesty for Jordan's critical partnership in this effort. The President and King Abdullah affirmed their commitment to work together and with other regional partners to set the conditions for a durable and sustainable peace in the Middle East to include the establishment of a Palestinian state. The President expressed appreciation to the King for Jordan's role in promoting regional stability and confirmed unwavering U.S. support for Jordan and the Jordanian people.

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Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate regarding the War Powers Report

December 07, 2023

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Madam President:)

I am providing this supplemental consolidated report, prepared by my Administration and consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148), as part of my efforts to keep the Congress informed about deployments of United States Armed Forces equipped for combat.

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN SUPPORT OF UNITED STATES COUNTERTERRORISM EFFORTS

In furtherance of counterterrorism efforts, the United States continues to work with partners around the globe, with a particular focus on the United States Central and Africa Commands' areas of responsibility. In this context, the United States has deployed forces to conduct counterterrorism operations and to advise, assist, and accompany security forces of select foreign partners on counterterrorism operations. In the majority of these locations, the mission of United States military personnel is to facilitate counterterrorism operations of foreign partner forces and does not include routine engagement in combat. In many of these locations, the security environment is such that United States military personnel may be required to defend themselves against threats or attacks, and, to that end, the United States may deploy United States military personnel with weapons and other appropriate equipment for force protection. Specific information about counterterrorism deployments to select countries is provided below, and a classified annex to this report provides further information.

Military Operations Conducted Pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and in Support of Related United States Counterterrorism Objectives

Since October 7, 2001, United States Armed Forces, including Special Operations Forces, have conducted counterterrorism combat operations, including against al-Qa'ida and associated forces. Since August 2014, these operations have included targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which was formerly known as al-Qa'ida in Iraq. In support of these and other overseas operations, the United States has deployed combat-equipped forces to several locations in the United States Central, European, Africa, Southern, and Indo-Pacific Commands' areas of responsibility. Such operations and deployments have been reported previously, consistent with Public Law 107-40, Public Law 107-243, the War Powers Resolution, and other statutes. These ongoing operations, which the United States has carried out with the assistance of numerous international partners, have been successful in seriously degrading ISIS capabilities in Syria and Iraq. If necessary, in response to terrorist threats, I will direct additional measures to protect the people and interests of the United States. It is not possible to know at this time the precise scope or the duration of the deployments of United States Armed Forces that are or will be necessary to counter terrorist threats to the United States.

Afghanistan. United States military personnel remain postured outside Afghanistan to address threats to the United States homeland and United States interests that may arise from inside Afghanistan.

Iraq and Syria. As part of a comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS, United States Armed Forces are working by, with, and through local partners to conduct operations against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria and against al-Qa'ida in Syria to limit the potential for resurgence of these groups and to mitigate threats to the United States homeland. A small presence of United States Armed Forces remains in strategically significant locations in Syria to conduct operations, in partnership with local, vetted ground forces, to address continuing terrorist threats emanating from Syria. United States Armed Forces in Iraq continue to advise, assist, and enable select elements of the Iraqi security forces, including Iraqi Kurdish security forces. United States Armed Forces also provide limited support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission in Iraq. United States Armed Forces, as part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, remain present in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq.

As reported on October 27, 2023, November 10, 2023, and November 14, 2023, I directed United States forces to conduct precision strikes on October 26, 2023, November 8, 2023, and November 12, 2023, against facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC-affiliated groups for command and control, munitions storage, training, weapons storage, and other purposes. As reported on November 22, 2023, I directed United States forces to conduct discrete strikes on the night of November 21, 2023, against facilities in Iraq used by the IRGC and IRGC-affiliated groups for command and control, logistics, and other purposes. These strikes followed attacks against United States personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria that threatened the lives of United States personnel and Coalition forces operating alongside United States forces, and that were perpetrated by the IRGC and militia groups affiliated with the IRGC. A United States contractor suffered a fatal cardiac incident while moving to shelter during one of these attacks. I directed these discrete military actions consistent with my responsibility to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive and to conduct United States foreign relations.

Arabian Peninsula Region. A small number of United States military personnel are deployed to Yemen to conduct operations against al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS. The United States military continues to work closely with the Republic of Yemen government and regional partner forces to degrade the terrorist threat posed by those groups.

United States Armed Forces, in a non-combat role, continue to provide military advice and limited information to the Saudi-led Coalition for defensive and training purposes only as they relate to territorial defense. Such support does not involve United States Armed Forces in hostilities with the Houthis for the purposes of the War Powers Resolution.

United States Armed Forces are deployed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to protect United States forces and interests in the region against hostile action by Iran and Iran-backed groups. These forces, operating in coordination with the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, provide air and missile defense capabilities and support the operation of United States military aircraft. The total number of United States forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is approximately 2,088.

Jordan. At the request of the Government of Jordan, approximately 3,188 United States military personnel are deployed to Jordan to support Defeat-ISIS operations, to enhance Jordan's security, and to promote regional stability.

Lebanon. At the request of the Government of Lebanon, approximately 76 United States military personnel are deployed to Lebanon to enhance the government's counterterrorism capabilities and to support the counterterrorism operations of Lebanese security forces.

Turkey. United States Armed Forces remain deployed to Turkey, at the Turkish government's request, to support Defeat-ISIS operations and to enhance Turkey's security.

East Africa Region. United States Armed Forces continue to counter the terrorist threat posed by ISIS and al-Shabaab, an associated force of al-Qa'ida. Since the last periodic report, United States Armed Forces have conducted a number of airstrikes in Somalia against al-Shabaab in defense of our Somali partner forces. United States Armed Forces remain prepared to conduct airstrikes in Somalia against ISIS and al-Shabaab terrorists. United States military personnel conduct periodic engagements in Somalia to train, advise, and assist regional forces, including Somali and African Union Transition Mission in Somalia forces, in connection with counterterrorism operations. United States military personnel are deployed to Kenya to support counterterrorism operations in East Africa. United States military personnel continue to partner with the Government of Djibouti, which has permitted use of Djiboutian territory for basing of United States Armed Forces. United States military personnel remain deployed to Djibouti, including for purposes of staging for counterterrorism and counter-piracy operations in the vicinity of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and to provide contingency support for embassy security augmentation in East Africa, as necessary.

Lake Chad Basin and Sahel Region. United States military personnel in the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel Region continue to conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations and to provide support to African and European partners conducting counterterrorism operations in the region, including by advising, assisting, and accompanying these partner forces. Approximately 648 United States military personnel remain deployed to Niger.

Cuba. United States Armed Forces continue to conduct humane and secure detention operations for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, under the authority provided by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), as informed by the law of war. There are 30 such detainees as of the date of this report.

Philippines. United States military personnel deployed to the Philippines are providing support to the counterterrorism operations of the armed forces of the Philippines.

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN EGYPT IN SUPPORT OF THE MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND OBSERVERS

Approximately 416 United States military personnel are assigned to or are supporting the United States contingent of the Multinational Force and Observers, which have been present in Egypt since 1981.

UNITED STATES AND NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO

The United States continues to contribute forces to the Kosovo Force (KFOR), led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in cooperation with local authorities, bilateral partners, and international institutions, to deter renewed hostilities in Kosovo. Approximately 578 United States military personnel are among KFOR's approximately 4,487 personnel.

UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES IN NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION COUNTRIES

Approximately 80,000 United States Armed Forces personnel are assigned or deployed to North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries in Europe, including those deployed to reassure our allies and to deter further Russian aggression.

I have directed the participation of United States Armed Forces in all of the above-described operations pursuant to my constitutional and statutory authority as Commander in Chief and as Chief Executive (including the authority to carry out Public Law 107-40, Public Law 107-243, and other statutes), as well as my constitutional and statutory authority to conduct the foreign relations of the United States. Officials of my Administration and I communicate regularly with congressional leadership, relevant congressional committees, and other Members of Congress with regard to these deployments, and we will continue to do so.

Sincerely,

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Readout of White House Meeting with Israel's Chair of the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children

December 07, 2023

Yesterday, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, as well as other senior officials from the Gender Policy Council and the National Security Council, met with Dr. Cochav Elyakam-Levy, Chair of Israel's Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children. From the earliest days of the conflict, the Biden-Harris Administration has been deeply concerned by the horrific reports of sexual violence used by Hamas against Israeli women and children as part of the October 7 attacks. As President Biden has again underscored, the world cannot look away from the accounts by survivors and witnesses detailing the brutality of that day.

During the meeting, Dr. Elyakam-Levy spoke about her work to gather testimony and document evidence of the events of October 7 and develop a comprehensive accounting of gender-based violence committed by Hamas. The group discussed the imperative to unequivocally denounce sexual violence by Hamas, and the need for broad commitment across the international community to hold perpetrators accountable and support survivors. Director Klein reiterated the President's commitment to exercising all financial, diplomatic and legal tools to address sexual violence in conflict, and the ongoing efforts by the Administration to secure the release of the women and girls that continue to be held as hostages by Hamas.

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Readout of National Security Advisor to the Vice President Phil Gordon's Meeting with Families of Hostages Held in Gaza

December 07, 2023

As part of his travel to Israel and the West Bank, National Security Advisor to the Vice President Dr. Phil Gordon met in Israel on December 6 with families of Israeli hostages currently held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Dr. Gordon heard about the agonizing ordeal of the hostages and their families, and expressed the steadfast support of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the entire Biden-Harris Administration. Dr. Gordon emphasized that the Biden-Harris Administration will relentlessly pursue every effort to secure the release of all hostages. He assured the families that the well-being of the hostages remains front and center in our diplomatic conversations and emphasized our continued commitment to work with Israel, Qatar, and Egypt to reach a new deal to secure the release of hostages.

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USAG Ansbach welcomes the "Big Red One" back to Storck Barracks

By Jacqueline Haderlein December 8, 2023

ILLESHEIM, Germany (December 7, 2023) -- In late October, U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Ansbach welcomed the 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade (601st ASB) for their nine-month rotation from Fort Riley, Kansas at Storck Barracks.

Members of the "Hellions" Battalion and the "Demon" Brigade arrived in Illesheim, ready to assume their duties as the newest rotational unit at the kaserne in Middle Franconia. Just prior to the Transfer of Authority from the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, the troops assembled at the Bunch Fitness Center for multiple in-processing briefings and gained valuable guidance for their deployment in Germany.

"The welcome brief for the new Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF) stationed at Storck Barracks builds a mutual trust and understanding for all Soldiers to understand how each garrison agency supports the individual Soldier, NCO, Officer and Battalion during their deployment," said Marcell Wright, Storck Site Operations Lead. "This also allows the Soldier to build relationships with garrison agencies and partners while also building confidence knowing that they will be supported while performing their assigned tasks."

During the in-processing briefs, more than 20 garrison facilities and support organizations introduced their services and briefed the audience on how they will support the troops during their stay in Germany.

"The RAF welcome briefs presented to our Soldiers was a great introduction to the USAG Ansbach area," stated Lt. Col. Andrew Eggers, commander of the 601st ASB.

The 601st ASB Soldiers also had the opportunity to address more specific questions or needs directly to the subject matter experts after the briefing at the individual welcome tables. Among the garrison attendees were representatives from the garrison's Anti-Terrorism and Operations Security teams, the Army Substance Abuse Program, Army Community Service, the Education Center, the Directorate of Public Works and other garrison support organizations like the USO and Department of Defense Community Bank.

During this brief the Military Personnel Division (MPD) also discussed important tips and tricks for the abundant travel opportunities throughout Europe, including an important reminder regarding crossing borders.

"Remember, a valid tourist passport is required for all leisure travel outside of Germany," the chief of MPD, Gary Beatty, enthusiastically informed the Soldiers. Beatty also pointed out that "orders and CAC Cards only allow the Soldiers to be in Germany, but it is not sufficient to explain to Border Control or Police their presence in another country."

While the Ansbach-based team had previous opportunities to welcome the "Big Red One" to Storck Barracks during their rotations in the past, these briefings are crucial for each new RAF unit rotation. As available services may change or expand over time. the individual needs of the Soldiers are also constantly evolving and changing.

"The event equipped our Soldiers with the tools and resources necessary to reduce many of the stressors that come with a deployment and allow us to continue building a strong relationship between the Rotational Aviation Forces and the wonderful community around us," added Lt. Col. Eggers.

xxx

The U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach military community is located in the Franconian region of Bavaria and is spread across six sites and nine kasernes dispersed around the city of Ansbach and the village of Illesheim. Today, Ansbach is home to the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, the community's largest tenant unit, as well as the 7th Engineer Brigade, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. The garrison takes pride in supporting more than 10,000 Soldiers, civilians, family members, and retirees working and living in the Ansbach area.

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Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) on December 8 morning hosts a welcome ceremony for his Belarusian counterpart Roman Golovchenko. (Photo: VNA)

This is the first time PM Golovchenko has visited Vietnam since he took office in 2020. It takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 31st founding anniversary of their diplomatic relations (1992 - 2023) and the 66th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's first visit to Minsk (1957 - 2023).

At the welcome ceremony, the two leaders inspected the guard of honour, and visited a photo exhibition featuring the land and people of Vietnam and Belarus, and their good relations, jointly held by the Government Office and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). After that, the PMs held talks.

While in Vietnam, PM Golovchenko is also scheduled to meet high-ranking leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State to exchange views on ways to enhance the bilateral relationship in the time ahead, making it more intensive, extensive, practical and effective, along with other issues of shared concern. He will also visit some Vietnamese localities.

Vietnam and Belarus set up diplomatic ties in January 1992. Belarus opened its embassy in Vietnam in 1998, and Vietnams embassy was set up in Belarus five years later.

The two countries have maintained regular delegation exchanges and meetings at all levels. They have also effectively implemented existing cooperation mechanisms and areas, and closely cooperated and supported each other at the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other international forums and organisations.

Two-way trade reached nearly 114 million USD last year. Currently, Belarus is running three investment projects in Vietnam worth 32.2 million USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam has an investment project in Belarus with total capital of 810,000 USD.

The bilateral socio-economic, cultural, security, and defence cooperation has been constantly consolidated and strengthened, contributing to the stable and sustainable development of each nation./.
Canada announces sanctions in response to long-standing human rights violations

Global Affairs Canada

News release

December 8, 2023 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing sanctions against seven individuals under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Regulations for human rights violations.

As we prepare to mark International Human Rights Day, Canada is imposing these sanctions in coordination with the United Kingdom and United States to condemn individuals who are responsible for, or complicit in, various human rights violations related to the LGBTQI+ purge in Chechnya, the torture and killing of Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran and attacks against pro-democracy supporters and civilians in Myanmar. These sanctioned individuals are directly responsible for a list of crimes that include extrajudicial killings, torture and other gross violations of human rights against activists and defenders who dared to stand up for their rights.

Canada is deeply concerned with these long-standing human rights violations and the impunity enjoyed by the individuals who committed them. By imposing these measures, we are reaffirming our commitment to foster an effective rules-based international order and to join forces with likeminded governments to uphold respect for human rights and democracy.

Quotes

"Human rights are the foundation of democracy. Canada will continue to work with its international partners to ensure that the voices of human rights defenders are heard and to pursue accountability for those responsible for undermining democracy, supressing media freedom and committing other gross human rights violations." - Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Quick facts

Canada has imposed four rounds of sanctions under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act against a total of 73 foreign nationals since the law was created in 2017.

The Chechen officials targeted by these sanctions are responsible for conducting an LGBTQI+ purge, which includes the kidnapping of suspected homosexuals. They also used arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings, and humiliation tactics in an attempt to identify other homosexual men in Chechnya. Since 2017, Chechen security forces have targeted more than 200 individuals for their perceived sexual orientation, which has been condemned regularly by Human Rights Watch, Russian human rights organizations, an OSCE Special Rapporteur, and other human rights organizations. With Russia's November 30th decision to declare the "international LGBT movement" as an "extremist organization, the crackdown and the severity of persecution is likely to intensify across the Russian Federation.

Canada is imposing sanctions against two Iranian officials who were involved in the death of Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi. Kazemi was arrested, arbitrarily detained and brutally tortured in Tehran in June 2003 for taking pictures of family members of students arrested and detained in Evin prison, despite holding a government-issued press card. Shortly after her arrest, she died from injuries sustained during her imprisonment.

The Myanmar national targeted by today's sanctions is Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar armed forces and leader of the military coup d'etat which deposed the democratically elected civilian government in February 2021. He has openly committed to eradicating all opponents and those advocating for a peaceful, democratic Myanmar. Under his full command, the Myanmar military regime has ordered the targeting of civilians, clearance operations, mass killings of civilians via airstrikes, and attacks on civilian infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, places of worship, places of refugee and shelter, and civil administration.

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Backgrounder: Sanctions in response to long-standing human rights violations in Russia, Iran and Myanmar

Global Affairs Canada

Backgrounder

Effective immediately, Canada is imposing sanctions against seven individuals who are responsible for, or complicit in, various human rights violations in Russia, Iran and Myanmar.

Canadian measures

The Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act provides for the taking of restrictive measures in respect of well-documented cases where foreign nationals are responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.

The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.

The names of the Russian nationals who are responsible for, or complicit in, various human rights violations related to the LGBTQI+ purge in Chechnya who are added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

Magomed Khozhakhmedovich Daudov Apti Aronovich Alaudinov Ayub Vakhaevich Kataev Abuzayed Dzhandarovich Vismuradov

The names of the Iranian nationals who are responsible for, or complicit in the torture and killing of Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran and who are added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

Saeed Mortazavi Mohammad Bakhshi

The name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar armed forces and leader of the 2021 military coup d'etat responsible for attacks against pro-democracy supporters and civilians in Myanmar and who is added to the schedule of these regulations is the following:

Min Aung Hlaing

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U.S., Japan ships complete bilateral exercise in Gulf of Aden

U.S. Central Command

Dec. 8, 2023

Carrier Strike Group Two (CSG-2)

GULF OF ADEN - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Murasame-class destroyer FS Akebono (DD 108) conducted bilateral exercise in the Gulf of Aden, Nov. 25.

Meeting at sea, the ships practiced a range of surface warfare events, including visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS), helicopter deck landing qualifications (DLQ), divisional tactics (DIVTACs), and personnel exchanges.

"Mason and Akebono sailing together demonstrated our shared resolve to maintain freedom of the high seas and open sea lines of communication," said Cmdr. Justin B. Smith, Mason's commanding officer. "Our combined presence sends a strong message to those who would challenge us as we continue to support global security."

Rendezvousing with partners and allies at sea allows the U.S. Navy to operate closely with other navies and in ways shore exercises do not allow. It further provides the crews with real-world situations and hands-on training to practice everyday watchstanding and communication skills with foreign navies.

An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, attached to the "Swamp Foxes" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, deployed aboard Mason, performed DLQs on the Japanese destroyer. The personnel exchange included the cross-decking crewmembers between Mason and Akebono via a small boat, where they toured each other's ship, interacted with one another, and ate lunch with the crew, increasing cultural understanding.

"We enjoyed meaningful conversation and are all looking forward to working with the crew of Akebono again in the future," said Lt. Mitchell Kempisty, Mason's Operations Officer, who visited Akebono.

The DIVTACs included coordinated tactical maneuvering at close quarters, meant to hone communication skills and techniques for the ships operating with one another. Mason's VBSS team briefed Akebono's team on boarding procedures, tactical movements, and lessons learned from operational experiences, which will assist both countries in improving international maritime security in the region.

Mason departed its homeport of Mayport, Florida, on Oct. 13 for a scheduled deployment. As a part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG), Mason is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East.

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water space and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al-Mandeb.

For more information about Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, head to Facebook (/CSGTWO & /TheCVN69); Instagram (@CarrierStrikeGroupTwo & @TheCVN69); LinkedIn (Carrier-Strike-Group-TWO).



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Secretary General makes official visit to Azerbaijan

Council of Europe

Secretary General

Strasbourg

8 December 2023

Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric has met the President of Azerbaijan and other key personalities during an official visit to the country. During her meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, the Secretary General highlighted the relevance of joint co-operation, emphasising the Organisation's ongoing support through the Council of Europe Action Plan for Azerbaijan 2022-2025 and Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).

Marija Pejcinovic Buric welcomed the recent dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia on a draft peace treaty, which can act as a blueprint for stability in the region. She also welcomed the recent joint statement of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.

The meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Jeyhun Bayramov focused on the follow-up to the Reykjavik Summit and the Council of Europe support to the reform efforts. Developments in the Karabakh region and the Organisation's support in this context, notably in light of the European Convention on Human Rights, were also discussed. An exchange of views with the Speaker of Milli Mejlis (National Assembly) Sahiba Gafarova also took place. During the meeting, the Secretary General stressed the importance of constructive parliamentary co-operation to advance the Council of Europe's values and standards.

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Guatemala: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the latest developments in Guatemala

European External Action Service (EEAS)

08.12.2023

EEAS Press Team

The European Union unequivocally condemns today's attempts to nullify the results of the general and presidential elections in Guatemala, based on spurious allegations of fraud.

An EU Election Observation Mission observed the entire electoral process, at the invitation of the Guatemalan authorities. It concluded that the elections were transparent and well organised, and found no basis whatsoever to allege fraud. Other international and national election observation missions reached similar conclusions. Bernardo Arevalo of the Movimiento Semilla (MS) party emerged as the indisputable winner. This outcome was officially certified by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the highest electoral authority in the country.

Today's events are the culmination of efforts that have been unfolding over the past month, and that have been denounced by the EU and other international partners. These latest actions and statements of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Guatemala represent an attempt at a coup d'etat, spearheaded by politically motivated prosecutors. They constitute a violation of Guatemala's constitution, the rule of law, the electoral process and the most basic principles of a democracy, including the fundamental principle of the separation of powers. They show contempt for the clear will of Guatemala's citizens as expressed at the ballot box on 25 June and 20 August. Accountability should be sought for those obstructing a democratic transition.

These continued attempts to overturn the outcome of the elections will have a strong negative impact on Guatemala's relations with the EU. The EU has agreed in principle and is ready to adopt a framework allowing for targeted restrictive measures against those responsible for these actions. The EU calls on the Guatemalan authorities to defend the electoral process, the constitutional order of the country, its international reputation, and the rule of law by rejecting these unacceptable attempts to overturn the outcome of the elections.

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EU announces 125 million in initial humanitarian aid for Palestinians for 2024

European Commission

Press release

8 December 2023

Brussels

As the humanitarian situation continues to worsen in the Middle East, the Commission will provide 125 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in 2024. This new funding will support humanitarian organisations working in both Gaza and the West Bank.

In Gaza , where the humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, the focus will be on life-saving emergency response, and restoring access to basic needs like water, food, healthcare, shelter, and sanitation. The humanitarian response will also prioritise the protection of the most vulnerable groups, psychosocial support and education in emergencies.

, where the humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, the focus will be on life-saving emergency response, and restoring access to basic needs like water, food, healthcare, shelter, and sanitation. The humanitarian response will also prioritise the protection of the most vulnerable groups, psychosocial support and education in emergencies. In the West Bank, where many Palestinian communities are at risk of displacement, or already forcibly displaced, EU-funded humanitarian projects will provide protection services, such as legal aid or material assistance to people affected by settler violence, confiscation of private property or loss of livelihoods, and will support their access to basic services and education in emergencies.

EU-funded humanitarian assistance is provided in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. It is delivered through the UN humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organisations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as many local aid organisations partnering with them.

With each passing day, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens. In response, the Commission has rapidly mobilised its wide set of emergency response tools. With a total of 30 humanitarian air bridge flights organised, already 1000 tonnes of assistance have been sent to the people in need in Gaza.

Background

The EU has been providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need since 2000, supporting people affected by emergencies and shocks.

The full-scale military operation, following the Hamas terror attack of 7 October, along with the complete siege on Gaza imposed by the Israeli Government, has brought the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza to a catastrophic level for the 2.2 million population.

In response to the escalation of violence in the Middle East, European Commission quadrupled its humanitarian funding. This brought the total of humanitarian funding allocated to Palestinians in 2023 to 103 million.

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Finland to re-establish Permanent Representation to Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland

Press releases, 8.12.2023

Finland is currently preparing for its chairpersonship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2025. As part of the preparations, Finland will reinstate the OSCE delegation, which operates in conjunction with the Embassy of Finland in Vienna, as Permanent Representation as of 1 January 2024.

This is a change in the status of an existing mission. The costs will be financed from the Ministry's current spending limits.

At the same time, the position of the Head of Mission will change into Permanent Representative, which better reflects the demands of the post and the situation in several peer countries.

"A well-functioning multilateral system is in Finland's interests. Our goal for the 2025 chairpersonship is to strengthen the OSCE as the world's largest security organisation. We are preparing for the chairpersonship in a challenging situation, where one participating State is waging a large-scale war of aggression against another," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen.

Finland has had missions to the OSCE under different names since 1973. The first OSCE mission was established in Vienna in 1986, and it became Permanent Representation in 1995. In 2013, Permanent Representation was changed into an OSCE delegation and merged into the Embassy in Vienna.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security organisation comprising all the countries of Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as the United States and Canada.

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G7 hyping of South China Sea issue part of anti-China cognitive warfare: expert

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Dec 08, 2023 12:03 AM Updated: Dec 08, 2023 12:41 AM

Hyping of the South China Sea issue by the Group of Seven (G7) is just the same old tune, which has become a part of the carefully planned cognitive warfare against China, an expert said on Thursday in response to the G7's latest statement on China's military activities in the South China Sea.

After a virtual meeting attended by G7 members' heads of state on Wednesday, the bloc released a statement, in which it claimed to oppose China's militarization activities in the South China Sea and mentioned the so-called South China Sea arbitration.

The G7 has kept hyping the South China Sea issue with a more coordinated position under US leadership. They try to influence the international community and the Chinese public to force the Chinese government to change its foreign policy, Chen Xiangmiao, director of the world navy research center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Chen said such hyping also sent a misleading message to the Philippines, encouraging it to stir up trouble. The US has played a role of instigating and supporting the Philippines' infringement, escalating maritime tensions, Chen said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has also emphasized that China's position on the so-called South China Sea arbitration and the award is consistent, clear and firm. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on this on July 12, 2016, in which it noted the Arbitral Tribunal violated the principle of state consent, exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and rendered an award in disregard of the law. This is a grave violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law.

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Norway, Finland and South Korea have all signed an agreement to enhance Norwegian defence capabilities.

Government of Norway

News story | Date: 08/12/2023

Both Norway and Finland have purchased the K9 artillery system from South Korea. The signing of this agreement facilitates an easier collaboration between Norway and Finland when it comes to the shipment of spare parts between the two nations, all without the need for an approval from South Korea. - This agreement will aid in the enhancement of Norwegian and Finnish defence capabilities in the north, states Defence minister Bjrn Arild Gram (SP).

-The direct results of this agreement are that artillery vehicles will be operational in a shorter span of time. This will aid our defence capabilities and leave us less vulnerable. We will continue our work in arranging similar agreements such as this with other nations that deliver weapon systems to Nordic states. Here, South Korea has taken the lead, states the Minister of Defence.

Collaboration on maintenance of artillery

Finland and Norway have a longstanding history of collaboration when it comes to the maintenance of K9 systems. Before the signing of this new agreement, the procedure was bureaucratic, comprehensive, and time-consuming. A signed application had to be mailed to South Korea before any reserved parts could be moved between Norway and Finland. Now the two nations can simply send a report, after the spare parts have been delivered. The agreement allows our two nations to freely transfer spare parts between the countries, even though this involves military material, where restrictions are typically imposed by the originating nation, South Korea.

-Now that Finland is a member of NATO, our collaboration is more important than ever, and this arrangement will further enhance our defence capabilities, states the minister.

Long lasting logistic collaboration with Finland

Finland and Norway have several common equipment and weapon systems. Sharing information, experiences, and services provides operational advantages. Collaboration will be further developed in the years to come.

-When Sweden becomes a member of NATO, the cooperation between our countries enters a new phase. Anything that contributes to simplifying and facilitating collaboration across borders is crucial for preparedness. Now, the work continues to identify additional opportunities for simplification. At the same time, the Defense will collaborate even more closely with Finland on the K9 and other shared equipment systems," concludes the Minister of Defense.

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Norway urges the Security Council to act in Gaza

Government of Norway

News story | Date: 08/12/2023

Yesterday, the UN Secretary-General sent a letter to the Security Council in which he explicitly invokes Article 99 of the UN Charter. Article 99 gives the Secretary-General the authority to bring to the attention of the Security Council situations he believes threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.

'Norway fully supports Secretary General Guterres' initiative and message. The message is very serious and reflects the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Security Council must act and now agree on a humanitarian ceasefire. The Secretary-General's decision to take this rare step cannot be interpreted in any other way than that he is now sounding the alarm about what is unfolding in the Middle East', said Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

In his letter to the Security Council, Antonio Guterres describes a health system that is collapsing. That nowhere in Gaza is safe. And that the humanitarian situation is now so serious that it risks threatening peace and security.

'The letter and the invocation of Article 99 is a diplomatic alarm from the UN Secretary General. The Security Council and the international community should listen. The Secretary General's call to the international community is clear: we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to prevent further escalation', said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In the letter the Secretary General reiterates the immediate need for a humanitarian ceasefire, to protect civilians and ensure that sufficient humanitarian aid reaches people in need in Gaza.

'We have been clear in our statements: a humanitarian ceasefire must be put in place as soon as possible. Civilians must be protected. Humanitarian aid must arrive. The hostages must be released. It is mainly Israel that must do more to ensure that larger amounts of humanitarian aid can arrive, but Hamas must also facilitate this. This is a responsibility that clearly falls on the parties under humanitarian law', emphasized Espen Barth Eide.

Two months ago, Norway warned against the consequences of a near full blockade for Gaza's civilian population. Since then, very little food, medicine and other vital supplies have arrived. Almost half of the buildings in Gaza are either damaged or in ruins.

'There are no safe places in Gaza, and no safe places to flee to. The consequences for the civilian population cannot be described as anything other than catastrophic', said Eide.

Facts about the use of Article 99

The UN Secretary General may draw the attention of the Security Council to any matter which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.

The article is rarely used, and in practice there is a high threshold for the Secretary-General to invoke article 99.

It has not been explicitly used since the Cold War. The article was last used in 1989, on the situation in Lebanon.

This is the first time Antonio Guterres has used this option during his term as Secretary-General.

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No longer any obstacle to sanction Rosatom since Ukraine deprives it of its monopoly on nuclear fuel market  Energoatom head

Ukraine, by depriving Russia of its monopoly on fuel for nuclear power plants on the European market, has provided the opportunity for Europe to impose sanctions on it in the field of nuclear energy, President of National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom Petro Kotin has said.

"Ukraine became the first country to break Russia's monopoly on the fuel market, starting to replace its fuel with U.S. fuel from Westinghouse, first in VVER-1000 reactors, and now in VVER-440. There are 16 such reactors in Europe, and today, our European partners, there are no arguments against imposing sanctions on Russia. Previously, this argument was that we cannot impose sanctions because there will be no fuel for nuclear power plants. There is fuel. This is a big event, Russia's monopoly has been broken, and sanctions can be imposed," Kotin said during the United News national telethon.

As he said, Russia at one time achieved success in the nuclear technology market because it had been dumping its own services for a long time.

"As a result of this, it made European countries dependent on their technology, their uranium and nuclear fuel, but now this dependence is no longer there," Kotin said.

He said that sanctions would be the first step towards limiting the Russian state corporation Rosatom's access to the European market and receiving funds from working on it.

As reported, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, during meetings with U.S. senators in Washington in November, noted the need to impose sanctions against Rosatom and deprive it of the opportunity to use the nuclear technologies of the aggressor country.

In September 2023, Ukraine for the first time loaded Westinghouse nuclear fuel into the VVER-440 reactor at the Rivne NPP. U.S. fuel will work in the reactor core with Russian fuel, followed by its complete replacement.

Initially, the project for the start of Westinghouse fuel operation was planned to be launched in 2025, but after the start of full-scale Russian aggression, it was possible to significantly reduce the production time of this fuel in Sweden.

Thus, Energoatom became the first energy generating company in the world to operate reactors of Soviet design, but to implement a project to diversify nuclear fuel for VVER-1000 and VVER-440 reactors.
Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari December 8th, 20:15

IDF Press Release

Press Briefing

08.12.23

IDF

Good evening and Shabbat shalom.

Tonight, during an operation in the Gaza Strip to rescue hostages from Hamas, two IDF soldiers were seriously injured. The forces raided a Hamas hideout and eliminated terrorists involved in the kidnapping and holding of the hostages. The families of the injured soldiers have been notified. We did not rescue any hostages in this operation. We will continue to act through various avenues - both operational and intelligence avenues, together with the ISA. We will do everything to bring all the hostages home and to obtain information about them. IDF representatives are in constant communication with the families of the hostages and update them with all the reliable information available regarding their loved ones.

The current stage of fighting involves intense fighting on the ground. Our forces are operating in the heart of Hamas' strongholds, simultaneously operating in both the south and the north of the Gaza Strip - in Jabalya, Shuja'iyya, and in the Khan Yunis area. The forces are operating professionally and courageously in complex areas that are laden with many explosives. We are conducting fierce battles with Hamas terrorists that are hiding underground but are emerging from the tunnels due to our forces' operations, leading to battles and to the killing of terrorists.

We are eliminating many terrorists, and increasingly are seeing terrorists who surrender during battle and turn themselves over to our forces. In the last 48 hours, we apprehended more than two hundred suspects, dozens of whom were transferred to the 504 Unit of the Intelligence Corps and to the ISA for investigation in Israel. Amongst the suspects transferred for investigation are Hamas commanders and Nukhba terrorists. Their investigation assists the continued operations of the forces in the field.

In the north, early this morning, we eliminated a terrorist cell in the Har Dov area. An observation soldier identified an armed terrorist cell and directed a UAV which successfully struck the cell. Throughout the day, we struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanese territory and responded with fire to locations from which shots were fired into our territory. Earlier, shots were fired towards an IDF position.

This evening, the ninth sabbath of the war and the second candle of Hanukkah - IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza and defending its borders will observe the sabbath in the operational field. They are fighting bravely and courageously in Gaza and defending all of our borders so that we can live here with security. I want to wish all IDF soldiers in the field a peaceful Shabbat and a happy holiday.

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Iran's FM, Islamic Jihad chief discuss Gaza over phone

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 8, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Ziad Nakhale, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, discussed the latest developments in Palestine in a telephone conversation.

During the phone call, Amirabdollahian informed Nakhale about the latest diplomatic measures by the Islamic Republic in supporting the Palestinian people, including the talks between the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the President of Russia in Moscow.

Amirabdollahian also stressed the need for immediate and effective action by the international community and responsible international institutions to stop the war crimes of the Zionist regime.

The Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also thanked the Islamic-Arab efforts and the movements of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and presented a report on the latest developments in the field and the full readiness of the Palestinian resistance groups to face the barbaric attacks of the Zionist regime and defend the people of Gaza.

2050

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Amirabdollahian, Ismail Haniyeh talk about Palestine

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 8, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Head of Political Bureau of Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas Ismail Haniyeh in a telephone conversation discussed the latest political and field developments in Palestine, as well as the continuation of the Zionist regime's barbaric attack on the Gaza Strip, were discussed.

During the phone conversation, Haniyeh discussed the latest diplomatic actions and movements of the Islamic and Arab countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the international arena in support of the Palestinian people and condemned the war crimes of the Zionist regime and stopping the brutal killing of citizens in Gaza and also West Bank.

Iran's foreign minister appreciated the action of the Secretary General of the United Nations in correspondence with the Security Council based on Article 99 of the United Nations Charter and described it as a rare and valuable action to establish peace and security in the world.

Amirabdollahian called the Gaza crisis one of the important topics of the talks between Iran's President Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and emphasized that important talks have been held between the presidents of Iran and Russia on the issue of Palestine.

Haniyeh also thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for its well-known and stable positions in support of the Palestinian nation and the extensive diplomatic efforts of the republic in the regional and international arena in order to end the crimes of the Zionists against the Palestinian nation, the latest situation in Gaza.

He described the ongoing crimes and killing of civilians by the Zionist regime.

Haniyeh stressed that with God's help, the resistance will continue until the Zionist crimes are stopped and the occupation of Palestine is completely removed.

2050

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Iran FM warns about genocide, killing children in Gaza

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 8, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has warned about committing genocide and killing children in the Gaza enclave by the Zionist regime.

"Committing genocide and killing children, the use of prohibited weapons, blocking the access and flow of water, food, and medicine to Gaza and savagery in treating prisoners and innocent abducted citizens all illustrate that this apartheid and occupier regime is well outperforming and excelling Daesh in committing various types of murder and crime!" Amirabdollahian wrote on his account on the X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.

He added, "Failure to pay urgent and due attention to the warning of the UN Secretary-General in the light of continued support by the White House for the war crimes of the Israeli regime will culminate in the structural collapse of international organizations while threatening global peace and security and destroying human dignity."

"The defeat of the belligerent and genocidal policies of the US and Israel against Palestinians is assuredly in the offing," he noted.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra announced on Friday that the number of Palestinian martyrs in Gaza has risen to 17,487 since the beginning of the Zionist regime's invasion of the enclave on October 7, adding that 46,480 people have been injured in the Zionist regime's invasion of the Gaza.

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Iran, Russia urge immediate cessation of genocide in Gaza: FM

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 8, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that Iran and Russia called for immediate cessation of war and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.

Referring to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's one-day visit to Moscow, Amirabdollahian wrote in Farsi on his account on the X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday that Iran and Russian presidents held important talks and meetings in the Kremlin for five hours.

He added that a significant part of the negotiations focused on the Palestinian issue and Russia is thinking about an initiative on Gaza.

The two sides stressed the need for an immediate cessation of the war and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, he said, noting that the presidents of Iran and Russia also called for stopping the forced migration of Gazans and the immediate opening of the Rafah border to deliver massive humanitarian aid to Gazan people.

He underlined that the two sides discussed a range of bilateral issues in the meeting, and exchanged views on cooperation in the fields of monetary and banking sector, transportation, railways, power plant cooperation, agriculture, energy, scientific, academic, technology, tourism, industry as well as regional and international cooperation.

Iran, Russia urge immediate cessation of genocide in Gaza: FM

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The President expressed Lithuania's strong support for Moldova's Euro-integration

President of the Republic of Lithuania

December 08, 2023

On Friday, President Gitanas Nauseda had a telephone conversation with President Maia Sandu of Moldova to discuss Moldova's Euro-integration process.

During the conversation, the Head of State underlined Lithuania's consistent support for Moldova's integration into the European Union. Gitanas Nauseda stressed that the country has made significant progress in implementing reforms and the European Commission's recommendations, but all efforts towards progress have to continue, as the speed and success of the country's Euro-integration will depend on it. According to President Gitanas Nauseda, it is particularly important for Moldova to demonstrate progress in reforming the judicial system and in the fight against corruption and oligarchs. The President stressed that Lithuania is ready to continue sharing its experience in order to help Moldova strengthen the necessary capacities on the European integration path.

"Next week's European Council meeting is crucial for the future of both Moldova's and Ukraine's Euro-integration. It is essential to reach a consensus among EU leaders on the opening of accession negotiations with these countries without any additional conditions. This is a decision of geopolitical significance and of importance for the whole of Europe. We need to demonstrate political will and take a step towards a bigger and stronger EU," President Gitanas Nauseda added.

The President's Communication Group

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UN urges South Sudan to prioritize polls, humanitarian crisis in 2024

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:06, December 08, 2023

JUBA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday called on the government of South Sudan to quickly address issues related to elections, security concerns and humanitarian crises in 2024.

The government should fully fund and operationalize the elections and constitution-making bodies, said Guang Cong, the deputy special representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and Officer-in-Charge of UNMISS.

"We also called for dialogue amongst all leaders to address pending technical and operational decisions needed for the elections to take place on time," Guang told the plenary meeting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), which is monitoring South Sudan peace deal in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He underscored the importance of international partners, in particular the regional organizations, working with a shared purpose in the joint efforts to assist South Sudan's transition.

The envoy commended the progress achieved so far, adding that the timelines set in the roadmap are behind schedule, and with only 12 months left before elections, the options for practical compromises are diminishing, particularly concerning the type and scale of the elections, the constitution-making process and other important pending issues.

South Sudan is supposed to hold elections in December 2024 at the end of the current transitional period.

"We reiterate that military defections threaten and undermine trust between the parties. We also caution against the temptation towards unilateral actions and that the parties should take measures to de-escalate hostilities, using peaceful means to resolve disputes," Guang said of security.

He said with the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan is expected to deteriorate further in the coming year.

He said that more than 420,000 people had crossed the South Sudan border from Sudan as of Dec. 3.

"We urge the Government of South Sudan to provide much-needed safety and reintegration support to the returnees, refugees, and stateless persons who have sought refuge within its borders," he added.

The UN official noted that addressing the access impediments and supporting conditions for humanitarians to provide aid and services is also critical.

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UN school attacked by Israeli army in Gaza: UN agency

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:44, December 08, 2023

GAZA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Thursday accused the Israeli army of directly targeting a UN school-converted shelter in the Gaza Strip.

In a press statement to Xinhua, the UN agency said that its school in the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza was directly targeted by the Israeli army.

Three other schools serving as shelters in Gaza City and central Gaza were indirectly impacted by Israeli attacks on nearby areas, it noted.

The UNRWA also said its two employees were killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, bringing to 132 the total death toll of its employees killed since the start of the conflict in early October.

It said that it had completely evacuated displaced persons from five of its schools in towns in eastern Khan Younis Governorate after Israeli forces issued evacuation orders.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army ordered a 1-square-km area in the city of Khan Yunis for immediate evacuation, along with other active orders in various parts of the city.

So far about 25 percent of the city's area, with about 178,000 residents and an estimated 170,000 displaced people, has received evacuation orders, according to the UNRWA.

"More than 1.9 million people, approximately 85 percent of the population, have been displaced throughout the Gaza Strip, including about 1.2 million displaced people residing in 155 UNRWA facilities in all five governorates of the Strip, including the north and Gaza City," the UNRWA said.

The UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a press statement that a large hospital in southern Gaza, which houses more than 1,000 hospitalized patients and 17,000 displaced people, was at risk of being shut down due to a lack of supplies and insufficient workers.

He stressed that "there is no safe place in Gaza, whether in Rafah or anywhere in what is unilaterally called the safe zone," reiterating the call for a humanitarian ceasefire.

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Panchen Rinpoche concludes six-month tour of SW China's Xizang

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:36, December 08, 2023

LHASA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Panchen Erdeni Chos-kyi rGyal-po on Wednesday completed a six-month tour of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region that involved Buddhist and social activities.

During the tour, Panchen Rinpoche visited the cities of Qamdo, Lhasa and Xigaze, performing duties as the president of the Xizang branch of the Buddhist Association of China.

Panchen Rinpoche is also a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of the Buddhist Association of China.

Panchen Rinpoche began his tour on June 5 in Qamdo. After a 13-day visit to Qamdo, he arrived in Lhasa on June 18. On Sept. 12, he arrived at Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze.

Between Oct. 6 and Nov. 7, Panchen Rinpoche performed an ordination ceremony for Buddhist monks at Tashilhunpo Monastery. This was the first time he ordained monks of the monastery, which indicates that his Buddhist attainments and religious status have further improved.

During his stay in Xigaze, Panchen Rinpoche attended a series of Buddhist and social activities in various localities, giving head-touching blessings to a total of more than 45,000 Buddhists.

Head touching is a ceremony carried out by a living Buddha to bless believers who consider that it will help them avoid disasters.

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Hamas recounts gains: Rocket barrage on Tel Aviv, killing Israeli minister's son

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 10:37 PM

Hamas has recounted its most recent battleground gains against the Israeli military, which has brought the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian resistance movement is headquartered, under a ferocious war.

Speaking on Friday, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, which is Hamas' military wing, said the movement had unleashed "intensive rocket barrages" towards Tel Aviv and other targets across the occupied territories.

"They (resistance's fighters) also targeted Zionist forces and vehicles entrenched in their positions with anti-armor shells and anti-personnel explosives, clashed with them at point-blank range," the official said.

The confrontation, he added, had resulted in "inflicting confirmed deaths and injuries" among the enemy's ranks.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Abu Ubaida confirmed the complete or partial destruction of as many as 21 Israeli military vehicles across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.

The occupying regime launched the war on October 7 in response to an operation staged by Gaza's resistance groups, during which hundreds were taken captive from across the occupied territories.

Abu Ubaida went on to say that the resistance had managed to thwart an attempt by the Israeli military to rescue a captive soldier, which he named Saar Baruch. The enemy operation resulted in Baruch's death as well as the death and injury of several other captives "due to the barbaric bombing of Gaza areas," he added.

A day earlier, al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for killing Master Sergeant Gal Meer Eizenkot, son of Gadi Eizenkot, who is a current Israeli war cabinet minister and former chief of staff of the occupying regime.

Hamas has hailed that the Israeli regime has failed dismally to attain any of its declared battleground objectives, including the destruction of the resistance movement, the release of Israeli captives, and the permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

The movement has also vowed to keep up resistance until the end of the Israeli war and has asserted that it can withstand the regime's aggression for months.

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The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has appealed to the member states of the European Union and EU institutions to support the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

A total of 292 MPs backed resolution No. 10315 at a plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada on Saturday, Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of the European Solidarity parliamentary faction, said.

"The Verkhovna Rada appeals to the national parliaments and governments of the member states of the European Union, the institutions of the European Union and calls... to support Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union by deciding to open negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union during the meeting of the European Council on December 15, 2023," says the document.

MPs also called on EU members to increase military assistance to Ukraine both at the national level and within the framework of the European Peace Facility.
US blocks UN Security Council demand for ceasefire in Israel's genocidal war

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 10:09 PM

The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Israel's genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip despite mounting calls to stop the regime's atrocities.

On Friday, 13 Security Council members voted in favor of a draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained and the US vetoed it, isolating itself while sleiding Israel's aggression.

"Tonight, the UK refused to back a UN resolution for a ceasefire," said former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

"We mourn those who will die because their lives were deemed unworthy of protection. And we vow to keep demonstrating in solidarity with the Palestinian people to end the bombings, blockades and occupation," Corbyn added.

The vote came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres formally warned the 15-member council on Wednesday of a global threat from the two-month-long Israeli war against the defenseless people of Gaza.

"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" Deputy UAE UN Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood called the draft resolution an imbalanced text "that was divorced from reality."

"Although the United States strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war," Wood claimed.

Washinton's ally London abstained. Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country abstained because there was no condemnation of Hamas.

"Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such attack can never be carried out again," she told the council.

Guterres convened the meeting on the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the besieged Palestinian territory, two months after Israel launched its air and ground strikes on the besieged territory.

The brutal war has so far killed more than 17,487 people and left the territory in ruins.

Wood told the meeting that Washington does not support a ceasefire.

The General Assembly, where the US has no veto power, overwhelmingly supported a humanitarian ceasefire. On Oct. 26, the assembly approved the cease-fire with 120 votes in favor and only 14 against the non-binding resolution.

UN inaction makes it complicit in Gaza slaughter: MSF

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Friday that the council is "complicit in the ongoing slaughter" in the Gaza Strip through inaction and vetoes.

The charity said that "the inaction of the United Nations Security Council and vetoes from member states, particularly the United States, make them complicit in the ongoing slaughter; this inaction has given license to the mass killing of men, women and children."

The meeting was convened after Guterres activated Article 99  a step no one in his post has taken for decades.

The article allows the secretary general to bring to the council's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, also rejected calls for a ceasefire as he addressed the Security Council.

Erdan once again threatened that the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has to be "eliminated."

Israel waged its war on Gaza on October 7, after Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories in response to Tel Aviv's intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.

In the event, the regime's leaders ordered Israeli military forces to attack the besieged Gaza Strip with a force "like never before."

End 'decimation' of Palestinian lives in Gaza

The head of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) called on Friday for an end to the "decimation" of Palestinian lives in the territory.

Philippe Lazzarini urged all UN member states to "take immediate actions to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire."

Diplomats from Arab countries call for immediate ceasefire

In a related development, chief diplomats from a grouping of Arab and Islamic nations, on a visit to Washington, called for an end to Israel's war on Gaza.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on behalf of the group, called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire.

"Our message is we believe it is absolutely necessary to end the fighting immediately."

He was in Washington as part of a visit of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee.

Earlier this week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) condemned Israel's war crimes against Palestinians and called for a ceasefire, in remarks at the summit of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in Qatar.

He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is pushing the entire region into danger for the sake of his political future."

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Iran hails Guterres' invocation of Article 99 of UN Charter over Israel war on Gaza

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 9:18 PM

Iran has hailed the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' recent invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter as a means of pushing for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has come under an unrelenting and genocidal Israeli war.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian described the move as a "rare and worthwhile" measure aimed at the establishment of peace and security on the global stage. He made the remarks during a phone call with the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas' Politburo Chief, Ismail Haniyeh on Friday.

In a move not taken in decades, the UN chief invoked the article on Wednesday to notify the UN Security Council about the threat that is posed to international peace and security by the Israeli war.

The occupying regime launched the war on October 7 in response to an operation staged by Gaza's resistance movements. Israel has killed more than 17,400 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 46,480 others in its relentless aerial and ground attacks on Gaza since.

Simultaneously, the regime has ramped up its aggression across the occupied West Bank and has carried out sporadic attacks against Lebanon, which has sparked a firefight with the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah.

Amir-Abdollahian informed Haniyeh about the latest diplomatic maneuvers that have been taken by the Islamic Republic and other Muslim countries on the international level in support of the Palestinian people, condemnation of the Zionist regime's war crimes, and cessation of its massacre of Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank.

The top diplomat, meanwhile, told the Hamas official that the crisis in the coastal sliver had formed a central plank of earlier discussions between President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "Important talks have taken place between the Iranian and Russian presidents concerning the issue of Palestine," Amir-Abdollahian said.

During a one-day trip to Moscow, the Iranian chief executive called for an immediate stop to the Israeli "genocide and crimes against humanity" in the besieged Gaza Strip, and drew attention to the United States and other Western countries' support for the Israeli atrocities.

Haniyeh: Resistance to last until cessation of Israeli aggression, occupation

For his part, the Hamas official expressed gratitude towards the Islamic Republic over the country's well-known and consistent position of support for the Palestinian nation and Tehran's extensive diplomatic endeavors aimed at ending the Zionist regime's atrocities.

"By God's grace, resistance is going to last until the cessation of Zionists' crimes and complete elimination of Palestine's occupation," he asserted.

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Al-Aqsa Storm continuation of Intifada, to result in liberation of Palestine: Hamas

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 6:35 PM

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Operation al-Aqsa Storm is the continuation of a heroic Intifada (uprising) that was initiated more than three decades ago and will result in the full liberation of Palestine and the end of Israeli occupation.

Hamas released a statement on Friday on the 36th anniversary of Stone Intifada, also known as First Intifada, which involved mass rallies and fierce clashes that broke out across the Palestinian territories in 1987 after four young Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in Gaza as well as the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy during an unarmed protest.

The second Intifada began in 2000 and was known as the al-Aqsa Intifada. It was sparked by former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

"The anniversary of the Stone Intifada on December 8, 1987, comes amid a Nazi aggression launched by the Zionist occupation against our people in the Gaza Strip over more than two months, which has not succeeded in achieving anything," Hamas said.

"The Stone Intifada was an important milestone in the history of our people's ongoing struggle. Its spark emanated from the proud land of Gaza and its flame spread throughout all the squares of the nation."

The statement said Operation al-Aqsa Storm is a "great historical epic" waged by al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, and other Palestinian resistance groups, and underscores the legitimate right of Palestinian people to defend themselves, their land, and their sanctities.

"Al-Aqsa Storm is a natural continuation of the uprisings of our people to confront the aggression of the Nazi occupation, and to thwart all of its settlement and Judaization plans," Hamas added.

The statement called on Palestinian youth in the cities, villages and camps of the occupied West Bank to confront the Israeli regime's forces and settlers "by all means," in line with the battle of the al-Aqsa Storm and in defense of their land and sanctity.

The statement also called on Arab and Muslim countries as well as freedom-seekers of the world to continue their solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, and to stage rallies and demonstrations to condemn the Israeli aggression and support the Palestinian cause and the right of its people to freedom and self-determination by establishing a Palestinian State with al-Quds as its capital.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

More than 17,400 people, most of them women and children, have been killed and over 46,480 others injured in Israel's relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza.

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Lebanon's Hezbollah says staged fresh anti-Israel attacks in support of Gaza

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 6:25 PM

Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah said it continued anti-Israel operations in support of Gaza on Friday, launching missiles and other weapons at eight Israeli military positions.

The movement said in separate statements it attacked the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms two times, as well as the Metat barracks and several other sites, using unspecified weapons. It said it also hit the Al-Raheb position using Burkan rockets.

According to the movement, the operations were carried out "in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and solidarity with their courageous and honorable resistance."

The Israeli regime bombarded towns in southern Lebanon and flew helicopters and drones in the skies in the border areas.

In one of the latest attacks, Israeli artillery struck a medical facility belonging to the Lebanese Army. The strike hit the Ain Ebel Army Hospital causing material damage but no casualties, the Army said.

Another Israeli strike hit a Lebanese Army center in Ras Naqoura causing light injuries.

Earlier this week, a Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli shelling near the border, the first such casualty of the war.

Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire since early October, shortly after the regime launched its war on the besieged Gaza Strip following a surprise Hamas operation into the Israeli-occupied territories.

Since the exchanges began, more than 110 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, including more than a dozen civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Hezbollah has said that over 80 of its members have been killed since the war's outbreak in southern Lebanon.

On Friday, Hezbollah said three more of its members had been killed during anti-Israel operations.

The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the regime sustains its warfare against the besieged Palestinian territory.

The fighting has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands from the northern part of the Israeli-occupied territories, which have been pummeled by rocket fire and shelling carried out by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian groups.

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Iran's need for assertive policy over rights in Arash field

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 11:37 AM

Arash in the north of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr province is one of Iran's joint gas fields with Kuwait. Records of bilateral talks over the past 60 years show that the two countries have always recognized the right of the other side to have a share in the huge resources.

The supreme council of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), however, issued a statement this wee claiming that "only Saudi Arabia and Kuwait" have sovereign rights over the field.

The dispute over the Arash gas field, which Kuwaitis call Durra, dates back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait were awarded overlapping offshore concessions for the field following its discovery.

Iran granted its share of rights to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company to develop the field, while Kuwait gave its portion to Royal Dutch Shell, with the two shares overlapping in the northern part of the field.

The field is estimated to hold 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, which could produce one billion cubic feet per day.

Nearly 40% of Arash gas field is located in Iranian waters. In 2001, the National Iranian Oil Company spudded an exploratory well to determine the amount of reserves in the Arash gas field.

Kuwait threatened to take the case to international arbitration and following the Kuwaiti emir's visit to Tehran during the administration of Mohammad Khatami, Tehran stopped exploration and removed the platform built at the site.

Iran's drilling and then its decision to halt it in fact came a year after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had jointly started exploration and development activities on the gas field without Tehran's knowledge while their border disagreement remained unresolved.

In 2016, Iranian media reported that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had formed the Al Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) to develop the field on a 50:50 joint venture without any right for Iran.

Iran has strongly objected to the agreement without Iranian involvement, with officials saying the move is "illegal" as the boundaries of the field shared between the three countries have not yet been established. It has repeatedly called for a border demarcation agreement to determine its right to exploit part of the field.

In August, the Islamic Republic officially invited Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Salem Abdullah al-Jaber Al-Sabah to de-escalate tensions.

However, the supreme council of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council put the kibosh on de-escalation efforts at the end of its 44th summit in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday, claiming that the entirety of the Arash gas field lies within Kuwait's maritime territories.

It also said the ownership of natural resources in the submerged area adjacent to the Saudi-Kuwaiti divided area, including the entire gas field, was solely a joint ownership between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

"Both have exclusive rights to exploit the natural resources in that area," the statement said, the council firmly rejected "any claims of rights by any other party in this field or the submerged area adjacent to the demarcated area between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait".

Their statement came after both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait announced in July that there was "no room" for negotiations with Iran regarding the Arash-Durra gas field in the Persian Gulf.

An informed source in the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs was quoted as saying that the field was jointly owned by "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait only, and they alone have full sovereign rights to exploit the wealth in that region."

NIOC head Mohsen Khojastehmehr reacted to the statement, announcing that Iran was ready to begin drilling in the Arash field. "Once the necessary conditions are met, drilling operations in the Arash field will begin," he said.

Historical records of the past 60 years show no Saudi role in negotiations between Iran and Kuwait to determine the maritime borders around the Arash field and how to exploit its resources, meaning Riyadh's push to stake out a share has started since 2000.

In March 2022, Saudi Arabia's energy minister signed a document with his Kuwaiti counterpart to develop the Arash-Durra gas field to produce one billion standard cubic feet per day of gas and 84,000 barrels per day of condensates.

Iran's Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji was quick to respond to his Saudi counterparts' announcement then, saying Tehran would soon begin drilling at the Arash field.

"Although we want to negotiate and cooperate for development of joint fields, unilateral measures will not prevent the implementation of the project," he said, after Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed a document to build the offshore reservoir without Tehran's participation.

The announcement showed that Iran was not going to be a sitting duck and watch the distribution of its gas resources after downing tools for 22 years.

Over the past year, Iran has been dealing with the issue with deference following a successful rapprochement deal between Tehran and Riyadh but the aggressive push by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will certainly not go unanswered.

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US attempts to protect Israeli vessels in Red Sea have failed: Yemen

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 9:40 AM

Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement says the United States has failed in its plans to protect Israeli vessels cruising through the Red Sea waters, stating that the commercial ships have no option but to redirect their routes and avoid getting struck by Yemeni attacks in retaliation for the bloody war on the Gaza Strip.

Ali al-Qahoum, a member of Ansarullah's political bureau, told Lebanon's Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network on Friday that Yemeni Armed Forces stand seriously committed to the international law and maritime navigation, and have vowed to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea until attacks on Gaza cease completely.

He went on to sharply criticize Washington for its "aggression and criminal behavior" towards the Yemeni nation over their unflinching support for Gazans and the Palestinian cause.

The senior Ansarullah official highlighted that the failure of American attempts to protect Israeli ships in the Red Sea has forced the regime to redirect its ships and send them elsewhere.

Al-Qahum also said that the Yemeni operations had a major impact on the regional equation as they "changed the balance of power and surprised America, the West, and the Zionists."

Back on December 3, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, stated that Israeli ships Unity Explorer and Number Nine had been hit in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier that day.

He detailed that the first ship came under a naval missile strike, while the second was hit by a drone after disregarding warnings from Yemeni naval units.

"In support of the Palestinian nation, we've disrupted the passage of Zionist enemy ships," Saree affirmed, emphasizing the commitment of Yemeni forces to blocking Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea until Gaza attacks halt.

"Today, we are in a decisive fight against the US and the Zionist enemy and we will continue this until attacks on Gaza are stopped," he said.

Yemeni forces have previously launched missile and drone attacks on Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories since the Gaza aggression began in early October.

The targeting of ships with links to Israel in Yemen's waters has prompted Israeli shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid potential Yemeni force attacks.

Saree warned of Yemen's readiness to retaliate against any attacks by the US, Israel, and their regional allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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Hamas: At least 79 Israeli armored vehicles destroyed in 72 hours

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 7:05 AM

A senior official of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet won't be able to reap any benefits out of the ongoing onslaught against the Gaza Strip, stressing that fighters from his group are engaged in "fierce battles" with Israeli troops across the territory.

"Netanyahu and his Nazi cabinet have not been successful in achieving their political, military, and field goals, nor will they be in the future," Osama Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon and also a member of the group's politburo, said at a press briefing in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Thursday evening.

"The occupying Zionist entity has exercised all methods of killing, destruction, starvation, and systematic extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip, with American and Western support," he added as the indiscriminate Israeli bombing campaign against Gaza since October 7 has killed at least 17,177 Palestinians, most of them women and children. More than 46,000 people have been wounded as well.

Hamdan added, "Zionist officials are trying to establish unreal goals to present an imaginary victory to settlers. This is while surrender and defeat do not exist in the lexicon of our people."

Hamdan underscored that the Tel Aviv regime is trying to clinch an imaginary victory through Netanyahu's announcement that Israeli forces have encircled the home of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, stating that the development comes irrespective of the fact that the building has already been bombed and demolished.

The top Hamas official also said fighters from his group are engaged in "fierce battles" with Israeli troops in various neighborhoods across the besieged Gaza Strip, stressing that the invading forces are facing fierce and resolute confrontations from the resistance factions.

He said the "actual number" of Israeli soldiers who have been killed and injured during clashes in Gaza is "much higher" than the figures announced by Israeli authorities.

The Hamas' top representative in Lebanon went on to address family members of Israeli captives in Gaza, saying, "The ongoing military aggression against our people will not return your children to you."

"They will not return if the ground and air strikes don't stop," Hamdan pointed out.

While some 100 aid trucks enter Gaza daily, the Palestinian territory needs 600 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies, the top Hamas official said elsewhere in his remarks.

Hamadan argued that areas in northern Gaza only receive a fraction of what has been allowed to enter the Strip, criticizing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Palestine Red Crescent Society for failing to carry out their duties properly.

The top Hamas official went on to say that resistance fighters have managed to either destroy or damage at least 79 armored Israeli military vehicles in Gaza City over the past 72 hours.

He underscored that Gaza-based Palestinian resistance fighters are fully prepared for any possible scenario, stressing they will firmly stand up against Israeli plans for the forced displacement of the Palestinian population from the region.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory's resistance movements 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.

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Facing An Uncertain Future, Afghan Girls Finishing Sixth Grade Leave School In Tears

By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi December 08, 2023

Hundreds of thousands of sixth-grade girls in Afghanistan attended the last day of the school year, many with tears in their eyes as they face an uncertain future because of Taliban policies that forbid them from further schooling and restrict their basic human rights.

"These last few days of our studies are very stressful and difficult," Kainat, a sixth-grader in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi on December 8, the last day of the current school year before the winter break. "We all cried because none of us will be able to study further. Our teachers tried to console us by saying that school doors might reopen for us some day."

But for Kainat and the rest of the war-torn country's females, that day may not come for some time.

Despite pledges of a less-authoritarian rule than in their previous time in power, Taliban militants have sharply restricted the rights and freedoms of Afghan girls and women since taking over the government as international troops withdrew following two decades of intervention.

The ultra-fundamentalist Islamist Taliban rulers have since banned girls from attending school from grade seven onward. They have severely curtailed their employment prospects, mobility, and any public role in society, defying international pressure, domestic protests, and efforts to persuade the militants from rescinding their brutal policies.

The ban on education was prompted by the religious views of the Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani and endorsed by the group's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Fatima Siddiq, a primary school teacher in Kabul, told Radio Azadi that the hopelessness felt by girls as they leave the school is haunting.

"I am also a mother of three daughters who will no longer be able to continue their education," she said. "How is it possible that the [Taliban] government is unable to fulfill its promise of reopening schools?"

The Taliban's policies are deeply unpopular among most Afghans. Even though dissent is often met with a harsh response by authorities, some people are still willing to criticize the government because the policies are seen as destructive.

In the Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.

But it's not only females who are bearing the brunt of the government's policies.

In a new report released on December 6, the global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that education for boys in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule is at risk, too.

The report, titled Schools Are Failing Boys Too, says curriculum changes, the firing of female teachers, corporal punishment, and other practices risk their education over the longer term as well.

Sahar Fetrat, a women's rights researcher at HRW and the author of the report, says the Taliban has caused "irreversible damage" to the education of both Afghan boys and girls.

"By harming the whole school system in the country, they risk creating a lost generation deprived of a quality education," she said.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-girls-sixth-grade- education-taliban/32722657.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on the Joint Statement by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia confirming the mutual intention to normalise relations and conclude a peace treaty

8 December 2023 12:17

2492-08-12-2023

Moscow notes with satisfaction the Joint Statement by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia confirming the mutual intention to normalise relations and conclude a peace treaty between the two countries.

We welcome the fact that Baku and Yerevan have reached an agreement to release the Armenian and Azerbaijani prisoners of war. Russia has consistently advocated for a prisoner exchange where everyone is released. This will contribute to mutual confidence-building and open up new opportunities for advancing the normalisation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan in line with the comprehensive trilateral agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of 2020-2022. We are ready to continue to provide all our assistance in unblocking transport links, delimiting the border, concluding a peace treaty and civil societies contacts.

We also appreciate Yerevan's decision to withdraw its bid to host the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) in November 2024 as a gesture of goodwill, as well as Baku's declared support for Armenia's candidacy for the UNFCCC Bureau membership. The Russian side (Special Presidential Representative on Climate Issues Ruslan Edelgeriyev) has contacted Baku and Yerevan with a view to reaching an agreement on the UNFCCC.

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Saudi Foreign Minister Rules Out Arab Military Intervention in Palestine-Israel Conflict

Sputnik News

20231208

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Arab nations will not consider military intervention in the Gaza conflict as a means to persuade Israel to end its military operation, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday.

"Violence is not the answer, and we are not going to get drawn into this cycle of threat and counter-threatened violence and counter violence," Farhan said when asked if Arab countries would consider threatening Israel with military intervention in Gaza.

The minister, who was speaking at a discussion hosted by the Wilson Center, led an Arab delegation that met in Washington on Friday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the Gaza conflict. Farhan was joined by his counterparts from Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt.

Farhan emphasized the need for a cessation of hostilities and immediate access for humanitarian aid.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi during the panel discussion said Israel has suffered a strategic defeat in the Gaza war.

"Israel is defying the whole world including the United States of America," Safadi said. "Even Israel's allies are saying abide by international law. It is not. It's indiscriminately killing civilians. It's denying people their right to food and water and medicine. It is taking 2.3 million Gazans hostage," the minister emphasized.

The West's position in the Gaza conflict, including of the United States, have been inadequate, Safadi stressed, adding that Arab countries disagree over the issue of not calling for a ceasefire.

The Biden administration has repeatedly said it does not support a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict but backs humanitarian pauses. The United States has provided Israel with security assistance as it conducts military operations in Gaza to weed out Hamas following the October 7 attacks.

 Sputnik

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Another 40 Ukrainian citizens were taken out of the Gaza Strip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

"Our intelligence and diplomats continue the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip. The entire day today is dedicated to bringing our people to a safe territory. Almost 40 Ukrainian citizens are now safe," he said in a video address on Friday.
Secretary Blinken's Meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Al Thani

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

December 8, 2023

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in advance of his meeting with the broader delegation from the Joint Arab League-Organization of Islamic Cooperation contact group. The Secretary expressed appreciation for Qatar's critical efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas and the recent humanitarian pause in Gaza. The Secretary and Prime Minister Al Thani reiterated the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading and committed to continuing close coordination on ongoing efforts to facilitate the safe return of all remaining hostages while sustaining humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. They also reaffirmed the strength and importance of the U.S.-Qatar bilateral relationship.

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"Those who remain silent to the killings of journalists in Gaza have no right to talk about any other issue"

Presidency Of The Republic Of Turkey

08.12.2023

Addressing the TRT World Forum, President Erdogan said: "Global media cartels seek to disregard the atrocity in Gaza and to legitimize the journalist massacre under the pretext of Hamas. We reject this unconscientious attitude that destroys the human dignity, let alone press freedom and media ethics. Those, who remain silent, today, to the killings of journalists in Gaza, can have no right to talk about any other issue, tomorrow."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech at the TRT World Forum 2023 in Istanbul.

"TURKIYE STANDS READY TO SHOULDER ANY RESPONSIBILITY TO PREVENT FURTHER BLOODSHED"

"We are going through a really painful period at global scale, particularly because of the ongoing massacre in Gaza," President Erdogan underscored, and said: "Although it has receded to the background of the agenda, the Russia-Ukraine war continues with all its severity. The value of the peace plan, which was put forward with our country's efforts in the early months of the war, is getting better understood each passing day. What a big harm has been made to the entire world as well as our region by those, who fueled the fire then instead of putting it out before it grew, is now clearly seen. We better understand today that international organizations responsible for ensuring global peace and security are not capable of resolving problems.

"We are indisputably facing the fact that 'there are no losers in a just peace.' We hope that this truth, which we insistently voice by virtually breaking our necks, will be comprehended by all the parties before long. Turkiye stands ready to shoulder any responsibility to prevent further bloodshed, destruction and tears. We are indeed going through days in which we need peace, especially a just peace, more than ever. The price of each day, each moment lost in the establishment of a lasting peace is paid unfortunately by innocent people, not the westerns that fuel the fire. It is high time to say 'no' to this. We see it as a requirement of our neighborhood to take our neighbors out of this lose-lose equity they have fallen in."

"WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS IS TO TALK TODAY"

Noting that the massacres, which have been continuing in Gaza since October 7, have reminded the importance of not only free but also just and conscientious press, President Erdogan stated that the world is faced with a media blackout where the massacre of nearly 18 thousand innocents, most of them women and children, is not covered in the media as widely as a paper cut, and continued as follows: "Israel has been killing not only women and children in Gaza but also members of press, who are trying to work under harsh conditions, as well. The number of journalists, who lost their lives during the attacks, is over 70. What is graver is that international media outlets accept this picture. Think about it. A journalist is massacred each day, but none of the institutions, who have for years preached at us about press freedom, says even a single word. Global media cartels seek to disregard the atrocity in Gaza and to legitimize the journalist massacre under the pretext of Hamas. We reject this unconscientious attitude that destroys the human dignity, let alone press freedom and media ethics.

"Those, who remain silent, today, to the killings of journalists in Gaza, can have no right to talk about any other issue, tomorrow. What actually matters is to talk today, write today and tell the truth today. What really matters is to make the cries of the oppressed and the wronged heard today. And it is what Turkish media outlets are endeavoring to achieve. I congratulate from the bottom of my heart our TRT, Anadolu Agency and other press institutions that have opened a vital communication corridor from Gaza to the world, taking every risk. I appreciate the works to combat disinformation spread by Israel's propaganda machine woven with lies."

"Israel, which cannot brake the Gazans' will of resistance despite all its barbarism, is losing the war of propaganda in the media as well," President Erdogan said.

"THE CURRENT ISRAELI ADMINISTRATION IS SEEKING TO SILENT THE WORLD"

Stressing that a guilt of conscience lies behind this silence, President Erdogan said that Netanyahu and his supporters are guilty, and added: "They are terrorists as the abettors of terror. They will definitely be tried at the Hague Court of Justice. We will be the follower of this issue. Just as Milosevic was tried and convicted, I believe that Netanyahu and his abettors will be tried and be convicted in the end as well."

Stating that although they are well aware of the crimes Israel has been committing, some western countries act with a feeling of embarrassment, President Erdogan went on to say: "The current Israeli administration, who use the victimization of Holocaust as an excuse, is seeking to silent the world with this. Anti-Semitism, which we at every opportunity say we consider to be inhumane, is fanned by Netanyahu and his partners for political interests. However, neither the Holocaust tragedy nor the anti-Semitism accusation can be the excuse of remaining silent to the crimes committed by Israel. The future of Gaza and of the Palestinian people in broader sense is not a compensation that can be given to Israel by those with debtor's conscience. We definitely do not approve of media being loutishly used to legitimize such a dirty, bloody and unscrupulous scenario."

"WE WILL MAINTAIN OUR HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA"

President Erdogan said: "I call on to the media outlets sought to be made a partner to the crimes of humanity committed recklessly: Free yourselves of this effort for acquittal lacking any wisdom, conscience, reason, or press ethics, of this rhetoric fed by blood, of this cruel claim, and of this nefarious imposition. No matter we are Christian, Muslim or Jew, we are all under a responsibility which nobody can exclude themselves. All conscientious people, members of media in particular, must be brave, stand tall, and talk about justice and facts with an open heart no matter in what part of the world they are. This massacre can be carried out in Gaza today. However, if we do not stop this oppression lacking any wisdom or conscience, no one can feel safe themselves in any part of the world. Because, Pandora's box has already been opened. We may come across with the dirty and savage face of the oppression anytime, anywhere. The actual danger of the crooked point of view regarding Gaza is throwing the hopes for the future of the world in such a pit of hell. No one has the right to drag the humanity into such a quagmire.

"The administrations in America and European countries are in fact doing the biggest harm to themselves by turning a deaf ear to the cries of the Palestinian people, particularly of the innocents in Gaza. The west has yet to realize that they have been going through a test that will shake up the security and prosperity order they dote on. We as Turkiye see the coming danger and speak up with the principle of 'You have to be cruel to be kind.' We will never give up on crying out the truth just because it annoys some. With this understanding we endeavor to fulfil our duties of standing with the oppressed and making necessary warnings. We will maintain both the humanitarian aid and the intensive diplomacy traffic for Gaza. In the similar vein, we will maintain the communication corridor, which is the voice of conscience of Palestine and Gaza, and which we regard as a part of our efforts."

Drawing attention to the incompetence the United Nations Security Council, the most important global cooperation and security mechanism, has been displaying regarding the Gaza issue, President Erdogan noted that UN Secretary-General Guterres' efforts have been undermined by the Council members.

Praising the letter UN Secretary-General Guterres has sent within the Article 99, President Erdogan said: "We can no longer be a mere onlooker to innocent people paying the price of current mechanisms' failure to produce the resolutions that the world and the humanity need. We must take immediate action. Otherwise, it is inevitable for us to fall into the clutches of a chaos that will make the world unlivable."

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The UK supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas but Israel must be targeted in achieving that goal: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza.



8 December 2023

Colleagues, these are dark days. The horror of the 7 October attacks hangs over us - including the shocking reports of sexual violence by Hamas against Israeli women and girls. And the terrible and heart-wrenching suffering of innocent Palestinians, including many women and young children, is a humanitarian tragedy unfolding before our eyes.

The Secretary-General, who has our strong support, set out clearly the trajectory towards humanitarian catastrophe facing Palestinians in Gaza. We need to respond, and to respond with urgency. The sheer scale of civilians killed is shockin and the fact that 80% of the population has been displaced in Gaza cannot continue.

The UK continues to support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism as it seeks the return of over 100 hostages who are still held in Gaza. But we are absolutely clear that Israel must be targeted and precise in achieving that goal. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary of the UK have delivered this message, and will continue to do so. Civilians must be protected.

In parallel, we need a marked increase in the provision of sustainable and unhindered delivery of life-saving aid and essential services to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe from taking place. This includes increasing the types of aid allowed. The sanitation and shelter picture, together with the lack of medical provision, in Gaza is dire and there is a desperate need for sanitation and shelter kits, and vital medicines.

It is welcome that Kerem Shalom will now be open for the screening of aid deliveries. We urge Israel to go further and to fully open Kerem Shalom to allow goods to cross, so that the huge volumes of aid that are needed can reach the people of Gaza. This should include at minimum the 200,000 litres of fuel per day for which the UN has called.

It is imperative that we work to agree further urgently needed humanitarian pauses, building on the pivotal work of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. President, as we work to halt the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we need to also work to avoid escalation in the West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel's announcement approving further settlements in the Lower Aqueduct area of East Jerusalem is alarming and serves only to raise the tensions in the West Bank when international effort is focusing on avoiding further conflict.

Let me be clear: settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability and delivery of a two-state solution. This decision must be reversed with immediate effect. President, let us work together to deliver peace, dignity, and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Thank you.

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US vetoes resolution on Gaza which called for 'immediate humanitarian ceasefire'

8 December 2023 - The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Friday morning New York time to discuss the catastrophic situation in Gaza. This follows Wednesday's urgent letter by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres - one of the most powerful tools at his disposal - urging the body to help end carnage in the war-battered enclave through a lasting humanitarian ceasefire. A resolution tabled late afternoon in the chamber calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was vetoed by the United States.

4:30 PM

The Security Council meeting has adjourned.

Here are the key points:

The US vetoed a resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 Member States. There were 13 votes in favour and the United Kingdom abstained.

The UN chief began this latest meeting on the crisis with a stark warning that "the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist ."

." He said "the eyes of the world - and the eyes of history - are watching", demanding that the international community "do everything possible" to end the ordeal of the people of Gaza.

Mr. Guterres said "the UN is totally committed to stay and deliver for the people of Gaza."

for the people of Gaza." The resolution which failed to pass took note of the Secretary-General's invocation of Article 99, expressed grave concern over the "catastrophic situation" in Gaza, and emphasized that both Palestinian and Israeli civilians must be protected.

It demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of hostages as well as humanitarian access.

It did not condemn the terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October.

For summaries of this and other UN meetings, visit our colleagues at the UN Meetings Coverage in English and French

4:25 PM

'Humanity must prevail': Palestine

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine, said it was "beyond regrettable" and "disastrous" that the Security Council was prevented from upholding its responsibilities - through a newly adopted resolution - in the face of the crisis.

"Millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance, every single one of them is sacred and worth saving," he said, adding that instead of allowing this Council to follow its mandate by finally making a clear call, after two months of massacres and atrocities, "the war criminals are given more time to perpetrate their crimes."

"How can this be justified? How can anyone justify the slaughter of an entire people?", he said.

4:03 PM

UK: Hamas must be condemned

Explaining the UK's abstention from the draft resolution, Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country could not vote in favour of a resolution that fails to condemn the atrocities Hamas committed on innocent Israeli civilians on 7 October.

"Calling for a ceasefire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage," she said, noting that Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law.

She reiterated the importance of working meaningfully towards a two-State solution "which delivers statehood for the Palestinians, security for Israel and peace for people on both sides."

4:03 PM

'No contradiction' in fighting terror and protecting civilians: France

France's Permanent Representative Nicolas de Riviere said the UN chief was correct to raise the alarm over the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza.

"It is for this reason that France voted in favour of this resolution and it is for that reason that we plead for an immediate and lasting humanitarian truce", he added.

"For our part, we do not see any contradiction in the fight against terrorism and the protection of civilians, in strict respect of international humanitarian law," he said, adding "we would have wished for this Council to finally have been able to condemn the Hamas attacks and those of other terrorist groups on 7 October."

"Unfortunately once again, this Council has failed. With a lack of unity and by refusing to genuinely commit to negotiations in doing this, the crisis in Gaza is getting worse and it runs the risk of extending," he said.

3:53 PM

Resolution 'divorced from reality': US

The US engaged in good faith on the text, said Deputy Permanent Representative Robert A. Wood, that would increase opportunities for hostage release and more aid to reach Gaza.

"Unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored" leading to an "imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way. And so, we regretfully could not support it."

He said the US still could not understand why the resolution's authors declined to include language condemning "Hamas's horrific terrorist attack" on Israel, of 7 October.

It killed people from a range of nationalities, subjecting many to "obscene sexual violence."

He said he had explained earlier in the day why an unconditional ceasefire would simply be "dangerous" and leave Hamas in place, able to attack again.

It was "a recipe for disaster for Israel, for Palestinians and for the entire region".

Any ceasefire leaving Hamas in control would also deny Palestinians the chance to build something better for themselves, he added.

3:47 PM

US vetoes resolution

The vote just took place, with 13 members in favour.

The US voted AGAINST, with the UK abstaining. Owing to the US veto, the resolution was not therefore adopted.

3:43 PM

Dmitriy Polyanskiy, Russia's representative, said US diplomacy was "leaving scorched earth in its wake". He said if an immediate ceasefire was blocked by the US again, how could the country look its partners in the eye? He called on the US to "make the right choice" and support the demand for an end to violence.

3:37 PM

Speaking before the vote, the representative of the UAE, said at least 97 Member States have co-sponsored their resolution: "It is clear in its intention - an immediate humanitarian ceasefire."

Saving lives right now, must supercede all other considerations, he said.

3:34 PM

The president of the Council, the permanent representative from Ecuador, has brought the meeting to order again. A long list of non-member countries who have co-sponsored the resolution, are joining.

3:28 PM

Security Council reconvenes for the vote

The meeting is back in open session with the cameras rolling and a vote is believed to be imminent once it formally begins.

3:14 PM

Meeting behind closed doors

Ambassadors are now meeting behind closed doors, ahead of an anticipated vote on a new draft resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates, which many members referred to during the morning session discussing the Secretary General's letter under Article 99.

The resolution takes note and specifies it is acting on the letter from the UN chief under the special powers invoked by Article 99.

The draft demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire as well as an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Ambassadors have been negotiating intensely in the past few hours over the final text.

The draft also reiterates the demand of the Council for all warring parties to comply with their obligations under international law, notably with regard to protection of civilians in both Palestine and Israel.

Draft resolutions do not represent an official position of the Security Council until they are adopted.

12:10 PM

Meeting in recess

The meeting has adjourned. The UN chief began this latest meeting on the crisis with a stark warning that "the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist."

He said "the eyes of the world - and the eyes of history - are watching", demanding that the international community "do everything possible" to end the ordeal of the people of Gaza.

Security Council members, meanwhile, continue negotiations on a new draft resolution on the crisis, and are currently scheduled to reconvene at 5:30 PM New York time.

Mr. Guterres said "the UN is totally committed to stay and deliver for the people of Gaza."

11:45 AM

We need to respond with urgency: UK

Barbara Woodward, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom (UK) to the UN, started off by stressing "we need to respond, and to respond with urgency."

"The sheer scale of civilians killed is shocking," she said.

Noting that her country continues to support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism as it seeks the return of well over 100 hostages still held in Gaza, she stated: "we are absolutely clear that Israel must be targeted and precise in achieving that goal."

"Civilians must be protected," she underscored.

Ambassador Woodward also noted the need for a marked increase in sustainable and unhindered lifesaving aid and essential services to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe from taking place.

"As we work to halt the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we need also to work to avoid escalation in the West Bank, including in Occupied East Jerusalem," she said, noting that Israel's announcements approving new settlements there is alarming and that it will only raise tensions.

"Let us be clear: settlements are illegal under international law. They present an obstacle to peace, and they threaten the physical viability and delivery of a two-State solution," she said, calling for an immediate reversal of Israeli policy on expansion.

11:30 AM

Condemn Hamas terror, agree a fresh truce: France

France's Permanent Representative Nicolas de Riviere, reiterate his nation's call for "a new, immediate and lasting humanitarian truce", which must lead to a permanent ceasefire.

We must act and continue our collective mobilization for the population of Gaza, he said.

Given the gravity of the situation, he said France deplored the decision of the Israeli authorities not to renew the visa of Lynn Hastings, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, who is now due to leave next week.

We must also put an end to Hamas actions and "it unacceptable that this Security Council has not yet been able to condemn these acts", he said, referencing the terror acts of October 7.

Israel can count on France to fight against Hamas, he said, which, along with the other groups, must release all hostages they are holding inside Gaza, immediately and unconditionally.

The situation in the West Bank is equally worrying. We reaffirm our strong condemnation of recent decisions regarding colonization and the violence carried out by settler groups against Palestinians, said Ambassador de Riviere.

France is considering measures to ban travel and freeze assets. But "what is important now is to restore a political horizon, on the basis of the only viable solution", that of two States living side by side in peace and security.

The President of France is fully committed, he said and continues his discussions towards a resolution, with partners in the region.

11:16 AM

A 'fundamental disconnect': US

Robert A. Wood, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States (US) to the UN, said that the Security Council's failure to condemn Hamas' 7 October terrorist attacks including its acts of sexual violence and other unthinkable evils, is a serious moral failure.

"It underscores the fundamental disconnect between the discussions we have been having in this chamber and the realities on the ground," he said.

An "undeniable part of that reality", he added, is that if Israel unilaterally laid down its weapons today, Hamas would continue to hold hostages.

Ambassador Wood stated that as of today, Hamas continues to pose a threat to Israel and remain in charge of Gaza, stressing that no government would allow such as threat to continue to remain on its borders, after events like the 7 October massacres.

Ceasefire will 'plant seeds for the next war'

"For that reason, while the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-State solution," he said.

In his remarks, the Ambassador said that Israel must respect international humanitarian law and conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian harm.

To back up these words and protect civilians, the US has supported establishing an effective humanitarian deconfliction mechanism with the UN, where it also monitors implementation.

"In every conversation we also have underscored that Israel must avoid further mass displacement of civilians in the south of Gaza, many of whom previously fled violence," he said, adding, "Israel must further ensure sufficient humanitarian support exists for displaced individuals."

He also noted that civilians displaced in Gaza must have an opportunity to return as soon as conditions permit.

"There must be no enduring displacement or reduction in Gaza's territory. Under no circumstances would the US support forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank," he said.

11:12 AM

Immediate ceasefire will save lives: China

Representative of China Zhang Jun, paid tribute to the Secretary-General for his statement on the seriousness of the situation in Gaza.

The draft resolution submitted by the UAE reflects the call of the international community, which China supports and co-sponsors because only an immediate ceasefire will save lives and pave the way for the two-State solution, he added.

"A larger crisis is imminent," and regional peace and security is "on the precipice". The world is watching. Member States must act, he warned.

11:10 AM

Save Palestinians 'from extermination', Russia urges

Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative, Dmitriy Polyanskiy, said that with the humanitarian pause, the parties got their break in hostilities and realized their tactical objectives but then Israel, with the "proactive support" of the United States, moved on to a new, even more bloody phase of its ground operation in Gaza.

He quoted from the UN chief's letter, emphasizing the desperate conditions being faced by civilians.

Meanwhile, the Security Council has not adopted any clear, binding decision demanding - not calling - for the parties to stop the violence.

The discussions here amount only to "empty words", he said.

Flooding Gaza with seawater by the Israeli military as a tactic of war, would amount to a war crime, he said.

Today the Council has a good opportunity "to end to this abnormal situation and do what the international community expects of it", he declared, by passing a ceasefire resolution later today.

We hope that all colleagues will find the strength and courage to adopt the draft resolution prepared by the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Polyansky added.

Of course, we should not lose sight of the prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement based on the "two-State formula," which we consider to have no alternative.

We are ready to work on this, he said, but today, the primary task is to stop hostilities and "save Palestinian civilians from extermination."

10:52 AM

Security Council must act: UAE

Mohamed Issa Abushahab, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the UN said that for many Gazans who have never left the enclave, "their entire world is systematically demolished before their eyes".

He stated the Security Council must act on the crisis when too little aid is getting in and humanitarian workers are unable to deliver it for the fear of getting killed.

"Despite the recent temporary pause, the violence and danger to civilians has not abated, in fact this conflict has now graduated to a new and more dangerous phase," he added, noting that the siege of Khan Yunis and other parts in southern Gaza has now started.

"There is literally no safe haven for the millions of people trapped and under attack," the Ambassador said.

10:48 AM

Ceasefire will only prolong Hamas 'reign of terror': Israel

Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador, said the globe has been reeling from the impact of Russia's war on Ukraine. Yet not once, has Article 99 of the UN Charter been invoked by the current Secretary-General, citing other grinding conflicts which have destabilised entire regions.

He said regional stability in the Middle East can "only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated". Calling for a ceasefire would not achieve that end, he insisted.

He said that on 6 October, a ceasefire held, but the following day "thousands of Hamas Nazis" carried out a massacre the like of which has not been seen since the Holocaust.

Mr. Erdan said if Hamas was not destroyed, then atrocities would be carried out by the group "again and again". Gazans have been forced to live in poverty, he said, and calling for a ceasefire would ensure that the suffering and the fighting will continue.

He said it sent a clear message: "that Hamas is forgiven for their deliberate atrocities, and Hamas's oppression of Gazans is given a green light by the international community."

The Israeli ambassador said Hamas's main weapon was terror and was seeking to "maximize civilian casualties" to put more and more pressure on Israel to relent.

He said Hamas was the root cause of the situation in Gaza, and yet there has been "zero accountability for their evil", questioning why Hamas was not being held responsible for its actions.

He said fuel tankers and medical supplies had been allowed into Gaza during the ceasefire by Israel, but Hamas had violated the terms of the truth, he added.

With 138 hostages still being held "Hamas has not even allowed the Red Cross to visit them and provide their families with the most basic sign of life. This is an abhorrent war crime", he said.

He said Israel would continue with its mission, while supporting "every humanitarian initiative", but the destruction of Hamas is the only option.

10:25 AM

Aim is not security: Palestine

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine to the UN, outlined the impact of the strikes by Israel, saying the bombardment "placed every possible impediment on humanitarian aid and access."

"And we are all supposed to pretend that this aggression is not aimed at the destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip, when it has besieged and bombed our people and deprived them of all requirements of life?" he said.

"I keep reading in the media that Israel has no clear war objectives, are we supposed to pretend that we don't know the objective is the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip?" he continued.

He said that if anyone says they are against the destruction and displacement of Palestinian people, they have to be in favour of an immediate ceasefire.

"When you refuse to call for a ceasefire, you are refusing to call for the only thing that can put an end to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This is how Israel is conducting the war, through atrocities," Mr. Mansour said.

Mr. Mansour noted that the aim of the war by Israel is not security, but to "prevent for ever any prospect of Palestinian impudence and peace".

"These intentions are clear in the Gaza Strip as well as in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem," he said.

He further underscored the universality of international law, stating that the "Israeli exceptionalism has to end, and it has to end now".

"Stop rewriting international law to fit Israeli crimes and stop calling for respect for international law while supporting an assault that has torn it into shreds," he said.

"The Palestinian people will not die in vain, the Palestinian people deserve respect ... we have earned it, we have paid the heaviest price to end it ... show us respect, not in words but in deeds, show us respect for our lives and our rights," he added.



10:05 AM

Conditions for effective aid delivery 'no longer exist' - Guterres

The president of the Council has gavelled the meeting to order, and invited the UN chief to speak.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked ambassadors for their response to his invocation of Article 99 saying he had written because "we are at breaking point" in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

"There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences."

He said public order could completely break down, increasing pressure for mass displacement across the border into Egypt.

Dire consequences

"I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region", he said, adding that the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, had already been drawn in to the conflict to varying degrees.

There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security".

He said more than 130 of his colleagues had already been killed: "this is the largest single loss of life in the history of this Organisation. Some of our staff take their children to work so they know they will live or die together."

Despite this, the UN is totally committed to stay and deliver for the people of Gaza, said the UN chief.

He said the humanitarian situation however, was "simply becoming untenable."

"The conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist."

Horror of 'human pinball'

The UN chief went on to note the catastrophic situation continues to worsen by the day.

More than 17,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the start of Israel's military operations, including over 4,000 women and 7,000 children. Tens of thousands are reported to have been injured, and many are missing, presumably under the rubble.

About 85 per cent of Gaza's population has been displaced; hospitals, schools and UN facilities have been damaged or destroyed.

There is also a serious risk of starvation and famine, Mr. Guterres reported, noting that half the people in northern Gaza and more than one third of displaced people in the south are "simply starving".

"Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread," he said, adding that people in Gaza "are being told to move like human pinballs - ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival."

'Unreserved condemnation' of Hamas attacks

The Secretary-General also reiterated his "unreservedly condemnation" of Hamas' brutal attacks on Israel on 7 October, stressing that he is "appalled" by the reports of sexual violence.

"There is no possible justification for deliberately killing some 1,200 people, including 33 children, injuring thousands more, and taking hundreds of hostages," he said, adding "at the same time, the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

"While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations," Mr. Guterres said.

He underscored that international humanitarian law includes the obligation to protect civilians and to ensure that civilians' essential needs must be met, including by facilitating the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief.

Looking into the abyss

Stressing that the people of Gaza "are looking into the abyss", the UN chief called on the international community to do "everything possible" to end their ordeal.

"I urge the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid," he said, recalling also the importance of the two-State solution, based on UN resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security.

"This is vital for Israelis, Palestinians, and for international peace and security. The eyes of the world - and the eyes of history - are watching," he said.

09:40 AM

Following the discussions, Council members are expected to vote later in the day on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire as well as an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

The draft resolution also reiterates the demand of the Council for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, notably with regard to protection of civilians in both Palestine and Israel.

Draft resolutions do not represent an official position of the Security Council until they are adopted.

In his letter the Secretary-General invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which grants him with the responsibility to "bring to the attention" of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.

It was the first time ever that Mr. Guterres had used the rarely invoked clause.

"Facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, I urge the Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe & appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared," Mr. Guterres wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after dispatching the letter.

Council's last meeting

The Security Council last discussed the situation in Gaza, in an open doors meeting, on 29 November. Here are the highlights:

"We need a true humanitarian ceasefire," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, describing a catastrophe on the ground in Gaza and underlining the need to release all hostages

Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, had "a message that resonates today as we mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: There must be a new and different approach, or we are doomed to return to the path of managing a conflict that clearly cannot be managed"

Council members, including many ministers, roundly decried the unfolding humanitarian crisis and commended the ongoing pause in fighting, with some calling for the full implementation of its resolution 2712 on the crisis

"We cannot afford to lose more lives," said the ambassador of Malta, penholder of resolution 2712, adopted in mid-November following several failed attempts

Non-Council members echoed those calls, with Qatar's Prime Minister saying "it is high time to take real measures towards peace; the region will not enjoy peace and security without the establishment of a Palestinian State"

Israel's ambassador said the Council has not addressed Hamas's "central role in the ruin of the region"

"We are at a historic crossroad," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the observer State of Palestine

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UNRWA

8 Dec 2023

Key Points

*The Gaza Strip *

On 6 December, UNRWA was able to confirm that at least one additional colleague had been killed. In total, 133 UNRWA colleagues have been killed since 7 October.

Since 7 October, up to 1.9 million people (or over 85 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip. Many people have been displaced multiple times. Families are very vulnerable as they are forced to move and move again in search of safety.

On 6 December, four UNRWA shelters in Khan Younis were evacuated following evacuation orders by Israeli Authorities. Verifications of details and casualty figures are ongoing.
Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council - on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question

United Nations Secretary-General

08 December 2023

[Bilingual as delivered; scroll down for all-English]

Senor Presidente,

Gracias por convocar esta reunion del Consejo de Seguridad en respuesta a mi carta del 6 de diciembre sobre la situacion en Gaza e Israel.

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

I wrote to the Security Council invoking Article 99 because we are at a breaking point.

There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.

We anticipate that it would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.

I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.



We have already seen the spillover in the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.

The risk of collapse of the humanitarian system is fundamentally linked with a complete lack of safety and security for our staff in Gaza, and with the nature and intensity of military operations, which are severely limiting access to people in desperate need.

The threat to the safety and security of United Nations staff in Gaza is unprecedented.

More than 130 of my colleagues have already been killed, many with their families.

This is the largest single loss of life in the history of our Organization.

Some of our staff take their children to work so they know they will live or die together.

Colleagues have shared heartbreaking messages from staff members pleading for help.

The Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Safety and Security has advised me that all possible means of mitigating the risk to staff within Gaza, short of evacuation, are closed off, because of the way this conflict has evolved.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the UN is totally committed to stay and deliver for the people of Gaza.

I pay tribute to the heroic humanitarian aid workers who remain committed to their work, despite the enormous dangers to their health and their lives.

But the situation is simply becoming untenable.

This Council called in Resolution 2712 for "the scaling up of the provision of such supplies to meet the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, especially children".

I deeply regret to inform the Council that under current conditions on the ground, the fulfilment of this mandate has become impossible.

The conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist.

The crossing point at Rafah was not designed for hundreds of trucks and is a major bottleneck.

But even if sufficient supplies were permitted into Gaza, intense bombardment and hostilities, Israeli restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications, make it impossible for UN agencies and their partners to reach most of the people in need.

Between 3 and 5 December - the two days preceding my letter - the UN could only distribute aid in one of Gaza's five governorates - Rafah.

Elsewhere, access was impossible.

People are desperate, fearful and angry. In some cases, they have expressed that anger towards our staff.

Mr. President,

All this takes place amid a spiraling humanitarian nightmare.

First, there is no effective protection of civilians.

More than 17,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the start of Israel's military operations. This includes more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children. Tens of thousands are reported to have been injured, and many are missing, presumably under the rubble.

All these numbers are increasing by the day.

Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread. So far, they have reportedly hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 healthcare facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

Over 60 percent of Gaza's housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged - some 300,000 houses and apartments.

Some 85 percent of the population have been forced from their homes.

The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs - ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.

But nowhere in Gaza is safe.

At least 88 UNRWA shelters have been hit, killing over 270 people and injuring over 900.

Conditions in shelters are overcrowded and unsanitary. People nurse open wounds. Hundreds of people stand in line for hours to use one shower or toilet.

Families who have lost everything sleep on bare concrete floors, wearing clothes they have not changed for two months.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians arrived in Rafah in recent days, overwhelming shelters there.

Many displaced families - including children, older people, pregnant women and people with disabilities - are sleeping in streets and public spaces across the city.

Mr. President,

Second, Gazans are running out of food.

According to the World Food Programme, there is a serious risk of starvation and famine.

In northern Gaza, 97 percent of households are not eating enough. In the south, the figure among displaced people is 83 percent. Half the people of the north and more than one third of displaced people in the south are simply starving.

WFP's own food stocks are running out.

In the north, nine out of ten people have spent at least one full day and night without food.

The last functioning flour mill in Gaza was destroyed on 15 November.

WFP has provided food and cash assistance to hundreds of thousands of people across Gaza since the crisis began, and is ready to scale up its operations.

However, that would require effective access to all people in need, and at least 40 trucks of food supplies every day - many times the current level.

Mr. President,

Third, Gaza's health system is collapsing while needs are escalating.

At least 286 health workers have been killed.

Hospitals have suffered heavy bombardment. Just 14 out of 36 are still functioning. Of these, three are providing basic first aid, while the others are delivering partial services.

The European Gaza Hospital, one of the two main hospitals in southern Gaza, has 370 beds. It is currently housing 1000 patients and an estimated 70,000 people seeking shelter.

There are critical shortages of drugs, blood products and medical supplies. Fuel to run the hospitals is severely rationed. Many patients are being treated on the floor and without anesthetics.

As patients with life-threatening injuries continue to arrive, wards are overflowing and staff are overwhelmed.

At the same time, the unsanitary conditions in shelters and severe shortages of food and water are leading to increases in respiratory infections, scabies, jaundice and diarrhea.

Everything I have just described represents an unprecedented situation that led to my unprecedented decision to invoke Article 99, urging the members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, and appealing for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.

Mr. President,

We are all aware that Israel began its military operation in response to the brutal terror attacks unleashed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October.

I unreservedly condemn those attacks. I am appalled by the reports of sexual violence.

There is no possible justification for deliberately killing some 1,200 people, including 33 children, injuring thousands more, and taking hundreds of hostages.

Some 130 hostages are still held captive. I call for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as their humane treatment and visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross until they are freed.

At the same time, the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

And while indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations.

International humanitarian law includes the duty to protect civilians and to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.

The laws of war also demand that civilians' essential needs must be met, including by facilitating the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief.

International humanitarian law cannot be applied selectively. It is binding on all parties equally at all times, and the obligation to observe it does not depend on reciprocity.

Mr. President,

The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss.

The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal.

I urge the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.

While we deal with the current crisis, we cannot lose sight of the only viable possibility for a peaceful future: 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.

This is vital for Israelis, Palestinians, and for international peace and security.

The eyes of the world - and the eyes of history - are watching.

It's time to act.

Thank you.

************************************************************

[All-English]

Mr. President,

Thank you for convening this Security Council meeting in response to my letter of 6 December on the situation in Gaza and Israel.

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

I wrote to the Security Council invoking Article 99 because we are at a breaking point.

There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.

We anticipate that it would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.

I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.



We have already seen the spillover in the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.

The risk of collapse of the humanitarian system is fundamentally linked with a complete lack of safety and security for our staff in Gaza, and with the nature and intensity of military operations, which are severely limiting access to people in desperate need.

The threat to the safety and security of United Nations staff in Gaza is unprecedented.

More than 130 of my colleagues have already been killed, many with their families.

This is the largest single loss of life in the history of our Organization.

Some of our staff take their children to work so they know they will live or die together.

Colleagues have shared heartbreaking messages from staff members pleading for help.

The Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Safety and Security has advised me that all possible means of mitigating the risk to staff within Gaza, short of evacuation, are closed off, because of the way this conflict has evolved.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the UN is totally committed to stay and deliver for the people of Gaza.

I pay tribute to the heroic humanitarian aid workers who remain committed to their work, despite the enormous dangers to their health and their lives.

But the situation is simply becoming untenable.

This Council called in Resolution 2712 for "the scaling up of the provision of such supplies to meet the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, especially children".

I deeply regret to inform the Council that under current conditions on the ground, the fulfilment of this mandate has become impossible.

The conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist.

The crossing point at Rafah was not designed for hundreds of trucks and is a major bottleneck.

But even if sufficient supplies were permitted into Gaza, intense bombardment and hostilities, Israeli restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications, make it impossible for UN agencies and their partners to reach most of the people in need.

Between 3 and 5 December - the two days preceding my letter - the UN could only distribute aid in one of Gaza's five governorates - Rafah.

Elsewhere, access was impossible.

People are desperate, fearful and angry. In some cases, they have expressed that anger towards our staff.

Mr. President,

All this takes place amid a spiraling humanitarian nightmare.

First, there is no effective protection of civilians.

More than 17,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the start of Israel's military operations. This includes more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children. Tens of thousands are reported to have been injured, and many are missing, presumably under the rubble.

All these numbers are increasing by the day.

Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread. So far, they have reportedly hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 healthcare facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

Over 60 percent of Gaza's housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged - some 300,000 houses and apartments.

Some 85 percent of the population have been forced from their homes.

The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs - ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.

But nowhere in Gaza is safe.

At least 88 UNRWA shelters have been hit, killing over 270 people and injuring over 900.

Conditions in shelters are overcrowded and unsanitary. People nurse open wounds. Hundreds of people stand in line for hours to use one shower or toilet.

Families who have lost everything sleep on bare concrete floors, wearing clothes they have not changed for two months.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians arrived in Rafah in recent days, overwhelming shelters there.

Many displaced families - including children, older people, pregnant women and people with disabilities - are sleeping in streets and public spaces across the city.

Mr. President,

Second, Gazans are running out of food.

According to the World Food Programme, there is a serious risk of starvation and famine.

In northern Gaza, 97 percent of households are not eating enough. In the south, the figure among displaced people is 83 percent. Half the people of the north and more than one third of displaced people in the south are simply starving.

WFP's own food stocks are running out.

In the north, nine out of ten people have spent at least one full day and night without food.

The last functioning flour mill in Gaza was destroyed on 15 November.

WFP has provided food and cash assistance to hundreds of thousands of people across Gaza since the crisis began, and is ready to scale up its operations.

However, that would require effective access to all people in need, and at least 40 trucks of food supplies every day - many times the current level.

Mr. President,

Third, Gaza's health system is collapsing while needs are escalating.

At least 286 health workers have been killed.

Hospitals have suffered heavy bombardment. Just 14 out of 36 are still functioning. Of these, three are providing basic first aid, while the others are delivering partial services.

The European Gaza Hospital, one of the two main hospitals in southern Gaza, has 370 beds. It is currently housing 1000 patients and an estimated 70,000 people seeking shelter.

There are critical shortages of drugs, blood products and medical supplies. Fuel to run the hospitals is severely rationed. Many patients are being treated on the floor and without anesthetics.

As patients with life-threatening injuries continue to arrive, wards are overflowing and staff are overwhelmed.

At the same time, the unsanitary conditions in shelters and severe shortages of food and water are leading to increases in respiratory infections, scabies, jaundice and diarrhea.

Everything I have just described represents an unprecedented situation that led to my unprecedented decision to invoke Article 99, urging the members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, and appealing for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.

Mr. President,

We are all aware that Israel began its military operation in response to the brutal terror attacks unleashed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October.

I unreservedly condemn those attacks. I am appalled by the reports of sexual violence.

There is no possible justification for deliberately killing some 1,200 people, including 33 children, injuring thousands more, and taking hundreds of hostages.

Some 130 hostages are still held captive. I call for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as their humane treatment and visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross until they are freed.

At the same time, the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

And while indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations.

International humanitarian law includes the duty to protect civilians and to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.

The laws of war also demand that civilians' essential needs must be met, including by facilitating the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief.

International humanitarian law cannot be applied selectively. It is binding on all parties equally at all times, and the obligation to observe it does not depend on reciprocity.

Mr. President,

The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss.

The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal.

I urge the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.

While we deal with the current crisis, we cannot lose sight of the only viable possibility for a peaceful future: 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.

This is vital for Israelis, Palestinians, and for international peace and security.

The eyes of the world - and the eyes of history - are watching.

It's time to act.

Thank you.

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USS Mount Whitney Returns to Homeport

US Navy

08 December 2023

From Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mario Coto, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20)

GAETA, Italy -- The U.S. 6th Fleet Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) returned to homeport in Gaeta, Italy, Dec. 8, following support of U.S. operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea since October.

While at sea, Mount Whitney worked with allied and partner navies and visited ports, including Larnaca, Republic of Cyprus and Souda Bay, Republic of Greece. These engagements strengthened regional security and stability and enhanced enduring relationships.

Mount Whitney, homeported in Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations. Also Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility.

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability for over 80 years.

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SECNAV Delivers Remarks at Pearl Harbor Remembrance Ceremony

US Navy

Boston

Speech by Carlos Del Toro

Presented on 07 December 2023

Date Published 08 December 2023



Good afternoon, everyone. It is an honor to join you here at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Thank you to the City of Boston, USS Constitution, and the National Park Service for hosting today's event.

President Rand, thank you for joining us today, your stewardship of the USS Constitution Museum, and your tireless efforts to preserve and teach our nation's proud maritime history.

Superintendent Creasey, Secretary Santiago, Commissioner Santiago, thank you for being here and for your dedicated support to our veterans and servicemembers.

We are also joined by a number of state and local officialsthank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to join us.

Commander Farrell, thank you for your exemplary leadership of "Old Ironsides," our nation'sand the world'soldest commissioned warship.

Captain Kelley, thank you for your service to our nation and our Navy, and your steadfast commitment to supporting veterans and veteran initiatives during your long career. We all look forward to the future keel-laying, christening, and commissioning of DDG 140.

Machinist's Mate First Class Johnson, thank you for your service to our country in World War II, including at Pearl Harbor on USS St. Louisthe "Lucky Lou"and in your life since. It's an honor to be here with you.

At 7:55 on December 7th, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor.

On that fateful Sunday morning, the world changed, thrusting the United States into a global conflict that would reshape the course of history.

2,403 Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, and civilians lost their lives and 1,178 more were wounded; 169 aircraft were destroyed and 159 more damaged; 3 ships were sunk and 16 damaged on Oahu.

Coinciding with the attack, the Empire of Japan launched attacks against Malaysia, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines, Wake Island, and Midway.

Our nation found ourselves at war and under siege across the whole of the Pacific, but rather than shatter our resolve, Pearl Harbor strengthened it.

In the words of President Franklin Roosevelt on December 8th, "the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."

And I would like to highlight that I am proud to have FDR's great-granddaughter on my staff today as my DCOS.

In times of crisis, the true character of a nation is revealed through the courage and resolve of its citizens. The response to the attack on Pearl Harbor exemplifies the indomitable spirit of the American people, who, in the face of unprovoked aggression, stood united in defense of liberty.

Even on that day, our nation's collective courage and resilience served as an example of our resolute determination and resolve.

16 Medals of Honor were awarded for actions on December 7th13 for service aboard ships.

One was awarded to then-Commander Cassin Young, who had command of repair ship USS Vestal, moored alongside USS Arizona.

Despite being blown overboard by the explosion of the forward magazine on Arizona, Commander Young swam back to Vestal through an inferno of burning oil.

Vestalstruck by numerous bombswas on fire and listing when he returned. Amidst the chaos and destruction, Commander Young displayed remarkable calmness and decisiveness.

He refused to give up, even in the face of overwhelming odds and the dire situation of his ship.

His leadership, bravery, and unwavering resolve inspired his crew, who worked tirelessly to save USS Vestal. Under his direction, they extinguished raging fires, stabilized the ship, and managed to maneuver it away from Arizonaand eventually beached Vestal to save it.

Other Sailors on Vestal, like Petty Officer Joe George, valiantly rescued Sailors from the Arizona.

Petty Officer Don Stratton was trapped with five of his shipmates on a burning platform above Arizona's bridge. 80 feet below them, the oil-coated water was fully engulfed in flames.

In his memoir, he wrote: "The ship was ablaze, our shipmates were dead, wounded, and fighting to live. We were all wounded, and had no way out."

But these Sailors were not alone, nor were they forgotten. Despite being ordered to cut loose from Arizona, Petty Officer George threw a line to the men and encouraged them to crawl along itover the burning waterto Vestal.

All six Arizona Sailors survived that day, despite their injuries and burns.

We often discuss World War II with the benefit of hindsightviewing our victory as inevitable, as if the march of progress is inexorable.

But our eventual victory was not inevitable on December 7th, and there was nothing inevitable about Petty Officer George throwing that line to save those six Arizona Sailors or Commander Young swimming back to Vestal.

There is nothing inevitable about the relentless valor of our peoplethe American peoplehave shown repeatedly through times of crisis, across conflicts ranging from right here in Boston to as far afield as Guadalcanal, where Captain Young perished preventing the Imperial Japanese from landing a force to retake the island.

Then, as now, the true strength of our Navy is not in ships, submarines, or aircraft, but our people and their spirit and dedication to our nation's ideals.

Service is not an obligation; it's a privilegea chance to be a part of something greater than ourselves and to uphold the values that define us as a nation.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have built and maintained the world's most capable teams thanks to that spirit of selfless service.

I vividly recall my time in command of USS Bulkeley, itself a testament to that enduring legacy. Vice Admiral Bulkeley, a Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Pacific Theater in World War II, stated, "You engage, you fight, you win. That is the reputation of our Navy, then and in the future."

That reputation, forged through the courage and sacrifice of generations of Navy personnel, still resonates 78 years after the war.

We keep hold of that reputation through our dedication to service. Every Sailor and Marine serving today has chosen to raise their right hand and swear an oath to defend the Constitution.

Captain Cassin Young and Vice Admiral Bulkeley swore that oath upon induction to the Naval Academy in 1912 and 1929, respectively. I did the same in 1979 and have done so six additional times over the past 44 years.

Service to our country and service in the armed forces is not merely about jobs or careers; it is fundamental to the survival of our democracy, deeply ingrained in the very fabric of our nationforged, initially, here in Boston at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill in 1775.

Every Sailor and Marine, past and present, has chosen to serve, and are willing to sacrifice their very lives in service to our nation.

And those selfless young men and women remain the backbone of the Department of the Navy. They are not only warfighters but diplomats, educators, and leaders.

They come from every walk of liferepresenting the rich tapestry of our 330 million citizens and drawing from a global pool of talent.

Our nation is built upon millions of individual acts of valor and courage, at home and overseas, throughout our history.

Each of us serving today carries the legacy of those who served before us. We remain ready to defend freedom and democracy around the world alongside our allies and partners.

But we do need your help, not just your goodwill. We need you to amplify our call to service, to help us recruit, and to consider, yourselves, swearing the oath of service.

We also need you to call upon Senator Tuberville to release his despicable holds on our remaining 23 Generals and Admirals so that all servicemembers may benefit from the leadership of our military's most qualified officers.

Early in my tenure, a poignant reminder of Captain Young and Petty Officer George's bravery rested in the offices of the Secretary of the Navya brass, time-worn, battle-scarred bell emblazoned with the name "USS Vestal."

It served as a testament of the sacrifices made by so many who fought courageously that day and in the years that followed.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz wrote in his message to the Pacific Fleet at the close of the war that the fallen Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines were "a cross section of democracy. They fought together as brothers in arms; they died together and now they sleep side by side. To them we have a solemn obligationthe obligation to insure that their sacrifice will help to make this a better and safer world in which to live."

That obligation remains, and that work continues. Service is not merely a duty; it is a calling, an opportunity to contribute to something greater than ourselves, to defend the values that define our nation, and to make a lasting impact on the world.

On behalf of a grateful nation, and on behalf of an immigrant familymy familythank you to all who have fought, served, and sacrificed in the long history of defending freedom around the worldand to all the families who served and sacrificed alongside them.

Thank you all here today for taking the time to remember their sacrifice in making the world a better place, and please join us in a procession to USS Cassin Young for the wreath laying and moment of silence.

May God continue to bless our country with fair winds and following seas. Thank you.

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US Vetoes UN Chief's Appeal for Gaza Cease-Fire

By Margaret Besheer December 08, 2023

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council Friday that two months into Israel's war with Hamas "we are at a breaking point," and urged them to push for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, but the United States used its veto to prevent the council from demanding one.

"The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss," Guterres said. "The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal."

The war was triggered by Hamas' October 7 terror attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people. Palestinians living in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are living in increasingly dire conditions. More than 17,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed according to Gaza's health ministry. Thousands more are injured or missing under the rubble.

The 15-nation Security Council met Friday morning after Guterres wrote to them Wednesday invoking Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which empowers him to bring to the council any matter he believes may threaten international peace and security.

It is the first time Guterres has invoked the clause in his nearly seven-year-long, crisis-plagued tenure. The last time it was directly invoked was in 1971, during fighting that led to the creation of Bangladesh and its separation from Pakistan.

While the Security Council has been discussing the Gaza conflict, internal divisions have largely prevented it from taking any meaningful action. Guterres' invocation of Article 99 is a way for him to press for the need for immediate action.

Israel's envoy questioned why, when there are so many conflicts in the world, including in Ukraine, Yemen and Syria  where chemical weapons were used  that Article 99 was not invoked until now.

"Despite the immense global impact of other conflicts and far more pressing threats to international peace and security, Israel's defensive war against Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, was the catalyst for activating Article 99," Ambassador Gilad Erdan said.

He said calls for a cease-fire were misguided and should be directed at Hamas' leadership, not Israel's.

The Security Council reconvened later Friday to vote on a draft resolution circulated by the United Arab Emirates on behalf of a group of Arab and Muslim nations. Nearly a hundred U.N. member states co-sponsored the short text. It called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the release of all hostages and humanitarian access.

The Palestinian envoy made an impassioned appeal to council members to support it.

"There is no role more important for this council than to save civilian lives  2.3 million Palestinians are fighting for their lives as we speak every single day," Ambassador Riyad Mansour said. "Save them! Tell them! Show them help is on the way!"

US veto

But the United States used its veto to block the measure. Britain abstained. The council's other 13 members supported the text, but it failed due to the U.S. veto.

Hamas condemned the U.S. veto against the draft resolution, describing it as unethical and inhumane.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, has been clear in saying it does not think the time is right for a cease-fire.

"Perhaps most unrealistically, this resolution retains a call for an unconditional cease-fire," said Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood. "I explained in my remarks this morning why this is not only unrealistic but dangerous: It would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on October 7."

He said Washington strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, not a cease-fire that would "only plant the seeds for the next war."

The Biden administration has said it would support extended pauses, like the seven-day pause in November that allowed for the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas and some 300 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The United States and Israel blame Hamas' refusal to release young women civilian hostages for the breakdown in that pause.

British Ambassador Barbara Woodward called the suffering of Palestinians "terrible and heart-wrenching" and said more and longer pauses are necessary to get aid in and hostages released.

"But we cannot vote in favor of a resolution which does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on the 7th of October," she said. "Calling for a cease-fire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage."

UAE Deputy Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said it was regrettable that in the face of untold misery, the council was unable to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

"Let me be clear: Against the backdrop of the secretary-general's grave warnings, the appeals by humanitarian actors, the world's public opinion - this council grows isolated," he said.

Palestinian envoy Mansour said the council's failure to demand a cease-fire would have dangerous consequences.

"Hundreds of people will be killed by this time tomorrow. Then hundreds more. And then thousands," Mansour said. "Children will be killed. Orphaned. Wounded. Disabled for life."

Israel's envoy thanked the United States for its support and said a cease-fire would only be possible with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas.

Aid organizations and human rights groups criticized Washington.

"The U.S. administration standing alone to veto a cease-fire, puts another nail in the coffin for U.S. credibility on matters of human rights," said Abby Maxman, Oxfam America's president and CEO.

"Once again the U.S. used its veto to prevent the Security Council from making some of the calls the U.S. itself has been demanding of Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including compliance with international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and releasing all civilians held hostage," said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch.

"By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the U.S. risks complicity in war crimes," he warned.

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UN Chief Resorts to Rare Article 99 in Bid to Stop Israel, Hamas Fighting

By VOA News December 08, 2023

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday invoked Article 99, a rarely used clause in the U.N. Charter, to warn the Security Council that the situation between Israel and Hamas could negatively affect international peace and security.

Guterres invoked Article 99 for the first time in his nearly seven-year tenure because of the "appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory," he said in a letter to the 15-nation council.

The U.N. Charter was signed in 1945 and is the foundation of the organization. Article 99 says, "The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

It is intended to raise the alarm to prevent a brewing crisis from spiraling out of control.

This is the first time Guterres has invoked the clause in his crisis-plagued tenure. The last time Article 99 was explicitly invoked was in 1971, during fighting that led to the creation of Bangladesh and its separation from Pakistan.

In several other instances, Guterres and his predecessors have used language similar to Article 99 without directly invoking it.

More than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed in eight weeks of war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. In Israel, 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed on October 7. An estimated 1.9 million Palestinians, or 80% of Gaza's population, have been displaced since the war began, and aid has been slow to reach them.

Guterres said there is "a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza."

More than 130 U.N. staff have been killed in the conflict, many with their families.

"This is the largest single loss of life in the history of our organization," Guterres told the Council Friday in a briefing on the situation. He renewed his appeal for the council to take action and push for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to save civilian lives and get aid into Gaza.

He also has warned that the situation could spill over in an already fragile and conflict-ridden region, drawing neighbors into a bigger conflagration.



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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) has called on the international community to resolutely condemn Russia's intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and to impose sanctions on those involved in their organization and conduct.

This is stated in the statement of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on the intentions of the Russian Federation to hold presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

"We also call on foreign countries not to send their citizens as observers to these pseudo-elections. Those who partake will face criminal responsibility in line with the Ukrainian legislation," the Foreign Ministry said.

On December 8, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation announced the holding of the next presidential election on March 15-17, 2024. The Russian authorities announced their intention to organize voting in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.

"Holding Russian elections on Ukrainian territories grossly violates the Constitution and legislation of Ukraine, the norms and principles of international law, in particular the UN Charter. Such an electoral process, like other similar propaganda activities in the past, will be null and void," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry emphasized that Inclusion of the votes cast in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will question the legitimacy of the overall result of the election of the president of the Russian Federation.

"Any election in Russia has nothing to do with democracy. They serve only as a tool to keep the Russian regime in power," the ministry said.
WHO: Gaza Cut Off From Food, Water, 'Anything Which Is Necessary for Any Sort of Life'

By Lisa Schlein December 08, 2023

As Israel's bombing campaign against Hamas in Gaza takes an ever-heavier toll in lives lost and as basic survival commodities become ever scarcer, the international drumbeat for a cessation of hostilities in the beleaguered Palestinian territory is getting louder.

It has been two months since the attacks on Israel by U.S.-designated terror group Hamas that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, mostly civilians, among them hundreds of young people who were slaughtered while attending a music festival.

It has been two months since more than 240 hostages were snatched and spirited to Gaza, where they reportedly have languished in abysmal conditions.

"But it is almost two months since the start of Israel's campaign, not only in self-defense against Hamas and armed groups, but against the whole population of Gaza," said Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization spokesperson, in unusually blunt remarks.

Speaking Friday in Geneva, Lindmeier accused Israel of conducting "a campaign against innocent civilians  women, children and men that have been targeted since the last two months."

"It is cutting off Gaza from water, food, anything which is necessary for any sort of life," he said, noting that conditions for millions of people who are being pushed into ever smaller, overcrowded areas further south, in what had once been called safe zones, were becoming "more and more horrible by the day."

Israel maintains that it is doing its best to focus its fire only on legitimate Hamas targets but that the group has deliberately placed its military and administrative assets amid the civilian population, effectively using the people as human shields.

Lindmeier said WHO's staff in Gaza describe horrific scenarios of children begging, crying for water.

"We are at that level where most normal and basic supplies are not available anymore," he said.

The WHO spokesman noted that people were receiving less than two liters of water per day instead of the seven liters per person per day needed to fulfill their basic needs. "And that is water for everything, not only for drinking," he said.

"We also have scenarios that describe people starting to cut down telephone poles to have a little bit of firewood still to keep warm, to maybe cook if they have anything available," he said. "So, we are at that level where really the civilization is about to break down."

Since the temporary cease-fire ended and Israel resumed its bombing campaign on December 1, U.N. humanitarian agencies report more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 17,000.

They report 70% of the victims are women and children, of whom at least 7,200 are children.

Commenting on the situation in Gaza Thursday, U.N. Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said, "Enough is enough. The fighting must stop.

"The humanitarian system is on the verge of collapse. We must avoid such an outcome at all costs," he said.

UNRWA, the U.N. relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees, warns that the conflict is posing very real threats to international peace and security as well as the lives of nearly the entire population in Gaza.

In a letter sent Thursday to the president of the U.N. General Assembly, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said his agency's ability to continue delivering its mandate in Gaza "has now become very limited."

"With constant bombardment, low and irregular flow of food and other humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip compared to the immense needs of displaced people in our overcrowded shelters and outside, UNRWA's ability to assist and protect people is reducing fast," he said.

WHO spokesman Lindmeier said that WHO convoys carrying food, water and medical supplies have been stopped from entering Gaza more than once and that Friday's operation to bring medical supplies to the north and evacuate 12 patients to the south for medical treatment had been suspended.

"The situation in Gaza is beyond belief," he said. "The health system is on its knees," and the south could experience the same fate as the north.

"Gaza cannot afford to lose a single hospital or any single hospital bed. ... Patients are bleeding on the floor. Trauma yards resemble battle fields," said Lindmeier.

"This must end. This callousness must end," he said. "We need a cease-fire, and we need it now."

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Taliban Reportedly Dismantled Islamic State Bases in Western Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul December 08, 2023

Taliban security forces in Afghanistan have reportedly killed an Islamic State operative and captured several others during overnight raids on the militant group's bases near the border with Iran.

"important network" of the regional branch of Islamic State known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, said a Taliban-affiliated media outlet Friday.

The network was involved in some of the recent attacks on the Shi'ite Muslim community in Afghanistan, according to Al-Mersaad, which is tasked to counter IS-K propaganda in the country and report on Taliban counterterrorism operations against the group.

Using a local acronym for the group, Al-Mersaad noted that "some of the arrested ISKP members are highly important."

It was not possible to verify the claims from independent sources and Taliban government officials rarely comment on reports published by the state media outlet.

US Concerns

The United States, in recent statements, has described IS-K as a significant threat to regional security, warning the group could soon launch an international attack from Afghan bases.

On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden attempted to address those concerns in a letter he wrote to Congress.

"United States military personnel remain postured outside Afghanistan to address threats to the United States homeland and United States interests that may arise from inside Afghanistan," Biden said without elaborating.

Taliban authorities reject U.S. concerns, claiming their security forces have significantly degraded IS-K's abilities to prevent it from posing a threat to Afghanistan or beyond.

Al-Mersaad recently published details and pictures of what it said were the "top 12 leaders/officials" of IS-K who were killed by Taliban special forces this year.

Last week, the U.S. State Department said in its annual report that IS-K continued to conduct terrorist attacks against Afghan civilians, particularly members of the Shi'ite community and the Taliban.

"In 2022, ISIS-K conducted cross-border attacks in Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan and maintained ambitions to attack the West," the report noted, using an acronym for the regional Islamic State affiliate.

"While the Taliban committed to preventing terrorist groups from using Afghanistan to conduct attacks against the United States and its allies, its ability to prevent al-Qa'ida elements, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and ISIS-K from mounting external operations remained unclear," the report said.

It added that the Taliban had hosted and sheltered al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, the Afghan capital, before he died in a U.S. airstrike on July 30, 2022. The Taliban have refused to comment on the allegations to date, saying the matter remains under investigation.

The Islamist Taliban seized power from an American-backed government in August 2021, when all U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan after two decades of war with the then-insurgent Taliban.

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Varying Accounts of Nigerian Village Bombing Spark Debate About Cover-up

By Timothy Obiezu December 08, 2023

The governor of Nigeria's Kaduna state criticized Nigerian defense officials Friday after they said terrorists had embedded themselves in the village that was hit by a drone strike Sunday, killing at least 87 people.

Governor Uba Sani said the statement was careless and lacked empathy.

Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International said the military is trying to suppress atrocities.

Sani, speaking to Lagos-based Channels Television, said the claim by Nigerian defense authorities that the military was targeting terrorists in Tudun Biri village contradicted the initial position of state authorities and the Nigerian army.

He called for an investigation.

"We will not slow down in insisting that this investigation must be concluded within a time frame," Sani said. "The rebuilding of the community will start in the next three to four weeks."

The airstrike conducted by drone occurred as the residents of Tudun Biri gathered to mark the birthday of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad on Sunday night.

The Nigerian army said it was an accident. This week, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu called for a thorough investigation and promised to hold officials accountable.

But Amnesty International said authorities frequently make such promises without taking action.

Isa Sanusi, director at Amnesty International in Nigeria, said, "The first thing the government should've done was to establish an independent inquiry that will reveal the truth. I don't give any iota of regard to that claim that anyone found responsible will be punished. It's just an empty political statement."

Amnesty International accused authorities of trying to cover up human rights atrocities by putting out contradictory explanations.

Security analyst Chidi Omeje said he suspects that an intelligence failure is to blame but that only an inquiry can learn the truth.

"This is not the first time we've had this kind of accident," Omeje said. "So, I think they should let go the issue about that statement and investigate what really went down."

Last December, an airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force killed 64 people in northwest Zamfara state. One month later, a military airstrike killed nearly 40 herders in Nasarawa state near the capital.

Critics say authorities have yet to hold anyone responsible for those killings.

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Central Asian Trade Corridor Gains Interest Amid Regional Tensions

By Navbahor Imamova December 08, 2023

The emergence of a Middle Corridor  a transit network linking Asia with European markets by way of Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus  is rapidly gaining momentum as an alternative to Russia-controlled routes.

While the Trans-Caspian routes, also sometimes referred to as the China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor, have come into their own over the past 30 years, Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has prompted a significant increase in traffic over the routes.

Gaidar Abdikerimov, who heads the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) association, reports that his network now comprises 25 transport and logistics companies including ports, vessels, railways and terminals. Its members also include 11 countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, China and Singapore.

"This all means that there is a high interest in our route," Abdikerimov said in a recent forum at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) in Washington. He told the audience that over the past 10 months, more than 2.256 million tons of cargo have been transported over the route.

Abdikerimov's office is based in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The oil-rich republic stretches from China's northwestern frontier to the Caspian Sea, where cargo can be offloaded onto ships and carried to Azerbaijan in the Caucasus.

"We have decreased the estimated delivery time of transit container trains from 38 days to 19 days," he said.

The World Bank stressed the "catalyzing potential" of the Middle Corridor in a November 27 report that focused on its beneficial impact on Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia - Azerbaijan's western neighbor providing access to the Black Sea.

"There was indeed a spike in the volume of traffic in 2022," said Charles Kunaka, a lead transport specialist at the World Bank. "We see the Middle Corridor as adding to the resilience of the transport networks across the region, and especially connectivity between Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia."

The World Bank foresees two major types of commerce flowing through the Middle Corridor, the first being trade between China and Europe.

"We see this type of trade as being relatively elastic. And we saw this in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that most of this trade initially switched to the Middle Corridor," Kunaka said in a presentation to the CACI forum.

"But after some time, because of the constraints that still affect the performance of the Middle Corridor, we see some of this trade switching to maritime transport, for instance."

The second flow is within the region itself, which the World Bank sees as a "more solid foundation for the development of the Middle Corridor." Much of the traffic in this category involves fertilizers, minerals and grains.

Kunaka underscored the importance of collaboration among governments, the private sector, development banks and other relevant institutions if the route is to overcome several obstacles to its continued growth, including logistical and bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Grievances expressed by stakeholders in the project include high costs, unreliability, bottlenecks, poor service quality and a lack of transparency and traceability, he said.

Digitalization and the use of electronic documents by both the railways and on the Caspian Sea would ease the process, Kanaka suggested.

"A combination of investments and efficiency measures can reduce travel times along the corridor by half and triple trade flows by 2030," said the World Bank report. "A fully functioning corridor would help to shield China-Europe trade and supply chains from shocks."

Abdikerimov agreed, stressing that the Trans-Caspian routes must also connect with the Black Sea ports.

"Speed, quality service, sustainability and safety. We are systematically going towards these goals," he said at the CACI forum.

Brenda Shaffer of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, believes the World Bank study is an indication that "the Middle Corridor is increasingly of interest to multiple stakeholders."

Speaking on the same virtual panel as Abdikerimov, Shaffer described an emerging alliance among Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, pointing to a growing convergence in the messaging of these countries' diplomats in Washington and other capitals.

She thinks the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine "created a security threat to the region, especially to those that border Russia, such as Kazakhstan."

For Shaffer, Turkey is a unique player, steadily boosting its role in the Caspian region.

By backing Azerbaijan during its invasion to reconquer the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under the de facto control of ethnic Armenians since the early 1990s, Ankara demonstrated "that cooperation with Turkey can have meaningful security benefits."

She also expects Turkmenistan's gas exports  currently directed mainly toward China  to shift westward.

"Increasing volumes of oil are going across the Caspian in various forms of small tankers," she said, adding that all sides find it in their interests to increase those volumes significantly.

"Turkmenistan is dealing with potential demand destruction or lack of reliability of demand from China, surprisingly, for gas. As Russia increases its gas exports to China, they're cheaper," Shaffer said.

CACI's Mamuka Tsereteli urges the U.S. government to focus on the value of increasing connectivity across the Black and Caspian seas through Central Asia and beyond.

"For Central and Eastern European states with a decades-long dependency on Russian resources in Russia-linked infrastructure, South Caucasus and Central Asia are major potential alternatives," Tsereteli said.

Tsereteli hopes the United States and the EU will help in the development of the Middle Corridor, pointing out that Central Asia is also a large market for Western goods and services.

Kazakhstan's Abdikerimov underlined that "Russia is definitely not fond of this Middle Corridor," even though the goal has never been to avoid or exclude it. He said the Trans-Caspian transport network he oversees has always had its eyes on Turkey, North Africa and Southern Europe.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 08 December 2023 - Day 653

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that on 5 December 2023, a Russian Naval Aviation Su-24M FENCER D fighter bomber was highly likely shot down by to a Ukrainian surface-to-air Missile (SAM) over the north-western Black Sea in the vicinity of Ukraine's Snake Island.

Since summer 2023, Russia has continued to conduct high-risk, crewed strike missions against the island. This is likely mainly for messaging reasons because the island has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance and Russia wants to demonstrate it can project force across the Black Sea.

The two-man crew was likely lost: the location and operational conditions would make a successful Russian search and rescue mission extremely challenging. Both sides still suffer regular combat aircraft losses. Overall, air defences continue to severely limit the effectiveness of tactical air operations.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian forces launched a total of 27x missile strikes, 49x air strikes, 27x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Since the beginning of the day, Russian occupiers have launched strikes on Ukraine, using 20x Kh-101/Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles, 1x Iskander-M ballistic missile and 6x S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles. The Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed 14x Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles. Unfortunately, the Russian attacks have resulted in civilian casualties and injuries. Private residential buildings as well as other civilian infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.

Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes. No signs of formation of an offensive group. Certain units of the armed forces of Belarus continue their missions in the areas bordering Ukraine.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russia maintains its military presence in the areas of russia bordering Ukraine. Russia continues its sabotage and reconnaissance activities, shelling Ukrainian settlements from the territory of Russia and increases the density of minefields along the state border of Ukraine. Around 15x settlements came under Russian artillery and mortar fire, including Loknya, Iskryskivshchyna, Hrabovs'ke, Seredyna-Buda (Sumy oblast), Hur'iv Kozachok, Veterynarne, Hraniv (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup'yans'k axis: Ukrainian defenders repelled 9x Russian attacks in the vicinities of Syn'kivka and Ivanivka (Kharkiv oblast). Russian forces launched an air strike near Petropavlivka and Podoly (Kharkiv oblast). The Russian invaders fired artillery and mortars at around 10x settlements, including Syn'kivka, Petropavlivka, Ivanivka, Berestove (Kharkiv oblast).

Lyman axis: Ukrainian defense forces repelled an attack of the Russian forces who attempted to force Ukrainian units out of their positions in the vicinity of Spirne (Donetsk oblast). Moreover, Russian forces launched air strikes in the area of Serebryans'ke forestry (Luhansk oblast) and Serebryanka (Donetsk oblast). The Russian occupiers fired artillery and mortars at around 10x settlements, including Nevs'ke, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Yampolivka, Tors'ke, Serebryanka, Verkhn'okam'yans'ke (Donetsk oblast).

Bakhmut axis: Ukrainian defenders repelled 10x attacks near Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka and Andriivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched an air strike in the vicinity of Chasiv Yar (Donetsk oblast). Around 10x settlements, including Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, Andriivka (Donetsk oblast), came under artillery and mortar fire.

Avdiivka axis: Ukrainian defenders repelled 32x attacks in the area east of Novobakhmutivka, Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonen'ke, Pervomais'ke (Donetsk oblast), where Russian forces, with air support, was making unsuccessful attempts to breach Ukrainian defenses. Also, Russian forces launched an air strike near Lastochkyne (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Berdychi, Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonen'ke, Nevel's'ke (Donetsk oblast).

Mar'inka axis: Ukrainian defense forces continue to hold back Russian forces in the vicinities of Krasnohorivka, Mar'inka, Pobjeda and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast), where Russian forces launched 20x failed attacks on positions of Ukrainian defenders. The settlements of Hostre, Heorhiivka, Mar'inka, Pobjeda, Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast) were under artillery and mortar fire of the occupiers.

Shakhtars'ke axis: Russian forces conducted no offensives. Around 10x settlements, including Vodyane, Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Urozhaine (Donetsk oblast), came under artillery and mortar fire.

Zaporizhzhia axis: Ukrainian defense forces repelled 1x Russian attack west of Verbove (Zaporizhzhia oblast). More than 20x settlements, including Charivne, Hulyaipole, Huliaipilske, Mala Tokmachka, P'yatykhatky, Kam'yans'ke (Zaporizhzhia oblast), came under artillery and mortar fire.

Kherson axis: Russian forces fired artillery at the settlement of Ivanivka (Kherson oblast), and the city of Kherson.

Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold their ground on the left bank of the Dnipro River (Kherson oblast) and inflict fire on Russian forces.

During the day of December 8, Ukrainian Air Force launched 3x strikes on concentrations of troops, weapons and military equipment, and 1x strike on an electronic warfare station of the Russian occupiers.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in the period of 38 December 2023, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted 30 group strikes with high-precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles on the military airfield infrastructure: arsenals, storage sites for artillery ammunition, military hardware, as well as enemy POL bases. In addition, the locations of the AFU units, nationalist formations, and foreign mercenaries were hit. All the assigned targets have been engaged.

In Kupyansk direction, units the Zapad Group of Forces have improved the situation along the front line in several sectors and repelled 19 AFU attacks. Aviation, artillery, and heavy flamethrowers hit the manpower and hardware of the 25th Air Assault, 57th Motorised Infantry, 41st, 43rd, and 60th Mechanised Brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Sinkovka, Ivanovka, Berestovoye, Peschanoye (Kharkov region), and Nevskoye (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses amounted to more than 480 Ukrainian troops, three tanks, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, and seven field artillery guns.

In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have improved the situation along the front line near Yampolovka (Donetsk People's Republic) and with support of aviation and artillery fire repelled 10 attacks launched by AFU assault groups. In addition, strikes were delivered at cluster of manpower of the 95th Air Assault, 63rd and 66th Mechanised, and 12th Special Forces brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Kirovsk, Torskoye, Yampol, and Serebryanka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were more than 1,445 troops, 11 armoured fighting vehicles, 17 motor vehicles, and five field artillery guns.

In Donetsk direction, the Yug Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on AFU manpower and hardware near Mariynka, Kurdyumovka, Bogdanovka, Andreyevka, and Kleshcheyevka (Donetsk People's Republic). Over the past week, 18 attacks launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been repelled in this area.

The enemy losses were more than 1,560 troops, 12 armoured fighting vehicles, 17 motor vehicles, and 22 field artillery guns.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, aviation, and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the 58th Motorised Infantry, 79th Air Assault, 23rd and 72nd Mechanised, and 102nd territorial defence brigades near Novomikhailovka, Ugledar, Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Levadnoye (Zaporozhye region).

Over the week, the enemy has suffered losses of more than 845 troops, three tanks, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, 17 motor vehicles, 12 field artillery guns, as well as one Grad MLRS vehicle.

In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian troops carried out intensive defence, during which they repelled five attacks launched by assault groups of the 82nd Air Assault, 117th and 118th Mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Verbovoye, Nesteryanka, and Uspenovka (Zaporozhye region).

Moreover, the Russian Armed Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of AFU's 46th Airmobile, 33rd and 65th Mechanised brigades near Dorozhnyanka, Malaya Tokmachka, and Rabotino (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses amounted to up to 260 Ukrainian troops, six armoured fighting vehicles, 15 motor vehicles, and five field artillery guns.

?? In Kherson direction, the enemy's attempts to cross the Dnepr River to land on the left bank and islands were thwarted by complex fire strikes and preventive actions of the Russian Armed Forces. Moreover, aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of AFU's 35th and 36th Marines, 124th Territorial Defence brigades near Tyaginka, Tokarevka, Nikolskoye, and Chernobayevka (Kherson region).

As a result of the combat actions, the enemy losses were up to 350 troops, 13 field artillery guns, 17 motor vehicles, and 21 boats.

Air defence systems shot down five Ukrainian aircraft: three MiG-29, two Su-25, and one Mi-8 of the Ukrainian Air Force. In addition, 11 HIMARS projectiles, two HARM anti-radiation missiles, two S-200 converted surface-to-surface missiles, one JDAM guided aerial bomb, as well as 224 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down.

Moreover, 12 Ukrainian servicemen have been taken prisoner during the week.

In total, 550 airplanes and 257 helicopters, 9,577 unmanned aerial vehicles, 442 air defence missile systems, 13,894 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,188 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 7,279 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 16,056 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.





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Support for West African states in their fight against terrorism

Germany - Federal Government

On Wednesday the Federal Cabinet agreed on a training mission for police forces in West African states as part of an EU Mission. The goal of the mission is to help security forces in Benin, Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast to combat terrorism. Questions and answers about the deployment.

Wednesday, 6 December 2023

What did the Federal Cabinet approve?

Federal and state police officers from Germany are to take part in the European Union's mission in Benin, Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast (EU security and defence initiative in support of West African countries of the Gulf of Guinea - EUSDI GoG).

Up to 15 police officers may be deployed. They will take up their work on 11 December 2023. The initial duration of the EU Mission is two years.

What is the goal of the mission?

The goal is to build civil security and military defence force capacity in order to combat terrorism more effectively. This is particularly relevant in vulnerable areas in the northern parts of Benin, Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

The mission will focus on advice and training for security and defence forces. Another goal is to strengthen the rule of law and trust between citizens and security forces.

Why is Germany participating in this mission?

Recent political developments in Niger illustrate that it is getting harder for neighbouring states to protect themselves against destabilising influences from the Sahel region, where terrorist attacks have become more common in recent years. The mission will seek to help prevent a further spread of these unstable conditions to neighbouring countries on the Gulf of Guinea.

It is an opportunity for the EU to implement concrete measures in the region and thus prove itself as a reliable partner in the field of security policy. In addition, the mission is to contribute to strengthening ties between the West African states and the EU.

What is the legal basis for the deployment?

The legal basis is the mission agreed by the EU Council on 3 August 2023. The EUSDI GoG Mission was adopted in the Council Decision (CFSP: Common Foreign and Security Policy) 2023/1599. This deployment is designed as a civil-military CSDP (common security and defence policy) mission with the goal to provide advice and training for civil security forces and military defence forces. The mission is taking place at the explicit request of Benin, Ghana, Togo and the Ivory Coast.

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Two Russian Nationals Working with Russia's Federal Security Service Charged with Global Computer Intrusion Campaign

Thursday, December 7, 2023

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

Indictment Alleges the So-Called "Callisto Group" Hacked Computers in the United States and Allied Countries, and Stole Information Used in Foreign Malign Influence Operations Designed to Influence the U.K.'s 2019 Elections

A federal grand jury in San Francisco returned an indictment on Tuesday charging two individuals with a campaign to hack into computer networks in the United States, the United Kingdom, other North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries and Ukraine, all on behalf of the Russian government.

According to court documents, Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko (  ), an officer in Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 18, Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets (  ) and other unindicted conspirators employed a sophisticated spear phishing campaign to gain unauthorized, persistent access (i.e., "hack") into victims' computers and email accounts.

"The Russian government continues to target the critical networks of the United States and our partners, as highlighted by the indictment unsealed today," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "Through this malign influence activity directed at the democratic processes of the United Kingdom, Russia again demonstrates its commitment to using weaponized campaigns of cyber espionage against such networks in unacceptable ways. The Department of Justice will respond to such behavior with an even more determined commitment to disrupt those activities and to hold accountable the individuals responsible."

"Today's indictment is part of a coordinated international response to send a message to the conspirators that the whole of the United States government stands together and with our partners internationally to identify and disrupt cyber espionage actors, particularly those seeking to obtain government information and attempting to create chaos in democratic processes," said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. "We are grateful to all of our partners for their assistance in addressing these threats posed by the FSB's action in the Northern District of California, across the United States and around the world."

"The FBI will not stand idly by as Russia continues to perpetuate this type of targeted malicious activity," said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI's Cyber Division. "Russian interference through malign foreign influence campaigns is deplorable, and we will not tolerate it in the United States or directed against our foreign partners. The FBI is dedicated to combating this pervasive threat and will tirelessly seek to prevent and disrupt these criminal acts carried out by Russia."

The indictment, which was unsealed today, alleges the conspiracy targeted current and former employees of the U.S. Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, Department of State, defense contractors, and Department of Energy facilities between at least October 2016 and October 2022. In addition, the indictment alleges the conspirators - known publicly by the name "Callisto Group" - targeted military and government officials, think tank researchers and staff, and journalists in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and that information from certain of these targeted accounts was leaked to the press in Russia and the United Kingdom in advance of U.K. elections in 2019.

As a common example, the conspirators used "spoofed" email accounts designed to look like personal and work-related email accounts of the group's targets. The conspirators allegedly also sent sophisticated looking emails that appeared to be from email providers suggesting users had violated terms of service. These messages were designed to trick victims into providing their email account credentials to false login prompts. Once the conspirators fraudulently obtained the victim's credentials, they were able to use those credentials to access the victims' email accounts at will.

In addition to the indictment, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

announced that it has sanctioned both Peretyatko and Korinets for their roles in malicious cyber-enabled activity. Moreover, the United Kingdom has issued sanctions of its own, and the U.S. Department of State announced rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Peretyatko and Korinets

, as well as their conspirators.

In addition to the name "Callisto Group," FSB Center 18 is known by cybersecurity investigators as "Dancing Salome" by Kaspersky Labs, "STAR BLIZZARD" by Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center and "COLDRIVER" by Google's Threat Analysis Group.

The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, namely, computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison for PERETYATKO, and up to 10 years for KORINETS. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the assigned judge.

The investigation was conducted jointly by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, the National Security Cyber Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division and the FBI San Francisco Field Office. The FBI's Cyber Division, Cyber Assistant Legal Attaches, and Legal Attaches in countries around the world provided essential support. Numerous victims cooperated and provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Note: This release has been updated to reflect the correct criminal offense and statutory penalties.

Peretyatko Korinets indictment

Topics: Cybercrime

Countering Nation-State Threats

Components: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

National Security Division (NSD)

USAO - California, Northern

Press Release Number: 23-1384

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Cyber: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the protection of democratic processes against malicious cyber activities

European Council / Council of the European Union

Council of the EU

Press release

7 December 2023

The European Union and its Member States strongly condemn malicious cyber activities targeting democratic institutions and electoral processes. We closely monitor any attempts of cyber-attacks on our democratic processes, especially in the context of the upcoming European elections. As pressure is mounting on democracy globally, we continue assisting and working with partners against these ongoing cyber threats. In this vein, the European Union and its Member States share the serious concern of the United Kingdom and other partners as stated in their declarations on December 7th and express our full solidarity. Activities that seek to threaten our integrity and security, democratic values and principles and the core functioning of democracies are unacceptable.

Those activities are contrary to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace as endorsed by all UN Members. We continue to promote due diligence and responsible State behaviour in cyberspace and call upon all states to comply with these norms and principles.

We have called out against those activities before. For instance, in 2020 we imposed sanctions on those responsible for the hack of the Bundestag. In 2021, we made a Declaration strongly denouncing malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as Ghostwriter, targeting numerous electoral processes in different EU Member States.

The European Union and its Member States have the responsibility for and are determined to protect and defend our electoral and political processes. We remain vigilant and ready to undertake any action necessary from the EU Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox, including sanctions to prevent and respond to unacceptable cyber-attacks.

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Former UK PM Johnson admits COVID mistakes

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:28, December 07, 2023

LONDON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Boris Johnson admitted on Wednesday that he made mistakes during the COVID-19 pandemic and was "deeply sorry," but he insisted the mistakes were inevitable.

"Can I say that I understand the feelings of the victims and their families, and I am deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering of those victims and their families," Johnson said as he began two days of questioning by lawyers for a judge-led inquiry about his handling of the pandemic while serving as prime minister.

"Inevitably, in the course of trying to handle a very, very difficult pandemic in which we had to balance appalling harms on either side of the decision, we may have made mistakes," he said. "Inevitably, we got some things wrong. I think we were doing our best at the time."

Johnson was forced to step down in mid-2022 after support for him evaporated over the "partygate" scandal. He was fined by the police for attending a party in 2020 during the country's COVID-19 lockdown, becoming the first serving UK prime minister in history to break the law. Revelations of him and his employees reveling in booze-fueled parties in 2020 and 2021 at Downing Street infuriated the British public.

COVID-19 killed more than 230,000 people in the UK, one of the highest death tolls in Europe.

The COVID-19 inquiry is chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, a former Court of Appeal judge. The inquiry is split into four areas: resilience and preparedness; core UK decision making and political governance; the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare systems; vaccines, therapeutics and antiviral treatment.

Hallett said she intends to publish the report on the first area of work by early summer 2024.

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U.K., U.S. Sanction Two Russians Accused Of Cyber Spying On British Politicians, Journalists

By RFE/RL December 07, 2023

The British Foreign Office and the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on December 7 against two Russians for their ties to a group of cybercriminals sponsored by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that Britain and the United States say has targeted people and entities in the two countries and other partner countries.

The United States also announced an indictment charging the two Russians -- identified as Ruslan Peretyatko and Andrei Korinets -- with conducting a campaign to hack into computers in the United States, Britain, and other NATO countries "all on behalf of the Russian government."

The U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement on December 7 that the cyber-spying was conducted by Star Blizzard, also known as the Callisto Group, an entity that Britain's cybersecurity center has established with quasi-total certainty is run by Center 18 -- an FSB unit identified as being behind a series of cyber-espionage operations targeting Britain.

Following an investigation, the Foreign Office placed sanctions on Star Blizzard members Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko and Andrei Stanislavovich Korinets "for their involvement in the preparation of spear-phishing campaigns and associated activity that resulted in unauthorized access and exfiltration of sensitive data, which was intended to undermine U.K. organizations and more broadly, the U.K. government."

Among the actions conducted by Star Blizzard, the statement enumerated the targeting, including "spear-phishing," of British lawmakers from various political parties since at least 2015; the hack of British-U.S. trade documents that were leaked ahead of the 2019 general election; and the targeting of journalists, universities, the public sector, NGOs, and civil society groups that have a key role in British democracy.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that, in sanctioning Korinets and Peretyatko and summoning the Russian ambassador, Britain was "shining a light on yet another example of how Russia chooses to operate on the global stage."

He said Russia's attempts to interfere in U.K. politics "are completely unacceptable and seek to threaten our democratic processes."

The United States took action against Peretyatko and Korinets "in solidarity and support with the United Kingdom" after identifying their connection to the FSB unit and its activity targeting U.S. critical government networks, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a news release.

The U.S. Justice Department said the indictment charges each defendant with conspiracy to commit computer fraud against the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The men are presumed to be in Russia and would risk being brought to the United States for prosecution on the charges only if they were arrested in a country that has an extradition treaty with the United States. The sanctions freeze any assets they hold in U.S. jurisdictions and bar people in the United States from conducting business or any other dealings with them.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said in the Justice Department's news release that the indictment unsealed on December 7 highlights that the Russian government continues to target the critical networks of the United States and its partners.

"Through this malign influence activity directed at the democratic processes of the United Kingdom, Russia again demonstrates its commitment to using weaponized campaigns of cyber espionage against such networks in unacceptable ways," Olsen said.

The Treasury Department said the FSB has conducted spear-phishing campaigns designed to gain access to targeted e-mail accounts and maintain access to them to obtain potentially sensitive information.

The department said that Korinets and Peretyatko operated between at least 2016 and 2020. Their activities included creating malicious domain infrastructure for FSB spear-phishing campaigns and using several e-mail addresses designed to mimic legitimate management accounts of well-known technology companies.

One of the fake e-mail accounts intended to mimic a retired U.S. Air Force general and, since the date of its activation until late 2019, it had sent at least 20 spear-phishing e-mails, which included domains created by Korinets, the Treasury Department said.

Fraudulent e-mail accounts created by Peretyatko sent spear-phishing e-mails purporting to be from a major software company directing victims to change their passwords in an attempt to harvest their credentials.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-uk-cyber-spying- sanctions/32720847.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has announced groundwork being prepared for 2024 that will force the Russian Federation to permanently leave the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"We showed the whole world that we can make gains despite the fact that we do not have such a powerful fleet. We forced Russia to withdraw from the temporarily occupied Crimea. This groundwork that we are preparing for 2024 will give us a very good ability to ensure that they leave our Crimea forever," Umerov said during the national telethon.
UK exposes attempted Russian cyber interference in politics and democratic processes

The UK condemns Russia's sustained attempts at political interference in the UK and globally.

7 December 2023

the KGB's successor agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB) is behind sustained unsuccessful attempts to interfere in UK political processes

targets include politicians, civil servants, journalists, NGOs and other civil society organisations

in response, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has sanctioned individuals involved in the group's activity and summoned the Russian Ambassador

The UK and allies have today (December 7th) exposed a series of attempts by the Russian Intelligence Services to target high-profile individuals and entities through cyber operations. The UK Government judges that this was done with the intent to use information obtained to interfere in UK politics and democratic processes.

Centre 18, a unit within Russia's Intelligence Services, the FSB, has been identified as being accountable for a range of cyber espionage operations targeting the UK.

The activity was in turn conducted by Star Blizzard; a group that the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - a part of GCHQ - assesses is almost certainly subordinate to FSB Centre 18.

While some attacks resulted in documents being leaked, attempts to interfere with UK politics and democracy have not been successful.

Star Blizzard is also commonly known as Callisto Group, SEABORGIUM or COLDRIVER and is operated by FSB officers. The group has also selectively leaked and amplified the release of information in line with Russian confrontation goals, including to undermine trust in politics in the UK and likeminded states.

In particular, the UK has identified the FSB - through the activity conducted by Star Blizzard - as being involved in the following:

targeting, including spear-phishing, of parliamentarians from multiple political parties, from at least 2015 through to this year.

the hack of UK-US trade documents that were leaked ahead of the 2019 General Election - previously attributed to the Russian state via Written Ministerial Statement in 2020.

the 2018 hack of the Institute for Statecraft, a UK thinktank whose work included initiatives to defend democracy against disinformation, and the more recent hack of its founder Christopher Donnelly, whose account was compromised from December 2021; in both instances documents were subsequently leaked.

targeting of universities, journalists, public sector, non-government organisations and other civil society organisations, many of whom play a key role in UK democracy

Following a National Crime Agency investigation, the UK has today sanctioned two members of Star Blizzard for their involvement in the preparation of spear-phishing campaigns and associated activity that resulted in unauthorised access and exfiltration of sensitive data, which was intended to undermine UK organisations and more broadly, the UK government.

These sanctions have been delivered jointly with the US, and are the latest in our bilateral efforts to counter Russian malicious cyber activity that seeks to undermine our, and our allies', integrity and prosperity. The US Department of Justice have concurrently unsealed indictments against the individuals designated today.

The individuals being designated in the UK and US are:

Ruslan Aleksandrovich PERETYATKO, who is a Russian FSB intelligence officer and a member of Star Blizzard AKA the Callisto Group

Andrey Stanislavovich KORINETS, AKA Alexey DOGUZHIEV, who is a member of Star Blizzard AKA the Callisto Group

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also summoned the Russian Ambassador to express the UK's deep concern about Russia's sustained attempts to use cyber to interfere in political and democratic processes in the UK and beyond.

In a statement to the House earlier today the Minister for Europe Leo Docherty emphasised that attempts to interfere with UK politics and democracy have not been successful. However, it is likely that Russia and other adversaries will continue to make attempts to use cyber means to interfere in UK politics. The NCSC alongside the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada will today publish a cyber security advisory to inform network defenders of how to mitigate this activity, and NCSC will publish guidance for high-risk individuals whilst providing further information around support available.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:

Russia's attempts to interfere in UK politics are completely unacceptable and seek to threaten our democratic processes. Despite their repeated efforts, they have failed. In sanctioning those responsible and summoning the Russian Ambassador today, we are exposing their malign attempts at influence and shining a light on yet another example of how Russia chooses to operate on the global stage. We will continue to work together with our allies to expose Russian covert cyber activity and hold Russia to account for its actions.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said:

As I warned earlier this year, state actors, and the 'Wagner-style' sub-state hackers they use to do their dirty work, will continue to target our public institutions and our democratic processes. We will continue to call this activity out, to raise our defences, and to take action against the perpetrators. Online is the new frontline. We are taking a whole of society approach to ensuring we have the robust systems and cutting-edge skills needed to resist these attempts to undermine our democracy.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

An attack against our democratic institutions is an attack on our most fundamental British values and freedoms. The UK will not tolerate foreign interference and through the National Security Act, we are making the UK a harder operating environment for those seeking to interfere in our democratic institutions.

The activity announced today is part of a broader pattern of malign cyber activity conducted by the Russian Intelligence Services across the globe. In recent years the UK and allies have exposed Russian Intelligence for their role in ViaSat, SolarWinds, and targeting of Critical National Infrastructure. In May, the NCSC alongside Five Eye partners exposed a sophisticated cyberespionage tool designed and used by Centre 16 of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) for long-term intelligence collection on sensitive targets.

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Global cooperation critical to combat transnational organized crime

7 December 2023 - The UN Secretary-General called for stronger action to fight the growing challenge of transnational organized crime in an address to the Security Council on Thursday.

AntAnio Guterres urged countries to strengthen cooperation, the rule of law and prevention efforts against this "vicious threat to peace, security, and sustainable development" that operates everywhere, including cyberspace - "a virtual El Dorado for criminals."

Different crimes, same outcomes

Transnational organized crime is a multi-billion-dollar industry that encompasses illicit financial flows, the illicit trade in firearms, and trafficking in humans, drugs, natural resources, wildlife and other commodities - all of which are increasingly interlinked.

Despite these many forms, "the ramifications are the same: weakened governance, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death, and destruction," said Mr. Guterres.

Furthermore, transnational organized crime and conflict feed off each other, he added, thus undermining the authority and effectiveness of State institutions, eroding the rule of law, and destabilizing law enforcement structures.

Fuelling chaos and conflict

He pointed to examples across the world such as Afghanistan and Colombia, where drug production and trafficking fuelled brutal and long-lasting conflicts.

He also cited the situation in Haiti, which is caught in a vicious cycle of state collapse, escalating gang violence and a growing illicit trade of firearms smuggled into the country that has allowed gangs to take control of ports, highways and other critical infrastructure.

"In Myanmar, human trafficking and online scams, often run from outside the country, are flourishing in an environment of violence, repression and the erosion of the rule of law following the military takeover in 2021," he added.

He noted that in many conflicts, the activities of transnational criminal groups and armed groups overlap and intersect, making conflict resolution even harder.

The terror connection

Mr. Guterres said the links between organized crime and terrorism is another concern. In the Sahel region in Africa, for example, illicit trade in fuel, drugs, arms and natural resources, provides resources for armed groups, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions.

Although the Security Council has long recognized the danger posed by transnational organized crime to international peace and security "we must do more to strengthen our defences," he said, urging action in three priority areas.

Cooperation and consensus

As multilateral cooperation is "the only credible path to target the criminal dynamics that fuel violence and prolong cycles of conflict," it must be strengthened, he said.

The Secretary-General urged Member States to fully implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three additional protocols, and to work together on investigations and prosecutions.

He also expressed hope that countries will reach consensus on a new treaty on cybercrime, and that they will share and exchange data, noting that crime groups have been quick to exploit cryptocurrencies and digital tools.

Against 'Rule of Lawlessness'

His second point highlighted the critical need to strengthen the rule of law which is "foundational to our efforts to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, and tackle the multifaceted threats posed by transnational organized crime."

Effective rule of law builds trust in institutions, creates a level playing field, and contributes to reducing corruption. It also underpins human rights and enables sustainable social, political, and economic development.

However, "many countries are at grave risk of the Rule of Lawlessness," he warned. "From unconstitutional seizures of power to the trampling of human rights, governments themselves are contributing to disorder and a lack of accountability."

Promote greater inclusion

Mr. Guterres appealed for countries to strengthen prevention and foster inclusion, which includes stepping up efforts to achieve sustainable development for all.

Action required includes ensuring respect for human rights, tackling cybercrime more effectively, and advancing gender equality.

The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghada Waly, echoed the Secretary-General's call for collective global action.

Homicide and other violence

She previewed a report, to be published on Friday, which reveals that organized criminal groups or gangs are responsible for almost a quarter of all homicides worldwide.

The impact of organized crime is also manifesting in alarming new ways, she said, "from shocking forms of violence in European port cities connected with the drug trade, to political assassinations and infiltration of prisons in parts of Latin America."

Escaping justice, exploiting financial systems

She told the Council that criminal networks exploit commercial practices to facilitate their operations. They take measures that include using certain professions, especially in the legal field, to escape justice and exploiting financial structures for money laundering, for example.

These groups have also become "more nimble and decentralized", and their structures are "less hierarchical, more fragmented, and grouped together into a network of specialists, which deliver services and collaborate amongst themselves," she said.

Meanwhile, digital markets and cryptocurrencies have facilitated the expansion of illicit transactions, making them more rapid and anonymous.

The costs and risks of engaging in criminal activity have never been lower, and the global threat posed by organized crime has reached new levels of complexity, Ms. Waly told the Council.

"To respond, we need institutions capable of delivering justice and ending impunity, as well as resilient communities," she said. "And we need to invest far more resources to confront illicit markets that are worth trillions of dollars."

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Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council - on Transnational Organized Crime, Growing Challenges and New Threats

United Nations Secretary-General

07 December 2023

[Trilingual, as delivered; scroll down for all-English and all-French]

SeAor Presidente, Excelencias:

Elogio esta iniciativa de Ecuador que pone el foco en las crecientes amenazas que plantea el crimen organizado transnacional.

A menudo invisible, pero siempre insidiosa, la delincuencia organizada transnacional es una amenaza feroz, donde quiera que opere, para la paz, la seguridad y el desarrollo sostenible.

Y opera en todas partes: en paAses ricos y pobres, del Norte y del Sur, desarrollados y en vAas de desarrollo. Mientras tanto, el ciberespacio es El Dorado virtual para los delincuentes.

Excellencies,

The activities of transnational organized crime take many forms, but the ramifications are the same: weakened governance, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death, and destruction.

Illicit financial flows are not abstract figures. They amount to billions of missed development opportunities, lost livelihoods, and worsened poverty. On the African continent alone, more money is lost due to tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial flows than comes in in through official development assistance.

Human trafficking - a heinous violation of fundamental human rights that preys on the most vulnerable - continues with impunity. If anything, it is growing worse - especially for women and girls, who form the majority of trafficked people identified globally.

Drug trafficking - the most lucrative business for transnational organized crime groups - is at record-highs, creating vectors of violence that span the globe.

The growing illicit trade in firearms is fueling conflicts, killing and maiming millions and contributing to a dramatic increase in criminal activities in many areas of the world. This was a central issue in my discussions at the last CARICOM summit.

And trafficking in natural resources, wildlife, and other commodities and services is destroying people and planet.

All these activities are increasingly interlinked and sponsored by true multinational corporations of global crime.

Amidst a world in crisis, illicit economies find fertile ground to grow.

The socio-economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its uneven recovery, widening inequalities, a rising cost-of-living crisis, shrinking fiscal space, and worsening poverty and unemployment all weaken state authority, fray the social fabric, and heighten insecurities.

Transnational organized crime and conflict feed off each other.

Crime is a catalyst for conflict.

And when conflict rages, crime thrives.

It undermines the authority and effectiveness of State institutions, erodes the rule of law, and destabilizes law enforcement structures.

From Afghanistan to Colombia, the production and trafficking of illicit drugs fueled brutal and long-lasting conflicts.

And all across the world, criminal groups spread violence, fear and insecurity in their effort to control trafficking routes.

Haiti is caught in a vicious cycle of state collapse, escalating gang violence, and a growing illicit trade of firearms smuggled into the country. The illicit trade incentivizes gangs to gain control of ports, highways, and other critical infrastructure.

In Myanmar, human trafficking and online scams, often run from outside the country, are flourishing in an environment of violence, repression and the erosion of the rule of law following the military takeover in 2021.

In many conflicts, the activities of transnational criminal groups and armed groups overlap and intersect, making conflict resolution even harder.

The links between organized crime and terrorism are a matter of particular concern.

Organized crime groups develop opportunistic alliances with armed actors designated as terrorist groups by this Council, often to profit from various forms of trafficking.

At the same time, terrorist groups seek out connections with organized crime to fund their activities.

In the Sahel, the illicit trade in fuel, drugs, arms, and natural resources is providing operational resources to armed groups across the region, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions.

Criminal networks use the vast sums of money generated by their activities to hire armed groups to protect them, adding new layers of complexities to ongoing conflicts - as it is the case in Libya.

And in Somalia, Al-Shabaab's control of the illicit trade in charcoal radiates insecurity across the region and is devastating forests with dramatic ramifications.

Mr. President,

The Security Council has long recognized the danger posed by transnational organized crime to international peace and security, including in resolution 2482.

But we must do more to strengthen our defenses.

I see three priorities for action.

First, we must strengthen cooperation.

Criminal groups work across borders and geographies. We must meet this global challenge with a global response.

Multilateral cooperation is the only credible path to target the criminal dynamics that fuel violence and prolong cycles of conflict.

We have the blueprint: the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three additional protocols.

I call on all Member States to fully implement the Convention and work together and assist each other in investigating and prosecuting organized crime groups.

We are also supporting Member States to address the links between transnational organized crime and terrorism through the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact.

And I am hopeful that Member States will reach consensus on a new treaty on cybercrime to deepen cooperation while protecting human rights online - in line with my report on Our Common Agenda.

Stronger international and regional cooperation is critical to facilitate the collection, sharing and exchange of data - because we cannot target what we cannot see.

Organized crime has been quick to exploit cryptocurrencies and digital tools. Our response must be even faster, more organized, and more data driven.

Second, we must strengthen the rule of law.

The rule of law is foundational to our efforts to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, and tackle the multifaceted threats posed by transnational organized crime.

When the rule of law is effective, it has unmatched potential to build trust between institutions and the people they serve.

It creates a level playing field and contributes to reducing corruption.

It underpins human rights and enables sustainable social, political, and economic development, leaving no one behind.

All stakeholders - Member States, regional organizations, civil society and the private sector - have a responsibility to uphold the rule of law.

But the reality today is that many countries are at grave risk of the Rule of Lawlessness.

From unconstitutional seizures of power to the trampling of human rights, governments themselves are contributing to disorder and a lack of accountability.

When the rule of law is weak, the consequences reach across all spheres of public and private life: impunity prevails, crime flourishes, and the risk of violent conflict grows exponentially.

My New Vision for the Rule of Law is aimed at reinforcing its centrality in all activities of our Organization.

We stand ready to support Member States in their efforts to strengthen the rule of law through our Country Teams around the world.

Third, we must strengthen prevention and foster inclusion.

This means redoubling our efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - our best instrument to create the economic and social conditions in which organized crime cannot succeed.

It means ensuring respect for all human rights - civil, political, economic, social, and cultural.

It means tackling cybercrime and more effectively thwarting criminal groups that use technology in every step of their malicious activities.

It means tailoring crime prevention strategies to reflect the lived experiences of all communities and constituencies - especially minorities, women, and young people.

And it means advancing gender equality, because women's effective participation is essential to successful conflict prevention, peacemaking and sustaining peace.

Time and again, purely military and law enforcement responses have not only proven their limits - they have also proven self-defeating.

We must strive towards a better balance between preventive and security responses. Combatting crime must never be used as an excuse for trampling on people's human rights.

Monsieur le PrAsident, Excellences,

A chaque Atape, nous devons rester vigilants face A la nature sans cesse changeante du crime organisA, et repenser [continuellement] nos approches - tant dans nos mAthodes de travail que dans notre coopAration avec les autres.

Nos efforts doivent Atre cohArents, coordonnAs, adaptAs A chaque situation et axAs sur la prAvention.

Le Conseil de sAcuritA a un rAle essentiel A jouer dans notre lutte collective contre la criminalitA organisAe.

Mais pour rAussir, nous devons agir ensemble et rester unis.

Ensemble, engageons-nous A crAer un monde plus pacifique et plus stable - un monde libArA du crime organisA.

Je vous remercie.

**********************************************************************

[All-English]

Mr. President, Excellencies,

I commend the initiative of Ecuador to focus attention on the growing threats posed by transnational organized crime.

Often invisible but always insidious, transnational organized crime is a vicious threat to peace, security, and sustainable development wherever it operates.

And it operates everywhere - in all countries, rich and poor, North and South, developed and developing. Meanwhile, cyberspace is a virtual El Dorado for criminals.

Excellencies,

The activities of transnational organized crime take many forms, but the ramifications are the same: weakened governance, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death, and destruction.

Illicit financial flows are not abstract figures. They amount to billions of missed development opportunities, lost livelihoods, and worsened poverty. On the African continent alone, more money is lost due to tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial flows than comes in in through official development assistance.

Human trafficking - a heinous violation of fundamental human rights that preys on the most vulnerable - continues with impunity. If anything, it is growing worse - especially for women and girls, who form the majority of trafficked people identified globally.

Drug trafficking - the most lucrative business for transnational organized crime groups - is at record-highs, creating vectors of violence that span the globe.

The growing illicit trade in firearms is fueling conflicts, killing and maiming millions and contributing to a dramatic increase in criminal activities in many areas of the world. This was a central issue in my discussions at the last CARICOM summit.

And trafficking in natural resources, wildlife, and other commodities and services is destroying people and planet.

All these activities are increasingly interlinked and sponsored by true multinational corporations of global crime.

Amidst a world in crisis, illicit economies find fertile ground to grow.

The socio-economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its uneven recovery, widening inequalities, a rising cost-of-living crisis, shrinking fiscal space, and worsening poverty and unemployment all weaken state authority, fray the social fabric, and heighten insecurities.

Transnational organized crime and conflict feed off each other.

Crime is a catalyst for conflict.

And when conflict rages, crime thrives.

It undermines the authority and effectiveness of State institutions, erodes the rule of law, and destabilizes law enforcement structures.

From Afghanistan to Colombia, the production and trafficking of illicit drugs fueled brutal and long-lasting conflicts.

And all across the world, criminal groups spread violence, fear and insecurity in their effort to control trafficking routes.

Haiti is caught in a vicious cycle of state collapse, escalating gang violence, and a growing illicit trade of firearms smuggled into the country. The illicit trade incentivizes gangs to gain control of ports, highways, and other critical infrastructure.

In Myanmar, human trafficking and online scams, often run from outside the country, are flourishing in an environment of violence, repression and the erosion of the rule of law following the military takeover in 2021.

In many conflicts, the activities of transnational criminal groups and armed groups overlap and intersect, making conflict resolution even harder.

The links between organized crime and terrorism are a matter of particular concern.



Organized crime groups develop opportunistic alliances with armed actors designated as terrorist groups by this Council, often to profit from various forms of trafficking.

At the same time, terrorist groups seek out connections with organized crime to fund their activities.

In the Sahel, the illicit trade in fuel, drugs, arms, and natural resources is providing operational resources to armed groups across the region, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions.

Criminal networks use the vast sums of money generated by their activities to hire armed groups to protect them, adding new layers of complexities to ongoing conflicts - as it is the case in Libya.

And in Somalia, Al-Shabaab's control of the illicit trade in charcoal radiates insecurity across the region and is devastating forests with dramatic ramifications.

Mr. President,

The Security Council has long recognized the danger posed by transnational organized crime to international peace and security, including in resolution 2482.

But we must do more to strengthen our defenses.

I see three priorities for action.

First, we must strengthen cooperation.

Criminal groups work across borders and geographies. We must meet this global challenge with a global response.

Multilateral cooperation is the only credible path to target the criminal dynamics that fuel violence and prolong cycles of conflict.

We have the blueprint: the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three additional protocols.

I call on all Member States to fully implement the Convention and work together and assist each other in investigating and prosecuting organized crime groups.

We are also supporting Member States to address the links between transnational organized crime and terrorism through the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact.

And I am hopeful that Member States will reach consensus on a new treaty on cybercrime to deepen cooperation while protecting human rights online - in line with my report on Our Common Agenda.

Stronger international and regional cooperation is critical to facilitate the collection, sharing and exchange of data - because we cannot target what we cannot see.

Organized crime has been quick to exploit cryptocurrencies and digital tools. Our response must be even faster, more organized, and more data driven.

Second, we must strengthen the rule of law.

The rule of law is foundational to our efforts to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, and tackle the multifaceted threats posed by transnational organized crime.

When the rule of law is effective, it has unmatched potential to build trust between institutions and the people they serve.

It creates a level playing field and contributes to reducing corruption.

It underpins human rights and enables sustainable social, political, and economic development, leaving no one behind.

All stakeholders - Member States, regional organizations, civil society and the private sector - have a responsibility to uphold the rule of law.

But the reality today is that many countries are at grave risk of the Rule of Lawlessness.

From unconstitutional seizures of power to the trampling of human rights, governments themselves are contributing to disorder and a lack of accountability.

When the rule of law is weak, the consequences reach across all spheres of public and private life: impunity prevails, crime flourishes, and the risk of violent conflict grows exponentially.

My New Vision for the Rule of Law is aimed at reinforcing its centrality in all activities of our Organization.

We stand ready to support Member States in their efforts to strengthen the rule of law through our Country Teams around the world.

Third, we must strengthen prevention and foster inclusion.

This means redoubling our efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - our best instrument to create the economic and social conditions in which organized crime cannot succeed.

It means ensuring respect for all human rights - civil, political, economic, social, and cultural.

It means tackling cybercrime and more effectively thwarting criminal groups that use technology in every step of their malicious activities.

It means tailoring crime prevention strategies to reflect the lived experiences of all communities and constituencies - especially minorities, women, and young people.

And it means advancing gender equality, because women's effective participation is essential to successful conflict prevention, peacemaking and sustaining peace.

Time and again, purely military and law enforcement responses have not only proven their limits - they have also proven self-defeating.

We must strive towards a better balance between preventive and security responses. Combatting crime must never be used as an excuse for trampling on people's human rights.

Mr. President, Excellencies,

In all of this, we must remain alert to the constantly changing nature of organized crime and [continuously] rethink our approaches - both how we work and how we work with others.

Our efforts must be coherent, coordinated, context-specific, and centred on prevention.

The Security Council has a critical role in our collective fight against organized crime.

But to succeed, we must act together and stand united.

Together, let us commit to create a more peaceful and stable world in which organized crime has no place.

Thank you.

************************************************************************************

[All-French]

Monsieur le PrAsident, Excellences,

Je salue l'initiative prise par l'Aquateur d'appeler l'attention sur les menaces croissantes que reprAsente la criminalitA transnationale organisAe.

Souvent invisible mais toujours insidieuse, la criminalitA transnationale organisAe constitue une menace redoutable pour la paix, la sAcuritA et le dAveloppement durable partout oA elle sAvit.

Et elle est prAsente partout, dans tous les pays, qu'ils soient riches ou pauvres, du Nord ou du Sud, dAveloppAs ou en dAveloppement. Quant au cyberespace, c'est devenu un eldorado virtuel pour les criminels.



Les activitAs de la criminalitA transnationale organisAe prennent de nombreuses formes, mais les ramifications sont les mAmes : gouvernance affaiblie, corruption et zones de non-droit, violences effrAnAes, morts et destructions.

Les flux financiers illicites ne reprAsentent pas des chiffres abstraits. Ils se traduisent par des milliards d'occasions manquAes en matiAre de dAveloppement, la perte de moyens de subsistance et une aggravation de la pauvretA. Rien que sur le continent africain, la fraude fiscale, le blanchiment d'argent et les flux financiers illicites font perdre plus d'argent que l'ensemble des sommes reAues au titre de l'aide publique au dAveloppement.

La traite des personnes - violation odieuse des droits humains fondamentaux qui s'en prend aux plus vulnArables - se poursuit en toute impunitA. Au lieu de s'amAliorer, la situation s'aggrave, en particulier pour les femmes et les filles, qui constituent la majoritA des victimes de la traite dans le monde.

Le trafic de drogue - l'activitA la plus lucrative des groupes impliquAs dans la criminalitA transnationale organisAe - atteint des sommets, crAant des vecteurs de violence A travers le monde.

Le commerce illicite des armes A feu, qui ne cesse de croAtre, alimente les conflits, fait des millions de morts et de blessAs et contribue A une augmentation spectaculaire des activitAs criminelles dans de nombreuses rAgions du monde. Cette question a d'ailleurs AtA au cAur des Achanges que j'ai eus lors du dernier sommet de la CARICOM.

Le trafic de ressources naturelles, d'espAces sauvages et d'autres produits de base et services est destructeur pour les populations et pour la planAte.

Toutes ces activitAs sont de plus en plus liAes entre elles et commanditAes par de vAritables multinationales de la criminalitA internationale.

Dans un monde en crise, les Aconomies illicites trouvent un terrain fertile pour se dAvelopper.

Les rApercussions socioAconomiques de la pandAmie de COVID-19 et le relAvement inAgal qui s'est ensuivi, les inAgalitAs croissantes, la crise du coAt de la vie, la rAduction de la marge de manAuvre budgAtaire ainsi que l'aggravation de la pauvretA et du chAmage affaiblissent l'autoritA de l'Atat, dAtAriorent le tissu social et accroissent l'insAcuritA.

Monsieur le PrAsident,

La criminalitA transnationale organisAe et les conflits s'alimentent mutuellement.

La criminalitA est un catalyseur de conflits.

Et lorsque les conflits font rage, la criminalitA prospAre.

La criminalitA sape l'autoritA et les institutions de l'Atat, Arode l'Atat de droit et dAstabilise les structures qui sont chargAes de faire appliquer la loi.

De l'Afghanistan A la Colombie, la production et le trafic de drogues illicites ont alimentA des conflits violents de longue durAe.

Partout dans le monde, des groupes criminels sAment la violence, la peur et l'insAcuritA en cherchant A avoir la mainmise sur les itinAraires utilisAs par les trafiquants.

HaAti est pris dans un cercle vicieux : effondrement de l'Atat, escalade de la violence en bande organisAe et essor du commerce illicite d'armes A feu introduites en contrebande dans le pays. Ce commerce illicite incite les gangs A prendre le contrAle des ports, des autoroutes et d'autres infrastructures essentielles.

Au Myanmar, la traite des personnes et les escroqueries en ligne, souvent organisAes depuis l'Atranger, se dAveloppent dans un contexte de violence, de rApression et d'Arosion de l'Atat de droit depuis la prise du pouvoir par les militaires en 2021.

Dans de nombreux conflits, les activitAs des groupes impliquAs dans la criminalitA transnationale organisAe et des groupes armAs se rejoignent et s'entrecroisent, ce qui rend encore plus difficile le rAglement des conflits.

Les liens qui existent entre la criminalitA organisAe et le terrorisme sont particuliArement prAoccupants.

Les organisations criminelles dAveloppent des alliances opportunistes avec des acteurs armAs dAsignAs par ce Conseil comme groupes terroristes, souvent pour tirer profit de diverses formes de trafic.

Quant aux groupes terroristes, ils cherchent A Atablir des liens avec la criminalitA organisAe pour financer leurs activitAs.

Au Sahel, le commerce illicite de carburant, de drogues, d'armes et de ressources naturelles fournit des ressources opArationnelles aux groupes armAs de la rAgion, menaAant la vie et les moyens de subsistance de millions de personnes.

Les rAseaux criminels utilisent les Anormes sommes d'argent gAnArAes par leurs activitAs pour engager des groupes armAs qui les protAgent, ce qui rend d'autant plus complexes les conflits en cours, comme c'est le cas en Libye.

En Somalie, la mainmise des Chebab sur le commerce illicite du charbon de bois fait rAgner l'insAcuritA dans toute la rAgion et dAvaste les forAts, ce qui a des rApercussions dramatiques.

Monsieur le PrAsident,

Le Conseil de sAcuritA considAre de longue date, notamment dans sa rAsolution 2482, que la criminalitA transnationale organisAe reprAsente un danger pour la paix et la sAcuritA internationales.

Mais nous devons faire plus pour renforcer nos dAfenses.

Je vois trois domaines d'action prioritaires.

PremiArement, nous devons renforcer la coopAration.

Les groupes criminels opArent au-delA des frontiAres et des zones gAographiques.

Nous devons apporter une rAponse mondiale A ce problAme mondial.

La coopAration multilatArale est la seule voie permettant rAellement de s'attaquer aux dynamiques criminelles qui alimentent la violence et prolongent les cycles de conflit.

Nous avons le schAma directeur : la Convention des Nations Unies contre la criminalitA transnationale organisAe et ses trois protocoles additionnels.

Je demande A tous les Atats Membres d'appliquer pleinement la Convention et de collaborer et s'entraider pour enquAter sur les organisations criminelles et les amener A rApondre de leurs actes devant la justice.

Par ailleurs, dans le cadre du Pacte mondial des Nations Unies de coordination contre le terrorisme, nous aidons les Atats Membres A s'attaquer aux liens existant entre la criminalitA transnationale organisAe et le terrorisme.

J'espAre que les Atats Membres parviendront A un consensus sur un nouveau traitA relatif A la cybercriminalitA afin d'approfondir la coopAration tout en protAgeant les droits humains en ligne, comme AnoncA dans mon rapport intitulA A Notre Programme commun A.

Il est essentiel de renforcer la coopAration internationale et rAgionale pour faciliter la collecte, le partage et l'Achange de donnAes - car on ne peut pas prendre pour cible ce que l'on ne voit pas.

La criminalitA organisAe n'a pas perdu de temps pour exploiter les cryptomonnaies et les outils numAriques. Notre rAponse doit Atre encore plus rapide, plus organisAe et plus axAe sur les donnAes.

DeuxiAmement, nous devons renforcer l'Atat de droit.

L'Atat de droit est A la base de l'action que nous menons pour trouver des solutions pacifiques aux conflits et lutter contre les menaces multiformes liAes A la criminalitA transnationale organisAe.

Lorsque l'Atat de droit est efficace, il offre un potentiel inAgalA pour instaurer la confiance entre les institutions et les personnes.

Il crAe des conditions d'AgalitA des chances et contribue A rAduire la corruption.

Il est le fondement des droits humains et permet un dAveloppement social, politique et Aconomique durable, qui ne laisse personne de cAtA.

Toutes les parties prenantes - Atats Membres, organisations rAgionales, sociAtA civile et secteur privA - ont la responsabilitA de veiller au respect de l'Atat de droit.

Mais la rAalitA d'aujourd'hui est que de nombreux pays ne sont pas loin de basculer dans l'Atat de non-droit.

Des prises de pouvoir inconstitutionnelles au piAtinement des droits humains, les gouvernements eux-mAmes contribuent au dAsordre et A l'impunitA.

Lorsque l'Atat de droit est faible, toutes les sphAres de la vie publique et privAe en subissent les consAquences : l'impunitA prAvaut, la criminalitA se dAveloppe et le risque de conflit violent augmente de maniAre exponentielle.

Ma nouvelle vision de l'Atat de droit vise A l'ancrer au cAur de toutes les activitAs de notre organisation.

Nous sommes prAts A aider les Atats Membres A renforcer l'Atat de droit avec le concours de nos Aquipes de pays dans le monde entier.

TroisiAmement, nous devons renforcer la prAvention et promouvoir l'inclusion.

Cela signifie redoubler d'efforts pour rAaliser le Programme de dAveloppement durable A l'horizon 2030, le meilleur instrument dont nous disposons pour crAer les conditions Aconomiques et sociales dans lesquelles la criminalitA organisAe ne peut pas rAussir.

Cela signifie garantir le respect de tous les droits humains : civils, politiques, Aconomiques, sociaux et culturels.

Cela signifie combattre la cybercriminalitA et faire obstacle plus efficacement aux groupes criminels qui utilisent la technologie A chaque Atape de leurs activitAs malveillantes.

Cela signifie concevoir des stratAgies de prAvention de la criminalitA qui tiennent compte du vAcu de l'ensemble des groupes et des composantes de la population, et tout particuliArement des minoritAs, des femmes et des jeunes.

Cela signifie faire progresser l'AgalitA des genres, car la participation effective des femmes est essentielle A la rAussite de la prAvention des conflits ainsi qu'au rAtablissement et A la pArennisation de la paix.

A maintes reprises, les rAponses purement militaires et axAes sur des mesures de rApression ont montrA non seulement leurs limites, mais aussi leurs effets contre-productifs.

Nous devons nous efforcer d'atteindre un meilleur Aquilibre entre prAvention et sAcuritA. La lutte contre la criminalitA ne doit jamais servir d'excuse pour bafouer les droits humains.

Monsieur le PrAsident, Excellences,

A chaque Atape, nous devons rester vigilants face A la nature sans cesse changeante du crime organisA, et repenser [continuellement] nos approches - tant dans nos mAthodes de travail que dans notre coopAration avec les autres.

Nos efforts doivent Atre cohArents, coordonnAs, adaptAs A chaque situation et axAs sur la prAvention.

Le Conseil de sAcuritA a un rAle essentiel A jouer dans notre lutte collective contre la criminalitA organisAe.

Mais pour rAussir, nous devons agir ensemble et rester unis.

Ensemble, engageons-nous A crAer un monde plus pacifique et plus stable - un monde libArA du crime organisA.

Je vous remercie.

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US, UK Act Against Russian Hacker Group

By VOA News December 07, 2023

The U.S. government on Thursday unveiled measures to combat Russian hackers accused of targeting U.S-based entities and individuals and meddling in a British election.

The cyber actors targeted include the Callisto group, also known as Star Blizzard or COLDRIVER, which engaged in espionage and is connected to Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, according to a statement released by U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Also, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against two Russian hackers, Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets and Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko, in connection with what the State Department called "a criminal hacking conspiracy that targeted U.S.-based entities and individuals, including U.S. Department of Energy facilities' employees."

Financial sanctions

In addition to the indictment, the U.S. Treasury announced it has imposed financial sanctions on Peretyatko and Korinets for their roles in malicious cyber-enabled activity.

Under the Rewards For Justice program, or RFJ, the U.S. offered unspecified rewards for information on the whereabouts of Peretyatko and Korinets.

A notice on the RFJ website says awards of up to $10 million can go to anyone who has information "leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, engages in certain malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure."

Hackers also targeted individuals

The hackers, who the U.S. says worked in the Callisto Group, also targeted individuals based in the United Kingdom.

The U.S. noted concern about the hackers' targeting of the U.K., which London described as a failed attempt to interfere with politics from Russian agents.

The U.K. sanctioned the two hackers in connection with the cyberattacks and summoned the Russian ambassador.

"I can confirm today that the Russian Federal Security Services, the FSB, is behind a sustained effort to interfere in our democratic processes," British Junior Foreign Minister Leo Docherty said in a statement to lawmakers.

The hacking group has been known for years to target and attempt to hack personal emails from high-profile victims.

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Governments continue discussions on pandemic agreement negotiating text

World Health Organization

Sustainable production of pandemic-related tools, boosting country health system capacities, financing solutions and misinformation among subjects discussed by WHO Member States

7 December 2023

News release

Governments continued their work to negotiate and draft an agreement to strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to prevent a repeat of the health, social and economic impacts that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This seventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) ended on 6 December 2023 at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva. Over two sessions, running from 6-10 November and 4-6 December, governments completed the review of the pandemic agreement negotiating text presented by the Member State-appointed Bureau of the INB.

Delegations from WHO Member States discussed a wide range of critical elements, including pandemic and public health surveillance, One Health and boosting pandemic preparedness, readiness and resilience in countries.

Equity and the right to health are among the guiding principles of the draft text of the proposed pandemic agreement under discussion. In this light, governments discussed the sustainable production of pandemic-related products; the transfer of technology and know-how to produce such items; and a multilateral system for access to pathogens and the sharing of benefits derived from them, such as vaccines and other pandemic-related products, to support prevention, preparedness and response.

Among other topics considered by Member States were the transfer to developing countries of technical and scientific expertise, and technology support, and sustainable financing to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

During the meeting, the challenge posed by the torrent of fake news, and disinformation and misinformation, directed at the pandemic agreement negotiations, was raised by the WHO Director-General, including on the false claim that any agreement would result in countries ceding sovereignty to WHO.

The draft pandemic agreement text, which is the basis for the negotiations, reaffirms the principle of sovereignty of States Parties in addressing public health matters, and that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the general principles of international law, the sovereign right to legislate and to implement legislation in pursuance of their health policies.

To accelerate its progress, the INB established four drafting subgroups led by the INB Bureau Vice Chairs, and co-facilitated by Member States, to consider the proposed articles on each topic. The INB recommended subgroups continue holding informal discussions with Member States and propose text for their respective articles by 15 January 2024 for consideration at the eighth INB meeting to be held from 19 February-1 March 2024. The ninth will take place from 18-28 March 2024.

The meeting was led by INB Co-Chairs Mr Roland Driece of the Netherlands and Ms Precious Matsoso of South Africa, and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes of Brazil, Ambassador Amr Ramadan of Egypt, Ambassador Kozo Honsei of Japan, and Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien of Thailand. Ambassador Ramadan has replaced Mr Ahmed Salama Soliman of Egypt, whose contribution to the process was recognized by the INB.

The INB was established in December 2021 at a special session of the World Health Assembly, and was tasked with organizing a series of meetings to negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under WHO's Constitution to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The INB's work to negotiate a pandemic agreement is based on the principles of inclusiveness, transparency, efficiency, Member State leadership and consensus. Governments lead the discussions on the pandemic agreement process and are currently expected to decide on any text at the next World Health Assembly in May 2024. WHO staff serve as the Secretariat to these discussions, supporting countries in their work, but do not participate in decision-making.

In parallel with the pandemic agreement process, governments are also negotiating amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR). The latest meeting began on 7 December 2023; the proposed amendments are scheduled for consideration and adoption at the next World Health Assembly.

The IHR set out agreed approaches and obligations for countries to prepare for, and respond to, disease outbreaks and other acute public health risks. The proposed amendments come in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Australian statement on Russian cyber targeting of democratic processes

Minister for Foreign Affairs

Joint media release with:

The Hon Clare O'Neil MP, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security

08 December 2023

The Australian Government joins the United Kingdom and other international partners in expressing serious concerns about attempts to use cyber operations to interfere with democratic processes.

The UK has disclosed that a unit within Russia's Federal Security Service's (FSB) Centre 18, known as Star Blizzard, has been responsible for cyber operations targeting a range of political entities and democratic institutions with the intent to interfere with democratic processes in the UK.

The UK assesses that this is part of a broader pattern of malicious cyber activity conducted by Russian Intelligence Services attempting to interfere in democratic processes in the UK and beyond.

Attempts to use cyber to interfere in democratic processes are unacceptable and must stop.

Australia calls on all countries - including Russia - to act responsibly in cyberspace.

The Australian Government is investing in protecting our public institutions and strengthening our national cyber security defences, including through the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.

We will continue to work with international partners to promote international law and the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and hold states to account if they act contrary to these international obligations and expectations.

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Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna condemns Russia's cyberattacks against the United Kingdom

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

08.12.2023

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna condemns Russia's cyberattacks against the United Kingdom

The statement by the government of the United Kingdom that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has been conducting cyberattacks for years against democratic institutions in the UK with the aim of undermining the democratic process proves once again that Russia poses a threat not only in Ukraine, where it is waging a bloody war of aggression; instead, it attempts to inflict damage in other countries as well.

Estonia stands up for countries respecting international law in cyberspace. We consider it crucial to preserve an open, stable and safe cyberspace. To this end, states must act responsibly and follow the norms of international law.

Therefore, we support the statement opens in a new tab of the United Kingdom, attributing the attacks to the Star Blizzard group operated by the FSB. Both the European Union opens in a new tab and other Allies have expressed solidarity with the United Kingdom - it is a sign we are united and uphold our common values. We assure that Estonia and all our closest Allies are committed to protecting cyberspace and are ready to give a full response to threats posed by cyber attacks.

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Joint Statement on the United States-European Union 9th Cyber Dialogue in Brussels

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

December 8, 2023

The text of the following statement was released by the Government of the United States of America and the European Union on the occasion of the 9th U.S.-EU Cyber Dialogue.

Begin Text



The United States and the European Union held the 9th U.S.-EU Cyber Dialogue in Brussels, Belgium, December 6-7, 2023. The United States and European Union reaffirmed their continued commitment to an open, free, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet, respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. We are committed to advancing international security and stability in cyberspace and enhancing the ability of all states to reap the benefits that modern technologies provide.

Underlining the strong transatlantic partnership on cyber issues, the United States and European Union exchanged views on the global cyber threat environment, marked by Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and expressed concern about the increase of malicious cyber activities targeting supply chains, critical infrastructure, and intellectual property, as well as a rise in ransomware attacks against businesses and citizens. We strongly condemn these malicious activities and remain determined to strengthen cybersecurity, address cybercrime and ransomware attacks, enhance global cyber resilience, and promote responsible state behavior in cyberspace.

Advancing International Security and Stability in Cyberspace

Fortifying our strong partnership, the Cyber Dialogue also included exchanges on international cyber policy discussions, including in the United Nations, regional organizations such as the Organization on Security and Co-operation in Europe and the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the G7 and G20.

Strengthening our ability to address malign behavior in cyberspace, the Cyber Dialogue included exchanges on cyber defense, and identified further action to strengthen our cooperation to hold states accountable for and to prevent, deter, and respond to malicious cyber activities. In this context, the United States and European Union seek broader cross-regional cooperation, including with states in Latin America, the Indo-Pacific, and Africa, to raise awareness and promote responsible state behavior through diplomatic action and engagement.



We continue to be strongly committed to the UN framework of responsible state behavior in cyberspace, grounded in the application of international law and norms of responsible state behavior. We also continue to promote the establishment of the UN Cyber Programme of Action to advance and support states in its implementation.

Enhancing Cybersecurity and Resilience

To enhance cyber security and resilience to address these challenges, the United States and the European Union exchanged updates on several key priorities set out in the January 2023 Joint Statement by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. These priorities included the security of digital products and related cybersecurity standards, cyber resilience of critical infrastructure, impact and opportunities of emerging technologies, and cooperation between the respective cybersecurity agencies. The Cyber Dialogue also included sector-specific discussions on space cybersecurity and the cybersecurity of energy infrastructures.

During the Cyber Dialogue, the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) formalized a Working Arrangement covering themes such as cyber awareness and training, best practice exchange, and knowledge sharing for common situational awareness.

The United States and European Union took stock of joint efforts to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure as well as the security of hardware and software products, acknowledging the leading roles of the United States and European Union in this field. Following the October 2023 U.S.-EU Summit, the United States and European Union advanced discussions on a Joint CyberSafe Products Action Plan to work together on achieving mutual recognition of their respective government-backed cybersecurity labelling programs and regulations for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, namely the EU Cyber Resilience Act and the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark.

Furthermore, building on a firm commitment to reduce administrative burden for companies and organizations on both sides of the Atlantic, the United States and European Union explored possibilities to approximate, where possible, the cybersecurity incident reporting mechanisms.

The United States and European Union also took stock of best practices in software security, with a focus on security-by-design, open-source security, and Software Bills of Materials, and outlined priorities to deepen cooperation in the coming year.

International Cyber Capacity Building as Priority

As a priority, the United States and European Union reaffirmed their strong commitment to further enhance global cyber resilience and to implement cyber capacity building and solidarity activities supporting partners including Ukraine and Moldova, as well as in the Western Balkans, Africa, the Indo-Pacific, and Latin America. We are dedicated to further increase coherence between our global actions, and to work through platforms such as the U.S.-EU High Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific, to further strengthen our cooperation with and within regions.

Cooperation on Emerging Technologies

The United States and European Union also decided to further deepen their cooperation to address cybersecurity challenges related to emerging technologies, with specific focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and post-quantum cryptography. The cooperation between the United States and European Union will seek to foster secure use of AI in critical infrastructure. Cyber Dialogue participants also discussed potential joint activities in the transition towards post-quantum cryptography, including standardization.

Pilot U.S.-EU Cyber Fellowship

As a deliverable from the January 2023 Joint Statement by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, the Pilot U.S.-EU Cyber Fellowship was launched with representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and agencies meeting European and EU Member State officials working in cybersecurity.

The 9th Cyber Dialogue was co-chaired by Joanneke BALFOORT, Director for Security and Defense Policy, European External Action Service (EEAS); Lorena BOIX ALONSO, Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity, Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), European Commission; and Liesyl FRANZ, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

Industry representatives from the United States and European Union joined a dedicated session, discussing the key role of public private partnerships in keeping cyberspace secure.

The United States will host the next U.S.-EU Cyber Dialogue in Washington in 2024.

End text

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December 7, 2023

By David Vergun , DOD News

More Nations Meet to Address Space Security

The Defense Department participated in a meeting of the Combined Space Operations Initiative Principals Board, known as CSpO, in Berlin.

The annual event, held this week, brought together DOD political and military space leadership from the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and also welcomed three new members of CSpO: Italy, Japan and Norway. The 10 members of CSpO discussed opportunities to further advance both operational cooperation and information sharing for the space domain.

Established in 2014, the initiative is a multinational partnership. Its stated mission is to generate and improve cooperation, coordination and interoperability to sustain freedom of action in space, optimize resources, enhance mission assurance and resilience, and deter conflict.

Defense leaders discussed the emerging security challenges and explored ways to cooperate to prevent conflict in space.

The nations' representatives emphasized the need to continue to promote a rules-based international order and responsible behavior in space, while collaboratively addressing challenges to the safety and security of space-related operations.

Participants from the U.S. included John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy; Space Force Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; and Army Gen. James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command.

"Cooperation with our allies and partners is essential to promoting responsible space operations and protecting our interests in the domain. Expanding this cooperation in the space domain is one of my top priorities, and I was extremely proud to have Italy, Japan and Norway participate at the principals' board for the first time. Through CSpO, we will collectively work to reinforce the safety, security, stability and long-term sustainability of space," Plumb said.

"The CSpO Initiative is an important forum for improving coordination and integration while striving toward combined space operations. We appreciate the opportunity to meet with our allies and find avenues to optimize resources and build resilience," Dickinson said.

"The U.S. Space Force is committed to deterring conflict and reinforcing the security of the space domain," said Saltzman. "Our partnerships are strengthened through CSpO, and this coalition of like-minded nations enhances our ability to address the complex challenges we collectively face."

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Australian Laser Technology to Help Future NASA Missions to Mars

By Phil Mercer December 07, 2023

A new optical ground station has been built by the Australian National University to help the U.S. space agency, NASA, and others explore space and safely reach Mars.

The Australian team has developed a new type of space communication using lasers.

Researchers say the system will allow them to connect with satellites and NASA-crewed missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

The project is supported by the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars initiative.

The Australian National University Quantum Optical Ground Station is based at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, near Canberra.

It is a powerful telescope that will support high-speed advanced communications with satellites orbiting at distances from low-Earth orbit to the moon.

Kate Ferguson, associate director for strategic projects at the Australian National University Institute for Space, told VOA current communication systems relying on radio frequencies can be slow and cumbersome.

"I am sure some of us remember the grainy pictures that we got of the moon landing that came from the Apollo era," Ferguson said. "So, again the current radio frequency systems, they have these much slower data rates and especially over really long distances. For space exploration those become very slow but with optical communications we will be able to increase the rate of that communication."

She said the new system, based on powerful lasers that are invisible to the naked eye, will transform communications in space.

"What we are aiming to do is to be able to receive high-definition video from future crewed missions. Not only will that be great for us here on Earth, seeing what is happening with the astronauts on these types of missions, but it will improve the connectivity between those missions," she said. "And what we are doing here is optical communication, which uses laser beams to communicate and these offer much higher speeds and increased security over the current systems and this is really important for us to be getting that data down and being able to use it here on Earth."

Scientists say the Australian-developed systems will be compatible with NASA missions.

They say the laser-based technology will improve astronauts' ability to connect with Earth from the moon and also allow high-definition video to be sent from the moon and Mars.

NASA has said previously that astronauts could be sent on a mission to the red planet by the mid-to-late 2030s.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Azerbaijan has announced the date of submission of documents required for registration of presidential candidates to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to participate in the extraordinary presidential election in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

This is reflected in the "Calendar plan of main actions and measures for the preparation and conduct of extraordinary presidential election", approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC).

A presidential candidate, authorized representative of a political party, bloc of political parties should submit the necessary election documents to the CEC from December 19, 2023 to January 8, 2024 by18:00 (UTC +04:00).

Early presidential election will be held in Azerbaijan on February 7, 2024. The corresponding decree was signed by President Ilham Aliyev.

Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Targeting the next big battle space threat

By Corporal Michael Rogers

7 December 2023

The booming sound of Browning .50-calibre machineguns echoed across the range at Puckapunyal as a platoon of M113AS4 gun cars opened fire on two closing drones nearly 200 metres away.

A cheer broke out as one drone shattered into pieces, the direct hit turning it into flaming confetti that littered the field in front of the carriers.

As the second drone flew out of sight, the crew of gun car 'Battle Axe' raised their hands in victory, bragging rights secured.

It's the first time a drone target shoot has been run during Exercise Iron Warrior, the culminating live-fire exercise on the mechanised regimental officers' course.

The serial was added in response to increased drone use in the modern battle space, according to School of Armour Tactics Wing instructor Warrant Officer Class Two Robert Kelly.

"We want to keep the training as current as possible, and if you look at the conflicts in Ukraine and overseas, drones are heavily influencing the battle space," he said.

During the nine-week course, infantry and engineer officers were taught vehicle navigation, manoeuvre tactics and mounted firing on the armoured personnel carrier.

Mechanised Tactics instructor Corporal Ross Pickard said the biggest challenge for students on course was the speed at which everything was done.

"It's a pretty big change of pace. Instead of being able to take a couple of minutes to make a decision, you've got maybe five to 10 seconds," he said.

"Their planning cycle to make a quick decision, whether to commit to something or withdraw, is compressed. It draws from a lot of knowledge and skills they already have, but they have to be able to do it quicker."

Exercise Iron Warrior also put participants through their paces in an ambush, a convoy escort and combat team assault, working alongside Australian light armoured vehicles (ASLAVs) and M1A1 Abrams.

The final activity was a 15km-long, combat-team assault with a mine field breach, something combat engineer Lieutenant Drew Roberts was particularly excited about.

"It's very close to what we do as engineers. I studied that kind of tactical action at Holsworthy, so it's cool to see how it looks," he said.

Lieutenant Roberts said the hands-on nature of the course made it particularly effective.

"It's by far the best course I've done in Army, due to its practical nature. There's obviously a classroom component but then you are out field, banging it in for days on end," he said.

"You start the course and you struggle to move your single car, but by the end of it you are finding it pretty easy to manoeuvre the entire platoon."

Infantry officer Lieutenant Thomas Wylie joined the Army after he finished a physics degree and decided being trapped behind a desk wasn't for him.

His part-time job as a mechanic during university came in handy during the course, and said it felt good to get back on the tools, because even officers aren't above operator maintenance.

"It was great being so hands-on with the vehicles. For those like myself, who are posting to dismounted units, it's great to sit in the hot seat and get the experience while we can," he said.

"Especially as we move through and start to phase out these buckets, there will be less and less chance for me to get in one of them again."

For junior officers the course is the final hurdle before being posted to their first unit as a platoon or troop commander.

As for the drone that got away, it was found to have been clipped twice in the propellers - hit, but not brought down.

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Exercise strengthens Australia-India bond

By Major Sandra Seman-Bourke

7 December 2023

Army's 13th Brigade hosted the Indian Armed Forces in Perth and other locations in Western Australia during Exercise Austrahind, an army-to-army collective infantry training activity.

Austrahind 23 included air and maritime elements in a peacekeeping scenario.

As the Indian Ocean-facing representatives of the Australian Army, 13th Brigade is a key player in army-to-army relationships with India.

This year's iteration of Austrahind followed the success of last year's exercise, during which 13th Brigade sent a contingent of more than 50 personnel, including three infantry sections and specialists, to India, to train in the Rajasthan Desert.

Commander 13th Brigade, Brigadier Brett Chaloner, said Exercise Austrahind 23 was an opportunity for the ADF and Indian Armed Forces to share skills, ideas, technology, innovation and culture.

"Enhancing the scope and complexity of our interoperability through our joint military exercises allows us to develop new ways to address shared security challenges, focusing on joint and integrated expeditionary operations within the Indian Ocean region," he said.

"Australia and India have committed to broadening and deepening defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region."

The 13th Brigade soldiers and officers worked side by side with their Indian counterparts, sharing skills and knowledge in tactical drills covering fighting in semi-urban terrain, close-quarter battle and sniper skills.

Commanding Officer of the Indian Armed Forces contingent, Colonel Mayank, said the exercise achieved its objectives.

"The aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations and develop an ability to conduct joint operations," Colonel Mayank said.

"We have shared our experiences, learnt each other's tactics, techniques and procedures, and were evolving joint tactical drills."

In addition to light and vehicle-mounted weapons systems on the ground, a joint live-fire training activity held at Lancelin, north of Perth, demonstrated the fire power of Hawk 127 lead-in fighters from the Royal Australian Air Force's 79 Squadron, and Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Stuart's five-inch main gun.

"This year provided an opportunity for an exchange of ideas to achieve battle field transparency," Brigadier Chaloner said.

He said the opportunity to work closely with the Indian Armed Forces exceeded expectations and reinforced strong and deep friendships.

"Exercise Austrahind 23 promoted mutual understanding, tactical-level information sharing, and exposing participants to another nation's military culture to enhance the skills and experiences of soldiers and officers," Brigadier Chaloner said.

"Against the backdrop of the exercise, soldiers from both sides created a connection beyond expectation, with many reflecting they are now part of a connected community."

Brigadier Chaloner said the relationship between the Indian and Australian armies continued to strengthen against a backdrop of uncertainty that challenged security and stability in the region.

"Australia and India have committed to a comprehensive strategic partnership, which has seen the two nations increase engagement in the Indian Ocean region since 2020,'' he said.

"Optimising integration and interoperability between the Australian and Indian Armies, and our respective defence forces, will further develop our land domain strategic partnership."

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Opening remarks - Parliament House, Canberra

Transcript

Thursday 7 December 2023

Parliament House, Canberra

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: My friend, it is a real honour to welcome you and your considerable delegation, all of your senior members here in Canberra. And I know you've already enjoyed dinner with the Foreign Minister, discussion with the Treasurer, the Deputy Prime Minister and of course, our Minister for the Pacific who loves PNG. Between him and our Deputy Prime Minister, I think there's a competition for how much, I think they might be applying for visas. They are almost honorary PNG citizens. But we are, our relationship is so important. And we know that in 1975 was so important in the role that the Whitlam Labor Government played in the independence of Papua New Guinea. And ever since then, we are partners. And we are partners of equals, that is so important. Prime Minister, you gave me the honour of addressing your parliament, and we will return that honour for you next year, in you addressing our Australian parliament in a joint sitting in February. Today we have a significant agreement. Our bilateral security agreement will be in the interests of both of our nations, but importantly as well, in the interests of security around the region. Our economic relationship is growing and it's never been more important, as well. And our cultural links are of course, so strong. I'm pleased that the Prime Minister's XIII just got across the line in Port Moresby. It was a nervous moment when you lead six-nil and then came back to twelve all. But we share a love of rugby league. Well, certainly this side, but certainly that is important as well. The agreement that we have, I know, is a priority of yours that we'll make today. It will also reinforce internal security in PNG that's so important for your economic future, as well as for your social cohesion there and we will play a role in that, as friends should. This is a relationship where we can just talk through issues, we rely upon each other. At the PIF meeting your Deputy did very well. And we continue to engage in international forums. We were able to meet at APEC in San Francisco just a few weeks ago. And once again, you are very welcome here and I'd invite you to say a few words.

JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER: On our side, we have no complaint in our relationship. It was Prime Minister Whitlam, who allowed the Australian flag to be lowered in 1975. But more importantly, prepare for self-governance. December 1st, 1973, last December 1st, I was addressing parliament and I reminded the parliament it was on this day 50 years ago, and the Australian leaders under Labor that decided to allow us to self govern in preparation for independence. And since then, we've had journey for 18 years, through 48 years. And we have up moments and down moments. In all our moments and down moments Australia have shared with us, those moments as we journey through sovereignty in 48 years we've been independent. So today, for you to invite us to be in your parliament, not just for today signing but yesterday having dinner on the rooftop of you parliament, for today coming in, in the last day your having your parliament sitting for us to have this historic moment where we will further enhance our two nations relationship. PNG security, not just external security, but more importantly, internal security is in Australia's interests as much as it is in PNG interest. We are the only Pacific country that buffers Asia. We have land border across into Asia. We have sea cross into Asia. And then we have outreach into the greater Pacific than you and me have big brother-sister roll over in ensuring that they're well cared for. The emergence of PNG, the security of PNG, the strength of PNG is in our shared interest. I have a famous line that goes like this, if PNG fails, that everybody else up there will be on canoes coming to the mother country. Because it was in 1975 that we were one, we were under Canberra administration. The structure of government, we have in Port Moresby, the sovereignty border we have in Port Moresby was carved out even before we were independent. And so I want to place on record here in the Parliament House appreciation as a country, the seven Prime Ministers before me and myself as the Prime Minister would, in no way shape or form dilute the greater role Australia's played in our sovereignty and our independence we've had today. Representing here, I just want to say once again, thank you and we look forward to the signing that will come later. It goes to entrench deeper our own rich relationship. You know, Papua New Guinea sits on about five plate tectonics, that holds the geological structure of what is Papua New Guinea. So in the five plate tectonics, the biggest one is the Australian plate that rides deep into the Gulf of Papua. That that just symbolises the bond we have, physically, and the bond we have in terms of our government to government relationship. Now our shared value is unmatched anywhere else. Our shared history and past is unmatched with other relationships we have. Anything we do is a construct for the future. The future is uncertain, but we have certainty today. Our work today secures what will come out into the future. So I look forward to our own engagements after the media has left, and I look forward to the signing. It is something that we have asked for. It is something that you have also asked for. It's something, it's an agreement that we both want that secures your national interests as well as our national interest. And it's not something that we have constructed on our own, we are equal partners. I look forward in our both moments. Right, another sail on our 50th anniversary. I just have to throw this one in, excuse the public servants. It is a Pangu and Labor government once again, as we did secure 50 years ago before, in preparation for independence, the relationship when Labor granted Pangu Papua New Guinea preparation for independence. What is before us is security of all forms. I think this agreement differs with other agreements we've signed that looks exclusively at one form of security. This one is all embracing whilst a strength and greater focus on internal security. I am happy that it has the comfort of look into all aspects of security in totality so that PNG and Australia remain friends as ever.

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Joint Leaders Statement on the Australia-Papua New Guinea Bilateral Security Agreement

Media statement

Joint statement

Thursday 7 December 2023

The Honourable James Marape MP

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea

Today we signed a Bilateral Security Agreement.

The Agreement is a legally-binding framework to deepen our security cooperation - in traditional areas of defence, policing, border and maritime security, and also non-traditional areas of cyber security, climate change, gender-based violence and critical infrastructure.

It will elevate our security relationship to advance shared security interests while contributing to our region's security.

The Agreement fulfils a commitment under our Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership. Consistent with our shared commitment to transparency, the Agreement will be publicly available.

As we sign the Agreement, we announce a commitment of $200 million in support of Papua New Guinea's national security priorities.

We have agreed full circle support for Papua New Guinea's internal security, from police to courts to correctional services. This includes initiatives that reflect the Bilateral Security Agreement's focus on climate change, gender-based violence and cyber.

Papua New Guinea will establish a Port Moresby-based Police Recruit and Investigations Training Centre with Australia's support. The Centre will enable Papua New Guinea to recruit and train a larger and more capable force.

Papua New Guinea has offered to open the Training Centre to other Pacific police forces. Papua New Guinea and Australia will continue to support the development of regional policing in the Pacific through the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police as our region's policing institution.

We will continue to support economic security, including through support for trade, border security and increased engagement in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.

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Press conference - Parliament House, Canberra

Transcript

Thursday 7 December 2023

Parliament House, Canberra

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Good morning. Look it is a great honour to be with my very good friend Prime Minister Marape here today and return the hospitality that I received when I visited Port Moresby and Wewak earlier this year and had the great honour of being the first person from outside Papua New Guinea to address the Parliament in Port Moresby. Australia and Papua New Guinea share a very special relationship. It is 50 years since the decision was made in December 1973 by the Whitlam Labor Government to grant independence to Papua New Guinea. And since then, that relationship with that shared history has meant that we have developed still so close, but as equals, as equals and as partners. And today we take that partnership to a new level. As close neighbours and regional leaders, our security and prosperity are bound together. We help each other in times of need and we respond together to the needs of the Pacific family. Since coming to government, we've boosted our support for Papua New Guinea's economic ambitions in infrastructure, health, education and labour mobility. And we've made progress on improving visa processing and access. It's down from more than 50 days down to under 14 now just this year. Most recently, we've worked together to help the Solomon Islands deliver security for its successful Pacific Games that were held in Honiara. Today, we have fulfilled our commitment to elevate our partnership by signing a legally binding bilateral security agreement. This is a comprehensive and a historic agreement. It will make it easier for Australia to help PNG address its internal security needs and for Australia and Papua New Guinea to support each other's security and the region's stability. Policing and domestic security are priorities for my friend, Prime Minister Marape. They are essential for the economic development of PNG and for the welfare of the people of that great nation, which the Prime Minister always reminds me is a nation of 800 languages. That's what you call diversity. And that, of course, means that an absolute priority is how you bring social cohesion to such a diverse population. We have listened to the Prime Minister's priorities and I can announce today a new package of support for policing infrastructure and training for the Royal PNG Constabulary, as well as new support for the judiciary, correctional services and combating gender based violence. We're also announcing today that Australia will support PNG to establish a police recruit and investigations training centre to help Papua New Guinea build a larger, more capable police force and provide training to other Pacific police forces. This security agreement is a natural progression in our security partnership. It builds on our comprehensive strategic and economic partnership. It reinforces our mutual respect for each other's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. And of course, if you stand on Saibai Island in the Torres Strait you can literally see Papua New Guinea and if you're a good swimmer you might be able to swim there as well. I look forward very much to hosting Prime Minister Marape on February 8 as a Guest of Government and him addressing a joint sitting in parliament, which will be the first address by a leader to our parliament since President Widodo at the beginning of 2020. So, this will be the first in four years. Will return the honour that I received in January of being the first foreign leader to address that parliament and have written to the Speaker today and with the support as well of the Leader of the Opposition, we look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape for that joint sitting of parliament. Papua New Guinea can always count on Australia. We share a future and together we're building a partnership that will deliver peace, prosperity and opportunity for our people and for our region. Prime Minister Marape.

JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Thank you. Thank you very much, my good friend, brother, the Prime Minister of Australia, the honourable Albanese. Today is a good moment in which both leaders representing our two people, our two governments, one more time entrenching our shared history, our deep bond and our two countries closeness, one more time deeper in the security agreement that we've just signed. I want to say thank you very much for the warm hospitality, Prime Minister Albanese, and your team has brought to me and my delegation. But this is not just one moment in which Australia has been hospitable to Papua New Guinea. We became a sovereign nation from the hands of Australia when the Australian flag was lowered for the first time in the afternoon of September 15, 1975 and when PNG's flag was hosted for the first time in September 16, 1975. Australia 50 years ago this date we would be seven days into our own self government. It was December 1, 1973 that the Labour Whitlam Government granted the Somare Pangu Government the self-government authority and from there our march to sovereignty took place and two years later in September 16, 1975, we became independent. The construct of what is modern day Papua New Guinea has a lot of input by Australia right from day one. In fact, even before day one, the structure of our judiciary, the structure of our public service, the structure of our education system, the sovereign borders we have today was a construct of what became Papua New Guinea, under Australian words, Australian sovereignty. And today, 48 years on, we have had our own travel together as two nations, brother and sister nations. I am happy that my friend Prime Minister Albanese, under his words and my words, we have now signed what is a historic bilateral security agreement that not only look into one spectrum of security but encompasses quite a broad spectrum of security that covers not just police but looks into judiciary, has a working relationship with our defence, also look into the economic security of our people. as well as every other aspects that deals with our national prosperity and our national well being. I want to thank all Australian taxpayers and it is not just in the personal interest of Prime Minister Albanese to forge a deeper working relationship with Australia and PNG. You've always given support to us. What happens up north of your borders has a deep shared effect, benefit, consequences on our region. We have emerged as joint leaders in our part of planet Earth. In the world of many relationships out there, we choose to ensure we go deepen and strengthen our bond with Australia because it is home for us. I was telling your Prime Minister, Australian Prime Minister, earlier in our meeting, we have many plate tectonics that anchor PNG together, but the biggest is the Australian plate below that holds our part of PNG and the Australian continent together. That just simply depicts that we are joined at the hips forever and going forward, it is in our leadership interest that we construct a feature today and the signing of the strategic security agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea is a step in constructing what would be our shared future as it has been our shared past. And I want to appreciate Prime Minister Albanese's leadership. When we invited you to address our parliament on the 12th of January this year, you became the first foreign leader to address our national parliament. That was not coincidental. It was meant to be. It would have been an Australian Prime Minister to address our parliament. It happened to be you, my friend, and I'm just happy that you are giving me an opportunity to address your parliament on the 8th of February in 2024. To emerging Australians and emerging Papua New Guineans, we can never compromise our two nations closeness, our two nations cultures, our two nations history, and more importantly, as we leaders gel together, it is an indication to citizens of Australia and Papua New Guinea, business of Australia and Papua New Guinea, Public Service of Australia and Papua New Guinea that it is in our combined interest to work together going forward into the future. And I just look forward to that moment to address the parliament. But thank you very much for the opportunity for us to sign the security agreement. It will then be worked upon to consolidate our two national interests, our two countries people and of course, government to government working relationships going forward.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Ashleigh Raper.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Marape, Papua New Guinea has wanted to be a friend to all, enemy to none. But you've now signed a defence agreement with the United States, this security agreement with Australia. So, can we take this as a sign that you're in fact picking a side in the strategic competition between the United States and China?

JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER: It's never picking a side. Every relationship has its own peculiar views. Our common foreign policy, I beg your pardon, our major foreign policy as friends to all, enemies to none, remains. And it's never picking a side. We have specific aspects of relations with every nation we choose to, with Australia, with USA. Those are the relationships we picked. And it's never at the expense of our relationships elsewhere.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Ben.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Marape on security, Bougainville is the region's biggest potential security flashpoint. Four years ago, 97.7 per cent of Bougainville voted for independence from PNG. Mr Marape, do you commit a government you lead to ratifying that referendum result? And to Mr Albanese, Australia's party to the Bougainville Peace Agreement, should PNG respect the overwhelming free vote of Bougainvilleans and allow Bougainville its independence?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I'll say very clearly, I'll answer first before Mr Marape, I respect PNG's sovereignty and those issues are a matter for Papua New Guinea.

JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER: All right. Australia was part of the peace process, New Zealand was part of the peace process in 2001 when we reached the Bougainville Peace Agreement, and the process is on foot. The final leg of the peace process means national parliament will ratify, in the words of the peace agreement, ratify the results. And so there are two sides, the national government and the autonomous Bougainville government, have a handle on the peace agreement process. It is a peace agreement process meaning for a peaceful solution to the Bougainville issue. The political question, the political process, is another part of the conversation. We are on time, on schedule to honour the 2001 peace process, the ratification process will take precedence.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Stephen.

JOURNALIST: Thanks, Prime Minister. Prime Minister Marape, can I just clarify, is it your expectation that this agreement that's been signed today will be ratified or will need to be ratified by the parliament, or will it be binding on signature? And can I also ask, just in the details of the security pact, is there any clause whatsoever that implies any sort of exclusive rights for Australia here? Does it exclude Papua New Guinea signing similar agreements with any other country, or is that not the case? And Mr. Albanese, on that subject, can I ask, did Australia, as was reported earlier this year, push for any exclusionary language in this treaty during the negotiation process?

JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER: If you don't mind, my friend, there is no exclusivity in between this one. This one gives respect to PNG and Australia's own security need and our own peculiar aspects of our security. Lest we forget, we source more investments from Australian investments in PNG. Right now, the biggest hold of investors are Australian investors in our country. Security in all aspects is important for PNG as much as it's for Australia. There's no exclusivity. Australia has given us respect to our relationship elsewhere. This is dovetailed in a manner in which it protects our own national interests to have economic and secure relationship elsewhere. But more importantly, it is signed in a manner in which Australia wants to get involved in PNG. PNG invited them to come in. It was not Australia forcing its way in. PNG invited Australia and we had two teams sitting on the table. The construct is mutually satisfying, respects Australian sovereignty as much as Australia respects PNG sovereignty in what we've signed. So, I'm satisfied, he's satisfied. Australian people should be satisfied, PNG people should be satisfied. There is no need for us to go to my own parliament. The constitutional process was deployed. All elements of legal requirements have been satisfactory dispensed with. My signature and my colleague signature is as good as word gone out. We have a clauses inside that allows for us to have a review in this one and as every agreement has enough room for improvement, but there's enough basis for us to get to work to ensure that it pays dividend to the benefit of Papua New Guinea, as much as our responsibility to ensure securities improved up there in PNG.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Prime Minister. This is a legally binding agreement. The approach, as Prime Minister Marape has said, came from Papua New Guinea and we worked it through in a way that we both got exactly what we wanted from this process. This will assist not just external security for both PNG and Australia, but will assist as well with the internal security arrangements within Papua New Guinea with the provisions that are there on issues such as assistance with police training and with those facilities and infrastructure. It's a very comprehensive agreement. It comes into effect now and that is very important and I believe we'll have overwhelming support. Prime Minister Marape generously spoke about the support that Australia has given Papua New Guinea historically when it has come to defence relationships, but I'll make this concluding point. All Australians should give thanks to the people of Papua New Guinea for the assistance that was given to our Australian diggers during World War II. PNG citizens gave their lives protecting Australian defence personnel and of course, that was at a time where the territorial integrity of PNG was a part of, if you like, Australia in terms of the relations. But the people of Papua New Guinea, and when I attended Wewak in the north there and went to the base that is there as well, you see throughout Papua New Guinea, not the least of which the history of the Kokoda Trail, where there's a memorial pretty close to my electorate in the inner west of Sydney, in the electorate next door in Reid. This is a relationship that was forged, literally, with giving lives of both Australians and Papua New Guineans for each other, for our interests going forward. And that's why we have no closer friend than Papua New Guinea. And what today does is cement that relationship. Thanks very much.

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Australia, Papua New Guinea Sign Bilateral Security Agreement

Sputnik News

20231207

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Australia and Papua New Guinea have signed a bilateral security framework agreement to strengthen military partnership and response to potential threats, the Australian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"Today, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia, and the Hon James Marape MP, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, signed the Agreement Between the Government of Australia and the Government of Papua New Guinea on a Framework for Closer Security Relations," the ministry said in a statement.

Australia will also provide Papua New Guinea with 200 million Australian dollars ($131 million) over a four-year period for security and policing needs, including the establishment of a police training center in Port Moresby and the modernization of the police force.

"In the event of a security-related development that threatens the sovereignty, peace or stability of either Party, or the Pacific region, the Parties shall consult at the request of either Party and consider whether any measures should be taken in relation to the threat," the agreement read.

The document does not prohibit Papua New Guinea from signing similar agreements with other nations.

Australian broadcaster reported that the agreement was reached with a view to "counter China's growing military presence" in the Pacific.

Last month, Australia signed a security pact with the Pacific nation of Tuvalu, which was also described by the media as a measure to limit China's influence in the region.

Last year, China and the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea's close neighbor, signed a defense pact allowing Beijing to send troops to the island nation in case of an emergency.

A Sputnik

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Indo-Pacific Minister's speech to Western Australia defence conference: 8 December 2023

UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, gave a keynote speech on AUKUS at a conference on "The Future of Defence in Western Australia" in Perth.

8 December 2023

Thank you, Rebecca, for your kind introduction.

Firstly, I acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Whadjuk Noongar people, and I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and future.

I am delighted to join you all today - my fourth trip to Australia this year, and my third to Perth.

It is not just the beauty of this vibrant city, your family of black swans on the river, or your wonderful climate, that keep bringing me back. Although my friend Stephen Smith, Australia's High Commissioner to the UK and fiercely proud former Federal Member for Perth, often teases me that it is!

The reason I keep coming back is Perth's significance to AUKUS as the future home of Australia's nuclear-powered submarine fleet. And, as you welcomed USS North Carolina into port in August, it was clear for all to see that the 'Optimal Pathway' is now underway.

The Royal Navy is looking forward to joining our American navy colleagues here more frequently from 2026, as our fleet of Astute class nuclear-powered submarines visits regularly, to strengthen our naval partnership to protect the region's freedom of navigation across Indo-Pacific waters.

Your recent visitor USS North Carolina was a demonstration of the continuing steps forward in the long journey towards SSN-AUKUS become reality.

So what was the rationale for AUKUS?

AUKUS is a security partnership of global significance.

Events in Israel and Gaza, and Russia's continuing attack against Ukraine, remind us how events far from our shores reverberate at home, with implications for our security, our economy, and our society.

The UK government is under no illusion about the risks to global economic security if stability in the Indo-Pacific is shattered.

As an island nation and a global trading power, like Australia, the UK depends on open shipping routes and unimpeded sea lanes.

Free flows of trade, energy and data - above and below the surface - must be our continuing focus. Because the security of Indo-Pacific waters has a direct impact on my constituents in Northumberland as well as households across the UK and around the world.

That is why we recommitted our support to a free and open Indo-Pacific in our foreign and defence policy refresh.

AUKUS is the UK's biggest investment in the stability of the Indo-Pacific, and broader global security, for half a century.

Its positive impact will be felt in the region, in our relationships with two of our oldest and closest allies - but also across defence, industry and academia in all three partner countries.

That is why I, and the UK Government, will do all we can to support you, bringing UK industrial and academic expertise honed over 60 years.

Taking on a nuclear-powered fleet is an enormous endeavour, and Western Australia is critical to delivering the availability and sustainment of this new generation of submarines for the Australian Navy, the workforce to support them and the infrastructure to underpin their requirements.

On each of my visits over the last year, I have met with critical stakeholders. And I am excited to say that on this visit I am really starting to feel the momentum picking up on real partnership building and the investment picture needed.

During this visit, I have met with leaders from Defence West, the Australian Submarine Agency, and Curtin University's new AUKUS Workforce Alliance.

We have hosted Western Australian leaders in the UK, including the Honourable Paul Papalia, to share our knowledge and discuss the most effective relationships which can help you build this new, hugely complex, enterprise with the help of our experienced industrial enterprise.

And, of course, AUKUS isn't only about submarines.

I've seen for myself the expertise and advanced capabilities within Western Australia's defence sector.

From cyber to AI to remote operations, this region is well-positioned to do well from AUKUS Pillar Two. And from increasing collaboration with your UK and US counterparts.

Last week, AUKUS Defence Ministers made a series of major announcements on Pillar Two that will build our mutual deterrence posture to make us stronger and create lots of opportunities for our defence industries.

Joint exercises will continue to improve our ability to offset an opponent's advantage, and increase the sophistication and impact of our autonomous naval systems.

We will accelerate the development of quantum technologies for positioning, navigation, and timing in military capabilities. This will bolster the resilience of our forces in the most challenging environments, and enhance stealth in undersea capabilities, which will also support SSN-AUKUS.

We will collaborate on the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability programme, which will use sites in all three countries to help identify emerging threats in space.

And finally, we are working on cyber security with critical suppliers to the naval supply chain, which will give us greater insight into the threats to AUKUS and how to address them.

The progress we are making proves that pooling resources and expertise, and focussing on interoperability, makes us stronger than we ever could be alone in tackling the present geopolitical strains.

The delivery of AUKUS

AUKUS has global significance. But its impacts are also in our local communities. AUKUS will be delivered by Australian, British, and American workers, civilian and uniformed. It will create and sustain thousands of jobs, and boost and regenerate industrial heartlands.

The submarine enterprise - Pillar 1 - will bring together world-leading British design, with the very best technology, skills and industrial heft from all three partners.

In the UK we have now committed A4bn of contracts to design and manufacture the first components for SSN-AUKUS. Rolls Royce is expanding its nuclear reactor manufacturing site in Derby, and BAe Systems is working with the town of Barrow to expand its site and skills. Babcock is continuing to invest in modernising their delivery of submarine sustainment and maintenance, which you will want to tap into in order to save time re-inventing the proverbial wheel.

It's good to see a few of the first cohort of workers from Australia embedded with UK and US counterparts, learning from the best and brightest in our defence industry.

But let's be under no illusion the scale of the challenge, especially in relation to the pace required to get to the start line.

The scale and ambition of AUKUS is exciting for the defence industry. But at a time of heightened demand from Ukraine and Israel, and from other states who are bolstering their defences in light of Putin's aggression, it will test the capability and capacity of defence sectors in all three partner nations.

So, we must work together to build the next generations of designers, project managers, engineers, welders, and technicians. As well as the nuclear, cyber and digital experts, who will play a vital role in delivering AUKUS.

These jobs demand unique skills and qualifications. Many require years of training. Developing the required workforce growth, without draining the existing skills bases, needs planning and investment.

We also need to ensure our people can move easily between the three countries, to enable them to exchange knowledge, skills and experience. I know that the mobility agreement we agreed as part of our UK- Australia FTA last year will be important in supporting that flow.

AUKUS is a multi-generational as well as multi-national endeavour, which will require us to adapt in order to continue to pull in the same direction.

For the partnership to work to best effect, we need to ensure legal and regulatory frameworks are complementary. US ITAR controls being reviewed and legislated at the moment by US legislators, will enable us to navigate a path through export control regimes, so our industries can work more closely together.

AUKUS is already changing how we work together, and we are working to overcome the challenges that arise from it.

In the UK we are investing in our new Nuclear Skills Taskforce, to boost the capacity of our sector. We have appointed a cross-government Director-General of AUKUS, to provide leadership and enhance coordination.

We must now work trilaterally to ramp up our engagement and delivery of urgent activity with industry. That's why I was so pleased to hear about the brilliant Aukus Workforce Alliance created between HII, the US industrial maintenance lead for Virginias, Babcock, the UK's industrial sustainment lead for UK Astutes and three Australian universities - Curtin, University of New South Wales and University of Adelaide. Forward thinking for the long-term skills challenge.

We have established an AUKUS Defence Industry Forum, which will bring together governments and industry from all three countries to help drive forward delivery of advanced capabilities. And we have initiated the AUKUS Defence Investors Network to strengthen financing.

To conclude, the scale of our ambition for the trilateral AUKUS partnership is vast, and there are enormous opportunities and responsibilities for government to enable industry to deliver the policy aims needed.

Delivering across both Pillars of the partnership will be an exceptionally complex challenge. But it is a challenge we can overcome by working together.

We must keep at the front of our minds at all times why we are doing this - we have a responsibility together to provide defence capabilities which will be capable of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific - not just for our trading and security interests, but for our neighbours, friends and allies.

Global maritime security is under pressure - our challenge is to assure it in order to:

facilitate those flows of trade, goods moved about seamlessly day in day out from so many Indo-Pacific nations to the world;

assure flows of energy, by ship and by pipeline and undersea cables;

and ensure the safety of undersea data cables which underpin our global financial services.

These conversations are critically important to helping policy makers set this enormous project on the right road. So, thank you firstly to Senator Linda Reynolds for asking whether I would support this - of course!; and to Gordon Flake and the US Asia Centre and Business News for making it a reality.

So - please do tell me what you think we need to do to deliver our shared ambitions for AUKUS, drawing on the rich talents of the people and businesses of Western Australia. The simple question is are we going fast enough to enable you to deliver the requirements to sustain and maintain a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines here in Western Australia? Our mission is to reassure allies - and that will be achieved if we assure ourselves we are going hard and fast enough to meet delivery of the challenge.

I know you won't be shy in sharing your views, that's one of the wonderful characteristics of Australians!

Thank you.

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First Strategic Dialogue between the United States and the Belarusian Democratic Movement and Civil Society

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

December 8, 2023

The Department of State hosted the first Strategic Dialogue between the United States Government and the Belarusian democratic movement and civil society on December 6-8. Co-chaired by Belarusian democratic leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Christopher W. Smith, the Strategic Dialogue convened representatives of numerous U.S. government agencies with a broad cross-section of Belarusian democratic actors, including political leaders, civil society representatives, independent journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, union leaders, academics, and ordinary Belarusians.

At the Dialogue, the United States made several announcements:

The United States' efforts to promote accountability for the Lukashenka regime's abuses in Belarus and abroad will continue, as exemplified by the sanctions levied December 5 against 11 companies and eight individuals enabling or complicit in the regime's misdeeds.

The U.S. Agency for International Development this month is opening a dedicated office in Vilnius, Lithuania, for its Belarus program. USAID has partnered with the Belarusian people for 20 years and the new office is proof that the partnership will continue as Belarusians strive for a sovereign, democratic and prosperous country.

The United States will initiate exchanges and other programming designed to promote and protect Belarusians' unique national and cultural identity, including their language, literature, arts, and history.

The United States and representatives of the Belarusian democratic movement agreed to convene working groups in the coming months to continue the important discussions started at the Strategic Dialogue.

A key topic was the human rights catastrophe the regime in Minsk deliberately inflicts upon the people of Belarus since the fraudulent 2020 Belarus presidential election. Both sides condemned the horrors inflicted upon political prisoners and the need for rehabilitation and resocialization support. The United States continues to call for the immediate and unconditional release and rehabilitation of the regime's nearly 1,500 political prisoners. We are also looking into ways to support rehabilitation efforts for political prisoners and their families.

Strategic Dialogue participants also discussed issues related to the future economic development of a democratic Belarus, the important role of Belarusian diaspora communities, the pressures placed upon independent media, countering disinformation and propaganda, and helping Belarus defend and reclaim its full sovereignty. The United States continues its unwavering support for the aspirations of the Belarusian people for a sovereign, democratic future, and salutes the courageous Belarusians who have risked, and continue to risk, so much in pursuit of that goal.

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24th EU-China Summit: engaging to promote our values and defend our interests

European Council / Council of the European Union

European Council

Press release

7 December 2023

The European Union (EU) and China held their 24th Summit in Beijing on 7 December 2023. President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met with China's President, Xi Jinping, followed by an exchange with China's Premier, Li Qiang.

The Summit was an opportunity to engage with China following a period of intensified bilateral contacts and dialogues. High-level visits and dialogues on strategic and foreign policy issues, human rights as well as trade and economy, climate, and environment, digital have paved the way for the Summit, demonstrating the EU's commitment to engage with China. The EU highlighted the need for concrete progress following these discussions.

"The EU-China relationship is one that matters. But we need to make our trade and economic relations more balanced, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial. We will continue to work for equal opportunities for our companies. Today should be a first step. We also count on China, as a Permanent Member of the UNSC, to protect the UN charter and notably the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. We will continue to engage with China based on transparency, predictability, and reciprocity.", said President of the European Council Charles Michel

"Our relationship with China is complex and we have a responsibility to make it work. We agreed that it is in our joint interest to have balanced trade relations. And we need to address challenges in a world with increasing geopolitical frictions. We must all work to ensure Russia stops its war of aggression against Ukraine," said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU stressed the importance of a well-functioning, rules-based international order, with the United Nations at its core. The leaders discussed Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU reiterated that, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a special responsibility in upholding the UN Charter's core principles, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. The EU called on China to use its influence on Russia to stop its war of aggression and strongly encouraged China to engage on Ukraine's Peace Formula. The EU underlined the importance of China continuing to refrain from supplying lethal weapons to Russia. The EU equally urged China to prevent any attempts by Russia to circumvent or undermine the impact of sanctions.

On the Middle East, the EU condemned in the strongest terms the indiscriminate and brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel. The EU reiterated Israel's right to defend itself in line with international humanitarian law. Both sides agreed on the importance of ensuring the protection of all civilians, improving the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2712. The EU and China confirmed their commitment to the two-state solution.

The EU and China are major economic partners with EUR 2.3 billion in goods trade per day. However, with an EU trade deficit of almost EUR 400 billion, this relationship is critically and structurally imbalanced. The EU does not intend to decouple or to turn inwards. The EU therefore raised concerns about underlying distortions and the negative effects of manufacturing overcapacity in China's economy. The EU stressed to China the importance of achieving a more balanced economic relationship with a level playing field and reciprocity. The EU equally underlined the need for progress in addressing the core EU interests and longstanding demands (e.g., transparency in the business environment, predictable supply chains, trade distortions including industrial subsidies, and sector-specific trade barriers).

The EU expressed its expectation that China takes concrete action to improve market access and the investment environment for EU investors and exporters. The EU recalled that de-risking but not decoupling aims at strengthening resilience by addressing critical dependencies in specific sectors, in full compliance with the World Trade Organisation rules.

The EU and China share an interest in an effective multilateral rules-based trading system, equipped to address key challenges of our time.

The EU stressed the two sides' joint responsibility to ensure a transparent and competitive environment for the digital economy, including a level playing field for artificial intelligence that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms. The EU underscored the common goal of avoiding fragmentation of standards for information and communication technologies.

Leaders noted recent agreements, including the establishment of working groups on financial regulation, cosmetics, export controls, and wines and spirits. The EU looked forward to the rapid activation of the mechanism to ease cross-border data flows. Leaders also noted the work undertaken since the last Summit on customs and intellectual property rights, food safety and safety of products sold online, as well as on geographical indications. The leaders agreed to relaunch the High-Level People-to-People Dialogue in 2024.

Leaders welcomed continued cooperation on climate change and the environment, as exemplified by recent agreement to work further on emissions trading and circular economy. As major economies, the EU and China must lead global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including at the ongoing COP28. The EU acknowledged recent progress on expansion of renewable energy and China's intention to tackle methane emissions. The EU underlined the urgent responsibility for all states to step up climate ambition and called on China, to join the Global pledge to triple renewable energy capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030, as well as the Global Methane Pledge.

Leaders also discussed debt sustainability, food security, health and pandemic preparedness, biodiversity, water, ocean governance, plastic pollution, and deforestation.

The EU reiterated its deep concerns about the human rights situation in China, notably systemic human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, forced labour, the treatment of human rights defenders and persons belonging to minorities, as well as the continued erosion of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, where China should honour its prior commitments. The EU welcomed the resumption of the Human Rights Dialogue in February 2023 and underlined its expectation for the next dialogue to take place in 2024 in China.

The EU reaffirmed its consistent One China policy and expressed concerns about increased tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Heightened instability in the East and South China Seas threatens regional and global prosperity and security. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. Disputes must be resolved through peaceful means in accordance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Leaders further discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula, in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Iran.

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Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel following the EU-China Summit

European Commission

Statement

7 December 2023

Beijing

Today's Summit was already my second visit to China this year. This is certainly testimony to the importance of the EU-China relationship. We have a complex relationship with China which deserves frank and open discussions, to deepen mutual understanding, and we had that today. This was certainly a 'summit of choices'. It was an opportunity to explain clearly our concerns and our expectations to the Chinese leadership and of course to also seek progress in key areas of our bilateral relationship.

Let me start with trade and investment in the economy. This is particularly necessary when it comes to rebalancing our trade relationship. President Xi explained his view on the current Chinese economy. We trade EUR 2.3 billion of goods every single day. This shows that our trade relationship with China is important. But we explained why we see that our trade is critically imbalanced. Our trade deficit has reached almost EUR 400 billion. 20 years ago, it was ten times smaller - EUR 40 billion. So this shows the trajectory and enormous increase of the trade deficit. If you just look at the last two years, the trade deficit has doubled. This is a matter of great concern for a lot of Europeans. Such imbalances are just unsustainable. The root causes are well known, and we discussed them. They range from a lack of market access for European companies to the Chinese market, to preferential treatment of domestic Chinese companies and overcapacities in the Chinese production. This overcapacity is then spilling over onto global markets. And here, we see that different regions are already closing their markets to Chinese products. This of course diverts even more overcapacity towards Europe. Politically, European leaders will not be able to tolerate that our industrial base is undermined by unfair competition. We like competition. It makes us better; it lowers prices; it is good for the consumers. But competition needs to be fair. We insist on fair competition within the Single Market. Therefore, we also insist on fair competition from companies that come to our Single Market. And I am glad that we agreed with President Xi that trade should be balanced between the two of us.

Of course, we also discussed the approach of de-risk, not decouple. China, by the way, has a long-standing similar approach. China called it self-reliance and it was partially included in the dual-circulatory approach. I want to be very clear here too: Europe does not want to decouple from China. We have seen a decoupling of Europe from Russia, for good reasons. We do not want a decoupling from China. What we want is de-risking. De-risking is about managing the risks we see, addressing excessive dependencies through diversification of our supply chains - so strengthening our supply chain, have a more robust supply chain from several suppliers - and thus increasing our resilience. And this is not exclusive to China. It is about learning the lessons from both the global COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's energy blackmail. There, we have felt - first in the pandemic, but then also when Russia started its war - how painful it can be when the single supplier does not deliver anymore. In light of increased geopolitical frictions, it is important for us to strengthen and diversify our supply chains.

We also discussed the digital topic in general, and specifically artificial intelligence. We see both the big opportunities but of course also the big risks of AI. The challenge is to ensure both safety on the one hand but also to open the door for innovation on the other hand. Market forces alone will not fix it. Voluntary guardrails are certainly good to move quickly, but ultimately, we need binding rules. China has started its Global AI Governance Initiative. The European Union is right now finalising its first AI Act, to ensure that artificial intelligence complies with our fundamental rights and our values. So, even if our governance models are different, we agreed that we should seek to cooperate on artificial intelligence at the global level. We also discussed cross-border industrial data flows. It was also discussed in the high-level dialogue we have resumed since my last visit. As you know, EU businesses have since long expressed concerns about China's rule in this area and the lack of clarity for them. So I very much welcome now China's willingness to establish a mechanism to clarify the rules. This will be a big improvement for European companies. After having heard the words, what is now important is that we see progress on this file.

We also discussed the big topic of climate change and cooperation in fighting climate change. As you know, COP28 is ongoing. And I think it would also be a strong message by China if it joined the Global Renewables Pledge. As you know, we have proposed to triple global renewable energy by 2030 and to double energy efficiency also by 2030. So I encourage China to join us in this ambition. This Pledge is a big success because already in the first week of COP28, 125 countries have joined this Global Pledge for Renewable Energy. China is outstanding in deploying renewable energy. It is probably the region where most renewables come online currently. This is a big success. But on the other hand, and we discussed that openly and frankly, we are very worried about the increased deployment of coal power plants in China. We know that one of the most difficult issues in fighting climate change that we face right now is the phase-out of fossil fuels. This is the discussion that is ongoing at COP28 in Dubai right now. And of course, we want China to take a very strong position on the question of phasing out unabated fossil fuels by mid-century.

Finally, we also discussed the big topic of carbon markets. Actually, the European Union and China have together the biggest emissions trading system worldwide. We have a long-standing cooperation in this area. The European Union started already in 2005 to establish an Emissions Trading System. Now we are moving towards covering 75% of our emissions with a carbon price. And since quite some years, China has joined. We are working closely together, also sharing advice on what mistakes to avoid and what positive steps to take forward. Therefore, I am very happy that we are renewing our Memorandum of Understanding on ETS cooperation. The Emissions Trading System is market-driven; it is well tested; it has proven its cost efficiency; and it creates revenues that can be reinvested in innovation and reinvested in the developing countries. So, all in all, climate change is an area where China and the European Union are cooperating very constructively.

Let me turn to Ukraine. Russia's war of aggression is a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. And it is a serious threat to European security. That is why we recalled the need for China to use all its influence on Russia to stop this war of aggression and to engage in Ukraine's Peace Formula. We also reiterated to refrain from supplying lethal equipment to Russia and to prevent any attempts by Russia to undermine the impact of sanctions.

Lastly, we expressed our concerns to China about tensions in the region, particularly in the Strait of Taiwan. Heightened instability in the East and South China Seas put at risk global prosperity and regional security. We stand strongly against any kind of unilateral change of the status quo of Taiwan, in particular by the use of force. We acknowledge the 'One-China policy'. Regional security will also be increased if differences on the South China Sea are resolved through dialogue and in line with international law.

To conclude, a lot of choices are on the table. And today, we had a candid and open discussion. And we agreed to make further progress, in the high-level dialogues.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Azerbaijan`s economic development is mainly generated by our reforms. We managed to diversify our economy, and to reduce the dependence on oil and gas sector, though, oil and gas sector continues to be the main part of our economy, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in his interview with Euronews channel, Trend reports.

This year, our economic growth is a little bit modest, because of the slight decline of the oil production. The GDP of Azerbaijan grew more than four times for the last 20 years, and that was a very remarkable achievement. At the same time, we managed to conduct a very sophisticated, social policy. We managed to reduce the level of people who lived in poverty during the last 20 years from almost 50 to 5.5 percent. This demonstrates that the wealth generated by energy projects was fairly distributed between all segments of our population, the head of state underlined.
US' hype on normal China-Cambodia naval cooperation exposes 'hegemonic mentality'

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Dec 07, 2023 09:23 PM

The US has again hyped the alleged Chinese control of Cambodia's Ream Naval Base amid reports saying Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships recently visited the Ream port for the first time since a China-assisted renovation project there started in 2022.

Hegemonic mentality is behind the US' smearing of normal military cooperation between China and Cambodia, experts said on Thursday.

Two PLA Navy corvettes docked at the Ream Naval Base on Sunday in preparation for training the Cambodian navy, CNN reported on Thursday, citing a social media post by Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Seiha and photos accompanying the post.

It is the first time Chinese warships have docked at the Ream Naval Base, CNN said.

The US is monitoring reports of Chinese warships docking in Cambodia and has serious concerns about "Beijing's plans to have exclusive control over parts of the main naval base there", a US State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday, Reuters reported on Thursday.

China and Cambodia enjoy a deep friendship and have productive cooperation in many fields, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference on Thursday when asked about the reports, but referred to competent authorities for details on the Chinese warships' visit to Cambodia.

China's Ministry of National Defense has yet to announce the visit as of press time.

The Ream Naval Base is currently being renovated with assistance from China.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held on June 8, 2022, when Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian said that the renovation project is an achievement of mutual respect and equal consultation between China and Cambodia that conforms with the two countries' domestic laws, international laws and practices and does not target any third party.

After completion, the project will significantly enhance the level of the Cambodian navy's modernization development and effectively boost the Cambodian military's capabilities in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese ambassador said, noting that the Chinese military would continue to provide as much assistance to the Cambodian military as it can and promote the two countries' military cooperation to higher levels, the ambassador said.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US is concerned about China potentially having a military base in Cambodia, despite the fact that China's assistance in renovating a Cambodian naval base is very normal, considering the long history of the two countries' military cooperation.

Cambodia is an independent sovereign country, so the idea that another country can have exclusive control over its military base does not exist, Song said, refuting the US State Department spokesperson's remarks.

The US has hundreds of overseas military bases around the world, but does not accept China having any overseas military bases, even one for logistics support purposes, which exposed the US' Cold War mentality of global military hegemony, Song said.

The US reportedly has nearly 800 military bases in more than 80 countries and regions around the globe, including some on China's doorstep in Japan and South Korea, and it also gained access to additional ones in the Philippines earlier this year.

By comparison, China only has one overseas base, the PLA Djibouti Support base, which supports China's anti-piracy, UN peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions in the region.

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China opposes smearing, undermining cooperation under BRI, after Italy exits: spokesperson

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Dec 07, 2023 08:27 PM

China firmly opposes smearing and undermining cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and opposes camps confrontation, China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, in a response made after Italy informed the Chinese government of its decision to withdraw from the BRI.

The BRI has benefited more than 150 countries and regions over the past 10 years and has become a most popular international public good and largest platform for international cooperation, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a routine press conference on Thursday.

In October this year, the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing. A total of 151 countries, including Italy, and 41 international organizations sent representatives to the event, which produced 458 deliverables. The success of the forum sends out a clear message of seeking solidarity, collaboration, openness and win-win results and demonstrates the enormous appeal and global influence of Belt and Road cooperation, Wang said.

China firmly opposes attempts to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation or stoke bloc confrontation and division, Wang said.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Italy has officially informed China that it is quitting BRI. Italy in 2019 became the first major Western developed economy to join BRI.

In an exclusive interview with Global Times in October, Michele Geraci, former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development said that quitting the initiative will not bring positive benefit to the economy.

He said the relationship between Italian and Chinese companies will also likely be negatively impacted. The companies that suffer most are the Italian companies, because the BRI will continue to live and exist with the other countries, without Italy. It will be Italian companies that are not able to participate in BRI projects, he added.

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Macao disagrees with Moody's cutting its credit outlook to 'negative'

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Dec 07, 2023 12:19 PM

The Macao SAR government said it disagrees with Moody's decision to downgrade the region's credit outlook from "stable" to "negative" on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the Monetary Authority of Macao emphasizes that the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) still adheres to prudent fiscal management during the period of economic adjustment, and the city's abundant foreign exchange reserves have shored up the Macao SAR's ability to respond to and withstand external risks.

The SAR government does not have any debt burden, its public finances, external revenue and expenditures and financial conditions are very stable, and the asset quality and capital levels of its banks remain solid, the bureau added.

The response of the Macao SAR came after Moody's change on Macao's credit outlook from "stable" to "negative", one day after the rating agency cut the credit outlook for the Chinese mainland.

The outlook said it reflects Moody's assessment of tight institutional, economic and financial linkages between Macao and the Chinese mainland.

However, Macao SAR said with the full resumption of personnel exchanges between Macao and neighboring regions, and the number of tourists having gradually returned to normal, the rebound in external demand has driven a steady recovery of Macao's economy.

The Macao SAR said it will continue a series of tourism promotion and publicity activities, coupled with the orderly progress of non-gaming investment projects by gaming concessionaires, which will effectively improve Macao's international competitiveness and enrich its role as a global tourism and leisure center.

China has the confidence and capability to achieve long-term stable development, and continuously bring new impetus and opportunities to the world, the country's top economic planner said on Wednesday, after Moody's moved to cut its outlook on Chinese government credit ratings to negative from stable on Tuesday.

The strong resilience, huge potential, room for maneuver and sound fundamentals of the country's economy remain unchanged. China is the single largest engine of global growth and will contribute about one-third to the world's economic growth this year, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.

IMF estimates that China will contribute more than 30 percent to global economic growth this year.

Macao's close economic ties with the Chinese mainland provide a strong support for Macao's long-term development. Against the background that global economy is currently facing complex challenges with multiple uncertainties, the GDP growth of Chinese mainland in the first three quarters of 2023 reached 5.2 percent, which will have a positive impact on Macao's economic performance this year, the Macao SAR said.

The government of the Hong Kong SAR on Wednesday said it disagrees with a Moody's report that changes its credit outlook to "negative" from "stable", saying the linkage with the Chinese mainland should not be a rating constraint as it is a source of strength for Hong Kong.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on December 7, 2023

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

2023-12-07 22:03

At the invitation of the government of Argentina, President Xi Jinping's Special Envoy and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Wu Weihua will attend the inauguration of the incoming President of Argentina Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on December 10.

ANSA: Italy has formally informed Beijing of its decision to end its participation in the Belt and Road Initiative it joined in 2019. Is it possible to get any comment on this topic? What does it mean from the Chinese point of view? What does it mean for the Sino-Italian relations?

Wang Wenbin: The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed a decade ago, has delivered benefits to over 150 countries, becoming a most popular international public good and largest platform for international cooperation. In October this year, the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing. A total of 151 countries, including Italy, and 41 international organizations sent representatives to the event, which produced 458 deliverables. The success of the forum sends out a clear message of seeking solidarity, collaboration, openness and win-win results and demonstrates the enormous appeal and global influence of Belt and Road cooperation. China firmly opposes attempts to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation or stoke bloc confrontation and division.

Xinhua News Agency: At the recent 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), more than 100 countries agreed to triple the installed capacity of renewable energy before 2030. Foreign media commented that China is the only major country at COP28 that is expected to achieve that goal. What's your comment?a

Wang Wenbin: China attaches great importance to the development of renewable energy, and turned from "followers" to "forerunners" and even "pacesetters" in a short timespan. New heights are constantly achieved in installed capacity, power generation, and industrial competitiveness. We are making solid strides in deepening the energy revolution, contributing to the global response to climate change. China's investment in renewable energy has topped the world for seven years in a row. The installed capacity of renewable energy also topped the world, exceeding 1.4 terawatt, higher than the coal-fired energy. More than half of the NEVs are in China. Green and low-carbon development has become part of the life of the Chinese people. At the Hangzhou Asian Games successfully held not long ago, the conventional power of all the stadiums was generated with green energy. More than 100 million people contributed their "green energy" with low-carbon activities, making the Hangzhou Asian Games the first ever carbon-neutral Asian Games.

We are actively promoting green energy internationally, assisting more developing countries in writing green chapters in their development. From the Karot Hydropower Project in Pakistan to the De Aar Wind Power Project in South Africa, and to the Al Dhafra PV2 Solar Power Plant in the UAE, China-contracted renewable projects are all over the world, lighting up the dreams of green and low-carbon development of more countries. Currently, 50 percent of the world's wind power equipment and 80 percent of the PV equipment are from China. By September this year, China had signed 48 South-South MOUs on climate change with dozens of developing countries, built four demonstration zones on low-carbon development, carried out 75 projects on the mitigation and adaptation of climate change, and brought the benefit of green and low-carbon development to more countries.

China will continue to promote green and sustainable development, contributing to the global response to climate change to the best of our capabilities. We also hope that members of the COP28 could fully implement the consensus, making corresponding contributions to achieve relevant targets according to their national conditions, and jointly addressing the challenges and bottlenecks facing the development of the renewable energy, making relentless efforts in implementing the Paris Agreement fully and effectively to build a clean and beautiful world.

Beijing Daily: Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies issued the China Security Report 2024 recently, which says that as China builds up its military strength, including nuclear power, and deepens strategic coordination with Russia, the US will have to face more intense rivalry from China and Russia in the future. The report also says that Japan must further strengthen the necessary defense capabilities to deter China's attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait through reliance on force. What is China's comment?

Wang Wenbin: China is committed to peaceful development and adheres to a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. China's growth means a stronger force for world peace. Taiwan is part of China and the Taiwan question is China's internal affair. How to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese and brooks no external interference. The report of the Japanese think tank pointed fingers at China's internal affairs, modernization of China's military and China's relations with other countries. The comments are irresponsible and don't hold water.

For historical reasons, Japan's military and security moves have been closely watched by its Asian neighbors and the international community. In recent years, Japan has greatly increased its military expenditure and sought to develop offensive weapons, which has caused grave concern from its neighbors and the international community. We urge Japan to earnestly respect the security concerns of its neighbors, profoundly reflect on its history of aggression, stop hyping up the "China threat" narrative and using it as a pretext for its own military buildup, and take substantive steps to earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community.

The New York Times: Have the talks so far with EU leaders produced any substantive progress on relations?

Wang Wenbin: This morning, President Xi Jinping met with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen who are in China for the 24th China-EU Summit. I'd like to take this opportunity to share some information on that with you.

President Xi noted that since the end of last year, the China-EU relations have shown a sound momentum of consolidation and growth, and the high-level dialogues between the two sides in strategic, economic and trade, green and digital fields have produced rich results, which meets the interests of both sides and the expectations of our people. China and the EU are two major forces advancing multipolarity, two major markets in support of globalization, and two major civilizations championing diversity. In the current international landscape of increasing turbulence, the China-EU relations are of strategic significance and global influence, bearing on world peace, stability and prosperity. The two sides have the responsibility to jointly provide the world with more stability and impetus for development.

President Xi stressed that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. Both sides need to take stock of past experience, navigate the trend of the world, and uphold the comprehensive strategic partnership. The two sides need to consolidate the political foundation, view each other from a strategic perspective, give full play to the leading role of the leaders' meeting and the five high-level dialogues, strengthen strategic communication, and enhance understanding and properly handle differences through constructive dialogue. The two sides need to form a correct perception, enhance mutual understanding and trust, honor commitments with good faith, and focus on growing our relations. We should not regard each other as rivals just because we have different systems, reduce cooperation just because there is competition, or engage in confrontation just because we have differences. The economies of China and Europe are highly complementary, and the two sides need to do more to cement the bond of shared interests between China and Europe through deeper and broader cooperation. China's economic growth has maintained a momentum of steady and sound growth. China is pursuing high-quality development and high-level opening-up, and is willing to regard the EU as a key partner in economic and trade cooperation, a priority partner in scientific and technological cooperation, and a reliable partner in industrial and supply chain cooperation, in pursuit of mutual benefit and common development. The two sides need to enhance complementarity in market, capital and technology, promote the upgrading of traditional industries and the development of emerging industries, explore new models of cooperation, create new growth areas, and work together to improve industrial and supply chains. The two sides also need to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and facilitate cross-border travels.

President Xi Jinping stressed that the Chinese modernization and the integration of the EU are strategic decisions made by China and the EU with an eye to the future. China and the EU should respect and support each other, strengthen the synergy of development strategies and achieve common development. The Belt and Road initiative is an open platform that has brought tangible benefits to more than 150 countries and people around the world. China is ready to continue to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, including synergizing with the EU's Global Gateway initiative, to help developing countries accelerate their development. The two sides should strengthen communication and coordination under the frameworks of the United Nations, the Group of 20 and others, adhere to multilateralism, oppose bloc confrontation, promote political solutions to international and regional hotspot issues, and carry out dialogues and cooperation on major issues concerning the future of mankind, such as artificial intelligence, so as to contribute to the well-being of mankind and addressing global challenges.

President Charles Michel and President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU and China are the world's two major forces, and are important economic and trade partners for each other, with the field of cooperation getting increasingly broader. EU-China cooperation is reciprocal and equal-footed. Sound management and development of the EU-China relationship is directly related to the interests of the two peoples, and the world's prosperity and security. The EU attaches great importance to its relationship with China, does not want to decouple from China, and look forward to building long-term, stable, predictable and sustainable development with China. It is hoped that this meeting will give new impetus to the future development of EU-China relations. The EU is pleased to see the results of the high-level dialogues in various fields since this year, and believes that the long-term and stable development of China's economy is in the interests of the EU. It hopes that the two sides will continue to strengthen dialogues and cooperation in economy and trade, green and digital development, and so on, and make joint efforts to safeguard the stability and security of the supply chain and industrial chain, strengthen dialogues and seek cooperation on such major global issues as climate change and artificial intelligence, which concerns the future of mankind. The EU is committed to the one-China policy. It stands ready to step up communication with China on differences in the spirit of mutual respect, openness and candidness to enhance mutual understanding. The two sides shoulder shared responsibilities for and have common interests in peace and stability in the world. The EU is ready to have close communication and collaboration with China to uphold multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and to facilitate the resolution of regional hotspot issues including in Ukraine and the Middle East.

As we can see from the readout, it was a useful meeting where both sides sent out a positive message of China and the EU working together for further progress in our relations. Later on, Premier Li Qiang will jointly chair the 24th China-EU Summit with the two EU leaders. We will release information on that in a timely manner as well. Please stay tuned.

AFP: A US State Department official said yesterday that Washington was monitoring reports of Chinese warships docking at a Cambodian port. Could you confirm this? Which are the warships that have docked at the Cambodian port? Is this the first time that Chinese warships have docked in Cambodia? Is there a plan for them to participate in military exercises?

Wang Wenbin: China and Cambodia enjoy a profound friendship. Our two countries have had fruitful cooperation in various sectors. As to the visit by Chinese navy ships to Cambodia, I'd refer you to the competent authorities.a

CCTV: China just announced that General Secretary and President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Viet Nam. How does China view the current China-Viet Nam relations? Can you share what's on the agenda of the visit and China's expectation?

Wang Wenbin: China and Viet Nam are both socialist countries and neighbors. After the 20th CPC National Congress at the end of last year, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping invited General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong for a visit to China. The two leaders jointly charted the course for the China-Viet Nam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. This year has seen frequent high-level interactions, close exchanges between various departments and regions, and deeper cooperation in various fields, which have brought tangible benefits to the peoples of the two countries.

The world is in a new period of disorder and transformation, with increasing instabilities and uncertainties. China and Viet Nam are both socialist countries and both are advancing reform and transformation that fits their respective national realities. Greater solidarity, closer friendship and deeper mutually-beneficial cooperation is in the common interests of both sides and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the wider world.

During the visit, General Secretary Xi Jinping will hold talks respectively with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Vo Van Thuong and meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Viet Nam and Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue. The two sides will discuss upgrading the China-Viet Nam relations, focus on six major areas including politics, security, practical cooperation, public support, multilateral affairs and maritime issues, and work to deepen and substantiate the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries. This will help both countries to jointly follow their modernization paths with respective features, enrich the paths to modernization for developing countries and bring more benefits to the two peoples.a

The New York Times: Europe has been expressing more concern this year about security issues in connection with China. Is Europe following America's views on security and Ukraine instead of assessing Europe's own interests? What is China's view?

Wang Wenbin: China always views its relations with Europe from a strategic height and long-term perspective and sees Europe as a comprehensive strategic partner and an important force in a multi-polar world. We support the EU in upholding strategic autonomy, working together with China to practice true multilateralism and jointly striving to safeguard world peace, promote common development and tackle global challenges.

Bloomberg: Singapore and China will establish a 30-day visa-free travel arrangement between the two countries. This is according to an official visiting from Singapore. Do you have any details on this? Can you confirm what he said?a

Wang Wenbin: Stronger people-to-people exchange between China and Singapore serves the fundamental interests of both peoples. The two sides have agreed on mutual visa exemption for holders of ordinary passport. As we speak, competent departments of the two countries are having close communication over the specifics. The full mutual visa exemption between China and Singapore will be great news for our two peoples. Both sides are looking forward to the early implementation of the relevant arrangement.

AFP: Australia has signed a security agreement with Papua New Guinea. Considering the deepening relationship between China and Papua New Guinea in recent years, what is China's position on this latest security deal?

Wang Wenbin: China welcomes normal exchange and equal cooperation between Pacific island countries and countries in and outside the region. China maintains sound cooperative relations with Pacific island countries based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. Relevant cooperation runs in parallel and is complementary with other bilateral and multilateral cooperation. China stands ready to work with countries that truly care Pacific island countries to leverage respective strengths and jointly form an international synergy to support Pacific island countries in enhancing their capability for self-driven and sustainable development.a

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China wants end to 'confrontation' but EU in no mood for compromise

EU officials take issue with China's support for Russia and a huge trade deficit, amid pressure to 'de-risk' ties.

By Gu Ting for RFA Mandarin 2023.12.07 -- The ruling Chinese Communist Party dialed up its bid to shore up economic ties with the European Union during the China-EU summit in Beijing on Thursday, though analysts said the bloc was in no mood for concessions over Beijing's support for Russia and a growing trade deficit.

At a meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for cooperation not "confrontation," as the EU delegation considered imposing trade sanctions on China if Beijing didn't stop exporting supplies to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.

"We should not view each other as rivals just because our systems are different, reduce cooperation because competition exists, or engage in confrontation because there are disagreements," Xi told the meeting in comments reported by state news agency Xinhua.

"China is ready to work with the EU for mutual benefit and common development," he said, calling for new modes of cooperation to jointly improve industrial and supply chains.

Michel responded by saying that trade and economic ties needed to be "more balanced, reciprocal and mutually beneficial."

"We will continue to work for equal opportunities for our companies," he said.

Von der Leyen said the relationship also needs to "address challenges in a world with increasing geopolitical frictions."

"We must all work to ensure Russia stops its war of aggression against Ukraine," she said, highlighting what analysts said was the top priority for the E.U. delegation, which also included Europe's top diplomat Josep Borell.

"The impact of China's response to the war on mutual relations cannot be underestimated," Cora Jungbluth wrote in a Dec. 7 commentary for the Global & European Dynamics blog.

She blamed "a great deal" of the recent deterioration on China's increasingly cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin.

Yawning trade gap

A major focus of the one-day visit is to put pressure on Xi to stop Chinese companies exporting European-made, dual-use goods to Russia to aid its military operations, Reuters quoted EU officials as saying.

The bloc also wants to address its 400-billion-euro (US$431.7 billion) trade deficit with China, while China is unhappy about an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and Brussels' "de-risking" policy, which would reduce reliance on Chinese imports, including critical raw materials like lithium and gallium, the agency reported.

Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson He Yadong said on Thursday that the investigation "seriously disrupts and distorts the global automotive industry chain ... and will have a negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations."

Yet there are already signs that China is keen to improve ties, including its recent offer of visa-free entry to citizens of Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy and Spain, the bloc's five largest economies.

"China's domestic economy is struggling with pandemic recovery and domestic issues," Jungbluth wrote. "Beijing, therefore, hopes for and is indeed in need of better and more reliable EU-China relations."

The EU also took issue with China's military activities around democratic Taiwan, saying it opposes "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion."

Human Rights Concerns

It also included a paragraph about China's human rights record, "notably systemic human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, forced labor, the treatment of human rights defenders and persons belonging to minorities, as well as the continued erosion of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, where China should honor its prior commitments."

Human rights activists said there should be no "business as usual" with the Chinese government, however.

"We encourage you to make it clear, both privately and publicly, that there can be no business as usual with the Chinese government as it intensifies pervasive repression across China and beyond, and that the EU will pursue accountability for crimes against humanity and other severe human rights violations as a top priority," the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said in a Dec. 4 letter addressed to Michel and von der Leyen.

Citing "crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang, ongoing repression and forcible assimilation in Tibetan and the erasure of Hong Kong's freedoms, the letter also warned that Beijing is extending its repression of its critics overseas, while undermining international human rights mechanisms through the U.N. system.

"We are disappointed that the EU recently resumed a human rights dialogue with China, which has been rendered meaningless by the Chinese authorities' unwillingness to genuinely engage," said the letter, signed by interim China Director Maya Wang and EU Director Philippe Dam.

It called on the bloc to consider further targeted sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for serious abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and elsewhere in the country.

'No obvious progress'

Former 1989 Tiananmen student leader Wang Dan said EU leaders have made it clear that they won't be decoupling from the Chinese economy any time soon.

"China's overseas opposition movement needs to strengthen its lobbying efforts in Europe and the United States," Wang wrote in a post to his X account. "It is our responsibility to speak even if the other party does not listen."

An independent Chinese scholar who requested anonymity said that while Sino-U.S. ties appear to have improved somewhat following the Xi-Biden summit in San Francisco, the same can't be said of the relationship with Brussels.

"EU leaders have many demands on this visit, including economic and political demands, from the Russia-Ukraine war to the Israeli-Gaza issue," he said.

"[Yet] I think this summit seems to be just dialogue for the sake of dialogue, with no obvious progress in narrowing the widening differences between the two sides."

Financial commentator Cai Shenkun said that Chinese leaders will also be stepping up its United Front outreach and influence operations behind the scenes, hoping to exert pressure on Brussels via its allies there.

"I don't expect the Europeans to make many concessions on issues of principle," Cai said. "China will [likely] make some compromises."

Observer Research Foundation fellow Shairee Malhotra said there was a general lack of trust on the EU side.

"Factors such as Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, human rights violations in Xinjiang, and pandemic-era supply chain disruptions have deteriorated European perceptions of China," she wrote in a Dec. 6 commentary.

"The downswing in EU-China ties was further accentuated by Beijing's posture in the Russia-Ukraine conflict."

"Thus, a major trust deficit has accompanied the trade deficit," Malhotra said.

Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Volkswagen under fire after audit finds no evidence of Uyghur forced labor

Experts cast doubt on results, saying leaked files show that Uyghur detainees were sent to the Xinjiang factory.

By Jilil Kashgary for RFA Uyghur 2023.12.07 -- Volkswagen said a self-commissioned audit turned up no evidence that its joint venture plant in Xinjiang had used Uyghur forced labor, but experts on the region cast doubt on the results, saying official documents show Uyghur detainees from re-education camps were funneled to the factory.

The audit was carried out by German due diligence firm Loening Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH came in response to a demand by investors after activists accused the German carmaker of using forced labor at its joint venture with China's SAIC Motors in Urumqi, the regional capital.

In presenting the findings Wednesday, Loening's Managing Director Markus Loening acknowledged that the audit, based on on-site interviews and inspection of employee contracts and salary payments for 197 employees, may have been hampered by what he described as "well-known ... challenges in collecting data" due to "legislative changes" in the region.

Chinese authorities in Xinjiang have clamped down on the flow of information in and out of the region amid concerns from the international community over the situation Uyghurs face there.

Reuters news agency cited analysts at Citi who said the audit's conclusions could potentially bolster Volkswagen's stock, which took a hit amid the allegations - in part because it would remove restrictions that prohibit investors in the European Union from buying into a company known to profit from forced labor.

But Adrian Zenz, director of China Studies at the U.S.-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, dismissed Loening's findings, saying in a post to the social media platform X that he had found evidence showing "Uyghurs were sent from re-education camps directly to vocational institutions that organized job fairs with Volkswagen & advertise degrees with Volkswagen as a typical work destination."

Xinjiang Police Files

Zenz, who has spent years documenting China's human rights abuses against Uyghurs, said the evidence was discovered in the Xinjiang Police Files, a cache of millions of confidential documents hacked from Xinjiang police computers.

The files date from 2017 to 2018, during the height of one of China's mass detention campaigns, during which hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities were sent to the camps.

He cited the example of Adiljan Hashim, who police records show was detained in October 2017, then placed into the Xinjiang Light Industry Technical College in January 2018.

"This 'release' was highly controlled and based on pre-agreed conditions," Zenz said, adding that Xinjiang Light Industry Technical College offers majors in fields such as automobile manufacturing and lists examples of cooperation with companies including Volkswagen Xinjiang on its website, and advertises Volkswagen as a graduate employer.

Zenz cited additional police files which he said showed the detention of tertiary students at other institutions such as the Xinjiang Vocational University, which also offers automobile-related degrees.

"A number of detainees were released into state-directed vocational skills education, which they are not at liberty to choose," he said. "The ramification is that re-educated and coerced Uyghurs can likely end up working for larger companies such as FAW-Volkswagen in Xinjiang."

Zenz said that such risks "cannot be ascertained through audits," as Uyghurs are not free to speak about re-education experiences or other repressive state measures in their lives.

'Flawed process'

Another expert, Hanno Shadler, the senior Legal Advisor at the Society for Threatened People's (Germany), called the audit a "flawed process."

"I don't know how a really independent audit is possible when the company SAIC Volkswagen - the joint venture - has ample time to prepare for a one-day visit when they're with auditors," Shadler said.

"They can prepare the workers. They can intimidate the workers," he continued. "The employees cannot speak freely because millions of workers have been in concentration camps or hundreds of thousands have been sentenced to long prison sentences.

"Many people have been forced to perform forced labor in previous years. So in this context, I think it's basically impossible to go there and have an independent audit."

Shadler also pointed out that even a famous figure like Michelle Bachelet, the former U.N. high commissioner for human rights, was barred from speaking freely to Uyghurs when she visited Xinjiang as part of her agency's investigation into human rights abuses in the region.

"She couldn't choose the people with whom she wanted to speak," he said.

The damning 2022 U.N. report Bachelet's agency produced concluded that China had committed serious rights violations, and that the detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.

'Divest and disengage'

Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Washington-based Campaign for Uyghurs said that "Time is running out for these companies if they do not want China's crimes against humanity to become theirs: They must divest and disengage now."

Abbas said that given the inability of international missions and audits to ascertain the true conditions of Uyghur workers due to China's repressive measures in Xinjiang, "immediate withdrawal and disengagement from the region is the only possible, ethical solution."

However, Nicolai Laude, the head of Volkswagen's Sustainability & Integrity Communications department, said that Zenz's claims are "simply not right" and had not been proven without a doubt.

"What we did is we asked and tried to figure out if, for instance, the allegation that we are working with those education companies [was true] or that we are cooperating with them or not," he said in an interview with RFA on Wednesday.

"There is no cooperation with those education institutes and we did not hire any new workforce in the last four or five years," he said. "So, for both reasons ... it's simply not right, what Mr. Zenz's conclusions might show."

Laude acknowledged that he had not read the official police documents Zenz referred to in his findings and could not comment on them specifically. But he said that Volkswagen frequently meets with NGOs and human rights groups and is "happy to receive valid information so that we can use this kind of information to examine if ... allegations are true or false."

Laude referred further questions about Loening's findings to the firm itself, which Volkswagen has said carried out its audit with two Chinese lawyers from a firm in Shenzhen, without naming them.

Earlier allegations

According to Reuters, Volkswagen reduced staff at the Urumqi plant after the pandemic from a peak of 650 to 197, of which just under a quarter are Uyghur, and has denied reports that it kept the facility open on Beijing's orders in order to continue producing in China.

Volkswagen's China chief Ralf Brandstaetter said he saw no signs of forced labor when he toured the site in February, Reuters said, but his comments drew criticism from campaigners and investors who said determining labor conditions in the region was impossible.

In May, activists staged protests inside and outside Volkswagen's annual shareholder meeting over the carmaker's alleged use of Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang.

Outside the hall, activists wore a big-headed mask of Xi and a flat paper mask of Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume, who stood arm-in-arm. The Xi figure held a metal ring attached to a chain leading to two handcuffed people representing Uyghur workers in blue laborer uniforms.

Inside the exhibit hall where shareholders gathered, other protesters - including one woman who was topless and had "dirty money" painted on her back - shouted at executives and waved a banner that said, "End Uyghur Forced Labor," according to Reuters.

After the disruption, security personnel escorted the activists out of the auditorium.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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EU Presses China on Trade and Ukraine at Summit in Beijing

By VOA News December 07, 2023

European Union leaders urged China on Thursday to fix the country's trade imbalance with Europe and press Russia for an end to the war in Ukraine.

In the first-in person talks in more than four years between the heads of China and the European Union, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang met in Beijing with Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.

War in Ukraine

In her opening speech, von der Leyen squared off with Xi on Beijing's close ties to the Kremlin, saying that China could do more "to put an end to the Russian aggression against Ukraine."

As Russia's top trade partner, China has helped Putin circumvent Western sanctions meant to punish his economy. Von der Leyen and Michel pressed Xi and Li about that lucrative relationship.

China's support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has added to already tense ties between Beijing and the West. Since the war broke out, Beijing has purchased more Russian oil than any other nation, according to Chinese customs data. China also has reportedly sent drones and other cutting-edge equipment to Putin's military.

Xi has long denied that he is partial to the Kremlin. But to European officials, his silence on alleged Russian war crimes speaks louder than words.

During the meeting on Thursday, European leaders made clear that they want China to leverage its economic influence over Russia to call for a cease-fire.

Speaking to the press after the summit, von der Leyen said, "We have been clear since the beginning of the war that how China will position itself vis-A -vis the Russian aggression toward Ukraine, this will define also our relationship."

Trade deficit

Last year, the EU recorded a $426 billion trade deficit with China, more than any year before.

Thursday's talks exposed a widening rift on trade in particular between Xi's Chinese Communist Party and Europe just days after Italy decided to drop out of the Belt and Road Initiative, China's sprawling international network of trade agreements and infrastructure projects.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who rose to power last year, had long been critical of her country's involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The European Union has positioned itself side-by-side with the U.S., even officially calling China a "strategic rival."

Xi told European leaders that bolstering "political mutual trust" means "eliminating all kinds of interference," an apparent reference to Washington.

In September, the European Union launched an investigation into whether electric car manufacturers in China have taken government subsidies to compensate for losses, an anticompetitive practice. If guilty, electric cars imported to Europe from China could be tariffed. That investigation has drawn scorn from Chinese officials.

How much competition the European Union should allow with China in the electric car market is a particularly sensitive question.

Xi said that both China and the European Union must develop "a right perception" of each other and aim for understanding.

China's Premier Li Qiang called for the European Union to "be prudent when introducing restrictive economic and trade policies and when using measures to keep its trade and investment markets open."

One point of progress, Von der Leyen said, was that China agreed to establish clearer guidelines on how and when European firms can transfer data out of the country. China's stringent and at times unclear restrictions on cross-border information systems have impacted Europe's ability to do business there.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Italy Tells China It's Leaving Belt and Road Initiative

By Gabriel Levin December 07, 2023

Italy officially told China that it will leave the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, the first country to do so since the project was launched a decade ago. Despite the decision, Rome still plans to maintain good relations with Beijing, government sources said on Wednesday.

Beijing launched the BRI, a global infrastructure and transportation plan, in 2013, aiming to boost connectivity between China and nations in Eurasia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. Critics argue that one key goal, though, is to expand the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Nearly 150 countries, or about 75% of the global population, have joined.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has long been critical of the partnership, once calling the 2019 decision to join the BRI a "serious mistake." After Meloni took office last year, she said the economic promise of the deal had never materialized.

The agreement, which is good through March 2024, will not be renewed, sources in her coalition said.

"We have every intention of maintaining excellent relations with China even if we are no longer part of the Belt and Road Initiative," one official told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity.

Another source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the exit was orchestrated in such a way as to "keep channels of political dialogue open," but wouldn't elaborate.

"As the first country that has withdrawn from BRI, Italy is going to be viewed by China with a lot of skepticism and curiosity," said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.

Sun pointed out that Italy could have canceled its BRI-related projects rather than backing out of the program wholesale. The full-fledged exit has "political optics," she said.

"I wouldn't say that their bilateral relationship is going to break up because of this decision," Sun said. "But it certainly doesn't cast a positive light over their bilateral interactions in the foreseeable future."

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which broke the news, reported that Rome's intention to leave the BRI was communicated to Beijing earlier in the week.

Some experts think the timing of the notification could have been intentional. China is set to host a summit with European Union officials on Thursday. The talks will span a number of intricate issues, including trade deficits and technology.

"Perhaps there was an agreement with the EU leaders that Italy would notify China before the EU meeting so that this [withdrawal] wouldn't lead to any misunderstandings," said Francesco Sisci, a Beijing-based columnist for SettimanaNews, an Italian news outlet.

When Italy became a BRI member nation four years ago, then-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had high hopes for booming trade. But China has since raked in most of the profits.

Annual Chinese exports to Italy nearly doubled from $34 billion in 2019 to $62 billion today. During that same period, Italian exports to China rose modestly from $14 billion to $17.7 billion.

Italy, which will host a meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, or G7, in 2024 and serve as rotating president next year, is the only major Western power to have signed onto the pact. This came, despite the United States' caution that China might gain undue control over technology and infrastructure.

"Italy joining the BRI in 2019 sent the wrong message to other EU and NATO members," Sisci told VOA. Meloni's government, he said, is now signaling that "it is back in line with its partners and allies."

Meloni, a standard-bearer for right-wing populism in Europe, has been eager to show the world that Italy stands with NATO. In June, her Cabinet limited the power Chinese shareholder Sinochem had over the Italian tire company Pirelli. According to a government source, she promised U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this year that Italy would back out of the BRI.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani flew to Beijing in September on a diplomatic mission, and President Sergio Mattarella is expected to visit China in 2024. Meloni has said she also wants to visit Beijing.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.

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DHS Designates Three Additional PRC-Based Companies to the UFLPA Entity List

Release Date: December 8, 2023

Additions Bring UFLPA Entity List to 30 PRC-Based Companies

WASHINGTON - Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of three People's Republic of China (PRC)-based companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. DHS is taking these steps as part of its commitment to eliminating the use of forced labor practices in the U.S. supply chain and promoting accountability for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).

"The Department of Homeland Security remains committed to eradicating the use of forced labor and holding organizations accountable for their human rights abuses," said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. "Since President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, DHS has prioritized enforcement, and we will continue to pursue companies that ignore the law and exploit those abused in the People's Republic of China."

The interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), chaired by DHS, voted to add the three companies to the list and today's announcement brings the total number of entities designated on the UFLPA Entity List to 30 companies.

"We have shown again through today's enforcement actions that the United States will not tolerate forced labor in the goods that come into this country," said the Under Secretary for Policy, Robert Silvers, who serves as Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force. "Companies must conduct due diligence and know their supply chains. The interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will continue to designate entities known to violate our laws, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue its vigilant enforcement at our ports."

Effective December 11, 2023, goods produced by COFCO Sugar Holding Co. Ltd, Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group Co., Ltd., and Anhui Xinya New Materials Co., Ltd. will be restricted from entering the United States as a result of the companies' participation in business practices that target members of persecuted groups, including Uyghur minorities in the PRC.

DHS will publish the revised UFLPA Entity List as an appendix to a Federal Register notice.

COFCO Sugar Holding Co., Ltd., (COFCO Sugar) headquartered in Xinjiang, is a company that refines, produces, and imports sugar, and trades and produces various agricultural products, including sugar, fruit (including tomatoes), and vegetable processing. COFCO Sugar participated in government-sponsored poverty alleviation and cooperated with the local government to complete labor transfers. COFCO Sugar has visited the homes of persecuted minorities in a Xinjiang village for recruiting these persecuted minorities to work in one of its facilities. The FLETF determined that the activities of COFCO Sugar satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List under Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA.

Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group Co., Ltd., (Jingweida Technology) headquartered in Sichuan Province, PRC, is a company that produces magnetic devices including network transformers, network filters, power transformers, inductors, radio frequency filters, and other devices. Jingweida Technology is a documented participant in government-sponsored labor transfer programs. Jingweida Technology and the government of Awati County in Xinjiang worked together to transfer persecuted ethnic minorities from Awati County to Jingweida Technology. The FLETF determined that the activities of Jingweida Technology satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA.

Anhui Xinya New Materials Co., Ltd., (Xinya New Materials) headquartered in Anhui Province, PRC, is a company that produces functional fibers, special fiber yarns, other textile materials made with hemp and materials made with cotton, wool, Tencel, and other products. Xinya New Materials worked with an established government-sponsored labor transfer program, Xinjiang Aid, to recruit and transfer persecuted minorities from Pishan County in Xinjiang to work in its facility in Anhui Province. The FLETF determined that the activities of Xinya New Materials satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List under Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA.

The UFLPA, signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in December 2021, prohibits goods from being imported into the United States that are either produced in Xinjiang, or by entities identified on the UFLPA Entity List, unless the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the goods were not produced with forced labor. CBP began enforcing the UFLPA in June 2022. Since then, CBP has reviewed more than 6,000 shipments valued at more than $2 billion under the UFLPA. The FLETF - which also includes the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Departments of Labor, State, the Treasury, Justice and Commerce - will continue to consider future designations to the UFLPA Entity List.

Today's announcement is consistent with President Biden's recent memorandum on advancing worker empowerment, rights, and high labor standards globally. The memorandum represents the first whole-of-government approach to advance workers' rights by directing federal departments and agencies to elevate labor rights in their work abroad, which includes DHS's work implementing the UFLPA.

Earlier this year, DHS released its Quadrennial Homeland Security Review which added combatting crimes of exploitation, including labor exploitation, as the newest and sixth DHS mission. As a result of continued prioritization combatting the introduction of forced labor into U.S. supply chains, the FLETF this year added 10 entities to the UFLPA Entity List.

You can read more about the FLETF by visiting: www.dhs.gov/uflpa.

###

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China-EU ties essential to global peace, stability and prosperity: Xi

Global Times

By Wang Qi and Chen Zishuai Published: Dec 08, 2023 01:01 AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with top EU officials in Beijing and stressed that China and the EU should be partners for mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen two-way political trust, build strategic consensus, cement the bonds of shared interest, eliminate various kinds of interference, and jointly tackle global challenges.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who are in China for the 24th China-EU Summit at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Xi said that since the end of last year, the China-EU relationship has shown a good momentum of consolidation and growth, and the China-EU high-level dialogues in the strategic, economic and trade, green, and digital fields have produced rich outcomes, adding this serves the interests of both sides and meets the expectations of their people.

Noting China and the EU are two major forces advancing multipolarity, two major markets in support of globalization, and two major civilizations championing diversity, Xi said that amid the increasingly turbulent international situation, the China-EU relationship has strategic significance and implications for global peace, stability and prosperity.

"It is incumbent on both sides to provide greater stability for the world and stronger impetus for development," he said.

"China and the EU should be partners for mutually beneficial cooperation," said Xi. He called on both sides to continually strengthen two-way political trust, build strategic consensus, and cement the bonds of shared interest. The two sides should steer clear of various kinds of interference, step up dialogue and cooperation for the good of our people, and join hands to tackle global challenges and promote stability and prosperity around the world, he added.

According to the readout from Chinese Foreign Ministry, the EU leaders said the EU highly values its ties with China, and does not want to decouple from China. It seeks a long-term, stable, predictable and sustainable relationship with China, and hopes that the EU-China Summit will help reenergize EU-China relations.

The EU side also expressed the hope that the two sides will continue to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the economic and trade, green, and digital fields, work together to keep supply and industrial chains stable and secure, and strengthen dialogue and cooperation on major global issues concerning the future of humanity, such as climate change and artificial intelligence.

The EU leaders said Europe is prepared to increase communication and understanding with China in a mutually respectful, open and candid spirit on issues where they disagree. The EU would like to have close communication and coordination with China, uphold multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and work for the settlement of regional hotspots including Ukraine and the Middle East.

The EU recognizes that dialogue and cooperation with China is indispensable, whether it's in trade and investment, the EU's own economic development or global stability, Zhang Jian, vice president of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

"These are all positive signals, indicating that the EU may move back to the track of cooperation and mutual benefit in its relations with China," he noted.

Crucial exchanges at a crucial time

The summit this year coincides with the 20th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the China-EU Summit mechanism.

China and the EU resumed high-level exchanges in the post-COVID period at the end of 2022 and maintained the momentum of engagement as leaders and officials from EU countries visited China over the year. Chinese Premier Li Qiang also visited Germany and France in June. Meanwhile, China-EU high-level dialogues in the fields of environment and climate, digital, economy, trade and strategy have been held successfully, and consultations in various fields have been advanced.

Feng Zhongping, director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, sees the timing as having a special significance for the direction of the future development of China-EU relations.

Both sides attach great importance to the summit and expect the meetings to promote stability in China-EU relations while not circumventing problems but seeking solutions, which is a positive breakthrough, Feng told the Global Times.

Leaders' remarks from both sides conveyed the signal that China-EU relations should not only be stabilized but also moved forward, said Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Considering that face-to-face meetings between Chinese and European leaders have been lacking in recent years, the summit is certainly a critical exchange at a crucial time, Cui said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that the contact between the leaders of China and the EU was very meaningful, and both sides sent a positive signal of pushing forward the further development of China-EU relations with joint efforts.

Common interests outweigh divergence

Like the Xi-Biden meeting in San Francisco, which largely eased strains between the world's two major powers in November, no joint statement was released after the meetings.

At a joint press conference by von der Leyen and Michel on Thursday evening, EU leaders mentioned touchy issues between the two sides, including the "trade imbalance" and the stance on the Ukraine crisis, in a candid and frank way. They also emphasized that the EU has no intention of "decoupling" with China and hailed China's role in climate change and green energy.

During the meeting with top EU officials on Thursday afternoon, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China stands ready with the EU side to adhere to seeking more common ground while reserving differences, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and multilateral coordination, and further enhance the stability, constructiveness and mutual benefit of China-EU relations.

Premier Li also noted China opposes the politicization of economic and trade issues, and hopes that the European side will be prudent in introducing restrictive economic and trade policies and the use of trade remedies. His words alluded to Beijing's recent opposition to the EU's so-called anti-subsidy probe into electric vehicles (EVs) from China.

There are differences between China and Europe, but the common interests between the two far outweigh the differences, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

There is no reason why China-EU cooperation, with its wide scope and solid foundation, should not take advantage of this year's most important diplomatic event between China and Europe to further advance cooperation and strategic coordination, Li Haidong said.

There are strong economic and strategic complementarities between China and Europe, and both sides have expressed a willingness to cooperate, so the next coordination, even if it is tortuous, will be a process of moving forward, Li Haidong added, "a stable China-EU relationship will be a stabilizer in the current uncertain international landscape."

Due to the absence of a joint statement, which some media revealed in advance, some Western media outlets said the China-EU summit can hardly deliver substantial results while disputes still remain.

The AFP described the summit as one with "high stakes but low expectations," while Reuters also remarked that the summit had "limited expectations" and was "short on outcomes." Some media said even before the summit that EU leaders plan to take a firm stance over certain sticking points, including trade disputes, human rights, and the Ukraine crisis.

Divergences between China and Europe on issues of economic globalization and international security cannot be solved through merely one summit, but it can at least convey the two sides' willingness to overcome these obstacles, Feng said, "Approaches like decoupling, de-risking won't solve the problem."

"We took a deep dive into our economic and trade relations. Together we will work on rebalancing our trade relations and resolve irritants," von der Leyen said in her X post.

Some Western media have taken up the baton of the US' strategic competition with China and sought to put any coordination and cooperation between China and Europe on the track of confrontation, but reality will give a loud rebuke to these people who downplay China-EU ties, Li Haidong said.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. We also worked actively in order to reduce the level of foreign debt, and now, it is below 10 percent of our GDP. The target for that is 7 percent of GDP next year. So, this actually demonstrates the sustainability of Azerbaijans economy, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview with Euronews channel, Trend reports.

Next year, we hope that the growth of economy will be higher. But, those figures do not actually reflect 100 percent of the economic performance or the living standards of the people. We know the countries, which had very low economic growth, but the very developed economy. So, the bigger your GDP is, the more difficult it is to add to that growth, especially in today's geopolitical situation, where two of our neighbors and main trade partners Russia and Iran are under the sanctions. Therefore, we need to take that into account. But our target and our strategy of 2030 is based on our own resources, our own financial capability, as well as foreign and local investments in the areas, which will provide economic growth in the coming years, the President of Azerbaijan emphasized.
Hong Kong prepares for first District Council election under reformed electoral system

Global Times

By Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi in Hong Kong Published: Dec 08, 2023 08:44 PM

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is preparing to hold the first District Council election since its reform of the electoral system. From the arrival area of the airport to bus stops, parking lots, overpasses, and exhibition halls in urban areas, posters promoting the elections and encouraging people to vote are visible everywhere, the Global Times reporters found on Friday.

The posters, written in both Chinese and English, state, "12/10, Vote in the District Council Election for a Better Community," and also include a detailed website for resi-dents to find more information.

On Hong Kong Island, promotional slogans and posters of various candidates can be seen on almost every street corner.

A total of 399 candidates have registered for the 7th District Council Election in the HKSAR, with an average of four candidates vying for two seats in direct elections.

Candidates and volunteers are trying their best to deliver or demonstrate their past proven records of contributions, experience and political platforms to potential voters and supporters, Chu Kar-kin, a local resident who has been helping several candidates in their election campaigns, told the Global Times on Friday.

"I have supported a few candidates as voluntary helpers on the campaign. The community is supportive to the candidates. We hope to vote for the most capable candidate to serve our community," he added.

It will be the first District Council Election since the city adopted the District Council amendment in July, which, in accordance to the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," aims to put an end to the chaotic political performance of previous years when opposition forces hijacked district councils for political goals.

Since 2020, some district council members have disregarded their functions by endangering national security, advocating "Hong Kong secessionism" and opposing the National Security Law for Hong Kong.

Around 6 pm near Wan Chai metro station, the Global Times reporters saw a very rare scene of three candidates from the district greeting, cheering for each other and taking pictures together. "This is unprecedented, as candidates are not attacking each other in a malicious manner like some political figures in 2019 did. They are running their cam-paigns in a friendly and respectful way as they all hope to do good things for our com-munities," a local resident surnamed Wong told the Global Times on Friday.

The District Council Election in 2019 was highly politicized as anti-government political figures hijacked it to attack the government and challenge the city's constitutional order. After the electoral reform, the District Council also returns to its role of serving communities rather than hyping up political agendas.

Several candidates told the Global Times that this year's election is "highly competitive." Some candidates have the support of major political groups, some are well-known TV hosts, and others are Wan Chai natives, all vying to see who can do more for the community in the realm of public welfare.

"We, the candidates, are all patriots, and we are competing through our political plat-forms to win the hearts of local residents," Jeff, Wong Sau-tung, a candidate in Wan Chai district, told the Global Times.

"I have been visiting many local residents to understand their requests in recent weeks. Those residents really hope that this election can help elect district councilors who serve the community," Wong said.

Some candidates also believe that there will be a high turnout on Sunday, as many local residents have shown a keen desire to vote.

Another candidate, Raymond Lee, told the Global Times that if elected, he would focus on up-dating the infrastructure of the Wan Chai district and improving educational conditions for young people.

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Xi urges enhanced China-EU political mutual trust, dialogue, cooperation

People's Daily Online

By Wang Bin and Zheng Keyi (Xinhua) 08:22, December 08, 2023

BEIJING, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on China and the European Union (EU) to be partners for mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen two-way political trust, build strategic consensus, cement the bonds of shared interest, steer clear of various kinds of interference, and step up dialogue and cooperation for the good of their people.

Amid the increasingly turbulent international situation, the China-EU relationship has strategic significance and implications for global peace, stability and prosperity, said Xi when meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who are in China for the 24th China-EU Summit at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

"It is incumbent on both sides to provide greater stability for the world and stronger impetus for development," Xi added.

ADHERENCE TO COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. During the meeting, Xi urged the two sides to take stock of history, navigate the trend of the world, and uphold the apt description of the China-EU relationship as a comprehensive strategic partnership.

"Among the dozens of dialogue and exchange mechanisms between China and the EU at different levels, the leaders' meeting plays a leading role in guiding the way forward," said Cui Hongjian, professor of Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, adding the meeting this year is of special significance for the two sides to build on past achievements and forge ahead in developing ties.

The two sides need to consolidate the political foundation, view each other from a strategic perspective, fully leverage the guiding role of the China-EU Summit and the five high-level dialogues, strengthen strategic communication, and increase understanding and properly handle differences through constructive dialogue, Xi said.

Michel and von der Leyen said the EU highly values its ties with China, adding it seeks a long-term, stable, predictable and sustainable relationship with China, and hopes that the EU-China Summit will help reenergize EU-China relations.

"China and European countries differ in social systems, cultural backgrounds and stages of development," said Cui, adding although bilateral relations may face some differences from time to time, there is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and the EU. "As long as China and the EU stick to the mainstream of cooperation and focus on common interests, the two sides can be more able to overcome challenges and promote the sound and steady development of bilateral relations."

EYING ENHANCED DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

Noting the Chinese economy enjoys a good momentum of steady growth, Xi said that as China pursues high-quality development and high-standard opening up, it sees the EU as a key partner for economic and trade cooperation, a preferred partner for scientific and technological cooperation, and a trustworthy partner for industrial and supply chain cooperation.

"China is ready to work with the EU for mutual benefit and common development," said Xi, urging the two sides to leverage their complementary strengths in terms of market, capital and technology to upgrade traditional industries and foster emerging ones, explore new modes of cooperation, foster new areas of growth, and jointly improve industrial and supply chains.

Michel and von der Leyen said the areas of EU-China cooperation continue to expand, and such cooperation is based on mutual benefit and equality, adding the EU does not want to decouple from China.

Given the rich achievements of cooperation between China and the EU in areas such as economy, trade, and green and digital development over the years, the two sides are highly complementary in development, and their practical cooperation has strong resilience and potential, Cui said.

Amid noises of "de-risking" and "decoupling," the cooperation proposals emphasized by Xi during the meeting are in line with the law of economic development and the common expectations of both peoples, injecting strong confidence into China-EU cooperation for the aim of safeguarding the security of supply and industrial chains, promoting an open world economy and advancing the prosperity and development of all countries, Cui added.

UPHOLDING MULTILATERALISM

During the meeting, Xi urged China and the EU to strengthen communication and coordination in multilateral frameworks including the UN and the G20, uphold multilateralism, oppose camp-based confrontation, and promote the political settlement of international and regional hotspots.

Noting the EU and China have shared responsibilities and interests in keeping the world peaceful and stable, Michel and von der Leyen said it would like to have close communication and coordination with China, uphold multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and work for the settlement of regional hotspots including Ukraine and the Middle East.

"As two major forces shaping the future landscape of the world, China and the EU share similar interests in safeguarding the authority of the United Nations and improving global governance," said Feng Zhongping, director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, adding that the two sides share a wide range of consensus in addressing global challenges.

"The remarks by leaders of both sides will inject more certainty and positive energy into safeguarding world peace and stability and enhancing the well-being of all humanity," said Feng.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on December 8, 2023

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

2023-12-08 21:17

After China started managing COVID-19 with measures against Class-B infectious diseases from January 8, 2023, the Chinese government has improved visa and entry policies for foreign nationals to facilitate cross-border travel. As a provisional measure, Chinese embassies and consulates will charge 75 percent of the previous visa fees from December 11, 2023 to December 31, 2024. For more details, please consult Chinese embassies and consulates in relevant countries.

China Review News: According to reports, Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, said on December 7 that Indonesia is considering adopting a visa-free policy for tourists from 20 countries including China, the US and Australia to boost tourism and the economy. Malaysia earlier announced a 30-day visa-free policy for Chinese citizens. Thailand has decided to temporarily waive tourist visa requirements for visitors from China. Yesterday China and Singapore announced a 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement. China is reaching mutual visa exemption arrangements with more neighboring countries. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: China welcomes measures aimed at facilitating cross-border travel. We stand ready to work with relevant countries to create favorable conditions and provide greater convenience for easy cross-border travel.

Reuters: Taiwan's defense ministry said today that a Chinese weather balloon had crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Thursday. Does the foreign ministry have anything to offer regarding the balloon's location or purpose? And Taiwan's foreign ministry today also said that China has failed to live up to the promises it made Latin American countries that ended ties with Taiwan in favor of China. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on that as well?

Wang Wenbin: First of all, I would like to correct you that Taiwan is part of China. There is no so-called "defense ministry" or "foreign ministry" of Taiwan. On your first question, I am not aware of the situation and this is not a question on foreign affairs. On your second question, let me say that the normal, friendly relations between China and Latin American countries are deepening and our mutually beneficial cooperation is making positive progress. No matter what the DPP authorities say or do, they cannot change such a sound momentum of growth.

China Daily: The eighth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Beijing yesterday. Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Myanmar's Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe co-chaired the meeting. Can you brief us on the outcomes of the meeting?

Wang Wenbin: The eighth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting was successfully held in Beijing yesterday. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Myanmar's Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe co-chaired the meeting. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Laos' Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of the Party Central Committee Thongsavanh Phomvihane attended the meeting. Under the theme of "Jointly Strive for Modernization and Cultivate New Strength in Subregional Development", the meeting took stock of the progress of LMC, planned for the priority work in the next stage, and made preparation and built up consensus for the fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted, since the seventh LMC Foreign Ministers' Meeting, relevant parties have acted in the Lancang-Mekong spirit of development first, equal consultation, practicality and high efficiency, and openness and inclusiveness, taken steady steps to advance cooperation in various areas, achieved a number of new outcomes and created multiple new highlights. First, cooperation has been upgraded under high-level guidance. Second, economic and trade exchanges have been fully accelerated. Third, people's wellbeing has continued to improve. Fourth, the bond of the people in Lancang-Mekong countries has been closer. As the first new sub-regional cooperation mechanism jointly initiated and launched by the six Lancang-Mekong countries, LMC has become a new, important platform for advancing mutually beneficial cooperation in the region.

China suggested six priority areas for advancing LMC. First, build a closer community with a shared future. Lancang-Mekong countries need to enhance high-level exchanges to provide strategic guidance for LMC; we need to synergize development strategies to develop the big Lancang-Mekong market; and we need to put the people at the center of our work and bring the benefit of cooperation to our people. Second, build a more inter-connected economic development belt. The six countries need to fully improve infrastructure connectivity, expand trade and investment and improve the network of industrial and supply chains; and we also need to carry out closer cooperation on cross-border special economic zones to boost common development. Third, foster a more secure development environment. The six countries need to take security cooperation as a key cooperation area for the next stage, adopt the Operation of "The Safety of the Lancang-Mekong Region" at an early date, combat sub-regional cross-border crimes, especially telecom fraud and online gambling, and eradicate the security problems jeopardizing people's security and disrupting development. Fourth, move towards a more digital development prospect. Sci-tech authorities of the six countries are discussing the establishment of a sub-regional innovation corridor, and China is ready to carry out more cooperation on digital economy and innovation under the framework of such corridor. In accordance with the spirit of the Global AI Governance Initiative, China and the five Mekong countries will actively explore cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. Fifth, deepen people-to-people and cultural cooperation with more distinctive features. The six countries will carry out diverse forms of people-to-people and cultural exchanges in tourism, sports, media, sub-national cooperation, universities, youth and other fields, so as to enhance the friendship and affinity of the six peoples. Sixth, champion more inclusive cooperation. We will not engage in exclusive cliques and are committed to the right direction of regional economic integration. We will vigorously promote the coordinated development of the LMC with the Greater Mekong Sub-Region economic cooperation, the Three River Basin Mechanism and the Mekong River Commission, and make the sub-region a harmonious home of openness, inclusiveness, exchanges and mutual learning.

The foreign ministers of the Mekong countries spoke highly of the positive progress made in LMC and appreciated China's positive contribution to promoting LMC. They agreed that LMC has become an important platform for maintaining regional peace and stability, promoting regional development and prosperity, and boosting industrialization and modernization of various countries. In the current complex and challenging international security and economic situation, Lancang-Mekong countries should jointly advance sub-regional cooperation, deepen interdependence, make good use of institutional platforms and relevant funds, coordinate efforts for development and security, and respond to traditional and non-traditional security challenges in a coordinated manner. Some countries have also identified specific areas for strengthening industrialization cooperation, which is constructive and forward-looking. All parties agreed to build a stronger Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Economic Development Belt, deepen cooperation in priority areas such as connectivity, further unleash development potential, jointly address global challenges, and build an even closer Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future.

This foreign ministers' meeting is efficient, pragmatic and productive, which has further strengthened the determination and confidence of the six countries to jointly build a community of shared future of peace and prosperity among Mekong-Lancang countries. China will work with Mekong countries to jointly build an exemplar for Belt and Road cooperation, a pacesetter for implementing the Global Development Initiative, a pioneer for implementing the Global Security Initiative and a front runner for implementing the Global Civilization Initiative. We will build a more solid foundation for the LMC, enable it to move forward more steadily and make the pace more steady with broader prospect and bring more benefits to the people of countries in the region.

Bloomberg: Bloomberg today published a story with reporting that suggests that Chinese authorities in recent years have placed curbs on the ability of ethnic Mongolians in Inner Mongolia to express their ethnic identity such as the ability to study in schools using the Mongolian language. Given that China's policies pertaining to ethnic minorities have been a point of contention in the past between it and the US, the EU and others, does the foreign ministry expect such findings to have an impact on future diplomatic relations?

Wang Wenbin: I'm not aware of the report. Can you explain the main opinions of it?

Bloomberg: The main opinions are that in a recent reporting trip to Inner Mongolia they found that in schools there students are no longer allowed to learn using ethnic Mongolian language and must learn using Chinese language.

Wang Wenbin: The relevant reporting team you mentioned once went to Inner Mongolia for interviews. If they were really objective, serious and careful enough to walk around the streets in Inner Mongolia, they would find that the so-called restrictions on the local language environment and the teaching of Mongolian are completely unfounded.a

The Chinese government upholds equality among all ethnic groups, and protects the freedom of all ethnic groups, including the Mongolians, to learn, use and develop their own spoken and written languages in accordance with the law. You asked whether China's relevant regulations will affect its relations with other countries. As long as other countries continue to develop relations with China in accordance with the principle of mutual respect and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, their relations with China will not be affected.

CCTV: According to reports, the House of Representatives of the Philippines adopted a resolution on December 6 condemning China's "illegal actions" in the South China Sea. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The resolution adopted by the House of Representatives of the Philippines groundlessly criticized, misrepresented and smeared China. We firmly reject it. I would like to reiterate China's solemn position as follows:

First, China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, consisting of Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao and Nansha Qundao, and their adjacent waters, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters. China's sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in history and the law.

Second, the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration violated the principle of state consent, exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and rendered an award in disregard of the law. This is a grave violation of UNCLOS and general international law. The award is illegal, null and void. China does not accept or recognize it, and will never accept any claim or action based on the award. This is firmly grounded in international law. China's sovereignty and rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by the illegal award. Any attempt to impose the illegal award on China is in violation of international law.

Third, China's construction and deployment of necessary defense facilities on its own territory in Nansha Qundao, and the patrols by Chinese military and Coast Guard ships, the scientific research activities by relevant Chinese departments, and the fishing activities by Chinese fishing boats in waters under China's jurisdiction are all legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach.

Fourth, Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao. The Philippines illegally grounded a warship there and frequently sent vessels to illegally intrude into the reef's adjacent waters to deliver construction materials in an attempt to reinforce the grounded warship. This amounts to grave infringement on China's sovereignty. China will continue to do what is necessary to firmly safeguard its sovereignty in accordance with domestic and international law.

Fifth, China's summer fishing moratorium in the South China Sea is a normal measure aimed at protecting marine biological resources in waters under its jurisdiction and a concrete step in fulfilling its obligations under international law including UNCLOS. The Philippine side should not make wanton remarks about this.aa

Sixth, for some time, the Philippines has been sending people to Tiexian Jiao and other uninhabited islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands and sending aircraft and vessels to intrude into adjacent waters and airspace of China's Nansha Islands and Huangyan Dao. These moves severely violate China's sovereignty, endanger China's security, go against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea. China has made serious dAmarches for nearly 100 times and officially expressed our protest to the Philippines.

We once again urge the Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, stop its infringement of China's sovereignty and provocation at sea, return to the right track of resolving maritime disputes through negotiation and consultation as soon as possible and work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Kyodo News: During a meeting with Chief Representative Yamaguchi Natsuo of Japan's Komeito party on December 6, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao said that efforts will be made to promote exchanges and communication between parties and political figures and other areas. The communication between the ruling parties in China and Japan, however, has not been officially resumed. What's China's attitude towards this?

Wang Wenbin: China is open to exchanges and cooperation with Japan, including inter-party exchanges. We hope that Japan will work with China to follow the important mutual understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, act on the principles and consensus in the four political documents between China and Japan, and align efforts to improve bilateral ties with the commitment to promoting a strategic relationship of mutual benefit, and work hard towards the goal of building a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship fit for the new era.

Beijing Daily: According to reports, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, based on Article 99 of the UN Charter, wrote to the rotating president of the Security Council saying that the situation in Gaza may threaten world peace and security and calling on the Security Council to take steps to realize humanitarian ceasefire and averting an even worse humanitarian disaster. It's the first time in over five decades for the UN Secretary-General to invoke Article 99. What's China's comment?

Wang Wenbin: As this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict drags on and causes severe humanitarian disaster, the call of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reflects the strong concern of the international community on the serious situation in Gaza. The world must take more active steps to save lives and restore peace. The Security Council should listen to the call of the vast Arab and Islamic countries and the international community, take further and timely actions, realize a comprehensive ceasefire, protect civilians and ease the humanitarian situation. The recently released Position Paper of the People's Republic of China on Resolving the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict fully reflects the above-mentioned position. China supports the mediation work of the UN Secretary-General and the UN Secretariat, we will continue to enhance coordination with relevant sides and play a constructive role in deescalating the situation.

Reuters: Could you tell us has Zambia's official creditor committee co-chaired by China reached an agreement on how they define comparability of treatment and what they want from Zambia's bondholders to achieve that? And have any further meetings been held on Zambia's debt, either just the official creditor committee or the committee with Zambia and all the bondholders?

Wang Wenbin: China takes Zambia's debt issue seriously and has always been actively advancing the settlement of debts by the Creditor Committee for Zambia. China always calls on parties to participate in Zambia's debt treatment in accordance with the principle of joint actions and fair burden-sharing, and the aim is to comprehensively, systematically and effectively help Zambia emerge from the debt crisis. The Creditor Committee for Zambia is in consultations on this and relevant Chinese authorities will continue to participate in relevant process with a professional and responsible attitude.

Bloomberg: The US and Mexico signed an agreement on screening foreign investments specifically in relation to Chinese companies. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on the development?

Wang Wenbin: China believes that restricting normal trade and investment activities and disrupting relevant cooperation for political purposes does not serve the interests of any party. We hope the US will not overstretch the concept of national security, respect market rules and the principle of fair competition, and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for the investment and operation of companies from all countries in the US.

China News Service: The 24th China-EU Summit was held in Beijing yesterday. Can you share the major agendas as well as the outcomes and common understandings reached at the summit? EU leaders have spoken positively of the summit, but at the same time expressed their high concern over trade imbalance and excess production capacity. What is China's response?

Wang Wenbin: This year's China-EU Summit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the China-EU Summit mechanism. President Xi Jinping met with the two EU Presidents and Premier Li Qiang held the summit with them. The two sides exchanged views on strategic issues bearing on the China-EU relations, dialogue and cooperation in various fields, major concerns of the two sides, global governance and major international and regional issues. Both sides believe that the talks are candid, deep going and productive, and that the two sides have enhanced mutual understanding, deepened strategic communication, and built up consensus for cooperation.

First, the summit charted the course for the growth of China-EU relations. The two sides agreed to fully leverage the guiding role of the China-EU Summit and the five high-level dialogues, step up dialogue and cooperation, properly manage differences, and make China-EU relations more stable and mutually beneficial. Second, the summit identified key areas for closer mutually beneficial cooperation. Dialogue and cooperation will be stepped up in such areas as trade and investment, green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, geographical indication, intellectual property rights and export control. Third, the summit demonstrated the two sides' willingness to resume cross-border travel and enhance people-to-people exchange. The two sides agreed to hold another meeting of the China-EU high-level people-to-people dialogue. Fourth, the summit sent out a strong message of China-EU joint response to global challenges. The two sides agreed to support and practice multilateralism, step up international coordination, advance reforms of the WTO and the international financial system, and jointly respond to global challenges such as climate change, bio diversity, food security and public health.

On the issue of trade imbalance, we must see that the current situation in China-EU trade is the result from the combined influence of macro-economic environment, international trade conditions and the two sides' industrial structures. One should not simply put the responsibility on one side only, or blame market access. As for the EU's repeated claim that its trade deficit against China surged last year, it was largely affected by energy price and geopolitical factors and was quite a special phenomenon. This year, the trade deficit has greatly decreased. China has never deliberately pursued trade surplus. China's mega market will remain open to the EU and we welcome EU companies to share in the opportunities arising from China's high-quality development and high-level opening up. At the same time, we hope that the EU will ease the export restrictions on high-tech products. This will effectively improve trade balance.

"Excess production capacity" is a relative term. One cannot just see the demand of a specific country or region, but needs to view it from the perspective of economic globalization. China's new energy industry enjoys international competitiveness and can play an important role in the EU's green transition and the global response to climate change. We hope the EU will see this issue from an objective and just manner. China is not to blame for the inadequate impetus for the EU's industrial growth, and the EU should not take this as a pretext to adopt trade protectionist measures.

China stands ready to work with the EU to deliver on the important common understandings reached at the summit, remain committed to our partnership, to mutually-beneficial cooperation and to dialogue and consultation, properly manage differences and promote the sound, steady and sustained growth of China-EU relations.

Bloomberg: I just had a clarification question from your earlier announcement on the visa fees. Is that for all countries or only specific countries?

Wang Wenbin: It applies to all Chinese embassies and consulates overseas.

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China opposes attempts to 'smear,' 'sabotage' Belt and Road Initiative

Italy announced plans to leave the project, saying it hadn't produced the expected results.

By RFA Staff 2023.12.08 -- China has defended its Belt and Road Initiative after Italy formally informed Beijing of its decision to leave the infrastructure project.

Responding to a question about the withdrawal, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing on Thursday in Beijing that "China firmly opposes attempts to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation or stoke bloc confrontation and division" without naming any country.

It is unclear whether the statement was directed at Italy or a third party that, in Beijing's opinion, may have interfered to dissuade Rome from participation.

Also on Thursday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, addressing broader relations between China and the European Union during a summit with top EU officials in Beijing, said that the two sides should be partners and "eliminate all kinds of interference."

The first in-person EU-China summit in four years aimed to promote "constructive and stable EU-China relations," according to an official statement.

Lack of tangible benefits

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in her first public comments on leaving the BRI said "The tool of the [BRI] ... has not produced the results that were expected."

Italy exported 16.4 billion euros (US$17.7 billion) worth of goods to China last year but imported 57.5 billion euros ($62 billion) of China-made products, making a large deficit, according to official data.

Meloni was speaking to reporters in Rome on Thursday after media reports that her government had formally notified Beijing of the decision earlier this week.

"I think that we should ... improve our cooperation with China on trade [and] the economy," Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying.

Italy joined China's mega scheme in 2019, the only member of the Group of Seven major developed economies, or G7, to do so. At the time, the United States warned Rome that "the Chinese Communist Party is trying to leverage its economic presence in Italy to serve its own strategic purposes."

Italy's BRI membership expires in March, 2024, and Meloni had indicated that she wanted to leave.

"This decision was largely expected for months and was only a matter of time," said Filippo Fasulo, a political scientist from the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan.

"In the last months, negotiations have been underway to understand the best way to terminate the agreement without causing diplomatic clashes," Fasulo, co-head of the think tank's Geo-economics Center, told Radio Free Asia.

A Chinese geopolitical commentator agreed that the move, while significant, "was not entirely unexpected due to Italy's growing skepticism about the tangible benefits from the deal."

"Italy's decision to leave the BRI aligns with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's critical view of the partnership and broader Western concerns about Beijing's influence," said Andy Mok, a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI - Xi Jinping's signature mega project.

China said it has benefited more than 150 countries in the world with infrastructure contracts worth over US$2 trillion to develop projects such as seaports, railways and bridges. Critics meanwhile accuse Beijing of setting up debt traps and expanding geopolitical and economic influence.

Restarting the relationship

"China may react to Italy's exit with skepticism, but a complete breakdown in bilateral relations seems unlikely," said Mok.

"Italy's strategic approach in exiting the BRI, aimed at maintaining political dialogue, suggests a cautious balance to avoid severe economic retaliation from China," the political commentator added.

"High-level diplomatic engagements and efforts to balance Italy's geopolitical stance indicate a continued interest in a robust, albeit recalibrated, relationship with China."

Filippo Fasulo from Italy's ISPI said that he would not expect Beijing to respond with serious punitive economic measures.

"Italy and China had consultations before this decision and it is not in the interest of China while attempting to improve its relations with the EU to retaliate against one of its principal members," he said.

He also noted that there are "signals," like the decision by Chinese authorities to waive visitor visas for Italian citizens as of Dec. 1, that indicate the main differences between the two governments might have already been settled.

In the Italian expert's opinion, "Italy's participation, even if ineffective, was highly politicized and symbolic."

However, the country needs to maintain the relationship with the world's second largest economy.

"Now, it is possible to restart this relationship, as other countries are doing, bearing in mind the context of the great power competition and Italy's network of alliances," Fasulo said.

The EU said in a statement after the Dec. 7 summit with Xi Jinping that China is the bloc's major trading partner but "the relationship is critically and structurally imbalanced."

"The EU stressed to China the importance of achieving a more balanced economic relationship with a level playing field and reciprocity," it said. "The EU does not intend to decouple or to turn inwards."

Andy Mok in Beijing said "Europe's initial declaration to decouple from China was a fantasy."

"'De-risking' is a flawed political compromise. But strategic interdependence is a historic inevitability," he noted.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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US sanctions Chinese officials over Uyghur abuse

Three additional companies are also blocked from exporting goods to the US due to the possible use of forced labor.

By RFA Uyghur and Jim Snyder for RFA 2023.12.08 -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday announced new sanctions against two Chinese officials for "serious human rights abuses" against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, as the United States also moved to block imports from three additional Chinese companies due to allegations of forced labor.

The State Department said that Gao Qi, as the leader of the northern Xinjiang Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau, had facilitated the arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in a mass internment campaign. Security officials at the Tekes County Detention Center overseen by Gao have been documented to have engaged in "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" against Uyghurs, the U.S. said.

Hu Lianhe was the deputy office director for the Xinjiang Work Coordination Small Group of the Central Committee, which the U.S. said has been "instrumental in shaping and implementing Xinjiang policies."

Adrian Zenz, director of China Studies at the U.S.-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, said in an interview with RFA Uyghur that Hu Lianhe is the first central government official sanctioned in relation to the internment campaign in Xinjiang.

"That is a very important signal that the perpetrators of this gradual genocide will be held to account," said Zenz, who has extensively researched the abuse.

'Challenging,' 'harmful' abuses

The announcements were among a batch of actions the United States took ahead of the 75th anniversary on Sunday of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enumerates the fundamental rights that should be afforded to citizens across the globe, including the right to life, liberty and personal security.

In all, the State and Treasury departments issued sanctions and visa restrictions on 37 people in 13 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Russia and Syria.

"With today's actions, the United States is addressing some of the most challenging and harmful forms of human rights abuses in the world," Blinken said in a statement.

The decision to sanction the Chinese officials could complicate an already tense relationship between the U.S. and China just weeks after President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in San Francisco in hopes of mending ties.

Though the summit produced few significant results, the United States did announce the removal of sanctions against the Chinese Ministry of Public Security's Institute of Forensic Science, reportedly as part of an effort to encourage action to stem the flow of precursors used to make the drug fentanyl, which have led to thousands of drug overdoses in the U.S.

The sanctions had been imposed originally due to China's repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

As many as 1.8 million Uyghurs and other members of ethnic Turkic groups are thought to have been detained by Chinese authorities since 2017 in a forced assimilation campaign. The United States has previously labeled the effort a genocide. It has cited allegations of torture, forced labor, sterilization, and severe restrictions on freedom of speech, movement and religion.

China has called its efforts in Xinjiang a "de-extremification" campaign and dismissed allegations of widespread abuse as a lie.

"The U.S. side has imposed illegal sanctions on Chinese officials under the pretext of human rights issue in Xinjiang in accordance with its domestic law," Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in an email responding to the sanctions issued today. "Such acts grossly interfere in China's internal affairs, flagrantly violate the basic norms governing international relations and seriously undermine China-U.S. relations. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns them."

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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China's Xi to Visit Vietnam as Hanoi-US Relations Warm

By Mo Yu December 08, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Vietnam next week, his third to Hanoi after a six-year break and as Beijing and Washington jostle for influence.

The visit, on Tuesday and Wednesday, will coincide with the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a "comprehensive strategic partnership" between the nominally communist one-party, authoritarian states.

It also will come just three months after Vietnam upgraded its relationship with the United States to that same partnership level. U.S. President Joe Biden's September visit to Vietnam put Washington on an equal footing with Beijing in Hanoi's diplomatic hierarchy.

But unlike their relationships with the U.S., China and Vietnam share a high degree of ideological convergence, with leaders of both countries often describing their bilateral relationship as "comrades and brothers."

Since Xi became general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phu Trong, has visited China three times, in 2015, 2017 and 2022. He was the first foreign dignitary to visit after Xi secured his unprecedented third term as leader.

Xi also visited Vietnam in 2015 and 2017 but stopped traveling for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trade

Over the past decade, economic and trade relations between China and Vietnam have become increasingly close. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner and second-largest export market, and it is now a major source of foreign investment in Vietnam. Vietnam is China's top trading partner among countries in ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China's General Administration of Customs says trade between China and Vietnam exceeded $200 billion for the first time in 2021, reaching $230.2 billion a a year-on-year increase of 19.7%.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says trade between the U.S. and Vietnam in 2022 totaled $142 billion, with U.S. exports since 2021 up 3% and imports up 25%.

Despite close political and economic ties between China and Vietnam, the two countries have a decades-long sovereignty dispute over large parts of the South China Sea. Beijing's aggressive assertion of its claims has pushed Hanoi closer to Washington.

China's placement of an oil rig near the Paracel Islands in 2014 led to a standoff and collision with a Vietnamese fishing vessel that sparked anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam.

Tensions flared again in 2020 after a Vietnamese fishing boat and Chinese vessel collided near the Paracel Islands, sinking the Vietnamese one.

China's militarization over the past decade of the Spratly Islands, where it has deployed anti-ship cruise missiles and long-range surface-to-air missiles, has also triggered serious concern in Vietnam.

Vietnam has responded with reclamation and expansion projects on islands under its control.

Popular perception

While most Vietnamese have come to terms with the Vietnam War that ended when the U.S. withdrew its troops in 1975, many still look warily at China a a giant neighbor with whom they fought a brief war in 1979. Beijing launched a three-week attack on Vietnam to punish Hanoi for invading Cambodia to oust the Khmer Rouge, and the two sides had occasional border skirmishes in the years that followed.

A survey published in February by Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute showed that while a majority of Vietnamese views on U.S. influence were positive, a growing majority saw Chinese influence as negative.

The survey showed most Vietnamese were not confident that China would do the right thing in terms of global peace, security, prosperity and governance, while 65% believed that Beijing's economic and military power could be used to threaten their own country's interests and sovereignty.

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Hong Kong To Hold 'Patriots Only' Election Amid Efforts To Tighten Control

By William Yang December 08, 2023

Hong Kong will hold a "patriots only" district council election Sunday, with 399 candidates running for 88 directly elected seats. The city's authorities will appoint the rest of the 382 district councilors.

The election follows a historic landslide victory for the pro-democracy camp in the 2019 district council election, which saw more than 70% of the voters showing up to vote.

It also comes after the Hong Kong government overhauled the election process in July, reducing the number of directly elected seats to just 20% and implementing a strict vetting mechanism to ensure that all candidates fit the criteria of "patriots."

To encourage voters to come out and vote, Hong Kong authorities have rolled out a series of measures, such as organizing free concerts and fun fairs to "create a happy atmosphere," and encouraging nursing homes to help senior citizens cast ballots by offering each elderly community center a one-off allowance worth around $2,500.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways is also offering discounted airfares from China to Hong Kong, hoping to help encourage more Hong Kongers working on the mainland to return to the city and vote. Despite the government's wide-ranging efforts, some analysts say voter turnout could be low.

"When Hong Kong held the Legislative Council election in 2021, which plays a more important role in Hong Kong than the district council, the Hong Kong government added voting stations along the border with China, but the voter turnout rate was only 30%," Chung Kim-wah, an expert on Hong Kong politics in the U.K., told VOA by phone.

He added that while Hong Kong authorities have done more to mobilize voters for the district council election, voter turnout would likely be lower than 30%.

"Many Hong Kongers I know are not interested in the district council election because they know what real elections look like based on experiences before 2020," Chung added.

Some Hong Kongers say they have no plan to vote in an election that is completely controlled by the government.

"If I voted in the election, it would seem like I support the government's efforts to tighten control over Hong Kong's civil society," Annie Leung, a 35-year-old accountant, told VOA by phone.

Others view the election as a way for the government to reward their loyalists. "The election is just a slogan to reinforce the government's control while distributing benefits to the so-called "patriots"," Esther Wong, a 39-year-old artist, told VOA in a written response.

Apart from efforts to mobilize voters, the Hong Kong government has also been cracking down on election critics. Earlier this week, Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog charged a 38-year-old programmer with inciting others to not vote in the election. They also applied for an arrest warrant for a 45-year-old Hong Kong political commentator who know lives in Germany for similar offenses.

Chung said the reluctance to vote reflects a lack of faith in the city's political system.

"When Hong Kong people think the political system can no longer represent the people, they will gradually choose to ignore anything that the government is doing," he told VOA.

Although Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has said the election is important as it will "facilitate communication between the people of that district and the government," some analysts and former lawmakers have characterized it as a "sham election" that contradicts universal democratic principles.

"This is not an election but a selection of district councilors controlled by the Hong Kong government," Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong lawmaker who lives in exile in Australia, told VOA by phone.

Even though Hong Kong's top official, John Lee, defended the election rules as "open and fair," no opposition party was able to nominate a candidate and local media reports found that more than 75% of the candidates passing the vetting process are members of the committees responsible for nominating the candidates.

In the last district council election in 2019, the pro-democracy camp won more than 85% of the seats.Some experts said authorities efforts to overhaul the election process shows their determination to block opposition parties.

"The Hong Kong government wants to have complete control of the electoral results and ensure that no opposition voices can get into the political arena," Maggie Shum, a political scientist at Behrend College at Pennsylvania State University, told VOA by phone.

Shum said the "patriots only" requirement for candidates and other restrictive measures that Hong Kong's pro-Beijing government has implemented since 2020 are similar to the Chinese government's playbook.

"The Chinese government and the Hong Kong government are playing the long game of turning the city into a more Chinese city," she said.

In her view, while the trend suggests Hong Kong is "going down a dark path," with the authorities becoming more repressive, Shum thinks it remains to be seen how the process will affect Hong Kongers and the city in the long run.

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N Korean ambassador in Geneva recalled over smuggling allegations: Report

Han Tae Song was previously expelled from Zimbabwe in 1992 for engaging in rhino horn trafficking.

By Taejun Kang for RFA 2023.12.07 -- North Korea has decided to recall its ambassador to Switzerland, Han Tae Song, amidst claims he is involved in elephant tusk smuggling.

Both the panel of experts of the U.N. Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea and Swiss officials are investigating the ambassador's purported involvement in ivory trafficking in Africa, according to Japan's Kyodo News on Thursday.

It is anticipated that Han will be replaced within this year, with North Korean authorities possibly holding him accountable for being exposed, it added.

Appointed as ambassador to Switzerland in 2017, Han also represents North Korea at the United Nations in Geneva. Notably, he was previously expelled from Zimbabwe in 1992 for engaging in rhino horn trafficking.

The news came after a report that Botswana, along with South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, had been probing this North Korean-affiliated ivory and rhino horn smuggling operation for over a year

The ring is accused of pilfering at least 19 elephant tusks and 18 rhino horns from Botswana on two occasions last year and this year, and then channeling them through South Africa and Zimbabwe to Mozambican buyers linked to North Korea, Weekend Post reported on Sep. 26.

The report added that the investigation discovered two buyers from North Korea were central to a major smuggling operation involving wildlife products. One of these individuals, Yi Kang Dae, confirmed as an intelligence official in North Korea's state security, collaborated with Ambassador Han.

The paper cited a security source in Zimbabwe as saying there is a big chance that Han may have revived the old smuggling network he ran while posted in the country in the 90s.

"The biting international sanctions against North Korea in the past decade may have prompted Han to reawaken his network which has been dormant for some time," said the source, as quoted by Weekend Post.

The source added that it was uncertain whether the illicit network has been dismantled, as Han's two key operatives remain at large in Mozambique, urging "joint vigilance" to "destroy the operation at the source and at the end of the line."

Edited by Mike Firn.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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North Korean factory workers in China to lose pay for product flaws

The new policy seems to be a way for the government to extract more funds from the workers, sources say.

By Kim Jieun for RFA Korean 2023.12.08 -- North Koreans working in clothing factories in China must be nearly flawless under new punitive regulations that dock workers' pay if they produce too many defective garments, residents in China told Radio Free Asia.

The new rules seem to be a way for the cash-strapped North Korean government to justify keeping more of the dispatched workers' hard earned salaries, a resident of the city of Donggang in China's Liaoning province told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

"Earlier this month, notices on production performance evaluations, work regulations, and wage reduction rules were posted in the form of posters at each North Korean company in Donggang," he said. "Wages will be reduced if reprocessing is required due to a work mistake or if a defective product occurs."

On the first and second instances, the team leaders will be punished, not the individual worker, the notice said, according to the resident.

"That leader's wages will be docked first. If three out of 200 pieces of clothing produced ... must be repaired, 50 Chinese yuan (US$7) will be deducted. The second occurrence will also incur a 50 Chinese yuan penalty," he said. "But from the third incident, 30 points will be deducted per item from the work group's performance rating."

The work groups can earn 10 points per day for a full day of work, and their compensation is based on the number of points they can earn in a month, which is usually around 200, the resident explained.

So losing 30 points is the same as missing out on three days of pay, all for just a single flawed item produced. If there are three or four flawed items made, the reduction would be around half of the work group's monthly salary.

"The reason for the notice and reduction regulations is to collect even more foreign currency by reducing workers' wages even more," the resident said. "In addition, if a worker falls short of the daily production goal or delivers a defective product, there is a penalty that requires not only a reduction in wages, but also mandates that the worker cleans bathrooms."

100,000 workers

The source said that there were about 100,000 North Korean workers in China, and Chinese companies calculate an average contract amount to be 2,000 to 2,500 yuan (US$280-350) per month per person and they pay the full amount to the North Korean companies.

The lion's share of this is forwarded to Pyongyang, however, and the workers themselves earn only a small fraction of it.

The 100,000 figure matches the estimate of workers in China from human rights groups, such as the U.S.-based Committee for Human Right in North Korea

Many North Korean workers in China put in on average 12 to 14 hours a day, including nights with only one day off each month, although it varies slightly from company to company.

A resident of Dandong, which lies across the Yalu River border from North Korea's Sinuiju, told RFA on condition of anonymity that notices of the new rules have gone up in factories in that city as well.

"They say the year-end evaluation will be based on these rules," he said. "A North Korean clothing company in Dandong posted the notice. ... They are urging workers to increase their annual production."

The products made by the North Korean workers will not only be used locally, the Dandong resident said.

"This ... is a clothing company that produces luxury clothing in China and exports extensively, not only domestically, but also to Europe through Russia," he said. "However, these products are mostly made with the blood and sweat of North Korean workers."

Under international sanctions meant to deprive Pyongyang of cash and resources that could be funneled into its nuclear and missile programs, all North Korean workers were supposed to have returned home by the end of 2019, and no new work visas were to be issued to North Korean citizens since then.

But cash-strapped Pyongyang is still dispatching workers to both Russia and China by using loopholes, including by sending the workers on student visas.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Germany - MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 23-88

WASHINGTON, December 7, 2023 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Germany of MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of $300 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Germany has requested to buy up to eighty (80) MK 54 All Up Round Lightweight Torpedoes (LWT). Also included are MK 54 Mod 0 LWT spare parts; Recoverable Exercise Torpedoes (REXTORPs) with containers; handling shapes and containers; torpedo spare parts; tools for mounting and dismounting of Air Launch Accessories (ALAs); equipment for analysis of REXTORP exercise shots; REXTORP maintenance equipment; training; publications; support and test equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total program cost is $300 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that is an important force for political and economic stability in Europe.

The proposed sale will improve Germany's capability to meet current and future threats by upgrading Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities on its P-8A aircraft. Germany will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor will be Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, RI. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Germany; however, U.S. Government Engineering and Technical Services may be required on an interim basis for training and technical assistance.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

The description and dollar value are for the highest estimated quantity and dollar value based on initial requirements. Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev answered the Euronews channels question regarding the head of states vision on the competition or cooperation in the region, Trend reports.

Well, as far as Azerbaijan is concerned, I see cooperation. That is mainly because of the policy of our country. We always wanted to protect Azerbaijan from any kind of a rivalry, from any kind of a geopolitical struggle or battle between big powers, and I think we managed to achieve that. Azerbaijan is considered as a reliable partner to many big international actors, and we see a real result of that cooperation. If you look at the energy development in Azerbaijan, you'll see a broad international presence. If you look at the transportation sector, you'll see that both corridors - East-West and North-South  cross our country and our neighbors and many countries in different regions are benefiting from that.

If you see the situation with respect to the political development, Azerbaijan is also a country with the independent foreign policy, which conducts its policy based on national interests. One of the important factors is not to transform your country into the area of confrontation or competition but rather to protect the state from bad influence and attempts to interfere into its domestic affairs. So, we successfully managed to diminish these risks. And, that's why Azerbaijan now is a country with big international potential, good international reputation, and a country, which managed to attract more than 300 billion US dollars of investments during the last 20 years, the Azerbaijani leader said.
Transcript of Weekly Media Briefing by the Official Spokesperson (December 07, 2023)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

December 07, 2023

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: A very good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for joining us for our weekly media briefing. I actually don't have any announcements, so I can open the floor for questions.

Meghna Dev: Sir Meghna Dev from DD News. I just wanted to know if there is an update on the Qatar case, after we have filed an appeal; and what is an update on that?

Huma Siddiqui: Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. I have two related questions. What is the situation in Venezuela? They have just had a referendum and they have taken a piece of Guyana.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: That's not my words, right? They have taken a piece of Guyana?

Huma Siddiqui: No, no, no. I mean it is the media report, Sir. And they have already passed an order for that. I just wanted to know India's position. I just wanted to check, has India started buying oil from Venezuela?

Sahil: Sir, I am Sahil from ANI. It is regarding the Qatar appeal. Did Prime Minister Modi speak to Qatar Amir on the sidelines of COP28 Summit regarding the appeal?

Samira Hussain: Samira Hussain from BBC News. Christopher Wray, the head of the FBI, is going to be visiting India next week. I want to know what will be discussed in that meeting. Will you bring up the case of the indicted person?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Will we bring up?

Samira Hussain: Yes. Will that be discussed rather? And then, is there any update on the investigation and the thing that was set up....

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Enquiry committee.

Samira Hussain: Thank you. Yes. The Enquiry Committee.

Neeraj Dubey: Sir, main Neeraj Dubey Prabhasakshi se. Sir Israel Hamas sangharsh par vipaksh ki ek badi netri ne kaha hain ki Bharat ko sahi ka sath dena chahiye kyuki hamara itihas aisa raha hai, kya sarkar ispe kuch comment karna chahegi? Videsh Mantralay?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Neeraj Dubey from Prabhasakshi. On Israel Hamas conflict, a prominent Opposition leader has stated that India should support the righteous, because our history has been that way. Would the Government, the Ministry of External Affairs, like to make any comments on this?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Ye parliament mai tha?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] This was in the Parliament?

Neeraj Dubey: Nahi Sir Parliament mai nahi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ka usme ek tweet hai.

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] No Sir, not in Parliament, this is in a tweet from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Speaker: Sir, I am (Inaudible) Japanese news agency (inaudible). My question is regarding the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi. My understanding is that the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi has resumed operations. Do you believe that the Embassy represents the Taliban government or the previous government?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Okay. Let me start with the questions. I think they were on the Qatar issue. I think Meghna, you asked as well as I think Sahil, you had asked on that. You would have seen Prime Minister met the Emir of Qatar in Dubai on the sidelines of COP28. I think he put out a tweet. My understanding is that they had good conversation on the overall bilateral relationship as well as on the well-being of the Indian community, as he said. Look, on the Prime Minister's conversation with him, I have nothing further to add. You wanted an update on the case as such. There have been two hearings. As you know, we filed an appeal, as is from the families and the detainees had filed an appeal. Two hearings have since been held, one I think on the November 30th, the other was on November 23rd. I think the next hearing is coming up soon. We are closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance. Meanwhile our Ambassador got consular access to meet all eight of imprisoned on 3rd of December. As I said, this is a sensitive issue, but we will continue to follow and whatever we can share, we will do so.

Huma, on the issue of Venezuela and Guyana, the dispute; yes, of course, we have been monitoring developments on that. As you know, in so far as the dispute itself is concerned, we have always advocated resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, but for the moment I would say we're just keeping a close eye on seeing what's happening, I don't have anything additional to share for the moment. The oil part, I wouldn't be aware, I would have to refer you... because a lot of them might be purchased by private entities. As regards whether we are doing through government, I would refer you to the Petroleum Ministry. I'm not aware of any update on this issue as yet, but if there is, we will certainly share with you.

Samira, as regards the issue of the visit, which actually I think...you should ask the US side because I think the US Ambassador mentioned it, but let me just mention what I know about it and particularly give you a context. As you are aware, we have robust security, cyber security, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation with the US agencies, we also engage in capacity building programs. So as part of this ongoing bilateral cooperation, visit by the FBI director is in the works, is being held, but let them confirm the exact things. Details of this visit have been worked out with the US side over the course of the last few months and as I said I wouldn't like to confirm the specific timeline for that, that I would leave to the US. I would direct you to the US embassy or the agencies for the specifics of this visit, but yes, there's something that is in the works.

What will India be raising or will this issue come up? Look, as I said, this is part of the ongoing dialogue process. I don't have a crystal ball, so I am not going to guess into what may or may not be discussed. Perhaps there are concerned agencies who may wish to brief you after the event. At this moment I have nothing further on that one.

Neeraj ji aapka prashna tha, sahi? maine sahi suna hai na? Dekhiye main ye bilkul manne ke liye taiyar nahi hoon ki hum jo kar rahe hain woh galat hai. Toh humara jo drishtikon hai, humne jis tarah se is mudde par najariya rakha hua hai, usmai aap jante hi hain hamara paksh bahut clear hai, ki humne kaha tha ki terrorism ko hum kis tarah se dekhte hain, kis tarah se wahan civilian, humanitarian assistance chahiye hota hai, kis tarah se long term solution Palestine ka aa sake. Is mudde par kafi bar humne apna jo position hain usko bataya hai, clarify kiya hai aur bahut levels pe kiya hai, toh main aur kuch additional kehna nahi chahunga uspe. Par sirf yahi ki hamain lagta hai yahi thik position hai aur terrorism ke mamle mai particularly hamara kafi strong position raha hai.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Neeraj ji, your question was, righteous? Did I hear it correctly? Look, I am absolutely not willing to accept that what we are doing is wrong. So our perspective, the way we have approached this issue, you are well aware of it that our position is very clear, we have expressed how we see terrorism, the need for civilian and humanitarian assistance there, and how a long-term solution on Palestine can be reached. On this issue, we have stated our position multiple times, clarified it at various levels, so I don't want to add anything more to it. We believe that our current position is correct and in matters related to terrorism particularly, our position has been strong.

On the Afghan Embassy issue, you used a particular word which I am not fully sure is appropriate about resumption or not. All I could say is, as per our understanding, the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi and the Consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad are functioning and you can see from the flag who they represent and our position on recognition of entities has not changed. So I think that's what it is and I guess their diplomats, Afghan diplomats who are here are providing assistance or continue to provide services to the Afghan nationals here.

Okay I saw few more hands.

Kadambini: Kadambini Sharma from NDTV. This is about the visit of FBI director. So this is a regular visit or is there any development in Pannun case?

Sanjay: Hi, this is Sanjay from ITV News. My question is pertaining to what Kadambini and Samira asked. Could you tell me what is the update on the enquiry which Indian government has set up in the wake of US allegations about Indian involvement? Secondly, there are some groups in UK that have expressed their concern for safety and they have written to the Home Secretary.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Separate question, you are asking two questions.

Sanjay: Yes, two separate questions, sorry, it's related to it. Have you received any communication from the UK government in the similar nature?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: UK government?

Sanjay: Yeah. Some groups in UK have expressed concern about their safety in the wake of what has happened in Canada and US. So have you had any communication from UK about this?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: We are obviously talking about different activities, but I'll try to answer your question.

Sidhant: Sir, Sidhant from WION. My question is on Pannun, he has threatened the Indian Parliament, how much is this a concern for the Indian government and is this a matter that we have raised or are going to raise with the concerned authorities?

Manohar Manoj: Manohar Manoj from Economy India. It would be interesting to know by many Indians, that is, what is your official take on consistent killing of anti-India terrorists by the rival gang in Pakistan and some other country?

Abhishek Jha: Sir this is Abhishek Jha from CNN News18. My question is regarding many terrorist organizations, especially Khalistani terrorist organizations in Canada asking people not to board Air India flights. They have been picketing at multiple airports. This looks like a clear threat and intimidation to Indian community, so have you raised this question?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: This was on a specific date, wasn't it? The 19th of last month, November?

Abhishek Jha: No, last week also they have done this picketing at the airport and discouraging people from boarding the flights.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Okay. Kadambini, on your query regarding FBI Director, look I just answered the context in which we look at the visit and as I said, it's been in the works for some time, and this is part of an ongoing cooperation, security related cooperation. I certainly don't know if there is any development on the aspect that you referred to, I'm not aware of it. And on the same note, I should have responded to Samira on that one, and I think you raised the issue on the high level enquiry...no, I don't have any update on the response on that, if there is, we'll certainly share that with you. At this point I don't have anything to share.

Your query on the communication with the UK government...no, I'm not aware of any particular thing. I have seen some reports which say they feel threatened by groups when they are there. It's for the UK government to find on the security elements or things like that. I don't know what you're insinuating, I'm not getting into that.

Sidhant, as regards threats, and I think Abhishek you had the similar sort of a query. Look, I'm not the right person to comment on security issues, but yes we do take threats seriously, particularly depending on the context of that. In the specific case, yes on the Parliament, we are caught in a bind here. I don't want to amplify or give too much of credence to such extremists who make threats and get a lot of coverage. But on the other hand we take this seriously, in this particular case I know that we have taken up this matter with the US and Canadian authorities about this threat, but as I said, extremists and terrorists have a tendency of wanting media coverage on the issue, and I wouldn't like to dignify them that way.

Abhishek, I'm not sure about the Air India one, a recent one, I know last month they had threatened on a particular date, and I think that issue was something on our radar, I'll have to check. But let me make a larger point of course that we would condemn such any threat of this nature, we take this seriously and our security agencies will take appropriate action. If there people are being discouraged, you used the word...I don't know what that means, were they threatened, were they not allowed; but we certainly would not be happy with that and if there are incidents where there are criminal activities or we feel there is a threat, we will take appropriate action abroad.

Manohar ji, your question was regarding official position, look I don't know how to react, I don't have a comment on it except for the larger issue is that, those who are wanted in India to face justice for criminal and terrorist activities and extremists, we would like them to come to India and face our legal system, but I cannot comment on developments that are taking place in Pakistan. I don't have any additional info than what I see on media, so I will not be able to comment further on that. Okay, let me take the next round of questions.

Sridhar: Sir Sridhar from the Asian Age. I was just curious whether India has demanded that the US arrest and prosecute Pannun, because this is a man who is belting out one terror threat after the other against Air India, against the Indian Parliament. But somehow we are conducting a probe into an alleged murder plot, but the US doesn't seem to be taking these threats very seriously and has India pressed them that they should also conduct a probe into the activities of Pannun? Thank you.

Pia: Hi, Pia with the Print. Since 2018, Indian students dying abroad seems to be the highest in Canada as per data released by the MEA earlier today in Parliament.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Not released, it's a response, reply to a Parliament question.

Pia: Yeah. Has the MEA communicated this to the Canadian side, are there any steps being taken to protect our students there? Thanks.

Reza: Reza from the Hindustan Times. The readout on the India-Myanmar Consultations yesterday mentioned the situation on the border and also, you know, India supporting the efforts to return to federal democracy. I was just wondering, how does India see the situation on the border, given the fact that the resistance forces have scored a number of victories in the last few weeks and seem to have moved closer and closer to, you know, positions along the Indian border?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Sorry, could you clarify your question, how it sees the developments within Myanmar or vis-a-vis...

Reza: Yeah, because the resistance forces do seem to have been scoring a lot of victories and, you know, against the military forces.

Srinjoy: Sir, Times Now. There are about 19,000 people from Myanmar in India and in recent weeks, in two states alone, about 6,000 to 7,000 people have come. One or two of them are reasonably eminent people. Now, is this something that could be a problem or is this something that could be a problem or is this something we are going to... 7,000 new people have suddenly come in one week. It's an issue.

Madhurendra: Sir Madhurendra, main News Nation se. Mera sawal BRICS ko lekar hai, BRICS mai shamil hone ke liye Pakistan ne jis tarah se bid kiya hain aur kai Pak ke jo mitra desh hain unka samarthan bhi unko prapt hai, Bharat is development ko kaise dekhta hai?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Madhurendra from News Nation. My question is regarding BRICS. Pakistan has made a bid to join BRICS, and Pakistan has received support of several of its allied countries. How does India see this development?

Umashankar: Umashankar NDTV India se. Qatar pe hi mera sawal hai ki jo ek kanuni prakriya chal rahi hai, humne appeal kiya, aapne bataya ki 2 sunwai hui, agli sunwai bhi jald honi hai. toh kya kanuni prakiya puri hone ke baad political leadership ke sath mamla uthaya jayega? Is baat ka intezar kiya ja raha hai ya dono prakriya sath sath chal rahi hain?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Umashankar from NDTV India. My question is on Qatar. The legal process that is underway, we have appealed, and you mentioned that two hearings have taken place, with the next one scheduled soon. After the completion of the legal process, will the matter be taken up with the political leadership? Is this something that is awaited, or are both the processes happening simultaneously?

Yeshi Seli: Yeshi Seli from the New Indian Express. What's the update on the withdrawal of soldiers from Maldives? The new President had said that Indian troops will have to go back and so what's the update? And what are the exact numbers? There are... you know, some figures are at 77, some say they are 89. What are the exact numbers?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Sridhar, to start with your query, I think...look, you asked a question that's also mired a little bit in the legal aspect, so I will be careful what I say. Look, as you know, that the individual you named is wanted by our agencies for violation of the law and there is a process under which we seek assistance, we seek that they be prosecuted. It depends on the crime that is committed. In our case, I think requests have gone through, detailing the kind of crimes that he is responsible for in India and hence what kind of assistance we would require from the foreign countries. But your question was more about the threats he is making there. Yes, we have of course flagged concerns to our partners about any threats made by extremists or terrorists against India, against Indian diplomats or, you know, our properties etc. And we do take it up from time to time and there is ongoing conversation, there is security cooperation. Some of it, we've seen results; some of it we haven't and this will be the ongoing process.

As regards the question on...Pia, sorry, your question was...look, I would hesitate to put it from the perspective you have put it. Yes, I'm aware today in Parliament we answered a question on the deaths of Indian students. Canada does happen to numerically be the highest but I would urge that they be looked at in relation to the total number of Indian students in that country. Plus, we would need to see whether these are caused by violence, car accidents, we don't know. So I don't know if this is an issue that merits taking up with the government. If there are individual incidents where there has been foul play etc., we certainly...our Consulates do reach out to the families. We also take it up with the local authorities or what for the prosecution or other investigation that they are pursuing. I would like to make a generalized comment there.

Reza, regarding your query on the Myanmar, look let me take you back to...you mentioned, I think there was a conversation, there was a Foreign Office Consultations that took place I think yesterday. We have put out how we see the developments there. Yes, of course, as we have said earlier, developments in Myanmar of this kind are a matter of concern for us. Also linked to the query I got about how many, Srinjoy was asking, number of people have come across. We have answered this, we have discussed this in the past, these are issues of concern. Yesterday we have put out a press release, in addition what I can tell you is that we discussed the full range of security concerns, particularly challenges faced on the border, including refugee flows and on a larger perspective we have always been encouraging that peace there or a resolution or a return to democracy is the way forward that we see. I wouldn't like to comment about whether resistance forces are making gains or that's not the issue. We would like to see a peaceful periphery and the issues that we are facing on our border and the security implications of that. We have spoken at length about this in the past, of how drug trafficking or other forms of trafficking, other difficulties that are faced. There are of course, refugee flow and this is something that's being addressed. Of course on the exact numbers and details Srinjoy, I would refer you to the concerned Ministries and agencies. But yes, this is an issue that came up in the conversation, as also other challenges in managing the border.

Madhurendra ji aapka prashna tha BRICS ke baare mai, aur Pakistan...aapne kaha ki apply kiya hai unhone. Dekhiye kai deshon ne BRICS ki sadasyata ki mang ki, vistar prakriya ke liye guiding principles, standards, criteria aur procedures apnaye gaye, haal hi mai is saal jab South Africa mai BRICS jo shikhar sammelan rahi uske pahle. Ab is particular application ke bare mai mera koi comment nahi hai, par main sirf itna kehna chahta hoon, aapne particularly kaha ki kuch mitra deshon ne support kiya hai, main ye kehna chahta hoon aur ye highlight karna chahta hoon, ki jo BRICS ki decisions hoti hain, uske jo nirnay liye jate hain woh saare consensus ke basis pe hota hain, main itna ki kehna chahta hoon. Aap iska ishara samajh hi sakte hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Madhurendra ji, your question was about BRICS, and you mentioned that Pakistan has applied. Look, many countries have sought BRICS membership, and guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures for the expansion process were drawn up, most recently earlier this year, before the BRICS Summit in South Africa. Regarding this specific application, I don't have any comments, but you have particularly said about support by some allied countries, I just want to highlight that when it comes to BRICS decisions, they are based on consensus. I just want to say that. I hope you can understand the indication of that.

Umashankar ji your query was on Qatar, look we clarified where we are, how we look at this problem. Ismai aisa nahi hai ki pahle ye hoga uske baad hoga. Ek nyayik prakiya chal rahi hai, jismai humne ek appeal bhi file kar rakhi hai, aur humne pahle kaha tha ki hum is vishay ko Qatar ke sath bhi hum rakhenge, Qatari authorities ke sath bhi hum contact banaye rakhenge is mamle mai. Iske details main kuch share nahi kar pa raha hoon, kyuki ye sangeen mamla hai aur main ispe jyada kuch kehna nahi chahta hoon, par main ye bhi nahi kehna chahta hoon ki alag alag process hain, hum jis tarah se bhi assist kar sakte hain hum karenge. Abhi ke liye focus hamara ye nyayik prakriya pe hai par hum Qatar ke sath bhi engaged hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Umashankar ji, your query was on Qatar. Look, we clarified where we are and how we look at this problem. It's not a matter of what would be first and what would be thereafter. A judicial process is underway, and we have filed an appeal. We have already stated that we will continue to engage with Qatar on this matter and maintain contact with Qatari authorities. I cannot share the details as this is a sensitive issue, and I do not wish to say more on it. But, I also don't want to say that there are separate processes; and we will assist in any way we can. Currently, our focus is on the judicial process, but we are also engaged with Qatar on this matter.

Yeshi, as regards your query on...you specifically asked for Maldives, right? The withdrawal of the... look, you would have seen and I would refer you to the conversation that took place between Prime Minister and President of Maldives, newly elected President of Maldives, which happened in Dubai. As you know, the troops or military personnel or Indian personnel that you refer to in Maldives, you know, they are for the platforms that are provided by India and these platforms have been providing much needed humanitarian assistance and medical evacuation facilities to the people of Maldives. And this has been consistently appreciated by the Government of Maldives. And as I mentioned, in Dubai, during the conversation, Prime Minister and President of Maldives discussed ways to further deepen our partnership. In this regard, they agreed to set up a core group. And let us see how we will be guided by what the core group says. So for the moment, that would be my response to this.

Kallol: Kallol from The Hindu. So the Foreign Secretary visited Iran recently. And of course, there is the context of the incidents that are happening in the Red Sea, that the security threats are rising for the ships. And there have been incidents where the Israeli flag-bearing ships have been attacked by Ansar Allah and Houthi militants. My question is, has India raised these concerns with the Iranian authorities? Or has there been some sort of maritime security related discussion during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Tehran?

Abhishek: Sir this is Abhishek from CNN News 18. My question is regarding Pakistan's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson has reacted on the comments made by the Home Minister in the Parliament on the issue of Kashmir, the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir which India has said that it's our part. And there have been some other statements also in the bill that has been passed. So they have rejected this statement, if you could speak.

Sridhar: This is just a clarification to one of the earlier questions asked on Qatar. Did you give a categorical response on whether the Prime Minister had raised this issue with the Emir of Qatar...

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: You were not listening, obviously.

Sridhar: No, I think you said probably that there was no update. But would you like to give a categorical..

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Sorry, I have said what I needed to say.

Neeraj Dubey: Sir Neeraj Dubey Prabhasakshi se. Sir China Hind mahasagar keshtra forum ka sammelan dusra aayojit kar raha hain, kya sarkar ki is par pratikriya.

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, this is Neeraj Dubey from Prabhasakshi. China is organizing the second summit of the Indian Ocean region forum. What is the government's response to this?

Huma: Just one, the new Argentinean President has said that they don't want to join the BRICS. What does India think about it?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Look, on the Iran consultations, Kallol, we have given a pretty detailed sense of where we were and what we discussed. Maritime security is an element that is of course discussed as part of our overall engagement. But as you correctly said, Houthis are talking about it, I don't know if the Iranian government has said anything on it. I would be hard pressed to comment on whether we raised it. I would tend to say no, but I haven't had a chance to check on that. For the moment, I would limit myself to the detailed readout that we shared after the Foreign Office Consultations, particularly focusing on bilateral cooperation, Chabahar, trade and economic issues, people to people ties, agriculture and capacity building. Of course, there was also exchange on regional developments naturally. So I would limit myself to that.

Pakistan, you asked on that. Look, I don't think I need to really reiterate our position on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. I don't need to clarify Honorable Home Minister's statement. I think they stand on their own. They have been made in Parliament and I am certainly not going to respond to it. But our position on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is very clear. We consider it a part of India and we have done so for as long as I can remember and we certainly...I see no reason to change our statement, but I have nothing to comment against their comments.

Sridhar, I responded to you, you can look at the recording.

Aapka prashn tha hind mahasagar, dekhiye main ismai uspe tippani nahi karunga. Main ye kehna chahunga ki hum apne keshtra mai ya hind mahasagar ke keshtra mai regional approch mai humne kafi kuch kiya hai aur hamara jo najariya hai aur hum jo platform use karte hain, IORA dekh lijiye ya IONS dekh lijiye ya kisi aur tarike se, hum kis tarah se is keshtra ke deshon ke sath cooperate kar sakte hain aur hum mil-jul kar kya kar sakte hain, uspe hamara prayas hai, uspe hamara focus rehta hai. Ismai kai tarah ke mechanisms humne lauch kiye hain aur us tarah ke cooperation hain, hamara focus yahi hai ki kis tarah se hum economic integration badha sake, hamara greater connectivity reh sake in deshon ke sath, aur maritime security aur baki mudde jo unke interest mai ho, unmai India unke sath kis tarah se kaam kar sakta hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Your question was about the Indian Ocean, look, I won't comment on that. I would like to say that in our region, or in the Indian Ocean region, we have undertaken various initiatives through a regional approach. Our perspective and the platforms we use, be it IORA, IONS, or any other, demonstrate how we can cooperate with countries in this region. Our efforts and focus are on that. We have launched various mechanisms and cooperation initiatives with a focus on enhancing economic integration, fostering greater connectivity with these countries, and addressing maritime security and other issues that align with their interests. And how India can work with these nations on that.

New Argentinean President, look I would go by the fact that as I mentioned in the BRICS expansion process that countries expressed a desire to join it and there was a whole process of criteria, guidelines, etc. which were drawn up. Based on which some countries were invited, six countries were invited to become members of BRICS. If they choose not to become, I guess they choose not to become, I don't think anybody is forcing anybody to join groups. So we will see as it comes, it is pretty hypothetical. I think I would also refer you to the Chair of BRICS, I think that is Russia, to know the legal process of this.

Madhurendra: PoK wale statement ko Hindi me.

[Quaetin in Hindi: Approximate translation] The POK one in Hindi.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Maine koi statement hi nahi di, maine sirf kaha ki main unke bayan pe comment nahi karna chahta hoon, aur hamare Home Minister ke jo bayan hain unpe bhi comment nahi karna chahunga. Main sirf kahunga ki PoK pe jo hamara position raha hai, hamare desh ka, sarkar ka, usmai koi badlav nahi hai aur woh bilkul Bharat ka abbhinn ang hai ye hum bahut baar keh chuke hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] I haven't made any statement. I simply said that I don't want to comment on their statement and also don't want to comment on the statements by our Home Minister. I will only say that our position on PoK, our country's position, government's position, remains unchanged, and that it is an integral part of India, and we have reiterated it many times.

Thank you. Thank you all for joining us.

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Ministry of Defence inks contract worth Rs 588.68 Cr with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited for Digital Coast Guard project

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 08 DEC 2023 3:46PM by PIB Delhi

In alignment with the Government of India's strategic vision for Digital Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) on 8 December 2023, at a total cost of Rs 588.68 crore, for the acquisition of Digital Coast Guard (DCG) project, under the Buy (Indian) category.

A pivotal Initiative for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the DCG Project will unfold a comprehensive narrative of technological progression, encompassing the construction of an advanced Data Centre, the establishment of a robust Disaster Recovery Data Centre, amplification of connectivity across ICG sites, and the development of the ERP system. The project also leverages secured MPLS/VSAT connectivity, propelling itself to the forefront of cutting-edge defence technology.

At its core, the DCG project marks the establishment of a Tier-III standard Data Centre, armed with the latest technological capabilities. Functioning as the nerve centre, it enables centralized monitoring and management of applications deployed by the ICG, ensuring vigilant oversight of critical IT assets of the ICG.

The project is estimated to generate about one and a half lakh man-days over a span of five years, fostering active participation from diverse sectors of Indian industries, thus significantly contributing to the Government's efforts to achieve 'Atmanirbharta' in defence.

ABB/Anand



(Release ID: 1983990)

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TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 08 DEC 2023 3:10PM by PIB Delhi

The Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme is a flagship programme of Ministry of Defence executed by DRDO under 'Make in India' initiative. The main objectives of the scheme are enumerated below:

To provide Grant in Aid to Indian industries, including MSMEs and Start-ups, as well as academic and scientific institutions for the development of Defence and dual use technologies that are currently not available with the Indian defence Industry.

To engage with the private industries especially MSMEs and Start-ups to bring in the culture of Design & Development of Military Technology and support them with Grant in Aid.

To focus on Research, Design & Development of Niche technologies which are being developed for the first time in the country.

To create a bridge amongst the Armed Forces, research organizations, academia and qualifying/certifying agencies with private sector entities.

To support the futuristic technologies having a Proof of Concept and converting them into prototype.

The benefits sought to be gained by the scheme are as follows:

Capacity and capability building of Indian industries for design and development of defence technologies in the country.

Creation of an ecosystem of R&D where industry and Academia work together to meet the current and futuristic requirement of Armed Forces and defence sector.

Building of Defence manufacturing ecosystem in country.

Achieving 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence technology.

Till date, a total of 70 projects at total cost of Rs 291.25 crore have been sanctioned to various industries and 16 defence technologies have been successfully developed/realised under the scheme.

This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Shri Tapir Gao in Lok Sabha today.

*****

ABB/Savvy/Nirmit



(Release ID: 1983971)

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Raisi says visits Russia to pursue immediate halt to Gaza bombardment

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 7, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said here on Thursday that he is to be in Moscow, Russia, today to follow up efforts to immediate halt to bombardment of Gaza and the siege of the people in the Strip.

President Raisi made the remark while speaking to reporters in Tehran before his travel to Moscow under the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Holding talks on ways to send humanitarian aid to Palestine and help the Palestinians fulfill their legitimate rights will be among the plans during the Moscow visit, the president underlined.

He went on to say that his visit is taking place at the invitation of the Russian president to discuss the critical situation in the region and review ways to expand bilateral relations in various areas.

In recent years, Tehran and Moscow have taken good steps towards strengthening bilateral ties and serving the regional interests, according to president's remarks at Mehrabad airport in western Tehran.

As he stressed, Iran and Russia follow regional peace and stability as they enjoy common attitude towards the regional and extra-regional issues.

About bilateral cooperation, President Raisi referred to the issues of energy, industry and agriculture as the fields of relations.

Raisi at the head of a high-raking delegation left Tehran for a two-day stay in Moscow on Thursday morning.

The visit will be the second time that Raisi travels to the Russian capital as an Iranian president since he took office in August 2021.

1483**7129

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President Raeisi urges 'immediate' stop to Israeli genocide on Russia visit

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 07 December 2023 3:52 PM

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has called for an immediate stop to the Israeli "genocide and crimes against humanity" in the besieged Gaza Strip as he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.

President Putin greeted his Iranian counterpart in the Kremlin, where their talks centered on the Israeli invasion and expanding relations between Tehran and Moscow.

"Gaza is a land where a child is martyred every ten minutes, so it is necessary to stop these bombings as soon as possible and find a quick and immediate solution," President Raeisi said, adding "what is happening in Palestine is a genocide and a crime against humanity".

"The Zionist regime's crime in Gaza is supported by the US and Western countries, and it is unfortunate that international organizations claiming to advocate human rights have lost their effectiveness," he added.

President Raeisi said, "What is afflicting humanity today is unilateralism and the unjust global system, and its manifestation can be seen in Gaza."

Putin received Raeisi a day after visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where he discussed Gaza and Ukraine and efforts by Russia and OPEC to boost oil prices.

"We were ready for your flight to land in Tehran to host you," Raeisi told Putin, to which the Russian leader responded, "When I was flying over Iranian airspace, I wanted to land directly in Tehran and have a meeting, but I was told that the Iranian president was going to Moscow."

The Iranian president touched on strong relations between the two countries, saying there is definitely room to further develop them.

"Iran and Russia have good cooperation in the field of energy, agriculture and knowledge-based activities, but better steps can be taken for the interests of both countries and their governments."

"I am very happy to be your host in Moscow. It is important that today we exchange views on regional issues, especially the situation in Palestine," President Putin responded.

He also touched on growing trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, saying under the current plan, the signing of a free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union mission is on Russia's agenda.

"The relations between the two countries are developing rapidly. I would be grateful if you could convey our best wishes to the Eminent Leader [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei], because he supports our relations."

President Putin cited transportation and energy, for which the two sides have signed contracts to build railways and develop oil and gas fields.

"We also have good relations in the field of education, because Iranian and Russian students study in each other's universities, and we actively work in all fields to move forward."

Putin said, "My colleagues informed me that an exhibition was held in Iran between October 4 and 7 and the Russian participants of the exhibition were very happy to talk with their partners."

President Raeisi, who is visiting Russia on the official invitation of President Putin, was welcomed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko at Moscow's Vnukova International Airport on Thursday.

The main agenda of his one-day trip include consultation on bilateral issues, including economic interactions, as well as discussion on regional and international issues, especially the issue of Palestine and developments in Gaza.

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Iranian Opposition Figure Says Student Crackdown 'Unprecedented,' But Will Fail

By RFE/RL's Radio Farda December 08, 2023

Prominent Iranian opposition figure Zahra Rahnavard says the government crackdown on students angry over a lack of freedoms and enforcement of rules such as a dress code is "unprecedented" but ultimately will fail to stifle the dissent.

Rahnavard, who has been under house arrest for over 13 years along with her husband, Mir Hossein Musavi, made the comments in a message timed to coincide with Student Day in Iran, marked on December 7. The text was published on the Kalameh news website, a platform known for its opposition to the Iranian regime.

"No government in Iran has been able to stop the student movement from influencing the fate of the nation," she wrote.

"On the contrary, it has been academics who, with knowledge, culture, and art, development and modernity, along with defending justice, freedom, and the independence of Iran, have had the most impact in the fear of repressive governments," she added.

She also criticized the government's recent actions against university students and faculty, detailing incidents of violence, harassment, and repression on university campuses. These actions, according to Rahnavard, have led to a tarnished international reputation for the Iranian government.

Universities and students have long been at the forefront of the struggle for greater social and political freedoms in Iran. In 1999, students protested the closure of a reformist daily newspaper, prompting a brutal raid on the dorms of Tehran University that left one student dead.

Over the years, the authorities have arrested student activists and leaders, sentencing them to prison and banning them from studying.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last year while being detained for an alleged head-scarf violation in September last year has once again made campuses a hotbed of dissent.

The activist HRANA news agency says at least 700 university students have been arrested during the nationwide protests sparked by Amini's death in September 2022.

Rahnavard was previously a professor at Alzahra University and says she "has been a victim and deprived of a university presence for over 14 years."

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-rahnavard-dissent- crackdown/32722488.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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December 8, 2023

Release

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke today with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The Secretary and Prime Minister discussed the obligation of the Government of Iraq to protect diplomatic personnel and Coalition advisors and facilities. The Secretary condemned the attack overnight on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as well as the series of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria over recent weeks. He welcomed the Prime Minister's statement this morning that rightly condemned the attack as "acts of terrorism" that "endanger Iraq's internal security." The Secretary underscored that the United States reserves the right to act in self-defense against those launching any attack against U.S. personnel. He affirmed that the Iranian-backed militant groups Katai'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, both designated terrorist organizations, are responsible for most of the attacks against Coalition personnel, and that the United States reserves the right to respond decisively against those groups - to address threats and attacks against U.S. and Coalition personnel. Secretary Austin underscored that attacks by Iran-backed militias undermine the sovereignty and stability of Iraq, risk the safety of Iraqi civilians, and set back the campaign to defeat ISIS. They discussed the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission, which was agreed by the two governments during the U.S.-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue in August 2023 and is a consultative mechanism for the transition of the Coalition. However, the Secretary made clear that attacks against U.S. forces must stop.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3612418/

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Rockets hit US embassy in Baghdad amid rage over its support for Israel

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 December 2023 4:02 PM

The US embassy in Baghdad has been targeted with rockets as anti-US sentiments run high in the country over Washington's staunch support for the ongoing Israeli genocide against Gazans.

Explosions were heard early on Friday near the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the embassy.

A US embassy spokesperson confirmed the attack, saying it did not result in any casualties.

An Iraqi security official said 14 Katyusha rockets were fired and that while some struck near one of the embassy's gates, others fell into the nearby Tigris river.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It marked the first time the US embassy had been fired on, after dozens of attacks on military bases housing US forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.

The US has several times attacked Iraq's Popular Mobilization forces over the past weeks, killing several Iraqi forces.

Many such attacks against the US forces have been claimed by groups operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

On Friday, the Islamic Resistance announced two fresh attacks targeting the Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq as well as a US base in the Koniko gas field in Syria.

The movement has urged Washington to stop its strong support for Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

Baghdad and other cities in Iraq have over the past weeks been scenes of massive popular protests against the Israeli onslaught and Washington's support for it.

The Pentagon reported on Thursday its forces have been targeted 78 times in Iraq and Syria since October 7, when Israel began its onslaught on Gaza. The Pentagon says those attacks have injured several dozens of American troops.

The United States, Israel's biggest ally, has provided the regime with huge catches of arms and ammunition since the beginning of the Gaza war.

Washington has also vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that called on the occupying regime to cease its aggression.

Iraqi resistance groups have vowed to continue retaliatory attacks against US forces in the region as long as Israel continues to kill Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

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US Embassy in Baghdad Comes Under Missile Fire - Reports

Sputnik News

20231208

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday that 66 US military personnel have been injured in a spree of attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria.

The vicinity of the US Embassy in the specially protected Green Zone in the center of Baghdad has come under rocket fire, a source in the Iraqi security forces told local media.

The source said explosions were heard near the embassy.

"Explosions were heard near the US embassy in Baghdad and alarm sirens were activated inside the building. According to preliminary information, several rockets were fired in the vicinity of the embassy," the source said.

The wave of attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria comes amid heightened tensions in the region following an attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants in October, as well as an increase in incidents involving US warships in the Red Sea.

A Sputnik

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Iran Aligned Militias in Iraq

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

December 8, 2023

The United States strongly condemns last night's rocket attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and today's attacks against facilities hosting U.S. personnel. The many Iran-aligned militias that operate freely in Iraq threaten the security and stability of Iraq, our personnel, and our partners in the region. Prime Minister Sudani rightly called these attacks acts of "terrorism." We urge the Iraqi Security Forces to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators of these attacks and bring them to justice. The Iraqi Government has repeatedly committed to protect diplomatic missions as well as U.S. military personnel, who are present in the country at Iraq's invitation. This is non-negotiable, as is our right to self-defense.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Our energy development transformed from oil to gas, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Euronews TV channel, Trend reports.

"At the same time, oil production and export still is an important part of energy security for many countries. Completed almost three years ago, the Southern Gas Corridor, the major gas infrastructure project, which is an integrated pipelines system of 3,500 kilometer in length, created an opportunity for Azerbaijan to increase the geography of its gas supplies. Today, we export gas to Georgia, Turkiye, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, and we signed contracts with Hungary and Serbia. Albania will also be part of our gas distribution plans.

So, you see how many countries in Eurasia, mainly European countries, are our partners, and demand for Azerbaijani gas is growing. We positively responded to the request from the European Commission to increase the gas supply to European continent with respect to the sanctions on Russia. This will continue to be important part of our business.

At the same time, I already mentioned the renewable sources of energy. We have a very windy weather today in Baku, which is actually the normal weather condition and we have a huge potential of wind, especially in the Caspian. So, 10 gigawatts of solar and wind power generation projects have already been signed as contracts and MoUs. That will allow Azerbaijan to have a very smooth transition from fossil fuels to renewables, at the same time, to provide European consumers with the green energy," the Azerbaijani leader added.
December 7, 2023

Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III called Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today to receive updates on the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) campaign to ensure Hamas will no longer be able to use Gaza to threaten Israel's security, and to underscore his enduring support for Israel's right to defend itself from terrorism. He urged increased efforts to protect civilians in Gaza, increase delivery of humanitarian assistance, and curb extremist settler violence in the West Bank.

The Secretary also expressed concern over the cross-border exchanges between the IDF and Lebanese Hizballah this week that resulted in the deaths of a Lebanese Armed Forces soldier and an Israeli civilian. Finally, the Secretary condemned growing Houthi aggression in the Red Sea, which threatens freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3611209/

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Readout of President Biden's Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel

December 07, 2023

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The leaders discussed developments in Gaza. The President expressed his deep concern for the hostages that remain in Gaza. He reiterated that the ICRC must be permitted to access remaining hostages held by Hamas terrorists. He noted that it was Hamas's refusal to release young women civilian hostages that led to a breakdown in the humanitarian pause. The leaders agreed to remain deeply engaged to pursue every possible opportunity to free the remaining hostages.

The President underscored the importance of the continuous and sustained flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. He welcomed the recent Israeli decision to ensure that fuel levels will meet requisite needs, but stressed that much more assistance was urgently required across the board. The President emphasized the critical need to protect civilians and to separate the civilian population from Hamas including through corridors that allow people to move safely from defined areas of hostilities.

President Biden reiterated his concern about extremist violence committed against Palestinians and the need to increase stability in the West Bank.

The President and the Prime Minister agreed to remain in regular consultation both directly and through their respective national security teams.

###

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Japan PM Kishida to quit as ruling party faction leader

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:42, December 07, 2023

TOKYO, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will step down as chief of his faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) amid a growing slush funds scandal, local media reported on Thursday.

Kishida, also president of the LDP, is set to announce his resignation as the leader of Kochikai, the party's fourth-largest faction, later during the day, according to national news agency Kyodo, citing sources close to the matter.

Kochikai is among the five LDP factions that allegedly underreported their revenue from political fundraising parties, from which the extra income may have been returned to some of their lawmakers as kickbacks.

Seiwaken, or the Seiwa policy study group, the largest LDP faction previously led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was suspected of having pooled secret funds amounting to around 100 million yen (about 679,000 U.S. dollars) over at least the past five years through 2022.

At least 10 LDP lawmakers in the Abe faction received kickbacks, the latest media reports showed.

Although many prime ministers keep their distance from their faction while in office, Kishida has remained active as the leader of his faction since taking office in October 2021.

The decision to quit followed Kishida's request on Wednesday that all LDP factions should refrain from holding fundraising parties for the time being, and as the Japan Times put it, the prime minister is "in damage control mode."

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U.S.-Japan Extended Deterrence Dialogue

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

December 7, 2023

Japan hosted the Government of the United States for an Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD) in Japan on December 5-7, 2023. The United States and Japan established the EDD in 2010 as an enduring venue to discuss ways to sustain and strengthen extended deterrence, which is at the core of the Japan-U.S. Alliance. The Japanese side was co-chaired by Mr. Miyamoto Shingo, Deputy Director-General, North American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Ando Atsushi, Deputy Director-General, Defense Policy Bureau, Ministry of Defense. The U.S. side was co-chaired by Ms. Alexandra Bell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability, Department of State, and Mr. Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense. The delegations included participants from divisions of both sides in charge of security policy and arms control, as well as from JSDF, USSTRATCOM, USINDOPACOM, and U.S. Forces Japan.

Both sides concurred that it is necessary to continue strengthening deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance, amidst an increasingly challenging regional security environment, which is illustrated by repeated launches of ballistic missiles by the DPRK and the enhanced military cooperation between Russia and the People's Republic of China as well as cooperation between Russia and the DPRK. This dialogue strengthens U.S. extended deterrence, as outlined in the U.S. 2022 Nuclear Posture Review. The Japanese side stated that they would like to continue to enhance U.S. extended deterrence, bolstered by Japan's capabilities, through this dialogue. The U.S. side reiterated its commitment to the defense of Japan under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, and emphasized the Alliance's steady progress on integrated deterrence.

Japan and the United States held in-depth discussions on extended deterrence, exchanged views on efforts to further enhance these bilateral dialogues, and consulted on measures to further improve concrete bilateral cooperation. The two sides shared assessments of the regional security environment, and reviewed Alliance conventional and U.S. nuclear capabilities contributing to regional deterrence and highlighted the importance of optimizing the Alliance's force posture and activities to bolster deterrence effectiveness. The two sides discussed strategic arms control and risk reduction approaches in response to nuclear risks that are becoming increasingly challenging and complex as diversification and expansion of regional actors' nuclear arsenals are advancing.

The United States reiterated its commitment to enhance the regional deterrent effect of U.S. strategic assets. The two sides will continue to explore avenues to deepen Alliance political, diplomatic, and defense cooperation through improved information sharing, training, and exercises, including the use of table-top exercises, to further prepare the Alliance to defend against potential attacks and deter nuclear use. Both sides also pledged to improve coordination and strengthen the Alliance's capabilities and posture against adversary missile threats.

Furthermore, the two sides conducted a tabletop exercise, which has regularly been included in the EDD meeting agenda to discuss ways to coordinate Alliance deterrence efforts and crisis management.

The delegations visited Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade in Camp Ainoura and Sakibe, which plays an important role in defense and deterrence of the Southwestern Islands of Japan, and had a briefing on the Brigade's mission and its capabilities in amphibious operations, and deepened common understandings on the importance of defense of the Southwestern Islands.

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Former Kazakh President's Son-In-Law Resigns As Chairman of KazEnergy Association

By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service December 08, 2023

Kazakhstan's KazEnergy group -- an association of almost 60 oil and gas companies -- said on December 8 that former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's son-in-law, Timur Kulibaev, has resigned as chairman of the group after leading it since it was established in 2005.

A KazEnergy statement at its website said the group is now managed by Maghzum Myrzaghaliev, who previously served as energy minister, adviser to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, and head of the board of the oil company Kazmunaigaz.

Kulibaev, one of the richest people in the world, is married to Nazarbaev's middle daughter, Dinara, with whom he owns the largest bank in Kazakhstan and assets in several other businesses. Forbes magazine estimates their combined wealth to be more than $8 billion.

Kulibaev, 57, had already left other prominent executive positions since unprecedented anti-government protests turned to mass unrest across the oil-rich Central Asian nation, leaving at least 238 people dead.

This includes his departure in February last year from the board of directors of Russia's Gazprom energy giant after serving for more than 10 years and his departure in January from the post of chairman of Kazakhstan's National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Atameken.

The departures follow a pattern of purges of relatives of Nazarbaev, 83, who ruled Kazakhstan for almost 30 years but who was widely believed to have remained in control behind the scenes after handing power to Toqaev in 2019. However, after deadly unrest in 2022, Nazarbaev and his inner circle lost influence in the country.

Two other sons-in-law of Nazarbaev, Qairat Sharipbaev and Dimash Dosanov, were pushed out of top jobs at major state energy companies, QazaqGaz and KazTransOil, respectively, at the time.

Several other Nazarbaev relatives also lost top positions in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

In September, the Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said it had launched a probe against Nazarbaev's nephew, Samat Abish, on a charge of abuse of office while serving as the first deputy chairman of the Committee of National Security (KNB), the post he was dismissed from after the deadly mass unrest.

In September 2022, Nazarbaev's once-powerful nephew Qairat Satybaldy was sentenced to six years in prison on corruption charges.

The protests in January 2022 were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, including troops of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization that Toqaev invited into the country claiming that "20,000 extremists who were trained in terrorist camps abroad" attacked Almaty.

The authorities have provided no evidence proving Toqaev's claim about foreign terrorists.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-kazenergy-kulibaev-- resigns/32722666.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Vietnam repatriates more than 1,000 of its citizens from Myanmar

Many were stranded in Shan state by intense fighting between the military and ethnic rebels.

By RFA Vietnamese 2023.12.07 -- Vietnam this week flew home just over 1,000 of its citizens who were stranded in wartorn Myanmar, Hanoi's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, embassies and consulates in Myanmar organized nine flights to repatriate exactly 1,020 Vietnamese.

Most of the repatriates were stranded in the northern areas of Shan State, where fighting between the junta and ethnic armed groups has intensified, with anti-junta forces making significant gains there in recent months.

In the past, Vietnam has organized flights to evacuate its citizens from troubled areas in the world, including an effort during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in a massive scandal as officials skimmed off the top of repatriation funds and accepted bribes.

The ministry stressed that expenses for all repatriation flights from Myanmar were paid by the Vietnamese government.

RFA reported earlier this month that 166 Vietnamese citizens who had been trafficked to northern Myanmar but were rescued by authorities, remained stranded in a war zone.

On Thursday, a mother of one of the 166 told RFA Vietnamese that her daughter had returned home that day to Phu Quoc Island City in Vietnam's far southern Kien Giang province.

"Everything was free of charge," she said. "The government helped bring my daughter back to Moc Bai [the border gate between Vietnam and Cambodia], and my family paid for her travel from there to Phu Quoc. I am very, very happy."

She said the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar was very supportive, though the repatriation process was a bit complicated due to high volume.

In August, RFA reported that 15-year-old Le Thi Tuong Vi was among a group of teenagers who were trafficked first to Laos, and were believed to be headed to either Myanmar or China. Vi was among those repatriated from Myanmar, her mother told RFA, but did not elaborate because her daughter is still recovering from her trip.

But Trinh Khanh Hoang Anh, another teenager in the group, has yet to be repatriated, his father Trinh Huu Phuoc told RFA via text message.

"There are 166 [Vietnamese] people who have been rescued and were living in a refugee camp of the military," he said. "This morning, the kids were taken to Myanmar's Border Gate 127 to verify information but there have been no results yet."

He said the Kien Giang provincial Department of Foreign Affairs advised the family that Anh's paperwork has been completed but it has not yet arrived at the Vietnamese Embassy.

According to the embassy, a number of Vietnamese still remain stranded in northern Myanmar due to ongoing fighting, state media reported.

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

Update corrects the days that the flights were organized for.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Civilian death toll jumps 7-fold in Myanmar in November

The junta turned to more airstrikes as it lost control territory on the ground.

By RFA Burmese 2023.12.07 -- The civilian death toll in wartorn states in Myanmar jumped seven-fold in November, largely due to airstrikes by the junta in populated areas as part of fighting with ethnic rebel groups and People's Defense Force units, data compiled by Radio Free Asia shows.

As the junta lost control of several areas on the ground over the past month, the military turned to the skies to fight their enemies, especially in Shan, Kayah, Chin and Rakine states and in the Sagaing region.

In total, 196 civilians were killed and 228 were injured in airstrikes in these areas in November, compared with 28 killed and 105 injured in October.

The highest civilian death toll was in Shan State, in the country's north, where 60 civilians were killed and 44 were injured as Operation 1027, named for Oct. 27, the day it started, intensified there.

"Civilian casualties will increase with escalation of conflict as long as the junta uses airstrikes and heavy weapons," a spokesman for the Ta'ang Women's organization, which monitors the military conflict in northern Shan state, told RFA Burmese.

The second-highest death toll occurred in the Sagaing region, where 44 civilians were killed and 21 were injured.

Among the dead was a 22-year-old woman from Ngar Yant Oh village in the region's Myaung township, who was killed when a bomb from a fighter jet hit her house, a resident there said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

"We do not know what kind of bomb came from the fighter jet," the resident said. "She was killed when the bomb dropped near her house."

The resident said the bombardment on the village occurred even though there was no nearby armed conflict.

Kayah state was third-highest in civilian casualties, with fighting around Loikaw city intensifying since "Operation 11.11", which started Nov. 11.

The military deliberately targeted civilians there, Aung San Myint, secretary of the Karenni National Progressive Party, told RFA.

"[The junta] regularly conducted artillery attacks and air force bombardments against internally displaced people living in camps in the forests," he said. "They put pressure on us by targeting civilians. It is their military tactic."

RFA attempted to contact junta spokesperson Maj. General Zaw Min Tun for comment, but he could not be reached. However, the junta made a press release on Nov. 29 saying that they never targeted civilian areas.

Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson of the office of the National Unity Government, made up of former lawmakers who were ousted by the 2021 coup and their allies, said the shadow government was collecting data about human rights violations committed by the military.

"Such attacks by the [junta] have proved that they are committing war crimes," he said. "We have documented these incidents. These documents could be used as evidence for both local court trials and in the international court of justice."

According to RFA data, the junta has killed 730 civilians and injured 1,292 more in aerial attacks and heavy weapon shelling from January to November 2023.

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Eugene Whong 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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Myanmar junta recruiting former resistance fighters to bolster numbers

Regime soldiers are also pressing retired military and medical personnel into serving.

By RFA Burmese 2023.12.07 -- Resistance fighters who surrendered to the junta in southwestern Myanmar are now being enlisted by the regime's military, anti-junta militia members told Radio Free Asia.

Junta soldiers are bribing revolutionary groups with money and food, said one official from the Pathein Urban Guerrilla Group on Wednesday.

In the last two weeks the pressure has grown to bolster troop numbers by recruiting resistance fighters from Kyonpyaw, Yegyi and Pathein townships in Ayeyarwady region, he said. Both regime soldiers and former resistance group leaders who have surrendered are reported to be stepping up their recruitment tactics.

"Especially [those in] various forms of leadership among the surrenderers. They are called to meet up and recruit others to serve in the [junta-led] militia," the official said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. "The steps of organizing each other and asking people to organize to serve in the militia have escalated in the past two weeks."

This month, the junta also recalled retired military and police personnel from Thabaung township, he added.

More than 100 people have surrendered to the junta in Ayeyarwady region in the past two years. Members of People's Defense Forces surrendered by contacting junta forces to give up their positions.

Ayeywarwady residents also accused junta troops of recruiting teen soldiers and pressuring locals to fulfill quotas in October.

Pro-military militia members, including those in the Swan Ar Shin militia, have been undergoing military training since September, said a Pathein resident close to the junta army. The training is being provided at several military bases in Ayeyarwady division, including the Kyonpyaw-based Infantry Battalion 36, according to the Pathein Urban Guerrilla Group.

In October, a 20-year-old man from Kyonpyaw died during an interrogation by members of Battalion 36 after being accused of communicating with People's Defense Forces in Mandalay region.

RFA has not been able to independently verify the claims made by anti-junta militias. Calls by RFA to Ayeyarwady division's junta spokesperson Aung Thein Win seeking comment 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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Junta bombing kills 5, including a child, in northern Myanmar

The regime dropped 500-pound bombs on unarmed civilians, Ta'ang National Liberation Army officials claim.

By RFA Burmese 2023.12.08 -- A heavy aerial attack in northeastern Myanmar killed five civilians, an official from an anti-junta women's organization told Radio Free Asia on Friday.

On Wednesday night, junta aircraft bombed a village in Namhkan township in northern Shan state.

The victims included 46-year-old Tar Ah Swe; 56-year-old Yar Ah Ba; 50-year-old Yar Kham Li; and a 35-year-old male teacher, Yai Lay. A five-year-old girl, Lway O Dae, also died in the attacks, according to Lway, an official from the Ta'ang Women's Organization.

"The teacher, Yai Lay, is from Namhkan's Man Pu village. He is sheltering in Ho Nar village because the [military] situation in Namhkan is bad. Tar Ah Swe and Yar Ah Ba are a couple from Pang Long village in Manton township," she said.

"Yar Kham Li and Lway O are mother and daughter. They were all sheltering in a tea trading house to flee the fighting."

Four others, including two six-year-old children, were injured and sent to Namhkan Hospital, she added.

Half an hour later, the junta bombed nearby Pang Law village. Seven houses were destroyed in the attack, residents said.

The junta's air force dropped the bombs despite there being no fighting beforehand, a Ta'ang National Liberation Army information official said, confirming five civilians were killed. However, daily battles are erupting at Sa Kham Thit military camp outside of Namhkhan city, about 13 kilometers (eight miles) from the site of the bombing.

"The junta bombing was far from the village. There was no fighting in these villages," he said. "The junta used a 500-pound [226 kilogram] bomb. We can tell because of its intensity."

RFA reached out to Shan state's junta spokesperson Khun Thein Maung to investigate the group's claim that the junta dropped 500 pound bombs, but he did not return calls on Friday.

During a resistance military offensive called Operation 1027, in which three allied groups won several Shan state cities, the group's forces also took control of Namhkam, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army said. The group is fighting with junta forces daily to gain control of Sa Kham Thit Hill, more than 1.6 kilometers (one mile) from Namhkan city.

Since Operation 1027 launched on Oct. 27, 103 civilians, including 20 children, have been killed according to data compiled by the Ta'ang Women's Organization. Small weapon fire, heavy artillery and airstrikes, have injured nearly 170 people in northern Shan state.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Fighting engulfs over two-thirds of Myanmar, fuelling humanitarian needs

8 December 2023 - Over half a million people have been displaced in Myanmar amid a surge in fighting between the military and armed groups that stated in late October and has spread to over two-thirds of the country, the UN humanitarian affairs office reported on Friday.

Among those fighting the military are a loose coalition of well-armed ethnic militias, as well as the People's Defence Forces (PDF) - an armed group supporting National Unity Government (NUG) and opposed to the February 2021 military coup, according to media reports.

Telecommunication blackouts

In a flash update, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that more than 578,000 people are estimated to have been displaced since 26 October but cautioned that figures are difficult to confirm given undocumented returns, repeated displacements and telecommunication blackouts.

In addition, 363 civilians, including women, and children, have reportedly been killed and a further 461 injured over the last six weeks.

"Ongoing armed clashes, airstrikes, landmines, arbitrary arrests and roadblocks are rapidly increasing protection risks for civilians and are severely restricting the movement of essential goods, as well as people seeking places of safety," the Office said.

"Telecommunications blackouts in many conflict-affected areas are also making verification more challenging," it added.

Rising humanitarian needs

According to OCHA, food, shelter, hygiene, basic health and protection, are the most pressing needs across conflict-affected areas.

The latest displacements add to some two million people displaced since the junta usurped the democratically elected government in February 2021.

Faith-based organizations and local responders, in collaboration with aid agencies, continue to provide critical and lifesaving assistance to displaced and affected communities wherever access is possible.

Challenge to respond

In addition to access challenges, underfunding and rapidly depleting supplies are complicating the situation.

The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Myanmar, which seeks $887 million to support the 4.5 million people worst affected in the country, is only 29 per cent funded.

Against this backdrop, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on Tuesday approved an emergency $7 million allocation to provide lifesaving aid to people most affected by the violence.

However, more support is urgently needed to enable humanitarians respond effectively and at scale to the escalating needs.



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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. We will continue to conduct independent policy on international stage, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview with Euronews channel, Trend reports.

We are chairing for the fourth year the second largest international institution after the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement. According to the overall opinion of many member states - 120 member states - Azerbaijan played an important role in bringing a new dimension and dynamics to the Non-Aligned Movement. We made a lot of steps on institutional development of the Non-Aligned Movement creating a parliamentary platform, youth platform, working on the creation of the women`s platform. We were very active on COVID pandemic issue providing assistance to more than 80 countries. So, our championship in the Non-Aligned Movement allowed us to demonstrate our policy, our capability, and, by the way, our chairmanship was extended for one year by unanimous decision. 120 countries, not all of them are in good terms with each other, but when it comes to Azerbaijan, all of them unanimously supported us. So, this is the best demonstration of international support. Sometimes when some politicians talk about international community, they mean only, maybe, several dozens of countries. But, international community is more than 200 countries, and majority of those countries support Azerbaijan. This is only one dimension, the head of state emphasized.
Transcript of the Weekly Media Briefing by Spokesperson Thursday 07 December 2023

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Assalam-o-Alaikum,

Thank you for joining us. Welcome to the Foreign Office.

Additional Foreign Secretary (Africa) Ambassador Shehryar Akbar represented Pakistan at the Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting held on 5-6 December 2023 in Ghana. He highlighted the challenges confronting UN peacekeeping and underscored the importance of ensuring safety of peacekeepers and the populations they serve. He called for a renewed commitment and robust partnership among Member States and the United Nations to address these issues. At the conference Pakistan has presented 19 concrete pledges demonstrating our commitment to UN peacekeeping. These pledges include the Strategic Communications Unit, infantry battalion, enhancing the percentage of women peacekeepers, helicopter units and renewable energy resources etc. These pledges show Pakistan's dedication to global peace and security.

In Ghana Ambassador Shehryar Akbar called on the Vice President of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Foreign Minister of Ghana Shirley Ayorker Botchwey. The two sides agreed to advance durable and mutually beneficial engagement and dialogue. They agreed to enhance cooperation across multiple domains including science and technology and digitization and to facilitate joint ventures. Ambassador Shehryar Akbar also held bilateral meetings with the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix; the UK Minister of States for Armed Forces, James Heappey; and the UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Security and Military Affairs, Dr. Rashed Alkaabi.

The 6th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) between Pakistan and Mexico was held in Islamabad on 05 December 2023. Ambassador Mariam Aftab, Additional Foreign Secretary (Americas), led the Pakistan delegation while the Mexican delegation was headed by Ambassador Jose Tripp Villanueva, Director General for Africa, Central Asia and Middle East at the Mexican Foreign Ministry. The talks covered all aspects of bilateral relations, emphasizing mutual commitment to strengthen ties in trade, agriculture, investment, science & technology, and people-to-people contacts.

A series of visits by senior US officials is taking place this week. These include Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Julieta Valls Noyes; Special Representative on Afghanistan, Tom West; and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Elizabeth Horst. These visits are part of ongoing dialogue with the US on a range of issues including, but not limited to, the situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan remains committed to sustained engagement and dialogue with the United States.

Pakistan welcomes the UN Secretary-General's decision to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter, to bring to the attention of the UN Security Council the dire security situation and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. This decision of the Secretary General demonstrates his conscionable assessment of the catastrophic situation in Gaza.

Pakistan strongly and unequivocally condemns the continued use of force by Israel and its indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian facilities and infrastructure in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The suffering and collective punishment endured by the besieged people of Gaza is unprecedented and unacceptable.

As the Secretary-General has underscored in his letter to the President of the UN Security Council, "civilians throughout Gaza face grave danger" and "nowhere is safe in Gaza." There is a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian lifeline essential for survival. The situation is fast deteriorating with potentially irreversible implications for Palestine and for peace and security in the region. Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs.

We join the Secretary General in his call to the international community to end the ongoing situation and avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

The UN Security Council must perform its primary responsibility under the Charter, impose an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and protect the people of Gaza from an impending genocide. We call on Israel's backers to urge Israel to end its barbaric attacks and inhumane siege against Gaza.

We also call for an international conference for long-term peace on the Palestinian question. Durable peace in the region will emerge from the internationally agreed two-State solution and from the creation of a secure, viable, contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine on the basis of the pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The bills passed by the lower house of the Indian Parliament, yesterday , pertaining to the IIOJK, are yet another farce to perpetuate India's occupation and to deny the people of Jammu and Kashmir their right to self-determination.

Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognized disputed territory, whose final disposition is to be made in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Any other process cannot serve as a substitute to the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

Pakistan has never accepted India's occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. It has reportedly rejected the relevance of the Indian Constitution to this disputed territory. We therefore, categorically reject any measures that perpetuate India's occupation.

India's unilateral and illegal measures of 05 August 2019, and a number of subsequent steps, are aimed at changing the demographic structure and political landscape of the Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects these measures as these would convert Kashmiris into a disempowered minority in their own land. These measures are also a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. India must rescind these illegal and unilateral measures, provide relief to the people of IIOJK and create a positive environment for peace and dialogue.

Pakistan will continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.

I thank you!

**

Question: Thank you ma'am. Good morning. So, as in detail you discuss this situation, the legal status which has already been changed by India on 5th of August 2019 and later on, another legislation which has been moved in Indian parliament. Other than discussing, regretting, condemning, is Pakistan seriously planning to take up the matter with the UN because these all illegal acts of India are also the violations of the UN resolutions. India doesn't listen to Pakistan's condemnation, whatever plan they have, they are continuing and implementing that. Kashmir is going beyond the control of Pakistan and even beyond the control of the United Nations.

And second question is that what agenda all these three top American officials have brought to Islamabad and the caretaker setup is there, what actually do they want to discuss with Pakistan? Thank you ma'am. (Mateen Haider, G News)

Answer: First question, we must realize that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is on the agenda of the UN Security Council and we believe it is the responsibility of the United Nations Security Council to implement its own resolutions. And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Pakistan have repeatedly reminded the international community, have reminded the United Nations of its responsibility to implement its own resolutions to hold a plebiscite so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir can exercise their right to self determination.

As far as your second question is concerned, I already referred to it in my opening remarks that there are three incoming delegations. This series of meetings is part of ongoing dialogue that (is) taking place with the United States. There is nothing out of ordinary that these officials are visiting Pakistan. We are ready to discuss with them all aspects and issues that they bring to the table.

Question: Yesterday, Indian interior minister Amit Shah said in the parliament that, these are his statements "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is ours and 24 seats have been reserved for POK in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly". We have witnessed time to time similar statements from the Indian officials, so, about Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. So, what is your response about these statements? (Muhammet Nazim Tasci, Anadolu Agency)

Answer: First of all, we reject the statement that you are referring to. The reality is that history cannot be undone. No rhetoric can falsify the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory under international law, whose final disposition is to be made in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and as per the wishes of the Kashmiri people. The irresponsible statements by leadership in India cannot conceal India's own responsibilities and commitments to the Kashmiri people, Pakistan and the United Nations of holding a free and fair plebiscite enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their own future. We advise the Indian leaders that instead of nurturing delusions, they should faithfully implement the UN Security Council resolutions so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir can exercise their inalienable right to self-determination.

Question: Thank you very much. Can you enlighten us what is Article 99 that has been invoked by the Secretary General of the UN, especially vis a vis any responsibility for Pakistan because as widely reported today in the newspapers, Ismail Haniyeh has asked Pakistan to challenge Israel so that the war can be stopped.

And, my second question is about Afghanistan. Again, Jang newspaper reported it in Umar Cheema's story that Sirajuddin Haqqani even travelled on Pakistani passport. How come a minister in the Afghan Taliban government, is possessing and travelling on Pakistani passport. As per story there was the connivance of certain senior officials from the Government of Pakistan. (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News)

Answer: As for your second question, I have just seen the report in the Jang. I do not have the facts to respond to your question. Maybe I will be able to comment on some other occasion when I have more information. With regards to Article 99 of the Charter, Article 99 of the UN Charter pertains to the responsibilities of the UN Secretary General with regards to peace and security and in exercising those responsibilities the UN Secretary General has brought the question of Palestine to the urgent attention of the Security Council. And that is why Pakistan has supported the call of the UN Secretary General for the UN to take urgent measures and impose a ceasefire, and to provide relief to the people of Gaza who are facing an impending genocide.

Question: And on Haniyeh Statement? (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News)

Answer: I have not read that statement. I just saw the headline this morning. I cannot comment on it until I have seen the statement and the context in which it was made.

Question: So, this is again going to be in connection with the visit of the US delegations. Last time we reported that Pakistan was not satisfied with the list of 25,000 people that are supposed to be in the US resettlement pipeline. What's the progress on that? Is Pakistan now somewhat satisfied? So, if you can please elaborate on that. And the second question is, during these visits would Pakistan share any evidence on TTP hideouts in Afghanistan with US officials and does Pakistan expect any support on this front from Americans? (Sarah Zaman, VOA)

Supplementary Question: Ma'am, US Assistant Secretary State expressed some reservations on the safety and security of Afghan nationals or refugees in Pakistan. She met some of the refugees and she also discussed pathways to relocate and resettle the Afghan nationals in the United States. As follow-up to Sarah Zaman's question, can you tell us the details, what was discussed and how many Afghans are being relocated or resettled? What's the list, how many people? 25,000, we had 25,000 or 30,000 number please if you can confirm? (Naveed Siddiqui, Dateline Islamabad)

Supplementary Question: Pakistan Foreign Office is saying that the interactions and dialogue between Pakistan and America is taking place and the agenda of these meetings is broader than Afghanistan. Whereas, there is nothing other than Afghan refugees and Afghanistan mentioned in the press release issued by the US Embassy. Need your comments on it please. (Anwar Abbas, Bol News)

Answer: I think you may ask the details from the American Embassy about the focus of their statement and the reasons for the wording in those statements. So, that is not for us to comment.

As I said earlier, there are three incoming visits from the United States. The meetings which are taking place today and have taken place in recent days are related to, yes, Afghanistan and Afghanistan related matters. There are some other bilateral aspects which may come up under discussion in coming days. Secondly, with respect to the list that you have referred to, we have received an updated list from the US side and we are in contact with the American Embassy in developing the mechanics for the early repatriation of individuals on those lists to the United States. We have already said that it is important that the process of verification and issuance of visas should be expedited and we hope that this process will be completed at the earliest.

Question: Any sharing of evidence regarding TTP hideouts in Afghanistan? (Sarah Zaman, VOA)

Answer: I will not go into details about the sensitive nature of some of these conversations. But as you know intelligence related information is normally shared through intelligence channels.

Question: So, first a follow-up. There has been a demand from Western countries with regards to the exit fees. Has there been any development? Do you have any update to share on that matter? Secondly, yesterday, we saw the Torkham border being closed due to Pakistan trying to install a welcome board, which the Afghan side alleges was 20 meters inside the Afghan territory. Would you want to state facts for the record? And lastly, with regards to China, a China-Indian Ocean forum is taking place. Pakistan participated there last year. Is Pakistan invited and if so then who is participating?

Answer: In the meetings between Pakistani and US officials, the meetings which have taken place and which will take place today as well, we fully expect the US authorities to raise any concerns they may have on any issues. Similarly, we will also share our observations on matters that need their consideration. With regards to the exit fees, I underline that in all countries, individuals who overstay their visas or are in violation of immigration laws, face fines which need to be paid. With respect to the exact amount of those fines, you may ask the Ministry of Interior about the nature of these fines and the amount of fines that individuals would have to pay while they stay in Pakistan.

With regards to the border, the Torkham border gate was reopened yesterday for all kinds of traffic and the issue regarding the signboard was resolved, and as our border officials have engage with each other to resolve such issues whenever they arise. On your question about the Indian Ocean Forum, Pakistan has been invited. Secretary, Economic Affairs Division is representing Pakistan at the forum.

Question: Ma'am, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's lawyer has contended that when she was in Guantanamo Bay and later as well. She was sexually harassed during the investigations and this matter was brought into the notice of both Pakistan and America's governments. Could you confirm this assertion? what was the response of Pakistan when this matter was taken up with Pakistan? (Siyar Ali Shah, Khyber News)

Answer: The statements that have been made are serious statements. And the government of Pakistan takes them very seriously. The Prime Minister of Pakistan has directed that this matter may be taken up by the Government of Pakistan with the US authorities to investigate the matter and to address it. We will be taking up this issue with the US Department of State to investigate and to share the findings with us. In the past as well, we have repeatedly requested the US Department of State and the Department of Justice as well as the prison authorities of FMC Carswell that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui should not be subjected to any sort of physical or mental abuse. The well-being of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui remains our utmost priority, and that of our Missions in Washington and Houston.

Question: Ma'am my question is that former Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shahzad Akbar was reportedly attacked with acidic liquid in London. Has he registered a case with the local police? He has made allegations of involvement of Pakistani institutions. Your comments please. Secondly, how is the High Commission in the UK assisting the investigation? (Farhan Ali, Public News)

Answer: Safety and security of Pakistani citizens wherever they are, is a matter of primary concern for Pakistan. We have seen the news item about the alleged attack on former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Mr. Shahzad Akbar. We understand the local police has registered a case. He has not sought any help or assistance from the High Commission so far.

We reject any insinuations of Pakistan's involvement and that of Pakistani agencies in such a heinous attack. It is not our policy to target our own nationals abroad. Many political dissidents have sought political asylum and have been living in the United Kingdom and other countries around the world for several decades and they have indulged in vitriolic and often undue criticism of Pakistani government and institutions. Many of them have had links with terrorist entities inside Pakistan. Pakistan has not engaged in any extra-territorial attacks against such individuals. We have full confidence in the law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom and hope that culprits in this case will be identified and treated as per the UK law. Pakistan will keenly follow the investigations and would welcome any information that the UK authorities would share with us.

Question: Ma'am today it's been 49 days. There is a protest on Chaman border. The border is closed and only Torkham is open out of almost eight of our entry points. What is the update on this? What are we going to do? Are we going to listen their demands or not? And what is the latest update regarding the opening of the border? Secondly, former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the court, addressing the judge, said that he will summon General Bajwa and US officials in the court as witness. What are your comments on this? Lastly, regarding TTP, other militant groups like Al-Qaeda, Daesh and other organizations, aren't they a threat to us? And which organization is threat to us? Please comment. (Azaz Syed, Geo News)

Answer: Regarding your last question, Pakistan is seriously concerned about activities of all terrorist entities wherever they are for the threat that they pose to Pakistan's security. And we do not distinguish between these terrorist entities. For us all threats emanating from terrorist entities are considered serious and our law enforcement agencies take action against them.

With regards to your second question about the legal case. I would like to underline that it is the practice of this Ministry, not to pronounce publicly on cases which are sub-judice. We will respond to the court after consultation with and guidance from our legal team as per practice, and as per the guidelines given by the esteemed court. With regards to the issue on the Chaman border, I will advise you to perhaps talk to the Ministry of Interior and the Home Department, for details on these protests. I can only underline that the Government of Pakistan has decided and that from the 1st of November, movement of people across the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan will take place on one document and individuals who wish to travel back and forth between Pakistan and Afghanistan would need to travel on the basis of valid visas. As is the practice internationally.

Question: There are many protests being held in favour of Palestine and statements condemning Israeli atrocities. Which option is left to stop Israel's aggression? (Khawaja Nayyar Iqbal, Media Today)

Answer: As we have said, and as the UN Secretary General said overnight, it is critical that the UN Security Council plays its mandated role to impose a ceasefire in occupied Palestine and impress on Israel not to end the inhumane campaign that it has unleashed against the people of Palestine over the last several weeks.

Question: My question is, Pakistan has been criticized in the US terrorism country report for the year 2022. How does the Foreign Office respond to the report? (Ch. Waqar Younas, Daily Al-Balad)

Answer: Pakistan has been a major victim of terrorism. We have paid a huge price, Pakistani civilians have lost their lives, and our security agencies have lost thousands of people in this fight against terrorism. It has cost millions of dollars to Pakistan's economy. So instead of acknowledging Pakistan's sacrifices for counterterrorism, the report peddles an outdated perspective, which is totally divorced from ground realities. We therefore reject statements in the report that the listed organizations are active in Pakistan are engaged in activities relating to financing of terrorism. The report ignores the facts on the ground as it ignores the measures taken by Pakistan to proscribe terrorist organizations of all hues and to prosecute and convict their leaders.

Similarly, on the issue of financing of terrorism as well, Pakistan's performance has received international appreciation, and Pakistan has undertaken serious reforms to control financing for terrorism. It has made special efforts to enhance the conviction rate of terror financing cases. It is, therefore, very unfortunate that the US report could not register these positive facts. It simply retained the language of previous years in the report without updating it according to the developments which have taken place in the preceding year.

Question: How many Pakistani prisoners are there in UAE? How many of them have completed their term of punishment and not yet been released? What role is being played by Pakistani consulate in UAE and Foreign Office regarding this issue? (Syed Asif Ali, Din News)

Answer: There are 5292 Pakistani prisoners currently incarcerated in prisons in the UAE. I can assure you that our embassy in the UAE and our consulate remain committed to facilitate and provide relief and legal assistance to the prisoners in jails, as are the responsibility of our missions across the world.

Question: Thank you ma'am you earlier spoke about Pakistani dissidents living in different parts of the world. But two of them who have been convicted by the court martial by Pakistani military authorities, Adil Raja in United Kingdom and Haider Mehdi in Canada. There have been very serious offenses on them for speaking against national security institutions and Pakistan. So now they have been formally convicted and sentenced. What efforts are being made by government of Pakistan to bring them back? So that they may serve the sentence given by the military court? (Mateen Haider, G News)

Answer: As you know, the extradition cases are developed and then pursued by the Ministry of Interior and they take a lead in this matter when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives such information and is asked to perform any action, we will undertake those responsibilities.

Question: If you can sort of give us a summary of what are some of Pakistan's priorities and key points that Pakistan would like to discuss with the Americans and see some kind of action or support from the American in these meetings? (Sara Zaman, VOA)

Answer: First, as I said, there are three incoming visits. Conversations in the first two visits like of Special Representative Tom West will focus on Afghanistan and Afghanistan related issues. With the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of course our agenda would be broader. This will be an opportunity for both sides to exchange views in Afghanistan, to share our respective perspectives on developments which are taking place, including with respect to resettlement of Afghan nationals to the United States. And, more broadly, we will be discussing with the United States, how the two countries can work together to develop confidence, enhance dialogue, and identify new areas of cooperation as Pakistan is committed to further advance and consolidate its dialogue with the United States.

Question: Ma'am as Torkham border was closed and "Welcome to Pakistan" sign board was placed. It was being said that this was the reason of closure of the border. Was this the reason or is there any other reason? Similarly, Afghan Taliban's made a statement that the flag of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan would be placed at Attock. And what are the expectations of Pakistan from Afghan government regarding TTP? And is there something which can be done by Afghan government for Pakistan regarding this? (Allah Noor, Mashriq TV)

Supplementary Question: There were reports recently in the media that in the back channel talks, when Pakistan raised the issue of TTP Kabul asked Pakistan to consider the possibility of recognition of the Taliban government so that they can formally move ahead, to alleviate Pakistan's concern vis-a-vis TTP and other issues. Your comments please. (Muhammad Jaleel Akhtar, VOA Urdu)

Answer: First, regarding Allah Noor's question about the incident at the border. I would like to underline that at the border, sometimes misunderstandings arise between border officials and it is important that the channels of communication are functional and both sides are ready to resolve those issues and overcome those misunderstandings. So, yesterday's case, is one such case after which we believe the two sides have found a way to move forward and we will continue to discuss the issues which have arisen at higher forums. So, that these misunderstandings do not perpetuate or arise further.

With regards to any statements that come from Afghan officials, claiming any part of Pakistan's territory, we reject such statements and we believe those statements are not based in reality. And it is important that the Afghan authorities make efforts to fully consolidate peace in Afghanistan, provide economic relief to the people of Afghanistan and to take immediate effective action against terrorist entities which are based inside Afghanistan, instead of making statements against Pakistan.

With regards to Mr. Jaleel's, I would not like to engage in a discussion on privileged conversations between two sides on important matters, including with regards to recognition. I can only say what I just said. It is critical that Afghanistan takes concrete and effective action against terrorist hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan that pose a threat to Pakistan. It is also critical that the action that Afghan authorities take against TTP is robust and demonstrated by concrete results.

Question: As you just said that yesterday the incident which occurred at Torkham border was a misunderstanding. Torkham border was closed for four times in previous three months. Is it always a misunderstanding? What is the reason of this misunderstanding? Or who is responsible for this? Who closes the border every time due to this misunderstanding? (Siyar Ali Shah, Khyber News)

Answer: I think we cannot put all such closures in one category. You would recall a couple of months ago, there was a closure of the border after there was an incident on the border where Afghan forces opened fire against our border security officials. There are times when Pakistan has been constrained to take such steps to control the movement of terrorists or to control rampant smuggling. It is not a desire of Pakistan to close the border. We would like to facilitate our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and hope that this border between Pakistan and Afghanistan becomes a border of peace and amity. And for that it is critical that both sides make equal efforts to ensure that peace prevails along the border.

Question: According to reports, considering the recent situation in IIOJK, Modi's government wants to delay the elections there. What are your comments on this? (Khawaja Nayyar Iqbal, Media Today)

Answer: As I said in my opening statement, we do not accept India's hegemony on Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Any mechanism or process, apart from what is prescribed in the UN Security Council resolutions of holding a plebiscite, is unacceptable to Pakistan.

Question: Any updates regarding Malik Yasin's case? Secondly, it has being reported that almost 4 to 4.5 lac Afghans are going back. What is the number of registered Afghanis in Pakistan? (Shahzad Hassan Mirza, Royal News)

Answer: I think the answer to your second question is available with Ministry of Interior. With regards to your question about Mr. Yasin Malik, the plea seeking a death penalty for Mr. Yasin Malik reflects the Indian authorities desire to physically eliminate a potent voice of the Kashmiri people. There are news reports that the case has been adjourned for 14th of February. It is very unfortunate that Mr. Yasin Malik and a large number of Kashmiri leaders, activists and human rights defenders have been incarcerated in IIOJK and jails across India. It is urgent that all charges against Mr. Yasin Malik are dropped, and all political prisoners including Mr. Yasin Malik may be released

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Moon govt covered up, distorted 2020 official's death by North: Audit

Relevant South Korean agencies 'sat idle and did not take any action,' findings show.

By Taejun Kang for RFA 2023.12.07 -- South Korea's state audit agency on Thursday released the final results of its inspection into the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea, concluding that the then Moon Jae-in administration did little to save him and covered up and distorted facts related to the case.

Following a year-long investigation into the Moon administration's handling of the incident involving the killing of Lee Dae-jun by North Korea's military near the inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea on Sept. 22, 2020, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded that the Moon government acted negligently.

The BAI found that there was no action taken prior to Lee's death and that the administration subsequently covered up the incident, hastily concluding that Lee had attempted to defect to the North, after North Korea murdered the official and burned his body.

All the relevant agencies, such as the presidential National Security Office (NSO), the Coast Guard, the unification and defense ministries, and the country's spy agency National Intelligence Service (NIS), virtually sat idle and did not take any action even before Lee's death, the BAI revealed.

BAI findings

The fisheries official disappeared at 1:58 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2020, approximately 2.2 km (1.4 miles) south of Soyeonpyeong Island in Ongjin County, Incheon. More than 37 hours later, at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, he was located by a North Korean vessel near Kuwolbong, Kangryong County in the North's South Hwanghae Province, which is 27 km away from his initial disappearance point. The South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) were informed about finding Lee at 4:43 p.m., and they subsequently reported this to the NSO at 5:18 p.m.

However, the NSO, the de facto national crisis management control tower, did not share the report with the unification ministry and other agencies, let alone hold an initial situation assessment meeting.

Suh Hoon, then chief of the NSO, left work early, and a senior NSO official responsible for managing the national crisis also left work at 7:30 p.m., even though the situation was not over, said the BAI.

The Coast Guard was informed by the NSO around 6 p.m, but they did not pursue further details or seek essential collaboration from the defense ministry. Simultaneously, a high-ranking official in the unification ministry was alerted about the situation by the NIS. However, this official did not relay the information to either the minister or the vice minister.

The defense ministry received a report from the JCS but did not evaluate whether to communicate with North Korea or consider potential military actions. Additionally, the ministry did not make any recommendations to the NSO.

'Covered up, distorted facts'

Following the shooting and burning of Lee, the involved organizations manipulated and erased data to cover up the facts and intentionally emphasized his potential defection to the North, according to the BAI.

During a meeting with key ministers at 1 a.m. on Sept. 23, the NSO provided instructions on securing the details about the burning of Lee's body. At 2:30 a.m., the defense ministry instructed the JCS to erase the confidential information related to the incident.

The unification ministry incorrectly informed parliament and the media that it only learned of the incident on the morning of Sept. 23, despite having been informed by the NIS on the afternoon of Sept. 22.

Furthermore, the Moon administration repeatedly announced to the public that Lee had chosen to defect to North Korea of his own accord.

"Not only was [the former government's announcement] untrue, but it also unfairly disclosed the personal details of the victim, Mr. Lee," said the BAI in the statement.

The audit agency announced in October last year the interim conclusions of its investigation and called for the prosecution to investigate 20 individuals, including the former defense minister, former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, and the former NIS chief Park Jie-won, with court trials currently in progress.

In the final findings, the BAI recommended disciplinary actions or warnings for 13 individuals involved in illegal and unfair conduct, suggesting their personnel records be marked in a way that could disadvantage their future reemployment in government roles. It also advised relevant public agencies to be vigilant. Among the 13 are former Defense Minister Suh Wook and former Coast Guard Commissioner Gen. Kim Hong-hee.

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 December not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Statement from NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the Travel of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to the Republic of Korea

December 08, 2023

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has traveled to Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK) for meetings on Friday, December 8 and Saturday, December 9 with his counterparts, National Security Secretariat Secretary General Akiba Takeo of Japan and National Security Office Director Cho Taeyong of the ROK. Mr. Sullivan has participated in separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts, and he is now joining a trilateral meeting, the fourth trilateral between the three National Security Advisors. Their discussions have captured the full breadth of our strengthening trilateral relationship across multiple domains. From cooperation on emerging threats, including the concerning developments related to weapons transfers between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia, to the further alignment of respective Indo-Pacific Strategies between the three countries, these meetings have provided a key opportunity to build upon the progress made between the U.S., ROK, and Japan during the historic Camp David Trilateral Summit in August.

Mr. Sullivan will also participate in the inaugural Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technology (CET) Dialogue between the U.S. and the ROK, a key initiative announced during ROK President Yoon's state visit to the United States in April. In conjunction with the CET Dialogue, he has participated in a Track 1.5 Event to discuss the importance of deeper collaboration on critical and emerging technology with the ROK, including the clean energy transition. NSA Sullivan and NSA Cho are using this opportunity to highlight their intent to anchor the CET Dialogue across six main technology areas, including semiconductor supply chains and technology, biotechnology, batteries and clean energy technology, quantum, digital connectivity, and artificial intelligence.

During his visit, Mr. Sullivan will reaffirm the United States' unwavering support for the ROK and Japan in the face of the DPRK's provocative actions in the region, as well as discuss deepening collaboration on key issues like critical and emerging technology, and strengthen resilience against economic coercion and supply chain disruptions, increasing collaboration on development assistance across the globe.

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Tsahkna: Estonia is terminating its legal assistance agreement with Russia

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

07.12.2023

The government decided to terminate the legal assistance agreement with Russia and tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with drafting a relevant bill and submitting it to the Riigikogu.

"As long as Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine continues, we must continue all efforts to isolate Russia on the international stage and maintain the bilateral relations of Estonia and Russia only on the absolute minimum level," the foreign minister elaborated on the decision to terminate the agreement.

"Our aim is to terminate the agreement at the earliest opportunity because it is the clear position of Estonia that we are not cooperating with the aggressor," he said. The agreement would have been extended automatically in 2025.

Once the agreement is terminated, judicial cooperation with Russia will be conducted on the same basis as with all other third countries.

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With Wagner In Disarray, A Russian Diplomat With Spy Links Surfaces In The Central African Republic

By Mark Krutov, Sergei Dobrynin, Maja Zivanovic December 07, 2023

A former Kremlin envoy to the EU whom European diplomats link to Russian intelligence has been dispatched to the Central African Republic (CAR) to oversee coordination between the Wagner mercenary group and local security forces, a new RFE/RL investigation has found.

Denis Pavlov is a secretive Russian diplomat who left his post in Brussels in early 2023. His arrival in CAR's capital, Bangui, comes as Moscow seeks to maintain its influence in Africa following the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in August.

Prigozhin's forces, which the Russian state has been reining in and effectively absorbing, had close Kremlin-approved security ties with the CAR government and backed juntas elsewhere in Africa, where Russia has been expanding its footprint over the past decade.

Multiple sources in CAR say the task of liaising between Wagner mercenaries and local police has fallen to Pavlov, while photographic evidence independently corroborates the diplomat's presence together with Russian military brass in the African nation, the joint investigation by RFE/RL's Russian Service and All Eyes On Wagner (AEOW), a Swiss investigative NGO, found.

Two sources working for international and humanitarian organizations in CAR said Pavlov, who has also served at Russia's permanent mission to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva and Paris, arrived several months ago to take charge of coordinating work with local police.

This role had previously been handled by Vitaly Perfilyev, a mercenary hit by EU sanctions in February and U.S. sanctions in September for his role as a security adviser to the president of CAR, the sources told AEOW on condition of anonymity, citing fears for their security.

Wagner forces are accused of extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in CAR and other African nations.

"Given his influential position in CAR and his leading role in the Wagner Group, he is responsible for serious human rights abuses committed by the Wagner Group in CAR," the EU said in its announcement of sanctions targeting Perfilyev.

One of the sources told AEOW that CAR authorities were notified of Pavlov's arrival in advance through a letter from Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, known as the SVR.

Reporters were unable to independently corroborate this. But three European diplomatic sources claimed independently of one another that Pavlov, 46, worked for Russian intelligence.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, which is listed in leaked Russian databases as Pavlov's official employer, did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the SVR. Pavlov's office is located in the Russian Embassy building in Bangui, according to AEOW sources.

When a reporter called a phone number associated with Pavlov, his wife, Yevgenia Pavlova, answered but said to call back because neither she nor her husband was available to speak. Follow-up calls went unanswered.

Neither Pavlov nor his wife responded to e-mailed requests for comment.

Pavlov is still listed as political adviser at the Permanent Mission of Russia to the EU in Brussels, but a source close to the EU told RFE/RL that he left the post in the spring.

Identifying 'Colonel' Pavlov

In early September, a high-level Russian delegation visited CAR. Among the guests were Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Andrei Averyanov, the deputy head of Russia's main military intelligence directorate, known as the GRU, who has been linked to the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal in England and acts of sabotage in Europe.

The Russian delegation visiting Bangui also included Konstantin Mirzayants, who is linked to a Moscow-based private military company called Redut-Security, which has recruited mercenaries primarily to work in Syria and Africa. (The GRU operates a secretive recruiting network also called Redut for Russia's war on Ukraine, though that network's possible links to Mirzayants are unconfirmed, a recent RFE/RL investigation found.)

Most of the Russian delegation was easily identifiable by their photographs, with the exception of a man sitting just down the table from Mirzayants, wearing a blue jacket and writing in a notebook.

Using facial-recognition software and a Russian passport photo reporters obtained, RFE/RL was able to establish that this is Denis Pavlov, the man sources in CAR said had been tasked with overseeing Wagner cooperation with local police.

Unlike Averyanov, who has stepped into the public eye recently, Pavlov has a nearly nonexistent online footprint, and leaked databases of Russian employment records reviewed by RFE/RL give no indication of his place of employment between 2003 and 2019. In 2003 he received his salary from the Russian Foreign Ministry's property department, while in 2019 and 2021 he is listed as a Foreign Ministry employee, the records show.

But RFE/RL was able to find a photograph of Pavlov taken at a New Year's party at a Geneva school at the end of 2011, when he was listed as the second secretary with Russia's permanent mission to the UN Office.

Pavlov's name also appeared among employees of Russia's permanent delegation to UNESCO in 2007.

One European diplomatic source told RFE/RL that before leaving Brussels earlier this year, Pavlov kept a low profile, while another European diplomatic source said Pavlov was nonetheless on the radar of intelligence circles in Brussels. These sources and others cited in this report spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

Both Belgium and the EU expelled dozens of Russian diplomats after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, some for alleged spying.

Pavlov was not on the list of Russian diplomats to the EU who were expelled.

The Belgian State Security Service did not respond to a request for comment about Pavlov, while the Belgian Foreign Ministry said questions should be directed to the EU's diplomatic corps, EEAS.

Asked about Pavlov, an EEAS spokesperson referred RFE/RL to the Belgian Foreign Ministry, saying the ministry is responsible for registering all foreign diplomats working in Brussels, even if they are with a permanent mission to the EU.

One European diplomatic source claimed Pavlov holds the rank of colonel in the SVR, though this could not be independently verified.

Records reviewed by reporters, however, show that Pavlov's wife has documented links to Russian intelligence.

Leaked government records published online list Pavlova's place of employment in 2017 as Military Unit No. 35690, a special unit of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor agency to the Soviet KGB.

Meanwhile, Pavlov's father-in-law, Aleksandr Merinov, formerly served in Directorate B of the FSB Special Purpose Center, Vympel, and is a member of a veterans group for the center. Pavlova's family is registered in an apartment building on Ulitsa Suzdalskaya on Moscow's western outskirts that is listed as an FSB residential facility.

'Catch Some Sun In CAR'

Pavlov's arrival in CAR comes as Russia continues to send mercenaries to Africa under the auspices of the Russian Defense Ministry, chats from Telegram channels for relatives of Wagner fighters indicate.

"Small announcement, if there are those who would like to go catch some sun in CAR, first-timers or those who have served in the SVO. Please [direct-message] me," one message posted on December 3 states, using the Russian acronym for "special military operation," the Kremlin term for its all-out war on Ukraine.

Russian air-travel data also show that on November 30, an Il-76 transport plane operated by the Russian cargo airline Abakan Air took off from a military airport in the Belarusian city of Babruysk and ultimately landed in CAR, according to the military monitoring group Belarusian Hajun. A similar flight took place in October.

Babruysk is near the village of Tsel, where Wagner fighters set up a field camp following Prigozhin's abortive mutiny in June that triggered a Russian government reprisal to bring the mercenary group to heel.

Exactly whom or what the cargo flights were transporting to CAR remains unclear, though Belarusian Hajun said they were capable of transporting both mercenaries and their belongings to CAR and Mali.

Andrei Soshnikov of Systema, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/wagner-russia-central- african-republic-investigation/32719917.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Moscow Court Extends Pretrial Detention Of Nationalist Putin Critic Girkin

By RFE/RL's Russian Service December 07, 2023

The Moscow City Court on December 7 extended the pretrial detention of Igor Girkin (aka Strelkov), once a leader of Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's east, who was arrested in July after he criticized President Vladimir Putin for "badly" handling the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Girkin, who has been charged with public calls for extremism, announced earlier that he plans to take part in the presidential election in March next year.

Girkin's lawyer, Aleksandr Molokhov, said on December 7 that his client's trial will start on December 14, adding that it will be held behind closed doors despite protests by his client and his defense team.

Russian authorities said earlier that Girkin's case was classified.

If convicted, the 52-year-old Girkin, who maintains his innocence, faces up to five years in prison.

Girkin was a key commander of Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region in 2014 and helped Russia annex Ukraine's Crimea that year.

A former officer of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Girkin has sharply criticized Putin in online statements for his handling of the Ukraine invasion, referring to the president as a "nonentity" and accusing him of "cowardly mediocrity."

He has also called out Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for "mistakes" in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has accused both of "incompetence," saying a total military mobilization is needed for Russia to achieve victory.

In one of his harshest rants, Girkin said in a July 18 post on his official Telegram channel that Putin should transfer power "to someone truly capable and responsible." The post has garnered almost 800,000 views.

Shortly after his arrest, Girkin made a statement from pretrial detention, saying that he plans to take part in a presidential election next year.

In November 2022, a court in the Netherlands sentenced Girkin and two other defendants to life in prison in absentia in the case of the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine. All 298 people on board died in the crash.

In February, international investigators said there were "strong indications" that Putin was personally involved in the incident.

The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky on July 17, 2014, amid a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces. The victims came from more than a dozen countries, although more than two-thirds of them were Dutch citizens.

Russia has denied any involvement in the downing of the plane.

With reporting by RBK

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-girkin-strelkon- detention-extended-ukraine-putin/32720920.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russian Presidential Election Set For March 17; Navalny Says Putin Victory Could 'Destroy' Country

By RFE/RL's Russian Service December 07, 2023

Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has set March 17 for a presidential election in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to run for another term, paving the way for him to stay in power until at least 2030.

The council adopted the decision during a session on December 7.

"In essence, this decision marks the start of the election campaign," said Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council.

Putin, 71, has yet to announce his intention to run in the election for another six-year term, though he is widely expected to and win a new six-year mandate and extend his tenure, already the longest of any Russian leader since Josef Stalin.

Though Putin has not officially announced he will run, the government last year pushed through a massive raft of constitutional amendments, the most important of which allows Putin to seek two more six-year terms and possibly remain in office until 2036.

No serious challenger has emerged so far to run against Putin, while two of the country's best-known opposition voices, Aleksei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, are serving lengthy prison sentences that they and their supporters say are politically motivated.

Navalny immediately responded to the setting of the election date, urging the country's 110 million eligible voters to cast ballots for "any other candidate" than Putin even though "the final results will be rigged."

"He [Putin] will destroy Russia. He has to leave," Navalny wrote in a blog post.

"For Putin, this election is a referendum on the approval of his actions. A referendum on the approval of war. Let us thwart his plans and make sure that on March 17 no one cares about the falsified result, but that all of Russia has seen and understood it: the will of the majority is that Putin has to leave."

In a separate action on December 7, Navalny's associates and supporters disguised statementscalling on Russians not to vote for Putin on large billboards bearing New Year's greetings in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several other Russian cities.

The billboards carried QR codes that led to a website titled Russia Without Putin when people scanned them with their mobile phones led to a website titled Russia Without Putin.



The Federation Council decision also applies to what Russia calls its new territories: four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed last year after launching its full-scale invasion of that country in February 2022.

While Russia claims the regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya -- it only partially controls them and Kyiv has pledged to retake the annexed territories.

Last month, Putin signed amendments to the law on presidential elections which restricts coverage of the poll, while also giving the Central Election Commission the right to change the election procedure on territories where martial law has been introduced.

The Kremlin has said the amendments were necessary due to "the special situation" in Russia's "new territories."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-presidential-election- march-17/32719546.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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G7 Leaders Agree To Restrictions On Imports Of Russian Diamonds

By RFE/RL December 07, 2023

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have agreed to restrict imports of Russian diamonds in another tightening of sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

A G7 statement issued after a virtual summit on December 6 joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the first set of restrictions on nonindustrial diamonds, mined, processed, or produced in Russia would take effect on January 1.

This will be "followed by further phased restrictions on the import of Russian diamonds processed in third countries targeting March 1, 2024," the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the United States said in a statement.

The statement added that by the beginning of September, a "robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds within the G7" will be established.

The new restrictions add to a raft of sanctions targeting financial institutions, technology imports, and fossil fuel exports already imposed on Russia by the United States and other countries over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Following the G7 pledge, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced on December 6 that Canada will introduce a ban on the direct import of Russian diamonds and related products.

"Canada will continue working with its G7 and other international partners to implement comprehensive controls and verification measures for banning Russian diamonds," Joly said in a statement. "Today's announcement therefore imposes further costs on the Kremlin for its illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine."

The G7 leaders also condemned Russian attacks against critical and civil infrastructure across Ukraine, saying they are increasing efforts to provide humanitarian aid and energy assistance, and they said Russia's sovereign assets in G7 jurisdictions "will remain immobilized until Russia pays for the damage it caused to Ukraine."

The statement noted that according to the World Bank, the damage caused by Russia's invasion "already exceeds $400 billion dollars."

In his remarks to the G7 leaders, Zelenskiy warned against the collapse of Western unity, saying that Russia is counting on that happening.

"Russia hopes only for one thing -- that next year the free world's consolidation will collapse," Zelenskiy said, adding that Moscow has "significantly increased pressure on the front."

He reiterated that the battle is "not just about the fate of Ukraine, it's about Europe."

The virtual G7 meeting came amid concern about continued Western military support for Ukraine.

The White House has warned that funding for Ukraine aid will run out by the end of the year if Congress does not approve fresh funds.

U.S. President Joe Biden addressed lawmakers on December 6 after the G7 meeting, urging them to quickly approve more military aid to Ukraine. However, the U.S. Senate blocked the White House request for $106 billion in emergency aid primarily for Ukraine and Israel as Republicans objected to the bill's lack of immigration reforms.

The G7 statement said the leaders were "determined" to support Ukraine and find further ways to cap Russia's ability to fund the war, and they said their "steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine's fight for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity will never waver."

With reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/g7-russia-diamonds- sanctions-ukraine-war/32719485.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Commander-in-Chief of Navy Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov addresses International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg

07.12.2023

Today the 13th International Forum Arctic: Present and Future began its work in St. Petersburg, bringing together more than 2,000 participants from Russia and abroad. During the two-day business programme, comprehensive and strategic decisions on the social and economic development of the Arctic zone will be discussed and tactical steps for their implementation will be developed by representatives of the authorities, heads of major Russian companies and banks, leading experts from the scientific community, media outlets, and civil society. They are also going to assess the investment potential and opportunities of the northern regions. a

Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, gave a report on ensuring Russia's security and its economic activities in the Arctic during the Forum's opening ceremony.

He emphasised that the military-political situation in the Arctic region is currently characterised by an increase in negative trends in regional security. These trends are connected with the expansion of the NATO bloc and the aggressive policy of the collective West towards Russia. In particular, there is a growing foreign military presence in the Arctic and increased competition between countries for access to the resources and communications of the Arctic Ocean.

In recent years, almost all countries in the region, as well as a number of extra-regional states, have updated their doctrinal documents. These documents define priority areas for the implementation of national interests in the Arctic. Some of them, such as the United States, see Russia's activities in the region as a key challenge to their own interests. They propose to curb the development of Russia's influence by all possible means, from sanctions to military force.

At the same time, the development of the Russian Arctic zone as a strategic resource potential and its rational use, including the full development of the continental shelf beyond the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and ensuring the functioning of the Northern Sea Route as a national transport route, which are related to Russia's development, protection of its sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

Developing Russia's military component in the Arctic is seen as necessary to counter threats to Russia and prevent aggressive actions by other countries. The main instrument for implementing Russia's state policy in the World Oceans and the Arctic is the Navy, which not only has the deterrence function, but has also been actively engaged in research activities in the Arctic region since the time of Pyotr the Great. Research in the Arctic seas involves approximately 2,000 linear kilometres of measurements and gravity surveys, standard hydrological profile studies, topography and geodesy, all of which contribute to clarifying the coastline.

Over the past decade, more than 40 new geographical features have been discovered and described, including 14 islands and 4 islets, 15 capes, 3 straits, and 5 bays found in the archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya.

The materials obtained have been used in the preparation of the Addenda to the Application of the Russian Federation to the United Nations on the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf in the Arctic Ocean.

This year, the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved point coordinates in most of the Arctic Ocean at Russia's request. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy noted that this work will continue.

Department for Media Affairs and Information

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Russia-Iran Relations Developing Very Well - Putin

Sputnik News

20231207

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Relations between Russia and Iran are developing very well, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.

"Our relations are developing very well," Putin said at a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday.

He asked to convey his best wishes to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

"Thanks to his support, we have gained good dynamics in recent years. Last year, trade turnover increased by 20 percent," Putin stressed.

The Russian president emphasized that there are plans to sign an agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the end of the year, which would create additional opportunities to expand cooperation.

A Sputnik

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. During almost three years of negotiation process, Armenia always wanted to incorporate into peace agreement a provision with respect to the Armenian minority in Karabakh. Our position was that this is our internal business, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Euronews channel, Trend reports.

If they want to reflect the issue of Armenian minority in Azerbaijan, then, let us reflect the issue of Azerbaijani minority in Armenia, which was expelled thirty years ago. And, there were much more Azerbaijanis in Armenia than Armenians in Azerbaijan - almost 300,000. So, our position was that it must be reciprocal. Either we reflect these two issues of national minorities, their rights and security, including the right to return not only Armenians to return to Azerbaijan, but Azerbaijanis to return to Armenia. It doesn't matter that Azerbaijanis were expelled 30 years ago, and Armenians decided to leave two months ago. The fact is just it must be reciprocal, or we do not comment in our peace agreement about this issue. So, until now, we did not get from Armenia any clear understanding on that. So, if Armenia agrees to have either the same language for both national minorities or not to reflect it at all, then the peace is reachable, because this was a main obstacle for Armenia, when they were negotiating with us. So, we will see how it goes. Frankly speaking, I don't see now any serious obstacle to sign a peace agreement from a logical point of view, the Azerbaijani leader added.
Russia and Saudi Arabia Agree to Boost Defense Cooperation

Sputnik News

20231207

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and discussed bilateral, regional and international issues.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to strengthen defense cooperation so that it is aimed at supporting the common interests of the two countries, according to a joint statement published on the Kremlin's website.

"On defense and security issues, the sides agreed to strengthen defense cooperation so that it is aimed at supporting and achieving the common interests of the two countries. The sides reaffirmed their desire to strengthen current cooperation and coordination in the security sphere on issues of mutual interest, including the fight against crime in all its forms, the fight against terrorism and extremism and their financing, as well as the exchange of information to counter terrorist organizations, in such a way as to ensure security and stability in the two countries," the statement said.

Russia and Saudi Arabia support efforts to end the crisis in Yemen through political means, the countries said in a joint statement.

"Regarding Yemen, both sides emphasized full support for international and regional efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution to the Yemen crisis," the statement read.

In addition, Russia "expressed gratitude" to Saudi Arabia for the kingdom's humanitarian and political efforts on the Ukrainian crisis, the statement read.

Both countries are concerned over the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, and called for halt to military operations, the countries said in a joint statement on Thursday.

"Both sides discussed the developments in the situation in Palestine, expressed deep concern about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and emphasized the need to end military operations in the Palestinian territories, as well as the need to protect civilians in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law," the statement read.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to expand cooperation in the oil and gas fields, the countries said.

"The two sides agreed on the importance of expanding cooperation in the following areas: oil and gas, such as procurement, supply and standardization of equipment in the field of oil and gas," the statement read.

Moscow and Riyadh also said that they appreciate increase in mutual trade and intend to continue working on this matter. The sides also emphasized their desire to continue working to increase mutual and joint investments.

"With regard to defense and security issues, the parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of defense in such a way that it is aimed at supporting and achieving the common interests of the two countries," the statement read.

The sides also emphasized the importance of efforts to negotiate with the countries of the region and eliminate sources of security threats and reaffirmed determination to strengthen cooperation to combat cross-border corruption crimes.

Russia welcomes the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, this will help strengthen security in the region, according to a joint statement.

"The Russian side welcomed the resumption of diplomatic relations between the [Saudi] Kingdom and Iran, expressing hope that this step will help strengthen security and stability in the region while maintaining the sovereignty of the countries and non-interference in their internal affairs," the statement read, as quoted by the Kremlin website.

Russia and Saudi Arabia emphasized the importance of Iran's commitment to the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, the statement said.

Moscow and Riyadh welcome the decision made by the League of Arab States (LAS) to resume participation of Syrian delegation in the meetings of LAS Council of Foreign Ministers.

"With regard to Syria, both sides highly appreciated the decision of the League of Arab States to resume the participation of delegations of the Syrian government in the meetings of the Council of Ministers of the Arab League and related organizations and bodies and expressed the hope that this will contribute to supporting the stability and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, resolving the Syrian crisis and facilitating the safe voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland," the statement read.

A Sputnik

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Russian Upper House Schedules Presidential Election For March 17, 2024

Sputnik News

20231207

According to Article 102 of the Russian Constitution, the Russian Federation Council has the exclusive right to determine the date of presidential elections.

The Federation Council has scheduled presidential elections in Russia for March 17, 2024, according to a resolution adopted at a meeting on Thursday.

"To schedule presidential election in Russia for March 17, 2024. This resolution comes into force on the date of its official publication," the document read.

Vladimir Poletayev, the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council's Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction, said that from the moment the decree comes into force, i.e. from the day of its official publication, the "start of the electoral campaign" is actually given.

The decision to hold multi-day voting in the presidential election is made by the Russian Central Election Commission, he added.

A Sputnik

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While Russia is isolated the international community is united: UK statement to the OSCE

Ambassador Neil Holland says that the UK and partners will stand alongside Ukraine to protect its future, as well as protecting the OSCE.

7 December 2023

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Since Russia's illegal and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 the UK has pledged to use this forum to support our Ukrainian friends and colleagues and to hold Russia to account for its actions. Indeed, at last week's Ministerial Council, my Foreign Secretary said, that this organisation plays a key role in doing both of these. So, each week, we call out Russia's complete disregard for the OSCE's founding principles, as shown through its assault on Ukrainian territorial integrity and Ukrainian life.

Russia claims to defend the consensus principle. And yet it is all but isolated in this forum (and others) on a regular and sustained basis. We have seen decision after decision subjected to attack through the need to find consensus. This is the abuse of a tool that was designed for use by participating States that shared a common wish to find solutions. That is clearly not the case now. So, we have to conclude that this insistence on consensus - against the overwhelming weight of opinion on many different subjects is not actually a defence of the principle but actually a defence of obstructionism.

Last week at the Ministerial Council we saw the latest example of this dynamic. In Skopje, there was a broad consensus across the community in condemning Russia's actions and underlining unwavering support to Ukraine. This was not a terrible conspiracy by the so-called 'collective west'. It was a simple and widely expressed disapproval of what Russia has done by invading its neighbour and upending its commitments to the Helsinki principles.

The encouraging news is that the international community remains united behind Ukraine. On 23 February 2023, 141 UN members voted to demand that Russia withdraw its troops. 29 countries have now signed a Joint Declaration pledging to negotiate long-term security commitments with Ukraine, to help to sustain its ability to defend itself.

The UK is rolling out sanctions against Russia in lockstep with our partners. Alongside substantial packages of bilateral support for Ukraine, the international community has come together to provide humanitarian support to Ukraine through the international system response, coordinated by the UN, Red Cross movement and NGOs. This again underlines the unified response in support for Ukraine and brings Russia's isolation into relief.

The UK and the international community stand against Russia's aggression. The UK will continue to join the vast majority of states here in continuing to support Ukraine's freedom and sovereignty. We will not be deterred or lose interest. Now is not the time to falter. Ukraine can and must win this war.

Mr Chair, the UK will stand alongside Ukraine to protect its future. The UK will also continue to protect the OSCE, standing alongside participating States and colleagues to ensure that the consensus principle is not abused. Thank you.

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Presentation of Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia

On the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day, the ceremony to present Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace's St George Hall.

December 8, 2023

13:50

The Kremlin, Moscow

Over 200 military personnel and civilians who demonstrated special courage and heroism attended the event, including Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, holders of the Order of St George, and those awarded three or more Orders of Courage.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, comrades, friends, today we honour the Heroes of the Fatherland here at the Kremlin's St George Hall, which symbolises Russia's military and battlefield greatness and glory. The outstanding feats, accomplishments and deeds of these heroes will remain forever in the annals of our state, our homeland.

The fabric of popular memory is impermeable to time. We have been passing on from one generation to another the feeling of gratitude to our heroes and their courage and revered those who stood up to defend the freedom and independence of our Fatherland. We honour the hard work and talent of the great researchers, trailblazers, administrators, and cultural figures who contributed to Russia's glory. Knowing and honouring heroes is our duty. We must do everything to make sure that we carry on with the goals they pursued and the ideals they had, using them as a foundation for shaping our future.

The soldiers and officers, the fighters participating in the special military operation, including very young people, possess the same strong will and character as all the defenders of the Fatherland in the past centuries.

Their remarkable heroism is a source of great pride for our country. It is a great honour for me to present them with the Gold Star medals of Hero of Russia today. They come from different parts of the country, from Karelia to the Primorye Territory, and from different ethnic groups. But they stand together side by side in defence of our shared, united Motherland.

They demonstrated remarkable bravery and courage as members of assault groups. Commanders, some of whom are very young people, led their men by personal example, sometimes despite wounds, destroying enemy tanks and other armoured vehicles and artillery systems, including Western-made ones, thereby dispelling the myth of their invincibility.

Many of those who have received state decorations effectively used modern technologies and drones to execute their combat tasks, while others risked their lives to save and evacuate the wounded.

All those who have received state decorations today exhibited extraordinary heroism. Thank you for your dedicated service to the Motherland.

You, your comrades-in-arms and all heroes of our country uphold honour, duty and selfless love for the Fatherland above all else. These values are paramount today, setting the highest standard of responsibility for each of us. And the selflessness and courage demonstrated by our fighters serve as examples to be emulated by workers and engineers at our defence enterprises, by the personnel of other economic sectors, who have not only risen to meet the challenges of sanctions but are increasing production, as well as by all our citizens, who are contributing to the strengthening of Russia's economic, technological and cultural sovereignty. Your courage serves as inspiration for volunteers, who are supporting the front, and for all those who are eager to act for the benefit of the Fatherland.

Millions of Russian citizens are resolved to stand together with the country and to act honestly in the face of adversity. I know this. I can see this during meetings with our people. I can feel their mood of solidarity.

Today, combat heroism and labour valour, the strong will of our people and the unity of Russian society intertwine and complement each other. And all of us are united by our sincere and heartfelt love for Russia. It helps us to move forward, to do more and to overcome all obstacles.

I have no doubt that we will certainly achieve all the goals we have set for ourselves, and that we will be able to tell our children and grandchildren that we and our comrades-in-arms did this for them, that we lived, worked and fought for their future. And they will be proud of us.

Congratulations on Heroes of the Fatherland Day!

<...>

Eduard Kazymov: Comrade President of the Russian Federation,

Dear guests,

I would like to thank you for this high award. This is a recognition not only for me, but for our entire unit.

I would like to share with you a message from our men on the frontline: "We believe in victory and will not retreat. We will stand our ground until the end." Thank you.

<...>

Vladimir Putin: Dear friends, we can see that our heroes do not talk all that much, but they have shown their value on the battlefield. Their actions, and what they do, speak for themselves.

I would like to congratulate you on receiving these decorations. You deserved to become Heroes of Russia. Please pass on my best wishes to your comrades in your divisions. The whole country is watching you, places its hopes in you and congratulates you on today's decorations, and not just today during this ceremony, but every day.

Happy Heroes of the Fatherland Day!

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The Week In Russia: Blaming The People For The 'Regime's Ideology'

By Steve Gutterman December 08, 2023

The Russian state ratchets up what Human Rights Watch calls its "perverse persecution" of LGBT people. The Kremlin gets a wartime "gift" from a divided U.S. Congress. And a new presidential election draws closer.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

'Perverse Persecution'

Since the Soviet Union's collapse, Russian leaders have repeatedly sought to blame their policies on the Russian people, warning the West that the country would be more conservative, more recalcitrant, and harder to deal with if not for the officials acting as a filter on the moods and mores of citizens.

Kremlin opponents and analysts, however, say the opposite is far more often true: Policies are imposed on the people by the government and propaganda is used to bring the views of the people -- or at least, the opinions they are prepared to state publicly -- into step with the state and in line with the law.

A broad range of evidence indicates this is the case when it comes to what Human Rights Watch called "Russia's perverse persecution" of LGBT people, a phenomenon the state ramped up dramatically with a November 30 Supreme Court ruling labeling what it called the "international LGBT social movement" an extremist group.

There is no such thing as the "international LGBT social movement," of course, and that's one of the many aspects of the ruling that worries a wide range of people. The wording sparked suspicions that the Russian state is trying to paint all LGBT people as part of what President Vladimir Putin has portrayed as a U.S.-led effort to impose Western values on Russia and erase its own culture.

That portrayal fits in with Putin's increasing attempts to cast the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as a purely defensive battle to save Russia and, as he put it in a speech on November 28, to fight "for the freedom of the whole world" from "the dictatorship of a single hegemon" -- clearly a reference to the United States, though he almost always avoids naming any specific country.

The wording of the Russian Supreme Court ruling also raised fears it would pave the way for persecution of LGBT people regardless of whether they are involved in public activism. Those concerns quickly proved well-founded: One day after the decision was handed down following a closed-door hearing, police raided several LGBT-friendly clubs and other establishments in Moscow.

"How quickly the power machine moves: On November 30, they designate LGBT people in Russia 'extremists' and on the night of December 1-2 -- police raids on Moscow queer parties and saunas, where they photograph passports, among other things," Facebook user Konstantin Kropotkin wrote in a post. "This is a 'Sic 'em' command to all scoundrels, those with power or without it.... It's an end-times feeling."

'Homophobic State Policy'

Many analysts agreed that the Supreme Court ruling, which satisfied a request from the Justice Ministry to impose the "extremist" designation, was an example of top-down policymaking and by no means a move by the state to respond to popular demand. It is Putin who rails on about gender identity in his diatribes against the West, while surveys and studies suggest these matters are low on the list of concerns for the majority of Russians.

Sociological research and opinion polls indicate that "if it were not for the endless homophobic, anti-trans, and gender-conservative messaging from the center, Russians would barely give a thought to these issues and would likely score lower on scales of traditionalism/social conservativism than the [United States], Poland, and even Ukraine," Jeremy Morris, a researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark who focuses on the former Soviet Union, wrote on his blog. He suggested Russia currently has an "active homophobic state policy."

"Recognizing LGBT as extremism is Russia's first step towards criminalizing deviations from the regime's ideology," political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya wrote on Twitter.

The Supreme Court ruling is inseparable from the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Abbas Gallyamov, a political analyst and former Kremlin speechwriter, had this explanation for the police raids and the ruling: "They are unable to defeat the Ukrainian armed forces, but they need victories -- so they went and found a foe they can handle."

At this particular moment, though, Putin may not be too worried about the war.

As winter sets in, a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive is sputtering six months after it started, struggling to the point where The Washington Post feels comfortable stating as fact that it has "failed."

Ukraine's top military commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, hasn't gone that far, but he made waves in Kyiv and beyond by saying that "like in the First World War, we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate."

Winning And Losing

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pushed back against such assessments. On Armed Forces Day in Kyiv, he told the country that "victory is ahead" and suggested that "against all odds" Ukraine will restore control over its borders.

But he was speaking hours before Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked the advance of a spending package that includes tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to his country in a move that U.S. President Joe Biden called a "gift" to Putin.

"We can't let Putin win. It is in our overwhelming national interest," Biden said.

Putin is almost certain to win one thing in 2024: a new six-year term as president, in an election that is also inseparable from the context of the LGBT ruling.

The upper parliament house formally set the main date for the vote, March 17, and Putin is expected to confirm his candidacy this month. Given the tight state control over political levers and the media, the systematic crushing of the opposition, and the scope for cheating, if he does run, he cannot lose.

But in an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, David Ignatius, an associate editor and foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post, said Putin should not be too confident about the war.

"I think if you're Putin, you have to be pretty careful about making bets. He seems to think things are going his way. And...obviously, if you read Zaluzhniy's analysis, they haven't been going Ukraine's way," Ignatius said. "But there are a lot of problems aheadfor Putin."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/week-in-russia-gutterman-lgbt- homophobia-election/32722074.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Putin Says 'I Will Run' When Asked About Russia's Presidential Election In March

By RFE/RL's Russian Service, Current Time December 08, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will run again for office in Russia's March presidential election in which he is expected to easily win a new six-year term and extend the longest rule of a Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin.

Putin, 71, made the long-anticipated announcement on December 8 following a ceremony in the Kremlin, where he awarded soldiers who fought in the war in Ukraine with Russia's highest military honor, the Hero of Russia Gold Star.

The setting -- St. George Hall, which the president said "embodies the greatness of Russia's military glory" -- with uniformed soldiers present may indicate he will campaign as a war leader, Brian Taylor, a political science professor and Russia expert at Syracuse University in New York, told RFE/RL.

"It sort of puts the war front and center as part of his motive for seeking another term. The fact that they chose to do this makes the connection to the war much more explicit," he said.

Taylor said there had been an expectation that Putin would try to put the war in the background during the campaign and play the role of the "benevolent czar," dishing out pension and other benefit increases ahead of the vote.

But the Kremlin may have decided it cannot totally ignore the war as part the campaign, "so they put it out there very directly in the way it was announced today," Taylor said.

Putin's invasion of Ukraine, now in its 22nd month, has been a disaster for Russia, taking the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, upending the nation's economy, and ruining relations with the West. Putin has outlawed criticism of the war and the armed forces to crush any opposition.

Putin's announcement was prompted by Artyom Zhoga, the speaker of a de facto regional parliament in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region, who asked the Russian leader to run in the elections slated for March 17, claiming to be speaking for "all the people" in the Donbas.

"I won't hide it. [I have had] different thoughts at different times," Putin told Zhoga and others gathered around him in an elaborate room inside the Kremlin. "But you are right. Now is such a time when it is necessary to make a decision. I will run for president."

The Russian leader's television appearances are highly choreographed and the announcement was no exception.

"Everyone knew this was coming and the only questions were when and how exactly the announcement would be made," Brian Taylor, a political science professor and Russia expert at Syracuse University, told RFE/RL.

"Usually things like this don't happen by accident in Russian politics," he said.

Aside from Zhoga, Putin was surrounded by a teacher, doctor, soldier, and a miner -- the heart of his constituency - when he made the comment. They all requested he run, saying they are "together with Putin."

Putin's statement came one day after Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, set the date for the election. The Central Election Commission (CEC) later announced that the vote will last for three days -- from March 15 to March 17.

Russian elections are tightly controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair but are viewed by the government as necessary to convey a sense of legitimacy. They are mangled by exclusion of opposition candidates, voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and other means of manipulation.

Last month, Putin signed into law a bill on amendments to the law on presidential elections which restricts coverage of the poll, while also giving the CEC the right to change the election procedure in territories where martial law has been introduced.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby mocked Putin's announcement, suggesting that the result is unlikely to be in doubt.

"Well, that's going to be one humdinger of a horse race, isn't it?" Kirby told reporters when asked about Putin's bid to extend his grip on power. "That's all I've got to say on that."

Putin became eligible to take part in Russia's next two presidential elections after he rammed through constitutional changes in 2020 that paved the way for him remaining in office until 2036.

Putin has been prime minister or president since 1999, slashing democratic norms and freedoms with every new term. If he serves another full term, he would surpass the nearly 30-year reign of Stalin and become Russia's longest-serving leader since Catherine the Great (1762-1796).

Jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and his supporters have urged Russia's 110 million eligible voters to cast ballots for "any other candidate" even though "the final results will be rigged."

"[Putin] will destroy Russia. He has to leave," Navalny wrote in a blog post.

No serious challenger is expected to emerge as two of the country's best-known opposition voices, Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, are both in prison serving lengthy sentences that they and their supporters say are politically motivated.

Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, 79, a perennial candidate who consistently loses, has announced his intention to run. So, too, has former State Duma deputy Boris Nadezhdin, 60, former military leader of pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk; Igor Strelkov (Girkin), 52; and Ekaterina Duntsova, 40, a jailed journalist from Rzhev.

Candidates must meet certain criteria and can easily be disqualified by the Kremlin-controlled CEC for any number of reasons.

Taylor said Putin likely won't allow a challenger who is much younger than himself because "the contrast will be too stark."

The Kremlin is seeking to ensure Putin wins with more than 80 percent of the vote, the online news outlets Medusa and Verstka have reported. Putin won with 77 percent of the vote in 2018, the highest of his four victories.

Taylor, who called the election results a "foregone conclusion," said the Kremlin faces a struggle in trying to achieve both a high voter turnout and a landslide victory for Putin.

The higher the turnout, the more manipulation that will likely be required.

"They want to make it look like it is an election. They want to make it look like Putin's support is completely genuine and overwhelming. Those things work at cross purposes. If they want an overwhelming response, then it becomes less genuine. So that is the dance they have to do over the next three months," he said.

The election will also be held in what Russia calls its new territories: four regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed last year after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

While Russia claims the regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya -- it only partially controls them, and Kyiv has pledged to retake the annexed territories.

With reporting by Todd Prince, TASS, Interfax, SOTA, and RIA Novosti

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-russia-presidential-election- 2024/32722183.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Black Sea Fleet frigate Admiral Grigorovich joins Algerian Navy ships in naval drills in Mediterranean Sea

08.12.2023

The crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich of the Black Sea Fleet of the permanent group of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea takes part in the Joint Naval Drills 2023 with ships of the Navy of the Algerian People's National Army.

The Algerian Navy is participating in the exercise with the frigate Erradii, training ship La Soummam, tug boat El Moundjid, patrol aircraft, search and rescue helicopters, and a motor boat. The frigate Admiral Grigorovich, the search and rescue helicopter Ka-27PS, and a boarding team represent the Russian Navy.

The maritime phase of the exercise took place on 6 and 7 December in the Mediterranean Sea in the combat training areas of the Algerian Navy.

At sea, Russian and Algerian sailors practised cooperation in the suppression of illegal activities at sea: piracy, illegal transport of cargo, terrorist activities, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and also carried out a joint search and rescue operation.

A joint headquarters of the international naval link was established for the maritime phase of the drills. It was headed by Colonel Rebbat Rachid of the Algerian Navy and Captain 1st Rank Oleg Knyazev of the Russian Navy, representatives of the two countries' fleets.

The results of the exercises will be summed up on the territory of the Algerian naval base at the exercise's coastal headquarters.

Press Service of the Southern Military District

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U.S. Welcomes the Kyrgyz Republic's Continued Repatriation of its Nationals

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

December 8, 2023

The Kyrgyz Republic's repatriation of 96 women and children from the al-Hol displaced persons camp in northeast Syria, the fourth such return of its nationals this year alone, demonstrates the Republic's tremendous commitment to both its nationals and to alleviating a security and humanitarian crisis, the only durable solution to which is repatriation.

In total, the Kyrgyz Republic has repatriated 333 of its nationals this year, a substantial portion of the nearly 5,000 individuals returned to their countries of origin in 2023. The overall pace of repatriations from northeast Syria in 2023, accelerated by substantial U.S. support, increased by nearly a third over the previous year, helping to ease the burden of providing humanitarian services and reducing the risk of ISIS exploitation of this vulnerable population.

Approximately 33,000 individuals from more than 60 countries outside Syria remain in the al-Hol and Roj camps, most of whom are children under the age of 12.

We are grateful to our international and local partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Government of Kuwait, for their support in returning displaced persons at al-Hol and Roj to their countries of origin.

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KMT presidential nominee Hou pledges better ties with both U.S., China

ROC Central News Agency

12/07/2023 06:47 PM

Taipei, Dec. 7 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih () said Thursday that if elected, he will seek to maintain friendly relations with both China and the United States, while criticizing the current government's China policy as leading to zero formal bilateral communication.

Hou's comments came after Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je () said a day earlier that he would follow incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen's () foreign policy if elected.

Although Ko indicated he favors a more amicable approach to relations with China in a TV interview, the former Taipei mayor stressed that in the military domain he remains committed to developing Taiwan's self-defense capabilities.

At a press conference in New Taipei on Thursday, Hou responded to Ko's comments by slamming the Tsai administration's foreign policy as a "complete failure."

He pointed out that the current administration's foreign policy has seen several diplomatic allies sever relations with Taiwan, a complete inability to participate in regional economic organizations, and a breakdown in cross-strait communications.

Since Tsai assumed office in 2016, a total of nine countries have severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and official communications with China have been non-existent. Hou argued that "Tsai's policy does not work," advocating instead for a more balanced pro-U.S. and pro-China stance.

Hou further elaborated on his position, calling for strong alignment with the United States while also stressing the importance of communicating with China. He also noted the gradual cooling of cross-strait relations since the days of former KMT Presidents Lee Teng-hui () and Ma Ying-jeou ().

Hou slammed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for upsetting the balance of relations across the Taiwan Strait, resulting in increased tensions and the imminent threat of conflict -- a concern he said is shared by the vast majority of Taiwanese.

While the KMT presidential candidate cautioned against harboring unrealistic expectations when dealing with China, he stressed that Taiwan's security cannot be solely dependent on promises from the United States, Taiwan's most important ally.

Instead, he advocated for self-reliance in defense as well as a pragmatic and realistic approach toward cross-strait relations and democratic countries.

Meanwhile, Pan Men-an (), campaign office head for DPP presidential front-runner Lai Ching-te (), said on Thursday that if Ko believes Tsai's approach is correct, he should support Lai, who pledged to follow President Tsai's policy if elected on taking over as DPP chairperson in January 2023.

Taiwanese voters head to the polls to elect their next president, vice president and legislators on Jan. 13, 2024.

(By Kao Hua-chien and Chung Yu-chen)

Enditem/AW

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Court upholds 7.5-year sentence for ex-colonel in China allegiance case

ROC Central News Agency

12/08/2023 07:21 PM

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Supreme Court upheld a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence Thursday for a retired Army colonel found guilty of corruption and taking money in return for declaring his allegiance to China.

In the verdict, which is final, the court rejected defendant Hsiang Te-en's () appeal, saying "investigations for the previous trial were complete and the sentencing was appropriate."

Hsiang had intended to file for retirement from the military in 2018, but was approached by Shao Wei-chiang (), a former reporter and owner of Kinmen-based Safety Travel Service Co., who persuaded him to stay on and serve as a Chinese spy in return for a fixed monthly payment of NT$40,000 (US$1,275).

To prove his loyalty to China, Shao also asked Hsiang to hold up a handwritten note pledging his allegiance to Beijing while wearing his military uniform for a photograph in January 2020.

The note stated: "I, Hsiang Te-en, hereby pledge to support cross-strait peaceful unification. I will do my best at my current post to fulfill the glorious task of pushing for peaceful unification for the motherland."

Hsiang was found guilty of having accepted a total of NT$560,000 in bribes from Shao between October 2019 and January 2022, according to a Kaohsiung District Court indictment.

During the first trial in February this year, the former colonel argued that the oath was his personal opinion on cross-strait matters, and as freedom of speech did not violate his duties.

Hsiang's claims were rejected by a panel of judges, who responded that his actions broke his pledge of allegiance to defend the Republic of China (Taiwan) and combined with the self interested acceptance of bribes seriously damaged national security while also undermining morale within the military.

Hsiang was handed a 7.5-year jail sentence for corruption, and also stripped of his political and civil rights for four years. He appealed the case, but the High Court's Kaohsiung Branch upheld the ruling in September.

Hsiang subsequently filed another appeal, but the Supreme Court on Thursday said the initial verdict was appropriate and that verdict was final.

The former Army colonel was indicted for corruption in November 2022. At the time, Kaohsiung prosecutors said they were still investigating what information Hsiang passed on and whether any of it was confidential. If he was found to have done so, they said he could face additional espionage charges under the National Security Act.

(By Hsieh Hsing-en and Ko Lin)

Enditem/AW



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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. As to those people who left their homes, first of all, that was their own decision. Our public communications with Karabakh Armenians, and what we did after, demonstrated that we wanted them to stay. We openly announced that and I, during my appeal to Azerbaijani people after the end of anti-terror operation, said that they could stay, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Euronews channel.

We opened the electronic portal of registration. All of those who want to come back have this right. Their property is duly protected. All the historical and religious sites are duly protected. In order to come back they need to comply with certain regulations, and I was saying that many months before the anti-terror operations, those who want to stay need to apply for the Azerbaijani citizenship. Because how can people live in Azerbaijan being a citizen of another country? Either citizenship or work permit, or residence permit. They cannot live in Azerbaijan saying that they live in so-called nagorno-karabakh republic. Because so-called nagorno-karabakh republic doesn`t exist. They invented it in their dreams in their mythology. If they want to live in Azerbaijan as citizens of Azerbaijan, of course, they can, the head of state pointed out.
Taiwan relaxes rules to accelerate declassification of state secrets

ROC Central News Agency

12/08/2023 07:00 PM

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed amendments Friday to abolish rules allowing some national security information to remain permanently classified, which could lead to more political archives from Taiwan's authoritarian past being made available.

Under amendments to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act that were enacted, the confidentiality of state secrets that could implicate national security intelligence sources or channels will be limited to 30 years.

If confidentiality remains important after 30 years, it can be extended in increments of up to 10 years, subject to approval by the original agency or its superior authority, the amendments stipulate.

For national secrets to be kept confidential for over 60 years, permission must be secured from a superior authority, according to the amendments.

The Legislature also passed amendments to the Political Archives Act, which stipulate that political files categorized as national security information should be declassified after 40 years instead of being kept confidential forever.

Political archives mainly refer to documents or other records dating to the period from Aug. 15, 1945 to Nov. 6, 1992 related to the 228 Incident and files established in the martial law era under the then Kuomintang (KMT) government that are maintained by government agencies, political parties and their affiliated organizations.

The amendments were introduced as part of an ongoing effort to reveal past human rights abuses committed by state authorities, which the National Archive Administration said was in line with President Tsai Ing-wen's (ee) 2016 campaign platform to seek transitional justice.

The passage of the law means that half of the 4,500 political archives originally classified as permanently confidential will be declassified next year.

(By Wang Yang-yu and Lee Hsin-Yin)

Enditem/ls





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US 'shows anxiety' in countering China with Taiwan provision listed in defense budget bill

Global Times

US deterrence strategy will see cost hike but be less effective: experts

By Wang Qi Published: Dec 08, 2023 10:41 PM Updated: Dec 08, 2023 10:49 PM

Lawmakers from the US Congress have finalized an $874.2 billion fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes parts that require a defense training program for troops on the island of Taiwan and enhanced cybersecurity cooperation.

Chinese experts said on Friday that the US move to seek deeper military ties with Taiwan authorities will not essentially change the disparate military power contrast across the Taiwan Straits, but will only exacerbate tensions. With strength gap between Beijing and Washington narrowing, the cost for the US in seeking a military deterrence against the Chinese mainland on Taiwan island will become greater, while the effect will be increasingly limited.

The $874.2 billion NDAA, which was released late on Wednesday (local time), is expected to pass in House and Senate and signed by US President Joe Biden later in December before taking effect. The legislation also includes provisions to strengthen AUKUS, the security bloc with UK and Australia, in a move regarded as advancing the "Indo-Pacific" strategy and thus "to counter China's influence."

It calls on the Defense Department to "establish a comprehensive training, advising and institutional capacity building program for the military forces of Taiwan."

The bill calls for continuous support for Taiwan in the development of "capable, ready, and modern defense forces," including by supporting acquisition by Taiwan of defense articles and services through military sales, with an emphasis on asymmetric capability.

While calling for the US side to conduct practical training and military exercises with Taiwan authorities, the bill also maintains a provision that encourages exchanges between defense officials and officers of the US and Taiwan authorities "at the strategic, policy, and functional levels," improving the "interoperability" of the military forces and improving the reserve force of the Taiwan authorities.

Additionally, the bill calls for deepened military cybersecurity partnerships between US and Taiwan authorities "to defend military networks, infrastructure and systems against hostile cyber activities."

Compared to NDAA 2023, the bill contains relatively few new elements on "defending Taiwan," as the main points of attention - troop training, military officer exchanges, and cybersecurity cooperation - were not absent in previous editions, Wang Shushen, an expert at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

In the NDAA 2018, there were provisions asking the US to invite Taiwan authorities to participate in joint military exercises and "consider the advisability and feasibility of reestablishing port of call exchanges between the US navy and the Taiwan navy." In the NDAA 2020, cybersecurity cooperation with Taiwan island was listed for the first time.

Both the NDAA 2019 and NDAA 2017 encouraged increased exchanges between senior officers and officials from the US and Taiwan authorities.

The provisions on Taiwan are mostly suggestions from Congress, while how they are implemented at the practical level remains to be decided by the US government and Pentagon, analysts said.

US lawmakers have continued to create new policy tools to provide military assistance to Taiwan, with the intention of influencing White House policy and at the same time strengthening the "deterrence" against the Chinese mainland, said Wang.

The bill signals that the US will not stop expanding its military cooperation with Taiwan in the future and will become more militarily involved in order to enhance the ability of the Taiwan authorities to resist reunification by force if necessary, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times on Friday.

But arming Taiwan is not about assisting in its defense, and essentially the US only wants to reap the benefits and use the island as a pawn to contain the Chinese mainland, Song noted.

"There is a huge gap in military power between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan island... Although the bill will not bring an essential boost to Taiwan's military capability, the mainland will be prepared for the increase in tension in the Taiwan Straits," the expert said.

Deterrence less effective

According to a report from Taiwan-based media in November, the island authorities will send more than 114 troops to the US in 2024 to undergo training on high-mobility artillery-rocket systems and M1A2T Abrams tanks, as the island is set to receive deliveries of 38 M1A2T Abrams tanks and 11 HIMARS systems.

In August, the Biden administration, for the first time ever, approved $80 million in funds to support the island under the State Department's foreign military financing (FMF) as a part of 2023 NDAA, according to a CNN report. The move was slammed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry as one that harms China's sovereignty and security interests and damages peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

As China's overall strength continues to grow, the US is getting more and more worried that China's reunification will impede the US' strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region, Wang said.

US anxiety is the reason behind the military support for the Taiwan authorities and increasing "deterrence" against the Chinese mainland, he noted, "but the credibility and effectiveness of the one-China assurance claimed by the US were undermined."

Like previous editions, the NDAA 2024 made a symbolic reference to the US' one-China policy.

The imbalance between "deterrence" and "assurance" has undoubtedly increased China-US military suspicion and security risks, Wang added.

The US "deterrence" against the Chinese mainland has barely any effect, according to Wang, as the Taiwan question is at the heart of China's core interests, and China's will and determination to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity will not change in the slightest, and it will adopt a strong counter-intervention policy.

As the gap in strength between China and US continues to narrow, the cost of the US strategy and the resources required to strengthen deterrence will become greater, while the effect will become more limited, Wang remarked.

With the island's regional leader election approaching in January 2024, analysts warned the US to keep its promise not to send wrong signals to secessionists, so as to avoid an imbalance in the situation, which is also a test of the US-China relationship.

During the heads of state meeting between China and US in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that the Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive issue in China-US relations. The US side should take real actions to honor its commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence," stop arming Taiwan, and support China's peaceful reunification.

During a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi stressed China's solemn position on the Taiwan question, urging the US not to interfere in China's internal affairs, and not to support and connive with any forces of "Taiwan independence."

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken and United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron at a Joint Press Availability

US Department of State

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Dean Acheson Auditorium

December 7, 2023

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, everyone. It's genuinely a pleasure to welcome Foreign Secretary Cameron here to the State Department, to Washington. The infamous special relationship has never been more important than it is now, and I think that's reflected in the conversations we've had. Actually, we began on the phone almost immediately after your appointment, then we were in Brussels together just a week or so ago at the NATO meetings, and we picked right up today, looking at the work we're doing together both addressing bilateral issues but especially the many regional and global issues where the United Kingdom and the United States are so closely joined.

We spent some talking, of course, about Ukraine. And I believe, David, your first trip abroad as foreign secretary was to Ukraine. Our countries are in lockstep when it comes to continuing to do everything possible to ensure that Putin's aggression remains a strategic defeat and failure for Russia and determined to ensure that Ukraine continues to stand strongly on its own feet as a sovereign, independent country.

Our NATO - our meetings, excuse me, at NATO I think made very clear that there remains unwavering support for Ukraine across our Alliance, and, indeed, well beyond it - more than 50 countries that are working together to support Ukraine. In those efforts over the last almost two years now, the United States has provided something north of $70 billion to support Ukraine. Our European allies have provided more than $110 billion in support. So when we talk about burden sharing, this is a very powerful example of just that, and we are grateful for the work that our partners have done, starting with the UK. The UK's leadership has been absolutely essential. The UK has committed the second most of any country after the United States in military assistance and, of course, as I said, across the board. If you look at what our European partners are doing, what other partners in other parts of the world are doing, because this is really a global coalition in support of Ukraine - as I said, other countries are doing extraordinary things - military support, economic support, humanitarian support.

As we accelerate our efforts to enable Ukraine to stand on its own, it's crucial that the United States and our partners continue to do our respective parts. And that's why the supplemental that's currently before Congress is so necessary and so urgent. And there's a very clear choice before us: Are we going to ensure that Putin's aggression against Ukraine remains a failure; or will Putin prove that, as he believes, he can outlast us, he can divide us, he cannot only continue to threaten Ukraine but take that aggression elsewhere, including, potentially to countries in NATO?

We know that the supplemental - this is an important moment, and important because the people who want to see it fail, the people who want to see it not go forward, are sitting in Moscow, they're sitting in Tehran, they're sitting in Beijing.

We also discussed the ongoing conflict and Israeli campaign in Gaza. We both recently returned from the Middle East. We're also both united on behalf of our countries in support of Israel's right to do everything it possibly can to ensure that October 7th never happens again. And at the same time, we're committed in our conviction that Israel must do everything it can to protect civilians, to ensure that humanitarian assistance flows into Gaza. For our part, the United States has made clear that Israel has to make maximum efforts to avoid civilian casualties, even as Hamas continues to use civilians as human shields - and, as well, to sustain and indeed increase the humanitarian assistance that's going to people who need it - men, women, and children; food, medicine, water, fuel.

On hostages, we continue to explore every means to secure their release. Hamas is responsible for the fact that the pause that enabled the release of more than a hundred hostages came to an end. We're pressing for Hamas to renew that effort. To date, they continue to refuse to return to it. We're also pressing in the meantime for Hamas to allow access for the ICRC to the hostages in Gaza to assess their condition, their well-being, and to at least be able to tell the world that.

Finally, when it comes to conflict in the Middle East, we are absolutely united in doing everything possible to prevent it from spreading. We remain together and with others intensely engaged in the region to make sure that other fronts don't open up.

This includes safeguarding maritime security in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. We've seen totally unacceptable attacks there on shipping. That has to stop. We have every reason to believe the attacks were enabled by Iran, by weapons supplied by Iran to the Houthis. And we are closely coordinating on steps to protect maritime shipping and to make sure that this practice stops.

We're also focused on ensuring that anything that would add to instability in the West Bank does not continue. That includes making sure that extremist settler violence stops. We've, as you know, taken steps this week in the United States to impose visa restrictions on responsible individuals and, if necessary, we'll take further action. But we've seen some progress there, but more needs to be done to ensure that this extremist violence ends.

Finally, on Gaza, it's very important that, even as we're focused on what's happening day in, day out, that we're also not only thinking about but working on what comes next, and particularly building a foundation for a durable peace and durable security. Tomorrow, I'll have a chance to welcome colleagues from around the region here in Washington from the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. I look forward to continuing those discussions with them.

We had a chance, as well, to discuss our approach to the People's Republic of China. We're aligned on key challenges that we face in the Indo-Pacific. That includes ensuring peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, as well as standing up to the PRC for its nonmarket practices.

We're also engaging China where we can to try to see if we can find cooperation in solving some of the big challenges that we face, including, for example, risk and safety issues when it comes to artificial intelligence. The United States and the United Kingdom have been leading in the efforts to establish rules of the road. Prime Minister Sunak hosted the first-ever global summit on AI safety, a very, very important step. And this is an area where the United States and the United Kingdom will continue to work together.

Let me just say in closing that, as we're looking at the challenges we face, I heard the foreign secretary note recently - and I quote, if I can, David - "if we turn this moment of danger and insecurity into something that brings a new sense of unity between allies, there is no reason...we cannot prevail." And that's exactly what we're doing - strengthening, reinforcing the unity that we already have. And as we do that, and as we do that with our other partners, we can - and, indeed, we will - prevail.

David.

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: Thank you very much, Secretary of State. Thank you, Tony. We had an excellent meeting. It was a detailed, substantial run-through of all the issues that you discussed, and it reminded me of when I was prime minister. There is no more important relationship for Britain than this partnership with the United States. And I'm glad to see that it's not only stronger than ever - the AUKUS agreement, the Atlantic Declaration, things that have been put in place since I left office, and I'm delighted that they're there, and they make the relationship even stronger, and very glad to be foreign secretary and working on that.

And also, this relationship's never been more important. In the dangerous and insecure and unstable world in which we currently live, this is a partnership that really delivers for the United Kingdom, that delivers, I believe, for the United States, and it's great to be working in partnership with you to strengthen it in every way that we can.

I won't repeat every area that you mentioned, but just let me make a few points. First of all, the situation with Ukraine. This was - apart from the meeting we were having today, this was the reason I wanted to be in Washington, D.C. this week, was to make the point about how important it is that we go on funding Ukraine and helping Ukraine in every way we can to resist Putin's illegal invasion. I see it as the challenge of our generation. Just as my grandfather's generation had to fight off Nazi aggression in Europe, we are fighting against Russian aggression in Europe.

And the challenge, in a way, is a simple one. If you add up the economies of the allies of Ukraine - the United States, the United Kingdom, countries of the European Union - we outmatch Russia 30 to one. What we have to do is to make that economic strength count in the economic support, the diplomatic support, the moral support, but above all the military support that we give to Ukraine.

And one of the points I was making on Capitol Hill is this is not just an issue of European security; it's also an issue of United States security, too. As you said, if we don't stop Putin in Ukraine, he will be back for more. We know that, and next time it could well be a NATO Ally, in which case it wouldn't just be British and American funds and weapons, it would be British and American lives.

I think there has been progress. I think sometimes it's important to stand back and look at what's really happened. Ukrainians have taken back half the land seized by Putin. Recently they've knocked the Russian navy right back across the Black Sea, sinking a good portion of it in the process. We've opened up a shipping lane, with British insurance made available, so that over 200 ships have managed to export grain and other goods from Ukraine, and that's helped their economy to grow. And of course, they are knocking on the door of both NATO and the European Union. And so these are huge advances for this country in their struggle.

And the other point I've been making while I'm here is it is value for money. Thank you, Tony, for what you said about the scale of European support now outmatching U.S. support. We are rightly sharing a burden, as we should. It's our continent. But I'd also argue that for something like a 10 percent uplift in your defense budget and our defense budget, we've actually, with the bravery and strength of the Ukrainians, destroyed about half of Russia's pre-war defense strength, so - without the loss of a single American or British life.

So I think the last two days have been very important in this regard, making those arguments. And while I've been here, we've also put sanctions on 46 different entities across 11 different countries selling dual-use goods to Russia for the weapons program and their war machine. And we've also announced sanctions that we've taken very publicly in this case against two individuals linked to the FSB, the Russian intelligence service, who have been undermining democracy in Britain and using cyber attacks. And we've called that out in a, I think, quite right and public way to say that this is unacceptable and mustn't happen in the future.

Of course, we did discuss the Middle East in a lot of detail, as you said. We stand with you in supporting Israel and its right to defend itself, and to make sure that they deal with the murderous terrorist sect that is Hamas that did those appalling things on October the 7th, while at the same time stressing the importance of obeying international humanitarian law and trying to minimize civilian casualties.

I very much agree with what you said about the hostage situation. There's no justification for taking and holding hostages in this way. They should all be released, and it's important that those hostages are given access to or the ICRC is given access to them in the meantime.

In terms of the future, we have to start not only providing the aid that is necessary for people in Gaza, possibly using maritime routes as well as land-based routes if that is necessary, but also thinking about the future after this military operation is over. And we discussed in our meeting how that's about how we build up and revitalize the Palestinian Authority, it's about how we stand up a plan for what happens after this operation is over, and how we map out a future to a secure future for both Israel and for the Palestinian people. And we're committed to working together and with others to get that done.

Finally, one issue also that we discussed in our meeting is the situation on the border between Venezuela and Guyana. These borders were settled in 1899. I see absolutely no case for unilateral action by Venezuela. It should cease; it is wrong. And I'm delighted by the announcements that have been made by the U.S. today in that regard, and I hope to be having some telephone calls later on with the president of Guyana and others in the region to try and make sure that this very retrograde step that has been taken does not lead any further.

But above all, we discussed China. I've been speaking about that a lot today. I think it's very important that we not only protect ourselves better against Chinese cyber attacks and other hostile acts, but I think it's also important that we align with our allies and friends so that we have a more joined-up and combined position on all the issues with respect to China. And as Tony and I were saying, there is also the engage part of all of this, which is to make sure on issue of mutual benefit like climate change, where we won't solve it without Chinese action, we are discussing with them what needs to be done.

It was a very good meeting. It's a pleasure to be working with you. We started about a few hours after I took on the job, and you telephoned me and we spoke, and we've met since then in Brussels at the NATO conference, in Skopje at the OSCE, and I'm sure there will be plenty of other places, as well as right here in Washington, D.C., we'll meet. But it's been a very good meeting. Thank you.

MR MILLER: The first question goes to Vivian Salama with The Wall Street Journal.

QUESTION: Thanks, Matt. Mr. Secretary, thank you. If I may, I would like to quote you back to you, if that's okay. Following your meetings last week with Israeli officials, you said, quote, "I underscored the imperative to the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the [- and the] scale we saw in northern Gaza [must] not be repeated in the south. As I told the prime minister, intent matters, but so does the result."

This week, officials with the World Health Organization told reporters via video link in Gaza that, quote, "The situation is getting worse by the hour. There is intensified bombings going on around us, including here in southern areas, [in] Khan Yunis and even in Rafah." Have the Israelis disregarded what you requested when you met them last week, and will there be any consequences either with regard to U.S. military assistance or any other if Israel continues down this path?

And secondly, Prime Minister Netanyahu also said this week that the IDF can be trusted - is the only body that can be trusted with demilitarizing Gaza moving forward when the war ends. Is the U.S. concerned that this will end up an Israeli occupation, whether short and long term, and if not, is there a viable alternative?

And Mr. Foreign Secretary, welcome back to D.C. The UK has committed 2.3 billion pounds a year in military aid to Ukraine for 2022 and 2023. When will it agree or announce any commitment for 2024, and will it be the same?

And if America does reduce its financing of Ukraine's military effort, should Europe step up to fill the shortfall? Do you think you will have agreement with other European countries to move forward on that? Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I'm happy to start. Vivian, thank you for the questions. So first, let me put this in context when it comes to what we've been looking for as Israel conducts this campaign against Hamas to try to ensure that what happened on October 7th never happens again, something that we fully support. But as I've said repeatedly, how Israel conducts the campaign matters and matters a great deal, particularly when it comes to doing everything possible to minimize harm to civilians as well as to maximize the assistance that's getting in to people who need it so desperately.

I've been to the region, as you know, I think three times since October 7th, and actually four times to Israel during those trips. After - during the first trip, we made the case for the imperative of getting humanitarian assistance to move into Gaza. After we left, that assistance started to flow, with the trucks beginning to move into Gaza with the desperately needed assistance for Palestinian people.

The second, next trip we took, we focused in on how humanitarian pauses could be beneficial in getting hostages out, getting more assistance in, and allowing people to move about in a way that got them out of harm's way. Well, shortly after we left, that's also what happened. And we saw Israel first establish these corridors in the north as well as daily pauses to enable people to move from north to south, to do so safely, to get out of harm's way, and hundreds of thousands of people were able to do that and to get out of harm's way.

At the same time, we got the - after negotiations with tremendous assistance from Qatar and from Egypt, we got the - the pause for hostages. More than a hundred hostages were released, reunited with their families, and at the same time, we doubled the amount of humanitarian assistance during that period that was getting in. As well, we facilitated, as I said, the movement of people out of harm's way.

Now, on this last trip, as Israel has moved the campaign against Hamas to the south, we have focused in, as you've said, on the imperative of maximizing - maximizing - efforts to protect civilians and get not only assistance in but to sustain the higher level of assistance that was reached during the humanitarian pause and actually build on it. And what we've seen over the initial days is some important additional steps in the direction of doing just that. The Israelis have been evacuating neighborhoods instead of entire cities, so focusing in on a much more deliberate way on those who may be in harm's way as they conduct the campaign against Hamas; establishing some deconfliction areas, some safe areas that people can go to where they can be safe from being in the line of fire; and having a more narrowly focused area of where this military operation is actually being conducted.

Having said that, as we stand here almost a week into this campaign in the south after the end of the humanitarian pause, it is imperative - it remains imperative - that Israel put a premium on civilian protection, and there does remain a gap between exactly what I said when I was there, the intent to protect civilians, and the actual results that we're seeing on the ground.

There are a number of things that we think it would be important to really focus in on: not only having these safe areas but making sure that the communications are such that people know where they can go, when they can go there safely; making very clear when the periods of being able to move from one place to another are in place - in other words, these in effect daily pauses; making sure that those pauses apply not just to one neighborhood but to a broader area so that, again, people have confidence to know that they can move out of harm's way and move to a safe area; making sure that the areas that they go to are fully resourced and supplied with things that people will need to get by while they're away from their homes - food, medicine, water; and, again, also making sure that in areas that are clearly out of the conflict zone that they remain so, that military means not be used in those areas.

So this is something that we're talking about with the Israelis on a regular basis, including as recently as today and including in the President's conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu earlier today. We continue to recognize the extraordinary difficulty of this task as Israel is dealing with a terrorist adversary that intentionally embeds itself with civilians. But again, Israel has an obligation to do everything possible to put a premium on protecting civilians and maximizing humanitarian assistance.

In terms of what comes next in Gaza, we've been very clear on the importance of Palestinians - local voices, local faces - having responsibility and control of Gaza, and ultimately that being joined in control of the West Bank, and ultimately a clear path to fully affirming Palestinian political rights and other rights. And the best way to do that is through two states.

Now, there are going to be very challenging questions of security, of governance, of reconstruction that we have to address. David and I talked about some of them today and we'll be talking about them intensely in the days and weeks ahead, including as well with the many countries that are coming to Washington tomorrow from the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to map that out. But we've also been very clear, as I was in Tokyo, about some basic principles of the way forward, and those include that we cannot have an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza, we cannot have forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, we cannot have the territory of Gaza diminished in any way, and of course we can't have Gaza used as a platform, as it was, for the most heinous acts of terrorism against Israel. And ultimately, as I said, we want to see Palestinian responsibility, Palestinian control, for Gaza and for the West Bank.

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: Thanks. We haven't yet announced our figures for '24-'25, but when we do I don't want anyone to be in any doubt that we will continue to be giving the best possible support we can to Ukraine. I mean, if you think about Britain's contribution, we were one of the first to give anti-tank weapons when people were doubtful whether that was a good idea. We were one of the first to provide tanks when people were wondering whether that was a good idea, first to do long-range artillery, first to do long-range fire. So I think you've consistently seen a very serious UK contribution not just in terms of quantum but in terms of quality, and that will continue.

In terms of what would happen if the U.S. didn't come forward with the supplementary package, I believe the U.S. will. I believe that - I'm not an expert on your political system, but in Congress there is a majority for supporting Ukraine. And I don't want to get too involved in which things you link to which things; that's not for me to decide. But I am sure that goodwill will prevail and the money will be voted through, and it will have a huge effect not just on morale in Ukraine but also making sure that European countries keep asking themselves what more can they do, and as Tony said, actually that European countries, if you look at the combined economic, humanitarian, and military assistance, are now properly pulling their weight, as they should.

MR MILLER: The next question goes to Nomia Iqbal with the BBC.

QUESTION: Thank you, UK Foreign Secretary and Mr. Secretary. So in all the conversations about post-war Gaza, what about holding elections to give an administration there the same mandate your own governments enjoy? Or are you worried Palestinians - and you talk about the importance of local voices. Are you worried that they will reject the Palestinian Authority, an organization you want to revitalize but one that doesn't have much credibility with people on the ground, and that there is the potential that Hamas could win a post-war vote?

My other question is Ukraine's spring offensive has failed to gain significant ground. The U.S. Senate, as we know, is blocking funding for Kyiv. Are you watching the war slip away from Ukraine?

And specifically to the UK Foreign Secretary: Mr. Cameron, you say you're here for Ukraine. So the $61 billion or so that's earmarked is American taxpayers' money. A poll last month suggested nearly half of Americans want the war in Ukraine to end quickly even if that means ceding land to Vladimir Putin. So what would you say to those members of the American public who might look at you and accuse you of trying to interfere and influence domestic policies? Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: Let me just take the first point. Look, I'm a small-d democrat rather than a big D-Democrat, but I believe in democracy. I believe in elections. But actually, one of the things I did after leaving office was to spend some time looking at how we try and help the most fragile states, the most fragile situations. And I think often a rush to elections rather than trying to build a provisional government that represents the different shades of opinion in different parts of a country can be a mistake. The most important thing is to get services flowing, to get governance in place, to make sure there's security. There's plenty of time for elections in future, but getting that thing right is actually the most important of all, and that's what I'm sure we should be focused on.

Just on the spring offensive, I don't want to repeat all the things I said, but I think if you actually stand back and look at the overall picture of what's happening between Ukraine and Russia, it is a massive defeat for Putin. He has lost 300,000 people. He lost a quarter of his attack helicopters in one night a few days ago. He's lost a big proportion of his Black Sea fleet. He's seen NATO grow and be as more confident and more united than I think I've ever seen it in my lifetime now with the addition of Finland and Sweden. So I think when you actually zoom out and look at the big picture you can see what a strong position Ukraine has put itself in through its bravery and through our support.

I've now forgotten the question that you asked me. I wrote it down and I can't read my writing. What was it?

QUESTION: Americans might a

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: Oh yes, am I interfering with America - I hope I've been very careful to say I'm not telling you how to do this vote and how to run your life or anything else. I've literally just come as a friend of America, as a friend of Ukraine, and made some arguments that I think are very relevant about why this is absolutely the right thing to do. In the 1930s we didn't act fast enough to deal with the evil dictator who was invading European countries and redrawing borders by force, and we know how that ended. And I think strength through deterrence and helping your allies and stopping this appalling invasion is absolutely essential.

So I've been making those arguments, but I also I hope have made some value-for-money arguments. As I said, for a 10 percent uplift in the U.S. defense budget has actually with Ukrainian bravery destroyed almost half of Russia's pre-war military capacity, without the loss of a single American life.

Now, of course there are all sorts of issues we all have to deal with in our own countries at the same time as making the arguments for international engagement and for working together overseas. But I don't think I can remember a time when the need for international solidarity and action to tackle these threats has been more important for our own domestic security. I simply don't think there is in any of our countries a sort of put up the drawbridge and think you can insulate yourself from these problems. You can't. Our people, whether you're American or British, they live all over the world. Our businesses trade all over the world. We need international stability and security and open sea lanes and all those other things, and I think that argument is one worth making, and that's what I've been making here this week. It's not interfering, it's making an argument and hoping that people will engage with you, listen, and hopefully vote through that money.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: What David said. (Laughter.) And let me just say how he is more than welcome in this moment. Because sometimes, some of my colleagues across government, including in the Congress, hearing something from our closest ally and partner - that has an even greater resonance than hearing it from me or other people in the administration. So we really welcome it. It's so important that they hear the perspective that David brings to bear on this, that the UK brings to bear, and I think it has a very positive effect in getting the focus where it needs to be both on the success that we've had together to date in our support for Ukraine, but also the imperatives of continuing that support.

It's not - the only way this slips away is if the support goes away. And I'm convinced that, as you've heard David say so eloquently, there's been extraordinary success by Ukraine, extraordinary strategic failure by Russia; it's in our interest to make sure that both endure with regard to Ukraine, and the best way to do that is to sustain our support.

One other footnote on this, and this is more for the American audience. If you look at the investments that we've made in Ukraine's defense to deal with this aggression, 90 percent of the security assistance we've provided has actually been spent here in the United States with our manufacturers, with our production, and that's produced more American jobs, more growth in our own economy. So this has also been a win-win that we need to continue.

MR MILLER: For the next question, Simon Lewis from Reuters.

QUESTION: Thanks, Matt. Firstly, Foreign Secretary Cameron, you're here about 11 months before voters here in the U.S. will go to the polls - you may have looked at the polling ahead of your trip - for the presidential election. But I'm interested to know, what is the level of concern in the UK and among other U.S. allies that this country could take a turn towards isolationism or even authoritarianism, particularly if President Trump returns?

And additionally, the UK's Telegraph has reported this month that your defense minister, Grant Shapps, wants to drop plans to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Is that something you guys have discussed today, and is there - are there concerns for both of you that handing back the Chagos Islands at this time could create an opening for China and mean the loss of a strategic U.S. base? So I'd be interested in both your responses on that one.

And for Secretary Blinken, today Reuters and AFP, Agence France-Presse, published detailed reports that make clear that our journalists were hit by Israeli tank fire, with two strikes that killed my Reuters colleague Issam Abdallah and injured six other reporters, including an AFP photographer, Christina Assi, who was severely wounded on October 13th. These were journalists with clear press badges, markings, just doing their jobs, like more than 60 other journalists who have been killed in this conflict so far. After seeing that evidence, Secretary Blinken, do you believe Israel's assurances that it doesn't intentionally target journalists? Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called today for investigations of these strikes as a war crime. Would you support those calls? Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: Should I do the - I mean, first of all, I - I'm not going to get involved in the U.S. election. All I know about elections is the opinion polls, they told me I was going to win outright in 2010 and I didn't. They told me I wouldn't win in 2015 and I did. And so I always - polls are a bit like if you're a farmer with weather forecasts, you - they're all you've got, but they don't necessarily turn out to be right. But I'm not going to get involved in any way.

On the issue of the vital U.S. air base at Diego Garcia, when foreign secretaries and secretaries of state get together, they often discuss the importance of the assets that we share and use around the world, and that is an important one and we touched on that this afternoon.

I'll let Tony answer the rest of the questions, but can I just give my sympathies and condolences to the loss of your colleague. What journalists do in war zones - and I've seen it with the BBC and the reporting that they've done, and ITV and other British journalists - it's absolutely essential that you have independent, impartial, professional journalists covering these conflicts, and it's an incredibly difficult job, incredibly brave job, and the condolences from me and from everyone in the UK for that loss of life.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And Simon, I can only start with the same thing, which is expressing my own deepfelt condolences for their loss and for your loss, and, like David, I have extraordinary admiration for the men and women in your profession who every day around the world, in the most dangerous places in the world, are trying to bring the facts, the stories to other people. And that, too, is more important than ever. As someone who actually started his career as a journalist, this is something that's near and dear to my heart, and my respect and my admiration for everyone in the profession, but especially those who put their lives on the line to bring stories to the rest of the world. That really knows no bounds. So I'm deeply sorry for this loss.

And it is important and appropriate that it be fully and thoroughly investigated. My understanding is that Israel has initiated such an investigation, and it will be important to see that investigation come to a conclusion, and to see the results of the investigation.

On Diego Garcia, I can just say, as David said, look, this is a joint U.S.-UK military facility that plays a vital role in the Indo-Pacific region. For us, it plays a vital role in global security. It enables our own support for regional stability, it gives us an ability to respond rapidly to crises, and also to counter some of the most challenging threats that we face. We, as you know, recognize UK sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory, but this is a bilateral matter for the UK and Mauritius to work out, and we support their engagement to resolve the differences.

MR MILLER: And the final question goes to Dan Rivers with ITV.

QUESTION: Hi. Are there any circumstances in which the UK and U.S. would accept Israel continuing to wage this war for more than a month? To both of you.

And specifically to the foreign secretary, those on the right of the Conservative Party feel that the prime minister's Rwanda legislation and his decision to sack Suella Braverman and appoint you are part of a deliberate shift to the middle ground. Do you think those moves have deeply divided your party now?

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: First of all, in terms of my appointment, I was asked to be foreign secretary at a time of great international difficulty to try and help deal with some of the issues we've been talking about today, whether that is the Ukraine conflict, whether it's the situation in the Middle East. And I took the job because, first of all, I admire Rishi Sunak as prime minister. I think he's doing a very good job at a difficult time. I think he's a man of great integrity, depth, and talent, and it's a pleasure to work with him. And I did it because I served an apprenticeship as prime minister for six years to become a foreign secretary, and I hope that I can bring some of the relationships and contacts and knowledge and things that I learned from six years as prime minister, 11 years as a party leader, to doing this job. That's why I took the job. It had nothing to do with anything else.

But let me be clear. I support what the government is doing to deal with illegal migration. There is nothing more destructive to a country's reputation for a fair migration system than widescale, very public, very visible illegal migration. And the action that has been taken so far has reduced the small boat crossings by about a third this year compared to last. But the next steps are vital, because ultimately what we've got to do is break the model of the people-smuggling gangs that are responsible for this. And therefore you have to break the link between getting in a boat, arriving in Britain, and being able to stay in Britain.

And remember, all these people that are coming, are coming from a safe country. They're coming from France, or they're coming from Belgium. They are safe countries in which they could claim asylum and stay. Instead, they're choosing to come to Britain, and we need to break that people-smuggling model, break that link, and that is what the Rwanda policy is all about. And I support what is being done, and I think the prime minister has done a good job at coming up with the right package - a treaty with Rwanda that only a couple of weeks ago everyone said would be impossible, it wouldn't happen. It has happened, and it's a very good treaty. A bill has been published and will be introduced to the House of Commons, and a pack of evidence about the true nature of what happens in Rwanda is being put together, and I've seen that myself and I think it's very convincing and will overcome the arguments put in the supreme court.

So that's the position. Every country has to deal with this. One of the things I've noticed since coming back into office is how much the conversation has changed around Europe. Country after country is recognizing the difficulties and dangers of widescale illegal immigration, and having to find new ways to try and deal with it. Now, of course there are many things that you can do as foreign secretary or development secretary to help with this, which is to make sure that there is growth and development in African countries and in fragile states and in conflict-affected states from which many people come. And all those things are important, and I believe in doing all those things. I've always argued for that. But ultimately, you do have to have an immigration system that is firm but fair, and puts an end to widescale illegal visible migration which undermines the system - the point I made to start with.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And on - back on Israel and Gaza, in response to your question, first and again, we strongly support Israel's efforts to ensure that it can effectively defend itself, and as I've said repeatedly, do its best to ensure that October 7th never happens again. In our conversations with Israel, we talk about how long this campaign will take, and also how it is being prosecuted. But these are decisions for Israel to make.

Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY CAMERON: Thank you very much.

MR MILLER: Thank you.

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PM meeting with Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands: 7 December 2023

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, to Downing Street [7 December 2023].

7 December 2023

This evening the Prime Minister welcomed Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, to Downing Street.

The leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including the situation in the Middle East. They expressed regret at the breakdown of the pause in fighting to release hostages and agreed that it was vital that more aid was able to get into Gaza, including by exploring new routes. They also agreed on the critical importance of preventing regional escalation and a unified effort to prevent attempts to threaten maritime security.

The Prime Minister reflected on his recent conversations with President Zelenskyy and reiterated that support for our Ukrainian allies must remain steadfast throughout the winter and beyond. The leaders remarked on their similar outlook on the situation and welcomed continued close cooperation in supporting the defence of Ukraine.

The leaders agreed on the vital importance of tackling the scourge of illegal migration. The Prime Minister updated Prime Minister Rutte on the recent steps the UK has taken on this, including our Rwanda policy and Illegal Migration Act. They agreed to continue to work together through the Calais Group and bilaterally to tackle the issue.

Noting the extensive British and Dutch contribution to European security, the leaders discussed the importance of keeping NATO strong and united as we look ahead to the 2024 Summit in Washington.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Rutte for his leadership over the last thirteen years as the Netherlands' longest-serving Prime Minister.

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Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Office of Public Affairs

publicaffairs@doc.gov

Good morning. Welcome to the members of the Ukrainian Government, U.S. and Ukrainian industry, as well as our guests from NATO. And thank you to the National Security Council, the Departments of Defense and State, and the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council.

Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian men, women, and children. The Russian military has destroyed cities and towns, targeted schools, bombed hospitals, and relentlessly attacked critical infrastructure. Russia's war has unleashed a global energy crisis, pushed grain prices to record highs, and displaced thousands of people from their homes.

The response of the Biden-Harris Administration to Russia's further invasion has been immediate and unwavering. In the 22 months since Russia launched its unprovoked and brutal invasion, the U.S. has worked on numerous fronts to support Ukraine - from an unprecedented and coordinated set of export controls that are restricting Russia's access to vital technological inputs, to financial and humanitarian assistance, as well as military equipment and technology that is bolstering Ukraine's ability to defend itself.

At Commerce, we have created and sustained one of the most sweeping export controls and sanctions regimes ever imposed on a major economy, cutting Russia off from critical inputs and advanced technologies. Starved for microchips, the Russian military has been cannibalizing semiconductors from dishwashers, refrigerators, and even electric breast pumps in order to fix its military hardware. Internationally, Russia has turned to pariah states like North Korea and Iran to obtain artillery shells, rockets, and drones made with black market components - often lacking in quality and quantity to fully replace the military hardware it has lost.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, is continuing to tighten our restrictions and enforce penalties against those who enable Russia's efforts to obtain restricted items. BIS has also helped to prioritize export licenses for urgently needed items for the Ukrainian defense forces. At the same time, the International Trade Administration, or ITA, continues connecting our companies with Ukrainian companies in need of goods or services, and earlier this year, extended the temporary suspension of tariffs on Ukrainian steel imports.

The U.S. business community has stepped up in support of Ukraine by providing emergency aid and services; donating funds and in-kind-support, including lifesaving medicine and medical devices; and harnessing industry expertise and know-how to assist Ukraine.

And in particular, the U.S. defense industry has a tremendous opportunity to continue playing a significant role in helping our Ukrainian allies defend their sovereignty and their people. Your fight is our fight, and your success on the battlefield is crucial for security in Europe and sends a message to authoritarians in Russia and around the world that the United States stands by its friends. So, thank you for being here today, and thank you for your commitment to helping ensure Ukraine has what it needs to prevail.

Ukraine has remained strong and tough in the face of Putin's brutality, and America's support must continue to match Ukraine's resolve. We understand the importance of a resilient Ukrainian defense industrial base, which is why we are helping Ukraine leverage and expand its own considerable defense industrial capabilities. Our hope for today, tomorrow, and the weeks ahead is that U.S. and Ukrainian companies will communicate more closely on ideas for collaboration. The tremendous challenge you face is two-fold: defend Ukraine today and rebuild for tomorrow.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to host a discussion with Economic Development and Trade Minister Yulia Svyrydenko with U.S. insurance carriers, brokers and banks to share their expertise on Ukraine's reconstruction and to reaffirm our enduring support for Ukraine in the long term. Those conversations will continue.

The United States is with you every step of the way. We stand with Ukraine today. We stand with Ukraine tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.

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December 6, 2023

Transcript

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Hosted Bilateral in Honor of His Excellency Rustem Umerov, Minister of Defence for Ukraine at the Pentagon

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III; Rustem Umerov, Minister of Defence for Ukraine

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Minister Umerov, Rustem, welcome back to the Pentagon. I had a great visit to Kyiv two weeks ago, and it's good to see you again so soon, especially on Ukraine's Armed Forces Day. During my trip to Kyiv, I had great discussions with President Zelenskyy, General Zaluzhny, and yourself.

And one of the highlights was getting to meet some of the brave Ukrainian troops who have been fighting for more than 21 months to drive out the Russian invaders. I could see their determination. I could also see the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

As I said in Kyiv, the United States stands with Ukraine as you fight back against the Kremlin's aggression and cruelty. Ukraine has taken back more than half the territory grabbed by Russia since its unprovoked invasion began in February 2022. So we will stand with Ukraine for the long haul, and I'm confident that our allies and partners will be there as well.

Today, we'll build on our important conversations in Kyiv and we'll discuss Ukraine's strategic goals for the coming year and a long-term vision for a future force. To support Ukraine's immediate needs, I am announcing our 52nd drawdown of equipment and services from U.S. stocks. This package includes additional munitions for air defense, artillery, and tank weapons and small arms munition.

Now, at today's important Defense Industrial Base Summit, we discussed ways to strengthen partnerships among Ukraine and the U.S. defense industry. And all this just underscores America's commitment to a free and sovereign Ukraine, one that can defend itself today and deter further Russian aggression in the future.

Rustem, thanks for making the trip and I look forward to a good discussion today. Over to you, sir.

MINISTER RUSTEM UMEROV: First of all, thank you very much, Secretary. Thank you for meeting our delegation. A -- a past -- a great thank you to all American people and to American leadership and to -- for your personal contribution, for always helping us, always assisting us.

Also, thank you for organizing the defense industry conference that is taking a leading role in maintaining Ukraine's defense capabilities. We consider this conference, where we came as a big delegation, as a significant breakthrough in the development of our military-technical cooperation.

It's one of our key elements of increasing self-sufficiency in Ukraine. This will give the Ukrainian military industrial complex a source for peeling the parts of Russian militias in the global arms market and reduce the Russian influence on important countries.

We will -- also are working on reciprocal defense procurement agreement and also working to start (inaudible) work on security and supply arrangements.

We welcome and encourage U.S. defense businesses which want to open repair shops for their equipment and I mean manufacturing facilities in Ukraine by directing the development and enhance cooperation to start offering these businesses financing and interest.

We also are in dialogue in between Ukraine and U.S. and other countries on regard to vision of employing scaling across us for conventions in defense, Secretary.

Dear Secretary, once again, we would like to thank, on behalf of the armed forces which they -- we -- the -- we salute men and woman in uniform, for the -- all comprehensive assistance that United States is giving to us. Thank you.

SEC. AUSTIN: Well, thanks, Mr. Minister. It's great to have you here, and I look forward to a great discussion. Thanks, everybody.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3609953/

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FACT SHEET: The White House Announces New Actions to Strengthen Cooperation and Co-Production between U.S. and Ukraine's Defense Industrial Bases

December 06, 2023

Today, on Ukrainian Armed Forces Day, the United States government hosted the first day of the U.S.-Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. The conference convened around 350 U.S., Ukrainian, and European industry and government representatives to focus on significantly increasing weapons production to support Ukraine's fight for freedom against Russian aggression, and strengthen Ukraine's long term self-defense.



The U.S. and Ukrainian governments together seek to advance a robust and self-reliant Ukrainian defense industrial base that captures Ukraine's innovative culture, provides materiel for urgent military needs, and contributes to Ukraine's long-term security and economic success. Initial conference deliverables focused on first steps: institutionalizing relationships, processes, and dialogue between industry and government partners.

MSI Embedded Advisor: Working with Congress, the Department of State plans to send an advisor to the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine to support and accelerate Ukraine's transition to an interoperable military force, combat corruption, and attract foreign investment in critical industries.



Interagency "Ukraine Deal Team": The U.S. has established an interagency team, consisting of representatives from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce, that will support industry, Ukrainian, and other partners who seek guidance on potential deals, and export requirements for Ukraine's defense industry. The interagency team will respond to case-specific questions via:UkraineDealTeam@state.gov



Co-production and Technical Data Exchange: The Department of Defense, Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, and Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine signed a Statement of Intent on Co-production and Technical Data Exchange, which will work to address the urgent operational needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including in the areas of air defense systems, repair and sustainment, and production of critical munitions. The Statement of Intent increases cooperation between the United States and Ukraine and will facilitate the quicker movement of investment deals more quickly through systems.



Technical Data Package. The Department of Defense and industry partners provided Ukraine with technical data to start local production of some of the FrankenSAM projects that seek to enable Ukraine's legacy air defense systems by integrating certain Western munitions. Parallel production of these systems in Ukraine and the United States will allow for faster fielding and enable Ukraine to contribute significantly to the sustainment of its air defense systems.

These initial deliverables will not only expand U.S.-Ukraine cooperation and provide Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to be successful on the battlefield in the short-term, but will support Ukraine's long-term economic recovery and defense.

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War in Ukraine - Military support for Ukraine

Germany - Federal Government

Germany provides support for Ukraine by supplying equipment and weapons, these come from supplies of the Federal Arms Forces and from deliveries from industry financed from the Federal Government's funds for security capacity building. An overview.

Thursday, 7 December 2023

This list provides an overview of military assistance provided by the Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine. It includes deliveries from the Federal Armed Forces, from industry and assistance measures together with partners, which have, inter alia, been financed from Federal Government funds for security capacity building.

Funding for the security capacity building initiative amounts to 5.4 billion Euros for 2023 (after 2 billion Euros for 2022) and additional authorisations to enter commitments in the following years amounting to 10.5 billion Euros. These funds are to be used primarily for military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, they will be used for re-filling Federal Armed Forces stocks for items delivered to Ukraine as well as for Germany's contributions to the European Peace Facility (EPF), from which costs incurred from providing military assistance to Ukraine can be re-imbursed to EU member states.

Delivered military support to Ukraine:

(Changes compared to the previous update in bold)

Armoured fighting vehicles

80 infantry fighting vehicles MARDER with ammunition and spare parts (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

30 main battle tanks LEOPARD 1 A5*

60 tracked all-terrain vehicles Bandvagn 206 (BV206)*

16 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)*

138 MG3 for LEOPARD 2, MARDER and DACHS

ammunition for LEOPARD 1*

18 LEOPARD 2 A 6 main battle tanks with ammunition and spare parts (German share in joint project with further LEOPARD 2 operators)

50 MRAP vehicles DINGO

54 M113 armoured personnel carriers each with 2 MG* (systems of Denmark, upgrades financed by Germany)

Air defence

6 air surveillance radar TRML-4D*

3 air defence system IRIS-T SLM*

IRIS-T SLS missiles

49 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns GEPARD with spare parts *

86,122 rounds ammunitions for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns GEPARD (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

PATRIOT missiles

2 IRIS-T SLS launchers*

2 PATRIOT launchers

IRIS-T SLM missiles*

air defence system PATRIOT with spare parts

4,000 rounds practice ammunitions for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns

500 Man Portable Air Defense Systems STINGER

2,700 Man Portable Air Defense Systems STRELA

Artillery

more than 26,000 rounds 155mm ammunition (before: 25,750) (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

(from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*) ammunition for multiple rocket launchers MARS II

20,872 rounds 155mm smoke/illuminating ammunition

2 wheeled self-propelled howitzer Zuzana 2* (project jointly financed with Denmark and Norway)

155mm precision guided ammunition* (SMArt, VULCANO)

5 multiple rocket launchers MARS II with ammunition (German share in joint project with USA and Great Britain)

14 self-propelled howitzers Panzerhaubitze 2000 with spare parts (German share in joint project with the Netherlands)

20 rocket launchers 70mm on pick-up trucks with rockets*

counter battery radar system COBRA*

10 laser target designators and portable fire control modules for VULCANO artillery ammunition*

Military Engineering Capabilities

250 tool kits with blasting material*

12 mine clearing tanks WISENT 1*

13 bridge-laying tanks BEAVER with spare parts*

material for explosive ordnance disposal (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

11 mine ploughs for T-72*

18 heavy and medium bridge systems and 12 trailers

5 bridges for bridge-laying tank BEAVER

15 armoured recovery vehicles Bergepanzer 2*

2 armoured recovery vehicles Bergepanzer 3

5armoured engineer vehicles DACHS*

3 mobile, remote controlled and protected mine clearing systems*

12 mobile and protected mine clearing systems Ahlmann*

Protective and Special Equipment

1 LUNA NG reconnaissance system

152 reconnaissance drones VECTOR with spare parts* (before: 142)

241 border protection vehicles* (before: 235)

50 mobile antenna mast systems*

63 laser range finders*

168 drone detection systems*

2,667 Crypto Phones*

90,600 safety glasses (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

46 ground surveillance radars GO12*

7 reconnaissance drones Primoco ONE*

2 AMPS self-protection systems for helicopters*

20 unmanned surface vessels*

230 SatCom terminals*

1 PCB printer*

100 reconnaissance drones RQ-35 HEIDRUN*

1 antenna hub station

1 Satcom surveillance system*

1,288 binoculars

5 mobile reconnaissance systems SurveilSPIRE*

10 radio jammers*

57 anti-drone sensors and jammers*

40 frequency range extensions for anti-drone devices*

1 communications electronic scanner/jammer systems*

32 reconnaissance drones*

40 laser target designators*

10 anti-drone guns*

28,000 combat helmets

1 radio frequency system

3,000 field telephones with 5.000 cable reels and carrying straps

353 night vision goggles*

12 electronic anti-drone devices*

165 field glasses*

6 mobile decontamination vehicles HEP 70 including decontamination material

10 HMMWV (8x ground radar capability, 2x jamming/anti drone capability)*

1 high frequency unit with equipment*

Logistics

232 trucks Zetros* (before: 224)

85 truck tractor trains 8x8 HX81 and 80 semi-trailers

312 vehicles (trucks, minibuses, all-terrain vehicles) (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

25 trucks MAN TGS*

40 load-handling trucks 8x8

34 load-handling trucks 15t*

6 load-handling trucks 8x6 with 21 roll of containers*

14 tracked and remote controlled infantry vehicles THeMIS*

179 Pick-ups*

12 tank transporter tractor M1070 Oshkosh*

30 protected vehicles*

Combat Readiness and Survivability

500,000 first aid kits* (before: 400,000)

medical material

30 grenade launchers GMG*

15 precision rifles HLR 338 with 60,000 rounds ammunition*

10 All Terrain Tracked Carrier Warthog Ambulances

49 ambulances*

47.1 million rounds of ammunition for fire arms

30,000 winter clothing sets

27,477 backpacks

3 spare part packages for VECTOR drones

167,415 rounds ammunition 40mm*

1,202 Infusion kits

Spare parts WISENT

field hospital*

100 machine guns MG5*

8 dental sterilizers

11,000 group module rations

103,000 tourniquets

500 pistols SFP9*

2 hangar tents*

8 lift trucks*

295 generators

10 winter camouflage nets

168 mobile heating systems*

36,400 wool blankets

14,000 sleeping bags

Mi-24 spare parts*

spare parts for heavy machine gun M2

200 tents

116,000 winter jackets

80,000 winter trousers

240,000 winter hats

405,000 pre-packaged military Meals Ready

67 fridges for medical material*

3,000 anti-tank weapons Panzerfaust 3 with 900 firing devices

14,900 anti-tank mines (9,300* from industry stocks)

50 Bunkerfaust with 15 firing devices

100 machine gun MG3 with 500 spare barrels and breechblocks

100,000 hand grenades

5,300 explosive charges

100,000 m detonating cord and 100.000 detonators

350,000 detonators

100 auto-injector devices

15 palettes military clothing

1,200 hospital beds

18 palettes medical material, 60 surgical lights

protective clothing, surgical masks

1 field hospital (project jointly financed with Estonia)*

Diesel and gasoline*

10 tons AdBlue*

500 medical gauzes*

MiG-29 spare parts*

7,944 man-portable anti-tank weapons RGW 90 Matador*

Military support to Ukraine in planning/in execution

(due to security concerns, the Federal Government abstains from providing details on transportation modalities and dates until after handover)

Armoured fighting vehicles

105 LEOPARD 1 A5 main battle tanks* (project jointly financed with Denmark)

20 infantry fighting vehicles MARDER*

4 tracked all-terrain vehicles Bandvagn 206 (BV206)*

50 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)*

ammunition for LEOPARD 1*

ammunition for MARDER*

Air defence

1 air defence system PATRIOT with missiles

5 air defence system IRIS-T SLM*

IRIS-T SLM/SLS missiles*

22 launchers IRIS-T SLS*

2 air surveillance radars TRML-4D*

3 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns GEPARD*

289,920 rounds of GEPARD ammunition

Artillery

more than 250,000 projectiles 155mm*

18 wheeled self-propelled howitzers RCH 155*

14 wheeled self-propelled howitzer Zuzana 2* (project jointly financed with Denmark and Norway)

Military Engineering Capabilities

250 tool kits with blasting material*

material for explosive ordnance disposal*

6 armoured recovery vehicles Bergepanzer 2*

7 mobile, remote controlled and protected mine clearing systems*

13 bridge-laying tanks BEAVER*

2 mobile and protected mine clearing systems Ahlmann*

30 mine clearing tanks WISENT 1*

2 heavy and medium bridge systems*

Protective and Special Equipment

725 laser range finders*

11 reconnaissance drones Primoco ONE*

14 AMPS self-protection systems for helicopters*

30 drone detection systems*

10,000 safety glasses*

10 mobile reconnaissance systems SurveilSPIRE*

273 reconnaissance drones VECTOR*

121 reconnaissance drones*

50 unmanned surface vessels*

10 ground surveillance radars GO12*

2,000 portable light systems*

259 border protection vehicles*

vehicle decontamination system

11 communications electronic scanner/jammer systems*

Logistics

18 trucks Zetros*

11 tank transporter tractor M1070 Oshkosh*

30 tank trucks (water/fuel)*

1 load-handling trucks 8x6 with 7 roll of containers*

5 heavy duty trailer trucks 8x8 HX81 and 10 semi-trailers*

2 tractors and 4 trailers*

10 protected vehicles*

Combat Readiness and Survivability

435 precision rifles HLR 338 with 9.9m rounds ammunition*

8.3 million rounds of ammunition for fire arms

18,000 man-portable anti-tank weapons*

2 dental sterilizers

264,501 rounds ammunition 40mm for grenade launchers*

continuing deliveries of medical material*

70 grenade launchers GMG*

* Deliveries from industry stocks financed by German funds for security capacity building. Some of the deliveries require upgrades or productions is ongoing; also training measures take place.

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Secretary General Vseviov in Berlin: Our best security guarantee is unwavering support to Ukraine

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

07.12.2023

Yesterday 6 December, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov was on a visit to Berlin, where he met with his German counterpart Dr Thomas Bagger to discuss security in Europe, continued comprehensive support to Ukraine and European Union enlargement.

The meeting covered the implementation of the decisions of the Vilnius summit in July, including moving forward with the regional defence plans of NATO and reinforcing deterrence. "Estonia has decided to increase its defence spending because we are alert to and realistic about the threat Russia poses," he said. Vseviov added that the 2% of GDP on defence that has been agreed upon in the Alliance must be the minimum in the current geopolitical situation, because the world is facing several crises that will define our future.

Ahead of the European Council next week, they also spoke about launching accession talks with Ukraine and raising the cost of the war for Russia, including adopting additional sanctions. "Our best security guarantee is our comprehensive and unwavering support for Ukraine, which is fighting for all of Europe," Vseviov said, emphasising that the EU needed to act fast to adopt the necessary support for Ukraine, including the eighth package of the European Peace Facility. "The EU has promised to provide long-term support to Ukraine and now it is critical that there are no delays in the necessary support, including delivering ammunition to Ukraine."

During his visit, Vseviov also met with Dr Anna LAhrmann, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, and Dr Christian Aulbach, Deputy Head of the Department for Foreign and Security Policy at the Federal Chancellery.

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Update 201 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

International Atomic Energy Agency

143/2023

Vienna, Austria

7 Dec 2023

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has for several days depended on a single power line for the off-site electricity it needs to cool its six reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions, leaving it highly vulnerable to any further grid disruptions during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The site's fragile power supplies continue to be at the centre of concern regarding nuclear safety and security at Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPP), underlined by the site's eighth complete loss of external electricity last Saturday after the separate connections to both of its remaining power lines were cut, apparently caused by external grid events outside the ZNPP. As a result, the plant temporarily relied on emergency diesel generators for power.

It regained the connection to its main 750 kilovolt (kV) line after nearly five hours, but its last 330 kV back-up power line is still disconnected. The IAEA experts at the ZNPP have been informed that the repairs are expected to be completed by early next week. Before the conflict, the ZNPP had four 750 kV lines as well as several back-up options available.

The IAEA team also reported that reactor unit 4 - whose main cooling pumps briefly stopped running during last week's external power loss - is once again in hot shutdown mode producing heating and steam for the site and the nearby town of Enerhodar, where most plant staff live. The other five reactors remain in cold shutdown.

"The IAEA remains fully focused on doing everything it can to help prevent a nuclear accident during this devastating war. The repeated loss of off-site power at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, sometimes from causes at a considerable distance from the plant, remains one of our main challenges in this context, especially during the winter months. No one would gain from a nuclear accident and it must be avoided," Director General Grossi said.

The ZNPP has also previously relied on one sole external power line, but it is clearly not a sustainable situation, Director General Grossi added.

Two days ago, a new team of IAEA experts crossed the frontline to replace their colleagues who had been monitoring nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP for the past several weeks. It is the fourteenth IAEA team at the site since the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to the ZNPP was established by the Director General in September 2022.

The new team of IAEA experts will continue to pay close attention to the staffing situation at the ZNPP, the status of the external power supply as well as maintenance activities at the site, including any actions the plant may take following last month's detection of boron in the secondary circuit of a steam generator of unit 5. Borated water is used in the primary coolant to help maintain nuclear safety functions.

In a continuous reminder of the physical proximity of the conflict to the ZNPP, the IAEA experts continue to hear explosions in the distance, likely from heavy artillery and rockets. Today, the new team reported that they heard nine explosions closer to the site.

Also today, the IAEA team conducted a walkdown of the turbine halls of all six reactor units. The experts did not observe any mines, explosives, military equipment or vehicles in the areas they visited. Not all parts of the turbine halls were accessed so additional access would be required to fully assess whether there were any items present that could potentially impact nuclear safety.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA experts present at the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as at the Chornobyl site have reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the challenging war-time circumstances, including the frequent sound of air raid alarms at some of the facilities.

The IAEA is continuing to support nuclear safety and security in Ukraine with the delivery of much-needed equipment and other technical assistance. Last week, the South Ukraine NPP received the third and final delivery of spare parts and rubber products for the site's emergency diesel generators, ensuring their operational readiness if the site were to lose external power. The provision of this assistance was organized under a tripartite agreement between the IAEA, France and Ukraine's nuclear operator Energoatom signed in May this year.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Ulvi Bakhshaliyev was recalled from the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Belarus, and simultaneously, from the position of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Trend reports.

The corresponding order was signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
U.S. provides additional weapons to Ukraine as Biden urges Congress to approve more funding

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:20, December 07, 2023

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday announced an additional package of military aid to Ukraine to support the country amid its conflict with Russia, as President Joe Biden urged Congress to approve his supplemental budget request containing further funding for Kiev.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the newly announced assistance was worth 175 million U.S. dollars, providing arms and equipment from the Department of Defense weapons inventories under previously directed drawdowns.

Weapons and equipment in the package included "air defense munitions, additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rockets Systems, artillery ammunition, High-speed munitions for obstacle clearing, equipment to protect critical national infrastructure, and spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation," Blinken said.

Also on Wednesday, Biden urged Congress to approve a supplemental budget request he proposed in October, which included 61.4 billion dollars in additional funding for Ukraine.

"This cannot wait," Biden said when delivering a televised speech from the White House. "Congress needs to pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess."

A vote on the supplemental budget request, which also includes aid to support Israel's conflict with Hamas, is expected on the Senate floor on Wednesday, but Republicans are poised to derail Democratic effort to pass the bill, arguing that there must be adequate measures tightening border security to pair with foreign aid.

The House of Representatives has already rejected the holistic supplemental budget request, approving the 14.3-billion-dollar assistance for Israel as a standalone bill by diverting funds originally intended for the Internal Revenue Service. The House bill was dismissed by both the Senate and the White House.

In a letter to leaders of both chambers of Congress on Monday, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned that the Biden administration will run out of money to arm and provide economic assistance to Ukraine if Congress stands idly by.

"We are out of money -- and nearly out of time," Young wrote in the letter.

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Zelenskiy Thanks Japan For Aid Pledge After U.S. Senate Blocks Massive Package

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service December 07, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked Japan for a pledge of an additional $1 billion in aid, saying the funds will give "significant support" to the country just hours after the U.S. Senate blocked a White House request that would have earmarked around $60 billion for Kyiv.

The vote on whether to allow the bill with the White House request to advance marked a significant defeat for President Joe Biden, who had urged Congress in a speech earlier to quickly approve more military aid to Ukraine, warning that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will be emboldened to grab more territory if he is victorious on the battlefield.

"If Putin takes Ukraine, he won't stop there. He's made that pretty clear," Biden said in televised speech on December 6, cautioning that Putin could try to send his troops into a NATO country if he took Ukraine.

Republicans, however, blocked the entire $106 billion request -- which also included funds for Israel, Taiwan, and to shore up the southern U.S. border, saying the bill lacked immigration reforms.

The Kremlin voiced hope that Congress will continue to block military aid for Ukraine, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying on December 7, "It is to be hoped that there remain enough people with sober minds among American congressmen" and claiming that Biden wanted to "continue burning taxpayers' money in the furnace of war."

Zelenskiy earlier this week cancelled a discussion with U.S. lawmakers as the success of the aid request began looking very doubtful.

On December 7, he received the pledge from Japan, which includes the possibility of increasing the total aid package to as much as $4.5 billion.

Ukraine has been bracing for a second long winter of war with Russia -- which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 -- amid intense fighting in the east, especially around the industrial city of Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region.

Russian troops have been attempting for several weeks to encircle the city, which has become the latest symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Avdiyivka has remained in Ukrainian hands even after Russia in 2014 seized large portions of the Donetsk region, including Donetsk city, just 10 kilometers to the south.

Ukrainian forces repelled 34 Russian attacks in the Avdiyivka area, more than one-third of the 91 assaults that Kyiv's forces fought off on the entire front line over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said in its morning summary.

The battlefield reports could not be independently confirmed.

The United Nations warned on December 6 that Moscow was intensifying attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as heavy snowfalls and freezing temperatures grip the country.

Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the UN Security Council that Russia's attacks on critical Ukrainian civilian infrastructure had not only resulted in civilian casualties, but also worsened humanitarian conditions for civilians.

"All attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop immediately," he said. "They are prohibited under international humanitarian law and are simply unacceptable."

Ukraine for the first time this cold season asked people to conserve energy after a power plant near the front line was hit by shelling, causing serious damage and disabling two power units.

The Energy Ministry said that, due to the stoppage of the two units and an increase in demand, there is a temporary shortage of electricity. The ministry appealed to consumers to support energy workers by using electricity "wisely and economically, especially during peak hours."

Ukraine's power grid has been under pressure from constant Russian strikes that have caused substantial damage.

Russia also continues to attack critical grain-export infrastructure.

It launched drone attacks on the Danube port of Izmayil on December 7 that killed a man and caused damage to port facilities, Oleh Kiper, the governor of the Odesa region, said in a message on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, the Ukrainian military said its air defenses shot down 15 out of the 18 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa and Khmelnytskiy regions on December 7. The military said in a message on Telegram that the attack with Shahed-136/131 drones was launched from Cape Chauda, in the Moscow-occupied Crimea region.

"They specifically attacked the Danube port infrastructure. A warehouse, a grain elevator, and trucks were damaged. The driver of one of the trucks was killed," Kiper said, adding that a fire broke out but was promptly extinguished by emergency workers.

Since the collapse in July of a United Nations-brokered deal allowing the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports, Ukraine has used its Danube ports of Reni and Izmayil on the border with Romania to ship food to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta.

Russia has since been targeting both Odesa, Ukraine's main Black Sea port, and the two Danube ports with drone strikes that have caused substantial damage and disrupted Ukrainian grain exports. Debris from downed Russian drones has also crashed on the territory of NATO member Romania.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-drones-attack- energy-facilities-humanitarian/32719499.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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The Ukrainian Fingerprints On A Shadowy Assassination Campaign On Russian Soil

By Mike Eckel December 07, 2023

An exploding statue in a St. Petersburg cafA. A remotely detonated land mine destroying a car in a village in the Nizhny Novgorod region. A car bombing in a Moscow suburb. A fatal shooting in a bedroom community outside Moscow.

Since not long after the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has waged a not-so-secret drone-and-sabotage campaign on Russian soil, targeting everything from border-town pipelines, to military airfields, to the Kremlin itself.

Heavily armed fighters widely believed to be coordinating plans and tactics with Ukrainian intelligence have even staged raids into Russian border regions, holding off Russian forces for days and highlighting porous border defenses.

Even the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea increasingly appears to have been the work of Ukrainian operatives.

And then there's the assassination attempts -- a string of audacious bombings and shootings that have taken place not only in occupied Ukrainian territories but on Russian soil. Among those targeted: a nationalist writer and politician, a military blogger, a far-right political philosopher, and, on December 6, a former Ukrainian lawmaker known for his pro-Russian views.

Ukrainian authorities have alternated between coy denials and unrestrained glee in explaining the attacks, if not taking outright responsibility for them.

If nothing else, they highlight the irregular warfare that Kyiv has embraced as it continues to wage a scrappy, underdog fight on the battlefield against a much larger, much more powerful Russian military.

Here's a look at the assassination attempts that have occurred on Russian soil since February 2022, some of which have clear Ukrainian links, others less so.

'Traitors Of Ukraine And Accomplices Of Putin's Regime'

A native of the eastern city of Poltava, Illya Kyva plunged into Ukraine's bare-knuckle politics in 2013, when he ran unsuccessfully for parliament and then joined up with Dmytro Firtash, founder of the nationalist group Right Sector and onetime presidential candidate.

Kyva joined up with a Ukrainian militia that battled pro-Russian fighters in the eastern Donbas region after 2014, and rose to become a top adviser to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. He frequently voiced nationalist sentiments, calling for Russian speakers to be removed entirely from Ukraine.

Later, Kyva joined parliament as a member of a political party with pro-Russian sentiments. More controversially, he called for Ukraine to surrender after Russia launched its invasion; he was kicked out of parliament shortly afterward, and he fled to Russia, where he began appearing on state TV.

Last month, a Lviv court found him guilty of high treason and sentenced him to 14 years in prison.

On the evening of December 6, Kyva was walking in a park in the village of Suponevo, in the suburb of Odintsovo, southwest of Moscow. News reports said he lived in an expensive apartment at a nearby resort. Russian investigators said a person approached Kyva and shot him several times. He died on the spot.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian officials did not publicly claim responsibility, but also made no effort to conceal their satisfaction with his killing.

"The same fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine and accomplices of Putin's regime," Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence, said in televised remarks on December 6. "Justice takes different forms."

Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile posted a cryptic note on his Telegram channel, referring to St. Nicholas Day, which was celebrated in Ukraine and elsewhere on December 6: "Nicholas is powerful today," he wrote.

'Radicalization Of The Conservative Camp'

A former dissident and political activist, Aleksandr Dugin is best-known for a strain of right-wing ideology known as neo-Eurasianism. He's been a stalwart backer of the Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine that erupted in 2014, and a full-throated supporter of the 2022 invasion. The U.S. Treasury Department hit him with financial sanctions in 2015 for his work in Ukraine, including recruiting people to fight with pro-Russian militias.

His daughter, Darya Dugina, was herself a rising star in Russia's nationalist community. A month after the Russian invasion, she also was hit with financial sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department, which said she was involved in a disinformation media outlet controlled by the late Wagner mercenary founder, Yevgeny Prighozin.

On the evening of August 20, 2022, Dugina left a festival, also held in the suburb of Odintsovo, driving her father's Toyota Land Cruiser on her way to her home in the city. A bomb ripped through the SUV, killing her instantly. Suspicions were that Dugin was in fact the target, not his daughter.

Russia's main intelligence agency quickly pointed the finger at Kyiv, claiming they had uncovered a plot involving a Ukrainian woman it said had surveilled Dugina, rented an apartment in her housing complex, and planted the car bomb before fleeing to Estonia.

At the time, Ukrainian officials blamed the killing on an internal power struggle in Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies, however, believe parts of the Ukrainian government had signed off on the attack, The New York Times reported.

Tatyana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst, predicted that the killing would provoke the "radicalization of the conservative camp."

President Vladimir Putin mourned Dugina's death, calling her murder a "vile, cruel crime."

Beware Of Gift Statues

A native of Ukraine, Maksim Fomin had fought in one of the pro-Russian militias that emerged in Ukraine's Donbas following the 2014 ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Later, he took on the pen name Vladlen Tatarsky and built a following of hundreds of thousands on Telegram, promoting the Russian invasion but also criticizing how commanders waged the war. He also criticized Putin as being too soft, calling for more missile strikes to target Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

Attending a Kremlin ceremony in September 2022, after Putin had declared a partial mobilization, Fomin recorded a selfie video saying: "We'll defeat everyone. We'll kill everyone. We'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be the way we like it."

On April 2, 2023, Fomin attended an event held in his honor at the Street Food Bar No.1 cafA in St. Petersburg. He was presented with a bust of himself during the event; as he was speaking, the bust exploded, killing Fomin and wounding 42 people.

Russian law enforcement later arrested a Russian woman for bringing Fomin the box that contained the bust. In a video released by police, the woman was shown admitting that she brought the item but denying knowing that it was a bomb. She was ordered held, pending trial.

Investigators have named a Kyiv-based Russian journalist and activist for recruiting the woman. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, have denied any involvement, saying it was likely due to an internal feud among hard-line nationalists.

A shadowy group called the National Republican Army, purportedly made up of Russian partisans, claimed responsibility for the killing. Earlier, Ilya Ponomaryov, a former Russian lawmaker who now lives in Ukraine, claimed the group was also behind the killing of Daria Dugina.

'I Don't Agonize Over Anything'

Yevgeny Prilepin first made his name as a journalist in Nizhny Novgorod in the late 1990s, where he also began publishing novels and other works of fiction, under the pen name Zakhar Prilepin. Years later, his books regularly appeared on Russian bestseller lists.

He also joined up with the part-nationalist, part-punk political organization, the National Bolshevik Party, and became involved in dissident activities. In 2010, he wrote an open letter to Putin, telling him to step down as the country's leader.

Four years later, however, after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula, he became an avid supporter of Putin, and he fought in Ukraine's Donbas in a local militia.

He later started a series of political organizations, included a party that merged with a bigger national party called A Just Russia in 2021.

On May 6, 2023, Prilepin was traveling in an Audi Q7 from his home in Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow when a bomb, later revealed to be an anti-tank mine, exploded. His bodyguard was killed; Prilepin was wounded and later recovered.

Russian investigators claimed that a Ukrainian man who held a Russian passport was responsible for planting the mine, and remotely detonating it.

The Security Service of Ukraine told Ukrainian media that it could not confirm or deny involvement in the attack or other incidents inside Russia.

In Ukraine Itself

Within Ukraine itself, intelligence agents have targeted many more individuals; some had collaborated with Russian authorities after Russian forces occupied territory, others were well-known public figures or commanders of separatist militias.

Oleh Popov, who served in a local legislature in a Russian-occupied region of eastern Ukraine, was killed when a bomb detonated in his car in the city of Luhansk on December 6.

In 2018, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a separatist leader who headed the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, died when a bomb exploded at a cafA he was known to frequent.

Arseny Pavlov, another separatist commander known as Motorola, was killed in a bomb blast in an elevator in his apartment block in Donetsk in October 2016.

Suspicion in those killings fell on Ukrainian intelligence, though some observers pointed to infighting and feuding, as rival political groups in the Donbas vied for control of lucrative trade routes or other disputes.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-assassination- campaign/32721025.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukrainian Intelligence Official Says Slain Former Lawmaker Likely Aided By Russia

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service December 07, 2023

A former Ukrainian lawmaker who was gunned down near Moscow took safety precautions that were likely aided by the Russian authorities, as he "took an active part in pushing Russian propaganda," an official from Ukraine's military intelligence has said.

The body of Illya Kyva was found with two gunshot wounds in the village of Suponevo, southwest of Moscow, on December 6.

Ukrainian law enforcement sources have told RFE/RL that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) "liquidated" the former Ukrainian lawmaker during a special operation. Russia's Investigative Committee has confirmed Kyva's death and announced a criminal investigation.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on December 7 that people "who are in the active circle of the Russian special services -- and Kyva was exactly that -- and who take an active part in the work of Russian propaganda" take security precautions.

"Actually, [Russia] is trying to help such people in one way or another, and where he lived recently, this is in particular a sign of his attempts to escape and protect himself," Yusov said.

After Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyva moved to Russia, where he took part in pro-Kremlin TV talk shows and roundtable discussions.

He claimed Ukraine had been "enslaved and brought to its knees by the West, permeated by Nazism, and has no future" and called Russia's full-scale invasion a "necessary liberation."

A court in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv last month sentenced him in absentia to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of high treason.

His death and that of another Ukrainian who collaborated with Russia, Oleh Popov, a former de facto lawmaker in a part of Ukraine's Luhansk region occupied by Russia, was also reported on December 6.

Popov, who headed the Russian-installed government committee on state security and defense, law enforcement agencies, the judicial system, and the protection of human and civil rights was killed by an explosive device that detonated in his car in the city of Luhansk.

Several Ukrainian nationals accused of collaborating with the occupying Russian authorities have been targeted in recent years, and some of them have been killed.

Most recently, a de facto lawmaker of the Russian-installed regional assembly in Luhansk, Mykhaylo Filiponenko, was killed last month in a car bombing. Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence claimed responsibility for that killing.

Russia has accused Ukrainian special services of organizing the assassinations. Kyiv rarely claims responsibility for the attacks.

Days before Russia launched the invasion, Kremlin-backed separatist leaders of parts of Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize their independence from Ukraine.

Russian lawmakers in mid-February 2022 also called on Putin to recognize separatist-controlled parts of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states and ratified corresponding documents after Putin signed them.

Moscow used the documents to justify its invasion.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine- russia-kyva-killed/32720783.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US Risks Organizing 'Second Vietnam' in Ukraine - Russia's Top Foreign Intel Chief

Sputnik News

20231207

The United States is in danger of a "second Vietnam" in Ukraine, which every new US administration will have to deal with until a sensible person heads the White House, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin wrote in an article for the magazine Razvedchik.

"It is highly probable that further support for the Kiev junta, especially given the increasing 'toxicity' of the Ukrainian issue for transatlantic unity and Western society as a whole, will accelerate the decline of the West's international authority. Ukraine itself will turn into a 'black hole' absorbing material and human resources the further it goes," Naryshkin wrote in his article.

The SVR director added that "in the end, the United States risks creating a 'second Vietnam' that every new US administration will have to deal with until a reasonable person with enough courage and determination to plug this 'hole' comes to power in Washington."

The US presidential election next year will be held in an atmosphere of tough confrontation between globalists and supporters of realism and traditional values, Naryshkin stressed.

The year 2024 will be marked in the United States and Europe by an increase in the level of political and public disagreement on the issue of support for Ukraine, according to him.

"Next year we will certainly see in the United States and Europe an increase in the level of public and political disunity on a whole range of issues, from support for Ukraine to the promotion of the LGBT agenda," Naryshkin said.

According to him, "one of the harbingers of the inevitable storm" was Slovakia, where the nationally oriented "Direction-Social Democracy" party led by Robert Fico won the recent parliamentary elections "despite enormous pressure from left-liberal Western elites."

A Sputnik

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Japan to Provide Additional $1Bln in Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine

Sputnik News

20231207

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japan will provide an additional $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine in line with the G7 countries' pledge to support Kiev, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

"[Prime Minister Fumio Kishida] said that this time Japan has decided to provide an additional $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, including humanitarian and reconstruction assistance," the ministry said in a statement following the G7 online summit.

In total, Tokyo will provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion in assistance, including loan guarantees to the World Bank, according to the statement.

Last week, the World Bank said it would give Kiev a loan guaranteed by the Japanese government.

The G7 leaders held a virtual summit on Wednesday to wrap up Japan's presidency of the group. The G7 countries said in a joint statement that they were determined to continue supporting Ukraine.

The US and its allies increased their aid to Kiev shortly after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly warned that foreign aid to the Kiev regime will only prolong the conflict.

A Sputnik

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I am grateful to every Ukrainian family that understands the challenges of war and temperature and uses electricity sparingly - address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine

7 December 2023 - 21:04



I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

A few summaries for this day.

First, I would like to thank Japan for a very timely and much-needed decision to support Ukraine. $4.5 billion is the total amount, and we expect the first part - $1.5 billion - already in January. A significant part of this aid package will come in the spring. Japan is consistent and very principled in its support of our country and our people, and I am grateful for this assistance.

I held an extensive meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. In particular, we discussed cooperation with partners, preparation of new decisions to support our country, and cooperation with donors. Additionally, we covered energy-related matters, the government's work on Ukraine's energy sustainability, the stability of our operations and all our systems. Thanks to the integration of our energy system with Europe, we have appropriate support from our neighbors, which is important. I thank every country that helps. And I thank every Ukrainian family - everyone who understands the challenges of war and temperature and uses electricity sparingly and rationally.

This week, we are expecting crucial votes from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - we discussed some of them with the Prime Minister today. This also applies to what is expected of us in our relations with creditors, and what Ukraine has to do in preparation for the start of negotiations with the EU. Our priority is the full implementation of all necessary decisions that will enable Ukraine to accomplish everything required in the European direction. We believe that the EU will also fulfill its promise to Ukraine.

This is exactly what I talked about with President of the Government of Spain SAnchez. Our international relations, our cooperation in the European Union. Support for our defense. Steps that can be taken to make the whole of Europe stronger. Thank you for your help!

Today I had a conversation with the ambassadors of our national charity platform United24. It was, in fact, a summary of the fundraising efforts aimed at reconstruction. Andriy Shevchenko, Elina Svitolina, Katheryn Winnick, Oleksandr Usyk, Michel Hazanavicius, Brad Paisley, Imagine Dragons. I thanked them for uniting the world for our people, for the restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure. Overall, this week, we are reaching the $500 million mark that has already been raised during the operation of United24. If we talk about the use of these funds, it includes thousands of drone systems, as well as marine drones, 200 high-end mobile ICUs, armored ambulances, hundreds of generators for hospitals and other equipment... In the process of reconstruction are apartment buildings and schools, there are already restored hospitals, and a demining center has been built. All of this has been made possible by millions of donors from all walks of life. Ordinary people and companies from over a hundred countries. I am grateful to everyone who joined the work of United24 and the entire team of our platform.

As always, I was in touch with the military - with the commanders, there was an intelligence report. I would like to recognize the border guards. They not only defend the state border, but also fight on the frontline for the sake of our country and people alongside all the warriors of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine. I would especially like to recognize the warriors of the Kramatorsk border guard detachment - Bakhmut direction, Donetsk region. Soldier Mechyslav Levytskyi and Sergeant Ihor Kulykov - brave, efficient warriors. Thank you, guys! Zhytomyr border guard detachment - Soldier Vasyl Paliy, call sign Kordon and Sergeant Oleksandr Kachur. They are fighting in Donetsk region. Thank you for your bravery and destruction of the enemy! Special unit DOZOR. They work in different areas, and there are results in each of them. Well done, warriors! I would also like to mention the units that defend the south of our country, in particular those of the Southern Regional Directorate and the Sea Guard. Their mobile firing teams hunt down "shaheds" every night, and I thank you, guys, for every enemy drone you have shot down!

There is also a new decision on our state's sanctions against Russian entities involved in this aggression and working for it. Russian individuals and legal entities. More than 360. And we are working with our partners to synchronize all our sanctions steps.

And one more thing.

Today is Local Government Day in Ukraine. The day of many people who work in communities, for the sake of communities. In areas near the frontline and throughout our country. I congratulate everyone for whom being in local government means being with people, taking care of people's interests and always bearing in mind the interests of the entire Ukraine. I am grateful to those who really make their communities stronger. Today, I signed a decree on awarding local government representatives - those who work near the frontline. Those who were wounded. But did not abandon people and their communities.

Glory to all who defend our state as their own home! Glory to our strong people!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Ukraine and the United States signed a Memorandum on Co-Production and Technical Data Exchange at the Defense Industrial Base Conference in Washington, DC

President of Ukraine

7 December 2023 - 13:44

During the USA - Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference in Washington, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense on co-production and technical data exchange.

The document stipulates that Ukraine will receive the capabilities necessary for success on the battlefield in the short term, and in the long term will contribute to economic recovery and strengthening of defense capabilities.

The Memorandum sets localization of the defense industry in Ukraine as one of the main priorities.

In particular, the document will facilitate the building of production facilities in our country to provide the Armed Forces with the necessary weapons, in particular in the areas of air defense, production of critical munitions, and repair and sustainment.

The U.S. Department of Defense and industrial partners will provide Ukraine with technical data to start local implementation of individual projects aimed at sustaining legacy air defense systems by integrating Western munitions. The parallel production of these systems in Ukraine and the United States will speed up their fielding and help our country maintain its air defense system in a combat-ready state.

In addition, during the conference, the United States announced the establishment of the Ukraine Deal Team, an interagency group consisting of representatives of the U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Commerce. The interagency team will support partners in developing recommendations on potential deals and export requirements for Ukraine's defense industry.

The USA - Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference organized by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine with the support of the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Commerce took place in Washington, D.C., on December 5-6.

The purpose of the conference was to bolster cooperation between the defense industries of Ukraine and the United States. The event was attended by about 350 American, Ukrainian and European industrialists and government officials. The conference participants focused on a significant increase in arms production to support our country's fight against Russian aggression and to strengthen our country's defense in the long term.



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Head of the Presidential Office met with the U.S. Secretary of Defense

President of Ukraine

7 December 2023 - 11:13

As part of the visit to the United States, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Andriy Yermak thanked for the unprecedented defense assistance provided by the United States to combat Russian aggression, which has already reached almost $45 billion.

The Head of the President's Office emphasized the utmost importance of the USA - Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference held in Washington on December 5-6.

"I hope that this conference will be a starting point for active bilateral military-technical cooperation. We will provide all necessary support to American businesses willing to come to Ukraine," he said.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said: "We need a powerful defense coalition to unite our efforts in the fight against Russian terror."

The members of the Ukrainian delegation briefed Lloyd Austin on the situation on the battlefield and the urgent needs of Ukrainian defenders, including armored vehicles, demining vehicles, artillery systems and munitions, long-range missiles, and combat aircraft. Special attention was paid to the need to build a system of fortifications.

The importance of further strengthening Ukraine's air defense to protect Ukrainian cities, critical infrastructure, and grain corridor routes was also emphasized.

Rustem Umerov said: "The future of Ukraine lies in NATO. Therefore, our goal and task is to bring the Defense Forces in line with the principles and standards of the Alliance."





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In Washington, Andriy Yermak, Ruslan Stefanchuk and Rustem Umerov had a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State

President of Ukraine

7 December 2023 - 09:55

As part of the visit to the United States, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk and Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Andriy Yermak thanked Antony Blinken for all the powerful assistance that has been provided to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. In particular, it is almost $45 billion in defense aid and $22.9 billion in budget support.

He also expressed gratitude for the organization of the USA - Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference, which is taking place these days in Washington, DC. Andriy Yermak noted that this important event will launch active bilateral military-technical cooperation between the two countries.

It was noted that Ukrainian defense companies, based on the experience of the Ukrainian military in the use of various types of weapons in combat, with the support of American partners, are able to produce fundamentally better weapons.

The parties also discussed the need to sustain Ukraine's macro-financial stability.

Andriy Yermak thanked President Joseph Biden's team for their efforts to provide budgetary assistance to Ukraine and expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would soon adopt all the necessary decisions.

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the situation on the battlefield and Ukraine's current defense needs.

The parties paid special attention to the implementation of the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Andriy Yermak thanked for the participation of the U.S. representative in the regular meeting of national security and political advisers in Malta and invited to join the next such meeting.

The Head of the President's Office assured the American side of Ukraine's strong commitment to further reforms, particularly in view of the European Commission's recommendations to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU.

Andriy Yermak also informed Antony Blinken about the course of negotiations on security guarantees for Ukraine on its way to NATO, as envisaged by the Joint Declaration of the Group of Seven adopted in Vilnius. The Head of the President's Office is hopeful that a substantive discussion of the American side's proposals on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for our country would begin shortly.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Maharram Aliyev has been dismissed from the post of Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department of Military Affairs of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The relevant decree was signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

According to another decree of the head of state, Magerram Aliyev resigned from active military service.

Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Ukraine Says Russian Drone Attack Hits Odesa Port

By VOA News December 07, 2023

A Russian drone attack killed one person and damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region, the regional governor said Thursday.

Oleh Kiper said Odesa was under attack for two hours, and that while air defenses shot down most of the Russian drones involved, some of them made it through.

He identified the victim as a truck driver, and said the drone attack damaged a warehouse, elevator and trucks near the Danube River.

Ukraine's military said Russia's aerial attack involved a total of 18 drones targeting Odesa in southern Ukraine and the Khmelnytskyi region in the western part of the country.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 of the 18 drones, the military said.

U.S. aid

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked $110 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel, as well as some security measures for the U.S. southern border.

U.S. President Joe Biden had asked Congress for almost $106 billion to fund the wars and border needs.

The vote Wednesday was 49 votes in favor and 51 against, leaving the measure short of the 60 votes needed in order to proceed.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports Ukraine aid, told his party members to reject the aid package because it did not include policy changes, something lawmakers have fought over for years.

Earlier Wednesday, Biden implored Congress to approve more arms aid for Ukraine, saying that failing to pass the assistance would be the "greatest gift" the United States could hand Russian President Vladimir Putin in Putin's nearly two-year war against the neighboring country.

At the same time, the U.S. Defense Department announced new security assistance for Ukraine that is the Biden administration's 52nd allotment of equipment for Ukraine since August 2021. It contains air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons and other equipment.

The $175 million military aid package includes guided missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, anti-armor systems, and high-speed anti-radiation missiles, according to the Pentagon and State Department.

Speaking briefly at the White House, the U.S. leader said that if Putin defeats Ukraine, "it won't stop there," and Moscow would invade neighboring NATO countries the U.S. is legally bound to defend.

"If NATO is attacked," Biden said, "We'll have American troops fighting Russian troops. We can't let Putin win."

With the new tranche of aid, Biden emphasized in a statement that "security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security. It helps to prevent a larger war in the region and deter potential aggression elsewhere."

Some Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives say they will not approve the additional Ukraine assistance without adopting much stricter U.S.-Mexico border controls, such as blocking all illegal migration.

Biden said, "I support real solutions at the border ... to fix the broken immigration system," but called for a compromise with opposition Republicans, not blanket acceptance of shutting the border, one of the demands of some Republicans.

The president said Republicans "have to decide whether they want a political solution or a real solution. This has to be a compromise."

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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US Lawmakers Running Out of Time to Pass Ukraine Aid, Border Security Funding

By Katherine Gypson December 07, 2023

With just four working days left before its holiday recess, the U.S. Congress is no closer to passing the White House's $60 billion request for aid to Ukraine.

Lawmakers are running out of time to negotiate a deal on border security that Republicans say must be included to overcome their concerns about funding foreign conflicts while leaving domestic priorities unaddressed.

"This is about securing our border so we can then help our allies," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters Thursday.

Graham called on President Joe Biden to enforce existing immigration laws, saying he would not return to his home state of South Carolina to "try to explain why I helped Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel and did nothing to secure our own border. I will help all of our allies, but we have got to help ourselves first."

The Ukraine aid request is part of a larger $106 billion emergency supplemental request that includes military assistance to Israel and Indo-Pacific partners as well as Democratic priorities for border security funding.

"Republicans in Congress are willing to give Putin a gift, the greatest gift that Putin could ... hope for," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday.

Senators resumed negotiations Thursday after failing to open debate on the supplemental request by a 49-51 vote late Wednesday.

"I think the vote yesterday convinced them [Democrats] that we are serious about it, and something needs to be done," Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told VOA. "And I'm convinced that we'll get there. That's just democracy."

Democrats object to Republicans' proposals to change asylum rules at the U.S. border and argue the White House request must be considered all together as part of a broader national security strategy.

"It was Republicans who threw an unnecessary wrench into Ukraine funding by tying it to the extraneous issue of the border," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday.

"We all agree that border security is important," he said. "President Biden included strong border provisions in the proposal he sent us. But we also know it's a complicated issue a very complex a that's escaped bipartisan solution for years."

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been expected to address a classified briefing for U.S. senators via videoconference but canceled unexpectedly. The meeting ultimately grew tense as Republicans accused Democrats and Biden administration briefers of not addressing their concerns about the border.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a strong supporter of aid to Ukraine, emphasized Thursday that Republican border security proposals must be included to win Republican votes.

"It is profoundly unserious to pretend that national security priorities don't include securing our nation's borders," McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday.

"To warn about borders in jeopardy and not start with the one that's being overrun here at home," he said. "To invoke threats facing sovereign nations without a clear plan to uphold America's own sovereignty."

Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said Tuesday that there is $1.1 billion left to replenish U.S. military stockpiles for weapons and equipment sent to Ukraine.

The White House also warned earlier this week that the United States has about $4.8 billion left to supply Ukraine with aid, an amount that would run out by the end of this year.

Any compromise passed in the Democratic-majority Senate would also need to pass the Republican-majority House of Representatives, where support for Ukraine has diminished this year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he does not plan to extend the House schedule past its last scheduled day in session on December 14. Earlier this week, he told reporters several key questions about accountability and the longer-term strategy for victory in Ukraine remain.

Many Republicans recognize that aid to Ukraine is important for deterrence but argue for more oversight.

Republican Representative Michelle Steel told VOA on Thursday, "We've been spending so much a billions and billions of dollars. We have to see transparency, that exactly where these monies are going and how they're spending it."

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, aid commitments to Ukraine are at their lowest since the beginning of the war in February 2022.

"Between August and October 2023 saw a stark drop in the amount of newly committed aid, with the value of new packages totaling just EUR 2.11 billion," the report said.

Biden has worked to shore up the support of allies amid uncertainty over passage of the funding on Capitol Hill.

"Great Britain and the European countries will keep on supporting Ukraine," David Cameron, British foreign secretary and former prime minister, told VOA.

"But clearly America is an essential partner in this," he said. "They are the world's biggest economy, the biggest defense player, absolutely vital. So, let's keep going on making the argument about what a difference the resources will make."

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Ukraine Sentences Chinese Video Blogger for War Videos

By Tracy Liu December 07, 2023

After disappearing from social media in October, Chinese influencer Wang Jixian shocked his 258,000 followers with a post this week on X, formerly Twitter, declaring, "Now I'm a war criminal! I love Ukraine. No matter how I am and what I've experienced, invading or killing is wrong! I don't want to see another person die in the war."

Wang, 38, a software engineer from Beijing who lives in Odesa and works for an American company, made the post just days after a Ukrainian court found him guilty of publishing videos that could harm the country's national security.

The court declared Wang's videos on social media were "recording the operation of the air defense system in Odesa" and "commented on the place and time of shooting of the videos, the characteristics of the sound, the fact of hitting the target and the consequences of the hit."

The court said the posted videos allowed people, "including representatives of the Russian intelligence services and other agencies," to become familiar with Odesa's defense situation, which is illegal in Ukraine.

Patriots of Ukraine, a local media outlet in Ukraine, reported that Wang was sentenced to five years in prison but was released from serving the sentence with a probationary period of one year.

Ukrainian security agents released Wang on November 29, seven weeks after taking him from his home.

'Very shocked'

Dasha Zakopaylo, Wang's wife, told VOA Mandarin that Wang could not be interviewed because he is on probation but said he acted unintentionally and supports Ukraine's defense. "We were very shocked. We had no idea of this new law," she said in an emailed response.

Zakopaylo, who is Ukrainian, said she believes a Chinese person must have tipped off Ukrainian police about her husband's video posts, because they are all in Chinese. "Ordinary Ukrainians don't speak Chinese," she wrote, and then asked, "Why would Ukrainian police watch Chinese videos on social media?"

Wang's social media comments on China's current affairs, usually the opposite of China's government rhetoric, have also made him a target of Chinese police.

In a video he published in July, Wang said his parents, who live in Beijing, were approached by police. In the video, he calls the Beijing police and calmly asks them not to harass his parents, saying he is willing to talk to them directly.

Wang first gained international attention as a vlogger, or video blogger, posting in Mandarin about how Ukrainians are living under the daily threat of bombings since Russia's 2022 invasion.

He's not the first vlogger to run afoul of Ukrainian security since Russia's invasion. Several Ukrainians were similarly sentenced for posting videos related to air defense operations in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

After his release, Wang updated his profile on X to the handle "hellojixian."

"The old Wang Jixian is dead," he posted. "I'm a 'new person' now. I hope for peace and no more wars. I will not talk about wars or politics anymore. I just want to be an ordinary good husband and spend all the time with my wife."

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Department of Commerce Hosts Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, December 8, 2023

Office of Public Affairs

publicaffairs@doc.gov

This week, the Department of Commerce hosted a series of speakers and meetings as part of the first day of the Defense Industrial Base Conference to convene more than 300 U.S. and Ukrainian industry and government representatives to explore opportunities for co-production and other industrial cooperation with Ukraine. The conference is part of the U.S. government's efforts to significantly increase weapons production to support Ukraine's fight for freedom and security.

During the speaker series, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriyy Yermak, Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine Ruslan Stephanchuk, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, and Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamyshin each delivered remarks during a speaker series. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also delivered remarks via video.

"We know the importance of a resilient Ukrainian defense industrial base, and that's what today is all about. We are committed to helping Ukraine leverage and expand your own considerable defense in defense industrial base capabilities. You have a strong defense industrial base, but we need to lean in to work with you in partnership with the private sector, the public sector, to strengthen it, and to deepen it to make it more innovative," said Secretary Raimondo. "We're with you every step of the way, we stand with you today and tomorrow, until the end, until victory."

The Commerce Department has taken a number of steps to aid in Ukraine's effort to defend themselves. The Department's Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) has imposed export controls and enforcement penalties to prevent Russia from accessing military equipment, drones, spare parts, and other supplies they need to continue to conduct their war. BIS has also helped prioritize export licenses for urgently needed items for the Ukrainian defense forces. The Department's International Trade Administration continues connecting U.S. companies with Ukrainian companies that are in need of goods and services. And earlier this year, the Department extended temporary suspension of tariffs on Ukrainian steel imports. The Commerce Department has also worked with the U.S. business community to support Ukraine by providing emergency aid and services, such as lifesaving medicine, telecommunications equipment, satellite equipment, IT infrastructure, medical devices, and harnessing American industry expertise.

"The United States stands resolute in its support for Ukraine, and this event has only solidified and strengthened our commitment to ensuring Ukraine's safety, security, and success," Deputy Secretary Graves said. Together, he emphasized, the two countries can work to build a Ukraine that houses a world-class defense industry base for years to come.

Initial conference deliverables focused on first steps: institutionalizing relationships, processes, and dialogue between industry and government partners.

MSI Embedded Advisor: Working with Congress, the Department of State plans to send an advisor to the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine to support and accelerate Ukraine's transition to an interoperable military force, combat corruption, and attract foreign investment in critical industries.

Working with Congress, the Department of State plans to send an advisor to the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine to support and accelerate Ukraine's transition to an interoperable military force, combat corruption, and attract foreign investment in critical industries. Interagency "Ukraine Deal Team": The U.S. has established an interagency team, consisting of representatives from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce, that will support industry, Ukrainian, and other partners who seek guidance on potential deals, and export requirements for Ukraine's defense industry. The interagency team will respond to case-specific questions via:UkraineDealTeam@state.go

Co-production and Technical Data Exchange: The Department of Defense, Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, and Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine signed a Statement of Intent on Co-production and Technical Data Exchange, which will work to address the urgent operational needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including in the areas of air defense systems, repair and sustainment, and production of critical munitions. The Statement of Intent increases cooperation between the United States and Ukraine and will facilitate the quicker movement of investment deals more quickly through systems.

The Department of Defense, Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, and Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine signed a Statement of Intent on Co-production and Technical Data Exchange, which will work to address the urgent operational needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including in the areas of air defense systems, repair and sustainment, and production of critical munitions. The Statement of Intent increases cooperation between the United States and Ukraine and will facilitate the quicker movement of investment deals more quickly through systems. Technical Data Package: The Department of Defense and industry partners provided Ukraine with technical data to start local production of some of the FrankenSAM projects that seek to enable Ukraine's legacy air defense systems by integrating certain Western munitions. Parallel production of these systems in Ukraine and the United States will allow for faster fielding and enable Ukraine to contribute significantly to the sustainment of its air defense systems.

This conference follows the International Defense Industries Forum hosted by Ukraine on September 29 and reinforces the United States' long-term commitments to the U.S. defense industrial base, to Ukraine's economic recovery, and the joint commitment to enhance industrial, armaments, and security cooperation between both nations.

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December 8, 2023

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

Top DOD Acquisition Official: Forged Partnerships Provide Momentum for Bolstering Ukraine Industrial Base

The partnerships forged among allies and partners have paved the path toward bolstering Ukraine's defense industrial base for the long term, the Pentagon's top acquisition official said this week.

William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, met with industry and government officials from the U.S., Ukraine and other allies during the two-day Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Conference co-hosted by the White House, and the departments of Commerce and Defense in Washington.

As he kicked off a series of panel discussions, LaPlante said U.S. and Ukrainian allies and partners could draw from previous success in rallying together as they look to shore up Ukraine's ability to produce critical military equipment domestically.

Key among those accomplishments has been the establishment of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which LaPlante noted has rallied a coalition of close to 50 allies since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The coalition has helped guide nearly $80 billion in combined security assistance.

LaPlante also noted the formation of National Armaments Directors under the auspices of the contact group, which aims to synchronize international efforts to overcome industrial base and sustainment challenges in support of Ukraine.

"To date, the group's efforts have helped increase production of critical munitions and interceptors around the globe, establish repair facilities, translate technical manuals, deliver spare parts, and most importantly, get contracts awarded to our partners in industry," LaPlante said.

He said those efforts have increasingly focused on Ukraine's long-term success, including efforts to increase its domestic production of munitions and development of a sustainment strategy.

That strategy will cover a range of issues including maintenance, repair and overhaul of equipment; expansion of, and training for, logistics information technology systems; and availability of technical data packages for spare parts.

"As we look toward the future, the lessons learned from the NAD [National Armaments Directors] forum can serve [as] a blueprint for what comes next after the discussions here this week," he said.

Among those lessons is the need to unite around concrete, practical objectives for Ukraine's domestic industrial base, LaPlante said.

"That means establishing specific targets for production numbers. It means awarding contracts. And it means thinking creatively and collaboratively to enable successful execution," he said.

"Whether working through intellectual property access, export control regulations, or mechanisms for greater co-development, co-production and co-sustainment, we have to dive into the hard conversations and find a way forward together," he added.

This week's conference provided a critical forum for stakeholders to begin plotting a path forward to reach those objectives.

On Wednesday, U.S. and Ukrainian officials signed a statement of intent on exploring the co-production of critical weapons and on prioritizing technical and data exchange to address the urgent needs of Ukraine's armed forces.

Other discussions at the conference included areas of potential collaboration among the U.S. and Ukrainian governments and industry partners on ways to advance best practices that can lead to long-term success, as well as increased investments in Ukraine's defense sector.

Speaking during the opening session, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin underscored the importance of bolstering Ukraine's ability to produce critical military equipment domestically in order to maintain lasting freedom and sovereignty within its borders.

"Together with our allies and partners, we must continue working to help Ukraine repel Russian forces today and build a future force for Ukraine that can deter Russian aggression in the years to come," he said. "That will mean strengthening Ukraine's defense industrial base, both to maintain Ukraine's current war effort and to bolster Ukraine's national strength and deterrence long into the future."

LaPlante said the conference is an important step in working toward an "end-state of [the] Ukrainian industrial base that can meet immediate operational needs, foster the strengthening and expansion of Ukraine's future force, and contribute significantly to the growth of Ukraine's economy."

In the coming weeks, LaPlante said he looks forward to further discussions and to partnering with government agencies and industry to accomplish those goals.

Among the interagency pathways is a newly announced Ukraine Deal Team comprising representatives from the Defense, Commerce and State departments focused on helping U.S. companies access Ukrainian markets.

"This deal team will deploy all available U.S. government tools, including resources and expertise, to help U.S. companies compete and succeed in the Ukrainian defense industry," said Penny Pritzker, the U.S. special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery.

LaPlante said it was critical that the allies and partners continue the progress in helping Ukraine.

"Just as the National Armaments Directors have demonstrated a unique ability to drive meaningful action through the UDCG, the group gathered here today must do the same through collaboration and cooperation," he said.

"Our support to the brave people of Ukraine remains unwavering, and I hope we are all ready to roll up our sleeves and maintain this momentum," he said.

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Foreign Minister Tsahkna discussed the situation on the Ukrainian-Polish border with his Polish counterpart in Tallinn

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

08.12.2023

Today 8 December, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with Polish Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel SAk in Tallinn to discuss continued comprehensive support to Ukraine and topics related to the future of the European Union.

At the meeting, Tsahkna recognised Poland for its unwavering and remarkable continued support to Ukraine, including on its path towards NATO and the European Union. "Our support to Ukraine is solid until Ukraine's victory because they are fighting for the security of Europe, for us," Tsahkna said, expressing hope that the situation on the Poland-Ukraine border will be resolved quickly. "Polish border crossing points are used for delivering, among other things, vital humanitarian and defence aid, and for transporting goods, which keeps Ukraine's economy running," Tsahkna said. "Estonia is ready to contribute fully to finding a quick resolution."

The ministers also spoke about launching accession talks with Ukraine and raising the cost of the war for Russia, including adopting additional sanctions. "We are coming to a very important week when I expect progress with Ukraine's path to the EU, as well as with adopting the 12th package of sanctions," Tsahkna said, noting that work must continue on isolating Russia internationally. He thanked Poland for supporting Estonia as a candidate for the Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) next year, and boycotting the organisation's meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was present.

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The President: Ukraine's victory is the fastest way to return children abducted by Russia

President of the Republic of Lithuania

December 08, 2023

President Gitanas NausAda on the international community on Friday called to unite in seeking the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly deported by Russia to their families.

Addressing the First Meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children, the President emphasized that, through its actions, the Russian regime has attacked the unconditional love between children and their parents, violating the very sense of personal identity and breaching the most sacred norms of any human community.

Lithuania, together with the entire democratic world, stands in solidarity with Ukraine and demands that Russia immediately cease this crime and release the Ukrainian children.

"The entire international community has a duty to enable Ukraine's victory by supporting it both militarily and financially, as only Russia's defeat can bring closer the return of the abducted children," the President stated in his video address.

According to the President, the return of the children is only the first step. It is equally important to seek full accountability for the responsible actors. Lithuania will contribute to international efforts to ensure justice.

Gitanas NausAda stressed that Lithuania firmly supports President Zelenskyy's 10-point plan as the path to building a just and lasting peace. Ukraine can rely on Lithuania's diplomatic, military, financial and humanitarian assistance to restore its full territorial integrity, safeguard energy security and ensure Russia's legal responsibility.

"Throughout the centuries, Ukraine has successfully resisted numerous attempts by Russia to deny and suppress its history, culture, and identity. Today I am certain it will prevail over the most recent aggression as well," the President said.

The President's Communication Group

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Russia Uses Bombers To Launch Cruise Missile Attack Across Ukraine

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service December 08, 2023

Russia resumed the use of strategic bombers for attacks on Ukraine on December 8 as it launched an air attack that killed one person and wounded several others in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said Russia launched 20 cruise missiles and an Iskander-M ballistic missile during the attack, revising an earlier assessment that 19 cruise missiles had been fired. It said 14 of the missiles were destroyed by Ukraine's air defenses.

The Russian military also used S-300 missiles to hit Kharkiv six times, injuring two people, the General Staff said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening video address that the barrage that set off air alerts across most of Ukraine showed that Russia "repeats the evil it has already done but tries to make each strike more painful."

With winter approaching, he said Ukraine's task is to "show strength and not let the enemy seize the initiative, not let them fortify" their positions.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces deployed a total of seven Tu-95MS aircraft from the Saratov region to carry out the attacks.

"After a long break of 79 days the enemy has resumed air strikes with cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic air force aircraft," Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian military said earlier that the attacks caused substantial damage to civilian and energy infrastructure.

One missile hit the city of Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one resident and wounding eight others, two of them seriously, Lysak said.

"More than 20 residential buildings, nine commercial buildings, and a school were damaged in the strike. Power lines were also affected," Lysak said.

Five drones were also shot down above the Pavlohrad and Synelnyk districts of Dnipropetrovsk, he added.

The air defense separately reported that seven Iranian-made drones targeted the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram that the S-300 missile attack on Kharkiv wounded two people and caused damage to residential infrastructure, including a school.

In Kharkiv's Kupyansk district, three people were wounded and one apartment building was damaged by Russian shelling, Synyehubov said.

Ukraine has been bracing for a second long winter of war with Russia amid intense fighting in the east, especially around the industrial city of Avdiyivka in Donetsk region.

The General Staff said early on December 8 that Ukrainian defenders repelled 30 Russian assaults in the Avdiyivka area over the previous 24 hours.

Russian forces have been attempting for several weeks to encircle Avdiyivka, which has become the latest symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Avdiyivka has remained in Ukrainian hands even after Russia in 2014 seized large portions of the Donetsk region, including Donetsk city, located just 10 kilometers to the south.

On December 8, Germany delivered a new package of military aid to Ukraine that includes shells, drones, and vehicles.

The German government said in a statement that the new package included 10 Vector reconnaissance drones, 1,750 artillery shells, 70 grenade launchers, six patrol cars, and eight trucks, as well as 100,000 military first-aid kits.

Germany is second only to the United States in terms of military aid provided to Kyiv.

Last month, Germany pledged a further 1.3 billion euros ($1.42 billion) in military aid for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-air-raid-alert-russian- drones/32721815.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukraine Loses Over 1,560 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Week- MoD

Sputnik News

20231208

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine has lost more than 1,560 soldiers in the Donetsk direction over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

Over the given period, the Russian armed forces have repelled 19 attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk direction and 18 attacks in the Donetsk direction.

"The total losses of the Ukrainian armed forces [in the Donetsk direction] amounted to more than 1,560 military personnel, 12 armored combat vehicles, 17 vehicles and 22 field artillery guns," the ministry said in a statement.

Kiev has also lost nearly 1,500 soldiers in the Krasny Liman direction, nearly 900 soldiers in the South Donetsk direction, up to 350 soldiers in the Kherson direction and up to 260 soldiers in the Zaporozhye direction.

The Russian forces have also captured 12 Ukrainian soldiers over the past week, the statement read.

A Sputnik

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New Ukrainian Brigades Lack Needed Vehicles, Have Obsolete Equipment - Report

Sputnik News

20231208

According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Western military aid to Ukraine has plummeted by 87% year-on-year from August to October, reaching its lowest since January 2022 of $2.3 billion. This plunge can be attributed to the lack of new commitments by the European Union and the United States.

A Forbes article recently revealed that photographs featuring the five fresh mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were noticeably lacking combat equipment. Moreover, these brigades might be supplied with outdated Soviet vehicles.

Forbes explained that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently in the process of forming five new mechanized brigades: the 150th, the 151st, the 152nd, the 153rd and the 154th.

"None of the photos show the brigades' equipment. An old BMP-1 appears in some photos, but it probably belongs to a training unit," the journalist noted.

According to the article, the absence of infantry fighting vehicles turns the mechanized brigades into ordinary light infantry.

The news piece suggests that the new units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not receive Western combat vehicles, due to Kiev's fears over the swift depletion of new equipment during combat. Instead, the brigades are expected to receive antiquated BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, known for their poor crew protection.

If a BMP-series vehicle is hit, "the entire crew dies," a Ukrainian soldier said, as quoted by the article.

Furthermore, the report warns of the likelihood that the new brigades might be equipped with outdated MT-LB armored fighting vehicles or, worse yet, trucks as substitutes for standard infantry fighting vehicles.

"In reality, they may end up riding in thinly-armored vehiclesawith an obvious effect on their combat power," Forbes writes.

For the past six months, Ukrainian troops have been trying to advance in the southern Donetsk, Artemovsk, and Zaporozhye regions. Despite being equipped with foreign weaponry and trained by NATO, the Ukrainian army has lost, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, more than 125,000 soldiers during the half-year-long failed counteroffensive.

A Sputnik

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. The Azerbaijani delegation continues its participation in several panel sessions at COP 28 (the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), and hosts guests at the Azerbaijani pavilion, the press service of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan told Trend.

The Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Jim Skea visited the Azerbaijani pavilion.

During the meeting with the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev at the Azerbaijani pavilion, they discussed issues related to studying climate change risks in Azerbaijan, conducting scientific research in the Caspian region, and involving Azerbaijani scientists in the preparation of the report for the 7th assessment cycle.

The visitors the Azerbaijani pavilion included Patricia Espinosa, who served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Government for a long time and was the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2016 through 2022, as well as members of the delegation which represented Mexico at COP 28.

During the bilateral meeting, discussions focused on the steps taken by Azerbaijan in the field of climate change, the country's contribution to global efforts, and the importance of regional and international cooperation in this area.

Azerbaijan opened its pavilion at the COP 28 in Dubai on December 1. The national pavilion was established through the joint organization of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan within the framework of COP 28 which is being held from November 30 through December 12.

The concept of the pavilion is based on the rich flora and fauna of Azerbaijan.

The interactive pavilion showcases information on Azerbaijan's climate change policy, the government's measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and other related projects.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
We are working as hard as possible with partners to enhance Ukrainian air defense - address by the President of Ukraine

President of Ukraine

8 December 2023 - 21:22

Dear Ukrainians, I wish good health to all of you!

First of all, I want to commend our defenders in the sky - during the missile strike this morning, a significant portion of Russian missiles were successfully intercepted. However, not all. Missiles hit Kharkiv and also Dnipropetrovsk region. Necessary assistance has been provided to all those affected. One person was killed. My condolences to the family and friends. We are working as hard as possible with partners to enhance Ukrainian air defense. We keep working now - almost every week brings new arrangements and opportunities for Ukraine. This Russian regime repeats the evil it has already done but tries to make each strike more painful. We are aware of this. And I thank everyone who defends Ukraine from Shahed drones, who repels Russian missile strikes, our intelligence, and every partner who has made a decision to support the Ukrainian air defense and impose sanctions against the state-terrorist that can truly limit it. Let those in Russia not doubt: everyone - from terrorists to terror propagandists - they will all be held accountable. For every strike.

I held a Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff meeting. As always, the Commander-in-Chief and each sector commanders reported on the operational situation. Kupiansk, Lyman, and all Donetsk directions, south. I thank all the soldiers and commanders for their resilience and valor. The task of our state - even now, in winter, no matter how difficult it may be - is to show strength and not let the enemy seize the initiative, not let them fortify. I thank everyone whose actions ensure this for Ukraine - our ability to make our moves. Today, I want to particularly commend the soldiers who have shown themselves the most - now, and in battles in winter and this autumn.

The 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade - Soldier Andriy Minasov. Thank you, soldier, for your effectiveness! The 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade - Soldier Ivan Kovalchuk and Senior Soldier Vitaliy Liubchyk. Thank you, guys, for your precision! The 68th Separate Hunting Brigade - Junior Sergeant Roman Petliar. Thank you! The 92nd Separate Storm Brigade - Soldier Pavlo Kissa. Thank you for your bravery, soldier! The 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade - Junior Sergeant Maxim Ombysh. Thank you for your valor and for preserving the lives of your comrades! The 26th Separate Artillery Brigade - Chief Sergeant Oleksandr Fedorchuk. Thank you for destroying the occupant! The 25th Separate Airborne Brigade - Sergeant Andriy Zhuravliov, aerial reconnaissance specialist. Thank you! The 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade - Junior Sergeants Yuriy Sviatenko and Dmytro Semennyk. Together, they eliminated the enemy sabotage group near Avdiivka Plant. Well done! The 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade - Junior Sergeant Roman Lutsenko. Thank you for powerful combat results! The 704th Separate Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Regiment - Senior Soldier Marian Portsina. Thank you for your bravery, soldier, for the kind of bravery that has become a symbol of Ukrainian defense.

Today, I spoke with the Prime Minister of Estonia - both about preserving the support for Ukraine from partners in general and about very specific things that our state and our soldiers need to achieve necessary results. I am grateful for the understanding and assistance.

Of course, we also discussed the issue of European Union unity - especially in the context of opening negotiations with Ukraine regarding EU accession. Ukraine is fulfilling all its commitments, as we have proven on multiple occasions. Today, by the way, Ukrainian parliament passed the necessary laws in line with the recommendations of the European Commission in fighting graft and regarding the rights of national minorities. We have taken into account the conclusions of the Venice Commission - specifically regarding national communities. We expect that Ukraine's efforts will be properly assessed by EU leaders, and the corresponding European promises to Ukraine will be fulfilled. We had seven recommendations - we did everything expected of us by December.

We continue our active foreign policy work to bring gains for Ukraine in defense, macrofinance, and political and motivational strength. Anyone defending freedom needs to feel that they are not alone. The free world must be united. And to truly succeed, Ukraine must be a donor of unity. Every step in our foreign policy is aimed at this. In particular, today in Kyiv, the first meeting of participants of our new international coalition for the return of children deported to Russia from temporarily occupied territory took place. We unite states, international organizations, civic leaders from different countries, and legal experts for the liberation of children. I thank everyone who has already joined this effort, those who are already ensuring concrete legal results, including warrants from the International Criminal Court regarding Russian officials, and of course, everyone whose mediation and influence help bring children home to Ukraine.

And one more thing.

Our intelligence and diplomats continue the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip. The entire day today is dedicated to bringing our people to a safe territory. Almost 40 Ukrainian citizens are now safe. Thank you to Defense Intelligence, thank you to our diplomats, and thank you to our friends in the region.

Glory to all who fight and work for Ukraine and Ukrainians! Glory to our powerful nation!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Russia is attempting to sever any connection children have with Ukraine; swift actions are needed to bring them back home - President at the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the return of Ukrainian children

President of Ukraine

8 December 2023 - 18:17

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participated in the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, unlawfully deported and forcibly displaced to the Russian Federation from temporarily occupied territories of our state.

Opening the coalition meeting in Kyiv, he expressed gratitude to all indifferent people who joined the International Coalition.

"The forced deportation is one of the most cynical crimes of this war. Children are not merely 'taken away' from the occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia deliberately attempts to sever any connection children have with Ukraine, with their relatives, and their loved ones. Children are taught lies about Ukraine and this war. They are placed for illegal adoption, even when they say they have relatives here, in Ukraine, and try to restore contact with their families," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He added that in Russia, efforts are made to erase the national identity of young Ukrainians, which is evidence of Russia's genocidal policy towards Ukraine.

"The world knows that this crime committed by Russia against Ukrainian children, against our families, is not something random but an organized effort of the Russian state system - various branches and individuals, from Putin to all those who exercise criminal orders and ruin lives, especially those of children," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The head of the Ukrainian state added that the warrants from the International Criminal Court to arrest President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova are compelling evidence that the deportation of children will not go unpunished.

At the same time, Zelenskyy said that time is crucial in the matter of returning Ukrainian children. According to him, it is important for young Ukrainians not to lose their entire childhood in a foreign land, and for the cruelty of Russian state criminals not to break the children and their connection with their country and loved ones.

"Russia itself claims hundreds of thousands of deported Ukrainian children whom it stole from Ukraine and is trying to assimilate into its society. As swift as possible and vigorous efforts are needed to bring all these children back," he said.

The Head of State reminded that one of the points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula is the return of people from Russian deportation and captivity.

"I urge you to enlarge our coalition - to increase the chances of every Ukrainian child to live at home, to live in general, to return not in years but as soon as possible," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Leaders of world nations, representatives of foreign governments and parliaments, international human rights advocates, as well as public and cultural figures, participated in the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children both in person and via video links.

In particular, President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in a video address, affirmed, "The forced deportation of children contradicts international humanitarian law and the fundamental rights of the child and human beings. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants, and many children's rights organizations have expressed concern about this extremely important issue. It is also important to ensure accountability for those who have committed these crimes. That is why Portugal has established a center to prosecute those who commit crimes of aggression against Ukraine."

He stated that together with the European Union and other international partners, Portugal reaffirms its unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine.

Lithuanian President of Lithuania Gitanas NausAda, in a video address, said that Russia's forcible displacement of Ukrainian children is one of its most heinous crimes in the war against Ukraine. The Russian regime separates families, undermines strong bonds between parents and children, and violates the sense of personal identity.

"Lithuania, together with the entire democratic world, remains in solidarity with Ukraine. We demand the immediate return of all Ukrainian children to their families by Russia," Gitanas NausAda said.

President of Slovakia Zuzana AaputovA, in her video address, emphasized that today marks an important step in joint efforts to bring Ukrainian children back home.

"We are extremely determined to organize this process. We are also disappointed that in the 21st century, thousands of children are illegally taken from their places of residence, and the youngest and most vulnerable population suffers from Russian aggression," she said.

According to Zuzana AaputovA, all those responsible for crimes against children must be identified and held accountable.

During his video address, Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar said that today's meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Children is an extremely important step to remind Russia that all actions have consequences. He emphasized that his country seeks to help ensure the safe return of all children and adults deported during the war.

"Ireland reaffirms its steadfast solidarity with the people and government of Ukraine. We strongly condemn the kidnapping of these children and insist on their release," the Prime Minister of Ireland said.

"Children should never be used for military and political purposes. That's why all of us gathered here today must work with the entire international community to ensure the return of all children home," Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada MAlanie Joly added.

The creation of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children was initiated during a meeting of national security and foreign policy advisors in Malta to implement the Peace Formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The goal of the coalition's first meeting is to determine practical steps by member states to support Ukraine in its mission to bring deported and forcibly displaced children back home. It also aims to engage coalition countries in implementing specific projects and commitments to ensure the safe repatriation, rehabilitation, and integration of affected children.

At the meeting, the Coalition presented the Declaration for the Return of Illegally Deported and Forcibly Displaced Ukrainian Children to Ukraine, which is open for signature by other states and international organizations.

According to the document, the parties agree to exert all possible efforts to repatriate children who were illegally deported by the Russian Federation. The Declaration also commits to supporting the process of reuniting these children with their families and placing them in family environments. Furthermore, the Declaration includes provisions for providing all necessary humanitarian, medical, and psychological assistance to the children and their families who have suffered from illegal deportation.

Additionally, it outlines support for international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for organizing the illegal deportation and displacement of Ukrainian children.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of Estonia discussed continued support for Ukraine and protection of the grain corridor

President of Ukraine

8 December 2023 - 15:24

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas.

The Head of State told the Estonian Prime Minister about Russia's attempts to launch missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine in the morning and emphasized the importance of further strengthening the Ukrainian air defense system. In particular, he said, it is necessary to bolster air defense in frontline cities: Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, as well as in Odesa region to protect the regional center and the infrastructure of the "grain corridor."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also informed Kaja Kallas about Russia's unsuccessful attempts to obstruct civilian navigation in the Black Sea. He noted that, despite all the efforts of the Russian Federation, after the relaunch of the alternative "grain corridor" in the Black Sea, more than 7 million tons of cargo have already passed through it.

The President and the Prime Minister discussed the importance of preserving political and financial support for Ukraine from the EU. Particularly, the Head of State emphasized the necessity of unity in the issue of allocating a50 billion in aid to Ukraine.

The interlocutors also noted the importance of the adoption of the decision by the European Council on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. The President assured that Ukraine is fulfilling all its obligations to the EU in order to start such negotiations.

The two sides also discussed countering Russian disinformation and cooperation in strengthening cybersecurity.

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Ihor Zhovkva had a phone call with Deputy Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Italy

President of Ukraine

8 December 2023 - 15:16

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva had a phone call with Deputy Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy Alessandro Cattaneo.

The parties discussed the priority areas of cooperation during Italy's presidency of the G7 in 2024. The importance of further comprehensive support for Ukraine as one of the priorities of this presidency was emphasized.

The Deputy Head of the Presidential Office informed the Italian party on the progress in the work aimed at full implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission by Ukraine and adoption of the decision by the European Council on the start of accession negotiations with the EU.

Ihor Zhovkva also discussed with Alessandro Cattaneo further steps to implement the Peace Formula of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and commended Italy's active participation in this process.

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The return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia should become a collective commitment of the international community - experts have gathered evidence of Russia's crimes

President of Ukraine

8 December 2023 - 13:35

Advisor - Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk took part in the press briefing "Stolen Voices: Deportation and Forced Displacement of Ukrainian Children by Ruscists. Facts and Revelations", where the evidence of Russian crimes gathered by experts of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, specialists of the Yale University Humanities Research Laboratory and Ukrainian civil society activists was presented.

Daria Herasymchuk noted that the existing international documents that were created to protect and safeguard children are only effective if everyone follows the same rules and instructions.

"If someone refuses to do so - in this case, the Russian Federation - we have to find a mechanism to put pressure on such a player to act according to the rules," she explained.

According to the unified state portal "Children of War," 19,500 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly displaced. And these are only those children whose personal data is known for certain and verified by the relevant Ukrainian authorities. The exact number of such children may amount to hundreds of thousands and is currently unknown.

"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy keeps the issue of returning every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia under his personal control," emphasized Daria Herasymchuk.

"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy keeps the issue of returning every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia under his personal control," emphasized Daria Herasymchuk.

Kateryna Rashevska, a lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR), said that by abducting Ukrainian children, Russia seeks to make them "Russian patriots."

"Russia does not need Ukrainian children - it needs as many Russian patriots as possible. And it is through the abduction and re-education of our children that Russia wants to replenish its nation. Ukraine is collecting data on these crimes at all levels and passing it on to the relevant international structures to bring all those involved to justice," she said.

Yale University researcher Caitlin Howarth said that they currently have verified evidence of Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children and their forced displacement.

"Today, we are talking not only about those children who were abducted to Russia, but also about those taken to Belarus. Our latest report refers to more than 2,400 Ukrainian children aged 6 to 17 who have been illegally taken to Belarus since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Each of these facts is clearly documented. We have all the data. And the war criminals who are doing this, including Putin, Lukashenko, and others, are well aware of this," she said.

Caitlin Howarth noted that the return of children is an extremely difficult process, so it should become a collective commitment of the international community.

Dr. Elina Steine, an expert of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, spoke about the recommendations that will not only help Ukraine to receive additional support in exposing the crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian children, but will also become a lever of political influence to return children back to Ukraine.

Daria Herasymchuk emphasized that Ukraine is doing and will continue to do everything possible to return every Ukrainian child, and that is why governmental and non-governmental organizations and foreign partners of our country are joining forces to implement the Bring Kids Back UA plan approved by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Japan Pledges $4.5 Billion to Ukraine

By VOA News December 08, 2023

Japan has pledged $4.5 billion to Ukraine for its war against Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Thursday, $1 billion of which is designated for humanitarian aid.

"Japan is consistent and very principled in its support of our country and our people, and I am grateful for this assistance," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Thursday. He said Japan's decision to support Ukraine was "very timely and much-needed."

A Russian drone attack killed one person and damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region, the regional governor said Thursday.

Oleh Kiper said Odesa was under attack for two hours, and that while air defenses shot down most of the Russian drones involved, some of them made it through.

He identified the victim as a truck driver, and said the drone attack damaged a warehouse, elevator and trucks near the Danube River.

Ukraine's military said Russia's aerial attack involved a total of 18 drones targeting Odesa in southern Ukraine and the Khmelnytskyi region in the western part of the country.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 of the 18 drones, the military said.

U.S. aid

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked $110 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel, as well as some security measures for the U.S. southern border.

U.S. President Joe Biden had asked Congress for almost $106 billion to fund the wars and border needs.

The vote Wednesday was 49 votes in favor and 51 against, leaving the measure short of the 60 votes needed in order to proceed.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports Ukraine aid, told his party members to reject the aid package because it did not include policy changes, something lawmakers have fought over for years.

Earlier Wednesday, Biden implored Congress to approve more arms aid for Ukraine, saying that failing to pass the assistance would be the "greatest gift" the United States could hand Russian President Vladimir Putin in Putin's nearly two-year war against the neighboring country.

At the same time, the U.S. Defense Department announced new security assistance for Ukraine that is the Biden administration's 52nd allotment of equipment for Ukraine since August 2021. It contains air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons and other equipment.

The $175 million military aid package includes guided missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, anti-armor systems, and high-speed anti-radiation missiles, according to the Pentagon and State Department.

Speaking briefly at the White House, the U.S. leader said that if Putin defeats Ukraine, "it won't stop there," and Moscow would invade neighboring NATO countries the U.S. is legally bound to defend.

"If NATO is attacked," Biden said, "We'll have American troops fighting Russian troops. We can't let Putin win."

With the new tranche of aid, Biden emphasized in a statement that "security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security. It helps to prevent a larger war in the region and deter potential aggression elsewhere."

Some Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives say they will not approve the additional Ukraine assistance without adopting much stricter U.S.-Mexico border controls, such as blocking all illegal migration.

Biden said, "I support real solutions at the border ... to fix the broken immigration system," but called for a compromise with opposition Republicans, not blanket acceptance of shutting the border, one of the demands of some Republicans.

The president said Republicans "have to decide whether they want a political solution or a real solution. This has to be a compromise."

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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HOUSTON, Dec. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR) (Par Pacific or the Company) today announced that its 30 Megawatt renewable cogeneration development project was selected as a finalist by Hawaiian Electric in connection with a January 2023 request for proposals for firm, renewable-fired electricity generation. The project will be constructed at the Companys Kapolei refinery and take advantage of existing infrastructure. It will also provide a local outlet for a portion of the renewable liquid fuels produced by the previously announced renewable hydrotreater conversion project. The quick-start cogeneration facility is expected to begin commercial operations by 2028, supporting the states renewable energy objectives.



We are excited to advance our renewable initiatives in support of Hawaiis decarbonization goals, said Will Monteleone, President of Par Pacific. The cogeneration project aligns with our renewables strategy of investing in our people and assets to meet the evolving energy needs of our communities.

The project plans to utilize the latest generation, high-efficiency equipment to flexibly produce renewable power. At full capacity, the facility will be capable of generating enough power to supply 30,000 homes. Final terms and conditions of the potential investment and offtake agreement with Hawaiian Electric are expected to be negotiated during 2024. The project will remain subject to customary regulatory and government approvals, including approval by the Hawaii Public Utility Commission (PUC).

A reliable, affordable, and low-carbon source of energy is important to all of us in Hawaii, said Eric Wright, President of Par Hawaii. Par Hawaii is proud to be partnering with Hawaiian Electric to generate electricity from low-carbon, renewable sources.

In April, Par Pacific announced a $90 million investment to develop the states largest liquid renewable fuels manufacturing facility. The project, which is expected to be commissioned in 2025, will produce approximately 61 million gallons per year of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and renewable liquified petroleum gases. Renewable fuels provide a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels and are considered a drop-in replacement for conventional diesel, jet fuel, and other fuels used to generate electricity.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a growing energy company providing both renewable and conventional fuels to the western United States. In the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, Par Pacific owns and operates 124,000 bpd of combined refining capacity across three locations and an extensive energy infrastructure network, including 7.6 million barrels of storage, and marine, rail, rack, and pipeline assets. In addition, Par Pacific operates the nomnom convenience store chain and supplies ExxonMobil-branded fuel retail stations in the region. Par Pacific owns and operates one of the largest energy infrastructure networks in Hawaii with 94,000 bpd of operating refining capacity, a logistics system supplying the major islands of the state and Hele-branded retail locations. Par Pacific also owns 46% of Laramie Energy, LLC, a natural gas production company with operations and assets concentrated in Western Colorado. More information is available at www.parpacific.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about Par Pacific's plans to invest in renewable fuels production. There can be no assurances that Par Pacific will be successful in its renewable fuels production efforts, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. We cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should one of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. We further expressly disclaim any written or oral statements made by a third party regarding the subject matter of this news release.

Public Affairs Contact

Marc Inouye

Par Hawaii

Director, Government and Public Affairs

(808) 352-2479

minouye@parpacific.com

Investor Contact

Ashimi Patel

Par Pacific

Director, Investor Relations and Renewables

(832) 916-3355

apatel@parpacific.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Under the leadership of the Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, a meeting of the Board Session of the Ministry of Defense on the results of 2023 was held on December 9, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said, Trend reports.

The meeting was attended by Deputies of the Minister of Defense, Commanders of types of troops, Chiefs of Main Departments, Departments, Services and independent departments of the Ministry. Commanders of the Army Corps and formations stationed in the liberated territories and Chiefs of special educational institutions participated in the meeting via video teleconference.

First, the memory of the National Leader ofthe Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev, and Shehids (Martyrs), who sacrificed their lives for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Motherland, was honored with observing a minute of silence.

The leadership of the Ministry made extensive reports.

The current operational conditions, the organization and conduct of military service on the Azerbaijani-Armenian conditional border were analyzed in detail.

The speakers talked about the measures implemented in the field of army development in 2023 according to the relevant tasks of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, as well as the work done in the field of increasing the combat capability of servicemen and further improving social and living conditions.

Analyzing the service and combat activity of the Azerbaijan Army per the current year, it was stated that the exercises had a positive effect on increasing the combat capability of the troops, as well as the professionalism of the servicemen.

Achievements in the improvement of the capabilities and abilities of the troops, operational and combat training, intelligence service, equipping with professional personnel and the others were emphasized.

The success achieved in military-technical, military-educational, military-medical and other fields during 2023 as a result of the reforms carried out in the Azerbaijan Army in adapting it to the Turkish model, as well as the events planned for the upcoming year, were brought to the attention of the participants.

Reports on the engineering measures taken in the liberated territories were heard. It was noted that as a result of the measures taken, activities were carried out to restore communication lines, lay new supply roads, and clean certain parts of the territory from mines and unexploded ammunition. It was emphasized that the work done in this direction will be continued in the next year.

At the Board Session, detailed information was also provided on the provision of the Azerbaijan Army with weapons and equipment that meet modern standards, the construction works carried out in the military units deployed in the liberated territories, the newly commissioned military infrastructure facilities, and the activities carried out in the current year in order to improve the social and living conditions of the personnel.

It was said that, in 2023 like in previous years, all supplies of troops and units stationed in mountainous areas and harsh climate conditions, were carried out in accordance with relevant norms, and necessary reserves have been set.

The meeting stated that the moral and psychological state of servicemen in the post-war Azerbaijan Army is at a high level. It was emphasized that military disciplinary violations and other negative cases, have significantly decreased in comparison to previous years. It was noted that the current indicators of discipline in the Azerbaijan Army are higher than in the armed forces of most leading countries.

It was expressed with certainty that the new legal drafts on the increase of monthly salaries and other reforms will serve to further improve the professionalism of military personnel, as well as social and living conditions.

At the end of the meeting, Colonel General Z. Hasanov delivered to the board participants the tasks set to the Azerbaijan Army by Supreme Commander-in-Chief for the year of 2024.

The Defense Minister emphasized that the high evaluation of the activities of Azerbaijan Army by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in his speeches is a great incentive for the future service.

Azerbaijan Defense Minister emphasized that under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief the Azerbaijan Army has laid the groundwork for the establishment of peace in the region. He added that the Azerbaijan Army is ready to accomplish any assigned task.

The importance of paying special attention to increasing the intensity of the exercises conducted in order to improve the knowledge and skills of the servicemen and further increase the combat readiness of the troops was mentioned.

Appropriate instructions were given on the conduct of combat duty, as well as strict observance of safety rules during daily service activities.

Colonel General Z. Hasanov has set specific tasks for the relevant officials to focus on the provision of the units stationed in the mountainous areas during the winter season, and to keep all types of reserves under strict control.

In the end, the Minister of Defense delivered to the participants his requirements regarding the combat training of the units and paying special attention to the individual professionalism of the servicemen, as well as the implementation of the tasks ahead in 2024.
TORONTO, Dec. 8, 2023 - Rock Tech Lithium Inc. (TSXV: RCK) (OTCQX: RCKTF) (FWB: RJIB) (WKN: A1XF0V) (the "Company" or "Rock Tech") announces that it has received a 30-day extension from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") to complete its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 7,692,307 units (the "Units") at $1.30 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $10 million, as previously announced on October 24, 2023.

The extension will provide sufficient time for certain subscribers to complete all necessary documentation and requirements for the Company to accept their subscriptions. Pursuant to the extension, the Company has until January 7, 2024 to complete the Offering; however, the Company expects to close the Offering on or about December 15, 2023.

The Company also announces that it is amending the terms of the Offering. Pursuant to the amended terms, the expiry date of the Warrants (as defined below) will be extended to 36 months following the date of issuance.

Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of Rock Tech (the "Common Shares", with such Common Shares comprising the Units, the "Unit Shares") and one half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole Common Share purchase warrant, a "Warrant", and together with the Units and the Unit Shares, the "Securities"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $1.69 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months following the date of issuance of such Warrant, subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the certificate evidencing such Warrant, including adjustment in certain circumstances.

The Unit Shares and the Warrants are subject to four month hold periods in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws and the rules of the TSX-V, as will any Warrant Shares issued on exercise of Warrants prior to the expiry of such hold periods.

The Securities offered pursuant to the Offering 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 of any state of the United States 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 laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. The Unit Shares and Warrant Shares have been conditionally accepted for listing on the TSX-V, which is subject to the final acceptance of the TSX-V. For additional details regarding the Offering, please refer to the Company's press release dated October 24, 2023.

All dollar amounts in this news release are expressed in Canadian dollars.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,?

Dirk Harbecke

Chairman & CEO

ABOUT ROCK TECH

Rock Tech is a cleantech company with operations in Canada and Germany on a mission to produce lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle batteries. The Company plans to build lithium converters at the door-step of its customers, to guarantee supply-chain transparency and just-in-time delivery, beginning with the Company's proposed lithium hydroxide merchant converter and refinery facility in Guben, Germany. To close the most pressing gap in the clean mobility story, Rock Tech has gathered one of the strongest teams in the industry. The Company has adopted strict environmental, social and governance standards and is developing a proprietary refining process aimed at further increasing efficiency and sustainability. Rock Tech plans to source raw material from its wholly-owned Georgia Lake spodumene project located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of Ontario, Canada, as well as procuring it from other responsibly producing mines. In the years to come, the Company expects to also source raw material from discarded batteries. Rock Tech's goal: to create a closed-loop lithium production system. www.rocktechlithium.com

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 CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur are forward-looking information. Forward looking information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "predicts", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could" (including negative versions and grammatical variations thereof) and other similar expressions.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to: the anticipated size and terms of the Offering; the ability of the Company to satisfy the conditions to closing the Offering, including obtaining the final approval of the TSX-V; listing of the Unit Shares and the Warrant Shares on the TSX-V; the anticipated timing of the closing of the Offering; and Rock Tech's opinions, beliefs and expectations regarding the Company's business strategy, development and exploration opportunities and projects, and plans and objectives of management for the Company's operations and properties.

Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions of the Company and, in certain cases, third party experts, that are believed by management of Rock Tech to be reasonable at the time they were made. Forward-looking information is derived utilizing numerous assumptions regarding, among other things: the satisfaction of the conditions to closing of the Offering in a timely manner, including receipt of final TSX-V approval; the supply and demand for, deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of, feedstock and intermediate and final lithium products; that all required regulatory approvals and permits can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner; expected growth, performance and business operations; future commodity prices and exchange rates; prospects, growth opportunities and financing available to the Company; general business and economic conditions; the costs and results of exploration, development and operating activities; Rock Tech's ability to procure supplies and other equipment necessary for its business; and the accuracy and reliability of technical data, forecasts, estimates and studies. The foregoing list is not exhaustive of all assumptions which may have been used in developing the forward-looking information. While Rock Tech considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect and should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results.

Forward-looking information should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results. In addition, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Rock Tech's control, that may cause Rock Tech's actual events, results, performance and/or achievements to be materially different from that which is expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results, performance and/or achievements to vary materially include the risk that Rock Tech will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due, delays in government approval for the construction and commissioning of the Georgia Lake Project, changes in commodity prices, Rock Tech's ability to retain and attract skilled staff and to secure feedstock from third party suppliers, unanticipated events and other difficulties related to construction, development and operation of converters and mines, the cost of compliance with current and future environmental and other laws and regulations, title defects, competition from existing and new competitors, changes in currency exchange rates and market prices of Rock Tech's securities, Rock Tech's history of losses, impacts of climate change and other risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Financial Instruments and Other Risks" in Rock Tech's most recently filed Management Discussion and Analysis, a copy of which is filed electronically through SEDAR+ and is available online at www.sedarplus.ca. Such risks and uncertainties do not represent an exhaustive list of all risk factors that could cause actual events, results, performance and/or achievements to vary materially from the forward-looking information. It can not be guaranteed that actual events, results, performance and/or achievements will be consistent with the forward-looking information and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information reflects Rock Tech management's current views as at the date of this news release. The Company cautions the reader not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking information. Except as may be required by law, Rock Tech undertakes no obligation and expressly disclaims any responsibility, obligation or undertaking to update or to revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, to reflect any change in Rock Tech's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such information is based. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purposes of assisting readers in understanding Rock Tech's plans, objectives and goals and is not appropriate for any other purposes.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rock-tech-announces-extension-and-amended-terms-of-non-brokered-private-placement-302010508.html

SOURCE Rock Tech Lithium Inc.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. The current operational situation on the conditional Azerbaijani-Armenian border, as well as issues of organization and conduct of service of troops were analyzed in detail, Trend reports.

This was stated at the meeting of the board of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense.

The officials talked about the measures implemented in the field of army construction in 2023 in accordance with the instructions of the President of Azerbaijan and Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, as well as the work done to improve the combat effectiveness of the personnel and social and living conditions.

The analysis of service and combat activity of the Azerbaijani army this year shows the positive impact of the exercises on increasing the combat effectiveness of troops and professionalism of the personnel.

Achievements in the field of improvement of capabilities and abilities of troops, operational and combat training, intelligence service, professional staffing and other fields were brought to the attention of the participants of the meeting.

Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Accountable structures, data key to accessing loans

Justice Agbenorsi Business News Dec - 09 - 2023 , 08:05

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) have been tasked to adhere to proper bookkeeping practices to increase their chances of accessing loans.

The Executive Director for Retail and Digital Banking of Access Bank Ghana, Pearl Nkrumah, who made the call said in many instances, banks were willing to give out loans to small businesses but such applicants did not have proper documentation to support the claim that they had the capacity to service the loans.

She cited poor record keeping, and data gathering as some to the bottlenecks affecting banks ability to trust businesses in giving out loans to them.

She was responding to a question posed by an entrepreneur at the Graphic Business-Access Bank SME clinic in Accra today (Dec 7).

Fair

Over 150 exhibitors and merchants displayed their products, wares and services to the public at a fair which was launched three years ago to support SME development by Graphic Business and Access Bank.

The two day fair, is on the theme, Running sustainable business in a challenging economic landscape.

Ms Nkrumah, revealed that he outfit has been training persons in SMEs the essence of proper book keeping to make them access finance easily at her outfit.

She revealed that Access Bank has the liquidity to readily provide for SMEs but the lack of proper, record keeping and accountable structures hinders the securing of loans by majority of those in the SME business.

We need action and we have resolved to build a trust and accountability relationship with our customers, through digitisation and building a cheap portal to sync stock management into the businesses of SMEs to ensure investor readiness, printing receipts electronically and teaching and ensuring SMEs to inculcate tools that is in sync with modern trends into their businesses, she stated.

A Finance Information Systems lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Professor Samuel Lartey in his keynote address at the SME clinic challenged entrepreneurs including owners of SMEs to consider monetising and commercialising their knowledge for effective maximisation of their talent.

He tasked entrepreneurs to make sound judgements for their businesses to thrive and continue to remain in business.

An entrepreneur must deliberately ask three questions: What must I stop doing to become a better business person or entrepreneur, What must I start doing to make me a better entrepreneur and What must I continue doing?,  he stated at the opening of the second edition of the Graphic Business-Access Bank SME Fair at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly yesterday.
GIZ, EU build capacities of MSMEs in Ashanti

GraphicOnline Business News Dec - 09 - 2023 , 08:52

In the face of the global economic downturn, the German Development Corporation (GIZ) and the European Union have teamed up to empower Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to become the backbone of economic recovery.

As a first step, the team organized a "transformative regional network conference" in the Ashanti region to boost economic growth and job creation. This conference is one of a series of programs designed to build the capacity of MSMEs and provide support for their "smooth take-off."

The conference was held under the auspices of the Fabulous Woman Network, which operates "Fabhub Ashanti." The theme of the three-day event was "Sustainable solutions for MSMEs growth and employment; Transformative potential of regional union (Network) of service providers."

Networking and knowledge sharing

Among other goals, the conference aimed to create an annual forum for knowledge sharing to bridge the gap between the supply and demand sides of the MSME and employment generation ecosystem. It also sought to create an environment where businesses and job seekers could easily connect.

Collaboration is key

The head of programs at GIZ, Dr. Christian Jan, emphasized that building a network dedicated to supporting MSMEs is essential to unlocking their full potential. He explained that this will help address critical aspects of Ghana's economic landscape and provide sustainable solutions for MSME growth and employment creation.

Dr. Jan believes that exploring the pivotal role that the Union Service Providers can play in fostering sustainable development and prosperity for Ghanaian businesses is crucial. "Enterprises face formidable challenges including limited resources, access to markets, and the ability to navigate a complex regulatory environment," he said. "This program will help foster collaboration, share knowledge, and also help service providers and stakeholders become catalysts for change and sustainable development."

Dr. Jan also highlighted the need for MSMEs to embrace technology and innovative ideas to improve productivity.

Accessing larger markets

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr. Jan stated that creating avenues for MSMEs to access larger markets is critical for sustained growth. He urged the Union Service Providers to establish a platform for networking, collaboration, and partnership to connect enterprises with potential clients, suppliers, and investors.

"I believe this will strengthen the entire ecosystem to promote employment, especially among the youth, women, and the vulnerable," he added.

Opportunities for growth

The Ashanti regional Economic Planning Officer at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), Madam Beatrice Kwarteng Osei Asare, expressed her belief that the initiative has the potential to connect state actors, private sectors, investment communities, and other stakeholders. This can lead to exploring opportunities that will create openings for increased investments.

She highlighted that the RCC, in collaboration with key government institutions, has supported MSMEs in association with other international organizations. "This network will grow the relationship between private and public sector organizations to intensify cooperation in stature and confidence, especially for MSMEs. It will also enhance access to finance, market intelligence, and create a unified voice for advocacy and policy influence," Madam Osei Asare added.

The Founder of Fabulous Woman Network, Ama Duncun, expressed her excitement about the opportunity for all the hubs to support GIZ. She stated that it was a dream come true to be able to expand its network and bring together job seekers and entrepreneurs.

Commendation for the initiative

The Chief of Atwima Wiawso, Nana Kwakwa Bene Ababio, commended stakeholders for the initiative and expressed hope that the union will continue to thrive and contribute to economic growth.
Vodafone Ghana Foundations 2023 Homecoming improves healthcare delivery

News Desk Report Business News Dec - 07 - 2023 , 05:30

The Vodafone Ghana Foundation has concluded the Northern Belt edition of its Homecoming programme, marking the culmination of the 2023 edition of the initiative nationwide.

Spanning four weeks, the programme settled medical bills and ancillary costs for financially challenged patients, underscoring its steadfast commitment to community well-being.

The Northern Belt edition commenced in the final week of November, at the Walewale Municipal and Tamale Central Hospitals, providing solace to 35 and 29 insolvent patients, respectively. This years event was climaxed at the West Gonja Hospital, benefiting 15 additional patients through this benevolent initiative.

The four-week period marked a remarkable journey across the Southern, Middle, and Northern belts, relieving the financial burden for 186 insolvent patients across nine government health facilities nationwide.

Kicking off with a grand launch at the Tema General Hospital earlier in the month, the Homecoming initiative aimed to settle medical bills and associated costs for those unable to afford them.

Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of the Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Sustainability & External Communication, expressed her gratitude, stating, The Homecoming program is a testament to our dedication to making healthcare accessible to all. This years success motivates us to continue our mission of giving back and supporting those in need. Over the years, this initiative has supported healthcare delivery in Ghana by supporting needy patients and freeing beds in critical areas such as the maternal and Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit for other patients who need care.

The programmes positive outcomes were echoed by Dr. Nelson Agboado, West Gonja Hospital Medical Director, who acknowledged the Foundations contribution not only to patients but also to the hospitals. On behalf of the beneficiaries, I would like to say a big thank you for this kind gesture.

The funds allocated for these insolvent patients not only help those in need but also play a crucial role in keeping our hospitals running. Your contribution will go a long way in supporting the operations of health facilities in the country, and we genuinely hope that this partnership will continue to bring hope to these patients, he said.

In the Middle Belt, the programme discharged over 61 patients across three hospitals, including Bibiani Government Hospital, Asunafo South District Hospital, and Abrafi Government Hospital.

The Southern Belt witnessed the release of 47 patients from Tema General Hospital, Winneba Municipal Hospital, and Keta Municipal Hospital. Remarkably, patients without NHIS cards were provided with replacements, renewals, and new registrations, further ensuring comprehensive healthcare coverage.

The Vodafone Ghana Foundations Homecoming programme stands as a testament to the transformative power of collective compassion, reflecting the positive impact that corporate social responsibility can have on communities and individuals in need.

About Vodafone Ghana Foundation

The Vodafone Ghana Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Vodafone Ghana, dedicated to supporting sustainable community projects that enhance the socio-economic development of local communities.

With a focus on health, education, and economic empowerment, the Foundation is committed to positively impacting the lives of Ghanaians through its charitable initiatives.
Timely completion of La General Hospital necessary

Daily Graphic Editorials Dec - 09 - 2023 , 06:18

THE importance of an effective healthcare system to the well-being of the people cannot be overemphasised. That is why governments all over the world, especially in developing countries, put premium on providing the facilities closer to the people because a healthy people results in a wealthy nation.

In Ghana, all our governments when accounting for their stewardship or enumerating their achievements have always captured the provision and improvement of health infrastructure and systems.

Thus, when the government detected the structural defects of the La General Hospital in the Greater Accra Region, it decided to pull it down for a complete reconstruction of the hospital that will not only expand its capacity but will be fitted with state-of-the-art equipment.

It was, therefore, with much excitement that the residents within the catchment area welcomed the sod-cutting ceremony by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in August 2020 for the La General Hospital Redevelopment Project after it was demolished in July 2020.

However, due to financial challenges, the project stalled, with some residents and some National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament protesting on countless occasions, including asking the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, an urgent question in Parliament on the state of the project.

Fortunately, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, after a visit to the site, has given assurance that funds had been secured for work to resume (See December 2, 2023 issue of the Daily Graphic).

The good news from the visit was the assurance of the governments commitment to release funds on time to ensure smooth execution and completion of the project on time.

The Daily Graphic joins the minister in urging the contactors to stay focused and expedite the completion of the project.

We are aware of how critical the hospital is in providing the residents of La and surrounding areas with access to high quality health care. Aside from that, it will also help ease the congestion at some of the health centres within the national capital.

We need to remind ourselves that apart from serving as an employment avenue for health professionals, it also provides employment opportunities for ancillary workers both in the formal and informal health sectors, such as maintenance and catering workers.

Any government that is able to complete such projects would also be reducing the unemployment rate in the country.

We must point out that these are some of the benefits we derive from democracy as the government responds to the cries of the people by seeking alternative local funding to complete the project.

Although the 60-bed capacity hospital has been maintained, with the appropriate designs, the cost has been revised from 57 million to 50 million.

We are happy that the contract sum of the project has reduced and it is a feather in the cap of those who helped in that regard. The question remains whether taking a cue from the La General Hospital we can see how best the country can benefit from some of the low-cost or cost-cutting measures.

Already, the government is executing its Agenda 111 hospital projects, and it will not be a bad idea to revisit the costs, and those of other uncompleted projects to ensure that the projects are completed on time.

The Daily Graphic believes that executing such projects will speed up the pace of development in the country. We assure the minister of finance and the contractors that the Daily Graphic will keep an eye on the project to ensure its successful completion and utilisation.

La General Hospital is a key infrastructure in the countrys healthcare delivery, and therefore, its availability and operation is very important to not just the people of La and its environs but to the nation as a whole.
Anointing is medicinal

Prof. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu Opinion Dec - 09 - 2023 , 06:34

The use of the anointing oil is paramount in the Christian faith. However, eminent medical professionals do prescribe oils in clinical settings.

This means that medical science believes in healing with oil. So, why should people complain when Pastors also anoint their congregants with oils?

For instance, doctors prescribe cod liver oil for consumption, and there is plenty of testimony to prove that its virtues have not been overrated and that it has always been taken internally.

Recent research by Dr Simpson of Edinburgh, the first applier of chloroform as an anaesthetic agent, proves that when oil is applied externally, it both cures and prevents disease, and there is, therefore, some prospect in the ancient Oriental practice of oil-anointing.

He believes that anointing with oil is an excellent thing for consumptive people. Cod liver oil is supposed to be the "best because it is the strongest and if not only for its loathsome taste, he believes it should have been more widely used.

I once listened to a message by Rev. Eastwood Anaba on Signs and Tokens. In the message, he explained that God could use anything to do what He wanted, be it water, saliva, or even sand. Signs and tokens are part of the way of life of Christians.

Science cannot explain, or understand how He works. I am a believer, as well as a scientist, but Gods ways are beyond human comprehension.

In Mark 6:13 and James 5:14-15, anointing sick people with oil is referred to twice in the New Testament. Mark 6:13 says, And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.

James 5:14-15, also says, Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.

I believe in it as a Christian, because anointing oil is medicinal. It is also a symbol of Gods power to heal and symbolic of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit (the breath) of Christ.

Anointing

Anaba (1996) defines anointing as the supernatural ability of God that is given to a person, to enable him or her to undertake an assignment for God, at a particular place, at a particular time, and in a definite manner.

He also states that the anointing is active, efficient and operative. Therefore, one cannot conceal the activity of the anointing as it will show itself forth. He further suggests that the anointing is a superior force stronger than the resistance of ones weakness.

Oyedepo (2005), talking about the practical dimensions of the anointing, mentioned anointing for battle, anointing for conquest, anointing for wealth, anointing for enthronement, and anointing for restoration. Hemry & Lynnes (2007) say anointing oil in itself possesses no mystical properties.

Science

Roland Owusu Ansah's (2011) thesis titled The Usage of Anointing Oil in some Charismatic and Neo-Prophetic Churches in Kumasi in the Context of Leviticus 8:1-12, and James 5:14-15 examined how and for what purposes anointing oil is used among Charismatic and Neo-Prophetic churches in Ghanaian Christianity.

He found that most of the prophets had given some names to the anointing oil they used. Onyame y3 tumi [God is powerful]; dade1 bi twa dade1 mu [one metal is sharper than another metal]; and me kwan so hann [light for my path]; odumgya [fire quencher]; nkuto power [shea butter power]; and atentam [wrestling].

The akwankyer3 (direction) given for the use of the oil differs from one prophet to the other and from one church to the other.

It was discovered that people who use anointing oil believe in the potency of the medium.

It recommends that if Christianity must be potent for the people to believe that it works, the church would have to consider its practices again in the light of this, and that the church ought to use oil that is indigenous to the environment it is situated in.

Research (Bengston & Krinsley, 2000; Sicher et al., 1998) has demonstrated that when we pray with love and focused intention, our choice to focus our energy toward the goal of healing another has, on a quantum level, an actual physiological healing effect upon the one being prayed for.

Take home

Anointing with symbolic holy oil does not create a magical event, but it enhances the power of the mindwhat some call the placebo effect.

The placebo effect is not fake; it is the healing impact that the mind exerts on the body when one believes the intervention will work. This healing impact is real and measurable.

The brains of people who receive sugar pills but believe they are pain pills will release brain-produced endorphins and enkephalins, which are brain-produced opiates that cause real physical pain relief. But if the person knows it is a sugar pill, the brain will not release the endorphins or enkephalins.

The writer is a Professor of Naturopathic Healthcare, Medical Journalist, author and science writer.
COP28 underway in Dubai with calls for action against climate crisis

Mary Mensah International News Dec - 09 - 2023 , 06:09

The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from November 30 to December 12, 2023 with a resounding call to accelerate collective climate action.

The two-week conference is taking place at a time that is already known to be the hottest year ever recorded in human history, and as the impacts of the climate crisis wreak unprecedented havoc on human life and livelihoods around the world.

COP28 stands for the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COPs take place every year and with 198 Parties, the UNFCCC has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below two degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

The UAE which has the Presidency for COP28, with Dr Sultan Al Jaber as this years president. The conference aims to address the climate crisis by agreeing on ways to limit temperature rise to 1.5C and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Large number of delegates

Over 70,000 delegates, including member states, business leaders, young people, climate scientists, indigenous people, journalists and various other experts and stakeholders are attending the summit. With countries hoping to agree on new ways to keep the planet from heating too much by the end of the century. Distractions abound, most notably the war between Israel and Hamas.

At this year's UN climate summit, countries, development institutions and businesses are pledging more money for everything from the energy transition to health care initiatives, technology investments, disaster relief and more.

At the official opening of COP28 on November 30, nations finalised the creation of a fund to compensate developing nations hit by climate change disasters like deadly floods, heat and droughts.

Creation of a fund

Nearly all the nations of the world last Thursday finalised the creation of a fund to help compensate countries struggling to cope with loss and damage caused by climate change and this was seen as a major first-day breakthrough at this years UN climate conference. Some countries immediately started putting in money, if little, compared to the overall anticipated needs.

The President of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, Sultan Al-Jaber, welcomed the first decision to be adopted on day one of any COP and announced that his country, the United Arab Emirates, would chip in $100 million to the fund. Other countries stepped up with big-ticket commitments, including Germany, also at $100 million.

Developing nations

Developing nations had long sought to address the problem of inadequate funding for responding to climate disasters caused by climate change, which hit them especially hard, and for which they have little responsibility, industrialised countries have spewed carbon emissions that are trapping heat in the atmosphere.

But many details of the loss and damage funds were left unresolved, such as how large it would be, who would administer it, and more.

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. while some activists and experts are skeptical that the fund 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, hasnt come close to its goal of $100 billion annually.

The fund will be hosted by the World Bank for the next four years and the plan is to launch it by 2024. A developing country representative will get a seat on its board.

A number of industrialised nations have insisted that all countries should contribute to the fund, and the agreement will prioritise those most vulnerable to climate change even though any climate-affected community or country is eligible.

Climate Finance pledges

According to the United Arab Emirates, hosts of the conference, more than $83 billion had been mobilised during the first five days of the event with the biggest single deal of COP28 which saw hosts pledging $30 billion to a new fund to invest in climate friendly projects across the globe, with $5 billion for the Global South.

The World Bank said it aimed to increase climate funding to 45 per cent of its total lending, which equated to an increase of $9 billion annually while the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) said it would invest more than $2 billion annually until 2030 in Latin America to fight climate change.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it would allocate $10 billion for climate investment in the Philippines between 2024 and 2029 while Japan and France said they would back a plan by the African Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to leverage IMF Special Drawing Rights for climate and development.

UAE banks pledged to mobilise 1 trillion dirhams, or around $270 billion, in green finance. Charitable donors including the Bezos Earth Fund joined forces with the World Bank's private investment arm in a climate financing venture to try to generate $11 billion in investments in developing countries.

Among countries to contribute were Italy with 100 million euros and the Netherlands with 15 million euros, with at least $51 million from Britain, $17.5 million from the United States, and $10 million from Japan. Later, the European Union pledged $245.39 million, which included $100 million pledged by Germany.
Fears as West Africa battles worst diphtheria outbreak in recent times

CNN International News Dec - 08 - 2023 , 13:17

In Nigerias northern state of Kano, doctors and health workers are grappling with one of the worst diphtheria outbreaks in recent times.

Cases have been reported in the country since May of last year, but in the past few months, the outbreak has spread at an alarming rate, health officials say. Local, federal, and international bodies have struggled to contain the bacterial disease, with 17,000 suspected cases in Nigeria so far.

Worryingly, the outbreak has now spread to other West African countries such as Niger and Guinea and Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) says these nations are currently facing some of the most severe outbreaks of this vaccine-preventable disease ever documented on the continent.

However, the epicenter remains Kano, MSF health workers told CNN. So far, they have confirmed 9,310 cases and 368 deaths this year.

At its peak, MSF in Kano reported up to 700 cases a week. This rate dropped in September, but cases are slowly starting to rise again, currently at 500 weekly.

A bacterial disease

Diphtheria is a bacterial disease that creates a toxin that kills tissues and attacks cells in the respiratory system, making it hard for patients to breathe and swallow. If the toxin enters the bloodstream, it can damage the nervous system, and cause heart and kidney damage or paralysis, even after recovery, according to an MSF explainer on the disease.

Murjanatu Muhammad, a 30-year-old from Kano, has seen all of her children, 10-year-old Mohammed, eight-year-old Fatima, and twins Jamila and Husseina, aged five, admitted to hospital with diphtheria.

You can imagine if we didnt bring these children early enough, we dont know what would have happened to them, she told CNN.

For another mother, Firdausa Salisu, her son Auwal Nura has been sick since he was born four years ago and was receiving treatment from a traditional healer who advised against vaccines, his mother said.

The traditional medicine man that was treating him advised that he should not be vaccinated at the time. By the time he recovered and I wanted him to be vaccinated, I was told he was past the age of receiving the vaccines.

High mortality in children

Thousands of children like Auwal have experienced the alarming range of symptoms caused by diphtheria, says Dr. Hashim Juma.

Dr. Juma, with over 20 years of experience in the field, is currently based in Kano working as the emergency medical coordinator for MSF.

Never have I ever faced this outbreak, in terms of the number of people infected, the mortality, and the complications as well, he told CNN via a phone call from Kano.

There are many diseases with complications, but this is very serious. Patients come in vomiting blood, paralysis in the legs there is high mortality, particularly with children.

Medical workers have been struggling to treat patients effectively, partly due to a lack of diphtheria anti-toxins (DAT).

So far, MSF says it has only been able to provide 5,000 DAT doses to patients.

With each severe case requiring eight to 10 vials each, this remains far from enough to support those who need it. Without treatment, patients face a roughly 50% chance of death, which reduces to a 5% chance if treated, Dr. Dagemlidet Tesfaye Worku, emergency medical program manager for West and Central Africa at MSF told CNN.

DAT doses and antibiotics are particularly hard to come by due to the lack of production, as well as the cost and time needed to manufacture.

Dr. Dagemlidet says that only three companies produce these doses, two of whom are approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

He added that manufacturers need four weeks to make one batch of 1,500 DAT doses, and treating patients could cost up to 350 Euros ($370) from DAT alone. He believes this needs to change as soon as possible.

In the short term, we need to improve production capacity of anti-toxins. Long term, we need to invest in research and development, Dr. Dagemlidet says.

Its a global health crisis in our globalized world, an outbreak can happen here, or in an urban area somewhere else. Global health security is so important.

Vaccine mistrust

Vaccination has also played a crucial role in this ongoing outbreak. Whilst some vaccine uptake has helped prevent infections, there are a number of barriers from increasing uptake.

As of November, only 30% of patients in Kano had full vaccine protection, according to MSF. This rate is at its lowest in the northwestern state of Sokoto at just 6%. In response, WHO and UNICEF have started a vaccination campaign across 14 states in Nigeria.

Dr. Juma explains that in Kano there is mistrust and lack of awareness surrounding vaccines. He says: There is a vaccine hesitancy here. People have had a bad experience with the side effects before. During our first intervention, we could see people were not highly welcoming to the vaccine team.

The lack of vaccination coverage also applies to the rest of West Africa, with 65% of diphtheria patients having never received a single vaccine dose.

In late November, WHO published an updated explainer on diphtheria, emphasizing the importance of high vaccine uptake to tackle the outbreak. The organization recommends six vaccine doses to babies at six weeks old to provide long-term protection.

GAVI, a vaccine alliance programme, also announced on December 4 that eligible countries can now apply to implement diphtheria vaccines into their health programs.

As the outbreak has escalated since July, Dr. Juma has seen vaccine uptake improve. In order to contain this surge of diphtheria, and help prevent future outbreaks too, this trend must continue.

With the disease now present in neighboring Niger, there is concern that once again the population is not adequately equipped. Dr. Juma says that there is little to no vaccination coverage there, a great concern considering the high level of movement between Kano and Niger.

In order to address the outbreak, the message is clear. Vaccination must improve. Dr. Juma says: We stress the need to make the routine vaccination system stronger and stronger then you can control the outbreak.

Lessons have also been learned regarding doses of antitoxins and antibiotics, explains Dr. Dagemlidet. He says: We need to have at least a minimum quantity of anti-toxins in each country, so when the first cases happen, adequate resources are available to help local areas.

The best way of responding to emergencies is anticipation and prevention.
US FDA approves $2.2m cure for sickle cell

nbcnews.com International News Dec - 09 - 2023 , 11:59

The USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, December 8, 2023, approved a powerful treatment for sickle cell disease, a devastating illness that affects more than 100,000 Americans, the majority of whom are Black.

The therapy, called Casgevy, from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, is the first medicine to be approved in the United States that uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR, which won its inventors the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2020.

I think this is a pivotal moment in the field, said Dr. Alexis Thompson, chief of the division of hematology at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, who has previously consulted for Vertex. Its been really remarkable how quickly we went from the actual discovery of CRISPR, the awarding of a Nobel Prize, and now actually seeing it being an approved product.

The approval marks the first of two potential breakthroughs for the inherited blood disorder. The FDA on Friday also approved a second treatment for sickle cell disease, called Lyfgenia, a gene therapy from drugmaker Bluebird Bio. Both treatments work by genetically modifying a patients own stem cells.

Until now, the only known cure for sickle cell disease was a bone marrow transplant from a donor, which carries the risk of rejection by the immune system, in addition to the difficult process of finding a matching donor.

Casgevy, which was approved for people ages 12 and older, removes the need for a donor. Using CRISPR, it edits the DNA found in a patients stem cells to remove the gene that causes the disease.

The patient is their own donor, Thompson said.

Its a game-changer, said Dr. Asmaa Ferdjallah, a pediatric hematologist and bone marrow transplant physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. To really reimagine and re-discuss sickle cell disease as a curable disease and not as this painful and debilitating chronic disease is hope enough with this news.

Still, the new therapy is extremely expensive  $2.2 million per patient, Vertex said. The pricing strategy, experts argue, may place it out of reach for many families. Whats more, that price doesnt include the cost of care associated with the treatment, like a stay in the hospital or chemotherapy.

We really have to make sure that it is accessible, said Dr. Rabi Hanna, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic who has previously served on the advisory board for Vertex. This could be an equalizer for people with sickle cell because many patients cannot pursue career options because of the illness.

Its something families have been aware of in the early research stage, and theyve been very patiently waiting for years, Ferdjallah said. Its been eagerly awaited by patients and families, but also by providers and physicians.

How Casgevy works

In patients with sickle cell disease, red blood cells, which are usually disk-shaped, take on a crescent or sickle shape. This change can cause cells to clump together, leading to clots and blockages in the blood vessels, starving tissues of oxygen. Patients can experience excruciating pain, breathing problems and stroke.

Casgevy works by editing the DNA in a patients stem cells  which are responsible for making the bodys blood cells  so that they no longer produce sickle-shaped cells.

While technically a one-time treatment, a number of steps that span months are required before the patient actually gets the modified stem cells. It begins with a series of blood transfusions over three to four months, after which the stem cells are extracted from the patients bone marrow and sent off to a lab where they are edited, Hanna said.

Before they can be reinfused into the patient, however, doctors need to make sure no flawed stem cells remain in the body. To do so, chemotherapy is used to destroy the patients bone marrow.

Only then can the edited stem cells be reinfused into the patient, followed by another month or two in the hospital to allow the cells to grow and the patient to recover.

Hanna said hes always cautious when telling families and patients about the one-time treatment because they may have unrealistic expectations.

There are multiple phases of this journey, he said.

The clinical trial included 46 people in the U.S. and abroad, 30 of whom had at least 18 months of follow-up care after the treatment. Of those, the treatment has been successful in 29.

LaRae Morning, 29, of Phoenix, was among the trial patients whose treatment was successful.

Her doctors did not expect her to live past the age of 11. Her mother lost several jobs when Morning was a child and a teenager because of her frequent hospital visits.

In April 2021, Morning joined the clinical trial at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and HCA Healthcares The Childrens Hospital at TriStar Centennial in Nashville, Tennessee, a decision she initially regretted. Living in Phoenix, she had to fly to Nashville once a month for treatment. It included several blood transfusions, which lasted eight hours each, and taking a medication, called plerixafor, which she recalled causing her intense stomachaches. When she started chemotherapy, her hair began to fall out and her skin changed color, resembling the appearance of a chemical burn. She also experienced nausea.

It took about six to seven months for her to feel back to normal following the CRISPR treatment. Now, she said, shes feeling the benefits, going out to coffee shops, spending time with her friends and finishing her first semester of law school in Washington, D.C.

Now that Im here, Im so happy that I did it, she said of the trial. Im just like a regular person. I wake up and do a 5K. I lift weights. If I wanted to swim, I can swim. Im still trying to know how far I can stretch it, like what are all the things I can do.

Thats been the experience for several other patients in the trial as well, according to Dr. Monica Bhatia, chief of pediatric stem cell transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Bhatia is a principal investigator at one of the clinical trial sites in New York City.

Following the treatment, most patients were going back to school, going to the gym or resuming other activities  things that a lot of people take for granted, she said  after about three to four months.

Theyre really able to live life without restrictions, Bhatia said.

Dr. Haydar Frangoul, medical director of pediatric hematology-oncology for the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, said he is hopeful the therapy will provide relief to more patients.

I think this is a huge moment for patients with sickle cell disease, said Frangoul, who was the lead investigator on the clinical trial and treated Morning.

Long-term questions

Although Casgevy has been shown to be effective, experts still dont know about potential long-term effects, since the trial is only set to run for two years.

During a meeting in October, an FDA advisory committee discussed the risk of off-target effects, which refers to when the gene-editing tool makes cuts to other stretches of DNA other than the intended target and how the FDA should consider those risks moving forward.

Its unclear what effects an off-target edit would have on a patient, but the fear is that it could result in unintended health consequences down the road, Thompson said. To date, there do not appear to be measurable consequences.

The FDA did, however, add a boxed warning  the strongest safety warning label to Bluebird Bios Lyfgenia, noting that in rare cases the treatment can cause certain blood cancers.

Dr. Nicole Verdun, director of the Office of Therapeutic Products in the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said Lyfgenia was given the warning after two patients who got the therapy in a clinical trial died from a form of leukemia.

It's unclear whether the gene therapy itself or another part of the treatment process, such as the chemotherapy, caused the cancer, but Verdun said the agency thought the deaths "rose to the level of a black-box warning." No cases were seen in the Vertex clinical trial, she said.

Bhatia is following the patients for 15 years as part of a post-approval study for Casgevy and will be monitoring for signs of long-term effects.

Long-term follow-up is still going to be so crucial, she said.

Christopher Vega, 31, from Allentown, Pennsylvania, said the possibility of long-term effects arent a concern for him; he is happy to be living a life free of chronic pain.

He joined the clinical trial at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in late 2020. He had suffered from chronic fatigue since he was a young child and would end up in the hospital every year with a pain crisis.

When I was younger, my mom used to always tell me things happen for a reason. And I had so much trouble believing that, because I always thought, Why me? he said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Kenya William Samoei Ruto, Trend reports.

"Dear Mr. President,

I sincerely congratulate you and through you, all your people on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the National Holiday of the Republic of Kenya  the Independence Day.

The opening of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Kenya this year is a clear manifestation of the transition of our bilateral relations to a new level. I believe that we will continue to make joint efforts to develop Azerbaijan-Kenya relations on the path of friendship, and successfully continue our bilateral and multilateral cooperation in line with the interests of our peoples.

On this remarkable day, I convey my best wishes to you and, wish your friendly people everlasting peace and prosperity," the letter said.
39th Farmers Day: Newmont supports 11 assemblies with GH629,234

Daily Graphic Dec - 09 - 2023 , 11:22

John Atta Fintim is a 37-year-old farmer in Adrobaa, a community in the Tano North Municipal Assembly in the Ahafo Region. He is renowned for his diligence in producing coffee, cocoa, vegetables, tubers and plantains in the community, which supports his immediate family and relations.

At the 39th Farmers Day ceremony, Atta was recognised as the Best Farmer of the Year in the municipality. Like many of his peers in the communities, Attas determination and commitment to sustainable agricultural practices are assuring amidst the impact of climate change on the output of farmers.

For close to four decades, Ghana has recognised its farmers and fisherfolks for working tirelessly to fuel the countrys sustenance and socio-economic development. Grinding from dawn till dusk, they have taken care of our lands, reared livestock, supplied food, and ultimately secured the agriculture value chain in the country.

It comes as no surprise when the private sector demonstrates its support to the government during these celebrations, and in the Eastern, Ahafo and Bono regions, the story is no different.

Contribution

Since it started commercial production in its operations in Ghana, Newmont has consistently contributed to the annual National Farmers Day celebrations within its host communities as part of contributions to sustainable local communities.

This year, Newmont donated assorted items worth GH629,234 to 11 districts and municipalities in its host communities.

Its Ahafo operations supported the Asutifi North and South districts, Tano North and South municipalities, Asunafo North and South municipalities, and the Sunyani Municipality in the Bono Region.

The companys Akyem operations, on the other hand, celebrated farmers in the Birim North District, Atiwa East District and the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council.

The items, which were presented to the best-performing farmers included farm inputs, agricultural equipment, tricycles, motorcycles, bicycles, agricultural chemicals, corn mills, pumping machines, wax prints and appliances, among others.

Interventions

Over the years, Newmont has instituted agricultural interventions to support farmers in its host communities. In the Birim North District, Newmonts Akyem operation has been collaborating with the local farmers to implement the Agriculture Improvement Project.

The voluntary project was initiated to support the livelihood of farmers and ensure food security in the communities.

Through its Local Economic Diversification Support, Newmont also established a Processing and Service Centre in Asutifi to add value to ginger and chilli pepper produced by the out-growers in the host communities to help reduce post-harvest losses.

These interventions have reaffirmed the company's dedication to local economic development through stakeholder engagement and sustainable community development initiatives.
ECOWAS and MFWA aign partnership agreement

Graphic.com.gh Dec - 08 - 2023 , 17:12

On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) signed a four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU, signed by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray and the Executive Director of the MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, seeks to enhance collaboration and cooperation between the two organisations.

In pursuit of the objectives of the MoU, ECOWAS and MFWA will focus on a number of strategic areas of cooperation aimed at enhancing democratic values, media freedom and development, human rights and peace in the region.

The specific areas of cooperation include: building media capacity to contribute to enhancing democratic norms and values; enhancing the medias role in countering narratives of violent extremism, polarisation, radicalization, mis/disinformation and hate speech; promoting media freedom, freedom of expression (online and offline) and access to information; and coordination with regional media partners to enhance citizens awareness of ECOWAS and its activities across Member States.

At the signing ceremony, the ECOWAS Commissioner for the Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, reiterated the strategic role of the MFWA as a partner of choice that has the capacity to contribute to dealing with the critical challenges facing the region.

He highlighted the role of the media in mobilising public opinion in support of democratic values and countering anti-democratic narratives that appear to be on the rise in the region.

Commissioner Adbel-Fatau Musah noted that the MoU with the MFWA was also critical because of the invaluable role of the media in promoting ECOWAS vision 2050, which is: ECOWAS of the peoples: peace and prosperity for all.

On his part, the Executive Director of the MFWA expressed his delight about the formalisation of relations between the two organisations, noting that the partnership provides a great opportunity to build synergies and leverage on each others capacities and resources to effectively confront the critical challenges facing the region.

In attendance at the signing ceremony were other senior ECOWAS officials and senior staff of the MFWA.
Enhance security at December-in-Gh events: National Security, GTA charge organisers

Emelia Ennin Abbey Dec - 09 - 2023 , 07:23

The National Security and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) have urged event organisers to beef up security at all December-in-Gh events lined up for the festive period.

The aim is to ensure the safety of their patrons and the promotion of the nation.

The caution, the two institutions said, had become necessary due to emerging security threats in neighbouring countries and the Sahel region.

They gave the advice at a GTA stakeholders engagement with event organisers last Thursday.

The advice is in line with the National Securitys See something, Say something campaign, a citizens' awareness campaign aimed at protecting the country against terrorist attacks.

The campaign is aimed at encouraging the public to be vigilant in order to detect the activities of suspicious characters and report such activities and characters to the security agencies.

Since 2019 and following the introduction of the Year of Return, the country, in the last quarter of the year, especially the last month, has become the hub for vacationers and tourists, both diasporans and non-diasporans with packs of events within the holiday season.

Terrorism targets

An Administrator at the Counter Terrorism unit of the Ministry of National Security, Marvin Obeng Antwi, said event locations were soft spots and targets for criminals and terrorists due to the large number of patrons.

Terrorists target everyone, they just want to make a name for themselves, they target VVIPs, the ordinary people.

From statistics, it is obvious the primary victims are civilians and ordinary people who constitute about 48 per cent, from January to September 2022, Mr Antwi said, showing an analysis of some events in the subregion.

Terrorists also attack security personnel, critical national infrastructure, telecommunication infrastructure, commercial centres and the hospitality industry.

He said in West Africa, this year, there had been 2,122 terrorist attacks which led to the death of 1,292 compared to January to September 2022, where there were 959 attacks and 7,501 deaths.

There are a lot of vulnerabilities and we are not immune to these terrorist attacks. There have been a lot of attacks on hotels and event locations, so you are not exempted, he said.

Mr Antwi explained that terrorist groups thrived where there were existing disputes, such as chieftaincy and land disputes, unemployment, political vigilantism, porous borders, proliferation of small arms and illegal mining.

Dont overlook measures

For event organisers, he said, overlooking some measures such as limited security staff, providing multiple exits, and access to parking garages, with little or no screening, among others, made their patrons vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

The state, Mr Antwi said, was performing its duty of ensuring a conducive environment for businesses such as event organisers to operate.

It is your duty to pass reliable information to the police, invest in security measures and cooperate with the security agencies, he said.

The Counter Terrorism administrator mentioned potential indicators of terrorist activities to include suspicious collection of hotel maps, photos, notes or diagrams with infrastructure highlighted, unusual inquiries about practices of a facility or a facility's supporting infrastructure for guests.

Mr Antwi, therefore, urged the hospitality industry players to be cautious of such indicators and prompt the security agencies to avoid any breaches.

Support

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GTA, Akwasi Agyeman, said December was a busy month for event organisers in the country, and that the secretariat of the authority was ready to support them in relation to security concerns and anything that would ensure the smooth execution of all planned events under the December-to-Gh brand.

He urged the players to collaborate with the authorities to ensure all activities were carried out safely, and at the end of the day Ghana will be the winner.

Mr Agyeman said the authority had engaged the Department of Urban Roads and the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service on how to ease traffic flow during the festive period.

He said the country was ready to receive tourists and vacationers for December-in-Gh activities, and we will ensure all are safe.

See something, say something

The Head of the Client Services Unit of the Ministry of National Security, Akosua Danquah Ntim Sekyere, who spoke about the See something, say something campaign, explained that National Security personnel would be at some of the events to observe developments.

She added that security was a shared responsibility and that event organisers must not hesitate to contact the police to share information on suspicious activities of persons.
Find remedies to societal challenges  Baroness Foster urges Accra Business School graduands

Beatrice Laryea Dec - 09 - 2023 , 13:16

The former First Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Baroness Arlene Isobel Foster, has charged the 2023 graduating class of the Accra Business School (ABS) to use the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies to find the remedy to various societal challenges in their chosen fields.

She was speaking at the 15th Congregation held at the Accra International Conference Centre on Thursday. The event was on the theme: Sculpting Tomorrows Work-Ready Leaders: The Role of Practice-Oriented Business Education.

Henry Ford, the great American industrialist once said: Dont find fault, find remedy and I hope that you will use your skills acquired at the Accra Business School to find the remedy whatever your chosen field, she said.

Vision

She mentioned that the vision, which the co-founder and his wife, Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei and Lady Olivia had for the ABS was one of growing the economy of Ghana through recouping its young leaders with the tools they needed to become job creators.

That vision is God-inspired and you should always be thankful for that. There is indeed much negativity and indeed, strife in our world today but we are called to be salt and light in the world, she said.

You should all be very proud today as you graduate from the Accra Business School which has provided you with the skills to succeed in your chosen fields.

Challenges

She also encouraged the graduands to remain resolute and resilient even in the face of challenges since they were bound to encounter challenges in this life.

In your career and life, you will come across disappointment and maybe even failure at times but remember storms make trees take deeper roots. Sometimes we go through tough times and resilience is really important when you are stepping out into the world, she said.

In conclusion, I want to say that believe in yourself, be authentic, be resilient, choose positivity and above all dont be a rule but be a leader. May God bless you all and may God bless Ghana, she added.

Graduation

A total of 332 students graduated with honours in Master of Science Accounting and Finance, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science Information Technology Management, Bachelor of Science Business Administration and Global Leadership and Diploma in Management and Finance.

In attendance were President of the Accra Business School, Prof. Cedric Bell, Vice President of the school, Prof. Elvis Cornerstone and some members of the Governing Council including Prof. Imoro Braimah, Ms. Gloria Ofori-Boadu, Prof. Samuel Nii Odai, Dr. Irene Brew-Riverson, Prof. Jackie McCoy, Dr. Mamiko Reeves, Prof. Charles Owiredu, Dr. Patrick Ofei, Mr. Richard Ahenkorah, Mr. Philip Burke and Mr. Ronald Andrew Abbey.
Thriving 24-hour economy key to recovery  Former President Mahama

Kester Aburam Korankye Dec - 09 - 2023 , 10:41

FORMER President John Dramani Mahama has said he will implement series of transition measures to address the prevailing economic decline and set the economy on the path of recovery when elected to lead the country again.

He outlined the measures to include creating a thriving 24-hour economy with focus on infrastructure, security and regulations to support businesses for economic growth.

24-hour economy

Addressing a large gathering of private sector Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in Accra on Thursday night, the flag bearer of the biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), added that the proposed 24-hour economy formed part of the party's vision to build the Ghana We Want.

Let me reiterate that our quest to build the Ghana we want together with you will be premised on building an industrialised, inclusive and resilient economy that creates well-paying jobs, Mr Mahama added.

Former President Mahama, who is seeking a return to the presidency after eight years in opposition, also assured the business executives that the NDC was dedicated to creating an environment where they would thrive and contribute to the overall well-being of citizens.

An NDC government, he said, would also work towards reducing corruption, increasing local participation in the extractive industry, and easing the tax burden on households and businesses.

Presently, Mr Mahama said that many businesses were still bearing the brunt of the economic meltdown contrary to the Finance Ministers assertion that the economy had turned the corner.

Businesses that moved headquarters from Ghana to our neighbouring countries have yet to return, while the poorly thought-through banking sector clean-up has left thousands of skilled financial sector workers jobless and impoverished, he said.

Game-changer

Mr Mahama, however, said that the proposed 24-hour economy would be a game-changer for the accelerated development of the country.

He explained that the roots of the policy emanated from the 40-year National Development Plan the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) put together when he was President.

Unfortunately, the present government discarded the 40-year plan and replaced it with a Ghana Beyond Aid plan that has turned Ghana into a beggar nation.

The 24-hour policy will be anchored around the clock with a three-shift work schedule in many sectors, and the intent is to transform the nation into a self-sufficient and export-led economy.

To be clear, we are not creating a command economy with centralised planning that would be at variance with the Social Democratic ideology of the NDC, Mr Mahama said.

Rather, he said the policy would combine government support and private sector involvement.

Mr Mahama said legislations would be introduced to support businesses operating the system, including labour laws, tax incentives and regulations that would ensure workers rights and protection.

He further said companies that signed up for the 24-hour economy policy would enjoy smart metering calibrated to charge a lesser tariff (per KW/h) for power consumed during off-peak hours at night based on a Time of Use (ToU) tariff system, while financing support would be provided for certain strategic agro-processing firms and manufacturing companies to boost production for value addition, self-sufficiency and increased exports.

In addition, he said technology and digital infrastructure investment would also be prioritised to enable automation and seamless operations.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. The United Arab Emirates welcomes the progress in relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, as well as the recent steps taken towards peace in the region, the UAE Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.

The statement highly appreciated the confidence-building measures agreed upon between the two countries and expressed hope that these initiatives will contribute to strengthening stability in the Caucasus.

The ministry emphasized that the UAE supports all initiatives agreed upon by Azerbaijan and Armenia to strengthen security and peace at the regional and international level.

The ministry reiterated that the UAE emphasizes the importance of building bridges, cooperation and dialogue in resolving differences peacefully.

Following the talks between the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, an agreement has been reached on taking tangible steps towards building confidence between two countries.

Driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenian military servicemen.

In its turn, driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Armenia releases 2 Azerbaijani military servicemen.

As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy. The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan do hope that the other countries within the Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijans bid to host. As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Azerbaijan supports the Armenian candidature for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Training-methodical sessions held with the chiefs of branches and subdivisions for ideological work and moral-psychological support of types of troops, Army Corps, formations, units, and special educational institutions (chairs and cycles, respectively), as well as assistant chiefs of staff of military units for ideological work and moral-psychological support and psychologists, ended, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan told Trend.

The sessions were held at the Training and Educational Center of the Azerbaijan Army in accordance with the training plan for the current year.

During the sessions, the Acting Chief of the Main Department for Personnel, Major General Elchin Khalilov delivered a speech.

It was noted that further improvement of the moral-psychological state of servicemen was achieved by regularly delivering the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyevs speeches to the entire military personnel, as well as other educational activities.

It was emphasized that violations of military discipline and other negative cases in the Azerbaijan Army have significantly decreased compared to previous years.

Khalilov mentioned that legislative projects covering the ongoing reforms will have a positive impact on increasing the professionalism of servicemen, as well as on further improving social and living conditions.

The importance of conducting individual educational work and proper relationship building among servicemen according to the requirements of the Defense Ministers relevant orders, including instructions on safety rules and increasing vigilance was stressed.

Then, the Chief of the Department for Ideological Work and Moral-Psychological Support, Colonel Elshad Abilov, analyzed the activities carried out during 2023 in the field of ideological work and moral-psychological support.

The Chief of the Department also highlighted the work done in the Azerbaijan Army to fulfill the tasks aimed at improving the moral-psychological training of servicemen and upbringing them in the spirit of military patriotism.

In the end, relevant tasks on moral-psychological support for the 2024 training year were delivered to the session participants.

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Two Chinese nationals were sentenced in the Northern Mariana Islands for their roles in a mailed meth case in Saipan.

Shawn N. Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Chun Yang and Yurong Wang, citizens of the Peoples Republic of China, were sentenced by the District Court of the NMI.

The sentencing took place Wednesday, Dec. 6, and the specifics distributed by the District court three days later.

The pair were found guilty of conspiracy to possess over 50 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, according to a release from the court.

Yang, 46, was sentenced to 70 months incarceration, five years of supervised release following release, 100 hours of community service in lieu of a fine, and a $100 special assessment fee. Yang was also ordered to report to U.S. immigration officials for deportation proceedings upon release from prison.

Wang, 50, was sentenced to 46 months incarceration, five years of supervised release following release, 100 hours of community service in lieu of a fine, and a $100 special assessment fee. Wang was also ordered to report to U.S. immigration officials for deportation proceedings upon release from prison.

The case

On June 21, 2022, CNMI Customs and Biosecurity Agents discovered 1,809.80 grams of methamphetamine inside of a mail parcel during a routine inspection at the U.S. Post Office on the island of Saipan. The parcel was mailed from California.

Upon discovery of the methamphetamine, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration joined the investigation. On June 22, 2022, DEA and the CNMI Department of Public Safety Drug Enforcement Task Force conducted surveillance while the parcel was claimed from the post office, transported after exchanges between multiple persons and vehicles, and ultimately delivered to Wang.

After receiving the package, Wang brought it to an apartment where she met Yang and Xing Rui Gao (also a PRC citizen). The three individuals intended to distribute the drugs on Saipan. They were promptly arrested after opening the package.

Gao was charged separately and pled guilty on Oct. 4, 2023. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2024. None of the defendants had lawful immigration status at the time of the offense.

This case demonstrates the effectiveness of partnerships among Commonwealth and federal law enforcement, stated United States Attorney Shawn N. Anderson. A substantial amount of methamphetamine was kept out of our communities. I applaud the efforts of all involved in bringing these defendants to justice.

The investigation was led by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration with cooperation from the CNMI Customs and Biosecurity Agency, the CNMI DETF, and prosecuted by Albert S. Flores, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.
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Under murky circumstances, a Louisiana Catholic priest has been abruptly removed from his position by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Church officials have filed a police report against the Rev. Anthony Odiong, according to nola.com, though authorities declined to give further details.

These concerns do not include the abuse of minors nor to our knowledge involve anyone in this (church), reads a statement from archdiocese officials to The Guardian.

In 2019, a woman who viewed Odiong as a spiritual adviser came forward to allege years of financial and sexual abuse at his hand. According to the Guardian, Odiong is accused of forcing the woman to perform sexual acts  threatening to place a curse on her head if she refused  and stealing thousands of dollars from her.

Call logs reviewed by the Guardian confirm that the woman spoke with New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond about the allegations.

Still, it wasnt until mid-November of this year that Odiong announced that he would be leaving the church in January and heading to Florida. The priest told his congregation that he vehemently disagreed with Pope Francis attempts to welcome the LGBTQ+ community into Catholicism, and he planned to build his own chapel.

Now the gays have taken over the church. The LGBTQY, whatever you call them, have a stranglehold on the church now, he said in a Nov. 26 sermon, available on YouTube. Were going to begin to bless all kinds of monkeys and animals and chimpanzees, and priests who will not do it will be persecuted.

After the live-streamed Mass, archdiocese officials moved his exit date from January to effective immediately.

Odiongs recent remarks and the allegations against him are only the latest in a string of scandals for the Catholic Church in New Orleans.

Investigations by the Guardian found that Aymond repeatedly disregarded recommendations from his advisers to label certain clerics as credibly suspected molesters.

Among the churchs known abusers is 92-year-old Lawrence Hecker, who admitted to church officials to molesting children in 1999 but wasnt arrested until 2023. In a shocking on-camera interview with WWL-TV, Hecker twice answered yes when asked if he remembered committing overt sexual acts with children.

Most recently, in July, a former Louisiana priest was sentenced to 25 years in prison after admitting to drugging and sexually abusing men he met in New Orleans from 2019 to 2021.

The New Orleans Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020, while facing nearly 40 pending sex abuse lawsuits. In a public statement, Aymond wrote: I humbly ask too for prayers for me as we together ask the Holy Spirit to guide this process to a just conclusion. God is faithful and will lead us in this challenging time.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. After the grand FIA Prize Giving Ceremony took place on Friday in Baku, champions and winners of the 2023 motorsport season were acknowledged, Trend reports.

The FIA Rally & Circuit awards were handed out during the ceremony.

Similar to 2022, this year also recognized drivers who excelled in various categories in rallying.

The ceremony showcased President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, expressing gratitude for the warm hospitality and the high level of organization during the FIA Week in Baku.

Anar Alakbarov, President of the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation (AAF), expressed gratitude to the FIA President and the entire FIA family for their visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the FIA events in Baku.

He also acknowledged the support of the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation for the event.

In conclusion, President Anar Alakbarov was presented with a gift featuring the signatures of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the 2023 Formula-1 champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, and Red Bull team driver Sergio Perez.




Haiti - FLASH : The United States and the UN sanction 4 powerful gang leaders





Friday December 8, 2023 the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against four powerful gang leaders in Haiti, accused of murders, kidnappings, illegal possession of firearms, hijacking of trucks of goods and conspiracy to commit crimes these are: Johnson Andre alias "Izo" leader of the "5 Segonn" gang, Renel Destina alias "Ti Lapli" leader of the Grande Ravine gang, Vitel'homme Innocent, leader of the "Kraze barye" gang and Wilson Joseph alias "Lanmo San jou" leader of the "400 Mawozo" gang.



Johnson Andre alias "Izo" s wanted by the Haitian National Police for assassination, kidnapping for ransom, illegal possession of firearms, hijacking of freight trucks, and criminal conspiracy. Andre and his gang have been identified by survivors as being directly responsible for 1,035 documented cases of sexual violence in 2022 alone.



Renel Destina alias "Ti Lapli", who is a key ally of Andre, has committed kidnappings as well as killings, robberies, rapes, looting and burning of residences, and continuous attacks against Haitian police officers. Destina has also been indicted on charges of hostage taking by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for kidnapping U.S. citizens for ransom in February 2021.



Vitel'homme Innocent and Wilson Joseph aka "Lanmo San jou" have both been indicted by DOJ for their role in the armed kidnapping of U.S. citizens in Haiti in October 2022, and the Department of State issued reward offers of up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Innocent when he was added to the FBIs 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List on November 15, 2023 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40986-haiti-flash-usa-$2m-for-the-arrest-of-vitel-homme-innocent.html and up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Joseph in 2022 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38106-haiti-usa-infos-of-joseph-wilson-alias-lanmo-sanjou-how-to-submit-your-information.html



The latter join Jimmy Cherizier alias "Barbecue" in the American list.



The Security Council Sanctions Committee, established by resolution 2653, approved the addition of persons designated by the United States to its sanctions list concerning persons and entities targeted by measures imposed by the Security Council and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38106-haiti-usa-infos-of-joseph-wilson-alias-lanmo-sanjou-how-to-submit-your-information.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40986-haiti-flash-usa-$2m-for-the-arrest-of-vitel-homme-innocent.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Insecurity : More than 8,000 victims of violence in 11 months





Friday in Geneva at a press conference, at the end of a week of advocacy in Europe (Brussels, Berlin and Geneva), to ensure support for Haiti from the international community, Ulrika Richardson, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and Resident Coordinator declared ,"Haitians are today experiencing the most difficult situation in modern history [...] Every day, they face the risks of being killed, kidnapped, or violated. When they cross the street, they are scared for their livesj...



This situation of extreme violence is the consequence of the activities of some 300 gangs active mainly in the capital, which are creating a climate of terror, said the UN Coordinator in Haiti.



According to recent information from the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) nearly 80% of the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince is either under the influence of armed gangs or directly controlled by them "These gangs are very armed , and form coalitions between them with a certain strategy and know-how which makes the situation very complex, lamented Ms. Richardson, emphasizing Women and children are the main victims of violence. Gangs recruit minors for their operations, notably as informants or as guards of kidnapped people.,,,"



Armed groups also use brutal and gang rape against women as a weapon of war.



Figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights confirm the increase in violence. Since January 2023 until today, more than 8,000 victims (3,960 dead, 1,432 injured and 2,951 kidnapped), far exceeding the number of victims in all of 2022.



She deplores the limited state capacities which prevent victims from relying on justice, which means that most of these crimes go unpunished...



Furthermore, according to the latest estimates from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 200,000 people have been displaced due to violence over the past year, including more than 143,000 in the Port-au-Pri ce ncw region . -Prince.



In addition to the security issue, BINUH also fears that the entire Haitian health system is on the verge of collapse. Healthcare facilities are now struggling to stay open due to a lack of funding and an exodus of qualified staff.



Finally, the education of millions of children is threatened. For thousands of students, 2023 marks the 4th consecutive year of interruption of the school year



Asked about the intervention of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS) she replied [] it is very difficult to have an estimate of when they will arrive in Haiti, it depends on Kenyan justice and of course many other elements such as financing, but we hope that they can arrive during the first quarter of 2024"



Remember that the deployment of the MMSS remains suspended by the Nairobi High Court which is examining an appeal filed by opponent Ekuru Aukot, former defeated presidential candidate https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40701-haiti-politic-the-high-court-of-kenya-suspends-for-2-weeks-the-deployment-of-the-mission-in-haiti.html . According to the High Court judge, Me Chacha Mwita, the court will rule on this appeal on January 26, 2024 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40994-haiti-flash-the-kenyan-parliament-approves-the-sending-of-1-000-police-officers-to-support-the-pnh-but.html



Stating "In the meantime, the Kenyans are preparing intensively for the future mission, which does not depend on the UN.*



Regarding her tour in Europe, she indicated that the responses she received were *very positive". "The countries confirm and reconfirm their intention to remain engaged in Haiti. There is a concern that provokes a reaction of solidarity, she said. "With appropriate and sustainable investments, we can allow Haiti to once again be a symbol of freedom, dignity and prosperity for the world," concluded Ms. Richardson.



HL/ HaitiFree






















Haiti - Culture : Signing of a MoU with more than forty cultural organizations





Thursday, December 7, 2023 at the Karibe hotel, Emmelie Prophete Milce, the Minister of Culture launched the Program "Support for cultural actors for the promotion of Peace and respect for human rights to young people" and signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry and more than forty cultural organizations in the country.



The implementation of this protocol is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Peacebuilding Fund and Thames in within the framework of this Program.



This protocol aims above all to provide technical and financial support to cultural actors so that they develop and convey a counter-narrative to violence around young people, while strengthening their civic and civic engagement.



Minister Milce specified that cultural actors must act in their respective communities to make it understood that Peace is a "sine qua non" condition for radical change within society and thus contribute "in the fights to make the population more responsible, more tolerant, more peaceful while continuing to defend their rights."



Arnaud Royer, the Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Haiti, insisted on strengthening efforts to build a national architecture of Peace around Haitians working in the cultural and academic fields.



This Project, which is due throughout 2024, also has the objective of cultural decentralization, the establishment of an expanded public service of culture and communication via the socio-cultural associations of the ten departments of the country, signatories of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry, so as to stop the spread of the narrative of violence in public spaces.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





A PNH armored vehicle partly burned

Friday December 8, 2023, an armored vehicle of the Haitian National Police (PNH) was partly set on fire using Molotov cocktails thrown by armed individuals who control the Mariani district. The armored vehicle immobilized by the mud was partially set on fire. The police officers who were inside the vehicle responded and pushed the attackers away in order to avoid the worst. The police officers who were inside the armored vehicle were rescued by reinforcements dispatched to the scene. Remember that the police have been carrying out an operation for several days to try to dislodge the bandits in Mariani. Several bandits were killed while a police officer was killed as part of this operation.



The United Kingdom sanctions 2 former senior officials

The United Kingdom has expanded its list of people sanctioned and adds 2 people in Haiti for their involvement in the La Saline massacre https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-27679-icihaiti-massacre-of-la-saline-dcpj-investigation-implicates-2-high-officials-of-the-state.html these are : the former Director General of the Ministry of the Interior Fednel Monchery and the former Departmental Delegate of the West Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan



The Montana Group rejects the CARICOM draft agreement

The Montana group rejected the draft agreement submitted by the CARICOM Eminent Persons Group. It criticizes the partisan nature of the document which, according to him, does not aim to keep Prime Minister a.i. Ariel Henry in office for a new mandate of 18 months.



Taiwan : field day for 100 farmers

The Technical Mission of Taiwan (Republic of China) in Haiti organized a field day, with a total of 100 participants, in the Poteau area (South Dept.) The training emphasized the production of high quality seeds, the control of the irrigation system, fertilization applications and use of the tiller on land preparations. Field visits were also organized to understand methods of purification and plot management, in order to improve theoretical and practical experience.



New Swiss ambassador to Haiti

The Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation Rita Hammerli-Weschke presented her "Cabinet Letter" to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Victor Geneus in order to obtain her accreditation as Ambassador of Switzerland to Haiti. During this meeting, Minister Geneus stressed that Switzerland's work in Haiti was highly appreciated, particularly the cooperation projects in the South.



Justice : Words of Martine Moise

"The assassins want to be more and more threatening. They feel that their reign of impunity and untouchability seems to be coming to an end. At the end of this difficult year, I salute all those who have joined and are joining the fight for Justice alongside the people. The Union is and must continue to be our lifeline for a better tomorrow in Haiti," former First Lady of Haiti Martine Moise.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2023/12/09 | Source

Korean movie "Broken Record" added to HanCinema database

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"Broken Record" (2023)

Directed by Kye Yoon

With Oh Ji-ho, Song Chang-eui, Ryu Hwa-young,...

Synopsis

"When I see her beautiful long hair and short skirt..." The song Saturday Night, sung by Kim Se-hwan, is a timid expression of love towards a girl wearing a short skirt. During the military government of the 1970s, this song was banned for being harmful to Korean society's values and customs. The film "Broken Record" explores a historical period when creative and expressive freedom faced significant threats, with songs frequently being censored for inexplicable reasons. This movie depicts the struggle of individuals who went along with this restrictive mechanism and highlights the resilience of those who had to endure during this period. (Jin. Cho)

Release date in Korea : 2024
Skin cancers are among the most common cancers, and their incidence is steadily increasing in Finland and worldwide.

In a groundbreaking doctoral study, artificial intelligence (AI) has proven its ability to accurately distinguish malignant skin lesions from benign ones using hyperspectral imaging (HSI). Prior to AI analysis, the skin lesions were imaged using hyperspectral cameras.

Several non-invasive imaging methods have been developed for identifying skin cancers, but they often require specialized training for image analysis. Medical licentiate Vivian Lindholm conducted research to explore whether hyperspectral imaging (HSI) combined with AI analysis could determine which skin lesions are malignant and which are benign.

Hyperspectral imaging holds promise as a tool for diagnosing skin cancer. In practice, a hyperspectral camera captures a broader range of information about different light wavelengths compared to a regular camera. In Lindholm's research, the camera provided unique spectral data, akin to a "fingerprint," for each skin lesion. This spectral data was combined with a 3D model depicting the surface structure of the skin lesion. AI analysis, utilizing neural networks, processed the data and provided a diagnosis for each skin lesion.

Lindholm assessed the accuracy of this method in cases where the goal was to differentiate melanoma from benign pigmented nevi, keratinocyte skin cancer from benign raised moles, and precancerous skin changes (Bowen's disease) from benign seborrheic keratoses. The study included 172 skin lesions.

The research findings indicate that AI analysis following hyperspectral imaging effectively and accurately distinguishes malignant skin lesions from benign ones. It achieved a 95% accuracy and sensitivity for melanoma, 85-100% sensitivity, and 92-100% accuracy for keratinocyte skin cancer, and 84% sensitivity and 94% accuracy for Bowen's disease.

Additionally, this analysis provides a mapped image of the skin lesions, allowing for more precise delineation of lesion borders, particularly useful before surgical treatment.

"This method appears promising as an automated means of identifying skin cancers, which could assist doctors in pinpointing skin lesions that require treatment more accurately, reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies and enabling the early detection of skin cancers. However, further research is needed, including large datasets encompassing all types of skin lesions, to validate and refine the method," says Vivian Lindholm, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki and specialist physician at Helsinki University Hospital's Inflammation Center.

Research Also Explores Treatment for Precancerous Skin Changes

Preventing squamous cell carcinoma with photodynamic therapy (PDT) for precancerous skin changes, known as actinic keratoses, is effective but often painful. Daylight PDT, which utilizes natural sunlight, is nearly painless but less effective for thick lesions. Recently, indoor simulated daylight PDT has been introduced as an alternative.

Lindholm evaluated the effectiveness of two new laser-assisted PDT treatments for actinic keratoses on the head. The study included 115 patients.

The most significant benefit was observed when using fractional laser before simulated or natural daylight PDT. Fractional laser creates tiny holes in the skin's surface, significantly enhancing the efficacy of daylight PDT: 86% of the lesions improved with this combined treatment, while using daylight PDT alone resulted in a 70% improvement.

"Furthermore, this combination performed excellently for thick lesions, surpassing the effectiveness of standard PDT and being well-tolerated. It could potentially become the primary choice for patients with extensive or thick actinic keratoses. However, additional research is needed to optimize laser settings, enhancing both treatment efficacy and tolerance," Lindholm added.

Fact: Hyperspectral Imaging Captures Extensive Skin Data

A conventional photograph pixel contains information on the intensity of three different wavelengths, whereas hyperspectral cameras record data on dozens of different wavelengths per pixel.

Information on light intensity at various wavelengths provides graphic spectral data, offering more detailed insights into the composition of the imaged skin area.

In skin imaging, the spectrum primarily depends on chromophores, such as skin melanin, hemoglobin, bilirubin, water, and fat content. Thus, the spectrum is unique for each skin lesion.

Due to the vast amount of data in hyperspectral imaging, recent studies have leveraged AI methods for analyzing hyperspectral camera results.

HT
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Azerbaijan was designated by the Eastern European regional group to host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP29 in 2024, Trend reports.

The official announcement of this decision is scheduled for December 12.

COP28 took place in Dubai this year and set a record as the largest event in UN history, with nearly 100,000 delegates. More than 120 heads of state and government participated in the summit organized as part of the conference, marking President Ilham Aliyev's first involvement in this event.

Typically, the COP is hosted in rotation by the five UN regional groups, and each group must reach a consensus to nominate a country from among its members to host the conference.

As it is the Eastern European regional group's turn to host COP29 in 2024, Azerbaijan, being part of this group, proposed Baku as the venue. Alongside Azerbaijan, Armenia and Bulgaria also presented their candidacies. However, on December 7, 2023, following direct negotiations between the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Armenia withdrew its candidacy in favor of Azerbaijan. Bulgaria also withdrew its candidacy.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. Trading operations worth $6.7 billion were carried out between Azerbaijan and Turkiye in the first 10 months of this year, said Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Jahit Bagchi during the conference 'Heydar Aliyev 100 - One nation, two states' business world', held in Baku today, Trend reports.

"By the end of the year we will increase this figure by 20 percent," he added.

The ambassador noted that by the end of this year, trade turnover between the two countries will reach $7.5 billion.

Bagchi emphasized that relations with Azerbaijan are developing in all spheres.

"Economic cooperation holds a special place in these relations. Our main goal is to bring the trade turnover with Azerbaijan to $15 billion, and the current figures show that we are halfway through," the ambassador noted.

He mentioned that in terms of meeting Turkiye's demand for oil and natural gas, Azerbaijan has risen to the first place. The ambassador also mentioned that Turkiye is an important gateway for Azerbaijan's energy exports to the West.

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Months after suggesting that youngsters in India must work for at least 70 hours a week, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has said he himself had put in the hours when setting up his company. In an interview to The Economic Times, Murthy said till 1994, he worked over 85 to 90 hours a week. Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy.(PTI)

I used to be in the office at 6:20am and leave office at 8:30pm and worked six days a week, he told ET in the interview. "I know every nation that became prosperous did so through hard work."

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He said his parent taught him that the only way to escape poverty was to work "very, very hard". He, however, added that this is when one gets the productivity from each work hour.

"During my entire 40-plus years of professional life, I worked 70 hours a week," he reiterated. "When we had a six-day week - till 1994 - I used to work at least 85 to 90 hours a week. That has not been a waste."

Earlier, in a conversation with Infosys former CFO Mohandas Pai in October, Murthy said India needs to boost work productivity if it wishes to compete with the fastest-growing countries like China and Japan.

Murthy made the remarks while appearing on the first episode of 3one4 Capital's podcast The Record.

After the Second World War, the people of Germany and Japan worked for extra hours for the sake of their country. The youngsters in India also own the country and work hard for the sake of our economy, Murthy noted.

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal agreed with Murthy, saying it is not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves.

In a social media post on X, Aggawal said, Totally agree with Mr Murthys views. Its not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves. Rather its our moment to go all in and build in 1 generation what other countries have built over many generations!

Industrialist Sajjan Jindal also said he wholeheartedly endorsed Murthy's statement, adding that a five-day week culture is not what a rapidly developing country like India needs.

However, many on social media were not entirely in agreement with the tech billionaire, with film producer Ronnie Screwvala noting that boosting productivity isn't just about working longer hours.

Murthy's advice also found a mention during the ongoing winter session of Parliament which commenced on Monday. Three Lok Sabha MPs asked the Narendra Modi government whether it is evaluating the suggestion posed by the Infosys co-founder.

Rameswar Teli, the minister of state (MoS) for labour and employment, however, replied: "No such proposal is under consideration of Government of India".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India's gross domestic product or GDP growth of 7.7 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal year is a reflection of the country's strengthening economy and the transformative reforms carried out in the last 10 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (HT Photo)

Addressing the 'Infinity Forum 2.0' conference at the GIFT City in Gandhinagar via video link, Modi said his government wants to turn the Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City into a global nerve centre of the new age global financial and technology services.

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"In the first six months of this financial year, India has achieved a GDP growth of 7.7 per cent...Today, the entire world has pinned its hopes on India, and this did not happen just on its own. This is a reflection of India's strengthening economy and also the transformative reforms carried out in the last 10 years," Modi said in his address.

Modi said India wants to make its financial hub in Gujarat a centre for global sustainable finance to help fund the $10 trillion investment needed to achieve its 2070 net zero emissions goal.

"GIFT IFSC is an efficient channel to make India a low-carbon economy and get the required green capital flow. Issuance of financial instruments such as green bonds, sustainable bonds, and sustainability-linked bonds will help the world," Modi said.

He said India wants to expand the role of GIFT City to make it a new-age financial services and technology nerve centre.

GIFT-IFSC is a tax-neutral financial centre that aims to compete with hubs like Singapore as it provides fiscal incentives and a looser regulatory environment.

Modi added that India is one of the fastest-growing fintech markets in the world today and the GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) is emerging as its centre. The prime minister urged experts to share their ideas on developing a market mechanism for green credits.

Modi also congratulated the people of Gujarat over the inclusion of the state's traditional Garba dance in the UNESCO's 'Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity'.
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Expelled JD(S) Karnataka state president C M Ibrahim is gearing up for a major showdown against JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and his family by organising party's national convention in Bengaluru on December 11. In his capacity as the state president, the 75-year-old leader has convened a national level meeting in Bengaluru. He claimed that the party members and leaders from across the country will participate. Expelled from JD(S), Ibrahim calls national meet

We are organising a national level meeting where we will provide accommodation. State presidents from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala leaders, Rajasthan and all over the country are coming here, the former Civil Aviation Minister told reporters here.

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READ | Am still JD(S) Karnataka prez, will move court, says suspended leader Ibrahim

According to Ibrahim, the agenda is Stand for Secularism. Ibrahim who was expelled for rebelling against the party leadership for forging an alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha election, said, I am an elected man. They cant remove me. My father has not appointed me as a president. I have been elected by the voters of the Janata Dal (Secular) leaders.

The convention is aimed at aligning the party with the INDIA bloc instead of BJP led NDA. He also said he is in touch with like-minded people such as Akhilesh Yadav, Nitish Kumar, RJD leaders, K Chandrashekar Rao of BRS, M K Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan.

READ | Janata Dal (Secular) suspends CM Ibrahim over alleged anti-party activities

Noting that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is contemplating contesting in the Lok Sabha election from Karnataka, he welcomed the decision. He added that his party will back him. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi had contested from Karnataka and now her grandson will be contesting from here. We will welcome him here. Let him choose whichever constituency he wants. We will support him, Ibrahim said.

The expelled JD(S) leader alleged that the BJP won in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh due to EVM hacking. Ibrahim demanded that the Election Commission of India conduct elections using ballot papers.
The Karnataka Crime Investigation Department has submitted a charge sheet exceeding 500 pages in connection with the murder of a Jain monk in Belagavi district of Karnataka, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday. Karnataka CID submits charge sheet of over 500 pages in connection with the murder of a Jain monk in Belagavi district of Karnataka. (Representational Image)

Jain seer Acharya Kamakumar Nandi Maharaj of Nandiparvat Jain Ashram was found dead on July 5 this year and his body parts were recovered from a bore well, according to police.The accused identified as Narayan Mali and Hussain Dalayat had allegedly given the seer electric shock, dismembered the body, and disposed of the parts in a borewell, an officer familiar with the contents of the charge sheet said.

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According to the officials from the CID, the charge sheet, submitted before Belagavi principal district and sessions court, includes statements from 10 eyewitnesses and 164 material pieces of evidence.

According to the officials, on the night of July 5, prime accused Narayan Mali  a close associate of the monk  along with Dalayat, had taken the seer to his farmhouse in Hirekodi village. They (the accused) killed him by giving him an electric shock, chopped his body into three pieces, wrapped them in a cut saree, and dumped them in a dry bore well on his farm, an officer quoted from the charge sheet. Soon after the incident, the ashram staff lodged a missing report of the monk, based on which the police started a probe into the incident. On July 7, the police arrested the two accused. After misleading attempts, the two accused were arrested, said the police. During the initial inquiry, the accused had claimed that they disposed of the body into the Krishna river, but later confessed that they had dumped the body in the borewell, said police.

After digging about a hundred feet from earth-moving machines, the police found the chopped pieces, according to an official. Later, an autopsy confirmed the identity of the monk, said the official.

During interrogation, Mali claimed that the monk was involved in money lending to run the ashrams residential school.

Talking about the motive, police said that accused Mali had a strained relationship with the monk over a 6 lakh loan leading to the murder. During the probe, the CID had found a personal diary maintained by the monk detailing all his business transactions. The CID, which had taken over the case on July 25, questioned all the names listed in the diary.

Reacting to the development, Chikkodi deputy superintendent of police Basavaraj Yaligar, who investigated the case before the CID took over, said :We havent left a single material evidence to prove the charges against the accused which is evident in the charge sheet.
In Madhya Pradesh, a 30-year-old Muslim woman was allegedly assaulted by her brother-in-law for casting her vote in favour of Bharatiya Janata Partys candidate in the recent assembly polls, news agency PTI reported. CM Shivraj meets Samina who was allegedly beaten up by her brother-in-law.(X/ChouhanShivraj)

Following her complaint, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday reached out to her and met her at his residence in Bhopal.

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Meanwhile, Javeed, the accused and younger brother of Samina Bi's husband, was arrested by the police following Samina and her father's visit to the Sehore collector's office.

According to the police, Javeed allegedly assaulted Samina on Monday while she was celebrating the BJP's victory in the recent assembly elections, the results of which were declared on December 3. A case was filed against Javeed under pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code based on Samina's complaint.

Samina said that she voted for the BJP due to the government's beneficial schemes, including the Ladli Behna Yojana.

"With 'mamaji' Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Sehore BJP MLA Sudesh Rai on my mind, I voted for the BJP, Samina had said.

On Saturday, Samina visited Chouhan in Bhopal. CM assured her of support, emphasising the right to vote as a constitutional privilege.

By casting your vote, you have exercised your right. Everyone has the right to vote as per the Constitution. People vote for those who do well for them. That is not at all wrong. Thus I wanted to meet you. Do not worry. We will take care of you and take care of your worries, Chouhan told the woman.

After the meeting, CM Chouhan posted on X, "The case of one of my sisters being harassed by her family for voting for BJP for a strong democracy has come to my notice. I have directed the officials to take appropriate action in this regard. Along with this, the victim sister will also be given complete security and financial help. My sister, don't worry about anything, your brother is always with you.
The magisterial probe into the recent food-poisoning incident at Government Meritorious School at Ghabdan in Sangrur district has found principal Manish Kumar Sharma, mess warden Satvinder Kaur and contractor Maninder Singh Vohra were negligent and recommended legal action against them. Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains interacting with school students hospitalised in Sangrur on December 2. (HT file photo)

Mess manager Parminder Singh and Vohra have already been booked for attempted murder and their contracts were suspended after the incident on December 2. The principal has been placed under suspension.

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As many as 74 students were hospitalised when they complained of restlessness, vomiting and stomach ache after a meal at the hostel mess.

The four-member probe team, led by the Sangrur SDM, found that the students had been complaining about the poor quality of food, particularly milk and curd, being served at the mess. The students had written several complaints to the principal and mess warden about the poor quality of food. Even teachers had given their remarks about the poor quality of food in the register kept at the school and requested for monitoring on a daily basis, the report said.

No action was taken on their complaints and the quality of food continued to remain substandard.

Senior functionaries of the school education department and administration were also not informed.

Besides, the behaviour of the warden was not good with the children and he did not let them call their parents, it said.

The report concluded that the dereliction of duty by the principal and the warden had led to negligence by the mess contractor.

Sangrur deputy commissioner Jitendra Jorwal said, I have received the panels report and action will be taken according to the findings.
The government doctors in Haryana on Saturday observed a two-hour pen-down strike to press for their long pending demands seeking greater promotion opportunities, better pay scale, shortage of specialist doctors, and others. Haryana government doctors go on a pen-down strike to flag unmet demands. (HT FILE)

The doctors observed a strike from 9 am to 11 am across all government hospitals, community health centres, primary health centres. The OPD services remained shut for two hours while emergency services remained functional. The patients suffered due to the strike and many had to return without taking treatment.

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Haryana civil medical services association (HCMSA) president Rajesh Khyalia said that they have been flagging issues of shortage of specialist doctors in government hospitals, stoppage for the direct recruitment for the post of senior medical officer, and demanded assured career progression increment and reduced bond amount for post-graduate courses.

Sushila, a resident of Nindana village, said that she was suffering from breathing issues but had to return from the Rohtak civil hospital without treatment as the doctors were on strike.

Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Sampla, said that he had visited the civil hospital in Rohtak as her father suffered a leg fracture but they went back without treatment.
Nearly two months after cabinet minister Anil Vij stopped signing files from the health department over the alleged interference by the chief ministers office (CMO), the impasse between him and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has ended. Anil Vij had stopped signing the health department files. (HT FILES)

This comes after their Thursday meeting in Chandigarh.

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I am satisfied after the meeting the chief minister and whatever he has decided. Now the (department) works will continue, like before, Vij told the reporters on the sidelines of Bharat Sankalp Jansamwad Yatra in Bara village of Ambala Cantonment.

However, he didnt divulge on the details, neither there was any word from the chief minister or his office. It is also unclear whether Khattar has addressed Vijs claim of interference or both mutually decided to resolve the issue due to the approaching winter session of Vidhan Sabha beginning December 15, where the opposition was likely to take up the issue.

The cabinet minister met Khattar a day after he had acknowledged publicly on Wednesday, for the first time, that the files were stuck due to the deadlock, saying that he had full faith on the CMs word that a decision will be taken soon.

Khattar, in a press conference last month, had also admitted on the logjam that was not solved even after their first meeting on the issue in November.

Health officials had in the past said that the prime reason behind the impasse was a review meeting of the department chaired by a senior official from the CMO in October in Vijs absence.

Since the said meeting, Vij had not cleared a single file of the department.

The resolution comes as a big relief for the party as well that has witnessed the six-time MLA getting at odds with the chief minister multiple times on various issues.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said, Name and shame the corrupt, if not during service, then at least on their retirement as this will instil a fear in the corrupt officials. Khattar urged collective efforts in social service, fostering relationships within the community, and a complete elimination of corruption. (HT FILE)

Khattar, while addressing a programme on International Anti-Corruption Day at the Public Works Rest House in Panchkula added that corruption is a cancer and emphasised its disproportionate impact on the impoverished, stating that corruption has entrenched itself in society by infringing upon the rights of the poor.

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He urged collective efforts in social service, fostering relationships within the community, and a complete elimination of corruption. The chief minister stressed the need to propel the country and the state forward by steering clear of corrupt practices.

The chief minister honoured 16 officers and employees for their exemplary work in combating corruption in the state. The CM underscored the existing public awareness to curb corruption, emphasising the need to instil values and satisfaction in life.

Calling for the eradication of economic, moral, and character corruption, Khattar likened corruption to cancer with fatal consequences. He urged citizens to draw inspiration from figures like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Chanakya, and social worker Jagdish Ahuja populary known as Langar Baba.

He added that Mission Karmayogi, inspiring over three lakh state employees to become Karmayogis, has yielded positive results.

Corruption stems from dissatisfaction, jealousy, and inferiority complex: Chief secretary

The chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, while speaking on the occasion said that corruption is a manifestation of dissatisfaction, jealousy, and an inferiority complex. Individuals with an inferiority complex often engage in corrupt practices. The state government has utilised vigilance as a potent tool to eliminate corruption, offering over 600 citizen facilities and services through Saral Centres, linked to the auto appeal system. Haryanas Mission Karmayogi has trained 8622 officers and officials with plans to train 3.50 lakh by March 2024.

Systemic changes lead to corruption mitigation: Director general of police

Haryana director general of police Shatrujeet Kapur emphasised that corruption threatens the democratic foundation and requires unified efforts. The chief ministers initiatives, including the auto appeal system and procedural changes in the Anti-Corruption Bureau, have significantly contributed to controlling corruption. Regional Anti-Corruption Bureaus were established, and chief vigilance officers deployed to ensure transparency and fairness. The event featured a soulful short film on moral behaviour, values, and duties, he added.
{PITEX-23} Students in Punjabi attire perform during the 17th edition of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) in Amritsar on Friday. (PTI)

The overall potential of the tourism sector in Punjab is being developed to attract Indians living abroad and foreign tourists from different regions, said Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, principal secretary, tourism and cultural affairs department, Punjab, on Friday, while addressing a industry roundtable on border and heritage tourism organised during the 17th Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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She said a separate plan will be made to promote border tourism in the state.

Everyday people from the country and abroad come to see the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Fazilka areas on the India-Pakistan border. A tourism policy will be made keeping in mind the characteristics of the districts in the state, she said.

She revealed that in the first six months of 2023, at least 88,16,155 foreign tourists visited Punjab. Apart from culture and water policy, destination-based tourism will be promoted to make the state Rangla Punjab.

Meanwhile, Fijis high commissioner Nilesh Roneel Kumar, Kyrgyzstans ambassador ACKAP Askar Beshimov, Bangladeshs high commissioner Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman, Uzbekistans trade economic counsellor Khurshidbek Samiev, Indonesias trade attache Bona Kusuma reached Amritsar to attend the expo. During the round table, ACKAP Askar Beshimov said 100 new industries are being set up in India by his country, many of which will be established in Punjab.

Subsidy of 3,133 crore will be given to industries in Punjab: Power minister

Punjab public works and power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said the state government is committed to providing cheap electricity to the industrialists of the state. Addressing the exporters conclave during 17th PITEX, he said a budget of 258 crore has been provisioned for the year 2020-24, which includes 3,133 crore for power tariff subsidy and 75 crore for incentives.
The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered a China-made drone near Maboke village in Punjabs Ferozepur district on Saturday. The China-made quadcopter that was recovered from a field at Rohilla Hazi village in Ferozepur district on Saturday. (HT Photo)

According to a press release by the BSFs Punjab Frontier, its personnel intercepted the movement of the suspected drone near Maboke village at 10.10pm on Friday and as per the laid down drill, immediately reacted and fired at it.

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During the search on Saturday morning, the BSF recovered the a quadcopter, model DJI Mavic 3 Classic, made in China, along with a hold and release mechanism from a field adjoining Rohilla Hazi village.
UNESCO delegates from seven countries on Friday discussed in detail the decision of the UN agencys World Heritage Committee to suspend three projects at the Capitol Complex in Sector 1. The delegation members also visited the Government Museum in Sector 10, Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19 and the Sector 17 Plaza in Chandigarh. On Saturday, they will visit the Capitol Complex, before submitting a report. (HT Photo)

The discussions came up during the 7th International Standing Conference of architectural works of Le Corbusier under the Indian presidency, being hosted by the Chandigarh administration.

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On July 17, 2016, UNESCO had inscribed The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an outstanding contribution to the Modern Movement on the World Heritage List.

Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, 17 listed sites make up a transnational series associating seven member states  France, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Japan, Switzerland and India.

Chandigarh hosts marvellous examples of the Le Corbusier architecture, including the Capitol Complex.

In September, UNESCOs World Heritage Committee had suspended UT administrations three projects for impacting the overall universal value (OUV) of Capitol Complex, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The projects included an underground multi-level parking lot; holistic development plan for Punjab and Haryana high court; and AC chiller plants. The decision was based on the negative impacts identified in the heritage impact assessment. Alternative locations and solutions that did not impact the OUV were sought.

During the first day of the conference on Friday, presentations on the works of Le Corbusier were given by each country. All state parties exchanged their views regarding instruments of restoration and preservations being used by them.

Among the delegates, Brigitte Bouvier from Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris; Benoit Dubosson from Switzerland; De Graef Rudy from Belgium and Kazuho Nakatani from Japan were present in person, while the other member states attended the session through video conference.

UT chief engineer CB Ojha gave a detailed presentation on the conservation of Capitol Complex and a detailed presentation on the heritage impact assessment was given by the Chandigarh College of Architecture.

The delegation members also visited the Government Museum in Sector 10, Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19 and the Sector 17 Plaza. On Saturday, they will visit the Capitol Complex, before submitting a report.

Designed by Le Corbusier, Capitol Complex features three pillars of democracy  legislature, executive and judiciary  standing together.

A prime manifestation of Chandigarhs architecture, with the Shivalik hills in the backdrop, the Capitol Complex comprises the Open Hand monument, Punjab and Haryana high court, Tower of Shadows, Geometric Hill, the legislative assembly and the secretariat.
Union home minister and minister of cooperation, Amit Shah addressed the concluding session of Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit - 2023 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Saturday. Many dignitaries including chief minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami were present on this occasion. Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses the concluding session of Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023, in Dehradun on Saturday.

In his address, Amit Shah said that in the programme with MoUs worth 3.5 lakh crore is the beginning of exploring the infinite possibilities for the new Uttarakhand. He said that now Uttarakhand will become a strong example for the world to connect with the industry in an eco-friendly manner. Shah said that prime minister Narendra Modi believes that the third decade of the 21st century will be the decade of Uttarakhand. He said that Uttarakhand is a place where divine power exists with development and CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has combined performance with it.

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Shah said that due to the able leadership of Pushkar Singh Dhami, 41 labourers trapped in the tunnel could be rescued safely. He said that the entire nation was worried and he himself was closely keeping a close watch on the entire incident and the PM Modi himself was monitoring it. He said that along with boosting the morale of the trapped labourers, Dhami carried out the entire rescue operation very well and also addressed the people of Uttarakhand several times from there. Shah said that there was an amazing peace and confidence on Dhamis face, which is a big trait of leadership.

Amit Shah said that the purpose behind the establishment of Uttarakhand by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was that Uttarakhand was deprived of the development in such a big state of Uttar Pradesh. He said that today after a journey of two decades, we can say that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had created Uttarakhand, PM Modi has transformed Uttarakhand and now under his leadership, the state is moving forward.

Shah said that MoUs worth 3.5 lakh crore were signed during the two-day Global Investors Summit and many new beginnings have also been made in the state opening up endless possibilities. He said that under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India has progressed in every field in the last 10 years. He said that the reasons behind this progress are the visionary leadership of PM Modi and his ability to follow up till the end. Shah said that due to both these factors, today, the whole world is looking towards India with great hope and PM Modi has set the target before us that India should become fully developed nation and first in every field by 2047. He said that Modi has kept all possibilities open for the youth of India to achieve this goal. He said that now the time has come for India to move ahead in the world. He said that under the leadership of Modi, India will become a 5 trillion dollar economy by the end of 2025. In the 75 years of India's independence, our economy has never taken such a big leap forward, like it has between 2014 and 2023.

Amit Shah said that under the leadership of PM Modi, India is leading the climate change movement today, trying to boost the GDP of the entire world through Make in India and also leading the cause of making a terror-free world. He said that due to the visionary leadership of Modi, many multidimensional changes have taken place in India. Shah added that the Delhi Declaration during the G20 meeting is going to take India to new heights in the field of diplomacy which will be remembered for decades. He said that by making African Union a member, India has automatically become leader of the underdeveloped nations, that is the kind of visionary leadership has been shown by Narendra Modi.

The home minister said that the Modi government has brought 13.5 crore people out of poverty, succeeded in doubling India's per capita income and brought the agricultural growth rate from minus 3 percent to 4.46 percent in the last 10 years. He said that in 2014 there were only 4 unicorn startups in India and today 110 Indian startups are included in the Unicorn Club and the youth of India have made India proud in the world. Shah said that the highest ever FDI of $84.8 billion came in 2022. He said that under the leadership of Modi, the changes which have taken place in the last 10 years are a reflection of the confidence of 140 crore Indians. He said that under the leadership of Modi, work has been done simultaneously in both heritage and technology sectors in the country and many changes have also taken place in the administration. He said that in the last 10 years, the country has witnessed political stability, corruption-free governance, public welfare policies, investment-friendly agenda and peaceful environment.

Amit Shah said that Atal had formed Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to speed up development and today the whole world is witnessing its results. He said that Uttarakhand has progressed the most under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Pushkar Singh Dhami. He added that Uttarakhand has made progress in every field, be it taking new initiatives, stopping migration from border villages, providing smooth transportation and facilities for yatra, creating infrastructure or making investment friendly policy, Uttarakhand has become a policy-driven state by making more than 30 policies over a period of 6 years.

Amit Shah said that Uttarakhand has corruption-free governance which is very important for investment. He said that today under the leadership of PM Modi, the development has come at the grassroots level with transparency in many states. He said that Modi has taken strong steps against corruption and made it certain that no corrupt person will be spared. Shah said that there are immense possibilities in every field in Uttarakhand. He said that Uttarakhand is the most peaceful and safe state in the entire country. He said that Uttarakhand has endless possibilities in the fields of tourism, services, MSME, logistics, customized packages, IT and AYUSH.
A police constable was stabbed and left with serious injuries during a raid at Wazirpur in northwest Delhi, officers aware of the case said. The attacker managed to escape, but the constables colleagues nabbed his associate, the officers said. The constable received stab wounds to his chest and right hand, police said. (File)

The constable, Bhupender (goes by a single name), received stab wounds to his chest and right hand in the incident on Friday night, and is admitted at a private hospital in Shalimar Bagh, police said.

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Giving details of the case, deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Jitender Meena said Bhupender was part of a crack team operating from the Adarsh Nagar police station.

An informer said that Ajay Kumar, a proclaimed bad character who has several cases of snatching and robbery against him, was planning to carry out a crime with his partners, said the DCP, adding that Bhupender and his team went out to nab Kumar.

When the team reached the lane in Wazirpur that Kumar was known to frequent, they found he and an associate, identified only by his first name Akash, consuming drugs, the DCP said.

On seeing the police team, the two men tried to run away. When Bhupender chased them, Kumar pulled out a knife and attacked the constable, said Meena.

Kumar managed to escape, but his partner was nabbed by the other policemen.

A case of attempt to murder and assault on a public servant was registered at the Adarsh Nagar police station and a hunt has been launched for Kumar, the DCP said.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that she has sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet him during her visit to Delhi between December 18 and 20. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. (File)

I am going to Delhi with a few MPs between December 18 and 20. The centre is not releasing funds in multiple schemes. They are also not releasing our share of GST. I have sought time from the Prime Minister. It is good if he gives time, else I am going to Delhi anyways, she told reporters at the Bagdogra airport.

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The chief minister, who is touring north Bengal, is on a six-day trip to attend a series of administrative programs and a family function. Her nephew Abesh got married to Diksha Chhetri, a resident of Kurseong, a hilly town in Darjeeling district.

She is expected to return to Kolkata on December 12 and head for Delhi on December 17 evening. The INDIA alliance meeting is also likely to be held during that time.

They (Centre) has stopped releasing funds only to West Bengal. The funds were meant for housing, rural roads and even health. Despite that we havent abandoned the schemes. Those who have worked under the 100-days work scheme have not received their payments, she said.

Earlier in October this year, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, including the partys national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, staged a protest at Krishi Bhawan in the National capital. They had also staged a demonstration at Raj Ghat demanding release of MGNREGA funds.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has suspended its member of Parliament (MP) Danish Ali, accusing him of indulging in anti-party activities. BSP MP Danish Ali. (File Photo)

It was made clear to you (Ali) earlier itself to not indulge in anti-party activities and it is necessary that you are reminded that you were working in the Janata Party (Janata Dal) under Deve Gowda in Karnataka in 2018. At that time the BSP and Deve Gowdas Janata Party were contesting the polls together and you were given a ticket from Amroha under the conditions that you would work for the party. However, it seems you have forgotten the promises made by you that time. Therefore, you are being suspended from the party, BSP general secretary Satish Mishra said in a statement.

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Ali was recently in news after he faced objectionable remarks from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Ramesh Bidhuri on the floor of Parliament.

The action against him comes amid reports of him cosying up to Congress leaders. Former Congress chief and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi visited Ali at his official residence in Delhi to extend his support to him soon after Bidhuris controversial remarks.

Soon after Alis suspension from the BSP, Congresss Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai described the action as unwarranted.

The decision would weaken the poor and the minorities as Danish Ali was firmly raising the voice of the masses and standing against high handedness and abject brazenness of the ruling BJP, said Rai.

We will do everything to strengthen Ali and all that he stands for, he said, responding to queries on the likelihood of the BSP MP joining the Congress.

Ali is among a clutch of BSPs Muslim MPs from west UP like Imran Masood who have either joined the Congress or are said to be set to join soon.

When contacted, Ali said, I would talk at length on the subject after a while.
Kanpur became the first city of Uttar Pradesh to implement an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven advanced traffic control system. The system was initially launched at five intersections of the city and is now set to expand to 32 junctions. For representation only (HT File Photo)

The system employs cameras connected to artificial intelligence to monitor vehicles, efficiently regulating traffic based on real-time observations. The significant advantage of this technology lies in its ability to not only streamline traffic flow but also to reduce the reliance on manpower of traffic police.

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Kanpur is the first city in the state where AI-driven traffic control system is effectively regulating the traffic; now we are bringing 27 more intersections under the purview of this system where the number of traffic policemen will be reduced by 30%, said Rahul Sabbarwal, IT manager, Kanpur Smart City Limited.

Imagine a scenario where a designated 60-second signal cycle persists even when one side of the intersection is devoid of traffic. In such instances, the AI system, rather than adhering to the full cycle, intelligently waits for a maximum of five seconds for vehicles on the opposing side, swiftly granting them a green signal. This tactical adjustment has notably alleviated traffic pressure at five highly congested intersections, said Sabbarwal.

According to Sabbarwal, no new cameras were added to the existing infrastructure. Instead, through the sophisticated software, pre-existing cameras were trained to learn and adapt to traffic patterns effectively. The system undergoes a three-step process, wherein learning information is incorporated, rules are established, and cameras are programmed to function akin to human decision making.

The learning phase involves feeding information which is important to establish rules. Cameras are then required to follow these rules and deliver flawless 100% results. Through self-correction, the cameras autonomously make decisions after various learnings, utilising software to issue instructions.

Kanpur Smart City, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, has entered into a contract with Kanpur Smart City Limited, according to nodal officer RK Singh. Under this agreement, IITs software will not only aid in traffic regulation but also facilitate catching criminals through facial recognition technology.

The Integrated Command and Control Center located in Kanpur Municipal Corporation will receive photos and profiles of criminals, enabling the police to feed them into the IITs software. This innovative system will initiate camera identification at intersections, triggering immediate alerts upon detecting a match, allowing law enforcement to act.
The Isak-Muivah-led National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM), a Naga separatist group operating mainly in the northeastern part of India, has said that issues surrounding a separate Naga flag and constitution continue to act as stumbling blocks in the ongoing peace process. National Socialist Council of Nagalim leader Isak-Muivah (Twitter Photo)

The last round of Indo-Naga formal talk that took place on 14th November in Delhi was inconclusive but not deadlocked, the group said in a statement on Friday evening.

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The NSCN-IM alleged the Centre of wandering away from the Framework Agreement that was signed between them in 2015. As per the statement, the Centres representative had initially agreed upon the matter of a separate flag and constitution but later backtracked on the commitment.

It reminded that the Framework Agreement acknowledges the unique history and position of the Nagas and also delves into the concept of shared sovereignty between the Nagas and the Government of India.

The Framework Agreement reiterates the unique history and position of the Nagas. The concepts of shared sovereignty and co-existence have also been explained therein, the statement from NSCN-IM read.

In the matters of her own affairs, as mutually agreed upon, Nagaland shall be sovereign. The agreement shall cover all Naga areas, read the statement reproducing the clause in the draft prepared by the government of India.

Maintaining that it no longer viewed Indians as the enemy in the light of peaceful coexistence, the NSCN-IM, however, said it cannot sacrifice the Naga national principle for the sake of friendship. Further, the statement highlighted that the Framework Agreement addresses the sovereign rights of the Nagas and their future as well as the security and commercial interests of India.

This historic agreement is seen and appreciated by many international peacemakers as the roadmap to a lasting peace in the Indian sub-continent, the NSCN-IM stated.

The group further asserted that the backtracking of the Centre on the issue of a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas is viewed as a betrayal of trust and lack of sincerity on the part of the government of India.

Friends and critics often said the government of India is playing with time to diminish the hard-earned Framework Agreement. But that will be too costly. The ball is in the court of the Government of India, the statement further read.
VARANASI: The death toll has risen to eight in the wall collapse incident in Ghosi, Mau. The tragic incident claimed the lives of six individuals, including four women and two children, with 15 others sustaining injuries when a wall collapsed near Sakere Road in Madapur Samaspur of the Ghosi Kotwali police station area on Friday. The victims, mostly women with children, were en route to participate in a Haldi ceremony at the time of the incident, according to police reports. Both accused have been taken into custody, confirmed additional superintendent of police, Mau, Mahesh Attri. (HT Photo)

The ill-fated 10 feet high and 15 feet long wall was situated on a vacant plot owned by Masabbur Hasan, located at the eastern end of a narrow road behind Askari Memorial School in Madapur Samaspur, Ghosi town. Adjacent to the wall is a pond where certain marriage-related rituals are performed.

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Authorities revealed that on the fateful Friday, numerous women and relatives were heading to conduct the Haldi ceremony for Balendu, a resident of Station Road. It was then when the wall collapsed, trapping several women beneath it. Local residents swiftly responded, rushing to the scene to initiate rescue efforts for the women and children trapped in the debris.

Sub-divisional magistrate, Ghosi, Sumit Kumar Singh, and circle officer, Ghosi, Dinesh Dutt Mishra, promptly arrived at the location, deploying two JCBs to clear the debris. As many as 30 people were successfully extricated and promptly transported to the hospital. The police identified the deceased as Meera Devi (36), Chandra (30), Sushila (52), Anviya (4), Madhav (4), all residents of Ghosi, and Pooja (35) of Azamgarah.

Tragically, 15 others are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital, with Poonam Sharma (42) and Lalati Devi (60) succumbing to their injuries on Saturday. In response to the incident, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed financial assistance, with 2 lakh to be provided to the families of each deceased individual and 50,000 to each of the injured. He highlighted the need for the district administration to ensure free-of-cost treatment for the injured and urged strict action against those found responsible for the accident.

Cabinet minister AK Sharma met with the bereaved families to offer condolences. Additionally, a case has been registered against two individuals -- Masabbur Hasan, the plot owner, and Gayasuddin, the owner of the sand dumped in the plot, both residents of Madapur in the Ghosi area. The charges include section 268 (public nuisance) and section 304 (culpable homicide) of the IPC, based on a complaint filed by an official of Ghosi Town area. Both accused have been taken into custody, confirmed additional superintendent of police, Mau, Mahesh Attri.
Union home minister Amit Shah will chair the 26th meeting of Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) in Patna on Sunday. The venue of the 26th Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Patna. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

The EZC comprises the states of Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

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The EZC will be attended by the chief ministers of the member states, along with two senior ministers from each state. The chief secretaries and other senior officers of the state governments and the Central government will also participate in the meeting, the MHA said in a statement.

The meeting assumes significance as it would be the first time when Shah and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar would be interacting face-to-face ever since Kumar walked out of the NDA to form a new government with Lalu Prasads RJD and Congress.

Kumar had not attended the last EZC meeting held in Kolkata on December 17, 2022, on health grounds and had instead sent deputy CM Tejashvi Prasad Yadav to represent the state.

Talking to reporters earlier this week, Nitish Kumar had confirmed he would attend the EZC meeting this time.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the EZC meeting, an official familiar with the matter said on Saturday, adding that her finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee will be representing the state.

The Bihar government is likely to raise the issue of special status to the state at the meeting, besides other issues. States water resource minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said demands for a special status for Bihars growth and Kosi high dam to save the state from flooding would be presented by the state government at the meeting.

Officials said issues like minimum price for a number of minor millets, creation of infrastructure, water sharing are also expected to be discussed. The state is also likely to raise the demand of a caste-based census in the country.

Zonal council meetings discuss a wide range of issues involving member states, including mining, central financial assistance on certain items, creation of infrastructure, land acquisition and land transfer, water sharing, implementation of direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, states reorganisation and other matters of common interest at the regional level.

Over the last nine years, since 2014, a total of 55 meetings of various zonal councils have been held, officials familiar with the matter said.

The zonal councils play an advisory role, but over the years, these councils have emerged as an important mechanism for promoting mutual understanding and cooperation in various fields.
The Pimpri Chinchwad police on Saturday arrested two more persons in the fire incident case at a sparkling candle manufacturing unit in Talawade as the death toll touched eight after two more victims succumbed to burn injuries. The arrested in the case have gone up to three with two more suspects, including Sharad Sutar and Jannat Shikalgar, probed by the police. The police late Friday evening had arrested Najir Amir Shikalgar from Mohannagar in Chinchwad. (HT FILE)

According to Dr Vinayak Kale, dean, Sassoon General Hospital, of the 10 workers - nine women and one man - referred to the hospital on Friday, two more succumbed on Saturday.

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Almost half of those undergoing treatment suffer 80-90 per burns. As lungs are damaged due to inhalation of smoke particles, many are in critical condition, Kale said. Meanwhile, the Dehu Road Police have identified the arrested as Shubhangi Sharad Sutar (35) from Pimpri Sandas and Sagar Rameshan Bhakkad of Dhayarigaon on Sinhagad Road. Shubhangi is the wife of Sharad Sutar who was running the unit and also suffered injuries in the incident.

The arrested in the case have gone up to three with two more suspects, including Sharad Sutar and Jannat Shikalgar, probed by the police. The police late Friday evening had arrested Najir Amir Shikalgar from Mohannagar in Chinchwad.

According to officials, Sutar operated the factory on land owned by the Shikalgars.

Six workers were charred to death and 10 others injured after a major fire broke out at the illegal factory at Jyotiba Nagar Talawade in Pimpri Chinchwad at 2:49 pm on Friday.

Police said the factory property was registered by the name of Jannat Najir Shikalgar and operations taken care by her husband Najir Shikalgar. They rented the factory space to Shubhangi and her husband Sharad ran a sparkling candle brand SNS registered under Shivraj Enterprises.

Ajit Lakade, senior inspector, Dehu Road Police Station, said, The three arrested were produced at the Maval Court on Saturday and remanded to police custody till December 12.

The police investigation found that Shikalgar rented Sutar the space despite knowing that the latter did not have valid documents to run the unit.

Kakasaheb Dole, deputy commissioner of police (zone II), said, Sagar was supplying materials to Sutar to manufacture the candles. Our probe will check the possible involvement of other people also.

According to the police, at least 16 workers, including 15 women, were inside the factory when the fire broke out. Eight fire tenders: one each from Talawade, Chikhali and Pradhikaran fire stations; and five from the main fire brigade unit, were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze at the factory that occupied 200-250 square feet with tin roof.

The police on Saturday sent samples to conduct DNA tests from the mortal remains of the victims.

We are waiting for results, Dole said.

The police have filed a case under Sections 304(2) (culpable homicide), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance), 337 (causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 5,9(B) of the Explosives Act 1884.
Dharmendra turned 88 on December 8. On Saturday, the veteran actor took to his social media handles to thank fans and friends, who sent him heartfelt wishes and gifts across India on his special day. He also sent his blessings to everyone and blew a kiss at the camera. Also read: Dharmendra turns 88, here's how the Deol family wished the veteran actor on birthday Dharmendra on his 88th birthday wishes.

Dharmendra in his 88th birthday

The video is seemingly recorded at Dharmendra's house. He appears wearing a saafa and holding a flower pot, which is sent by his fans. He said, Dosto, har jagah se, gaaon se, aise pyare-pyare toufein aye ha safaa aya hai mai pehen k dekh raha hu kaisa lagta hu (Friends, I have receives such adorable gifts across the nation. I am trying them all).

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He chuckled and added, Isme pyar hi pyar hai. Bohot acha lagta hai sab aapka pyar, duaein hai..Jeetein raho, khush raho. Jis tarah se aap pyar de rahe ho, aapko ji jaan se pyar deta hu mai bhi (These things are filled with your love which makes me feel so happy. I have your love and blessings with me. Stay happy and keep loving me just as I love you all). okay. Love you, he ended with a flying kiss.

Esha Deol reacts to Dharmendra's video

Soon after he posted, several celebrities rushed to wish the veteran actor in the comments section. Jackie Shroff wrote to Dharmendra, Respect and love.

We love you Dharam papa, added Deanne Panday. Esha Deol also dropped several loved-up emojis. A fan commented, Super cute.. Live thousands of years. May the year have fifty thousand days @aapkadharam. May you always be healthy and keep talking to us sir, shared another. Yet someone said, Happy birthday legend.

Dharmendra's birthday

On Dharmendra's 88th birthday, Sunny Deol penned a heartwarming note for his papa. In the pictures, Dharmendra and Sunny were seen smiling and posing with steel glasses in a snow-clad mountain area. The post read, "Happy Birthday Papa Love You."

Bobby Deol also shared pictures with Dharmendra where he's seen planting kisses on his father's cheek. Bobby wrote in the caption of the photo, Love you the most Papa. Blessed to be your son." Dharmendra's daughter Esha Deol also shared pictures with him and added, Happy birthday my darling papa love you. I pray for you to always be happy, healthy & strong I just love you so much (emojis).

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 9. Development and attracting investment from abroad are top priorities for Kazakhstan, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview with the Euronews TV channel, Trend reports.

According to him, Kazakhstan is number one in this part of the world or even beyond in terms of attracting foreign investments per capita.

Speaking elsewhere, he welcomed the upgrade of Kazakhstan's ranking by international institutions.

Tokayev specifically pointed to the importance of developing the country's energy sector, as well as pay extra attention to mining sector.

"In this respect, we are very much hopeful about our future cooperation with the European Union. We committed ourselves to being good partners in this very sensitive and strategically important area," he said.

"We need international cooperation. We need more investment in this area. And I believe that in this particular area, Kazakhstan and the EU will become good partners and will be very much successful," Tokayev noted.

Trade turnover between the EU countries and Kazakhstan amounted to 25.35 billion euros from January through July 2023. This figure exceeds by 19 percent the figures for the same period in 2022 (21.31 billion euros).

Kazakhstans exports to the EU reached 18.157 billion euros, which is 7.33 percent more than in the same period in 2022 (16.9 billion euros).

Imports for the same period amounted to 7.2 billion euros, which exceeds the figure for the first 7 months of 2022 (about 4.4 billion euros) by 63.91 percent.
Mrunal Thakur is in New York (USA) for a special screening of her latest film, Hi Nanna, where she stars opposite actor Nani. After acting in Sita Ramam (2022), the actor is excited to be a part of another Telugu film. I had never planned to be a part of television or films, or even [act in] the Telugu or Marathi industry. It happened organically, she says. Actor Mrunal Thakrur talks about langauges, genres and more as she celebrates the release of her second Telugu film(Photo: Instagram/mrunalthakur)

Ask how she filters the projects that come her way and the 31-year-old shares her secret. Im open to everything! Growing up, I wasnt allowed to watch television, so, I would watch it on mute. For me, language wasnt a barrier and I would watch Marathi and even Bengali films. Thats when I realised that I shouldnt restrict myself, she says, adding, Whatever story comes to me, if it is good and exciting, irrespective of what language it is in, I will do it. Today, people call me a pan-India star, but I want to be known as a global artiste, who isnt afraid of performing in any language.

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In her latest release, the Lust Stories 2 actor plays the role of a hopeless romantic. She feels that the pressure to carrying romantic films rests on her shoulder and also hopes that through her films, she will be able to give the younger generation a better understanding of love. (Actor) Shah Rukh Khan has set the benchmarks for the romance genre. I feel like I have the responsibility to take that forward. I just want people to believe in love! I want youngsters to take those steps and not just believe in the idea of being in love but to find the right person and shower them with love.

However, this doesnt mean that the actor wants to get stuck in a certain stereotype or genre. I also want to explore and understand what it feels to be a part of an action film, or a horror film or a thriller, Im just going with the flow, she says and adds, I think I truly want to do a crazy horror film. I want to play the role of a sweet character who turns out to be a ghost, it has an element of surprise!
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday took to his Instagram handle and shared a heartwarming picture - his granddaughters playing chess with him. Captioning the picture Shah wrote, "Don't settle for a good move, always look for the better one". Amit Shah with his granddaughters.(Instagram/ Amit Shah)

The post came at a time when the BJP has been deliberating over its CM picks for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The party held a series of high-level meetings in Delhi on Thursday to decide chief ministers for the three states. Leaders including the prime minister Modi, home minister Amit Shah, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath attended the meetings.

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Speaking about the election results earlier PM Modi said, People like BJP's governance, decision making and transparency... It is a big thing that as a government we have positivity. Anti-incumbency does not exist in our party. Victory in this election is the victory of our collective strength

In the assembly elections which concluded in the country in November, the BJP secured victory in three out of the five states and delivered a resounding performance. The party's commanding mandates in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan not only surprised political adversaries but also defied predictions of close contests made by some pollsters. The outcome of the elections in four states dealt a significant blow to the Congress's aspirations for the 2024 elections, leaving it without power across a substantial portion of the Hindi heartland.
As many as 3.30 lakh people with disability and electors who are 80 years and above have availed the home voting facility in the last 11 assembly elections, sources said on Saturday, citing data. A polling officer marks the finger of a woman with indelible ink during the Telangana state assembly elections.(AP)

Persons with disability (PwD), voters above 80 years of age and those suffering from Covid can avail the home voting facility.

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Representatives of political parties and polling personnel visit the residence of electors who opt for home voting at a predesignated time.

The home voting option is exercised using ballot paper under prescribed secrecy norms and the process is video-graphed.

Over 2.6 lakh senior citizens who are 80 years and above and over 70,000 PwDs have availed the home voting facility in last 11 state assembly elections, the sources said.

While the latest set of assembly polls were held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana, elections were earlier held in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Karnataka.

Home voting, the sources recalled, is one of the several interventions by the Election Commission towards making elections inclusive and accessible.

The commission had been expressing gratitude towards senior citizen voters, particularly centenarians, for exercising their franchise.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had personally written letters to over 2.5 lakh centenarian voters to express the commission's gratitude for their key role in strengthening democracy.
Outgoing Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party for failing to name the next chief minister of the state, even a week after the results of the assembly election were declared. BJP leaders Mahat Balak Nath and Vasundhara Raje

If the Congress had not selected a chief minister for this long, they (BJP) would have shouted a lot. In the Gogamedi case, I had to sign a document stating no objection to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the matter . The new chief minister should have done this. For seven days now, they (BJP) have not been able to select a CM, I want them to make a decision quickly, Ashok Gehlot told reporters.

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Chief of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead in the living room of his house in Shyamnagar here on Tuesday. A special investigation team (SIT) was formed on Wednesday to investigate the murder. He was cremated on Thursday in his native village in Hanumangarh district, officials said.

Alleging that there is no discipline in the BJP, Gehlot said, "...For around seven days now, they (BJP) have not been able to announce CM faces in the three states If we had done the same, don't know what allegations they would have levelled against us and misled people. They polarised the polls...We will cooperate with the new government," the Congress leader said.

As the BJP navigates its internal deliberations on the chief ministerial candidate for Rajasthan, several prominent names are emerging as potential contenders for the post.

Vasundhara Raje, a two-time chief minister; Diya Kumari, who has been elected MLA from Vidyadhar Nagar; Mahat Balak Nath, who emerged victorious from the Tijara constituency; and Rajyavarardhan Singh Rathore, triumphant from the Jhotwara constituency, are being seen as the top contenders.

Meanwhile, even as speculations over the BJP's CM picks continued, Raje, a former Rajasthan chief minister, on Thursday called on Nadda at the latter's residence in the national capital.

The BJP swept the Hindi heartland on the counting day for four states that polled for their assemblies last month.

With its stunning mandates in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the BJP stumped not just their rivals but also some pollsters who had predicted tight races in these states.

In Rajasthan, the vote count painted a starkly different picture from what some of the pollsters had predicted, with the BJP poised to form the government, winning 115 seats, and the Congress trailing at 69 seats.

"Election results have been announced. I had said this earlier too that state elections should be fought on local issues. The prime minister or home minister should have pointed out flaws in works done during our five-year term. But they didn't raise these issues, rather issues like Kanhaiya Lal's murder were highlighted during campaigning. They (BJP leaders) polarised the election," alleged Gehlot on Saturday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday explained his perspective on 'Bharat' and asserted that Bharat is a 'belief' and 'attitude' rather than just a geographical entity. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar(ANI)

"To me, Bharat is actually a belief and an attitude. For me, Bharat has an economic dimension. It has a political meaning. It has cultural, social, I would say even personal expressions. At the end of the day the term, Bharat means don't let other people define you. Try and define yourself. That it has to come from itself because that very term Bharat which is so laden with symbolism actually captures centuries of what we are all about as a people," he said.

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ALSO READ| COP28 climate talks: Environment minister hails India's conservation efforts

The EAM was speaking at the 96th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICC).

He also went on to mention the COVID-19 pandemic and asserted that India responded amazingly and strongly came out of it.

Addressing the event, he stated, "As we reached the midpoint of the last decade, we experienced once in a century happening, the COVID pandemic...But as someone who has travelled even during COVID and has travelled after COVID and has seen how other societies dealt with it. I can say with a lot of pride and with a lot of justification that India actually came out of COVID strong. That we were able to respond to it, and we were able to respond to it in an amazing way."

He noted that the contemporary world cannot just have one or two powers and highlighted that the world is heading towards multipolarity in greater insecurity and more protectionism.

He added, "This is not a world of one power or two power there are many more countries, today, in the fray. And, that in many ways, I mean, while very welcome also makes the world a more difficult place to navigate and manage...Today, we are really looking at the consequences of what happens when trading rules are gamed when competition is unfair...The fact is today, the world is heading towards, greater insecurity and more protectionism..."

He further stated that today the role of business is much broader and it also serves the role of leading the country's modernity and progress

"Business, today is something very much bigger than just business. All of you who are sitting here, in many ways, are actually leaders of modernity and progress. Because when you build the economy, when you build industry, as you expand services, as you propagate and spread technology, it is actually the ideas, the concepts, the projects that you do, the mindsets that you have created as a result. I think that in many ways is actually the engine for India's progress," he stated.

The EAM added that it is in India's collective interest to build deep strengths at home focusing on achieving self-reliance.

"You are also builders of national strength...that is the largest responsibility that must be in your mind. One of our concerns in the post-reform period has been that while we have concentrated a lot on growth...the fact is it is in our collective interest would argue in your interest that we build deep strengths at home. The way in which many other economies, many other economies all of you admire, have done at their homes," Jaishankar added.
New Delhi The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday named observers for Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, setting in motion the process of selecting chief ministers for the three states where the party bagged impressive victories in recently concluded assembly polls. HT Image

The observers will begin the process of selecting the leaders of the legislative parties  an exercise that has till now been shrouded in suspense amid a flurry of meetings between top BJP leaders and quiet shows of strength by some aspirants for the job.

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For Rajasthan, the party appointed Union minister Rajnath Singh, party general secretary Vinod Tawde and Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pande as observers. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, national secretary Asha Lakra and Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman will oversee the process in Madhya Pradesh. In Chhattisgarh, Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbanand Sonowal, and party general secretary Dushyant Gautam will take charge.

The observers will hold a meeting with the legislators over the weekend to arrive at the name for the legislative party leader, said a person aware of the details. This leader said the names will be announced after the meetings.

There is little clarity on the identity of the new chief ministers of the three states although there have been hectic behind-the-scenes parleys within the BJP all week.

People familiar with the matter in the BJP said that the party is likely to go for a generational shift in at least one of the three states, and perhaps all three.

In Rajasthan, the names doing the rounds include those of former CM Vasundhara Raje, who met party president JP Nadda on Thursday after hosting a dinner for legislators two days ago; three MPs who have resigned, Baba Balaknath (who met party president JP Nadda on Thursday), Diya Kumari, and Kirodi Lal Meena. Even the names of Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Ashwini Vaishnaw, both from Rajasthan, have come up.

Former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh met Nadda on Friday, as did Baba Balaknath and Vaishnaw. There were no details of what transpired at the meeting.

According to a second party functionary, the central leadership did not approve of reports from the state about legislators calling on Raje to signal a show of strength. She is a tall leader in the state with a following among the party workers as well people. In the past as well, when her supporters felt she was sidelined or not given her due, they had floated the Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Manch Rajasthan... the second leader said.

This leader said the high command was concerned by reports of factionalism perpetrated by Raje. She has strong likes and dislikes. In the past she made known her opposition to the appointment of Satish Poonia. In fact, during Rajnath Singhs tenure as party president, she had a strained equation with him as well... the leader said, requesting anonymity.

In Madhya Pradesh, apart from incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is yet to make the trip to Delhi, the aspirants list includes former agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and former culture minister Prahlad Patel, the two MPs who contested the assembly elections and won. Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, too, is a popular leader from the state who delivered the key Gwalior-Chambal region to the party though he did not contest the assembly polls.

There is a possibility that the party will appoint a deputy CM as well to accommodate senior leaders who were sent from Parliament to contest the state polls, said people aware of developments.

In Chhattisgarh, the party could opt for a woman, backward or tribal person, said people aware of developments.

Interestingly, Renuka Singh, a woman and a tribal, resigned as MP and Union minister on Thursday. But a second person said that this did not mean she was being named chief minister, only that she was among the candidates.

Other aspirants in Chhattisgarh also include Arun Sao, the state BJP chief who is among the lawmakers who resigned this week, first-time lawmaker OP Chaudhary and senior tribal leader Ram Vichar Netam. While the first person said former CM Raman Singh was not a candidate, the second person said he could not be ruled out.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Friday opposed the bail plea of dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, who is accused of killing four people  three of them Muslimsin a hate crime, saying that he appeared to harbour  grudge against a particular community and could create communal disharmony if released. In his bail plea filed last month, the accused, Chetansinh Chaudhary, said he has been suffering from haunted illusions of the ghostly world (HT)

On July 31, Chaudhary allegedly shot dead his superior, assistant sub-inspector Tika Ram Meena and three passengers, Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala, Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala and Asgar Abbas Shaikh on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express. In its 1203-page charge sheet, the GRP cited testimonies of 150 witnesses, including those passengers who saw Chaudhary pick out men because of their Muslim identity before shooting them dead.

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In his bail plea filed last month, the accused said he has been suffering from haunted illusions of the ghostly world and doing some weird act. The police opposed the plea saying the offense was committed by him with deliberate intention and it was premeditated.

The accused has a lot of anger/grudge against a particular religious community. If granted bail, he could commit similar offences again and create communal disharmony/tension among two communities, the GRP said in its response while opposing the bail plea.

The police said that Chaudhary knew how to handle and shoot weapons, and could threaten the passengers who were present in the train on the night of the incident if he was granted bail.

If such a person is granted bail, it could lead to loss of faith in the judicial system for both the victims families and society at large. There will be no fear of law among criminals, the police said.
The Union government should not consider housing units built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) as completed, when basic amenities such as accessible roads, sewerage, water and electricity connections are not provided, the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs said in a report presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Launched in 2015, PMAY(U) is one of the Centres flagship schemes that aims to alleviate poverty, and sought to provide housing for all by 2022.

Launched in 2015, PMAY(U) is one of the Centres flagship schemes that aims to alleviate poverty, and sought to provide housing for all by 2022. Amid pending projects, the deadline for the scheme was later extended to December 2024.

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To ensure that no one in need of a house is left behind, the house panel, headed by Rajiv Ranjan Singh, JD(U) MP from Munger, asked the Union government to conduct a study on the social impact of PMAY(U).

Since the basic objective of PMAY(U) is to provide housing for all, it becomes inevitable to undertake an impact assessment study to gauge the gap in housing needs in urban areas, the panel said in its report.

The committee also said that beneficiaries still have to pay for around 60% of the total cost, after taking into account the state and local body grants. And since many of these beneficiaries do not have fixed income proof, they do not get funds from banks, the report said.

On this, the government said the central funding of 1.5 lakh will not be increased till December 2024. The central assistance should vary depending upon the cost of construction, which in turn depends upon the topography and other factors, the panel said.

HT reached out to the housing and urban affairs ministry for a comment but didnt get one.
 The Congress brass on Friday held separate meetings to review the partys losses in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and sought a detailed report from state unit chiefs on its dismal performance in the recent round of assembly elections, party leaders said. The Congress won only one state  Telangana  of the five states that went to the polls last month (HT)

Also Read: Congress calls meet to brainstorm over election losses in three states

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The Congress won only one state  Telangana  of the five states that went to the polls last month. The grand old party lost its governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and failed to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh. It also failed to win the polls in Mizoram.

The party is scheduled to hold another meeting to review its losses in Rajasthan on Saturday.

This round of assembly elections was seen as a virtual semi-final to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, given that it was the last major electoral exercise before next year.

On Friday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge chaired the separate meetings, at the party headquarters in Delhi, which was also attended by party leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders.

Also Read: Congress right to be shocked, but can it still fight back?

Party general secretary K C Venugopal said the state Congress chiefs were instructed to submit a booth-wise report on the performance. We will strengthen our connection with the people and unitedly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to unseat the BJP government, he said.

In a post on X, the Congress said: Today, a meeting to review the election results of Chhattisgarh was held at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. Senior Congress leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were present in this meeting.

AICC general secretary in-charge for Chhattisgarh, Kumari Selja, said the state unit is dejected but not demoralised, and would together contest and win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party has not lost its vote share, she said, adding that it would carry out a detailed analysis on the electoral performance in the coming days.

Today a review meeting on the Chhattisgarh election results was held, where everyone expressed their views. We lost the Chhattisgarh elections, but our vote percentage has not reduced. We have gained the trust of the public, she said.

Also Read: Congresss anger against voters and EVMs is pointless

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, who was made in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, told reporters after the meeting that the poll loss in the state was discussed in a cordial atmosphere.

We openly discussed the reasons for the partys defeat and leaders analysed the shortcomings of the party within the forum, he said.

The Congress president heard us patiently. All the leaders authorised him to take a decision on how to strengthen the organisation. We urged him to hold a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Madhya Pradesh and appoint an observer for its next meeting to enable it to elect the new leader of opposition, he added.

(With agency inputs)
India has adopted a holistic approach towards conservation for which it has not just focused on reducing emissions to tackle temperature rise, but are also working towards arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration and enriching biodiversity, Environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Saturday during global climate talks COP28. Bhupender Yadav, India environment and labor minister, speaks during a plenary session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)

Delivering a statement at the Mangrove Alliance for Climate Ministerial Meeting during COP28 in Dubai, he talked about the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI), unveiled in the 2023-24 budget, focuses on mangrove plantations along coastlines and salt pans.

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Highlighting India's rich mangrove ecosystems, he cited the Sunderbans, the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest, as a prime example of coexistence with nature.

India has adopted a holistic approach towards conservation. We are not just focused on reducing emissions to tackle temperature rise, but are also working towards arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration and enriching biodiversity, he said.

At another event, he said transparent climate finance, equitable market and facilitative global technology transfer must for deployment of low-carbon climate technologies at scale.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 9. Energy sector is one of a major pillar of economy of Kazakhstan, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview with the Euronews TV channel, Trend reports.

"Kazakhstan is very rich in terms of energy resources and there is no need to give up this kind of economic development," he said, adding that the country looks to put additional emphasis on development of this sector.

Kazakhstan is rich in energy resources, which, along with supplying the domestic market, also exports energy resources. In 2022, the country produced 84.2 million tons of oil, 64.3 million tons of which were exported. At the same time, the country exported 4.6 billion cubic meters of gas in 2022.

"At the same time, of course, we are very positive about making Kazakhstan a non-carbon country and I promise that by the end of 2060, Kazakhstan will be fully decarbonized," Tokayev said further.

According to him, it is a challenge.

"We need to make a huge mindset change, first of all. But, I do acknowledge that it is a general trend in the economic development of the whole world, and Kazakhstan is not going to lag behind. At the same time, we are very much committed to the protection of the environment. And yes, Kazakhstan is still a country which relies on coal in its energy balance. But, I think that in the near future, the whole situation will be changing quite positively," Tokayev noted.
Rescuers on Friday retrieved bodies of two men who had been trapped inside a 60-foot trench in Chennai for nearly four days after the heavy rains brought by Cyclone Michaung caused a cave-in at a construction site, police officials aware of the matter said. Two men had been trapped inside a 60-foot trench in Chennai for nearly four days after the heavy rains brought by Cyclone Michaung caused a cave-in at a construction site. (PTI)

Two site supervisors were arrested for the accident and police are on the lookout for two more accused, the officials said.

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The men  an assistant construction engineer identified as R Jayaseelan and a gas station worker, 21-year old Naresh  got stuck in the trench that was dug up for the construction of an office building in Chennais Guindy after a makeshift container, a bus shelter and a portion of an LPG gas station caved in on December 4. They were working inside the makeshift container office.

Rescue personnel fished out Nareshs body around 4.45 am and Jayaseelans body around 1.45 pm, police said.

A joint operation by the Greater Chennai Police, Tamil Nadu fire and rescue services and the National Disaster Relief Force swung into action and they were able to rescue two employees on the day of the accident.

But incessant rains on December 4 had increased the water levels here making it tough for rescuers to reach those trapped. Experts from Neyveli Lignite Corporation and pumping equipment from Larson & Turbo were brought in but their hopes began to dwindle. The families of both the trapped employees, including Jayaseelans pregnant wife, had been at the spot demanding accountability.

Initially, the Guindy police had registered a case of missing persons which on Friday was altered to section 304 of the IPC which pertains to punishment for negligence leading to culpable homicide.

Sivakumar (owner of the private company Green Tech Structural Constructions), site supervisors Ezhil and Santhosh, and a manager Manikandan have been identified as the accused in the case. On Friday, police arrested Ezhil and Santosh. Efforts are on to nab Sivakumar and Manikandan, a senior police official said.

Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner R Radhakrishnan assured the families that the law enforcement would take action to give them justice. Investigations into the accident are underway. We will also separately investigate the violations which led this road to collapse, the commissioner said.
Four women students of a private institute drowned in the sea at Devgad in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Saturday afternoon while a male student was missing, police said. The deceased were part of a group of 35 students of Sainik Academy, a training institute in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, said an official. 4 children drown in Maharashtra's Devgad beach.(HT File)

The group was visiting the coastal town, around 500 km south of Mumbai, for picnic. The incident took place when some of them entered the water around 3 pm, said the official.

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The deceased women students were identified as Prerna Dongre, Ankita Gaalte, Anisha Padwal and Payal Bansode. The bodies have been kept at the nearby rural hospital. Police registered an Accidental Death Report and further investigation was underway, the official said.
New Delhi Judges are not expected to preach through their orders and judgments, the Supreme Court asserted on Friday as it partially stayed an October 18 Calcutta high court judgment that suggested every female adolescent should control sexual urges and protect her right to integrity of her body. The order further recorded that the suo motu proceedings were initiated at the instance of Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud (PTI)

The high courts judgment added that in the eyes of the society she (a female adolescent) is the loser when she gives in to enjoy the sexual pleasure of hardly two minutes.

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Disapproving of the high courts opinions and staying the portion in the judgment that dealt with model behaviour for adolescents, a bench of justices AS Oka and Pankaj Mithal called the impugned observations highly objectionable and completely unwarranted.

Judges are not expected to express their personal views or preach... The said observations are completely in violation of the right of the adolescents under Article 21 (right to live with dignity) under the Constitution, said the bench in proceedings that were initiated suo motu (on its own motion).

The bench, in its order, also recorded that the counsel for the West Bengal government has asked for some time to come back with instructions on whether the state has already moved an appeal against the contentious remarks of the high court or that it is planning to do so.

Senior advocate Madhavi Divan was appointed as an amicus curiae by the court to assist it in the matter, and advocate Liz Mathew was requested to assist Divan.

The order further recorded that the suo motu proceedings were initiated at the instance of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.

Deciding a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, a division bench of the Calcutta high court noted that though it is normal for each adolescent to seek the company of the opposite sex, it is not normal for them to engage in sex devoid of any commitment and dedication.

Outlining a set of duties for adolescent girls and boys concerning sexual urges and relationships, the high court said girls should protect their dignity and self-worth and strive for overall development.

For male adolescents, it said, they should respect the aforesaid duties of a young girl or woman and he should train his mind to respect a woman, her self-worth, her dignity and privacy, and right to autonomy of her body.

And for female adolescents, it said, It is the duty/obligation of every female adolescent to protect her right to integrity of her body; protect her dignity and self-worth; thrive for overall development of her self transcending gender barriers; control sexual urge/urges as in the eyes of the society she is the loser when she gives in to enjoy the sexual pleasure of hardly two minutes; protect her right to autonomy of her body and her privacy.

In a similar instance in the past, the Supreme Court, by a judgment in March 2021, issued detailed guidelines on how cases involving sexual assault must be handled as it emphasised on the need to cultivate sensitivity among judges and lawyers.

The judgment directed all courts in the country to desist from commenting upon the clothes, behaviour, past conduct, morals or chastity of women, or suggest any compromise formula while deciding cases of sexual offences. Stressing that entrenched paternalistic and misogynistic attitudes that are regrettably reflected at times in judicial orders must be forbidden, the top court has issued a slew of directives, along with a checklist for the judges, to eliminate social bias from entering the judicial reasoning. It underlined that the use of reasoning or language which diminished the offence and trivialized the survivor had to be avoided under all circumstances.

Citing specific illustrations, the 2021 judgment held: The following conduct, actions or situations are hereby deemed irrelevant, e.g. -- to say that the survivor had in the past consented to such or similar acts or that she behaved promiscuously, or by her acts or clothing, provoked the alleged action of the accused, that she behaved in a manner unbecoming of chaste or Indian women, or that she had called upon the situation by her behaviour, etc.

The 2021 judgment came while setting aside a July 2020 order of the Madhya Pradesh high court that asked a molestation case accused to get a rakhi tied from the complainant as a condition of bail. The top court held that this order transformed a molester into a brother by a judicial mandate, and thus, reflected adversely on the entire judicial system of the country.
India has had an "exceptionally difficult" challenge along the northern borders in the last three years and the country responded to it very resolutely and has been maintaining the kind of military deployment necessary for national security, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday on the lingering row in eastern Ladakh with China. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar(ANI)

He said this in an address at the FICCI, while explaining how the Modi government makes choices after choices with confidence however difficult and tough they may be.

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"It could even be what happens at our border. Again you all know in the last three years, we have had an exceptionally difficult time in terms of the challenges on our northern borders," Jaishankar said.

READ | Equitable treatment of US, Canadian allegations not possible: Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

"Even though this happened in the middle of Covid, yet we responded very resolutely, very determinedly and to date we are still deployed in whatever manner is necessary for our national security," he said.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

Jaishankar also explained how India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tried to create global awareness against terrorism or went ahead for cooperation under the Quad framework though there was a narrative that it could make somebody uncomfortable, seen as an oblique reference to China.

"If somebody else is uncomfortable, that's their problem," he said.

"At the end of the day, we have to do what we have to do. however difficult and tough that is. It is about the confidence of being able to exercise choice after choice," he said adding such an approach will "define us as Bharat".

READ | China never provided tenable explanation for 2020 border actions: Jaishankar

The external affairs minister also cited how India confronted the challenge of terrorism.

"There is no society which is more traumatised in the modern era tha us when it comes to terrorism," he said, noting the Modi government showed a sense of resolution to "shape" global agenda on it.

Without specifically mentioning India continuing procurement of crude oil from Russia, Jaishankar asserted that its choices on energy purchases were driven by national interests.

"When it came to our energy purchases, our national choices and national interests were supposed to be subservient to the political correctness of other countries who by the way had made their own arrangements to soften the blow for themselves," he said.

India maintained purchase of crude oil from Russia notwithstanding pressure from the West to not do so in view of the Ukraine conflict.

Talking about the India growth story, Jaishankar said there is no question that the "world looks at us as an exceptionally strong area of growth".

"We have made big decisions but we are clearly poised to make many more. We have nursed big ambitions, we have implemented much of what we promised but again there are still a lot we have to achieve," he said.

"To me Vikshit Bharat -- it is both a vision to achieve as well as a set of specific goals and a short description of it would be to really how to make India a developed country in the next 25 years," he added.

The external affairs minister described the last five years as a "very traumatic for the world" and cited as reasons the "Covid shock", developments in Afghanistan following withdrawal of the US troops, the impact of Ukraine conflict, the ongoing violence in the Middle-East and the implications of the competition between the US and China on global supply chains.

Jaishankar said the world is today moving towards greater insecurity and more protectionism, adding the trading rules implemented globally in the last two-to-three decades have actually raised a lot of question marks about their effectiveness.

Today, we are really looking at what happens when trading rules are gamed and when competition has been unfair and when the insecurities of Covid-era have caused many geographies, many regions, big economies to talk about strategic autonomy, he added.

Jaishankar said while it is acknowledged that opening up to the world is good, but at the same added that "opening up to the world must happen only when there is a level playing field for our own industry at home".

"It cannot be at the cost of our industry and I think that is one message that the Modi government has given in a sustained manner over the last one decade," he said.

The external affairs minister described the industry leaders as "builders of national strength".

"I think that is a larger responsibility that must always be in your mind," he said.

Jaishankar also called on the big businesses to help India build its own supply chains.

"I think it is important, especially for big businesses in India to help build Indian supply chains, to support Indian vendors. Because at the end of the day, no country will be strong if it does not have its own supply chain, if it does not have basic requirements," he added.
Bhubaneshwar/Ranchi: At least 300 crore in cash was recovered by the Income Tax (I-T) department during raids in three states across locations linked to an Odisha-based distillery group, officials said on Friday, as the seizures sparked a political row and led Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attack the Opposition over corruption. The Income Tax department raided several locations linked to an Odisha-based distillery group across three states from Wednesday, and are likely to continue on Saturday. (PTI)

The raids at premises linked to Boudh Distillery Private Limited, which is based in Odishas Boudh district, began in the state, Jharkhand and West Bengal on Wednesday and went on till Friday. The searches are likely to continue on Saturday and the amount of money seized is also likely to increase as counting is still underway, the officials said.

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The company is linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Sahu, the I-T officials said. While Dheerajs son Ritesh Sahu is the managing director, his elder brother Uday Shanker Prasad is the chairman of the company that manufactures extra neutral alcohol  a primary raw material for making alcoholic beverages.

Officials said Boudh Distillery Private Limited is also a partnership firm of Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies (based out of Boudh) that is accused of tax evasion, and was also raided by the taxmen.

Dheeraj Sahu, whose premises in Ranchi were also raided, did not respond to calls or messages for a comment on the matter. Both Boudh Distillery Private Limited and Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies are yet to comment on the matter.

As the BJP accused the Congress of corruption, the grand old party alleged a conspiracy by the former.

A senior I-T official, who did not wish to be identified, said Boudh Distillery Private Limited also manufactured country liquor and a substantial number of the sales was not accounted for by the company.

We had suspicions over the companys inconsistent and low net profits between 2019 and 2021 and an inflated expense in its balance sheet, the official said.

Speaking about the raids, the official said 156 bags of cash were recovered by taxmen across the three states on Friday alone.

Cash stashed in almirahs was recovered in Sudapada area of Balangir town in Odisha. They were also found in other locations such as Sambalpur and Sundargarh districts in Odisha, Bokaro and Ranchi in Jharkhand and Kolkata. On Friday, more money was recovered from the office premises of Baldeo Sahu Infra Private Limited, a group company in Bhubaneswar, the official said.

At least 300 crore in cash has been seized across the three states so far. A majority of them were recovered in Odisha. The amount is likely to increase as counting is still underway, the official added.

Officials said three dozen counting machines have been deployed by the tax department. Since the machines are of a limited capacity, the counting is progressing at a slow pace, they said.

Some of the notes are covered with mildew since those were stored for a long time. The machines are finding it difficult to count such notes. We have employed all our counting machines and our staff are working overtime to count, Manmohan Swain, deputy general manager of State Bank of India (Balangir town), which has been roped in to count the seized cash, said.

A local resident claimed huge quantities of the now-banned 500 denominations were found torn and dumped near the boundary wall of Boudh Distillery Private Limited, in Ramvikata village, in Boudh.

All the notes were found torn from the middle. It appears that someone tried to dispose of what seemed to be unaccounted money, the resident said.

The raids and seizures triggered a political row as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the money belonged to the Congress and its allies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the opposition party and said the money looted from the public will have to be returned.

The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest speeches of their leaders Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modis guarantee, he said in a post on X in Hindi.

In Delhi, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the seizures show the Congress indulges in corrupt activities.

The biggest question is why does Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi always speak against demonetisation? In Jharkhand, 200 crore has been recovered from Congress MLA Dheeraj Sahus wherever there is Congress, there is corruption that is why, the Congress keeps questioning the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation, Thakur said.

Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi demanded Dheeraj Sahus arrest. He alleged the trail of the recovered money would reach the door of Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren. The JMM, which is an ally of the Congress in Jharkhand, said it will respond to the allegation on Saturday.

As per latest information, around 300 crore has been recovered. This is historical as we havent seen such huge recoveries in recent memory. This money is not just of Dheeraj Sahu, but of other senior Congress leaders and their alliance partners. There have been reports in the past that money was shifted to other states from Jharkhand in vehicles and even in ambulances. Therefore, I demand an FIR against Sahu and he be questioned, Marandi said.

The Congress refuted allegations that the money belonged to its party leaders and alleged a conspiracy by the BJP.

The raids, as per media reports, are still on. The I-T department has not said anything on record. Then how come the BJP leaders know how much money has been recovered. It shows who is behind such conspiracies, Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha said.

Odisha Congress chief Sarat Pattnaik said action must be taken against anyone found indulging in wrong doings. I have nothing more to say. As you sow, so you reap, he Pattnaik.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday held a conversation with Palestinian prime minister Mohmmad Shtayyeh, and reiterated India's long-standing position on the Palestine-Israel issue. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar(ANI)

Spoke to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh this evening. He expressed deep concern on the situation in both Gaza and the West Bank. (I) Reiterated Indias long-standing position on Palestine. (We) Agreed to remain in touch, Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter).

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On October 19, twelve days after the commencement of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, prime minister Narendra Modi, in a conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, too, had reiterated New Delhi's long-standing position on the Palestine-Israel issue.

Earlier, on October 7, the day Hamas carried out attacks inside the Israeli territory, leading to retaliatory strikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), prime minister Modi had expressed his deep shock at the news of terrorist attacks in Israel.

What is India's long-standing position on Palestine?

"India always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel. I think that position remains the same," as per an earlier statement by the Ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

Also Read | India favours UN resolution expressing concern over Israel not withdrawing from Golan Heights

India recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and was among the first countries to do so. While it enjoys excellent ties with Israel  particularly under PM Modi  there have also been regular high-level visits between New Delhi and Palestine. In October 2015, then President Pranab Mukherjee became the first Indian President to visit Palestine, and in February 2018, PM Modi became the first Indian prime minister to go there.

In January 2016, then external affairs minister Sushmas Swaraj also went to Palestine. In May 2017, on the other hand, Palestinian President Abbas made his fifth State visit to India; the first four came in 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Kochi: The Kerala high court on Friday issued notices to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Thaikandiyil, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty and others on a revision petition in the case of alleged bribes paid to political leaders by the staff of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), a mining firm near Kochi. The high court underlined that if notice is not issued to the accused in the case, then it would go against the recent decision of the Supreme Court. (HT Archives)

The bench of Justice K Babu impleaded in the case suo motu and acted on a revision petition filed by now-deceased social activist Gireesh Babu challenging the dismissal of a plea by the Court of the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance), Muvattupuzha. The plea had demanded a vigilance probe into the suspicious payments between CMRL and the firm owned by the chief ministers daughter, which was denied by the vigilance court stating that the complainant furnished no evidence of the same.

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The high court underlined that if notice is not issued to the accused in the case, then it would go against the recent decision of the Supreme Court.

The court said, Notice to the parties arrayed as accused, suo moto impleaded and ordered notice.

Responding to the HC decision, CM Vijayan told reporters, Let (the notice) come. You dont need to worry about it.

Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that the crores of rupees paid by CMRL to the CMs daughter was a part of converting black money into white. Still, why is the Enforcement Directorate not investigating? Its because of Pinarayi Vijayans secret bond with the BJP that the Lavlin case has been deferred 38 times now. The ED, which investigates Congress chief ministers, does not probe Pinarayi Vijayan. Why? he asked.

Last month, the HC had appointed advocate Akhil Mohan as the amicus curiae to assist it in the case following the demise of the original petitioner Gireesh Babu in September.

The case pertains to suspicious payments to the tune of 1.73 crore over three years by CMRL to Veena and her IT consultancy firm Exalogica Solutions Limited despite the latter not rendering any services. On June 12, the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board had ruled that the payments could not be considered as business expenses as the services were not rendered by Veenas firm.

The allegations against the leaders came to light after Income Tax raids at the home of CMRL chief financial officer Suresh Kumar in 2019 had retrieved notes from his home with initials like PV, OC, RC, KK and IK which purportedly refer to payments made to prominent politicians in return for ensuring smooth functioning of the business.
The external affairs ministry clarified on Saturday that minister of state V Muraleedharan should have been listed as the official replying to a parliamentary question after minister of state Meenakshi Lekhi said she had not responded to the query as shown in documents posted on official websites. External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi (File Photo)

After the documents showed that Lekhi had provided the reply to a question on whether the government had any proposal to outlaw the group Hamas, she said in a post on X that she had not signed any paper with this question and this answer.

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External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi clarified after several hours that the documents needed a technical correction.

We have noted that Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No 980 answered on 8 December 2023 needs a technical correction in terms of reflecting Shri V Muraleedharan as the minister of state replying to the parliament question, Bagchi said in a brief statement.

Also Read: Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi denies answering question on Hamas in Parliament; demands probe

This is being suitably undertaken, he said without giving details of how the error had occurred.

Kumbakudi Sudhakaran, a lawmaker from the Congress party, had questioned whether the government had any proposal to declare the Gaza-based Hamas a terrorist organisation in India and whether the Israeli government had made any demand in this regard to India.

The written reply in documents posted on official websites said: Designation of an organisation as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and declaring any organisation as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments.

The Israeli government has made several requests for India to outlaw Hamas after the group carried out terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and injured scores.

India has condemned the terror attacks and civilian casualties in Israeli attacks on Gaza, which have killed more than 15,000 people. India has also called for a return to dialogue to establish lasting peace through a two-state solution.
The life expectancy at birth for males in Delhi is 73 years and it is 76.2 years for females, both a little over four-and-a-half years longer than their counterparts at the national level, according a report released by Delhi government which compiles gender statistics across various sectors. HT Image

It also said that anaemia among women in the age-group 15-49 years has dropped a considerable 4.4 percentage points  from 54.3% in 2015-16 to 49.9% in 2019-21  while it was rising at the national level (from 53.1% to 57%) in the same time period.

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The report, Women and Men in Delhi, 2023 prepared by the Delhi governments directorate of economics and statistics, compiles gender disaggregated data in six sectors: population statistics, health statistics, education statistics, participation in economy, women empowerment and crime against women.

To be sure, this report is purely based on secondary data obtained from various government sources that have been previously published, but have been compiled.

This compilation, Delhi government officials said, was released on Friday after a gap of 12 years. The last report on gender statistics was published by the Delhi government in 2011. The government of India publishes gender statistics every year, but the Delhi government does it usually once in a decade. The Delhi government report is based on secondary data obtained from various sources including national family health survey, unified district information system for education plus, among others, said the official.

Number of female students per 100 male students in Delhi in important programmes has increased from 84 (in 2012-13) to 90 (2020-21) in Ph.D, 73 to 102 at the post graduate level in the same period, 103 to 111 in under graduate courses, 51 to 73 in PG diploma, and 53 to 84 in diploma programme in regular mode of education.

Demographic projections

As per population projections, the total population of Delhi during the year 2036 will be 26.6 million out of which 12.6 million will be females and 14 million will be males. The sex ratio of Delhi is constantly improving post independence, and as per population projections, during the year 2036 the sex ratio of Delhi and India will be 899 and 952 respectively.

A significant decrease has been observed in Delhi in anaemia among women in the age group 15-49 years  from 54.3% in 2015-16 to 49.9% in 2019-21. At the national level, this proportion has increased from 53.1% in 2015-16 to 57% in 2019-21, the report said.

As per NFHS reports, the proportion of adult male who are obese in Delhi has increased from 24.6% during 2015-16 to 38.0% in 2019-21. Similarly, in adult females also, the proportion has increased from 33.5% to 41.3% during the same reference period.

Gender Parity Index (GPI), which measures relative access to education between males and females, in higher education has declined from 1.16 in 2018-19 to 1.04 in 2020-21; and under professional courses, medicine seems to be the most opted course during the year 2017-18 and this trend was more apparent among females. Of the total men pursuing professional courses, 43% were in medicine, while this proportion was 76.8% for females.

In Delhi, females are more attracted towards the profession of teaching than males especially at primary level, from 2012-13 to 2021-22, number of female teachers per 100 male teachers increased from 363 to 410. From 2012-13 to 2021-22, number of female teachers per 100 male teachers at higher Secondary level increased from 152 to 169.

Women in judiciary and police

Based on the data from the Union ministry of law and justice, the report stated that the approved judge strength in Supreme Court was 34, of which 31 were male and three were female judges as on June 1, 2023. Out of 60 approved judge strength in Delhi high court, 38 were male and 10 were female judges in June, 2023.

The Delhi Police, meanwhile, has 10,720 women in its police force out of 90,523 total number of police strength as on January 1, 2021, the report said referring to data of bureau of police research and development. Among the 10,720 female force, 9,584 women in are civil police and 554 women in special armed police battalion, 248 are in traffic police, 143 in special operations group unit, 96 were in crime investigation department and 95 in special branch dealing with intelligence.

In 2015, Delhi has six female MLAs and the number increased to eight after the 2020 assembly elections; and Delhi has only one female MP among the seven seats since 1999.

Niharika Rai secretary planning Delhi government, said the report has been prepared with the objective to provide variety of available gender statistics at one place to serve as a single platform for accessing gender statistics.

Improving the availability and use of gender statistics to inform policy is crucial for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Gender analysis that reveals differences and similarities between women and men, girls and boys relies on disaggregated data. The present report provides relevant statistical information on the status of women and men in Delhi, highlighting the current situation and changes over time. DES collects sex-disaggregated statistics from various departments/agencies, said Rai.
New Delhi Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Mahua Moitra, a first-time member who rose to prominence with her combative speeches in the House, was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday over her direct involvement in cash-for-query charges and unethical conduct  the first time in nearly two decades that a member has been removed from Parliament on similar allegations. TMC leader Mahua Moitra after being expelled by the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament. (PTI)

The Lok Sabha expelled Moitra with a voice vote after the Opposition walked out, adopting an ethics committee report that recommended her expulsion for sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorised person, its impact on national security, and accepting gifts and possibly cash as a quid pro quo from businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

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I have time and again tried to maintain the standards of the house, for which I have had to take harsh decisions as well, but only for the sake of the dignity of the house. And this is why today too, whatever we are discussing, the dignity and prestige of the house must remain paramount, speaker Om Birla said.

I always try not to suspend or take action against any member. I always try to ensure that each member gets enough time and opportunity.

The debate became a rallying point for the Opposition, which flagged loopholes in the ethics committee report, questioned the process of disqualification, and walked out before the motion to remove Moitra was put to vote.

After a heated debate that lasted 30 minutes, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the first-time member for unethical conduct, which was adopted by a voice vote.

Moitras conduct has been found to be unbecoming as MP for accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest which is a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable conduct, said the motion moved by Joshi.

He urged the House to accept the recommendation and finding of the committee and resolve that continuance of Mahua Moitra as member of Lok Sabha is untenable and she may be expelled from the membership of the Lok Sabha.

This is the second cash-for-query case in Parliament in two decades. A sting operation by online site Cobrapost on December 12, 2005, had showed 11 MPs accepting cash in exchange for raising questions in the Parliament. On December 24, 2005, Parliament voted to expel the 11 MPs  10 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.

To be sure, Moitra has only been disqualified from this term of the Lok Sabha. She can contest the 2024 elections and if she wins, come back to the Lower House.

Dressed in a traditional Bengali white and red saree, Moitra compared the proceedings to a kangaroo court and said the parliamentary committee was weaponised.

The ethics committee has to serve as a moral compass for MPs. Instead, it has been abused egregiously today to do exactly what it was never meant to do: to bulldoze the Opposition and become another weapon to thok do (hammer) us into submission, she said.

The committees findings are based only on the written testimonies of two private citizens (Hiranandani and lawyer Jay Anant Dehadrai) whose versions contradict each other in material terms and none of whom I was allowed to cross-examine, said the lawmaker from Krishnanagar in West Bengal.

Her party and the broader Opposition backed her, inside and outside Parliament. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other senior Opposition leaders stood with Moitra in a show of solidarity outside Parliament.

The party fully supports Mahua Moitra. Today the BJP has betrayed democracy and democratic rights. They did not allow Mahua to explain her own stand. Without justice, you have done injustice, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Moitra found herself embroiled in the row after BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey wrote to Birla in September on the basis of a complaint by lawyer Dehradai, who alleged Moitra accepted money and favours to ask questions in Parliament. Moitra denied the charges that she received gifts, and asked other parliamentarians if they never shared their passwords.

The complaint was referred to the ethics panel, which held two meetings on September 26 and October 2. Dubey and Dehadrai, the two complainants, deposed in the first meeting. Moitra deposed in the second meeting but walked out of it during her cross-examination, accusing chairman Vinod Sonkar of asking filthy and personal questions. Sonkar later alleged that Moitra used anger to deflect legitimate questions, and used unparliamentary language against the panel and the chair.

On November 9, the Lok Sabha ethics committee adopted the report by a margin of 6-4.

The report noted that 50 out of the 61 questions asked by Moitra in Parliament sought information with the intent of protecting or perpetuating business interests of Hiranandani, with whom the password and login details were shared, and his company.

Moitra had deliberately shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with Darshan Hiranandani, a business tycoon, based in Dubai, United Arab EmiratesSmt Mahua Moitra is guilty of unethical conduct, breach of her privileges available to members of Parliament and contempt of the House, the panel concluded.

The serious misdemeanours on the part of Mahua Moitra calls for severe punishment. The committee, therefore, recommends that Mahua Moitra, MP, may be expelled from the membership of the 17th Lok Sabha, the report added.

The panel also asked for an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the Centre in a time-bound manner of the money trail of cash transactions between Moitra and Hiranandani.

In the brief debate over the ethics panel report, Opposition members repeatedly pressed for more time to read the report, said that Moitra should be allowed to speak in the House, and raised concerns that the principles of natural justice were being flouted.

Sitting in the House, Moitra listened to the entire debate that sealed her fate as a member of this Lok Sabha. Ignoring repeated requests by Opposition MPs, Birla didnt allow her to speak, citing the precedent set by late speaker Somnath Chatterjee in 2005 when 10 Lower House members were disqualified over similar, cash-for-query charges.

Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury pointed out that the 495-page report was circulated at noon.

As a custodian, I hope the speaker will take the right decision. Its not humanly possible to study this report in two hours. Give us 3-4 days. As this will become a precedent, its (process) needs to be faultless.

Congress leader Manish Tewari argued that the procedure of the ethics committee could not override the principle of natural justice. The person who has levelled the allegations, should have been cross-examined. Also, the ethics committee doesnt have the right to say what punishment should be given. The report is fundamentally flawed.

He also objected to the BJPs three-line whip for its MPs, Can a party direct MPs to vote in a particular direction in this matter? This whip needs to be withdrawn.

Tewari cited Article 105 and argued that no MP could be held liable before any court for his or her actions inside Parliament to question and asked, Can this House override the Constitution?

A one-line whip informs party MPs about an upcoming voting. A two-line whip demands that the MP be present while a three-line whip makes it mandatory for an MP to vote in favour of the party line.

TMCs floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay called for Moitra to speak, My partys spokesperson will be Mahua Moitra herself because allegations are against her. Wild allegations have been made. Whether the allegations are true or not, let them be explained by her, he said.

But Joshi objected to this and referred to the 2005 case. Somnath Chatterjee had said the MPs had appeared before the enquiry panel that discussed in detail and came out with its report. Therefore, now the MPs have no right to speak in the House.

Birla maintained he cant set a new precedent in the House and underlined that rulings by former speakers become a part of the precedent.

TMC member Kalyan Banerjee argued that a fair trial could have happened only if the affected person was heard, and that the Constitution and the House rules didnt permit the expulsion of any member. But the speaker disagreed. I am not a big lawyer like you but I run the House according to the rules, Birla said.

The BJP fielded two women members  Hina Gavit and Aparajita Sarangi  to counter the charges.

Hiranandanis business interests are in telecom, shipping, real estate and pipelines. Moitra posted 50 questions in this sector. The MPs portal was logged in from Dubai 47 times. Our image has taken a hit. Now, people will think, if anyone gives money, an MP will aggressively speak and shout on his behalf, Gavit said.

Sarangi, a member of the ethics panel, said, Moitra was given enough opportunity to defend herself. Instead, she misbehaved and walked out of the panel meeting.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that she has requested time to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) funds disbursal when she will be visiting Delhi from December 18 to 20. West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. (File)

"I am going to Delhi between 18th-20th December. I have written to the Prime Minister seeking time to meet him on these dates. I have mentioned that I would like to meet him with some MPs on the disbursement of funds for the 100-day work scheme," CM Mamta Banerjee said speaking to reporters on Saturday.

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She alleged that money has not been transferred from the central government for the work that has already been done under the MGNREGA programme.

"Moreover, money has not been transferred for the work that has already been done under the 100 days work scheme," she said.

Mamata charged that if other states are receiving money from the central government, why is it stopping the flow of money to West Bengal?"

"They have also not given their dues. They have also stopped our share of money for health, houses, roads, and hospitals. We don't want their money but our share. If every state is receiving money, why are we not getting it? That is why we sought time from him," she said.

The Chief Minister also warned that if the Prime Minister does not agree to meet her any day between December 18 to 20, she will do "what needs to be done."

"If he allots time (for a meeting) then it is okay. But we will be going to Delhi for sure. We will be leaving for Delhi on December 17. We will be waiting for him to give us time on December 18, 19 and 20. If he does not budge, we will do what needs to be done," she said.
Suspended Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali on Saturday spoke to news agency ANI and termed the decision of his suspension as unfortunate. Ali said he never engaged in any anti-party activities as claimed by BSP. ...Her (BSP chief Mayawati's) decision is unfortunate. I have never engaged in any kind of anti-party activities. The people of Amroha are witness to this, Ali said. BSP MP Danish Ali was suspended from the party on Saturday.(PTI)

"I have opposed the anti-people policies of the BJP's government and will continue to do so...If doing this is a crime, then I have committed this crime, and I am ready to face the punishment for it..." he added.

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Danish Ali's statement came after he was suspended from BSP on Saturday for allegedly being involved in anti-party activities. A letter put forth by the BSP to Danish Ali on Saturday read, It was made clear to you earlier itself to not indulge in anti-party activities You were given the ticket from the party on Deve Gowda's insistence who assured that you will always follow the party line. However, it seems you have forgotten the promises made by you while joining the party. Therefore, you are being suspended.

The letter however did not cite any specific incident for the MP's suspension.

READ | BSP suspends MP Danish Ali for anti-party activities, Congress bats for him

Danish Ali reportedly engaged in talks with several prominent opposition leaders following BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri's statements against him in parliament. "Decorum in Parliament died in September... it was bombed when Ramesh Bidhuri made those comments Today, (Mahatma) Gandhi and Ambedkar are crying," Ali said earlier.

BJP MP Bidhuri sparked controversy after he hurled communal slurs at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) parliamentarian Danish Ali during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on September 22. After the incident, Ali sought a privilege probe against Bidhuri. During the course of his speech, he directed the most foul, abusive invectives against me which are part of the record of the Lok Sabha, Ali's letter to Speaker Om Birla said.

The Lok Sabha privileges committee, chaired by BJP MP Sunil Kumar Singh, convened on Thursday to gather statements from Bidhuri and Ali, given the various accusations exchanged between them. Bidhuri expressed apologies to the privileges committee for his inappropriate, offensive, and abusive remarks directed at Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali.
BJP Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey who levelled the cash-for-question allegation against Mahua Moitra said on Saturday that it was a sad day as an MP got expelled for corruption and over an issue of national security. "What is to be happy about it? It was a sad day," the BJP MP said a day after Mahua Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha for the charges that he drew the Speaker's attention to two months ago. This was the first reaction of the BJP MP after Mahua Moitra's expulsion as he refused to comment on the issue on Friday. On Saturday too, he said he did not want to comment on the issue on Saturday. Nishikant Dubey did not put out any tweet after Mahua Moitra got expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8.

For months, Nishikant Dubey and Mahua Moitra locked horns on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. While Moitra accused Dubey of facing his degree, the tirades continued after the Lok Sabha ethics committee started an enquiry into the allegations against Mahua Moitra. But on December 8, the day on which Mahua Moitra lost her Lok Sabha membership, Nishikant Dubey did not put out any tweet. Neither did advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai who forwarded his complaint to Dubey alleging that Mahua Moitra shared her Parliament login with industrialist Darshan Hiranandani who posted questions on Gautam Adani that Mahua Moitra raised in the Lok Sabha. It was alleged that Mahua took cash and gifts in exchange for the favour, which the former Trinamool MP rejected though she admitted to having shared the login with Hiranandani to get the help of his office to key in the questions in the portal.

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The ethics committee questioned Nishikant Dubey, Jai Anant Dehadrai and Mahua Moitra and in its report recommended Mahua Moitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha. There were 47 logins to Mahua Moitra's parliamentary account from Dubai, it was alleged.

After a debate in the Lok Sabha on the report of the ethics committee, Mahua Moitra was held guilty. ""Consequent on the adoption of a Motion by the Lok Sabha on the 8th December, 2023 expelling Smt. Mahua Moitra, an elected member from the Krishnanagar Parliamentary Constituency of West Bengal from the membership of Lok Sabha, Smt. Mahua Moitra has ceased to be a member of Lok Sabha with effect from the 8th December, 2023 afternoon," the Lok Sabha secretariat notified on Friday evening.

Mahua Moitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha has become a rallying point for the INDIA parties as they unanimously condemned the way the Lok Sabha debate concluded by adopting the resolution. Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee said the party stands by Mahua Moitra.
The Income Tax (I-T) Department intensified its crackdown on an Odisha-based liquor distillery group and its linked entities on Saturday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured people that money looted from the public will be returned. The seizure of "unaccounted" cash after the raids against Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd and others is expected to reach 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, news agency PTI reported citing sources. The Income Tax department raided several locations linked to an Odisha-based distillery group across three states from Wednesday, and continued on Saturday. (PTI)

The raids began in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal on Wednesday. The company is linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Sahu, the I-T officials said. While Dheerajs son Ritesh Sahu is the managing director, his elder brother Uday Shanker Prasad is the chairman of the company that manufactures extra neutral alcohol  a primary raw material for making alcoholic beverages.

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Officials said Boudh Distillery Private Limited is also a partnership firm of Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies (based out of Boudh) that is accused of tax evasion, and was also raided by the taxmen.

Top updates on Odisha cash haul

After recovering around  225 crore till Friday, the I-T officials seized another 20 bagloads of cash from the house of a countrymade liquor manufacturer in Sudapara area of Bolangir district on Saturday, PTI reported.

225 crore till Friday, the I-T officials seized another 20 bagloads of cash from the house of a countrymade liquor manufacturer in Sudapara area of Bolangir district on Saturday, PTI reported. More than  250 crore cash has been seized till now, and cash is continuously being deposited in government bank branches in Odisha. The notes are largely of the  500 denomination.

250 crore cash has been seized till now, and cash is continuously being deposited in government bank branches in Odisha. The notes are largely of the 500 denomination. The amount of money recovered from Sudapara is being counted, an official said, adding it is expected to be over  50 crore. I-T sleuths had on Friday taken 156 cash-loaded bags to the SBI main branch at Bolangir for counting.

50 crore. I-T sleuths had on Friday taken 156 cash-loaded bags to the SBI main branch at Bolangir for counting. I-T director general Sanjay Bahadur, who has been camping in Bhubaneswar for the last three days, refused to divulge details on the ongoing raids.

The tax department has deployed about 40 large and small machines to count currency notes and brought in more department and bank staffers to finish the counting process, which began on December 6 following raids against Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd and others.

More vehicles have also been requisitioned by the department to transport the seized cash to government banks in the state, the report added.

PTI reported that tax sleuths were now recording the statements of various company officials and other persons involved, and the counting of cash is expected to finish by Saturday.

The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha in a statement welcomed the tax raids "Jharkhand BJP leaders are saying the seized money belongs to Congress leaders. On the other hand, Congress leaders are saying it belongs to BJP leaders. Both are blaming the other. It seems like both BJP and Congress leaders had stashed their money with this businessman," it said.

Dheeraj Sahu, whose premises in Ranchi were also raided, did not respond to calls or messages for a comment on the matter. Both Boudh Distillery Private Limited and Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies are yet to comment on the matter.

(With inputs from Debabrata Mohanty in Odisha and Vishal Kant in Jharkhand)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended greetings to veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on her 77th birthday and prayed for her long and healthy life. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at the Central Hall of the old Parliament in New Delhi.(ANI)

Best wishes to Smt Sonia Gandhi Ji on her birthday. May she be blessed with a long and healthy life, the prime minister wrote on X.

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Besides the prime minister, Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, and Shashi Tharoor and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin also extended their greetings to the former Congress chief.

Kharge said that Gandhi has been a relentless advocate of the rights of the marginalised. A relentless advocate of the rights of the marginalised, she has been a symbol of utmost grace while battling adversity with courage, grit and selfless sacrifice. I wish her a long and healthy life.

Venugopal said Gandhi'scommitment to public service and the upliftment of the poor and marginalised sections of society have won a billion hearts.

Her life journey is an inspiration for us all. She steered the Congress through an extremely challenging period with great poise and was the architect of the UPA government that delivered welfare for all and exponential growth for the country, he said.

Tharoor praised Gandhi saying that she led the Congress with great distinction and continues to be an inspiration for all its leaders and workers. Long may she enjoy health & happiness and continue to guide our party & serve our nation, the Congress leader said.

Stalin also wished Gandhi a long life filled with good health. He wrote: May her profound vision and wealth of experience continue to be a guiding light in our united endeavour to save INDIA from autocratic forces.
Taking a veiled dig at the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said if previous governments had worked honestly, then guarantees given by him would have been fulfilled 50 years ago. Prime Minister Narendra Modi.(BJP/X)

If those who ran governments for decades had worked honestly, then guarantees given by me would have been fulfilled 50 years ago, Modi said addressing beneficiaries of the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra'.

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Modi added that some political parties cannot understand the simple point that they can achieve nothing by making false announcements.

Had the opposition parties kept the spirits of 'Service Supreme' instead of the spirits of political selfishness, a large population of the country would not have remained in poverty, troubles and sufferings, the prime minister claimed.

Modi said the results of the recent state assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have made it clear that there is strength in Modi's guarantee only!

I am grateful to all the voters for their trust in Modi's Guarantee! the prime minister said.

The BJP ousted incumbent Congress from Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and retained Madhya Pradesh with a landslide victory. This led to the saffron party tightening its hold in the Hindi heartland and gave a big boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

With an absolute majority in the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly, the BJP won 54 seats while the Congress trailed at 35 seats. In Rajasthan, the saffron party won a total of 115 out of 199 seats. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP managed to stave off anti-incumbency after winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly.

However, the BJP bagged only eight seats in the 119-member Telangana assembly as Congress won the southern state by ousting K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Revanth Reddy of the Congress took oath as the new chief minister of Telangana on Thursday.
New Delhi: A private members bill seeking to repeal the Waqf Act, 1995, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha after a division of votes as Opposition members protested its introduction. The Waqf Repeal Bill, 2022 was moved for introduction by Bharatiya Janata Party member Harnath Singh Yadav, who said such an outfit does not exist anywhere in the world and should not have a place in a secular country such as India. Bill seeking to repeal the Waqf Act, 1995, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha after a division of votes as Opposition members protested its introduction. (ANI)

Also Read: 120 pleas challenging Waqf Act filed across the country, Delhi HC told

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As soon as Yadav rose to introduce the bill, members from the Congress, TMC, DMK, CPI, CPI (M), and RJD protested. The sharp differences over the introduction led to a division of votes, and the bill was introduced after 53 members voted in favour and 32 opposed the move.

Several members were not present in the House for voting; some of them later said they were away because the House met half an hour ahead of the usual time. The Rajya Sabha would normally resume on Friday at 2.30 pm but the Chairman has decided that it will now resume at 2pm, the same time as the Lok Sabha.

Pushing for the repeal of the Act, which was introduced in 1954 to regulate and declare Waqf properties, Yadav said the provisions of the Act lead to friction and hatred in society, and are in contravention to the tenets of unity and secularism. He said the unconstitutional provisions of the Act allow the board to take over properties that are owned by individuals, religious bodies and government and does not allow them to seek redressal in court.

Also Read: Delhi HC seeks Centres reply on plea challenging Waqf Act validity

Elamaram Kareem of CPI(M) vehemently opposed the bills introduction and emphasised the concerns of the Muslim community. I oppose even the introduction of the bill. It is a serious concern among the Muslim religion that their fundamental rights to keep the waqf assets with themselves are at stake. So, this bill should be rejected, he said.

CPI(M)s John Brittas, who also opposed the bill, called it divisive; and DMK MP Mohamed Abdulla said he and his colleague from the IUML Abdul Wahab could not be present because the time of the resumption of the House was changed.

For the last 60-70 years the House met at 2.30pm to allow the Muslim members to offer Friday prayers. Now, it has been moved ahead by half-an-hour and we were not consulted, Abdulla said.

Earlier, when Abdulla raised the issue, RS Chair Jagdeep Dhankar said it was done to ensure that both Houses resume functioning at the same time.

Private members bills are legislation proposed by MPs other than a minister. Lawmakers are allotted time to introduce their bills every Friday. While most of the private bills fail to get introduced, data shows only a handful of private member bills have become laws.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will set up a cloud facility for the financial sector in India to secure financial sector data and help with scalability and business continuity, the central bank announced on Friday. Reserve Bank of India (Representative Photo)

The Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI, will set up and operate the cloud facility initially and it will later be transferred to a separate entity owned by the financial sector participants, said the bank.

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The RBI will also operationalise a fintech repository by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub by April 2024 that would have information about their activities, products, technology stack, financial information etc.

Also Read: RBI retains policy rate, ups growth projection

However, providing information for this repository would be voluntary for fintech companies. Information from this repository will be used for policy-making, RBI said.

Cloud as DPI

RBI deputy governor T Rabi Shankar said that the idea to set up a public cloud was not prompted by data sovereignty concerns but to help with efficiency, especially for smaller entities and cooperative banks.

This provides a lot of efficiency in terms of scale because for each one to make their own database involves a large amount of investment and skill, which this cloud is expected to provide. ... At this point, our idea is to just give it a push and let it start off and then let the system manage, Shankar said.

The deputy governor did not clarify if this new entity owned by the financial sector would function like the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which controls the UPI ecosystem.

At this stage, it is also not known what the composition of the new controlling entity would be and how equitable representation of smaller entities would be ensured.

Also Read: RBI raises UPI transaction limits, e-mandate bar; check all announcements

The RBI also announced that it would issue a draft circular for public comments on a regulatory framework for connected lending for all regulated entities. It also said that web aggregators of loan products (WALP) will be regulated by a comprehensive regulatory framework that focuses on enhancing the transparency in the operations of WALPs, increasing customer centricity and enabling the borrowers to make informed choices. The guidelines will be issued separately.

Meanwhile, the RBI has also increased the UPI transaction limit for payments made to hospitals and educational institutions from 1 lakh to 5 lakh.

For e-mandates for subscription to mutual funds, payment of insurance premiums and payments of credit card bills, transactions up to 1 lakh will not require an additional factor of authentication. The limit is currently set at 15,000.
Hyderabad: On his first day in office as Telangana chief minister, A Revanth Reddy held a Praja Darbar (peoples court) at his camp office in Hyderabad where he received applications from the public for redressal of their grievances. Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy announced that praja darbar would be held every Friday. (PTI)

Special help desk counters, manned by officials from government departments, were set up at the sprawling office, renamed as Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan, to help people in submitting their applications in proper format.

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As promised during the oath-taking ceremony on Thursday, the chief minister, accompanied by his cabinet colleagues and senior officials, arrived at the venue and personally accepted the applications and heard the grievances from the people. The applications were then forwarded to the departments concerned for follow-up action.

I have come to meet the chief minister seeking compassionate appointment for me as per the government policy. My father died 10 years ago but the previous government did not clear my case even after the high courts direction to provide job for me on compassionate grounds, said Praveen Kumar from Bhadrachalm in Kothagudem district.

Clutching the papers in her hand, a daily-wage earner from Hyderabad, Srilakshmi, said her family was promised a double bedroom house by the previous government but her application has been pending for nearly 10 years. We are hopeful that the new CM will do justice to us and to many others like us, she said.

A youth from Adilabad district said he had successfully cleared a competitive test and interview for a job in the state-owned coal company, Singareni Collieries, but the appointment letter was not issued on some flimsy technical grounds. I hope that CMs intervention will solve my problem, Arun Ram said.

This was the first time since the formation of Telangana state nearly 10 years ago that such an initiative was taken, and the CMs camp office has been thrown open to the public to submit their grievances. The chief minister announced that praja darbar would be held every Friday.

As many as 15 desks were set up at the camp office for registration of grievances, a release from the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) said. A special mechanism has been developed to register the petitions online and issue a unique Grievance Number (ID generated) on each petition. A printed acknowledgment would be given to the applicant, which would also be sent to them via SMS, the release said.

While addressing the gathering at Lal Bahadur Stadium soon after taking the oath, Revanth had said the iron barricades around Pragathi Bhavan, as the CMs camp office was named earlier, would be dismantled to make it accessible to the general public.

We will usher in a true democratic Telangana unlike the feudal Telangana of the past. We are not rulers of people but their servants, he said.

Even as the swearing-in ceremony was in progress, several bulldozers, tractors and construction workers were seen outside the Pragathi Bhavan in Begumpet, a few kilometres away, uprooting the iron rods. During his poll campaign, Revanth had promised that the Congress, if voted to power, would order removal of barricades.

YSR mould

Revanths style of functioning and his brand of politics are reminiscent of former Congress chief minister late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, said K Ramesh Babu, analyst and author.

From aggressive campaign style, striking an instant chord with the crowds, to relentless focus on populist policies and decentralisation of administration, Revanth has striking resemblance to YSR, as the former chief minister was popularly known. YSR too used to hold Praja Darbar at his camp office in the combined Andhra Pradesh.

YSR had led the party to two successive wins in 2004 and 2009.

Like YSR, Revanth infused energy and dynamism into a moribund organisation that was bogged down by infighting and groupism and steered the party to victory, dislodging the two-term Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government headed by K Chandrashekar Rao.

Soon after taking the oath as CM in 2004, YSR had signed the first file on free power to farmers, a hugely popular policy continued by the successive governments. Revanth, on the other hand, signed two files, one pertaining to the implementation of six poll guarantees of Congress including free bus travel for women, pension for widows and single women, financial aid, free power and loan waiver for farmersand another providing a job to a physically challenged woman as per a promise he made to her during the campaign.
There are contradictions between the cases being prosecuted separately by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with Delhis now-scrapped excise policy, the Supreme Court observed on Friday while granting bail to one of the accused in the case. A view of the Supreme Court building in New Delhi.(ANI)

Shooting down EDs objections to the bail, the top court added that it cannot allow the indefinite detention of people at a pre-trial stage, especially when the federal agency has been adding new accused by filing charge sheet after charge sheet.

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You cannot keep people behind bars for years at a pre-trial stage. Its a pre-trial detention, after all. We cannot allow this to go on indefinitely... We still dont know where this will go... how many more people will be brought in, a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SV Bhatti told additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju.

The court granted bail to Benoy Babu, who was behind bars for 13 months in relation to the money-laundering case registered by ED after CBI started investigating the alleged corruption and irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in November 2021.

Also Read | Delhi excise policy case: ED files 1st charge sheet against AAP MP Sanjay Singh under PMLA

You cannot have someone behind bars without having a trial. Normally, the trial should be concluded within two years, the bench observed, allowing Babus bail plea. It further flagged that the trial in the case has not begun yet since charges are yet to be framed.

The bench noted in its order that Babu, a regional manager with liquor company Pernod Ricord, has been in jail since November 10, 2022, when he was arrested by ED.

At the same time, the court highlighted that Babu, who has been accused by ED of active involvement and direct association with laundering the proceeds of crime in alleged corruption linked to the excise policy, has not even been made an accused by CBI in the predicate case.

There seems to be contradiction between what CBI is alleging and what ED is alleging... Benoy Babu is not an accused in CBIs charge sheet. It is stated that Babu is a prosecution witness in that case, the bench noted.

Read | CBI probing plan to influence Delhi excise regime of 2020-21

On his part, Raju had sought to persuade the bench that Babu was not just an employee of the liquor company, and that he had an active role to play in the formulation of the impugned policy which aimed at illicit monetary gains for the public officials and wholesale dealers.

Countering this, senior counsel Harish Salve, who was representing Babu, highlighted that his client has not even been made an accused by CBI, let alone be called an active participant in the formation of the controversial policy. Salve added that it is an admitted case of ED that Babu met one of the architects of the South Group after the policy was already uploaded on the Delhi governments website. The so-called South Group was awarded nine retail zones in Delhi and has been alleged to be complicit in the formation of the policy.

The senior counsel also referred to certain parts of Supreme Courts judgment on October 30 , when the court refused bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the alleged excise policy scam, pointing out that Babu could not have been said to have played any role in formation of the policy.

Convinced by Salves submissions on the grant of bail, the court said that it will release Babu on bail considering 13 months are long enough, and that CBI has chosen not to make him an accused in the case.

The reprieve for Babu came two days after the Delhi trial court denied interim medical bail to him, citing the gravity of charges.

Allegations suggest his active involvement and direct association with laundering proceeds of crime generated through the criminal activities in the scheduled offences case of the CBI, the trial court noted in its order on Tuesday.

The Delhi excise policy or the Delhi liquor policy was rolled out in November 2021, marking the exit of the government from retail sales of alcohol and allowing private companies to bid for licenses. The objective, the Delhi government said, was to improve the buying experience for citizens by allowing market competition to raise standards.

However, the policy was scrapped in August 2022, soon after Delhis lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena asked for an investigation.

The AAP and the Delhi government rejected the charges, alleging it to be a ploy by the Union government to target its rival.

ED on December 2 filed its first charge sheet against AAP MP Sanjay Singh, levelling charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the alleged excise policy scam case. It was the fifth supplementary charge sheet filed in the case, which originated from the CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in framing and implementing the excise policy for 2021-22.

Singh, 51, was arrested by the federal agency on October 4. He is the second most high-profile AAP leader to be arrested by ED after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and the agencys 15th arrest in total.

By its judgment on October 30, the justice Khanna bench rejected the bail plea of Sisodia, observing that the charge against him of tweaking the now-scrapped excise policy of 2021 that caused wholesalers to ostensibly earn a windfall of 338 crore during the 10 months that the policy remained operational was tentatively established.

At the time, the bench also directed CBI and ED to honour their assurance of completing the trial within six to eight months. Sisodia, on November 29, filed a review petition against the judgment denying him bail in the case.

The plea is yet to be considered.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, December 9. The China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) is ready to make substantial investments in construction of a hydroelectric power station in Kyrgyzstan, Chairman of the Board of Directors at CNEEC Wu Guisheng said, Trend reports.

This statement was made during the meeting with the Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Japarov, where the parties discussed prospects for collaboration in the field of hydroelectric power station construction.

Wu Guisheng emphasized that the construction of a hydroelectric power station would foster the development of Kyrgyzstan's energy sector, generate employment opportunities, and contribute to the country's socio-economic advancement.

The primary focus of the discussion centered around the construction of a hydroelectric power station that could serve as a significant source of clean energy for the country. Both sides expressed mutual interest in this prospective project.

Furthermore, during the meeting, they deliberated on preparing the feasibility study for future projects, emphasizing crucial aspects of transitioning to green energy and sustainable development, topics recently highlighted at the COP 28 conference held in Dubai.
Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party chief and Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday strongly objected to the appointment of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's Akbaruddin Owaisi as a pro-tem Speaker of the assembly, claiming that it is an insult to the senior MLAs. Asserting that it is against the tradition of appointing senior MLAs to the post, Reddy said he will take this up with the governor. Union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy

We have won eight seats and reached 14 per cent vote share in the state...There is a ritual of appointing a senior leader as pro-tem Speaker. However, the Congress has appointed Akbaruddin Owaisi to the post due to their understanding with the AIMIM. We object to this. We demand that the election of the assembly Speaker should not happen with this pro-tem Speaker. We will tell the same to the state governor, the state BJP chief at a press conference.

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Reddy's statement comes even as Owaisi took oath as pro-tem Speaker of the Telangana legislative assembly at the Raj Bhawan. The pro-tem Speaker serves a temporary role, officiating the assembly session until the newly-elected members are sworn in and a Speaker is elected. Reddy interacted with the media after meeting the party's eight elected MLAs, including Raja Singh.

Raja Singh also voiced opposition to Owaisi's appointment as the pro-tem Speaker and said he and other BJP MLAs would not participate in the oath-taking event.

In a video message, Raja Singh said he would never take oath as long as he is alive in front of AIMIM. Can I take oath in front of a person (Akbaruddin Owaisi) who made anti-Hindu comments in the past? asked Raja Singh.

He also recalled that he did not take oath as an MLA when a member of AIMIM was the pro-tem Speaker in 2018. "It is very unfortunate. After the Congress formed the government and Revanth Reddy became the chief minister, Congress's real face has come to the fore. New chief minister Revanth Reddy earlier alleged a tacit understanding among BRS, AIMIM and BJP and he should now clarify as to what is the relation between his party and AIMIM,...We will not take oath in front of such a person...We will boycott...," said Raja Singh earlier in the day.

The oath was administered by governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in the presence of newly elected chief minister Revanth Reddy.

Other newly-elected leaders also took oath as members of the state assembly before pro-tem Speaker Owaisi. However, BJP leaders boycotted the ceremony, alleging violation of assembly rules.

Meanwhile, countering the BJP, Telangana Congress spokesperson Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said that a pro-tem Speaker is a matter related to the Constitution and that some senior MLA has to be appointed to the post. It does not show that we are with the AIMIM by making him the pro-tem Speaker. We don't have to polarise a community to survive in politics, he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA-elect Raja Singh voiced opposition to Akbaruddin Owaisi's appointment as the pro-tem Speaker of Telangana assembly and said he and other BJP MLAs would not participate in the oath-taking event with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen lawmaker presiding over the proceedings. The newly-elected MLAs of Telangana are scheduled to take oath during the first session of the legislative assembly scheduled to be held 11am on Saturday, a government order (GO) said. Bharatiya Janata Party MLA-elect Raja Singh

Akbaruddin Owaisi took oath as pro-tem Speaker of the Telangana legislative assembly in Raj Bhawan on Saturday morning.

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In a video message, Raja Singh said he would never take oath as long as he is alive in front of AIMIM. Can I take oath in front of a person (Akbaruddin Owaisi) who made anti-Hindu comments in the past? asked Raja Singh.

He also recalled that he did not take oath as an MLA when a member of AIMIM was the pro-tem Speaker in 2018.

"It is very unfortunate. After the Congress formed the government and Revanth Reddy became the chief minister, Congress's real face has come to the fore. New chief minister Revanth Reddy earlier alleged a tacit understanding among BRS, AIMIM and BJP and he should now clarify as to what is the relation between his party and AIMIM,...We will not take oath in front of such a person...We will boycott...," Raja Singh said.

There are many senior MLAs who could have been made pro-tem Speaker but Reddy was seeking to appease minorities and AIMIM leaders, the BJP leader alleged.

The BJP in a release said the newly elected MLAs (8) would meet state party president G Kishan Reddy on Saturday morning and later, offer prayers at the Goddess Bhagya Lakshmi temple at Charminar in Hyderabad.

Countering Raja Singh, Telangana Congress spokesperson Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said pro-tem Speaker is a matter related to the Constitution and that some senior MLA has to be appointed to the post.

"It does not show that we are with the AIMIM by making him the pro-tem Speaker. We don't have to polarise a community to survive in politics," the Congress spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, BRS said its MLAs would have a meeting at 9am at the party headquarters, before the commencement of the assembly session.
Chennai, Dec 9 (PTI) DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday greeted Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on her 77th birthday. HT Image

In a post on 'X', Stalin said: "Birthday greetings to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Madam Sonia Gandhi, an exemplar of devoted public life. Wishing her a long life filled with good health."

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Further, he said: "May her profound vision and wealth of experience continue to be a guiding light in our united endeavour to save #INDIA from autocratic forces."
Union minister of state for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday denied that she had signed any document related to the declaration of the Palestinian group Hamas as a terrorist organisation in India. Lekhi's response came after social media users and journalists shared a document about a reply to a Parliament question available on the Lok Sabha website. Union minister of state for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.(Manish/HT)

In the document, Congress MP K Sudhakaran asked whether the Union government has any proposal to declare Hamas as a terrorist organisation in India and whether Israel has raised any such demand before New Delhi. The document is available on the website of the Lok Sabha and foreign ministry.

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Designation of an organisation as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and declaring any organisation as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments, the answer read.

As the document was shared on social media, Lekhi took to X to deny signing of any such paper.

I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer, Lekhi wrote on the social media website.

She also said an official inquiry will be held. Inquiry will reveal the culprit, the union minister added.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi sought clarification on the matter from the ministry of external affairs.

In the tweet below Meenakshi Lekhi ji is denying and disassociating to a response attributed to her, says has no idea who drafted this as response to a PQ since she didnt sign it. Is she then claiming it is a forged response, if yes this is a serious breach and violation of the rules that prevail. Would be grateful for a clarification from MEA, she wrote.

Israel carried out a massive military offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented and multi-pronged attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas terrorists on October 7, killing over 1,400 people. Over 16,000 Palestinians have been killed in the retaliatory attack by Tel Aviv.

India, which has strong strategic ties with both Israel and key Arab states, has sought to fashion a nuanced approach to the conflict triggered by the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas. While condemning the terror attacks, India has asked for adherence to international humanitarian law but has stopped short of directly calling for a ceasefire.

New Delhi has called on the parties in the Israel-Hamas conflict to de-escalate, avoid violence and create conditions that facilitate an early resumption of direct peace negotiations for achieving a two-state solution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will definitely be listed among the top three economies of the world during his third term, as he made a strong pitch for the return of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre in the Lok Sabha elections next year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami during the inauguration of the 'Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023', in Dehradun (PTI)

In my third term as Prime Minister of the country, India will definitely be listed among the top three countries of the world, Modi said during his inaugural address at the two-day Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit being held at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun.

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A stable government, a supportive policy system, a mindset to reform to transform and self-confidence to become developed All this has happened for the first time. So, I am telling you this is the right time. This is the time of Bharat. I appeal to you to walk with Uttarakhand, develop yourself and help in developing Uttarakhand, he said, as he called on investors to set up their businesses in the state.

According to state government officials, over 1,000 investors and delegates are attending the business event that is centered on the theme Peace to Prosperity. The summit, the officials said, will be a platform for business delegations, corporate leaders, academia, innovators and government leadership from across the globe to collectively explore business opportunities and partnerships in the state.

The Prime Minister said that Indias special development has happened in the last few years. There was a population of the country that was deprived of everything. Now, due to the governments schemes, more than 13 crore people have come out of poverty in just five years. All these have given a boost to the economy, he said.

Stepping up his Vocal for Local push, he said: Today, the countrys consumption-based economy is moving forward rapidly. We have to become vocal for local and local for global.

He added: We have to come out of this mindset that somewhere else a product is available at cheaper rates, so let us import from there. Due to this, we have incurred huge losses. All you businessmen should focus on capacity building here... We should focus on strengthening export-oriented manufacturing and stop depending on other countries and lessening imports from other countries.

Modi claimed that India is importing 15 lakh crore worth of petro-products, 4 lakh crore worth coal, and 15 lakh worth crore pulses. If we become self-reliant in pulses, the money will go to the farmers of this country, he said.

The Prime Minister also said that Uttarakhand has a lot of potential in organic foods. In the packaged food market, our businessmen should fulfill their responsibility of bringing local products at the global level, he said.

The state is also where one will get to experience both divinity and development at the same time, he said. I have known, experienced and lived from very near the aspirations and possibilities of this Devbhoomi, the land of gods. And this land will surely open new doors of investment for you. Today, Bharat is focussing on the mantra of vikas (development) and virasat (heritage). And Uttarakhand is one of the best examples of this, he said.

He said businessmen are conducting a SWOT Analysis to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. But as a nation, if we conduct SWOT Analysis, we will find aspirations, hope, self-confidence, innovations and opportunities, policy-driven governance and political stability, he said.

Bharat doesnt want political instability. It wants stability and we saw this in the recent assembly polls, he said, referring to the BJPs victories in three out of five states that went to the polls recently.

Everyone in the country now feels that developing Bharat as a developed nation is their personal responsibility. This is why despite the Covid-19 pandemic and other odds, Bharat is developing so fast. Bharat is now in a separate league of its own when it comes to major world economies. Every state, including Uttarakhand, is benefitting by this, he said.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while speaking in the inaugural ceremony, said the state government will try to organise the summit after every two years.

Taking inspiration from the Prime Ministers Vibrant Gujarat initiative when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, we have organised this investors summit on the theme of Destination Uttarakhand-Peace to Prosperity. It will be our endeavour to organise this summit every two years. The main objective of organising such summits is the overall development of the state, with a balance between the ecology and the economy, and a focus on developing green economy and employment, he said.
Since spy films have been the ticket to box-office triumph this year (Im looking at you, Pathaan and Tiger 3), I couldnt help but go back to a spy thriller from a different era. Released 55 years ago, it was a pioneer of the genre, the biggest hit of 1968, and made by the last man you would associate with guns and bombs.

The man in question was born Chandramouli Chopra in 1917 (though he would later change his name). He wrote Raj Kapoors great 1949 romance, Barsaat. He went on to launch his own banner, Sagar Films, with a love story (Arzoo, 1965). And two decades later, made a TV serial that irrevocably changed his life: Ramayan.

The man was Ramanand Sagar. And somewhere between Arzoo and Ramayan, he also directed a suspenseful spy film, Ankhen, starring Dharmendra and Mala Sinha. It would be the most successful film of his career. A fun, 174-minute ride, it is set in India, Japan and Lebanon, and features two dedicated agents, Sunil (Dharmendra) and Meenakshi (Sinha), fearlessly fighting enemies of the nation.

They arent working for the Indian government, though; theyre part of a secret group founded by three patriots and stalwarts of the Azad Hind Fauj: Diwan Chand, Ashfaq Bhai and Ishak Singh, a Hindu, a Muslim and a Sikh. (Its easy to spot the symbolism. In real life, Colonel Prem Sahgal, Major General Shah Nawaz Khan and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon of the Indian National Army or INA were court-martialled by the British, in a trial that shook the country in 1945-46.)

In Ankhen, weapons and ammunition are being smuggled into India in a nefarious bid to destabilise the country. The kingpin of this evil plot is Doctor X (Jeevan, in a brown military uniform and monocle), assisted by the sinister Madam (Lalita Pawar, switching disguises with aplomb).

Sunil is despatched to Beirut to investigate. There, he meets fellow agent Meenakshi, who turns out to be a woman hed met on a previous trip to Japan.

Now in Beirut, the two join hands in their mission. It is quite lovely seeing Mala Sinha as a daring secret agent, making short work of sundry villains while wearing fashionable red pants and high-heeled white shoes, and brandishing a gun. There are plenty of other novel elements that must have captivated audiences in the 60s: transmitters with banks of colourful winking lights; agents using code names such as Sher-e-Punjab and Taj Mahal in urgent whispers; frantic boat chases; even Dharmendra grappling with a tiger.

This was before CGI, so the behind-the-scenes tales were almost as thrilling as the ones on-screen. For one thing, a special cage had to be made so that the cameraman could shoot the tigress, named Uma Devi, in safety.

For another, Uma could not be constrained during shoots, so one day, perhaps bored by the retakes, she leapt over the cage and vanished. After a panic-stricken search, she was found sleeping in a corner of the compound. These and other entertaining bits of trivia are revealed by Ramanand Sagars son Prem Sagar, in his book An Epic Life: Ramanand Sagar  From Barsaat to Ramayan (May 2023).

The son also writes that the Beirut scenes were actually shot in Iran, including the popular song De Daata Ke Naam (Give in the Name of the Giver), which was filmed on the streets of Tehran.

Ramanand Sagar was looking for a newcomer to cast in Ankhen and went to a movie hall in Mumbai to watch Dharmendra in Shola Aur Shabnam (1961), one of the actors early films. Papaji liked his big sturdy hands and thought how perfect they would look holding a pistol! Prem Sagar writes.

Farz, which released the year before Ankhen, and Humsaya, months later, dont really compare with Ramanand Sagars spy saga.

In both Farz and Humsaya, the enemy state is China. The Farz villain is a stiff, robotic Chinese man nicknamed Supremo, who marches about like a wind-up toy, and barks staccato orders such as Kill Sunita! Load poison powder! and Ruin India! In Humsaya, the villain is a Comrade Chen (Madan Puri), who hatches an elaborate plan to infiltrate the Indian Air Force. The 1962 war with China was still clearly fresh in everyones mind.

But these two films bookending Ankhen never quite matched Ramanand Sagars spy outing. Spy films would continue to pop up in subsequent years; the vanquishing of a sneaky infiltrator became a popular plotline. Today, it has hit pay dirt. Over and out.
A revolutionary living underground during the Nepal Civil War (1996-2006) writes to her daughter, who has just had her first period. My dear ovulating lady, Hisila Yami, a future union minister, says, having explained the essential experience. Once you know the source, you can easily tackle the pain.

There will be other kinds of pain to come, she adds, as you make your way through puberty.

Images of the letter appear in The Public Life of Women, a new photobook released by the Nepal Picture Library (NPL). The book traces, through images, a feminist awakening of women in Nepal, from the mid-1930s on.

The fight for equal rights for women overlaps, throughout, with a turbulent political history: protests in the run-up to the anti-monarchy revolt of 1951; a peoples uprising and a constitutional monarchy in the 1990s; a 10-year civil war between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), from 1996; and finally, in 2008, the establishment of a democratic republic.

Amid images of protest marches and rallies, are snapshots of women in solitude, or in prison; travelling, performing, writing; seeing the ocean for the first time on visits to foreign shores. Preserved documents add nuggets from letters, notebooks, diaries and magazine interviews.

I longed to be looked upon as a person rather than as a woman, activist Mangala Devi Singh, founder of the Nepal Womens Association in 1951, says in a print interview from the 1990s.

An unnamed Tharu tribal who helped lead a peasant revolt against landlords in 1980. Anti-monarchy rebels Prem Kumari Tamang and Lal Maya Tamang in prison in Kathmandu, 1961. (From the Premkali Chaudhary and Shanta Shrestha Collections, via NPL)

The mood shifts from section to section of the book. In one, are snapshots of letters written by Rajani Shahi in 2012, asking other activists for help. She had been taken to a rehabilitation home after her estranged husband Pradip Shahi reported her as homosexual (an orientation that was decriminalised in 2007). Shahis letters, handwritten in Nepali, contain only three English words, in a line in the post script: Please please please.

The Public Life of Women is the second photobook by NPL, a photo archive established in 2011 by photographer NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati and cultural conservationist Bhushan Shilpakar, to preserve counter-historical narratives and the voices of marginalised, minority segments of Nepali society.

The first book, Dalit: A Quest for Dignity (2018), was a photographic record of Dalit lives and resistance in Nepal over six decades.

We wanted this to be an intersectional account of our feminist history, which often meant looking beyond institutional characters which tend to be limited by class, privilege, caste, achievements and empowerment, says Diwas Raja Kc, lead researcher on the archives Feminist Memory Project. As we worked on the archive, one of the conundrums we faced was how some of the really important moments in history dont necessarily furnish photographs. So we relied on the broader definition of the visual and tried to include the visual and aesthetic dimension of documents.

Four activists  Kabita Poudel, Yamuna Ghimire, Dil Maya BK and Maiya Bhattarai  pose at a studio after being released from prison in Palpa, 1990. (From the Rambha Poudel Collection, via NPL)

By next year, NPL hopes to have a new website with a fully searchable database for the Feminist Memory Project and, slowly, over the years, the entire NPL archive.

For now, alongside stalwarts of the womens movements in Nepal  such as Mangala Devi Singh and educator Sahana Pradhan  the book features lesser-known, often-forgotten rebels.

A 1961 image shows Prem Kumari Tamang and Lal Maya Tamang behind bars at the Dillibazar Prison in Kathmandu, after they were arrested for an anti-monarchy agitation.

We often hear about women from marginalised communities participating in anti-autocratic movements against the state, but we rarely see archival records of it, says Raja Kc.

Another rare find included in the book is a series of portraits of indigenous Tharu women who led a peasant revolt in 1980, against harassment and intimidation by local landlords.

We managed to trace some of the women who had participated in that movement, and spoke to them.

So much history fades unless it is captured and preserved in material form. Many of these tales are not being retold. It now feels more urgent to preserve images even from something like the Maoist movement in Nepal, which wasnt that old when we began work on the Feminist Memory Project, says Raja Kc.
Human Rights Day is celebrated every year on December 10 to commemorate the day in 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified by the UN General Assembly. On this important day, the world is reminded of the fundamental freedoms and rights to which every human being is entitled, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion or any other distinction. On this day, all stakeholders in the national and international community are reminded and given an opportunity to reflect on their past and future actions and responsibilities and to strive for the promotion and protection of human rights. On this Human Rights Day, let us reflect on the fundamental importance of human rights for every individual and use them as a daily guide to pursue justice, equality, peace and freedom for all. (Also read: Utpanna Ekadashi 2023: When is Utpanna Ekadashi? Correct date, timings, rituals, significance and all you need to know ) Human Rights Day strive for a world where justice, equality, and human rights are not just ideals but everyday realities.(Freepik)

Human Rights Day 2023 theme

The theme for Human Rights Day 2023 is "Freedom, Equality and Justice for All". In the decades since the ratification of the UDHR, human rights have become more widely recognised and protected around the world. The declaration has served as the cornerstone for a system of human rights protection that is growing and reaching out to more vulnerable populations, including migrants, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities.

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History of Human Rights Day

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified by the UN General Assembly on this day in 1948, known as Human Rights Day. Human Rights Day was formally established in 1950 when the Assembly adopted resolution 423(V), which called upon all States and interested organisations to observe 10 December that year as Human Rights Day. The United Nations Postal Administration's commemorative Human Rights Day stamp, issued in 1952, was pre-ordered by some 200,000 people, indicating the day's popularity.

Although not legally binding, the Declaration of Human Rights, with its comprehensive list of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights, served as the impetus for the creation of more than 60 human rights instruments, which together set the global standard for human rights. Today's universal agreement among all United Nations Member States on the fundamental human rights outlined in the Declaration further strengthens it and underscores the importance of human rights in our daily lives.

Human Rights Day significance

The Day serves as a powerful reminder of the fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to every individual, regardless of background, and underscores the collective responsibility to uphold and protect these rights. It is a call to action, urging nations, organisations and individuals to promote equality, justice and dignity for all, and to foster a world in which human rights are universally respected, protected and celebrated.
There is an overall consensus that Azerbaijan should host the COP29 U.N. climate summit next year, the country's ecology minister Mukhtar Babayev said on Saturday. COP28 UN Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.(AP)

"I'm delighted to announce that there is an overall consensus on the candidacy of Azerbaijan to host COP29," he told the COP28 summit in Dubai.

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Nations from the Eastern European region, which is due to host next year's summit, have been deadlocked over the host of the next global gathering to address climate change.

The group did not officially confirm on Saturday its member countries had backed Baku's bid, but Babayev suggested they were on board.

"We're very grateful to all countries in particular to the Eastern European group and the [COP28 summit] host United Arab Emirates for their support," he said.

Talks on the site for COP29 have been held up after Russia said it would veto any European Union country's bid to host.

The EU has sanctioned Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Azerbaijan is not an EU member.

If approved by the regional group, Baku's bid would still need the formal green light from the nearly 200 countries present at the COP28 talks.
A new process for inspecting aid for Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing is being tested, but efforts to get permission for trucks to enter through the crossing and ramp up relief are still ongoing, a senior U.N. official told Reuters on Saturday. A new process for inspecting aid for Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing is being tested, but efforts to get permission for trucks to enter through the crossing and ramp up relief are still ongoing, a senior U.N. official told Reuters on Saturday.(AFP)

Under the new system, trucks would come to the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel, Gaza and Egypt for the first time from Jordan, before entering Gaza from Rafah, about 3 km (1.86 miles) away.

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But the trucks would need to be allowed to enter Gaza directly through Kerem Shalom to alleviate an increasingly desperate situation in the coastal enclave, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme.

ALSO READ| Swine fever outbreak: Hong Kong to cull 900 pigs, no SOS yet on pork consumption

Israel has so far rebuffed pleas from the United Nations and others to open Kerem Shalom, but they both signalled on Thursday that Kerem Shalom could soon help process delivery of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Until now, limited quantities of aid have been delivered from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which is ill-equipped to process large numbers of trucks.

Trucks have been driving more than 40 km (24.85 miles) south to Egypt's border with Israel before returning to Rafah, leading to bottlenecks and delays.

A process to test the inspection system at Kerem Shalom for trucks arriving from Jordan is underway, said Skau, who visited Gaza on Friday.

"It's good, it's useful because it would also be the first time that we can then bring in a pipeline from Jordan. But we need that entry point as well because that would make all the difference," he said in an interview.

"If you get that open, then it's just a matter of how much is available and how much can be absorbed on the other side in an orderly fashion, but then certainly that capacity would not be the issue," he added.

"We have front-loaded with our internal resources so that we have food available in Egypt and in Jordan to reach some 1,000,000 people in one month. We are ready to roll. The trucks are ready to move."

Skau said the situation inside Gaza was increasingly chaotic as people grabbed what they could from aid distribution points, with larger numbers of people displaced southwards close to the border with Egypt and aid trucks at risk of being stopped by desperate residents if they even slow down at an intersection.

"There is a question for how long this can continue, because the humanitarian operation is collapsing," he said.

"Half of the population are starving, nine out of 10 are not eating every day. Obviously the needs are massive."
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, December 9. Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, and Tajikistan's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ilhom Abdurahmon discussed bilateral collaboration, Trend reports.

The Tajik Foreign Ministry said the discussions encompassed the current state and future prospects of cooperation in economics, trade, industry, and transport, including transit cargo transportation.

The sides also addressed investments in industrial and energy sectors.

The meeting facilitated an exchange of opinions regarding mutual collaboration in executing joint investment projects. The sides explored the development of new tools to enhance bilateral relations, leveraging a conducive atmosphere and available opportunities.

According to State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, trade turnover between Tajikistan and Azerbaijan amounted to $5.183 million from January through October 2023. This figure increased by 26.23 percent compared to the same period in 2022 when it stood at $4.106 million.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has faced a setback in his libel lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid. FILE - A London judge on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 said the Duke of Sussex had failed to knock out Associated Newspaper Ltds defense that its article reflected an honest opinion. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)(AP)

The High Court in London ruled on Friday that the newspapers defense that their article was an honest opinion about Harrys attempt to maintain publicly funded security in the UK after stepping back from royal duties has a real prospect of success.

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The article in question, published in February 2022, suggested that Prince Harry tried to conceal his legal battle with the government over police protection and that his public relations team attempted to positively spin the story once it became public.

Justice Matthew Nicklins decision allows the publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd., to continue arguing that the article was not libelous. The judge highlighted the possibility of the defense presenting the case as a masterclass in the art of spinning,' which was successful in misleading and/or confusing the public.

ALSO READ| 'No return home' for Sussexes as Prince William prepares for throne, report claims

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the implications of this ruling

This development follows a separate legal proceeding where arguments were heardlargely in privateover three days regarding the governments decision to remove Harrys security detail after he relocated to the U.S. in 2020. Prince Harry, aged 39 and the younger son of King Charles III, is contesting the governments policy of providing security on a case-by-case basis during his visits to Britain. He has expressed concerns about the safety of himself and his family due to social media hostility and media scrutiny.

The Mail on Sunday and Mail Onlines article titled How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret  then  just minutes after the story broke  his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute is at the center of the libel case. Prince Harry maintains that the article was fundamentally inaccurate and defamed him by implying he was dishonest in his initial public statements about the legal challenge.

While Associated Newspapers Ltd. contends that the article was an expression of honest opinion and did not cause significant harm to Harrys reputation, Justice Nicklin had previously determined that the article was defamatory but had not addressed its accuracy or public interest value.

Prince Harry's legal saga

On the other hand, the government defends its action to withdraw full-time protection for Prince Harry, citing his resignation from his senior royal role. The government asserts that Harry was treated equitably and has been provided with occasional security during his UK visits.

ALSO READ| Meghan Markle wears diamond bracelet gifted by King Charles after racist royals drama

Earlier this year, another judge dismissed Harrys proposal to privately fund the Metropolitan Police for his protection in Britain. A government attorney argued that police officers should not serve as private bodyguards for the wealthy.

The dispute with the Daily Mail is one of four ongoing lawsuits Prince Harry has filed against British tabloid publishers. He accuses journalists from the Mail, the Daily Mirror, and the Sun of employing unlawful methods, such as deception, phone hacking, or hiring private investigators, to gather information about him.
The Indonesian ministry of tourism and creative economy has proposed issuing free entry visas to travellers from 20 countries including India. This comes as the country aims to increase tourist visits and bring a multiplier effect on the economy. Indonesia Tourism minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said, The ministry proposed 20 countries with the highest (number of) foreign tourists, except for those with existing visa exemptions. Indonesia Visa for Indians: Indonesia aims to increase tourist visits and bring a multiplier effect on the economy.(Unsplash)

The provision of free entry visas to the 20 countries is expected to increase foreign tourist visits which will generate a multiplier effect, he said. It will also boost domestic consumption, attract investment and supporting the development of the digital economy, he pointed out, adding, "We are targeting quality tourists, especially those with longer stays and higher spending in the local economy," he pointed out.

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Which 20 countries are on Indonesia's expected visa free list?

The 20 countries include Australia, China, India, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, among others.

Which countries provide visa free entry to Indians?

Currently, 25 countries provide visa-free entry to Indians. The latest additions include Malaysia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Malaysia joined the list on December 1, following the governments decision to boost its tourism industry.

How many visitors does Indonesia receive?

There were more than 16 million foreign arrivals in Indonesia in pre-pandemic 2019, as per official data. From January to October this year, Indonesia received 9.49 million foreign visitors. This marks an increase of 124.3% from the same period in 2022.

Have other countries put China on the visa-free list?

Indonesia is the latest country in Southeast Asia to consider waiving visas for China, following Singapore, which said that a 30-day mutual visa exemption with China will be implemented early next year.
Iran warned Saturday of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East, after the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian(AFP)

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the top diplomat of the Islamic republic, also appealed for the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to enable humanitarian aid to be sent into the Gaza Strip.

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Militants from the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel, whose main ally is the United States, vowed to destroy Hamas in response and unleashed an offensive that the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza says has killed more than 17,400 people in the Palestinian territory, also mostly civilians.

On Friday, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying the resolution "would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7."

"As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) and the continuation of the war... there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region," Amir-Abdollahian told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a phone call, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Also read: Son of Israeli minister killed in Gaza amid war with Hamas

The Iranian foreign minister praised the UN chief's decision to use Article 99 of the UN Charter as "brave action to maintain international peace and security".

Fighting resumed between Israel and Hamas on December 1 following a one-week truce that Israel says Hamas violated.

"The Israeli regime's claim that Hamas has violated the ceasefire is completely false," Amir-Abdollahian told Guterres, adding that US support for Israel "has made it difficult to achieve a lasting ceasefire".
Turkey's ministry of foreign affairs said that the United States' veto of a proposed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was a complete disappointment. Israel-Hamas War: Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan is seen. (Reuters)

"Our friends once again expressed that America is now alone on this issue, especially in the voting held at the United Nations today," Turkey foreign minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview as per news agency Reuters after a meeting with his counterparts from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League who met with US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Washington.

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The feeling of "complete disappointment" was emphasized during the meeting, the ministry said. The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington has instead supported pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

Hakan Fidan said that he also discussed Sweden's bid to join NATO during a bilateral meeting with Blinken, saying, From now on, it is at the discretion of the parliament, and we have conveyed this to our counterparts.

What Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on US veto decision?

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the UNSC describing the international body as the 'Israel protection council'.

"Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defence council," Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Is this justice?" he asked, adding that "the world is bigger than five," a reference to the five veto-wielding nations in the UN Security Council.

"Another world is possible, but without America. The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that? Every day the Declaration of Human Rights is violated in Gaza", the Turkish leader said as the world celebrates the 75th anniversary of the declaration.
At least 17,700 Palestinians have been killed and 48,780 wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday. Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. ((Reuters))

Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Hamas-run ministry, said that in recent hours two paramedics were wounded when Israeli forces targeted an ambulance while it was working to evacuate wounded patients from Gaza's European Hospital.

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He denounced what he called Israel's war against hospitals, ambulances and medical teams.

Israel says Hamas operates from within hospitals and has released footage supporting the claim, and it has also targeted in the past ambulances it says were used by Hamas. Hamas has denied this.

Israeli forces unleashed an aerial and ground blitz against Hamas in Gaza after a cross-border rampage by the enclave's ruling militant Islamist group on Oct. 7.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Saturday the United States was "responsible for the bloodshed" of children in Gaza after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the territory. Israel-Hamas War: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas .(Reuters)

"The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in Gaza" due to its support for Israel, said a statement from Abbas's office.

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Washington's veto at a special meeting of the Security Council on Friday scuttled the growing efforts towards an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the territory led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.

American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground".

Israel praised the veto, but the resolution's sponsor, the United Arab Emirates, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the result.

Abbas said Saturday that "US policy makes it complicit in the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem".

Guterres had convened the emergency meeting after weeks of fighting left nearly 17,500 people dead in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children, according to the latest toll from the Hamas-run health ministry.

The war in the territory was triggered by Hamas's bloody surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw another 240 taken hostage, Israeli officials say.
The teenage children of jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi fear they will never meet their mother again, but said they were proud of her struggle for women's rights as they prepared to accept the award on her behalf on Sunday. Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi(AFP)

Mohammadi, 51, who is serving multiple sentences in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on charges including spreading propaganda, won the award on Oct. 6 in a rebuke to Tehran's theocratic leaders, prompting the Islamic Republic's condemnation.

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Her twin 17-year-old children, Ali and Kiana Rahman, who live in exile in Paris, are due to accept the award at Oslo's City Hall and give the Nobel Peace Prize lecture on her behalf.

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In a letter smuggled out of prison and published by Swedish broadcaster SVT this week, Mohammadi said she would continue to fight for human rights even if it led to her death. But she said she missed her children the most.

Kiana Rahman, who last saw her mother eight years ago, said: "When it comes to seeing her again, personally I am very pessimistic."

"Maybe I'll see her in 30 or 40 years, but I think I won't see her again," she told a press conference via a translator. "But that doesn't matter because my mother will always live on in my heart and with my family."

Mohammadi was awarded the Peace Prize just over a year after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iranian morality police after being detained for allegedly violating the rules of wearing a hijab, an Islamic head scarf.

Amini's death provoked months of nationwide protests that posed the biggest challenge to Shi'ite clerical rule in years, and was met with a deadly security crackdown costing several hundred lives.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award for Mohammadi also recognised hundreds of thousands who had demonstrated against the theocratic regime's policies discriminating and oppressing women.

Iran has called the protests Western-led subversion, accusing the Nobel committee of meddling and politicizing human rights.

Mohammadi's son Ali said he had accepted from early childhood that the family would live apart, but said he would stay optimistic he might see her again.

"If we don't see her again we will always be proud of her and go on with our struggle," he said.

Mohammadi's husband Taghi Rahmani said the award would give her a larger voice even if her own conditions were likely to become more difficult.

"It's a political prize and therefore there will be more pressure on Narges, but at the same time it is going to create a space for echoing the voice of the people" said Rahmani, who will also attend Sunday's ceremony.

Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the prize, which today is worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or around $1 million, and the fifth person to win it while in detention.

It is awarded on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.
The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard on Saturday of using water cannons to "obstruct" three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near a China-controlled reef in the South China Sea. The incident happened near Scarborough Shoal, a flashpoint between Manila and Beijing, which claims almost the entire waterway.(AFP)

The incident happened near Scarborough Shoal, a flashpoint between Manila and Beijing, which claims almost the entire waterway.

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The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement that "Chinese Coast Guard ships utilized water cannons to obstruct" government vessels from delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats.

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The multi-agency task force said it "vehemently condemns the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia".

But Chinese state television said the country's coast guard had used "control measures in accordance with the law" against the Philippine vessels that had "intruded" into waters around the shoal.

China snatched control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines in 2012.

Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon, where fish are more plentiful.

Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, countries have jurisdiction over the natural resources within about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of their shore.

Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed China Coast Guard ships shooting water cannon at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels and hitting them with the powerful blasts of water.

One boat's communication and navigation equipment sustained "significant damage", the task force statement said.

Aerial surveillance by the BFAR also showed a floating barrier had been reinstalled across the entrance to the shoal and was being guarded by Chinese boats, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

Filipino fishermen reported that the China Coast Guard installed the barrier early Saturday, the task force said.

The Philippines and China have a long history of maritime incidents in the contested South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars of trade pass annually.

That is despite the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016 that China's claims over the waters have no legal basis and its construction of artificial islands in disputed waters was illegal.

Beijing refused to take part in the proceedings and has ignored the judgement.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea.
Ukraine on Saturday strongly condemned Russian plans to hold presidential elections next spring on occupied territory, declaring them "null and void" and pledging to prosecute any observers sent to monitor them. Russia's upper house set the country's presidential election this week for next March, and chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko said residents in four occupied Ukrainian regions would be able to vote for the first time.(AFP)

Russia's upper house set the country's presidential election this week for next March, and chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko said residents in four occupied Ukrainian regions would be able to vote for the first time.

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Russia claims to have annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in the east and south of Ukraine during referenda last year dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a sham, but does not fully control any of them.

It also seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

ALSO READ| New Philippines- China flashpoint near Scarborough Shoal: All you need to know

"We call on the international community to resolutely condemn Russia's intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and to impose sanctions on those involved in their organization and conduct," Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It also warned countries against sending observers to the "pseudo-elections", saying offenders would "face criminal responsibility".

"Any election in Russia has nothing to do with democracy. They serve only as a tool to keep the Russian regime in power," the ministry said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he would run for president again, a move expected to keep him in power until at least 2030.
UK PM Rishi Sunak and Dutch premier Mark Rutte shared an awkward encounter on the steps of Downing Street as the two leaders appeared to be temporarily locked out of Number 10. When Rishi Sunak welcomed the outgoing leader of the Netherlands to Downing Street, the UK PM was seen walking outside to greet his Dutch counterpart on the steps. The two posed for photographers before leaving for a meeting to discuss a range of issues including the Middle East, Ukraine and illegal migration. Rishi Sunak Locked Out: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at Downing Street in London.(Reuters)

However, the leaders were unable to access Number 10 as videos captured Rishi Sunak placing his hands on the door before both men were left confused. The door was eventually opened from the inside.

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Watch the video here:

This marks the last diplomatic meeting between Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte after the four-time Dutch prime minister announced he was quitting politics. Mark Rutte's coalition government collapsed following a row over immigration earlier this year after which Geert Wilders secured victory in the Dutch general election last month.

A Number 10 spokesman said, The leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including the situation in the Middle East. They expressed regret at the breakdown of the pause in fighting to release hostages and agreed that it was vital that more aid was able to get into Gaza, including by exploring new routes. They also agreed on the critical importance of preventing regional escalation and a unified effort to prevent attempts to threaten maritime security.

Rishi Sunak reflected on his recent conversations with President Zelensky and reiterated that support for our Ukrainian allies must remain steadfast throughout the winter and beyond, the spokesman said.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, December 9. Transport Minister of Tajikistan, Azim Ibrohim, and Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Tajikistan, Valikhan Turekhanov, have discussed options to expand cooperation between the two countries in the transport sector, Trend reports.

Tajik minister noted that Tajikistan maintains a close collaboration with Kazakhstan across all sectors, including transport. It was highlighted that currently, there are 5 operational international routes for passenger transportation between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan: "Khujand  Shymkent," "Khujand - Ush  Konir," "Bokhtar  Sarygash," "Khujand  Zhibek Zholy," and "Khujand-Irgeli."

"Over the past 11 months of this year, the passenger flow between the two countries amounted to 5,259 individuals," Ibrohim said.

Furthermore, it was mentioned that the Kazakh railway offers a 30 to 50 percent reduction in transportation costs via rail, contributing to an increase in cargo volume.

The ambassador of Kazakhstan also expressed satisfaction with the collaboration between the two countries and emphasized commitment to further its expansion, especially within the transportation domain.

According to the Statistics Agency under the President of Tajikistan, more than 744.382 million passengers were transported by all modes of transport in the country from January through October 2023,which is 10.1-percent increase compared to the same period of 2022.
One civilian was killed and another wounded after Russian forces dropped an explosive from a drone on a town in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, authorities said on Saturday. Representational picture(REUTERS)

Prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into the incident, which occurred around 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) in the town of Beryslav. Both victims had been walking on the street at the time of the attack, authorities said.

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ALSO READ| New Philippines- China flashpoint near Scarborough Shoal: All you need to know

Russian forces have regularly attacked the western part of the Kherson region, particularly its eponymous capital, since retreating across the Dnipro River late last year.
Sri Lanka is experiencing a countrywide power outage due to a system failure, a government official said. Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), the country's power monopoly, is working to restore power, CEB spokesperson Noel Priyantha said as per news agency Reuters. Sri Lanka Power Cuts: Women buy food from a roadside stall in Colombo, Sri Lanka.(AP)

In 2022, Sri Lankans faced 10-hour power cuts amid a deepening economic crisis that roiled markets. Then, the electricity regulator urged more than a million government employees to work from home to save fuel as Sri Lanka was unable to pay for fuel shipments because of a foreign exchange shortage.

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"We made a request to the government to allow the public sector, which is about 1.3 million employees, to work from home for the next two days so we can manage the fuel and power shortages better," Janaka Ratnayake, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, had then said.

Power cuts were also extended to 13 hours as the country faced its worst economic crisis in decades when foreign exchange reserves fell by 70%. Sri Lanka had then even struggled to import essentials, including food and fuel.
Pakistan caretaker interior minister, Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti expressed concern that the political leaders in the country are facing terrorist threats ahead of elections in February, Dawn News reported. At a press conference in Islamabad, Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti highlighted a general threat to political figures. Political leaders in the country face significant challenges during public rallies and gatherings in the current climate of terrorism, he said. Pakistan Elections: Army troops in Peshawar, Pakistan.(Representational)

There is a history of terrorist activities during election days as former premiers Shaukat Aziz and Benazir Bhutto, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and Mir Siraj Khan Raisani, were targeted during election campaigns and political rallies from 2002 onwards, he said. On whether armed forces will be in-charge of poll-related security duties, the minister said, Our paramilitary forces are busy in counterterrorism and other operations, but despite all this, we will meet the requirement of the Elections Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the deployment of civil armed forces.

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This comes as Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) wrote to the interior ministry seeking deployment of the army and civil armed forces outside the polling stations. The minister said that paramilitary forces that came under his command were busy in operations.

"Rangers are doing operations in katcha areas of Sindh in difficult conditions. FC (Frontier Corps) Balochistan is overstretched in south and north in deteriorating security conditions of the province," he said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the United Nations Security Council to be reformed, decrying the fact that the United States could veto a ceasefire proposal for Gaza despite huge support from other countries. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president(Bloomberg)

"The United Nations Security Council demand for ceasefire is rejected only by U.S. veto. Is this justice?," Erdogan said in a human rights conference in Istanbul.

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"The U.N. Security Council needs to be reformed," he added.
Ukrainian officials pressed on with a campaign to remove Soviet-era monuments on Saturday as authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv dismantled a statue of a Red Army commander from a central boulevard. TOPSHOT - People gather around a statue depicting Red Army commander Mykola Shchors after it was dismantled as Ukraine's decommunization continues, in Kyiv on December 9, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP)(AFP)

Ukraine has doubled down on efforts to erase all traces of Russian rule amid a full-scale invasion by Kremlin troops, now nearing its two-year mark.

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Municipal workers on Saturday carefully hoisted the hulking statue of Mykola Shchors, a Soviet field commander during the Russian Civil War, off its pedestal.

The structure had occupied a prominent spot on a central artery named after Ukraine's national poet.

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Onlookers stopped to watch and photograph as a giant crane lowered the horse-riding Shchors onto a flatbed truck.

"We need to educate our youth so that they know our history," said Zoya Kobyliukova, 82, who described communism as a "utopia" that led to many people being killed.

"They're doing the right thing to be taking him down."

Kyiv city councillor Leonid Yemets told Reuters the statue would be moved to a museum.

Authorities in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa dismantled a prominent statue of Catherine the Great last year after a months-long campaign by activists.

Thousands of Ukrainian streets and settlements have also been renamed in recent years as part of a de-communisation campaign launched after the 2014 Maidan Revolution, which toppled a pro-Russian leader.
Oleksii Tilnenko hoped this would be the year Ukraine drove Russian forces out of swathes of occupied land. As 2023 draws to a close, his southern hometown of Kherson is still being pounded by shelling and the front line has barely budged. Local residents walk near a house damaged by a Russian missile strike.(REUTERS)

Tilnenko, who fled Kherson last year and lives in Kyiv where he helps internally displaced people (IDPs), believes Russia is racing to rebuild its much larger armed forces to step up its war effort.

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"The hope is the West can somehow mobilise, somehow fire up its defence industry to renew equipment and produce what's needed to defend our ordinary citizens," said the 36-year-old.

More than 21 months into the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two, fighting rages with no end in sight and neither side has landed a telling blow on the battlefield.

Ukrainian soldiers, living in freezing trenches, acknowledge they are exhausted going into a second winter of full-scale war with a resource-rich, nuclear-armed superpower that has more than triple Ukraine's population.

Ukrainians know they must secure Western military aid to carry on - and that it will be harder with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza distracting global attention.

Russian troops, who occupy about 17.5% of Ukraine, are again on the offensive in the east after largely withstanding a Ukrainian counteroffensive that was unable to punch through sprawling defensive lines in the south and east.

The darkening outlook contrasts starkly with Kyiv's buoyant mood a year ago, after Ukrainians defied expectations by beating back Russian troops around their capital before recapturing territory in the northeast and south, including Kherson city.

WHY IT MATTERS

The toll keeps mounting in a war that has already killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of people, destroyed Ukrainian cities, towns and villages, forced millions from their homes and placed hundreds of thousands more under occupation.

Drone and missile strikes are a part of daily life. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, schools are being built underground so children can study in classrooms without dying in an air strike.

Tilnenko heads Crimea SOS, a group that helps Ukraine's 5 million IDPs. He says he has no plans to return to Kherson because of the constant threat from artillery and guided aerial bombs.

He feels Western military aid should have come faster, in larger volumes and in a less piecemeal fashion. Air power vital for the counteroffensive, he says, was sorely lacking this year and promised F-16 fighter jets have not been delivered.

The passage of vital military and financial assistance from the West is no longer happening smoothly.

U.S. President Joe Biden has made a Ukrainian victory a foreign policy goal as he campaigns for re-election in November 2024, but the fate of a $60 billion aid package proposed by Biden is uncertain because of opposition by some Republicans.

A separate, four-year 20-billion-euro ($21.75 billion) European Union military aid proposal has also run into resistance from some bloc members.

The lack of significant Ukrainian headway on the battlefield this year could also hurt Biden politically in an election in which could herald a comeback by former President Donald Trump, who called on Congress this summer to withhold aid to Ukraine.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR 2024

Some Ukrainians, including Tilnenko, believe Russian President Vladimir Putin will use any let-up in fighting to build further defences and regenerate the Russian army for a new assault.

Putin may feel he can escalate Russia's war effort further once, as expected, he has secured another six-year term in the Kremlin in an election next March.

Ukraine was also due to hold a presidential election in March, but this will not happen because of martial law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy put an end to speculation that a workaround would be found last month, saying now was "not the time" for an election.

The strain of the war is likely to weigh on society and the political landscape over the coming year. Reforms underway to make army recruitment and conscription more efficient illustrate the sensitive but important issues the government must navigate.

Tilnenko says war fatigue is a fact of life.

Everyone's tired. The soldiers are tired, victims are tired, the IDPs are tired. But there's no way out. We can't just give up and say 'okay, fine'. At the very least, too many people have died. We hope it'll get easier. And we'll see how it goes.
Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, has appealed to the Western countries for continuing financial support to the country. According to a BBC report, Zelenska spoke to journalist Laura Kuenssberg after Republican senators in the US blocked a bill for support to Ukraine amid its war against Russia. The report said that the aid was worth more than $60billion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Right) and his wife Olena Zelenska(AFP)

In the interview, Zelenska highlighted the desperate need for financial support for the functioning of Ukraine and its fight against invading Russian army.

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"If the world gets tired, they will simply let us die," said Zelenska.

"It hurts us greatly to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help may fade. It is a matter of life for us. Therefore, it hurts to see that," she added.

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Meanwhile, countries like the UK are also urging US politicians to allow aid to Ukraine. In a recent visit to the United States, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron highlighted that not continuing aid to Ukraine would be a "Christmas present" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The US, Germany, the UK have been giving military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded it.

Russia claims to have annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in the east and south of Ukraine and is planning to hold elections in the occupied territory.

US' proposed aid to Ukraine is being blocked by Republicans citing President Joe Biden's failure to stem the flow of immigrants to America from its borders. The Republicans want funds for strengthening border security measures in the USA aimed at preventing the illegal migrants entering the country. Notably, illegal migrants have overwhelmed USA's asylum system and are also affecting its economy with cities like New York City suffering adverse effects.
The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday. Israel-Hamas War: An Israeli soldier gestures while riding in a military vehicle, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Reuters)

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

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The shells are part of a bigger sale that was first reported by Reuters on Friday that the Biden administration is asking the U.S. Congress to approve. The larger package is worth more than $500 million and comprises of 45,000 shells for Israels Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the U.S. weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though U.S. officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.

Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn't align with Washington's effort to press Israel to minimize civilian casualties.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.

The sale will be from U.S. Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.

"Israel will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense," the Pentagon said, adding that there will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of the sale.
U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said critics of his father are "trying to destroy a presidency" through relentless attacks on him and "trying to kill me," in a podcast interview released on Friday. FILE - President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, leaves after a court appearance, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. (AP)

The interview, conducted by his friend, the musician Moby, was released one day after the U.S. Justice Department filed new criminal charges against Hunter Biden, accusing him of failing to pay taxes while funding a lavish lifestyle. It was not clear when the interview, which took place at the younger Biden's art studio in San Francisco, was recorded.

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The charges on Thursday come on top of a Sept. 14 indictment against Hunter Biden for lying about his drug use during his purchase of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.

Hunter Biden, 53, has also been at the center of an impeachment inquiry into his father by Republicans in the House of Representatives. House Republicans allege that Joe Biden, a Democrat, and his family improperly profited from policy decisions he participated in when he was vice president during President Barack Obama's administration in 2009-17.

House Republicans also say the Justice Department improperly interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes.

The White House and the Justice Department have denied wrongdoing.

In the interview, Hunter Biden said he and his wife had to move from their home in the middle of the night after a newspaper published their address while his wife was seven or eight months pregnant and supporters of former President Donald Trump appeared outside of their house and pounded on their door.

"I recognize that none of this is necessarily about me," Hunter Biden said. "In their most base way, what they're trying to do is they're trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle, and so therefore destroying a presidency in that way."

His father is running for reelection in November 2024. The leading contender for the Republican nomination is former President Donald Trump, who has cheered the Biden impeachment inquiry. Trump was the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, and was acquitted by the Senate both times.

Hunter Biden said some of his Republican critics, such as U.S. Representatives Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were "not healthy people." Representatives for the lawmakers did not respond to requests for comment.

"I've never witnessed anything like it," Hunter Biden said. I've never witnessed the level of an invasion of privacy on any individual that I can possibly think of. I've never witnessed a sustained attack on one person like this.
The Israel-Hamas war has given rise to many cultural debates including topics like antisemitism. In light of the recent conflict, YouGov conducted a survey on Friday asking 1500 Americans about the Holocaust. The results of the poll turned out to be shocking as many said they believed the Holocaust is a myth. YouGov surveyed a versatile group of people, ranging from left and right-wingers to Black Americans and Hispanics. Relatives and supporters of hostages kidnapped on the deadly October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas rally for their release, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 9, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne(REUTERS)

Urban areas more prone to agree the Holocaust is a myth

Despite the norm that the lack of education leads to such a situation where people are unaware of some of the most horrific incidents in modern history, the poll results suggested otherwise. 14 per cent of those in urban areas agreed that the Holocaust never happened, while the percentage in suburban and rural areas were significantly lower, with 4 and 3 per cent, respectively.

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The poll also reflected that the younger population was more convinced that a well-documented mass killing of Jews never happened. A shocking 20 per cent of those in the 18-29 age bar were convinced that the Holocaust never happened. This is especially in contrast with the zero per cent of people in the criteria of those 65 and above. Meanwhile, the 30-44 and 45-64 age groups stood at 8 and 2 per cent, respectively.

Left-wing supporters voted agree more than right-wingers

It is not uncommon in the US for right-wing supporters to be portrayed as those in denial of actual historical occurrences. However, the YouGov poll proved otherwise. The number of myth statement supporters for Dems was 10 per cent, with rightists on a lower percentage of 6. Additionally, liberals stood at 7 per cent while Conservatives at 6 per cent. It is unclear why some people think the Holocaust is a myth but whatever the reason, it is shocking nonetheless.
A TikToker named Kyi recently released a video giving Trader Joe's heat for the controversial ethnic naming for some of its products. She captioned the video as: 'POV: U just found out Trader Joe's does THIS to cultural foods.'

In the video, she realizes that the frozen sack of Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken was branded as Trader Ming's. While preparing the food, she turns to the camera, mouthing the words, Wait a damn minute.

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She captioned the video as: 'POV: U just found out Trader Joe's does THIS to cultural foods.'

The video has garnered nearly three million views and is part of a series where Kyi finds various Trader Joe's products with controversial alternative labelling.

Viewers enlightened the TikToker even more by pointing out that the chain's famous Californian grocery chain had other lines, including Trader Giotto's, Trader Joe San, Joe's Diner and Trader Jacques.

Their line of Italian food is titled, Trader Giottos' and an American line is named Joes Diner.'

The Japanese food line is Trader Joe San and for traditional French food they have, Baker Josef and Trader Jacques.

Back in 2020, an online petition with over 2,300 signatures was launched for the company to remove ethnic brand names whose branding was considered racist.

The company even agreed to remove ethnic brand names like Trader Mings,' Arabian Joe's' for Middle Eastern dishes and Trader Joses' from its shelves however, it backtracked later saying it wouldn't change names due to a petition.

As compared to the 2020 reaction to the knowledge of Trader Joe's naming of products, this time people have had a supportive and humorous reaction to the video.

Big missed opportunity to call it Trader Zhou's,' one joked while another said: 'As a Mexican, I rather enjoy Trader Jose'.

'I noticed this too. I have olive oil from Trader Joe's & it's called Trader Giottos,' one quipped.

Also Read: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news

I read somewhere they use a cultural equivalent of the name Joe but idk why, theorized a fan.

'I thought they were all traders that know each other and sell each other their own foods.' quipped another.
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has invalidated certain sections of New Yorks 2022 gun law, specifically those requiring applicants for concealed carry permits to provide a list of their social media accounts. FILE - New York can continue to enforce laws banning firearms in sensitive locations, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 in its first broad review of a host of new gun rules passed in the state after a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year.(AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)(AP)

The 261-page decision, delivered by a three-judge panel, also prohibits the enforcement of restrictions on carrying concealed firearms on publicly accessible private property and in houses of worship.

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The courts decision is grounded in the precedent set by the Supreme Court in last years New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen case, which invalidated the states century-old law restricting the carrying of concealed firearms.

The judges stated, Disclosing ones social media accounts  including ones that are maintained pseudonymously  forfeits anonymity in that realm. Conditioning a concealed carry license on such a disclosure imposes a burden on the right to bear arms that is without sufficient analogue in our nations history or tradition of firearms regulation.

ALSO READ| US Rep Elise Stefanik and Jared Moskowitz call for dismissal of Harvard, MIT, UPenn presidents in antisemitism Row

What is Concealed Carry Improvement Act?

New Yorks Concealed Carry Improvement Act had mandated that gun license applicants submit a list of their social media accounts from the past three years for state officials to review.

The "Concealed Carry Improvement Act" in New York mandated that individuals applying for gun licenses provide a comprehensive list of their active and past social media accounts spanning the last three years for evaluation by state authorities.(designer491)

However, the court has allowed other aspects of the law to remain, such as the requirement for applicants to demonstrate good moral character and to list household and family members on their license application.

Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, a leading gun rights organization, expressed satisfaction with the courts decision saying, Governor Hochul and her cabal in Albany never seem to get the message, and in turn, [Gun Owners of America] is proud to have played a major role in rebuking her unconstitutional law. Nevertheless, this was not a total victory, and we will continue the fight until this entire law is sent to the bowels of history where it belongs.

Courts opinion reads like an insubordinate rebuke

Sam Paredes, a board member of the Gun Owners Foundation, voiced disappointment that the good moral character provision was upheld.

Its encouraging that the Court blocked the intrusive social media provisions, but just as intrusive are the processes needed to confirm someone is of good moral character, which the Court has inexplicably chosen to uphold, Paredes said.

Frustratingly, much of this Courts opinion reads like an insubordinate rebuke of the Supreme Court, which is a disgrace and cannot be allowed to stand. We are weighing action at the nations High Court.

ALSO READ| White House to present ground-breaking Ocean Justice Strategy at COP28

The panel judges defended their decision to uphold the good moral character clause, arguing that it aligns with the nations historical traditions of gun regulation. They clarified that the definition of character in the Concealed Carry Improvement Act serves as an indicator of potential danger, assessing whether an applicant is likely to pose a threat to themselves, others, or public safety.

The ruling acknowledges the broad consensus that preventing dangerous individuals from possessing lethal weapons is a fundamental part of the nations tradition of firearm regulation.

New York Attorney General Letitia James welcomed the courts decision to leave intact the provisions of the gun law deemed critical for ensuring the safety of New Yorkers.
Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) have called for the immediate dismissal of the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania due to their handling of antisemitism on their campuses. Elise Stefanik and Jared Moskowitz lead charge for the ousting of Ivy League Presidents for antisemitism neglect(AP/AFP)

The demand was made through a letter, co-signed by 72 other lawmakers, to the board members of these prestigious institutions. The letter accuses the university leaders of enabling the dehumanization of Jewish individuals and insists on the creation of an action plan to protect Jewish and Israeli students and faculty.

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The letter highlights the discomfort and hostility faced by Jewish and Israeli students, including targeted harassment, protests advocating for the elimination of the Jewish state, and even acts of violence.

ALSO READ| 'Harvard ideology evil suffering toxicity of intellectual slovenliness', prominent rabbi quits university panel

The lawmakers state, Jewish students should have found comfort on their campuses. Instead, many Jewish and Israeli students have faced an increasingly hostile educational environment. They argue that this is a direct result of the failure of university leadership.

Sparks investigation

Earlier this week, Claudine Gay, Liz McGill, and Sally Kornbluth, the presidents of Harvard, UPenn, and MIT respectively, were scrutinized by House lawmakers for their response to on-campus protests. These protests included calls for violent armed resistance against the state of Israel and Israeli civilians, as well as the genocide of Jews.

During their testimony, Gay and McGill avoided direct answers to Stefaniks questions about whether the violent anti-Jewish demonstrations violated the Ivy League schools codes of conduct. Gay expressed her personal abhorrence towards antisemitic speech but emphasized Harvards commitment to free expression.

McGill stated that calls for the genocide of the Jewish people would only be considered bullying or harassment if they were directed and severe, pervasive, adding that it is a context-dependent decision.

Kornbluth responded by saying that such language violated conduct codes only if it was targeting individuals, not making public statements. She mentioned that chants calling for the elimination of the Jewish people could be antisemitic depending on the context.

US Reps think the university presidents are dismissive

Stefanik and Moskowitz expressed dissatisfaction with the university presidents responses, describing them as abhorrent. They criticized the presidents for being evasive and dismissive when asked to condemn actions calling for the genocide of Jews. The letter demands the immediate removal of the presidents and the implementation of a plan to ensure the safety of Jewish and Israeli individuals on campus.

ALSO READ| I was ashamed, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla condemns Harvard, MIT, Penn presidents' Capitol Hill testimony

The letter concludes with a stern warning: Anything less than these steps will be seen as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture. The world is watching  you can stand with your Jewish students and faculty, or you can choose the side of dangerous antisemitism.

Stefanik has also announced that a formal congressional investigation into the three universities will be launched.
The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan called on Saturday for a stronger international push to suppress North Koreas development of nuclear weapons and missiles and its military cooperation with other countries amid concerns about its alleged arms transfers to Russia. South Korea's National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, center, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, left, and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Takeo Akiba.(AP)

The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

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The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral security cooperation in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

In a joint news conference after the meeting, Cho said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Koreas obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its denuclearization and bans any weapons trade with other countries.

We agreed to strengthen a coordination among the three countries to secure the international communitys strict implementation" of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, Cho said.

Cho said the three also highly praised South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia announcing their own sanctions on North Korea over its spy satellite launch last month. North Korea argues it the right to launch spy satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhance the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

Following the meeting, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defense cooperation. He said they also seek to improve response to North Korean missile testing and space launch activities, including a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches that the countries plan to start in December.

Sullivan said the countries will also respond to North Korean cybercrimes, cryptocurrency money laundering and other efforts to bypass U.S.-led international sanctions aimed at choking off funds going to its nuclear weapons and missile program.

When it comes to the DPRK, we are keeping our eye on the ball, because it continues to represent a threat to international peace and security and regional peace and security, Sullivan said, using the initials of North Koreas formal name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Sullivan held separate bilateral talks Friday with South Koreas national security office director, Cho Tae-yong, and Japans national security secretariat secretary general, Takeo Akiba.

Sullivan also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

At a dinner reception for Sullivan and Akiba on Friday, Yoon said it is critical the three countries continue to build on his August summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David, where they vowed to deepen security and economic cooperation.

South Koreas presidential office said Sullivan expressed support for the Souths recent decision to partially suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on reducing border tensions, which had established border buffers and no-fly zones, to strengthen front-line surveillance of the North.

At their one-on-one meeting Friday, Cho and Akiba discussed building broader international solidarity in dealing with North Koreas nuclear and missile program. They said it poses a threat not only to the Korean Peninsula, but also to the regional and international community as a whole, Seoul said.

The U.S., South Korean and Japanese national security advisers last held a trilateral meeting in June in Tokyo.

The discussions between the national security advisers in Seoul came after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese nuclear envoys met in Tokyo for separate talks on North Korea.

The nuclear envoys shared their assessments about North Koreas recent satellite launch and weapons development and discussed ways to more effectively respond to North Koreas cyber theft activities and other illicit efforts to evade U.S.-led international sanctions and finance its weapons program, the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministries said.

South Korean intelligence officials have said the Russians likely provided technology support for North Koreas successful satellite launch in November, which followed two failed launches.

North Korea has said its spy satellite transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the U.S. and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasnt released any of those satellite photos. Many outside experts question whether the Norths satellite is sophisticated enough to send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

Kim has vowed to launch more satellites, saying his military needs to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

South Korean intelligence and military officials have said North Korea may have shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia beginning in August, weeks before Kim traveled to Russias Far East for a rare summit with Putin that sparked international concerns about a potential arms deal. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied U.S. and South Korean claims about the alleged arms transfers.
The family of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in police custody, have been banned from travelling to France to collect a rights prize awarded posthumously, their lawyer said. Mahsa Amini died aged 22 on September 16, 2022, when she was being held by Iran's religious morality police for allegedly breaching strict dress code for women- not wearing hijab. Her family and supporters say she was killed while Iranian authorities have claimed that she died in custody from a previously undisclosed medical condition. A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration.(AFP)

The European Union awarded its top rights honour- Sakharov Prize- to her and the global movement her death triggered. Her family lawyer in France, Chirinne Ardakani, told news agency AFP that Mahsa Amini's parents and brother had been "prohibited from boarding the flight that was to take them to France for the presentation of the Sakharov Prize".

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The family has been banned from leaving Iran despite having a valid visa and their passports had been confiscated, he said, adding that the Iranian authorities "have never been so mobilised to prevent the families of the victims from speaking to the international community".

Mahsa Amini's death had triggered mass protests in Iran, generating a global movement- Woman, Life, Freedom- that called for the end of Iran's imposition of hijab for all women. Iranian security forces cracked down on the protests domestically, killing hundreds. Many have been executed for participating in what officials have called riots but the campaign continues in cities around the world.

The 50,000-euro Sakharov Prize was to be handed over in a European Parliament ceremony on December 13 to the family.
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FEMA Awards Nearly $8.3 M to Mass for COVID Vaccination Costs

BOSTON  The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $8.3 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse it for the cost of providing vaccinations and preventative treatment to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $8,251,189 in Public Assistance grants will reimburse the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the costs of contracting to both operate a statewide network of mobile vaccination sites and to provide in-home vaccinations and treatments to homebound patients between July 2022 and May 2023.

One grant of $3,553,090 will cover the cost of contracting with CDR Health Care to provide 24 Registered Nurses for 6,659 hours, and 31 Certified Nursing Assistant/Licensed Practical Nurses for 7,948 hours, as well as costs such as meals, hotel, per diem, wages and mileage.

Those nurses performed telephone outreach, scheduled vaccinations, and provided vaccinator staffing to administer 3,457 vaccinations and 74 therapeutic preventive treatments.

A second grant of $4,698,099 will provide reimbursement for contracting with several firms to operate vaccination sites at 419 locations around the state and provide 19,444 vaccinations to individuals who met certain eligibility criteria.

Services provided included screening patients, administering the vaccine, vaccine storage compliance, documenting procedures, and personal protective equipment protocol compliance.

"FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs," said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. "Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments  as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities  for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation's ongoing recovery."

FEMA's Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.

So far, FEMA has provided more than $2.6 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.
Drew Zuckerman reads at the lighting of the menorah at City Hall on Thursday night with his mother, Rabbi Rachel Barenblat. PreviousNext

North Adams Menorah Symbol of Perseverance, Hope



The menorah seen from outside City Hall. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The first "candle" on the city's menorah was lighted on Thursday night marking the beginning of the eight nights of Hanukkah.

The "Festival of Lights" marks the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. There was enough oil to light the menorah for one day but it miraculously lasted eight.

The holiday "celebrates light in the darkness, the persistence of hope, and the persistence of us," said Rabbi Rachel Barenblat of Congregation Beth Israel, who had arrived at City Hall after attending the menorah lighting in Williamstown.

"This means a lot to all of us in the community to have this happen here and this is a tradition we can count on every year," she said to the dozen or attendees.

There are nine candles on a menorah, including one to light the others. Each night during Hanukkah, one candle is lit.

Barenblat's son Drew Zuckerman has been lighting the first candle since the city began marking the holiday in 2018 with the installment of a menorah in front of the Christmas tree in Dr. Rosenthal Square.

Now 14, he pushed the button that times the new electric menorah to turn on one more bulb each night.

He and his mother reflected on the traumas the Jewish people have persevered through over the last two millennia.

"Two thousand, two hundred years ago an invading empire desecrated our Temple in Jerusalem and made the practice of Judaism illegal. We drove them out and rededicated our holy place. The commemoration of that rededication became Hanukkah. The Greco-Syrians did not destroy us," Zuckerman said.

Barenblat continued that "a few hundred years later, the Roman empire conquered Jerusalem and destroyed our holy place. We re-envisioned our traditions to keep them alive in a post-Temple era. We renewed Judaism and carried it with us all over the world. The Romans did not destroy us."

Then the Crusades decimated Jewish communities across Europe, and Jews were expelled from England in 1290 and Spain in 1492. But the Crusaders and the "whims of those monarchs" did not destroy them, said Barenblat.

"Then one of the most pressing events to this day, in the 20th century, the Nazis attempted to exterminate Jews and Judaism," said Zuckerman. "But as you can see here, the Nazis did not destroy us."

The rabbi said the lighting of a menorah in the window proclaims that hatred will not destroy them, that the light of hope and their tradition still shines.

"These Hanukkah lights are a reminder of our persistence. We stand up today against anti-Semitism  and also Islamophobia, transphobia, homophobia, and all forms of hatred or bigotry," she said.

"These Hanukkah lights are a reminder to keep persisting, to stand up for our neighbors as ourselves. May the light we find in these Hanukkah candles keep shining throughout the years to come."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. The European Commission announced an initial humanitarian aid of 125 million for the Palestinian population in 2024 due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the European Commission communique says, Trend reports.

It is noted that the funding will be used to support humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The document notes that in the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian needs have reached record levels, the focus will be on emergency response to save lives and restore access to basic needs such as water, food, healthcare, shelter and sanitation. At the same time, priority support will be aimed at protecting the most vulnerable groups.

In the West Bank, where many Palestinian communities face threats or have already been forcibly displaced, EU-funded humanitarian aid projects will provide protection services such as legal aid or material support for those affected by settler violence, confiscations property or loss of livelihood. Access to basic services will also be maintained.
Im the first one in my family to escape. Now that I know its not impossible, I want to bring the rest of my family out, says Gim Sung, a defector from North Korea who risked brutal punishment to flee Kim Jong-uns hermit kingdom in search of a better life.

Although the number of people fleeing North Korea dwindled dramatically during the pandemic, before 2020 thousands would attempt the perilous journey every year, despite knowing that they will be sent to one of the countrys notorious prison camps if they are caught.

Some, like Gim, make it safely to neighbouring South Korea, and go on to tell the tale. Others are not so lucky, at least at the first attempt, particularly if they first try crossing the large, porous land border into China, which has a policy of returning defectors en masse to its allies in Pyongyang.
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On Monday, December 25, millions around the world will celebrate Christmas Day.

Every year, the holiday, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, is celebrated on the 25th of December. This year, the religious holiday falls on a Monday, which means that those who celebrate, and many other employees, will receive the day off.

First introduced by Congress in 1885 when it was decided that federal employees should have certain days off from work, the list of US federal holidays is made up of 11 days of significance that Americans recognise - and celebrate.

To ensure that these holidays are observed, certain guidelines have been put in place, with federal holidays that fall on a Saturday observed by federal employees on the previous Friday, while holidays that fall on Sunday are observed the following Monday.

On these 11 days, all non-essential federal offices are closed, while banks, post offices and schools may also be closed. However, that doesnt mean that all Americans will receive a day off from work, as employees in the private sector may or may not get the day off, depending on their employer.

From Memorial Day to Thanksgiving, these are the dates of the 2023 federal holidays.

2023 federal holidays:

New Years Day: Sunday, January 1 (Observed Monday, January 2)

Martin Luther King Jr Day: Monday, January 16

Presidents Day: Monday, February 20

Memorial Day: Monday, May 29

Juneteenth: Friday, June 16

Independence Day: Tuesday, July 4

Labor Day: Monday, September 4

Indigenous Peoples Day (also observed as Columbus Day): Monday, October 9

Veterans Day: Saturday, November 11 (Observed Friday, November 10)

Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 23

Christmas: Monday, December 25

Other important days to note:

Valentines Day: Tuesday, February 14

St Patricks Day: Friday, March 17

Passover: Thursday, April 6

Good Friday: Friday, April 7

Easter: Sunday, April 9

Mothers Day: Sunday, May 14

Fathers Day: Sunday, June 18

First night of Hanukkah: Thursday, December 7
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Hanukkah, the Jewish festival that commemorates the miracle of a menorah burning for eight full days after the desecration of the Temple of Jerusalem, is upon us once more.

Starting on Thursday 7 December, the Jewish Festival of Lights is celebrated by lighting a menorah, or a hanukkiah, for eight days and exchanging gifts with loved ones.

Its also observed by eating a gargantuan amount of delicious, mouth-watering food, much to the delight of celebrants around the world.

From jam-filled doughnuts to chocolate coins, sumptuous potato latkes and more, the food thats served during Hanukkah is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the jubilant festival.

Heres everything you need to know about Hanukkah food. Chag Sameach (Happy holiday)!

Latkes

(Getty Images (Getty Images)

When the Jewish people reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem from the King Antiochus and his troops, as the story of Hanukkah goes, they could only find enough oil in the temple to light the menorah for one day.

However, when the menorah (a candelabra) was lit with the oil, it somehow managed to carry on burning for eight full days, hence the eight-day duration of Hanukkah.

To commemorate the miracle of the tiny amount of oil transcending expectations to light the holy menorah, during the Festival of Lights Jewish people eat a lot of food thats been fried in oil.

One of the most popular foods eaten during Hanukkah are latkes, which are fried potato pancakes.

Some Jewish people eat latkes sweet, accompanied with apple sauce, while others prefer them savoury, served with sour cream.

Either way, theyre a treat for the taste buds.

Sufganiyot

(Getty Images/iStockphoto (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A sufganiyah, or sufganiyot for plural, is a round, deep-fried doughnut typically filled with strawberry jam thats eaten on Hanukkah.

Topped with powdered sugar, these delectable treats are one of the most recognisable foods affiliated with the Jewish festival.

In recent years, Jewish people in Israel and around the world have become more experimental with their sufganiyot fillings.

You can now choose from an array of flavours, including chocolate cream, vanilla cream, caramel and cappuccino.

Many bakeries also offer miniature-sized sufganiyot, so you can tuck into a selection of different flavours without going overboard (although if you do, who can blame you).

Gelt

(Getty Images/iStockphoto (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

On Hanukkah, children are often given chocolate money in celebration of the festival.

In Yiddish, a language that the Jewish people began using in Europe around 1,000 years ago, the translation of money is gelt.

The chocolate coins given out on Hanukkah are wrapped in silver or gold foil and eaten in abundance by children and adults alike.

According to Rabbi A. P. Bloch, the custom of giving out gelt on Hanukkah began in 17th Century Poland, when Jewish parents would give their children money to give to their teachers.

In time, as children demanded their due, money was also given to children to keep for themselves, he says.

Bloch explains that according to 17th Century Rabbi Magen Avraham, poor yeshiva students would visit the homes of Jewish benefactors who would then give them Hanukkah money.

The rabbis approved of the custom of giving money on Hanukkah because it publicised the story of the miracle of oil, Rabbi Bloch writes.

Beef brisket

(Getty Images/iStockphoto (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Beef brisket is a delicacy thats served at many Jewish festivals, including Rosh Hashanah, Passover and Hanukkah.

It first became popular in eastern Europe when Jewish living the region werent able to afford more expensive cuts of meat.

The often-impoverished Jews of eastern Europe could rarely afford to live high on the cow - to buy the more tender cuts from the rib and chuck, Gil Marks writes in Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.

[So] they learned how to make do with the cheaper, less desirable parts.

Brisket is taken from the chest of the cow, and is often made the day before its eaten.

It can be served with side dishes such as potato latkes or roasted vegetables.
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Stephen Fry has revealed the extent of the injuries he sustained as a result of a six-foot fall from the stage of the O2 Arena, where he was delivering a speech on Artificial Intelligence.

In September, Fry was rushed to hospital after giving a talk on the final day of the CogX Festival technology conference. As he exited the stage, he dropped six feet (1.8m) onto hard concrete and broke his leg in several places, as well with his pelvis and bunch of ribs.

In a new interview with BBC Radio Two on Saturday (9 December), Fry revealed the full extent of his injuries, which left him unable to work.

Fry praised his lucky stars that he did not injure his spine or skull after the shock fall, but detailed the toll the injuries took on his daily life.

I did my bow after delivering this lecture, turned to go off stage and didnt realise that I was walking off the part of the stage where there was nothing  just a six-foot drop onto concrete, he told BBC Radio Two host Claudia Winkleman of his O2 incident.

"So I broke my right leg in a couple of places and my hip and pelvis in four places and a bunch of ribs."

After his injuries, Fry was using a walking stick to help with his mobility. He says that now he can walk without a cane, but grows increasingly anxious in busy public places.

Its been fine so far but I feel slightly self-conscious without the stick. The cane, more than helping me walk, is a flag to everyone around. I live in the centre of London where the pavements are absolutely packed. So [this time of year] you get slightly nervous with people stopping to take pictures of lights, or the [pavement] is slightly slippy.

Stephen Fry suffered broken bones after a fall earlier this year (PA Wire)

Fry will now return to work to host ITVs revived version of the iconic gameshow Jeopardy!, a popular quiz show that has been airing in the US since the Sixties.

The 66-year-old Golden Globe-nominated actor added he was now fine, as like Lazarus, I cast aside my crutches, and will return to work.

When asked what the secret was behind his relatively quick recovery, he said constant physiotherapy was key, though painkillers that he was reluctant to take did help to speed up the process.

Fry recalled growing somewhat alarmed when the doctor prescribed him the controversial painkiller Oxycontin on his first night at the hospital he was being treated in south London, since the drug is known for being a highly addictive opioid. Fry has also spoken openly in the past about his previous relationship with drug addiction in his memoir More Fool Me.

However, Fry decided to take the doctors advice and take the painkiller who told him the pills are not there for your comfort, they are there for your recovery and to save the NHS money.

After Frys fall, Greenwich Council said it had been alerted to the incident and was considering opening an investigation.

Fry photographed in June (PA)

Separately, organisers of the CogX Festival have said they have launched their own enquiry into the fall. A spokesperson for the event said at the time: We were deeply concerned to hear of Stephens accident after giving his inspirational speech on the impact of AI.

We are thinking of him and wishing him a swift recovery. We have opened our own enquiry and until then we are not able to share any further details.

A spokesperson for the council added: The Council has received an accident report following an event last week at the O2, and is considering whether any further investigations are needed.

As well as his many roles in films and TV series over the years, including his Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1997 Oscar Wilde biopic Wilde, Fry served as the host on the BBCs popular quiz show QI from 2003 until 2015, when he was replaced by Sandi Toksvig.

He has starred in blockbuster franchises including Peter Jacksons The Hobbit trilogy, Guy Ritchies Sherlock Holmes films opposite Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, and Tim Burtons adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

Fry will host ITVs revived gameshow Jeopardy! though a release date is not yet confirmed.
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It was a family affair for Princess Beatrice at the Princess of Wales third annual Christmas concert.

The 35-year-old royal attended Princess Kates carol service at Westminster Abbey with her husband, Edoardo Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and her seven-year-old stepson, Christopher Woolf. As they made their way inside Westminster Abbey, Beatrice was pictured holding hands with her stepson.

Beatrice, who also shares two-year-old daughter Sienna Elizabeth with Mozzi, could be seen wearing a tartan Beulah London Ahana long-sleeve dress and a pair of blue velvet heeled ankle boots from Zara. Her property developer husband was dressed sharply in a navy suit, while Christopher - affectionately known as Wolfie - attended the Christmas concert in a dapper beige suit jacket with green trim and navy blue trousers.

Princess Kates annual Together At Christmas event reflects on the 41-year-old royals Shaping Us campaign, which launched in January. The initiative aims to highlight and promote the significance of the formative years of a childs life. The Christmas celebration was billed as a moment to thank all those who work to support babies, young children, and families in communities across the UK.

The Prince and Princess of Wales three children - Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five - were also in attendance for their mothers Christmas concert. Unsurprisingly, the youngest royal continued his famous antics when he attempted to blow out his sisters candle, though Charlotte couldnt help but laugh.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly one year ago, Wolfie made his second public appearance with the royal family for a Christmas church service. During the annual walk to the Christmas church service at St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, Wolfie was seen holding his fathers hand and walking between him and Beatrice. His first appearance with the royal family took place during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs Platinum Jubilee Pageant in June 2022.

Princess Beatrice and the 40-year-old entrepreneur were married at All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park in July 2020. He previously welcomed son Wolfie with American architect Dara Huang. In October 2021, the royal couple announced the arrival of their first child together - daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi.

We are delighted to share that we have named our daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, they shared in a social media statement at the time, adding that she was born on 18 September. We are all doing well and Wolfie is the best big brother to Sienna.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Mozzi also shared the same photograph on Instagram at the time, along with the caption: Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi. Our life together has just begun, and I cant wait to see all the amazing things that await us.

Feeling so much love and gratitude for my amazing wife, baby Sienna and Wolfie, he continued. These are the days I never want to forget. This week, a friend said to me the sweetest saying that with every child you grow a whole new heart.

He added: A massive thank you to the midwife and the amazing team at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

To celebrate their daughters second birthday, Beatrices husband took to Instagram to share a photo of the toddler with her back facing the camera, wearing a floral dress and a giant sombrero. Happy Birthday Baby Girl. You bring us so much love and joy every day, Mozzi captioned the photo.
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A long-sought and disputed project in drought-prone California aimed at capturing more water during heavy rain storms reached a key milestone on Friday when Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration finished an environmental review for an underground tunnel.

The tunnel would be about 45 miles (72 kilometers) long and 36 feet (10.9 meters) wide, or large enough to carry more than 161 million gallons of water per hour. The tunnel would be another way to get water from Northern California, where most of the state's water is, to Southern California, where most of the people live.

The Newsom administration says the tunnel is a necessary upgrade of the state's aging infrastructure because it will protect the water supply from earthquakes and capture more water from rainstorms known as atmospheric rivers that scientists say have been increasing because of climate change.

But environmental groups, Native American tribes and other opponents say the project will take more water out of the river than is necessary and will harm endangered species of fish.

Friday, the California Department of Water Resources released its final environmental impact report for the project. The report is the last step of a complex and lengthy state regulatory process. But it doesn't mean the project is close to being built. The project still must complete a federal environmental review and obtain various state and federal permits. That process is expected to last until 2026.

State officials have not said how much it will cost to build it. A previous estimate on a different version of the tunnel was for $16 billion. State officials will release a new cost estimate next year.

Still, Friday's report is significant because it signals the Newsom administration's commitment to completing the project despite strong opposition from communities in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta region. Newsom says climate change is threatening the state's access to clean drinking water, warning the state's supply could drop 10% by 2040.

The state recently went three years without significant, sustained rain. The drought dropped reservoirs to dangerously low levels and forced millions of people to ration their supply. That drought ended suddenly last winter when California was hit by a series of storms that flooded the state's rivers and filled lake beds that had been dry for years.

State officials said had this tunnel existed during those storms, the state could have captured and stored enough water for 2.3 million people to use for one year.

Doing nothing is not an option, Newsom said.

Environmental groups say the Newsom administration is ignoring their concerns. The Sierra Club said in a statement that the tunnel's construction and operation would cause mass environmental destruction for Delta communities and ecosystems. Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association, called it an extinction plan for salmon.

Jon Rosenfield, science director for San Francisco Baykeeper, said California already diverts more than half of the water flowing through Central Valley rivers for farms and big cities, which threaten native species of fish.

The science clearly demonstrates that fish need increased river flows to survive, but state agencies are ignoring it, Rosenfield said. Chinook salmon, steelhead, longfin smelt and other fish that have thrived here for millennia cannot survive the Newsom administration's assault on San Francisco Bay and its watershed.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the Newsom administration has secured more than $1 billion in funding over the last three years to increase flows in rivers for environmental purposes and to expand habitat for fish and other wildlife.

Our commitment remains steadfast for water resilience, not only for human communities, but also for our natural communities, he said.

Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the agency will review the findings from the environmental impact report to determine how best to invest our resources. The water district provides water to 19 million people.

The recent drought was a powerful indicator of just how vulnerable the State Water Project is  deliveries were so low last year that some Southern California communities could only get a fraction of the water they normally rely on, Hagekhalil said. Preventing this from happening again will take bold action and a clear recognition of the challenges we face.
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A young Jewish woman was violently assaulted and robbed while walking in London, with the Metropolitan Police investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.

At around 4.30pm on Thursday, the 20-year-old was robbed on Rostrevor Avenue in Stamford Hill, north London, by two women who ran off towards the A10.

Footage of the incident circulated online after it was shared by the neighbourhood watch group Shomrim, which showed the woman being dragged to the floor.

Detective Inspector Mike Herrick said the woman was left terrified and suffered bruises, but did not need to go to hospital.

Police are taking any suggestion of a hate crime incredibly seriously (London Shomrim)

He said: This was a shocking incident and terrifying experience for the victim who was lucky to not receive more serious injuries.

We dont underestimate the psychological impact of offences such as these and we are offering her every support as we work to identify the suspects.

We know footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media and understand that there will be added concerns about the motivation behind the attack.

We will of course keep an open mind about the motive and continue to work closely with the local community to allay any fears.

The Met Police added on Twiter: Video footage of a young Jewish woman being violently assaulted and robbed in Haringey yesterday has been widely shared this evening.

We are not sharing the video in full, but we can confirm that an investigation has been launched.

Officers take any suggestion of hate crime incredibly seriously and our investigation will include a thorough assessment of the motive for the attack.
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A depraved sex offender has been jailed for raping a woman while she was sleeping on the Tube on her way back from a night out.

Ryan Johnston, 37, attacked a 20-year-old woman on the Piccadilly Line in front of other passengers, including a tourist and his young son.

The incident happened in February 2020 just three hours after Johnston performed a sex act in front of two women and chased them home in Bounds Green, north London at 5am. The women noticed the man stood outside a house with his trousers round his ankles, looking through the window and masturbating.

Feeling scared, the women ran away, and Johnston then began shouting and chased them down the street to their home, the British Transport Police said.

Johnston banged on their door and forced his hand through their letterbox while they hid under a stairwell until he left. Several hours later, he then boarded a Piccadilly Line train at Heathrow Terminal Five.

Johnston attacked a sleeping woman on a Picadilly Line train (stock image) (AFP via Getty Images)

Johnston walked through the carriage to a young woman who was coming home from a night out with friends and was asleep. He sexually assaulted her and then raped her as she sat unconscious, BTP said. A tourist witnessed the offence while travelling in the same carriage with his 11-year-old son and reported the attack later that morning.

The incident was not captured on CCTV and despite extensive enquiries, officers were unable to identify the victim or any other report made to police.

Two years later, following a BTP review of historic rape cases, Johnston was identified, and he was arrested at HMP Brixton in December 2022 where he was serving time for burglary.

Johnston was charged with rape, attempted rape and two counts of sexual assault. He was also charged with outraging public decency in relation to another complainant.

Johnston had pleaded not guilty to all five charges, but was convicted after a jury found him guilty following a two-week trial at Inner London Crown Court earlier this year.

He was sentenced on Friday at Inner London Crown Court for nine years imprisonment and was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a life-long signature on the Sex Offenders Register.

Siobhan Blake, Chief Crown Prosecutor and Rape and Serious Sexual Offences lead, said: Women should be free to enjoy a night out without fear of sexual assault or rape. The actions of depraved men like Johnston, highlight the fact that there can be no let up in our fight against the perpetrators of sexual violence.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Kathrine Spencer said Jonstons sentencing has sent a strong message to survivors.

The offences committed by Ryan Johnston show him to be a dangerous individual who viewed women with contempt, she said. He was simply concerned with his own sexual gratification at any cost. I hope this sends out a strong message to survivors of these offences that we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice to make society a safer place.
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A family was forced to hold a second funeral for their loved one after a hospital gave them the wrong body to cremate.

The unnamed family held a service three weeks ago after a strangers remains were cremated at Sirhowy Valley Crematorium.

It has since emerged that there was a mixup in the morgue at The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, South Wales that meant the wrong body was provided.

An internal investigation has been launched into the incident and the mistake has been put down to an isolated human error.

Have you been affected by this? Email athena.stavrou@independent.co.uk

We are utterly heartbroken about what has happened to the family, and we take responsibility for this isolated incident, a spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said. Words cannot express how sorry we are.

We have met with the family to fully inform them about this situation and to offer them as much support as they need.

They went on to reassure the public that this was an isolated and exceptional case. It is also believed that there is no known family of the other patient that was cremated.

The health board spokesperson added: No words we can say, or actions we can take, can put this right. We are deeply sorry, and our thoughts and full support remain with the family.

A spokesperson for the crematorium, which is part of Westerleigh Group, toldthe South WalesArgus: We pride ourselves on providing exceptional care and support to all families we serve and as such we treat their right to privacy incredibly seriously.

We do not have permission to provide any comments without the consent of families.
On December 8, British Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton and their three children attended the Together for Christmas service at Westminster Abbey. The two older children - Princess Charlotte and Prince George - behaved with restraint, while 5-year-old Louis had as much fun as he could, which irritated his mother.

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While the family was participating in the church service, the youngest duke's attention was drawn to his sister's candle. As the editors of the Today newspaper noted, Kate Middleton could not contain her indignant look.

The young prince, instead of politely standing for the service, began to blow out Princess Charlotte's candle, which the paparazzi managed to capture. The dissatisfied face of the Princess of Wales, who was watching, was also caught in the lens.

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According to etiquette, Kate Middleton couldn't make a comment to her son in public during a carol service, but she couldn't hide her slightly scrunched-up face when the youngest member of the family started his prank.

After the official part, the children ran to throw their letters into the box. This year, they sent Christmas greetings not to Santa, but to other children who have difficulties for some reason.

This was the first event of its kind that little Louis had been taken to, so the paparazzi's attention was focused on the prince. He didn't disappoint his fans: he did a lot of grimacing, running around, and entertaining his brother and sister.

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This year's event was focused on children. Princess Beatrice brought her stepson Christopher Woolf, as well as the two daughters of Queen Elizabeth II's first grandson Peter Phillips, Savannah and Isla. Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman also brought their children.

According to the palace representatives, the concert was organized to "thank everyone who works to support babies, young children and families in communities across the UK."

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Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that artificial intelligence showed what the children of Kate Middleton and Prince William might look like after coming of age. Prince Louis charmed everyone again.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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Sir Keir Starmer has attempted to calm the storm of criticism over his comments about Margaret Thatcher by telling an audience in Scotland that she did terrible things.

The Labour leader sought to draw a line under the row after he appeared to praise the former Tory prime minister and her moves to boost Britains entrepreneurialism.

On a visit to Scotland on Friday, Sir Keir insisted he is no fan of Ms Thatcher and said that he profoundly disagrees with some of her actions.

He said she did huge damage to communities across the UK  particularly in Scotland  only days after listing her as among former leaders who delivered meaningful change.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, he said Baroness Thatcher had sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism.

The attempt to appeal to traditional Tory voters fell flat with some Labour supporters and Sir Keir was mocked by Conservative MPs as a Thatcher fan boy in the Commons.

But asked whether he was a fan at a Scottish Labour gala dinner in Glasgow on Thursday evening, he said: No, absolutely not.

The comments, heard on an audio recording, were met with applause by the audience in Scotland, where the former Tory leaders privatisation agenda hit particularly hard.

Keir Starmer sought to draw a line under the row in Scotland (Getty Images)

She did terrible things, particularly here in Scotland which everybody in this room, myself included, profoundly disagrees with, Sir Keir said.

The point I was trying to make in a piece that we penned last week was that there are some political leaders who have a mission, a plan, that they implement, he told the audience.

The Labour leader went on to say: [Clement] Attlee, of course, was one of them, the New Jerusalem. Thatcher, whether you liked her or you didnt like her, you couldnt say she didnt have a plan, or a mission.

Sir Keir added: You can say someone has a mission and a plan and disagree profoundly with them.

Baroness Thatcher won three general elections in her 11-year reign, but remains a divisive figure, including over an agenda of privatisation that saw the decline of industries such as coal and steel.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar did not repeat Sir Keirs supportive comments this week, instead describing Baroness Thatcher as a destructive force for our country.

Sir Keir was following in the footsteps of his predecessor Sir Tony Blair, who also praised the Iron Lady in the run-up to his 1997 general election landslide.

But he faced a furious backlash from left-wing MPs, with Beth Winter saying the former Tory PM caused poverty and deprivation not seen since the Dickensian era.

Some backbenchers urged the leadership to distance itself from any praise for Ms Thatcher. Labour MP Ian Byrne said her legacy was inequality, hunger, destitution and misery.

Earlier this week, Labours national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden said he would not use the word admire to sum up how he felt about Ms Thatcher, and would instead say she was successful electorally.

Meanwhile, two people have been charged in connection with alleged disorder offences following a protest during which Sir Keir was confronted by pro-Palestine activists.

On Thursday night, Police Scotland said a man, 33, and a woman, 26, were arrested after Sir Keir was faced by protesters as he arrived in Glasgow.

Footage showed him arriving at Glasgow Central station, where a group of activists were waiting with Palestinian flags.

Sir Keir has faced criticism for refusing to back a ceasefire in Gaza, with the party leadership in favour of calling for humanitarian pauses to allow people to leave the territory and for aid to enter.
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Nigel Farage could soon stage a return to frontline politics by playing a leading role for the Conservatives right-wing rivals Reform UK, the partys leader has said.

Richard Tice said the star of ITVs Im a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! would find it very hard to resist a big comeback ahead of the next years general election.

Some senior Tories have suggested they would like to see Mr Farage join the Tories  with one MP suggesting he could be given a peerage and made home secretary.

However, Mr Tice suggested Mr Farage was keen to take up a prominent role for Reform UK once again, the party he co-founded from the ashes of the Brexit Party.

He needs to make the judgment  does he want to come back full time into politics? the Reform leader told The Telegraph.

The more help, as far as Im concerned, the better. I think he will find it very hard to resist. The opportunity once and for all to punish the Tories will be unbelievably tempting to him.

With Rishi Sunak floundering over his thwarted Rwanda plan, Mr Tice added: This will be an immigration election, whether the main parties like it or not. It is a great opportunity for Reform.

Nigel Farage has clashed with fellow contestants on Im a Celeb (ITV/Shutterstock)

Mr Farage is set to fly back to Britain next week after appearing on Im a Celeb in the Australian jungle, where he has clashed repeatedly with fellow contestants on Brexit, immigration and culture war issues.

Tory MP Jonathan Gullis says he would love to see Mr Farage as Conservative home secretary, saying the hard-right politician would take no prisoners.

Mr Farage has also flirted with the idea of joining the Conservatives in recent weeks as he seeks to raise his profile again  saying never say never after being courted by Tory activists at the recent party conference.

Ex-Tory chancellor George Osborne has even suggested that is not inconceivable the former Ukip boss could be a future Tory leader. Stanley Johnson has called for the Tories to recruit him now to transform its flagging fortunes.

The latest BMG Research survey shows that Reform UK is now ahead of the Liberal Democrats in third on 11 per cent  its best performance in any poll by the firm.

And new More in Common analysis shows that, based on voting intention polling, the Conservatives are set to secure 35 fewer seats than if Reform UK did not compete at the general election.

A Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey found that more people who voted for the Tories in 2019 plan to support Reform UK than Labour.

Some 15 per cent plan to ditch the Conservatives for the hard right party, while only 13 per cent will go to Labour, the survey found.
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Rishi Sunak is set to be grilled about his controversial Eat Out to Help scheme and his doubts about lockdown curbs when he appears at the Covid inquiry on Monday.

The PM  fighting to save his premiership after failing to appease Tory MPs with his Rwanda legislation  will come under pressure to explain his actions as chancellor during the pandemic.

Mr Sunak is expected to be questioned about his previous claims that scientific advisers were handed too much power, and his views on the damage done by lockdowns.

In an interview during the Tory leadership contest last August, the former chancellor said the problem had been: If you empower all these independent people youre screwed.

Mr Sunak also told The Spectator that he wasnt allowed to talk about the trade-offs of Covid lockdowns  including its impact on the economy, schools and NHS waiting lists.

The Tory leader, Boris Johnsons chancellor during the Covid crisis, is viewed as pushing against a second lockdown in the autumn of 2020, advocating for the opening up of the economy.

The former top No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings has accused Mr Sunak of believing it was time to just let people die and thats okay.

The former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallace made the note of Mr Cummings claim following a shambolic meeting about Covid restrictions in October 2020.

Rishi Sunaks Eat Out to Help Out scheme has faced repeated criticism at the Covid inquiry (PA Archive)

Mr Sunak also faces awkward questions about whether he sought any scientific advice about the potential impact of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme to boost the restaurant trade during a resurgence of the virus in late summer of 2020.

Prof Dame Angela McLean  now chief scientific adviser to the government  referred to Mr Sunak as Dr Death during the pandemic, WhatsApp messages have revealed.

The senior official appeared to share her concerns about the impact of Mr Sunaks push to keep economic activity with epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds during a meeting in September 2020.

Then-health secretary Matt Hancock told the inquiry he was not told about the scheme until the day it was announced and argued very strongly against the possibility of extending it at the end of August 2020.

The inquiry has also heard that former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick, chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty and their former deputies Dame Angela and Sir Jonathan Van-Tam were also not told about the scheme.

Prof Whitty called the sceheme eat out to help out the virus, the inquiry has heard. And Sir Jonathan said: I would have said This is exactly encouraging what weve been trying to suppress and get on top of in the last few months. So it didnt feel sensible to me.

Mr Sunaks written statement has said he did not recall any concerns about the 850m subsidy scheme to encourage people to return to restaurants. But Sir Patrick has said he would be very surprised if ministers were not warned of the risks.

Rishi Sunak (right) also faces questions about his relationship with Boris Johnson and top No 10 officials (Getty Images)

Mr Sunak is also expected to be asked about WhatsApp messages which have not be handed over. The PM has stated to the inquiry that not all material could be given because he had changed mobile phones a number of times over the last three years, and some messages were not backed up.

Reports suggest his old phone number and a voicemail recording may have been have been leaked online in a security breach.

The Tory leader is also likely to face questions about the Partygate scandal which helped end Mr Johnsons premiership. The former chancellor was fined along with Mr Johnson for attending a gathering for the then-PMs 56th birthday at No 10 in June 2020 in breach of regulations.

He could also be asked about his relationship with Mr Johnson and with Mr Cummings, and whether there was a toxic and misogynistic culture at No 10  and some have claimed in their testimony.

Mr Sunaks appearance comes as the Metropolitan Police has closed an investigation into whether Covid rules were breached at an event in parliament in December 2020 which featured senior Tories.

The event on 8 December 2020 was reportedly arranged by Commons Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing to celebrate the birthdays of Tory MP Virginia Crosbie and peer Baroness Jenkin while London was in tier 2 measures that restricted indoor socialising.

The Met said officers concluded that it did not meet the threshold for the referral of any fixed penalty notices and there would be no further action.

It brings to an end the forces investigation into alleged breaches of Covid regulations. In a statement, the Met said: Our approach to the assessment of these allegations has been consistent throughout. The individuals affected have been told there will be no further action.
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Rishi Sunak has been warned he faces an uphill battle to get his landmark Rwanda legislation through parliament  a struggle reminiscent of Theresa Mays fight with a bitterly divided Conservative Party over Brexit.

No 10 is sticking to its guns by refusing to make any major changes to the deportation bill  but right-wing Tory MPs are urging the PM to sit down and listen to demands to toughen the bill or face a potential leadership challenge.

Mr Sunak was advised against the idea of calling a snap general election early next year if his bill gets stuck in parliament. The Tory leader was warned that it would backfire and destroy the partys slim hopes of holding on to power.

Fresh headaches came as it emerged that an official legal assessment for the government gives the bill only a 50 per cent at best chance of getting flights off the ground.

And Robert Jenrick  who quit as immigration minister this week  raised the stakes by accusing Mr Sunak of failing to keep his word, and calling for Britain to quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The hardliner insisted Mr Sunaks bill would fail in a stinging op-ed. Mr Jenrick told the Tories it was now time for the UK to extricate itself from international frameworks, or face the red-hot fury of voters.

Mr Sunak is fighting to convince Conservative MPs  on both wings of the party  not to rebel in Tuesdays crunch vote as he seeks to pass legislation in response to the Supreme Court ruling against the Rwanda scheme.

Mr Sunak has been advised against calling a snap general election early next year if his bill gets stuck in parliament (PA)

Dozens of MPs on the right want Mr Sunak to go further by opting out of the ECHR. They are also angry that asylum seekers will be able to lodge legal challenges against deportations based on individual circumstances.

The hardline faction  including members of the 35-strong New Conservatives, the Common Sense Group and the European Research Group  are locked in discussions about legal advice from its star chamber this weekend.

However, in a relief for No 10, The Independent understands they are more likely to try to amend the bill and delay a decision on whether to vote it down until January, rather than defy the PM this Tuesday.

One senior Tory on the right said it was more likely that hardline MPs would focus on trying to change Mr Sunaks mind at the committee stage, and delay a decision over any radical move to vote against the government until the showdown third reading.

The right-wing MP said Mr Sunak must sit down and listen to those who say the bill will fail to get flights moving. They said: The prime minister has been badly advised. If he sticks to the middle way and tries to do a bit of both things, you end up with something that achieves nothing  you cant be a little bit pregnant.

They added: I dont think it will fail at this stage [on Tuesday]  its a question of in what form the legislation takes. We have to make changes.

Robert Jenrick  who quit as immigration minister this week  has warned of the red-hot fury of Tory voters (PA)

A source in the Tories One Nation wing  which boasts support from around 100 MPs  said they would wait until Monday before setting out their issues in detail. Ex-solicitor general Lord Garnier  advising the group  has already called the bill political nonsense and legal nonsense.

Despite the brewing rebellions, Mr Sunak is refusing to consider any big changes to the bill, which disapplies the Human Rights Act, and tries to limit blocking orders from the European court in Strasbourg.

A government source said the bill was as tough as it can be within the limits of international law. The source said No 10 would consider amendments  but made clear that substantively this is the bill that will allow us to get flights off to Rwanda in the spring.

Gavin Barwell, Ms Mays former chief of staff at No 10, told Times Radio that it feels all a bit Brexit. He added: Youve got these two wings of the party and its very difficult to see where the landing zone is.

Senior Tory Robert Hayward warned Mr Sunak against trying to call a general election early next year if his bill gets stuck. The influential elections expert also compared the row with Ms Mays Brexit woes between 2016 and 2019.

Lord Hayward told The Independent: One-issue elections dont work. Theresa May thought she was onto a winner with that on Brexit in 2017, and the whole thing fell apart.

The top peer warned right-wing rebels away from a push against Mr Sunaks leadership, adding: Youd have to be pretty unaware to believe you could change the leader again and not incur the wrath of the public.

Mr Sunak is hoping to survive immediate crisis by getting his bill through the first stage on Tuesday (AP)

In an ominous warning for Mr Sunak, sacked home secretary Suella Braverman backed Mr Jenricks op-ed for The Telegraph. She said her former colleague knows the detail, adding: It is very concerning that he cant defend the bill.

Adding to pressure on the PM to consider potential Tory voters, Ms Braverman tweeted: What do we say to them when we pass another law that fails?

Fellow right-winger Simon Clarke, a former minister under Liz Truss, tweeted: Nothing less than a paradigm shift will change a situation that is unsustainable for so many reasons  not least that the public wont tolerate it.

Cabinet minister Victoria Prentis, the attorney general, has been told that the bill leaves a significant risk of the European court blocking flights, The Times first reported.

The official advice  giving the plan only a 50-50 chance of success from the governments legal department  was said to have been signed off by top lawyer Sir James Eadie.

One source backed up the report, while another sought to argue the advice was just one of the opinions the government had sought. Not disputing the advice, a government official said: We do not comment on or share government legal advice and it would be very wrong for anyone recently departing government to do so.

Suella Braverman has led criticism of the PMs plan as he fights to convince Tory MPs not to rebel in Tuesdays crunch vote (AP)

Sir Iain Duncan Smith urged Tory MPs to pass a bill that get those flights off to Rwanda  stopping short of an endorsement for it in its current form. The ex-Tory leader told The Telegraph: The reality is that we are in a more febrile state than under John Major.

Dominic Raab, the former justice secretary, said MPs should back the bill, rather than let the best be the enemy of the good  urging rebels to tighten up the legislation at the committee stage rather than vote it down on Tuesday.

Ministers have been calling round MPs in a desperate bid to get backing for the first hurdle on Tuesday. Tory deputy chair Rachel Maclean has suggested the showdown will amount to a vote of confidence in the government.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats claimed that Mr Sunak must be investigated over whether he breached the ministerial code by failing to declare an extra 100m payment to Rwanda for the deportation scheme.

The party said it was outrageous that the payment  sent to Kigali in April on top of the 140m already paid  was only revealed in a letter to MPs sent by the Home Offices top civil servant, Sir Matthew Rycroft, on Thursday. Mr Rycroft will be grilled by the public accounts select committee on Monday.

The Home Office is set to publish an evidence pack next week that will reportedly reject a claim from the UNHCR  the UNs refugee agency  that Rwanda is an unsafe country.
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The United Nations chief and many Security Council members demanded an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza on Friday, but the United States reiterated its opposition despite a direct appeal from Arab diplomats, virtually dooming any action by the U.N.s most powerful body.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and other leading Arab nations and Turkey were in Washington on Friday on a rare joint mission to press the Biden administration to drop its opposition to a cease-fire. They were scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday afternoon.

If people are not seeing it here, we are seeing it," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, adding: Were seeing the challenges that we are are facing talking to our people. They are all saying were doing nothing. Because despite all our efforts, Israel is continuing these massacres.

Israels more than two-month military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territorys Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

The Security Council was scheduled to vote Friday afternoon on a resolution by the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the 15-member body, demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Woods statement to the council Friday, however, signaled the United States will veto the resolution.

Wood criticized the council for not condemning Hamas surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 240 hostages.

He said a cease-fire would leave Hamas in charge of Gaza, still holding more than 100 Israeli hostages.

No government would allow such a threat after the worst attack on its peoples in decades, Wood said, stressing that a halt to military action would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution.

For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate cease-fire, Wood said.

The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of an humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Guterres said he raised Article 99  which hadnt been used at the U.N. since 1971  because there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza. The U.N. anticipates this would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt, he warned.

Gaza is at a breaking point, he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.

Guterres said Hamas brutality against Israelis on Oct. 7 can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations, he stressed.

The U.N. chief detailed the humanitarian nightmare Gaza is facing, citing intense, widespread and ongoing Israeli attacks from air, land and sea that reportedly have hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 health care facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

Over 60% of Gazas housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85% of the population has been forced from their homes, the health system is collapsing, and nowhere in Gaza is safe, Guterres said.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the council that Israels objective is the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip and the dispossession and forcible displacement of the Palestinian people.

If you are against the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people, you have to be in favor of an immediate cease-fire, Mansour said. "When you refuse to call for a cease-fire, you are refusing to call for the only thing that can put an end to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Israels U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan stressed that regional stability and the security of Israelis and Gazans can only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated  not one minute before.

So the true path to ensure peace is only through supporting Israels mission  absolutely not to call for a cease-fire, he told the council. Israel committed itself to the elimination of Hamas capabilities for the sole reason of ensuring that such horrors could never be repeated again. And if Hamas is not destroyed, such horrors will be repeated.
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Facing heavy criticism, the University of Pennsylvania's president walked back some of her remarks given earlier this week at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism, saying she should have gone further to condemn hate against Jewish students.

Penn President Liz Magill was grilled during a five-hour hearing Tuesday, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, on how their institutions had responded to instances of antisemitism on campuses. Their carefully worded responses faced swift backlash from Republican and some Democratic lawmakers as well as the White House.

Much of the blowback centered on a heated line of questioning from Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who repeatedly asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate each university's code of conduct.

Magill said that whether hate speech crossed the line into violating Penn's policies depended on context.

If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, Magill said.

Gay responded to the question in a similar manner, saying that when speech crosses into conduct, that violates our policies. Kornbluth responded that she had not heard calling for the genocide of Jews on MITs campus, and that speech targeted at individuals, not making public statements, would be considered harassment.

Magill expanded on her answer on Wednesday, saying a call for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment or intimidation.

I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate, Magill said in a video statement released by the university. Its evil, plain and simple.

Magill called for a review of Penns policies, which she said have long been guided by the U.S. Constitution but need to be clarified and evaluated as hate spreads across campus and around the world in a way not seen in years.

In a statement posted Wednesday by Harvard on X, formerly Twitter, Gay condemned calls for violence against Jewish students.

Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account, Gay wrote Wednesday.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates issued a statement Wednesday criticizing Gay, Magill and Kornbluth's responses for not going far enough to condemn antisemitism on campuses.

Its unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country, he said. Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting  and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.

Even prior to the hearing Tuesday before the Republican-led House Education and Workforce Committee, Stefanik has called for Gay's resignation in response to events that have occurred on campus since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. On Wednesday, she told Fox News that all three presidents needed to be removed from their leadership positions, calling their answers pathetic.

They don't deserve the dignity of resigning, she said. They need to be fired.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro told reporters on Wednesday that Magill's response was an unacceptable statement."

Ive said many times, leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity. And Liz Magill failed to meet that simple test, he said. I think whether youre talking about genocide against Jews, genocide against people of color, genocide against LGBTQ folks, its all in the wrong. And it needs to be called out. And it shouldnt be hard. And there should be no nuance to that. She needed to give a one-word answer. 

Shapiro also said it was time for the university's board to make a serious decision about Magill's leadership at the school.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Hunter Biden has launched a blistering attack on Elon Musk, claiming the Tesla CEO is indifferent to free speech, democracy and labelling him the worlds dumbest smart person.

President Joe Bidens son also blamed Mr Musk for spreading misinformation about him, and described the X owner as a very damaged human being in an interview for the Moby Podcast.

In a post on X, Mr Musk responded by mocking Hunter Biden over the infamous, sordid videos that were recovered from a laptop he left at a computer repair shop in Delaware in 2019.

Exactly what misinformation is he talking about? Mr Musk asked.

The dude made so many videos of himself doing crime that he should get an award for cinematography!

Hunter Biden outside a court in Wilmington, Delaware, on 3 October 2023 (REUTERS)

The 80-miniute interview with musician-turned-podcaster Moby was held in Hunter Bidens art studio and aired on Friday, but its unclear when it was recorded. Mr Biden was charged with nine new federal tax-related charges late on Thursday.

In the interview, Mr Biden raged that the SpaceX CEO was a hypocritic and completely ignorant of the US political system.

Elon Musk doesnt care about the goddamn First Amendment. He doesn't care about anybody but himself, Mr Biden said.

Elon Musk doesnt care about democracy, Elon Musk doesnt care about our freedom to vote.

Is there any time that you ever saw anything from him that has any rational defence of democracy, of what weve created here as Americans, of his adopted country, this incredible experiment that weve engaged in here?

Elon Musk said Hunter should get an award for cinematography (REUTERS)

Mr Biden is facing two separate criminal indictments from David Weiss, a special counsel appointed in August to investigate his business dealings.

In September, Mr Biden pleaded not guilty to a three-count federal indictment in Delaware alleging he purchased and possessed a firearm while using narcotics.

In a dramatic development on Thursday, he was charged with engaging in a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4m in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle.

His attorney Abbe Lowell accused the Trump-appointed prosecutor of carrying out a political errand at the behest of the Republican Party.

Mr Biden met Moby while they both were in addiction recovery and the musician attended a 2021 art show hosted by Mr Biden, according to a Vanity Fair report.

In the podcast interview, he also accused the Republicans of going after him to try to destroy his fathers presidency.

Its not about me, and in their most base way, what theyre trying to do is theyre trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle, he said.

The second part of the interview is scheduled to be released next week.
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Three Alabama police officers have been fired and a fourth one has been suspended without pay more than two months after they were involved in the deadly shooting of a man.

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said he had decided on the measure after an early inquiry found the officers violated policy during Steve Perkinss 29 September shooting. The mayor did not specify what policy was violated.

Perkins, 39, was killed by police in front of his home in a confrontation that began with a tow truck driver trying to repossess his truck.

The driver reported that Perkins flashed a gun, so officers accompanied the driver when he went back to the home where Perkins was shot and killed by officers. Per Alabama law, the officers names will not be made public during the ongoing investigation, unless they decide to appeal the process, the mayor said.

While the Mayors decision brings resolution to one portion of the investigation into what occurred, an active criminal investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency continues, Chief Todd Pinion said in a statement.

That investigation is independent of the now-concluded Decatur Police Department Administrative investigation. As I have said from the earliest days, we will accept whatever decision results from that process.

In October, Chief Pinion acknowledged that his department gave inaccurate information about what was said before officers shot and killed Perkins. The department had previously said that officers ordered Perkins to drop his weapon and that he refused to do so.

The chief later said that the officers identified themselves as police and ordered Perkins to get on the ground.

That means that we also erred in stating Mr Perkins refused to drop his firearm prior to the shooting. I apologize for the inaccurate description of the encounter in our initial statement, Pinion wrote. I apologize for the inaccurate description of the encounter in our initial statement, and we have already taken steps to improve our public information-sharing process.

Video from a neighbours home surveillance camera video, published by WAFF, captured the shooting. An officer is heard shouting Police, get on the ground and shots are then immediately fired in rapid succession.

Police have not released body camera footage of the shooting.

Lee Merritt, an attorney representing the Perkins family, said in November that officers did not announce their presence when they arrived on the property and opened fire within a second of telling Perkins to get on the ground.

He said Perkins did not appear aware of their presence. The family has asked for charges to be filed against the officers.

Perkinss family issued a statement saying that the truck payments were up to date so the truck shouldnt have been towed.

In a previous statement, Chief Pinion promised transparency in providing any information we are able to share as soon as it is able to be released.

There is understandably much public conversation about the shooting of Stephen Perkins. Any time a police officer uses deadly force, questions should be asked, and answers provided, Chief Pinion wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a court ruling that allowed a Dallas woman to seek emergency abortion care after the states Republican attorney general intervened.

A ruling from the states highest court late on Friday followed a request from Ken Paxton just before midnight on Thursday, after a judge in Travis County granted a temporary restraining order allowing Kate Cox to terminate her nonviable pregnancy.

He also sent a letter to three hospitals in the state threatening legal action if they allowed the abortion to go proceed.

While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the states request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied, Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit on Ms Coxs behalf, said in a statement on Friday.

We are talking about urgent medical care. Kate is already 20 weeks pregnant. This is why people should not need to beg for healthcare in a court of law, she added.

The judges decision went against the Republican-controlled states anti-abortion bans and is the first case of its kind since Roe v Wade was overturned.

Kate Coxs baby was diagnosed with full trisomy 18, and her baby may not survive until birth, and if the baby does, the life would only span for minutes, hours or days, her attorney, Molly Duane said.

Mr Paxton has asked the Texas Supreme Court to rule quickly on the case, stating that each hour [the temporary restraining order] remains in place is an hour that Plaintiffs believe themselves free to perform and procure an elective abortion.

Nothing can restore the unborn childs life that will be lost as a result, the filing said. Post hoc enforcement is no substitute, so time is of the essence.

Lawyers for Ms Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant, argued that the only options open to her in Texas, an induction and C-section, could both cause her issues for future fertility as she has already had two C-sections.

The idea that Ms Cox wants desperately to be a parent and that this law might cause her to lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said while tearing up in court on Thursday.
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The third victim killed in Wednesdays shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been named.

Dr Naoko Takemaru, an associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, was identified after her next of kin were informed by the coroners office, UNLV president Keith Whitfield said in a statement.

With sadness, I write to you to mourn the tragic passing of Dr Naoko Takemaru, who this morning was confirmed to be among the three UNLV faculty members who lost their lives during Wednesdays shooting, Mr Whitfield said on Friday.

Earlier today, the coroners office shared Dr Takemarus name following the notification of her next of kin.

Dr Takemaru was a noted scholar, author and award-winning educator, who just recently marked her 20th year as a member of UNLVs faculty.

She coordinated Japanese language programs and taught numerous courses on Japanese culture, business and language. Mr Whitfield described her as incredibly dedicated to her students, having earned the premier teaching award from the College of Liberal Arts.

Police previously confirmed the identity of the two other faculty members who had died in the shooting. They were professor Cha Jan Chang, 64, known as Jerry, and assistant professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39.

In his statement on Dr Takemarus death, Mr Whitfield said: We grieve for her family, friends, students, and colleagues. We honor her memory, alongside those of Lee Business School professors Dr Patricia Navarro-Velez and Dr Jerry Chang, who also perished as a result of Wednesdays tragedy.

Another UNLV faculty member  a 38-year-old visiting professor  remained hospitalised on Friday.

Processing the loss of three cherished UNLV faculty members is horrendously difficult, but we are heartened by memories of them and their remarkable and lasting impact on our university, on their students, and within their professions, Mr Whitfield said.

It comes following the announcement that winter graduation ceremonies at UNLV will be taking place as scheduled, though on-campus final exams will not,

Mr Whitfield, said that students and parents had expressed a desire to come together in the wake of the tragedy. All campuses in southern Nevada were closed out of an abundance of caution following the incident. It was not made clear when operations would resume.

Having spoken to students, Mr Whitfield said, one common thread that emerged was a desire to come together.

Dr Naoko Takemaru has been named as the third victim of Wednesdays shooting (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

The milestone moment of commencement is the most special day on the university calendar, and its in difficult times like these that we can and should celebrate our graduates academic dreams fulfilled, he said.

We know that the trauma of this weeks tragedy impacts each one of us in different ways. For those eligible to participate in this winters commencement who choose not to attend at this time, you will have the option to walk and participate fully during the May 2024 commencement ceremonies.

We believe these decisions regarding finals and commencement provide flexibility for both students and faculty, and offer the best path forward for our university.

The statement added that exams scheduled to take place next week on the UNLV campus, were being cancelled.

Students will now end the semester with the grade they have earned based on work completed before December 6, though some faculty may opt to offer an optional online final exam or take-home project before December 18, allowing students an opportunity to improve their grade.

Police officers keep watch near the scene outside Frank and Estella Beam Hall, where the UNLV Lee Business School is located (Getty Images)

We are providing flexibility for faculty and instructors  as well as students  to bring this semester to a positive end, a statement from Mr Whitfield read.

Mr Whitfield also thanked the students, faculty and staff. Your resilience amidst near insurmountable adversity continues to amaze me, he said.

In the short time since Wednesdays incident, Ive met with some of you to listen and to learn, and I acknowledge the pain, fear, and anxiety that many are experiencing right now. I feel it too, he said.

Police have named 67-year-old Anthony Polito, a career college professor who had applied for  but failed to be accepted for  a job at UNLV, as the suspect in the shootings.

On Friday Las Vegas police released new video purportedly showing Polito moments after his shooting rampage campus. The footage emerged after investigators revealed that he had a target list - but none of his alleged victims were on it.
The well-known Ukrainian blogger Anna Alkhim, who continues to listen to Russian music, including songs by traitors to Ukraine, has gotten into another scandal. This time, the influencer, who even in public space failed to switch to her native language, advertised a Russian series romanticizing the USSR and banditry, "The Word of a Boy. Blood on the Asphalt".

ADVERTISIMENT

As it turned out, Alkhim was part of the audience of the Russian project. Moreover, the blogger does not hesitate to broadcast this to hundreds of thousands of her followers. On TikTok, for example, where the influencer posted a video with a commentary on the series, she is followed by more than 200 thousand people. And the video itself was watched by more than 470 thousand users (at the time of writing).

In the video, Alkhim recorded her strong reaction to the series, resorting, as usual, to profanity. The blogger emotionally told her subscribers how she was so impressed by the Russian film product that she had to take breaks while watching it.

ADVERTISIMENT

"Who's watching?" asked the defender of the Russian language and content from the terrorist country.

In response, conscious Ukrainians explained to Alkhim why her position and the topics she broadcasts on her blog are "broken ground." The blogger was reminded that she was responding to the Russian series with enthusiasm, and with her media presence, she was setting an example for other potential consumers of Russian content. Simply put, this is ideologically dangerous for Ukraine in the context of the terrorist war with Russia.

"Are you sane? You are sponsoring the Russian army by watching this series, thousands of deaths are on your conscience", "Is there a cure for this? Go to Russia. Traitor", "I just saw that this series was being forced and thought, who watches this shit... Of course", "If people watch Moscow's burpee even during the war, then this is a clinic", "Better watch the frontline report, what a difference", "Hello, is it okay that this is a Russian series? Doesn't it bother you?" commentators leave.

ADVERTISIMENT

As you know, at the end of the fall, the TV series "The Word of a Boy" started to gain popularity in Ukraine, romanticizing the USSR, robbery and crime. We wrote here why you shouldn't watch it.

For those who believe that there are no analogues to the Russian series among the domestic film product, OBOZ.UA has made a special selection. In it, we have collected five projects that can be watched instead of The Word of a Boy

The film, by the way, stars the son of the main critic of the Putin regime, musician and frontman of the Time Machine band Andrii Makarevich.

Meanwhile, Masha Yefrosinina also reacted to the excitement of the series among Ukrainians. The presenter expressed her indignation at the fact that media professionals and ordinary citizens are defending their "right" to listen and watch Russian content, forgetting that Ukrainian soldiers are dying for them.

ADVERTISIMENT

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, along with the rapidly gaining popularity of the series, the song "Pyyala" by the Russian band "Aigel", which is the soundtrack of the same project, reached the first place in the Top 100 in Ukraine rating on Apple Music.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has resigned amid a furious backlash to her testimony at a congressional hearing about antisemitism on college campuses.

Ms Magill had sparked anger among alumni, students and donors when she declined to explicitly say that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the Ivy League colleges code of conduct on bullying or harassment at a hearing on Tuesday.

Her appearance alongside the presidents of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who also refused to denounce calls for genocide, set off a crisis which saw donors threaten to pull $100m in funding.

Scott Bok, the chair of UPenns board of trustees, announced Ms Magill had voluntarily tendered her resignation in a statement on Saturday.

In a separate statement, Mr Bok said he had also resigned with immediate effect on Saturday.

Calls for Ms Magill to quit had gathered momentum throughout the week, with UPenns Wharton School board of advisers writing to her in a letter on Wednesday that the university requires new leadership with immediate effect.

UPenn president Liz Magill tendered her resignation on Saturday (Associated Press)

In light of your testimony yesterday before Congress, we demand the university clarify its position regarding any call for harm to any group of people immediately, change any policies that allow such conduct with immediate effect, and discipline any offenders expeditiously, the letter said.

There have also been growing calls for Harvard president Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth, the president of MIT, to step down after Tuesdays controversial hearing before the House education and workforce committee.

Clips from the hearing quickly went viral showing New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik grilling the university leaders.

Harvard president Claudine Gay apologised for her remarks to the House select committee (Associated Press)

In a series of heated questions, Ms Stefanik asked whether student protesters who said the phrases intifada or from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, would qualify as violating the universities codes of conduct on bullying and harassment.

Ms Magill told the hearing that it was context-dependent.

She later backtracked on her comments in a video posted on X, saying she should have countered the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate.

In a statement, Mr Bok said Ms Magill would remain in the role until an interim president was appointed. She will retain her position as a tenured member at Penn Carey Law School, he said.

On behalf of the entire Penn community, I want to thank President Magill for her service to the university as president and wish her well, he wrote.

Ms Magill said in the statement that it had been a privilege to serve as UPenn president.

It has been an honour to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penns vital missions, the statement read.

Ms Gay has also apologised for her statements before the select committee in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

When words amplify distress and pain, I dont know how you could feel anything but regret, Ms Gay told the publication.

In a post on X on Saturday, Ms Stefanik wrote: One down. Two to go.

This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most prestigious higher education institutions in America, she said.

There has been a dramatic increase of antisemitic and Islamaphobic hate crimes in the US since Hamas terrorists killed approximately 1,200 Israelis in surprise attacks on 7 October.

An intense bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces has killed more than 17,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Meanwhile, several hundred faculty members at Harvard University on Sunday signed a petition asking school administrators to not bend to political pressure to fire the schools president over her Congressional testimony, reported Reuters.

A concisely worded petition was signed by at least 570 professors and was delivered Sunday evening to the 13-member Harvard Corporation, which has the power to fire Ms Gay. More professors indicated they also wanted to sign, according to a co-author of the petition.

Alison Frank Johnson, a Harvard professor of history and a co-author of the petition delivered to the schools corporation, rejected the calls for Ms Gays removal.

I get the impression that many people dont know how much support she has, as a scholar, colleague, and administrator, within the university  including from people who sometimes disagree with her, Ms Frank Johnson wrote in an email. We dont want to lose her because of a political stunt.

Ms Frank Johnson would not provide the language of the petition, but confirmed that it asks the Harvard Corporation not to bend to political pressure, including pressure to remove the president.

(Additional reporting from agencies)
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Three people were killed and another left seriously injured during an attack on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus on Wednesday.

All four of the victims were faculty members at the UNLV, the colleges president Keith Whitfield has confirmed. All three of the deceased have now been named.

One of the victims was 39-year-old assistant professor Patricia Navarro-Velez, from Las Vegas.

Dr Navarro-Velez was an assistant professor of accounting and had devoted her career to educating the next generation of accountants, Mr Whitfield said.

She joined UNLV nearly five years ago as a professor of accounting, where she primarily focused on teaching accounting information systems.

Prior to this she received her PhD in accounting from the University of Central Florida, received her MAcc from Bowling Green State University, and received her BBA in accounting from the University of Puerto Rico, Ponce.

39-year-old assistant professor Patricia Navarro-Velez, from Las Vegas (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

She was a recipient of the AICPA Fellowship for Minority Doctoral Students and the KPMG Foundation Minority Doctoral Students Scholarship from 2014 to 2019.

Local cheerleading gym California Allstars sent deepest condolences to the Navarro family, following news of her death.

Our hearts are shattered as we share the devastating news of the loss of a beloved member of our Cali family in yesterdays senseless shooting, the Instagram post read. Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the Navarro family at this unimaginably difficult time.

At a press conference on Friday, Dr Navarro  known as Pat by her colleagues  was emembered for her larger-than-life personality and infectious smile.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr Navarro had a genuine kindness that made everyone around her feel like family, Dr Jason Smith said.

She loved gatherings  the more the merrier she would say. She loved baking and sharing especially dessert items. Her creme brulee and macarons were were not to be missed. She lit up a room with her smile and although her professional accomplishments are impressive, Pats most important work was at home.

Pat and her husband are proud parents of four children and she was blessed to be surrounded with love by her parents, three sisters, a brother, many nieces and nephews and countless friends and colleagues who adored her.

Dr Smith added: [She is] summed up in a picture frame she has in her kitchen she brought for Thanksgiving. It has one word  it says framily  which is defined as friends who become family.

Her lasting legacy is one of her a wide circle of friends who, through her influence and love, and through this experience today, find ourselves as family.

Dr Cha Jan Chang, 64, was known as Jerry by friends and colleagues (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Dr Cha Jan Chang, 64, was known as Jerry by friends and colleagues.

Dr Chang was a longtime educator of management information systems, who had spent more than 20 years of his academic career teaching a generation of UNLV Lee Business School students, said college president Kevin Whitfield.

He was rememebered as a rigorous researcher and a good teacher who deeply love his student and UNLV.

He was a mentor of the highest caliber, offering guidance and support  not just with words but with actions, sharing his experience and wisdom generously, patiently helping [students] navigate the complexity of academia, a colleague said of Dr Chang.

He believed in their potential and celebrated their achievement, fostering a sense of belonging and fellowship in the department.

Dr Chang had also previously discussed the possibility of donating his body to UNLV for research purposes. While UNLV does not accept such donations, his body will be reportedly utilised by another institution.

Both Dr Navarro and Dr Chang died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Clark County coroner.

On Friday, the third victim was named after her next of kin were informed by the coroners office.

Dr Naoko Takemaru, an associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, was a noted scholar, author, and award-winning educator. Her colleagues also noted her love of cats.

She had recently marked her 20th year as a member of UNLVs faculty, according to Mr Whitfield.

Dr Takemaru coordinated Japanese language programs and taught numerous courses on Japanese culture, business, and language at UNLV and was incredibly dedicated to her students.

Dr Margaret Harp, a colleague of Dr Naoko Takemaru, described as lion-hearted and a triple threat artist.

I hope we will also remember her for her multiple talents, Dr Harp said.

She was a professional concert pianist who left that career due to physical disabilities. She embroidered beautifully, creating her own designs and every holiday season she brought us her homemade chocolates.

Dr Naoko Takemaru was the third victim of the shooting to be named (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

In a department full of cat lovers, Naoko was a cat lover supreme. Her office is covered, floor to ceiling, wall to wall with cat pictures, drawings, puzzles and calendars.

Dr Harp added: Naoko was frail physically. However, she was lion-hearted... and I have no doubt she was lionhearted in her final moments on Earth.

Godspeed Naoko you are better people for having known you. We are bereft at losing you.

According to Mr Whitfield the fourth victim is was a 38-year-old male, who was a visiting professor. He remains at Sunrise Hospital and in a stable condition.

The two officers involved in the shooting were named at at a press conference on Friday afternoon as Detective Nathanial Drum and Officer Damian Garcia.

Adam Garcia, police chief for the University Police Services Southern Command described the men as heroes.

They kept the worst from becoming a bloodbath, Mr Garcia said.

The collective response and actions of our other initial responding officers LVPD metro or many regional agencies no doubt saved lives as well. Their swift response and exceptional courage were pivotal in neutralising this threat and undoubtedly prevented further harm to our community.

I want to express with a deepest gratitude to both officer Garcia and Detective Drumm who, combined, bring over 40 years of law enforcement experience to our department.

Their dedication to this community is unwavering.

Detective Drum has been employed with UPS since 2017 and is assigned to the detective bureau at our central area command. Officer Garcia has been employed with UPS since 2018.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the review of the incident.
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A century-old territorial dispute deepened by the discovery of oil is boiling over between neighbors Guyana and Venezuela. Steeped in patriotism, the Venezuelan government is seizing on the fight to boost support ahead of a presidential election among a population fed up with a decade-long crisis that has pushed many into poverty.

Venezuelans on Sunday approved a referendum to claim sovereignty over Essequibo, a mineral-rich territory that accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and lies near big offshore oil deposits. Military confrontation appears unlikely for now, but several countries have echoed Guyanas concerns over an annexation by its neighbor to the west.

These are some of the key aspects of the growing dispute:

WHY IS THE BORDER UNDER DISPUTE?

Venezuela says it was the victim of a land theft conspiracy in 1899, when Guyana was a British colony and arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States decided the boundary. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain.

Venezuelan officials contends Americans and Europeans colluded to cheat their country out of the land. They also argue that an agreement among Venezuela, Britain and the colony of British Guiana signed in 1966 to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration.

Guyana maintains the initial accord is legal and binding and asked the United Nations top court in 2018 to rule it as such, but a decision is years away.

WHAT IS OILS ROLE?

In 2015, major oil deposits were first discovered off Essequibos shore by an ExxonMobil-led consortium, piquing the interest of Venezuela, whose commitment to pursuing the territorial claim has fluctuated over the years.

The consortium began pumping oil in December 2019, converting largely agrarian Guyana into the worlds fourth-largest offshore oil producer. Operations generate some $1 billion a year for the impoverished country of nearly 800,000 people that saw its economy expand by nearly 60% in the first half of this year.

The current daily production of some 380,000 barrels is expected to hit 800,000 barrels in upcoming years. Guyanas crude exports were heading largely to the Netherlands and Panama last month, with much of the oil from Panama then re-exported to the U.S. West Coast, according to S&P Global.

In September, Guyana opened bids for 14 additional offshore oil blocks available for exploration and development, with six companies and groups submitting bids. Among them were ExxonMobil, which teamed up again with U.S.-owned Hess Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corp, and French-owned Total Energies, which partnered with companies in Qatar and Malaysia.

While Guyanas oil industry has boomed, Venezuelas has plummeted. Venezuela has the worlds largest proven crude reserves, but its oil industry has been crippled by years of mismanagement and economic sanctions imposed on the state-owned oil company following President Nicolas Maduros re-election in 2018, which was widely considered fraudulent.

Venezuelas National Assembly has not released the text of the law it will use to try to enforce the referendum results. But a portion lawmakers discussed Thursday would ban local and foreign companies from operating in Venezuela if they also do business in Guyana.

WHY MADURO'S INTEREST IN ESSEQUIBO NOW?

For Maduro and his ruling party, the Essequibo dispute is an opportunity to drum up internal support and to distract Venezuelans from U.S. pressure to release political prisoners and wrongfully detained Americans as well as to guarantee free and fair conditions in next years presidential election.

Before the Dec. 3 referendum, Venezuelans were bombarded for weeks with Essequibo-themed music, nationally televised history lessons, murals, rallies and social media content.

That appears to have backfired.

The government claims about 10.5 million people  just over half of eligible voters  cast ballots. It says voters approved rejecting by all means the 1899 boundary, turning Essequibo into a state, giving area residents Venezuelan citizenship and rejecting the U.N. courts jurisdiction over the dispute. But Associated Press journalists and witnesses at voting centers said the long lines typical of Venezuelan elections never formed.

WHAT'S NEXT?

International security firm Global Guardian expects Venezuela to gradually ramp up tensions and go as far as conducting naval exercises near Guyana, said Zev Faintuch, a senior intelligence analyst at the firm.

We might even see some sort of very small scale, cross-border activity, he said, adding that he expects activities to escalate until elections are held in Venezuela. Maduros interest is to get himself reelected and get some more of his oil onto oil markets.

He said that it would be nearly impossible to invade the entire Essequibo region, which is vast, lacks roads and is sparsely populated.

Guyanan Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday urged oil companies that have concessions near the Essequibo region to ignore Maduro's comments and actions and warned Guyana would take any necessary steps to protect its sovereignty.

Any attempts by his state oil firms or state corporations to explore for petroleum in our area will be viewed as an intrusion by Guyana, Jagdeo said. If (Maduro) believes that belligerence and threatening Guyana will lead to the desired bilateral conversations, he is profoundly incorrect.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency, private meeting on the issue Friday as world leaders and international organizations backed Guyana. Separately, members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom also called a closed-door meeting Friday to talk about the dispute.

The Organization of American States said in a statement that the 1899 boundary is in force and legally binding on all parties under international law. It also accused Maduro's government of taking an aggressive stance and of continuing to take and promote unlawful actions against Guyana.

The organization added that it was profoundly worried about the situation, which has escalated to a point of significant concern for regional security and constitutes a matter that threatens the stability and territorial sovereignty within our hemisphere.

___

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been missing for three days following a a serious health-related incident, his associates have warned  just as Vladimir Putin launches his presidential re-election campaign.

Allies of the Kremlin critic  who has been sentenced to more than 30 years on what he says are politically motivated charges  had this week stepped up a campaign to undermine popular support for Mr Putin and the war in Ukraine ahead of the March 2024 presidential elections.

Days earlier, Russian prosecutors brought fresh charges against Mr Navalny, in what the 47-year-old said was part of the Kremlins desire to initiate a new criminal case against me every three months, adding: I dont even know whether to describe my latest news as sad, funny or absurd.

Vladimir Putin used a ceremony to present Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia to launch his re-election campaign (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

But Mr Navalny failed to show up at scheduled court hearings this week, according to Maria Pevchikh, chair of his Anti-Corruption Foundation, who said he had been missing for three days now.

We have learned that last week he had a serious health-related incident. Navalnys life is at great risk. He is in complete isolation right now, Ms Pevchikh said.

His press secretary Kira Yarmysh warned that Mr Navalnys lawyers had stood all day outside the penal colony east of Moscow where he is detained  but were denied entry  after he collapsed in his cell.

The fact that we cant find Alexey is particularly worrying because he fell ill in his cell last week: he got dizzy and laid down on the floor, said Ms Yarmysh.

The colony staff came over immediately, lowered the cot, laid Alexey down and gave him an IV. We dont know what it was, but given the fact that hes not being fed, is being kept in a punishment cell with no ventilation and the time for walks has been reduced to a minimum, it looks like a hunger faint.

Since this incident, the lawyers have seen Alexey and he has been relatively well. But now its the third day that we dont know where hes. Before that, there were at least occasional letters from him, albeit censored ones, but there have been no letters all week.

Navalny has been sentenced to more than 30 years (AP)

Mr Navalny has suffered long-term health issues, having been poisoned with a nerve agent in Siberia in 2020.

Mr Putin, already Russias longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin, used a military awards ceremony on Friday to announce he would seek another six years in power at next years election  which he is set to win with little challenge given his vice-like grip on Russias political and media institutions.

Nevertheless, Mr Navalny and his associates are hoping to cause difficulties for Mr Putin, with his top strategist and chief of staff Leonid Volkov launching a project called Navalnys Campaigning Machine.

As described by Mr Navalny in June, their plan is to speak to as many Russians by phone and online, and convince them to turn against the candidates we hate: candidate Putin and candidate War.

In late October, the project already had about 170 volunteers who have so far made thousands of phone calls, Mr Volkov told Reuters, and was conducting a survey to figure out the specific grievances and needs of people in order to tailor talking points they would use in future phone calls.

Billboards with QR codes leading to an anti-Putin website were erected in Moscow and other Russian cities (AP)

On the eve of Mr Putins announcement, the team placed a number of billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg, and other Russian cities that read Russia and Happy New Year, with links and QR codes leading to a website titled Russia without Putin.

The website urges people to convince at least 10 people to act against Putin and talks about various ways to campaign.

It came as the Institute for the Study of War said that Mr Putins choice of location to launch his re-election bid this week suggests he could make the war in Ukraine more central to his campaign than previously anticipated.

But he has faced rare public criticism from the families of soldiers trapped on the frontline, and the US-based think-tank suggested Mr Putins announcement could be a bid to convince voters that the Russian military writ large supports Putin.

Furthermore, the Kremlin may have tasked the Russian military with capturing the Donetsk frontine city of Avdiivka  and possibly Kupyansk  ahead of the March elections, contrary to earlier suggestions that Moscow was merely hoping to keep the frontline frozen over winter.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Three people have died and hundreds of patients were evacuated after a fire broke out at a hospital on Rome's outskirts.

People in the intensive care ward at St John the Evangelist hospital in Tivoli were rushed immediately by ambulance to other hospitals in Italys capital after the fire ignited late on Friday night, the Tivoli mayors office said.

Other patients were moved into a nearby gym pending transfer to other facilities, with at least 200 patients reported to have been evacuated in total, the last of them waiting until dawn.

Firefighters spray water at the Italian hospital after a fire broke out (Italian Firefighters Via AP)

Three elderly people are confirmed to have died, and the body of a fourth man was also recovered by firefighters, but his daughter who had visited for a final farewell said her father had died prior to the fire breaking out, newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

An autopsy has been ordered on the victims bodies to ascertain the causes of death.

One bereaved daughter has already called for clarity over her 84-year-old mother Giuseppina Virginia Faccas death, and was reported by local media as saying, They told us she died the moment the fire started, but not from the smoke.

She was 84 years old and had a lung problem, she was hospitalised again three days ago on the third floor. They told us that our mother did not die from the fire even though the death occurred at the same time, we want the truth.

The blaze began at around 10:30pm and was eventually brought under control, the fire department said.

As many as 250 people were evacuated (Italian Firefighters Via AP)

The fire apparently broke out in the basement of the structure, initially involving the mortuary, then part of the kitchens and the first floor, but the dense smoke also spread to the upper levels, news agency Ansa reported.

Footage showed fire crews on ladders trying to reach the upper floors of the hospital as smoke billowed out, and Il Messaggero newspaper reported fears of how patients reliant on oxygen would cope after the power was cut.

I smelled the smell of burning plastic and I went out, a 39-year-old patient was quoted in Italian media as saying. I was in the emergency room [in the basement], there was only smoke and the power went out, so we escaped thanks to the emergency lights even though we couldn't see much.

There were moments of panic. In addition to the stretchers, we rushed as much as we could and some sick people were even carried. We left through the morgue and the police broke the gate to let us out.

The hospitals chaplain, Father Lorenzo, added: The light went out and there were people screaming , from there I understood that something serious had happened. When I came out I saw the nurses with the stretchers and the patients taken away even by arm, we all gave a hand.

The governor of the Lazio region, Francesco Rocca, said from the scene that three people were killed and an investigation would determine the cause of the blaze. He acknowledged there were notable delays in updating Italys aging hospitals with sprinkler systems and other fire safety infrastructure.

Additional reporting by AP
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Ukraines first lady has appealed to the international community to keep up financial support for its war with Russia, after Republican senators blocked the passage of a multibillion-dollar US aid bill.

Calling the political row in America a matter of life for Ukrainians, Olena Zelenska said: We really need the help. In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die.

And if the world gets tired, they will simply let us die.

Volodymyr Zelenskys wife was speaking in an interview with the BBC on Friday after the US Congress failed to pass a $110bn (88bn) package of wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities. The full interview is due to air on Sunday.

It hurts us greatly to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help may fade, she said.

It is a matter of life for us. Therefore, it hurts to see that.

The White House has repeatedly sounded the alarm about what might happen to Ukraine if further funding is not approved soon, suggesting it will stall Kyivs progress on the battlefield and risk giving Russia the upper hand.

Earlier this week, president Joe Biden pleaded with Republicans for a fresh infusion of military aid for Ukraine.

If Putin takes Ukraine, he wont stop there, Mr Biden said.

He predicted that Mr Putin would go on to attack a Nato member state, and then well have American troops fighting Russian troops.

It came after Mr Zelensky unexpectedly cancelled an address to the US Senate where he would have appealed for fresh aid.

Foreign secretary Lord Cameron with US secretary of state Antony Blinken at a press conference in Washington DC on 7 December 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraines wartime president has been pleading with his allies in the West for financial and military help against Russian forces as Moscows invasion passed beyond the 650-day mark.

Majority leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Zelenskys virtual appearance was cancelled after something came up at the last minute.

Although the war has been largely static along most of its 600-mile front line in recent weeks, both sides have continued to launch airstrikes. Ukraine is working to keep up the pressure over the winter, in order to prevent Russia from solidifying its battle lines.

Separately, UK foreign secretary Lord Cameron also appealed for Ukraines aid package to be passed during a two-day trip to the US, saying that blocking funds would be a Christmas present for Mr Putin and Chinas president, Xi Jinping.

Lord Cameron, who was prime minister during Russias illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, also warned American lives could be at risk if the Russian president targeted a Nato ally next.

I see it as the great test for our generation, the great challenge for our generation. Are we going to defend this democracy? he asked.

We should pass this money to the Ukrainians, we should back them and make sure that its Putin that loses, because if that money doesnt get voted through, there are only two people who will be smiling.

One of them is Vladimir Putin in Russia. The other one is Xi Jinping in Beijing. I dont know about you, but I dont want to give either of those people a Christmas present.
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A British merchant ship was among three commercial vessels that were attacked by Iran-backed rebels in the Red Sea on Sunday, prompting an American warship to open fire in their defence.

Yemeni Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two of the ships, which they described as being linked to Israel. Its a major escalation of a series of maritime attacks in Middle Eastern waters amid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Israels military claimed the vessels had no connection to the country.

The Bahamas-flagged Unity Explorer, which is owned by a British company, was among those targeted in a drone-and-missile assault on Sunday.

The USS Carney, a United States Navy destroyer, opened fire in self-defence and shot down three drones during the hours-long assault on Sunday, the US Central Command said in a statement.

It said the US destroyer detected a ballistic missile fired at the bulk carrier from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The warship also shot down a drone, which was reportedly headed toward the Carney while it was responding to the distress call, although officials said it was not known whether the drone was targeting the warship.

About 30 minutes later, the Unity Explorer was hit by a missile that caused minor damage to the vessel.

Two other commercial ships, Panamanian-flagged bulk carriers Number 9 and Sophie II, were also struck by missiles in the attack, which began around 9.15am local time.

The Number 9 reported some damage but no casualties, and the Sophie II reported no significant damage, Central Command said.

Carney, an American Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, has already shot down numerous rockets fired by the Houthis towards Israel and vessels, in earlier incidents.

A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak, said: Iran has long provided political and military support to Houthi militants and it bears responsibility for the actions of its proxies and partners. These waters are vital routes for global trade and incidents like these show the importance of the Royal Navy's presence in the region.

Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond was already heading to the region to bolster the Royal Navy's presence there.

The US has vowed to consider all appropriate responses in the wake of the attack, specifically calling out Iran.

These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security, the Central Command said. They have jeopardised the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for two of Sunday's attacks, saying the first vessel was hit by a missile and the second by a drone while in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

The Yemeni armed forces continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea (and Gulf of Aden) until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops, said Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree.

The Yemeni armed forces renew their warning to all Israeli ships or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target if they violate what is stated in this statement.

The crew of British-owned Unity Explorer includes Dan David Ungar, who lives in Israel, as one of its officers. The Number 9 is linked to Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), while the Sophie II is linked to Japan's Kyowa Kisen Co Ltd.

The Houthis have launched a series of attacks on individual vessels in the Red Sea, with Sundays being the first to target multiple vessels at once. Last month the Houthis seized a Japanese-operated vehicle transport ship in the Red Sea off Yemen.

Missiles landed near another US warship last week after it assisted a vessel linked to Israel that had briefly been seized by gunmen.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Hana searches for a funny video on YouTube. Anything will do, as long as it does not mention Palestine.

The single mother, who did not want to give her real name out of safety fears, must clear multiple Israeli checkpoints on her morning commute. Before the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October, they only checked her ID. Now its her phone.

As the temporary ceasefire came to an end last week, deadly attacks rained down on the remaining infrastructure and civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

With little global attention on the West Bank, the Palestinian territories have been under constant bombardment, from Israeli settlers to soldiers and air strikes.

Hana is an artisan for Darzah, a non-profit organisation that preserves the traditional art form of tatreez, an embroidery style passed down through centuries of women.

On her daily journey from Zababdeh to drop and collect fabric and stitches from her fellow artisans in surrounding villages in the West Bank, she witnesses people being beaten, arrested and left bleeding by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints.

There is always a presence of soldiers on my journeys, she told The Independent. The soldiers ask us to leave the car and then they tell us to show them our phones. They check our Telegram and social media and what we have posted.

If they see any news on your phone about what is happening in Gaza or Jenin or Nablus, they interrogate you.

Tatreez is a traditional art form passed down through centuries of women (Supplied )

But despite the perilous journey, Hana is determined to keep the organisations work going.

I am doing something that my great-grandparents did, she said. I teach my children how to do tatreez and I am going to carry this on.

Speaking about the escalated aggression since October, Dr Janette Habashi, executive director of Darzah, said: Their goal is to destroy the spirit of Palestine. Of course, we feel defeated. They took everything from us.

This is the only way to give back to the community. You cannot sit while you know there is so much pain and suffering.

Jenins Martyrs Square was destroyed by Israeli soldiers during the recent conflict (Supplied)

But Dr Habashi, who grew up in the old city of Jerusalem, confessed she is deeply worried for the safety of the women, particularly for Hana as she has to take public transportation to get supplies and deliver the fabric to them.

The place is crazy, there is no safety. One of our artisans homes was destroyed in Jenin refugee camp.

When asked what would happen if operations were forced to halt, Dr Habashi was overcome with emotion. That would be a disaster, she said.

We resist. We always resist, but it does not mean we have to resist in weapons, Hana said. We are going to resist with our heritage. We are going to continue tatreez and we will stitch the names of Gaza and Jenin.

Palestinians say that the Israeli army has razed their symbols to the ground during the conflict, including a shrine dedicated to Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli soldiers in 2022.

Dr Janette Habashi, executive director of Darzah, says she worries about the safety of the artisans (Supplied)

Its a war against identity, Haneen Ibrahim, the director of the ministry of culture in Jenin, said. They want to uproot and dismantle the Palestinian identity.

Ms Ibrahim, whose brother was killed in March this year by Israeli troops, said her grief was softened with pride when she saw his photo displayed in the Martyrs Square in Jenin. But the pain of his loss fell upon her again when the square was destroyed in the past month.

Throughout Jenin, rubble and scraps of metal are strewn across the floor where tall statues and monuments once stood.

The Jenin Horse, al-Hissan, was a popular sculpture built in 2003 after a deadly Israeli invasion into the city. The horse was made from parts of wrecked cars, metal from demolished houses, as well as a panel from an ambulance that was destroyed in a strike, killing the ambulance driver.

The watermelon monument in Jenin symbolised the regions agricultural richness (Supplied)

But it has also been destroyed in recent weeks (Supplied)

The horse stood near one of the main entrances to the Jenin refugee camp facing Haifa City, which represents the dream of the refugees to return to their homeland but locals say it was removed by Israeli troops on 29 October.

This horse is like an eyewitness to what happened in that battle in 2002, Ms Ibrahim said.

Wafaa Afeef Zakarni, director of the Women Union Committee in Jenin, said: The Israel army targets, humans, trees and stones. Palestinian people have been under this occupation for 75 years.

The psychological and economic suffering the women face is beyond imagination. When their husbands are in prison, or killed, or prevented from working in Palestine, the Palestinian women suffer.

The world stood on its feet to condemn the war in Ukraine, but what about for us?

But as their streets and monuments are being bulldozed, the first thing that Palestinians say is: We will rebuild what they destroyed.

Ms Ibrahim said: They managed to destroy the stone, but not our spirit.
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The US has been accused of being complicit in alleged war crimes in Gaza after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, said on Saturday that the US was responsible for the bloodshed of children and that its position on a ceasefire is aggressive and immoral, a flagrant violation of all humanitarian principles and values. Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas political bureau, condemned the US veto as inhumane.

The UN vote, which took place on Friday night, saw 13 of 15 Security Council members vote in favour of the draft resolution calling for a ceasefire that was brought forward by the United Arab Emirates. The UK abstained.

The USs decision to veto the resolution has attracted a chorus of criticism from capitals across the Middle East and around the world.

Firefighters battle flames in a building hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday (AFP)

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity. All the values relating to humanity are being murdered in Gaza. Referring to the US veto, Mr Erdogan said a fairer world was possible, but not with America, because the USA stands with Israel.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, in an interview with Turkeys state-run news agency Anadolu and broadcasterTRT, said: The American political system is now helpless on issues related to Israel. Therefore, Israel acts recklessly on this issue and continues its oppression.

Ahead of the UN vote, Mr Fidan and a delegation of foreign ministers from Arab nations travelled to Washington DC to push the US government to drop its objections to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said on Friday, ahead of a meeting with secretary of state Antony Blinken, that Israels bombardment and siege of Gaza is a war crime and one that is destabilising the region.

The US veto also attracted criticism from a range of human rights groups. Amnesty International said it showed a harsh disregard for the suffering of civilians, whilst Doctors Without Borders  also known as Medecins san Frontieres  said it was a vote against humanity.

Palestinian ambassador denounces UN Security Council after Gaza ceasefire vote (UNTV/AP)

Justifying its position, the deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the Security Council that a ceasefire will only plant the seeds for the next war.

The US has instead said it supports humanitarian pauses  such as last weeks seven-day truce which saw more than 100 hostages returned to Israel and 240 Palestinian detainees, most held without charge, freed.

As the vote on the resolution took place, Israeli warplanes continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, which wrought destruction throughout the night and into Saturday. Brutal, house-to-house fighting was reported in the southern city of Khan Younis on Saturday, as Israeli ground operations pressed on. Israel ordered residents out of the centre of of Khan Younis on Saturday.

The death toll in Hamas-run Gaza now stands at well over 17,000, according to the health ministry.

Deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert A Wood speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza (AFP)

During the vote, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres spoke of a serious risk to the maintenance of international peace and security in the Gaza conflict, pointing to the spillover of hostilities in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Since the war began, Israel has fought on multiple fronts, engaging in skirmishes with Iran-backed Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon and facing missiles fired towards its southern region by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Israel has also conducted a number of airstrikes into Syria.

In Iraq, other Iran-backed rebels have fired upon US interests in retaliation for their support of Israel. On Friday, the US embassy was targeted by a rocket, which caused minor material damage but no casualties, US and Iraqi officials said.

Shortly after the UN vote, Iran warned of the possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region.

Israel continued to bombard Gaza on Saturday (AP)

Despite their resistance to a ceasefire, the US has placed pressure on Israel to do more to limit civilian casualties, with Mr Blinken saying that a gap remains between Israels declared intentions to protect civilians and the mounting death toll on the ground. As we stand here almost a week into this campaign into the south it remains imperative that Israel put a premium on civilian protection, he said.

In response to calls for a ceasefire, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant argued it would amount to a victory for Hamas.

A ceasefire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza, and signalling terror groups everywhere, he said. Stand with Israel in our mission  we are fighting for our future, and we are fighting for the free world.
Prince William of Wales gave a woman a good scare during her charity hike. The touching moment happened to Emma Webb, who decided to walk the route from Newport to London in honor of the memory of her 16-year-old deceased daughter Brodie. The mother was shocked when she was approached by Prince William. During the meeting, the royal shouted "Boo!", surprising her.

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Emma Webb, who lost her daughter Brodie in March 2020, started the charity hike because she wants to raise awareness of mental health among young people, the Daily Mail reports. The event took place near the town of Slough, which is located near London.

Pulling a life-size statue of Miles the horse, the woman did not notice the presence of the prince behind her. He slowly walked up to her and shouted "Boo!" before hugging her.

The woman was walking with two other mothers who had lost their children to suicide. She was very surprised that Prince William, a well-known mental health advocate, came to support her. He stayed with the women for about 20 minutes and even helped them pull a horse. They discussed mental health and suicide prevention.

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"I knew he'd seen what I was doing on the news, but I didn't know he was going to turn up on the streets of Slough and walk with me, so it was incredible!" Emma said.

She also added, "I turned around and was just amazed to see him standing there. I, a little Welsh woman from Newport with a plastic horse, and the Prince of Wales was just standing in front of me. To receive a hug from the future King was unimaginable."

During the hike, Emma also faced some unpleasant situations, such as walking through mud, ice and narrow trails, which resulted in pieces of Miles breaking.

As of December 7, Emma had raised 30,000 during the hike. Before her suicide, Brodie was supposed to be a star in the world of horse racing, but one day she took her own life in one of the local forests.

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According to the Do It For Brodie website, aside from difficulties with friends at school, the girl did not show any signs of being suicidal. It was not easy for Emma to survive the loss but she has promised herself to keep the memory of the child alive by talking about the difficulties faced by young people with mental health issues.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that artificial intelligence showed what the children of Prince William and Kate Middleton might look like in the future.

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A woman in China rescued an injured border collie that was sold to a butcher to be slaughtered after its cruel owner decided to swap the dog for 20kg of pork.

Ms Liu found the poor pup tied up in a sack after it had been left in the corner of a butchers shop in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia.

The collie had previously been used to help herd cattle, but after it suffered a broken leg in a car accident, its owner decided to get rid of it rather than pay a bill at the vet.

He took the injured dog to the butcher and exchanged it for meat.

Ms Liu said although its previous owner let down the pup, she had decided to give it a new chance of life.

She gave it the name Xin Xin - the Chinese word for new - and with the help of professionals, has devised a physical therapy plan that will help the dog walk again.
The Philippines condemned Chinas illegal and aggressive actions in the South China Sea on Saturday 9 December, saying Chinas coast guard had fired water cannon at a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel conducting a regular resupply mission.

Videos shared by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese Coast Guard vessels firing water cannon at the Philippines fisheries bureau boats which Manila said were on a resupply mission to provide oil and groceries to more than 30 Filipino vessels in Scarborough Shoal, an area in the South China Sea claimed by both countries.

China said earlier that it took control measures against three Philippine fishing vessels that had intruded into waters near Scarborough Shoal.

A similar incident happened in August.
Watch the moment Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley is sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing four of his classmates and wounding seven others at Oxford High School in 2021.

The sentencing came after several emotional statements were given in court Friday by victims loved ones.

Crumbley was 15 years old when he used a semi-automatic handgun from his father to open fire at school on 30 November 2021.

His parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Its one of the first cases in the US where parents have been held accountable for their childs school shooting.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the Security Council after failing on Friday (8 December) to pass a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

We tried everything possible, but unfortunately, today was a sad day in the history of the Security Council, Mr Mansour said in a briefing to the press after the vote.

There are those who cannot see reality as they should see it. But eventually, they will cave in under the massive pressure of humanity.

The United States vetoed the resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they marched from Bank to Parliament Square in central London on Saturday 9 December.

The march began at Bank Junction at midday and finished in Westminster later in the afternoon, following a route that moved past St Pauls Cathedral and Somerset House.

People on the march held signs with the words Free Palestine and End the siege.

An exclusion zone was in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy and previous weekends have seen thousands of protesters and counter-protesters converging on the capital.
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion and other campaign groups joined a demonstration outside BP offices in London on Saturday 9 December as part of a global day of action calling for countries to tackle climate change.

The demonstrations, held around the world, coincide with the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai.

Protesters in London sought to link BP to Israels war against Hamas in Gaza, after Israel granted a licence for the energy giant to explore a gas field in the Mediterranean, close to the Tamar field about 50 miles offshore.
Demolition work has begun on five clifftop homes in a UK village hit by coastal erosion.

Workers knocked down the first of the homes in Hemsby, Norfolk, on Saturday morning (9 December).

It comes after high tides and strong winds caused the collapse of a stretch of a private access road last month.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council said a number of properties in The Marrams in Hemsby were subsequently inspected and a decision was taken to demolish five.

The authority said this decision, taken with the owners permission, was because the homes were not structurally sound and are unsafe.

Wrecking machines are on the beach to carry out demolitions due to the loss of the access road, and material is being taken off the beach by tipper truck.
A Minnesota police officer crawled across a frozen lake to rescue two fishermen and a dog who had fallen through ice.

Footage released by Anoka County Sheriffs Office shows Deputy Chris Fjeld crawling across the surface to rescue the trio.

The heroic deputy and his colleagues were able to rescue the two men and their dog using a rope, which was tied around his waist and pulled back to land.

Noticing the males were showing signs of hypothermia, Deputy Fjeld made the decision to begin the rescue before equipment and resources arrived, Anoka County Sheriffs Office wrote.

We are thankful all involved are ok and are proud of Deputy Fjelds selfless actions to help others in need.

The men were fishing on a lake in Nowthen, Minnesota, on 5 December when they fell through the ice.
Production in Irish-based manufacturing firms dropped by 16.9pc quarter on quarter and 30.6pc year on year, the CSO said

Production in Irish-based manufacturing firms dropped by 16.9pc in the three months to October, compared with the previous three months.

Production tumbled 30.6pc when compared with the same period last year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday.

It follows a dip of more than 22pc in the three months to September, when measures quarter on quarter or year on year.

As has become commonplace, the CSO issued a volatility warning on the statistics, saying the results reflect contract manufacturing activity and outsourcing in the Irish industrial economy.

The scale of contract manufacturing and outsourcing in the Irish industrial economy has increased since 2015, meaning that very high levels of short-term, ie monthly, volatility may be present in the indices presented in this release, the CSO said.

With this in mind, the CSO recommends that analysts take a longer-term view of the indices.

The volatility is concentrated in the so-called modern manufacturing sector, which includes the chemical, pharmaceutical, computer and electronic sectors.

On an annual basis, the modern sector experienced a 32.2pc decline in production in the three months from August to October, compared with the same period in 2022.

By contrast, production rose in the traditional sector  mainly Irish firms across a range of industries, by 2.9pc over the same period.

Food production rose by 7pc in the same period, year on year.

The CSO has been issuing volatility warnings since earlier this year as a result of massive swings in the data.

It follows increasingly large peaks and troughs in output by tech and pharma multinationals, which have led to a fall in Irish exports and plunged Ireland into a technical recession this year.

Separate CSO data shows that exports have been falling for most of the year, while gross domestic product  which includes all multinational transactions  fell 1.9pc in the three months to September, compared with the previous three months.

The dip was the largest in the EU in the quarter. CSO data shows the wider Irish economy has been experiencing negative GDP growth since late last year.

However, the domestic economy is still growing, with all official forecasters predicting GDP will recover next year as the tech and pharma sectors right-size following the pandemic boom.
Launching a public consultation for the Online Safety Code today, Niamh Hodnett described the task of monitoring incendiary content online as an ongoing issue. She also said platforms with adult content could ask children for photo ID to prove their age.

The Online Safety Commissioner believes the type of incendiary content on social media platforms that helped spark the Dublin riots could be an ongoing issue.

Speaking about the launch of Coimisiun na Means new draft safety code today, Niamh Hodnett told the Irish Independent that the anger associated with the riots hasnt gone away.

Ms Hodnett, whose Online Safety Commissioner role is part of Coimisiun na Mean, also said that she was worried about social media platforms recommender systems and how they might portray videos from the scene of the stabbings in different ways to different groups.

A number of us spoke in the afternoon of that Thursday, to try and get a picture of what exactly people were seeing, she said.

There was a concern that there was going to be a pile-on in relation to incitement to hatred or violence against migrants. And that's what we were concerned about, that we could start seeing a picture of. We didn't anticipate it was going to lead to the riots that it did lead to, but we did think it could lead to incitement to hatred, and that that would have had real world harm. So thats why we contacted the platforms.

She said that her team contacted big tech platforms soon after news of the stabbings on Parnell Square broke.

Under the draft code, Coimisiun na Means powers of enforcement, which include fines of up to 10pc of annual turnover or 20m, do not begin until February of next year.

Nevertheless, Ms Hodnett said that all platforms, including Elon Musks X, engaged with the regulatory body when it contacted them on Thursday November 23rd. She said that meetings with the big platforms took place the following day using video conference calls with the European Commision present on the calls.

Engagement and cooperation is not the same as compliance, necessarily, and the European Commission is currently looking into that, she said.

Earlier this week, X, formerly Twitter, described as inaccurate remarks made by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who said that X had not co-operated with Gardai in the aftermath of the riots.

The Gardai did not make any formal requests to us until late Monday 27th November, the companys global governance account said in a public tweet, castigating Ms McEntee and adding that it had taken action against 1,230 pieces of content relating to the riots.

We responded promptly. The only appeal we have received from the Gardai relating to the enforcement of our rules is for a single post.

The video-sharing tech platforms, said Ms Hodnett, activated response teams to deal with content that might be inciteful on the evening. The companies subsequently shared some of the actions they took with the Online Safety Commissioners office, although Ms Hodnett declined to say what those specific actions were.

She said that because her office is still informal until February, when enforcement of the Safety Code kicks in, it is the European Commission which is taking the lead on responding formally with the tech platforms about the matter.

They [European Commission] are assessing information and it's up to them as to what steps they're going to take further in relation to that, she said.

Ms Hodnett said that she remained concerned about content being shared in the aftermath of the riots.

I think this is going to be an ongoing issue, she said.

There was a lot of anger on the streets that night and it hasn't gone away. We met last week with the platforms and the European Commission and with the Gardai to offer what assistance we could.

Recommender systems, which use algorithms to show content the system thinks a user might like, are not included in the just-published draft safety code, which is now open to public consultation until January 19th.

However, Coimisiun na Mean says that it would be appropriate that supplementary measures to the code should require platforms to prepare, publish and implement a recommender system safety plan that includes measures to mitigate the main risks and explain the choices that

have been made about whether and how they have implemented a number of specified measures.

Ms Hodnett said that WhatsApp, which was used extensively during the riots, was not covered under the new draft code because it is considered to be a messaging service rather than a video-sharing platform.

She said that this would be kept under review, though.

The question is the degree to which those types of services have public channels so that they're no longer end to end interpersonal communications, she said, adding that if they shared terrorist content, they could come under additional enforcement measures.

Ms Hodnett said that the new safety codes robust and effective age-verification requirements, to stop children accessing inappropriate or adult content, could include requests for photo identification or camera shots from children.

However, because adult sites such as Pornhub and Onlyfans are not based in Ireland, Coimisiun na Mean will not enforce the measures on those sites.

However, sites such as X, which allow adult material and pornography, may be required to ask for age-verification, she said.

We are not mandating any particular type of technology or approach, said Ms Hodnett. That can include photo ID. It's up to the platforms to satisfy themselves as to what robust age verification is, in a way thats GDPR-compliant, and to report to us on it.

She said that the watchdog may interrogate the self-reporting process if we don't think those reports are okay.

After consultation, the finalised Code will form part of Irelands overall online safety framework, making digital services legally accountable for how they keep people safe online. This framework will also include the EU Digital Services Act and the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation, enforced in Ireland by Coimisiun na Mean.

The draft Code sets out measures that designated video-sharing platforms will be obliged to implement to keep their users, especially children, safe online. These platforms will have to protect children from specific types of harmful content. This includes cyberbullying, online content that promotes or encourages a feeding or eating disorder and online content that promotes or encourages self-harm or suicide.

Platforms will have to prevent the uploading or sharing of a range of illegal content, including incitement to hatred or violence. They will also have to provide media literacy tools for users, which can help people recognise disinformation and misinformation.

Public consultation on the draft digital safety code can be accessed at cnam.ie.
On December 7, Manchester, England, hosted a Chanel show. The French fashion house presented its Metiers d'art 2023/24 collection in an unusual location - right in the middle of the city street. The roadway served as a catwalk for the models, and the guests of the fashion event, including many world stars, sat on both sides.

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However, this creative idea turned into a scandal for the luxury brand. Residents of Manchester were unhappy that the road was blocked and a number of restrictions were imposed. This was reported by the Daily Mail.

Yes, the screening took place on Thomas Street in the city's Northern Quarter. Shops, cafes, and bars lining both sides of the street served as a backdrop.

A tall plexiglass canopy was specially built over the road because it was raining in the city, so we had to protect the models and visitors from the unwanted prospect of getting wet.

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In addition to the fact that the road was blocked for a month for a fashion event, people living in the area were also banned from going out on balconies and ordered to turn off the lights. The people did not want to put up with the restrictions, so they staged a kind of revolt. In particular, local residents came out to a pro-Palestinian rally at the moment when models in luxurious tweed outfits were walking on an improvised catwalk.

According to the source, people chanted slogans in defense of Palestine and waved flags, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

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Moreover, disgruntled residents of Manchester organized a karaoke party. They went to one of the bars and started singing loudly, ignoring the calls of the police to be quieter.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that one of the stores of the world-famous lingerie brand Victoria's Secret got into a loud scandal due to an incident with a transgender woman. For more details, follow the link.

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Hollywood star Ryan ONeal has died peacefully at the age of 82, his son Patrick ONeal announced.

The US actor starred in drama Peyton Place before rising to international stardom after his Oscar-nominated turn as Oliver in the romantic 1971 film Love Story, opposite Ali MacGraw.

He later starred in Whats Up, Doc? with Barbra Streisand, and Paper Moon, opposite his daughter Tatum, who won an Academy Award at the age of 10 for her performance.

My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us, Patrick announced on Instagram.

My father Ryan ONeal has always been my hero. I looked up to him and he was always bigger than life. When I was born in 1967 my dad was already a TV star on Peyton Place.

Thats where he met my mum Leigh Taylor-Young, and about nine months later (give or take a date night or two) I was born.

My dad became an international movie star with Love Story at the beginning of the 1970s, a decade he absolutely crushed by starring in movies like Whats Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Barry Lyndon, A Bridge Too Far, The Main Event, and The Driver.

He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop.

US actor Ryan ONeal with his Academy Award winning daughter Tatum (PA)

Patrick said the growth spurt of the name Ryan can be traced back to his father.

ONeal was described as Hollywoods leading boy following more than 500 episodes playing Rodney Harrington on hit drama Peyton Place.

During his career, he collaborated with director Peter Bogdanovich several times including on Paper Moon, Whats Up, Doc? and Nickelodeon in 1976.

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Other notable credits include starring as Barry Lyndon in Stanley Kubricks 1975 film, and opposite Streisand in The Main Event  seven years after Whats Up, Doc?

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Streisand said: So sad to hear the news of Ryan ONeals passing.

We made two films together, Whats Up, Doc? and The Main Event. He was funny and charming, and he will be remembered.

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US actors union Sag-Aftra said it was saddened to hear of ONeals death, who had been a union member since 1959.

A revered performer, he kicked off his career on Peyton Place, then found success in film with movies such as Love Story and Whats Up Doc? a statement said.
Society of the Snow dramatises the 1972 Uruguayan disaster made famous by Ethan Hawkes Alive, and the unthinkable choice its stranded survivors faced

On October 13, 1972, a chartered Uruguayan Air Force plane was flying the Old Christians Club rugby team over the Andes to play a match in Santiago, Chile when something went wrong. An inexperienced co-pilot mistook his bearings and struck the top of a mountain, which dislodged the Fairchild twin-props tail, and both wings. The fuselage landed on a glacier and barrelled along it at 350km an hour before crashing into a pile of ice and snow. The impact ripped seats from their moorings, causing a concertina crush that killed several people.

Of the 45 passengers and crew, 33 survived the crash and its immediate aftermath, but when they emerged from the twisted fuselage they realised their problems had only started. They were stuck 3,500 metres above sea level and surrounded on all sides by high mountains, at the start of winter. At that altitude, temperatures would drop as low as -35C, and the group would be at the mercy of vicious winter storms that raged through the mountains.

Miraculously, 16 of those passengers would last on that glacier for 72 days, and were rescued as a result of their own efforts. And as news of their ordeal echoed around the world, one lurid aspect captured the tabloid imagination: the survivors had resorted to cannibalism.

The Andes crash has been the subject of numerous documentaries and several feature films, most notably Alive, a somewhat sanitised account of the incident starring Ethan Hawke. JA Bayonas new film, Society of the Snow, is an infinitely superior film, and may well be in the running for the Best International Feature Oscar. It uses young and relatively unknown Uruguayan and Argentinian actors to portray the members of the Old Christians team, who we see joking and drinking after a rugby match at the start of the film.

Many of them had been friends for years, and most were middle-class Montevideans with bright futures ahead of them. A couple were studying medicine, but more important still was a powerful sense of togetherness that would play a crucial role in their survival.

The word miracle is thrown around with gay abandon, but the 16 who made it out of this unimaginably horrific situation really had no right to. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Gustavo Zerbino and Roberto Canessa, both medical students, did what they could for the wounded, bandaging broken bones with strips of clothing, and cleaning wounds as effectively as they could using snow.

Luckily for all concerned, the aircrafts fuselage was intact enough to provide a makeshift shelter, at the open rear of which the survivors piled up suitcases, seats and other fragments of the plane to create a makeshift wall. All the same, the cold was petrifying once night fell, and they huddled together for warmth in the wreckage: it was so cold their clothes froze, and they took turns punching each other on the arms to keep their circulation going.

At first most of the group hoped that they would be spotted by a rescue plane, but when one flew directly overhead on the fourth day after the crash, they realised to their horror that, in this vast, white landscape, they were invisible from the air. And things got worse when they hooked up a transistor radio to listen to the news, and heard some days later that the search was being called off. There had been hundreds of air crashes in the Andes to that point, and no one had ever survived. Authorities in Uruguay and Chile assumed that wherever the plane was, everyone on it was dead. They were on their own.

Though dehydration was a constant fear, they quickly figured out how to harvest enough drinking water from snow. Starvation was the real issue. There was very little food to go around, as their supplies amounted to some nuts, sweets, crackers, chocolate, a few jars of jam and three bottles of wine.

Even eked out to one square of chocolate per meal, it didnt last long. Some tried eating bits of leather ripped from the luggage, but the realists among the group were already staring out the fuselage windows at the frozen bodies of the fallen.

While others shrank from the awful prospect of cannibalism, Nando Parrado, who would play a key role in the eventual rescue, knew what had to be done. I didnt have any doubts, he told the Guardian recently, adding that he knew that this is the only way out. Not knowing when youre going to eat again is the worst the most primal fear.

Once the subject was raised, a heated debate ensued, and while a few of the passengers, such as Numa Turcatti, found the idea revolting, most quickly bowed to the inevitable.

The Strauch brothers bravely volunteered to do the butchering, and it must have helped that the bodies were semi-frozen. The strips of meat looked like beef jerky, and what had seemed unthinkable quickly became normal. But every time the group thought they had reached rock bottom, things got worse. Two weeks after the crash, storms dislodged an avalanche that buried the 27 remaining survivors in the planes shell. It took them four days to dig themselves out, by which time a further eight had died.

Nando Parrado (centre) is escorted by military personnel after he hiked from the crash site to get help. Photo: Getty

And as the days dragged on into weeks and months, it became clear that staying put indefinitely was not an option.

The meat was running out, and if an expedition to seek help wasnt attempted soon, they would be too weak to try.

On the 61st day after the crash, Nando Parrado, Roberto Canessa and their friend Antonio Tintin Vizintin struck out to scale the mountain to their west. They believed that the lowlands of Chile lay just beyond, but when they got to the top (it took them three days), all they saw in all directions was more snowy peaks.

It was decision time for Parrado, who reckoned the only option was to keep going. He and Canessa took Tintins rations, and sent him back to the plane  he made it in an hour, using a piece of the plane wreck as a sledge.

By this point, Parrado and Canessa were skin and bone, but somehow, in a superhuman effort, they hiked almost 60km over difficult terrain in 10 days, reached a river, and were spotted by a Chilean shepherd. With the help of army helicopters, they were able to locate their comrades, who were airlifted to safety.

Once back in civilisation, there was one issue which dominated all others. The Catholic Church insisted the survivors had done nothing wrong in eating what they had to eat, but it was an issue all of them would have to resolve alone.

As for the rest of us, who are we to judge? And as Society of the Snow makes clear, most of the group had given permission to the others to eat them if they died. We donated our bodies, Nando Parrado has said, you could die, and you could help the other ones to live.

Society of the Snow is released in cinemas on December 22, and on Netflix from January 4
Locals describe secret recordings as nauseating and tell of familys hurt

RTE Investigates reveals how planning appeals against developments have been withdrawn for cash

When the Irish Independent tried to speak with those who knew the Callaghan brothers of RTE Investigates infamy, we were met with a furious response in Westport.

Indeed they are not from Westport. That has been misreported several times this week and people are very annoyed over it, said a local businessman.

The businessman was correct. The Callaghans were born and bred in the beautiful coastal village of Mulranny.

And the locals of Mulranny are not happy either, following the accusations.

According to documents seen by RTE Investigates: The Planning Trap, the men withdrew an appeal made against a large commercial development 24 hours after they received a payment of more than 50,000 in September.

John and Micheal Callaghan were appointed as environmental consultants to the development through their company Carbon Hunter Limited, through which they also received the payment.

The Callaghans come from a highly respected and well-liked family. Their parents, Mary and Danny, are said to be devastated following the claims laid out in the RTE Investigates special last Monday night.

And they have a lovely sister who is a kind and lovely girl. Im very sad for her. She slept out a night last week on the streets to make money for the homeless. Shes that kind of girl, one local who knows the family said.

Another local man described the secret recordings of John Callaghan, who now lives in Kells, Co Meath, meeting with a developers before being paid off as nauseating.

His brother Micheal was described as cute enough. As they say down here  he wouldnt sell you a hen on a wet day.

One woman described how we saw the ad for the show first so everybody was glued to it. And its all that people have been talking about since.

She said Micheal was a stone mason and then went back into education I think. Nobody had seen him for a while and the next thing he is on the television. I cant tell you too much about John these days beyond what was on the RTE programme.

He has been gone from here a long time. Youll have to go to Meath and see what turns up.

Another local said: Everybody in the village is shocked its only a very small place so as you can imagine everybody knows everybody.

They too described the brothers parents as lovely people.

John Callaghan ran for local election for Fine Gael in Kells in 2009. He received 51 votes. One party official described the election result for Callaghan as the absolute worst result Ive ever seen for any Fine Gael candidate anywhere.

The Irish Independent made multiple attempts to contact both Micheal and John Callaghan for comment.

Housing minister Darragh OBrien this week revealed he had written to the Attorney General and the Department of Justice following the TV programme.

An Bord Pleanala (ABP) is also to carry out a review of the appeals made by John Callaghan. ABP has agreed to carry out the review of Mr Callaghans objections, RTE reported, on the back of the investigation, which alleged that he received payments from developers under the guise of environmental planning appeals as go-away payments.

The planning body will review all appeals made my Mr Callaghan or his NGO group Sustainability 2050, while the Attorney General, the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing are also examining the payments.

RTE contacted the brothers to inquire about payments they may have received from developers and that, based on evidence gathered by the programme, their planning appeals were not motivated by environmental concerns but instead intended to secure money in return for the withdrawal of their appeals.

In response, John Callaghan said in a statement: Please be aware that neither of the parties referred to in your letters has done anything unlawful.
Charles 'Chuck' Feeney receives an honorary Doctorate of Laws jointly awarded by all the universities on the island of Ireland at Dublin Castle in 2012, pictured with his wife Helga, left, and family members. Photo: Mark Condren

It was the worst of times. On October 19, 1987, the US stock market plunged 22pc. The day was dubbed Black Monday  the largest one-day drop of the Dow Jones Index in history.

But it remains a standout day for me, for a different reason. In the midst of the financial storm, I was on my way to meet one Charles Feeney, in New York City. A mutual friend had suggested we meet. All I knew was that he was a successful businessman who took pride in his Irish heritage and had set up an Irish-American charity called the Irish American Partnership.
I could feel the tears in my eyes, this was a nightmare  life on the front line of Ireland's emergency department overcrowding crisis
People watch Atlantic swells in Doolin Co Clare as Storm Elin hits Ireland

Storm Elin is sweeping across the country today bringing gale force winds.

Met Eireann issued Status Orange and Status Yellow wind and rain warnings for 22 counties overnight.

An Orange wind warning is in place for Donegal from 2pm to 6pm, in Dublin from 12pm to 3pm, and in Wicklow from 11am to 5pm.

Met Eireann has said Storm Elin will generate gale force west to northwest winds and severe gusts, causing disruption and travelling difficulties.

There is a Yellow Wind Warning for Connacht, Clare and Tipperary from 8am to 6pm on Saturday, as well as a separate Yellow Wind Warning for Leinster, Cavan and Monaghan from 10 am to 8pm.

There are two Wind and Rain Warnings for Donegal from 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm where there will be strong and gusty west winds combined with heavy falls of rain at times.

This could lead to difficult travelling conditions and in places debris and loose objects could be displaced.

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The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has asked road users to use caution when travelling as severe gusts could cause disruption and travel difficulties.

Read more Christmas markets in Dublin close due to Storm Elin weather warnings

Drivers need to slow down and allow a greater braking distance between themselves and the vehicle in front in wet weather conditions, said the RSA.

"This is especially important on high-speed roads such as dual carriageways and motorways where there is increased danger of aquaplaning.

Explainer : What are weather status warnings?

Meanwhile on Sunday, Storm Fergus with bring very strong winds with possible coastal flooding, according to Met Eireann.

A Status Orange wind warning has been issued on Sunday for Clare, Galway and Mayo, valid from 3pm until 8pm.

While a Status Yellow wind warning is in place for counties Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo on Sunday.

This warning is valid from 6pm until midnight.

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More to follow
Family, friends and comrades of brave soldier Private Sean Rooney will gather in Co Donegal on Sunday to remember him one year on from his tragic death.

Sean was killed while on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on December 14, 2022.

Private Rooney, who was just 24, was killed and three others were injured when their UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) vehicle was attacked.

Now almost a year after his death a special wreath-laying ceremony will take place in Newtowncunningham where Sean is buried.

The commemoration is being organised by the Irish United Nations Veterans Association. Sean's family including his mother Natasha, his father Paul, his grandparents Eugene and Rachel, his grandmother Ann McClusky, sisters Robyn and Carragh, brothers Callum and Benn are all expected to attend.

So too will his fiancee Holly.

Hollai Nic Conaill Oig and Sean Rooney (Photo: Hollai Nic Conaill Oig/Twitter)

The tragic soldier was due to tie the knot with the Derry woman last August.

Those attending the event are asked to gather in the carpark of the Church of All Saints at 2:30pm prior to the ceremony which takes place at 3pm.

Sean was born and raised in Co Louth but moved to Donegal when he was 12, attending St Eunan's College in Letterkenny and living ion Newtowncunningham.

Many locals who grew to know Sean were shocked by his killing are expected to attend the ceremony also.

Five men, believed to be members of the militant group Hezbollah, have been charged with his murder.

At the time of his funeral his fiancee Holly wrote a heartwarming tribute which was read by Parish Priest Fr Derek Ryan, which said: "I am absolutely heartbroken that our life together has been cut short, but I feel extremely lucky to have experienced that person and love."

She added: "Some people dont ever have an opportunity to love and be loved in the way that Sean and I did."
The onion man said his job was sorting out the onions that were delivered to the factory from the fields. Photo: Getty

The ladies man told me the only time he couldnt find a girlfriend was when he was working in an onion factory in Holland. How could you manufacture onions in a factory? That was the question I asked of him, and of myself too.
Max Boot: Republicans blocking of aid to Ukraine makes me ashamed to be American

Partys grandstanding is a throwback to dark period of world history

Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire an anti-tank gun in Avdiivka, Ukraine. Photo: Getty

Washington Post Sat 9 Dec 2023 at 03:30

Its not often that I feel ashamed to be an American. But I was ashamed this week when the Senate refused to support a supplemental spending bill that would provide about $61bn (56bn) in urgently needed aid for Ukraine, along with $14bn (13bn) for Israel and $20bn (18.5bn) for border security.
When there is only one real candidate, the use of the word election is dubious  almost as questionable as the candidate himself. Vladimir Putins announcement that he plans to run for a fifth time is about as unsurprising as the result will be.

Given his total domination of Russian politics for the last two decades  jailing opponents such as Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin for daring to take him on at the ballot box  the whole exercise is an insult to democracy.

Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90pc of the vote, his spokesman announced helpfully, without a single vote being cast.

Under constitutional rules  written by himself  Putin is entitled to two more six-year terms.

Like autocrats in China and North Korea, his announcement suggests he will not leave office in the foreseeable future, perhaps not in his lifetime.

The Kremlin plans to present him as the guarantor of a Russian civilisation that is under attack by a West bent on destroying the traditional family, faith and national pride.

Analysts suggest the election is intended to show he is still in total command of the country after the failed summer uprising of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. But the aura of invincibility he is so determined to project shatters somewhat when it comes up against some hard facts.

The war he believed would be over quickly is becoming more intractable. The resolve of Ukrainians has grown rather than weakened. Meanwhile, Putins army remains bogged down against Ukrainian forces backed by billions of dollars in weapons from the US and Nato allies. An invasion meant to last for days will be entering its third year by the time of the vote.

But it is disconcerting that it is the shadow of an election in the home of the free that could have serious consequences for the people of Ukraine. This week, the US Senate refused to support spending of $61bn in urgent aid for Kyiv.

After the invasion in Ukraine, it was acknowledged that Kyivs war was a battle for a rule-based order and respect for international boundaries. Should Putin get away with it in Ukraine, where will be next?

It would be seen as a major boost for Moscow, were such a united front put in jeopardy.

Unless Republicans and Democrats can reach agreement on the money, funding could run out by the end of the month. Although Europe has already contributed twice as much financial help to Kyiv as the US, it needs all the help it can get to withstand the onslaught.

Kremlin propaganda hinges on high levels of support for Putin and for the war that now defines his presidency, so this is no time to signal to Moscow that Washington could be wavering.

The remotest indication of the Wests buckling not only risks undermining Kyivs efforts, but also it could further embolden Putin.
The Russian actor Oleksandr Hudkov, who is considered "banned" in Ukraine and repressed in Russia, unexpectedly spoke Ukrainian. He did so on the occasion of the birthday of the famous music video maker Tania Muinho.

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The Russian called her "the best Odessan" and dedicated a few more warm words to the Ukrainian. A post with a photo appeared on his Instagram stories.

"There is no more beautiful Odessan. Happy birthday, my space star," Hudkov wrote in Ukrainian.

In the photo, the artist posed in a yellow suit, while the music video maker, whom he identified in the frame, stood with her back to the camera.

We would like to remind you that the woman from Odesa celebrated her 34th birthday on December 7 this year. Her colleagues and friends congratulated her. The celebration took place abroad, as the Ukrainian has long been collaborating with foreign musicians.

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By the way, Hudkov is "attributed" with financial assistance to Ukrainians in Russia, which is why they check and prevent the artist's performances.

The Russians hated him because he said that he was ashamed of his birthday on February 24. Hudkov is also accused of participating in a charity performance, where he allegedly raised funds for Ukrainians.

He is known as a co-author of a number of popular projects: "Comedy Woman", "Evening Urgant" on Russia's Channel One, and Philip Kirkorov's music videos (including "The Color of Mood is Blue").

In 2018, the comedian said in an interview that he would no longer be allowed into Ukraine. The star's team was allegedly told this at customs after the concert. There is no official data on Gudkov's entry ban.

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Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that on December 9, American actor John Malkovich celebrates his birthday, who received an award in Kyiv but desperately defends Russians.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
'Go away money': How Supermac's boss Pat McDonagh has been hit with 'ransom' demands for 2m to avoid bogus planning objections

Restaurant-chain owner says go-away money is the new compo culture

'Go-away money' demands are the new compo claims, says Supermacs boss

Fionnan Sheahan Sat 9 Dec 2023 at 03:30

A campaigning businessman says he has had ransom demands of up to 2m to withdraw planning objections to his developments.
From Christmas markets and afternoon tea, to classic pantos and a cosy pint

With the annual festive frenzy now fully upon us, it can be all too easy to get caught up in the Christmas rush.

To really enjoy what the city has to offer, weve taken it upon ourselves to craft the ultimate guide to enjoying a day out in Dublin city centre this Christmas  and its not all about just hitting the shops.

10am  Grab some breakfast

Its important to fuel up before a day of shopping and festive fun, so fuel up in any one of these lovely cafes.

Beanhive  Dawson Street

Go to Beanhive on Dawson Street if youre after a classic full Irish breakfast with all the trimmings, priced at 14. Located right off St Stephens Green and Grafton Street, this is a perfect spot to start your day on a full stomach. Beanhive is also known for its unique coffee designs for brew lovers.

Urbanity  Smithfield

Located on Coke Lane in Smithfield, you cant book ahead, but regulars are happy to wait for the festive brunch menu, perfect for getting you in the Christmas mood. Urbanity will be serving one dish that caught our eye: House Belgian waffles with spiced pear, ginger custard, salted caramel Baileys mascarpone, and amaretti crumble, all for the price of 15.

Metro Cafe  South William Street

Metro Cafe makes a lovely breakfast at a reasonable price all day long. The Metro Special is a particular favourite, including scrambled eggs, streaky bacon, cherry tomatoes, relish, alongside buttermilk pancakes covered in golden syrup, all for the cost of 12.75.

Laine, My Love  Talbot Street

Open from 7.30am on weekdays, Laine, My Love is the perfect spot to grab great coffee on Talbot Street. With a sleek design and a simple menu, a breakfast sandwich is set at the reasonable price of 7, and scrambled eggs and toast are also priced at 6.50.

11am  Hit the shops

Alongside popular shopping areas such as Grafton Street and Henry Street, Dublin city centre has a variety of shopping centres to choose from, including the Ilac and Jervis on the northside, and St Stephens Green and Powerscourt on the southside. Dont forget about books this Christmas and visit Chapters, Easons or Dubray Books.

Enjoy the lights and festive atmosphere on Grafton Street. Pic: Getty

Alternatively, visit one of the citys many Christmas markets for free and browse the many arts and crafts and food stalls. Check out Christmas at the Castle at Dublin Castle, Christmas on Moore Street and Mary Street, or visit an old favourite, the Georges Street arcade.

2pm  Create a Christmas memory

What Christmas day out would be complete without a visit to the big man himself. While the Arnotts Santa experience is old out, Dublins Ilac Shopping Centre, Jervis Shopping Centre and St Stephens Green all offer Santa visits. But if youre in town without the little ones, try these instead.

Bewleys Afternoon Tea Experience

Bewleys on Grafton Street has introduced a festive Afternoon Tea Experience. Head Pastry Chef Alessia Cimmino presents an indulgent treat featuring a Chocolate Universe, baked custard tart, Baileys Creme Brulee, and a raspberry-cinnamon financier. Priced at 49 per person, the Afternoon Tea is available Thursdays to Sundays, with bookings required at Bewleys.com or Open Table.

Carols at Christchurch Cathedral

Take time out from the crowds at Dublins Christchurch Cathedral which is hosting a number of lunchtime carols singing events in the run up to Christmas. They also have Christmas wreath-making workshops available. Find out more here.

4pm  Tour Dublins Winter Lights

The spectacular Winter Lights are on show at locations throughout Dublin

For the month of December, locations all over the city centre will be transformed with colourful projections and lighting displays, including for the first time, Bank of Ireland College Green and the Central Bank Plaza. Feel the festive magic at various locations including: the Spire and GPO on OConnell Street; the Custom House; Samuel Beckett Bridge; Trinity College and the Bank of Ireland on College Green; Central Plaza; the Hapenny Bridge and Millennium Bridge; Barnardo Square /City Hall; the Mansion House; and Merrion Square Park.

6pm  Dinner or a show

Cinderella (Gaiety Theatre)  Running until January 21, this is the perfect family activity with tickets starting at 21.50.

Peter Pan (Gate Theatre)  Running until January 14, standard tickets start at 43.50.

Olly, Polly & The Magic Lamp (Olympia Theatre)  Starting from December 20 and running until January 7, tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster for 22.50.

Or if youre not in the mood for some panto mayhem, enjoy some festive food in one of Dublin city centres incredible restaurants close to the shopping hubs:

All Bar Chicken (Capel Street)  A diverse menu featuring chicken dishes, along with cocktails, craft beers, and G&Ts, complimented by nostalgic 80s and 90s tunes across three vibrant venues.

Fade Street Social (Fade Street)  Enjoy festive decorations, mouth-watering menus, and a wide selection of wines and cocktails. Fade Street Social also has a heated terrace, prefect for those cold winter nights.

Gotham Cafe (South Anne Street)  A laid-back and family-owned dining experience, this neighbourhood restaurant features signature stone oven pizzas, crafted with freshly made daily dough and locally sourced ingredients.

9pm  Grab a well-earned pint

Finish off your perfect festive day with a well-deserved drink in one of Dublins many cosy pubs.

John Kehoes (South Anne Street)  Mr Kernan fell down the inside staircase of this warm and homely venue in James Joyces Ulysses. What a thought to contemplate was you grab a pint in the snug at one of the atmospheric venues in Dublin.

Finish your day with a festive pint in The Ginger Man pub

The Ginger Man (Fenian Street)  Arguably the countys glitziest pub, to continue the festive feeling you can pop into the Ginger Man to enjoy a cosy pint in a venue festooned with a huge display of Christmas decorations.

Nearys (Chatham Street)  Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Grafton Street, this is an perfect location to relax after a long day of shopping.

Peters Pub (South William Street)  If youre looking for the definition of cosy, Peters Pub is located on the corner of Johnsons Place at the end of South William Street. Surrounded by trendy new bars, nightclubs and cafes, you can enjoy a traditional Irish pub and a cosy atmosphere with incredibly friendly staff.
Tulsk will be bypassed as a result of the upgrading of the N5.

Representatives of Wills Bros, Foxford, Contractors for the project, along with senior management of Roscommon County Council at the contract signing.

Contracts for the construction of Countys Roscommon largest ever single road contract which bypasses four towns have been finalised.

The N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge road project contract was signed on Friday in Aras an Chontae, Roscommon.

The project, which has the estimated total scheme cost of more than 450m, bypasses the towns and villages of Frenchpark, Bellanagare, Tulsk and Strokestown.

The 34km project provides key national infrastructure delivering a safe, efficient road connection to modern standards for the West region.

The main construction contract was awarded to Wills Bros. Ltd, Ballylahan Bridge, Foxford, County Mayo.

The Contract duration is four years, and accordingly the project is anticipated to be substantially complete by October 2027.

The appointed Contractor, Wills Bros Ltd., together with representatives from Roscommon County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and Roughan and ODonovan-Aecom, have moved the project along with the signing of the main construction on this most significant project for the West of Ireland.

The project, which is fully aligned with European, national, regional, and local planning policy, involves the construction of a single carriageway road between the tie-in of the N5 Ballaghaderreen Bypass at Rathkeery Townland (western extent) and Scramoge Townland (eastern extent).

The project replaces 35km of sub-standard single carriageway road that has remained un-improved on the former route for over 40 years.

In the process, the construction will complete the most significant missing link on the N5 National Primary route between Dublin and Westport.

The form of contract being used for the project is the Public Works Contract for Civil Engineering Works, designed by the Contractor under which the appointed Contractor undertakes the detailed design and construction of the project.

The new road project will also retain sufficient and safer access for local traffic to the areas affected by the project.

It will also enable sustainable transport policies to create shorter commutes and the development of safer, pleasant active travel measures for the benefit of both local residents and visitors to the area.

Some preparatory works have already commenced on the new road.

Chief Executive of Roscommon County Council Shane Tiernan says the local authority is delighted to work with Wills Bros Ltd. who have been appointed as contractors.

Wills Bros. has a proven track record in delivering top class infrastructure, working sustainably in an environmentally aware manner that is sensitive to the needs of affected communities.

The new road will greatly enhance one of the most important national primary routes in the country, improving traffic connectivity between east and west and serve as one of the main arterial routes to the western region.

The development will also be a major driver for local economic development.

"It will reduce journey times as well as carriage costs for business but more importantly, provide a quality and safer route for road users, providing better connectivity for the entire region.

The new road will also reduce traffic congestion and improve road safety in our towns and villages such as Frenchpark, Bellanagare, Strokestown and Tulsk which will now be bypassed.

"Because of this, all of these places will be more attractive for visitors to stop and enjoy the many retail, historical and heritage offerings that they possess in abundance.

A further important element of the new road is its potential for the design of enhanced safety features for pedestrians and cyclists who will also benefit from the reduction of traffic in the towns and villages bypassed, said the Chief Executive, following the contract signing.

Cathaoirleach of Roscommon County Council Cllr. John Keogh has also warmly welcomed contact signing.

The N5 project will be a transformative project for our county.

"Our central location to many urban centres will be greatly enhanced by the new road, making our county an even more attractive place to live and invest in., said Mr Keogh.

Charles Wills, Managing Director of Wills Bros Ltd., says the company are delighted to be entrusted with delivery of the N5 project which is the largest road project ever to be delivered in county Roscommon.

As a family run company from the West of Ireland with over 50 years experience in civil engineering, Wills Bros take great pride in the standards we achieve in our projects.

"The company has a diverse client base and throughout its long and illustrious history has delivered projects for its many clients throughout Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.

We are acutely aware of the responsibility entrusted in us to deliver this project to the highest standards in the shortest time possible and appreciate that it will have a transformative effect upon County Roscommon and the region as a whole, Mr. Wills remarked.
An elderly man was rushed to hospital on Friday night after being struck by a passing car on the main N25 road between Wexford town and Rosslare Harbour.

Aged in his 80s, the pedestrian was crossing at Tagoat Village when he was reportedly hit by an oncoming vehicle at around 10.30pm

Emergency services rushed to the scene and paramedics from the National Ambulance Service administered medical attention at the roadside before the man was eventually brought to Wexford General Hospital and on to University Hospital Waterford for further treatment.

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The mans injuries are understood to be serious and he is reported to have sustained several fractures, however, it is hoped he will make a recovery.

The N25 at Tagoat has earned a dangerous reputation in recent years, having seen a number of collisions, particularly following an increase in traffic to Rosslare Europort.

In fact, this time last year a man was seriously injured in similar circumstances while crossing the road in Tagoat.

Local councillor and Operations Manager with the National Ambulance Service Cllr Ger Carthy has been left frustrated, having consistently raised the dangers of the N25 in the village and the speeds at which cars and HGVs pass through.

Im blue in the face calling for action on this, he said. Last nights events serve as a grim reminder of just how serious this is.

"Ive consistently called for TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) to re-align the road and install traffic calming and Ive been told that the design is currently with TII management. I want the 350,000, or whatever it costs, to be moved immediately to Wexford County Council to get going on these works.

"Were seeing more and more accidents on that stretch of road. Ive been telling them for well over two years about this. Its not like they havent been warned. Ill be calling on Wexford County Councils roads director to get onto TII first thing Monday morning to get the ball rolling on getting this done. The time for talking is over. They have the design, they have the costings, its time to get the job done before we have any more serious incidents.
If the Live Animal Crib at Dublins Mansion House is a bit of a trek, you can always put the live nativity, One Night in Bethlehem, on the Christmas calendar as the family event returns to St Patricks Church, Greystones, on Friday, December 22, from 5-8pm.

The fun-filled family event will showcase a live nativity, an alpine food market, crafts, games, face painting and activities for everyone.

The child-friendly petting zoo will return again and the children can look forward to meeting everything from a pig, rabbits, a turkey, goat, pony, llama, chickens, lamb and of course the loveable donkey.

Speaking about the live nativity, Canon David Mungavin said: It is great to come together as a community and parish to celebrate this special time of year. One Night in Bethlehem is a magical event which transforms our church grounds into the stable in Bethlehem.

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"The live nativity, music and animals will help the children try to imagine the night that Jesus was born. We have lots of animals looking forward to greeting the children and everyone is welcome so be sure to put it in your diary.

There will be a new instalment this year also called The Little Donkey Depot, which will be a quiet spot especially for anyone who needs some time out away from the sounds, lights and crowd.

This depot is particular good if a little one is feeling overwhelmed and needs somewhere to sit quietly. This comfy corner will be overlooking the animals but without the bustle, and will feature the Tovertafel Sensory Machine, wooden toys, coffee and tea.

Everyone is welcome. Raffle tickets can also be bought with cash on the night and all proceeds from the event will go to Make a Wish Foundation Ireland and the Parish Funds. Tickets are available from eventbrite.
Joanne McNally has revealed how she doesnt believe in marriage when she appeared as a guest on Fridays Late Late Show.

The comedian joined Patrick Kielty on the show where she spoke about the five sell-out My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast shows with Vogue Williams at the 3Arena.

McNally touched on the prospect of marriage, moving into her new apartment and her relationship with her mother.

Introducing McNally as the undisputed queen of Irish comedy, Kielty was also joined by guests Dara O Briain, Ruth Jones, Sonia OSullivan, Jarlath Regan, Iain Stirling, Tara Flynn and Marian Keyes.

On the topic marriage, McNally said: I actually don't think I believe in marriage, I think I kind of outgrown it now.

I think 40, it's like you've either done it now or what's the point?

That's how I feel about it, she explained.

The podcaster also spoke about her relationship with her mother and her plans for Christmas, which she will spend with her boyfriend and family.

"My mother, she's 70-odd now but I'm paranoid about how many Christmases she has left, which sounds really grim but this is what I think about now, she told Kietly.

"I'm like, what have we got left? Because I'm obsessed with her, she's one of my best friends.

"So now it's everything she wants, I'll bring her to Santa's grotto. Every Christmas is about making her happy, we're making memories. A Faberge egg, what do you want? I'll get it back in the will anyway."

McNally spoke about run of live shows of her podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams.

Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally.

It's a lot of female energy in the room. We're very lucky, she told Kielty.

So we've described it as the last hen party on Earth.

There is something apocalyptically wild about it, which is why we love it.

Its gas, she added.

Patrick Kielty pointed out that Joanne McNally and Vogue Williams have done more shows in 3Arena than Girls Aloud and The Killers.

I'm not dampening our achievements but I think Girls Aloud just weren't arsed doing more, said McNally.

We just kept putting them on because we were like: Yeah, let's go!

I just don't believe that Cheryl Cole was dying to sell 3Arena but couldnt, she said.

The podcaster announced she will be heading to the States for the last six shows of her Prosecco Express tour.

Its the last six and Im going to America, multiple states, seeing what damage I can do over there.
The Irish divorce: Why the arrangement of celebrity couples like Jada Pinkett and Will Smith is not unusual to us
Rishi Sunak offers olive branch to Tory MPs in last-ditch bid to stave off revolt on Rwanda deportation plan

It will be the end of the line for the Conservative government if divisive immigration bill fails to pass, one party MP said

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street on Thursday. His new Immigration minister said the government would be open to compromises with rebel Tory MPs unhappy about the bill if it passes. Photo: James Manning/PA

Archie Mitchell UK Independent Sat 9 Dec 2023 at 03:30







Rishi Sunak is extending an olive branch to disgruntled Tory MPs to stave off a rebellion over his Rwanda plan after the cost of the deportation scheme hit 290m (338m).
President Vladimir Putin speaks in his annual televised New Year's message after a ceremony during a visit to the headquarters of the Southern Military District, at an unknown location in Russia, on Dec. 31, 2022. Putin on Friday Dec. 8, 2023 moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for another six years, announcing his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election that he is all but certain to win.(Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
The US Department of Justice filed new criminal charges against US president Joe Bidens son Hunter on Thursday, accusing him of failing to pay $1.4m (1.3m) in taxes while spending millions of dollars on a lavish lifestyle.
From late July to early October 2023, Russian propagandists distributed videos of American stars in which they allegedly appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to "stop using drugs." Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center provided evidence that this was an anti-Ukrainian disinformation campaign by Russians.

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The report was published on Microsoft's website. Cyber experts explained how the citizens of the terrorist country received videos from world-famous personalities and cynically turned them into a propaganda tool.

"Since July 2023, Russian actors have been deceiving celebrities into providing video messages, which were then used in pro-Russian propaganda. These videos were then manipulated to falsely portray President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi as a drug addict," the report says.

Thus, according to the company's experts, propagandists used video messaging platforms such as Cameo to trick celebrities into sending a video message to someone named "Volodymyr." In the video, they were supposed to get that person to seek help for drug abuse.

The received messages were altered in such a way that they ended up looking like a fragment of an interview or InstaStories in which the stars allegedly talked about Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his "fight against substance abuse." These fake videos were distributed in propaganda media and Telegram channels.

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"Kremlin officials and Russian state propaganda have long spread false claims that President Zelensky is struggling with substance abuse; however, this campaign marks a new approach by pro-Russian actors seeking to expand the narrative in the online information space," the researchers commented.

Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center identified seven such video fakes. They featured the daughter of the iconic Elvis Presley, Priscilla Presley, "Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood, actors Dean Norris, Kate Flannery and John McGinley, and musician Shavo Odadjian.

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As OBOZ.UA previously wrote, the Russians also launched a fake that Ukrainians in Poland allegedly beat Poles for refusing to shout "Glory to Ukraine." But no one believed this fake, and moreover, Polish law enforcement officials denied it.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
New Delhi: State-owned NBFC REC Limited signed a 200 million Euro loan agreement with the German bank KfW on Saturday to enhance the distribution infrastructure of DISCOMs in line with the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) of the government.

REC Ltd is a Maharatna company focusing on Power Sector Financing and Development across India.

According to an official statement, this marks REC's sixth line of credit under the Indo-German Development Cooperation and demonstrates the corporations commitment.

REC is the nodal agency to implement the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to help DISCOMs improve their operational efficiencies and financial sustainability by providing result-linked financial assistance.

Executive Director (BDM, I&L) T.S.C. Bosh said This announcement not only showcases REC's ability to secure strategic partnerships with international financial institutions but also underscores our integral role in driving positive change within the power distribution landscape in India.

"The collaboration with KfW is expected to have a transformative impact on the operational capabilities and financial resilience of DISCOMs, ultimately contributing to the broader goals of the RDSS scheme and the nation's power sector reforms," he said.

REC Limited works under the Ministry of Power and provides long-term loans and other finance products for the power infrastructure sector comprising Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Renewable Energy and new technologies.
Photo Courtesy: COP28/Anthony Fleyhan

Young climate advocates at COP28 in Dubai on Friday said they will not sit idly by while climate change threatens their futures. They said their voices and ideas can help rescue the planet and demanded that government policymakers put the needs of the worlds nearly 2 billion children first.

With negotiations on curbing global warming and the future of fossil fuels generating the most buzz as the latest UN climate conference heads towards the finish line  COP28 is scheduled to wrap up next Tuesday  young people and children grabbed the spotlight today.

In the lead-up to the conference, the UN released a string of dire reports confirming that our planet is at a tipping point. The latest survey from the UN weather agency, WMO, said that greenhouse gasses have turbo-charged a dramatic acceleration in ice melt and sea level rise.

The world is home to 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 to 24  the largest youth generation in history. They are increasingly vocal and aware of the risks posed by the climate crisis, and they took the center stage today the Al-Waha theater in Dubais Expo City.

Movement for change

At a youth dialogue event, Ameila Turk of YOUNGO  a global network of children and youth activists  outlined the global youth statement delivered to delegates at COP28, a policy document prepared with over 750,000 inputs received from over 150 countries.

She described it as a part of climate movement.

While we might not necessarily have the ability to bring everybody to a COP itself, the global statement is an excellent example of how we are able to show what we really care about, and to show the audience why we are here.

Dr. Mashkur Isa of YOUNGO asked attendees under the age of 35 to raise their hands and most hands in the packed auditorium went up.

He noted that it was unfortunate that such a high level of youth representation was mostly missing in the day-to-day work of COP28, as well as previous UN climate conferences.

Despite our continuous calls for ambitious climate action our children and youth are absent from climate discussions, commitments and policymaking. Parties must protect our interests by immediately placing the voices of children and youth at the center of all levels of climate change decision-making, he stated.

Action for climate empowerment

YOUNGO member Bhumi Sharma, moderator of the youth climate dialogue, said that ensuring finance for the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) agenda is crucial.

ACE, which echoes one of the objectives of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement aims to empower all members of society to engage in climate action through education and public awareness, training, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation.

There has been a chronic absence of funds and despite efforts, developed countries are not willing to talk about it, she added.

Speaking to UN News, she underscored that activism for climate action comes from within, and while we cannot force anyone to care about something they dont, her hope is that people take the climate crisis seriously.

The climate crisis is an education crisis

According to UNICEF analysis released earlier this year, weather-related disasters caused the internal displacement of 43.1 million children in 44 countries over a six-year period  approximately 20,000 children a day.

Earlier on Friday, UN News spoke to Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the UN global fund for education in emergencies, which recently issued an appeal for $150 million to scale up efforts in response to the climate crisis.

Climate change has proven to be one of the largest causes for displacement after conflict, she said, adding that displacement affects the education of children and youth, and eventually their futures.

A new Education Cannot Wait survey shows that the education of 62 million children and adolescents has been disrupted as an immediate and direct consequence of climate change.

Indeed, nearly 29,000 schools were damaged or destroyed due to flooding in Pakistan, and drought is impacting young lives in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.

Its important not to separate climate change from the impact it has on basic services. These are not two different agendas, Ms. Sherif explained. The climate crisis is an education crisis.

More funding

At COP28, Education Cannot Wait is pushing for more progress and to place education at the center of the climate action agenda.

Without putting investment in education, all the billions we are investing is a lost money, said Ms. Sherif.

She said that even a small investment in education can go a long way in ensuring that the new generation keeps going to school and becomes the engineers, the scientists, the teachers who continue on the path towards saving the mother Earth.

Don't tell me that there are no resources. If we took 5 per cent of military expenditures and move them towards a education and to address climate crisis We would have $100 billion a year to address climate change. So, the message is that you need to start reprioritizing, she emphasized.

Long overdue

Carmen Burbano from the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it was about time the link between education, youth and climate action was made in a dedicated theme at a UN climate conference.

The Director of WFPs School Feeding Unit, M. Burbano, spoke to UN News on the sidelines of an event which focused on reimagining school meals for the health of the planet and children.

As the largest social assistance programme in the world, we are changing what a third of the population in many of the countries is eating, and that directly impact climate goals," she said.

She underscored that switching to cleaner energy sources in cooking these meals can also have an impact on preventing deforestation and even move communities around schools towards the use of more renewable energies.

Burbano said education, food systems and climate action really need to come together in packages of solutions and she hoped that this would remain a feature of future climate conferences.

She also welcomed the inclusion of school meals in the Food Systems Declaration made at COP28 as one of the solutions.
Photo Courtesy: INC X Page

Indian PM Narendra Modi on Saturday wished Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on her 77th birthday and prayed for her 'healthy' life.

"Best wishes to Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji on her birthday. May she be blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi posted on X.

Best wishes to Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji on her birthday. May she be blessed with a long and healthy life.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2023

Apart from Modi, Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, and Shashi Tharoor and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin also wished Gandhi on her birthday.

Birthday greetings to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Madam Sonia Gandhi, an exemplar of devoted public life. Wishing her a long life filled with good health.



May her profound vision and wealth of experience continue to be a guiding light in our united endeavour to pic.twitter.com/kTCpniDBoG  M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 9, 2023

Stalin wrote on X: "Birthday greetings to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Madam Sonia Gandhi, an exemplar of devoted public life. Wishing her a long life filled with good health."

"May her profound vision and wealth of experience continue to be a guiding light in our united endeavour to save #INDIA from autocratic forces," he said.

Kharge said: "Greetings to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji on her birthday."

Greetings to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji on her birthday.



A relentless advocate of the rights of the marginalised, she has been a symbol of utmost grace while battling adversity with courage, grit and selfless sacrifice.



I wish her a long and  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 9, 2023

He said: "A relentless advocate of the rights of the marginalised, she has been a symbol of utmost grace while battling adversity with courage, grit and selfless sacrifice. I wish her a long and healthy life."

Wishing Smt Sonia Gandhi ji a wonderful birthday and a splendid year ahead. She has led @incIndia with great distinction and continues to be an inspiration for all its leaders and workers. Long may she enjoy health & happiness and continue to guide our party & serve our nation. pic.twitter.com/SXitamWJ9I  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 9, 2023

Tharoor posted on X: "Wishing Smt Sonia Gandhi ji a wonderful birthday and a splendid year ahead. She has led @incIndia with great distinction and continues to be an inspiration for all its leaders and workers. Long may she enjoy health & happiness and continue to guide our party & serve our nation."
Photo Courtesy: UNI

In a massive crackdown on ISIS, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 operatives of the banned terror outfit during multiple and widespread raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka.

NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early this morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for promoting terror and terror related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation, NIA said in a statement.

Huge amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp edged weapons, incriminating documents, smart phones and other digital devices were seized during the raids, conducted as part of NIAs ongoing efforts to disrupt and demolish the attempts of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to carry out violent acts of terror and take innocent lives.

The accused, operating on the directions of their foreign handlers, had been actively involved in various terrorist activities, including fabrication of IEDs, for furthering the violent and destructive agenda of the ISIS, as per NIA investigations.

NIA investigations have further revealed that the accused, all members of ISIS Maharashtra module, were operating from Padgha-Borivali, where they had hatched the conspiracy to spread terror and carry out acts of violence across India.

Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, ISIS etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the Government of India.

Initial investigations have revealed that the arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a liberated zone and as Al Sham. They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate in Padgha from their place of residence for strengthening the Padgha base.

Saqib Nachan, the main accused and the leader and head of the ISIS module, was also administering the bayath (oath of allegiance to the Khalifa of ISIS ) to the persons joining the proscribed organisation.

ISIS is a Global Terror Organisation (GTG), also known as Islamic State (IS) / Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL)/Daish/ Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham Khorasan (ISIS-K)).

The outfit has been spreading its terror network in India by putting in place localized ISIS modules and cells in various States of the country.

NIA has, in recent months, conducted large-scale raids and busted different ISIS modules by arresting several terror operatives in the ISIS terror conspiracy case in a bid to scuttle the organisations heinous and violent anti-India agenda.

As part of its efforts towards that end, the agency had registered a case against the ISIS Maharashtra module earlier this year and has, since then, undertaken strong and concerted actions to destroy the various ISIS modules and networks operating across the country.

(With UNI inputs)
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said that a technical correction is being made to change the name of the minister, who responded to the question on Hamas in Lok Sabha.

MEAs clarification came after a document erroneously showed Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi as the one answering questions on whether India plans to designate Hamas a terror group instead of Union Minister V Muraleedharan.

Both Lekhi and Muraleedharan are ministers of state in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

In response to the document, Lekhi refuted having signed the reply to the Parliament question.

On her official X handle, Lekhi tagged Union Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and the Prime Minister's Office and wrote, "You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer Dr S Jaishankar, PMO India."

You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer @DrSJaishankar @PMOIndia https://t.co/4xUWjROeNH  Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) December 8, 2023

Hours after Lekhi's denial, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi issued a statement saying, "We have noted that Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 980 answered on 8 December 2023 needs a technical correction in terms of reflecting Shri V Muraleedharan as the Minister of State replying to the Parliament Question. This is being suitably undertaken."

Congress MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran inquired if India was going to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization in India.

The question also sought information on whether the Israeli government had made any such requests to the central government.

"Designation of an organisation as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and declaring any organisation as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments," the answer to the question mentioned.
Photo Courtesy: twitter.com/DrSJaishankar

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar engaged in a discussion with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday, reiterating India's longstanding stance on the Palestine-Israel matter.

Jaishankar and Shtayyeh agreed to stay in touch regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Spoke to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh this evening. He expressed deep concern about the situation in both Gaza and the West Bank. (I) Reiterated Indias long-standing position on Palestine. (We) Agreed to remain in touch, Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Spoke to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh this evening.



He expressed deep concern on the situation in both Gaza and the West Bank. Reiterated Indias long-standing position on Palestine. Agreed to remain in touch.  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) December 9, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also engaged with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on October 19, 12 days after the Israel-Hamas war started, and reiterated Indias enduring position on the Palestine-Israel issue.

The Israel-Hamas war started on October 7 after the Islamic militant group that controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza launched a surprise rocket attack.

Prime Minister Modi had expressed his deep shock at the news of terrorist attacks in Israel when Hamas launched attacks inside Israeli territory, prompting retaliatory strikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),

"India always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel. I think that position remains the same," as per an earlier statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

India and Palestine have a history of friendly ties, right from 1988 when the State of Palestine was formed. India was among the first countries to recognise the country.

While maintaining strong relations with Israel, especially under PM Modi's leadership, New Delhi has also witnessed regular high-level visits by the Palestinian leadership.

In October 2015, then-President Pranab Mukherjee made history as the first Indian President to visit Palestine.

In February 2018, PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the region.

In January 2016, then-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also travelled to Palestine.

In May 2017, Palestinian President Abbas made his fifth state visit to India, with the previous visits occurring in 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
A sequence from Gondola | Photo courtesy: Coccinelle Film Sales

German filmmaker Veit Helmer's Gondola, which is a love story of two female cable car operators and devoid of any dialogue, was screened at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF). Shooting an LGBTQ+ themed film in Georgia was a challenge. IBNS correspondent Souvik Ghosh interacted with Viet, who was present in Kolkata along with his family, on the film and his style of direction.

Q. Often you have relied on vehicles, like a train in The Bra and a cable car in Gondola. Is it because of the demand in the script or do you want to keep vehicles as characters in a film?

A. Sometimes they (vehicles) inspire me. At times, locations inspire me and later on I try to find a suitable story or narration if any. But for me, its not the decor. I try to understand the soul of a machinery. I like to enhance or find soul in technology.

Veit Helmer | Image by Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q. Why did you choose Georgia as the location for Gondola?

A. This film was conceived in 2021 when I could not make a movie in Germany because of Coronavirus pandemic. I needed to find something simple and make a small crew. The co-producer from The Bra sent me photos of cable cars from Georgia. I went to Georgia and we shot the movie three months later. It was very quickly set-up production and as a consequence, we took a little time in post-production to fix some little problems which we didnt solve in the screen-writing process.

Q. Since its a love story between two women, how tough was it to shoot the film in Georgia?

A. The shooting of this film about love between two women in Georgia was problematic because the country is not very tolerant (to LGBTQ+ community). We had to create a fake pretext for the location owners. We couldnt reveal that it was a LTBTQ+ movie. So we said the story was about two cable car attendants, who have some problems with their boss. Everything could work except a scene, where one of the actresses had to undress, could not be shot in presence of the villagers. One of the real cable car attendants was always with us. My assistant, who was very clever, tricked him and shot the scene.

A sequence from Gondola | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from trailer video on YouTube

Q. Why do you keep your team small? Any specific reason?

A. My first movie had 50-60 people. There was an instance where we needed to go to the runway of the Frankfurt Airport while shooting one of my films but we were not allowed. Later, they allowed us for 20 minutes with four people. The scenes we shot in those 15 minutes were intercut in the movie seamlessly and it was the most interesting shooting for me. I dont want the extra pressure of 50 people around anymore. I dont want 100 meteres of trucks, cables while shooting. I feel like a prisoner. I feel free like a bird with a small crew because I can stop at and shoot at any point of the location.

Q. Tell us about your love for making films without dialogues?

A. There is something I really like about making movies without dialogues. Its very difficult to write the screenplay and find a suitable story that can be told without dialogue. Completing a film without any dialogue after overcoming the initial problems is a very rewarding emotion and moment because we get something which we can show (screen) in any country of the world. It does not need any subtitles or dubbing.

Veit Helmer with his family at 29th KIFF | Image by Avishek Mitra/IBNS

For me, watching a movie with dubbing is very frustrating because the voice of the original actors gets replaced. I get the same feeling while I watch a film with subtitles because then I start reading, depriving myself from enjoying the images. In a way, for me, making movies without dialogues is the pure essence of cinema. But to give a little correction, a story is not told through images but also through sound which is very important to me. With no dialogue, there is plenty of room for sound which is very important for me. So it's a combination of images and sound.

(Images of Veit Helmer by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism has proposed issuing visa-free entry for travellers from 20 countries including India.

"The ministry proposed 20 countries with the highest (number of) foreign tourists, except for those with existing visa exemptions," Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno was quoted as saying by ANTARA news agency.

The 20 nations are Australia, China, India, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, and two Middle Eastern countries whose names were not disclosed.

Uno told the news agency that the provision of free entry visas to the 20 countries is expected to increase foreign tourist visits, which will generate a multiplier effect, boosting domestic consumption, attracting investment, and supporting the development of the digital economy.

"We are targeting quality tourists, especially those with longer stays and higher spending in the local economy," he pointed out.

He said the proposal has been submitted to President Joko Widodo.

"We will finalize the proposal next month and seek the President's direction. Once approved, the immigration department will implement the policy," Uno said.
Photo Courtesy:  Unsplash/David von Diemar

More people were killed due to homicide than armed conflict and terrorism combined in 2021, with an average of 52 lives lost per hour worldwide, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report published on Friday.

The Global Study on Homicide analyzes the complex dynamics behind these violent deaths and includes a special section on how organized crime is driving death rates up in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The report examines homicides related to criminal activities and interpersonal conflict, as well as socio-politically motivated homicides such as the deliberate killing of human rights activists, humanitarian workers and journalists.

Consideration is also given to the impacts of megatrends - such as climate change, demographic changes, inequality, urbanization and technological shifts  and how they might influence homicide rates.

A sombre reminder

UNODC chief Ghada Waly said the loss of thousands of lives each year to homicide is a sombre reminder of the collective failure of the international community to reduce all forms of violence by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The complex web of factors fuelling homicide deaths worldwide, from gender-based violence against women and girls, to organized crime and gang violence, to poverty and inequality, shows that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, she said.

The report revealed that during the period from 2019 to 2021, an average of roughly 440,000 deaths worldwide were due to homicide - more than conflict-related or terrorist killings combined.

2021 exceptionally lethal

UNODC said 2021 was an exceptionally lethal year, marked by 458,000 homicides. The spike was in part linked to economic repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic and to a rise in organized crime and gang-related and socio-political violence in several countries.

Furthermore, despite a more than 95 per cent surge in conflict deaths between 2021 and 2022, available data shows that the global homicide burden in 2022 was twice that of conflict deaths.

Organized crime accounted for 22 per cent of homicides globally, and 50 per cent in the Americas, where competition among organized crime groups and gangs can spark a sudden and sharp rise in intentional homicides, as has happened in Ecuador and Haiti.

Homicide rates by region

The Americas also lead the world in highest regional homicide rate per capita, with 15 per 100,000 population in 2021, or 154,000 people.

Africa had the highest absolute number of homicides at 176,000, or 12.7 per 100,000 population, and available data suggests that the homicide rate is not falling, even as decreases have been registered in other regions, the report said.

Meanwhile rates in Asia, Europe and Oceania were far below the global per capita average of 5.8 per 100,000 population in 2021.

UNODC said the global homicide rate is projected to decrease to 4.7 in 2030, as evidenced by long-term trends. While this falls short of the SDG target of significantly reducing all forms of violence, it is still a promising trend, the agency said.

Weapons and victims

Firearms were used in most killings in the Americas in 2021, or roughly 75 per cent, whereas in Europe and Asia they were involved in 17 and 18 per cent of homicides, respectively.

Men accounted for 81 per cent of homicide victims and 90 per cent of suspects, but women are more likely to be killed by family members or intimate partners.

Although they represent 19 per cent of homicide victims in total, they account for 54 per cent of all killings in the home and 66 per cent of all victims of intimate partner killings, UNODC said.

Additionally, 15 per cent of homicide victims in 2021 were children, or 71,600 boys and girls.

Aid workers under attack

The data also showed that the deliberate killings of human rights defenders, environmental defenders, community leaders, journalists, and aid workers represented nine per cent of global homicides.

The threat has increased for humanitarian aid workers, who witnessed a higher average number of fatalities over the period 2017-2022 than 2010-2016, the authors said.

Waly expressed hope that the report will help inform policies and responses that will address the root causes of violence and save lives.

UNODC expects that the effects of demographic, economic, technological, and climatic megatrends on homicide rates will likely vary per region.

Projections through the year 2100 indicate that Africa will be the most vulnerable region due to its younger population, persisting inequality, and climate-related shocks and stresses, according to the report.
There are several ways of expressing love - words, touch, help, presence, and signs of attention - that you and your partner can use to express your feelings. Gary Chapman, a marriage counselor, once wrote a popular book called The Five Love Languages, where he identified these aspects as the main ones in a relationship.

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Astrologers believe that the way people express their feelings also depends to some extent on the location of the planets. Experts in the field have tried to systematize the characteristics of all astrological aspects and determine how zodiac signs express love.

Aries: touch and words

This cardinal fire sign, ruled by Mars, is expressive and passionate. Aries are direct and persistent when expressing emotions. They can be impatient and often flare up in anger when their partner is not expecting it.

Aries crave adventure and novelty and want a partner who can keep up with their fast-paced lifestyle. However, they also value independence and autonomy, so they need a partner who can respect their need for freedom. Touch and physical ways of expressing feelings are important to Aries. Aries also need constant approval, so they need a daily dose of compliments.

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Taurus: presence, help, signs of attention

Taurus expresses their emotions in a calm and measured way and prefers to take their time. They will think three times before starting a relationship, assess all the risks, and weigh the prospects. Taurus needs a strong emotional connection with their partner to maintain a healthy and fulfilling relationship. They are loyal, faithful, and dream of a partner who can provide them with a safe and cozy life.

For Taurus, relationships are about building a strong foundation of trust and mutual support. They also attach great importance to presence and intimacy in a relationship. Taurus will really appreciate it if their partner cooks dinner for them, helps with cleaning, and creates a homey feel.

Gemini: words and presence

Gemini love to express emotions vividly. They are looking for a partner with whom they can talk about everything. The intellectual component is very important in a relationship. Words of affirmation can boost their confidence and make them feel valued.

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Geminis don't like to be bored and are looking for a partner who can challenge their thoughts and ideas. They also value independence and freedom. A partner should give them the space to pursue their own interests. They believe that a romantic relationship is about building a deep mental connection with a partner who is both a lover and a friend.

Cancer: help and participation

Cancers are known for their deep empathy and intuition. They often let their emotions guide them and tend to retreat at the slightest difficulty. Emotional connection and intimacy are top priorities in relationships. Cancerians are looking for a partner who can create a sense of security and comfort and who is willing to share their most intimate thoughts and feelings.

Cancers want to be in a relationship with someone who will help with everything: with household chores and work assignments. Cancerians need to be constantly taken care of and be willing to take on all their problems.

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Leo: words and presence

Leos give the impression of strong and confident leaders. And this is true. However, in personal relationships, Leos really like to be pampered and appreciated. Leos love romance and grand gestures, so they need a partner who makes them feel special and loved.

Leos need compliments. They are attracted to self-confident and ambitious partners with whom they can talk about everything. Leos are ready to take responsibility for their partner, to be together through thick and thin. Proud and unwavering in front of outsiders, Leos love to be romantic in relationships and delight their partner with surprises. But they also require such an attitude.

Virgo: help and words

Practical Virgos tend to express their emotions in a logical way. You can often see them doing introspection or going to a psychologist before expressing their emotions or complaints. Virgos are looking for a partner who is responsible and conscientious. Virgos like to plan everything carefully and do not need emotional swings.

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Virgos dream of someone who shares their values of hard work and commitment and who can help them cope with the daily responsibilities of life.

Libra: signs of attention and presence

Libra expresses their emotions in a harmonious and balanced way, often seeking compromise and justice. Ruled by Venus, Libras love everything beautiful. According to astrologers, gifts and signs of attention for Libra are a manifestation of feelings.

Libras are looking for kind and attentive partners who share their love of beauty and aesthetic pleasures. They don't need unnecessary drama and quarrels. Libras value equality, so they need a partner who can cooperate with them in making decisions and reaching a compromise.

Scorpio: touch and words

Scorpios are very passionate, so they need physical manifestations of love. In a relationship, intense emotional connection and passion are important to Scorpios. They also value trust, so they need a partner who can be loyal and honest. Scorpios place a high value on their physical desires and are looking for a passionate partner.

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Scorpios need approval very much. The partner should admire them and often give them compliments, otherwise Scorpios will go looking for vivid emotions elsewhere.

Sagittarius: presence and help

Sagittarius are free philosophers. They love traveling, new knowledge, and vivid impressions. It is quite clear that this fire sign values freedom and adventure above all else. They often look for activities that involve exploring new horizons and expanding their minds. Thus, they benefit from having a partner who can give them the space to pursue their own interests.

Sagittarius cannot be happy in a relationship if their partner does not share the same love of traveling and learning new things.

Capricorn: help, words, signs of attention

Capricorn is the cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn. Capricorns are ambitious, pragmatic, and have an extremely practical approach to everything. They attach great importance to the financial aspects of relationships. They are looking for people who are willing to work together to build a successful life and a strong and prosperous future.

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Capricorns are very focused on the material world, so getting gifts that are on their wish list is a surefire way to set their heart on fire.

Aquarius: presence and words

Aquarians are true rebels, expressing their emotions in ways that often go against established norms. Aquarians are looking for someone who can support their individuality and give them the space to pursue their interests.

They are unconventional and progressive, and need a partner who can stimulate their minds. The partner should respect Aquarius' need for space and freedom.

Pisces: touch and help

Pisces is a mercurial water sign ruled by Neptune. There are many creative people among them, so Pisces express their emotions in a very poetic and imaginative way.

Pisces values emotional depth and support in relationships and needs a partner who can connect with them on an emotional level. They are looking for someone who can give them a sense of security and stability. It would be ideal if the partner could share their artistic pursuits and spiritual interests.

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Earlier, OBOZ.UA told you which zodiac couples will be perfect in 2024.

Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

At least six teens have been convicted in the events leading to the beheading of a teacher in France in 2020.

One, a 13-year-old girl at the time, was convicted of making false accusations. Five others, who had been aged between 14 and 15, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy with intent to cause violence, reported The Guardian.

History teacher Samuel Paty was murdered by beheading on October 16, 2020 on the outskirts of Paris by an 18-year-old Chechen radical.

The attack allegedly occurred because the teacher had shown religious caricatures depicting Islamic prophet Muhammad to his students as part of freedom of speech discussion, prompting outrage among their Muslim parents. The caricature was published in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The attacker was shot dead by police the same day he committed the murder.

The attacker was identified as 18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdoullakh Anzorov.

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, reported BBC.

According to reports, the convicted girl told her parents that the teacher had asked Muslim students to leave the room before showing the caricatures.

But she had in fact been absent from the class in question. The court found her guilty of having made false accusation charges and slanderous comments, reported BBC.

Following the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, the office of Charlie Hebdo was attacked by suspected Islamist extremists in 2015, leaving at least twelve people dead.
File photo of Iraqi PM Mohd Shia' al-Sudani and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Photo Courtesy: wikipedia.org)

Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has reiterated his government's commitment to protecting diplomatic missions while reminding the United States not to respond unilaterally to an unclaimed rock attack on the U.S. embassy without Iraq's approval.

He made the remarks in a phone call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday night on security issues, including a rocket attack near the U.S. embassy earlier in the day, said a statement by the Iraqi prime minister's media office.

Al-Sudani stressed the government's commitment to protecting diplomatic missions in Iraq, personnel of the international coalition mission, and their facilities, "warning at the same time against direct response without the approval of the Iraqi government," the statement said.

Austin, for his part, welcomed the Iraqi government's condemnation and measures to pursue the perpetrators, stressing that such actions threaten the internal security of Iraq, according to the statement.

In the early hours of Friday, a barrage of rockets hit the vicinity of the U.S. embassy located in the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

Later, al-Sudani condemned the targeting of diplomatic missions as "unacceptable under any circumstances," and gave the order to hunt down those responsible.

U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria have recently become the targets of attacks by armed Shiite militias as part of retaliatory measures for the U.S. support of Israel in its ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The repeated attacks by Iraqi militias prompted the U.S. forces to conduct airstrikes on positions of the Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces that killed more than a dozen fighters and wounded others.

(UNI/XINHUA)
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

Four family members, including an elderly woman and a child, were injured after a blast rocked a residential building in Bangladesh's Munshiganj region on Saturday.

Three of them are undergoing treatment at Dhaka's Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, reports bdnews24.

The blast triggered a fire in the fifth-floor home.

Authorities are yet to understand the exact cause of the blast.

The victims are Rizvi Ahmed Russell, 42, his wife Rozina Begum, 35, their child Rayan Ahmed, 3, and Russell's mother Shahida Khatun, 65, all natives of Sirajganj, the Bangladeshi news portal reported.
A wide view of the UN Security Council chambers as members meet on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Photo Courtesy: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

The United States on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Friday (December 8, 2023) morning New York time to discuss the catastrophic situation in Gaza.

This follows Wednesdays (December 6, 2023) urgent letter by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres  one of the most powerful tools at his disposal  urging the body to help end carnage in the war-battered enclave through a lasting humanitarian ceasefire.

A resolution tabled late afternoon in the chamber calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was vetoed by the United States.

The vote just took place, with 13 members in favour.

The US voted AGAINST, with the UK abstaining. Owing to the US veto, the resolution was not therefore adopted.

Robert A. Wood, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States (US) to the UN, said that the Security Councils failure to condemn Hamas 7 October terrorist attacks including its acts of sexual violence and other unthinkable evils, is a serious moral failure.

It underscores the fundamental disconnect between the discussions we have been having in this chamber and the realities on the ground, he said.

An undeniable part of that reality, he added, is that if Israel unilaterally laid down its weapons today, Hamas would continue to hold hostages.

Ambassador Wood stated that as of today, Hamas continues to pose a threat to Israel and remain in charge of Gaza, stressing that no government would allow such as threat to continue to remain on its borders, after events like the 7 October massacres.

UN Photo/Evan Schneider Deputy Permanent Representative Robert A. Wood of the United States addresses the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

Ceasefire will plant seeds for the next war

For that reason, while the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-State solution, he said.

In his remarks, the Ambassador said that Israel must respect international humanitarian law and conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian harm.

To back up these words and protect civilians, the US has supported establishing an effective humanitarian deconfliction mechanism with the UN, where it also monitors implementation.

In every conversation we also have underscored that Israel must avoid further mass displacement of civilians in the south of Gaza, many of whom previously fled violence, he said, adding, Israel must further ensure sufficient humanitarian support exists for displaced individuals.

He also noted that civilians displaced in Gaza must have an opportunity to return as soon as conditions permit.

There must be no enduring displacement or reduction in Gazas territory. Under no circumstances would the US support forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, he said.
Mohammad Aashiq might look familiar to you as he participated in the last season as well. However, he couldn't make past the audition round. When he was ousted, he didn't let his passion die. Rather, he worked hard and came back so strong that time time he became the winner of MasterChef India season 8.

The inspiring story of Mohammad Aashiq, winner of MasterChef India season 8

Juice stall owner

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Do you know he used to own a juice stall called Kulukki Hub in Mangaluru, Karnataka? The 24-year-old wanted to study hotel management. However, because of financial constraints, he had to change the course and head on to a different path. Later, he decided to turn his love for food into business and opened a juice stall. His artistic abilities through original dishes left his customers delighted.

Sole breadwinner of the family

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He is the only earning member of his family. On winning the show, he said, "I am immensely grateful for the whirlwind journey Ive had on MasterChef India. From facing elimination to holding the trophy, every moment was a profound lesson. This experience has completely reshaped my life, and winning this esteemed title feels surreal. Coming back with stronger determination after narrowly missing out last season was tough, but I devoted myself entirely to the culinary craft. This victory isnt just mine; its for every dreamer who defies the odds to chase their aspirations.

Mohammed Ashiq, a culinary force to be reckoned with, emerges victorious as the MasterChef India winner! Your flavors ignited the kitchen, and your journey is an anthem of culinary excellence. Here's to your well-deserved triumph!#MasterChefIndia. Streaming now, only on Sony LIV pic.twitter.com/bkbgTDVsft  Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) December 8, 2023

He also thanked the judges for pushing him to best of his abilities. "I owe immense gratitude to the judges- Chef Vikas, Ranveer, and Pooja, fellow contestants, the audience, and all the renowned chefs who pushed me to perform better with each passing day in the kitchen. I've grown significantly and noticed a remarkable shift in my cooking skills, all thanks to an incredible boot camp experience," he was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

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Congratulating him judge and Chef Ranveer Brar wrote on Instagram, "From an inspirational start to a challenging journey, you never stopped daring for more. Congratulations on becoming the MasterChef Mohd. Ashiq!"

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Chef Vikas Khanna wrote, "After not being selected in the last season, he worked harder, kept learning & preparing for the next opportunity. Hats off to you. He has our heart & the trophy of MasterChef India. Stay blessed & keep shining."



For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.


The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Friday, disclosed it discovered over 4,800 illegal connections on oil pipelines in the country.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, while speaking to the Senate Committee on Appropriations said: We have over 4,800 illegal connections on our pipelines. That means in some lines, within 100 kilometres of pipelines, you have as much as 300 insertions.

Therefore, even when you produce the oil, you cannot deliver them at the required pressure and therefore the volume will also be less.

READ ALSO: Police Arrest IPOB Fighters, Recover Weapons, Biafran Currency, Others

The NNPCL boss added that people troop in from other parts of the country to insert illegal connections on pipelines in the oil-producing Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

The latest development came about one year after the firm discovered 295 illegal connections to its pipeline, a development that further amplified the massive crude oil theft in Nigeria.

Two years ago, Kyari said the country was losing 200,000 barrels of oil valued at $13 million daily to theft and vandalism.

We have two sets of losses, one coming from our products and the other coming from crude oil.

In terms of crude losses, it is still going on. On the average, we are losing 200,000 barrels of crude every day, he had said.
Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy in Igbokoda, Ondo State, has arrested 17 suspects engaged in the illegal siphoning of crude oil in the State.

Also intercepted by the naval authorities was a 77-meter-long Motor Tanker (MT) VINNALARIS 1 Lagos.

The vessel, with the 17 crew members onboard at the time of arrest, according to the Navy, was caught engaging in the illegal siphoning of crude oil from one of the well heads at the EBESAN oil field, about 7 nautical miles off the coast of Awoye riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area of the State.

In a statement signed by the Director, Naval Information, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, the Navy revealed that it is believed that Tantita Security Service (TSS) is involved in these illegalities because Awoye riverine area which is close to the place of arrest is covered by TSS.

Again, it was upon the arrest of the vessel by the Nigerian Navy that TSS began to raise false alarm, totally unfounded and indeed mischievous.

Nonetheless, the Nigerian Navy remains resolute in the pursuit of her constitutional mandate for the protection of Nigerias Maritime Environment for national economic development and prosperity.

According to Ayo-Vaughan, the apprehension of the vessel was based on credible intelligence received by the Base, on illegal activities of crude oil thieves at the location, thereby prompting the deployment of FOB IGBOKODA personnel to enforce the arrest of the vessel and her crew.

He added that as the anti-Crude Oil Theft Patrol Team of FOB IGBOKODA approached MT VINNALARIS 1 LAGOS; the two boats attached to the vessel fled on sighting the naval personnel, confirming the engagement of the vessel in illegality.

The vessels storage capacity is about 15,000 metric tonnes and as at the time of arrest she had loaded about 500 Metric tonnes of crude oil.

The arrest of MT VINNALARIS 1 LAGOS attests to the Nigerian Navys determination to curb crude oil theft and all manners of illegalities in Nigerias maritime domain. All criminals and their cohorts are hereby warned that the Nigerian Navy will use all legitimate means at its disposal to track and arrest perpetrators of illegalities in Nigerias maritime environment.

READ ALSO: South-East Governors, Senators Working Against Kanus Freedom  Ohanaeze Alleges

While individuals carrying out legitimate business are advised to go about their legitimate activities, the Navy solicits the cooperation of patriotic and well  meaning members of the public to promptly report any form of criminalities especially in the coastal communities to the Nigerian Navy for necessary action, the statement read in part.

Meanwhile, TSS has denied the accusation by the Nigerian Navy that the firm was allegedly involved in oil theft and pipelines vandalism in the Niger Delta Region.

Information Nigeria understands that the TSS has been contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to secure pipelines and curb oil theft in the Niger Delta Region.

According to the Executive Director  Operations and Technical of TSSNL, Warredi Enisuoh, the allegation against the company by the Navy is not only libelous but bizarre and false.

Enisuoh however said that TSS would not join issues with the Navy publicly as it has already forwarded video evidence of what transpired between the Tantita operatives and the Nigerian Navy at the scene of arrest of the vessel to highest authorities.

TSS statement read: Our attention has been drawn to a defamatory and libelous statement made by the Nigerian Navy against our organisation, Tantita Security Services Limited.

Director of Naval Information, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, informed the general public that the Nigerian Navy had detected and arrested a 77 meter long motor tanker for crude oil theft with her 17 crew members.

He further added and we quote: It is believed that Tantita Security Services is involved in these illegalities because Awoye riverine area which is close to the place of arrest is covered by TSS. Again it was upon the arrest of the vessel by the Nigerian Navy that TSS began to raise false alarm, totally unfounded and indeed mischievous.

We are indeed saddened and disappointed that the Nigerian Navy could descend so low as to make such bizarre accusations against our organisation knowing same to be false.

Perhaps, they are not aware that video evidence of what transpired between the Tantita operatives and the Nigerian Navy at the scene exists and has been transmitted to the highest authorities.

We will therefore not join issues with the Nigerian Navy as we are well aware that Nigerians know who is who.
Following his summon at the Senate, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has maintained there cannot be a reduction in the price of petrol when the countrys refineries begin operation.

Information Nigeria reports that the Senate had issued a 24-hour ultimatum on Wednesday to the NNPCL boss after observing that he had in previous occasions, shunned summons by the Senate to appear before its committee probing over 11 trillion naira expenditure on turn around maintenance of refineries in the country between 2010 and 2023.

Responding to questions by the Senate Committee on Appropriations on the potential drop in pump price of petroleum, Kyari clarified that it might be possible to have a reduction, but it is not the main objective of the refineries.

He buttressed that maintaining the energy security target has fostered the confidence that in 2024, Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum products.

READ ALSO: NNPC Should Be Audited, We Need To Know Where Oil Money Is Going  Sanusi

The NNPCL boss affirmed that no subsidy is charged to the Federation, adding that the NNPC has contributed 4.45 trillion naira as direct revenue into the federation in a combination of taxes, royalties and dividends and paid 406 billion naira as dividend to Federal Governments account from July 2023.

According to him, Nigeria does not have credible data for fuel consumption in the country because of the absence of the instrument to measure.

The Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, had directed Kyari to appear before the committee in company of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

They are required to present the list of all individual companies operating with Oil Mining Leases (OML) in Nigeria as well as total production output approved on a daily basis.

The lawmaker expressed concerns that some of the revenues required to drive the 2024 budget was attributed to the NNPCL, which according to him, was owned by the Federal Government and responsible to it, and by extension the three arms of government.
Philadanco returns with their new show "Intangible Influences." This performance at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Cultural Center features a new work, "Retro," by acclaimed choreographer Christopher L. Huggins. Read more

Philadanco is presenting a pair of company premieres plus two world premieres at the Kimmel Centers Perelman Theater through Dec. 10. While elements of the program are uneven, its many high points are stunning, thanks largely to these gifted and well-schooled dancers, who seem able to do anything including violating the laws of gravity.

According to the troupes founder, Joan Myers Brown, this programs title Intangible Influences  refers to the continuing impact of several pioneering choreographers on contemporary dance-makers. The influence of Alvin Ailey is especially clear, but so are elements of gymnastics and circus arts.

The first half of the evening is particularly strong, though both works rely too heavily on stage smoke, which often obscures the performers and is not necessary to create a dramatic mood.

From Dystopia to Our Declaration, the opening item, was created by Philadanco alumnus Nijawwon K. Matthews. Throughout, both the propulsive music (composed by Dave August) and the choreography move constantly; the dancers bodies pulsate, flowing seamlessly from one set of challenging positions into the next.

Matthews makes the most of the performers exceptional strength and flexibility, inventing innovative and demanding movements: At one point a dancer jumps backward into her partners arms and is immediately lifted overhead, the two figures spiraling together across the stage  as a single sculptural form.

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Raven Joseph and William E. Burden are especially affecting in their duet, which conveys great depths of emotion, and Mondo Morales dresses the dancers in loose, light-brown trousers and long-sleeved tops with colorful inserts.

The most striking work of the evening is Christopher Rudds Mating Season, which features three men and three women, dressed (by Anna-Alisa Belous) in identical shiny, gold, sleeveless leotards and tights adorned with subtle, swirling designs which my theater-going companion said reminded her of human musculature. The lighting (designed by Alan Edwards and executed by Nick Kolin) makes these costumes look slick, seductive, and unusually revealing. His own dance background provides Rudd with a variety of styles and techniques from which to draw, since he performed with several ballet companies and also Cirque du Soleil.

Key to the success of this work is the performers sensitivity to subtle nuances of weight and balanceso that, for example, Mikaela Fenton can place one foot on her partners shoulder, then execute a slow, controlled, apparently unsupported backbend while standing on her other foot and extending her upper body into space. Mating Season also credits an intimacy consultant (Sarah Lozoff), a role more common in film and television than dance.

Nothing untoward happens onstage, but Rudd glories in creating unexpected and improbable tangles of limbs, as intertwined dancers roll on the floor or make dramatic exits. The only disappointing aspect of Mating Season is its ending, which seems unresolved.

Gene Hill Sagan was Philadancos resident choreographer from 1976 until his death 15 years later. His importance for the troupe is still evident today, as demonstrated by the decision to include Reflections and Ode to Sagan on this program. Described as a collage of excerpts from several of his seminal pieces and arranged by artistic director Kim Bears-Bailey, the work is performed in front of a backdrop that reads as a beautiful, velvety-black sky, studded with small, silver stars.

Ten dancers are dressed in black  men with bare chests, plus narrow panels of black fabric hanging from their waists to the floor; women in sleeveless black leotards and similar skirt-like garments (executed by Natasha Guruleva, based on Sagans original costumes).

It is here that the influence of Ailey, for whose company Sagan also created dances, is most prominent, notably in the stuttering movements of outstretched arms and African dance-inspired torso undulations. The recorded music, by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Arvo Part, is overamplified, but contributes to the swelling, romantic feel of certain segments. Fentons solo, which includes a section of mime, is especially moving.

Last on the bill is Retro, an upbeat work for all 17 Philadanco members, created by Christopher L. Huggins  himself a former Ailey dancer. For this piece Guruleva designed crop tops and short full skirts for the women, and dance pants with open vests or deep-V-neck unitards for the men, all in bright pinks, purples, and reds. Here the lighting, by Kolin, is especially effective in an eccentric, powerful solo by Burden, which segues into a compelling trio  with the addition of Christian Diyah Gonzalez and Mikal Gilbert.

Music for this work includes segments by Tony Anderson, Cremation Lily, and Private Press  to which the dancers perform everything from club moves to ballet poses.

It is still very early in Bears-Baileys tenure as director of Philadanco; it will be interesting to see what directions she explores next.

Philadancos Intangible Influences, through Dec. 10 at the Kimmel Cultural Campus Perelman Theater, 300 S. Broad St., $29-$49, 215-893-1999 or kimmelculturalcampus.org.
The question heard on University of Pennsylvanias campus, in the halls of government and beyond, is can Liz Magill survive and emerge as an effective leader of the school amid bipartisan calls for her resignation and donor backlash.

Much of the job of a college president is about fundraising and relationship building among key campus groups, both of which have taken a serious hit under Magill in recent months.

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And as they speculate, Penns board of trustees, who have scheduled another full board gathering for 5 p.m. Sunday, likely are weighing the same question as the Ivy League university weathers perhaps its greatest leadership crisis in many decades.

 READ MORE: Penn President Liz Magill faces mounting pressure to resign from Capitol Hill as university backs her

I dont know what the odds are of president Magill surviving, but its a dreadful situation, said John E. Jones III, president of Dickinson College, who watched portions of Magills testimony. The board is probably going to measure what they hear and what they see both in the campus community and among their alumni network, and they have to make a calculation whether she still has the credibility  to be able to weather this.

Thats a judgment thats difficult. If shes lost her constituencies or a major part of a constituency, can she retrieve it? Its a pretty perilous situation from afar.

An impossible situation

The board has remained mum on its next steps in the face of a congressional committee investigation, scrutiny by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the White House, and a threat of further loss of donations. But an email from chairman Scott L. Bok obtained by The Inquirer said the Sunday phone call was set up at the request of many members and that he understood they would want to have input on statements going out from Magill or the board.

 READ MORE: Penn president Liz Magill is facing criticism from Gov. Shapiro, White House and others for comments at a congressional hearing on antisemitism

Bok did not respond to a request for comment.

Since Magills testimony, a group of Republican U.S congressmen from Pennsylvania, the board of advisers of Wharton, and others have announced they want her gone. As has been the case for weeks, trucks with ads calling for her ouster are parked around campus. No one knows  or is saying  who is paying for the ads but whats clear is that Magills future is in doubt.

As a college president, I cant imagine that its a good thing for your school to be in the forefront of this issue in such a negative way and specifically because of your own testimony, said Rep Susan Wild (D., Lehigh) who serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which held the hearing.  I dont think she can stay on and Id frankly be surprised if this is even a question by the end of the weekend.

Wild said Magill has lost the trust of the people who matter.

Joni E. Finney, retired director of the Institute for Research on Higher Education at Penn, said it would be very difficult for someone to come back from such an onslaught of widespread criticism.

It would take a majority of the board to firmly support her and a willingness to give her more time to grow into the presidency, she said. Magills been on the job just a year and a half, and only last week released her strategic plan for the institution.

It might take years, Finney said, and I dont know if the board would give her a chance to do that.

Finney acknowledged the difficult position Magill and the presidents of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found themselves in, up against a congressional committee that trapped these presidents in a place where they were asked to draw a line between free speech, hate speech, and speech that incites violence.

Quite frankly, the whole country hasnt figured that out, Finney said.

But Jones, a former federal judge who spent seven years in former Gov. Tom Ridges administration and has gone before legislative committees, said those who testify have to be prepared for that sort of performative nature. Republican Rep. Elise M. Stefanik of New York, who asked the presidents to say whether the call for the genocide of Jewish people would violate their campus codes, demanded yes or no answers.

I would not have tolerated the yes or no box, Jones said. I would have had my back up. I guess [Magill] was being deferential. But there comes a time youve got to stand up and not be rolled over.

He also said that while Magills testimony about the schools code was probably true from a legal perspective, he would not have handled it that way.

You have to answer that question with your heart first and then your head, he said. The proper answer to the question is not to lead with a technical description of whats allowed or prohibited under your speech code, but rather to decry that kind of rhetoric and to pledge as the leader of the college to not tolerate it.

During her testimony, Magill gave a context-dependent answer to Stefaniks question. In a video released a day later, she walked that back and said she considered a call for genocide to be harassment or intimidation and would launch a review of the universitys policies.

That just angered Ania Loomba, a professor of English and comparative literature, who has participated in campus rallies for Palestinians.

It would have been better for her to have stuck to a principled stance about academic freedom, she said. The truth is I dont think she has done enough to protect Palestinian faculty and their allies. So the very group who might have supported her, shes alienated that group as well.

A former Penn administrator, who asked not to be identified, said Magill doesnt seem to have significant support among donors and others.

She has no reservoir of goodwill anywhere. Where does she turn? the administrator said. Theres no influence she can grab right now.

Some are quietly wondering where Penn would be if it were still under former president Amy Gutmann, who is Jewish and whose father was a Holocaust survivor, and who had served at the school for 18 years, building bedrock relationships with donors and alumni as well as those on campus.

It just wouldnt have gotten here with Amy, said one educator who declined to be identified because she is not authorized to speak to reporters.

Magill, one of six children who grew up in a Catholic family in Fargo, N.D., was just beginning to build her network. In the span of a few months, shes had to express regret over her words twice. First, in October, she said that the school should have moved faster to condemn some speakers at the Palestine Writes Literature Festival who had a history of making antisemitic remarks and this week issued the video about her congressional testimony.

Jonathan Zimmerman, a Penn professor of the history of education, who has ardently defended free speech, said though she has misstepped, Magill should be allowed to continue to lead. She may have wells of untapped support, the so-called silent majority, he said.

If the critique of her is that she didnt show enough empathy, how much empathy does it show for her to demand that we fire her, he said. Where is the empathy for Liz Magill?

Staff writers Julia Terruso and Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.
A tourist who tried to smuggle two otters and a prairie dog out of the country was detained at the Bangkok airport in Thailand. This story would not have attracted so much attention if not for the smuggler's "ingenious" plan to hide the animals in his underwear.

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The 22-year-old Taiwanese traveler reportedly bought the animals at a market in Bangkok and then stuffed them into his underwear before arriving at the international airport. Security guards noticed that something was moving in the man's pants, so they decided to detain him, the New York Post reports.

At the airport checkpoint, the officers were confused by the tourist's excessively large bulge below the waist. Moreover, it was noticeable that something was moving in his pants.

The guards sent the suspicious tourist to an X-ray station, where the scan showed that his pants were "wriggling like a traveling circus."

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A subsequent search revealed that the man had first stuffed the two Asian otters and the prairie dog into three separate socks, then taped them to his underpants, and put on additional boxer shorts on top. It was obvious that the animals were trying to get out, not to talk about the danger that threatened their lives in such "conditions".

The detainee was going to sell them in Taiwan. The source said he would be charged. In the meantime, his illegal "packages" were handed over to the Wildlife Protection Administration.

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As OBOZ.UA wrote earlier, a Russian tourist, who is called "Mr. Oleg" at the Phuket airport in Thailand, entertained employees with his antisocial behavior for 14 days. The Russian was spotted drunk in the waiting room, after which he was fed, dressed, nursed, and even had his eyes treated. All this time, the indifferent Russian embassy did not help its citizen, so the 38-year-old's mother had to collect money for his return ticket for two weeks.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Ed Rendell, former mayor of Philadelphia and governor of Pennsylvania. Read more

When University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill was asked whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people would violate Penns code of conduct, she should have said two words: Yes, absolutely.

So says former Philadelphia Mayor and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a lawyer who teaches at Penn and who signed a letter earlier this semester faulting Penn for its handling of the Palestine Writes Festival. He asserted that as a private university, Penn could make such calls a school policy violation.

Her testimony was God awful, said Rendell, who served as Philadelphias mayor from 1992 to 2000 and then Pennsylvanias governor from 2003 to 2011.

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Magill, a lawyer and legal scholar, testified before the congressional committee that it was a context dependent decision. She later in a video clarified that she does consider it harassment or intimidation and that Penn would review its policies.

She has faced bipartisan criticism and further donor backlash following the hearing, as have the presidents of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who also used the word context when answering the question.

 READ MORE: Penn president Liz Magill faces mounting pressure to resign from Capitol Hill as university backs her

Whether she should lose her job though is first something she must decide, Rendell said.

Does all this controversy make it difficult for her to continue to lead the university? he said. The answer to that may be yes. If she feels it seriously compromised her ability to be an effective leader, then she should resign.

If she feels she can still govern effectively and this doesnt limit her ability to get things done, then she should hang in there.

What would he do if he were Magill?

If I had thought I had done a good job (before that), I would try to tough it out, he said.

But he said: This is going to be a hard thing for her to overcome.

 READ MORE: Penn president Liz Magill got grilled by Congressional committee over the universitys response to antisemitism

Even if she opts to stay, the board of trustees may decide to take a vote of no confidence or reprimand her for the testimony, he said. If they contemplate such an action, he said he hopes they consider her full performance from the time she became Penns president in July 2022, not just her actions of the last couple months under extreme conditions.

Penns board plans to meet via telephone at 5 p.m. Sunday to discuss its next steps. Its not clear whether board members will take any action or announce any steps after the meeting.

An email from board chair Scott L. Bok obtained by The Inquirer stated that the board during an informal gathering on Thursday expressed a very wide range of views as to next steps. Bok also said that statements from both Magill and the full board were under development but did not detail what those messages would state.

Also, the leaders of at least two schools at Penn have put out strong statements condemning genocide, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian, the student newspaper.

I condemn calls for genocide, said Katharine O. Strunk, dean of the Graduate School of Education. Intimidation, bias, and harassment are unacceptable and will not be tolerated at GSE.

J. Larry Jameson, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and UPHS CEO Kevin Mahoney wrote a letter Thursday, the DP said.

Calls for genocide, echoing horrors of the past, violate our behavioral standards and remind us that we must forcefully condemn, prevent, and respond to hate in all forms, said the Penn Med letter, according to the DP.

Neither letter referenced Magills testimony, the DP said.
University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has resigned amid growing bipartisan backlash against her congressional committee testimony on antisemitism and a semester marked by near-weekly protests, complaints by deep-pocketed donors, and widespread accusations of mismanagement since a controversial literary festival was held on campus earlier in the fall.

And minutes later, Scott L. Bok, chair of the board of trustees, announced that he was stepping down, too.

It has been my privilege to serve as president of this remarkable institution, Magill said in a statement shared by Bok. It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penns vital missions.

Bok said Magill, who will stay on as interim president until another interim is appointed, voluntarily offered her resignation.

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Trustees held an informal gathering at 5 p.m. and, less than a half-hour later, Bok said he submitted his resignation, effective immediately.

While I was asked to remain in that role for the remainder of my term in order to help with the presidential transition, I concluded that, for me, now was the right time to depart, said Bok, an alumnus and New York City investment banker who has led the board for 2 years.

Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, he said.

Late Saturday evening, the university announced that Julie Platt, a full-time volunteer fundraiser in Los Angeles who had been vice chair of the board, will step in as interim chair. Platt took over the meeting after Bok said he was resigning, wished the board well, and left the call, according to sources who attended the session.

Platt, four of whose five children attended Penn, has deep ties to the Jewish community and currently is chair of the Jewish Federations of North America. She is also past-chair of the Los Angeles Jewish Federations Womens Campaign, according to her bio on Penns website. And she serves on the board of Penn Hillel.

There was discussion that L. Larry Jameson, executive vice president of the health system and dean of the medical school, would be an ideal candidate to step in as interim president, one source said, but no one had approached him yet. There was no timetable set for a selection, but the process has begun, the source said.

The announcement of Magills resignation followed an informal virtual gathering of the board of trustees Thursday.

A leadership crisis

The news comes as the Ivy League university, which has more than 28,000 students, faces perhaps its greatest leadership crisis in decades, which has drawn national attention. Its prior two presidents served for 10 years and 18, respectively; Magill has been in the job less than 18 months, making her tenure the shortest in Penns more than 260-year history.

There were calls for her resignation earlier this fall, but things hit a fever pitch when she testified on Tuesday before the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

 READ MORE: Liz Magill is in a perilous situation. Can she still lead Penn?

When asked repeatedly whether calling for genocide of Jewish people violates Penns rules or code of conduct, Magill, 57, a legal scholar and former University of Virginia provost, said to Republican Rep. Elise M. Stefanik of New York: It is a context-dependent decision.

Though she walked that back in a video she released Wednesday night, saying she does view it as harassment or intimidation and vowed to review Penns policies, it wasnt enough to quiet a groundswell of criticism that included harsh comments from the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, more than 70 members of Congress, and others inside and outside Penn.

It also came on the heels of an investigation opened by the congressional committee into Penns policies, as well as policies at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose presidents also testified Tuesday.

Bok said in his statement that Magill made a very unfortunate misstep during her testimony and that it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit.

He spoke highly of Magill and said he hopes another university will give her a chance.

The world should know that Liz Magill is a very good person and a talented leader who was beloved by her team, Bok said. She is not the slightest bit antisemitic.

He said she was worn down by months of relentless external attacks.

She was not herself last Tuesday, he said. Overprepared and over-lawyered given the hostile forum and high stakes, she provided a legalistic answer to a moral question, and that was wrong.

Meanwhile, Virginia Foxx, the Republican congresswoman who chairs the committee where Magill testified, welcomed her departure.

President Magill had three chances to set the record straight when asked if calling for the genocide of Jews violated UPenns code of conduct during our hearing on antisemitism, Foxx said in a statement. Instead of giving a resounding yes to the question, she chose to equivocate. Whats more shocking is that it took her more than 24 hours to clarify her comments, and even that clarification failed to include an apology to the Jewish students who do not feel safe on campus.

Reaction was fast from all corners.

I hope this signals a new start for Penn, Jonathan Greenblatt, national director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Campus administrators must protect their Jewish students with the same passion they bring to protecting all students.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said it hoped that Penn would recommit championing free expression.

A change of leadership could be exactly what Penn needs  as long as the new leadership prizes dialogue, ideological non-conformity, a culture of free speech that takes seriously the search for truth, and the process of debate and discussion that will get students there, the group said.

The Penn chapter of the American Association of University Professors warned about the influence of donors, Congress and others that it said have misrepresented the words and actions of faculty and students who have been supportive of Palestinians.

The ability of donors, lobbying groups, and members of Congress to destabilize the University of Pennsylvania reveals the need to restore a strong faculty voice in the governance of the institution, the group said. The next president must defend the principles of shared governance and academic freedom, which protect the educational mission of the university. And they must correct what has become a dangerous myth suggesting that the defense of academic freedom and open expression is in any way contradictory to the fight against antisemitism.

On campus Saturday evening, students walked around as if everything were normal, most declining to talk to a reporter.

I couldnt care less, said freshman Sebastian Winfield, 18. Honestly, I havent been following any of this and it just feels like it doesnt impact me.

But Lucia Gonzales, 22, had mixed feelings but said Magills departure was to be expected.

[Magill] was already so one-sided, she said. She rarely ever mentioned Palestinians or Islamophobia. To see someone so pro-Israel was pretty much forced to resign makes me question who the university is going to put in place next.

 READ MORE: Penn President Liz Magill faces mounting pressure to resign from Capitol Hill as university backs her

Tension that escalated

Magill arrived at Penn on July 1, 2022, replacing longtime president Amy Gutmann, who had led Penn since 2004 before being named the U.S. ambassador to Germany. She was inaugurated as Penns ninth president in October 2022, overseeing Philadelphias largest private employer, with its 12 schools and more than 23,000 full-time and more than 4,600 part-time undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and a health system.

At the University of Virginia, Magill served as executive vice president and provost for three years, the first woman to hold the post that oversees all academics. She previously had served as dean of Stanfords law school.

 READ MORE: Penn president Liz Magills testimony ignited a political firestorm ahead of 2024

A native of Fargo, N.D., she is one of six children and grew up in a Catholic family, one that yielded many lawyers. She once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom she credits with helping to shape her career.

Trouble began for Magill earlier this year after the Palestine Writes literature festival was held on campus in late September and criticized by some for including speakers with a history of making antisemitic remarks, including Pink Floyds Roger Waters. Powerful donors have withdrawn financial support over the universitys handling of the festival and its response to antisemitism, and called for Magills and Boks resignations. Tensions escalated following Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel, with frequent protests by groups calling for more support for both Palestinians and Jewish students.

In November, Magill rolled out a plan to combat antisemitism, including a task force that is expected to issue its report this spring, and a student advisory group on the Jewish student experience.

Penn has experienced several antisemitic acts this semester, including the drawing of a swastika inside Meyerson Hall and vandalism at Penn Hillel. Complaints also surfaced after messages the university called antisemitic were light-projected on several Penn buildings, including Penn Commons, Huntsman Hall, and Irvine Auditorium.

Magill previously acknowledged that she should have acted faster in condemning the speech of some of the speakers at the festival and the board of trustees backed her, following a spirited speech she made at a meeting in early November, vowing to regain the trust of alumni.

Then at the congressional committee hearing, critics seized on a particular exchange. When Stefanik asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates Penns rules or code of conduct, Magill responded: It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman.

That is not bullying or harassment? Stefanik shot back. That is the easiest question to answer yes, Ms. Magill.

If the speech becomes conduct, Magill said, it can be harassment.

Conduct, meaning committing the act of genocide? Stefanik asked. The speech is not harassment?

Repeatedly pressed, Magill answered, It can be harassment.

Harvard president Claudine Gay and MIT president Sally Kornbluth also used the word context at the hearing and face calls for their resignations.

After the congressional testimony, another backlash ensued, this one started by the Republican-led committee but then becoming bipartisan with Democrats, including Shapiro, also criticizing Magills testimony.

The university also faces an investigation by the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights into complaints of antisemitism on campus.

Staff writer Michelle Myers contributed to this article.
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Penns controversial semester: From antisemitic vandalism to Liz Magills testimony

Calls for the University of Pennsylvania president to resign have escalated. But it's not the first time controversy has brewed on campus this semester.
Students gather at the first floor for a News Hour during their sit-in Friday at Parrish Hall at Swarthmore College. Read more

Students at Swarthmore and Haverford Colleges are preparing for finals, but some supporters of Palestinians are also spending the final days of their semester holding antiwar demonstrations in their school administration buildings.

More than 50 Swarthmore students were occupying a building thats home to the office of college president Valerie Smith on Thursday afternoon. At Haverford College  another liberal arts school that joins Swarthmore in a consortium with Bryn Mawr  around 30 students sprawled throughout the lobby of Founders Hall on Friday as a large Ceasefire Now sign hung above the buildings entryway.

The protests come after students demanded that campus leaders speak out against Israels ongoing strikes in Gaza following Hamas Oct. 7 attack. Gaza health officials estimate that since the wars outbreak, over 17,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict.

Palestinian-aligned student groups at both schools estimate that more than 100 students have attended each sit-in this week. Both groups say they intend to remain until university administrators meet their demands.

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At Swarthmore, students urged administrators to release a statement condemning Israeli aggression in Gaza, and to drop disciplinary warnings against pro-Palestinian student organizers.

Students also called on the school to divest portions of its $2.7 billion endowment from companies they believe are involved in the military-industrial complex, and to remove hummus made by Sabra, a company owned in part by an Israeli conglomerate thats connected to the countrys military, from student cafes.

At Haverford  where many on campus are still reeling after Palestinian-born classmate Kinnan Abdalhamid was wounded in a November shooting in Vermont  students called for the administration to endorse a cease-fire in Gaza, and to offer academic leniency to those on campus affected by the conflict.

Seeing the community that has formed here has made me feel so incredibly supported as a Palestinian student, said Ragood, a 19-year-old Swarthmore student who requested her last name be omitted due to security concerns. What is going on in the region does affect me directly  this is my identity, these are my people.

Colleges throughout the Philadelphia region have become hotbeds for political debate in the aftermath of Hamas surprise October attack that claimed the lives of 1,200 people in Israeli, according to the countrys Foreign Ministry.

In November, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was investigating allegations of both antisemitism and Islamophobia on a handful of college campuses, including the University of Pennsylvania and Lafayette College in Easton.

At Penn, several antisemitic incidents since the wars outbreak spurred calls from donors for administrators to do more to address the concerns of Jewish students. While Penns president Liz Magill announced a plan to combat antisemitism, her comments before a congressional hearing about the universitys free speech policies this week have led to calls for her resignation.

The blowback has left other higher education institutions considering how their leaders approach divisive campus environments.

At Swarthmore, around 30 student organizations have endorsed the pro-Palestinian demonstration, according to members of the Swarthmore Palestine Coalition. Demonstrators entered the building Monday, setting up mattresses and sleeping bags and hanging signs depicting Palestinians killed during Israels campaign.

Some coalition members, including Ragood, said that some Muslim and Arab students protesting Israel felt targeted by threats of disciplinary action from campus administrators for their involvement in earlier demonstrations this semester.

A spokesperson for Swarthmore said the college has long valued freedom of expression and freedom to protest peacefully.

Since the start of this latest violence in the Middle East, community members have held multiple campus vigils, protests, and other demonstrations of free expression, and have done so without interference, and in some cases with support from the College, said Alisa Giardinelli, assistant vice president of communications.

Giardinelli said that prior to the sit-in, several students, including those supporting a state for Palestinians and those supporting Israel, received warning letters over their participation in other activities that may have violated the colleges conduct. Those students received warnings after the school spoke to them and attempted to discourage them from further violations, according to Giardinelli.

Many of these events have lived into the spirit of the Colleges belief in peaceful dissent, Giardinelli said of earlier protests. However, we must maintain our commitment to cultivating an environment free of intimidation, harassment, and discrimination. We will hold accountable anyone found to be in violation of our policies.

Students concerned about discrimination can report their concerns to the colleges Bias Response Team, she added.

Meanwhile, at Haverford, some students like junior Ellie Esterowitz are staging the Haverford College Students For Peaces demonstration in Founders Hall  while still processing the trauma of the shooting of her friend, Abdalhamid, over Thanksgiving break.

Authorities are still investigating whether the shooting, in which two other students of Palestinian descent were struck, was racially motivated.

Its hard to even breach that kind of suffering and pain, Esterowitz said. Words feel a little bit inadequate.

Students described feeling that their concerns were being ignored by their administration, and were troubled that school leaders  a historically Quaker institution with a rich history of antiwar demonstrations  had not publicly called for a cease-fire.

We want an end to violence, said Ellie Baron, a 20-year-old student. This is not a radical ask in many ways.

Chris Mills, a Haverford College spokesperson, said the college supports students rights to expressive freedom and peaceful protest while together advancing our shared educational goals of Haverford.

The nuances and implications associated with the topics students are discussing, Mills said, are the subject of many ongoing conversations. In an Oct. 12 letter, college president Wendy E. Raymond said she had participated in a peace circle where attendees mourned more devastation to come for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Students at both schools said campus security have not removed students from their locations. One Haverford student suggested students would continue to protest next semester, if necessary.

At Swarthmores Parrish Hall, 22-year-old student Gaven Perez-Green sat on a mattress as some students, backpacks in tow, maneuvered through the throng of students. Some who were protesting hunched over their laptops, cramming in work before the holiday break.

Perez-Green, a first-generation college student, worries that potential disciplinary action could harm his standing with the school, and noted that the sit-in had upended typical college life at a critical point in the semester.

Still, I would absolutely call it a much-needed disruption, Perez-Green said.
On Thursday night in South Philadelphia, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli was scheduled to perform at the Wells Fargo Center.

Instead, just under an hour after the show was about to start, Bocelli walked onstage and explained he would be unable to perform. According to the Inquirers Alfred Lubrano, who was attending the show as a fan, Bocelli, 65, explained that he had spent all day with a doctor before making the decision. He also called off the previous nights show in Boston.

A truncated version of the show continued for half an hour with Bocelli apologizing, playing piano and introducing other performers. Lubrano reported that: People in the crowd cheered supportively and yelled, We love you.

Late Thursday, Bocelli posted a statement on Facebook. It read:

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The voice is a gift that I have received, it is an instrument that has been entrusted to me: I have always considered it my precise duty  and an honor, and a grace  to be able to share it with those who want to listen to it. For this reason, as long as I am given the strength, I will continue to travel and sing. For this reason, especially on tour, I preserve it with the rigor of an athlete, aware of the privilege and responsibility that I perceive, respecting the public first and foremost, but also the large quantity of people and professionalism that are involved, and thanks to which it takes life a concert.

So when is Bocelli coming back to Philly for a rescheduled date? For now, the answer is: we dont know.

A spokesperson for the tour said on Friday that the Philadelphia show has been postponed due to health challenges. Ticket holders should retain their tickets and parking receipts for the new date, which will be announced as soon as possible.

Ticket holders who have questions about refunds should contact their point of purchase.
Olivier Desaintmartin outside of Caribou Cafe, which he sold on Dec. 4. After working for nearly 45 years in kitchens in his native France and in the Philadelphia area, said he would consult. Read more

Chef Olivier Desaintmartin has sold Caribou Cafe, the long-running French destination in Washington Square West, to chef Townsend Tod Wentz, whose holdings include two restaurants across the street, The Hayes and Oloroso.

Caribou Cafe has been in its current location at 1126 Walnut St. since 1993, having moved from what is now Oloroso, at 1121 Walnut St. Desaintmartin bought it in 2003 from founder Bruno Pouget.

Caribou remains open and will not change its name or theme, said Wentz, who plans minor renovations in 2024.

French brasserie is one of my favorite things to do, said Wentz, 55, whose restaurants are themed to tavern (The Hayes), upscale contemporary French (Townsend), Italian (A Mano and the new Oltremare), and Spanish (Oloroso).

Ive never bought a restaurant before, Wentz said. Weve always opened them at somebody elses space or built them. Were very excited to have a Philadelphia institution with all its history to work with.

For Desaintmartin, 62, the sale  made final Monday  is a long time coming and will give him a respite after 45 years in the kitchen, including 20 years at Caribou. Asked what he would do, he replied, Absolutely no idea. A lot of things are going through my mind, but nothing is set in stone. He said he wanted to stay in the restaurant business, perhaps consulting and teaching. The kitchen is my thing, he said. Id like to teach the young people the structure of cooking, not the squeeze bottles and little fancy stuff. Make sure that it tastes good.

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Desaintmartin, born in Frances Picardie region, came to America in 1986 for a job at Le Bernardin in New York. He moved to Philadelphia in 1988 to work at the Bellevue Hotel as executive chef. In 1990, he moved to the posh La Campagne in Cherry Hill before he landed with the Dock Street brewpubs in 1996.

Caribou initially was a coffee shop in 1988 at 24th and Lombard Streets. A year later, Pouget, now a Realtor, moved it to 1121 Walnut St. before moving it again to the current location in 1993.

In addition to Caribou, Desaintmartin operated the smaller La Boheme, and later Zinc, on nearby 11th Street in the mid- to late-aughts. He also had a small French takeout spot next door, in the space that is now Middle Child, called Petit-Roti.

At Caribou, he served the classics: cassoulet with duck confit, skate wings, and escargot in puff pastry. He expects them to continue under Wentz, especially the desserts such as white chocolate bread pudding and cappuccino cheesecake. I know my creme brulee is the best, but everybody does it now, he said.

Im excited for Tod, Desaintmartin said. This cooking is his background when he was with Jean-Marie Lacroix at the [former] Four Seasons. He always wanted to have a French bistro and now we has it.
File art of Benson Martin Jr., who worked with racehorses and show horses at Penn Vets large-animal hospital. Read more

More than $31 million in state funding is on the line for the University of Pennsylvanias veterinary school, adding to the hundreds of millions of dollars Penn may lose due to president Liz Magills comments to Congress earlier this week.

Several Pennsylvania state senators from both parties said they will not vote to approve Penn Vets funding until Magill resigns. The Pennsylvania House approved Penn Vets funding in May, but it still requires a two-thirds majority of the state Senate to approve for the school to actually get its funds.

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Penn Vet is the states only veterinary school and has received state funding since 1889. The partnership between the state and Penn Vet helps the agriculture community complete field testing and monitoring for livestock and poultry diseases, among other responsibilities.

Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R., York) said Penn Vet provides vital research and resources to farmers and the agricultural community across the state. But Magills comments disqualify the university from receiving state funds until she resigns.

I could not support their funding until someone could come into the university and shut down the antisemitism, Phillips-Hill said. This is not a partisan issue. I will not vote to fund this institution until she resigns.

Funding for Pennsylvanias state-related universities  Temple, Pitt, Penn State, and Lincoln University  has become fraught in recent years, as some House Republicans have used the high vote threshold to demand more transparency from the schools or take political stances against the research or medical services they provide. Penn remains a private school, but a two-thirds vote from the General Assembly is still required to release funds to its veterinary school to continue its partnerships with the state.

Now lawmakers from both parties seem ready to use the state funding as leverage.

Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D., Bucks) was one of the first state lawmakers to condemn Magills comments, and said in a news release that hed vote against Penn Vets funding until Magill resigns.

We have come too far for someone who would respond in such a manner to be the leader of one of our countrys great research universities, Santarsiero added.

A 2017 report estimated that state funding made up 22% of the veterinary schools operating revenue.

House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) told The Inquirer that Magills comments were absolutely shameful and Penns future state funding will require her to resign and for Penn to prove it is keeping students safe from antisemitism on campus.

We need to ensure a safe place for our students, Cutler added.

But not all lawmakers want to penalize Penn Vet for Magills comments.

Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks), who chairs a newly formed Jewish Caucus, said in a statement that Magills comments were hurtful, unacceptable and extremely damaging to the university. However, Schwank does not believe that Penn Vets funding should be withheld.

I dont want to see the faculty, staff and students at Penn Vet punished for Magills ill-conceived comments, and I hope she does the right thing and resigns sooner rather than later, Schwank added.

A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro said the governor would examine whatever funding bills make their way to his desk for his signature.
The ceiling of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. Read more

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HARRISBURG  State lawmakers will return to Harrisburg this week in hopes of finally ending nearly six months of partisan deadlock on the last pieces of Pennsylvanias $45.4 billion budget.

While Gov. Josh Shapiros signature on the spending plan in August has allowed most of those dollars to be sent to K-12 schools, state workers paychecks, and other programs, disagreements between the Democratic-controlled state House and Republican-controlled state Senate over a handful of budget-enabling bills have left funding for libraries, community colleges, and nonprofits across the commonwealth in legislative purgatory.

Top lawmakers are aware of the consequences of their inaction, and while trading blame, have set a high bar for the coming session days.

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We cannot leave Harrisburg next week without addressing some of the things that must be taken care of, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) said Tuesday. And I dont believe that we will [leave without finishing].

Although both chambers have scheduled only three days of votes in what will almost certainly be the final session week for months, leaders in both chambers have told lawmakers and staff to prepare for up to a full week in Harrisburg.

Thats because a failure to act this coming week could have extended consequences. In an email Tuesday, state House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) announced that the lower chamber will take a nearly three-month break from voting session this winter while repairs are made to water damage in the chambers ceiling.

The construction means the legislature will be unable to send any bills to Shapiro until the chamber reopens in mid-March. The closure also happens to coincide with the resignation of a Democratic representative who won a judgeship this November, which will cost the chambers Democrats their one-vote majority until at least February.

The main item on this coming weeks agenda is finishing code bills, the budget-related legislation that serves as an instruction manual for state spending.

Theres a lot of ground to cover. For months, state House Democrats and state Senate Republicans have struggled to find compromise, spending the fall trading different code bills that include similar proposals and pet priorities, but are packaged in differing ways.

Those competing bills have included increases in a state tax credit for private school scholarships  a Republican priority  and authorization for the Shapiro administration to spend hundreds of millions of state dollars on a number of fully funded education programs  a top issue for Democrats.

Along with releasing funding for community colleges and libraries, the legislation is needed to route extra dollars to the states poorest districts, fund universal free school breakfast, and create a stipend program for student teachers.

At a ceremonial bill signing on Dec. 1 for legislation finally funding four state-related universities  Pittsburgh, Penn State, Temple, and Lincoln  held up amid the impasse, Shapiro noted that much of the budget was finished, but that lawmakers still have a lot of work to do.

I have reason to be optimistic given how much progress weve made over the last few months, Shapiro added. And Im hopeful that that progress will continue when they return.

Democrats plans for a long absence in the new year drew criticism from legislative Republicans. Some rank-and-file members said it was politically motivated, given the majority partys pattern of recessing the chamber for months whenever their majority disappears.

We should not skip voting session every time the Democrats lose their slim majority, state Rep. Brad Roae (R., Crawford) said in a statement.

Others, such as Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana), simply offered snark.

You would think if I-95 could be opened in 12 days they can fix a water leak in a shorter period of time than 12 weeks, Pittman told Spotlight PA.

But for their part, House Republican leadership did not criticize the timing.

Understanding that significant work needs to be done to repair water damage to the House chamber, while also recognizing that much unfinished work remains legislatively, House Republicans are prepared to ensure the voices of their districts are heard during any scheduled session days, House GOP spokesperson Jason Gottesman said in a statement.

Democrats control the House by a single vote, and have had to navigate five vacancies since last years election, including one due to a death and four from resignations. A sixth is set to open up next Friday, when State Rep. John Galloway (D., Bucks) has said he will resign his seat in preparation of taking a local judgeship he ran for and won in the November municipal election.

Under state law, the earliest McClinton could schedule a special election to fill Galloways suburban Philadelphia seat is Feb. 13. Democrats are favored to hold the seat and their majority, although the district has trended Republican in recent statewide races.

In her email to state House lawmakers, McClinton said the leak in the top floor of the main Capitol building is severe, and will require Capitol employees to do weeks of scaffolding preparation, site evaluation, and hopefully remediation and renovation to the areas affected.

In an interview with Spotlight PA last week, she added that the repairs were needed to protect such a beautiful historic site and make sure that it doesnt fall into any disrepair, or bring any lack of safety to everyone whos in and out of the chamber.

McClintons office did not reply to follow-up questions on the timeline for repairs, or on holding voting sessions in another location. Current state House rules allow lawmakers to vote remotely.

The House will still meet, as is constitutionally required, on the first Tuesday of the year in the chamber. It will then convene an unusual session in the Capitols rotunda on the first Tuesday of February for Shapiros annual budget address.

Even with the long winter recess, however, the state House has scheduled three more 2024 voting session days than the state Senate.

I am fully confident that we will have a productive and meaningful Spring 2024 session, even as we work through some of these scheduling obstacles, McClinton said.

BEFORE YOU GO  If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
Police take into custody individuals who were involved in a sit-in demonstration at Rep. Dwight Evans office on Ogontz Avenue in Philadelphia Friday. Read more

A small group of Jewish protesters staged a peaceful sit-in Friday at the Philadelphia district office of U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, demanding that he call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

After several hours, 15 protesters who refused to leave the inside of the office were arrested without incident.

Evans, a Democrat who was not at his office on Ogontz Avenue in West Oak Lane, has been publicly supportive of Israel, but this week he also signed a letter with other Congress members calling for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.

Members of IfNotNow, the group that organized the protest, said that supporting a humanitarian pause was not enough.

According to IfNotNow spokesperson Ilana Dodelson, the group has been asking Evans for a cease-fire declaration for weeks.

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We have been calling him, sending him letters, [trying to have a] meeting with him, going to his office, and he hasnt called for it yet, Dodelson said. Now we are going to sit in his office until he calls for an immediate cease-fire.

Ben Turner, a spokesperson for Evans, said in an email Friday evening: Congressman Evans has consistently supported humanitarian pauses for more aid to reach civilians in Gaza. There was a previously agreed-to ceasefire in effect on Oct. 7 which Hamas terrorists broke with a horrific, revolting attack that included murders, rapes and abductions of numerous civilians. Congressman Evans reiterates his call for Israeli forces to immediately take a more restrained approach in targeting Hamas terrorists.

Singing cease-fire now, group members inside the district offices small reception area sat on the floor and on a couch, holding signs that said all we want for Hanukkah is a ceasefire, and equality, justice, safety for all.

They delivered signed written messages supporting the cease-fire collected Thursday night from a Hanukkah event at Rittenhouse Square.

Once the crowd refused to leave, Evans staff retreated to the inside of the office. Around 40 people total protested inside and outside the office.

For group member Sam Lewin, the representatives calls for a humanitarian pause is completely insufficient.

Even when we are able to provide Gaza a negligible amount of water, it doesnt really matter a whole lot if there are bombs falling on their heads, Lewin said.

For 64-year-old Elijah Wald, whose mother survived the Holocaust, being part of the protest was important because so many people are treating opposition to this as being antisemitic.

Its important for people to understand most Jews are not necessarily supporting this and this is completely contrary to Jews history and practice, Wald said.

In Philadelphia since the Oct. 7 attack, there have been frequent protests, marches, and heated debates over the war overseas, all while threats against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish people have increased nationwide. Activists have protested at the city offices of U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey, pressing them to call for a cease-fire.

The University of Pennsylvania has been gripped by the divisive debate, with calls for the resignation of Liz Magill, the universitys president, after her testimony before Congress about the universitys handling of antisemitism. When asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates the schools code of conduct, Magill said during a congressional hearing Tuesday that it was a context-dependent decision. Gov. Josh Shapiro condemned her comments.

A protest that targeted an Israeli-owned falafel shop in Center City on Sunday drew widespread criticism, including from Shapiro and President Joe Biden.

Responding to the incident at Goldie, Evans wrote on social media: Antisemitism and Islamophobia must have no place in the City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection. This is no time for whataboutism. Blaming a Jewish-owned small business for policies of the Israeli government is antisemitism and I condemn it.
Mayor Jim Kenney, whose second term ends this month, often seemed unhappy and disengaged in a job that requires healthy doses of cheerleading and dexterity, writes the Editorial Board. Read more

Mayor Jim Kenneys tenure began with a series of high-profile policy victories, but effectively ended 18 months ago with a surrender. Its a disappointing denouement to a demanding job in a tough town made more difficult by the tumultuous times spurred by the pandemic and record levels of gun violence.

Fairly or not, Kenney may best be remembered for the 11 words he uttered in an unguarded moment after two police officers were shot on July 4, 2022: Ill be happy when Im not here  when Im not mayor. Kenney walked it back, but the initial statement cemented what City Hall watchers had pondered for some time: Has the mayor checked out?

In an exit interview with The Inquirer, Kenney admitted the job wore on his mental and physical health. Thats a belated but welcome acknowledgment from a man many regarded as an ambitious good government type when he was first elected to City Council in 1991 at age 32.

As mayor, voters saw flashes of Kenneys rowhouse candor when he stood up to former President Donald Trump, calling him a bully in 2017 over his immigration policies and telling Trump to put on his big boy pants and accept his 2020 election defeat.

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 READ MORE: Can we drink the water? Can we find the mayor? | Editorial

But all too often, Kenney seemed unhappy and disengaged in a job that requires healthy doses of cheerleading and dexterity. During public appearances, Kenney frequently delivered monotone speeches with his head buried in the script. But then he would remove his glasses and speak from the heart. Those moments provided a revealing peek into what is clearly a sensitive soul, and they showed that he cared.

Perhaps the pandemic, the protests after the police killing of George Floyd, the manic Trump years, and the citys record murders combined to overwhelm Kenney. He was not alone. Many in Philadelphia and beyond have been going through it.

But if Kenney needed help or felt burned out, he could have done himself and city residents a favor by stepping away. He could have been a champion for the mental and physical health crisis plaguing many adults and children.

Its fair to wonder if Kenney really wanted the job. After wavering for months, he entered the 2015 mayors race late, inheriting the campaign apparatus of former City Solicitor Ken Trujillo who suddenly dropped out.

Kenney had a strong first year. Philadelphia became the first big city to adopt a soda tax, with the mayor stiff-arming intense lobbying by the beverage industry. Kenneys predecessor, Michael Nutter, had failed twice to get a similar tax approved.

Kenney used the additional tax revenue to fund universal pre-K and renovate parks, libraries, and recreational centers. Unfortunately, his signature initiative remains a work in progress. The pandemic hampered pre-K enrollments while the $400 million Rebuild efforts have been slow and underwhelming.

By his second term, Kenney seemed to shift to autopilot. He cruised to reelection in 2019 without much in the way of campaigning or offering any new ideas. Three months after his second inauguration, the pandemic shut down the city.

While some elected officials stepped up during the crisis, Kenney stepped back. The leadership void was laid bare when a 22-year-old Drexel University graduate student with no health-care experience was somehow entrusted to run COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution.

Other scandals raised questions about Kenneys judgment. Police Commissioner Richard Ross resigned amid allegations of an affair with a subordinate and his failure to respond to separate claims of sexual harassment. Days earlier, Kenney called Ross the best police commissioner in America.

In January 2020, Kenney appointed Danielle Outlaw the citys first Black female commissioner, with a charge to reform the troubled department. She proved largely ineffective in bringing about substantive change, let alone developing a forceful response to the increased gun violence. A lawsuit following the Police Departments mishandling of protests after Floyds murder cost taxpayers nearly $10 million. Outlaw resigned in September after 3  years on the job.

John Johnny Doc Dougherty, the once-powerful electricians union boss who played a key role in electing Kenney, was indicted on multiple corruption charges. After Dougherty and former City Councilmember Bobby Henon were both convicted in one of the schemes, Kenney praised the former union leader.

Beyond leadership and public safety, a mayors other main responsibility is fiscal management. On this score, Kenneys record is mixed.

After a temporary freeze, Kenney wisely resumed the incremental cuts to the citys onerous wage and business taxes. But during his tenure, Philadelphia increased spending by more than 50%. The city benefited from a $1.4 billion windfall in federal stimulus funds and a 31% spike in property assessments that boosted tax revenues.

Where did all the money go? Investments were made in critical education and social services. Meanwhile, the Police Department received hundreds of millions of dollars in additional spending, yet shootings, murders, and crime continued to increase. Millions steered to crime prevention programs proved ineffective and, in some cases, wasteful.

It remains to be seen if all the additional spending can be maintained once the stimulus funds are gone, and if an economic downturn reduces revenues. But Kenney is leaving the city in stronger financial shape than when he arrived.

 READ MORE: How Mayor Kenney can leave a lasting imprint on the city  and perhaps democracy itself | Editorial

The fund balance, which is money unspent, was nearly $1 billion at the conclusion of the fiscal year that ended in July  the highest ever. That does not include $449 million left in federal stimulus funds that must be spent by the end of 2024.

Kenney also strengthened the citys pension fund, which increased from about 45% funded to almost 58%. It is on course to be 80% funded in five years thanks to changes in labor contracts, improved investment strategy, and a dedicated revenue stream from sales taxes.

As a result, the citys bond rating and outlook have improved. None of that is sexy, but it is important to the financial health of the city. Other mayors kicked that can down the road.

While Kenney  and many others  may be happy when he is no longer mayor, he did make a quiet impact. Kenney said he wants to be remembered as someone who cared.

It wasnt always obvious, Philadelphia, but he did care.
Ukrainian intelligence officers showed the latest lifetime photos of the fugitive ex-MP and traitor Illia Kiva. He was spotted having a rest in a restaurant called Pushkin in Moscow.

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The photos were published by Ukrainian blogger Serhii Ivanov, who noted that he had received them from sources in the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. It should be noted that the liquidation of the traitor Kiva in the Moscow region became known on December 6.

"Before the liquidation, Kiva was resting at the "Pushkin" restaurant in Moscow's State Universal Store, which, by the way, is very symbolic for other Pushkin apologists and lovers of luxury living for Russian money," Ivanov wrote.

According to the blogger's interlocutors, the so-called "photo shoot" organized by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine lasted more than three months. He also noted that there is still a lot of interesting information, not only about the traitor Kiva.

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Earlier it was reported that former Ukrainian MP Illia Kiva, who was killed on December 6, had an apartment on Arbat in the center of Moscow, where Russian investigators found documents on the deployment of Russian occupation troops, in particular on the left bank of the Kherson region. According to unconfirmed reports, Kiva was allegedly considered for the role of a potential "governor of the Kherson region" instead of collaborator Volodymyr Saldo.

As OBOZ.UA reported, the special operation to eliminate the traitor Illia Kiva was organized by the Security Service of Ukraine.

The body of the former MP was found in the woods near the Velich Country Club hotel in Moscow region. It was there that Kiva most often filmed his propaganda videos in order not to reveal his location.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
At the end of August, after 30 years in New York, Don ONeill (57) moved home to his native Ballyheigue with his husband Pascal Guillermie, his rock and the wind beneath [his] wings.

This is as huge a life change for him as it is for me and he did so willingly and gladly, leaving urban New York for rural Ballyheigue which he loves with all his heart.

Its been a major life change for ONeill and Guillermie who each had creative careers in New York, Guillermie, his own floristry business, and ONeill as Creative Director of the Theia brand which sold in over 450 stores and was worn by celebrities including Oprah, Angela Bassett, Taylor Swift and Meghan Markle.

ONeill has also worked as Design Director at Badgley Mischka and Carmen Marc Valvo, having started his fashion career interning at Christian Lacroix Paris in 1993.

ONeill says he and his husband were eased into the move back to Ireland by the pandemic.

Pre-covid I was gone from 7am to 9pm, six days a week, and travelled a lot for work. Then when the pandemic happened we were together all the time. That could be challenging for many couples, but we just made our way through it, he says. The fact that Pascal survived my chaos at home and I survived his ultra-organisational nature  were polar opposites!  prepared us for a life together no matter where we went.

A design from Don O'Neill's last collection for the Theia brand.

A restructuring of Theias parent company in 2020 meant ONeill and the entire Theia team lost their jobs. For ONeill, not only his job but his entire identity, as he saw it, had been taken from him.

I had been working in a designers Aladdins Cave. Anything that I wanted to make happen, I was able to make happen through my team of pattern makers, design assistants, embroidery designers. Pascal had his own business. New York allows you to be creative and the money is there to pay for whatever it is you make. I sometimes describe the experience as having your crayon box taken away  you cant colour any more. It was really hard actually.

Having created and built the Theia brand, ONeill says he would have struggled to work for someone else but he also now realises that he was completely burnt out.

I couldnt have kept up what I was doing at that pace for much longer, he says, At Theia we were a team, we were a family  the people, the fashion shows, the beautiful dresses, the visibility. Who was Don ONeill without the beautiful gowns to offer?

Don ONeill is a loving, caring man who puts people

first. I guess dresses were the medium I used to do that, but other peoples wellbeing was front and centre to what I did.

A design from Don O'Neill's last collection for the Theia brand.

His caring nature, charming personality and experience have already led to several public appearances and to his becoming a patron of Recovery Haven Kerry.

Thanks to Rosemary Steen of Design & Crafts Council Ireland [DCCI], I spoke at the Future Makers 2023 and realised that my ability to share my experience is another way of reaching out to people. They dont have to see a beautiful dress in front of them.

His selfless nature is further evidenced by the National Bravery Award he was awarded in November along with Donal Hanley, for their role in rescuing a drowning man on Ballyheigue beach in September last year.

The man had drifted out to sea in a rip current and without a second thought ONeill and Hanley rushed in to save him.

I hadnt seen Donal since it happened, so it was nice to actually see him as well as to be in the room with people who had performed incredible feats of bravery, says ONeill of the ceremony at Farmleigh House.

We were interviewed by Oireachtas TV and it was very emotional for both of us talking back through the day. When you put your own life in danger you really dont think about it in the moment but then when you think about what youve put yourself through it can be unsettling and I think we had just kind of buried that.

While the man they rescued prefers to remain anonymous, he returned to Ballyheigue to thank ONeill.

He was very grateful. How do you thank the person that saves your life? Theres no need to  I was just there and I did what you do, he says.

Don ONeill, fashion designer, at his beloved Ballyheigue beach. Picture: Miki Barlok

Despite missing many friends in New York (the couple have 150 on their Christmas card list) ONeill says the splendour of the city cannot compare to his native Kerry.

There is a connection here that supersedes everything in New York. Everything in New York is manmade  look how tall this building is, look how cool this exhibition is, look how fabulous this restaurant is! And then you sit here and see what nature has made and the spectacle is just mind-blowing. New York fed so many things and was extraordinary but we are blessed by what Ballyheigue has to offer and to be nourished by it.

Family and ONeills strong sense of spirituality make Christmas a special time for the designer and his husband. During lockdown, the ONeill family were on Zoom daily for a decade of the rosary followed by a chat.

I wont say my dad is the holiest man in Ireland, but hes up there. He always believed that the family that prays together stays together.

As a gay man, ONeill admits he has had a challenging relationship with God and the church.

I had great role models all around me and there was a strong faith instilled in us. Then I went through my teenage years when, like many people, I threw the baby out with the bath water. The Catholic church had a big poster saying No gays welcome here and it didnt make sense to me  it was very confusing and a long, long journey for me.

ONeill says he was lucky to meet insightful people along the way with broad attitudes to spirituality who werent corralled by the views of the church per se.

Once you transcend all the little churches who are fighting for a piece of the action, or a piece of you, there is a bigger picture thats much broader and all-encompassing. I think once you get to that realisation it is very liberating, that you can be a spiritual person without the shackles of religion, he says.

Don ONeill, fashion designer: "The ideas keep coming so theyll have to go somewhere!" Picture: Miki Barlok

This Christmas at home is a resonant one.

As big as that tree is in Rockefeller Centre, it is nothing compared to the feeling of being at home with your own family at Christmas. Having lost my mom seven years ago, we took on the mantle of continuing her traditions. Christmas is a big deal in this house and the bigger the tree the better. Its just really special.

ONeill has also been blown away by the level of creative talent Ireland has to offer.

I had a vague idea of people doing amazing things in design but now that Ive been paying attention to the work of DCCI and Heritage Ireland I realise that there are thousands of people here doing incredible things, he says.

I thought I would be able to mentor people but there are plenty of people here who could mentor me!

With his enormous creative flair and his feet now firmly on Irish soil, the design community will be wondering what 2024 has in store for Don ONeill.

I want to finish my book and to get that story out there, he says. Then, for some reason, I keep seeing tweed in my head. I dont want to have my own brand but I keep seeing all these shapes in my head and thinking it would be amazing to work with tweed. I have visions of coats that need to be worn by someone, somewhere  so who knows? A collaboration with a tweed company? The ideas keep coming so theyll have to go somewhere!
Health minister Stephen Donnelly said it is very difficult to predict the impact of policies against hospital overcrowding and declined to say whether targets for lowering trolley numbers can be reached.

This comes as new waiting list data for non-urgent treatment shows while hospitals are treating far more patients this winter so many new patients need help targets are slipping here too.

Earlier this year, the HSE said the winter emergency care target is to have no more than 320 patients waiting for a bed on trolleys on any one day.

This stood at 589 on Friday according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and 405 on the HSEs system.

Recent research from France indicated for every 21 older adults who spend a night in an emergency department, there is an extra death as highlighted by emergency medicine doctors.

However, when the Irish Examiner asked Minister Donnelly if he is confident hospitals can sustain 320 this winter, he declined to answer directly.

The number of patients on trolleys today is too high, we know it is too high on an ongoing basis. There is a comprehensive plan in place, he said on Wednesday.

He later said: They are going to do everything they can.

I think it is very difficult to predict what the impact is going to be. We are doing some things which are entirely new, there are some new protocols in place, it is difficult to predict where exactly it is going to go.

Data consistently shows a relatively small number of hospitals is accounting for a very sizeable portion of the people on trolleys," he said.

Special interventions are in place, he said, naming as examples university hospitals Limerick, Cork, Galway and Kerry.

Some 106 people were without a bed in UHL yesterday. The corresponding figure at CUH was 47, according to the INMO.

When asked why numbers are still going up at these sites, the minister said: The reality is right now through the winter we are going to see a very high level of demand.

Looming over this weeks figures is the memory of 931 patients without a bed on just one day in January.

Responding to his comments, General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said persistent overcrowding will not be solved without investment in hospitals and community including nursing homes.

There is no point in pretending any other proposed solutions will solve the trolley crisis in the long-term without additional capacity, she said.

Since the HSE announced their target to reach 320 people on trolleys a day, the INMO TrolleyWatch figures have not dipped below 360.

The average number of people on trolleys a day since August has been 492 according to INMO figures.

She also sees variation between sites, saying lessons must be learned from hospitals which focused on lowering trolley numbers.

They have prioritised capacity and transfers to long-term facilities, she said, adding: This is good for patients and good for staff.

She welcomed the growing development of community services.

Meanwhile, some 687,621 people are waiting as out-patients, needing to be admitted or for GI Scopes.

The Department of Health said: Against the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, the total waiting list position is c.7.1% (46,000) behind target, as a result of additions being c.6.8% (102,000) higher than projected.

Reductions are being seen but overall the number of patients added to the lists is a startling 284,000 or 21.6% higher than during the same time in 2019. The data also shows 187,000 more people removed from waiting lists than by this time last year.
Increased funding could be needed for public infertility programmes next year as new figures show 127 couples have been referred for advanced treatment since late September, advocates urged.

Concerns have been raised about the annual budget for 2024, with advocates noting the initial demand shows there may be a need for greater funding from the Government.

Some 30m has been allocated to the service in 2024, a HSE spokesperson said.

10m [was] allocated in Budget 2023 for the period September to December, and a further 20m in Budget 2024 to cover the period January to August. Full year allocation for the service on an ongoing basis is 30m per annum.

30m is the allocation for the full year of 2024, effectively 10m from 2023 plus an additional 20m in 2024," said the spokesperson.

Caitriona Fitzpatrick, National Infertility Support and Information Group chair, said it has been a slow and steady start so far.

There is really limited State-funded IVF; this is a very limited scheme and the criteria is very strict, she said.

This is not a fully-funded scheme for everyone to be able to access. Wed like to see the criteria reviewed once they have six months of data.

They expect this years funding to be fully spent.

Given the time and medical treatment that is part of undertaking IVF, funding certainty is crucial.

We are also expecting the criteria for access to publicly-funded IVF to be expanded next year when the new [Assisted Human Reproduction] legislation is passed. Therefore provision for increased funding may be required for 2024.

The programme starts with a GP referral to a regional assessment hub with potential for further referral to a private clinic.

127 couples have been referred for advanced fertility treatment including IUI, IVF, or ICSI, the HSE said, up to December 1.

The IVF programme has a number of steps, starting with interaction with a GP who can then refer the couple to one of six regional assessment hubs. On average 400 referrals are being received each month across the hubs.

Once a referral is received, couples are sent a questionnaire. It takes about 12 weeks from return of completed forms to seeing a specialist, following investigations by nurse specialists.

It is expected that about 50% of couples in the hubs can be treated there.
The mugshots of both Thomas and Molly Martens have been released following their transfers to separate prisons in North Carolina earlier this week.

The father and daughter were jailed in November after accepting a voluntary manslaughter plea deal for killing Limerick man Jason Corbett in 2015.

Mr Martens, 73, and Ms Martens, 40, were transferred to a maximum security prison in the United States on Tuesday night following two days of confusion around their release dates.

Thomas Martens mugshot

Ms Martens was admitted to the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, while Tom Martens was admitted to the Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury.

Molly Marten's mugshot refers to her as Molly Corbett and her offender number is 1551729.

Molly Martens mugshot

Thomas Marten's offender number is 1553797.

The pair were held in custody at Davidson County jail in Lexington, North Carolina, since November following their sentencing hearing.

The move to maximum security prison comes following a major miscalculation of their release dates from jail, which made international headlines and caused the family of the late Mr Corbett much distress.

This could have meant the pair would have only spent four weeks in jail after they were sentenced to a minimum of seven months and a maximum of 23 months.

"Human error" was blamed for the mix-up of their prison records which are accessible by members of the public online, according to a statement by the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

Molly Martens admitted killing her husband in August 2015 along with her fatherthe pair claimed self-defence. However, Judge Hall said they had little or no injuries after beating Mr Corbett to death and he added that this did not make sense.

The Martens both pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and were returned to jail by Judge David Hall, where they have already served 44 months for the death of Mr Corbett. They were jailed for second-degree murder in 2017 but had their convictions overturned earlier this year and a re-trial was ordered.
Demonstrators staged a silent die-in at Cork City Hall on Saturday as part of a Palestine solidarity protest march through the city.

The Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign said around 1,000 people took part and lay down on the pavement in front of City Hall to draw attention to the death toll in Gaza.

It marked the ninth consecutive weekend of protests staged by the campaign group, as they called for city councillors to pressure the Government to work towards ending the war.

The war was raging again today in the region, as Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardments. The latest strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, despite it being backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations.

The Palestine protesters took to the streets of Cork again on Saturday, with up to 1,000 also staging a 'die-in outside Cork City Hall. Picture: Chani Anderson

Main speaker Martin Shiel, who co-chairs the campaign, called on the Government to immediately take action, and was critical of the inaction from Ministers Micheal Martin and Simon Coveney.

Tut-tutting at the start of a genocide and then sitting back and congratulating yourself for your tuts isn't good enough", he said. "Micheal Martin  implement the Occupied Territories Bill. Simon Coveney  just get out of the way and stop blocking it."

Speaking on behalf of the Forsa trade union, Donal Guerin also called for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill, which would prevent trade with Israeli companies operating in the occupied West Bank.

Some of the protesters taking part in the die-in at Cork City Hall in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Picture: Chani Anderson

The campaign said in a statement: Corkonians continue to be horrified by Israels horrific genocide of the Palestinian people.

The die-in took place to help people visually take in the scale of the death toll in Gaza and to call on the Irish government to demand an end to Israels war on Gaza, pass the Occupied Territories Bill, cease all trade with Israel and expel the Israeli ambassador.

The Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign is also calling on the Irish government to demand that the EU impose sanctions on Israel.

The group is planning another march and rally for next Saturday in the city.
Betty Houlihans retirement, in 2020, passed under the radar because of the covid-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdowns, but its not too late to pay tribute to one of the last railway gatekeepers on Irish Rails network.

Betty operated the level-crossing at Fantstown, Bulgaden in Co Limerick, for more than 30 years, a job her mother, Mary Raleigh, did before her. They kept trains running for decades at a busy crossing on the main Dublin-to-Cork line.

Not that long ago, several hundred women worked as gatekeepers around the country. Now, just eight of the 44 attended level-crossings are operated by people who still live at the crossing. Soon, there will be none. The march of time has seen to that: New technology, faster trains, and increasing concern for health and safety.

But that way of life leaves behind a rich legacy. And it was a way of life. Talking to Betty Houlihan makes that clear.

She was born into the railway, as many gatekeepers were, and she loved it. Her father, Jack Raleigh, was a permanent way man, who walked the track to make sure it was safe.

Part of his remuneration package included a red-brick railway cottage for life. It was within a stones throw of the track at Fantstown, facing a similar cottage on the opposite side for the gatekeeper. When the gatekeeper retired, Bettys mother took on the job, as the wives of railway workers often did.

Gatekeeper Betty Houlihan recalls her mother preparing paraffin lamps, filling the wicks, and putting them as warning lights on the gates. When they were old enough, she and her sister were able to help.

It was not an easy job. Gatekeepers were on duty 24/7 all year round, with the exception of a day off at Christmas. They were paid a token 1 a year.

To put that into context: Oliver Doyle, railway historian and former Irish Rail worker, was earning 6 a week, as a temporary booking clerk, in 1962, when one of his duties was to give the annual pound-note to the woman operating Grange level-crossing on the Waterford-to-Rosslare line.

In other words, what a booking clerk earned in a day, a gatekeeper earned in a year. But it wasnt about the money. There were many advantages, not least the cottage.

And, as Betty Houlihan recalls, her mother was at home, even if she was always on duty. When Betty and her sister, Brigid, were growing up in the 1950s, the railway line was much busier, but the family never thought anything of being interrupted, not even at mealtimes.

The train had the right of way, so the gate was always down for motorists: Drivers had to leave their cars and call to the Houlihan home to ask them to open it.

During morning creamery runs, it was all go, not only when horses and carts went to deliver their milk, but on the way back, when they called in for tea. It was a really social time, says Betty, adding that the kettle was always on.

When the gatekeeper at Fantstown retired, Bettys mother, Mary Raleigh (pictured), took on the job, as the wives of railway workers often did.

She recalls her mother preparing paraffin lamps, filling the wicks, and putting them as warning lights on the gates. When they were old enough, she and her sister were able to help, so it was no surprise when they both took jobs in Dublin with CIE, or Coras Iompair Eireann, as the transport network was known.

Betty was just 16 when she took a job in catering at the central bus station, Busaras, in Dublin. The company provided meals and accommodation  no boyfriends allowed  but it was a carefree, joyful, and happy time, she says.

She came back to Limerick when she married John Houlihan, a carpenter, in 1975. When the job of gatekeeper opened up again a few years later, she stepped into her mothers shoes: And never looked back. The family built a bigger house, but it was still very near the crossing, so, as her son Barry says, when he and his siblings, Aidan, Shane, and Carol, came along, they were the railway children.

The love of the railway passed down to the next generation: They still travel by rail and recall a wonderful childhood spent waving at trains.

Meanwhile, the job was changing. Technology made it easier and employment legislation introduced shifts and better pay. There are some 900 level-crossings on the Irish network and the few that are attended are mostly run from cabins near the tracks, operated on three eight-hour shifts.

Betty Houlihan will be sad to see the gatekeepers go, but she appreciates it is no longer workable: I greatly enjoyed all my years working for the railway, between Dublin and Limerick, and seeing all the changes that happened over the years, she says.

Before the last of our gatekeepers retire, its time to record this fascinating piece of social history. For example, Frances Monaghans great grandmother, Bridget Keogh, worked as a gatekeeper in Tipperary, but it is the painful memory of her son James OConnors execution, in 1922, that is, understandably, remembered.

During the Civil War, he was destroying railway tracks, as an Anti-Treaty IRA member, while, ironically, his mother was operating a level-crossing near Bansha. Bridget had been widowed when her husband, Patrick OConnor, a rail worker, died in 1911. She was left with five surviving children (two others had drowned in the Liffey as youngsters).

She later married a local farmer, Willie Black, who was blind, and managed the railway crossing near their home. She had to face further loss when her son was sentenced to death, and shot at Curragh Camp, on December 19, 1922.

IF her loss was personal, there was tragedy on the railway line, too, as Oliver Doyle recounts. He comes from a railway family and has written extensively about the history of Irish Rail.

Two gatekeepers died while on duty, he says. The first accident happened on August 11, 1929, when an extra train was put on to bring people from Bantry to Limerick to see the still-new wonder at Ardnacrusha, the Shannon hydroelectric scheme.

The steam train was running low on water when it approached the station at Aughaville, in West Cork, and was unable to stop before reaching the gates.

The gatekeeper and station masters wife, Julia McCarthy, was about to close the gates against the road, when a large piece of timber, with a metal plate attached, struck her on the head, killing her almost immediately, Mr Doyle recounts in a history of the tragedy.

A second fatal accident took place at Church Road level crossing, Bantry, on January 13, 1941: Catherine (Kate) Sullivan, wife of gatekeeper Daniel Sullivan, had almost closed the second gate against the road when the train struck and killed her.

An inquest at Bantry courthouse later recorded a verdict of death by accident, through being struck by a train while performing her duties as a gate keeper.

Those tragic deaths must be remembered, of course, but we must also celebrate the lives of all those dedicated women who kept the trains running for so many decades.
Sinn Fein was hammered unfairly in the Dail this week. During a vote of confidence motion in the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, a succession of government deputies associated the party with the murder of gardai, covering up child abuse and killing children with bombs.

The association for all this was via, what was referred to as, the partys sister organisation, the Provisional IRA.

The Fine Gael deputies were in their element. They revelled in assailing the high moral ground on the partys once favourite topic, law and order. They listed off the various gardai who had been murdered by the Provos, and juxtaposed that with the Shinners now claiming that the gardai were not being properly supported by the government.

The line of attack was unfair. Linking todays deputies with the iteration of the party when it was little more than a front for the Provos is below the belt. Only one deputy on the Sinn Fein benches, Dessie Ellis, was ever charged with explosives-related offences. None of the partys standard bearers in the Dail ever had anything to do with terrorism or bombs.

A senior figure in the party, Liam Lappin, recently submitted to the High Court in pursuit of a libel action that the IRA was a criminal and terrorist organisation. For all we know, this may well be a widely held view within Sinn Fein today.

The distance from the past was referenced during the debate by Sinn Feins Donnchadh O Laoghaire. For the last hour of so, we listened to attacks, not on Sinn Fein, but on the party the government would like Sinn Fein to be, he said. Hard to argue with that, but recent events do suggest that while the party is not what the government might want it to be, perhaps neither is it exactly how it presents itself.

The motion of no confidence was in response to the perceived mishandling of security on the night of the Dublin riots, November 27. McEntee has been under pressure because the gardai lost control of the streets for a number of hours.

Strangely, it was more than a week after the riots before Sinn Fein lodged the motion. Its reluctance to act decisively was at odds with the surefootedness most of the frontbenches have shown in dealing with bread and butter issues. For instance, if Fianna Fail pre-2011 had been in opposition after an event like the riots, they would have slapped a motion down the morning after, freighted with the opportunism.

The smart money says that Mary Lou McDonald was hesitant on this one because they knew that the government parties would reach for shovels to dig up the embarrassing past. In fact, it may not have occurred at all had McDonald not made a major error in producing a photograph of a homeless man outside the school where the knife attack took place on November 27. The photo was a cheap stunt that went badly wrong and required some deflection. Hence the late-in-the-day no confidence motion.

The investigation of the murder of Garda Adrian Donohoe raises questions about how near or far the current iteration of Sinn Fein is from its past.

While the references to the murder of gardai during the Troubles was unfairly attributing historic baggage, there was a matter about the gardai in recent times that raises questions about how near or far the current iteration of the party is from its past.

In 2017, during the investigation of the murder of Garda Adrian Donohoe a potential witness was approached by the gardai. He said he would have to consult with the party before making a statement.

Detective Pat Marry went to Sinn Fein Louth councillor Antoin Watters for help but the councillor told him that was a matter for HQ.

The detective subsequently went to then Louth TD Gerry Adams who according to the detective responded two weeks later to say that man has been spoken to and told that absolutely, if he wishes to, he should to talk to the guards and make a statement.

By any standards, that was a highly unorthodox engagement with the gardai by a political party in a longstanding democracy. In this instance the witness wasnt central to the investigation, but if he was, two weeks is a long wait in the heat of a murder investigation.

There are other recent matters that throw up questions about the partys complete alleged departure from the culture that pertained during the Troubles.

Former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall, when he was vetted by the party in 2011, was asked about a rumour that he had shot up his uncles house. Dowdall denied it. File picture.

Jonathan Dowdall, the criminal associated with the Hutch gang, was a Sinn Fein councillor for a period nearly 10 years ago. When he was being vetted by the party in 2011, he was asked about a rumour that he had shot up his uncles house. Dowdall denied it.

But how many political parties in the western world are ever compelled to ask a potential public rep whether they had shot up a house and what efforts were made to verify his denial?

Another issue around Sinn Feins subscription to full democracy is its attitude to the medias function. A whole slew of libel writs issued in recent years have given rise to fears that there is a campaign to silence those who might question the unorthodox aspects of the party.

Reporters without Borders and 14 other civic organisations, including the Index of Censorship, last month wrote to McDonald to express alarm at the trend. We urge you to be mindful of the chilling effect that legal actions have, not only on the media, but on our democracy, they wrote.

Attempting to eliminate any kind of neutral watchdog in a democracy has been popular in places like Trumps America or Erdogans Turkey but we were under the impression that proper standards still applied here.

All of this is against a background of unbelievable luck when it comes to fundraising. In 2019, a man with a psychiatric history, who lived in a caravan in Wales, left the party 4m. The following year a park ranger in the USA bequeathed 286,000. This kindness of relative strangers is something that normal political parties would die for.

To be fair, the party is going in the right direction. The comparisons made in the Dail during the week are well out-of-date. Similarly, it is not the party of the immediate post Good Friday Agreement years, when members were associated with various mafiosi-style or grudge murders and other criminality.

Even since 2020, as the partys socio-economic compass has moved towards the centre, so also have efforts to conform to democratic norms. Still, there remains concerns that Sinn Fein continues to operate with an a-la-carte attitude to full democracy, taking much of it as it suits, tolerating more of it, but quietly refusing the parts that might upset the partys palate.

At this stage, 26 years after pledging full allegiance to democracy, theyd want to get the skates on and complete the job. Perhaps they could adopt Bertie Aherns old election slogan. A lot done, more to do.
He has been backed by Elon Musk to be Ireland's next president but if the views on the streets of his home town of Dublin are anything to go by, Conor McGregor could be dealt a knockout blow if he tries to seek office.

'I cant imagine anything worse'

Robin Myna, Athlone, Co Westmeath: I think Ill be finding the nearest island that doesnt have internet connection if he gets anywhere near the presidency. Ill stay there for four to eight years, however long that nightmare would go on for.

Robin Myna, Athlone: 'He is absolutely not the right ambassador for this country.' Picture: Moya Nolan

"It has to be a joke, a total joke that Conor McGregor would even consider putting himself forward for the role of Irish president. He is absolutely not the right ambassador for this country. I cant even imagine living in a country where Michael D Higgins isnt the president.

"He is the most wonderful statesman that we have ever had and then having to plummet to something like Conor McGregor who is just an imbecile, being our president, I cant imagine anything worse."

Thomas Pender, Dublin: 'I think Conor McGregor should be the next Irish president.' Picture: Moya Nolan

'Elon Musk is dead right in supporting him'

Thomas Pender, Dublin: I think Conor McGregor should be the next Irish president. Id like to see him go for it and get the backing he deserves. At least he is talking for the people. Elon Musk is dead right in supporting him. You either agree or disagree with him, but at least McGregor is speaking his mind. He is honest, very honest.

"I dont think he has any negative qualities, a big mouth maybe, but we all have a big mouth. Hes a two- or three-time world champion and he is very good to people around him, his family, his community, his friends, everyone who knows him and is close to him, he looks after them all."

'Hes full of himself'

William Byrne, Dublin: I wouldnt like to see him as president. Hes full of himself, Look at me Im Conor McGregor, like he is above everyone else, and he shouldnt be like that. He should be grateful for what he has.

William Byrne, Dublin: 'He should be a role model to children and hes not, unfortunately.' Picture: Moya Nolan

"Even in America, attacking a bus that time, like you dont get away with that. Thats not right. And then there was the man he hit in the pub. He should be a role model to children and hes not, unfortunately."

'I would definitely vote for him'

Jacinta OMara, Dublin: I would definitely vote for him if he gets the nomination. I think he should get it and go forward; you shouldnt judge the book by its cover. I think behind it all hes sound and a good person. I think thats just all an image. He speaks his mind. He is critical of the Government, but everyone has a right to say how they feel, everyone is entitled to their point of view.

"I think he should be given a chance. He is very good to his family and his parents. He is a good ambassador for Ireland, and we should give him a go.

'He is a top man'

James Andrews, Skerries, north Dublin. He is a top man. He would represent Ireland well and he would give the Government and this country a run for its money. He is a good person. I think he would speak up for us, and Id say he would do an awful lot for us.

James Andrews, Skerries: Conor McGregor is using his voice for the Irish people and showing them that he speaks up for them.' Picture: Moya Nolan

"The Government is doing nothing for us, the ordinary person. Most people have nothing, and the likes of Conor McGregor is using his voice for the Irish people and showing them that he speaks up for them. Hell help the ones who are down. He doesnt need the backing of the State. He will do more for this country. He is strong willed and good for the country."

'Dont be surprised if McGregor succeeds'

Carl Kofman, US: I think he might have the right heart, but he needs to learn politics and how it works. If he goes against the grain and goes hardheaded, everybody is going to go against him and shut him down. Youve got to get people to work with you instead of bossing them around. Hes got to get used to that. If I could vote for him, if he got the nomination, I would have to read up on who is going against him.

"I would take my time and think about it. He has potential. He is so popular in the MMA world he has a lot of popularity and that is how people vote these days. More than their political background. Ronald Reagan was an actor.

We are here on holidays, and we heard about McGregors plans, so it is interesting. People are frustrated and angry right now, so dont be surprised if McGregor succeeds."

'He is overrated a bit'

Jack Lyons, Co Wicklow: I have to see what he has to say about himself as president first. He is okay, but he is overrated a bit. I dont know what his good qualities are. He is famous, but I dont know if people listen to him for the right reasons.

Jack Lyons, Co Wicklow: 'I wouldnt say hes a good ambassador for Ireland, no.' Picture: Moya Nolan

"I wouldnt say hes a good ambassador for Ireland, no. Im not saying Im not a fan, but he does bring people together for sport, and to the UFC. But outside of the ring, or the cage, no I dont see him having much influence."

'He is not a role model for me'

Nikita OByrne, Dublin: Hes in UFC, and thats all Ill ever see him as. I wouldnt see him in politics or overseeing this country in a role of a president, no way. He is not somebody young people would look up to, Im 25 and he is not a role model for me. He appeals to my age group, but not to me.

"Outside of the ring he goes on like hes still in the ring, hes pretty much the same person. He wouldnt appeal to me anyway."

'It is quite ridiculous'

Niamh Corbally, Co Louth: I thought it was a joke when I heard that he was putting himself forward. It is quite ridiculous.

Niamh Corbally, Co Louth: 'Its a no from me, for sure.' Picture: Moya Nolan

"He is not even a politician and not anything close to even knowing anything about Ireland politically. I think the Brits can take him to be honest. Its a no from me, for sure."

'It just puts a bad taste in my mouth'

Chelsea Kenna, Co Wicklow: He played a big role in the Dublin riots online last week. Do you really want someone running your country after seeing that? Like really?

"He whipped up a frenzy and after seeing that, well even before seeing that, I would have said no, but since then, its a big definite no because that is what the country might turn into, or 10 times worse than that.

Chelsea Kenna, Co Wicklow: 'He played a big role in the Dublin riots online last week. Do you really want someone running your country after seeing that?' Picture: Moya Nolan

"The scary part is that he is in the sporting world and thats a big demographic. He is on a world stage, and he wouldnt show the beautiful side of this country, but sport is so influential across the world, it just puts a bad taste in my mouth. It is a no from me.

'He has nothing to offer this country'

Ethan Vescli, Cavan: I probably wouldnt vote for McGregor, Id go for Bertie Ahern, I think Bertie would beat Conor in a scrap. I think Bertie would have more to offer the country. I think Conor only has Guinness and whiskey to offer. He has nothing to offer this country. Bertie has a lot of leverage over the country as well.

Conor, I feel, just talks waffle on Twitter and thats it. He couldnt be an ambassador for Ireland on a world stage, he can barely do it on a UFC stage. I hope he doesnt come to Cavan though. It is a big no from me, but Bertie is my number one. Bertie might be controversial, but everybody is in their own way."
Lamborghini, an Italian automotive giant, is introducing a four-day work week for its employees on a permanent basis. This is the first time in the European automotive industry that a significant reduction in working hours has been achieved, not only without cutting wages, but also with an increase in them.

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Lamborghini has signed a corresponding agreement with trade unions. It is about the introduction of a four-day working week for workers in manufacturing professions, Reuters reports.

"Work less but do better". This is the principle that accompanied the negotiations and is part of the broader discussions," the FIOM and FIM-CISL unions said after the agreement with Lamborghini.

It is emphasized that workers at the company's factories work on a rotational basis, mostly in two shifts. Now they will alternate a five-day week with a four-day week. As a result, the total number of working days will be reduced by 22 days a year, the unions said.

Some Lamborghini employees work three shifts, including night shifts. For such employees, each five-day week will alternate with two four-day weeks. They will have 31 fewer working days per year.

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At the same time, their salaries will be increased by 50%. In addition, a one-time bonus of EUR 1,000 is provided for November 2023.

The agreement with Lamborghini is expected to be part of a broader review of contracts in the automotive sector. In particular, the new rules may affect other divisions of Volkswagen, whose subsidiary Lamborghini is.

The agency notes that many companies and government agencies are already changing their approaches to work to improve employee well-being. In addition, studies show that the four-day week helps companies save resources, which has become especially important after the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs.

In Italy, these trends have become very noticeable. In particular, the Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo recently announced that 70% of the nearly 30 thousand people who had the opportunity to request a four-day work week did so, and the number of requests is growing. In January, the bank began to shorten its workweek to reduce energy bills, the first such move by a major Italian employer.

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Additionally, eyewear maker Essilorluxottica has agreed with unions to test a four-day workweek at Italian factories for 20 weeks. Other Italian groups, including aerospace and defense group Leonardo, are also in talks with unions to introduce more flexible working hours at their production sites.

"Four-day workweek schemes... have shown that employees work more in less time, job retention and recruitment have improved, and sickness rates have fallen," the agency notes. As an example, it cites the results of studies conducted in the UK and Spain.

A large experiment to introduce a four-day week in Canada has also recently been completed. The testing lasted for a year and showed promising results. Most participants decided to keep the four-day week even after the experiment ended.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, scientists estimate that in 10 years, artificial intelligence will allow millions of employees to reduce the working week to 4 days. AI can significantly increase labor productivity, which will allow people to get more time for rest and self-development.

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Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Two thousand years ago, the people of Eurasia explored and opened up several routes of trade that linked Asia, Europe and Africa, collectively called the Silk Road by later generations. For thousands of years, the Silk Road Spirit featuring peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit has been passed from generation to generation, promoted the progress of human civilization, and contributed greatly to the prosperity and development of the countries along the Silk Road.

Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin TD opens the new Ireland House in Shanghai, China on November 9, 2023.

Ten years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past decade, China is actively engaged in multilateral cooperation to share development opportunities with countries along the Belt and Road, and has helped to boost local economy, improve local livelihoods, and achieve sustainable progress. The BRI has become a platform for international cooperation that is open, inclusive, sustainable, innovation-driven and promotes win-win cooperation.

Openness and inclusiveness

With a commitment to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the BRI focuses on promoting policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity, and helping align and coordinate the development strategies of the countries along the Belt and Road. Defending the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and other basic norms governing international relations, the BRI is not an exclusive club that is closed to non-participated countries and economies, targeted against anyone, nor attaching political strings to countries participated in.

The BRI is an open and inclusive platform for cooperation and delivering tangible benefits and opportunities to all countries. To date, China has signed more than 200 BRI cooperation documents with over 150 countries and 30 international organizations. The BRI has established more than 3000 cooperation projects and galvanized nearly 1 trillion USD of investment, created over 420 thousand jobs, and lifted 40 million people out of poverty. According to Belt and Road Economics, a report released by the World Bank, the BRI will increase intra-BRI trade by 4.1 percent. By 2030, the BRI will generate 1.6 trillion USD in annual global revenues.

Green development

China is dedicated to the green development of the BRI. China will scale up its NDCs by adopting more vigorous policies and measures, strive to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. As the largest clean energy consumer and equipment producer, China has generated more than 70% of global solar PV power and over 60% of wind power, contributing to the realization of the UN 2030 Sustainable Goals. Chinas investment in clean energy production has far outpaced that in traditional ones in the BRI countries, helping greatly reduce global renewable energy costs.

Win-win cooperation

The BRI originates in China, but the opportunities and achievements it creates belong to the whole world. The BRI initiative links up Chinas development with the development of other countries along the routes. Major projects like China Railway Express (China-Europe Freight Trans), Hungary-Serbia Railway, Peljesac Bridge in Croatia, Piraeus Port in Greece, etc, have already delivered tangible benefits to local people. The Belt and Road connects the vibrant East Asia economies at one end and the developed European economies at the other, covering the largest population and major markets in the world.

The Irish Pavilion at China International Fair for Trade in Services, Beijing, China, September, 2023.

Ireland, EU and the BRI

European countries are important participants in building the Belt and Road, and also crucial forces in connecting global production capacity and markets. In 2022, China-EU bilateral trade reached 84.73 trillion USD, marking a 2.4% year-on-year increase. In another word, every single minute, more than 1.6 million USD worth of goods and services have been traded between the two sides. Over the past decade, more than 77 thousand trips were made by the freight trains between China and Europe, carrying 7.31 million TEUs of freight worth 340 billion USD. Its service has reached 217 cities in 25 European countries and provided an important network connecting global trade and economies. Lifting all participants connectivity to a high level, the BRI has facilitated the flow of goods, capital and people, and has laid a solid foundation for trade facilitation. Countries participated in the BRI will get more effectively integrated into global industrial, supply and value chains, and their potential will be fully unleashed.

OOCL PIRAEUS, one of the largest container vessels in the world, arriving at Piraeus port in Piraeus, Greece on July 10, 2023.

The BRI initiative is a broad path that can be joined by all interested countries to work together for shared benefits. In 2017, Ireland became a member of Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. Since then, Ireland has played a constructive role in improving infrastructure in Asian countries, and has created broader development space for this country to strengthen its trade and economic ties with China and other Asian countries. Reaching a record high of 120 billion euros, Ireland has smashed its target of hitting 100 billion euros worth of trade with Asia by 2025, two years ahead of schedule. Looking forward, the BRI could serve as a new stage for China-Ireland cooperation in the following areas:

Coordinating policies to address common challenges

China is advancing the development of a green Silk Road, while Ireland has also set out a road map for systemic change to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030. China and Ireland are both responsible countries in tackling climate change. With joint efforts on the BRI platform to address issues like climate change, ocean and Arctic environmental protection and renewable energy utilization, China and Ireland may advance sustainable development in the future.

Promoting connectivity of infrastructure and facilities

With a rapidly rising population, the Irish government has launched Project Ireland 2040 to invest in infrastructure for all Irish people to flourish. At the same time, China's infrastructure construction has made remarkable achievements, building the world's largest high-speed railway network, expressway network, and world-class port group. With the support of the BRI and AIIB and Silk Road Fund, China and Ireland can work together to build a more connected network of airlines, maritime routes, telecommunications, and so on.

The Hungary-Serbia railway in Novi Sad, Serbia, July, 2023.

Enhancing trade and economic ties

As the 2nd largest importer of goods and services, the largest manufacturing country and the largest commodity trading nation, China is also Ireland's largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific. The two countries are of complementary economic structure, and could leverage respective strengths in economic cooperation within the framework of BRI.

A China-Europe freight train departs from the Xi'an Port of northwest China's Shaanxi Province in July, 2019.

Deepening financial cooperation

Ireland's resilient economy has made it one of the best performing economies in the world. Its financial strengths and favorable tax policy have made it one of the leading financial service centers in Europe. The BRIs rapid development has created great demands for high quality capitals and funds. Looking ahead, financial cooperation under the framework of BRI, as an important new growth point for China-Ireland business cooperation, will unleash its huge potential and embrace a promising future.

Bringing closer people-to-people ties

Nowadays, nearly 50,000 Chinese are studying, working and living in Ireland. The number of Irish people who go to China for work and study is increasing year after year. There are 7 twinning relations between Chinese and Irish cities and friendly exchanges and cooperation between both local governments have become more active. These have all made significant contributions to the mutual understanding between our two peoples. The BRI could provide more chances of cultural exchanges in various fields. The Silk Road Scholarship Program could expand the scale of exchanged students between the two countries, which will provide a new way for Irish people to get to know China.

For more information on the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China, check out the website or the official Twitter page.
The Israeli military is rounding up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation during its search for Hamas militants, as the UN warned that its aid operation is in tatters.

The detentions pointed to Israeli efforts to secure the militarys hold on northern Gaza as the war enters its third month.

Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underlining Hamas heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss.



I urge the Security Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians & the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.https://t.co/Qp1IVfwS2J pic.twitter.com/3zFvLtc5CV  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 8, 2023

The first images of mass detentions emerged on Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, their hands bound behind their backs.

UN monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys from the age of 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

In other developments, the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the UK abstaining.

A boy weeps as he sit next to portraits of Lebanese journalists who were killed by Israeli strikes (AP)

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council that Gaza is at a breaking point and there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the groups October 7 attack that sparked the war.

The air and ground campaign by Israel initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south.

A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where most of the territorys population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

Another Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip (AP)

In central Gaza on Friday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets on the refugee camps of Nuseirat and Maghazi with a message for Hamas officials.

The leaflet read: To Hamas leaders: A life for a life, an eye for an eye and whoever started is to blame. If you punish, then punish with the like of that with which you were afflicted.

The message blends a popular Arabic saying with a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

The leaflet leaves out the rest of the verse, which says it is better to patiently endure afflictions without retaliating.

Hours later, a strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.

The Geneva Conventions preserve our humanity.



 The Geneva Conventions prevent unimaginable suffering.



 The Geneva Conventions save lives.



The Laws of War explained  https://t.co/0aN6MECynD  ICRC (@ICRC) December 7, 2023

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said on Friday that those detained in northern Gaza were military-aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in the past 48 hours, some 200 people have been detained. Dozens have been taken to Israel for interrogation, including Hamas commanders, he said.

Authorities were questioning the detainees to determine whether they were members of the militant group, Mr Levy said, indicating there would be more such sweeps as troops move from north to south.

The London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed, or The New Arab, said one of the men seen in the images of the detainees is its Gaza correspondent Diaa al-Kahlout, and that he was rounded up with other civilians.

The Israeli assault has obliterated much of Gaza City and surrounding areas in the north. Still, tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain there, though the UN says it cannot confirm exact numbers. Some are unable to move, others refuse to leave their homes, saying the south is no safer or fearing they will not be allowed to return.

Palestinians search for the bodies of the Al-Hor family killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza (AP)

Heavy fighting has been underway for days in Jabaliya refugee camp and the Gaza City district of Shujaiya. The UN said Jabaliyas Al Awda Hospital  one of two hospitals still operating in the north  was surrounded by Israeli forces and sustained damage from Israeli shelling. It said Israeli sniper fire into the hospital has also been reported.

On Thursday in Shujaiya, a prominent poet and English professor, Refaat Alareer, was killed, along with his brother, sister and her four children, when Israeli shelling hit the house they were staying in, according to colleagues at We Are Not Numbers, a non-profit organisation he helped found.

Days earlier, Alareer wrote on X that his walls were shaking from bombing, shelling and gunfire. The last poem he wrote and shared on social media read, If I must die/ let it bring hope/ let it be a tale.

Israel says 137 hostages are still in captivity out of the roughly 240 abducted by militants during the October 7 attack.

There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.



 @antonioguterres warns that the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza no longer exist. https://t.co/mgIWu1Mciw pic.twitter.com/xRAtfDB2Tt  United Nations (@UN) December 9, 2023

There has also been a dramatic surge in deadly military raids and an increase in restrictions on Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting have packed into Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and Muwasi, a nearby patch of barren coastline. Israel has designated Muwasi as a safe zone.

But the UN and relief agencies have called that a poorly planned solution.

We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore, the UNs humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said on Thursday.

The pace of Israels military assault has left no place safe in the south, where the UN had planned to aid civilians. That plan is in tatters, he said.

Israels campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the territorys health ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and took more than 240 hostages. The military says 93 of its troops have been killed in the ground campaign.
At least four people have died after a fire broke out at a hospital on Romes outskirts, forcing the evacuation of the facility and its patients.

People in the intensive care ward at St John the Evangelist hospital in Tivoli were transferred immediately to other hospitals via ambulance, the Tivoli mayors office said.
Those who have yet to flee the intensifying shelling in Nam Hpat Kars nine villages are trapped inside them  without reliable power or communications, or access to medical care  by road blocks, residents and volunteers helping them say.

I tried to flee to Kutkai [Town] with my family yesterday, but our vehicle was stopped by an armed group at Shukhinthar Kone [a former junta outpost] only a few miles away  They didnt let us go to Kutkai [Town]. We had no choice but to return home, a father of a recently born infant explained. He was referring to troops from the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

The village tract in northern Shan State has seen an exodus of residents since the Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 on Oct. 27.

However, many people  including migrant workers  cannot leave its villages. Besides the intensifying shelling, blackouts, communication failures and the lack of medical assistance are making their lives perilous.

We are in a dire situation. We need medical assistance for the elderly, pregnant women and infants [who are] still trapped in the village, a resident said.

Several sections of the main road leading to Kutkai Town, about 30 miles away, are under the control of the TNLA, a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, sources said.

Even ambulances were denied passage through the road. We pleaded desperately for permission to send injured people to Kutkai Hospital. [TNLA troops] only allowed us to go when we transferred the patients to a passenger vehicle, a source close to volunteers said.

The Brotherhood Alliance comprises the TNLA, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance and Arakan Army. Together, they seized more than 300 junta outposts and bases between the launch of their offensive and Dec. 8.

The TNLA has been attacking junta bases and outposts in Kutkai Township.

Nam Hpat Kar village tracts nine villages are home to more than 16,000 people, according to census data from 2014.

A junta base manned by troops from Light Infantry Battalion 123 has been indiscriminately shelling civilian targets. The base  the last major stronghold of the junta in Kutkai Township  has been frequently shelled by the TNLA.

In the latest shelling spree from the junta base  from Dec. 6 to 8  at least two people, including a 10 year old, were killed and six other village residents were injured.

At least eight people lost their lives and 24 sustained injuries from indiscriminate shelling in the village tract between the launch of Operation 1027 and Dec. 9, volunteer groups say.

Indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes in northern Shan State killed at least 100 civilians and injured 160 more between the launch of Operation 1027 and Nov. 30, the National Unity Government said.
The United Kingdom on Friday slapped sanctions on a leader of Myanmar junta-affiliated Border Guard Force (BGF) Colonel Saw Chit Thu and two others involved in the controversial Shwe Kokko new city gambling project in Karen State, over allegations of human trafficking, forced labor and human rights violations.

The other two people sanctioned over the project are Chinese investor She Zhijiang and Colonel Saw Min Min Oo, managing director of the Chit Lin Myaing Co run by Saw Chit Thus BGF.

The Shwe Kokko project is a collaboration between the Chit Lin Myaing Co and Hong Kong-registered Yatai International Holding Group.

The project has become notorious in Southeast Asia for links to Chinese criminal gangs, human trafficking, labor exploitation, online scams, gambling and other crimes. It is also the main source of income for Saw Chit Thu and his border guard personnel.

Chinese investor She Zhijiang was arrested in Bangkok in August last year. He is named on an international arrest warrant for allegedly running an online casino and, besides Shwe Kokko, has controversial mega projects and gambling ventures in Cambodia. The BGF said the project is running normally despite She Zhijiangs arrest.

The three were among the first set of sanctions announced by the UK on Friday. It sanctioned nine individuals and five entities with links to online scam farms in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. It is widely reported that trafficked people have been forced to work in the scam farms which engage in massive fraud.

The UK said the three people sanctioned over the Shwe Kokko project have been responsible for supporting or benefitting from the trafficking of individuals who were forced to work as scammers and were subject to torture, physical abuse and further cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

The UN estimates at least 120,000 people in Myanmar are being forced to work for such schemes, the UK announcement said. The UKs Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has helped a small number of British nationals return to the UK who had become victims of the schemes, it added.

We will not tolerate criminals and repressive regimes trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms of ordinary people around the world, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in the announcement.

Burma Campaign UK welcomed the sanctions. Its director, Mark Farmaner, said: [Saw] Chit Thu belongs in jail and these sanctions should act as a stepping stone towards holding him to account for decades of human rights violations by soldiers under his command.

The second set of the sanctions announced by the UK on the same day targeted individuals linked to the governments, judiciaries and prosecuting authorities in Belarus, Haiti, Iran, and Syria for their involvement in repressing citizens for exercising fundamental freedoms.

The US and Canada also announced a package of sanctions targeting individuals linked to human rights abuses around the world to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
More than 300 junta bases and 20 towns have been seized by an alliance of ethnic armies and allied resistance forces in three states and two regions since the launch of Operation 1027 on Oct. 27 in northern Shan State.

As the offensive entered its seventh week, the Brotherhood Alliance  the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance, Taang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army  had overrun nearly 300 bases in northern Shan State.

The alliance is preparing to seize Laukkai Town after capturing at least eight other towns in northern Shan State from the junta and its allies as of Dec. 8.

The Arakan Army has also captured at least 45 junta bases and outposts in Rakhine and Chin states.

The offensive to drive the military regime out of northern Shan State inspired coordinated resistance attacks in Sagaing, Mandalay and Magwe regions as well as Chin State.

Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) backed by the Kachin Independence Army seized at least three towns in Sagaing Region, while resistance forces in Chin State captured at least seven towns as of Dec. 8.

Another anti-regime offensive, dubbed as Operation 1111, was initiated in Karenni (Kayah) State on November 11 by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), Karenni Army, Karenni National Peoples Liberation Front and PDFs.

The KNDF said more than 35 junta bases have been fallen to resistance forces in Karenni States Loikaw and Demoso townships and in neighboring Pekon Township in southern Shan State since the launch of Operation 1111.

Attacks against regime forces also erupted in Karen and Mon states and Bago Region. The Karen National Liberation Army and allied resistance forces seized Mone Town in Bago Region on Dec. 3.
As the number of people displaced by armed conflict surges in Myanmar, Thailand announced that it will create a joint task force with Myanmar to oversee humanitarian assistance for people displaced by fighting along their shared border, Thai media reported.

The announcement was made by Thailand shortly before the United Nations estimated that more than half a million people had been displaced in Myanmar due to the escalation of armed conflict since late October. Recent clashes have made the need for humanitarian aid greater while at the same time making it more challenging to deliver aid, the UN said.

The decision to set up the bilateral task force was made at a meeting between Than Swe  the juntas deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister  and Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara on the sidelines of the 8th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation forum in Beijing on Thursday.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that both countries agreed to work together to increase humanitarian assistance for people living along the Thai-Myanmar border in line with ASEANs five-point consensus.

Thai-language news outlet The Standard Co reported that the countrys foreign ministry said it hopes the plan will lead to constructive engagement between Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community as the plan is consistent with the implementation of the ASEANs five-point consensus for Myanmar.

ASEAN has barred Myanmars military junta from its summits and foreign ministerial meetings since 2021 because the junta has failed to implement its five-point consensus for Myanmar.

The juntas foreign ministry released a statement about the meeting between Than Swe and his Thai counterpart but did not mention forming the task force.

Thai media reported that Myanmar will soon send a team of officials to Thailand to discuss forming the task force and  if the initial phase of its implementation is successful  aid groups may be invited to join.

Earlier, Parnpree said the Thai government was ready to build shelters along the border to receive refugees in the event that fighting in Myanmar continues escalating.

Under the present situation, [an influx of refugees] is unlikely. But from now on, if violence increases, there might be refugees going in all directions, not only towards Thailand, the foreign minister said.

Intense fighting has been reported in Myanmars border regions after an alliance of ethnic armed groups launched coordinated attacks on the junta on Oct. 27 in northern Shan State. Operation 1027, which is named after the date it was launched, inspired resistance forces to launch coordinated attacks against junta targets in other areas of Myanmar.
With his army badly afflicted by resistance drone attacks over the past month, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing warned fresh graduates of the Defense Services Academy last Saturday to brace for 21st-century warfare and military strategies.

It is unusual for Myanmars military to disclose casualties or defeats in any battle. But Min Aung Hlaing has admitted on at least two occasions that drone attacks are taking a heavy toll on his troops in northern Shan State.

At the emergency meeting of the National Defense and Security Council on November 8, the regime chief lamented that junta positions in northern Shan State were being bombed with China-made drones easily bought in Myanmar.

At the regime meeting on November 29, he claimed that ethnic armed organizations had used high-technology drones to drop more than 25,000 bombs  with help from foreign drone experts.

Resistance drone attacks have intensified not just in northern Shan State but also in Kayah, Karen and Chin states. They were first deployed by anti-regime groups in mid-2022 but have since become more precise and lethal.

During trips abroad, junta home affairs minister Lieutenant-General Yar Pyae, his deputy, and police chief Lt-Gen Ni Lin Aung have admitted that unmanned aerial vehicles in the hands of terrorists have become a challenge to the military.

After years of boasting of its status as a modern fighting force equipped with Russia-made Su 30 fighters and Chinese FTC 200G combat aircraft, among other warplanes, Myanmars military now appears to be running scared of resistance drone units.

Decimated army pleads with deserters

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the militarys shortage of troops as resistance offensives inflict mounting losses on it. Read more:

Min Aung Hlaing sows division between ethnic armies, civilians

The junta boss trotted out the militarys old three national causes rhetoric in a bid to persuade the public the junta is all that stands in the way of national disintegration. Read more:

Military ties with Russia tightened

Junta and Russian officials discussed military and law enforcement ties and signed MoUs on bilateral cooperation and information security, junta media said. Read more:

Junta begs China to pressure Brotherhood Alliance

Myanmars foreign minister visited Beijing for the first talks with his Chinese counterpart since the Brotherhood Alliance seized control of large swaths of territory along the Myanmar-China border. Read more:

Coup leader showers medals as morale drains

Min Aung Hlaing tried to distract attention from a string of military defeats by handing out 147 medals for gallantry on Thursday, including to officers who lost their lives in battles with the resistance. Read more:
Even members of the royal family try to follow the trends. For example, Prince William's wife Kate Middleton updated her curtain bangs and dyed her hair a darker color.

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For a long time, Middleton had medium brunette hair. However, on the eve of this winter, the Princess of Wales decided to change her look, according to Bustle. She dyed her hair a trendy rich shade of dark chocolate. The princess also updated the length of her bangs, the British edition of Vogue writes.

On December 8, Kate Middleton and her husband, Prince William, attended the Royal Variety Performance, where a change in the princess's appearance was noticeable.

"It's a more sophisticated and modern version of Farrah Fawcett's iconic haircut," says Manhattan-based colorist Jenna Perry. The colorist predicts that this will be one of the trendiest hairstyles of 2024, adding that the versatility of this haircut makes it cool, "The way you style your hair will set the tone. The hairstyle can be both extremely romantic and extremely cool."

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It is worth mentioning that multi-tiered styling has become a trend in fall 2023.

Bustle writes that when it comes to beauty and fashion, the Princess of Wales's style can best be described as natural, timeless, and quite luxurious. Most often, Middleton prefers clean lines and special silhouettes. She also often wears neutral lipstick and has a nude manicure, while her hair color never goes beyond natural.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about 5 Christmas traditions of the Royal Family that you can try following.

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Saturday, Dec 9th, 2023 (12:01 am) - Score 2,720

Community internet provider B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which since 2011 has been working with volunteers inside villages to deploy a new 10Gbps full fibre (FTTP) network across rural parts of England, have revealed that they now cover 25k premises (up from 20k in early 2022) and 13k customers (up from 9,000).

The ISP remains somewhat of a rarity because theyre a registered Community Benefit Society (i.e. they cant be bought by a commercial operator and profits are distributed back into the community) and one that focuses on building networks for some of the countrys most challenging remote rural homes and businesses  locations that commercial providers would normally find unviable.

NOTE: B4RN s network exists in parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire. Customers pay from 33 a month for their 1Gbps package (plus a 60 setup fee payable over 12-months) or 150 for 10Gbps (360 setup). A 1Gbps 15 social tariff also exists.

Originally, the majority of their network was funded by communities investing in the company through shares, and many of those did that while also helping to physically build the new fibre infrastructure (e.g. volunteers on soft digs through fields). But theyve also since established their own civil engineers and have been harnessing millions of pounds worth of government gigabit vouchers and community investment loans to fuel their efforts.

The community build approach, as well as the fact that theyre often deploying into otherwise poorly served areas, is a big part of the reason why B4RN has achieved such a consistently high take-up rate (currently 52%). The approach also makes it easier for B4RN to reach favourable (often free) wayleave agreements with local landowners.

Admittedly, it hasnt always been plain sailing for B4RN, and the last couple of years have been particularly tedious due to disruptions in the Governments Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (example), which has impacted a fair few operators  both big and small alike. As a result, the ISP has moved their internal targets away from chasing a set rate of new connections a month, and instead are focused on ensuring that each new community project is fully sustainable in its own right.

The accounts for the financial year 22/23 show the network cost as 29,286,098 and the value (cost less depreciation at 4%) as 24,954,081. This helps to underline that while B4RN may appear like a smaller network when you only look at premises passed, this does rather overlook that the geographic size of their network  stretching as it does across a good deal of wide open rural areas  is actually huge (over 2,300km2 of fibre) and cost a lot to build.

Michael Lee, B4RNs CEO, told ISPreview: Of course the real value of the network isnt what it cost to build, and when being compared to other networks wed like to emphasise that the vast majority of our network is sub-surface in B4RN built and owned infrastructure. We also run two dedicated fibres to every property in the community, direct from the cabinet.

At this point its worth highlighting that B4RN have this year also begun to upgrade their core network to 400G (here)  delivering up to 16TB worth of traffic in the backbone network  in order to make it future-proof through to 2030 (aka  Project HALO). The project aims to support 400G in the rural core network with new Dark Fibre extending about 650km, creating a ring around the north of the UK between Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds (here).

The provider has now informed us that this new core network is just starting to go live (theyve installed their first 400GB transmission device and 4.8Tb core backbone router into the network) and the process will be ramped-up further during early 2024. B4RN is using the latest kit from Norwegian firm Smartoptics to support this work and theyre partnering with the Dark Fibre network supplier Zayo to support the new backbone.

One other statistic thats worth highlighting is with respect to the number of community sites that B4RN have been able to connect to their broadband network, for free. A total of 249 community sites have now been connected to gigabit speeds in this way and that includes around 44 primary schools.

Finally, this year also saw B4RN launch their own VoIP based phone product  B4RN Voice, which costs from 9 per month (4.50 as a social tariff) and replaces their previous arrangement with Vonage.
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.
On the morning of December 9, the dismantling of the monument to Mykola Shchors began in Kyiv. The day before, the monument, located in the center of the Ukrainian capital, had its protected status removed.

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After dismantling, the structure will be stored at the Antonov State Aviation Museum of Ukraine. This was reported by the Kyiv City State Administration.

Utilities began dismantling the monument before dawn. Several units of special equipment are working at the site. In this regard, there may be a temporary partial blocking of traffic on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard.

"The monument to the Soviet leader, located in the center of Kyiv, had previously had its security status removed. In the future, the monument will be kept at the Antonov State Aviation Museum of Ukraine," the Kyiv City State Administration said.

Mykola Shchors was one of the Bolshevik military commanders during the Soviet-Ukrainian war. He was also a member of the Ukrainian Red Guard insurgency. In the 1930s, Soviet propaganda began to actively use the image of Shchors. In 1930-1950, the Soviet authorities issued numerous orders to erect monuments to Shchors in many cities.

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The municipal services plan to dismantle only the monument itself - the image of Shchors and the horse. The pedestal itself will remain in place for now. The experts also noted that they intend to keep the monument intact. At the same time, its weight of 25 tons makes it difficult to work with.

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It is worth noting that in 1872-1926, a monument to Oleksii Bobrynskyi, a railroad builder in Kyiv, was erected on the site of the monument to Mykola Shchors. Bobrynsky was also a politician, entrepreneur, economist, philanthropist, and founder of the Ukrainian sugar industry. The Soviet authorities dismantled the monument in the late 1920s.

The idea of erecting a monument to Shchors in Kyiv arose in 1936. The initiator of the monument was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Work on the monument began in 1940, but due to the outbreak of World War II, the project could not be implemented. As a result, the monument to Shchors was unveiled in Kyiv in 1954.

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The dismantling of the Shchors monument lasted several hours. Utilities managed to dismantle the monument in one piece.

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As a reminder, a monument to Russian poet Oleksandr Pushkin was dismantled in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district. For now, it will be kept on the territory of the State Aviation Museum.

Earlier it was reported that in the Pechersk district of Kyiv, unknown persons removed information plates with names on busts of Soviet figures. They are located in the Park of Eternal Glory.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Winter holidays are almost the only time when you can let your imagination run wild in the nail technician's chair. During this period, everything bright, and shiny, as well as drawings and rhinestones traditionally come into fashion.

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However, this is precisely the danger of a festive manicure, which should combine the New Year's atmosphere and elegance to make the design look tasteful. Bustle editors talked about the most fashionable manicure options for the New Year 2024.

Snowflakes

One of the most neat looks that you can choose that is not bold and colorful is snowflakes. This pattern will look appropriate only in winter.

"Santa's hat"

For those who are tired of the classic French, we advise you to take a closer look at the original variation with the "Santa's hat". This design involves painting the tip with red color, which frames a white "fur".

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"Ice" nails

To create the effect of ice on your nails, add chrome polish to the pale blue one, which will shimmer beautifully under the light.

Sparkly French

Fans of neat designs who want to add a little shine to their look can use glitter polish on the tips of their nails.

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Red, green and silver chrome stars

The traditional colors of the New Year - red, green, and white - can be used in a design with chrome stars. This option will look both interesting and stylish.

Bow

The New Year is a time of gifts and surprises, so the image of a bow or festive ribbon on your nails will not look out of place. The design does not require much time but adds an accent detail.

Ombre

The ombre technique will allow you to combine your favorite colors on your nails without oversaturating the manicure. This season, you can pay attention to shiny shades.

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Rhinestones

A few massive or many smaller rhinestones, appropriately incorporated into the design, will not look awkward during the celebration. However, it is important not to overuse them so that the rhinestones will last until the next manicure session.

Green chrome

For several weeks now, green has been considered one of the most fashionable colors in the nail industry, but for the New Year, it can be combined with foil to add an interesting detail.

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"Vanilla"

Connoisseurs of neat designs were not left without a choice. This month, you should pay attention to the vanilla shade with a yellow undertone.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that Ukrainian designer Andre Tan shared what color is the best way to celebrate the coming year. The patron saint of 2024 will be the Green Dragon, so the fashion designer gave recommendations on how to please the symbol of the year best.

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How to quickly feel the New Year's atmosphere? All you need to do is decorate your home with a garland or a small Christmas tree, turn on your favorite themed cartoon, and enjoy fairy tales for the next few hours. They will give you a festive mood and gently remind you that miracles do happen! Of course, if you believe in them.

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We have prepared a selection of animated films for the youngest and adult viewers, which are perfect for watching on the eve of Christmas or New Year's Eve 2024. Read more in the OBOZ.UA article.

1. Arthur Christmas (2011)

Countries: UK, USA

Duration: 97 minutes

Storyline. Every year, children look forward to the New Year holidays to find the gifts they want under the tree. But one girl, despite her good behavior, was left without a present. The reason is that the special squad of little elves made a mistake. It is up to Santa's youngest son Arthur to correct this mistake.

2. Frozen (2013)

Country: USA

Duration: 102 minutes

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Storyline. The parents of two princesses, Elsa and Anna, were shipwrecked. Shortly afterwards, the older sister, Elsa, learned that she has an unusual gift: she can create ice and snow and even control them. One day she accidentally injures Anna, and in fear of harming her again, she runs away to the forest. A spell is cast on the kingdom... In order to save the people, Anna sets out to find her sister, along with Olaf the snowman, Kristoff the new friend, and Sven the deer.

3. Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Country: USA

Duration: 97 minutes

Storyline. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman are the guardians of legends who have been protecting children's dreams and dreams for many years. But the thief Boogeyman decided to destroy this idyll. He stole the dreams and replaced them with nightmares, convincing the kids that the guardians are fiction, not reality. I wonder if the defenders will be able to defeat the enemy?

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4. The Grinch (2018)

Countries: France, China, Japan, USA

Running time: 85 minutes

Storyline. The animated film tells the story of a shaggy creature named the Grinch, who lives in a cave remote from humans. He is always irritated and dissatisfied with something, especially at Christmas because his peace is disturbed by loud celebrations. One morning, the Grinch woke up with a "brilliant" idea. He decides to quietly steal all the gifts from under the Christmas trees to spoil people's mood.

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5. Smallfoot (2018)

Country: USA

Duration: 96 minutes

Storyline. Bigfoot is a snowman. None of his family takes him seriously. They just make fun of the poor guy. When the giant confessed that he had seen a smallfoot, he was thrown off the top of a mountain for "brazenly lying". In fact, Migo was telling the truth... When he found himself at the foot of the mountain, he went in search of the little man to prove that he was right.

6. Klaus (2019)

Country: Spain

Duration: 96 minutes

Storyline. Jasper moved to a small town. The young man started working as a postman and tried to promote his business. Unfortunately, he failed. He had to get creative. Jasper asked children who had no toys to write letters to receive gifts for Christmas. And the mysterious stranger Klaus agreed to help with this. Will the main character's new strategy work? Or will we have to think of something else?

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7. Ice Age. A Mammoth Christmas (2011)

Country: USA

Duration: 26 minutes

Storyline. On Christmas Eve, two mammoths gave their little daughter a family heirloom, a Christmas rock. Sid the sloth decided to take a look at the present. Unfortunately, he was clumsy, so he accidentally damaged the valuable item. So Santa put him on the blacklist. What does this mean for Sid? And can he change anything?

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about the colors in which to celebrate the New Year 2024 and which ones are not allowed.

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On the afternoon of December 9, strong explosions were heard in the temporarily occupied Makiivka, Donetsk region. After that, a massive fire broke out in the town.

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A huge column of black smoke is rising at the scene. This is reported by propaganda Telegram channels.

The invaders complained that the explosions in Makiivka occurred around 14:30. The Russians also claimed that explosions were heard in Donetsk and reported on the allegedly successful operation of air defense.

However, later the invaders claimed that an arrival had taken place in Makiivka. The explosions occurred in the area where Russian occupation forces were deploying fuel depots.

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It is worth noting that the occupation authorities have not yet commented on the explosions in Makiivka.

As a reminder, in the evening of December 6, explosions were heard in occupied Donetsk, and a column of black smoke rose over the city. Previously, the fire engulfed a gas station, and the occupation authorities complained about the shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, an explosion occurred in occupied Luhansk. The car of the so-called"LPR" deputy Oleh Popov flew into the air, killing him.

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Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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By Leena Adel, Curtin University; and Ben Rich, Curtin University | 

In recent days, three Israeli-linked commercial vessels were targeted by ballistic missiles and drones launched by Yemens Houthi rebels, marking a clear escalation in maritime attacks in the critical Bab el Mandab strait between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis have claimed responsibility for two of the attacks, as well as an earlier hijacking of a Japanese-operated cargo ship by helicopter last month.

On Sunday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree reemphasised that all Israeli-affiliated vessels travelling along the Yemeni coast would be fair game if Israel does not cease its attacks on Gaza, which have claimed the lives of at least 15,500 Palestinians since October 7.

Who are the Houthis?

The Iranian-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are insurgents that control most of Yemens north, including the nations capital, Sanaa.

The group emerged in the 1980s as a political-religious revivalist movement out of the Zaydi sect from Yemens northern highlands, namely the ancient city of Saada. The movements broad motivations emerged from longstanding grievances that left many Zaydis feeling like second-class citizens within the wider Yemeni social and political order.

Many in the Houthi leadership received religious education in Iran before returning to Yemen in the early 2000s and becoming more politically active. The Houthis are not mere Iranian proxies, however. Attempts to portray them as such tend to overemphasise this connection and ignore the indigenous nature and causes of the movement and its ideology.

The group engaged in ongoing struggles against the Ali Abdullah Saleh-led Yemeni government throughout the 2000s, ultimately contributing to its collapse following the 2011 Arab revolts.

Following the Arab Spring and increasing chaos in Yemen, the Houthis gained significant momentum. In 2014, they were able to oust the Saudi-backed transitional government and seize power over much of Yemen, rapidly blitzing into the countrys south  a move that shocked international onlookers in its brazenness and efficacy.

In response, a Saudi- and Emirati-led coalition launched a military intervention, which they believed would rapidly overwhelm the insurgents with their technological superiority.

Embed from Getty Images SANAA, YEMEN  DECEMBER 03: A member of the Houthi-run Military Special Forces guards during a funeral procession of Houthi fighters at Al-Shaab Mosque on December 03, 2023 in Sanaa, Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

The operation went awry, however. Thanks to their own tenacity, along with increasing support from Iran, the Houthis were able to bog down the coalition forces into a bloody stalemate. This brought untold misery to the wider Yemeni population, but allowed the Houthis to hold onto power over much of the countrys north. A series of backchannel negotiations led to a halt in the fighting in 2022.

Although peace talks officially commenced in April, Yemen remains in a state of precarious peace. Because this is such a critical time for the Houthis, it begs the question: why are they risking their hard-won gains over a conflict thousands of kilometres away that doesnt directly involve them?

Why Israel?

The Houthis are part of the so-called axis of resistance, an alliance of proxy militant and insurgent groups that Iran has built throughout the region, including in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.

Within this wider context, Israel has attempted to implicate Iran in Red Sea attacks, but Tehran denies it.

To interpret the Houthi attacks on Israel as solely an extension of Irans wider geopolitical manoeuvring would be overlooking a crucial Houthi political strategy. The groups support of the Palestinians is also a way of garnering domestic and regional support for its own position in Yemen.

While many countries in the region have sought a detente with Israel in recent years, its clear that support for the Palestinians remains high among the wider Arab population. As such, the Houthis clearly see an opportunity to step into the vacuum and generate positive public opinion for their cause.

This not only strengthens the Houthis authority at home, but is also critical to reinforcing the legitimacy of the Houthis as Yemens governing authority in the eyes of the international community.

Why is the Bab el Mandab Strait important?

Yemen has always been at the centre of regional geopolitics due to its strategic location on the Bab el Mandab Strait, also known as the Gate of Tears, which separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean beyond.

Because vessels need to traverse the 30-kilometre-wide strait to travel between Europe and Asia (via the Suez Canal), it serves a pivotal role in global trade and energy security. Oil and natural gas shipments pass through the strait from the Middle East to Europe and North America.



A map of the Bab el Mandab Strait. Wikimedia Commons

Historically, the strait is no stranger to conflict. In 1973, for instance, Egypt blockaded the strait to prevent ships from reaching Israel during the October war.

The Houthis are aware of how critical this waterway is. And its attacks on the vessels, which may seem to be a nuisance for now, could potentially cause larger problems for Israel and its allies.

For Israel, diverting its shipments to Asia around the southern tip of Africa  instead of through the Red Sea  would significantly increase shipping costs and transit times.

Any disruption to this trading route would have serious global economic costs, as well. Global maritime insurance companies are already hiking their prices and limiting their coverage of high-risk shipping as a direct result of the Houthi attacks.

The Houthi threat also serves to ratchet up the wider tensions in the region, potentially changing the calculus of the US and Israel, who might become more cautious in their actions as a result.

For the Houthis, these provocations are ultimately low cost and high return. Given the insurgent, battle-hardened and dispersed nature of the group, for example, it would be difficult for Israel or its allies to try to respond to the attacks. So, as long as the war in Gaza drags on, the Houthis will likely continue to play a disruptive role and look for new ways to create uncertainty and risk in the region.

Leena Adel, PhD Candidate, Political Science and International Relations, Curtin University and Ben Rich, Senior lecturer in History and International Relations, Curtin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  The Biden administration has spent most of its diplomatic energy since the February 24, 2022, Russian invasion of Ukraine marshaling the world to punish the Russian Federation, to boycott its petroleum and gas, to seize assets even of private citizens in Europe and North America, and to make Russia a pariah. Russia certainly violated the UN Charter in attacking Ukraine and formally occupying part of that country, and it has extensively violated International Humanitarian Law with its indiscriminate bombings and drone attacks.

So please dont misunderstand me. Let me repeat that Russia has violated international law, specifically the law of war, and that the regime of Vladimir Putin is a bad actor.

These charges have been laid by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who underlined at the UN Security Council last spring that world order depends, in the post-WW II era, on basic principles set out in international law: No seizing land by force. No erasing another countrys borders. No targeting civilians in war. He said, If we do not defend these basic principles, we invite a world in which might makes right, the strong dominate the weak.

Blinken said, Day after day of Russias atrocities, its easy to become numb to the horror, to lose our ability to feel shock and outrage. But we can never let the crimes Russia is committing become our new normal. Bucha is not normal. Mariupol is not normal. Irpin is not normal. Bombing schools and hospitals and apartment buildings to rubble is not normal.

Blinken has repeatedly charged Putin with war crimes.

And yet on December 8, 2023, the deputy US representative to the UN, Robert Wood, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, introduced by the United Arab Emirates, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. None of the other members of the 15-nation council voted against the resolution, but one, Britain, abstained. Even the odious Rishi Sunak couldnt bring himself to vote no. Thirteen members voted for the resolution, including France, China, and Russia among the permanent members.

Woods vote implicated the Biden administration further in Israeli war crimes in Gaza, which are worse by an order of magnitude than Russias in Ukraine.

Thats right. President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are more war-criminally than Vladimir Putin.

Lets take Blinkens 3 no-nos. Israel seized the Palestinian West Bank and Palestinian Gaza by force in 1967 even though those territories were under temporary Egyptian and Jordanian guardianship and did not possess the sovereignty to be belligerents in the 1967 war. Israel has erased the borders between it and the West Bank, illegally annexing East Jerusalem and seeking to annex vast swathes of the Palestinian West Bank.

The UN explains that since October 8, Israel has killed 17,177 Palestinians in Gaza, about 70 per cent of whom are said to be women and children, and 46,000 are reportedly injured. Many more are missing, presumably under the rubble, awaiting rescue or (more likely) a slow and agonizing death.

The reason for the high civilian death toll (which is higher than 70%, since thousands of male noncombatants have also been killed) is that the Israeli army has launched indiscriminate aerial bombings, drone strikes, and tank and artillery volleys against densely populated urban neighborhoods, and has targeted schools, mosques, refugee camps, municipal buildings, and apartment buildings in an orgy of wanton destruction unparalleled since the end of the Syrian Civil War.

Thats Blinkens supposed third no-no. No targeting civilians in war. Although both Israeli and US officials deny that Israel targets civilians (and note that Russian officials also deny targeting civilians), this denial is misleading and mere propaganda. Israels army has used artificial intelligence to generate thousands of potential military targets but has set extremely loose rules of engagement with very high tolerance for deaths of noncombatants. One Israeli magazine, +972 Mag, called this approach a mass assassination factory. You cant kill 15,000 civilians in such a short period of time unless you arent trying very hard to avoid killing noncombatants. So reckless disregard for civilian life is clearly being exhibited, which is just as bad as targeting civilians. For all we know, the Russian officer corps is also not targeting civilians in Ukraine, but just has loose rules of engagement and a high tolerance for civilian death.

So we may conclude that Biden and Blinken are monumental hypocrites.

But let us look at the numbers.

The United Nations said three weeks ago that Russia had killed 10,000 civilians in Ukraine. In recent months, many of these deaths of noncombatants can be blamed on Moscows use of long-range missiles, as well as on delayed explosions of ordnance. The UN official for monitoring this situation, Danielle Bell, said, As a result, no place in Ukraine is completely safe.

The UN estimated that the Russians had killed 560 children since February 24, 2022.

Of course, these figures could be grossly underestimated, since Russia hasnt allowed independent observers into the regions it controls and in places such as Mariupol there appear to have been large-scale atrocities. However, we may note for the purposes of comparison that the same opacity is there in Gaza and that thousands of people are suspected to be lying dead or dying under Israeli-created rubble.

The Young Turks: U.N. Chief Makes Extremely RARE Move To Push For A Ceasefire

So at a count of 11,900 women and children, Israel has killed more civilians in two months than Russia has in nearly two years. The discrepancy is even greater since we can probably add some 2,000 noncombatant men to the civilian toll.

Over 7,000 of those killed by Israeli fire have been children.

We can also look at this issue proportionally. 10,000 dead Ukrainians is  while every human being is precious and each death a profound tragedy  a minuscule proportion of the 36 million Ukrainians.

14,000 dead civilians in Gaza would be 0.6% of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Proportionally, Israels killing of civilians in Gaza is many, many times that of Russia in Ukraine, and this would be true even if Russia has killed ten times as many civilians as the UN estimates.

As for children, the Israeli killing of minors is so far off the charts compared to Russia in Ukraine that youd have to move to Mars to do the math.

All this figuring is not intended to in any way diminish the seriousness of Russian war crimes. It is to underline the weirdly monstrous death toll being imposed on noncombatants in Gaza by Israel.

If Blinken is right that Bucha is not normal. Mariupol is not normal. Irpin is not normal. Bombing schools and hospitals and apartment buildings to rubble is not normal, then neither are Jabaliya, Gaza City, or Khan Younis normal. Bombing schools and apartment buildings in Gaza is not normal.

Is this maybe the thing you didnt want to be the new normal, Mr. Blinken?

Embed from Getty Images

KHAN YUNIS, GAZA  OCTOBER 30: People search through buildings that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Heading into a third week of heavy bombing from Israel, Gaza buckles under a shortage of basic needs including fuel, whilst several neighborhoods on the Gaza strip have been wiped out and thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. On October 7, Hamas launched a deadly attack in southern Israel that sparked a retaliatory siege of Gaza. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images.

But this one you refuse to halt. And in so refusing, you make yourself an accomplice. You and Joe Biden and Netanyahu have easily outdone Putin.
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Letter to the president of the University of Arizona expressing concern about the College of Educations treatment of two faculty members by Committee on Academic Freedom, Middle East Studies Association. | 

Robert C. Robbins

President, University of Arizona

president@email.arizona.edu

Dear President Robbins,

We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our concern about how the University of Arizona College of Education has handled classroom complaints directed at two members of its faculty, Rebecca Lopez, Assistant Professor of Practice, and Rebecca Zapien, Community Liaison in Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies. Lopez and Zapien were placed on administrative leave following student complaints about discussions they led in two of their courses on Israels military campaign in Gaza, which, as of 7 December 2023, is reported to have caused the deaths of at least 16,248 Palestinians, about 70 per cent of whom are women or children. The College of Educations handling of this matter is likely to exert a chilling effect on classroom conversations concerning Palestine and Israel, and thus contravenes the principles of academic freedom.

MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the prestigious International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 2,800 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and outside of North America.

On 31 October and 3 November 2023, Lopez led a series of conversations concerning the conflict in Palestine/Israel, addressing in particular the significance of the massive death toll incurred by Palestinian children and adolescents in Gaza, as part of two courses, Structured English Immersion (TLS 416) and Cultural Pluralism for Young Children (TLS 411). On 1 November 2023, Lopez and Zapien led a conversation together in a class session of TLS 411. Conversations concerning events in the news and their relevance to course content, with both students and faculty making class presentations, were a regular part of the curriculum of both courses. These conversations featured in a part of the course called Media Watch, in which class discussions were oriented to the relevance of current events to questions of diversity and the sociocultural context of education. Following these conversations a small number of students filed complaints with the universitys Office of Institutional Equity. After this office investigated the complaints and decided against opening an investigation, the College of Education placed Lopez and Zapien on administrative leave while it conducted its own investigation.

While they were on leave, selectively and tendentiously edited recordings of class discussions featuring Zapien, Lopez and students in the course were posted to social media outlets that advocated in favor of Israeli actions in Gaza. Because the instructors never consented to these recordings or their dissemination, the students action may constitute a violation of University of Arizona policy. Nonetheless, the College of Education used these edited recordings in its investigation of Zapien and Lopez. That investigation made no finding of wrongdoing on their part and both Lopez and Zapien have been taken off administrative leave, but the College has not allowed them to finish teaching courses this quarter. Moreover, in order to remain in good standing, they have been required to complete a set of additional training activities not required of other instructional staff. Faculty should of course be given access to the training and mentorship necessary to navigate difficult classroom conversations, but the imposition of this requirement on Lopez and Zapien appears to be punitive. Finally, the College has made no statement condemning the posting of classroom recordings to social media, even though neither students nor instructors consented to these recordings or their dissemination.

In these fraught times university leaders have a heightened responsibility to protect the freedom of speech, academic freedom and physical safety of all members of the campus community. This countrys institutions of higher education should be places in which a broad range of perspectives can be expressed, debated and criticized, in the classroom and outside it. Regrettably, the College of Educations actions in this matter have not conformed to the University of Arizonas avowed commitment to respecting and protecting free speech and academic freedom, and they undermine the ability of faculty to have frank and productive discussions with their students.

We therefore call upon you to immediately facilitate the return of Zapien and Lopez to their full teaching responsibilities and rescind the requirement that they participate in additional training and mentorship. We also urge you to publicly denounce the recording of classroom conversations without consent. Finally, we urge you to vigorously and publicly reiterate your commitment to protect the safety and well-being of all members of the University of Arizona community and to defend their constitutionally protected right to free speech as well as their academic freedom.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Asl U. Bali

MESA President

Professor, Yale Law School

Laurie Brand

Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom

Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / Pampa Metals Corp. ("Pampa Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:PM)(FSE: FIR) (OTCQB:PMMCF) is pleased to announce that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement (the "Placement") of 7,500,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.16 per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,200,000. Each Unit will consist of one fully paid common share and a half purchase warrant. Each whole warrant (a "Warrant") shall entitle the holder to acquire an additional common share at a price of $0.30 for a period of 3 years after the closing of the Placement.

Proceeds will fund the previously announced Phase 1 ~2,500m follow-up diamond drill program at the newly acquired Piuquenes Project. Scheduled to commence in January 2024, with preparatory works already underway, the program is expected to be completed in 3 months, with assay results expected progressively from March, and to be followed by a Phase 2 program beginning in November.

The anticipated closing date of the Placement is Monday December 18, 2023.

In connection with the Placement, the Company may pay finder's fees of up to 7% in cash and 7% in finder's warrants from the sale of Units to third parties sourced by finders. Finder's warrants will be on the same terms as those issued under the Placement and entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.30 per share for a period of 3 years from the closing date.

Any securities issued in connection with the Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period, in accordance with securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, as applicable. The Placement is subject to CSE acceptance.

The latest Company Presentation can be accessed at https://pampametals.com/investor/.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO

INVESTORS CONTACT

Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABOUT PAMPA METALS

Pampa Metals is listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE:PM), Frankfurt (FSE:FIR), and OTC (OTCQB:PMMCF) exchanges, and wholly owns a portfolio of projects highly prospective for copper, molybdenum, and gold along proven and highly productive mineral belts in Chile, the world's largest copper producer.

In November 2023, the Company announced it had entered into an Option & JV Agreement for the acquisition of an 80% interest in the Piuquenes Copper-Gold Porphyry Project in San Juan Province, Argentina.

Note: The reader is cautioned that Pampa Metals' projects are early-stage exploration projects, and reference to existing mines and deposits, or mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties, is not necessarily indicative of any mineralization on Pampa Metals' properties.

Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Pampa Metals expects to occur, including the expectation of a fully subscribed Placement, 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" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will" or "may" occur. These statements are subject to various risks. Although Pampa Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
In the Kupyansk sector, the Russian invaders are preparing to intensify their assault operations. Currently, the Russian command is redeploying assault units there, as it relies on manpower rather than equipment.

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In general, the occupation forces are active along the entire contact line in the Kupyansk and Lyman sectors, yesterday The defense Forces eliminated more than 200 invaders and 23 units of enemy equipment there. This was stated by Volodymyr Fitio, Head of Public Relations of the Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during a telethon.

According to him, yesterday Ukrainian soldiers repelled seven enemy attacks in the Kupyansk and Lyman sectors: the invaders are active along the entire contact line in the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops.

At the same time, there are signs that Russia is going to intensify its assault operations.

"The enemy is now moving its assault units to the Kupyansk direction in order to intensify assault operations. Still, they are relying more on the human factor than on equipment," he said.

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According to Fitio, the occupants are currently trying to capture the village of Synkivka to organize a foothold for a further offensive on Kupyansk.

In the Kupyansk sector, the invaders are actively using aviation: they carried out 17 air strikes over the last day. In addition, the occupants attacked the Defense Forces with 16 kamikaze drones and carried out 477 artillery and mortar attacks.

According to Fitio, the Russian invaders in the area use the equipment for fire support or as transportation. However, with the help of accurate strikes, in particular with drones, Ukrainian soldiers are effectively reducing its number.

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"Our defenders managed to reduce the number of Russian occupants on Ukrainian soil by 224 people, destroyed 23 pieces of equipment, including one tank and three armored personnel carriers," he said.

As a reminder, the day before, Ukrainian soldiers destroyed 900 occupants at the frontline in a day . The defenders also destroyed 39 units of Russian equipment and weapons.

In addition, it was reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue assault operations south of Bakhmut and hold the defense of Avdiivka . There were 95 combat engagements over the day, about a third of them in the Avdiivka sector.
Kang Ki Young is making his much anticipated television drama return this coming new year with the forthcoming JTBC series "Great Problem Solver."

His courtroom journey from "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" continues as he transforms into a divorce lawyer in the new drama. Read to know more.

Kang Ki Young To Play Divorce Lawyer In New Drama

On December 7, JTBC's "Great Problem Solver" shared a sneak peek into Kang Ki Young's brand new acting role.

Following his success in the past year with "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "The Uncanny Counter 2," many fans are looking forward to seeing him more on television.

Thankfully, the long wait is over as he takes on the new challenge of playing a divorce lawyer in the new series "Great Problem Solver" with Lee Ji Ah of "The Penthouse."

The series tells the story of South Korea's greatest divorce problem solvers as they bring justice to "bad spouses" with their solutions with no fear.

In the series, Kang Ki Young transforms into Dong Ki Joon, a highly rated lawyer who earned the nickname "Shepherd" due to his great sense of perseverance and intuition.

However, he possessed great pain after he stepped down from his position of being a prosecutor and decided to become a divorce lawyer instead, raising curiosity.

READ MORE: Seo In Guk Shares Difficulties In 'Death's Game' Filming + Actor To Lend Voice For OST

Attention is given to Kang Ki Young who's finally making his long anticipated return this January 31, 2024 on JTBC.

Kang Ki Young Shares Future Plans In Acting

Since he debuted, Kang Ki Young has appeared in countless works as a supporting role.

In 2022, he finally received his breakthrough role as a lawyer in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" opposite Park Eun Bin and Kang Tae Oh.

He also took on his first-ever villainous role in the second season of "The Uncanny Counter" earlier this year, finally erasing his "goofy" image and reinventing himself as a "sexy star."

The actor received rave reviews from the public, and enjoyed his much-deserved success. In an interview, Kang Ki Young shared that he wanted to take on the romance genre.

Much to his delight, he was cast to star in the romance courtroom drama "Great Problem Solver" with Lee Ji Ah, ticking off the box for his acting goals.

On the other hand, Kang Ki Young also wishes to star in an action-packed drama. With this, fans expect to see more of him in the big year of 2024.

ALSO READ: Jang Na Ra's 'Unconvetional' Hobby Revealed: 'I collect...'

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Lee Dong Wook's interaction with fans gained attention after the actor graced the event for his new movie "Single inSeoul."

The actor, along with his co-star Im Soo Jung, greeted everyone who visited the event for the opening of the rom-com film.

However, what caught the netizens' attention was the actor's nonchalant fan service.

Lee Dong Wook's Fan Service Goes Viral and Gets Compared to Cillian Murphy

The South Korean hearthrob has once again caught the attention of netizens after he was spotted accommodating the fans after the movie premiere.

Lee Dong Wook accepted the fans' gifts and even took a Polaroid photo of himself and gave it to a fan; however, it seemed very casual about it.

READ MORE: Lee Dong Wook Reveals First Impression of Im Soo Jung: 'Arrogant but...'

Despite the actor's attitude towards fans, netizens didn't throw any hate at the actor, and instead they trolled the "Bad and Crazy" actor for his very laidback response to the public.

 hes like im getting too old for fanservice man pic.twitter.com/LDblNnM9Dr  shay  (@ilikeheeseungs) December 8, 2023

In a separate video, fans mentioned why the actor reportedly stopped taking gifts from fans, and that is because he wanted his co-stars to get the spotlight.

#LeeDongWook stopped taking gifts from fans and sat like this; respected to his fellow actors and so as not to distract them while they are talking to the fans.

He always makes me speechless https://t.co/jonXY79Bt1 December 9, 2023

As for some, Lee Dong Wook was compared to the Irish actor Cillian Murphy, whom a lot of fans adored because of his true personality off camera.

NO BC THIS MORNING I HAD THE SAME THOUGHT  lee dong wook is just pretty much giving the korean version of cillian murphy pic.twitter.com/hAxOAXRopU   (@secrosaint) December 8, 2023

As mentioned, Lee Dong Wook returns to the big screen with a new movie, "Single in Seoul."

Directed by Park Bum Soo of "Genie" and "Red Carpet," the newly released film is a rom-com that follows the story of two completely different people who share the same project.

Lee Dong Wook transforms into an influencer with 300,000 followers and a leader named Park Young Ho.

Oddly enough, he enjoys his singlehood; however, his life will change upon meeting Joo Hyun Jin, played by Im Soo Jung.

She used to go to the same school as Young Ho back then, but she was his junior.

She is now a competent publisher and the editor-in-chief who oversees the essay series called "Single in the City."

Unlike Park Young Ho, who is satisfied with his status, Hyun Jin is the total opposite and dislikes being alone.

Officially released on November 29, "Single in Seoul" also features Esom, Lee Sang Yi, and more as supporting cast members.

Lee Dong Wook to Star in Back to Back K-dramas in 2024

While 2023 was a fruitful year for the actor, he will continue to be booked and busy as he headlines two upcoming K-dramas.

After "Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938," Lee Dong Wook stars in the thriller comedy series "The Good Man," where he will be working alongside Lee Sung Kyung.

In addition, he will also headline "A Shop for Killers" with "Kingdom" actress Kim Hye Joon.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Lee Dong Wook's Movie 'Single in Seoul' Made Him 'Regret Certain Things' in His Past Relationships

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
FILE - Taylor Swift performs during "The Eras Tour" in Nashville, Tenn., May 5, 2023. According to Spotify Wrapped, Swift was 2023's most-streamed artist globally, raking in more than 26.1 billion global streams since Jan. 1, 2023. That means the pop powerhouse has dethroned Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny, who held the coveted title for three years in a row: 2020, 2021, and 2022. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
On the afternoon of December 9, the Russian terrorist army attacked Kherson once again. As a result of the Russian war crime, civilians were injured.

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One of the victims was diagnosed with an explosive injury and a head injury. This was reported on Telegram by the Kherson Regional Military Administration.

As a result of the Russian terrorist attack, a 58-year-old woman sustained moderate injuries. According to monitoring channels, the other victim is a 29-year-old man. His condition is assessed as light. He is currently being examined in hospital.

"The Russian army has attacked Kherson once again. It is known that two people were injured as a result of the shelling. A 58-year-old woman from Kherson was taken to the hospital in a moderate condition. She was diagnosed with an explosive injury and a head wound. The victim is being provided with medical assistance," the CMA reported.

According to preliminary data, the Dnipro district of Kherson came under fire from the Russian occupation forces.

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In addition, on December 9 in the morning, Russian terrorists attacked Beryslav. At about 10:20, the invaders dropped a munition on the settlement from a drone.

As a result of the explosion, a local resident sustained life-threatening injuries. Another person also sustained shrapnel wounds. Both civilians were walking down the street at the time of the attack.

Under the procedural supervision of the Beryslav District Prosecutor's Office, a pre-trial investigation into the criminal proceedings over violations of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been initiated. Prosecutors are taking all possible and appropriate measures to document war crimes committed by representatives of the Russian armed forces.

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As a reminder, on December 8, the enemy fired 62 times at Kherson, launching 318 shells from mortars, artillery, Grad, tanks, drones and aircraft.

Earlier it was reported that the army of the aggressor country Russia attacked Kherson again on the evening of December 8. The occupiers fired on the residential sector.
Ukrainian law enforcement officers have identified the people whose body fragments were found at the site of a Russian missile hitting a residential building in Novohradivka, Donetsk region, on December 5. Experts conducted DNA examinations.

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On December 6, a 35-year-old local resident was identified; his young daughter also died in the rubble as a result of an attack by the aggressor country's army. On December 8, his wife was also identified, according to the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

The 33-year-old woman had been searched for under the rubble of the house for a week, the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast said. 5 people in total died.

The victim was identified through DNA analysis. Earlier, police identified her deceased husband and 8-year-old daughter, whose body was found during the rubble removal, said Pavlo Kyrnytskyi, inspector of the Donetsk police communication department.

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"Criminologists managed to identify the deceased. This is the 35-year-old father of the girl whose body was found under the rubble earlier," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one strike by Russian terrorist forces took the lives of the entire family.

Earlier, the Novohrodivka National Guard of Ukraine reported that fragments of bodies were found under the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian missile on December 5, but they could not be identified.

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At the time, it was reported that the bodies of an eight-year-old girl and two men were found under the rubble. Two more people were likely in the house: a man and a woman aged 38 and 33, the parents of the deceased child.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, on the night of November 29-30, the Russian army fired six S-300 missiles at three towns in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk region - Novohrodivka, Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned Johnson Byabashaija, the Commissioner General of the Uganda Prisons Service for alleged gross human rights abuses targeted at government critics and marginalized groups since 2005.

Byabashaija is part of 20 other people sanctioned by the same office for their connection to human rights abuse in nine countries.

The office contends that during the period under review, members of the Uganda Prisons Service engaged in torture and other serious human rights abuse against prisoners held within prison facilities.

During that period, members of the UPS have engaged in torture and other serious human rights abuse against prisoners held within UPS facilities. Prisoners have reported being tortured and beaten by UPS staff and by fellow prisoners at the direction of UPS staff. Members of vulnerable groups, including government critics and members of Ugandas LGBTQI+ community, have been beaten and held without access to legal counsel; for example, in a 2020 case, the UPS denied a group of LGBTQI+ persons access to their lawyers and members of the group reportedly endured physical abuse, including a forced anal examination and scalding, the office said in a statement.

The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) is yet to respond
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khaskhabar.com : , 09  2023 3:13 PM
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khaskhabar.com : , 09  2023 4:14 PM
CluneTech founder and CEO Terry Clune has been recognised as Business Person of the Year at the Business and Finance Awards in Dublin.

The recognition follows a very successful year for the Irish entrepreneur, which saw CluneTech company Immedis, a leading global payroll platform, acquired by UKG for 575M, in one of Irelands largest tech deals of 2023. Mr Clune founded Immedis in 2016 to help large companies solve their global payroll problems. Demand for the Immedis payroll platform grew rapidly and the acquisition reflected an increase in valuation above its last investment round.

The Business and Finance Awards Programme was established in 1974. Over the past 48 years, it has become the longest-running and most coveted business awards programme in Ireland, with the awards taking place on Friday evening. The Business Person of the Year Award, in association with KPMG, recognises an individual who has demonstrated an outstanding level of achievement across their career over the past year.

Mr Clune is the founder and CEO of CluneTech, a suite of technology companies that includes TransferMate, the worlds leading B2B payments infrastructure-as-a-service provider. TransferMate, under the leadership of Mr Clune and CEO Sinead Fitzmaurice, achieved unicorn status last year with a $1BN valuation after a $70M funding round, joining an elite group of just seven Irish tech unicorns to date.

TransferMate, which was recognised as Fintech Company of the Year at the National Fintech Awards in September, was also shortlisted for Company of the Year at this evenings Awards ceremony.

Having founded his first company, Taxback, in 1996, Mr. Clune saw the potential in developing solutions to simplify business processes. He has since grown CluneTech to encompass a group of fintech companies with industry-leading solutions and global reach, that specialise in streamlining processes such as cross-border payments, tax compliance, global VAT and payroll and digital sales.

From its Irish headquarters, he and his team have built the business from the ground up to become a global leader in fintech, with offices in 21 countries and a footprint across four continents. Other companies in the group include original company Taxback, along with Taxback International, Sprintax, Visa First and Benamic.

I am humbled by this recognition, which I see as a tribute to our whole team and culture," said Mr Clune.

"With incredible progress and innovation happening across fintech, Im very proud that our companies have become leading players on the global stage.

Paying tribute to his leadership team and people across all the CluneTech businesses, Mr Clune added:

The most important thing we can do is create an empowering environment for our people to be creative and make brave decisions. My aim was for CluneTech to be a hub for technology innovation and Im delighted to see us achieve that. Ultimately, focusing on our customers, listening to them, identifying their challenges and finding new solutions to meet those challenges, is what keeps us agile and innovative. Our success is all down to the work and dedication our people have shown since we were founded.

With the enormous success of TransferMate and the sale of Immedis completed, the entrepreneur is now looking forward to scaling the other CluneTech businesses, with significant plans for both Sprintax and Taxback International in 2024.
Russian occupation forces continued to shell the Kherson region. Thus, over the past day, the enemy carried out 62 attacks, firing 318 shells from mortars, artillery, Grad, tanks, drones and aircraft.

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The enemy fired 41 shells at the city of Kherson. This was reported by the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin.

The Russian military attacked residential areas of the region's settlements. The occupants also hit a building of a critical infrastructure facility in Kherson.

One person was wounded as a result of Russian aggression.

Earlier, it was reported that the day before, Russian troops launched 64 strikes on the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region. The invaders shelled civilian settlements with artillery and attacked with drones.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continued their assault operations south of Bakhmut and held a bridgehead on the left bank of the Kherson region. The soldiers were also holding the defense of Avdiivka, where the enemy launched 35 attacks the day before, all of which were repelled.

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Earlier, British intelligence explained why the occupiers attacked Snake Island. By attacking the island, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, Russia is trying to demonstrate that it can project power across the Black Sea.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Cloudy skies with a few snow showers this afternoon. High around 25F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%..

Tonight

Watching a potential winter storm. Periods of snow along with gusty winds at times, especially this evening. Low 11F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 100%. 5 to 8 inches of snow expected.
During the missile attack on Ukraine on December 8, Russian troops used "traditional" X-101/X-555 missiles: the enemy had been stockpiling them for some time. However, the attack also has some peculiarities - in particular, the fact that such missiles were used after a long pause, and that the enemy launched "chessmen" at night and several types of missiles in the morning.

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This was stated on the air of Ukrainian Radio on Friday, December 8, by the spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yurii Ihnat. He noted that at night the occupants launched drones at an infrastructure facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and in the morning they used missile weapons to fire.

At the same time, the enemy combined them in different ways to reach the targets. Thus, the Russians first attacked with Shaheds, then with X-101/X-555 cruise missiles, and then launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile.

"Another peculiarity is that they first hit the Dnipropetrovs'k region with shaheeds, an infrastructure facility. And after the nighttime "shaheds", in the morning missiles flew in the same direction. Unfortunately, they failed to destroy everything. It is clear that it is not always possible to achieve 100% results. Still, we have the result we have today - 14 out of 19. In addition, there was also the use of an Iskander-M ballistic missile, also in the direction of Dnipro," Ihnat noted.

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According to him, there is nothing special in the fact that the enemy launched X-101/X-555 missiles during the shelling. The spokesman assured that nothing extraordinary happened, the occupants used the type of weapons they managed to accumulate.

"The peculiarity of this attack is that the missiles were used after a long pause. There was a lot of talk about this in the media, saying, "When can strategic aviation strike?", that is, they were in such anticipation that it would happen someday. But nothing extraordinary happened here," Ihnat added.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on December 8, for the first time in almost 80 days, Russia took off Tu-95MS strategic bombers and launched cruise missiles. In total, the occupiers launched 19 missiles at Ukraine, of which 14 were shot down.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
This is to address the groups concerns and frustrations currently coming out of this year's Conference of Parties (COP) that is being held at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Lawsuit claims discrimination after Muslim Arab American teacher is put on leave for controversial pro-Palestinian phrase in email
Ukrainian Defense Forces continue their assault operations south of Bakhmut and hold a foothold on the left bank of the Kherson region. The soldiers are also holding the defense of Avdiivka, where the enemy launched 35 attacks the day before, all of which were repelled.

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Over the last day, 95 combat engagements took place in all sectors of the frontline. This is stated in the morning operational report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The General Staff said that over the past day, the invaders launched 28 missile and 27 air strikes, as well as fired 59 times from multiple launch rocket systems at the positions of our troops and settlements.

There were casualties and injuries among civilians, and residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.

Petropavlivka, Podoly, Ivanivka, Pershotravneve in Kharkiv region; Nadiia, Nevske, Serebryanske forestry in Luhansk region; Kolodyazi, Serebryanka, Chasiv Yar, Avdiivka, Lastochkino in Donetsk region were hit by air strikes.

More than 100 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions came under artillery fire.

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There were 95 combat engagements in the frontline over the last day.

The operational situation remains unchanged in the area of responsibility of the "North" jawed group in the Volyn and Polissya sectors .

There are no major changes in the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi sectors: the enemy maintains a military presence in the border areas, conducts active sabotage activities to prevent the deployment of our troops to threatened areas, and increases the density of minefields along the state border in the Belgorod region.

Meanwhile, in the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia Joint Forces Operation Center in the Kupiansk sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled 11 enemy attacks in the vicinity of Synkivka, northeast of Petropavlivka and Ivanivka in Kharkiv region.

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In the Liman sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled an enemy attack near Spirne, Donetsk region.

In the Bakhmut sector , our soldiers repelled 13 enemy attacks in the areas of Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiyivka and Andriivka in Donetsk region. Ukrainian defense forces continue assault operations south of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, inflicting losses in manpower and equipment on the enemy, and consolidating their positions.

In the area of responsibility of the Tavria Brigade in the Avdiivka sector , Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the enemy, who keeps trying to surround Avdiivka. Our soldiers are steadfastly holding the line, inflicting significant losses on the enemy. The defense forces successfully repelled 35 enemy attacks in the areas east of Novobakhmutivka, Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonenke and Pervomayske in Donetsk region.

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In the Mariinsky sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the enemy in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Pobeda and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk region, where our defenders repelled 24 attacks.

On the Shakhtarsk and Zaporizhzhia directions , the Defense Forces repelled all enemy attacks that tried to regain lost ground in the areas west of Verbove, Zaporizhzhia region.

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At the same time, in the Melitopol sector, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupation forces, depleting the enemy along the entire front line.

In the area of responsibility of the Odesa Joint Task Force in the Kherson sector , the Defense Forces continue to hold their positions on the left bank of the Dnipro, continue to conduct counter-battery combat, and inflict fire on the enemy's rear.

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Missile troops struck 6 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment and 1 enemy electronic warfare station. Also, the Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed 14 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles.

Earlier, British intelligence explained why the occupiers are attacking Zmeinyi Island. By attacking the island, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, Russia is trying to demonstrate that it can project power across the Black Sea.

The last attack ended badly for the occupiers. On December 5, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down an enemy Su-24 bomber near Zmeinyi Island. The enemy aircraft tried to launch a missile and bomb attack on the south of Odesa region. The bomber's crew was killed.

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Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE: CCU) in the last few weeks:

12/8/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating.

11/30/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating.

11/22/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas is now covered by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc.. They set a buy rating and a $15.22 price target on the stock.

11/22/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating.

11/14/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating.

11/2/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas had its price target lowered by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $14.80 to $12.90. They now have a neutral rating on the stock.

11/1/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating.

10/27/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America Co. from a buy rating to a neutral rating. They now have a $11.70 price target on the stock, down previously from $20.00.

10/27/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was downgraded by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from a buy rating to a hold rating. They now have a $11.70 price target on the stock, down previously from $20.00.

10/27/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was upgraded by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from a hold rating to a buy rating. They now have a $15.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $18.00.

10/24/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating.

10/13/2023  Compania Cervecerias Unidas was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas Stock Performance

Compania Cervecerias Unidas stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.03. The stock had a trading volume of 87,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,696. Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. has a 52-week low of $10.82 and a 52-week high of $17.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.90. The firms fifty day moving average is $11.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

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Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE:CCU  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Compania Cervecerias Unidas had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 3.88%. The business had revenue of $824.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.41 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas Increases Dividend

Institutional Trading of Compania Cervecerias Unidas

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a $0.1146 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Compania Cervecerias Unidass previous semi-annual dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 22nd. Compania Cervecerias Unidass payout ratio is 28.99%.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCU. Toroso Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 19,903 shares of the companys stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,656 shares of the companys stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 5.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,325 shares of the companys stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 61,759 shares of the companys stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,618 shares of the companys stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 18.24% of the companys stock.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas SA operates as a beverage company in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The company operates through three segments: Chile, International Business, and Wine. It produces and sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer under proprietary and licensed brands, as well as distributes Pernod Ricard products in non-supermarket retail stores.

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Volta Finance (LON:VTA  Get Free Report) announced a dividend on Thursday, December 7th, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 21st will be given a dividend of 0.14 ($0.15) per share on Thursday, January 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 21st. This is an increase from Volta Finances previous dividend of $0.13. The official announcement can be viewed at this link.

Volta Finance Stock Performance

Shares of LON:VTA opened at GBX 5.05 ($0.06) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 15.15 and a current ratio of 33.95. The stock has a market capitalization of 1.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 0.90. Volta Finance has a 1-year low of GBX 4.76 ($0.06) and a 1-year high of GBX 5.50 ($0.07). The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 5.03 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 5.04.

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Further Reading

Volta Finance Limited is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by AXA Investment Managers Paris SA The fund invests in the fixed income markets of Europe and the United States. It primarily invests in corporate credits, sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt, residential mortgage loans, CDOs, ABS, leveraged loans, automobile loans, and debt interests in infrastructure assets.

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Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Overcast. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Watching a potential winter storm. Overcast. Low 28F. SSW winds shifting to E at 10 to 15 mph.
In a recent live broadcast, BTS's Jungkook addressed the persistent issue of sasaeng fans stalking him, even at his private residence.

Sasaeng fans, known for their extreme obsession with celebrities, have long been a concern in the K-pop industry, causing distress to artists and their fanbases.

Reiterating His Stance on Privacy

During the broadcast, Jungkook, like other BTS members, reiterated his plea for privacy. The term "sasaeng fan" encompasses individuals who go beyond normal fandom behavior, crossing boundaries by invading celebrities' personal lives.

These actions not only discomfort artists but also pose a potential threat to their safety.

Jungkook has not shied away from addressing the issue publicly. In a previous Weverse live session, the idol politely requested fans not to follow him to private schedules or wait for him at locations such as his gym or house.

He even had to issue a warning after someone ordered food to be delivered to his address, emphasizing his need for personal space.

READ ALSO: Jungkook Breaks the Internet with Unserious Vibes Interview- Must Watch

"Kindly refrain from sending food deliveries to my residence, as I have no intention of consuming them. While I appreciate the gesture, I am perfectly capable of managing my own meals. I urge you to focus on your own dining needs. If another delivery attempt is made, I will investigate the receipt order number and take appropriate measures. Your cooperation in discontinuing this practice is appreciated. Thank you."

 I wasn't gonna say this but... I'm so thankful for people supporting me and having interest in me. I really am. But please don't come find me when I'm working out, I was so surprised last time  minnie  (@tteokminnie) March 3, 2023

During the recent live broadcast on December 8, Jungkook turned the camera on while walking home after a workout. Responding to ARMYs' inquiries about his whereabouts, he disclosed that sasaeng fans have been waiting for him near his house, expressing frustration and reprimanding them for their invasive actions.

JUNGKOOK JUST WALKING AND SINGING AND I AM CRYING pic.twitter.com/lH30yPAIB3   (@homeisjungkook) December 8, 2023

Fans' Outrage and Ongoing Struggle

Despite Jungkook's repeated calls for respecting his privacy, the fact that sasaeng fans persist in stalking him, even at his residence, has stirred outrage among the ARMYs.

The dedicated fanbase is vocal in its condemnation of the continuous invasion of Jungkook's personal space, highlighting the need for increased awareness and action against sasaeng behavior within the K-pop community.

: jk, where are you going?

: im going home *giggles* pic.twitter.com/IP4375KARu    (@jeonsfairyy) December 8, 2023

if i could just get my hands on you hoes. https://t.co/zb1fwW1dwq December 8, 2023

NO. this has my blood boiling. LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU FREAKS!! he's a human being & he deserves privacy. i can't believe people stoop so low as to stalk someone in their own home. he already said that he hates this (& you) but you never listen. i hope karma comes to you, assholes https://t.co/reK8Te3E8X  k / -555 (@artaekoos) December 8, 2023

having sasaeng is not that simple, think about it just once for yourself. imagine that you have a "stalker" and you don't know who are they, what can they do to you.. they can be p!rvert, harmful or etc. i hate who bothered jungkook no matter what   (@ASHIYUZA) December 8, 2023

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: BTS Jungkook & Jimin Go for 'Companion Soldier' Enlistment- Why This Choice Matters

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KpopStarz own this article.

Cassidy Jones wrote this.
In a recent international news event, the popular South Korean girl group Blackpink attended the prestigious Buckingham Palace state banquet.

The four members of Blackpink, Jennie, Rose, Jisoo, and Lisa, graced the occasion with their elegant and stylish outfits, capturing the attention of fans and fashion enthusiasts worldwide.

BLACKPINK Fashion Showcased Individual Unique Personalities

During the state banquet, the members of Blackpink showcased their individual fashion choices, each reflecting their unique personalities. Rose wore a stunning Pinkong heart-neck off-the-shoulder gown paired with an elegant Saint Laurent square bag and Jimmy Choo pointed-toe high heels, exuding sophistication in her black ensemble.

The very last week of November has done so much more than what I've been achieving my whole life. Blackpink has been invited to the Korean state banquet at the Buckingham Palace, such a people's Princess rare occasion, this is an immense amount of honor pic.twitter.com/XBn3nKqnIi December 5, 2023

Jisoo opted for a puff-sleeved dress from Dior, radiating a princess-like charm. She accessorized with a small round bag featuring Dior's iconic CD logo. Jennie, known for her distinctive style, donned a white Lihi Hod wedding dress with Chanel's waterproof platform heels and a bow-tie rhinestone, epitomizing her fashion flair.

Lisa, always one to break away clutch from convention, captivated onlookers in an aqua blue shawl dress by Georges Hobeika, earning comparisons to Princess Elsa from Disney's "Frozen."

At the investiture ceremony, where the members received the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) medal from King Charles III of England, their outfits took on a more simple and dignified tone. Lisa opted for a shawl dress suit from Thai niche brand asava, while Rose chose a gray fine-check shoulder-padded suit by Saint Laurent.

BLACKPINK receive MBE honours from King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Watch https://t.co/CNszfSQ67M  Genius Celeb (@geniusceleb) December 4, 2023

Jisoo's Dior suit featured a metal butterfly belt, adding subtle highlights to her ensemble. Jennie looked elegant in Chanel's classic black woolen suit as she proudly accepted the medal.

READ ALSO: BLACKPINK Lisa Look-Alike Stuns in Explosive Debut on Dating Show Class 18 - BLINKS in Frenzy

Why Did BLACKPINK Lisa Not Carry a Celine Bag?

One noticeable aspect of Blackpink's fashion choices was the absence of any Celine items in Lisa's ensemble. While Dior, Saint Laurent, and Chanel were represented through endorsements by Jisoo, Rose, and Jennie respectively, Lisa did not carry any Celine bags or wear Celine clothing .

Marie Claire reported that speculation has arisen that this may be due to Lisa's previous participation in the Crazy Horse show, raising concerns about the brand's image. As a result, she may have been temporarily restricted from wearing Celine at major public events.

Jennie's bow rhinestone bag became a standout accessory during the Buckingham Palace visit. The Self-Portrait silver bow clutch featured rhinestones adorning the hard box body and bow buckle, adding a touch of sparkle to Jennie's elegant white dress. Her choice epitomized her unique style and contributed to the emerging trend known as "Bowcore."

Blackpink's appearance at Buckingham Palace garnered significant attention, with fans and media alike likening them to princesses. Their fashion choices were lauded as they received recognition for their role as publicity ambassadors for the 26th United Nations Climate Summit (COP26).

As Blackpink continues to make waves in both the music and fashion industries, their Buckingham Palace looks serve as a testament to their individuality and ability to captivate audiences with their impeccable style.

ALSO READ: BLACKPINK Lisa's 'Leaked' Crazy Horse Photo Sparks Fury: 'Stop being a singer and just become a stripper...

Follow and subscribe to KpopStarz for more news.

KpopStarz own this article.

Cassidy Jones wrote this.
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Militants of the Hamas terrorist organization use civilians in the Gaza Strip as human shields en masse. The criminals set up their positions in schools, hospitals and mosques.

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Moreover, terrorists are launching rockets at Israel directly from the tent camps of evacuated civilians in Gaza. This was reported by Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari on X.

According to him, Israeli soldiers discovered a tunnel in a mosque in the Shuja'iyya area. In addition, another Hamas hideout was found right in a school classroom, with an entrance to the tunnel where the terrorists were located.

The day before, IDF soldiers discovered Palestinian terrorist positions near Al-Azhar University. Soldiers of the 749th Reserve Engineer Battalion of the Israel Defense Forces destroyed the building, including the terrorist infrastructure used for military activities.

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IDF soldiers also confirmed that on December 6, Hamas terrorists fired 12 rockets at Israeli civilians in the city of Beersheba. It is worth noting that the rockets were launched from the tents of evacuated Gaza civilians in Rafah.

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As a reminder, 15,000 people could have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of hostilities between terrorists and the Israeli Defense Forces. More than 5,000 of them were Hamas militants, and the rest were civilians.

Earlier, it was reported that on December 1, the Israeli Defense Forces were ordered to resume firing on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. This happened after the terrorists refused to release 15 women and two children as part of a truce agreement.

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As reported by OBOZ.UA, the leaders of the Israeli Defense Forces have known that Hamas was preparing to attack since at least July 2023. Two weeks before the attack, they had information about the terrorists' training and other preparations. However, they underestimated the militants, mistakenly believing that Hamas was not interested in war.

Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
SHREVEPORT, La. - Two juvenile escapees from group homes, Jordan Cannon and Anthony Mandigo, Jr., are back behind bars and moving through the 
Rescinded or not, ex-military members still ask SCOTUS to take up Defense Dept's COVID vax mandate
BusinessWire India

New Delhi [India], December 9: The commencement of SIAL India's mega event signifies the initiation of a transformative journey into the future of the food and beverage landscape. Augmenting the grand inauguration is the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), playing host to the largest-ever European Union (EU) delegation to India. This momentous occasion offers a distinctive opportunity for industry leaders, enthusiasts, and stakeholders to immerse themselves in the latest trends and indulge in a culinary extravaganza.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: 30-Year-Old Muslim Woman Thrashed by Brother-in-Law for Voting for BJP in Sehore.

Trade visitors through the coming three days will delve into the forefront of the culinary world, exploring the most innovative trends that are shaping the Indian and international food industry. They will have the opportunity to discover groundbreaking products and services that redefine the future of the sector. Accompanied by seasoned experts, attendees will unravel the secrets behind exquisite flavors, gaining valuable insights into the art of food and beverage pairing.

SIAL India stands as a globally recognized platform that celebrates the diversity and dynamism of the food industry. Renowned for its commitment to innovation and excellence, SIAL India along with FIFI brings together industry professionals, chefs, and food enthusiasts to explore the latest trends and advancements in the culinary world. A key highlight of this three-day mega event is FIFI hosting the largest-ever EU Member Delegation to India, led by Janusz Wojclechowski, EU Agriculture Commissioner. This presents an exclusive opportunity to engage with esteemed delegates and gain valuable insights into the bilateral food and agricultural landscape. In an exclusive interaction, Amit Lohani, Founder and Director of FIFI, expressed his excitement about being part of India's growth story and at the epicenter of culinary brilliance. As SIAL India's inauguration unfolds and FIFI choreographs the welcome of the largest EU delegation, he highlighted the unparalleled opportunity to witness industry innovations and partake in an immersive culinary experience. Lohani also expressed gratitude for the confidence shown in FIFI's long-term objectives by the Indian government agencies, businesses, and international stakeholders. The attendance of these industry leaders is considered a testimony to this evolved trade outlook. During the inauguration ceremony, Amit Lohani was joined by Anita Praveen, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing; Abhishek Dev, IAS APEDA Chairperson; EU Ambassador Herve Delphin; Evagoras Vryonides, High Commissioner of Cyprus; Freddy Scane, Ambassador Royal Danish Embassy; Thierry Mathou, Ambassador Embassy of France; Dimitrios Loannou, Ambassador Embassy of Greece; Vincenzo de Luca, Ambassador Embassy of Italy; Diano Mickeviciene, Ambassador Embassy of Lithuania; Marisa Gerards, Ambassador Embassy of the Netherlands; Dr Sebastian Domzalski, Charge de Affairs Embassy of Poland, Joao Ribeiro de Almeida, Ambassador Embassy of Portugal; Mateja Vodeb Ghosh, Ambassador Embassy of Slovenia; and Jose Maria Ridao Dominguez, Ambassador Embassy of Spain.

Also Read | MPPSC Admit Card 2023 Released at mppsc.mp.gov.in, Know How to Downlaod.

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone starrer 'Fighter' is one of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2024. The makers of the film recently dropped its teaser which received a lot of attention from the film industry as well as fans. Now, actor Ranveer Singh has also praised it. After Deepika shared the teaser on her Instagram handle, Ranveer showered his love on his wife's film's teaser. He wrote in the comment section, "BOOOOOOOM!!!!!(with fire emojis)" Fighter Teaser Out! Netizens Go Gaga Over Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukones Chemistry! From Locking Lips to Romancing on Beach, Check Out the Hot Pics of the Duo.

While sharing the teaser, Deepika wrote, "Fighter Forever " The makers of the aerial action thriller Fighter on Friday unveiled the teaser of the film.

Taking to Instagram, actor Hrithik Roshan shared the teaser which he captioned, "Har udaan, watan ke naam. #FighterForever. #FighterTeaser Out Now!" Helmed by Siddharth Anand, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. The 1 minute 14-second teaser features Hrithik as Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania aka Patty, Deepika as Squadron Leader Minal Rathore aka Minni, and Anil as Group Captain Rakesh Jai Singh aka Rocky fighting for the country.

The teaser showcased the lead cast flying high in their jets and doing some aerial stunts. It also shared a glimpse of a party track featuring the lead cast and a hot kissing scene of Hrithik and Deepika. The teaser ended on a high note with the tune of 'Sujlam Suflam' playing in the background as Hrithik unfurls a tricolor from his aircraft. The film is primarily shot at air bases in India with real Sukhoi's, Indian fighter planes. Fighter Teaser: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor Promise Exciting Dogfights, Patriotism and Sizzling Romance in Siddharth Anands Film (Watch Video).

Watch Fighter Teaser Here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by   (@deepikapadukone)

Check Ranveer Singh's Comment Here:

Ranveer's Comment (Photo Credits: Instagram)

The motion poster of Fighter was released on Independence Day 2023, which provided the first glimpse at the three actors, who play Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in the movie. Fighter makes Deepika's first on-screen collaboration with Hrithik Roshan. The film is all set to hit the theatres on January 25, 2024.

Meanwhile, Deepika will also be seen in the sci-fi pan-India film Kalki 2898 AD opposite Prabhas. She also has The Intern in her kitty.
New Delhi [India], December 9 (ANI): Ahead of the crucial meeting to evaluate the party's performance in the recent Rajasthan assembly polls, Congress leader and Rajasthan caretaker CM Ashok Gehlot on Saturday criticized the BJP's delay in announcing CM faces for three Hindi heartland states -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, saying that "there is no discipline in this party."

"There is no discipline in this party. If we had done the same, I don't know what allegations they would have levelled against us and misled people. They polarized the polls... We will cooperate with the new government," he said while speaking to ANI.

Also Read | Rajasthan Weather: Fatehpur Coldest Place, Minimum Temperature Drops to 5.2 Degrees Celsius.

Gehlot, who is in Delhi to take part in a meeting to review the party's performance in recently held assembly polls in Rajasthan, also commented on the delay in announcing the Rajasthan BJP CM face, saying, "If Congress had not selected a CM for this long, then they (BJP) would have shouted a lot."

"In the Gogamedi case, I had to sign a document stating 'no objection' to an NIA probe. This should have been done by the new CM. For seven days now, they (BJP) have not been able to select a CM; I want them to take a decision quickly," he said while speaking to reporters.

Also Read | Delhi: Two Members of Lawrence Bishnoi Gang Nabbed in Vasant Kunj After Gunfight.

Gehlot further accused the BJP of winning the assembly election in the state by raising religious issues and polarizing people.

"They polarized the polls; they brought issues like triple talaq, the abrogation of Article 370, the Kanhaiya Lal murder, and propagated lies that Muslims were given 50 lakhs and Hindus only 5 lakhs. They won the election by spreading lies," said Gehlot. However, he added that they would cooperate with the new government.

Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Rahul Gandhi have arrived at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi for the key meeting to assess the party's performance in the recent Rajasthan assembly polls.

Rajasthan Congress leader Govind Singh Dotasra has also arrived in Delhi to take part in the meeting. He expressed the party's focus on analyzing shortcomings and making corrections for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "We will deliberate on the reasons behind why we could return to power in the state. We will analyze our shortcomings and make corrections for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Congress brass on Friday held separate meetings to review the party's losses in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and sought a detailed report from state unit chiefs on its dismal performance in the recent round of assembly elections, party leaders said. The meeting was convened by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, where former party chief Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders were also present.

The election results in four states, especially the losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, came as a huge blow to the Congress's hopes for 2024, as it is now out of power across a vast swathe of the Hindi heartland. In Rajasthan, the vote count painted a starkly different picture to what some of the pollsters had predicted, with the BJP poised to form the government, winning 115 seats, and the Congress trailing at 69 seats. (ANI)

(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 [India], December 9 (ANI): Delhi's Karkardooma Court on Saturday again reserved order on the bail plea of Sharjeel Imam. The court also granted time to Delhi Police to file clarification of MHA guidelines in connection to the release of accused on bail in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) along with other offences.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Amitabh Rawat on Saturday reserved the order for December 21. Also asked the Police to file clarification.

Also Read | UKPSC JE Admit Card 2023 Out at ukpsc.net.in: Hall Ticket for Uttarakhand Combined State Junior Engineer Service Exam Released, Know How To Download.

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad submitted that there is some ambiguity on the provision mentioned by the defence counsel on the point that whether the accused under UAPA with multiple offences and undergone half of the sentence under UAPA, is entitled to be released on bail under section 436A CrPC.

He also submitted that the clarification will take two weeks.

Also Read | Government To Make GIFT City Global Hub of New Age Finance and Tech Services, Says PM Narendra Modi.

Advocate Talib Mustafa opposed the submissions made by the SPP for Delhi Police.

He argued that what the SPP is submitting is related to post-conviction cases. Whereas Sharjeel is un undertrial. The submissions don't apply to him.

He also argued that the bail order is reserved for the last two months. I am not going to wait anymore.

Earlier on September 11, 2023, the court reserved its order on the plea of Sharjeel Imam seeking statutory bail on the grounds of the period already undergone in the Sedition case. He has been in custody since January 28, 2020.

It had been argued by his counsel that Sharjeel Imam had already undergone more than three and a half years. This is more than one-half of the maximum sentence in this case.

Sharjeel Imam's counsel advocate Talib Mustafa, had argued that the accused has undergone half of the maximum sentence, therefore he is entitled to statutory bail under section 436 A CrPC.

"He has undergone the maximum sentence even without a trial. Under section 13 UAPA has maximum sentence of seven years. He has undergone three and half years," the counsel argued.

On the other hand, Delhi police said that there there are multiple offences, not only one offence. Section 436 A Crpc talks about only 'an offence'.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad submitted that a concurrent sentence is an exception whereas a consecutive sentence is a rule. In this way, the maximum sentence he can be awarded is 16 years, the punishment to which is restricted to 14 years.

The SPP also argued that while granting bail the seriousness of the offences also to be considered.

Opposing the submission, counsel for Sharjeel argued that there is an infirmity in the submission of the SPP.

SPP has presumed that I would be convicted. It is contradictory to the principle of innocence, the counsel argued.

What the SPP is arguing is post-conviction, I am under trial not a convict, the counsel submitted. "I have undergone more than the maximum sentence without conducting a trial for most of the offences. Only section 13 of UAPA remains against me which has the maximum sentence of seven years," the counsel argued.

Advocate for Sharjeel argued that What is SPP is arguing that If I have been convicted and the court is to pass an order on sentence. There is a presumption of innocence of the accused until proven guilty.

The benefit of section 436 A is for under-trial prisoners and not for convicted. The punishment I have already undergone, can be cumulative once again?, the counsel questioned.

The court asked the gravity is one of the criteria, or the CrPC while granting bail.

It is said that the proceedings related to the offence of Sedition are stayed and the maximum punishment in offences under UAPA is seven years.

He is in custody since January 2020 that's half of the maximum punishment for the offence under UAPA.

It is contended that the applicant has been in custody since 28.01.2020 in this case and has completed a period of 3 years and more than 6 months under incarceration and has undergone incarceration extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for the concerned offence by law.

Advocate Ahmad Ibrahim and Talib Mustafa have moved an application on behalf of Sharjeel Imam seeking his immediate release in the present criminal prosecution in terms of the statutory provisions contained in Section 436A of Cr.P.C.

The counsel submitted that the applicant is in custody since January 28, 2020, in connection with the FIR of January 25, 2020, P.S. Crime Branch, registered for the offences punishable U/s 124A, 153A, 153B and 505(2) IPC and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

It is stated that the applicant was arrested from his hometown of Jehanabad, Bihar, on 28.01.2020 and was produced before the Patiala House Court. Since then, he is in judicial custody after police interrogation.

It is further submitted that the investigation in the matter stands concluded and final report or charge sheet against the applicant has been filed in this case on 25.07.2020 for the offences punishable under sections 124A, 153A, 153B, 505 of IPC and Section 13 of UAPA.

The Court took cognizance of the speeches and offences under section 124A, 153A, 1538 and 505 IPC on 29.07.2020 and Section 13 of the UAPA, on December 19, 2020, the plea stated.

Thereafter, charges were formally framed against the applicant on March 15, 2022, by the Court under sections 124A, 153A, 153B and 505 IPC.

The Court had passed the direction effectively staying the operation of Section 124A IPC and all proceedings emanating therefrom, it added.

The High Court of Delhi, on October 31, 2022, directed that the trial be stayed in respect of material witnesses and only formal witnesses be examined.

It is argued that Section 436A of Cr.PC. is a wholesome beneficial substantive provision substantive one which is for effectuating the right of speedy trial guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

It is also said that after the stay of trial in the present case by the High Court in regard to the main offence of Section 124A IPC (Sedition) in light of the directions passed by the Supreme Court in S.G Vombatkere v. Union of India on May 11, 2022, the only offences remaining against the applicant relate to offence punishable U/s 153A IPC (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) which is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to five years, 153B IPC (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) which is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to five years, 505 IPC (Statements conducing to public mischief) which is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to five years and 13 of UAPA (Punishment for unlawful activities) which is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to seven years.

It is also contended that even as per the maximum punishment extending up to 7 years prescribed under Section 13 UAPA, the applicant has completed one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for the concerned offence by law and hence, deserves grant of statutory bail under Section 436A of criminal procedure code. (ANI)

(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 [India], December 9 (ANI): Delhi's Karkardooma Court on Saturday reserved an order on the bail plea of Shahrukh Pathan, the man who pointed a gun at a policeman during the North East Delhi riots in 2020. Pathan has sought bail on the grounds of a delay in trial.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Amitabh Rawat, after hearing the arguments, reserved the order for December 14.

Also Read | Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Launches Two Schemes as Part of Six Poll 'Guarantees' of Congress.

Advocate Khalid Akhtar, appearing on behalf of Shahrukh Pathan, argued that the accused is seeking bail on the grounds of delay in trial.

It was submitted that the accused has been in custody for the last three years and nine months and only two prosecution witnesses have been examined till now.

Also Read | MPPSC Admit Card 2023 Released at mppsc.mp.gov.in, Know How to Downlaod.

One charge sheet and three supplementary charge sheets have been filed while there are 90 prosecution witnesses and only two of them have been examined completely. For some time, the matter was heard on a daily basis.

Defence counsel further submitted that the court had ordered a day-to-day trial on March 7, 2023; the court had fixed an 8th date for the hearing; but still, the trial has not started.

On the other hand, the Special public prosecutor (SPP) for Delhi Police opposed the bail plea submitting that the accused's conduct in jail is not good, he also met the culprits of the Red Fort bomb blast in jail.

It was also argued that the accused was summoned by the jail authorities multiple times for his conduct, and a mobile phone was also recovered from him. He also assaulted other prisoners in the jail.

The defence counsel rebutted and said that the maximum sentence is 10 years. The case is not delayed because of the accused and if other accused are not being produced, it's not his client's fault and how can he be put in prison for this reason?

Two cases have been registered against Sharukh Pathan at Jafrabad Police station in 2020. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Global outcry ensued as the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution seeking a ceasefire in Gaza, further increasing Washington's diplomatic isolation for shielding Israel in its brutal war on the Palestinian territory.



Thirteen Security Council members voted in favour of a the resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates on Friday, while the United Kingdom abstained.

Russia's Deputy Charge dAffaires, Dmitry Polyanskiy, fiercely criticized the United States and the United Kingdom for their respective actionsvoting against and abstaining from supporting a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli war on Gaza. Polyanskiy labeled their actions as "complicit in a merciless Israeli bloodbath."

He expressed deep concern at the UN Security Council after the failed vote, stating, "The US's obstruction of a ceasefire is an American death sentence against thousands, or maybe dozens of thousands, of Palestinians in Gaza."

"One can speak cynically with nice empty words about democracy, human rights, women, peace, security, rules, order, as much as you like. However, the real value of those we have just witnessed when two members of the security council preferred to remain complicit to the merciless Israeli bloodbath," he said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said it was "a disgrace and another blank cheque given to the occupying state to massacre, destroy and displace."

Hamas also slammed on Saturday the US rejection of the ceasefire bid as "a direct participation of the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing."

The US veto was referred to as "a turning point in history" said Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN.

"Instead of enabling this council to fulfill its mandate by unequivocally demanding an end to two months of massacres, the perpetrators are granted more time to continue their crimes. How can such actions be justified? How can anyone justify the annihilation of an entire population?" questioned Mansour.

"Hundreds, then thousands of lives will be lost, with children being killed, orphaned, and wounded for life, not by mistake, but by design," Mansour lamented, underscoring the disregard for Palestinian lives.

The ministerial delegation assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit expressed profound "dismay" over the US veto.

In a joint statement published by Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers reiterated their call on the US to shoulder its responsibilities and take necessary measures to compel Israel to immediately ceasefire.

What is the message?

China, which co-sponsored the draft, also expressed disappointment over the resolution's failure, s

Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun said, "We express our deep disappointment and regret that the United States veto. Endorsing the ongoing conflict contradicts the professed concern for the lives and safety of individuals in Gaza."

China expresses regret over U.S. veto of Gaza ceasefire resolution

The United States on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally. The resolution, drafted by the pic.twitter.com/IXGBBYjc6F  Zhang Heqing (@zhang_heqing) December 9, 2023

Brazil also expressed its regret saying that the Security Council "risks complicity in allowing further human casualties."

"The price of inaction is unbearably high, and we may cause irreparable damage to the possibility of reaching a two-state solution," the Brazilian delegate to the Security Council said.

France, which refused to endorse all previous resolutions calling for a ceasfire, said "with the Council's failure, the crisis in Gaza is getting worse and is at risk of expanding."

Iran also warned of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East after the US veto.

Saudi Arabia foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan said it does not seem to be a priority for the international community to end the war in Gaza.

"One of the disturbing facts of this conflict is that ending the conflict and the fighting doesn't seem to be the main priority," he said from Washington DC.

"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" Deputy UAE U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council.

"Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?"

Complicity in crime

The veto was swiftly condemned by humanitarian groups, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) saying the Security Council was "complicit in the ongoing slaughter".

We are devastated by the UN Security Councils failure to adopt a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gazablocked by a solitary veto from the United States.



By vetoing this resolution, the US stands alone in casting its vote against humanity.https://t.co/D2oIFaMoje  Doctors w/o Borders (@MSF_USA) December 8, 2023

Human Rights Watch said "by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes."

Amnesty Internationals Secretary General, Agnes Callamard said the US decision to veto the resolution was morally indefensible.

"With this veto, the US government is shamefully turning its back on immense civilian suffering, staggering death toll, and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. And civilians are paying the price with their lives," executive director of Amnesty International Paul O'Brien posted on X.

"We are appalled at the failure of the UN Security Council to authorise a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza," said seven aid agencies in a joint statement.

"Security Council members cannot ignore the horrific conditions in Gaza. Action must be guided by the urgent humanitarian imperative to stop fighting, rather than politics," declared Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam International, Plan International, and Save the Children International in their statement.

The resolution was endoresed by more than 100 countries.

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Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 9 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakhs each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured in the Mau Wall collapse tragedy.

According to an official release, CM Yogi has expressed condolences to the bereaved family and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Also Read | Mumbai: Dadar Station Adopts New Platform Numbering for Streamlined Operations from December 9.

The Chief Minister has instructed the district administration officials to immediately take the injured to the hospital and provide them with proper treatment.

Medical treatment for all injured will be done free of charge, the official release said.

Also Read | IT Raids in Odisha: Cash Haul Set to Be Highest-Ever With Rs 290 Crore Seizure, 40 Counting Machine Deployed (Watch Video).

Six people, including four women and two children, were killed and 22 others were injured when a boundary wall collapsed near Ghosi roadways in Mau district on Friday.

A wall built near a private school located at Madapur Samaspur in the Ghosi Kotwali area collapsed when a group of women were going to celebrate the Haldi ceremony at the house of Brijesh, son of Harihar Prasad Madheshiya, in Kasba Ghosi.

On receiving information about the said incident, the local police and administration immediately reached the spot and provided relief and rescue.

All the injured were admitted to Community Health Centre Ghosi, District Hospital, Fatima Hospital and PGI Azamgarh.

Inspector General of Police, Azamgarh Zone, Azamgarh, District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police Mau inspected the incident site and after reaching all the hospitals and talking to the doctors about proper treatment for the injured, necessary guidelines were given to all concerned.

Peace, law and order are normal and vigilance is being maintained. Legal action is being taken and further investigation is underway, said the police official. (ANI)

(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, December 9: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday carried out raids at 44 locations in Karnataka and Maharashtra in connection to an ISIS terror conspiracy case. Of the total 44 locations being raided by the NIA since this morning, the agency sleuths searched one place in Karnataka, two in Pune, 31 in Thane Rural, nine in Thane city and one in Bhayander, sources said.

The anti-terror agency sleuths raided these locations in close coordination with the police forces of Maharashtra and Karnataka, they said. The case pertains to a criminal conspiracy hatched by accused persons and their associates, who had pledged to the violent extremist ideology of proscribed terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda and ISIS and had formed a terrorist gang. Jammu and Kashmir: Inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani Succumbs to Injuries After Terror Attack, Police Officials Pay Final Respects in Srinagar (Watch Videos).

The terrorist organizations had recruited like-minded youth into their fold besides conducting religious classes to wage violent jihad to establish Islamic rule 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)
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on launching the 'House of Himalayas' brand during the Global Investors Summit in the state on Thursday.

Speaking during the main event of Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit-2023 today, PM Modi said that the 'House of Himalayas' brand strengthens the concept of 'Vocal for Local and Local for Global.' Folk Culture and Folklore is Identity of Devbhoomi, Says Uttarakhand CM Dhami.

Highlighting the 'Vocal for Local and Local for Global' campaign, PM Modi said, "India's special development has happened in the last few years. There was a population of the country that was deprived of everything. Now, due to the government's schemes, more than 13 crore people have come out of poverty in just 5 years. All these have given a boost to the economy. Today the country's consumption-based economy is moving forward rapidly. We have to become 'Vocal for local and local for global."

He further said that the major development projects in the state have opened the doors for every investor.

"Today in Uttarakhand, work on village roads is going on at a very fast pace. That day is not far when the Delhi-Dehradun expressway travel time is about to be two hours. The rail line here is about to be strengthened. All these paths have brought golden opportunities for every investor," he said.

"Areas that have lagged in development are being brought forward, which means Uttarakhand has unmatched potential for every investor to reap maximum benefits. The state is going to emerge as a new brand of empowerment. There are possibilities here like nature, culture, heritage, Ayurveda, Yoga," PM Modi said.

He asserted that the third decade of the 21st century is the decade of Uttarakhand and all of you are also getting a huge opportunity to join this development journey of the state. Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023: PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Two-Day Summit, Aims To Promote Hill State As Investment Destination (Watch Video).

PM Modi also emphasized, "In my 3rd term as PM of the country, India will be listed in the top 3 economies in the world."

Before inaugurating the summit, PM Modi held a roadshow in Dehradun and also inspected an exhibition at the venue of the Global Investors Summit 2023 in Dehradun.

He also stressed that the land of Uttarakhand, full of potential, is going to open many doors of investment for everyone. (ANI)

(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, December 9: The Congress on Saturday distanced itself from its Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu after the recovery of a huge amount of cash from a liquor company linked to him. "The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Income Tax department recovered over Rs 225 crore cash during a series of raids on an Odisha-based distillery group on charges of tax evasion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured the people that the money looted from the public will be returned. IT Raids in Odisha: Cash Haul Set to Be 'Highest-Ever' With Rs 290 Crore Seizure, 40 Counting Machine Deployed (Watch Video).

Taking to X, the Prime Minister said, "The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest speeches' of their leaders ..Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee." The prime minister also tagged a Hindi newspaper where the cash recovered by the IT department was shown stacked.

The seizure of cash from some premises linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu in Income Tax department raids shows how the grand old party has kept the tradition of corruption alive generation after generation, the BJP said on Saturday. A huge pile of cash has been recovered so far in the searches conducted by the Income Tax department against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited and entities linked to it. Premises linked to Sahu were also covered as part of the searches, according to officials. Income Tax Dept Conducts Raids at Boudh Distilleries in Odisha, Jharkhand, Recovers Huge Amount of Cash.

The seizure amount is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, official sources said Saturday. At a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party leader and Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi said, "The cash seized from Sahu is the biggest haul of cash that has been seized from corrupt persons so far. This shows how the Congress has spread corruption generation after generation and the tradition of corruption has been kept alive."

"Rs 300 crore recovered from just one Congress leader and counting is still on. Imagine if all the corrupt leaders of Congress are kept together, how many notes will be recovered," she said. BJP's Jharkhand unit president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi has also demanded the arrest of Congress Rajya Sabha MP.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
The central government, responding to a contempt petition, informed the Lucknow bench of Allahabad Court that it has issued notices to actors Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn in connection with advertisements they do for gutka companies. The Centre's counsel informed the High Court on Friday that the same issue was also being heard by the Supreme Court and as such the instant petition should be dismissed. Akshay Kumar's Old Post About Stepping Back as 'Vimal Elaichi' Promoter Goes Viral After His New Ad With Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn Creates Waves!

After hearing the submission, the bench fixed the hearing for May 9, 2024. A bench of justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan had earlier directed the central government to decide the representation of the petitioner, who had originally contended that action should be taken against the actors and dignitaries who were given high profile awards but were advertising for gutka companies. The representation was made to the government on October 22 but no action was taken in the matter, the petitioner argued. Akshay Kumar Clarifies on Reports of Him 'Returning' as Paan Masala Brand Ambassador: Do Some Real News.

Gutka Ad Case

STORY | Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn issued notice in gutka ad case: Allahabad HC told READ: https://t.co/ujImRn1Fvs pic.twitter.com/73EtsbDfGd  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 9, 2023

Thereafter, hearing the contempt petition, the high court had issued notice to the Cabinet Secretary of the central government. On Friday, Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the High Court that the Centre had issued show cause notices to Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn. The court was also informed that Amitabh Bachchan had sent a legal notice to a gutka company, which was showing his advertisement despite the fact that he had already cancelled his contract with it.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Port Blair, Dec 9 (PTI) Hoteliers, tour operators and local people have decided to stage a three-day sit-in demonstration in Swaraj Dweep, popularly known as Havelock Islands, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands from December 11-13 to protest frequent power cuts..

They said frequent power outages are affecting the tourism industry, besides hampering daily lives.

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Tourism activities, however, will not be halted during the stir.

The agitators will stage the demonstration in Havelock Bazaar, and if the situation does not improve, they may conduct a relay hunger strike from December 14 and even call for a strike in the tourism sector.

Also Read | Amit Shah to Chair 26th Meeting of Eastern Zonal Council in Bihar Tomorrow.

The Hoteliers Association of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has expressed concern over the issue and written a letter to Chief Secretary Keshav Chandra, requesting his intervention in the matter.

Swaraj Dweep panchayat pradhan Ajit Kumar Roy told PTI, "Our island is known for scuba diving and adventure sports, attracting a large number of tourists every year. Considering its popularity and mesmerising scenic beauty, one of the G20 meetings was held here..

"Now, tourists are having a difficult time due to frequent power cuts. We are providing generator backup but due to shortage of fuel, that also cannot be provided all the time," he said.

Roy said the locals, hoteliers, resort owners and tour operators have decided to stage a sit-in demonstration from December 11 to 13.

"If the administration fails to resolve the issue, we will go on a relay hunger strike from December 14," he said.

Resort owner Amitabh Roy said, "Electricity is not just a utility but a silent force that illuminates the path for travellers. It isn't just a basic need but a modern traveller's essential companion.

The majority of the power supply in the archipelago is provided by diesel power stations.

The power generation capacity in Havelock Island is currently 1.3 MW, but the island requires at least 5 MW for uninterrupted power supply, officials said.

Locals alleged there is a severe shortage of manpower in the electricity department, hindering effective maintenance.

Though nobody concerned in local administration was available for comment, sources in the administration said the issue is likely to be resolved in a couple of weeks as electricity department officials are working round-the-clock to ensure unhindered power supply.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Panchkula (Haryana) [India], December 9 (ANI): The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party strongly criticized opposition parties, particularly the INDIA bloc, in light of income tax raids conducted at the residences of its MP Dhiraj Sahu in Jharkhand, Bengal, and Odisha.

State party chief Sunil Jakhar asserted that 'corruption' serves as the common thread uniting leaders of the opposition.

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Speaking to ANI on Saturday, the Punjab BJP Chief said that TMC leader Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha in cash for the query case, is just an "excuse" that the leaders of the opposition parties are joining together against the ruling BJP.

"Yesterday, around Rs 300 crores were recovered from the premises of Congress Rajya Sabha MP and the counting for the same is ongoing. The machines stopped working but still, the counting was going on. This is the link that's joining all the opposition leaders; Mahua Moitra is just an excuse..." Jakhar said.

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He further said that the worries regarding the central agencies in the opposition are turning into reality.

"Their worries regarding ED and IT are turning into reality," he added.

In what is likely India's biggest cash recovery in income tax raids, at least Rs 200 crore in hard cash has been recovered so far during raids in three states since yesterday.

The Odisha-based liquor distillery group is linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. The counting of cash, however, is still going on, as per the IT official.

Dubey also claimed that the recovered money does not belong to one person only and 'suspected' that it could be possessed by the outgoing CM of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, the Jharkhand government or anyone else.

"The recovered money does not belong to one person alone. In the Bharat Jodo Yatra, you might have seen how he (Dhiraj Sahu) participated. Several photos went viral with Rahul Gandhi. This money can belong to Bhupesh Baghel (the former CM of Chhattisgarh) or can belong to the Jharkhand government, but as the PM said yesterday, 'every penny will be counted' and all the corrupt leaders of Congress will go behind bars," he added.

The raids were conducted at Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and entities linked to it in Odisha and Jharkhand.

Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd., which is a group company of Boudh Distilleries covered in the search, is linked to Dhiraj Sahu.

The raids were conducted at Bolangir and Sambalpur in Odisha and Ranchi and Lohardaga in Jharkhand, according to Income Tax officials. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu, Dec 9 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday called for collective efforts from all stakeholders to pass on the knowledge system of Sanskrit to the younger generations.

Sanskrit is our priceless cultural heritage, which is now being looked upon with admiration across the world. It is the greatest treasure of knowledge in science, medicine, botany, literature and many other subjects, Sinha said at the 11th foundation day function of Shri Kailakh Jyotish and Vedic Sansthan Trust here.

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The event was also attended by Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Shri Adhokshajanand Devtirth Ji Maharaj.

Collective efforts are needed from all stakeholders to pass on the knowledge system of Sanskrit, one of the oldest living languages of the world, to the young generation, Sinha said, addressing the attendees of the event.

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The lieutenant governor shared the key initiatives of the Jammu and Kashmir administration for the promotion of Sanskrit and value-based education in the Union Territory.

All the vacant posts for Hindi, Sanskrit and Indian philosophy in the universities of J-K have been filled, he said.

Today, Indian philosophy is being taught in the universities of J-K. This is a testimony to our commitment to promote cultural and linguistic traditions in the UT, he added.

Sinha congratulated the trustees, residents and all the members of Shri Kailakh Jyotish and Vedic Sansthan Trust on the occasion. He commended the organisation for tirelessly working for the promotion of Sanskrit and its commitment to selfless service of the needy.

(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, Dec 9 (PTI) Kundan Green Energy has inked an initial pact to develop 80 MW hydropower at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore in Uttarakhand.

Kundan Green Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Uttarakhand government, the company said in a statement.

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According to the statement, the agreement envisages adding 80 MW through greenfield projects to the state's hydropower generation capacity at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

Kundan Green Energy Director Apurve Goel said, "The state of Uttarakhand has very vast untapped potential in hydropower, which we are working to develop".

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The MoU was signed in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

With the setting up of these greenfield projects in a 4-5 year estimated timeframe, Kundan Green Energy will create employment for 500 people directly and an estimated 2,000 people indirectly.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Kundan Group, Kundan Green Energy has present commissioned capacities of 104.5 MW.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu, Dec 9 (PTI) Awaiting road connectivity since Independence, locals of Chella Dhangri, a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, will soon have their demand fulfilled, officials said.

Poonch Deputy Commissioner Yasin M Choudhary on Saturday inspected the pace of work on the upcoming road connecting Chella Dhangri village to Atoli and towards the tehsil headquarters, an official said.

Also Read | UKPSC JE Admit Card 2023 Out at ukpsc.net.in: Hall Ticket for Uttarakhand Combined State Junior Engineer Service Exam Released, Know How To Download.

The villagers had been waiting for road connectivity to the nearby panchayats and beyond since Independence, the official said.

The residents of Chella Dhangri now hope for speedy completion of the project, he added.

Also Read | APPSC Group 1 Recruitment 2023: Registration To Begin on January 1 at psc.ap.gov.in, Know How To Apply.

Later, the deputy commissioner attended the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' at Kenu Kalani panchayat in Sathra block which witnessed a large turnout of villagers and huge participation of officials from the district administration.

Choudhary said similar programmes are being conducted in every panchayat of the district to ensure that the unreached target beneficiaries are covered by all the schemes meant for them.

The 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' is a nationwide outreach initiative aimed at informing and empowering citizens about the Central government's flagship schemes and programmes.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Amethi (UP), Dec 9 (PTI) Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday took a dig at the Congress over the recovery of "unaccounted" cash from the premises of a party leader during income tax raids, saying this is not the first time a Congress MP is found involved in "corruption".

The seizure of "unaccounted" cash after the income-tax department raided an Odisha-based distillery group and entities linked to it is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, official sources said on Saturday.

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The tax department has deployed about 40 large and small machines to count the currency notes and brought in more department and bank staffers to finish the process, which began on December 6 following raids against Boudh Distillery Private Limited and others, the sources said.

Besides these, more vehicles have also been requisitioned by the department to transport the seized cash to government banks in the state.

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A premises linked to Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, was also searched as part of the operation, the sources said.

"Why is it that where there is a scam, there is a Congress leader," Irani, the local BJP MP, told reporters at Gauriganj here. "This is not the first MP of Congress who is involved in corruption."

"Not only humans but also machine got tired in counting the notes, but money continues to be recovered from the house of a corrupt leader of the Congress. Rs 200 crore worth of corruption has come out of the house of a corrupt Congress MP. Whose ATM is this in the Gandhi family, the answer to this question will be awaited," Irani said.

While addressing the Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra here, Irani targeted the Nehru-Gandhi family without naming them. "The area where India's top politicians have ruled for years and enjoyed power, they did not think about it." She said India will be a developed nation by 2047.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Paris [France], December 9 (ANI): A French court convicted six teenagers for their connection with the 2020 beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty, a shocking incident that sent shockwaves across the country, CNN reported.

The teacher had displayed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, sparking outrage among some Muslim parents who avoid depictions of prophets due to religious beliefs.

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Among the defendants was a teenage girl who had alleged that Paty asked Muslim students to leave the room before showing the caricatures. The court found her guilty of false accusation charges and slanderous comments, establishing that she was not present in the class at the time, according to CNN.

The other adolescents faced charges related to participating in a premeditated criminal conspiracy and aiding in preparing an ambush.

Also Read | Israel-Hamas War: US Vetoes UNSC Resolution Calling for Immediate Humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza.

Paty, aged 47, was fatally attacked outside his school in a Paris suburb by an 18-year-old assailant of Chechen origin, who was subsequently shot dead by the police.

The court found the teenagers guilty of having pointed out Paty to the murderer.

Louis Cailliez, lawyer for Paty's sister Mickaelle, expressed satisfaction with the full conviction but deemed the sentences "too lenient."

Dylan Slama, a lawyer for one of the teenagers, acknowledged the difficulty of finding satisfaction in such tragic circumstances but noted a sense of relief for his client, as reported by CNN.

The most severe sentence was assigned to an adolescent who received a six-month prison term and could potentially serve at home under electronic surveillance.

The girl convicted of false accusations and slanderous comments received an 18-month suspended sentence with two years of probationary measures.

All six teenagers face suspended sentences tied to strict probation measures lasting two to three years.

Another trial, involving adults this time, related to Paty's killing is scheduled for the end of next year, CNN reported. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jakarta, December 9: The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has proposed issuing free entry visas to travellers from 20 countries as an effort to push up tourist visits and bring a multiplier effect on the economy, state news agency (ANTARA). "The ministry proposed 20 countries with the highest (number of) foreign tourists, except for those with existing visa exemptions," Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said in Jakarta on Thursday.

The 20 countries include Australia, China, India, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, among others. Uno said that the provision of free entry visas to the 20 countries is expected to increase foreign tourist visits, which will generate a multiplier effect, boosting domestic consumption, attracting investment, and supporting the development of the digital economy. Visa Free Entry in Malaysia: Southeast Asian Country Joins Thailand and Sri Lanka in Granting Visa-Free Entry for Indians From December 1.

"We are targeting quality tourists, especially those with longer stays and higher spending in the local economy," he pointed out.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Gaza Border, December 9: Decomposed bodies of infants were found in the evacuated ICU of Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza, shedding light on the tragic aftermath of the conflict, CNN reported. The distressing scene was captured on video by Mohamed Baalousha, a Gaza-based reporter, revealing the tiny bodies of babies, still attached to life-saving equipment in their beds. The footage, dated November 27, displayed the remains of at least four infants, some reduced to little more than skeletons.

The circumstances leading to this harrowing discovery are complex. Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi children's hospitals, part of the same complex, became the battleground between Israeli and Hamas forces in early November. Hospital staff, under Israeli direction, hastily evacuated on November 10, leaving behind young children in the ICU who could not be safely moved, as reported by CNN. Israel-Hamas War: IDF Says It Struck Manned Hezbollah Observation Post in Lebanon.

Conflicting accounts emerged about the status of the infants at the time of evacuation. A doctor associated with the hospital reported that two children had died just before the evacuation, while three others, including a two-month-old, were left alive but without adequate care. The exact condition of the infants left behind remains uncertain.

Dr Mustafa al-Kahlout, head of both paediatric hospitals, highlighted the dire situation in a video on November 9, citing damage to the hospital and the cut-off of oxygen to the ICU. Despite pleas for intervention from international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the hospital faced significant challenges, with ambulances unable to reach the facility amid ongoing hostilities.

Bodies of Infants Still Attached to Life-Saving Equipment Found in Gaza

On November 10, the Israeli military informed the staff of al-Nasr Childrens Hospital that they would need to evacuate and provided them a map to do so safely. But there was a problem, five premature babies, who were particularly vulnerable and needed oxygen and medication, pic.twitter.com/hu7aTTB83J  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) December 4, 2023

An audio recording between a hospital official and an officer from COGAT, coordinating Israeli activities in the region, suggested an agreement for evacuation. However, ambulances purportedly never arrived, forcing families and hospital staff to evacuate independently. Reports indicate that Al-Nasr staff faced IDF instructions to leave within a short timeframe, walking out with white flags and vulnerable patients. Israel-Hamas War: US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution Calling for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) vehemently denied responsibility for the infants' deaths, labelling the allegations as false and a distortion of facts. Questions persist about the failure of promised ambulances and awareness of infants left in the ICU. Despite IDF spokesman Doron Spielman dismissing the accounts as a "rumour" during an online Q&A, the circumstances surrounding the infants' fate remain a matter of contention.

The Gaza Ministry of Health, under Hamas control, accused the IDF of ordering the evacuation and falsely promising ICRC assistance. The ICRC clarified that it was not involved in any operations or evacuations due to the security situation.

The tragic footage, described as an "unspeakable tragedy" by the ICRC, has prompted calls for neutral entities to verify the use of hospitals for civilian and humanitarian purposes. Forensic analysis of the video suggested advanced decomposition of the infants in situ, raising questions about the circumstances and urgency of the evacuation, CNN reported.

(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 [India], December 9 (ANI): Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang has called Chandrayaan-3's success "amazing and outstanding." He said that he is looking forward to the next Indian mission like that.

In an interview with ANI, Fuglesang said that he is expecting to see the Gaganyaan flight with Indian astronauts on the Indian rocket and Indian capsule.

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On being asked about the Chandrayaan-3 success, he said, "The kind of landing of Vikram lander and Rover, I thought that was so amazing. That was really outstanding and I think the whole world was kind of applauding for that. And I'm very excited, looking forward to the next Indian mission like that. And while being an astronaut, I guess I'm mainly expecting now to see the Gaganyaan flight with the Indian astronauts on the Indian rocket and Indian capsule."

India took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon's South Pole on August 23, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat. After having landed, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover performed different sets of tasks on the lunar surface for about 14 days.

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Christer Fuglesang noted that there are a lot of possibilities for Sweden and India to work together in the space sector. The Swedish Space Corporation is developing services for the sustainable use of space, which is an area of mutual interest for both countries. He also talked about 'Space Sustainability' and the vital role of space exploration in combating climate challenges.

On India-Sweden space collaboration, he said, "So I think we have a lot of possibilities to work together. Sweden is not a big country, but it really has a very high technological competence in certain areas. And by working to India, we can kind of give that India. We can learn a lot of all the experience and everything you're doing here. So, we should find more ways to work together. And I'm so happy that there will be now an Indian-Swedish Space Centre of Excellence that will help. "

Notably, India and Sweden have been partners in space technology for over 35 years, which was facilitated by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 1986.

Christer Fuglesang participated in the celebration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sweden. Sweden's Ambassador to India, Jan Thesleff, hosted a gala reception at his residence on Friday to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sweden.

Fuglesang is an astronaut and professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, while also working part-time as a space advisor for saab. He has a PhD in experimental particle physics from Stockholm University and has worked for CERN and ESA. During his visit to India, he will be meeting with ISRO and its IN-SPACE team to discuss the space programmes. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Patna, December 9: Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Bihar for the Eastern Regional Council meeting on December 10. The meeting will be held at the CM secretariat where Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and representatives of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand will also be present. This will be the first time that Shah and Nitish Kumar will be meeting in Bihar following the change in the government in the state.

Shah will arrive at Patna airport at 1.40 pm and will straight away drive to the CM secretariat to attend the meeting which will start from 2 pm. The meeting will take place for three hours followed by high tea from 5 pm to 6 pm. 'Always Look for the Better Move': Union Minister Amit Shah Shares Cryptic Message While Playing Chess at Home (See Pic).

Shah will return to the government guest house for a meeting with the BJP leaders for an hour and return to Delhi at 7.20 pm.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 09, 2023 09:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Ethan Crumbley, the 17-year-old responsible for the tragic Michigan school shooting in 2021, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole, as declared by a judge on Friday, the NY Post noted.

Prior to the sentencing, Crumbley admitted to being a "really bad person" during a court session.

"I am a really bad person. I have done terrible things that no one should ever do," the Michigan School shooter told the court.

Crumbley, who unleashed gunfire at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021, taking the lives of four students-Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling-expressed remorse before the court.

Seven others were injured in the shooting. The Michigan School shooter, Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in October 2022 to all 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism.

The judge's ruling, determining life imprisonment as the harshest penalty in Michigan, concluded months of legal proceedings.

READ NEXT: Ethan Crumbley Seen to Plead Guilty to 24 Charges

Ethan Crumbley's Defense and Pleas for Parole

In his defense, the Michigan School shooter's legal team argued that signs of severe mental illness were evident in the years leading up to the shooting, with claims that neither his parents nor school authorities intervened to address the issue, per FOX News.

They asserted that Ethan Crumbley, having engaged in therapy and voluntarily taking medication, demonstrated potential for rehabilitation.

During the proceedings, Crumbley accepted responsibility for his actions and stated that his parents were unaware of his plans.

"We are all here because of me today. Because of what I did," Crumbley said, adding that he "could not stop" himself.

Both of Ethan Crumbley's parents face involuntary manslaughter charges for their alleged irresponsible handling of firearms connected to the shooting.

Despite their appeal being denied, they are scheduled for trial beginning January 23. Crumbley expressed remorse and urged the court to impose any sentence requested, emphasizing his desire for the victims' families to find solace.

Voices of the Michigan School Shooting Victims' Families and Survivors

A total of 29 individuals, including parents of victims and school staff, delivered victim statements during the hearing, according to The Hill.

Parents conveyed the profound and lasting impact of their losses with requests for the Michigan Shool shooter, Ethan Crumbley to receive a life sentence without parole.

Tate Myre's father, Buck Myre, described the family's enduring pain and the permanent void created by the loss of his son.

"Our family has been navigating our way through complete hell," he said.

Michigan School shooting survivors and family members shared emotional testimonies, denouncing the Michigan School shooter's actions as cowardly and devastating.

Tate Myre's brother, Trent Myre, emphasized that Crumbley forfeited any opportunity for leniency when he callously took four lives.

Michigan School shooting survivors also spoke of the ongoing struggle with guilt and the determination to reclaim their lives from the trauma inflicted by the shooting.

"My life has changed its path entirely," survivor Kylie Ossege said, adding that she refuses the cowardly actions of another person to shape her life.

READ MORE: UNLV Shooting: Gunman Was a Professor Looking for a Job

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Ethan Crumbley sentencing: Oxford school shooter speaks in court - From LiveNOW from FOX
A Florida woman, identified as Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, 26, has been charged with attempted arson and interfering with government property after a disturbing incident involving Martin Luther King Jr. birth home in Atlanta.

Henderson was captured on video pouring gasoline onto the historic property before allegedly attempting to set it ablaze. The incident occurred around 5:45 PM on Thursday, according to FOX News.

Henderson, dressed in all-black attire, was seen on camera emptying a large red fuel container onto the porch, windows, and plants of the wooden property on Auburn Avenue.

Two vigilant tourists in Atlanta for work from Utah confronted her when she failed to respond to their inquiries.

The witness footage captures the moment the suspect was restrained by the tourists and later apprehended by two off-duty NYPD officers. Atlanta police arrived promptly, effecting her arrest.

Henderson, reportedly grappling with mental health issues, was initially transported to Grady Detention Center for evaluation before being transferred to Fulton County Jail.

The motive behind her attempt to burn down the historic building remains unclear, and federal charges could be pending.

READ NEXT: FBI Urges Martin Luther King Jr. to Commit Suicide

Eyewitness Account and Intervention

The witness video shows Henderson wielding a red gas canister while standing on the front porch, barefoot, and dousing Martin Luther King Jr. birth home with a flammable liquid, WRDW noted.

Concerned bystanders, including the two Utah tourists, noticed her pouring the liquid on the bushes. Suspicion arose when Henderson did not respond to queries about her actions.

Realizing it was gasoline, the tourists and other onlookers pleaded with her to stop, ultimately intervening physically to prevent a potential disaster.

Zach Kempf, one of the Utah men who intervened, described the situation as briefly alarming, given the uncertainty surrounding Henderson's intentions and potential possession of weapons.

"It was a little scary there for a minute because we didn't know who she was," said Kempf, adding that they did not know if the woman was carrying a weapon at the time of the incident.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home Significance

The birth home, a two-story Queen Anne-style house constructed in 1895, served as the residence for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the initial 12 years of his life, per the Daily Beast.

Acquired by the National Park Service in 2018, the property was transformed into a museum.

The attempted arson prompted a response from The King Center, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the legacy of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

In a statement, the center expressed gratitude for the intervention of samaritans and law enforcement, emphasizing their commitment to honoring Dr. King's monumental legacy.

Judy Forte, superintendent of the MLK Jr. National Historical Park, acknowledged the community's support and praised the quick action that thwarted the arson attempt, as per the HuffPost.

The Martin Luther King Jr. birth home, currently closed for an extensive rehabilitation project, is expected to remain inaccessible until November 2025.

READ MORE: Texas Woman Granted Abortion

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Woman tries to burn down Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home - From FOX 5 Atlanta
Egypts Al-Azhar, the worlds leading Sunni Islamic institution, has welcomed the recently passed law by the Danish Parliament that criminalizes the burning of the Holy Quran  an incident that has recently occurred repeatedly in the West, including Denmark.

In a statement on Saturday, Al-Azhar hailed the step as commendable and appreciated, adding that it would put an end to attempts to infringe upon and attack the sanctities of Muslims.

It also views the law as a step towards reducing the intensity of anti-Muslim hate speech and therefore promotes citizenship, societal peace, and world peace, added the statement.

Al-Azhar expressed its hope that the move would encourage other European countries that have witnessed similar incidents to enact legislation that prohibits the insulting of religions and religious sanctities.

Recently, Denmark and Sweden have been a spot for protests that witnessed burnings of copies of the Quran, the most notable of which took place in July in front of Muslim and Arab diplomatic missions in Denmark.

The incidents escalated tensions with Arab and Muslim countries that called for action against religious hatred.

In protest of the acts, Egypt summoned the Danish ambassador to Egypt the charge daffaires at the Swedish Embassy in Cairo. Other Arab countries also followed suit.

Denmark itself condemned the burnings as "provocative and shameful acts". However, it stated that it did not have the power to ban non-violent demonstrators.

On Thursday, the Danish parliament passed a law that criminalises the "inappropriate treatment of writings with significant importance for a recognized religious community."

The bill received 94 votes in favour versus 77 votes against in the 179-member parliament, also known as the Folketing.

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A century-old territorial dispute deepened by the discovery of oil is boiling over between neighbors Guyana and Venezuela. Steeped in patriotism, the Venezuelan government is seizing on the fight to boost support ahead of a presidential election among a population fed up with a decade-long crisis that has pushed many into poverty.

Venezuelans on Sunday approved a referendum to claim sovereignty over Essequibo, a mineral-rich territory that accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and lies near big offshore oil deposits. The military confrontation appears unlikely for now, but several countries have echoed Guyanas concerns over an annexation by its neighbor to the west.

These are some of the key aspects of the growing dispute:

Why is the border under dispute?



Venezuela says it was the victim of a land theft conspiracy in 1899 when Guyana was a British colony and arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States decided the boundary. The U.S. represented Venezuela in part because the Venezuelan government had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain.

Venezuelan officials contend Americans and Europeans colluded to cheat their country out of the land. They also argue that an agreement among Venezuela, Britain and the colony of British Guiana signed in 1966 to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration.

Guyana maintains the initial accord is legal and binding and asked the United Nations top court in 2018 to rule it as such, but a decision is years away.

What's the oil role?



In 2015, major oil deposits were first discovered off Essequibos shore by an ExxonMobil-led consortium, piquing the interest of Venezuela, whose commitment to pursuing the territorial claim has fluctuated over the years.

The consortium began pumping oil in December 2019, converting largely agrarian Guyana into the worlds fourth-largest offshore oil producer. Operations generate some $1 billion a year for the impoverished country of nearly 800,000 people which saw its economy expand by nearly 60% in the first half of this year.

The current daily production of some 380,000 barrels is expected to hit 800,000 barrels in upcoming years. Guyanas crude exports were heading largely to the Netherlands and Panama last month, with much of the oil from Panama then re-exported to the U.S. West Coast, according to S&P Global.

In September, Guyana opened bids for 14 additional offshore oil blocks available for exploration and development, with six companies and groups submitting bids. Among them were ExxonMobil, which teamed up again with U.S.-owned Hess Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corp, and French-owned Total Energies, which partnered with companies in Qatar and Malaysia.

While Guyanas oil industry has boomed, Venezuelas has plummeted. Venezuela has the worlds largest proven crude reserves, but its oil industry has been crippled by years of mismanagement and economic sanctions imposed on the state-owned oil company following President Nicolas Maduros re-election in 2018, which was widely considered fraudulent.

Venezuelas National Assembly has not released the text of the law it will use to try to enforce the referendum results. But a portion lawmakers discussed Thursday would ban local and foreign companies from operating in Venezuela if they also do business in Guyana.

Why Maduro's interest in Essequibo now?



For Maduro and his ruling party, the Essequibo dispute is an opportunity to drum up internal support and to distract Venezuelans from U.S. pressure to release political prisoners and wrongfully detained Americans as well as to guarantee free and fair conditions in next years presidential election.

Before the Dec. 3 referendum, Venezuelans were bombarded for weeks with Essequibo-themed music, nationally televised history lessons, murals, rallies and social media content.

That appears to have backfired.

The government claims about 10.5 million people  just over half of eligible voters  cast ballots. It says voters approved rejecting by all means the 1899 boundary, turning Essequibo into a state, giving area residents Venezuelan citizenship and rejecting the U.N. courts jurisdiction over the dispute. But Associated Press journalists and witnesses at voting centers said the long lines typical of Venezuelan elections never formed.



What's next?



International security firm Global Guardian expects Venezuela to gradually ramp up tensions and go as far as conducting naval exercises near Guyana, said Zev Faintuch, a senior intelligence analyst at the firm.

We might even see some sort of very small scale, cross-border activity, he said, adding that he expects activities to escalate until elections are held in Venezuela. Maduros interest is to get himself reelected and get some more of his oil onto oil markets.

He said that it would be nearly impossible to invade the entire Essequibo region, which is vast, lacks roads and is sparsely populated.

Guyanan Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday urged oil companies that have concessions near the Essequibo region to ignore Maduro's comments and actions and warned Guyana would take any necessary steps to protect its sovereignty.

Any attempts by his state oil firms or state corporations to explore for petroleum in our area will be viewed as an intrusion by Guyana, Jagdeo said. If (Maduro) believes that belligerence and threatening Guyana will lead to the desired bilateral conversations, he is profoundly incorrect.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency, private meeting on the issue Friday as world leaders and international organizations backed Guyana. Separately, members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom also called a closed-door meeting Friday to talk about the dispute.

The Organization of American States said in a statement that the 1899 boundary is in force and legally binding on all parties under international law. It also accused Maduro's government of taking an aggressive stance and of continuing to take and promote unlawful actions against Guyana.

The organization added that it was profoundly worried about the situation, which has escalated to a point of significant concern for regional security and constitutes a matter that threatens the stability and territorial sovereignty within our hemisphere.

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The City of Allentown has shut down the Hamilton Business Center after discovering alleged safety violations and illegal residential units in the office building in the heart of downtown, officials said Friday.

The city said the order will force some 70 businesses that rent office space there to relocate, at least temporarily. It is expected the building will be closed for several months as the alleged violations are addressed.

Complaints triggered an unannounced inspection on Tuesday at the business center, 1101 W. Hamilton St. The citys fire department, Bureau of Building Standards & Safety and city health bureau conducted the inspection.

They returned on Wednesday with a search warrant because they were denied access to certain floors; the subsequent search found issues that posed immediate risks to the human life of the occupants, according to a statement from the City of Allentown.

The statement said some of the issues include improper storage of hazardous materials, specifically gas-powered equipment; illegal building alterations; and an improperly installed fire-suppression system.

These findings are in direct violation of the citys safety regulations and standards, the statement said. The safety and well-being of our community members is a top priority for the City of Allentown. Therefore, taking swift and decisive action in this matter was imperative.

Also noted among the alleged violations was residential occupancy in an office building, The statement did not specify how many people the city suspects were living in the building.

Efforts to reach the Hamilton Business Center for comment were unsuccessful. A voicemail left at the center on Friday afternoon was not returned.

The Morning Call of Allentown reports that Gordon Roberts bought the Hamilton Business Center building in 2022. He told the publication most of the accusations are false, noted he meets regularly with building staff and considers his tenants his priority.

The citys statement said officials are working with the 70 businesses that operate out of the building to minimize disruption and guide them through this period of operational interruption. They will have seven days to vacate.

The city anticipates this property to be shut down for at least several months due to the severity of the violations and the time anticipated to make those corrections to get into compliance, the statement said.

Affected businesses seeking assistance from the city are asked to email business@allentownpa.gov.

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It was kind of Pennsylvania state Rep. Peter Schweyer to share his reading list with your readers (Pa. senate wasting time with book ban bills | Opinion). I too read almost all the books on his list at his age. However, it was only through the efforts of my family and many rides to the local public library that I was able to read these books.

I was banned from reading these books by my public school district because these books did not fit with the political and cultural narrative and ideology of my public school district teachers, librarians and administration.

As a parent raising children in a local public school district, I saw my children on numerous occasions being prohibited access to books critical of the prevailing school district political and cultural agenda and ideology by teachers, administrators and librarians. The question for Schweyer is who is censoring who, and who is banning books?

Schweyer deceptively misstates the argument and issue as being Pennsylvania Senate Republicans wanting to ban books (they dont). This is because he does not want us to confront the real issue of the many-decades-long cultural and political agenda of the public teacher unions contributing to his campaign and the public school administrators who have forced and are forcing students to accept their points of view.

Instead of viewing Senate Republican efforts to allow parents to opt out of books they disagree with as a waste of time, Schweyer should introduce and support this bill to his committee as a reasonable and good faith effort to ensure that future students will be guaranteed the freedom of thought, expression, action, reading and study previously denied to myself and many thousands of Pennsylvania public school students.

Dennis Engle

Salisbury Township
A man was arrested moments after breaking into the Garda Station in Portlaoise.

Liam Carroll, 37, of Whitehouse Pub B&B care of Dunkerrin Arms, Roscrea, Co Tipperary admitted trespassing at Portlaoise Garda Station on October 10, 2023.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the defendant was observed entering through a secure station door immediately after a garda had exited. He said the man made his way upstairs before being stopped by Gardai.

Breaking into the Garda Station? asked Judge Andrew Cody.

Sgt Kirby confirmed that the man had been witnessed entering the station at around 9am on the morning in question. He said the defendant had 65 previous convictions between 2003 and 2016 but had turned his life around in recent years and he described the incident as a slip.

Ciara Murphy BL said her client was homeless for a long time but was now living in a homeless shelter in Dunkerrin.

She said he was now seeing a drug counsellor and was taking methadone. She asked the judge to take his guilty plea into account.

There was a long gap between the last previous and this one, she told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court.

Judge Andrew Cody convicted the defendant and sentenced him to one month suspended for two years.
Two men jailed over the rape and sexual assault of a woman in the back of a van during the Galway Races have failed to overturn their convictions after arguing that an incorrect time-stamp on phone evidence affected their legal teams' preparation for their cases.

At the Central Criminal Court in November last year, Karl Reilly (40) of Inny View, Aghara, Carrickboy, Co Longford, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with 18 months suspended for the single charge of raping the woman in the back of the van at a car park in the harbour area of the city on August 5, 2017.

Patrick McLoughlin (36) of Torboy, Moydow, Co Longford, was also sentenced to five years imprisonment with 18 months suspended by Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring for the sole charge of sexual assault of the woman also in the back of the van.

Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial heard that the woman met Reilly and McLoughlin on a night out in the city and returned with Reilly to have consensual sex in the van with but was interrupted by his friend, McLoughlin.

McLoughlin was told to leave the van and at that point, the woman said she no longer wanted to continue having sex with Reilly and said "no, no, no". Reilly did not stop and then raped her. The trial heard that McLoughlin left and returned to the van minutes later and sexually assaulted the woman by digitally penetrating her anus.

At the Court of Appeal in October, counsel for both men submitted to the three-judge court that an "erroneous" time-stamp on phone evidence discovered during the trial meant that the defences did not have an opportunity to prepare for the correct timeline, rendering the trial "unsatisfactory".

Michael Bowman SC, for Reilly, also submitted that the trial of the two men should have been separated, as differences in the men's accounts to gardai meant it was possible for the jury to pit one accused against another.

At the Court of Appeal today (Friday, December 8), presiding judge Mr Justice George Birmingham said the court was dismissing the conviction appeals of both men.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the rejected application to sever the trials of the two men was decided by trial judge Ms Justice Ring, who said: Experience has shown the capacity of jurors to deal with the complexity of multiple accused in other trials once properly instructed in the law.

She [Judge Ring] was satisfied that the difference in the two statements was not sufficient to require her to exercise her discretion to order separate trials, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

In statements to gardai, Reilly said that when McLoughlin entered the van he was finishing up or finished having sex but McLoughlin maintained that Reilly was still having sex with the complainant. However, the difference in the two statements it could be argued could amount to no difference at all, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

It does not necessarily follow that there is any difference between these two positions, but certainly any difference there is very minor indeed, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

Mr Justice Birmingham said joint trials routinely take place when the potential difficulties for the defence are of a far greater order of magnitude, adding that the trial judge was fully entitled to refuse the application.

Mr Justice Birmingham further observed that the complainant was also spared the potential ordeal of giving evidence on several occasions in separate trials and then dismissed this ground of appeal.

Regarding the application to discharge the jury over the differing time stamps relating to calls on McLoughlins phone when analysed by gardai, Mr Justice Birmingham said 29 calls on the date were examined.

Mr Justice Birmingham said there were also ten calls analysed from the phone of the complainant.

However, the phone records did not feature in any way as part of the prosecution case, said the judge.

The phone issue was raised at the trial and concerned a one-hour difference in the two phones call records that could have damaged the credibility of the complainants statement to gardai regarding her account of the night's timeline.

Mr Justice Birmingham said that the calls recorded used the 24-hour clock, or Universal Time Co-ordinated (UTC) clock, but that in Ireland the actual time in summer was plus one hour which led the defence to apply for the jury to be discharged.

It had been suggested that the defence had been denied an opportunity to engage an independent phone analyst, but Mr Justice Birmingham said the court of appeal sees this argument as something of a red herring.

We do not believe an expert was ever required to explain what UTC was, or to explain summertime in Ireland, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

There is no reality to the argument. What had happened was readily apparent; there had been a mistake or a misunderstanding, said the judge, who added that the defence had misinterpreted phone data provided by the prosecution.

We are in no doubt the issue which has arisen, arising from the misinterpretation of data provided, while unfortunate, has not caused irrevocable damage to the trial.

On the contrary, we are quite convinced it was a matter capable of being dealt with either by recalling the complainant for further cross-examination or through closing speeches, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

In dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Birmingham said the court was satisfied that the trial judge acted well within her rights in declining to discharge the jury, so we are not prepared to uphold this ground of appeal.

Mr Justice Birmingham then dismissed both appeals in their entirety.

At the appeal hearing, Mr Bowman said that records of phone calls made on the night were presented to the court but were exhibited as being in real time but in fact were one hour fast. The matter was only discovered by the court to be "erroneous" after the defences had completed their cross-examinations.

Mr Bowman said the facts in both cases were the same in that the two men attended the races after travelling in a van from Longford.

Counsel said the timeline on the night given to the trial was that the woman and Reilly went to the van at around 3am on the night after drinking in various pubs and a hotel bar.

The lawyer said the trial heard that after the woman became "uncomfortable to proceed" she said "no" to Reilly, who, Mr Bowman said, denies that she told him to stop.

Mr Bowman said that it was alleged by the woman that when McLoughlin returned, he digitally penetrated her anus.

It was claimed, counsel said, that "this goes on for an unspecified time but ends when she kicks Reilly off her".

Mr Bowman said that after that "the timeline becomes hazy" but that the woman called McLoughlin's phone so he could find it in the van. She then left, meeting a separate man tending to boats at around 5.30am, who took her to a Garda station.

Mr Bowman said that in addition to the time-stamp issue, "the difficulty here is that you have two individuals diametrically opposed in interviews".

Appeal court judge Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said: "So what? This is what happens in joint trials."

"I didn't think they were incompatible, there were modest discrepancies," said Mr Justice McCarthy.

Mr Bowman said that there had been "elements forgotten" in the case as McLoughlin said sex was still taking place when he returned but Reilly had told gardai that he had concluded sex and was asleep.

"A jury could take a view that each of the men is denying the truth of the situation to cover themselves," said Mr Bowman.

Mr Justice Birmingham acknowledged the question of the erroneous timing of matters and the defence's cross-examination preparation but said that he did not think that timing featured excessively in the case.

"I would have clearly deployed that defence regarding the phone," said Mr Bowman.

"Timeline is of assistance in this case," said counsel who noted that "not even the time on the CCTV was accurate".

Hugh Hartnett, for McLoughlin, said "the preparation of cross-examination is of huge importance and this case was blighted by a misunderstanding by the defence and prosecution regarding timelines".

"The cross-examination was based on incorrect phone timelines. The defence team was faced with what appeared to be definitive material and ran the defence based on that," said Mr Hartnett.

The prosecution seemed to have made an "understandable" mistake, however, said Mr Hartnett.

"It's a mistake that could be made by any one of us," said counsel, who said the defence case was "predicated on false information".

Counsel said that trial judge Ms Justice Ring, in her charge to the jury, identified the time difference on the phones for their consideration.

"Is one to start the cross-examination again?" said Mr Hartnett. "One wonders what the jury might think. I submit that the trial was unsatisfactory," he said.

"What would the observer at the back of the courtroom think about it being a fair crack of the whip?" said counsel.

James Dwyer SC, for the State, said that the differences in the accounts by the two men were "minor" ones and that he had told the jury at the trial not to use one account against the other.

Mr Dwyer said there was also no real risk in the trial judge not separating the two cases.

Regarding the phone timeline issue, counsel said "the intervals between them did not change". "There was still a call that took place, and we have the approximate time of going to the van at around 3am. We have a call at 3.19am and then later we have the call to Mr McLoughlin so he could locate his phone," said Mr Dwyer.

"We have about an hour in the back of the van and the intervals between calls - that doesn't change," he said.

"It was patently obvious that this was a misunderstanding that everyone had but the correction marries the timeline together," said counsel.

"The opportunity for the defence was there to further cross-examine the complainant," said Mr Dwyer.
Plans to build a home for a secondary school in Portlaoise are stuck between stages A and B in the Department of Education but in the absence of an approval and timeframe more prefab classrooms are on the way.

The situation facing students and teachers of Colaiste Dhun Masc / Dunamase College was outlined in the Dail by Laois TD Brian Stanley who asked about the timescale of delivery and highlighted what he said was a shortage of spaces in secondary schools across Laois.

"I raise the matter in the context of a chronic shortage of second-level places. It is not just in Portlaoise but in Co Laois in general that there is a significant issue with capacity. The school got approval for a 1,000-pupil new building four years ago. It has 570 very enthusiastic pupils at the moment and excellent staff but the school is very limited," he said.

He told Minister of State Ossian Smyth that pupils must move between Railway Street, the old CBS in Tower Hill and the old primary school in Church Avenue each day to attend classes.

"I know from the local education and training board and from the school authorities that it could take hundreds of more pupils  hundreds of parents are willing to send their children there  but they cannot get into the school," he said.

He said parents will send their children to school anywhere in the county.

"They will send their children to any secondary school, not just in Portlaoise but in the general area, but the problem is they cannot get in. We have a problem with capacity," he said.

In relation to Dunamase College, which has more than 550 pupils, Dep Stanley said there is a site and the money has been approved for a 1,000-capacity building. Dep Stanley claimed it was at Stage 2A which is the design phase. He called for this to be advanced to 2B which would allow planning permission to be sought.

In reply, Minister of State Smyth said Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board appointed a design team in 2021 He said The project is currently at stage 2A of the architectural design process - developed design. The stage 2A report has been received by the Department of Education and has been reviewed by the Department's professional and technical staff.

Minister Smyth said the required stage 2A meeting with departmental officials, the appointed design team and representatives from Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board was scheduled to take place on December 2.

"Following this meeting and approval of the stage 2A report, if appropriate, the project will then progress on to stage 2B. At this stage, the design team will obtain the planning approvals, prepare a set of fully detailed tender documents and an accurate pre-tender cost plan to reflect the full implications of the statutory approvals.

"The Department will then be in a position to review the project from a technical and cost perspective. This analysis is in accordance with the due diligence required under the public spending code to ensure the proposed project is fully assessed from a value for money perspective before the State proceeds to tender and construction.

"As the devolved delivery body, Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board will continue to engage directly with the school community to keep it informed of progress. As the project is currently at an early stage, it is not possible to project an exact date for completion," he said.

In the meantime, he added that more temporary accommodation would be provided.

"To cater for the school's immediate enrolment requirements, the Department is providing six mainstream classrooms under the modular accommodation framework, and the installation of these units will be practically completed in the coming months," he said.

He added that since 2020, the Government has invested in the region of 3.5 billion in schools throughout the country.

Full text from Dail on December 1

Dep Brian Stanley: I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue. I understand the Minister for Education is out of the country and I hope the Minister of State, who is present on behalf of the Government, will take back the message I am giving here this morning regarding the important matter of Colaiste Dhun Masc in Portlaoise, which was opened in 2017 to cater for the growing population of the town and the general area.

The school has had to limit enrolment. The Minister of State is probably aware that Portlaoise is the fastest-growing town in the country outside of Dublin.

I raise the matter in the context of a chronic shortage of second-level places. It is not just in Portlaoise but in County Laois in general that there is a significant issue with capacity. The school got approval for a 1,000-pupil new building four years ago. It has 570 very enthusiastic pupils at the moment and excellent staff but the school is very limited.

It operates on three different campuses: the old vocational school in Railway Street, the old CBS in Tower Hill and the old primary school in Church Avenue. The Minister of State can imagine they are doing their best with that. It is not that pupils attend one of those units in the morning for the entire day; they have to move regularly.

In fact, a pedestrian crossing had to be put in for them, as well as special traffic-calming measures, to allow them to be able to move freely between the different schools. It is logistically difficult but it works with the co-operation of the parents, the school board, staff and pupils. The Minister of State can see the difficulty. The school has 570 pupils. I know from the local education and training board and from the school authorities that it could take hundreds of more pupils  hundreds of parents are willing to send their children there  but they cannot get into the school.

I will give the Minister of State a flavour of what is happening. Enrolment opened in some of the second-level schools in October. The Minister of State is probably aware of this from his constituency. Parents come to us in August and say they have just applied but they cannot get their child into a school in the area.

Of two parents who applied to another second-level school in the area on the first day enrolment opened in early October, one is now in 92nd place and the other is in 94th place on the waiting list. They have little chance of getting in. They will send their children to any secondary school, not just in Portlaoise but in the general area, but the problem is they cannot get in. We have a problem with capacity.

The census figures and all of the indicators such as planning permission, the baptism rate, birth rates and demographics for Portlaoise are moving in the direction of an increased population.

Colaiste Dhun Masc has two streams, Gaeilge agus Bearla. That has worked out very well. It started off very small in the beginning but it has literally mushroomed, and both sides of the school are thriving. We must get to a situation where they are on the one campus. The good news is that a site has been secured in Summerhill. It is more good news that funding has been approved. If it had not, I would be here arguing with the Minister of State about that. Stage 2A has been submitted to the Department. Stage 2B has also gone to the Department. That is what we need as it would give the green light to go to planning permission, which is what is needed at the moment.

Deputy Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this important issue. It gives me an opportunity to outline to the House the current position on the large-scale, major devolved project under delivery at Colaiste Dhun Masc, Portlaoise. I am providing this response on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who, as the Deputy says, is out of the country.

Colaiste Dhun Masc is a co-educational, mainstream, second-level school under the patronage of Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board. It currently has an enrolment of 555 students and is accommodated in three buildings around Railway Street, Portlaoise to cater for the expansion in its enrolments in recent years.

To meet the ongoing and projected upward trend in post-primary school enrolments in the town, Colaiste Dhun Masc, Portlaoise received approval under the large-scale capital programme for the provision of a 1,000-pupil post-primary school with a four classroom SEN base. The project has been devolved for delivery to Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board. The brief also includes a PE hall, 37 general classrooms, special education teaching rooms, numerous specialist rooms to support the delivery of a wide curricular choice, including science, art and crafts, music, textiles, design and communication graphics, technical graphics, home economics, construction, engineering and technology, in addition to a library and the required offices and ancillary spaces and all the things associated with a school of this size.

Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board appointed a design team in 2021. The project is currently at stage 2A of the architectural design process - developed design. The stage 2A report has been received by the Department of Education and has been reviewed by the Department's professional and technical staff. The required stage 2A meeting with departmental officials, the appointed design team and representatives from Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Following this meeting and approval of the stage 2A report, if appropriate, the project will then progress on to stage 2B.

At this stage, the design team will obtain the planning approvals, prepare a set of fully detailed tender documents and an accurate pre-tender cost plan to reflect the full implications of the statutory approvals. The Department will then be in a position to review the project from a technical and cost perspective. This analysis is in accordance with the due diligence required under the public spending code to ensure the proposed project is fully assessed from a value for money perspective before the State proceeds to tender and construction.

As the devolved delivery body, Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board will continue to engage directly with the school community to keep it informed of progress. As the project is currently at an early stage, it is not possible to project an exact date for completion.

To cater for the school's immediate enrolment requirements, the Department is providing six mainstream classrooms under the modular accommodation framework, and the installation of these units will be practically completed in the coming months.

The use of the Department's modular accommodation framework assists in ensuring lead-in periods for procurement of modular accommodation are minimised to the greatest extent possible. To date, this has worked very well in the education sector and has seen delivery of large scale, high-quality modular accommodation to meet the needs of children, especially those with special educational needs.

The school authority has overall responsibility for delivery of the project and the project is currently at construction on site. I assure the Deputy the Department has a strong track record of delivery and the main focus is on ensuring every child has a school place. Since 2020, we have invested in the region of 3.5 billion in our schools throughout the country. This has involved the completion of over 690 school building projects with construction currently under way on approximately 300 other projects. School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of over 1.2 billion. We also have 200 modular accommodation projects that are well advanced.

This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government's very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities.

Deputy Brian Stanley: I thank the Minister of State for that reply. I am aware the meeting is happening tomorrow with the ETB and Department officials. Laois-Offaly Education and Training Board has a great record of delivering capital builds. Since the old VECs were amalgamated into a single body, it has really expanded and is providing huge education and training opportunities in both Laois and Offaly. I am confident of its part in this and welcome that the meeting is happening, which I was aware of before today. I am asking that we move this on. I have outlined how Portlaoise is oversubscribed.

The spillover of this affects Mountrath and Mountmellick. All second level schools in that middle part of Laois are full and that is a good thing. We need this capacity put in. As I said, we have the fastest growing town outside Dublin. The ETB is anxious to do it. The school authorities are too and obviously the school staff are because they are trying to deal with the situation daily. It can be challenging, but I have to give them ten out of ten. They are able to manage to do it and successfully educate 570 and that is good.

I am asking the Minister of State to take the message back to the Minister that we can move to stage 2b. That is where we want to get to. That would allow the board to apply for planning permission to Laois County Council. That meeting is happening. The Minister of State is taking this on behalf of the Government and the Minister. What I want him to take back is that it is really important that she ensures tomorrow there are no false starts. This must go through so that we are into stage 2b and go straight to planning. I am confident the county council will move this quickly. It always prioritises schools and critical infrastructure. I am confident the ETB will do so and I am asking the Minister and the Department to do the same thing.

Deputy Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. He has made his case very clearly and very well. As he said, I am a Deputy as well and I face requests from parents for school places for their child coming up to the next school year. As the Deputy knows from the census results, every county has a growing population, so there are demands all around the country for new schools and 300 school projects are happening at the moment. It is important and I can see this is a critical project in a very fast-growing town. The school is moving from 555 enrolled students to 1,000 with an amazing array of facilities in the new school. It must be difficult for a school to be split between three campuses and I understand that. It is a real sign of progress that a meeting is happening tomorrow between the ETB and the Department to decide whether to move ahead from stage 2a to 2b.

As the Deputy said, it is at stage 2b that the planning application can be made and further progress can be made on this application. I met the Minister, Deputy Foley, last week because I launched the project to put free solar panels on every school in Ireland and I will say it to her when I see her again. I will let her know what the Deputy said about the project in Portlaoise and how critical it is for the parents and students in the town that project goes ahead as soon as possible.
A touching poem and tribute describing the gentle nature of a young Laois man who died suddenly this week, has been read out by his father at his funeral.

John (Jack) Delaney, of Kyledellig, Ballacolla, Portlaoise, died on December 5th, after collapsing while out for a jog, to the deep shock of his family, friends and community.

The son of Tim and Eileen Delaney, he had worked in the well known family business of Design Options in Portlaoise for the past few years.

His Requiem Mass took place at noon on Saturday, December 9 at St Canice's Church in Clough, where it was standing room only as a wide community from near and far united to pray for him and his broken hearted family and friends.

His father wrote a poem that he bravely read out.

"My dear John, we're here today to say goodbye to you. It breaks my heart to be apart, there's nothing we can do. Your gentle smile for that short while will remain with us forever. As tears go by we hope one day we'll all be back together".

He described his son as kind and gentle.

"John like his three other siblings was very special to us. He was unique in his kindness and personality. I think that shone brightly with all the people that called, people that were strangers to us, that he met through business, came from far and near. It's gobsmacking. Without any effort, he touched the hearts of those he met.

"From his early schooldays right up to the years in college, he attracted some beautiful friends, mostly present here today.

"John was so gentle in his way that he couldn't say no, he was always so grateful for little simple things we'd done for him. I used to ask him sometimes to come to the yard or something, he couldn't say no, he would just say 'do I have to?' That was his kindness," Tim Delaney said.

John had joined him in the family business five years ago after a stint working in Canada.

"Things worked out really well, he is now running the show himself, I don't know how I'm going to claw back but I'll have to get strength from him," his dad said.

Tim Delaney graciously thanked all who flocked to the family in their time of tragedy, including the community and emergency crews who fought to resusitate John at the scene and in the hospital.

Gifts symbolising John's life brought to the altar included a designer jumper for his love of fashion, a weight from his home gym for his love of keeping fit, and his laptop symbolising his hard work in the family business.

His uncle Martin sang beautiful hymns for the funeral service.

It was celebrated by PP Fr John Robinson, with the assistance of Fr Noel Maher, Fr Jackie, Fr Joe, Fr Paddy, Fr Hennessy and family friend Fr Allen.

Fr Robinson said John's parents reared him to have "honesty, decency, integrity and kindness and care for others".

"It is not the length of days that makes life honorable, but the way it is lived, that's the quality of life. We give thanks to John and the 28 precious years we had with him," he said.

The dearly loved son of Tim and Eileen, John is the much loved brother of Tim and Tom and sister Sarah. John will be sadly missed by his sisters in law Sara and Kate, nieces Evelyn and Sadie, nephew Tim, uncles, aunts, cousins, relatives, neighbours and large circle of friends.

Interment took place afterwards on Saturday, December 9 in Knockaroo Cemetery.
ICSA president Dermot Kelleher has welcomed the omission of ruminant livestock from the final agreement on the EUs Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

ICSA has worked tirelessly on this issue with our partners in Farm Europe where we argued that including livestock farming within the scope of the regulation would be a huge mistake. Cattle and sheep farms are not the same as big industrial factories. These efforts have now proved successful with the conclusion of negotiations and a final agreement reached which finally recognises the specificities of agriculture and excludes ruminant livestock.



The IED is the main EU Directive instrument for regulating pollution from industrial activities. In 2022 the EU Commission had proposed to extend the IED to include larger-scale cattle farming, as well as a threshold of 150 livestock units for all livestock. This meant that any holding with 150 livestock units or more would have been considered industrial and therefore forced to spend large amounts of money to get licensed.



Mr Kelleher said, The reality is that including livestock farming in the scope of the IED would have added to the intense pressure that farmers are already under to deal with more and more regulation while insufficient returns from the marketplace are driving them to work harder every year.



He said, It is clear that dealing with the sustainability of livestock farming solely through the lens of emissions is a flawed concept as it fails to acknowledge all the positive aspects associated with grass-based livestock farming. Therefore, rather than regulating livestock farming via a simplistic approach, ICSA, together with our partners in Farm Europe, will continue to advocate for pathways to reduce emissions that takes account of the carbon storage capacity of grasslands and all the other parameters specific to livestock farming, including promoting biodiversity and the contribution to the economic development of rural areas.
A Leitrim County Councillor has spoken out after it was announced that thousands of farmers in ACRES could be waiting until March before they receive payments under the scheme, which were due to be paid last month after the Department of Agriculture met with farming organisations this week to clarify the situation

in a statement to the Leitrim Observer, Cllr Padraig Fallon said: "The acres payment delay, particularly impacting farmers in Co-operation Zones, is unacceptable. Farmers have complied with the stipulations set by the department, even under threats of removal from the scheme if deadlines were not met. One advisor tells ,'of our clients Id say 90% easily in north Leitrim and all Leitrim Id say 75%.' Another looking at their client list thinks a little less but similar."

Mr Fallon noted that yesterday Minister Charlie McConalogue confirmed that while applicants to ACRES General would be paid before Christmas, farmers who applied for ACRES Co-operation would have to wait until February 2024 to receive scheme payments.

"This is simply unacceptable," he said.

He added: "Im led to believe Leitrim has exactly two thirds that are Co-operation (67.76%). Only one county has a higher proportion (Kerry 72.8%). Donegal is next at almost 59%.The delay in payment will seriously impact farmers and communities in Leitrim."

The Department announced in October that payments under the ACRES scheme were due in November and just days ago the Department announced that the final BISS and CRISS payments were being finalised.
Cllr Enda McGloin sent "best wishes to the victims of the horrendous crime that took place in Dublin city" and noted that a young girl and an SNA are still in hospital currently.

"We send our best wishes for a full recovery and to the families of the victims who are obviously very traumatised by what happened.

He was speaking at the latest Joint Policing Committee, where all the councillors condemned the Dublin riot that took place on the evening of November 23 involving incidents of vandalism, arson, looting, and assaults on Gardai.

Cllr McGloin said that he also sent his best wishes to the Gardai involved in the riots and said that anyone who observed the "clashes between the rioters and the Gardai and the burning of Garda cars, buses and the Luas and particularly some of the Gardai who had to defend themselves in the most awful of circumstances, from this JPC, we send those officers our very, very best."

He said it was an example of what members of An Garda Siochana "have to deal with" and said the "disrespect and the way those Gardai are treated by some members of the public is outrageous and I hope those individuals are brought to justice and serve time for that disgraceful behaviour.

Cllr Enda Stenson supported the comments and said as father of a "young lad who had to go to that and be in Dublin on that occasion, it's extremely worrying for everybody and uncalled for and shouldn't be tolerated" adding that "those people are hooligans and out of control".

He described the incident during which three children and a school care assistant were injured in a knife attack as "a terrible thing thing to happen" but stated that "what happened afterwards was unjustified and has nothing to do with it."

Cllr Sean McDermott said that an American couple who were heading to Glenfarne got caught up in the riot and "were frightened out of their lives and will probably never come back to Ireland again".

Cllr Padraig Fallon commended the actions of An Garda Siochana and the emergency services and said there was "amazing restraint shown by a Garda surrounded by a number of individuals and backed up the street for metres and metres".

Cathaoirleach Cllr Justin Warnock said a number of young people in his own area have joined An Garda Siochana and "it's worrying for their families".

He said the incident was the result of "something that has been building up for a while" and said that "within seconds it had gone global and was on every news station across the globe and it's bad publicity".

He said that he hoped "all those thugs are rounded up and the law takes care of them."

Cllr Felim Gurn said that more needed to be done to clamp down on such individuals communicating on social media.

"To gather that amount of people so efficiently along the streets; there needs to be more investment with regard to technology to get ahead of this."

Full story in this week's Leitrim Observer...
Small Wind Turbine Market to increase by USD 755.65 million between 2023 to 2028, Aelius Turbina, Aeolos Wind Energy Ltd., ArborWind and more among key companies - Technavio





NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The small wind turbine market size is expected to grow by USD 755.65 million from 2023 to 2028. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 9.06% during the forecast period, according to Technavio. Increasing investments in renewable energy are notably driving the small wind turbine market. However, factors such as the declining cost of solar PV modules may impede market growth. The market is segmented by Type (Horizontal Axis and Vertical Axis), Installation Sites (Onshore and Offshore), and Geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa). We provide a detailed analysis of 20 companies operating in the small wind turbine market including Aelius Turbina, Aeolos Wind Energy Ltd., ArborWind, BP Plc, Chava Wind LLC, City Windmills Ltd., EOCYCLE, GRESA GROUP Co., Hi VAWT Technology Corp., Kingspan Group Plc, Kliux Energies International Inc., Leviathan Energy LLC, Northern Power Systems Srl, Oy Windside Production Ltd., SD Wind Energy Ltd., Shanghai Ghrepower Green Energy Co. Ltd, Superwind GmbH, TUGE Energia, V Air Wind Technologies, Vaata Smart Pvt. Ltd., and Viking Wind. The report offers an up-to-date analysis of the market, and to know the exact growth variance and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Request a Sample Report.

Small Wind Turbine Market 2024-2028: Company Analysis

ArborWind: The company offers small wind turbines such as ArborWind PT180, which is a vertical axis wind turbine that uses proprietary technology. This report provides a full list of key companies, their strategies, and latest developments. Buy Now for detailed company information

Small Wind Turbine Market 2024-2028: Segmentation

Type

The horizontal axis segment will be the largest contributor to market growth during the forecast period. The horizontal axis wind turbines have various advantages such as high generating capacity, variable pitch blade capacity, and improved efficiency. The growth of this segment is attributed to factors such as increasing energy security needs.

segment will be the largest contributor to market growth during the forecast period. The horizontal axis wind turbines have various advantages such as high generating capacity, variable pitch blade capacity, and improved efficiency. The growth of this segment is attributed to factors such as increasing energy security needs. Installation Sites (Onshore and Offshore).

Geography

APAC will contribute 45% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. China and India hold a major share when it comes to the global economy due to the race toward industrialization and urbanization.

will contribute to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. China and hold a major share when it comes to the global economy due to the race toward industrialization and urbanization. Europe , North America , South America , and Middle East and Africa .

Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a FREE PDF Sample Report

Small Wind Turbine Market 2024-2028: Key Highlights

Historic Market Size 2018-2022

CAGR of the market during 2024-2028

Detailed information on factors that will assist small wind turbine market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the small wind turbine market size and its contribution to the parent market

Forecasts on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the small wind turbine market

Analysis of the competitive landscape and detailed information on companies

Comprehensive details of factors that will impede the growth of small wind turbine market companies

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The wind turbine gear oil market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.95% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 126.37 million.

The agricultural wind turbine market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.55% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 1,086.23 million.

Small Wind Turbine Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2023 Historic period 2018-2022 Forecast period 2024-2028 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 9.06% Market growth 2024-2028 USD 755.65 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 8.45 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 45% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and Spain Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Aelius Turbina, Aeolos Wind Energy Ltd., ArborWind, BP Plc, Chava Wind LLC, City Windmills Ltd., EOCYCLE, GRESA GROUP Co., Hi VAWT Technology Corp., Kingspan Group Plc, Kliux Energies International Inc., Leviathan Energy LLC, Northern Power Systems Srl, Oy Windside Production Ltd., SD Wind Energy Ltd., Shanghai Ghrepower Green Energy Co. Ltd, Superwind GmbH, TUGE Energia, V Air Wind Technologies, Vaata Smart Pvt. Ltd., and Viking Wind Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by WRITERS

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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SOURCE Technavio

8 december 2023 at 17:15

News published onand distributed by:
On the 64th day of its war, Israel targeted a declared safe zone in Rafah, killing over 10 people in their homes, while relentlessly bombarding Khan Younis with artillery and airstrikes. Global solidarity protests in support of Palestinians took place in various world capitals, just one day after the US vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire at the UN Security Council.

23:00 Susan, a 20-year-old mother from Gaza, was reunited with her twin baby girls in a hospital in Egypt on Thursday - almost two months after she last saw them.

The two baby girls were among 28 premature babies who were evacuated on 28 November from Al-Shifa Medical Complex to Egypt - after Israel besieged, bombed then ransacked the place, sending it out of service.

On Saturday, in a video posted on the X account of the World Health Organization regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Susan looks with love at her girls as they are being fed and warmly taken care of by Egyptian medical staff.

Susan says: "We are humans like everybody else."

"This war has to end!" she adds.

More than 50,000 Palestinian women in Gaza are pregnant.

Many Palestinian mothers have delivered their babies to this world without anaesthesia - due to the Israeli blockade on medical supplies to the strip - only to be welcomed by the sounds of Israeli bombs.

Susan, 20, gave birth to twin girls in Al-Shifa Hospital in north #Gaza on 13 October. That was the last time she saw them. She fled as the hospital came under attack and was only able to see her babies again just two days ago. This war must end, she sobbed. pic.twitter.com/8PMHExwRCz  WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (@WHOEMRO) December 9, 2023

22:00 Quds News Network released a video depicting a Palestinian boy in the Al-Zeitun district in northern Gaza telling chronicles of five days of humiliation and brutality in Israeli detention after being arrested along with other family members by the Israeli army.

The boy speaking in the video appeared to be marked with the number '145' in red on the back of his hand, indicating the Israeli army was numbering its detainees, in a scene out of the catalogue of the SS numbering of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.

Ahram Online could not independently verify the content of the video.

A chilling testimony from a child who, along with other civilians, was arrested by Israel occupation army after being trapped inside their homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Vg6XLX95hV  Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 9, 2023

On Thursday, chilling videos and images circulated on social media platforms depicting Israeli soldiers stripping naked scores of Palestinian men before hauling them into trucks and taking them to unknown destinations shocked many around the world.

     :              

    /   

    #GazaHolocaust #GazaGenocide

pic.twitter.com/aHqUwesSjg  Wejdene Bouabdallah  (@tounsiahourra) December 7, 2023

21:30 The Iraqi Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the mortar attack on the US embassy in Baghdad on Friday.

At least three rockets targeted the US embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone at dawn on Friday, landing on the outskirts of the district housing government and diplomatic buildings, an Iraqi security official said.

A US military official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that alarms had gone off and that "likely impact sounds" could be heard near the US embassy and Union III base, where troops from the international anti-jihadist coalition are stationed.

This is the first reported attack against the United States embassy in the Iraqi capital since Israel's war on the Gaza Strip began in early October, raising regional tensions and fears of a wider conflict.

Since mid-October, there have been dozens of rocket or drone strikes by pro-Iran groups against American or coalition forces elsewhere in Iraq as well as in Syria.

There are roughly 2,500 US troops in Iraq and about 900 in Syria as part of so-called efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

19:00 The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Saturday that the death toll in Israel's war on the strip had risen to at least 17,700, mostly women and children.

"The crimes and genocide against the people of Gaza are beyond any description... Ending Palestinian existence with American and European support is inhuman," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, adding that 48,780 people had also been wounded in the war.

18:30 Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in a massive protest in central London on Saturday afternoon calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli war on Gaza.

The demonstration was led by Palestinians, Arabs, and Jewish organizations which rejected the Israeli genocidal campaign on the Gaza Strip.

It comes less than a day after the UK abstained in the vote on a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli war on Gaza.

The resolution, which was submitted by the UAE, garnered the support of 13 members of the UNSC but failed to pass after the US used its veto power on the council to give more time to the Israeli military campaign on the strip.

17:00 Pro-Palestinian climate activists held a demonstration in the Blue Zone at the COP28 on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli war on Gaza.

16:30 The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bombing campaign on Gaza is one of the most intense in history, according to Al Jazeera.

The levels of destruction in the strip are comparable to the destruction suffered by German cities in World War II, added Borrell.

He called for measures to end the violence against the Palestinians, warning that this violence makes the two-state solution more difficult.



Firefights battle flames in a building hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 9, 2023. AFP

16:00 The Gaza City Municipality warned that 500,000 Palestinians who remain in the city in northern Gaza are facing a dire situation after all but three water wells operate on a very limited basis as fuel ran out.

Meanwhile, UNICEF repeated its call for an immediate ceasefire to save the children in Gaza from more deaths and injuries.

An immediate, long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to end the killing and injuring of children.



Full statement on Gaza by @AdeleKhodr: https://t.co/Olsmh3oYy1  UNICEF (@UNICEF) December 9, 2023

15:20 Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank on Saturday and another succumbed to his wounds from an Israeli raid the day before, health officials said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 25-year-old man died of his wounds Saturday after being shot during an arrest raid in the Faraa refugee camp on Friday, bringing the death toll there to seven. Among those killed was a local commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Ahram Online could not verify this report independently. Also Saturday, Israeli occupation forces killed a 25-year-old Palestinian near the city of Hebron. The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. The deaths brought to 274 the number of Palestinians killed in the occupied territory since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza two months ago.

15:00 A senior UN official told Reuters news agency that a new process for inspecting aid for Gaza at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing is being tested, but efforts to get permission for trucks to enter through the crossing and ramp up relief are still continuing.

Under the new system, trucks would come to the crossing with Israel, Gaza and Egypt for the first time from Jordan, before entering Gaza from Rafah, about 3km (1.86 miles) away.

But Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the WFP, said the trucks would need to be allowed to enter Gaza directly through Kerem Shalom to alleviate an increasingly desperate situation in the coastal strip.

Until now, limited quantities of aid have been delivered from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which is ill-equipped to process large numbers of trucks. Trucks have been driving more than 40km (24.9 miles) south to Egypts border with Israel before returning to Rafah, leading to bottlenecks and delays.

14:25 Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that America's veto against the ceasefire in Gaza "demonstrates once again that the world is bigger than the five permanent members of the Security Council."

"The United Nations Security Council demand for ceasefire is rejected only by US veto. Is this justice?" he said, highlighting the necessity for reform the Security Council.

Erdogan also denounced the Israeli government, emphasizing that "the unlimited support it receives from Western nations allows it to commit brutal atrocities and massacres that bring shame to humanity."

13:40 Climate activists rallied for a joint 'climate justice' and 'ceasefire now' march, demanding an end to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai.

Here are some of the images coming in via news agency from Dubai.

13:15 The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the US veto of a UN Security Council resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza makes it "complicit in genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes against the Palestinians."

He deemed the US stance as "aggressive and unethical," describing it as a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles. He held the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces, a statement released by the presidency said.

12:00 The Israeli occupation army has called on civilians in the north of the Strip to evacuate to known shelters west of Gaza City. It also said that fighting in the south continues, but that civilians can pass through a road west of Khan Younis.

There is also going to be a four-hour tactical suspension of military activities in certain areas of the southern city of Rafah, it added in a message on X.

Instructions from the Israeli army have generated chaos and fear among civilians who have repeatedly said that no place is safe as Israeli air strikes continue to pound the entire strip, from north to south.

Areas and routes that have been indicated as safe in previous weeks have then been struck multiple times.

11:50 An Israeli strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis killed six people, while five others died in a separate attack in Rafah, the Health ministry said.

It added that, over a 24-hour period, 71 dead and 160 wounded had arrived at Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah city following persistent bombings.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said it fired rockets Saturday towards Reim in southern Israel.

11:40 In a video conference with journalists, international organizations depicted a bleak picture of what Save the Children called the "horrors" unfolding in the Gaza Strip.

"The situation in Gaza is not just a catastrophe, it's apocalyptic... with potentially irreversible consequences on Palestinian people," said Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam.

"Israel safe zones within Gaza are a mirage," she added.

Only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are currently functioning in any capacity, according to UN humanitarian agency OCHA, and little aid is reaching those in need.

"Those who survived the bombardment now face imminent risk of dying of starvation and disease," said Alexandra Saieh of Save the Children.

"Our teams are telling us of maggots being picked from wounds and children undergoing amputations without anesthetic," lining up by the "hundreds" for a "single toilet" or roaming the streets in search of food, she added.

"There are simply no safe spaces in Gaza, and we've seen this since the (Israeli) directive... calling on people to flee northern Gaza to the south," said Shaina Low of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Sandrine Simon of the Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) said: "Gaza's hospitals are becoming morgues. That's unacceptable."

Doctors Without Borders president Isabelle Defourny said: "We are working in Al-Aqsa hospital, receiving an average of 150 to 200 war-wounded patients daily... since the first of December."

Defourny spoke of "indiscriminate carnage."

10:41 The Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza Thomas White described his trip to a UN distribution centre in Rafah on Friday, saying: "All you could hear was air strikes going into the city."

He told the BBC a guesthouse he shared with colleagues was hit last night and described a "desperate situation" for Palestinians.

Thomas White said that a ceasefire was crucial. "Here in Rafah we have hundreds of thousands of people who are living in the open," he explained. "There is a lack of water. Everyone in the street is asking for flour to feed their children."

"Our shelters have well over 7,000 people. There are hundreds using the one toilet for example."

"If the bombs aren't going to kill them, it is the disease, or for those living out on the streets, it'll be the exposure."

10:00 The United States finds itself increasingly diplomatically isolated as it shields its ally, Israel.

Countries worldwide and international aid agencies have vehemently criticized Washington for its use of the veto to block a UN resolution that urged a ceasefire in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territory devastated by more than two months of brutal Israel's war.

Russia slammed the US and UK for respectively voting against and abstaining from the vote to support the resolution, saying they are "complicit to merciless Israeli bloodbath."

Dmitry Polyanskiy, deputy charge daffaires of the Russian Federation, told the UN security council after the vote failed, that the US's obstruction of a ceasefire is an American death sentence against thousands or maybe dozens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

"One can speak cynically with nice empty words about democracy, human rights, women, peace, security, rules, order, as much as you like. However, the real value of those we have just witnessed when two members of the security council preferred to remain complicit to the merciless Israeli bloodbath," he said.

The US veto marks "a turning point in history," stated Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN.

"Instead of enabling this council to fulfill its mandate by unequivocally demanding an end to two months of massacres, the perpetrators are granted more time to continue their crimes. How can such actions be justified? How can anyone justify the annihilation of an entire population?" questioned Mansour.

China's representative at the Security Council also expressed disappointment over the resolution's failure, stating that "endorsing the ongoing conflict contradicts the professed concern for the lives and safety of individuals in Gaza."

China expresses regret over U.S. veto of Gaza ceasefire resolution

The United States on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally. The resolution, drafted by the pic.twitter.com/IXGBBYjc6F  Zhang Heqing (@zhang_heqing) December 9, 2023

"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" Deputy UAE UN Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council.

"Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?"

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan said it does not seem to be a priority for the international community to end the war in Gaza.

Human Rights Watch said: "By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes."

"With this veto, the US government is shamefully turning its back on immense civilian suffering, staggering death toll, and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. And civilians are paying the price with their lives," Executive Director of Amnesty International Paul O'Brien posted on X.

"We are appalled at the failure of the UN Security Council to authorize a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza," said seven aid agencies in a joint statement.

"Security Council members cannot ignore the horrific conditions in Gaza. Action must be guided by the urgent humanitarian imperative to stop fighting, rather than politics," declared Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam International, Plan International, and Save the Children International in their statement.

STATEMENT: We are appalled at the failure of the UN Security Council to authorise a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages held in #Gaza," said @save_children and aid agencies #CeasefireNOWhttps://t.co/fN6d5nV5Lq pic.twitter.com/xowm41m9Gv  Save the Children Global Media (@Save_GlobalNews) December 8, 2023

9:38 Iran warned of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East after the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

"As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) and the continuation of the war... there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region," Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir-Abdollahian told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a phone call, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The Iranian FM praised the UN chief's decision to use Article 99 of the UN Charter as a "brave action to maintain international peace and security."

"The Israeli regime's claim that Hamas has violated the ceasefire is completely false," Amir-Abdollahian told Guterres, adding that US support for Israel "has made it difficult to achieve a lasting ceasefire."

Iran's top diplomat also appealed for the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to enable humanitarian aid to be sent into the Gaza Strip.

9:05 The ministerial delegation assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit expressed profound "dismay" over the US veto, blocking a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.



According to a joint statement published by Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers reiterated their call on the US to shoulder its responsibilities and take necessary measures to compel Israel to immediately ceasefire.

The ministers reaffirmed their united opposition to the continuous aggression by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in Gaza, urging an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire.

They advocated for the removal of obstacles restricting humanitarian aid entry into the territory.

The foreign ministers firmly rejected all forced displacement actions carried out by the occupation, stressing the importance of abiding by international law and preventing such actions at all levels, as detailed in the statement.

9:00 Recent hours have witnessed a significant escalation in Israel's attacks on Khan Younis, marked by relentless artillery shelling and aerial bombardment on the city's eastern and central areas.

Israeli forces continued to advance towards the city centre, near Nasser Hospital, intensifying an already tense situation.

This morning, reports from Al Jazeera confirmed Israel's targeted killing of an entire family of 13 members.

Israels air and ground attacks initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south.

A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where nearly the territorys entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

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Bristol Myers Squibb Presents Primary Efficacy and Safety Analysis of the Phase 3 COMMANDS Trial of Reblozyl for Treatment of Anemia in Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agent-Naive Patients with Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes at ASH 2023





Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) announced updated results from the primary analysis of the Phase 3 COMMANDS trial, comparing Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt) versus epoetin alfa for the treatment of anemia in erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA)-naive patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (Oral Presentation #193) who may require red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. These data are being presented in an oral presentation at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, from December 9-12.

"These data from the COMMANDS trial, including additional patients and longer follow-up from the data shown at ASCO, confirm the positive outcome of the interim analysis with superior efficacy and durability compared to ESAs and exemplify how Reblozyl may impact the treatment of anemia related to MDS," said Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D., lead investigator and Chief of the Section of Myelodysplastic Syndromes at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "Further, beyond the intent-to-treat population, the analysis confirms that Reblozyl demonstrated clinical benefit across subgroups."

Results from COMMANDS are under review with the European Commission and served as the basis of a priority review approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration in August 2023 for Reblozyl as a treatment for anemia in ESA-naive adult patients with very low- to intermediate-risk MDS who may require regular RBC transfusions. Reblozyl is being developed and commercialized through a global collaboration with Merck as of November 2021.

COMMANDS Primary Results

At the time of the primary analysis (March 31, 2023), 363 patients were randomized 1:1 to Reblozyl and epoetin alfa. Results from the primary analysis of the intent to treat (ITT) population showed:

60.4% (n=110) of patients receiving Reblozyl vs. 34.8% (n=63) of patients receiving epoetin alfa achieved the primary endpoint of RBC-TI of at least 12 weeks with concurrent mean hemoglobin (Hb) increase of at least 1.5 g/dL within the first 24 weeks (p<0.0001).

vs. 34.8% (n=63) of patients receiving epoetin alfa achieved the primary endpoint of RBC-TI of at least 12 weeks with concurrent mean hemoglobin (Hb) increase of at least 1.5 g/dL within the first 24 weeks (p<0.0001). Erythroid response (HI-E) increase of at least 8 weeks was achieved by 74.2% (n=135) of Reblozyl patients vs. 53% (n=96) of epoetin alfa patients (p<0.0001).

patients vs. 53% (n=96) of epoetin alfa patients (p<0.0001). RBC transfusion independence (RBC-TI) of at least 12 weeks was achieved by 68.1% (n=124) of Reblozyl patients vs. 48.6% (n=88) of epoetin alfa patients (p<0.0001).

patients vs. 48.6% (n=88) of epoetin alfa patients (p<0.0001). Duration of response was 126.6 weeks (99-NE) for Reblozyl in patients who achieved TI for at least 12 weeks (achieved weeks 1-24) compared to 89.7 weeks (61.9-123.9) for epoetin alfa (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 0.586; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.380-0.904, p=0.0147).

"As patients with lower-risk MDS often receive limited benefit from current standard therapies, including ESAs, these confirmatory data further show how Reblozyl has the potential to create a paradigm shift in the treatment of anemia associated with this disease," said Anne Kerber, senior vice president, Head of Late Clinical Development, Hematology, Oncology, Cell Therapy (HOCT), Bristol Myers Squibb.

Safety results were consistent with previous MDS studies, and progression to acute myeloid leukemia and total deaths were similar between arms of the study. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events in at least 10% of patients were diarrhea, fatigue, COVID-19, hypertension, dyspnea, nausea, peripheral edema, asthenia, dizziness, anemia, back pain and headache. Rates of reported fatigue and asthenia were shown to decrease over time.

In addition to the overall benefit observed in the ITT population, sub-analyses confirmed similar or greater RBC-TI of Reblozyl compared to epoetin alfa regardless of mutational profile, IPSS-M status, ring sideroblast status, transfusion burden and serum erythropoietin (sEPO) level. Duration of RBC-TI favored Reblozyl across all subgroups, including ring sideroblast status.

Finally, three posters will be presented highlighting additional analyses of the COMMANDS study and the mechanism of Reblozyl.

Reblozyl showed favorability over epoetin alfa in various mutational background observed in lower-risk MDS in an analysis of response by mutational burden (Poster Presentation #4591).

showed favorability over epoetin alfa in various mutational background observed in lower-risk MDS in an analysis of response by mutational burden (Poster Presentation #4591). An analysis of clonal-hematopoiesis related mutations (Poster Presentation #3214) showed that 85% of patients in the COMMANDS study had at least one CHIP-related mutation. Further, Reblozyl was associated with the downregulation of inflammatory gene signatures and upregulation of anti-inflammatory pathways.

was associated with the downregulation of inflammatory gene signatures and upregulation of anti-inflammatory pathways. In another analysis (Poster Presentation #1845), Reblozyl was associated with modulation of inflammation and restoration of effective erythropoiesis in bone marrow samples from the COMMANDS study, reinforcing its role in the expansion and maturation of early and late-stage erythroid precursors.

About COMMANDS

COMMANDS (NCT03682536) is a Phase 3, open-label, randomized study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Reblozyl versus epoetin alfa for the treatment of anemia due to very low-, low- or intermediate-risk (IPSS-R) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in patients who are red blood cell (RBC) transfusion dependent and were erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA)-naive.

The primary endpoint evaluated in this study is RBC transfusion independence (RBC-TI) for 12 weeks with a mean hemoglobin (Hb) increase ?1.5 g/dL. Key secondary endpoints include erythroid response (HI-E) of at least 8 weeks during weeks 1-24 of the study, RBC-TI ?12 weeks and RBC-TI for 24 weeks. Eligible patients were ?18 years old with lower-risk MDS who require transfusions. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive subcutaneous Reblozyl (starting dose 1.0 mg/kg, titration up to 1.75 mg/kg) once every 3 weeks or epoetin alfa (starting dose 450 IU/kg, titration up to 1050 IU/kg) weekly for ?24 weeks. The majority of study participants (>90%) were outside of the United States and a non-U.S.-licensed epoetin alfa product was used in the control arm for such patients.

About MDS

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of closely related blood cancers characterized by ineffective production of healthy red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells and platelets, which can lead to anemia and frequent or severe infections. People with MDS who develop anemia often require blood transfusions to increase the number of healthy RBCs in circulation. Frequent transfusions are associated with an increased risk of iron overload, transfusion reactions and infections. Patients who become RBC transfusion-dependent have a significantly shorter overall survival than those who are not dependent on transfusions, partially due to iron overload or to more severe bone marrow disease than in non-transfusion dependent patients.

About Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt)

REBLOZYL (luspatercept-aamt), a first-in-class therapeutic option, promotes late-stage red blood cell maturation in animal models. REBLOZYL is being developed and commercialized through a global collaboration and North American co-promotion with Merck following Merck's acquisition of Acceleron Pharma, Inc. in November 2021. REBLOZYL is indicated in the U.S. for the treatment of:

anemia in adult patients with beta thalassemia who require regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions.

anemia without previous erythropoiesis stimulating agent use (ESA-naive) in adult patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who may require regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions.

anemia failing an erythropoiesis stimulating agent and requiring 2 or more red blood cell (RBC) units over 8 weeks in adult patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndrome with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS) or with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm with ring sideroblasts and thrombocytosis (MDS/MPN-RS-T).

REBLOZYL is not indicated for use as a substitute for RBC transfusions in patients who require immediate correction of anemia. In the U.S., REBLOZYL is not indicated for use in patients with non-transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

U.S. Important Safety Information

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Thrombosis/Thromboembolism

In adult patients with beta thalassemia, thromboembolic events (TEE) were reported in 8/223 (3.6%) of REBLOZYL-treated patients. TEEs included deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, portal vein thrombosis, and ischemic stroke. Patients with known risk factors for thromboembolism (splenectomy or concomitant use of hormone replacement therapy) may be at further increased risk of thromboembolic conditions. Consider thromboprophylaxis in patients at increased risk of TEE. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of thromboembolic events and institute treatment promptly.

Hypertension

Hypertension was reported in 11.4% (63/554) of REBLOZYL-treated patients. Across clinical studies, the incidence of Grade 3 to 4 hypertension ranged from 2% to 9.6%. In patients with beta thalassemia with normal baseline blood pressure, 13 (6.2%) patients developed systolic blood pressure (SBP) ?130 mm Hg and 33 (16.6%) patients developed diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ?80 mm Hg. In ESA-refractory or -intolerant adult patients with MDS with normal baseline blood pressure, 26 (30%) patients developed SBP ?130 mm Hg and 23 (16%) patients developed DBP ?80 mm Hg. In ESA-naive adult patients with MDS with normal baseline blood pressure, 23 (36%) patients developed SBP ?140 mm Hg and 11 (6%) patients developed DBP ?80 mm Hg. Monitor blood pressure prior to each administration. Manage new or exacerbations of preexisting hypertension using anti-hypertensive agents.

Extramedullary Hematopoietic (EMH) Masses

In adult patients with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, EMH masses were observed in 3.2% of REBLOZYL-treated patients, with spinal cord compression symptoms due to EMH masses occurring in 1.9% of patients (BELIEVE and REBLOZYL long-term follow-up study).

In a study of adult patients with non-transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, a higher incidence of EMH masses was observed in 6.3% of REBLOZYL-treated patients vs. 2% of placebo-treated patients in the double-blind phase of the study, with spinal cord compression due to EMH masses occurring in 1 patient with a prior history of EMH. REBLOZYL is not indicated for use in patients with non-transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

Possible risk factors for the development of EMH masses in patients with beta thalassemia include history of EMH masses, splenectomy, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, or low baseline hemoglobin (<8.5 g/dL). Signs and symptoms may vary depending on the anatomical location. Monitor patients with beta thalassemia at initiation and during treatment for symptoms and signs or complications resulting from the EMH masses and treat according to clinical guidelines. Discontinue treatment with REBLOZYL in case of serious complications due to EMH masses. Avoid use of REBLOZYL in patients requiring treatment to control the growth of EMH masses.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity

REBLOZYL may cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. REBLOZYL caused increased post-implantation loss, decreased litter size, and an increased incidence of skeletal variations in pregnant rat and rabbit studies. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment and for at least 3 months after the final dose.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

Beta-Thalassemia

Serious adverse reactions occurred in 3.6% of patients on REBLOZYL. Serious adverse reactions occurring in 1% of patients included cerebrovascular accident and deep vein thrombosis. A fatal adverse reaction occurred in 1 patient treated with REBLOZYL who died due to an unconfirmed case of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Most common adverse reactions (at least 10% for REBLOZYL and 1% more than placebo) were headache (26% vs 24%), bone pain (20% vs 8%), arthralgia (19% vs 12%), fatigue (14% vs 13%), cough (14% vs 11%), abdominal pain (14% vs 12%), diarrhea (12% vs 10%) and dizziness (11% vs 5%).

ESA-naive adult patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Grade ?3 (?2%) adverse reactions included hypertension and dyspnea.

The most common (?10%) all-grade adverse reactions included diarrhea, fatigue, hypertension, peripheral edema, nausea, and dyspnea.

ESA-refractory or -intolerant adult patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Grade ?3 (?2%) adverse reactions included fatigue, hypertension, syncope and musculoskeletal pain. A fatal adverse reaction occurred in 5 (2.1%) patients.

The most common (?10%) adverse reactions included fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, hypersensitivity reactions, hypertension, headache, upper respiratory tract infection, bronchitis, and urinary tract infection.

LACTATION

It is not known whether REBLOZYL is excreted into human milk or absorbed systemically after ingestion by a nursing infant. REBLOZYL was detected in milk of lactating rats. When a drug is present in animal milk, it is likely that the drug will be present in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, and because of the unknown effects of REBLOZYL in infants, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue treatment. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in the breastfed child, breastfeeding is not recommended during treatment and for 3 months after the last dose.

DRUG ABUSE POTENTIAL

Abuse: Abuse of REBLOZYL may be seen in athletes for the effects on erythropoiesis. Misuse of drugs that increase erythropoiesis, such as REBLOZYL, by healthy persons may lead to polycythemia, which may be associated with life-threatening cardiovascular complications.

Please see accompanying U.S. Full Prescribing Information for REBLOZYL.

Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer

Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision ? transforming patients' lives through science. The goal of the company's cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine and, through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep understanding of causal human biology, cutting-edge capabilities and differentiated research platforms uniquely position the company to approach cancer from every angle.

Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patient's life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. As a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that future study results may not be consistent with the results to date, that the product candidate described in this release may not receive regulatory approval for the indications described in this release, that any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitations on their use, and, if approved, whether such product candidate for such indications will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb's business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

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President-elect Bernardo Arevalo gives a press conference in Guatemala City, Friday, Decemger 8, 2023. MOISES CASTILLO / AP

Guatemala's electoral court insisted Friday, December 8, that the results of elections won by anti-graft candidate Bernardo Arevalo were "unchangeable" as the prosecutor's office sought to annul them amid accusations of an "attempted coup."

Political outsider Arevalo, who is slated to assume office on January 14, has faced an onslaught of legal challenges since his surprise second-round election victory in August, including attempts to suspend his political party and stop him from taking power. The 65-year-old's triumph and his pledge to fight graft are widely seen in Guatemala as alarming to the establishment political elite.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Guatemala: Bernardo Arevalo ends 12 years of right-wing domination

On Friday, prosecutor Leonor Morales said investigations have concluded that the election of Arevalo, his vice-president and parliamentarians was "null and void" due to counting "anomalies" in the first round in June. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) responded by saying "the results are validated, formalized and unchangeable." TSE president Blanca Alfaro told reporters the elected officials must assume office in January as planned or else there would be "a breach of the constitutional order."

In Washington, the Organization of American States secretariat in a statement said it "condemns the attempted coup d'etat by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Guatemala." It added: "The attempt to annul this year's general elections constitutes the worst form of democratic breakdown and the consolidation of a political fraud against the will of the people."

The OAS urged outgoing president Alejandro Giammattei, the constitutional and supreme courts and Congress "to defend the institutions and constitutional order of the country by taking action against the perpetrators of this attack in order to preserve democracy in Guatemala."

Opinion Article reserve a nos abonnes Guatemala elections: 'The irregularities are so obvious that the international community routinely expresses profound concern'

'Ongoing coup'

Arevalo has denounced an "ongoing coup" by the country's institutions led by Attorney General Consuelo Porras and senior prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche. Porras, Curruchiche and Judge Fredy Orellana  who had ordered the suspension of Arevalo's Semilla (Seed) party  are all on a US list of "corrupt actors."

Curruchiche was present at Friday's press conference, saying "the information that was recorded in the closing and counting act at all polling stations should be annulled." This "criminal information" would be submitted to the TSE, he said, for a final decision.

The tribunal has already certified Arevalo's election, but last month it suspended his party for a second time over alleged irregularities with its registration. That investigation is led by Curruchiche.

On Friday, Judge Alfaro said the prosecutor's office had no authority to make the TSE annul an election. This could only be done through an order from the Constitutional Court. "Our president is... Bernardo Arevalo and our vice president Karin Herrera," said Alfaro.

The moves against Arevalo and Seed has ignited mass protests by Guatemalans demanding the resignation of the three officials. On Thursday, the president-elect himself led an anti-corruption protest of thousands of people in the capital Guatemala City.

Arevalo pulled off a major upset by advancing to the runoff after a first round marked by apathy among voters. Poverty, violence and corruption push thousands of Guatemalans abroad every year in search of a better life, many to the United States. The United States, European Union, UN and Organization of American States have all expressed concern over the events in Guatemala.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes For migrants, 'the border with the United States starts in Guatemala'

The country of 17.6 million is one of Latin America's poorest, with high rates of violent crime. Rights groups have increasingly expressed concern over what they say are efforts to crack down on prosecutors and journalists in an apparent bid by the government to protect a corrupt system benefiting those in power.
Ethan Crumbly is escorted by sheriff deputies after being sentenced, on Friday, December 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Michigan. CARLOS OSORIO / AP

An American teenager was sentenced to life in prison on Friday, December 8, for shooting dead four students at his Michigan high school, with the case drawing additional attention because his parents are also facing charges. Ethan Crumbley was 15 years old at the time of the November 30, 2021 shooting at Oxford High School, north of Detroit, but was charged as an adult.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwame Rowe sentenced Crumbley, now 17, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Crumbley, who was wearing large black glasses and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, addressed the court before the sentencing, saying he was a "really bad person."

Parents of the victims and survivors of the mass shooting also spoke about the impact of the murders on their lives. "For the past two years our family has been navigating our way through complete hell," said Buck Myre, whose son Tate was among those killed. "We miss Tate," Myre said. "Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed. Ever."

Crumbley pleaded guilty in October of last year to bringing a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun to school and opening fire on fellow students. Four classmates between the ages of 14 and 17 were killed and six other students and a teacher were wounded.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes The transparent backpack aimed at preventing school shootings

Parents facing charges

While school shootings carried out by teens have become a sadly familiar part of American life, it is highly unusual for parents to face charges. Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. They are accused not only of supplying their son with a weapon but of ignoring escalating warnings that he appeared to be on the brink of violence. James Crumbley allegedly bought the handgun for his son and his wife took the boy to a shooting range just days before the attack.

The Crumbleys were summoned to the school on the day of the shooting after a teacher was "alarmed" by a note she found on Ethan's desk. The parents were shown the drawing and advised they needed to get the boy into counseling. They allegedly resisted taking their son home and he returned to class. He later entered a bathroom, emerged with the gun which had been concealed in his backpack and fired more than 30 shots.

The father of an Illinois man accused of killing seven people in July 2022 pleaded guilty in November to "reckless conduct" for helping his son obtain the assault rifle used in the mass shooting.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes In the US, 'extreme political partisanship and divisive rhetoric from elected officials is driving violence'
GREEN Rebel has won the Rising Star Award in association with Enterprise Ireland in the 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards.

This award recognises the innovation and growth achievements of a company which has demonstrated a promising growth trajectory and the potential for inclusion in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 rankings in years to come.

Green Rebel operates a fleet of vessels and aircraft to map vast areas of the ocean. It has a team of scientists, chemists, engineers, ecologists, vessel crew and support staff across multiple locations in Limerick and Cork.

They help to support the development of offshore wind.

Kieran Ivers, CEO of Green Rebel commented: This award recognises the progress that has been made in the offshore wind sector in such a short space of time.

The economic opportunities that lie ahead for Irish companies are significant and Green Rebel is an example of what can be achieved, he continued.

The services we offer didnt exist in Ireland three years ago, and already weve positioned ourselves as an organisation which can export these services to meet international demand, Mr Ivers noted.

The market is there and it is reassuring that the value of offshore wind stays in Ireland, that jobs are created and the talent remains here. Green Rebels success is down to our strong teams in Cork and Limerick.

We have some of Ireland's foremost scientific and engineering talent delivering to a global standard.

In recognising Green Rebel as the winners of this award, James Toomey, partner, and Fast 50 lead, Deloitte commented:

Congratulations to Green Rebel on their success in winning the Rising Star Award in association with Enterprise Ireland.

The Deloitte Fast 50 programme has been supporting and recognising Irelands entrepreneurial tech scene for 24 years, and Green Rebels significant growth over the last three years highlights a continued growth in the tech sector and the outreach of Fast 50, Mr Toomey continued.

The Fast 50 network offers an opportunity for companies to connect and learn from one another and I look forward to this network supporting Green Rebel going forward, Mr Toomey added.
ELECTED members of Limerick City and County Council have passed a motion supporting an Amnesty International document called Israels Apartheid Against Palestinians: A Cruel System of Domination and a Crime Against Humanity.

The motion, brought forward by Social Democrats councillor for Limerick City West, Elisa ODonovan, also called for the support of the Palestinian boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement.

During discussions, Limerick City North and Fianna Fail councillor Kieran OHanlon raised concerns about councillors passing a motion about a document most had not read and asked for the motion to be moved to the next council meeting so enough time is had to read it.

Green Party councillor, Sean Hartigan dismissed this sentiment saying the document was on the agenda and councillors should have done their homework before attending the meeting.

Despite the objection, Ms ODonovan formally proposed her motion.

Im also raising this at the meeting today in the context that last year we saw a horrific situation evolve in the Ukraine and this council held a special meeting to discuss the crisis in the Ukraine. Looking at the minutes of the special meeting, the Mayor at the time outlined that there are protocols in place within the council to support the humanitarian crisis and I would like to praise the council for their response to the Ukrainian crisis at the time of course I believe we are seeing a very similar humanitarian crisis at the moment she said.

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan, with the permission of Cllr ODonovan, made an amendment to the motion to include that the council to write to the Government leaders to ask them to pass the Occupied Territories Bill which was initially proposed by Limerick Fianna Fail TD Niall Collins in 2019, before the previous general election.

Independent councillor for Adare-Rathkeale, Emmett OBrien was the only vocal opponent.

He said he does not break out in a cold sweat every night over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
MET EIREANN has issued a number of weather warnings for Clare as Storm Fergus looks set to batter parts of the country.

The warnings, which were issued this Saturday afternoon, are valid from Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.

A status yellow wind warning will be in effect from 2pm until 9pm while a status orange wind warning will be in effect from 3pm until 8pm.

According to Met Eireann, there will be very strong onshore winds coupled with high waves and high tides. Potential impacts include localised coastal flooding and wave overtopping.

Driving conditions are likely to be difficult with a risk of debris and loose objects being displaced.

Status Orange and Yellow wind warnings for Clare.



Read more: https://t.co/GlTSZ9OMyd pic.twitter.com/M5dvjtzNqc  Clare County Council (@ClareCoCo) December 9, 2023

Clare County Council is advising members of the public to exercise caution when the warnings take effect.

"There will be high seas during Storm Fergus. The public are advised to stay away from coastal areas during this period. The Irish Coast Guard are appealing to people to Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry," said a spokesperson.

"Strong winds can make driving conditions hazardous, especially for the more vulnerable road users, e.g. cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and high sided vehicles. Road users should pay particular attention to the risk posed by fallen trees and flying debris," they added.

According to Met Eireann, Storm Fergus may also bring localised heavy thundery rainfall, which in turn may lead to surface flooding in some locations.

Members of the public are advised to prepare for the arrival of the storm including ensuring their mobile phone is fully charged to enable communication.

Essential travel only is advised for the duration of the storm.

Business owners, caravan parks, homeowners and members of the public are advised that caravans should be securely tied down and any street furniture, including parasols and awnings, should be taken indoors or fully secured.

Clare County Council says it will be monitoring the situation for any changes in the weather forecast.
The landslide victory of the BJP in three states in the recent state assembly elections is considered an indication of the voter mood for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections . The increased confidence of the central government is likely to be reflected in the upcoming Union budget in February 2024, where there can be announcements to perk up the performance and profitability of PSU banks, industry experts say.

As the year 2024 is the election year, the government will present a vote on account in February. The full budget will be presented after the elections.

Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that the citizens should not expect big announcements from the vote on account budget. However, most market experts believe that government policies would continue with extra speed. There is also the possibility of some announcements to maintain the profitability of state-owned banks.

Though, it would be a vote on account, but focus on infrastructure expenditure and maintaining the profitability of state-owned companies and banks may get some booster dose when the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her vote on account in the parliament," said Avinash Gorakshkar, Head of Research at Profitmart Securities.

In addition to agreeing with the popular opinion that the interim budget is unlikely to make big changes, Rakesh Kaul, CEO, of Clix Capital, believes that a little favourable tweak to the existing policies can ensure sustaining the growth of the Indian economy."

An enhanced focus on credit guarantee schemes for MSMEs and PLI schemes and, an increment in government subsidies for small businesses can also be expected, according to Kaul.

Budget 2024: Focus on NPA management

Industry specialists are also eyeing some announcements related to non-performing asset (NPA) management. Once a big nightmare for Indian banks, NPAs have come down significantly in the past few years. However, experts believe that there is a need to do more to clean up stressed assets.

NARCL (National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited) was created to tackle the issues of stressed assets and NPAs. However it has seen only limited success so far and suitable policy decisions may be required to boost its activities," said Jyoti Prakash Gadia, Director at Resurgent India.

To deal with the NPA menace, the finance minister announced the formation of NARCL and India Debt Resolution Company Limited (IDRCL) in the Union Budget 2021.

Similarly a separate institution was set up for infrastructure financing viz NABFID (National Bank for Infrastructure Finance and Development), which has also shown limited results as yet and needs to be suitably pepped up," he added.

NABFID (National Bank for Infrastructure Finance and Development) was set up with the intent to provide long-term finance for infrastructure segments.

Clarity on divestment of PSBs

In previous budgetary announcements, the government had expressed interest in the divestment of two public sector banks. According to media reports, relatively small banks like Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, etc have been under the governments scrutiny for privatisation. However, there has been no official update on the matter.

We expect clarity on the already announced divestment of two PSBs," said Karan Gupta, Director & Head - Financial Institutions, India Ratings & Research, adding that announcement is unlikely in the interim budget set to be presented in February.

Privatisation of a few banks was earlier hinted at through the budgetary announcement, but the same seems to have been put on the back burner. The issue may get some concrete shape in the future budget," notes Gadia.

According to Gupta, budgetary announcements on infrastructure projects with a focus on certain sectors could help in boosting capital expenditure. This, in turn, will boost loan growth.

Underlining the emerging role of fintech firms in credit growth, Gadia said, Fin-techs are emerging as important stakeholders in the financial sector and their role needs to be boosted with suitable incentives for them."

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK More Information

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(Bloomberg) -- When OpenAI s board made the shocking decision to fire Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman on the Friday before Thanksgiving, it offered little detail beyond a statement that the leader of the artificial intelligence startup was not consistently candid" with its directors.

The statement, devoid of any details, was the opening volley in a power struggle that played out almost entirely behind closed doors. Privately, Altman and the board jockeyed over what to say publicly and when, according to people familiar with the situation. At one point, during the discussions about Altmans possible return as CEO, he offered to publicly apologize for misrepresenting some board members views in conversations when he was lobbying for a directors removal, the people said.

But the board was concerned that an apology in relation to one incident could make it sound like it was the sole reason he had been fired, one person said, and the directors believed the issues were deeper.

The board has declined to elaborate on its reasoning, citing an ongoing independent investigation, but more details are surfacing around the decision-making. According to multiple people familiar with the boards thinking who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations, the directors move was the culmination of months spent mulling issues around Altmans strategic maneuvering and a perceived lack of transparency in his communications with directors.

In a statement, an OpenAI spokesperson told Bloomberg News, We look forward to the findings of the boards independent review. Our primary focus remains on developing and releasing useful and safe AI, and supporting the new board as they work to make improvements to our governance structure." On Friday, OpenAIs chairman said that two lawyers from WilmerHale would be leading the review.

Board members had begun talking about whether to remove Altman earlier in the fall, according to one person. The group at the time consisted of Altman, President Greg Brockman and the four people who would ultimately oust him as CEO: OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora Inc. CEO Adam DAngelo, AI academic Helen Toner and entrepreneur Tasha McCauley. The company has an unusual structure  with the unpaid, nonprofit board overseeing an artificial intelligence startup juggernaut. Directors chief goal is to safely shepherd the development of AI.

The board had heard from some senior executives at OpenAI who had issues with Altman, said one person familiar with directors thinking. But employees approached board members warily because they were scared of potential repercussions of Altman finding out they had spoken out against him, the person said. The Washington Post previously reported some details of the employee unrest.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company stressed that in the aftermath of Altmans firing, OpenAIs senior leadership team unanimously asked for Altman to come back as CEO and for the board to resign. The strong support from his team underscores that he is an effective CEO who is open to different points of view, willing to solve complex challenges, and demonstrates care for his team," the statement said.

As the board mulled Altmans leadership, Sutskevers concerns had been building. Before joining OpenAI, the Israeli-Canadian computer scientist worked at Google Brain and was a researcher at Stanford University. In July, he formed a new team at the company to bring super intelligent" future AI systems under control. And in October, Sutskevers responsibilities at the company were reduced, reflecting friction between him and Altman and Brockman. Sutskever later appealed to the board, winning over some members, including Toner, the director of strategy at Georgetowns Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

Also in October, Altman attempted to have Toner removed from her seat. At issue was a research paper she co-authored, containing some criticism of OpenAIs safety practices. After Altman voiced concerns about the paper, Toner sent the rest of the board members an email alerting them to the research and offering to answer questions about it, said one person. One concern Altman expressed, the person said, was that with OpenAI under regulatory scrutiny  due to an ongoing FTC investigation  it would look bad for a board member to say anything critical about the company, as regulators might conclude that there were deeper issues at OpenAI.

Altman also spoke to some board members himself. It was these conversations that proved particularly problematic, according to multiple people, who said that in some discussions with directors, Altman misrepresented the views of the others, and suggested that the other directors agreed with him that Toner should resign in the wake of it. Some details of these conversations were earlier reported the New Yorker and the New York Times.

At one point, one of these people said that Altman told some directors McCauley had said, Helens obviously got to go," a characterization McCauley resisted. The directors thought that these conversations represented a pattern of manipulative behavior by Altman, the people said.

An OpenAI spokesperson said this account significantly differs from Sams recollection of these conversations."

In a memo sent to OpenAI staff the day after Altmans ousting, Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap said Altmans removal was due to a breakdown in communication" between Altman and the board. When asked in a recent interview with Bloomberg how he will ensure communication doesnt break down with board members in the future, Altman said he didnt want to go into exactly what happened," but that good communication is a super important thing."

The board members had also worried that the CEO wasnt always fully transparent  and if they couldnt get a clear picture from Altman, they couldnt effectively supervise him. That, in turn, would make it impossible to do their jobs overseeing the leader of one of the worlds most important technologies.

When the board moved to fire him, they acted quickly and without advanced notice  horrifying OpenAIs investors and many of its employees. In the absence of a clear explanation about why Altman was removed, nearly the entirety of the companys roughly 770-person workforce swiftly signed a letter threatening to quit unless the CEO was brought back. One thing board members in favor of Altmans ousting did not count on, one person said, was how quickly so many OpenAI workers would rally to Altmans side.

One of them was Sutskever, who recanted his decision to help fire Altman. In negotiations over Altmans return, Altman pushed for a statement from the board absolving him of wrongdoing, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The directors were unwilling to give in to this and other demands, Bloomberg reported. But within a few days, Altman was reinstated.

In the aftermath of Altmans ouster and return, both Toner and McCauley have resigned from their positions. The only remaining member of the volunteer board that existed before Nov. 17 is Quoras DAngelo. The outgoing directors pushed to retain him, one person said, in part because they wanted someone at the company who will remember what happened during the companys chaotic leadership battle and the events that lead up to it.

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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday India will become a $5 trillion economy by the end of 2025. Shah said India has grown exponentially on every front over the past one decade due to the farsighted and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

"PM Modi has set the target, that India would be No1 country by 2047 in all the sectors across the world," Amit Shah said while addressing the valedictory session of the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit on Saturday.

He was quoted by PTI as saying, "The world is looking to India with hope today. Between 2014 to 2023, India has risen from its position as the 11th to the fifth (largest) economy in the world."

"Never before did the country make so big a leap during 75 years of Independence," he said, attributing all this to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership.

"PM Modi is leading the movement against climate change, he is trying to impart pace to the slowing GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the world through his Make in India program besides leading the international campaign for a terror-free world," he said.

"On G-20 said the Delhi Declaration was India's big achievement on the diplomatic front which the world will remember for decades to come," Amit Shah said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit on December 8, saying that the country must focus now on Vocal for local and Local for Global.

Speaking at the event, PM Modi was quoted by PTI as saying, India's special development has happened in the last few years. There was a population of the country that was deprived of everything. Now, due to the government's schemes, more than 13 crore people have come out of poverty in just five years."

All these have given a boost to the economy. Today the country's consumption-based economy is moving forward rapidly. We have to become 'Vocal for local and local for global," he added.

During the two-day event, the Uttarakhand government planned to highlight over 15 investor-friendly policies, emphasising good governance measures, a supportive regulatory framework, and sustainable practices during the Summit.

The agenda also included Business-to-Business (B2B) and Government-to-Business (G2B) meetings, aimed at aiding investors in making informed decisions, it added.

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The return of foreign investors is a huge positive that could send Indian stock markets to record levels. You see, the Indian stock market is very reliant on money coming in from domestic investors. But when foreign money also comes in, the double-effect could result in individual stocks shooting up in no time.

One such stock that has hogged the limelight these days is Hazoor Multi Projects.

In merely a month, the companys share price has shot up by a massive 78%.

View Full Image So far this year, the shares are up 254%.

FII buying powers stock to multi-year peak

First a little background.

Hazoor Multi Projects was initially engaged in the construction of residential projects. During the pandemic, however, the company changed its line of business to infrastructure development. It currently works as a sub-contractor in executing various national highway road projects awarded by government authorities.

Coming to its recent rally, Hazoor Multi Projects recently informed the exchanges that it had allotted preferential shares to further accelerate growth in its business.

In this preferential allotment, Mauritius-based foreign institutional investors also picked up stake in the company.

View Full Image FII holding in Hazoor Multi Projects incresed from nil in March to 1.36% in June, and further to 5.29% in September.

Typically, FIIs buying into the counter could be due to various factors. But in the case of Hazoor Multi Projects, it could be because the company is sitting on a heavy order book that provides strong revenue visibility for years to come.

Order book higher than market cap

A good way to analyse a companys growth prospects is to compare its order book with its current market capitalisation.

A large order book relative to a smaller market cap may indicate undervaluation and strong future earnings, while the opposite scenario could signal overvaluation or operational inefficiencies.

In November, Hazoor Multi Projects won orders worth Rs1,130 crore to upgrade and rehabilitate a section of NH-66 in Ratnagiri. The work was given to Hazoor Infra Projects (a wholly owned subsidiary).

The estimated value of the project is Rs1,130 crore divided with annuities at Rs520 crore, interest on annuities at Rs460 crore, and operation and maintenance costs at Rs140 crore.

When it received this order, Hazoor Multi Projects market cap was at Rs200 crore, which has now shot up to Rs390 crore.

What is next

Now, we must not read too much into all this because the company has a limited track record of operations. Before the pandemic, Hazoor Multi Projects was not generating revenue, and has just posted a turnaround.

View Full Image Hazoor Multi Projects' heavy order book provides strong revenue visibility for years to come.

On the plus side, Hazoor Multi Projects started to get orders from government authorities in 2022 and 2023.

It also reduced its debt in FY23. The companys board recently approved a rights issue for up to 45 crore.

The recent order worth Rs1,130 crore was Hazoor's highest ever, which has given a big boost to its earnings prospects.

Going forward, too, the government could award highway-related projects to the company as India is transforming in a big way when it comes to infrastructure.

The government is also looking to boost other sectors such as cement, steel, automobile, and real estate, as it seeks to lift Indias economy to $5 trillion in a couple of years.

FIIs buying into the counter for the past two quarters just makes its case much stronger.

FII holding in Hazoor Multi Projects went up from nil in March to 1.36% in June, and further up to 5.29% in September.

The December shareholding pattern would reflect even higher FII holding owing to the preferential shares that the company recently allotted.

It remains to be seen how the company performs in the coming months. Order execution would be key if it needs to receive more such projects.

Share price performance

Over the past five days, the stock has gained 22%, while over the past month, it has rallied 78%.

In 2023 so far, its shares are up 254%.

If we go back 5 years, shares of the company were trading at Rs1. Today, theyve shot up to Rs258 apiece, translating to gains of over 23,000%.

View Full Image Five years ago, Hazoor Multi Projects shares were trading at Rs1 apiece. The stock has since gained over 23,000%.

At its current price, shares of Hazoor Multi Projects are trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 5.8x, compared to its 3-year average of 12.5x and its 5-year average of 11.7x.

View Full Image Hazoor Multi Projects has performed far better than its peers in the infrastructure space.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such.

This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com
Disgrace to Parliamentary democracy: Mahua Moitra's expulsion from Lok Sabha unites Opposition; check reactions

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Mahua Moitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha has united the Opposition. Check who's said what in her defence.

Premium New Delhi: TMC leader Mahua Moitra addresses the media with Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders after being expelled by the Lok Sabha during the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma) (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma)

In the wake of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha, various political figures have voiced their support for the decision. Lets take a look. Support for Mahua Moitra's expulsion BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari linked her expulsion to her controversial statements about Maa Kali, interpreting it as a divine retribution. He referred to an earlier statement by Moitra about Maa Kaali being a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess". He said it was Maa Kaalis curse". BJP Bihar President Samrat Chaudhary criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for not initiating a probe against Moitra. He highlighted the Narendra Modi government's stance against corruption. Also Read: Mahua Moitra expulsion from Lok Sabha: What legal options does TMC leader have now? Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who moved a motion to expel the firebrand TMC MP, dismissed the idea of the expulsion being a gender issue. It was rather about ethical questions surrounding Moitra's acceptance of gifts, he said. Criticism of the expulsion Several opposition leaders and party members have strongly criticised the expulsion. TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya viewed the expulsion as an attack on women by the BJP and alleged a preconceived plot against Moitra. Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan called it a "black day" for Parliament. The Former Maharashtra chief minister suggested that Moitra was targeted for her outspokenness against businessman Gautam Adani. Also Read: 'Severe punishment, expulsion': Ethics panel recommendation for Mahua Moitra in cash-for-query case West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of vendetta politics. "It is a disgrace to Parliamentary democracyUnable to defeat us in elections, the BJP has resorted to vendetta politics," she said. Opposition voices unite Several opposition members questioned the legitimacy of the Lok Sabha Ethics Panel's recommendation. West Bengal minister and TMC leader Dr. Shashi Panja asserted that Moitra's expulsion wouldn't silence her and confirmed her intention to contest in the 2024 elections. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor saw the expulsion as strengthening Moitra's position, predicting her re-election with a larger majority. CPI(M) MP John Brittas criticised the flimsy" charges against Moitra. "She has been a vocal critic of the Modi government. The charges that have been hurled at her are so flimsy that they do not stand a scrutiny," he said. Also Read: Did Lok Sabha have power to expel Mahua Moitra, how is it different from Rahul Gandhi's disqualification? BSP MP Danish Ali condemned the government's use of its majority to suppress Opposition voices. " If you have a brute majority, that does not mean you will throttle the opposition and expel MPs from the Opposition parties," he said. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram raised procedural concerns, pointing out inconsistencies in the Ethics Panels report regarding the inquiry into Moitra's conduct.

"After finding her conduct criminal, you are asking for an inquiry. How can you find someone's conduct criminal and then ask for an inquiry?" he said.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed dismay over the treatment of Moitra in Parliament, framing it as a blow to democratic values.

"It's a sad day for the world's largest democracy when a brilliant feisty Parliamentarian like Mahua Moitra is harassed to no ends, slandered and eventually expelled from Parliament in an utter disregard for the due process. This is the price she paid for speaking truth to power," Mufti wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

(With agency inputs)

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The Indian Medical Association (IMA) suspended a Kerala doctor whose 26-year-old girlfriend died allegedly by suicide after he canceled their wedding over dowry demands, according to a report published by NDTV.

In an official statement, the IMA confirmed its decision to suspend EA Ruwais who is alleged to be involved in the suicide of a woman doctor 'Shahana' pursuing her 2nd-year postgraduate training in surgery.

Dr Joseph Benaven, President of Indian Medical Association Kerala State Branch stated that police arrested the accused under the dowry prohibition act and remanded him to judicial custody, NDTV reported.

Shahana's relatives have alleged that the accused, identified as Ruvaiz and his family had asked for a huge amount of dowry including gold, land, and a BMW car to marry Shahana. Reportedly, she was in a relationship with Ruvaiz and the two had decided to marry.

NCW requests detailed action report in five days

The National Commission for Women has expressed deep concern over the death of a young doctor in Thiruvananthapuram and requested detailed action taken report within five days from the Kerala police. It has also urged the police to invoke relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the FIR if allegations are verified.

"NCW is deeply concerned by the tragic incident in Thiruvananthapuram where a young doctor died by suicide allegedly due to dowry demands. The reported incident falls under sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act and IPC. We urge invoking these provisions in the FIR if allegations are verified. The arrest of the accused and his relatives is essential. Society's responsibility in safeguarding women's rights is crucial. A detailed action taken report is requested within 5 days from the Police," the commission posted on X.

Kerala Minister Veena George orders probe against groom

Kerala Health Minister Veena George ordered an investigation on Wednesday, into allegations of dowry harassment linked to the alleged death of a 26-year-old female doctor. In a statement, George said the probe was ordered after allegations of dowry-related issues causing the suicide cropped up.

The Director of the Women and Child Development Department has been instructed to furnish a detailed report on the probe into the accusations of dowry harassment involving a male doctor at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College related to this incident.

The state Minority Commission also intervened in the issue and initiated a case on its own based on media reports in this regard. Its Chairperson A A Rasheed directed the district collector, city police commissioner, and director of medical education to appear before the Commission during its next sitting here on December 14 and submit a report on the incident, PTI reported.

What happened with Shahana?

The deceased, identified as Shahna, was a PG student in the surgery department of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. Police officials said that Shahna was found dead at her rented apartment near the medical college on Tuesday morning.

After her death, suspected to be alleged as a suicide, the family of the deceased asserts that the doctor accused in the case, whom Shahna was contemplating marrying, insisted on receiving gold, land, and a BMW car as dowry.

Allegedly, the male doctor withdrew the marriage proposal when Shahna's family couldn't meet his dowry requirements owing to financial limitations.

On Wednesday, the chairperson of the Kerala Women's Commission, Sathidevi, and fellow commission members visited Shahna's family. Sathidevi called for a thorough investigation into the issue and stated that the Commission intends to request a report from the police regarding the steps taken in the case.

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The National Investigation Agency ( NIA ) is conducting raids over 40 locations in Karnataka and Maharashtra in an ISIS terror conspiracy case, ANI reported.

Of the total 44 locations being raided by the NIA since this morning, the agency sleuths have searched 1 place in Karnataka, 2 in Pune, 31 in Thane Rural, 9 in Thane city and 1 in Bhayandar.

The NIA arrested 13 individuals in Pune, Maharashtra, as part of the ISIS terror conspiracy investigation. These arrests followed the NIA's searches at 44 sites across Maharashtra and Karnataka. The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Maharashtra and Karnataka police.

The investigation relates to a plot by the accused and their associates, who were influenced by the violent extremist ideology of terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, ANI reported. They had formed a group with the intent of recruiting youth and promoting violent jihad to establish Islamic rule in India.

ISIS Threat for US

The White House earlier stated that US military forces were prepared to respond to any threats to the United States that may emerge from Afghanistan. It said the US State Armed Forces were working by, with and through local partners to defeat ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria.

"As part of a comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS, the United States Armed Forces are working by, with, and through local partners to conduct operations against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria and al-Qa'ida in Syria to limit the potential for resurgence of these groups and to mitigate threats to the United States homeland," the statement added.

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Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Friday refused to sign a reply to a Parliament question on whether India plans to declare Hamas a terror group. She said the designation of an organization as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and declaring any organization as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she said that an inquiry would reveal the culprit. You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer @DrSJaishankar @PMOIndia," she wrote. The Ministry of External Affairs requested an investigation after a user shared a document on the microblogging site about a reply to the Parliament question posted on the website of MEA that mentioned her name.

ANI has quoted sources saying that a technical correction is being done on the name of the minister. There was a procedural issue," sources said.

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We have noted that Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 980 answered on 8 December 2023 needs a technical correction in terms of reflecting V. Muraleedharan as the Minister of State replying to the Parliament Question. This is being suitably undertaken."

India on Friday said it remains concerned over the deteriorating security situation arising out of the Hamas-Israel conflict and called for "restraint and de-escalation" while emphasizing a peaceful resolution of the conflict through "dialogue and diplomacy".

Following this, Uddhav Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi sought clarification from the Minister of External Affairs on the matter.

In the tweet below Meenakshi Lekhi ji is denying and disassociating to a response attributed to her, says has no idea who drafted this as a response to a PQ since she didnt sign it," she wrote on X.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA-elect Raja Singh expressed his disapproval of Akbaruddin Owaisi's appointment as the Telangana assembly's pro-tem speaker, saying he and other BJP MLAs would not take part in the oath-taking ceremony with the AIMIM lawmaker presiding over the proceedings. The event is scheduled to take place at 11 am on Saturday.

In a video message, Raja Singh called it unfortunate" and said the Congress' real face has come to the fore after it formed the government in Telangana. After Congress formed the government and Revanth Reddy became the CM, Congress' real face has come to the fore. Every time Revanth Reddy used to make a statement that BJP AIMIM and BRS are one but the people of Telangana have known who is with whom...We will not take oath in front of such a person...We will boycott," he said.

Many senior MLAs could have been made pro tem speaker but Reddy was seeking to appease minorities and AIMIM leaders, he alleged.

BJP in a release said the newly-elected MLAs (8) would meet state party president G Kishan Reddy on Saturday morning and later offer prayers at the Goddess Bhagya Lakshmi temple at Charminar in the city.

State Congress spokesperson Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy countered Raja Singh saying that pro tem Speaker is a matter related to the Constitution and that some senior MLA has to be appointed to the post. It does not show that we are with the AIMIM by making him pro-tem Speaker.

"We don't have to polarise a community to survive in politics," the Congress spokesperson added.

AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi took oath taken oath as Protem Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly in Raj Bhawan, Hyderabad on Saturday morning.

The oath was administered by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also present on the occasion.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Azerbaijan looks set to host next year's COP29 climate change summit, after winning backing from other Eastern European nations on Saturday.

Nations from the Eastern European region, which is due to host next year's summit, backed Baku's bid during the COP28 summit in Dubai, unblocking a geopolitical deadlock over the next global gathering to address climate change.

Two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters countries in the regional group formally backed Azerbaijan's bid in a meeting on Saturday afternoon.

ALSO READ: COP28: OPEC's 'leaked letter' leaves France, Spain 'stunned' and 'disgusted' | Here's why

"We're very grateful to all countries in particular to the Eastern European group and the [COP28 summit] host United Arab Emirates for their support," the country's ecology minister Mukhtar Babayev told the COP28 summit.

The decision on a host had been held up after Russia said it would veto any European Union country's bid to be the host. The EU has imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Azerbaijan is not an EU member.

ALSO READ: COP28: What is global stocktake, why is it important and what's India's position

Baku's bid still needs formal approval from the nearly 200 countries present at the COP28 talks, but delegates said on Saturday they expect that vote to be a formality.

UN climate summit hosts are usually announced years in advance, and the deadlock over the COP29 host has left Baku with scarce time to prepare for the massive gathering.

Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada told Reuters on Friday Baku was well equipped to hold it, with enough venues and amenities.

ALSO READ: COP 28 Dubai summit begins today: A deep dive into India's role and challenges at climate summit

This year's UN climate summit in the UAE was the biggest yet, with more than 110,000 delegates registered.

Holding the presidency of a UN climate summit gives a country huge influence on its agenda and outcomes.

Baku's relations with some Western countries have deteriorated since September, when Baku retook full control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting an almost total exodus of the territory's ethnic Armenian population.

Azerbaijan is an oil and gas producer and a member of OPEC .

The United Arab Emirates has faced criticism for appointing Sultan al-Jaber, the head of its state-run oil company ADNOC, as president of this year's COP28 summit.

Some delegates raised concerns about holding the world's climate negotiations in another oil producing nation.

Hajizada told Reuters he understood those concerns, and noted Azerbaijan's plans to diversify its energy sources to include more wind and solar power.

Azerbaijan and Armenia announced a deal on Thursday allowing Baku to bid for COP29 without the threat of an Armenian veto.

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France said it is "stunned" and 'angry' after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) push on fossil fuels at COP28 in Dubai. Meanwhile, a Spanish minister slammed it as "disgusting". So, why is OPEC facing the ire of these countries?

The OPEC drew flak after it allegedly urged its group members to block any phase-out or phase-down in the final deal, Reuters and the Associated Press reported.

According to reports, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais sent a letter to the group's 13 members and 10 Russian-led allies on Wednesday. In the letter, Ghais urged the group to "proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions", news agency AFP reported.

"I avail of this opportunity to respectfully urge all esteemed OPEC Member Countries and Non-OPEC Countries participating in the CoC and their distinguished delegations in the COP 28 negotiations to proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions," the letter seen by Reuters read.

It added, "While OPEC Member Countries and Non-OPEC Countries participating in the Charter of Cooperation (CoC) are taking climate change seriously and have a proven record on climate actions, it would be unacceptable that politically motivated campaigns put our peoples prosperity and future at risk."

This letter was sent after negotiators at COP28 talks in Dubai released the COP28 draft deal - Global Stocktake. The new draft deal includes a range of options from agreeing to a "phase-out of fossil fuels in line with best available science", to phasing out "unabated fossil fuels", to including no language on them at all.

There has been no comment from the OPEC so far. However, Al Ghais said OPEC wanted to keep the focus of the talks on reducing emissions, as opposed to picking energy sources.

"The world requires major investments in all energies, including hydrocarbons," he was quoted by Reuters as saying. "Energy transitions must be just, fair and inclusive," he added.

Meanwhile, French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Saturday that "OPEC's position endangers the most vulnerable countries and the poorest populations who are the first victims of this situation".

At least 80 countries are demanding a COP28 deal that calls for an eventual end to fossil fuel use. But they face a struggle to persuade countries that rely on oil and gas for revenue.

Fossil fuels are the top source of planet-warming emissions. Winding down the production and consumption of fossil fuels is crucial to achieving the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

OPEC under fire: Who's saying what?

The letter drew anger from activists and the High Ambition Coalition, a broad group of nations ranging from Barbados to France, Kenya and Pacific island states.

"Nothing puts the prosperity and future of all people on Earth, including all of the citizens of OPEC countries, at greater risk than fossil fuels," said Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, which chairs the coalition.

Leaders of a few countries also slammed the move.

On Saturday, Spanish ecology transition minister Teresa Ribera called OPEC's bid to block any phase-out of fossil fuels at UN climate negotiations in Dubai "disgusting".

"I think that it is quite, quite a disgusting thing that OPEC countries are pushing against getting the bar where it has to be," Spanish ecology transition minister Teresa Ribera, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, was quoted by AFP as saying.

Meanwhile, French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher was quoted as saying, "I am stunned by these statements from OPEC. And I am angry."

The French minister said she was "counting on the presidency of the COP not to be influenced by these declarations, and to reach an agreement which affirms a clear objective of phasing out fossil fuels".

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How you came to UK? People react to Rishi Sunaks new immigration policy

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Sounak Mukhopadhyay ( with inputs from ANI )

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the new laws are the toughest anti-illegal migration law ever and now foreign courts can't stop the Rwanda plan from taking place. Here's how people have reacted.

Premium Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room, in London, Britain December 7, 2023. James Manning/Pool via REUTERS (James Manning/Pool via REUTERS)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled what he describes as the nation's strictest anti-illegal immigration laws. These measures aim to significantly alter the UK's approach to immigration and asylum seekers. Stop the boats" represents Sunak's stance against illegal migration and his commitment to securing UK borders. Sunak, through a social media post, emphasised the necessity of these stringent measures. He underscored the importance of parliament having control over immigration, rather than foreign courts or criminal organisations. The UK prime minister has highlighted that, while immigration is beneficial, it is imperative to end the abuse of the system and achieve sustainable levels. This week weve taken the tough decisions to secure our borders. Immigration is too high. Illegal migration must end," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Also Read: Sacked UK minister Suella Braverman backs PM Rishi Sunak for next election Reactions So how you came to UK?" asked another user. How many Illegal Migrants are there? Where are they? If they are illegal, what court were they convicted in? When are you going to deport them? If they are illegal migrants and have been refused Settled Status so are not Refugees, why have they not been sent home? As Asylum Seekers are NEVER Illegal, where are these illegal migrants coming from?" asked one user. You and your party keep mentioning them, Do your duty, tell the #British Public and the Authorities where they are," he added. The day Rishi Sunak became a fully fiddled fascist. Its why he fought & bribed his way into number 10 with his wife who pays no tax," posted another user.

The tough decisions to secure our borders"? What??? Whats tough about having to decide to have secure borders? Whats tough is the result of open borders," wrote another.

There's no such thing as 'illegal immigration'; this term is not used by academics as it stigmatises individuals. Instead, the term 'undocumented migration' is preferred," posted another.

"Cost of living crisis: "sToP tHe bOaTs!" NHS waiting times: "sToP tHe bOaTs!" Social care reform: "sToP tHe bOaTs!" Russian political interference: "sToP tHe bOaTs!"" another user wrote.

Policy implications

This new law aims to reduce net migration by approximately 300,000, ANI reported. The legislation also includes specific provisions that will restrict overseas students from bringing families to the UK and prevent immigration from undermining British workers. Also, the law intends to eliminate the 20% salary discount offered for shortage occupations.

(With ANI inputs)

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As the Israel-Hamas war entered its 64th day today, Israels military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza , around 70% of them including women and children, and wounded more than 46,000 so far, according to Palestine's health ministry reports. Here are the top 10 developments on this big story,

1) The US vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. Supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war goes into its third month.

2) The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. The United States' isolated stand reflected a growing fracture between Washington and some of its closest allies over Israel's monthslong bombardment of Gaza. France and Japan were among those supporting the call for a cease-fire.

3) UAE Deputy Ambassador Mohamed Abushaha said, "What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?", AP reported.

4) The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time, enabling a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of a humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

5) The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israel's Merkava tanks for use in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, according to Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

6) Israel has sharply increased strikes on the Gaza Strip since a seven-day-long truce ended a week ago, pounding the length of the Palestinian enclave and killing hundreds in a new, expanded phase of the war that Washington said veered from Israeli promises to do more to protect civilians.

7) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and an international peace conference to work out a lasting political solution leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state, as per Reuters reports.

8) "I am with peaceful resistance. I am for negotiations based on an international peace conference and under international auspices that would lead to a solution that will be protected by world powers to establish a sovereign Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem," he said.

9) Fighting escalated and the Palestinian death toll rose on Friday, with Israel pounding the enclave from north to south in an expanded phase of the two-month-old war against the Islamist group Hamas.

10) More strikes were reported on Friday in Khan Younis in the south, the Nusseirat camp in the center, and Gaza City in the north. On Friday evening, residents reported intensified Israeli tank fire in north Gaza, while health officials said at least 10 people were killed in an air strike on a house in Khan Younis.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The United Nations General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948, without a single dissenting vote (although Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the Soviet bloc countries abstained). Today that remarkable consensus, achieved in the wake of two world wars and unspeakable atrocities, is falling apart. Hope for global consensus on anything seems remote.

But is it really the case that consensus on the relatively small set of fundamental principles in the Universal Declaration cant be reinvigorated? The history of the declaration suggests three reasons why the effort is worthwhile. And a promising development, as yet little noticed in the West, indicates there may be a fourth.

First, in 1948 political realists scoffed at the idea that mere words could make a difference. But by 1989 the world was marveling that a few simple words of trutha few courageous people willing to call good and evil by namecould change the course of history. The Universal Declaration became the most prominent symbol of the great grassroots movements that hastened the demise of colonialism, brought down apartheid in South Africa, and helped topple the seemingly indestructible totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe. Its nonbinding principles had more effect than the international covenants that were based upon it.

Second, religion played a large role in those transformative movements. As one of the lawyers who defended civil-rights workers in Freedom Summer 1964, I can testify that it was religious conviction that motivated many of us to follow Martin Luther King Jr. in the struggle to end legal segregation. The same was the case in freedom movements elsewhere.

Today, the role of religion is more complicated. Recent years have seen a rise in regional conflicts that implicate religion and a decline in religious affiliation in the West. That is a bad combination because religious zeal doesnt necessarily disappear when it ceases to be directed toward religious objects. It is often transferred to some other object, such as ethnic identity, and pursued with deadly dedication.

Fortunately, however, it isnt beyond the power of religious leaders and groups to reject ideologies that manipulate religion for political purposes or use it as a pretext for violence. Nor is it beyond their capacity to find resources within their own traditions for promoting respect and tolerance, as the Catholic Church did in Vatican II and as the worlds largest Muslim political organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, is doing today.

Humanitarian Islam, the inclusive, tolerant form of Islam promoted by that 100-million-member group, has real potential to shift the probabilities for peace in many parts of the world.

Third, it wasnt the great powers of the world but a coalition of less-powerful nations that assured that protection of human rights was included among the purposes of the U.N. Human rights werent a priority for the five big nations that became permanent members of the Security Council. When those big nations decided to found a new peace and security organization, their main concern was to assure the stability of frontiers and provide a means of settling disputes.

But at the founding conference, delegates from lesser powerssuch as Herbert Evatt of Australia, Charles Malik of Lebanon and Carlos Romulo of the Philippinesjoined forces to expand that agenda. The language of the U.N. Charter became the foundation of the entire postwar human-rights project.

Today as in 1945, the most intense interest in the idea of universal human rights seems to be among nations and political groups that dont exert the most influence on the world stagebut that understand that without commitment to a few basic principles, nothing is left but the will of the stronger.

The Center for Shared Civilizational Values, founded by the Indonesia-based Nahdlatul Ulama, wants to build a movement to strengthen a rules-based international order grounded in universal principles. Joining in that endeavor is the worlds largest network of political parties, Centrist Democrat International, composed mostly of European and Latin American political parties.

In 2020 both organizations called for renewed global support of the human-rights principles in the Universal Declaration. That East-West collaboration is evidence that the core principles of the Universal Declaration have foundations in most of the worlds great philosophical and religious systems.

None of this would have surprised the men and women who brought the postwar human-rights project to life. They had seen human beings at their best and worst. But while the human race is capable of gross violations of human rights, it is also capable of imagining that there are rights to violate and articulating those rights in declarations and constitutions. People can orient their conduct toward the norms they recognize and feel the need to make excuses when their conduct falls short.

Seventy-five years ago, these visionaries forged a consensus that helped millions achieve better standards of life and greater freedom. Before giving up on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we should ask: Is it really going to take more wars, and more horrors, to breathe new life into a few enduring principles of human decency?

Mary Ann Glendon is an emerita law professor at Harvard. She served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, 2008-09.
Israel pressed its offensive in Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid to call for a ceasefire in the two-month of genocidal war against the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority, Hamas, along with Russia, China and numerous countries and aid agencies swiftly condemned the US veto as the health ministry put the latest death toll in Gaza at 17,487 people, almost 70 per cent of them women and children.

An Israeli strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis killed six people, while five others died in a separate attack in Rafah, the ministry said Saturday.

Vast areas of Gaza have been reduced to rubble and the UN says about 80 percent of the population has been displaced, with dire shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine reported.

"It's so cold, and the tent is so small. All I have are the clothes I wear, I still don't know what the next step will be," said Mahmud Abu Rayan, displaced from Beit Lahia in the north.

Israeli occupation soldiers rounded up Palestinian men and children in the northern part of the territory for interrogation.

The first images of mass detentions emerged Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, blindfold and their hands bound behind their backs. Some had their heads bowed.

U.N. monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys from the age of 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

A UN Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire was vetoed by the United States on Friday.

US envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground".

Hamas slammed on Saturday the US rejection of the ceasefire bid as "a direct participation of the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing".

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said it was "a disgrace and another blank cheque given to the occupying state to massacre, destroy and displace".

The veto was swiftly condemned by humanitarian groups, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) saying the Security Council was "complicit in the ongoing slaughter".

UK-based Save the Children and seven other aid organisations say they were appalled at the failure of the UN Security Council on Friday to pass a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

If implemented, this would have provided much-needed respite for civilians in Gaza who are under constant bombardment. This was a missed opportunity to stop the violence, they said in a joint statement.

We are two months into the crisis and complete siege of Gaza. Gaza is now the deadliest place for civilians in the world.

Spiralling nightmare



Following two months of brutal Israeli war and bombardment, UN chief Antonio Guterres said Friday "the people of Gaza are looking into the abyss".

"People are desperate, fearful and angry," he said.

"All this takes place amid a spiralling humanitarian nightmare."

Many of the 1.9 million Palestinians who have been displaced by the war have headed south, turning Rafah near the Egyptian border into a vast camp.

With the death toll of medical workers in the conflict mounting, more than a dozen World Health Organization member states submitted a draft resolution on Friday that urged Israel to respect its obligations under international law to protect humanitarians in Gaza.

They called for Israel to "respect and protect" medical and humanitarian workers exclusively involved in carrying out medical duties, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities.

Only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were functioning in any capacity, according to United Nations' humanitarian agency OCHA.

With the civilian toll mounting, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that Washington believes Israel needs to do more to protect civilians in the conflict.

"We certainly all recognize more can be done to... reduce civilian casualties. And we're going to keep working with our Israeli counterparts to that end," he said.

The death toll also rose in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot dead six Palestinians on Friday, the territory's health ministry said.

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Congress leader Ashok Gehlot lashed out at the BJP on Saturday over delay in forming the Rajasthan government. The recently ousted Chief Minister also accused the saffron party of winning assembly elections by raising religious issues and polarizing people. The remarks have since prompted a sharp rebuttal with Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi noting that government formation had taken 16 days before Ashok Gehlot took the reins.

There is no discipline in this party. If we had done the same, I don't know what allegations they would have levelled against us and misled people. They polarized the polls... We will cooperate with the new government. In the Gogamedi case, I had to sign a document stating 'no objection' to an NIA probe. This should have been done by the new CM," he told ANI.

The Congress MLA is currently in Delhi for a party meeting to review its performance in the recent assembly polls. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders were also present at the meeting.

Gehlot's remarks have since prompted a sharp rebuttal from the ruling BJP.

If think Ashok Gehlot has forgotten 2018 when govt formation took 16 days. Our central observers have been appointed and a meeting of the legislative party will be held soon. I want to ask Gehlot sahib why hasn't a decision been taken on the name of Leader of Opposition yet?" said Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi.

We will fulfil Ashok Gehlot's wish on Monday. For five years, only corruption, nepotism and mutual differences were seen in his government...There are no orders from above in our party, internal democracy is very strong in the BJP. After discussing with everyone a leader is chosen," added Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

The recently concluded elections has thrust the Congress out of power across a vast swathe of the Hindi heartland. The BJP won 115 seats to secure an absolute majority in Rajasthan while the Congress trailed far behind with 69 seats.

Speculative reports have named several contenders for the top post  including two-time chief minister Vasundhara Raje and and Baba Mastnath University chancellor Mahant Balak Nath. Vidyadhar Nagar MLA Diya Kumari and former union minister Rajyavarardhan Singh Rathore are also being seen as top contenders.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The Indian National Congress (INC) party on Friday held separate election result review meetings to examine the shortcomings in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh assembly polls that lead to its defeat at the hands of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The party claimed that its defeat was unexpected, reported PTI . Another, Rajasthan assembly election results review meeting is scheduled to take place today.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge convened the review meeting at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi in the presence of former party president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders.

Congress in a statement said, "Today, a meeting to review the election results of Chhattisgarh was held at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. Senior Congress leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were present in this meeting." The party further shared pictures of the review meeting on the election results.

Chhattisgarh review meeting

Congress General Secretary, K C Venugopal said the state Congress presidents were directed to submit a booth-wise report on the party's performance. He added, "We will strengthen our connect with the people and unitedly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to unseat the BJP government." He said that though the results were disappointing, the morale of the party's rank and file was high.

AICC general secretary in-charge for Chhattisgarh, Kumari Selja claimed that they are not demoralised but dejected and said We are disappointed, but not in despair. In the coming times, we will fight the Lok Sabha elections together."

She further said we would together contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and emerge victorious. She stressed that the party has not lost its vote share and was same as it was in 2018. She said, "We have gained the trust of the public." She further mentioned that the party would carry out a detailed analysis on the poll results in Chhattisgarh.

Selja was confident that the party is set to perform better in the parliamentary (2024 Lok Sabha) elections as people continue to have faith and trust in the Congress party which was clearly evident from the voting pattern. She stressed that assembly election was not a one-sided affair as the party candidates lost by slim margins in several constituencies.

Among other party leaders who attended the Chhattisgarh review meeting included Congress screening committee head and observer Ajay Maken, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, his former deputy CM T S Singh Deo and former ministers Tamradhwaj Sahu and PCC president Deepak Baij among other senior leaders.

Madhya Pradesh review meeting

AICC general secretary in-charge, Randeep Surjewala informed that the reasons for the party's defeat in Madhya Pradesh were also discussed. He said, "We openly discussed the reasons for the party's defeat and leaders analysed the shortcomings of the party within the forum."

Surjewala said that the Congress president held discussions and all the leaders authorised him to take a decision on how to strengthen the organisation. He added, "We urged him to hold a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Madhya Pradesh and appoint an observer for its next meeting to enable it to elect the new leader of opposition," Surjewala said. He further noted, "The results are disappointing and are not as per our expectations," reported PTI.

Among other party leaders who attended the Madhya Pradesh review meeting included PCC president Kamal Nath, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and AICC screening committee head Jitendra Singh among other senior leaders.

Rajasthan review meeting

Congress leader Govind Singh Dotasra arrived in Delhi today to participate in Rajasthan review meeting. He said, "We will be deliberating on the reasons behind why we could return to power in the state. We will analyse our shortcomings and make corrections for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," reported ANI.
The ongoing recovery by the Income Tax department in India's 'biggest' IT raids has raised political temperature as the BJP has launched an attack against the Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. The Rajya Sabha MP also came under the IT department's scanner in the matter.

So far, the agency has recovered around 290 crore of black money from the raid and the number is bound to rise as the counting of cash continues on Saturday. The IT sleuths began raiding properties linked with Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd on Thursday. It also raided premises associated with senior Congress leader Dhiraj Sahu.

The massive cash recovery also received PM Modi's attention, who in his social media post, vowed, very penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee."

Also Read: Who will be the CMs of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh? BJP announces Observers. Details here

In response to the ongoing IT raids, the ruling Biju Janta Dal (BJD) welcomed the IT department's action and took a jibe at the Congress as well as the BJP.

"Jharkhand BJP leaders are saying the seized money belongs to Congress leaders. On the other hand, Congress leaders are saying it belongs to BJP leaders. Both are blaming the other. It seems like both BJP and Congress leaders had stashed their money with this businessman," it said.

Also Read: BJP to appoint new faces as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh chief ministers: Report

The connection of Congress leader with the tax raids received sharp criticism from the BJP, with many of its leaders targeting senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi for the rampant corruption under the party's rule.

The BJP volunteers staged a protest against Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu at different places on Saturday. The party volunteers shouted slogans like Rahul Gandhi chor hai" in front of the Congress headquarters in Delhi. They also demanded action against Sahu.
When he sat down in a booth at his local Dennys and began plotting out the business that would change his life, Jensen Huang didnt know that his startup would one day be worth $1 trillion. In fact, the only chief executive in Nvidias history didnt know much of anything about what he was getting himself into.

But if he had known three decades ago what he knows today, he never would have founded one of the worlds most valuable companies.

The reason for that is really quite simple," Huang said recently. Building Nvidia turned out to have been a million times harder than I expected."

Nvidia was the stock markets big winner of 2023, when the chip maker cracked $1 trillion in value. That would have seemed impossible 30 years ago, and it wasnt especially probable just one year ago, before the AI boom made Nvidia worth more than Netflix, Nike and Novo Nordisk combined.

So why wouldnt he do it again?

If we realized the pain and suffering and how vulnerable youre going to feel, the challenges that youre going to endure, the embarrassment and the shame and the list of all the things that go wrong," he said, nobody in their right mind would do it."

The candor from one of techs longest-tenured CEOs wasnt just eye-opening. Huangs comments were also a rare peek into the mind of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of his generation, someone who took an idea hatched over Grand Slam breakfasts and Super Bird turkey sandwiches and turned it into a trillion-dollar company. Along the way he learned an important, counterintuitive lesson.

Everyone in Silicon Valley knows they have to be resilient. Huang knows it also helps to be ignorant.

I think thats kind of the superpower of an entrepreneur," he said. They dont know how hard it is. And they only ask themselves: How hard can it be? To this day, I trick my brain into thinking: How hard can it be?"

Really hard, as it turns out. He didnt know that the original business plan had no chance of success. He didnt know how many times he would fail. And he didnt know just how much he didnt know. But just because the 60-year-old billionaire says he wouldnt do it again doesnt mean hes telling other people they shouldnt. In fact, the opposite: Only they have the advantage of being undaunted by the difficulty of building a company.

Huang made his comments in a recent interview with Acquired, a tech podcast hosted by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, who might know more about Nvidias history than anyone who didnt live through it. After releasing three deeply researched, delightfully wonky episodes about the companys strategy, the podcasters were invited to Nvidia headquarters for an interview with the CEO himself. (Huang declined to comment for this article.)

Huang has been running the company since his silvery hair was the color of his signature black leather jacket. Even after three decades on the job, Huang remains actively involved at Nvidia. He still manages 50 senior executives who report directly to him and attends product meetings with junior employees who werent alive when the company was born.

There has never been a business worth so much that people know so little about. But the more the podcasters studied Nvidias success, the more they credited one person.

That company is him," Rosenthal told me. He does everything but sweep the floorsand he may sweep the floors."

So when it came time for one final question, they were curious: If he were 30 years old today, sitting in that Dennys again, what kind of company would he be starting?

He said he wouldnt start one at all. He might as well have said Nvidias chips were made of Doritos.

But his response began to make sense when he reflected on the wrenching years before this year. There are only five American companies worth at least $1 trillion right now. Apple, Microsoft and Alphabets stock prices have never dropped 85% from high to low. Amazon had one such drawdown. Nvidia survived two.

Those excruciating stretches in 2002 and 2008 now look so insignificant that you can barely see them on Nvidias historical stock chart. They didnt feel that way at the time. And he got an unwelcome reminder of that feeling when the company lost half its value last year.

But after sputtering in 2022, Nvidia exploded in 2023. Thats because there has never been so much demand for GPUs, the advanced chips that provide oxygen for artificial intelligence, powering almost every piece of technology the nerdiest person you know is psyched about, and Huangs company controls the supply.

AI models require tens of thousands of these graphics-processing units that can handle lots of computational tasks at the same time, and theyre made almost entirely by Nvidia because Huang invested in GPUs long before there was a roaring market for them.

Nvidias central role in the AI economy is the reason it has tripled in value and beat every other company in the S&P 500 this year. Its on pace for the best annual performance of any major stock in the past decade.

Which made the recent comments from one of the worlds richest men all the more curious.

Huang had a better year than anyone this side of Taylor Swift. But even at the height of his companys success, he remains haunted by the prospect of failure. According to the New Yorker, Nvidias unofficial motto is his mantra from the startups early, uncertain years: Our company is 30 days from going out of business."

At this point, Nvidia is worth more than the other American chip giants put together, and AI would have to destroy the world for Huangs company to be out of business in a month. But hes still driven by that fear.

Youre always on the way to going out of business," he recently said at Columbia Business School. If you dont internalize that sensibility, you will go out of business."

The moments when his company nearly crashed are burned into Huangs memory as permanently as the Nvidia logo tattooed on his arm.

When the worlds most valuable chip maker was founded in 1993 by Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, the only people paying attention to them were the waiters of a Dennys in San Jose, Calif.

There was no reason to suspect three lousy customers guzzling too much coffee were laying the foundation of a revolutionary company. And when Huang told people he was making graphics cards for videogames, his own mother told him to get a real job.

But the secret to Nvidias early success wasnt the people involved or the industry they set out to conquer. It was the unusual, informal governance structure they chose for their startup.

Huang was always in charge, and Malachowsky and Priem reported to him, but they made a deal that each founder would have authority in his own fiefdom.

We would talk or argue over each others decisions, but we would default to the final decision of the person who had the expertise in that area," Priem told me. It wasnt agree to disagree. The decision terminated any disagreements and became the direction we were going."

Their arrangement made Huang responsible for business operations and finding partners to manufacture its chips. But that was a huge burden for one person, which Priem learned the one time he told Huang what he thought he should do.

He unloaded on me," said Priem, telling me all the responsibilities he had and all the things he was juggling." He was stunned: Huang had kept the pressures of his job to himself. It was an oh-my-God moment for me to understand how alone he was in his role," Priem told me.

A trillion dollars in market value hasnt made Huangs job any easier. These days, his company must navigate tight U.S. regulations meant to stifle Chinas access to powerful chips, not to mention increased competition from rivals at home desperate to pierce Nvidias dominance.

But it was much harder when Nvidia wasnt as successful.

After the company released its first product, a graphics card that flopped, Huang laid off half the workforce. Running out of money, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, he bet the company on the 1997 chip that saved Nvidia.

But the decade after Huangs company went public in 1999 would bring two more brutal stretches during the dot-com bust and global financial crisis. Even when markets rallied, Nvidia didnt. From 2008 to 2013, when the S&P 500 was up 25%, Nvidia was down 50%.

The whole company was worth less than the $6 billion that Huang personally made in a single day of trading this year.

Nvidia stagnated as Huang plowed money into a new platform for accelerated computing, one that would allow developers to do anything they wanted with GPUs.

Wall Street was skeptical of his vision of the future. But there was one group of people who could see it: AI researchers. Once they began using Nvidias chips to train neural networks, they realized the transformational potential of Huangs tools.

And then he decided to put his chips on the table again.

The initial breakthroughs in deep learning compelled Huang to make another bet-the-company move on AI. Nvidia began work in 2012 on the system that would become its first AI supercomputer. Huang delivered it four years later to OpenAI, whose researchers would use Nvidias GPUs to educate ChatGPT, which became the hottest app in tech history when it was released last year.

But this was the year those chips became the picks and shovels of a gold rush.

Now there are young entrepreneurs sitting in their own metaphorical Dennys, dreaming about building companies and completely unaware of how hard its going to be.

Because how hard could it be?

View Full Image He Built a Trillion-Dollar Company. He Wouldnt Do It Again.

View Full Image He Built a Trillion-Dollar Company. He Wouldnt Do It Again.

View Full Image He Built a Trillion-Dollar Company. He Wouldnt Do It Again.
The ministerial delegation assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit expressed profound "dismay" over the US veto that blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Related US vetoes UN security council call for ceasefire of Israel war in Gaza

According to the joint statement published by Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers reiterated their call on the US to shoulder its responsibilities and take necessary measures to compel Israel to immediately ceasefire.

On Friday, the US blocked a UNSC resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, using its veto to once again protect Israel, which has killed more than 17,400 Palestinians in the occupied territories since 7 October.

The ministers reaffirmed their united opposition to the continuous aggression by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, urging an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, as highlighted in the statement.

Moreover, they emphasized the imperative of adhering to International and humanitarian laws to protect civilians and called for an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

They advocated for the removal of obstacles restricting the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory.

Additionally, the foreign ministers firmly rejected all forced displacement of Palestinians, stressing the importance of abiding by international law and preventing such actions at all levels.

They underscored their commitment to counter and confront such actions, further expressing the need to establish a genuine political environment conducive to a two-state solution.

This solution would entail the creation of a Palestinian state along the lines of 4 June 1967, in accordance with relevant international resolutions, as outlined in the statement.

They also expressed their rejection of the fragmentation of the Palestinian issue and the discussion of the future of the Gaza Strip separate from the overall Palestinian cause.

Chaired by Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, the delegation includes Qatars Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Jordans Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Ayman Al-Safdi, Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Palestines Foreign Minister Riyadh El-Malki, and Turkeys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

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The delay on the delivery of safety works at a busy Ballymahon junction were highlighted at a recent meeting of Longford County Council.



The hold up of plans for changes to the streetscape in Ballymahon along with proposed safety measures were raised at the Longford local authority's budgetary meeting.

Since last year the issues surrounding changes to traffic lights at Nally's Corner and at the junction for the N55 Athlone Road along with other concerns by local traders have dogged the progress of the works.



Last year the council sent redesigned plans for the project to Transport Infrastructure Ireland for approval, after the original plans were halted following a disagreement by locals with TII over the layout.

It was felt that a roundabout would offer no protection for pedestrians and cyclists using the junction and that led to a re-think of the project.



Cllr Pat O'Tool raised the issue at the December budget meeting, with Councillor Mick Cahill adding that the safety works needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

The Director of Services with responsibility for Infrastructure, Climate Action and Innovation, Samantha Healy, explained: It's part of the wider streetscape scheme. We have encountered a delay because of a challenge to the current Part 8.



We have moved to go back and look at what will work at that junction. There is a commitment to the safety works, as you will be aware the safety works are incorporated into the wider streetscape scheme.

Ms Healy gave reassurances to the councillors about the council's commitment to addressing the issue.



There will be safety works at the junction, we will need to go back to TII to discuss and agree funding around specifically safety works, as opposed to the wider scheme proposed, the DoS said.

Responding to the Director of Services statement, Cllr O'Tool said: I just don't want this to get tied up in an issue between the traders and the council. We are talking about a different cohort, that is all the children coming in on the N55 to school, and all the transport companies.



People are getting caught in huge tailbacks because of difficulties at the junction Monday to Friday. I don't want this thing to be held up by problems with the streetscape, he said.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: December 08 2023

Social media companies have demonstrated that their priority is to monetize information and users, regardless of the harm their platforms cause, said Attorney General James.

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 22 attorneys general urging the U.S. Supreme Court to make it clear that states have the authority to regulate social media platforms. The amicus brief was submitted in two cases currently before the Court, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton, which are challenges to laws passed in Florida and Texas. The amicus brief focuses on states important interests in regulating social media platforms to prevent harm to their residents. The amicus brief follows a multistate suit filed against Meta in October, and legislation advanced by Attorney General James to protect New York children online.

Social media companies have demonstrated that their priority is to monetize information and users, regardless of the harm their platforms cause, said Attorney General James. States must have the right to protect our residents, especially the most vulnerable and impressionable among us. I thank my fellow attorneys general for joining me in urging the Supreme Court to affirm states basic and essential authority to regulate in order to protect our residents. As we confront the mental health crisis impacting our nation, we need as many tools as possible at our disposal, and holding social media companies accountable is absolutely essential.

The amicus brief submitted by Attorney General James and the coalition of attorneys general explains that social media platforms present significant, diverse, and ever-changing risks to Americans, especially the nations youth. To address that fact, states have taken action to protect minors from the risks posed by social media, enforce data privacy and transparency requirements for platforms, and combat the use of social media to facilitate human trafficking, the spread of child sexual abuse material, and the sale and distribution of fentanyl and other opioids. The amicus brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize states important interests in these areas and to avoid interpreting the First Amendment to immunize social media platforms from regulation.

This amicus brief is part of Attorney General James ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers online. In October, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition sued Meta for harming young peoples mental health and contributing to the youth mental health crisis. Also in October, Attorney General James advanced legislation with Governor Kathy Hochul, State Senator Andrew Gounardes, and Assemblymember Nily Rozic to help keep children safe online and prevent dangerous health consequences of addictive social media platforms. In July, Attorney General James led a multistate coalition of attorneys general to defend the federal governments ability to communicate with social media companies about dangerous online content. In October 2022, she investigated and released a report on the role online platforms played in the Buffalo mass shooting. In May 2021, Attorney General James joined a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general urging Facebook to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13.

Joining Attorney General James in filing todays brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Solicitor General Sarah Coco, Deputy Solicitor General Ester Murdukhayeva, and Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood, all of the Division of Appeals and Opinions.
IDF forces operate in Shujaiaya in northern Gaza on December 7. (IDF video screenshot)

In one week of the fighting that resumed following a pause, Israel faced challenges on its northern border with Lebanon as well as in Gaza where 25 IDF soldiers were killed. This brings the total number of IDF soldiers killed since October 7 to 420.

While fighting continued in northern Gaza, this week saw a rapid advance into the dense urban areas of Khan Yunis, where Hamas commanders are believed to be. This surprise maneuver occurred with Israels 98th division, which includes commando forces. Entering Khan Yunis also meant IDF forces around Gaza City in the north are still clearing neighborhoods. The two neighborhoods that have been focal points of fighting this week are Shujaiya and Jabalya. Each has a Hamas battalion for fighters that must be defeated and was densely populated before the war. Although most have moved south to a humanitarian area near the sea, some civilians remain.

In Shujaiya, the IDF said its elite counter-terrorism unit, Lotar, is operating for the first time. This unit saw action on the first day of the war on October 7 when it arrived as a quick response force in Sderot and in other areas attacked by Hamas. The IDF said the unit was operating alongside an armored brigade during battles in the area. The squad includes soldiers specialized in breaching and demolitions, as well as snipers, who have been operating with elite units since the start of the ground operation, the IDF said.

The IDF said on Friday morning that between December 7 and 8, more than 450 targets were struck by air, ground, and naval forces. As part of IDF activity in Khan Yunis, IDF troops directed IAF aircraft to kill numerous terrorists in a two-hour series of precise strikes. Three terrorists identified by the troops were struck by a UAV. Two of them were killed and the third one revealed the location of the other terrorists who were hiding in a military compound preparing to launch rocket fire at our forces, the IDF said. The Israeli navy also struck terror infrastructure along the coast of central and southern Gaza. The terror targets that were struck included military sites and posts where Hamas terrorists were operating, observation posts, and storage compounds containing weapons. The IDF has used its relatively small navy heavily since October 7. Israels navy was bolstered several years ago with four new corvettes. These are packed with Israels latest defense technology from their three defense giants; Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries. As such, they have bolstered the IDFs ability to operate from the sea and knit together ground and air forces and naval sensors.

The IDF provided some spotlight on its operations around Gaza overnight and on December 8. In the north on Thursday, soldiers found a tunnel under the ruins of Al-Azhar University in Rimal, a scene of fighting last month. The IDF also found a former Hamas observation and control room near Shati hospital north of Rimal near the coast. This is another area secured in fighting last month.

In southern Gaza, the IDF noted that its 7th armored brigade had been used to break through Hamas lines in battles in Deir al-Balah, north of Khan Yunis. In Khan Yunis itself, the IDF said that the Givati Brigade, the 55th Brigade, and the 4th Brigade are encircling the city and conducting operations and raids on the battalions of the Khan Yunis Brigade of the Hamas terrorist organization. The IDF also said the new Iron Sting 120mm precision mortar was used. This is one of several new types of IDF systems being used in Gaza, along with the new wheeled Eitan APC and Firefly loitering munition.

The IDF also appeared to have suffered a setback during a raid attempting to free hostages in which two of its soldiers were injured. During the operation, numerous terrorists who took part in the abducting and holding of hostages were killed, the IDF said. However, no hostages were rescued. Hamas holds 138 hostages in Gaza. Hamas claimed it had foiled the hostage rescue, and the terrorist group claims hostages had been killed in this incident as well as in a subsequent bombing later that evening. Hamas has made these kinds of claims in the past. Hamas tries to weaponize psychological terror. Please refrain from spreading unverified rumors and enabling psychological terror by Hamas, the IDF said.

At the Lebanese border, Hezbollah increased attacks late on December 7 and throughout December 8. In addition, there was a threat from Syria and two rockets were launched in response. Hezbollah targeted the border communities of Malkia, Zarit, Shtula, Mount Dov and Mattat. Two soldiers were wounded in the attack on Shtula. The IDF said it used a drone to strike terrorists threatening Mount Dov. The mountain is part of a disputed area at the Lebanon-Israel-Syria border. In addition to striking targets in Syria, the IDF shot down a drone from Lebanon. The IDF also said that Israeli forces struck Hezbollah targets throughout the day.

Israel generally continues to conduct proportionate responses at its borders with Lebanon and Syria, and the attacks appeared to increase on Thursday and Friday. In addition, there was a shooting attack in the West Bank. Hamas targeted Ashkelon and Tel Aviv with barrages of rocket fire, despite the fact that the general the ability of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to fire rockets from Gaza has been greatly reduced in the last week of fighting. The IDF has said that Hamas now seeks to fire rockets from near the humanitarian zone in Gaza.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the acting news editor and senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday the United States is complicit in the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians, in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Abou Mazen said in a statement that Washington was "responsible for the bloodshed" of children children, women, and elderly in Gaza," Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

He deemed the American position as "aggressive and immoral, a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles.

Washington's veto at a special meeting of the Security Council on Friday scuttled the growing efforts towards an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the territory led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab, sparking global outcry.

American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground."

Guterres had convened the emergency meeting after weeks of brutal Israeli war which killed nearly 17,500 people in the Gaza Strip, almost 70 per cent of them women and children.

According to WAFA, President Abbas stated that the US administration's veto challenges the international community, giving an additional green light to the Israeli occupation to continue its aggression against the people of Gaza.

He pointed out that this decision will haunt the United States for years, urging the international community to seek solutions to halt the genocide being committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, and to prevent this serious crisis from escalating into a religious war that threatens the entire world.

The Palestinian President expressed his gratitude to the UN Security Council member states that "stood on the side of justice, peace, and humanitarian ethics, supporting the draft resolution that called for an end to the Israeli aggression, considering the fact that it threatens global peace and security."

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After a long and fruitless year, there is finally some hope for fans of the iPad. Following a false alarm in October, it now seems almost certain that Apple will kick off 2024 with some new iPads after, for the first time since the device debuted in 2010, finishing a calendar year with no launches or upgrades whatsoever.

The iPads inconsistency isnt all that surprising. Arriving three years after the iPhone, many pundits believed it could go on to be even more successful than its predecessor, thanks to its larger screen and greater capabilities as a work machine. Following the tech logic that multiple specialist devices are always eventually replaced by versatile all-rounders, it was thought that consumers would stop carrying around a separate smartphone and laptop and just use a tablet. Despite an initial boom in sales, the iPad revolution never quite happened, and Apples tablet remains a relatively minor component of its annual revenue.

But that doesnt mean Apple has given up on the iPad. The latest rumors say 2024 will be a big year for the Cupertino tablet, with new models, new features, and every line getting some kind of an update. Fourteen years after its debut, Apple has a rare opportunity to reboot the iPad and inject some real excitement into the tablet again. Provided, that is, Apple does exactly what I say.

Step 1: Simplify the range

The key here is simplicity because the iPad range at the moment is far too confusing. There are four separate lines available in Apples store, with one of these further subdivided by size and another available in two different generations. They all get updated on different (irregular) cycles and at different times, which means you never know when a model is going to be replaced, and the best choice for the average user (as I explain in this iPad Air review) is constantly changing. Apple has even committed the branding sin of calling one of its iPads simply iPad, so you dont know whether someone is talking about the range as a whole or specifically its cheapest model.

The iPad Air should follow the MacBook Air and become the entry-level tablet. IDG

I write about iPads all the time and even I find the range baffling. How the average consumer is supposed to know which is which, and how to choose the right model for their needs, is beyond me.

So heres the plan. We simplify things. From now on, there are just two iPad sub-brands, to match those of the MacBook: the iPad Pro and the iPad Air. The Pro models are costlier, more powerful, and fuller-featured, with a wider range of premium accessories, aimed at those who want to use them for work and getting things done. The Air models are cheaper, lighter, and more portable (more on that in a bit), and aimed at those who want to check their email and watch Netflix on the sofa.

If that seems like Im not offering enough choice, note that there will still be some size variations. Like so:

iPad Air (8.3 inches)

iPad Air (11 inches)

iPad Pro (12.9 inches)

iPad Pro (14 inches)

Again, this is to mirror the MacBook range, where the Air models come in 13- and 15-inch sizes, and the Pros in 14 and 16 inches. Its also to preserve the iPad mini form factor, which offers something different and will now be the cheapest model in the range. Most importantly, this removes the situation where someone looking for a mid-size iPad is faced with four different models and has no obvious way to tell which is best. In this system, its straightforward: do you want a basic or advanced iPad? And how big does it need to be? Easy.

This means that the two just-iPads will be retired and the iPad mini will need to get a little cheaper to fill the void. (Im thinking $399 will do nicely.) Oh, and you may have heard that Apple is reportedly working on a larger iPad Air. Dont do it, Apple! That will only make things more confusing, and wont be part of our imaginary revamp.

From now on, all of the iPads will be updated at the same predictable time. Customers should be aware that, just as new iPhones come out every fall, there will be new iPads every spring. Or, if thats too frequent, then it could be an 18-month cycle that alternates between spring and fall. But Apple should establish a proper upgrade cycle in 2024 and stick to it in 2025.

Its been more than five yearsthe iPad Pro needs a redesign. IDG

Step 3: Do a proper redesign

The iPad is difficult to get excited about, and part of that is related to the fact that it never really seems to change. We got the switch to a (sort of) all-screen design, starting with the 3rd-gen iPad Pro in 2018 and gradually diffused into the rest of the range, but theres been little else for design buffs to get their teeth into.

So in 2024, whether its necessary or not from a functional point of view, were going to redesign the lot. First, well have a proper all-screen design, with those fat bezels shrunk back and the front-facing sensors housed in a new Dynamic Island. Second, well offer both Face ID, using the aforementioned sensors, and Touch ID in the power button on all models. Sure, its not needed, but each type of biometric input has its fans and we want to attract them all. (Also, each has its advantages in certain situations.)

And third, were going to make the iPad Air thinner. Were aiming to emulate that wow moment when Steve Jobs pulled the first MacBook Air out of a manila envelope. We want people to be excited. The iPad Air isnt simply going to be a crappier version of the iPad Pro; it will offer something different. It will focus on portability and power efficiency so that its easy to carry around but still lasts a long time between charges.

We love the iPad minibut it should become part of the Air line. Foundry

Step 4: Give the iPad Pro specs to die for

Rumors suggest that Apple plans to replace the current LED (on the 11-inch model) and mini-LED (12.9-inch) iPad Pro screens with OLED, which provides superior quality, contrast, and power efficiency. Its also understood that the 2024 iPad Pro will get an M3 processor. As the imaginary head of the iPad division, I will be following these rumors to the letter, because its vital that we really hammer home the Pros laptop-replacement capabilities: Its a MacBook Pro in an iPad.

Youll also note, in the screen dimensions listed above, that I like the popular rumor that Apple is about to bump the iPad Pros larger size to 14 inches. Again, this helps to make it more appealing as a work tool, so were going to action that one.

Step 5: Sort out the Apple Pencil

If you think the iPad range is confusingand believe me, I dothen try to get your head around the Apple Pencil lineup. Well be simplifying things by ensuring that every iPad currently on sale is compatible with both the USB-C and 2nd-gen Pencils (including magnetic storage and charging), which will make customers decision far easier: it will come down to whether they want to pay more and get all the nice features, or pay less but not get pressure sensitivity. Then we can quietly discontinue the 1st-gen Pencil as soon as possible.
The international community has witnessed so many declared and undeclared wars and cruelties suppressing and oppressing people belonging to so called low castes, proletariat, minority communities, the black, the powerless and so on

10 December is observed and celebrated, every year, as the Human Rights Day all over the world. United Nations General Assembly announced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the first global enunciation of human rights on 10th December 1948. It was one of the most significant achievements of the new United Nations Organization. The two world wars (1914-1919 and 1939-1945) brought much calamities and disasters to the mankind across the world. The irreparable sufferings and casualties have not so far completely and accurately been assessed and estimated.

Technology was used for the destruction of the mankind instead of protecting them from been doomed. Consequently millions of human beings craved for want of food, clothes and shelter. Historians and philanthropists can never describe the disasters. Infringement of human rights has become an usual and unsurprising phenomenon. It has now become an essential and inevitable cruelty for the survival of the ruling class and the corporate across the world.

The international community has witnessed so many declared and undeclared wars and cruelties suppressing and oppressing people belonging to so called low castes, proletariat, minority communities, the black, the powerless and so on

We can never forget the brutalities that had happened to the Jews during the world war in Nazi Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, the Cambodian genocide, the massacre of Chinese Cambodian, Vietnamese Cambodian, Christian Cambodian, Muslim Cambodian, Buddhist Cambodian, and Intellectual Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Communist Party of Kampuchea general secretary Pol Pot. It resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979, nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population in 1975 as approximately assessed. It still remains as an indelible democide. So also the Gujarat cruelties against Muslim Minorities. Thousands of innocent Muslim children, ladies and innocent human beings were mercilessly slaughtered.

Subsequently and recently we have come across the refugee problems of the Rohingya Muslims and the Rohingya genocide by the military of Myanmar. It was a well planned genocide against Muslims. Consequently more than a million Rohingya Muslims were constrained to flee to other countries. The Rohingya people had been persecuted on a regular basis by the government and Buddhist nationalists.

Then the chaos created in Manipur against the the Kuki-Zo tribal community; approximately 4,786 houses were burnt and 386 Christian Churches and other religious structures were vandalized. The violence left more than 70,000 people displaced from their homes, and then Ukraine war declared by Vladimir Putin of Russia, and the war declared by Israel over Hamas etc.still continues with no peace.

The most glaring human rights issues in India are police and security force abuses, including extra-judicial killings, custodial death, torture and rape. The criminals in all these cases escape due to the weakest laws against torture.

Apart from these pertinent issues, there are some other aspects of human rights violations such as rights of people with disabilities; right to food, shelter and work; rights of people in conflict zones; violence against women; environmental rights of indigenous groups and communities; land rights of the displaced etc. Their justice has now become an oasis.

Laymen and the poor with no political influence can expect justice from any of the Ruling classes so that the laymen and the poor ar not interested in Party politics and voting as their standard of living, life style and life status remain the same as Tax Payers all the time, with no change according to the changing of the Ruling Parties.

WHY ???

The Poor and the Powerless always live in:

i. Poverty

Poverty is the major cause of the ignorance of human rights. People are ready to have their rights manipulated so that they make their living. It is also not rare to have some people exposing themselves to the perpetrators so that they make their daily income.

People living under poverty do not have adequate resources to seek justice when their rights are manipulated. When they involve the human rights organizations, they become a threat to their locality. As result, most people choose to silently die with their problems.

ii. Global inequality

It is a globally accepted evil since most of the ideologies, understandings and practices including customs and taboos are not balanced in many parts of the world so that disparities in gender, colour, race, religious, ethnicities etc keep the human beings aloof from each other. Specific nationals have also become a threat to other nations and will experience denial of rights once they go to those countries. Poverty has also stopped many countries from having the institutions that will manage the watching of the human rights. Even if they are the ones sponsoring the institutions, they do not get adequate funding for them

iii. Torture of human rights defenders

Human right defenders have off late undergone a lot of torture. It has happened to specific countries that have strong believers of injustice. Some influential persons are willing to use money to have the human rights defenders arrested and tortured so that they end their mission. Some even get in the hands of those people who violate the rights of other people. The encounters the human right defenders experience is equal to having their own rights violated. Some even die while trying to seek justice for other people whose rights have been violated. All these are happening because exploitation is possible only if there is human rights violations..

iv. Insecurity

Insecurity is a big hindrance to the execution of the human rights defense. The areas that have the highest rate of insecurity also experience the extreme issues related to human rights violation. These are the areas where men undergo torture, women get raped and the children become victims of psychological torture. It is very challenging to have institutions in areas that have war. Such organizations even if they are present work under extreme fear. Achieving the mission to protect human rights is almost impossible as some are not willing to expose their lives to danger.

v. Weak institutions

Weak institutions are a big hindrance towards observance of the human rights. Imagine having a weak Judicial, Police and other Governmental and Statutory Bodies and human rights organizations are weak and in many cases prejudiced

Many of the intellectuals, writers, lawyers, teachers, politicians and Political Bureaucracy keep mum towards reacting to the infringement of human rights and for equal justice to be assured and ensured for all, especially for the Powerless, Soundless and the Faceless. Unless we come forward to react and respond in time against the brutalities and atrocities of any kind, each one of us will remember and repeat what PASTOR MARTIN NIEMOLLER marked in his life:

 First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak outbecause I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak outbecause I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak outbecause I was not a Jew.

Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak for me
LONGMEADOW  Bay Path University has been deemed the safest college in Massachusetts and the third safest in the nation, according to Niche.com, a company known for ranking and reviewing of U.S. neighborhoods and universities.

Elms College in Chicopee and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley were also in Niches top 10 for the state.

Over 2,000 colleges were parsed for data on campus safety, diversity and even their party scene to get a better picture of which school is the safest, according to Niche. The company also used data from the U.S. Department of Education and student reviews for its rankings.

The website boasts that it has half a million reviews given by students about their colleges  more than any other place on the internet  to give people an authentic and credible view into what students really think about their college, the site says.

Top-ranked colleges offer a safe and healthy environment with little or no campus crime, drugs, or alcohol usage, the site notes.

Bay Path University attributes its top-in-the-state ranking to a few factors.

Our campus crime rate is low, said Melissa Weinberger, media relations director for the university. The campus also is a unique, small, close community, where students and staff can build nurturing relationships and feel supported. Bay Path mirrors its surroundings, the greater Longmeadow community, Weinberger said.

The school received 684 reviews from students, earning a four out of five star ranking. Bay Path also received Niches A-plus grade in safety.

While the campus does welcome students with a range of gender identities, it is a womens college at the undergraduate residential level, she said.

Many of Bay Paths students also are commuters and go home on the weekend, when behavior on college campuses tends to escalate, she said. The campus is also dry, meaning alcohol is not permitted.

From a facilities perspective, our main campus in Longmeadow and the Philip H. Ryan center in East Longmeadow are well-lit and equipped with emergency call boxes and security cameras. Our public safety staff performs routine patrols of our facilities 24/7, a statement from the university said.

The private, four-year university also maintains a good relationship with the local fire and police departments, Weinberger said.

The Longmeadow Police Department was not immediately available for a comment on the towns crime rate, but Weinberger acknowledged the town is routinely recognized as a very safe community.

Weinberger said the university could not determine whether a students choice to apply was based on the report.

Read about the UMass Dining Dynasty ...

Elms College made it to the fourth spot in Niches ranking, with a B-plus safety score. Elms, which is a private, Roman Catholic college, received 323 student reviews and earned three-and-a-half stars.

We work directly with the Chicopee Police and Fire departments to maintain the safety and security of our entire campus, said Pablo Madera, director of public safety at the college.

The colleges Public Safety Department also coordinates security measures with each college department, and maintains night and day coverage of the campus, keeping students, staff and faculty safe, he said.

Being in the heart of residential Chicopee gives us a high degree of visibility within the local community and allows us to maintain a safe learning environment, said Madera.

Mount Holyoke was the third college in the Valley to receive recognition on Niches ranking, earning the 10th spot.

The college received close to 900 student reviews and four stars out of five. It also received an A-minus in campus safety.

Like Bay Path University and Elms College, the school also has a close relationship with its host town to ensure a robust and safe community off campus, said Director of News and Media Relations Christian Feuerstein.

She said the college also employs mutual aid, harm reduction, conflict resolution and other best practices of safety and security.

Similar to Bay Path, Mount Holyoke College is a womens only college but is also gender diverse.

We are focused on building a community that centers everyones well-being, sense of belonging and recognizing the dignity of all, Feuerstein said.

Niches methodology lists a few factors that lead to a colleges grade ranking, but does not specify why one college with a lower safety grade would rank higher than one with an A-minus safety rating.
Looking for that urban vibe, but without the big-city prices, traffic and headaches that come with city life? Look no further.

A new rankings list by the website StorageCafe runs down the 10 best suburbs that offer the best of city life, with the ease and proximity of suburbs.

One of the best things about Massachusetts is that moving to the suburbs doesnt have to mean giving up on urban comfort, StorageCafes Maria Gatea wrote. You just need to know where to look. Some select, city-like suburbs in Massachusetts feature amenities and services comparable to those we can enjoy in a big city.

To reach those conclusions, StorageCafe analyzed 40 of the Bay States smaller cities and towns  those with populations ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 people. Analysts considered such criteria as housing diversity and affordability, demographics, the business environment, health, education, public safety and transportation.

The bottom line?

Burlington, Newton, and Wakefield emerge as the best suburbs in Massachusetts, skillfully combining the charm of suburbia with the convenience of city life.

Somerville and Brookline are leading in house diversity, registering the highest share of apartments in their local housing stock, and

Wilmington, Lynnfield and Dedham are top rated for the quality of their education, according to the StorageCafe rankings.

Burlington, in Middlesex County, tops the list because this remarkable suburb manages to hold on to its historic charms while also stepping decisively into the 21st century, Gates wrote.

The communitys business-related infrastructure is the best among the suburbs analyzed, with 50 businesses registered per 1,000 residents, as well as ample office and coworking space available. Looking at the residential front, there is construction activity, with almost eight building permits per 1,000 residents in 2022, and some housing diversity as well  about 28% of the housing units are apartments, according to the website.

Heres a look at the rest of the communities:

Newton: Ranked best for its health, transportation, business environment. Wakefield: Ranked best for its residential, health and education environment. Waltham: Ranked best for its business, transportation, and health environment. Woburn: Ranked best for its business, transportation, and health environment. Dedham: Ranked best for its amenities, education, and business environment. Brookline: Ranked best for its residential, transportation, and education environment. Norwood: Ranked best for its business, amenities and its population. Hudson: Ranked best for its education, health, and safety environments. Lynnfield: Ranked best for its education, residential, and business environments.

The best suburbs in Massachusetts for those who want to hold on to city-like living are all part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan areahardly surprising considering that the huge metro area encompasses almost 5 million of the states 7 million residents, Gates wrote.
CHICOPEE  The date for the virtual auction of Cabotville Mill, a six-story, 690,000-square-foot former mill that takes up a prominent location near the citys downtown, has been pushed back a week.

The virtual auction, originally scheduled for Dec. 5-7, will now take place between Dec. 1415 through Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. David Ferber, associate vice president of Matthews Real Estate, first said there was no reason why the auction was pushed back a week during a phone interview. He then said he could not comment on the topic.

The website hosting the auction still lists the minimum bid of $8 million and states the development project has been previously approved for 600 residential units and 90,000 square feet of commercial storage and retail.

This is the second time this year Matthews Real Estate has held an auction for the property. The first took place in August when an anonymous entity placed a winning bid of around $10.5 million. That transaction, however, did not go through.

Over the last two decades, the property has changed several hands. It was purchased for $4 million in 2005 by New York developer Joshua Guttman, who planned to create condominiums in the building. Then 4 Perkins LLC, a subsidiary of SilverBrick Group LLC, acquired the property in 2018.

The mill was closed in 2022 due to code violations, resulting in the eviction of 60 businesses that were renting space there.
Maybe the phrase Masshole can be put to rest: Massachusetts has ranked at the top of GoFundMes list of the most generous states in the country this year, with the rest of New England sweeping the board.

In its 2023 Year in Help Report, GoFundMe said more than 30 million people gave or received help through the fundraising site. It has helped raise more than $25 billion worldwide with more than 200 million donations made in all. One donation is made every second.

Massachusetts came in third, just behind two other New England states on the sites generosity rankings, with Vermont taking first for the second year in a row and Maine in second place.

New Hampshire was in fourth place, Rhode Island in fifth and Connecticut in seventh.

GoFundMe said its report was highlighting stories of resilience along with the most-generous communities and data from fundraising.

It said people collected donations this year for various causes, including student loans, keeping businesses open, caring for animals and rebuilding after natural disasters.

Highlights for causes in 2023 included macroeconomic challenges and societal shifts, GoFundMe said, such as the end of pandemic-era meal programs in schools and of student loan forgiveness, and increased needs for seniors and their families.

The report also highlighted some of the top fundraisers in Massachusetts from 2023. These included, with totals as of Dec. 8:
Four residents of a Northampton apartment were narrowly missed by gunfire from an AK-47-style rifle on Thursday evening, according to documents filed in Northampton District Court.

The man accused of the shooting told Northampton Police Department detectives that his dog told him to fire the rifle. The bullets were fired from inside his apartment on Wright Avenue and into his neighbors apartment which are both in the same building with shared walls and a front porch.

Joshua Martinelli, 29, of Northampton, pleaded not guilty Friday morning to a total of 17 charges in Northampton District Court, including four counts of attempted murder and four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Hes being held without right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Dec. 14.

The four neighbors were on the second floor of their apartment and dove to the ground to take cover once the bullets started flying through the wall.

It was only later that one of the neighbors discovered a bullet hole in their pants that passed through near their backside.

The Northampton Police Department should be commended for their rapid response to an extremely volatile situation, said Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Andrew Covington. Responding officers quickly apprehended the defendant and protected the public from any further harm. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured by the defendants dangerous conduct.

No defense attorneys were listed for Martinelli as of Friday.

Police respond to gunfire

Police were called at about 5:20 p.m. Thursday by one of the four residents because their neighbor in their two-family home was firing a gun, according to court documents.

When police arrived, they heard gunshots coming from inside one of the apartments. Once police officer began moving along the front of the building, Martinelli was seen walking inside the apartment with his hands up.

Officers commanded Martinelli to get on the ground and placed him under arrest.

When asked why Martinelli was shooting, he told police, his neighbors were trying to poison his dog.

Police searched his apartment and did not find anyone else inside. An AK-47-style rifle was found on a computer chair in the living room with a loaded 30-round magazine and a round in the chamber, police said.

The distinct odor of recently fired gunfire was noticed by one of the officers and there were numerous bullet holes through the shared wall into the adjacent apartment.

Inside Martinellis apartment, a monitor was showing a live security camera feed from outside the house on Wright Avenue.

Spent shell casings and live ammunition littered the floor and police found what appeared to be an interior grow system for growing marijuana.

What Martinelli told police

Northampton detectives interviewed Martinelli at the police station after he signed a waiver of his Miranda rights, court documents state.

During the interview with detectives Lt. Timothy Satkowski and Sgt. Corey Robinson, Martinelli said he has an ongoing dispute with the neighbors and that he believed his neighbors had been poisoning his dog for a significant period of time.

Following which he told investigators that his dog told him to shoot the neighbors, court documents state. Martinelli elaborated by stating that tonight the dog told him to kill the neighbors as they were poisoning him (dog).

Martinellis dog was present when he began shooting into the shared wall with his neighbors, court documents state.

He also told police that he could hear his neighbors voices through the walls and that he was aware they were home when he decided to fire the rifle into their apartment.

Read more: GoFundMe raising money for family of National Grid worker killed in Waltham

Martinelli told police he was given the rifle to hold on to nearly two years ago and that the person who gave him the rifle never contacted him again. He told police he believed the gun was stolen from somewhere in Maine.

Police later found that it appeared that Martinelli fired 17 rounds from different areas in his apartment, with 14 rounds into the neighbors apartment.

Martinelli also faces two counts of possession of a large capacity firearm (for the rifle and magazine); one count of improper storage of a large capacity firearm; discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building; possession of ammunition without a FID card; possession of a firearm without a FID; malicious destruction of property more than $1,200; possession of an assault weapon; animal cruelty.
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported that 5,000 Israeli soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war in Gaza, describing the figure as unprecedented in Israeli wars.

Of these, 2,000 soldiers are recognized by the Israeli army as disabled, added Yediot Ahronot, one of the oldest papers in Israel.

The Israeli Ministry of Defences Department of Rehabilitation receives 60 wounded people every day, most of whom are seriously injured, the newspaper reported.

However, the report noted that this number only covers police and reservists, suggesting the actual number is higher when taking into account casualties from active-duty military.

We have never encountered anything like this. More than 58 percent of the wounded who come to us have severe injuries to the arms and legs, including those requiring amputations, said Limora Luria, head of the rehabilitation department.

About 12 percent of the wounded suffer from internal injuries, while seven percent are psychologically traumatized, she added in remarks to the newspaper.

This would be an unprecedented number of casualties compared to recent Israeli wars.

During Israels last large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, in 2008/2009, just over 300 Israeli soldiers were wounded in around three weeks, according to the foreign ministry.

Before this, in their 2006 war against Hezbollah, around 1,200 Israeli soldiers were wounded in just over a month, according to the commission of inquiry formed afterwards.

The last time Israel sustained a higher number of non-fatal casualties over such a short period was in the 1973 October War it fought against Egypt and Syria.

An updated version of Yediot Ahronots story removed all reference to the 5,000 figure, without explaining why the change was made.

The Israeli army does not provide regular figures about the number of injuries it has sustained in its war on Gaza.

In late November, another leading Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an exclusive report revealing that 1,000 soldiers had been wounded since 7 October.

Haaretz also uncovered evidence that the number of wounded are being under-reported, including new restrictions placed on medical personnel preventing them from disclosing such information.

If both the Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz reporting are accurate, this would indicate a dramatic increase in the number of Israeli wounded since the collapse of the ceasefire on 1 December.

However, it is unclear that this is the case, as there has not been a similar increase in the number of fatal Israeli casualties.

According to Israeli data, 421 soldiers have been killed since 7 October. This compares to 392 fatalities reported before the ceasefire in late November.

Meanwhile, nearly 17,000 people in Gaza have been killed and about 50,000 people injured, almost 70 percent of them women and children.

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SPRINGFIELD  I basically had a choice: Sign up for this program and keep my kids, or dont, Robert Daignault told a packed courtroom Friday.

Three years ago, he was addicted to opioids, the father of two kids, and his wife had just died. As things stood with the courts, Daignault was not likely to have custody of his kids again.

In my head at the time, I thought it was going to be just another checkbox I was going to have to check off to make the court happy. It wasnt going to help. But I said, OK.

Daignault didnt think he needed any help kicking.

I thought I had this, he said. I dont need a yearlong program and all that. But within the first month, I realized the Family Drug Court was different. ... I really liked the way they used the word family, because it really felt like a family. And they helped me keep my kids.

In just a few minutes, Daignault told his all-too-familiar story about drug addicts, the courts and broken families to a crowded courtroom in the Hampden County Juvenile Courthouse, but was able to turn that story around to become the most eloquent salesman for the new Hampden County Family Treatment Court program.

On Friday morning, Daignault got a standing ovation when he finished his story and helped launch the new court program, the first such court in the commonwealth, based on a Franklin County program that Daignault credits with saving his family.

Read more: 22 employers participate in MassHire Holyokes Recovery Ready Workplace program

Family Treatment Courts will be opening in Lawrence early next year and then in Fall River. Suffolk, Worcester and Berkshire counties will follow. The specialty courts are designed to address the specific needs of families with cases before the Juvenile Court in which parental substance abuse is the primary or a contributing factor in the case.

Juvenile Court Judge Carol Shaw will be hearing cases in the Springfield Family Treatment Court. She said the new approach to family law is a long time in coming.

For 25 years, I have been watching child welfare law, and I have seen the threat of substance abuse being an issue in very many cases  95 percent at least of the removals, when children are removed from their parents care, she said in an interview. There are many families who are living on the edge. When something happens and all the wheels come off the bus, someone might lose a job and that means losing housing, and the children have to relocate, then they start missing school, she said. Anyone who struggles with substances is likely to have a real challenge, and the kids get removed.

The Family Treatment Court will be able to work with the state Department of Children and Families and the Committee for Public Counsel Services to help parents navigate the process. Once in the program, affected parents can find the services and treatment they need to either keep their children in their household or bring kids back home from foster care much more quickly after they were removed. To do that, the Family Treatment Court will have access to specialized care options not available to the public.

(The court program) has access to every available (treatment) bed in the commonwealth and can literally drive them there at the same time, Shaw said. The treatment is immediate.

According to the research cited by the Center for Children and Family Futures, family treatment courts help parents in getting necessary treatment faster. Participating parents stay in the programs longer and complete treatments at higher rates compared to conventional welfare and dependency court interventions. Studies also indicate that family treatment increases the likelihood of family reunification.

Families find themselves before the Juvenile Court with allegations of abuse or neglect, and often the leading issue in a family is substance use disorder, said Chief Justice of the Juvenile Court Amy Nechtem. If that person qualifies for entry into the system, we will be able to divert them from the child welfare process. It will parallel the case but continue, and we will be able to get up front and provide services quicker through community resources, to provide them with an opportunity to perhaps reunify earlier to lessen the trauma.

The Juvenile Court system is one of the most important departments in the country and the state, Nechtem said. We are the first line of opportunity; we are able to see whats happening in a family and to be able to change the trajectory with a number of different initiatives. This is a real 21st-century access to justice initiative. It has been a lot of years getting to this point.

The pilot program started in 2016 in a Franklin County court, as officials saw the opioid crisis affecting more and more families. Retired Probate and Family Judge Beth Crawford said grandparents were coming into court, looking to take custody of their grandchildren because of parental drug dependency, or in the case of divorce, one parent might petition for custody from a drug-affected parent.

While the Franklin County program could include non-DCF cases, the Hampden Family Treatment Court will work only with formal care and protection petitions from the DCF.

This is a collaborative court, Crawford said, between DCF and the Committee for Public Counsel Services which provides counsel for the parents. It is a non-adjudicatory program. There is no litigation. It steps down from litigation to trying to resolve the problem facing the family through treatment and support for the parents.

Crawford retired from the bench five years ago but came back to serve as a consultant for the Family Treatment Court. She said the role of the judge in a specialty court differs from a criminal court.

I think it was really helpful to see the court in a different way, she said. To see a judge who was very supportive of their recovery. Research shows that the relationship with the judge is really important. Seeing the judge supportive of recovery and having them come to court regularly, to check in with them. Whats interesting is the team approach. In addition to the judge just hearing things in the courtroom, there is a team meeting with staff and all the people from different organizations. You have a chance to talk about how the person is doing.

The Franklin County program was not studied closely, so statistics are scarce, but Crawford said her sense was that it worked for the parents who participated.

My sense was it was quite successful, she said. We had a lot of people get their children back, and many parents graduated from the program. And even if they didnt graduate, we saw that as giving them a taste of recovery, knowing that they knew where to come in the future, and we saw that as a win, as well.

The Family Treatment Court is a collaboration between the DCF, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Department of Public Healths Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, and the Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition. The Massachusetts Center for Excellence for Specialty Courts and local treatment, recovery and family support providers also contribute.
The woman who Brockton police found dead inside a car on Nason Street early Friday morning has been identified, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruzs office announced.

Stephanie Beatty, 22, of Norwich, Conn., was found by police near 17 Nason Street at around 12:20 a.m., Cruzs office said in a statement. Police received a report of a shooting at that address.

When officers arrived, they found the car parked outside the address and found Beatty with a gunshot wound, Cruzs office said. Massachusetts State Police detectives and crime scene troopers also arrived at the address, MassLive previously reported.

Beatty was dead when police found her, Cruzs office said.

An investigation by Brockton and state police led to the seeking and obtaining of an arrest warrant for Gelson Fernandes, 29, of Brockton, Cruzs office said. He faces a homicide charge.

Beatty and Fernandes were previously acquainted, Cruzs office said.

The investigation remains ongoing.
A man suspected of murder in connection with the killing of a woman in Brockton early Friday has been found by authorities and hospitalized after shooting himself, according to police.

Gelson Fernandes, 29, of Brockton, is accused of fatally shooting Stephanie Beatty, a 22-year-old woman from Norwich, Connecticut, in the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruzs office said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Brockton Homicide UPDATE pic.twitter.com/rPCsVxxUNl  DA Tim Cruz (@PlymouthCtyDAO) December 8, 2023

Saturday morning, the district attorneys office released another statement saying Fernandes had been found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He was transported to a Boston hospital where he remains for treatment, the statement said.

UPDATE: Brockton Homicide



Gelson Fernandes, the murder suspect in the fatal shooting of a Brockton woman, has been found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to a Boston hospital where he remains for treatment. @MassStatePolice @BrocktonPolice  DA Tim Cruz (@PlymouthCtyDAO) December 9, 2023

Brockton police received a 911 call shortly after 12:20 a.m. Friday about a shooting outside 17 Nason St. When officers arrived at the address, they found a woman, later identified as Beatty, inside a parked car suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, according to Cruzs office.

Massachusetts State Police detectives were contacted by Brockton police, and an investigation was started. As a result, law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Fernandes, charging him with homicide, the district attorneys office said.

Beatty and Fernandes were previously acquainted, Cruzs office noted.

The investigation into the fatal shooting by Massachusetts State Police and Brockton police is active and ongoing, according to the district attorneys office.
A man killed near a high school in Manchester, New Hampshire earlier this week died from blunt force trauma, according to authorities.

An autopsy done Friday on the man, who has since been identified as 46-year-old Te-Jay Thomas, determined he died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck and the manner of his death was homicide, New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and Manchester Police Chief Allen D. Aldenberg said in a joint statement.

Thomas died Thursday afternoon during an incident on Lowell Street in Manchester in the vicinity of Central High School. Authorities initially described the mans death as suspicious, and as a precautionary measure, the school issued a stay-in-place order. Authorities noted however there was no indication any students or firearms were involved.

Investigators believe there is no threat to the public at large and all relevant parties have been identified, according to the attorney general and police chiefs statement.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Thomass death remains active and ongoing, the statement noted.

No further details about the mans death were immediately released to the public.
A group of mostly Republican congressional lawmakers have penned a letter to leadership at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demanding the presidents of the Cambridge schools step down over their testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives regarding antisemitism on campus.

The U.S. House lawmakers letter calls for the immediate dismissal of Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay and MIT President Dr. Sally Kornbluth as well as University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill.

The House lawmakers argued the university presidents were evasive and dismissive in their responses to questions about whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people violates school policies on bullying or harassment.

Seventy-one Republicans  and three Democrats  signed onto the letter, which was led by U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. The two other Democratic members of Congress who signed onto the letter were Reps. Joshua Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Joe Courtney, D-Conn.

The letter was sent to the three universities Friday following the university presidents testimonies in a hearing before the House Committee on Education on Tuesday.

The letter comes as the war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continues to escalate. On Oct. 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented terrorist attack on Israel, killing more than 1,000 Israeli civilians and initially taking more than 240 hostage, The New York Times reported.

In the subsequent weeks, Israel retaliated with airstrikes and a ground invasion in Gaza that killed at least 17,487 Palestinians, roughly 70% of whom were women and children under the age of 18, Reuters reported, citing the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli governments response has drawn criticism and calls for a more long-lasting ceasefire from humanitarian aid groups in the region as well as the United Nations.

In the two months since the Hamas attack, acts of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian violence have been on the rise.

Earlier this week, a Massachusetts town councils meeting was interrupted by an antisemitic outburst. And on Nov. 17, the U.S. Department of Education announced it is investigating seven educational institutions, including Wellesley College, over complaints of discrimination.

Read more: Wellesley College responds to federal investigation into antisemitism claims

During Thanksgiving weekend, three Palestinian college students were shot in Vermont, and one was left paralyzed. Local and federal authorities are in the midst of determining whether there is enough evidence to charge the shooter with a hate crime.

On Oct. 14, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in the Chicago area was killed after he was stabbed 26 times for being Muslim, CNN reported, citing statements from law enforcement.

Colleges and universities in the United States and elsewhere in the world have been hotbeds for protests, and Harvard and MIT have been in the spotlight in particular for demonstrations and antisemitism on their campuses. Harvard has been the subject of controversy after a statement signed by dozens of student organizations in support of the Palestinian people put the blame for Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7 squarely on Israel.

In their testimony before Congress on Tuesday, Gay of Harvard and Kornbluth of MIT condemned Hamas attacks on Israel, defended their campuses responses to antisemitism and discussed their commitment to free speech while also working to protect students and faculty.

Most of the questions from congressional Republicans during the hearing centered on antisemitism. However, the Harvard president also spoke about issues regarding Islamophobia that have arisen on campus, noting she knows members of Harvards Muslim and Arab communities are also hurting.

At one point during the hearing, the university presidents were shown videos of protests at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania where students can be heard yelling statements such as Long live Intifada. Gay responded by saying, That type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me.

Read more: Mass. hate crime law updates draw opposition

It is at odds with the values of Harvard, she added. We embrace a commitment to free expression even views that are objectionable offensive, hateful  its when that speech, crosses into conduct that violates our policies against bullying.

Gay was asked during the hearing by Stefanik, one of the two authors of the letter, about what disciplinary action Harvard has taken regarding those who made statements like Long live Intifada. The university president declined to comment specifically, but noted the school has ongoing processes that allow it to hold individuals accountable.

Mentioned in the letter from the House Republicans were the inquiries congressional members made as to whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people violates university policies on bullying or harassment.

At the Tuesday hearing, Kornbluth answered the line of questioning by saying calls for the genocide of the Jewish people would violate MITs code of conduct or rules if targeted at individuals not making public statements and would be investigated as harassment if pervasive and severe.

Gay answered by saying whether such statements violate Harvards rules of bullying and harassment depends on the context.

Antisemitic rhetoric when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation, that is actionable conduct, and we do take action, Gay said.

The university president later apologized for her comments. In an interview with the student-run newspaper The Harvard Crimson, she said that when words amplify distress and pain, I dont know how you could feel anything but regret. Gay noted, Words matter.

In a post to X, the site formerly known as Twitter, after the hearing, she added, There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students.

Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account, Gay wrote.

Along with calling for the dismissals of Gay and Kornbluth, the congressional members letter also demands the universities leadership provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe.

Jewish students should have found comfort on their campuses. Instead, many Jewish and Israeli students have faced an increasingly hostile educational environment, in the form of targeted harassment, protesters calling for the elimination of the Jewish state, and even acts of violence, the letter reads.

According to a recent survey by ADL and Hillel International, 73% of Jewish college students surveyed have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism on campus since the beginning of the school year. This is unacceptable. Antisemitism has been allowed to fester on campuses for years, and in the wake of the October 7 attack, the world is witnessing the consequences, lawmakers added.
Ahead of Haitian Independence Day, a Massachusetts lawmaker has called on the State Department to end U.S. support for an armed foreign intervention in the violence-plagued Caribbean nation.

Instead, the Biden administration should encourage negotiations leading to a Haitian-led democratic political transition, according to U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, whose Boston-based 7th District is home to one of the largest Haitian diaspora communities in the country.

We are gravely concerned that an armed foreign intervention will only serve as a tool to buttress an illegitimate leader and undermine efforts by a representative transitional government to define the actual support desired from the international community, Pressley and U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., wrote in a letter to the State Department.

The agency should not override the will of the Haitian people  it is clear that a transitional government is the only viable path forward for Haiti to return to stability and democracy, Pressley and Clarke, the co-chairs of the House Haiti Caucus, wrote.

Pressley and Clarke were joined on the letter by U.S. Reps. James P. McGovern, D-2nd District; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Rashida Talib, D-Mich.

In their letter to the State Department, Pressley and the other lawmakers said they were concerned that a foreign military intervention further risks destabilizing the country, endangering more innocent people, and entrenching the current illegitimate regime.

In September, the Biden administration rolled out a $65 million aid package aimed at aiding Haitian police. The White House also urged the U.N. Security Council to formally back the deployment of a multinational security force to help the Haitian government fight gang violence, Voice of America reported at the time.

In October, the U.N. Security Council gave the green-light to a Kenyan-led mission, which has proposed sending 1,000 police officers to Haiti, according to the Washington Post. It also is expected to include smaller contingents from other countries, with financing largely coming from the United States, the newspaper reported.

In their letter, the lawmakers also urged the Biden administration to swiftly block arms shipments to Haiti and hold weapons traffickers and gang financiers accountable for their actions.

We urge you to work with the relevant government agencies, including the Department of Justice, to take the steps necessary to put a robust anti-arms trafficking to Haiti strategy in place, the lawmakers wrote. Rather than hastily address this situation by supporting an armed foreign intervention  a strategy that has been tried and failed several times in Haiti  we urge you to take a holistic approach.

Haitians fleeing violence at home are among the overseas residents who have flocked to the Bay State, filling emergency shelters as they seek a new home in the United States.

Here its better. There are food stamps here, a house to sleep in, one migrant, Emmanuel Joseph, 34, told MassLive last month. Joseph arrived in Massachusetts in October hoping to find shelter and a sense of security for his wife and newlyborn daughter.

Joseph and his family left Haiti six years ago and lived in Brazil until August when they decided to travel north. They traveled through Central America and Mexico before arriving at the United States southern border, MassLive previously reported.

We came to Massachusetts because my friend told me it would be better for me here, Joseph told MassLive in Haitian Creole. Because in Louisiana, we couldnt get anything. We didnt have help.

As of Saturday, 7,528 families were enrolled in Massachusetts emergency shelter system, according to a state dashboard. Thats more than the Healey administrations self-imposed cap of 7,500 families. Families requiring housing under the states Right to Shelter law have been put on a waiting list.

The supplemental budget Healey signed into law this week includes a $250 million, taxpayer-funded infusion into the cash-strapped system. The funding package also include money for an overflow site.

This week, the Democratic administration announced it was shuttering an emergency shelter space at the Massachusetts Department of Transportations office in Boston. Families staying there have been moved to a space in Quincy, the Boston Herald reported.

Speaking to WBUR-FMs Radio Boston program this week, Healey said the pace of families seeking shelter in the Bay State had slowed, pointing to the onset of winter weather as one reason.

We bring, and have as a state, great compassion on this issue. Things are better, Numbers coming into Logan have dropped significantly, Healey told the station. Its a situation thats very fluid. But its been very heartwarming to see how people have worked together. I continue to ask the Biden administration for help and for relief  and [we are] asking for more help for states like Massachusetts.
One of the brightest objects in the night sky is expected to be obscured in a once-of-a-kind type of celestial object, and it doesnt involve the sun or Earths moon.

The asteroid Leona is on track to pass through, by a vast distance, Earths view of the star Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion between Dec. 11 and 12, depending on where one can see it from Earths surface.

When Leona passes Betelgeuse, the star will appear dimmer and maybe even disappear  for several seconds, EarthSky described. The estimated time in which this eclipse occurs will be around 10 seconds.

The reason an asteroid so far away can do this is due to Leonas oblong shape at 34 miles wide and 50 miles long, according to the AP. While Betelgeuse is 700 light-years away, Leona drifts through the solar systems asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter as a border between the inner solar system and the four gas giants, including Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, lest anyone forgets the non-gas giant dwarf planet, Pluto.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant that makes up the right shoulder of the constellation Orion, NASA said. Its red-orange color comes from where the star is at in its lifetime, nearing its end as it puffs up and expands. Stars reach this point when they run out of hydrogen to fuel their nuclear fusion before the star dies and goes supernova, according to the European Space Agency.

In contrast to the sun, Betelgeuse is much larger, brighter and yet younger and cooler by 40,000 degrees, and visible to the naked eye, NASA said. From Earths vantage point, its the closest red supergiant star to Earth at 1,000 light-years away, EarthSky noted.

The death of Betelgeuse is expected to occur in 100,000 years, when it will go supernova and either become a neutron star, which is a stellar remnant containing more mass than the sun in a ball the size of Manhatten Island, or a black hole, according to NASA.

Between 2019 and 2020, an event astronomers called the Great Dimming happened around Betelgeuse, NASA said. A blob of plasma dispersed from the star and cooled, forming a cloud that dimmed Betelgeuse from view on Earth. By April 2020, the star returned to its normal brightness. Initially, scientists thought Betelgeuse was entering a pre-supernova stage, the closest supernova to ever be observed and recorded by humans, NASA said.

Now for how to see this celestial event. EarthSky shared a map of what parts of Earth will be able to see Leonas occultation, or hiding from view, of Betelgeuse. Stargazers from Armenia, southern Europe, including Calabria in southern Italy, Sardinia, Greece and Turkey, across the Atlantic Ocean southward to the Bahamas, Miami, the Florida Keys and part of Mexico should have a view of Betelgeuses brief disappearance in the night sky.

From Florida, the eclipse should be visible at around 8:24 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, EarthSky added. Given its trajectory, it wont be likely that the rest of the East Coast, let alone Massachusetts, will be able to see this event.

One alternative is to watch a live stream from one of the countries with a view of Leonas occultation. The Italian-based Virtual Telescope Project already has a stream ready on its YouTube channel scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday ahead of the eclipse. They also shared a simulation of how the eclipse will appear from Earth in a separate video available at the link here.
This fall the Massachusetts Department of Public Health delivered, for the first time, a set of performance standards, credentials and workforce training requirements for local public health departments. The goal being to standardize constant, high-quality public health services for all cities and towns across the commonwealth.

Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., stated, DPH is already using the standards to target resources and solutions, providing local public health with necessary data to recruit additional staff, deliver training and strengthen services.

The new standards are a result of legislation that was enacted in 2020. An Act Relative to Strengthening the Local and Regional Public Health System, along with a report, Blueprint for Public Health Excellence Report, produced by a special commission of local and regional public health professionals, provided the information to create the new standards.
On 1 November 2023, the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point of Zambia notified WHO of an anthrax outbreak in humans. The first human cases were reported from the Dengeza Health Post in the Sinazongwe District of the Southern Province on 5 May 2023.

Around the same time period, domestic (cattle and goats) and wild animals (hippopotami) were reportedly dying from an unknown cause in the surrounding areas. In June 2023, human and animal cases were reported in the Kanchindu and Siameja veterinary camps of Sinazongwe District. Twenty-six human cases developed sores on their face, arms, and fingers after consuming meat from three wild hippopotamus carcasses. The first human case was reported on 16 June 2023 and laboratory confirmed by culture at the Lusaka Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI). As of 20 November 2023, 684 suspected human cases, including four deaths, a Case Fatality Ratio (CFR)of 0.6%, were reported from 44 out of 116 districts in nine of Zambias 10 provinces. Sinazongwe district is the epicenter, accounting for 287 cases (42% of total 684 cases) and two deaths (50% of total the four deaths). The most affected provinces are the Southern (370 cases; 54 %), Western (88; 13%), Lusaka (82; 12%), Eastern (66; 10%) and Muchinga (47; 7 %) Provinces. The majority of symptomatic cases were epidemiologically linked to confirmed cases and not tested.

This unprecedented outbreak marks the first major occurrence spanning nine out of 10 country provinces. The latest large-scale outbreak reported in Zambia occurred in 2011 with a total of 511 suspected cases. Response activities have been taken from both human and animal sides, such as active surveillance, case management, laboratory diagnosis, health promotion, and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), meat inspection and livestock vaccination.

Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by a bacteria called Bacillus anthracis that typically affects ruminants (such as cows, sheep, and goats). The bacteria produce extremely potent toxins which are responsible for the symptoms, causing a high lethality rate in the pulmonary form. Humans can develop the disease from infected animals or through contaminated animal products. Hospitalization is required for all human cases identified. Vaccines are available for livestock and humans in limited supply.

The risk of the event spreading within Zambia is assessed to be high due to the unrestricted animal movement and carcasses within and between provinces. The risk at the regional level is also considered high due to the frequent movement of both animals and people between Zambia and its neighbouring countries (such as Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe).

Description of the Situation

On 1 November 2023, the IHR National Focal Point of Zambia notified WHO of an anthrax outbreak in humans. The first human cases were reported from the Dengeza Health Post in the Sinazongwe District of the Southern Province on 5 May 2023. Around the same period, domestic (cattle and goats) and wild animals (hippopotami) were reportedly dying from an unknown cause in the surrounding areas. While Zambia typically reports sporadic cases of anthrax annually, the investigation revealed that from September 2022 to January 2023, 42 suspected cases of anthrax in humans had been recorded at the Dengeza Health Post. All the cases presented at health facilities with skin sores and ulcers, and some of them developed nonspecific symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting, difficulty in breathing). Human specimens were collected during the investigation and sent to the Lusaka Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) for testing. The initial samples collected and tested by culture returned negative for anthrax.

In June 2023, human and animal cases were reported in the Kanchindu and Siameja veterinary camps of Sinazongwe district. Twenty-six human cases developed sores on their face, arms, and fingers after consuming meat from three wild hippopotamus carcasses. The first human case was reported on 16 June 2023 and laboratory confirmed by culture at the Lusaka CVRI. On the animal side, 13 domestic animals including cattle (10) and goats (3) out of Sinazongwe district susceptible population of 65 000 (30 000 cattle and 35 000 goats), under free range extensive traditional management, died of suspected anthrax. Cattle and goat specimens tested by culture at the Lusaka CVRI returned positive for anthrax on 17 July 2023. Until 1 November, anthrax outbreaks affecting animals and humans were reported in other Southern, Northwestern, and Western provinces.

As of 20 November 2023, 684 suspected human cases, including four deaths (CFR 0.6%) were reported from 44 out of 116 districts in nine of Zambias 10 provinces. Sinazongwe district is the epicenter, accounting for 287 cases (42% of total 684 cases) and two deaths (50% of total the four deaths). The most affected provinces are the Southern (370 cases; 54 %), Western (84; 12%), Lusaka (82; 12%), Eastern (66; 10%) and Muchinga (47; 7 %) Provinces. The majority of symptomatic cases were epidemiologically linked to confirmed cases and not tested.

On the animal side, as of 21 November 2023, 568 domestic and wild animal cases were reported across 11 districts in Eastern, Southern, and Western provinces, with (344; 61%) occurring in the Southern province, (132; 23%) in the Muchinga province and (62, 11%) in the Western Province. Cases in wildlife, primarily hippos, were reported in the Eastern and Southern provinces.

This outbreak marks the first major occurrence spanning nine out of 10 country provinces. Previous outbreaks were confined to Northwest and Western provinces, with sporadic cases over the years. Of note, Zambia reported anthrax outbreaks in both human and animals in Western Province in 2017 and in Eastern Province in 2016 and 2011.

Epidemiology

Anthrax is a disease caused by a spore-forming bacteria called Bacillus anthracis. It is a zoonosis (disease transmissible from animals to humans) that affects ruminants (such as cows, sheep, and goats). Anthrax does not typically spread from animal to animal or human to human. When anthrax spores are ingested from contaminated animal products, inhaled, or enter the body through skin abrasions or cuts, they can germinate, multiply and produce toxins.

Depending on the type of exposure, within a few hours to three weeks, individuals may present one of the three clinical presentations of anthrax.

Cutaneous or skin anthrax is the most common presenting with an itchy bump in the exposed area that rapidly develops into a black sore. Some people then develop headaches, muscle aches, fever, and vomiting.

Gastrointestinal anthrax causes initial symptoms similar to food poisoning, but can worsen to produce severe abdominal pain, vomiting of blood and severe diarrhoea.

Pulmonary anthrax, the most severe presentation, has initial symptomatology of a common cold but can rapidly progress to severe breathing difficulties and shock. Diagnosis can be made through polychrome methylene blue-stained blood smears, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hospitalization is required for all human cases identified. Individuals exposed may receive prophylactic treatment. Antibiotics, particularly penicillin, are effective against this disease. Prompt treatment can reduce case-fatality rate to <1%. Vaccines are also available for livestock and humans in limited supply. Human vaccines are limited to those with possible occupational exposure. Public Health Response Response activities have been taken from both human and animal sides. Actions taken for animals With the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), livestock vaccination is ongoing. In total 338 000 doses of anthrax vaccine have been distributed up to 19 November 2023. Vaccination campaigns have been initiated at the outbreak epicentre, Sinazongwe district, and is extended to other affected districts. A joint One Health task force comprising the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Local Government has been conducting case finding in animals and humans. Meat inspection is enhanced by the veterinary department. Additionally, the Department of Wildlife and Parks has been actively involved, conducting patrols to monitor illegal animal movements and ensuring proper disposal of carcasses. WHO is working closely with FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture on animal health activities like vaccination. Actions implemented for humans WHO is supporting and working closely with the Ministry of Health in the following activities: For case management, health workers have undergone orientation to enhance their capacities to identify potential cases early on. Efforts have been made to strengthen event-based surveillance (EBS) and early detection mechanisms. Provision of essential medical supplies has been prioritized, in addition to public sensitization. Active surveillance is ongoing across healthcare facilities and within communities, including contact tracing. Meat inspections are being conducted in abattoirs and butcher shops. Preparedness plans are in place, including the mobilization of additional healthcare personnel to districts, foreseeing a potential surge in anthrax cases. Moreover, specialized training sessions for provincial practitioners aim to improve case management proficiency in the provinces. The laboratory continues to operate under a unified One Health approach for diagnostics. Procurement efforts for laboratory reagents are underway due to shortages. Strict protocols for disinfection and decontamination remain ongoing to ensure safety. Extensive health promotion and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities are ongoing, including press briefings by Ministry of Health, social media campaigns, radio broadcasts, and the distribution of informative brochures and posters. WHO Risk Assessment Anthrax is endemic in Zambia, usually occurring between May and January, with a peak toward the end of the dry season (between October and November). Although sporadic cases are reported yearly in animals and humans across the country, a large-scale outbreak like the current one has not been reported since 2011, when there were 511 suspected human cases. The epidemic is spreading along the provinces located along the basin of the Zambezi, Kafue, and Luangwa rivers, which is an additional problem because these rivers also flow into Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, Kahora Bassa in Mozambique and Lake Malawi, and the risk of anthrax transmission to neighbouring countries is increased. Other affected districts and provinces of Zambia have reported sporadic suspected cases and deaths since June 2023. In addition, the Bacillus anthracis bacteria can form highly resistant spores that survive in the environment for decades. The risk for human health is high given the known populations multiple exposures from handling the carcasses of animals that had died suddenly and eating meat from infected animals with resultant associated cutaneous and gastrointestinal anthrax. The risk of the event spreading within Zambia has increased due to the unrestricted animal movement and carcasses within and between provinces. Since September 2023, there has been a significant rise in the number of affected districts. Moreover, a low index of suspicion, socio-cultural norms, community resistance, limited community knowledge regarding anthrax transmission, high levels of poverty and food insecurity, a shortage of available vaccines and laboratory reagents, inadequate carcass disposal and decontamination practices significantly contribute to hampering the containment of the anthrax outbreak. There is an absence of robust engagement with local communities involved in breeding and handling cattle and livestock, including farmers, heads of cattle markets, and butchers. Among these communities, the fear of losing livelihoods often outweighs concerns about contracting anthrax. The risk of insufficient control capacities is considered high in Zambia due to concurrent public health emergencies in the country (cholera, measles, COVID-19) that limit the countrys human and financial capacities to respond to the current anthrax outbreak adequately. The risk at the regional level is also considered high due to the frequent movement of both animals and people between Zambia and its neighbouring countries (such as Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe). This is compounded by the confirmed cases of anthrax spreading in provinces located along the basin of the Zambezi, Kafue, and Luangwa rivers. These rivers ultimately flow into Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, the Kahora Bassa lake in Mozambique, and Lake Malawi. Unburied carcasses of wild animals that float on the river increase the risk of international spread to neighbouring countries. They can spread the bacterium and infections to other regions, including neighbouring countries, and be eaten by other animals, which can further perpetuate the spread. WHO Advice Humans usually acquire the infection after exposure to infected animals, carcasses, or animal products. More than 95% of human anthrax cases take the cutaneous form and result from handling infected carcasses or hides, hair, meat or bones from such carcasses. The public should avoid handling and consumption of meat from animals that died suddenly, meat obtained via emergency slaughter, and meat of uncertain origin. Anthrax can also be an occupational hazard for veterinarians, agriculture and wildlife workers, or workers who butcher animals or process meat, hides, hair, and wool and should wear preventive clothing and gloves or personal protection equipment (PPE). In health-care settings, it is crucial to enhance screening procedures specifically in areas where there is a known epidemiological risk of anthrax. It is imperative to anticipate and implement infection prevention and control measures promptly when cases are suspected. When caring for patients with draining anthrax lesions, implementing contact precautions is vital. This includes placing the patient in a private room and the use of PPE (such as examination gloves and a fluid resistant gown). Additionally, dressings may be used to contain drainage and reduce the risk of environmental contamination. These dressings should be disposed of as infectious waste after use. The WHOs 5 Moments for hand hygiene should be practiced using soap and water when caring for suspected and confirmed cases, as alcohol-based hand rub has weakened effect against spores. For areas where patients with suspected or confirmed exposure to anthrax spores are being cared for, it is recommended to implement enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols. Individuals potentially exposed to anthrax spores should receive prophylactic treatment. Anthrax responds well to antibiotics, which need to be prescribed by a medical professional. Strict adherence to the full course of treatment is vital. Human vaccines are in limited supply and used primarily for the protection of selected individuals with possible occupational exposure to anthrax. International travelers to anthrax endemic countries should be aware of regulations concerning the importation of prohibited animal products, trophies, and souvenirs. Anthrax is controlled through animal vaccination programs, rapid detection and reporting, quarantine, treatment of sub clinically affected animals (postexposure prophylaxis) and burning or burial of suspect and confirmed animal cases. The carcass should not be opened since exposure to oxygen will allow the bacteria to form spores. The general public and at-risk individuals should immediately report instances of sick or unexpected deaths in animals to veterinary authorities. Veterinary vaccines are used for control of anthrax in livestock. Vaccination protocols for livestock should be strictly followed to curb anthrax spread. Preventing the disease in animals will protect human health. WHO advises against implementing any travel or trade restrictions based on the current information available on this event.
Youth leaders representing the Commonwealths 56 countries have urged leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai to move beyond speeches and deliver concrete action to safeguard the planet.

Their call is at the heart of a new report launched on 8 December 2023 during an intergenerational dialogue organised by the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network (CYCN) and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The report outlines the climate concerns of young people in the Commonwealth and proposes specific actions for governments to engage them in decision-making, underlining that the hope of tackling climate change lies with youth.

During the dialogue, youth leaders expressed disappointment at the lack of action taken by countries in response to a wealth of recommendations they had presented at COP26 in Glasgow.

As countries negotiate the outcomes of COP28, they called on governments to focus on creating conditions that allow young people to share their experiences on climate risks, showcase their work and influence policymaking.

Opening the dialogue, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, described young people, who make up 60 per cent of the Commonwealths population, as humanitys greatest asset.

She said:

Young people are among those facing the harshest consequences of the climate crisis. Despite this, they embody the spirit of hope, using their ingenuity and passion to deliver tangible climate solutions.

It is our duty to engage and listen to young people on policies and practices shaping climate mitigation and adaptation efforts across all levels.

The Secretary-General added: The reports recommendations offer countries a blueprint to engage young people as strategic partners in climate action for their future  a future that relies on the health of our planet.

Chevaughn Brown, Membership lead of the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network, said the report gave young people a voice in shaping their future.

He added: A common future can be achieved if we treat the future as the present. With decisive planning and making the right choices, climate change can be just stories of what could have been a distant past.

The dialogue was designed to provide young people with a platform to engage with leaders, including the Commonwealth Secretary-General, on climate risks and support structures for youth-led climate action, innovation, and ocean conservation.

To amplify youth-oriented solutions to pressing ocean issues, the Commonwealth Blue Charter and the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network launched a specialised Commonwealth Ocean Youth Working Group.

Ibiso Ikiroma-Owiye, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Ocean Youth Working Group, stressed that youth participation in climate change processes is not a privilege but a fundamental right.

She said: Young people deserve a seat at the table and should not have to struggle to finance the implementation of innovative projects for our shared and sustainable future.

The dialogue was part of a series of events being hosted this year to mark 2023/4 as the Year of Youth.

The Commonwealth Youth Policy Recommendations on Climate Change report was produced by the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network, with the Commonwealth Secretariats support.
A growing number of young viewers are speeding up the films and TV shows they watch on streaming services, an option that has come in for heavy criticism from creators.

Office worker Park Min-sun (27) took just five hours to watch all nine episodes of Netflix's hit series "Squid Game" over Chuseok, even though they are on average about 50 minutes long. Park played the dystopian thriller at 1.25 times speed and fast-forwarded the "boring parts."

"Everybody I know was talking about 'Squid Game' and I didn't want to invest too much time watching it," she admits. "I fast-forwarded many parts, but didn't miss key scenes."
Le gouvernement a pris note du montant de la compensation salariale qui sera accorde a 110,000 employes du secteur public et 350,000 au prive.

Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the Tripartite Committee Meeting on salary compensation for the year 2024 held on 07 December 2023. In view of the current situation and to restore the purchasing power of employees, the Tripartite Committee proposed a monthly salary compensation of 10% of basic salary, with a minimum of Rs1,500 and a maximum of Rs2,000. Some 110,000 employees in the public sector and 350,000 employees in the private sector would benefit from the salary compensation.

The monthly CSG Income Allowance of Rs2,000 for all employees earning up to Rs25,000 and Rs1,000 for those earning above Rs25,000 up to Rs50,000 would be maintained.

In order to support enterprises that are facing difficulties to maintain their productive capacity, Government would meet the cost of salary compensation for:

(a) Small and Medium Enterprises with a turnover of up to Rs100 million;

(b) manufacturing enterprises in the export sector, in addition to the existing support being provided; and

(c) manufacturing enterprises catering for the local market.

Government would also meet the cost of salary compensation for registered Non-Governmental Organisations.
A Scottish man who was caught by an off-duty garda taking "upskirt" pictures on the Luas and was later found with hundreds of thousands of similar images along with an "extremely explicit" child abuse video has had his five-and-a-half year prison sentence reduced by nearly two years.

About 20,000 images of women and girls' legs, groins and buttocks, including "upskirt" photos of schoolgirls, were found on Paul Boyle's mobile phone when an off-duty garda spotted him acting suspiciously on the Luas in December 2019.

A subsequent Garda search of Boyle's home at Sandyford View, Blackglen Road, Dublin 18, found hundreds of thousands of similar images.

At the Court of Appeal today Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, on behalf of the three-judge court, said that the original sentence was "excessive to the point that there was an error in principle".

He pointed out that the original sentence consisted of five years for a count of harrassment and three years for a count of possession of child pornography. The two sentences were to run consecutively but the final two years and six months were suspended, leaving Boyle with a custodial sentence of five years and six months.

Mr Justice McCarthy said the appeal court found that the harassment fell within the lower category as it did not include violence or the threat of violence and the intention was not to "exploit the emotional attributes of the victims such as might occur in a case, for example, of an individual who is hostile to a former partner."

The court arrived at a sentence of five years in total for all the offending and suspended the last 16 months for two years, leaving Boyle with a custodial sentence of three years and eight months.

Hearing

At the Court of Appeal last Tuesday, Professor Tom OMalley SC, for Boyle, said the sentencing judge erred in that he "did not identify a suitable headline sentence, followed by an appropriate reduction in respect of mitigation".

Prof O'Malley said his client was appealing on the basis that the sentence imposed on the child abuse material count was wholly disproportionate, given that the charge related to a single video only.

Boyles lawyers also submitted that the harassment sentence was excessive and that it failed to reflect relevant case law.

The appellants lawyers further submitted that the use of consecutive sentences was also "excessive", that a psychological report was not given appropriate consideration and that the overall sentence was too high, offending the principles of totality.

It was also submitted that there had been "no extortion, blackmail or threats" involved in the offending and that the offences were not aimed at causing distress to the victims.

In fact, there was no contact with the victims and those who learned of it did so only from the investigation," Boyles lawyers submitted.

Prof O'Malley further submitted that the trial judge had acknowledged Boyles genuine remorse and his client's plea of guilty but did not explain how the sentence had been structured regarding mitigation from the headline sentence.

Kate Egan BL, for the State, said not all persons in the 278K photos were identified but this "does not mean they are irrelevant".

"The trial court placed a weight on the overall amount of images," said Ms Egan, who added that Boyle was "taking surreptitious photos of women's groins, thighs and buttocks in public settings".

Prof O'Malley said that a psychiatrist's report said that his client had a disorder regarding voyeurism and described the three year sentence, albeit with two-and-a-half years suspended for possessing the child pornography video, as "disproportionate in the extreme".

In March 2022, Boyle (46) pleaded guilty to harassment at a location in Dublin city between November and December 2019. He also admitted possession of a child pornography video at his home on 28 January, 2020.

In July 2022, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Boyle to five years' imprisonment for the harassment. On the count of possession of child pornography, he imposed a three-year term, to run consecutive to the harassment sentence.

However, Judge Nolan suspended the final two and a half years of the child pornography sentence and backdated it to when Boyle went into custody in March 2021. Judge Nolan ordered that Boyle can never make any form of contact with any of the victims who he took images of and also imposed two years of post-release supervision.
TWO men who were jailed over the rape and sexual assault of a woman in the back of a van during the Galway Races have failed in their conviction appeals after they argued that an incorrect time-stamp on phone evidence affected their legal teams' preparation for their cases.

At the Central Criminal Court in November last year, Karl Reilly, aged 40, of Inny View, Aghara, Carrickboy, County Longford was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with 18 months suspended for the single charge of raping the woman in the back of the van at a car park in the harbour area of the city on August 5, 2017.

Patrick McLoughlin, aged 36, of Torboy, Moydow, County Longford was sentenced to five years' imprisonment with 18 months suspended by Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring for the sole charge of sexual assault of the woman also in the back of the van.

Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial heard that the woman met Reilly and McLoughlin on a night out in the city and returned with Reilly to have consensual sex in the van with but was interrupted by his friend, (McLoughlin).

McLoughlin was told to leave the van and at that point, the woman said she no longer wanted to continue having sex with Reilly and said "no, no, no".

Reilly did not stop and then raped her. The trial heard that McLoughlin left and returned to the van minutes later and sexually assaulted the woman by digitally penetrating her anus.

At the Court of Appeal in October, counsel for both men submitted to the three-judge court that an "erroneous" time-stamp on phone evidence discovered during the trial meant that the defences did not have an opportunity to prepare for the correct timeline, rendering the trial "unsatisfactory".

Michael Bowman SC, for Reilly, also submitted that the trial of the two men should have been separated, as differences in the men's accounts to gardai meant it was possible for the jury to pit one accused against another.

At the Court of Appeal today this Friday, presiding judge Mr Justice George Birmingham said the court was dismissing the conviction appeals of both men.

He said the rejected application to sever the trials of the two men was decided by trial judge Ms Justice Ring, who said: Experience has shown the capacity of jurors to deal with the complexity of multiple accused in other trials once properly instructed in the law.

Mr Justice Birmingham noted: She [Judge Ring] was satisfied that the difference in the two statements was not sufficient to require her to exercise her discretion to order separate trials."

In statements to gardai, Reilly said that when McLoughlin entered the van he was finishing up or finished having sex but McLoughlin maintained that Reilly was still having sex with the complainant.

However, the difference in the two statements it could be argued could amount to no difference at all, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

It does not necessarily follow that there is any difference between these two positions, but certainly any difference there is very minor indeed, she said.

Mr Justice Birmingham said joint trials routinely take place when the potential difficulties for the defence are of a far greater order of magnitude, adding that the trial judge was fully entitled to refuse the application.

The judge further observed that the complainant was also spared the potential ordeal of giving evidence on several occasions in separate trials and then dismissed this ground of appeal.

Regarding the application to discharge the jury over the differing time stamps relating to calls on McLoughlins phone when analysed by gardai, Mr Justice Birmingham said 29 calls on the date were examined.

Mr Justice Birmingham said there were also ten calls analysed from the phone of the complainant.

However, the phone records did not feature in any way as part of the prosecution case, said the judge.

The phone issue was raised at the trial and concerned a one-hour difference in the two phones call records that could have damaged the credibility of the complainants statement to gardai regarding her account of the night's timeline.

Mr Justice Birmingham said that the calls recorded used the 24-hour clock, or Universal Time Co-ordinated (UTC) clock, but that in Ireland the actual time in summer was plus one hour which led the defence to apply for the jury to be discharged.

It had been suggested that the defence had been denied an opportunity to engage an independent phone analyst, but Mr Justice Birmingham said the court of appeal sees this argument as something of a red herring.

We do not believe an expert was ever required to explain what UTC was, or to explain summertime in Ireland, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

There is no reality to the argument. What had happened was readily apparent; there had been a mistake or a misunderstanding, said the judge, who added that the defence had misinterpreted phone data provided by the prosecution.

We are in no doubt the issue which has arisen, arising from the misinterpretation of data provided, while unfortunate, has not caused irrevocable damage to the trial.

On the contrary, we are quite convinced it was a matter capable of being dealt with either by recalling the complainant for further cross-examination or through closing speeches, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

In dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Birmingham said the court was satisfied that the trial judge acted well within her rights in declining to discharge the jury, so we are not prepared to uphold this ground of appeal.

Mr Justice Birmingham then dismissed both appeals in their entirety.
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Friday he is running for another six-year term, one day after lawmakers in Russia's upper house of parliament set the date for the next presidential election for March 17, 2024.

Putin made the announcement on Russian state television following a ceremony at the Kremlin for military personnel.

During a conversation with military officer Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zhoga, Putin said that he "had different thoughts at different times, but this is a time when a decision has to be made," and said he was running for president.

The state-run news agency quoted the officer as confirming what the president had said.

Carnagie Russia Eurasia Center analyst Tatiana Stanovaya told the Associated Press she thinks the announcement was likely made in a low-key way instead of a formal speech to reflect Putin's modesty, showing he is more concerned with doing his job than participating in fanfare.
Hong Kong will hold a "patriots only" district council election Sunday, with 399 candidates running for 88 directly elected seats. The city's authorities will appoint the rest of the 382 district councilors.

The election follows a historic landslide victory for the pro-democracy camp in the 2019 district council election, which saw more than 70 percent of the voters showing up to vote. It also comes after the Hong Kong government overhauled the election process in July, reducing the number of directly elected seats to just 20 percent and implementing a strict vetting mechanism to ensure that all candidates fit the criteria of "patriots."

To encourage voters to come out and vote, Hong Kong authorities have rolled out a series of measures, such as organizing free concerts and fun fairs to "create a happy atmosphere," and encouraging nursing homes to help senior citizens cast ballots by offering each elderly community center a one-off allowance worth around $2,500.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways is also offering discounted airfares from China to Hong Kong, hoping to help encourage more Hong Kongers working on the mainland to return to the city and vote. Despite the government's wide-ranging efforts, some analysts say voter turnout could be low.

"When Hong Kong held the Legislative Council election in 2021, which plays a more important role in Hong Kong than the district council, the Hong Kong government added voting stations along the border with China, but the voter turnout rate was only 30 percent," Chung Kim-wah, an expert on Hong Kong politics in the U.K., told VOA by phone.

He added that while Hong Kong authorities have done more to mobilize voters for the district council election, voter turnout would likely be lower than 30 percent. "Many Hong Kongers I know are not interested in the district council election because they know what real elections look like based on experiences before 2020," Chung added.

Some Hong Kongers say they have no plan to vote in an election that is completely controlled by the government. "If I voted in the election, it would seem like I support the government's efforts to tighten control over Hong Kong's civil society," Annie Leung, a 35-year-old accountant, told VOA by phone.

Others view the election as a way for the government to reward their loyalists. "The election is just a slogan to reinforce the government's control while distributing benefits to the so-called 'patriots,'" Esther Wong, a 39-year-old artist, told VOA in a written response.

Apart from efforts to mobilize voters, the Hong Kong government has also been cracking down on election critics. Earlier this week, Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog charged a 38-year-old programmer with inciting others to not vote in the election. They also applied for an arrest warrant for a 45-year-old Hong Kong political commentator who know lives in Germany for similar offenses.
UNITED NATIONS  The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Friday backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. Supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war goes into its third month.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. The United States' isolated stand reflects a growing fracture between Washington and some of its closest allies over Israel's increasingly deadly bombardment of Gaza. France and Japan were among those supporting the resolution.

In a vain effort to press the Biden administration to drop its opposition to calling for a halt to the fighting, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey were all in Washington on Friday. But their meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken took place only after the U.N. vote.

The vote also shifted responsibility more squarely onto the United States for protecting Israel from growing demands to stop the airstrikes that are killing thousands of Palestinian civilians.

"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza? United Arab Emirates deputy ambassador Mohamed Abushaha asked after the vote. Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticized the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israels right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and only plant the seeds for the next war.

Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution, Wood said before the vote. For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate cease-fire.

Israels military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza  70% of them women and children  and wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territorys Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Abushahab, the UAE diplomat, said before the vote that the resolution, which his country sponsored, had garnered nearly 100 co-sponsors in less than 24 hours, a reflection of global support for efforts to end the war and save Palestinian lives.

After the vote, he expressed deep disappointment at the U.S. veto and warned that the Security Council is growing isolated and appears untethered from its mandate to ensure international peace and security.

Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky called the vote one of the darkest days in the history of the Middle East" and accused the United States of issuing a death sentence to thousands, if not tens of thousands more civilians in Palestine and Israel, including women and children.

He said history will judge Washingtons actions in the face of what he called a merciless Israeli bloodbath.

The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of an humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Guterres said he raised Article 99  which hadnt been used at the U.N. since 1971  because there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza. The U.N. anticipates this would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt, he warned.

Gaza is at a breaking point, he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.

Guterres said Hamas brutality against Israelis on Oct. 7 can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations, he stressed.

The U.N. chief detailed the humanitarian nightmare Gaza is facing, citing intense, widespread and ongoing Israeli attacks from air, land and sea that reportedly have hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 health care facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.

Over 60% of Gazas housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85% of the population has been forced from their homes, the health system is collapsing, and nowhere in Gaza is safe, Guterres said.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the council that Israels objective is the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip and the dispossession and forcible displacement of the Palestinian people.

If you are against the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people, you have to be in favor of an immediate cease-fire, Mansour said. "When you refuse to call for a cease-fire, you are refusing to call for the only thing that can put an end to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Israels U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan stressed that regional stability and the security of Israelis and Gazans can only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated  not one minute before.

So the true path to ensure peace is only through supporting Israels mission  absolutely not to call for a cease-fire, he told the council. Israel committed itself to the elimination of Hamas capabilities for the sole reason of ensuring that such horrors could never be repeated again. And if Hamas is not destroyed, such horrors will be repeated.

In Washington, Jordans top diplomat told reporters that the killings of Palestinian civilians in Israels bombardment and siege of Gaza were war crimes and threatened to destabilize the region, the U.S. and the world for years to come.

If people are not seeing it here, we are seeing it, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, adding: Were seeing the challenges that we are are facing talking to our people. They are all saying were doing nothing. Because despite all our efforts, Israel is continuing these massacres.

Safadi said Arab nations would not help U.S. efforts to plan for the post-war as long as the fighting persisted, but the Arab diplomats made no mention of upping economic or diplomatic pressure on Israel and the United States to force the matter.

Asked what his pitch was to the Americans in pushing for a cease-fire, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan responded: Our pitch would be that innocent people are dying. Innocent children are dying.

___

Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, separately condemned a high-seas assault Saturday by the Chinese coast guard together with suspected militia ships that repeatedly blasted water cannons to block three Philippine fisheries vessels from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The noontime assault by Chinese ships off the Scarborough Shoal, one of the most aggressive this year, caused significant damage to the communication and navigation equipment of one of the three Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships, Filipino officials said.

They said without elaborating that suspected militia vessels accompanying Chinese coast guard ships used a long-range acoustic device that could impair hearing, causing severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew."

It's the latest flare-up of the long-seething territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a flashpoint in Asia that has put the U.S. and China on a collision course. China claims virtually the entire strategic waterway, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also pressed their separate claims.

Territorial standoffs between China and the Philippines over a number of disputed offshore areas, including the Scarborough and the Second Thomas shoals, have been particularly heated this year. The U.S. has warned that its obligated to defend the Philippines, its longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, aircraft or ships come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

China has warned the U.S. to stay away from what it calls a purely Asian dispute. It has deployed ships and aircraft to closely shadow U.S. Navy ships and aircraft, which periodically undertake freedom of navigation and overflight patrols in one of the worlds most hotly disputed seas.

A Philippine government task force that deals with the long-seething territorial disputes said Saturday it vehemently condemns the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese coast guard and Chinese maritime militia against the civilian Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels."

We demand that the Chinese government take immediate action to halt these aggressive activities and uphold the principles of international law and desist from actions that would infringe on Philippine sovereignty and endanger the lives and livelihood of Filipino fishermen, it said.

U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson condemned Chinas aggressive, illegal actions."

This (Chinese) behavior violates international law and endangers lives and livelihood, Carlson said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. We stand with our Philippine friends, partners, allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The Chinese coast guard said in a single sentence announcement on its website that it implemented control measures in line with the law Saturday against three BFAR vessels that intruded into waters adjacent to Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for the Shoal.

The Philippine fisheries bureau's ships sailed to the Scarborough Shoal to provide humanitarian aid, mainly free fuel and Christmas grocery packs, to poor Filipino fishermen aboard nearly 30 boats in the rich but far-flung fishing area, Philippine officials said.

They said the swarm of Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships took dangerously aggressive actions, including the use of water cannons at least eight times, as the Philippine government ships approached about 2.6 kilometers to 3.5 kilometers (1.6 to 2 miles) from Scarborough Shoal.

They added that the Chinese coast guard installed a floating barrier at an entrance to the vast fishing lagoon of Scarborough Shoal and deployed personnel aboard small motor boats to drive away Filipino fishermen waiting for the distribution of fuel and food supplies at sea.

"To prevent the distribution of humanitarian support is not only illegal but also inhumane, the Philippine government task force said.

In past faceoffs in the high seas off disputed shoals, the Chinese coast guard has used a military-grade laser that caused Filipino crewmen temporary blindness, and resorted to dangerous blocking and shadowing maneuvers, including one that caused minor collisions.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has allowed a larger U.S. military presence in local military bases under a 2014 defense pact partly to strengthen territorial defense amid Chinas increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters. China has strongly opposed and expressed alarm over increasing deployments of U.S. forces, warning that it would threaten regional peace and stability.

The Philippines has also launched joint sea and air patrols separately with the U.S. and Australia, and plans to expand this to a multilateral patrol, possibly including Japan and other like-minded nations to deter aggression in the South China Sea, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano told reporters last week.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Saturday called for a stronger international push to suppress North Koreas development of nuclear weapons and missiles, its cybertheft activities and alleged arms transfers to Russia.

The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral partnership in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

Speaking after the meeting, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defense cooperation and improve its response to North Korean missile testing and space-launch activities, including a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches that the countries plan to start at an unspecified date in December.

He also said the countries have agreed to new initiatives to more effectively respond to North Korean efforts to bypass U.S.-led international sanctions that aim to choke off funds for its nuclear weapons and missile program.

This will be a new effort with respect to cryptocurrency and money laundering and how we disrupt North Koreas capacity to gain revenue from the hacking and stealing of cryptocurrency and then laundering it through exchanges, he said.

Sullivan declined to share detailed U.S. assessments on the types and volume of North Korean arms being shipped to Russia and didnt comment on the specifics of his discussions with South Korean and Japanese officials over the issue, but insisted that theres no daylight among us in terms of the types of weapons transfers that we are seeing. And those continue and they represent a grave concern for us.

South Korean intelligence and military officials have said North Korea may have shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia beginning in August, weeks before Kim traveled to Russias Far East for a rare summit with Putin that sparked international concerns about a potential arms deal. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied U.S. and South Korean claims.

In a joint news conference after Saturday's trilateral meeting, Cho Tae-yong, South Koreas national security office director, said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Koreas obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its denuclearization and ban any weapons trade with other countries, and agreed to strengthen coordination to ensure that is implemented.

Takeo Akiba, Japans national security secretariat secretary general, said the unprecedented frequency and patterns of North Korean ballistic missile launches necessitate a deeper and more effective partnership between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia have also announced their own sanctions on North Korea over its spy satellite launch last month. North Korea argues it the right to launch spy satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhance the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles.

During his conversation with reporters, Sullivan said the allies are preparing for the possibility that North Korea will up the ante of its weapons demonstrations and threats in 2024, possibly including the country's seventh nuclear test.

Direct military action is also a concern after the North recently announced it was abandoning a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on reducing border tensions after the South partially suspended the agreement, which had established border buffers and no-fly zones. Some experts say that has raised the risk of border-area shootings or clashes.

Look, when a country announces its intent to walk away from a set of measures that are designed to help reduce risk and increase stability, our concern for potential incidents, provocations has to go up, Sullivan said, though he said the full implications of the Norths announcement is not immediately clear.

Sullivan held separate bilateral talks Friday with Cho and Akiba and also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The U.S., South Korean and Japanese national security advisers last held a trilateral meeting in June in Tokyo.

South Korean intelligence officials have said the Russians likely provided technology support for North Koreas successful satellite launch in November, which followed two failed launches.

North Korea has said its spy satellite transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the U.S. and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasnt released any of those satellite photos. Many outside experts question whether the Norths satellite is sophisticated enough to send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

Kim has vowed to launch more satellites, saying his military needs to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

South Korean officials have also said North Korea-made rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons could have been used by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault on Israel and that the North could be considering selling weapons to militant groups in the Middle East.

Sullivan said that the United States has not seen any specific evidence of that, but remains vigilant about the possibility.

I think given North Koreas history of proliferation activities, including to reprehensible actors in other contexts across history, its a legitimate concern, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to the report.
Daulton Jefferies is in agreement on a deal with the Giants, the right-hander announced this morning. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle confirms its a minor league pact with an invitation to Spring Training. Additionally, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo has agreed to terms with San Francisco (X link). It seems fair to presume thats also a minor league deal with a non-roster invite.

Jefferies sticks in the Bay Area. A Berkeley product, he was selected by the As with the 37th pick of the 2016 draft. Jefferies made his big league debut with one appearance in 2020. He pitched five times the following season and on eight occasions in 2022. In 14 career outings (10 starts), he has worked to a 5.75 ERA through 56 1/3 frames. He has a middling 15.2% strikeout rate while walking fewer than 6% of opponents.

The 28-year-old has lost most of the last two seasons to injury. He underwent thoracic outlet surgery in June 2022 before requiring a Tommy John procedure that September. Oakland ran him through waivers and off the 40-man roster last offseason. Jefferies missed all of last season and elected minor league free agency at years end. Hell get a look in camp with former Oakland skipper Bob Melvin. Jefferies still has an option remaining, so the Giants could freely send him to Triple-A even if he earns a 40-man roster spot.

Tsutsugo, who recently turned 32, spent time in the San Francisco system this year. He signed with the Giants out of independent ball in August, playing in 17 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Tsutsugo, who hit .197/.291/.339 over 640 big league plate appearances from 2020-22, had posted a .249/.380/.432 line with Texas top minor league affiliate in the first half of last season.
One of the best memes of this year is undoubtedly the photo of Justin Bieber turned into a caricature of himself, wearing yellow Crocs and tracksuit bottoms combined with a sweatshirt and a pink Nahmias cap. And next to him is his wife, Hailey Bieber, looking flawless in an impeccable red strapless Ermanno Scervino mini dress.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber in New York in August 2023. Gotham (GC Images)

In the image, Justin Bieber is the personification of the scumbro trend, defined by Vanity Fair columnist Kenzie Bryant, who put together the words scum and bro. This trend defines the aesthetics of celebrities such as Pete Davidson, Tom Holland and Machine Gun Kelly. What defines this hectic style is an absolute lack of aesthetic coherence; they want us to know that they walked out of their houses wearing the first thing they saw in their closets. What is often striking (and incomprehensible) is that scumbros usually have a partner (like Hailey Bieber) who looks exactly the opposite; their outfits are neat, stylish.

The strategy, in the end, is that celebrity couples dress alike, something that is accentuated when there are brands involved, Leticia Garcia, chief fashion editor of the fashion magazine SModa, says. Everything is marketing, and the construction of the celebrity image is nothing more than advertising. The next step is the construction of the image of the couple, something that seems to me to be a way of stripping people of [their] self-identity.

Looking disheveled on purpose

Going out looking messy and untidy  compared to ones partner  is a strategy to attract attention, according to Pedro Mansilla, a sociologist, journalist and fashion critic. This is particularly true when we talk about celebrity couples, Mansilla adds. Famous men tend to do it when they are dating women who have achieved notoriety on their own merits.

Pete Davidson dressed to go to a premiere in 2022. Jamie McCarthy (Getty Images)

Mansilla points out that this happens primarily in heterosexual couples and adds that it could be due to the so-called bad boy attraction, with his characteristic sins: carelessness, unpunctuality, laziness, etc. There is nothing more attractive than a guy who  due to his status, and thus, power  can dress whichever way he wants, says Mansilla. In other words, according to this new trend (very ad hoc with the Silicon Valley power players who went from nerds to billionaires at the beginning of this century), for a powerful man, nothing is more exciting and vindicating than to dress as if he were powerless.

This style is, in fact, the result of an aesthetic decision. Actor Adam Sandler considers himself, perhaps, the last great purist of the scumbro style, someone who dresses this way out of sheer carelessness. When asked in an interview how he would define his aesthetic, he replied: A man who opened a suitcase and threw something on. The difference between Sandler and others  such as Justin Bieber or Pete Davidson  is that he is probably the only one who dresses this way in the most natural way possible. Nowadays, scumbros wear streetstyle brands such as Palace and Supreme, as well as clothing from big brands l Gucci, Versace, and Prada. Their style is more about being perfectly imperfect.

Adam Sandler well-dressed for the release of his own movie in 2022. Dia Dipasupil (Getty Images)

Proof that whoever dresses like this does not do it out of laziness, but with absolute intention, is that when a user wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Diplo was starting to look like a dude that sells you bad weed on the Venice boardwalk, the musician posted a screenshot of the tweet on his Instagram profile along with the caption Goals achieved. Even Esquire magazine published an article in which it pointed out that celebrities dress like teenage weed dealers.

Brands like Balenciaga and Acne Studio have seized on this supposedly chaotic aesthetic. And, as Kyle Dinkjian  who runs the Instagram account JonahFits, which analyzes Jonah Hills looks  explained to The Wall Street Journal, this style inspires men who dont look like movie stars to get into their own fashion and make it their own.

People are tired of the everything goes mentality, Pedro Mansilla counters. Uglysm still dominates, but the sartorial order will prevail at some point. The anti-establishment style is showing signs of fatigue. The dandy is starting to come out of the closet, he adds.

A new type of narcissist

But do these men really not care about their style at all? When someone claims that fashion is banal and superfluous, its a sure sign that they are a person who thinks they are above the rest, says Garcia. People dress not only as a way of expressing themselves, but also out of respect for others. We must differentiate here, however, between two types of scumbros. One of them is Justin Bieber, who knows about fashion, has been nourished by it and has collaborated, in fact, with big brands such as Calvin Klein. His scumbro style is actually worth thousands of dollars. On the opposite side of the spectrum is something like Adam Sandler, who many Internet users defend for being someone who dresses according to his comfort and his own style. He is true to himself. Authentic.

Pete Davidson dressed to go on television in 2021. NBC (NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

A trained eye should always distinguish those who dont care how they are dressed from those who do care, but pretend they dont, Mansilla explains. These are the most interesting because, in principle, they set the upward trend. We have become so bored with seeing the integrated that we wish to see the apocalyptic, to use Umberto Ecos terminology.

It seems that stylistic laziness is less and less about laziness and more and more about strategy, especially when a closer look at their closets reveals that every garment and accessory is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. If silent luxury has taught us that even the most basic white T-shirt can be a sign of social status, styles like scumbro are not precisely symptoms of passivity, but of careful decisions. Todays narcissist has mutated: he is no longer just Christian Bale in American Psycho, he has also been spotted wearing sweatpants, a Hawaiian shirt and Crocs.

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One of yesterdays top stories was a Bloomberg report that private equity mogul David Rubenstein had been in contact with the Angelos family about purchasing some portion of the Orioles. It comes at a time of ongoing uncertainty about the franchises lease at Camden Yards, which runs through December 31.

In late September, the Orioles and the Maryland governors office jointly announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding that would, if approved, extend the Camden Yards lease by 30 years. As part of that framework, the Os would receive a 99-year development rights agreement to build around the stadium with visions of a ballpark village.

That latter aspect has found some pushback in the state legislature. Rubensteins reported discussions about the franchise only made the situation more complex. State senator Bill Ferguson released a statement on Friday afternoon expressing opposition to the memorandum.

Fundamentally, I believe that the long-term lease for the use of the ballpark should not be conditioned on whether or not a private owner receives a 99-year ground lease to develop land owned by Maryland taxpayers. This is more relevant today, as recent news has heightened uncertainties about the future ownership of the team, Ferguson said (via the Associated Press).

Jeff Barker, Hayes Gardner and Emily Opilo of the Baltimore Sun write that while the governors office and the Orioles had reached a tentative 30-year lease agreement, the governor has put that on hold in response to Fergusons comments. According to the Sun, the governors office had been briefing elected officials about the framework of the lease agreement as recently as this morning. Once Ferguson made his statement in the afternoon, the governors office reversed course and halted the deal. Neither the governor nor the Orioles made any public announcement.

Whether Ferguson would have intervened if not for the reported discussions between Rubenstein and the Angelos family isnt clear. (The Sun notes that Ferguson had expressed opposition to giving the Os land development rights as far as back as August.) Still, it seems the Bloomberg report played some role in the renewed opposition. Andy Kostka and Pamela Wood of The Baltimore Banner write that Fergusons concerns were heightened by the possibility of an ownership change.

To that end, the Angelos family has sought to downplay that possibility. Kostka and Wood report that Os chairman John Angelos spoke with Maryland governor Wes Moore on Thursday night and reassured him the family had no plans to sell a majority stake in the franchise. The Sun observes that the Angelos family would be subject to notable capital gains taxes if they sell while longtime owner Peter Angelos, 94, remains alive.

The respective reports from The Sun and The Banner contain myriad details about the lease framework that seemed to be in place before the governors offices change of heart. Next steps arent entirely clear, but it stands to reason the sides will act quickly to try to modify the agreement to overcome the legislatures objections before years end.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The Broadway Bar is known for its humongous indoor Christmas light display, but customers looking for holiday cheer should also come with large appetites.

Decked out from floor to ceiling on every square foot of the interior walls with Christmas decorations, the Grand Rapids bar, at 740 Broadway Ave. NW, is traditionally packed at this time of year, even at lunch.

Table reservations for the holiday season filled up months ago but the bar is still first come, first served.

Cindy Berrington, who has owned the business for 30 years, can be routinely found cooking burgers in the back corner of the holiday spectacle.

The bars signature feast is the Broadway Burger and Fries (double patty on Texas toast with everything deluxe) that sells for $17.

The rest of the burgers served on the menu go for $15 and include fries or chips. A Grilled Chicken Sandwich with fries or chips also goes for $15.

The fries or chips can be substituted to tater tots or onion rings for an extra $1. Burger or chicken sandwich upgrades include bacon, egg or ham and are an extra $2 for each item.

The Olive Burger is a customer favorite said Berringtons longtime partner, Tomas Schuitema, who has been with the bar for 27 years.

Its the closest thing to Mr. Fables, he said about the Olive burger.

Mr. Fables, a beloved West Michigan restaurant chain cofounded by Dick Faber and John Boyles in 1963, using a combination of their surnames (Fab+les), took over a Kewpee hamburger stand that had been founded by Johns father, Gerald, in 1929.

The last three locations of Mr. Fables were shuttered in 2000 and theres even an I miss Mr. Fables Facebook page with 2,500 members.

Another treasured menu item with Grand Rapids culinary history is the gigantic Broadway Burrito (served deluxe including lettuce, tomato, onion, taco meat and a popular burrito sauce) for $17.

Schuitema said the burrito sauce recipe comes from his late friend, Martin Morales, who was the founder and owner of the now closed Little Mexico Cafe, that had been located at northwest corner of Bridge Street and Stocking Avenue NW.

Toward the end of his life, he started hanging out here and it took me three years to get the recipe out of him, Schuitema said of Morales.

Basket entrees, served with fries, include chicken strips for $14, fish & chips for $15 and shrimp for $14.

A large variety of appetizers include portobello mushrooms (5 ounces) for $8, cheese curds (6 ounces) for $8 and deep-fried cauliflower for $7.

Or, get a taco salad for $12.

The bar traditionally also decorates for Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, a little bit for Easter, and its mostly red, white and blue in the summer, Schuitema said, but its Christmas decorations that get most of the attention.

They start taking reservations for November, December and January, when they hold a Christmas in July event that includes raffles, prizes and lunch with Santa.

They fill up fast.

A reservation now locks in a table for an entire lunchtime, or dinnertime, so customers can relax without feeling rushed.

The Broadway Bar currently operates from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. - midnight on Friday; noon - midnight on Saturday and noon through 8 p.m. on Sunday. The bar will sometimes stay open later if busy.

The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on the weekends. It also closes from 4-5 p.m. to catch up before dinner.

To keep up to date with the Broadway Bar, check out their Facebook page, here.

A cheeseburger inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Burgers served with fries or chips go for $15.Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Marc Vander Velde, of Grand Rapids, left, and Alec Zimmerman, of Ann Arbor, sit inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Nikki Landon wears a shirt depicting Dr. Seuss the Grinch while serving burgers inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Landons mother, Cindy Berrington, has owned the bar for 30 years. "It makes everybody feel like home," Landon said about the decorations. Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Broadway Bar owner Cindy Berrington cooks burgers as her partner, Tomas Schuitema, tends to the bar inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Berrington has owned the bar for 30 years. "It's all family," she said of her bars staff. "Family, or very close friends I have adopted to be family." Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Broadway Bar owner Cindy Berrington serves food to Jan and Steve Rogal, of Caledonia, inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Berrington has owned the bar for 30 years.Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

The gigantic "Broadway Burrito" (served deluxe including lettuce, tomato, onion, taco meat and a popular burrito sauce) for $17 inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Tomas Schuitema, who has been with the bar for 27 years, said the burrito sauce recipe comes from his late friend, Martin Morales, who was the founder and owner of the now closed Little Mexico Cafe, that had been located at northwest corner of Bridge Street and Stocking Avenue NW in Grand Rapids. "Toward the end of his life, he started hanging out here and it took me three years to get the recipe out of him," Schuitema said. Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Charlotte Pitt, 10, eats with her father, Alex Pitt, inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. They are from Comstock Park.Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Nikki Landon serves a burger with onion rings inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Landons mother, Cindy Berrington, has owned the bar for 30 years.Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Tomas Schuitema tends the bar inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Schuitema has been with the bar for 27 years. Schuitema was talking with Nick Brady, of Grand Rapids, left, who was with Jim Brown and Emily Pechaitis, of Cleveland, Ohio.Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

People leave the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, as Christmas lights reflect off the road wet with rain on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

Nikki Landon serves beers to a group of festive Hudsonville friends inside the Broadway Bar, 740 Broadway Ave. NW, in Grand Rapids on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Landons mother, Cindy Berrington, has owned the bar for 30 years. "It makes everybody feel like home," Landon said about the decorations. Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com

To see all the photos in the gallery click here.

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PONTIAC, MI -- Victims refused to use his name.

Waste is how the mother of one victim referred to him. The sister of another called him a creature., and one classmate, this thing.

Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, who killed four classmates in November 2021 when he was a 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School, will spend the remainder of his life in prison.

I am a really bad person, Crumbley said prior to receiving his sentence. I have done terrible things that nobody should ever do.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame L. Rowe said the shooter displayed an obsession with violence and meticulously planned the attack in which he picked and chose which classmates to execute.

Rowe said he issued a life sentence, in part, to deter others from following the shooters example.

I hope the screams keep you up at night, said Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of slain 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin. Im glad you didnt decide to be a coward that day and take your own life. Id much rather you stick around to see ... what suffering really feels like.

You failed. Im so much stronger than you ... The path youve chosen will haunt you.

The teen shooters ankle chains jingled as he walked into the courtroom of Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame L. Rowe in Pontiac Friday. With parted brown hair and black-rimmed glasses, he wore an orange jail uniform. The shooter showed little emotion and starred at his lap. A single folded tissue lay on the defense table before him.

The now 17-year-old killer pleaded guilty to 24 felonies, including four counts of first-degree murder in October 2022.

Following a pre-sentence hearing, Rowe determined the shooter fit Supreme Court-established criteria for rare juveniles determined to be irreparably corrupt, allowing them to receive life prison sentences without any opportunity for parole.

Before sentencing, defense attorney Deborah H. McKelvy urged the judge not to issue a life sentence.

His life is salvageable, McKelvy said and described the shooter as an intelligent history buff.

Another of Crumbleys attorneys, Paulette M. Loftin, said her client has gone through all the stages of grief and is a different person today.

Hes been able to keep out the dark voices and thoughts, Loftin said. He sees the wrong in his actions and his thoughts. He has hope for the first time.

The slain Oxford High students were: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six students and a teacher also survived gunshot wounds.

What you stole from us is not replaceable, said Buck Myre, the father of of Tate Myre. The father said hell never forget the vision of his wife with her hands in her arms the day she learned their sons fate. Not my baby boy, she cried inside the Meijer store where worried parents converged to look for their children.

Nearly 50 family, friends and supporters filled the at-capacity Pontiac courtroom for the shooters sentencing. Many more were in the hallway.

Shooting victims who survived, relatives of the slain students and their friends gave often-emotional victim statements that lasted nearly five hours, prior to the judges verdict.

Ethan Crumbley sits in court listening to victim impact statements, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether a teenager will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) APAP

Madeline Johnson, a senior in 2021, recalled walking to class with Madisyn Baldwin minutes before she was fatally shot.

Johnson showed the court the front of her green sweatshirt, depicting a simple drawing of two dinosaurs walking. Baldwin doodled the image for Johnson on a gum wrapper before her death.

Its the two of us as dinosaurs, Johnson said. Best friends, even in prehistoric times.

Baldwins mother recalled seeing her daughters lifeless, blue hand poking out from under a white sheet at the medical examiners office the morning after the shooting. That pain burns into my body like a cigarette burn, Nicole Beausoleil told the court.

Justin Shillings father said his sons death squeezed out ever ounce of joy in his life, as he spoke to the court from behind a podium, wearing a black sweatshirt depicting an image of his son surrounded by clouds. This unfair reality is something I will never get over.

Craig Shilling told the shooter his slain son saved more lives through postmortem organ donation than he took in that high school.

Keegan Gregory watched the killer fatally shoot Justin Shilling in the boys bathroom. He ran into the hallway, saw bodies on the floor and blood everywhere.

It was and will always be the most terrifying moment of my life, Gregory told the court. He robbed me and the Oxford community of so many things.

Olivia McMillan sent a group text to her friends, including Shilling, shortly after the first gunshots. She originally thought the noises were part of a senior prank.

Shillings response still makes me sick to my stomach, McMillan said. Justin told us he was in the bathroom with the shooter.

I love you guys, read Shillings final text.

Numerous victims and survivors referenced ongoing trauma and guilt the tragedy has caused them, PTSD, paranoia, anxiety a fear of crowds, sirens or loud, abrupt noises.

Even when I have a good moment, I am sad, said the sister of Hana St. Juliana, reading her mothers victim impact statement to the court. Every night, I wish the morning would never come.

Student Kylie Ossege, who was 17 at the time, thought she heard a balloon pop before hearing screams, followed by deafening silence. She remembers the squishing noise of bloody carpet.

As I lay on the floor, I tried to get up but my legs werent moving, she told the courtroom. And I realized what was had just happened: I was just shot.

She looked over to see her friend, Hana St. Juliana, also shot and on the ground. She was dying. Ossege stroked her hair and urged her to hold on.

Ossege, now a sophomore at Michigan State University, spent nearly five weeks in the hospital and said she has ongoing pain caused by spinal injuries.

It has been 738 days of reliving the tragedy in my head, Ossege said.

Oxford High victim Riley Franz, now a 19-year-old college student, said she continues to live in fear after being shot in the neck.

A piece of me shattered that day, Franz said. I deserved to be a child that day, a student who made it to her class, not someones target practice.

Linda Watson, fielding a frantic call from her son as he ran from the school with a bullet wound, told her son to bury himself in the snow to hide.

Another mother spoke of how her daughter armed herself with the star from atop a Christmas tree.

Today was about victims, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said prior to sentencing. The statements made here today are just a small portion of the victims ... but they reflect hundreds and hundreds of others.

After nearly three years living at the Oakland County Jail, the shooter will be transferred to a Michigan Department of Corrections prison. His parents, 45-year-old Jennifer Crumbley and 47-year-old James Crumbley, remain in the Oakland County Jail. They each face four counts involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The parents, who are accused of gross negligence for failing to seek help for their son after he exhibited violent tendencies and mental health issues, in addition to purchasing him the eventual murder weapon as a gift, are expected to have trials next year.

You may have ended Justins life on this planet ... You may have caused the pain and terror you intended, Justin Shillings mother, Jill Soave, told the shooter.  But you did not destroy us.
TAYLOR, MI -- Police arrested two teens this week after they allegedly stole the tip jars from a pair of restaurants in Taylor before leading police on a short chase. According to WDIV-Detroit, the teens -- ages 16 and 18 respectively -- stole a jar from Leos Coney Island that had a grand total of $2 in it before going to Samis Coney Island and stealing that jar which had $60 in it.

Surveillance video from inside Sams shows one of the teens approaching the counter to place an order with his hooded sweatshirt covering his face. The other suspect then grabs the tip jar and runs off with it.

The son of the restaurants owner chases down the suspects and tackles one of them, but let them go after one of the suspects produced a gun -- which was later determined to be a BB gun -- and the son backed away.

Police spotted the teens in a vehicle with no license plate and attempted to pull them over. However, the suspects initially refused to pull over, leading officers on a chase. That chase ended when the suspects pulled over on a side street and the teens were arrested without further incident.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Holiday shoppers may see an additional police badge or two while they pick up last-minute gifts in downtown Ann Arbor. But the chief of police says not to worry  theyre there to offset Christmas crime.

Two additional police officers have been temporarily added to the downtown patrol through December, Interim Chief of Police Patrick Maguire said. The two officers, added to the downtown area around Thanksgiving Day, are patrolling their beats on foot.

The program is new this year, Maguire said, adding its reminiscent of the foot patrol that used to be prevalent in downtown Ann Arbor.

We would love to be able to get back to that status, but our current staffing model doesnt allow it right now, Maguire said. Were trying to replicate it by picking some of the busiest days for people to shop and dine out and deploying extra officers to focus on the downtown area during those times.

The increase in officers is not due to concerns about a rise in retail fraud or downtown violence, but rather the rise in crowds downtown during the holiday season, Maguire said.

This time of year, this is where the people are, he said.

There were 25 arrests for various degrees and types of retail fraud during 2022 and 33 arrests for the same charges through October 2023, according to the Ann Arbor police transparency dashboard.

Aggravated assaults in downtown Ann Arbor have been rising in recent years, data showed earlier this year.

Read more: Violent crime like June shootings, assaults on the rise in Ann Arbor, data shows

The two officers will be out at peak times during various days of the week, Maguire said.

One business owner applauded the move, saying his downtown business was recently hit by retail theft three times in one week.

I think retail theft is increasing, said AJ Davidson. Ever since COVID, its getting more brazen.

Davidson is president of both the Bivouac, 336 S. State St., and the State Street Association. At the end of November, three separate thefts resulted in roughly $7,000 worth of Canada Goose coats being stolen from the store, he said.

Ann Arbor police confirmed there are retail fraud reports at Bivouac dated to Nov. 27, Nov. 29 and Dec. 1. Five coats were stolen and have since been returned, police said.

In one instance, the suspects took the coats and walked past employees, Davidson said.

Were getting hit all of the time, all of us, Davidson said. I dont think were even close to a level of Portland or San Francisco, but its got to start somewhere. I feel like we could be heading down that path if we dont address these issues immediately.

While Ann Arbor resident Ranya Dajani has never felt unsafe downtown, she said shes unsure about the extra police presence during the holiday season.

I dont like extra police just for extra police, Dajani said.

Lisa Mallory, also a resident, said she appreciates the patrol being specifically on foot.

Despite being undecided on how she feels about increased foot patrol, Amelia Clark, a graduate student at University of Michigan, said she can understand how it could make shoppers more comfortable.

Its cool theyre being attentive, Clark said.

Maguire advised holiday shoppers to call emergency services if something doesnt feel right and not leave new presents or valuable items in their car, he said.

We just want to make sure (its) as welcoming and safe experience for everyone that we can, he said.

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  The 21 Pomskies taken from an Allendale Township home could be up for adoption as early as next week, according to Harbor Humane Society.

The humane society has been caring for the dogs  Pomeranian and husky hybrids  since Tuesday, Dec. 4, when Ottawa County sheriffs deputies seized the dogs using a search warrant.

Deputies responded Monday to a report of animal neglect at a house in the 11000 block of Boyne Boulevard. Deputies saw many dogs inside but the owner was gone. Police returned the next day with a search warrant.

Police said the dogs were living in poor conditions but the dogs appeared to be in fair health.

This Pomsky dog is among 21 seized from a house in Allendale Township. (Photo provided by Harbor Humane Society)Harbor Humane Society

The owner has signed off rights to the dogs which could be up for adoption next week, Jennifer Nuernberg, director of Marketing & Strategic Initiatives, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press.

Workers at Harbor Humane Society treat a dog that was among 21 seized by Ottawa County sheriff's deputies from an Allendale Township home. (Provided by Harbor Humane Society)Harbor Humane Society

Nuernberg noted that the dogs were not living in ideal conditions so theyre a bit traumatized, and will need time to adjust.

The dogs are various ages, police said.

The animals were in fair health, however, the living conditions for the animals at the residence were extremely poor, the Sheriffs Department said in a statement.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Three Ottawa County commissioners not affiliated with the boards majority faction, Ottawa Impact, were no-shows for interviews of five candidates to fill a vacant board seat.

The interviews happened Friday, Dec. 8 and commissioners expect to make a selection Tuesday, Dec. 12 to fill a seat left vacant by District 6 Commissioner Kyle Terpstras recent resignation.

District 6 covers precincts 9-17 in Georgetown Township.

Those interviewing for the spot were Joel Buck, Shawn Haff, Lynn Janson, Joseph Parnell McCarter and Kendra Wenzel.

Buck and McCarter, in submitted questionnaires, have indicated they are members of Ottawa Impact, a far-right group that gained a majority on the board for the current term. That majority has made several significant changes in less than a years time, including replacing the county administrator, dismantling the DEI office and trying to fire the health department director.

During the Friday interviews, board Chair Joe Moss indicated that he planned to ask the same 10 questions to each candidate and not allow commissioners to ask any of their own questions.

Moss said he was trying to have a very consistent and similar set of questions for every applicant so that were comparing apples to apples, he said.

He encouraged commissioners to call the candidates directly if they had additional questions.

The cookie-cutter format concerned Commissioner Jacob Bonnema, who didnt attend the interviews. Two other commissioners, lone Democrat Doug Zylstra and more moderate Republican Roger Bergman, also did not attend.

I am deeply disappointed by Chairman Mosss decision to deny commissioners the opportunity to submit questions and the public the chance to observe their elected commissioners asking interview questions to the applicants today, Bonnema wrote in an email to MLive.

Zylstra, contacted Friday, didnt indicate any great concern about the interview format but said Fridays interview schedule interfered with his job.

The applicants interviewed Friday talked about their reasons for seeking the vacant commissioners seat and what their internal compass is for making decisions.

Related: Ottawa County commissioners whittle list of candidates for vacant board seat

Buck is a design engineer and project manager for Skyline Fall Protection in Allendale.

When asked what he likes about Ottawa County, he expressed support for the decisions made by the Ottawa County board this year. Many have been controversial.

Id say the best thing is these resolutions the commissioners have put forth in the last year. The direction its moving, getting away from DEI, making it a constitutional county, things you hear on the news down south and you think Wow, that would be great, and its happening here, he said.

Haff is an attorney and owner of The Criminal Defense Law Center of West Michigan.

In answering a question about what he would do with a $1 million grant, Haff said he wants Ottawa County sheriffs deputies to have body and dash cameras. He said it protects both the deputy and defendant.

He said the best thing about Ottawa County is the good people.

Janson is owner of Rush Marketing Services, which provides marketing services for auto dealerships.

He said his life was negatively affected by an overreaching government in the past and said it devastated a business he operated.

My goal will be to make sure our citizens arent negatively effected by their interactions with government, he said.

He talked about the pandemic restrictions, particularly making students wear masks in schools.

It was cruel what we did to kids that year, he said.

McCarter, according to an application he submitted, is the chief financial officer at Highlight Industries Inc. in Grand Rapids, a packaging equipment manufacturer.

McCarter said the current board inspired him.

When I saw you really meant it, in terms of seeking bottom-up governance. You really meant it in terms of seeking to preserve our liberties and Christian principles, it inspired me to get involved, he said.

When asked how he would spend a $1 million grant, he talked about strengthening a neighborhood watch network in Ottawa County.

Wenzel is currently an executive committee member with the Ottawa County Republican Party and a precinct delegate for Ottawa County as chair of membership.

She said she wants to serve the county.

Wenzel also talked about pandemic restrictions as a factor in her ideas about government.

Her daughter was a junior in high school at the time and had a legal medical mask exemption, but the scenario left her in a volatile environment at school, she said. She and her husband eventually moved her daughter to a different school.

It lit a fire in me, she said, inspiring her to get involved as a precinct delegate.

Moss, in answering an email from MLive asking about the interview format, did not directly answer the question.

All the applicants who interviewed at the board meeting demonstrated their commitment to freedom and their love for the people of Ottawa County and America. Their willingness to serve should be commended, especially their humility and transparency demonstrated in the public interview process, he wrote.

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KENT COUNTY, MI  Fire crews are battling a fire at York Creek Apartments in Comstock Park on Saturday afternoon.

Alpine Township firefighters were dispatched to reports of a fire at 10:58 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in an apartment building north of Grand Rapids, in the 3900 block of Yorkland Drive in Comstock Park, Lt. Brian Stalsonburg told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press.

No injuries have been reported in the fire, Stalsonburg said. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

One 20-stall garage building in the apartment complex was destroyed in the fire and is considered a total loss, said Craig Clark, spokesperson for York Creek Apartments. Initial assessment of the damage indicates four vehicles were damaged, as well as some personal property items, he said.

As of about 1 p.m., the structure fire was mostly out, but there were several downed power lines in the area, including in the building that caught fire, Stalsonburg said.

He said the fire department was waiting on confirmation from Consumers Energy that the building had been de-energized before firefighters could take care of the remaining hot spots in the building.

Officials have not yet confirmed if the power lines were knocked over by high winds or lightning, Clark said.

Thirty-six apartment units have been evacuated as a precaution, but there is no fire, damage or concern for any of the residential units, Clark said. The complex has 1,764 units. Residents will be able to return to their apartments as soon as the fire department gives the approval to do so.

The Red Cross is setting up a shelter for displaced residents at the Alpine Township Fire Department Station 1, at 1100 Henze Dr. in Comstock Park.

The York Creek office building, at 650 York Creek Dr., is also open as a temporary shelter for those who have been displaced, Clark said. The Rapid has busses parked on the complex property for residents to seek temporary shelter, he said.

The Kent County Sheriffs Office is at the scene assisting with traffic control Saturday afternoon.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  Police have arrested two juveniles suspected of breaking into a smoke shop late Friday night in Ottawa County.

Deputies responded to a burglary alarm at 10:46 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at Psycle Sams Heady Glass, located at 25 68th Ave. N in Coopersville, according to a news release from the Ottawa County Sheriffs Office. Police arrived at the scene to find evidence that the shop had been broken into.

A witness at the scene provided police with a suspect description, and deputies summoned a K-9 team to help search the area. The two suspects were found nearby and were in possession of the stolen items, according to the release. Their ages have not been released.

Police said the two suspects confessed to breaking into the business and were arrested. The sheriffs office did not identify the suspects due to their ages. Charges are pending referral to the Probate Court, according to the release.
BEAVER ISLAND, MI  A community solar project is in the works on Lake Michigans largest island.

Beaver Islands two townships are exploring the feasibility of building solar power generation to provide electricity for the islands roughly 600 year-round residents and the thousands who visit during the summer tourism season. The overall goals are better energy security and transition away from fossil fuels.

A federal technical assistance grant and expert advice from university researchers are helping to both improve energy efficiencies at homes and other buildings across the island and figure out the best way to generate solar energy on the island  32 miles away from mainland Lower Michigan.

Our power now is coming from the mainland, and its coming out on underground cable, said Seamus Norgaard, a summer resident on Beaver Island and director of the island-focused educational nonprofit Taras Meadow.

There were two years when that underground cable broke. It failed in 1983 because a barge anchor basically hit it and ripped it up. And then new cables were laid, but they had a failure in 1999.

Norgaard said Beaver Island maintains a 3-megawatt backup generator, but it runs on fuel oil. Only burning coal emits more greenhouse gases.

Related: They dont own their view: Michigan farmers seek state control of renewables

And really, islanders want to be energy independent and energy reliable, he said.

Beaver Island last year received a federal technical assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to look at the feasibility of renewable energy production and storage on the remote island in northern Lake Michigan.

The island also hosted researchers and students from Michigan Technological University to assess possible locations for a solar field, along with possible public building rooftop sites.

There would be incredible benefits for community solar in such a far-flung, rural location, said Jay Meldrum, executive director of the Michigan Tech Traverse City Research Center.

People that benefit by community solar are people who live in the community as far as, if they own the panels, they get the energy, the MTU professor said. You cant do this on your own. You cant put up energy and sell it to people. Its just against the law in Michigan to do it. But you can put them up on your own building like a church, like a municipal building.

Meldrum said he expects the federal recommendation for Beaver Island to be a community solar project on the rooftops of those types of community and public buildings.

Related: Beaver island petitions FCC to require fiber internet for rural areas

Federal energy officials awarded the technical assistance grant for Beaver Island at the same time as 11 other island communities.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm  a former Michigan governor  said the efforts on the various islands are part of the effort to drive the nations equitable transition to a net-zero economy.

As climate change intensifies, remote and island communities, which experience higher energy costs and may lack the financial resources and expertise to make their energy systems more resilient, are more at risk to extreme weather events, Granholm said in a statement.

Great Lakes Energy Cooperative is the electricity provider for Beaver Island. Officials at the distribution co-op said they ensure safe interconnection when electric generation happens elsewhere than from its regular energy provider, whether individual rooftop solar panels or bigger projects.

For larger community-based instances, like the project on Beaver Island, we will do our part to support at the points of interconnection and rely on the expertise of the project owners and electricians to ensure a safe and efficient system is in place, said Brett Streby, Great Lakes Energys communications director, in an email.

Meanwhile, Meldrum said he is eager to present information about various community solar options at next years Beaver Island Sustainability Fair, an annual event hosted by Taras Meadow.
The Costume Institutes fall exhibit at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) pays homage to female creation. Women Dressing Women is a statement of intent that starts with the exhibits very first panel. Women designers, artisans and artists have covered the female universe with their designs and different visions of women, always making them protagonists, sometimes turning them into objects but never passive subjects when it comes to clothing. Over 80 outfits from the Institutes permanent collection are on display, and the exhibit covers the fashion industry chronologically, artistically and commercially. The pieces represent the fashion industrys two main centers, Paris and New York, including names and labels that connect haute couture and street fashion, and the most refined traditions of the Old Continent, American avant-garde and utilitarianism.

The exhibition, which opens on Thursday and will remain on display through March 3, 2024, starts with a selection of black and white photographs, projected in a loop, showing the work of dressmakers, tailors and seamstresses at anonymous workshops between 1907 and 1962. There are also images of the first timid tests for a client and the first private fashion shows in salons at a time when designers didnt have name recognition, let alone the planetary fame that they have acquired in recent decades (to say nothing of the attention theyve received in recent years from celebrations like the great annual fashion exhibit at the Met and the museums fashion gala, the event of the spring).

This black and white tribute features the precursors of over 70 women designers, who bring dreams to life with their needles and thimbles. The exhibit traces the lineage of the last centurys most influential women-led fashion houses (although only a couple of them remain today, the House of Dior and the House of Chanel). It features the work of pioneers like Adele Henriette Nigrin de Fortuny and her Venetian textiles; the exquisite Madeleine Vionnet; Spanish designer Ana de Pombo, one of the last at the French fashion house Paquin (1891-1956); and Elsa Schiaparelli, who led her own brand and was perhaps the first designer with name recognition. Indeed, the latter had an exhibition at the Met dedicated to her in 2012, in which she engaged in an imaginary dialogue with her famous compatriot, Miuccia Prada. Big names (Chanel, the aforementioned Miuccia Prada, Marchesa, Rodarte) do appear in the exhibit, but it highlights unknown women and those time has forgotten, as in the selection of ethereal creations from the first decades of the 20th century.

A panoramic view of the main room of the 'Women Dressing Women' exhibition at the Met in New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The figure of the designer known by name was forged in the workshops where seamstresses, milliners, apprentices and tailors toiled for decades. As an introductory panel accompanying a selection of anonymous photographs notes, in the centers of French and European fashion, womens right to dress other women was a slowly won privilege, since men dominated the industry. It took a long time for female professionals to gain a foothold, something that happened with the deregulation of the guilds. In the United States, however, this vocation was seen as a natural, industrious extension of domestic responsibilities: after all, sewing was an inherently female occupation.

One of the rooms of 'Women Dressing Women,' the fall fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

At the press preview of the exhibit on Monday, Max Hollein, the director of the Met, explained that fashion created by women has helped empower women, as well as the designers themselves. This exhibition invites reflection on the vital contribution women have made to fashion from the early 20th century to the present by amplifying historically undervalued voices and celebrating the celebrity they have achieved. The garments on display exemplify the countless women whose contributions were, and continue to be, the lifeblood of the global fashion industry as we know it today.

The foyer of the 'Women Dressing Women' exhibit, which features designs by Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli and Gabrielle Chanel, among others. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Andrew Bolton, the worlds most influential fashion curator, senior curator at the Costume Institute and the righthand man of Anna Wintour (the all-powerful fashion Vogue editor and architect of the Met fashion gala), also spoke at the press preview of the exhibit. He noted that women have been central to the success of the Costume Institute since its inception. Its founders include several inspiring women; thats why the Institute remains dedicated to celebrating womens artistic, technical and social achievements. They are part of fashion history.

An Mad Carpentier evening gown from the late 1940s, which is on display at the Met through next March. Anna-Marie Kellen  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

For Mellissa Huber, associate curator at the Costume Institute, the fall exhibition offers an opportunity to learn the crucial stories of groundbreaking women designers who played a pivotal role in the conception of fashion as we know it. Womens contributions to fashion cannot be quantified, but our intention with this show is to celebrate the Costume Institutes permanent collection, which represents the rich history of Western fashion. As Hollein emphasized, fashion is a symbol of female power and emancipation but also the result of tremendous collective work. Historically, conceptually and commercially, fashion is also the triumph of social progress, a powerful vehicle for womens social, financial and creative autonomy. As Ted Pick, the co-chairman of Morgan Stanley, a sponsor of the exhibits luxurious catalog, points out, the milestone that three Parisian haute couture fashion housesChanel, Dior and Iris van Herpenare run today by powerful women cannot be overlooked.

One of the rooms in the Met's fall exhibition, with designs by Ester Manas, Balthazaar Delpierre, Purchase, Millia Davenport, Adele Henriette or Elisabeth Nigrin Fortuny. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The common thread that connects different generations of professional women reveals how subsequent generations have built on and expanded the legacy of their predecessors. The exhibit reflects the intergenerational dialogue between these designers in historical perspective and the talented women who worked with them from a contemporary point of view, explains Karen Van Godtsenhoven, a co-curator of the exhibition. Indeed, to cite just one example of these silent conversations between the pieces on display, there is the direct thread between Fortunys characteristic pleating and Comme des Garcons textile origami; the austere scenography makes the connection stand out and reveals the continuum mentioned by the experts who organized the show. Theres a similar connection between Vivienne Westwoods conceptual punk and the groundbreaking dress with pieces of metal inserted in silk with which the house Vionnet reinterpreted the syntax of ancient Greek ceramic painting in 1924: tradition as modernity and vice versa, along with the eternal aspect of fashion and art.

Indeed, to see one example of this legacy, look at the heads of the mannequins wearing the dresses in the pioneers room (the first room in the exhibit): they are topped with the enduring forms of classical Greek columns.

'Theodosia' (ca. 1925), a tunic by Maria Monaci Gallenga for her fashion house, Gallenga. Anna-Marie Kellen  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Prosecutors in Guatemala on Friday asked a court to strip President-elect Bernardo Arevalo of his immunity, saying there could be enough irregularities to annul the election results, a move that the OAS called part of a coup attempt.

It was the third time they have done so since he won election in August, and the Organization of American States said the moves were part of a coup attempt.

Arevalo is scheduled to take office on Jan. 14, and it was unclear whether the prosecutors continued targeting of him and his party could interfere with the inauguration.

The most recent request from prosecutors cites alleged irregularities in the way Arevalos Seed Movement party gathered signatures to register years earlier.

Authorities arrested a number of Seed Movement members in recent weeks. They also previously requested stripping Arevalo of immunity over alleged mishandling of party funds, and requested that he and his vice president-elect also lose their immunity for allegedly making supportive comments on social media about the takeover of a public university last year.

The OAS in a statement said it condemns the coup attempt by Guatemalan prosecutors, and urged the courts and congress not to allow it.

The attempt to nullify this years general elections represents the worst form of breaking with democracy and consolidating a political fraud against the will of the people, the OAS wrote.

Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government, has faced months of protests and calls for her resignation, as well as international condemnation for her offices interference. Porras, as well as outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei, have denied any intent to meddle in the election results.

Earlier this month, three magistrates of Guatemalas Supreme Electoral Tribunal left the country, hours after the Congress opened them up to prosecution by stripping them of their immunity as the losing side in the presidential election continued its efforts to interfere with the results.

The magistrates certified the election result but came under pressure from two attorneys tied to a far-right candidate who did not advance to the runoff round of the presidential election.

The attorneys complained that the tribunal overpaid for software purchased to carry out and publish rapid initial vote tallies. The Attorney Generals Office had previously said that its preliminary investigation suggested there had been less expensive options available.

Arevalo had not been polling among the top candidates headed into the first round of voting in June, but secured the second spot in the runoff with his promise to crack down on Guatemalas endemic corruption. In the final vote in August, he won by a wide margin over former first lady Sandra Torres.

The son of a former president, Arevalo still managed to position himself as an outsider. As an academic who had worked for years in conflict resolution, he was untainted by the corruption that has pervaded Guatemalan politics in recent years and offered a promise of change.

Guatemalas establishment, which would potentially have the most to fear from an Arevalo administration serious about taking on corruption, appears clearly bent on either weakening Arevalo or preventing from taking office.

In testimony to the special committee investigating the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Karen Fisher, one of the attorneys who brought the complaint, urged them to move quickly. Time is short because Jan. 14 is coming up, she said.

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Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH  Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Wednesday, January 17th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 29th. This is a positive change from Choice Hotels Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Choice Hotels International has a dividend payout ratio of 16.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $6.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.15 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.9%.

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Choice Hotels International Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CHH traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.60. The company had a trading volume of 289,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,893. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.21. Choice Hotels International has a 1 year low of $109.19 and a 1 year high of $136.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Choice Hotels International ( NYSE:CHH Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $425.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $429.72 million. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 373.39% and a net margin of 18.42%. The firms revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CHH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Monday, September 25th. They issued a buy rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a hold rating and issued a $143.00 price target on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. HSBC initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. They issued a hold rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $139.00 to $128.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $130.75.

View Our Latest Research Report on Choice Hotels International

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the companys stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,716 shares of the companys stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,319 shares of the companys stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 599 shares of the companys stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,583 shares of the companys stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.78% of the companys stock.

About Choice Hotels International

(Get Free Report)

Choice Hotels International, Inc together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor. The company operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Other segments. It franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Ascend Hotel Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites, Radisson Inn & Suites , Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.

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European Opportunities Trust plc (LON:JEO  Get Free Report)s share price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 843 ($10.65) and traded as low as GBX 841.44 ($10.63). European Opportunities Trust shares last traded at GBX 843 ($10.65), with a volume of 176,142 shares.

European Opportunities Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of 886.70 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 843 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 843. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64.

About European Opportunities Trust

(Get Free Report)

European Opportunities Trust plc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Devon Equity Management Limited. Devon Equity Management Limited is the Investment manager of the European Opportunities Trust (EOT). It invests in the public equity markets of Europe. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB  Get Free Report) Director John P. Barnes sold 32,940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.80, for a total transaction of $4,374,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,545 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,587,576. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

M&T Bank stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $132.63. The companys stock had a trading volume of 925,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,602. M&T Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $108.53 and a 1-year high of $161.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.03. The company has a market cap of $22.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87.

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M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.32 billion. M&T Bank had a net margin of 24.81% and a return on equity of 13.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that M&T Bank Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. M&T Banks dividend payout ratio is 30.01%.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in M&T Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in M&T Bank by 1,980.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in M&T Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of M&T Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. 82.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MTB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of M&T Bank from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $136.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of M&T Bank from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $133.65 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, September 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $142.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.43.

Read Our Latest Research Report on M&T Bank

M&T Bank Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, National Association that offer retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company's Business Banking segment offers deposit, lending, cash management, and other financial services to small businesses and professionals.

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Shares of Invesco Frontier Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:FRN  Get Free Report) crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.28 and traded as low as $14.17. Invesco Frontier Markets ETF shares last traded at $14.28, with a volume of 37,400 shares trading hands.

Invesco Frontier Markets ETF Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.28.

Invesco Frontier Markets ETF Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Guggenheim Frontier Markets ETF (the Fund), formerly Claymore/BNY Mellon Frontier Markets ETF, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of an equity index called Bank of New York Mellon New Frontier DR Index (the Frontier Index). The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in American depositary receipts (ADRs) and global depositary receipts (GDRs) that consists of the Index or in the stocks underlying such ADRs and GDRs.

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The AES Co. (NYSE:AES  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st will be given a dividend of 0.1725 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from AESs previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.

AES has raised its dividend by an average of 5.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 10 consecutive years. AES has a payout ratio of 34.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AES to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.8%.

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AES Price Performance

AES stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.22. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,169,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,175,213. AES has a fifty-two week low of $11.43 and a fifty-two week high of $29.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $15.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of -20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.09.

Insider Activity

AES ( NYSE:AES Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. AES had a positive return on equity of 37.75% and a negative net margin of 4.23%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AES will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

In other AES news, EVP Paul L. Freedman bought 1,530 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.40 per share, with a total value of $25,092.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 73,798 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,287.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AES news, EVP Paul L. Freedman bought 1,530 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.40 per share, with a total value of $25,092.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 73,798 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,287.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Ricardo Manuel Falu bought 2,450 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.30 per share, with a total value of $39,935.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 61,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,290.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 57,039 shares of company stock valued at $934,195 in the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AES

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in AES by 12.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 51,262 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of AES by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 91,659 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,358,000 after buying an additional 7,975 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of AES by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 309,233 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $8,291,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AES by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 110,543 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,844,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AES by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,300 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.49% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AES has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised AES to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. TheStreet downgraded AES from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of AES from $23.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AES from $25.00 to $17.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of AES from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $22.00 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.00.

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AES Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The AES Corporation operates as a diversified power generation and utility company. It owns and/or operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries. The company also owns and/or operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market.

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Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TR  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.09 per share on Thursday, January 11th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 19th.

Tootsie Roll Industries has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years.

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Tootsie Roll Industries Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE TR traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.09. The company had a trading volume of 48,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,334. The businesss 50-day moving average is $31.59 and its 200-day moving average is $33.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55 and a beta of 0.19. Tootsie Roll Industries has a 52 week low of $29.07 and a 52 week high of $46.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Tootsie Roll Industries ( NYSE:TR Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $248.34 million for the quarter. Tootsie Roll Industries had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 11.11%.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Tootsie Roll Industries in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on TR

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TR. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Tootsie Roll Industries by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 797 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Tootsie Roll Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Tootsie Roll Industries by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,703 shares of the companys stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tootsie Roll Industries during the first quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Tootsie Roll Industries during the second quarter valued at about $101,000. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Tootsie Roll Industries

(Get Free Report)

Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It sells its products under the Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Pops, Child's Play, Caramel Apple Pops, Charms, Blow-Pop, Charms Mini Pops, Cella's, Dots, Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies, Andes, Fluffy Stuff, Dubble Bubble, Razzles, Cry Baby, NIK-L-NIP, and Tutsi Pop trademarks.

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Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.432 per share on Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 18th. This is an increase from Zoetiss previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Zoetis has raised its dividend payment by an average of 25.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Zoetis has a dividend payout ratio of 24.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Zoetis to earn $5.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.1%.

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Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.62. 1,474,621 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,891. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $140.76 and a 52-week high of $194.99. The companys fifty day moving average price is $171.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

Zoetis ( NYSE:ZTS Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 52.22% and a net margin of 27.24%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

In other Zoetis news, EVP Heidi C. Chen sold 9,905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $1,784,385.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,478 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,950,161.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.58, for a total transaction of $165,752.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,401,685.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Heidi C. Chen sold 9,905 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $1,784,385.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,950,161.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,674 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,459 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Zoetis by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the companys stock worth $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 124,281.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the companys stock worth $341,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330,285 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Zoetis by 171.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the companys stock worth $627,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,306 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $125,005,000. 89.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday. They issued an outperform rating and a $237.00 target price for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a buy rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday, October 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $218.88.

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About Zoetis

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Zoetis Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. It commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

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CTLT has seen revenue growth and increased profitability over the past three years, driven by organic growth and cost-cutting initiatives. Management has implemented initiatives to focus on ESG matters, improve quality management, and increase productivity. They are also monitoring global economic and political risks, and have identified economic, political, and cybersecurity risks. The companys key performance metrics have improved, but it is not possible to determine ROI without additional information. CTLT is addressing potential risks and uncertainties by vigorously defending itself and installing new and upgraded systems. It is also committed to ESG metrics, quality management, and productivity. The forward-looking guidance outlines potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the companys operations, financial condition, or share price.

Executive Summary

Financials

Revenue growth has increased over the past three years, driven primarily by organic growth and Segment EBITDA growth. Foreign currency exchange, acquisitions, and divestitures have had a minimal impact on the overall trend. Operating expenses have increased due to restructuring costs associated with reducing costs, consolidating facilities, and optimizing infrastructure. These costs include employee-related charges, facility exit costs, and transaction and integration costs. The companys net income margin for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was -4.9%, a decrease from the three months ended September 30, 2022 of 0.1%. This is lower than the industry average of 5.2%.

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Management Discussion and Analysis

Management has implemented initiatives to focus on ESG matters, improve quality management, and increase productivity. These initiatives have been successful in driving growth and improving profitability. Management assesses the companys competitive position by analyzing financial and operational data, and monitoring global economic and political risks. They are highlighting the potential disruption of global supply chains, banking systems, and the Ukrainian-Russian war. Management has identified economic and political risks, cybersecurity risks, and risks from global supply chains. To mitigate these risks, they have installed new and upgraded existing systems, provided employee awareness training, and implemented costly changes to procedures.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Risk Assessment

The companys key performance metrics have improved over the past year, with increased revenue and profits. These results are in line with the companys long-term goals. It is not possible to determine the companys ROI or whether it is generating value for shareholders without additional information. CTLT does not provide any information about its market share or plans for market expansion or consolidation.

Economic risks, political risks, cybersecurity risks, ESG focus, quality and safety issues, productivity issues, and declining demand for COVID-19 products all pose risks to the companys operations and financial performance. CTLT continuously works to install new and upgrade existing systems, and provides employee awareness training around phishing, malware, and other cybersecurity risks to enhance the protections available. Yes, there are contingent liabilities and legal issues that could impact the companys financial position or reputation. CTLT is addressing them by vigorously defending itself and recording a liability in its consolidated financial statements when a loss is known or considered probable.

Corporate Governance and Sustainability

The board of directors is overseen by the Audit Committee, and there have been no changes in leadership or independence. CTLT does not mention any commitment to board diversity or any other diversity and inclusion practices in its operations. CTLT discloses its commitment to ESG metrics such as environmental, social, and governance matters. It also mentions quality management strategies, productivity issues, and higher-than-expected costs. These initiatives demonstrate the companys commitment to responsible business practices.

Forward Guidance

The companys forward-looking guidance outlines potential risks and uncertainties that could affect its strategic initiatives and priorities outlined in the annual report. This helps the company plan for potential outcomes and make informed decisions. CTLT is factoring in potential risks and uncertainties in the industry, such as activist shareholders, legal proceedings, and other risk factors. It plans to capitalize on these trends by assessing the experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments. No, there are no investments or strategic shifts indicated in the forward-looking guidance. It focuses on potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the companys operations, financial condition, or share price.

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This article was created using artificial intelligence technology from Klickanalytics.
Brinker International (NYSE:EAT  Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Brinker International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Brinker International from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, September 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.80.

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Brinker International Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of EAT stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.78. 885,861 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,057,266. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.30. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $28.23 and a fifty-two week high of $42.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.12.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.25. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.34% and a negative return on equity of 84.94%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.57) EPS. The companys revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the third quarter valued at $57,246,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 2,694.9% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 761,011 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $29,040,000 after buying an additional 733,782 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,426,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Brinker International by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,389,928 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $52,817,000 after purchasing an additional 642,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Brinker International by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,451,624 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $89,729,000 after purchasing an additional 595,818 shares during the period.

About Brinker International

(Get Free Report)

Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.

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Canadian Life Companies Split Corp. (TSE:LFE  Get Free Report)s stock price was down 0.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$3.84 and last traded at C$3.92. Approximately 36,730 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 88% from the average daily volume of 19,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$3.95.

Canadian Life Companies Split Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 296.48, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firms 50 day moving average is C$3.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$3.26. The firm has a market capitalization of C$45.20 million, a P/E ratio of -9.56 and a beta of 2.95.

About Canadian Life Companies Split

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Canadian Life Companies Split Corp. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Quadravest Capital Management Inc It invests in the public equity markets of Canada. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating in the life insurance sector. It primarily invests in stocks of four publicly traded life insurance companies namely Great-West Lifeco Inc, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc, Manulife Financial Corporation, and Sun Life Financial Inc The fund employs fundamental analysis with a focus on such factors as a firm's earning history, relative price-earnings multiple, cash flow, dividend yield, market position, and growth prospects to create its portfolio.

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Antonio Guterres (right) with the deputy representative of the Emirates, Mohamed Abushahab, this Friday during the Security Council meeting. JUSTIN LANE (EFE)

The UN Security Council met this Friday to discuss a proposed resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza presented by the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the Arab countries of the organization, and co-sponsored by another hundred members. The convening of the highest UN body came at the behest of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who on Wednesday resorted to Article 99 of the founding Charter to try to force a humanitarian ceasefire to alleviate the catastrophic situation in the Strip and the suffering of the civilian population. Guterres gesture, infrequent in the history of the organization and unprecedented in his mandate, sounded like a last resort to prevent the definitive collapse of the Palestinian enclave, but US opposition to any option that sounds like a ceasefire derailed his initiative. The text received 13 votes in favor and one abstention, that of the United Kingdom, in addition to the US negative vote.

Despite the Secretary Generals dramatic appeal, reiterated on Friday, recalling that it is impossible to delay action any longer, the proposal reached the vote effectively dead, with the U.S. having previously stated its intention not to support any new measures on the conflict. To be adopted, any Council resolution requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members: United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. The outcome of the vote revealed the correlation of forces, the same that has been blocking executive action by the body in charge of ensuring world peace and security since the war in Ukraine began (in this case, because of Russias veto).

In earlier discussions throughout the morning, the objections of the U.S., which like Israel is convinced that a ceasefire would only favor Hamas, and the U.K. had become clear. In their opening remarks, the two countries proposed replacing the language calling for a ceasefire with, respectively, calling for another urgent humanitarian truce and encouraging efforts to restore humanitarian pauses. These are roughly the same semantic quibbles  truce, pause, buffer, humanitarian corridor, etc.  that have held the Council hostage since the war began two months ago. Both the United Kingdom and the United States proposed adding a mention of condemnation of the Hamas attacks of October 7. It was not added to the text put to the vote.

The final draft was amended to state that both Palestinian and Israeli civilians must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law and to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained last month to allow the Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for a pause in the fighting, the first after four failed attempts and several weeks of war. A seven-day truce  during which Hamas released hostages and humanitarian aid was increased to Gaza  expired on Dec. 1.

The food is running out

Guterres reminded the 15 Council members, whom he thanked for immediately convening the meeting following his call on Wednesday, that food is running out in Gaza. He cited the latest data from the UN World Food Program, according to which 83% of households in the southern Strip are adopting extreme consumption strategies to survive. He also detailed the ravages of two months of bombardment on civilian infrastructure, as well as the exhaustion of hospitals. As he did in his exceptional appeal on Wednesday, Guterres put the two balance sheets of damage on the Palestinian and Israeli sides next to eachother, not forgetting a specific mention of the Hamas atrocities of October 7. The Secretary General is in the crosshairs of Israel, which has called for his resignation, after asserting at the end of October that the Gaza war did not come out of nowhere, but after 56 years of suffocating occupation.

Guterres has put his prestige and diplomatic credibility on the line by trying to move the Council to action, although some analysts believed his proposal had a chance of going through. Critics are right that secretaries general rarely use Article 99 to ask the Security Council to act, and when they do, there has been little change in the course of the brutal violence, George A. Lopez, professor emeritus of Peace Studies at Notre Dame University in Indiana and an expert on the U.N., explained Thursday. But by invoking Article 99, the secretary-general intends to nudge the five permanent members from their non-opposition to resolution 2713 three weeks ago, which called for refraining from depriving the civilian population of the Gaza Strip of basic services.... That resolution, the Councils first after four failed attempts, went through thanks precisely to the US abstention.

Lopez pointed to a confluence of factors that, in his opinion, could have favored Guterres bid: Ecuador, representing the global south and outside the polarization of the P5, as the quintet of permanent members is called, serving as the Councils monthly president; the United Arab Emirates rushing through its last month on the Council (the 10 non-permanent members are elected for a two-year term), while Israels supporters among the P5 privately insist to it that without a humanitarian ceasefire it faces universal condemnation. This may be the best chance to achieve some relief and protection for the beleaguered Palestinian population, Lopez concluded. Fridays vote turned his predictions into a dust.

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PT Astra International Tbk (OTCMKTS:PTAIY  Get Free Report) is one of 115 public companies in the Auto Parts industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare PT Astra International Tbk to related companies based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Dividends

PT Astra International Tbk pays an annual dividend of $3,051.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 42,436.1%. PT Astra International Tbk pays out 30.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Auto Parts companies pay a dividend yield of 109.5% and pay out 29.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

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Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of PT Astra International Tbk shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.4% of shares of all Auto Parts companies are held by institutional investors. 29.6% of shares of all Auto Parts companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score PT Astra International Tbk 1 0 0 0 1.00 PT Astra International Tbk Competitors 485 1909 2978 55 2.48

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for PT Astra International Tbk and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

As a group, Auto Parts companies have a potential upside of 9.59%. Given PT Astra International Tbks rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PT Astra International Tbk has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares PT Astra International Tbk and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio PT Astra International Tbk N/A N/A 0.00 PT Astra International Tbk Competitors $6.99 billion $133.78 million 175.41

PT Astra International Tbks rivals have higher revenue and earnings than PT Astra International Tbk. PT Astra International Tbk is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares PT Astra International Tbk and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets PT Astra International Tbk N/A N/A N/A PT Astra International Tbk Competitors -5.95% -13.84% 2.05%

Summary

PT Astra International Tbk rivals beat PT Astra International Tbk on 10 of the 13 factors compared.

About PT Astra International Tbk

(Get Free Report)

PT Astra International Tbk, together with its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive, financial services, heavy equipment, mining, construction, energy, agri, infrastructure and logistics, information technology, and property businesses in Indonesia. It offers cars, trucks, and motorcycles of various brands; manufactures and sells automotive components to the original equipment for manufacturers and replacement markets, as well as provides consultation services to its customers; financing for cars, motorcycles, and heavy equipment; life, vehicle, and health insurance, as well as other insurance for commercial business; and various banking products and services. The company also distributes heavy equipment machineries; provides coal mining contracting services; operates coal mines; and produces crude palm oil. In addition, it is involved in the operation of toll roads; rental of vehicles; sale of used cars; and provision of logistics and warehousing services, as well as freight forwarding service through ground, sea, and air transportation. Further, the company offers various information technology business solutions based on document, office, and information technology. Additionally, it is involved in the foundation; formwork and bekisting; pump services; and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, as well as dredging, reclamation and marine works. The company was incorporated in 1957 and is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. PT Astra International Tbk operates as a subsidiary of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited.

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Federal Life Group (OTCMKTS:FLFG  Get Free Report) and F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Federal Life Group and F&G Annuities & Lifes net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Federal Life Group N/A N/A N/A F&G Annuities & Life 4.02% 16.80% 0.64%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Federal Life Group and F&G Annuities & Life, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Federal Life Group 0 0 0 0 N/A F&G Annuities & Life 0 2 0 0 2.00

Institutional and Insider Ownership

F&G Annuities & Life has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential downside of 55.53%. Given F&G Annuities & Lifes higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe F&G Annuities & Life is more favorable than Federal Life Group.

96.5% of F&G Annuities & Life shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of F&G Annuities & Life shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Federal Life Group and F&G Annuities & Lifes gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Federal Life Group $19.43 million 1.89 -$8.81 million N/A N/A F&G Annuities & Life $2.34 billion 2.35 $481.00 million $1.13 38.81

F&G Annuities & Life has higher revenue and earnings than Federal Life Group.

Summary

F&G Annuities & Life beats Federal Life Group on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Federal Life Group

(Get Free Report)

Federal Life Group, Inc., through its subsidiary Federal Life Insurance Company, provides life insurance and annuity products in the United States. It offers whole, term, and universal life insurance, as well as retirement insurance products. The company offers its products through independent agents. Federal Life Group, Inc. was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinois. Federal Life Group, Inc operates as a subsidiary of Insurance Capital Group, LLC.

About F&G Annuities & Life

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F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. provides fixed annuities and life insurance products in the United States. It serves retail annuity and life customers, as well as institutional clients. The company portfolio includes fixed indexed annuities, multi-year guarantee annuities, and pension risk transfer solution, as well as indexed universal life insurance and institutional funding agreements. It serves retail annuity and life customers, as well as institutional clients. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

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Hang Seng Bank Limited (OTCMKTS:HSNGY  Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $10.56 and last traded at $10.89, with a volume of 40607 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.16.

Hang Seng Bank Price Performance

The firms fifty day moving average is $11.61 and its 200-day moving average is $12.87.

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Hang Seng Bank Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 18th were issued a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 17th.

Hang Seng Bank Company Profile

Hang Seng Bank Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and related financial services to individual, corporate, commercial, small and medium-sized enterprises, and institutional customers in Hong Kong, the Mainland of China, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, Global Banking, Global Markets, and Other.

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InnSuites Hospitality Trust (NYSE:IHT  Get Free Report) and Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT  Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

2.5% of InnSuites Hospitality Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.0% of Hersha Hospitality Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of InnSuites Hospitality Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.8% of Hersha Hospitality Trust 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.

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Valuation and Earnings

This table compares InnSuites Hospitality Trust and Hersha Hospitality Trusts revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio InnSuites Hospitality Trust $7.15 million 1.66 $520,000.00 $0.06 22.00 Hersha Hospitality Trust $405.87 million 0.99 $146.72 million $0.17 58.76

Analyst Ratings

Hersha Hospitality Trust has higher revenue and earnings than InnSuites Hospitality Trust. InnSuites Hospitality Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hersha Hospitality Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for InnSuites Hospitality Trust and Hersha Hospitality Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score InnSuites Hospitality Trust 0 0 0 0 N/A Hersha Hospitality Trust 0 10 0 0 2.00

Hersha Hospitality Trust has a consensus price target of $9.63, suggesting a potential downside of 3.65%. Given Hersha Hospitality Trusts higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hersha Hospitality Trust is more favorable than InnSuites Hospitality Trust.

Profitability

This table compares InnSuites Hospitality Trust and Hersha Hospitality Trusts net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets InnSuites Hospitality Trust 6.37% 12.48% 2.79% Hersha Hospitality Trust 8.57% 4.17% 2.17%

Volatility & Risk

InnSuites Hospitality Trust has a beta of 0.2, indicating that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hersha Hospitality Trust has a beta of 1.81, indicating that its stock price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

InnSuites Hospitality Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Hersha Hospitality Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. InnSuites Hospitality Trust pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hersha Hospitality Trust pays out 117.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Hersha Hospitality Trust beats InnSuites Hospitality Trust on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About InnSuites Hospitality Trust

(Get Free Report)

InnSuites Hospitality Trust (NYSE American symbol: IHT) first listed on the NYSE in 1971 is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona is an unincorporated Ohio Business. Trust that owns and manages hotels under the InnSuites Hotels name. IHT qualifies as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) for tax treatment currently taxed as a corporation with the IRS. IHT has paid dividends each year since 1971 currently at $0.2/year. There are approximately 9 million shares of stock outstanding. In addition, there are approximately 3 million RRF Partnership units convertible 1 to 1 into IHT stock. Total shares and units are approximately 12 million.

About Hersha Hospitality Trust

(Get Free Report)

Hersha Hospitality Trust (HT) is a self-advised real estate investment trust in the hospitality sector, which owns and operates luxury and lifestyle hotels in coastal gateway and resort markets. The Company's 25 hotels totaling 3,811 rooms are located in New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, South Florida, and California. The Company's common shares are traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the ticker HT.

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Olo Inc. (NYSE:OLO  Get Free Report) CRO Diego Panama sold 13,293 shares of OLO stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total transaction of $76,833.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 581,869 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,202.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

OLO Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OLO traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.72. 922,073 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,008. The company has a market cap of $939.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.16 and a beta of 1.22. Olo Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.25 and a 1 year high of $9.12. The firms fifty day moving average price is $5.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.23.

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OLO (NYSE:OLO  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. OLO had a negative net margin of 23.60% and a negative return on equity of 3.68%. The business had revenue of $57.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.31 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Olo Inc. will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of OLO from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of OLO in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. William Blair cut shares of OLO from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of OLO from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $9.25.

View Our Latest Stock Report on OLO

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OLO

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in OLO by 40.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 66,260 shares of the companys stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 19,132 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in OLO by 13.9% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 55,135 shares of the companys stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 6,716 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in OLO in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in OLO by 44.5% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 21,981 shares of the companys stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 6,765 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of OLO during the third quarter valued at approximately $920,000. 81.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OLO Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Olo Inc operates an open SaaS platform for restaurants in the United States. The company's platform enables on-demand digital commerce operations, which cover digital ordering, delivery, front-of-house management, and payments. Its solutions include Order, a suite of solutions powering restaurant brands' on-demand commerce operations, enabling digital ordering, delivery, and channel management through ordering, dispatch, rails, switchboard, network, virtual brands, kiosk, catering, and sync modules; Engage, a suite of restaurant-centric marketing solutions optimizing guest lifetime value by strengthening and enhancing the restaurants' direct guest relationships, through the guest data platform, marketing, sentiment, and host modules; and Pay, a frictionless payment platform that enables restaurants to grow and protect their digital business through customer payment experience that offers advanced fraud prevention to improve authorization rates for valid transactions, and increase basket conversion through its Olo Pay module.

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Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI  Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Methode Electronics from $38.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, September 8th.

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Methode Electronics Price Performance

Methode Electronics stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.52. The company had a trading volume of 805,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.15. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $23.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.94 million, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.04. Methode Electronics has a 1-year low of $20.46 and a 1-year high of $51.38.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 7th. The electronics maker reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $289.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.28 million. Methode Electronics had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 4.76%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Methode Electronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Methode Electronics

In other news, CEO Donald W. Duda purchased 23,245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.80 per share, with a total value of $506,741.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 23,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,741. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methode Electronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Methode Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Methode Electronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Methode Electronics by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,327 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Methode Electronics by 503.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Methode Electronics during the second quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.02% of the companys stock.

Methode Electronics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Methode Electronics, Inc designs, engineers, and produces mechatronic products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Automotive, Industrial, Interface, and Medical. The Automotive segment supplies electronic and electro-mechanical devices, and related products to automobile original equipment manufacturers directly or through their tiered suppliers.

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TransDigm Group (NYSE:TDG  Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on TDG. UBS Group started coverage on shares of TransDigm Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of TransDigm Group from $975.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of TransDigm Group from $930.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on TransDigm Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. They issued a buy rating and a $1,001.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of TransDigm Group from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $997.71.

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TransDigm Group Stock Performance

Shares of TransDigm Group stock traded up $10.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $983.92. 144,879 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 269,102. The stock has a market cap of $54.42 billion, a PE ratio of 44.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.41. The stocks fifty day moving average is $902.12 and its 200 day moving average is $874.11. TransDigm Group has a 12 month low of $599.42 and a 12 month high of $1,013.08.

TransDigm Group (NYSE:TDG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 9th. The aerospace company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $7.10 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. TransDigm Group had a net margin of 19.70% and a negative return on equity of 52.68%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TransDigm Group will post 30.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at TransDigm Group

In other news, Director Robert J. Small sold 2,967 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $880.47, for a total transaction of $2,612,354.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 191,171 shares of the companys stock, valued at $168,320,330.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert J. Small sold 2,967 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $880.47, for a total value of $2,612,354.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 191,171 shares in the company, valued at $168,320,330.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Joel Reiss sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $862.38, for a total value of $2,587,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,104,568. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,316 shares of company stock worth $75,449,768. Insiders own 7.18% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransDigm Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Fin Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of TransDigm Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 542 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TransDigm Group by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 925 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransDigm Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in TransDigm Group by 26.1% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 58 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in TransDigm Group by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 155 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.78% of the companys stock.

About TransDigm Group

(Get Free Report)

TransDigm Group Incorporated designs, produces, and supplies aircraft components in the United States and internationally. The Power & Control segment offers mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, specialized pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, specialized AC/DC electric motors and generators, batteries and chargers, databus and power controls, sensor products, switches and relay panels, hoists, winches and lifting devices, and cargo loading and handling systems.

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Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during the fourth Republican candidates' debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign hosted by NewsNation at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S., December 6, 2023.

Although the most likely candidate for the GOP in the 2024 presidential elections remains Donald Trump, Nikki Haley has been in the spotlight lately as one of the main figures that could take the place of the former president in the election. There have been reports of Haley receiving several endorsements from groups who see her as the next candidate for the party. Heres the main questions about Haley answered:

Who is Nikki Haley?

Nikki Haley is an American politician of Indian descent. She was born in 1972 in Bamberg, South Carolina where her parents moved after living in Canada. Her birth name is Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. Her father was a professor of biology at Vorhees College until his retirement in 1998, while her mother also taught and started a popular womens clothing boutique, Exotica International, in West Columbia, where Nikki started working as a bookkeeper when she was 12 years old.

She later became the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina before working as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, during the administration of President Donald Trump. Haley is currently fighting for the Republican Partys nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

Where did Nikki Haley go to college?

Haley attended Clemson University, a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. She graduated in 1994 with a BS degree in accounting and finance.

What did Nikki Haley do as governor of South Carolina?

Haley was elected as the 116th Governor of South Carolina in 2011. She was the first minority and female governor in the U.S. and the youngest governor of the country. Under her leadership, the states unemployment rate hit a 15-year law and it received over $20 billion in new capital investment, which led to new jobs in every county.

She was reelected in 2014. During the second tenure, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Reaction to the Charleston church shooting

On June 17, 2015, a 21-year old self-identified white supremacist, shot and killed nine Black congregants during a Bible Study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina. A day after the shooting, many flags were flown at half-mast, except for the Confederate battle flag over the South Carolina Confederate Monument because of legal reasons.

This led to several calls by public figures (including then-President Barack Obama) to remove the flag from statehouse grounds and debates over its use by white supremacists. After receiving public pressure, Haley called for the flag to be removed stating that while it was an integral part of our past, it does not represent the future of South Carolina.

However, before the shooting, Haley supported flying the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds and she didnt take a position on removing it in the aftermath. It was only until June 22 that she called for the removal.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

In 2016, President Donald Trump nominated Governor Haley to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She also served as a member of the Presidents Cabinet and on the National Security Council.

As ambassador to the U.N. Haley consistently advocated for the American support of Israel and she withdrew the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council (the Biden administration later rejoined). She defended the Trump administrations withdrawals of the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement. Although she pushed for sanctions on Russia and Syria, they were blocked by the White House.

In 2017, she said she would not support a ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. a move pushed by the Trump administration stating that a Muslim ban would be un-american.

Whats Nikki Haleys stance on abortion?

Haley has described herself as pro-life and has a record of supporting legislation to restrict abortion, except when the mothers life is at risk. However, in a 2023 interview she showed support for a proposal from Senator Lindsey Graham that would establish a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest, and health and life of the mother. She has expressed opposition to jail time or death penalty for women who have abortions.

Whats Nikki Haleys stance on LGBTQ+ issues?

Although Haley said in 2013 that it was her constitutional duty to oppose gay marriage, in 2023 she said during a Des Moines Register Political Soapbox event: People should live the way they want to live. I believe in freedom. I believe in making sure that people can live the way they want to live, and I believe the government needs to stay out of the way. In April 2017, she spoke against the abuse and murder of gay men in Chechnya.

Haley was against the legislation introduced by the South Carolina State Senate which would require transgender individuals to use restrooms based on biological sex instead of gender identity. She stated in 2016 that such legislation was unnecessary.

Who is Nikki Haleys husband?

Nikki and Michael Haley met at Clemson University in 1989. They married in 1996. He is a Captain in the Army National Guard and a combat veteran who was deployed to Afghanistans Helmand Province, where he served as a liaison between the military and civilian authorities.

Before working in the government, he was an employee at Exotica International, an upscale clothing store owned by Carole Randhawa, Nikkis mother. After that he worked as a federal technician in the human resources department in the South Carolina Army National Guard.

As the First Gentleman of South Carolina, Haley chaired the foundation that oversees the preservation and management of the South Carolina Governors Mansion in Columbia. He is currently an investor and partner in several companies.

Who endorses Nikki Haley?

Koch Network, the political network founded by billionaire Charles and David Koch has endorsed Hailey in the Republican presidential nominating contest. Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC backed by the brothers, mentioned that it would not support Donald Trump and called Haley the candidate with the best shot against him in the GOP primary. Other public and political figures like Ken Langone, Ralph Noman, Will Hurd and Mike Gallagher have endorsed the candidate.

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Gayatri is a mind body spirit therapist and author of Elas Unfinished Business (Harper Collins, July 2023), among other books. Views expressed are personal.

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An anti-abortion activist attempts to block a woman from entering the Planned Parenthood Manhattan Health Center in New York City, U.S., December 2, 2023.

A pregnant woman in Kentucky filed a lawsuit Friday demanding the right to an abortion, the second legal challenge in days to sweeping abortion bans that have taken hold in more than a dozen U.S. states since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.

The suit, filed in state court in Louisville, says Kentuckys near-total prohibition against abortion violates the plaintiffs rights to privacy and self-determination under the state constitution.

The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, is about eight weeks pregnant and she wants to have an abortion in Kentucky but cannot legally do so because of the states ban, the suit said. She is seeking class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and want to have an abortion.

This is my decision  not the governments or any other persons, the plaintiff said in a news release Friday issued by the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups backing her challenge. I am bringing this lawsuit because I firmly believe that everyone should have the ability to make their own decisions about their pregnancies.

Republican state Attorney General Daniel Camerons office said it is reviewing the suit but offered no other comments. Camerons office has defended the states anti-abortion laws in other court proceedings.

On Thursday, a judge in Texas gave a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortionf. The temporary restraining order stops Texas from enforcing the states ban on the woman, who is 20 weeks pregnant, and lasts for 14 days. Her attorneys afterward spoke cautiously about any wider impacts, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insisted that the order would not insulate any medical practitioners from civil and criminal liabilities in the state.

In Kentucky in February, the state Supreme Court refused to halt the states near-total abortion ban and another outlawing abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy. The justices focused on narrow legal issues but didnt resolve larger constitutional questions about whether access to abortion should be legal in the Bluegrass State.

The ACLU, Planned Parenthood and other activists launched a new assault against those bans in the suit filed Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville.

These bans have harmed countless Kentuckians since going into effect last year, and we are relieved to be back in court to try to restore abortion access in Kentucky, Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in the news release.

The lawsuit says Kentucky woman are suffering medical, constitutional and irreparable harm by being denied the right to obtain an abortion.

Abortion is a critical component of reproductive healthcare and crucial to the ability of Kentuckians to control their lives, the suit says.

Whether to take on the health risks and responsibilities of pregnancy and parenting is a personal and consequential decision that must be left to the individual to determine for herself without governmental interference, it added.

Kentucky voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have denied any constitutional protections for abortion, but abortion rights supporters have made no inroads in the Legislature in chipping away at the states anti-abortion laws.

The legal challenge revolves around Kentuckys near-total trigger law ban and a separate six-week ban  both passed by the states GOP-dominated Legislature. The trigger law was passed in 2019 and took effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned. It bans abortions except when theyre carried out to save the life of the patient or to prevent disabling injury. It does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

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Manik Sharma is an independent entertainment journalist. Views expressed are personal.

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Anita Rao Kashi is an independent travel and lifestyle writer. Anita is on Instagram @anitaraokashi

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Nikki Haley stated in April 2021 that she wouldnt run for president in the 2024 elections if Donald Trump entered the race. However, just over a month before the primary race begins, Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and governor of South Carolina, is emerging as a strong contender for the Republican nomination. Born in the U.S. to Indian parents, Haley draws inspiration from Margaret Thatcher and brings a wealth of international experience and exceptional managerial skills to the table. Now she is emerging as a compelling alternative to Trump, without all drama and vindictiveness. Haley has also attracted the support of influential donors who see her as the Republican candidate with the best chances of beating Joe Biden.

Nimrata Nikki Randhawa was born in 1972 in Bamberg, South Carolina. She took her husbands last name when she married Michael Haley in 1996. The couple has two adult children. Nikki Haleys parents were Sikh immigrants from Amritsar, in Indias state of Punjab. They were the only Indian family in a small southern town of 2,500 residents and two traffic lights. Growing up in Bamberg, Haley says she often felt like a brown girl in a black-and-white world. She recalls in one of her books that even the slightest misstep would be reported back to her family.

More information DeSantis and Ramaswamy take shots al Haley in fourth GOP primary debate

Haley studied accounting at Clemson University but soon became interested in public affairs. She was elected to the state legislature in 2004, was reelected unopposed in 2006, and won again with 83% of the vote in 2008. Two years later, she became the nations youngest governor at 38 years old. Haley was first female governor of South Carolina and the third non-white person elected as governor of a southern state. She won a second term four years later.

As governor, she took action to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state Capitol after a white racist killed nine Blacks at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Drawing on her personal childhood experiences, Haley has actively combatted racism and promoted inclusivity. During the 2016 presidential primaries, she endorsed Marco Rubio and openly criticized Trump. Haley reconciled with him after he won the election, but now she has become a formidable rival.

When Trump approached Haley to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations, she outlined her conditions. She insisted on being a cabinet member to have direct access to the president, and also wanted a position on the National Security Council. While not confrontational, when the White House claimed she was confused after announcing sanctions against Russia, Haley retorted, With all due respect, I do not get confused.

Haleys book about the women she admires highlighted that phrase in the chapter dedicated to Jean Kirkpatrick, the United States first female ambassador to the U.N. The woman she most admires is Margaret Thatcher, who served as the conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. The title of the book, If You Want Something Done, is borrowed from Thatchers famous quote: If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. Haley used the phrase to good effect in the first Republican debate in Milwaukee on August 23.

The fact that Nikki Haley is now positioned as a moderate centrist is evidence of the rightward shift within the Republican Party. Her sensible and restrained discourse is a stark contrast to rivals who reject the reality of climate change, embrace conspiracy theories, and often spout homophobic vitriol.

Haley shines brightest in the realm of foreign policy, where she staunchly defends hawkish positions, fully cognizant of the United States global leadership and the threats posed by China and Russia. But when she took center stage in the most recent debate, Haley faced accusations of influence peddling and exploiting her government experience for personal gain. While serving as governor, she offered Boeing generous incentives to invest in South Carolina, only to later join their board after leaving office. Additionally, she leveraged her experience as U.N. ambassador to secure lucrative speaking engagements.

Haley, a conservative politician and former accountant, advocates for fiscal discipline and reforms and budget cuts to social security and healthcare. While she opposes abortion, she is not in favor of its criminalization. Haley also critiques certain factions of radical feminism for their open hostility towards men.

As a trailblazing woman, Haley has shattered many barriers. Surveys indicate that she would easily beat Joe Biden in a presidential election, but she must first overcome Trumps large lead for the Republican nomination. The path wont be easy, but she is determined to follow in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher. If elected, Haley would become the first female president of the United States and inaugurated on January 20, 2025  her 52nd birthday.

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KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 22:32 | World, All, Japan

A senior Chinese military officer said in a recent interview with Kyodo News that Beijing does not want a war over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands claimed by China in the East China Sea, but is "not fearful" of armed conflict.

Lt. Gen. He Lei, a former vice president of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences, also indicated the possibility that China will target the Senkakus, which it calls Diaoyu, as well if it attempts to capture Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island, through the use of force.

The rare reference by a senior Chinese military officer to a possible war over the Senkaku Islands suggests Beijing's determination to gain control of the territory that Japan brought under state control in 2012.

The academy makes policy proposals to the PLA. He criticized Tokyo for purchasing the islands from Japanese private hands, stressing that Beijing will "firmly protect its national territory, sovereignty and maritime interests" if the Japanese side continues its "provocations."

Tokyo should not underestimate the Chinese military's "strong will, resolve and power" to safeguard national sovereignty, safety and territorial integrity, He warned.

The lieutenant general said he believes issues surrounding Taiwan, which Beijing regards as its own, are one factor destabilizing Sino-Japanese relations and it is "impermissible to interfere with China's core interests," calling matters related to the island "a purely domestic issue" of the country.

Beijing claims the Senkakus are part of its Taiwan Province. Asked whether China could launch an offensive to simultaneously target the seizure of Taiwan and the islets, He said such a scenario is in line with the mainland's "principle."

Meanwhile, He pointed out the two Asian neighbors have put aside the territorial row, referring to the famous words of then Chinese strongman Deng Xiaoping in 1978, suggesting to leave the issue to "the wisdom of future generations" during negotiations on the bilateral Treaty of Peace and Friendship concluded that year.

"We, the future generations, should have been able to solve the dispute, but Japan took a provocative action," the officer said, blaming Tokyo's step to change the status quo by bringing the islands under its direct control.

China frequently sends its vessels into Japanese waters around the uninhabited islets.

Mainland China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as a result of a civil war. Beijing seeks to unify the two sides, by force if necessary.

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U.S. Marines set up littoral unit in Okinawa for islands defense
Governor meets with US officials in DC, stresses importance of military funding outside the fence
OAG still waiting for Messier DNA to be analyzed by FBI
KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 23:00 | All, Japan, World

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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PM Kishida to replace gov't spokesman Matsuno amid funds scandal: source

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering replacing Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno over alleged failure to report millions of yen received as part of fundraising efforts for his party faction, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.

An option for Kishida to revamp his Cabinet and executives of his Liberal Democratic Party, including Matsuno, has also emerged within the administration, the sources said, with other lawmakers of the intraparty group accused of being engaged in similar scandals.

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China "not fearful of war" over Senkakus: military officer

BEIJING - A senior Chinese military officer said in a recent interview with Kyodo News that Beijing does not want a war over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands claimed by China in the East China Sea, but is "not fearful" of armed conflict.

Lt. Gen. He Lei, a former vice president of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences, also indicated the possibility that China will target the Senkakus, which it calls Diaoyu, as well if it attempts to capture Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island, through the use of force.

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Figure skating: Sakamoto wins 1st Grand Prix Final title

- Reigning world figure skating champion Kaori Sakamoto picked up her first Grand Prix Final title Saturday.

The 23-year-old from Kobe, Japan, earned 148.35 points in the free skate for a total of 225.70 at Beijing's National Indoor Stadium.

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Japanese associate professor 1 of 3 killed in U.S. college shooting

LOS ANGELES - A Japanese woman in her 60s was one of three faculty members fatally shot by a gunman earlier this week at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco said Friday.

The university, where the attack took place Wednesday, identified the woman as Naoko Takemaru, an associate professor of Japanese language studies.

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Man arrested for cutting off octogenarian neighbor's ear in Tokyo

TOKYO - A 74-year-old man has been arrested in Tokyo for allegedly attacking and cutting off his octogenarian neighbor's left ear with a knife, police said Saturday.

Junichi Takebayashi is alleged to have attacked the woman who lives in an apartment next to his in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Friday night. Police said the woman heard a knock at her door and was assaulted when she opened it.

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Football: Kawasaki edge Kashiwa in shootout to lift Emperor's Cup

TOKYO - Kawasaki Frontale won their second Emperor's Cup after beating Kashiwa Reysol 8-7 in an epic penalty shootout following a goalless 120 minutes on Saturday.

After the final ended 0-0 for the first time since 1990, Kashiwa goalkeeper Kenta Matsumoto made two saves but missed the crucial penalty as his team's 10th taker.

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Rugby: All Blacks Retallick, Savea lead Steelers to big opening win

KOBE - All Blacks forwards Brodie Retallick and Ardie Savea each scored a brace of tries to power Kobe Steelers to an 80-15 thrashing of newly promoted Mie Heat in the opening game of the Japan Rugby League One season Saturday.

World Rugby player of the year Savea made his Japanese club debut, while Retallick marked his return after a previous stint with the western Japan side from 2019 to 2021.

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Japan's Empress Masako turns 60, expresses eagerness to move forward

TOKYO - Japan's Empress Masako, on the occasion of her 60th birthday Saturday, expressed renewed eagerness to "keep walking toward the future" as she thanked those who have supported her throughout the six decades of her life so far.

"I have deep gratitude to everyone who has taken care of me, starting with my parents, who raised me with love," the empress said in a statement released by the Imperial Household Agency, adding that she felt "disbelief" at reaching her diamond jubilee.

Video: Ceremony at Aso Shrine after restoration of gate destroyed by quake
KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 20:30 | World, All, Japan

A recent South Korean court ruling in favor of former "comfort women" seeking compensation from the Japanese government was finalized Saturday as Japan did not appeal to the Supreme Court, the Foreign Ministry said.

In November, the Seoul High Court overturned a 2021 lower court ruling that dismissed the case on the grounds of "sovereign immunity," a concept under international law that a state is immune from the jurisdiction of a court in another country.

The Japanese government has expressed no intention to comply with the payment order. The plaintiffs are expected to pursue an apology and compensation from Japan before resorting to a compulsory legal process.

Japan has said all issues stemming from its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula were settled "completely and finally" under a 1965 bilateral agreement and a 2015 accord resolved the comfort women issue.

The Foreign Ministry said South Korea will "continue its efforts to restore the honor and dignity of the comfort women victims while working toward future-oriented cooperation" with Japan.

The plaintiffs in the suit are claiming compensation from Japan over the treatment of the women in wartime military brothels.

Related coverage:

Japan complains over South Korea's "comfort women" ruling in talks

South Korea court overturns Japan's immunity from "comfort women" suit
US, South Korea and Japan urge a stronger international push to curb North Koreas nuclear program View Photo

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Saturday called for a stronger international push to suppress North Koreas development of nuclear weapons and missiles, its cybertheft activities and alleged arms transfers to Russia.

The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral partnership in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

Speaking after the meeting, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defense cooperation and improve its response to North Korean missile testing and space-launch activities, including a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches that the countries plan to start at an unspecified date in December.

He also said the countries have agreed to new initiatives to more effectively respond to North Korean efforts to bypass U.S.-led international sanctions that aim to choke off funds for its nuclear weapons and missile program.

This will be a new effort with respect to cryptocurrency and money laundering and how we disrupt North Koreas capacity to gain revenue from the hacking and stealing of cryptocurrency and then laundering it through exchanges, he said.

Sullivan declined to share detailed U.S. assessments on the types and volume of North Korean arms being shipped to Russia and didnt comment on the specifics of his discussions with South Korean and Japanese officials over the issue, but insisted that theres no daylight among us in terms of the types of weapons transfers that we are seeing. And those continue and they represent a grave concern for us.

South Korean intelligence and military officials have said North Korea may have shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia beginning in August, weeks before Kim traveled to Russias Far East for a rare summit with Putin that sparked international concerns about a potential arms deal. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied U.S. and South Korean claims.

In a joint news conference after Saturdays trilateral meeting, Cho Tae-yong, South Koreas national security office director, said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Koreas obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its denuclearization and ban any weapons trade with other countries, and agreed to strengthen coordination to ensure that is implemented.

Takeo Akiba, Japans national security secretariat secretary general, said the unprecedented frequency and patterns of North Korean ballistic missile launches necessitate a deeper and more effective partnership between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia have also announced their own sanctions on North Korea over its spy satellite launch last month. North Korea argues it the right to launch spy satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhance the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles.

During his conversation with reporters, Sullivan said the allies are preparing for the possibility that North Korea will up the ante of its weapons demonstrations and threats in 2024, possibly including the countrys seventh nuclear test.

Direct military action is also a concern after the North recently announced it was abandoning a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on reducing border tensions after the South partially suspended the agreement, which had established border buffers and no-fly zones. Some experts say that has raised the risk of border-area shootings or clashes.

Look, when a country announces its intent to walk away from a set of measures that are designed to help reduce risk and increase stability, our concern for potential incidents, provocations has to go up, Sullivan said, though he said the full implications of the Norths announcement is not immediately clear.

Sullivan held separate bilateral talks Friday with Cho and Akiba and also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The U.S., South Korean and Japanese national security advisers last held a trilateral meeting in June in Tokyo.

South Korean intelligence officials have said the Russians likely provided technology support for North Koreas successful satellite launch in November, which followed two failed launches.

North Korea has said its spy satellite transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the U.S. and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasnt released any of those satellite photos. Many outside experts question whether the Norths satellite is sophisticated enough to send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

Kim has vowed to launch more satellites, saying his military needs to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

South Korean officials have also said North Korea-made rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons could have been used by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault on Israel and that the North could be considering selling weapons to militant groups in the Middle East.

Sullivan said that the United States has not seen any specific evidence of that, but remains vigilant about the possibility.

I think given North Koreas history of proliferation activities, including to reprehensible actors in other contexts across history, its a legitimate concern, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to the report.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG

Associated Press
KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 10:30 | All, Japan

Facilities for people with disabilities in Japan are facing severe labor shortages, a recent survey by a group supporting the disabled showed, affected by low wages and a shrinking workforce as Japan's population ages.

Only 53.5 percent of openings for regular employees were filled at such facilities in fiscal 2022, far below the average of 81.3 percent at private firms and government institutions hiring new graduates this year, Kyosaren said.

The figure for openings filled for nonregular workers was only slightly higher at 59.9 percent, according to the organization, which surveyed 1,047 facilities including those providing employment support, life nursing care and development assistance for children.

"The chronic shortages of workers have a direct impact on supporting users," the group said in September when it released the results of the survey, cited as examples cuts to bathing provision at group homes and shorter hours for home visits by nurses.

"The labor shortages will clearly reduce necessary assistance for people with disabilities and cause a situation that prevents them from living a normal life," it said.

The survey, conducted between June and August, was taken as the group, joined by around 1,860 entities nationwide, seeks a rise in state funding for welfare services for disabled people. The government plans to revise its level of funding next year for the first time in three years.

In the survey, many facilities pointed out that they are struggling to secure young workers and that existing employees are facing a bigger burden, leading some of them to quit.

According to the welfare ministry, Japan's budget for welfare services for the disabled has grown over threefold in the past 15 years after new legislation came into force in 2006.

But the country's public spending for people with disabilities as a percentage of gross domestic product has been very low at 0.7 percent to 1.2 percent compared with around 2.0 percent averaged by members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Kyosaren argues that the small amount of government spending on policies for the disabled has led to low wages for employees in the sector.

The group calls on the government to seek a "fundamental solution" to the labor shortage and improve working conditions for workers by raising its spending on related expenses to a level exceeding 2 percent of GDP.
Yves here. What seems interesting is the signal Iran President Raisi is sending about his interest in increasing pressure on Israel in the Gaza conflict. Note that if your read the Helmer piece carefully, the Iranian readout seems to be about diplomatic pressure but also notes the failure of efforts to date to accomplish much.

In his interview on Friday at Judge Napolitano, Professor John Mearsheimer argued that Arab leaders (yes, Iran is Persian but what applies to Arab states should go double for Iran) are not keen about mixing things up in Israel, despite the very strong desire among the general public to do so. Scott Ritter has also said from early on and I have yet to hear him change his position, that Iran is not keen about getting into a war because it has endured a decade plus of sanctions and resulting economic constraints, is just starting to get past that and does not want to go back into hair-shirt mode.

However, Putin appears to have ducked the Iran query, despite beliefs there were private discussions about possible Iran actions through proxies. And note the idea that Erdogan talked up, but so far has come to naught, of a 1000 private boat flotilla to challenge the sea blockade and bring humanitarian aid, is still an option.

So is the signaling of an interest in Russian support in Gaza just designed to mess with Israeli heads? Or playing out a chess game further, that Iran expects that it will be made out to be the perpetrator in a false flag, and if the US is going to use that to justify some sort of aggression, it might as well be ready to strike fast and hard?

By John Helmer, the longest continuously serving foreign correspondent in Russia, and the only western journalist to direct his own bureau independent of single national or commercial ties. Helmer has also been a professor of political science, and an advisor to government heads in Greece, the United States, and Asia. He is the first and only member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to establish himself in Russia. Originally published at Dances with Bears

An Iranian-Russian initiative on the Gaza War was tabled when Iranian President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi met with President Vladimir Putin for several hours on Thursday. For the time being the Kremlin is doing its best to hide it.

According to Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, speaking after Raisi had returned home, a significant part of the negotiations focused on the Palestinian issue and Russia is thinking about an initiative on Gaza. The two sides stressed the need for an immediate cessation of the war and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, he said, noting that the presidents of Iran and Russia also called for stopping the forced migration of Gazans and the immediate opening of the Rafah border to deliver massive humanitarian aid to Gazan people.

There was a one-on-one session between Raisi and Putin at the commencement of the talks; a session of the two presidents with brief public statements; and then closed delegation presentations and a supper. Altogether, the talks lasted five hours. There were no press briefings at the conclusion.

There has been a blackout on the talks by Russian Defense Ministry, the military bloggers, and Moscow media like Vzglyad which has been taking a pro-Israel line. No Russian official will clarify what Abdollahian meant by his claim that Russia is thinking about an initiative on Gaza  except to point out that Abdollahians wording does not mean that the initiative at this stage was initiated by the Russian side.

Vedomosti reports that Iran would like Russia to more actively express the pro-Palestinian position within the framework of public discourse, which would correspond to Iranian rhetoric. From the point of view of the NorthSouth economy, of course, Tehran has a priority, its just that against the current background it, like any Muslim country, cannot demonstrate that it can have something more important than the situation in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Kremlin communique, Raisi told Putin the events unfolding in Gaza are surely genocide and a crime against humanity. It is lamentable that more than 6,000 children have been killed by the hands of the Zionist regime. Even sadder is the fact that all these crimes have been supported by the United States and Western countries. What is even more regrettable is that international organisations and the human rights organisations have lost their effectiveness One of the issues that I would like to discuss with you, Mr Putin, is Palestine, as well as the challenges faced by the oppressed but strong Palestinian people. According to statistics, one child dies every ten minutes. Bombing must be stopped as soon as possible. This is not a regional issue, but a global issue, and a solution should be found promptly.

Putin replied by changing the subject.

Mr President, I will definitely take you up on your invitation [to visit Iran]. And I should note that we will keep working almost through the end of the year. We have scheduled the signing of an agreement on creating a free trade area between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union in late December. It will create additional opportunities for expanding our interaction.

The Kremlin has published the names of the Russian delegation accompanying Putin at the talks but refuses to disclose the names of their Iranian counterparts. Wait for additional materials on our website, the spokesman said.

Although Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was the second ranking member of the Russian side, Iranian sources confirm there was no military counterpart on their side.

Privately, Russian sources believe the two sides are discussing the protracted, long war strategy of Hamas and Hezbollah and the parallel engagement from Yemen and Iraq. They are also discussing ideas for breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza with massive humanitarian aid in which the Arab states and China are also engaged in the planning.

The war has to be economic and infrastructure suffocation [of Israel], a Moscow source says. Yes, thats the only way to beat the beast.

Raisis aircraft landed at Vnukovo at 1400 in the afternoon. The meetings with Putin began at the Kremlin at 1740. The first meeting between Raisi and Putin appears to have lasted less than 45 minutes  enough time to agree on the format for the detailed planning negotiations to follow, but too little time for negotiating a personal understanding on the Gaza war.

Putin had returned to Moscow early the same morning from his Wednesdays talks in Abu Dhabi with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and in Riyadh with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Planning for the talks with the Arab heads of state had been under way for more than a week, but were accelerated, Putin told Russian television, after there were changes to plans.

For what was tagged officially as a working visit, the imperial display turned on for Irans President by the Russian side was unusual. It was designed to match the palatial arrangements for Putin in the UAE and Saudi Arabia the day before.

Following the personal meeting of the presidents, Putin and Raisi made public statements at this session of what the Kremlin has called the narrow format. The Kremlin communique names the Russian four on the right of the picture: right to left, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Chairman of the Russian-Iranian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation Alexander Novak, a former Russian oil minister; Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu; presidential assistant for foreign affairs, Yury Ushakov; and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin. The Kremlin refuses to identify the four Iranian officials on the left. Iranian sources say they are, left to right: Irans Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali; Mohammad Jamshidi, head of foreign affairs in the presidential office; Javad Owji , Oil Minister; and Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Foreign Minister.

In the Iranian official news agency report, the third session of the talks involved expanded delegations. The gathering was attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, minister of roads and urban development [Mehrdad Bazrpash] oil minister [Javad Owji], head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [Mohammad Eslami], the governor of the Central Bank of Iran [Mohammad-Reza Farzin], and their Russian counterparts. The two sides discussed a range of bilateral issues in the meeting, exchanged views on cooperation in the fields of energy, monetary and banking sector, transportation, and agriculture, and weighed plans for new initiatives to speed up the implementation of the past agreements.

The third session was followed by a luncheon at the same table. There was no military discussion.

One outcome, if not intention, of this set-up, according to a Moscow source, was that it helped to isolate Putin as far as possible from Raisi, and prevent the two of them having intimate conversation. Its unclear whether the one-on-one conversation with which they began, was resumed after the planned luncheon, which for timing turned out to be dinner at around 2100.

About two hours into the talks, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) published the first report and picture. This appears to shows the two presidents together in the Kremlin. In fact, the picture is from the Kremlin archive and dates from a meeting between the two presidents in Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan; that was on June 29, 2022. The IRNA text following the Kremlin private meeting is here.

The primitive portrait of a young Arabian stallion on the wall and the new Bokhara pattern rug on the floor ought to be recognised as clues this is not a location in the Kremlin. Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/

In his public introduction, Putin told Raisi: Yesterday, you know, I was in a neighbouring region, I flew over the territory of your country and I wanted to land and meet in Tehran, but they told me that the President had already packed up and was flying to Moscow. Raisi replied, contradicting him: I must tell you, Mr Putin, after your visit [to Saudi Arabia], I wish you godspeed, we were ready for your plane to land at Tehran Airport, and we were ready to welcome you as well.

The strategic significance of the meeting sequence for the Russian, Emirati, Saudi, and Iranian leaders is great, and therefore secret. The London press is reporting that MBS of Saudi Arabia had delayed his London trip so that he could meet Putin  that had been decided several days before Putins arrival. Putins schedule on Wednesday had been grueling, and the meeting time was extended beyond schedule in Riyadh. The Russians also wanted to manage the public appearances to achieve parity between the Arabs and the Iranians.

The close-up video and audio record of the opening statements show Raisi in mental command, Putin hesitant, fidgeting, and fatigued.

Source: https://t.me/s/rybar/ -- 19:25 Moscow time

Putins repetitive right-hand motion on his chair arm, his persistent voice-clearing cough, and his resort to mnemonic formulas are indicators of his uncomfortableness following the private meeting with Raisi.

Source: https://twitter.com/

Notwithstanding, Moscow sources comment, there has been a noticeable improvement in the relationship between Putin and Raisi since Raisi was given the long-table treatment on his first visit to Moscow on January 19, 2022. The opening of the Special Military Operation in the Ukraine, NATOs escalation on the battlefield, and the accelerating military collaboration between Iranian and Russian forces have transformed Putins conduct.

Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/

The Iranian positions were made clear ahead of Thursdays trip to Moscow, and then immediately afterwards. Raisis priority, he said himself, was Gaza and breaking the Israeli blockade. Holding talks on ways to send humanitarian aid to Palestine and help the Palestinians fulfill their legitimate rights will be among the plans during the Moscow visit, the president underlined.

On Thursday morning, Teheran time, IRNA headlined Raisis objective was to get Putin to agree to a joint call for immediate halt to Gaza bombardment.

Source: https://twitter.com/

By the late evening, Raisi authorised his spokesman to issue a statement of agreement between the presidents which was significantly less. In a 3 hour closed meeting btw Presidents Raisi & Putin, the two had a detailed and very useful negotiations on bilateral and regional issues, focusing on Gaza. Reminding successful cooperations in Levant, President Raisi proposed ideas. The two agreed to act in coordination.

At Raisis right and head of delegation was the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. Following the refusal of the Kremlin to identify the four, Iranian sources have revealed who they are. At the extreme left of the picture is Irans ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali. Second from left is Mohammad Jamshidi, a former professor of politics at the University of Teheran and currently deputy chief of the presidential staff for political affairs; he acts as the presidential spokesman. His comment on the talks is Raisis authorised version:

Source: https://twitter.com/MhmmdJamshidi

In the IRNA photograph of the Kremlin session, seated between Jamshidi and Abdollahian there was Javad Owji, Irans Oil Minister.

This lineup indicates there were Iranian matches for three of the Russian delegation, but not for Defense Minister Shoigu. Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, Brigadier General and Irans Defense Minister since 2021, is Shoigus counterpart, but he was not present in the Moscow meetings.

The Fars news agency has also announced that participating in the Iranian delegation, but not in the front row of the narrow format session, there were Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash; head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad-Reza Farzin.

Left: Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani; centre, Mohammad-Reza Farzin; right, foreign ministers Abdollahian and Lavrov sign the Declaration by the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Ways and Means to Counter, Mitigate and Redress the Adverse Impacts of Unilateral Coercive Measures on December 5 in Moscow.

Farzins role, together with that of Russian Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, is to devise counter-measures for US and European sanctions, and to implement a road map [to] be drawn up by States to reduce the dependency of international trade on national currencies that are prone to being used to implement unilateral coercive measures or to sustain a particular States monetary hegemony over the global economy. This is one of the sixteen points of agreement which Abdollahian signed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on December 5, two days before Raisis arrival.

Read the full economic counter warfare plan here.

Moscow analysts note that while Putin may be keeping his distance from the Iranian rhetoric against Israel, at the working group level the collaboration of the two states in military, financial and strategic operations means much more. There is also discreet evidence that the Chinese are active in the planning of a major humanitarian operation for Gaza.

On the battlefield Russians are very fast learners from their mistakes, a veteran Moscow analyst says. But in Russian politics and business they are slow to accept that the US and Israel have always been enemies to Russian interests, and will remain so. What the Americans and Israelis dont realise is that Putin was the slowest to change his mind towards them. The Ukraine war and now the Gaza War have changed all that.
Yves here. Its noteworthy to see that divisions are developing over the question of NATO membership for Ukraine, of course assuming anything other than a small rump state with fantasies of retaking the territory that joins Russia (and what if other European countries gobble up bits as supposed charity?).

This is not as surprising as it may seem. One of the major Western fantasies for how to extract the US from Project Ukraine without having too much egg on its face is to somehow negotiate a ceasefire.when recall in March 2022, Russia kept prosecuting the war as it was negotiating. We did the same in the Vietnam peace talks. So any durable stop to the kinetic war is very likely to come at the end of, and not early in, negotiations. We still think any negotiated end to the war is vanishingly unlikely, for among other reasons that this is a war with the US and NATO, NATO cannot agree to any deal due to needing to have every state commit individually, which is na ga happen, and the Russian public would go berserk with any deal that did more than take a wee bit of sting out of a Ukraine capitulation.

But the tidbit below, on the US trying to get Ukraine to shut up on the topic of NATO, does point to the US recognizing the Ukraine cause is lost. The more any members with influence in the Collective West keep talking up Ukraine membership in NATO, an absolute red line for Russia. the more it will cement the Russian view that it must continue the war until Ukraine is prostrated and it can install a complaint government.



By Uriel Araujo, researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts. Originally published at InfoBRICS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pressuring European diplomats to cease any talks about Ukraine joining NATO, according to a member of Rada (the Ukrainian parliament), Oleksiy Goncharenko. This is no minor politician. The son of a former Odessa mayor, he is a member of the Ukrainian Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The allegations were publicly made in a series of texts posted in his Telegram channel (in Ukrainian). He wrote: Unfortunately, there will be no NATO [for Ukraine]. Forget about it  it wont happen. Goncharenko claims that several sources in Washington told him the topic of Ukraines accession to the Atlantic Alliance annoys the US elite and even after war the country should not expect it.

The politician also commented on the ongoing friction between the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny. According to Goncharenko, Washington is not happy about it. In addition, he says, one should expect the next aid package to Ukraine to be the last one: In a year, at the end of 2024, we will not be given any more money Most likely, we will switch to a credit form of cooperation. Theyll give a loan. Not a grant that wont need to be repaid.

Could such allegations be a fabrication created for propaganda purposes? There is no reason to think so and the logic of it in this case would be far from clear. In fact, Goncharenkos claims make perfect sense in light of what we already know by now.

We know the US has been pressuring its ally to hold elections. Moreover, the US Mission to NATO last month posted on X (formerly Twitter) a vague message about Washington being focused on setting the conditions for a just, durable, and sustainable peace in Ukraine. We also know that European Union (EU) member states are divided over the blocs common budget, including additional funding for Kyiv in 2024.

In addition, Pulitzer winner journalist Seymour Hersh has written that, according to his American diplomacy and intelligence sources, the aforementioned General Valery Zaluzhny has been directly negotiating a peace deal with Russian general Valery Gerasimov, independently of Zelensky, who is described as a wild card. According to the journalist: The two generals may continue to talk and Putin may indeed be interested in a settlement that gives him permanent control of Crimea and the four provinces he has claimed, but Zelensky remains the wild card. The American official said that Zelensky has been told that this is a military-to-military problem to solve and the talks will go on with or without you. If necessary, the American official told me, We can finance his voyage to the Caribbean.

We know that the unprecedented sanctions against the Russian Federation have been backfiring since the beginning, with the Eurasian great power reaching record trade surplus as early as May 2022. That has sparked division within the European continent, and how de-industralized post-Nord Stream Europe has been hurt by the ongoing conflict and by American subsidy war.

As early as April 2023, as I wrote, former US ambassador to Finland, Earle Mack wrote that the US-led West had been propping up Ukraine to fight a proxy war but he could only see a decade of death and chaos for the country.

In May Zelensky was planning a number of bold actions against Russia, including bombing the Druzhba pipeline that provides Russian oil to Hungary (a NATO member), and even occupying Russian villages plus targeting the Russian Federation with long-range missiles. Such plans crossed some red lines and were a huge problem from the point of view of both the US and that of Ukraines neighbors.

That same month, aforementioned Serymour Hersh also reported that countries such as Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and the Czech Republic, led by Poland (with Germany playing some role in it too) had been pressuring the Ukrainian leader to find a way to end the war, even by resigning himself if necessary, and to allow the process of rebuilding his nation to get under way. According to Hershs CIA source at the time, these European leaders had made it clear that Zelensky can keep what hes got  a villa in Italy and interests in offshore bank accounts  if he works up a peace deal even if hes got to be paid off, if its the only way to get a deal. Few months later, in September, Poland stopped sending Ukraine weapons, allegedly over a trade dispute, as bilateral relations deteriorated.

All of this points to a clear picture emerging, one that had been haunting Ukraine for a while: Western abandonment and betrayal  something of which Washington has a solid record. From an European perspective, the picture is even more dramatic: it is about the blocs own interests. As I wrote, in December 2021, American and European energy interests are far from converging and in fact the energy crisis in that part of the Old World is something that has benefited Washington, while hurting its European allies  and the same can be said about the American proxy attrition war in Eastern Europe. It is about time to admit NATOs expansion has been a recipe for disaster and about time to admit Ukraine has a far-right problem and a problem with the way it deals with the Russian minority  and not just in Donbass. And all of that is a problem for Europe, too.

It remains to be seen how European leaders will conduct their policy pertaining to Ukraine and also to the strategic energy interests of the continent. One may expect many European voices urging the bloc to reconsider sanctions against Russia, for instance, as has been the case already. For a start, it could reconsider its stance on the issue of the rights of ethnic minorities.
Bone tests reveal 80% of minor migrants in France are actually ADULTS

A French department recently revealed that a whopping 80 percent of underaged migrants have lied about being minors and are actually adults

Charles de Courson, a French MP of the center-right Union of Democrats and Independents, told the French General Assembly that the vast majority of unaccompanied migrants in France's northeast Marne department who declared themselves as minors are not really minors.

The translated speech also showed that in de Courson's department, where there are 240 of the alleged minors, bone analyses revealed that 80 percent of them were not minors.

According to de Courson, in the department of Marne, which is home to an estimated one percent of France's population, the cost of caring for the 160 false minors is 5,000 ($5,387.85) per month or 60,000 ($64,654.20) per year for each person.

Migrants in France have a significant motive to lie about their age because doing so gives them access to several financial benefits and ensures that they are not eligible for deportation.

De Courson is encouraging the federal government to take responsibility for the migrants instead of the local departments, which are ill-equipped to deal with the financial burden they represent. (Related: French lawmaker Marine Le Pen: Mass immigration fuels LAWLESSNESS in France.)

The French politician added that the real problem lies in administrative organization.

The departments are in charge of unaccompanied minors and the federal government for the rest. De Courson advised that it would be better if the federal government will take care all of them.

According to de Courson, doing so can help avoid the division between the federal government and the departments. "We must be rid of this bad administrative organization with a reform that would say that the state is responsible for the totality of them," said de Courson.

Migrants often take advantage of France and other countries

But this issue is not new in France.

As previously reported, Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians made up more than 75 percent of unaccompanied minors in France in 2019. A parliamentary report has also warned that many of these minors could be adults.

Of the three nations, Algerians were overwhelmingly represented since almost 50 percent of unaccompanied minors came from that nation.

In the report, prosecutors Remy Heitz and Aude Groualle said a majority of adult migrants take advantage of the protective regime guaranteed in a law from 1945 and pretend to be minors.

One experiment conducted by the Paris prosecutor's office in 2019 found that in a group of 154 people formally identified as minors, an overwhelming 141 of them were adults based on medical examinations, meaning 91.6 percent of the group were lying about their age.

Cases of adult migrants lying about their age are also common in other countries. One study from Belgium showed that at least 73 percent of "underage migrants" were actually adults.

In Sweden, results revealed that 84 percent of "child migrants" tested by Swedish health authorities were actually adults aged 18 or older.

A study from Germany conducted by researchers from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Munster has shown that many underage immigrants often lie about their age.

For the study, the university clinics forensic specialists analyzed data from around 600 so-called unaccompanied minor refugees whose age was questioned on behalf of the courts. The institute reported that at least 40 percent of them were "demonstrably 18 years of age or older."

Visit Migrants.news for more reports about migrants abusing financial benefits in countries like France and the United States.

Watch the video below to learn more about crimes committed by migrants all over Europe.

This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Hungarian expert: MIGRATION is the major reason for France riots.

Chicago holds JOB FAIR for MIGRANTS amid rising number of unemployed Black residents in the city.

Trump to GO HARD against ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and human traffickers if elected for a second term.

Sources include:

RMX.news 1

Rmx.news 2

Bbc.com

Brighteon.com
KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 06:52 | All, World

The United States on Friday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have urged an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, despite Secretary General Antonio Guterres having called on the panel for action on the issue.

The United States, a permanent member which backs Israel in the conflict against the Hamas militant group, expressed its opposition to the move during the day's debate.

"We do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire," U.S. representative Robert Wood told the session. "This would only plant the seeds for the next war because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution."

Thirteen of the 15 members of the council backed the resolution, while Britain abstained.

In the draft resolution, the key security panel of the world body demanded "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

The vote on the resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates took place after Guterres called on the panel for action toward bringing about a ceasefire.

He made the plea in a rare letter to the Security Council based on Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which allows the secretary general to bring to the panel's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

On Nov. 15, the council endorsed its first resolution since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, calling for "humanitarian pauses" of fighting in the war-torn Gaza area.

Washington vetoed an earlier Security Council resolution on Oct. 18 that would have called for a pause of the conflict in Gaza.

Related coverage:

Japan, Israel leaders agree to closely communicate on Gaza situation
Chinas humanoid robot factories to go online in 2025, HALF of human labor force to be eliminated

The year 2030 is shaping up to be the endgame year for a multitude of major globalist projects, which include humanoid robots that will replace much of the human labor force, both blue-collar and white-collar.

Communist China says it plans to begin unleashing its own humanoid robots, one of which is called GR-1, as soon as 2025. GR-1 will supposedly be so advanced as to render many human workers obsolete  you can see a picture of the GR-1 concept at Fftai.cn.

An English translation of a Chinese article about humanoid robots explains how they will come integrated with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), high-end manufacturing and new materials. They are expected to become disruptive products similar to computers, smartphones and new energy vehicles when these were all first released.

China's humanoid robots will "profoundly change human production and lifestyle and reshape the world," the article claims, adding that humanoid robot technology is advancing so fast that it is expected to become a new highland for technological competition; a new track for future industries; and a new engine for economic development.

What about all the billions of human workers, though? If humanoid robots really become real and make them obsolete, then this will help fulfill the globalist depopulation agenda.

"There is a global depopulation agenda underway," explains Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, in the episode below of "The Health Ranger Report."

"This depopulation agenda has been rushed, and it is being rushed  this is why they had to release the vaccine bioweapons, and now they're working on World War III as a means of depopulation and they're doing geoengineering and chemtrails and increasing pesticide exposure and causing infertility through lots of different means including soy products, atrazine, in the water, in the foods, all kinds of things to stop births  because the advancements in AI have taken the globalists by surprise. They cannot believe how quickly AI has progressed to where it can now take over human processes including not just writing and not just generating art, but behavior processing, patterns of physical behavior to take over human labor."

Xi Jinping behind humanoid robot concept for a "new era"

As with most futuristic technologies such as this, humanoid robots are already being sold to the public under the guise of them helping to improve the economy and make the world a more livable place. How can this be true, though, if billions of people have to die in order for humanoid robots to take their place?

Microsoft is working on a project that will create humanoid robots to replace white-collar jobs, while communist China is working on humanoid robots to replace blue-collar workers. No human workers are safe from humanoid robots, in other words.

"The blue-collar labor jobs are going to be taken over to such an extent that the globalists have realized the only way they maintain control is to cull billions of human beings who are otherwise going to be unemployed and probably rioting," Adams says.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly behind the humanoid robot technology, guiding it through his "Thoughts on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." This doctrine was fully implemented by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

By the year 2025, China will have successfully created humanoid robots that contain things like a "brain, cerebellum and limbs." Such robots bearing these characteristics will be ready for mass production by then, after which they will flood the world to full saturation by the year 2030.

By the year 2027, the technological innovation and capabilities of humanoid robots will advance even further. This same year is when China expects to create a safe and reliable industrial supply chain system along with an internationally competitive industrial ecosystem to accommodate the robots.

One area of the technology that China will devote much of its time to gradually improving is the "brain" component of the robots. These will be based on AI with programming aimed at enhancing environmental perception, behavioral control and human-computer interaction.

The "limb" technology component of the robots will borrow from existing robotic technology foundations, including the "robotic limbs" used in surgical settings. As the technology advances, the movement of these robotic limbs will become more lifelike.

The "machine body" part of the robots will contain things like lightweight "bones," high-strength body structure, high-precision sensing and long-lasting, highly efficient energy management technologies.

There are lesser talked-about potential functions for humanoid robots that are much more dystopian, including their possible use as law enforcement officers or government officials. There are even worries that humanoid robots might be used as "terminator" robots to blow up targets.

"These robots will be put in the most dangerous situations and be given the most dangerous tasks," Adams says.

"And they will be very efficient as terminators. For humanity to survive, we're going to have to learn how to kill the robots, and we're going to be at war with these robots sooner or later because these robots will follow commands without discernment."

One thing to remember is that no matter how advanced humanoid robots become, they will never, at least as far as existing technology allows, have the true ability to reason or process things in the same way as the human brain. This means they will still be inadequate, and humans will still be preferable for performing tasks, especially those that require careful thought and consideration.

More related news can be found at Depopulation.news.

Sources for this article include:

Brighteon.com

Fftai.cn

Miit.gov.cn
COVID-19 vaccine data administrator reveals deaths related to bad batch of Pfizer shots

Within four years since the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "plandemic" was launched in China, people are coming out to prove that the pandemic was indeed a deceptive plan to pave the way for tyrannical measures authorities promoted as "public health" mandates  masks, lockdowns and of course, the vaccine.

A COVID-19 vaccine database administrator in New Zealand has gone rogue and turned into a full-blown whistleblower, revealing, for the first time, the actual number of deaths related to "bad batches" of the Pfizer vaccine. X user Kim Dotcom, who described himself in his bio as an entrepreneur, innovator, gamer, artist, internet freedom fighter and a father of six, shared a video of the said analyst being interviewed in his country regarding his damning bombshell report.

"I was involved with building a project and helped implement a vaccine payment system for our providers called the 'pay per dose' system. It means that every time someone gets vaccinated, they get a payment as a provider," the whistleblower started. "And when I was looking at the data, which is a part of my job, I noticed some discrepancies with the dates of death, people dying within a week of being vaccinated." According to him, as soon as the system went online, he noticed that people were dying almost straight away after being injected. So, being a scientist by nature and having a master's degree in Science, he got suspicious and dug deeper. It is also important to note that the data was only accessible to him in New Zealand as he was the only analyst tasked to handle the said information.

New Zealand Covid-19 vaccination database admin turns whistleblower and reveals how many people died after taking bad batches of the Pfizer vaccine. This must be investigated. If this data of mass vaccine casualties is real there must be accountability. pic.twitter.com/2QjkmRGJca  Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) November 30, 2023

He listed down the top 10 vaccine batch IDs, the total number of people who received it, how many died and the death toll percentage. For example, Pfizer Batch 1 was administered to 711 people and 152 died, giving a 21 percent mortality rate. To look at the government information in another way, he made another chart wherein he presented how many jab receivers died per vaccinator, who may not be doing their jobs properly. Their names were redacted for privacy reasons. "Unless they go around terminally ill in cancer wards and injecting people who they know are going to die, then there is no other explanation for this," he said.

The interviewer posed a question regarding the vaccine batches as Kiwis are now worried that they got the batches that kill people. He directed people to a website "find my batch" (but did not provide the URL) to look at which of all the 119 batches of Pfizer as well as Moderna and AstraZeneca.

In another chart, he presented a line graph showing the death rate in the country, where he pointed out that COVID-19 deaths should be reduced by mid-2021 when vaccines have been rolled out. Unfortunately, records showed that more people were dying during this time than ever before. "These are the biggest number of deaths we have seen in the history of New Zealand. The death rate has gone up six to eight percent year-on-year," he lamented.

What he showed is probably true because New Zealand has recorded the largest increase in the number of registered deaths since the 1918 influenza pandemic, as per Stats NZ, the nation's official data agency. The births and deaths figures for the year ending Dec. 2022, reflected 38,574 deaths that year, 10.4 percent more in 2021. This increase which was attributed to COVID-19 and an aging population, is the biggest year-on-year jump since the 55.4 percent spike in deaths following the 1918 pandemic.

Fauci should be imprisoned

Revolver News commented that people may have argued that the mans coming out may be too late. "Countless experts likely hold a lot of information and truth that, if shared, could have saved countless lives. However, that's not the world we live in. So, we take whatever morsels of truth we can get and run wild with them. Hopefully, we see this truth playing out in courts, and there will be ultimate accountability when all is said and done," the independent news site pointed out, adding that true justice for many will be seeing former White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci behind prison bars.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) said he thinks that indeed, Fauci deserves jail time. "And do you believe that Anthony Fauci belongs in jail?" Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Paul, who responded: "Without question."

The lawmaker and Fauci have had disagreements from the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to vaccinations. He has also argued that the former infectious diseases doctor lied to Congress by flip-flopping on where the COVID virus began in public and in private. "We now have proof in Anthony Fauci's own words, we have his emails," Paul said. "In public, he's saying, 'Oh, if you say it came from the lab, you're a conspiracy theorist, you're crazy, it's a fringe theory. But in private, he's saying 'We're very concerned because the virus appears to be manipulated. And we're also very concerned because we know they're doing gain of function research in Wuhan.'" (Related: Video: Rand Paul calls for "five years in jail" for Fauci lying to congress.)

VaccineDeaths.com has more stories of people who died due to the experimental COVID-19 jabs.

Sources for this article include:

NZHerald.co.nz

Revolver.news

TheHill.com
France goes after several right-wing organizations that protested against racially motivated stabbing of white teenager by migrant gangs

The French government is targeting right-wing groups for protesting about the recent racially motivated murder of a white French teenager.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that he will personally oversee the dissolution of three separate organizations that encouraged its members to travel to Romans-sur-lsere, the place where a youth gang had traveled from to gatecrash a winter ball that took place in nearby Crepol.

This youth gang had previously vowed to "stab white people" at the ball. Once they got there, the teens proceeded to stab to death a 16-year-old promising rugby player named Thomas, while wounding several others.

After stabbing Thomas to death, the young gang fled Romans-sur-lsere and even tried to flee the country.

Instead of targeting the teenagers involved with the horrific crime, Darmanin announced that he will throw the book at the protest groups who demonstrated publicly in solidarity with Thomas while calling on French authorities to deal with perpetrators.

"I will propose that a number of small groups are wound up," Darmanin said, warning that "a mobilization within the extreme right" in response to migrants stabbing French children "would have us tip into civil war." (Related: RIOTS erupt across France as EU falls to migrant invasion.)

One of the organizations that Darmanin named as a target is called the Martel Division. The names of the other two organizations remain undisclosed.

NEW: Civil unrest in France as anti-Islam activists clash with police in Romans-sur-Isere, home of the youth gang who gatecrashed a winter ball last weekend in Crepol and pledged to "stab White people" before killing 16-year-old Thomas and injuring several others. Activists pic.twitter.com/IYnspG1g3j  Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 25, 2023

French police clash with protesters in Romans-sur-Isere

The protest groups sent members to Romans-sur-Isere where French police were waiting to deal with them. Law enforcement officers arrested around 30 and at least six have since been imprisoned.

A similar bout of civil unrest occurred in Ireland recently following a stabbing spree by an Algerian migrant that left three children hospitalized and a care worker who tried to protect the innocent minors fighting for her life.

That incident prompted the Irish government to make a similar move not against the perpetrator of the stabbing but against the protesters who came out to draw attention to what happened and call for justice.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar issued a statement expressing almost embarrassment that many native Irish people are upset about the migrant murderers. Varadkar said the protesters represent a "tiny minority" of Irish citizens, adding that Ireland would be a "vastly inferior" place if not for all the mass migration taking place.

"As a country, we need to reclaim Ireland, we need to take it away from the cowards who hide behind masks and try to terrify us with violence," Varadkar added in a statement.

"We need to reclaim Ireland from the criminals who seek any excuse to unleash horrors on our streets," he added, further stating that all the protesters are bringing "shame on Ireland."

It had been many years since protests like that have occurred in Ireland. Every time they do, the Irish government tries to portray them as being led by the "far right," as if leftists never speak out publicly about important things.

"Ireland is a great country and a country that is formed by migration in both directions  Irish people going all over the world to build new lives and people coming to Ireland to build new lives," Varadkar said, adding that the protests are "not reflective of the Irish people."

More related news can be found at Tyranny.news.

Sources for this article include:

RMX.news 1

RMX.news 2

NaturalNews.com
New House resolution labels any criticism of Israels government policies as antisemitism

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that condemns antisemitism at home and abroad despite controversial language that equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism, which many believe will be interpreted to mean that any type of criticism against the policies of the Israeli government will be considered antisemitism.

In addition to condemning the October 7 massacre that resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths, the resolution condemns chants that are popular with peaceful protesters, such as From the river to the sea. It also lists several recent incidents involving attacks on Jews in the U.S.

House Resolution 894 passed in a vote of 311 to 14. A further 92 representatives voted present following efforts by some Jewish Democrats to convince members of their caucus to go with a present vote to protest the line of the bill that specifies that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

Representatives Dan Goldman (D-New York), Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) and Jerry Nadler (D-New York) released a statement in which they said the bill does not account for the complexity of Judaism itself and ignores nuanced examples such as the Satmar sect, a Hasidic Jewish movement, which remains staunchly anti-Zionist and quite obviously not antisemitic. They also said the bill was redundant because a resolution that was approved by the House last week affirmed Israels right to exist.

Rep. Nadler explained the importance of drawing a distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, noting: The resolution suggests that ALL anti-Zionism is antisemitism. That is either intellectually disingenuous or just factually wrong. And it unfairly implicates many of my orthodox former constituents in Brooklyn, many of whose families rose from the ashes of the Holocaust.

He added that while the two sentiments sometimes go hand in hand, those who are familiar with Jewish culture and history can understand there are important differences.

Criticizing Israeli government DOES NOT equate to antisemitism

Nadler, who is the longest-serving Jewish House member, explained in a floor speech what he found problematic about the bill: Under this resolution, those who love Israel deeply but criticize some of its policy approaches could be considered anti-Zionist. That could make every Democratic Jewish member of this body, because they all criticized the recent Israeli judicial reform package, de facto antisemites. Might that be the authors intention?

It is believed that the language of the bill could result in any lawmakers who voted against it to be labeled antisemitic, and this could explain the overwhelming majority that voted in favor of it.

Among the 14 who voted against the resolution, 13 were Democrats; the lone Republican opposing the bill was Thomas Massie of Kentucky. He said he opposed the bill because it equated anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Last week, Massie was the only member of Congress voting against a resolution claiming that denying the right of Israel to exist is a type of antisemitism.

Political anthropologist Eric Reinhart takes the idea that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism one step further. He wrote on X: Not only is anti-Zionism not anti-Semitism, but a strong argument can be made that Zionism is in fact anti-Semitic. It is used to license Zionist violence against Jews who refuse to back it (eg, the Israeli governments recent attacks on their own anti-Zionist Jewish citizens).

Being critical of Israel and its government policies is not the same thing as being bigoted against Jews, just like criticizing the American government's policies does not make a person inherently anti-American. This measure is not only pointless; it could even be harmful. Its not surprising that some skeptics believe it is nothing more than a new way to prevent lawmakers from having critical debates about Israel.

Sources for this article include:

News.Antiwar.com

CNN.com

TheHill.com
Israel pushes deeper into Gaza, orders MASS EVACUATIONS that are impossible for civilians to follow without being bombed

Israeli forces are intensifying their air and ground assault on the southern Gaza Strip, simultaneously urging mass evacuations as they push deeper into the region.

Following the capture of the northern half of Gaza in November, Israel significantly escalated its military actions after the collapse of a week-long truce. The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, an ally of Hamas, reported intense clashes with Israeli soldiers near Khan Younis, Gaza's primary southern city.

Residents have observed Israeli tanks entering Gaza, cutting off the crucial north-south route. The Israeli military has declared the central road out of Khan Younis to the north as a battlefield and closed it off.

Israel confirmed three soldiers' deaths on Dec. 4, describing it as a day of fierce battles with Hamas terrorists. It also issued an evacuation order for parts of Khan Younis on the same day, directing residents to move towards the Mediterranean coast and Rafah, a town near the Egyptian border.

Since the ground invasion began, 78 Israeli soldiers have lost their lives in Gaza. The military assault by Israel was initiated as retaliation for an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas terrorists on Israeli border towns, settlements and a music festival. This attack resulted in the death of 1,200 people and the seizure of 240 hostages, marking the deadliest single day in Israel's 75-year history.

In Washington, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson noted that while Israel's move to seek evacuations in targeted areas instead of entire cities was an improvement, the U.S. expected Israel to avoid attacking areas designated as "no-strike" zones in Gaza. (Related: MIGRANT INVASION: "Large influx" of Gaza refugees coming to Germany as Israel bombs them out of Gaza.)

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that Washington had discussed with Israel the expected duration of the conflict but refrained from sharing a specific timeline. A senior Israeli official mentioned that they were taking the time to order more precise evacuations to limit civilian casualties, emphasizing that civilian casualties were regrettable but inevitable when facing evil.

Throughout the conflict, more than 100 hostages seized by Iran-backed Hamas were freed during a seven-day truce last month. Israeli authorities reported seven civilian and one army colonel's deaths in captivity, while 137 hostages remain in Gaza. In the eight weeks of warfare, the Hamas-controlled Gazan Ministry of Health reported at least 15,899 Palestinians killed.

Palestinians fleeing Gaza

The escalated military offensive in southern Gaza has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a perilous choice  stay in the path of advancing Israeli forces or attempt to flee within the confines of the besieged territory.

The mass movement of people is expected to exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis in the region. Thomas White, Gaza affairs director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, expressed concern about the worsening situation and highlighted the urgency of addressing the unfolding displacement.

Adding to the chaos, phone and internet networks across Gaza collapsed again on the evening of Dec. 4, further hindering communication for residents. The breakdown of these networks has occurred multiple times during the conflict, leaving people unable to communicate with each other or the outside world for extended periods.

Currently, approximately two million people  the majority of Gaza's population  are crowded into the 230 square kilometers (90 square miles) of southern and central Gaza. The ongoing Israeli ground offensive, now moving into these densely populated areas, poses a threat of rendering even larger areas uninhabitable.

Since the collapse of the truce, the Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of an area of about 62 sq. km. (24 sq. mi.) in and near Khan Younis. This evacuation further reduces the available space for Palestinians by more than a quarter.

Israeli airstrikes in recent days have been described as "ferocious," hindering aid delivery and depleting food supplies in local shops. Mohammed Aghaalkurdi, an aid worker with Medical Aid for Palestinians in Khan Younis, reported that neighborhoods and shelters were emptying as people sought refuge elsewhere.

Israeli military leaflets advise people to move south toward the border with Egypt, but many are unable to leave Gaza, as both Israel and neighboring Egypt have refused to accept refugees.

Visit IsraelCollapse.com for more stories about the ongoing Israel conflict.

Watch this footage of Gaza Beach before and after Israeli bombings.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Israeli genocide of Gaza may be motivated by Palestine's maritime natural gas reserves and desire to "wipe Gaza off the map."

40 percent of Palestinians killed in Gaza are children.

Former Israeli gov't minister claims final solution for Gaza is FORCED EXPULSION of all 2M Palestinians.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

APNews.com

Brighteon.com
Kim Jong-Un TEARFULLY urges North Korean women to have more kids

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has tearfully called on his country's women to have more children , as the hermit kingdom faces a dwindling population.

During the National Mothers' Meeting on Dec. 3 in Pyongyang, he exhorted women to have more children while dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief. Kim told the thousands of women at the meeting that reversing North Korea's declining birth rate was a duty they must do to strengthen national power.

"Preventing a decline in birth rates and good childcare are all of our housekeeping duties we need to handle while working with mothers," said the North Korean leader. "We are confronted with a host of social tasks that [our] mothers should join to tackle."

"These tasks include bringing up their children so that they will steadfastly carry forward our revolution; eliminating the recently increasing non-socialist policies; promoting family harmony and social unity; establishing a sound way of cultural and moral life; making the communist virtues and traits of helping and leading one another forward prevail over our society; stopping the declining birth rate; and taking good care of children and educating them effectively. These belong to our common family affairs, which we need to deal with by joining hands with our mothers."

Kim also exhorted mothers to instill the values of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in their children. He continued that "in view of our mothers' position and role in their families and society," the North Korean government viewed the Dec. 3 gathering of mothers as "no less important than a [WPK] congress or a plenary meeting of the [WPK] Central Committee."

Many of the women present in the meeting, all dressed in traditional multi-colored Korean garb, openly wept along with Kim. However, pictures released by the Korean Central News Agency showed a jolly side of the event, with the adoring crowd clapping and cheering Kim as he waved back from his seat. The North Korean leader was flanked by male officials in suits and military uniforms.

Russia's Putin also calls for more kids to replenish war casualties

The National Mothers' Meeting, the first in 11 years, was organized amid a drop in the hermit kingdom's birth rate. This prompted concern among top officials in North Korea, formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Getting detailed population numbers from North Korea is extremely difficult due to the limited statistics it releases to the outside world. Pyongyang's last census in 2008 puts its population at 24 million. Estimates 15 years later now put this number at 25.7 million, but this could decrease to 23.7 million by 2070.

South Korea disagrees, however, stating that the DPRK's fertility rate has declined steadily for the past 10 years. According to Statistics Korea, the fertility rate  the average number of babies expected to be born to a woman over her lifetime  was 1.79 in 2022. Eight years prior, it was 1.88.

Incidentally, Kim's message to North Korean mothers came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a similar encouragement to Russian women. According to the Daily Express, Putin explained that having more children was necessary to prevent "catastrophic demographic problems" that could impact Russia's economy down the line.

"Many of our people maintain the tradition of the family where four, five, or more children are raised. Recall that in Russian families, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had both seven and eight children. Let us preserve and revive these traditions," said Putin. (Related: Replenishing the population: Putin wants Russian women to have MORE CHILDREN to replace war casualties.)

"Having many children, [and] a large family, should become a norm, a way of life for all the people of Russia. A family is not just the foundation for the state and society. It is a spiritual phenomenon, the source of morality."

Visit PopulationCollapse.com for more stories about declining populations in North Korea and other countries.

Watch this video that discusses the free-fall of fertility rates and population numbers since the 1970s.

This video is from the Crrow777 Radio channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS: Declining population due to low birth rates is the biggest threat to Europe, warns Hungarian president.

Taiwan witnesses catastrophic 23% drop in birth rate in May of 2022, as global depopulation schemes take effect.

North Korea could kill 90% of all Americans by dropping EMP nukes from orbiting satellites.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Express.co.uk

Brighteon.com
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admits to flying on Jeffrey Epsteins private plane twice but it was decades ago

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has admitted to being a passenger on the private plane of sex offender and notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein at least twice

Kennedy was among several high-profile individuals who, in 2021, were named as passengers on Epstein's private jet, which was regularly used to transport guests to his private island in the Caribbean, Little Saint James.

This private plane, a luxury Boeing 727, is also notorious for its nickname of "Lolita Express" due to it being used in Epstein's sex trafficking operations. (Related: Tucker Carlson went there, says: "It's time we talked about the elite pedophilia problem.")

During an interview with Jesse Watters on Fox News, Kennedy admitted that his ex-wife was friendly with Epstein's former lover and partner in sex trafficking operations, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Kennedy appeared on "Jesse Watters Primetime" initially to discuss matters unrelated to Epstein. But as the topics switched during the interview, Watters asked Kennedy if he had ever flown on Epstein's private plane. Kennedy responded by saying: "I was on Jeffrey Epstein's jet two times."

"I was on it in 1993  I went to Florida with my wife and two children to visit my mom over Easter," he added. "My wife had some kind of relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell and they offered us a ride to Palm Beach."

Kennedy then added that, on another occasion, he and four of his children and his ex-wife Mary were passengers on Epstein's plane on a flight to Rapid City, South Dakota, "to go fossil hunting for a weekend." He claimed he was never on Epstein's jet alone.

"I've been very open about this from the beginning," he said. "This was in '93, so it was 30 years ago. It was before anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein's nefarious issues."

Flight logs from Epstein's jet blocked from being released

Kennedy's revelation seems to have overshadowed Watters' main topic during the Dec. 5 installment of his Fox News program, which was that Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois was blocking the release of flight logs from Epstein's jet.

During senate proceedings, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee attempted to file a subpoena for Epstein's flight logs. Durbin allegedly blocked this request.

"What are Democrats trying to hide?" said Blackburn. "Why are Democrats stonewalling this issue?"

During his interview with Watters, Kennedy agreed with the host that the full, unredacted flight logs should be released.

"I agree with you that all of this information should be released and we should get real answers on what happened to Jeffrey Epstein and any of the high-level political people that he was involved with, all of that should be open to the public," said Kennedy. "It should be absolutely transparent. And I don't see why any of those records would have any redactions in them. Why would we be hiding that from the American public?"

Learn the latest news involving Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at RFK.news.

Watch this Dec. 6 episode of "The Pete Santilli Show" as host Pete Santilli discusses and reacts to the shocking revelation regarding Kennedy's connection to Epstein.

This video is from The Pete Santilli Show channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Epstein and his lover Ghislaine Maxwell were Mossad operative BLACKMAILING famous personalities with videos of them bedding underage girls, book claims.

How many U.S. Congressmen are guilty of Epstein-style PEDO CRIMES? General Mike Flynn states there are many, and they are bent over a barrel by globalists.

RFK Jr. abandons free speech principles, calls on college campuses to impose "zero-tolerance policies" on antisemitism.

All of a sudden, RFJ Kr. is totally on board with censorship.

Thrive Time Show: Jeffrey Epstein connected to POWERFUL people, says Liz Crokin  Brighteon.TV.

Sources include:

100PercentFedUp.com

Newsweek.com

FoxNews.com

TheCenterSquare.com

Brighteon.com
CTIL files #1: US and UK military contractors created sweeping plan for global censorship in 2018, new documents show

A whistleblower has come forward with an explosive new trove of documents, rivaling or exceeding the Twitter Files and Facebook Files in scale and importance. They describe the activities of an anti-disinformation group called the Cyber Threat Intelligence League, or CTIL, that officially began as the volunteer project of data scientists and defense and intelligence veterans but whose tactics over time appear to have been absorbed into multiple official projects, including those of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

(Article by Michael Shellenberger, Alex Gutentag, and Matt Taibbi republished from Public.Substack.com)

The CTI League documents offer the missing link answers to key questions not addressed in the Twitter Files and Facebook Files. Combined, they offer a comprehensive picture of the birth of the anti-disinformation sector, or what we have called the Censorship Industrial Complex.

The whistleblower's documents describe everything from the genesis of modern digital censorship programs to the role of the military and intelligence agencies, partnerships with civil society organizations and commercial media, and the use of sock puppet accounts and other offensive techniques.

"Lock your shit down," explains one document about creating "your spy disguise.

Another explains that while such activities overseas are "typically" done by "the CIA and NSA and the Department of Defense," censorship efforts "against Americans" have to be done using private partners because the government doesn't have the "legal authority."

The whistleblower alleges that a leader of CTI League, a former British intelligence analyst, was in the room at the Obama White House in 2017 when she received the instructions to create a counter-disinformation project to stop a "repeat of 2016."

Over the last year, Public, Racket, congressional investigators, and others have documented the rise of the Censorship Industrial Complex, a network of over 100 government agencies and nongovernmental organizations that work together to urge censorship by social media platforms and spread propaganda about disfavored individuals, topics, and whole narratives.

The US Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) has been the center of gravity for much of the censorship, with the National Science Foundation financing the development of censorship and disinformation tools and other federal government agencies playing a supportive role.

Emails from CISAs NGO and social media partners show that CISA created the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) in 2020, which involved the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) and other US government contractors. EIP and its successor, the Virality Project (VP), urged Twitter, Facebook and other platforms to censor social media posts by ordinary citizens and elected officials alike.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of government-sponsored censorship, it had yet to be determined where the idea for such mass censorship came from. In 2018, an SIO official and former CIA fellow, Renee DiResta, generated national headlines before and after testifying to the US Senate about Russian government interference in the 2016 election.

But what happened between 2018 and Spring 2020? The year 2019 has been a black hole in the research of the Censorship Industrial Complex to date. When one of us, Michael, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives about the Censorship Industrial Complex in March of this year, the entire year was missing from his timeline.

An Earlier Start Date for Censorship Industrial Complex

Now, a large trove of new documents, including strategy documents, training videos, presentations, and internal messages, reveal that, in 2019, US and UK military and intelligence contractors led by a former UK defense researcher, Sara-Jayne SJ Terp, developed the sweeping censorship framework. These contractors co-led CTIL, which partnered with CISA in the spring of 2020.

In truth, the building of the Censorship Industrial Complex began even earlier  in 2018.

Internal CTIL Slack messages show Terp, her colleagues, and officials from DHS and Facebook all working closely together in the censorship process.

The CTIL framework and the public-private model are the seeds of what both the US and UK would put into place in 2020 and 2021, including masking censorship within cybersecurity institutions and counter-disinformation agendas; a heavy focus on stopping disfavored narratives, not just wrong facts; and pressuring social media platforms to take down information or take other actions to prevent content from going viral.

In the spring of 2020, CTIL began tracking and reporting disfavored content on social media, such as anti-lockdown narratives like all jobs are essential, we wont stay home, and open America now. CTIL created a law enforcement channel for reporting content as part of these efforts. The organization also did research on individuals posting anti-lockdown hashtags like #freeCA and kept a spreadsheet with details from their Twitter bios. The group also discussed requesting takedowns and reporting website domains to registrars.

CTILs approach to disinformation went far beyond censorship. The documents show that the group engaged in offensive operations to influence public opinion, discussing ways to promote counter-messaging, co-opt hashtags, dilute disfavored messaging, create sock puppet accounts, and infiltrate private invite-only groups.

In one suggested list of survey questions, CTIL proposed asking members or potential members, Have you worked with influence operations (e.g. disinformation, hate speech, other digital harms etc) previously? The survey then asked whether these influence operations included active measures and psyops.

These documents came to us via a highly credible whistleblower. We were able to independently verify their legitimacy through extensive cross-checking of information to publicly available sources. The whistleblower said they were recruited to participate in CTIL through monthly cybersecurity meetings hosted by DHS.

The FBI declined to comment. CISA did not respond to our request for comment. And Terp and the other key CTIL leaders also did not respond to our requests for comment.

But one person involved, Bonnie Smalley, replied over LinkedIn, saying, all i can comment on is that i joined cti league which is unaffiliated with any govt orgs because i wanted to combat the inject bleach nonsense online during covid. i can assure you that we had nothing to do with the govt though.

Yet the documents suggest that government employees were engaged members of CTIL. One individual who worked for DHS, Justin Frappier, was extremely active in CTIL, participating in regular meetings and leading trainings.

CTILs ultimate goal, said the whistleblower, was to become part of the federal government. In our weekly meetings, they made it clear that they were building these organizations within the federal government, and if you built the first iteration, we could secure a job for you.

Terps plan, which she shared in presentations to information security and cybersecurity groups in 2019, was to create Misinfosec communities that would include government.

Both public records and the whistleblowers documents suggest that she achieved this. In April 2020, Chris Krebs, then-Director of CISA, announced on Twitter and in multiple articles, that CISA was partnering with CTIL. Its really an information exchange, said Krebs.

The documents also show that Terp and her colleagues, through a group called MisinfoSec Working Group, which included DiResta, created a censorship, influence, and anti-disinformation strategy called Adversarial Misinformation and Influence Tactics and Techniques (AMITT). They wrote AMITT by adapting a cybersecurity framework developed by MITRE, a major defense and intelligence contractor that has an annual budget of $1 to $2 billion in government funding.

Terp later used AMITT to develop the DISARM framework, which the World Health Organization then employed in countering anti-vaccination campaigns across Europe.

A key component of Terps work through CTIL, MisinfoSec, and AMITT was to insert the concept of cognitive security into the fields of cybersecurity and information security.

The sum total of the documents is a clear picture of a highly coordinated and sophisticated effort by the US and UK governments to build a domestic censorship effort and influence operations similar to the ones they have used in foreign countries. At one point, Terp openly referenced her work in the background on social media issues related to the Arab Spring. Another time, the whistleblower said, she expressed her own apparent surprise that she would ever use such tactics, developed for foreign nationals, against American citizens.

According to the whistleblower, roughly 12-20 active people involved in CTIL worked at the FBI or CISA. For a while, they had their agency seals  FBI, CISA, whatever  next to your name, on the Slack messaging service, said the whistleblower. Terp had a CISA badge that went away at some point, the whistleblower said.

The ambitions of the 2020 pioneers of the Censorship Industrial Complex went far beyond simply urging Twitter to slap a warning label on Tweets, or to put individuals on blacklists. The AMITT framework calls for discrediting individuals as a necessary prerequisite of demanding censorship against them. It calls for training influencers to spread messages. And it calls for trying to get banks to cut off financial services to individuals who organize rallies or events.

The timeline of CISAs work with CTIL leading up to its work with EIP and VP strongly suggests that the model for public-private censorship operations may have originated from a framework originally created by military contractors. Whats more, the techniques and materials outlined by CTIL closely resemble materials later created by CISAs Countering Foreign Intelligence Task Force and Mis-, Dis-, and Maliformation team.

Over the next several days and weeks, we intend to present these documents to Congressional investigators, and will make public all of the documents we can while also protecting the identity of the whistleblower and other individuals who are not senior leaders or public figures.

But for now, we need to take a closer look at what happened in 2018 and 2019, leading up to the creation of CTIL, as well as this groups key role in the formation and growth of the Censorship Industrial Complex.

Volunteer and Former Government Agents

Bloomberg, Washington Post and others published credulous stories in the spring of 2020 claiming that the CTI League was simply a group of volunteer cybersecurity experts. Its founders were: a former Israeli intelligence official, Ohad Zaidenberg; a Microsoft security manager, Nate Warfield; and the head of sec ops for DEF CON, a hackers convention, Marc Rogers. The articles claimed that those highly skilled cybercrime professionals had decided to help billion-dollar hospitals, on their own time and without pay, for strictly altruistic motives.

In just one month, from mid-March to mid-April, the supposedly all-volunteer CTIL had grown to 1,400 vetted members in 76 countries spanning 45 different sectors, had helped to lawfully take down 2,833 cybercriminal assets on the internet, including 17 designed to impersonate government organizations, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization, and had identified more than 2,000 vulnerabilities in healthcare institutions in more than 80 countries.

At every opportunity the men stressed that they were simply volunteers motivated by altruism. I knew I had to do something to help, said Zaidenberg. There is a really strong appetite for doing good in the community, Rogers said during an Aspen Institute webinar.

And yet a clear goal of CTILs leaders was to build support for censorship among national security and cybersecurity institutions. Toward that end, they sought to promote the idea of cognitive security as a rationale for government involvement in censorship activities. Cognitive security is the thing you want to have, said Terp on a 2019 podcast. You want to protect that cognitive layer. It basically, its about pollution. Misinformation, disinformation, is a form of pollution across the Internet.

Terp and Pablo Breuer, another CTIL leader, like Zaidenberg, had backgrounds in the military and were former military contractors. Both have worked for SOFWERX, a collaborative project of the U.S. Special Forces Command and Doolittle Institute. The latter transfers Air Force technology, through the Air Force Resource Lab, to the private sector.

According to Terps bio on the website of a consulting firm she created with Breuer, Shes taught data science at Columbia University, was CTO of the UNs big data team, designed machine learning algorithms and unmanned vehicle systems at the UK Ministry of Defence.

Breuer is a former US Navy commander. According to his bio, he was military director of US Special Operations Command Donovan Group and senior military advisor and innovation officer to SOFWERX, the National Security Agency, and U.S. Cyber Command as well as being the Director of C4 at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. Breuer is listed as having been in the Navy during the creation of CTIL on his LinkedIn page.

In June, 2018, Terp attended a ten-day military exercise organized by the US Special Operations Command, where she says she first met Breuer and discussed modern disinformation campaigns on social media. Wired summed up the conclusions they drew from their meeting: Misinformation, they realized, could be treated the same way: as a cybersecurity problem. And so they created CogSec with David Perlman and another colleague, Thaddeus Grugq, at the lead. In 2019, Terp co-chaired the Misinfosec Working Group within CogSec.

Breuer admitted in a podcast that his aim was to bring military tactics to use on social media platforms in the U.S. I wear two hats, he explained. The military director of the Donovan Group, and one of two innovation officers at Sofwerx, which is a completely unclassified 501c3 nonprofit that's funded by U. S. Special Operations Command.

Breuer went on to describe how they thought they were getting around the First Amendment. His work with Terp, he explained, was a way to get nontraditional partners into one room, including maybe somebody from one of the social media companies, maybe a few special forces operators, and some folks from Department of Homeland Security to talk in a non-attribution, open environment in an unclassified way so that we can collaborate better, more freely and really start to change the way that we address some of these issues.

The Misinfosec report advocated for sweeping government censorship and counter-misinformation. During the first six months of 2019, the authors say, they analyzed incidents, developed a reporting system, and shared their censorship vision with numerous state, treaty and NGOs.

In every incident mentioned, the victims of misinformation were on the political Left, and they included Barack Obama, John Podesta, Hillary Clinton, and Emmanuel Macron. The report was open about the fact that its motivation for counter-misinformation were the twin political earthquakes of 2016: Brexit and the election of Trump.

A study of the antecedents to these events lead us to the realization that theres something off kilter with our information landscape, wrote Terp and her co-authors. The usual useful idiots and fifth columnistsnow augmented by automated bots, cyborgs and human trollsare busily engineering public opinion, stoking up outrage, sowing doubt and chipping away at trust in our institutions. And now its our brains that are being hacked.

The Misinfosec report focused on information that changes beliefs through narratives, and recommended a way to counter misinformation by attacking specific links in a kill chain or influence chain from the misinfo incident before it becomes a full-blown narrative.

The report laments that governments and corporate media no longer have full control of information. For a long time, the ability to reach mass audiences belonged to the nation-state (e.g. in the USA via broadcast licensing through ABC, CBS and NBC). Now, however, control of informational instruments has been allowed to devolve to large technology companies who have been blissfully complacent and complicit in facilitating access to the public for information operators at a fraction of what it would have cost them by other means.

The authors advocated for police, military, and intelligence involvement in censorship, across Five Eyes nations, and even suggested that Interpol should be involved.

The report proposed a plan for AMITT and for security, intelligence, and law enforcement collaboration and argued for immediate implementation. We do not need, nor can we afford, to wait 27 years for the AMITT (Adversarial Misinformation and Influence Tactics and Techniques) framework to go into use.

The authors called for placing censorship efforts inside of cybersecurity even while acknowledging that misinformation security is utterly different from cybersecurity. They wrote that the third pillar of The information environment after physical and cybersecurity should be The Cognitive Dimension.

The report flagged the need for a kind of pre-bunking to preemptively inoculate a vulnerable population against messaging. The report also pointed to the opportunity to use the DHS-funded Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) as the homes for orchestrating public-private censorship, and argued that these ISACs should be used to promote confidence in government.

It is here that we see the idea for the EIP and VP: While social media is not identified as a critical sector, and therefore doesnt qualify for an ISAC, a misinformation ISAC could and should feed indications and warnings into ISACs.

Terps view of disinformation was overtly political. Most misinformation is actually true, noted Terp in the 2019 podcast, but set in the wrong context. Terp is an eloquent explainer of the strategy of using anti-disinformation efforts to conduct influence operations. You're not trying to get people to believe lies most of the time. Most of the time, you're trying to change their belief sets. And in fact, really, uh, deeper than that, you're trying to change, to shift their internal narratives the set of stories that are your baseline for your culture. So that might be the baseline for your culture as an American.

In the fall, Terp and others sought to promote their report. The podcast Terp did with Breuer in 2019 was one example of this effort. Together Terp and Breuer described the public-private model of censorship laundering that DHS, EIP, and VP would go on to embrace.

Breuer spoke freely, openly stating that the information and narrative control he had in mind was comparable to that implemented by the Chinese government, only made more palatable for Americans. If you talk to the average Chinese citizen, they absolutely believe that the Great Firewall of China is not there for censorship. They believe that it's there because the Chinese Communist Party wants to protect the citizenry and they absolutely believe that's a good thing. If the US government tried to sell that narrative, we would absolutely lose our minds and say, No, no, this is a violation of our First Amendment rights. So the in-group and out-group messaging have to be often different.

Hogwarts School of Misinformation

SJ called us the Hogwarts school for misinformation and disinformation, said the whistleblower. They were superheroes in their own story. And to that effect you could still find comic books on the CISA site.

CTIL, the whistleblower said, needed programmers to pull apart information from Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. For Twitter they created Python code to scrape.

The CTIL records provided by the whistleblower illustrate exactly how CTIL operated and tracked incidents, as well as what it considered to be disinformation. About the we wont stay home narrative, CTIL members wrote, Do we have enough to ask for the groups and/or accounts to be taken down or at a minimum reported and checked? and Can we get all troll on their bums if not?

They tracked posters calling for anti-lockdown protests as disinformation artifacts.

We should have seen this one coming, they wrote about the protests. Bottom line: can we stop the spread, do we have enough evidence to stop superspreaders, and are there other things we can do (are there countermessagers we can ping etc).

CTIL also worked to brainstorm counter-messaging for things like encouraging people to wear masks and discussed building an amplification network. Repetition is truth, said a CTIL member in one training.

CTIL worked with other figures and groups in the Censorship Industrial Complex. Meeting notes indicate that Graphikas team looked into adopting AMITT and that CTIL wanted to consult DiResta about getting platforms to remove content more quickly.

When asked whether Terp or other CTIL leaders discussed their potential violation of the First Amendment, the whistleblower said, They did not The ethos was that if we get away with it, its legal, and there were no First Amendment concerns because we have a public-private partnership  thats the word they used to disguise those concerns. Private people can do things public servants cant do, and public servants can provide the leadership and coordination.

Despite their confidence in the legality of their activities, some CTIL members may have taken extreme measures to keep their identities a secret. The groups handbook recommends using burner phones, creating pseudonymous identities, and generating fake AI faces using the This person does not exist website.

In June 2020, the whistleblower says, the secretive group took actions to conceal their activities even more.

One month later, In July 2020, SIOs Director, Alex Stamos emailed Kate Starbird from the University of Washingtons Center for an Informed Public, writing, We are working on some election monitoring ideas with CISA and I would love your informal feedback before we go too far down this road . . . . [T]hings that should have been assembled a year ago are coming together quickly this week.

That summer CISA also created the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force which has measures that reflect CTIL/AMITT methods and includes a real fake graphic novel the whistleblower said was first pitched within CTIL.

The DISARM framework, which AMITT inspired, has been formally adopted by the European Union and the United States as part of a common standard for exchanging structured threat information on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference.

Until now, the details of CTILs activities have received little attention even though the group received publicity in 2020. In September 2020, Wired published an article about CTIL that reads like a company press release. The article, like the Bloomberg and Washington Post stories that spring, accepts unquestioningly that the CTIL was truly a volunteer network of former intelligence officials from around the world.

But unlike the Bloomberg and Washington Post stories, Wired also describes CTILs anti-misinformation work. The Wired reporter does not quote any critic of the CTIL activities, but suggests that some might see something wrong with them. I ask him [CTIL co-founder Marc Rogers] about the notion of viewing misinformation as a cyber threat. All of these bad actors are trying to do the same thing, Rogers says.

In other words, the connection between preventing cyber crimes, and fighting misinformation, are basically the same because they both involve fighting what the DHS and CTI League alike call malicious actors, which is synonymous with bad guys.

Like Terp, Rogers takes a holistic approach to cybersecurity, the Wired article explains. First theres physical security, like stealing data from a computer onto a USB drive. Then theres what we typically think of as cybersecuritysecuring networks and devices from unwanted intrusions. And finally, you have what Rogers and Terp call cognitive security, which essentially is hacking people, using information, or more often, misinformation.

CTIL appears to have generated publicity about itself in the Spring and Fall of 2020 for the same reason EIP did: to claim later that its work was all out in the open and that anybody who suggested it was secretive was engaging in a conspiracy theory.

The Election Integrity Partnership has always operated openly and transparently, EIP claimed in October 2022. We published multiple public blog posts in the run-up to the 2020 election, hosted daily webinars immediately before and after the election, and published our results in a 290-page final report and multiple peer-reviewed academic journals. Any insinuation that information about our operations or findings were secret up to this point is disproven by the two years of free, public content we have created.

But as internal messages have revealed, much of what EIP did was secret, as well as partisan, and demanding of censorship by social media platforms, contrary to its claims.

EIP and VP, ostensibly, ended, but CTIL is apparently still active, based on the LinkedIn pages of its members.

Read more at: Public.Substack.com
Had you known, would you have taken the jab?

Would 92% of American adults have gotten a Covid shot had they known the vaccines only offered a 0.85% reduction in risk? Would young men have taken the jab if they had known it did not prevent transmission?

(Article republished from Brownstone.org)

Americans came to understand that the media campaigns supporting the shots were fraudulent. The touted benefits  preventing infection and transmission  were lies. In response, fewer than one in five Americans elected to receive boosters despite multi-billion dollar propaganda campaigns.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has now brought a suit to bring accountability for the fraud that resulted in record profits for the pharmaceutical industry. Last week, he filed a complaint alleging that Pfizer misrepresented Covid vaccine efficacy and conspired to censor public discourse in violation of Texass Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

While Big Pharma enjoys immense government-provided insulation from legal liability for vaccine injuries, it cannot lie to promote those products.

Paxton alleges that the $75 billion Pfizer has raked in through sales of Covid vaccines were the direct and proximate result of the companys deceit.

The DTPA requires Paxton prove two questions to succeed in his case. First, he must establish that the company lied or failed to disclose known information concerning its Covid vaccine. Second, he must prove that the companys fraud was designed to promote sales of the shots.

Brownstone previously analyzed the applicability of the DTPA against Moderna. Now, Paxtons lawsuit threatens Pfizer with fines of $10 million as well as awards of restitution, damages, or civil penalties.

Paxtons case argues that Pfizer deceived the public on three issues: (1) the efficacy of the vaccine; (2) whether the shots reduced the risk of transmission; and (3) the companys efforts to censor[] persons who threatened to disseminate the truth.

In each instance, the company skewed the public debate in order to induce Americans to take its shots. The efforts stripped us of the right to informed consent, deceiving us on purported benefits while hiding established risks.

Efficacy

First, Paxton targets the now-familiar falsehoods that the company, led by CEO Albert Bourla, touted, including that the shots had 95% efficacy and worked against mutations of the virus.

Paxtons critiques do not require the benefit of hindsight. Pfizers own data showed that the vaccine was merely 0.85% effective in reducing the likelihood that an individual would contract Covid (known as absolute risk reduction). Put differently, Pfizers clinical data showed that preventing one COVID-19 case required vaccinating 119.

Despite this unconvincing data, Bourla claimed there was initial evidence of our vaccines ability to prevent Covid-19. Bourla later said that the shots had 100% efficacy rates against mutations of the virus, including the Delta variant. Not only was this a lie, Pfizer never tested the shots against the variants. Still, in May 2021 he baselessly claimed that no variant identified so farescapes the protection of our vaccine.

Three months later, the company issued a press release saying that boosters would preserve and even exceed the high levels of protection againstrelevant variants. Shortly thereafter, the United States exercised its option to purchase 500 million more doses of Pfizers Covid vaccines.

These lies clearly and directly induced Americans to take products with illusory benefits. The claims were fabricated, and they led to billions of dollars in windfalls for Bourla and Pfizer.

Transmission

Pfizers marketing relied on convincing healthy young adults and teenagers to get shots despite the negligible risk that Covid posed to them. Bourla used transmission to launch a moral blackmail campaign. He told teenagers that they should get the shots to protecttheir loved ones. He later tweeted, widespread vaccination is a critical tool to help stop transmission.

Under oath, company officials later admitted that they had never tested whether the vaccines reduced transmission.

In October 2022, Pfizer spokeswoman Janine Small appeared at a European Parliament hearing. Was the Pfizer Covid vaccine tested on stopping transmission of the virus before it entered the market? asked Dutch MEP Rob Roos. No! Small responded emphatically. We had to really move at the speed of science to really understand what is taking place in the market; and from that point of view, we had to do everything at risk.

Under the DTPA, Paxton must prove that the company misrepresented information regarding the vaccine in an effort to promote sales of its products. With the vast majority of Americans under 70 facing zero substantial risk from Covid infection, the lies regarding transmission were critical to expand the customer base.

This deception underpinned the mandates in 2021 as government and corporate officials insisted that vaccination was necessary to keep healthy adults coworkers and neighbors safe. By December 2021, Pfizers stock price had doubled from the onset of the pandemic in February 2020.

Censorship

As Pfizer committed to deceiving the public, it had to ensure that journalists would not uncover its corporate misdeeds. Paxtons suit outlines how the company sought to intimidate and silencejournalist Alex Berenson.

As Berenson reported on the efficacy, or lack thereof, of mRNA vaccines, Pfizer Board Member Dr. Scott Gottlieb colluded with Twitter to silence his reporting. In August 2021, Berenson tweeted that Pfizers vaccine doesnt stop infection[o]r transmission, and had alimited window of efficacy. Despite the veracity of these statements, Gottlieb wrote to Twitter officials encouraging them to ban Berensons heresy.

Hours later, Berenson received a permanent ban (he was later reinstated following a lawsuit). Now, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla is a defendant in Berensons case against the Biden Administration, which accuses White House officials of colluding with private actors in Big Tech and Big Pharma to usurp Berensons First Amendment rights.

Paxtons case also outlines how Pfizer worked to silence scientists who discussed the benefits of natural immunity, calling the rhetoric corrosive to the publics confidence in their products. The aim was simple: shield Americans from the truth so that they would continue to get the product.

A Rare Opportunity to Strike Back

To this point, victories against the hegemon that emerged in 2020 have been defensive in nature. Groups have fended off vaccine mandates, states have resisted calls for renewed lockdowns, and journalists have begun to expose the corruption that shattered Western civilization.

These efforts, though important, have failed to bring accountability against those who usurped our civil liberties and pillaged the national treasury. Paxtons suit strikes at the heart of the corruption behind the Covid regime: how their success required mass deception and their profits depended on lies.

Though $10 million in fines is little compared to the $75 billion in revenue that Pfizer raked in from vaccines alone, the suit signifies that the resistance is at last on the offensive.

Big Pharma sees this is a grave threat, and its lobbying forces led a failed impeachment effort against Paxton this fall. They threw him out of his office, and disabled his ability to do his job that the voters sent him to do. Turning up nothing, the legislature rejected the entire drama. Now he is back and working and this is the result: accountability at last.

The steep drop in demand for Covid shots reveals how Pfizer depended upon fraud to promote their most lucrative product. Once Americans knew the truth, demand dropped by over 75%.

Now, Paxtons suit brings that fraud to trial.

Read more at: Brownstone.org
From climate zealotry to transgenderism, Trump worship and Christian Zionism, you are living in a world dominated by the groupthink of IRRATIONAL CULTS

You're living in a world that's run by cults. Almost everybody out there is a member of one cult or another. You have the climate cult, which somehow believes that carbon dioxide is bad for the planet, even though carbon dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis and for all trees, grasses, and food crops to grow. Then you also have the LGBT cult that believes it's okay to mutilate children in the name of transgenderism, or to chemically castrate them after convincing them that they must be the opposite gender. This is just a form of extreme child abuse. But the cult members push it as if it's some form of enlightenment.

But cultism isn't just limited to just liberals or progressives. There are plenty of cults on the right. There's a Trump cult that believes Trump is our Savior, and that when he is reelected a third time that he will come back into power and all of America's problems, including illegal immigration, wars, corruption, and everything else. There's also a pro-Israel cult that's reflected by many Christian Zionist in America who think that Israel's mass bombing of Palestinians (and its conquering of a other Arab nations) is the pathway to the rebuilding of the temple and the return of Christ, which would allow Christians to live for 1000 years in a new Golden Age, apparently absent any Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists or anyone else.

There's also the Q cult, which believes that white hats are secretly planning to save America through mass arrests, and that all the horrors being inflicted upon us are just part of an elaborate movie that we're all supposed to watch so that we can be impressed when the truth comes out as a giant surprise. And then we are saved.

Notice what all these cults have in common? They all focus around the idea that we're going to be saved by a force outside of ourselves. The Trump cult believes that Trump will save us. The climate cult believes that science will save us. There's also a vaccine cult, of course, that believes that being jabbed with experimental biological weapons will also save us. The LGBT cult believes that transgenderism will set humanity free. And there are Satanic cults that believe Satanism is the best expression of human freedom. The Christian Zionist cult believes that violence is the answer to being saved by Christ. And there are all kinds of celebrity cults that believe various celebrities will save us if we just give them more power over the world.

The common theme here is that instead of understanding that it is your own actions that change the world around you, or that you can have a personal private relationship with God, and you don't have to have intermediaries who are translating religious texts to tell you what they mean, the truth is that all these cults are seeking answers from outside themselves. And there's a sense of desperation across all these cults. There's irrational hope combined with desperation. They desperately need to be saved, and they want to put this irrational hope in an outside force to accomplish that. The answers they need are always found from outside, rather than from within. That's why the weak minded tend to gravitate toward cults, because it absolves them of any responsibility tied to their own actions. Rather, they merely need to believe in the cult, and some outside force will deliver them to utopia if they only believe enough (and kill enough people, it seems).

Filtering the world to match your cult

There's also a techno cult which believes in transhumanism and the merging of man with machines, and so they worship technology and artificial intelligence as their gods. Now, what all these cults have in common, is the rejection of rationality. Instead of looking at the world around them, and taking in evidence and observations (and processing them in a way that's rooted in reason), they instead filter the world around them to be consistent with the beliefs of their cult. They reject any evidence that contradicts their cult, and they embrace everything that reinforces it.

As a result, they aren't seeing the world for what it is. They're looking at the world through extreme distortions. This is how transgender cultists, for example, can endorse a child being surgically mutilated in a hospital and claim that it's progress rather than a crime. The horrors being inflicted upon these children are simply dismissed. And these trans cultists focus on their worldview, which is rooted in the bizarre belief that children should have their bodies altered and mutilated in order to be set free to express their true self.

Similarly, the Christian Zionist cult believes that children should be kinetically bombed and destroyed if they are Palestinian children, because this is the pathway to summoning Christ to return as their Savior. So the sacrificing of children in Gaza is a necessary step in order to bring their God back into existence. This belief, by the way, is no different from the beliefs of the ancient Aztecs, who sacrifice children on the stairs and altars of their civilization, sometimes stabbing and ripping open the chest of a child and ripping out their hearts. All completely carried out without anesthetic, of course, in order to try to appease their gods. Christian Zionist in America today are following in the exact same footsteps, sacrificing and murdering children in Gaza in order to summon their God back into existence, whom they falsely claim to be Christ, even though Christ would never condone the mass slaughter of innocent children.

On an even larger scale, the climate cult believes that the extermination of humankind is necessary for their god, sometimes known as Gaia, to be restored to all her glory. So mass death is necessary for the return of their god. Just as the Christian Zionists (falsely) believe that mass death is necessary for the return of Christ. Or just like Satanists believe that mass killing of human beings is necessary for the domination of Lucifer over the realm of Earth.

Humanity is a suicide cult

One thing that almost all these cults have in common is mass death or mass suicide, in order to create the conditions in which their Savior will reappear. I have said on previous occasions that humanity is a suicide cult. And that's an observation based on some of what I'm talking about right now, which is that a great many people worship these various cults that all require mass death or human sacrifice in one form or another, in order to achieve the goals of the cult. There's also an abortion cult in the United States and Israel and many other countries that believes murdering children in the womb is the pathway to achieve freedom for women, typically reproductive freedom or sexual freedom so that they can engage in sexual activities without consequences simply by sacrificing the lives of unborn human babies.

So climate lunatics are cultists, Q followers are cultists, Christian Zionists are cultists, transgenderism pushers are cultists, abortion worshipers are cultists, and transhumanism advocates are cultists. In fact, there are so many cults in existence right now that you would be hard pressed to meet someone who isn't a member of one cult or another. And this is the horrifying upshot of this entire topic. You and I live in a world surrounded by people who are mostly cultists. They're not rational. They don't process information from the world around them in a way that is consistent. And they can't be counted on to engage in rational behavior, or to act with reason. They simply are followers of their particular cult, and they will act out their daily activities in a way that furthers the interests of the cult they happen to worship. In other words, the transgenderism cult is going to prey on children and maim millions of them if they can get away with it. The Christian Zionist cult is going to attempt to slaughter hundreds of millions of Arabs while waging war with Muslims all over the world. The transhumanism cult is going to try to put AI in charge of the world after programming it to produce woke terminators who would exterminate humanity. And the climate cult seeks to create a global scientific dictatorship that would outlaw the very things that make human civilization sustainable, such as the consumption of energy, or the production of food.

They're all death cults

That's why when you look closely at all these cults, you find out that at the end of the day, they're all death cults. They all in one way or another advocate or worship death. Through their actions, they seek mass death of either millions or billions of human beings. And no matter who you are, and no matter to what degree you operate with a sense of reason and rationality in your own life, even if you are a person of great fairness, or a person of compassion, even if you are moral and ethical yourself, sooner or later, you will be targeted by one or more of these death cults.

It could be a cult from the left or a cult from the right. It could be a technology cult, or a cult of culture, such as the LGBT cult. You will be targeted when you do not conform to the beliefs of that cult, and they will say that you do not have a right to exist, because you don't support their cult-like beliefs.

We see this right now when Leftists claim that conservatives have no right to speak on the internet, or when Zionists claim Palestinians have no right to live. We see it when fascist progressives teach Critical Race Theory, which says that all whites are evil and should be oppressed, and we even have people like Ben Shapiro -- a raging Zionist cultist -- who celebrates corporate hiring quotas that select candidates based on whether they are Jews rather than their qualifications for the job.

Reject the cults and restore your humanity

So how do we avoid being suckered into these cults? It's simple. You stick to core principles that reflect the way you would like to be treated in the world. If you want to be treated with a sense of peace and privacy, then respect other people's peace and privacy. If you don't want to be bombed to death, then don't bomb other people to death. If you don't want to be censored, then don't censor others. If you don't want to be murdered, then don't murder others. Treat others the way you wish to be treated, and don't demand that they join your particular cult.

For myself, I have universal respect for life. I respect the lives of children both born and unborn. I respect the lives of animals and plants. That's why I'm not a hunter. That's why I don't use pesticides and herbicides. That's why I grow food and protect plants and ecosystems and habitat for animals. It's why I support the universal principle of life for people of all ethnicities and skin colors and religions. And I don't demand that they all follow my religion by claiming that my religion is the one and only religion in the world, while declaring that everybody else is going to hell. (I hear that a lot from Christians by the way.)

Another important insight is that if you look at all the major world religions, if you really dig into their texts and their teachings, they all teach essentially the same things. And those are the things that I just mentioned. Respect life, respect each other, treat others the way you wish to be treated. We don't have to distance ourselves from other people around the world just because they read a different book or speak a different language, or have a different skin color, or have different ways of celebrating certain holidays that are special to them. We simply have to agree on the core principles that I believe our divine creator imprinted into the very fabric of the cosmos: Life, consciousness, free will and universal compassion.

So if you truly want to be closer to God, stop being a member of a cult that claims to have an exclusive monopoly on a secret code to summoning God that involves ritualistic killing and violence against others. Instead, support life and peace and universal human rights. That alone will bring you closer to God, no matter what words or terms or books that you use to describe God, the Universal Creator of our cosmos. We don't have to join a cult to be close to God. In fact, being a member of a cult no doubt earns you rejection from God.

There are no doubt many millions of Christian Zionists right now who think they are earning the favor of God by advocating the mass killing of women and children in Gaza. There will be a moment of great shock and horror when they one day discover -- perhaps at their death -- that they have been carrying out the agenda of Lucifer all along. Or, to put it bluntly, many Christians who think they are going to be "raptured" are actually going to Hell.

Instead of worshiping the principles of Christ, they worshiped a death cult. In the end, it turns out that you can't kill your way to God's favor. You can't bomb your way to peace. And you can't murder your way to salvation.
KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 11:01 | Japan, World, All

A Japanese woman in her 60s was one of three faculty members fatally shot by a gunman earlier this week at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco said Friday.

The university, where the attack took place Wednesday, identified the woman as Naoko Takemaru, an associate professor of Japanese language studies.

The university said Takemaru was in charge of overseeing the university's entire Japanese studies program and taught all levels of students. It said Thursday that the two others killed were Cha-Jan "Jerry" Chang, a professor of management information systems and Patricia Navarro, an assistant professor of accounting.

Another faculty member remains hospitalized, it said. The 67-year-old gunman, Anthony Polito, was killed in a shootout with police following a confrontation outside the university.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday mourned the victims of the shooting at an event in Las Vegas and said, "This is not normal and we can't let it become normal." He urged Congress to enact tougher gun controls.

According to local police, Polito, a former professor, had applied for jobs with institutions of higher education in Nevada but was rejected each time. They said his motives for the rampage, which lasted about 10 minutes, are still being investigated.

Keith Whitfield, president of the university, confirmed in a statement on Friday that Takemaru was one of the three killed. He mourned her death and said she was "a noted scholar, author and award-winning educator, who just recently marked her 20th year as a member of (the university's) faculty."

An official at the Japanese consulate, which provided no details on Takemaru, said it will "contact her family members and relevant parties to provide support."
SRP24 founder Steve Slepcevic issues urgent warning  Wealthy ELITES preparing to hole up in heavily-stocked BUNKERS

SRP24 founder Steve Slepcevic issues urgent warning - Wealthy ELITES preparing to hole up in heavily-stocked BUNKERS

Brighteon.com/760775c4-69a4-4441-bcf2-3aaabe999428

Rumble.com/v3zx8s7-srp24-founder-steve-slepcevic-issues-urgent-warning.html

Bitchute.com/video/x45jW0AA9Jxp/

Banned.video/watch?id=6570a01d11af0259c0d5eedd

Auto-generated summary and highlights

Disaster management and recovery planning.

Steve Slepcevich, managing partner of SRP24.com, discusses his company's disaster management services, including planning, logistics, and recovery efforts for critical infrastructure such as hospitals and ports during natural disasters.

SRP's services include creating plans for facilities, positioning vendors for cleanup and recovery, and keeping critical life support systems operational during and after natural disasters.

Disaster response and security in various locations.

Slepcevic owns a cyber defense team that provides security services in disaster zones, including looting and lawlessness prevention.

His team is highly trained and consists of firefighters, paramedics, and Urban Search and Rescue experts who have left their previous jobs due to COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

He describes how their team, including multilingual members, quickly adapted to the changing situation in Acapulco after a hurricane, using their private plane to deliver water and food to those in need.

He highlights the collaboration between their team and a volunteer search and rescue group from Mexico, despite limited resources, to help those affected by the hurricane.

Disaster response and client charging.

Steve describes a challenging deployment experience during Hurricane Katrina, including a successful effort to keep the hospital's life support systems online despite severe damage.

US disaster readiness and response.

Steve discusses the readiness of America for disasters, highlighting the vulnerability of the power grid and the challenges of obtaining parts from outside the country.

Steve provides an example of the impact of a grid failure in Texas during a cold snap in 2021, with 30 mile impact zone and line workers coming in from as far as Ohio and Indiana.

Adams highlights the lack of preparedness in America, citing the example of the 1994 Northridge earthquake and its impact on the fire department's response.

Steve shares their experience in Bowery, where they provided assistance to the EOC despite being turned away initially due to the lack of resources and manpower.

Toxic chemicals released by Maui fires and health impacts.

Steve explains that the aftermath of the Maui fires has revealed toxic chemicals, including dioxins, heavy metals, and chloride compounds, which are leaching into the groundwater and causing health problems for residents.

Adams adds that the fine particulate matter from the fires is getting entrained into the air and causing respiratory issues for people in the area, with potential for higher rates of cancer and other diseases.

EPA's response to toxic chemical spill and government transparency.

Adams: EPA often covers up toxicity, downplaying risks to public health (0:19:55)

Slepcevic: Personal friends working at EPA share information about government cover-ups and misleading the public (0:20:43)

Adams mentions their lab is about to bring online dioxin testing equipment, and offers to share samples for analysis.

Steve provides insight on how to capture evidence in a critical manner, and connects listeners with independent labs and experts.

Unexplained fires in Maui and coordinated riots.

Slepcevic shares their experience with unusual fires in Maui, including vehicles that burned with no fuel source and bodies that were burned in a way that is not normal.

Steve mentions a network of people who have this information and are sharing it, despite becoming targets for doing so.

The speaker observed that riots were staged in a coordinated manner, with foreign nationals involved.

Disaster response, satellite phones, and control theories.

Slepcevic believes that the recent natural disasters are driven by a desire for control, with insurance premiums increasing and some properties being bought for real estate investment.

He feels protected by God while responding to disasters, but also recognizes the presence of demonic forces causing destruction or chaos.

He mentions satellite phones as the only reliable means of communication in certain zones, citing their encryption and ability to function even without cell service.

He also highlights the satellite phone store as a valuable resource for first responders, citing donations to county officials and emergency operations.

Speaker discusses importance of satellite phones for emergency communication.

Prepping and survival strategies in a post-SHTF world.

Speakers discuss fragility of systems during natural disasters, including cell service and security.

Slepcevic mentions elites are building bunkers for 10 years, off the grid and off the range, with a minimum of 3 years of food supply.

He believes the system is going to go down, and white hats and black hats are prepping for unknown events.

He emphasizes the importance of preparation and embracing discomfort to build resilience in the face of uncertainty.

He shares personal experiences of surviving in remote and off-grid areas with limited resources, highlighting the importance of trusting God and tuning into spirit during challenging situations.

Preparedness and response to unforeseen events.

Slepcevic emphasizes the importance of spiritual, mental, and physical preparation for unexpected events, encouraging individuals to "get their house in order" and be "100% accountable for everything they do moment to moment."

He offers to connect listeners with resources and vendors to help them prepare ahead of time, highlighting the importance of having direct suppliers and connects in place during emergencies.

Adams invites viewers to visit SRP24.com for business services and encourages them to prep for unknown challenges.

Health Ranger Store offers laboratory-tested, high-end nutrition products, including organic nascent iodine and collagen peptides, with strict quality control measures in place.

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The latest report discovered that less snow was reported worldwide based on the new analysis. It can likely impact the global ski resorts due to the lack of snow.

December brought widespread snow and colder temperatures. The arrival of snow is also good news for snow lovers and ski resorts in December and holidays.

People can also prepare for the winter due to potential snow storms and challenging heavy snow. However, the researchers warned of climate change effects on the emergence of snow. The rising temperatures can also affect the snow, especially for ski resorts.

In a recent report, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service found that less snow managed to fall worldwide based on the data since 1973.

Snow Decline Reported Worldwide

Ski resorts are now preparing as snow begins to unload, and many people are preparing for the holidays.

In the recent NWN report, french ski resorts began to open in the high-altitude areas. The Northern Alps recorded less snow due to the warming trend.

The ski resorts, Val Thorens and Tignes, recently opened in the high-elevation areas. Although there is less snow, ski resorts can employ artificial snow, but it can be costly.

In a recent report, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change explained that the snow declined, especially in the Northern Hemispheres.

Last year, the unseasonably warm had significantly affected the winter resorts in Europe, including in the Sierra Nevada, Austria and Switzerland. As a result, snow lovers are advised to check on the weather and ski resorts.

Snow lovers should also consider the weather and forecasts before going to ski areas to avoid being stranded by heavy snow and blizzard conditions.

Also Read: Reducing Air Pollution Benefits Plants' Ability to Fight Climate Change

Climate Change and Challenging Heat

Climate change has continued to threaten the measurable snow, affecting all global ski resorts. The rising temperatures and El Nino can bring hotter temperatures.

In a recent report, climate change can exacerbate heatwaves and drought conditions. The lack of measurable rainfall can cause severe to extremely dry vegetation, which can become favorable for raging wildfires.

As a result, effective monitoring is essential to fight the climate change effects. Researchers urged to reduce the rising greenhouse gas emissions that worsen global warming.

Increasing ocean temperatures have raised alarm due to impacts on marine animals and the coral reef system. Animals struggle to survive due to the spike in temperatures.

Challenging heat can also threaten people's health due to heat-related health concerns. Climate change is also attributed to intensifying hurricanes, cyclones, storms and heatwaves.

Related Article: Over Half of Peru's Glacier Surface Lost in Last 6 Decades Due to Climate Change, Scientists Report

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News
Experts said that an ancient, underground fresh water pool has been discovered in the underneath portion of the Sicilian Mountains.

The study indicated that deep groundwater resources around the world represent an important potential unconventional source of water.

Discovery Of Extensive Groundwater

Researchers have documented an extensive (17.3 km3) fresh/brackish groundwater body preserved in a deep (between 800 and 2100 m) carbonate platform aquifer (Gela Formation) in southern Sicily (Italy), by using deep well data and a 3D hydrogeological modelling.

They attributed the distribution of this fossil groundwater to topographically-driven meteoric recharge driven by the Messinian sea-level drawdown, which we estimate to have reached 2400 m below present sea level in the eastern Mediterranean Basin.

The discovery of such an extensive and deep freshened groundwater has significant implications in terms of resource potential for southern Sicily as well as other Mediterranean coastal regions, which share similar geological setting and water scarcity issues.

Scientists have pointed out that groundwater resources are a potential unconventional source of water and potable water that can address water scarcity globally.

They noted that fresh and brackish (low salinity) deep groundwater, both from confined and fossil aquifers, have been found onshore and along coastlines down to depths of several kilometers, hosted in both clastic and carbonate aquifers worldwide.

The examples include the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer across Chad, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan, down to 3500 m5,6; the Upper Mega aquifer system of the Arabian platform, at >400 m of depth7; the Great Artesian Basin in Australia, down to 2000 m of depth8; Tanzania coastal aquifer at 1000 m of depth9; the Horn of Africa aquifer at >400 m of depth10, among others.

The study found out that the origin of these large deep groundwater systems is considered as due to the meteoric water recharge during previous geological epochs, e.g., associated with inter-glacial pluvial periods and lower sea levels, thousands to a million of years ago (e.g., the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, the Arabian Upper Mega aquifer).

Some of them (the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, the Arabian Upper Mega Aquifer, and the Great Artesian Basin Aquifer) have been exploited for decades for agricultural irrigation, domestic supply, and industry, while others (the Horn of Africa aquifer) are still undeveloped.

Read Also: Italy's Rampaging Wildfire Burns Down Sicilian Church to the Ground

Deeply Buried Groundwater

As a result of the study, the scientists identified an extensive deeply buried body of fresh/brackish groundwater, hosted in the Gela Fm. carbonates.

They also demonstrated how the postulated dramatic MSC sea-level drawdown indeed exerted a fundamental control on the emplacement of these deep groundwater, in agreement with the shallow-water, deep-basin model.

Specifically, the objectives of the study are to characterize the geometry, extent, and volume of these deep fresh/brackish groundwater; assess its origin as due to enhanced topographically-driven flow during the MSC sea-level drawdown; estimate the extent of MSC sea-level drawdown; and explore implications for groundwater resource potential along the Mediterranean coastline.

Through the help of the research, experts were able to address these objectives and knowledge gaps by investigating a large oil and gas deep well dataset and by employing 3D geological and hydrogeological modeling.

Related Article: Catania Airport Operation Halt Due To The Volcanic Activities of Mount Etna In Italy
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KYODO NEWS - Dec 9, 2023 - 00:00 | Feature, All, Japan

Japan's Empress Masako, on the occasion of her 60th birthday Saturday, expressed renewed eagerness to "keep walking toward the future" as she thanked those who have supported her throughout the six decades of her life so far.

"I have deep gratitude to everyone who has taken care of me, starting with my parents, who raised me with love," the empress said in a statement released by the Imperial Household Agency, adding that she felt "disbelief" at reaching her diamond jubilee.

Reflecting on events since entering the imperial family in 1993 with her marriage to then Crown Prince Naruhito, now emperor, the empress said that the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 and the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011 were "realities that had to be accepted with profound shock and sorrow."

She also lamented the lives lost in global conflicts, particularly those claiming the lives of children, stressing the importance of "understanding and respecting others through dialogue to build a peaceful world."

The empress expressed relief at the easing of the coronavirus pandemic and gratitude for the dedication of health care workers.

She recounted the warm hospitality and her joy of interacting with locals when visiting regional areas in Japan. She also described a goodwill visit to Indonesia in June as "a memorable stay filled with valuable experiences" despite initial reservations as she had not traveled abroad for official duties in quite some time.

A Harvard- and Oxford-educated former diplomat, the empress has been struggling with adjustment disorder since December 2003 while she was still crown princess and had made few public appearances until becoming empress.

In a separate statement, her doctors noted that although she is in the process of recovery, her condition fluctuates. They expressed the hope that she would receive sufficient rest to recharge, especially considering her increased attendance at events and ceremonies, as well as visits both in and outside of Japan this year.

With this year marking the couple's 30th wedding anniversary, the empress said the unwavering support of her husband "enabled me to see this day." She also expressed relief that their daughter, Princess Aiko, safely came of age two years ago.

"I hope she will spend the remaining years of her university life meaningfully," the empress said.

Related coverage:

Princess Aiko turns 22, balances studies with official duties

Japan crown prince says review of official royal duties required
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday batted for the use of ballot papers, and referring to EVMs without naming it said that these machines and the (poll) results have created a feeling of distrust in people's minds.

Giving the example of US elections, Yadav said if India is following Americans on burgers, pizzas and jeans, then their use of ballot papers should also be copied.

Other leaders, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, have questioned the use of electronic machines for voting when no other country does so, pointing to the possibility of misuse and manipulation of data.

The question of the manipulation of EVM data has again hit the headlines after the BJP swept the polls even in states like Chhattisgarh where exit polls had predicted a victory for the opposition.

Referring to the ruling BJP, Yadav said that the party has power and will set the narrative, and will tweak anything anyone else says.

I had said a number of times that we understand technology. We have grown up with technology.

In UP, the SP government had distributed the maximum number of laptops, Yadav said while speaking to reporters at the SP office here.

"The most powerful country in the world, America, where voting is done for months, and then months are spent for counting," he said.

"Why do you want results in three hours? Today, we are following the US in every area be it burgers, pizzas or jeans. Then we should also copy (their use of) ballot papers."

Yadav added that when the US machines failed during the rescue operation in the Uttarakhand tunnel recently, the country's youth saved the day.

"The SP is of the view that whether we lose or win we want the faith in democracy to increase. These machines and results have created a feeling of distrust in the minds of the people.

"Maybe the technology could be right, but there is a feeling of distrust among people. So, we are of the view that voting should be held through ballot papers," Yadav said.

He also said that the Election Commission of India had (in 2022) served a notice to him to substantiate his allegation against the poll authority of mass deletion of voters from Yadav and Muslim communities from the electoral rolls of every assembly seat during the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2022.

"I had sent the names of the voters along with their affidavits to the ECI, but no action was taken against those officers," he said.

On Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali's suspension from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Yadav said he was not seized of the situation.

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LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday batted for the use of ballot papers, and referring to EVMs without naming it said that these machines and the (poll) results have created a feeling of distrust in people's minds. Giving the example of US elections, Yadav said if India is following Americans on burgers, pizzas and jeans, then their use of ballot papers should also be copied.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Other leaders, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, have questioned the use of electronic machines for voting when no other country does so, pointing to the possibility of misuse and manipulation of data. The question of the manipulation of EVM data has again hit the headlines after the BJP swept the polls even in states like Chhattisgarh where exit polls had predicted a victory for the opposition. Referring to the ruling BJP, Yadav said that the party has power and will set the narrative, and will tweak anything anyone else says. I had said a number of times that we understand technology. We have grown up with technology. In UP, the SP government had distributed the maximum number of laptops, Yadav said while speaking to reporters at the SP office here. "The most powerful country in the world, America, where voting is done for months, and then months are spent for counting," he said. "Why do you want results in three hours? Today, we are following the US in every area be it burgers, pizzas or jeans. Then we should also copy (their use of) ballot papers." Yadav added that when the US machines failed during the rescue operation in the Uttarakhand tunnel recently, the country's youth saved the day. "The SP is of the view that whether we lose or win we want the faith in democracy to increase. These machines and results have created a feeling of distrust in the minds of the people. "Maybe the technology could be right, but there is a feeling of distrust among people. So, we are of the view that voting should be held through ballot papers," Yadav said. He also said that the Election Commission of India had (in 2022) served a notice to him to substantiate his allegation against the poll authority of mass deletion of voters from Yadav and Muslim communities from the electoral rolls of every assembly seat during the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2022. "I had sent the names of the voters along with their affidavits to the ECI, but no action was taken against those officers," he said. On Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali's suspension from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Yadav said he was not seized of the situation. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

Express News Service

State Congress unveils new strategy for LS polls

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Gujarat Congress has unveiled a new structure following the outcomes of the four assembly polls on December 3. Despite a dismal performance in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly Election, where the Congress secured only 17 seats out of 182, the party is gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The Gujarat Congress appointed presidents for 10 districts within the state organisation. Given the BJPs historic win in the 2022 assembly polls and its dominance in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, the Congress faces a challenging task to strengthen its presence.

Mandaviya plays key role in BJP success in Chhattisgarh

Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister and a prominent political figure in Gujarat, played a crucial role in the BJPs success in Chhattisgarh. Before the elections, the BJP implemented key organisational changes, appointing co-in-charges in Telangana, MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Union ministers were also granted authority in this process. As co-election in-charge in Chhattisgarh, Mandaviya collaborated with state in-charge Om Mathur. Despite scepticism on Mandaviyas impact, the results surprised many, reinforcing the Prime Ministers confidence in him.

Internal rift in state BJP continues

Internal discord within the Gujarat BJP persists, with renewed rumours of strife among party leaders in Narmada district. Reports indicate discussions about internal conflicts during a Sneh Milan programme in Rajpipla of Narmada, attended by a Union Minister of State.

Allegedly, Nandod MLA Darshana Deshmukh expressed dissatisfaction with certain BJP members for mocking her during the programme, stating that as an MLA, even a minor worker spoke against her. The MLAs remarks stirred controversy among local BJP leaders. Sources claimed that the MLA used the workers name to target specific influential BJP figures.

Our correspondent in Gujarat

dilipsingh@ newindianexpress.com

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State Congress unveils new strategy for LS polls Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Gujarat Congress has unveiled a new structure following the outcomes of the four assembly polls on December 3. Despite a dismal performance in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly Election, where the Congress secured only 17 seats out of 182, the party is gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Gujarat Congress appointed presidents for 10 districts within the state organisation. Given the BJPs historic win in the 2022 assembly polls and its dominance in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, the Congress faces a challenging task to strengthen its presence. Mandaviya plays key role in BJP success in Chhattisgarh Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister and a prominent political figure in Gujarat, played a crucial role in the BJPs success in Chhattisgarh. Before the elections, the BJP implemented key organisational changes, appointing co-in-charges in Telangana, MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Union ministers were also granted authority in this process. As co-election in-charge in Chhattisgarh, Mandaviya collaborated with state in-charge Om Mathur. Despite scepticism on Mandaviyas impact, the results surprised many, reinforcing the Prime Ministers confidence in him. Internal rift in state BJP continues Internal discord within the Gujarat BJP persists, with renewed rumours of strife among party leaders in Narmada district. Reports indicate discussions about internal conflicts during a Sneh Milan programme in Rajpipla of Narmada, attended by a Union Minister of State. Allegedly, Nandod MLA Darshana Deshmukh expressed dissatisfaction with certain BJP members for mocking her during the programme, stating that as an MLA, even a minor worker spoke against her. The MLAs remarks stirred controversy among local BJP leaders. Sources claimed that the MLA used the workers name to target specific influential BJP figures. Our correspondent in Gujarat dilipsingh@ newindianexpress.com Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

BHOPAL: The suspense over who will become the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh is likely to end on Monday when the BJP's 163 newly-elected legislators meet and select their leader in the presence of central observers, a party functionary said.

In the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, BJP won as many as 163 of the 230 seats, leaving the Congress a distant second at 66.

The party on Friday appointed Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, its OBC 'Morcha' head K Laxman and its secretary Asha Lakra as central observers for electing the leader of its legislative party in Madhya Pradesh.

"The central observers will chair a meeting of party MLAs on Monday," MP BJP media cell head Ashish Agrawal told PTI on Saturday.

The schedule of the meeting will be shared with the media once it is finalised, he added.

Party sources said the meeting is likely to begin any time between 5 pm or 7 pm on Monday.

The meeting was earlier scheduled to take place on Sunday, but it was put off till Monday due to the busy schedule of observers, they said.

The observers are likely to arrive in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday evening or Monday morning, the sources said.

This is for the third time in the last 19 years that the BJP is sending central observers to Madhya Pradesh.

In August 2004, when Uma Bharti resigned as chief minister, the party's senior leaders Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley were sent as central observers to the state.

In November 2005, when Babulal Gaur resigned from the top post in the state, Rajnath Singh was sent as a central observer to help legislators pick the new chief minister.

At that time, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was elected as the leader of the legislative party.

This time, the saffron party contested the assembly elections without projecting incumbent Chief Minister Chouhan as its CM face.

It was after 20 years that the party did not name its chief ministerial candidate before polls in MP.

According to party insiders, the BJP might zero in on another Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader in case it replaces Chouhan, the longest-serving chief minister of BJP in India with a break of 15 months.

He is also the longest-serving chief minister of MP as well.

In such a condition, Prahlad Patel, a Lodhi who has been elected from Narsinghpur assembly seat and has resigned as Union minister, could become the frontrunner for the CM position.

Lodhis are a part of the OBC community.

The BJP leadership has gone with OBC leaders for the top post in the state since 2003 when it projected Uma Bharti, a Lodhi.

A year later, the party put its bet on another OBC, Babulal Gaur, and then finally on Chouhan in 2004, given the fact that the population of OBCs in MP was over 48 per cent.

Meanwhile, Prahlad Patel was here on Friday and visited the state assembly complex and CM Chouhan.

The name of Narendra Tomar, who has been elected from Dimani and has since resigned as Union minister, was doing rounds for the CM's post.

According to party insiders, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP state chief V D Sharma are among other potential candidates.

All four big guns - Patel, Tomar, Vijayvargiya and Sharma - have already met Union Home Minister and BJP's master strategist Amit Shah in New Delhi.

They also called on party president J P Nadda.

These leaders have publicly denied that they are vying to be the CM.

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BHOPAL: The suspense over who will become the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh is likely to end on Monday when the BJP's 163 newly-elected legislators meet and select their leader in the presence of central observers, a party functionary said. In the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, BJP won as many as 163 of the 230 seats, leaving the Congress a distant second at 66. The party on Friday appointed Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, its OBC 'Morcha' head K Laxman and its secretary Asha Lakra as central observers for electing the leader of its legislative party in Madhya Pradesh.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "The central observers will chair a meeting of party MLAs on Monday," MP BJP media cell head Ashish Agrawal told PTI on Saturday. The schedule of the meeting will be shared with the media once it is finalised, he added. Party sources said the meeting is likely to begin any time between 5 pm or 7 pm on Monday. The meeting was earlier scheduled to take place on Sunday, but it was put off till Monday due to the busy schedule of observers, they said. The observers are likely to arrive in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday evening or Monday morning, the sources said. This is for the third time in the last 19 years that the BJP is sending central observers to Madhya Pradesh. In August 2004, when Uma Bharti resigned as chief minister, the party's senior leaders Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley were sent as central observers to the state. In November 2005, when Babulal Gaur resigned from the top post in the state, Rajnath Singh was sent as a central observer to help legislators pick the new chief minister. At that time, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was elected as the leader of the legislative party. This time, the saffron party contested the assembly elections without projecting incumbent Chief Minister Chouhan as its CM face. It was after 20 years that the party did not name its chief ministerial candidate before polls in MP. According to party insiders, the BJP might zero in on another Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader in case it replaces Chouhan, the longest-serving chief minister of BJP in India with a break of 15 months. He is also the longest-serving chief minister of MP as well. In such a condition, Prahlad Patel, a Lodhi who has been elected from Narsinghpur assembly seat and has resigned as Union minister, could become the frontrunner for the CM position. Lodhis are a part of the OBC community. The BJP leadership has gone with OBC leaders for the top post in the state since 2003 when it projected Uma Bharti, a Lodhi. A year later, the party put its bet on another OBC, Babulal Gaur, and then finally on Chouhan in 2004, given the fact that the population of OBCs in MP was over 48 per cent. Meanwhile, Prahlad Patel was here on Friday and visited the state assembly complex and CM Chouhan. The name of Narendra Tomar, who has been elected from Dimani and has since resigned as Union minister, was doing rounds for the CM's post. According to party insiders, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP state chief V D Sharma are among other potential candidates. All four big guns - Patel, Tomar, Vijayvargiya and Sharma - have already met Union Home Minister and BJP's master strategist Amit Shah in New Delhi. They also called on party president J P Nadda. These leaders have publicly denied that they are vying to be the CM. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: After deliberating for three days, the BJP on Friday appointed nine central observers for the election of legislature party leaders in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The legislature party leaders will become the chief ministers of the three states.

Among the nine observers appointed by the Parliamentary Board of BJP are Union minister Rajnath Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP vice-president Saroj Pandey, and party general secretary Vinod Tawde (for Rajasthan); Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and BJP general secretary Dushwant Kumar Gautam (Chhattisgarh); and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha president K Laxman, and BJP national general secretary Asha Lakra (for Madhya Pradesh).

According to top BJP sources, the meetings to pick legislature party leaders will be held by Sunday or Monday.

Speaking to this newspaper, one of the appointed central observers said that they would be reaching the capital of their assigned states by Saturday morning to speed up the processes.

We cant say anything. As central observers, we will be overseeing that the meetings consensually elect legislature party leaders. I think everything will be known to all by Sunday or Monday afternoon, he remarked. The observers role is to ensure the meeting to pick the CM is fair and consensual.

Resigned MPs told to vacate govt bungalows

The Lok Sabha Housing Committee is learnt to have asked all BJP MPs who have resigned from the LS after winning state polls to vacate their allotted bungalows in Delhi within a month

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NEW DELHI: After deliberating for three days, the BJP on Friday appointed nine central observers for the election of legislature party leaders in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The legislature party leaders will become the chief ministers of the three states. Among the nine observers appointed by the Parliamentary Board of BJP are Union minister Rajnath Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP vice-president Saroj Pandey, and party general secretary Vinod Tawde (for Rajasthan); Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and BJP general secretary Dushwant Kumar Gautam (Chhattisgarh); and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha president K Laxman, and BJP national general secretary Asha Lakra (for Madhya Pradesh). According to top BJP sources, the meetings to pick legislature party leaders will be held by Sunday or Monday. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Speaking to this newspaper, one of the appointed central observers said that they would be reaching the capital of their assigned states by Saturday morning to speed up the processes. We cant say anything. As central observers, we will be overseeing that the meetings consensually elect legislature party leaders. I think everything will be known to all by Sunday or Monday afternoon, he remarked. The observers role is to ensure the meeting to pick the CM is fair and consensual. Resigned MPs told to vacate govt bungalows The Lok Sabha Housing Committee is learnt to have asked all BJP MPs who have resigned from the LS after winning state polls to vacate their allotted bungalows in Delhi within a month Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP leaders and workers staged a demonstration outside Congress headquarters here on Saturday to protest against alleged corruption in the party. The protestors were triggered by the recovery of huge amounts of "unaccounted" cash from Odisha.

The BJP protesters led by state president Virendra Sachdeva marched towards Congress party headquarters at Akbar Road but were stopped by the police at a barricade.

"Unaccounted" cash amounting to around Rs 250 crore was estimated to have been recovered through searches conducted by the income-tax department against an Odisha-based distillery group and entities linked to it, official sources said on Friday.

Premises linked to the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, were also covered during the searches, the sources said.

The protesters raised slogans against the Congress leaders and demanded action against Sahu.

It's a guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the corrupt will be caught and the agencies are doing their job, Sachdeva said.

The protest was also attended by West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and MLA Vijendra Gupta among others.

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NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP leaders and workers staged a demonstration outside Congress headquarters here on Saturday to protest against alleged corruption in the party. The protestors were triggered by the recovery of huge amounts of "unaccounted" cash from Odisha. The BJP protesters led by state president Virendra Sachdeva marched towards Congress party headquarters at Akbar Road but were stopped by the police at a barricade. "Unaccounted" cash amounting to around Rs 250 crore was estimated to have been recovered through searches conducted by the income-tax department against an Odisha-based distillery group and entities linked to it, official sources said on Friday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Premises linked to the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, were also covered during the searches, the sources said. The protesters raised slogans against the Congress leaders and demanded action against Sahu. It's a guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the corrupt will be caught and the agencies are doing their job, Sachdeva said. The protest was also attended by West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and MLA Vijendra Gupta among others. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

HOSHIARPUR/KAPURTHALA: Canada's move to more than double the cost-of-living requirement for incoming international students will put an additional financial burden on people sending their children to study in that country, several aspirants' parents in Punjab said.

They added that the decision has come as a big blow as they will now need to borrow more from banks or informal sources to arrange the funds to send their children to study in Canada.

Canada will more than double the cost-of-living financial requirement for incoming international students beginning January 1, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced, a move that will impact the arrival of foreign students in the country, including from India.

Starting next year, prospective students will need to show they have access to CAD 20,635 instead of the current requirement of CAD 10,000 -- a limit that had been in place for two decades -- in addition to paying for travel and tuition.

India was first among the top 10-origin countries for study permit holders in 2022 in Canada, with 319,000 students.

The move comes in the wake of India suspending visas to Canadians for several weeks as part of a displomatic row.

Miller said the financial requirement had not kept up with the cost of living over time, resulting in students arriving in Canada only to learn that they did not have adequate funds.

This change will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January 1.

Canada is among the preferred destinations for people from Punjab to study and settle down.

In Punjab, Moga-based immigration consultancy services representative Rashpal Singh Sosan said the expense to send students to Canada will rise by around Rs 6.

50 lakh in the immediate aftermath of the Canadian government's decision to hike the cost-of-living financial requirement -- known as the Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC).

Parents will now have to arrange for more funds to send their children to Canada, he added.

Kapurthala-based Amandeep Singh, whose daughter aspires to study engineering in Canada, said he will now have to borrow more funds from the banks to realise her dreams.

It is definitely an additional burden on the pocket of every parent whose children want to go to Canada for higher studies, he said.

Ludhiana-based Sohan Singh said this move will put a big dent on the pockets of middle-class parents whose children want to move to Canada.

"It will take a big chunk out of my pocket to fulfil the desire of my son, who is preparing to study there," he said.

In Hoshiarpur, Surinder Kaur, the mother of a student who wishes to study in Canada, also expressed concern over the increase in the GIC amount.

At the same time, she said the Canadian government's decision will allow international students to meet their living expenses given that there are limited work opportunities for them.

Suresh Kumar, a Ludhiana-based student who wants to study in Canada, said it will be difficult for middle-class parents to arrange for additional funds to send their children to Canada.

With the new rules being implemented from January 1, many students and their parents are approaching immigration consultancies to expedite their files related to studies in Canada before December 31 to save themselves from the impact of the GIC hike.

Rahul Dangar, the representative of a Kapurthala-based immigration consultancy, said more than 40 students have approached their centre to expedite their cases since the Canadian government's announcement on the increase in cost-of-living financial requirement.

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HOSHIARPUR/KAPURTHALA: Canada's move to more than double the cost-of-living requirement for incoming international students will put an additional financial burden on people sending their children to study in that country, several aspirants' parents in Punjab said. They added that the decision has come as a big blow as they will now need to borrow more from banks or informal sources to arrange the funds to send their children to study in Canada. Canada will more than double the cost-of-living financial requirement for incoming international students beginning January 1, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced, a move that will impact the arrival of foreign students in the country, including from India.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Starting next year, prospective students will need to show they have access to CAD 20,635 instead of the current requirement of CAD 10,000 -- a limit that had been in place for two decades -- in addition to paying for travel and tuition. India was first among the top 10-origin countries for study permit holders in 2022 in Canada, with 319,000 students. The move comes in the wake of India suspending visas to Canadians for several weeks as part of a displomatic row. Miller said the financial requirement had not kept up with the cost of living over time, resulting in students arriving in Canada only to learn that they did not have adequate funds. This change will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January 1. Canada is among the preferred destinations for people from Punjab to study and settle down. In Punjab, Moga-based immigration consultancy services representative Rashpal Singh Sosan said the expense to send students to Canada will rise by around Rs 6. 50 lakh in the immediate aftermath of the Canadian government's decision to hike the cost-of-living financial requirement -- known as the Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC). Parents will now have to arrange for more funds to send their children to Canada, he added. Kapurthala-based Amandeep Singh, whose daughter aspires to study engineering in Canada, said he will now have to borrow more funds from the banks to realise her dreams. It is definitely an additional burden on the pocket of every parent whose children want to go to Canada for higher studies, he said. Ludhiana-based Sohan Singh said this move will put a big dent on the pockets of middle-class parents whose children want to move to Canada. "It will take a big chunk out of my pocket to fulfil the desire of my son, who is preparing to study there," he said. In Hoshiarpur, Surinder Kaur, the mother of a student who wishes to study in Canada, also expressed concern over the increase in the GIC amount. At the same time, she said the Canadian government's decision will allow international students to meet their living expenses given that there are limited work opportunities for them. Suresh Kumar, a Ludhiana-based student who wants to study in Canada, said it will be difficult for middle-class parents to arrange for additional funds to send their children to Canada. With the new rules being implemented from January 1, many students and their parents are approaching immigration consultancies to expedite their files related to studies in Canada before December 31 to save themselves from the impact of the GIC hike. Rahul Dangar, the representative of a Kapurthala-based immigration consultancy, said more than 40 students have approached their centre to expedite their cases since the Canadian government's announcement on the increase in cost-of-living financial requirement. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Pranab Mondal By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee described Mahua Moitras expulsion from Parliament as BJPs politics of vendetta and a betrayal of her constitutional rights. She also pointed out that there would be no reason for not fielding her in the fray in the next years Lok Sabha election from Moitras Krishnagar constituency.

She said the party stands with Mahua. She was not even allowed to defend herself. The members were not given enough time to go through the report of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. This is unacceptable. People will give a befitting reply to the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. We will fight together under the banner of INDIA bloc, Mamata said.

When asked if Mahua would be given the party nomination from Krishnagar in next years LS polls, Mamata said, There is no reason why Mahua will not be given the ticket. The party has already made her district president of Krishnanagar.

Terming Mahuas expulsion as a fall-out of BJPs political game, Mamata said, Had you (BJP) been strong enough to defeat her, you could have fought an electoral battle against her in the next years Lok Sabha elections. Mahua will fight boldly. She is a victim of circumstances. She will attend the peoples parliament outside the House, which will boost her confidence. It is a sad day for the Indian Parliament. The TMC chief congratulated the INDIA alliance for backing Mahua and expressed hope that in the next Lok Sabha polls, all parties in the Opposition bloc will contest the elections together.

This matter has opened our eyes again against the BJPs vindictive politics. This is unfortunate for democracy. I thought that the Prime Minister must have reconsidered her expulsion. But when I got the information I was shocked, she said in Kalimpong in north Bengal where she has gone as part of her prior schedule.

The TMC chief highlighted the submission of a nearly 500-page report to Parliament, followed by a mere 30-minute window for all parties to discuss the matter and subsequently expel Moitra.

I fail to comprehend how members can thoroughly review 500 pages within 30 minutes. How can all speakers reach a decision? I condemn the way democracy has been undermined. Despite having a two-thirds majority in the assembly, we refrain from expelling anyone arbitrarily, she said.

Following a heated debate in Lok Sabha, during which Moitra was denied the opportunity to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi proposed a motion for her expulsion for unethical conduct, which was approved by a voice vote.

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KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee described Mahua Moitras expulsion from Parliament as BJPs politics of vendetta and a betrayal of her constitutional rights. She also pointed out that there would be no reason for not fielding her in the fray in the next years Lok Sabha election from Moitras Krishnagar constituency. She said the party stands with Mahua. She was not even allowed to defend herself. The members were not given enough time to go through the report of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. This is unacceptable. People will give a befitting reply to the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. We will fight together under the banner of INDIA bloc, Mamata said. When asked if Mahua would be given the party nomination from Krishnagar in next years LS polls, Mamata said, There is no reason why Mahua will not be given the ticket. The party has already made her district president of Krishnanagar.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Terming Mahuas expulsion as a fall-out of BJPs political game, Mamata said, Had you (BJP) been strong enough to defeat her, you could have fought an electoral battle against her in the next years Lok Sabha elections. Mahua will fight boldly. She is a victim of circumstances. She will attend the peoples parliament outside the House, which will boost her confidence. It is a sad day for the Indian Parliament. The TMC chief congratulated the INDIA alliance for backing Mahua and expressed hope that in the next Lok Sabha polls, all parties in the Opposition bloc will contest the elections together. This matter has opened our eyes again against the BJPs vindictive politics. This is unfortunate for democracy. I thought that the Prime Minister must have reconsidered her expulsion. But when I got the information I was shocked, she said in Kalimpong in north Bengal where she has gone as part of her prior schedule. The TMC chief highlighted the submission of a nearly 500-page report to Parliament, followed by a mere 30-minute window for all parties to discuss the matter and subsequently expel Moitra. I fail to comprehend how members can thoroughly review 500 pages within 30 minutes. How can all speakers reach a decision? I condemn the way democracy has been undermined. Despite having a two-thirds majority in the assembly, we refrain from expelling anyone arbitrarily, she said. Following a heated debate in Lok Sabha, during which Moitra was denied the opportunity to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi proposed a motion for her expulsion for unethical conduct, which was approved by a voice vote. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 people that it claims are operatives of ISIS or Islamic State in raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka, PTI reported, quoting an agency official.

The arrested accused included the leader of an ISIS module who was administering 'bayath' (oath of allegiance) to new recruits, a spokesperson of the agency said.

Several NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early Saturday morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for allegedly promoting terror and terror-related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation, the official said.

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NEW DELHI: India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 people that it claims are operatives of ISIS or Islamic State in raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka, PTI reported, quoting an agency official. The arrested accused included the leader of an ISIS module who was administering 'bayath' (oath of allegiance) to new recruits, a spokesperson of the agency said. Several NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early Saturday morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for allegedly promoting terror and terror-related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation, the official said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The banned exports of the onion by the government until 31 March next year is likely to impact farmers in the coming days.

"Export policy of onions is amended from free to prohibited till March 31, 2024," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

The sudden ban triggered protests across Nashik district which produces 70 per cent of the onion in Maharashtra  the capital of Indias onion production. Farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra highway at three places in Maharashtra. The export ban will soon hit farmers as the new onion harvest will start hitting the market from January onward.

However, the notification has exempted those traders who are already in the advanced stage of exporting of onion and with permission granted by the government to other countries based on their request.

Traders who already loaded onion on ships, vessels or ships arriving in port and consignment of onion handed over to customs before December 8 are exempted.

Earlier in August, the government had imposed a curb on the export of onions by increasing the 40% export duty up to December 31, 2023. Further on October 28, the government fixed the minimum export price of US $800 per metric tonne till 31 December.

There was no such demand as the price of onion in control, says Khandu Kaka Deore, president, of Nashik District Onion Traders Association (NDOTA). It will immediately impact traders but soon it will translate into impacting farmers who will start bringing the new harvest in January he further said.

The politically sensitive commodity consumed by almost every consumer is quite volatile. Experts say the acreage of onion has lagged which made the government take such a step.

The onion farmers live in a peculiar predicament, says Eknath Sanap, an onion farmer based in Pune.

We are made to throw away our perishable produce once the price plummets and when an opportunity comes to reap benefits, the government imposes different restrictions to keep price under control, he further added. The price of onion in Pune Mandi was around Rs 42-44 and after export, it dipped to around Rs 35.

India had exported around one million metric tonnes of onion between April and August this year mostly to Bangladesh, Malaysia and UAE. The export ban move will make India lose its export market and it will take a few years to regain it.

ALSO READ | India bans onion exports till March next year

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

NEW DELHI: The banned exports of the onion by the government until 31 March next year is likely to impact farmers in the coming days. "Export policy of onions is amended from free to prohibited till March 31, 2024," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. The sudden ban triggered protests across Nashik district which produces 70 per cent of the onion in Maharashtra  the capital of Indias onion production. Farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra highway at three places in Maharashtra. The export ban will soon hit farmers as the new onion harvest will start hitting the market from January onward.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); However, the notification has exempted those traders who are already in the advanced stage of exporting of onion and with permission granted by the government to other countries based on their request. Traders who already loaded onion on ships, vessels or ships arriving in port and consignment of onion handed over to customs before December 8 are exempted. Earlier in August, the government had imposed a curb on the export of onions by increasing the 40% export duty up to December 31, 2023. Further on October 28, the government fixed the minimum export price of US $800 per metric tonne till 31 December. There was no such demand as the price of onion in control, says Khandu Kaka Deore, president, of Nashik District Onion Traders Association (NDOTA). It will immediately impact traders but soon it will translate into impacting farmers who will start bringing the new harvest in January he further said. The politically sensitive commodity consumed by almost every consumer is quite volatile. Experts say the acreage of onion has lagged which made the government take such a step. The onion farmers live in a peculiar predicament, says Eknath Sanap, an onion farmer based in Pune. We are made to throw away our perishable produce once the price plummets and when an opportunity comes to reap benefits, the government imposes different restrictions to keep price under control, he further added. The price of onion in Pune Mandi was around Rs 42-44 and after export, it dipped to around Rs 35. India had exported around one million metric tonnes of onion between April and August this year mostly to Bangladesh, Malaysia and UAE. The export ban move will make India lose its export market and it will take a few years to regain it. ALSO READ | India bans onion exports till March next year Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Jaison Wilson By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India has 2,43,237 POCSO cases pending in its Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) till January 31, 2023, despite Central Governments robust policy and financial commitment, as per a recent report.

It says even if no new case is added to this long list, the country will need at least nine years to clear this backlog. In some states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar, it could take more than 25 years to bring the pending cases to closure.

In 2022, the number of cases that resulted in conviction remained a mere 3 percent nationally, according to Justice Awaits: An Analysis of the Efficacy of Justice Delivery Mechanisms in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse in India, a research paper released by India Child Protection Fund (ICPF).

READ MORE | Decade of Pocso Act: Time to focus on prevention

The findings of the paper cast a huge question mark on the efficacy of the countrys judicial system, despite the Central Governments 2019 landmark decision to set up Fast Track Special Courts to provide justice to child sexual abuse victims and despite the government pumping in crores every year to ensure justice for every child.

The paper further states that given the present scenario, while Arunachal Pradesh would take 30 years to complete the trials of cases pending under POCSO as of January 2023, Delhi will take 27 years, West Bengal 25, Meghalaya 21, Bihar 26, and Uttar Pradesh 22 years to clear the backlog.

Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) are specialized courts with the primary aim of expediting the trial process of cases related to sexual offences, particularly those under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Set up in 2019, the Central Government recently approved the continuation of FTSCs as, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) 2026 with a budgetary allocation of over Rs 1900 crore.

The scheme was supposed to deliver the legal mandate for the completion of trial of such cases within one year and yet out of the total 2,68,038 cases that were under trial, only 8,909 cases resulted in conviction.

The study highlights that each FTSC in the country on average dispose of just 28 cases per year, which means the expenditure in one conviction is around Rs 9 lakh. Each FTSC was expected to dispose of 41-42 cases in a quarter and at least 165 in a year.

The data suggests that FTSCs are unable to achieve the set targets even after three years of the launch of the scheme, the paper said.

Citing Supreme Courts judgement, the report further said that child marriage is child rape and as per Census 2011, a staggering 4,442 minor girls were married every day, which means every minute, three children were pushed into child marriage.

However, only three child marriages are reported every day, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau data.

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NEW DELHI: India has 2,43,237 POCSO cases pending in its Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) till January 31, 2023, despite Central Governments robust policy and financial commitment, as per a recent report. It says even if no new case is added to this long list, the country will need at least nine years to clear this backlog. In some states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar, it could take more than 25 years to bring the pending cases to closure. In 2022, the number of cases that resulted in conviction remained a mere 3 percent nationally, according to Justice Awaits: An Analysis of the Efficacy of Justice Delivery Mechanisms in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse in India, a research paper released by India Child Protection Fund (ICPF).googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); READ MORE | Decade of Pocso Act: Time to focus on prevention The findings of the paper cast a huge question mark on the efficacy of the countrys judicial system, despite the Central Governments 2019 landmark decision to set up Fast Track Special Courts to provide justice to child sexual abuse victims and despite the government pumping in crores every year to ensure justice for every child. The paper further states that given the present scenario, while Arunachal Pradesh would take 30 years to complete the trials of cases pending under POCSO as of January 2023, Delhi will take 27 years, West Bengal 25, Meghalaya 21, Bihar 26, and Uttar Pradesh 22 years to clear the backlog. Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) are specialized courts with the primary aim of expediting the trial process of cases related to sexual offences, particularly those under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Set up in 2019, the Central Government recently approved the continuation of FTSCs as, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) 2026 with a budgetary allocation of over Rs 1900 crore. The scheme was supposed to deliver the legal mandate for the completion of trial of such cases within one year and yet out of the total 2,68,038 cases that were under trial, only 8,909 cases resulted in conviction. The study highlights that each FTSC in the country on average dispose of just 28 cases per year, which means the expenditure in one conviction is around Rs 9 lakh. Each FTSC was expected to dispose of 41-42 cases in a quarter and at least 165 in a year. The data suggests that FTSCs are unable to achieve the set targets even after three years of the launch of the scheme, the paper said. Citing Supreme Courts judgement, the report further said that child marriage is child rape and as per Census 2011, a staggering 4,442 minor girls were married every day, which means every minute, three children were pushed into child marriage. However, only three child marriages are reported every day, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau data. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa takes a ride during the first-day operation of the Made-in-China metro train in Porto, Portugal, Dec. 6, 2023.(Photo by Zhang Ke/Xinhua)

PORTO, Portugal, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The first Made-in-China metro train in the European Union (EU) was put into commercial operation here on Wednesday.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa took a ride during the first day of its operation and inaugurated the service, emphasizing the government's substantial investment of nearly 50 million euros (nearly 54 million U.S. dollars) from the EU recovery fund, promising extensive benefits for residents and tourists alike.

Costa revealed plans to allocate an additional over 1 billion euros (1078 million U.S. dollars) for public infrastructure development in key cities such as Lisbon, Porto, and Braga.

Portugal's Minister of Environment and Climate Action Duarte Cordeiro highlighted that the newly launched metro train fulfills the public's expectations for comfortable and secure travel, significantly elevating the efficiency of Porto's metro network.

The metro train was manufactured by China's CRRC Tangshan, a collaboration project initiated in early 2020 with Porto Metro, resulting in the production of 18 train sets and a five-year maintenance service agreement.

Officially launched in 2021, the first train arrived in Porto by the end of 2022.

Porto, Portugal's second-largest city, currently boasts six metro lines and over 80 stations, covering a total distance of 67 km, serving both Porto and its suburban areas. 
Parvez Sultan By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture has taken serious note of the lack of seriousness shown by the Ministry of Culture while responding to its recommendations made to deal with critical issues.

The panel, in its report placed before the both the Houses in Parliament on Friday, asked the ministry to assess its approach and ensure that its report and suggestions are appropriately examined and implemented.

In the 363rd report, the 31-member committee headed by V Vijayasai Reddy of YSR Congress, observed that disregarding or trivialising its views undermines the trust, credibility and seriousness of the ministry towards the development and preservation of the nations cultural heritage.

The committee expresses its deep concern and disappointment at this apparent lack of seriousness on the part of the ministry in responding to the committees recommendations addressing critical issues The committee recommends the Ministry of Culture to re-evaluate its approach and ensure that the committees reports are acknowledged, thoroughly reviewed, and their recommendations implemented for the sustained development and preservation of our cultural heritage, it read.

According to the panel, the ministry is yet to response to 14 recommendations made by it on issues such as maintenance of Centrally protected monuments under the jurisdiction of the Archeological Survey of India, vacant positions in the agency, and slow progress in drafting of heritage bylaws.

The committee noted that its 324th report on Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India was forwarded to the ministry for necessary action in June last year. However, the ministry not only failed to send an interim reply within the stipulated period of three months, but also failed to respond to the multiple reminders issued by the secretariat since then, the report stated.

Further, the ministry could manage to provide Action Taken Notes on only 21 out of the total of 35 recommendations as contained in the 324th report by October 4, 2023. That is, after a period of one year and 19 days, stated the report.

bill to repeal waqf act tabled in rs

A private member bill  The Waqf Repeal Bill 2022  seeking to repeal the Waqf Act, 1995, was was introduced in Rajya Sabha after a division of votes amid strong protests by opposition parties. The move to introduce the bill was vehemently opposed by several Opposition parties, leading to division of votes. It was approved after 53 members voted in favour, while 32 opposed the move.

states must be able to choose guvs: cpm

There is a need to amend the Constitution to empower the states to appoint governors in order to respect the will of the people, CPI(M) MP V Sivadasan said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The Kerala MP, whose govern-ment is locked in a bitter war of words with Governor Arif Moha-mmed Khan, asked the members to support passage of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, to end colonial-era indulgences.

take action on those making false points

Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday demanded that Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar take action against members who make false allegations and sensationalise issues in the garb of asking questions. They were reacting to what they called false allegations by Saket Gokhale of TMC and John Brittas of CPI(M) on separate matters.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

NEW DELHI: The parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture has taken serious note of the lack of seriousness shown by the Ministry of Culture while responding to its recommendations made to deal with critical issues. The panel, in its report placed before the both the Houses in Parliament on Friday, asked the ministry to assess its approach and ensure that its report and suggestions are appropriately examined and implemented. In the 363rd report, the 31-member committee headed by V Vijayasai Reddy of YSR Congress, observed that disregarding or trivialising its views undermines the trust, credibility and seriousness of the ministry towards the development and preservation of the nations cultural heritage.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The committee expresses its deep concern and disappointment at this apparent lack of seriousness on the part of the ministry in responding to the committees recommendations addressing critical issues The committee recommends the Ministry of Culture to re-evaluate its approach and ensure that the committees reports are acknowledged, thoroughly reviewed, and their recommendations implemented for the sustained development and preservation of our cultural heritage, it read. According to the panel, the ministry is yet to response to 14 recommendations made by it on issues such as maintenance of Centrally protected monuments under the jurisdiction of the Archeological Survey of India, vacant positions in the agency, and slow progress in drafting of heritage bylaws. The committee noted that its 324th report on Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India was forwarded to the ministry for necessary action in June last year. However, the ministry not only failed to send an interim reply within the stipulated period of three months, but also failed to respond to the multiple reminders issued by the secretariat since then, the report stated. Further, the ministry could manage to provide Action Taken Notes on only 21 out of the total of 35 recommendations as contained in the 324th report by October 4, 2023. That is, after a period of one year and 19 days, stated the report. bill to repeal waqf act tabled in rs A private member bill  The Waqf Repeal Bill 2022  seeking to repeal the Waqf Act, 1995, was was introduced in Rajya Sabha after a division of votes amid strong protests by opposition parties. The move to introduce the bill was vehemently opposed by several Opposition parties, leading to division of votes. It was approved after 53 members voted in favour, while 32 opposed the move. states must be able to choose guvs: cpm There is a need to amend the Constitution to empower the states to appoint governors in order to respect the will of the people, CPI(M) MP V Sivadasan said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The Kerala MP, whose govern-ment is locked in a bitter war of words with Governor Arif Moha-mmed Khan, asked the members to support passage of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, to end colonial-era indulgences. take action on those making false points Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday demanded that Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar take action against members who make false allegations and sensationalise issues in the garb of asking questions. They were reacting to what they called false allegations by Saket Gokhale of TMC and John Brittas of CPI(M) on separate matters. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

SRINAGAR: People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said the actions of the Jammu and Kashmir adminstration hint towards the Supreme Court passing a verdict on petitions related to Article 370 of the Constitution, which might be against the interest of the country. The Article gave special rights to Jammu and Kashmir compared to other states in India, and was cancelled four years ago.

"Since Friday night, we are witnessing that lists containing the names of the workers of different parties, especially the PDP, are being taken through police stations and it seems that such a decision is to come which is not in favour of this country and Jammu and Kashmir, but only to further the BJP's agenda and hence, some precautionary measures are being taken, which is unfortunate," Mufti told reporters in Anantnag.

She asserted that it is the apex court's responsibility to ensure that it does not push the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) agenda, but keeps the integrity of the country and its Constitution intact.

Mufti said the court's decision should be clear that the decision taken by the BJP-led Centre on August 5, 2019 to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 was "illegal, unconstitutional", against Jammu and Kashmir and the promises made to the people here.

"First, the Supreme Court took a lot of time to hear the cases. It took it five years. Then, the Supreme Court itself in its previous judgments has said no one can abrogate Article 370 barring the constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.

"So I think the decision should be simple that whatever was done on August 5, 2019 was illegal, unconstitutional, against Jammu and Kashmir and the promises made to the people here," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.

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SRINAGAR: People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said the actions of the Jammu and Kashmir adminstration hint towards the Supreme Court passing a verdict on petitions related to Article 370 of the Constitution, which might be against the interest of the country. The Article gave special rights to Jammu and Kashmir compared to other states in India, and was cancelled four years ago. "Since Friday night, we are witnessing that lists containing the names of the workers of different parties, especially the PDP, are being taken through police stations and it seems that such a decision is to come which is not in favour of this country and Jammu and Kashmir, but only to further the BJP's agenda and hence, some precautionary measures are being taken, which is unfortunate," Mufti told reporters in Anantnag. She asserted that it is the apex court's responsibility to ensure that it does not push the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) agenda, but keeps the integrity of the country and its Constitution intact.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Mufti said the court's decision should be clear that the decision taken by the BJP-led Centre on August 5, 2019 to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 was "illegal, unconstitutional", against Jammu and Kashmir and the promises made to the people here. "First, the Supreme Court took a lot of time to hear the cases. It took it five years. Then, the Supreme Court itself in its previous judgments has said no one can abrogate Article 370 barring the constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. "So I think the decision should be simple that whatever was done on August 5, 2019 was illegal, unconstitutional, against Jammu and Kashmir and the promises made to the people here," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Narendra Sethi By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN : Winds of change are sweeping across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after inaugurating Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023 being held at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun on Friday. An aspirational India has been built in the last 10 years in which a large part of the previously deprived population is getting connected to schemes and opportunities. Crores of people who have come out of poverty have given a new momentum to the economy, he said.

Addressing a large gathering of investors, public and students, he said, We have to understand the potential of Indias middle class. The power of society in Uttarakhand is also creating a huge market for you. He called upon the rich and influential people and the youth of the country to launch a campaign called Wed in India on the lines of Make in India initiative. He urged them to host and organise at least one marriage ceremony in Uttarakhand within the next five years.

Even if 5000 weddings take place in a year in Uttarakhand, it will lead to the development of new infrastructure and transform the state into a global wedding destination, the PM said, highlighting Indias ability to accomplish any objective it sets its sights on.

Addressing more than 5,000 investors and representatives from around the world at the conference, Modi highlighted the strengths of Uttarakhand and encouraged investors to consider investing in the state. Additionally, he hinted at the upcoming general elections, saying, I assure the citizens that in my third term, our country will be among the top three economies in the world.

During his 30-minute address, Modi referred to the investors present as heavyweights in the industry and drew an analogy of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis carried out by multinationals. He also emphasized the importance of performing this exercise on a national level.

An aspirational India wants a stable government instead of instability, Modi said, highlighting the recently concluded assembly elections, underlining that people voted on the basis of good governance and its track record.

The PM said, A few years ago when I had gone out to visit Baba Kedar, suddenly I had said at that time that this third decade of the 21st century will be the decade of Uttarakhand. Im glad to see it completed.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that against the targeted Rs 2.5 lakh crore, an investment of Rs 3 lakh crore has been invested, out of which grounding of investment of Rs 44,000 crore has also been done. CM Dhami highlighted the benefits of investing in Uttarakhand.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

DEHRADUN : Winds of change are sweeping across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after inaugurating Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023 being held at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun on Friday. An aspirational India has been built in the last 10 years in which a large part of the previously deprived population is getting connected to schemes and opportunities. Crores of people who have come out of poverty have given a new momentum to the economy, he said. Addressing a large gathering of investors, public and students, he said, We have to understand the potential of Indias middle class. The power of society in Uttarakhand is also creating a huge market for you. He called upon the rich and influential people and the youth of the country to launch a campaign called Wed in India on the lines of Make in India initiative. He urged them to host and organise at least one marriage ceremony in Uttarakhand within the next five years. Even if 5000 weddings take place in a year in Uttarakhand, it will lead to the development of new infrastructure and transform the state into a global wedding destination, the PM said, highlighting Indias ability to accomplish any objective it sets its sights on.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Addressing more than 5,000 investors and representatives from around the world at the conference, Modi highlighted the strengths of Uttarakhand and encouraged investors to consider investing in the state. Additionally, he hinted at the upcoming general elections, saying, I assure the citizens that in my third term, our country will be among the top three economies in the world. During his 30-minute address, Modi referred to the investors present as heavyweights in the industry and drew an analogy of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis carried out by multinationals. He also emphasized the importance of performing this exercise on a national level. An aspirational India wants a stable government instead of instability, Modi said, highlighting the recently concluded assembly elections, underlining that people voted on the basis of good governance and its track record. The PM said, A few years ago when I had gone out to visit Baba Kedar, suddenly I had said at that time that this third decade of the 21st century will be the decade of Uttarakhand. Im glad to see it completed. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that against the targeted Rs 2.5 lakh crore, an investment of Rs 3 lakh crore has been invested, out of which grounding of investment of Rs 44,000 crore has also been done. CM Dhami highlighted the benefits of investing in Uttarakhand. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Suchitra Kalyan Mohanty By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Taking suo motu cognisance concerning a Calcutta High Court verdict advising adolescent girls to control their sexual urges, the Supreme Court emphasised on Friday that judges should abstain from expressing personal beliefs or engaging in preaching. The Calcutta High Court had acquitted a man of rape charges, implying in its October 18 verdict that young girls and boys should exercise restraint over their sexual urges.

The Supreme Court scrutinised specific aspects of the Calcutta High Courts decision, labelling the observations as a violation of the rights of adolescents under Article 21 of the Constitution. The observations completely contravene the rights of adolescents under Article 21 of the Constitution, stated the court. In response, the court appointed senior lawyer Madhavi Divan as Amicus Curiae to assist in the case.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal mentioned that the suo motu writ petition under Article 32 has been initiated on the directions of the CJI due to sweeping observations/findings recorded by the division bench of the Calcutta High Court.

Expressing strong disapproval of the personal remarks made by the Calcutta HC judges, the SC bench emphasised that judges should refrain from conveying personal views or engaging in preaching. The Supreme Court deemed the judges remarks highly objectionable and completely unwarranted.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

NEW DELHI: Taking suo motu cognisance concerning a Calcutta High Court verdict advising adolescent girls to control their sexual urges, the Supreme Court emphasised on Friday that judges should abstain from expressing personal beliefs or engaging in preaching. The Calcutta High Court had acquitted a man of rape charges, implying in its October 18 verdict that young girls and boys should exercise restraint over their sexual urges. The Supreme Court scrutinised specific aspects of the Calcutta High Courts decision, labelling the observations as a violation of the rights of adolescents under Article 21 of the Constitution. The observations completely contravene the rights of adolescents under Article 21 of the Constitution, stated the court. In response, the court appointed senior lawyer Madhavi Divan as Amicus Curiae to assist in the case. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal mentioned that the suo motu writ petition under Article 32 has been initiated on the directions of the CJI due to sweeping observations/findings recorded by the division bench of the Calcutta High Court. Expressing strong disapproval of the personal remarks made by the Calcutta HC judges, the SC bench emphasised that judges should refrain from conveying personal views or engaging in preaching. The Supreme Court deemed the judges remarks highly objectionable and completely unwarranted. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the World Bank Group entity has agreed to a settlement with plaintiffs, including family members of seven murdered farmers in Central American country Honduras.

In 2019, Indias Supreme Court also ruled against the World Bank group entity as it funded the Tata-Mundra project which harmed the coastal community. The World Bank group entity engaged in lending hundreds of projects across the globe which caused large-scale environmental destruction and human rights violations. Moreover, these institutions enjoy immunity in local courts and laws.

It is the first time that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private corporate lending arm of the World Bank Group, was accused of abetment of killings and violating of the rights of farmers who protested the Palm oil companys violent land-grabbing campaign in Honduras.

Many more such cases need to be filed for institutions like IMF and World Bank as they are responsible for mass suffering around the world by financing those projects causing havoc to environment and community says Ashish Kothari, a well-known environmentalist and member of Kalpvriksh.

EarthRights International, an American non-profit human rights and environmental organization brought the case, Juana Doe v. International Finance Corporation, in 2017 on behalf of deceased farmerss families in the Bajo Aguan Valley of Honduras.

The plaintiff alleges that they were victimized by armed agents of Corporacion Dinant, which terrorized local communities to expand its profitable palm oil operations.

They also allege that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which financed Dinants expansion, knew or should have known that its money was abetting murder and other serious abuses.

IFCs support to Dinant included direct loans and financing channelled through the IFC Asset Management Company, an IFC subsidiary that is also a defendant in the lawsuit. That support continued from 2008 through at least 2014, even as Dinants security forces plunged the Bajo Aguan Valley into violence.

Our clients took IFC to court in the United States because IFC gave them no other option, said Marissa Vahlsing, a senior EarthRights attorney who represents the Plaintiffs. Despite internal IFC findings of wrongdoing, IFC refused to provide them with a meaningful remedy. The IFC maintains that it is above the law, but it is not. This case shows that, unless and until the IFC provides meaningful remedies to the communities it harms, they will have no choice but to sue the IFC, as our clients bravely and tirelessly did here.

Some of Dinants land-grabbing has been reversed in recent years by Honduran courts and other processes. However, the Bajo Aguan Valley remains a dangerous place for those advocating for campesino rights and fighting land-grabbing.

Indias Supreme Court in 2019 ruled in favour of the community in a case where the IFC-funded Tata-Mundra coal-fired power plant harmed the fishing and farming community in Gujarat.

The historic judgement set a precedent that international lending firms cannot enjoy immunity to violation of human rights and environmental destruction.

The community through EarthRights International sued the IFC for lending such projects that harm the community. The community harmed by Tata Mundra is still waiting for the IFC to provide a remedy.

It is time to stop such funding and wreaking havoc through neo-liberal policy prescriptions, says Madhuresh Kumar, an activist working for the rights of communities.

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NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the World Bank Group entity has agreed to a settlement with plaintiffs, including family members of seven murdered farmers in Central American country Honduras. In 2019, Indias Supreme Court also ruled against the World Bank group entity as it funded the Tata-Mundra project which harmed the coastal community. The World Bank group entity engaged in lending hundreds of projects across the globe which caused large-scale environmental destruction and human rights violations. Moreover, these institutions enjoy immunity in local courts and laws. It is the first time that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private corporate lending arm of the World Bank Group, was accused of abetment of killings and violating of the rights of farmers who protested the Palm oil companys violent land-grabbing campaign in Honduras.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Many more such cases need to be filed for institutions like IMF and World Bank as they are responsible for mass suffering around the world by financing those projects causing havoc to environment and community says Ashish Kothari, a well-known environmentalist and member of Kalpvriksh. EarthRights International, an American non-profit human rights and environmental organization brought the case, Juana Doe v. International Finance Corporation, in 2017 on behalf of deceased farmerss families in the Bajo Aguan Valley of Honduras. The plaintiff alleges that they were victimized by armed agents of Corporacion Dinant, which terrorized local communities to expand its profitable palm oil operations. They also allege that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which financed Dinants expansion, knew or should have known that its money was abetting murder and other serious abuses. IFCs support to Dinant included direct loans and financing channelled through the IFC Asset Management Company, an IFC subsidiary that is also a defendant in the lawsuit. That support continued from 2008 through at least 2014, even as Dinants security forces plunged the Bajo Aguan Valley into violence. Our clients took IFC to court in the United States because IFC gave them no other option, said Marissa Vahlsing, a senior EarthRights attorney who represents the Plaintiffs. Despite internal IFC findings of wrongdoing, IFC refused to provide them with a meaningful remedy. The IFC maintains that it is above the law, but it is not. This case shows that, unless and until the IFC provides meaningful remedies to the communities it harms, they will have no choice but to sue the IFC, as our clients bravely and tirelessly did here. Some of Dinants land-grabbing has been reversed in recent years by Honduran courts and other processes. However, the Bajo Aguan Valley remains a dangerous place for those advocating for campesino rights and fighting land-grabbing. Indias Supreme Court in 2019 ruled in favour of the community in a case where the IFC-funded Tata-Mundra coal-fired power plant harmed the fishing and farming community in Gujarat. The historic judgement set a precedent that international lending firms cannot enjoy immunity to violation of human rights and environmental destruction. The community through EarthRights International sued the IFC for lending such projects that harm the community. The community harmed by Tata Mundra is still waiting for the IFC to provide a remedy. It is time to stop such funding and wreaking havoc through neo-liberal policy prescriptions, says Madhuresh Kumar, an activist working for the rights of communities. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
K S Sreejith By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Filmmaker Vinayan was fighting a forlorn battle in the Malayalam film industry when he received an unexpected boost. It was the intervention by then AITUC general secretary Kanam Rajendran, who openly backed Vinayan, that changed the fate of a nearly lost cause.

It was in early 2007 that I met Kanam, Vinayan recounted. It was a time of turmoil when I, as a member of the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA), opposed the stand adopted by the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) over actor Thilakans role in my film. I fought a lonely battle and eventually MACTA split. My group had very little backing. This was when Kanam telephoned me, he told TNIE.

I had never met him. Kanam said he is a film lover who has been watching the industry evolve from a distance. He stressed that in questioning the autocratic practices of some so-called superstars of the industry, we held the moral high ground. He promised the AITUCs full support. I was surprised at the time. Only Sukumar Azhikode had sided with us in some of his speeches. Now, here was Kanam declaring thes AITUC total support. Its workers even staged protests at the film sets of those who were opposing me, Vinayan said.It was Kanam who helped Vinayan land the chairmanship of Horticorp in 2016.

During his tenure as state general secretary of the AITUC, Kanam paid special attention to unorganised sectors in the state. It was at his insistence that trade unions were formed in many of these sectors. Hire-and-fire policies in new-age banks and the IT sector were left unquestioned. AITUC formed trade unions in these sectors even before the CITU stepped in. AITUCs intervention helped save many jobs.

AITUC was the first trade union to organise street vendors. Kanam Rajendran was our guiding light, said Street Vendors Labourers Federation state joint secretary Michael Bastian. He called me to say that we are doing great work. Union activity helped labourers in every way, he added.

As an MLA, Kanam brought in a bill to protect the rights of construction workers. He introduced it as a private bill. The Building Labourers Act, which was later taken up by the assembly and passed, took inspiration from the private bill Kanam introduced.

Cremation tomorrow

The mortal remains of Kanam Rajendran will be brought to Thiruvananthapuram at 7 am on Saturday. The body will be first kept at his home, and later at the CPI state committee office for the public to pay homage. At 2 pm, the mortal remains will be taken to Kottayam by road. The cremation will be held at 11 am on Sunday in Vazhoor, Kottayam. Kanam is survived by his wife Vanaja, son Sandeep, daughter Smitha, daughter-in-law Thara Sandeep and son-in-law V Sarveswaran.

Kanam was a pillar of Left unity: CM

KOCHI: Kanam Rajendran was one of the pillars of Left unity, and his demise has come as a big shock, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in his condolence message on Friday. The CM said Kanams demise, which comes at a time when the need for Left-secular unity is very high, increases the severity of the loss.

The CM underscored Kanams contributions in fortifying communist parties, leading the trade union movement, and upholding secular and democratic values. Kanams trajectory to leadership, rooted in student union activities, consistently positioned him as a voice that reinforced non-partisanship, he said.

As a formidable trade union leader, Kanam was committed to maintaining worker unity and addressing their collective demands. His extensive experience in student, youth, and trade union movements provided a robust foundation for his role as the CPI state secretary. During his tenure in the assembly, Kanam actively addressed critical issues, significantly contributing to legislative matters and consistently siding with the oppressed, he said.

ALSO READ | Bad to worse: Kanams demise likely to further weaken CPI in the state

A role model: Mullakkara Ratnakaran, CPI leader

I met Kanam Rajendran during a state camp of the Youth Federation at Kottarakara in 1979. By then, he had given up his role in the federation and was working as a CPI secretariat member. He was a role model for the sacrifices he made as a youth leader. Those days, leaders would sleep in the party office, accept the food and travel fare offered by sympathisers of the party. Only such people could become a party leader back then.

Kanam used the experience he acquired during his interactions with society and his knowledge to make matured and adept analysis of political complexities.In fact, Kanam was among the several communist leaders who could make such analyses.

ALSO READ | Kerala ministers wind up Nava Kerala Sadas events, rush to pay tributes to Kanam Rajendran

I have lost my best friend, fellow comrade: K E Ismail, Former CPI national executive member, ex-minister

We were friends for a long time. Perhaps Im the only senior leader who is closest to Kanam Rajendran. We started working for the party as youngsters. In 1982, we became MLAs and worked together for 10 years. Our relationship strengthened during our time in the assembly. As opposition members, we put up a joint fight against the government.

As secretary of the parliamentary party in the House, I was tasked with assigning my party members to take up different matters. Kanam was active and vociferous. I assigned him the most important matters. He was an exceptional performer in the assembly. Later, we worked together in the partys state council, national council and national executive. For most of our political careers, we worked together and in unison. He was my best friend and comrade. I dont think Kanam shared a similar bond with any other senior CPI leader. He was an efficient trade union leader too. His demise is a big loss to the people, the party and his family.

ALSO READ | Kanam Rajendran, Lefts conscience keeper, passes away at 73

(With inputs from Unnikrishnan S, M S Vidyanandan)

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Filmmaker Vinayan was fighting a forlorn battle in the Malayalam film industry when he received an unexpected boost. It was the intervention by then AITUC general secretary Kanam Rajendran, who openly backed Vinayan, that changed the fate of a nearly lost cause. It was in early 2007 that I met Kanam, Vinayan recounted. It was a time of turmoil when I, as a member of the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA), opposed the stand adopted by the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) over actor Thilakans role in my film. I fought a lonely battle and eventually MACTA split. My group had very little backing. This was when Kanam telephoned me, he told TNIE. I had never met him. Kanam said he is a film lover who has been watching the industry evolve from a distance. He stressed that in questioning the autocratic practices of some so-called superstars of the industry, we held the moral high ground. He promised the AITUCs full support. I was surprised at the time. Only Sukumar Azhikode had sided with us in some of his speeches. Now, here was Kanam declaring thes AITUC total support. Its workers even staged protests at the film sets of those who were opposing me, Vinayan said.It was Kanam who helped Vinayan land the chairmanship of Horticorp in 2016. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); During his tenure as state general secretary of the AITUC, Kanam paid special attention to unorganised sectors in the state. It was at his insistence that trade unions were formed in many of these sectors. Hire-and-fire policies in new-age banks and the IT sector were left unquestioned. AITUC formed trade unions in these sectors even before the CITU stepped in. AITUCs intervention helped save many jobs. AITUC was the first trade union to organise street vendors. Kanam Rajendran was our guiding light, said Street Vendors Labourers Federation state joint secretary Michael Bastian. He called me to say that we are doing great work. Union activity helped labourers in every way, he added. As an MLA, Kanam brought in a bill to protect the rights of construction workers. He introduced it as a private bill. The Building Labourers Act, which was later taken up by the assembly and passed, took inspiration from the private bill Kanam introduced. Cremation tomorrow The mortal remains of Kanam Rajendran will be brought to Thiruvananthapuram at 7 am on Saturday. The body will be first kept at his home, and later at the CPI state committee office for the public to pay homage. At 2 pm, the mortal remains will be taken to Kottayam by road. The cremation will be held at 11 am on Sunday in Vazhoor, Kottayam. Kanam is survived by his wife Vanaja, son Sandeep, daughter Smitha, daughter-in-law Thara Sandeep and son-in-law V Sarveswaran. Kanam was a pillar of Left unity: CM KOCHI: Kanam Rajendran was one of the pillars of Left unity, and his demise has come as a big shock, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in his condolence message on Friday. The CM said Kanams demise, which comes at a time when the need for Left-secular unity is very high, increases the severity of the loss. The CM underscored Kanams contributions in fortifying communist parties, leading the trade union movement, and upholding secular and democratic values. Kanams trajectory to leadership, rooted in student union activities, consistently positioned him as a voice that reinforced non-partisanship, he said. As a formidable trade union leader, Kanam was committed to maintaining worker unity and addressing their collective demands. His extensive experience in student, youth, and trade union movements provided a robust foundation for his role as the CPI state secretary. During his tenure in the assembly, Kanam actively addressed critical issues, significantly contributing to legislative matters and consistently siding with the oppressed, he said. ALSO READ | Bad to worse: Kanams demise likely to further weaken CPI in the state A role model: Mullakkara Ratnakaran, CPI leader I met Kanam Rajendran during a state camp of the Youth Federation at Kottarakara in 1979. By then, he had given up his role in the federation and was working as a CPI secretariat member. He was a role model for the sacrifices he made as a youth leader. Those days, leaders would sleep in the party office, accept the food and travel fare offered by sympathisers of the party. Only such people could become a party leader back then. Kanam used the experience he acquired during his interactions with society and his knowledge to make matured and adept analysis of political complexities.In fact, Kanam was among the several communist leaders who could make such analyses. ALSO READ | Kerala ministers wind up Nava Kerala Sadas events, rush to pay tributes to Kanam Rajendran I have lost my best friend, fellow comrade: K E Ismail, Former CPI national executive member, ex-minister We were friends for a long time. Perhaps Im the only senior leader who is closest to Kanam Rajendran. We started working for the party as youngsters. In 1982, we became MLAs and worked together for 10 years. Our relationship strengthened during our time in the assembly. As opposition members, we put up a joint fight against the government. As secretary of the parliamentary party in the House, I was tasked with assigning my party members to take up different matters. Kanam was active and vociferous. I assigned him the most important matters. He was an exceptional performer in the assembly. Later, we worked together in the partys state council, national council and national executive. For most of our political careers, we worked together and in unison. He was my best friend and comrade. I dont think Kanam shared a similar bond with any other senior CPI leader. He was an efficient trade union leader too. His demise is a big loss to the people, the party and his family. ALSO READ | Kanam Rajendran, Lefts conscience keeper, passes away at 73 (With inputs from Unnikrishnan S, M S Vidyanandan) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The State Legislative Assembly session, which convened to pave the way for the newly-elected MLAs to take oath, will commence on Saturday.

The session may run for four days. If the government wants to extend the session beyond one day, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) will meet on Saturday and take a decision.

Pro-tem Speaker designate and AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi would take oath at Raj Bhavan on Saturday morning.

Later, he would administer the oath of office and secrecy to all MLAs.Congress MLA Gaddam Prasad will also file his nominations for State Legislative Assembly Speaker post. He is likely to be elected unopposed.Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday summoned the third Telangana Legislative Assembly to meet for its first session at 11 am on Saturday

In another notification, the Governor said: In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 180 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Telangana hereby appoints Akbaruddin Owaisi being a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to perform the duties of the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly till a Speaker is elected under Article 178 of the Constitution of India and also to be the person before whom the elected Members of the Assembly shall make and subscribe oath or affirmation as required under Article 188 of the Constitution of India.

Normally, a senior MLA would be made pro-tem Speaker. BRS president and Gajwel MLA K Chandrasekhar Rao is the senior most MLA. As he was hospitalised, Akbaruddin was made pro-tem Speaker. If any member due to various reasons could not take oath on Saturday, then the member can take oath in the chambers of the Speaker later.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA T Raja Singh said that he would not take as Akbaruddin Owaisi is pro-tem Speaker. He said that he would not take oath as long as he is alive if an AIMIM leader is in Speakers chair. He recalled that he did not take oath in front of an AIMIM leader in 2018 as well.

Raja Singh said that the previous BRS government did a mistake by handing over the car steering to AIMIM. He wondered how the Congress government too would make a similar mistake.He questioned the rationale behind the friendliness of Congress towards AIMIM. Raja Singh alleged that it was nothing but an attempt to appease the minorities.

TPCC vice president Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said that BJP MLA is always known for polarising view and his intentions would be utilise every situation to create communal tention.We are a secular country. We may have difference of opinion, but we need to understand the Constitution. AIMIM MLA was the senior most MLA in the house, and was appointed as pro-tem speaker and we all have to respect the constitution which has appointed. I request Raja Singh not to make it political issue, the Congress leader added.

Raja Singh refuses to take oath with Akbar in Speakers chair

BJP MLA T Raja Singh said that he would not take as Akbaruddin Owaisi is pro tem Speaker.He said that he would not take oath as long as he is alive if an AIMIM leader is occupying the Speakers chair.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

HYDERABAD: The State Legislative Assembly session, which convened to pave the way for the newly-elected MLAs to take oath, will commence on Saturday. The session may run for four days. If the government wants to extend the session beyond one day, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) will meet on Saturday and take a decision. Pro-tem Speaker designate and AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi would take oath at Raj Bhavan on Saturday morning.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Later, he would administer the oath of office and secrecy to all MLAs.Congress MLA Gaddam Prasad will also file his nominations for State Legislative Assembly Speaker post. He is likely to be elected unopposed.Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday summoned the third Telangana Legislative Assembly to meet for its first session at 11 am on Saturday In another notification, the Governor said: In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 180 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Telangana hereby appoints Akbaruddin Owaisi being a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to perform the duties of the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly till a Speaker is elected under Article 178 of the Constitution of India and also to be the person before whom the elected Members of the Assembly shall make and subscribe oath or affirmation as required under Article 188 of the Constitution of India. Normally, a senior MLA would be made pro-tem Speaker. BRS president and Gajwel MLA K Chandrasekhar Rao is the senior most MLA. As he was hospitalised, Akbaruddin was made pro-tem Speaker. If any member due to various reasons could not take oath on Saturday, then the member can take oath in the chambers of the Speaker later. Meanwhile, BJP MLA T Raja Singh said that he would not take as Akbaruddin Owaisi is pro-tem Speaker. He said that he would not take oath as long as he is alive if an AIMIM leader is in Speakers chair. He recalled that he did not take oath in front of an AIMIM leader in 2018 as well. Raja Singh said that the previous BRS government did a mistake by handing over the car steering to AIMIM. He wondered how the Congress government too would make a similar mistake.He questioned the rationale behind the friendliness of Congress towards AIMIM. Raja Singh alleged that it was nothing but an attempt to appease the minorities. TPCC vice president Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said that BJP MLA is always known for polarising view and his intentions would be utilise every situation to create communal tention.We are a secular country. We may have difference of opinion, but we need to understand the Constitution. AIMIM MLA was the senior most MLA in the house, and was appointed as pro-tem speaker and we all have to respect the constitution which has appointed. I request Raja Singh not to make it political issue, the Congress leader added. Raja Singh refuses to take oath with Akbar in Speakers chair BJP MLA T Raja Singh said that he would not take as Akbaruddin Owaisi is pro tem Speaker.He said that he would not take oath as long as he is alive if an AIMIM leader is occupying the Speakers chair. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Sandip Ghose By

They say Dane, dane pe likha hain khane wale ka naam. Roughly translated into English, it would mean every crumb you get to eat has your name on it. By that token, my last couple of weeks have been assigned to Awadhi food. The first tryst was not in Lucknow but a wedding reception at Jaipur. In this age of cross-continental alliances, it was an alliance between a Bihari boy and Lebanese girl's families. I attended the 'Sangeet' or the 'rehearsal dinner', as I believe it is called in the United States, which was for family and close friends and, therefore, a more intimate affair than the grand banquet that was to follow the next day. Still, more than a hundred guests from the bride's side had flown in for the celebrations.

I must say the Lebanese entourage - with their natural flair for dancing and hip movements - outperformed the groom's team in the dancing department. They danced not just to Middle-Eastern Arabaian music but also choreographed Bollywood numbers. I tried to spot Salma Hayek and Amal Clooney among them, the only two people of Lebanese descent I knew of. But they were all "so beautiful, so elegant, just looking like a wow!". The hosts, however, laid out a feast befitting the Ottoman nobility. So, the spread had Rajasthani delicacies at one end (Chakki-Atta - or Wheat Flour - Ki Sabzi was a new discovery about which I shall write some other time) to Mediterranean and Italian at the other. In the middle was an Awadhi table for which a caterer had flown in from Lucknow.

Chef Mumataj Ahmad hails from Ameenabad Nakkhas - the heart of Lucknow's old Muslim quarters. The business card he shared with me introduced him as a specialist of Galouti and Kakori Kebabs, Ulta Tawa Ka Paratha and Gosht Nihari. The Lebanese palate, I gathered, cannot handle chilly-pepper. But Awadhi food was a revelation for them. It was a delight to watch them getting lured to the counter seeing meat being skewered over charcoal fire but unsure if they will be able to deal with the spices. So they approached the food with some trepidation which changed into a beatific smile as they discovered the subtle taste and melt-in-the-mouth quality of the kebabs.

Awadhi Food is a dying tradition, I have written earlier. My gourmet friend from Hyderabad, the famous landscape architect - Abbas Razvi - has lamented his frustrating and futile forays in search of authentic Awadhi Food in Lucknow. The problem in my mind is the disappearing discerning clientele who can afford or are willing to spend on food that is by definition expensive because it calls for the highest quality of ingredients and finest culinary skills. Of course, the legendary Imtiaz Quereshi took Awadhi Food to the world through the Dum Pukht chain of ITC. But that is beyond the reach of most people.

Even in Lucknow there are not too many fine dining outlets left that serve great Awadhi cuisine. The Oudhiyana at Taj Gomti Nagar and Falakunama are two of them. The Mughal's Dastarkhwan chain - with its many clones - have come up in the last few years. But for the most part they are commercial and mediocre. Yet the talent still exists in the inner by-lanes of the city who have inherited the skills and hand-me-downs family recipes from mothers, grandmothers and fathers who were "Ustads" - much like the vanishing tribe of Waza Chefs in Kashmir - who cook the Wazwan Banquets. That is why I was so happy to meet Mumataj Ahmad who is keeping the glorious tradition alive.

My second Awadhi Food encounter in two weeks was in Lucknow itself. It was at the Azrak Speciality Restaurant at the Lebua Saraca on Mall Avenue. The Lebua Group of Thailand has taken over a heritage property to develop a luxury boutique property diagonally opposite the home of Mayawati, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The young master-chef, Chef Mohsin Quereshi - also part of the Quereshi clan of the old city - was hosting an Awadhi Winter Food festival. I'm generally disinclined to eat at top-end restaurants - I had heard about the place from some people but was sceptical. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Now a question may arise as to what would qualify to be genuine Awadhi Food. As soon as I posted a picture of the Nihari - a friend contested saying the origins of Nihari are in Delhi and not Awadh. Similarly, another follower from Kolkata wrote to say the original Awadhi Food is available only at a restaurant named Manzilat operated by a descendant of Wajid Ali Shah. But I am unwilling to straight-jacket food as long as it stays true to its genre. Ethnic specialty cuisine cannot be assembly line production. As long as the basic character is not lost, it is those little creative twists in the recipe and minor innovations in form that uplifts a dish to the next stage of evolution.

That is what I found Chef Quereshi has done with his Majlisi Kabab for example. It takes the concept of serving Galawati on small pieces of Shirmal during Majlis (in small parlour gatherings for concerts or poetry) by cooking it in small plates on 'dum' covered with a 'purdah' of bread. Inside the meat he adds small bits of lime with the rind - that cuts the lamb fat ('galawat', which is used to melt the meat).

Similarly, at the centre of the minced meat ball in Gola Kabab, he adds a little Malai. The Bagara Baingan is a tad sweet but also has a tinge of sour - which I suspect comes from the use of Amchur or Tamarind. The Tawa Bhuni Bater (Quail) was the showstopper with a garnish of silver-film. But alas, farm-bred quails are no match for the jungle bird that the Nawabs used to savour. Chef Quereshi's Mutton Burra was boneless. But, he vehemently contested the theory that Lucknow Nawabs had a problem with their teeth. But I let it pass - as the food was far too delectable to merit any further argument.

However, the story of Awadhi cuisine cannot be complete without talking of the Kolkata Mutton Chaap - invented by Ahmed Hussain of Royal India Hotel of Chitpur in Kolkata. The Chaap is a cousin of the Korma but with a concentrated gravy and soft meat with a near-fried feel - like a Tawa-fried meat kebab. In some ways it may be described as the hybrid of a Kebab and Korma. The trick of making Chaap lies in the long marination - for which Raw papaya paste is used. The preferred meat is the softer cut from the collar and ribs but with a copious quantity of fat which is the main medium of cooking. However, the real secret, as in any dish, is in the medley of spices - mace, nutmeg, white peppercorns, shah-jeera (caraway seeds), black and green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and saffron. The spices are mildly roasted and grated into a coarse powder mixed in milk and added to the marinade.

No onions are used - only fresh garlic and ginger paste. The meat is spread in a single layer on a large flat metal pan (one can also use a Dutch oven with the lid) and cooked on slow fire for at least two hours. One starts the cooking with a little ghee or white oil of any kind and the fat from the meat does the rest of the job. No water is used - other than what comes out of the meat - if required some more milk can be added to prevent the meat from sticking to the pan or being burnt. Finally, a few drops of Kewra water is sprinkled from the top for finishing.

Sinful it may be. But sometimes small indulgences are necessary to keep glorious traditions alive for a larger cause of preserving cultural heritage. Taking a conducted tour inside the Lebua Saraca property, I found a small stage being set up for a wedding function. I was told it is for a Mujra performance. I asked if Mujras are still popular in Lucknow. The hotel executive taking me around replied, sadly Mujra performers are now extinct in Lucknow. They bring artists from Delhi who perform Mujra style soirees just for a Lucknowi ambience. Hope there never comes a day when Khansamas have to be flown into Lucknow for Awadhi banquets.

ALSO READ | Famous in China, duck meat is one of India's underrated regional dishes

Bhim cooked it, Lord Ram relished it: India's gift to the world is the humble dal

The meat of the matter: Why you should always choose 'with bone' over 'boneless'

From mother-in-laws to the Tatas: The piping-hot journey of coffee in India

Durga Puja feast's signature dish Bhoger Khichuri has a divine taste at temples and pandals

Read all food columns by Sandip Ghose here

(Sandip Ghose is an author and current affairs commentator. He tweets @SandipGhose.)

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

They say Dane, dane pe likha hain khane wale ka naam. Roughly translated into English, it would mean every crumb you get to eat has your name on it. By that token, my last couple of weeks have been assigned to Awadhi food. The first tryst was not in Lucknow but a wedding reception at Jaipur. In this age of cross-continental alliances, it was an alliance between a Bihari boy and Lebanese girl's families. I attended the 'Sangeet' or the 'rehearsal dinner', as I believe it is called in the United States, which was for family and close friends and, therefore, a more intimate affair than the grand banquet that was to follow the next day. Still, more than a hundred guests from the bride's side had flown in for the celebrations. I must say the Lebanese entourage - with their natural flair for dancing and hip movements - outperformed the groom's team in the dancing department. They danced not just to Middle-Eastern Arabaian music but also choreographed Bollywood numbers. I tried to spot Salma Hayek and Amal Clooney among them, the only two people of Lebanese descent I knew of. But they were all "so beautiful, so elegant, just looking like a wow!". The hosts, however, laid out a feast befitting the Ottoman nobility. So, the spread had Rajasthani delicacies at one end (Chakki-Atta - or Wheat Flour - Ki Sabzi was a new discovery about which I shall write some other time) to Mediterranean and Italian at the other. In the middle was an Awadhi table for which a caterer had flown in from Lucknow. Chef Mumataj Ahmad hails from Ameenabad Nakkhas - the heart of Lucknow's old Muslim quarters. The business card he shared with me introduced him as a specialist of Galouti and Kakori Kebabs, Ulta Tawa Ka Paratha and Gosht Nihari. The Lebanese palate, I gathered, cannot handle chilly-pepper. But Awadhi food was a revelation for them. It was a delight to watch them getting lured to the counter seeing meat being skewered over charcoal fire but unsure if they will be able to deal with the spices. So they approached the food with some trepidation which changed into a beatific smile as they discovered the subtle taste and melt-in-the-mouth quality of the kebabs. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Awadhi Food is a dying tradition, I have written earlier. My gourmet friend from Hyderabad, the famous landscape architect - Abbas Razvi - has lamented his frustrating and futile forays in search of authentic Awadhi Food in Lucknow. The problem in my mind is the disappearing discerning clientele who can afford or are willing to spend on food that is by definition expensive because it calls for the highest quality of ingredients and finest culinary skills. Of course, the legendary Imtiaz Quereshi took Awadhi Food to the world through the Dum Pukht chain of ITC. But that is beyond the reach of most people. Even in Lucknow there are not too many fine dining outlets left that serve great Awadhi cuisine. The Oudhiyana at Taj Gomti Nagar and Falakunama are two of them. The Mughal's Dastarkhwan chain - with its many clones - have come up in the last few years. But for the most part they are commercial and mediocre. Yet the talent still exists in the inner by-lanes of the city who have inherited the skills and hand-me-downs family recipes from mothers, grandmothers and fathers who were "Ustads" - much like the vanishing tribe of Waza Chefs in Kashmir - who cook the Wazwan Banquets. That is why I was so happy to meet Mumataj Ahmad who is keeping the glorious tradition alive. My second Awadhi Food encounter in two weeks was in Lucknow itself. It was at the Azrak Speciality Restaurant at the Lebua Saraca on Mall Avenue. The Lebua Group of Thailand has taken over a heritage property to develop a luxury boutique property diagonally opposite the home of Mayawati, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The young master-chef, Chef Mohsin Quereshi - also part of the Quereshi clan of the old city - was hosting an Awadhi Winter Food festival. I'm generally disinclined to eat at top-end restaurants - I had heard about the place from some people but was sceptical. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Now a question may arise as to what would qualify to be genuine Awadhi Food. As soon as I posted a picture of the Nihari - a friend contested saying the origins of Nihari are in Delhi and not Awadh. Similarly, another follower from Kolkata wrote to say the original Awadhi Food is available only at a restaurant named Manzilat operated by a descendant of Wajid Ali Shah. But I am unwilling to straight-jacket food as long as it stays true to its genre. Ethnic specialty cuisine cannot be assembly line production. As long as the basic character is not lost, it is those little creative twists in the recipe and minor innovations in form that uplifts a dish to the next stage of evolution. That is what I found Chef Quereshi has done with his Majlisi Kabab for example. It takes the concept of serving Galawati on small pieces of Shirmal during Majlis (in small parlour gatherings for concerts or poetry) by cooking it in small plates on 'dum' covered with a 'purdah' of bread. Inside the meat he adds small bits of lime with the rind - that cuts the lamb fat ('galawat', which is used to melt the meat). Similarly, at the centre of the minced meat ball in Gola Kabab, he adds a little Malai. The Bagara Baingan is a tad sweet but also has a tinge of sour - which I suspect comes from the use of Amchur or Tamarind. The Tawa Bhuni Bater (Quail) was the showstopper with a garnish of silver-film. But alas, farm-bred quails are no match for the jungle bird that the Nawabs used to savour. Chef Quereshi's Mutton Burra was boneless. But, he vehemently contested the theory that Lucknow Nawabs had a problem with their teeth. But I let it pass - as the food was far too delectable to merit any further argument. However, the story of Awadhi cuisine cannot be complete without talking of the Kolkata Mutton Chaap - invented by Ahmed Hussain of Royal India Hotel of Chitpur in Kolkata. The Chaap is a cousin of the Korma but with a concentrated gravy and soft meat with a near-fried feel - like a Tawa-fried meat kebab. In some ways it may be described as the hybrid of a Kebab and Korma. The trick of making Chaap lies in the long marination - for which Raw papaya paste is used. The preferred meat is the softer cut from the collar and ribs but with a copious quantity of fat which is the main medium of cooking. However, the real secret, as in any dish, is in the medley of spices - mace, nutmeg, white peppercorns, shah-jeera (caraway seeds), black and green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and saffron. The spices are mildly roasted and grated into a coarse powder mixed in milk and added to the marinade. No onions are used - only fresh garlic and ginger paste. The meat is spread in a single layer on a large flat metal pan (one can also use a Dutch oven with the lid) and cooked on slow fire for at least two hours. One starts the cooking with a little ghee or white oil of any kind and the fat from the meat does the rest of the job. No water is used - other than what comes out of the meat - if required some more milk can be added to prevent the meat from sticking to the pan or being burnt. Finally, a few drops of Kewra water is sprinkled from the top for finishing. Sinful it may be. But sometimes small indulgences are necessary to keep glorious traditions alive for a larger cause of preserving cultural heritage. Taking a conducted tour inside the Lebua Saraca property, I found a small stage being set up for a wedding function. I was told it is for a Mujra performance. I asked if Mujras are still popular in Lucknow. The hotel executive taking me around replied, sadly Mujra performers are now extinct in Lucknow. They bring artists from Delhi who perform Mujra style soirees just for a Lucknowi ambience. Hope there never comes a day when Khansamas have to be flown into Lucknow for Awadhi banquets. ALSO READ | Famous in China, duck meat is one of India's underrated regional dishes Bhim cooked it, Lord Ram relished it: India's gift to the world is the humble dal The meat of the matter: Why you should always choose 'with bone' over 'boneless' From mother-in-laws to the Tatas: The piping-hot journey of coffee in India Durga Puja feast's signature dish Bhoger Khichuri has a divine taste at temples and pandals Read all food columns by Sandip Ghose here (Sandip Ghose is an author and current affairs commentator. He tweets @SandipGhose.) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Associated Press

RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land it had told Palestinians to evacuate to in the territorys south.

The strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite its wide support. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the vote. Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.

Gaza was at a "breaking point with the humanitarian support system at risk of collapse, and Guterres said he feared the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.

Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by some 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide.

With the war now in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,400, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory, whose counts do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

ALSO READ | We remain concerned over deteriorating security situation: EAM Jaishankar on Israel-Hamas war

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of a total of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 93 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas deadly Oct. 7 raid in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostage.

Hamas said Saturday it continued its rocket fire into Israel.

In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the north and south, including the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area where the Israeli army had ordered civilians to evacuate to. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high children's tables were strewn with rubble.

ALSO READ | Journalists' rights group counts 94 media workers killed this year, most of them in Gaza

We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights," said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib. "The Palestinian people will not leave and do not want to leave.

Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold on northern Gaza despite heavy resistance from Hamas. Tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain despite evacuation orders, six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The Israeli military said Saturday its forces fought and killed Hamas militants and found weapons inside a school in Shijaia in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City. It said soldiers discovered a tunnel shaft in the same neighborhood where they found an elevator, and in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from an U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

More than 2,200 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military only confirmed that two soldiers were seriously wounded in an attempted hostage rescue and that no hostages were freed.

With no further cease-fire in sight and a trickle of humanitarian aid reaching just a few parts of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages.

I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient.

While adults can cope with hunger, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because there are hungry and you are not able to do anything, he said.

Despite growing international pressure, the Biden administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel. Officials have expressed misgivings in recent days about the civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis but have not pushed publicly for Israel to wind down the war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza and signalling terror groups everywhere."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere as frustration grew with the US stance. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the US veto of the Security Council resolution showed Washingtons isolation.

From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday.

Fidan and the Palestinian, Saudi, Qatari, Nigerian, Indonesian, Egyptian and Jordanian ministers met with Blinken to press for an end to the fighting, and the group was to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

Despite restrictions on demonstrations, protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire.

Israel has expanded its blistering air and ground campaign into southern Gaza, sending tens of thousands fleeing.

"It was a night of heavy gunfire and shelling as every night, Taha Abdel-Rahman, a resident of Khan Younis, said by phone Saturday.

Airstrikes were reported overnight in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where resident Omar Abu Moghazi said a family home was hit, causing casualties.

Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren coastline in the south, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians there described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and poor hygiene facilities.

We are living here in a tough cold. There are no bathrooms, said Soad Qarmoot, who was forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

I am a cancer patient, Qarmoot said as children huddled around a wood fire. There is no mattress for me to sleep on. I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing.

Imad al-Talateeny, who fled Gaza City, said Muwasi lacks basic services to accommodate the growing number of displaced families.

I lack everything to feel a human, he said.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land it had told Palestinians to evacuate to in the territorys south. The strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite its wide support. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the vote. Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Gaza was at a "breaking point with the humanitarian support system at risk of collapse, and Guterres said he feared the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region. Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by some 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide. With the war now in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,400, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory, whose counts do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. ALSO READ | We remain concerned over deteriorating security situation: EAM Jaishankar on Israel-Hamas war Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of a total of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday. Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 93 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas deadly Oct. 7 raid in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostage. Hamas said Saturday it continued its rocket fire into Israel. In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the north and south, including the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area where the Israeli army had ordered civilians to evacuate to. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high children's tables were strewn with rubble. ALSO READ | Journalists' rights group counts 94 media workers killed this year, most of them in Gaza We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights," said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib. "The Palestinian people will not leave and do not want to leave. Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold on northern Gaza despite heavy resistance from Hamas. Tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain despite evacuation orders, six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in. The Israeli military said Saturday its forces fought and killed Hamas militants and found weapons inside a school in Shijaia in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City. It said soldiers discovered a tunnel shaft in the same neighborhood where they found an elevator, and in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from an U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. More than 2,200 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry. The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza. On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military only confirmed that two soldiers were seriously wounded in an attempted hostage rescue and that no hostages were freed. With no further cease-fire in sight and a trickle of humanitarian aid reaching just a few parts of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages. I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient. While adults can cope with hunger, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because there are hungry and you are not able to do anything, he said. Despite growing international pressure, the Biden administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel. Officials have expressed misgivings in recent days about the civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis but have not pushed publicly for Israel to wind down the war. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza and signalling terror groups everywhere." Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere as frustration grew with the US stance. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the US veto of the Security Council resolution showed Washingtons isolation. From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday. Fidan and the Palestinian, Saudi, Qatari, Nigerian, Indonesian, Egyptian and Jordanian ministers met with Blinken to press for an end to the fighting, and the group was to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday. Despite restrictions on demonstrations, protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire. Israel has expanded its blistering air and ground campaign into southern Gaza, sending tens of thousands fleeing. "It was a night of heavy gunfire and shelling as every night, Taha Abdel-Rahman, a resident of Khan Younis, said by phone Saturday. Airstrikes were reported overnight in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where resident Omar Abu Moghazi said a family home was hit, causing casualties. Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren coastline in the south, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians there described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and poor hygiene facilities. We are living here in a tough cold. There are no bathrooms, said Soad Qarmoot, who was forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. I am a cancer patient, Qarmoot said as children huddled around a wood fire. There is no mattress for me to sleep on. I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing. Imad al-Talateeny, who fled Gaza City, said Muwasi lacks basic services to accommodate the growing number of displaced families. I lack everything to feel a human, he said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
ZAGREB, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The summit of China and the European Union (EU) is significant for strengthening mutual political trust and bilateral cooperation and further efforts need to be made to improve bilateral ties, Croatia's former president Ivo Josipovic told Xinhua in an interview.

The China-EU Summit was an opportunity work towards restoring mutual political trust and "nothing should stand in the way" of that effort, Josipovic said.

The relationship between China and Europe is also important for world peace, especially in light of the increasingly turbulent situation in Ukraine and the Middle East.

China is "indispensable" in tackling the most important and thorny international issues, he said.

Josipovic agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has said that China and Europe should not view each other as rivals.

"We should not view each other as rivals just because our systems are different, reduce cooperation because competition exists, or engage in confrontation because there are disagreements," Xi said on Thursday while meeting with Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who were in Beijing to attend the 24th China-EU Summit.

"I see Europe and China as partners, not rivals, and their common interests far outweigh their differences," Josipovic said.

"The China-EU Summit was an opportunity for that, and I expect that new trust will be established, which will also open a new chapter in bilateral cooperation," Josipovic said. 
Grok AI chatbot to reach all English-language users in about a week: Musk

New Delhi, Dec 8

E lon Musk on Friday said X will roll out its AI chatbot Groks access in beta to all English-language users in about a week or so.

X has already rolled out access to its Grok AI (beta) to the Premium+ subscribers in the US.

Grok AI (beta) is now rolled out to all  Premium+ subscribers in the US. There will be many issues at first, but expect rapid improvement almost every day. Your feedback is much appreciated, Musk posted.

He said that the company will expand Grok to all English language users soon.

Japanese is next priority (2nd biggest user base) and then hopefully all languages by early 2024, said the X owner.

Grok is a ChatGPT competitor developed by xAI, Musks AI startup. Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak.

The X Premium+ users can find Grok in the side menu on web, iOS and Android. On iOS and Android, you can add it to your bottom menu for easy access, said the company.

xAI is currently seeking to raise up to $1 billion in equity investments. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Musk has raised $134.7 million so far for xAI.

The $135 million came from four unnamed investors, with the first sale occurring on November 29. The SEC filing noted that xAI will only accept a minimum of $2 million from outside investors.

Taking on Sam Altman-run OpenAIs ChatGPT, Musk said last month that xAIs AI chatbot Grok has current information in comparison to traditional GPT models.

The xAI Grok AI assistant is being provided to the users as part of X Premium Plus which costs $16 per month via web.

The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe, according to the website.

Grok AI chatbot to reach all English-language users in about a week: Musk

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Moscow, Dec 8

R ussian President Vladimir Putin on Friday announced that he will seek re-election in 2024 for his third consecutive term, and sixth overall, media reports said.

He made the announcement at a ceremony in the Kremlin where he awarded Hero of Russia medals to servicemen who had taken part in the special military operation against Ukraine, RT reported.

Putin outlined his decision to contest in response to a question by Hero of the Donetsk Peoples Republic Artyom Zhoga.

Under the amendments made to the Russian Constitution in 2020, an individual can hold the post of President for two terms only. However, the provision is not retrospective, enabling Putin, who was first elected President in 2000 and held the post till 2008, before returning in 2012 after a stint as Prime Minister, to contest.

Putin to seek re-election in 2024 Presidential polls

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San Francisco, Dec 8

A head of the discontinuation of Google Podcasts in the US as early as April 2024, the tech giant has rolled out a new tool that allows Google Podcast listeners to migrate their subscriptions from there to YouTube Music or export them for use in other podcast apps.

"In the coming weeks, listeners will be able to access the migration tool through a banner at the top of their screen in Google Podcasts," YouTube said in a blogpost on Thursday.

The company also mentioned that the "tool also has the option to export Google Podcasts subscriptions as an OPML file that can be uploaded to any other podcast app that supports uploads."

Moreover, YouTube said that they built this migration tool with both listeners and podcasters in mind. According to the company, most of the popular podcasts are already available on YouTube, and for podcasts that arent currently available on YouTube, listeners will be able to add shows directly to their YouTube Music library via the podcasts RSS feed.

In the US, Google Podcasts will be available for podcast listening through March 2024, and listeners will be able to migrate or export their subscriptions through July 2024. Meanwhile, YouTube has said it is testing new generative AI features thatll let people create music tracks using just a text prompt or a simple hummed tune.

The company introduced Dream Track, an experiment on YouTube Shorts which is powered by Google DeepMinds most advanced music generation model to date, Lyria.

Google rolls out 'migration' tool ahead of its Podcasts' shutdown in April 2024

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Aizawl, Dec 8

M izoram's new Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Friday said that his Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) governments priority would be to empower farmers, give priority to agriculture, improve the financial situation, and end corruption.

ZPM President Lalduhoma, who has become the sixth person to hold the Mizoram Chief Minister's post, said that even before the oath-taking ceremony, he had, after his partys win, already raised these issues before the Central government.

"We would be honest in our work. We would be apolitical while running the government and taking decisions. Complaint and suggestion boxes would be placed at all Departments. Lokayukta would be strengthened and corruption cases (of the previous government) would be referred to the CBI for their thorough probe," he said during his first media briefing after assuming office.

He said that government officials and employees were not free during the earlier regime to have an opinion and now they would be given a free voice within the purview of their administrative work.

"Financial situation in Mizoram is bad. The RBI had warned the state government earlier. Our government would maintain strict austerity in governance. Each Minister would be allotted one vehicle plus one backup vehicle. I request the public to stop inviting Ministers and MLAs as chief guests in all events, Lalduhoma said.

To settle the inter-state border issues with Assam, boundary committees would be established, he said, adding that emphasis would be given to curb drug menace and alcohol abuse besides smuggling of contraband from Myanmar.

The septuagenarian IPS officer-turned-politician Lalduhoma was sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Mizoram on Friday.

Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati administered the oath of office and secrecy to Lalduhoma and 11 other ministers, including seven cabinet minister and four ministers of state, at a function at the Raj Bhavan here.

Lalrinpuii is the lone woman minister in the 12-member council of ministers.

Seven of the 12 ministers are first-time winners. The other ministers are K. Sapdanga, Vanlalhlana, C. Lalsawivunga, Lalthansanga, Dr. Vanlalthlana, P.C. Vanlalruata, Lalrinpuii -- all cabinet ministers rank, F. Rodingliana, B. Lalchhanzova, Prof. Lalnilawma and Lalnghinglova Hmar -- all ministers of state.

Outgoing Chief Minister and Mizo National Front (MNF) leader Zoramthanga, former Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla (Congress), several political leaders, newly-elected MLAs, senior civil and security officials and many dignitaries were present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, the Chief Minister distributed the portfolios among the ministers, while retaining the Finance, Law and Judicial departments, among others.

Seniormost Minister K. Sapdanga will be new Home Minister while PWD and Transport Departments were allotted to Vanlalhlana, Environment, Forest and Climate Change department assigned to Lalthansanga, and School, Higher and Technical Education Departments were allotted to Vanlalthlana. The Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Resources Departments were allotted to P.C. Vanlalruata while Health, Social Welfare, Tribal Affairs and Tourism Departments were given to lone woman minister Lalrinpuii.

The ZPM, which was registered as a political party only in 2019, voted out the MNF government in the November 7 polls, securing 27 seats in the 40-member assembly. The four-year old party got eight seats in the 2018 polls, when its candidates contested the elections as independents.

--IANS

Empowering farmers, improving fiscal position, curbing corruption priorities of ZPM govt : Mizoram CM Lalduhoma

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Nana Patekar meets Adoor Gopalakrishnan, wants to act in his film

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 9

S aturday morning, it was a rare meeting of two giants when veteran actor Nana Patekar came calling on legendary film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan at the latters house.

Soon the discussion between the two veterans centered around the films and Patekar explicitly informed Adoor (as he is popularly known) his concern that not once has Adoor invited him to act in any of his film.

The 72-year old triple national award winner said that he has been active in the industry for nearly half a century and never once has Adoor invited him to act in his film.

I wish he invites me in his next film, said Patekar with folded hands before Adoor.

Adoor reacted by saying he has never made a Hindi film as thats a foreign language.

I am not in a position to say if I will do a film. I cannot say I will not make one. But nevertheless, he (Patekar) has all the looks of a Malayalee, said Adoor.

Patekar before bidding goodbye to Adoor extended an invite to him to his home in Pune.

The veteran actor was in the capital city as he was the chief guest at the 28th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala which was inaugurated by him on Friday night, here.

The 82 year old Adoor though he has directed just a dozen feature films starting with 'Swayamwaram' in 1972, in his glittering career he has won the national film awards 16 times, 17 Kerala State awards besides numerous international awards and also the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004.

The country has decorated him with a Padma Shri in 1984 and followed it up with the Padma Vibhushan in 2006.

His last feature film was "Pinneyum" in 2016 and it featured the then popular Mollywood pair of Dileep and Kavya Madhavan.

His career began in 1965 with a 20 minute short fiction film titled "A Great Day" and since then besides directing 12 feature films, he has also done close to 40 short films and documentaries.

Nana Patekar meets Adoor Gopalakrishnan, wants to act in his film

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Mumbai, Dec 9

V eteran actor Anupam Kher on Saturday gave major fitness goals to his fans, by giving a glimpse of his back workout, and said he will continue to work towards a better physique.

Taking to social media, Anupam dropped a Reel video wherein he can be seen working out and flaunting his back. He is only wearing black shorts.

The Aiyaary actor gave the music of Rhythm of Shiva to his video.

Along with the video, the 68-year-old actor wrote: Back to my BACK: I had to stop working out for almost five months due to a fracture in my right shoulder during the shoot of #Vijay69. Now I have started all over again and decided to put this video in public domain to feel responsible and continue to work towards a better physique! Wish me good luck and send me some strength! Jai Ho! I #YearOfTheBody.

Fans took to the comment section and wrote: Kya baat kya baat, inspiration forever, very inspiring, continue the hard work.

While much of the Vijay 69 details are under wraps, it will narrate the life of a man who decides to compete in a triathlon contest at the age of 69.

Meanwhile, Anupam was last seen in The Vaccine War, and the web series The Freelancer.

Apart from Vijay 69, he next has The Signature, Kaagaz 2, Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan in the pipeline.

Anupam Kher returns to his workout regime after 5 months post injury

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Paris, Dec 9

F rench President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of "betraying" the French Republic and "compromising" with secularism, after he took part in a Jewish ceremony inside his official residence, the media reported.

Lighting of a Hanukkah candle by France's Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia to mark the beginning of the Jewish festival of lights inside Macron's official residence Salle des Fetes on Thursday was immediately criticised, BBC reported.

A video of the ceremony created furore on social media.

David Lisnard, a prominent right-wing opposition figure, who is also Cannes mayor said: "As far as I know this is the first time this has ever happened. It is a breach of secularism."

Occitania region Socialist president Carole Delga said: "The Elysee is not a place of religion. You cannot compromise with secularism."

On Friday, Macron said he had no regrets as if the president had actually carried out a religious act, or taken part in a ceremony, that would have been a breach of secularism, and that has not happened.

Macron draws criticism for 'betraying' French Republic

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NEW DELHI, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people, including five women and two children, were killed and over 20 others injured, some of them critically, after a boundary wall collapsed on them in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said Saturday.

The wall collapsed Friday on people who were part of a pre-wedding procession at Madapur Samaspur in Ghosi town of Mau district, about 303 km east of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

According to officials, the injured were pulled out of the debris and removed to local hospitals.

The incident which was captured on camera shows a wall collapsing on a group of women walking behind drum beaters through a narrow street. Following it, a cloud of dust quickly enveloped the street triggering panic.

Officials said immediately after receiving the information about the wall collapse, rescuers from the disaster response force and police teams were rushed to the spot along with earthmovers to remove the debris and trace the people under it.

Police have registered a case and ordered an investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced 2,397 U.S. dollars in compensation to each family that lost a member and 599 dollars to each injured in the incident. 
A recent study by European scientists shows that highly sensitive sensors based on color centers in a diamond can be used to record electrical activity from neurons in living brain tissue.

Before people encounter symptoms of brain diseases such as dementia, slight changes have usually already occurred in the brain tissue. It may be that parts of the brain are swelling up or clumps of proteins are forming. These small changes might influence how nerve cells in the brain signal each other and communicate and how information is processed and memorized.

Medical scientists want to study these minor changes that occur in the very early stages of a disease. That way, the intention is to learn more about the causes of the disease to provide new insights and more efficient treatments. Today, microscopic studies on the brain are performed with one of two strategies: Optical inspection of brain tissue samples from animals or deceased patients that suffer from the studied disease or measurements of the signals from the nerve cells using wires, colouring, or light.

These methods, however, have some limitations: They may damage the tissue or change the signals. Also, they may work differently depending on what tissue you are studying; signals from some parts of the nerve cells involved in a particular disease may be hard to measure.

Measuring the field, not the sample

Scientists from DTU, the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Universite Sorbonne, and Leipzig University have found a way to measure the signals from brain tissue without touching or inserting needle probes into it. They do so by measuring weak magnetic fields produced by the nerve cells when communicating. In doing so, they made use of the fact that the magnetic field travels through the tissue unchanged.

Overall, the idea is that sensing the magnetic field ultimately is non-invasive. You do not need to insert electrodes or probes or stain the tissue you want to analyze. Because one picks up the induced magnetic field, one obtains information about the activity without inserting a physical sensor into the system or otherwise modifying it." Alexander Huck, Associate Professor at DTU Physics

Alexander Huck was supervising the project and is co-author of the study.

It is nothing fundamentally new to measure magnetic fields induced in the human body, but it usually requires special equipment that is bulky and needs cryogenic cooling. As such, traditional methods are not suitable for measuring small, living tissue samples, let alone tissue from the human brain.

In this project, the team of scientists is taking advantage of tiny, deliberate flaws in synthetic diamond crystals. These flaws are called colour centres or, technically, nitrogen-vacancy centres/NV centres. The term NV-centres derives from the fact that in the diamond, one carbon atom is replaced with a nitrogen atom and sits next to a vacancy, i.e., where no atom is present. This causes the centres to allow light absorption and - upon releasing energy - light emission.

"These NV colour centres also have an effective unpaired electron with a spin, and if there is a magnetic field, the spin of the electron oscillates around that field. So, if the magnetic field increases or decreases, it will oscillate a bit faster or a bit slower, and we can measure these changes via the light emission of the NV colour centres," explains Alexander Huck.

Still at an early stage

The experimental setup is as follows: In a centimetre scale chamber, a slice of brain tissue is placed on insulating layers of aluminium foil. The diamond is set in a hole at the bottom of the chamber, below the insulating layers. A green laser and a microwave antenna are then aimed at the colour centre of the diamond, and the light emission from the diamond is recorded. When the scientists stimulate the neurons in the tissue to fire simultaneously, they can measure changes in the brightness of light emission from the colour centres.

Crucially, the laser light and the microwaves never reach the brain tissue - not an actual human brain in this case, but tissue from the brain of a mouse - the changes in the magnetic field are simply tracked using the NV colour centres.

"When the neurons in the brain tissue sample fire, that will induce a magnetic field that then changes the light emission and the brightness of the diamond, which we record as an optical signal," says Alexander Huck.

In their experiments, the scientists can distinguish signals from different types of nerve cells. They checked their measurements using a proven technique that touched the tissue and measured the electricity directly. They also show how they can artificially change the neuron activity in the tissue by using a drug that blocks specific channels in the nerve cells.

"Eventually, the idea is that when you have a patient, where you suspect some kind of neurodegenerative disease, you may use methods derived from our experiments to diagnose the precise condition," concludes Alexander Huck. He stresses, however, that a lot of work is still needed for that to be the case:

"If we compare our technique to other methods in use today, which have been around for decades, they are still better than what we can do now. We are at an early stage, and much more work has to be done before this technique can be transferred and applied in a clinical environment. Research in NV centres and exploring their most suitable application areas is still at an early stagethis is a nascent field."
Data from Australian researchers could partly explain why a trial of a new drug for diabetes, was recently halted because it was found to be so effective. Importantly, the data also reveals how anti-obesity drugs like Ozempic, actually work, which to date have been a mystery.

In early November the FLOW trial of the drug semaglutide on the progression of renal impairment in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease was halted ahead of schedule because of the drug's efficacy.

Part of the rationale for the cessation of the trial could be explained by research led by Monash University's Associate Professor Melinda Coughlan, and published today in the journal, Kidney International, showing that a drug that targets a particular hormone GLP1, also interacts with a receptor called RAGE, to control the kidney damage that is the hallmark of Type 2 diabetes.

The discovery of the importance of RAGE opens up new therapeutic drug targets for the prevention of kidney disease in people with diabetes. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) occurs in up to 40% of individuals with diabetes. According to Associate Professor Coughlan, the outlook for DKD has improved over recent decades as a result of improved blood glucose control and blood pressure management through new therapies, "however, a significant proportion of individuals with diabetes will still progress to end stage kidney disease or die prematurely from a cardiovascular event," she said.

"Our study opens up a way to potentially prevent kidney disease in those people who are, so far, treatment resistant."

According to another co-author of the study, Professor Mark Cooper, also from Monash University's Central Clinical School, the discovery of how the RAGE receptor works in diabetes, could also explain how the obesity drug, Ozempic, and similar drugs targeting obesity, work.

To date we know these drugs, which were developed to tackle diabetes, help with weight loss, however their mode of action has not been understood, particularly in reducing diabetic complications including kidney disease." Professor Mark Cooper, Monash University's Central Clinical School

"We know that the RAGE receptor promotes kidney injury but by blocking interactions between drugs such as Ozempic and this RAGE receptor we now have new information to expand and develop new drugs to protect the kidney.
Comprehensive profiling of fusion RNAs present in a large cohort of metastatic breast tumors revealed unique fusion mutations that may be therapeutically targetable, according to results presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held December 5-9, 2023.

Fusion mutations occur when a portion of one gene becomes fused to a portion of another, which can create gene products with new functions. They are common in cancer types that are characterized by genomic rearrangements and structural damage to the DNA, including breast cancer.

Fusion RNAs may serve as biomarkers highly specific to cancer cells, have unique functions which may drive cancer progression, and potentially offer more personalized, cancer-specific targets." Nolan Priedigkeit, MD, PhD, medical oncology fellow and postdoctoral scholar at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Priedigkeit conducted this study alongside senior author Todd Golub, MD, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, the Charles A. Dana Investigator in Human Cancer Genetics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Targeted therapies that can inhibit fusion proteins have been approved for use in a wide variety of cancers, but the prevalence and role of fusion RNAs in breast cancer has not been as comprehensively mapped, Priedigkeit said. He and his colleagues performed a retrospective study using RNA sequencing data from two cohorts of patients with metastatic breast cancer, comprising a total of 466 samples across 423 patients. They ran the sequencing data through a collection of five fusion-finding algorithms; highly expressed fusions identified by two or more algorithms that were not present in normal tissues were considered high-confidence and cancer-specific (HCCS).

The researchers found that around one-third of metastatic breast cancers harbored at least one highly expressed HCCS fusion RNA, a rate much higher than Priedigkeit expected. Fusions were most common among tumors of the basal subtype and least common among tumors of the luminal A subtype.

The analysis showed that 64.5% of patients harboring HCCS fusions had at least one fusion involving a cancer-related gene, as defined by the OncoKB database, suggesting that some of these fusions may be cancer driver mutations. In support of this hypothesis, the most common cancer-related gene involved in fusions was ESR1, encoding the estrogen receptor. Priedigkeit noted that the analysis uncovered both known and novel ESR1 fusions, many of which occurred during or after endocrine therapy and resulted in the loss of binding sites for estrogen receptor inhibitors. The frequency of ESR1 fusions was approximately 5% in estrogen receptor-positive disease.

Further, researchers identified HCCS fusions involving known cancer-driving kinases, some of which have FDA-approved small molecule inhibitors that may provide new treatment strategies for patients with heavily pretreated disease and few remaining options, Priedigkeit said.

"There may be low-frequency fusions-;potentially targetable with drugs we already have-;that we are missing with current testing standards, as they are tricky to pick up with traditional sequencing platforms," Priedigkeit said. "There is a critical need to understand optimal testing strategies so that we don't overlook potentially actionable fusions in breast cancer."

While these results are preliminary, and more research will be necessary to determine if these fusions are driving cancer progression, Priedigkeit and colleagues are exploring innovative strategies using gene therapy techniques to target fusion RNA sequences directly.

"The gene therapy revolution is knocking on our door-;and there are new technologies that allow targeting nucleic acids directly rather than their protein products," Priedigkeit said. "We have made several collaborations to credential some of these new technologies to exploit fusion RNAs, especially given how common they appear to be in metastatic breast cancers."

Limitations of this study include its retrospective nature and its exclusive applicability to patients with heavily pretreated, metastatic breast cancer. Further, the patient cohorts were treated prior to the widespread availability of antibody-drug conjugates, which Priedigkeit noted may alter the prevalence of various fusions.

This study was funded by the Saverin Breast Cancer Research Fund, the Pan-Mass Challenge, the Pan-Mass Challenge Team Duncan, OOFOS Project Pink, the Cross Family Fund for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Shanklin Foundation, the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Priedigkeit declares no conflicts of interest.
DOMS Industries IPO: The initial public offering of DOMS Industries, a pencil-maker and writing instruments company, is going to open for public subscription on December 13. It will conclude on December 15. As per the buzz going on, the offer is going to be a hit. Heres everything you need to know.

The price band of the Rs 1,200-crore IPO has been fixed at Rs 750-790 per share. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of Rs 350 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 850 crore.

The DOMS IPO will likely be on both BSE and NSE on December 20, while the share allotment might be finalised on December 18.

DOMS Industries IPO GMP Today

According to market observers, unlisted shares of DOMS Industries are currently trading Rs 385 higher in the grey market as compared with its issue price. The Rs 385 grey market premium or GMP means the grey market is expecting a 48.73 per cent listing gain from the public issue. The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing.

Grey market premium indicates investors readiness to pay more than the issue price.

DOMS Industries IPO: Should You Subscribe?

Giving a Subscribe-Long Term rating, brokerage firm Anand Rathi in its note said, At the upper price band, company is valuing at P/E of 46x, EV/ Ebitda 15.33x with a market cap of Rs 47,937 million post issue of equity shares and return on net worth of 28.39 per cent.

We believe that valuations of the company is fairly priced and recommend a Subscribe-Long Term rating to the IPO, it added.

DOMS Industries IPO Details: Lot Size, Minimum Investment

The price band of the IPO has been fixed at Rs 750 to Rs 790 per share. For investors, the minimum lot size to apply for the IPO is 18 shares. The minimum amount of investment required by retail investors is Rs 14,220. The minimum lot size investment for NII is 15 lots (270 shares), amounting to Rs 2,13,300, and for NII, it is 71 lots (1,278 shares), amounting to Rs 10,09,620.

The issue will see its Italian partner Fila (Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini), which owns 51 per cent in the firm with an investment of about Rs 300 crore since 2012, selling its stake for about Rs 800 crore.

The promoter family, led by Santosh Rasiklal Raveshia (managing director), Ketan Mansukhlal Rajani (director), Sanjay Mansukhlal Rajani, and Chandni Vijay Somaiya will sell their stake through a mix of OFS and fresh equity worth Rs 400 crore.

After the issue, the promoters will continue to hold 75 per cent and Fila will remain the single-largest shareholder, Managing Director Raveshia said.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) released the certificate of practice (CoP) for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) 17. The council has directed all lawyers to download their certificate of practice within two years of provisional enrollment. Lawyers can obtain the CoP by searching for AIBE in the Google Play Store. To obtain the Bar Council of India certificate, they must first complete the Bar Council of India registration form 2023.

Dear Candidates, we would like to inform you that the Certificate of Practice (COP) for AIBE-XVII is now available in the AIBE application. You can download the application using the link provided below: Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aibe or search for AIBE in the Google Play Store, read the official website. Candidates will have to log in using their roll number and date of birth.

If lawyers find any errors in their name, fathers name, or enrolment number, then they can edit the information online. The application form will direct lawyers to attach supporting documents for the same. Lawyers are advised to attach their enrollment certificate so that the BCI can make the necessary changes.

Furthermore, the corrections must be submitted by Friday, December 15, 2023. This will be the final chance to make changes to the information; after this, no further changes will be permitted by the council. Lawyers can contact the helpdesk if they have any problems.

AIBE 17 (CoP): Check Minimum Qualifying Marks

 For the General and Other Backward Class (OBC) category: 40 per cent of total marks.

 For Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule Tribe (ST), and Person with Disabilities (PWD): 35 per cent of total marks.

On the other hand, the BCI recently issued the AIBE 18 admit card. The admit card is currently available on the official website at allindiabarexamination.com. To download the AIBE 18 hall ticket, candidates will have to visit the registration portal at allindiabarexamination.com. Candidates will also have to log in using their username and password on the main portal to access the admit card.

AIBE 18 Admit Card 2023: Steps To Download

Step 1: Visit the barcouncilofindia.org or allindiabarexamination.com.

Step 2: On the homepage, look for and click on the AIBE XVIII admit card link.

Step 3: Then enter the registration number and other details as asked.

Step 4: The AIBE 18 admit card will appear on the screen.

Step 5: Check and download the hall ticket.

Meanwhile, as per the schedule, the AIBE 18 exam is all set to be conducted on December 10, 2023.
The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has released the answer key for the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) Phase 2 for the year 2023. The BPSC TRE answer key is available for download on the official website, bpsc.bih.nic.in, for candidates who took the test. The BPSC TRE answer key has been made available in PDF format. The answers to the BPSC TRE test for Hindi, English, Science, Math, Social Science, Sanskrit, Urdu, Arabic, Farsi, Bangla, Fine Arts, Dance, Physical Education, Maithali, Music and Computer Teachers were released on December 7 and 8.

Between December 10 and December 12, candidates have the opportunity to submit their objections concerning the BPSC TRE answer key 2023.To file an objection against the BPSC TRE preliminary answer key, candidates must log in to the portal with their registration number and password.

The exams on December 9, 10, 14, 15 and 16 will go on as planned, with all exams starting at 12 pm and concluding at 2:30 pm. Candidates must arrive at the exam centre by 11 am.

BPSC TRE 2.0 Answer Key 2023: How to Check

Candidates can get the TRE answer key by following the steps listed below.

Step 1: Go to the BPSC official website at bpsc.bih.nic.in.

Step 2: On the home page, click the BPSC TRE 2.0 Answer Key 2023 link.

Step 3: A fresh PDF file will appear, allowing applicants to review their answers.

Step 4: Download the BPSC TRE 2.0 Answer Key page and print a copy for future reference.

BPSC will fill 1,21,370 positions of headmasters and teachers statewide through the TRE. The TRE exams are currently underway with around 6,15,337 individuals registered to appear for them. The application window for School Teacher and Headmaster posts began on November 10 and ended on November 25. Candidates can visit the BPSC website to view further pertinent information.

Meanwhile, the Bihar Public Service Commission announced the results of the Assistant Audit Officer (AAO) Main Competitive Examination on December 5. The BSPC administered these exams from November 5 to November 7, 2022, at several examination venues in Patna, Bihar. The examination was passed by 363 applicants in all. Selected candidates will subsequently be invited for the next round of the selection process, which is the personal interview round.
The sombre look of the Congress after the over three-hours long introspection on the Rajasthan election loss may not lead to any drastic change in the party. The state held true to its flip-flop nature of electing the opposition to power every five years, but the Delhi leadership of the Congress feels a win was doable given the BJPs own internal issues in the state.

The bigger issue now, of course, is how the Congress performs in Rajasthan during 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The state has 25 seats in the Lower House, of which the BJP currently holds 24. The remaining is held by the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party.

Following the Congress win in 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections, Ashok Gehlot was made the chief minister much to the heartbreak of Sachin Pilot. Gandhis at the time felt Gehlot could ensure a good performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but the Congress was out for a duck in the state. Even Ashok Gehlots son Vaibhav Gehlot lost from the family turf of Jodhpur.

Since then, ties have soured between Gehlot and Pilot. Matters got worse when Pilots so-called rebellion led to a bitter exchange of words. Despite attempts by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi to broker a truce, it was clear during the campaigning that Gehlot and Pilot had drifted apart to the point of no return.

At one point, wary of the anti-incumbency factor, many MLAs wrote to state unit president Govind Singh Dotasra to ensure that Pilot campaigned for them.

Sources say these points came up at the post-mortem meeting convened by Kharge at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi on Saturday where Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders were also present. Nearly everyone present surmised that sitting MLAs should have been replaced, sources said, adding that some even looked at Gehlot and said: We dont know why this didnt happen.

Insiders say leaders also pointed at the fact that the campaign was one-sided. A source quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying: It seemed all about posters and hoardings. Kharge is also said to have agreed that the campaign seemed person-centric.

There were murmurs of discontent during elections that the campaign was all about Ashok Gehlot and that a small group decided the roster of the campiagn.

Lokesh Sharma, Gehlots former Officer on Special Duty, who has made damning allegations against the outgoing chief minister, had told News18 that no one looked beyond the CM and this cost the party.

At the meeting on Saturday, a complete overhaul was suggested. In the short-run, the main questions that need to be addressed are: who will be the Leader of Opposition and the state unit chief; will Pilot be brought back; and will Gehlot give up control?
COLOMBO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Income generated by tourism in Sri Lanka from January to the end of November reached 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, which is a 78.3 percent hike from the same period in 2022, the latest data by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) revealed.

The revenue earned from tourism increased to 205.3 million dollars in November 2023, which is over twice the revenue in November 2022, according to the latest data.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry told parliament on Thursday that the tourist arrivals will spike in 2024 with more airlines coming into the country.

Sri Lanka welcomed 151,496 international tourists in November, the highest monthly number of visitors it received in 2023, official data showed.

Sri Lanka's cumulative tourist arrivals for the first 11 months of the year stand at 1.27 million, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Tourism is one of Sri Lanka's top foreign revenue generators. In late November, the government waived visa fees for nationals from China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan to boost tourism in the coming season. 
Days after facing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly polls, the Congress party on Friday conducted separate review meetings over its dismal performance in Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, and said that its defeat in the two states at the hands of the BJP was unexpected.

The meeting was chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders were also present in the meeting.

Congress Way Forward

Highlighting the points of the meeting, Congress General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal informed that the state Congress chiefs have been instructed to submit a booth-wise report on the partys performance. We will strengthen our connect with the people and unitedly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to unseat the BJP government, he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

AICC general secretary in-charge for Chhattisgarh Kumari Selja said they are dejected but not demoralised and would together contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and win. Further mentioning that the party will carry out a detailed analysis on the poll results in the states, she added that party has not lost its vote share.

We are disappointed, but not in despair. In the coming times, we will fight the Lok Sabha elections together, she said.

MP in-charge of Congress, Randeep Surjewala, informed that the reasons for the partys defeat in Madhya Pradesh were also discussed in a cordial atmosphere with the party leaders. He noted that the results are disappointing and are not as per the partys expectations.

State Chief to Submit Report over Poll Defeat

During the meeting, the party has also sought a detailed report from state unit chiefs on its poor performance in the recent round of Assembly elections. Notably, the Congress lost its power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The party also failed to oust the saffron camp from Madhya Pradesh as well.

The party is also scheduled to hold a meeting on Saturday to review its losses in Rajasthan.
Chhattisgarh caretaker Chief Minister and Congress veteran leader Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said that the state is eagerly waiting to find out who the next CM would be.

We are eagerly waiting to know who will be the Chief Minister. Just like Kaun Banega Crorepati, similarly this question of Kaun Banega CM is being raised in three states, Baghel said.
When Ram Lalla will be seated at the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhyas brand new Ram Mandir on January 22 next year, ISKCON will be in the holy town to welcome him.

The international body, which is at the forefront of spreading Krishnas teachings across the world, will go on a 41-day-long journey from Indraprastha  as Delhi was originally known  to Ayodhya. The journey starts this Sunday morning (December 10) from Delhis Kailash Colony, where the ISKCON center is located, and will culminate on January 22 next year  the day of the grand opening of the Ram Temple at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During these 41 days, ISKCON will complete a total of 635 kilometres and their mode of transport will be a bullock cart. The idea was to go slow, touching villages and towns where they would spread the teachings of Lord Rama in every household. Not only Indian devotees but those from other nationalities, including Russia and Mauritius, will join in this journey.

The devotees will make a stop every night to organise Sri Ram Katha. They will also sing Bhajans and after the event, distribute prasad to village residents in the name of Lord Ram.

Two key members of Modis Council of Ministers  Meenakshi Lekhi and Ashwini Chaubey  will formally inaugurate the yatra from South Delhi in the presence of a host of sadhus amid chants of Krishna and Ram.

Lord Rama appeared to share with us the best way of living ones life filled with Bhakti (devotion), seva (service) and daya (compassion). To take this message to every household, ISKCON is organising several events. In Ayodhya, from January 20 to February 26, we will serve free lunch to 5,000 pilgrims daily. A Sankirtan will be held on the streets by our Indian and international devotees and free medical camps will be set up for devotees, said Yudhistir Govind Das, ISKCONs India Director of Communication.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Ram Mandir Teerth Khetra shared a short video of stone carvings being installed in one of the ceilings. Work is being completed on a war footing to meet the January 22 deadline when the temple will be inaugurated. The trust said PM Modi will perform Prana Pratishtha of Shri Vigraha of Bhagwan Shri Ramlalla Sarkar in Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir on the said day.

Nearly 2,000 saints, and 5,000-6,000 guests from different walks of life will be attending the inauguration. Recently, Nripendra Misra, the temples construction committee chairperson, and former principal secretary to the prime minister, told News18 that nearly 1.5 lakh people are expected to visit the Ram Temple in the first few days of its inauguration.

In the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, which will take place on January 22, the deity of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum. In addition, another idol, which is presently being carved, and three different sculptures made by a professor at the Banaras University, will also be installed.
As the Income Tax raids in Jharkhand entered day 4 on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party state unit claimed that over Rs 300 crore cash had already been allegedly recovered from various premises linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Kumar Sahu.

The recovery of the unaccounted cash at the Congress leaders house led to a political slugfest in the state with the saffron party demanding answers from Congress, which has always been under scanner due to the corrupt practices of some of its leaders.

Congress, on the other hand, distanced itself from the issue and said the only person who would and should answer about the large seizure during the raids is MP Dhiraj Sahu.

The BJP also claimed that the cash recovered during Income-Tax raids in the state and neighbouring Odisha was meant for horse trading and resort politics in case there was a hung House in Chhattisgarh.

Here are the latest updates on Jharkhand IT Raids:
Around 1,280 million impressions on X (formerly Twitter) and the top search trend in India on Google for three days straight  this is how the hashtag Melodi broke the internet after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted a selfie with PM Narendra Modi on social media earlier this month.

The selfie took the internet by storm with the usage of #Melodi trending far and wide.

On X, #Melodi trended prominently, amassing a staggering 1,280 million impressions worldwide, with around 2.67 lakh posts and mentions. On Instagram, from December 1 to 5, #Melodi achieved the highest interaction count, reaching 6.61 million. In India, Meloni and Melodi stood out as top searched keywords on Google web search from December 1 to December 3.

The camaraderie between the two leaders, as often seen on various international forums, not only indicates the close friendship between them but is also reflective of the turnaround India-Italy relations have seen under PM Modi, government sources told News18.

Diplomatic Turnaround

In 2012, relations between the two nations reached their lowest point, following an incident involving Italian marines and Indian fishermen.

But a diplomatic thaw began in 2017 with the visit of then Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni to India, marking the first such visit in a decade since Prime Minister Prodis visit in 2007.

Further strengthening ties, a virtual bilateral summit was held in 2020 between the Indian Prime Minister and then Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

In 2021, the Indian Prime Ministers visit to Italy marked another milestone, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in over a decade since Manmohan Singhs visit in 2009.

Post-Meloni era, Italy and India relations have witnessed a drastic level of collaboration and confidence, government sources say.

Italy signed an MoU to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and both countries are actively involved in initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Global Biofuel Alliance.

The trade volume between Italy and India has more than doubled in the past two years, reaching a record 15 billion euros by 2022.

There is speculation that Italys decision to step back from Chinas Belt and Road Initiative might be influenced by its burgeoning relationship with India.

The selfie shared by Giorgia Meloni with PM Modi, using the hashtag #Melodi, seems to symbolise a ground-breaking shift in the relationship between the two countries, ushering in an unprecedented era of bilateral ties, government sources say.

The Numbers

The Italian Prime Ministers post featuring this hashtag drew around 45 million views, over 4.5 lakh likes, and nearly 60,000 shares. On X, #Melodi held its position as one of the top trends for a substantial duration.

This bonhomie was noticed not only in India, but the keyword Melodi had the highest search volumes worldwide on Google in Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, and Tanzania.

On Instagram, Giorgia Melonis daily follower base was experiencing a negative trend before her post with the hashtag #Melodi. On November 30, the total number of followers was 2.15 million before her post.

However, by December 5, the total number of her followers increased to 2.30 million, indicating a 7% growth in the follower base in matter of days.
A woman jumped into a lake at Bhiwandi in Maharashtras Thane district in a bid to end life, but was rescued by two fire brigade personnel, an official said on Saturday.

The incident occurred around 9.30 pm on Friday, said Sakib Kharbe, the disaster management officer of the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation.

The woman aged around 40 years jumped into the Varhaladevi lake in Bhiwandi. Some people who noticed it, immediately alerted the local authorities. Two fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and jumped into the water body and rescued her, he said.

The woman was admitted to a hospital, he said, adding that the reason behind her suicide attempt is yet to be known and police were probing the incident.
In a massive crackdown on the banned terror outfit, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 terror operatives during multiple raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka.

NIA teams swept as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra and Karnatakas Bengaluru early this morning, apprehending the 15 accused for promoting terror and terror related acts & activities of the proscribed organisation.

These raids, conducted as part of the national agencys efforts to disrupt the terror outfits attempt of carrying out violent acts, led to the seizure of large amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp-edged weapons, incriminating documents, smart phones and other digital devices.

As per NIA investigations, the accused  operating on the directions of their foreign handlers  had been actively involved in various terrorist activities, including fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), for furthering the violent and destructive agenda of the ISIS.

The investigations further revealed that the accused were members of the ISIS Maharashtra module, operating from Padgha-Borivali, where they hatched the conspiracy to spread terror & violence across India. Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, ISIS etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the nation, in addition to waging a war against the Government of India.

In the recent months, NIA has conducted large-scale raids and busted different ISIS modules by arresting several terror operatives, in relation to the ISIS terror conspiracy case. The agency had registered a case against the ISIS Maharashtra module earlier this year and has, since then, undertaken strong and concerted actions to destroy various modules and networks of the terror outfit.

Just last month, in the Pune ISIS module, the national agency had filed a chargesheet against seven individuals involved in a conspiracy related to the terror organisation. The accused were involved in the collection and raising of funds for the terror outfit with the intention to further its terror and violence-related activities.

ALSO READ | Pune Terror ISIS Module: NIA Files Charge Sheet Against Seven Accused | Exclusive

The accused were found to be organising terrorist training camps, harboring known and wanted terrorists, and committing acts prior to the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). They were also found to be possessing IEDs, firearms and ammunitions.

The charges are under various sections of the UAPA Act, Explosives Substances Act, Arms Act and the Indian Penal Code.

In October, the Delhi Police arrested Islamic State (IS) terrorist, Shahnawaz Alam, wanted by NIA in connection with the Pune ISIS module case.

Alam was arrested just days after NIA announced a reward of Rs 3 lakh on him. Two other suspected terrorists  Arshad Warsi and Mohammad Rizwan  were also arrested in the follow-up action. An engineer by profession, Alam was found to have some chemical substance on him, which was seized, an official said.

In August, the NIA had arrested one Shamil Saquib Nachan in the case and claimed it had seized incriminating material from his residence in Thane district.

Earlier in an alleged conspiracy by ISIS to carry out terror attacks across India, the NIA had filed its first supplementary chargesheet against nine people from Karnataka.

Of the nine, five accused had tech backgrounds and were tasked to take courses in robotics to pick up skills for carrying terror attacks in the future. They were given these talks by the foreign-based ISIS handler, the NIA said.

The nine persons were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Destruction and Loss of Property Act.

ISIS is a global terror organisation, also known as Islamic State (IS) / Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) / Daish / Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) / ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham Khorasan (ISIS-K)). The terror organisation has been spreading its terror network across India by putting localised modules in place.
A mini truck rammed into people standing near a bus stand here, killing three people, including two students, on Saturday, police said.

SP (Rural) Sagar Jain told PTI that the mini truck hit several people at the Nagal bus stand, killing Lucky (17), Noman (20) and another unidentified person.

Both the students were on way to tuition classes, he said, adding police have sent the bodies for postmortem.

Angry over the incident, locals staged a protest alleging that their demand for an underpass or overbridge at the accident-prone site has been ignored for long.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.
A man was hacked to death with an axe allegedly by Naxalites in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, a police official said. The victim, identified as Komal Manjhi, was attacked by unidentified Naxalites when he was returning home after performing rituals at a goddess temple in Chhotedongar village, a senior police official said.

Manjhi was a nephew of a popular vaidyaraj (traditional healer) of Chhotedongar. He and his uncle had received death threats from Naxalites in the past, he said.During last months assembly elections, some people from interior pockets of the district were shifted to Narayanpur headquarter and kept under protection in view of their safety with Manjhi and his uncle being among them, he said.

After the second phase of voting concluded, the duo had returned to their village and refused to avail protection, he said.Soon after being alerted about the incident of attack on Manjhi, a police team was sent to the spot and his body was moved to a government hospital for post-mortem, he said.

A hand-written note purportedly written by Maoists was recovered from the spot, in which they accused Manjhi of acting as agent for Aamdai Ghati iron ore mine and making huge money, the official said.A search operation has been launched in the area to trace the assailants, he added.
As winter approaches and the demand for cough syrups is poised to surge, Indias health regulatory agency has asked drug makers to prioritise producing high-quality products free of contamination, News18 has learnt.

The move comes amid controversies surrounding tainted cough syrups and other medicinal products, which have cast doubt on the safety of Indian-made drugs for several months.

The regulatory body, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), issued an advisory to drug inspectors across India on December 5 to ensure compliance with good manufacturing practices in drug making with a sharp focus on ensuring the quality of raw materials, including active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients.

The advisory signed by CDSCOs chief, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, said drug manufacturers are required to manufacture the drugs adhering strictly to the conditions of manufacturing license and prescribed Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) to ensure that the drugs manufactured for marketing are of quality standards and meets the parameters of quality, safety and efficacy.

News18 has seen the advisory.

While it addresses potential concerns and emphasises compliance, it particularly highlights compliance in the manufacturing of cough syrups and asks manufacturers to use high-quality, pharma-grade raw materials to avoid contamination.

In case of manufacture of cough syrups, various critical excipients like propylene glycol, glycerine, sorbitol etc. are used, it said, adding that the manufacturers are required to ensure that these excipients meet the regulatory standards of quality so as to avoid any contamination in the formulations manufactured by using such excipients.

During winter seasons, there may be an increase in the use of cough syrups in the country.

On October 5, WHO declared that cough syrups manufactured in India might be linked to the deaths of over 60 children in The Gambiaan alarming assertion given Indias status as the pharmacy to the world.

Following the incident, several instances of these contaminants appearing in syrup-based formulations exported from India have led to reported fatalities in Uzbekistan, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and other nations, pushing Indias drug regulatory agency to uncover lapses and increase vigilance.

Source pharma-grade excipients from approved vendors only: DCGI

DCGI concludes the letter by advising the manufacturers to purchase and use only pharma grade excipients from their approved sources or vendors which are of quality standards in accordance with the regulatory requirements under the provisions to ensure quality, safety and efficacy of the drug formulations.

The advisory said it is of paramount importance that formulations are manufactured in compliance with the prescribed standards not only in respect of API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients  which is the main raw material in drug making) but also various excipients used for manufacturing the formulations.

Therefore, the quality, safety and efficacy of both APIs and the excipients are crucial, it said.
BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- On Dec. 6, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a symposium with non-CPC personages at Zhongnanhai in Beijing, and listened to the opinions and suggestions put forward by leaders of the central committees of the other political parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), and personages with no party affiliation, on the economic situation this year and economic work of the next year. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered an important speech. He stressed that 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and will be a crucial year for implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). Under the guidance of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the Second Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. We will balance progress with stability, fully and accurately implement the new development philosophy on all fronts, accelerate the building of a new development paradigm, and effectively promote high-quality development. Efforts are also needed to comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, promote self-reliance and strength in high-level science and technology, and strengthen macro regulation. It is imperative to do a good job both in expanding domestic demand and deepening supply-side structural reform, ensure both new urbanization and rural revitalization across the board, and secure both high-quality development and high-level security. It is important to boost economic vitality, prevent and mitigate risks, improve social expectations, consolidate and promote the momentum of economic recovery, and effectively improve the quality of our economy and promote its growth within a reasonable range. It is important to improve people's well-being, maintain social stability, and make further progress in building China into a strong country and realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization.

Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting. Li Qiang, entrusted by the CPC Central Committee, reported on the relevant situation of this year's economic work and introduced CPC Central Committee's considerations regarding next year's economic work.

Those who took the floor at the symposium include Zheng Jianbang, chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, Ding Zhongli, chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League, Hao Mingjin, chairman of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, Cai Dafeng, chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, He Wei, chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, Jiang Zuojun, chairman of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party, Wu Weihua, chairman of the Central Committee of the Jiusan Society, Su Hui, chairperson of the Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, Gao Yunlong, chairman of the ACFIC, and Liu Weidong, representative of personages without party affiliation. They fully agreed with the CPC Central Committee's analysis and judgment of the current economic situation and its planning and considerations for next year's economic work. They put forward opinions and suggestions on deepening foreign economic and trade cooperation, implementing proactive fiscal policies, building a market environment for fair competition, and expanding effective investment. Their suggestions and opinions are also about promoting the development of new materials industry, accelerating the transformation and upgrading of consumption, promoting the commercialization of research findings, deepening cross-Strait integrated development, improving the internationalized business environment, and advancing the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

After listening to their speeches, Xi delivered an important address. Noting that everyone has affirmed the achievements of this year's economic work and put forward a lot of good suggestions for next year's economic work, Xi said the CPC Central Committee will carefully study and absorb their views.

Xi pointed out that this year marks the first year to implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and is the year of economic recovery after three years of COVID-19 prevention and control. China's development is facing a complex situation, with more unfavorable factors in the international political and economic environment and a combination of cyclical and structural problems at home. The CPC Central Committee has united and led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in rising up to challenges, adhering to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, intensifying macro-control, expanding domestic demand, adjusting the structure, boosting confidence, and preventing and defusing risks. As a result, China's economy is picking up steam and solid progress has been made in high-quality development and building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Xi said that since the beginning of this year, other political parties, the ACFIC and personages without party affiliation, focusing on high-quality development as the primary task and forging a new development paradigm as the strategic mission, conducted in-depth fact-finding missions on major issues such as how to promote the upgrading of key industrial chains in the manufacturing sector, develop a system for new energy sources, and protect the Yangtze River's ecological environment. They have delivered all sorts of reports about their missions, and put forward opinions and suggestions to the CPC Central Committee, providing the CPC Central Committee with important information for making sound decisions. Xi, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, expressed sincere appreciation to all of the participants.

Xi proposed three hopes to the other political parties, the ACFIC and personages without party affiliation. First, they should strengthen their political awareness and align their thinking and actions with the policies and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee on economic work. The performance and achievements in economic work over the past year have verified the CPC Central Committee's assessment of the situation and the decisions it made thereof. With the recovery of the country's economy still at a critical stage, it is hoped that everyone will continue to study and implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and give full play to the strengths of our country's new type of socialist political party system. Xi also expressed the hope that the other political parties, the ACFIC and personages without party affiliation will continue to raise their political awareness of serving the central work of the Party and the country, guide all their members and those they have connection with to think and act in unity in implementing the CPC Central Committee's major decisions and plans regarding economic work. Second, they should have more confidence in development, and do a good job in resolving doubts and building broad consensus. They should deepen the study program of "Enhancing Cohesion and Forging the Party's Soul to Strive in Solidarity on Our New Journey," and consolidate what has been achieved in the study to further reinforce the common ideological and political foundation for the joint endeavor in striving forward. Third, they should put forward more suggestions and proposals on promoting high-quality development. To leverage the distinctive features of their own sectors, they should focus on accelerating the building of a modern industrial system, expanding domestic demand and preventing and defusing risks. It is critical for them to facilitate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, strengthen the efforts on ensuring people's well-being, and further conduct fact-finding missions to make contribution to the CPC and country's sound decision-making. Xi expressed the hope that the central committees of all other political parties and personages without party affiliation will strengthen democratic oversight over the protection of the ecological environment along the Yangtze River, and assist in the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The ACFIC should continue to disseminate the CPC Central Committee's major policy that it will always unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector, and unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the non-public sector, and that the Party will facilitate the healthy development of the non-public sector and those working in it. The ACFIC should work with relevant departments to effectively implement policies for promoting the development and growth of private enterprises, and support them in playing a greater role in promoting high-quality development.

Present at the meeting were Shi Taifeng, Liu Guozhong, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing, and Wu Zhenglong, and leading officials from the relevant central Party and government departments.

Also present at the meeting were non-CPC personages including Shao Hong, He Baoxiang, Wang Guangqian, Qin Boyong, Zhu Yongxin, Yang Zhen, Zhang Endi, Li Yuefeng, An Lijia, and Zhang Bin. 
Madagascar periwinkle pink plant, commonly regarded for its aesthetic appeal, holds remarkable medicinal properties that often go unnoticed due to a lack of awareness. People often cultivate it for its beauty, not realizing its potential as a beneficial and life-saving herb. Despite its visual charm, this evergreen medicinal plant contributes significantly to promoting a healthy human life.

The Madagascar periwinkle pink plant has demonstrated remarkable success in eradicating serious diseases at its core. Prof. Dr R.V.N Pandey, the manager of Shanti Ayurvedic Medical College, suggested its exceptional medicinal properties. This versatile medicine is employed in various ways to address a spectrum of serious illnesses. Its crucial to consult a doctor for proper usage, given its significance in treating conditions ranging from diabetes to cancer.

Dr. Pandey underscores the special significance of herbal medicines in the Ayurvedic system, emphasizing the effectiveness and importance of evergreen. In Ayurveda, both its leaves and flowers hold therapeutic value, proving beneficial in addressing various serious health issues. Madagascar periwinkle pink leaves serve as a remedy for conditions such as diabetes and are also highly effective in managing throat infections, blood pressure, cancer, and skin-related problems.

Consuming ten leaves of Madagascar periwinkle pink daily helps to maintain control over diabetes and blood pressure. Both its flowers and leaves are valuable. Its juice is extracted for medicinal use. Chewing the leaves provides significant relief, contributing to the overall well-being of individuals. Referred to as evergreen, this remarkable plant is available at Shanti Ayurvedic Medical College in Bansdih Road, where it is provided free of cost to needy patients, aiming to enhance awareness about Ayurveda among the public.

This medicine comes with its own set of side effects, and excessive consumption can be harmful. The lack of awareness about the correct dosage may lead to adverse effects rather than benefits. Only Ayurveda doctors possess the knowledge to prescribe the appropriate use of these herbs based on factors like age, body constitution, and specific health conditions. It is crucial to avoid using these herbs without consulting a doctor to ensure safe and effective utilization.

Excessive consumption of this medicine can lead to various issues. Problems such as nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, potential impacts on kidney and liver functions, and imbalances in blood pressure may arise due to improper handling. It underscores the importance of seeking guidance from Ayurveda doctors to ensure the safe and appropriate use of the medicine, minimizing the risk of these potential problems.
Research indicates that women in the United States can anticipate living almost six years longer than men, marking the widest life expectancy gap in decades. Disparities in deaths from COVID-19 and drug overdoses contribute to this gap, as revealed by a study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published on November 13, 2023, in JAMA Internal Medicine. The authors note a life expectancy difference of 5.8 years in 2021, the largest in the US since 1996, compared to 4.8 years in 2010, the narrowest gap in recent years.

The pandemic played a pivotal role in the widening gap between 2019 and 2021, with a disproportionate toll on men. Unintentional injuries and poisonings, primarily attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, and suicide, further contributed to the widening gender disparity. Bradon Yan, the studys first author and a UCSF internal medicine resident physician, emphasized that while both genders experienced rising death rates from drug overdoses and homicides, men represented an increasingly disproportionate share of these fatalities.

Utilising data from the National Center for Health Statistics nationwide, the researchers identified causes of death significantly impacting life expectancy. Pre-pandemic, deaths were primarily attributed to unintentional injuries, diabetes, suicide, homicide, and heart disease. However, during the pandemic, men were more likely to succumb to the virus due to various factors such as disparities in health behaviours, social factors, work-related exposure risks, housing instability, incarceration, and reluctance to seek timely medical attention.

Yan expressed concern about the widening gap and suggested that the studys findings prompt consideration of developing more specialized care, particularly in mental health, to address the increasing disparity in life expectancy between men and women. Co-author Howard Koh, a professor at Harvard Chan School, emphasized the need to examine whether these trends changed post-2021.

In 2021, womens life expectancy was 79.3 years compared to 73.5 years for men. However, the studys limitation includes a binary classification of gender and, a lack of exploration of overlap across diseases and various demographic subgroups.

The results show the urgency of addressing the multifaceted factors contributing to the widening gender gap in life expectancy, with potential implications for healthcare policies and targeted interventions.
Actor Nakuul Mehta took to his X handle on Saturday to pay tribute to veteran actor Junior Mehmood, who passed away on Friday while battling with stage four cancer. Nakuul shared the screen with Junion Mehmood in his show Pyaar Ka Dard Hai. Recalling the days he worked with the veteran actor, Nakuul called him the greatest inspiration and a wonderful comic talent. He also revealed that he used to call Mehmood Junior Sir, while the late actor used to address him as Adi Baba. Nakuuls name in Pyaar Ka Dard Hai was Aditya.

Whilst the set has a mix of some experienced and distinguished actors and then there were absolute newcomers.. In between all of them was one man with a cumulative experience of all of us. He served the arts for 55 years before he passed on yesterday but never for a moment made you believe or feel that he came from years of work, having worked with some of the greatest and being an inspiration himself to some wonderful comic talent which subsequently found their home in our industry, Nakuul wrote.

I had the great fortune of sharing sets with Junior Mehmood Saab in my very first television outing. I vividly recall filming our first shot together for the pilot and in time he set the tone for our relationship by fondly calling me Adi Baba on and off sets and I loving pic.twitter.com/PaK7f5DJIf Nakuul Mehta (@NakuulMehta) December 9, 2023

The former Bade Achhe Lagta Hain actor further shared that Junion Mehmood was always encouraging, very considerate of his co-stars. He was that actor and person on and off set who would never command attention but you take him off the show and something would not feel right. He was that invisible glue who would hold the show together and rarely got credit that he in all fairness deserved. Knowing him, hed be happy just to be on a set, living his childhood dream, Nakuul added.

Thank you for your kindness and that always encouraging smile. Being on a set with you made me so much better. Thank you for the memories, Junior Sir, the actor concluded.

Meanwhile, Junior Mehmoods last rites were also held on Friday in Mumbai. Several actors including Johnny Lever, Rakesh Bedi, Aditya Pancholi, Sudesh Bhosale, Avtar Gill and Raza Murad paid their tributes to the veteran actor.
Following the massive success of Animal, Rashmika Mandanna is now all set to begin shooting for her most-awaited movie, Pushpa 2: The Rule. It has now been revealed that the actress will begin the Pushpa 2 shoot schedule on December 13 in Hyderabad.

Rashmika Mandanna is extremely happy with the love and praise she is receiving for the film Animal. Immediately after the massive success of Animal, Rashmika will begin the shoot for the highly ambitious and blockbuster franchise Pushpa 2: The Rule on December 13th in Hyderabad. The actress will be reprising her iconic role of Srivali in the film starring Allu Arjun, an independent industry source said.

This comes days after a report by Hindustan Times claimed that the shooting of Pushpa 2 was postponed for two weeks due to severe pain in Allu Arjuns back. Allu Arjun was in the jatara get-up to shoot for a song and a fight sequence. However, the costume and the vigorous scenes gave him severe back pain. Bunny was game to continue shooting despite it but Sukumar decided to take a break instead of affecting his health further, a source cited by the news portal said and then added, Shooting will pick up again once he recuperates.

Written and directed by Sukumar, Pushpa: The Rise was released in 2021 and turned out to be a blockbuster movie. The action drama dealt with red sandalwood smuggling. Allu Arjun recently won the Best Actor National Award for her performance in the movie.

Earlier this year, Allu Arjun shared his first-look poster of Pushpa 2 in which he was seen dressed in a saree with his face painted in shades of blue and red. He also sported bangles, jewellery, a nose pin and jhumkas. Later, the look poster of Fahadh Faasil from the movie was also released. Fans are now waiting for Rashmika Mandannas look poster.

It was earlier said that Pushpa 2: The Rule is likely to hit theatres in December 2023. However, it was recently announced that Pushpa 2 will be released on August 15, 2024.
In this digital era, where the spotlight often shines brightest, celebrities are finding ways to maintain a sense of privacy and authenticity. One such revelation came recently from Agastya Nandas side. He made his debut in Zoya Akhtars directorial venture, The Archies and is known for his low-key presence on social media. The star kid disclosed that he uses a finsta handle, according to a report by Pinkvilla. The term finsta is derived from fake Instagram, it refers to a private, secondary account where individuals can share content with a more select audience. Reflecting on this, here are the 5 Bollywood celebrities who have a secret fake Instagram account.

1. Agastya Nanda

In a recent chat with NDTV, Agastya Nanda talked about his experience with social media. He mentioned that having a regular social media account was stressful for him. He felt pressured when deciding what to post, choosing filters, finding the right angles for photos, and even focusing on his jaw line. He shared that when he posted a collage, he lost followers, so now he avoids using that account.

Agastya also talked about the aftermath of his significant Instagram reveal. He mentioned that many news articles suggested it was a failure, and his family even forwarded those articles to him. Agastya then admitted that he has a fake account, but he only uses it to browse through reels. He made it clear that he doesnt like posting on it because it brings a lot of stress.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Navya Naveli Nanda (@navyananda)

2. Ranbir Kapoor

During an interaction with ETimes, Ranbir Kapoor was questioned about joining social media. He shared that he is on social media, but not officially, which means people cant follow him. The actor explained, Yes, I am on social media, but not officially in a way that people can follow me and stuff. Previously, Ranbir mentioned having an anonymous Instagram account with no followers or posts. Though he thought about making it public, the Animal actor now feels hes doing fine without social media.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt (@aliaabhatt)

3. Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan shared that he has an Instagram account named after one of his movie characters. He revealed this on Arbaaz Khans talk show, Pinch. When asked why he created the account, Saif explained that you need an account to use Instagram. So, he named one of his accounts after Shakun Kothari, a character from the movie Baazaar. You need to create an account to follow Instagram. I named my one account after Shakun Kothari, a character I played in Baazaar, the Pataudi actor said.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kareena Kapoor Khan (@kareenakapoorkhan)

4. Sara Ali Khan

In a chat with Film Companion, Sara Ali Khan shared that, apart from her official Instagram, she also has a secret one. She uses a fake name on Twitter because, just like anyone else, she enjoys checking out what people are up to. Sara also has a fake Instagram account where she likes posts without revealing her identity. This way, she can avoid liking random things on her main account, as people might take screenshots of her activity, and she doesnt always want others to know what she likes.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sara Ali Khan (@saraalikhan95)

5. Janhvi Kapoor

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor)

During a fun game on the Koffee With Karan show, Janhvi Kapoor spilled the beans about having a private Instagram account. She uses this fake account to share pictures and videos with her close friends and family. When asked about its name during the show, she accidentally revealed it as bholi si surat. Realizing her mistake, she tried to correct it, saying it was just a joke and the real name was My Bum Itches. However, the slip-up was noticed, especially by her brother Arjun Kapoor, who follows the account, which even has a childhood photo of Janhvi as its display picture.
Tanushree Podder is a renowned Indian author, who has written across genres including history, mystery, military, crime and the paranormal. Her diverse list of books includes Boots Belts Berets, A Closetful of Skeletons, Solo in Singapore, Escape from Harem, Nurjahans Daughter, No Margin for Error etc.

Despite not being a historian, Podder skillfully navigates historical realms and eras with her stories and characters, unveiling a world often forgotten in the modern imagination. She is back with her 18th novel, titled Thorns in the Crown.

The book is a captivating historical fiction that unfolds against the backdrop of Indias quest for independence from British rule. The storyline unfolds across four significant epochs in global history, mirroring the complete trajectory of Indias pursuit of national independence. Navigating through the lives of three individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, the book delves into the events that shaped the tumultuous times of revolution and societal transformation.

Three of Podders books, Boots Belts Berets, A Closetful of Skeletons, and The Girls in Green, are also being adapted into a web series.

In an interview, Podder spoke about the research involved in writing historical fiction and her approach to the genre and more

Edited excerpts from the interview:

The books title is intriguing. What inspired your choice of this particular title for the book?

I am very particular about titles, and I spend a lot of time thinking about the right title. Thorns in the Crown includes the word crown which symbolises the British Raj and the thorns symbolise those who oppose it in a violent, revolutionary manner.

You have written many fiction and non-fiction books. As a writer, which do you enjoy more?

I am an impulsive writer. I write about subjects that make me curious and throw up a challenge or one that makes me feel strongly about. Its very satisfying to write on a subject that resonates with my emotions at a particular time.

While many authors tend to stick to a specific genre, you have ventured into different ones. Thorns in the Crown is a historical fiction, and youve also written thrillers. Is it challenging to transition from one genre to another?

It is challenging but I enjoy switching from one genre to another. Writing exclusively in one genre tends to become monotonous and lacks novelty. Exploring diverse genres allows me to encounter new perspectives and immerse myself in fresh ideas, keeping the creative process vibrant and engaging. Besides, I learned a lot while researching various genres.

Thorns in the Crown presents an immense amount of detailed research. Could you share insights into your research process for elements such as the British rule, historical events, and the characters portrayed? And how long did it take to write the book?

My research started in 2001 when I visited the Cellular Jail. I decided to write a book wherein the freedom fighters were imprisoned in the Cellular Jail. I was not satisfied with the way the book was shaping up, so I underwent numerous cycles of writing and rewriting to refine both the characters and the narrative. The amount of research was extensive, as I had to get the facts right. Because that is very important. One day, I decided enough is enough and that it needed to be done. That is when I sat down and finished the book. So what you have now is my hard work of 22 years.

What was your biggest hurdle in writing Thorns in the Crown?

The most significant obstacle I faced was navigating my emotions. Given my family background of freedom revolutionaries with my grandmother and aunt as freedom fighters and my husband as a retired army officer the topic held immense personal significance. I wanted to narrate the tale of those unheard prisoners who made immense sacrifices for our countrys freedom. While many authors delve into the lives of prominent freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose etc, there are very few books exploring this part of the freedom struggle.

However, I made a conscious decision to detach myself from these emotions and approach the storytelling with the necessary objectivity.

Numerous significant events unfolded in the country during that period, some of them quite harrowing. It must have posed a challenge to incorporate all these events into a single book. Can you shed light on how that process unfolded for you?

The manuscript initially stretched to 500-600 pages. So, I had to sift through the material, cut it down in half, write, and rewrite because there are certain limitations when youre writing a book. I wrote a sequel to one of my books because it was so long.

So do we see a sequel coming out?

No, I havent thought about it yet.

Coming to the characters, I felt Olivia was the best character among the three, her inner turmoil was described very well. Which character(s) in this book really spoke to you?

Indraneels character resonated with me on a personal level as I come from an army family. Hailing from a humble background of patriots, he aspires to liberate India from British rule. Engaging in activism, he takes up arms, leading to a life on the run, imprisonment, and torture in the Cellular Jail. His experiences of adventure and suffering profoundly alter him. Later in life, he joins a political party, which offers him the opportunity to reinvent himself. Indraneel, the revolutionary, transforms into Indraneel, the self-serving politician.

During your research, did you come across any events or instances that you found too disturbing or horrifying to include in your book?

No, not particularly. Indraneels experience with Subash Chandra Boses Indian National Army was not the kind he expected. He witnessed the Indian soldiers of INA being discriminated against and abused by the Japanese soldiers in Burma. I thought it was a little controversial, but then I found out it is a historical fact and so I decided to include it because readers deserve to know the facts.

You worked in the corporate sector for eight long years and took to writing later in life. How did you stumble upon writing as a career choice?

Ive always been a writer. I used to write part-time when I was in the corporate sector. However, I became a full-time writer after I got married because that is when I got the time to explore new things and places. Initially, I began as a freelance writer, crafting stories for diverse publications. Over time, I evolved into an author, initially focusing on non-fiction and later making the shift to fiction.

Whats next for you? What are you working on now?

Two books are coming out next year. Both are for young adults and are non-fiction. One is on the Army and the other is an inspirational book for younger adults, which Harper Collins will be publishing.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
The BJPs sweeping electoral victory in three states  Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan  speaks of the politics of good governance and development. Development is the secret of these electoral successes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi categorically stated, while thanking the people for such a heartening victory, the clarity of vision and determination that dwell upon development. The concepts of caste census, the Sanatana Dharma jibe and freebie promotions that the Opposition thought would make a difference failed so miserably. The people of this country are unwavering in terms of making the right assessments while exercising their political rights.

In Madhya Pradesh, the factor of anti-incumbency was expected to dent BJPs electoral aspirations. But, contrary to the general perception, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, through his consistently effective governance and implementation of the state and Central schemes, converted anti-incumbency to pro-incumbency. This explains that the determinacy of development defies change. Change for the sake of change is unnecessary. The development keeps a leader relevant in politics. Shivraj Singh Chouhan didnt derail from this model, which ensured such a great victory for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

The story of Chhattisgarh is exceptional and the BJP has done exceptionally well. Its political horizon has expanded by leaps and bounds. The tribal trust in the BJP has been incredible. The tribal population of Chhattisgarh found in BJP a scope for difference through development. Poverty and backwardness will not take people a long way. A sense of fatigue from failed promises and forever revolution has taught people in a hard way the necessity of living in peace. What one needs at the end of the day is family and workable peace. The romanticism of anarchy will not guarantee justice. Employment and development will empower people to imagine a different future. The people of Chhattisgarh found PM Modi a catalyst of difference. He does not just make promises. He delivers. This commitment and concomitance of promise and action embody Modis USP.

In Rajasthan, the Congress governance model was deplorable and characterised by chaos, corruption and infighting. Appeasement politics was its speciality. The Modi model, on the contrary, presented a governance of development and welfare of all. The difference between welfarism and freebies is that the former is the duty of the state to bring about socio-economic equity and contract the gap between the rich and the poor, and the latter is the impossible promises to deceive voters, forgotten altogether once voted into power. Freebies are mere election tactics and extremely difficult to deliver in the post-election scenario.

Modis choice of welfarism is an incremental process and effective one. It reaches the people and makes a difference on the ground. This has been the most successful model and has given the BJP the desired dividend. Moreover, there is a perception that has been built that Modi is a reliable politician, known for his words and actions. Delivery of welfarism to the last mile is his strength. This makes Modi an invincible leader. The word defeat is not found in the Modi lexicon. He has earned this through his selfless service and unwavering love for this country.

People have gradually realised that with Modi, India is invincible and has a great future. This confident victory articulates a sense of optimism and positivity for the 2024 general elections. The indications are quite clear and require no equivocation. PM Modi does not fight for power or any political purposes. He fights for development in the country with everyone on board, irrespective of any affiliation people have. This ensures his political philosophy sabka saath. He is with everyone and his political vision is holistic. This is the new Bharat, which waited for centuries, fighting all antithetical forces to register its emergence.

The Opposition find themselves completely clueless as to what they ought to invent to checkmate the Modi juggernaut. In the absence of finding any secure ground, they oppose everything that Modi does lock, stock and barrel. They have lost their moral compass and political logic. Attacks on his personal life, caste affiliation, and so on have acquired consistency from the Opposition quarters. The Modi hatred has blinded them to such a degree that they express their antagonism against the Sanatana Dharma and Bharat.

The people of Bharat take note of these attitudes and have lost faith in the Opposition. An expression of this deficit of trust is very much seen through these electoral results. Therefore, Modis relevance in Indian politics is unchallenged because of the dyad  good governance and development.

Dr Chandan K Panda is an Assistant Professor at Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
India cannot be understood without an equation with its traditional name of Bharat. India is a much older civilisation than Europe and has maintained its continuity uniquely over the millennia. The term Bharat brings that ancient history to mind and its cultural identity as Bharatiya Samskriti, a vast dharmic civilisation with its own unique voice and global influence.

India that is Bharat, which occurs in the beginning of Indias Constitution, highlights the need for a civilisational revival that was an integral part of Indias Independence movement, not just creating another modern nation-state.

Similarly, Hinduism cannot be understood without its equation with Sanatana Dharma, meaning the universal, eternal and perpetual Dharma. Sanatana Dharma shows the need to understand the dharmic traditions of Bharat in their own right and according to their own terminology: a profound spiritual, religious, philosophical, scientific, artistic and cultural tradition, with numerous great rishis, yogis and gurus, deity forms and temples, all reflecting a pursuit of higher consciousness and Self-realisation. We should equate Hinduism, Hindu Dharma and Sanatana Dharma, not simply by name but by meaning and implications.

It is great to see Indias politicians today using the term Bharat, or India/Bharat for their identification at diplomatic programs. It is an essential part of decolonization and calls for a reexamination of the global identity of India and what it represents as a civilisation. Similarly, it is important to identify Hinduism as Sanatana Dharma.

Sanatana Dharma refers to the term dharma in a generic way, embracing dharma in all its names, actions, vision and wisdom. Hindu Dharma is known for its many sects and sampradayas, whether Shaivite, Vaishnava, Shakta, Ganapata and Saura such as Adi Shankara recognised long ago, and as Vedic, Itihasa/Purana and Tantra with many modern movements as well. These diverse Hindu teachings are all expressions of a unitary Sanatana Dharma.

Vedic sciences like Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedanta, Jyotish and Vastu that are spreading worldwide reflect the Sanatana Dharma vision of universal consciousness at the foundation of Hinduism. Hindu art and culture with its music, dance, festivals and customs express the vibrant Sanatana way of life, embodied in its magnificent temples, their mystical designs and ornate sculptures.

Bharat and Sanatana Dharma

We must also note that Bharat cannot be understood without its inherent connection with Sanatana Dharma, as Bharat always viewed itself as a dharmic civilisation. Yet this does not mean that by using the terms Bharat and Sanatana Dharma, one will be creating a limited religious state. It will be acknowledging Indias dharmic civilisation and its experiential search for universal truth and consciousness, as in Yoga and Vedanta.

Let us, therefore, remember Bharat as the inner reality behind what is called India, and Sanatana Dharma as the essence of what people refer to as Hinduism. Sanatana Dharma highlights Hindu Dharma as embracing all humanity and all living beings, rooted in the Earth and nature, not any dogma. It has the vision of the world as one family, and the universe, both animate and inanimate as part of ones own Self, with the Divine not apart from us.

I am not saying we should give up the terms Hinduism or Hindu Dharma but recognise Sanatana Dharma as its foundation. Even the word India we cannot give up, given its global usage, but can equate it with its Bharatiya essence for greater clarity and understanding.

Sanatana Dharma and the 2024 Election

Sadly, we still see an equation of Hinduism/Sanatana Dharma in a negative light at a political level with new assertions of the same old prejudices. This is most glaring in anti-Hindu anti-Sanatana Dharma state governments like the communists in Kerala and DMK in Tamil Nadu who are trying to discredit and eradicate it for their own personal advantage. Meanwhile, Indias Congress party today, their ally, remains silent in the face of these virulent attacks, though it still claims to be Hindu when convenient, but lacks any conviction to express or defend Sanatana Dharma from such denigration.

We must remember that Sanatana Dharma is the ancient basis of Kerala and Tamil cultures, honouring Vedic knowledge and sustaining numerous monumental Hindu temples. Sanatana Dharma was the original basis of Indias Independence movement inspired by the Bhagavad Gita, and there can be no real Congress party apart from it.

Such political parties that oppose this dharmic heritage should be rejected in the upcoming national election. If they have no place for Bharat or Sanatana Dharma in what they respect or represent, what country, culture or civilisation can they claim to uphold or be part of?

Let us honour the India that is Bharat and the Hinduism that is Sanatana Dharma and we will understand the greatness of both.

The writer is the director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies and the author of more than 30 books on yoga and Vedic traditions. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Dhiraj Prasad Sahu has a vision of creating a prosperous and inclusive society, where all citizens have equal opportunities to succeed. Or so says a rather ironical line in the profile of Sahu on his website. Over the past four days, Income Tax authorities have found nearly Rs 300 crore in cash from premises belonging to Sahu, who has been a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha for the last 14 years.

Sahu is the quintessential Congress politician who has come up the ladder since being associated with the NSUI at Ranchi University in 1978 and being part of the district Congress committees. How much the party values him shows in the fact that when he lost his maiden Lok Sabha election in May 2009 from the Chatra seat in Jharkhand, the party was nevertheless quick to bring him to Parliament. A month later in June 2009, he was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP by the Congress.

He was elected to the Upper House two more times and is presently in his third term since 2018. While he was in the Rajya Sabha, Congress again gave Sahu a Lok Sabha ticket from Chatra in 2014, but he lost badly by polling little over 16% votes and barely saved his deposit. So while Sahu from Lohardaga in Jharkhand may have never won a Lok Sabha or Assembly election for the Congress, he has been the partys trusted face in the Rajya Sabha.

BJP in Attack Mode

Prime Minister Narendra Modis tweet on Friday, highlighting a newspaper report, has brought the I-T seizures from Sahu into the national spotlight. The BJP has been quick to seize the issue by putting out pictures of Sahus closeness with Rahul Gandhi. Various BJP state presidents have held press conferences across the country to highlight the issue and project Congress as a corrupt party. The BJP has also held a press conference in Delhi.

BJP Jharkhand chief Babulal Marandi has alleged that the seized cash belongs to the top Congress leadership and ED should probe. Sahu has maintained a studied silence for the last four days, especially after his affidavit to Parliament had only declared cash worth Rs 27 lakh in his familys possession and bank balance of about Rs 8.59 crore. Some in the Congress in Jharkhand say the Sahu Group runs several businesses and that he will explain the cash recovery to the authorities as per the course of the law.

Sahu, on his website, says he belongs to a family which has been associated with the Congress party since Independence. Sahu strives to create an environment where the states rich natural resources are used sustainably to benefit all citizens, his website says. Such claims are coming back to pinch Sahu now. His close association with the Congress leadership is costing the party too.
The High Court of Karnataka has issued notice to MLA Kaneez Fatima in a case challenging her election on grounds that she had given false information about her wealth in the election affidavit.

Representing Congress, Fatima was elected MLA from the Gulbarga Uttar Constituency in the assembly polls held in May this year.

A single judge bench of Justice CM Poonacha, which heard the petition on Friday, issued the notice and adjourned the hearing by four weeks allowing the respondent to file her objections.

The petitioner, A S Sharanabasappa, had contested the election for the same seat on a JD(U) ticket and lost.

Due to improper acceptance of the nomination of Respondent No.1 (Fatima) the result of the election in so far as it concerns respondent No.1 has been materially affected, since the Respondent No.1 intentionally concealed and failed to disclose material facts regarding assets and liabilities, the petition alleged. The petition claimed that Fatima had not disclosed her bank account details maintained by the SBI Station Branch.

It also alleged that she did not disclose her one-third ownership of a house and another property in Bengaluru which, as per claims in 2018, was valued at Rs.9.21 crore, but was now shown to be worth only 9.3 crore.

The petition also said that Fatima had claimed immovable property valued at Rs.14.5 crore in 2018 but after five years its value stood at only Rs.14.64 crore, which is also not acceptable. Among other things, the petition alleged that the E-stamp paper in which the affidavit is filed by Fatima does not mention the name of the second party, and therefore it was illegal.
People visit a photo exhibition showcasing the friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and Arab countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

The strategic partnership between China and Arab countries would provide a more expansive space to move, a greater ability to form a balanced foreign policy, and larger and more vibrant markets at the global level, said an Arab official.

CAIRO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Arab-Chinese cooperation remains vast, with both sides implementing more than 200 mega-cooperation projects in various fields, including energy and infrastructure, an Arab official has said.

"The two sides are also jointly implementing the Belt and Road action plan for technological innovation within the framework of the China-Arab technology partnership to fully benefit from China's technological advantages," Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Maliki, assistant secretary-general of the Arab League for Economic Affairs, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

In fifth-generation communications (5G), Chinese companies have become pivotal partners for several Arab countries, said Al-Maliki, noting many projects are being implemented between the Arab and Chinese private sectors.

Prioritizing joint projects is essential for Arab and Chinese collaboration, particularly in the infrastructure and technology sectors of Arab countries. This includes the development of new seaports and increased cooperation in high-tech areas such as 5G networks, AI, space, peaceful nuclear technology, renewable energy and e-commerce, he said.

The official from the Arab League stressed that land degradation is a significant environmental issue for both Arab nations and China. Both sides expressed a mutual interest in forming a partnership to carry out studies and research and collaborate on projects in the near future. The ultimate goal of these endeavors is to benefit not only Arab countries but also China.

The China-Arab International Research Center for Drought, Desertification, and Land Degradation has significantly addressed land degradation concerns, according to Al-Maliki. He noted that the research center has provided scientific and technical support since its establishment.

"The center contributes significantly to achieving the goals of food and water security, as they are one of the most important national and strategic security priorities for the Arab countries ... Arab countries are counting on the Chinese side in this field," he added.

Regarding cooperation in space and satellite technology, Al-Maliki mentioned the China-Arab States BeiDou Navigation Satellite System Cooperation Forum as significant for facilitating collaboration.

"According to the signed cooperation action plan, China and the Arab countries are jointly implementing pilot projects in the key areas of Beidou and the Global Navigation Satellite System," Al-Maliki revealed.

According to the Arab official, the China-Arab States Summit held in December last year created vast opportunities for strategic cooperation between the two parties. This allowed for more flexibility and boosted Arab-Chinese relations, specifically regarding economic, investment and trade matters.

He pointed out that the strategic partnership between China and Arab countries would provide a more expansive space to move, a greater ability to form a balanced foreign policy, and larger and more vibrant markets at the global level.

"The adoption by China and Arab countries during their first summit of the concept of an 'Arab-China community with a shared future' added a new trend towards an Arab-Chinese partnership," Al-Maliki said.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday refused reports that she had signed a document related to the declaration of the Palestinian group Hamas as a terrorist organisation in India.

Lekhis response came after a document about a reply to a Parliament question available on the Lok Sabha website surfaced on the internet.

The said document, titled Declaration of Hamas as Terrorist Organisation, was put up by Congress MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran asking whether the Central government has any proposal to declare Hamas as a terrorist organisation in India and if Israel has raised any such demand before India.

I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer, Lekhi said in an X(formerly Twitter) post.

You have been misinformed as I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer @DrSJaishankar @PMOIndia https://t.co/4xUWjROeNH Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) December 8, 2023

Inquiry will reveal the culprit, Lekhi further said.

In response to Lekhis post, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said if the BJP leader is claiming it is a forged response, it is a serious breach and violation of the rules that prevail. Would be grateful for a clarification from @MEAIndia.

Asking questions that were submitted through someone else led to the expulsion of an MP yesterday, today a minister denies that reply to a PQ (Parliament Question) was approved by her, shouldnt that be investigated too? Shouldnt it lead to seeking accountability, however innocuous the response from the Ministry of External Affairs, Chaturvedi said.
Another storm has erupted in Karnataka as state minister Priyank Kharge said if he were given a chance, he would remove Savarkars portrait from the Assembly Hall in Belagavis Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.

I do not agree with those principles and ideologies where equality never existed. I will not agree with the ideologies which led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhi-ji, Priyank Kharge said, adding that his allegiance lies with the Constitution and he would request the Speaker to remove the portrait immediately as it has no relevance to Karnataka.

Savarkar Portrait in Karnataka Assembly

The previous BJP government in Karnataka stirred up a controversy around the same time during the Winter Session of the Karnataka assembly with the unveiling of controversial Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkars portrait alongside Swami Vivekananda, Subhas Chandra Bose, BR Ambedkar, Basaveshwara, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

In response, the Congress demanded the inclusion of portraits of other historical figures like Maharishi Valmiki, Kanakadasa, Shishunala Sharifa, Babu Jagjeevan Ram, and Kuvempu.

Savarkar and His Belagavi Connection

Belagavi, the epicentre of the border row between the state and Maharashtra, holds a special place in the Savarkar saga. It was the site of his preventive detention at the Hindalga Jail in 1950 to stop him from protesting the arrival of then Pakistan prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan in New Delhi.

Kharge questioned the basis of Savarkars title Veer, raising concerns about his familys alleged clemency petition to the British, his stance on cow protection, and whether he received a pension from the British.

When asked about replacing Savarkars portrait with Jawaharlal Nehrus, Kharge agrees that Nehru is more suitable as he spent more than 3,000 days and is the first PM of India. Nehru laid a strong foundation for what the BJP claims the country is economically stronger.

Beyond the Current Portrait Controversy

Beyond the current row, Veer Savarkars life remains a subject of historical fascination. From his revolutionary days in London to his transformation into the foremost ideologue of Hindutva during his incarceration, Savarkars journey has been marked by ideological shifts and political manoeuvring. His critical stance on Islam during this period and willingness to engage with the British as the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha add to his political thoughts and legacy.

The Many Lives of Savarkar Even After His Death

Veer Savarkars story doesnt end with his passing; it continues to spark debates and conflicts.

In the early days, Savarkar stood out as an influential figure among Indian revolutionaries in London. His speeches at Shyamaji Krishna Varmas India House greatly impacted young Indians, and many Indian nationalists held Savarkar in high regard.

However, Savarkars trajectory took a turn during his extended confinement in the cellular jail. Transitioning from a revolutionary, he sought clemency and emerged as the leading proponent of Hindutva. His ideology argued that only those who considered India their fatherland and holy land could be Hindus. Critically, he became deeply critical of Islam and, as the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, was even open to collaborating with the British.

Fifty-seven years after his passing away, his name continues to spark controversies, and Karnataka seems to be at the centre of it all.

Shivamogga: Tipu and Savarkar

On August 15, 2022, a clash erupted in Shivamogga over a poster of Veer Savarkar at the Ameer Ahmed circle. Tensions rose as another group aimed to display a poster of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan at the same spot. The conflict escalated, resulting in a stabbing incident. After a mild intervention, district officials hoisted the Indian flag at the location. Subsequently, a photo of Savarkar appeared at the Majestic Metro station, sharing space with Chandrashekhar Azad and Udham Singh.

Kannada Textbook: A Questionable Tale

A Class 8 Kannada textbook stirred controversy with a passage claiming Savarkar used to fly on the back of a bulbul bird to illustrate his time in solitary confinement at the Cellular Jail from 1911 to 1924. While the textbook creator defended it as beautified prose, educationists and historians labelled it pure distortion. This contentious chapter, titled Kalavannu Geddavaru, replaced an earlier chapter by Vijayamala Ranganath called Blood Group.

Savarkar Flyover: Symbolic Structure

Despite opposition in 2020, the then Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa scheduled the inauguration of a 400-metre flyover named after the RSS ideologue. Protests by the Congress and JD(S) took place against the Rs 34 crore flyovers inauguration in Bengalurus Yelahanka on May 28, Savarkars birth anniversary. The flyover was intended to link Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road and Yelahanka New Town with the Vidyaranyapura area in north Bengaluru. However, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) called off the ceremony last minute, citing the Covid-19 lockdown.

Ganesha and Savarkar: Continuing Controversy

In 2021, amid the Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations, BJP members distributed posters of the Hindutva ideologue. Now, Right-wing outfits plan to display posters of Savarkar and freedom fighter Balagangadhar Lokmanya Tilak in Ganesh pandals. Led by the Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, a budget of Rs 150 (is this 150 or something else) has been allocated per pandal in the state for putting up these posters.

However, the ongoing polarisation surrounding Savarkars legacy has only exacerbated bitterness in political discourse.

The question arises: Isnt it high time to let the Savarkar debate rest? Discussion of his success and failures is better suited for debates in history departments in universities, rather than making it a bitter political battle.
The one thing Mahua Moitra has done after her expulsion from Parliament is become the glue for the INDIA front meeting scheduled to take place after the ongoing winter session ends. The picture of Sonia Gandhi walking down and standing right behind Mahua as she spoke strongly against the BJP is a powerful adhesive to ensure the otherwise scattered bloc is together.

Just recently, the alliance seemed to be under strain, with the Congress faring poorly in state polls. The Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Janata Dal (United) raised questions about the Congresss ability to take on the BJP. So much so, that a planned INDIA front meeting this week was almost a no-show with senior leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar excusing themselves.

But the Mahua Moitra episode has changed the mood and set the tone for another amicable INDIA bloc meeting. The issues raised by the TMC leader, where she accused the Narendra Modi government of favouring one business house, have also been voiced by Rahul Gandhi. The Congress could not distance itself from her for long. At the same time, it was wary of upsetting the TMC, which till recently had largely maintained silence on her matter.

But Sonia Gandhi herself showing solidarity has pleased the TMC and Mamata Banerjee. The Congress had issued a whip to its MPs to be present in the Lok Sabha to support Mahua. Not just this, known Mamata baiter Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took the lead in standing by Mahua and writing to the speaker, asking for more time to discuss the ethics committee report.

The bonhomie was seen in Hyderabad too, when apart from the Congress chief ministers, Derek OBrien was present as a representative of Mamata Banerjee. He was seated along with the top Congress leaders and, in fact, flew with them there.

This sets the mood for better coordination and, hopefully for the opposition, amicable and fruitful seat-sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Noida: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday asked officials to make sure that universities in Noida and Greater Noida form internal teams to combat drug menace among youth. His directions came during a review meeting with officers of the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration, local authorities, the police department and elected representatives.

Multiple drug peddlers and traffickers have been arrested over the past few months in the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida and large quantities of banned substances seized from them.

The police also found colleges and universities to be target areas of these peddlers, with new trends of drug supply also coming to light.

Taking serious note of the situation during the review meet, CM Adityanath emphasised on the participation of universities in the statewide campaign against drug dealers.

The Chief Minister asked the universities to establish internal teams dedicated to addressing the issue of drug addiction, according to an official statement. Adityanath directed senior police officers to intensify and enforce stringent measures in the ongoing anti-drug campaign.

He said that suspicious people hovering around universities and educational institutions should be investigated, the statement said.

The chief minister stressed the importance of taking decisive action against those enticing students into the world of illegal drugs, including the seizure of their assets.

Furthermore, he instructed the establishment of rehabilitation centres within medical colleges, according to the statement. Meerut Divisional Commissioner Selva Kumar J, Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M, Greater Noida Authority CEO NG Ravi Kumar, Yamuna Expressway Authority CEO Arun Vir Singh, District Magistrate Maneesh Verma, Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh were present during the meeting held at the Gautam Buddh University.

Noida MLA Pankaj Singh, Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, and MLC Shri Chand Sharma, among others, were also present.

Reviewing development works, the chief minister directed officials to expedite the opening of offices for entrepreneurs who have invested in the region. Adityanath sought updates on the ground-breaking ceremony, New Noida development, and theme-based parks in the twin cities, according to the statement.

The officers informed him about waste management, startups, the YEIDA Master Plan 2041 and the New Delhi-Mumbai Greenfield Expressway through a presentation, it added.

CM Adityanath instructed officials to ensure the installation of high-quality CCTV cameras as part of the Safe City initiative, the statement said.

Also, CCTV footage should be kept safe by making a control room. He also asked all the authorities to establish constant communication with the public and public representatives, it said.

The chief minister issued directives to ensure the timely submission of master plans by authorities to the government.

Additionally, he emphasised the need to formulate a comprehensive plan for the removal of illegal encroachments. Furthermore, officers were directed to address issues raised by public representatives with both efficiency and quality promptly, the statement added.
Apple Watch has become a quintessential piece of equipment to track health, but it is equally useful in preventing fatalities and allowing users to keep a tab on things like heart rate.

In fact, time and again, victims have come forward to tell the world about how they faced a health scare, but ultimately, their Apple Watch came to the rescue.

This time, a woman based out of Kentucky has shared how her Apple Watch saved her and her babys life.

As per a report by Fox19 via 9to5Mac, Veronica Williams, the woman here, said that she was pregnant, and her Apple Watch saved her life after she received a high heart rate notification. This prompted her to contact her doctor and ask for help.

Furthermore, she notes that multiple alerts had sounded on her Apple Watch about the same, and meanwhile, she was starting to feel out of breath. That was when she rushed to the emergency room.

Next thing I knew, they came in saying, We need to do an emergency c-section. Is that okay? And I was wheeled out of my room and woke up at the University of Cincinnati, she said.

Later, the doctor ended up safely delivering her baby, and while she was still struggling, she eventually stabilized.

The report adds that Williams doctors found that she was suffering from a rare form of Myocarditis, in which her immune system was attacking her own heart. Essentially what happened is her immune system got fooled into attacking her own heart as something that was external, her doctor said.

Notably, this is not the first instance of an Apple Watch feature helping a wearer in reaching emergency services during a health scare or contacting authorities when stranded. Earlier this year, a womans Apple Watch automatically dialed 911 when it detected no movement from her after she collapsed due to a ruptured aorta.
There are seldom moments when the news reader becomes news itself. Maryam Moshiri, a BBC anchor, found herself accidentally making headlines after viral footage of her flashing a middle finger during a live broadcast surfaced online. The incident, which occurred reportedly during the networks 12 PM bulletin, drew the attention of people all across the world, causing Maryam to apologise to the public. While the video made many users laugh, it also raised some questions about the media organisations professionalism.

The viral video left Maryam Moshiri, the chief presenter of the British network, muddled in controversy. Maryam was spotted holding her middle finger towards the camera as the channel switched on for the noontime news presentation, with her head tilted, eyes wide open, and a silly smile on her face. She immediately went to a classic news anchor persona and started the bulletin, stating, Live from London, this is BBC News, as soon as she knew the camera was on. She then went on to the headlines, and the screen shifted from Moshiri to other visuals.

This isnt satire, an actual BBC News presenter got caught giving the middle finger live. Maryam Moshiri summing up the professionalism currently at the BBC. pic.twitter.com/QoJ4FT133J  Chris Rose (@ArchRose90) December 7, 2023

Soon after the video from the telecast went viral, Maryam Moshiri had to issue an apology note and explain what transpired prior to the broadcast.

Taking to her X handle, the anchor wrote, Hey everyone , yesterday just before the top of the hour, I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery. I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0.. including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one. When we got to 1 I turned my finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera. It was a private joke with the team, and Im so sorry it went out on air! It was not my intention for this to happen, and Im sorry if I offended or upset anyone. I wasnt flipping the bird at viewers or even a person really. It was a silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates.

Hey everyone , yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery. I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0.. including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one. When  Maryam Moshiri (@BBCMaryam) December 7, 2023

While some questioned the professionalism of a senior news anchor, there were other users who defended her as well.

I can't blame her for that. We have no idea what was happening in the studio before they took her live. We don't know who she was gesturing to or why. Brian Mankin (@_BrianMankin_) December 7, 2023

So she's now a "former" newsreader I assume MacBeasty (@MacBeastyAMC) December 7, 2023

A user said, I cant blame her for that. We have no idea what was happening in the studio before they took her live. We dont know who she was gesturing to or why, while another believed that she might have had to face severe repercussions post the incident. So shes now a former newsreader I assume, said the user.
The world of fashion is slowly addressing the climate change crisis accelerated by fast-fashion. In response to this, many designers are picking up sustainable materials to make their clothes. Designer Chris Mena, who runs Meena a high-end sustainable fashion brand based out of New York, is one of them. For his fall 2023 collection, Chris designed a line of jackets made out of discarded gunny bags. Recently, he recorded a video that documented how he made one of these jackets. In the video, Chris first collects the gunny bags and lines them with interface fabric using a heat machine called DigiHeat. He uses polar fleece to line the jacket and uses leftover leather scraps to add a pattern over the jacket. Once he decides the shape of the jacket, Chris sews the whole jacket together.

As the video concludes, Chris mentions that these jackets made out of gunny bags are up for sale on his website. The bomber-style jacket sells for $2,400 (approximately Rs 2 lakh), the M65-style jackets sell for $1,400 (approximately Rs 1.16 lakh), while the denim jackets sell for $750 (approximately Rs 62,000 approximately).

As per Menas LinkedIn profile, the burlap bags are part of the brands 3rd collection called From the Street. The collection was launched at the New York Fashion Week this year.

The From the Street collection was developed to show the world that if we can recycle trash into garments, then why are we not focused on making closed looped systems in the fashion industry? All ready-to-wear pieces in the collection are made from trash collected from New Yorks streets.

This is not the only fashion brand that uses recyclable material. Nigerian designer Adejoke Lasisis brand Planet 3R is known for using plastic waste to create clothes and accessories.

How it started! VS How it ended!Pure water sachets. Foldable stoolWaste. ValuableThis foldable stool had saved 107 pure water pic.twitter.com/I5gWA7FHxR  Planet 3R  (@Planet3r) September 25, 2021

Lasisis process involves first shredding the plastic waste and then weaving this plastic with other textile waste into traditional Yoruba fabric.

All set for the #NationalYouthDay Maiden Edition.Rocking my woven pure water Grateful to have been nominated as one of the 5 #Youth Innovators. pic.twitter.com/uYo4jLm09J  Adejoke Lasisi  (@AdejokeLasisi) November 1, 2020

While talking to Reuters about her process, she said, In the community where I stay I realised that many people just dump their waste you know, to the extent of burning these and these have negative impacts on our environment and health. So I thought of how can I take care of these wastes with the skills that I already acquired from my mum which is the weaving skills, then I started using the waste that was the problem in the community and started creating opportunities from it in such a way that we now create products and at the same time create empowerment opportunities.
A 33-year-old Indian-origin businessman Karun Vij is trending on social media. The reason? This landlord earns a hefty sum of over Rs 9 lakh a month, just by renting rooms. Yes, you heard it right. As per the reports, Vij always wanted to own property. While studying engineering in Canada, he noticed that rental units near the institution were charged by the room, rather than the whole house. It was then that Vij realised renting rooms to students could be more profitable than giving the entire property on rent to one tenant.

Later, the businessman too gave it a try. According to reports, Vij started in 2016 after having spent a few years saving enough money to buy his first property in Canadas Ontario. He was 26 when he made a 20 per cent down payment of around $64,781 (Rs 54 lakh) for a home worth $323,904 (Rs 2.7 crore) and rented it out to seven college students.

I knew the area, I liked the area  not too expensive or too cheap, Vij told CNBC Make It. He added, Its like a top five university in all of Canada. It was solid.

Vij didnt plan to be a landlord full-time. After graduating, he worked as an application engineer and is currently a sales manager at a company in the US. As his rental earnings and salary increased, he was able to buy more rental properties in southern Ontario, as per CNBC Make It.

When I bought my first property, it was the most exciting and nerve-wracking time of my life, he told the publication. I had no idea what it would take to be a landlord, but I knew in my mind this was my business.

Vij then added that he has no intention of ever selling any of his property. I dont care what the price is because Im never going to sell, thats my mentality, he said.

But being a landlord comes with its set of challenges. He was initially surprised by the number of calls he received from his tenants about various problems.

I was picking up calls at three in the morning, Vij told the publication. I had to quickly learn to put things into perspective and prioritise the major concerns.

In 2023, Vij broke even on his rental properties and said he doesnt mind turning a profit yet because he believes the recently purchased properties will have higher upfront costs for renovations in the first couple years of ownership.

I absolutely love debt, he told CNBC Make It. But Ill say I only like good debt, such as mortgages and lines of credit, Vij added.

The Indian-origin businessman has four properties in Canada with 28 rooms and he earns more than Rs 9 lakh a month only by collecting rent, CNBC Make It reported. His properties are worth about $2.3 million (roughly Rs 19 crore).
After 36 hours of whirlwind discussions, the European Union and its lawmakers on Friday said that they have agreed on how to draft rules to regulate artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT.

Historic! With the political deal on the AI Act sealed today, the EU becomes the first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI, EUs internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton said. The AI Act is much more than a rulebook  its a launchpad for EU startups and researchers to lead the global race for trustworthy AI, he further added.

The lawmakers said that the regulations will not hurt innovation in the sector nor the prospects for future European AI champions.

The AI Act was rushed through the European Unions legislative process after chatbot ChatGPT, Googles chatbot Bard, Dall-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, which can create images in nearly any style on demand, exploded onto the scene late 2022.

Even though observers hailed ChatGPTs ability to create articulate essays and poems, there were worries that these technologies could be misused.

The law still requires a formal approval by the member-states and the EU parliament but Fridays agreement was seen as crossing the last serious hurdle.

The AI Act is a global first. A unique legal framework for the development of AI you can trust, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), welcoming the deal. And for the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses. A commitment we took in our political guidelines  and we delivered. I welcome todays political agreement, she further added.

Challenges

Regulators struggled during discussions on how to regulate general-purpose AI systems such as ChatGPT. Some European countries feared that too much regulation may stunt the growth of European champions like Germanys Aleph Alpha or Frances Mistral AI.

Frances digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would analyse the deal and ensure that it allows Europe to develop its own artificial intelligence technologies.

The EU agreement includes a two-tier approach. There are transparency requirements for all general-purpose AI models and tougher requirements for more powerful AI models.

Biometric Surveillance

The members could not agree completely over the issue of remote biometric surveillance which means facial identification through camera data in public places. The governments want exceptions for law enforcement and national security purposes.

The agreement bans real-time facial recognition, but there will be a limited number of exemptions.

But not everyone was happy with the agreement.

Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)s Europe chief Daniel Friedlaender signalled he was not happy with the agreement. Regrettably speed seems to have prevailed over quality, with potentially disastrous consequences for the European economy, he was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. CCIA is an international, not-for-profit trade association representing a broad cross section of communications and technology firms.
Three Hezbollah fighters and a Syrian were killed on Friday in an Israeli drone strike on their car in the south of Syria, a war monitor said.

A Syrian and three Lebanese Hezbollah fighters from the surveillance and missile-launching unit were killed in the Israeli drone strike on their rented car in Madinat al-Baath town in the province of Quneitra, close to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Later Friday Hezbollah said that three of its fighters had been killed, without giving any further details.

The previous day the Observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, reported that Israel hit sites close to Damascus with eight missiles, as well as a regime military post in the province of Quneitra, without causing any casualties.

The strikes were a response to the bombardment of Israeli-annexed Golan, the monitor said.

On December 2, two Syrian Hezbollah fighters and two officers of Irans Revolutionary Guards were killed in an Israeli air strike on Hezbollah sites close to Damascus, the monitor said.

The official news agency of the Revolutionary Guards, Sepah News, reported on the same day that two members of the guards had died on an advisory mission in its ally Syria, but did not specify where and when they were killed.

Israel has undertaken hundreds of air strikes in its neighbour Syria since the start of the countrys civil war in 2011, targeting the positions of the Syrian army and groups affiliated with Iran, such as Hezbollah.

Those missions have intensified since the start of Israels war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, which was triggered by the Islamist groups unprecedented attack on Israeli soil.

On November 8, three Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli strike against the militant groups positions close to Damascus, according to the Observatory.

Israel rarely comments on its operations in Syria, but says it wants to prevent Iran, its sworn enemy, from establishing itself on Israels doorstep.
ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The international community has expressed concern over the continued fighting in Sudan as the conflict spreads into new areas.

Members of the Expanded Mechanism for the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan made the call in its joint declaration issued late Thursday following its recent meeting convened by the African Union (AU), according to a statement issued Thursday by the AU.

The expanded mechanism "expressed our grave concern at the continuing conflict in Sudan, which is spreading to new areas hitherto unaffected by the fighting, with credible reports of grave crimes, in particular, war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual assault," the statement read.

It reiterated that there can be no sustainable military solution to the crisis in Sudan, and only an inclusive, representative, Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led dialogue among all Sudanese stakeholders can lead to a peaceful and sustainable solution to the crisis.

It further demanded that the parties to the conflict in Sudan, namely the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to "immediately agree to a comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire and return to the negotiating table in order to seek a peaceful return to a transition to civilian constitutional rule in Sudan."

The expanded mechanism brought together representatives from the AU, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the European Union, the permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the African members of the UNSC, Sudan's neighboring countries, countries designated by the IGAD to engage the belligerents, and Comoros, among others.

The expanded mechanism expressed grave concern at credible reports of atrocity crimes throughout Sudan, and stress that accountability must be part of any response in the search for peace in Sudan, to ensure justice and healing for victims and affected communities.

It further demanded that the parties to the conflict in Sudan to facilitate safe humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians, in line with international humanitarian law and international human rights law as well as the provisions of the agreements already reached in the Jeddah talks.

It commended countries neighboring Sudan, which have welcomed large numbers of Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers, and further urges increased international financial and logistical support to host countries and communities.

It further stressed the need for countries of the region and beyond to maintain neutrality and to refrain from providing military, political or financial support to the conflicting parties in the country. 
Former Pakistan Prime Minister appeared to extend an olive branch to India as he made big claims about the Kargil war and the late General Pervez Musharraf, who ousted him from power for opposing the 1999 war. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo said he was never explained why he was ousted from power.

I should be told why I was ousted in 1993 and 1999. When I opposed the Kargil plan saying it should not happen I was ousted (by Gen Pervez Musharraf). And later what I said proved right, Sharif said ahead of upcoming polls, during one of the daily meetings to award party tickets for the February 8 general elections next year.

Nawaz said that on all three occasions being the premier he was delivering but he was sent packing for unknown reasons. I want to know why I was ousted every time, he asked. Sharif also talked about the visit of two Indian prime ministers  Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi  to Pakistan only when he was the prime minister of the country.

We have delivered on every front. During my tenure as PM, two Indian prime ministers visited Pakistan. Modi sahab and Vajpayee sahab had come to Lahore, the former PM said, stressing improved relations with India and other neighbouring countries. We will have to improve our relations with India, Afghanistan, and Iran. We need to make more stronger relations with China, Sharif said. He regretted that Pakistan lagged behind its neighbours in economic growth development.

Lashing out at the jailed former PM Imran Khan, Sharif said he did not know why an inexperienced man was given the reins of the country. The economy witnessed a downfall during Imran Khans government (2018-2202). Then the Shehbaz Sharif government took over in April 2022 and rescued the country from default.

Sharif reiterated his demand for accountability of former military generals and judges for ruining the country by ousting his government in 2017. Those who brought this country to this level should be made accountable as patriotic people cant do this to their country, he said. We do not want to come into power to roam around in luxury cars but we want accountability of those (who) ruined this country and made false cases against us, Sharif had said.

Before his return to the country after self-imposed exile in the UK, Sharif had hinted at bringing former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, and other top Army brass for their crime of ousting his government and causing economic disaster.
A French court on Friday convicted six teenagers for their role in the 2020 beheading of a teacher by a radicalised Islamist near Paris, in a case that horrified the country.

The prison sentences range from 14 months to two years, but all are suspended or commuted and no defendant will serve jail time, according to a youth court judgement read at a public hearing after behind-closed-door proceedings.

Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old history and geography teacher, was stabbed and then beheaded near his secondary school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on October 16, 2020.

Lawyers representing Patys friends and family hit out at the leniency of the sentences, describing them as not fitting and sending a bad signal.

A man beheaded in the street is not nothing, said Virginie Le Roy, a lawyer representing members of Patys family.

She described his familys anger, disappointment and incomprehension.

Patys attacker, 18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdoullakh Anzorov, was shot dead at the scene by police.

He murdered Paty after messages spread on social media that the teacher had shown his class cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Persistent lie

The trial was held behind closed doors given the young ages of the defendants at the time of the events.

Five of the teens on trial, who were 14 or 15 at the time of Patys murder, were being tried for criminal conspiracy with intent to cause violence.

They were accused of having been on the lookout for Paty and identifying him to the killer in exchange for money.

Four of them received suspended sentences of between 14 and 18 months.

The fifth was sentenced to two years in prison, but 18 months of that was suspended and the teenager will be released with an electronic tag for the remaining six months.

You passed on to the assailant the description (of Patys) physical appearance and clothing and the teachers usual route when leaving the school, the presiding judge told the youth.

You recruited other students to point out Paty to Anzorov and keep watch for when he left the school, added the judge.

A sixth teenager, a girl who was 13 at the time, was accused of false allegations for wrongly saying that Paty had asked Muslim students to identify themselves and leave the classroom before he showed the cartoons. She was not present in the class.

She received an 18-month suspended sentence.

The court pointed to the role of her persistent lie about Paty in the events leading to his murder.

Lawyer for the defendants Antoine Ory called the sentences just, while admitting they could never be equal to the infinite and eternal suffering of the civil parties.

Paty had used the Charlie Hebdo magazine as part of an ethics class to discuss free speech laws in France, where blasphemy is legal and cartoons mocking religious figures have a long history.

His killing took place just weeks after Charlie Hebdo republished the Prophet Mohammed cartoons.

After the magazine used the images in 2015, Islamist gunmen stormed its offices, killing 12 people.

In October, another teacher, Dominique Bernard, was killed in Arras in northern France by a young radicalised Islamist.
The United States on Friday blocked the extraordinary UN bid to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as Israeli forces continued their ground operation and airstrikes in the blockaded coastal enclave. US, EU and Israel designated terror group Hamas, which also rules Gaza, said the fighting has left 17,487 people dead in the Palestinian territory, mostly women and children.

Israeli attacks are a retaliation to the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200, mostly civilians and took over 240 hostages, out of which 102 have been released during a temporary truce last month.

The UNSC sat down to discuss the war in Gaza after the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked the rarely-used Article 99 of the UN Charter to convene an emergency Security Council meeting calling for an immediate ceasefire. International humanitarian law includes the duty to protect civilians, Guterres said.

His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres remains determined to push for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Four draft resolutions had already been rejected in the weeks following October 7, for lack of sufficient backing, or because of Russian, Chinese or US vetoes.

The brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, Guterres said while invoking the special power which no UN chief has ever done before.

The US deputy representative at the UN, Robert Wood, slammed the resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. (It is) divorced from reality. (It) would have not moved the needle forward on the ground, Wood said.

The comments came despite warnings from the UN which said that vast areas of Gaza have been reduced to a wasteland and about 80% of the population was displaced, and now face dire shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine, and the growing threat of disease.

The World Health Organization also warned that civilisation was collapsing in Gaza. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said: People are starting to cut down telephone poles to have a little bit of firewood to keep warm or maybe cook, if they have anything available.

Russias deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said our colleagues from the USA have literally before our eyes issued a death sentence to thousands, if not tens of thousands, more civilians in Palestine.

Medecins Sans Frontiers said Security Council inaction made the body complicit in the ongoing slaughter while Human Rights Watch said by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover the US risks complicity in war crimes.
The Texas supreme court late Friday evening blocked the emergency abortion for a pregnant woman whose foetus was determined to be not viable. Kate Cox, a 31 mother of two, earlier won the district judges approval for the procedure but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned the high court to stop the process.

Texas, the conservative southern state, is known for having some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. The recent case from Texas showed how the state and the US remains divided on abortion and the right to choose.

Cox and her doctors argued that a fatal genetic condition was diagnosed in her unborn baby  trisomy 18  and it could lead to the loss of her fertility if she is not allowed an abortion.

This Thursday Texas district judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled that Cox should be allowed to go ahead with the abortion under a medical exception provision in Texass abortion laws which is triggered when the womans health is at risk.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton then petitioned the Texas high court to block the lower courts decision but on Friday, the Supreme Court ordered a stay.

The Texas suit is among the many brought before the Supreme Court after it overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that granted a constitutional right to abortion five decades ago.

Cox was represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights who claimed that the case was the first time in which a woman asked a court for an emergency abortion since Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Texas bars abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and the case has heightened the debate about medical exceptions in Texas. The Texas attorney general lashed out at district court judge Maya Guerra Gamble for giving Cox the green light, claiming she abused her discretion by deeming that Cox qualified for the exception.

Texas also punished collaborators who helped perform an abortion. The lawsuit filed by Cox seeks to protect her husband and Dr. Damla Karsan who examined Cox and offered her assistance.

Physicians say that even though Texas allows abortions in cases where the mothers life could be at risk the wording of the law is unclear and the doctors risk serious legal consequences.

Paxton also sent letters to hospitals on Thursday and warned them of legal consequences they could face if they performed an abortion. Texas doctors guilty of performing illegal abortions face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and revocation of their medical licence.

(with inputs from Politico, Houston Chronicle, the New York Times and CNN)
The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors Friday on the fast-escalating row between South American neighbours Venezuela and Guyana over a disputed oil-rich region.

Delegates left the meeting  which took place at Guyanas request  with roses offered by Ecuador, which chairs the Council this month. None made statements to reporters.

Guyana says Caracas move on the oil-rich Essequibo region, disputed for more than a century, threatens international peace and security.

World leaders called for calm as Venezuela decried joint US-Guyana military exercises as a provocation and vowed to push ahead with the recovery of the region, which both neighbors claim as their own.

Fears of the conflict blowing up have deepened after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros government held a controversial referendum Sunday on the fate of Essequibo.

The region has been administered by Guyana for more than a century and is the subject of border litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

It makes up about two-thirds of Guyanese territory and is home to 125,000 of the countrys 800,000 citizens, but is also claimed by Venezuela.

Controversy has simmered since 2015 when US oil giant ExxonMobil, operating under licenses from Guyana, discovered vast oil reserves in the area.

Guyana and ExxonMobil will have to sit down with us face to face sooner rather than later, Maduro said Friday during a ceremony in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, where he showed a map of Venezuela that included Essequibo as official territory.

Washington provoked an angry response from Caracas on Thursday by announcing via the embassy in Georgetown that it would hold joint flight operations within Guyana as part of routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership with its ally.

This unfortunate provocation by the United States in favor of ExxonMobil in Guyana is another step in the wrong direction, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on X, formerly Twitter.

In response, Guyanese Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo said Venezuela is not going to succeed, now or ever at taking the region.

Every single movement that Venezuelans make, particularly in the proximity of our borders, is tracked, every single one of them, he said.

Unwavering support

In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced growing concern Thursday about the tensions on his countrys northern border.

Lula told a summit of South Americas Mercosur bloc: If theres one thing we dont want here in South America, its war.

The Brazilian army said Wednesday it was reinforcing its presence in two northern cities.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also warned Venezuela not to take unilateral action in the dispute. Guyana is an English-speaking former colony of Britain and the Netherlands.

Russia, a close ally of Venezuelas Maduro, added its voice Friday, urging a peaceful solution.

We call on the parties to refrain from any actions that could unbalance the situation and cause mutual harm, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Guyana insists Essequibos frontier was determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the regions east forms a natural border recognized as far back as 1777.

In Sundays plebiscite, voters were asked whether citizenship should be granted to the English-speaking people of a new Guyana Esequiba State and consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory.

Officials in Caracas said 95 percent of voters supported the measures.

Analysts say the referendum and the rise in nationalist rhetoric is an attempt to distract attention ahead of elections in 2024 when Maduro will seek a new term amid economic crisis and dwindling oil production at home.

It was like a kind of trial balloon ahead of the presidential elections to measure the capacity to mobilise and try to fine-tune their strategy for 2024, said Mariano de Alba, an advisor to the International Crisis Group.

Two days after the vote, Maduro proposed a bill to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak encountered an awkward moment before the cameras while hosting his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte as the two leaders were locked out of his 10 Downing Street Residence in London. The video of the incident went viral on social media.

In the viral video, Sunak can be seen attending his Dutch counterpart as he welcomes him to his official residence and the two then posed for the photographs. The two prime ministers then continued chatting as they faced some errors in the building and waited for the custodian to open the door.

Rishi Sunak gets locked out of 10 downing street while meeting with the dutch prime minister pic.twitter.com/jlkZ8WBDsY UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) December 9, 2023

Sunak then places his hands on the door as he was unable to access Number 10, leaving the leaders confused. Then, the duo swapped places on the doorstep and Sunak looked into the two lower-level windows to ask someone to open the door from the inside.

The two leaders managed to get after a few seconds while the media continued to capture them.

Meanwhile, on the political front, Rishi Sunak and his governing Conservative Party are preparing to enter what will likely be an election year in 2024, it is languishing behind the opposition Labour Party in polls week after week.

The Conservatives have been in power since 2010, during which time theyve gone through five prime ministers and virtually every possible iteration of conservatism imaginable. And after 13 years in power, its fair to say the party looks a little tired and out of ideas.

This is why Sunak is leaning into the Conservatives historical trump card issue: immigration.
A video captured by Mohamed Baalousha, a Gaza reporter for UAE-based news outlet Al Mashhad, showed four infants out of which three of them appeared to be still connected to hospital machines. The bodies of these babies were darkening due to decomposition and were disintegrating, with flies and maggots crawling on the now peeling off skin.

A report by news agency CNN claims that hospital staff tried to save these vulnerable human beings but help never arrived. The authenticity of the video could not be verified independently by News18.

The CNN report bases its claim on interviews, published statements and video and geolocation tools. The report says the video was geolocated to Al-Nasr hospital in northern Gaza which was out of reach for international media and journalists because the area where it is located was the epicentre of the war days before the truce was announced along with Al-Shifa and Al-Rantissi hospitals.

However, when the truce was announced Baalousha says he was able to access the hospital and film what was left there.

Al-Nasr and Al-Shifa, part of the same hospital complex, were given directions to evacuate on Israeli forces directions. The hospital staff said they were forced to leave young children behind in the ICU because there was no way to safely move them.

Speaking to the news outlet, a doctor said that two of the children  a two-year-old and a nine-month-old baby  died shortly before evacuation but when they left three children were still alive and were connected to respirators.

The doctor said one infant was two months old and those infants kept in the ICU were suffering from genetic disorders.

What condition they were in when the fighting engulfed the hospital and when evacuations took place, remains unclear.

The report citing satellite imagery said large craters were seen around the hospital complex indicating the area was under heavy bombardment due to which evacuation became difficult.

A conversation between a senior official at Al-Rantisi hospital and an officer from COGAT, which is responsible for the Israeli governments activities in the Palestinian territories and Gaza, indicates that Israeli forces told the hospital patients and staff to evacuate. A conversation from November 11 also reveals an Israeli officer assuring the hospital official that ambulances will be arranged.

Even though the hospital official tells COGAT that ambulances cannot reach the hospital, the officer assured him that he will coordinate with the primary aid centre and assured that the ambulance will take the patients and the medical staff.

The hospital said the ambulances never arrived.

The hospital staff said that they were given 30 minutes and no ambulances reached the hospital and patients families and hospital staff carried the patients in their arms carrying white flags to avoid being shot.

We walked out with our hands up in the air carrying white flags and carrying families and children, a hospital official told the news agency.

We were forced to leave them behind to die because we didnt have a safe medical evacuation We informed them that these children were on beds and couldnt be evacuated. We held other children in our arms while being forced to evacuate, director of Gazas hospitals at the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, Dr. Mohammad Zaqout, was quoted as saying by CNN.

Israeli forces said the story was a rumour this week. Given that the IDF did not operate inside the Al-Nasr hospital, these allegations are not only false but also a perverse exploitation of innocent lives, used as tools to spread dangerous misinformation, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Doron Spielman was quoted as saying by CNN.

There were no premature babies that decomposed because of the IDF. There were probably no babies that decomposed whatsoever. But Hamas is in charge of Nasr hospital, we are not occupying Nasr hospital, he further added.
US President Joe Bidens administration told Israel this month that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until the end of 2023 to conclude its war in Gaza against Hamas.

A report by Politico said that US secretary of state Antony Blinken reportedly warned Israel last week that it has weeks to wrap up the fight. However, on Friday, the US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said that Washington did not give a firm deadline to Jerusalem.

When Israeli officials outlined their plans to the US diplomat and informed him that the fighting in southern Gaza would last for several months, Blinken was not happy. You dont have that much credit, Blinken tersely retorted, according to Politico.

However, Israel brushed off the retort and appeared to take steps that would defy the request by the US  which is its biggest backer. It is noteworthy that Israel has defied the US in the past and several times since October 7.

They advised us not to go into Gaza, but we did. We went into Gaza because that was the only way we could destroy Hamas and free our hostages. They told us, dont go into the terror tunnels. But if we dont go into the terror tunnels, theres no way we can destroy Hamas, an Israeli official was quoted as saying by Politico.

They told us not to go into the hospitals despite them being used by Hamas as command and control centres, but we went into those hospitals, and we did what we needed to do. And well do what we need to do to reach decisive victory, the official further added.

Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah and its skirmishes with Israel on Israels northern border is another cause of concern for the US because it does not want Iran and Lebanon to enter the ongoing 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in cross-border firing and each side has blamed the other for the violence. More than 110 people have been killed on the Lebanese side of the border since October, mostly Hezbollah fighters and more than a dozen civilians, according to an AFP tally. Separately, three Hezbollah fighters and a Syrian were killed on Friday in an Israeli drone strike on their car in the south of Syria.

The US is afraid the Israel may soon turn its attention to the northern areas bordering Lebanon after defence minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday told a group of mayors and municipal leaders that the Israeli government will focus on driving Hezbollah back from the Lebanese border.

According to the UN resolution 1701, which brought the 2006 Lebanon war to a close, Israel was told to withdraw all its forces from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was told to ensure no military presence south of the Litani river.

However, Hezbollah did not follow the obligations outlined in the UN-brokered bargain and has enmeshed itself in southern Lebanon and in positions overlooking Israels northern border communities, intensifying rocket attacks and cross-border firing following October 7 attacks.
CHANGSHA, China, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A trailblazing educational movement is taking shape as schools embrace the traditional martial arts within their teaching frameworks across central China's Hunan Province.

At Siyuan Experimental School in Xinhua County, as early winter brings a refreshing chill, students dive into martial arts training with vigor and enthusiasm. Their movements, an elegant fusion of traditional Meishan martial arts techniques, display an impressive combination of physical skill and cultural awareness.

Xinhua County, renowned as a center for martial arts and the birthplace of the respected Meishan style, is capitalizing on its rich cultural heritage to encourage the inclusion of martial arts in school curriculum.

According to Zhou Longze, a local education official, this initiative involves incorporating martial arts into the overall educational quality assessment framework and offering specialized training for physical education teachers.

Over 400 schools in Xinhua have incorporated martial arts into their curricula. This significant shift has transformed nearly 1,000 physical education teachers into martial arts instructors. As a result, around 200,000 students are now actively engaged in martial arts training, with over 60,000 of them having attained martial arts grading certifications.

"Martial arts education encourages children to be active and engaged, leading to increased strength, positivity, and self-confidence, as well as enhanced vitality and enthusiasm," said Wu Bin, Principal of Siyuan Experimental School.

Wu added that with the "Double Reduction" policy to ease academic stress for schoolchildren in place, schools are committed to further promoting martial arts on campus.

Parents, like Mrs. Yang from Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua city in Hunan, are openly praising the program for its beneficial impact on their children's physical development and martial arts skills, which is demonstrated by their children's achievements in martial arts competitions.

Commencing in 2021, Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County has embarked on a project to integrate traditional studies, medicine, and martial arts into the school curriculum. This includes a well-structured martial arts syllabus tailored for all levels of education, with seasoned martial arts practitioners imparting their knowledge in schools.

"In the last three years, the county has hosted over 130 martial arts events in schools, training nearly 70,000 students in total," said Liu Shaozhong, the Director of Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County's Education Bureau.

Liu added that the consistent integration of martial arts into the school curriculum has significantly enhanced the culture of practicing martial arts and embracing its virtues among primary and secondary school students. This initiative has also markedly improved key metrics such as the students' overall physical health and fitness levels. 
A French juvenile court on Friday convicted six teenagers for their roles in the beheading of a teacher by an Islamic extremist that shocked the country. Teacher Samuel Paty was killed outside his school in 2020 after showing his class cartoons of the prophet of Islam during a debate on free expression. The court found five of the defendants, 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, guilty of staking out the teacher and identifying him for the attacker, per the AP . Another defendant, 13 at the time, was accused of lying about the classroom debate in a comment that aggravated online anger against the teacher. All were handed brief or suspended prison terms. The teenagers had testified they hadn't known the teacher would be killed.

Paty, a history and geography teacher, was killed on Oct. 16, 2020, near his school in a Paris suburb by 18-year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov, a young Chechen who'd been radicalized and who was then shot dead by police. Paty's name was disclosed on social media after a class debate on free expression during which he showed prophet caricatures published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The publication had triggered a deadly extremist massacre in the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in 2015. All those on trial were students at Paty's school. Investigators found that the attacker wanted to target Paty but didn't have the means to identify him. Five of the defendants were accused of staking Paty out until he left school that day and identifying him for the attacker in exchange for promises of about $350 to $400.

Those five faced charges of criminal conspiracy with the aim of preparing aggravated violence. The sixth defendant, who was 13 at the time, was accused of wrongly claiming that Paty had asked Muslim students to raise their hands and leave the classroom before he showed the class the prophet cartoons. She wasn't in the classroom that day and later told investigators she'd lied. She faced a charge of making false allegations. Her father was accused of sharing the lie in an online video that called for mobilization against the teacher. He and a radical Islamic activist who's said to have helped disseminate virulent messages against Paty are among eight adults who will face a separate trial for adults suspected of involvement in the killing, expected late next year.

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In sometimes tearful testimony, the teenagers on trial said they had no idea the teacher would be killed, according to French media reports. The trial had been held behind closed doors, and the media wasn't allowed to disclose the defendants' identities, according to French law regarding minors. The proceedings come weeks after a teacher was fatally stabbed and three other people injured in northern France in October in a school attack by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization.

(Read more France stories.)
Ryan O'Neal, the boyish star who rose to film fame in 1970's weepy blockbuster Love Story, died Friday. His death at age 82 was announced in an Instagram post by his son Patrick, who did not provide any more information, the New York Times reports. The actor was diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and prostate cancer in 2012. "My father was as generous as they come," Patrick O'Neal wrote. "And the funniest person in any room. And the most handsome clearly." It was that quality the actor traded on at the beginning of his career, as a prime-time TV heartthrob on Peyton Place. O'Neal played Rodney Harrington in more than 500 episodes of the soap opera.

At 29, after a decade on TV, O'Neal won the part of Oliver Barrett IV in Erich Segal's story about a wealthy Harvard student-athlete whose wife was dying. Bigger names turned the part down, he later said, and O'Neal initially was rejected. Ali MacGraw, who played his wife, persuaded the studio to hire O'Neal for the part, which paid $25,000. Love Story was the highest-grossing film of the year, and O'Neal was nominated for an Academy Award for the only time. A series of hits followed, per the Hollywood Reporter. He co-starred with Barbra Streisand in What's Up, Doc? and The Main Event, and with his 9-year-old daughter Tatum in Paper Moon, for which she won an Oscar. Other films included The Thief Who Came to Dinner and A Bridge Too Far.

O'Neal gained a reputation early for his partying lifestyle, temper, and use of alcohol and drugs. His relations with his children, who also struggled with drugs, were not smooth: Tatum O'Neal accused him of abuse and ranked him as one of the worst parents in Hollywood. His status as a top star ended, but he kept working through the 1990s, often on television; one of his most recent jobs was a recurring role on the series Bones. O'Neal was married twice, but his best-known relationshipon and off for more than 20 yearswas with actress Farrah Fawcett. She died of cancer in 2009, and O'Neal had been "a constant presence" throughout her illness, per the Washington Post. After her death, he told Piers Morgan, he found it upsetting to watch Love Story. (Read more obituary stories.)
The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday successfully launched the Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit.

It was the third flight mission of the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket.

The success of this launch mission has made Zhuque-2 China's first commercial liquid carrier rocket to be successfully launched in a row. In this mission, its technical maturity and stability were further verified, its reliability met the requirements of commercial launch delivery, and the rocket is closer to the phase of mass production and delivery.

The Zhuque-2 is China's first medium and large-size liquid rocket with liquid oxygen and methane as propellant. It is independently developed by LandSpace, and provides low-cost and highly reliable launch services to meet the commercial launch requirements in multiple scenarios.

Liquid oxygen-methane fuel is a type of rocket propellant formed by liquid oxygen and methane, the latter of which is the main component of natural gas.

The rocket has a height of 49.5 meters and a body diameter of 3.35 meters. Its takeoff weight is about 220 tonnes, and its takeoff thrust is about 268 tonnes.

Its carrying capacity is 1.5 tonnes for a 500-km sun synchronous orbit, and the following improved version can reach a carrying capacity of 4 tonnes for the same orbit, which can meet the needs of low-Earth orbit satellite deployment and the launch of transport spacecraft.

In Saturday's mission, the Zhuque-2 Y-3 rocket successfully sent three satellites into the sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 460 km.

The mission signifies that the rocket has carried out a commercial multi-satellite launch mission, and the developer of the rocket has made steady progress in its commercial operation of rockets. It also accumulated data and flight experience for the satellite's improvement and follow-up progress.

"Rockets are in the trend of large carrying capacity and low cost in the commercial space era. The key to the industrialization and commercialization of liquid rockets is to achieve low-cost, large-scale manufacturing and delivery, and continuous and stable launch," said Dai Zheng, deputy chief engineer and deputy chief commander of Zhuque-2.

LandSpace has cultivated a large-scale delivery capacity of rockets for commercial launch missions. It will continue to build commercial launch vehicles featuring high reliability, low cost and large capacity to sustain China's construction of a low-orbit satellite network, and support the development of low-cost cargo transport for the space station, according to Dai. 

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)
Earlier this week, Kate Cox heard the news she'd been waiting for: A Texas judge ruled that the 31-year-old mother of two, who's 20 weeks pregnant with a fetus with a fatal condition, could receive an abortion, and that the doctor who performed the procedure could do so without legal repercussions. Now there's a wrench in that plan. The Texas Supreme Court stepped in late Friday and temporarily paused that order from Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, reports the Washington Post , which notes this is the first case since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year involving a woman seeking a court order allowing for an abortion. Cox had sought an emergency abortion after finding out that the fetus has Trisomy 18 , or Edwards syndrome, a condition in which the vast majority of fetuses don't survive, with those pregnancies ending in miscarriage or stillbirth.

A pregnant Texas woman who sought court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the US has left the state to obtain the procedure, her attorneys said Monday. The announcement came as Kate Cox, 31, was awaiting a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court over whether she could legally obtain an abortion under narrow exceptions to the state's restrictive bans. A judge gave Cox permission last week but that decision was put on hold by the state's all-Republican high court. Her fetus has a fatal genetic condition. "Her health is on the line. She's been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn't wait any longer," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which was representing Cox.

Those who do survive through childbirth typically die soon after. Cox's own health is also at risk, as she has underlying conditions, as is her future fertility. After Gamble gave Cox the green light for an abortion, Ken Paxton, the state's Republican attorney general, stepped in to ask the Texas Supreme Court to intervene. He has also indicated that any doctor who performs an abortion for Cox won't be shielded from civil or criminal liability; doctors in Texas, now with one of the strictest abortion laws in the US, could face life in prison if found guilty of violating that law. The high court, which said in its Friday ruling it was temporarily staying Gamble's order "without regard to the merits," is currently an all-Republican court, per the AP. "The State's ... petition is stunning in its disregard for Ms. Cox's life, fertility, and the rule of law," the Center for Reproductive Rights wrote in its own Friday court filing.

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In a Wednesday op-ed for the Dallas Morning News, Cox explained how excited she and her family were to discover she was expecting her third child, a baby girl, and how devastating it was when she found out that, due to the fetus' condition, it "cannot sustain life." "It isn't a matter of if I will have to say goodbye to her, but when," Cox wrote. "I do not want my baby to arrive in this world only to watch her suffer." She added that "I need to end my pregnancy now so that I have the best chance for my health, for parenting my children, and for a future pregnancy. ... I'm trying to do what is best for my baby daughter and myself and my family, but we are suffering because of the laws in Texas." Cox's attorneys say that, for her safety, they won't reveal her abortion plans, though as of their Friday court filing with the Texas Supreme Court, they indicated that Cox was still pregnant. (Read more abortion stories.)
The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Friday backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Ceasefire supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war enters its third month. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining, per the AP . The United States' isolated stand reflects a growing fracture between Washington and some of its closest allies over Israel's monthslong bombardment of Gaza. France and Japan were among those supporting the call for a ceasefire.

In a vain effort to press the Biden administration to drop its opposition to calling for a halt to the fighting, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey were all in Washington on Friday. But their meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken took place after the UN vote. Along with the vote, the Arab diplomats' mission served to shift responsibility more squarely onto the United States for protecting Israel from growing demands to stop the airstrikes that are killing thousands of Palestinian civilians. US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood, however, called the resolution "imbalanced" and criticized the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself.

Wood declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and "only plant the seeds for the next war." "Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution," Wood said before the vote. "For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire." Israel's military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza70% of them women and childrenand wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas-run Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

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The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which enables a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and urged the council to demand a ceasefire. Guterres said he raised Article 99which hadn't been used at the UN since 1971because "there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza." The UN anticipates this would result in "a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt," he warned. Gaza is at "a breaking point," he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation. Guterres said Hamas' brutality against Israelis on Oct. 7 "can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." More here.

(Read more Israel-Hamas war stories.)
The Biden administration is selling 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel for its war against Hamas, invoking an emergency provision to avoid waiting for the usual congressional review to be completed. A Defense Department agency announced the $106.5 million deal on Saturday. Congressional committees were informed at 11pm Friday, the New York Times reports. Lawmakers lack the power to stop the sale. The Defense Department statement said Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the emergency clause of the Arms Export Control Act because "it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability."

The sale of the shells is not part of President Biden's $110 billion package to provide aid to Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel, which is stalled in Congress. The US weapons sales to Israel in the past few months have lacked the transparency of the military assistance to Ukraine for its battle against Russia, per the Washington Post. The ammunition will be taken from Army inventory. It includes 120mm high-explosive anti-tank multi-purpose with tracer tank cartridges, per the AP. American support, including engineering and logistics, also is included. (Read more Israel-Hamas war stories.)
One person has died after being hit by a bus at Albany Bus Station in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland on Saturday.

A police spokesperson told Newshub the crash on Elliot Rose Ave was reported just after 2pm and cordons are still in place.

Auckland Transport director of public transport and active modes Stacey van der Putten said they were informed on Saturday afternoon of the fatal crash.

"Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the woman killed as well as those at the scene today who did their best to help."

She said the bus driver involved has been stood down, and will be "supported by the bus company during this difficult period".

Hato Hone St John told Newshub they were alerted to what happened at 2:08pm.

They sent one ambulance and two rapid response units to the scene.

Albany Bus Station will stay closed while police carry out their investigation, van der Putten said.

"Although we can't speculate about the cause of this afternoon's incident, we want to remind people of the importance of allowing extra time and being patient when travelling around Auckland at this hectic time of year."

Buses will arrive and depart from stops nearby, with staff available to help.
By Michelle Nichols for Reuters

The United States on Saturday vetoed a proposed United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally.



Thirteen other members voted in favor of a brief draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained. The vote came after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare move on Thursday to formally warn the 15-member council of a global threat from the two-month long war.

"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" Deputy UAE U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council. "Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?"

The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the council that the draft resolution was a rushed, imbalanced text "that was divorced from reality, that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way."

"We do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war," said Wood.

The U.S. had offered substantial amendments to the draft, including a condemnation of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that Israel says killed 1,200 people and in which 240 people were taken hostage.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country abstained because there was no condemnation of Hamas.

"Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such an attack can never be carried out again," she told the council.
A vendor displays her handmade bag during the Make It show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 8, 2023. The trade event dedicated to handmade items features exhibitors from across Canada, offering a diverse range of handmade goods. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

People visit the Make It show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 8, 2023. The trade event dedicated to handmade items features exhibitors from across Canada, offering a diverse range of handmade goods. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

People visit the Make It show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 8, 2023. The trade event dedicated to handmade items features exhibitors from across Canada, offering a diverse range of handmade goods. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

A person visits the Make It show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 8, 2023. The trade event dedicated to handmade items features exhibitors from across Canada, offering a diverse range of handmade goods. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, emphasised the Kingdom of Bahrains commitment to advancing bilateral relations with the Republic of Hungary, noting the growing cooperation between the two countries to meet mutual aspirations.

HRH Prince Salman was speaking as he met with His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Georg Von Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduke of Austria, at Riffa Palace.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister noted the Bahrain-Hungary bilateral collaboration and the Kingdoms commitment to building on the relations through agreements and memorandums of understanding in all sectors, which contribute to consolidating collaborative work across various levels. During the meeting, regional and global developments and issues of common interest were discussed.

His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Georg expressed his gratitude for His Royal Highnesss commitment to furthering the Bahrain-Hungary relations to benefit both countries and their peoples. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the Minister of Finance and National Economy, His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, also attended the meeting.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Interior Minister, HE General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, took centre stage yesterday to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day. In a resolute statement, the Minister underscored Bahrains unwavering commitment to combat corruption through active programs and initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable development.

Under the visionary leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain has achieved significant milestones in its fight against corruption, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla said.

Constitutional amendments, legislative support, and the establishment and enhancement of supervisory bodies have all played a crucial role in shaping Bahrain as a beacon for anti-corruption efforts, stated the Minister.

The political will to promote integrity, transparency, and the fight against corruption underscores a commitment to citizens comprehensive development and a decent standard of living, HE added. The governments commitment to accountability and responsibility is further exemplified by the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Interior Minister noted.

The emphasis on internal monitoring serves as a testament to the dedication to safeguarding public funds, the Minister said.

Collective dedication

Further, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla stated that the International Anti-Corruption Day celebration not only signifies Bahrains ongoing efforts but also highlights the collective dedication of national organizations in promoting integrity values and transparency principles.

The collaboration extends beyond anti-corruption authorities to include sectors, organizations, NGOs, and individuals, emphasizing the shared responsibility for progress, the Minister pointed out. The General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security has been at the forefront, organizing various events and activities as part of the National Anti-Corruption Campaign.

Workshops, lectures, and seminars have been instrumental in promoting an integrity culture and enhancing awareness of corruption risks. In a collaborative effort with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Anti-Corruption Academy, Bahrain conducted workshops and courses this year for all sectors involved in combating corruption.

These initiatives aim to build organizational capabilities and foster international cooperation in the fight against corruption, the Minister further stated.

Pursuit of justice

The General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security, in its tireless pursuit of justice, has handled 284 corruption cases from 2021 to 2023.

Notably, 15 cases with criminal suspicions were referred from the Cabinet based on reports by the National Audit Office, the Minister revealed. Bahrains commitment to anti-corruption extends beyond its borders, making it an active global partner.

The Minister then highlighted the Kingdoms anti-corruption efforts in cooperation with other countries and noted that the nation is a signatory to both the Arab and United Nations Anti-Corruption Agreements, actively participating in regional and international efforts to combat corruption through cooperation with various organizations.

HE General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla concluded his statement by expressing gratitude for the collective national efforts and achievements, invoking divine protection for Bahrain under the steadfast leadership of HM the King.
People carry lit candles during a rally calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

A military vehicle is seen in a joint military exercise by Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)'s Peninsula Shield Force in Jahra Governorate, Kuwait, Dec. 6, 2023. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Children are seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Dec. 8, 2023. An estimated 1.9 million people are displaced in Gaza (about 85 percent of the population), lacking necessities such as food, water, dignified shelter, sanitation facilities and medical care, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Passengers wait for a train at Berlin Central Train Station in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 8, 2023.

The German Train Drivers' Union (GDL) is once again calling for a nationwide rail strike. The last-minute labor action is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. local time on Thursday and last 24 hours. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)

China's research icebreaker Xuelong 2 breaks ice and ploughs a waterway for cargo vessel Tian Hui, Dec. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Yuan)

Deanna Stellato-Dudek (top)/Maxime Deschamps of Canada perform during the pairs free skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023 in Beijing, China, Dec. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Habudelashen Nusupbek walks his horse at a winter pasture in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 29, 2023. Baht Turlksi, a 53-year-old herder, lives near the majestic Baluke Mountain, which lies in the south of Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Every year between late November and early December is the time for Kazak herders to stock meat for winter. During the traditional festive practice, herders share the fruits of their work and replenish energy for the winter. It is also the time for family gathering and relationship strengthening.

Baht and her husband Habudelashen Nusupbek invited family members, neighbors and friends in the festive practice this year. Each person was assigned with specific tasks, such as preparing, cleaning and filling the beef sausages. After over two hours of work, the meat needed during the winter has been placed on the drying rack, waiting to be air dried. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

This photo taken on Dec. 8, 2023 shows black-necked cranes flying past snow-covered mountains in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Photo by Tenzin Nyida/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Dec. 7, 2023 shows a photovoltaic power project in Fushun, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)
BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chen Yuxiang, an anti-graft official in north China's Hebei Province, is under investigation for suspected severe violations of Party discipline and laws, according to an official statement released Saturday.

Chen, a deputy head of Hebei's discipline inspection commission and provincial commission of supervision, is being investigated by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision. 








The All Progressives Congress, on Saturday, celebrated the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, as he turned 61.





The ruling party described Akpabio as a true patriot, nation builder and lawmaker of extraordinary abilities.





This is contained in a statement dated December 9, and issued by the partys National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, Esq, as obtained by our correspondent.





The letter, titled Happy birthday, President of the Senate, read in parts, Our great party congratulates the President of the Senate and Chairman of the 10th National Assembly, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON, on the joyous occasion of his 61st birthday anniversary.





Renowned for his uncommon accomplishments, we celebrate a true patriot, nation builder and lawmaker of extraordinary abilities.





It read further, As the Chairman of the 10th National Assembly, your effort towards reinventing strategic partnership with the Executive branch remains invaluable to the achievement of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubus administration.





The congratulatory statement added that the partys National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and members of the National Working Committee, leaders, stakeholders and other party members, joined in the celebration.





Earlier, Tinubu, deputy senate president, Senator Jibrin Barau, and senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, amongst others, had congratulated the former Akwa Ibom State Governor on his birthday anniversary.




The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, has described oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region as a calamity.





The NNPCL CEO said that there were over 4,800 illegal connections on crude oil pipelines in the area and warned that this could frustrate the projections of the Federal Government.





Kyari spoke in Abuja on Friday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriation.





The NNPCL boss pointed out that the daily oil production would depend greatly on the security situation in the Niger-Delta.





He said, The situation we have in Niger Delta in terms of security is a calamity. We dont have that anywhere in the world. To engage non-state actors as a last resort is abnormal. But we have to respond abnormally.





You have over 4,800 illegal connections on our pipelines. That means, within every kilometer, you have an insertion. Even if you seal all the insertions, you cant get what you want in terms of production.





In the Niger Delta, people are coming from all parts of the country to do illegal refining. Thats why we engage locals to deal with it.





We will contain this challenge. We are doing everything possible to restore sanity. What is happening is a colossal damage to the environment and the host communities.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has said he would not be distracted by the protest against him.

Wike said hes busy focusing on delivering the mandate of President Bola Tinubu.

There have been several protests against Wike over his policies on land allocations in the capital city.

Leading indigenes of the FCT, Adamu Matazu, said Wikes actions were detrimental to the progress and growth needed in Abuja.

However, reacting to the protests, Wike said the protesters were paid to march against him.

Speaking on Thursday at the flag-off of remedial work on roads in the FCT, Wike said: Yesterday someone told me there were some people carrying placards. Frankly speaking, I dont have the time to see that. I was busy and I dont want to be distracted. I want to be focused and deliver on the mandate Mr President has given us.

But one thing you must understand is that this is a democracy, so many people are entitled to their opinions. But what is important is your opinion must be in line with what is good for the people of FCT.

We cant do the same thing the same way and expect to achieve different results.

One of the big things about leadership is that you must be firm, you must be bold, you must be courageous to take decisions.

And we have taken decisions to make sure our people are happy with this administration. We have taken a decision to do the best for people as mandated by Mr president.

Policies you make may not favour so many people, but what is important is the generality of the people, not a few people who benefit at the detriment of others.

When you bring a policy that will bring change, so many people will kick against it. Those who benefit will kick against it. But when you are focused and firm, they have no choice than to come back and align themselves with the policies of the government.

We must take decisions, no matter how hard it is. But what is important is that at the end of the day, the people should benefit from it.

So nobody should be bothered that there are people who were paid  they have collected the money and everything ended yesterday. We are used to all this so nobody should be worried that people are demonstrating.

What we want people to ask us is what we have achieved in these few months.
President Bola Tinubu has praised Senate President Godswill Akpabio on his 61st birthday.

In a statement on Friday, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, quoted Tinubu as describing Akpabio as a political leader whose antecedents and achievements continued to attract recognition at home and abroad.

Tinubu affirmed the outstanding leadership qualities of the former Governor of Akwa Ibom and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, who became a Governor at 45 after serving as a Commissioner in three different ministries, Ngelale said.

He appreciated the loyalty, dedication, and commitment the senate president has demonstrated over time, with measurable and lasting legacies to show for his time in various offices.

The president said Akpabios achievements were most significantly exemplified by the uncommon transformation of Akwa Ibom into one of the most vibrant and frontline states in the country.

As the senate president turns 61 on Saturday, Tinubu wished the chairman of the national assembly, whose service to the nation continued to inspire patriotism, many happy returns.

The president prayed that God would continue to bless Akpabio and his family.
The Minister of Humanitarians Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has disclosed that she became a minister after the founder of Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo prayed for her.

Edu disclosed this while giving testimony at the ongoing Shiloh programme of the church on Friday.

She disclosed approaching Oyedepo at the Canaan Land, Ota, Ogun State international headquarters in 2022 to pray for her in her desire to be a minister.

My name is Betta Edu, I came to thank God last year at Shiloh 2022. I prayed and told God that by the next time I come to next year Shiloh, I want to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

On the last day of Shiloh, just as I was walking out I saw Papa, Bishop David Oyedepo, and I went to greet him as usual, and I whispered to him, Papa I need you to pray for me. I just have one prayer request. And he said what is it? I said I want to come back to Shiloh in 2023 as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he put his hands on my head and said it is done.

I stood up and I left, I came in today to return all glory to God that despite all odds, today Im a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one of the youngest in the Fourth Republic.
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces have killed five terrorists during an operation in the country's northwest Tank district, the military said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said in a statement that the forces conducted an intelligence-based operation on Friday in the Mullazai area of the district in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

The ISPR added that the killed terrorists remained actively involved in numerous crimes, including terrorist activities, extortion and target killing of innocent civilians.

According to the ISPR, a cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered from terrorists' possession during the operation. 
Razaq Obe, commissioner for energy and mineral resources in Ondo, has alleged forgery of the signature of Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor, on an official document.

Akeredolu has been absent from the state since June due to medical reasons.

Since his return to the country after a three-month medical leave in Germany, Akeredolu has been in Ibadan, Oyo state capital.

Obe, in a letter dated December 7 and addressed to Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the deputy governor, explained that the irregularities were first noticed when a file from his ministry, out of the five submitted to the governors office for approval, was returned.

He said following close inspection, he noticed the differences between the signature and handwriting in the said document and that of Akeredolu.

I write to bring to your attention a critical matter that requires immediate action. It has been confirmed that the signature of Mr. Governor on a certain document has been forged, the letter reads.

The irregularities in the signature were first observed when a file from my ministry was returned through the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG). This is the only file that has been returned so far out of the five files that were sent for Mr. Governors approval about two months ago.





Upon closer inspection, I noticed significant differences between the suspicious signature and handwriting and Mr. Governors known signatures and handwriting in the file.

Concerned about the gravity of the situation, I decided to seek a forensic review before disclosing my discovery. I sent the suspicious signature, handwriting samples, and copies of the old regular signatures to forensic experts, who have now confirmed that the suspicious signature and handwriting were indeed forged.

Despite the inherent risks involved, I have chosen to fulfill the obligations of my office by reporting this alarming development to you as the highest-ranking member of the State Executive Council after Mr. Governor.

I firmly believe that this is the course of action our esteemed leader, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, would take in such a situation.

Considering the possibility that such forgery may be widespread, this heads-up is of utmost importance to the government and people of Ondo State. I have attached a copy of the forensic report and relevant pages from the file for your reference.

Obe urged Aiyedatiwa to treat the matter with the urgency it deserves and take appropriate actions to address the situation.

It is crucial that we restore the integrity of our processes and ensure that such a disturbing development is swiftly punctuated, he added.

The development comes a few days after Kayode Ajulo, a senior advocate of Nigeria, alleged that some Ondo government officials were forging Akeredolus signature on documents.

However, Richard Olatunde, chief press secretary to the governor, described the claim as utterly preposterous and ludicrous.

Olatunde asked for proof, adding that it is only Akeredolu that can claim that his signature has been forged.
The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has paid a visit to the victims of a military air strike in Kaduna state.

The delegation of northern senators was led by Abdul Ningi, its chair, and Abdulaziz Yari, senator representing Zamfara west.

On Sunday, many residents were killed with scores injured after air strikes were launched on the Tundun Biri community.

The villagers were reportedly commemorating the birth of Prophet Muhammad when the jet dropped the bomb that led to the deaths of several persons.

The army has since accepted responsibility for the incident, stating that its troops were on a routine mission against terrorists when the mistake occurred.

During the visit on Thursday, Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, announced a donation of N58 million to the victims, adding that the donation shows the commitment of northern senators not to abandon their constituents in times of need.

On his part, Yari, chair of the senate committee on water resources, said immense pain has been inflicted on the victims of the bombing.

Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this senseless tragedy, the former governor of Zamfara said.

We witnessed firsthand the immense pain and suffering caused by this event. We pray for the deceased, their families, and a speedy recovery for the injured.

The senator added that such occurrences must be avoided by the authorities.

Here are some photos from the visit.




Venus, Jupiter and Jealousy

Scientific studies suggest humans are not the only ones who experience jealousy, as some domestic pets and nonhuman primates show signs of experiencing this powerful emotion. Venus opposite Jupiter suggests that jealousy, while unpleasant, can be used for good. Its an arrow pointing to the heart of what matters to us, energizing and sharpening our motivation.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The group needs a leader. You know whats needed. Step in and make quick work of it. Also, this is a day for reconciliation. Kiss and make up, shake and make up, or pay and make up. Amends. Amen.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The work will be something like fishing, but dont cast a wide net. It will be too much trouble sorting through all the randomness youll catch. Instead, use the lure most likely to attract exactly what you want.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Its not in your control how the externals fall into place, but youll find a way to make it work. A belief that buoys you: life is always unfolding according to whatever is best and most evolutionary for you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Keep in mind that the way someone interacts with you is often indicative of how they interact with others. Think about this before you befriend, hire or, as the case may be, entrust a person with your heart.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). The physical space may not be conducive to the work you want to do, but youll make up for it with your incredibly strong will. You will have great control over your mindset. Tonight, youre favored to win a game of chance.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Glass and cardboard arent the only things to recycle today. Other bits of work, history and connection will be revived for a new purpose. People will be happy to see the useful and lovely ways you resurrect the past.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Just like crunches build stomach muscles, feeling your emotions builds up a tolerance and understanding of them, lending a core of strength even more useful to you than a six-pack of abs.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You can only prepare to a certain degree because reality is always going to have an element of unpredictability. This breathing, pulsing experience comes with a cost that your brave heart will be willing to pay.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Its easy to use intuition when there is little else to go on but using it when you have plenty of other information takes guts. You can speculate all the livelong day about what might happen, but youll never really know until you exercise your option.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Total self-acceptance is the absence of harsh self-criticism, painful self-consciousness and punishment for human and normal reactions to life. Moments of total self-acceptance will feel simply like youre enjoying yourself, no impediments.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Oddly enough, being too cooperative and helpful will bring problems into a situation. Lean back. Let people figure out their contribution. Being eager to please may produce a dynamic you wont want perpetuated.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There are many possible ways to be divorced from the moment, including reliving the past, ruminating about yesterday or worrying about the future. Anything that interferes with your union with the present is a misuse of time.

TODAYS BIRTHDAY (Dec. 9). A fascinating interest happily absorbs you, sending you on a bright trajectory. People connect with your lighthearted and experimental approach; youll invent something truly unique. More highlights: Youll thrive in competition and take home a prize. Youll stumble on the habits and influences that contribute to your health and delight. Capricorn and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 20, 22, 1 and 17.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Simon Helberg embraces the Sagittarian spirit of exploration whether hes playing an accompanist, astronaut or FBI agent. His worldly fire sign drive led him to French citizenship and work in the international film, Annette. Three natal Sagittarius luminaries suggest that Helberg is an independent thinker who loves to travel and learn different cultures. Moon and Mars in Capricorn signal a gift for strategy, business and leadership.

Holiday Mathis debut novel, How To Fail Epically in Hollywood, is out now! This fast-paced romp about achieving Hollywood stardom is available as a paperback and ebook. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information.

Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM
The Battleship New Jersey museum could be towed from the Camden waterfront to a dry dock on the Delaware River in February for maintenance that is expected to take at least two months to ensure the viability of the more than 80-year-old ship, according to an update on the project.

The Battleship is still working on scheduling the dry docking of the ship for preventive maintenance, Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial public relations coordinator Jack Willard told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. As of now, its looking like we may dry dock in mid-February, but this is not confirmed yet.

The organization announced the maintenance plan in August to move the 887-foot ship across the river to the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services held an Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony, aboard the Battleship New Jersey, in Camden, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. 34 new U.S. citizens were welcomed after taking the Oath of Allegiance.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

The maintenance work will be done where the Iowa-class battleship was built, Dry Dock Number 3.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced $5 million in funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission to contribute to the ships reconditioning in August.

The total cost of the project is expected to be $10 million. Some of the work includes removing marine growth on the hull, repainting the hull, inspecting the through-hull openings and the ships zinc anodes. The Big J, as it is also known hasnt been repainted or dry docked in 20 years.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services held an Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony, aboard the Battleship New Jersey, in Camden, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. 34 new U.S. citizens were welcomed after taking the Oath of Allegiance.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

Willard said Wednesday that the Home Port Alliance received money from Camden County for the dry docking, but the nonprofit still needed to fundraise to close the budget gap.

New Jersey is rich with many historical sites that have shaped our prominent history, including the Battleship New Jersey, which saw many victories in her heyday, said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in a press release on Aug. 2.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services held an Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony, aboard the Battleship New Jersey, in Camden, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. 34 new U.S. citizens were welcomed after taking the Oath of Allegiance.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

The ship also received a $4 million new deck, a massive undertaking to rip up the old teak boards and replace them.

Willard said Wednesday that the Home Port Alliance continues to fundraise in order to cover the rest of the vessels reconditioning, a sum he said was roughly $2 million Wednesday.

We are still fundraising to support the dry dock program, Willard said. We are planning on several events and initiatives surrounding the dry dock to raise money for this project.

Memorial Day ceremony aboard the Battleship New Jersey in Camden, Monday, May 30, 2022.Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media

The USS New Jersey is one of the most decorated battle ships in U.S. military history with over 19 battle stars and five decades of service. The ship was built from 1940 to 1943 and served in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and several other conflicts around the world before its retirement in 1991.

The ship was donated to the Home Port Alliance on Oct. 15, 2001 and has been docked along the Camden waterfront for 22 years serving as a museum. The ship is typically open for self-guided tours everyday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided tours are also available.

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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
A Cape May County man was charged Friday with first-degree murder after police found the body of his 74-year-old mother inside his home, authorities said.

Jeffrey Surgent, 46, allegedly called the Ocean City Police Department about 4 p.m. to report the homicide, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland.

Surgent allegedly said that he suffers from mental illness, and he just killed his mother, Sutherland said in a news release.

Officers responded to Surgents home in the 600 block of 6th Street in Ocean City, where they found Surgent with his mothers body. The prosecutors release did not state how the woman was killed.

Surgent was taken into custody and was being held Saturday at a secure medical facility, Sutherland said.

In addition to murder, the prosecutors office charged Surgent with third and fourth-degree weapons offenses.

The death is being investigated by the countys Major Crimes Unit, Ocean City police, and the New Jersey Southern Regional Medical Examiners Office.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Fear of antisemitic attacks and harassment have paralyzed a Jewish community terrified by the thought of attending weekly temple services unless police are present, Jersey City rabbis said.

Four years since two gunmen shot three people dead inside a Kosher market on Martin Luther King Drive after killing a police officer in another part of the city, a spike in antisemitic crimes across the country related to the war in Gaza between Israeli forces and the Hamas terrorist group have brought back all those feeling of trepidation and anxiousness.
More than a dozen homeowners on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City must remove a swimming pool, fencing, a patio and other structures behind their homes to make way for the construction of a new charter school campus, a judge has ruled.

The decision rendered Dec. 1 is a victory for former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, whose Friends of Quality Education group filed a lawsuit earlier this year to reclaim the land as part of his plan to build a $120 million charter school campus on the vacant 6-acre lot between Garfield Avenue and the Cinelease Studios, just south of Caven Point Avenue.
A West New York financial advisor was convicted Thursday of 11 counts of defrauding public health insurance plans of more than $4 million, United States district Attorney for New Jersey Phillip R. Sellinger announced Friday.

Kaival Patel, 54, of West New York was convicted of several wire and health care fraud charges as well as conspiracy and money laundering charges after an 11-day trial.

This defendant lined his own pockets by taking advantage of health insurance plans for New Jersey state and local government employees, defrauding them of millions of dollars by conspiring to obtain reimbursements for medically unnecessary compound prescription medications, U.S. Attorney Sellinger said Friday.

Patel was accused of running an elaborate healthcare fraud scheme to send public employees, many of them corrections officers, to a family members medical office in Newark and then juicing the charges for prescriptions using a pharmacist as a co-conspirator.

Authorities alleged Patel operated ABC Healthy Living to market compound prescription medications that must be mixed by a pharmacist to meet specific medical needs. Patel and a conspirator discovered certain government employees had insurance that would reimburse thousands of dollars for one-month supplies of certain compound medications such as vitamins, pain and libido creams, and reflux medication, prosecutors argued in court.

The evidence against Patel showed that he received commissions from the bogus prescriptions and hired a group of corrections officers to receive and fill fraudulent prescriptions from his family members medical practice.

While our client is of course disappointed that the jury found against him, except for the acquittal on the false statements to federal agents count, we will be exploring all possibilities going forward, including an appeal, Bob Stahl, Patels attorney said Friday. He remains positive with the unwavering support of his family and friends.

Stahl said that sentencing is expected to be scheduled for April.

To date, 47 people have been convicted or plead guilty in the overarching conspiracy, according to authorities.

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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
Another day, another deserted vessel.

Enough calls for abandoned boats come in at the Jersey Shore that Captain Walt Bohn, who tows vessels from Seaside Ridge as far north as Toms River, knows how things sometimes go.
New Jersey municipalities could get money to study the impact of warehouse development in their communities under a proposed law aimed at helping towns manage the growing number of proposals for massive storage facilities in their neighborhoods.

The legislation sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, D-Somerset, would establish a $1 million pilot program in the state Office of Planning Advocacy to reimburse municipalities for costs related to reexamining local laws related to warehouse development or conducting a warehouse study.

The bill (A5802) comes after new guidelines on warehouse development were published by the state Office of Planning Advocacy last year. The first-of-its-kind guidelines were created to help municipalities decide when to approve warehouse development while protecting New Jerseys infrastructure and environment.

Right now, the Office of Planning Advocacy can offer warehouse guidance to municipalities, but it does not have the associated resources to help communities reexamine relevant plans and ordinances, Danielsen said in a statement.

This pilot program will provide municipalities with the proper resources to adapt their land use policies to account for significant increases in warehouse development throughout the state and mitigate potential impacts on their environment and community, said Danielsen.

The proposed law would also require the state Office of Planning Advocacy to create one or more model zoning ordinances towns could pass to guide local officials in how to handle warehouse proposals that could impact land use, traffic, infrastructure, stormwater runoff and public health.

New Jersey has been a hotspot for warehouse development for years. The state is a popular location for warehouses because it is near New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and within a 24-hour drive of nearly 40% of the nations population, according to Moodys Analytics, an economic research firm.

New Jersey is also home to the largest port on the East Coast and the second largest in the nation, according to the North Jersey Transportation Authority.

The growing demand for delivery and the popularity of online shopping, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled the expansion of warehouse development in New Jersey. As of April, officials with the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority reported approximately 1.1 billion square feet of warehouse space in the state.

With a limited supply of developable land in urban areas, warehouses have started spreading deeper into suburban and rural areas, raising objections from some residents and environmentalists about noise, traffic and pollution.

READ MORE: Trucks, noise, odors: Heres what its really like to live next to N.J. warehouses, residents say

Fights over warehouse sprawl have sparked lawsuits, protests and contentious debate throughout the state. Hillsborough in Somerset County recently authorized taking nearly $10 million from its Open Space Trust Fund to purchase two properties that were slated for warehouse development.

Some critics say the state has not gone far enough to address warehouse sprawl and protect residents from its impacts. The new state guidance on warehouse development is not mandatory. So, towns are not required to follow it.

But, some advocates say the legislation proposed by Danielsen to fund local warehouse development studies is a move in the right direction.

This legislation is a good first step to address warehouse sprawl, Tom Gilbert, co-executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said in a statement. Without proper planning, warehouse development will continue to result in the loss of important farmland and open spaces, and add to already poor air quality in overburdened communities.

Warehousing and transportation groups say they want responsible development that works for companies and communities.

Members of the New Jersey Warehouse and Movers Association will always remain sensitive to resident concerns, said Tracy Denora, the industry groups executive director.

Trucking groups prefer warehouses build in areas designed to withstand truck traffic, added Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association.

All I can say from our perspective is that warehouses are our customers that we service, said Toth, who also serves on the board of directors for the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. If given the option, our preference would be that the access to these facilities are well built safe corridors designed to handle trucks.

It is unclear how much support the legislation to establish the $1 million pilot program for warehouse studies has in Trenton. The bill, which was introduced Nov. 20, has yet to be referred to a committee for a hearing, according to Danielsens office. No companion bill has been proposed in the state Senate.

The legislation would have to pass both the state Senate and Assembly and be signed by Gov. Phil Murphy to become law.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, attends the 2023 World Chinese Language Conference and delivers a keynote speech in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official on Saturday pledged continuous efforts to support Chinese language education in international society and to provide sound support and guarantee for the Chinese language to go global and serve the world.

Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, made the remarks in a keynote speech at the 2023 World Chinese Language Conference.

Noting that language is a bridge to promote exchanges and dialogue among human civilizations, Ding said China will continue to promote high-standard opening up in the education sector and encourage language studies and international exchanges among people, especially the youth.

He also called for a more open and inclusive framework for international Chinese language education, stressing efforts to work with all relevant parties to ensure the sound operation and management of Confucius Institutes and other Chinese language projects.

Ding said China supports and encourages more international organizations to include Chinese among their official languages, and welcomes the use of Chinese language on more international occasions.

The 2023 World Chinese Language Conference was attended by around 2,000 people including scholars, governmental officials, representatives of international organizations and leaders of international language and cultural institutions from home and abroad. 
Former Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. was able to persuade voters last month to return him to the resort citys governing board, despite an indictment accusing him, his running mate and another former mayor of defrauding taxpayers by accepting state health insurance benefits they werent entitled to.

But on Friday, Troiano couldnt convince a judge to throw out the criminal case.

The Attorney Generals Office last year charged Troiano, City Commissioner Steve Mikulski and then-Mayor Pete Byron with falsely claiming they worked full-time to qualify for the governments health plan. But Troianos lawyer argued prosecutors withheld evidence contradicting those allegations from the grand jury that indicted the three men.

In rejecting that contention, Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury Jr. allowed charges of official misconduct, theft and related offenses to proceed, saying prosecutors had presented sufficient testimony to justify the grand jurys decision. It sets the stage for a potential trial on accusations all three defendants have denied.

The ruling came a month after Troiano, who last held office in 2019, successfully ran for commissioner alongside Mikulski, who also won another term. That means a majority of Wildwoods three-member ruling body will be serving next year while under indictment  as was the case until September when Byron resigned weeks after being sentenced to probation in an unrelated federal tax fraud case.

At issue is a 2010 law that requires elected officials seated after it took effect to work at least 35 hours a week to qualify for insurance through the State Health Benefits Program. The law sought to prevent part-time mayors and council members from receiving full-time benefits at posts that often pay less than $10,000 a year.

Still, an NJ Advance Media investigation published Monday found towns continue to flout those rules, even with the attention the Wildwood prosecution has produced.

Across the state, at least a dozen municipalities have provided potentially questionable coverage to their elected officials over the past decade, documents obtained through public records requests showed. That encompassed 32 current and former officials whose benefits have cost taxpayers at least $2.3 million since 2014, including $332,000 in 2023 alone.

Read the investigation: Part-time officials, full-time perks

In Wildwood, the mayor and the other commissioners each earn $30,000 annually, with prosecutors charging Troiano, Byron and Mikulski worked no set schedule and didnt put in 35 hours a week. Authorities accuse them of submitting false timesheets to justify their benefits at a cost of nearly $1 million in insurance claims and taxpayer-funded premiums over a decade.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin has described the allegations as egregious breaches of the public trust.

But the defense contends the men were entitled to the coverage, with an elected officials duties different than a 9-to-5 job. Theyve called the charges an overreach, with Troiano lawyer Brian Pelloni saying in legal filings that his client did work the required hours.

Pelloni declined to comment on Friday. Byron did not respond to a request for comment. Mikulskis attorney, David Stefankiewicz, did not return a phone call.

Of the towns identified by NJ Advance Media in its investigation, most described their elected boards as part-time in budget documents. And the officials involved largely held jobs beyond their public posts, including as lawyers, business owners, lobbyists and real estate agents.

In some cases, municipalities provided them insurance that topped $35,000 a year for family plans. In others, they cut checks to officials who agreed to waive those benefits, paying them as much as $5,000 annually for declining coverage.

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Riley Yates may be reached at ryates@njadvancemedia.com.
A former Paterson patrolman charged with using his flashlight to beat a suspect while making an arrest took the witness stand on Friday to defend himself against brutality charges that could send him to prison.

Spencer Finch, a 17-year-veteran of the Paterson Police Department, is accused of hitting suspect Brandon Cosby 14 times with his flashlight. Finch took the witness stand in Superior Court in Passaic County on Friday trying to fend off charges of using excessive force to subdue Cosby, who was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats against the mother of his two children. Those charges were later dropped.

Finch, testified that experience had taught him that domestic violence calls are inherently dangerous for cops. So, when he responded to a report of an assault in progress at an apartment building on Atlantic Street on the night of May 26, 2021, Finch told the jury he arrived in a state of heightened awareness.

You dont know what people are thinking, Finch told the jury assembled in a Passaic County courtroom. Youre in a house, and anything can be a weapon.

Finch was carrying a heavy, foot-long flashlight that night, a piece of equipment that is so potentially lethal that the Paterson Police Department had banned its use six months before. But Finch acknowledged on the witness stand on Friday that his supervisors never enforced the ban, so he kept using the same flashlight.

The state contends that Finch weaponized the piece of gear, striking Cosby 14 times during the arrest.

Under questioning from defense attorney Eric Kleiner, Finch conceded that the flashlight was the same piece of gear hed been using for 17 years. In November of 2020, the police chief at the time, Mike Bakora, issued an order limiting the size of flashlights to no more than eight inches long and one inch wide.

Finch said numerous times, hed used the long stem of his flashlight to rub the chest of the victim of a drug overdose, an kind of massage that prevents the user from lapsing into cardiac arrest. Other times, hes used his flashlight to break car windows at accident scenes to get to victims quicker.

Ive saved lives with my flashlight, he said.

Finch is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, official misconduct, perjury, and tampering with public records, for allegedly lying on police reports of the incident. He was fired from the Paterson Police Department after the charges were filed.

Cosby has already testified, and alleged that Finch beat him after he was handcuffed and on the floor, completely defenseless. Defense attorney Eric Kleiner, meanwhile, has sought to convince the jury that Cosby was out of control and resisting arrest, and that Finch did what he had to do to subdue a dangerous suspect.

Although defendants cannot be compelled to testify, Kleiner put Finch on the stand. Fridays session ended early because of Channukah before Finch could explain his actions during the arrest, but hell return to the witness stand on Monday to continue testimony. Hell also be subject to cross-examination by the prosecutor, Peter Foy.

Finch testified that he arrived at the apartment building with another Paterson police officer, Edwin Martinez, and heard lots of yelling and screaming. They climbed three flights of stairs and spotted a highly-agitated man pacing the hallway, beating on the walls and trying to get back into the apartment, Finch told the jury.

He was enraged, Finch said of Cosbys demeanor.

Finch said he went into the apartment to question the woman, who is the mother of Cosbys two children. Martinez remained outside in the hallway trying to calm Cosby down, Finch told the jury.

He showed up at 11 oclock at night and wanted to take the kids, Finch testified.

Inside the apartment, Finch said the woman showed him several threatening text messages that Cosby had sent her just before police arrived. Under questioning from his attorney, Eric Kleiner, Finch said after reading the texts, he went into the hallway to arrest Cosby for making terroristic threats.

Were you concerned about Mr. Cosbys state of mind? Kleiner asked. Yes I was, Finch responded.

What happened next is captured, at least in part, by video taken from a surveillance camera in the hallway and the body camera worn by Martinez. Finchs body camera was not activated at the time.

The jury has seen the video footage, which shows the struggle that ensued as Finch wrestles Cosby to the floor. The state alleges that during that struggle, Finch used his flashlight to pummel Cosby 14 times, then kneed him in the face while he was handcuffed on the floor.

Cosby testified earlier in the week that he didnt resist police, and his actions were purely defensive.

I was covering myself, protecting myself, he told the jury. The trial is scheduled to resume Monday before Judge Marilyn Clark in Passaic County.

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Richard Cowen may be reached at rcowen@njadvancemedia.com.
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The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday successfully launched the Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit.

It was the third flight mission of the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket. 

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Dec. 9, 2023. The carrier rocket blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent three satellites -- Honghu, Honghu-2 and TY-33 -- into planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)
Well, we picked 40 of the best places to get a po-boy, and after weeks of voting, the people have spoken choosing one to be the best in this year's Po-boy Bracket.

With 93,979 votes in the final round, Melba's has been dubbed the winner.

Parkway Bakery and Tavern was the runner-up and received 58,139 votes.

Overall, the bracket had six rounds with 497,334 total votes cast, with one-third of those votes coming from this final round.

Melba's and Parkway were neck and neck through most of the competition.

Melba's owner Scott Wolfe said he wished the results were a draw because New Orleans needs both po-boy shops.
As a girl growing up in Honduras and later in Chalmette, Aritza Garcia was the one in the kitchen watching her relatives cook and pleading to 
Louisiana State Capital and Exxon refinery on Monday, March 20, 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency has notified Louisiana it must strengthen its rules governing ground level ozone-forming emissions of nitrogen oxide from industries like Exxon in the Baton Rouge area, or it will adopt its own more stringent emission rules. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Dec. 10, 2023 shows Israeli troops conducting military operations in the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua)

RAMALLAH/GAZA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Authority and Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) slammed on Saturday the U.S. veto on a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution failed to pass at a Security Council emergency meeting held late Friday after the United States cast a veto and Britain abstained, while the other 13 UNSC members voted in favor of the proposal handed in by the UAE and backed by more than 90 UN member states.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced on Saturday the U.S. position as "aggressive and immoral, and a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles," while thanking those member states that favor the resolution for "siding with justice, peace and human ethics."

In a statement, he said the move made the United States complicit with "war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem."

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in a statement on Saturday that the veto was "a disgrace and a new license for the occupying state to continue killing, destroying and displacing."

The veto "reveals the lie of concern for the lives of civilians, and that what happened is an insult to the free people of the world and a violation of the values of truth, justice, freedom, human rights, and all countries calling for human rights," he noted.

Shtayyeh called on UN members to continue their efforts to stop the Israeli "aggression" and bring in food, medicine and fuel aid and restore the lifeline to the Gaza Strip that has been cut off for more than two months.

The Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction, Hamas, which Israel has announced at war with, described the U.S. administration as an "accomplice in the killing of the Palestinian people, through its political and military support for Israel."

The movement thanked the countries that voted in favor of the draft resolution, calling on the international community to take serious and concrete steps to "stop the occupation's massacres" in Gaza.

This comes as the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Saturday that more than 70 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in Israeli attacks during the last hours.

The ministry said in a brief statement that the aforementioned number of dead, along with more than 160 injured, were transferred to Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip.

Since Oct. 7, Israel has been launching massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas surprise attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 and in which over 200 were taken hostage. 

This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Dec. 10, 2023 shows Israeli troops conducting military operations in the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua)

This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Dec. 10, 2023 shows Israeli troops conducting military operations in the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua)
KAMPALA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military has begun the withdrawal of 1,000 troops deployed for a regional peacekeeping mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The exit of the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) follows Kinshasa's decision not to extend the mandate of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) beyond Dec. 8, said the military in a statement issued late Friday.

The pull-out of army operational forces and equipment in a phased manner, gradual, orderly, and sequentially deployed in March (2023) will end on Jan.7, 2024, it said.

"UPDF will ensure to expedite the pull-out of its forces and equipment within the approved timelines as enshrined in the extra ordinary meeting of EAC CDFS (Chief of Defense Forces) held on Dec. 6," said Capt. Ahmad Hassan Kato, UPDF's contingent spokesperson.

The CDF's meetings in Arusha, Tanzania, upheld DRC's decision and recommended to EAC defence ministers that EACRF officially ceases operations in the vast eastern African country, with immediate effect from Dec. 8.

Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and South Sudan deployed troops following the decision endorsed and adopted by regional leaders at the third East African Community Heads of State Conclave on Peace and Security in eastern DRC held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi last June.

"Uganda contingent urges all armed groups (in eastern DRC) to facilitate the withdrawal of the UPDF troops by observing total ceasefire so as to allow the forces exit from the mission area safely," said Kato.

Other troops contributed by Uganda in eastern DRC in a joint military operation with their Congolese counterparts will continue the hunt against the Allied Democratic Forces rebels, according to the military. 
MICHIGAN CITY  The Ken Allen Law Group has donated 143 coats to the less fortunate through a partnership with the nonprofit organization Paladin.

Paladin hosts Head Start of LaPorte County and Early Childhood programs at Imagination Station in Michigan City and Bethany Church in the city of LaPorte.

The donation came to fruition from a conversation Nedra Jones had with her niece, Ashlee. Jones is a Family Advocate with Paladin.

She noticed many students coming into the Head Start building dont appear to be ready for the changing weather, a trend she saw last winter as well. She suggested her aunt reach out to the Allen Law Group. At the same time, Allen contacted Head Start himself to say he planned to help.

Head Start is a federal program that supports children and families whose incomes are at or below the federal poverty guidelines, those households that receive TANF, SSI, SNAP and other social services, those in the foster care system and those experiencing homelessness, said Natasha Kendle, Paladins Head Start Family Services Manager.

"No child should go hungry or cold, nor bear the shame of wearing old hand-me-downs or misfitting coats, Allen said.

This is why for the past 30 years or more, weve donated thousands of winter coats and holiday meals to families in need living in the communities we serve. We also help needy families buy gifts for their kids at Christmastime. I believe God put me here to help others, Allen said, and thats been a blessing in itself.

Additionally, Allen and Allen Law Group are donating $30,000 in gift cards to needy Northwest Indiana families to help them purchase gifts for their children. Each family will receive a $100 Meijer gift card.

Parents and guardians will use the gift cards to shop for their children in Lake and Porter Counties on Monday.

Allen is working with local school officials to identify families most in need.

GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week
CROWN POINT  A judge agreed to revoke bond for a man who was charged with multiple high level felonies while out on bond on a confinement case.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Natalie Bokota granted prosecutor's motion to revoke bond for Brian L. Campbell, 25, who is accused of shooting at and pistol whipping his ex-girlfriend during an argument at his Merrillville residence in early November. He was subsequently charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, criminal confinement, battery, strangulation and criminal recklessness in connection with the offense. Deputy Prosecutor Arturo Balcazar argued he violated the terms of his bond in the confinement case, filed in December 2022, by acquiring new charges.

At the bond revocation hearing Friday, the victim told the court she went to Campbell's home on the day of the offense because he told her he was going to kill himself and did not have anyone else to call.

They were in the basement of Campbell's home when she revealed to him that she was pregnant with a child she purported to be his, she said.

Campbell became violent and choked her, grabbed her and beat her twice with a handgun. He then beat her with a sex toy, the victim said.

She said he asked if she was seeing anyone while pointing a gun at her. He fired one shot in her direction, she alleged. He told her to shower after the incident and she escaped out the back window and went to tell police what happened.

When prompted by questions from defense attorney Timothy Bianco, the woman admitted she and Campbell had a "tumultuous relationship" and she would often argue and yell at him when provoked.

Police found four handguns on Campbell when he was arrested, according to a detective who testified at the bond revocation hearing.

The detective said he filed a misdemeanor case for invasion of privacy against Campbell for contacting the victim before and after his arrest.

Campbell's next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 16.
GARY  Officials from the Project Outreach and Prevention On Youth Violence nonprofit are teaming up with Gary police to host a "no questions asked" gun turn-in event.

"We all have had our hearts broken at hearing of young people killed or severely injured by gun-related violence and accidents, but protecting our young people must be our number one public health initiative," POP Founder Dr. Michael McGee said.

The gun turn-in will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Dec. 16, and Dec. 22, at the Gary Police Department, located at 555 Polk St. The event will also include free gun safety locks for local schools to distribute to families.

"This is a true public health crisis, and we'll do everything we can to protect as many children as we can," McGee said.

POP hosted its first gun turn-in event last December where a total of ten guns were given to Gary police. Although this event may not eliminate shootings, it's proof something can be done to make a difference, McGee said.

While anyone can turn in a firearm without providing their names and identifying information, those who do will be entered into a raffle for a wide range of prizes, McGee said.

POP and Gary police will kick off the gun turn-in, and safety lock giveaway at a news conference at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Gary Police Department. More than a thousand free gun safety locks will be provided to schools to distribute to families at the news conference.

For more information contact Michael Gonzalez at 219-617-0796, or by email at mikeg@steelshoresmedia.com.

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The Gary Chamber of Commerce will host newly elected mayor Eddie Melton next month for a talk about the future.

Melton will speak at a chamber luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 8 at Marquette Park Pavilion at 1 N. Grand Boulevard in Gary. The doors open at 11 a.m. for networking.

The former state senator, who was recently elected as the city of Gary's 22nd mayor after unseating incumbent Jerome Prince in the May primary, will deliver the keynote address to the business crowd.

"Mayor Melton will share his vision for 2024 and give an overview of the opportunities on the horizon for the city of Gary, Northwest Indiana and the business community," the Gary Chamber of Commerce said in a news release.

The luncheon is open to both members and the general public.

Tickets are $50 per person and include lunch. Reservations are required in advance as it's a seated luncheon.

The Gary Chamber of Commerce represents businesses across Northwest Indiana ranging from industrial behemoths like U.S. Steel and BP to mom-and-pop shops in a number of sectors. It serves a wide cross-section of businesses, including in accounting, advertising, banking, computer security, notary services, finance, insurance, plumbing, railroads, restaurants, funeral homes and graphic design shops.

Members meet monthly to network, hear from speakers and discuss various business matters in the Steel City.

For more information or to buy tickets, call 219-885-7407.
GARY  Javonte Anderson has always wanted to tell stories about his hometown.

Now, as the editor of the newly-created Capital B Gary newsroom, Anderson will get to do just that.

"When I heard Capital B was coming to Gary I was blown away," Anderson said. "The concept of a newsroom coming to Gary was mind-blowing."

Launched in 2022, Capital B is a local and national nonprofit newsroom that is led by Black journalists and focuses on Black communities. The national site produces stories on topics like health, education and the environment, issues that impact Black people across the country. The outlet's first local bureau, Capital B Atlanta publishes information relevant to residents, like how to apply for affordable housing, political explainers and where to vote.

Capital B announced they would be launching their second local newsroom in Gary last winter. While Gary's population is less than seven-times smaller than Atlanta's, Anderson said the city's strong African American community and need for a dedicated, hyperlocal news outlet made it a perfect fit for Capital B.

"Capital B saw the value in bringing a newsroom to Gary exclusively," Anderson said, noting one of the Steel City's biggest challenges is its "stigma and the way Gary is still perpetrated in the media."

Growing up in Gary, Anderson's dream was to work at the Post Tribune "as that was our paper of record." He achieved that dream after graduating from Indiana University Bloomington. After two years at the Post, Anderson started working at the Chicago Tribune and then the Toledo Blade. He eventually became a national reporter covering racism and history for USA Today.

However, Anderson said getting to start a news outlet in his hometown might just be a career high.

The last few months have been busy for Anderson. So far the Capital B team consists of just three people  Anderson, health and environment reporter Jenae Barnes and youth and education reporter Maddy Franklin. The team had to create the website, start the social media accounts and prepare a lineup of stories for Capital B's Oct. 31 launch.

Capital B Gary's work can be accessed online and is entirely free. The news outlet also has a weekly email newsletter. Anderson said they have discussed the possibility of making some articles available in print. Capital B's new office is located in the historic Gary State Bank building at 504 Broadway.

While the newsroom is still being established, Capital B Gary's goals are clear.

Anderson said he wants the publication to increase civic involvement in the city, improve government transparency, question what needs to change in the city and spotlight all the good things happening in Gary.

Currently, when you Google "Is Gary Indiana," the first three autocomplete words that pop-up are "dangerous," "safe" and "abandoned." Anderson said it's time to change the city's "algorithm."

When we have these outside media folks who come in  and they just want write this big, sexy piece where they go and take pictures of every abandoned building in the city, then thats whats promoted," Anderson said.

A prime example of Gary's negative portrayal in the national media came in 2019 when Gary was named the "Most Miserable City in America" by Business Insider. The article cited the city's population decline and crime rates. However, current Mayor Jerome Prince, who was a mayoral candidate at the time, said the article failed to look at "the human side" of Gary.

Anderson said he often is met with an "audible gasp" when he tells people where he's from.

Its like people are scared of the city ... thats why I think Capital B Gary is so important to contribute to this media landscape and help change that narrative," Anderson said. "Sometimes it's just about giving more exposure to everything thats happening in the city. There are more things happening than just the crime, than just another abandoned building."

This desire to see more positive news coming out of Gary prompted Capital B to start the "Community Spotlight," a regular feature that highlights a person, place or thing that is enriching the city. Capital B's first Community Spotlight was on an entrepreneur who recently opened a flower shop in the city.

The outlet also wants to listen to Gary residents and hear what they want to see covered. Capital B has already received over 100 responses from an online survey and they gave out supplies during a back-to-school fair. Capital B is also launching a community documenters program.

Starting in December, Gary residents who participate in a brief training can get paid $20-an-hour to attend city meetings and take notes. The notes will then be published on Capital B's website.

Community engagement is the engine that drives Capital B," Anderson said.

Over the next few months, Capital B hopes to grow its team by adding a community engagement editor, a government and politics reporter, and a business reporter.

It has been challenging, an insane amount of work, but also very exhilarating," Anderson said. "I still wake up with a pep in my step every morning."

Capital B Gary's website can be accessed at gary.capitalbnews.org. The community survey is available at gary.capitalbnews.org/gary-report-back/.

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Alexa Addison remembers what vapes looked like when she was in high school. The dominant e-cigarette was Juul, a slim, black rectangle with sharp corners that resembled a flash drive.

By the time Ms. Addison, 19, started college at the University of North Carolina Wilmington last year, the vape du jour had shifted. She saw many of her classmates brandishing Elf Bars, brightly colored e-cigarettes that looked like ombre AirPods cases, with gently sloped chimneys for inhalation.

She bought flavors like pina colada and strawberry-kiwi, and took pictures when the candy-colored gradients of the devices coordinated with her outfits. Soon she found herself going through an Elf Bar a week. (Each one contains as much nicotine as 590 cigarettes, according to one estimate.) Ms. Addison said that during her period of most intense use, her gums turned gray.
European Union policymakers agreed on Friday to a sweeping new law to regulate artificial intelligence, one of the worlds first comprehensive attempts to limit the use of a rapidly evolving technology that has wide-ranging societal and economic implications.

The law, called the A.I. Act, sets a new global benchmark for countries seeking to harness the potential benefits of the technology, while trying to protect against its possible risks, like automating jobs, spreading misinformation online and endangering national security. The law still needs to go through a few final steps for approval, but the political agreement means its key outlines have been set.

European policymakers focused on A.I.s riskiest uses by companies and governments, including those for law enforcement and the operation of crucial services like water and energy. Makers of the largest general-purpose A.I. systems, like those powering the ChatGPT chatbot, would face new transparency requirements. Chatbots and software that creates manipulated images such as deepfakes would have to make clear that what people were seeing was generated by A.I., according to E.U. officials and earlier drafts of the law.

Use of facial recognition software by police and governments would be restricted outside of certain safety and national security exemptions. Companies that violated the regulations could face fines of up to 7 percent of global sales.
Family members attending the sentencing hearing on Friday described the devastating impact of the shooting on their lives.

Nov. 30, 2021, is a day that has forever changed my life. It burns into my body like a cigarette burn, Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, said. Its a feeling that no parent should ever feel.

Speaking to the gunman but not saying his name, Ms. Beausoleil stated, I dont wish death upon you, that would be too easy. I hope the thoughts consume you and they replay over and over in your head, she said. I hope the screams keep you up at night.

Steve St. Juliana, the father of Hana, told the court on Friday that he cannot forgive the gunman for murdering his daughter and the three other students. There can be no rehabilitation, he said, adding that there is utterly nothing that he could ever do to contribute to society that would make up for the lives that he has so ruthlessly taken.

Former Oxford High School students who were shot on Nov. 30 but survived spoke about their resulting physical limitations and the ways that their anxiety had changed how they think, feel and act every day. Other students similarly talked about constant struggles with nightmares, depression and panic attacks.
HANOI, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's shrimp exports are forecasted to reach 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, 21 percent lower than 2022's figure, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday, citing the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

According to the association, the country's shrimp exports in November topped 310 million dollars, an increase of 3.5 percent year on year.

In the first 11 months of 2023, the shrimp export revenue was estimated at about 3.15 billion dollars, a decrease of 22 percent year on year.

The association predicted that Vietnam's shrimp prices will see upward trends in the remaining time of the year in the European Union, Southeast Asia, and the Far East as major festivals are coming.

Vietnam is exporting shrimp to about 100 countries and territories across the world, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Southeast Asian country has emerged as the world's second-largest shrimp supplier, accounting for 13-14 percent of the total global value, the ministry said. 
Just a few months ago, President Biden rarely said the name of his likely opponent in the 2024 presidential election  former President Donald J. Trump  instead invoking other Republicans as proxies during public events or, on occasion, referring simply to the former guy.

But speaking in Las Vegas on Friday, Mr. Biden didnt hold back.

Trump just talks to talk, he said at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas, a union hub favored by Democrats. We walk the walk.

And then his words turned even sharper: He likes to say America is a failing nation. Frankly, he doesnt know what the hell hes talking about.

Mr. Biden was in Las Vegas to announce $8.2 billion in funding for passenger rail projects, and he used the opportunity to criticize his predecessors approach to infrastructure, saying that the last administration tried to cancel a rail project in California and that his latest investments stand in stark contrast.
The Biden administration showed no new signs on Friday that it was prepared to take a tougher line on Israels military operation against Hamas as desperate conditions in Gaza grew even worse, with civilian deaths rising and aid groups warning of shortages of water, food and medicine.

Biden officials say Israel must do more to limit civilian casualties and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. But that still leaves Americas position far from that of many Arab countries, which are demanding an immediate cease-fire and blame Israel for what they call a profoundly disproportionate response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

During a visit to Washington on Friday, ministers from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations said at a news conference that the Israeli offensive must stop, with Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, accusing Israel of committing a massacre.

In New York on Friday, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates that called for a humanitarian cease-fire  a lonely position against 13 votes in favor.
In her first campaign stop since Wednesdays contentious Republican debate, Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and former governor of South Carolina, largely ignored the many attacks that her fellow candidates, aware of her rise in the polls, had lobbed at her. What she did discuss suggested she continued to feel that the criticism wasnt, as she said on Wednesday night, worth my time.

Speaking to about 100 people in a convention center conference room in Sioux City, Iowa, on Friday, Ms. Haley stuck to the topics that have become the cornerstones of her campaign  her foreign policy experience and her willingness to tell hard truths. She railed against China, pledged to be a fiscally responsible president and even answered a question about fears that Venezuela could invade its South American neighbor, Guyana.

Despite her growing rivalry with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to become the chief alternative to former President Donald J. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, Ms. Haley did not mention Mr. DeSantis by name, nor did she mention the debate  where she was in the line of fire for much of the evening  until the final minutes of the event.

Responding to a voters question about her standing in the race, Ms. Haley said she did not think she needed to win the Iowa caucus to be successful.
U.N. humanitarian officials warned on Friday of an increasingly dire situation in the Gaza Strip, with aid operations all but incapacitated by the intensifying fighting in the south and civil order breaking down.

As the Security Council prepared for a vote over a demand for a cease-fire, relief workers in southern Gaza were anxiously seeking more aid. Israels increasing airstrikes and ground operations in the south have made relief efforts erratic and undependable, the United Nations says, and the enclave is suffering shortages of food, water and medicine.

With constant bombardment, low and irregular flow of food and other humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip compared to the immense needs of displaced people in our overcrowded shelters and outside, UNRWAs ability to assist and protect people is reducing fast, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of U.N. agency that assists Palestinians, said in statement.

He said he had written to the General Assemblys president to relay that the agencys ability to continue delivering its mandate in Gaza has now become very limited.
As criticism mounted of Israels mass detention of Palestinian men in Gaza, the government defended the roundup, saying it needed to detain hundreds of men to determine if any of them were connected to Hamas.

The detentions sparked outrage after photos and video of the detainees  tied up outdoors and stripped to their underwear  spread widely on social media on Thursday.

On Friday, an Israeli government spokesman, Eylon Levy, said Israeli forces had detained men in Jabaliya and Shajaiye, areas in northern Gaza that have seen punishing airstrikes and fierce fighting in recent days. Israel has described those areas as strongholds for Hamas, which has governed Gaza since it seized power there in 2007.

Were talking about military-age men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago, Mr. Levy said. Those individuals will be questioned and we will work out who indeed was a Hamas terrorist and who is not.
The United States on Friday vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has launched hundreds of strikes, relief efforts were faltering and people were growing so desperate for basic necessities that some were stoning and raiding aid convoys.

The U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres, and most members of the Security Council had backed the measure, saying that the humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal enclave where 2.2 million Palestinians live could threaten world stability.

But the United States, which is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, blocked the resolution, arguing that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas attacks. The vote was 13 to 1, with Britain abstaining and some U.S. allies like France voting for a cease-fire.

Robert A. Wood, who was representing the United States on the Council, said after the veto that the resolution for an unconditional and immediate cease-fire was not only unrealistic, but dangerous  it would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7.
Israeli troops conducted at least one targeted raid in the Gaza Strip on Friday in a failed attempt to rescue hostages held by Hamas, both sides said, making competing claims about deaths and injuries inflicted.

The Israeli military and the military wing of Hamas gave differing accounts, leaving it unclear whether they were describing the same rescue attempt or two separate events.

Two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in a rescue mission that did not recover any hostages, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the military, told reporters.

The forces raided a Hamas site and eliminated terrorists who had taken part in the abduction and captivity of hostages, he said.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of Lower Manhattan on Friday afternoon for what was billed as a Shut Down Wall Street event, just as the United States vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Protesters rallied in front of a number of prominent city landmarks in Lower Manhattan, including City Hall and Wall Street, chanting, Free Palestine, calling for an end to the United States financial support of Israel and denouncing the U.S. veto.

I think its absolutely appalling that the U.S. vetoed a cease-fire, said Kyle Turner, 29, who was protesting at Wall Street. This is a humanitarian crisis, and the fact that this is still a third-rail issue for so many people is astonishing and heartbreaking.

The resolution, which was submitted by the United Arab Emirates, had broad backing from the U.N.s secretary general and most members of the Security Council because of concerns over the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, where health authorities say more than 15,000 people have been killed in two months of war with Israel. The war was set off by Hamas-led attacks on Israel that left some 1,200 people dead, according to Israeli authorities.
Illustrations by Simon Bailly.

In a series of articles in recent weeks, we have documented what appears to be a growing phenomenon: Banks shutting down customer checking accounts with little warning, explanation or opportunity for recourse. Innocent people and small business owners are baffled  and then enraged  as the banks clam up and say nothing, pointing to user agreements that allow them to shut down your accounts for any reason, anytime they want. The banks dont relish having these tales of eviction told. But they face a challenge that customers often dont understand: Regulators are constantly looking over their shoulders, sniffing out signs of money laundering or fraud, and evidence that banks arent taking crime prevention seriously enough. Its how strictly the banks interpret the laws enforced by regulators that ultimately determines whether customers are unceremoniously dumped. They also have some discretion, even if they often err on the side of eviction. This is true whether the bank suspects an international criminal ring may be at work (a growing problem) or that an individual customer is trying to pull a fast one on the institution, a perennial concern. With the help of banking insiders across the country, we tried to get inside the heads of the employees making these decisions, using a true story as a case study. At each turn, bankers face a number of choices. Below, well put you in the banks position and let you decide what you would do. A Bartenders Tale Shortly after finishing her bartending shift in Chicago late one night, Daniela Gallegos walked to a Chase A.T.M. across the street to deposit a paycheck of about $100 plus $290 in cash tips. She had deposited cash in the middle of the night on other evenings, to avoid being robbed on the way home and to avoid overdrawing her account  which she had done a few times. Cash deposits during the wee hours can sometimes seem fishy to a bank, particularly if an account holder has exhibited other troubling behavior.

Question One How should an A.T.M. work at an unusual hour for deposits? (Select a choice to see the answer.) Accept both the check and cash deposits. Reject both deposits, spit her card out, and ping a branch banker to call her in for questioning about her late-night deposit. Confiscate her card and keep the money.

Later that day, she called Chase for an explanation and went to a branch. By then or soon after, things were happening in the background that call center employees or branch bankers would probably not be privy to.

Question Two Youve trained the security analysts who monitor accounts. What would you want them to do when they review Ms. Gallegoss situation with the A.T.M.? Cancel her account. Call Ms. Gallegos to get her explanation of what happened at the A.T.M. Everything in choice 2, plus explain to her exactly what set off alarms. Everything in Choices 2 and 3, plus bar her from making A.T.M. deposits, just to make sure tellers can keep an eye on her when she deposits cash with them.

The banks are constantly monitoring for criminals perpetrating fraud or money laundering. In this case, the bank had concerns about fraud. But if someone else had made a series of questionable late-night deposits  in combination with other suspicious behavior, for example  the activity may have been flagged as possible money laundering. The banks have to follow a variety of laws. Regulations emerge from the laws, and many of the regulations are open to interpretation. That means lawyers for the bank  both in-house and outside counsel  are regularly handing out instructions to even the most junior bankers. Regulators then follow up, constantly, often questioning specific decisions and transactions. Bankers must know who their customers are and what theyre doing with their money. Staff have to track the daily drumbeat of communications from regulators and law enforcement agencies, and keep track of who has landed on government lists of criminals and suspects. Analysts must also stay on top of which illegal schemes are new or on the rise. Maybe its Russian oligarchs, human smuggling or the ever-present elder fraud. Bank employees can see and hear only so much. That means software has to do most of the work of detecting suspicious activity. A junior-level analyst might review a pile of warning pings each day and then consult with others to decide if a follow-up is necessary. The apex of this process is the suspicious activity report, which banks and other institutions file to the federal government.

Question Three When should a bank employee file a SAR to the federal government? Every time you think a customer eviction might be warranted. Only when youre sure the customer broke the law. Whenever your Spidey sense tells you that someones behavior is suspicious, even if you have no evidence of illegal activity.

And paranoia abounds. According to Thomson Reuters, banks filed more than 1.8 million SARs in 2022, a 50 percent increase in just two years. This year, the figure is on track to reach nearly two million. And really, why wouldnt a banker send one along? There is no penalty for overfiling, though each one does take time to complete. Missing something important, however, can derail a career and cost a bank millions of dollars in fines. Doug Keipper, a certified anti-money laundering specialist teaches an instructional course for bank employees on writing the reports. He said: When I tell people what I do for a living and they ask me, Well, do you have a badge? Do you have a gun? the answer he gives them is No and no. I have an Excel spreadsheet. I dont know that what these people did is necessarily illegal. My job is a suspicious activity report  it is not a guilty activity report. Nobody wants to be in a federal database for suspicious people. But was Ms. Gallegos?

Question Four As a banker, when is the best time to tell a customer or a former customer that you have filed a suspicious activity report? As soon as you do it. Never. Only when federal law enforcement officials follow up.

Chase wouldnt comment on whether it filed a SAR based on her activity. But if youre a banker, having no conversation at all with someone who isnt even your customer anymore keeps you out of any possible regulatory or legal trouble. When Chase closed Ms. Gallegoss account, it had sent her a letter in the mail explaining that it was closing her account because of recent activity. She said she never received it, but it wouldnt have helped much given its vagueness. When Ms. Gallegos told a friend  a former Chase employee  about her situation, she said her account was probably flagged because she made late-night deposits in small increments, which can look suspicious. The bank didnt explain it that way in its statement on the matter. Instead, it portrayed its choice as a basic consideration of risk. To protect against future losses, we closed Ms. Gallegos account and promptly mailed her a check for the balance in her account, plus the deposit she claimed was missing, as a courtesy, said Jerry Dubrowski, a Chase spokeswoman. And what if an exited customer actually is crooked? Wise evildoers crave feedback, even on the way out of a bank that has kicked them out. A bank may be reluctant to have a conversation about the reasons for closing an account with someone the government may perceive as a bad actor, said Sharon Cohen Levin, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell who has represented both banks and their evicted customers. There is a concern that any discussion will tip off the customer. If a SAR was filed, then there is a risk that the bank could unintentionally reveal that information. As for the innocent, it may not be strategically sensible for banks to give them a lot of information about how the bank made its decision  and where it erred. That can feed a loud argument in the branch from outraged people wanting to defend themselves, bad publicity or lawsuits that could eat up thousands of dollars. Better to make a clean break. Better for the banks, at least. The customers who lose their accounts leave an institution not knowing if that bank put them on some kind of industrywide blacklist. Theyre right to wonder, since many banks will tell you that youre barred for life from their institutions when they cancel your account. Moreover, it is indeed possible to lose banking privileges industrywide. Bouncing too many checks can land you in databases maintained by entities like ChexSystems and Early Warning Services. If your name is on that list, it may prevent you from opening a new bank account anywhere. That isnt what happened to Ms. Gallegos or others we interviewed for these stories. But plenty of people we heard from assumed that they did end up on a blacklist. They also figured they might get grilled by T.S.A. agents or some other government employee. This doesnt happen, but banks dont tell people that it wont. The SARs data is confidential, though hundreds of government agencies  including law enforcement and national security officials  can use it, as leads for their ongoing investigations or to start new ones. From the FinCEN perspective, nobody is subject to penalties just because they are mentioned in a SAR, said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Departments Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Once a bank kicks a customer out, its work is not quite done.

Question Five What are common practices for a bank after it has exited a customer? Fine-tune algorithms to flag patterns like the ones that had been exhibited by those who lost their account. Put the customers with canceled accounts on a semi-permanent blacklist. Give customers their money back. All of the above.
What was once a routine way to pay your bills  handwriting paper checks at the kitchen table, dropping envelopes into a blue metal box on the street  has become a high-risk endeavor: It provides the raw materials for low-level fraud artists and sophisticated crime rings, costing financial institutions billions. It has put banks on high alert, though their efforts to catch the fraud also routinely entangle innocent customers, causing institutions to suddenly freeze or shut down customer accounts in the process. Many of the bad guys manage to disappear without any consequences.

Fraudsters go where the money is easiest, said Chad Hetherington, a vice president at NICE Actimize, a financial crimes company specializing in fraud prevention.

Even as check use has rapidly declined over the past couple of decades, check fraud has risen sharply, particularly since the pandemic. The cons may start with stealing pieces of paper, but they leverage technology and social media to commit fraud on a grander scale, banking insiders and fraud experts said. In the past, criminals needed a special internet browser that would grant entry into the dark web marketplace of stolen checks, maybe even someone to vouch for them. Now all they need is an account from Telegram, a messaging app.

You can buy checks on the internet for $45, with a perfectly good signature, said John Ravita, director of business development at SQN Banking Systems, which provides check fraud detection software. There is one website that offers a money-back guarantee. Its like Nordstrom.

A recent surge in mail theft caused the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network  an arm of the Treasury Department known as FinCEN that is charged with safeguarding the financial system  to sound alarm bells this year. Thieves have attacked mail carriers, or stolen and sold carriers arrow keys, which unlock mailboxes within a certain area. The checks are stolen from the mail, and then criminals carry out a classic fraud: washing the checks using something as basic as nail polish remover, leaving the signature untouched. Others cook new checks by scanning and altering the old ones.
A person watches the creations by Chinese couturier Guo Pei in Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 8, 2023. The exhibition "Fashion, Art, Fantasy" from Saturday will showcase over 60 striking garments from Guo Pei's two-decade-long career, inviting New Zealanders to immerse themselves in the grandeur of her art couture. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- As the sun dipped below the Auckland skyline, the Auckland Art Gallery sparkled with the presence of celebrities and dignitaries, who came to celebrate the exquisite symphony of art, fashion and heritage as the Chinese couturier Guo Pei unveiled her exhibition "Fashion, Art, Fantasy."

The six-month exhibition from Saturday will showcase over 60 striking garments from Guo Pei's two-decade-long career, inviting New Zealanders to immerse themselves in the grandeur of her art couture.

The opening ceremony commenced with the soul-stirring resonance of Maori Karanga, a ceremonial call of welcome to the artist and her family, followed by traditional blessings and songs.

The exclusive exhibition not only displays Guo Pei's representative masterpiece, the Yellow Queen gown and outfits never seen before in any other gallery or museum, but also features a series of unique public events, including an interview with the artist, the Chinese New Year Festival and a fashion fantasy ball.

Kirsten Lacy, Director of the Auckland Art Gallery, was thrilled to bring Guo Pei's extraordinary work to New Zealand audiences for the first time.

"It is a privilege to present the magnificent work of Guo Pei to New Zealand, for the very first time," she said. Describing Guo Pei's creations as more than fashion, she coined the term "art couture" to capture the essence of the exhibition.

Guo Pei said in her speech that she wished to share her love and inspiration in her work with the New Zealand audience.

"Art transcends all the boundaries we impose. I aspire for my work to convey integrity, to transmit love, and to embody my civilization, along with the culture that flows in my veins," said the artist.

"In reality, culture and art know no borders; they belong not only to a single nation or ethnicity but to all of humanity. A country's museum represents the culture and refinement of its people," she noted.

"Much of my learning has been derived from museums, and I am delighted to present, in the most beautiful manner, within this art gallery and share with everyone, inspiring and uplifting all."

Guo Pei herself also engaged in an exchange by introducing her work to the audience, offering insights into the inspiration behind each creation.

The Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong addressed in his speech, "What makes Ms Guo Pei so unique is the ability to combine what is traditional and what is modern and contemporary and even futuristic. Her art combines what is East and what is West. The products are amazing beauty, filled with global art."

"I think the exhibition will help to open a window with unique looking glass through which, hopefully, more New Zealanders could get to know China better. A country that is increasingly resonating with the rest of the world but, at the same time, keeps its roots firmly and deeply in its time and traditions," Wang said.

Exhibition attendees, including the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, showed their genuine fondness for the craftsmanship and elegance manifested in Guo's haute couture.

Gordon Bayne, CEO of a local media company, commented on the exhibition's uniqueness, remarking, "Truly magnificent! New Zealanders love fashion, and we celebrate artistry. It's very much welcome for Kiwis to see this amazing exhibition."

Indulging themselves in front of the several thousand hours of handmade silk embroidery haute couture, business owner Liz Scott and her husband Glen from Waiheke Island acknowledged the dedication put into the dresses. "We are lucky to be in New Zealand to have the exhibition," they marvelled.

Siblings Alex and Michael Jones, who resided in Beijing for several years, spoke about their deep connection to Chinese culture and their inspiration from Guo Pei's work. "We miss Beijing a lot. Guo's work is truly inspiring to the young generation," they shared.

Phoebe Watt, an editor from FashioNZ, took photos of every piece of the dresses on the show. She characterized the exhibition as unparalleled in Australasia. "This is the best fashion exhibition ever. The Yellow Queen is a must-see. But I also fall in love with other collections such as the Legend of Dragon, the L'Architecture, and the Legends," she enthused.

Adding to the chorus of voices, Sharon Lacy, a lawyer and a dedicated art enthusiast flying from Australia, attested to the dramatic power of Guo Pei's work. "The exhibition showcases different series, making it a powerful blend of Eastern and Western histories and cultures," she observed.

Born in Beijing, Guo Pei is a world-renowned couturier known for her opulent and intricately detailed creations. With a career spanning over two decades, Guo Pei has been a trailblazer in the fashion world, pushing boundaries and redefining the concept of haute couture. 

A person watches the creations by Chinese couturier Guo Pei in Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 8, 2023. The exhibition "Fashion, Art, Fantasy" from Saturday will showcase over 60 striking garments from Guo Pei's two-decade-long career, inviting New Zealanders to immerse themselves in the grandeur of her art couture. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

Visitors watch a creation by Chinese couturier Guo Pei in Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 8, 2023. The exhibition "Fashion, Art, Fantasy" from Saturday will showcase over 60 striking garments from Guo Pei's two-decade-long career, inviting New Zealanders to immerse themselves in the grandeur of her art couture. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

A person watches a creation by Chinese couturier Guo Pei in Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 8, 2023. The exhibition "Fashion, Art, Fantasy" from Saturday will showcase over 60 striking garments from Guo Pei's two-decade-long career, inviting New Zealanders to immerse themselves in the grandeur of her art couture. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
Chrissy West is taking a new approach to her Christmas shopping this year. When buying gifts for her family, she plans to finance them by cashing in her Ulta loyalty points.

A makeup aficionado who enjoys buying lip gloss and blush, Ms. West has racked up hundreds of loyalty points at Ulta, the beauty retailer. During a shopping haul in September, she redeemed over 800 points, which brought an $89 bill down to $57.

Ms. West has focused on spending less money this year, and using her loyalty points is the way she plans to actually do that during the holiday shopping season. She has 233 points left.

I would just use my points on the gifts for my sisters because I kind of have all the products that I want, said Ms. West, a 23-year-old graduate student in Tallahassee, Fla. I would like to use it to the point where its almost free, but because I have so little its just going to be a discount.
Maria Emilia Martin, who founded Latino USA, which is now the longest-running public radio show in the country covering Latino communities, and who trained and mentored hundreds of journalists in Central and South America, died on Dec. 2 at a hospice facility in Austin, Texas. She was 72.

The cause was complications of surgery, said the NPR arts correspondent Mandalit del Barco, a protegee of Ms. Martins.

Ms. Martin had not been planning on a career as a journalist. Like many of her peers, she had been inspired by the civil rights movement to think about organizing on behalf of her cultural heritage as a Mexican American.

In the early 1970s, when she first heard KBBF, a Latino-owned and Latino-operated public radio station broadcasting out of Santa Rosa, Calif., where she was a social worker, she signed on as a volunteer to help produce a weekly talk show devoted to womens issues, including sexuality, birth control and abortion. She was moved by the shows powerful reach, and by the particular impact it had on low-income farm workers, many of them women who would call from pay phones with their questions so that their husbands would not hear them.
SmileDirectClub, a telehealth company that sold teeth-straightening devices through the mail and faced criticism from medical groups, said on Friday that it had shut down.

The company, founded in 2014, sold teeth aligners online and in its shops for $1,850. It marketed them as a faster, cheaper alternative to braces. SmileDirectClubs initial public offering in 2019 valued it at $8.9 billion.

SmileDirectClub served more than two million customers over nearly a decade. But the company was not profitable and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September with nearly $900 million of debt, court filings and financial statements show. And this year, it settled a lawsuit from the District of Columbia attorney generals office that had accused the company of using confidentiality clauses to stifle consumer criticism.

On Friday, SmileDirectClub said on its website that it was shutting down its global operations immediately. It apologized to customers for the inconvenience, and urged them to consult a doctor or dentist about future treatment.
Last week, I downloaded Telegram, a messaging app where fraudulent activity is particularly robust, and quickly found forums selling stolen checks. I called the people who had written the first 20 stolen checks that I found for sale to ask them if they were aware that they had become victims. They were not pleased.

So whats the deal with this online market?

It starts with a pretty low-tech operation, after people pay bills, put checks in envelopes and drop them into a blue mailbox. At that point, criminals find ways to take them out. Or its an inside job at the post office, or elsewhere.
The next United Nations climate change summit appears set to take place in Azerbaijan, a spokesman for the country said Saturday, resolving a bitter, monthslong political standoff over which nation should host the talks in 2024.

Azerbaijan would be the third major oil and gas producer in a row to host the annual U.N. negotiations on tackling global warming, which is largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels. This years summit, known as COP28, is being held in the United Arab Emirates, the worlds seventh-largest producer of oil.

Azerbaijans government is considered authoritarian by many analysts. Human rights groups have documented widespread corruption and political repression over the 20-year rule of the countrys president, Ilham Aliyev.

The prolonged uncertainty over which country would host the next climate summit has cast a shadow over the current talks in Dubai, as tensions over Russias war in Ukraine nearly derailed the ability of diplomats to find a new host. While the nearly 200 countries gathered here are focused on more complex questions like whether and how to curb their use of fossil fuels, the inability to select a site for the next conference loomed as a troubling sign for global cooperation.
Toby Gould was an early adopter. In September, Mr. Gould, 78, went to a pharmacy in Hyannis, Mass., to get one of the new vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus, known as R.S.V. He has asthma, which would heighten his risk of serious illness if he were to be infected.

Carol Kerton, 64, knew R.S.V. could be dangerous: Her 3-year-old granddaughter had such a severe case that she was taken to an emergency room. Ms. Kerton was vaccinated in September at a local supermarket in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Sam Delson, 63, received the R.S.V. vaccine last month in Sacramento. His doctor recommended it, he said, because Im over 60 and have a somewhat weakened immune system after a long-ago bout with cancer.

They are the exceptions. So far, only about 15 percent of Americans over 60 have received one of the two new R.S.V. shots, which the Food and Drug Administration approved in May and are the first-ever vaccines against the disease. Just 16 percent more said they definitely planned to, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The extent of his unpopularity was quantified this week in a stunning Quinnipiac University poll: Only 28 percent of New Yorkers approve of the job Mr. Adams is doing, the lowest for any New York City mayor in a Quinnipiac poll since it began surveying the city in 1996.

Mr. Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing in the F.B.I. investigation, and he is hardly the first mayor who has faced an investigation: His predecessor, Bill de Blasio, also faced an inquiry into his campaigns finances. But the political world remains abuzz about his future, especially after the F.B.I. seized his cellphones on the street.

One political consulting firm was so curious to know how far the mayors star had fallen that it commissioned its own poll to ask New Yorkers who they would support in a special election if Mr. Adams resigned.

Were in a period of enormous political uncertainty, said Evan Roth Smith, a founding partner at Slingshot Strategies. He added: A special election is far from a certainty, but its clearly a possibility.

The poll found that Mr. Cuomo would be the most popular candidate at 22 percent, followed by the citys public advocate, Jumaane Williams, at 15 percent. Kathryn Garcia, a former sanitation commissioner who finished second in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, came in third at 12 percent.
This article is part of Overlooked, a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times.

When Ada Blackjack arrived on Wrangel Island as part of a 1921 polar expedition, she knew nearly nothing about Arctic survival.

She had never built a house or shelter. Guns and knives terrified her, as did polar bears. And she had never stored provisions or trapped small game.
This column was updated to reflect the news.

I was still kvelling about earning my Ivy League degree when the glow of that parchment dimmed.

On Tuesday, the presidents of Harvard, M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania put on a pathetic display on Capitol Hill when they were asked if calling for genocide against Jews counted as harassment.

It depends, they all said. Penns Elizabeth Magill offered a chilling bit of legalese. It is a context-dependent decision, she told Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from upstate New York.

Not since Bill Clinton was asked about having sex with Monica Lewinsky and replied, It depends on what the meaning of the word is is, has there been such parsing.
To the Editor:

Re The Startling Evidence on Learning Loss Is In (editorial, Nov. 19):

Bah humbug! American children suffered from learning loss before Covid. In 2019, 35 percent of fourth graders read at or above grade level, 41 percent in math. Hardly impressive. Moreover, we dont test for skills employers care about  collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creative innovation.

The science of how brains learn might help us refashion school for the 21st century. Students dont learn well sitting passively in large classes memorizing facts to be regurgitated. Students learn in active, engaged, meaningful and socially interactive classrooms.

Teachers know this. We can teach required curriculums in richer ways that spark deeper learning. Want increased student attendance and more engaged learning? Let teachers create active, joyful classrooms. School does not have to be boring.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

Nancy Streim

Ms. Hirsh-Pasek, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor of psychology at Temple University, is the author of Making Schools Work. Ms. Streim is former associate vice president of Teachers College, Columbia University.
COLOMBO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan migrant workers have remitted 5.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2023, the latest data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has showed.

The workers remitted 537.3 million dollars in November, up 40 percent from 384.4 million dollars from the same month last year, according to CBSL data released on Friday.

Workers sent 3.3 billion dollars in the first 11 months of 2022, CBSL data showed.

Migrant workers' remittances are one of the main sources of foreign revenues for Sri Lanka.

Over 275,000 Sri Lankans have gone for foreign jobs by the end of November 2023, the country's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told parliament on Thursday. 
Homelessness is an American tragedy, but its not hopeless. In a recent column, I explored how Houston has become a national model by reducing homelessness by more than 60 percent.

One takeaway is that homelessness, above all, reflects a shortage of cheap housing. So Im intrigued by an approach to providing such housing thats gaining ground around the country. Its an idea so old, it seems new: converting single-family houses to rooming houses.

Rooming houses, boardinghouses or single room occupancy (S.R.O.) hotels used to be ubiquitous. President Thomas Jefferson stayed in a boardinghouse for several months before moving into the White House. At the seedier end, S.R.O.s largely disappeared over the past half-century, partly because of zoning and economic development projects.

In Houston I dropped in on a home operated by PadSplit, a company that offers furnished bedrooms for working-class Americans. PadSplit, which is something like a long-term Airbnb for rooming houses, has housed 22,000 people so far and is growing fast.
Im delighted to invite university students to apply for my 2024 win-a-trip contest. Ive been holding these contests since 2006, and taking the winners along with me on a reporting trip to cover global poverty and social justice issues. My aim is to get more people writing about these neglected topics and to generate more interest in them.

The winner may write for The New York Times. HBO made a documentary called Reporter based on my 2007 win-a-trip journey to Congo with the winners Leana Wen and Will Okun; its available to stream on Amazon and iTunes if you want to see what youre getting yourself in for. The contest opens now and the entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. E.T. on Jan. 7, 2024.

The contest is open to students enrolled in an American two- or four-year college or university, either as an undergraduate or at the graduate level. Please use the form below to submit an essay of up to 700 words explaining why we should pick you to win the trip. Tell us about yourself and what you would bring to the reporting and to readers. If youd like, you may also suggest where we should go and what you would like to write about for The Times, and/or discuss your aspirations and what you would like to be doing in 10 years. Our goal is to get a better understanding of you, your accomplishments and your writing ability. Read the full rules below.

What are we looking for? Someone very smart, with excellent communication skills, so that your writing and posts on social media will elevate these issues. If you blog or have other writing, photography or video experience, be sure to mention it and include links; youre also welcome to include a short bio to give us more of a sense of your interests and accomplishments.
On Nov. 17, Silicon Valley tumbled into turmoil when Sam Altman, chief executive of the high-profile A.I. start-up OpenAI, was suddenly removed by the companys board of directors. After a five-day roller-coaster ride that encapsulated the increasingly heated battle over the future of artificial intelligence, Mr. Altman was reinstated and a new board was created. Here is a list of players in the years biggest tech drama:

Image Credit... Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Sam Altman, OpenAIs chief executive and a founder: Mr. Altman founded OpenAI as a nonprofit lab with Elon Musk and several others in 2015, while serving as the president of Y Combinator, a powerful Silicon Valley start-up incubator. He took over as chief executive in 2018, attached the lab to a for-profit company and soon raised $1 billion in funding from Microsoft.

Image Credit... Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Greg Brockman, OpenAIs president and a founder: After dropping out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Brockman was the chief technology officer at Stripe, an online payment company that Mr. Altman helped incubate. He was among OpenAIs 12 founders, saying the lab would build A.I. that was free from the corporate pressures that drove Google and other tech giants.

Image Credit... Jim Wilson/The New York Times
The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association agree about very little. They are often on opposite sides in major cases, and they certainly have starkly different views about gun rights.

But when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the N.R.A.s free-speech challenge to what it said were a New York officials efforts to blacklist it, one of its lawyers had a bold idea. Why not ask the A.C.L.U. to represent it before the justices?

The N.R.A. might be thought of as the 800-pound gorilla on the Second Amendment, said the lawyer, William A. Brewer III. Clearly, the A.C.L.U. is the 800-pound gorilla on the First Amendment.

David Cole, the civil liberties groups national legal director, said the request in one sense posed a hard question.
The president of the University of Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Magill, resigned on Saturday, four days after she came under fire for her responses at a congressional hearing on Tuesday in which she was pressed, along with the presidents of Harvard and M.I.T., on whether students calling for the genocide of Jews should be disciplined.

Ms. Magill seemed to evade the question and drew intense criticism from donors, students and others, some of whom were already angry that she had allowed a Palestinian writers conference to be held on campus in September.

Ms. Magill is the first president of a major university to step down because of the fallout from the protests that have engulfed campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Here is some background on her decision.

What happened at the Dec. 5 congressional hearing?

At a hearing of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday, Ms. Magill testified alongside Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, and Sally Kornbluth, the president of M.I.T. They all said they were appalled by antisemitism and were taking action against it on campus. When asked whether they supported the right of Israel to exist, they answered yes without equivocation.
Ask Minnesotans about the states official flag, and prepare for a crush of critiques.

Start with legibility. Viewed from afar, it is difficult to make sense of the jumble of dates, stars and the state slogan, in French, which rings the centerpiece image.

Aesthetically, it is, well, not a marvel, many a Minnesotan will tell you, with Midwestern restraint.

Zoom in on the scene depicted at the core, which happens to be the state seal, to understand why a lawmaker who led the latest effort to retire the flag calls it a cluttered genocidal mess.
For 74 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been Americas most important military alliance. Presidents of both parties have seen NATO as a force multiplier enhancing the influence of the United States by uniting countries on both sides of the Atlantic in a vow to defend one another.

Donald J. Trump has made it clear that he sees NATO as a drain on American resources by freeloaders. He has held that view for at least a quarter of a century.

In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, Mr. Trump wrote that pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually. As president, he repeatedly threatened a United States withdrawal from the alliance.

Yet as he runs to regain the White House, Mr. Trump has said precious little about his intentions. His campaign website contains a single cryptic sentence: We have to finish the process we began under my administration of fundamentally re-evaluating NATOs purpose and NATOs mission. He and his team refuse to elaborate.
When a historian wrote an essay the other day warning that the election of former President Donald J. Trump next year could lead to dictatorship, one of Mr. Trumps allies quickly responded by calling for the historian to be sent to prison.

It almost sounds like a parody: The response to concerns about dictatorship is to prosecute the author. But Mr. Trump and his allies are not going out of their way to reassure those worried about what a new term would bring by firmly rejecting the dictatorship charge. If anything, they seem to be leaning into it.

If Mr. Trump is returned to office, people close to him have vowed to come after the news media, open criminal investigations into onetime aides who broke with the former president and purge the government of civil servants deemed disloyal. When critics said Mr. Trumps language about ridding Washington of vermin echoed that of Adolf Hitler, the former presidents spokesman said the critics sad, miserable existence will be crushed under a new Trump administration.

Mr. Trump himself did little to assuage Americans when his friend Sean Hannity tried to help him out on Fox News this past week. During a town hall-style meeting, Mr. Hannity tossed a seeming softball by asking Mr. Trump to reaffirm that of course he did not intend to abuse his power and use the government to punish enemies. Instead of simply agreeing, Mr. Trump said he would only be a dictator on Day 1 of a new term.
The president of the University of Pennsylvania, M. Elizabeth Magill, resigned on Saturday, four days after she appeared before Congress and appeared to evade the question of whether students who called for the genocide of Jews should be punished.

Support for Ms. Magill, already shaken in recent months over her approach to a Palestinian literary conference and the universitys initial response to the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, unraveled after her testimony. Influential graduates questioned her leadership, wealthy contributors moved to withdraw donations, and public officials besieged the university to oust its president.

By Saturday evening, a day before Penns board of trustees was expected to meet, Ms. Magill said that she would quit. Scott L. Bok, the boards chairman, said in an email to the Penn community that Ms. Magill had voluntarily tendered her resignation.

Less than an hour later, Mr. Bok announced that he, too, had resigned, deepening the turmoil at one of the nations most prestigious universities.
A clash between gunmen and members of a small farming community in central Mexico has left at least 14 people dead, the state authorities said Saturday, casting the violence as a gang extortion attempt that backfired when residents fought back.

Officials said the dead from the clash on Friday included four locals in the community, the town of Texcapilla, and 10 people suspected of being cartel members; seven other people were injured and more remained missing.

Delfina Gomez, the governor of the State of Mexico, where Texcapilla is, said Saturday morning at a news conference that she had asked for security to be reinforced in the region.

These events do not paralyze us; on the contrary, they reaffirm our commitment to improve the security conditions of our beloved state, she said. We will continue to work to ensure that episodes like this do not happen again.
TOKYO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in response to allegations of slush funds within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) factions, has reportedly decided to replace Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, local media Jiji Press reported on Saturday.

This decision was disclosed by multiple government and ruling party sources on the same day, said the report. 
It was never just about the neon, that Cubist, consumerist razzle-dazzle cantilevered over Hong Kongs streets announcing pawnbrokers and mooncake bakers, saunas and sharks fin soup shops.

It was never just about the signs, shining on teahouses offering the finest Iron Goddess of Mercy brew and on hotels paid for by the hour, or on Chinese medicine emporiums bursting with wooden drawers of seahorses and on mahjong parlors clickety-clacking with manicured nails hitting hard tiles.

Because while the governments crackdown on the neon signs stems from safety and environmental concerns, the campaign evokes the fading of Hong Kong itself: the mournful allegory for an electric citys decline, the literal extinguishing of its brash flash.

Nights in Hong Kong these days feel as if still in the pall of a plague, or a deep political malaise.
Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta, and Scott Moe, her counterpart in Saskatchewan, are participating in the meetings with the aim of promoting continued development of oil and gas. And they were joined by a large contingent of oil and gas industry representatives from Canada. According to Environmental Defence, which is based in Toronto, an estimated 35 people affiliated with the fossil fuel industry were part of Canadas delegation, all of them included by Alberta.

The participation of fossil fuel proponents in the climate summit and its location in the United Arab Emirates  a country whose economy is almost entirely based on selling fossil fuels  has raised doubts about the credibility of the negotiations, my colleague Vivian Nereim reported.
On a recent cloudy afternoon, the remains of three Russian soldiers were buried in virtual secrecy in a small corner of northeastern France. There were no Russian officials at the funeral. No Russian flag was hoisted. No Russian anthem was played.

The soldiers had died on the French battlefield more than a century ago, fighting as part of the French-Russian alliance during World War I. But their remains, hidden deep beneath a farmers field, were found only late this summer  by a man with close ties to the Kremlin.

Worried that Moscow may try to use the discovery as a propaganda ploy and mindful of the new sensitivities generated by Russias war in Ukraine, the French authorities took no chances with the burial.

The ceremony took place very quickly and with a very limited attendance, said Mayor Antonia Paquola of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, the village where the soldiers were laid to rest in late October in a small Russian military cemetery. You could feel that it was very tense.
A woman dressed as a dugong, a rare marine mammal, beseeched passers-by to end the burning of fossil fuels. Protesters wiped away tears as they recited the names of Palestinians killed by Israels bombardment of Gaza.

And human rights activists staged a fraught demonstration in support of political prisoners held less than 100 miles away  complying with last-minute conditions that they not even display the detainees names on their posters, they said.

Tens of thousands of people from around the world have descended on the Persian Gulf city-state of Dubai for the annual United Nations summit on climate change, bringing the rare spectacle of political mobilization to the United Arab Emirates, the authoritarian host.

Holding the talks, known as COP28, in a major oil-producing country whose budget is built on revenue from the fossil fuels that scientists say cause the bulk of global warming spurred controversy in itself. But climate and rights activists said that COP28 was also testing the limits of a state that effectively outlaws most forms of political action, including protests, typically an essential part of the summit.
Much of Gaza lies in ruins, with its people pushed from their homes by Israeli bombardment and the death toll climbing ever higher. On the ground, Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years, has largely vanished, other than when its fighters pop up to attack Israeli tanks or fire rockets at Israel.

But the group is still reaping benefits from its surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. It is regarded as the only Palestinian faction to squeeze concessions from Israel in many years. It has thrown a bloody wrench into Israels plans to improve relations with its Arab neighbors and forced the Palestinian issue back onto the agendas of world leaders.

Two months into the war, despite vows by Israeli officials to destroy Hamas, Israel has yet to kill its top leaders, free the remaining 137 hostages Hamas holds or provide convincing evidence that it can achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas without an astronomical human cost.

In Hamass cynical calculation, the loftiness of Israels aims is a plus. While sticking to its long-term goal of destroying the Jewish state, Hamas can declare victory merely by surviving to fight another day.
The United States, diplomatically isolated after casting the sole vote against a United Nations resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, came under growing criticism on Saturday by a number of governments, human rights groups and aid organizations that warned of catastrophic consequences for civilians in the war-torn territory.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which Washington and others have floated as a potential governing body for postwar Gaza, said the veto on Friday was a mark of shame that will follow the United States for many years. He called the United States aggressive and unethical.

Nicolas de Riviere, Frances ambassador to the United Nations, called for a new immediate and lasting humanitarian truce, and without naming the United States, its ally, lamented that the Security Council had failed once again.

We do not see any contradiction between the fight against terrorism and the protection of civilians, he said.
Palestinian firefighters worked to put out a fire in a building that was hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes across Gaza on Saturday, killing dozens of people and sending hundreds of wounded to overwhelmed hospitals, according to health authorities in the territory. The attacks came a day after the United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Some of the strikes targeted the southern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military has ordered civilians to go to avoid bombardment, underscoring the reality that there is no safe place in Gaza to take shelter.

Videos published by Reuters from the southern city of Khan Younis showed buildings engulfed in flames after an Israeli strike. Local media reports showed videos of rescuers and civilians digging people from rubble with their hands by the light of flashlights and cellphones. Other images showed patients being treated on bloody hospital floors.

On Wednesday, the U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, had invoked a rarely used rule that allows him to bring to the Security Councils attention matters that may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. Mr. Guterres argued that a cease-fire was necessary because of the suffering of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza and the risk that the humanitarian catastrophe there could threaten world stability.

This led to the vote in the U.N. Security Council on Friday on the resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire which the United States vetoed, saying that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas. Israel launched its military assault on Gaza after Hamas, the armed group which controls the enclave, led an Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

Israels two-month aerial and ground assault on the besieged Gaza Strip has killed at least 15,000 people, and perhaps thousands more, according to the Gaza health ministry. Palestinian leaders and Arab nations say the Israeli military campaign is a profoundly disproportionate response to Oct. 7.

Americas veto of the cease-fire resolution stunned many Gazans who had hoped the airstrikes and their suffering would stop. The day before the Security Council vote on a cease-fire, the Biden administration, Israels closest ally, had begun to warn that the Israeli military had not done enough to prevent harm to civilians in Gaza.

People were optimistic that the war might end, said Muhammad al-Masri, a local journalist in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. The last few days, we thought that America was going to stop this and give Israel a deadline to end the war, he added. But it ended up being the opposite. It is the one that opposed the cease-fire.

Mr. al-Masri is now living in a tent encampment where the winter rains have flooded what little shelter people have. On Saturday, he said, Israel fired two rockets near the shelter where we are staying and many people were killed and injured, he said.

The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment on the reports that it had targeted Rafah after urging Gaza civilians to take shelter there.

Ahmed al-Qayed, a 31-year-old carpenter, said he had pinned his hopes on the U.N. finding a resolution to the conflict so he and family could return home to Gaza City in the north of the territory.

Along with thousands of other displaced people, Mr. al-Qayed said he, his wife and their children had been living in a ramshackle tent in Rafah, where the most basic necessities, like access to a bathroom, were often not available.

Say to America we want to go back to our homes, he said. Whats our guilt? We are sick and tired.

There is a shortage of everything in Gaza, he said, including food and blankets. Like hundreds of thousands of others, they have been relying on canned food  some of it expired  and hadnt eaten any fruits or vegetables in many weeks. He said he does not have money to buy firewood and instead spends his days trying to collect branches and twigs to keep his family warm.

Abdullah al-Nems, a 41-year old taxi driver in Rafah, said he had stopped working in part because of the lack of fuel in Gaza and in part because he was too afraid to leave his home with the frequent Israeli airstrikes.

Even at home, he said, he and his family remain afraid of bombs and missiles, which have leveled entire neighborhoods and at times killed entire families in one strike, according to Gaza residents and authorities.

My whole life is horror, Mr. al-Nems said. Why should my son and daughter remain terrified all day? Why should I keep being terrified while sitting at my house?

The war has displaced about 85 percent of Gazas population of more than 2 million Palestinians, with most sheltering in tent encampments, overcrowded schools and other public buildings. With the onset of winter, the situation has grown bleaker by the day, Gazans say.

U.N. officials say they are struggling to deliver essential goods like food, medicine and cooking gas to desperate civilians.

People are talking about how the U.N. hasnt even distributed anything that can be eaten to the people sheltering in the schools, said Mohammed Aborjela, 27, a project coordinator with the development organization Youth Without Borders. The United Nations cant force Israel to do anything.

Mr. Aborjela used to document daily life and culture in Gaza on his Instagram account before the war. Where once he uploaded videos of seaside cuisine in Gaza, now he posts about the daily struggle to find drinking water and food.

People all had hope that the war will end within a few days, he said. And everyone is talking about whether it will end before the end of the year.

Rawan Sheikh Ahmad contributed reporting.
DHAKA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a 400 million U.S. dollars policy-based loan to support the government of Bangladesh in implementing its National Adaptation Plan (2023-2050) and 2021 Update of the Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, to achieve a climate-focused inclusive development.

This loan is the first subprogram of the indicative 700-million-dollar Climate-Resilient Inclusive Development Program, which will help Bangladesh strengthen its climate resilience, transition to a low-carbon economy, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and mainstream gender equality and social inclusion in the government's climate actions, said the Manila-based lender in a statement.

"Climate shocks have been severely disrupting Bangladesh's growth and poverty alleviation. Financing needs for climate actions are astronomical. Bangladesh has strongly committed to tackling this challenge, and ADB, as the region's climate bank, is ready to support Bangladesh in its efforts," said ADB Principal Public Management Economist Aminur Rahman.

The program will create an enabling institutional and policy environment to mobilize climate finance, prioritize climate actions in the country's overall development agenda, and help the government implement reforms in climate-critical sectors, including agriculture, disaster management, transport and infrastructure, urban development, and energy, said the bank.

ADB said Bangladesh is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the adverse impacts of climate change, recording an annual average loss of about 3 billion dollars. 
30-Year-Old Bengaluru Techie Bharat Goes Missing During Trekking In Mudigere, Body Traced Near Belthangady

Bengaluru

oi-Madhuri Adnal

A 30-year-old techie from Bengaluru, Bharat. S, who had gone missing since three days near the renowned tourist destination of Rani Jhari View Point near Durgadahalli Gudda in Mudigere taluk, Chikkamagaluru was found dead on Saturday.

The discovery of his body in a deep, narrow valley with steep sides near the falls in Belthangady taluk brought a heartbreaking end to the search. The steep terrain and the decomposed state of the body, with maggots present, suggest a possible fall from a considerable height, likely around 4,000 feet.

Upon reaching Durgada Halli on December 6 for a solo trek towards Rani Jhari, Bharat lost all contact with his family, and attempts to reach him via his mobile proved futile. On Friday, his relatives travelled from Bengaluru and lodged a missing person report at the Belur police station.

A search and rescue mission commenced on Saturday morning. Authorities deployed a search team of 25 personnel and utilized seven drone cameras to scan the vast area around Maidadi in Belthangady taluk. The search team made their way down from the Maidadi side of the hill and located the body in a region under Belthangady taluk, leaving Bharat's family and friends engulfed in deep sorrow and grappling with unanswered queries about his last moments.

Namma Metro Purple Line Chokes As Crowds Overflow SV Road Station

The possibility of suicide lingers, given that the body was found directly below the viewpoint near Rani Jhari. However, police are yet to issue an official statement regarding this speculation.

Reports suggest that Bharat, an engineering graduate, had recently been laid off by a private company in Bengaluru. The company had paid him three month's salary.
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail To Gauri Lankesh Murder Accuse Mohan Nayak

Bengaluru

oi-Gaurav Sharma

Mohan Nayak, a key accused in the murder case of journalist Gauri Lankesh, was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court Saturday. Gauri was shot outside her house in Bengaluru in 2017 and the accused has been in jail since then. The police accused Nayak as a co-conspirator in the murder.

In view of the Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act of 2000, Justice Vishwajith Shetty granted bail to Nayak he has already spent five years behind bars and delayed in the proceedings.

Nayak is the first accused out of 11 to get bail in the case and has been asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties. The court has also directed him to appear whenever called.

"He had conspired with the other accused persons to murder deceased Gauri Lankesh and in furtherance of such conspiracy, he had taken a house for rent at Ramanagara in an isolated place and had given shelter in the said house to accused number 2 & 3 who are the actual assailants in the present case," Police allegations filed against Nayak reads.

Gauri Lankesh murder case: SC restores KCOCA charges against accused, sets aside HC order

Karnataka High Court's judgment reads "In the present case, out of 527 charge sheet witnesses, only 90 witnesses have been examined. This Court on 11.02.2019 directed the Trial Court to expedite the trial. Though charges were framed in the present case on 30.10.2021, for the last more than two years, only 90 witnesses have been examined. There are more than 400 charge sheet witnesses who are yet to be examined in the case. Even if it is assumed that all the witnesses mentioned in the charge sheet may not be examined in the case, because only 90 witnesses have been examined for the last more than two years, it can be safely presumed that any time soon, the trial of the case may not be completed."

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, December 9, 2023, 12:02 [IST]
Did Bengaluru CEO Suchana Seth Overdose Her Son With Cough Syrup Before Smothering?

Bengaluru Residents Demand Action On Wider Roads, Quality Roads In Varthur, Balagere And Panathur

Bengaluru

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Residents of Varthur-Balagere and Panathur, areas undergoing rapid development, organized a peaceful protest on Saturday, demanding improvements to their long-neglected roads and infrastructure.

Their primary demands include widening the congested Panathur S-Cross road, causing severe traffic woes affecting daily commuters and local businesses, as well as an enhancement in road quality.

Despite initial plans to expand the S Cross road and construct an additional vent, the project remains unfinished, plunging residents into daily hardships.

Bengaluru Weather Report: Unusual Spike In December Temperatures Linked To Surge In Fever Cases

Frustrated by the stagnant situation, residents have taken matters into their own hands, organizing a protest today. This echoes similar protests from 2019, and now, four years later, the issues persist with no visible improvements. Despite residing in sizable apartment complexes, residents still lack fundamental amenities.

It's citizens frustration against system nt against police or any political party. We r suffering, have every right to let world know pathetic state in heart of #IThub #BrandBengaluru .We need #scrosswidening & better infra @0RRCA @WFRising @east_bengaluru#BalagereDemandsRoads pic.twitter.com/eAx0NhkHFH  Namma Balagere. (@BalagereConnect) December 9, 2023

The unrelenting traffic jams lead to delayed arrivals at workplaces and schools. The recent shutdown of Chroma Road further exacerbated the situation, leaving commuters with a single route through the RUB, leading to extensive waiting times.

Outcry for better roads in unison can be heard loud and clear by our #NammaBalagerePanathurVarthur Citizens.



Thank you all Citizens  who joined the  protest demanding for BETTER ROADS



WIDEN PANATHUR S-CROSS#BalagereDemandsRoads pic.twitter.com/PzL8eVuBUO  CITIZEN VOICE #WIDEN S-Cross# (@SaveNammaPBC) December 9, 2023

Bengaluru Weather Report: Unusual Spike In December Temperatures Linked To Surge In Fever Cases

In October, the Mahadevpura Task Force (MTF) highlighted that land acquisition issues obstructed the completion of approach roads to the Panathur underpass.

Last month too, residents, who feel that public infrastructure hasn't kept up with rapid development, staged yet another protest, demanding Metro connectivity, road expansions, and swift completion of crucial infrastructure projects. They emphasized the plight faced by school-going children due to inadequate infrastructure.

With an estimated 25,000 apartments in the region, residents emphasized the urgency to finalize the widening of the S-Cross road and the railway under-bridge in Panathur, including proper drainage systems.
PM Modi, Others Pay Last Respect To Veteran Kannada Actress Leelavathi

Bengaluru

pti-PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar on Saturday paid rich tributes to veteran Kannada actress Leelavathi who passed away on December 8.

Thousands of people also paid their last respects to her. Modi said he was saddened to hear about the passing of the legendary Kannada film personality. "A true icon of cinema, she graced the silver screen with her versatile acting in numerous films.

Her diverse roles and remarkable talent will always be remembered and admired," the prime minister said in his condolence message. Siddaramaiah, who visited Ravindra Kalakshetra where the mortal remains of the actress were kept, called her a complete actress. "Whichever role she performed, she did it with honesty and integrity.

She used to pour her soul to bring the character to life," the chief minister said after laying a wreath on her body. Leelavathi acted in period movies, films with social messages and mythology and in every film, she did justice to her character, he added.

Veteran Kannada Actress Leelavathi Passes Away At 85

Saddened to hear about the passing of the legendary Kannada film personality Leelavathi Ji. A true icon of cinema, she graced the silver screen with her versatile acting in numerous films. Her diverse roles and remarkable talent will always be remembered and admired. My thoughts  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2023

He recalled that her role in 'Bhakta Kumbara' was unforgettable, and it remained etched in his memory forever. Leelavathi's son Vinod Raj, who is also an actor, said the final rites will take place at their farmhouse at Soladevanahalli on the city outskirts.

The body of the 86-year-old actor is kept at the Ambedkar Ground in Nelamangala on the city outskirts where a steady stream of people paid their homage. Leelavathi, who had acted in over 600 movies, including those made in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, was hospitalised on Friday following respiratory complications and age-related ailments. The Karnataka government has announced that the actress' funeral will be performed with state honours.
'What has happened to our priorities?': Amit Mishra slams critics who targeted Akshay Kumar over Chadha tweet

'Shame on you': Akshay Kumar gets slammed by netizens for 'walking over India's map' in new video

Bollywood Stars Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgn Face Contempt Over Gutka Ads

The central government has issued notices to Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn for their involvement in gutka advertisements, in response to a contempt petition filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. The court has fixed the next hearing for May 9, 2024.

India

-Krishna Kripa

html

In response to a contempt petition, the central government has informed the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court that it has issued notices to actors Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn for their involvement in gutka advertisements.

High Court Hearing

The Centre's counsel informed the High Court on Friday that the Supreme Court is also hearing a similar case and, therefore, the instant petition should be dismissed. After considering the submission, the bench fixed the next hearing for May 9, 2024.

Petitioner's Contention

Earlier, a bench headed by Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan had directed the central government to take action on a representation filed by a petitioner. The petitioner had argued that action should be taken against actors and dignitaries who have received high-profile awards but are promoting gutka products through advertisements.

Government's Response

The petitioner pointed out that a representation was made to the government on October 22, but no action was taken in the matter. Subsequently, the High Court issued a notice to the Cabinet Secretary of the central government after hearing the contempt petition.

Notices Issued to Actors

During the recent hearing, Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the High Court that the Centre had issued show-cause notices to Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn. The court was also informed that Amitabh Bachchan had sent a legal notice to a gutka company for using his advertisement despite the termination of their contract.

The High Court's decision to issue notices to prominent actors for their involvement in gutka advertisements highlights the growing concern over the harmful effects of these products and the need for responsible advertising practices.
Chhattisgarh BJP MLAs to Meet, Pick Next Chief Minister

The BJPs newly-elected 54 MLAs in Chhattisgarh will meet on Sunday to choose the legislative party leader, deciding who will be the next chief minister.

India

-Krishna Kripa

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to hold a crucial meeting of its newly elected 54 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in Chhattisgarh on Sunday, December 10, to select the legislative party leader. This meeting is highly anticipated as it will likely reveal the name of the next chief minister of the state.

Meeting Details and Attendees

The BJP's legislative party meeting will take place on Sunday at 12 noon in Raipur. Three observers from the party's central leadership will be present at the meeting: Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and party general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam. Additionally, BJP's Chhattisgarh in-charge Om Mathur, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and party co-incharge for the state Nitin Nabin will also attend.

No Formula for CM Selection

When asked about the process of electing the chief minister, Om Mathur clarified that there is no specific formula for making this decision. He stated that the BJP's parliamentary board has established a system that will be followed in this regard.

Confidence in 2024 Lok Sabha Victory

During the press conference, Om Mathur expressed confidence that the Congress party will be defeated in the 2024 parliamentary elections in Chhattisgarh. He highlighted the BJP's strong performance in the 2018 Lok Sabha elections, where the party won 9 out of the total 11 seats in the state, while the Congress managed to secure only two constituencies.

Speculations about Chief Minister Contenders

As the BJP did not declare a chief ministerial candidate during the recent assembly elections, there has been much speculation about who will take on this role. Some potential contenders from the tribal community include former Union minister Vishnu Deo, Renuka Singh, former state ministers Ramvichar Netam and Lata Usendi, and MP Gomti Sai. From the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, state BJP chief Arun Sao and bureaucrat-turned-politician O P Choudhary are also being considered as possible candidates.

The BJP's meeting on Sunday will put an end to the suspense surrounding the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh. The party's decision will have significant implications for the state's political landscape and will set the stage for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Himachal Pradesh Budget to Focus on Natural Farming, Self-Employment

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu unveils plans for the upcoming budget, emphasizing natural farming with assured purchase by the state government and promoting self-employment among the states youth.

India

-Krishna Kripa

Shimla/Solan, December 9: In a significant move to boost farmers' income and promote sustainable agriculture, the Himachal Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has announced that the upcoming budget will feature new provisions on natural farming with assured purchase by the state. Given the state's unique geographical conditions, natural farming will take center stage in the upcoming budget, prioritizing and promoting eco-friendly agricultural practices.

Encouraging Self-Employment and Recognizing Academic Excellence

Addressing the college convocation ceremony in Solan district on Saturday, Chief Minister Sukhu emphasized the need for the state's youth to embrace self-employment. He highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and urged young people to explore opportunities beyond traditional employment. At the 12th Convocation of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Sukhu conferred 23 gold medals to meritorious students, recognizing their outstanding academic achievements.

Empowering Women and Ensuring Gender Equality

The chief minister celebrated the achievements of women students, noting that 20 out of the 23 gold medal recipients were girls. He reiterated the state government's commitment to empowering women and ensuring gender equality. Sukhu emphasized that women hold key decision-making roles in various districts, serving as Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs). Furthermore, the state government has pledged to provide 30% reservation for women in constable positions within the state police.

Considering Raising the Legal Age of Marriage for Girls

In a progressive move, the chief minister announced the formation of a committee to consider raising the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21 years. This initiative underscores the government's focus on women's empowerment and the importance of their involvement in societal progress.

Governor Encourages Practical Research and Interdisciplinary Studies

Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, who graced the occasion, urged students to focus on solving real-world problems faced by farmers. He stressed the significance of translating research findings from laboratories and books into practical applications in the fields. Presiding over the convocation, the Governor awarded merit certificates to 773 students and presented degrees to 1,305 graduates in various horticulture and forestry disciplines.

Improving University Performance and Promoting Collaboration

Governor Shukla highlighted the need to further enhance the university's performance, currently ranked 17th in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research rankings. He commended the university for introducing the Academic Management System, which aims to improve academic practices, digitization, and data management. The governor also emphasized the importance of promoting interdisciplinary studies and international collaboration to drive innovation and excellence in research.

Introducing Natural Farming Courses and Inaugurating New Facilities

In line with the focus on natural farming, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Dr. Rajeshwar Chandel, announced the introduction of graduation and post-graduation courses in natural farming from the next academic session. Additionally, the governor and the chief minister inaugurated a skill development hostel built at a cost of Rs 1.16 crore and a Vivekananda Yoga & Meditation Center constructed at a cost of Rs 40 lakh.

The Himachal Pradesh government's commitment to natural farming, women empowerment, and academic excellence sets a positive precedent for the state's future growth and development.
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) opened its extraordinary congress at its headquarters here on Saturday to set out an action plan for 2024, said the party's honorary president Samdech Heng Samrin.

Speaking in his opening speech, Samrin said the congress was the first since the CPP won a landslide victory in a general election on July 23.

"The congress will review the party's achievements made in 2023 and set out the direction of tasks for 2024," he said.

He added that the two-day congress was also expected to add new members to the party's central committee.

"During the congress, the party's central committee will elect additional members for the party's standing committee and vice-president positions," Samrin said.

The congress was chaired by CPP's President Samdech Techo Hun Sen and was attended by approximately 3,600 central and local delegates from across the country.

The CPP has ruled the Southeast Asian country since 1979, and its current central committee consists of 865 members.

In the July 23 general election, the CPP won 120 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly. 
Telangana: Just 13 out of the 119 are not crorepatis in the new house

Newly-elected MLAs Take Oath As Maiden Session Of Telangana Assembly Begins

India

pti-PTI

The first session of the Third Telangana Assembly began here on Saturday and the oath taking process of the newly-elected MLAs is underway. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was the first to take oath, followed by deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi presided over the proceedings as the pro-tem Speaker. Before the commencement of the session, Owaisi was administered the oath by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as the pro- tem Speaker at Raj Bhavan.

Meanwhile, the BJP decided to boycott the oath taking event, alleging violation of Assembly rules in the appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi as pro-tem Speaker. Owaisi was appointed as pro-tem Speaker though there were other senior members in the House, state BJP president G Kishan Reddy alleged.

Telangana: BJP MLA Raja Singh Refuses To Take Oath With Owaisi As Protem Speaker

"There is a tradition of a senior person being appointed as the pro-tem Speaker in the Assembly. The BJP opposes the appointment of AIMIM's Akbaruddin Owaisi as pro-tem Speaker as per an understanding (of Congress) with AIMIM," Reddy told reporters.

Observing that Congress has only a wafer-thin majority in the Assembly, he claimed that the government is faced with a situation of collapsing even for a small pretext. In view of this, the AIMIM member is made the pro-tem Speaker as per a plan, he alleged.

"Because of the violation of the legislative assembly's rules, we are opposing the appointment of the AIMIM person as the pro-tem Speaker. Therefore, our members are boycotting from taking oath with him in the chair," he said.

The Congress has begun its appeasement politics and violation of the traditions of legislative assembly just three days after assuming power, Reddy alleged. He pointed out that the BJP has already claimed that there is a tacit understanding between Congress and AIMIM. During the recent election campaign, it was alleged (by Congress) that the BJP and AIMIM were one.

Hundreds Flock To Praja Darbar, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Hears People's Grievances

Now, Telangana people should know on what criteria Owaisi has been made as pro-tem Speaker in violation of rules, Reddy said. The true colours of Congress have come out again, he added. The BJP would like the election of Speaker to be held after the appointment of a senior member as pro-tem Speaker. The party would take up the issue with the Governor, he said. The BJP MLAs would take oath after the regular Speaker assumes office, Reddy said.
Hunt on for Cong leader as one held for conspiracy to kill BJP MLA

Telangana: BJP MLA Raja Singh Refuses To Take Oath With Owaisi As Protem Speaker

India

oi-Gaurav Sharma

Hours before the oath ceremony for Telanaga's new government, BJP's T Raja Singh started a new row. Elected for the third term from Goshamahal constituency, T Raja Singh said he will not take the constitutional oath on Saturday, in protest of appointing AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi as as the Protem Speaker to conduct the house proceedings.

"I am not going to take the oath if Akbaruddin is sitting in the Speaker's chair. Akbar is the product of Qasim Razvi, the head of the Nizam's Razakar army, which massacred Telangana people,'' Raja Singh told the media.

However, any other BJP MLA (7) did not raise any such objection and ready to follow the proceedings.

Akbaruddin Owaisi, a six-time MLA from Chandrayangutta, is one of the senior members of the state assembly and was named by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararjan as the Protem Speaker to commence the proceedings.

Maha Lakshmi Scheme: Telangana Govt To Launch Free Bus Travel For Women On Dec 9

However, Raja Singh's protest is just a symbolic protest against Owaisi as he will hold the post for one day only, and later the house will vote to pick the speaker. A protem speaker is only appointed to administer the oath of office to newly elected members and to conduct voting for a new speaker.

In the recently concluded Telangana Assembly Election Results 2023, the Congress registered a landslide victory by securing 64 seats in the 119-member house. The grand old party dethroned KCR's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) which managed to bag only 39 seats. The BJP came third with eight seats, while AIMIM won seven seats. One was clinched by the CPI.

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Story first published: Saturday, December 9, 2023, 10:50 [IST]
West Bengal BJP Chief Suvendu Adhikari Says Mahua Moitras Expulsion Is Curse Of Maa Kali

India

oi-Gaurav Sharma

After TMC MP Mahua Mitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha in the 'cash for query' case, BJP's West Bengal Chief Suvendu Adhikari comes out all guns blazing at the woman MP. Reminding Mitra of her earlier comments that 'Maa Kaali eats meat, smokes cigarettes, and drinks whisky,' Adhikari said her expulsion happened due to the 'curse of Maa Kali.' Briefing the media at the Uluberia BJP party office, the Opposition leader Shubhendu Adhikari reminded Mitra of her unacceptable statements.

"Don't use slanderous words while referring to the Divine, as her rage can raze you completely," Adhikari in a tweet said.

"Mere mortals know your limitations; don't use slanderous words while referring to the Divine. You don't have the capacity to belittle her, but her rage can raze you completely. Jai Maa Kali," BJP West Bengal Chief added.

After Lok Sabha Exit, What's Next For Mahua Moitra?

On the other hand, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Mitra called her expulsion unethical accusing the probe panel of breaking every rule of the parliament law book. The Committee probing Opposition MPs is the Modi government's new "weapon to crush opposition into submission," said Mitra.

"This LS has also seen the weaponization of the Parliamentary committee. Ironically the Ethics Committee which was set up to serve as a moral compass for members instead has been abused egregiously today to do exactly what it was never meant to do, which is to bulldoze the opposition and become another weapon to 'thok do' (crush) us into submission," her statement after the expulsion from Lok Sabha reads.

"None of whom I was allowed to cross-examine. One of the two private citizens is my estranged partner, who with mala fide intention, masqueraded as a common citizen in front of the committee. The two testimonies have been used to hang me there at polar opposites to each other," Mitra added.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra Expelled From LS In Cash-For-Query Issue

"The complainant says (that) I accepted cash in consideration for my businessman to ask questions in furtherance of his commercial interests. But the businessman's suo motu affidavit, says I pressurised him into uploading questions to further my agenda. The two are at pole of opposites," She further added.
Over 13,000 flats up for grabs in DDA housing scheme, forms available from today

Discover How Dubai is Redefining Sustainability at the COP28 Summit

At the COP28 summit, Dubai showcases its leadership in sustainable innovation, featuring impactful workshops and presentations on urban development, climate-resilient architecture, and environmental conservation. These initiatives reflect the city's commitment to achieving a sustainable future.

International

-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

In the midst of the global climate conversation, Dubai is positioning itself as a leader in sustainability and innovation. As the highly anticipated COP28 summit draws to a close, Dubai Municipality is continuing to galvanize attention through its series of impactful workshops and presentations. These sessions have become a beacon of inspiration and knowledge for the many regional and international participants gathered to discuss our planet's future.

Empowering Sustainable Urban Development

Dubai Municipality, as a Strategic Pathway Partner of COP28, has been at the forefront of discussions showcasing sustainability best practices within urban development. Their exhibition stand is a hub for discourse on topics ranging from climate change mitigation, conservation efforts, and coastal sustainability to the pioneering use of 3D printing in construction and the development of climate-resilient architecture.

Influential Talks and Presentations

On December 8th, the stand featured Ivana Brnovic Ogbu, a distinguished TEDx speaker and former UN sustainability consultant, who delivered a compelling talk on "Localisation of the SDGs for Sustainable Cities". The objective was to underscore the pivotal role of the education sector in achieving sustainable urban environments. Another presentation titled "Climate-Responsive Iconic Architecture" highlighted the Dubai International Best Practice Award for Sustainable Development, an accolade that recognizes and promotes outstanding sustainability achievements.

Additionally, an insightful presentation focused on Dubai's advanced weather and early warning systems, illustrating the city's adaptation strategies to tackle climate-related challenges through technological integration. A series of "Green Talks", convened by the Dubai Municipality Youth Council, facilitated discussions on the impact of climate change on essential services like sewage and waste management. Moreover, a tailored educational workshop engaged university students in sustainable best practices.

Conservation and Nature in Focus

On December 9th, Dubai Municipality underscored its dedication to environmental stewardship with a session titled "Nature, Land Use and Oceans". This session provided insights into Dubai's framework for natural conservation and details on the Hatta master plan. Attendees also had the opportunity to delve into the "Study of Environmental Status of Dubai Coastal Zone Toward Sustainability", gaining a deeper understanding of the vital marine ecosystem.

In a unique session, traditional indigenous knowledge was blended with scientific insights to discuss nature conservation in urban settings. Utilizing the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary as a case study, the workshop emphasized the importance of integrating collective wisdom into urban planning and design.

Striving for Climate Neutrality

On the final day, December 10th, Dubai Municipalitys "Climate Neutrality Strategy" was unveiled, which ambitiously targets net zero operations by 2050. In addition, the day featured a talk by Yuichi Setoyama, a TEDx speaker, who illuminated the crucial role of microbes in environmental sustainability.

An intriguing session titled "Blueprints for Tomorrow" provided a backstory on the sustainable design of Dubai Municipality's COP28 stand, which was constructed using 3D printing technology. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Dubai Financial Market, the Energy Transition Hub Stage hosted a discussion moderated by Dubai Eye's Brandy Scott about Dubais innovative carbon credit pilot programme and its significance in driving the city towards a net zero future.

As COP28 concludes, the efforts and initiatives presented by Dubai Municipality are a testament to the citys commitment to leading by example in the global quest for sustainability. These enlightening workshops and discussions stand as a guidepost for urban development, as the emirate continues to foster a greener and more resilient future for generations to come.

FAQ's What is the role of Dubai Municipality at the COP28 summit? Dubai Municipality acted as a Strategic Pathway Partner of COP28 and was actively involved in discussions about sustainability best practices within urban development.

Who delivered a talk on "Localisation of the SDGs for Sustainable Cities" at COP28? Ivana Brnovic Ogbu, a distinguished TEDx speaker and former UN sustainability consultant, delivered the talk on "Localisation of the SDGs for Sustainable Cities".

What was the focus of the session titled "Nature, Land Use and Oceans" held by Dubai Municipality? The session titled "Nature, Land Use and Oceans" focused on Dubai's framework for natural conservation, the Hatta master plan, and a study on the environmental status of Dubai's coastal zone.

What ambitious target did Dubai Municipality unveil in their "Climate Neutrality Strategy"? Dubai Municipality's "Climate Neutrality Strategy" aims for net zero operations by the year 2050.

What technology was used in the construction of Dubai Municipality's exhibition stand at COP28? Dubai Municipality's exhibition stand at COP28 was constructed using 3D printing technology.
United in the Face of Climate Change: Egypt and UAEs Pioneering Alliance at COP28

COP28: A Turning Point for Global Climate Action and Empowerment

The 28th UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai serves as a critical platform for global societies to commit to environmental sustainability while considering socio-economic impacts. Thailand sees this event as an opportunity to gain access to climate finance, tech innovations, and knowledge to tackle climate change. The conference, presided over by the UAE, emphasizes a comprehensive approach to mitigation, adaptation, and addressing climate-related losses. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister highlights the significance of the event in securing food supply, facilitating energy transition, and supporting vulnerable nations financially. The COP28 also marks the first Global Stocktake, a key step in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and fostering global climate action.

International

-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

The 28th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), being hosted in Dubai, stands as a pivotal juncture for the global society, charting a definitive course towards an environmentally sustainable future that is mindful of socio-economic implications. A senior Thai representative shared insights with the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the significance of this gathering for both developed and developing nations.

Empowering Developing Nations

On the fringes of the pivotal COP28 event, Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, highlighted the chance for developing countries, like Thailand, to gain enhanced access to climate financing, innovative technologies, and knowledge-building resources. to combat climate change.

Food Security and Knowledge Sharing

Thailand, with its roots in agriculture, perceives COP28 as a strategic platform to disseminate and acquire expertise in crop diversification and resilient farming techniques that align with shifting weather patterns, thereby securing agricultural yields and food supply, Wongsuwan elaborated.

He extended his commendations to the United Arab Emirates for their leadership in the COP28 Presidency, noting the Conference's focus on a holistic approach that encompasses mitigation, adaptation, and tackling the repercussions of climate-related loss and damage.

Facilitating Energy Transition

Wongsuwan pointed out that the energy transition presents an opportunity for collaboration, where nations such as Thailand and the UAE can share and deliberate on policies, strategies, and readiness plans to address climate concerns.

Financial Support for Loss and Damage

The Deputy Prime Minister applauded the commitment of parties to financially kick-start the Loss and Damage fund's operations at COP28. He lauded the UAE's pledge of US$100 million, expressing hope that the fund would promptly aid vulnerable nations in counteracting the detrimental effects of climate change.

He also discussed Thailand's vulnerability to both abrupt and gradual climatic events, including sea-level rise and coastal erosion, underscoring their profound impact on the nation's socio-economic fabric.

Wongsuwan remains optimistic that developed countries will honor their pledges to assist developing counterparts in diminishing greenhouse gas emissions and bolstering resilience against climate adversities.

The Importance of the First Global Stocktake

The Deputy Prime Minister shed light on the first Global Stocktake (GST), an appraisal process set to measure the world's collective mitigation and adaptation efforts against the targets of the Paris Agreement. He stressed that the GST will be instrumental in pinpointing shortcomings, needs, and priorities to achieve the agreed climate goals.

Wongsuwan concluded by emphasizing the necessity of a transparent greenhouse gas tracking system under the UNFCCC, which accurately reflects strides in emissions reduction, as a crucial component in the global climate action framework.

In conclusion, the conversations and commitments at COP28 not only underpin the urgent need for a sustainable transformation but also reflect the growing consensus on shared responsibilities and mutual support to safeguard our planet. The UAE's role in steering this international dialogue further reinforces its position as a leader in fostering global climate action and collaboration.

FAQ's What is the significance of the 28th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) being held in Dubai? The 28th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai is a pivotal juncture for global society to chart a course towards an environmentally sustainable future while considering socio-economic implications.

How does COP28 benefit developing countries like Thailand? COP28 provides developing countries with enhanced access to climate financing, innovative technologies, and knowledge-building resources to combat climate change.

What opportunities does Thailand see in COP28 for its agriculture sector? Thailand views COP28 as a strategic platform to share and gain expertise in crop diversification and resilient farming techniques to secure agricultural yields and food supply.

What kind of collaboration is possible between nations like Thailand and the UAE in the context of energy transition? Thailand and the UAE can collaborate on policies, strategies, and readiness plans for energy transition to address climate concerns.

What is the first Global Stocktake (GST), and why is it important? The first Global Stocktake is an appraisal process to measure global mitigation and adaptation efforts against the Paris Agreement targets, vital for identifying gaps, needs, and priorities to achieve agreed climate goals.
Over 1000 Global Leaders Convene at RewirEd Summit for Climate-Focused Education Reform

The RewirEd Summit in Expo City Dubai marked a significant milestone in aligning education with climate action. Eminent figures from 76 countries discussed innovative solutions to revamp education systems and engage the youth in environmental initiatives. The summit featured transformative projects by UNICEF and the Aga Khan Foundation, among others, aiming to create sustainable and educational advancements for the future.

International

-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

The RewirEd Summit's second installment sets a new precedent in the world of education and climate action, with its recent gathering at the Connect Conference Center in Expo City Dubai. This groundbreaking event attracted over a thousand delegates from 76 nations, including eminent figures such as state leaders, policymakers, corporate executives, and thought leaders, all converging to deliberate on innovative strategies that can revamp educational systems while also engaging the younger generation in climate-related initiatives.

Uniting for Education and Climate Action

At the heart of the summit's discourse was the critical role of education as a catalyst in combating climate change. The conference underscored the urgency of fostering intersectoral cooperation to effectively address this global challenge. The summit's packed agenda featured 35 engaging sessions that brought together a diverse mix of participants, ranging from students and educators to youth activists, environmental stewards, and indigenous representatives. The collective aim was clear: to devise actionable solutions that would integrate educational reforms with proactive climate action.

Empowering Youth through Innovative Initiatives

Several transformative initiatives were launched at the summit, signaling a decisive step towards environmental sustainability and educational reform. UNICEF and Generation Unlimited introduced "Green Rising," a project with an ambitious goal to mobilize 10 million young individuals in developing nations to undertake grassroots climate initiatives. The Aga Khan Foundation unveiled an online platform featuring a repository of teacher-driven climate action strategies, fostering community engagement and educational development.

In a significant move, the governments of the Kyrgyz Republic and Malawi announced their intention to intertwine early childhood development with climate resilience measures and actions. This novel approach aims to build a foundation for future generations that is both environmentally conscious and educationally fortified.

Advancing Global Educational and Environmental Objectives

Breaking new ground in the realm of social impact investments, the Social Investment Program launched the world's first global social impact bond. This instrument is designed to amplify sustainable school feeding programs in Senegal, while simultaneously advancing green skills training and promoting female entrepreneurshipan endeavor with far-reaching implications for both education and the environment.

Complementing these efforts, the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition introduced the "Planet-Friendly School Meals White Paper," a comprehensive guide aimed at enhancing the sustainability of school nutrition programs worldwide. Adding to the list of initiatives, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens unveiled an online training and mentoring program focused on equipping youth with the skills necessary to secure green jobs.

The African Union Commission declared its intention to overhaul the educational landscape across the African continent, aligning it with the sustainability objectives pivotal to both present and future generations. Highlighting the need for swift and effective educational transformation, the Dubai Cares Global Education Solutions Accelerator was also in the spotlight. This accelerator pledges to catalyze educational enhancements across ten countries, potentially impacting 2.1 billion individuals globally.

Forging a Sustainable Path Forward

The RewirEd Summit exemplified the incredible potential that lies in collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships when confronting the intricate challenge of intertwining education with climate change mitigation and adaptation. The event not only provided a platform for sharing knowledge and best practices but also served as a catalyst for launching initiatives that promise to make a tangible impact on both the educational and environmental fronts.

As the summit concluded, it was evident that the conversations and commitments forged in Dubai would resonate far beyond its venue. With the world at a pivotal juncture, the RewirEd Summit has illuminated the path towards a more resilient and sustainable future, where education and climate action coalesce to create a lasting legacy for the generations to come.

The actions and pledges made during this influential summit are a testament to the shared conviction that education is the cornerstone of meaningful climate action. As we look ahead, the RewirEd Summit's outcomes are set to ripple across continents, inspiring and empowering individuals and communities to take part in crafting a greener, more educated world. It is through such global platforms that the common man can find hope and direction in the collective quest for a sustainable future, fortified by the power of education.

In conclusion, the RewirEd Summit has not only set the stage for future dialogues and developments in the nexus of education and climate action but has also laid the foundation for practical, impactful change. As these initiatives unfold and take root across the globe, the hope is that they will inspire further innovation, collaboration, and action, ensuring that the ambitious goals set forth at the summit translate into real-world benefits for our planet and its people.

FAQ's What was the primary focus of the RewirEd Summit held at the Connect Conference Center in Expo City Dubai? The primary focus of the RewirEd Summit was the critical role of education as a catalyst in combating climate change and fostering intersectoral cooperation to effectively address this global challenge.

How many delegates attended the RewirEd Summit, and from how many countries did they come? Over a thousand delegates from 76 nations attended the RewirEd Summit.

What are some of the initiatives launched at the RewirEd Summit? Initiatives launched at the summit included "Green Rising" by UNICEF and Generation Unlimited, an online platform by the Aga Khan Foundation, and programs by the governments of the Kyrgyz Republic and Malawi to integrate early childhood development with climate resilience.

What is the purpose of the world's first global social impact bond introduced at the summit? The world's first global social impact bond is designed to amplify sustainable school feeding programs in Senegal, advance green skills training, and promote female entrepreneurship.

What actions did the African Union Commission and the Dubai Cares Global Education Solutions Accelerator announce at the RewirEd Summit? The African Union Commission declared its intention to overhaul the educational landscape across the African continent, and the Dubai Cares Global Education Solutions Accelerator pledged to catalyze educational enhancements across ten countries, potentially impacting 2.1 billion individuals globally.
United in the Face of Climate Change: Egypt and UAEs Pioneering Alliance at COP28

UAE Sets Ambitious Green Targets for Urban Development

Officials and industry experts in the UAE have convened at a significant roundtable in Dubai to discuss sustainable practices for the nation's built environment. Aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and advance towards ambitious net-zero goals, the dialogue was marked by contributions from key figures and the outline of strategic national programs like the DSM Program 2050.

International

-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

At a significant roundtable event in Dubai, UAE officials gathered to discuss a blueprint for sustainable practices in the nation's built environment. The UAE Built Environment Sustainability Blueprint Roundtable, an initiative bridging policy makers and industry experts, sought to chart a course for the future of the nation's urban landscape. Sharif Al Olama, the Under-Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and Razan Al Mubarak, the appointed UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, were among the key figures contributing to this pivotal dialogue.

Assessing the Environmental Footprint of Buildings

During the session, organized by both the High-Level Climate Champions team and Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), participants evaluated the current condition and environmental impact of the UAE's building and construction sector. Razan Al Mubarak highlighted the sector's significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, citing that buildings are responsible for 27 percent of the UAE's emissions, based on 2019 data. Al Mubarak emphasized that the building sector has the potential to deliver a substantial reduction in emissions, up to 85 percent by 2030, and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts to drive climate policy and market solutions forward.

Advancing Towards Net-Zero Goals

Al Olama outlined the challenges the sector faces in aiming for a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050, especially in light of rapid urban development. He stressed the crucial role of the private sector in bridging the gap to meet decarbonization targets, leveraging their expertise and resources to enhance sustainability. Al Olama also underscored the active role of the Ministry in formulating regulations and initiatives to support this transformation.

Strategic National Programs for Sustainability

The UAE's National Demand Side Management (DSM) Program 2050, as explained by Al Olama, is a strategic effort targeting energy and water-intensive sectors, including the built environment. The ambitious program aims to substantially reduce energy demand by 40 percent and water usage by 50 percent by 2050. The implementation in the built environment sector alone is anticipated to yield significant financial savings of around AED 139 billion and cut CO2 emissions by 74 metric tonnes by mid-century.

Through the collective efforts of the government and key stakeholders, the UAE is making strides towards a more sustainable future. This roundtable marked a critical step in uniting various entities to address climate issues and create a more resilient and environmentally conscious built environment. As COP28 approaches, such initiatives underscore the UAE's commitment to global climate goals and the pursuit of innovative solutions for sustainable development. The discourse at the roundtable has laid down a foundation for ongoing collaboration, setting the stage for the nation to emerge as a leader in sustainable urbanization.

In conclusion, the UAE Built Environment Sustainability Blueprint Roundtable serves as a testament to the country's proactive stance on addressing climate change and enhancing sustainability within its borders. With concerted efforts and a shared vision, the UAE is poised to meet its environmental targets and contribute significantly to the global fight against climate change, ensuring a greener future for generations to come.

FAQ's What was the purpose of the UAE Built Environment Sustainability Blueprint Roundtable? The purpose of the UAE Built Environment Sustainability Blueprint Roundtable was to discuss a blueprint for sustainable practices in the UAE's built environment and chart a course for the future of the nation's urban landscape.

Who were the key figures contributing to the dialogue at the roundtable event in Dubai? Sharif Al Olama, the Under-Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and Razan Al Mubarak, the appointed UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, were key figures contributing to the dialogue.

What significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions was highlighted at the roundtable? Razan Al Mubarak highlighted that buildings are responsible for 27 percent of the UAE's emissions, based on 2019 data.

What is the UAE's National Demand Side Management (DSM) Program 2050, and what are its targets? The UAE's National Demand Side Management (DSM) Program 2050 is a strategic effort targeting energy and water-intensive sectors, aiming to reduce energy demand by 40 percent and water usage by 50 percent by 2050.

What potential reduction in emissions was emphasized as achievable in the building sector by 2030? Razan Al Mubarak emphasized that the building sector has the potential to deliver a substantial reduction in emissions, up to 85 percent by 2030.
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP28, was the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November to 13 December at Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The COP conference has been held annually since the first UN climate agreement in 1992. The event is intended for governments to agree on policies to limit global temperature rises and adapt to impacts associated with climate change.
Eurasia Review 31 Dec 2023

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Liz Magill -- the president of the University of Pennsylvania -- is stepping down after equivocating over the "genocide of Jews" and whether calling for that violated their rules. The announcement over Magill's resignation came down Saturday
NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Speakers at an international education symposium in New York City highlighted the importance of cross-cultural understanding on Friday.

Scholars and attendees, mainly from the United States, China and Canada, joined the symposium to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the International Institute of Teachers College at Columbia University.

Much like the time when the International Institute of Teachers College was founded, "we now face a time of great uncertainty, (and) a time when international exchange, understanding and collaboration are critical to our future," said Kerry Ann O'Meara, vice president for academic affairs, provost and dean of the Teachers College.

Given the current global situation, the best way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the International Institute is to continue and enlarge the scope of educational exchanges and to further promote ties between world educators and people in general, said Min Weifang, former party secretary of Peking University.

"This is probably more important and more urgent than 100 years ago since we are facing more serious, more global challenges than any time before in human history. We need more joint effort from our countries and our peoples," said Min.

"Our conversations today and many of the remarks already delivered are about building connectedness and cross-cultural understanding for the common good," said Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, associate professor of practice and founding director of International Interfaith Research Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University.

"We have much hard work ahead while recognizing the challenges we face in today's U.S.-China relations. We must also look beyond the disruption we see around us," said George Geh, CEO of China Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing understanding and deepening trust between the United States and China.

"For China-U.S. relations, education can help cement its foundation and boost its growth," said Huang Ping, Chinese consul general in New York.

Huang stressed the need for closer partnerships to create a favorable environment for China-U.S. relations, focus on high-level research collaboration to achieve win-win results and two-way interaction between the countries to improve mutual understanding.

The symposium also included three panel discussions on bridging the gap of international education in higher education, the complexity of international education and global education practices from international organizations. 
Last year, the EU Parliament was rocked by accusations foreign actors had attempted through bribes to corrupt its democratic processes in a scandal dubbed "Qatargate." What do we know so far? Surprisingly little.
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The Israel Defense Forces said they had hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight. The strikes come after the US vetoed a UN Security Council call for a cease-fire. DW has the latest.
The COP28 summit still needs to formally approve the next host country. Azerbaijan would follow Dubai in being the second host in a row to be a major producer of fossil fuels.
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"U.S. leads coalition to triple nuclear power by 2050 in effort to address climate change," was the headline of a December 4th CNBC article on activity at the UN conference called COP28 being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the climate crisis.

COP stands for Conference of the Parties, annual gatherings under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 28 is for this being the 28th session. It began on November 30th and is to end on December 12th.

When it started, there was a stir over the conference president being Sultan Al Jaber, who just happens to head the UAE's state-owned oil company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, (ADNOC). Time magazine splashed a photo of Al Jaber on its cover with the caption: "Oil executive Sultan Al Jaber is at the center of a global climate fight. MAN IN THE MIDDLE."

The UAE "has the world's largest oil reserves and has historically worked to protest its fossil-fuel economy in climate negotiations," noted Time.

And it soon became clear that Al Jaber was not just in "the middle" as reports emerged in media about how in an online event in November "he cast doubt on whether eliminating fossil fuels would help limit global warning," as Rolling Stone reported.

Here was documentation of a chief executive of an oil company who was leading the climate change conference minimizing the role of fossil fuels in climate change when the burning of fossil fuels has long been determined by scientists to be its leading cause. "There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what's going to achieve 1.5C," he was quoted as saying. He added that phasing out fossil fuels would "take the world back into caves."

The sultan's vested interest was focused upon.

But then, in the way of a vested interest, nuclear interests, corporate and governmental, moved in on COP28.

As the CNBC piece related, at COP28 "the "U.S. and more than 20 other countries pledged to triple nuclear power to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and limit climate change. The declaration is the most concrete step taken yet by major nations to place nuclear power at the center of the push to transition to clean energy. Interest in nuclear is booming worldwide amid growing recognition that a dependable source of clean electricity will be needed to support the rapidly growing role of wind and solar in power grids."

Nations signing on to what was titled a "Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy" that was presented at COP28 on December 2 included, beyond the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, Hungary, Sweden, Netherlands, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and, yes, United Arab Emirates.

It begins: "Recognizing the key role of nuclear energy in achieving global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by or around and mid-century and in keeping a 1.5C limit on temperature rise within reaching and achieving Sustainable Development Goal "and then begins a series of paragraphs starting with "Recognizing."

This includes: "Recognizing that nuclear energy is already the second-largest source of clean dispatchable baseload power" and "Recognizing the IAEA's activities in supporting its members states" referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency set up by the UN with a mission to promote nuclear power and "Recognizing the importance of financing for the additional nuclear power capacity needed to keep a 1.5C limit on temperature rise within reach" and "Recognizing the need for high-level political engagement to spur further action on nuclear power," the "Participants in this pledge" agree to a series of commitments.

These include committing to "invite shareholders of the World Bank, international financial institutions, and regional development banks to encourage the inclusion of nuclear energy in their organizations' energy lending policies" and to "recognize the importance, where technically feasible and economically efficient, of extending the lifetimes of nuclear power plants" and committing "to support responsible nations looking to explore new civil nuclear deployment" and to "welcome and encourage complementary commitments from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, development banks, and financial institutions" and "to review progress toward these commitments on an annual basis on the margin of the COP."

Further, it calls "on other countries to join this declaration."

Commenting on the declaration, Harvey Wasserman, author of the books Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation and Solartopia, called it "beyond insane." Promoters of nuclear power are making, he told me, a "full court press" to push it, trying to use climate change as a new reason while attempting "to kill" renewable energy technologies led by solar and wind, skyrocketing in adoption and efficiency and plummeting in cost.

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Bottom-Up is a direct and logical look at how we live our lives, conduct our business, manage our societies, and, most importantly, communicate with each other. Author Rob Kall explains it all in plain English. But don't let the readability of this book fool you into thinking that it's not important. Kall cuts to the heart of the most critical issues in communication today. This book is as important as game theory. And people will take notice."



John Kiriakou, former CIA officer and author of The Reluctant Spy and Doing Time Like a Spy
In a world characterized by borders, the prospect of visa-free travel for Indian citizens is a beacon of opportunity. This article is a passport to understanding the diverse destinations where Indian travelers can explore without the constraints of visa formalities, embracing a plethora of cultures and landscapes.

1. The Blissful Maldives: A Visa-Free Paradise

The Maldives, an archipelago of coral islands in the Indian Ocean, stands as an epitome of serenity. Indian citizens can revel in the beauty of its pristine beaches, turquoise lagoons, and overwater bungalows without the encumbrance of a visa. This visa-free access provides an excellent opportunity for a tropical escape, where the sunsets are as warm as the hospitality.

2. Bhutan: A Neighborly Embrace Without Visas

Nestled in the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan, the "Land of the Thunder Dragon," offers a unique travel experience for Indian passport holders. Without the need for a visa, exploring Bhutan means delving into a realm of ancient monasteries, majestic mountains, and a distinct cultural identity. The visa-free arrangement fosters a warm relationship between these two neighboring nations.

3. Nepal: Himalayan Heights without Visa Hurdles

A journey into the Himalayas becomes even more enticing for Indian citizens as Nepal opens its borders without the requirement of a visa. Majestic peaks, vibrant festivals, and rich cultural traditions await travelers, making Nepal an accessible and awe-inspiring destination for those with an Indian passport.

4. Sri Lanka: Island Discovery Minus Visa Formalities

The teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka beckons Indian citizens with open arms, offering a visa-free entry. Whether exploring ancient temples, relaxing on palm-fringed beaches, or embarking on wildlife adventures, Sri Lanka's charm is now easily accessible to Indian travelers, fostering cultural exchanges and memorable experiences.

5. Mauritius: Indian Ocean Tranquility Without Visas

Mauritius, an Indian Ocean gem, extends a warm welcome to Indian passport holders with visa-free entry. The vibrant blend of cultures, crystal-clear waters, and lush landscapes create an ideal setting for relaxation and exploration. Indian travelers can immerse themselves in this tropical paradise without the hassle of visa procedures.

6. Seychelles: Visa-Free Retreat Amidst Archipelagic Beauty

Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands, stands as a visa-free haven for Indian citizens. The allure of white-sand beaches, unique flora and fauna, and coral reefs becomes more accessible, offering a seamless escape to paradise without the need for visa formalities.

7. Jamaica: Caribbean Vibes Minus Visa Worries

For those yearning for the rhythmic beats of reggae and the laid-back Caribbean atmosphere, Jamaica opens its doors visa-free to Indian travelers. With this hassle-free entry, Indian citizens can experience the vibrant culture, music, and natural beauty of this Caribbean gem.

8. Ecuador: South American Exploration Without Visa Constraints

Nestled in South America, Ecuador invites Indian passport holders without the need for a visa. From the Amazon rainforest to the Galapagos Islands and the Andes Mountains, the diverse landscapes and rich biodiversity of Ecuador are now easily accessible to Indian travelers.

9. Dominica: Nature's Island Welcomes Indian Travelers

Dominica, known for its lush landscapes and natural wonders, offers visa-free access to Indian citizens. The Caribbean island provides an immersive experience in nature, with its volcanic landscapes, waterfalls, and vibrant marine life accessible without visa hassles.

10. Fiji: Pacific Paradise Opens Its Doors to Indian Citizens

Fiji, with its stunning coral reefs and crystal-clear waters, allows Indian citizens to enter without the need for a visa. This Pacific paradise provides an ideal setting for water enthusiasts and those seeking a laid-back island lifestyle.

11. El Salvador: Central American Charm Sans Visa Formalities

El Salvador, nestled in Central America, extends a warm welcome to Indian travelers with visa-free entry. The nation's archaeological sites, volcanoes, and Pacific coastline become a canvas for exploration without the hindrance of visa constraints.

12. Vietnam: Southeast Asian Charisma Unveiled

Venture into the heart of Southeast Asia as Vietnam welcomes Indian passport holders without a visa. From the bustling cities to serene landscapes, Vietnam offers a diverse range of experiences without the burden of visa formalities.

13. Historic Hungary: European Exploration Minus Visa Hassles

Hungary, a Central European gem, allows Indian citizens visa-free entry. Exploring Budapest's historic streets, soaking in thermal baths, and immersing in European culture become seamless, providing a gateway to European exploration without visa worries.

14. Indonesia: Archipelagic Beauty with Visa Ease

The archipelago of Indonesia, known for its diverse landscapes, provides visa-free access to Indian travelers. From Bali's beaches to Java's cultural heritage, Indonesia becomes a playground for Indian citizens, fostering cultural exchanges and memorable experiences.

15. Ecuador: Latin American Delight Awaits Indian Travelers

Ecuador, with its rich biodiversity and cultural heritage, offers visa-free entry to Indian citizens. The Galapagos Islands, the Amazon Rainforest, and the historic cities become easily accessible, providing a delightful experience in Latin America without visa constraints.

16. Ethiopia: Ancient History and Diverse Landscapes Unveiled

Ethiopia, known as the cradle of civilization, allows Indian passport holders visa-free entry. With its ancient history, diverse landscapes, and unique cultural experiences, Ethiopia becomes a treasure trove for Indian travelers without the need for a visa.

17. Barbados: Caribbean Paradise Beckons Indian Travelers

Barbados, with its sandy beaches and vibrant culture, welcomes Indian travelers without the need for a visa. The Caribbean paradise becomes an idyllic retreat for Indian citizens seeking relaxation and exploration without visa hassles.

18. Fiji: Pacific Island Retreat Without Visa Worries

Fiji, with its welcoming atmosphere, offers visa-free access to Indian citizens. Dive into the warm waters, experience vibrant marine life, and embrace the laid-back island lifestyle without the encumbrance of visa formalities.

19. Serbia: European Charm Accessible to Indian Citizens

Serbia, nestled in Southeast Europe, allows Indian citizens visa-free entry. The historical sites, vibrant cities, and warm hospitality of Serbia become an inviting experience for Indian travelers, providing a taste of European charm without visa formalities.

20. Rwanda: African Safari Without Visa Worries

Rwanda, known for its gorilla trekking and stunning landscapes, offers visa-free access to Indian passport holders. An African safari adventure becomes easily attainable, allowing Indian travelers to explore the beauty and wildlife of Rwanda without the hassles of visa procedures.

In conclusion, the world becomes a canvas of exploration for Indian citizens, with these visa-free destinations offering diverse landscapes, rich cultural experiences, and seamless travel. From the Himalayas to the Caribbean and beyond, the possibilities are boundless. So, pack your bags, and let the adventures begin!

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Dr. Gladys Taylor McGarey is a medical pioneer, visionary, and author affectionately known around the world as the "Mother of Holistic Medicine" who I have been privileged to know and love for almost 40 years. She celebrated her 103rd birthday on November 30, 2023.

A true living legend, Dr. Gladys has just published her fifth book, "The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age." In it she shares extraordinary stories, eternal wisdom and her six actionable secrets to enjoying a life that is long, happy, and purpose-driven. And she shares her personal plan for her next decade!

She recounts her early childhood in India, traveling through the Indian outback on medical safaris with her missionary-doctor parents. She shares her encounter with Mahatma Gandhi, and her life as a physician and a mother of six. She beat cancer twice, and survived the trauma of being unexpectedly served with divorce papers at age 70, after 46 years of marriage.



Some of the books by Dr. Gladys McGarey

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Dr. Gladys was born in India in 1920--her mother went into sudden labor the moment she set eyes on the Taj Mahal. In books and presentations, Dr. Gladys has shared her previous life memories and feelings of guilt as the attendant at the birth in which Mumtaz Mahal died.

Fascinated by the Taj Mahal since I was a preschooler, I created one of my major works of wearable art with a focus on that magnificent monument to Mumtaz Mahal built by her bereaved husband. When I finally had the occasion to show this piece to Dr. Gladys in person, she tried it on and we were both thrilled!



Dr. Gladys wearing the cape from Meryl Ann Butler's 'Jewels of India' wearable art ensemble

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In 1937 Gladys came to the United States from India to attend college and medical school. She began her medical practice at a time when women couldn't even own their own bank accounts.

Later, she co-founded the A.R.E. Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, where she and her former husband pioneered the integration of allopathic and holistic medical practices.

In 1978, along with neurosurgeon and holistic doctor, Norman Shealy, she and others co-founded the American Holistic Medical Association (now the Foundation for Alternative and Integrative Medicine.)



Dr Gladys McGarey and Dr. C. Norman Shealy in the A.R.E. Meditation Garden, 2012

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Dr. Gladys was an early pioneer in using acupuncture in the U.S. and she trained other physicians in how to utilize it.

While raising six children Dr. Gladys continued her medical practice, her research, and the advancement of birthing practices. She promoted natural childbirth and pioneered efforts to allow fathers in the delivery room. Among Dr. Gladys' innovations for natural birthing was the Baby Buggy Program founded in 1978, featuring a fully-equipped paramedical and emergency transport vehicle which was at-the-ready during home deliveries.

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Remarks at Conference of GAMIP (Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace)

I'm sorry I've been too busy to have slides here, and am lucky just to have words. I'm also sorry there are so many Davids, King David being a horrible figure to name us all after, but David Adams and many other Davids are redeeming the name, I think.

Here we are in a moment when the world's most self-righteous, self-appointed overseers of an international order are openly and proudly committing genocide, after having spent decades trumpeting their rejection of genocide and even using genocide as the primary justification for wars, as if most wars were not genocides and every genocide not a war. It seems an odd moment in which to talk about infrastructure for peace and especially about what works, what succeeds.

But if anything fails, if anything conspicuously does not work, it is war. Working for peace does not always bring peace, but waging war for peace never brings peace, never creates the borders or governments stated as the goals. The leading warmakers never win on their own terms or any terms. They fail over and over again, on their own terms and ours. In Ukraine, both sides finally admit failure and yet don't know what to do about it. In Israel and Palestine, anyone who doesn't think war brings more war is choosing not to think. War supporters should not talk to peace supporters about success unless they're ready to admit that weapons profits and sadistic cruelty are the objectives of war.

There is no question that institutions created for peace or under the pretense of being for peace can be abused, that laws can be ignored, that laws and institutions can even become literally incomprehensible to a society so far gone for war that peace makes no sense to it. There is no question that ultimately what works is first and foremost an engaged society that educates and activates for peace, and that what is illegal is not what's banned on a piece of paper unless that piece of paper leads to action.

But a society needs infrastructure, needs institutions, needs laws, as part of the culture of peace and as mechanisms for making peace. When wars are prevented or ended, when bases are closed, when weapons are dismantled, when nations denounce wars or propose peace negotiations, or try foreign warmakers in absentia, all of that too is done through institutions and infrastructure. And it's important to recognize that the self-proclaimed crusaders for a so-called Rules Based Order are in reality the rogue outliers refusing to support what exists in the way of an actual order based on rules.

The United States is the leading holdout on basic human rights treaties and disarmament treaties, the leading violator of treaties on war and weapons dealing, leading opponent and saboteur of international courts. Israel is close behind. Calling an apartheid state openly created for one religious or ethnic group a democracy doesn't make it one, and doesn't diminish the need for actually fair and representative institutions. It also shouldn't take away from the fact that most of the world's governments are not at war and have not been so for decades or centuries.

The United Nations yesterday looked like it worked pretty darn well, like it gave voice to its governmental members, like some of those governments, maybe even a majority of them, spoke for their people, and like an institution supposedly created to rid the world of the scourge of war would take the obvious step that ought to go without saying of advocating for and beginning to work for the end of a particular war. And then came the U.S. veto, surprising absolutely nobody, every single observer having known from the start that the whole thing was a charade, the United States having effectively blocked this particular measure for months, and having vetoed the very idea of peace in Palestine or the application of the rule of law to Israel on dozens of previous occasions.

The most comical thing ever done by Volodymyr Zelensky was not the television sitcom in which he played the part of an actually good president. It was not his tour of the marble palaces of the NATO Empire dressed in battle gear to rub glorious blood and smoke onto the sleeves of airconditioned armchair warriors. It was his proposing, not too many weeks ago, to eliminate the veto at the UN Security Council. He was so far gone into believing U.S. propaganda that he thought a rules-based order in which the Russian government could not veto the will of the world's governments would be acceptable to the world's leading vetoer in Washington. This is comical because it's not just hypocrisy, not just the dishonesty of the U.S. Secretary of State this week opposing ethnic cleansing if it's in Sudan, or the U.S. so-called Institute of Peace having on its website today opposition to genocide if it was done by ISIS 10 years ago in Iraq. Zelensky may be a champion of hypocrisy, but he misunderstood his role so drastically that he blurted out what we actually need and apparently had no idea his weapons dealer in Washington would object.

We desperately need to reform or replace the United Nations with at the very least a body in which each national government is equal, and with a body that replaces armed peacekeeping with unarmed peacekeeping. The latter has been used so successfully in Bougainville, while armed peacekeeping has failed to make or keep the peace in dozens of locations around the globe, often making matters worse, while costing a fortune and reinforcing war mentalities and warmaking infrastructure. We have national governments that justify their militaries to their impoverished publics largely on the grounds that those militaries do UN peacekeeping and completely regardless of whether it works.

And as David Adams has explained, the reform or replacement needs to extend to UNESCO.

We need national governments to give people what they actually want. Instead of agencies of aggression mislabeled ministries of defense and departments of defense, we need agencies of actual defense, also known as peace. And we need not insist that they be mislabeled or disguised as departments of mass-murder. We can be satisfied with simply calling them what the are, departments of peace. But calling something that will not, by itself, make it that. As David Adams has recounted, the U.S. government answered a public demand by creating what it calls a U.S. Institute of Peace. That institute does some good things where those things don't interfere with U.S. empire, but it has yet to oppose a single U.S. war anywhere ever. We need not only branches of governments pretending to favor peace, but actually working for peace and empowered to shape what those governments do. In nations with cultures and governments with low-levels of corruption able to work for peace, a Department of Peace working with a focus on peace is even better than a department of state or foreign affairs doing the same thing, which ought to be its job. There is more to peacemaking than just diplomacy, and much more than the sort of diplomacy done by wealthy bribe payers working at the direction of militaries and weapons-funded think tanks.

By the way, today's New York Times praises France for carefully avoiding any diplomacy with Russia when some WWI Russian casualties were found and buried in France. Diplomacy is treated like a disease pandemic.

At ldbeyondwar.org/constitutions is a collection of treaties, constitutions, and laws against war. I think it's worth looking at them, both to understand how useless paper alone is, and to understand which pieces of paper we might choose to make better use of. Laws that ban all war are literally incomprehensible to people who imagine there is no defense against war but war. You can see this in certain nations' constitutions that both ban all war and lay out the powers of various officials in waging war. How is that possible? Well, because war (when it is banned) is understood as bad war or aggressive war, and war (when it is managed and planned for) is understood as good war and defensive war. This isn't even put into words, so there is no need to explain or define it. Thus we go on with wars, as every side of every war believes itself to be the good and defensive side, while if our great great grandparents had banned only bad and aggressive dueling, leaving good and defensive duelling in place, there would be legal and honorable assassinations at every meeting of the UN Security Council.

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"Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018)



Mike Johnson. So new to the national political stage, and so mild-mannered looking, that I could not find a caricature of him anywhere.

(Image by Gage Skidmore) Details DMCA



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The United Sates has had two Presidents by the name of Johnson, Andrew (1865-69) and Lyndon (1963-69). Each had a major impact on The Constitution and U.S. Constitutional history. In my view, and that of many other historians, that impact was a negative one, and in each case shall be discussed briefly. The primary subject for this column is a Johnson who (heaven forbid) might become President. (By the way, if he does, we will then know politico-economic side God is on, or, if there is more than one of them, which side the God s are on). Speaker Mike is certainly "out there," and many of views (such as on Creationism) are known, especially on such matters as, that "God" (however that subject/concept might be defined) is very close to him personally.

Consider this report (Mike Johnson: 'Depraved' America Deserves God's Wrath ' Provided by Rolling Stone) on how this man thinks and feels, about God [in my terms "God"], and the nation, and indirectly the Constitution --- I'll get back to that):

"In an October prayer call hosted by a Christian-nationalist MAGA pastor, Rep. Mike Johnson was troubled that America's wickedness was inviting God's wrath. Talking to pastor Jim Garlow on a broadcast of the World Prayer Network, Johnson spoke ominously of America facing a 'civilizational moment.' He said, 'The only question is: Is God going to allow our nation to enter a time of judgment for our collective sins? " Or is he going to give us one more chance to restore the foundations and return to Him?'

"The segment was filmed Oct. 3, just weeks before Johnson's unexpected rise to become speaker of the House. Garlow pressed the clean-cut Louisiana congressman to say 'more about this "time of judgment" for America.' Johnson replied: 'The culture is so dark and depraved that it almost seems irredeemable.' He cited, as supposed evidence, the decline of national church attendance and the rise of LGBTQ youth - the fact, Johnson lamented, that 'one-in-four high school students identifies as something other than straight.

"Discussing the risk of divine retribution, Johnson invoked Sodom, the Old Testament city destroyed by God for its wickedness with a rain of burning sulfur. Johnson is a polished orator, but in a closing prayer with Garlow he grew tearful. Johnson intoned, 'We repent for our sins individually and collectively. And we ask that You not give us the judgment that we clearly deserve.' "

And, consider an exchange with a journalist:

"House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) explained the separation of church and state when cornered by CNBC co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin, calling it a 'misnomer' and emphasizing the influence of faith on public life. Johnson referenced historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and John Adams in support of his view. 'The separation of church and state is a misnomer [italics added] people misunderstand it,' Johnson pressed."

And further still, at the recent gala of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, Speaker Johnson had this to say:

" 'The Lord impressed upon my heart a few weeks before this happened that something was going to occur,' Johnson said. 'And the Lord very specifically told me in my prayers to prepare, but to wait. . . . I had this sense that we were going to come to a Red Sea moment in our Republican conference and in the county at large,' he continued. '[God] had been speaking to me about this, and the Lord told me very clearly to prepare and be ready.' Johnson said that once Rep. Kevin McCarthy was removed as Speaker of the House, God began to wake him up in the middle of the night 'to speak to me, [telling me] to write things down; plans, procedures, and ideas on how we could pull the [Republican] conference together.'

" 'At the time, I assumed the Lord was going to choose a new Moses and thank you, Lord, you're going to allow me to be Aaron to Moses,' Johnson declared."

Speaker Johnson (and possible future President Johnson --- God forbid [using that term not literally but rather as a commonly used turn-of-phrase in the English language]), meet the Constitution, and the place of "God" and religion --- or not --- in it.

First of all, the word "God" does not appear in the Constitution, Speaker Johnson, not even once. As for the word "religion," it does appear, just once, as it happens, in the First Amendment, to wit:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (italics added), or pro hibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The word "religious" also makes one appearance, at the end of Article VI: "but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

And so, Speaker Johnson, it matters not what Presidents Washington, Adams, and Jefferson had to say about religion and the separation of church and state (and without going into any details, Johnson's interpretation of their thoughts on the matters certainly represents a minority view). It matters what is actually in the Constitution, in terms of the role of government in respect of religion and the free exercise thereof, and on any religious qualification for office. What matters is that whatever your personal beliefs are about "God," and whether he, she, it, or they communicated with you in one form or another about matters of State in the United States, those beliefs are, under the terms of the Constitution, irrelevant to the making and implementation of law in these United States.

BUT, and this is a big BUT, should this man become President, regardless of the wording of the document (see Trump on Constitutional interpretation --- he just said to Sean Hannity that if re-elected he would be "dictator" for one day only --- a provision for Presidential power that is nowhere to be found in the Constitution --- but apparently Trump, or at least Hannity [who did not challenge that statement by Trump] thinks that it is in there somewhere [it isn't]), Mike Johnson could, for example, be "turning to God for guidance," and then imposing God's suggestions, or even "God's Will," as law on the rest of us. That would be a major impact of a President Johnson on Constitutional government in the United States --- that might, or might not (heaven help us), happen.

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But now let us look at what impact on U.S. Constitutional government the two previous Presidents-in-office named Johnson, actually had. Before the Civil War, Andrew Johnson was a Unionist Democratic Senator from Tennessee. He remained such during the Civil War, even though Tennessee had joined the CSA. (As it happened, the hill country of Eastern Tennessee was home to many unionists, during the Civil War.) With the election of 1864 approaching, President Lincoln was looking to "balance" his ticket. And so, he discarded the abolitionist/Republican Hannibal Hamlin and certainly not anticipating just how short his second term would be, he chose this pro-Union "War" Democrat to be his Vice-President. Describing Johnson's policies, this entry from the Encyclopedia Britannica briefly put it this way:

"In March 1867 the new Congress passed, over Johnson's veto, the first of the Reconstruction acts, providing for suffrage for male freedmen and military administration of the Southern states. With Reconstruction virtually taken out of his hands, the president, by exercising his veto and by narrowly interpreting the law, managed to delay the program so seriously that he contributed materially to its failure."

Johnson certainly held Reconstruction back, and in the view of many significantly contributed to its ultimate failure. Prime among his actions that would have favored freed slaves was his dumping of General William Tecumseh Sherman's proposed "40 acres and a mule" to be provided for certain freed slaves. At the same time (negative) actions of his did contribute to the eventual passage of the 14th (the citizenship and insurrection/dis-qualification) and 15th (civil rights) amendments (see the end of this column for their full texts. Of course, no one could have ever foreseen the application of the insurrection clause, 150 years later to a former President, but that is another story.) So, it can be said that the first President Johnson had a significant impact on the U.S. Constitutional law.

The second Pres. Johnson, Lyndon, of course was a major leader in the expansion of Constitutional rights for African-Americans, with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Ever since, Southern legislators in general and (after the institution of Nixon's "Southern Strategy") Republicans in particular, have been trying, with increasing degrees of success, to cut back on both the provisions of both Acts (see, e.g., a recent lower Federal Court decision). But this President Johnson also led a major attack on U.S. Constitutional law and its war-making powers are defined in practice. Following up on similar, but nearly as wide-spread policies undertaken by both President Eisenhower and President Kennedy in dealing Viet Nam, Johnson, using the "Gulf of Tonkin" incident, the details of which are still a matter of major dispute, to launch, with "Congressional Resolutions," what became a full-scale War on Vietnam, without, however, a specific, Constitutional, Declaration of War.

So, both previous Presidents Johnson have had, shall we say, somewhat dicey relationships to the U.S. Constitution, and U.S. Constitutional law. And both sets of relationships have had major impacts on the history of the United States. And now we have come to a Johnson, who is second-in-line to the Presidency should an ill of one type or another befall the present occupant of the office, who could also have a major impact on U.S. Constitutional law.

The first Pres. Johnson had a major impact on the Constitution because certain actions of his had major negative impacts on Reconstruction (which failure led directly to the Lost Cause/Jim Crow Era in the South and indirectly to the continuing struggles over racial equality-and-discrimination that have lasted down to this very day). The second Pres. Johnson took to himself (certainly with the cooperation of certain members of Congress) war powers which on paper would seem to be the prerogative of Congress (on the authorization-for-action side. But they have been used ever-since by Presidents to go ahead, on what amounts in practice to a Declaration of War, launch the country into one. (See: Carter and Afghanistan, Ronald Reagan and Nicaragua, G.H.W. Bush and Kuwait, G.W. Bush and Iraq, G.W. Bush and Afghanistan.)

And so, a third President Johnson might also have a long-term impact on Constitutional law in the U.S.: making the nation into a partial theocracy (that is one in which a President seeks "guidance from God" on policy and decision-making, and then, God forbid, uses it) that in the long run could have an even more negative impact on U.S. Constitutional Democracy that any actions of the first two have had. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Addendum I :

"This week, CNN reported [see link below] on a foreword that Johnson wrote for a right-wing manifesto [italics added]. The content of the book outlines how to use 'Black Lives Matter' to start a race war by 'pandering,' and spins the Pizzagate conspiracy as legitimate. Johnson hasn't clarified if he believes the hoax. It also trashes poor voters as 'unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency.' But when asked about it, Johnson's office said in a statement that he only wrote the foreword because the author was a friend. He didn't really read it and certainly doesn't endorse it. The problem, however, John Oliver (the host of 'Last Week Tonight') explained, is that Johnson himself would disagree with that. [And here comes a big OOOPS!] In his podcast with his wife Kelly Johnson, the now-speaker says, 'I obviously believe in the product, or I wouldn't have written the foreword. So, I endorse the work. Look, I love the book ... Everybody can go and get the book. I highly recommend it.' " click here

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Addendum II

AMENDMENT XIV

(Adopted July 21, 1868)

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per sons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice"'President of the Unit ed States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of each State, being twenty"'one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty"'one years of age in such State.

Section 3. 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, re move such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid or insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

AMENDMENT XV

(Adopted March 30, 1870)

Section 1. 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.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

(Article changed on Dec 11, 2023 at 12:45 PM EST)

(Article changed on Dec 11, 2023 at 12:49 PM EST)
Amid a round of rolling layoffs, Nike sent an email to employees on Wednesday announcing a slew of promotions and some organizational changes. It didnt mention the job cuts, which have touched numerous parts of the sportswear giant in recent weeks.

The company hasnt returned repeated messages seeking comment about the layoffs. Employees have told The Oregonian/OregonLive they dont know much about whats going on beyond whats been reported in news articles and whats contained in Wednesdays email.

And they said the email, which notes changes that will take place over the coming months, only adds to the uncertainty.

Everyone is going to wonder, What is my job, and what is my team doing between now and the end of the fiscal year (on May 31)?, said a current employee. I dont think its going to be clear for quite a few months, which is wild for a big company.

The Oregonian/OregonLive agreed not to name the employee because Nike prohibits workers from speaking with journalists without permission.

Its unlikely the company will offer much clarity, at least publicly, before its next earnings report on Dec. 21. But its clear that change is afoot at Nike, Oregons largest company and a driver of the local economy.

Heres what we know.

Nikes in a bit of a slump. In September, Nike reported quarterly earnings that included a 2% sales decrease in North America, its largest market. The companys stock is roughly flat this year, while the S&P 500, a broad basket of equities, is up nearly 20%.

Analysts and industry watchers have said the companys products arent as popular as they used to be. One common example: Runners are increasingly wearing Hoka and On sneakers, even though running is Nikes legacy category. In September, Wall Street analyst Sam Poser wrote that Nike doesnt have enough compelling new product offerings, and the old product has become stale.

Its been a bumpy ride the last couple of years for everybody, but for Nike its been unusually bumpy, said Tom Nikic, a senior vice president and equity analyst for Wedbush Securities. Were kind of used to Nike being able to ride out the storm better than others.

Nikes emerged from slumps before. In 2017, Nike faced increased competition from Adidas, which had hot new products on the market such as NMD, and which was still racking up sales of UltraBoost sneakers.

But in 2018, Nike introduced the Air Max 270, among a handful of well-received products that sparked Nike sales in recent years. Nikes annual sales are up 41% since 2018, while Adidas are up 3%.

Nike veterans expect the company to similarly rebound from its current woes.

What Nike teaches us is resilience, said Jana Panfilio, a cofounder of 6453 Alumni, an independent alumni group whose name is a nod to how Nike is numerically spelled on a telephone keypad. Panfilio worked for the company for 29 years.

But she acknowledged the difficulty of layoffs regardless of the companys long-term success.

Its never been pleasant, she said. Its never been easy for anyone.

Inventory is a root problem. Nike makes 50% of its footwear and 29% of its apparel in contract factories in Vietnam, according to its most recent annual report. In the summer of 2021, many factories there closed temporarily because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Nike ran low on inventory. In 2022, when the factories had reopened, Nikes inventory surged  just as consumer spending cooled.

Excess inventory can be lethal for sportswear companies. The longer products sit, the more out-of-date and less valuable they become. Prices get slashed. Margins shrink. Customers get used to discounts and shy away from paying full price.

The fact that Nike basically had a significant portion of its manufacturing base shut off for two months ended up being a significant problem, said Wedbushs Nikic.

Nikic doesnt see decreased demand for Nike products. And he said the companys made progress at working through its mountain of inventory, which was down 10% in the most recent quarter.

Nikes been quietly laying off workers in numerous divisions. Inevitably, poor financial performance leads to layoffs. Nike has made recent cuts in human resources, recruitment, sourcing, brand, engineering, digital products and innovation, according to LinkedIn posts and current and former employees who spoke with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Nike has not filed a mass layoff notice with the state of Oregon, which would be required if the company laid off 500 or more employees in a 90-day period.

Nike also hasnt given employees any information about the layoffs. Theres been no companywide email to employees and no all-hands meeting about staff reductions.

I feel like they want to keep it confidential, a Nike employee who was laid off this week previously told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Stephanie Vardavas was in the room in 1998 when Nike founder Phil Knight, then serving as CEO, announced a round of layoffs and apologized to the entire company. Vardavas worked as a staff attorney for Nike from 1997 to 2011. Shes a cofounder of 6453 Alumni.

She remains a strong supporter of the brand, but she said Knights example of forthright leadership is no longer followed.

They dont manage their workforce as thoughtfully and gracefully as I wish they would, and in a way that befits a great brand, she said. I have been disappointed over and over in the way that they manage their most fantastic asset, which is the people who built Nike and continue to rebuild it.

6453 Alumni Group is working to be a resource for Nike employees who have been laid off.

Nike announced a significant number of promotions in recent weeks. Last month, Nike announced new heads of innovation, design, marketing and technology. That followed a May executive shuffle at even higher reaches of the company.

The email sent to Nike employees this week announced roughly four dozen promotions inside the company, including new direct reports for various vice presidents, as part of a strategic shift focused on the consumer and designed for speed, scale and precision.

But the email also noted numerous new roles have not been filled, adding to the uncertainty about where Nike is heading.

The email, signed by Heidi ONeill, president of consumer, product and brand, and Craig Williams, president of geographies and marketplace, noted the new structure will be rolled out in coming months.

January, and 2024, loom large. Nike seems to be aggressively trying to turn the page in 2024, which has the important distinction of being an Olympic year. Consumer interest in sports, and running in particular, spikes in Olympic years. As a result, theyre critical for the launch of new sportswear products.

In January, Nike employees will return to their offices at least four days a week. Nicole Hubbard Graham, the last of four recent C-suite appointments, starts on Jan. 2. The roughly four dozen promotions announced in this weeks internal email become effective on Jan. 2.

Nike reports earnings on Dec. 21. The last time Nike announced a major shift in its business model, it happened on a quarterly earnings call with stock analysts in 2020. Analysts dont expect Nike to announce a new business model when the company reports earnings this month, but they expect Nike will continue to tweak its current focus on direct, digital sales, which Nike calls the Consumer Direct Acceleration.

In recent years, Nike cut a lot of wholesale accounts as it focused on selling through Nike stores and its website and mobile apps. But competitors have taken advantage of the shelf space in shopping malls and department stores.

Nikes slowly started returning to some wholesale channels. Analysts expect that to continue.

Direct-to-consumer is important, digital is important, but at the end of the day consumers still do a bulk, or a majority, of shopping in stores, said Brian Yarbrough, a consumer discretionary analyst for Edward Jones. Theyve realized that they probably backed away from too many accounts.

Yarbrough has a buy rating on Nikes stock.

Theyre the leader by far in the marketplace, he said. Theyll continue to put new technology in shoes and drive growth. But right now, there are some issues.

 Matthew Kish; mkish@oregonian.com; 503-221-4386
Police arrested a 32-year-old Portland man suspected of attacking a man with a hatchet after a road rage encounter in August in Southeast Portlands Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood.

Joseph K. Chastain was booked Thursday into the Multnomah County Detention Center downtown on suspicion of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, police said.

On Aug. 12, a man called 911 around 11 p.m. after he said a man sliced his leg with a hatchet near Southeast Boise Street and 48th Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Officers responded and found a man with a severe wound on his left leg. They wrapped a tourniquet around the mans leg and he was taken to OHSU Hospital to be treated for the laceration and a fractured tibia and fibula, according to the affidavit.

The man told police he was driving south on Southeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard at Powell Boulevard when a man driving a white Mazda pickup cut him off.

The man told police he honked at the truck to avoid getting hit and the truck driver followed him to his home. The truck driver then got out of his pickup and ran toward the victim, the affidavit states.

The victim told police he feared for his life and got out of his car with a hatchet and told the truck driver to leave him alone, according to the affidavit.

Prosecutors allege Chastain pushed the victim to the ground, grabbed the hatchet and swung it into the mans left knee, according to the affidavit.

Chastain drove off in his pickup, and officers searched the area but did not find him, police said.

Detectives looked up the trucks license plate number and identified Chastain as the owner, the affidavit states.

Investigators interviewed Chastain on Thursday, who said the other man struck him several times with the blunt edge of the hatchet. Chastain denied hitting the man and said the man may have injured himself.

Chastain told investigators he had put the hatchet in his garage, according to the affidavit.

Investigators executed a search warrant of Chastains home and seized a silver hatchet with a blue handle, which matched the weapon described by the victim, the affidavit states.

-- Catalina Gaitan, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalinagaitan_

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World-renowned fiddler Alasdair Frasers massive social media campaign paid off: He has gotten back his violin and bows after a thief stole them from his rental car in downtown Portland last month.

Two people showed up with the stolen items at Southeast Portlands David Kerr Violin Shop and sold them to the shop Wednesday afternoon. The shop soon identified them as stolen and less than 24 hours later, Fraser was reunited with his beloved violin and four bows.

Theyre undamaged. A photo Fraser posted Thursday to Facebook shows him standing in the violin shop, his eyes twinkling and his face beaming.

After searching for four days in Portland last month and then flying home to California defeated, Fraser had lost all hope  until an employee at the violin shop gave him a call.

Id actually begun looking for something else to play, Fraser told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday. I was never going to see these instruments again. You move on. I was grieving. And suddenly to be jolted with this phone call? I was in shock.

Fortune was shining upon us, Fraser added, noting that now he and his musical partner  cellist Natalie Haas  have both recovered the instruments most important to them.

Their tribulations began Nov. 13, when they arrived in Portland to perform at the Alberta Rose Theatre to mark the end of a two-week tour.

Someone broke into their rental car while it was parked near the Multnomah County Central Library, emptying its contents  Frasers violin and bows, Haas cello, sheet music with precious handwritten notes, various pieces of musical equipment and their luggage and clothes.

The pair recovered Haas cello that same day from a stranger who read Haas phone number on the case and told her that hed bought it from a man on the street for $40 but soon had a change of heart.

Haas flew home to Spain, but Fraser stuck around for four more days  tracking down witnesses, talking to police and plastering stolen-items fliers to lamp posts and bike racks.

It was hard for me to leave, said Fraser, who lives in the Grass Valley area of California. I hated to leave with a piece of me missing.

But before either one of them had flown home, they had stopped by the David Kerr Violin Shop  one of the oldest in the Portland area  to ask staff to be on the lookout for anyone trying to sell their stolen possessions. Twenty-three days later, that effort paid off.

Longtime employee Esther Shim said two people arrived at the shop Wednesday afternoon, saying theyd tried to sell the violin and bows at Trade Up Music but that Trade Up Music referred them to the David Kerr Violin shop given the caliber of the equipment.

Shim said the couple told owner David Kerr that an acquaintance who had been living with them moved out and left the violin and bows behind.

Kerr didnt initially realize the items belonged to Fraser and believed the story was plausible, Shim said. Its not unusual for people to sell instruments that theyve inherited or were passed on to them, she said.

So Kerr cut the couple a check after taking down at least one of their names from their identification.

After the people left, things moved pretty quickly, Shim said.

Staff member Andy Emert recognized Frasers violin and bows, the store canceled its check, Shim called Fraser and Fraser was up at 5 a.m. the next day to catch a plane to Portland.

By noon Thursday he was standing in the shop, grasping the violin hes performed with for the past 40 years as hes traveled around the world, as well as the bows, including a 19th century French one particularly special to him.

Fraser declined to pin a dollar value on his musical items, saying their emotional value to him far exceeds that. The violin shop also declined to state the amount it paid the couple.

Fraser posted about his stroke of luck on Facebook and within hours hundreds of fans and supporters were celebrating the news as A Hanukkah miracle! and The best news ever! Merry Christmas! Thousands of fans had been following Frasers and Haas weeks-long saga via social media.

There were a lot of invested people and its the kind of good news that a lot of us wanted this year, Shim said.

Shim said the store isnt out any money. And after it canceled the check, the two people who sold the violin and bows havent returned to complain.

Fraser told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the past 48 hours have been a whirlwind. He hasnt had time to call police to update them on the information the shop passed along to him about the sellers. But he certainly will.

Portland police said they havent made any arrests in the case. Sgt. Kevin Allen said police would like anyone with tips to email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 23-295890.

After picking up his violin, Fraser gave a free impromptu lesson to an 11-year-old Portlander  a big Fraser fan called to the store by Shim for the special treat.

Then Fraser made the four-mile trip in his rental car to downtowns Shemanski Park, where hed gone after the theft to talk to anyone he encountered in the area  mostly people experiencing homelessness  to try to get a lead.

Back in November, one of the people in the park told him that hed witnessed a man haul Frasers violin and Haas suitcase there and dig through it.

Fraser said he planned this time to tell people that hed gotten the violin back and maybe play a tune for them in celebration.

But when he got there, he had second thoughts.

You know why? Fraser said.I didnt want to park the car.

So Fraser drove to the airport and headed home. There, he brought his violin to a local music shop.

It was like I took it to the spa, Fraser said, chuckling.

He said in the last few weeks, he had tried out replacement violins and bows, but none seemed quite right. With his stolen violin and bows back in his hands this week, he said he felt at peace.

I said Oh yeah, Fraser recounted. Im really genuinely happy to get my old instruments back. I want to go home and write a ton of music.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
Four of Oregons largest hospital systems are trying to revive a lawsuit that accuses the state of failing to provide its residents with adequate mental health care.

The hospital groups  Legacy Health, Providence Healthy & Services, PeaceHealth and St. Charles Health System  sued Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon State Hospital last September, alleging that the two entities had failed to make room for patients admitted through civil commitments, who arent accused of a crime but found to be a danger to themselves or others but not charged with a crime.

The health systems say their medical hospitals are forced as a result to provide mental health treatment theyre not equipped to give.

In May, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman dismissed the lawsuit after the state hospital agreed to expand its criteria for admitting civilly committed patients. Shortly thereafter, the hospitals tried to get Mosman to reconsider the suit, but he denied their request.

In an appeal filed Monday, the hospitals said that Oregon Health Authority has failed to fulfill its responsibility to patients with mental illness.

Rather than ensure and provide timely access to appropriate treatment, OHA has adopted a practice of abandoning civilly committed patients in community hospitals, attorneys for the hospitals wrote in the appeal, even though many patients have no medical need to be there.

Larry Bingham, an Oregon Health Authority spokesperson, declined to comment on pending litigation.

The state psychiatric hospitals failure to admit those patients harms both the patients and the medical hospitals where they end up instead, the appeal said. They said community hospitals are not designed or equipped to provide long-term mental health treatment, meaning patients dont get the help they need and divert resources from other patients.

Melissa Eckstein, president of the Legacy-owned Unity Center for Behavioral Health, said that patients should instead be in specialized long-term care facilities, such as secure residential treatment facilities or the Oregon State Hospital.

Though filed separately, the case overlaps with another ongoing lawsuit filed by watchdog group Disability Rights Oregon.

A court order stemming from the advocacy groups suit requires the state hospital to admit aid-and-assist patients, or those charged with a crime but found unable to defend themselves, within seven days. The state hospital has struggled to meet that deadline for years, and many patients languished in jail for months while awaiting mental health treatment.

Last year, Mosman, the federal judge, imposed strict time limits on how long those patients could remain in the state hospital in order to quickly clear the way for new ones.

That decision faced mounting opposition over the next few months. Several district attorneys, counties and judges filed to join the case, saying the expedited timelines for releasing patients could put their communities in danger, as patients might be released before their treatment was complete.

Disability Rights Oregon attorney Tom Stenson said the community hospitals lawsuit reveals something of a conflict: While the hospitals say theyre acting on behalf of patients, theyre also pushing to get them out of their emergency departments.

But because there arent enough residential treatment facilities to meet the states needs, Stenson said, theres currently no viable alternative to hospital care. Until thats fixed, he said, some patients arent getting the treatment they need.

The fundamental problem is that we have a system thats inadequate to serve the needs of people with disabilities, he said. Not enough housing, not enough community mental health support. Not enough overall resources.

A judge in Pierce County, Washington, recently ruled against that state in a similar case, ordering its Department of Social and Health Services to immediately evaluate patients with behavioral health conditions.

Prosecutors from 22 counties in Washington had sued the agency over its failure to evaluate and treat criminal defendants whose charges were dropped because they were mentally unable to understand the charges against them.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare.

Her reach is now broadening with a quintessential American honor: a Barbie doll in the late Mankillers likeness as part of toymaker Mattels Inspiring Women series.

A public ceremony honoring Mankillers legacy is set for Tuesday in Tahlequah in northeast Oklahoma, where the Cherokee Nation is headquartered.

Mankiller was the nations first female principal chief, leading the tribe for a decade until 1995. She focused on improving social conditions through consensus and on restoring pride in Native heritage. She met with three U.S. presidents and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian award.

She also met snide remarks about her surname  a military title  with humor, often delivering a straight-faced response: Mankiller is actually a well-earned nickname. She died in 2010.

The tribes current leader, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., applauded Mattel for commemorating Mankiller.

When Native girls see it, they can achieve it, and Wilma Mankiller has shown countless young women to be fearless and speak up for Indigenous and human rights, Hoskin said in a statement. Wilma Mankiller is a champion for the Cherokee Nation, for Indian Country, and even my own daughter.

Mankiller, whose likeness is on a U.S. quarter issued in 2021, is the second Native American woman honored with a Barbie doll. Famed aviator Bessie Coleman, who was of Black and Cherokee ancestry, was depicted earlier this year.

Other dolls in the series include Maya Angelou, Ida B. Wells, Jane Goodall and Madam C.J. Walker.

The rollout of the Barbie doll featuring Mankiller wearing a ribbon skirt, black shoes and carrying a woven basket has been met with conflicting reactions.

Many say the doll is a fitting tribute for a remarkable leader who faced conflict head-on and helped the tribe triple its enrollment, double its employment and build new health centers and childrens programs.

Still, some Cherokee women are critical, saying Mattel overlooked problematic details on the doll and the packaging.

Mixed emotions shared by me and many other Cherokee women who have now purchased the product revolve around whether a Wilma Barbie captures her legacy, her physical features and the importance of centering Cherokee women in decision making, Stacy Leeds, the law school dean at Arizona State University and a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, told The Associated Press in an email.

Regina Thompson, a Cherokee basket weaver who grew up near Tahlequah, doesnt think the doll looks like Mankiller. Mattel should have considered traditional pucker toe moccasins, instead of black shoes, and included symbols on the basket that Cherokees use to tell a story, she said.

Wilmas name is the only thing Cherokee on that box, Thompson said. Nothing about that doll is Wilma, nothing.

The Cherokee language symbols on the packaging also are wrong, she noted. Two symbols look similar, and the one used translates to Chicken, rather than Cherokee.

Mattel spokesperson Devin Tucker said the company is aware of the problem with the syllabary and is discussing options. The company worked with Mankillers estate, which is led by her husband, Charlie Soap, and her friend, Kristina Kiehl, on the creation of the doll. Soap and Kiehl did not respond to messages left by the AP.

Mattel did not consult with the Cherokee Nation on the doll.

Regrettably, the Mattel company did not work directly with the tribal governments design and communications team to secure the official Seal or verify it, the tribe said in a statement. The printing mistake itself does not diminish what it means for the Cherokee people to see this tribute to Wilma and who she was and what she stood for.

Several Cherokees also criticized Mattel for not consulting with Mankillers only surviving child, Felicia Olaya, who said she was unaware of the doll until about a week before its public launch.

I have no issues with the doll. I have no issues with honoring my mom in different ways, said Olaya, who acknowledged she and Soap, her stepfather, are estranged. The issue is that no one informed me, no one told me. I didnt know it was coming.

Olaya also wonders how her mother would feel about being honored with a Barbie doll.

I heard her once on the phone saying, Im not Princess Diana, nor am I Barbie, Olaya recalled. I think she probably would have been a little conflicted on that, because my mom was very humble. She wasnt the type of person who had her honorary degrees or awards plastered all over the wall. They were in tubs in her pole barn.

Im not sure how she would feel about this, Olaya said.

Still, Olaya said she hopes to buy some of the dolls for her grandchildren and is always grateful for people to learn about her mothers legacy.

I have a warm feeling about the thought of my granddaughters playing with a Wilma Mankiller Barbie, she said.

__

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press
A group of Gladstone mobile home park residents crowded around a table in the neighborhoods community room Thursday waiting for Gov. Tina Kotek to walk through the door.

Is this just a PR thing? Kim Baller, a longtime resident who helped mobilize neighbors in 2016 to purchase the mobile home park, wondered aloud. None of his neighbors knew how to respond.

Minutes later, Kotek and her wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson, entered the room. They spent the next hour engaged in conversation about the Two Rivers Homeowners Cooperative and how it could serve as a model for other communities in the state.

The day was busy, and it marked a milestone: Kotek was now one stop away from completing her goal to visit each of Oregons 36 counties in her first year in office.

The homeowners co-op meeting was Koteks fifth stop in Clackamas County. She also toured the Wade Creek Restoration Area in Estacada, held a roundtable discussion with staffers at Clackamas Womens Services and attended breakfast and lunch meetings with officials from several cities.

People have been excited for the conversations, they have been generous with their time, they have been welcoming, Kotek told The Oregonian/OregonLive. They know were not going to agree on everything, but they want to be heard.

On what Kotek dubbed her One Oregon Listening Tour, the governor and her wife have stopped at city halls, schools, nonprofits, health facilities, businesses and other sites, meeting with elected officials, community leaders and residents. She first announced last December that she was committed to visiting every county in the state during her first year in office.

Though the tour was focused on Koteks top legislative priorities  housing, behavioral health and early literacy  the conversations provided the governor insight into issues impacting all corners of the state.

You cant do this job sitting behind a desk, Oregons senior U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Thats because good ideas dont usually come from the top down. They come from the grassroots.

Wyden, who has received awards for holding more than 1,000 town halls across the state since entering office in 1996, said he is unaware of any previous Oregon governor who has visited every county in a single year.

Kotek said the tour allowed her to understand the perspectives of rural communities that might feel neglected or overlooked by lawmakers in the Democrat-dominated statehouse. Many individuals who met with Kotek this year told The Oregonian/OregonLive she made them feel heard.

I think it was not just PR, Baller, the mobile home resident, said after the meeting in Gladstone. She actually wanted to know what we had to say and was curious about the cooperative. But I did get a selfie.

RURAL COMMUNITIES

While Kotek beat her nearest opponent in last years election, Republican Christine Drazan, by more than 65,000 votes, she came in first in only seven of the states 36 counties and won a majority in just five. Clackamas County wasnt one of them.

As a result, most of Koteks listening tour was spent in communities where she was not a popular candidate, such as Echo, a town with a population hovering just above 600 in Umatilla County. Kotek received just 22% of the countys vote last year.

I dont know how well shes received in all the communities around here, so we didnt publicize that she was going to be here, Echo City Administrator David Slaght said. But for the most part, I just think people were kind of amazed that she actually came and spent time here. It doesnt happen very often in small town eastern Oregon, where you get a governor come and look at things.

Gov. Tina Kotek, right, and Estacada City Manager Melanie Wagner tour the Wade Creek Restoration Site in Estacada Thursday morning.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

In Echo, Kotek met with city leaders and state representatives in early May to see how flooding from the nearby Umatilla River had impacted the town and to discuss expected legislative support for a project that would address a railroad cutting through town that has created a hazard for children walking to school.

I didnt know what to expect, to be honest, Slaght said. Ive met multiple governors throughout my public service career, and she seemed like a real nice person. She was very intuitive and seemed to be aware of whats going on.

Kotek said that nearly everyone she has encountered on the tour has been welcoming and appreciative. She said the tour gave her a chance to build relationships with many individuals who might have had preconceived opinions of her, a progressive Democratic whos lived most of her life in Portland.

You just meet people where they are, Kotek said. Lets talk about our families. Lets talk about whats going on in your community. Lets have a good meal together. You break down those barriers.

Its unknown whether those connections will translate to more votes for Kotek if, as expected, she runs for reelection in 2026. But Ray Turner, mayor of Lakeview, thinks theres a chance they will, if Kotek takes steps to address the concerns she heard from rural leaders and residents.

In October, Kotek visited Lakeview, the county seat of Lake County, where she took her worst drubbing, winning just 11% of the countys vote. She spent the day discussing local environmental and housing issues with city leaders.

I think once people realize that she will help, I think itll change a lot of things in how people think and how they vote, Turner said.

Shawn Cleave, a former Republican staffer and longtime Oregon lobbyist, said hes dubious about that. Koteks attention is still focused on Oregons biggest cities, as shown by the governors work to invigorate Portlands downtown, Cleave said.

That is inconsistent with her traveling and listening tour, because it sounds like, Well, shes gonna go out to the rural areas and listen to you guys, but shes going to actively participate in Portland, Cleave said. If I was advising her, I think its a fair criticism to say, Hey, you need to pay attention to the state and let Portland figure out their own thing.

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

In the 35 counties shes visited so far, Kotek has spent a significant chunk of her time discussing the need for more housing, which tops her to-do list for the upcoming legislative session in February. Upon entering office, Kotek set a goal to build 36,000 homes per year at all levels of affordability.

Her top priority bills for the session would pump $500 million into housing production, with an additional $65 million for raising shelter capacities and $33 million for rental assistance, she announced in November.

On her fifth stop of the listening tour this March, Kotek visited Coastal Phoenix Rising in Lincoln City, a former hotel turned shelter for homeless individuals or those displaced by wildfires. Housing advocates and Lincoln City Mayor Susan Wahlke spoke with Kotek about the challenges of building affordable housing in a region with limited buildable land and many vacation rentals.

Wahlke and other elected officials told Kotek that rural communities often face challenges similar to those in bigger cities but dont have the same access to state funding or resources.

I think her emphasis this past year has been more on the big cities, but with the help of the Legislature, there has been some money, especially for shelters, to come our way from the state, and we appreciate that, Wahlke said. Shes willing to listen and she seems to understand that (housing is) not just a big city problem.

Gov. Tina Kotek poses next to a resident of Veterans Village Cottage Homes, an affordable housing project in La Grande, during her visit to Union County in May.Courtesy of the governor's office

Cities big and small across Oregon are facing housing shortages, but rural communities face significant economic challenges that significantly inhibit production and have limited resources and staff capacity to support housing planning and production, according to a 2022 Oregon Housing Needs Analysis presented to lawmakers.

Kotek said small towns often have a more hands-on approach to building housing and helping homeless individuals. She said many of the cities she visited had unique approaches to curbing the housing crisis that she is working to share with other cities. For example, Kotek spoke with a contractor in John Day who uses 3D printing technology to accelerate housing construction.

It not only gives me new ideas, but also reinforces that were on the right path and that we have to continue to do what were doing, Kotek said. Because what were hearing from leaders and local communities is, We need your help.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND RECOVERY

Kotek spent hours on the listening tour discussing mental illness and substance use disorders.

Individuals seeking behavioral health treatment in Oregon face a deficient system due to multiple factors, including an underfunded program for substance use disorder treatment and a disconnect between behavioral health and other health care programs, according to the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health.

During the governors Linn County stop in October, she dropped by the Family Assistance and Resource Center Group in Sweet Home to hear from shelter workers and local leaders about the need for more shelter and mental health services.

Its really hard to explain something that youve never seen or dont have experience with, shelter director Kandyce Stirman said. We actually gave her letters from some of our residents about their struggles and successes. ... I think it opened up the door for our residents that are so unheard to feel heard and seen, and thats huge.

Behavioral health tends to seep into other issues, such as homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault, said Melissa Erlbaum, executive director at Clackamas Womens Services, a community-based nonprofit that provides support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse.

On Thursday morning, the nonprofits staff turned their makeshift courtroom, where survivors can attend virtual court, into a meeting room to prepare for the governors visit.

During the hour-long session, staff members took turns telling Kotek about the nonprofits success. In 2022, it helped 5,084 survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Erlbaum said she hopes the governor will consider the importance of community-based organizations when seeking solutions to the states housing and behavioral health crises.

She had an incredible, incredibly deep knowledge around the different funding streams that impacted the work that we do, Erlbaum said. That is refreshing. That is not always the case that folks have that deep understanding of what the barriers are and how to remove them.

Gov. Tina Kotek looks through a telescope in Lakeview during the partial eclipse last fall. Kotek has visited 35 of the state's 36 counties this year on her listening tour.Courtesy of the governor's office

EARLY LITERACY

Another key focus for Kotek has been the need for improvements to reading instruction in Oregons primary grades.

A staggering 44% of Oregon fourth graders did not demonstrate basic mastery of reading skills in 2022 and only 28% were proficient, according to the nations gold standard exam, the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Kotek met with education professors at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande to discuss the need for a science-backed approach to teaching students to read during her visit to Union County in May.

The science of reading approach differs from the outdated methods still used to teach many Oregon students to read, professors told her. For example, the science-based approach prioritizes learning how to pronounce pairs of letters rather than memorizing whole words or guessing based on pictures and a words first letter.

Rae Ette Newman, interim dean of the universitys College of Education, said she was pleased that the governor has made early literacy a priority.

We had all of our team there, and were just really excited to share the amazing work that Eastern is leading in regards to changing the narrative on how reading is taught in our schools and toward teacher preparation programs, Newman said.

Eastern Oregon is a state leader in teaching the science-based approach, Newman said. Recently, the university has used state funding to create a reading clinic, which will offer online training to any teacher, school or district in the state starting next year.

I didnt know how far ahead they were on really talking about training their educators around best practices around literacy, Kotek said, adding that she intends to share those methods with other colleges around the state.

Kotek will stop in Lane County later this month to complete her listening tour. She said she would like to do a similar tour again, although she might switch up the format.

Newman said she hopes Koteks visits to all 36 counties gave her a new perspective by enabling her to hear the voices of those who have not traditionally felt heard by state leaders.

We have different needs and wants in our rural populations, and we have really different concerns, Newman said. For her to come and explore and have conversations with each of the counties, I really hope it provided her with a perspective that the loudest voices in the state, which traditionally are those larger metropolitan and urban areas, dont have the same problems or moods. Our problems need to be addressed as well.

 Carlos Fuentes; cfuentes@oregonian.com; 503-221-5386; @carlos_reports

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While the atmospheric rivers that have brought flooding and landslides to the Oregon coast this fall may be keeping tourists at bay, the whales dont seem to mind.

The annual parade of migrating gray whales will return to the coast this season, and Winter Whale Watch Week will once again celebrate the natural phenomenon.

Whale Watch Week takes place twice a year at Oregon State Park sites up and down the coastline. In spring, the event celebrates gray whales traveling north to their feeding grounds off the coast of Alaska, and in winter it celebrates their trip south to breeding grounds off the coast of Baja, Mexico.

Winter Whale Watch Week will take place Dec. 27-31 in 2023 at 15 park sites between Astoria and Brookings. Trained volunteers will be stationed at each park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily to educate and help people spot the migrating whales, which can often be tricky to see. Anyone who wants to volunteer can apply at orwhalewatch.org/volunteer.

One location will be the Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay, open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily during the event. The center offers additional educational resources and gives visitors a dry and warm place to look for whales.

An estimated 14,526 gray whales navigate the North Pacific Ocean, according to the latest population estimates by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The population has been on the decline over the last decade, experiencing what researchers call an unusual mortality event. The die-offs are theorized to be the result of food scarcity, caused by a decline in sea ice.

Researchers with NOAA are expected to make a new population estimate this winter, which will show whether gray whales are continuing to dwindle or have begun to rebound.

Those who want to try to spot a gray whale from shore will need to practice patience. To find a whale, use a pair of binoculars and scan the ocean slowly, looking for the whales spout, which will appear as a vertical spray of mist. You can also look for a tail, called a fluke, which sometimes emerges from the water as the whale dives. If youre really lucky, you might see the whale jump out of the water  a behavior known as breaching  though gray whales do so less frequently than some other species, like humpbacks.

Not every trip to the coast will guarantee a sighting, but the experience of seeing the huge, graceful animals in the open ocean is unforgettable.

26 1 / 26 Meet Oregons most well known gray whales The Oregonian

Visiting the Oregon coast in the winter requires some additional precautions, especially when weather is stormy or the tide is high. In general, you can follow the same safety guidelines for storm watching  avoid jetties, rocky shorelines and precarious places  though hopefully the seas will be calmer as you search for spouts of traveling whales.

Those looking for a closer look can also book a whale watching tour, most of which leave out of Depoe Bay.

 Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB

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On December 10, 2023, the world will once again come together to commemorate the outstanding contributions of individuals who have made remarkable strides in various fields, as the Nobel Prize Day is celebrated with great reverence and appreciation. This prestigious occasion marks the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor, scientist, and philanthropist who established the Nobel Prizes through his will in 1895.

The Nobel Prizes are awarded annually in six categories: Peace, Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, and Economic Sciences. Each prize recognizes individuals or groups who have made significant advancements, fostered innovation, or contributed remarkably to the betterment of humanity within their respective fields.

The day will begin with ceremonies held in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, where laureates from all over the world gather to receive their prizes. The Nobel Peace Prize, one of the most prestigious awards, is presented in Oslo, while the other five categories are honored in Stockholm. These ceremonies are attended by royalty, dignitaries, scholars, and esteemed guests, creating an atmosphere of recognition and celebration.

The Nobel Prize Day serves as a moment to reflect on the profound impact of human ingenuity and dedication to progress. It highlights the importance of innovation, perseverance, and collaboration in advancing knowledge and addressing global challenges. From groundbreaking scientific discoveries to literary masterpieces and tireless humanitarian efforts, the Nobel laureates serve as inspirations to generations, demonstrating the power of intellect, compassion, and creativity in shaping a better world.

Moreover, the Nobel Prize Day emphasizes the values of peace, cooperation, and unity across nations. It serves as a reminder of the crucial role that diplomacy, dialogue, and mutual understanding play in resolving conflicts and fostering harmony among diverse communities worldwide.

As the world observes Nobel Prize Day, it also provides an opportunity for reflection on the significance of education, research, and cultural exchange in driving progress and creating a more prosperous and equitable society.

Beyond the ceremonies and accolades, the day prompts us to honor not just the laureates but also the spirit of inquiry, altruism, and dedication that these awards represent. It encourages individuals to continue pushing the boundaries of knowledge, championing humanitarian causes, and striving for excellence in their respective fields.

Nobel Prize Day stands as a testament to human brilliance, compassion, and the relentless pursuit of a better future. It is a celebration of the human intellect, honoring those who have made exceptional contributions to enriching the world and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

On this day, let us celebrate the achievements of the Nobel laureates, acknowledge their profound impact, and rekindle our commitment to fostering progress, peace, and understanding in our global community.

History of Mistletoe: Origins and Traditions Behind this Christmas Symbol

Honoring the Immaculate Conception: St.Mary's Graceful Solemnity, December 8
A new study from Oregon State University estimates that wildfire and drought caused $11.2 billion in economic losses to privately owned timberland in California, Oregon and Washington over the past two decades.

The study, which analyzed sales of private timberland over 17 years along with wildfire and drought data, found that most of the losses were not due to forests burning directly but the perception that forests could burn due to neighboring fires.

This study shows that climate change is already reducing the value of western forests, said Oregon State economist and study co-author David Lewis. This isnt a hypothetical future effect. These are damages that have already happened because it is riskier to hold assets like timberland.

Large catastrophic wildfires have become more frequent across the West Coast and in Washington in the last two decades. The study shows that forestlands have lost economic value because of the direct effects of drought and wildfire and the shift in landowner perceptions amid climate change.

Thats especially relevant for Western Washington and Oregon, among the nations major producers of Douglas fir due to the areas mild and wet climate, said Yuhan Wang, Oregon State postdoctoral scholar and study co-author.

Our results basically show that those large wildfires and drought stresses have a negative impact on the private timberland prices in this region, Wang said.

The study, published last month in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, analyzed a dataset of 9,000 sales of privately owned timberland between 2004 and 2020 in the three states and then linked the transactions with data on wildfires and drought stress.

On the West Coast, about one-third of all forests are privately owned while the rest is owned by federal, state and local governments. However, since the 1990s when public forest management moved away from harvesting trees, most of the timber harvested and nearly all of the timberland that is bought and sold is privately owned.

The study found that drought stresses have reduced the economic value of timberland by 1% on average while large wildfires have reduced values by an additional 8.7% over the past two decades.

While most of the acreage burned by large wildfires occurs on nonforested land like shrub land and public forestland, private forestland is often intermixed with public forestland, meaning wildfires are still concerning to timber companies, Wang said.

To analyze wildfire risk, the researchers looked at whether wildfires within 15 kilometers of a property affected sales prices and found that large wildfires impacted the price even if the land itself was not damaged in the fire. Researchers found that wildfires more than 15 kilometers away from private forestland did not have an impact on sales prices, statistically.

Notably, a bulk of the losses associated with wildfire  7.4% of the 8.7%  were not due to direct damage of private timberland but due to an increased sense of risk of investing in timberland and landowners changed expectations due to more frequent neighboring fires.

The study also divided Washingtons economic losses by whether the land was west or east of the Cascades. In Western Washington, drought stress led to a $50 million loss in timberland value and large wildfires caused a $1.22 billion loss in value, totaling about $1.3 billion. East of the Cascades, large wildfire and drought stress made up $600 million and $1.38 billion of the losses, respectively, totaling about $2 billion.

The $11.2 billion loss across the three states represents about a 10% reduction in the overall value of private timberland. The researchers estimate about half of that reduction is due to climate change, based on other studies that measure the impact of human-caused climate change on wildfires in the western U.S.

Northern Arizona University economics professor Julie Mueller said the study is an excellent contribution in a highly reputable journal and shows that wildfires have indirect economic impacts outside of the costs of fire suppression.

Some of Muellers studies on the impact of wildfires and floods, due to burned forests, on home prices were cited in the Oregon State study.

What they did here thats really different is that they are adding a cost to the change of human perception of value, she said. " ... Its an additional cost of climate change that it is changing how we view the value of our forests.

-- Amanda Zhou, The Seattle Times
New York, US (PANA) - The US on Friday vetoed a resolution tabled at the UN Security Council calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
NPP Western Regional Chairman, Francis Ndede Siah has called for a spirited campaign by all stakeholders of the New Patriotic Party towards achieving victory in 2024 elections.



Addressing party executives in Takoradi on Thursday, December 7, 2023, during the NPP flagbearer Vice President Dr. Bawumia's visit to the Region to thank them, the Regional Chairman said the battle ahead of them is surmountable if the party comes together.



"The Vice President, our flagbearer, is here with us and he has assured us things coming up. I also want to assure him that if we come together, do what we need to do and also work very hard, we will do very well in this Region and win it...", Chairman Ndede stated.



He stressed; "Key to achieving our objective is to work hard at the constituency level, so I want to encourage all of us, especially constituency and polling station executives, to take this campaign seriously and remain committed to it."



The Chairman was very optimistic that with Dr. Bawumia leading the party and the NPP staying united, their victory in the next general elections is rest assured.



Former General Secretary and presidential aspirant of the party, Kwabena Agyepong who accompanied the NPP flagbearer, also stressed the significance for unity urging the party to rally support behind Dr. Bawumia.



Kwabena Agyepong called for all hands on deck saying "I represent those of us who contested and I am confident that we will all come on board as true members of our party to work hard for Dr. Bawumia and the party to be declared winners next year, in shaa Allah".

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The LAB, a policy think-tank of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), held a meeting with the leadership of Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) to discuss challenges facing workers, industry and the general socioeconomic crisis in which Ghana finds itself.



The purpose of the meeting was to seek GFLs views and inputs into the next NDC governments proposed policies to transform the country.



The meeting deliberated on issues such as the current economic hardships occasioned by economic mismanagement, the effect of high taxes and utility bills on industries and the consequential collapse of some companies and layoffs of workers.



The GFL applauded former President Mahama and the NDCs proposed 24-hour economy policy and made proposals on how the policy can be implemented effectively to enhance productivity and create jobs for the benefit of Ghanaians. The leadership of GFL emphasized the need to support distressed and collapsed industries under the 24-hour Economy Policy for job creation.



Both parties agreed to continue to collaborate in exploring solutions to current socioeconomic challenges affecting workers in particular and Ghanaians in general.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The non-partisan nature of the District Level Elections (DLEs) is a major factor that has contributed to the low turnouts which have characterized the Elections in the past years, the Electoral Commission (EC) has identified.



Nonetheless, Samuel Guggisberg Asrifi-Young, the Bono Regional Director of the EC said the directorate had upscale publicity with personnel of the EC in the region, mounting up Public Address systems in marketplaces, lorry stations and other places of public gathering.



This is to make the public understand, appreciate, and thereby whip their interest and enthusiasm in participating in the upcoming December 19, DLEs to deepen the local government concept.



Besides, Asirifi told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani the directorate had also capitalized on the numerous Information Centers, spread across the region, reaching out to, and explaining the ideology of the local government structures and systems and the need for the eligible voters to participate in the elections.



In accordance with the District Level Elections Regulations, 2015 (C.I. 89), the Electoral Commission will conduct the District Level Elections on December 19, this year.



This follows the expiration of the term of the Assembly and Unit Committee Members December 17, 2023.



As part of the electoral process, Asirifi-Young said the EC would mount a campaign platform for the aspirants to share their visions and aspirations, and therefore called on the electorate to participate to enable them to make informed decisions and choices when they go to the ballot.



Meanwhile, some of the Assembly Member aspirants in the Atoase Electoral Area in the Sunyani Municipality have pledged their commitment to enhance lighting systems, security, and sanitation in the area.



Stephen Kwarteng, popularly known as Agabus, the incumbent Assemblyman for the Atoase Electoral Area, called on the electorate to vote for him to enable him to follow up with certain initiatives that sought to improve environmental hygiene and good sanitation in the area.



He said through his instrumentality, the Municipal Assembly had placed refuse containers and dustbins at vantage points for waste collection and disposal, and promised to ensure that lighting systems were improved at the Sunyani Area Two if the electorate retain him.



According to Mr Ismael Asare Mensah, another aspirant, one of the two public toilets at the Sunyani Area Two had overflowed for some years now, and thereby worsened the sanitation situation in the area.



He said successive Assembly Members in the area had failed the people in tackling their immediate needs, and therefore called on the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to evacuate the toilet before the expected happened.



Mr Mensah expressed concern about the high youth unemployment which was fueling drug abuse and peddling among the youth in the area and appealed to the government to support the youth to engage in employable skill training to better their lives.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Kyiv starts removing Soviet general's statue as decommunization continues 9 December, 01:04 PM Dismantling the Shchors monument (Photo: )

The dismantling of the monument to Bolshevik officer Mykola Shchors, located on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard near the Universytet metro station, began in Kyiv on Dec. 9, the Kyiv City State Administration has reported.

Prior to that, the monument's protected status was removed.

Read also: Another monument to Russian poet Pushkin taken down in Kyiv

During the dismantling of the structure, a temporary partial blockage of traffic on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard is possible, the authorities warned.

Photo: /Telegram

Photo: /Telegram

The Kyiv City State Administration said that the monument would in future be stored in the O. K. Antonov State Museum of Aviation of Ukraine.

Video of day

Photo:  

Photo:  

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Photo:  

Earlier, the Kyiv authorities stated that they were unable to dismantle a number of memorials that still have the status of a monument of national importance, as only the Cabinet of Ministers can remove this status.

At the time, the monument to Shchors, Russian writer Alexander Pushkin, the crew of the Tarashchanets armored train, and others were among them.

Mykola Shchors was one of the Bolshevik military leaders during the Soviet-Ukrainian War. In the 1930s, Soviet propaganda began to actively use the image of Shchors.

In Kyiv, a monument to the Soviet leader was erected on April 30, 1954, at the intersection of Symon Petliura Street and Taras Shevchenko Boulevard on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Agreement.

After the Revolution of Dignity, the authorities planned to dismantle the monument as part of decommunization, and for some time the monument was covered with fabric shields of national colors on all sides.

Members of patriotic organizations tried to dismantle the monument on Aug. 24, 2016, and in March 2017, unknown persons damaged one of the legs of the horse on which Shchors is sitting.

Activists left numerous inscriptions on the monument, such as "Executioner", "Demolish me completely", "Dismantle me at last", etc.

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.

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By Chad Umble, LNP, Lancaster, Pa. (TNS)

A Wawa is being planned in Quarryville at the site of a vacant car dealership at the boroughs main intersection of routes 222 and 372.

The Ferber Co., which has developed numerous Wawas in Florida and New Jersey, has a sales agreement for the former Susquehanna Ford property at the northwest corner of routes 222 and 372, according to Michael J. Murphy Jr., a representative for Ferber who described plans for a convenience store at the Nov. 6 borough council meeting.

Quarryville Borough Manager Scott Peiffer said Ferber had previously discussed the possibilities at the site for what was presumed to be a Wawa. At last months public meeting, Murphy named Wawa as the prospective operator, removing doubt about which store was being considered.

They let the cat out of the bag, Peiffer said. After that public meeting, thats public knowledge now.

In an interview with LNP  LancasterOnline, Murphy acknowledged what was said at the public meeting, but said he would not confirm that the plans being made were actually for a Wawa.

It could be. Theres nothing concrete, he said.

No one from Wawa responded to a request for comment about a possible store in Quarryville.

As of now, Ferber has only shown borough council members a sketch of a convenience store at the site and has not actually submitted any plans. Murphy said he could not offer a timeline for when plans would be forthcoming.

We are still formulating the best approach to move forward, said Murphy, who works out of a New Jersey office of The Ferber Company, which is based in Florida.

To get necessary approvals, Ferber could ask the zoning hearing board for the numerous zoning variances needed to build the large convenience store. Another option would be to ask borough council members to change the zoning for the parcel to allow the planned 5,600-square-foot convenience to be built by right, meaning it wouldnt require discretionary approval.

If it is constructed, the Wawa would be on a 1.67-acre tract thats across from what is the boroughs only convenience store, a 2,500-square-foot Turkey Hill that was built in 1972.

More:

Wawa proposed at former central Pa. riding club

Central Pa. zoning board again rejects plan for shopping center with Wawa, Aldi

Wawa inches closer to bringing store to Dauphin County
A Shippensburg woman was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 30 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to killing another woman on Easter Sunday, the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office said.

Breanna Black, 34, pleaded guilty to criminal homicide  murder of the third degree, and a firearms offense in connection with the fatal shooting of Beth Schwartz on April 9, according to the DAs office.

Schwartz, a 48-year-old mother of two, was taken to Chambersburg Hospital after she was shot in the chest in a parking lot on the 100 block of South Prince Street around 8:39 p.m., according to state police. She was eventually airlifted to WellSpan York Hospital, where she died around 12:30 a.m. April 10.

Troopers said Black and Schwartz knew each other and had argued over the phone the night of the shooting. Evidence showed Black left her apartment with a gun and confronted Schwartz in the parking lot outside Schwartzs apartment building, police said.

Just after she was shot, Schwartz called 911 and provided crucial information about the shooting, the DAs office said.

She told dispatchers she had been shot by Bree and was dying, according to the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office.

Schwartzs family spoke during the sentencing, saying she was the fun aunt and was full of life.

Black was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison, the maximum penalty for the two offenses.
The fallout from the University of Pennsylvania presidents testimony before Congress continues with it now potentially threatening state funding of colleges that fail to recognize antisemitism as harassment and/or bullying.

State Rep. Rob Mercuri, R-Allegheny County, is joining with two other House Republicans on Monday to unveil a package of bills aimed at combatting antisemitism in educational settings.

This follows a slew of calls for Penn President Liz Magill to resign, a prominent Wharton School donor Ross Stevens threat to pull a $100 million donation from the school, and sharp criticism from the White House and Gov. Josh Shapiro who called Magills sworn testimony unacceptable and shameful.

In her testimony to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday, Magill was asked repeatedly if calls for the genocide of Jewish people constituted a violation of Penns code of conduct and rules. Magill responded, It is a context-dependent decision. The next day she walked back her comments in a video statement, saying she does consider it as harassment or intimidation and planned to launch a review of Penns free speech policies.

On Friday, Shapiro said Magill and the two other Ivy League presidents testifying alongside her to the House panel have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity. President Magill, and for that matter,the other university presidents, failed that test.

He stopped short of calling for her to resign and said it was up to Penns trustees to determine whether Magills comments reflect the boards views and values.

I made it clear to them that they need to act and they need to act swiftly, Shapiro said.

Mercuri, who is among those who called for Magill to resign, said he was happy and proud to see the governor immediately condemning her comments. At the same time, he said he was disappointed the states Democratic congressional delegation, U.S. senators and state House Democrats were not more forceful in their reaction, but added they still have time to do so.

He described Magills testimony to be heartbreaking to all who heard it, he said.

I know so many of our Jewish residents in Pennsylvania were listening to this and many were students at the University of Pennsylvania, Mercuri said. The fact that she equivocated and said [antisemitic genocide] must be demonstrated through action before it would violate the code of conduct was very, very out of touch and disappointing.

It led Mercuri, the ranking Republican on the House subcommittee on higher education, to decide to propose legislation that makes taxpayer funding of a higher education institution dependent on the school having policies and procedures that include condemning antisemitic genocide.

Penn receives $33.5 million in state funding through the Department of Agriculture to support its veterinary school, the only one in the commonwealth, and its Center for Infectious Disease.

An attempt to get comment from a Penn spokesman on Friday afternoon about the proposed legislation was unsuccessful.

Mercuri said he hopes Penn would respond in a way that would ensure its policies comply with the proposed legislation and avoid the consequences that would come for failing to do so.

The other pieces of the legislative package would require schools offering Holocaust instruction to post the curriculum on their website for parents to review and establish Nov. 9, 2024, as Antisemitism Awareness and Education Day in Pennsylvania to help educate the public on the pervasiveness of antisemitism in society.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X at @JanMurphy.
When Josh Webb first heard about an abandoned compound in rural Alabama stuffed with old toys and medical files, he was intrigued by rumors of child abuse and unauthorized experimentation that circulated among locals.

His journey to understand what happened there took him out of the woods and into the bureaucracy that regulates doctors and group homes for the disabled. And while he hasnt uncovered the full story of what happened in that house in Hayden, Webb said he feels like hes getting closer to the truth.

He discovered that one of the doctors involved with the home had been investigated for misconduct that ranged from overbilling to violating patient boundaries and inappropriate prescribing. He surrendered his medical license in 2009.

I think learning that one of the doctors who lived there had such a troubled history makes me suspicious of why they were living out in this forest to begin with, Webb said.

Webb has released four episodes of his planned six-episode series. The first focuses on the house in Hayden. Although it is still unclear what the house was used for, when Webb initially visited, he was shocked by what he found.

The house looked like it had been abandoned without any effort to remove or secure personal items such as clothes, medication or medical files. Webb named his podcast Why They Left.

He still hasnt answered that question. But along the way, his investigation focused on one psychiatrist affiliated with the home. Dr. Charles McInteer practiced in Alabama since 1998, according to the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. He died several years ago.

McInteer had at one point been accused of overbilling Medicare and Medicaid, including one case where the doctor allegedly billed for care to a nursing home resident who had been deceased for months. In another case, he received a reprimand for boundary violations that required him to see patients with a chaperone present.

Webb said he found evidence that McInteer continued practicing medicine, even after he lost his license, at group homes operated by a family member.

On TikTok, Webb refers to the house in Hayden as the Devils Playground, which is a nickname used by locals familiar with the area. The location is remote, and he gained access only by meeting a man in Hayden who took him to the isolated compound in the woods.

The amount of medical records and medications in the home do make me think its very possible that medicine was being practiced there, Webb said. So, I do think the kind of criminal context of these doctors makes me think if there was medicine being practiced there, there was probably something suspicious going on.

Webb has spoken with people who worked with McInteer. In his next episode, he said, he will talk with someone who worked at the compound who might be able to shed light on its purpose. So far, its unclear whether the home provided any kind of medical or psychiatric care.

It will really hinge on whether that home was providing care or not, Webb said. If it was, Im fairly convinced that it was not above board, and so I would classify whatever was going on as creating huge risk for creating victims.
A former inmates family is suing Alabamas prison system saying the mans body was returned to them missing his heart.

Brandon Clay Dotson was found dead at Ventress Correctional Facility on Nov. 16. It wasnt immediately clear what charge Dotson was serving time for.

The 43-year olds family claims in a federal lawsuit that his mother, daughter and brother spent days trying to obtain his body. He died after seeking help from prison officials, claiming other inmates were harming him as he failed to pay drug debts. Dotson was found dead in his bed, and the lawsuit said his body had already begun to stiffen.

According to the suit, filed Thursday in federal court by Birmingham attorney Lauren Faraino, Dotsons body was released to his family on Nov. 21.

At this point the body had not been properly stored and was severely decomposed. Despite the familys initial wishes, they had no choice but to hold a closed-casket funeral service, said the lawsuit.

The family suspected foul play, in part because of the Alabama Department of Corrections extensive and ongoing violations of basic human and constitutional rights, said the lawsuit. The family hired pathologist Dr. Boris Datnow to conduct a second autopsy on Dotsons body. He had already undergone a first autopsy at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, which is standard procedure for inmates who die in state custody.

According to the lawsuit, Datnow discovered during his exam that Dotson did not have a heart.

The Alabama Department of Corrections  or an agent responsible for conducting the autopsy or transporting the body to his family  had, inexplicably and without the required permission from Mr. Dotsons next of kin, removed and retained Mr. Dotsons heart, the lawsuit claimed.

A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections said the department does not conduct autopsies, and that the department wouldnt comment on pending litigation.

The family saw Dotsons body at the funeral home, according to the lawsuit, and were told by the funeral director that the body was highly decomposed when it arrived.

Based on his years of experience accepting corpses, the funeral director determined that the decomposition indicated that the body had not been properly stored while in the possession of the state.

The family wants the immediate return of Dotsons heart, according to the suit. The family claims no one has informed them where the heart is, or why it was removed.

In addition to prison officials, the lawsuit names the UAB Health System as defendants. The suit claims UABs School of Medicine obtained Dotsons heart, and details a 2018 incident where medical students noticed that a disproportionate number of the specimens they encountered during their medical training originated from individuals who had died in prison custody within the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The lawsuit states, Upon information and belief, (UAB medical school) is a possible intended recipient of Mr. Dotsons heart.

A UAB spokesperson said Friday afternoon: We have reviewed our records, which show UAB did not perform this autopsy and has not been involved with this matter. We are making the plaintiffs attorney aware.

Dotsons familys lawsuit also says the prison staff didnt prevent abuse Dotson was facing and neglected to help him a similar claim to one included in the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Alabama prisons. That lawsuit is set to go to trial next fall.

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Three employees of a Philadelphia car wash are accused of shooting a driver who got away after a dispute last month, according to news reports.

The office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the arrests of 50-year-old David Chang, 40-year-old Victor Figueroa, and 29-year-old David Guzman. All were charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, and reckless endangerment charges.

It all took place on Nov. 16, at the Speedy Lube car wash located in the Crescentville neighborhood just before 2 p.m.

Outside of the business, Chang, Figueroa and Guzman got into a dispute with a 56-year-old man that soon turned physical.

Soon after, the man got into his vehicle and sped away, hitting Guzman.

The entire altercation was captured on surveillance video.

At one point the (shooting victim) gets into his car to leave and appears via video to clip or hit defendant Guzman before driving away, the DAs office told NBC10.

The three employees, who have licenses to carry, pulled out their guns and began firing at the car, hitting the driver in the arm and back, NBC10 reported.

The man was transported to the hospital in stable condition. One of the employees sustained injuries during the fight, 6ABC reported.

Chang, Figueroa and Guzman posted bail and were released from custody earlier this week, NBC10 reported.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)  Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land it had told Palestinians to evacuate to in the south.

The strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite its wide support.

Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the vote.

Guterres said Gaza was at a breaking point with the humanitarian support system at risk of collapse, and that he feared the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.

Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide.

With the war now in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,400, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 93 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas deadly Oct. 7 raid in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostage.

Hamas said Saturday that it continued its rocket fire into Israel.

In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area where the Israeli army had ordered civilians to evacuate to. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high childrens tables were strewn with rubble.

We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights, said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib. The Palestinian people will not leave and do not want to leave.

In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold despite heavy resistance from Hamas. Tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain despite evacuation orders, six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The Israeli military said Saturday that its forces fought and killed Hamas militants and found weapons inside a school in Shijaia in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City. It said soldiers discovered a tunnel shaft in the same neighborhood where they found an elevator, and in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from an U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

More than 2,200 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military only confirmed that two soldiers were seriously wounded in an attempted hostage rescue and that no hostages were freed.

With no new cease-fire in sight and a trickle of humanitarian aid reaching just a few parts of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages. Nine of 10 people in northern Gaza reported spending at least one full day and night without food, according to a World Food Program assessment completed during the truce. Two out of three people in the south said the same. The WFP called the situation alarming.

I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient.

While adults can cope with hunger, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because they are hungry and you are not able to do anything, he said.

On Saturday, 100 trucks carrying unspecified aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. That amount is still well below the daily average before the war.

Despite growing international pressure, President Joe Bidens administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel. Officials have expressed misgivings in recent days about the civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis but have not pushed publicly for Israel to wind down the war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to speak with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere as frustration grew with the U.S. stance. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the U.S. veto of the Security Council resolution showed Washingtons isolation.

From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday.

Fidan and the Palestinian, Saudi, Qatari, Nigerian, Indonesian, Egyptian and Jordanian ministers were to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

Protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire, despite restrictions on demonstrations.

Israel has expanded its blistering air and ground campaign into southern Gaza, sending tens of thousands fleeing.

It was a night of heavy gunfire and shelling, as every night, Taha Abdel-Rahman, a resident of Khan Younis, said by phone.

Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren coastline in the south, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians there described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and poor hygiene facilities.

We are living here in a tough cold. There are no bathrooms, said Soad Qarmoot, who was forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

I am a cancer patient, Qarmoot said as children huddled around a fire. There is no mattress for me to sleep on. I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing.

Imad al-Talateeny, who fled Gaza City, said Muwasi lacks basic services to accommodate the growing number of displaced families.

I lack everything to feel (like) a human, he said.
By Benjamin Kail, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

WASHINGTON  Pennsylvania defense companies have received almost $1.6 billion in federal money as the U.S. sends military equipment to Ukraine to help fend off the Russian invasion.

Thats more than 47 other states, behind only Arizona and Arkansas, according to a newly declassified U.S. Defense Department document.

The document was released days before President Joe Biden this week urged Congress to approve another $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, part of a $110 billion emergency spending package that includes aid to Israel. Congressional Republicans have demanded that funding for increased U.S. border security be included in any spending bill.

Senior Legal Fellow, Razom for Ukraine Juliya M. Ziskina, testifies during a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing on Ukraine on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)AP

Senate Republicans blocked the emergency package from advancing Wednesday, with a vote of 49-51, falling short of the 60 votes required.

This cannot wait, Biden said at the White House. Congress needs to pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess. Its as simple as that.

The defense contracts with companies including General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Raytheon came under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, along with efforts to replenish stockpiles of missiles, artillery, tactical and combat vehicles, and radar systems after nearly two years of providing equipment and training to the country.

Pennsylvania also received at least $428 million to boost production of armaments at federal and private facilities. That, too, was the third-highest in the nation, behind Arkansas and Texas.

Another contractor, L3Harris, said in a statement: Funding for Ukraine is critically important to supporting L3Harris operations in Pennsylvania and around the country. We urge Congress to pass the national security supplemental as soon as possible.

More than $3.6 billion went to various U.S. suppliers of 155 millimeter rounds for artillery guns, including the U.S. Armys ammunition plant in Scranton, which is operated by Virginia-based General Dynamics.
WILLIAMSPORT  A scheduled march Saturday sponsored the Islamic Center of Williamsport is creating controversy with business owners.

The center obtained a permit from the city for the march on West Fourth in the heart of downtown between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The purpose of the event is to protest human suffering anywhere in the world but focusing on the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israels response in Gaza, said the centers spokesman William Ames.

A group of merchants retained attorney Clifford A. Rieders who in a letter to the city stated they were concerned because the street will be closed and because there has been violence associated with similar events in other cities.

Demonstrators in other cities have called for the destruction of the Jewish state, he said.

Rieders also noted the march will interfere with Christmas shopping schedules three weeks before the holiday. One of the merchants voiced his concerns at City Councils meeting Thursday night.

While everyone has the right to free speech, that right is subject to reasonable time and place restrictions, Rieders maintains.

He acknowledged the merchants likely would fail if they sought a court order to stop the event but he alerted the city it could be a defendant in litigation if there is damage to property.

The aim is to have a peaceful march, Ames said.

In a related matter, Rieders, on behalf of his clients and the Rieders Foundation, submitted a resolution asking City Council to condemn the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and those on American interests in the Middle East.

If adopted, Williamsport would stand with Israel and its legitimate obligation to defend itself and to totally destroy Hamas and the Jihadist element that seeks to undermine western civilization in its entirely.

It also would stand united with Israel, the Jewish and Christian community and others of good faith, decency and fairness.

The Rieders Foundation established in 1991 fights discrimination in all aspects of Jewish life. Rieders is its president.
In this article, we will be analyzing the agriculture sector in the US and covering the 17 most profitable crops to grow in the country. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis, you can move directly to the 5 Most Profitable Crops to Grow in the US.

Outlook of the US Agriculture Sector

As reported by the US Department of Agriculture, agricultural production occurs in each of the 50 states. However, California is the largest producer of agricultural products in the nation. Corn, wheat, soybeans, and cotton are significant crops in the national economy. The combined acreage planted to these crops has increased to 242 million acres in 2022. The fruit and tree nut value of production has also experienced a steady rise. Prominent fruits in this regard include apples, grapes, strawberries, and oranges while tomatoes and potatoes dominate among the vegetables.

In 2023, a favorable spring season resulted in increased production of apples and sweet cherries in the Pacific Northwest. While winter and spring rainfall in California helped drought conditions, inadequate chill hours led to a decline in the production of peaches, tart cherries, and cranberries in several states. The US citrus production has also decreased due to a reduction in orange production in Florida. The lower citrus acreage and yields in Florida can be attributed to the effects of Huanglongbing, a bacterial disease that impacts citrus trees negatively. The aftereffects of Hurricane Ian also disrupted the production.

Simultaneously, soybeans recorded higher yields in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio, North Dakota, and South Dakota. During September, US soybean processors processed 174.8 million bushels of soybeans, a record high for the month. However, rainfall and heavy snowstorms across the Northern Plains and Midwest regions slowed harvest activities at the end of October.

Innovation Penetrating American Agriculture

The US agriculture sector is subject to issues of rising production costs, climate change, and labor shortages. However, the transformation of farming through digitalization and automation of agricultural practices tends to be an effective solution. Yield maps, soil maps, and variable rate technologies (VRT) have helped improve corn and soybean acreage in the country. Automated guidance has also been increasingly applied on acreage planted to major crops including corn, cotton, rice, sorghum, soybeans, and winter wheat.

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As reported by the US Department of Agriculture, American farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners are supported through financial assistance and one-on-one technical advice. Nutrient management plays a significant role in improving agriculture by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act has dedicated an additional $19.5 billion from 2023 to 2027 which will help farmers implement expanded conservation practices to lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase storage of carbon in their soil and trees.

Leading Companies Operating in the Agriculture Sector

Companies improving agricultural conditions in the United States include AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO), CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF), and FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC).

AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision agriculture technology. It aims to support farmers through the latest smart agriculture solutions. On November 12, AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) reported that it agreed to acquire digital assets from FarmFacts GmbH, a leader in Farm Management Information Software (FMIS). This acquisition is a strategic addition to the firms precision agriculture capabilities. The company has also committed to having a full line of autonomous solutions for every stage of the crop cycle by 2030.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF) is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. On December 5, CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF) reported that The CF Industries Foundation will be providing a grant of $120,000 over three years to support Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadianas programs to improve food access in Waggaman, Louisiana. Low-cost fresh produce, meat, and dairy food items will be made available to local residents under this grant funding.

FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) is a leading global agricultural sciences company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm continues to drive efficiencies in operations, introducing climate-smart solutions to growers while ensuring the well-being of employees and people across their supply chain. On December 7, FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC) reported that it was the only crop protection company to qualify among Americas most responsible companies. This can be attributed to the sustainability across its business.

Now that we have taken a look at the state of agriculture in America, we can move to the 17 most profitable crops to grow in the country.

17 Most Profitable Crops to Grow in the US

17 Most Profitable Crops to Grow in the US

Our Methodology:

In order to compile a list of the 17 most profitable crops to grow in the US, we sourced data from FAO. We screened to find the gross production values for all kinds of crops grown in the United States. The gross production values represent the market value of crops at the time they were produced. The most recent data was available for 2021. The 17 most profitable crops to grow in the US are ranked in ascending order of their gross production values.

Note: We have rounded values up or down to 1 decimal place.

17 Most Profitable Crops to Grow in the US

17. Groundnuts

Gross Production Value: $1.5 Million

Groundnuts continue to be a profitable crop to sustain in the US. In 2021, they recorded a gross production value of $1.5 million as reported by FAO. Their production is carried out in the Southeast and Southwest of the country.

16. Oranges

Gross Production Value: $1.6 Million

Oranges are one of the citrus fruits that contribute to the total fresh fruit volume in the United States. They qualify as profitable crops to grow in the country. Florida, California, and Texas are known for the domestic production of oranges.

15. Blueberries

Gross Production Value: $1.7 Million

Blueberry is another profitable crop to grow in the US. The demand for fresh or frozen blueberries as well as value-added products continues to be on the rise in the country. Hence, a mature planting of blueberries can lead to a high profit.

14. Lettuce and Chicory

Gross Production Value: $2.1 Million

The rising population, inclination towards veganism, and growing health awareness have led to a growth in the lettuce and chicory market. Salad kits and packaged salads are also boosting the growth in this market. Hence, lettuce and chicory rank as one of the profitable US crops with a high demand.

13. Green Corn

Gross Production Value: $2.3 Million

Green corn is an important crop in the United States. In 2021, the gross production value of green corn was $2.3 million. This makes it one of the 17 most profitable crops to grow in the country.

12. Sorghum

Gross Production Value: $2.4 Million

Sorghum is a significant crop in the United States which is used in animal feed, ethanol production, and human food. Major sorghum-producing areas include Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The US is also a leading exporter of sorghum. Mexico, China, and Japan are among the primary export destinations.

11. Pistachios

Gross Production Value: $2.9 Million

Pistachios are one of the most profitable crops to grow in the US. The pistachio production is on the rise as a result of increased acreage. Most of the growth is concentrated in California but plants are also being grown in Arizona. These conditions have been forecasted to lead to even higher yields.

10. Rice

Gross Production Value: $3.0 Million

The 17 most profitable crops to grow in the US include rice as well. The majority of the rice consumed is grown on family farms which contributes to the local economy. Rice farmers in the country enjoy high profits due to a rising return per acre over time.

9. Strawberries

Gross Production Value: $3.8 Million

Strawberries are another profitable crop to grow in the United States. California and Florida are the top two strawberry-producing states in the country. Factors driving the demand for strawberries include general health awareness, an increase in domestic supply, and imports which ensure availability throughout the year.

8. Apples

Gross Production Value: $3.9 Million

The US is also a major global producer of apples. The demand for apples is high in the fresh market as well as related products such as apple juice, applesauce, and ciders. The state of Washington serves as a major apple-producing region in the US. The country also exports apples, particularly to Canada and Mexico.

7. Potatoes

Gross Production Value: $4.1 Million

Potatoes serve as a potentially lucrative crop in the United States. Although the crop requires high-stakes investment, it results in high profits. Hence, potatoes rank as one of the 17 most profitable crops to grow in the US.

6. Grapes

Gross Production Value: $7.9 Million

Grapes are grown in a vineyard which produces a high-value crop. Hence, grapes are another profitable crop to grow in the US. Wines make the most expensive use of domestic grapes. Grapes usually grow in most climate zones. California and Washington are among the grape-producing regions in the country.

Click to continue reading and see 5Most Profitable Crops to Grow in the US.

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Disclosure: None. 17 Most Profitable Crops to Grow in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey.
Taiwan is enjoying a spike in prominence in Canadian discourse in the past year, which experts attribute to several geopolitical reasons. Children wave Taiwan's national flags during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Chiang Ying-ying
Every time Stephen La Salle leaves home, his wheelchair is exposed to the elements in the back of his truck because Veterans Affairs won't pay for a cover to protect it. LaSalle is shown in Ottawa, on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Nick Stavropoulos, Ontario's acting auditor general, releases his 2023 annual report at Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. Ontario's auditor general has found that at least 99 hospital patients have been placed into long-term care homes without their consent.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
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The holidays have a strange knack for stretching us to our limits  our sanity, our time and especially our savings accounts. The best way to make sure you dont start out the new year with a mountain of holiday debt is to start budgeting and finding ways to save now if you havent already.

See: 9 Frugal Habits Dave Ramsey Swears By

Find: 10 Things Frugal People Never Buy During the Holidays

Get ready to enjoy the most magical time of the year, but keep in mind these 51 helpful tips to save money for the holidays.

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Set a Budget

Whether youre attending holiday-themed events, going out to eat or paying for holiday travel, identify exactly how much you can afford to spend. Microsoft Office users can download a holiday budget calculator template online for free.

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Stay Zen

Dont get too caught up in the buying frenzy or fall for marketing tactics retailers use to get you to spend more. Avoid advertisements, and try not to compare your holiday spending habits to others.

Learn: Pocket an Extra $400 a Month With This Simple Hack

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Take Inventory

Go through your closets and set aside unwanted or unused items. Often, these can be re-gifted or repurposed into DIY Christmas projects. Or, try selling some of these items on an app like OfferUp or Letgo.

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Start Early

Begin shopping and planning early to give yourself plenty of time to wait for the right deal, make sure items will be shipped and received on time and start on your money-saving DIY gifts or decorations.

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Redeem Credit Card Points

Nows the time to redeem the credit card points youve been earning all year and increase your purchasing power for the holidays. Depending on how much youve saved up, you might be able to fund entire gifts with just rewards points.

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Avoid Paying on Credit

It might be a good strategy to charge holiday gifts to your credit card to earn points, but make sure you dont spend more than you can pay off right away. Getting hit with credit card interest could make your holiday purchases 15% to 20% pricier. If you feel like going over your budget with a credit card could be a problem, opt for cash instead.

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Raid the Pantry

Check your cupboards before grocery shopping to make sure youre not buying extras of food items or spices you already have. Plus, see if you can change recipes slightly to use what you already have.

Check Out: 7 Costco Holiday Shopping Hacks That Could Save You Big Money This Year

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Plan the Portions

Figure out how much food youll need for the number of guests you expect to feed. The Instructables website has a calculator to decide how much of different ingredients youll need, which can help you avoid over-buying and wasting food.

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Cook the Favorites

Focus on having a lot of what people really love to eat, and skip the dishes that always seem to get passed over to avoid wasted food  and money. Just be sure no one is going to miss that dish.

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Make It a Potluck

Just because youre the host of a holiday gathering doesnt mean you have to foot the whole bill. Ask your guests to bring a side dish, dessert, disposable dishes, table settings or beverages.

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Buy Smaller, Frozen Turkeys

Frozen is cheaper than fresh, and buying two 8-pound birds will cost less than one 16-pound turkey. Just be sure to give your frozen turkey enough time to thaw. A 16-pound turkey takes about three and a half days to fully thaw.

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Use Leftovers

There are plenty of recipes you can make from holiday leftovers. If the kids leave food on their plates, plastic wrap it and save it for them to finish later. Also, consider using the turkey carcass to make soup or broth  its delicious and easier than youd think.

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Shop With a List

Whether youre shopping for groceries for a holiday dinner or gifts for the family, go with a list to avoid buying unnecessary items and going over budget. Also, consider asking others to bring a few items to dinner.

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Consult Promotional Mailers

Use mailers to find the items that are steeply marked down, and cross-reference with your grocery or gift list to identify the best deals for your family. These can also help you find the best days to shop.

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Clip Coupons

Thanks to coupon sites, you no longer have to sift through the newspaper with a pair of scissors. If you want to save some dough, check your favorite retailers websites for coupons or codes before heading to the store.

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Use Shopping Apps

A majority of smartphone users plan to use their devices to help them shop, compare prices, find deals and more, according to a holiday spending survey from Deloitte. Plan ahead even if you dont shop on your phone.

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Claim Price Adjustments

After buying an item, watch out to see if it goes on sale in the next two weeks and ask for a price adjustment. Many stores will also price match with competitors. Be sure to check the fine print, as some stores might have exclusions on certain dates or products.

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Save Receipts

Youll need these to return or exchange items, or to claim a price adjustment. Extra points if you keep them organized. Take note of return and exchange policies  as these can vary greatly from store to store.

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Bundle Online Orders

Try to order multiple gifts from the same store. This will save on shipping, and ordering all at once could help you reach the larger spending limits that often come with larger savings.

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Have Items Shipped to the Recipient

If youre ordering online or giving to someone who lives far away, this will save you the hassle of forwarding the package. Many stores also offer gift-wrapping or personalized-note services, often for a small fee.

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Decide How Much To Spend

Write out a list of everyone you plan to give a gift to, as well as the amount you plan to spend on each. Then, when it comes time for shopping, make sure you stick to the plan.

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Cut Down on Your Giving List

Inevitably, there are those people on your list who you exchange gifts with out of sheer habit. Try having a conversation and suggest that you forgo gifts this year, and instead spend some time together.

More: 5 Kitchen Appliances That Arent Worth the Money

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Set Up a Secret Santa

For big groups, such as family or coworkers, a Secret Santa gift exchange can be a great way to make sure everyone gets a gift without breaking the bank. Plus, it adds an extra fun element to the gift-giving process.

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Give Cash

The same Deloitte survey found that gift cards are the top gift that shoppers plan to give. However, the No. 1 gift respondents said theyd like to receive is cash. Plus, the gift recipient will get your full moneys worth as opposed to a gift card.

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Buy Gift Cards for Less

If youre determined to give a gift card this year, at least buy the best holiday gift cards. Warehouse stores like Costco or Sams Club often sell gift cards to movie theaters, restaurants and even amusement parks for less than their retail value.

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Get Gift Cards Secondhand

Buy unwanted gift cards for less than their value on sites like CardPool and CardCash. Keep these sites in mind, should you receive gift cards you dont plan to use. You can resell them for cash at a later date.

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Give a Certificate of Deposit (CD)

A great idea for a child, a CD will teach the benefits of saving money, such as earning interest. At the end of the CDs term, the kid will be happy to get a bit more than you deposited.

How To Get Free Money: 15 Proven Ways

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Give Handmade Gifts

Whether its your famous homemade fudge or a knitted scarf, you can save a lot by giving handmade gifts  and the extra thought and effort are appreciated. Reuse or recycle or items you already have on hand.

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Send an E-card

Paying for Christmas cards, a family photo and the postage can really add up. Skip the snail mail and opt for an electronic greeting. These days, you can find fun, interactive e-cards for everyone on your list.

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Borrow What You Need

Youre likely only going to be using these items for one occasion, so if you dont have a holiday tablecloth or serving dish, check with friends and family before rushing out to make a purchase.

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Buy Bulk and Split It

If theres something you like at Costco or Sams Club for a gift idea but its too much just for you, see if a family or friend would like to split the purchase with you and use for gifts, as well. This especially works well for gift cards, as mentioned earlier.

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Get a Cheap Christmas Tree

Check different lots to find the best price, and ask for less-expensive species, such as Balsam and Douglas firs. You might also be able to talk the price down if its after the first week in December or if the tree is less than perfect.

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Invest in an Artificial Tree

A fake tree or wreath might be pricier than the real deal. But, it lets you cut down your holiday finances in the long run, rather than having to buy a new one each year  and its less messy.

This Is The Best Account at Citi: Offering More Than Just High-Yield Savings

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DIY Wherever Possible

There are a hundred ways to turn free or already owned items into holiday decorations. Some of the easiest items to DIY are fall decor  gather leaves and pinecones from your backyard  and tree ornaments.

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Try LED Christmas Lights

They are more energy efficient, which will help keep your electrical bill low. They also last longer and are less fragile than conventional lights, so you can reuse them  or keep them up  year after year.

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Recycle Gift Wrap

Ask for paper grocery bags, and use these as wrapping paper. And, use fun tags or bows to add holiday flavor. Save gift bags and bows, as these can easily be reused. Youll be helping the environment, too  people tend to waste 25 percent more during the holidays.

Minerva Studio / Shutterstock.com

Borrow Holiday Music and Movies

Check with friends or family and see if theyll lend you some holiday music. Better yet: Check out which holiday movies you can stream on Netflix or Hulu (if youre already paying for them).

Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com

Make Memories Instead of Gifts

Create memories by spending time with the people you love, rather than buying the perfect gift. Focus on spending time together and having fun instead of spending money.

Living Frugally: Adopting Lessons From the Great Depression

DGLimages / Shutterstock.com

Choose Free or Low-Cost Activities

Going caroling is a free and memorable activity. Some other fun options include getting together to decorate cookies, building a snowman or setting up a goofy white elephant gift exchange.

Kenneth Sponsler / Shutterstock.com

Find Free Local Events

Check with your local paper to find free local events, such as a holiday parade, tree lighting ceremony, Santas workshop, live nativity or Christmas light display.

romakoma / Shutterstock.com

See the Lights

Take a stroll or drive around the neighborhood and enjoy the lights for a completely free evening activity. Search online to find the best holiday light displays in your area before heading out for the evening.

Beer5020 / Shutterstock.com

Travel Smart

Holiday travel isnt cheap  but you can save if you plan ahead and stay flexible. Do a bit of research on fares and the best dates to fly before booking your trip. That way, youll have more holiday money to spend on more enjoyable things than transportation.

Good To Know: Dont Buy Airline Tickets at This Time of Day

Syda Productions / Shutterstock.com

Take a Bus Instead of Flying

Megabus offers intercity travel for as cheap as $1 each way. A round-trip ticket from Los Angeles to San Francisco could cost you around $50, which is much cheaper than a $200 plane ticket.

Uber Images / Shutterstock.com

Stay Home

Of course, you want to be with our loved ones for the holiday. But, it might be a much better use of your money to stay home through the end of the year and visit in January or February instead when travel will be cheaper.

Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com

Be the Host

Hosting others provides its own level of stress and certainly isnt cheap  but it will likely be cheaper than paying for air travel elsewhere. If traveling isnt in the budget this year, invite others to come to you.

Yuganov Konstantin / Shutterstock.com

Spread the Joy Out

Giving everyone in your life gifts all on one day can really take a blow to the wallet. Instead, offer them the gift of you  later in the year. Devise a thoughtful card or box, filled with printouts of events, restaurants and items they could choose from  and give them a day in the coming year where they can have their All About Me extravaganza. It will be a little easier on your wallet to spend one at a time, one paycheck at a time.

goodluz / Shutterstock.com

Return Unwanted Gifts

Make good use of the gift receipt included and return any items you dont intend to use. Check out gift card-reselling sites like CardPool or CardCash to get cash for your unwanted gift cards.

Im a Luxury Travel Agent: 10 Destinations My Wealthy Clients Are Booking for 2024

Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com

Check Return Policies

Even if the gift didnt come with a gift receipt, you might be able to return it for store credit or exchange it for a different item. Do your research before waiting in line at the customer service desk.

Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com

Shop Post-Holiday Sales

Just like we know to check out the candy sections the day after Halloween or Valentines Day, after the holidays is the best time to stock up on holiday decor and themed gifts for next year.

CatLane / iStock.com

Save Up for Next Year

Open a holiday savings account and start saving now for next years season. It will make it so much easier to plan ahead  plus, you can take advantage of a years worth in savings account interest.

Kaitlin Willow contributed to the reporting for this article.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 50 Tips for Saving Money During the Holidays
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It got ugly for Rep. Tim Burchett when he was pressed on CNN for evidence to support his claims of President Biden committing impeachable offenses.

Transcript of the congressman from Tennessees meltdown over a fundamental question:

Brianna Keilar: Excuse me? Theres no connection to President Biden. So can you explain that? What are you talking about?

Rep. Burchett: Yes, maam. There is. This latest transaction there absolutely is, and theres a monthly payment.

Keilar: Are you talking about a 1300, $1380 transaction that the car payment reimbursement?

Burchett: Now that is what they are calling it but actually it was  said no, that is what the committee, the committee put out a receipt showing it is a reimbursement for car payment. And also some of the ways in which you characterize some of the things about the involvement, it is just not as clear-cut as you are characterizing it. So is definitely going to let me talk?

Keilar: I did let you speak. Congressman, with all due respect, no, no, you are speaking about me, sir. With all due, with all due respect I let you speak, and then I clarified just to be clear about what you are saying . So yes he does, and I will let you speak, since you are saying, you know, so much of this has to do with president Biden although there is no evidence of that, will the Oversight Committee subpoena him?

Burchett: Will the oversight committee who? President Biden or Hunter? I dont know. At some point, I suspect that can happen, but I doubt he would show, and I doubt Hunter is going to show not actually an indictment for 10 days, and arms having a pistol when he is back on drugs is a clear line between communist China $5 million investment with Hunter Biden. the guy is bad news, but you also want to cover for him, and that is fine, but there is a security threat on the money throwing from the communist Chinese to Hunter, to one of his 22 shell companies. There are several checks that have been made available to you all for use of shell, and by saying there is no evidence, maam, I realize that is the Democrat national talking point that you will continue to regurgitate.

Video:

It is consistently the same story. When a House Republican gets asked for evidence of what impeachable offense President Biden committed, they get angry and start ranting and raving, and outburst always with claiming that the questioner is working for the Democrats.

The reason why Republicans struggle to explain what Biden did is because the President didnt do anything.

These outbursts by Republicans are part anger and part distraction tactics.

Beneath all of the smoke and mirrors is the reality that Republicans have nothing.

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A Florida Republican Party activist has been convicted of voter fraud in connection with supporting Donald Trump during the 2020 election.

Robert Rivernider Jr. forged a vote-by-mail ballot for Trump.

ClickOrlando.com reported:

Rivernider was found guilty of forgery to alter public records, fraud in connection with casting a vote, and pass counterfeit instrument, which are felony charges. He could face several years in prison.

Rivernider is a Republican Party activist, with a website that touts his experience with several party campaigns, including the Trump and Bush/Cheney presidential campaigns and the Laura Loomer congressional campaign in 2022.

Rivernider was caught by Ron DeSantiss election police, and he now faces potentially several in prison after his felony convictions.

It has been a pattern for years that Trump and his supporters scream fraud and claim that the election was stolen, but the fraud that is being found and prosecuted was committed by Trump and his supporters.

It is almost as if Trump is accusing Democrats of exactly what he and his supporters are doing.

The voter/election fraud has been found, and it is being committed by supporters of Donald J. Trump.

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CNNs Jake Tapper both challenged Oversight Committee Chair James Comers Biden impeachment lies and destroyed them with sarcasm.

Video:



Tapper asked Comer to provide two pieces of evidence that Biden did anything wrong, and then this happened:

COMER: First of all, we believe President Biden committed a quid pro quo when he leveraged a billion dollars of U.S. taxpayer money in Ukraine in exchange for firing the prosecutor, Shokin, who was investigating Burisma, the company that Hunter Biden just got charged with receiving substantial sums of money and not paying taxes. We believe that Joe Biden was directly involved in the termination. We believe this, Jake, because he admitted it on tape. Thats one crime. We also believe 

TAPPER: Well get to the second in a second, but just for our viewers awareness, the entire western world wanted Shokin fired. Like it wasnt just President Biden, the entire western world, the European Union, the G8, there was  there were a lot of people, including Republican members of the House and the Senate who wanted Shokin fired, it wasnt just like, Vice President Biden, you know, conspiring with himself. So, OK, whats the second one you wanted to talk about?

COMER: Well, the second one, clearly with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Thats why the judge in Delaware kicked out the sweetheart plea deal that Weiss originally negotiated. Remember, just a few months ago, Weiss was trying to negotiate a deal that would have given Hunter Biden blanket immunity. He wouldnt have had to charge  been charged with any serious crime.

TAPPER: Right.

COMER: So, the Foreign Agent Registration Act is the most obvious. And who is he lobbying on behalf? I mean, he was lobbying on behalf of our enemies around the world. Who was he lobby? He was lobbying his father.

TAPPER: Right. But we dont have any evidence that he carried  I dont know what evidence there might be about Hunter Biden and the Foreign Agents Registration Act. You might be right about that. I just dont know what then Vice President Biden might have done or and especially in those four years where he was not doing anything, he wasnt vice president or president.

Tapper then asked why Comer wont agree to let Hunter Biden testify in public:

COMER: This isnt about politics. Its not about me either. My job  I know the media, I know the media, and I like you, Jake. I know the media would like to have a big public show and that would be very 

TAPPER: Yes.

COMER:  entertaining. But my job is not to entertain.

TAPPER: its me who wants it to be a public show. Yes, its me.

Tapper got sarcastic when Comer launched into conspiracies:

COMER: Because of income. So, we think that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We think there are many more crimes. And my concern is that Weiss may have indicted Hunter Biden to protect him from nothing to be deposed (ph) 

TAPPER: Yes.

COMER:  in the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

TAPPER: Yes. He indicted him to protect him. Yes, the classic rubric. He indicted him to protect him. I got it

COMER: Well, look this whole  this, Jake, this whole things been about a cover up. You know, youve got two serious 

TAPPER: Thats why you got to protect him, to cover it up?

COMER: Well, he  look, you indicted him on the least little thing, the gun charge and not paying tax.

TAPPER: Hes facing like 17 additional years in prison.

COMER: Yes, but look what hes done.

TAPPER: Its a felony.

Republicans Cant Explain Why They Want To Impeach Biden

Jake Tapper didnt defend Hunter Biden. He asked for facts to support the Republican case for impeaching the president, and what the interview revealed was that James Comer didnt have any. Chair Comer has lots of thoughts, feelings, and opinions, but what he doesnt have is actual evidence that President Biden deserves to be impeached.

Comer was exposed by failing to answer basic questions and instead engaging in conspiracy theories.

It is difficult to get House Republicans to go on non-conservative media, and Jake Tapper showed why. House Republicans are planning the most empty impeachment in US history, and the more that they talk the deeper the hole gets.

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Bank of America (BAC) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.

Over the past month, shares of this nation's second-largest bank have returned +11.4%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +4.9% change. During this period, the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry, which Bank of America falls in, has gained 10.9%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Revisions to Earnings Estimates

Here at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.

Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.

Bank of America is expected to post earnings of $0.72 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -15.3%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.2%.

The consensus earnings estimate of $3.45 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +8.2%. This estimate has changed +0.1% over the last 30 days.

Story continues

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $3.25 indicates a change of -5.7% from what Bank of America is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -0.2%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Bank of America.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Revenue Growth Forecast

While earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

In the case of Bank of America, the consensus sales estimate of $24.11 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of -1.7%. The $100.78 billion and $100.59 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +6.1% and -0.2%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise History

Bank of America reported revenues of $25.17 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.7%. EPS of $0.90 for the same period compares with $0.81 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $25.08 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.33%. The EPS surprise was +11.11%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

Valuation

Without considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.

Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.

The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an An is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Bank of America is graded C on this front, indicating that it is trading at par with its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Conclusion

The facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Bank of America. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

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Stephen Posey has been with his family's business, the well-established Posey Funeral Directors on Georgia Avenue, since the mid-1950s. He said hed come home from school to work with his father, Dudley Posey, in the afternoons and on the weekends.

Being with him, he was a master. He was a master at everything: funeral directing, embalming; a master with people, Posey said. And I find myself now thinking, what would he do? What would he say? If we have a difficult situation, how would he handle this?

The history goes back even farther.

Whether J.M. Posey knew in 1879 when he started the business that it would eventually be in the hands of his grandson Stephen and that it would, a couple decades later, also involve great-grandkids, is uncertain.

But that's how it's come to be. Posey Funeral Directors runs four generations deep: Stephen's son  J.M.'s great-grandson  Walker Posey also is in the business.

North Augusta Chamber of Commerce invited Stephen and Nancy Posey plus Dr. Alan Owings and his daughter Dr. Allison Owings Bass, of Owings & Sam Dentistry, for a panel discussion Dec. 5 on legacy businesses in North Augusta.

As far as business lineage goes, Owings & Sam is only one generation younger than Posey. Allison is the granddaughter of Dr. David Owings, who started the business on West Avenue in 1976.

Alan is David Owings son and with his sister, Rebecca Owings Sam, now owns the practice.

David Owings built the business on hard work and "a willingness to see people at any time of the day  customer service. He built it on being kind and friendly and gentle to people," Alan said.

Something else may also have helped to keep patients: We offered Happy Gas for free, up until a year ago, he laughed.

Said Allison, Patients dont care how much you know; they only know how much you care;" and the goal is to translate this into practice.
S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilsons announcement Monday that he was taking over two public corruption investigations in the Lowcountry raised eyebrows across the state: Why such an escalation? Is there a problem with the local prosecutor? Are these cases more significant than they seem?

The takeover is actually quite straightforward, but it has as its backdrop one of the bitterest clashes between prosecutors in S.C. history  one that led to a dangerous exercise in judicial lawmaking that the Legislature has refused for seven years to correct. And that episode, in turn, underscores how extraordinarily important it is to overhaul the way South Carolina selects judges. But hold that thought.

The short explanation is that state law says only the state attorney general  acting in concert with the chief of the State Law Enforcement Division  can empanel the State Grand Jury, which can subpoena documents and compel testimony in a way county grand juries cant. Prosecutors have such sweeping power to steer it toward the indictments they want that a state legislator once noted that a minimally competent prosecutor could convince a federal grand jury, on which our State Grand Jury is modeled, to indict a ham sandwich.

Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone concluded last month that he couldnt get any further in his investigations of former Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway and Colleton County technology director Jeffrey Colton Hill without the State Grand Jury, so he asked Mr. Wilson to convene it for what he described in a news release as two unrelated cases. (Mr. Hill is the son of embattled Colleton Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, whom defense attorneys allege tainted the jury against convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh.)
There is plenty of legal precedent to back up a ruling that gives International Longshoremen's Association members the right to operate cranes at the Port of Charleston's newest container terminal, the National Labor Relations Board said in a filing urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a request to revisit the issue.

The federal panel, in a Dec. 6 brief, pointed out that the high court has already ruled twice  once in 1980 and again in 1985  in cases where ILA jobs were threatened, siding with the union both times.

"The union activity in this case is strikingly similar," the NLRB said.

The S.C. State Ports Authority, which wants its non-union employees to operate the Leatherman Terminal's cranes, asked the Supreme Court to review the case after a federal appeals court in July upheld the NLRB's decision by a 2-to-1 vote to give the jobs to union workers.

The nation's high court has not said whether it will take the case.

The NLRB said the previous rulings  known as ILA 1 and ILA 2  laid the groundwork for its decision in the Leatherman case, and those precedents make any further legal review unnecessary.

At the heart of the dispute is a collective bargaining agreement between the waterfront union and a consortium of container shipping lines known as the U.S. Maritime Alliance. The terms call for the vessel operators to use an all-union workforce  including container crane operators  at any new marine terminal that opens in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Ports in those states historically have used a "hybrid" labor model, where state employees operate the cranes and ILA members move cargo in the yards.

The $1 billion first phase of the Leatherman opened in March 2021 on the old Navy based in North Charleston.

Shortly afterward, the ILA sued the owners of two ships that had docked at the terminal, alleging they violated their contract with the union and seeking at least $500 million in damages. The litigation prompted other container lines to avoid Leatherman, bringing most activity at the site to a standstill.
The Kingstree Beautification Commission hosted its 2023 Christmas Pallet Contest where community members were encouraged to join together to cut, paint and decorate their pallets in a Christmas theme. Read moreChristmas Pallet Contest winners announced
MYRTLE BEACH  A missing man's mother has sued Grand Strand Medical Center for releasing her son without first notifying his legal guardians, according to court records.

Hope Larson admitted her 27-year-old son, Jacob, into the Myrtle Beach hospital on Sept. 24, 2022, for inpatient psychiatric care. The mother informed hospital staff that she was Jacob Larson's court-appointed legal guardian, according to the lawsuit.

Hope Larsons new suit claims that, while her son was hospitalized for nearly two weeks, hospital staff did not properly keep her updated on his medical care, and they did not notify her before discharging him. Jacob Larson reportedly fled the hospital, and he remains missing.

Due to the negligence of the defendant, their employees and/or agents, Jacob Larsons guardian and parents have lost contact with him and fear for his safety and continuously live in a state of not knowing whether their son is alive or dead, the lawsuit states.

Grand Strand Health has issued a statement in response to the lawsuit.

We sympathize with the family and understand the circumstances are difficult, but we can't comment on this pending litigation, according to Grand Strand Health.

Interview requests with Hope Larson and Bob Larson were declined due to the ongoing litigation.

Their attorney Tom Winslow said Jacob Larson had a history of trying to evade his parents and leave home. He also reportedly had a psychiatric history, including self-harm, a suicide attempt and threats to others, according to the lawsuit.

Because of this, Hope Larson became his court-appointed primary legal guardian and Bob Larson became his secondary legal guardian.

Hope Larson reportedly wanted her son to receive a hospital evaluation. Just two days before he was admitted, she expressed this wish to Myrtle Beach Police when they were called to a verbal altercation between her and her son.

A police report filed Sept. 22, 2022, states that Jacob Larson called police that evening while he was arguing with his mother at the Myrtle Beach International Airport.
BISHOPVILLE  A Lee County jury found Michael Juan Flame Smith guilty Dec, 8 of all charges for his participation in the 2018 Lee Correctional Institution riot..

Smith, 31, was found guilty of first-degree assault and battery by mob, possession of a weapon and criminal conspiracy.

The eight-woman, four-man jurys unanimous verdict came with a total of 40 years of prison time. Smith was sentenced to 30 years for the first-degree assault and battery by mob charge and 10 years for the possession of a weapon charge. His five-year sentence for the conspiracy charge will be served consecutively.

Smith was in South Carolina Department of Corrections custody by the night of Dec. 8. He will be evaluated at Kirkland Correctional Institution.

The verdict follows a weeklong trial filled with testimony that described the chaos inside the prison at the time of the riot and the melee that resulted in inmate Cornelius McClarys death in the F1 dorm.

McClary, 33, was serving a 31-year sentence in Lee Correctional Institution with a 2032 release date.

The riot left seven dead and dozens injured, making it the biggest explosion of violence in a United States prison in the past 25 years.

Smith was an inmate at Lee Correctional Institution following attempted murder and weapons convictions in connection with a shooting that left a University of South Carolina student paralyzed. The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed his conviction in that case and granted him a new trial.

Solicitor Barney Giese, who prosecuted the riot case, said he hoped this trial and its result gave the family of the student, Martha Childress, a little peace of mind.

He was joined by Special Assistant Attorney Generals Margaret Scott and Stephen Lunsford, who work for the South Carolina Department of Corrections

Smith's trial was the first in connection to the 2018 prison riot.

This sends a message that the people of Lee County and Department of Corrections aren't going to put up with this kind of activity, Giese said.
The former Charleston police officer who drove his patrol vehicle under the influence and crashed into three other cars had been suspended before for violating policies off duty. Read moreCharleston cop fired after DUI charge had previous suspensions for his off-duty conduct
A woman who took the wrong ramp onto Interstate 26 after a birthday celebration in Charleston pleaded guilty Dec. 8 to three counts of felony driving under the influence.

The horrific head-on collision in the early morning hours of June 21, 2020, left one of Courtney Pleasant's friends nearly dead and two strangers with severe injuries.

On Dec. 8 in Charleston County, Circuit Judge Roger Young sentenced Pleasant, 29, to nine years in prison.

"We just went down there for a birthday party," Pleasant told the judge.

She and two friends drove to Charleston from their homes in Lexington. After dinner in Mount Pleasant and drinks on King Street, Pleasant got behind the wheel of her car with her friend C.J. Woods lying down on the back seat.

Assistant Solicitor Nicholas Harris said Pleasant's vehicle was tracked through camera footage going to Coming Street and onto I-26. She missed the correct ramp. She headed up the wrong one and drove west on the eastbound side, Harris said.

Candice Singleton didn't see Pleasant's vehicle coming; she only heard her passenger shout "watch out," Harris said.

Sgt. Christopher Coghlan, an accident investigator with the Charleston Police Department, told the judge the crash site was one of the worse he has seen.

Harris credited Coghlan with his persistence in the case. It took nearly seven hours to get a search warrant to obtain a blood sample from Pleasant. The prosecution's expert estimated Pleasant's blood alcohol content would have been over .2, more than twice the legal limit, at the time of the crash.

Defense attorney Calvin "Drew" Carroll countered that a defense expert analysis placed Pleasant's blood alcohol content much lower, but Pleasant admits she was impaired.

She was not familiar with Charleston and was depending on GPS during the trip, Carroll said. She was following its instructions when she mistakenly got onto the wrong ramp, he said.

Pleasant, Carroll told the judge, is a single mother working as the manager of a hair salon. She was injured physically in the crash, but she was also mentally broken with the guilt and shame over the harm she caused, Carroll said.
Parenting these days is hard. Kids have phones and tablets in their hands at an early age, a fact that leaves parents like me worrying about whether our children are getting too much screen time and what they're stumbling onto online. Of course, technology comes with plenty of benefits, but  Read moreCommentary: Parents want to protect kids online, but SC device filter bill won't help
Representatives of Carmeuses Gary lime manufacturing facility pledged their commitment to open communication with the city and its residents at a Thursday meeting of the Gary Common Councils Air Pollution Central Advisory Committee.

Were looking forward to building a transparent relationship, Carmeuse area manager Matt Gower told the committee. Gower, along with environmental manager Sarah Langeliers, fielded questions from committee members and from an audience of around 20 attendees.

Located in Garys Buffington Harbor, the Carmeuse facility manufactures lime for use in the steel industry. The site has operated under the Belgium-based companys ownership since 1992 and for decades more before that.

The pending renewal of the facilitys air permit, issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and now under review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has proved controversial. Gary residents, environmental advocates and the EPA itself have voiced concerns over the facilitys environmental impact and urged IDEMs caution with its renewal throughout a monthslong application process that is now nearing its close.

In June, members of the grassroots group Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) and staff at the Midwest-based Environmental Law and Policy Center called on IDEM to approve a renewed permit with more stringent emissions testing requirements after ELPC staff reviewed publicly available IDEM records and identified a string of past permit violations. In several cases, staff at the facility were found to have not conducted required emissions tests or not recorded the results of tests.

We have some challenges in terms of our historical compliance and were taking proactive actions to mitigate those, Gower said.

Later that month, EPA Region 5 Air and Radiation Division Director John Mooney sent a letter to the permit branch chief at the Indiana Department of Environmental Managements Office of Air Quality in which he wrote that the Carmeuse permit renewal raised environmental justice concerns. Mooney urged IDEM to conduct an analysis to evaluate the potential effects that the permitting action will have on the community, and the degree to which these effects will be disproportionate and adverse, among other recommendations.

Story continues

A draft permit was submitted to the EPA by IDEM on Nov. 16. The EPA has until Dec. 31 to approve the document or raise objections, after which IDEM will issue a final notice approving or denying the companys application.

GARD, the ELPC and the Mooney all raised concerns over the burning of engineered fuels  those made from plastic, paper and other combustible waste  at the Carmeuse facility. Carmeuse owns Innofuel Energy Solutions, a facility located near the Gary/Chicago International Airport, that handles engineered fuels. In November of 2020, a large fire broke out at the site, and personnel from multiple local fire departments were dispatched to contain it. One worker suffered serious injuries.

Langeliers, who also serves as environmental manager for Innofuel, said that operations at the site have been dramatically scaled back since the fire.

Its just one small building, she said. What we used to do was actually shredding the waste materials, and we dont have shredders on site. Theres no processing the material. We just want (to) receive it and then it can be transferred.

At the meeting, GARD member Carolyn McCrady repeated concerns over the environmental impact of the burning the fuels at the lime facility. Langeliers replied that regulations on engineered fuels permit the company to burn only types of fuel with lighter emissions than coal.

Gower said that the Carmeuse is happy and commit to whatever frequency youd like us to be here, happy to commit to a continued conversation. Members of the Gary Common council were recently given a tour of the Buffington Harbor Facility, and the company plans to allow GARD members to tour the facility soon.

We believe we can get better, he said, but we believe we are doing things in the right direction.

adalton@chicagotribune.com
Last week, The Post and Couriers Maddy Quon recounted the angry response Hanahan officials are receiving after they swore in a new police officer who was arrested in 2018 on charges of impersonating a police officer and installing a blue light in his personal vehicle: More than 800 comments have been posted to the announcement on the city's Facebook page, nearly all of them negative, many unprintable.

Were concerned as well, although not for the same reason. While impersonating a police officer is a deeply troubling charge, we dont know that Ken Duncan shouldnt have been hired. He probably wasn't convicted, he has served on two other police forces since the arrest, and he's in good standing with the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, which has much higher standards today than it did in 2018.

But Mr. Duncan shouldnt have been hired without city officials knowing about and questioning him about his history, and at least the mayor was in the dark.

The problem isnt that city officials didnt do a background check; the problem is that the state of South Carolina made that background check useless if not misleading by ordering Mr. Duncans arrest record wiped clean.

That was likely because his charges were dropped, although the absence of any official records means we cant say for sure that it wasnt because he was found not guilty at trial, or entered a pre-trial intervention program or even was found guilty and then convinced a judge to expunge his record  all of which are allowed if not required under S.C. law.
The Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication.
Fred Hopkins Jr., 79, received two life sentences Oct. 19 after pleading guilty to murder charges in the October 2018 fatal shooting of two Florence law enforcement officers. Florence Police Sgt. Terrence Carraway died in the Oct. 3, 2018, shooting. Florence County Sheriff's Investigator Farrah Turner was shot that day. She died on Oct. 22, 2018, after multiple surgeries. File/GE Hinson/Staff
CLOVER  A hydrogen fuel company announced its plans for moving into an empty Clover warehouse, where they will employ 280 people.

York County Economic Development described OneH2 as "a leader in sustainable hydrogen solutions."

OneH2, which opened in 2015 and has expanded to six plants across the country, designs and manufactures equipment such as vehicle powertrains and fuel systems. Industrial vehicles are where those products can be found.

According to its website, the company launched with the goal of offering hydrogen fuel as a clean alternative to conventional fuel.

In a statement on its website, OneH2 Vice President of Product Swapnil Revankar said its manufacturing facility in North Carolina is operating at maximum capacity, spurring the need to expand.

"As more businesses transition to hydrogen fuel, OneH2 looks forward to providing the support and solutions they need to join the hydrogen revolution, he said.

The company is spending $16 million on the expansion, including the purchase of the 246,091-square-foot building on the property, previously vacated by Pharr Yarns in 2019, the economic development office said.

OneH2 will use the property for manufacturing and warehousing.

The jobs will be created over the next couple of years, OneH2 said on its website.

This expansion into South Carolina signals a boost to our local economy and underscores York County's appeal for innovative businesses," York County Councilwoman Christi Cox said in a statement about OneH2's first expansion into the Palmetto State.
SPARTANBURG  Susu Phifer Johnson has spent her life making a difference in education and politics while serving others.

She was named the Kiwanis Club of Spartanburg 2023 Citizen of The Year recognizing her contributions to the community. A ceremony was held Dec. 7 at The Piedmont Club in Spartanburg.

The annual award recognizes a citizen in the Spartanburg community who has helped make the city a better place. It's been presented every year since 1943 when Dr. Henry Nelson Snyder was the first recipient.

"Our recipient today, like the 79 recipients before her, has made a tremendous lasting impact on the Spartanburg community and its citizens," said Edwin Haskell, Kiwanis Club of Spartanburg board of directors member. "She is one of a kind."

Johnson is a graduate of Converse College and later earned a master's degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She then moved to Charlotte and taught English and Women's Studies at Central Piedmont Community College. Johnson also served on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Commission on the Status of Women.

"Her desire to promote women's interests continues to this day," Haskell said.

In 2012, Johnson founded Meeting Street Academy in Spartanburg. The school serves students from under-resourced neighborhoods from across Spartanburg County. The school was recognized in 2021 as a national Blue Ribbon School.

Kathy Dunleavy serves as community liaison for Meeting Street Academy and was among those attending the award ceremony.

"Susu understands the most important investment we can make in our community is in our children," Dunleavy said. "As a former teacher, she has made it her mission to use her time, talent, and treasures to provide high-quality educational opportunities for Spartanburg's children."

Johnson spent time volunteering at Mary H. Wright Elementary School and is a founding member of the Spartanburg Academic Movement. In 1992, she was elected to Spartanburg City Council and now serves on the Women's Rights and Empowerment Network Leadership Council.
(Bloomberg) -- Earlier this week, European negotiators sat in a conference room in Brussels and debated for nearly 24 straight hours  dozing off at times and working a self-service coffee machine so hard that it broke.

Most Read from Bloomberg

They came with a singular mission: reaching an agreement to regulate artificial intelligence. And they didnt quite get there. But the EUs internal market chief, Thierry Breton, didnt want a long break over the weekend that would give lobbyists more time to weigh in, according to people familiar with the matter.

It took yet another round of intense bargaining on Friday, curtains drawn and under the glare of bright lights, for the group to reach consensus.

Just before midnight, representatives announced theyd finally struck a deal to control a technology that Elon Musk, OpenAI Inc.s Sam Altman, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton and others have warned could pose an existential threat if left unchecked.

Read more: Heres How the EU Will Regulate Advanced AI Models Like ChatGPT

Europes pact on the so-called AI Act ushers in a pivotal time, one in which world leaders will demonstrate their ability  and their appetite  for regulating AI technologies and keeping their potential for bias, privacy violations, outsized influence and other risks at bay. No moment has better captured the dilemma that governments face in doing this without snuffing out beneficial AI technologies than the debates that raged on for days in Europe.

Some have suggested that AI cannot be governed, either because lawmakers dont understand the technology or because the technology evolves so fast, Anu Bradford, a professor at Columbia Law Schools European Legal Studies Center, said Friday. While the EUs policy faces headwinds, she said, the region had the opportunity to show that it cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Story continues

Read more: EU Strikes Deal to Regulate ChatGPT, AI Tech in Landmark Act

Outside of China and India, efforts to regulate AI have been limited. Some US cities and states have passed legislation restricting use of the technology in certain areas such as police investigations and hiring. Various federal agencies are vetting the use of AI tools, some regulators are using existing laws to police the technology and members of the US Congress are exploring legislation. But the nation is nowhere close to introducing a bill like the EUs AI Act.

The policy making its way through the EUs legislative process extends far beyond the generative AI tools that have captured the worlds attention in the past year. It would dictate exactly how law enforcement is allowed to use AI-powered surveillance cameras; how it can be deployed in critical infrastructure; and how the developers of programs such as OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles Bard will be held responsible for mitigating the risks of their systems.

It would also come with some teeth. Policymakers are proposing to impose penalties on companies that violate the rules, with fines up to 35 million ($37.7 million), or 7% of global turnover, depending on the infringement and the size of the company.

Read More: Regulate AI? How US, EU and China Are Going About It: QuickTake

Both the European Parliament and the EUs 27 member states will need to approve the agreement. But the deal reached Friday marks a critical step toward clearing landmark AI policy that will  in the absence of any meaningful action by US Congress  set the tone for deliberations and ensuing regulation in the western world.

The EU  like other governments  struggled to strike a balance between the desire to preserve its own AI startups, such as Frances Mistral AI and Germanys Aleph Alpha, and potential societal risks. That proved to be a key sticking point in negotiations, with some countries including France and Germany opposing rules that they said would unnecessarily handicap local companies.

Some details still need to be worked out by civil servants in the coming weeks, but negotiators largely agreed to place guardrails around generative AI, establishing basic transparency requirements for any developer of the large models that power them.

What surprised many was the fact that the most contentious discussions revolved around live biometric identification tools, the kind that can scan and recognize peoples faces in real-time, and not generative AI. But the issue has been a long-running, emotional debate. The parliament voted for a complete ban of the tools last spring, while EU countries have been pushing for exemptions for national security and law enforcement.

Read More: US Warns EUs Landmark AI Policy Will Only Benefit Big Tech

In the end, the two sides agreed to limit the use of the technology in public spaces with more guardrails.

Some took Europes long and drawn-out debates as a sign that policymakers are deliberating with more thought and less haste. We spent a lot of time on finding the right balance, Breton said in a statement early Saturday.

Youve got questions about AI. Weve got answers. Sign up for Bloomberg Technologys weekly Q&AI newsletter.

The days-long discussions this week were held in an attempt to reach a deal and get the legislation cleared before European elections in June usher in a new commission and parliament that could stall efforts.

Frances digital minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said his government will review the compromise in the coming weeks to ensure it preserves Europes capacity to develop its own artificial intelligence technologies. Artigas, Spains secretary of state for digitization and artificial intelligence, noted that, under the deal, French AI startup Mistral likely wouldnt be subject to controls around general-purpose AI systems while its still in the research and development phase.

At the end of the talks, Artigas was said to have popped open a bottle of champagne. We are hopeful, she said, that they all will confirm.

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We could write about illegal immigration every day, and we probably should. Our open southern border is one of the greatest long-term threats to our countrys survival in any recognizable form. Here is todays bad news:

The United States reportedly set a new record for the most single-day migrant encounters at its southern border, marking another historic casualty brought about by President Bidens open border policies. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources who spoke with Fox News Bill Melugin, there were more than 12,000 migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, including 10,200+ Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants, amongst the highest daily totals for BP ever recorded.

Twelve thousand encounters in a single day. And of course, that doesnt count the ones CBP didnt catch:

These figures do not include gotaways, or illegal immigrants who managed to evade capture by CBP.

On the other hand, there might not be as many getaways as one would think. Most illegal entrants dont bother to evade apprehension. Why should they?

NEW: Another enormous line of hundreds upon hundreds of adult men from around the globe crossed illegally into Lukeville, AZ last night, and are now waiting for Border Patrol to take custody of them, as they expect to be released into US. Non-stop flow of illegal crossings here. pic.twitter.com/vnqz6bDWlX  Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 7, 2023



Everyone living in the Third World knows that if you show up at our southern border, all you have to do is utter the magic word asylum and you will be released into the United States. You may be flown by airplane to a secret destination somewhere in the interior. You dont have to worry about showing up for a deportation hearingmost dontand soon you will be eligible for welfare. So why dodge the Border Patrol?

By the way, isnt that a wall in the video above? The Arizona Republic reports, in an article that is all about sympathy for the border crossers:
We finally got round to our promised but delayed cage match about Ukraine and unanswered questions about January 6, and alas, all of my attempts to cheer up Lucretia with the weeks great newsthe Hunter Biden indictment, the embarrassment of Ivy League presidents, Kevin McCarthy resigning, Trump winning Tom Friedmans vote, and even Johns colorful description of this podcast last Sunday on C-SPANproved unavailing. Futile, even. Why Lucretia even trashed McDonalds, which is really fightin words for John.

But then we get down to business, with the bruising cage match. I did my best to play a neutral Sean Hannity, posing challenges to both John and Lucretia about each topic, but occasionally donning a Hersheys Kiss-sized tin foil hat on a couple of points. Score the jabs about roundhouse blows at home, and send in your point total in the comment threads.

John and Lucretia were united on one topic, though: Both attacked my fondness for classic Genesis, which I discussed at length this week on Steve Gosneys Rumble channel here (or YouTube version here) if you have the proper tastes in rock music that went to college, to quote Jody Bottum on prog rock. Natually, I had to take out revenge with the exit music, with a fragment of a classic Genesis song that includes the fitting lyric, Even academics, searching printed word. . . Who can name that song without looking it up?

See also if you notice the fake sponsor spot early in the episode, because in the age of fake news, why not?

Also, note: we had some technical issues with this episode leading to some abrupt edits and not quite completed thoughts, but I think listeners will be able to follow along.

Listen here, or from our host at Ricochet (where, incidentally, I sat in again yesterday for James Lileks on their flagship podcast. Give a listen after you finish here. Though thats a whole lot of me for one weekend.)
It is hard to understand why a wide range of non-governmental organizations, including but not limited to news organizations, have become embedded with Hamas in Gaza and are on Hamass side. A case in point is the Red Cross. From the Jerusalem Post:

Families of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas were reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross in a meeting earlier this week, with the Red Cross telling one family they need to think about the Palestinian side, KAN reported on Thursday night. Roni and Simona, the parents of Doron Steinbrecher who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kfar Azza on October 7, were invited to a meeting with the Red Cross earlier this week. Doron needs a medication she takes daily and her parents thought that the Red Cross was finally willing to transfer the medication to her, but instead they were sat down and reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross. Think about the Palestinian side, the representatives of the Red Cross told Simona, according to KAN. Its hard for the Palestinians, theyre being bombed.

Im guessing the parents of the kidnapped Israeli have been thinking a lot about the Palestinian side, and what it did on October 7 and has been doing for many years. The upshot was that the Red Cross refused to try to get medicine to the Israeli hostage.

Those who assume moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas are bad enoughinexplicably bad, reallybut how much worse are those supposedly civilized people and institutions that actually side with the mass murderers?
PR-Inside.com: 2023-12-09 19:39:58

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Binkley Surpasses Asa Hutchinson In Polls, Chris Christie In Ballot AccessSIOUX CENTER, IA / ACCESSWIRE / December 9, 2023 / Presidential candidate Ryan Binkley took the stage before Vivek Ramaswamy and Ambassador Nikki Haley and after Governor Ron DeSantis at the highly anticipated Faith & Family with the Feenstras forum Saturday, Dec. 9, at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa. No other candidates were present.Presidential Candidate Epitomizes Faith & Family Ryan Binkley with his wife, Ellie, and five children"We're looking to make a strong finish in the next five weeks," Binkley said. "We're looking to finish in the top five in the Iowa caucuses in January. We're going to keep pushing ahead." Binkley is on the Republican primary ballot in South Carolina, Idaho and Hawaii - all states where one candidate missed the filing deadline - and Maine, where another candidate did not qualify for the ballot. While one of his rivals has not campaigned in Iowa, Binkley was the first candidate to meet with voters in all 99 Iowa counties, referred to as the Full Grassley tour named for Sen. Chuck Grassley who popularized the tradition. Unlike some candidates, Binkley has focused his campaign on uniting Americans and reducing federal debt rather than adding to it."Republicans have spent as much money in the last 40 years as Democrats, just on different things," Binkley said. "It's time we change that." Unlike any of the candidates at Saturday's faith-based event, Binkley is a pastor who has devoted years of his life to ministry. As the co-founder of Create Church with his wife, Ellie, and the father of five children, including an adopted child, Binkley epitomizes faith and family - the topics that Feenstra and his wife, Lynette, discussed with the four key presidential candidates and their wives or children in front of an audience of hundreds of Republicans.Binkley has more than 80,000 unique donors who have contributed to his campaign, and he landed in sixth place ahead of Hutchinson in a recent national poll, where he surpassed Christie among millennials.Binkley's stature continues to rise as the field narrows, from 15 Republican presidential candidates in the summer to seven, including two who are not spending the time, resources and more than $600,000 in filing fees to get on the ballot in all 50 states and five U.S. territories as Binkley is.Binkley is the co-founder and CEO of mergers and acquisition firm Generational Group. As a finance expert, he is introducing a new economic approach through his campaign proposals to secure the border, balance the budget, reform healthcare and revitalize urban America.Members of the media are invited to follow Binkley on the campaign trail, view his online press kit, and schedule a one-on-one interview by contacting his campaign press office at press@ Binkley2024.com or 214-494-1792.Contact InformationDiane Moca Communications Director press@ binkley2024.com 214-494-1792 SOURCE: Binkley For President 2024
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HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages FTCH Investors with Substantial Losses to Contact Firm's Attorneys Before Dec. 19th Deadline in Securities Fraud LawsuitSAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 9, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Farfetch Limited (NYSE:FTCH) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: Mar. 9, 2023 - Aug. 17, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Dec. 19, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/FTCH Contact An Attorney Now: FTCH@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Farfetch Limited (NYSE: FTCH) Securities Fraud Class Action:The litigation focuses on the propriety of Farfetch's statements about one of its most important metrics (gross merchandise value or "GMV"), which it says closely correlates with its revenue, the strength of its U.S. and China business, and the status of its touted partnership with Reebok.The complaint alleges Farfetch made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) Farfetch was experiencing a significant slowdown in growth in the U.S. and China; (2) Farfetch also faced onboarding challenges impacting the launch of its Reebok partnership; (3) Farfetch downplayed challenges it faced with respect to, and/or overstated its ability to, manage its supply chain and inventory; (4) all the foregoing was having a significant negative impact on Farfetch's revenue and GMV growth; and (5) accordingly, Farfetch was unlikely to meet market expectations for its Q2 2023 financial results and its FY 2023 revenue guidance.Investors learned the truth on Aug. 17, 2023, when Farfetch reported dismal Q2 2023 financial results and slashed its FY 2023 revenue guidance. The company missed market revenue consensus estimates by about $78 million and slashed its FY revenue guidance by approximately $400 million. Farfetch attributed its disastrous performance to significant growth slowdowns in the U.S. and China, onboarding challenges affecting the launch of its Reebok partnership, and inventory and shipping issues.In response, the price of Farfetch shares crashed about 45% lower on Aug. 18, 2023, wiping out over $700 million of shareholder value. In addition, the news prompted several analysts to downgrade the stock."We're focused on investors' losses and investigating whether senior management hid Farfetch's growth and partnership problems," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Farfetch and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses now. If you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Farfetch case and our investigation, read more Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Farfetch should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email FTCH@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Attorney advertising.Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.Contact: Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-12-09 00:30:15

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TAMPA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / MEDFINITI B.V. and its U.S. subsidiaries, MEDFINITI, Inc. and HemWell MD LLC, are excited to announce the introduction of HemWell, a revolutionary electrosurgical medical device which transforms the approach to hemorrhoid treatment. This state-of-the-art device is engineered to provide a minimally invasive, pain-free solution, marking a significant leap forward in patient care and experience.HemWell is uniquely designed to address the needs of millions suffering from hemorrhoids. It offers a seamless and comfortable treatment experience, minimizing the discomfort and recovery time often associated with traditional methods."Developing HemWell was a journey driven by our commitment to patient wellness and the pursuit of better healthcare solutions," said Michael Goeree, Founder & Chairman of MEDFINITI. "Our device is not just an advancement in technology; it's a new hope for those suffering from this common yet often overlooked condition." Dr. Stephen Goldman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at MEDFINITI, added, "The success stories we've witnessed with HemWell are a testament to our dedication. We're bringing a much-needed change to hemorrhoid treatment, focusing on patient comfort and efficacy." The patented and FDA-approved (USA) and soon CE-MDR-approved (Europe) HemWell is designed for ease of use and effectiveness, reducing the need for invasive procedures. Its innovative technology targets the problem at its source, ensuring a faster and more comfortable recovery and all-round better patient experience.MEDFINITI invites healthcare professionals and patients to discover more about HemWell and its benefits. For investor information about MEDFINITI and/or HemWell, further information just about HemWell, or to schedule a HemWell demonstration, please contact:Ms. Jennifer Ellerman, HemWell MD LLCPhone: +1-813-775-6171Email: info@ hemwellmd.comWebsites: SOURCE: Medfiniti B.V.
Families were cheated: Low-income Americans will receive $40M over chicken and tuna 'price-fixing conspiracies'  here's what happened

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson has added a feather to his cap: he has successfully sued the nations largest chicken and tuna producers for engaging in practices he believes caused families to overpay by millions of dollars.

After reaching legal resolutions with 15 major chicken producers and four big tuna companies  all accused of inflating and manipulating prices  Fergusons office is now returning $40.6 million in restitution to approximately 402,200 low-income Washington households.

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About 134,000 single-person households will receive $50 checks. And 268,000 multi-person households will receive $120 checks.

When powerful interests break the law and harm Washingtonians, my office holds them accountable, and prioritizes getting money back to those who were most impacted, Ferguson said. Washington families were cheated by corporate price-fixing conspiracies they knew nothing about.

Conspiracy in the coop

Ferguson filed a lawsuit against 19 chicken producers  who account for approximately 95% of chickens sold for consumption in the U.S.  in 2021, accusing them of engaging in a wide-ranging illegal conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize profits.

At the time, he commented: If youve eaten chicken in the last decade, this conspiracy touched your wallet. This conspiracy cost middle-class and low-income Washington families more money to put food on their table. I will hold these companies accountable for the profits they illegally made off the backs of hardworking Washington families.

The Attorney Generals Office conducted an extensive investigation, through which it claims to have uncovered an industry-wide effort to restrain chicken production through the exchange of competitively sensitive information, signals during investor calls and direct coordination between players in the industry. The authorities assert that all 19 chicken producers egged each other on to drive up the price of chicken since at least 2008.

Story continues

On Dec. 6, Ferguson announced his office had received $35.5 million through legal resolutions with 15 of the major chicken producers  including giants like Tyson Foods, Pilgrims Pride and Perdue Farms.

A trial against the remaining co-conspirators  Foster Farms, Wayne-Sanderson Farms and House of Raeford Farms  is scheduled for October 2024.

Read more: Owning real estate for passive income is one of the biggest myths in investing  but here's how you can actually make it work

Catching the big tuna

Washington also won $5.1 million from similar cases against big tuna companies  including a a $4.1 million resolution with StarKist, a $500,000 resolution with Chicken of the Sea, a $100,000 resolution with former Bumble Bee Tuna CEO Christopher Lischewski, and $450,000 in sanctions against StarKists parent company, Dongwon.

The tuna lawsuit, which Ferguson filed in 2020, accused executives of secretly exchanging internal company policies and data with the aim of manipulating the market.

Specifically, Lischewski was accused of complaining to the other big tunas that canned tuna was too cheap and he wanted to hike the price for consumers. Two of his subordinates testified that he gave a very clear, direct order to fix canned tuna prices.

When Ferguson filed the lawsuit in 2020, he said: We cannot have a free market when corporate titans are able to tip the scales to their own bank accounts. Washingtonians lost millions as a result of this corporate greed. I intend to get that back for them.

Easing the financial strain

To help low-income families impacted by these price gouging scandals, the Attorney Generals Office is sending checks to every Washington household whose income is at or below 175% of the federal poverty level.

The first round of checks were sent on Dec. 5 and the rest will be sent before Dec. 31. In total, more than 1.2 million Washingtonians, or approximately 15% of the state population, reside in households receiving checks.

Now those who felt this gouging most severely are receiving checks from my office, said Ferguson. The holiday season puts a financial strain on families, and we hope Washingtonians are helped by these checks.

If you think you're entitled to a check but haven't recevied one as of the end of 2023, visit refundcheck.atg.wa.gov and complete a short claim form.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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NEWPORT BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / Morpheus8 is a breakthrough new skin treatment that helps to attain a smoother and more youthful appearance. Also known as "Morpheus 8" it happens to be the latest trend and innovation in skincare. It combines microneedling and radiofrequency technology, penetrating deep into the skin to stimulate collagen production and improve elasticity. Patients can now unlock an exciting new path to revitalized, refreshed, and younger-looking skin.A patient having a skin care consultation to see if Morpheus8 is right for them. Image Credit: Georgerudy / 123RF."Morpheus8 is a skin treatment that uses radiofrequency waves and tiny needles. This innovative new method is superior to others because it combinesMorpheus8 microneedling with radiofrequency energy. It goes deep into the skin to enhance results and build collagen. The treatment can improve wrinkles, scars, fine lines and big pores on the face, neck, or body," said Dr. Brandon Richland, MD.Dr. Richland is a well-known and respected Licensed Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon in Newport Beach / Orange County / Southern California that specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries. He is dedicated to helping both women and men look and feel their absolute best.Morpheus8 or Morpheus 8: What is it?"Morpheus8" is the correct name, and it is a new skin treatment that uses a special tool. This tool sends radio waves into your skin. These waves help boost the making of collagen. Collagen helps keep our skin firm and smooth.Morpheus8 is generally safe to use with an experienced operator. It does not hurt much and can be done in one day at the qualified doctor's office. Patient results can vary depending on many factors.Understanding Morpheus8Morpheus8 is a state-of-the-art cosmetic treatment that harnesses the power of microneedling and radiofrequency energy to rejuvenate the skin. By creating tiny microchannels in the deeper layers of the skin, Morpheus8 stimulates the body's natural healing process, producing fresh collagen and elastin. At the same time, the treatment uses controlled radiofrequency energy to target specific layers of the skin, resulting in tighter and more radiant skin.For individuals seeking to improve the appearance of wrinkles, scars, and sagging skin, combining microneedling with radiofrequency therapy can offer significantly better results. Applying both therapies can effectively enhance collagen production, leading to a revitalized, firmer, and healthier-looking skin.Benefits of Morpheus8Morpheus8 provides individuals with an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a facelift without undergoing surgery. This treatment is especially helpful for those seeking gradual and scarless skin correction. Morpheus8 offers several significant advantages, including:Smoother Skin TextureMorpheus8 helps to make skin smooth. It does this by making the skin tighter. The use of tiny needles and heat energy gets rid of rough spots on your skin. Not only does it take away scars, but it also makes stretch marks less visible.Reduction in Pore SizeMorpheus8 makes pores smaller. Smaller pores make the skin look smooth and young. The secret is in how Morpheus8 works with your skin and fat. It tightens loose skin, which shrinks big pores.Improved Collagen ProductionMorpheus8 gives you better collagen production. More collagen means fewer lines and wrinkles. Collagen is the part that keeps skin looking full, young, and smooth. It makes up a network in your skin.As we age, collagen production breaks down. That can make our skin sag and not look as smooth anymore. Morpheus8 helps rebuild this network again by going deep into the layers of your skin to boost new collagen growth naturally.Image Credit: Yacobchuk / 123RF.Areas Treated by Morpheus8The Morpheus8 treatment can be applied to various areas, including the face, neck, and body parts; it's versatile and compatible with all skin types and tones.Face, Neck, and BodyAddresses various skin issues such as loose skin, wrinkles, scars, and acne on the face, neck, and body. It can provide a lift to your cheeks and smooth out your eyelids, while also being effective in shaping up your belly area.The after care process is simple, and it is normal to experience some redness or swelling after the treatment. Compared to other treatments, Morpheus8 has a fast bounce-back time, so you won't need to hide at home for long after the procedure.Suitable for All Skin Types and TonesMorpheus8 is a friend to all skin types and tones. It has colorblind technology that fits even the darkest skins. This means anyone can use it, no matter their skin type or tone. It's good for diverse skin tones and different skin types. Its wide range of skin tone suitability makes Morpheus8 an all inclusive skin treatment option.Achieving Your Skin Goals with Morpheus8Morpheus8 is an innovative microneedling treatment that can help patients achieve their desired skin goals. During a Morpheus8 session, a handheld microneedling device with ultra thin needles creates micro lesions in the deep layers of the skin. This stimulates your body's natural collagen induction therapy process, where the body heals itself by producing fresh and new collagen.With its unique combination of microneedling and RF energy, Morpheus8 is a minimally invasive option that can improve various skin concerns without the need for surgical procedures. It is commonly performed on the face and neck to reduce signs of aging like nasolabial folds, but can also be used on the body to treat issues like acne scarring or excess fat on the abdomen or thighs.During your consultation, your board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon will assess your skin and determine the optimal results you can achieve with Morpheus8. They will discuss how many treatments may be needed to reach your desired outcome, as most patients see the full effects after 3 to 6 sessions done a few weeks apart.Top Questions Patients Ask About Morpheus8 Skin Treatment1. What is Morpheus8 Skin Treatment?Morpheus8 is a new skin treatment that uses radiofrequency energy to improve the look and feel of your skin. Is an effective treatment that yields visible results, with significant improvements in skin tone and texture becoming evident within a few weeks post-treatment. These rejuvenating effects usually last for about a year, highlighting the treatment's exceptional durability in revitalizing the skin's appearance.2. How Does Morpheus8 Work?Morpheus8 works by using tiny needles and heat to boost collagen creation in your skin, which helps make it smoother and firmer. Before starting Morpheus8, a topical numbing cream is applied to maximize comfort. During the treatment smal
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors Company ("GM" or the "Company") (NYSE:GM) and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, and docketed under 23-cv-13132, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired GM securities between February 2, 2022 and October 26, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired GM securities during the Class Period, you have until February 6, 2024, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.[Click here for information about joining the class action]GM is an automotive manufacturing company that designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts worldwide. The Company markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.Cruise LLC ("Cruise") is GM's majority-owned global segment responsible for the development and commercialization of autonomous vehicle ("AV")-i.e., driverless-technology. Cruise has secured various testing and driving permits for its AVs on the ostensible premise that those AVs were sufficiently safe for such purposes.Since at least as early as November 2020, GM's products have been the subject of multiple recalls because of defective airbag components in the Company's vehicles, exposing the Company to various global lawsuits. Nevertheless, GM has consistently downplayed safety concerns related to its vehicles' airbags and the need to record additional warranty accruals for related product recalls, while touting the Company's efforts to identify and address perceived defects with its vehicles' airbag inflators.Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) GM downplayed concerns with its vehicles' airbags and the need to record additional warranty accruals for related product recalls; (ii) GM overstated the extent and efficacy of its efforts to analyze defects in its vehicles' airbag inflators; (iii) Cruise's AVs and/or AV technology were less safe and well-developed than Defendants had led investors, regulators, and the general public to believe; (iv) accordingly, regulatory approval of Cruise's AV products was unsustainable and the prospects for widespread regulatory approval and adoption of Cruise's AV products were overstated; (v) all the foregoing subjected GM to an increased risk of governmental and/or regulatory scrutiny and enforcement action, significant legal liabilities, product recalls, and reputational harm; and (vi) as a result, Defendants' public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times.On October 2, 2023, NBC Bay Area reported that a pedestrian suffered major injuries after she was run over by and pinned beneath a driverless Cruise AV. NBC Bay Area further reported that Cruise was cooperating with law enforcement regarding the incident.On this news, GM's stock price fell $1.09 per share, or 3.36%, to close at $31.38 per share on October 3, 2023.On October 5, 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held a public hearing to recommend a recall of more than 50 million airbag inflators that have been linked to potentially deadly explosions. Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal ("WSJ") subsequently reported that at least 20 million of GM's vehicles were built with the defective airbag inflators in question, at least one of which had led to a confirmed fatality.On this news, GM's stock price fell $0.73 per share, or 2.35%, to close at $30.31 per share on October 5, 2023.On October 24, 2023, the California Department of Motor Vehicles ("California DMV") issued a statement announcing the immediate suspension of Cruise's deployment and driverless testing permits. In suspending Cruise's permits, the California DMV cited, among other issues, that Cruise "ha[d] misrepresented . . . information related to [the] safety of the autonomous technology of its vehicles." On this news, GM's stock price fell $0.66 per share, or 2.26%, to close at $28.56 per share on October 24, 2023.Then, on October 26, 2023, Cruise announced via a post on X (formerly Twitter) that it would pause all of its AV operations across the country "while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and reflect on how we can better operate in a way that will earn public trust." On this news, GM's stock price fell $1.33 per share, or 4.66%, to close at $27.22 per share on October 27, 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 Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
Five-year-old Fatsuma Zubairu sat glumly on a bed in a ward at the Noma Childrens Hospital in Sokoto State. A gaping wound has impaired her delicate features and her lips are hanging, exposing her teeth.

Fatsuma was brought to the hospital by her mother, Aisha Zubairu, from Bagwai LGA in Kano State, after weeks of fruitless attempts to seek treatment for the condition.

Persistent itchiness in her mouth, gnawing pain and unusual bleeding of her gums were the initial symptoms Fatsuma exhibited, but unknown to her mother, those were only the beginning of her cruel fate.

Within a few days, the childs cheeks began to swell and an open wound emerged, rapidly spreading its sinister influence. Within a short period, the disease known as noma had unleashed its merciless assault on Fatsumas face.

By the time she was presented to the hospital, her infant face had been scarred.

The problem started recently, and we were advised to go to Kano town, but unfortunately, they couldnt offer such treatment. So they referred us to this hospital in Sokoto, her mother, Aisha, said when PREMIUM TIMES visited in August.

Dangerous disease

Noma, also known as Cancrum Oris, is a preventable and treatable disease that affects poor people, especially young children, and is associated with malnutrition and unsanitary living conditions. Mostly, it affects people in isolated communities who have limited access to healthcare and vaccinations.

The disease starts as an inflammation of the gums, similar to a small mouth ulcer.

But in just two weeks the infection starts to destroy bone and tissue, potentially affecting the jaw, lips, cheeks, nose, or eyes.

When left untreated, noma claims the lives of between 70 and 90 per cent of those affected while survivors are left with varying degrees of facial deformities, significantly impairing their smiles, facial appearances, speech, and other functions, depending on the extent of facial damage.

The disease spreads among children from impoverished families who have limited access to dental care, suffer from low immunity due to malnutrition and are presented late to the hospital. Also, sharing the same source of drinking water with animals can expose them to harmful bacteria.

The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) health advisor for Nigeria, Mark Sherlock, said there are very few infectious diseases with such a high death rate.

Mr Sherlock said people die from noma because of limited knowledge about the disease and how to detect it.

Origin, statistics

Noma is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, though cases have been detected in the US, Southeast Asia, and South America. It has been recognised for more than 1,000 years but emerged in Europe in concentration camps during the Second World War.

Research and data on noma are scarce, making it impossible to know the number of existing cases globally. However, some estimates put it at 30,000 to 40,000 a year.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated in 1998 that there may be up to 140,000 cases a year, and 770,000 survivors of the disease.

While Nigeria does not have an official figure, most cases of the disease are found in the northern part of the country due to the higher prevalence of risk factors in the region.

More noma cases

Just like Fatsuma, six-year-old Zainab Abdulnasir is also suffering from the impact of noma. Zainab, who was brought to the hospital by her mother, Fatima Adam, is one of many children in the ward at the Noma Treatment Centre in Sokoto.

Ms Adam said her daughters situation started with normal teeth pain.

Then we went to a dentist, they checked and told us the teeth had not reached a point to be removed, but that the affected area had started swelling, though still strong. They asked us to go back home.

Ms Adam explained that after all their attempts to treat the disease failed, they were referred to the Sokoto centre from Abuja.

We were first referred to a hospital in Suleja in Niger State, then to Gwagwalada hospital in Abuja, and finally they referred us to the Noma Childrens Hospital in Sokoto.

She lamented that the disease has left her daughters face disfigured and scary to others.

Auwalu Yahuza, a resident of Illela LGA of Sokoto, was also undergoing treatment at the Sokoto centre. His mother explained that an unnamed person directed them to the centre after many months of trying to get help.

Charles Ononiwu, a maxillofacial surgeon, said the spread of noma is rapid and causes damage within two weeks, including leading to death.

Mr Ononiwu, who is also the Coordinator of Noma Aid Nigeria Initiative (NANI), explained that only about 10 per cent of children with this disease survive, and they always end up with severe facial deformities.

Although this disease primarily affects children, it can also affect adults, he said.

It affects children from two to six years, which is actually the peak period, but it can also occur in older children and even adults if the predisposing factors are present, he said.

50-year-old Mallama Takaso is one such adult suffering from noma. Ms Takaso, a resident of Tunga Rini in Bagudo Local Government Area of Kebbi State, is also receiving treatment at the moma centre in Sokoto.

According to a nurse, Ms Takaso is awaiting surgery.

Risk factors, presentation

Shafiu Isah, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital in Sokoto, emphasised that the underlying cause of noma is poverty, saying impoverished families struggle to provide their children with the necessary resources for healthy growth.

Mr Isah explained that the lack of access to clean drinking water, quality healthcare, and nutritious food are also contributory factors, which he noted predominantly affect those residing in remote communities with inadequate basic amenities.

He said the eradication of poverty is essential to defeating noma, as improved living conditions and better nutrition can enhance childrens immunity against the infection.

Vaccination is another critical preventive measure. Measles is often a precursor to noma, so ensuring that children receive proper vaccination is crucial, he said.

He emphasised the importance of early reporting and urged parents and guardians to seek medical attention promptly if they notice symptoms of noma in their children.

Mr Isah lamented that about 90 per cent of cases are presented to the hospital at a late stage, with severe flesh deterioration, discharges and an offensive odour. At this advanced stage, treatment options are limited, but efforts are made to save lives and salvage what remains of the patients face.

Mr Ononiwu, the maxillofacial surgeon, stressed the importance of immediate reporting to a healthcare facility if early symptoms, such as mouth ulcers, are observed.

He said when presented at very early stages, the disease can be prevented from progressing to facial destruction.

Noma is a disease of poverty, so the majority of people who present with such cases lack the resources needed to effectively manage the disease, he said.

Neglected disease

Despite years of campaigns by medical organisations and government, noma is yet to be included in WHOs list of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD).

This may however change soon because of moves led by the Nigerian government.

In late January, the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria, supported by 30 member states from five WHO regions, submitted a dossier on noma requesting the formal recognition of noma as an NTD.

The request for nomas inclusion on the WHOs list is in line with the resolution on oral health adopted in 2021 at the 74th World Health Assembly, recommending that noma should be considered for inclusion in the NTD portfolio as soon as the list is reviewed in 2023.

According to WHO, NTDs are diseases that disproportionately affect people living in poverty and cause significant morbidity and mortality, including stigma and discrimination, justifying a global response. They are also described as diseases that primarily affect people living in tropical and sub-tropical areas, but that are immediately amenable to broad control, elimination or eradication by applying one or more of the five public health strategies adopted by the Department for Control of NTDs, but relatively neglected by research.

Shuaibu Musa, a consultant paediatrician at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna State, said noma is a neglected disease suffering from a lack of attention from the community, healthcare providers, and the government at large.

Mr Musa explained that noma is not widely recognised, even in regions where it is prevalent. Hence, many people, including healthcare professionals, may not be familiar with the disease, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment.

He also said, compared to other diseases, noma receives significantly less research funding and attention. This lack of research means there is limited understanding of the diseases causes, risk factors and effective treatment strategies.

Healthcare facilities in areas with high noma prevalence may lack the necessary resources, including trained healthcare professionals and medical equipment, to diagnose and treat the disease adequately.

Nomas status as a neglected disease underscores the urgent need for increased awareness, research, and investment in prevention and treatment efforts to alleviate the suffering of affected individuals and communities.

In a statement published on its website, the MSF health advisor for Nigeria, Mr Sherlock, said the inclusion of noma in the list would shine a spotlight on the most neglected of neglected diseases.

Mr Sherlock said this will facilitate the integration of noma prevention and treatment activities into existing public health programmes and the allocation of much-needed resources.

We want children to be screened in endemic countries for noma from the first sign of symptoms when lives can still be saved. Noma is a disease that should no longer exist, he said.

Rejection, stigmatisation

Many noma patients experience stigmatisation for the rest of their lives, especially those unable to undergo facial surgery. Often, such individuals hide in their homes or live in isolation to avoid interaction with their communities.

One such person is 20-year-old Muhammad Usman, a resident of Dapchi in Bursari Local Government Area of Yobe State. Mr Usman revealed that the disease began when he was much younger and that his father tried to get proper treatment for him. He recalled that at the early stage of the disease, his father took him to a hospital in Maiduguri, where he stayed for about three months.

The medication at the hospital mostly relieved the pain, but the disease kept growing, so we left and went back to the village, he said.

He explained that a resident in his community informed him about the treatment centre, where he eventually had a successful operation.

Despite the operation, Mr Usman expressed deep sadness due to the damage the disease had caused to his face.

I dont feel happy at all. Im always in isolation because I cannot interact with people freely. I cannot eat in public.

Mr Musa, the consultant paediatrician, said people affected by the disease often face stigma and discrimination due to being disfigured by the disease.

He said this could lead to isolation and reluctance to seek medical care or share their experiences, further contributing to the diseases obscurity.

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has refused to release his academic records, despite himself this year sending his lawyers all the way to the United States to legally force Chicago State University (CSU) to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu.

PREMIUM TIMES had, through a letter dated 3 October, 2023, requested Atiku to provide copies of the academic certificates he obtained from primary school up to the university, including Masters degree certificate, as claimed in his filing to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) when he ran in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections. He ran on both occasions as candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Seven weeks after the letter and without a response from the former vice president, PREMIUM TIMES, on 14 November, 2023, sent him a reminder dated 13 November.

PREMIUM TIMES sent copies of both the original letter and the reminder to Atikus residence in the highbrow Asokoro area and to his media office at the Central Business District, both in Abuja, where they were received and acknowledged. Our courier service providers returned proofs of delivery to our headquarters.

PREMIUM TIMES also spoke with Atikus spokesperson, Paul Ibe, who promised to ensure a prompt response to the request.

Yet, Atiku did not reply to the letter or make the requested information available to the public through other channels.

Request for Atikus academic records

In the letter, PREMIUM TIMES stated: We respectfully congratulate Your Excellency on your success in obtaining the academic records of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the Chicago State University after a valiant legal battle at the United States District Court, Northern Illinois.

Your stated reason for the pursuit of the documents is to support your challenge of the authenticity of the certificate presented by President Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 25 February, 2023 presidential election.

We also see it as a patriotic endeavour to set high ethical standards for Nigerian public figures, in particular those seeking high public offices, and to promote the noble principles of transparency and honesty in the conduct of public affairs in our country.

We find it especially commendable that you have chosen to do this through the judicial route, thus again cementing your reputation as a democrat and an adherent to due process.

It is in the same interest of transparency that we hereby respectfully request your own academic records.

Making the records available to us will demonstrate that you did not demand from your opponent what you are not willing to give.

Sir, what we seek from you are your admission records, transcripts and certificates from all the academic institutions that you attended at home and abroad, including for the award of a Masters degree.

To raise even higher the bar of transparency and moral exemplariness, Your Excellency may wish to add your employment and business records as well.

Atikus dogged pursuit of Tinubus CSU records

Atiku had accused his rival in the 2023 presidential election, Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of forgery of a certificate from the American university. Atiku had questioned the copy.of the Chicago State University (CSU) certificate Mr Tinubu presented to INEC as evidence of his educational qualification to run for the highest political office in Nigeria.

Arguing that he needed the documents to strengthen his case at the Supreme Court after the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) dismissed his petition against the election of the president, Atiku persuaded the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to order CSU to release to his representatives the academic records of Mr Tinubu, who claimed to have graduated from the university with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration.

On 19 September, Jeffrey Gilbert, a US magistrate judge, granted the request and ordered CSU to release the records within 24 hours. Although Mr Tinubu filed an appeal against the order, a judge, Nancy Maldonado, dismissed the objection, concurring that Atiku had the right to access the records.

However, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in its judgement on 26 October in which it entirely dismissed Atikus appeal, refused to admit the documents from the US in evidence on the ground that Atiku did not plead the allegation of forgery in his petition to the election tribunal. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain evidence not tendered before the lower court

Atiku decries Supreme Court judgement

Speaking at a press conference four days later, a disappointed Atiku decried the judgement, saying the Supreme Court had legitimised illegality, including forgery, identity theft, and perjury.

He said: If the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, implies by its judgment that crime is good and should be rewarded, then Nigeria has lost and the country is doomed irrespective of who occupies the Presidential seat.

Atiku also said the judgement implied that the Supreme Court saw nothing wrong in INEC telling the public one thing and doing something else in order to reach a corruptly predetermined outcome. He added, then there is really no hope for the countrys democracy and electoral politics.

Obviously, the consequences of those decisions for the country will not end at the expiration of the current government. They will last for decades. I am absolutely sure that history will vindicate me.

It is not about me; it is about our country, Nigeria. It is about the kind of society we want to leave for the next generation and what kind of example we want to set for our children and their children.

It is about the reputation of Nigeria and Nigerians in the eyes of the world, the former vice president also said.

Atikus campaign for transparency

Despite the matter deriving from an election petition, PREMIUM TIMES sees Atikus demand on Mr Tinubu to make public the details of his claimed academic records to be in accordance with the need for people seeking leadership positions in the country to demonstrate high standards of probity, transparency and accountability.

However, when PREMIUM TIMES asked him to demonstrate his own commitment to the same standards by being open with his own academic records, the two-time PDP presidential candidate demurred.

Although he has been seeking to lead Nigeria for over 30 years, during which he held the second highest political office in the country for eight years, gaps remain in the public knowledge about Atilus early life and education.

Biography

According to open source records, Atiku, who was born on 25 November 1946, was enrolled in Jada Primary School in now Adamawa State at the age of eight. In 1960, he was admitted into Adamawa Provincial Secondary School, graduating from the school in 1965 with grade three in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

Atiku was admitted to the Nigeria Police College in Kaduna but was forced to leave after being unable to present an O-Level Mathematics result. Thereafter, according to his profile on Wikipedia, he worked briefly as a Tax Officer in the Regional Ministry of Finance, from where he gained admission to the School of Hygiene in Kano in 1966.

He graduated with a Diploma in 1967, having served as Interim Student Union President at the school. In 1967, he enrolled for a Law Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration, on a scholarship from the regional government. After graduation in 1969, during the Nigerian Civil War, he was employed by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Siddiq controversy

In the heat of his pursuit of the academic records of President Tinubu, Atikus own records came under controversy when it was revealed that his WAEC certificate had been awarded to a Siddiq Abubakar.

Providing clarifications, his spokesperson, Paul Ibe, said Atiku sat the secondary school certificate examination as Sadiq Abubakar, but later swore to an affidavit to state that Sadiq and Atiku are the same person.

He added that Atiku studied at ABU and worked in the Federal Civil Service Commission and the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar..

It is on record that the change of name of the former Vice President reverting to Atiku Abubakar from Siddiq Abubakar is well documented in an affidavit dated 18th of August 1973, spanning over 50 years, is in the public domain, Mr Ibe said in a press statement.

For the purpose of clarification, all the names that Atiku Abubakar bears are names that are traceable to his family tree.

He adopted Atiku Abubakar as his official name while in the employ of the Nigeria Customs Service. Atikus life is an open book, his spokesperson said.

However, by ignoring repeated requests by PREMIUM TIMES for his academic records, Atiku curiously appears to be reluctant to allow the independent media to read certain aspects of the open book.

Like Atiku, like Trump

Atikus reluctance to release his own academic records for scrutiny, despite fighting doggedly to put those of a political rival in the public domain, is similar to the attitude exhibited by former American President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump was a prominent figure in the birther movement  a loose affiliation of people who claimed that his immediate predecessor, President Barack Obama, was born outside the US and was therefore not qualified to run for the office of president.

In October 2012, Mr Trump accused Mr Obama of being the least transparent president in the history of this country for refusing to release his birth certificate and passport records.

We know very little about our president, Mr Trump said at the time. In a YouTube video, Mr Trump said he would donate $5 million to a charity of Mr Obamas choosing if the then president released his college records and applications and passport applications and records.

Following the statement, The UK Guardian newspaper asked Mr Trump for his own birth certificate and passport records. But Michael Cohen, the executive vice-president at the Trump Organisation and special counsel for Mr Trump at the time, accused the newspaper of trying to be funny and said the request was stupid given Mr Trumps then lack of political aspirations.

Whats your point? Mr Cohen said. Mr Trumps not the president of the United States and hes not running for the presidency, The Guardian later recalled

However, when Mr Trump ran for president in 2015 and The Guardian again contacted his campaign to request the records, a spokesperson refused to share the documents.

In the 2015 report, the newspaper stated: Now that Trump himself is running for president  in his campaign announcement he promised to crack down on Mexico, which he accused of sending rapists to the US  the refusal to release these documents could be seen as hypocritical. If Trump were to win the presidency in November 2016, without publishing the documentation, then he would by his own definition join Obama as being the least transparent president in the history of this country.

Atikus refusal to release his own records, despite demanding that standard from Mr Tinubu, seems hypocritical as well.

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Saturday, resorted to pouring invective on PREMIUM TIMES over the newspapers request for his academic records and subsequent report on his failure to release them.

Atiku, through his media aide, Paul Ibe, reacted in a statement only few hours after the story was published on Saturday.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election had ignored this newspapers request for over two months.

PREMIUM TIMES first made the request in a letter dated 3 October, and when he did not respond after seven weeks, sent a reminder to him on 13 November. His media adviser, Mr Ibe, assured of a prompt response, making PREMIUM TIMES to wait further for almost four weeks before publishing Saturdays report.

For the period after this newspaper sent the reminder, Mr Ibe and his principal made no comment on the issue until Saturday when they baselessly accused the newspaper of a witch-hunt.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on Saturday his refusal to release his records as requested.

The report contrasted his attitude with his dogged pursuit of the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to as far as the United States a few months ago.

Atiku, claiming to be driven by his commitment to public probity and accountability, sent lawyers to the U.S. to have a court to compel the Chicago State University to release Mr Tinubus academic records.

Our report also drew parallels between Atikus attitude and former U.S. President Donald Trumps prevarication, dodging the requests by UK Guardian newspaper for his birth records as he had earlier demanded of his predecessor, then President Barack Obama.

Reacting to PREMIUM TIMES report on Saturday, Atiku said the newspaper had no right to conduct an enquiry into his records which he said were neither controversial nor shrouded in secrecy.

Atiku, instead of responding to why he had failed to provide the documents, accused the newspaper of mischief and unprofessionalism.

He also claimed that the story was fictional.

Without adherence to any known ethics of journalism, the Premium Times newspaper went into its mill to publish a story that is neither controversial nor shrouded in a cover-up, Mr Ibe, wrote in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.

Atiku claimed that all the documents requested were in the public and that the newspaper should have requested them from the electoral commission, INEC, and the institutions where he claimed to have graduated from.

Atiku is an alumnus of both Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. Premium Times did not place an order for Atikus academic records with these reputable institutions, nor did Atiku stop the school or go to court to ask any of these schools not to release his records. Premium Times is also at liberty to write to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) demanding for a copy of the former Vice Presidents certificate and transcript.

Against expectations, Atiku did not accompany his statement with the requested documents on Saturday.

He baselessly accused the newspaper of protecting the interest of the Tinubu administration.

He said: The ethics of journalism seeks to establish the truth when there is a dispute about it or when there is a deliberate cover-up that inhibits public interest.

What the Premium Times has done in this case keeps faith in neither of these two precepts. The story in reference by Premium Times is nothing other than witch-hunt  and a callous one at that.

Were the publishers of the Premium Times stable interested in the truth, it would have been more honourable for them to start their busybody foray into politicians academic records by interrogating the discoveries from the Chicago State University. They certainly refrained from that engagement for the obvious reason that a parent owner of the newspaper occupies a critical seat in the current government.

And, then, we ask the question: What manner of a newspaper sets out to protect the interest of a government but is very willing to embark on a wild goose chase on a private citizen?

PREMIUM TIMES challenges Atiku to name parent owner in govt.

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES has challenged Atiku to name its parent owner he claimed to be serving in the President Tinubu administration.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar should be bold enough to name the person he claimed to be a parent owner of our newspaper that occupies a critical seat in the current government. We dare him to name the person, the Editor-in-Chief of PREMIUM TIMES, Musikilu Mojeed, said in reaction to Atikus baseless claim on Saturday.

It is unfortunate that at his level, he can make an allegation of this nature publicly without any proof whatsoever. Much more is expected from people aspiring to lead a country like Nigeria.

This year, the former Vice President sent his lawyers to the United States to legally force Chicago State University (CSU) to release the academic records of President Tinubu, whose election he disputed but lost in court.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) said it has secured the release of two females among the abducted prospective corps members who were kidnapped in Zamfara on their way to the orientation camp in Sokoto.

The NYSC spokesperson, Eddy Megwa, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

The two women had spent about 106 days in captivity, apparently because their family could not raise the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

They were among the eight prospective corps members who were abducted in August in Zamfara by gunmen while on their way from Uyo, Akwa Ibom, to Sokoto. They were going for the one-year national service.

Their bus driver was also abducted.

According to Mr Megwa, the latest development brings the number of freed prospective corps members to four.

Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining four, the statement added.

It quoted the NYSC Director-General, Yushau Ahmed, a brigadier-general, as assuring the public, especially parents of the remaining four abductees, that the scheme, in conjunction with security agencies, will explore every available strategy to ensure their release.

NYSC management also wishes to appreciate the overwhelming support received from the Nigerian Army in the concerted efforts towards securing the release of the abducted prospective corps members, the statement added.

It reiterated the schemes determination to remain resolute in its statutory responsibility of fostering national unity and integration.

Kidnapping for ransom has become one of the dominant crimes in several Nigerian cities.

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Two former Sokoto State commissioners during ex-governor, Aminu Tambuwal administration, testified on Friday before the State Judicial Commission of Inquiry regarding an alleged memorandum on the monetisation of official vehicles to the chairpersons of the 23 former Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The memorandum in question revealed that in 2023, brand new Toyota Hilux vehicles (2020 model) were purportedly monetised to the former chairmen under the guise of Sokoto States Monetisation Policy.

Former commissioners, Ali Inname, and Abdullahi Maigwandu, responsible for Finance and Local Government Affairs, respectively, provided their testimonies before the commission led by Justice Muazu Pindiga.

The commission, inaugurated by the current administration, aims to investigate government asset sales and auctions from 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023.

Mustapha Shehu, the former state chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and ex-Sokoto North LGA chairman, also testified on the memo.

READ ALSO:

The witnesses explained the circumstances surrounding the alleged monetisation, addressing concerns about the legality of such actions.

The commissions counsel Amanzi Amanzi, while addressing journalists, announced that the 23 LGA chairmen from the previous administration were summoned to testify as witnesses on 12 December.

Mr Amanzi emphasised that although monetising vehicles to outgoing officials is a longstanding tradition in the state, the commission deems it necessary to examine its legality.

The commission of inquiry is of the opinion that monetisation of vehicles is not legal, and regardless of its historical practice, what is illegal remains illegal, he stated.

The counsel clarified that the process aims to determine the actual purchase price of the vehicles and investigate whether there were legitimate grounds for the alleged monetisation.

Meanwhile, the commission has adjourned until December 12, to allow all former 23 local government chairmen to present their justifications on the memo.

(NAN)

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The United States kept up pressure on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians during a fierce offensive against Hamas militants across Gaza, even as Washington vetoed a UN Security Council demand for an immediate ceasefire.

Fighting escalated and the Palestinian death toll rose on Friday, with Israel pounding the enclave from north to south in an expanded phase of the two-month-old war against the Islamist group Hamas.

Decrying a spiralling humanitarian nightmare, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that nowhere in Gaza was safe for civilians, hours before the US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the vast majority of its members calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The vote left Washington diplomatically isolated on the 15-member council.

Thirteen members voted in favour of the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council: We do not support this resolutions call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war.

The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire, saying it would only benefit Hamas, which Israel has vowed to annihilate in response to the militants deadly Oct. 7 cross-border rampage.

Washington instead supports pauses like the seven-day halt in fighting that saw Hamas release some hostages and the humanitarian aid flow increase.

The deal broke down on 1 December.

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told the council the vote means that millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance.

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas political bureau, condemned the US veto as inhumane.

Israels UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement: A ceasefire will be possible only with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas.

In Washington, the White House on Friday said more could be done by Israel to reduce civilian casualties and the U.S. shared international concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

We certainly all recognise more can be done to try to reduce civilian casualties, White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sharpened Washingtons language, saying it was imperative that Israel took steps to safeguard Gazas civilian population.

And there does remain a gap betweenthe intent to protect civilians and the actual results that were seeing on the ground, he told a news conference.

READ ALSO:

Describing the situation as at a breaking point, Mr Guterres said the collapse of Gazas humanitarian system could result in a complete breakdown of public order.

Most Gazans are now displaced, hospitals overrun, and food running out.

Residents and the Israeli military both reported intensified fighting in both northern areas, where Israel had previously said its troops had largely completed their tasks last month, and in the south where they mounted a new assault this week.

Gazas health ministry reported 350 people killed on Thursday, and on Friday it said the death toll from Israels campaign in Gaza had risen to 17,487.

More strikes were reported on Friday in Khan Younis in the south, the Nusseirat camp in the centre, and Gaza City in the north.

On Friday evening, residents reported intensified Israeli tank fire in north Gaza, while health officials said at least 10 people were killed in an air strike on a house in Khan Younis.

Israels military said 94 Israeli soldiers had been killed fighting in Gaza since its ground invasion of the densely populated enclave began in mid-October in retaliation for Hamas rampage in southern Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 240 hostages.

An Israeli commander, Dan Goldfuss, said in a video message recorded in Khan Younis that his forces were fighting house to house and shaft to shaft, a reference to tunnel shafts.

As he spoke, gunshots rang out in the background.

Since the Israeli military campaign began, most of Gazas 2.3 million people that have been driven from their homes, and residents say it has become almost impossible to find refuge.

Israel says it is providing detail about which areas are safe and that Hamas is to blame for harm to civilians because it operates among them, an accusation the Islamist group denies.

Hamas reported the most intense clashes with Israeli forces were taking place in the north in Shejaia, as well as in the south in Khan Younis, where Israeli forces reached the heart of the enclaves second-biggest city on Wednesday.

Israels chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel had detained more than 200 suspects from Gaza in the last 48 hours and dozens were taken to Israel for questioning.

Reuters journalists in southern Gaza have seen dead and wounded swamping the main Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where there was no room on the floor on Friday for arriving patients sprawled across blood-smeared tiles.

With the fighting now going on in all directions, there was no place left to flee, said Yamen, sheltering at a school in central Gaza with his family.

Inside the school is like outside it: the same feeling of fear of near death, the same suffering of starvation, he said.

(Reuters/NAN)

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Senators from the northern part of the country have donated N58 million to families of the victims of accidental military drone airstrike in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna.

Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), Abdul Ningi, announced the donation when he led a delegation of the forum on a courtesy visit to families of the victims on Friday in Kaduna.

A military drone mistakenly attacked civilians last Sunday at Tundun Biri, a community in Igabi Local Government area of Kaduna State leading to death of scores.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said about 85 people were buried on Monday and 65 persons were injured in the attack.

The Nigerian Army has claimed responsibility for the attack and the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, has paid a condolence visit to community.

The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Abdulaziz Yaradua have called for a thorough investigation into the airstrike.

President Bola Tinubu also ordered a probe of the attack whole his deputy, Kashim Shettima, visited the community.

Mr Ningi, the senator representing Bauchi Central, said the donation made to families of the victims was to demonstrate commitment of the northern senators to supporting their constituents in times of need.

Zamfara West senator, Abdulaziz Yari, who was also on the delegation expressed sympathy with the families of the victims of the drone strike.

ALSO READ: Northern senators ask Tinubu to restore electricity to Niger Republic

Mr Yari also called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

He described the attack as senseless.

He prayed to God to grant the deceased eternal rest and wished the injured quick recovery.

Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this senseless tragedy. We witnessed firsthand the immense pain and suffering caused by this event. We pray for the deceased, their families, and a speedy recovery for the injured, Mr Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, said.

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President Bola Tinubu has commiserated with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and the Royal House of Saud on the passing of Talal bin Abdulaziz bin Bandar Al Saud, a prince.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Saturday.

The Saudi Royal Court had announced the death of Mr Al Saud in a statement, saying that funeral prayers for the deceased would be performed at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.

Mr Al Saud was the son of Bandar, a prince and the grandson of the first Saudi monarch, King Abdulaziz.

The deceased, who was born in 1961, was a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Saudi Air Force and served as assistant intelligence chief at the GIP, the Saudi intelligence agency, from 2004 to 2012.

Although the statement did not say the cause of Mr Al Sauds death, there are unconfirmed reports that he died when his F-15 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise with the Air Force on Thursday.

Expressing grief at the loss, President Tinubu acknowledged the departed princes excellent and dedicated service to his country throughout his outstanding career in the Royal Saudi Air Force and the Saudi Intelligence Agency.

As his memory is forever etched in the annals of the Kingdom he loved dearly, the president prayed God Almighty to grant repose to the soul of the departed, and comfort for the Royal House of Saud, the Kingdom, and all who mourn this irreparable loss.

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In the realm of biotech stocks, insider transactions are often scrutinized for hints about a company's future prospects. Recently, an insider sell event at Third Harmonic Bio Inc (NASDAQ:THRD) has caught the attention of investors. Julie Person, the Chief Administrative Officer of Third Harmonic Bio Inc, sold 12,863 shares of the company on December 5, 2023. This transaction has prompted a closer look at the insider's activity and its potential implications for the stock.

Who is Julie Person at Third Harmonic Bio Inc?

Julie Person holds a pivotal role at Third Harmonic Bio Inc as the Chief Administrative Officer. In this capacity, Person is responsible for overseeing various administrative functions within the company, which can include operations, human resources, and compliance. Person's position places her in the upper echelons of the company's management team, where her decisions and insights can have a significant impact on the company's direction and success.

Third Harmonic Bio Inc's Business Description

Third Harmonic Bio Inc is a biotechnology firm that operates at the cutting edge of medical research. The company is dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies for patients suffering from inflammatory diseases. With a focus on leveraging scientific advancements to create transformative treatments, Third Harmonic Bio Inc is part of a sector known for its high stakes and potential for groundbreaking medical breakthroughs.

Analysis of Insider Buy/Sell and Relationship with Stock Price

Insider transactions, such as buys and sells, can provide valuable insights into a company's internal perspective on its stock's value. When insiders buy shares, it is often interpreted as a sign of confidence in the company's future performance. Conversely, when insiders sell shares, it can raise questions about their outlook on the stock's potential.

Story continues

In the case of Julie Person's recent sell, the transaction involved a significant number of shares, totaling 12,863. Over the past year, Person has sold a cumulative total of 12,863 shares and has not made any purchases. This one-sided activity could suggest that the insider sees the current stock price as a favorable opportunity to liquidate some of their holdings.

It is important to consider the context of these transactions. The insider transaction history for Third Harmonic Bio Inc shows a pattern of more sells than buys among insiders over the past year, with 1 insider buy and 2 insider sells recorded. This trend could indicate a cautious or bearish sentiment among those with intimate knowledge of the company's operations and prospects.

On the valuation front, Third Harmonic Bio Inc's shares were trading at $10.3 each on the day of Person's sell, giving the company a market capitalization of $386.675 million. While market cap provides a snapshot of the company's value, the insider transactions may offer a more nuanced view of how insiders perceive the stock's valuation.

When analyzing the relationship between insider activity and stock price, it is crucial to consider the broader market conditions and company-specific developments. For instance, insider sells could be motivated by personal financial planning or diversification needs rather than a lack of confidence in the company. Therefore, while insider sells can be a red flag, they should not be the sole factor in investment decisions.

Insider Trend Image Analysis

Insider Sell Alert: Third Harmonic Bio Inc's Julie Person Divests 12,863 Shares

The insider trend image above provides a visual representation of the buying and selling patterns of insiders at Third Harmonic Bio Inc. The image can help investors discern whether the recent sell by Julie Person is part of a broader trend or an isolated event. In this case, the trend suggests a cautious approach by insiders, with sells outnumbering buys over the past year.

Conclusion

The recent insider sell by Julie Person at Third Harmonic Bio Inc is a development that warrants attention from investors. While the Chief Administrative Officer's decision to sell a substantial number of shares could be interpreted in various ways, it is essential to consider the overall insider trend, which leans towards selling. Investors should weigh this insider activity alongside other factors such as the company's business prospects, market conditions, and fundamental analysis before making investment decisions.

As with any insider transaction, the context is key. While the insider trend at Third Harmonic Bio Inc may raise some questions, it is not definitive proof of the company's future performance. Investors should continue to monitor insider activity and other indicators to maintain a well-informed investment strategy.

For those interested in following Third Harmonic Bio Inc's stock and insider transactions, staying updated with the latest news and analyses is crucial. As the biotech industry continues to evolve rapidly, so too will the opportunities and challenges faced by companies like Third Harmonic Bio Inc.

This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


The National President of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, Adeola Adegoke, has said that Cross River State will soon become the largest producer of cocoa in Nigeria.

Mr Adegoke stated this at the inauguration of the Executive Committee of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria in Cross River, on Friday, in Calabar.

According to him, Ondo State is known to be the largest producer of the crop in the country.

He said that the average age of a cocoa farmer in Ondo was between 55 and 60, describing this as an ageing population.

Mr Adegoke said that Cross River has the potential in the massive land and forest for cocoa farming, coupled with the youthful population cultivating the crop in the state.

Though the associations national president acknowledged the potential, he, however, said that the state had to tap into them to succeed, as cocoa alone could run the states economy effectively.

Enough of talking about cocoa estates established by the old Eastern Region. We need to start establishing new estates now.

We want to see nothing less than 1,000 hectares of new cocoa estates established by the state.

Enough of export of raw cocoa beans. We need to start adding value and coming up with cocoa wines, biscuits, sweets and soaps that we can consume and export.

We cannot prosper by just exporting raw cocoa beans. It is, therefore, important for the state government to be deliberate in infrastructural development in cocoa farming communities, he said.

Mr Adegoke also stressed the need for extension services in the state through innovation.

He urged association members to repay the loans they collected from the government and also pay their annual dues to the association.

The association president disclosed that in 2024, the Third Cocoa Festival would be held in Calabar.

What well do  Cross Rivers govt

On his part, Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River, represented by Secretary to the State Government, Anthony Owan-Enoh, said that the state would do all within its powers to ensure that cocoa farmers got all the necessary inputs.

According to him, the state has been shortchanged for so long because it produces cocoa but does not get the necessary recognition.

Others come to the state to buy their cocoa but in the end, it is not counted for Cross River as the producing state.

Going forward, Cross River will produce, sell and export, because we have the capacity and the farmers will get maximum yields for their investments.

I will have a private meeting with the newly-inaugurated chairman of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria in the state, where he will table the concerns of the farmers so we can chart a new course for the sector, he said.

In his remarks, the new chairperson of the association, Ramsey Tiku, said that cocoa remained the mainstay of the states economy.

According to him, if cocoa development is relegated, the state will be relegating the development of its people.

Mr Tiku said that the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria would partner with different groups and ministries to create an action plan that would add value to cocoa production in the state.

While thanking members of the association for the confidence reposed in him, he stressed the need for them to start looking at the regeneration of cocoa estates in the state and how to generate data for farmers.

(NAN)

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The federal government, on Friday, inaugurated six TETFund-sponsored projects worth N2.8 billion at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, Anambra State.

Inaugurating the projects, Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker, House of Representatives, said the structures would enhance teaching, learning and improvement of academic standards in the university.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the projects include lecture halls, faculty building for social sciences, department of psychology building and laboratory/offices for Faculty of Pharmacy.

Others are classrooms and a block of offices for the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, departmental office block for Faculty of Education (Vocational Studies).

Mr Kalu who was represented by Chinwe Nnabuife, member representing Orumba North and South Federal Constituency, commended TETFund for their efforts in the development of public tertiary education in Nigeria.

In continuation of the intervention activities of TETFund, I am delighted to note that the six projects were valued at N 2,775,227,111.78.

Apart from the support of physical infrastructure and equipment, TETFund has also sponsored 126 lecturers for Ph.D. from this university in foreign and local institutions costing N1,328,493,656.00.

Twenty-six lecturers for Masters Degrees in both foreign and local institutions costing N180,742,032.50; and 10 lecturers for Bench Work costing N51,802,260.00.

A lecturer was sponsored for Post-doc costing N8,200,000.00, while 416 staff have been sponsored for conferences locally and abroad at a cost of N315,722,010.20, he said.

Mr Kalu said the National Assembly would continue to work with the Executive to make educational institutions globally competitive for economic and technological development of the country.

He congratulated the management of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University for the developmental strides at the institution.

Also speaking, Sonny Echono, the executive Secretary, TETFund, said the Funds interventions to the university started in 2009.

Mr Echono said a total of N10,567,075,176.00 had been allocated for infrastructure-related interventions so far.

Mr Echono, represented by Inene Erivwo, director Strategic Planning & Development, said about 87.33 per cent of the funds had already been accessed for the provision of requisite facilities in the university.

He assured that the Fund would continue to support the universitys drive for creativity through meaningful research endeavours and provision of necessary infrastructure.

Earlier, Charles Esimone, the vice-chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, said the inauguration of the projects was part of activities marking the 17th convocation and graduation ceremony of the institution.

Mr Esimone, a professor, appreciated TETFund and the contractors of the project for their efforts in ensuring the completion of the facilities.

(NAN)

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President Bola Tinubu has sent his felicitations to a former Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma, on his 86th birthday.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Saturday, President Tinubu described Mr Danjuma as a Nigerian of the noblest pedigree.

The president celebrated the elder statesman, who has remained an unassuming but defining feature of Nigerias political landscape.

He extolled Mr Danjuma, a retired general and former chief of army staff, for his many philanthropic ventures, recalling his commitment and dedication to supporting victims of terrorism through his reputable foundation and other vital initiatives.

As the elder statesman turns 86, President Tinubu wishes him longevity, happiness, and strength in the service of our dear nation, the statement added.

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In commemoration of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, ARDA Development Communication held the first public screening of its award-winning feature film in Lagos.

Titled: Beckma, the development-centered movie highlights the various forms of gender-based violence influenced by social norms and the challenges in combating them and providing recourse to survivors.

Actors like Adedimeji Lateef, Mercy Aigbe, Akin Lewis, Jide Kosoko, Femi Durojaiye, Lord Frank, Uche Montana, Agnes Obi, Duke Elvis, Rhoda Inaju, Ejirooghene Asagba, Michael Ejoor were featured in the movie screened at the Ebony Cinema on Wednesday.

Beckma is a story about a lady who survived a tough childhood to become a vigilante fighting to protect women from abuse including domestic violence, rape, and child marriage, among others.

According to the Executive Director of ARDA-DCI, Data Phido, the exclusive screening of the movie in Lagos which also had students from selected secondary schools, was sponsored by Unity Bank to further educate the public about GBV through storytelling.

Fight against GBV

After the screening of the movie, Tawakalit Kareem, an ARDA Programme Associate, moderated a panel session interrogating some of the prevailing themes in the movie in line with the ongoing global discourse around gender-based violence.

The panel featured Best Okoduwa, the co-producer and director of Beckma; Tumininu Oni, the head of Case Management at the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA); and Faith Babajamu, programme associate at the Centre for Health Ethics, Law and Development.

In his remarks, Mr Okoduwa said that the movie spotlighted the major GBV issues to call attention to the urgent need to tackle them across society. He urged the government to invest more in sensitisation across the country.

He added that the fight against GBV requires a collective effort of both men and women, saying GBV is not a gender-specific problem, but an issue that affects humans.

According to Ms Babajuma, there is a need to dismantle patriarchal structures in society to prevent gender-based violence. She said that men need to be involved in the fight against GBV because they have more power to influence mens behaviour.

We need to see how to dismantle the gender norm. We need to involve men to become role models and advocate against SGBV, she said.

Mrs Oni of DSVA highlighted the work of the Lagos agency in the fight against GBV, and the challenges associated with suspects arrest, investigation, and prosecution.

While admitting that investigating and prosecuting a GBV case is expensive, she emphasised the need for victims of abuse to have concrete evidence saying they are key to the prosecution of perpetrators.

The panelists also highlighted funding as a major challenge for nonprofits working on gender-based violence in Nigeria.

Using film to educate

Speaking further on the movie, Mrs Alison said the issues around GBV in the movie were deliberately portrayed in such a way that it is suitable for any audience to understand GBV.

The Arda boss said apart from the first screening, the movie has been taken to some film festivals, both nationally and internationally, and that it has won several awards and recognitions.

Beckma won the best Nigerian film at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2022; and best feature film at the Stockholm Film and Television Festival 2023, among others.

Ms Inaju who played Enitan, a victim of FGM and rape, in the movie noted that the experience was quite an emotional one for me because I could feel what she went through.

And I would say there are lots of women, children, and also men, of course, going through the same thing, she said.

The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence is an opportunity for us to preach the gospel against GBV that has eaten deep into our society.

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured that every part of Nigeria would be made to feel the impact of the President Bola Tinubu administration,

He said ensuring that no part of the country is left out in the administrations quest for development is the only way through which peace, unity and development can be fostered.

Mr Shettima gave the assurance on Friday when he played host to a traditional ruler from Mangu in Plateau State, the Mishkahan Mwaghavul, John Hirse, who led a team on a courtesy call to his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The vice president assured the delegation that peace would be restored in Mangu in the shortest possible time, noting that President Tinubu is on top of the situation and thus the inevitable return of peace to all troubled parts of the country.

He stated, The crisis in Plateau State has nothing to do with religion. It is just for us to understand ourselves and coexist peacefully with one another. Plateau State is a blessed land with both Muslims and Christians. What binds us together supersedes what divides us.

This administration will deploy all resources towards addressing all the political contradictions in the bid to restore peace and harmony in the state.

We are going to address, by the grace of God, all the internal contradictions, the political connotations and even the ethnic undertones which are part of the conflict and ensure we find a lasting solution.

Ours is a great nation chained by so-called social contradictions that we have in the system and it is absolutely essential that for peace and development of our nation, we must restore the confidence of the people and the government.

Earlier in his remarks, Mr Hirse said he and members of his delegation were in Aso Villa to show appreciation and thank the vice president for attending his coronation.

He noted that Mr Shettima attending the coronation personally shows that he is a father of all.

He commiserated with the people of Kaduna State and commended the vice president for the governments response so far.

The royal father pledged his support and that of his people to the Tinubu Administration.

*Stanley Nkwocha*

*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communication*

*Office of the Vice President*

*8th December, 2023*

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A coalition of civil society organisations in Ondo State has called on federal anti-graft agencies, the EFCC and ICPC, to investigate raging allegations of forgery and financial misappropriation made against officials of the state government.

The coalition said a probe of the allegation had become necessary because of the prolonged absence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu due to Ill health.

It also described as a dereliction of duty, the refusal by the state House of Assembly to declare the deputy governor as acting governor until Mr Akeredolu is fit to resume office.

The Executive Director of Life and Peace Development Organisation (LAGDO), Franklyn Oloniju, spoke at a joint press briefing by the CSOs in Akure on Friday.

He said: We are alarmed by the failure of the Ondo State House of Assembly to activate the relevant constitutional provisions to appoint the deputy governor as acting governor in the governors absence, even after the peace move facilitated by the president, he said

The Ondo State House of Assemblys inaction is a dereliction of duty and a violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). Article 190 of the Constitution clearly states that the deputy governor shall assume the functions of the governor if the governor is unable to discharge the functions of his office.

The governors prolonged absence has created a vacuum in the leadership of the state, leaving the government rudderless and unable to effectively address the pressing issues facing the people of Ondo State.

The failure of the House of Assembly to act promptly has exacerbated this crisis and is causing unnecessary hardship and uncertainty for the people of Ondo State.

The coalition called on the state Assembly to immediately designate the deputy governor as acting governor.

It said that would restore normalcy, ensure continuity of governance, and protect the interests of the people of Ondo State.

We are equally alarmed by the ongoing stories of forgery, theft of public funds, mismanagement among other malfeasance fueling public anxiety to know who is really constitutional mandated to be responsible, and give account on how the resources of the State are been managed in the absence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, he said.

Having said this, we members of OSCOCSO demand the following that: The Ondo State House of Assembly must immediately now designate the deputy governor as acting governor until Governor Rotimi Akeredolu returns back to Ondo State.

That EFCC and ICPC should immediately come to investigate the allegations of theft and funds mismanagement going around the present crops of those unelected officials manning the resources of the State.

The House of Assembly must act promptly and transparently in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in relation to the ongoing lacuna in Ondo State.

The OSCOCSO warns that:

Ondo State House of Assemblys continued inaction is a violation of the Constitution and a dereliction of duty and that failure to correct this lacuna in the next two weeks will result in the understated consequences:

Mass action: The civil society organisation and other well-meaning organisations including individuals will be mobilised to protest at the House of Assembly until the right thing is done.

We are using this press conference as an heads-up to the security apparatus in state to note and hold the State House of Assembly responsible for any civil action that may arise from their inaction.

We earnestly urge the Ondo State House of Assembly to act immediately and decisively to resolve this constitutional crisis to ensure stability and good governance in Ondo State.

Kayode Ajulo, a lawyer, first brought the allegation of forgery to public notice when he spoke on a national television.

The allegation received new light on Friday, when the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Rasaq Obe, said the governors signature on an approved memo he received, was forged.

His allegation was contained in a letter to the deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, dated 7 December.

A legal practitioner, Allen Sowore, had earlier called on the Ondo State Executive Council to investigate the alleged forgery of the signature of the governor.

Despite denials by media aides of the governor, groups in and outside the state have continued to demand a probe of the allegation.

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The African Group of Negotiators at the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties on Saturday expressed its disappointment with talks around adaptation which it says is crucial to Africa.

We are disappointed by the lack of progress on this important issue in the first week, Collins Nzuvo, the chair of the group and Zambias minister of green economy and environment, said.

However, the group expects COP28 to result in tangible outcomes which reflect Africas aspirations, especially on the need for enhanced climate adaptation.

He noted that it is a matter of life and death for Africa.

Mr Nzuvo expressed the groups disappointment in the lack of progress in talks on adaptation in the first week of the two-week conference, adding that they expect a robust framework on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).

The GGA proposed by the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) in 2013 and established in 2015 is a collective commitment under Article 7.1 of the Paris Agreement aimed at enhancing (the worlds) adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change.

It is meant to serve as a unifying framework that can drive political action and finance for adaptation on the same scale as mitigation. However, adaptation finance has continued to lag behind mitigation funds.

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Patrick Verkooijen, chief executive officer of the Global Goal on Adaptation, told Bloomberg Greens Zero podcast that climate adaptation needs in the global south is around $400 million a year.

Somewhat optimistic that the conference which is now in its second week could still deliver for the continent, Mr Nzuvo said the outcome of the GGA is the most important outcome for Africa at COP28, without which we would consider COP28 a failure.

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), in its latest adaptation gap report, noted that the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10 to 18 times as big as international public finance flows. This is over 50 per cent higher than the previous range estimate.

As a result of the growing adaptation finance needs and faltering flows, the current adaptation finance gap is now estimated at US$194  366 billion per year. At the same time, adaptation planning and implementation appear to be plateauing, the report said.

UNEP warns that failure to adapt has massive implications for losses and damages, particularly for the most vulnerable.

Mr Nzuvo also called out developed countries for their failure to deliver multilateral support to Africa which contributes insignificantly to the climate crisis but bears the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change.

African countries require access to scaled-up levels of new and additional and predictable grant and concessional finance for climate action, Mr Nzuvo said.

Commending the historic adoption of the operationalisation of the loss and damage fund, he expressed concerns saying, We are cautious of similar commitments made in the past, which, from our standpoint, have not been fulfilled. We hope this wont be the case with the Loss and Damage fund.

This story was produced as part of the 2023 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

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The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

The US blocked the resolution Friday backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Thirteen of the fifteen Security Council members voted in favour of the draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while the United Kingdom abstained.

The vote came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare move on Wednesday to formally warn the 15-member council of a global threat from the two-month-long war.

To be adopted, a resolution needs nine votes in favour and cannot be vetoed by any of the five permanent members of the security council. The councils permanent members holding veto powers are  China, Russia, the US, the UK and France.

The US and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in a deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

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While the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution, said Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the UN.

A seven-day pause  that saw Hamas release some hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza  ended on 1 December.

After several failed attempts to take action, the Security Council last month called for pauses in fighting to allow aid access to Gaza, where a spiralling humanitarian nightmare is ongoing, according to Mr Guterres.

World leaders, international rights groups and United Nations officials have criticised the United States for vetoing a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and failing to halt the war that has killed more than 17,400 Palestinians and about 1,200 people in Israel since 7 October, according to Al Jazeera.

Agnes Callamard, Amnestys secretary general said: By vetoing this resolution, the US has displayed a callous disregard for civilian suffering in the face of a staggering death toll, extensive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe happening in the occupied Gaza Strip.

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The West Africa Democracy Network (WADEMOS), a transnational network of 35 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from the region, has called on the ECOWAS to adopt term limits, to address tenure elongation in West Africa.

The call comes ahead of ECOWAS Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government scheduled to hold in Abuja on 10 December.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the call was made at a roundtable on civic mobilisation campaign initiated by WADEMOS, in collaboration with the International Citizens Movement Tournons La Page (TLP) in Abuja.

Some WADEMOS members, in interviews on the sidelines of the roundtable, said the call was imperative to strengthen democracy in the region and curtail crisis coming with tenure elongation or heads of state exerting long rules in their countries.

According to the Network Coordinator, Paul Osei-Kuffour, in the concept note, a report by Afrobarometer revealed that 75 per cent of citizens in 34 African countries favour limiting presidential mandates to two terms.

Mr Osei-Kuffour said in West Africa, efforts to extend presidential terms had been more successful than unsuccessful, with the resulting elections won by the incumbent, especially within francophone countries.

He said, the event aimed to mobilise relevant pro-democratic actors ahead of the Head-of-State conference to promote and emphasise CSOs position on the third-term, share and harmonise plans of action.

It is also aimed at raising public awareness on the issue of the third term, its effect, impact challenges and opportunities and engage ECOWAS on the necessity to adopt a provision in the protocol on democracy and good governance.

Kojo Asante, Director of Programmes and Policy Engagement, Centre for Democracy and Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana) and WADEMOS, said the roundtable was an effort to bring together prodemocracy forces in the sub region.

This, Mr Asante, said was to discuss one of the responses that had been on the table  the unconstitutional changes in government.

It will also discuss some of the democratic declines we have experienced in the sub region over the last 10 years, because people are frustrated by unconstitutional coups, people attempting term elongations.

He said this triggered instability and violence, leading to military coups.

These have always been a trigger for retrogression. We think its time for civil society itself and citizens to voice their support for these rules to be adopted by ECOWAS, he said.

Mr Asante said the CSOs believed that it was essential, therefore, for ECOWAS and Heads of State in the region to make a move against tenure elongation and not see it as business as usual.

He said that the roundtable was a start to bring people together to push for that while CSOs would continue the agitation in order for ECOWAS to adopt standards on term limits.

The WADEMOS Project Co-ordinator Francophone, Marie Josiane-Ngah, said the meeting was part of the civic campaign to mobilise civic actors from West Africa to discuss and find strategies for a way forward, to influence tenure elongation.

Ms Josiane-Ngah said issues of political reforms were raised as well as how CSOs could collaborate to have a bigger impact with ECOWAS.

So after this meeting, we are supposed to continue to strengthen collaboration among CSOs, influencers, and other pro-democratic actors because we have activists, influencers who are committed to fight the institutionaliation of term limits.

It is about us strengthening our cooperation and reinforcing the synergy so that we can have bigger impact both at the national level, international level.

ECOWAS needs to hear our voice, thats why we are here in Nigeria, she said.

Also, the President of National Trade Association in Nigeria, Ken Ukahoa, said it was worrisome that people elected their parliamentarians without checks and balances.

He said most times, they were bought over by heads of state, thereby rubbishing democracy.

Mr Ukahoa said there was need for Public Private Dialogues (PPD), where this kind of orientation brings up some sense of ownership by the people.

The Executive, Legislature and Judiciary know that they are supposed to be working together for the people but this is lacking in West Africa.

The Coordinator Front Togo Debout, David Dosseh, a professor, said there was need to have the courage to work on the regions democracy.

Democracy may not be a perfect system but not as bad as other systems we have had in the regimes .(NAN)

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The Nigerian Navy said its Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Igbokoda, Ondo State, has apprehended a vessel involved in crude oil theft.

The 77-meter-long Motor Tanker (MT) VINNALARIS 1 LAGOS was arrested in the early hours of Thursday, according to a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan posted on its official X handle.

According to the statement, the vessel, which had 17 crew members onboard at the time of arrest, was caught engaging in illegal siphoning of crude oil from one of the well heads at EBESAN oil field about 7 nautical miles off the coast of Awoye riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo state.



It said the apprehension of the vessel was based on credible intelligence received by the Base on the illegal activities of crude oil thieves at the location, which informed the swift deployment of FOB IGBOKODA personnel to nab the vessel and her crew.

Notably, as the anti-Crude Oil Theft Patrol Team of FOB IGBOKODA approached MT VINNALARIS 1 LAGOS, the 2 x boats attached to the vessel fled on sighting the naval personnel, which confirmed the engagement of the vessel in illegality, it said.

Accordingly, on arrival at the scene, it was discovered that the vessel was actively involved in siphoning crude oil from both sides of the wellhead.

Consequently, upon further search and interrogation, it was further discovered that the vessel had onboard 17 crew members of Nigerian nationality. The vessels storage capacity is about 15,000 metric tonnes and as at the time of arrest she had loaded about 500 metric tonnes of crude oil.



The statement explained that the arrest of MT VINNALARIS 1 LAGOS attests to the Nigerian Navys determination to curb crude oil theft and all manners of illegalities in Nigerias maritime domain.

All criminals and their cohorts are hereby warned that the Nigerian Navy will use all legitimate means at its disposal to track and arrest perpetrators of illegalities in Nigerias maritime environment.

While individuals carrying out legitimate business are advised to go about their legitimate activities, the Navy solicits the cooperation of patriotic and well-meaning members of the public to promptly report any form of criminalities, especially in the coastal communities to the Nigerian Navy for necessary action, it said.



Furthermore, the statement said it is believed that Tantita Security Service (TSS) is involved in these illegalities because the Awoye riverine area which is close to the place of arrest is covered by TSS.

Again, it was upon the arrest of the vessel by the Nigerian Navy that TSS began to raise false alarms, totally unfounded and indeed mischievous.



Nonetheless, the Nigerian Navy remains resolute in the pursuit of its constitutional mandate for the protection of Nigerias Maritime Environment for national economic development and prosperity, it said.

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Metas Oversight Board on Thursday initiated a review of two content moderation decisions by the social media giant related to Israel-Hamas war content.

The move marks the first time the board has conducted an expedited review process, a nod to the intense scrutiny Facebook-parent Meta and other social media companies have faced over content related to the conflict. The board decided to take up a faster review in this case because content decisions related to the war could have urgent real-world consequences, it said in a statement.

In the weeks following Hamas attack on Israel, major social media platforms faced questions about whether they were hosting misleading and hateful content related to the conflict. European Union officials sent warnings to TikTok, Meta, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), raising concerns about war-related content on their platforms and reminding the social media companies they could face billions of dollars in fines if an investigation later determines they violated EU content moderation laws. US and UK lawmakers also called on the platforms to ensure they were enforcing their rules against hateful and illegal content.

Meta told CNN in October that it had established a special operations center staffed with experts, including fluent Hebrew and Arabic speakers, to closely monitor and respond to this rapidly evolving situation, and that it was coordinating with third-party fact checkers in the region.

In the weeks after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, Metas Oversight Board said it saw a nearly three-fold increase in daily average user appeals of decisions on content related to the Middle East and North Africa region.

Metas Oversight Board is an entity made up of experts in areas such as freedom of expression and human rights. It is often described as a kind of Supreme Court for Meta, as it allows users to appeal content decisions on the companys platforms. The board makes recommendations to the company about how to handle certain content moderation decisions, as well as broader policy suggestions.

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The Oversight Board plans to review one video that appears to show the aftermath of a strike outside the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City posted to Instagram in early November, which shows people, including children, injured or dead, lying on the ground and/or crying. A caption under the video in Arabic and English referenced the Israeli army, stating that the hospital had been targeted by the usurping occupation.

Meta initially removed the post for violating its rules on graphic and violent content. A user appealed the decision, asking for the video to be restored, after the board decided to take up the case, Meta made the video viewable with a warning that the content is disturbing.

The board will also review a video that shows two hostages being kidnapped by Hamas militants  a woman on a motorbike and a man being marched away  in which the caption urges people to watch to gain a deeper understanding of the October 7 attack on Israel.

Meta initially removed the post for violating two policies: its rules against violence and incitement, which were temporarily revised to include content that clearly identified hostages, and its dangerous organizations and individuals policy that prohibits imagery of terror attacks on visible victims. (Meta designates Hamas as a dangerous organization under its policy and labeled the October 7 attack as a terrorist attack.) The company later reinstated the video with a warning screen in response to trends in how hostage kidnapping videos were being shared and reported on.

The board expects to render a decision on the cases within the next 30 days.

Meta said in a blog post Thursday that the boards guidance in these cases, along with feedback from other experts, will help us to continue to evolve our policies and response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. It added that it plans to implement the boards decision in each case.

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The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on health, Salma Anas, has said the poor attention to the Primary Health Care (PHC) system to Nigerias high morbidity and mortality rates, especially among those with pregnancy-related conditions.

Ms Anas said thus while speaking at the ongoing 7th annual conference of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

She said the PHCs have issues of low healthcare coverage for life-saving interventions. Other problems, according to her, include ill-equipped and weak service delivery systems and low coverage with community and household-level interventions.

She noted that PHC is the fulcrum for a resilient health system and should be structured to be able to deliver services that will support the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and guarantee health security.

In Nigeria, the PHC level of care has received the least attention and continues to add to the burden of morbidity and mortality especially due to pregnancy-related conditions making it the weakest link of the health service delivery system, she said.

Also speaking on the integrated system that we are promoting, she said, our aspiration is to ensure that as soon as a pregnant woman visits a healthcare facility, the quality and level of care she requires to deliver a healthy child is assured including the payment for the services she would receive, ensuring that she is covered under one form of health insurance or the other.

The ANHEJ conference is themed, Health Security: Nigerias effort to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Maternal mortality and PHC

Ms Anas said Nigeria is a major contributor to the global burden of maternal and newborn deaths despite being about three per cent of the worlds population.

She said Nigeria, Africas most populous nation, is also responsible for about 30 per cent of the worlds gap in achieving the global target of eradicating Mother-To- Child Transmission of HIV.

She said some socio-economic challenges contributing to preventable diseases and deaths also include general poor health-seeking behaviour due to poor literacy and socio-cultural factors, long distances to health facilities, poverty and lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, among others.

She, however, said the current administration is determined to leave a legacy of a resilient PHC system in addressing existing challenges.

The success of the interventions will be built on strong accountability mechanisms and renewed partnership models between the government, development partners, private sector, Civil Society Organisations, the community and the media, she said.

Nigeria in retrospect

Nigerias maternal .ortality rate is one of the highest in the world, with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa saying that one in seven global maternal deaths occurs in Nigeria. That is more than 50,000 women dying per year in Nigeria.

A 2023 report, titled: Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth: Progress Report 2023, shows that Nigeria accounts for the second-highest number of maternal and child deaths globally, after India.

The report noted that in 2020, about 788 women and children died per thousand in India and about 540 women and children per thousand died in Nigeria.

In the same year, India accounted for 17 per cent of global maternal, and neonatal deaths and stillbirths, while Nigeria accounted for 12 per cent.

Eight other countries with high maternal, neonatal , and stillbirths are Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and the United Republic of Tanzania.

The report estimates that globally, there were a combined 4.5 million maternal, neonatal deaths and stillbirths in 2020.

Improving health through vaccination

Speaking at the event, the CEO of Vaccine Network for Disease Control (VNDC), Chika Offor, said vaccine advocacy by journalists is vital for public health education, countering vaccine hesitancy, holding authorities accountable, building trust, and fostering dialogue.

Ms Offor said VNDC role in disseminating accurate and reliable information is crucial to ensuring the success of vaccination campaigns and protecting public health.

She said that VNDC aimed to address key health challenges faced by children and women in the country, such as vaccine-preventable diseases and maternal health issues.

Trust in vaccines and public health authorities is crucial for successful vaccination campaigns in any nation. ANHEJ can contribute to building trust by reporting on the rigorous scientific process behind vaccine development, testing, and approval, she said.

ANHEJ can also highlight the positive impact of vaccines on public health, sharing success stories and real-life examples of how vaccines have saved lives and prevented diseases.

She noted that the partnership with ANHEJ will signify a collaborative effort to prioritise and improve healthcare services for these vulnerable populations.

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The Cross River Government has entered into a partnership with Oando Clean Energy on provision of wind power in the state.

Signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the ongoing climate conference, known as COP28, in Dubai, Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State said the partnership signified the commitment of the state to spearheading the green economy, which he described as a significant milestone in his development objective for the state.

Represented by the state Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Oden Ewa, the governor said the strategic partnership with the energy company aligned with the states vision to leverage clean and sustainable energy solutions.

This, he said, would contribute to both environmental preservation and economic growth of the state.

According to him, as the state positions itself as a leader in the green economy, the collaboration marks a significant step toward realising its ambitious clean energy.

We believe they (Oando) can lead climate change mitigation, while boosting our GDP, aligning with our strategic government objectives, he said.

Mr Otu expressed optimism about the groundbreaking initiative, saying: We believe Oando is set to break ground in 2024. By the next COP, we anticipate the full implementation or advanced stages of these projects.

Our MoU solidifies our belief that these projects will come to fruition.

The people of Cross River, he said, anticipated the positive impact of these initiatives on climate change mitigation and economic development in the Niger Delta region.

Detailing the MoU, the President of Oando Clean Energy, Ainojie Irune, said the company would undertake a comprehensive technical evaluation to explore the feasibility of wind energy in the state.

Creating power that people desperately need in Nigeria is something that will change lives, by creating jobs and allowing people to fend for themselves and earn an honest living.

We are already engaged in identifying the best locations across every state in the country for wind energy extraction.

With Cross River, our focus will be on a more detailed and equipment-based assessment, he said.

Mr Irune assured that the company would deploy specialised equipment to ensure the effective harnessing of wind energy.

Our objective is to capture these winds in a manner that facilitates power creation, subsequently feeding the generated energy into the grid, he said.

On his part, the CEO of Stratus Consult Limited, and consultant to the Cross River Government, Xavier Eyamba, described the partnership as a strategic initiative on climate change that would accelerate the green economy.

Mr Eyamba, who is also a private sector representative to the Nationally Determined Contributions partnership under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the initiative worked in line with the Net Zero emission target of the federal government.

(NAN)

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The Nigerian government said on Friday that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has secured a major deal in its trip to Dubai for COP28.

The government said both agencies signed a landmark cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Lemi Technology Development Company Limited (LEMI) of China to develop and establish a $150 million Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing and Processing Factory in Nigeria.

This partnership enables agencies such as REA and NASENI to leverage the technological expertise of LEMI to improve the safety and longevity of battery technologies to deliver better, sustainable energy solutions to unserved and underserved Nigerians while paving the way for new jobs within the sector as well as local content in the nations renewable energy space, the Nigerian government said in a post on its official X page.

Nigerians, in the past week, criticized the government agencies when they signed, in Dubai, a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on projects to be delivered in Nigeria.

Their critics wondered why both agencies based in Abuja had to travel to Dubai to sign a partnership.

Nigerians also criticised the countrys large delegation of at least 422 government-funded delegates.

But the government, in a statement posted on its X page, highlighted the activities of both agencies in Dubai, United Arab Emirates where the Climate Change Conference (COP28) is holding.

The government said both agencies are active participants in the conference.

According to the statement, NASENI hosted a side event focusing on home-grown technology for rural electrification while the REA hosted another side event covering critical areas of renewable energy for inclusive development and financing Nigerias energy access gap in last-mile communities.

The statement added that both agencies MoU was strategic in leveraging the COP28 platform to emphasise Nigerias alignment with climate action pledges under the Paris Agreement.

The collaboration between REA and NASENI has proven instrumental in unlocking new and transformative opportunities, the statement said.

This strategic move signifies a paradigm shift in the energy sector, with the potential to revolutionise the manufacturing landscape and contribute significantly to bridging the electricity access gap.

The REA is an agency of government saddled with the responsibility of powering rural Nigerian communities.

NASENI, meanwhile, has the mandate of coordinating the proliferation of technologies developed in the country.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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Nigeria on Saturday delivered its national statement at the ongoing global climate change conference calling on parties to embrace equity as they work together to defeat the climate crisis.

Any durable solution must be based on cooperative fairness. Developing economies cannot be pressed and pressured into bearing a disproportionate share of the burden, said Balarabe Lawal, Nigerias Minister of Environment who delivered the speech on behalf of the president.

This is coming after the largest economy in Africa failed to deliver a statement at the World Climate Action Summit (WCAS) alongside other heads of state.

Mr Lawal said it would be unfair to ask Nigeria and other developing countries to travel the road alone adding that the framework of a sustainable climate change solution cannot mirror the extant imbalances of the current global economic order.

He said those who benefit most from the current system have the onus to invest the most in repairing the environmental breaches which countries now suffer.

While seeking collaboration, Mr Lawal announced that Nigeria is willing to join the call to decarbonise the global economy, adding that the countrys vast renewable energy resources present an opportunity for sustainable growth.

As Nigeria commits to reducing emissions by moving to cleaner energy sources, we urge developed nations to finally honour their commitment to providing the needed technology to help promote development while simultaneously mitigating climate change, he said.

Read full text below:

I thank His Highness, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyen, President of the United Arab Emirates. In hosting this important gathering, you have made an important contribution to humankind.

We, the leaders of the world, are here because we all recognise that we must become better stewards of the world we share. The earth is begging us to heal the wounds inflicted by human activity. No longer can we afford to ignore her cries. The clock ticks.

Yet, I come here, today, to speak about the positive hopes and reasonable expectations of the Nigerian people regarding the global effort to stop climate change.

This Summit will produce the initial Global Stocktake on implementing the Paris Accord. Already, the 6th Assessment Report produced by the Intergovernmental Panel has sounded the alarm. Thus far, our efforts have been far too inadequate, too slow, and none too wise, given the severity of what we face.

With so much at stake, why do we speak so resolutely about climate change at multilateral fora such as this, yet continue to conduct ourselves without urgency?

We all want to solve the problem, but few are currently willing to do their fair share, much less all that is required.

It is now clear that developing nations are and shall continue to suffer the most from climate change having contributed the barest minimum to the problem. Neither Nigeria nor any country in Africa has been among the major initiators of climate change. However, we stand amongst its front-line victims.

Yet, almost by definition, we lack the fiscal tools and technological capacity to adequately fight this monster in our midst. What tools and assets we do possess must necessarily be devoted, first, to the exigencies of poverty, hunger and national economic development.

Developed nations face a different predicament. They fret that strong action against climate change will weaken their economies, lower their standards of living and erode their esteemed place in the global economic order. Thus, too many developed nations hesitate to do what they should, instead they carefully watch each other do the least possible. But the time for watching and waiting is over.

Nigeria and its future are being squeezed by climate change. To the north, the desert consumes arable land, displacing communities and causing food insecurity and social dislocation that often erupts into violence. In the south, ocean levels threaten coastal areas. Throughout the nation, flooding kills hundreds, decimates farmland, towns, and villages, and leaves tens of thousands homeless.

As the leader of over two hundred million diverse people spread across an equally diverse geography, I know my country must contend with both development and climate change. To treat one but not the other, will cause us to fail at both.

Thus, despite the challenges, my country will continue to do its part in fighting this collective menace.

Pursuant to our decade of gas policy, we now seek to shift from oil, coal and wood to using cleaner gas. We seek large-scale investment in this area as well as in renewable energy. The green wall in northern Nigeria, erected to halt the encroachment of the desert, will be expanded.

Water and flood management efforts will be enhanced. We seek energy-efficient ways to improve agricultural productivity and food security.

We stand ready to contribute to the effort to decarbonize the global economy. Our vast renewable energy resources present an opportunity for sustainable growth. We call for strong and decisive collaboration in unlocking these resources for the benefit of our people and the world at large. For example, NNPC Limited was the first National Oil Company in Africa that endorse the Global Oil & Gas Decarbonization Accelerator (OGDA). An initiative spearheaded by the COP Presidency and supported by IOCs and NOCs across the world.

Nevertheless, it is unfair to ask us to travel on this road alone. Any durable solution must be based on cooperative fairness. Developing economies cannot be pressed and pressured into bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. The framework of a sustainable climate change solution cannot mirror the extant imbalances of the current global economic order.

The solution cannot follow the adage that the wealthy and powerful will do as they wish while the poor and developing endure what they must. Those who benefit most from the current system have the onus to invest the most in repairing the environmental breaches we now suffer.

As Nigeria commits to reducing emissions by moving to cleaner energy sources, we urge developed nations to finally honour their commitment to providing the needed technology to help promote development while simultaneously mitigating climate change.

The Paris Agreement establishes a framework for technology transfer. As developing nations make known their Technical Needs Assessments (TNAs), developed nations should not politely but quickly brush them aside. Work with us instead.

Further, the global community should honour the promise to annually fund $100 Billion climate financing promised in 2009 in Copenhagen. Many commitments have been publicly announced but few have been honoured. We also propose making the Loss & Damage Fund operable and we advocate for a measurable Global Goal on Adaptation.

In closing, the world has a choice to make. Any attempt that favours the strict preservation of the economic status quo over a genuine reduction in dangerous emissions will cast us all toward peril. The world has a chance to thwart climate change in a way that also rights old wrongs by instilling equity and fairness into the global economy.

If we take this path, we might not just save this planet. We just might make it a better home for all who dwell on it. Let us seize this moment. Let history write of us that we sensed the grave danger, and this was the moment that we turned humanity from the cliffs edge toward safer ground and a more fertile destiny.

I thank you all

This story was produced as part of the 2023 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

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Gunmen have released Kingsley Eze, an abducted Catholic priest in Imo State, South-east Nigeria.

Mr Eze, popularly known as Father Ichie, is a priest in charge of Saint Michaels Catholic Church Parish in the community.

The gunmen also released Uchenna Newman, a driver who was abducted alongside the cleric.

The release occurred about seven days after they were abducted.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the cleric and the driver were abducted at a junction around 8 p.m. on Thursday in Umuekebi, Osuoweerre, a community in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state.

Some members of the church told reporters on Friday that the cleric and his driver had returned home unharmed, the Nation newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the abductors were said to have initially contacted the wife of the driver on Sunday and Monday through whom they demanded a N50 million ransom for the release of the victims.

They would later call back and announce the reduction of the ransom from N50 million to N10 million.

But unnamed sources told the newspaper that the sum of N500, 000 was finally paid as ransom to the abductors.

I can now confirm that the Rev Father and the driver have been released after a ransom of N500,000 was paid yesterday (Friday) around Umucheke Okwe in the Onuimo Local Government Area, one of the sources was quoted as saying.

Another source, who is an indigene of Umuekebi Community, also confirmed the release of the abducted victims to the newspaper, saying that the priests vehicle was towed home from the Okigwe Axis where it was recovered.

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.

The abduction of the victims occurred three days after gunmen, suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), killed a divisional police officer and a police inspector in the state.

Gunmen, two weeks ago, 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 IPOB of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region, but the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is leading an agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.

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The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Chris Musa, has said that last Sundays incident where military air strikes killed scores in the Tudun Biri community in Kaduna State was a mistake.

Mr Musa, an army general, said this on Saturday at the graduation of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 45 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the military mistakenly killed many people in drone strikes during a religious festival on Sunday night in Kaduna State.

Following the two airstrikes, about 88 people died while no fewer than 68 others, mostly women and children, sustained various degrees of injuries

While commenting on the incident, the CDS cautioned Nigerians against using it to demoralise troops focused on tackling all forms of insecurity in the country.

The incident in Kaduna is, indeed, unfortunate and regrettable; it was a mistake and not a deliberate act.

The incident wasnt on purpose; we are meant to protect Nigerians and cannot be seen killing them.

And so, I want to appeal to Nigerians not to use this incident to demoralise our troops, because we are determined to end all forms of insecurity currently confronting our nation, Mr Musa said.

The CDS expressed the commitment of the military toward protecting the sanctity of human lives, adding that troops would never attack law-abiding citizens.

He further appealed to Nigerians to pray and support the military and other security agencies in their bid to rid the nation of all forms of security challenges.

(NAN)

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A story published on PREMIUM TIMES has emerged winner of the online category of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism in Abuja on Saturday.

The winning story, authored by Kemi Busari, the editor of the fact-checking organisation, Dubawa, explored how a Nigerian herbal medicine seller, Baba Aisha, was promoting a herbal concoction with unverified claims of curing malaria and other ailments.

Annually, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) honours and celebrates investigative journalists across Nigeria who use exemplary investigative stories to hold people in governance to account, expose ills and amplify the voice of the most vulnerable people in Nigeria.

This year, ten finalists emerged from 99 entries assessed by the judges out of the total 209 entries received by the organisers.

Speaking on behalf of the seven-member panel of judges, Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika said the remaining 110 were screened out by the organisers before turning the remaining 99 to the judges. The 110 stories were not deemed investigative stories, she said.

She, however, commended Nigerian journalists for the quality of Investigative Journalism despite threats from state and non-state actors who wish to suppress the truth.

Beloved John of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) emerged runner-up in the online category with her story exposing degree mills selling fake honorary doctorates to Africans.

Marcus Fatunmole, also of the ICIR, was commended in the online category for his story exposing an illegal hospital run in Abuja by a North Korean national.

Other awardees

Sharon Ijasan of the Television Continental (TVC), emerged winner of the Television Category. Her story chronicled the sad realities of trafficked Nigerians in Libya. Folashade Ogunrinde emerged runner-up with her story on How Lawyers Absence, Slack Laws, Courts Apathy Dampen Families Hope for Justice.

Lami Sadiq of the Daily Trust Newspaper won the Print category with her story on Organ Exploitation: How Abuja Syndicate Lured Minor For Kidney Harvest. Omolabake Fasogbon, meanwhile, was commended in the category for her story Inside Story of Lagos Building Collapse where Regulator Mortgage Lives for as low as N50,000.

There was no winner in the Photo Journalism category but Ayodele Adeniran was commended for his Naira Swap photo, which depicted the suffering of Nigerians during the cash scarcity earlier this year.

In the Cartoon category, Victor Asowata emerged as the runner-up with his cartoon titled Power Grabbers 2023. Chukwuemeka Emenike was commended for his cartoon on the failure of regulatory agencies in Nigeria.

Winners in each category were presented with an award plaque, a certificate, a laptop, N300,000 cash prize and an international trip.

The runners-up were presented with a certificate, a smartphone and a N200,000 cash prize. The commended entries were presented with Certificates of Commendation, a 2TB Hard Drive and a N100,000 cash prize.

The centre also presented the 2023 Human Rights Defender Award posthumously to Lai Oso, the late professor of Mass Communication. The award was presented to his wife at the venue.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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Crucial to the Chinese strategy of poverty reduction, which Nigeria should learn from, is the need to stimulate industrialisation, in a manner that accelerates economic activities and expands income levels, while being intentional about developing national development policies having poverty reduction as their defining purpose. These are in addition to the delivery of well-targeted programmes for the poor, in an inclusive manner.

A Question of Leadership

The miracle of China is one of the most phenomenal incidences of the 21st Century, unveiling the unprecedented transformation of what had been one of the poorest countries on earth to the second wealthiest country globally, while equally lifting about 800 million people  about three-quarters of the worlds poor  out of extreme poverty, in one great leap occurring within just a generation. This is as extraordinary in its pace as it is unrivalled in its scale. Yet, it speaks to the misnomer of a miracle, as a close look shows this feat came by as a result of some of the most assiduous programmes of social re-engineering.

From about 90 per cent of the Chinese people living in extreme poverty in 1970, this was reduced to about 88 per cent in 1981, to 10.2 per cent by 2012, and then 3.1 per cent by 2017  which was about 30.46 million then. In 2022, it was claimed that just about 0.7 per cent of the people live below the poverty line.

Poverty reduction in China has hinged on the efforts of a successive line of committed and determined leadership, from Chairman Mao (who sought to industrialise the peasant economy and embarked on the Great Leap Forward programme) to Deng Xiaoping (through his National Economic Development Programme), and more recently the concerted endeavours of President Xi Jinping, who has made poverty reduction the cornerstone programme of his administration. The consecutive approach of these leaders has included the utilisation of education in breaking the transgenerational transmission of poverty; the provision of basic medical services, housing, essential living needs; and other programmes targeted at poverty alleviation and reduction.

Historically, generations of the Chinese people had lived in poverty for tens of decades under the various Dynasties, as a result of the nature and structure of the imperial economy, which was largely agrarian and agriculture-based. However, the significant attempt of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), from 1949, to reduce extreme poverty and inequality, led to land reforms, with poor farmers being given land that were previously held by imperial institutions for over 2,000 years. Thereafter, there was the development of infrastructure that included farm irrigation systems, and then rural education, and healthcare services. As such, modern day poverty reduction in the country started with the CCP.

1978 is the considered the watershed period of the contemporary phase of poverty reduction in China, with the introduction of economic reforms and opening up of the economy by President Deng Xiaoping, leading to the major improvements in agricultural productivity and the expansion of different sectors on the economy, while labour  which was largely available, yet not gainfully utilised  was migrated from the lowly to the highly productive sectors of the country. Thus, the Chinese economy proceeded on an upward trajectory and grew at an average of over 8 per cent per annum for the next four decades. In real terms, some estimates observed that the GDP of China actually averagely grew at 9.4 per cent year-on-year from 1979 to 2003, and occasionally exceeded a 10 per cent annual rate.

For President Xiaoping, poverty eradication was serious business, as he stated, poverty is not socialism; (and) socialism means eliminating poverty, therefore, as the productive capacities of the economy increased, rural poverty continued to decline.

A Sustained Story of Growth

The development and growth of industries and the larger economy in China was considered as the best way to end poverty in the country, and this became the focus of the leadership, which broadly positioned the preponderance of its labour power to drive the emergent reforms and expansion of industrialisation.

As such, the successive poverty reduction programmes of the Chinese government were then anchored on the two key pillars of the transformation of the economy to open up opportunities and expand income levels, and the targeting of specific demographics  which lacked economic opportunities, also as a result of their geographical locations  with poverty reduction policies and programmes. These targeted programmes set clear and measurable poverty alleviation goals and the metrics for identifying the poor, in addition to a registration system for chronicling households.

Hence, the four key drivers of poverty reduction adopted in China included: the expansion of agricultural productivity, which led to increased incomes for farmers and households; continuous industrialisation that witnessed the creation of a record number of better-paying jobs and the upsurge of global investments; improved urbanisation, inspiring the growth of industries and earnings potentials; and massive infrastructural investments, including in roads, which led to the improved access to markets and distribution networks.

Consequently, by 2020  as projected by President Jinping  almost another batch of 100 million people were lifted out of poverty in the rural areas, alongside 128,000 villages and 832 counties, including areas in Xinjiang, Ningxia, Mongolia, Tibet, and Guangxi. Also, there are now nine years of compulsory education, which witnessed a completion rate of 94.8 per cent in 2020. All there were achieved despite the major disruption of COVID-19, which impacted a lot of social programmes in a fundamental way.

President Jinping made poverty reduction a keystone of his governance policies. And, from 2012 when he came into office, China entered into a new era of poverty reduction, shoring up the record of at least 700 million people who had been lifted out of poverty by the CCP. At that point, due to a number of factors, poverty was considered as having become more regional with the expansion of urbanisation, evident in the movement of much resources and people from the rural areas to the urban centres. Therefore, there was the need for more targeted interventions at the rural level.

The foregoing necessitated the identification of impoverished groups and an understanding of the root causes of their poverty, in order for the government to implement relief policies, and figure out those to capable of executing the programmes at the central, municipal, prefectural and county levels.

There was a delineation of five measures of the poverty relief programme by the Xi Jinping administration, and these included: the continued growing of the economy to keep up with the provision of jobs, in what is the developmental approach; the relocation of people from very poor environments to areas where they can find better livelihoods; the creation of employment opportunities that protect the environment; the delivery of education as a way of breaching intergenerational poverty; and the provision of social security for those not able to work  including medical aid, insurance, etc. In addition to all these were also the launching of cash transfers  both conditional and unconditional  to the most vulnerable in society.

Consequently, by 2020  as projected by President Jinping  almost another batch of 100 million people were lifted out of poverty in the rural areas, alongside 128,000 villages and 832 counties, including areas in Xinjiang, Ningxia, Mongolia, Tibet, and Guangxi. Also, there are now nine years of compulsory education, which witnessed a completion rate of 94.8 per cent in 2020. All there were achieved despite the major disruption of COVID-19, which impacted a lot of social programmes in a fundamental way.

Very importantly, as alluded to above, a core factor in the attainment of the miracle of Chinas unprecedented poverty reduction programme was the fact of good governance, borne of a committed leadership, which enabled both the strategy for economic growth and the effective targeting of policies and programmes, to bear sustained results.

Also, as earlier mentioned, Chinas poverty reduction has essentially been a growth story, showing how rapid and persistent economic growth led to a transformation in the productive base of the society, hitched to the elevation of market incentives. These, coupled with incremental reforms to the agriculture sector, the expansion of labour-intensive industries, urbanisation and the creation of newer opportunities, and investments in public infrastructure to connect with export markets, enabled the rapid economic and social development, which forced poverty on a downward trend.

In addition, by being extremely hard working people, the Chinese were the heroes of their miracle, as they lifted themselves out of poverty by making good use of the leverage given them by the government.

Yet, despite all the progress made, the newer level in Chinas battle against poverty tends towards addressing the inequality of incomes and opportunities, coupled with redesigning safety nets for the most vulnerable, as a result of the countrys continuous economic transformation.

A Peculiar Regression

In Nigeria, while the pertinent data show that about 43 per cent of the population, at 89 million people, exist below the poverty line, and another 25 per cent (53 million) are considered as being vulnerable and thereby susceptible to different forms of deprivation, despite the huge human and natural resources of the country, yet the notion of poverty in the country is quite complex, and non-linear. Besides a massive population growth rate at 2.4 per cent annually, which cancels the average year-on-year economic growth rate of about 2.5 per cent, much of the poverty in the country  over the past decades  has been attributed to an economy that performs much below its potential and lacks in complexity, a pervasive social corruption, increasing unemployment, the essential non-diversification of the economy, income inequality, and education and health systems that are highly inadequate and ill-suited to the demands of progress and development.

As witnessed in the example of China, there is need to power the productive base of the Nigerian economy through the adoption of a holistic strategy of growth that is also backed by the requisite political will. This is connected to the necessity of massive investments in education (quite critical in the present knowledge age, and serving as basis of the new economy), healthcare, and the building of different levels of infrastructure  from roads, to electrification, housing, etc., which would open up economic opportunities, and lead to the provision of jobs.

Compounding the view above, poverty in Nigeria has been identified as being a multidimensional phenomenon, hence beyond the regression of huge numbers in the demography below the monetary count of living beneath the international poverty line of $2.15 per day, many equally lack access to education (like rudimentary schooling) and basic infrastructural services. As such, it is noted that 63 per cent of Nigerians (133 million people) are multi-dimensionally poor, with 65 per cent of these people (86 million) living in the North of the country and 35 percent (about 47 million) dwelling in the South. Moreover, 72 per cent of the multi-dimensionally poor are in rural areas, unlike 42 per cent who are in the urban centres.

Multi-dimensional poverty in Nigeria is evident in the low life expectancy and high infant mortality rates that are prevalent across the country, alongside the lack of access to basic healthcare, clean cooking energies, good sanitary conditions and proper and adequate housing, etc. And it has been highly unfortunate that poverty has been increasing in the country over the same number of decades that it has been reducing drastically in China.

A Raft of Lessons on Poverty Reduction

As emphasised above, the primary factor for reducing poverty to the lowest possible level in China has been the determination of its leadership, which resolved to make need and vulnerability history in the country. Therefore, a fundamental pre-condition of ending poverty is the national commitment, as driven by the leadership, and witnessed in the accumulation of efforts in China from Chairman Mao to Deng Xiaoping, to the more concerted endeavours of President X Jinping in recent times.

The level of commitment of leaders in Nigeria to poverty reduction among the people has tended to appear  at the very best  uninspired, whether due to the dearth of coherent perspectives and strategies on or simply the faltering of vision or intention with regard to the phenomenon. Thus, the indices of poverty in the country have kept worsening. And, Nigeria is now  in an inverse relation to China  home to the greatest number of poor people in the world.

As witnessed in the example of China, there is need to power the productive base of the Nigerian economy through the adoption of a holistic strategy of growth that is also backed by the requisite political will. This is connected to the necessity of massive investments in education (quite critical in the present knowledge age, and serving as basis of the new economy), healthcare, and the building of different levels of infrastructure  from roads, to electrification, housing, etc., which would open up economic opportunities, and lead to the provision of jobs. Infrastructure is particularly important in the rural areas to boost livelihoods and income.

Crucial to the Chinese strategy of poverty reduction, which Nigeria should learn from, is the need to stimulate industrialisation, in a manner that accelerates economic activities and expands income levels, while being intentional about developing national development policies having poverty reduction as their defining purpose. These are in addition to the delivery of well-targeted programmes for the poor, in an inclusive manner. Also, poverty reduction requires a development-oriented approach that helps in building the capacity of the poor to be able to help themselves, in addition to empowering balanced development between the rural and urban areas. These should be in tandem with the mobilisation of the private and public sectors as essential participants in poverty reduction programmes.

With agriculture being a major form of livelihood and source of income in Nigeria, as it is in China, this has to be rendered the required assistance by government  through trainings, the provision of equipment, and inputs like better, high-yield seedlings and agricultural extension services. Moreover, there is the need for sectoral diversification to include food processing and packaging, and other off-farm activities, as sources of value addition.

In similar vein, there is the necessity of targeted interventions that identify the poor, following the generation of data on them by means of a national registration system, to understand their particular demographics and peculiar needs  in order to address these properly and effectively.

All avenues would have to be explored to get all the required resources for the poverty reduction efforts, to make a success of them, while the monitoring and evaluation of the entire process is crucial to keep it on track and deliver on its critical mandates.

Lade Bandele, a media and development worker, writes from Lagos.

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In the bustling streets of South Delhi, India, where aspirations mingle with dreams, Prateek Suris journey began  an odyssey that would lead him from overseeing a $2 billion consumer electronics empire to gracing the covers of the esteemed Gulf Business Magazine.

The tale of this tech unicorn founders rise from humble beginnings to the global stage has become more than a conversation. Its an inspiring narrative that echoes through the corridors of the global elite.

Mr Suris story, etched with resilience and innovation, unfolded against the backdrop of the fiercely competitive consumer electronics industry. As the CEO of Maser, a major player in the sector, his leadership catapulted the company to unprecedented heights. The turning point was a moment of audacity where Suri envisioned a tech empire that went beyond consumer electronics  a vision that would birth MDR Investments LLC.

MDR Investments, founded by Suri with a mission to fund the next generation of AI-powered firms, has not just opened dialogues with nations but has become a pivotal player in shaping the global AI ecosystem. Instances abound where Suri, driven by the belief that AI is the defining technology of our time, engaged with governments.

Noteworthy is the ongoing collaboration with some nations like the United Kingdom, India, Kenya, and South Africa, a testament to Suris commitment to contribute to the advancement of AI innovation on an international scale.

Suri recognises both the promises and perils of AI. In one of the tech roundtable discussions, he passionately argued for a collaborative approach, believing that addressing the challenges while maximising the positive impact of AI requires a united front. This conviction translates into action as MDR Investments, under Suris guidance, actively aligns with national AI strategies, viewing each partnership not just as an investment opportunity but as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation.

Being labeled the poster boy of Gulf Business Magazine is not just about an appearance on glossy covers; its a recognition of Suris indelible mark on the global stage. As instances unfold, the magazines extensive coverage delves into Suris achievements, leadership nuances, and the profound impact of his endeavors.

It sheds light on Suris hands-on approach, his ability to navigate challenges, and the strategic decisions that have positioned him as a symbol of success in the consumer electronics and global technology landscape.

In this dynamic intersection of industries, Suris story reverberates with entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. The journey from running a consumer electronics giant to shaping dialogues with nations and gracing the covers of influential magazines is not just about personal triumph. Its a narrative that resonates with aspiring entrepreneurs and future leaders, inviting them to dream big, innovate fearlessly, and leave an indelible mark on the ever-evolving landscape of technology and business.

Prateek Suris story, much like his ventures, is a testament to the boundless possibilities that await those who dare to chart new territories in pursuit of their dreams.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (L) talking to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about their partnership at OpenAI's DevDay. Barbara Ortutey/AP

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has Microsoft's tie-up with OpenAI in its crosshairs.

The antitrust watchdog said it had been "closely monitoring" the impact of such partnerships.

It's inviting third parties to comment in a process that usually comes before an investigation.

Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI is facing its first real antitrust challenge, courtesy of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.

The CMA said Friday that it would weigh up whether the partnership, underpinned by a $10 billion investment in OpenAI, meant Microsoft held any power over the ChatGPT maker.

It said in a press release: "The CMA will review whether the partnership has resulted in an acquisition of control  that is, where it results in one party having material influence, de facto control or more than 50% of the voting rights over another entity  or change in the nature of control by one entity over another."



The watchdog added that it had been "closely monitoring" the impact of such partnerships in AI that could weaken competition and hinder the development or use of foundation models.

The CMA is inviting parties to comment on whether Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI could have an adverse effect on competition.

It will then assess if it's worthy of a probe after external parties comment, a process that occurs before an official investigation is launched. Interested third parties have until January 3 to get in touch with their views, per the partnership merger inquiry page .

The CMA said the tie-up, through Microsoft's investment and provision of its cloud services, "represents a close, multi-faceted relationship between two firms with significant activities in FMs and related markets."



Microsoft's vice chair and president, Brad Smith, told Business Insider in a statement, "Since 2019, we've forged a partnership with OpenAI that has fostered more AI innovation and competition, while preserving independence for both companies."

Story continues

He added, "The only thing that has changed is that Microsoft will now have a non-voting observer on OpenAI's Board, which is very different from an acquisition such as Google's purchase of DeepMind in the UK. We will work closely with the CMA to provide all the information it needs."

It's not the first time the CMA has scrutinized companies that have entered into a partnership. In 2019, the watchdog probed Amazon's 16% investment in delivery firm Deliveroo. A year later, it cleared the tech giant's stake in the company after finding that it would not adversely affect customers.

OpenAI didn't immediately respond to BI's request for comment, made outside of normal working hours.





Read the original article on Business Insider
The celebration unfolded in two parts: first, a day-long brand-building workshop for up-and-coming artists, marking the last chapter and completion of Bulleit's 100-Hour Commitment  a year-long commitment to providing up-and-coming artists with 100 hours of mentorship from established talent thanks to Bulleit's long-standing relationship with music and creator platform, UnitedMasters. The workshop was then capped off by a showcase event where visual artists and musicians took the spotlight, displaying the breadth of Bulleit's commitment and year-long reach.

Clocking in 100 hours of mentorship

The day of festivities commenced with an end-to-end brand immersion experience designed to help up-and-coming musicians develop their personal brand. Expert mentors, including Cortez Bryant (talent manager and Co-CEO of The Blueprint Group), Melissa Newhart (Executive of Music Brand Partnerships at UTA), Darren Talud (Sr. Manager of Digital Content at Roc Nation), and Kah Li Haslam (Creative Strategist), offered their guidance in a series of bespoke mentorship sessions covering brand strategy, curation and creation of a visual identity and voice, marketing tactics, and more. During the day, mentees also took to the streets of Miami, guided by local artists such as Hassni Caina (Fashion Stylist and Designer) and P The Kid (Photographer), to jumpstart and craft personalized brand books, infusing individuality into each artist's narrative.

The experience finished at night, with mentees taking to the stage at Bulleit's celebratory event, showcasing their talents in live performances for a room buzzing with professional artists, press, and industry greats.

"The 100-Hour Commitment was established to provide foundational help to independent artists by addressing the real-world challenges they face, and we're proud to say that's exactly what we created here. Witnessing industry veterans come together to uplift and support artists whose careers are on the ascent has been nothing short of remarkable. It's a testament to the power of community and mentorship, and we're proud to have played a role in fostering the growth of the next generation of artists so they can push the boundaries of creativity." Said John Rough, SVP, Head of Brand Partnerships at UnitedMasters.

"With independence becoming an industry norm, Bulleit has written the playbook for those looking to meaningfully engage with these creators."

Celebrating music, art, and food

The night came alive at SVN Suite in Wynwood, the epicenter of street art and a hotspot for renowned artists from across the globe. Alongside the live performances by UnitedMasters mentees, visual artists Graph Atik, Peyton The Artist, and Ange Hillz displayed their latest artwork across the venue. This was the artists' first time exhibiting their pieces during Miami Art Week's activities, made possible thanks to Bulleit's ongoing partnership with Actively Black, who is on a mission to continue highlighting Black talent that needs to be seen.

Bulleit also joined forces with African Chop House, a collective set out to celebrate African culture through food, music, and people, who curated a bespoke menu inspired by the different flavors and cultures that make up Miami, including Coconut Curry Chicken Bites, a Shrimp & Conch Ceviche, Kung Pao Mushrooms, and their world-famous Jollof Rice.

"Last year, we set out on the bold mission to celebrate those at the frontier of culture with the Bulleit Pioneer Project. From collaborating with spoken-word poet J. Ivy to reimagining what a bar could be through technology and delivering 100 hours of mentorship to emerging artistsI look back on this last year, and I'm proud to say we've done that." Said Jesse Damashek, SVP of Whiskeys and Liqueurs at Diageo NA.

"Miami Art Week is the perfect time to cheer for what has been a fantastic year for culture, and I can't help but get excited to continue celebrating more of these milestones for many years to come."

Last night's grand event showcased the immense talent Bulleit has worked with and amplified within the first year of the Pioneer Project. Aside from the 100-Hour Commitment, endeavors included The Remix Challenge a search for gifted wordsmiths vying for a coveted mentoring session with the esteemed J. Ivy, and the unveiling of a compelling short film featuring his poignant spoken word composition entitled "A Toast To The Times, " the "New New York" celebration and award presentation in partnership with Tribeca Festival, and most recently Bulleit's Limitless Lounge , a multi-sensory bar experience in Los Angeles.

This is Bulleit's first annual end-of-year celebration of The Pioneer Project, marking the brand's renewed commitment to championing and amplifying those at the forefront of culture year after year.

All guests in attendance were encouraged to drink responsibly. The producers of Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR) support responsible decision-making.

About Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

Bulleit, founded in 1987, is one of the fastest-growing whiskeys in America. The brand attributes that growth to bartenders and cultural partners who have adopted it as their own. The Bulleit Frontier Whiskey portfolio is distilled and aged in the Bulleit family tradition, using a distinctive high rye recipe, which gives them a bold, spicy, yet distinctively smooth taste. The award-winning Kentucky whiskey most recently won a Double Gold medal for Bulleit 10-Year Old and Gold Medals for Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2017, Bulleit celebrated its 30th anniversary with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art distillery located in Shelbyville, KY. Constructed with a focus on sustainable practices including natural habitat protection, water conservation and local ingredient sourcing, BDC received the Highly Commended award for Sustainable Distillery of the Year at the 2020 Icons of Whisky Awards from Whisky Magazine. In 2019, a Visitor's Centre at the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville opened to share our modern, technological and sustainable approach to making great whiskey. In 2021, Diageo opened its first carbon-neutral whiskey distillery in Lebanon, KY with Bulleit being the first and leading brand being produced at the site. supplementing existing production at the Bulleit Distilling Co. For more information, visit www.bulleit.com or follow @Bulleit on Instagram.

About Diageo

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO ) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and performance, visit www.diageo.com . Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com , for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

Follow on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.

About UnitedMasters

Launched in 2017 by Translation founder and music industry veteran Steve Stoute, UnitedMasters provides a new industry alternative for over 1.9 million independent artists. UnitedMasters gives artists access to premium music distribution services, a suite of tools to help them directly connect with fans, and opportunities for unique partnerships with some of the world's biggest brands. The UnitedMasters platform enables artists to operationalize their independence and maximize their creative and economic potential while allowing them to maintain full ownership over their master recording rights.

About the African Chop House

African Chop House was founded in 2017 as a celebration of African culture through good food, music and community. It has traveled globally from Brooklyn, LA, Chicago, South Africa, Ghana and annually during Art Week in Miami. Inclusive of the Afro Latin diaspora, we tell our stories through the foods that connect our diverse cultures.

About Actively Black

Actively Black is an apparel brand created in 2020 by Former NBA player Lanny Smith. Our mission is to uplift and re-invest back into the Black community and improve our people's access to mental health, healthy food, social justice, and physical fitness resources. We are not just building an apparel brand. The clothes are just the uniform for the movement.

SOURCE Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

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NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The combined heat and power market size is expected to grow by USD 9.35 billion from 2023 to 2028. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 6.29% during the forecast period, according to Technavio. An increase in the consumption of energy globally is notably driving the combined heat and power market. However, factors such as high cost associated with combined heat and power units may impede market growth. The market is segmented by product (natural gas, coal, and others), end-user (industrial, commercial, and residential), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa). We provide a detailed analysis of 20 companies operating in the combined heat and power market including ABB Ltd., Ameresco Inc., Capstone Green Energy Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., FuelCell Energy Inc., General Electric Co., Helec Ltd., HoSt Holding B.V., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Kraft Power Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., MTT bv, Robert Bosch GmbH, Rolls Royce Holdings Plc, Siemens Energy AG, Traton SE, Veolia Environnement SA, Wartsila Corp., and 2G Energy AG.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Combined Heat and Power Market 2024-2028

The report offers an up-to-date analysis of the market, and to know the exact growth variance and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Request a Sample Report.

Combined Heat And Power Market 2024-2028: Company Analysis

ABB Ltd: The company offers combined heat and power products such as Agenitor.

This report provides a full list of key companies, their strategies, and latest developments. Buy Now for detailed company information

Combined Heat And Power Market 2024-2028: Segmentation

Product

The natural gas segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Given its clean-burning properties, energy efficiency, and availability, natural gas is one of the most common choices for combined heat and power systems. Furthermore, its environmental sustainability is a key advantage of the natural gas segment. Therefore, this segment is growing at a rapid rate and thus driving market growth over the forecast period.

Geography

APAC accounts for 52% of market growth. The favorable government initiatives aimed at increasing the uptake of combined heat and electricity are one of the major factors that contribute to the growth of the market in the APAC region. For instance, since 2012, the feed-in tariff mechanism has been prevalent in Japan, wherein preferable tax treatments and certain subsidies are available for combined heat and power.



Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a PDF Sample Report

Combined Heat And Power Market 2024-2028: Key Highlights

Historic Market Size 2018-2022

CAGR of the market during 2024-2028

Detailed information on factors that will assist combined heat and power market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the market size and its contribution to the parent market

Forecasts on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the combined heat and power market

Analysis of the competitive landscape and detailed information on companies

Comprehensive details of factors that will impede the growth of combined heat and power market companies

Related Reports:

The zero-energy buildings market size is estimated to decline at a CAGR of 23.51% between 2023 and 2028. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 172.65 billion.

The India - solar power market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 34.24% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 273.82 billion.

Combined Heat And Power Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2023 Historic period 2018-2022 Forecast period 2024-2028 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.29% Market Growth 2024-2028 USD 9.35 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 6.01 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 52% Key countries US, China, India, Japan, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading Companies, Market Positioning of Companies, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled ABB Ltd., Ameresco Inc., Capstone Green Energy Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., FuelCell Energy Inc., General Electric Co., Helec Ltd., HoSt Holding B.V., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Kraft Power Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., MTT bv, Robert Bosch GmbH, Rolls Royce Holdings Plc, Siemens Energy AG, Traton SE, Veolia Environnement SA, Wartsila Corp., and 2G Energy AG Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Product

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA /OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf" or the "Company"), a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis, today announced that, in connection with the previously announced conditional approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") to list the Company's subordinate voting shares (the "Subordinate Voting Shares") on the TSX (the "TSX Listing"), the Company proceeded with the necessary internal reorganization (the "Reorganization") of its U.S. operations. Among other things, Curaleaf, Inc. ("Curaleaf USA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company entered into a subscription agreement (the "Subscription Agreement") with a third party investor which is not affiliated with the Company, Curaleaf USA or the control person of the Company (the "Investor"), pursuant to which Curaleaf USA issued to the Investor one (1) share of Class A voting and non-participating common stock (the "Class A Voting Stock"), for an aggregate subscription amount of US$1 million (the "Investment").

Prior to the Investment, the Company held common stock of Curaleaf USA, representing 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Curaleaf USA. Concurrently with the closing of the Investment and in accordance with the seventh amended and restated certificate of incorporation of Curaleaf USA filed immediately prior to the execution of the Subscription Agreement, such common stock has been automatically exchanged for 999 shares of Class B non-voting and participating common stock (the "Class B Non-Voting Stock"). Following the closing of the Investment in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Investor now holds all of the issued and outstanding Class A Voting Stock and voting rights of Curaleaf USA. The Company holds all of the issued and outstanding Class B Non-Voting Stock, which represent 99.9% of the economic ownership of Curaleaf USA, on an as-converted basis.

The Class B Non-Voting Stock does not provide for voting rights but are exchangeable into shares of Class C voting and participating common stock (the "Class C Voting Stock") of Curaleaf USA at any time. As a result of the limited rights associated with the Class B Non-Voting Stock, Curaleaf and Curaleaf USA entered into, concurrently with the closing of the Investment, a protection agreement (the "Protection Agreement") providing for certain negative covenants in order to preserve the value of the Class B Non-Voting Stock held by the Company until such time as the Class B Non-Voting Stock is converted into Class C Voting Stock by the Company, including, among others, prohibitions on Curaleaf USA's organizational documents amendments, changes to the authorized share capital of Curaleaf USA, changes to the Curaleaf USA's board of directors, material changes to the business conducted by Curaleaf USA or the making of loans or capital expenditures above certain specified thresholds, the whole except with the prior written consent of Curaleaf or as required by applicable laws.

Concurrently with the Investment, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement and Information Circular of the Company dated July 14, 2023 and the Management Information Circular of the Company dated August 23, 2023, respectively, and as previously approved by the Company's securityholders, the Company implemented (A) certain amendments to the indenture among the Company and Odyssey Trust Company dated as of December 15, 2021 (as supplemented from time to time, the "Indenture") governing the notes thereunder (the "Indenture Amendments") in order to facilitate the implementation of the Reorganization, and (B) certain amendments to the Company's articles (the "Articles Amendments") in order to: (i) create a new class of non-voting and non-participating shares in the capital of the Company exchangeable at the holder's option into Subordinate Voting Shares (the "Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares") and authorize the issuance of an unlimited number of Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares; and (ii) restate the rights of the Subordinate Voting Shares to provide for a conversion feature whereby each Subordinate Voting Share may at any time, at the holder's option, be converted into one (1) Non-Voting Exchangeable Share. The Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares do not carry voting rights, rights to receive dividends or other rights upon dissolution of the Company, and are considered "restricted securities" within the meaning of such term under applicable Canadian securities laws.

The Articles Amendments aim to provide Company's shareholders with the option to convert their Subordinate Voting Shares into Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares if such shareholders prefer to hold non-voting and non-participating shares given the uncertainty and complexity related to cannabis regulations in the United States.

Concurrently with the closing of the Investment, the Company and the Investor, as shareholders of Curaleaf USA, also entered into a shareholders' agreement (the "Shareholders' Agreement") with respect to Curaleaf USA, to establish, among other things, the rights and obligations arising out of or in connection with the ownership of the Class A Voting Stock and the Class B Non-Voting Stock. Under the Shareholders' Agreement, Curaleaf USA holds a call right to repurchase all of the Class A Voting Stock issuable to the Investor at any time, and the Investor has the right to appoint a director to the Curaleaf USA's board of directors and a put right exercisable following the occurrence of certain stated events and after the five (5) year anniversary of the Shareholders' Agreement subject to certain parameters to ensure the maintaining of the TSX Listing.

The particulars of the Reorganization, as well as the material terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Protection Agreement and the Shareholders' Agreement will be more fully described in a material change report to be filed by the Company with the Canadian Securities Administrators and which will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Copies of the Indenture, as amended, the amended and restated articles of Curaleaf, the Shareholders Agreement and the Protection Agreement will also be made available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+.

About Curaleaf Holdings

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis with a mission to enhance lives by cultivating, sharing and celebrating the power of the plant. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the Company and its brands, including Curaleaf, Select, and Grassroots provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. In the United States, Curaleaf brands are sold in 17 states with operations encompassing 147 dispensaries and employing more than 5,200 team members. Curaleaf International is the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in Europe with a unique supply and distribution network throughout the European market, bringing together pioneering science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction and production. Curaleaf is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CURA and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol CURLF. For more information, please visit https://ir.curaleaf.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on management's current beliefs, expectations or assumptions regarding the future of the business, plans and strategies, operational results and other future conditions of the Company. In addition, the Company may make or approve certain statements in future filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in press releases, or in oral or written presentations by representatives of the Company that are not statements of historical fact and may also constitute forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, made by the Company that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements preceded by, followed by or that include words such as "assumptions", "assumes", "guidance", "outlook", "may", "will", "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, disclosure in this news release as well as statements regarding the Company's intention and timing to complete the Investment, the Reorganization and the TSX Listing; the Company's ability to satisfy all listing and regulatory requirements of the TSX and obtain TSX approval for the TSX Listing;; the anticipated benefits to the Company and Curaleaf USA from the Investment, the Reorganization and the TSX Listing and other expectations for other economic, business and/or competitive factors are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date they are made and are based on information currently available and on the then current expectations.

Holders of securities of the Company are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time they were provided or made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, as applicable, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the Investment, the Reorganization and the TSX Listing set forth in the prospectus supplement of the Company dated September 28, 2023 to the short form base shelf prospectus of the Company dated December 30, 2022, which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca; as well as those risk factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated May 1, 2023 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and additional risks described in the Company's Annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 (both of which documents have been filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), and as described from time to time in documents filed by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. There is no guarantee the Company will complete the TSX Listing as currently proposed, which remain subject to certain closing conditions, including the Company meeting the listing conditions and requirements of the TSX. As a result of the Reorganization, the Company is now subject to significant restrictions on the conduct of the U.S.-based operations of the Company, which such restrictions could have a material adverse effect on the Company, its business and its results of operation.

The purpose of forward-looking statements is to provide the reader with a description of management's expectations, and such forward-looking statements may not be appropriate for any other purpose. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from what is projected in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Such forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The Company's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

INVESTOR CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Camilo Lyon, Chief Investment Officer

[email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Tracy Brady, SVP Corporate Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.
Reuters

OPEC and Saudi Arabia are losing their control over the world oil market.

That's due to booming US supply, which has helped offset OPEC's drastic supply cuts.

Saudi Arabia could be pushed to wage oil "market share war," one expert said.

OPEC+ and Saudi Arabia's attempt to regain control of the oil market appears to be wavering, evidenced by the longest decline in crude prices in years.

Oil ticked higher on Friday, but prices have plunged over the past seven weeks, marking the longest slide in oil prices seen in five years, according to Reuters. Brent crude, the international benchmark rose 2% on Friday to $75 a barrel. That's down 18% from levels in mid-October, when Brent traded around $92 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% on Friday to $70 a barrel, still down around 19% from mid-October, when it traded around $89 a barrel.

The nearly two-month-long decline is a blow to OPEC and its de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia, which has been trying to staunch the fall in oil prices for the past year. OPEC+ members have repeatedly slashed production in 2023 and have agreed to a 2.2 million barrel-a-day cut through the first quarter of 2024.

Around 1.3 million barrels of those cuts are already being enacted by Saudi Arabia and Russia, which voluntarily chose to slash oil production through the end of the year.

Those reductions could be followed up with more production cuts if needed, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said. Previously, he said that the cartel was looking to smooth out distortions in the energy market, and suggested that the fall in oil prices was a "ploy" orchestrated by speculators.

Saudi Arabia's threats of tightening global supply, though, appear lost on oil market participants, who have written off the cuts as more supply hits the market, particularly from the US. US oil production has boomed this year, with crude exports from the US are nearing a record 6 million barrels per day.

Story continues

Markets are also anticipating softer demand for oil in the future, particularly as economies around the world slow and governments place higher emphasis on increasing the use of renewable power.

US manufacturing activity fell in November, marking its 13th straight month of declines, according to the Institute for Supply Management. China, one of the world's largest crude consumers, is also battling a host of economic problems, which could keep demand low.

Those pressures could eventually push Saudi Arabia to wage oil "market share war" against the US, energy expert Paul Sankey told Business Insider, a tactical move that involves flooding the world's oil supply through the first half of 2024 to regain control of prices.

Read the original article on Business Insider
DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- L.N. Dhamani, a Pioneer of the gems & Jewellery industry, passed away on 1st December 2023 at the age of 70. Born in Jaipur, India, L. N. Dhamani developed a passion for gemstones at a young age. He established his company, Dhamani, in 1969 at the age of 16 and quickly made a name for himself as a premier emerald supplier.

In Loving Memory Of Shri Laxmi Narain Dhamani, (6th September 1953  1st December 2023). Your life was A Blessing & Inspiration, Your Memory is a Treasure. You are Loved Beyond Words & Missed Beyond Measure. (PRNewsfoto/Dhamani Jewels)

L.N. Dhamani's success was driven by his unwavering commitment to quality and his deep understanding of the gemstone industry. He traveled extensively, visiting international shows and building relationships with suppliers and customers around the world. He Expanded the Dhamani Brand rapidly, opening offices in London, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai.

L.N. Dhamani was not only a successful businessman but also a generous philanthropist. He established an endowment program in Jaipur that provides assistance to widows and orphans, and he was actively involved in various social and spiritual initiatives.

L.N. Dhamani's legacy lives on in the Dhamani Brand, which is now positioned in the league of fine Jewellery brands in the world. His belief and determined personality inspired many aspiring entrepreneurs to have no fear in wanting to do what they believed in. Despite achieving a pinnacle of success and his passion to keep working, he always made time for family and was a guiding light for many others.

He leaves behind a cherished family: His beloved Wife Pushpa, and their sons Amit, Rohit, Manish and daughter Monika.

CONDOLENCE AND PRAYER MEET IN DUBAI AT JAWAHARA BALLROOM, MADINAT JUMEIRAH ON THURSDAY, 14TH OF DECEMBER 2023 FROM 4:30 PM TO 6:00 PM.

Contact:

Drishti Dhamani

Dhamani Jewels

Dubai

Crmsupport@dhamani.ae

+971564012499

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2296553/Dhamani_Jewels.jpg

SOURCE Dhamani Jewels
DUBLIN, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "North American Oil & Gas Monitor" newsletter has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The publication continues to provide weekly coverage of upstream, midstream and downstream news, spanning shale oil and gas, LNG, oil sands, transport by pipeline and rail, company performance and regional energy policy - on both national and state or provincial levels. NorthAmOil provides regular updates on the status of major proposed projects in both the US and Canada. The publication also looks at more distant prospects, such as offshore Arctic drilling.



Table of Contents from a Previous Issue



COMMENTARY

Canada's leading producers buoyed by high oil prices

INVESTMENT

Seneca selling California oil assets to Sentinel Peak

POLICY

Canada in talks on expediting East Coast LNG exports

in talks on expediting East Coast LNG exports Sources: US government asked Petrobras to raise oil output in March

PROJECTS & COMPANIES

Venture Global announces offtake agreements with ExxonMobil, Petronas

ENERGY TRANSITION

Gas firms call for US, EU to work on global methane measurement standard

ConocoPhillips shareholders reject Scope 3 emissions target proposal

SK E&S invests in US CCS project

NEWS IN BRIEF



NEWSBASE'S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG)



OUR CUSTOMERS

For more information about this newsletter visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/w2wwac

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:

esearch and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



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Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "REAGILA Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2032" drug pipelines has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report provides comprehensive insights about REAGILA for schizophrenia in the seven major markets. A detailed picture of the REAGILA for schizophrenia 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 REAGILA for schizophrenia.

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 REAGILA market forecast analysis for schizophrenia in the 7MM, SWOT, analysts' views, comprehensive overview of market competitors, and brief about other emerging therapies in schizophrenia.



Drug Summary



VRAYLAR/REAGILA (cariprazine) is an atypical antipsychotic used in the treatment of schizophrenia and manic or mixed episodes of bipolar disorder. The drug acts as a D2 and D3 receptor partial agonist, with high selectivity toward the D3 receptor. This mechanism is relatively unique since many other antipsychotics are D2 and 5-HT2A agonists. Action on the dopaminergic systems makes it also potentially useful as add-on therapy for major depressive disorder.



In September 2015, the FDA approved the drug, and was indicated in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. VRAYLAR is also sold under the brand name REAGILA in Europe. VRAYLAR was discovered and co-developed by Gedeon Richter and is licensed by Allergan, in the US and Canada.



Dosage and Administration



The recommended dosage range is 1.5-6 mg once daily. The starting dosage is 1.5 mg daily and can be increased to 3 mg on the second day. Depending upon clinical response and tolerability, further dose adjustments can be made in 1.5 mg or 3 mg increments. The maximum recommended dosage is 6 mg daily. In short-term controlled trials, dosages above 6 mg daily do not confer increased effectiveness sufficient to outweigh dose-related adverse reactions.



Mechanism of Action



Cariprazine is a dopamine D3 and D2 receptor partial agonist with a preference for the D3 receptor. Cariprazine is also a partial agonist at the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor and acts as an antagonist at 5-HT2B and 5-HT2A receptors.



REAGILA Analytical Perspective

In-depth REAGILA Market Assessment



This report provides a detailed market assessment of REAGILA for schizophrenia 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.



REAGILA Clinical Assessment



The report provides the clinical trials information of REAGILA for schizophrenia covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates.



Report Highlights

In the coming years, the market scenario for schizophrenia is set to change due to the extensive research and incremental healthcare spending across the world; which would expand the size of the market to enable the drug manufacturers to penetrate more into the market.

The companies are developing therapies that focus on novel approaches to treat/improve the disease condition, assess challenges, and seek opportunities that could influence REAGILA dominance.

Other emerging products for schizophrenia are expected to give tough market competition to REAGILA and launch of late-stage emerging therapies in the near future will significantly impact the market.

A detailed description of regulatory milestones, and developmental activities, provide the current development scenario of REAGILA in schizophrenia.

The in-depth analysis of the forecasted sales data of REAGILA from 2023 to 2032 will support the clients in the decision-making process regarding their therapeutic portfolio by identifying the overall scenario of the REAGILA in schizophrenia.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Report Introduction



2. REAGILA Overview in Schizophrenia

2.1. Product Detail

2.2. Clinical Development

2.2.1. Clinical studies

2.2.2. Clinical trials information

2.3. Regulatory Milestones

2.4. Other Developmental Activities

2.5. Product Profile



3. Competitive Landscape (Marketed Therapies)



4. Competitive Landscape (Late-stage Emerging Therapies)



5. REAGILA Market Assessment

5.1. Market Outlook of REAGILA in Schizophrenia

5.2. 7MM Analysis

5.2.1. Market Size of REAGILA in the 7MM for Schizophrenia

5.3. Country-wise Market Analysis

5.3.1. Market Size of REAGILA in the United States for Schizophrenia

5.3.2. Market Size of REAGILA in Germany for Schizophrenia

5.3.3. Market Size of REAGILA in France for Schizophrenia

5.3.4. Market Size of REAGILA in Italy for Schizophrenia

5.3.5. Market Size of REAGILA in Spain for Schizophrenia

5.3.6. Market Size of REAGILA in the United Kingdom for Schizophrenia

5.3.7. Market Size of REAGILA in Japan for Schizophrenia



6. SWOT Analysis



7. Analysts' Views



8. Appendix



For more information about this drug pipelines report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/diyouh

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:

esearch 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
Learn more about Servier's leadership in mutant IDH inhibition at ASH booth #1347

BOSTON, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Servier, a leader in oncology committed to bringing the promise of tomorrow to the patients we serve, will be presenting new data in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. These data provide a compelling and in-depth look into the treatment patterns and clinical outcomes observed in real-world settings, offering valuable insights for informed decision-making in patient care.

"During our initial five years in the oncology space, Servier has more than doubled its portfolio and launched several new indications for TIBSOVO in IDH1-mutant cancers, including frontline AML, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and previously treated cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) - many of these indications serving as a best-in-class treatment option," said Arjun Prasad," Head of Commercial, Servier Pharmaceuticals. "As the leader driving the science behind targeted mutant IDH inhibition, we strive to maximize the benefits of molecular testing to improve patient outcomes and continue to focus on areas of unmet need where patients could benefit from personalized medicine, from our multiple approvals across hematology and solid tumors to ongoing research in difficult to treat and rare cancers such as chondrosarcoma."

More information on testing for IDH mutations in cancer can be found at IDHlearnmore.com .

Data being presented at ASH include real-world evidence analysis in patients with newly diagnosed AML (intensive chemotherapy induction ineligible (ICIE) and a susceptible IDH1 mutation comparing Tibsovo in combination with hypomethylating agents (HMA) versus venetoclax in combination with hypomethylating agents. In the analysis of 238 patients, Tibsovo+HMA elicited a higher complete response (CR) rate versus venetoclax+HMA at 42.9% vs. 26.7% (p=0.007). 6-month event-free survival also favored Tibsovo+HMA at 56.0% vs. 39.6% (p=0.044), as well as 11.5% of patients on Tibsovo+HMA achieving bridge to transplant versus 5.0% on a venetoclax+HMA regimen (p=0.066). Median time from diagnosis to start of treatment was 14 versus 20 days for Tibsovo+HMA vs venetoclax+HMA. Treatment discontinuation was 37% for both regimens and toxicity incidence was similar, with the exception of higher febrile neutropenia (FN) rates for venetoclax+HMA versus Tibsovo+HMA (7.9% vs. 1.6%; p=0.009). Patients receiving Tibsovo+HMA had a 61% lower relative risk of unscheduled acute care use in the first 12 weeks (42.9% versus 70.3% for venetoclax+HMA; p<0.001). Venetoclax schedule intensity was also captured, with only 22.8% receiving the full FDA-labeled 28 days of venetoclax during the 28-day cycles; 44.6% did not receive >11 days of venetoclax per cycle. The full analysis will be presented on Monday, December 11 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

"At Servier, we bring the patient voice into everything we do, and our commitment to patients extends far beyond approval," emphasized Becky Martin, PhD, Chief of Medical, Servier Pharmaceuticals. "As a privately held company, we have the ability to invest in the long-term in ways that help to create better understandings on the real-world impact our medicines have on the lives of patients. We're proud to once again present real-world evidence at ASH, offering the broader oncology community insights into treatment patterns that can help in the development of the best possible treatment regimen for each individual patient."

Additional data being presented at ASH includes molecular measurable residual disease (MRD) in ICIE patients with newly diagnosed mIDH1 AML treated with Tibsovo+azacitidine, further bolstering the clinical profile of Tibsovo in the front-line setting, as well as real-world analyses examining treatment patterns in both ALL and AML.

About Servier in Oncology

Servier is a global leader in oncology focused on delivering meaningful therapeutic progress for the patients it serves. Governed by a non-profit foundation, Servier approaches innovation with a long-term vision, free of influence from investors and outside pressure to chase short-term monetary targets.

As a leader in oncology, Servier has significantly accelerated its investment in difficult and hard-to-treat cancers, with more than 50% of its research and development dedicated to delivering significant advances in areas of high unmet need throughout oncology with the potential to change the lives of the patients it serves. Within these areas, Servier is the leader in mutant IDH inhibition, with the first ever mutant IDH1 inhibitor approved in the U.S. and the European Union, and the company continues to drive the science behind targeted mutant IDH inhibition.

Servier's commitment to therapeutic progress guides its collaboration strategy. While many companies across the industry are scaling back investments, Servier is actively building alliances, completing acquisitions, conducting licensing deals and entering new partnerships that can help to accelerate access to therapies for patients in need. With the company's commercial expertise, global reach, scientific expertise and commitment to clinical excellence, Servier is dedicated to bringing the promise of tomorrow to the patients it serves.

Press Contact

Servier Pharmaceuticals

Nathan Mellor

[email protected]

Disclosures

This release contains general information about the Servier Group and its entities (hereinafter "Servier and its Affiliates") and is intended for informational purposes only. The information is thought to be reliable; however, Servier and its Affiliates make no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein or otherwise provided and accept no responsibility or liability, in contract, in tort, in negligence, or otherwise, should the information be found to be inaccurate or incomplete in any respect.

Servier and its Affiliates are not acting as an advisor to the recipient of this information, and the ultimate decision to proceed with any transaction rests solely with the recipient of this information. Therefore, prior to entering into any proposed transaction, the recipient of this information should determine, without reliance upon Servier or its Affiliates, the economic risks and merits, as well as the legal, tax, and accounting characterizations and consequences, of the transaction and that it is able to assume these risks.

This statement also contains forward-looking statements that are subject to varying levels of uncertainty and risk. Investigational new drugs and indications are subject to further scientific and medical review and regulatory approval. They are not approved for use by the FDA.

Any reliance placed on this document is done entirely at the risk of the person placing such reliance. The information contained in this document is neither an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to enter into a transaction.

The content of this document is a summary only, is not complete, and does not include all material information about Servier and its Affiliates, including potential conflicts of interest.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, Servier and its Affiliates disclaim all representations, warranties, conditions and guarantees, whether express, implied, statutory or of other kind, nor does it accept any duty to any person, in connection with this document. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, Servier and its Affiliates do not warrant or represent that the information or opinions contained in this document is accurate or complete.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, Servier and its Affiliates shall not be liable for any loss, damage or expense whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, howsoever arising, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages arising out of or in connection with this document, including (without limitation) any course of action taken on the basis of the same. The estimates, strategies, and views expressed in this document are based upon past or current data and information and are subject to change without notice.

TIBSOVO IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND INDICATION FOR U.S. PATIENTS

INDICATIONS

TIBSOVO is indicated for patients with a susceptible isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test with:

Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

In combination with azacitidine or as monotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed AML in adults 75 years or older, or who have comorbidities that preclude use of intensive induction chemotherapy

Relapsed or Refractory AML

For the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML

Relapsed or Refractory Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

For the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory myelodysplastic syndromes

Locally Advanced or Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma

For the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma who have been previously treated

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: DIFFERENTIATION SYNDROME IN AML AND MDS

Patients treated with TIBSOVO have experienced symptoms of differentiation syndrome, which can be fatal. Symptoms may include fever, dyspnea, hypoxia, pulmonary infiltrates, pleural or pericardial effusions, rapid weight gain or peripheral edema, hypotension, and hepatic, renal, or multi-organ dysfunction. If differentiation syndrome is suspected, initiate corticosteroid therapy and hemodynamic monitoring until symptom resolution.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Differentiation Syndrome in AML and MDS: Differentiation syndrome is associated with rapid proliferation and differentiation of myeloid cells and may be life-threatening or fatal.

Symptoms of differentiation syndrome in patients treated with TIBSOVO included noninfectious leukocytosis, peripheral edema, pyrexia, dyspnea, pleural effusion, hypotension, hypoxia, pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, pericardial effusion, rash, fluid overload, tumor lysis syndrome and creatinine increased.

If differentiation syndrome is suspected, initiate dexamethasone 10 mg IV every 12 hours (or an equivalent dose of an alternative oral or IV corticosteroid) and hemodynamic monitoring until improvement. If concomitant noninfectious leukocytosis is observed, initiate treatment with hydroxyurea or leukapheresis, as clinically indicated. Taper corticosteroids and hydroxyurea after resolution of symptoms and administer corticosteroids for a minimum of 3 days. Symptoms of differentiation syndrome may recur with premature discontinuation of corticosteroid and/or hydroxyurea treatment. If severe signs and/or symptoms persist for more than 48 hours after initiation of corticosteroids, interrupt TIBSOVO until signs and symptoms are no longer severe.

QTc Interval Prolongation: Patients treated with TIBSOVO can develop QT (QTc) prolongation and ventricular arrhythmias. Concomitant use of TIBSOVO with drugs known to prolong the QTc interval (e.g., anti-arrhythmic medicines, fluoroquinolones, triazole anti-fungals, 5-HT 3 receptor antagonists) and CYP3A4 inhibitors may increase the risk of QTc interval prolongation. Conduct monitoring of electrocardiograms (ECGs) and electrolytes. In patients with congenital long QTc syndrome, congestive heart failure, electrolyte abnormalities, or those who are taking medications known to prolong the QTc interval, more frequent monitoring may be necessary.

Interrupt TIBSOVO if QTc increases to greater than 480 msec and less than 500 msec. Interrupt and reduce TIBSOVO if QTc increases to greater than 500 msec. Permanently discontinue TIBSOVO in patients who develop QTc interval prolongation with signs or symptoms of life-threatening arrhythmia.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Guillain-Barre syndrome can develop in patients treated with TIBSOVO. Monitor patients taking TIBSOVO for onset of new signs or symptoms of motor and/or sensory neuropathy such as unilateral or bilateral weakness, sensory alterations, paresthesias, or difficulty breathing. Permanently discontinue TIBSOVO in patients who are diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

In patients with AML , the most common adverse reactions including laboratory abnormalities (25%) are leukocytes decreased, diarrhea, hemoglobin decreased, platelets decreased, glucose increased, fatigue, alkaline phosphatase increased, edema, potassium decreased, nausea, vomiting, phosphate decreased, decreased appetite, sodium decreased, leukocytosis, magnesium decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, arthralgia, dyspnea, uric acid increased, abdominal pain, creatinine increased, mucositis, rash, electrocardiogram QT prolonged, differentiation syndrome, calcium decreased, neutrophils decreased, and myalgia

, the most common adverse reactions including laboratory abnormalities (25%) are leukocytes decreased, diarrhea, hemoglobin decreased, platelets decreased, glucose increased, fatigue, alkaline phosphatase increased, edema, potassium decreased, nausea, vomiting, phosphate decreased, decreased appetite, sodium decreased, leukocytosis, magnesium decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, arthralgia, dyspnea, uric acid increased, abdominal pain, creatinine increased, mucositis, rash, electrocardiogram QT prolonged, differentiation syndrome, calcium decreased, neutrophils decreased, and myalgia In patients with MDS , the most common adverse reactions including laboratory abnormalities (25%) are creatinine increased, hemoglobin decreased, arthralgia, albumin decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, fatigue, diarrhea, cough, sodium decreased, mucositis, decreased appetite, myalgia, phosphate decreased, pruritus, and rash

, the most common adverse reactions including laboratory abnormalities (25%) are creatinine increased, hemoglobin decreased, arthralgia, albumin decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, fatigue, diarrhea, cough, sodium decreased, mucositis, decreased appetite, myalgia, phosphate decreased, pruritus, and rash In patients with cholangiocarcinoma, the most common adverse reactions (15%) in patients with cholangiocarcinoma are fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, decreased appetite, ascites, vomiting, anemia, and rash. The most common laboratory abnormalities (10%) in patients with cholangiocarcinoma are hemoglobin decreased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, and bilirubin increased

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Strong or Moderate CYP3A4 Inhibitors: Reduce TIBSOVO dose with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors. Monitor patients for increased risk of QTc interval prolongation.

Strong CYP3A4 Inducers: Avoid concomitant use with TIBSOVO.

Sensitive CYP3A4 substrates: Avoid concomitant use with TIBSOVO.

QTc Prolonging Drugs: Avoid concomitant use with TIBSOVO. If co-administration is unavoidable, monitor patients for increased risk of QTc interval prolongation.

LACTATION:

Advise women not to breastfeed.

Please see Full Prescribing Information , including BOXED WARNING for AML and MDS patients.

SOURCE Servier Pharmaceuticals
Please note this press release was published on December 2, 2023 on the Sustainable Markets Initiative's website (http://www.sustainable-markets.org/news-archive)

Plan could unlock trillions of dollars for worldwide economy

Task force launches first-of-its-kind blended finance model to make regenerative farming financially viable for farmers; projects in India , the US and the UK explored to prove concept.

, the US and the UK explored to prove concept. Lloyds Banking Group announces it will join growing cross-industry group, as former CEO of Mars, Grant Reid , calls for others to join.

, calls for others to join. Companies call for 10 policy changes which could help to unlock a projected $1.2 trillion that regenerative agriculture can add to the worldwide economy.

DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At COP 28, the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Agribusiness Task Force announced the launch of a new blended finance framework that could unlock trillions of dollars for regenerative agriculture.

Agribusiness Task Force releases "Levers for Implementation" outlining steps to enable regenerative farming.

A task force of companies including Mars, McCain Foods, McDonald's, Mondelez International, PepsiCo and Waitrose, unveil a plan to make regenerative farming financially viable and scalable; explore implementation projects in India, the UK and the US; welcome Lloyds Banking Group to boost cross-industry support, and call for policy changes to help support its implementation.

The global food system currently creates ~30% of human produced GHG emissions[1] and is the greatest driver to nature loss. Embracing regenerative farming globally could help provide a third of the land-based climate action needed by 2030[2], but as the Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Task Force found last year, the economics do not work for most farmers.

The Task Force including Bayer, Indigo Ag and Olam Agri, today outlines a four-lever framework to accelerate the scaling of regenerative farming, built on:

New funding and sourcing models;

Introduction of common metrics;

Suggested government policy changes; and

A plan to create new revenue streams for farmers.

"New funding and sourcing models" is a first-of-its-kind blended finance model combining philanthropic support, catalytic capital from asset managers, commercial capital offered at preferential rates from banks, longer-term contract commitments from food businesses to source sustainable commodities, and crop insurance from insurance companies helping de-risk farming operations.

A "plan to create new revenue streams for farmers" proposes a way to create more revenue for farmers by allowing them to capture carbon credits during a field's entire rotation, not just when it is in-use.

Titled the Ecosystem Services Market, the approach means when a field is farmed to supply a buyer, regenerative practices can help the buyer's Scope 3 footprint; then during a year when the farmer is resting the field to recover soil health and biodiversity, the farmer can continue selling carbon credits to other buyers outside of their value chain.

Complementing solutions to make regenerative farming financially viable, are proposals to make it scalable. The Task Force suggests the "introduction of common metrics", which would give regenerative farming a universally understood and scalable approach, and 10 "suggested government policy changes" which could help unlock $1.2 trillion that regenerative agriculture can add to the worldwide economy[3].

Policy recommendations include financial advice and training support to farmers implementing regenerative farming, and those carrying out Research and Development; promoting regenerative farming terms in trade agreements; and creating incentives for landowners to encourage regenerative techniques by tenants.

The Task Force reveals it is exploring at least four farming projects to prove its concept. These include rice in India, involving Bayer and Olam; canola and wheat projects in Poland, involving Mars, PepsiCo and ADM; wheat projects in the US, involving Mondelez and Indigo AG; and potatoes and other crops in the UK, involving McCain, McDonald's, Waitrose, PepsiCo, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest.

Grant Reid, former CEO of Mars, Inc., and Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Agribusiness Task Force said:

"Taking farming back to its roots through regenerative practices isn't a choice; it's one of the only ways we can guarantee farming and global food supply chains can survive for generations to come.

"That's why our plan, proving that regenerative farming could be economically viable, rewarding, and scalable, could be transformational to the world. But we need to prove it, which is why we're eagerly putting into practice our theory by launching implementation projects across the world.

"And while I'm so proud of the cross-industry group we've built to-date, with merely five harvests left until 2030, it needs to grow even more. That's why I call upon those with influence, from food and finance leaders, to governments, NGOs, to join us in this transformative journey."

The Task Force's full plan, published in its report Scaling Regenerative Farming: Levers for Implementation, can be viewed on the Agribusiness Task Force webpage.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Task Force members

Chaired by Grant F. Reid, former CEO of Mars Incorporated, Task Force members include:

Bayer

HowGood

Indigo Ag

Lloyds Banking Group

Mars Incorporated

McCain Foods

McDonald's

Mondelez International

Olam

PepsiCo

Sustainable Food Trust

Waitrose

Yara International

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

[1] UN Environment Programme; Our global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss

[2] Griscom, B., Adams, J., Ellis, P., et al. Natural Climate Solutions (2017). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114

[3] The Food and Land Use Coalition, Growing Better: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food & Land Use

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2296540/Sustainable_Markets_Initiative.jpg

SOURCE Sustainable Markets Initiative
DUBLIN, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "U.S Edtech Market - Focused Insights 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The US Edtech market is projected to reach a value of $73.22 billion by 2028, up from $36.66 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 12.2%

The US Edtech market has been experiencing robust growth due to various factors. The increasing adoption of digital technology in education and the proliferation of internet connectivity and mobile devices have paved the way for innovative learning solutions.

The market has also benefited from the rising acceptance of online education, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerated the shift towards remote and hybrid learning models. Edtech companies in the US offer diverse digital learning platforms that cater to learners of all ages and educational levels. One of the key trends in the US Edtech market is the focus on personalized learning experiences. Artificial intelligence and data analytics analyze students' learning patterns, preferences, and performance.

The US EdTech sector has experienced substantial investment from various sources, including venture capital firms, private equity, and traditional educational institutions. Investors have recognized the transformative potential of innovative educational technologies. This surge in funding has empowered EdTech startups to develop and scale their platforms, create engaging educational content, and expand their user bases.

EdTech platforms in the US increasingly prioritize personalized and adaptive learning experiences. These platforms use data analytics and artificial intelligence to assess individual student performance, preferences, and learning styles. This data-driven approach enables tailored content recommendations, adaptive assessments, and real-time progress tracking, ultimately enhancing the efficacy of the learning process.

Many US governments have acknowledged the significance of digital education and initiated policies to integrate technology into classrooms. These initiatives involve investments in essential infrastructure, teacher training programs, and the developing of digital learning resources. Government support is pivotal in driving the widespread adoption of EdTech solutions within educational institutions. Collaborations between EdTech providers and government entities foster innovation and accessibility.

Despite its growth, accessibility remains challenging in the US EdTech market. Disparities in internet access can hinder widespread adoption, but the sector has proactively addressed this issue. Nonprofits and developers are working diligently to ensure equitable access through user-friendly interfaces and low-bandwidth solutions. The commitment to inclusivity is evident as the EdTech sector collaborates with communities, provides devices, and improves internet access to ensure that learning opportunities reach all segments of society.

In March 2023, Duolingo, one of the key vendors, launched a new subscription tier with access to an AI tutor powered by GPT-4, unlocking two new AI-powered features called "Roleplay" and "Explain My Answer." The Roleplay feature allowed users to practice real-world conversation skills with responsive and interactive AI chatbots. The Explain My Answer feature allowed users to learn more about their responses in lessons, whether their answers were correct or incorrect. This introduction set a precedent for integrating advanced AI into language learning, potentially motivating other Edtech players to adopt similar AI-driven enhancements.

LIST OF VENDORS

Key Vendors

McGraw Hill

Pearson

Chegg

Bright Horizons

Skillsoft

Other Prominent Vendors

Coursera

Duolingo

Boxlight

2U

Udemy

Kahoot!

Blackboard

ApplyBoard

VIPKid

Brainly

Preply

Labster

Great Minds

Guild Education

Everspring

DreamBox

Newsela

Multiverse

Elevate

Course Hero

GoGuardian

Quizlet

Outschool

Udacity

GoStudent

SEGMENTATION & FORECAST

Business Models (Revenue)

Freemium Business Model

Ad-based Revenue Model

Free Trial & Subscription-Based Model

Marketplace Model

Institutional Sales Model

Recruiting Model

Type (Revenue)

Hardware

Software

Technology-Enabled Services

Sector (Revenue)

K-12

Higher Education

Competitive Exams

Certifications

End-users (Revenue)

Individual Learners

Institutes

Enterprises

MARKET STRUCTURE

Market Dynamics

Competitive Landscape of US Edtech Market

Key Vendors

Other Prominent Vendors

APPENDIX

Research Methodology

Abbreviations

About the Analyst

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sc1p7h

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:

esearch and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

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SOURCE Research and Markets
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the SKY Network Television Limited (NZSE:SKT) share price has gained 15% in the last three months. But spare a thought for the long term holders, who have held the stock as it bled value over the last five years. In fact, the share price has tumbled down a mountain to land 87% lower after that period. The recent bounce might mean the long decline is over, but we are not confident. The fundamental business performance will ultimately determine if the turnaround can be sustained. While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for SKY Network Television

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, SKY Network Television moved from a loss to profitability. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so it's counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

The most recent dividend was actually lower than it was in the past, so that may have sent the share price lower. The revenue decline of around 2.6% would not have helped the stock price. So it seems weak revenue and dividend trends may have influenced the share price.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. You can see what analysts are predicting for SKY Network Television in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

Story continues

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of SKY Network Television, it has a TSR of -70% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that SKY Network Television shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 30% over one year. And that does include the dividend. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 11% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand SKY Network Television better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with SKY Network Television (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant) .

SKY Network Television is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on New Zealander exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Patna, Dec 9 : The police in Bihar's Nalanda district have registered an FIR against four officials of the Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences, Pawapuri, for allegedly molesting a paramedical student and forcing her for sexual favours, a police official said.

Anita Kumari, the Station House Officer, Sahayak police station, Pawapuri, confirmed the development.

Among the alleged accused officials, one of them is a Head of Department (HOD) of Anesthesia in the Pawapuri medical college.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening when an employee asked the female students to visit the chamber of HOD regarding the practical examination.

As per the complainants, one of them said that an employee deployed at the gate of HOD office sent the girls to enter one at a time.

"When I went inside the chamber, the HOD said that he is increasing the numbers in practical examinations and demanded sexual advances from me. When I refused, he threatened me to put my name in the list of failure students," the victim said.

"An employee of the office asked me to give sexual pleasure to HOD to pass the examination. He asked me to go toward the washroom area. When I refused to go there, he grabbed me and tried to drag me inside the washroom. When I started crying, he left me."

Following the incident, the victim revealed her ordeal with other students. They decided to complain to the Director of the medical college and reached the office but he refused to take action against them.

Eventually, they moved an application at Sahayak police station, Pawapuri, to register a complaint.

"We have registered an FIR against four persons, including a HOD of the anesthesia department, following a written complaint of a paramedical student. The matter is under investigation. She alleged that three employees and HOD molested her and tried to force her for sexual advance," the SHO added.
Hyderabad, Dec 9 : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Akbarudin Owaisi on Saturday took oath as Protem Speaker of newly-elected Telangana State Legislative Assembly.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath to him at Raj Bhavan at a ceremony attended by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Speaker of previous Assembly Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.

Owaisi, who took the oath in the name of Allah, will later administer oath to newly-elected members of the House.

Ministers D. Sridhar Babu, Tummala Nageswara Rao, Seethakka, former minister and BRS leader T. Harish Rao and others attended the ceremony.

According to a notification issued by the Governor, Owaisi will perform the duties of the Speaker till a Speaker is elected under Article 178 of the Constitution of India.

Being the senior most member of the Assembly, the AIMIM legislator has been appointed as the protem Speaker.

In the just-concluded Assembly elections, he was elected from Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad for a sixth consecutive term.

This is the second consecutive time that a MLA of AIMIM has been appointed as Protem Speaker. In 2018, Mumtaz Ahmed Khan was made protem Speaker.
Tel Aviv,. Dec 9 : Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Saturday hit out at United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, accusing him of standing with Palestinian terror group Hamas in his appeal before the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Guterres, who for the first time invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter earlier this week, which enables a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security, warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian ceasefire.

A subsequent vote was held to adopt an Arab-backed resolution to call for the ceasefire, and had wide support but the vote was vetoed by the United States of America and the United Kingdom abstained.

In a post on X, Cohen said Guterres' call "disgraces his position and constitutes a mark of Cain on the UN."

"The invocation of Article 99, after it was not used for the war in Ukraine or for the civil war in Syria, is another example of Guterres' biased and one-sided stance,' Cohen wrote.

Cohen said a "ceasefire at this time would prevent the collapse of the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and would enable it to continue ruling the Gaza Strip."

-- IANS

aal/uk
United Nations, Dec 9 : Brushing aside an impassioned plea by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a diplomatically isolated United States has again vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel conflict.

The resolution received 13 votes in the 15-member Council with Britain abstaining on Friday but was cut down by Washington's veto.

The veto came exactly two months after Israel launched retaliatory attacks on Gaza for the terrorist onslaught a day earlier by Hamas, which rules the territory.

This was the second resolution on Gaza that the US vetoed; another was vetoed by Russia and China, and two failed to get the minimum of nine votes required to pass as the Council grappled with the crisis.

But last month, the Council adopted a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in the fighting  a more limited cessation of hostilities with a specific aim  when the US, Russia and Britain abstained saving it from a veto after the failure of the four earlier attempts at an action on Gaza.

That led to a four-day pause -- extended by two days -- in fighting starting last month to allow relief supplies into Gaza and for the release of some of the about 240 hostages taken from Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups.

Friday's resolution backed by about 90 countries was proposed by the United Arab Emirates, whose Deputy Permanent Representative Mohamed Issa Abushahab asked, "What is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations" by being unable to pass the resolution.

Explaining the veto, US Deputy Permanent Representative Robert Wood said that it was calling for an "unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war".

Moreover, he said, it did not condemn the 7/10 Hamas attack on Israel or affirm Israel's right to self-defence.

The attempt to pass a resolution for a Gaza ceasefire came after Guterres on Wednesday invoked a rarely used provision of the UN Charter to call the Council's attention to the crisis in that territory from Israel's retaliatory attacks.

He asked the Council to act to "avert a human catastrophe" warning, "There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences".

He used Article 99 of the Charter that had been invoked only three times before to make the call to action by the Council, about the only power given to the Secretary-General to act in a crisis.

He warned the Council on Friday "I fear the consequences (of the conflict) could be devastating for the security of the entire region" and spread elsewhere constituting a threat to international peace,

Making his plea for a ceasefire, Guterres told the Council, "The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss".

They "are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival", he said. "But nowhere in Gaza is safe:.

He said that he "unreservedly" condemned the Hamas attacks that killed about 1,200 people including 33 children and resulted in hundreds taken hostage, and that he was "appalled by the reports of sexual violence".

He also had strong words for Israel noting: "At the same time, the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".

He noted that 17,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children, have been "reportedly" killed in Israeli operations.

"While indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations", he said.

In a remark apparently aimed at the US, which he did not name, he said, "International humanitarian law cannot be applied selectively. It is binding on all parties equally at all times, and the obligation to observe it does not depend on reciprocity".

Israel's Permanent Representative Gilad Erdan criticised Guterres for invoking Article 99 saying that he did not use it while the world was reeling from Russia's invasion of Ukraine or for other crises.

He said that regional stability can "only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated".

Palestine's Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour accused Israel of "conducting the war, through atrocities" and added that denying a ceasefire will not end them.

The General Assembly in October passed by an overwhelming majority a resolution calling for a ceasefire.

It received the votes of 121 members, while 14 voted against it and 45 including India abstained, showing broad support for a ceasefire.

India said it was abstaining because the resolution did not condemn Hamas terrorism.

The veto came as President Joe Biden is facing growing calls for a ceasefire from many, even those in his party, and large demonstrations while his unwavering support for Israel is backed by a broad political spectrum from his party and the Republican side.

To meet the criticism of his backing for Israel while its actions in Gaza his civilians, the Biden administration has been counselling Israel to take more precautions to protect civilians.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has spoken to Israel's President Isaac Herzog, said, "As Israel pursues its military objectives in Gaza, we believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians."

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 9 : Thanks to the fierce political rivalry between the traditional political rivals, the blossoming of the newly formed political block I.N.D.I.A seems to be a distant dream in Kerala.

Since Kerala has been witnessing an intense political battle between the Communists and the Congress since its formation, hence the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A making inroad is ruled out at the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

As always, the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front will lock horns with the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA will be the third political formation which will fight 20 seats in Kerala in 2024 polls.

What's intriguing is the topmost I.N.D.I.A leader Rahul Gandhi for all practical purposes will contest again from his sitting seat at Wayanad which he won with a thumping over four lakh votes majority.

Gandhi's candidature at Wayanad was reportedly a reason for the UDF's stellar victory by winning 19 out of the 20 seats.

Incidentally, the suggestion of CPI, the second biggest ally in the ruling Left, that Gandhi should contest elsewhere was shot down from all quarters.

The Wayanad seat is one of the four seats which the CPI contests.

A top political analyst on condition of anonymity said the political scenario is such that any political student will know that I.N.D.I.A block in Kerala is a non-starter.

"The BJP will as always bring out this issue that in Kerala it's aKushtia but in Delhi it's 'Dosti' between the CPI(M) and Congress, but itas not going to get much leverage, as that's how Kerala has always voted.

But if there is going to be any edge on account of this,the beneficiary would be BJP, but as things stand now it appears it might not be able to help them, said the political analyst.

In Kerala, the BJP continues to trail far behind the traditional rivals and they lost the only seat they had in the 2016 Assembly polls, when they failed to retain it at the 2021 elections.

At the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it was just at the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat that the BJP finished as runners-up and at the 19 other constituencies their political front ranked a distant third.
Dec 9 : After exchange of fire, the Delhi Police Special Cell have apprehended two members, including a 15-year-old juvenile, of the infamous Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate in Vasant Kunj area, an official said on Saturday.

The accused was identified as Anish (23), a resident of district Rohtak in Haryana.

A senior police official said that the duo were apprehended from near Pocket-9, Vasant Kunj, Delhi at about 9:40 p.m. on Friday night when they were on the way to fire near a renowned five star hotel of South Delhi as tasked by one Amit, lodged in Punjab jail, on directions of Anmol Bishnoi for extortion.

"Total five rounds were fired by assailants and two rounds were fired by a police team in self defence. No one was injured," said the official.

Police have also recovered two sophisticated pistols with four live cartridges. "Anish was previously involved in six criminal cases of armed robbery, Arms Act, assault etc. in Rohtak district. The juvenile was also previously involved in an armed robbery case in Rohtak district," the official added.

More details are awaited.
Los Angeles, Dec 9 : Hollywood star Keanu Reeves, who is known for the 'John Wick' franchise, recently fell victim to burglary as masked burglars broke into his Hollywood Hills home.

They fled with a firearm, reports New York Post.

The Los Angeles Police Department first responded to an anonymous call about a possible trespasser at the aMatrixa staras property around 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, but found no one there, law enforcement sources told TMZ.

Officers headed back around five hours later when an alarm started blaring at 1:00 a.m. Thursday, the outlet said.

As per New York Post, that time, police spotted multiple men in ski masks on security cameras smashing a window and entering the staras home, estimated to be worth around $7 million. Police said the suspects took one firearm from the home before fleeing, the report said.

Reeves was not at the home at the time, the sources said.

Detectives are looking at videos from around the home and from neighboursa security cameras. They are specifically looking into the possibility that the first call made Wednesday night was made by someone scoping out the house. This is not the first time Reevesa home has been broken into a" in 2014, he faced two back-to-back intruders.

Reeves then woke up and talked to the unidentified woman, who allegedly said she was there to meet him, and called 911. Just one day later, another woman allegedly walked into his home through an unlocked door while he was not home. She allegedly got naked, jumped in his shower and skinny-dipped in his pool, before the cleaning crew called police, according to TMZ.

Both women were taken into custody and were given psychological evaluations. Earlier this year, Reeves and his partner, Alexandra Grant, were also granted a temporary restraining order against a man who claims he is related to the actor.
Hyderabad, Dec 9 : Former Telangana chief minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao was on Saturday elected as the leader of BRS Legislature Party.

He was unanimously elected as the leader by the newly-elected MLAs of the party at their meeting, held just before the commencement of the first session of the Assembly.

With 39 MLAs in 119-member Assembly, BRS is the main opposition party.

KCR, however, was not present in the BRS Legislature Party meeting as he underwent hip replacement surgery on Friday at a hospital in Hyderabad after suffering hip fracture due to a fall at his residence.

KCR's son BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao could not attend the meeting as he was with his father at the hospital. Two other MLAs were also absent due to personal reasons.

BRS Parliamentary Party leader Kesav Rao presided over the meeting attended by 36 MLAs. The meeting passed a resolution unanimously electing KCR as the leader.

Before reaching the Assembly, the BRS MLAs led by former minister T. Harish Rao visited Telangana Martyrs' Memorial at Gun Park and paid their tributes.

Meanwhile, KTR tweeted that BRS will continue to be the voice of people under KCR's leadership.

"Our leader KCR garu is a fighter who fought against all odds to achieve Telangana We will continue to be the strongest voice of people under his leadership in Telangana Legislature," he posted on 'X'.

In the recently-concluded Assembly elections, Congress wrested power from BRS by winning 64 seats.
Mumbai, Dec 9 : In an early morning swoop, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams raided at least 43 locations in Maharashtra, and one in Karnataka in the ongoing probe into the ISIS terror modules conspiracy case, and detained at least 15 persons, official sources said here.

A majority of the 41 locations where NIA teams descended are rural or semi-rural pockets of Thane district, Mira-Bhayander town, 2 in Pune, besides similar raids at one place in adjoining Karnataka.

The NIA is understood to have bared a deeper conspiracy with international ramifications and terror links, and the involvement of ISIS handlers based in foreign locations.

The probe has also unearthed a complex network of people engaged in propagating the ISIS terror ideology within India and luring youth to its fold.

The network has reportedly sworn allegiance to the self-proclaimed Caliph (head) of ISIS and was preparing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to carry out terror acts in India through its operatives.

Among those detained from various locations are: Firoz Kuwar, Hasib Mulla, Musab Mulla, Rehan Suse, Farhan Suse, Adil Khot, Mukhlis Nachan, Raphail Nachan, Razeel Nachan, Shakib Nachan, Saif Atiq Nachan, Yahya khot, Shakub Divkar, Kasif Belare.

More raids and detentions or arrests are likely as the investigations progress in the state, the sources indicated.
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Just two months after he was ousted as speaker of the House of Representatives on Oct. 3, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has announced his resignation from Congress, effective at the end of this year. As the only speaker in history to be voted out of office, McCarthy vowed to never, ever give up fighting for this country that I love so much.

Learn: How Rich Is Former President Donald Trump?

Find Out: What To Do If You Owe Back Taxes to the IRS

Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz initiated McCarthys removal in a no-confidence vote in October, and was uncharitable after McCarthys announcement Wednesday, posting McLeavin on his X account and promoting a previously released thirteen-minute video based on the ouster of McCarthy, which he led, according to CNN.

McCarthy became speaker in January 2023 via a messy, 15-ballot vote after former Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stepped down from her role as speaker of the House at the end of 2022, leaving the House without a speaker at the start of the new year.

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How Rich Is Kevin McCarthy?

By some accounts, McCarthy is recognized as one of the wealthiest politicians in the U.S., though pinning down those accounts is easier said than done. The website CAKnowledge.com reported his net worth as $30 million.

However, according to the more reliable Celebrity Net Worth, the onetime deli counter owner from Bakersfield, California, is only worth around $300,000. Other sources, including the Los Angeles Times, have reported his net worth at a minimum of $81,000.

McCarthy has been a congressional representative for 17 years. Before being voted in as speaker, McCarthy received an annual salary of $174,000. His salary jumped to $223,500 upon becoming House Speaker, a position he held for a scant nine months.

Born in Bakersfield, California, McCarthy graduated from California State University, Bakersfield, and went on to chair the Young Republican National Federation before serving in the California State Assembly beginning in 2002. He joined the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 and has held the roles of party whip and minority and majority leader.

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According to CAKnowledge.com, McCarthy owns several assets in the form of luxury cars, as well as California real estate. But according to his biography on the House of Representatives website, he still lives in Bakersfield with his wife and their two children in what Celebrity Net Worth describes as a 1,571-square-foot home worth approximately $300K.

David Nadelle contributed to the writing of this article.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Rich Is Rep. Kevin McCarthy as He Resigns From Congress?
Mumbai, Dec 9 : Actress Rashmika Mandanna, whose recent release 'Animal' starring Ranbir Kapoor in titular role is roaring at the box-office, has penned a long note on her social media describing her character of Gitanjali from the film.

While the film has been performing exceptionally well in theatres, it has also drawn flak for its misogynistic themes and the portrayal of its women, who have very less to do in the film which is essentially high on the testosterone.

While Rashmika said that certain actions of her character are questionable, she paid an ode to the character as she highlighted the importance of her character in the film.

Taking to her Instagram, the actress shared a few pictures from the film as she wrote in the caption, "Gitanjali. If I were to describe her in a sentence it would be the only force at home holding her family together. She is pure, real, unfiltered, strong and raw."

She further mentioned: "At times as an actor, I would question some of Gitanjali's actions.. And I remember my director telling me - this was their story.. Ranvijay's & Gitanjali's.. it was their love and passion, their families and their lives - this is who they are.

"In a world full of all violence, hurt and unbearable pain - Gitanjali would bring peace, trust and calm.. She would pray to her Gods to keep her husband and her kids safe.

"She was the rock that weathered all the storms. She would do anything in her power for the sake of her family. Gitanjali is absolutely beautiful in my eyes, and in some ways she is like most women who are standing strong and protecting their families day in and day out.

"Happy one week to us #Animal team Guys. Thank you all for all the love. It's what keeps me going and makes me work harder with every film. Big hugs to you all too."

'Animal' which released on December 1, clashed with the Vicky Kaushal-starrer 'Sam Bahadur' and has been getting a good response at the theatres.
Suspense over new Rajasthan CM likely to end tomorrow. Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur, Dec 8 : Suspense over the new Rajasthan chief minister is expected to end after the proposed BJP Legislative Party meeting on Sunday.

A vote of opinion on the CM's name will be held during the meeting.

In case the central leadership has already decided on a name, the observers will take consent of all the MLAs regarding it. In such a situation, the name of the new chief minister will be out on Sunday.

Observers for the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey and National General Secretary Vinod Tawde are likely to arrive in Jaipur by Saturday night.

According to sources, the party may adopt the formula of two deputy chief ministers in Rajasthan. Tribal and Rajput faces can be given a chance on these posts.

Chances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the swearing-in are not being ruled out. The MLAs will be informed of the meeting today.

With this, all the MLAs who are travelling are expected to be back in Jaipur on time.

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and State President CP Joshi will also return from Delhi today.

Raje has been in the national capital for the past two days during which party National President J.P. Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

She is learnt to have discussed the results of Assembly elections and strategies for the Lok Sabha polls with the central leadership.
New Delhi, Dec 9 : Delhi Police have arrested two men for firing gunshots outside the house of a jeweller in northeast Delhi, an official said on Saturday.

The accused were identified as Sonu Sharma (30) and Sumit Gupta (20), both residents of Sonia Vihar, Delhi.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said that one Rinku Jaiswal, a resident of Third Pushta Sonia Vihar, Delhi reported that on Friday at about 00:30 a.m, someone fired at his house.

Rinku runs a small jewellery shop in Sonia Vihar. During the investigation, CCTV footage were scanned and it was found that two boys came on a motorcycle and fired at his house.

"A case of firing has been registered on Rinku's statement. Rinku suspected that Sonu Sharma, his old acquaintance, might have fired at his house as they had been having a monetary dispute," said the DCP.

Subsequently, two arrests were made and Sonu disclosed that Rinku owed him some money (about Rs three lakh) and he wanted to pressure Rinku to return it.
Tel Aviv, Dec 9 : The special forces unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has entered the centre of Khan Younis area of Gaza which is home to the Hamas military operations top leaders Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar.

Officials in the IDF told IANS that the elite 98 division of the Special Forces Unit of the forces had raided a compound which was a base of Hamas men.

The unit had raided this compound with inputs from Military Intelligence that the hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 from Israel have been kept here.

However, sources told IANS that Hamas men resorted to firing and in exchange of fire, several Hamas operatives were killed. A few IDF soldiers were also injured in the attack, and according to IDF the families of the injured soldiers were informed about it.

The IDF, according to senior officers, has not been able to find any hostage in the compound in Khan Younis central area, but it was cleared of Hamas men.

An IDF unit had surrounded one of the homes of Yahya Sinwar near Khan Younis a couple of day before but he was not found.

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had in public said that the IDF would search and find out Yahya Sinwar and kill him. Israel believes that Sinwar was the mastermind behind the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Hyderabad, Dec 9 : The newly-elected members of Telangana Legislative Assembly took oath on the first day of the first session of third Assembly.

Protem Speaker Akbaruddin Owaisi administered the oath or affirmation to the newly-elected MLAs.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was the first to take oath as the MLA.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and other ministers took oath.

Vikramarka and Damodar Rajanarasimha took the oath in English while other members of the Cabinet took in Telugu.

All the MLAs after taking oath went up to the chair and greeted the Protem Speaker and subsequently signed in the register to complete the formalities.

After the ministers, the MLAs were called in alphabetical order to take oath.

Earlier, Akbaruddin Owaisi, a MLA of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Akbarudin Owaisi, took oath as protem Speaker.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath to him at the Raj Bhavan at a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Speaker of previous Assembly Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.

Owaisi, who took the oath in the name of Allah, later administered the oath to newly-elected members of the Assembly.

Being the senior most member of the Assembly, the AIMIM legislator has been appointed as the protem Speaker.

In the just-concluded Assembly elections, Akbaruddin Owaisi was elected from Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad for a sixth consecutive term.
New Delhi, Dec 9 : Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a sharpshooter of the infamous Kapil Sangwan a.k.a Nandu gang, who was previously involved in 13 heinous cases including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, an official said on Saturday.

The accused was identified as Vinod alias Vicky a.k.a Sanyansi (43), a resident of Sector 7, Dwarka.

Vinod, a history sheeter, is serving a life sentence in a murder case and was recently released on parole in July this year, granted by Delhi High Court, he added.

After getting parole he was on a witch-hunt mission and committed three cases of attempt to murder in Palam Village and Najafgarh areas.

The Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that specific inputs were received that a desperate criminal of Nandu gang named Vinod involved in the incidents of Palam Village area is hiding in the Krishna Colony area, Gurugram, Haryana.

"A trap was laid at the place of information and the accused Vinod was successfully apprehended. At his instance, two pistols and eight cartridges were recovered," said Yadav.

On interrogation, Vinod disclosed that in the year 2009, he started grabbing the unregistered plots in the Palam Village area by getting prepared false/fabricated documents. When the actual owner intervened, he threatened them on the directions of the gang leader Kapil Sangwan.

Since Nandu gang has various notorious criminals, hence innocent plot owners used to compromise by paying hefty amounts. "Vinod has a long criminal history and most of the cases related to land grabbing. While seizing the unregistered properties, they came across one another gang of Balwan Solanki, who was intervening him at various places. In order to boost his influence in the area, he murdered Balwan Solanki and became the main land grabber in the area. In this case, he is serving life imprisonment with his associates," said Yadav.

In the rivalry, associates of Balwan Solanki named Rohit Vittal, Rohit Lamba and others shot Vinod's cousin brother Sunil in the year 2015.

"Recently, he came out of jail on parole, granted by Delhi High Court. He was granted parole on July 20 and was to surrender on August 16, but he did not surrender before the jail authority," said the official.
Mexico City, Dec 9 : At least 11 people were killed in a clash between an armed group and community residents in Texcaltitlan town in Mexico.

Eight of the dead were allegedly members of the armed group, and the other three were residents, authorities said in a statement.

The conflict was caused by a collection of "land rights," a common practice of extortion in Latin America, Xinhua news agency reported.

As per local media outlet Milenio, the shooting allegedly followed a failed negotiation, in which the criminal suspects sought to raise the amount they charged the residents.
Kolkata, Dec 9 : On the completion of the 100th day of their agitation on the streets in central Kolkata against the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in West Bengal, an eligible woman candidate adopted a unique method of protest by tonsuring her head on Saturday afternoon.

She tonsured her head in full public glare at the busy Esplanade crossing in central Kolkata as a mark of protest against thousands of eligible candidates being deprived from their legitimate jobs to make room for ineligible ones in lieu of cash.

Rashmani Patra broke down while shaving off her head and exhorted all political parties in the state to take up their cause by ensuring their legitimate jobs. "I appeal to all to get over narrow political spheres and solve our problems. Please get us our legitimate jobs," she said amid sobs.

Patra said that now she has sacrificed her hair but in the long term many like her might have to sacrifice their lives. "Probably the sacrifice of our lives would be an eye-opener for the government," she said.

An unprecedented reaction over the development had come from veteran Trinamool Congress leader and three-time party Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy, who is himself a retired professor of physics with one of the reported colleges in South Kolkata under the University of Calcutta.

"What sort of drama is going on," Roy questioned.

His comment has evoked strong criticisms from the Opposition parties. "Saugata Roy, who calls himself a professor, has lost his basic sense of humanity and shame, which is evident from such a comment," said BJP leader and the party councilor in Kolkata Municipal Corporation Sajal Ghosh.

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate of Calcutta High Court Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya said that those who are ridiculing the protesters are actually patronizing the corruption in school jobs.

"The state government and ruling party have been active in shielding the corruption since the beginning," he added.
ED suspends its official arrested by Rajasthan ACB in graft case; launches probe. Image Source: IANS News

Patna, Dec 9 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted raids at the residence and a college build by Bihar's topper scamster Amit Kumar alias Baccha Yadav.

The ED officials searched the residence of the accused in Kiratpur Rajaram and also in Bhagwanpur block where the accused has constructed the college.

In 2016, Amit Kumar was involved in Bihar topper scam when candidates passed various examinations having forged documents. He is also accused of constructing buildings on the lands seized by ED.

The ED officials said that they have seized various documents from the accused.

Earlier, the ED had attached 42 dismil land (18293.52 sq. ft) in Bhagwanpur and also installed a board as well. Despite that, Amit Kumar started the construction on the land.

The 42 dismil land was registered in the name of Amit's father Rajdeo Rai in Kiratpur Mauja. The ED had seized the property under money laundering act on October 15, 2018.

The ED Additional Director Rajiv Ranjan had lodged an FIR on November 18 in Bhagwanpur police station while informing the police in Patna and district magistrate of Vaishali as well.

"We have received an application from ED and accordingly registered FIR against Amit Kumar following verification of land where he had illegally constructed the building. The investigation is underway," Paramhans Kumar SHO of Bhagwanpur said.

The raids were underway at Kumar's house located at Kiratpur Rajaram locality when this report was filed.

--IANS

ajk/dan
New Delhi, Dec 9 : A 34-year-old gangster of the notorious Salman Tyagi-Saddam Gauri gang, who was wanted in a MCOCA case for over four years, has been arrested from the national capital, a police official said on Saturday.

The accused was identified as Rohit and one semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with three live cartridges recovered from him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Alok Kumar said acting on an information about absconding criminal Rohit in the West Delhi area, teams were deployed to track him as the accused was frequently changing his hideouts in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to evade his arrest.

However, the incessant efforts of the team paid off when specific information regarding the presence of accused Rohit near Dargah Chaukhandi, Tilak Nagar, Delhi, on December 7, was received.

"Subsequently, a team was immediately sent to Tilak Nagar, and at about 3:35 p.m, Rohit was found walking towards Dargah Chaukhandi," said the DCP.

Rohit was asked to stop and surrender, but he tried to escape from there.

"However, the police team showed exemplary courage and nabbed the accused," said the DCP.

Rohit also has a close association with the Neeraj Bawana gang. "The accused is involved in seven criminal cases of assault on police teams, robbery, extortion and the Excise Act, etc. in Delhi," said the DCP.

On November 18, a non-bailable warrant was also issued against him by a Tis Hazari Court. "The accused was reviving the gang by collecting funds at the behest of Salman Tyagi and Saddam Gauri," said the DCP.
DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The simplicity and lax requirements of digital nomad visas have made them easily accessible, and countries like Portugal and Spain, which have excellent infrastructure, great internet connection, and an outstanding standard of living, draw in more digital nomads by the day, according to experts at Dubai-headquartered citizenship and residency by investment advisors Savory and Partners.

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A recent research quoted by the company estimates that there are 16.9 million digital nomads roaming the globe. This is a whopping 162% increase from 2019, just four years earlier.

As soon as Portugal introduced its digital nomad visa in October of 2022, the applications started pouring in. While the government hasn't announced the number of applications it has received, Portugal's Labour Minister did announce that the country approved 550 applications within the first six months.

Two months after launching its visa in September of 2021, Greece received 2,918 applications, approving an astonishing 1,693 applicants. The government is yet to release any new statistics, but going off that outstanding start it is safe to assume it is still garnering massive attention.

Germany also boasts impressive numbers, having issued a total of 3,638 visas in just one year since the introduction of its visa in 2018.

According to Residency Malta, the government branch responsible for the digital nomad visa, it has issued 1,041 visas to date, with an average approval rate of 78%.

Croatia, one of the first countries to introduce a pure digital nomad visa in early 2021 as a response to the rise in remote workers, has approved 680 applications, while 672 are still pending approval.

Not just Europe

"It's not just Europe but even Barbados' digital nomad visa, dubbed the Welcome Stamp, has been doing outstandingly well, receiving a total of 3,511 applications between 2020 and 2022", a digital nomad specialist at Savory & Partners reports.

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While digital nomads typically use visa-free access or visas to stay in countries for a few months at a time before moving on to the next, digital nomad visas provide a sense of comfort and stability that aligns perfectly with their lifestyle, giving them ample time to enjoy the country they are in before moving on to the next.

Unsurprising demand

The rapid growth in application numbers and the surging demand for digital nomad visas isn't surprising. They are extremely simple to apply to, have fast processing times ranging from a few days to a couple of months, and they do not require any business establishment or investment.

Portugal's digital nomad visa, for example, only requires applicants to prove a monthly income of 3,040 per month, while Spain's visa has a lower threshold of just 2,160 per month.

Savory & Partners is an accredited agent for multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered. The company has coverage in over 20 jurisdictions, including Europe and was the first firm to obtain all five authorised agent licenses for the governments of the Caribbean Islands. It has processed second passports for over 4,000 citizens with a 100 per cent success rate.

With a presence in 3 continents and 7 countries and more than 60 experts worldwide, the company's multinational staff comprises advisors who guide clients in English, Arabic, Farsi, French, Spanish and Hindi.

To know more about Savory & Partners, visit www.savoryandpartners.com.

For more information, please send an email to contact@savoryandpartners.com.You can also call +971 04 430 1717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955.

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Tel Aviv, Dec 9 : The Hezbollah on Saturday said Hassan Ali Dakdouk, the son of Ali Mussa Dakdouk, who is reportedly in charge of the organisation's operations in southern Syria, was killed, reportedly in Israeli drone attack.

Ali Mussa Dakdouk was responsible for training pro-Iranian militias in Iraq for attacking American forces.

He was detained by US forces in Iraq in 2007, but was later released.

Four people who were killed were from Hezbollah while one was a Syrian. The deaths happened in an alleged Israeli drone strike against a vehicle near the Syrian border in the Golan Heights.

Israel and Hezbollah were engaged in exchange of fire across the Lebanese border in which several Israelis were injured.

-- IANS

aal/svn
Seoul, Dec 9 : A recent court victory for South Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery was confirmed on Saturday after Japan decided not to appeal the earlier ruling, sources said.

On November 23, the Seoul High Court had overturned a lower court's rejection of a damages suit filed by "comfort women" and ordered Japan to pay 200 million won (US$151,780) in compensation to each of the 16 victims, Yonhap news agency reported.

Japan had two weeks to file an appeal but it chose not to do so, according to the sources.

The victims filed the suit in 2016, but the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case in 2021, citing sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that allows a state to be immune from a civil suit in foreign courts.

Last month, however, the Seoul High Court overturned the lower court's decision and ruled the defendant must pay the full amount requested by the victims.

The court handed down the ruling on the grounds that, under customary international law, "It is reasonable to recognize the jurisdiction of South Korean courts over the defendant Japanese government."

The court also said at the time that the acts committed by Japan are considered "illegal according to South Korean civil law."

Whether the victims will receive their money is another matter. Unless the Japanese government voluntarily offers the compensation, the victims will have to identify Japanese assets that can be seized by a court and wage another legal battle.

Tokyo has maintained that it has no obligation to follow the ruling by a South Korean court.

In response to Japan's decision not to appeal, an official from Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday that South Korea "will try to ensure the two countries will remain engaged in future-oriented cooperation."

"Our government has continued to try to restore the honor and dignity of the victims of wartime sexual slavery," the official added. "We also respect the 2015 agreement reached between the countries on settling the issue of wartime sex slaves. That position has not changed over the years across different administrations."

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) criticised the Yoon Suk Yeol government for being "subservient to Japan."

"Japan has made such a shameless response as the Yoon government has taken a submissive stance," DP spokesperson Rep. Kwon Chil-seung said in a briefing. "The (South Korean) government should act properly to Japan so that the victims can receive sincere apologies and compensation."
Kohima, Dec 9 : The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) on Saturday said that the last round of formal talks on Naga political issue with the Central government on November 14 in Delhi "was not conclusive but also not deadlocked".

The NSCN-IM said that the outfit's General Secretary and its chief negotiator, Thuingaleng Muivah had unequivocally stated that a solution without the Naga national flag and constitution would never be acceptable to the Naga people.

The dominant Naga group in a statement said: "On the issue of Naga territorial integration, our chief Negotiator stated that the Nagas were divided by the colonial power and placed them under different units for their administrative convenience. The Nagas are the victims of that "divide-and-rule policy".

On the issue of the Naga national flag, the government representative had earlier said: "The government of India has acknowledged/recognized the Naga national flag."

"We were utterly disappointed when he backtracked later. Notwithstanding this, we submitted our draft on the subject matter of the flag," it added.

Despite the Central government's wavering stand, nothing could be further from the truth as the flag and constitution are the integral parts of sovereignty, the NSCN-IM said. "Sovereignty without flag and constitution is a form without content. Nagas have been in existence for thousands of years in their own land in accordance with our own sets of law."

It said that the Naga national movement is blessed with divine presence that no power on the earth can uproot it.

"It was through the mighty name of the Lord that the Naga issue has been salvaged from the devious plots of the adversary time and again.

"As we repose our faith in God's grace, we shall handle our struggle of destination no matter how daunting the task may be," the leading Naga group said.

The Centre has been holding separate negotiations with the dominant Naga outfit, NSCN-IM since 1997 as well as the Naga National Political Groups, comprising at least seven groups, since 2017.

The stalemate continued as the NSCN-IM remained firm on its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas besides the integration of Naga inhabited areas of the northeast.
Paris, Dec 9 : French President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of "betraying" the French Republic and "compromising" with secularism, after he took part in a Jewish ceremony inside his official residence, the media reported.

Lighting of a Hanukkah candle by France's Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia to mark the beginning of the Jewish festival of lights inside Macron's official residence Salle des Fetes on Thursday was immediately criticised, BBC reported.

A video of the ceremony created furore on social media.

David Lisnard, a prominent right-wing opposition figure, who is also Cannes mayor said: "As far as I know this is the first time this has ever happened. It is a breach of secularism."

Occitania region Socialist president Carole Delga said: "The Elysee is not a place of religion. You cannot compromise with secularism."

On Friday, Macron said he had no regrets as if the president had actually carried out a religious act, or taken part in a ceremony, that would have been a breach of secularism, and that has not happened.
New Delhi, Dec 9 : In a massive crackdown on IS, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested 15 operatives of the banned terror outfit during multiple and widespread raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka at over 44 locations, officials said.

An NIA spokesperson here said that the multiple agency teams on Saturday swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early this morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for promoting terror and terror related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation.

The official said that huge amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp edged weapons, incriminating documents, smart phones and other digital devices were seized during the raids, conducted as part of NIAas ongoing efforts to disrupt and demolish the attempts of Islamic State (IS) to carry out violent acts of terror and take innocent lives.

The official said that the accused, operating on the directions of their foreign handlers, had been actively involved in various terrorist activities, including fabrication of IEDs, for furthering the violent and destructive agenda of the IS, as per NIA investigations.

The NIA investigations have further revealed that the accused, all members of IS Maharashtra module, were operating from Padgha-Borivali, where they had hatched the conspiracy to spread terror and carry out acts of violence across the country.

The official said that pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, IS etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the India, the official said.

The official also said that its initial investigations have revealed that the arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a aliberated zonea and as aAl Shama.

"They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate in Padgha from their place of residence for strengthening the Padgha base," the official said.

The official also said that Saqib Nachan, the main accused and the leader and head of the IS module, was also administering the abayatha (oath of allegiance to the Khalifa of IS) to the persons joining the proscribed organisation.

The official also said that IS is a global terror organisation (GTG), also known as Islamic State (IS) or Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) or Daish or Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) or ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham Khorasan (ISIS-K)).

The outfit has been spreading its terror network in India by putting in place localised IS modules and cells in various states of the country, the official said.

The NIA has, in recent months, conducted large-scale raids and busted different IS modules by arresting several terror operatives in the IS terror conspiracy case in a bid to scuttle the organisationas heinous and violent anti-India agenda.

The agency as part of its efforts towards that end, the agency had registered a case against the IS Maharashtra module earlier this year and has, since then, undertaken strong and concerted actions to destroy the various IS modules and networks operating across the country.
New Delhi: MPs During The Winter Session Of Parliament. Image Source: IANS News

Patna, Dec 9 : Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Bihar for the Eastern Regional Council meeting on December 10.

The meeting will be held at the CM secretariat where Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and representatives of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand will also be present.

This will be the first time that Shah and Nitish Kumar will be meeting in Bihar following the change in the government in the state.

Shah will arrive at Patna airport at 1.40 pm and will straight away drive to the CM secretariat to attend the meeting which will start from 2 pm.

The meeting will take place for three hours followed by high-tea from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Shah will return to the government guest house for a meeting with the BJP leaders for an hour and return to Delhi at 7.20 pm.
Prayagraj : , Dec 9 (IANS) The Allahabad High Court has observed that marital rape cannot be considered an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) if the wife is above the age of 18.

The court made these remarks while acquitting a husband of charges of committing an 'unnatural offence' against his wife.

While holding that the accused in this case cannot be convicted under Section 377 of the IPC, the bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narain Mishra stated that marital rape has not been criminalised in this country as yet.

The High Court also noted that since the petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape are still pending before the Supreme Court, there is no criminal penalty for marital rape when the wife is 18 years of age or older until the top court decides the matter.

The Allahabad High Court, endorsing a previous observation of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, also stated that there is no place for any 'unnatural offence' (as per IPC Section 377) to take place in a marital relationship.

In her plea, the complainant alleged that their marriage was an abusive relationship, and the husband allegedly subjected her to verbal and physical abuse and coercion, including acts of sodomy.

The court convicted him under sections related to cruelty by the husband or relatives of the husband (498-A) and voluntarily causing hurt (IPC 323) while acquitting him of charges under Section 377.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed to list pleas to criminalise marital rape.

The Central government had submitted before the top court that criminalising marital rape would have "social ramifications".
Lucknow, Dec 9 : Lok Sabha MP Kunwar Danish Ali, who was recently the target of an unsavoury exchange on the floor of the house, has been suspended from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for alleged "anti-party activities." "You were warned many times against statements or actions against the policies, ideology and discipline of the party. But, despite that you have continuously been acting against the party," the BSP said in a statement. A suspended MP is bound by the party whip.

The MP from Amroha has denied his party's charge and said he has "never done any kind of anti-party work".

"I have diligently tried to strengthen the BSP and has never done any kind of anti-party work. The people of my Amroha area are witness to this. I have definitely opposed the anti-people policies of the BJP government and will continue to do so. If doing this is a crime, then I have committed a crime and I am ready to face any punishment for it," he told reporters.

Ali also thanked Mayawati for giving him a Lok Sabha ticket while stressing that the party's decision against him was "unfortunate".

Ali had met several opposition leaders after BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri used communal slurs against him in Parliament. He even held a one-man protest outside Parliament on Friday to demand justice for Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who has been expelled from Lok Sabha.

The MP was seen with a placard hung around his neck which said "don't turn (the) victim into (the) culprit".

A massive political row erupted over Bidhuri's remarks during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in September this year. The objectionable comments to target Kunwar Danish Ali, who was accused by several BJP leaders of using derogatory words for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provoke the South Delhi MP, led to a show-cause notice to Bidhuri, known for his several controversial remarks.

The BJP MP, on Thursday, expressed regret for his objectionable remarks against Ali in a meeting of the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, which heard both leaders separately.

The BSP, which avoided to comment on the issue, today accused Ali, a former JD(S) leader, of going against the party line.

"You were given the ticket on Deve Gowda's insistence who had assured that you will always follow the party line. Only after this assurance, you were given the BSP membership. But you forgot the assurances given by you and indulged in anti-party activities," the BSP said.

Danish Ali, who started his political journey with Janata Dal (Secular), joined the BSP in 2019 with the consent of JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.

Later, his name was announced from Amroha constituency for 2019 general elections. He won the seat by defeating Kanwar Singh Tanwar of the BJP by a margin of nearly 63,000 votes.

--IANS

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Patna, Dec 9 : An engineer of Namami Gange Project was shot-at and injured in Bihar's Munger district on Saturday, an official said.

He said that the incident occurred at 3 am on Saturday at Vindwara Mor in Munger city.

The victim, Vipin Kumar, a native of Mirzapur Uttar Pradesh, sustained two gunshot injuries in his both legs.

Vipin Kumar, along with workers were at Vindwara Mor. Under his supervision, digging was underway to install a pipe line for the sewerage treatment plant of Munger municipal corporation.

At the same time, three to four people reached there and asked them to stop the digging. This led to verbal duel with Vinit Kumar and in the fit of rage, one of the accused shot him twice and fled in a car.

The victim was immediately shifted to Sadar Hospital Munger where doctors removed one of the bullets but he was referred to another hospital for the removal of another bullet.

An FIR has been registered in Kasim Bazar police station.

"We have arrested one accused in this connection and efforts are on to nab others. The condition of the victim is stable. An FIR of attempt to murder has been registered and investigation is underway," said the SHO of Kasim Bazar police station.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, Dec 9 : Day after he underwent hip replacement surgery, former Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday started walking with the help of a walker under the supervision of doctors.

Visuals of KCR walking a few steps at Yashoda Hospital Somajiguda were released on Saturday.

Doctors said KCR was recovering fast after the surgery and he may be discharged from the hospital in 2-3 days.

They also stated that KCR is physically and mentally strong which will help in speedy recovery.

For patients who undergo hip replacement surgery, doctors start mobilisation depending on their physical and mental strength.

According to Dr Praveen Rao, KCR is medically stable and his body is responding well to the treatment.

He is taking normal food and requires physiotherapy for the next few days.

Doctors said KCR needs rest for six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi visited the hospital on Saturday and met MP Santosh Kumar, who is a relative of KCR.

"Glad to know that he's stable & that his health is improving. Our prayers are with him & hope he recovers completely and swiftly. Hope to see him back in action soon, inshallah," he posted on 'X'.

Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav spoke to KCR's son KTR over phone and enquired about his health.

He expressed his best wishes for the BRS leader's speedy recovery.

KCR had undergone the operation of left total hip replacement on Friday.

KCR had a slip and fall in his bathroom at his residence and was brought to Yashoda Hospital late on Thursday night.

--IANS

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A stressed out hacker looking at a laptop screen.

Between April and December 2022, the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps, a NATO force that can quickly be deployed to command NATO forces, was targeted by Russian state-sponsored hackers.

This is according to cybersecurity researchers Unit 42, a security arm of Palo Alto Networks, who noted that the hackers were after sensitive data and other valuable intelligence.

A few weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, a threat actor known as APT28 (AKA Fancy Bear, Fighting Ursa) started abusing a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook to target the State Migration Service of Ukraine with malware. A month later, Unit 42 says, it used the same vulnerability - tracked as CVE-2023-23397, in more campaigns. In total, networks of roughly 15 government, military, energy, and transportation organizations around Europe were targeted. The Russians were after emails with military intelligence, which might aid the countrys war effort.

NATO members under attack

When Microsoft patched the flaw a year later, APT28 was already deep enough, obtained enough credentials, and established enough persistence to keep going. It expanded its campaign in May this year, when it started abusing a separate flaw, tracked as CVE-2023-29324.

Now, Unit 42 claims all of the affected countries are NATO members, and in one instance, even the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps was a target.

"Using a zero-day exploit against a target indicates it is of significant value. It also suggests that existing access and intelligence for that target were insufficient at the time," Unit 42 said. "In the second and third campaigns, Fighting Ursa continued to use a publicly known exploit that was already attributed to them, without changing their techniques. This suggests that the access and intelligence generated by these operations outweighed the ramifications of public outing and discovery.

"For these reasons, the organizations targeted in all three campaigns were most likely a higher than normal priority for Russian intelligence."

Story continues

Via BleepingComputer
Kolkata, Dec 9 : West Bengal Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari has asked the state government to provide relief and support to farmers affected by the untimely moderate rainfall in certain districts as an impact of Cyclone Michaung.

In the letter to the Chief Secretary H.K Dwivedi, a copy of which is available with IANS, the LoP has pointed out that because of the incessant drizzling the potato farmers had faced facing difficulties as their fields have submerged and it is highly likely that their yield will probably rot in the water.

He has also pointed out that paddy farmers, who were yet to harvest their lands due to lack of awareness campaign by the state government giving advance information about the untimely rainfall, were also heading for excessive financial loss.

He also suggested that the government should conduct an immediate site inspection to assess how much compensation per quintal will have to be provided to the farmers.

He also suggested reassessment of loans and offered relaxation in the repayment procedure taking into account the financial losses met by the farmers.

"The potato growers should be provided with seed potatoes from Punjab as they are robust and their yield of potatoes is very high," the letter reads.

He said that the fact is that the agriculture activities have become an expensive process and it has become further expensive due to fertilizer black marketing.

He said that the state government should ensure that the bags of fertilizer reach the farmers in actual prices as fixed by the union government.
Palghar : , Dec 9 (IANS) The Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police have busted an alleged sex-racket run by a Bangladeshi national in the Virar region, with tentacles spreading to Mumbai and other parts of India. The police also rescued three Bangladeshi women, including a minor, officials said here on Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off by the Arnala Police, Virar, that a Bangladeshi national named Ashok Haranu Das (54) was running a sex-racket from his home with three women brought illegally from Bangladesh, the police kept a watch.

Das, who has admitted to luring and selling around 200-250 girls, was also sending them to the red-light areas in south Mumbaias Grant Road. After confirming the details, the police laid a trap to nab him.

Police officer Santosh Chaudhary and others from an NGO acted as fake customers and after the deals were finalised, the team swooped on Dasa flat in MHADA Colony, Building No. 7, on Friday.

The police arrested Das and rescued the three Bangladeshi women, including a 17-year-old girl, who had entered into the country through grey channels.

Explaining the operation, Chaudhary said that his team contacted Das for women and he sent them photos of two women on WhatsApp, and also said that one more (minor) girl, 17, will be available at the flat. The charges would be Rs 10,000, Das said.

Upon interrogation, Das said that he had come here from Dhaka some 15 years ago along with family and was working in Mumbai.

Later, he came in touch with some human-traffickers and pimps identified as Manoj Yadav and Basu, both operating in the red-light areas of south Mumbai, and started procuring and supplying girls for flesh-trade.

Das started luring girls from Bangladesh and other parts of India with promises of big money and confessed how, in the past couple of years, he managed to trap between 200 and 250 girls from different Indian states and Bangladesh, who ended up in the red-light alleys of Mumbai, said the police.

MBVV Deputy Commissioner of Police, Avinash Anbure, said that Das has been booked under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code, Indian Passport Act, and Foreigners Act, among others.
Transport sector decarbonization must to reduce emissions, says India at Dubai climate talks. Image Source: IANS News

Dubai, Dec 9 : Decarbonization of the transport sector is essential to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to meet the ambitious target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 set by the Indian government, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said here on Saturday.

The minister was speaking at a side event on India-US "Payment Security Mechanism (PSM)" for e-buses in India at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) where John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, was also present.

To achieve the goal of net-zero emissions, the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) plays a crucial role and given that buses serve the mass public, prioritizing electric buses is essential as a significant mode for decarbonizing the transport sector, he said.

Yadav said this transitioning to e-buses, however, pose challenges to public transport authorities (PTAs) owing to their high upfront costs and lower realization of revenue from operations.

The India-US Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) for e-buses will serve as an incentive for both Indian and international bus operators to participate in e-bus operations and potentially establish a manufacturing hub in India, contributing to the growth of e-bus industry and e-bus exports, he added.

The minister reminded the audience that it was during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US that the India-US government joint statement to develop a "Payment Security Mechanism (PSM)" was released with an aim to facilitate the deployment of 10,000 made-in-India electric buses.

The move was reaffirmed during India's G20 Presidency, underscoring the importance of reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector.

The minister hoped this initiative will popularize e-buses by encouraging private sector participation in the procurement and operation of these vehicles for an extended period of 10 to 12 years, fostering their adoption throughout India. John Kerry, speaking on the occasion, said "with PSM we are taking a major footstep towards helping India electrify its bus fleet".

He said this move was taking an Indian solution to maximise Indian opportunity to decarbonisation the transportation sector.

It is noteworthy that India is driving a structural change in the transportation sector through the adoption of electric vehicles.

Electrification of the public transport ecosystem is one to the building blocks of this structural change.

India's existing bus fleet stands at 1.5 million, most of which run on diesel.

After a few successful pilots in response to a federal subsidy program, India rolled out a large, unified tender of 5,450 e-buses worth over $1 billion and spread across five states. Discovered prices were significantly lower than diesel. Encouraged by the success, the government established a target of 50,000 e-buses.

A total of 12,000 e-buses in different stages of contracting are now coming onto Indian roads.

The session aimed to discuss a joint US-India collaboration to establish a payment security mechanism to address current constraints.

With the contributions of $240 million from the government of India and $150 million from the US government and their partners, the establishment of the PSM guarantees delayed payments from the fiscally constrained state bus companies.

The PSM aims to unlock up to $10 billion in non-recourse lending to e-bus manufacturers in India to deploy 38,000 buses.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com) --IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 9 : The budget for the officials was presented in the House of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by the Commissioner on Saturday, while the real budget for the public of the national capital will be presented in the first week of February, said Mayor Shelly Oberoi.

"Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors will continuously communicate with the citizens. Along with this, meetings will be held with RWAs and market associations. Based on the suggestions of the citizens, the public budget will be prepared, which will be presented by Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal in the first week of February," Oberoi said.

She also said that 'people's dialogue' in Delhi will start next week and the process will continue till the end of January.

"Under this, door-to-door communication will be made with the people. Meetings will be held with the market associations in the markets and RWAs in the societies. Similarly, the sarpanches of the villages will be consulted for suggestions," she said.

After this, the budget for 2024-25 will be prepared based on people's opinion and advice.

She said the budget cannot be prepared behind closed doors to solve the problems of the people of Delhi.

"No one can make a real budget for Delhi better than its people. This budget will not be of the officers and leaders, but of the general public. Every problem of the citizens will be solved," the Mayor said, adding that it will not be an imposed budget.
Dubai, Dec 9 : Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry on Saturday discussed the US-India collaboration to establish a payment security mechanism to address current constraints in the expansion of e-bus fleets in India.

With contributions of $240 million from the government of India and $150 million from the US government and their partners, the establishment of the PSM guarantees delayed payments from the fiscally constrained state bus companies. The PSM aims to unlock up to $10 billion in non-recourse lending to e-bus manufacturers in India to deploy 38,000 buses.

Secretary John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, speaking on the occasion, said, "with PSM, we are taking a major footstep towards helping India electrify its bus fleet".

The move was taking an Indian solution to maximize India's opportunity to decarbonise its transportation sector.

Yadav said decarbonisation of the transport sector is essential to reduce the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and to meet the ambitious target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 set by government of India.

To achieve the goal of net zero emissions, the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) plays a crucial role and given that buses serve the mass public, prioritising electric buses is essential as a significant mode for decarbonising the transport sector, the minister added.

Yadav stated that this transitioning to e-buses, however, pose challenges to Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) owing to their high upfront costs and lower realization of 'revenue from operations.

The India-US Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) for e-buses will serve as an incentive for both Indian and international OEMs/Bus operators to participate in e-bus operations and potentially establish a manufacturing hub in India, contributing to the growth of e-bus industry and e-bus exports, he added.

The India-US Government Joint Statement to develop a "Payment Security Mechanism (PSM)" was released during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US.

It aims to facilitate the deployment of 10,000 made-in-India electric buses.

India's existing bus fleet stands at 1.5 million, most of which run on diesel.

After a few successful pilots in response to a federal subsidy programme, India rolled out a large, unified tender of 5,450 e-buses worth over $1 billion and spread across five states. Discovered prices were significantly lower than diesel. Encouraged by the success, the government established a target of 50,000 e-buses.

A total of 12,000 e-buses in different stages of contracting are now coming onto Indian roads.
Policeman injured in terrorist firing in Srinagar. Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar, Dec 9 : Terrorists fired at and injured a policeman on Saturday in Srinagar's Bemina area.

Identified as Hafiz Ahmad, the policeman was shot at by terrorists in the Hamdania colony of Bemina area.

"He was injured in his left arm and abdomen. He has been admitted to SKIMS hospital," a Jammu & Kashmir police source said.

Doctors have described his condition as stable.
Nagpur, Dec 9 : The Maharashtra Congress will take out a 'halla bol' march to the Maharashtra Legislature, currently holding the Winter Session here on December 11, to raise the issues of farmers, youth, women, law and order, and other public issues, top leaders said here on Saturday.

State Congress President Nana Patole said that the farmers of the state are in dire straits but there is no price for their farm produce, they have suffered huge losses in the recent unseasonal rains/hailstorms, yet the government has not extended proper aid to them.

"The government is only making hollow announcements. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and others merely went on 'tourism' of the ravaged farmlands and returned after clicking photos. Actual aid has not yet reached the farmers. Even the previous assistance announced has not been disbursed and crop insurance money is also pending," said Patole.

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) has held vociferous protests for two consecutive days outside the legislature to highlight the plight of the farmers, but the state government did not allow discussion on it, he said.

Touching on the law-and-order situation, Patole cited the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report in which Maharashtra ranks the second in abductions/kidnap, murders, abuse of women and other crimes, but the Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Home Minister has totally ignored the findings, said Patole.

Dwelling on the plight of growing unemployment with 2,50,000 vacancies in government departments, he accused the ruling MahaYuti regime of not announcing recruitments though millions of youths are waiting for jobs, and are crossing the age-bar for such jobs.

The 'halla bol' will be led by Patole with senior leaders like Balasaheb Thorat, former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, Satej Patil, M. Arif Naseem Khan, Basavaraj Patil, Praniti Shinde, Kunal Patil, all legislators and parliamentarians, the Mahila Congress, Youth Congress and other wings of the party shall join the protest march.
Dubai, Dec 9 : The UN Climate Change Technology Executive Committee (TEC), together with Enterprise Neurosystem, a non-profit open-source artificial intelligence (AI) community, has launched the AI Innovation Grand Challenge to identify and support the development of AI-powered solutions for climate action in developing countries.

The launch was part of a COP28 high-level event organized by the UN Climate Change Technology Mechanism in collaboration with the COP28 Presidency.

"We are seeing increasing evidence that artificial intelligence can prove an invaluable instrument in tackling climate change. While we remain mindful of the associated challenges and risks of AI, the Innovation Grand Challenge is a promising step forward in harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and empowering innovators in developing countries," said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, United Arab Emirates, said: "Harnessing artificial intelligence as a strategic asset to mitigate climate change involves integrating it into national policies and plans. This integration facilitates the use of data analytics to align policy with real-time climate data, thereby enhancing its efficacy and advancing technological development and scientific discovery in the field of energy.

"These measures and policies should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as a unified global initiative, acknowledging that climate change transcends geographical boundaries and requires concerted global efforts."

Artificial intelligence is already being used to predict climate patterns and extreme weather events, improve crop yields, reduce water usage or optimize renewable energy systems.

The underway the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) brought together leaders from governments, the United Nations, development cooperation agencies and business to discuss how AI can be used for transformational climate action in developing nations, while ensuring that it does not contribute to widening the digital divide caused by unequal access to technology. Shantal Munro-Knight, Minister in the Prime Ministeras Office, Barbados, said: "We are partnering with international tech companies to test their ideas in Barbados whilst contributing to the island's development.

"Some ideas include using machine learning and AI to check for the presence of tropical diseases, design hurricane resistant buildings and plan infrastructure investment. Collaboration, training and technology transfer are keys to ensuring that AI contributes effectively to climate mitigation and adaptation for small island developing states."

In line with the call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to develop AI that is "reliable and safe" and that can "supercharge climate action" to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the #AI4ClimateAction Initiative aims to advance climate-resilient and low-emissions development.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)

--IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 9 : Already in trouble, the Kerala unit of the JD(S) suffered another jolt on Saturday after its national President and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda expelled top party leader in the state, C.K. Nanu, the sole national vice-president of JD(S) and an ex-state minister.

Nanu was expelled along with C.M. Ibrahim, former Karnataka unit chief of the JD(S), who questioned JD(S)' alliance with the BJP at the party's national executive meeting held in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Incidentally, the national leadership of the JD(S) had issued an ultimatum to its two legislatures in Kerala, asking them to attend the national executive meeting on Saturday, but neither of them showed up, nor did anyone from Kerala.

In Kerala, the JD(S) is a full-fledged ally of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), and its nominee K. Krishnankutty is the state Power Minister, while its state unit chief Mathew T. Thomas is an MLA.

Both the leaders have categorically slammed Gowda for his decision to form alliance with the BJP.

The JD(S) in Kerala is split between the two legislatures and their supporters while there is another front led by Nanu and his group.

The two legislatures had skipped the meeting called by Nanu last month, making it clear that things are not smooth in the Kerala unit of JD(S).

Following JD(S)' alliance with the BJP, the Congress had termed Chieef Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the 'captain' of the B Team of BJP for continuing with a JD(S) MLA in his Cabinet. The state unit of BJP, meanwhile, has told the JD(S) in Kerala to join the NDA, and if not, its two legislators should quit from the Assembly.
Cong distances itself from recovery of huge cash from premises linked to party MP Dhiraj Sahu. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Dec 9 : After the Income Tax Department seized over Rs 200 crore in cash from different premises linked to Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Sahu, the party said on Saturday that it is no way connected to the businesses of Sahu, and only he can explain as to how such large amount of cash was unearthed from places connected to him.

Income Tax officials seized unaccounted cash to the tune of over Rs 200 crore during searches at multiple premises in Odisha and Jharkhand over the past three days, which are linked to Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies Ltd, a country-liquor manufacturing and selling firm that operates in western Odisha.

According to I-T sources, the group is allegedly linked to Dhiraj Sahu, whose family members run the business. It's a partnership firm of Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and a leading country-liquor manufacturing firm, sources said.

Facing ire of the BJP over the seizures, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dhiraj Sahu, MP."

"Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the I-T authorities from his properties," Ramesh added.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi took note of the seizures .

Posting a newspaper clipping with photos of currency notes recovered during the raids, the Prime Minister had tweeted on Friday: "Countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest 'speeches' of their leaders Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee."

Meanwhile, Congress leader Manickam Tagore in a series of tweets on Saturday hit back at the Prime Minister, saying, "Why Prime Minister is doing this cheap politics by linking the business of the Sahu family with the Congress?

"Some facts about Dhiraj Sahu. Sahu family has been in the country liquor business for 40 years. Sahu's relatives have a big liquor business in Odisha. Baldev Sahu and Group of Companies is originally from Lohardaga district of Jharkhand," Tagore said.

"The company is a partnership firm of Boudh Distillery Private Limited (BDPL). This company also runs Baldev Sahu Infra Private Limited, Quality Bottlers Private Limited, and Kishore Prasad Vijay Prasad Beverage Private Limited.

"Dhiraj Sahu, brother of late Shiv Prasad Sahu, who was the Lok Sabha MP from Ranchi, has been a Rajya Sabha MP for three consecutive terms. He became a Rajya Sabha MP for the first time in June 2009, and in 2018 he again got elected as MP when he declared Rs 34 crore as his worth," Tagore said.

Tagore also said that Sahu's business group needs to explain about the cash seizure.

"Why drag Congress into it? Why this cheap politics," Tagore asked.

Meanwhile, sources in the Congress said that the party has sought a report from its Jharkhand unit about the businesses of Sahu and how much large amount of cash was found from premises linked to him.
The United States is set to invest more than US$2 billion in Angola as it seeks to pitch itself as a better alternative to China, which has bankrolled most of the country's reconstruction for the past two decades.

President Joe Biden said the US had committed more than US$1 billion this year to fund solar power, bridges and internet infrastructure. It is also offering a further US$1 billion to fund the strategically important Lobito Corridor, running from Zambia to the Angolan coast via the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The US International Development Finance Corporation had initially advanced US$250 million for a feasibility study to refurbish the 1,300km (800-mile) Lobito Atlantic Railway line, as part of the Lobito logistics corridor.

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Washington is also working with the European Union to build a new 800km rail line between Angola and Zambia as it eyes critical minerals such as cobalt and copper from the DRC and Zambia for its green energy transition, including the electric car industry.

"This first-of-its kind project is the biggest US rail investment in Africa ever, one that's going to create jobs and connect markets for generations to come," President Biden said when he hosted Angolan President Joao Lourenco last week at the White House.

The US investment in Angola is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, launched by the Group of 7 last year with the aim of providing US$600 billion by 2027 to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative.

"Simply put, a partnership between Angola and America is more important and more impactful than ever," Biden said. He also promised to visit the country, saying: "I have been there and I will be back."

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Lourenco said that the US engagement in the Lobito Corridor would not only help Angola, "but also the whole African continent. So, this is a new page that has been turned in the US-Africa relations".

Biden wants to use Angola as a test case for US ambitions to counter Chinese influence in Africa, where Beijing has funded many mega projects.

But China's economic influence in Angola has been deep-rooted after it agreed to bankroll the oil-rich country's reconstruction following a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002.

Angola eventually became Africa's biggest destination for Chinese capital. It has since received US$45 billion from Chinese lenders - more than a quarter of China's total lending to African countries between 2000 and 2022. The money went into the building of massive projects such as the US$4.1 billion Caculo Cabaca hydropower station.

It was in Angola that China pioneered oil-backed loans as an easy way to access Chinese funding for infrastructure, in what came to be known as the "Angola Model". It was successful until oil prices fell, forcing the country to pump more oil to service its debts.

US President Joe Biden with Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco at the White House. Photo: AP alt=US President Joe Biden with Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco at the White House. Photo: AP>

Now, the US is making a comeback in Angola, which many decades ago was a forum for proxy wars between the US and the Soviet Union.

Lourenco, who replaced the late Jose Eduardo dos Santos as president in 2017, has promised to diversify the country's oil-dependent economy and reduce its excessive reliance on China.

Gilson Lazaro, an associate professor in the sociology department at Agostinho Neto University in Angolan capital Luanda, said China's investments over the last 20 years had undoubtedly been strategic and now the US wanted to occupy that space, helping Angola to get away from its dependence on oil.

"Angola is once again the scene of strategic disputes between two of the world's leading powers because of its geographical importance and the resources it has, but also because of its role in the central and southern regions of the continent," Lazaro said.

Nevertheless, China can play an important role in other areas, Lazaro said, adding: "But all this will depend on its plans and whether there will be sufficient openness on the part of Angola's president. It is still highly relevant and represents an important part of the Angolan economy."

As president, Lourenco has led an anti-corruption campaign targeting his predecessor's family and close associates.

Dominik Kopinski, an associate professor at the University of Wroclaw's Institute of Economics and co-founder of the Polish Centre for African Studies, said even though Lourenco's anti-corruption effort is sometimes framed as an internal struggle against his political opponents, "foreign diplomats we have spoken to in Luanda have acknowledged these efforts, although they are clearly far from being a game-changer".

In this sense, Kopinski said "Angola has become less of a pariah in international circles, especially when compared to the 2000s when it was primarily seen as a symbol of oil kleptocracy, tarnishing its reputation due to mismanagement and the sheer theft of oil revenues".

The 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with the US seemed like an opportune moment to start afresh, Kopinski added.

Furthermore, Kopinski said the US had never completely disappeared from the radar of Angolan elites.

"It has consistently been a great power to look up to, even when China was the partner of choice for pragmatic reasons. I also believe this reflects Angola's genuine recognition of the long-term risks associated with the post-oil reality, which is slowly but steadily approaching. Hence, the growing interest in clean energy. In this context, the US investment pledges are certainly welcome," Kopinski said.

Angola has been pursuing a charm offensive abroad, with its political elites distancing themselves from China and seeking closer ties with Western partners and countries such as Brazil, Israel or Turkey.

"This shift comes after they learned the hard way that their marriage of convenience with China has reached a burnout of sorts. Angola found itself burdened with a pile of debt and infrastructure of questionable quality," Kopinski said.

Officially, Kopinski said China's stance toward Angola had not changed, and their relations continued to be friendly. "However, it's easy to see that the lending spree has come to a hard stop. It is against this new setting that Angola has been pursuing the recalibration of its foreign policy."

Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, a senior fellow and director of the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said: "[Lourenco] is determined to diversify the economy and expand Angola's options and choices of partners beyond China, Russia and Cuba. The large investment in the Lobito Corridor reflects this commitment."

Lazaro, of Agostinho Neto University in Luanda, said American administrations had been trying to influence Angola's political and economic destinies for a long time, and now "there is a convergence of interests that only the near future will be able to clarify".

He said the Americans saw an opportunity to turn the page and occupy the space China had left behind, which "coincided with Joao Lourenco's desire to seek external legitimacy through US and American foreign investment".

However, he said China was still an important partner for Angola due to its commitments to the country.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
New Delhi, Dec 9 : In a massive crackdown on the IS, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in co-ordination with the Maharashtra Police and ATS Maharashtra on Saturday arrested 15 operatives of the banned terror outfit during multiple raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka. Among the arrested include self-proclaimed leaders with assumed rights to administer 'bayath'.

The NIA also recovered over Rs 68 lakh in cash, firearms, sharp-edged weapons, incriminating documents, smartphones, Hamas flags and other digital devices during the raids.

An agency spokesperson said that the NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early Saturday morning, and apprehended 15 people accused of promoting terror and terror-related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation.

The official said that the accused, operating on the directions of their foreign handlers, had been actively involved in various terrorist activities, including fabrication of IEDs, for furthering the violent and destructive agenda of the IS. "Huge amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp-edged weapons, incriminating documents, smart phones and other digital devices were seized during the raids, conducted as part of NIA's ongoing efforts to disrupt and demolish the attempts of the Islamic State to carry out violent acts of terror and take innocent lives," the official said.

"The seizures included one pistol, two air guns, eight swords/knives, two laptops, six hard disks, three CDs, 38 mobile phones, 10 magazine books, Rs 68,03,800 in cash and 51 Hamas flags," the official said.

NIA investigations have revealed that the accused, all members of IS Maharashtra module, were operating from Padgha-Borivali, where they had hatched the conspiracy to spread terror and violence across India.

Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, IS etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the government.

The official said that its initial probe revealed that the arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a 'liberated zone' and as 'Al Sham'.

"They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate in Padgha from their place of residence to strengthen the Padgha base," the official said. "Mohammad Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan a.k.a. Raveesh, the main accused and the self-declared leader of the arrested persons, had self-assumed the rights of administering 'bayath' (oath of alliance towards the Khalifa of IS) to the persons joining the proscribed organisation," the official claimed.

The official said besides Nachan, others arrested during the crackdown on Saturday have been identified as Hasib Zuber Mulla a.k.a. Haseeb Zubair Mulla, Kashif Abdul Sattar Balere, Saif Ateeque Nachan, Rehan Ashfaque Suse, Shagaf Safiq Divkar, Firoz Dastagir Kuwari, Adil Iliyas Khot, Firoz Dastagir Kuwari, Adil Iliyas Khot, Musab Haseeb Mulla, Rafil Abdul Latif Nachan, Yahya Ravish Khot, Razil Abdul Latif Nachan, Farhan Ansar Suse, Mukhlis Maqbool Nachan and Munzir Abubakar Kunnathpeedikal.

All the accused originally hailed from Thane district of Maharashtra, the official said.

The official claimed that while Adil Khot was found in possession of the flags, the weapons (guns, knives and swords) were recovered from Firoz Dastagir Kuwan, Razil Abxul Nachan, Zeeshan Ajaz Mulla and Mukhlis Maqbool Nachan.

"The cash was seized from Saif Ateeque Nachan, Rehan Ashfaq Suse and Atif Nasir Mulla," the official said.

The IS outfit has been spreading its terror network in India by putting in place localised modules across the country, the official said.

NIA took over the instant case on November 6 this year under various sections of the IPC, UA(P) Act and Explosive Substances Act, on the directions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The case was previously being probed by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, following the arrest of three IS terrorists, Shahnawaz Alam, Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf and Mohammad Arshad Warsi, on the basis of credible source of information.

Since taking over the case, the NIA has undertaken strong and concerted actions to destroy the various IS modules and networks, the official added.

In the last few months, the NIA has conducted large-scale raids and busted different IS modules by arresting several terror operatives in the IS terror conspiracy case in a bid to scuttle the organisation's heinous and violent anti-India agenda.
Patna, Dec 9 : In a shocking incident, a group of men led by a local strongman in Bihar's Begusarai district chopped off the breasts of a woman, the police said on Saturday.

The victim is currently admitted to the Sadar Hospital where her condition is stated to be extremely critical. The incident took place in Mallipur village under Tiyay police station on Friday night.

The SHO of Tiyay police station has confirmed the incident.

"We have recorded the statement of the victim and registered an FIR against Dayanand Paswan and others under charges of attempt to murder and outraging the modesty of a woman. The accused persons are on the run. Efforts are on to nab them at the earliest," the SHO said.

Paswan, a local strongman, and his aides were applying pressure on the victim to register a plot of land in his name, which she refused.

The woman owns one-and-a-half katha land in the village, which Paswan was eyeing. When she refused, Paswan asked her for at least half katha land. The victim was living alone in the village, while her husband and son stayed in another state.

At around 11 p.m. on Friday, Paswan and his aides attacked her house and chopped off her breasts before fleeing from the spot.

After hearing her cry, the neighbours took her to the primary health centre in Bhagwanpur block from where the doctors referred her to the Sadar Hospital.
Jaipur, Dec 9 : Amid the suspense over naming the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan, BJP President J.P. Nadda on Saturday evening held a crucial virtual meeting with the newly-elected party MLAs in the desert state.

During the meeting, Nadda also spoke to the MLAs regarding the Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra and the upcoming programmes of the party.

Nadda, sources said, instructed the MLAs to complete the preparations for the Yatra by December 17. He also told the MLAs to decide on the effective routes in their respective Assembly constituencies.

BJP's national General Secretary Sunil Bansal, state unit chief C.P. Joshi, General Secretary (Organisation) Chandrashekhar were also present in the meeting.

Nadda interacted with the MLAs for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, sources said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Saroj Pandey and Vinod Tawde -- who were named observers for Rajasthan on Friday -- are likely to reach Jaipur on Sunday night to oversee a legislative party meeting.

The BJP MLAs have been instructed to stay in Jaipur for the next two days.

Mahant Balaknath, meanwhile, has rejected the ongoing speculation about him becoming the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

"Please ignore the speculation being made about me. I am gaining experience under the guidance of the Prime Minister," he tweeted.
Manipur: 8 militants held with arms; student rescued from their clutches. Image Source: IANS News

Imphal, Dec 9 : A day after he was abducted, the Manipur Police on Saturday rescued a 22-year-old student and arrested eight kidnappers who are active members of a militant outfit in the northeastern state, an official said.

A police officer said that Laishram Chinglen Singh was abducted from the hostel of DM College of Science on Friday afternoon in Imphal West district.

The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs 15 lakh from the parents of Laishram for his safe release.

Police launched a search operation in different places of Imphal West district immediately after receiving a complaint from the youth's parents.

A Ghatak rifle, an AK-47 rifle, one .32 pistol, ammunition and 13 mobile handsets were recovered from the possession of eight arrested kidnappers, who are active cadres of Kangleipak Communist Party (PWG), a banned militant outfit.

In separate search operations, the Manipur Police recovered a large quantity of weapons, including Self Loading Rifles and ammunition, including Chinese grenades and walkie-talkies, from different districts of Manipur.

--IANS

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Patna, Dec 10 : After I-T raids at several locations linked to Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, led to the recovery of unaccounted cash to the tune of nearly Rs 300 crore, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, said on Saturday that a 'mountain of cash' has been seized from 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan', taking an indirect dig at Rahul Gandhi who coined the term.

The I-T department officials conducted raids at several locations of Sahu in Jharkhand and Odisha for the last three days and recovered currency notes amounting to more than Rs 300 crore due to which BJP leaders have launched a fresh political attack on the opposition INDIA bloc.

Income Tax officials seized unaccounted cash to the tune of over Rs 300 crore during searches at multiple premises in Odisha and Jharkhand over the past three days, which are linked to Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies Ltd, a country-liquor manufacturing and selling firm that operates in western Odisha.

According to I-T sources, the group is allegedly linked to Dhiraj Sahu, whose family members run the business. Itas a partnership firm of Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and a leading country-liquor manufacturing firm, sources said.

"One one hand, Rs 300 crore or more money recovered from the houses of Dhiraj Prasad Sahu and on the other hand TMC MP Mahua Moitra involved in 'cash for query' indicates that opposition INDIA bloc offers a guarantee of corruption, commission, loot and tout politics, Narendra Modi gives a guarantee to eradicate corruption from its roots," Modi said.

"The counting of currency notes that came out from 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan' is currently underway. Three hundred crore rupees came out from an opposition INDIA bloc leader, which is an ally of Congress' 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan'. It looks like the sales are very high in 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan'," he added.

"The law enforcement agencies have recovered Rs 50 crore from TMC leader Partha Chatterjee, AAP leader Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in jail for months in the liquor scam and dozens of leaders of opposition INDIA bloc are facing charges of corruption. Whenever ED, CBI and Income Tax take action against them, the Opposition blames us for vendetta politics," the BJP MP said.

"Nitish Kumar compromised with corruption to retain his post as the Chief Minister of Bihar and therefore he has announced his political successor to Tejashwi Yadav, who is involved in corruption and charge-sheeted in several such cases. After the seizure of Rs 300 crore from the leader of Congress party, Nitish Kumar should break his silence," he added.
New Delhi, Dec 10 : A Delhi Police constable was attacked with a knife on his chest and hand in Delhi's Adarsh Nagar area after he tried to arrest a criminal involved in seven cases of the Arms Act and robbery, an official said on Saturday.

The official added that on Friday, a police team from Adarsh Nagar police station received specific inputs at around 10.45 p.m, that one Ajay alias Ganja, along with his associates were planning to execute a crime.

Acting on the inputs, a police team reached the Wazirpur area at around 11 p.m.

"On the back side of a public toilet, Ajay and his associate Akash were found sitting, consuming some intoxicating substance. Upon seeing the police team, both of them started fleeing from the spot," said a senior police official.

The constable Bhupender tried to control Ajay but he attacked him with a knife resulting in stab injuries on his chest and right hand.

"He (police constable) was immediately rushed to Fortis Hospital in Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area," the official added.

"Another associate Akash was also overpowered and arrested from the spot. A manhunt has been initiated to nab Ajay, who is absconding since committing the crime," the official said.
New Delhi, Dec 10 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said that it has filed a charge-sheet against nine accused in connection with the abduction and murder of a woman in Manipur in July this year.

A CBI spokesperson here said on Saturday that the agency filed a charge-sheet before the Special Judge, CBI Court, in Assam's Guwahati.

The official said that a case was registered on the request from Manipur government and further notification from the Central government.

The CBI took over the investigation of the case from July 15 this year earlier registered at Lamlai police station in Imphal East.

According to the FIR, it was alleged that at about 12:10 p.m. on July 15, one woman was forcibly detained at the Sawombung Gate by a mob comprising of nearly 100 persons, including armed miscreants, and was forcibly abducted towards the Keibi village in a car.

Her body was recovered on the same day of the incident.

The official added that the CBI investigation revealed that the accused were involved in the incident.

A charge-sheet was filed before the Special Judge, CBI Court, Guwahati, designated as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

Further investigation into the case is underway, including the identification of other accused involved in the case.
Patna, Dec 10 : In a joint operation, the Khajuraho ( in Madhya Pradesh) and Patna police have arrested a youth for threatening Bageshwar Dham saint Dhirendra Shastri in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, an official said.

The accused is identified as Aakash Kumar, 23, a native of Shankardih village in Bihar's Nalanda district, who was living in a rented accommodation in Patna's Kankarbagh locality.

He was arrested on Friday and the CBI officers have produced him before the Khajuraho district court on Saturday.

The accused had used darknet to send two emails in November this year and demanded Rs 10 lakh as extortion from saint Dhirendra Shastri.

The Khajuraho police took the help of CBI and internet to trace the location of the accused.

"The accused sent the first email on November 19 and asked Dhirendra Shastri to pay an extortion amount of Rs 10 lakh within 24 hours. As Shastri refused to pay the amount, the accused sent another email on November 22 with the same demand following which Shastri immediately lodged an FIR with the Khajuraho police. As the matter is related to Dhirendra Shastri, the case was immediately transferred to the Cyber cell of Khajuraho police but its officials failed to trace the location as they did not have access to the darknet. Then Khajuraho police took the help of CBI which is a partner of Interpol. The Interpol officials then helped Khajuraho police to trace the IP address of the computer used by the accused to send email through darknet."

"We have registered an FIR under Section 382 of the IPC for threatening to kill Dhirendra Shastri via an email. The accused also demanded an extortion amount of Rs 10 lakh. We have taken the help of CBI and Interpol to trace the location of the accused and nabbed him," said Salil Sharma, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Khajuraho police, who was leading the raid.

The officer added that the accused is well-versed about the computer, internet and various softwares. He used darknet to hide his IP address from the computer, Sharma said.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the accused has no connection with dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Further investigation is underway.
The owners of an Omaha-area Mexican ice cream and snacks store will open a downtown Fremont location in April, and are welcoming locals to a soft-opening of the new ice cream store on Monday, Dec. 11, from 1 to 8 p.m.

The newest location of Tipico Helado will be located in a storefront at 453 N. Main St., in downtown Fremont, said co-owner and co-founder Crystal Murillo. An official grand opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 26, however the ice cream shop will be open daily beginning Monday.

The new Tipico Helado will be a larger space than the current original location in Omaha, which was founded and opened by Murillo and her husband, Jesus Mata.

It is a small ice cream shop  it is Mexican ice cream. We also sell Mexican treats. We make everything in house. Everything is fresh and it is made from fresh fruits and ingredients, Murillo said. One of our most popular items is the mangonada, which is a mango sorbet with Chamoy and Tajin.

Murillo said many of the ice cream treats are creations of her husband, Jesus Mata, who moved to the Omaha region from his home state of Aguascalientes in Mexico and his hometown of Ricon de Romos. Murillo is herself of Mexican heritage, but was born and raised in the United States after her parents immigrated here.

My husband was born and raised in Mexico. He worked at an ice cream shop there, Murillo said.

The idea to open a store in Fremont arose from two different reasons, Murillo said.

A family member of ours had a food stand in Fremont several years ago and he was selling our products. He did really, really well, she said. And, we have a lot of people from Fremont coming to our store in Omaha for summer treats.

After opening their location in Omaha in March 2020, it was about a year later when they decided to seek out a space for a new store in Fremont. However, the birth of a new child delayed the couples aspirations for about 18 months, Murillo said.

The soft opening Monday is followed by the shop being open regularly every day. They plan to operate seven days a week and plan to hire at least 10 employees to man the ice cream shop.

Were going to have it open (on Dec. 11) for people to come in and see what we have, Murillo said. Then, we are planning the grand opening and ribbon cutting in the spring  April 26. People seem excited about it. We are really, really excited. This has been more than a year in the making.
U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer visited Fremont on Friday, Dec. 8, meeting with local government officials and business leaders to discuss a range of topics. Fischer also had a special meeting with members of the Fremont Inland Port Authority board and received an update on the project.

As part of her visit to Dodge County, Fischer took some time to sit down with the Tribune and discuss what she is focused on in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Nebraskans and also the importance of the Inland Port project to Fremont.

QUESTION: How important is the Fremont Inland Port Authority to Fremont and the future of tech manufacturing in the Midwest?

FISCHER: I think it is an amazing step, and I think the (Inland Port) group obviously is well prepared and they have a good plan in place. They are in the process of getting that implemented, dotting their is and crossing their ts. We will be available for them to come to us in the future for any of their needs. I think it is important for the state as the whole, but extremely important for rural areas of Nebraska as a whole. You still have 1,500 acres of land that is still available and ready to be developed for agriculture or whatever kind of plants they are trying to bring in.

QUESTION: What can you do at the federal level to help the Inland Port project become a reality?

FISCHER: For the most part, I think it is looking at grant or loan programs that might be possible. Through the Department of Transportation, there are a number of infrastructure grants that might work for the area as you move forward on this. At the business round-table we just had, it was mentioned the Small Business Administration has a number of loans and grants out there. I always say, my office is there to identify the resources that might be there, but you have to have a group to put it together. We obviously help Nebraskans.

QUESTION: You have expressed concern about a proposed new administrative regulation regarding nursing home staffing. Explain to readers what is going on with this issue?

FISCHER: This is a very big deal. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) has come out with a regulation that would require a registered nurse to be available 24/7 in nursing homes. Obviously, there is a shortage of (registered nurses) nationwide, and also across Nebraska. Many of our counties just dont have anyone available. So, I believe youre going to see a number of nursing homes close across the statejust because they cant staff them.

QUESTION: What are you personally trying to do about this nursing home issue at the U.S. Senate level?

FISCHER: We have introduced legislation to try to address that. We have heard from all across the state of Nebraska that are worried about this. What happens when a nursing home closes in a small community? The people there have to move ... either theyre going to have to obviously move someplace with family in the community. But they also could have to move to a nursing home in another community that is far away from their family and their friends. That is not good for anybody. It is already hard to find space in a nursing home. If we see them close across the state, that is not going to be helpful. In nursing homes, you are able to have LPNs on staff, other technicians ... it is not going to create a less safe environment for our loved ones (not having a registered nurse on call).

QUESTION: What is the current status of the Farm Bill and your priorities regarding the agriculture sector in general?

FISCHER: We were able to get through a one-year extension on the current Farm Bill, because we have not been able to come together to pass that. Things that I am watching, first off, is crop insurance. We want to make sure that is not just available, but it is bolstered so our producers can manage the risk. We have to be able to maintain that our conservation programs in the Farm Bill are voluntary and not mandatory. I am very involved in precision agriculture. I have several (ideas) for the Farm Bill; they deal with all that cool technology and being able to have smaller ranchers and farmers having precision agriculture. (My idea) would be a new loan program through the U.S.D.A. In some provisions, precision agriculture is not addressed. I think it needs to be. We are also focused on disaster payments, to get those payments out in a more streamlined manner. If you cant access the money, you may be out of business before the check arrives. Broadband, it is important to the country as a whole, but especially for ag industry. You cant run the precision agriculture technology unless you have the connectivity.

QUESTION: The immigration issue at the Southern border of the United States has been a controversial issue in Congress as a whole, what are your thoughts on the border situation that has unfolded over the past few years?

FISCHER: We need to secure our Southern border. Ive been down there, Ive seen the chaos. It is a humanitarian crisis. It is a drug crisis, with the fentanyl. It is a national security crisis. We see the numbers increasing on terrorists who are on the watch list; they are being detained and sent out, there has been over 200. After watching what Hamas has done in Israel, after watching our embassy in Iraq being attacked today, after watching our military personnel be attacked more than 80 times ... we better secure our own border; it needs to be part of that national security package.
With Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis (Dark Horse/Berger, Dec.), Maass and Lay adapt a 1943 opera written in the Terezin concentration camp into a graphic novel.

How did you learn about the original opera?

Maass: I discovered it way back when I was a teenager at a Best Buy in Phoenix. I saw a collection of work suppressed by the Nazis sitting on a shelf while I was looking for punk rock, and I grabbed it. The opera has captivated me since. Youve got science fiction, youve got dystopia, youve got alternative histories, youve even got zombies. And you dont expect that in an opera.

How did you design the world of the graphic novel?

Lay: Its a sci-fi dystopia that takes place in a version of Atlantis that never sank. Terezin, where the opera was written and rehearsed and ultimately suppressed, was a huge influence, and we visited the site.

Did you do any other research?

Maass: This was a huge investigative project. To give you an example, when we were in Prague, we found the dormitory where Peter Kien, the librettist, slept when he went to art school. We stayed there for a few nights and ate in the cafeteria.

We also found a cartoon Kien drew that shows the evolution of the opera: the editors, the composer going in, the director, the censors. The first panel shows what Death looked like, which opened up the gate for how to design that character.

What was the biggest challenge to adapting this story?

Lay: Operas carry a lot of emotion through the music, so the enormous challenge was choosing moments and actions in the visuals that are going to be reflective of the music.

Maass: Some things in the opera didnt make sense on the first read, and only made sense later on when we learned how it was put together. For example, one of the characters just disappears in the fourth act. It turns out that was because they didnt have enough actors to play all the roles, so they had to have somebody double up and remove one character at the end.

What do you hope people take away from this story?

Maass: The message is anti-war and anti-authoritarianism, and I hope people can see that art provides a way to process and understand and resist.

Lay: I hope the history feels alive for our readers, because the storys very much alive. Its actually a very funny storybecause Peter Kien was funny. He was murdered at 25 years old, in 1944. He was, as far as I can see, like every 25-year-old Ive ever met.
Laurie R. King never meant to be a mystery writer. Growing up, the 71-year-old California native immersed herself in stacks of science fiction; she assumed that if she ever got a literary career off the ground, thats what shed write. Halfway through a draft of her first sci-fi novel in the mid-1980s, however, she hit a wall.

I realized something as open-ended as sci-fi gave me nothing to build on, King recalls on a Zoom call from her home in Santa Cruz. It wasnt until I rewrote it as a sort of mystery that I knew I could finish the book.

Mysteries, King says, echoing legions of genre writers and fans, provide a satisfying structure. They promise writers a sandbox of familiar, endlessly remixable tropes, and the opportunity to write about anything at all so long as it works as a story. Plus, mysteries offer inherent heft: Even a cozy is about death. If you honor that part of the story, it gives a dimension to the tale that you dont get if youre just talking about family drama, or a divorce, or straight-up science fiction.

In the decades since the mystery genre got King out of a jam, the author has become widely known for her Mary Russell series, which focuses on a young feminist who meetsand eventually marriesSherlock Holmes in the years after WWI. Russell first appeared in 1994s The Beekeepers Apprentice, and in February, her adventures will continue with The Lanterns Dance (Bantam), the series 18th installment, which marks its 30th anniversary.

The Lanterns Dance is a bit of a form-breaker for the Russell novels. As always, theres a mystery to be solved, but the details of the case cut uncommonly close to the private lives of Kings characters. The novel opens with Russell and Holmes arriving in rural France to link up with Holmess son, avant-garde artist Damian Adler. (In Kings telling, Holmes has a son with American contralto Irene Adler, who appeared in the 1891 Arthur Conan Doyle story A Scandal in Bohemia.)

When Russell and Holmes arrive at Damians house, he, his fiancee, and his precocious daughter have all fled to Paris. According to the housekeepers, there was a violent break-in and the intruder left behind a machete. This would be cause for alarm in and of itself, but to make matters worse, a pair of men have been looking for Damian ever since he received chests containing knickknacks from his late great-uncle, the artist Horace Vernet.

From there, Russell and Holmes split up, and so does the narrative. Holmes heads to Paris to fetch his sons family and ensure the men dont catch them. Russell, battling a knee injury, stays behind to rifle through the Vernet chests. Among objects of various import (including a zoetrope that gives the book its title), she discovers the coded diary of a young woman named Lakshmi, who was plucked from her home in France to live with an Indian man nearly a century ago. As Russell deciphers Lakshmis musings, Holmes helps Damian try to pin down his pursuers, and everything builds to the reveal of explosive family secrets.

Those secrets make up the meat of the The Lanterns Dance, offering a rare glimpse into the personal history of Holmes, a cultural figure who can seem at once overexposed and underexamined. One thing thats fascinating about Arthur Conan Doyles work is that he leaves you with a feeling that you know these characters intimately, King says, but when you go to actually write down their backstory, you realize that he has not bothered with any details at all. Her initial aim with the Russell series wasnt to fill in those gapsHolmes is a secondary character for the first several entriesbut over time, she has allowed herself to engage more fully in what she deems Sherlockian studies, even as she remains firm that the books are not Holmes pastiches.

One fertile thread, King says, has been imagining how Holmes might have navigated an England irrevocably transformed by the first world war. Doyle wrote the final Holmes stories in the 1920s, but the chronology never places the detectives adventures later than the brink of WWI. I thought that was selling the character short, King says. If you have a person like that, whose whole life has been about creatively meeting his challenges, he would not simply say, Oh, things are just too different now, Im going to retire. 

Instead, he might encounter someone like young Russell, who shares many of his strengths as a detective but also challenges his stoicism and ideas about gender, in a manner not dissimilar from the ways modernists rankled Victorians and Edwardians. As a result, Holmes might grow, fall in love, travel the world, andas it goes in The Lanterns Danceopen up about his past.

Such thought experiments have kept King writing about Russell and Holmes for the past 30 yearssomething she stresses was never the plan. I know that there are organized writers out there who plan series arcs, but I am not one of those writers, she says, laughing. Instead, when her publisher tasked her with following up the success of The Beekeepers Apprentice, King kept the wind in her sails primarily by juggling other standalones and series, including her novels featuring lesbian San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli, and sending Russell and Holmes all over the globe. As a rule, King only writes about places shes beenand its here that the distance between the author and her characters starts to shrink.

While King insists that Russell is not her in disguise, both studied theology, both wear their hair in a crown atop their head, and both married older men with whom they traveled the world. When King was in her mid-20s, she married 55-year-old Noel Quinton King, her former professor whose Anglo-Indian roots shed light on the Lakshmi character in The Lanterns Dance. Before Noels death in 2009, the pair embarked on a series of overseas adventures. While King chose certain Russell settings as excuses to take vacations (for example, 2015s Dreaming Spies, set in Japan), for the most part, the author is memorializing her own travels with her late husband when Russell and Holmes solve a murder on the Cote dAzur, or travel to Jerusalem at the request of Holmess brother, Mycroft.

When faced with the breadth and success of the Russell series, King responds more with gracious bewilderment than ego. People have decided to pursue a degree at Oxford because they like Mary Russell, she says. Somebody wrote to tell me shed been clean and sober for a year because of a scene that Id written. Nobody goes into writing saying, Im going to write a book that people want to read to their dying mother. Its just an extraordinary privilege to be allowed into peoples lives this way.

Perhaps its because, through the hazy filters of genre convention and Arthur Conan Doyle, shes been allowing readers into her own life all along.
After an energetic in-person debut in New Orleans in January 2023, the American Library Associations LibLearnX conference is back for its second live event.

Set for FridayMonday, January 1922, 2024, at the Baltimore Convention Center, LibLearnX will again offer librarians and publishers a more learning-focused program than the meetings forerunnerthe discontinued ALA Midwinter Meetingand a chance for librarians to share ideas at the first major library conference of the year.

I think this is going to be an important, valuable time for all of us, says ALA president Emily Drabinski. LibLearnX is a sort of retooled conference that is meant to be more intimate, and more about on-the-ground library workers teaching and learning from one another. And the big thing I think we learned in New Orleans is how vital it is for librarians to have an opportunity to connect in person to share best practices and to talk about advocacy efforts.

As a concept, LibLearnX had been in the planning stages since well before the pandemic, a replacement for the ALA Midwinter Meeting, which, despite drawing relatively large (if declining) numbers, was no longer meeting the needs of ALA members. In 2022, LibLearnXs first year, the pandemic forced the event to go virtual only.

The 2023 show in New Orleanscoming on the heels of the pandemic and amid a tough budget climate for librarians nationwidedrew a modest 1,712 registered attendees (librarians, library workers, and library supporters) and 757 exhibitors, authors, publishers, press, and staff. In contrast, the ALA Midwinter Meeting in its final years generally drew more in the neighborhood of 7,000the last in-person show, in Philadelphia in 2020, drew more than 8,000.

 The time we have together as ALA members is precious. 

But librarians and vendors who attended the event in New Orleans in January told PW that LibLearnX in many ways delivered what ALA membership asked for when the association began to reenvision the ALA Midwinter Meeting: fewer committee meetings, more educational offerings, more time on the exhibit floor, and more time to connect with peers. And after years of mostly virtual meetings, librarians were clearly energized to be together in person, especially during such a challenging time for the profession.

The time we have together as ALA members is precious, Drabinski says. In New Orleans, I think we saw what really worked for attendees, and were going be reproducing those things in Baltimore. This is a new kind of conference, so theres a new kind of story that we will tell. For example, one of the things I learned from LibLearnX earlier this year is that the focus on collaborative learning is really important, and a little bit new. Thats one story I think well try to tell a little better.

Featured speakers

Several main program speakers have already been announced, but more will likely be unveiled in the coming days, so be sure to visit the LibLearnX website for updates.

Among the speakers announced so far is journalist, author, and podcaster Michele Norris, who will open the LibLearnX main speaker program (Saturday, 89:15 a.m., BCC Ballroom IIV).

A Washington Post opinion columnist and former cohost of NPRs All Things Considered, Norris is also the founding director of the Race Card Project, a Peabody Awardwinning narrative archive where people around the world share their reflections on identity. At LibLearnX, Norris will discuss her forthcoming book Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity, (Simon & Schuster, Jan. 2024), which the publisher bills as a compilation of stories, richly reported essays, and photographs providing a window into America during a tumultuous era.

Comedian and actor Jesus Trejo will take the stage as part of the LLX Studio program (Saturday, 12 p.m., LLX Marketplace, Level 100). A popular stand-up performer, Trejo is also an actor on the Netflix series Mr. Iglesias and a writer for the second season of This Fool on Hulu. Trejo will discuss his forthcoming childrens book Raising Mamas Plantitas (Minerva, fall 2024), which follows a young Jesus after his mama appoints him honorable Chief Plant Officer, Branch Manager, and big brother to her precious houseplants.

Next up in the LLX Studio program, Antonia Hylton, NBC News correspondent and cohost of the Southlake podcast, takes the stage (Saturday, 34 p.m., LLX Marketplace, Level 100). Hylton will discuss her forthcoming book Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum (Legacy Lit., Jan. 2024), an exploration of Crownsville Hospital in Anne Arundel County, Md., one of the nations last segregated asylums with surviving records. The book chronicles the stories of Black families whose mental health suffered as they tried, and sometimes failed, to find safety and dignity, according to the publisher, and explores Hyltons own familys experiences with mental illness.

The next days LLX Studio program will feature actor, model, and voiceover artist Mia Armstrong (Sunday, 11 a.m.noon, LLX Studio Marketplace, Level 100). Armstrongwho once declared in a Good Morning America interview that Down syndrome is her superpoweris credited with changing the way people with intellectual disabilities and differences are perceived.

Armstrong will appear in conversation with her mother, Cara Armstrong, and her editor, Sara Sargent, to discuss her debut picture book, I Am a Masterpiece! (Random House, Jan. 2024), which offers a glimpse into the life of a child with Down syndrome.

Awards and more

The upcoming LibLearnX will once again feature a number of receptions and award celebrations, beginning with the popular I Love My Librarian Awards. Given annually, the awards recognize the outstanding public service contributions of librarians working in public, school, college, community college, and university libraries. Attendees can hear from the 2024 recipients at the LLX Welcome Reception (Friday, 68 p.m., Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor, Key Ballroom 712). The event is free.

The RUSA Books & Media Awards event at LibLearnX will once again feature the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, the ALAs prestigious adult book awards that recognize the best books in each category published in the U.S. in the previous year. The 2024 winners will be announced at the event (Sunday, 9:4510:45 a.m., LLX Marketplace, Level 100).

And then theres the most anticipated awards ceremony of all, the ALA Youth Media Awards, (Monday, 89:30 a.m., BCC Ballroom IIV), which includes the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and Coretta Scott King awards. The awards are the gold standard for childrens books, relied upon by parents, educators, booksellers, and, of course, librarians for selecting the best materials for young readers. The event will once again be livestreamed, so check the Youth Media Awards site for the link to tune in.

Program & Exhibits

The professional program at LibLearnX will once again feature more than 100 panels and discussions, including hands-on workshops and bite-size presentations, organizers say, around a number of timely topics, including book banning and intellectual freedom, technology and AI, and sustainability.

Among the highlights, a panel titled Fighting Censorship in a Changing Landscape (Saturday 12 p.m., BCC rooms 337338) will feature members of the ALAs Office for Intellectual Freedom, including director Deborah Caldwell Stone. The discussion will explore the multifaceted attempts from organized groups to stifle access to books, including mass challenges to school and public library materials, the subversion of established challenge processes, and legislation.

A learning lab program titled Libraries for Sustainable Development: Mobilizing Social Responsibility and Community Change (Saturday, 45 p.m., BCC room 339340) will help libraries understand the United Nations commitment to reaching its 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The program will focus on how libraries can develop and use information action briefs to help mobilize their communities in support of these initiatives.

And a discussion titled AI and Libraries: A Discussion on the Future (Sunday, 34 p.m., LLX Studio, LLX Marketplace Level 100) will feature of panel of tech-savvy librarians who will share their perspectives on whats happening now in AI, and whats going to be most important to the work of libraries. Its part of a robust program that will explore the rise of AI in libraries at the upcoming event.

Meanwhile, LibLearnX will once again have at its center a vibrant show floor featuring numerous publishers and vendors and several stages for programs and discussions. The exhibits open on Saturday (9:30 a.m.4 p.m.), and will run Sunday (10 a.m.4 p.m.) and Monday (9:30 a.m.noon). A complete list of programs and vendors is available on the LibLearnX website.
Its been an eventful two years since Baker & Taylor CEO Aman Kochar added a new title to his job description: owner. On Nov. 4, 2021, Kochar completed his acquisition of B&T, the countrys largest public and academic library wholesaler, where hed worked in various roles since 2014a move that put the company in the hands of an owner-operator for the first time since W.R. Grace bought it in 1970, and ended B&Ts five-year stint as part of the Follett Corp., which had bought it back in 2016.

We were coming out of a brutal period, Kochar said when asked about the state of affairs at the company leading up to the acquisition. Not only had B&Ts finances taken a hit, he explained, but in the wake of the pandemic, the company was struggling to meet the shifting needs of its library customers.

We were kind of in a state of flux, he recalled, noting the widely reported pandemic-driven surge in demand for digital products and services in libraries, which historically had been a small part of B&Ts business. There just wasnt a clear path forward for libraries to come back to normal in terms of operations and material acquisitions.

Reimagined

Now in his third year as B&Ts owner, Kochar said his vision for the companys next act has taken root. B&T employees are reimagining the way B&T supports its library and educational partners, with the goal of creating a company where libraries know they can get books but also the best of breed software and content solutions. Kochar estimated that 50% of the products, solutions, and services B&T now offers didnt exist two years ago.

For example, Kochar said, B&T has harnessed prescriptive modeling technology to offer Evidence-Based Selection Planning (EBSP), which uses the same methods that drive common online assistants and recommendation engines to help librarians make better book buying decisions. The company has also created a tool to help libraries assess whether their current collections match the needs of their diverse communities. And B&T has invested heavily in creating new digital services for libraries, including the launch of Boundless, an app that replaces B&Ts Axis 360 and provides patrons with expanded digital content and programming options, particularly for children.

The goal, Kochar said, is to give local libraries the tools they need to customize their collections and services to carry out their mission. I want to empower communities and their thinking, he explained. I am not interested in providing a one size fits all model for libraries.

To that end, Kochar wants the company to operate along the lines of radical candor, a principal developed by author Kim Scott that focuses on caring deeply and being direct. He said he has empowered B&Ts 1,500 employees to bring new ideas to the fore, and enabled the team members who interact most with the companys customerssuch as sales repsto recommend new products and services. We need to listen to our customers and form solution-oriented partnerships, Kochar said.

In other significant moves initiated by Kochar, B&T has re-entered the academic library market, an area it left in 2015. And in May 2022, Kochar sold off B&Ts U.K. division. And while some thought he would also exit the distribution business, he has in fact grown Baker & Taylor Publisher Services. BTPS now has 80 full-service clients, distributing to bookstores and a host of nontraditional outlets.

Kochar is also deeply aware of the tensions in the library market today. Amid a surge in book bans and attacks on libraries, Kochar emphasized the wholesalers commitment to supplying libraries with the books their communities want and need. We are in the business of supporting all our library customers equally, he stressed, adding that B&Ts guiding principal is the fundamental belief that people have the right to decide what they want to read and dont want to read.

Kochar also launched a childrens publishing arm, Paw Prints Publishing, in May 2022, which grew out of his belief that more childrens books are needed that feature voices from marginalized communities. I wanted a platform to tell lived stories, Kochar said. The first titles were released in June 2022, available in both English and Spanish.

Two of Paw Prints titles are written by Kochar himselfhis first turn as an author. Both The Loving Library and Forever Friends are drawn from his experiences growing up as a religious, social, and ethnic minority. (Kochar is a Sikh.)

Kochar said he is encouraged by early results of the publishing venture: Paw Prints books are getting good reviews from industry publications, and sales are robust. To date, the company has shipped nearly 48,000 copies of the 43 titles Paw Prints has published thus far.

Kochar is also aware that the relationship between publishers and librarians can sometimes frayparticularly when it comes to issues around digital access. He said he has worked hard to earn the trust of both publishers and librarians and believes he can serve as an honest broker in developing economic models that can meet everyones needs. Candid conversations around price points and digital lending models can help develop terms that publishers can embrace and that libraries can comprehend and can successfully spend on, Kochar said. And in working with more than 5,000 libraries, he added, he is well positionedand willingto be a mouthpiece for libraries to the publishing community.

As the new year approaches, Kochar said his efforts to remake B&T are paying off, and he points to a number of positive metrics. For the first time in years, B&T is at capacity levels in its two warehouses, which allows it to offer customers more choices. B&Ts inventories are also at their highest levels in years. And incoming customers orders have increased every year since he bought the company.

Our economic model is carry it, sell it, and turn it, Kochar said. And the positive metrics, he believes, reflect a renewed confidence that B&Ts customers now have in the company. When I started in 2014, I instantly fell in love with the industry and the work Baker & Taylor does, he explained. To have a company that started in 1828 still be thriving and evolving to meet changes in a rapidly evolving marketplace is incredibly motivating to me.

While Kochar is gratified B&T is on the upswing, he said he was never driven to buy the company merely by the prospect of profitshe bought the company to support libraries. I am committed to the cause of libraries, he added. To be sure, B&T is a profit-making business, but those profits are being reinvested to help libraries promote literature, reading, and diversity.

Were not in the library business, Kochar said. We are in the business of celebrating and championing libraries.
This years Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), which ran November 25December 3, drew 857,000 attendees, up from 807,000 in 2022 and 828,000 in 2019. While the fair always attracts several hundred U.S. librarians, who attend to buy Spanish-language titles, more U.S. publishers went to the fair this year than in past yearsa sign that business between the U.S. and Mexican markets is growing.

In June, Princeton University Press announced a partnership with Planeta, the largest privately held Spanish-language publishing company, which reopened its U.S. office in 2021 under the direction of Christobal Pera. The collaboration has already resulted in the forthcoming publication of Puerto Rico: A National History in English from PUP and a Spanish-language edition from Planeta, which will be sold throughout the Americas starting in April 2024. PUP has attended FIL for several years and has participated in several panels hosted by the Association of Latin American University Presses (EULAC).

This years presentations included sharing our experience revitalizing backlist titles, said PUP director Christie Henry. PUP took six employees to this years FIL, where it also had a stand. It was magical, she added. Time together at FIL with staff and people at Planeta gave us a chance to plan for the future of this series, as well as other licenses and partnerships.

Mauricio Velazquez de Leon, founder of Baltimore-based nonfiction childrens publishing house Duopress, is another veteran visitor to FIL. He participated in the rights center, where he discussed the January publication of Jose Feeds the World by David Unger, a picture book about Jose Andres, the chef, food activist, and founder of World Central Kitchen. After missing FIL for a few years, it was great to see that the fair has only grown in energy and scope and continues to be such an important event for publishers all over the world, de Leon said. We see a lot of opportunities in this event, and we are planning to come back in 2024 and beyond.

Eunice Rodriguez Ferguson was attending FIL for the first time. She was there representing Sundial House, a new press founded in the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures at Columbia University and distributed by Columbia University Press. Sundial was launched in February 2022 with the goal of publishing four to five bilingual English-Spanish titles from Latin America per year. The press has published three books so far, including Negras by Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro and Ice for Martians by Claudia Ulloa Donoso. Forthcoming works include a translation of Chilean Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistrals Desolacion.

I was delighted to see so many young people, and it was gratifying to observe the enthusiasm among a new generation of readers, Ferguson said. Teenagers seemed genuinely excited as they entered the FIL and truly engaged as they browsed books inside. She cited her several visits to Impronta, a popular literary cultural center, bookstore, and publishing house in Guadalajara, as a highlight of her time at FIL.

Katie King, who translates books from Spanish to English, was another FIL first-timer. My only point of comparison is the London Book Fair, King said. FIL compares quite favorably. Like many, my book fair attendance is focused on networking. One highlight was meeting reps from different government institutions in different countries who help fund translation publishing. It was extremely useful to learn about new opportunities for grants, awards, and residencies. Kings next translation is Clavicula by Marta Sanz, forthcoming from Unnamed Press in fall 2024.

For this edition of the FIL, the European Union was the guest of honor, with representatives from more than two dozen countries appearing. FIL organizers felt it was a great way to expose the Mexican public to a broad range of contemporary European authors and publishing, and in turn to expose a broad range of Europeans to the FIL. Benas Berantas, founder of the Book Smugglers Literary Agency in Vilnius, Lithuania, remarked, I have met many new publishers and editors from Iberoamerica who I havent met before in Bologna or Frankfurt. Attending the fair helped him expand his network, and he said he is considering returning to FIL to develop deeper ties with Spanish-language publishers.

Next years FIL will take place November 30December 8, with Spain as the guest of honor.
Breakfast and lunch menus for the week of Dec. 11-15

Archbishop Bergan Catholic Schools

Monday: Mini corn dogs, fries, vegetable, fruit and milk.

Tuesday: Breaded beef patty on a bun, tri tater, vegetable, fruit and milk.

Wednesday: Grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup, vegetable, fruit and milk.

Thursday: Spiral ham, baby potatoes, corn, dinner roll, fruit and milk.

Friday: Stuffed crust pepperoni pizza, vegetable, fruit and milk.

Fremont Public Schools

Monday: Pepperoni pizza, juice, applesauce, carrots, Goldfish crackers and milk.

Tuesday: Hot dog on a bun, tater tots, green beans, diced peaches and milk.

Wednesday: Breaded beef patty, mashed potatoes and gravy, roll, broccoli, mixed fruit and milk.

Thursday: Chicken tenders, oven fries, potato chips, peas, pears and milk.

Friday: Garlic french bread pizza and sauce, mixed vegetables, potato smiles, peach cups and milk.

Cedar Bluffs Public Schools

Monday: Corn dog, mini corn dogs or hot dog.

Tuesday: Pork nachos.

Wednesday: Chicken patty sandwich.

Thursday: Hamburger.

Friday: Pizza day.

Logan View Public Schools

Monday: Combo bars and toast; mandarin chicken and fried rice. Preschool  cereal and fruit; mandarin chicken, fried rice and fruit.

Tuesday: Pancakes and sausage; lasagna rollups. Preschool  breakfast pizza and fruit; lasagna rollups, lettuce and fruit.

Wednesday: Dutch waffle; barbecue chicken sandwiches and chips. Preschool  yogurt and fruit; barbecue chicken sandwich, corn and fruit.

Thursday: Yogurt parfait; crispitos and breadstick. Preschool  doughnuts and fruit; hot ham and cheese, vegetables and fruit.

Friday: Coffee cake; hot ham and cheese.

Mead Public Schools

Monday: Pop Tart; cheese pizza, lettuce salad, grapes and breadstick.

Tuesday: Egg biscuit; hot dog or chili dog, baked beans, french fries, applesauce and Rice Krispie.

Wednesday: Muffin; crispito with cheese, mixed vegetables, mango, and peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Thursday: Mini cinnamon rolls; grilled chicken sandwich, tater tots, strawberries and cookie.

Friday: French toast; pork chop, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cherry tart and dinner roll.

North Bend Central Schools

Monday: Combo bar and toast; kielbasa, au gratin potatoes and peas.

Tuesday: Pancakes and sausage; burrito bowl, rice, roasted corn and black beans.

Wednesday: Dutch waffle; macaroni and cheese, broccoli and breadstick.

Thursday: Yogurt parfait; chicken strips, alfredo noodles and peas.

Friday: Coffee cake; chili and cinnamon rolls.

Oakland-Craig Public Schools

Monday: Pancakes, sausage, cereal, fruit, tropical punch juice and milk; grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, fruit, vegetable sticks and milk.

Tuesday: Omelet, toast, Pop Tart, orange tangerine juice and milk; corn dog on a stick, tater tots, Jell-O with fruit, beans and milk.

Wednesday: Dutch waffles, blueberry sauce, cereal bar, fruit, orange juice and milk; spaghetti, peas, fruit, garlic bread and milk.

Thursday: Egg sandwich, cereal, fruit and milk; crispitos, broccoli with cheese, sweet rice, churros, fruit and milk.

Friday: Doughnuts, yogurt parfaits, fruit, grape juice and milk; pulled pork sandwiches, chips, potato salad, baked beans, fruit and milk.

Scribner-Snyder Public Schools

Monday: Biscuits and gravy; beef patty, mashed potatoes and gravy, California vegetables and mixed fruit.

Tuesday: Breakfast pizza; quesadilla, chips and salsa, refried beans and pears.

Wednesday: Apple frudel; tater tot bar, green beans, dinner roll and peaches.

Thursday: Long johns; cream chicken over biscuits, peas, cookie and pineapple.

Friday: Cereal and toast; crispito, rice, green beans and pineapple.
Cancel culture is one of those modern, politically charged terms that get thrown around so often they become easy to dismiss. One is tempted to toss it into the bin of overused-and-functionally-meaningless phrases, alongside alt-right and woke. Is cancel culture merely a figment of the FOX-watching, gun-toting, Trump-bedazzled MAGA imagination? Or else is it the go-to tactic of every MSNBC-binging, craft-brewing vegan with a Karen complex? When Florida conservatives banned Students for Palestine groups from the states college campuses recently, did that count as cancel culture? Into this morass of cultural noise, a new book has arrived, claiming to sort out whats what.

Rikki Schlott is the co-author of The Canceling of the American Mind, along with Greg Lukianoff. The book explores the rise of cancel culturemeaning, the measurably increasing frequency in which people are threatened with social harm, loss of a job, maybe loss of a social media platform, or even physical harm if they express unpopular beliefs. The authors packed the book with loads of real-world data and illuminating case studies, aiming to show precisely what they mean by "cancel culture," and how big of a problem it is.

I recently sat down with Rikki to discuss the book and the problem it was meant to help solve. What follows is our conversation, edited for clarity and brevity.

Nathan Harden: I'm interested in your biography. You had an early exit from college.

Rikki Schlott: I was an undergraduate at NYU when the pandemic happened, studying history, planning on law school. And then the pandemic struck. I left school and did lockdown with my mom. I had something very much like a libertarian red pill awakening being in California and feeling as though my liberties were being eclipsed for the first time in my life, and that really animated me to start writing. I stopped hiding Jordan Peterson books under my bed, which I literally did at NYU when I was a student there for fear of being cancelled or called out. I wrote an op-ed for the New York Post about NYU and the culture of conformity there and issues with free speech. That was when it was like, OK, everyone now knows. I'm kind of out of the political closet here and lost some friendships but also found that there were so many people who felt like I did even at NYU.

NH: And how did you end up connecting with Greg Lukianoff, your co-author?

RS: I had been on a leave of absence at NYU because Zoom school during the pandemic was just not an adequate substitute for me. Around that time, I reached out to Greg because I was writing an op-ed about whether Gen-Z could be uncoddled by the pandemic, which was a little bit optimistic. And I think the answer is, so far, not so much, but that's how we crossed paths. And we realized that we had a lot of common values around free speech. We were a nice combination of minds, intergenerationally and politically. We're both fairly moderate but come down on opposite sides of the aisle. He had a vision to do this collaboration, to follow up on his previous book, The Coddling of the American Mind, but also to lean into cancel culture. And that's how the book came to fruition.

NH: We hear the term cancel culture a lot, but what do you mean when you use the term? What are some real-world examples?

RS: We define it as the uptick of campaigns to get people fired, disinvited, de-platformed, or otherwise punished for speech that is or would be protected by First Amendment standards, and then also, along with that, the climate of fear and conformity that has arisen. The examples that stood out to me tend to be the ones that involve younger people. So, an example that I found disturbing was Alexi McCammond, who was tapped to be the Editor in Chief of Teen Vogue. She'd been a celebrated reporter in her late 20s. Vogue offered her the job with the knowledge that some rather unflattering tweets from when she was a teenager had resurfaced. She deleted them and apologized for them. It was part of her conversation with Vogue in the interview process. She discussed that, you know, her views when she was 17 no longer aligned with her ten years later. She'd evolved as a person. So, Vogue extended the job offer. But then some Vogue staffers wrote an open letter that went viral on Twitter. There were calls to fire her. Some advertisers pulled ad dollars. McCammond resigned due to public pressure before she even started the job.

NH: Do you think any of us would look good if our lives were defined by our lowest moments or our worst lapse in judgment?

RS: Everyone has something they did as a teenager that they would rather not have out in public. Yes, they were very unflattering and unwise tweets and stuff that I would never send personally. But I think it demonstrated just how graceless we can be. People can evolve and change, and that's something that we should celebrate So, I think that's a particularly alarming example for me as a young person.

NH: Jonathan Haidt, the well-known author and psychologist who wrote the foreword to your book, described 2014 as the year that freedom of speech took a turn for the worse in our country. He wrote that it was as if the flock of demons had been released upon the world. What is it that changed around 2014?

RS: That's when Gen Z arrived on campus. My generation arrived on campus with a very different set of beliefs about free speech. Theres a complete lack of understanding of basic civics and what classical liberalism is, and how free speech requires you to suppress the more reflexive censorious tendencies that we might have. Gen Z arrived on campus embracing the great untruths that Jonathan and Greg wrote about in The Coddling of the American Mind. I read their book when I was in college, and it totally aligned with my own observations about a generation that had basically grown up online and had watched Twitter mobs and cancel culture on Tumblr and brought that with them into the real world. They happened to waltz onto campuses where administrators had already put up the tripwires, set up the bias response teams, set up trigger warnings, and so forth. All of a sudden there was a brand-new alliance between students who did not understand free speech values or were actively hostile towards them and administrators who were there to back them up.

NH: In your book, you and Greg focus on a what you call destructive methods of argumentation that have taken root in society and inhibit our ability to talk to one another. What are these destructive methods?

RS: We define cancel culture as a way of winning arguments without actually winning arguments. It's a way to shut down your opponent without ever engaging with the idea at hand, or ever having to open your mind or play devil's advocate. Some of the most obvious tactics that I see on the left are often ad hominem tactics, simply pointing out someones immutable characteristics. You know, That's a cis white male take, but you don't actually talk about what the take is. It's just a matter of attacking someone based on their identity. Or theres offence archeologydredging up an old tweet from forever ago to discredit the person while not engaging in the idea that they're talking about at all. And then on the flip side, the right certainly has its own versions. They're far less identity-based, but they do it. You know, if someone is a liberal, hes not worth listening to. Or if someone is a journalist or is touting expertise, you can shut your ears off. In certain areas of the right, if someone is critical of Trump in any way, shape, or form, they must not have anything worthwhile to say. So, while you might disagree with people on any of these bases, or you might think that their identity is relevant to their viewpoint, you're not actually talking about their views. That's why we're in this polarization spiral; we're talking past each other and just attacking each other, rather than the other persons ideas.

NH: There's a lot of data in this book. I think you identified almost 1000 cases of someone trying to get a professor fired or punished just between the years of 2014 to 2022. And about 6 in 10 resulted in some kind of censure. That's really what's unique about this book. It's not merely opinion writing. Youre presenting case studies, showing how this looks in the real world.

RS: I'm enormously grateful to have been able to partner with Greg, who's the President and CEO of The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. They have a treasure trove of data on campus culture, including polling data. And they have caseloads where they are defending the free speech rights of students and professors alike. That statistic that you citeactually, now it's over 1000 that theyve tallied.

NH: Do you think people are aware of how numerous and widespread these cases are?

RS: We all look back at the Red Scare as a blight on our record as a nation, attacking people based on their viewpoints, and often sweeping people up that weren't even guilty of what they were being accused of. Roughly 100 to 150 professors were fired as a result of the Red Scare. In roughly the same decade-long period of the cancel culture counterpart, that number is 200almost double the number of people who were fired during the Red Scare. This is historically unprecedented. Historians will be looking back someday, recognizing that firing 200 professors, many of whom were actually tenured, is shocking. 91% of professors say that they self-censor, which is shocking to me. 16% had been disciplined or threatened with discipline for their speech, and 7% say that they've been investigated for their speech. So, it's a chilling environment and one that has now rippled beyond academia.

NH: There's another phrase that stood out to me in your book: rhetorical fortress. Can you explain what you mean by that?

RS: Rhetorical fortresses are Greg's metaphorical invention, describing those unhelpful ways of argumentation that weve been discussing. We have one on the right and one on the left, and it's a way to box yourself in with wall after wall, insulating yourself. Are you a conservative? Are you a male? The left wings rhetorical fortress tends to be more elaborate, centered on identity, and refined on campus. The rhetorical fortress on the right tends to be simpler. Are they a journalist? Are they critical of Trump? Are they a liberal? Greg and I both admit in our process of writing this book, that we've recognized it ourselves as wellthat knee-jerk reaction to someone coming from the left, when I just closed my ears in the past. Its something that we all do to a certain degree, and we need to step away from that as much as possible.

NH: In the conclusion you write that free speech culture is the antidote to cancel culture. What have you seen that gives you hope that we can overcome some of these rhetorical fortresses that we've built around ourselves?

RS: One thing that does give me hope is that, consistently, a majority of Americans say that they are concerned about cancel culture. They think it's a problem that political correctness has gone too far. While it's definitely young people who tend to be at the helm of these cancel culture campaigns, the problem is they've not been given or taught a restorative framework to fight back against something they disagree with. Only 22% of 8th graders are proficient in basic civics. A lot of older Americans kind of assumed free speech was baked into the fabric of society, but we've moved so far away from things that once seemed obvious. Ideas as simple asthis is a free country, live and let live, or the idea that you can separate an idea from a person these are so alien to young people. Young people say they're self-censoring. Young people say they don't like cancel culture, and they're so desperate for a restorative view and path forward. But we failed to educate them about the fundamental tenets of a free speech society.
The first McDonalds opened on January 31, 1990 in Moscow. This powerful symbol of American-style capitalism attracted over 38,000 hungry Soviets desperate for a taste of wondrous Americana.

Americans concerned about what theyre teaching on college campuses would be wise to internalize the above anecdote, conservatives in particular. Conservatives are singled out because theyre notably so worried about whats being taught on college campuses. If we forget that what theyre teaching the kids today is as old as college campuses, and a major modern cultural trope (does anyone remember Archie Bunker?), we cant forget that the truth is much more powerful than lies. Though the Soviet citizenry had been taught for decades about how awful the United States was, the people knew differently. Advertising is only effective if the product being promoted is good. Propaganda or classroom instruction similarly cant overcome a lousy, frequently evil product.

Its worth keeping in mind as conservatives lament their allegedly insufficient representation in the academy. College campuses are said to be overly populated by the left leaning, socialist, communist, Israel hating, and conservatives are worried. They want more of their kind at the front of the classroom. More realistically, they should be bullish about the makeup of college campuses. Think about it.

The fact that left-wingers dominate the academy is a sign that the enterprising arent choosing to be professors. FedEx founder Fred Smith is famously right leaning, supposedly the library within his office is full of books authored by names like Friedman, Hayek, and Von Mises, at which point we should pause. Would we be better off if the Yale-educated Smith had chosen a life within academia that would have included teaching students the undeniable genius of Mises et al, or if hed done as he did and started FedEx? Hopefully the question answers itself.

The simple, rather bullish truth is that those who think highly of enterprise frequently migrate to enterprising pursuits over becoming professors. Good. The previous tautology hopefully helps explain to conservatives the ideological makeup of professors on college campuses: those on the left have a greater tendency to choose academia, and logically have a greater tendency to hire those who think as they do. Good once again. How impoverishing if those with an entrepreneurial bent chose to suffocate it on campus.

And for those who lean right but who also yearn for a life of ideas, dont fear discrimination care of professors and universities. Think Arthur Laffer and Robert Mundell, two conservative heroes to varying degrees sidelined by the academically minded. Thank goodness they were. Instead of teaching small numbers of students, they became public intellectuals, thus reaching exponentially more people through the Wall Street Journals editorial page. Considering the great George Will, is there a way to calculate the millions fewer people he would have reached if he had spent all these years as a college professor instead of a globally syndicated columnist?

Yet despite powerful reasons for optimism, the present state of affairs is not a happy one for always-pessimistic conservatives. Increasingly comfortable playing the victim, they lament their lack of representation within the professor ranks. They worry about their kids being brainwashed by socialists, anti-Zionists, or name your ist or ism. See above. Stupid ideas arent very persuasive, nor does a lack of representation on campus limit the spread of good ideas.

Furthermore, its more than a bit disturbing to witness conservatives clamoring for representation in areas where they feel under-represented. For decades theyve criticized affirmative action based on race, only for them to seek it based on ideology. They felt affirmative action besmirched the achievements of those who allegedly benefited from it, that it called into question the why behind the matriculation or hiring of its alleged beneficiaries, but now they demand more of their viewpoint in university classrooms, and much more odious, they demand it from businesses like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter that they feel censor them.

Which brings us to college campuses themselves. Up front, the right to be ridiculous is fundamental. Its sad something so basic requires stating to conservatives, but it seemingly does. That is so because conservatives have seemingly forgotten this truth as evidenced by their browbeating of the presidents at Harvard, Penn, MIT, etc. These presidents were asked if they would discipline students calling for genocide of Jewish people. Their responses were evasive and ridiculous, but then isnt that the point? Conservatives have long disdained the ridiculously left lean of Ivy League style schools, so why the browbeating? Or the professed surprise? From there, why stop braindead left wingers as theyre exposing their braindeadedness? Instead of hauling these individuals before Congress in an attempt to force them to say what they dont believe, isnt the better choice for conservatives to protect the right of individuals to be ridiculous?

If foolishness is protected speech, then theres a logical market reaction. And were witnessing it right now. Billionaires including, but not limited to Bill Ackman, Cliff Asness and Marc Rowan have made plain that theyre pulling their financial support from Harvard (Ackman) and Penn (Asness, Rowan), no doubt MIT will suffer too, at which point its no reach to suggest that some or a lot of kids who are Harvard, Penn and MIT material will take their talents elsewhere. Many will achieve billionaire and eventually trillionaire status despite having not attended Harvard et al, only for schools like Harvard to suffer their braindead ideological ways in the marketplace.

The simple truth is that support for Hamas or moral equivalence about Hamas is mindless, as is talk about the mass murder of Jewish people. At the same time, the right to be stupid via the right to say horrifying things is crucial. Conservatives should be defending the right of the left to show their true colors precisely because they seek to discredit braindead thought.

To which some will reply that Harvard and schools like it employ a double standard: talk of mass murder of Jewish people is allowed, but the mere mention of something similar about transgender people or women is grounds for dismissal. The double standard is offensive, but two wrongs dont make a right. If Harvard is led by people who require context about calls from students for Jewish genocide, then logic calls for would-be or existing donors to direct their wealth elsewhere, and for would-be or existing students to go elsewhere. Conservatives rightly love markets, so let them work. And if the reply is that its hard to pass on a Harvard degree, education or whatever, conservatives cant have it both ways. If the highest of high Ivy Leagues is defined by racism, hate, communism and socialism, then the degree and/or education cant mean as much as it used to. Go elsewhere instead of enlisting politicians in some weird, lefty-style effort to force Harvard professors and administrators to think as you do.

Lastly, its useful to point out to conservatives that many of those who lean conservative in media are talking their book as it were. They write endless columns about suffocating illiberalism on campus, publish books promoting the same, but the suggestion here is to look deeper at their manufactured horror. Most of those reporting how awful the intellectual climate is on elite college campuses make a nice living speaking on those same college campuses. Count me among those on the right lucky enough to get to speak on campus. Anecdote is far from fact, but I've always been treated very well despite talks with titles like "The Unrelenting Genius of Wealth Inequality." Eventually an enterprising reporter will attend speeches by the more alarmist on the college speakers' circuit, and they'll find much more often than not that my experience mirrors that of those who've made careers out of scaring parents into believing colleges are populated by totalitarian professors and weak-kneed kids in the fetal position, sucking their thumbs.

The main message to conservatives here is that were not victims, nor are our kids. A walk of any college campus today is a reminder of this truth, as is the left lean of the faculty. Thank goodness for the latter. The enterprising are doing instead of teaching.

Instead of self-soothing with up-in-arms-ranting about how mean the lefties are, how about we let them be? If they're as bad as we think, we win as the best schools are reduced by decreases in donations and in matriculation by the talented. In other words more markets, less victimhood.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 12/09/2023



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winner Theresa Nist has revealed that Gerry Turner and Leslie Fhima 's breakup -- and how Leslie felt afterwards -- left her in tears.Theresa admitted it was difficult watching Leslie get her heart broken on and hearing Leslie's claims about how Gerry had misled, blindsided and lied to her."It's hard," Theresa recently told Katie Couric on her YouTube channel of learning about Leslie's crushing experience on ."I mean, I wound up in tears. It's very difficult hearing something like that."Theresa told Katie that she and Leslie got very close while filming the ABC reality dating show."I love Leslie. Actually, Leslie was one of my best friends in the house, and I completely understand how she feels," Theresa shared."She needed to say [her piece] and Gerry... had to go through the experience and give it one thousand percent to every single woman. This was his journey, and he felt the way he felt in the moment."Theresa seemed to be referring to how Gerry had said, "I love you," to Leslie and also informed her, on-camera, that he thought she was The One for him Theresa insisted that both she and Gerry "have love" for Leslie as well as for Gerry's third-place finisher, Faith Martin , who was also devastated by her breakup with star following hometown dates."So it was difficult hearing it, but I knew beforehand what was going to be said," Theresa claimed."I mean, not exactly what was going to be said, but I knew beforehand -- Gerry and I had discussed his entire journey, so I was prepared for every time I viewed the show."Gerry told Access Hollywood in a separate interview that he had told Theresa during their Fantasy Suite that he was going to pick her and propose marriage to her at the Final Rose Ceremony."Excitedly, I said to her, 'I love you. I love you. I love you. And I'm going to ask you to marry me! I don't know if you're going to say yes, but I am going to ask!'" Gerry told Access Hollywood.But according to Leslie, Gerry had made similar promises to her during their overnight, off-camera date.In fact, when Gerry broke up with Leslie in her hotel room in Costa Rica, she accused star of having lied to her and betrayed her.Gerry, however, told Leslie that he had been honest about his feelings for her in the moment but then things "changed" and "evolved" and his heart ultimately led him to Theresa, to whom he got engaged on 's November 30 finale."I don't want to say everything that he said, but it was 100 percent certainty when I woke up the next morning that I was going to be it," Leslie told the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast after finale aired.Leslie explained how Gerry had given her the utmost confidence about the future of their relationship, even though he didn't mention wanting to pop the question to her."[Did he] propose to me? Well, he made plans with me for the future. He said, kind of like, 'Save the date. This is what we're going to do. I can't wait for us -- just two more days and we'll be done with this,'" Leslie recalled."[Gerry said], 'We'll be together and start our life.' Did he say in there, 'Will you marry me?' No. But he all BUT said that."The 64-year-old fitness instructor from Minneapolis, MN, vented about how she "would've been happy with" a simple, "I love you" from Gerry."But he took it to a different level," Leslie claimed."And when we woke up the next morning and he left, he turned around three times and blew me kisses. He didn't want to leave, and that's why I wasn't worried that he was going on a date! I just knew that he had to get through the motions of it."Leslie reiterated how Gerry allegedly made it seem like she had the competition in the bag."I mean, he didn't say, 'I have such a hard decision to make.' Nothing like that. So I just didn't think [he'd pick Theresa]," Leslie said.She added, "And there were things he said to me in the overnight that alluded to his [next] overnight with Theresa, that it was not going to be the same."But Gerry determined during his final days in Costa Rica that Theresa is the "right" woman for him, and he said he realized that he couldn't live without her.Gerry and Theresa are currently planning a January 4, 2024 wedding as well as a move to South Carolina , but he has come under fire for allegedly having -- and not being honest on the show or in the press about -- a live-in girlfriend of nearly three years prior to applying for .Having had a three-year, live-in ex-girlfriend would contradict Gerry's heart-wrenching storyline about being a grieving widower who essentially had no dating experience prior to the show because he was married for 43 years to Toni, who died from a bacterial infection in July 2017.Gerry has since addressed the allegations against him, and Theresa also broke her silence on the unflattering report about Gerry's alleged secret past.Interested in more news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
A 15-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old classmate at Westside High School last week was ordered to be held without bail at his first appearance in adult court Friday.

The boy is being charged as an adult with first-degree sexual assault, a felony that carries a maximum of 50 years in prison, after a student at Westside reported being forcibly raped in the stairwell last Friday. Another boy, also 15, is accused of acting as a lookout and has been charged in Juvenile Court with being an accessory to a felony.

At Fridays hearing, the boy nodded without speaking as Douglas County Court Judge Grant Forsberg informed him of his rights. Though Forsberg said the boys young age and lack of criminal history weighed in favor of setting bail, he declined to do so, saying that setting a bond would depreciate the seriousness of the alleged crime.

According to court documents and in-court testimony from prosecutors, the assault occurred around 1 p.m. Dec. 1 in a stairwell at the school. The boy is accused of backing the victim into a corner before forcing her onto the ground, pulling her pants down and raping her as she repeatedly told him to stop.

The second boy allegedly stood at the door to see if anyone was coming to make sure they didnt get into trouble, according to court documents.

The girl immediately reported the assault to school officials, according to prosecutors, who notified police. The two boys were taken to Omaha Police Headquarters for questioning, and the alleged victim was taken to Project Harmony for an interview and a sexual assault examination.
The University of Georgias Department of Animal and Dairy Science is one of the best colleges for agricultural sciences in the U.S., according to Niche. It utilizes animal testing to achieve goals such as making meat production more efficient and ensuring the comfort of livestock.
A democracy is one, only if it has a robust Opposition.

And as its actions show, the Modi-BJP combine gives two hoots for that.

So, the Opposition must learn to convince people why the BJP must go.

Else, it can count down to 2029, points out Shyam G Menon.

Photograph: Sanjay Sharma/ANI Photo IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi watches Mahua Moitra address the media after her expulsion from the Lok Sabha, December 8, 2023.

For those worried by the absence of an Opposition strong enough to counter the Bhartiya Janata Party -- or rather, Narendra D Modi -- the election results of December 3, 2023 would have been utterly disappointing.

What shocked were two. The continued under-estimation of the task at hand by the main opposition party, the Congress and the Modi cult, still going strong even if it means BJP-eclipsed.

Viewed from far, the reluctance the Congress showed in allowing a younger leadership to anchor proceedings in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh has resulted in what some political observers described (post polls) as a verdict foretold.

What makes this particularly terrible is that Rajasthan was lost despite good work done by the Congress state government and Madhya Pradesh having been under BJP rule for successive terms.

It won't be easy for the Gandhi family to wash its hands off this debacle.

Both the chief minister of Rajasthan (who served multiple tenures in power and yet sought to discipline his younger deputy for no more than wanting a bigger role) and the longstanding party top brass in Madhya Pradesh, have connections to the family. It won't end there.

Months ago, when a non-Gandhi party leader was made Congress president, the belief was that a professional vision would take hold.

To the extent such change wasn't felt, the party will find itself challenged to explain its pathetic showing at the recent state elections to both the opposition alliance it has dominated and the electorate, which has been desperately seeking an opposition that can take on the BJP.

IMAGE: Kamal Nath, the Madhya Pradesh Congress president who led the party to a resounding defeat in the 2023 assembly election, at a meeting to discuss the debacle in New Delhi, December 8, 2023. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI

For a feel of how grave the predicament comes across to Opposition watchers, one should revisit the two basic routes to containing the BJP that were always there.

The first was to defeat it in a straight battle in elections to Parliament.

The second was to fight elections well at the state level so that even if the Modi-BJP cocktail can't be checked nationally, it is checked at state level.

There would be enough state governments of different political inclination to oppose the Centre on contentious issues within our federal set-up.

With the rout the Congress faced in the recent state elections, the avenue of enhancing the number of states under rule by opposition parties has suffered a serious setback.

Sole cause for hope is Telangana, which went the Congress way. But then as many commentators have pointed out, the demographically and politically important Hindi heartland has slipped out of Congress hands.

Except for Himachal Pradesh, the Congress is absent in that geography.

The Opposition maintains a presence in this vast, highly populous region thanks to the Aam Admi Party in Punjab and Delhi, and the Mahagathbandan government in Bihar.

At the far east of the Hindi heartland, the Trinamul Congress has held steady despite recurrent attacks by the BJP.

IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party national President President J P Nadda and party MPs applaud Narendra D Modi at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting at the Parliament house complex in New Delhi, December 7, 2023 as Amit A Shah looks on. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

The relatively better acceptance of the Congress in South India shows genuine worry there over what the Modi-BJP cocktail means to India as we have known it since independence.

The only way the BJP will be able to keep this chasm from widening (so that it is spared the blame of triggering the gulf) would be by making it impossible to articulate the existence of such danger.

Simply put -- by coming down harshly on political opinion and dissention. It's what Modi-BJP is famous for.

When a government rules by snuffing out criticism, the dictionary has matching descriptions for it.

All of these onslaughts on our democracy could be foreseen. And yet, the Congress went into the latest round of state elections with a political tussle on show in Rajasthan and little to make voters in Madhya Pradesh see the party differently. They even lost Chhattisgarh.

IMAGE: Nadda joins party MPs in applauding Modi at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, December 7, 2023. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

Further, the Opposition -- unified or otherwise -- is yet to throw up a personality that can take on the oratory and PR spins of Modi or lay down a down to earth, level headed challenge that exposes Modi's theatrics as hogwash.

With neither happening, for the moment, an Opposition cocktail to match the Modi-BJP combination, is missing.

For Modi-BJP (yes, it has to be written so because one is unsure which is the bigger half), the smashing electoral success of December 2023 comes timed to perfection.

The new year is just around the corner and some months thereafter, the general elections will happen.

In three big states from the demographically critical Hindi heartland, the party has shown that its organisation works.

Very importantly, it still has a face that draws in the crowds and to which it clings like a moon counting on the sun for light.

The BJP has become Modi, Modi, Modi... And this is despite the known, inherent intellectual shallowness of political cults.

Does the Opposition have anything -- ideally superior to a cult -- to match this?

For a brief while Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and its grassroot level-impact seemed to offer an antidote for the Modi-BJP juggernaut. But with the Congress' own unwillingness to forgo its appetite for sycophancy or trade old blood for the young in crucial elections, that outreach now lay in tatters.

In this regard, the only good news heard in the aftermath of December's election results was that a platform of NGOs may try to do for the Opposition, the kind of people-connect and canvasing that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other Hindutva outfits are known to do for the BJP.

IMAGE: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul at a review meeting on the election results in Chhattisgarh at the party headquarters in New Delhi, December 8, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Amidst this, political observers have pointed out a paradox.

It would seem that the faults heaped on the Congress, work perfectly for the BJP.

Opportunity denied to the young and the new, cost the Congress dearly in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

In comparison, even if the BJP has new faces, it remains at heart a purveyor of traditions that are centuries old. It is an ambassador of conservatism.

Where is youthfulness, modernity or change in that milieu? Similarly, sycophancy around the Gandhis is quickly criticised. But if not extreme sycophancy, what is the Modi cult?

Perhaps the Congress and the wider Opposition must understand that instead of trying to outdo the BJP in conservative Hindutva, it should make a winning package of liberalism for after all, the only ones hankering for relief from Modi-BJP (and thereby praying for a robust opposition) are the liberal-minded and the minorities.

And as regards sycophancy and cult, they should be highlighted for exactly what they are -- the refuge of the insecure who don't rest till a whole world looks like them.

Unfortunately, neither the Congress nor the larger Opposition have understood those seeking them. As long as they don't do that, the Opposition will remain old wine in new bottle.

IMAGE: A meeting of Opposition parties presided over by Kharge in New Delhi, December 5, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

It is high time the Congress realised that the challenges faced by the country -- the situation the BJP is pushing India into -- far outweigh the fortunes of any one Opposition party in 2024 and most of all, the Congress' self-anointed right to see itself as the main Opposition party or the party offering the next prime minister.

It should right-size its ego to the fact that it is in power in three important states -- Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh -- and settle down to being a partner in the Opposition alliance and be its secretariat.

A democracy is one, only if it has a robust Opposition. And as its actions show, the Modi-BJP combine gives two hoots for that.

So, the Opposition must help itself. It must learn to graduate from social media-worthy jibes at Modi and BJP to attracting crowds and convincing people why the BJP must go.

Else, it can spend the new year counting down to 2029. And knowing how being in power matters for politicians, the longer its tenure in wilderness, the more our Opposition will shrink.

The loser is democracy.

Shyam G Menon is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
'The biggest change that the BJP can initiate in the run-up to 2024 is appointing new faces as chief ministers.'

'In doing so, it will send a message well beyond 2024.'

IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate the party's victory leads in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections at the BJP office in Bhopal, December 3, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

"The Congress has the perennial problem of misinterpreting its electoral losses. It over reads its victory and under plays its defeat," says Rahul Verma, fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.

Dr Verma is also visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, Ashoka University. His research interests include voting behaviour, party politics, political violence, and media.

In an interview to Rediff.com's Archana Masih, Dr Verma discusses his takeaways from the verdict and the big surprise from Mizoram where a newbie threw out an old warhorse.

What is your assessment of the unexpected Mizoram result which is a big story of this election, but somewhat overshadowed by the results of the five big states?

The Zoram People's Movement won 27/41 and swept the state in terms of seats.

This new alliance won 37.86 per cent votes in its maiden election.

The new Chief Minister Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer is extremely popular, twice as much than outgoing CM, Mr Zoramthanga.

ZPM has defeated both the Mizo National Front and the Congress. The ruling MNF has been reduced to 10 seats -- 16 less than 2018 and the Congress is relegated to fourth place in terms of seats though it has a decent vote share of 20%.

Journalists and observers are calling this Mizoram's AAP 2013 moment.

The ZPM is a combination of six regional parties and organisations that were relegated to the margins. Though the ZPM was formed in 2017, it was recognised as a party by the Election Commission in 2019. The party did not fight the 2018 assembly election, but its members contested as independents and won a good vote share.

What has surprised you about the assembly election results this time?

The results have come as a surprise. The BJP was not expected to win Chhattisgarh. The exit polls suggested that the Congress would sail through considering the scale of its victory in 2018.

Madhya Pradesh was seen to be a close fight with an edge to the Congress. But the BJP romped home in both these states.

It was evident that the Congress campaign was building up in Telangana and the party was expected to win.

Rajasthan has a history of the incumbent being voted out and it seemed difficult for the Congress to retain power.

Therefore, I would say the results in Telangana and Rajasthan were expected, but Chhattisgarh and Mizoram were unexpected.

IMAGE: Zoram People's Movement leader Lalduhoma meets Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati in Aizawl, December 6, 2023, and stakes a claim to form the government in Mizoram. Photograph: ANI Photo

Has the Congress been erased from North India? Is a revival even possible?

It is very difficult. The Congress needed to win these states to put up a credible fight against the BJP.

A win would not have transformed the party into a formidable challenger, but could have provided some hope.

This also weakens the Congress' ability to anchor the INDIA alliance.

The Congress has the perennial problem of misinterpreting its electoral losses. It over reads its victory and under plays its defeat. It does not do a serious analysis of Opposition strength. A win in any particular state makes it believe that it is on the path of revival.

IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party national Vice-President and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje speaks to the media as she arrive at the state BJP office in Jaipur, December 3, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Post-poll data shows that the Congress has retained its vote share. Can the party seek some consolation from this data?

The election result is clear. The BJP not only won, but swept the Hindi heartland. Therefore, this analysis just soothes the souls of the party and its strategists.

The BJP performed very poorly in Chhattisgarh in 2018, but five years later, it has registered the highest vote share and seat tally since the creation of the state.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has received the highest vote share in the history of the state.

What fresh challenges does it pose for the INDIA Alliance?

As of now, the INDIA alliance exists on paper because it does not have a leader or a structure. All the effort that they made in meeting and conferences in the summer has been undone by these elections.

It needs a new beginning. It is uncertain whether the alliance partners want the Congress to lead the INDIA bloc after its dismal performance.

They have to arrive at a seat sharing agreement and put up a united front -- all these are the imponderables.

IMAGE: Newly sworn-in Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy with Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Rahul Gandhi, and others at the Lal Bahadur stadium in Hyderabad, December 7, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Will the BJP execute any radical shifts in politics or governance till 2024?

The biggest change the BJP can initiate is to have new chief ministers in the three states. Fresh faces at the helm will send a positive message that will extend beyond 2024.

Apart from the Ram temple and welfarism, what do you think will be the talking points for the BJP to ensure victory in 2024?

These are not silos. These are all a part of a single narrative of a rising, aspirational India and the assertion of its Hindu identity. One cannot segregate welfarism from Hindutva or the economy... they are all part of the bouquet.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
OMAHA  For nearly a decade, the Nebraska Center for Justice Research has examined how the state spends millions annually on programs that aim to help prisoners integrate back into society.

A focus has been tracking groups that together receive about $3.5 million a year to deliver reentry services. The center analyzes participation, recidivism  quantitative things, the numbers, said director Ryan Spohn.

But in its latest project, the legislatively funded center stepped away from the digits to offer a different spin.

Spohns team went to employers for first-hand accounts of what is or isnt working in the states efforts to transition individuals from a stint behind bars into the labor force.

Its an inside take Spohn has long sought, and its as relevant a topic as ever with Nebraska facing a nagging workforce shortage.

If we want these individuals to be gainfully employed, we have to have employers, he said. What are the successes theyre seeing? What are the challenges and barriers employers experience in hiring justice-involved individuals in Nebraska?

Moving the goalposts

The resulting 26-page report  to be shared with state lawmakers, the Department of Correctional Services and others  relays employer perspectives and recommends ways to boost employment prospects for soon-to-be or recently released prisoners.

Report recommendations Among report recommendations to ease hiring and retention of justice-involved individuals: Promote tax benefits for employers willing to hire formerly incarcerated individuals. Both Nebraska and the federal government provide such tax incentives, but only two of the 18 employers interviewed said they tapped them. Most said they were not aware any existed.

Allow people to save more money by working while incarcerated to prepare for expenses theyll have upon release.

Ensure that newly released inmates have housing and transportation.

One manufacturing supervisor, for instance, groused about how he really liked and wanted to hire an applicant, but the state case manager kept moving the goalposts.

When I submitted (initial paperwork) hes like, Oh, I talked to this department. We also need that. Okay, the supervisor said. And then I submitted that and hes like, Oh  we actually need the increased version of that. And Im like, damn.

Among other barriers cited by employers: drug tests that conflict with work hours; difficult communication and collaboration with work release centers; inmate skill deficits; obtrusive worksite checks by state officials.

Janee Pannkuk, a state corrections official who oversees reentry services provided through Vocational and Life Skills grants, didnt dispute any particular concern raised in the report.

She said state corrections officials already are working on some of the challenges identified, including beefing up communication and email capability between employers and job candidates at work release centers.

She said the departments 2023-24 strategic plan outlines ways to gain more input in general from the public and formerly incarcerated.

To me it was affirming we are on the right track, said Pannkuk.

Theyll work a lot of hours

Employer perspectives reflected in the report were gathered during interviews last year with representatives of 18 businesses of various sizes and industries.

Theyre part of an ongoing evaluation of the state Vocational and Life Skills program, which lawmakers created in 2014 to better prepare inmates for a productive return to their communities.

So far, the report said, nearly 10,000 men and women have received vocational training, educational credits and other support through VLS grants to entities such as Rise, Associated Builders and Contractors and Metropolitan Community College.

About 75% of VLS services are delivered in correctional facilities and 25% in communities to people within 18 months of release from prison.

Overall, employers who participated in the study touted benefits of hiring from that incarcerated or recently released population  including that they filled staffing gaps in a tough labor market.

The report noted that at the start of 2023, 73,000 Nebraska jobs were available with only 28,000 unemployed individuals in the state to fill them.

An oft-repeated remark by managers, according to the report, was that justice-involved employees were among their best workers.

Theyll work a lot of hours, said a supervisor in the food services industry. I think sometimes they have a lot to prove.

A human resources manager of 140 employees told the researchers that Nebraskas unemployment rate, one of the lowest in the nation, should push employers to think about the unconventional.

We really have to start tapping into resources that we might not have thought of before, the manager said.

Positive strides

According to the report, 77% of the employers interviewed pointed out institutional barriers, or procedures within the justice system, that can limit their ability to employ justice-involved individuals. But employers also noted positive strides by the Corrections Department and VLS to prepare inmates with marketable skills.

Many said they were more confident hiring inmates who completed a VLS program. Researchers noted that most inmates arrive at worksites with OSHA certification.

Pannkuk said the state provides other key documents, such as a birth certificate, prior to release. More recently, she said, the state has arranged for testing for drivers licenses.

A common refrain among employers, according to the report, was trouble communicating with local work release centers. Some supervisors said it took several calls to schedule interviews for potential hires.

Some said they arent informed of disciplinary actions that might prevent an inmate from showing up to the job site. They said the person might explain later that their housing unit was under investigation or that they had lost a work privilege. Whether this is true or not is often never known by the employer, the report said.

Said Spohn, There are rules in our work release facilities that are just constantly in conflict with what employers need to do to get people onboarded and keep them employed. We need to figure out what those things are.

Other employers suggest that legislators revisit certain laws, including those that restrict certain offenders from selling alcohol in the convenience store industry.

An unexpected recommendation from more than one employer, researchers said, was for the state to ensure that every person released had a mattress and pillow that provided enough back and neck support for employees to work without avoidable pain.

Spohn, whose team is housed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, expects the report to be discussed during community forums. He said the Nebraska Center for Justice Research hopes it spurs more job connections.

According to the state, about 2,700 people are discharged from the Department of Correctional Services per year.

If we can have people safely in the community and gainfully employed, thats better than us paying to have them incarcerated, Spohn said. But that requires an employer.

Photos: Nebraska's new Reception and Treatment Center
Never before has the BJP faced such a crisis over the nomination of a chief minister as it is facing now, discovers Prakash Bhandari, veteran observer of Rajasthan politics.

IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party national Vice President Vasundhara Raje, along with party members. Photograph: ANI Photo

Two-time Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who was sidelined by the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership and was not projected as the chief minister during the assembly election campaign, is on the war path.

Raje, 70, is hell-bent on becoming chief minister for the third time and has picked up cudgels against the party's central leadership.

Some 45 BJP MLAs who won the Vidhan Sabha election went to her residence in Jaipur soon after the results were declared on December 3, 2023 and this led the BJP leadership in both the state and at the Centre to believe that Vasundhara Raje is lobbying to become chief minister again.

Her supporters claimed that the 45 MLAs met her only to seek her blessings and her detractors should not read any meaning into it.

Her supporters also say she commands the support of 75 MLAs and these legislators will reveal their backing for Vasundhara Raje when the central observers -- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pande and BJP national General Secretary Vinod Tawde -- meet with the MLAs in Jaipur.

IMAGE: Vasundhara Raje is a two-time chief minister. Photograph: @VasundharaBJP/X

Vasundhara Raje and her son Dushyant Singh, the Lok Sabha MP from Jhalawar in Rajasthan, met BJP national President J P Nadda this week to press her claim for the chief ministership .

The BJP's central leadership is in no mood to give her a third term as chief minister, but Narendra D Modi, Amit A Shah and Nadda understand that she may lead a revolt against the party and even form a government with the outside support of the Congress, which has 69 MLAs in the new assembly.

She could also get the support of eight Independents who won as BJP rebels, 1 Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA, 1 Congress Independent and the lone BSP MLA.

The BJP is trying to persuade Vasundhara to accept the position of Speaker which she is unwilling to accept.

IMAGE: Narendra D Modi felicitated by Vasundhara Raje at an election meeting in Baran. Photograph: ANI Photo

Vasundhara Raje pins her hope on Ashok Gehlot lending her Congress support to ensure that the BJP fails to form the government.

If Vasundhara breaks away from the BJP and forms a government, the Congress could sew up an alliance with her faction for next summer's Lok Sabha election.

Vasundhara Raje led the party to victory in 2003 and then in 2013. She was projected as the chief ministerial candidate in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018. But the party's current leaders feel that the party could never retain power when she was chief minister.

IMAGE: Vasundhara Raje addresses an election meeting. Photograph: ANI Photo

Never before has the BJP faced such a crisis over the nomination of a chief minister as it does now.

The party leadership appears keen to make Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, who hails from Pali district in Rajasthan, chief minister, but it would wait to review the report of the central observers about the mood of the party's legislators.

The party has also shortlisted Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Diya Kumari and Mahant Balaknath, who resigned from the Lok Sabha after they were elected MLAs last Sunday.

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (retd) and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Kirori Lal Meena, who also won the Vidhan Sabha election, too resigned as MPs.

Vaishnav, 52, an engineering graduate from Jodhpur's MB Engineering College, did his MTech from IIT-Kanpur. He also has an MBA from Wharton in the US. For the past three decades, he has remained outside Rajasthan after joining the IAS as an officer of the Odisha cadre in 1994.

He is not in touch with the political and social set up of Rajasthan and during the Vidhan Sabha election campaign, he did not tour the state even once.

The party's central leadership is keen to project this Brahmin technocrat as a chief minister who will alter the face of Rajasthan.

IMAGE: Vasundhara Raje prays to Lord Ganesh at the Moti Dungri temple in Jaipur. Photograph: ANI photo

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat hails from Jodhpur as Ashok Gehlot does and has a running feud with the Congress leader.

Gehlot had alleged that Shekhawat siphoned off funds from a credit society he was director of and bought land in Ethiopia, which led to the BJP leader filing a defamation suit against the then CM.

Diya Kumari, who hails from the royal family of Jaipur, was elected from Rajsamand and is known for her diligent work as an MP and MLA.

Mahant Balak Nath heads the Baba Mast Nath sect in Rohtak, Haryana. Though born in Behror in Alwar district, he has lived in Haryana like his mentor Mahant Chand Nath. His candidature is backed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Baba Ramdev.

The next 48 hours will see which way the camel turns in Rajasthan, and who Modi and Shah decide to appoint as the state's chief minister.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday suspended its Lok Sabha member Danish Ali for "anti-party" activities, with the Amroha MP denying the charge and asserting that he only raised his voice against the BJP-led government's "anti-people" policies.

IMAGE: Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali addresses a press conference hours after Mayawati-led party expelled him. Photograph: ANI/X

In a brief statement, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit said Ali has been suspended for anti-party activities.

The move came a day after Ali walked out of Lok Sabha proceedings along with other opposition members to protest against the government's motion to expel TMC member Mahua Moitra for "unethical conduct". Other Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members remained seated in the House.

Ali has been actively joining opposition ranks in attacking the BJP and its policies even though the Mayawati-led BSP has maintained a distance from the ruling alliance as well as the opposition.

Satish Chandra Misra, the party's general secretary, said in a letter to Ali, "You were told verbally many times that you should not make any statement or take any action against the policies, ideology and discipline of the party, but despite this you have been continuously acting against the party."

Misra reminded Ali that he was a member of HD Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) till 2018.

"...on the request of Deve Gowda, you were given a ticket from Amroha as a candidate of the Bahujan Samaj Party and before giving this ticket, Gowda had given an assurance that you will always follow all the policies and instructions of the Bahujan Samaj Party and will work in the interest of the party," the letter read.

The party charged him with forgetting the assurances he had given and indulging in anti-party activities.

"Therefore, now, in the interest of the party, you are suspended from the membership of the Bahujan Samaj Party with immediate effect," the letter in Hindi said.

Soon after his suspension from the party, Ali said he never indulged in any kind of anti-party activities and only raised his voice against the BJP-led government's "anti-people" policies, asserting that he will "fight back" and not compromise on his principles.

He said party supremo Mayawati's decision to suspend him was "unfortunate".

In a post in Hindi on X after his suspension from the party, Ali said he was grateful to BSP chief Mayawati for giving him a party ticket and helping him become a member of the Lok Sabha.

"She (Mayawati) also made me the leader of BSP parliamentary party. I always received her immense affection and support. Her decision today is unfortunate. I did all the hard work, worked diligently to strengthen the BSP and never indulged in any kind of anti-party activities," he said.

"The people of my Amroha area are witness to this. I have definitely opposed the anti-people policies of the BJP-led government and will continue to do so. I also raised my voice against looting by a few crony-capitalists and and will continue to do so. Because this is true public service," he said.

If doing this is a crime, Ali said, then he has committed this crime and is ready to face the punishment for it.

"I want to assure the people of Amroha that I will always be at their service," he added.

Later, at a press conference at his residence, Ali also talked about his stand backing Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha on Friday.

"The decision that happened yesterday, I consider it my responsibility that when injustice is being done to a woman parliamentarian, I should stand by her. I stood up against it inside the ethics committee (as a member) and also yesterday," the Amroha MP said.

"I will stand up if the honour of a woman is attacked. I consider it a badge of honour that when injustice was happening I stood up inside the committee and outside and will continue to do so," he said.

Ali said he has fulfilled the role of opposition in Parliament that the people had assigned him.

"I will fight back and will not compromise on my ideology and my principles," Ali asserted.

"The day I became an MP, from that day, I raised the voice of the exploited, deprived and backward sections of society as per the party's ideology and people's interest. If this is anti-party, I don't know. I have always been the first one to raise my voice against injustice and will continue to do so," he said.

Stressing that he worked according to party ideology and the Constitution, Ali said when in August 2019, he was the leader of the parliamentary party, there was some "confusion on party line" on some bills.

"We took a straight line and I had to pay the price for it, was removed as the leader of parliamentary party and I complied by it," Ali said.

Ali has been actively joining opposition ranks in attacking the BJP and its policies even though the Mayawati-led BSP has maintained a distance from the ruling alliance as well as the opposition.

He was recently in the news after BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri made objectionable remarks against him in Parliament.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday launched two schemes -- free bus travel for women and health insurance of Rs 10 lakh to the poor -- which are part of the six poll 'guarantees' announced by the Congress.

IMAGE: Newly sworn-in Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy with Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party leader Rahul Gandhi, party Secretary General Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party President Mallikarjun Kharge and other dignitaries during a ceremony, at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo

The launch coincides with the birthday of Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Revanth Reddy commenced the two schemes in the Legislative Assembly premises here in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, several ministers, AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi who is the Pro Tem Speaker in the new Assembly and other dignitaries.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said the way Sonia Gandhi fulfilled her guarantee of formation of Telangana state, the Congress government would strive to make Telangana a state known for people's welfare and development by implementing the six poll 'guarantees' within 100 days.

He described December 9 as a day of festival for Telangana as it was on December 9, 2009 that the then UPA government had announced the formation of Telangana.

It was Sonia Gandhi who made Telangana state a reality like a mother as per people's aspirations, he said.

Under the Rajiv Arogyasri health scheme, the poor would get financial coverage of Rs 10 lakh.

Under the 'Mahalakshmi' scheme, women can travel free of cost in the state-run Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses.

On the occasion, Revanth Reddy handed over a cheque of Rs two crore to ace boxer Nikhat Zareen on behalf of the state government as an incentive.

Nikhat Zareen thanked the government for the Rs two crore incentive and said it would help in preparing for the Paris Olympics.

Nikhat Zareen, who hails from Nizamabad in Telangana, said she would like to work hard and get a good name for the state.
A 30-year-old Muslim woman has claimed that she was beaten up by her brother-in-law for voting in favour of BJP in Madhya Pradesh assembly polls and celebrating the party victory, an incident prompting chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to reach out to the victim.

IMAGE: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan meets a Muslim woman who was beaten up by her brother-in-law for voting in favour of BJP in state assembly polls. Photograph: @ChouhanShivraj/X

Chouhan on Saturday invited the woman to his residence in Bhopal and comforted her.

Earlier in the day, police arrested the accused Javeed, the younger brother of complainant Samina Bi's husband, a day after she and her father visited the office of the Sehore collector seeking stern action.

Notably, Sehore is the home district of Chouhan.

According to police, Javeed allegedly thrashed Samina on Monday when she was celebrating the victory of the BJP in the recently-held assembly elections, counting for which was done on December 3.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Javeed on a complaint lodged by the woman, police said.

The woman had told reporters that she had voted for the BJP as she is a beneficiary of all the schemes of the government including the Ladli Behna Yojana.

As per the government, 1.31 crore women in the state are getting financial help of Rs 1,250 per month under this scheme.

"With 'mamaji' Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Sehore BJP MLA Sudesh Rai on my mind, I voted for the BJP, Samina had said.

On Saturday, Samina visited Chouhan with her children in Bhopal after he invited her, as per the Chief Minister's Office.

By casting your vote, you have exercised your right. Everyone has the right to vote as per the Constitution. People vote for those who do well for them. That is not at all wrong. Thus I wanted to meet you. Do not worry. We will take care of you and take care of your worries, Chouhan told the woman.

Queried about the incident, Madhya Pradesh BJP president V D Sharma said the woman should not worry given that ensuring the safety of people is the guarantee of PM Modi.

I was reading in a newspaper this morning about a Muslim sister voting for our party and her relative troubling her. I want to tell her that she shouldn't worry. Ensuring the safety of the people in the country is Modiji's guarantee," he added.

Sharma said due to Modiji's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas mantra, the minority community blessed the BJP in the November 17 elections by voting for the party.

"This shows the vote bank of Congress is drifting, he added.
The first session of the third Telangana Legislative Assembly began in Hyderabad on Saturday with the oath taking process of the newly-elected MLAs getting underway.

IMAGE: AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi presides over the oath taking process of the newly-elected MLAs as the pro-tem Speaker. Photograph: ANI/X

The Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs, however, stayed away from the House, alleging that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi was appointed as Pro Tem Speaker in violation of rules.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was the first to take oath, followed by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

The House was adjourned to December 14 after several members took the oath.

Before the commencement of the session, Akbaruddin Owaisi was administered the oath by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as the Pro Tem Speaker at the Raj Bhavan and he presided over the proceedings in the House.

Owaisi was appointed as Pro Tem Speaker though there were other senior members in the House, Union Minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy alleged.

"There is a tradition of a senior person being appointed as the pro tem Speaker in the Assembly. The BJP opposes the appointment of AIMIM's Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro Tem Speaker as per an understanding (of Congress) with AIMIM," Reddy told reporters.

Observing that the Congress has only a wafer-thin majority in the Assembly, he claimed that the government is faced with a situation of collapsing even for a small pretext. In view of this, the AIMIM member is made the Pro Tem Speaker as per a plan, he alleged.

"Because of the violation of the legislative Assembly's rules, we are opposing the appointment of the AIMIM person as the Pro Tem Speaker. Therefore, our members are boycotting taking oath with him in the chair," he said.

The Congress has begun its appeasement politics and violation of the traditions of legislative Assembly just three days after assuming power, Reddy alleged.

He pointed out that the BJP has already claimed that there is a tacit understanding between the Congress and the AIMIM.

During the recent election campaign, it was alleged (by Congress) that the BJP and AIMIM were one. Now, Telangana people should know on what criteria Owaisi has been made Pro Tem Speaker in violation of rules, Reddy said.

The true colours of the Congress have come out again, he said.

The BJP would like the election of the Speaker to be held after the appointment of a senior member as Pro Tem Speaker.

The BJP MLAs would take oath after the regular Speaker assumes office, Reddy said.

The BJP MLAs later submitted a memorandum in the Raj Bhavan requesting Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to set aside the nomination of Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro Tem Speaker.

As per the constitution, Article 188, a senior most member in terms of number of years in the Assembly be nominated as the Pro Tem Speaker, the BJP MLAs said in the memorandum.

"The TS-BJP takes strong objection to the way the norms are flouted wilfully by the Government to pander to certain' sections of the people in pursuit of appeasement politics," the memorandum said.

The BJP also requested the Governor to instruct the officials concerned to withhold the process of election of a new full-time Speaker for the newly constituted assembly pending nomination of a senior most member as Speaker.
The United States has vetoed a draft resolution on the raging Israel-Hamas conflict in the United Nations Security Council that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in war-ravaged Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages taken by the Hamas militant group.

IMAGE: Displaced Palestinians who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, shelter in a tent camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 8, 2023. Photograph: Bassam Masoud/Reuters

The 15-nation Council met on Friday to vote on the resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. The resolution got the backing of 13 Council members who voted in its favour while the United Kingdom abstained.

The voting on the resolution came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a rare move, had invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter to appeal to the Security Council for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and to avert a "humanitarian catastrophe, which he said has potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians and peace and security in the region.

Ahead of the vote, Guterres urged the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.

In the Explanation of Vote, US Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, said it is incomprehensible why the resolution's authors have declined to include language condemning Hamas' horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

He said that despite a rushed process and lack of appropriate consultation by the resolution's authors, the United States engaged in good faith on the draft resolution.

We proposed language with an eye toward a constructive resolution that would have reinforced the life-saving diplomacy we have undertaken since October 7; increased opportunities for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza; encouraged the release of hostages and the resumption of humanitarian pauses; and laid a foundation for a durable peace, he said.

Wood said, unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored. And the result of this rushed process was an imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality, that would not move the needle forward, on the ground, in any concrete way. And so, we regretfully could not support it.

UAE's Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative Mohamed Abushahab expressed deep disappointment with the outcome of the vote.

Regrettably, and in the face of untold misery, this Council is unable to demand a humanitarian ceasefire, Abushahab said.

Let me be clear. Against the backdrop of the Secretary-General's grave warnings, the appeals by humanitarian actors, and the world's public opinion  this Council grows isolated. It appears untethered from its own founding document, the UAE envoy said.

He questioned what message the Council is sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza? Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?

UK's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country cannot vote in favour of a resolution which does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7.

Calling for a ceasefire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage, she said.

Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such an attack can never be carried out again," she said.

And so that we can work meaningfully towards a two-state solution, which delivers statehood for the Palestinians, security for Israel, and peace for people on both sides, she said

That's why we abstained on this resolution," she added.

Guterres said that he had written to the Council invoking Article 99 "because we are at a breaking point. There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.

We anticipate that it would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt, he said.

The UN chief voiced concern that the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.

We have already seen the spillover in the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security, Guterres said.

In his letter invoking Article 99, Guterres noted that more than 1,200 people were brutally killed, including 33 children, and thousands were injured in the abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on October 7, which he has repeatedly condemned.

Guterres voiced concern that civilians throughout Gaza face grave danger. Since the start of Israel's military operation, more than 15,000 people have reportedly been killed, over 40 per cent of whom were children, he said.

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan thanked the US for its veto decision, but some rights groups like Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and Amnesty International criticised the move.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour also condemned the US veto, with Mansour calling it a sad day.

Hamas, also condemning the veto, described it as an "immoral and inhumane position," CNN reported.

As the only country that abstained, the UK's Mission to the UN said the country could not vote on a resolution that "does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on the 7th of October."

UN director at Human Rights Watch Louis Charbonneau said that once again the US used its veto to prevent the Security Council from making some of the calls the US itself has been demanding of Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including compliance with international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and releasing all civilians held hostage.

By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes, Charbonneau said.

Last month, the UN Security Council finally overcame deadlock and adopted a resolution in the Israel-Hamas conflict when it called for urgent humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout Gaza to allow unhindered humanitarian access in the strip.

The adoption of the Malta-drafted resolution last month came after four failed attempts in the Council to take action on allowing humanitarian access in the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out after the militant group attacked Israel on October 7.
Pranab's earlier fear of Sonia relying too heavily on a coterie due to her lack of experience turned out to be unfounded.

As per Pranab, Sonia had her close advisers but she did not follow anyone's advice blindly.

A fascinating excerpt from Sharmistha Mukherjee's Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers.

IMAGE: Then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee with then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, May 26, 2004. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/Reuters

Strangely, I felt that he did not have any rancour against Sonia for not making him the PM, and definitely not against Dr Singh. Pranab had the ability to see an issue from the other person's perspective.

During his presidential years, he told me that in the cut-throat world of politics, every one safeguards their interests first.

Sonia was simply safeguarding her own interests and that of her family's, by choosing someone whom she trusted to not challenge her authority.

What followed was an interesting conversation that is still etched in my memory.

Me: Would you have challenged her authority?

Pranab: Whether I would or wouldn't have is not the question. She probably felt that I would. She had the power to choose the PM. She did what she thought was right. What's there to argue about it?

Me: But you would have made a better prime minister...

Pranab: That's your subjective opinion. You think your father would have been a better PM. Manmohan Singh's daughters would have an entirely different point of view. Rahul Gandhi would think that his father was the best prime minister ever. Sonia Gandhi would think that her husband was even better than Indira Gandhi. That's not the way to evaluate.

Me: Who was the best prime minister in your opinion?

Pranab: Undoubtedly, Pt Nehru. He was a visionary, a statesman, builder of institutions, architect of modern India... No one can come near him.

Me: Not even Indira Gandhi?

Pranab: She had her strengths, but not a patch on her father.

Then he added with a mischievous smile, 'But if the daughter was the father, the entire Kashmir would have been ours.'

Even if Pranab felt any hurt or disappointment for not becoming the PM, it was assuaged by none other than Dr Manmohan Singh.

Years later, when Pranab was no longer the president and Dr Singh was no longer the PM, at the book launch of Pranab's book The Coalition Years, Dr Singh said, 'He [Pranab] had every reason to feel a grievance that he was better qualified than I was to become the prime minister, but he also knew that I had no choice in the matter.'

His comment left the audience, which included Sonia and Rahul, in splits.

Dr Singh further described Pranab as the 'most distinguished living parliamentarian and Congressman'. He went on to say, '[...] he is the greatest politician living in the country.'

That night, Pranab was as happy as a child. He expressed his admiration for the former PM, describing him as a gracious gentleman.

Sonia Gandhi did not make Pranab the PM, but she did give him the option to choose his ministry. After Dr Singh's name was announced, I had the opportunity to meet Baba.

Curious about his upcoming role, I enquired about which ministry he would be assigned to.

With confidence, he responded that it would either be Home or External Affairs.

But he got neither Home nor External Affairs, and learnt about it at the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 22 May 2004.

After the function, my mother, other family members and I returned home. Baba was to come back later on his own.

I vividly recall sitting in the bedroom with my mother when he entered, appearing somewhat bewildered.

'They are giving me Defence now,' he said, looking at me. 'I don't know anything about the ministry. How am I going to handle it?' he added.

When I asked him what had happened, he just shrugged and went off to his home office where a number of visitors were waiting to meet him.

IMAGE: Pranab Mukherjee arrives to attend the first Cabinet meeting after taking over the reins of the defence ministry, May 23, 2004. Photograph: Kamal Kishore /Reuters

Many years later, I learnt from his diaries what had actually transpired.

On 20 May, two days before the swearing-in, he had to meet Sonia, Dr Singh and others regarding government formation and accommodating coalition partners.

Pranab worked out a formula for ministerial berths for the alliance partners, depending on the strength of their numbers in the Lok Sabha. It was further decided to keep the big four -- Finance, Home, External Affairs and Defence -- and some other ministries like Petroleum, HRD, I&B, etc, with the Congress.

After the meeting, Sonia asked Pranab to stay back. In Pranab's own words, 'She asked my preference of ministry. She said that she will accommodate me first and then others. I asked for Home or External Affairs indicating Home would be the first choice. She said she will give me my preference.'

But that changed within a day. Pranab noted in his diary that on 22 May, during the swearing-in ceremony in which he took oath after the PM, Dr Singh informed him that Sonia had had a change of heart and wanted him to hold the Defence portfolio instead of Home.

Pranab further wrote, 'Home is a political ministry and a lot of work could have been done there. After the swearing-in, I asked Soniaji. She told me "Except you, I do not find anyone who can clear the mess at the Defence ministry." So what could I say? I had no choice.'

IMAGE: Then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee with then prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, May 22, 2011. Photograph: B Mathur/Reuters

I thought of another incident which took place three years later. In 2007, before the presidential election, there was speculation about Pranab's name as a possible Congress candidate.

The Left parties had proposed his name to Sonia. Pranab was also keen.

Sonia met Pranab and told him that she would happily nominate him as the presidential candidate, on the condition that Pranab finds a replacement for himself.

She told him that he was indispensable for the government and in Parliament, and could not be spared.

Pranab might have felt flattered by the compliment but it did not serve his purpose. Sonia knew how to deal a blow gently.

Pranab's personal loyalty towards any political leader began and ended with Indira Gandhi.

After Indira, Pranab served the Congress but not any individual leader. Though he felt that her taking over would be beneficial for the party, it was not due to a sense of any personal loyalty towards her.

Sonia must have had a strong intuition about it. But unlike Rajiv, she did not try to push Pranab to the periphery.

IMAGE: Then newly elected President Pranab Mukherjee after his swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, July 25, 2012. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Pranab felt that Sonia was intelligent, hardworking and keen to learn. Once he told me that unlike many political leaders, her biggest strength was that she knew and recognised her weaknesses and was willing to work hard to overcome them.

She knew that she lacked political experience but worked hard to understand the complexities of Indian politics and society.

For this, she not only depended on her political colleagues, but actively sought guidance from academicians, subject-experts and social activists.

Pranab shared anecdotes with Sonia from the time Indira was in power, and discussed their approach to challenging political and governance matters.

Another quality of Sonia's that Pranab noticed was her ability to listen. She delegated work and made various committees.

On any issue, she would first listen to the viewpoints of the members and then decide. Sometimes, she would change her mind even after a decision was taken -- a tendency which irked Pranab at times.

But, on occasions, he wrote in his diaries, that it also showed her lack of rigidity.

Pranab's earlier fear of Sonia relying too heavily on a coterie due to her lack of experience turned out to be unfounded.

As per Pranab, Sonia had her close advisers but she did not follow anyone's advice blindly.

He once told me that the Gandhis (Sonia and her children) do not trust anyone completely except each other.

Given their experiences in life, perhaps, it is understandable.

Excerpted from Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers, by Sharmistha Mukherjee, with the kind permission from the publishers Rupa Publications India.

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It's taking a little longer than usual for the mountains to turn completely white and some research points to why.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Generally cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 41F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 29F. Winds light and variable.
Icons night club in downtown Colorado Springs could remain closed through the end of year following a fire that damaged parts of the Majestic Building, where the club operates, on Monday.

The gay bar with singing bartenders, which opened in 2020, was one of multiple tenants in the historic building that was forced to evacuate because of the fire, which remains under investigation.

On Friday, Icons owners Josh Franklin and John Wolfe posted a video to Instagram announcing that the business would remain closed, possibly through the end of the year, because of smoke and soot mitigation. Franklin said the work was set to begin on Dec. 18, and that it was unclear how long it would take.

"We're just going to make sure we're doing everything in our power to make sure we're ready to go when we get the thumbs up from our landlord and the property manager," he said.

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"We know that this could not have happened at a worse time of year, with everything this community has gone through the past year, and now suddenly, we have 14 employees that are out of work, right before the holidays...we're trying to stay optimistic," Franklin said in the video.

Some other businesses in the building at 7 E. Bijou have reopened, including the Shame & Regret bar, To the Grave Tattoo, and the UPS store. Retailers Yobel and The Local Honey Co. both report that much of their stock was too damaged by soot and smoke to sell. Taste of Jerusalem, also in the building, suffered significant damage and does not have a reopening date yet.
Expect more assassinations, drone attacks, and bombings that target security forces and symbols of military rule.

Flowers hung during a campaign against the military coup in Yangon in 2021. Three Brotherhood Alliance has led to coordinated attacks throughout Myanmar and seen the fall of 20 towns and over 300 military posts. But violence is now starting to spread to the cities, a strategic tipping point.

Operation 1027, launched on Oct. 27 by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, has led to coordinated attacks throughout Myanmar and seen the fall of 20 towns and over 300 military posts. But violence is now starting to spread to the cities, a strategic tipping point.

Since that offensive against the military in northern Shan state by the alliance  the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA)  members and others are expanding the battle front against the military junta.

In the east, Karenni forces launched Operation 1111 and now control nearly 80% of Kayah state. They are now fighting in the capital Loikaw.

In this Kokang online media provided photo, fighters of Three Brotherhood Alliance check an artillery gun, claimed to have been seized from Myanmar junta outpost on a hill in Hsenwi township, Shan state on Nov. 24, 2023. (The Kokang online media via AP)

In western Myanmar, the Arakan Army ended its cease-fire in Rakhine state, and have taken major bases, while Chin forces have made significant inroads along the Indian border and claim to have established civil administration in 70% of the state.

The MNDAA has begun its assault on Laukkaing, the capital of the Kokang region.

Karen forces in Kayin State have taken over parts of the main road to the Thai border, greatly restricting border trade.

On Dec. 3, the opposition National Unity Government announced the establishment of civil administration in Kawlin town in the war-torn Sagaing region, the first township capital to fall to the opposition.

The military that took power in a Feb. 2021 coup is increasingly constrained to a diminishing share of the Bamar heartland. But even that is starting to slip away.

On Dec. 3, the KNLA and local PDFs took over Mone, the first town to fall in Bago state. Some 17 soldiers surrendered with their weapons. More importantly, the opposition is getting within striking distance of Highway 1 that connects Yangon and Naypyidaw.

Military escalation

The military has responded with an escalation in the number of long-range artillery and aerial bombing, both of which have resulted in increased civilian casualties. On Dec. 3, the NUG's Ministry of Human Rights released details on SAC attacks on civilians, documenting 84 airstrikes, and 112 artillery strikes that resulted in the death of 244 civilians.

Such attacks will continue as the military has neither sufficient number of troops to retake lost territory, nor sufficient means to move troops. One cannot control territory from the air.

In a brief moment of candor, Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged some battlefield setbacks, blaming foreign interference.

While there have been significant opposition gains in the countryside, within the cocoons of Mandalay and Yangon, the military regime has gone to great lengths to project a sense of normalcy, so that the population will acquiesce to military rule. Restaurants and bars are open, life goes on.

A woman looks through debris in the aftermath of a junta strike on a camp for displaced people near Laiza, northern Myanmar on Oct. 11, 2023. Junta has escalated long range artillery and aerial bombing, both of which have resulted in the increased civilian casualties. (AFP photo)

Reports from the ground suggest that the military is building up its defenses in Naypyidaw, Yangon, and Mandalay, with increasing shows of force and patrols of armored vehicles.

Naypyidaw is already a fortress city that will be hard to attack. But the recent capture of heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems should give opposition forces the ability to now target the city.

Likewise, greater proximity will allow the small drones and quadcopters that the opposition has used to drop mortar shells the ability to strike targets. Even symbolic strikes in Naypyidaw would sew fear amongst regime loyalists, undermine morale, and sap the will to resist.

More urban attacks

That is now changing, with more attacks by opposition Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) in the cities in the past month.

The most notable recent attack was the Dec. 1 assassination of the chairman of the pro-military New National Democracy Party, Than Tun. He had been a National League for Democracy (NLD) member before defecting to a pro-military party that was established by a senior advisor to the State Administrative Council (SAC). the juntas formal name.

These assassinations are meant to convey good operational intelligence on the part of the PDFs, and at the same time, serve as a warning that if they can hit someone so close to the SAC, then the military is unable to protect anyone.

Myanmar's military junta soldiers on a truck patrol in Yangon, Dec. 4, 2023. Reports from the ground suggest that the military is building up its defenses in Naypyidaw, Yangon, and Mandalay, with increasing shows of force and patrols of armed vehicles. (AFP photo)

There have been many assassinations in the past, including the assassination of the chief financial officer of the military owned telecom firm MyTel, and an attack on the current governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, which wounded her.

But the military understands the importance of maintaining a sense of security in the cities. There's always been violence in the borderlands, but once violence hit Yangon and Mandalay, people questioned the military's hold on power.

To that end, they began deploying Chinese-made CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence. Urban guerrilla networks that were active in 2022, were systematically taken apart. The arrest and torture of one member, often led to the rest of entire cells.

This means that the return of urban guerrillas is an important milestone that demonstrates both a decline in the military's control over the cities, and the growing confidence of the PDFs to conduct operations.

Yangon sees PDF attacks

There has been a string of attacks in greater Yangon in the past few weeks. A PDF attacked soldiers guarding the state-owned Electric Power Cooperation Department in both North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa Townships on Nov. 23 and 24, respectively.

On Nov. 29, PDFs attacked a compound of the military-owned conglomerate, Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd, in Yangons Insein Township. This was an important symbolic target, as the conglomerate is one of the most important sources of revenue for the military.

On Nov. 30, local PDFs used drones to drop bombs on a police station and two military posts in Yangon, while PDFs in North Okkalapa Township bombed forces encamped at a local high school. There have been bombings, more recently, in Dagon township.

Displaced people rest as fighting renewed between Myanmar's junta and the Arakan fighters in Pauktaw Township in Rakhine state on Nov. 19, 2023. The Arakan Army ended the cease-fire in Rakhine state and have taken major junta bases. (AFP photo)

PDFs set off two bombs at a police post in Yangons Thingangyun township on Dec. 4.

The military has responded to these attacks, with a series of raids and arrests of youth. RFA has reported that some 50 youth had been abducted from Yangon townships in recent weeks.

In short, the war is coming to the cities. With each week, there will be more assassinations, more drone attacks, and more bombings that target security forces and symbols of military rule.

This will shatter any false pretense that the military is still in control and empower more civil disobedience. Its no wonder that Min Aung Hlaing has suddenly called for a political solution, before it all comes crashing down.

Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or Radio Free Asia.
The Philippines fares among the best in the global report card at COP28.

People ride an e-scooter through the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai. (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)

Updates at 18:52 ET on Dec. 8, 2023

The worlds biggest greenhouse gas emitter, China, lags among the low performing countries despite growth in renewables, while Indonesia and Malaysia dropped in ranking tackling climate change, according to a new report released Friday at COP28 in Dubai.

Despite the boom in renewables, climate policies have stagnated in many countries since last year, experts said in the 2024 Climate Change Performance Index, or the CCPI, which evaluates climate mitigation efforts in 63 nations and the European Union.

The report coverage accounts for over 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It uses standardized criteria across four categories: greenhouse gas emissions (40% of the score), renewable energy (20%), energy consumption (20%), and climate policy (20%).

For the first time, not a single country ranks high in the category climate policy This threatens the national emission reduction targets for 2025 and 2030, reports co-author Niklas Hohne from NewClimate Institute said at a press conference in Dubai.

China received a very low rating in the greenhouse gas emissions and energy use categories and a medium in renewable energy and climate policy.

Although China has a strong growing renewable energy sector and improves energy efficiency measures, it is among the nine countries responsible for 90% of global coal production, according to CCPI.

Islene Facanha, of Portugal, participates in a demonstration dressed with images of wildfires at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai. (Peter Dejong/AP)





Beijing also plans to increase its gas production by 2030 (compared with 2019 levels), which is incompatible with the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, the report said, adding Chinas slowing economic growth has led to less ambitious climate targets in recent years.

Some 450 experts contributed to the index, prepared by two German NGOs, Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute, and CAN International, a network of climate activist organizations.

Fossil fuel phase-out

The top three positions remain empty this year, as no country assessed performed very high in all four categories. Denmark led the index with third position, followed by Estonia and the Philippines, while oil-dependent countries like the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Saudi Arabia occupied the bottom three.

The CCPI shows once again that the biggest fossil fuel producers and exporters fair the worst in the index, Janet Milongo, a senior CAN International officer, told journalists.

This adequately finds out demands for the phase-out of all Fossil Fuels, full fast forever and funded with all efforts and finance towards scaling up to 100% renewable energy systems in a just, equitable and rapid manner.

Fossil fuel phase-out is one of the top agendas currently at COP28 in UAE, ranked worst in greenhouse gas emissions category with its high per capita emissions of 25.9 metric tons and a meager share of renewable energy, less than 1%.

An infographic showing four ASEAN countries performance in tackling climate change. (Germanwatch)





As negotiations entered their crucial second week on Friday, the fight over what to say about fossil fuels in the final text is heating, experts told Radio Free Asia.

During the last COP, India and China pushed for phase out over phase down for fossil fuels in the final text, and in the current COP, they are advocating for the complete omission of any reference to fossil fuels in the final text, according to sources.

Philippines excels while Malaysia drops

In this years CCPI, the Philippines has improved its ranking, moving up six places to 6th, with highest ratings among the 63 countries in GHG emissions and energy use, and medium in renewable energy and low in climate policy.

The country excels in per capita emissions, with 2.27 metric tons per capita, outperforming many other countries. However, CCPI experts criticized the country for lacking a long-term emissions reduction strategy and no government policies for solid fiscal measures, such as the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies.

Southeast Asias biggest emitter Indonesia dropped 10 places to the 36th position, with a low rating in GHG emissions and climate policy categories.

The report criticized the countrys Nationally Determined Contribution, a specific and voluntary commitment to reduce GHG emissions, saying it is still not aligned with the Paris goals and is only based on inflated business-as-usual calculations.

An infographic showing overall result globally of 63 countries and European Union in climate change performance. (Germanwatch)





Despite committing to phasing out coal with the help of donors and introducing a cap-and-trade system for coal power plants, CCPI experts expressed concerns that there were no policies to stop or limit fossil fuel use and carbon pricing was too low.

According to the report, 36 units of biomass-coal co-firing power plants were active in 2022 in Indonesia, while there was also an increase in biodiesel production from crude palm oil.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia dropped three places to rank the lowest at 59th, performing abysmally in the GHG emissions and energy use categories, low in climate policy, and medium in renewable energy.

CCPI said Malaysias National Energy Transition Roadmap highlights the role of biomass, particularly palm oil, in Malaysias energy transition, with efforts to enforce national environmental standards for plantations, which has concerned CCPI experts.

They said Malaysia remains reliant on oil and gas industries with substantial subsidies, suggesting the need for broader strategies to prevent both high emissions and economic repercussions associated with carbon-intensive development.

Thailand and Vietnam

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Thailand upped their games, ranking among countries with medium performance levels.

Thailand ranked 25th, up 17 spots, with low ratings in the climate policy and renewable energy categories but high GHG emissions and energy use.

In August, the newly elected democratic government set up the Department of Climate Change and Environment to tackle climate changes harmful impacts and fulfill the countrys climate pledges.

A person walks past signs that read "stop war" and "go green" at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai. (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)





Thailand is focused on reducing CO2 emissions in the energy sector, aiming for at least 50% renewable energy in new power generation capacity by 2050, and promoting electric vehicle adoption, with experts suggesting a coal phase-out commitment and suspending power purchase agreements until electricity demand and development plans are revised.

Vietnam jumped 13 spots to 27th, with a low in the GHG emissions and energy use categories but medium in renewable energy and climate policy.

Vietnam is committed to net zero goals and renewable energy in its latest power development plan, surpassing its own NDC targets. Still, the implementation of policies faces delays and lacks cross-sectoral coordination.

The progress is overshadowed by the imprisonment of climate activists and experts, with the latest known detainment to be in September 2023.

Edited by Malcolm Foster

Changes dateline to Dubai.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili attended a December 9 march in support of the country's European Union membership bid. People waved Georgian flags and unfurled a giant EU flag during the rally held in Tbilisi by nongovernmental organizations. EU leaders are expected to say on December 15 whether they see Georgia as ready to start accession talks. Among the conditions for the Caucasian country are judicial reform, closer alignment with EU foreign policy, and fighting disinformation.
More than 6,000 kilometers from Tehran, in treacherous waters off the shores of Singapore, a "dark fleet" of oil tankers waits to offload the precious cargo that helps keep Iran's economy afloat -- a dependency that could also sink it.

The fleet has grown steadily over the past five years, delivering Iranian crude to China as the countries work in concert to circumvent international sanctions that target Tehran's lucrative oil exports. But while the clandestine trade has buoyed Iran's budget, it also comes at tremendous cost and risk to Tehran.

Iran gives China a hefty discount to take its banned oil, taking 12 to 15 percent off the price of each barrel to make it worthwhile for Beijing to take on the liability of skirting sanctions, according to research by the data analysis unit of RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

Additional costs add up as well: ship-to-ship operations to offload the oil, middlemen, hidden-money transfers, and rebranding the oil to mask its Iranian origin and make it appear to come from a third country, said Dalga Khatinoglu, an expert on Iranian energy issues.

Altogether, said Khatinoglu, who contributes to Radio Farda's data analysis unit, Iran's budget figures and official statements indicate that 30 percent of the country's potential oil revenue was wasted last year.

And with the draft budget for the next fiscal year currently being debated by the Iranian parliament, there are no guarantees that Tehran's bet on quenching China's thirst for oil will continue to be a panacea.

With Iran almost entirely dependent on Beijing to take its oil and on other entities to facilitate the trade, Tehran has managed to inject desperately needed revenue into its economy. But Iran has also put itself at risk of seeing its main revenue stream dry up.

"There's definitely an extent to which Tehran has become more dependent on the likes of China or those who would be willing to deal with Iran in spite of Western sanctions," said Spencer Vuksic, a director of the consultancy firm Castellum, which closely tracks international sanctions regimes.

Vuksic said Iran is "definitely put in a weak position by having to depend on a single external partner who's willing to deal with and engage with Tehran."

Oily Deficit

Iran has trumpeted its foreign trade, claiming in December that oil revenue had contributed to a positive trade balance for the first eight months of the year.

But the oil and gas sector, by far the largest part of the Iranian economy, will not be enough to save the current budget of around $45 billion that was approved last year.

The Iranian fiscal year, which follows the Persian calendar and will end in March, is expected to result in a major deficit. In presenting the draft budget to parliament in December, President Ebrahim Raisi acknowledged a $10 billion deficit.

But the shortfall could be much higher -- up to $13.5 billion, the largest in Iran's history -- by the end of the fiscal year, according to Radio Farda. This is because data shows that just half of the expected oil revenues were realized, in part due to lower than expected oil prices and additional costs and discounts related to Tehran's oil trade with China.

Whereas the budget expectations were based on oil being sold at $85 per barrel, the price of crude dipped below $75 per barrel in December and has fluctuated wildly recently amid concerns that tensions in the Middle East could disrupt shipping and production.

And while Iran expected to export 1.5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), it exported only 1.2 million bpd in the first eight months of the year, according to Radio Farda.

Altogether, Radio Farda estimates that Iran lost some $15 million per day in potential revenue through its trade with China, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the Iranian budget.

For the upcoming budget of about $49 billion, expectations for domestic and foreign oil revenue have dipped by 3 percent, according to Khatinoglu, even as the projected budget itself has risen by about 18 percent.

Accounting for the fluctuation of global oil prices, which fell far short of the average estimated for the current year, the peg has been lowered to $71 per barrel. Tehran is also expecting lower oil-export volumes -- which only briefly met forecasts of 1.5 million bpd, the highest levels seen since 2018 -- with only 1.35 million bpd forecast.

Iran is reportedly expected to plug the gap left by the lower oil revenue by increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses, while Khatinoglu says Tehran will try to boost revenue by raising domestic energy prices.

Shipping Competition

Adding to the uncertainty of Iran's finances is the potential for weaker Chinese demand for its oil and competition from Russia which, like Tehran, sends banned oil to Beijing.

And international sanctions are continuously evolving to punish countries and entities that foster Iran's illegal oil trade, threatening to capsize the dark fleet that helps sustain Tehran's so-called resistance economy.

On the other hand, the mercurial nature of oil price fluctuations and demand could work to Iran's advantage. With Venezuelan oil no longer under sanctions, Russia is left as the only competitor for clandestine oil sales to China.

And Iran's capacity to export oil is greater than ever, allowing it to more easily sell its oil to Beijing when demand is high.

This is largely due to the considerable expansion of the global "dark fleet" of oil since crippling U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports were restored after the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal that has been agreed with six world powers.

The deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's controversial nuclear program. After the deal went into effect in January 2016, Iran more than doubled its legal oil exports in a few months, eventually reaching a high of 1.54 million bpd in 2018.

But with the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and subsequent reintroduction of sanctions that year, Iranian oil exports plummeted. And after the exceptions granted to a handful of countries -- including China -- that were allowed to continue to import Iranian oil expired in 2019, Iranian oil exports slowed to a trickle.

This was partly because Iran was not equipped to export its oil and had no immediate customers willing to defy the sanctions. But that changed with the fine-tuning of Irans efforts to defy sanctions, the fivefold rise in the number of dark-fleet tankers, and China's willingness to take the risk of doing business with Tehran -- although Beijing has not acknowledged unregistered imports of Iranian oil.

Today the dark fleet of often aging ships -- nearly half of them VLCCs (very large crude carriers) -- has risen to up to 1,000 vessels, according to Vortexa, which tracks international shipping. Many smaller ships are involved in Russian oil exports, which account for about 80 percent of all opaque tanker activity. But Iran had access to nearly 200 tankers, many of them supertankers, as of early 2023, according to Vortexa.

More than 20 ships, 13 of them VLCCs, joined the Iranian fleet in 2023, Vortexa reported in June, contributing to record-high Iranian oil exports under sanctions.

Vortexa attributed the rise to increased Chinese demand, the addition of the new tankers to shuttle Iranian oil after many had switched to shipping Russian oil, and the decline of Iranian inventories drawn down to boost exports amid heightened competition with Russia for the Chinese market.

While Chinese demand for Iranian oil slowed in October, Vortexa noted in a subsequent report, Washingtons removal of oil sanctions on Venezuela that month opened the possibility of higher demand for Iranian oil.

Uncertain Waters

In an October report, the global trade intelligence firm Kpler explained that tankers illegally shipping Iranian oil commonly "go dark" upon entering the Persian Gulf by turning off their transponders, technically known as the automatic identification system (AIS). After visiting Iran's main oil terminal on Kharg Island or other ports, they then reemerge after a few days indicating they are carrying a full load.

From there, the ships offload the oil with ship-to-ship transfers that take place in unauthorized zones, mostly in the Singapore Straits. Eventually the oil, rebranded as coming from Malaysia or Middle Eastern countries, enters China, where it is processed by more than 40 independent "teapot" refiners that have little exposure to international sanctions or the global financial system.

Sanctions Revisited

The challenge for those trying to halt the illicit trade in Iranian oil as a way to hold Tehran accountable for its secretive nuclear activities and dire human rights record, is how to make the negatives of dealing with Iran greater than the financial benefits.

That has put the illicit seaborne trade of oil -- both Iranian and Russian, owing to the ongoing war in Ukraine -- under greater scrutiny by the international community.

"There's continuous refining of the sanctions programs to include and expand sanctions against those involved in evasion, and that includes sanctioning so-called dark fleets," said Castellums Vuksic, noting that the number of targeted sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities rose by more than 1,000 last year.

The big question is enforcement, an issue that is being debated in the United States and other countries and is leading to increased calls for countries like Panama to de-flag illegal tankers and for countries to clamp down on dark-fleet ships anchored off their shores.

"My expectation is that governments, including the United States, will take action against these dark fleets, especially the facilitators and the [ship] owners when they're identified," Vuksic told RFE/RL.

Other factors, including concerns about the impact of a broader Middle East conflict potentially involving Iran, could also hurt or help Iran's financial standing.

As Kpler noted while reporting that Chinese imports of Iranian oil had dropped significantly in October, the changing global landscape can have a big effect on the independent Shandong-base refineries that purchase Iranian oil.

"Middle East tensions/threat of stricter enforcement of U.S. sanctions may have turned Shandong refiners more risk-adverse," the global trade intelligence firm wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In the past week, supply fears also exposed the volatility of global crude prices, potentially to Iran's benefit.

Oil prices rose sharply on January 2 on news that Iran had sent a frigate to the Red Sea and was rejecting calls to end support for attacks by Tehran-backed Huthi rebels that have disrupted shipping in the important trade route.

Prices surged again following the deadly January 3 bombing attack in Iran, for which the Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility.

But the week ended with questions about the future of Iran's cut-rate deal with the only country willing to help prop up its economy, with Reuters reporting that China's oil trade with Iran had stalled after Tehran withheld supplies and demanded higher prices.
A Russian Orthodox priest in Kazakhstan, defrocked last summer after speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine, has launched a longshot bid to establish an autocephalous Orthodox church of Kazakhstan to escape the Russian Orthodox Church's "crime" and the "corruption and spirit of the Antichrist reigning" in its local branch.



Iakov Vorontsov said his aim is to serve Orthodox Christians who have lost confidence in the Russian church's leadership, the Moscow Patriarchate, because of its continuing support for Kremlin war planners' brutal 21-month-old campaign.



"Taking advantage of the citizen's right to freedom of religion, given by the constitution, I declare my intention to create the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan," he wrote on Facebook on December 4.



Vorontsov alleged that an effort the day before by the presiding priest at the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty to "discredit" him to parishioners and "smear everyone with the crime that the Russian Federation and its Russian Orthodox Church are carrying out in Ukraine" had "resurrected my extinguished Christian hopes and pastoral aspirations."



Ending the "sabbatical" that reportedly began when he was unofficially relieved of church duties in the early weeks of the invasion, Vorontsov encouraged people to become parishioners or simply provide support or assistance. Vorontsev said he would announce a date and place for a constituent assembly at a later time.



Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch Europe's first full-scale invasion since World War II in February 2022 followed the annexation of Crimea and launch of support for armed Ukrainian separatists eight years earlier.



The Russian church under Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly expressed support for the war and has mobilized against dissenting clerics in Russia as well as among its subordinate dioceses in Ukraine and places like Moldova.



No Small Task



Most estimates put the number of Orthodox believers in Kazakhstan at around one-quarter of its population of nearly 20 million people.



The former Soviet republic has documented nearly 1 million Russians entering its territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began to escape hardship, censorship, or the draft, among other reasons.

The Russian church's local metropolitan district in mostly Muslim Kazakhstan is known as the Eastern Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan and includes nine eparchies, or dioceses.



It has maintained allegiance to the Russian Orthodox Church and condemned Vorontsov's initiative as schism and said nothing good will come of it. "According to the law on religious associations, any citizen who collects a certain number of signatures professing the teaching that he considers religiouscan register his community," said Metropolitan Aleksandr, the head of the Kazakh arm of the church. "But in our eyes, the community that he registers cannot be considered a church."



Efforts to create new, independent Orthodox churches on a national level are rare and face significant challenges.



In Ukraine, a decades-long effort to reestablish an independent national church culminated in the granting in 2019 of autocephaly to an Orthodox Church of Ukraine by Orthodox Christianity's global spiritual leadership, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Moscow Patriarchate strongly opposed the move and initiated a schism with the Istanbul authorities in the run-up to that recognition.
Russia has arrested a dual U.S.-Russian citizen on charges of "rehabilitating Nazism" for two critical posts he made on social media.

Yury Malyev was arrested on December 8 in St. Petersburg and ordered to pretrial detention for two months, the Smolnensky district court said in a post on its Telegram channel.

Malyev last year posted on his Odnoklassniki page an image of the St. George ribbon, which represents Russias victory over Nazi Germany, along with a caption that included the face of a known gay individual and profanities, according to the court. It gave no further details.

On May 8, the day before Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany, Malyev posted the image of a dead body with a caption that read "how to correctly wear the St. George ribbon."

The court said the latter post showed "disrespect for society and the days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia" and was an "insult" to World War II veterans.

Malyev has "partially" admitted guilt, the court said. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has largely snuffed out freedom of expression, clamping down hard on individuals who contest the state's official view of World War II as well as the current invasion of Ukraine.

In 2014, Putin outlawed the dissemination of "false information about Soviet activities" during World War II and seven years later outlawed criticism of veterans of that war.

In December 2022, he signed into law a bill criminalizing the desecration of the St. George ribbon with a punishment of up to five years in prison.

The ribbon dates back to 1769, when Russian Empress Catherine the Great established the Order of St. George. The medal was attached to a ribbon of black and yellow -- later orange.

In 1945, the Soviet Union resurrected the orange-and-black ribbon for a medal to celebrate victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

The colors then became part of annual May 9 Victory Day celebrations in the Soviet Union and then in Russia, and they were handed out en masse in Russia starting in 2005.

Nearly a decade later, activists supporting Russia's 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimea and backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine began using the ribbon as a symbol, and it is now widely associated with the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Ukraine banned the St. George ribbon in 2017.
Russia has said it is studying whether its gold reserves, frozen by the West in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, could be used to help developing countries overcome the impact of climate change.

In a statement made at the COP28 summit in Dubai, where officials from around the world are gathered, Russia's climate envoy suggested the frozen funds could be used to help emerging nations accelerate their fight against climate change.

"We are ready to announce that Russia is looking into the voluntary contribution of finance to the loss and damage fund from the frozen national gold reserves held by international organisations," Ruslan Edelgeriyev, Russia's climate representative, said on the main stage at COP28.

Russia has been seeking to strengthen ties with countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East -- sometimes referred to as the Global South -- after the West cut most ties with Moscow over its brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Those countries, many of which are in the developing stage, are among the hardest hit by climate change. Global South countries have criticized developed countries, especially Western states, for slow rolling aid to help them combat climate change.

Global South countries say developed countries have largely caused climate change through their greater use of fossil fuels, while they suffer the consequences. Developed countries provided about $100 billion in financing to developing countries for climate change last year.

The United States and Europe have frozen about $300 billion in Russian gold reserves held in the West as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.

Washington and Brussels have yet to decide what they will do with the Russian funds. Some Western officials have called for using the funds to help rebuild Ukraine after the war.

Russia's climate representative may have simply attempted to win over developing countries while stoking their frustration with the West.

Many countries in the Global South have criticized the West for quickly mobilizing tens of billions of dollars in military and financial aid for Ukraine when their calls for help receive marginal attention and resources.

With reporting by Reuters
RIGA -- In the first few days after Russia's Supreme Court handed down its bombshell ruling classifying the "international LGBT social movement" as extremist, Kira, a 30-year-old woman from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, cried.



And then she and her girlfriend started joking: "Well, we are extremists now. Hello!"



Still, Kira, who asked that her real name not be used, said the court ruling was stunning -- and disconcerting.



"The atmosphere changed: it became very creepy, as if some kind of viscous darkness were hanging over everyone and the vagueness of possible sanctions for the fact that people were born as they are," she said in an e-mail interview with Current Time. "This uncertainty only makes everything worse."



The ruling, handed down on November 30 in response to a motion from the Russian Justice Ministry, was the latest, and arguably most severe, blow to the country's long-beleaguered LGBT community.



Activists and other experts warn that the ruling would criminalize gays and lesbians and put organizations that advocate for or support them at risk of criminal prosecution for all sorts of activities: for example, displaying a rainbow flag, widely known as a symbol of gay and lesbian rights around the world.

Activists have already begun deleting public pages from social-media sites like VK, according to Kira, who said she has contemplated leaving Russia but cannot due to family and financial considerations.



"Now the only thing that those who are in Russia and, like me, cannot leave, can do is as much as possible not draw attention to yourself," she said. "You need to save yourself and save your loved ones."



'I Still Have Some Hope For The Best'



Current Time reached out to readers and followers of the channel on its Instagram profile, soliciting input from people who might be directly affected by the court ruling.



Vanya, a 20-year-old man in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk who asked that his last name be withheld, said the ruling was clearly a preelection ploy ahead of the March vote in which President Vladimir Putin is virtually certain to secure a new term.



"The authorities are trying to sell a homophobic idea to the population, although no LGBT people, of course, have ever been an obvious problem for the people of Russia," he said via the Telegram messaging app. "Well, they never have been, but now they are trying to make them into a problem."



Vanya said he lives alone with his father, who has supported Vanya's embrace of his sexual orientation, as have his closest friends. After the ruling, he said, his father suggested they should leave the country entirely, but their savings are limited.



"I feel strange now. There's a feeling that the ground is disappearing from under my feet, my hands are giving up," he said. "I don't know how I'll live on. The planning horizon is just the coming two days. But I still have some hope for the best."



Anna, a 24-year-old bisexual woman from Kirov, northeast of Moscow, said she had begun to feel unsafe well before the Supreme Court ruling: after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.



"At first it was very alarming. I couldn't sleep normally," said Anna, who asked that her name be changed. "It was difficult to do the work that I used to do well. It felt as if my cognitive abilities had declined. Now there's a clear understanding that if you don't make any statements anywhere about the war, you can probably live in peace."



"At the same time, there's a bitter feeling that living with your tongue shoved up your ass is difficult," she said via Telegram.



She said she had not told her family about her bisexuality, mainly because of old prejudices common among older Russians. "They're old Soviet school. I don't see the point in rebuilding or convincing them. And I just don't like to wave my underpants about in front of my family. In principle, I don't tell them about any of my relationships," she said.



Like many others, Anna said she would consider fleeing Russia but for the cost involved. She said all her friends who wanted to emigrate left immediately after the invasion, while others waited until the massive military call-up Putin announced in September 2022.



"Those who remain in Russia now cannot afford to move for financial reasons," she said.



'Hell For A Gay Man'



One gay man who did flee well before the Supreme Court ruling was 37-year-old Vadim Tetenkin, who is originally from the Siberian city of Irkutsk but now lives in New York. He said homophobia was commonplace in Irkutsk, which he called the "periphery."



"The periphery is hell for a gay man," he said via Telegram. "I was insulted on the street, on public transport. I was beaten up, although I didn't wear dresses, I was just different from others," he said.

He said his parents found out about his sexuality by accident. They were surprised and at first did not know how to react, but then the relationship was restored. Now they support him, Vadim said.



"I left Russia when the war began and the first 'quasi-swastikas' appeared," he said, referring to the letter "Z," which was adopted by supporters of the Ukraine war as a symbol of support. "I realized that this was the end. Putin is repeating Hitler's scenario. And anti-LGBT policies are the easiest way to unite the stupid 'deep population' who, under these banners, will go to kill someone, whomever they can."

Written by Mike Eckel based on reporting by Karina Merkuryeva of Current Time
When Russia shot down a Korean Airlines flight in 1983 with air-to-air missiles, the crew and everyone on board paid the ultimate price for straying into restricted airspace.

The Russian military mistook the commercial flight with 269 people on board for a spy plane because it was 200 miles off course.

The deaths prompted the Reagan administration to open up the Global Positioning System for civilian use, and it's revolutionized life since, allowing everyone to have precise mapping on their phones, giving financial institutions the power to prevent fraud through GPS timing and providing farmers better tools for irrigation and harvesting.

Lt. Col. Robert Wray, 2nd Space Operations Squadron commander, and others described the 31 active GPS satellites, global ground stations and people that make the complex system possible at Schriever Space Force Base on Saturday. Wray and his colleagues invited the public in to see their operations, as part of marking the 30th anniversary of GPS becoming fully operational.

Surrounded by large monitors, a group of 10 people, eight military members and two contractors work 24/7 at Schriever, east of Colorado Springs, to operate and monitor the GPS satellites. No one operates a satellite alone, to prevent mistakes, Wray explained. The crew also takes calls from users experiencing anomalies.

The windowless office space is the front-facing portion of a large global system, said Col. Andy Menschner, who oversees the new Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Delta, within Space Force.

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"The operators here on the floor are able to control ground antennas all over the world, speak and communicate with 37 satellites on orbit, and provide assurance that the signal from space is accurate and reliable," he said.

The satellites carry atomic clocks that provide the precise timing across the world, necessary for critical infrastructure, such as the electrical grid, Wray said. Its role in infrastructure means likely 6 billion people rely on GPS.

Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine has underscored the importance of GPS. As Ukraine relies heavily on drones in the conflict, Russia counters by jamming local GPS receivers.

The U.S. constellation of GPS satellites traveling 12,550 miles above the Earth are untouched by this localized jamming, Wray said.

As the Space Force marks a major birthday for the GPS constellation, it is also working on updates for the system that has used 79 satellites since the first one went into orbit in 1978. As the atomic clocks on the satellites age, satellites are retired and moved out farther away from the Earth, Wray said. The oldest satellite in orbit is 26, a few years older than most of the operators.

The most recent six satellites sent into orbit were built by Lockheed Martin in Littleton and provide three times greater accuracy compared to older satellites, according to a Lockheed news release.

Upgrades for the whole ground system are also in development and will be deployed at Schriever in 2025, Menschner said.

"That'll be the largest transition for GPS in decades," he said.
Supporters of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny say they have had no contact with him for three days.

Maria Pevchikh, chairwoman of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on December 8 that "Navalny is missing for three days now."

"Navalnys life is at great risk," she wrote. "He is in complete isolation now."

In a post on Instagram on December 8, Ruslan Shaveddinov, also with the Anti-Corruption Foundation, wrote that the last information about Navalny was that he had fallen ill in his cell after being subjected to harsh conditions, including limited food, a lack of ventilation, and minimal exercise time.

"Navalny's only protection is publicity," Shaveddinov wrote.

Navalny associate Kira Yarmysh wrote on X on December 8 that the opposition leader's lawyers had waited outside the prison all day without being granted permission to visit their client.

She said his allies had not received any letters from him for more than a week, which she said was unusual.

"Our letters to him also have not been delivered," she wrote.

On December 8, Navalny was not connected by video link to a court hearing, with prison officials citing technical problems.

On December 7, Navalny's supporters launched a campaign to oppose President Vladimir Putin's bid to secure a fifth presidential term in Russia's March 2024 election. Navalny has urged Russians to vote against Putin in the election. Putin announced on December 8 that he will seek another term.

Navalny is serving a 19-year prison term after being convicted of creating an "extremist" organization, charges that are widely believed to be retribution for his political activity. In September, he was transferred to a strict-regime cell after being deemed "incorrigible."

He has been placed in solitary confinement more than 20 times since he began his prison term in February 2021.

He has been recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and as a political prisoner by the Memorial human rights group.
Russia has transferred a majority stake in a strategic metals firm to the state's nuclear energy company after seizing shares from its private owners.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on December 8 signed an order transferring the shares in Solikamsk Magnesium Plant to Kremlin-controlled Rosatom, according to n order posted on the government's website.

Russia last year seized an 89 percent stake in Solikamsk, claiming the Urals-based company was illegally privatized in the 1990s.

Russian courts have nationalized dozens of companies -- many strategic -- on that basis since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine, raising fears in the business community about a larger revision of privatizations.

Russia sold off wide swaths of its economy in the 1990s, including energy and metals companies, often in an opaque and unfair manner that gave rise to the so-called "oligarchs."

Solikamsk, which produces 100 percent of Russia's tantalum and niobium as well as 60 percent of its commercial magnesium, was privatized in the 1990s as well.

Tantalum is used in a variety of commercial and critical defense applications such as mobile phones and turbine engines for aircraft, while niobium is used in the production of high-strength steel alloys used in pipelines and transportation infrastructure.

Magnesium has a variety of industrial uses, including as a reducing agent to separate uranium.

President Vladimir Putin promised in the early 2000s shortly after coming to power that he would not reverse the privatizations if Russia's tycoons stayed out of politics and that agreement had largely been maintained with a few major exceptions before the war.

The series of nationalizations -- many but not all based on alleged illegal privatization -- since the war began has sent a chill through the business community, Aleksandr Shokhin, the head of Russias industry lobby, told the RBK news agency in September.

"Nobody knows who will be next," he said.

He said there was concern the assets are being seized to hand over to people who are considered more loyal to the Kremlin.

"If an asset goes into state ownership, where does it go? Is it transferred to the management of the 'right' people, 'good' entrepreneurs from some circle? Or is it being put up for privatization?" he said.

Many Russian tycoons have kept a low profile since the invasion of Ukraine, with some relocating abroad, opening themselves to criticism, especially from pro-war members of the elite.

Russia earlier this year seized a controlling stake in Syas Pulp and Paper Mill, one of the largest manufacturers of toilet paper and napkins, after its owner acquired Israeli citizenship and relocated abroad.

Putin last month met with the country's largest businessmen at his residence outside Moscow to discuss Russia's business climate. The issue of nationalization was expected to be raised.

With reporting by Kommersant, RBK, and Reuters
Ukraine's defense minister has said his country expects to take delivery of advanced F-16 fighter jets "soon," as the Biden administration warned the U.S. Congress that failure to support Ukraine could mean the United States will have to pay a high price in "national treasure and in American blood" in the future.

In comments on December 8, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stressed that preparations to receive the advanced U.S.-made fighters were well under way and that "we will receive them soon."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged its allies to provide the aircraft to counter Russia's air supremacy in the parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

"In the short term, we will receive the F-16s," Umerov said. "In the medium term, we have also made more orders for our defense forces. I mean the years 2027 to 2030."

In October, Denmark said it would provide its first batch of F-16s to Ukraine "in March or April" of 2024.

In Washington on December 8, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby urged Republican lawmakers to authorize additional military aid for Ukraine, saying the ongoing controversy over the issue was "a great gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"If you think the cost of supporting Ukraine is high now, think about...how high it's going to be in national treasure and in American blood if we have to start acting on our Article 5 commitments," he said, referring to the part of the NATO Charter that obligates allies to come to one another's defense.

"If [Putin] gets Ukraine, he gets right up against the doorstep of NATO," Kirby said. "Helping [Ukraine] win this war is very much in our national security interest and in the national security interest of all our allies in Europe."

Republican lawmakers in the United States have been refusing to proceed with some $60 billion in increased aid for Ukraine unless Democrats agree to increased immigration restrictions on the country's southern border.

Speaking in Berlin on December 9, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government will continue supporting Ukraine despite its current budget woes.

Putin "should not and must not" expect Germany to reduce aid to Ukraine, Scholz said.

Germany is the second-largest supplier of military aid to Kyiv, after the United States, providing main battle tanks, heavy artillery, and air-defense systems.

In an interview with the BBC on December 9, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska warned of the danger of "Ukraine fatigue," saying her country faced "mortal danger" if the West cut back on support.

"We really need the help," Zelenska said. "In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die. And if the world gets tired, they will simply let us die."

In its daily briefing on December 9, the Ukrainian General Staff reported some 95 "combat clashes" along the front line over the previous 24 hours. In addition, officials said there had been 28 missile attacks and 27 air strikes.

Fighting was heaviest in the Donetsk region around Avdiyivka. Russian forces have been attempting for several weeks to encircle the industrial city, which has become the latest symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

With reporting by dpa
The Colorado Springs Fire Department has released information on Friday about the Dec. 1 fire at Quail Cove Apartments, where at least 30 residents were displaced.

The CSPD said in a Facebook post that the cause of the fire was accidental due to the improper disposal of smoking materials. The fire started on the outside of the building, the post said.

The CSFD said that one person was treated for minor burns at the scene. More than 30 residents and 11 pets were displaced by the fire, which engulfed the building around 1 a.m.

Some residents reported that the fire alarms did not go off, the CSFD said. Investigators tested all the alarms that could be recovered and found them working and up-to-date, according to the post.

The CSFD said that because the fire started on the outside of the building, internal fire alarms likely went off after most residents had already been alerted to the fire.
Delhi Encounter News

Special Cell Operation Leads to Arrest of Two Lawrence Gang Shooters, Unveils Links to Recent Punjab MLA Shooting Incident

Delhi Encounter News: A Dramatic encounter unfolded in the upscale VVIP area of Vasant Kunj in the heart of Delhi as the Special Cell of the Delhi Police engaged in a fierce gunfight with shooters associated with the Notorious Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The exchange of heavy gunfire transpired between the law enforcement officers and the assailants, resulting in the apprehension of two individuals, including a minor, affiliated with the Lawrence gang. The arrested shooters have a history entangled with numerous criminal cases.

This development follows the recent arrest made by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, where two shooters linked to the Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi gang were apprehended. The individuals in question, identified as Akash and Akhil, hail from Sonepat and Charkhi Dadri in Haryana. Notably, these are the same shooters implicated in the shooting incident at the residence of a former Punjab MLA on December 3, 2023.

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Investigations conducted by the police have uncovered that both Akash and Akhil were directly involved in firing upon the house of former Punjab MLA Deep Malhotra. The motive behind the shooting was revealed to be orchestrated by Abroad-based gangster Goldy Brar, who allegedly sent threatening voice notes to the former MLA before demanding a ransom.

The Encounter in Vasant Kunj adds a layer of intensity to the ongoing crackdown on criminal networks operating in the region, particularly those associated with Lawrence Bishnoi's gang. The apprehension of these shooters is expected to shed light on the broader criminal activities and connections prevalent in the underworld, emphasizing the relentless efforts of the Delhi Police to maintain law and order in the city.

(For More News Apart from Delhi Encounter News, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman)

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PM Modi Most Popular Global Leader News

Indian Prime Minister Leads World Leaders, Maintains Double-Digit Lead Over Closest Rival

PM Modi Most Popular Global Leader News: In a testament to his enduring popularity on the global stage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again secured the top spot in the 'Morning Consult' survey, affirming his position as one of the most admired leaders worldwide. The survey, conducted by the American consulting firm, reveals that an impressive 76 percent of people in India approve of Prime Minister Modi's leadership, showcasing a remarkable 10 percent lead over the second-ranked leader.

The 'Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker' also highlights that 18 percent of respondents in India do not agree with Prime Minister Modi's leadership, while six percent remained neutral in their response. This resounding endorsement places him ahead of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez, who holds the second position in the ranking.

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The data, collected between November 29 and December 5, underscores Prime Minister Modi's consistent dominance in global leader approval ratings. Notably, he has retained the top position in this list for several consecutive years. In comparison, U.S. President Joe Biden secured the eighth spot, showcasing the broad international spectrum covered by the survey.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni secured the sixth position with a commendable 41 percent approval rating. The comprehensive survey, conducted by political intelligence research firm Morning Consult, encompassed the views of 22 world leaders.

The list of the top 10 leaders in global approval ratings includes:

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Narendra Modi - India - 76

Andres Manuel Lopez - Mexico - 66

Alain Berset - Switzerland - 58

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - Brazil - 49

Anthony Albanese - Australia - 47

Giorgia Meloni - Italy - 41

Alexander De Croo - Belgium - 37

Joe Biden - USA - 37

Pedro Sanchez - Spain - 37

Leo Varadkar - Ireland - 36

This weekly release of approval ratings by Morning Consult consistently positions Prime Minister Modi with a remarkable approval rating exceeding 70 percent. As the world continues to grapple with dynamic challenges, the enduring popularity of leaders like Prime Minister Modi reflects their ability to resonate with their constituents on a global scale.

(For More News Apart from PM Modi Most Popular Global Leader News, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman)

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Punjab News Latest: Giani Harpreet Singh

Former Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib Highlights Alarming Trend, Calls Out Governments for Inaction

Punjab News Latest: Giani Harpreet Singh, the former Jathedar Singh Sahib of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the current Jathedar Singh Sahib of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, has voiced deep concern over the escalating issue of gangsterism and target killings in Punjab. In a live address, he highlighted the rampant sale and purchase of drugs in the state while expressing dismay at the passive stance of the governments.

Addressing the Sikh community, Giani Harpreet Singh emphasized the need to address the critical situation where Sikhs are facing violence abroad. He reminded the audience of Punjab's historical legacy, known for giving birth to brave warriors such as Baba Banda Singh ji and the valiant Baba Deep Singh ji. Despite their heroic contributions, he lamented that the current society often perceives them as mere bandits, overlooking their moral standing.

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Giani Harpreet Singh underscored the emergence of a troubling phenomenon in Punjab, characterized by the proliferation of gangsterism and target killings. What adds to the concern is the alleged involvement of intelligence agencies from different countries in using these gangsters for their own interests. He cited specific incidents, including the murders of Hardeep Nijjar in Canada, Ripudaman Singh Malik, and Paramjit Singh Panjwar in Pakistan.

The Sikh leader's remarks shed light on the multifaceted challenges facing Punjab, where criminal activities intertwine with external influences. The increasing instances of gangsterism, coupled with the exploitation of these elements by intelligence agencies, pose a severe threat to the state's peace and security. Giani Harpreet Singh's outspoken statement serves as a call to action, urging the governments to address the pressing issues and take decisive measures against the rising tide of criminality.

(For More News Apart from Punjab News Latest, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman)


Punjab Weather Update Today

Winter Chill Grips Punjab: Meteorological Department Issues Weather Alert

Punjab Weather Update: As Winter tightens its grip on Punjab, Ludhiana takes the lead as the coldest city in the state, marking a significant drop in temperatures. The onset of chilly weather is accompanied by a dense white sheet of fog blanketing the region during the morning and evening hours, causing reduced visibility and posing challenges for motorists. The Meteorological Department has issued an alert, urging residents to stay informed about the evolving weather conditions.

In the current forecast, the Meteorological Department predicts a day with cloudy skies and sunshine in Punjab. The maximum temperature may reach up to 24 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature is projected to dip to 10 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists have issued a cautionary advisory for extreme cold in the upcoming days. The police administration advises drivers to exercise caution in the fog, suggesting refraining from drug use and mobile phone distractions while driving. Additionally, timely departures are encouraged to avoid delays, and overtaking during foggy conditions is strongly discouraged. In case of vehicle breakdowns, activating emergency lights and standing outside the vehicle for safety are recommended practices.

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The night temperatures are on a downward trajectory across the state, with Ludhiana registering as the coldest city on Friday. Recording a minimum temperature of 5.7 degrees Celsius, which is 2.6 degrees Celsius below the normal range. Other cities like Jalandhar, Faridkot, and Moga also experienced cold temperatures ranging from 6.4 to 6.6 degrees Celsius. Similarly, Patiala, Chandigarh, and Bathinda reported minimum temperatures of 8.5, 9.3, and 7.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The Meteorological Department warns of dense fog in many districts on Saturday morning, potentially causing a further drop of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius in minimum temperatures. Residents are advised to stay vigilant and take necessary precautions amidst the winter weather conditions.

(For More News Apart from Punjab Weather Update News, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman)


Leah Watters and another employee of Watts Media had wrapped up a meeting with a client on Dec. 4, and were just debriefing around their meeting table, located on the second floor of the Majestic Building, when they suddenly smelled smoke.

"It happened so fast," she recalled. "We started smelling almost-burning brakes."

"I opened up the door to the hallway and the hallway was just filled with smoke."

Watters, her coworker and a couple other people who were in nearby offices all rushed out the back stairs together.

The ensuing three-alarm fire forced the evacuation of all the tenants of the Majestic Building, and shut down a block of Bijou Street for much of the day.

Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesperson Ashley Franco told The Gazette that there were no injuries reported from the fire. As of Friday, the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Some portions of the building have come back into use. On the southern end of the building, along the alleyway, the bar Shame & Regret, along with To the Grave Tattoo, have already reopened, as has the UPS store on the western end of Bijou. The businesses closer to the northeast corner of the L-shaped building, and those on the second floor, have not been as lucky. Retailers Yobel and The Local Honey Co. both report that much of their stock was too damaged by soot and smoke to sell. Taste of Jerusalem suffered significant damage and does not have a reopening date yet.

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On Friday, the Icons nightclub Instagram account posted a video announcing the business would remain closed through at least Dec. 18 for smoke and soot mitigation.

"We have 14 employees that are out of work right before the holidays, and it's pretty horrific," says one of the owners in the video.

For Watters and Watts Media, the road to reopening their physical space will take longer.

"At least for our office, the doors were broken down, holes punched in the drywall with some scorch marks," Watters said.

She hopes most of the damage is just superficial, and that ongoing air quality remediation and testing goes well. Until then, she says second-story tenants are only being allowed to enter their units and survey the damage if they wear N95 masks.

Building tenants are all working with their insurance companies to see what is salvageable, and what is reimbursable.

Watters hopes most of her company's lighting and video equipment will be OK, "but we feel very fortunate, because photo and video isn't our only revenue stream. We're honestly more hurt for the retail businesses on the first floor."
Activa electric will be based on the existing platform and come with a fixed battery setup

Although late in the two-wheeler EV race, Honda is getting ready to shake up things with multiple new launches. For Indian market, Hondas first offering will be an electric version of its top selling Activa scooter. Active electric is expected to make its global debut at upcoming Customer Electronic Show (CES). The event is scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, USA, from 9th to 12th January 2024.

Activa electric  What to expect?

Honda has been working on Activa electric for a long time. It appears that the project has been delayed. In 2020, Honda had even dismissed talks about the launch of Activa electric. Primary constraints pointed out by Honda at that time included the battery pricing and lack of adequate charging infrastructure. As things have evolved significantly over the last three years, Honda is getting ready to launch Activa electric.

At 2024 CES, Honda will be showcasing a range of new products including its EV series models meant for global markets. Some of Hondas newest technologies and innovations will also be showcased. Activa electric will be one of the key products to be showcased at the event. It is likely to be unveiled as a concept. Activa electric will play a key role in achieving Hondas electrification goals. The company has plans to achieve 100% electrification via EV and FCEV vehicles by 2040.

Activa electric will be getting a fixed-battery setup. It will have a top speed of around 50 kmph. Honda will focus on range, instead of prioritizing things like speed and performance. A fixed battery setup could be a disappointment for folks living in multi-storey apartments that dont have charging infrastructure. But not for long, as Honda will introduce its second electric scooter, soon after launching Activa electric.

The second electric scooter will be a high-performance e-scooter and come with swappable battery setup. It will be based on a born-electric platform. In comparison, Activa electric will use a tweaked version of the existing platform in use with ICE Activa.

Activa electric India launch

Post its global debut, Activa electric could be made available in India by the first half of 2024. Activa is currently the top selling scooter in the country. It makes sense to use the same brand name to power the electric version. India is likely to be the first country to get Activa electric. Honda will also be actively targeting export markets.

Talking about competition, the electric two-wheeler segment already seems crowded in India. However, the majority of the sales is contributed by the top 4-5 brands. Bestselling startups in this space include Ola Electric, Ather Electric and Greaves Electric. Established players include TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp. Activa electric will take on rivals such as Ola S1, TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak and Ather 450X.
Sub-compact SUVs saw a YoY sales growth in November 2023 but MoM sales were in the negative for all models on this list save for Hyundai Exter and Mahindra Thar

Following our earlier report on mid-size SUV sales in the 4.4m to 4.7m segment, that saw the likes of Mahindra Scorpio/N and XUV700 top the list, we now assess sales of the sub-compact SUV segment. In this 3.8m to 4m category, it was Tata Nexon and Punch that accounted for highest sales while models such as Maruti Brezza and Hyundai Venue also contributed good numbers.

Sub-Compact SUV Sales Nov 2023  Year-on-Year Growth

Total sales in the sub-compact SUV segment stood at 1,02,317 units in November 2023, up 30.89 percent when compared to 78,169 units sold in November 2022. It was however an 8.01 percent MoM decline from 1,11,224 units sold in October 2023.

It was Tata Nexon that saw most sales in this segment despite a YoY and MoM de-growth. Nexon sales stood at 14,916 units in the past month, down 6.02 percent YoY from 15,871 units sold in November 2022 to command a 14.58 percent market share. At No. 2, also from Tata stables was the Punch reporting an 18.56 percent YoY increase in sales to 14,383 units, up from 12,131 units sold in November 2022.

YoY sales growth was also seen in the case of Maruti Brezza that improved by 18.27 percent to 13,3939 units in the past month from 11,324 units sold in November 2022 while Hyundai Venue sales grew by 4.12 percent to 11,180 units when compared to 10,738 units sold in November 2022. There were three relatively newcomers to this list. Maruti Fronx saw sales of 9,867 units last month. It was also the new Hyundai Exter at No. 7 with 8,325 units sold and lower down the order at No. 12 was the Maruti Jimny with 1,020 units sold in November 2023.

Mahindra Bolero featured at No. 6 with 9,333 units sold last month, up 16.90 percent from 7,984 units sold in November 2022, a volume growth of 1,349 units. Kia Sonet sales dipped 17.88 percent to 6,433 units due to the fact that buyers await the new Sonet facelift which has been actively teased ahead of launch. More recently a brochure has revealed some of the outstanding features and technology that it will bring in with a debut planned for 14th December 2023.

Mahindra Thar has posted a 45.72 percent YoY growth to 5,810 units from 3,987 units sold in November 2022 while Mahindra XUV300 saw its sales dip by 20.84 percent to 4,673 units on a YoY basis. There was also Nissan Magnite on this list with 2,454 units sold and a 2.38 percent YoY growth while Renault Kiger sales dipped 76.73 percent YoY to just 530 units whereas the company had sold 2,278 units in the same month a year ago.

Sub-Compact SUV Sales Nov 2023  Month-on-Month Decline

On a MoM basis, almost every sub-compact SUV has seen lower sales. It was only the Hyundai Exter, at No. 7 on this list that has posted a 2.82 percent growth to 8,325 units and Mahindra Thar at No. 10 that saw a 3.88 percent growth in sales to 5,810 units in November 2023. Tata Nexon MoM sales dipped by 11.67 percent from 16,887 units sold in October 2023 while Punch sales dipped 6.10 percent from 15,317 units sold in the previous month.

Maruti Brezza (16,050 units) and Hyundai Venue (11,581 units) posted 16.55 percent and 3.46 percent Mom de-growth respectively. Maruti Fronx (11,357 units) and Mahindra Bolero (9,647 units) also saw sales decline on a MoM basis while Kia Sonet (6,493 units), Mahindra XUV300, Nissan Magnite, Maruti Jimny and Renault Kiger each have seen sales decline MoM in November 2023 when compared to sales in October 2023.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to add a statement from Gov. Jared Polis' office.

El Paso County commissioners on Friday announced a planned temporary reduction to the county property tax rate, an effort officials said will provide residents millions of dollars in "tangible relief" from increased property taxes next year.

The Board of El Paso County Commissioners expects to vote Jan. 9 to cap the county's 2023 property tax rate for taxes payable in 2024, called a mill levy, at 7.041 mills. This proposed tax rate is down from the current 7.732 mills.

The credit will reduce county property taxes by a collective $20.5 million, or nearly 20%, Commissioners Carrie Geitner, Stan VanderWerf and Longinos Gonzalez said during an afternoon news conference.

[Click HERE to calculate estimated property taxes]

[Click HERE to go to El Paso County assessor's site]

The property tax rate reduction will apply to all privately-owned properties, they said.

VanderWerf called the county property tax cap "essential" because many residents have been "hit pretty hard" by increasing property tax assessments.

"They need that relief," he said.

Commissioners said though the county's action to reduce its mill levy comes after changes the Colorado Legislature recently made during a special session to provide property tax relief, El Paso County had always planned to cap its property tax rate.

Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR, restricts the amount of overall property tax revenues local governments can collect each year, using a formula based on population growth.

The county's longstanding practice has been to reduce its property tax rate instead of collecting revenues over the TABOR limit, commissioners said. Governments must either refund excess revenues back to taxpayers or obtain voter approval to allow the government to retain them.

"Our residents were always going to get that reduction thanks to that TABOR cap," Geitner said.

The Colorado Springs City Council on Nov. 28 similarly voted to limit the city's 2024 property tax rate to stay within TABOR limits, a credit Chief Financial Officer Charae McDaniel expects will total about $6.2 million next year.

County commissioners said Friday the county sized its property tax credit so it is estimated to collect only what El Paso County can retain under TABOR. Revenues expected to be over that cap are provided back to taxpayers through the credit.

Late last week Gov. Jared Polis asked local governments to reduce their property tax rates to offer more relief to homeowners. Colorado legislators recently adopted in a special session new laws that reduce the assessment ratio and increase the amount homeowners can claim for exemption when calculating tax liability.

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The state reduction covers only residential properties.

Gonzalez said Friday Polis' ask of local governments was "insulting to the public and misleading to the public."

"He's taking credit for something we  that most governments  were already going to do," Gonzalez said.

In a written statement Polis spokesperson Shelby Wieman said, in part, the state's "tax cut will also benefit El Paso County residents on top of the actions of commissioners."

The new state legislation subtracts $55,000 per home from state property tax valuation and reduces the residential assessment rate to 6.7%, down from 6.765%. For a $500,000 home, state officials expect the savings will be on average $505 in 2023 property tax bills.

El Paso County homeowners living in a $400,000 home can expect to pay $163 in county property taxes next year. For a $500,000 home, that amount is expected to be $210.

Similarly, for county homeowners who live in Colorado Springs, those living in a $400,000 home can expect to pay $83 in city property taxes next year. For a $500,000 home, that amount is expected to be $107 in city property taxes.

Residential property owners can calculate their residential assessed value by taking the actual value of their home, subtracting $55,000, and multiplying that number by .067.

To calculate property taxes, multiply the assessed value by the overall mill levy rate, which should first be divided by 1,000.

Overall mill levy rates include those from all taxing authorities including cities, counties, school districts and special districts, which set tax rates and levy the tax on a property.

El Paso County property owners can find their property's market value and all of the respective taxing entities on the county assessor's website at property.spatialest.com/co/elpaso.

Once the property is located on the website, scroll down the page to the "Tax Entity and Levy Information" section, which provides all the taxing entities and their levies for that specific property.

The Board of El Paso County Commissioners is scheduled to formally establish the new county property tax rate next month when the board adopts the 2024 county budget. Commissioners were originally scheduled to vote on the spending plan Dec. 5, but that date was pushed back due to the recent changes made by the Colorado Legislature.

El Paso County finance officials estimate the county will collect $83.4 million in property tax revenues in 2024.

Property taxes fund public schools, county and municipal governments, libraries and special districts.
A series of crashes on Interstate 70 on Friday made it extremely challenging for motorists attempting to traverse Colorado's primary east/west artery.

I-70 was closed for several hours in Golden, Glenwood Springs and Parachute due to four separate crashes.

Matt Inzeo, a spokesman with the Colorado Department of Transportation, said in Golden an oversized and overweight vehicle hit the C-470 bridge that spans over I-70 just after 11 a.m., forcing crews to first remove the obstruction and then inspect the bridge's integrity.

Golden police said westbound I-70 was shut down at milemarker 260 and westbound traffic was rerouted onto C-470. The closure lasted more than five hours.

"The critical issue in a spot like that, that really is where so much of the high country traffic is funneling," Inzeo said.

Images provided by the Colorado State Patrol on the social media platform X showed the oversized semi-truck wedged under the bridge.

Inzeo said he had not heard of any injuries in the crash, but added that CDOT is not the agency that would be responding to injuries.

The Colorado State Patrol said on X that the interstate would remain closed while they investigated the crash along with CDOT.

The state patrol said the oversized load was cleared from the roadway around 2:30 p.m. and a CDOT crew inspected the bridge.

The westbound lanes were reopened around 4:15 p.m. after crews on the ground completed their inspection of the bridge.

State troopers also said crews were scheduled to repair the damage done to the interstate when the oversized load was dragged clear.

A call to the Colorado State Patrol seeking additional information was not immediately returned.

Amazon trucks involved in 18-vehicle pileup near Parachute

At least two Amazon trucks were involved in an 18-vehicle crash on I-70 between Parachute and De Beque on Friday.

Images posted on the social media platform X showed the Amazon semi-trucks and CDOT confirmed the authenticity of the photos.

When asked whether the crashes could impact the delivery of packages during the busy holiday season, an Amazon spokesperson told The Denver Gazette they would check and provide more information as soon as possible.

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The Amazon spokesperson said customers can contact Amazon Customer Service for package status updates.

The westbound lanes of I-70 were shut down 2 miles west of Parachute after the 18-vehicle pileup which happened just after 11 a.m. Friday, CDOT said.

Inzeo said snow was on the ground at the time of the crash.

"It just underlines on these days when the weather in Colorado changes really quickly, drivers are going to need to be prepaed to change their approach really quickly," Inzeo said.

The closure was between exit 72 (west Parachute) and exit 62 (De Beque).

Inzeo said CDOT had not received any reports of injuries related to the crash, but again stressed CDOT would not be responding to the injuries.

Crashes near Glenwood shut down traffic

There were two separate crashes near Glenwood on Friday that impacted travel as well.

The first crash happened near exit 114 in Glenwood around 10:20 a.m.

CDOT said both directions of I-70 were closed between exit 111 (South Canyon) and exit 114 (West Glenwood), according to social media posts on X.

The westbound lanes were reopened around 1:30 p.m. Eastbound traffic was being diverted around the crash by using the exit 114 off-ramp and on-ramp for a time before it was eventually reopened just before 2 p.m.

Inzeo said the crash involved a semi-truck and there was fresh snow on the ground at the time of the crash.

A separate pileup crash at Hanging Lake tunnel also caused travel problems on I-70 on Friday. The crash happened around 2:36 p.m., Inzeo said.

Eastbound I-70 was closed between Exit 125 (Hanging Lake) and exit 129 (Bair Ranch) due to a pileup at Hanging Lake tunnel, CDOT said in a social media post on X. Eventually, CDOT closed the eastbound lanes at exit 114 to prevent more vehicles from heading up the canyon toward the pileup.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Friday that a man deputies encountered outside the scene where four people were found dead in unincorporated El Paso County has been released from the hospital.

According a Nov. 7 release from the EPCSO, the man had non-life-threatening injuries.

The call came in for a shooting Nov. 6 around 11:40 p.m., the Sheriff's Office said. Deputies responded to the 21000 block of Akawi Way in a neighborhood 8 miles northeast of Peyton.

The injured man met deputies outside and received medical attention at the scene as responders called in SWAT to enter the residence, the Sheriff's Office said.

According to the EPCSO, the man has been treated and released. Information is still forthcoming on the deaths of the four others inside the house. The EPSCO said on Thursday that "all involved parties were accounted for" and that there was no current threat to the public.

A spokesperson with the El Paso County Coroner's Office said that the names of the victims would not be released until at least Monday.
The Azerbaijani delegation continues its participation in several panel sessions at COP 28 (the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), and hosts guests at the Azerbaijani pavilion, Azernews reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan.

The Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Jim Skea visited the Azerbaijani pavilion.

During the meeting with the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev at the Azerbaijani pavilion, they discussed issues related to studying climate change risks in Azerbaijan, conducting scientific research in the Caspian region, and involving Azerbaijani scientists in the preparation of the report for the 7th assessment cycle.

The visitors the Azerbaijani pavilion included Patricia Espinosa, who served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Government for a long time and was the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2016 through 2022, as well as members of the delegation which represented Mexico at COP 28.

During the bilateral meeting, discussions focused on the steps taken by Azerbaijan in the field of climate change, the country's contribution to global efforts, and the importance of regional and international cooperation in this area.

Azerbaijan opened its pavilion at the COP 28 in Dubai on December 1. The national pavilion was established through the joint organization of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan within the framework of COP 28 which is being held from November 30 through December 12.

The concept of the pavilion is based on the rich flora and fauna of Azerbaijan.

The interactive pavilion showcases information on Azerbaijan's climate change policy, the government's measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and other related projects.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal declared that the Supreme Court has unveiled SUVAS, an Artificial Intelligence-powered machine-assisted translation tool. This initiative aims to improve the accessibility of legal proceedings by facilitating translations into regional languages.

Meghwal revealed that SUVAS, developed with technical support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is specifically tailored for the judicial domain. Currently capable of translating English judicial documents, orders, or judgments into eleven vernacular languages, this initiative aims to address the need for justice in people's regional languages.

Responding to BJP leader Harnath Singh Yadav's inquiry during a session in the Rajya Sabha, Meghwal emphasized the importance of linguistic inclusivity in the legal system. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also echoed this sentiment, highlighting the Supreme Court's commitment to reaching a broader section of Indian society.

In a significant development, Chief Justice of India Chandrachud highlighted that the Kesavananda Bharati verdict, a pivotal judgment establishing the "basic structure doctrine" of the Constitution, is now accessible in 10 Indian languages through the Supreme Court's website. This initiative aligns with the Court's endeavors to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kesavananda Bharati case in 2023.

Moreover, the Chief Justice pointed out that the SC has undertaken the translation of a video related to the case into 10 Indian languages, including English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Malayalam, Gujarati, Kannada, Assamese, and Marathi. This initiative underscores the Supreme Court's commitment to making legal information more accessible and understandable to a diverse and multilingual population.

Emphasizing the ongoing commitment of the Court in this regard, Chief Justice Chandrachud noted that 20,000 judgments have been successfully uploaded on the e-SCR portal of the court's website. This underscores a persistent dedication to transparency and inclusivity in the dissemination of legal information from Independence to the present day.
Finer's participation in the Global Technology Summit during bilateral talks signifies a shared commitment to technological advancements, fostering collaboration for industry competitiveness and bridging the gap between India and the United States.

FREMONT, CA: In the fast-paced world of technology, collaboration between nations has become essential for fostering innovation and addressing global challenges. The partnership between India and the US in the technological domain has witnessed significant advancements, contributing to the bilateral relationship and shaping the future of various industries.

Jonathan Finer, the Principal Deputy National Security Adviser of the United States, marks a significant development in the ongoing strengthening of ties between India and the US. This diplomatic interaction follows the precedent set by the visit of US NSA Jake Sullivan to India and the reciprocal visit of India's NSA Ajit Doval to the US.

The focal point of this interaction was the comprehensive review of the Indian-US initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iCET), a joint endeavor initiated by Prime Minister Modi and President Biden. This initiative aims to foster outcome-oriented cooperation in cutting-edge technologies. Deputy NSAs Finer and Misri carefully assessed the progress made under the iCET framework, expressing contentment with the ongoing collaborations across various domains.

Their discussions centered around semiconductors, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), defense, and advanced telecommunications. The deputy NSAs acknowledged the substantial strides achieved through interactions involving governments, industry, academia, and various stakeholders.

The collaboration between India and the US in information technology and software development has been a cornerstone of their technological partnership. Indian IT professionals and American companies have been working together for decades, creating a symbiotic relationship that has propelled both nations to the forefront of the tech industry. Joint ventures, research and development initiatives, and knowledge sharing have resulted in cutting-edge solutions and products that cater to global markets.

Demonstrating their commitment, Finer and Misri emphasized expanding the iCET framework to include biotechnology, critical minerals, rare earth processing technologies, and advanced materials.

The diplomatic visit included strategic meetings, where Finer engaged with NAS Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The discussion underscored the mutual dedication to elevating the bilateral strategic partnership, with a particular focus on easing regulations to facilitate high-tech collaborations and technology transfer.

The significance of the visit extends beyond bilateral talks, as Finer's participation in the Global Technology Summit adds an extra layer to this diplomatic exchange. It highlights the shared pursuit of technological advancements, bridging the gap between India and the United States. The stage is set for deeper collaborations, leveraging the immense potential that lies in the fusion of domestic initiatives and the enhancement of industry competitiveness in both nations.
Biden's nomination of an accomplished Indian American venture capitalist to the IDFC board showcases a commitment to diversity and private sector influence in international development, fostering global collaboration

With a dedication to diversity and proficiency, President Biden has nominated prominent Indian American venture capitalist Deven Parekh to serve on the Board of Directors of the US International Development Finance Cooperation (IDFC). This choice highlights the administration's emphasis on recruiting individuals with extensive expertise in global finance and investment to support US development objectives.

Having worked across numerous decades, Parekh has been instrumental in influencing the structure of the global venture capital scene. His expertise lies in identifying and nurturing innovative startups with the potential to drive economic growth and create jobs. This nomination recognises his achievement and acknowledges the increasing significance of venture capital in fostering innovation and economic development.

The IDFC, as the primary development finance institution of the United States government, plays a crucial role in supporting projects that promote economic growth and poverty reduction in emerging markets. By nominating a seasoned venture capitalist to its Board of Directors, President Biden is signalling a strategic move to leverage private sector expertise in achieving the development goals of the United States.

The nomination is significant in fostering stronger ties between the US and India, the two major economies with shared values and interests. Parekhs Indian heritage brings a unique perspective that contributes to enhancing economic cooperation and understanding between the two nations. This aligns with the Biden administrations commitment to strengthening diplomatic and economic partnerships to address global challenges collectively.

Parekh is increasingly recognized as a driving force behind innovation and job creation. By appointing an individual with a background in this dynamic field to the IDFC Board, President Biden is acknowledging the importance of leveraging private sector insights to advance the United States' development agenda. This move aligns with the broader trend of public-private partnerships, reflecting a recognition that collaboration between government and the private sector is essential for achieving sustainable development goals.

Parekhs experience in global venture capital positions them well to contribute to the IDFCs efforts in fostering inclusive and sustainable development. Their insights into emerging markets, innovative business models, and technology-driven solutions are instrumental in identifying and supporting projects that address pressing global challenges, including climate change, healthcare, and education.

They expected to receive bipartisan support, reflecting the recognition of the nominee's qualifications and the broader consensus on the importance of diverse perspectives in governance. The IDFC Board, with its new member, is poised to make informed and strategic decisions that align with the evolving landscape of international development and finance.

President Biden's nomination of an Indian American to the IDFC board is a commendable step towards infusing private sector expertise into international development. The move reflects a commitment to diversity, collaboration, and leveraging individual talents for the collective benefit of the United States and the global community. As Parekh prepares to take on this significant role, there is optimism about the positive impact their expertise has on shaping the future direction of development finance and fostering stronger ties between nations in the pursuit of shared goals.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Three cheers for three new nonagenarians  all longtime Staten Island residents  who marked their 90th birthday milestones together in the Marina Cafe at Great Kills Harbor, where they made merry and celebrated their lives.

Meet Florence Blinder, Mary Grace Tagliani and Ann Scarmato!

To round out the day, 70 members of the 55+ Club at St. Patricks R.C. Church were on hand to cheer them on and sing the Birthday Song.

The birthday bash would also serve as a way to laud their dedication and longtime commitment to Staten Island.

And according to Ed Brett, coordinator of the 55+ Club, the ladies are quick-witted, active, warm, and dedicated to causes near and dear to their hearts.

A LITTLE ABOUT THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS LIVES

FLORENCE BLINDER

Florence relocated to Great Kills from the Bronx 54 years ago.

She is married to Joseph and the coupe are the parents of three children, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

The birthday celebrant is proud of her continued support of the Arden Heights Jewish Center, and still enjoys her weekly meetings at St. Patricks. Florence worked in all aspects of office management during her younger years.

An interesting fact about Florence: The Blinders have flown 36 times to visit family in South America.

MARY GRACE TAGLIANI

Mary Grace moved to the historic Richmond Town area from Dyker Heights, Brooklyn 60 years ago.

She and husband Louis were married for 62 years.

The birthday girl continues to be proud of her three sons and two grandchildren.

A faithful parishioner of St. Patricks R.C. Church, she also boasts of her affiliation with the Great Kills Swim Club and the St. Pats 55+ Club  and enjoys reflecting on her service as an elementary school teacher at PS 23 and PS 69.

An interesting fact: The first year of the couples retirement Grace and Louis sailed around the world.

ANN SCARMATO

Ann moved to Oakwood from Park Slope, Brooklyn 61 years ago.

Her husband, Joe, passed away in 1990.

Ann raised five children, is the grandmother of seven grandchildren and great-grandmother of five.

An active parishioner in St. Charles Parish, the lively senior participates in book club projects, the Red Hats, The Grandmothers Club, the Italian-American Women of Staten Island Coub and the 55+ Club at St. Patricks R.C. Church.

During her younger years, she worked as an administrator for United Cerebral Palsy.

Anns interesting fact is that shes been on 60 cruises.

THEIR PHILOSOPHIES ON LIFE

The ladies attribute their longevity to a great many things  good genes, good doctors, staying busy, exercising, and having a good marriage  and Florence says having grandparents who lived into their mid-90s.

What did they like most about living on the Staten Islands South Shore?

They all singled out its small-town feel and the friendliness of the people theyve met throughout the years  and along the way.

THEIR HAPPIEST MOMENTS

When queried about the happiest moments of their lives, they all gave the same answer: When they married their husbands, so many memories ago.
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP)  A judge sentenced a Michigan teenager to life in prison Friday for killing four students and terrorizing others at Oxford High School, after listening to hours of gripping anguish from parents and wounded survivors.

Judge Kwame Rowe rejected pleas from defense lawyers for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.

Moments before learning his fate, the teen apologized and appeared to agree with his victims that the stiffest punishment was appropriate.

Ethan Crumbly stands and addresses the court before being sentenced, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Crumbly sentenced to life in prison for killing four students, wounding more and terrorizing Michigan's Oxford High School in 2021. A judge Friday rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP

Any sentence that they ask for, I ask that you do impose it on me, the shooter said. I want them to be happy, and I want them to feel secure and safe. I do not want them to worry another day. I really am sorry for what Ive done. ... But I can try my best in the future to help other people, and that is what I will do.

Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the states highest court said the acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults. But Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said a no-parole order fit the Oxford case.

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald stands next to Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, before his victim impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether Ethan Crumbley, a teenager, will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP

Its not a moment to celebrate, McDonald said outside court. Its tragic. And the voices today, I think, profoundly show that.

Indeed, Rowes decision followed deeply emotional remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who said the tragedy had irreparably turned their lives upside down.

Ethan Crumbley is escorted out of court, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether a teenager will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool)AP

Crumbley, who was 15 when he committed the shooting, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and terrorism. He brought a gun to school, but his backpack was never checked, even after his parents were summoned that same day about their sons drawings, which included a gun and words: The thoughts wont stop. Help me.

I am a really bad person. Ive done terrible things, Crumbley said in court Friday.

Ethan Crumbly, foreground, looks downward as victim family members listen to impact statements, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Crumbly was sentenced to life in prison for killing four students, wounding more and terrorizing Michigan's Oxford High School in 2021. A judge Friday rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP

The judge said the shooting was planned well in advance, and he noted that the shooter had plenty of time to stop as he walked through school.

Rowe was especially troubled by how victim Hana St. Juliana was repeatedly shot and that another, Justin Shilling, was shot at point-blank range in a bathroom while another student was forced to watch. He described it as execution and torture.

The court cannot ignore the deep trauma caused to the state of Michigan and the Oxford community, the judge said.

Kylie Ossege describes in detail how she had urged Hana St. Juliana a "thousand times" to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet, during her impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether a teenager will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Ethan Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool)AP

Earlier, Rowe allowed a framed photo of Tate Myre to be placed near him while the slain teens father spoke.

We are miserable. We miss Tate, Buck Myre said. Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed  ever.

Nicole Beausoleil recalled seeing the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, at the medical examiners office, her hand with blue-painted fingernails sticking out from a covering.

Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, wipes his eyes as he gives his victim impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether Ethan Crumbley, a teenager, will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP

I looked though the glass. My scream should have shattered it, Beausoleil said.

Shillings mother, Jill Soave, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have helped him navigate awkward teenage years.

If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend  if only you had asked, Soave said.

Ethan Crumbly, foreground, looks downward as victim family members listen to impact statements, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Crumbly was sentenced to life in prison for killing four students, wounding more and terrorizing Michigan's Oxford High School in 2021. A judge Friday rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP

Kylie Ossege explained how she had urged St. Juliana a thousand times to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet. Her classmate died.

Ossege, now a college student, was shot and continues to struggle with daily pain from spinal injuries.

Being able to swing a leg over my horse is my therapy. It is pure joy, she said of Blaze. I have not been able to do it for two years.

Crumbleys defense team urged the judge to give him a chance to turn his life around and become eligible for parole. A court-appointed guardian, lawyer Deborah McKelvy, said the teen was not the same person, two years after the murders.

He is a bright young man, she told the judge. He is an artist. He is a historian. There are days I have been oblivious sitting in a cell for three hours just talking to him. His life is salvageable.

Judge Kwame Rowe presides over the sentencing hearing of Ethan Crumbley, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as the judge considered whether Crumbley, a teenager, will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool)AP

Defense lawyer Paulette Michel Loftin said Crumbley has improved with medication and mental health care.

He is remorseful. He has been able to keep out the dark voices and thoughts, Loftin said.

But victims werent impressed.

There can be no rehabilitation, St. Julianas father, Steve St. Juliana, told the judge. There is absolutely nothing the defendant can do to earn my forgiveness. His age plays no part.

Reina St. Juliana, sister of victim Hana St. Juliana, stands next to her father Steve and is hugged by prosecutor Karen McDonald after giving her impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether a teenager will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Ethan Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others.(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool)AP

In a journal, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. He made a video on the eve of the shooting, declaring what he would do the next day.

Linda Watson said her son Aiden, who was shot in the leg, still doesnt go to school for a full day. She recalled the family staying in a hotel because a nail gun being used in her neighborhood sounded like a real gun to him.

Aiden will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. ... This shooter  this monster  should have to feel everything hard and painful for the rest of his life, Watson said.

Meanwhile, parents Jennifer and James Crumbley are locked up in the county jail. They are awaiting trial on involuntary manslaughter charges, accused of making a gun accessible at home and neglecting their sons mental health.

The shooting happened in Oxford Township, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) north of Detroit. Besides the four students who were killed, six more students and a teacher also were wounded.

The Oxford school district hired an outside group to conduct an independent investigation. A report released in October said missteps at each level  school board, administrators, staff  contributed to the tragedy.

Crumbleys behavior in class, including looking at a shooting video and gun ammunition on his phone, should have identified him as a potential threat of violence, the report said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Park renovation plans and a proposal to move a hospitals behavioral health facility will be reviewed this week as two of Staten Islands three Community Boards hold public meetings.

Community Board 1

Community Board 1 will hold a meeting of its full board on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 6 :30 p.m. on the Wagner College campus.

New York State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton will address the board, as will Nicole Brooks, project manager for the city Parks Department. Additionally, representatives from the departments Revenue Division will present a design for the outdoor patio at a Parks Department facility, the Stone House at Clove Lakes Park.

The meeting will be held in the Manzulli Board Room of Foundation Hall, 170 Campus Rd. Parking is available in the Spiro Parking Lot. For additional parking, go to the main entrance at 631 Howard Ave. for instructions.

Community Board 2

The Parks & Environmental Protection Committee and the Health Services Committee will both meet on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. at 900 South Ave.

Design plans for the Midland Playground will be presented by representatives from the city Parks Department during the Parks Committee meeting.

During the Health Services Committee meeting, representatives of Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) will discuss the plan to relocate the hospitals OASAS-Certified Behavioral Health Adolescent Program from 444 St. Marks Place to 1130 South Ave.

This location currently houses RUMCs Center for Integrative Medicine and is already an established behavioral health facility in the community. Relocating the program to 1130 South Ave. will make it more easily accessible to adolescents on the South Shore, according to hospital representatives.

Community Board 3

Community Board 3 has no meetings scheduled for this week.

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

All Community Board meetings and meetings of their committees are open to the public. They provide an excellent opportunity for residents to learn about happenings in their neighborhood and surrounding areas.

Below is more information about the Islands three Community Boards:

COMMUNITY BOARD 1

Arlington  Castleton Corners  Clifton  Concord  Elm Park  Fort Wadsworth  Graniteville  Grymes Hill  Livingston  Mariners Harbor  New Brighton  Port Richmond  Randall Manor  Rosebank  St. George  Shore Acres  Silver Lake  Stapleton  Sunnyside  Tompkinsville  West Brighton  Westerleigh.

The board chairman is Nicholas Siclari. The district manager is Joan Cusack. The telephone number is 718-981-6900.

COMMUNITY BOARD 2

Arrochar  Bloomfield  Bulls Head  Chelsea  Dongan Hills  Egbertville  Emerson Hill  Grant City  Grasmere  High Rock  Lighthouse Hill  Midland Beach  New Dorp  New Springville  Oakwood  Ocean Breeze  Old Town  Richmond  South Beach  Todt Hill  Travis.

The phone number is 718-568-3581. The fax number is 718-568-3595. The chairman is Fred Guinta. The district manager is Debra A. Derrico.

COMMUNITY BOARD 3

Annadale  Arden Heights  Bay Terrace  Charleston  Eltingville  Great Kills  Greenridge  Huguenot  New Dorp  Oakwood  Pleasant Plains  Princes Bay  Richmond Valley  Richmond  Rossville  Tottenville  Woodrow.

The office phone number is 718-356-7900. The board chairman is Frank Morano; the district manager is Charlene Wagner.
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Watching the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case in recent days and weeks, it is impossible not to think of the Ben Roberts-Smith saga that came before it and which still rolls on.

Its not only because Lehrmanns lawyers also act for the war criminal or because both cases bring to mind that infamous Vietnam War phrase: we had to destroy the village in order to save it.

Bruce Lehrmann and Ben Roberts-Smith Credit: Jamie Brown

Lehrmann may yet win his defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson and claim vindication, but like Roberts-Smith, risks significant reputation damage in the pursuit of a court victory.

Both cases are ostensibly about the ability of news outlets to prove to a civil court standard the truth or otherwise of serious imputations arising from reporting, and yet both have morphed into something else.
Families are spending up to five years waiting for their child to see a paediatrician in parts of NSW, with hundreds of children on waitlists in regional areas.

Data from childrens health charity Royal Far West shows Tamworth had the longest wait time at five years, followed by Orange at 2.5 years and Bega with a waitlist of 18 months and 900 children, while Dubbo was no longer accepting behavioural referrals.

The Australian Medical Association of NSW has warned wait times in cities also extend to six months for non-urgent problems.

Royal Far West chief executive Jacqueline Emery warned the delays meant that children were often already in school by the time they saw a paediatrician and most of their brain had developed.

The mental window where you can have an impact and change the trajectory of that childs development is starting to close very fast.
Doctors and pharmacists are seeing a surge in requests for COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the Christmas break amid concerns about higher rates of the virus and visiting vulnerable loved ones.

Indicators such as sewage monitoring, test positivity rates and hospital activity suggest the virus has been circulating at higher levels since the start of November.

Pharmacist Kevin Santos says bookings for the COVID-19 vaccine have tripled ahead of Christmas. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

In September, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommended a second dose of the vaccine this year for those over 75 and severely immunocompromised people  and asked those over 65 to consider it.

But while the additional shot is not recommended for younger people  with ATAGI citing the comparably less severe illness experienced by younger people  many have been rolling up their sleeves.
An ex-immigration detainee arrested after emergency legislation was enacted following last months High Court decision has been accused of breaching his visa conditions by travelling across Melbourne outside his curfew.

Temesgen Tsegay Gebreyonas is the sixth former prisoner to allegedly break the law since a political furore erupted over the court ruling and the federal governments response.

The 36-year-old Eritrean-born man was arrested late on Friday in Melbournes west, after being released from detention on November 23. Gebreyonas appeared via video link from the downstairs holding cell in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday evening. There was no application for bail and he was remanded in custody to next appear before a Melbourne court on December 18.

Australian Federal Police first visited Gebreyonas at his residence on December 1 after receiving an alert the ankle monitor he is required to wear as part of his release conditions appeared to have a flat battery, according to the courts statement of facts.
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I am writing from the perspective of someone who has undergone four major surgeries over the past 10 years, all highly successful and life-changing in the sense that they allowed me to continue my favourite pastime of bushwalking ( Wrong-footed: Surgery under fire, December 3). This would have been impossible without these operations. Three of these operations (two back and one shoulder surgery) were carried out by leading surgeons from leading Sydney hospitals, and the one on my feet by a podiatric surgeon in a private Sydney practice. I have the highest and equal respect for the skills and know-how of all three surgeons involved, and I cannot see the relevance of my podiatric surgeon not having a medical degree. The delicate surgery he performed in straightening my badly deformed toes clearly required highly specialised knowledge and skills available only from a few practitioners like him.

Before engaging this podiatric surgeon I consulted a leading orthopaedic surgeon. His recommendation to have an operation to fuse my big toe filled me with alarm. Clearly podiatric and orthopaedic surgeons have different approaches and skill sets, and I see the move to discredit and deregister a highly skilled group of professionals as part of a turf war.

I am sure you can find questionable practitioners and bad outcomes in all areas of medical practice. I suggest that any review of the profession of podiatric surgeons should involve a balanced investigation that includes an independent comparative evaluation of their success rate and effectiveness with those of orthopaedic surgeons operating on feet. Hinda Kaunitz, Sydney

First cosmetic surgeons, but at least they have medical degrees; now podiatric surgeons who dont even have medical degrees? I had assumed that there is a registration process of some kind to ensure that we can be confident that the medical practitioners we seek help from have been formally assessed as competent to provide the services they offer. Apparently not. Now we hear about unqualified people operating on feet and destroying lives and livelihoods. How many more are out there? Where is government and the law on this? Why are we not protected? Michael McMullan, Avoca Beach

Surely every successful negligence action should mandate a report to the Health Care Complaints Commission in NSW (and its interstate counterparts). Lawyers are only employed to seek compensation for their client, not to protect the greater community, so the law must change to mandate a socially responsible policy of reporting all compensated acts of negligence.

Such a change has been hinted at in past medicolegal reviews. As a GP, I am sick of reading of cases of egregious practice where the negligent party was previously sued, and yet never taken before a medical or professional board. This must stop. Ben Balzer, Beverly Hills

What have the regulators been doing and why were these podiatrists allowed to get away with these surgeries for too long? It is understandable that people who do not have a scientific background would not know which specialists to consult, but at the very least, make it mandatory for podiatrists to only treat patients upon the referral of a general practitioner. Cristina Corleto, Stanmore
Venture capitalist Daniel Darling and his wife Sophie have bought on the Ben Buckler headland for $16 million, around the corner from the Darling familys oceanfront trophy home Deepwater House.

The purchase follows Darlings sale of his Point Piper art deco penthouse for $11 million to Bondi Beach-based Andrea Roberts, the wife of rich lister and Multiplex heir Andrew Roberts.

The Ben Buckler home of Carina and David Lavecky sold for $16 million to Daniel and Sophie Darling.

The Darlings new digs is a five-bedroom family home that was sold by Raine & Hornes Ric Serrao on behalf of fintech entrepreneur David Lavecky, chief and co-founder of global blockchain company Canvas, and his wife Carina.

The three-level house last traded in 2013 for $5.4 million when sold by Bell Potter Securities director James Unger.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Pending financial commitment from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (MECYS) the University of St. Martin (USM) is scheduled to join the universities of Aruba and Curacao in offering an academic foundation year for high school graduates wanting to successfully pursue an academic career at USM or abroad, as per August 2024.

Working in close collaboration with Dutch Kingdom partners USM revamped its already existing Pre-USM programme in a concerted effort to offer Sint Maarten secondary school graduates a three-track College and Career Foundation Year (CCFY) to prepare them for either: (1) study at USM or any liberal arts institution of higher education, (2) tertiary studies in the Netherlands or (3) entrance into the job market.

The programme has been ready since April 2023 and shared with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (MECYS), as well with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The total cost for running the programme is approximately USD 138,000; or just under USD 4.000 per student for an initial cohort of 36 participants. Nevertheless, MECYS has indicated that they are not ready to finance the programme until August of 2024, hence the delay.

Responding to confusion stirred in the local media concerning the academic foundation year, Dr. Carmona Baez sent written statements to the press explaining the non-compulsory character of this programme.

Contrary to what has been spread through print and social media, CCFY will not be compulsory. Nevertheless, ministries of education and institutions of higher education across the Kingdom of the Netherlands will encourage students to take advantage of the academic foundation year which will in part be subsidised by governments. USM wanted to kick-off the academic foundation year in August this year, but we are still waiting for MECYS to commit financially, said Carmona.

According to the USM press release, CCFY is born out of the need to raise the level of preparedness among country Sint Maartens youth for success in higher education and entry into the labour market. It coincides with the formation of the Strategic Education Alliance (SEA), which among other goals, seeks to synchronise a Caribbean foundation year program in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. CCFY takes into consideration the diverse secondary educational trajectories existing on the island of St. Martin (French system and GED included). USM has expressed its readiness since May 2023 to serve students from Saba and Sint Eustatius as well.

The advantage of completing a foundation year in Sint Maarten through the CCFY programme is that USM is founded on the liberal arts tradition, which allows qualifying students to obtain transferable undergraduate credits by taking introductory courses in the social sciences, humanities, and math, computer and natural sciences. For those who need a boost to enter college, they can find more support in CCFY in the areas of academic writing, math and foreign languages. Unlike Pre-USM, the academic foundation year will also cater to HAVO and VWO graduates who might need intensive Dutch language and cultural training before heading to the Netherlands.

Our priority is not to send our students to Holland. Rather, what we want to do is equip our youth with strong academic and professional skills needed to enter an academic career of their choosing, whether that be at USM, in the United States, Netherlands or anywhere else in the world, or enter the rapidly changing job market, according to the President, Dr. Carmona Baez.
PHILIPSBURG:--- A new project aims to assess key land areas for biodiversity in St. Maarten. The foundation Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) has been selected to conduct the terrestrial baseline biodiversity assessment, as part of the CORENA project. The CORENA project (Coastal Resilience and Needs Assessments) was initiated by the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) and is being executed in partnership with the Nature Foundation, through the European Union-supported RESEMBID grant programme.

The objective of the CORENA project is to provide information to guide sustainable management of various habitats found in Sint Maarten, with several components. The Nature Foundation has started mapping the seafloor to observe seagrass, reef, and sandy areas. EPIC will conduct the terrestrial biodiversity assessment and train VROMI and Nature Foundation staff in data collection methodologies to safely and successfully carry out field research. Two experts with a combined 40 years of experience in Caribbean natural history will assist EPIC in this task. After a literature review of existing publications, they will start field surveys in January to document the variety of plants and animals found in St. Maarten.

Minister of VROMI, Egbert Doran, noted Accurate data from baseline biodiversity inventories form the cornerstone of informed environmental decisions. They empower us to understand ecosystems, identify vulnerabilities, and implement targeted strategies for conservation. With precise information at hand, we're equipped to make pivotal choices that uphold both ecological integrity and human well-being. With EPIC Foundation conducting the terrestrial biodiversity inventory and the Nature Foundation the marine inventory, project CORENA will establish the baseline upon which informed decisions can be made about the sustainable management of the marine and coastal environment.

EPICs Lead researcher Kevel Lindsay is a terrestrial ecologist, forester, biologist, and regional expert on Caribbean biodiversity, with plant ecology and faunal species inventories conducted in Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Grenada. Born and raised on Antigua, Mr. Lindsay has a degree in environmental biology from Columbia University and an associate degree in forestry from the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry (ECIAF) in Trinidad.

Researcher Mark Yokoyama is an American naturalist, author, photographer, and wildlife educator residing on St. Martin. Since 2009 he has been documenting terrestrial biodiversity on St. Martin and elsewhere in the Lesser Antilles. He is co-founder and Treasurer of the non-profit association Les Fruits de Mer which has published over two dozen books in English and in French on the islands terrestrial and marine biodiversity. Marks personal library counts over 30,000 photos, published in many publications, including The New York Times and The Economist.

The CORENA project is funded by the European Union through the regional RESEMBID grant programme, implemented by Expertise France in 12 overseas countries and territories in the Caribbean.

The team looks forward to sharing the results of this initiative, check EPICs social media for updates from the field. The public is invited to send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you wish to bring a particular species to EPICs attention.
Given the dukes public profile by virtue of being born into the royal family, his military service, the duchesss own independent profile and the well-documented history of targeting of the Sussex family by extremists, it is imperative that the family continues to be provided with effective security.
A post on Palestine Solidarity Campaign's website says: "Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9 to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza."
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said: I agree with @savechildrenuk. I find it incomprehensible that the UK did not vote for a ceasefire. How can you choose to be complicit in the killing of thousands of children?
Ms Zelenska argued that people in her country will be left to die if the world gets tired of providing support, in an interview with the BBC, as the UK presses US Republicans to agree to send aid to Kyiv.
We were oppressed by white people, as black South Africans we had to fight for our freedoms, we are still not entirely free, she said.
"We don't sleep at night, we stay awake, we try to put the children to sleep and we stay up fearing the place would be bombed and we'll have to run carrying the children out. During the day begins another tragedy, and that is: how to feed the children?"
While Lyme disease has become more common and widespread in recent decades, no vaccine exists.

The manufacturer of a vaccine called LYMERix phased it out in 2002 because of insufficient demand, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now that close to 500,000 people come down with Lyme disease each year, researchers and major companies, such as Pfizer are investing more in preventing the disease caused by bacteria that ticks can carry.

Air Force Academy cadets helped to push forward research into detecting, inhibiting and studying the disease in the last year as part of a synthetic biology contest called iGEM, or the International Genetic Engineering Machine.

The work was personal for several students who know people with the disease that left untreated can cause chronic problems, such as nerve damage, memory and sleep disorders, among other symptoms.

For people who are suffering Lyme disease, the research and the treatment, its just not satisfactory. Neither are detection methods, said senior Brennan Siebert, who is from Rhode Island, where Lyme disease is common. His mom and two of his friends have the disease, he said.

Lyme disease is also a risk for service members working in long grass or other tick habitats, said Cosmo Cao, a biochemistry senior.

The cadets concept, called LymeAID, is a patch that would change color to indicate if it sensed bacteria from a tick bite that could cause the disease. It would also potentially minimize the spread of the bacteria in the body.

The patch is still in the concept stage, but the students did make progress that they hope a future Academy team or other researchers can apply.

The color change would rely on reactions between tiny gold particles, short DNA strands called aptamers and the bacteria that causes the disease. The students expect the DNA strands would coat the gold particles keeping them apart. But if bacteria was present in the person, the DNA would be drawn to that bacteria, allowing the gold particles to reunite and create the color change, said Siebert, who is majoring in biology.

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The students have not demonstrated the whole process in practice, but believe all the ingredients of the process would work, said Cao, an aspiring doctor. Both Cao and Siebert worked extensively in the lab on the project.

The patch would also contain a protein, called salp-12, that ticks naturally release in their saliva and that draws the bacteria. The patch wouldnt release the protein into the patient, but the bacteria would be drawn toward the patch minimizing the spread of the bacteria, Cao said.

The students introduced DNA to E. coli cells to produce salp-12, but have not been successful and its tough to know exactly why working with living organisms, he explained. A chunk of needed DNA could be missing or it might work better with a different cell. Getting it to work will take trial and error, he said.

Itll be a lot of troubleshooting. Its almost like computer science, or like trying to fix a bug now in the code, Cao said.

To encourage more research into Lyme disease, the students also looked for a way around working with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease because it can be risky and require specific safety precautions in labs.

So, they used DNA to make E. coli, a common and easily killed bacteria, develop one of the distinguishing proteins on it that is typically carried by the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The protein is known as Outer Surface Protein A or OspA.

The big deal about this is that now no matter who you are, no matter how small your lab is, you can now have genetically engineered E. coli with OspA on it, that you can now do research on Lyme disease, Cao said. That was the main contribution to biology.

The students work on the project wrapped up with the iGEM competition in Paris in early November where the students earned a gold medal. The teams do not compete against each other for gold, rather all teams that meet the standard of excellence can earn gold.

Next semester a fresh set of students will choose whether to go forward with the Lyme disease research or a project that would focus on how to use bacteria to make bricks out of Martian soil to eventually make structures, said Capt. Victoria Morrison, a biology instructor.

Contact the writer at mary.shinn@gazette.com or 719-429-9264.
The chairman of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, met this week in Brussels with Beata Szydlo, Polish MEP and prime minister of the Polish gov't between 2015 and 2017, currently vice-president of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament, the AUR informs in a press release on Saturday, Agerpres reports.

At the end of the meeting, George Simion drew attention to the need for a strong voice at the European level against the "undemocratic change" of the European Union treaties by "a body of bureaucrats not elected by anyone".

"We are facing in Brussels and in the European institutions, not today, not yesterday, with an unelected bureaucracy that would like to cancel the sovereignty of national constitutions, that started, following the model of the Soviet commissars, to dictate and impose new rules for our countries. How are they going to do it? Through the undemocratic change of the European Union treaties. We need strong people, strong men and women, as friends, as allies, like Mrs. Beata Szydlo, for the defense of a Europe of nations and a Christian Europe," the AUR chairman said, as quoted in the press release.

In this context, as a result of the meeting with the Polish MEP, George Simion sent an exhortation to Romanian women: "We need ladies in politics! I am waiting for all the Romanian women in AUR!".According to the press release, during his travel to Brussels, the AUR leader also held discussions with Marco Campomenosi, head of the Italian Lega party delegation, about the rights of Romanians in Italy.
Fullertons Westminster Place in the Central West End is one of the most historical private streets in St. Louis, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 1896-built home of Dr. Douglas and Shari Coplen has a particularly unique local history that includes a tie to Hollywood.

The Coplens Colonial Revival style home was designed by architecture firm Barnett, Haynes and Barnett  best known for designing the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis  and built for Catherine ONeil, the widow of Judge Joseph ONeil. When he died during its construction, Catherine moved into the house with her son, David, and his wife, Barbara Blackman ONeil, a noted local suffragist.

Their daughter, Barbara, grew up in the home before becoming a successful Hollywood actress, starring in more than 20 films including playing the mother of Scarlett OHara in the 1939 classic Gone With the Wind. A large, round plaque honoring the ONeil family history is set into the concrete sidewalk leading up to the house, which remained in the ONeil family until 1961.

The Coplens purchased the house in 1995 and have spent nearly three decades painstakingly restoring period details that had been removed or covered up over time. They previously lived in Kirkwood before spending two years in Philadelphia where Douglas, a pediatric urology specialist, was doing a fellowship.

When we moved back, I wanted an old home because Im an old soul, Shari says. I didnt care how big or how small it was  I just wanted an old house with character.

When the ONeil house came up for sale, she fell in love with it  particularly its multiple fireplaces, woodwork, unique curved windows and sweeping staircase. When I started doing the history of the house it was just fascinating, she says.

Being in close proximity to St. Louis Childrens Hospital, where Douglas is chief of pediatric urology, was an added bonus. The house had been poorly updated by previous owners and needed a lot of work, but the Coplens were up to the task. I could envision what I wanted the house to look like, says Shari.

She has spent countless hours over the years stripping and refinishing all of the homes original woodwork as well as removing 15 coats of paint from its ornate radiators. Every room of the house was painted peach when they moved in and all but one of the original fireplaces had been altered or covered over in plaster and drywall. The Coplens thoughtfully replaced them with period-appropriate surrounds and mantles. In the foyer, they had a woodworker custom-build a new carved wood surround to re-create the original. In the parlor, Shari found a fitting a replacement at an antique shop.

I feel like we are stewards of this historic home, Shari says. I think theres a huge difference between rehabbing and restoring, and we have tried to restore it the best we can. Its a labor of love.

A framed black and white photograph of the house when it was built hangs on a wall in another parlor off the dining room, serving as a guide to its past. An alcove on the second-floor landing houses a cozy window seat in front of three leaded and stained glass windows. The originals had been removed, so the Coplens used the photo to have them replicated by Preston Art Glass Studio, along with another window in the kitchen.

Shari had always envisioned the elegant green and gold dining room. When I was stripping the wood in there, I found a piece of the original wallpaper and it was green and gold. It was meant to be. A shimmery gold paint treatment covers the walls and hand painted moldings frame the ceiling and chandelier.

The house is at the peak of its finery for the holiday season, with Christmas trees and decorations gracing every room. Two trees flanking the front door have special meaning: one is an old fashioned tree filled with family ornaments collected throughout generations and the other is festooned with souvenir ornaments from every place the couple has traveled. The parlor features a tabletop tree in all gold. Across the foyer in the second parlor, a stunning 10-foot tall live balsam tree decked in blue and white fills the air with its fresh scent.

Garlands, wreaths and poinsettias adorn each fireplace as well as the staircase, which lands on the second floor in front of another large tree that belonged to Sharis late mother, decorated with her ornaments in memory.

The Coplens love to entertain at the house year-round, but especially at the holidays. They host a big Christmas open house each year with nearly 100 guests and recently hosted Thanksgiving dinner for 18 in the dining room.

Some of the furnishings in the home, including an ornate, marble-topped entry table and a red and gold throne chair have come from neighboring homes in the close-knit community.

We love this neighborhood, Shari says. We love our neighbors.

Shari and Douglas Coplen

Ages  She is 62, he is 64.

Occupations  Shari is a retired nurse, and Douglas is chief of pediatric urology at St. Louis Children's Hospital

Home  Central West End

Family  The Coplens have three grown children.

At home with Shari and Douglas Coplen
On Dec. 9, 1971, a former mayor of St. Louis died. Here is his news obituary from the next day's Post-Dispatch:

Bernard F. Dickmann, former mayor and postmaster of St. Louis, died last night at a hospital in Collins, Miss., of a head injury suffered in a fall Monday at his home at Mount Olive, Miss. Mr. Dickmann was mayor of St. Louis from 1933 to 1941. He was 83 years old. Mr. Dickmann, known to thousands as "Barney," had been at the Mount Olive home since Thanksgiving.

Mount Olive was the home of his wife, Pat, whom he married in 1949. In St. Louis, Mr. Dickmann lived at 4440 Lindell Boulevard. Ma)

Mr. Dickmann served as postmaster for 15 years, beginning in 1943.

His two terms as mayor were marked by notable community achievements, as well as sharp controversies.

Mr. Dickmann played a major role in eliminating the smoke palls that had plagued St. Louis for more than half a century. In 1936 he had a bill introduced in the Board of Aldermen creating the office of smoke commissioner and requiring that bituminous coal of a certain grade be washed before it could be marketed here. When enactment of this measure failed to solve the problem, he pushed through a much more stringent ordinance barring the use of Illinois high-volatile coal without automatic stokers.

The railroads offered determined opposition and several towns in the Illinois coal belt threatened to organize a boycott of St. Louis merchandise, but Mr. Dickmann stood firm, with the result that the winter of 1940 saw the ; city finally emerge from its grimy blanket of smoke.

Mr. Dickmann started the St. i Louis public housing program. He obtained passage of a state enabling act to permit the city to set up a housing authority, and construction of Clinton-Peabody Terrace and Carr Square Village, the first two municipal housing projects, got under way in his administration.

At first he opposed the plan for a Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, but after Mr. Dickmann was won over he laid siege to the national administration, persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes to sanction the riverfront development, and obtained $6,750,000 in federal funds to defray part of the cost of purchasing and clearing the 37-block tract.

Public improvements started by Mr. Dickmann or brought to completion during his administration gave the city Homer G. Phillips Hospital, then the world's largest hospital for Black people; Malcolm Bliss Psychiatric Hospital, one of the first institutions of its kind in the Middle West; a l3-story building at City Hospital; Soldiers' Memorial, Aloe Plaza with its famed Milles Fountain and the Jewel Box in Forest Park.

He was a Mayor who got things done, sometimes by sheer bulldog tenacity.

Mr. Dickmann was the first Democratic mayor here in 24 years. Prior to 1933, St. Louis had been a Republican city so long that few believed it ever would be anything else.

In 1933, Mr. Dickmann easily defeated Walter Neun, president of the Board of Aldermen. In his campaign he had promised that Market Street and Twelfth Boulevard would be thronged with Republican job-holders leaving the City Hall if he were elected, and he kept his word with a vengeance. In a ruthless display of spoils politics, thousands of workers were kicked out in short order. Employees who had devoted their lives to service of the icty and even key workers were given no consideration.

It was one of the anomalies of politics that Mr. Dickmann could claim credit for fathering the merit system for municipal employees here.

His control of more than 7,000 city jobs gave him political power he did not hesitate to use. With the aid of the late " Robert E. Hannegan, who became chairman of the Democratic City Committee, he built a formidable machine.

This organization first made itself felt in the naming of nine circuit judges in the primary of 1934. Following its custom of many years, the St. Louis Bar Association endorsed nine qualified Democrats and an equal number of qualified Republicans for the nominations. But the machine preferred other candiates and brought about the defeat of five of the Democrats the Bar Association had approved. Again in 1936 and in 1938 the Dickmann-Hannegan machine refused to support Democrats endorsed by the Bar Association and elected its "slated" candidates.

In 1940 the Dickmann-Hannegan machine, ambitious to extend its power beyond the city limits, decided to nominate its own candidate for governor, choosing Excise Commissioner Lawrence McDaniel. The machine won in the primary, giving McDaniel a lead of 71,430 in St. Louis. Supremely confident of victory in the general election, party leaders held many conferences at which, it was reported, the principal state jobs were parceled out in advance to influential members of the organization.

But election day brought a staggering jolt, for thousands of independent Democrats refused to support the machine candidate for governor. More than 18,000 St. Louis voters who cast their ballots for President Roosevelt, scratched McDaniel, and a similar reaction over the state resulted in Forrest C. Donnell defeating McDaniel by the slim margin of 3,613 votes.

Eight days after the election, Hannegan called a secret conference of state and city party leaders at the De Soto Hotel, and there the preliminary steps were taken for a contest of Donnell's election. Gradually there developed the scheme to prevent Donnell from taking office and to seat McDaniel, pending a partisan "investigation" of the election, through sheer force of power provided by Democratic domination of the Legislature. Democratic State Chairman C. Marion Hulen presented the plan, which became known as the "Hulen scheme," to the legislature.

The Mayor of St. Louis was one of those present at the secret meeting. Later Mr. Dickmann stoutly denied any part in the plot. But he did not follow the lead of Gov. Lloyd C. Stark and other Democrats who denounced the attempted "steal."

The brazen scheme, which was blocked, by the force of aroused public opinion and by a Missouri Supreme Court ruling branding it as illegal, became major issue of Dickmann's campaign for re-election in 1941.

In an upset in 1941, the mayor lost to William Dee Becker Louis Court of Appeals, by 35,684 votes.

In casting around for a mayoral candidate to break the Republican grip on the City Hall, the Democrats had selected Mr. Dickmann because of his appeal to the voters of German parentage who formed the core of Republican strength on the South Side, as well as to the Irish Catholics who gave the Democrats support on the North Side. He was born in St. Louis, and his, father. Joseph F. Dickmann had come here from Prussia in 1875.

The father, who married Miss Maaria Eilers, a native St. Louis, entered the general merchandise business, and later be came a member of the Merchants Exchange. He served as sheriff of St. Louis from 1900 to 1904 and from 1912 to 1916.

In 1905 he organized the Joseph F. Dickmann Real Estate Co.

Former Mayor Dickmann's friends were convinced that he never would marry, but at the age of 60 he surprised them, secretly taking out marriage license and obtaining a waiver of the three-day waiting period required by law, he married Mrs. B. Pat Herrington, a widow, in a ceremony at the Old Cathedral on Feb. 29, 1949. She was postmistress at Mount Olive, and he had met her five months earlier at a postmaster's convention in New York. After serving 15 years as postmaster, Mr. Dickmann retired Sept. 30, 1958. Mayor Raymond R. Tucker, who had served as his secretary and as his smoke commissioner when he was mayor, appointed Mr. Dickmann as director of the Department of Welfare Jan. 26, 1959. He served until Sept. 19, 1961, when he retired.

Surviving are his wife, Pat; two daughters, Mrs. Kenneth Crawford, Mount Olive, and Mrs. Thomas J. Sheehan, St. Louis ...
ST. LOUIS  BJC HealthCare will reinstate a mask requirement for employees, effective Wednesday, in response to rising virus cases in the community.

The health system said in a statement Saturday that it will institute temporary, heightened mask requirements from time to time, when infection rates are particularly high, and will loosen the requirements when appropriate. Beginning Wednesday, employees will be required to wear masks in patient care areas.

Though reported case rates of COVID-19 are still well below the waves of the first two years of the pandemic, the region has seen an uptick recently. St. Louis County reported a seven-day average of 157 new cases, as of Tuesday, up from 68 in early November.

BJC is not making any changes to its guidelines for patients and visitors, but encourages people to wear masks, which are available near the entrances of medical facilities.

The health system noted that the region is approaching the time of year when, historically, cases of respiratory viruses like flu and COVID-19 tend to increase.

Medical experts have cautioned, since the onset of COVID-19, that respiratory viruses tend to spread more easily in colder, drier weather, and people spend more time gathered indoors during the winter.

Hospital admissions for COVID-19 have increased statewide in recent weeks. Missouri reported 621 new admissions during the week of Dec. 2, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The low over the summer was 75, in July.
In the midst of the Great Depression, many people kept on keeping on. In that number were Joe and Hazel Wiss.

They lived in a four-family flat on Clayton Avenue in the citys Dogtown neighborhood near Forest Park. Joe helped build railroad cars for the Pullman Car Co. Hazel worked as a a receptionist for the Huttig Sash and Door Co.

Hazels mother lived with them. She watched the familys two little boys.

In 1938, the family took a chance. They bought a house. It was on Art Hill Place, only a couple of blocks from their apartment.

It was a brand new house. According to family lore, Hazel helped design it. Exactly how is unclear. Maybe she saw the construction workers building it and told them what she wanted. And what did she want? A two-story house. Two bedrooms  both upstairs  and one bath. It was, and is, the only full two-story house on the block.

Don and Joe were the two boys. Don was 5, and Joe was 3 when they moved into the house. They shared the larger of the two bedrooms.

The family attended St. James the Greater Catholic Church, and the boys attended the parish school.

Also living on Art Hill Place was the family of Peno and Virginia Sharamitaro. Peno was Italian. Virginia was Irish. Peno was 19 when he first tried to date Virginia, who was 14. Virginias dad chased him away. Ill be back, Peno said. Several years later, he returned. He and Virginia were soon married.

They had five children. Three girls and two boys. Mary Jane was the second oldest. She and her siblings also attended the parish school.

Don and Joe attended St. John the Baptist High School. After graduating, Don joined the Navy. On the day he returned home, Joe enlisted. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor. He got out of the Navy in 1958.

He came home. He was helping a neighbor with some yard work when he saw Mary Jane. He had seen her hundreds of times as he was growing up, of course, but then she had been a kid. Now she was 19. And stunning.

She was wearing a big black hat, Joe told me last week.

It was orange, said Mary Jane.

Their first date was on St. Patricks Day of 1958. They went to the White House, a tavern and dance hall on nearby Clayton Avenue. It was the place to go in Dogtown. They were married two years later.

For the first four years of marriage, they lived in a four-family flat about a block away from their childhood homes. They had one bedroom. Their third child was 9 months old in 1964 when Joes parents sold them the house that Joe had grown up in. The larger of the two bedrooms became the childrens bedroom. Eventually, there were four kids.

Still, one bathroom.

All four of the kids went to the parish school at St. James the Greater.

Peno and Virginia still lived across the street.

Joe worked for a while as a bookbinder downtown, and then as a driver at Bee Line Trucking. He did local deliveries for 30 years. He retired in 1998.

Thats about when one of their four kids, Peter, bought the house next door.

By the way, three of the four kids stayed in St. Louis. The oldest child, Mary Virginia, moved to California. Joe and Mary Jane used to visit her. That was about the extent of their travels. Mary Virginia died of breast cancer eight years ago. Her parents were at her bedside. Joe saw a mist rising and then drifting away. Mary Jane heard faint sounds.

Angels singing, she said.

They are religious people. They still attend St. James the Greater. They are the fourth generation of their families to do so.

Over the years, they have made some changes to the house, but minor ones. They turned the back porch into a sun room. It is adorned with family photos. They added a half bath in the basement. But for the most part, Hazels design works just fine.

The front door is original. It was a house-warming gift from Hazels employer, the Huttig Sash and Door Co. The chairs on the front porch were also gifts from the company. Theyve been painted a few times, but they are still sturdy.

People notice them, Joe said. On St. Patricks Day, when there are crowds out here, somebody will say something about the chairs.

Joe and Mary Jane have 14 grandchildren. One of Mary Virginias kids is getting married in May. Everybody in the family will be there.

Thats the only trip Joe and Mary Jane have planned. They told me theyve never felt any wanderlust. Theyve had friends who went to Florida for the winter and others whove traveled widely, but that has never appealed to them.

Were very happy here, Mary Jane said.

When the kids left. Mary Jane and Joe moved back into the big bedroom. Its in the front of the house facing the street. Its the room in which Joe spent his childhood.

He is turning 88 Sunday. He seems to be in excellent health. So does Mary Jane.

So much has changed. The parish school is closed. St. John the Baptist High School has closed. So has St. Marks Academy where Mary Jane went to high school. The White House tavern where they had their first date is long gone.

But the view from the upstairs bedroom window is the same as ever.
ST. LOUIS  A new regional effort aimed at cutting homicides by 20% over the next three years would focus efforts by police and social services on the relatively small number of people involved in many murder cases here.

The recommendation was issued Friday by a working group of about 30 law enforcement officers, elected officials, criminologists and others who met all week on the issue at the Washington University School of Medicine campus.

Many details still must be worked out and the proposal needs formal buy-in from local elected officials. But the basic idea is to use a strategy called focused deterrence, in which police and social service providers give people repeatedly involved in violence a choice.

They will collectively confront these individuals and groups and give them a very simple message, Thomas Abt, a Maryland-based criminologist who led the weeklong conference, said after Fridays wrap-up.

If folks want to make a change for the better, we will make those services available. If they keep shooting, we will follow up with targeted enforcement action, he said.

St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy, who has used the approach in other cities, said such individuals could get help with addiction and mental health problems, job training, high-school equivalency courses and other programs.

Almost all of those singled out in such efforts already have criminal records, he said.

The proposal also calls for the hiring of street outreach workers, likely aimed at high-crime areas of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County where more than 90% of the regions murders take place.

Abt said various police agencies are doing a little bit of these kinds of things already. But the proposed new effort would be more focused and get agencies and governments across the area involved at the same time, he said. Moreover, there would be coordination by a regional steering committee.

The meetings this week were the outgrowth of a crime summit of top elected leaders and others last May, organized by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

An analysis of 198 homicides in St. Louis and St. Louis County released on Monday showed that 84% of suspects and 71% of victims had previously been arrested and that nearly a third of each group had been convicted of a felony.

The analysis also said people in defined groups  some in gangs but many who are not  were involved in at least 17% of murders studied in the city, county and East St. Louis and likely involved in an additional 13% across the three jurisdictions.

The same people made up less than 2% of the overall population in the three areas.

Another finding: 30% of homicides studied in St. Louis involved at least one victim or suspect who lived elsewhere. Non-residents were involved in 17% of the cases studied in St. Louis County and 25% in St. Clair County.

The Post-Dispatch tracks murders and other intentional killings in its Homicide Tracker database. In 2022, the database counted at least 366 killings in the St. Louis area. This year, there have been at least 302 killings through Sunday.

At Fridays session, it was disclosed that two major business groups  Greater St. Louis Inc. and the Regional Business Council  had agreed to provide early financial support for the new initiative. So has the Municipal League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

Kathleen Osborn, the business councils president and CEO, said improving public safety and reducing crime is a key to boosting the metro area. She said its important theres a sense of urgency in the plan moving forward.

St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said hes concerned that the proposal doesnt make dealing with the St. Louis police departments chronic shortage of officers the primary focus.

Youre going to take an understaffed police department and give it additional work instead of focusing on traditional law enforcement functions, he said.

Im glad were no longer hearing talk about defund the police. Im trying to make sure we dont get into distracting the police.

In response, Tracy, the police chief, said departments across the country have faced officer shortages. And police, he said, can both enforce the law and work with others to try to get persistent offenders to change.

Its not either or, he said. They have to be done in combination.

Josh Renaud of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed to this report
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, has endorsed former gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey's GOP primary challenge of incumbent Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, in Illinois' 12th Congressional District.

Calling him "MAGA to his core," Miller touted Bailey for his conservative positions on guns and abortion, challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 mandates and his background as a farmer. She said "he will be a conservative champion for the America First movement in downstate Illinois.

The 12th Congressional District covers parts of the Metro East.

Bost's campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

The endorsement, first reported by conservative website Illinois Review and then confirmed to Lee Enterprises by Bailey's campaign, is stunning yet unsurprising.

Miller and Bailey, who share the same sphere of influence in deeply conservative southeastern Illinois, have been close allies for years. It was at former President Donald Trump's rally for Miller just outside of Quincy in June 2022, for example, where Bailey received the former president's endorsement in his unsuccessful campaign for Illinois governor.

Miller's backing of Bailey can also be viewed as payback. Bost endorsed then-Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, over Miller last year in the 15th Congressional District GOP primary, which was a post-redistricting incumbent-versus-incumbent clash that Miller ultimately won with Trump's help.

Still, it's rare for a sitting member of Congress to endorse a primary challenge to a colleague of the same party.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's campaign arm, is backing Bost. And even conservative allies of Miller, like Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have lent their support to the incumbent. Bost also has a sizable fundraising advantage over Bailey.

There is almost no discernable difference between Bailey and Bost's deeply conservative political views, meaning the race so far has largely been about personality, style and approach to the job.

Bailey has sought to paint five-term incumbent Bost as a Washington insider who has lost touch with Southern Illinois voters. Meanwhile, Bost has leaned into his experience, saying late last month that "you need someone to understand how policy works and how the rules work" in the halls of power.

Bost and national Republicans have sought to portray Bailey, who served two terms in the state legislature before running for governor, as a has-been show horse with little experience or interest in actually governing.

Bailey, in his statement thanking Miller for her endorsement, indicated that he will join Miller in the far-right House Freedom Caucus if he is elected. Bost, though having a conservative voting record, is not a member of the caucus.

Miller, first elected in 2020, is one of the most conservative members of Congress. Her tenure has not been without controversy.

In early January 2021, Miller made remarks about Adolf Hitler at a pro-Trump rally outside the Capitol. ("Hitler was right on one thing. He said, Whoever has the youth has the future, she said, speaking about the need to reach young people.) This drew widespread condemnation, some calls for her to resign and  eventually  an apology.

And at the Trump rally last year, Miller called the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade "a victory for white life," which her campaign quickly said was a verbal gaffe and that she meant to say victory for right to life.

Still, none of that prevented her from winning another term in her conservative rural Central Illinois district.

Her endorsement is a boost to Bailey.

But the most coveted prize in the race would be the backing of Trump, who has endorsed both candidates in the past but has stayed neutral in this race.

The former president won 70% of the Southern Illinois-based congressional district's vote in 2020. Both candidates have endorsed the former president's 2024 campaign.

The primary election is March 19.

The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024 1. West Virginia 2. Montana 3. Ohio 4. Pennsylvania 5. Arizona 6. Nevada 7. Wisconsin 8. Michigan 9. Texas 10. Florida Analysis: Pennsylvania moves up list of contested Senate seats in 2024
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  Israeli warplanes on Saturday struck parts of southern Gaza it had described as safe zones when telling Palestinians to evacuate, while displaced residents said the constant bombardment left many families without food and sleeping outside in the cold.

Frustration was growing with the United States after it vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, despite wide international support, and approved the emergency sale of tank ammunition worth more than $100 million to Israel.

Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the vote.

Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide.

A day after Israel confirmed it was rounding up Palestinian men for interrogation, some told The Associated Press they had been badly treated.

Osama Oula, one of a group of 10 boys and men dropped off at a hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah after being freed, said Israeli forces bound him and others with zip ties, beat them for several days and gave them little water to drink. Some were not allowed out to use the toilet. Once freed, barefoot and in their underwear, they were told to walk south, he said.

Another man, Ahmad Nimr Salman, showed his marked and swollen hands from the zip ties. He said his 17-year-old son, Amjad, was still held. They used to ask us, Are you with Hamas? We say no, then they would slap us or kick us, he said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the alleged abuse.

With the war in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages.

Hamas said Saturday that it continued its rocket fire into Israel.

In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area where the Israeli army had told civilians to go. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high childrens tables were strewn with rubble.

We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights, said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib.

In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold, despite heavy resistance from Hamas. The military said it found weapons inside a school in Shujaiyah, a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, and in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from a U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

More than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military said Hamas killed him.

With no new cease-fire in sight and humanitarian aid reaching little of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages. Nine of 10 people in northern Gaza reported spending at least one full day and night without food, according to a World Food Program assessment during the truce. Two of three people in the south said the same. The WFP called the situation alarming.

I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient.

While adults can cope, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because they are hungry, he said.

Israelis who had been taken hostage also saw the food situation deteriorate, the recently freed Adina Moshe told a rally in Tel Aviv seeking the rapid return of all. We ended up eating only rice, said Moshe, who was held for 49 days.

On Saturday, 100 trucks carrying unspecified aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. That is still well below the daily average before the war.

Despite growing international pressure, President Joe Bidens administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel.

The administration has approved the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million, the State Department said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale in the U.S. national security interest, meaning the purchase will bypass required congressional review. Such determinations are rare.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas.

Blinken continued to speak with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere amid open criticism of the U.S. stance.

From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech.

Protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire, despite restrictions on demonstrations.

Amid concerns about a wider conflict, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to prevent any ship heading to Israeli ports from passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea until food and medicine can enter Gaza freely. Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a speech that all ships heading to Israel, no matter their nationality, will be a target.

In southern Gaza, thousands were on the run after what residents called a night of heavy gunfire and shelling.

Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren southern coastline, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and no toilets. They faced an overnight temperature of around 52 degrees (11 degrees Celsius).

I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing, said Soad Qarmoot, who described herself as a cancer patient forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

As she spoke, her children huddled around a fire.

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee in Washington; Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; and Cara Anna in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.

Updated at 2:06 p.m.
Here are the top trending subjects for today, Dec. 8:

Selena Gomez confirms relationship with Benny Blanco on Instagram

Selena Gomez has confirmed she is dating record producer Benny Blanco.

After an Instagram fan account posted an image of the pair looking cozy on Thursday, the Only Murders in the Building actor responded in a series of comments affirming her feelings for Blanco.

Get the rest here:

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Def Leppard, Journey join forces for summer tour

Def Leppard are heading out on a massive U.S. tour with Journey.

The rockers are teaming up for the "JOURNEY x DEF LEPPARD Summer Stadium Tour 2024" which will take them 23 cities throughout the summer of 2024 with stops in Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville and Pittsburgh and they will be bringing along Heart, Cheap Trick and the Steve Miller Band as support acts.

Get the rest here:

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Appeals court upholds Trump gag order but narrows restrictions

A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but narrowed the restrictions on his speech.

The three-judge panel's ruling modifies the gag order to allow the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner to make disparaging comments about special counsel Jack Smith.

But the court upheld the ban on public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the case.

By broadly proscribing any statements about or directed to the Special Counsel and the courts and counsels staffs, as well as reasonably foreseeable witnesses or their testimony, the Order sweeps too broadly, the court said in its opinion. It captures some constitutionally protected speech that lacks the features or content that would trench upon the courts proper functioning or ability to administer justice.

Get the rest here:

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Get more of today's trending topics here:

Breast cancer survivors may not need so many mammograms after surgery, UK study suggests A large British study finds that less frequent screening is just as good as annual mammograms for certain breast cancer survivors.

Critically endangered eastern black rhino calf born at Oregon Zoo Theres new hope for one of the worlds most critically endangered species after an eastern black rhino was born at Oregon Zoo.

Death toll from salmonella outbreak linked to tainted cantaloupe increases to 3 in US, 5 in Canada A salmonella outbreak tied to tainted cantaloupe has now killed eight people  three in the U.S. and five in Canada, health officials reported Thursday.
Binkley Surpasses Asa Hutchinson In Polls, Chris Christie In Ballot Access

SIOUX CENTER, IA / ACCESSWIRE / December 9, 2023 / Presidential candidate Ryan Binkley took the stage before Vivek Ramaswamy and Ambassador Nikki Haley and after Governor Ron DeSantis at the highly anticipated Faith & Family with the Feenstras forum Saturday, Dec. 9, at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa. No other candidates were present.

Presidential Candidate Epitomizes Faith & Family

Ryan Binkley with his wife, Ellie, and five children

"We're looking to make a strong finish in the next five weeks," Binkley said. "We're looking to finish in the top five in the Iowa caucuses in January. We're going to keep pushing ahead."

Binkley is on the Republican primary ballot in South Carolina, Idaho and Hawaii - all states where one candidate missed the filing deadline - and Maine, where another candidate did not qualify for the ballot. While one of his rivals has not campaigned in Iowa, Binkley was the first candidate to meet with voters in all 99 Iowa counties, referred to as the Full Grassley tour named for Sen. Chuck Grassley who popularized the tradition. Unlike some candidates, Binkley has focused his campaign on uniting Americans and reducing federal debt rather than adding to it.

"Republicans have spent as much money in the last 40 years as Democrats, just on different things," Binkley said. "It's time we change that."

Unlike any of the candidates at Saturday's faith-based event, Binkley is a pastor who has devoted years of his life to ministry. As the co-founder of Create Church with his wife, Ellie, and the father of five children, including an adopted child, Binkley epitomizes faith and family - the topics that Feenstra and his wife, Lynette, discussed with the four key presidential candidates and their wives or children in front of an audience of hundreds of Republicans.

Binkley has more than 80,000 unique donors who have contributed to his campaign, and he landed in sixth place ahead of Hutchinson in a recent national poll, where he surpassed Christie among millennials.

Binkley's stature continues to rise as the field narrows, from 15 Republican presidential candidates in the summer to seven, including two who are not spending the time, resources and more than $600,000 in filing fees to get on the ballot in all 50 states and five U.S. territories as Binkley is.

Binkley is the co-founder and CEO of mergers and acquisition firm Generational Group. As a finance expert, he is introducing a new economic approach through his campaign proposals to secure the border, balance the budget, reform healthcare and revitalize urban America.

Members of the media are invited to follow Binkley on the campaign trail, view his online press kit, and schedule a one-on-one interview by contacting his campaign press office at [email protected] or 214-494-1792.



Contact Information

Diane Moca

Communications Director

[email protected]

214-494-1792



SOURCE: Binkley For President 2024

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority will hold its Regular Commission Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, beginning at 9:15 a.m. A quorum of the Port Commission, along with executive leadership, will be present in the boardroom of the Port Houston Executive Office Building, located at 111 East Loop North, Houston, TX 77029.

It will be conducted as a hybrid meeting open to the public to attend in person or access virtually via WebEx webinar. The agenda and instructions for accessing Port Houston public meetings are available at https://www.porthouston.com/about/public-meetings/agendas-minutes/.

Please note the following upcoming planned Port Houston public meetings (subject to change):

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Port Commission Regular Meeting at 9:15 a.m.

Audit Committee Meeting at 10:00 a.m.

Business Equity Committee Meeting at 11:00 a.m.

Pension and Benefits Committee Meeting at 12:00 p.m.

Sign-up for public comment is available up to an hour before the meeting by contacting

Erik Eriksson at [email protected] or Liana Christian at [email protected].

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel  the nations largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas, and the U.S. nation. The more than 200 private and eight public terminals along the federal waterway supports the creation of nearly 1.54 million jobs in Texas and 3.37 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $439 billion in Texas  19% of Texas total gross domestic product (GDP)  and a total of $906 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website: https://porthouston.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231209538342/en/

Lisa Ashley-Daniels, Director, Public Relations, Port Houston

Office: 713-670-2644; Mobile: 832-247-8179; E-mail: [email protected]

Source: Port Houston
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes released a statement of his accomplishments as Utah Attorney General over three terms since 2014, and his decision not to run for re-election in 2024. The complete transcript of his statement follows and can be watched HERE.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231208015614/en/

Office Accomplishments Over Past Decade [0:03]

Hello. Im Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and for 10 years I have stood watch over this State: Defending our laws, lives and liberties; protecting our teens from street drugs, vaping, sextortion and suicide; fighting for our communities against predators, human traffickers and abusers; attacking financial frauds and scams that destroy innocent Utahns every year and standing up to the federal government over vaccine mandates, ESG, open borders or attempts to take more control over our lands, schools families or freedoms. Serving in this job hasnt been easy, working long days and many nights, traveling up and down the state, flying sometimes to D.C. or other states to lead national coalitions and bring back wins and resources for Utah. But, I love it. And, I love Utah. After 10 years in office, Utah is safer and stronger than ever. Violent crime is down. Convictions are up. I work with amazing professionals in the AGs Office. We work our hearts out. We win in court. We stand up to threats so you can sleep securely at night. Thats why I have been endorsed over several re-elections by hundreds of Utah leaders  from sheriffs and commissioners to CEOs and small business owners. Because when they call, Im there. I show up! When problems arise, I solve them.

The Critical Issues Addressed & Problems Solved [1:31]

When insulin makers gouge patients, I sue them. When Gold Star families, immigrants or refugees are ignored, I stand with them. When prescription opioids were at their peak, I created a state task force with the DEA, sued the perpetrators, brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Utah for prevention and recovery, and helped lower our death rate. We then put away Utahs most notorious dark web drug dealer for a life sentence. When Utah child abuse cases increased, especially during COVID, my team expanded the safety net of Childrens Justice Centers statewide. When youth suicide and drug deaths were ravaging Utah in 2014, I helped create the SafeUT app to save thousands of young lives and prevent school violence. I was privileged to work closely with Congress and the President to establish the nationally 988 Mental Health Hotline.

Like 911, it will save countless American lives. I created the At Ease Program to give Utah veterans free legal services through private firms with no cost to taxpayers. Ive brought tech solutions to law enforcement like Child ID to help locate missing kids. Virtual training for police to de-escalate violence. And Rapid DNA to solve crimes faster including murders and rapes. In many cities across America, there is a Tidal Wave of lawlessness, theft and online fraud. With legislative partners, I have led Utahs resistance, creating the first statewide Economic Crimes Task Force in America, the first registry of convicted fraudsters and other tools. Now, Utah is a national leader in dismantling white collar crime. When Utah companies want to innovate, I have supported sandboxes for Blockchain, AI, and other tech. When Government wants to regulate more, I fight for less. As our youth fall deeper down the rabbit hole of social media, Governor Cox and I have teamed up to sue companies that put massive profits over the wellbeing of our kids. I havent shied away from big fightssuing giants like Google, Apple, Meta, Tik Tok and others and thats just in the tech space alone.

Making Utah Global Leader in Fight Against Human Trafficking [3:39]

When I became AG in 2013, Utah was failing in the human trafficking fight. But thanks to your help, and the support of the many legislative and other partners, Utah has become a national and global leader in the fight. Weve passed stronger laws, expanded victim advocacy, and better empowered survivors. And weve prosecuted some of the most prominent cases in the country, including sex, labor, illicit massage and illegal adoption rings that land in Utah from around the world. Stopping modern slavery is not partisan. Im a proud Republican but find ways to work with Democrat friends to get things done on these and other vital non-partisan issues.

Decision to Not Seek Re-election in 2024 [4:17]

For me and my family, leaving a successful business and legal career in 2013 to join government was not easy but it has been worth every sacrifice. As the son of an immigrant family from humble beginnings, and the first statewide elected minority in Utah history, Im living proof of the American Dream. And, serving the people of Utah has truly been a dream and honor for me. That is why I have very mixed emotions, about my announcement today that I will not seek a fourth term in office. With the filing deadline in Utah just one month away, I wanted to clear: I will serve my current term as AG throughout 2024 but will not be running for re-election. I want to thank Governor Herbert for appointing me in 2013 and the legislative leaders and others with whom Ive worked. And, I want to thank all of my supporters, donors, volunteers and friends for your confidence and encouragement over three successful re-elections. With your help, we have accomplished so much good for the State. I know many of you have asked me to runpointing to my commanding poll numbers, incumbency, strong name recognition, committed fundraising dollars and Chairmanship of the Republican AGs nationally.

Trust me, I do believe I would win. But winning another election would keep me from even more important personal priorities. After much prayer and reflection, I know after one more year in office, it will be time to return to my family without an emergency case or crisis constantly pulling me away. It will be time to get back to clients and law partners. I have accomplished nearly everything I came to do as AG. So, I have time for more big cases to file in 2024 and I will work as hard as I always have to promote and protect Utah.

Committed to Working with Tim Ballard and O.U.R Survivors [6:01]

But, there is one more important issue I want to address that weighed into my decision. Recently, several of the women who brought civil sexual assault and other claims against Tim Ballard and OUR came forward publicly disclosing their identities. I thought it was brave as I knew they risked shaming and retaliation. I asked their counsel if I could meet with them. Over the course of multiple days, I sat with these women and one man all with their attorneys present. After hearing their stories in person, I believe them and I am heartbroken for what they have endured and the trauma they will face their entire lives. I apologized to each of them that my past friendship with Tim Ballard and strong association with OUR contributed to an environment that made them feel powerless and without a voice to fight back for many years. I cannot give them back those voiceless years. But, I intend on spending my last year in office working together with these survivors, and any others who come forward, so their voices are heard and they have access to resources and support. I will work to integrate them into a task force or create one, so they have a safe way to support survivors and prevent what happened to them from occurring to others. Separate from my own work with them, they have now contacted the Utah Attorney Generals Office or AGO to request a criminal investigation into their claims. I am now recused, meaning I will have no involvement. But, my office will conduct a statewide investigation of Tim Ballard, Operation Underground Railroad, the Spear Fund or others to determine what criminal conduct occurred, if any, relating to the complaints made. Now, the existence of an investigation is not, itself, a determination of guilt. Victim advocates and victim services will be made available to the complainants and any other potential victims that come forward. If you have relevant information or are a victim of a crime, I would encourage you to contact the AGO. Like in other cases where I or another member of my team is walled off, we wont participate, but I am confident the AGO will investigate (as they always do) professionally, without bias and in a manner that is fair to all sides. Also, to clarify, I am not joining these survivors civil cases in any way.

They have their own lawyers, claims and all parties in those lawsuits should have their fair day in court. The most important thing is that I will be involved with empowerment of these survivors.

Seeking Justice as I Serve Out My Final Term in Office [8:35]

Standing up for victims is one of the reasons I became AG. Giving a voice to the vulnerable is what Ive worked hard to do while in office. And seeking justice is what I will do until my last day in office and beyond. Its been a privilege to serve as the Attorney General. Utah has grown and expanded during my tenure, leading the nation in so many ways. And the AGO has been crucial to that growth. Ive been honored to lead the office during that period. In my moms native culture of Hawaii, Kamehemeha, the Chief who united the warring Islands, called out in his most famous battle Imua e na pokii, a inu ika vai ava ava. Meaning come forward and let us taste of the bitter waters of battle. This he said to his male and female warriors as a call for unity and action in the face of challenging odds as he led them to victory. Utah faces its own challenges. But together, united as Utahns, we have many victories ahead of us. Thank you!

For more information about Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, visit www.seanreyes.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231208015614/en/

Lee Rech

for Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes | Friends of Sean Reyes

801.556.8423

[email protected]

Source: Comprehensive Strategic Solutions
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers or acquirers of Farfetch Limited (NYSE: FTCH) securities between March 9, 2023 and August 17, 2023, all dates inclusive (the Class Period), have until December 19, 2023 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Farfetch class action lawsuit. Captioned Ragan v. Farfetch Limited, No. 23-cv-02857 (D. Md.), the Farfetch class action lawsuit charges Farfetch as well as certain of its top current executive officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.



If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Farfetch class action lawsuit, please provide your information here:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-farfetch-limited-class-action-lawsuit-ftch.html

You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at [email protected].

CASE ALLEGATIONS: Farfetch, together with its subsidiaries, operates a global platform for the luxury fashion industry.

The Farfetch class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Farfetch was experiencing a significant slowdown in growth in the United States and China; (ii) Farfetch also faced onboarding challenges impacting the launch of its Reebok International Limited partnership; (iii) Farfetch downplayed challenges it faced with respect to, and/or overstated its ability to manage, its supply chain and inventory; (iv) all of the above was having a significant negative impact on Farfetchs revenue and gross merchandise value (GMV) growth; and (v) as a result, Farfetch was unlikely to meet market expectations for its second quarter 2023 financial results or its own fiscal year 2023 revenue guidance.

The Farfetch class action lawsuit further alleges that on August 17, 2023, Farfetch reported second quarter 2023 revenue of approximately $572 million, significantly less than the market consensus of $650.71 million. According to the complaint, Farfetch also issued a fiscal year 2023 revenue forecast of approximately $2.5 billion, compared to the average analyst estimate of $2.8 billion and Farfetchs prior fiscal year 2023 revenue forecast of $2.9 billion. Farfetch further disclosed that significant slowdowns in the United States and China, onboarding challenges affecting the launch of the Reebok partnership, and issues with inventory and shipping had negatively impacted Farfetchs revenue and GMV for the quarter, the complaint further alleges. The Farfetch class action lawsuit alleges that following these developments, the price of Farfetch stock declined more than 45%.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired Farfetch securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Farfetch class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Farfetch class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Farfetch class action lawsuit. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Farfetch class action lawsuit.

ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller is one of the worlds leading complex class action firms representing plaintiffs in securities fraud cases. The Firm is ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering more than $1.75 billion for investors in 2022  the third year in a row Robbins Geller tops the list. And in those three years alone, Robbins Geller recovered nearly $5.3 billion for investors, more than double the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs firm. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs firms in the world and the Firms attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever  $7.2 billion  in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html

Attorney advertising.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.

Contact:

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101

J.C. Sanchez, 800-449-4900

[email protected]
HOUSTON, Dec. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR) (Par Pacific or the Company) today announced that its 30 Megawatt renewable cogeneration development project was selected as a finalist by Hawaiian Electric in connection with a January 2023 request for proposals for firm, renewable-fired electricity generation. The project will be constructed at the Companys Kapolei refinery and take advantage of existing infrastructure. It will also provide a local outlet for a portion of the renewable liquid fuels produced by the previously announced renewable hydrotreater conversion project. The quick-start cogeneration facility is expected to begin commercial operations by 2028, supporting the states renewable energy objectives.

We are excited to advance our renewable initiatives in support of Hawaiis decarbonization goals, said Will Monteleone, President of Par Pacific. The cogeneration project aligns with our renewables strategy of investing in our people and assets to meet the evolving energy needs of our communities.

The project plans to utilize the latest generation, high-efficiency equipment to flexibly produce renewable power. At full capacity, the facility will be capable of generating enough power to supply 30,000 homes. Final terms and conditions of the potential investment and offtake agreement with Hawaiian Electric are expected to be negotiated during 2024. The project will remain subject to customary regulatory and government approvals, including approval by the Hawaii Public Utility Commission (PUC).

A reliable, affordable, and low-carbon source of energy is important to all of us in Hawaii, said Eric Wright, President of Par Hawaii. Par Hawaii is proud to be partnering with Hawaiian Electric to generate electricity from low-carbon, renewable sources.

In April, Par Pacific announced a $90 million investment to develop the states largest liquid renewable fuels manufacturing facility. The project, which is expected to be commissioned in 2025, will produce approximately 61 million gallons per year of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and renewable liquified petroleum gases. Renewable fuels provide a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels and are considered a drop-in replacement for conventional diesel, jet fuel, and other fuels used to generate electricity.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a growing energy company providing both renewable and conventional fuels to the western United States. In the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, Par Pacific owns and operates 124,000 bpd of combined refining capacity across three locations and an extensive energy infrastructure network, including 7.6 million barrels of storage, and marine, rail, rack, and pipeline assets. In addition, Par Pacific operates the nomnom convenience store chain and supplies ExxonMobil-branded fuel retail stations in the region. Par Pacific owns and operates one of the largest energy infrastructure networks in Hawaii with 94,000 bpd of operating refining capacity, a logistics system supplying the major islands of the state and Hele-branded retail locations. Par Pacific also owns 46% of Laramie Energy, LLC, a natural gas production company with operations and assets concentrated in Western Colorado. More information is available at www.parpacific.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about Par Pacific's plans to invest in renewable fuels production. There can be no assurances that Par Pacific will be successful in its renewable fuels production efforts, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. We cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should one of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. We further expressly disclaim any written or oral statements made by a third party regarding the subject matter of this news release.

Public Affairs Contact

Marc Inouye Par HawaiiDirector, Government and Public Affairs(808) 352-2479[email protected]

Investor Contact

Ashimi PatelPar PacificDirector, Investor Relations and Renewables(832) 916-3355[email protected]

Source: Par Pacific Holdings, Inc.
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor is shown in January 2003 before administering the oath of office to members of the Texas Supreme Court in Austin.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 8, 2023) - CARLYLE COMMODITIES CORP. (CSE: CCC) (FSE: BJ4) (OTCQB: CCCFF) ("Carlyle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated December 1, 2023, it has closed its non-brokered private placement of flow-through-units of the Company (the "Offering") consisting of 4,501,762 units (each, a "Unit") of the Company at a price of $0.17 per Unit for gross aggregate proceeds of $765,299.

Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company issued on a "flow-through" basis (each, a "Flow-Through Share") pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act") and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each full Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one non-flow-through common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.30 per Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four months following the date of issuance (the "Date of Issue").

The aggregate proceeds of the Offering are anticipated to be used for exploration expenditures at the Company's Flagship Newton Project in British Columbia.

Finders' fees of $57,864.98 and 324,941 finder's warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") were paid in connection with Offering in accordance with the policies of the CSE and applicable securities laws. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Share (each, a "Finder's Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.17 per Finder's Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four months following the Date of Issue.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day after the Date of Issue, as set out in National Instrument 45102 - Resale of Securities. None of the securities sold in connection with the Offering will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and no such securities may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Appointment of new CFO

The Company would like to announce and welcome Mr. Alastair Brownlow as its new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Brownlow is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a U.S. Certified Public Accountant (Washington) specializing in resource-focused accounting and finance. Mr. Brownlow has accumulated extensive experience working as CFO of TSXV and CSE listed mineral exploration and development companies throughout the world, including exploration and production companies in British Columbia. Mr. Brownlow also previously worked as an auditor in the British Virgin Islands focusing on financial and regulatory reporting of public and private funds and trust companies. Prior to this, Mr. Brownlow worked for a Canadian chartered professional accountant firm where he specialized in the mining industry, gaining significant accounting experience auditing mineral exploration and development companies in Canada and throughout the world. Mr. Brownlow has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with first class honours from Simon Fraser University.

About Carlyle

Carlyle is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties. Carlyle owns 100% of the Newton Project in the Clinton Mining Division of B.C. and is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "CCC", on the OTCQB Market under the ticker "CCCFF", and the Frankfurt Exchange under the ticker "BJ4".

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

CARLYLE COMMODITIES CORP.

"Morgan Good"

Morgan Good

President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information regarding this news release, please contact:

Morgan Good, CEO and Director

T: 604-715-4751

E: [email protected]

W: www.carlylecommodities.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company 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. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering.

Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management, including, without limitation, that the Company will be able to use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.

Additionally, forward-looking statements involve a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation: that the Company may not be able to use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this press release. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this press release by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this press release.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/190446
HONG KONG, Dec 8, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - - InnoClub, a platform co-created by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Hang Seng Bank for start-ups and SMEs in Hong Kong and the wider Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), is pleased to announce the three winners of the inaugural InnoClub Awards.

Hong Kong's leading online medical platform iMeddy, F&B industry game changer DimOrder and fast-growing biotech start-up Decode Cure have been recognised for their ground-breaking achievements in healthcare, F&B and biotech, respectively, with the awards given on the final day of HKTDC's annual Entrepreneur Day.

Established in 2021, InnoClub supports more than 1,000 start-ups and SMEs in Hong Kong and the GBA with their digital transformation and competitiveness, while promoting Hong Kong's entrepreneurial spirit and innovation and technology (I&T) development. Aside from business matching, InnoClub organises gatherings, seminars and innovation showcases to facilitate the exchange of ideas and collaboration among its members. Coinciding with the platform's second anniversary, the Awards recognise the achievements of InnoClub members.

Mr Stephen Liang, Assistant Executive Director of HKTDC, said, "The HKTDC provides comprehensive year-round support to SMEs and start-ups, helping them transform and grow and seize arising opportunities. InnoClub recognises the tremendous advances Hong Kong has been making in I&T and contributes to the sector's continued growth. The inaugural InnoClub Awards recipients iMeddy, DimOrder and Decode Cure represent the latest generation of innovators in Hong Kong, reflecting our city's status as a regional I&T hub."

Mr Gilbert Lee, Head of Strategy & Planning and Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive of Hang Seng Bank said: "With our long-standing presence in the local market and a strong network in the GBA, Hang Seng Bank is dedicated to supporting the growth of start-ups and SMEs. InnoClub, which we established in partnership with HKTDC, provides a unique platform to drive the growth of its members. We offer comprehensive support, including networking, business matching, tailored banking services and marketing. The award winners exemplify the ways in which InnoClub enables their growth. We aspire to further enhance InnoClub and drive more success stories, similar to those of the award winners."

Spotlighting rising talent

iMeddy has been awarded the InnoClub GBA Innovator Award, which recognises a start-up that has made significant contributions to I&T in the GBA, developing new and innovative products, services or technologies positively impacting the region.

As more young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong venture into the GBA, which has seen an increasing number of retirees choose to spend their retirement in the region, iMeddy seized the opportunity to address their medical needs.

The company has launched an online hospital in Nansha, Guangzhou. Their innovative digital platform enables Hong Kong doctors to serve as paramedics at their hospital. It also enables the seamless transport of medicine that are legally registered in Hong Kong to the GBA, providing reassurance and familiarity to patients accustomed to receiving care from Hong Kong doctors. With the Hong Kong SAR Government's robust support of GBA entrepreneurs, iMeddy aims to expand its services to include Chinese medicine.

Mr Stephen Tsoi, Co-Founder and Marketing Director of iMeddy, said, "We are grateful to have benefited from InnoClub's hands-on and direct support, which sets it apart from other start-up organisations. With InnoClub's sponsorship and network, iMeddy was able to provide online Chinese medicine consultations to assist the elderly through community organisations. In the coming years, we aspire to expand our services in the GBA and extend our reach to Southeast Asia, with the continued support of InnoClub."

The second winner DimOrder is the recipient of the InnoClub Industry Impact Award. This recognition is given to a start-up that has made significant contributions to an industry through their innovations, demonstrating leadership, creativity and expertise in their field.

DimOrder has developed a system that covers everything from meal ordering and check-out to restaurant management and ingredient procurement. With the support of AI and big data, it is helping restaurants realise their business expansion plans, automate their marketing strategies and supply chain management.

Mr Tim Lee, Co-Founder of DimOrder, said, "As the F&B industry is indispensable to our daily lives, it is crucial for us to address persistent pain-points that are common among many restaurants, so that the F&B industry can level up collectively. DimOrder is excited to create noticeable social impact in Hong Kong with over 1,500 customers currently. In addition, we hope to expand to Southeast Asia's emerging markets, with the aim to not only be a service provider, but also build a landmark F&B ecosystem."

The third and final award, InnoClub Rising Star Award, recognises an up-and-coming start-up that has shown exceptional promise and the makings of a future leader in their field by demonstrating creativity, leadership and a commitment to innovation.

Award recipient Decode Cure aims to develop a precise, rapid and user-friendly diagnostic solution to identify pathogens, using combined techniques of bioinformatic and big data analytics. Nearing the end of its four-year R&D phase, the biotech firm's advanced technology detects pathogens causing complex disease, such as pneumonia and Alzheimer's in under 24 hours. During the pandemic, it contributed to the Hong Kong SAR Government's sewage surveillance programme, a cost-effective measure that allows the monitoring of variants, leading to the lowest possible impact on the community. The technology shortens the time to get results by 10 days, compared with clinical data.

Dr Bin Ye, Founder of Decode Cure, said: "In InnoClub, there are a lot of companies in the early development stages. They have great technologies and I believe our company can utilise some of the techniques of these companies for our commercial and marketing use. As we are pushing our product to the market, we can reach out directly to more potential customers thanks to InnoClub and Hang Seng's large membership and clientele, which make this a great vehicle and opportunity."

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Media enquiries

Hill & Knowlton:

Ada Leung, Tel: (852) 9280 3822, Email: [email protected]

Sharon Abratique, Tel: (852) 6324 8499, Email: [email protected]

HKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:

Frankie Leung, Tel: (852) 2584 4298, Email: [email protected]

Agnes Wat, Tel: (852) 2584 4554, Email: [email protected]

Media Room: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/en

To view press releases in Chinese, please visit http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/tc

About HKTDC

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn

About Hang Seng Bank

Hang Seng is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Founded in 1933, Hang Seng has continually innovated to provide best-in-class, customer-centric banking, investment and wealth management services for individuals and businesses. It is widely recognised as the leading domestic bank in Hong Kong, currently serving more than 3.9 million customers.

Combining its award-winning mobile app and strong digital capabilities with a vast network of over 260 service outlets in Hong Kong, Hang Seng offers a seamless omni-channel experience for customers to take care of their banking and financial needs anytime, anywhere.

Its wholly owned subsidiary, Hang Seng Bank (China) Limited, operates a strategic network of outlets in almost 20 major cities in Mainland China to serve a growing base of Mainland customers locally and those with cross-boundary banking needs. The Bank also operates branches in Macau and Singapore, and a representative office in Taipei.

As a homegrown financial institution, Hang Seng is closely tied to the Hong Kong community. It supports the community with a dedicated programme of social and environmental initiatives focused on future skills for the younger generation, sustainable finance and financial literacy, addressing climate change and caring for the community.

Hang Seng is a principal member of the HSBC Group, one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. More information on Hang Seng is available at www.hangseng.com .

Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
NEW YORK , Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA / OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf" or the "Company"), a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis, today announced that, in connection with the previously announced conditional approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") to list the Company's subordinate voting shares (the "Subordinate Voting Shares") on the TSX (the "TSX Listing"), the Company proceeded with the necessary internal reorganization (the "Reorganization") of its U.S. operations. Among other things, Curaleaf, Inc. ("Curaleaf USA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company entered into a subscription agreement (the "Subscription Agreement") with a third party investor which is not affiliated with the Company, Curaleaf USA or the control person of the Company (the "Investor"), pursuant to which Curaleaf USA issued to the Investor one (1) share of Class A voting and non-participating common stock (the "Class A Voting Stock"), for an aggregate subscription amount of US$1 million (the "Investment").

Prior to the Investment, the Company held common stock of Curaleaf USA, representing 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Curaleaf USA. Concurrently with the closing of the Investment and in accordance with the seventh amended and restated certificate of incorporation of Curaleaf USA filed immediately prior to the execution of the Subscription Agreement, such common stock has been automatically exchanged for 999 shares of Class B non-voting and participating common stock (the "Class B Non-Voting Stock"). Following the closing of the Investment in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Investor now holds all of the issued and outstanding Class A Voting Stock and voting rights of Curaleaf USA. The Company holds all of the issued and outstanding Class B Non-Voting Stock, which represent 99.9% of the economic ownership of Curaleaf USA, on an as-converted basis.

The Class B Non-Voting Stock does not provide for voting rights but are exchangeable into shares of Class C voting and participating common stock (the "Class C Voting Stock") of Curaleaf USA at any time. As a result of the limited rights associated with the Class B Non-Voting Stock, Curaleaf and Curaleaf USA entered into, concurrently with the closing of the Investment, a protection agreement (the "Protection Agreement") providing for certain negative covenants in order to preserve the value of the Class B Non-Voting Stock held by the Company until such time as the Class B Non-Voting Stock is converted into Class C Voting Stock by the Company, including, among others, prohibitions on Curaleaf USA's organizational documents amendments, changes to the authorized share capital of Curaleaf USA, changes to the Curaleaf USA's board of directors, material changes to the business conducted by Curaleaf USA or the making of loans or capital expenditures above certain specified thresholds, the whole except with the prior written consent of Curaleaf or as required by applicable laws.

Concurrently with the Investment, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement and Information Circular of the Company dated July 14, 2023 and the Management Information Circular of the Company dated August 23, 2023 , respectively, and as previously approved by the Company's securityholders, the Company implemented (A) certain amendments to the indenture among the Company and Odyssey Trust Company dated as of December 15, 2021 (as supplemented from time to time, the "Indenture") governing the notes thereunder (the "Indenture Amendments") in order to facilitate the implementation of the Reorganization, and (B) certain amendments to the Company's articles (the "Articles Amendments") in order to: (i) create a new class of non-voting and non-participating shares in the capital of the Company exchangeable at the holder's option into Subordinate Voting Shares (the "Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares") and authorize the issuance of an unlimited number of Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares; and (ii) restate the rights of the Subordinate Voting Shares to provide for a conversion feature whereby each Subordinate Voting Share may at any time, at the holder's option, be converted into one (1) Non-Voting Exchangeable Share. The Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares do not carry voting rights, rights to receive dividends or other rights upon dissolution of the Company, and are considered "restricted securities" within the meaning of such term under applicable Canadian securities laws.

The Articles Amendments aim to provide Company's shareholders with the option to convert their Subordinate Voting Shares into Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares if such shareholders prefer to hold non-voting and non-participating shares given the uncertainty and complexity related to cannabis regulations in the United States .

Concurrently with the closing of the Investment, the Company and the Investor, as shareholders of Curaleaf USA, also entered into a shareholders' agreement (the "Shareholders' Agreement") with respect to Curaleaf USA, to establish, among other things, the rights and obligations arising out of or in connection with the ownership of the Class A Voting Stock and the Class B Non-Voting Stock. Under the Shareholders' Agreement, Curaleaf USA holds a call right to repurchase all of the Class A Voting Stock issuable to the Investor at any time, and the Investor has the right to appoint a director to the Curaleaf USA's board of directors and a put right exercisable following the occurrence of certain stated events and after the five (5) year anniversary of the Shareholders' Agreement subject to certain parameters to ensure the maintaining of the TSX Listing.

The particulars of the Reorganization, as well as the material terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Protection Agreement and the Shareholders' Agreement will be more fully described in a material change report to be filed by the Company with the Canadian Securities Administrators and which will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Copies of the Indenture, as amended, the amended and restated articles of Curaleaf, the Shareholders Agreement and the Protection Agreement will also be made available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+.

About Curaleaf Holdings

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis with a mission to enhance lives by cultivating, sharing and celebrating the power of the plant. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the Company and its brands, including Curaleaf, Select, and Grassroots provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. In the United States , Curaleaf brands are sold in 17 states with operations encompassing 147 dispensaries and employing more than 5,200 team members. Curaleaf International is the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in Europe with a unique supply and distribution network throughout the European market, bringing together pioneering science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction and production. Curaleaf is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CURA and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol CURLF. For more information, please visit https://ir.curaleaf.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on management's current beliefs, expectations or assumptions regarding the future of the business, plans and strategies, operational results and other future conditions of the Company. In addition, the Company may make or approve certain statements in future filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in press releases, or in oral or written presentations by representatives of the Company that are not statements of historical fact and may also constitute forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, made by the Company that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements preceded by, followed by or that include words such as "assumptions", "assumes", "guidance", "outlook", "may", "will", "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, disclosure in this news release as well as statements regarding the Company's intention and timing to complete the Investment, the Reorganization and the TSX Listing; the Company's ability to satisfy all listing and regulatory requirements of the TSX and obtain TSX approval for the TSX Listing;; the anticipated benefits to the Company and Curaleaf USA from the Investment, the Reorganization and the TSX Listing and other expectations for other economic, business and/or competitive factors are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date they are made and are based on information currently available and on the then current expectations.

Holders of securities of the Company are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time they were provided or made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, as applicable, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the Investment, the Reorganization and the TSX Listing set forth in the prospectus supplement of the Company dated September 28, 2023 to the short form base shelf prospectus of the Company dated December 30, 2022 , which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca; as well as those risk factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated May 1, 2023 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 , and additional risks described in the Company's Annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 (both of which documents have been filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), and as described from time to time in documents filed by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. There is no guarantee the Company will complete the TSX Listing as currently proposed, which remain subject to certain closing conditions, including the Company meeting the listing conditions and requirements of the TSX. As a result of the Reorganization, the Company is now subject to significant restrictions on the conduct of the U.S. -based operations of the Company, which such restrictions could have a material adverse effect on the Company, its business and its results of operation.

The purpose of forward-looking statements is to provide the reader with a description of management's expectations, and such forward-looking statements may not be appropriate for any other purpose. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from what is projected in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Such forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The Company's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

INVESTOR CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Camilo Lyon , Chief Investment Officer

[email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Tracy Brady , SVP Corporate Communications

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/curaleaf-announced-reorganization-of-its-us-operations-in-connection-with-tsx-listing-302010590.html

SOURCE Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. , Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Final 2023 Chrysler 300C model rolls off production line at Brampton (Ontario) Assembly Plant

300C model rolls off production line at Brampton team members commemorate the final production of the HEMI-powered vehicle  a Velvet Red 2023 Chrysler 300C

team members commemorate the final production of the HEMI-powered vehicle  a 2023 300C Final production of the 2023 Chrysler 300 will conclude no later than December 31, 2023

300 will conclude no later than From introduction in 1955, return in 2005 and beyond, Chrysler 300 has represented iconic American luxury and bold, futuristic design

300 has represented iconic American luxury and bold, futuristic design 300C has played a pivotal role in the 300 model lineup, dating back to the 392-cubic-inch, 375-horsepower, HEMI-engine-powered 1957 Chrysler 300C

300C 2023 Chrysler 300C pays homage to its HEMI-powered predecessors, featuring a 6.4L 392-cubic-inch HEMI engine with 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque

300C pays homage to its HEMI-powered predecessors, featuring a 6.4L 392-cubic-inch HEMI engine with 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque 2023 Chrysler 300C reaches 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds and covers the quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds

300C reaches 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds and covers the quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds Unique tri-color 300C badge on grille and rear decklid projects the bold personality of the limited-production 300C

For more information on the Chrysler brand, visit Chrysler.com

The last of a legend, the Chrysler 300C, rolled off the line at the Brampton (Ontario) Assembly Plant , with Brampton team members gathered to commemorate final production of the HEMI-powered vehicle  a Velvet Red 2023 Chrysler 300C.



Production of the 2023 Chrysler 300 will come to an end no later than December 31, 2023 . The 6.4L HEMI-powered 2023 Chrysler 300C, first announced at the 2022 North American International Auto Show, pays tribute to the nearly 70-year legacy of the Chrysler 300, as well as the Chrysler 300C's crucial role in the 300 lineup as one of the seminal muscle cars. Reservations for the special-edition 2023 Chrysler 300C were fulfilled in just 12 hours after the 2022 vehicle reveal, with a limited-production run of only 2,000 units offered in the U.S. and 200 available in Canada .



First introduced in 1955 and reborn in 2005, the Chrysler 300 has represented iconic American luxury and performance for decades. The Chrysler 300C arrived in 1957 marking a milestone for the 300 line, powered by a standard-equipment 392-cubic-inch, 375-horsepower HEMI engine. The re-introduction of the Chrysler 300 in 2005 also featured the rebirth of the 300C model and marked the return of the HEMI engine to the Chrysler brand after 50 years, in the form of a 5.7-liter, 340 horsepower HEMI. The 2011 Chrysler 300C upped output to 363 horsepower, and the 2023 Chrysler 300C  returning to the 300 lineup after a two-year hiatus  honors the powerful legacy of its forbears by delivering 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque, acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds, a quarter-mile mark of 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 160 mph.



"Chrysler brand is proud to mark the legacy of the Chrysler 300C as a true automotive icon, one of the original muscle cars representing bold American luxury," said Chris Feuell , Chrysler brand chief executive officer. "As we celebrate the last HEMI-powered 300C off the line with our Brampton team members, we're also excited to work together as Chrysler brand moves forward to a sustainable all-electric future as part of the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan."



Additional performance features of the 2023 Chrysler 300C include red four-piston Brembo brakes, a 3.09 limited slip differential, active damping suspension and black, rounded exhaust tips that accent an active exhaust system and deliver a muscular, throaty sound. A new iteration of the tri-color 300C badge dresses up the exterior on the grille and rear decklid. The exterior carries black chrome accents on the grille and lower fascia, plus black headlamp and taillamp bezels. Inside, black Laguna leather front seats are embossed with the new 300C logo.



"Our workforce here at Brampton Assembly has a reputation for building top-quality vehicles, and the Chrysler 300C was no different," said Alex Pittas , plant manager, Brampton Assembly. "We are proud of the workmanship and detail that went into all 2,200 that rolled down our assembly line in 2023."



Chrysler 300: Celebrating an Automotive Legend

With roots that include the breakthrough 1955 and 2005 models, the Chrysler 300 has represented style, sophistication and performance for decades, with models such as the Chrysler 300C.



Highlights of the nearly 70-year run of the Chrysler 300 include:

1950s

In 1955, the Chrysler 300 is introduced. The hardtop contains a 300-horsepower HEMI V-8 with solid valve lifters and dual four-barrel carburetors, the most powerful full-size car in the world; the new Chrysler 300 dominates NASCAR

300 is introduced. The hardtop contains a 300-horsepower HEMI V-8 with solid valve lifters and dual four-barrel carburetors, the most powerful full-size car in the world; the new 300 dominates

1957 Chrysler brand standard-bearer, the 300C, is equipped with a standard 392-cubic-inch, 375-horsepower HEMI

brand standard-bearer, the 300C, is equipped with a standard 392-cubic-inch, 375-horsepower HEMI

Chrysler 300D sets a Bonneville land speed record in 1958 at 156.387 mph

300D sets a Bonneville land speed record in 1958 at 156.387 mph

Chrysler 300E arrives in 1959

1960s

Chrysler 300F, 300G and 300H debut in 1960, 1961 and 1962, respectively

300F, 300G and 300H debut in 1960, 1961 and 1962, respectively

Chrysler brand continues to produce "style and speed" with the 300J

brand continues to produce "style and speed" with the 300J

300K debuts in 1964



Chrysler issues last of its 300 letter series cars, the 300L, in 1965; production of the non-letter series 300S continues

1990s

300 nameplate returns to the Chrysler lineup in 1999 with introduction of the 300M, which is named MotorTrend's Car of the Year in 1999

2000s

Introduction of 2005 Chrysler 300 series marks a return to rear-wheel drive and includes the 5.7-liter HEMI-powered 300C model with 340 horsepower; new 300 is named Car of the Year by MotorTrend

300 series marks a return to rear-wheel drive and includes the 5.7-liter HEMI-powered 300C model with 340 horsepower; new 300 is named Car of the Year by MotorTrend

Adding even more performance, 425-horsepower Chrysler 300C SRT8 features a 6.1-liter HEMI engine and is capable of 0 to 60 mph times in the low five-second range

300C SRT8 features a 6.1-liter HEMI engine and is capable of 0 to 60 mph times in the low five-second range

Additional 300 models within the 2005 to 2010 model-year span include all-wheel-drive versions, the "blacked out" 300S, the 300C and 300C SRT8 Touring models (outside of North America )

2010s

2014 Chrysler 300 SRT features a 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 and delivers 470 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque

300 SRT features a 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 and delivers 470 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque

Chrysler debuts the new Chrysler 300 in 2015, taking the nameplate's bold style and sophistication to new levels

2020s

2023 Chrysler 300C, powered by the 485-horsepower 6.4L HEMI engine, pays tribute to the Chrysler 300 and the end of an era  Chrysler 300 production will end following the 2023 model year

300C, powered by the 485-horsepower 6.4L HEMI engine, pays tribute to the 300 and the end of an era  300 production will end following the 2023 model year

Final HEMI-powered Chrysler 300C rolls of the production line at Brampton Assembly Plant on December 8, 2023



Chrysler Brand

The Chrysler brand has delighted customers with distinctive designs, craftsmanship, and advanced innovation and technology since the company was founded in 1925. Chrysler continues to build on that nearly 100-year legacy of creating ingenious products and technologies for mainstream customers, moving forward on an electrified transformation that will launch the brand's first battery-electric vehicle in 2025 and an all-electric portfolio in 2028.



The Chrysler Pacifica continues to reinvent the minivan, a segment Chrysler created 40 years ago. The Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid symbolizes the brand's electrification evolution, representing the first electrified minivan in the segment and achieving 82 MPGe in electric-only mode, an all-electric range of 32 miles and a total range of 520 miles. Chrysler Pacifica delivers the most standard safety features and most advanced available all-wheel-drive system in its class and is also the most awarded minivan over the last seven years with more than 175 honors and industry accolades since its introduction as a minivan.



The Chrysler 300 lineup delivers on the brand's promise of accessible luxury, with iconic and elegant design, world-class performance, efficiency and quality. Commemorating the legendary 1955 Chrysler C-300, the 2023 Chrysler 300C offers the very best of both luxury and performance, including advanced engineering, smart technology and exclusive styling inside and out.



Chrysler 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 Chrysler and company news and video on:

Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Chrysler brand: www.chrysler.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/chrysler

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrysler

Twitter: www.twitter.com/chrysler or @StellantisNA

YouTube: www.youtube.com/chrysler or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/last-legend-off-the-line-2023-chrysler-300c-ends-production-302010698.html

SOURCE Stellantis
HOUSTON , Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nabors Energy Transition Corp. ("NETC" or the "Company") (NYSE: NETC, NETC.WS, NETC.U) announced today that, at a special meeting of NETC stockholders held on December 8, 2023 (the "Extension Meeting"), its stockholders approved an extension of the date by which it has to consummate its initial business combination, allowing the Company's board of directors, without another stockholder vote, to extend such date up to three times for an additional one month each time (but in no event to a date later than 28 months from the closing of NETC's initial public offering) (each such month, a "Monthly Extension Period") by depositing $200,000 for each Monthly Extension Period into the Company's trust account for its public stockholders. The Company will only file the third amended and restated certificate of incorporation to implement the extension (the "Extension Amendment") if its previously announced initial business combination (the "Business Combination") with Vast Renewables Limited (f/k/a Vast Solar Pty Ltd) ("Vast") is not consummated by December 18, 2023 , which has been submitted to a vote of NETC stockholders scheduled for December 13, 2023 (the "Business Combination Meeting"). To the extent the Business Combination is consummated before the Extension Amendment is filed and effective, a stockholder who validly exercised its redemption rights in accordance with the Extension Meeting will be deemed to have validly elected to redeem such shares in connection with the Business Combination Meeting.

About Nabors Energy Transition Corp.

NETC is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. NETC was formed to identify solutions, opportunities, companies or technologies that focus on advancing the energy transition; specifically, ones that facilitate, improve or complement the reduction of carbon or greenhouse gas emissions while satisfying growing energy consumption across markets globally.

Important Information about the Business Combination and Where to Find It

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or constitute a solicitation of any vote or approval.

In connection with the proposed Business Combination, Vast has filed a registration statement on Form F-4 (File No. 333-272058) (as amended, the "Registration Statement") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which includes (i) a prospectus of Vast relating to the offer of securities to be issued in connection with the proposed Business Combination and (ii) a definitive proxy statement of the Company, which has been distributed to holders of the Company's capital stock in connection with the Company's solicitation of proxies for the vote by the Company's stockholders with respect to the proposed Business Combination and other matters described in the Registration Statement. The Company and Vast also plan to file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed Business Combination. The Registration Statement was declared effective by the SEC on November 21, 2023 , and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus was mailed to the stockholders of the Company on or about November 22, 2023 . INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF THE COMPANY AND VAST ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS CONTAINED THEREIN (INCLUDING ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PROPOSED BUSINESS COMBINATION THAT HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUSINESS COMBINATION.

Investors and security holders are able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents containing important information about the Company and Vast once such documents are filed with the SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, the documents filed by the Company may be obtained free of charge from the Company's website at www.nabors-etcorp.com or by written request to the Company at 515 West Greens Road , Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77067.

Participants in the Solicitation

The Company, Nabors Industries Ltd., Vast and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of the Company in connection with the proposed Business Combination. Information about the directors and executive officers of the Company is set forth in the Registration Statement. To the extent that holdings of the Company's securities have changed since the amounts printed in the Registration Statement filed on November 22, 2023 , such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, are contained in the Registration Statement and will be contained in other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information included herein and in any oral statements made in connection herewith include "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. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included herein are forward-looking statements. When used herein, including any oral statements made in connection herewith, the words "could," "should," "will," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company and Vast management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, the Company and Vast disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. The Company and Vast caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company and Vast. These risks include, but are not limited to, general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets; the inability to complete the Business Combination or the convertible debt and equity financings contemplated in connection with the proposed Business Combination, including the proposed financing from Capital Airport Group and Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l. (" Nabors Lux ") pursuant to the Backstop Agreement, dated as of October 19, 2023 , by and between Vast and Nabors Lux (the "Financing"), in a timely manner or at all (including due to the failure to receive required stockholder or shareholder, as applicable, approvals, or the failure of other closing conditions such as the satisfaction of the minimum trust account amount following redemptions by the Company's public stockholders and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals), which may adversely affect the price of the Company's securities; the inability of the Business Combination to be completed by the Company's business combination deadline and the potential failure to obtain an extension of the business combination deadline if sought by the Company; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination or the Financing; the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed Business Combination; the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of Vast's shares on a national exchange following the consummation of the proposed Business Combination; costs related to the proposed Business Combination; the risk that the proposed Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations of Vast, business relationships of Vast or Vast's business generally as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed Business Combination; Vast's ability to manage growth; Vast's ability to execute its business plan, including the completion of the Port Augusta project, at all or in a timely manner and meet its projections; potential disruption in Vast's employee retention as a result of the proposed Business Combination; potential litigation, governmental or regulatory proceedings, investigations or inquiries involving Vast or the Company, including in relation to the proposed Business Combination; changes in applicable laws or regulations and general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Vast's products and services. Additional risks are set forth in the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Registration Statement and other documents filed, or to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed Business Combination. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described herein and in any oral statements made in connection therewith occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact the Company's expectations can be found in the Company's periodic filings with the SEC, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 22, 2023 and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company's SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Investor Relations Contact

William C. Conroy

[email protected]

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SOURCE Nabors Energy Transition Corp.
VANCOUVER, BC , Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Chemistree Technology Inc. (CSE: CHM) (US OTCQB: CHMJF) (the "Company" or "Chemistree"), is providing Notice of the semi-annual payment of interest on its convertible debentures maturing March 29, 2024 . Pursuant to the Supplemental Indenture entered into with the Debenture Trustee, Odyssey Trust Company, effective January 17, 2022 , the Company will pay the interest due on December 31, 2023 - via the issuance of common shares in lieu of payment in cash.

According to data provided by the Debenture Trustee, $6,837,000 in convertible debentures remain outstanding. The debentures bear interest at 10% per annum, paid semi-annually at the end of June and December. Common shares to be issued in satisfaction of the interest payment are calculated according to a market price formula set out in the Supplemental Indenture and are subject to a minimum issue price of $0.05 per share.

The convertible debentures accrue interest daily, with such accrued interest paid immediately upon conversion of the debentures. The principal amount of the debentures is convertible into common shares of the Company at a price of $0.50 per share.

About Chemistree Technology Inc.

Chemistree Technology Inc. is a Canadian investment company whose strategy is to focus on opportunistic investments across a broad range of industries, and is seeking to invest in early stage, promising companies where it may be the lead investor and can additionally provide investees with advisory services, mentoring and access to the Company's management expertise. Existing holdings are in a consumer-targeted biotechnology venture, a renewable energy developer in the wind and solar sector ("REVV"), a plant-based wellness company ("FUEL") and an Ontario limited partnership ("ONLP") to take advantage of opportunistic long/short equity opportunities in both potential upside and downside expected price moves.

"Karl Kottmeier"

President

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Information set forth in this news release includes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "budget", "scheduled" and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to: the ability for the Company to pay future interest payments on the Debentures as such payments become due and the anticipated results of the Debenture Amendments on the debt burden and future operations of the Company.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risks identified in the Company's reports and filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by applicable law.

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SOURCE Chemistree Technology Inc.
Please note this press release was published on December 2, 2023 on the Sustainable Markets Initiative's website (http://www.sustainable-markets.org/news-archive)

Plan could unlock trillions of dollars for worldwide economy

Task force launches first-of-its-kind blended finance model to make regenerative farming financially viable for farmers; projects in India , the US and the UK explored to prove concept.

, the US and the explored to prove concept. Lloyds Banking Group announces it will join growing cross-industry group, as former CEO of Mars, Grant Reid , calls for others to join.

, calls for others to join. Companies call for 10 policy changes which could help to unlock a projected $1.2 trillion that regenerative agriculture can add to the worldwide economy.

DUBAI, UAE , Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At COP 28 , the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Agribusiness Task Force announced the launch of a new blended finance framework that could unlock trillions of dollars for regenerative agriculture.

A task force of companies including Mars, McCain Foods, McDonald's, Mondelez International, PepsiCo and Waitrose, unveil a plan to make regenerative farming financially viable and scalable; explore implementation projects in India , the UK and the US; welcome Lloyds Banking Group to boost cross-industry support, and call for policy changes to help support its implementation.

The global food system currently creates ~30% of human produced GHG emissions[1] and is the greatest driver to nature loss. Embracing regenerative farming globally could help provide a third of the land-based climate action needed by 2030[2], but as the Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Task Force found last year, the economics do not work for most farmers.

The Task Force including Bayer, Indigo Ag and Olam Agri , today outlines a four-lever framework to accelerate the scaling of regenerative farming, built on:

New funding and sourcing models;

Introduction of common metrics;

Suggested government policy changes; and

A plan to create new revenue streams for farmers.

"New funding and sourcing models" is a first-of-its-kind blended finance model combining philanthropic support, catalytic capital from asset managers, commercial capital offered at preferential rates from banks, longer-term contract commitments from food businesses to source sustainable commodities, and crop insurance from insurance companies helping de-risk farming operations.

A "plan to create new revenue streams for farmers" proposes a way to create more revenue for farmers by allowing them to capture carbon credits during a field's entire rotation, not just when it is in-use.

Titled the Ecosystem Services Market, the approach means when a field is farmed to supply a buyer, regenerative practices can help the buyer's Scope 3 footprint; then during a year when the farmer is resting the field to recover soil health and biodiversity, the farmer can continue selling carbon credits to other buyers outside of their value chain.

Complementing solutions to make regenerative farming financially viable, are proposals to make it scalable. The Task Force suggests the "introduction of common metrics", which would give regenerative farming a universally understood and scalable approach, and 10 "suggested government policy changes" which could help unlock $1.2 trillion that regenerative agriculture can add to the worldwide economy[3].

Policy recommendations include financial advice and training support to farmers implementing regenerative farming, and those carrying out Research and Development; promoting regenerative farming terms in trade agreements; and creating incentives for landowners to encourage regenerative techniques by tenants.

The Task Force reveals it is exploring at least four farming projects to prove its concept. These include rice in India , involving Bayer and Olam; canola and wheat projects in Poland , involving Mars, PepsiCo and ADM; wheat projects in the US, involving Mondelez and Indigo AG; and potatoes and other crops in the UK , involving McCain, McDonald's, Waitrose, PepsiCo, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest.

Grant Reid , former CEO of Mars, Inc., and Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Agribusiness Task Force said:

"Taking farming back to its roots through regenerative practices isn't a choice; it's one of the only ways we can guarantee farming and global food supply chains can survive for generations to come.

"That's why our plan, proving that regenerative farming could be economically viable, rewarding, and scalable, could be transformational to the world. But we need to prove it, which is why we're eagerly putting into practice our theory by launching implementation projects across the world.

"And while I'm so proud of the cross-industry group we've built to-date, with merely five harvests left until 2030, it needs to grow even more. That's why I call upon those with influence, from food and finance leaders, to governments, NGOs, to join us in this transformative journey."

The Task Force's full plan, published in its report Scaling Regenerative Farming: Levers for Implementation, can be viewed on the Agribusiness Task Force webpage.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Task Force members

Chaired by Grant F. Reid , former CEO of Mars Incorporated, Task Force members include:

Bayer

HowGood

Indigo Ag

Lloyds Banking Group

Mars Incorporated

McCain Foods

McDonald's

Mondelez International

Olam

PepsiCo

Sustainable Food Trust

Waitrose

Yara International

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

[1] UN Environment Programme; Our global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss

[2] Griscom, B., Adams, J., Ellis, P., et al. Natural Climate Solutions (2017). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114

[3] The Food and Land Use Coalition, Growing Better: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food & Land Use

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2296540/Sustainable_Markets_Initiative.jpg

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SOURCE Sustainable Markets Initiative
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -A violent confrontation between suspected criminals has left at least 11 people dead in the town of Texcaltitlan in central Mexico, state security officials said on Friday.

Eight of the deceased were suspected to be tied to criminal activities, the security ministry for the state of Mexico said in a statement, adding that three victims were members of the community.

State police were working with the National Guard and other authorities to provide more details on the incident, the statement added.

A video shared by a Mexican media outlet on social media showed fighting break out among several dozen men as gunfire broke out from off camera, sending people running for cover.

Reuters has not independently verified the video.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sarah Morland)
BEIJING (Reuters) -A rocket developed by LandSpace Technology on Saturday launched three satellites into orbit, a milestone in the Chinese private rocket startup's mission to test whether its vehicle using methane and liquid oxygen is ready for commercial liftoffs.

The success could boost investor confidence in methane as a potential rocket fuel, which is deemed able to help slash costs and support reusable rockets in a cleaner and more efficient way.

Several private Chinese rocket startups have lined up test or commercial launches, aiming to prepare their products for the increasing demand in China's expanding commercial space industry, amid growing competition to form a constellation of satellites as an alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink.

Zhuque-2 Y-3 blasted off at 7:39 a.m. (1139 GMT on Friday) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's Inner Mongolia region, becoming the third LandSpace test rocket for Zhuque-2, and the first that succeeded in lifting satellites.

A second attempt, without real satellites, in July made LandSpace the world's first company to launch methane-liquid oxygen rocket, ahead of U.S. rivals including Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

The two launches showed Zhuque-2 is reliable enough for commercial launches, LandSpace said in a statement.

LandSpace said the three satellites reached 460-km (285-mile) sun-synchronous orbit, without providing details on the types and overall weight of them.

Zhuque-2 is capable of putting payloads totalling 1.5 metric tons into 500-km (300-mile) orbit, which LandSpace plans to increase to 4 tons in upgraded versions, the Beijing-based company said.

Zhuque-2 Y-3 carried two 50-kilogram test satellites developed by Chinese startup Spacety, one of which has adopted technologies from a company named Hongqing, according to a Spacety statement on Saturday.

Hongqing said in a statement the rocket also carried one of its test satellites, without disclosing the weight.

The two Hongqing-linked test satellites in Saturday's launch are designed to support forming a low-orbit satellite constellation, said Hongqing, in which LandSpace holds a stake.

LandSpace said last year the first launch last December failed, without specifying whether the test rocket, Zhuque-2 Y-1, carried any satellite payloads.

The eight-year-old startup said earlier this year it plans to provide clients with about three launches in 2024 and double that in 2025.

Chinese startup OrienSpace said it has scheduled the debut launch of its solid-fuel rocket, Gravity-1, in December. Deep Blue Aerospace, which is developing a reusable kerosene-fuelled rocket, aims to complete next year its first test of launching the Nebula-1 rocket to orbit and recovering it.

Galactic Energy on Tuesday launched its solid-propellant rocket Ceres-1 with two satellites into orbit, after a failure in September and a series of successful launches earlier.

(Reporting by Roxanne Liu, Ella Cao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Josie Kao, Grant McCool and William Mallard)
Palestinian police officers walk at the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom, as Israel ends a ban on exports from Gaza, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip September 10, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo

By Aidan Lewis

CAIRO (Reuters) - A new process for inspecting aid for Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing is being tested, but efforts to get permission for trucks to enter through the crossing and ramp up relief are still ongoing, a senior U.N. official told Reuters on Saturday.

Under the new system, trucks would come to the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel, Gaza and Egypt for the first time from Jordan, before entering Gaza from Rafah, about 3 km (1.86 miles) away.

But the trucks would need to be allowed to enter Gaza directly through Kerem Shalom to alleviate an increasingly desperate situation in the coastal enclave, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme.

Israel has so far rebuffed pleas from the United Nations and others to open Kerem Shalom, but they both signalled on Thursday that Kerem Shalom could soon help process delivery of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Until now, limited quantities of aid have been delivered from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which is ill-equipped to process large numbers of trucks.

Trucks have been driving more than 40 km (24.85 miles) south to Egypt's border with Israel before returning to Rafah, leading to bottlenecks and delays.

A process to test the inspection system at Kerem Shalom for trucks arriving from Jordan is underway, said Skau, who visited Gaza on Friday.

"It's good, it's useful because it would also be the first time that we can then bring in a pipeline from Jordan. But we need that entry point as well because that would make all the difference," he said in an interview.

"If you get that open, then it's just a matter of how much is available and how much can be absorbed on the other side in an orderly fashion, but then certainly that capacity would not be the issue," he added.

"We have front-loaded with our internal resources so that we have food available in Egypt and in Jordan to reach some 1,000,000 people in one month. We are ready to roll. The trucks are ready to move."

Skau said the situation inside Gaza was increasingly chaotic as people grabbed what they could from aid distribution points, with larger numbers of people displaced southwards close to the border with Egypt and aid trucks at risk of being stopped by desperate residents if they even slow down at an intersection.

"There is a question for how long this can continue, because the humanitarian operation is collapsing," he said.

"Half of the population are starving, nine out of 10 are not eating every day. Obviously the needs are massive."

(Reporting by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Helen Popper)
Pakistans jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan added his voice Thursday to criticism from human rights groups about the expulsion of illegal Afghan refugees from the country, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

1.5 million refugees are not much of a burden for a nation of 250 million people. There is a fear of a permanent rift in the long-standing relationship between the two countries, considering the way Afghan refugees are being expelled, Khan, who is currently languishing a jail in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi, wrote on X.

Pakistan gave a one-month deadline in October for all undocumented foreigners to leave by Nov. 1 or face forcible expulsion.

Afghanistan, the UN, Amnesty International and other organizations have opposed Islamabads decision to evict the undocumented refugees and said the return must be voluntary and without any pressure.

Khan observed that Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly and neighboring countries, whose people are bound in centuries-old relations.

Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees for 40 years but the fruits of this years-long hospitality are being wasted just because of a poor strategy,  wrote Khan.

He warned that the forced expulsion of the refugees may result in a permanent rift in relations between the neighboring countries.

Khan urged the government to revisit the policy and adopt a respectful strategy to repatriate Afghan refugees.

Nearly 500,000 undocumented Afghan refugees have left Pakistan in the last month, according to the Afghan interim government.

The latest UN figures indicate that 1.3 million Afghans enjoy the status of registered refugees, while 880,000 have legal status to stay in Pakistan.???????




A winter storm that rolled into the Pikes Peak region Friday had dropped up to 6 inches of snow in some parts of the Colorado Springs area by Saturday morning.

Peterson Air Force Base saw 5.7 inches of snow, Colorado Springs received about 4.8 inches, and Black Forest received 4.7 inches. Woodland Park saw 7 inches, and and the Air Force Academy received 3 inches. Manitou Springs received 5.9 inches

Colorado Springs police were accident alert Friday night, and shortly before 10 p.m. the department posted on social media, asking drivers to avoid Bijou Street and Academy Boulevard due to the road conditions. Snow packed conditions were also reported on U.S. 24 between Colorado Springs and Woodland Park Friday night.

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The storm also delayed some openings Saturday. The Garden of Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center will open at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Monument, High Prairie, and Calhan libraries will also open at noon due to icy road conditions.

The snowy conditions were expected to move out of the region Saturday, and a pair of winter weather advisories that went into effect Friday evening expired at 5 a.m. Saturday.

A high wind warning also in effect for the area expired at 8 a.m, though conditions were expected to remain breezy for much of the day, says Casey Dorn with Gazette news partner KOAA. Along the I-25 corridor, the region could see gusts between 30-45 mph, he said.

Residents can expect more clouds than sun today, but dry air will lead to decent sunshine for at least a few hours this afternoon, according to Dorn.

"Snow flurries re-develop around 2 p.m. north of Woodland Park, and some of these showers will drift into the Colorado Springs region during the late afternoon. You might see a flurry or two before sunset, but not much additional accumulation. If you're headed to the Festival of Lights parade in Colorado Springs tonight, bundle up - wind chills will be in the teens!"
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Attacks by Iraq's Kataeb Hezbollah militia against U.S. interests on Friday are the start of "new rules of engagement," a security official from the group said in a social media post.

The Iran-aligned group, while not claiming responsibility for a rare attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Friday, claimed the embassy was a forward operating base for planning military operations.

The attack was condemned by the U.S. and by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who said it was an act of terrorism against a diplomatic mission.

But Kataeb Hezbollah (KH) said the facility was a base involved in planning military operations. Those who described it as a diplomatic mission were "subservient" and self-interested, Abu Ali al-Askari, a security official from the group, said in a social media post.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a Friday call with Sudani, singled out KH and another group, Haraket Hezbollah al-Nujaba, for the recent targeting of U.S. personnel and said the U.S. reserved its right to respond.

U.S. officials have reported more than 80 attacks against U.S. interest in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, most claimed by an umbrella-group of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias over Washington's backing of Israel in its war in Gaza.

The group, which goes by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed 11 attacks against U.S. forces on Friday, the most in a single day since they began in mid-October.

Sudani has ordered security forces to investigate the embassy attack and on Saturday replaced the regiment in charge of security in Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone area where the attacks occurred, according to his office.

In an apparent challenge to Sudani, KH said that members of Iraq's security forces that were cooperating with U.S. forces were "accomplices in its crimes".

As well as diplomatic staff in Iraq, the United States has about 2,500 troops in the country on a mission it says aims to advise and assist local forces battling remnants of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both Iraq and Syria before being defeated.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Frances Kerry and Mike Harrison)
FILE PHOTO: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks ahead of a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo

(Reuters) -The Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked a pregnant woman from obtaining an emergency abortion on Friday, shortly after the state's attorney general requested the block.

The legal battle is a major test case since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the nationwide constitutional right to abortion last year, enabling states like Texas to pass near complete bans.

The Texas court halted a lower court ruling allowing the emergency abortion, responding to a petition from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton earlier in the day.

"Without regard to the merits, the Court administratively stays the district court's December 7, 2023 order," the late Friday ruling said.

The woman, Kate Cox, 31, of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, sought court authorization for the abortion because her fetus was diagnosed on Nov. 27 with trisomy 18, a genetic abnormality that usually results in miscarriage, stillbirth or death soon after birth.

Cox, who is about 20 weeks pregnant, said in her lawsuit that she would need to undergo her third caesarean section if she continues the pregnancy. That could jeopardize her ability to have more children, which she said she and her husband want.

"While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the state's request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied," said Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights.

District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble sided with Cox on Thursday, issuing an order that applied only to Cox and does not expand abortion access more broadly.

But Paxton, who had previously warned that any doctors involved in providing the emergency abortion would not be safe from prosecution, asked the state's highest court to intervene.

"Nothing can restore the unborn child's life that will be lost as a result," the filing said.

The state's abortion ban includes only a narrow exception to save the mother's life or prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

Cox said in her lawsuit that, although her doctors believed abortion was medically necessary for her, they were unwilling to perform one without a court order in the face of potential penalties, including life in prison and loss of their licenses.

"The idea that Ms. Cox wants desperately to be a parent, and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability, is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice," Guerra Gamble said on Thursday during a hearing in an Austin courtroom.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and William Mallard)
FILE PHOTO: Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives to attend an investiture debate, as Spain's Socialists seek to clinch a new term following a deal with the Catalan separatist Junts party for government support, a pact which involves amnesti

MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish Prime Minister on Saturday condemned the actions of Guatemalan prosecutors as a "threat to democracy" after they questioned the election victory of the country's President-elect Bernardo Arevalo.

"I want to show my most absolute rejection of the actions of the Public Ministry of Guatemala that threaten democracy and the will of the citizens expressed at the polls. Democracy must prevail," Pedro Sanchez posted on social media site X.

Arevalo on Friday rejected a legal manoeuvre from prosecutors to invalidate his election triumph, calling the effort "perverse" and an "attempted coup".

Ever since anti-corruption crusader Arevalo did much better than expected in June's first-round election, qualifying for the decisive August runoff, he and his centre-left Seed Movement party have faced a series of investigations from the attorney general's office, which has alleged irregularities in the party's registration several years ago.

Spain, which holds the Council of the European Union's rotating presidency, has sought to improve relations between the bloc and Latin America.

Spain still hoped to clinch a trade deal between the EU and South American trade bloc Mercosur bloc by year-end, a Spanish Economy Ministry source said on Dec. 4.

The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have been negotiating a deal for almost 25 years.

Spanish investors play an important role in Latin America, particularly Telefonica which has had commercial ties to the continent for the past 30 years.

(Reporting by Graham Keeley; Editing by Mark Potter)
BEIJING (Reuters) - At least six people were killed and three injured after a steel shed collapse at a building materials plant in southwestern China's Guizhou province on Saturday, state media CCTV reported.

Construction was going on when the collapse happened at noon in Xishui county, Guizhou province, CCTV said, adding an investigation was underway.

The injured are being treated at the hospital, state media said.

(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Mark Potter)
FILE PHOTO: A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives on autopilot along the 405 highway in Westminster, California, U.S., March 16, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc defended its use of "Autopilot" and "self-driving" for its driver assistance features, arguing in response to a California regulatory action that the agency had implicitly approved the terms when it did not take action in its previous investigations of them.

The electric car company run by billionaire Elon Musk was accused last year by California's Department of Motor Vehicles of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features as providing autonomous vehicle control.

The DMV is seeking remedies that could include suspending Tesla's license to sell vehicles in California, Tesla's largest U.S. market, and requiring the company to make restitution to drivers.

Tesla in a Dec. 5 filing with the state Office of Administrative Hearings, released by the state on Friday, said that the DMV had investigated its use of the Autopilot brand in 2014 and of that and other phrases in 2017.

"The DMV chose not to take any action against Tesla or otherwise communicate to Tesla that its advertising or use of these brand names was or might be problematic," Tesla said.

The DMV also in 2016 decided not to prohibit the use of "self-driving" and similar language, when drawing up regulation about statements on autonomous technology, Tesla said. Legislation on the topic also removed a prohibition on the terms that was in an earlier DMV draft, Tesla said.

"Tesla relied upon Claimant's (the DMV's) implicit approval of these brand names," the company said.

In the 2022 complaints, the DMV had said Tesla misled prospective customers with advertising that overstated how well its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) worked.

According to Tesla's website, the technologies "require active driver supervision," with a "fully attentive" driver whose hands are on the wheel, "and do not make the vehicle autonomous."

The DMV has said Tesla's disclaimer "contradicts the original untrue or misleading labels and claims, which is misleading, and does not cure the violation."

(Reporting By Peter Henderson and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Firefighters work to extinguish a deadly fire at the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital, in Tivoli, around 30 km from Rome, Italy December 9, 2023. Vigili del fuoco/Handout via REUTERS

ROME (Reuters) - Three elderly people were killed when fire swept through a hospital overnight in the town of Tivoli, close to Rome, Italian media reported on Saturday.

A fourth body was found in the mortuary of the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital but that victim was believed to have died before the blaze broke out shortly before 11 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Friday night, Italy's Ansa news agency said.

The fire brigade used turntable ladders to help evacuate around 200 people from the hospital, including a pregnant woman and a number of children.

Those evacuated were taken to hospitals in other parts of Rome for treatment. The dead - two men and two women - were aged between 76 and 86, the media reports said.

The fire brigade said that the fire had now been put out and an investigation was under way to establish its cause.

(Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Mark Potter)
FILE PHOTO: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan looks on during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly at the Lotte Palace Hotel in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2023. REU

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The United States' veto of a proposed United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was a "complete disappointment," Turkey's ministry of foreign affairs has said.

"Our friends once again expressed that America is now alone on this issue, especially in the voting held at the United Nations today," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with state broadcaster TRT on Friday.

He spoke after a meeting with his counterparts from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League who met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.

The feeling of "complete disappointment" was emphasized during the meeting, the ministry said in a post on social messaging platform X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Unlike most of its Western allies and some Gulf states, NATO member Turkey does not view Hamas as a terrorist group.

Fidan said he also discussed Sweden's bid to join NATO during a bilateral meeting with Blinken.

"From now on, it is at the discretion of the parliament, and we have conveyed this to our counterparts," Fidan said.

(Reporting by Burcu Karakas; Editing by Mike Harrison)
FILE PHOTO: A man looks out of a store as police patrol the streets after gang members tried to attack a police station, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -The United Nations Security Council on Friday said it had approved the addition of four suspected Haitian gang leaders to its sanctions list, a long-awaited addition as the Caribbean nation faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The U.N. slapped sanctions on Renel Destina, believed to be the main leader of the Grand Ravine gang; as well as Vitel'homme Innocent, understood to head the Kraze Barye gang; Johnson Andre of 5 Segond; and Wilson Joseph of 400 Mawozo.

The U.S. Treasury Department earlier on Friday announced fresh sanctions against the same four individuals.

Survivors have identified Andre and his gang as directly responsible for 1,035 cases of sexual violence in 2022 alone, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The Treasury said Destina, a key ally of Andre, was responsible for killings, robberies, rapes, looting and burning down homes, and has also been indicted for kidnapping U.S. citizens in 2021.

Joseph and Innocent are both indicted for roles in the kidnapping of U.S. citizens in October last year, it added.

"Criminal gangs now reportedly control approximately 80% of (Haiti's capital) Port-au-Prince," the Treasury said in a statement. "Kidnapping, rape, robbery, murder and sexual violence are daily threats for Haitians, including children."

Rights groups have meanwhile called for sanctions to target those funding the gangs and for a clampdown on arms trafficking, believed to come largely from small-scale traffickers shipping guns and ammunition from Florida.

The conflict has displaced tens of thousands and spread to farmlands north of the capital, further threatening food supplies in a country where the U.N. estimated close to half of the population is going hungry.

The U.N. sanctions announcement comes as it calls on countries to volunteer troops for a multinational security mission to help national police fight the gangs which have expanded their control over much of the Haitian territory.

Previously, the international body had only sanctioned one Haitian: Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer and leader of the G9 Alliance, which competes with the G-Pep alliance for control over swathes of Port-au-Prince.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Chris Reese)
CV-22 Ospreys assigned to the 21st Special Operations Squadron approach an MC-130J Commando II for aerial refueling over the Sea of Japan on March 17, 2023. (Trevor Gordnier/U.S. Air Force)

Members of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday asked a federal watchdog agency to investigate safety issues concerning Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in the wake of last weeks deadly crash off the coast of Japan.

Eight airmen died in the Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force CV-22B Osprey.

Reps. John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Mike Waltz, R-Fla., sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office urging a review into the cause of this most recent accident as well as earlier incidents, according to a news release from Garamendis office.

Garamendi is the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committees subpanel on readiness. Waltz is the subpanels chairman.

Ospreys are hybrid aircraft that take off and land as a helicopter, but once in the air its propellers can be rotated forward so that it can fly like a fixed-wing plane. The Marine Corps fielded its first Osprey in 2007, and the Air Force did so two years later.

The Japan crash comes after numerous mishaps involving the Osprey aircraft, resulting in the tragic loss of over 50 service members, the news release states.

Other recent Osprey fatalities were in August, when three Marines died in an accident in Australia, and in June 2022, when five Marines perished in a crash about 115 miles east of San Diego.

On Wednesday, the Defense Department grounded all Ospreys used by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy.

Preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap, but the underlying cause of the failure is unknown at this time, the Navy said in a Wednesday news release regarding the groundings. While the mishap remains under investigation, we are implementing additional risk mitigation controls to ensure the safety of our service members.

In the lawmakers letter, they ask the GAO to search for trends in causes of Osprey accidents and mishaps, as well to investigate issues of maintenance and supply that negatively impact availability rates of the aircraft.

They also ask for an assessment of the extent to which each service uses risk management procedures to mitigate potential accidents.

More broadly, the lawmakers want the GAO to determine what steps the Defense Department, the services and the V-22 Joint Program Office have taken to reduce or prevent accidents involving Ospreys and what additional steps are warranted.
Cmdr. Adam K. Pendleton was dismissed Dec. 8 as commanding officer of Navy Talent Acquisition Group Pacific, one of 26 offices across the country that manage recruiting of new sailors, the Navy said. (U.S. Navy)

The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of its Los Angeles area recruiting efforts, the service said in a statement Friday.

Cmdr. Adam K. Pendleton was dismissed Thursday as commanding officer of Navy Talent Acquisition Group Pacific, one of 26 offices across the country that manage recruiting of new sailors.

Pendleton was removed by his commanding officer Capt. Robert L. Moran of Navy Recruiting Command Region West.

No specific reason was given for Pendletons removal beyond a typical statement used by the military when a commander is fired  due to a loss of confidence in his ability to fulfill the responsibilities as commanding officer.

Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct, Lt. Cmdr. Richard Parker, public affairs officer for Navy Recruiting Command, said in a statement. They are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards.

The Navy did not release information on a reassignment for Pendleton. A previous Navy statement said Pendleton is a native of Los Angeles who enlisted in the Navy in 1993. He served as an operations specialist aboard the USS Coronado in San Diego from 1993 to 1997. Pendleton was commissioned as an officer in 2004. He earlier served at the Navy Recruiting Command Headquarters in Millington, Tenn., and was executive officer of the Pacific office prior to becoming the commanding officer.

The service said Capt. Tommy Edgeworth, deputy commodore of Navy Recruiting Command Region West, had assumed duties as NTAG Pacific commanding officer.

Navy Talent Acquisition Groups are divided geographically into West, Central and East commands, though all three are located at the national recruiting command in Millington. Rear Adm. Alexis Lex Walker is the commanding officer.
Email special events to news@registerbee.com. The deadline is noon Wednesday.

SATURDAY, DEC. 9

YOUTH CHRISTMAS SOCIAL: From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., New Ephesus Baptist Church, 375 Ephesus Church Road, Semora, North Carolina, will host a youth Christmas social sponsored by the men's ministry. There will be food, fellowship and fund. For more information and transportation, contact Curtis Swann at 336-694-3880.

SUNDAY, DEC. 10

CHURCH ANNIVERSARY: Calvary Baptist Church will celebrate its 131st anniversary at 11 a.m. on Sunday with the Rev. Wesley K. McLaughlin as guest speaker.

TREE LIGHTING PROGRAM: The Cherrystone Baptist Association men's ministry tree lighting program will be held at 4 p.m. at the Cherrystone Center, 5551 Tom Fork Road, Ringgold.

MORNING WORSHIP & CHRISTMAS: There will be two services. Morning worship and Christmas at New Ephesus Baptist Church will begin at 11 a.m. with Bishop Gerald Franklin preaching the sermon. Lunch will be served. At 2 p.m., "Because Jesus was Born" will be conducted by minister of music Leslie Swann. If worshiping inside the sanctuary, face masks will be available. Facebook LiveStream also is available.

ONGOING

DIVORCE CARE SEMINAR-SUPPORT GROUP: Group meets at Hillcrest Baptist Church from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays for 13 weeks. For more information, call 434-685-4594.

Shockoe Missionary Baptist Church, 857 Java Road, Java, hosts a monthly Wellness Walking Ministry from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., meeting every fourth Saturday. All ages are welcome to participate. The Health and Wellness Ministry will meet at 9 a.m. before each walking session. For information, contact Kathy B. Ramsey at 434-251-0379 or atbjrk@gmail.com.

Ascension Lutheran Church, 314 West Main St., worships Sundays at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary and live on Facebook at www.facebook/ascensionlutherandanville.

Mount Vernon United Methodist Church offers in-person services at 10 a.m. each Sunday as well as online worship services every Sunday at mtvernonumc.org or www.facebook.com/MountVernonUMC.

Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1172 Franklin Turnpike, will have in-house worship services on Sundays at 11 a.m. Free books available anytime from a Little Free Library located on a post next to the driveway.

Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, 406 Gay St., has in-person services at 10 a.m. for hour of power on the first and third Sundays.

North New Hope Baptist Church, 123 Old Piney Forest Road, has resumed in church worship services at 11 a.m. and Sunday school at 9:30 p.m.

Mount Sinai Glorious Church of God, 716 Jefferson St., will hold services in the sanctuary with Sunday school at 10 a.m. and morning worship at 10:30 a.m. Participants are asked to wear a mask and to practice social distancing. The service also will be streamed on Facebook.

Mount Freeman Baptist Church, 2100 Laniers Mill Road, hosts in-person service at 11 a.m. Sunday. There will be no Sunday school.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church will livestream worship service at 9 a.m. Sundays in English and noon in Spanish at www.facebook.com/sheartchurch.

Staunton River Baptist Church, Long Island, will hold drive-in services at 10 a.m. each Sunday.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church celebrates Mass every weekend with a vigil Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday and at 9 p.m. Sunday in English and noon in Spanish.

Watson Level Missionary Baptist Church holds Sunday worship services each week at 11 a.m. Because of COVID-19, a face mask is required for all attendees and social distancing is mandatory.

Calvary Church of the Nazarene, 2450 Franklin Turnpike, from 6 to 7 p.m. every Sunday, will hold Ladies Need Encouragement, an hour of worship and prayer. Participants are asked to bring a Bible and practice social distancing. The event is for ages 10 and up with adult supervision. For more information, call 540-907-8836.

Mount Zion Temple, now located at 503 Hughes St., presents The Word Homelitic Institute at 10 a.m. every Sunday. Transportation is provided by calling Bishop David K. Fuller at 434-429-8960.
(Allen Fasoldt/Stars and Stripes)

Pleiku, South Vietnam, Dec. 20, 1966: Diane Shelton, baton twirling champion, waits behind the stage for her performance at the Bob Hope Christmas Show. Hopes legendary variety-style holiday show toured bases, trenches and hillsides for decades with a vast array of entertainers starting in World War II. In 1964 Hope took the first of nine USO trips to Vietnam. He would record his final Bob Hope Chirstmas Show from Vietnam in 1972, but continued touring with the USO until 1990. Of the service members he preformed for Hope said in 1991, Its the best audience.

Looking for Stars and Stripes coverage of the Vietnam War? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
Members of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine work at a checkpoint near the Romanian border in Veliatyno. (Alice Martins for The Washington Post)

VELIATYNO, Ukraine - Soon after Russias invasion in February 2022, Ukraine beefed up its border defenses near this Carpathian mountain village.

But the extra patrols and reels of barbed wire fencing rolled out along the top of a mountain pass along the Romanian border were meant to keep people in - particularly draft-eligible men seeking to flee the country.

As Ukraine approaches its third year of war, those men are needed more than ever. The leaders are still pleading for more weapons and ammunition from the United States and Europe - even as signs of flagging support among those allies suggest that Ukraine may have to do more to arm itself. But even more than bullets, Ukraine needs fighters, leading to a search for new ways to mobilize the population and stronger measures against draft dodgers.

Following Russias full-scale invasion, men ages 18 to 60 were forbidden from leaving the country. Many bypass military service through the equivalent of medical disabilities, college deferments or family obligations. A father with three or more children is exempt, as are those who have family members already serving in the military.

Some of those seeking to escape hire guides to lead them through the mountains. Others make the risky trip alone. One of them, a 46-year-old man who lost his way last month, suffered severe frostbite and died soon after he was found. At least 25 men have drowned while crossing the Tysa River, which separates Ukraine from Romania.

But the most common escape route has been major border crossings. Many rely on fake documents to slip out of the country. Others have resorted to more elaborate, even desperate, schemes.

Men have squeezed themselves into secret compartments in vehicles, posed as clergy members and dressed as women to sneak past border checkpoints, said Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman at the headquarters of the State Border Guard Service. A freight company employee took payoffs to sign up draft-age men as truck drivers who then disappeared over the border with Poland. A 20-year-old man entered into a bogus marriage with a relative with a disability and tried to exit the country as her caregiver.

As of now, Im not surprised at anything, Demchenko said.

Lt. Ilya Skvortsov, 23, a member of the Mukachevo border detachment, is pictured on patrol near Veliatyno on Nov. 29. Some Ukrainian men have gone to great lengths to leave the country to avoid fighting in the war. (Alice Martins for The Washington Post)

President Volodymyr Zelensky, himself, has recognized that there is a problem. Everyone in Ukraine understands that changes are needed in this area, he said last week, adding that the problem goes beyond raw numbers and includes current conditions and terms of service.

Readying for the long haul

The need for more troops comes as Ukraine steels itself for a long war. The countrys situation has become more precarious after a major counteroffensive stalled, European Union nations fell short on their pledge for artillery shells and the U.S. Congress has wavered on President Bidens promise of more aid.

At the same time, Russia, a bigger and more powerful enemy, has regained its balance after early setbacks. Its economy has been resilient in the face of sanctions and shifted toward a wartime footing, and its military has received weapons from Iran and North Korea.

The Kremlin, drawing on a population more than three times the size of Ukraines, has called up additional troops twice since the invasion. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the military to add nearly 170,000 troops, bringing the total number of Russian troops to about 1.32 million.

In a grinding war of attrition, Ukrainians worry that time is on Putins side.

Honestly, we need more soldiers. The professional military personnel are running out, said Dolphin, a 68th Brigade assault team leader discussing the dire state of affairs at a command post in eastern Ukraine last month. He can only be identified by his call sign in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol. He said too many civilians seem content to leave the fighting to professional soldiers like him.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov recently told a European security forum that Ukraine has 1 million people in military service, including 800,000 in the armed forces. But the toll has been staggering, with U.S. security officials estimating much earlier this year that Ukraine has suffered more that 124,500 casualties, including more than 15,500 killed in action.

Losing faith in leaders

Ukrainians remain united in what many consider a battle for survival, and tens of thousands willingly show up at recruitment centers to enlist, often aware of the horrifying accounts of how life has changed in Russia-held territory. But interviews with draft-age Ukrainians suggest that many are less than eager to fight for a military and national government that is viewed as rife with corruption and incompetence.

Photos of fallen Ukrainian and foreign soldiers and volunteers are displayed on a wall outside St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. (Alice Martins for The Washington Post)

At Kyivs University subway stop, Maksim, a 20-year-old resident of Kyiv who spoke on the condition that his last name not be used to discuss sensitive issues, said he expects that he will probably serve after he completes university studies in engineering.

But hes not eager to risk his life in the military, given stories he has heard from friends in the ranks about insufficient training and endemic corruption, such as paying bribes to officers to receive vacation leave.

Its an extremely difficult topic, said Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian defense minister. He said the current form of mobilization came together on an emergency basis at the start of the war. Now the government must adjust to meet the militarys immediate and long-term needs while ensuring that the burden is more fairly shared by all.

This system has loopholes and some people do use these loopholes, Zagorodnyuk said. The BBC, citing an analysis based on Eurostat data, said that 650,000 conscription-age men have left Ukraine.

Buying their way out

Some men - a small minority, government officials say - dodge the draft by breaking the law. In August, Zelensky fired all heads of regional recruitment commissions amid allegations of widespread corruption.

One draft-age Ukrainian, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he has been breaking the law, said he went through three intermediaries to bribe officials for documents saying that he is serving with the Ukrainian military, even though he has been living and working in Kyiv.

Others rely on forged documents to sneak out of the country, including white papers claiming medical disabilities. People pay professional traffickers to prepare phony documents, while others create them themselves.

Others have tried bribing border guards - at least 825 times to the tune of about $228,000, a Border Guard spokesman said - or attempted to pass through checkpoints as stowaways. One Ukrainian draft-age man, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he has evaded service, said the going rate for bribing a guard on the Moldovan border is $300.

The State Border Guard Service has stopped more than 16,500 conscription-age men from leaving the country illegally since February 2022, usually on their way to Moldova or Romania, said Demchenko, the spokesman. He said that about 7,000 of them have been caught using forged documents while trying to cross the border, usually into Poland. Nearly 2,500 have been caught this year.

The Lviv region is one of the nations busiest corridors for people trying to leave the country illegally, owing to its long border with Poland.

Capt. Maksym Boichuk, 26, head of a unit of the Mukachevo border detachment, patrols the Romanian border near Veliatyno on Nov. 29, 2023. (Alice Martins for The Washington Post)

A Lviv freight company employee helped more than 50 men flee Ukraine by registering them as truckers. The employee with Smart Way Logistics - who wasnt identified in court papers filed in June with the Zhokviv District Court - slipped the first one over the border in April 2022. By November 2022, his busiest month, he had helped 13 bogus truckers into Poland. He faced as many as 12 years in prison for each instance but, because he showed remorse and assisted in closing the case, received a seven-year suspended sentence and probation instead.

Through the green areas

Still other draft-age men cross the Ukraine border in green areas such as those in the mountains and forests. One young Ukrainian man posted an Instagram video of his flight through such an area, including the moment he kissed a tree to celebrate crossing the border.

In texts with The Washington Post, he said he and his companion - whom he described as a deserter from active-duty service - crossed the frontier without a guide. He said he left because he thinks that wartime Ukraine has become as repressive as Russia, and that out of desperation for fighters, men were practically being snatched off the streets.

Even if youre missing a leg, theyll say you can still fly drones, he said. He, too, complained about corruption, saying that ordinary Ukrainians are fighting and dying while members of parliament and other elites cruise around in Mercedes and other fancy cars.

Guides can be found on social media sites such as Telegram, where the fee starts at $1,200. Besides knowing the terrain, some guides use night-vision goggles and spend time observing Border Guard patrols to learn their habits and vulnerabilities, said Lesia Fedorova, a Border Guard spokeswoman in the detachment near the Romanian border.

On a recent tour of the border near here, a patrol stood on the bank of the Tysa River, about 600 feet downstream from a common crossing spot, as the frigid water churned swiftly past. Not long ago, officials said, the service caught two men trying to cross another part of the river wearing flotation devices like a child might use in a swimming pool.

Nearby, another patrol, dressed in white camouflage over their green fatigues and carrying Kalashnikov rifles or 9mm handguns, trekked to the snowy mountaintop overlooking Romania in about 90 minutes. A barbed wire fence stretched out from both sides of a rickety cattle gate.

Before the war, the Border Patrol in this sector spent most of its time trying to stop tobacco smugglers and migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey and other countries from illegally entering Ukraine, sometimes crossing the border with the help of professional smugglers, Fedorova said.

After Russia invaded, the flow changed course, with about 50 people crossing illegally per day over the mountain or through checkpoints. Now its down to about eight people a day, she said.

Before turning back, the patrol left a sign made of twigs to indicate to other patrols their identity and when they had been there. As they leave, they also brush away their tracks so that the any new prints made by deserters will be clear.
Coalition service members pose after conducting a close quarters live-fire exercise at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on Oct. 30, 2023. (Damion Clark/U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON  American forces have killed or captured dozens of Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria in the past month, amid an uptick in attacks against U.S. bases in those countries, military officials said Thursday.

During November, U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria killed at least four ISIS militants and detained 33 others, according to U.S. Central Command, the Defense Departments operational command for the Middle East.

Even in the midst of complex challenges within the region, CENTCOM remains steadfast to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS, said Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.

Those challenges include the conflict between Israel and Hamas following the militant groups Oct. 7 attack, and the ongoing attacks against various U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq. Since mid-October, there have been at least 78 attacks on American installations in those countries that have caused more than 60 minor injuries to U.S. personnel, the Pentagon has said.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the United States has moved military assets into the region to protect U.S. service members there and deter other groups or countries from escalating the fighting. Those assets include aircraft carrier strike groups and squadrons of fighter jets.

CENTCOM said it carried out 40 operations against ISIS during November  24 in Iraq and 16 in Syria. Three of the militants were killed in Iraq and the other died in Syria, officials said.

These operations highlight [our] enduring commitment to the lasting defeat of ISIS and the continued need for targeted military efforts to prevent ISIS members from conducting further attacks, CENTCOM said.

Officials said U.S. and coalition forces disrupted several militant cells in the country during the month, including one that planned attacks on prisons in Syria to free ISIS captives and another that produced explosive belts for suicide attackers.

We have a very important mission there, focused on the defeat ISIS mission. Its the only reason our forces are there, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons top spokesman, told reporters this week. They will stay focused on that and were going to stay focused on protecting them.

The Pentagon has not indicated which militant groups are attacking the U.S. positions in Iraq and Syria, but defense officials said theyre all acting with support from Iran and are proxy groups. For decades, Iran and aligned militant groups have said one of their top goals is to eradicate Israel and force U.S. troops out of the region. The attacks have all involved rockets and one-way drones, but the Pentagon said none have caused serious injuries or major structural or property damage.

The United States, along with many countries in the region, have provided a presence there to ensure international security and stability. We will continue to play an important role in that effort, Ryder said.

On Thursday, the Senate defeated a resolution that would have forced President Joe Biden to remove all 900 U.S. troops from Syria. It was sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and 13 senators voted for the measure  five Republicans, seven Democrats and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Eighty-three senators voted against the resolution and three didnt vote.
Off-duty Israeli reserve soldiers with their weapons in Tel Aviv in November. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

JERUSALEM  Since Hamas rampaged through Israeli communities on Oct.7, the government here has promoted a simple message: Guns save lives.

Using rhetoric redolent of gun rights advocates in the United States, hard-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir has pushed to loosen firearm licensing requirements and create more civilian standby teams to harden communities against a repeat of the deadly surprise attack.

In the right hands, a weapon can save lives. The war demonstrated this  whenever weapons were present, disasters were smaller, he said in late October. A gun can save a family, and an assault rifle can save a building. A weapon can protect you, your family, your street and your country.

Under an expedited processing system, Ben Gvirs ministry in the past two months has received more than 256,000 applications to carry private firearms, it said in an update last week. The ministry received around 42,000 for all of last year.

Ben Gvirs approach has led to some turmoil inside the government and out. The head of the National Security Ministrys firearms division resigned on Sunday after Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Ben Gvir had put loyalists without the necessary legal authority or training in charge of approving gun licenses. Critics, meanwhile, warn the guns could fuel anti-Arab violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel, a growing concern.

Jewish Israeli volunteers across Israel and West Bank settlers are arming themselves, training and forming groups to patrol the streets. U.N. officials report surging settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that U.S. assault rifles sold to the Israeli government could add to the mayhem.

Israels long-standing policy is that the hand is light on the trigger when it comes to Palestinians, said Dror Sadat, a spokeswoman for the Israeli human rights group BTselem, which tracks settler violence against Palestinians. Dozens of them have been killed over the years without posing any danger, including women and minors.

Firearms, often slung across the backs of young Israelis completing their mandatory service requirement in this heavily fortified country, are a common sight in cities and settlements. After Hamas and allied fighters streamed out of the Gaza Strip to kill around 1,200 people in Israel, commanders called up 360,000 reservists, many of whom, when theyre off duty, tote their rifles while taking their kids to the playground or on coffee dates with friends.

Private gun ownership was rising before the war. But since Oct. 7, interest has exploded  a shift for a country in which citizens traditionally have trusted the army and police to protect them, and where relatively strict controls have limited the proliferation of firearms.

Before the war, to be considered for a gun license civilians had to live or work in an area deemed to be under heightened security risk, submit a health declaration signed by a physician, undergo training and demonstrate they knew how to use a gun safely. The license limited bearers to one gun and 50 bullets.

The push to relax the rules reflects the deep fear that has permeated Israeli society after the surprise Hamas assault. The army took hours to respond, leaving men, women and children largely defenseless against the militants.

In the aftermath, accounts emerged of volunteer security teams in some kibbutzim fending off Hamas attackers and saving lives. The teams, known in Israel as kitat konenut, have long been active in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and in Israeli communities near the Gaza border, where they act as first responders to security threats.

For advocates of wider access to gun ownership, the accounts served as vindication of their cause  and helped build support for lowering barriers to firearms access.

*******

Ben Gvir has championed arming civilians. The pro-settler extremist  he has acknowledged chanting death to Arabs as a younger man, though says he no longer does  pushed to increase the geographic area in which private citizens may obtain licenses, expedite the licensing process and arm civilian security teams.

By the end of October, 600 of these groups were up and running across the country, according to the national police commissioner. Fifteen were in Jerusalem.

Washington Post journalists watched an aspiring civilian security team train in Jerusalem in October. The 15 men, who were applying for government support, practiced with their newly issued walkie-talkies in the basement of a luxury apartment building. Then they made their way to an underground parking garage to yell, stomp and run in formation with toy handguns.

In Jerusalem and Haifa, armed volunteers described Palestinian citizens of Israel as a fifth column.

You can feel the tension on the street, said Eliyahu Gev, who organizes training sessions in Jerusalem. The terrorist attacks, they come from that group, the group of the Arabs.

We are dealing with an enemy that we cannot identify, we cant mark, Gev said. They are integrated here in medicine. They are doctors. They work. They contribute to the community. But the situation is that we cant know who they are or what they are.

Liad Levy, 48, a tech industry professional in Haifa, has organized about 80 volunteers, some armed, to lead evening patrols.

When you have kids and you see these atrocities on the border and then you say, Okay, my neighbors, do they have weapons? And what can they do with this weapon?  he said. Im not going to take any chances.

The weapons training in Jerusalem hadnt gone on for an hour when the men got their first mission. Two young Jewish Israeli women had just reported seeing an Arab man walking near their building across the street. They didnt report suspicious or threatening behavior. But a half-dozen men, armed and shouting, ran across the street in central Jerusalem.

Lights flicked on in apartment windows. Neighbors peeked outside. Two girls in pigtails looked on with their mother. Most of the men entered the building, guns drawn. One stayed outside and prevented a journalist from filming the encounter.

For about 15 minutes, the entire block was on edge. The armed volunteers did not find the man they were looking for.

*******

For settlers in the West Bank, who already had access to guns by virtue of their proximity to Palestinian communities, the Hamas attack has prompted fresh interest in acquiring weapons.

Caliber 3, a shooting range and training center in the cluster of settlements called Gush Etzion, began offering twice-daily training sessions on handling a gun for license applicants and licensees seeking a refresher. On one recent morning, men and women representing a range of ages, at the range for training, eyed handguns displayed for purchase.

Area settlers say private weapons are for self-defense only.

Everybody in Israel has a nearby Arab village, and in times like this, people tend to generalize, said Oded Revivi, the mayor of Efrat, a settlement of 15,000 a half-hours drive from Jerusalem. If it could happen near Gaza to people who believed in peace, they would actually attack us.

Hundreds of volunteers have joined patrols to secure the settlement, he said.

Israeli authorities have given rifles to volunteers in the Gush Etzion area, according to Shlomo Neeman, head of the regional council.

After Oct. 7, the army gave us better weapons, the kind of weapons that the army thinks are right, Neeman said. He described them as machine guns.

They are the weapons of the army, which gives them and takes them away depending on the situation, he said.

Sadat, the rights group spokeswoman, expressed concern about the extensive distribution of weapons since Oct. 7 to West Bank settlers who use them to threaten and attack Palestinians.

This policy has results on the ground, of nonstop killing and excessive use of force, she said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 320 settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank since Oct. 7.

The uptick in settler violence has troubled the Biden administration, which is weighing whether to greenlight the $34 million sale of 24,000 U.S. rifles to the Israeli government. Israeli officials have told their U.S. counterparts that the rifles would be used by the national police force, but concerns remain that the countrys hard-right government will provide the arms to civilians, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive conversation. Democratic lawmakers have balked at the possibility that U.S. weapons could fall into the hands of settlers.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised U.S. concerns about settler violence with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the State Department. U.S. officials have not seen a sufficient level of actions by the government of Israel that we think hold people properly accountable, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said this week.

The State Department announced Tuesday it would impose visa restrictions on people believed to have attacked Palestinians in the West Bank. The department did not say whether Israeli settler violence will push them to block the sale of the weapons.

Israeli gun-control advocates warn that the proliferation of private firearms could also beget more violence inside Israel.

Israeli police data obtained by the gun-control advocacy coalition Gun Free Kitchen Tables found that the number of homicide victims killed with guns inside Israel rose 15% in one year, from 117 in 2021 to 135 in 2022. The increase coincided with an uptick in new gun licenses.

We understand where people are coming from, said a coalition member who spoke on the condition of anonymity after previously being harassed for raising the issue publicly. They felt totally abandoned by the state and by security forces watching what happened on Oct. 7. But the solution isnt give everyone a gun and every man for himself.

By all analyses that we are familiar with worldwide, thats exactly not the way to go.

Hudson reported from Washington. Kevin Sieff in Jerusalem; Abigail Hauslohner in Washington; Loveday Morris in Haifa; Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia; and Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
Chatham Hall announced this week the appointment of Sara Stephenson as the schools new rector and head of school.

It comes after a nearly yearlong search. She will start July 1.

I knew unequivocally that Chatham Hall is an extraordinary school, uniquely dedicated to preparing and empowering young women for a life of impact, Stephenson said in a statement. I am deeply honored to be the next rector.

She previously served as director of strategic enrollment management and director of upper school admission for Ashley Hall, a Charleston, South Carolina, school for about 600 girls.

In all, she has 27 years of education experience, according to a news release. Before her stint at Ashley Hall, she was the director of enrollment at the University School, a boy school in Cleveland, Ohio. Before that she was a middle school head at a school for girls in Shake Heights, Ohio.

Other stops in her career include Texas and Minnesota.
Chairmen of the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., listens to testimony during an impeachment hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 2023. Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the Bidens fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Bidens DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy, Comer said in a statement on Thursday, Dec. 7. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  House Republicans argued Friday that the latest indictment of Hunter Biden on federal tax charges bolsters the need to approve an impeachment inquiry resolution into President Joe Biden, which is planned for a floor vote as early as next week.

The resolution references committee probes into Hunter Bidens business dealings, which were central to the indictment unveiled late Thursday in California. Prosecutors allege a Hunter Biden scheme to avoid paying more than $1 million in income taxes from 2016 through 2019.

Now that Hunter Biden is being charged for felony criminal activity related to the family business in which Joe Biden himself was aware and from which he benefited, Americans deserve more answers, said House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

These charges further confirm the need for Congress to move forward with an impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden in order to uncover all the facts for the American people to judge, Smith said.

The indictment also comes amid a showdown between committee chairmen and the younger Biden over a subpoena to appear for a congressional deposition on Dec. 13, part of an investigation into GOP allegations that he was involved in a web tying the Biden family to foreign money.

House Republicans have for months sought to link Hunter Bidens business dealings with his father as part of a wide-ranging probe into alleged influence peddling by members of the presidents family and Biden himself while he was in private life as well as when he served as a senator and vice president.

House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James R. Comer, R-Ky., in a statement Thursday argued that investigators should have gone further and could have uncovered payments that went to President Joe Biden himself.

Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the Bidens fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Bidens DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy, Comers statement said.

Congressman Mike Johnson, now the House Speaker, attends a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 28, 2023. Johnson said in early December that an impeachment probe into President Joe Biden would unlock the ability of House GOP leaders to obtain additional documents and testimony. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Speaker Mike Johnson said this week that House GOP leaders need more authorities to obtain additional documents and testimony, which would be unlocked if the full House votes to formally bless the impeachment probe.

Comer, Smith and House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, issued an impeachment inquiry memorandum in September that has served as the basis for the latest impeachment push.

The memorandum alleges a broad effort by President Biden and members of his family to cash in on their influence, and it frequently cites Hunter Bidens dealings with companies such as Ukrainian energy firm Burisma and Chinese energy company CEFC. Federal prosecutors in the indictment say Hunter Biden engaged in a variety of international business deals, including with Burisma and CEFC, a book deal, consulting and other ventures that he did not pay taxes on.

Hunter Biden allegedly set up a U.S.-based company to handle his income and pay taxes properly but instead circumvented it for years by directly withdrawing the funds. The indictment alleged that Hunter Biden also falsified records and submitted fraudulent tax returns to avoid paying the taxes he owed.

The charges were brought by the U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware, David Weiss, a Trump appointee whom U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland now has made a special counsel over the case.

In a statement, Hunters attorney Abbe David Lowell accused Weiss of bowing to Republican pressure to file unconstitutional gun charges and said he has now filed nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors.

Hunter Biden, left, and his attorney, Abbe David Lowell, right center, depart federal court at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware on Oct. 3, 2023. (Saquan Stimpson/CNP for NY Post/dpa via Zuma Press/TNS)

Based on the facts and the law, if Hunters last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought, Lowell said.

In June, Hunter Biden initially agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax evasion charges and enter into a pretrial diversion agreement on a gun charge. That plea deal fell apart amid scrutiny from congressional Republicans and the presiding judge in the case.

Weiss unveiled a separate indictment against Hunter Biden in October in Delaware, charging him with three gun-related offenses. Biden has pleaded not guilty, and the case is still pending.

Its unclear whether the latest charges affect the congressional subpoena for Hunter Biden to sit for a deposition. Lowell has instead said the younger Biden is willing to testify at a public hearing and that such a public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits or one-sided press statements.

House Republicans have said they will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings if he doesnt appear for the deposition.

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The Judicial magistrate Abdul Majeed Qazi has granted one-day transit remand of former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry.

According to the details, the former federal minister was presented before the judicial magistrate court where the judge reserved its verdict and sent Fawad Chaudhry on a one-day transit remand under Anti-Corruption Authorities.

The court in its verdict directed to produce Fawad Chaudhry in the concerned court.

Last month, Fawad Chaudhry, a former federal minister who recently left PTI over May 9 violence, was arrested from his home in Islamabad, his wife said.

Taking to X, Hiba Chaudhry wrote that Fawad has been arrested and taken to an unknown place.

Fawads arrest comes a day after PTI leader Asad Qaiser was detained by police in a graft case in Islamabad.

In January, Fawad was arrested from his residence after he publicly threatened the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A virtual unclaimed property event where Danville residents could call and check for missing money owed to them netted $212,385, according to a news release from the city.

The Danville Treasurers Office partnered with the Virginia Department of Treasurys Unclaimed Property division to bring the event to Danville last week.

Unclaimed property can include utility deposits, customer refunds, unpaid wages, money from insurance policies, securities and investments, bank accounts, and tangible property.

Residents were able to call to check for their missing money and have a claim form sent directly to them.

Staff at the Treasury Department looked up more than 500 names and found $212,385 during the two-day event held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

We are so excited to have held such a successful event once again helping our citizens find over $1 million since 2019, Danville City Treasurer Sheila Williamson-Branch said in a prepared statement.

The total found from these events since 2019 has been slightly more than $1 million, according to city officials.

Virtual unclaimed property events will be held next year on July 11-12 and Dec. 5-6.

The State Treasurys Unclaimed Property Division handles unclaimed money and property turned over by companies when they have lost track of the rightful owner.

Citizens can also go online to www.vaMoneySearch.org and search their name for unclaimed property.

There is no charge for searching, either at community-outreach events or through the website.
Liam Mackin (70) flew out of Florida on Tuesday on a one-way ticket, police have claimed

Photographs released of the graffiti in Florida

Photographs of the graffiti in Florida

An Irish citizen suspected of spray painting antisemitic messages on Jewish-owned businesses in Florida has fled to Ireland, US cops have claimed.

Liam Mackin (70), described as an Irish national who has lived in the US for 30 years, flew out of Florida on Tuesday on a one-way ticket, police have claimed.

Pensioner Mackin had been accused of being behind a wave of antisemitic messages sprayed onto a number of businesses in the Flagler Beach area of Florida.

Police claimed a total of six businesses were vandalized, and the businesses were owned by Israeli nationals or people of Jewish heritage.

This week, Circuit Judge Christopher France signed a nationwide arrest warrant on a charge of criminal mischief $1,000 or more, evidencing prejudice while committing offense.

Photographs of the graffiti in Florida

In a statement issued yesterday, Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said Mackin will be arrested if he returns to the United States.

The police chief has claimed Mackin spray-painted a series of messages including: Jew Murder, 290,000 child killers, 500,000 Jew child killer and 501,110 Jew child murderer.

Chief Doughney also claimed Mackin put his Flagler Beach house up for sale within a few days of police posting his image from security cameras on Facebook.

Doughney said the Irishman will be arrested if he flies into Florida.

Photographs released of the graffiti in Florida

"There are many beautiful shades of green in Ireland, and if he has the courage to return, I'd love for him to see the Flagler County Inmate Facility; better known as the Green Roof Inn.

"Should Mr. Mackin decide to live the rest of his life in Ireland, without returning to the United States, our community will be a safer place and I feel sorry for the people of Ireland.

"This message is specifically directed to Mr. Mackin, should he happen to see this news release on social media; Happy Hanukkah!"
She was banned from driving for two years and fined 400 when she appeared in Dublin District Court.

A mother of one caught drink driving in central Dublin had been moving the car from the side of the road after it got into difficulties.

Deborah Lipsett (61) had not been driving earlier but the driver had left her in the car briefly, someone asked her to move it and gardai encountered her, a court heard.

She was banned from driving for two years and fined 400 when she appeared in Dublin District Court.

Lipsett, of Tullywinny Road, Ballygawley, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty to drink driving,

Dublin District Court heard gardai stopped the accused driving at Dorset Street Upper at 4.15am last October 29.

She was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and tested over the alcohol limit. She had no prior convictions.

The accused had been with a family member who was driving back to Co Tyrone on the day and the car got into some difficulty, defence solicitor Eoin Lysaght said.

The driver left her in the car by the side of the road and someone came upon the vehicle and asked her to move it, which she did, he said.

Mr Lysaght asked Judge Bryan Smyth to be as lenient as he could with Lipsett in the circumstances.
Judge Bryan Smyth spared him a conviction when he admitted the offence and paid for the 20 clean-up, as well as 200 as a charity donation.

Claudiu Damian, of Parnell Street East, was charged with criminal damage

A man caught urinating on a garda patrol car was very drunk at the time and did not remember doing it, a court heard.

Claudiu Damian (38) was spotted by officers on duty as he relieved himself on the squad car near a Dublin city garda station.

Judge Bryan Smyth spared him a conviction when he admitted the offence and paid for the 20 clean-up, as well as 200 as a charity donation.

Damian, with an address at Parnell Street East, pleaded guilty to criminal damage in the incident.

The judge dismissed the charge under the Probation Act.

Dublin District Court heard a garda driving on Fitzgibbon Street on September 26 this year saw the accused urinating on the passenger side of a marked garda car.

The car was attached to Fitzgibbon Street station.

The accused was arrested, taken to the garda station and charged.

Damian had two previous convictions, for driving under the influence, but had none for criminal damage and had never been given the benefit of the Probation Act before.

The accused had been very, very drunk on the day and doesnt remember an awful lot of it, his solicitor Donal Quigley said. A friend had been with him and relayed what happened.

Drink appeared to be an issue given the accuseds previous convictions, the court heard.

Damian was apologetic and wanted to avoid a criminal damage conviction. He had brought money to court to offer as a charity donation.
Adam Uzell of Somerville Green, Crumlin, was charged with unlawful possession of cocaine and possessing it with intent to supply at an address on Bluebell Avenue, Dublin

A 20-year-old Dublin man charged over a 49,000 cocaine seizure has been granted bail.

Adam Uzell appeared before Judge Monika Leech at Dublin District Court on Saturday.

Mr Uzell of Somerville Green, Crumlin, was charged with unlawful possession of cocaine and possessing it with intent to supply at an address on Bluebell Avenue, Dublin, on January 26.

Garda Joseph Melvin told the court Mr Uzell "made no reply" when charged.

Solicitor Conor McGreevy confirmed his client consented to bail conditions sought by the Garda.

However, the defence challenged the State's application for the court to require a 5,000 independent surety.

Garda Melvin told the judge that it was based on the value of the drugs. He added that a certificate of analysis had been obtained and alleged "the value of the drugs is 49,000 of cocaine, and he was in possession of 4,500 in cash at the time of the incident".

The defence cited case law that it was not proportionate to tie the bail amount to the alleged value of the seizure.

The Garda agreed with the solicitor that the accused had no prior convictions or warrant history.

Mr McGreevy said his client has the presumption of innocence, and his passport and the cash had also been seized as part of the investigation.

The court heard a family member had 2,000 available.

Judge Leech set bail but required a 3,000 cash lodgement.

He must obey a curfew, sign on regularly at a Garda station, reside at an alternative address furnished to the court, and not apply for travel documents.

Judge Leech remanded him to appear again next week.

Mr Uzell, yet to indicate a plea, was granted legal aid after the judge noted he had no income.
Europol said that there were 49 cases of corruption investigated in November as part of the action with 233 persons of interest interviewed, some of whom were arrested

Gardai have been taking part in operations to take on corruption

GARDAI were one of seven police forces involved in anti-corruption operations supported by Europol which led to 267 searches and the freezing of 5.5m in assets across the continent in November.

Europol said gardai took part in a European action month which was targeting corruption in public and private sectors.

The Central Anti-Corruption office of the French National Police co-ordinated several long running operational actions, supported by Europol, which targeted forms of corruption at all levels.

A Europol spokesperson said as well as Ireland and France, authorities from Albania, Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal were involved in the month of action.

A garda spokesperson said on Saturday that they were not currently in a position to comment on what involvement gardai had in the initiative or say if anyone had been arrested or questioned in this jurisdiction.

Europol said that there were 49 cases of corruption investigated in November as part of the action with 233 persons of interest interviewed, some of whom were arrested.

Europols latest Serious and Organised Crime Threat assessment report revealed that that 60pc of the criminal networks use corruption to facilitate their criminal activities.

A Europol spokesperson said: Continuing the fight against corruption is therefore crucial to bring down the criminal networks that pose the most serious risks to the security of EU citizens.

Swift and close cooperation between national authorities is decisive in successfully addressing corruption.

The spokesperson said investigations targeted a number of corruption related crimes including bribery and kickbacks, bid-rigging, trading in influence, collusion, conflict of interest, trading of information, embezzlement, favouritism and nepotism.

The operational actions focused on corruption cases affecting politically exposed persons and foreign public officials, as well as corruption cases related to public procurement and investigations involving law enforcement and judicial authorities. National authorities also targeted different corruption practices in private companies as well as corruption in sports.

One of the cases investigated targeted the misappropriation of funds and abuse of positions in office in Portugal.

The Portuguese authorities investigated the use of public money by a political party between 2018 and 2021, which resulted in 20 searches.

Dutch authorities also arrested three suspects as part of bribery investigation into divulging confidential information linked to a procurement procedure of an oil storage company. This led to the seizure of 2.5 million.

French authorities arrested an elected official who had executive functions in French overseas territories, together with two of his accomplices, directors of a company in which he had a vested interest.

The value of the public procurement contracts signed by the company, notably with the administration supervised by the elected representative, amounts to 2.3 million, the spokesperson said.

As part of the month of action Europol deployed analysts to locations to cross-check operational information in real-time against Europols databases and provide technical expertise.
Detective Karen Barker of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) said she arrested the woman at Terminal 1 at 10.45am on Friday.

A SOUTH African woman arrested at Dublin Airport for people smuggling has been remanded in custody.

Shamieda Rania, 46, who has no fixed address, was brought before Judge Monika Leech at Dublin District Court on Saturday.

She is accused of assisting another unnamed person's unlawful entry into, transit across or presence in the State, under section six of the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act, at Dublin Airport on December 8, 2023.

In evidence, Detective Karen Barker of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) said she arrested the woman at Terminal 1 at 10.45am on Friday.

Ms Rania was detained under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a north Dublin Garda station.

At 6.45 pm, she was charged with the offence and held overnight pending her court appearance when the GNIB officer sought a remand in custody.

Detective Barker also said Ms Rania, "made no reply to charge after caution".

The court heard that there would be an objection to her bail, but the grounds or supporting evidence were not outlined.

Defence counsel Kevin McCrave said his client was "reserving her position" and not making a bail application at this stage.

Ms Rania has not indicated how she will plead and did not address the court but applied for legal aid via her barrister.

Detective Barker told the court, "She has no ties to the State, has no permission to be here and is unemployed back in South Africa."

Judge Leech said she would accede subject to a statement of means being furnished to the court.

The accused was remanded to the Dochas Centre, Mountjoy Prison's women's section, and will face her next hearing on Thursday.

The judge also directed the prison authorities to provide her with medical attention.

It has yet to be confirmed whether the Director of Public Prosecutions will decide for summary disposal of the case at District Court level, where on conviction, the offence can attract a maximum 5,000 fine or imprisonment for up to a year, or for trial on indictment at a higher level, with a possible sentence not exceeding ten years.
Mark Bowman (55) narrowly avoided a prison sentence earlier this year after admitting to grooming and sexually abusing the child

The ambulance service previously refused to comment on the man's employment status

A paedophile ambulance worker who avoided a jail term for sexually touching a little girl has been fired.

Mark Bowman (55) narrowly avoided a prison sentence earlier this year after admitting to grooming and sexually abusing the child.

He was given three years of probation, as well as a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, at Antrim Crown Court at the end of October.

He was also barred from working with children and vulnerable adults, as well as being ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for five years.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) refused to clarify his employment status following his conviction earlier this year.

The NIAS said they had no comment to make following Bowmans sentencing.

However, sources told The Belfast Telegraph he was fired several months ago.

Bowman admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child between the ages of 13 and 16 and a single charge of attempting to meet a child following grooming in May.

He had been charged with a further count of abusing the same child by touching on similar dates, but the charge was not proceeded with.

The paedophile, who is a father, is alleged to have plied his young victim with alcohol before abusing her on a number of occasions.

Following his guilty pleas at Antrim Crown Court in May, he was bailed pending pre-sentence reports.

Despite being freed, Bowman was unable to stay at his home in Whitehead after he was attacked by a gang of loyalist paramilitaries.

He was admitted to hospital with injuries to his head, back, hand and knees following the incident on April 19. Significant damage was also caused to a car.

Despite fleeing the village a short time later, the terms of his probation order him to live there.
How come those words are never used to describe people in three-piece suits?

The Pogues Fairytale of New York will surely be untouchable this Christmas following the death of legendary frontman Shane MacGowan.

After all, despite repeated attempts by the BBC in recent years, how could any radio station here attempt to cancel the festive favourite famed for its raw language when we have a Government minister who channels Kirsty MacColl in the Dail by blasting members of the public as scumbags.

Although hardly the songs most controversial slur, besieged Justice boss Helen McEntee found herself under further enemy fire last week when she used the s word to describe those who gleefully took part in the riots in Dublin city centre.

While many backed the Meath TDs comments as 110pc correct and very apt, others slated her dangerous rhetoric as total double standards and reflective of her true feelings.

Still, the politician was in the hapenny place compared to Fianna Fail councillor Abul Kalam Azad Talukder, who hit headlines after reportedly telling a meeting of Limerick City and County Council that the looters should be shot in the head or beaten by the public until they die.

He later apologised for his expression of emotion which he said was aimed at the man who stabbed three school children and their carer on Parnell Square earlier in the day.

It makes you wonder if theres any point at all to Irelands proposed new hate speech laws when such classist language abides in the corridors of power.

Hands up, in the heat of the moment, when shop fronts lay shattered and buses exploded in flames in the heart of the capital, I was among the first to reach for  in the words of former Green Party TD Paul Gogarty  far more unparliamentary language to describe those responsible.

Now that the cinders have cooled slightly though, maybe its time we reflect a bit on what we can do to bring communities together, instead of adding fuel to the fire by othering already disenchanted members of society.

How is it, for example, that words like scumbag or scrote are only ever deployed against law-breakers in tracksuits and not two-piece suits?

And is it really OK for a minister to normalise such labels in a bid to score political points?

A garda in riot gear on O'Connell Street. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Dublin

What point Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald thought she was making when she tweeted a photo of a man apparently day-drinking close to the school where the horrific stabbings took place, or her party colleague Louise OReilly by waving the image about in Leinster House, is equally anyones guess.

Make no mistake, those who used the attack as an excuse to snaffle a few bits for Christmas under the wafer-thin guise of feeling angry or disenfranchised, are indeed the lowest of the low.

But that has nothing to do with where theyre from; and as we now know, many werent from Dublin at all, let alone the north inner city.

In the current combustible atmosphere, what we need now from our leaders are words and actions that unite rather than divide.

Apart from anything else, with a general election likely on the horizon, our public representatives would do well to remember that even scumbags have a vote.
The actor recited one of the prayers of the faithful during MacGowans funeral mass and was one of the pallbearers who carried his friends coffin from the church in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

The story of Shane MacGowans friendship with actor Johnny Depp  however unlikely it may seem  made sense, said director Julien Temple.

From album credits for guitar weird noises and appearances together on Top of the Pops, the pair have known each other for more than thirty years.

The actor recited one of the prayers of the faithful during MacGowans funeral mass and was one of the pallbearers who carried his friends coffin from the church in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

The Parting Glass - Friends, family and fans bid farewell to Shane MacGowan

Depp and MacGowan shared a friendship spanning over 30 years, first meeting in a bar and going on to work together on a documentary about the musicians career.

"When I met Shane he was negotiating a pool table. There was a drink in this hand, a pint, and in this hand there was a guitar, Depp said, speaking at a premiere of that film in 2020.

And he was teetering, balancing back and forth trying to negotiate which way to fall. I watched him do that for about 15 minutes.

Then I was introduced to him, before he fell, and from that moment on you just knew... there are moments in life when you know this will happen one time and one time only, when you get the opportunity to spend time with greatness.

He said he fell in love with MacGowan the second he met him, adding: Im still in love with him to this day.

The actor joined MacGowan on guitar for a 1994 appearance on Top of the Pops, playing That Womans Got Me Drinking.

He also directed the music video for the song in which Victoria Mary Clarke starred.

Depp received a credit on MacGowans first solo album The Snake in 1994 for his guitar weird noises in That Womans Got Me Drinking.

Just three years ago, Depp produced Crock of Gold  A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan.

It was a documentary that told the story of MacGowans career and rise to fame and later won the special Jury Prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Julien Temple, who directed the film, said the friendship between MacGowan and Depp made sense.

"They are both very interested in reading, they share an incredible love of music and they like a drink, obviously, he told The Guardian.

"Theyve got a good piss-taking sense of humour about each other that is engaging to watch. That session [in the film] with Johnny, I think was eight hours, but we only use about five minutes from it. We all went to bed at 5am and they were still there at midday the next day. Incredible stamina.

He credited Depp as the one who got (MacGowan) talking, adding: And those conversations were interesting because, rather than a sit-down interview, you got to see other versions of Shane.

"Hes one thing with Johnny  a buddy in a bar, drinking on equal terms  and hes another thing altogether with Bobby Gillespie.

"Good old Bobby, he let us keep it in the film, but it wasnt a comfortable experience. Then again, hes almost like a schoolboy with Gerry Adams, it seems to me.

The former Sinn Fein leader recited a reading at MacGowans funeral mass, telling how he was grateful for The Pogues and all our music makers and dreamers of dreams.

Depp attended MacGowans wedding to his wife Victoria Mary Clarke in Copenhagen in 2018 and played the guitar after the intimate ceremony of close friends and family.

The pair were also open in their support for Depp during his high-profile legal battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard, penning an open letter that told him not to bother with people slagging you or lying about you.

The actress was sued by Depp over a 2018 article she wrote for The Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, which his lawyers said falsely accused him of abuse.

Heard was ordered to pay Depp more than $10m in damages in 2022. Heard had initially sought to appeal the verdict, but the case was eventually settled.

Shane described Depp as the brother me and Vic never had.

During that time, when the trial was televised and a daily trending topic on social media, MacGowan had a long conversation with Depp about Heard.

Actor Johnny Depp pictured as he arrived at the funeral in Nenagh. Photo: Frank McGrath

Ms Clarke told his funeral mass that her husband had urged his friend to forgive the actress.

"I hope you dont mind me saying this Johnny but when Johnny had a court case involving his ex-wife, Shane had a long conversation with you and urged you to forgive Amber, Ms Clarke said.

"Yeah, he thought it was the best thing to do because he just believed genuinely in forgiveness  and Im sure you have by now, havent you? Of course you have, she said, gesturing towards the movie star.

"He wouldnt hold a grudge against anyone, he just wouldnt see the bad in anyone and particularly towards the end.

The couple paid a public tribute to Depp on his birthday last year.

Its a beautiful thing to get to know someone who can always make you smile and feel good about life, someone who always supports your creative endeavours and encourages you and inspires you and makes you feel that life is beautiful and fun and exciting and helps you to believe in the greatness and kindness and goodness of humanity, Clarke wrote.

Johnny Depp (left) helps carry Shane MacGowan's coffin from the church in Nenagh. Photo: Frank McGrath

"For me and Shane this guy is a wonderful friend and a constant inspiration and a whole lot of fun.

In the foreword to MacGowans limited edition book The Eternal Buzz and The Crock of Gold, released last November, Depp wrote that there was another side to my great friend, Shane.

He described MacGowan as a creative genius and an incendiary talent whose work will always be full of poetry  a bit like the great man, and my great friend himself; the great artist, Shane MacGowan.
John Jack Delaney (28) died while out running near his home in Ballycolla on Tuesday afternoon

Hundreds of mourners packed into Saint Canices Church in Clough in Co Laois on this morning for the funeral of a talented hurler and businessman who passed away suddenly on Tuesday afternoon.

John Jack Delaney (28) died while out running near his home in Ballycolla on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking during the homily the Parish priest Canon Noel Maher described John as having all the qualities of a fine young man including a decency, honesty, and a care for others.

Comforting the family, he said there was a strong difference between separation and absence.

He said today: Many young people are separated from their parents when they emigrate to Australia. However, they do not stop loving their parents. In the same way, even though John has been called to his eternal reward he will not stop loving you.

A number of symbols of John's life were brought to the altar including his laptop which was a symbol of his work in the family furniture business in Portlaoise, his designer jumper to show his love of fashion and items from his home gym to show his love of fitness. The bread and wine were brought to the altar by his Godparents.

In his eulogy his father Tim thanked the community for their support. He thanked Johns friends from all over the world for coming and the ambulance crew and paramedics for everything they did to save Johns life.

He told the congregation John spent a number of years in Canada before joining the family business. He said John couldnt say no to anyone and was so obliging. To finish he recited a poem My Dear John, there will never be another John like you.

A past Pupil of Cistercian College (CCR) in Roscrea where he completed his Leaving Cert in 2014 and later Dublin Institute of Technology John was also a talented hurler with his local Club Clough/Ballacolla in Laois particularly at underage level.

John is survived by his father Tim, mother Eileen, brothers Tim and Tom and sister Sarah. His remains were interred afterwards in the local cemetery.
Sean was killed while on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on December 14th 2022

An Irish UN peacekeeper stands next to the coffin of his comrade Private Sean Rooney (Hussein Malla/AP)

Family, friends and comrades of brave soldier Private Sean Rooney will gather in Co Donegal tomorrow to remember him one year on from his tragic death.

Sean was killed while on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on December 14th 2022.

Private Rooney, who was just 24, was killed and three others were injured when their UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) vehicle was attacked.

Now almost a year after his death a special wreath-laying ceremony will take place in Newtowncunningham where Sean is buried.

The commemoration is being organised by the Irish United Nations Veterans Association.Sean's family including his mum Natasha, his father Paul, his grandparents Eugene and Rachel, his grandmother Ann McClusky, sisters Robyn and Carragh, brothers Callum and Benn are all expected to attend.

So, too, will his heartbroken fiancee Holly.

The tragic soldier was due to tie the knot with the Derry woman last August.

Those attending the event are asked to gather in the carpark of the Church of All Saints at 2.30pm prior to the ceremony which takes place at 3pm.

Sean was born and raised in Co Louth but moved to Donegal when he was 12 attending St Eunan's College in Letterkenny and living ion Newtowncunningham.

Many locals who grew to know Sean and were shocked by his killing are expected to attend the ceremony also.

Five men, believed to be members of the militant group Hezbollah, have been charged with his murder.

At the time of his funeral his fiancee Holly wrote a heartwarming tribute which was read by Parish Priest Fr Derek Ryan, which said "I am absolutely heartbroken that our life together has been cut short, but I feel extremely lucky to have experienced that person and love."

She added: "Some people dont ever have an opportunity to love and be loved in the way that Sean and I did."
Thank you to everyone for their kind messages of love & support

Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave is back on X just weeks after he left the social media platform in a blaze of controversy over comments made in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.

Last month, the businessman resigned as a director of Web Summits parent company, nearly two weeks after he quit as chief executive amid a wave of withdrawals from the technology sector event over his comments.

Taking to X today, Cosgrave simply posted: Im back.

Thank you to everyone for their kind messages of love & support.

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However, he also shared more Israeli-related commentary by the journalists Lee Fang and Jack Poulson, saying their reporting is quite something.

The last 24 hours have been wild, Cosgrave declared alongside the commentary.

On October 17, Cosgrave sent his last tweet, telling followers it was, Bye for now. Need some time off this platform.

It followed a series of comments on the conflict that led to a number of companies and high-profile speakers to pull out of participation in Web Summits Lisbon event.

Mr Cosgrave made a number of social media posts commenting on the Israel-Hamas war including one that read: Im shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Irelands government, who for once are doing the right thing.

War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.

In a subsequent post, he described the actions of Hamas as outrageous and disgusting.

It is by every measure an act of monstrous evil. Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law.

He also posted: To repeat: War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies & should be called out for what they are. I will not relent.

The Israeli ambassador to Portugal later accused the Web Summit chief executive of making outrageous statements.

In post on X, Dor Shapira said he had written to the mayor of Lisbon, informing him of Israels decision to pull out of the conference due to the outrageous statements made by Mr Cosgrave.

Even during these difficult times, he is unable to set aside his extreme political views and denounce the Hamas terrorist activities against innocent people.

We should have zero tolerance to terrorist [sic] and terror acts, the post added.

Meta then became just one of the tech giants to pull out of Web Summit, following an announcement by Google that it was withdrawing from the tech event.

Siemens and Intel also said that they would not be participating in this years event, while the Irish Independent also reported that the payment firm Stripe had also withdrawn its keynote speakers from the event.

It was also reported that X-files actress Gillian Anderson had withdrawn from her speaker spot, while entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the rapper LL Cool J were no longer listed on Web Summits online speaker page.

Yesterday, a Dail watchdog rejected a complaint made by Cosgrave against Tanaiste Micheal Martin.

The Tanaiste stated in the Dail that The Ditch website, backed by Mr Cosgrave, was a political organisation attacking Government and that the entrepreneur is a political opponent.

Mr Cosgrave said Mr Martins comments were an abuse of Dail privilege and in breach of Dail standing orders.

But the Dail committee in charge of investigating such complains has dismissed the complaint against the Tanaiste.

The Dail Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight decided Mr Cosgraves reputation was not damaged by Mr Martins comments.

The cross-party committee examined Mr Cosgraves complaint, a response from Mr Martin and sought legal advice too. However, the Irish Independent has learned the committee has rejected the complaint.

This did not meet the criteria for any further sanction or investigation, a source said.
A judge revealed how David Simpson (52) did attribute some blame on his former wife

A former Translink inspector who claimed he engaged in graphic and highly sexualised chats with two teenage girls because his wife left him lonely and neglected has been handed a 16-month sentence.

Ordering dirty David Simpson to serve eight months in jail and eight months under supervised licence conditions, Judge Alistair Devlin said the 52-year-old had tried his best to minimise his offending, including laying some of the blame at the door of his now estranged wife.

The Antrim Crown Court judge revealed how the 52-year-old did attribute some blame on his former wife, lamenting to a probation officer that if he had not been left lonely and neglected by her this situation would not have happened.

Speaking out after the court hearing on Friday, Simpsons ex-wife labelled him a liar, a cheat and a menace to society. Now that shes rid of him, she said: I couldnt be happier.

I want to commend the police and thank them for what they have done  rooting out someone like him who is a menace to society.

I have two daughters and I know that if it had been real girls and not decoys, their lives would have been destroyed.

Technology is so advanced but this has proved that people cant hide their crimes behind a phone.

We were married for 13 years and together for 15 years  I had absolutely no idea what he was up to. It was a terrible, terrible shock.

I feel betrayed and, at first, I believed what he told me  that he had been tricked and set up.

I dont think sex offenders get long enough sentences. At least he is going to spend time in prison.

Saying he was lonely and neglected is totally untrue, he was just trying to get the courts sympathy. He shouldnt have done what he did  as well as being unfaithful he is a liar. My life is 100 times better without him now  I couldnt be happier.

Simpson, originally from Coleraine but who is now living on the Ballyvannon Road in Ballinderry outside Lisburn, had earlier entered guilty pleas to three counts of attempting to communicate sexually with a child, three other charges of attempting to possess indecent photographs of children and one of attempting to engage in a sexual act in the presence of a child, all committed between August 15-25 last year.

Prosecuting counsel Suzanne Gallagher described how a police force in Wales alerted the PSNI last September that Simpson was suspected of engaging in sexual online chats with two undercover officers posing as 13 and 14-year-old girls.

Over the next few weeks, Simpson had several more explicit chats with Olivia where he told her: Your age turns me on. He asked her to preform sex acts, and said he wanted to see her body and have sex with her.

He sent her an indecent, explicit image of his genitals and advised her to go on the pill.

On August 25 last year, Simpson started chatting with Ava and despite being told she is 14 years old, he told her that her age turns him on and asked her if she wanted to have sex.

Swooped

Officers swooped on Coleraine train station and arrested Simpson on September 13 last year and during subsequent police interviews, he denied having any sexual attraction to children and reluctantly admitted that the conversations shared was of a sexual nature.

Cops who searched Simpsons home seized his mobile phone and when it was examined, officers found a single category A indecent image of a child in addition to the chat log with Ava.

Defence counsel Neil Moore said since Simpsons arrest theres been a complete breakdown to the relationship with his wife, he has left the marital home, is living in rented accommodation with people he does not know and now lives a very isolated lifestyle.

He has no one to blame but himself, the barrister conceded.

Judge Devlin said it was clear that Simpson had used highly explicit and graphic terms during the chats where he would have been fully aware he was speaking to young teenage girls.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Devlin also imposed a six-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order and told Simpson he would have to sign the police sex offenders register for the next 10 years.
From serving at McDonalds to the civil service, Rotoruas youngest councillor Fisher Wang is now set to guide a new generation on local politics.

Wang was 19 and working a shift at Mcdonalds when he learned he had been elected in 2019.

He and mayor Tania Tapsell are alumni of the Rotorua Lakes Councils youth council, which was disestablished in 2017.

Now, council staff say there is an appetite for such a group to be re-formed.

Elected members voted at a meeting last month to re-establish the youth council. Tapsell and Wang would act as the councils representatives.

Community wellbeing advisor Felicity Jansonius-Bidois said there was previously no formal mechanism for including youth voices in decision-making.

As the largest and fastest-growing population group, they will play a significant role in our future economic success as a district.

She said at least 35 councils had a youth council.

Jansonius-Bidois said a new youth council would be formed with issues the last group faced in mind.

Rotorua Lakes Council elected member Fisher Wang was first elected in 2019. Photo / Laura Smith.

This included concerns around diversity and purpose  it had turned more into an event management tool rather than a strategic one.

Thriving communities director Kelly-Anne Panapa said staff did not suggest a youth council, which would range in age from 15 to 20, was the answer to every youth concern.

But a youth council is the most significant opportunity for the council to purposely invite rangatahi in and engage meaningfully with them on issues that matter to them.

It would focus on four priority areas: Long-Term Plans; council youth voice strategy; climate action and the Inner-City Revitalisation Long-Term Plan.

Start-up costs would be funded from the operational budget. More funding would be sought through the next long-term and annual planning cycles.

Wang said forming the youth council would not just be a tick-box exercise.

He called it a win-win in that the elected council would hear from an underrepresented portion of the community and could provide insight into the civic process in turn.

This included the good and the bad, Wang said. From there, youths could choose whether local politics was a path they wanted to take.

Wang said it was like succession planning for the district.

Councillor Conan OBrien said re-establishing the group was not a priority given other pressing concerns, including an economic crisis and financial challenges.

He believed there were opportunities for youth to have a say, such as through petitions.

Councillor Karen Barker noted the alumni in the room. It obviously did a good job in the past.

But she agreed with OBrien on the timing of it.

Tapsell said youth were aware of the challenges the wider community faced.

We have nothing to lose and everything to gain from allowing them to not only come through these doors and learn more about council, but sit at this table and learn the highs and lows of being a decision-maker here in Rotorua.

Councillor Trevor Maxwell, the longest-serving elected member in New Zealand, wholeheartedly supported re-establishing a youth council. I used to be the youngest on council.

Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell will join Fisher Wang in working with the youth council. Photo / Andrew Warner.

Councillor Don Paterson said youth should be fully cognisant of what was involved, and what challenges may lay ahead.

If they are prepared to get involved, then I applaud them.

Councillor Robert Lee questioned whether it could be called a council if members were not voted in but recruited through applications.

He was told this process could be reviewed in future.

Lee and OBrien voted against the youth council being established.

Rotorua Girls High School principal Sarah Davis told Local Democracy Reporting she was a big fan of the initiative and the school was encouraging students to consider it.

I believe the youth in this town have plenty to contribute to how they wish to see the town in the future.

I am super excited to see this up and running hopefully early in 2024.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
You can play all day but you cant park all day. Chipmunks Playland & Cafe customers at Chapel St shopping Centre have been receiving fines of up to $85 for exceeding the shopping centres carparking limits.

Its not Chipmunks dishing out these fines however.

Chapel St Shopping Centre, or Bay Central Shopping Centre, is owned by Auckland-based company, Stride Property Services which decides how the carparking at the centre works.

Reaching out to the company, a spokesperson for the Bay Central Shopping Centre says: Bay Central Shopping Centre is committed to ensuring fair access to parking spaces so more shoppers can visit local businesses within our premises.

To achieve this, we have set 180-minute parking time limits on our premises, with designated 90-minute spaces available in front of Wet & Forget, Anytime Fitness and Briscoes.

One Chipmunk customer, who wishes to remain anonymous, was issued a parking fine after parking at the back of Chipmunks Playland & Cafe.

They received the fine 10 days later with a fee of $65, and if not paid within 21 days the fine would be $85.

It was a teachers only day at school, so I had organised with many other families from school to meet at Chipmunks for the day and to have a big play day with all their friends.

The customer says they were aware the shopping centre had parking limits but didnt realise this extended to Chipmunks.

Chipmunks is not always somewhere you take your kids for only an hour or two. Mine like to play hard all dayChipmunks also sells food and seems to be a business designed to stay for hours if you want to.

The fine was a lot of money for us, and not something I could afford to pay.

Luckily, the owner of Chipmunks Playland & Cafe has been getting her customers fines waived and this customer did not have to pay.

They send their picture of the infringement and I send it to the landlord [Stride Property Services] and they get it voided, says Monique.

This is quite a lot of extra admin for the business owner.

The landlord is honouring it though and are following through and making sure that they all get voided.

Bay Central Shopping Centre says the time limits have been in place since 2017 to mitigate people parking at the complex and walking to work in the CBD, and are signposted throughout the carpark.

However the company does acknowledge an increase in parking breach notices issued to customers parked on their premises.

Parking Enforcement Services has recently upgraded its ticketing system, adopting a static Licence Plate Recognition camera. This replaces previous methods including car-mounted LPR cameras recording how long vehicles were parked on-site, says a company spokesperson.

Waiving system

The Chipmunks customer says they felt incredibly nervous to return to the playland.

Our ticket had been taken from a traffic light camera so now when I go, I use a different exit, just to make sure Im not risking another ticket.

We encourage people to stay all day and play if they want to, so I dont want [fines] to be a barrier for our customers to come, says Monique.

The Chipmunks customer says they couldnt comment for the whole shopping centre but stated: Chipmunks customers do need to be allowed to be there all day without risk of a fine.

The Sun asked Bay Central Shopping Centre whether it would consider increasing parking limits around Chipmunks to four-five hours to minimise genuine customers receiving fines.

For businesses who encourage customers longer than parking limits, the shopping centre spokesperson says: We ask them to provide us with the registration details of customers who are likely to exceed parking limits. We can then pass this information to Parking Enforcement Services to waive their parking infringement notices.

Id like to be able to continue going to Chipmunks without worrying, especially because theyre an awesome business with helpful and kind staff that Id love to continue to support, says the Chipmunks customer.




Get ready for an unforgettable cultural extravaganza on Sunday as the vibrant spirit of Brazil comes to life at the Papamoa Recreation Centre with the Brazilian Fair.

The free event, at the Papamoa Recreation Centre from 9am - 2pm on Sunday, December 10, promises an exciting blend of food, fashion, music, beauty, and culture, providing an immersive experience for the entire community.



"The Brazilian Fair brings a taste of Brazil to the beautiful shores of Papamoa Beach," say organisers Daiana Price and Iara Ali.

"This year's fair is even more special, featuring the presence of best-selling author and disability advocate Juliana Carvalho, recently featured in a Fair Go episode."



Juliana Carvalho, a paraplegic who conquered adversity and became a leading spokeswoman for the inclusion movement, will be signing her autobiography, "In my chair or yours?", and offering hard copies of her book in Portuguese.

"This is a remarkable journey that has taken her from South America to the South Pacific, Juliana's story of triumph and success is nothing short of inspiring," says Daiana.



The fair will also showcase an array of exciting exhibitors, including Ella Oceania, Ale Pasteis, Supreme Snacks, The Barn, Brazilian Fudge, The Bite, Little Sweet Patisserie, Brayent NZ, and Natural Caresses.

With their offerings ranging from delightful snacks to unique healing techniques, the Brazilian Fair promises something for everyone.



For those unfamiliar with Brazilian culture, this event is the perfect opportunity to dive into its vibrant traditions. For the sizable Brazilian community in the Bay of Plenty, this is a chance to reconnect with their roots and feel closer to home.



Don't miss this opportunity to experience the lively Brazilian culture right here in Papamoa Beach.

Admission to the fair is free, making it an accessible and enjoyable outing for individuals and families alike.

The Brazilian Fair will be held at the Papamoa Recreation Centre, 80 Alice Lane from 9am - 2pm on Sunday, December 10. Admission is free.

For more information, please contact: Daiana Price on 0274 406 305 or Juliana Carvalho on 0212 565 781, or email Brazilian.bop@gmail.com
A man is to appear in court on Monday after being arrested for stealing bank cards from a motorist who was suffering a medical event.

Police in Tauranga have arrested the person who stole a womans purse and bankcards from her husbands phone case while her husband suffered a medical event.

The couple were driving down Te Awanui Drive in heavy traffic on Monday November 27 heading towards Mount Maunganui when the man suffered a medical event.

Members of the public stopped and assisted until emergency services arrived and the man was taken to hospital.

"Obviously distressed from the incident, a local Police officer drove the woman to hospital to be with her husband," says a Police spokesperson.

"On the way to the hospital the woman discovered her purse was missing.

"When she returned to the vehicle later, she discovered that her husbands bank cards had been removed from his phone case."

Police say calls to her bank confirmed both the cards taken from her purse and her husbands phone case had been used at various retail outlets in the area.

"A 40-year-old man, matching clothing of one of the people who had stopped to assist during the event, has been arrested and charged with theft and using a stolen card," says a Police spokesperson.

He is due to appear in Tauranga District Court on Monday December 11.
The family of Harley Shrimpton are still in shock following Police locating his body this week.

A funeral service for Harley attended by his family and friends was held on Friday afternoon following the return of his body to family on Thursday.

It has been a long month with no answers for Harleys family who was still trying to come to terms with what happened to him.

Harley, age 28, had been missing since November 3 and was reported missing to police on November 17.

Police have launched a homicide investigation after his body was located this week.

In November 2023, our family member Harley Shrimpton was kidnapped, and was later found deceased after being a victim of foul play, says a family member.

A Givealittle page has been set up on behalf of Harleys mother and siblings to help towards covering his funeral costs and supporting his children.

As you can imagine, the toll this is taking on our whanau is unimaginable.

Our whanau is in extreme shock and disbelief and struggling after this loss, not only emotionally but financially. We are raising funds to help with funeral costs.

Harley is a father to two young children.

He is a son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, friend and so much more. Harley did not deserve to have his life taken so young and tragically.

He will be so deeply missed by all of his whanau and friends.

The Givealittle page has already raised over $1400 towards funeral expenses.

If you can help with anything no matter how big or small, towards helping us put Harley to rest, and anything else the whanau need during this time, we would be hugely grateful.

Anything left over will help his family with any extras they may need in the next few weeks.

A 21-year-old male appeared in the Tauranga District Court on Wednesday, December 6, charged with the kidnapping of Harley.

He is due to reappear later this month.

Police have been seen at rural addresses in the Western Bay of Plenty. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

Over the past two weeks, police have searched a number of addresses in the Western Bay of Plenty, says Bay of Plenty Field Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Lindsay Pilbrow.

"As a result, the body of a male was located at a Poripori Road address and we have since confirmed this is Harley.

"Clearly, this is devastating news for the family of Harley, who had continued to hold out hope for his safe return since his disappearance, says Detective Inspector Pilbrow.

"Police are working closely with the family as they navigate through this very difficult time."

Harley was well known in the Tauranga community and police are keen to hear from any of his friends, associates or extended family, who may have information surrounding his disappearance, says Detective Inspector Pilbrow.

"There will be people who have knowledge of this incident and we are appealing for those persons to come forward to Police.

"Police also want to hear from anyone who may have seen a vehicle of interest to this investigation - a blue Toyota Prius on November, 3 either in the Tauriko, Omanawa or Poripori Road areas, from early afternoon onwards."

Police are seeking sightings of a blue Prius. Photo: Supplied.

Information can be passed to Police via our 105 phone service, or by going online to https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and using 'Update Report', referencing file number 231117/9085.

Alternatively, information can be passed to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-nz.org

To help raise funds for Harleys family please go to the Givealittle page.
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East Aurora, N.Y.  Max, help us! Were feeling!

An iconic store in Upstate New York is welcoming Grinches and Whos to check out a special holiday display made up of items from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The props and costumes  all authentic items from the 2000 movie starring Jim Carrey  are in the front windows of Vidlers 5 & 10, an East Aurora shop that bills itself as the worlds largest five-and-dime variety store.

Customers and pedestrians strolling down Main Street can see the Grinch in a Santa coat, baby Grinch in a wooden high chair and Max donning a reindeer horn in the tall glass windows below Vidlers marquee.

Vidlers 5 & 10, an iconic store in East Aurora, N.Y., is displaying props and costumes from Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the shop this holiday season.Courtesy of Don Vidler

Were delighted that collector David Howes has some of his extensive array of Grinch costumes and props on display in our main front windows, the shop wrote in a Facebook post.

David Howe is an East Aurora resident known for sharing his extensive collection of Grinch memorabilia with his community. And the items in the window displays arent the only Grinchy artifacts hes sharing with the variety store.

The giant sleigh Carrey steered in How the Grinch Stole Christmas will be behind the store Saturday and Sunday, as long as the weather cooperates, Vidlers said.

Vidlers 5 & 10, a family-run shop, has been in business since 1930. It sells old-fashioned sweets, toys, Vidlers/East Aurora souvenirs, specialty foods and more.

The shop has also become a popular place for Christmas movies to be filmed. A Royal Christmas Holiday, the latest holiday movie shot at Vidlers and in East Aurora, will premiere Dec. 23 on the Great American Family network, co-owner Don Vidler said.

Vidlers 5 & 10, an iconic store in East Aurora, N.Y., is displaying props and costumes from Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the shop this holiday season.Courtesy of Don Vidler
Raise your bouquets, Upstate New Yorks Flower City was named one of the friendliest cities in America.

From outgoing locals, to an easily navigable city and all around good vibes, Rochester came in at number two on Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards top 10 list. The publication asked readers to rate a citys friendliness in the travel experiences they loved best, focusing on where they felt most welcome.

Other cities on the list include places like Lexington, Kentucky; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Beat out only by Greenville, South Carolina, Conde Nast wrote that New Yorks third-largest city has a lot of offer travelers, from historical sites like Susan B. Anthonys house, to restaurants and museums such as the ever popular Strong Museum of Play. The article notes that one of the citys greatest assets is the friendly population. Happily chatting neighbors on the sidewalk or sitting on porches could inspire you to relocate to this Western NY city, they write.

Could it be that the home city of Upstate NYs beloved Wegmans, recently voted one of Americas best grocery stores, makes residents that much more cheerful?

If you have plans to move in, Pittsford, just outside of the city was recently named one of the hottest zip codes in America and a popular destination for homebuyers.

Make plans to visit in 2024 when Rochester falls right in line with the total solar eclipse that will cross over Mexico, the United States and Canada. It will be the first time in nearly 100 years that New York will be in the path of the astronomical totality.

*Note: Conde Nast is owned by Advance Publications, the parent company of Advance Media New York, which publishes syracuse.com and The Post-Standard newspaper.
Syracuse. N.Y.  A two-year-old shop in Eastwood known for vintage, artisan and unusual items is closing Dec. 23.

That gives holiday shoppers just a few more weeks to find the decorative objects, arts and crafts pieces, furniture and other items for sale at the Marketplace on James. The market has provided space to about 50 vendors selling wares, and also handles sales for artists and crafters on consignment.

The markets slogan is Where Old Meets New and its sign boasts odd and unique gifts. Its also known for its charitable contributions, including the donation of 10% of sales one weekend day each month to local nonprofits.

Were still getting things in, but Im trying to condense it all for the final push, said Eileen Porto, who opened the eclectic shop at 2802 James St. in September 2021. We have a lot of 50% off on some nice furniture, buffet hutches and other cool things.

Portos lease is up and shes had difficulty reaching a new agreement with the landlord of the space, which once housed a bar called the Tip A Few. The property owner is Skinner & Associates.

Porto is actively seeking a new space, preferably, she said, in Eastwood. But shes also checking out locations in the Westcott Street business district.

Inside the Marketplace on James, which sells modern and vintage decorative objects, arts and crafts, furniture and more at 2802 James St. in Eastwood. The shop will close Dec. 23. Don Cazentre

The closing of the market is has also led to the upcoming relocation of Kofta Burger, a Middle Eastern-inspired burger restaurant located inside. It will stay through the closing, and then move to a new space in downtown Syracuse.

Porto, who also works full-time at Federal Express, offered this perspective on the business a few weeks ago when she announced the closing on Facebook:

Over the course of the past 2 years we have proven to be an anchor shop in Eastwood with customers coming near & far. MPJ has been our heart & soul. We met so many vendors, neighbors, business owners & customers that strongly supported us & become friends. Were a safe place for others, donate to many worthy causes & advocate for those who find it hard to do so for themselves.

That news was greeted with dismay by loyal customers.

This is really disappointing, Amanda Hart Schaub wrote in response to the Facebook post. Your shop is wonderful and has contributed to changing the landscape of the surrounding blocks for the better.

The market is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, with the final date of Saturday, Dec. 23.

The Marketplace on James, which sells modern and vintage decorative objects, arts and crafts, furniture and more at 2802 James St. in Eastwood. The shop will close Dec. 23. Don Cazentre

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.
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Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 27 Thanked: 254 Times

Re: Maruti Jimny Review



So the next day we went to take a test drive of the Jimny MT. For reference, a Gypsy has been part of the garage for the past two years so all aspects of the driving experience of.the Jimny were being compared with our present Gypsy. All went well and ended up booking the car and took delivery of a white Zeta MT Jimny on 04.12.2023. The accessories that were supposed to be given with the 'Thunder Edition' had not arrived at the dealership, we have instead opted to have them packed separately. The things that are appealing will go on the car and the rest will be offered on the give-away section.

















PRICING



Time address the elephant in the room. The Jimny base variant is being offered for 10.74 Ex-Showroom. For what the car offers in terms of reliability, service and both on & off road capability, the Jimny is well worth the price it is being sold for today. In an ideal world, would have loved the car to be a few lakhs cheaper, but that's just not how things play out. The 5 door Jimny has been recently launched in Australia for 34,990 AUD (before tax) which comes to around Rs 19,28,000 INR. The Australian version gets a few additional features in terms of driver aid/assistant such as lane departure warning and the likes. Suddenly, Indian version of the Jimny seems to offer more value, given that the Australian version is also offered with the same 1.5 Litre engine coupled with 4AT/5MT options.



The first upgrage to the Jimny, had to be a better and broader set of tyres to ride on. The factory size of 195/80R15 has been swapped with Apollo AT 2 225/70/R15. The new tyres while proving a broader contact patch, has not altered the earlier profile size resulting in the driving dynamics being the same.



The Jimny is currently waiting for a few goodies to arrive from Japan to make the interior a more practical space.



Driving impressions and a more detailed review will be followed up after having driven it some more. Got a message from the local Nexa dealer on 02.12.2023 about the launch of the new 'Thunder Edition' offered with a discount of Rs 2 Lakhs on the Zeta variant. Called up the dealer immediately to enquire what would the 'Thunder Edition' miss out on. In my mind, was half prepared to hear that Maruti must have axed the 4x4 hardware in order to get more sales. However, was pleasantly surprised to hear nothing had been altered in the car.So the next day we went to take a test drive of the Jimny MT. For reference, a Gypsy has been part of the garage for the past two years so all aspects of the driving experience of.the Jimny were being compared with our present Gypsy. All went well and ended up booking the car and took delivery of a white Zeta MT Jimny on 04.12.2023. The accessories that were supposed to be given with the 'Thunder Edition' had not arrived at the dealership, we have instead opted to have them packed separately. The things that are appealing will go on the car and the rest will be offered on the give-away section.Time address the elephant in the room. The Jimny base variant is being offered for 10.74 Ex-Showroom. For what the car offers in terms of reliability, service and both on & off road capability, the Jimny is well worth the price it is being sold for today. In an ideal world, would have loved the car to be a few lakhs cheaper, but that's just not how things play out. The 5 door Jimny has been recently launched in Australia for 34,990 AUD (before tax) which comes to around Rs 19,28,000 INR. The Australian version gets a few additional features in terms of driver aid/assistant such as lane departure warning and the likes. Suddenly, Indian version of the Jimny seems to offer more value, given that the Australian version is also offered with the same 1.5 Litre engine coupled with 4AT/5MT options.The first upgrage to the Jimny, had to be a better and broader set of tyres to ride on. The factory size of 195/80R15 has been swapped with Apollo AT 2 225/70/R15. The new tyres while proving a broader contact patch, has not altered the earlier profile size resulting in the driving dynamics being the same.The Jimny is currently waiting for a few goodies to arrive from Japan to make the interior a more practical space.Driving impressions and a more detailed review will be followed up after having driven it some more.
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In brief: Microsoft's historic $69 billion bid to acquire Activision Blizzard closed in mid-October after securing regulatory approval from around the globe. However, the US Federal Trade Commission remains determined to block it, this time by lowering its burden of proof. Analysts say the agency faces long odds.

The FTC introduced new arguments to a California court against Microsoft's already-completed acquisition of Activision Blizzard this week. The agency's latest action could be the final challenge to the deal after nearly two years of regulatory proceedings.

Speaking to a three-judge appeals panel, FTC lawyer Imad Abyad disputed an earlier decision requiring the agency to prove that the merger was anticompetitive. Instead, he argued that the FTC only needed to prove that Microsoft had the means and the motive to withhold Activision Blizzard content from rival platforms like Sony's PlayStation.

The assertion revives the primary concern that threatened to block the deal  that Microsoft would attempt to make Call of Duty exclusive to its Xbox consoles. The company repeatedly pledged to continue supporting Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard properties like Overwatch and Diablo on PlayStation and Nintendo and has followed through so far.

However, the FTC claimed that Microsoft's decision to make Zenimax titles like Redfall and Starfield Xbox exclusive after purchasing that company proves it could repeat the pattern with Activision. While Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo had established userbases on PlayStation before the Microsoft purchase, Redfall and Starfield are new intellectual properties  a distinction that might decide how Redmond handles future exclusives. However, Microsoft hasn't clarified whether it will bring The Elder Scrolls VI to rival platforms.

Microsoft lawyer Rakesh Kilaru called the FTC's case weak and indicated that the exclusivity concerns are insufficient evidence to challenge the acquisition. Meanwhile, the judges appeared to criticize Abyad's assertion that the deal required further scrutiny in light of concessions the company made to appease regulators.

Sony and Microsoft signed a decade-long deal to keep future Call of Duty entries on PlayStation. Furthermore, Microsoft addressed concerns from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority over its dominance in the emerging cloud market by handing Ubisoft cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard titles for the next 15 years. The British regulator was the final significant obstacle the company faced before closing the acquisition on October 13.

Antitrust scholars predict that the FTC likely can't prove that earlier court decisions were in error.
After getting a settlement truce from the SEC, Elon Musk has been filing petitions to the Supreme Court, in a bid to get out of paying the massive fine, among other requirements for the case to be dropped. However, another petition surfaced from Musk and his camp, and this seeks to help them get out of paying the fine, with his 'free speech' also 'suppressed' by the settlement.

This centers on the still controversial 2018 tweet, the Tesla Private "Funding Secured" tweet which has haunted Musk for many years now.

Elon Musk Petitions SEC Settlement to SC Again

(Photo : LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

A new petition from one of the top billionaires of our time, Elon Musk, has now been filed to the US Supreme Court, and he asks for the SC to hear the case and eventually grant him his freedom back. One of the main focuses of Musk's petition is to give him back his "rights" to create posts over at X (formerly Twitter), one that does not require Tesla pre-screening it.

The latest claim by Musk says that the SEC settlement has forced him to "waive his First Amendment rights to speak on matters ranging far beyond the charged violations."

It is known that Musk took the deal with the SEC earlier this year amidst the hearing of the case, but now, claims that he was coerced into the deal.

Read Also: Elon Musk Says Strike in Tesla Sweden Is 'Insane'

Will Musk Get out of the SEC Settlement?

The court order from earlier this year centers on the requirements for Musk to follow, with the SEC settlement focusing on various key points that essentially gave Musk a pass. However, he and Tesla were made to pay $20 million each for their actions, and this also required Musk to step down from his board chairman responsibility at the EV company.

More importantly, Musk's X posts about Tesla will require pre-screening to avoid the same incident again.

Elon Musk: Funding Secured Fiasco

Early January 2023, Tesla shareholders pushed for the case of the 2018 tweet to pursue Elon Musk again after almost five years, and here, they want the tech CEO to face the consequences of his actions. The initial projections claim that should the trial have continued, Musk would have lost billions of his money to pay for the damages against the shareholders of the company.

After the different proceedings and the billionaire's testimony made as he was called in to explain his actions, there were significant decisions made against the CEO of Tesla. This includes the pre-screening of the tweets that he posts online, and it will be subject to review before he is allowed to take this to the public via his massive X account, essentially losing several aspects of his freedom.

However, he did not sit idly to get pre-screened for his tweets, but also, looking to get out of the settlement that will cost him $20 million personally, and another $20 million for Tesla. This is now Musk's second petition to the US Supreme Court in a bid to overturn this SEC decision for a settlement, and while these consequences are less than what is expected, the tech CEO still questions it now.

Related Article: Elon Musk vs SEC: Tesla CEO Appeals to Supreme Court Over 'Funding Secured' Tweet

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A recent study conducted by University of Michigan researchers has examined the bias in OpenAI's CLIP, a model integral to the functioning of the popular DALL-E image generator.

The findings suggest that AI image generation tools favor images that portray higher-income and Western lifestyles, showing the power to perpetuate societal inequities and cultural prejudices.

Evaluating CLIP

The study initiated and guided by Rada Mihalcea, the Janice M. Jenkins Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, aimed to evaluate the performance of CLIP in handling images representing diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Mihalcea emphasized the importance of ensuring comprehensive representation in AI tools deployed globally to prevent the exacerbation of existing inequality gaps.

"During a time when AI tools are being deployed across the world, having everyone represented in these tools is critical. Yet, we see that a large fraction of the population is not reflected by these applications - not surprisingly, those from the lowest social incomes. This can quickly lead to even larger inequality gaps," said Rada Mihalcea, the Janice M. Jenkins Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering who initiated and advised the project.

Joan Nwatu, a doctoral student in computer science and engineering, led the research team alongside postdoctoral researcher Oana Ignat. CLIP is a model that combines text and images and generates a score indicating the perceived match between the provided text and an image.

This score is then used in downstream applications, such as image flagging and labeling. The researchers noted that OpenAI's DALL-E heavily relies on CLIP to evaluate performance and create a database of image captions.

The researchers evaluated CLIP's performance using Dollar Street, a globally diverse image dataset created by the Gapminder Foundation. This dataset includes over 38,000 images from households across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, with monthly incomes ranging from $26 to nearly $20,000.

The evaluation revealed a notable bias in CLIP's scoring, particularly favoring images from higher-income households. The correlation between CLIP scores and household income was evident, with images from wealthier families consistently receiving higher scores.

For instance, when assessing the topic "light source," CLIP scores were generally higher for electric lamps from wealthier households than kerosene lamps from lower-income families.

Read Also: Can ChatGPT Defend Its Answers? New Study Finds Weakness in AI Chatbot's Reasoning

AI Geographic Bias

Geographic bias was also identified, as countries with lower scores were predominantly from low-income African regions. According to the study, this geographical bias raises concerns about the potential underrepresentation of diverse perspectives in large image datasets, particularly those relying on CLIP.

The researchers emphasized the need for AI developers to proactively address these biases and create more equitable AI models.

They proposed several steps, including investing in geographically diverse datasets, defining evaluation metrics that consider location and income, and transparently documenting the demographics of the data AI models are trained on.

Nwatu stressed the importance of transparency, stating that the public should be aware of the training data used in AI models to make informed decisions when utilizing these tools.

The study advocates bridging the performance gap across demographics to foster more inclusive and reliable AI models. The findings of the study were published in the arXiv.

Related Article: Bank of England to Assess the Risks AI Poses to UK Financial System

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ureel joins GWG Architecture

CWG Architecture + Interiors welcomes Interior Design Director Debra Ureel.

Ureel joins the team from Denver, Colorado bringing over 20 years of design experience to CWG Architecture + Interiors. She is excited to be closer to her family and grandkids.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling and adventuring with her dog, Frankie.

Ureel looks forward to serving the Helena community, building relationships with clients, and growing the CWG Interiors Department.

Business network to meet

The Millionaire Business Network is having a membership drive luncheon, noon to 1 p.m. Dec. 13 at KW Capital Realty, 130 Niell Ave. Suite A.

Small business owners looking for a strong business outlook in 2024 are invted.

Call Heather Lay at 406-431-1571 for details.

$2M doled out to small businesses

U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in Montana State Director Kathleen Williams recently announced an investment of nearly $2 million in nine small businesses and agricultural producers to help expand markets and create economic opportunities in rural areas across the state.

Montana was one of 37 states to receive funding through several programs that help rural small businesses and agricultural producers expand markets and strengthen food and agricultural supply chains. USDA invested $196 million in more than 180 projects.

Montana investments came by way of the Value-Added Producer Grant program which helps generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income. Recipients included:

Powder River Premium Beef, dba Montana Premium Beef in Ashland, received a $250,000 grant to provide working capital for processing, cold storage, marketing and transportation costs. This start-up family ranch in a rural community of 824 residents raises grass fed beef cattle.

Cold Springs Organics in Bozeman received a $250,000 grant to provide working capital for distribution costs. This first-generation farm in Gallatin County grows and supplies organic grains to several large brand name companies.

Shauna Stephenson, dba Good Mama Farm in Harrison received a $177,594 grant to provide working capital for marketing and packaging costs. This woman-owned farm in a rural town of 64 residents opened in 2020 and raises vegetables.

Beauty and the Beef in Helmville received a $246,923 grant to provide working capital for processing and marketing costs. This rural small business raises grass fed cattle and produces packaged meat products.

County Rail Farm, dba Field Five Flowers, in Huson received a $250,000 grant to help with packaging and processing. This rural small business in Missoula County grows certified organic flowers and vegetables.

Go Roam Free in Hot Springs received a $250,000 grant to provide working capital for distribution costs. This rural small business raises bison and produces all natural packaged meat products.

Oswald Farms Inc., in Joliet received a $250,000 grant to provide working capital for processing costs. This family-owned ranch in a town of 595 rural residents raises grass-fed beef cattle and processes it into specialty cut packaged meats, sausages, and snacks.

Crooked Creek Farms in Sidney received a $35,400 grant to provide working capital for marketing, supplies, and transportation costs. This woman-owned farm in a rural community of 5,200 residents started in 2019 and produces all-natural butter and cream made from locally raised dairy cows.

Montana Branded Inc. of Westby received a $250,000 grant to provide working capital for processing, packaging, transportation, and marketing. This woman-owned rural small business, which began in 2018, raises single-sourced, grass-fed, grain-finished beef cattle in a town of 168 residents.

For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
Eleven kilometers into the depths: China says it wants to drill into the Earth's mantle with a special ship

According to the study, crocodiles are romantic lovers  and speak a "language of love"

Five New Restaurants and Travelers Who Are Going to Be Very Familiar This Year

Mantequeria Bermejo, the centennial trade that has gone viral for a few horns

Google will probably fail with lawsuit against billions in fine from the European Union

Michaela May, Gisela Schneeberger and Jutta Speidel: "The image of women on television is underground"

Why is South Africa's complaint against Israel before the Court of Justice the most important of all?

Osaka-Kansai Expo: Bringing food into the venue is prohibited in principle, and final adjustments are made

Aida Artiles, yogi and model: "Reading and running on the beach gives me life"

The shadow of Paco de Lucia is infinite: the genius that no one has ever met

'The President should shut his face': Anouk Grinberg angry with Emmanuel Macron after his comments on Depardieu

(m+) Artificial intelligence: How Vokswagen, Mercedes and BMW want to score points with AI in their cars

Umea Basket in financial crisis: "Happy if we survive the rest of the season"

Umea Basket in financial crisis: "Happy if we survive the rest of the season"

Sweden is out of the World Junior Championships: "Has more in it"

Hilda Andersson on the cruciate ligament injury: "Remember that it will be difficult"

Flight to the Africa Cup of Nations: Gambia national football team has to make an emergency landing

In the fight against wind and frost: Derbusheva and Bektuganov became champions of Russia in biathlon in the super sprint

Despite the fiasco  Bjorn Ferry believes in Sweden's chance of a medal in the World Championships

Flight to the Africa Cup of Nations: Gambia national football team has to make an emergency landing

The national football team will compete in the Asian Cup again after 5 years, will it work this time?

Sergio Herrera: "If the opponent's crowd hesitates me, I bite them, I laugh... Someone has told me 'you're the dumbest guy in the league.'"

The mystery of asthmatic champions: Why do 20% of athletes have respiratory problems?

The Ministry of Finance of Russia will sell currency and gold for 69,1 billion rubles

The government now justifies the pact with Junts on the exit of companies "to avoid fiscal engineering" from which they left

Planas rules out lowering taxes on more foods and encourages the 'super' to lower the price of oil from now on

Cottbus: Olaf Scholz is greeted by farmers' protests at the opening of the railway plant

Bitcoin: Is it possible and recommended to invest via funds?

The "dragon content" of the e-commerce platform has surged, and the atmosphere has not yet been full

Train tickets for the first day of the Spring Festival are open today, and the rules have changed!

Grifols is not convincing: there are no concrete explanations for analysts and the stock is once again plummeting

Customers critical of Vytag after the cold weather  The Swedish Consumer Agency is reviewing the company

Milei writes to Pope Francis, showers him with praise and invites him to visit Argentina

State Department: The United States, together with the G7, will make decisions on the use of Russia's assets

Police and Civil Guards demand that Marlaska stop the "scrapping of the State" after the new pact with Junts to cede migration

China-Malaysia Relations Upgraded Again Expert: Equal cooperation sets an example for countries in the region

"Hunter's skills came in handy": a 59-year-old resident of Bashkortostan went to the NWO after his son

Through the fence openings. How did tweeters comment on Egyptians' solidarity with displaced people in Gaza?

The Campo de Gibraltar applies a "drastic drop" in water pressure that leads to cuts during the night

After the withdrawal of the occupation. Al-Duwairi reveals the contours of the next phase of the Gaza war

Qatar Charity launches two projects in the name of the martyrs Hamza Al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya

Aqaba summit calls for cessation of Israeli aggression and warns of the seriousness of the situation in the West Bank

Israeli writer: Our borders will extend and we will take Mecca, Medina and Mount Sinai

Russia has told Ecuador that the transfer of its equipment to the United States would be an unfriendly step

Hamas: We will not allow the occupation and its supporters to interfere in the future of the Gaza Strip

 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.
Eleven kilometers into the depths: China says it wants to drill into the Earth's mantle with a special ship

According to the study, crocodiles are romantic lovers  and speak a "language of love"

Five New Restaurants and Travelers Who Are Going to Be Very Familiar This Year

Mantequeria Bermejo, the centennial trade that has gone viral for a few horns

Google will probably fail with lawsuit against billions in fine from the European Union

Michaela May, Gisela Schneeberger and Jutta Speidel: "The image of women on television is underground"

Why is South Africa's complaint against Israel before the Court of Justice the most important of all?

Osaka-Kansai Expo: Bringing food into the venue is prohibited in principle, and final adjustments are made

Aida Artiles, yogi and model: "Reading and running on the beach gives me life"

The shadow of Paco de Lucia is infinite: the genius that no one has ever met

'The President should shut his face': Anouk Grinberg angry with Emmanuel Macron after his comments on Depardieu

(m+) Artificial intelligence: How Vokswagen, Mercedes and BMW want to score points with AI in their cars

Umea Basket in financial crisis: "Happy if we survive the rest of the season"

Umea Basket in financial crisis: "Happy if we survive the rest of the season"

Sweden is out of the World Junior Championships: "Has more in it"

Hilda Andersson on the cruciate ligament injury: "Remember that it will be difficult"

Flight to the Africa Cup of Nations: Gambia national football team has to make an emergency landing

In the fight against wind and frost: Derbusheva and Bektuganov became champions of Russia in biathlon in the super sprint

Despite the fiasco  Bjorn Ferry believes in Sweden's chance of a medal in the World Championships

Flight to the Africa Cup of Nations: Gambia national football team has to make an emergency landing

The national football team will compete in the Asian Cup again after 5 years, will it work this time?

Sergio Herrera: "If the opponent's crowd hesitates me, I bite them, I laugh... Someone has told me 'you're the dumbest guy in the league.'"

The mystery of asthmatic champions: Why do 20% of athletes have respiratory problems?

The Ministry of Finance of Russia will sell currency and gold for 69,1 billion rubles

The government now justifies the pact with Junts on the exit of companies "to avoid fiscal engineering" from which they left

Planas rules out lowering taxes on more foods and encourages the 'super' to lower the price of oil from now on

Cottbus: Olaf Scholz is greeted by farmers' protests at the opening of the railway plant

Bitcoin: Is it possible and recommended to invest via funds?

The "dragon content" of the e-commerce platform has surged, and the atmosphere has not yet been full

Train tickets for the first day of the Spring Festival are open today, and the rules have changed!

Grifols is not convincing: there are no concrete explanations for analysts and the stock is once again plummeting

Customers critical of Vytag after the cold weather  The Swedish Consumer Agency is reviewing the company

Milei writes to Pope Francis, showers him with praise and invites him to visit Argentina

State Department: The United States, together with the G7, will make decisions on the use of Russia's assets

Police and Civil Guards demand that Marlaska stop the "scrapping of the State" after the new pact with Junts to cede migration

China-Malaysia Relations Upgraded Again Expert: Equal cooperation sets an example for countries in the region

"Hunter's skills came in handy": a 59-year-old resident of Bashkortostan went to the NWO after his son

Through the fence openings. How did tweeters comment on Egyptians' solidarity with displaced people in Gaza?

The Campo de Gibraltar applies a "drastic drop" in water pressure that leads to cuts during the night

After the withdrawal of the occupation. Al-Duwairi reveals the contours of the next phase of the Gaza war

Qatar Charity launches two projects in the name of the martyrs Hamza Al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya

Aqaba summit calls for cessation of Israeli aggression and warns of the seriousness of the situation in the West Bank

Israeli writer: Our borders will extend and we will take Mecca, Medina and Mount Sinai

Hamas: We will not allow the occupation and its supporters to interfere in the future of the Gaza Strip

Russia has told Ecuador that the transfer of its equipment to the United States would be an unfriendly step

 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.
DECATUR  Parsons School had a visit from Mrs. Claus on Friday.

Mrs. Claus, who in her everyday life is Sherrod's Independent Mentoring Program (SIMP Inc.) founder Jarmese Sherrod, brought along Leo the Violence Prevention Lion, Rudolpha (Sherrod's daughter, Janese) and Miss Elf (Evyonne Hawkins).

She read Hands Are Not For Hurting to kindergarten and first grade students in Heather Groves' classroom.

We try to do something special and spread some Christmas joy to the kids, Sherrod said on her way to the next classroom. We tie violence prevention into this, so we remind them we don't want to stay on the 'naughty' list, but on the 'good' list.

With Christmas break coming up, Sherrod said, kids will have extra time on their hands, and she wanted to spread the message that they could use that time to practice being helpful and kind.

Mainly it's just giving a good message, she said.

Having another adult come in and give that message helps, Groves said.

Hopefully, it gives them more of an opportunity to hear from other people, not just us, Groves said. They're getting it from other people outside of the school. We teach (social-emotional) every day in the classroom, and hopefully it helps reinforce what we're teaching them every day.

Haven Campbell's favorite part about it was Leo, she said, and when the group took a photo together after the reading, the other kids seemed to agree. They swarmed Leo.

We learned about no hitting, said Amia Mathews, who is in first grade, like Haven.

Mrs. Claus gave them a list of things that are good to do with hands, like helping their families with chores, picking up litter, and hugs.

And if they need help, she said, they can ask any of the adults at school and adults that their families tell them are safe when they're at home, like grandparents, uncles and aunts.

Do we talk to strangers? she asked and was met with a resounding no from her small listeners.

After reading the book, she asked the kids to stand and take the violence prevention pledge, in which they promised to keep their hands to themselves, be kind and avoid fighting.

SIMP has had a busy week, Sherrod said. Earlier this week, students visited the Children's Museum of Illinois thanks to SIMP Inc., and a Christmas Around the World event for the girls in the program, a dance program with Janese Sherrod, and a program for kids at the Boys and Girls Club where an FBI agent came in to talk about careers in the agency.

Our impact this week is close to 800 kids, she said.

PHOTOS: Gov. Pritzker talks early childhood education in Decatur Boys and Girls Club 1 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 2 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 3 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 4 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 5 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 6 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 7 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 8 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 9 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 10 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 11 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 12 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 13 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 14 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 15 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 16 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 17 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 18 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 19 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 20 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 21 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 22 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 23 06.09.20.JPG Boys and Girls Club 24 06.09.20.JPG
Farda Asadov, Ph.D., head of the Department of History and Economy of Arab Countries at the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Academician Z M Bunyadov of ANAS, participated in the International Silk Road Forum organized by the Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization of the Islamic Countries (ICESCO) in Rabat, Morocco, Azernews reports.

Institute of Oriental Studies said that well-known historians of ICESCO member countries gave speeches and discussed the historical relations connecting the People's Republic of China with the Islamic world and the current cooperation projects at the forum. The day after the official program of the conference, a seminar dedicated to the heritage and values ??of Ibn Battuta, the famous traveler of the Islamic world, was held in the Chinese cultural center in Morocco.

At the forum held at the headquarters of ICESCO and subsequent events, Farda Asadov gave a speech on "Trade cooperation between Arabs and Caspian Turks on the Silk Road" and spoke about the historical importance of trade relations between China and the Muslim world in the early Middle Ages.




Abingdon Town Council has awarded $100,000 to the William King Museum of Art in Abingdon, Virginia.

As you know, theyre an anchor in town, said Town Manager Mike Cochran at Mondays town council meeting.

Theyve been here a long time. And they have a lot of exciting things happening at the museum, Cochran said. If you havent been recently, its certainly worth taking a look. And if you get a chance to talk to Miss Betsy White, shes a wealth; shes a walking historian.

White serves as the executive director of the arts institution on Academy Drive.

Its a neat museum, Cochran added.

A request was recently made for the Town of Abingdon to help fund the operation. At the Dec. 4 meeting, Cochran suggested the town allocate $100,000 from the towns general reserve to help the museum.

Theyve got roughly $18 million of projects that are ongoing. But theyve got some additional issues, Cochran said. And I think this will be a good way to help them through this, as well as support one of the nicer things that we have in town.

Councilman Wayne Austin added: They are doing a tremendous job. Ive been by and also talked to some of the members of their board. Theyre building on, adding different showrooms, etc., etc., and I think they bring in a lot of tourism to Abingdon. I think its a great asset.

Councilman Derek Webb made a motion to award the money, seconded by Austin.

Theyve got great things coming down the line, Mayor Amanda Pillion said. So I think this will help get them where they need to be.
The Sun Herald, based in Biloxi, covers the Mississippi Gulf Coast and is a news partner with NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Read more at www.sunherald.com.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted to oust her from her leadership post as chair of the House Republican Conference because of her repeated criticism of former President Donald Trump for his false claims of election fraud and his role in instigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
It came as a surprise to me that Taylor Swift has the power to end the conflict in Gaza. But so it was contended this week on X (formerly Twitter), when news broke that the singer-songwriter, the poet-laureate of girls, was named Person of the Year by Time magazine.

The white American woman billionaire who could end the genocide of Palestinians with on [sic] IG post is TIME person of the year, one user posted on X. Many chimed in with similar commentary.

Girl power: Taylor Swift on stage in Argentina in November. Credit: AP

A fact-checking note on the post added: Historically, conflicts and wars have not ended due to Instagram posts. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that an Instagram post made by Taylor Swift will end the war in Gaza.

With great power comes great responsibility, and in September, when Swift posted to her Instagram followers encouraging them to register to vote in the 2024 US presidential election, there was a record surge in registrations.
For Meg Bellamy, the 21-year-old British actor who plays the young Kate Middleton in the sixth and final series of The Crown, a head of long, liquid brunette locks was an essential part of the costume.

So it may come as some surprise that industry insiders are predicting Bellamy will chop off her glossy Kate haircut as soon as The Crowns publicity tour is over.

Meg Bellamy at the premiere of The Crown in November. Credit: Getty Images

Theres a very good reason to do it: a transformational haircut has become a tried and tested strategy to ensure that a newcomer doesnt spend the rest of their acting career being typecast, associated forever with their breakout role.

It is so easy to get typecast, says British celebrity stylist Kyle DeVolle, who works with Lily Allen and Rita Ora. So [a haircut] is like a total rebrand, a clean slate for her as an actress. Obviously, shell have The Crown under her belt but Im sure shes going to want to do more diverse roles. We work in a very fickle industry and I think that unless people see the change, they will just put you in a box.
HICKORY  The City of Hickorys 2023 Business. Well Crafted. Award winners were announced during the Hickory City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Presented by the citys Business Development Committee (BDC), the Business. Well Crafted. Awards annually honor businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs that support and affirm Hickorys vision for economic vitality.

The 2023 award winners are as follows:

Youth (25 years of age and younger)

Jose Saucedo, JS Auto Detailing

As a young Hispanic entrepreneur, Jose Saucedo started JS Auto Detailing LLC to provide superior automotive detailing services to the Hickory and surrounding areas. He is loyal to his customers and continues to work hard despite the challenges faced in the early stages of his startup. Saucedo is a dedicated and knowledgeable entrepreneur, taking full advantage of resources that are available in the community to help him be successful. He completed the Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) Everyday Entrepreneurship Venture Fund Program, which provides grants to support CVCC students and recent graduates by helping them start and scale their own businesses.

With support from CVCCs Small Business Center, JS Auto Detailing received grant funding to assist with business growth and sustainability. The mobile detailing company has grown into a leading competitor to other automotive detailing companies in just under two years. From 2022 to 2023, the business obtained a substantial number of customers that are serviced weekly. By August 2023, the business had doubled its revenue and increased profitability. The companys strong business model and unique position in the market help it to be innovative and flexible for clients.

The company has grown its social media presence to over 3,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, which greatly contributes to the successful marketing of its services to new and existing clients. To further his business, Saucedo has also become active in business networking groups like BNI and The Chamber of Catawba County.

Saucedos goal is to provide work opportunities as well as financial support to local charities, school boards, and individuals who need help to support their families. He regularly participates in local college and entrepreneurial events. Through his business, Saucedo contributes to the local economy and seeks to have a positive impact in the community.

Individual (Entrepreneur of the Year)

Leroy Kennedy, Thistle Dew Nicely Florals and Gifts

Leroy Kennedy opened Thistle Dew Nicely Florals and Gifts in November 2015. The business started slowly, but has flourished over the past two years. Growing from just one employee (Kennedy) to now employing four people, the business has reaped the benefits of the improved downtown and the recent increase in restaurants, housing, and other businesses that have extended the downtown area.

Thistle Dew Nicely offers gifts and items ranging from the rustic to the antique to the modern and chic. Most importantly, the shop has become well known for the floral arrangements available for birthdays, funerals, weddings, and other special occasions. As owner and designer of Thistle Dew Nicely, Kennedy puts his love of flowers, family history in the floral business, and dedication to customer satisfaction into his work at the store. He personalizes each floral arrangement based on the wishes of the customer. He also works to ensure that patrons visiting the store all feel welcome and appreciated.

Kennedy loves having a business in downtown Hickory and supports the continued growth and development of downtown and the central business district. Kennedy and Thistle Dew Nicely are members of the Hickory Downtown Development Association (HDDA) and regularly participate in HDDA sponsored events. The store participated in the downtowns Christmas storefront decoration competition the past two years and won the competition both times.

Business and/or Organization (10 or fewer employees)

Master Tech Auto Mechanics

Specializing in the repair and maintenance of BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Mini Cooper automobiles, Master Tech Auto Mechanics prides itself on excellence, experience, and integrity. When the local automotive dealership serving those brands closed and moved to Charlotte in 2012, Master Tech Auto Mechanics opened to provide dealership quality services without the dealership markup. Since then, the company has grown from two employees generating $90,000 in sales revenue to a shop employing eight people with annual sales of $1 million.

In addition to supporting local car owners with quality service, Master Tech Auto Mechanics is committed to nurturing the automotive technician industry through apprenticeship programs. Master Tech works with three local high schools to offer its facility for their internship program. The business also works with the NCWorks NEXTGEN paid apprenticeship program and has helped with more than a dozen young adults. The business owners stated that the experience has been very rewarding to be able to mentor young people and help them develop skills that will assist them in being successful employees in a professional environment.

Master Tech also supports the community through charitable contributions. Master Tech hosted a car show fundraiser and donated 100% of the proceeds to a local primary school. The company has also purchased snacks for the school, as well as two-way radios for the staff and more. Master Tech Auto Mechanics is currently raising funds for the school by selling artwork created by the students.

Wildskeins Yarn Company

Founded by Camantha Corsi in 2007 in a 900-square-foot space in a strip mall, Wildskeins is Hickorys premier and most established retail yarn shop selling yarn and accessories for knitters and crocheters in the Hickory area. In 2018, the store moved two blocks north to a 1,500-square-foot house on the corner of N.C. 127. Wildskeins is a female veteran owned business catering to the fiber needs of both the local and worldwide community. Wildskeins improves the Hickory economy by encouraging residents to shop locally for their creative fiber arts needs by offering a welcoming atmosphere for fiber artists to mingle with others. The shop offers a weekly newsletter consisting of 700-plus subscribers to keep customers abreast of upcoming events along with social media posts.

Wildskeins was awarded the City of Hickorys Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Microenterprise Grant in June 2022. With this grant, the business was able to purchase the Shopify point-of-sale system to improve customer sales. This also allowed Wildskeins to modify its website to begin online sales of its house-dyed yarn. The new system allows Wildskeins to monitor individual customer sales, making easier purchases for additional yarns as needed by customer requests. Since the implementation of the Shopify system, Wildskeins has seen a growth of 7% over the past year. As online sales increase, the business plans to hire a part-time employee to maintain the shop, allowing more time to fulfill online orders.

Wildskeins promotes crafting in Hickory and supports the community through various programs and efforts. Each winter, Wildskeins customers donate handmade hats and accessories for the stores Need A Hat, Take A Hat program to provide warmth for anyone wishing to take a hat from the clothesline hanging outside the store along N.C. 127. In the past three years, this program has donated over 900 handknit and/or crocheted hats to people in need. Wildskeins has provided knitting lessons for Hickory Public Library and participated in the CVQA Quilt Show. The shop promotes Knit In Public Day each June to showcase the craft of knitting to the community. Wildskeins has donated yarn and supplies to Hickory High Schools art classes and local retirement centers. Wildskeins supports TwinKnits in its Hat Not Hate program with yarn donations. Wildskeins offers a 10% discount to anyone involved in a prayer shawl ministry and has donated finished blankets to the Pregnancy Care Center for distribution to young mothers. Wildskeins is a member of the National Needle Arts Association (TNNA).

Business and/or Organization (11 to 50 employees)

Hickory Mechanical

Hickory Mechanical, Inc. was founded in March 1985 by David Moore, a third-generation mechanical contractor. Hickory Mechanical provides piping, plumbing, and HVAC services to industrial and institutional customers in the Hickory area. The company strives to be a full-service provider in all areas of its expertise and to facilitate other work when needed. With many certified medical gas technicians on staff, Hickory Mechanical has completed extensive work at medical facilities. The company has also helped with total building renovations for new companies coming into town.

Hickory Mechanical values repeat business and looks for customers, not jobs. The company has experienced extensive growth over the last two to three years, growing from about 15 employees to 36, plus an additional 12 subcontracted labor individuals. The company purchased and upgraded a vacant building along the Hickory Trail for its business operations and intends to continue investing in Hickory. Revenue for the business is on pace to nearly triple the average for the previous five years. Hickory Mechanical has also expanded into several new industries.

Beyond its professional services, Hickory Mechanical is committed to furthering the local economy through its involvement in various organizations and nonprofits. Hickory Mechanical is a gold partner of The Chamber of Catawba County and a sustaining member of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporations Committee of 100, which supports economic growth and industry recruitment in Catawba County. Hickory Mechanical employees hold leadership positions within the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, work with and support many arts programs, and volunteer in varying capacities. Hickory Mechanical provides financial support to a dozen or more local nonprofits and holds season tickets to Hickory Crawdads for donation and employee use. Hickory Mechanical regularly participates in Catawba Valley Community Colleges Construction Academy and holds a position on the Hickory Public Schools CTE Advisory Committee. The company is also a member of the Lenoir-Rhyne University President Society and Business Council, and holds a position on the College of Business and Economics Advisory Board.

Business and/or Organization (51 or more employees)

Alex Lee, Inc.

Founded in 1931 and headquartered in Hickory, Alex Lee is a family owned and operated company that employs approximately 15,000 people. It serves as the parent company of Merchants Distributors, LLC, which provides full-service, wholesale distribution to supermarkets; Souto Foods, a distributor of authentic Hispanic foods; and Import Mex, a distributor of Mexican and Central American products. Alex Lee is also the parent company of Lowes Foods, which includes nearly 85 full-service grocery stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. In addition, Alex Lee, Inc. is the parent company of W. Lee Flowers & Company, which operates approximately 60 IGA and KJs Market grocery stores and provides wholesale distribution to supermarkets.

Alex Lee is expanding its Hickory distribution center capacity with an addition of 200,000 square feet of automated ambient warehouse space and the conversion of additional space to perishable warehouse space. In 2023, Alex Lee acquired a company in Florida, Import Mex, which expands its distribution area and variety of products. Shared services for the new distribution center are supported out of Hickory.

Alex Lee and its subsidiaries are heavily involved in the Hickory community. The company supports local nonprofits like the SALT Block Foundation, United Arts Council, Catawba Science Center, Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory Choral Society, Western Piedmont Symphony, Second Harvest Food Bank, Hickory Soup Kitchen, Sipes Orchard Home, Carolina Caring, Habitat for Humanity, Exodus, YMCA, and others. Lowes Foods sponsors the City of Hickorys annual Christmas parade. Alex Lee also supports education foundations and programs like the K-64 initiative, as well as the areas educational institutions, which include Catawba Valley Community College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, and Appalachian State University in Hickory.

Home Instead

John and Joan Coffey own two Home Instead franchises in North Carolina with their corporate headquarters in Hickory. Home Instead provides home care services, including personal care, respite care, and companionship to older adults within the context of their home. Simply put, Home Instead provides an alternative for older adults to safely live at home in their retirement. The Coffeys purchased the Hickory Home Instead franchise in August 2019, when it employed 38 people. The franchise has since grown its employee base organically by 268% in this business. Over this time, employee wages have increased by 65-85%, depending upon job classification. The acquisition of the Asheville Home Instead franchise further added to the growth of the company, which now employs 196 active employees with 103 living and working within the Hickory Metro.

Home Instead offices are located in the Fidelity Professional Building at 27 First Ave. NE in downtown Hickory. In 2020, the company partnered with the building owner and completed significant lease hold improvements to modernize the top floor of this office building to include modern offices, an auditorium that will seat 49 people, and a professional conference room with views of downtown. The building owner has continued the revitalization of the Fidelity Professional Building, and it is now a comfortable space for companies desiring modern office space in the central business district of Hickory.

The company and its employees also give back to the community through charitable programs, volunteering, membership in civic and professional organizations, and workforce development initiatives. Home Instead established and continues to conduct the Be a Santa to a Senior program, which coordinates the collection and giving of gifts to senior adults at Christmas who would otherwise not receive a gift during the holiday season. Recipients include 150 to 250 older adults who are part of retirement or skilled nursing homes, and are not Home Instead clients. Each year, 1,500 to 2,500 gifts are collected, purchased, and distributed to these individuals by Home Instead office staff employees.

Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, PA

Established in 1987, Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A. (MSA) is a professional accounting and consulting firm. The company has established a reputation for excellence in the fields of tax, auditing, and consulting for both business and private sectors. The firms mission is not just to deliver top-notch accounting services, but to cultivate long-lasting relationships with clients, serving as trusted advisers who help navigate the complexities of financial decision-making. Always placing the needs of clients at the forefront, MSA embodies integrity, professionalism, and a dedication to fostering the financial health and success of those it serves.

MSA plays an instrumental role in promoting economic development. Through its expertise, financial management, and business consulting for numerous local business clients, the firm provides services to help clients manage their finances, meet regulatory requirements, and strategize for future growth. By offering these essential services, MSA empowers clients to thrive, create jobs, and contribute to the citys tax base. MSA has been fortunate to grow 25% over the past two years and looks to grow at least 10% in 2023. In response to this growth, the firm has increased the number of employees, thereby bringing high-paying professional jobs to the area.

MSA innovates to capitalize on new technologies, invests in continuous education and training to ensure that its professionals stay ahead of regulatory changes and industry shifts, and encourages community involvement. Giving back to the community is one of the firms top initiatives. From Chamber membership and activities to serving on local boards, volunteering at local shelters and supporting wellness initiatives, to the firms own Volunteer 360 event, MSA is driven to give assistance wherever needed. Martin Starnes is also a founding sponsor and strong supporter of the Hickory Young Professionals Association.

Nonprofit

Exodus Homes and Exodus Works

Exodus Homes provides 73 beds of faith-based supportive housing for homeless people returning to the community from treatment centers and prison with a comprehensive array of services to help them learn a new way to live and become productive citizens of the community.

Exodus serves an average of 160 people a year in the housing program. Exodus Works is a revenue generating vocational training program that provides volunteer work opportunities for Exodus residents in the areas of residential and commercial moving, landscaping, debris removal, general labor, shuttle services, event management, and temporary to permanent labor in the organizations five corporate partners  Vanguard Furniture, Sherrill Furniture, Design Foundry, Hickory Springs, and The Taiji Group. The goal of Exodus Works is to generate revenue to support Exodus Homes and to help its residents become employed full-time in the community in jobs that pay a living wage. The net profit of Exodus Works is the primary source of funding for Exodus Homes.

Exodus Works provides volunteer work opportunities for its residents in a variety of enterprises to create a sustainable employment track that is not dependent on just one or two revenue generating services. Having a variety of training enterprises including temp-to-perm placements with its corporate partners gives Exodus residents more options for full-time employment. When Exodus residents become employed in the community, they become tax paying citizens, increasing the tax base and the amount of disposable income spent in the community, which helps other businesses prosper and grow. When homeless people learn a new way to live after addiction or incarceration and are employed full-time, they become an asset in the community and not a liability. They can pay their child support, probation fees, restitution fees, and reach their goals, such as getting their drivers license back and purchasing reliable transportation for work after they leave the program.

By creating a successful path to employment with a proven track record of getting Exodus residents employed full-time in the Hickory community, Exodus Homes and Exodus Works are reducing prison recidivism, reducing neighborhood crime, increasing the tax base, stabilizing the whole community, and improving the quality of life for Exodus participants and their families.

In recent years, Exodus has experienced impressive growth in annual sales and net profit figures. The company is on track to well surpass its sales projections and goals for 2023. In 2022, with the help of the Bolick Foundation and the George Foundation, Exodus purchased a 10,000-pound dump trailer and an F-250 truck to haul it. This led to a significant increase in the size and frequency of clean out and debris removal jobs. Another factor that has contributed to the continued financial growth of the company is the increased diversification of services offered by Exodus Works. This year, Exodus extended its offerings to include shuttle services in partnership with the Hickory Metro Convention Center, churches, and other businesses. As Exodus Works continues to grow, Exodus Homes plans to expand bed capacity to serve more people. The need for supportive housing for those returning from treatment centers and prison is urgent and Exodus continues to partner with local businesses, recovery groups, and individuals to help those who need it.

The Business Development Committee is proud to honor these nine award winners for their commitment and support of the citys vision for economic vitality, said Grace McLaurin, chair of the BDC.

The 2023 Business. Well Crafted. Award winners will be featured in a series of videos shared over the next few months.

For more information about the Business Development Committee and its Business. Well Crafted. Awards, contact City of Hickory Business and Community Development Manager Dave Leonetti at 828-261-2227 or dleonetti@hickorync.gov.
This story is part of the December 10 edition of Sunday Life.

Each week, we quiz a prominent person about their style and the inspiration behind it. Ahead, Poppy Lissiman who is best known as a designer of her eponymous accessory brand.

Credit: Nathalie Scarlett

How would you describe your style? Comfortable, boyish and clashing.

Whats the oldest thing in your wardrobe? I collect vintage printed dresses. Most are from the 1970s but I have a few from the 50s.

And the most recent addition? A Comme des Garcons mens tartan kilt. My husband hates it but I absolutely love it. Im wearing it with a soccer jersey, studded boots and a leather jacket.
Christmas these days is still fun  I have two young children after all  but the joy is centred around celebrating the birth of Jesus. In the lead-up to the day, we partake in social events run by our church such as Christmas carols. And rather than the usual Elf on the Shelf, we have a Mary and Joseph who travel around our house, and each morning the kids have to work out where they went overnight. Loading We go to church on Christmas Day, and we still do family lunch, of course. But were mindful to keep the focus on why we celebrate. For the kids, this can be opening presents and eating treats, but it will also mean reading stories about the birth of Jesus, doing topical arts-and-crafts and having plenty of robust discussions such as What do you think it would have been like for Mary who couldnt find a hospital to have her baby in? We even throw some birthday things among our food, so they remember were celebrating the birth of Jesus. It doesnt bother me that Christmas has become so commercial. But sometimes I feel like its a missed opportunity because theres so much more the story of Christmas can offer than presents. God wants people to come to Him and have a relationship with Him and that gives so much meaning and purpose to life. Christmas was mostly about fitting in

When Nedret Ziyalan, 76, arrived in Australia over 50 years ago, she was keen to assimilate her family as quickly as possible. I moved to Australia from my native Turkey in 1970. I had two small children and though we didnt celebrate Christmas back home in what was and is a secular Muslim country, it was important to me that we take on all the traditions and celebrations of our new country and become as Australian as possible. I could see Christmas was a big deal here, so I made sure it became a big deal for us too. At a time when bullying the wog kids in the playground was common, I wanted my sons to fit in as much as possible and Christmas was one day to do that. I had to be led by the kids when it came to what we were supposed to be doing in the lead-up to the day as well as the day itself. Santa photos at the shopping centre? A turkey dinner for lunch? How was I to know what was what?

When our tree arrived my devout Muslim mother wasnt thrilled, but I got around its presence in our home by referring to it as a New Year tree. I was terrible at being Santa, though; all the kids knew the gift from Santa was from me, and my youngest even got in trouble at school after she gathered all the kids in her kindy class to tell them of the great Santa conspiracy. Many of her classmates took it badly and I received a call. It was a huge Christmas fail. For me, its never been about religion, but about my children doing whatever all the other kids were doing and having fun together as a family. Nedret Ziyalan As my children grew, so too did our Christmases, our home becoming the place for our extended family to come and enjoy a traditional lunch and poolside fun. Some members within the Turkish community werent thrilled we were celebrating a Christian holiday and made their thoughts clear, but I didnt care. For me, its never been about religion, but about my children doing whatever all the other kids were doing and having fun together as a family. Once I became a grandmother, I even started dressing up as the Easter bunny to help the little ones find their chocolate eggs. Today, our Christmases are bigger than ever. Not only do we invite extended family members and friends, but neighbours and Christmas orphans  everybodys welcome. Over the decades weve relaxed our stance on tradition and now serve a solid mix of roast meats and seafood alongside Turkish dishes. I think thats probably more Australian in 2023 than anything else.

I really love the spirit of Christmas Jane Stabler, 44, travels long distances each year to be with her extended family. Those people who get upset about Christmas decorations being available in stores in September? Im not one of them. Im forever buying new and elaborate decorations, and I buy a new Christmas novel every year without fail. My husband thinks my over-the-top approach to decorating is out of control, but I really love and get into the spirit of Christmas. Much of it is about replicating that carefree feeling of childhood, but mostly it serves as a reminder that my favourite time of year is coming, the time I get to spend with my family.

As immigrants from England, Christmases when I was little were small affairs  just my parents and my twin sister  but they were very traditional. My parents would go hard on the decorations, which were always incredibly British, and there was a strong family element to the occasion. Loading After wed spent the whole day enjoying each others company, we would be straight on the phone to England to speak with extended family just beginning their festivities over there. I think that focus on family togetherness  and perhaps the decorations  cemented my idea of what Christmas is for me today. I moved to Sydney from Perth almost 20 years ago, but even so Ive spent almost every Christmas with my family. The COVID lockdowns aside, I think there are only two or three years when the whole family hasnt been together. I have either flown back to WA to be with them  even after I got married and became a mother in 2019  or my family has come to Sydney. I get excited in the lead-up because I know Christmas is the one time of year when we can down tools, step away from busy jobs and spend a good chunk of time in each others company without the usual interruptions.
Young people are relying on buy now, pay later services for dental check-ups and takeaway food, as the states youth advocate calls for the government to pay more attention to the impact of the cost of living crisis on the next generation.

The NSW Advocate for Children and Young Peoples cost of living consultation report, released on Sunday, found housing stress was a primary concern for the states youth, but the flow-on effects of rent rises and inflation meant they were also missing out on necessary healthcare, particularly mental healthcare, and struggling to afford a balanced diet.

Young people are racking up personal debt to pay for healthcare and other basic needs in the cost of living crisis. Credit: Louie Douvis

The report, which collates responses from more than 2000 young people aged 10 to 24, was commissioned after the advocates annual polling found cost of living was the greatest issue reported by young people this year, concerning 35 per cent of participants. The question was asked in an open response format.

In 2021, only 4 per cent surveyed said they were concerned by cost of living pressures.
Tony Trimingham wants to see one outcome from his 20 years of drug reform advocacy: that NSW decriminalises small quantities of drugs.

But the 75-year-old stroke survivor is not confident of seeing any meaningful reform in his lifetime.

I think it will happen, but it will be after Ive gone, he says. And when it does happen, people will say: Why didnt we do this before?

Tony Triminghams son Damien died from a heroin overdose in 1997. Now, after over 20 years of advocacy, he says too little has changed. Credit: Wolter Peeter

Trimingham began to campaign for reform after his son Damien died from a heroin overdose in Sydney in 1997  a death Trimingham says could have been prevented through opioid reversal programs and criminal justice reform.
Melbournes Jewish community has cancelled its largest annual festival over concerns that a day of singing, dancing and cultural celebrations while the war rages in Gaza would strike the wrong note.

The uncomfortable decision  driven by the board of Kadimah, a Yiddish cultural centre and library in Melbournes bagel belt  reflects the conflict felt by many Jews over the need for Israel to protect its citizens after the Hamas atrocities of October 7 and the horrific death toll mounting in Gaza.

Kadimah chairman Joe Tigel, whose organisation took the uncomfortable decision to cancel next years In One Voice festival. Credit: Simon Schluter

Joe Tigel, the Kadimah chairman and co-chair of the In One Voice festival, said the principal concern of organisers was whether enough people  including the 80-odd Jewish community groups that normally support the event  would want to come.

Would the mood be right? You have got this day of enormous undertaking and costs, Tigel said. If the mood of some of the community groups wasnt all-in, then you have got a big commitment that might not be realised in crowds.
Rome: Archaeologists excavating parts of the ancient city of Pompeii made public new discoveries that provide a grim glimpse into the bleak existence of enslaved people two millenniums ago, including the existence of a bakery-prison.

The newly excavated area consists of a cramped space where donkeys and enslaved people lived, slept and worked together, milling flour to make bread. The single window that was found there provided dim light: it opened not to the outside world but to another room in the house, and was crossed with iron bars.

The city of Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples, Italy. Credit: iStock

The brutality of the working conditions in the mills of the time is graphically described in Book XI of The Golden Ass by the second-century author Apuleius, the archaeological site noted in a statement issued Friday.

With their feet chained, and dressed in rags, the workers are described by Apuleius as having eyes so bleary from the scorching heat of that smoke-filled darkness they could barely see, and like wrestlers sprinkled with dust before a fight, they were coarsely whitened with floury ash.
Dubai: Its just after sunset in Dubai and the air is smoggy, soft and warm. Australian iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest is beaming on the deck of his ship, the Green Pioneer, as Americas chief climate diplomat, John Kerry, sings his praises to a crowd of several hundred.

The crowd, in turn, is enjoying canapes, wine and champagne. Later, whisky is broken out at the bar.

Andrew Forrest is the worlds great disruptor, says Kerry to cheers from the crowd. And I love it, because this is what we need and it is the only way we are going to keep 1.5 degrees alive.

Billionaire Andrew Twiggy Forrest and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry aboard Forrests yacht docked in Dubai for the COP28 Climate Summit. Credit: Nick OMalley

Kerry is aboard to back one of Forrests green energy projects  his effort to make shipping powered by green ammonia a reality - but there is more than that happening here.
" " An EMT helps a patient into an ambulance. Emergency medical services were pioneered by the Freedom House Ambulance Service in Pittsburgh in 1967. Granger Wootz/Getty Images

It may seem like a given that when Americans call for an ambulance, a trained paramedic will be on board the truck to begin administering emergency care. But as recently as 50 years ago, this was not the case  ambulances were more like taxis to the nearest hospital. That all changed thanks to an ambulance crew recruited from a poverty-stricken black neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that operated between 1967 and 1975. They became the very first ambulance workers in the U.S. trained in advanced life support, setting the bar for generations of emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

If you had a heart attack in 1960s-era Pittsburgh, you had two choices: call the police or a private ambulance company. The police would arrive in a paddy wagon  the same one used to transport criminals, equipped with a canvas stretcher and maybe an oxygen bottle  toss you in the back and roll you to the hospital. Private ambulances were oversized Cadillacs mostly owned by funeral homes (not a good omen), and drivers had no medical training.

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For the residents of Pittsburgh's Hill District, an historically black community ravaged by drugs, crime and economic neglect, an emergency call to either the police or a private ambulance company might go unanswered, or else the vehicle would arrive only in time to ship the body to the morgue.

That changed in 1967 when Freedom House Enterprises opened its doors in the Hill District as a community empowerment agency focusing on employment and voting rights. At the very same time, a social reformer named Phil Hallen, disgusted that the Hill District had no reliable ambulance service, dreamed up the idea of training local men  many of whom were labeled as "unemployable"  to provide emergency medical response in the community.

Hallen found the perfect partner in Freedom House, but the project would never have succeeded without Dr. Peter Safar at Pittsburgh's Presbyterian-University Hospital. Dr. Safar, an Austrian-born anesthesiologist, had single-handedly pioneered the practice of CPR and was a vocal advocate for bringing life-saving medical techniques like CPR out of the hospital and into the streets.

With Safar's expertise, and initial funding provided by the city, nonprofit foundations and President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty," the Freedom House Ambulance Service was born on April 15, 1967.
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When the Christmas TV special youve tuned into starts with a large man standing with his back to the camera on a stage that looks like a bottle of Crystal Gayle perfume turned inside out, who then spins around to intone Hello, Im Johnny Cash, you know youre in for a doozy.

And so I bring you 1977s The Johnny Cash Christmas Show, which begins with the Man In Black cheerfully singing his way through Christmas Times a Comin, which sounds a lot like it was either made up on the spot or was a pre-existing song from his back pages tarted up for the occasion by writing in Christmas over the word train.

One odd feature of this special is just how little actual Christmas music is in it. Instead theres an array of guest stars from the era and genre. June Carter Cash, having clearly tucked into the cooking sherry backstage, grins her way through Darlin Companion; we learn that Cash served in the Air Force when he was 20, and Im guessing was heavily involved in fighting the Red Baron; we learn thats when he bought his first guitar and that his first learned chords were C, G, and F, the latter of which he called the hard one; The Statler Brothers play the role of barrack-mates in a little skit where they sing a Rosemary Clooney tune; and Roy Clark appears in a segment so heavily edited its clear the producers wanted nothing to do with anyone paying tribute to Gene Autry.

But its the memories of Cashs time at Sun Records, along with the ghost of Elvis (who had just passed away prior to filming), that loom large here.

Jake Brennans Disgraceland, a book of fictionalized essays about some of the more darkly tragic figures in rock, concludes with Elvis, minutes before death, having a vision of Skinny Elvis, a parallel universe version of what he could have been at that age if he had managed to extricate himself from the drugs and the influence of Col. Parker: handsome-in-his-middle-age, still-hungry, and finally respected for both his turn in dramatic films and by the punk rockers of the era who regard him as the ultimate rabble-rouser and cultural disruptor.

Its a chapter that came to mind the second that Carl Perkins made an appearance here, 45 years old but still looking lean and mean and just as vital as ever.

In fact, after Cash presents some footage of him almost tripping over some rocks and falling face first into the Sea of Galilee, and touring some other sites in the holy land so awkwardly filmed and poorly lit that youd be forgiven if you thought he was visiting the set of a Vincent Price film, Perkins absolutely rips through his given part of Children, Go Where I Send Thee, less like hes bound for Sunday School and more like he wants to start a rockabilly riot in the parking lot, and finish it.

Lets change the channel over to John Denvers Montana Christmas Skies from 1991, one of those obsessed with the west specials that suddenly turns into an MTV Unplugged concert with Denver, Clint Black, Kathy Mattea and Patty Loveless all sitting in a barn with their gee-tars, harmonicas, and a baby in the audience who can clearly sleep though anything.

Its an oddly humorless affair at times, with the exception of a vocal-only cameo from George Burns as the Almighty, and a poem from a cowboy who looks like Dick DeBartolo about troublesome ex-wives.

They say the cowboys disappearing, can you believe it? Denver remarks gravely, as if thats something that anyone ever really said. But everyone involved still spends a few minutes discussing such a possibility anyway with all the passive crabbiness of folks at the Cracker Barrel angry that they stopped serving chicken and dumplings at 3 p.m.

Thankfully things lighten up. Clint Black sings Till Santas Gone, where Loveless looks mildly embarrassed to be singing along with a song where the hook is milk and cookies; Mattea, who actually got a sigh out of me when I first saw her on camera, sings Someday Soon, which would eventually be recorded by another sigh-worthy country chanteuse of the era who we all should have appreciated more, Suzi Bogguss; Loveless gets stuck with the Fogelberg-esque Feelings of Love thats well-meaning enough but had a few too many baroque chordal flourishes that just plain hit my ear wrong; and Denver charmingly introduces Potters Wheel as his first song on the radio in years. I gave it a listen with open ears and yeah, I can see how it would have gotten radio play, if said radio station had a range limited exclusively to an Art Barn in Urbana.

Maybe the future is all about new familiesnew kinds of families, however we shape them, Denver says, over a closing montage of folks toasting with mugs of cider and Mattea really tucking into the mashed potatoes. And we reach out for a moment, at the table, on the street, at the office, to discover we arent alone. Goodness, John, where are you when we need you now?

As we close up shop, Denver is seen in full western-gear primacy, riding off into the plains on horseback, as George Burns, again, tells him he done good. I dont carry the same authority, but, after a John Denver-research wormhole led me to a slick 1986 keyboard-heavy tune called Along for the Ride that could easily play over the end credits to any given awesome 80s movie about arcades and cars, Ive got to agree.

If only a future-vision of Cool John could have stepped in somehow. Which is a silly thought, really; turns out he was always cool.
WASHINGTON  Heres a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.

Along with the weeks roll call votes, the House also passed by voice vote the following measures: the I-27 Numbering Act (S. 992), to designate the Texas and New Mexico portions of the future Interstate-designated segments of the Port-to-Plains Corridor as Interstate Route 27; the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act (H.R. 1713), to provide for Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture joint research and development activities; and agreed to the Senate amendment to the TRANQ Research Act (H.R. 1734), to require coordinated National Institute of Standards and Technology science and research activities regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids and other substances of concern.

The Senate also confirmed several hundred senior officer nominations in the militarys various branches.

House votes

SMALL BUSINESSES AND CREDIT: The House has passed a resolution (S.J. Res 32), sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., to disapprove of and void a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau agency rule issued this May that requires banks and other financial companies to submit small business credit application information to the Bureau. A resolution supporter, Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said the rule was overly broad, burdensome, discouraged lending because of compliance costs, contained implementation problems, and could leave lenders vulnerable to unjust attacks from left-wing activist groups. An opponent, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said the rule would simply require lenders to collect and report data on small business lending. This data will help drive competition in the market, lowering small business costs, and help combat discrimination. The vote, on Dec. 1, was 221 yeas to 202 nays, with 1 voting present.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Manning D-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th)

NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

EXPELLING REPRESENTATIVE: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 878), sponsored by Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from the House. The cited grounds for removal included: campaign finance fraud, false statements on House financial disclosure forms, and lying to receive unemployment benefits. Guest said there was a complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos campaign, personal, and business finances. Santos said: I have done the best I can to serve in this body and to deliver the best I can in my campaign promises to vote as a conservative voice in this body. The vote to expel Santos, on Dec. 1, was 311 yeas to 114 nays, with 2 voting present.

NAYS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th)

YEAS: Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NEW JERSEY TRANSIT OPTIONS: The House has passed the One Seat Ride Act (H.R. 1547), sponsored by Rep. Thomas H. Kean, R-N.J., to require the Transportation Department to study commuter rail services, including an analysis of the costs and benefits of establishing single-seat trips on the New Jersey Transit Raritan Valley line that dont require a transfer. Keane said that currently, New Jersey residents commuting to and from Manhattan by using multiple rail lines are regularly frustrated with unnecessary delays mainly due to the aged infrastructure, often making weekly commutes hours longer than they need to be. The vote, on Dec. 5, was 356 yeas to 61 nays.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NAYS: Foxx R-NC (5th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th)

NOT VOTING: Foushee D-NC (4th)

PAYMENTS TO HOMELESS VETERANS: The House has passed the Housing our Military Veterans Effectively Act (H.R. 3848), sponsored by Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., to authorize the Veterans Affairs Department to provide added funding for homeless military veterans to receive housing and supportive services and products. Chavez-DeRemer said with the bill, we can empower our nations heroes and ensure they all have a place to call home. The vote, on Dec. 5, was 408 yeas to 10 nays.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NOT VOTING: Foushee D-NC (4th)

CHANGING VETERANS CAREGIVER PROGRAMS: The House has passed the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act (H.R. 542), sponsored by Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., to make various changes to Veterans Affairs Department home and community care programs for disabled and elderly veterans, including increased funding for alternatives to nursing home care, and higher payments to caregivers. Brownley said: The bill will significantly expand access to the programs disabled and aging veterans need to live their lives at home and with their families. The vote, on Dec. 5, was 414 yeas to 5 nays.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NOT VOTING: Foushee D-NC (4th)

ANTI-SEMITISM AND ISRAEL: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 894), sponsored by Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., strongly condemning and denouncing the drastic rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and abroad, and stating that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. Kustoff said it is absolutely important that we send a clear and firm message to the world that the United States House of Representatives stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community here in the United States and abroad. An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., called the resolution another attempt in a long series of veiled efforts by the GOP to weaponize Jewish lives for political gains. The vote, on Dec. 5, was 311 yeas to 14 nays, with 92 voting present.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Manning D-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

PRESENT: Ross D-NC (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Foushee D-NC (4th)

HIGHER EDUCATION AND TERRORIST GROUPS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Marcus J. Molinaro, R-N.Y., to the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act (H.R. 5933). The amendment would require foreign entities contributing to U.S. colleges and universities to disclose any ties to a terrorist organization, such as Hamas and al-Qaeda. Molinaro said the amendment was needed in light of the disgustingly callous and vile pro-Hamas demonstration seen on college campuses across the country recently. An opponent, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., said: It is hard to imagine how a college could always know exactly who has an affiliation with what group designated as terrorist by the government. The vote, on Dec. 6, was 372 yeas to 39 nays.

YEAS: Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NAYS: Foushee D-NC (4th)

NOT VOTING: McHenry R-NC (10th)

OTHER COUNTRIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION: The House has passed the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act (H.R. 5933), sponsored by Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., to require colleges and universities to inform the Education Department when they receive gifts from countries deemed to be of concern, including Russia and China, and adopt other measures restricting contracts and gifts with foreign sources generally. Steel said the bill, by imposing stricter reporting requirements, paired with fines for noncompliance, took meaningful steps to protect our students, research, and national security. An opponent, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., said the reporting requirements were excessive and burdensometo say nothing about the potential discriminatory effectand would disincentivize universities from conducting critical research using collaborative partners from around the world. The vote, on Dec. 6, was 246 yeas to 170 nays.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Manning D-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Foushee D-NC (4th)

VEHICLE EMISSIONS RULE: The House has passed the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act (H.R. 4468), sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing a proposed rule restricting emissions from passenger vehicles made from 2027 onward. Walberg called the rule an electric vehicle mandate that was both breathtaking federal regulation of the auto industry and unaffordable, unattainable, and unrealistic for American consumers. An opponent, Rep. Haley M. Stevens, D-Mich., called the bill dangerous legislation, particularly because the EPA serves as a critical partner to our automakers during this very transformative time of transitioning away from internal combustion engines. The vote, on Dec. 6, was 221 yeas to 197 nays.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st)

NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Nickel D-NC (13th), Foushee D-NC (4th), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

CENSURING REPRESENTATIVE: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 914), sponsored by Rep. Lisa C. McClain, R-Mich., to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol building in late September and thereby disrupting a House vote, and violating Washington, D.C., law as well. McClain said: As conviction demonstrates, Representative Bowman sought to cause panic to delay official proceedings of this House. Bowman said: The legal process on this matter has played out. In no way did I obstruct official proceedings. The vote, on Dec. 7, was 214 yeas to 191 nays, with 5 voting present.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th)

NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Manning D-NC (6th), Nickel D-NC (13th), Foushee D-NC (4th), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

PRESENT: Ross D-NC (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Edwards R-NC (11th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st)

REPAYING STUDENT LOANS: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 88), sponsored by Rep. Lisa C. McClain, R-Mich., to disapprove of and void an Education Department rule issued this summer that created an income-based plan, Saving on a Valuable Education, for repaying higher education loans. McClain said the rule is the most expensive regulation in our nations history and is a backdoor attempt to ram the administrations socialist free college fantasy down the throats of hardworking taxpayers. An opponent, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., said: House Republicans are trying to saddle millions of Americans and future borrowers with more debt by repealing the SAVE Plan. The vote, on Dec. 7, was 210 yeas to 189 nays.

YEAS: McHenry R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Bishop (NC) R-NC (8th)

NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Manning D-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Nickel D-NC (13th), Foushee D-NC (4th), Jackson (NC) D-NC (14th)

NOT VOTING: Edwards R-NC (11th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st)

Senate votes

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Irma Carrillo Ramirez to be a judge on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ramirez has been a U.S. district court judge in north Texas for two decades, after having been an assistant U.S. attorney in Dallas for 7 years. The vote, on Dec. 4, was 80 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

D.C. JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Loren L. AliKhan to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. AliKhan has been a judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals for just under 2 years; previously, she was the Districts solicitor general, a private practice lawyer in the District, and a Justice Department lawyer. The vote, on Dec. 5, was 50 yeas to 50 nays, with Vice President Harris casting a 51st yea vote.

NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

AMBASSADOR TO CROATIA: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Nathalie Rayes to be the U.S. ambassador to Croatia. Rayes has been a senior official at numerous Hispanic groups, and is currently a board member on the U.S. Institute of Peace. The vote, on Dec. 6, was 53 yeas to 47 nays.

NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS: The Senate has rejected a motion to invoke cloture and proceed to a bill (H.R. 815) that would provide supplemental appropriations for federal government spending, including further aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the bill offered critical military assistance to keep Ukraine from falling to Russian tyranny. An opponent, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it fails to address Americas top national security priorities in a serious way, including the lack of measures to secure the border with Mexico. The vote to proceed, on Dec. 6, was 49 yeas to 51 nays.

NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

INTERVENTION IN SYRIA: The Senate has rejected a motion to discharge from committee a resolution (S.J. Res. 51), sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to order the removal from Syria of U.S. soldiers absent Congressional authorization for their presence there. Paul said the War Powers Act required a vote in Congress on whether or not troops should be put into harms way or into a conflict without the approval of this body. The vote to discharge, on Dec. 7, was 13 yeas to 84 nays.

NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC
Services

Ardmore Baptist Church, 501 Miller St., Winston-Salem, will have services at 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Pastor Tyler Tankersley will begin an Advent sermon series called O Little Town of Bethlehem. Sundays sermon is titled Peace from Bethlehem with scripture from II Samuel 23:13-17. The 10:45 service will be live streamed on YouTube and Facebook. A Christmas without Them service for those who have lost loved ones this year will be held in the church chapel at 3 p.m. Sunday. Information about All Together Ardmore and upcoming Advent celebrations are available on the church website. For more information, go to www.ardmorebaptist.org.

Mount Carmel Methodist Church, 4265 Ebert Road, Winston-Salem, will have worship at 10 a.m. Sunday. Sunday school is at 8:45 and childrens church starts at 9:30 a.m. There will be a New Beginnings dinner church for all ages from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Everyone is invited for a free meal, a message and music in the church fellowship hall.

Green Street United Methodist Church, 639 S. Green St., Winston-Salem, will have an in-person service at 8:45 a.m. Sunday. The 11 a.m. service is held in-person and is streamed online via Facebook and YouTube and is a blended service featuring jazz and blues musicians as well as hymns, spirituals and elements of social gospel. The 8:45 a.m. service is a quiet, contemplative space including prayer, scripture, preaching and communion. Masks are optional in the building for services with some exceptions. For more information, go to www.greenstreetumc.org.

New Unity Missionary Baptist Church, 2946 Ivy Ave., Winston-Salem, invites you to join Pastor Willie Davidson and the New Unity Church Family each Sunday morning at 10 a.m. for in-person worship service. Masks are available.

Trinity Methodist Church, 3819 Country Club Road, Winston-Salem, invites you to worship at 10 a.m. each Sunday. The Rev. Doug Miller is the lead pastor ordained in the Global Methodist Church. During worship there will be special music, busy bags for children, and prayers for the community and our congregation. There are two Sunday school classes for adults. One is at 9 a.m. and the other is at 11 a.m. You are invited to the Connection Cafe which consists of light refreshments and coffee at 9:15 a.m. in the fellowship hall. For more information, call the church office at 336-765-0150.

First Baptist Church  East, 700 N. Highland Ave., Winston-Salem, will have a worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday. Pastor A. Ray Campbell, the interim pastor, will deliver the message. The service is available on Facebook and YouTube. For more information, go to fbcwinston.org.

Parkway United Church of Christ, 1465 Irving St., Winston-Salem, worships at 11 a.m. Sunday. The sermon series on Touchstones for Building Trustworthy Community will continue. For more information, go to www.parkwayunited.org, or call 336-723-1395.

Lewisville United Methodist Church, 6290 Shallowford Road, Lewisville, will have contemporary worship at 9 a.m. Sunday in the fellowship hall. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. and traditional worship is in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. For more information, go to lewisvilleumc.org.

Unity Moravian Church, 8300 Concord Church Road, Lewisville, will have adult Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and worship service at 11 Sunday. The service at 11 is in-person and live streamed. A nursery is provided. Childrens church is offered during the worship service. For more information, go to www.unitymoravianchurch.org or call 336-945-3801.

Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, 3543 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, offers two Sunday services: 9 a.m. modern worship in the Alspaugh Worship Center, and 11 a.m. traditional worship in the sanctuary. Both services are available online at http://youtube.com/MountTaborUMCVideoStreaming and the Mount Tabor United Methodist Church Facebook page. For more information, visit www.mttaborumc.org or call 336-765-5561.

Winston-Salem Friends Meeting, Quaker church, meets at Fairview Moravian Church, 6550 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem. Sunday morning live services begin with Unprogrammed (silent) Worship at 9:15, First-Day (Sunday) school for adults at 9:30, and Meeting for Worship at 10:30. David Teague will bring the message Sunday. We are a community of seekers who meet together to worship God. We seek to express our faith through action, focusing on peace and social justice. We seek to find the Light of God in ourselves and in others. We seek to treat all persons with equality and integrity. For more information, email mary.simmons51@icloud.com.

New Philadelphia Moravian Church, 4440 Country Club Road, Winston-Salem, will meet in-person at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday and will live stream its 9:30 service on Facebook.com/newphiladelphiamoravianchurch. You do not need a Facebook account to view the service. If you are unable to view the live stream, a recorded version is on the churchs YouTube page.

Ardmore United Methodist Church, 630 S. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem, has a traditional service at 10 a.m. and a contemporary service at 11:15 Sunday. The Rev. Bob Kerr and the Rev. Katy Medinas Lockley welcome all and lead the worship service. A special family worship for children is held inside. Services are streamed on YouTube. For more information, go to ardmoreumc.org or call the office at 336-723-3695.

Lewisville Baptist Church, 125 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Lewisville, invites all to celebrate Jesus Christ at 10 a.m. Sundays. Services are live streamed on Facebook and YouTube. Sunday school is at 9 a.m. There will be midweek activities for all ages at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. For more information, go to lewisvillebaptist.com.

Kingswood Church, 6840 University Parkway, Rural Hall, welcomes all to their Sunday services. Sunday school for all ages begins at 10 a.m. The traditional worship service begins at 11 and is led by the Rev. Mark Muckler. Weekly worship services, and other ministry related events, are also available online on the Kingswood Facebook page. For more information, call the church at 336-969-5437.

Olivet Moravian Church, 2205 Olivet Church Road, Winston-Salem, will have Sunday school at 9 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall and an inside worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday. The worship service will also be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. For more information, call the church office at 336-924-8063.

Salem Creek Friends Meeting (Quakers) meets in the parsonage of Fries Memorial Moravian Church, 271 N. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem. The unprogrammed meeting for worship starts at 10 a.m. each Sunday. For more information, email clerk@salemcreekfriends.org.

Burkhead United Methodist Church, 5250 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, invites you for worship at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday. Sunday school classes begin at 9:15 and 9:30. The service is also available on the website and the Facebook page. For more information, go to www.burkheadumc.org or call 336-765-6590, ext. 3.

Konnoak Hills Moravian Church, 3401 Konnoak Drive, Winston-Salem, will have a worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday. The church receives a drive-thru food offering for Sunnyside Ministry each Sunday. Drop off non-perishable donations from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Primary needs are canned vegetables, crackers, pasta, rice, cereal, dry/powdered milk and bread. For more information, call 336-788-9321.

Union United Methodist Church, 8935 Shallowford Road, Lewisville, will have a Sunday worship service at 9:30 a.m. with Sunday school at 10:45. For those who cannot worship in person, the service is live streamed and archived on Facebook. Live and archived services may also be viewed on the churchs website, unionumclewisville.org.

Clemmons First Baptist Church, 3530 Clemmons Road, Clemmons, will have Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. There will be an in-person worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The Sanctuary Choir will present the Christmas cantata. The service will be live streamed on Facebook and YouTube. For more information, call 336-766-6486 or go to cfbctoday.org.

First Waughtown Baptist Church, 838 Moravia St., Winston-Salem, doors will open at 8 a.m. for Sunday school at 8:15 a.m. This weeks lesson is The Faith of David (Scriptural Reference  I Samuel 17:31-37, 45, 48-50; Key verse I Samuel 17:37a). The worship service begins at 9:45 with devotion and announcements. Senior Pastor Dennis W. Bishop will continue the Visions series focusing on Evangelism. Masks are optional. Services are posted on YouTube, www.youtube.com (First Waughtown); Facebook, www.facebook.com/FirstWaughtown/; and the First Waughtown website, www.firstwaughtown.org. Services posted online are a one-week delay.

Home Moravian Church, 529 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, will have in-person and live stream worship at 10 a.m. Sunday. Bible discussion via Zoom and in-person will be held after the service using the adult programing link on the churchs website.

Unity Church of Winston-Salem, 108 Hewes St., Winston-Salem, will have a service at 11 a.m. Sunday. The Rev. Elizabeth Forrests message will be Ambassadors of Peace. Scripture Matthew 5:9. The December Birthday Babies celebration will follow the worship service. Oneness (Deeksha) Meditation will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, there will be Sunday school Bible study at 10 a.m. and morning worship at 11 a.m. Sunday. COVID guidelines are followed and masks are worn. Paul W. Hart is the pastor.

Pfafftown Christian Church, 3323 Transou Road, Pfafftown, invites everyone to worship in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. each Sunday. The Rev. Rodney Stilwell is the pastor, and the Rev. Timothy Shoaf is the minister of Music and Programs. Other events and ministries are listed online at www.pfafftownchristian.org. For more information, call 336-692-5214 or the church office at 336-924-9925.

New Friendship Baptist Church, 4258 Old Lexington Road, Winston-Salem, will have Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. A morning worship service will begin at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call the church office at 336-788-3112.

Clemmons Presbyterian Church, 3930 Clemmons Road, Clemmons, invites you to worship at 10 a.m. Sunday. The second Sunday in Advent will be observed. Hark! Heralding Our Faith worship series. The service will be in-person and live streamed on YouTube at youtube.com/ClemmonsPresbyterianChurch. For more information, go to www.clemmonspresbyterian.org or call 336-766-4631.

First Baptist Church of Stanleyville, 851 Ziglar Road, Winston-Salem, will have Sunday services at 8:45, 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. On Wednesday, a prayer and worship service is at 6:30 p.m. and Children in Action and Mission Friends are at 7 p.m. For more information, go to www.stanleyvillebaptist.com.

Rural Hall Christian Church, 280 Bethania-Rural Hall Road, Rural Hall, will hold the following in-person services on Sundays: The BLEND at 10 a.m. with Christian classes for all ages and congregational worship at 11 a.m. Youth ministries will continue at 6 p.m. Sundays, unless otherwise announced. For more information, go to RuralHallchurch.org and the churchs social media pages.

Shallowford Presbyterian Church, 1200 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Lewisville, will have a service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. It will be in-person and live streamed on YouTube. For more information, go to www.spcnc.org or call 336-766-3178.

New Hope Church, 5125 Shattalon Drive, will have the following guest ministers: the Rev. Andy Lambert on Sunday; the Rev. Lonnie Pittman on Dec. 17; the Rev. Richard Buffkin on Dec. 24; the Rev. G. L. Brown on Dec. 31, and the Rev. Andy Lambert on Jan. 7. Worship services are at 11 a.m. Sundays. New Hope recently joined the Global Methodist Church and will be receiving an appointed minister in the new year.

Forsyth Park Baptist Church, 1600 S. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem, has Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and a traditional worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday. Bible study is at 11 a.m. Thursday. The service can also be seen on the churchs Facebook page and a video of the service is available at https://forsythparkbaptistchurch.com. Bill Horton is the pastor.

Central Tabernacle Church, 715 Waughtown St., Winston-Salem, invites you to worship Sunday. Refreshments will be served during hospitality time at 9:30 a.m. Sunday school begins at 10. Morning worship and Junior Church begin at 11. Pastor Sandra Bovender will have the message Gifts for Christmas, Sunday. Wednesday night will be choir practice only, no Bible study.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 4055 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, the 10:30 a.m. service Sunday will be held in-person, and also livestreamed at uufws.org/virtualworshipservice. Sundays topic will be Gifts from the Light. The Forum will be at 9 a.m. Sunday. Leslie Pietrzyk will speak on The Writing Life. For more information, go to www.uufws.org.

St. Philips Moravian Church, 911 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, is worshipping regularly in the brick church in Old Salem at 11 a.m. Sundays. All are welcome for traditional Moravian worship in the historically African American church.

Union Cross Baptist Church, 4350 High Point Road, Kernersville, invites you to Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and morning worship led by the Rev. Adam Woods at 11 a.m. each Sunday.

Bible Fellowship Baptist Church, 4950 Warner Road, Pfafftown, will have services at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday. The topic at 11 a.m. during December will be Who experienced Joy on that First Christmas? The topic at 4 p.m. will focus on Christmas Memories. There will be Bible study at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The topic will be Bible Prophecies and their Fulfillment concerning Christs Birth. For more information, go to BFBCnow.org or call 336-462-4844.

Faith and Family Baptist Church, 105 Nathan Ave., Winston-Salem, schedule of services: Sunday worship services are at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday school is at 9:45 a.m. and the midweek service is at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The church live streams all services at www.facebook.com/faithandfamilybaptist. A Facebook account is not required to access the video, scroll down for the live stream. Archive services are available there if you are unable to watch live. For more information, contact Pastor Robert Hutchens at 336-782-3747.

Liberty Baptist Church, 1548 Old Hollow Road, Winston-Salem, invites you to join them for services. They offer Facebook live for all services on the Facebook page of Gary Styers. For their schedule of services and more information, go to www.libertybaptistnc.org.

Rural Hall Moravian Church, 7939 Broad St., Rural Hall, has in-person Sunday School for all ages at 10 a.m. Sundays, followed by worship service at 11 with the Rev. Andrew Craver. Worship services are also available via online streaming at https://www.youtube.com/user/RHMoravian. For more information, go to www.rhmc.org.

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 357 Old Hollow Road, Winston-Salem, will have Sunday school at 10 a.m. and worship with Pastor Emily Schlaman Larsen at 11 a.m. Sunday. The nursery is open. Weekly sermons are available on YouTube for people who prefer to join worship remotely. Search for: St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Winston Salem NC. For more information, go to www.standrewsnc.org.

First Christian Church, 2320 Country Club Road, Winston-Salem, will have an in-person worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday. Childrens worship and youth worship are available. A noon-day prayer service will be held at noon Wednesday. Worship services are also available by online streaming at www.wearefcc.church. For more information, go to www.wearefcc.church or call the church at 336-722-2714.

St. Paul United Methodist Church, Winston-Salem, will live stream its 11 a.m. worship service Sunday at www.facebook.com/stpaulumcws/live. Facebook does not require an account for access to the page. Additional information regarding prayer services and Bible study may be found on the churchs website www.stpaulumcws.org or by calling the church at 336-723-4531.

Fundraisers

Bible Fellowship Baptist Church, 4950 Warner Road, Pfafftown, is accepting donations for its roof replacement project. Gifts may be made online at BFBCnow.org or mail to the church office at 4950 Warner Road, Pfafftown, 27040. For more information, call Pastor Loyd Taylor at 336-462-4844.

Unity Church of Winston-Salem, 108 Hewes St., Winston-Salem, is raising money for its HVAC system. Continual Love Offerings can be made at unityofws.org.

Special activities

Forest Edge Cearcall community held at Parkway United Church of Christ, 1465 Irving St., Winston-Salem, will have a winter solstice ritual gathering around a fire at 6 p.m. Dec. 21. Forest Edge Cearcall is an affiliate of the Wild Church Network.

Christmas activities

Parkway United Church of Christ, 1465 Irving St., Winston-Salem, will celebrate the Advent season at 11 a.m. each Sunday with the theme The Conversation Became Flesh and Lives Among Us. Advent candle lighting, carols, and opportunities for embodiment will be present at each service.

Shallowford Presbyterian Church, 1200 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Lewisville, will have an evening of Christmas Song with Martha Bassett and Friends at 7 p.m. Thursday. Admission is free, however, a donation of $15 is suggested. Light refreshments will be served after the performance. For more information, call 336-766-3178 or go to www.shallowfordpresbyterian.org.

Union Cross Baptist Church, 4350 High Point Rd. Kernersville, will have a Service of Lessons and Carols at 6 p.m. Dec. 17. A Candlelight Communion Service will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 20.

Mount Carmel Methodist Church, 4265 Ebert Road, Winston Salem, will have a drive-thru live Nativity from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday There will be special music, and a prayer station where you can light luminaries for your loved ones. Use the bottom Clemmonsville Road entrance across from Circle K. The event is free. Donations will be accepted to benefit the New Beginnings Dinner Church outreach ministry.

Home Moravian Church, 612 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, will have its 94th Candle Tea through Saturday in the Single Brothers House in Old Salem. Reservations are required for admission, this year. For more information or to make a reservation, go to HomeMoravian.org and click on Candle Tea 2023.

Pfafftown Christian Church, 3323 Transou Rd, Pfafftown, will present An Evening of Christmas Music by the chancel and handbell choirs and accompanied by members of the Winston-Salem Symphony. It will be at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the sanctuary, admission is free. Traditional and classical seasonal works will be performed. A reception will follow the performance. A nursery will be provided.

Mount Carmel Methodist Church, 4265 Ebert Road, Winston Salem, will have its free annual community Christmas dinner at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The annual Christmas cantata will be performed during the 10 a.m. worship service Dec. 17. The Christmas Eve candlelight and communion service will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 24.

Parkway United Church of Christ, 1465 Irving St., Winston-Salem, will hold a vespers service of music, silence, and ritual at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. This service is designed for all to make room for self-care. There will be a hot beverage and snack following the service.

Shallowford Presbyterian Church, 1200 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Lewisville, will present Martha Basset and Friends in an evening of Christmas song at 7 p.m. Thursday. Light refreshments will follow. Admission is free. A donation of $15 is suggested. For more information, call 336-766-3178 or go to www.shallowfordpresbyterian.org.

Union United Methodist Church, 8935 Shallowford Road, Lewisville, will present A Classical Christmas Concert featuring a string quartet by Elegant Ensembles. The concert is free and will be at 4 p.m. Dec. 17. Dinner will be served after the concert. Canned foods will be collected at the door. For more information, go to Facebook.com/UnionUMCLewisvilleNC, or the website at unionumclewisville.org.

Information for the Religion Calendar should be emailed to news@wsjournal.com by 3 p.m. the Wednesday before you want it to run. It can be mailed to Religion Calendar, Winston-Salem Journal, 418 N. Marshall St., #100, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.
Actor Jr Mehmood passes away at 68





MUMBAI,

CHARACTER actor Junior Mehmood, known for his roles in Caravan, Haathi Mere Saathi and Mera Naam Joker, died on Friday following a battle with cancer, his son Hasnain said. The actor was 68. My father passed away at 2.00 am following his battle with stomach cancer. He was in a critical condition since last 17 days. He had lost 35-40 kg in a month, Hasnain Sayyed, Junior Mehmoods younger son, told PTI.

Junior Mehmood, whose real name was Naeem Sayyed, began as a child artist with Mohabbat Zindagi Hai (1966) and Naunihal (1967). He was given the name Junior Mehmood by late comedy icon Mehmood after they starred together in the 1968 film Suhag Raat.According to the actors close friend Salaam Kazi, Junior Mehmood had pain in his stomach and was getting treated by a local doctor. But when he started losing weight, his family decided to take him to Tata Memorial Hospital.

They did a check-up and the doctors over there said he had cancer in his lung and liver, and a tumour in his stomach, Kazi added. Director Sanjay Gupta was one of the first film personalities to pay tribute to Junior Mehmood on social media. Sachin Pilgaonkar visited the actor at his residence on Tuesday after he expressed a desire to meet them. Jeetendra had shared screen space with the actor in several movies.
Be serious about farmers issues: Oppn to Govt





Staff Reporter

On the second day of the Winter Session of Maharashtra Legislature, the Opposition accused the Government of not being serious on farmers issues. Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister, assured in Legislative Assembly to hold discussion on various issues related to farmers on Monday and Tuesday. Moving adjournment motion, Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of Opposition said, The crops on 7.5 lakh hectare land are damaged due to untimely rain. This Government is insensitive towards this issue and not conducting panchnamas completely. Government is not keen on helping farmers. The condition of the farmers is so bad that some of them are ready to offer their organs to get the money. They dont have money to run their homes. The Government has lifted the curb on export of onion. This has devastated them because of which onion growers are very distressed.

Nana Patole, State President of Congress, said, Farmers have lost their crops due to heavy rains. Cotton growers are severely affected as the crops got damaged. State Government should provide adequate compensation to cotton growers. We want the discussion on farmers issues today itself. We have not come here to create ruckus. We sympathise with farmers. The discussion today can save life of at least one farmer.

Balasaheb Thorat, senior Congress leader and former Agriculture Minister, raised the issue of milk producers grievances while Jayant Patil, State President of NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), spoke on sugar industry. Outside the House, senior leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) protested and dubbed ruling alliance as anti-farmer. They demanded the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 14,000 per quintal of cotton and higher MSPs for soyabean. Ambadas Danve, Leader of Opposition in the legislative council, said We demand proper prices for cotton, soyabean and onion.
Demonic: Doctor gives wrong injection to elderly patient, dumps body in canal





Our Correspondent

AMARWARA (Chhindwara),

In a spine-chilling incident, a doctor, his brother and staff disposed of a patients body overnight after he died due to wrong injection in Chhindwara. The accused doctors with the help of his brother and staff took the body from the clinic in a car. After travelling 250 kilometers, the body was thrown in the canal of Bargi Dam. The shocking incident took place in Amarwara on the intervening night of December 2 and 3. Body of an elderly patient was found in Gokalpur canal in Jabalpur on December 4. On the complaint of the family, police investigated and the doctors misdeeds came to light. Police have arrested the doctor, his brother and staff. Amarwara Police Station In-charge Rajendra Dhurve said that the accused Deepak Srivastava is a BAMS (Ayurvedic) doctor. Initial information revealed that he was giving allopathic treatment. The elderly man was having trouble in breathing.

Pusu Rathore (60), a resident of Lahgadua, was having trouble in breathing. He went to Dr Deepak Srivastavas clinic in ward 6 of Amarwara on the afternoon of December 2. Here the doctor gave him saline and injection. Pusu Rathore started getting nervous as soon as the injection was given. The doctor took him to the back room of the clinic and laid him down on the dressing table. After some time the old man died. The doctor did not inform about this to family members of the deceased. He kept waiting for night to fall. According to police, during interrogation it was revealed that Dr Deepak Srivastava disposed the body with the help of his brother Devendra Srivastava, staff member Pradeep Daheria and Kapil Malvi.

The accused kept the body in the back seat of the car (MP 09 CE 5659) and threw it in the canal going from Nigri to Gokalpur near Bargi. Pusu Rathore had left the house saying that he was going to the clinic. When he did not return, the family went to the clinic. Then a missing complaint was lodged in the police station. Police remained busy during counting of Assembly elections on December 3. Here, the family continued searching for Pusu. On December 4, information was received that a body was found in the canal. After this the family created ruckus in Amarwara police station. They demanded to interrogate the doctor. During interrogation, the doctor and staff confessed to throwing the body in the canal after giving wrong injection to the elderly patient.
Khattar, Laxman, Lakra to pick CM





Bhavana Aparajita

Shukla

After BJP General Secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that suspense over Chief Ministers name will end, the Bharatiya Janata Party has appointed observers for the State to elect the leader of legislature. There are talks in political corridors that not only Madhya Pradesh, The new Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh may be named over the weekend. Even after five days of election results the party couldnt declare the name of CM and opposition has increased attacks on this issue on BJP. For Madhya Pradesh, the party has appointed Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, K Laxman and Asha Lakra. According to BJP leader, the observers are likely to travel to the respective States to oversee the meetings of newly-elected MLAs where the future Chief Ministers will be named.

He added that no decision has been taken yet on the choices of the Chief Minister and the party will keep in mind social, regional, governance and organisational interests while making decisions on Chief Minister. The BJP retained power in the state with a landslide victory. It is being seen as a big boost for the party team in view of 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the state, BJP manoeuvred to counter anti-incumbency after winning 163 seats in the 230-member Assembly. Since the poll results on Sunday, heavy weights from the State have been meeting the top party brass, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda at Delhi.

Some of them including Kailash Vijayvargiya and State Party President V D Sharma returned to the State capital on Thursday. However, sources within the party have played down their significance, saying such meetings are routine, after partys victory in any State senior leaders especially office bearers use to make courtesy meetings. MPs including Narendra Singh Tomar and others who have won the elections have tendered their resignations as Union ministers was accepted on Thursday. Tomar is being considered as front-runner for the CM post. Tomar and Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel, who comes from politically significant Other Backward Classes, are seen as possible chief ministerial choices along with the Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
NEW DELHI,

THE BJP on Friday appointed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda as central observers for electing the leader of its legislative party in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively. The new legislative party leaders will become Chief Ministers of the three States, and the meetings may take place over the weekend. Singh will be joined by partys vice president Saroj Pandey and its General Secretary Vinod Tawde as central observers for Rajasthan amid intense buzz within the BJP that the leadership will bring in a new leader, ignoring the claims of two-time former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Khattar will be joined by the partys OBC Morcha head K Laxman and its secretary Asha Lakra for the Madhya Pradesh meeting while Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJPs General Secretary Dushwant Kumar Gautam will be central observers for Chhattisgarh along with Munda.

In Madhya Pradesh where the BJP scored its biggest victory among the three States with a two-thirds majority, current Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans stake has gone up with the win but there is a view that the party leadership is looking at a leadership change after his 18 years uninterrupted stint in power except for 15 months after the 2018 Assembly polls. The BJP is looking to hand over the reins to an OBC or tribal leader in Chhattisgarh, sources said, adding that ST leaders like Lata Usendi, Gomati Sai and Renuka Singh are natural contenders for the top job besides State party president Arun Sao and bureaucrat-turned-politician O P Choudhary, both from backward castes.

The party will like to pick least one woman Chief Minister at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been highlighting women voters support to the BJP and often spoken of the need for women-led development. Two of three observers for Chhattisgarh are from tribal communities while Gautam comes from the Scheduled Castes. The BJP has won the three states in the recently held assembly elections with thumping margins, brushing aside the challenge from the Congress in each of them. LS Speaker accepts resignations of Balaknath, Renuka Singh: LOK Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday accepted the resignation of BJP MPs Baba Balaknath and Renuka Singh. Balaknath, who was MP from Rajasthans Alwar, resigned after winning the assembly election from Tijara in the State.
Rakesh Singh meets Scindia to increase citys air connectivity with major cities





Staff Reporter

Increasing number of flyers in Jabalpur is not proportional to the number of aircrafts, hence to ensure needed improvement in the situation, former Member of Parliament and newly elected MLA Rakesh Singh met Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Delhi. It may be noted that after the historic victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the Assembly elections, Singh visited Union Minister Scindia in Delhi and both congratulated each other on the occasion. During discussion with Scindia, Singh said that once the expansion work of Jabalpur Airport is completed, the number of aircrafts should be increased for major cities from Jabalpur, just like in the past.

He suggested initiating talks with airline companies through the Ministry for the purpose. In response to Singhs demand, Union Minister Scindia said that the expansion work of Jabalpur Airport will be completed soon and efforts will also be made to increase air connectivity of Jabalpur with other major cities of the country by talking to airline companies, leading to the commencement of new air services. Singh stated continuous efforts will be made to improve connectivity and increase the number of flights in Jabalpur.
Ready to introduce same-day settlement of trades by March 2024: SEBI chief





Business Reporter

SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch on Friday said the capital markets regulator is ready to introduce same-day settlement of trades on the stock exchanges by March 2024. Speaking at the Global Economic Policy Forum 2023 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Buch said, We are ready to introduce T+0 (T plus zero) settlement trade by the end of the current fiscal. The regulator, which has already reduced the settlement timelines to as short as one day after the transaction, is now looking to shorten the same further. The SEBI chief talked about the T+1 regime that has been implemented in the market. Earlier this year, the countrys stock markets transitioned from T+2 to T+1 settlement, settling trades on the following business day. It takes two things to make this happen. First is technology and second is co-creation.

We are now moving to T+0 which will happen before the end of this financial year and one year from there we will have instantaneous settlement, which is optional. When we do this, risk in the system comes down, Buch said here. The two reasons why we have been able to bring T+1 to the people are stellar technology - the technology and market stack in India are unparalleled and have been acknowledged as one of the best in the world. Second being the co-creation with the institution and creating a methodology of regulations with them, she said. Addressing the session on Building Resilient Capital Markets: Strategies and Way Forward, she said that trust is the first element of market foundation and risk management is important for building this trust.

According to her, it is very crucial to earn the trust of investors in the market and risk mitigation through technology has facilitated in building that trust. Up until now we had the potential, but we did not have the tools to manifest that potential. Today with technology, we have the tool to manifest this potential and take it to the farthest corner of our country. Technology enables us to make businesses viable, Buch said.
Lets face it, flying can be miserable. Especially when holiday travel plans get interrupted and flights are canceled due to inclement weather. But how did the flying experience get so bad?

Ganesh Sitaraman, professor of law at Vanderbilt University and author of the new book Why Flying Is Miserable: And How to Fix It, argues that it all stems from public policy choices  particularly a change to airline regulation in 1978.

We caught up with Sitaraman to chat about travel horror stories, book influences and why flying is so expensive. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What was your most miserable flying experience?

One of the worst things that can happen is just getting so delayed or canceled that youre stuck in the city for an extra night when you didnt anticipate that. To me, those are always the worst experiences ... where I really have something important that I was trying to get home for but ended up missing that last flight and running down from one end of the airport to the other and just seeing the flight pull away as you approach the gate knowing you just missed it by a couple of seconds. To me, thats always the worst.

How has your fathers job flying all over the world and your father-in-laws job as an air traffic controller influenced this book and your interest in air travel and regulation, if at all?

Flying was always something that was common to me. I knew what it meant to take long flights and short flights and have frequent flyer miles and the status programs, and to think about hubs and nonstop flights and connections. I knew about that for much of my life in part because I had people in my life who fly a lot.

This project is part of the larger co-authored book Networks, Platforms, and Utilities. When did you realize that you had enough material to write a separate book on the history of airline regulation and deregulation?

Thats really where this book came from. I was working on the textbook Networks, Platforms, and Utilities, which is the study of the law governing transportation, energy, telecommunications and banking, and I was writing the chapter on airlines for this textbook. As I was doing the research, it was just really exciting to learn what happened in the past and how choices that were made, and particularly the choice to deregulate the airline industry in 1978, has shaped everything about how flying operates even today. As I was doing that work, I realized theres just a lot here. ... It was a lot of stuff I didnt know, despite being someone who does fly a lot and is interested in policy and regulation, and I just thought this was the perfect topic for a book because so many other people out there would feel the same way.

What was the most surprising thing that you learned?

So one of the most interesting things that I found in the book was that people in the industry were opposed to deregulation, and thats not usually how we think of it. We usually think people in business are in favor of deregulation. But in the 1970s, Robert Crandall, who was later the legendary head of American Airlines, showed up at one of the hearings in Congress for deregulation, and he was really upset about the possibility of [it].

People like him believe that the airline industry was a public utility. That it had critical public service elements. That it had to be governed that way for it to work effectively. And so he was opposed to deregulation because he thought it would lead to real problems in the industry and he was right. It has led to real problems over many decades, and Crandall himself was then one of the most cutthroat competitors in the 1980s for American Airlines. But once he retired, he went back to arguing that airlines are public utilities and that they should be regulated that way. I think theres this really interesting switch where the people in the industry who knew it best really thought that regulation was the right way to think about making airlines work for the American people.

If the argument for deregulation is to increase competition and keep costs down, why is flying so expensive today?

One of the reasons why you see higher prices recently is because there is relatively little competition in so many places and on so many routes. When you dont have much competition, the airlines can raise prices and charge more. You live in Seattle and you want to go to New York, what are you going to do? Youre not going to walk. Itll take you a week to drive. You really have to fly. You dont have a lot of choices. You have to take the airlines and you take the ones that are available at the time when you need to go. Thats the problem all across the country and we see that with increasing concentration across the board. Its part of the reason why theres real concern from the Justice Department and many advocates about increasing airline mergers because the more consolidated the industry gets, the less competition theres going to be.

What impact do you hope your book will have?

I really hope my book helps people realize that the conventional wisdom that air travel just works how it works and theres nothing we can do about it is wrong, and that the reasons we have the irritations of flying are because of public policy choices that weve made in the past and that we can make different choices and fix flying to make it less miserable, more enjoyable and have a more resilient, stable industry in the process.
Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS  Free Report) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,693 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 5,373 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLCs holdings in Barclays were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CSS LLC IL boosted its stake in Barclays by 51.3% during the second quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 106,241 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 36,000 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the second quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the second quarter valued at approximately $592,000. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Barclays in the second quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barclays by 22.1% in the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.39% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

BCS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Barclays from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Barclays from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Barclays from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $190.00.

Barclays Stock Up 2.5 %

BCS stock opened at $7.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.39. Barclays PLC has a twelve month low of $6.23 and a twelve month high of $9.44. The companys 50 day moving average is $7.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.52. The stock has a market cap of $28.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.29, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.42.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Barclays had a net margin of 21.21% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The company had revenue of $7.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.16 billion. Research analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barclays Company Profile

(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.

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Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV  Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by Canaccord Genuity Group from $210.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a hold rating on the technology companys stock. Canaccord Genuity Groups target price points to a potential upside of 7.13% from the companys previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on VEEV. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veeva Systems from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Veeva Systems from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Veeva Systems from $240.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Veeva Systems in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Veeva Systems in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veeva Systems presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $214.14.

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Veeva Systems Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VEEV stock opened at $172.70 on Thursday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $189.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.71. Veeva Systems has a twelve month low of $157.00 and a twelve month high of $225.49. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.79.

Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 6th. The technology company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.05. Veeva Systems had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 24.20%. The company had revenue of $616.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.98 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The companys revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Veeva Systems will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeva Systems

In other Veeva Systems news, Director Paul J. Sekhri sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.85, for a total value of $562,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,256,727.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Veeva Systems news, Director Paul J. Sekhri sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.85, for a total value of $562,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,256,727.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew J. Wallach sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.66, for a total value of $998,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,735 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,738,930.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,530 shares of company stock worth $10,300,980 in the last 90 days. 10.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeva Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Veeva Systems by 90,363.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 98,398,383 shares of the technology companys stock worth $19,456,312,000 after buying an additional 98,289,612 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veeva Systems by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,888,204 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,738,229,000 after buying an additional 132,560 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Veeva Systems by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,568,726 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $2,089,754,000 after purchasing an additional 306,477 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Veeva Systems by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,784,552 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,430,724,000 after purchasing an additional 277,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Veeva Systems by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,779,200 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,538,181,000 after purchasing an additional 323,959 shares in the last quarter. 80.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Veeva Systems

(Get Free Report)

Veeva Systems Inc provides cloud-based software for the life sciences industry. It offers Veeva Commercial Cloud, a suite of software and data solutions, such as Veeva customer relationship management (CRM) that enable customer-facing employees at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; Veeva Vault PromoMats, an end-to-end content and digital asset management solution; Veeva Vault Medical that provides source of medical content across multiple channels and geographies; Veeva Crossix, an analytics platform for pharmaceutical brands; Veeva OpenData, a customer reference data solution; Veeva Link, a data application that allows link to generate real-time intelligence; and Veeva Compass includes de-identified and longitudinal patient data for the United States.

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Css LLC Il cut its holdings in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX  Free Report) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,500 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Css LLC Ils holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PSX. Country Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 1,315.8% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 269 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its holdings in Phillips 66 by 504.0% in the 1st quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Phillips 66 in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 71.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Timothy D. Roberts sold 12,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.41, for a total value of $1,613,597.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,009 shares of the companys stock, valued at $9,953,919.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Timothy D. Roberts sold 12,970 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.41, for a total transaction of $1,613,597.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,009 shares in the company, valued at $9,953,919.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 31,700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.21, for a total value of $4,127,657.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 103,351 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,333.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Phillips 66 from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips 66 currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $134.43.

Read Our Latest Report on Phillips 66

Phillips 66 Stock Up 0.5 %

PSX opened at $125.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.07. The company has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.35. Phillips 66 has a 1 year low of $89.74 and a 1 year high of $131.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The oil and gas company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $4.78 by ($0.15). Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th were given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 16th. Phillips 66s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.33%.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

(Free Report)

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.

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Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG  Free Report) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,358 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 6,825 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLCs holdings in Mizuho Financial Group were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MFG. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its holdings in Mizuho Financial Group by 20.6% during the second quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 26,440 shares of the banks stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 4,517 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 18,394 shares of the banks stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 7,435 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Mizuho Financial Group by 220.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,107 shares of the banks stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 96,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its holdings in Mizuho Financial Group by 100.0% during the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the banks stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Mizuho Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE MFG opened at $3.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $44.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.45. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.43 and a 52 week high of $3.70. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $3.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Mizuho Financial Group ( NYSE:MFG Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, November 12th. The bank reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $16.46 billion for the quarter. Mizuho Financial Group had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 6.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Mizuho Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group Profile

(Free Report)

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments.

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Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) by 334.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLCs holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $29,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TSM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,381,845 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $144,071,000 after buying an additional 318,570 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 597 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 12,700 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,638 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 138.6% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 45,497 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $4,744,000 after purchasing an additional 26,426 shares in the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

NYSE:TSM opened at $100.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.54. The stock has a market cap of $520.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.05. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 1-year low of $72.84 and a 1-year high of $110.69.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( NYSE:TSM Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.13. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 41.42% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.5415 per share. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 20th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Monday, October 23rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides complementary metal oxide silicon wafer fabrication processes to manufacture logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, and embedded memory semiconductors.

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United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI  Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $15.00 to $13.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a neutral rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Groups price target would suggest a potential downside of 13.33% from the companys current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on United Natural Foods from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.67.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $15.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. United Natural Foods has a 12 month low of $12.88 and a 12 month high of $43.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.96 and a 200-day moving average of $18.79. The company has a market capitalization of $877.50 million, a P/E ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.92.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 6th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.28. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 0.08%. The firms quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post -0.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, CEO J Alexander Douglas, Jr. purchased 11,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.32 per share, with a total value of $150,049.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 162,201 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,160,517.32. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other United Natural Foods news, CFO John W. Howard purchased 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.68 per share, with a total value of $75,103.20. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 141,790 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,939,687.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Alexander Douglas, Jr. purchased 11,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.32 per share, with a total value of $150,049.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,517.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 59.5% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,006 shares of the companys stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. EA Series Trust acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,345,000. Pictet Asset Management SA increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 8,247 shares of the companys stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 1,744,001 shares of the companys stock worth $34,095,000 after purchasing an additional 116,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.85% of the companys stock.

About United Natural Foods

(Get Free Report)

United Natural Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce, and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The company offers grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, wellness and personal care items, and bulk and foodservice products.

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With the world being complicated by conflict and wars, its nice to hear a voice of reason that simplifies things and adds a degree of experience to help lessen the worry of the unknown as we all move forward toward peace and order.

Tom Gouttierre has that voice as the dean emeritus of International Programs and Studies and the director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Hes retired now, but that does not preclude him from staying on top of all news and happenings in the Middle East and the world abroad.

This past Monday, Gouttierre spoke to Lincoln Executive Club members and a few extra guests at their weekly luncheon in downtown Lincoln at the Graduate Hotel. He focused his attention on the war between Hamas and Israel, which holds the attention of the world.

Gouttierre, who began in his position at UNO in 1974 after serving 10 years in Afghanistan, noted that the war in Israel, more than any other issue, has taken over TV news time.

The first issue is the war in Israel, he said. Whether its CNN, Fox, MSNBC, its the war in Israel. Its been the major story for the last two months. It has captivated our attention, and its also captivated our global political discussion that kind of touches all of us.

Even though Gouttierre is engrossed with the situation and has always kept his eyes on all things Middle East, he remains a copious observer, but with no answers on how to resolve the conflict.

I dont have a solution to this. Nobody does at the moment, he said. There are some paths that might be taken that might move toward some kind of solution. But what Im going to start with at least is to take a look at what kind of change, discombobulation, shake-up this particular war is going to have in the future on the global political order, which is largely disorder anyhow, but it is an order.

In speaking about the disorder, Gouttierre described the centuries-long turf wars between the Palestinians and the Israelis going back to the biblical days of David versus Goliath. The two separate nations of people have been trying to co-exist living side-by-side along the same small tract of land, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, it seems like forever. And Gouttierre said the divide between the two nations has nothing to do with religion.

This is not a war of Judaism against Islam or Islam against Judaism, thats not part of it at all. This is an ethno-nationalistic war. This is a war of people who believe they have the right to the property, said Gouttierre about the land that includes the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Holy Land.

So, the Palestinians think they go all the way back to Goliath, and the Israelis think they all go back to David, he said. This is something that neither feels they should back down on.

Gouttierre said its further complicated by the fact that the two nations share a neighborhood that is beyond their control. He said the Egyptians control the West Bank and Gaza, while the Jordanians have taken control of Jerusalem. And in between you have 7 million Palestinians and 7 million Israelis who dont agree on how to govern themselves or each other.

If you have a one-state solution, that means you have to have a government that makes it equal for the Palestinians and the Israelis, who are now equal in number and are probably going to look a little bit like Belgium, said Gouttierre, whose family emanates from the European country. The Walloons and the Flemish (two separate people with two separate dialects) have not been able to get along very well over the years.

During these troubled times, Gouttierre believes the United States has emerged as an indispensable nation, a country that represents to all that bit of order and leadership that the world needs amid the chaos and disorder. Especially when characters like Vladimir Putin thrive on chaos and disorder to survive, according to Gouttierre.

Gouttierre said that Putin loves whats going on in Israel because theres less focus on what is going on in Ukraine. And with the U.S. and China communicating with dialogue and forming a more solid relationship, both countries understand that they need each other for world order and a strong world economy.

The world craves a leader, and weve (U.S.) merged back into that. One of the things that all of us here in this city, in this state should remember is our states motto is the good life. We have this good life, not because Nebraska sells to Nebraskans. Were an exporting state. The world moves because things move through Nebraska. Global reach happens due to order and less chaos.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Friday, disclosed that its attention had been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mrs Sidi Hakama, on Friday.

This development came as bank depositors expressed worries over cash shortage, both from Automated Teller Machines and over the counter in the banks.

Observations by a correspondent during visits to some banks and ATMs during the week disclosed that banks were rationing cash payments over the counter, while withdrawal limits were placed on ATMs.

For instance, a bank depositor, Chuks Daniel, noted that he visited three different banks in Owerri only to be given N50,000 at his third attempt. Another customer, Wura Adebayo, said she went to UBA bank but was allowed to withdraw only N50,000.

The CBN, in the latest development, said, For the avoidance of doubt, Section 20(4) of the CBN Act (2007) as amended, states that: It shall be an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years for any person to falsify, make or counterfeit any bank note or coin issued by the Bank which is legal tender in Nigeria.

The CBN is in constant collaboration with relevant security and financial agencies to confiscate fake naira banknotes, arrest and prosecute counterfeiters. Members of the public are also encouraged to report anyone suspected of having counterfeit naira notes to the nearest police station, branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria or via [email protected].

The banking regulator further advised all Deposit Money Banks, financial houses, Bureau de Change operators and the general public, to be more vigilant and take all necessary precautionary measures to curtail the acceptance and distribution of counterfeit notes.

It said, Furthermore, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, for day-to-day transactions to mitigate the risk of spreading counterfeit banknotes."
Arsenal primed for Emery reunion as Man City fight to end slump

FOOTBALL: Arsenals grip on the Premier Leagues top spot will be under threat from their old boss Unai Emery when the leaders travel to surging Aston Villa today (Dec 9).

FootballPremier-League

By AFP

Saturday 9 December 2023 11:30 AM

Unai Emery has turned Aston Villas fortunes around in remarkable fashion. Photo: AFP

If the Gunners slip up, Liverpool will seize pole position with a win against Crystal Palace, while reeling Manchester City aim to get back on track at Luton.

When Unai Emery arrived at Aston Villa in October 2022, his new team were languishing just three points above the relegation zone.

Now, they sit third in the table ahead of a seismic showdown against leaders Arsenal that would have seemed impossible during the dark days before Emerys transformative appointment.

Villas 1-0 win against Manchester City on Wednesday was the clubs most significant result for years, showcasing the impressive work done by Emery to revive a moribund club and infusing his players with belief they can do something special this season.

It is fitting that the latest test of Emerys revolution comes against Arsenal, who sacked him in 2019 midway through a second troubled season in north London.

City manager Pep Guardiola labelled Villa as title contenders on Wednesday after Emerys 50th match in charge served to underline his remarkable impact.

I can come back in my mind and think how we were when we started this process, Emery said. We lost against Leicester and Arsenal at home. We couldnt concede eight goals in two matches like we did.

It was a key moment when we reacted in a meeting with the players, focusing more our idea and our style, building and being very demanding in it. The players, they reacted very well.

No panic for slumping City

John Stones has urged Manchester City to keep their composure amid a worrying slump that threatens to derail their bid for a fourth successive title.

Citys winless run extended to four league games on Wednesday as Aston Villas 1-0 victory increased the sense of concern surrounding Pep Guardiolas side.

The treble winners were comprehensively outplayed, leaving Guardiola to admit he needed to help his struggling team.

Trailing Arsenal by six points, Stones believes City can use the pain of their stumble to stop the rot in a tricky assignment at Luton tomorrow.

The Hatters have already drawn with Liverpool at home and came within seconds of a point against Arsenal, before losing 4-3 on Tuesday.

We have to use the hurt and the pain that is within us as motivation and fuel to put things right. I think everyone has that desire, Stones said.

Weve been in these positions in previous seasons. I dont think we or everyone should be hyping about what is going to happen. We have to stay calm as a team.

Liverpool ready for fixture demands

As Liverpool head into a crucial period for their title ambitions, Jurgen Klopps irritation at a joke about his teams quick turnaround to play Crystal Palace today laid bare the Germans desire to keep pace with leaders Arsenal.

The Reds boss branded a television presenter ignorant following his sides 2-0 win at Sheffield United on Wednesday when he mentioned second-placed Liverpool travel to Palace at Klopps favourite kick-off time.

That was an ill-fated reference to Klopp complaining on previous occasions when Liverpool have been forced to play at 12:30 GMT on a Saturday after a Wednesday evening match.

Thats really brave to make a joke about that, Klopp grumbled, but he will be reassured to hear Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijks willingness to take on the challenge of coping with the gruelling schedule.

Listen, we are in December and there are so many games to come. For us now, its a good start to December and we have plenty of big games to come. We should all look forward to it, he said.

Fixtures (All Phuket times)

Saturday

Crystal Palace v Liverpool (7:30pm)

Brighton v Burnley (9pm)

Manchester United v Bournemouth (9pm)

Sheffield United v Brentford (9pm)

Wolves v Nottingham Forest (9pm)

Sunday

Aston Villa v Arsenal (12:30am)

Everton v Chelsea (9pm)

Fulham v West Ham (9pm)

Luton v Manchester City (9pm)

Tottenham v Newcastle (11:30pm)
Phuket officials vow against corruption

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat and the heads of all 19 local government administrations on the island vowed to not tolerate corruption yesterday (Dec 8).

corruptioncrime

By The Phuket News

Saturday 9 December 2023 11:00 AM

The pledge,a traditional affair, was made at an event at Phuket Provincial Hall held to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.

Of note, UN International Anti-Corruption Day will be observed around the world tomorrow (Dec 9), as it has done since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on Oct 31, 2003.

The event at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday was held under the concept Zero Tolerance. Thai people do not tolerate corruption.

In total 20 Phuket local government organisations were represented at the meeting, noted an official report.

Also present for the occasion were representatives from the private sector, the report said.

Certificates were awarded to all organisations that had their work assessed in terms of ethics and transparency in the Thai governments Integrity & Transparency Assessment (ITA) initiative for 2023.

The organisation that received the most points was Pa Khlok Municipality, with score of 97.85, said the report

The results of the other 19 organisations were not reported.

After the certificates were handed out, Governor Sophon then led the assembly in taking the pledge to not engage in corruption, or support corrupt practices in any way.

The officials pledged to perform official duties with honesty and request that all sectors join together to fight against all forms of corruption, as December 9 every year is International Anti-Corruption Day, the report concluded.
Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoos daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her fat and ugly. Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed.

For Valerie Aguirres daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school friend drama escalated into violence and online bullying that left the 12-year-old feeling disconnected and lonely.

Both children received help through telehealth therapy, a service that schools around the country are offering in response to soaring mental health struggles among American youth.

Now at least 16 of the 20 largest U.S. public school districts are offering online therapy sessions to reach millions of students, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. In those districts alone, schools have signed provider contracts worth more than $70 million.

The growth reflects a booming new business born from Americas youth mental health crisis, which has proven so lucrative that venture capitalists are funding a new crop of school teletherapy companies. Some experts raise concerns about the quality of care offered by fast-growing tech companies.

As schools cope with shortages of in-person practitioners, however, educators say teletherapy works for many kids, and its meeting a massive need. For rural schools and lower-income students in particular, it has made therapy easier to access. Schools let students connect with online counselors during the school day or after hours from home.

This is how we can prevent people from falling through the cracks, said Ishoo, a mother of two in Lancaster, California.

Ishoo recalls standing at her second-grader's bedroom door last year and wishing she could get through to her. Whats wrong? the mother would ask. The response made her heart heavy: Its NOTHING, Mom.

Last spring, her school district launched a teletherapy program and she signed up her daughter. During a month of weekly sessions, the girl logged in from her bedroom and opened up to a therapist who gave her coping tools and breathing techniques to reduce anxiety. The therapist told her daughter: You are in charge of your own emotions. Dont give anyone else that control.

She learned that its OK to ask for help, and sometimes everyone needs some extra help, Ishoo said.

The 13,000-student school system, like so many others, has counselors and psychologists on staff, but not enough to meet the need, said Trish Wilson, the Lancaster districts coordinator of counselors.

Therapists in the area have full caseloads, making it impossible to refer students for immediate care, she said. But students can schedule a virtual session within days.

Our preference is to provide our students in-person therapy. Obviously, thats not always possible, said Wilson, whose district has referred more than 325 students to over 800 sessions since launching the online therapy program.

Students and their parents said in interviews they turned to teletherapy after struggling with feelings of sadness, loneliness, academic stress and anxiety. For many, the transition back to in-person school after distance learning was traumatic. Friendships had fractured, social skills deteriorated and tempers flared more easily.

Schools are footing the bill, many of them using federal pandemic relief money as experts have warned of alarming rates of youth depression, anxiety and suicide. Many school districts are signing contracts with private companies. Others are working with local health care providers, nonprofits or state programs.

Mental health experts welcome the extra support but caution about potential pitfalls. For one, its getting harder to hire school counselors and psychologists, and competition with telehealth providers isn't helping.

We have 44 counselor vacancies, and telehealth definitely impacts our ability to fill them, said Doreen Hogans, supervisor of school counseling in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Hogans estimates 20% of school counselors who left have taken teletherapy jobs, which offer more flexible hours.

One of the biggest teletherapy providers, San Francisco-based Hazel Health, started with telemedicine health services in schools in 2016 and expanded to mental health in May 2021, CEO Josh Golomb said. It now employs more than 300 clinicians providing teletherapy in over 150 school districts in 15 states.

The rapid expansions mean millions of dollars in revenue for Hazel. This year, the company signed a $24 million contract with Los Angeles County to offer teletherapy services to 1.3 million students for two years.

Despite the giant contracts, Golomb said Hazel is focused on ensuring child welfare outweighs the bottom line.

We have the ethos of a nonprofit company but were using a private-sector mechanism to reach as many kids as we can, Golomb said. Hazel raised $51.5 million in venture capital funding in 2022 that fueled its expansion. Do we have any concerns about any compromise in quality? The resounding answer is no.

Other providers are getting into the space. In November, New York City launched a free telehealth therapy service for teens to help eliminate barriers to access, said Ashwin Vasan, the city's health commissioner. New York is paying the startup TalkSpace $26 million over three years for a service allowing teens aged 13 to 17 to download an app and connect with licensed therapists by phone, video or text.

Unlike other cities, New York is offering the service to all teens, whether enrolled in private, public or home schools, or not in school at all.

I truly hope this normalizes and democratizes access to mental health care for our young people, Vasan said.

6 stats you need to know about LGBTQ+ youth mental health 6 stats you need to know about LGBTQ+ youth mental health Nearly half of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the last year 73% of LGBTQ+ youth experienced symptoms of anxiety; 58% had symptoms of depression From 2020 to 2022, rates of LGBTQ+ youth considering suicide and experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression rose 60% of LGBTQ+ youth desiring mental health care couldn't obtain it 93% of LGBTQ+ youth said they were worried about being denied access to gender-affirming care and 91% said they were worried about being denied access to bathrooms Suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth are lower when they feel that their home and school are gender-affirming spaces and receive support from friends and family
Queen Suthida races in the Kings Cup Regatta

PHUKET: Her Majesty Queen Suthida returned to Phuket today (Dec 9) to rejoin the crew on racing yacht THA 72 and take part in the Phuket Kings Cup Regatta.



By The Phuket News

Saturday 9 December 2023 01:45 PM

After arriving at Phuket International Airport at sunrise, Her Majesty made her way to Kata Beach, where she boarded the yacht to take part in todays racing, the final day of the regatta.

HM The Queen waved to well wishers on the beach as she walked out to the RIB to join the yacht, as she did on Thursday when she joined the crew for a practice session. During that visit she was joined by His Majesty King Vachiralongkorn.

On board THA 72, Her Majesty took part in racing in the IRC Zero class, the top flight of the regatta.

Stunning onlookers, Her Majesty for reasons unexplained even climbed the mast of the 52-foot yacht. For those familiar with the practice, although it is relatively safe, it can be unnerving, especially as TP52 race boats have masts some 22.5 metres tall (about 73 feet).

Queen Suthida, even pictured hiking out, sitting on the side of the boat with her legs hanging over the side to help balance the boat, spent nearly three hours on the water.

With Her Majesty on board, THA 72 won both of todays races in the IRC Zero class, but with three DNS (Did Not Start) on Races 4, 5 and 6, THA 72 placed third overall in the class by the regattas end.

Top honours in the IRC Zero class went to Raymond Roberts crew on Team Hollywood, which has now won the IRC Zero class four consecutive times.

After returning to shore post-race, Queen Suthida joined the THA 72 crew for the traditional group photo of the crew, then joined photos with key members of 35th Phuket Kings Cup Regatta organising committee and other leading local figures.

Her Majesty is to oversee the official handing out of trophies and awards to the regattas winners during a ceremony to start from 3pm.
Wind stays strong on fourth day of racing in the Kings Cup Regatta

SAILING: The wind gods have been kind this week in the 35th Phuket Kings Cup Regatta, maybe because a TP52 sailing in the IRC Zero class is named Vayu, after the Hindu god of wind.

Saturday 9 December 2023 09:11 AM

Every class sailed two windward-leeward races yesterday (Dec 8), with the winners of all classes including the completed International Dingy Classes champions set to join the Royal Awards Ceremony this evening where Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana will be the representative for His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua at the Royal Awards Ceremony, handing out the Royal Awards.

James & Kate Murrays Callisto, a Pac 52, won the second race yesterday (ninth in the class series) in in the four-boat IRC Zero class and finished second in the first race. This sets up a thrilling final day in this class because after each boat dropped their worst score. Ray Roberts TP52 Team Hollywood (earning a second and third yesterday) sits atop the class with 12 points and Callisto is just two points back at 14.

Kevin Whitcrafts TP52 Vayu THA72 had a good day on the water winning the first race and coming third in race two. Technical issues earlier in the regatta, however, forced Vayu THA72 out of three races, otherwise it would be battling Team Hollywood down to the wire as it usually does. As it stands now Vayu THA72 has 23 points heading into the final day and a stranglehold on third spot in the class. Steve McConaghys Aftershock Syndicate, a Davidson 55, was fourth in both races today and sits last in this class with 29 points.

In the five-boat Premier class Ithinai Yingsiris Thai vessel Pine Pacific, an X-Yacht 55, shot through the fleet, winning its sixth straight race sealing victory in this class before the final day with a 5-point overall score after its drop race was factored in.

Peter Cremers Shatoosh, a Warwick 75, has had a good regatta, finishing second five times, but just unable to nudge Pine Pacific off the podium. Shatoosh does, however, have second spot all sewn up in this class. Hans Rahmanns JV 72 custom-built Yasooda chances were hurt when it had a power failure in race three and couldnt finish the race being awarded a DNF instead. Yasooda will finish third followed by Bernard Huybens Aphrodite, a Vitters 92, which has come fourth in all races except for race three where it claimed a third. Is

Nick Burns Witchcraft, a Millenium 40, won the second race of the day in the seven-boat IRC One class giving it victory in eight of the nine races held in this class so far, and a commanding league of nine points heading into the final day.

Rolf Heemskerks The Next Factor, a Farr 40 (Mod), won the first race of the day, giving it two victories overall. The Next Factor trails Witchcraft by six points heading into the final day of action and will need a minor miracle to pull of an upset. Craig Douglas/Gordon Kettlebys Ramrod, a Farr 40, sits in third in the class with 27 points.

The battle in this class is between Craig Nichols Alright, a Sydney 40, and Susurnu Kuroses Char Chan, a First 40.7, both tied with 33 points for fourth spot, six behind Ramrod. Robert Carr and Sandy Farquharsons Aquarii, a Sydney 40, did not start the first race yesterday and finished fifth in the second, giving it 41 points overall. Clayton Craigies Anjo, a Beneteau First 40, has had a challenging regatta with four DNFs & one DNS leaving it mired in last spot in this class with 59 points.

The six-boat Bareboat Charter Class saw Dean Pengs Gragonborn, a Beneteau First 40.7, win for the fifth straight time yesterday, clinching this class. Mike Downards Piccolo, a Farr 1104, had a DNF and sits a point ahead of Hippocrates Toshihiko Iijima in second spot with 12 points heading into the final day. Moonshine, a Oceanis 45, featuring the ASA Sailing Dream Asia, is ensconsed in fourth place with 18 points while Alan Andersons Judy, a Farr 30, and Team Hayato, on a Sun Odyssey 409, will battle for fifth spot on the last day as only a point separates them.

The five-boat Monohull Cruising class is the tightest class with three boats tied with nine points each heading into the final day. Steve Maine Enavigo, a Grand Soleil 45 has won three races but was hurt by a DNF on the first day. Philippe Dallees Swan II, a Swan 43 (1969), also has nine points as does Jianhao Yangs Isabella, a Bavaria 46C, which was disqualified in the third race for carrying an anchor on the bow. Thomas Veltins Brisk, an RG 6.5 Classe Mini, will take fourth in this class, and Mo Yiweis Sumalee, a Sun Odyssey 409, will place fifth.

The two-boat Multihull Racing class saw Dan Fidocks Kata Rocks Parabellum, an Extreme 40, win for the seventh time; nine races have been sailed in this class so far. John Newnhams Kata Rocks 2, aka Twin Sharks, a Firefly 750 Sportboat sits second in this class, six points back. The flashy Parabellum has won overall line honours time and time again in this regatta.

Meanwhile, Andrew McDermotts Corsair 28 Trident has won all four races in the Multihull Cruising class since having to sit out day one because of a dismasting. It has a one-point lead over Frank Kasteleins Team No Escape (Pooichat), a Leopard 40 from Sunsail, and the other yacht competing in this class, heading into the final day.

There was great excitement off of Kata Beach yesterday as Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalaksh was seen her practicing on Vayu THA 72 during a break in competition. She will participate as a crew on the yacht today, the final day of the regatta. The crew are on Vayu THA 72, comprise the finest keelboat crew in Thailand as they regularly compete in the prestigious TP52 campaign in Europe during the summer season. King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua graced the regatta with his presence yesterday making sure the Queen arrived safely on Vayu THA 72.

For more information and result, please visit www.kingscup.com.
JERUSALEM  Bayan Khateeb knows she's a terrible cook. So when she managed to pull off a dish of cooked tomatoes and eggs, she took a photo to show friends on social media.

Soon we shall eat the Shakshouka of victory! crowed her caption, which included an emoji of the Palestinian flag.

Khateeb intended the Oct. 8 Instagram post as a joke, she said. But in the fraught atmosphere that has gripped Israel since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, statements that might have once sounded innocuous have taken on more sinister meaning and resulted in scores of arrests.

A classmate saw the post and thought Khateeb, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was cheering on Hamas. When the post was shared more widely, Khateeb suddenly found herself accused online of supporting terrorism. The next thing she knew, she was suspended from her studies at a prestigious university, ejected from her dorm, fired from her two jobs and interrogated in shackles by Israeli police.

I felt like I was in a nightmare. You're arresting me, after I was subjected to two weeks of political persecution? she said. How did I end up in this situation?

She was among more than 270 Palestinian citizens who have been arrested in an Israeli crackdown on free speech and political activity since the Hamas attack, according to Adalah, an advocacy organization for Palestinians inside Israel.

Palestinian citizens have also reported intimidation, firings and expulsions from universities, as well as surveillance of their online speech by other civilians.

People are arrested for anything expressing sympathy for the civilian victims in Gaza, said lawyer Abeer Baker, who represents another woman who was arrested. Everything that was not in favor of attacking Gaza as such actually puts you in danger of being arrested.

The arrests go to the heart of the dual identity of Palestinian citizens as they struggle to navigate a Jewish-majority society. Palestinian citizens have equal rights on paper but have historically suffered from discrimination in job opportunities, housing, health care and education. The community is one of Israels poorest.

The arrests also raise questions about Israels commitment to free speech and the rights of its Palestinian minority, which accounts for a fifth of the countrys nearly 10 million people.

We have undergone many wars. Never was such suppression ever declared before, said Hassan Jabareen, the director general of Adalah. People among themselves speak about living under a dictatorial regime. A Jewish, racist dictatorship.

Prominent Arab leaders in Israel have been arrested for challenging a ban on anti-war protests, and two Arab lawmakers were sanctioned for remarks related to the Hamas attack.

Jews arent immune from punishment, although it is rare. Earlier this month, a court extended the remand of a Jewish teacher who posted anti-war and anti-occupation messages on Facebook and was fired from his job, the Haaretz daily newspaper reported.

Videos posted on social media by Israeli police delivered an unmistakable message: There will be zero tolerance for any identification with the Gaza Strip and the enclaves Hamas rulers.

We are at war and the orders are unequivocal: There will be zero tolerance for any incident, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said in one video.

The arrests have unfolded under the most right-wing government in Israel's history and amid the trauma of the Hamas attack, which killed at least 1,200 people and resulted in over 240 others being taken hostage.

The violence has not spared Israels Palestinian citizens: At least 21 were killed in the initial attack and by rocket and mortar fire launched by Hamas and its Lebanese Hezbollah ally, said Atta Abu Mtegem, mayor of the Bedouin city of Rahat. Seven are missing, and possibly captured by Hamas, he said. Others, including soldiers, have died in the fighting.

At the same time, the images of devastation coming out of Gaza have been wrenching for a community with close ties to Palestinians there and in the West Bank. The death toll from Israels assault on Gaza has topped 13,000, according to health authorities there. Airstrikes have leveled wide swaths of the territory and displaced more than two thirds of its 2.3 million people.

Following the Hamas attack, some Palestinians have been afraid to go to work or mix with Jews, and lawyers and professors are afraid of running afoul of undefined new limits on speech, Jabareen said.

More than 100 Palestinian citizens have been suspended or expelled from universities and colleges over posts, according to Adalah.

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, meanwhile, has instructed authorities to look into stripping a Palestinian actress of her Israeli citizenship for posting material that included laughing emojis on a photo of an elderly woman being taken into captivity by Hamas militants, with the caption, She is going on the adventure of her life.

For now, Khateeb is living in limbo. Her suspension from her data science and engineering program is open ended. She's unemployed, living with her parents and waiting to see if she gets indicted.

Besides the war that we are experiencing right now, she said, I am personally experiencing another war  a war between us, between the citizens of Israel.
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Amid the heated debate on the recently-released film, Animal, which is being questioned by many on moral grounds, veteran Bollywood actor Saurabh Shukla opined that one watches a film as per his or her own morality.

The winner of the National Film Award is in Kolkata for the ongoing 29th Kolkata International Film Festival. Responding to a question on the discussions surrounding Animal, he said, It is a long debate about what film should be made and what not. I think whatever one watches is as per the individuals moral compass.

Talking about his film Satya that was also ahead of its time, the actor quoted an eminent filmmaker and said, You should never make a film that is beyond your moral compass. We belong to a society. We all are human beings but we have different views about life. We have different takes on things.

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The actor asserted on respecting different choices. Citing an example on the subject, he elaborated, The vegetarians would say eating everything else is a sin. But that doesnt make the non-vegetarians non-human beings. They are still human beings. It is ones own moral compass to eat whatever one wants. One wears clothes according to the persons choice. But insulting someone on the basis of that shouldnt be done and it is applicable for other things in life.

The screenwriter, who is married to Barnali Shukla (from Kolkata), claimed a deep connection with the city of joy. Kolkata is home to me. I have spent my childhood eating Bengali food, cooked by my mother, who was also a Bengali, informed the acclaimed director.

Shukla is known for his roles in much appropriated films like Satya (1998), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Barfi (2012), PK (2014) and so on. He received the National Film Award and the Screen Award for his role as the best actor in a supporting role in the movie Jolly LLB.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch believed that smaller systematic investment plans (SIPs) in mutual funds can lead to greater financial inclusion, and will also lay the foundation for future growth as well as greater resilience of Indian equity markets.

Capital markets regulator is working with mutual fund houses to make Rs 250 SIP viable for the industry, she said while addressing a media event on Saturday.

We are working with them to see where that cost is and what SEBI can do to facilitate in making it possible to bring that viability down to Rs 250 a month. Then it would be equivalent to what Hindustan Unilever did with shampoo sashes. It will bring in financial inclusion and, equally importantly, it will give strength to our markets, Buch said.

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She also explained how lower SIPs can bring greater resilience to the Indian equity markets.

Unlike other emerging markets, India was resilient. That was because retail money came in to fill that vacuum, both via direct investments by retail investors as well as through mutual funds, she said.

The people who left India started underperforming their benchmark index, and very soon, they returned because they could not afford to miss out on the Indian return. Therefore, in effect, the benefit of our domestic flows and the retail flows had a double impact. The impact of domestic money coming in and the impact of the foreign money returning, she said.

SEBI has also been concerned about retail investors seeking unsolicited advice who often turn to unregistered advisers who run illegal or quasi Portfolio Management Services (PMS) in the garb of investment advice and end up putting their money in risky investments or strategies.

Notably, the mutual fund industry in India has recently marked the total assets under management (AUM) of nearly Rs 50 Trillion mark.

As per the recent data released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), the mutual fund industrys AUM reached Rs 49.04 trillion in November, boosted by the benchmark indices hitting all-time highs during the month.
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convener of AAP, alongside Punjabs Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is set to introduce a groundbreaking initiative on December 10 called Bhagwant Mann Sarkar Tuhade Dwar. This visionary scheme aims to revolutionize service delivery by bringing 43 essential citizen-centric services directly to peoples doorsteps, as announced by AAP on Saturday.

Malwinder Singh Kang, the chief spokesperson of AAPs Punjab unit, outlined that this scheme will encompass a wide array of services, from birth, marriage, death certificates to income, residence, caste, and various others, excluding only specific services like arms licensing, Aadhaar card, and stamp paper.

The launch event for the Bhagwant Mann Sarkar Tuhade Dwar scheme is scheduled in Ludhiana, where both Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann will inaugurate the program. Kang emphasized that citizens can conveniently schedule appointments by dialing the helpline number 1076 to facilitate seamless service delivery.

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Upon scheduling, individuals will receive an SMS detailing the necessary documents and fees required for their specific service requests. Trained personnel will then visit homes or offices at the appointed time, equipped with tablets to facilitate paperwork, collect fees, and issue receipts for application tracking. Soft copies of certificates will be sent to mobile phones, while hard copies will be delivered to their residences.

This initiative is poised to alleviate the burden on Punjabs populace, sparing them the hassle of visiting government offices and enduring long queues for essential services. Kang highlighted that this scheme is designed to eliminate intermediaries, providing citizens with direct access to crucial services.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Saturday inaugurated the state-of-the-art new annexe building of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Delhi, equipped with latest equipment of international standards at Rohini.

Speaking on the occasion, Saxena said, The new facilities in the lab will help in fast disposal of samples and strengthen the criminal justice system by increasing the conviction rates and provide speedy justice to the victims and reduce the pendency of cases.

He appreciated that the building, foundation stone of which had been laid on January, 2020 has been completed in a record time, despite the severe constraints due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The LG said the six-floor new infrastructure built in approximately 10,000 sq.mtr will help to bring more scientists and professionals to FSL, Delhi and motivate them to make it attain the distinction of international standards.

He said the excellence of FSL in reducing crimes in Delhi will help enhance the international image of the national capital, which houses diplomats, VVIPs and others.

Stressing that there is need to ensure that the Delhi is free from crimes, Saxena said in this regard FSL, Delhi and Delhi Police are working in tandem as the faster delivery of reports by FSL helps police in achieving the desired results from the courts and brings confidence in the criminal justice system to the citizens.

Delhi Home minister Kailash Gahlot was also present on the occasion.
Adani group of Industries will convert 200 Uttarakhand governments diesel run buses into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel buses as it announced to invest more than 4,400 crore in cement, gas, power and other sectors in the state.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023 on Friday in Dehradun director Adani group, Pranav Adani said to facilitate the transition to have 15 percent natural gas in Indias energy mix by 2030 we propose to convert 200 state-owned buses to environment friendly CNG buses. Thus contributing Uttarakhand to remain the way it is.

Adani informed in the cement sector we will invest in excess of 1700 crore to expand our Ambuja Cement, 300 crore to enhance our Roorkee plant. We also plan to invest 1400 crore to set up a grinding unit with the capacity of four million tons. Besides this in Kumaon region we have taken up a project with over 800 crore to install smart meters. We are also exploring the development of 1000 acres land parcel in Pantnagar with the possibilities including infrastructure for an aero city, an inland container depo, logistics, warehouses and a knowledge park said Adani adding that the Adani group is excited by the range of opportunities emerging in Uttarakhand.

As the industry leaders thanked and praised Uttarakhand government for providing investment opportunities they Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Energy announced his companys plan to invest Rs 15,000 crores. Jindal also expressed his happiness to be part of Clean Kedarnath Project started in November.

Yoga Guru and Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust head Baba Ramdev assured his companys future investments of more than Rs 10,000 crores in the state. Ramdev also praised the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for his efforts to keep investment friendly environment in the state and urged corporate houses to set up their units in the state.

R Dinesh, Chairman TVS Supply Chain Solutions reiterated his companys plan investments in the manufacturing sector and warehousing capacity to provide more than 7,000 jobs. Besides this as President of CII, Dinesh informed that confederation will set up 10 model career centers to provide counseling and support for more than 1 lakh people in the state. He also assured that Uttarakhand will be the first state to have a special multi skill development Centre with a capacity to train 10,000 people covering hospitality, health care and advanced manufacturing sectors in coming days.

Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister welcomed Industry heads and said Uttarakhand global investors summit with theme Destination Uttarakhand was inspired by Vibrant Gujarat conclaves organised by PM Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of Gujarat. It will be our endeavor to organize this summit every two years. The main objective of Destination Uttarakhand is all round development of the state by coordinating ecology and economy with green economy and employment. Dhami said that a grand Convention Center will soon be constructed in Uttarakhand similar to Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Center in Gujarat.
The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday suspended its Lok Sabha member Danish Ali for anti-party activities.

Ali was one of the members of the Ethics Committee of Parliament which had recommended expulsion of TMC member Mahua Moitra over cash-for-query allegations against her.

However, during the hearing, Ali had supported Moitra and opposed the BJP members.

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Shri Danish Ali, BSP Lok Sabha MP Amroha, Uttar Pradesh has been suspended from the party due to anti-party activities, a press release by BSP said.

However, the letter did not give any specific reason for the expulsion.
Global food giant PepsiCo has partnered with leading petrochemcial group Sabic and Mena tech ecosystem builder AstroLabs and their strategic partners for the launch of the Mega Green Accelerator, a new initiative to nurture the next generation of innovators in the region as they develop solutions to both regional and global sustainability challenges.

According to industry experts, the Middle East is warming almost two times faster than the global average, yet the support and investment for the sustainability innovation ecosystem in the region does not match this urgency.

Since 2010, less than 50 new climate technology startups have been founded in the Mena region, compared to nearly 5,000 in Europe and the US.

The Mega Green Accelerator aims to reduce this gap, foster regional collaboration and cultivate a network of Mena-based innovators addressing the most pressing sustainability challenges in the region.

The priority focus areas for the first round of the Accelerator programme include circular economy, clean energy transitions, water and agriculture, some of the most pressing issues for the Middle East.

In addition to seed funding and mentorship, the partners will provide participating entrepreneurs access to some of the most prominent business leaders in the region.

PepsiCo CEO (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) Eugene Willemsen said: "Innovators in the Mena region have incredible potential for scaling and are making important strides to develop homegrown solutions to address the unique challenges the region is facing."

"COP28 is already putting a spotlight on climate innovations coming out of the UAE and the region at large, and PepsiCo is excited to support the next generation of climate leaders through the Mega Green Accelerator. By bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and the networks and resources they need, we are committed to supporting breakthrough start-ups as they scale sustainability solutions, grow their businesses and form critical connections," he added.

In addition to PepsiCo, Sabic and AstroLabs, the Accelerator will leverage its strategic partners unique capabilities and expertise to best support participating entrepreneurs.

Investment partners Dubai Future District Fund, Venture Souq and Shurooq Partners will provide platforms for investment opportunities, mentorship in raising capital, and networking opportunities. They will also inform startup criteria and participate in the selection process to maximize investment success.

Ecosystem partners London Business School Entrepreneurship Club, Berytech, American University of Cairo Venture Lab, the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park and the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection will source applicants through their networks, amplify Accelerator information and communicate progress through their channels.

Schneider Electric will support the Accelerator as a prize partner, participating in the final selection of participants.

"Sabic is proud to join with PepsiCo and other fellow partners to provide our business expertise, mentorship, resources and platform to help the brightest minds in the region reach their full potential through the Mega Green Accelerator," said Dr Bob Maughon, Sabic Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer.

"We believe that such cross-sector partnerships are crucial in effectively tackling complex, critical issues such as climate change. In supporting this initiative, we are not just bettering local economies, but people and planet at the same time," he added.

AstroLabs CEO Roland Daher said: "Our partnership with PepsiCo and SABIC comes at an exciting time - its a strategic step in accelerating innovation within the GCC, with a strong focus on sustainability."

"With the influx of international sustainable and climate-conscious companies, the region is rising as a global testbed for innovation - we will double down on creating an environment where these businesses can scale into the local markets. Our aim is to ensure the GCC not only responds to the current demand for green solutions but also pioneers the advancement of sustainable business practices on a global scale," stated Daher.

The priority focus areas of the Mega Green Accelerator align with PepsiCos transformation strategy, pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) and the other partners' sustainability agendas, while further driving collaboration with businesses across the region to catalyze positive impact.

In the coming months, PepsiCo and partners will share additional details and application information for the Mega Green Accelerator, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested the former Dundy County Sheriff as part of an investigation into firearms missing from the sheriffs office.

An inventory conducted by the sheriffs office identified that four department-owned handguns were missing, according to a news release from the patrol. Investigators served a search warrant at the residence of Clinton Smith, 42, of Benkelman, and located one of the four missing firearms.

Smith was arrested for theft by unlawful taking and possession of a stolen firearm. He was lodged in Dundy County Jail.
Days after the party faced a drubbing in the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, the Congress on Friday held a meeting to discuss the results.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, flanked by former president Rahul Gandhi and partys general secretary in-charge of the organization KC Venugopal, convened the meeting at the party headquarters here.

Kumari Selja, who is Congress in-charge of Chhattisgarh, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, deputy chief minister TS Singhdeo, and senior party leader Ajay Maken were among others who attended the meeting.

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Today, a review meeting was held on the election results of Chhattisgarh at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, the party said after the meeting.

The Congress, which fought the recent Assembly elections under the leadership of Baghel and was confident of retaining power in the mineral-rich state, bagged only 35 out of the total 90 seats.

The BJP, which campaigned extensively, uprooted the Baghel-led Congress government with an overwhelming majority. The saffron party bagged 54 Assembly seats.

Voting for the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly was held in two phases on November 7 and 17.

Out of the Assembly polls in five states  Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram  the Congress swept the polls only in Telangana. The grand old party won 64 out of the 119 seats in the southern state.
As BJP mounted its attack on the Congress after Income Tax raids unearthed nearly Rs 300 crore cash from the premises linked to its Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu, the grand old party has distanced itself from the businesses of its parliamentarian.

Reacting to the ongoing IT raids, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh today said that Sahu should explain how such huge amounts of cash was found from his properties.

The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties, the Congress general secretary said.

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The Income Tax raids at Sahus premises, which began on Wednesday, have reportedly unearthed cash worth over Rs 200 crore and the counting of notes was still underway. Some media reports claimed that so far notes worth Rs 290 crore have been counted and it will take another day or two to complete the counting.

Pictures of the cash-filled almirahs reportedly found at the Congress MPs residence were also posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that its his guarantee that every penny will have to be returned to public.

The raids are underway in three states  Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The IT raids are being conducted in connection with an Odisha-based distillery group which is linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. His son is the director of the company.

Dhiraj Sahu is a Congress MP in Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. He is an MP since 2010. Sahus brother Uday Shankar Prasad is the chairman of Boudh Distillery Private Limited, a multi-state liquor firm under IT radar.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday stressed that the differently-abled must not be considered objects of sympathy and that they deserve recognition for their wealth of knowledge, aptitude, inclination and expertise.

He emphasised the need to create an eco-system whereby the talent of disabled people can be leveraged.

Referring to the example of Albert Einstein who suffered from dyslexia, Dhankhar highlighted that the perception of disabilities often hinges on what is visible. However, true disability encompasses more than just what meets the eye, he said, and extends to the realms of mental, spiritual, and emotional challenges.

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The vice president called for addressing all forms of disabilities and structuring suitable solutions for the same.

Addressing the tenth National Conference on Disability in Gurugram, he highlighted the shift in perspective that has taken place in societal notions which once deemed women incapable of difficult tasks.

Noting that the ceiling has been broken with women taking leading roles across diverse spheres, the vice president called for a similar shift in perception toward individuals labelled as disabled. They are not disabled; we take them to be disabled, he pointed out.

Those who outwardly appear physically able may harbour some form of disability, whether visible or hidden, and nobody is truly complete, he added.

Cautioning against the recent trend of merely putting something in somebodys pocket, he underlined the risk of fostering dependency rather than empowerment. Stressing the need to prioritise empowerment, especially amongst the vulnerable sections, including the disabled, women, and minorities, he urged major corporate entities to direct their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds towards empowering these sections of society.

Stressing that Indias ethos & G-20 motto of VasudhaivaKutumbakam is now a ground reality, the vice president stated that there has been a shift in the worlds perspective towards India. He called for a departure from solely looking towards the West for solutions, noting that now the West seeks insights from India.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader Dasoju Sravan informed on Thursday that former Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Raos hip replacement surgery went successful and that he is likely to be discharged from the hospital in the next 2 to 3 days.

Former CM of Telangana and BRS party national leader KCRs hip replacement surgery is successful. Almost in about 1 and a half hours, the doctors performed the most critical surgery. As for the reports of the doctors, the surgery was very successful, Sravan told ANI in Hyderabad.

He further exuded hope in the party chiefs speedy recovery.

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Theyre very confident that in about 2 to 3 days, he will be discharged and because of the blessings of the 4 crore population of Telangana, and also the almighty blessings, his operation is successful. We are hopeful that within about 6 to 8 weeks and will be back in action in the service of Telangana, in the service of the people of Telangana, the BRS leader added.

A statement issued by Yasodha Hospital, where the BRS chief was admitted earlier on Thursday, said that the former CM fell in his bathroom and sustained a left hip fracture, which will need replacement.

Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao Garu had a slip and fall in his bathroom at his residence and was subsequently brought to Yashoda Hospital for further care. On evaluation, including CT scans, he was found to have a left hip fracture [Extracapsular Neck of femur fracture). He would require left hip replacement for the same and the usual course of recovery for such cases is expected to be six to eight weeks, the hospital said in a statement.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has sought a report on a petition seeking Presidential imposition of a financial emergency in the state under Article 360(1) of the Constitution, in view of the acute financial crisis being faced by the state.

Social activist RS Sasikumar, in his petition to the Governor, had sought the Presidents intervention to save Kerala from irredeemable financial instability precipitated by the state governments reckless borrowing, lax tax administration, and unpardonable profligacy.

Sasikumar pointed out that the financial position of the state as of now is precarious and beyond redemption as the state has exceeded its borrowing power.

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The payments are due to government contractors, the state-owned SUPPLYCO which does market intervention, college and university teachers as UGC pay revision arrears, DA arrears to state government employees, and the state-owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation employees, the petition says.

The state of Kerala is going through this grave fiscal crisis because of the extravaganza of the ministers and complete lack of planning. Inefficient fiscal management and utter failure in revenue mobilization emptied the state treasury, said Sasikumar in his petition.

Unless remedial measures are taken, the future of the State will suffer which cannot be remedied through short-visioned schemes. If it is allowed to continue, redemption may not be possible. As such, Your Excellency is requested to recommend a proclamation as provided under Article 360(1) of the Constitution of India, in the larger interest of the people of the state, the petition said.

Any delay in making a declaration under Article 360(1) of the Constitution is likely to lead to a situation where the helpless common man will be led to committing crimes even for their survival. As such, your Excellency has a constitutional obligation to safeguard the interest of the citizens by making appropriate recommendations to the President of India, Sasikumars petition said.

The Governors move to seek an explanation from the government on the petition from Sasikumar has put the LDF government in a fix. Since the Governor has sought an explanation from the chief secretary, it is clear that he is considering the matter seriously.

The petition seeking the financial emergency in the state and the Governors action in seeking a report on it from the government came at a time when the political wrangling over Keralas finances has reached its peak. The Congress and the BJP have held the government responsible for the states acute financial crisis.

Although it may be argued that certain Central policies are the reason for the current economic crisis in the state, the affidavit filed by the chief secretary in the Kerala High Court shows the gravity of the financial crisis that the state is facing now. This also makes it difficult to convince the Governor that there is no need to declare a financial emergency in the state.

Kerala Chief Secretary V Venu last month candidly submitted to the Kerala High Court that the state government is going through a severe financial crisis and finding it difficult to garner resources for day-to-day affairs. The Chief Secretary made the statement when a contempt of court petition filed by retired KSRTC pensioners for not implementing the court directive to pay pensions in time came up for hearing.

In the recent past, no Governor in the country has made such a move. Realising the danger this could bring, the CPI-M has come forward with a political defence.

The government has also countered the move by accusing the Central government of imposing a politically motivated financial embargo on Kerala to choke the states development.

CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan on Friday took strong exception to Mr. Khans alleged bid to hold the state to ransom by threatening to misuse his power to advocate for the declaration of a State of financial emergency in Kerala.

MV Govindan accused Governor Khan of threatening to employ a rarely used constitutional provision to give political cover to the Centre, which he accused of attempting to run Kerala to financial ruin.

He said the Centre had withheld Keralas GST compensation and whittled Keralas share of the revenue deficit grant. It slashed the states allocation from the divisive pool. The BJP government hauled down Keralas borrowing limit to stymie the states development, he added

The CPI-M state secretary said his party would muster people to resist Governor Khans alleged trespasses on fiscal federalism. He also said the CPI-M would marshal students, teachers, and parents to resist the Governors attempt to stack state-funded university senates with Sangh Parivar nominees.
BJP State President Dr Rajiv Bindal on Saturday said that so far more than Rs 210 crore has been seized in the Income Tax Department raids in Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal on the premises of the business group associated with Congress MP from Jharkhand Dheeraj Sahu.

He added that currently, the counting of recovered money was going on. In such a situation, the seized amount may increase further.

This raid is estimated to be the largest amount of cash seized legally in the country. The number of seized notes was so high that even the machines called to count them broke down. The operation was kept so secret that the people involved in the raid did not know where to go. Prima facie evidence points to off-the-books sales, fraudulent purchases, and imaginary expenses. Now it will be investigated in detail, he said.

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He added that eight bank lockers belonging to Dheeraj Sahus business group have been found in Ranchi, which have been frozen. Imaging of digital devices is in progress. The evidence collected from digital devices and documents is being further investigated and verified. The process is expected to uncover evidence of assets and unaccounted transactions, he said.

What was the reason that the Congress made Dheeraj Sahu, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from Chatra twice, as a Rajya Sabha MP for the third time? Dheeraj Sahu has been a Rajya Sabha MP since 2010. Congress, corruption, and cash have become synonyms of each other. Sahu is very close to Rahul Gandhi. He was also with him in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

He added: Despite finding more than Rs 210 crore in cash, top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge are maintaining silence on this. Why after all? Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modis guarantee.

He said that on one side there is an arrogant alliance where there is a guarantee of corruption, commission taking, plunder, and brokerage, and on the other side there is the guarantee of respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji who is committed to rooting out corruption.

If a Congress MP is caught with cash worth Rs 200 crore, then how much cash will all the other Congress MPs have? According to this, the Gandhi family is the most corrupt in the world. Rahul Gandhi ji, how many such artists are there in Congress?

As soon as the investigating agencies do their work, all the corrupt leaders unite and start accusing the investigating agencies, he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and participated in a cleanliness drive at Juhu Beach.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Chief Minister on Thursday inspected the paddy crop damaged due to unseasonal rain at Tarsa in Nagpur district.

CM Shinde was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde.

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Besides Mauda taluka, large-scale damage has also been reported in Ramtek Parshivani taluka. In Nagpur district, around 124 villages have been affected by rain, 852 hectares of crops have been damaged.

Earlier on November 27, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule urged the Maharashtra government to help the farmers after unseasonal rains damaged crops across the state.

Maharashtra is standing at a difficult turn. A lot of damage has been caused by untimely rains. Everyone should start to work with sensitivity for the state and farmers I want to request the Maharashtra government to immediately call a team from Delhi, and all of this should be inspected, Sule said.

The central government should soon give more funds to Maharashtra. Wherever farmers have suffered losses, loans should be waived off. I and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) will present this issue in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, she added.

Heavy rains on Sunday damaged crops, including grapes, onions, tomatoes, sugarcane, and leafy vegetables in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi has denied signing any document related to declaring Gaza-based Palestinian outfit Hamas a terrorist organisation in India.

Her response came after a picture of a purported document declaring Hamas as a terrorist organisation was shared by journalists and users on social media.

In the purported document, an unstarred question was asked by Congress MP K Sudhakaran on Friday whether the Government of India was planning to declare Hamas as a terrorist organisation and if Israel has raised any such demand before it.

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The answer attributed to Lekhi read, Designation of an organisation as terrorist is covered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and declaring any organisation as terrorist is considered as per the provisions of the Act by the relevant government departments.

When a journalist shared this document on X and tagged the minister, she denied signing any paper with the question on Hamas declaration of a terrorist organisation in India.

I have not signed any paper with this question and this answer, Lekhi said.

However, the official website of the Parliament also carried the document and when Lekhi was quizzed further, she said an inquiry will find the culprit.

Israel, Indias all-weather strategic ally, is fighting a war against Hamas in the Gaza strip following the Palestinian militant outfits brutal October 7 attack.

India also has strong strategic ties with Arab countries and New Delhi supports the right of Palestinians to self-determination. It has adopted a nuanced approach on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

While India has condemned Hamas October 7 attack on Israel, it has also asked for adherence to international humanitarian law and restoration of peace.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday extended their warm wishes to Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on her birthday. They wished her a long and healthy life.

Taking to X, the Prime Minister wrote,

Best wishes to Sonia Gandhi Ji on her birthday. May she be blessed with a long and healthy life.

Extending his wishes, Kejriwal, who is also the national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a social media post wrote, Birthday greetings to Sonia Gandhi ji. Wishing her good health and a long life.

Greetings to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi ji on her birthday, Kharge wrote on X. Lauding Gandhi, the Congress chief called here a relentless advocate of the rights of the marginalised as she has been a symbol of utmost grace while battling adversity with courage, grit and selfless sacrifice. Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, wished her a long and healthy life. Congress general secretary in-charge of Organisation KC Venugopal also took to the micro blogging site and extended his best wishes to the CPP chairperson. Venugopal said her commitment to public service and the upliftment of the poor and marginalised sections of society have won a billion hearts and added that her life journey is an inspiration for us all. She steered the Congress through an extremely challenging period with great poise and was the architect of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government that delivered welfare for all and exponential growth for the country, he said.
As suspense over BJPs appointment of Chief Minister for Madhya Pradesh after assembly elections victory continues, Shivaraj Singh Chouhans Ram Ram post has sparked off speculations.

The post from X account of Chouhans office read  Sabhi ko Ram Ram (Ram Ram to all) and accompanied a picture of him with folding hands.

Ram Ram is used for both as a greeting as well as a parting message and that is the reason the post has intrigued his supporters and rivals alike.

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While some are speculating it is the beginning of his new tenure, the others took it as a parting message amid rumours that the BJP may pick a new face for the CM post.

However, Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma said that a decision on the Chief Minister will be taken by top leadership and his Ram Ram post is merely a way of greeting.

The three (central) observers will arrive here (Bhopal) on Monday morning. The MLAs will meet at 4 pm to elect their leader. Invitations have been sent to the MLAs. The process of the party would be followed and a decision will be taken, Sharma told reporters.

When asked about Chouhans post, he added, This is (Lord) Rams country. On January 22, a grand idol of Lord Ram will be consecrated at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. We greet each other in the morning by saying Ram, Ram. It is our culture to start the day with the name of Ram.

Sharma further added that the BJP was a cadre-based organisation and the party workers will accept and respect any decision taken by the leadership.
OMAHA  For nearly a decade, the Nebraska Center for Justice Research has examined how the state spends millions annually on programs that aim to help prisoners integrate back into society.

A focus has been tracking groups that together receive about $3.5 million a year to deliver reentry services. The center analyzes participation, recidivism  quantitative things, the numbers, said director Ryan Spohn.

But in its latest project, the legislatively funded center stepped away from the digits to offer a different spin.

Spohns team went to employers for first-hand accounts of what is or isnt working in the states efforts to transition individuals from a stint behind bars into the labor force.

Its an inside take Spohn has long sought, and its as relevant a topic as ever with Nebraska facing a nagging workforce shortage.

If we want these individuals to be gainfully employed, we have to have employers, he said. What are the successes theyre seeing? What are the challenges and barriers employers experience in hiring justice-involved individuals in Nebraska?

Moving the goalposts

The resulting 26-page report  to be shared with state lawmakers, the Department of Correctional Services and others  relays employer perspectives and recommends ways to boost employment prospects for soon-to-be or recently released prisoners.

Report recommendations Among report recommendations to ease hiring and retention of justice-involved individuals: Promote tax benefits for employers willing to hire formerly incarcerated individuals. Both Nebraska and the federal government provide such tax incentives, but only two of the 18 employers interviewed said they tapped them. Most said they were not aware any existed.

Allow people to save more money by working while incarcerated to prepare for expenses theyll have upon release.

Ensure that newly released inmates have housing and transportation.

One manufacturing supervisor, for instance, groused about how he really liked and wanted to hire an applicant, but the state case manager kept moving the goalposts.

When I submitted (initial paperwork) hes like, Oh, I talked to this department. We also need that. Okay, the supervisor said. And then I submitted that and hes like, Oh  we actually need the increased version of that. And Im like, damn.

Among other barriers cited by employers: drug tests that conflict with work hours; difficult communication and collaboration with work release centers; inmate skill deficits; obtrusive worksite checks by state officials.

Janee Pannkuk, a state corrections official who oversees reentry services provided through Vocational and Life Skills grants, didnt dispute any particular concern raised in the report.

She said state corrections officials already are working on some of the challenges identified, including beefing up communication and email capability between employers and job candidates at work release centers.

She said the departments 2023-24 strategic plan outlines ways to gain more input in general from the public and formerly incarcerated.

To me it was affirming we are on the right track, said Pannkuk.

Theyll work a lot of hours

Employer perspectives reflected in the report were gathered during interviews last year with representatives of 18 businesses of various sizes and industries.

Theyre part of an ongoing evaluation of the state Vocational and Life Skills program, which lawmakers created in 2014 to better prepare inmates for a productive return to their communities.

So far, the report said, nearly 10,000 men and women have received vocational training, educational credits and other support through VLS grants to entities such as Rise, Associated Builders and Contractors and Metropolitan Community College.

About 75% of VLS services are delivered in correctional facilities and 25% in communities to people within 18 months of release from prison.

Overall, employers who participated in the study touted benefits of hiring from that incarcerated or recently released population  including that they filled staffing gaps in a tough labor market.

The report noted that at the start of 2023, 73,000 Nebraska jobs were available with only 28,000 unemployed individuals in the state to fill them.

An oft-repeated remark by managers, according to the report, was that justice-involved employees were among their best workers.

Theyll work a lot of hours, said a supervisor in the food services industry. I think sometimes they have a lot to prove.

A human resources manager of 140 employees told the researchers that Nebraskas unemployment rate, one of the lowest in the nation, should push employers to think about the unconventional.

We really have to start tapping into resources that we might not have thought of before, the manager said.

Positive strides

According to the report, 77% of the employers interviewed pointed out institutional barriers, or procedures within the justice system, that can limit their ability to employ justice-involved individuals. But employers also noted positive strides by the Corrections Department and VLS to prepare inmates with marketable skills.

Many said they were more confident hiring inmates who completed a VLS program. Researchers noted that most inmates arrive at worksites with OSHA certification.

Pannkuk said the state provides other key documents, such as a birth certificate, prior to release. More recently, she said, the state has arranged for testing for drivers licenses.

A common refrain among employers, according to the report, was trouble communicating with local work release centers. Some supervisors said it took several calls to schedule interviews for potential hires.

Some said they arent informed of disciplinary actions that might prevent an inmate from showing up to the job site. They said the person might explain later that their housing unit was under investigation or that they had lost a work privilege. Whether this is true or not is often never known by the employer, the report said.

Said Spohn, There are rules in our work release facilities that are just constantly in conflict with what employers need to do to get people onboarded and keep them employed. We need to figure out what those things are.

Other employers suggest that legislators revisit certain laws, including those that restrict certain offenders from selling alcohol in the convenience store industry.

An unexpected recommendation from more than one employer, researchers said, was for the state to ensure that every person released had a mattress and pillow that provided enough back and neck support for employees to work without avoidable pain.

Spohn, whose team is housed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, expects the report to be discussed during community forums. He said the Nebraska Center for Justice Research hopes it spurs more job connections.

According to the state, about 2,700 people are discharged from the Department of Correctional Services per year.

If we can have people safely in the community and gainfully employed, thats better than us paying to have them incarcerated, Spohn said. But that requires an employer.
The funeral procession carrying the body of the late CPI Kerala secretary Kanam Rajendran, who passed away on Friday following a sudden cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Kochi, left its journey from the partys state office PS Memorial in Thiruvananthapuram to his hometown in Vazhoor, Kottayam, on Saturday evening.

Thousands paid homage to Kanam Rajendran as the hearse carrying his mortal remains began its journey from the partys state office PS memorial to his hometown in Vazhoor, Kottayam. In Thiruvananthapuram, his body was kept for public homage at PS Smarakam, the CPI headquarters at Pattom. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, CPI leaders Prakash Babu, Pannyan Ravindran, Pannian Ravindran, Ministers K Rajan, GR Anil, Chinchurani, P Prasad and Deputy Speaker Chittayam Gopakumar paid tribute to the late leader.

The mortal remains of the veteran leader arrived in Thiruvananthapuram from Kochi on Saturday morning.

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Kanam Rajendran passed away on Friday following a sudden cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Kochi where he was undergoing treatment for some time. He was 73.

He was admitted to the hospital on October 25 with multiple ailments, including an unhealed wound on his leg. Since then his left foot had to be amputated owing to infection after the wound remained unhealed due to diabetes. He was on a recovery path when he suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday evening following which he was rushed into the critical care unit. He was declared dead at 5.30 pm.

The cremation will be held on Sunday at 11 am at Vazhur, Kottayam. The Chief Minister and ministers are expected to attend the funeral ceremony.

A trade unionist to the core, Kanam Rajendran, was a Left leader who took pride in the fact that his rise within the ranks of the party was because he led workers protests. During the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, Kanam Rajendran was the lone dissenting voice within the Left. Openly rebellious, Kanam was able to keep the Left moral fabric intact, thereby ensuring the much-needed checks and balances within the Left.

True to expectations, he openly questioned the government on issues such as Maoist killings, UAPA charges against students, Lok Ayukta ordinance, and reluctance to issue RTI information on cabinet decisions. When Thomas Chandy faced corruption charges, he even went to the extent of directing party ministers to boycott the cabinet meeting.
Argentinas President-elect, Javier Milei, finds himself negotiating a diplomatic tight-rope as he prepares to assume office on Sunday, juggling the delicate balance between campaign rhetoric and economic pragmatism, particularly concerning China. During a fiery campaign for the November 19 Presidential electi- on, Mr Milei, a libertarian economist, didnt mince words when it came to his opinions on communist-run China. However, the post-election landscape has forced a recal- ibration in tone, reflecting the intricate dance Argentina must perform with its second-largest trade partner. As the spectre of recession looms and foreign currency reserves dwindle, the pragmatic reality of dependence on China becomes unavoidable. The crux of the matter lies in Argentinas economic interdependence with China across various sectors. China stands as the primary buyer of Argentine soybean and beef, a key investor in the nations lithium sector, and provider of an $18 billion currency swap that has been instrumental in prevent- ing a default. Mr Mileis recent diplomatic overtures sug- gest an acknowledgment of the intricate web of ties that bind the two nations, marking a departure from the cam- paigns confrontational stance. One of the significant challenges lies in the numerous mega-projects under Chinese financing, including hydropower dams and infrastructure developments. These projects, while vital for Argentinas economic growth, now face uncertainty with a change in leadership. The incoming governments commitment to reviewing state-to-state deals raises questions about the fate of on-going initiatives. Chinese- made turbines destined for a hydropower dam project in Santa Cruz could be delayed, exemplifying the potential hurdles ahead. The question that arises is whether Mr Mileis administration can strike a balance between eco- nomic necessity and diplomatic assertiveness. The incoming foreign ministers recent statements hint at a nuanced approach. While pledging a review of secret state-to-state deals, she assures that Argentina wont sever ties with China. Instead, theres a commitment to bolster private trade ~ an astute recognition that the pri- vate sector plays a pivotal role in forging economic rela- tionships. However, challenges loom on the horizon. Mega-projects involving hydroelectric and nuclear power, vital for Argentinas energy landscape, demand stable state-to-state relations. Mr Mileis public critic- ism of China during the campaign raises concerns about the fate of these ventures. The complexity of diplomatic ties is underscored by the potential impact on existing contracts and the risk of strained relations affecting on- going projects. Moreover, Chinas extensive involvement in Argentinas agricultural sector, particularly soybean and grain exports, adds another layer of intricacy. Str- iking a balance between addressing trade deficits and maintaining a positive surplus becomes imperative for Argentina. This requires finesse in negotiations to ensure that economic necessities dont compromise national interests. As the world watches this unfolding diplomat- ic saga, one cannot ignore the broader implications for global trade dynamics. Argentinas pivot towards a more pragmatic stance with China reflects the intricate dance many nations perform in the face of economic realities. It underscores the fine line governments tread between campaign rhetoric and the exigencies of governance, particularly in an interconnected global economy.

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Shortly after the opening cere- mony of the 2023 United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai, delegates of nations around the world rose in a standing ovation to celebrate a long-awaited agreement to launch a loss and dam- age fund to help vulnerable countries recover from climate-related disasters.

But the applause might not yet be warranted. The deal itself leaves much undecided and has been met with criticism by climate justice advocates and front-line communities.

I teach global environmental pol- itics and climate justice and have been attending and observing these negotiations for over a decade to fol- low the demands for just climate solu- tions, including loss and damage compensation for countries that have done the least to cause climate change.

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Breakthrough was the term often used to describe the decision at 2022s COP27 climate conference to finally construct a loss and damage fund. Many countries rejoiced at this long-delayed agreement  it came 31 years after Vanuatu, a small archi- pelago in the Pacific, first proposed compensation for loss and damage for climate-caused sea level rise in earlier negotiations.

The agreement was only a frame- work, however. Most of the details were left to a transitional committee that met throughout 2023 to forward recommendations on this new fund to COP28. A United Nations report outlined at the committees second meeting found that funding from wealthy nations to help poorer coun- tries adapt to the ravages of climate change grew by 65 per cent from 2019 to 2020, to $US49 billion. Thats still far below the $160 billion to $340 bil- lion the U.N. estimates will be needed annually by 2030.

As the meetings went on, devel- oping nations, long wary of tradition- al financial institutions use of inter- est-bearing loans, which have left many low-income countries mired in debt, proposed that the fund be inde- pendent. Developed nations, however, insisted the fund be hosted under the World Bank and held up the recom- mendations until right before COP28.

While any deal on funding for cli- mate disaster damages was sure to be portrayed as a historic win, further investigation suggests that it should be welcomed with hesitation and scrutiny.

First, the fund contains no specifics on scale, financial targets or how it will be funded. Instead, the decision merely invites developed nations to take the lead in provid- ing finance and support and encour- ages commitments from other parties. It also fails to detail which countries will be eligible to receive funding and vaguely states it would be for eco- nomic and non-economic loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events.

So far, pledges have been under- whelming.

Calculations of early commit- ments total just over US$650 million, with Germany and the United Arab Emirates pledging $100 million and the U.K. committing $75 million. The United States, one of the largest cli- mate change contributors, pledged only $17.5 million in comparison. Its a shockingly low starting point.

Also, any notion that this fund represents liability or compensation by developed countries  a major concern for countries with long his- tories of carbon pollution  was removed entirely. It in fact notes that loss and damage response is based on cooperation instead.

In a rare win for the developing world, funds were made available  even at subnational and community levels  to all nations, though with yet-undetermined performance indi- cators.

Additional concern has been raised about the funds interim host  the World Bank. In fact, deciding on a host institution was one of the stick- ing points that nearly derailed earlier talks. On one side, the United States and other developed nations insisted the fund be hosted by the World Bank, which has always been led by an American and has historically spread pro-Western policies.

Developing countries, however, resisted the World Banks involvement based on their historical experiences with its lending and structural adjustment programs and noting the banks role for years in financing oil and gas exploration as cornerstones of development efforts.

Following a stalemate and U.S. attempts to block a consensus, a com- promise was reached to host the fund under the World Bank for four years, with guardrails to ensure its inde- pendence and impact. After this win- dow, the host structure will be reviewed, leading to either a fully independent fund or continuation under the World Bank. The concern for critics with this route is that the compromise risks ending up as a permanent hosting sit- uation.

And there are more issues, such as the fund boards composition, which only allows for national repre- sentatives, not civil society represen- tatives such as from Indigenous groups, as developing countries requested. The scope of funding that will be allowed is also still up in the air. In the funds vague state, it opens the door for countries, as part of their loss and damage funding commit- ments, to count private loans, condi- tional import credits and even fund- ing from the fossil fuel industry at the same time the industry continues to fuel climate damage.

To date, the international climate community does not have a solid track record when it comes to climate finance promises. Each successive fund  from the Green Climate Fund that supports green projects in the developing world to the Adaptation Fund that builds climate resilience for the most vulnerable nations  has been woefully undersourced from inception. In 2021, the entire climate finance ecosystem, from national commitments to private investment, totaled $850 billion. Experts indicate that this sum needs to be closer to $4.3 trillion. That target represents 20 per cent year-over-year growth until the end of this decade  a significant ramp up from recent years. From 2011 to 2020, total climate finance grew at just 7 per cent annual- ly.

If this trend continues, not only will developing and most vulnerable countries lose faith in this process, but the very need for loss and damage funding will only grow. The new fund board is mandat- ed to hold its first meeting by 31 Janu- ary 2024.

While this early start time is laudable, droughts will continue killing crops, and storms will continue flooding homes while the new fund engages in another series of meetings to determine who will qualify, how they can apply and how and when funds will actually be dispersed.

(The writer is Associate Professor of International Relations and Environmental Studies, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Researcher Will Erens, a student at the University of Southern California, contributed to this article, which was published on www.theconversation.com)
The recent joint statement from Russia and Saudi Arabia resonates as a crucial thread, weaving thro- ugh the intricate dynamics of oil markets and inte- rnational relations. The call for all OPEC+ members to join forces in implementing output cuts reflects not only economic considerations but also unveils the geopolitic- al chessboard where these two oil giants play a strategic game. At the heart of the matter is the quest for stability in global oil markets. The joint statement, emerging from a hastily arranged meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, underscores their commitment to cooperation within the OPEC+ framework. The voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, demonstrate a shared interest in bolstering oil prices for the economic well-being of both nations. The choice of words in the statement is noteworthy. While the Russian version uses join, the English tra- nslation opts for adhere. This subtle difference may be an attempt to send a clear message to OPEC+ members who have either not made significant cuts or resisted them altogether. It reflects a coordinated effort to rally the oil-producing nations towards a common goal, sho- wcasing the importance of unity in navigating the chall- enges posed by fluctuating oil prices. A conspicuous ab- sence from the cuts is Iran, a country grappling with long-standing US sanctions. The joint statements emph- asis on joining or adhering to the agreement could be interpreted as a diplomatic move to bring Iran back into the fold. However, given Irans ambitions to boost pro- duction in the face of sanctions, achieving a consensus within OPEC+ may prove challenging. The geopolitical dimensions extend beyond the economic realm. The meeting between Mr Putin and Prince Salman touched upon various conflicts and global issues, ranging from Gaza and Ukraine to Yemen and the Iran nuclear pro- gramme. The discussions highlight the interconnect- edness of energy policies and geopolitical strategies, as these nations with significant oil influence wield their power not just at the bargaining table but also in shapin- g the broader geopolitical landscape. The mystery surro- unding Mr Putins overseas trip, escorted by fighter jets, adds an air of intrigue. While the joint statement sheds light on discussions about crises in different parts of the world, the nature of the particular issue that prompted Mr Putins visit remains undisclosed. This secrecy fuels speculation and underscores the delicate nature of inter- national relations, where certain matters are best left veiled in ambiguity. The agreement on output cuts, while pivotal for stabilising oil markets, also serves as a ba- ckdrop for the broader narrative of Russias strategic mo- ves. Mr Putin, engaged in what he perceives as an ex- istential battle with the West, seeks alliances across West Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The rendezvous with Prince Salman symbolises the pursuit of such pa- rtnerships amid Western attempts to isolate Moscow.

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Reiterating his stance against illegal immigration in the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the new laws are the toughest anti-illegal migration law ever and now foreign courts cant stop the Rwanda plan from taking place.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Rishi Sunak stated, This week weve taken the tough decisions to secure our borders. Immigration is too high. Illegal migration must end.

Our new bill is the toughest anti-illegal immigration law ever introduced. It will ensure it is Parliament that controls who comes to this country, not criminal gangs or foreign courts, he stated.

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Sunak said that even though he is the son of migrants, his parents had entered the UK legally and criminal gangs cant exploit the vulnerable.

As the child of immigrants, I understand why people want to come to the UK. But my parents came here legally. We cannot have criminal gangs exploiting the vulnerable. This week I announced the toughest anti-illegal immigration law ever to finally stop the boats, he stated.

The UK PM further said that the government is ending the legal merry-go-round that has blocked the Rwanda policy.

Were ending the legal merry-go-round that has stopped our Rwanda policy from running to date. On Tuesday we signed a new treaty that guarantees Rwanda is safe. Our deal makes that clear. I will do whatever it takes to fulfil my pledge to stop the boats, Sunak added.

He added, I will not allow a foreign court to block these flights. I will do whatever is necessary to get flights of.

Sunak claimed that the UK governments actions are expected to cut the migration numbers by around 3,00,000.

We started the week taking action to bring down net migration. Our plans are expected to deliver our biggest-ever reduction  cutting numbers by around 300,000. Migration will always benefit the UK, but we must end the abuse of our system and reach a sustainable level, the UK PM stated.

Sunak in his post, stated that several measures being used by illegal migrants have been blocked; claiming asylum, abuse of modern slavery rules, claims that Rwanda isnt safe, risk of being sent to another country, and human rights claims.

He also highlighted that the new law bans overseas students from bringing their families to the UK (unless they are on postgraduate research degrees), stops immigration from undercutting British workers and scraps the 20 per cent going rate salary discounts offered for shortage occupations.

The UK government passed a new emergency law after the countrys Supreme Court last month blocked the Rwanda plan, terming it unlawful.

The controversial aims to relocate people identified as illegal immigrants or asylum seekers to Rwanda in a five-year immigration policy.

Notably, the Sunak-led Conservative government is struggling over the issue of the deportation of illegal migrants ahead of polls next year.

Last month, Sunak sacked former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, considered one of the staunchest advocates of the Rwanda plan, over her controversial remarks. She later accused Sunak of not being aggressive enough on the issue.

Earlier on Wednesday, UK Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick also resigned from his position over Sunaks stance on the Rwanda plan claiming that it doesnt do enough.
LITCHFIELD  A Louisiana resident was found dead at the scene of a two-vehicle crash in Litchfield, a town 40 minutes outside of Kearney, on Wednesday.

According to a press release from the Sherman County Sheriff's Office, a U-Haul truck traveling westbound collided with an eastbound Chevy Silverado on Nebraska 2 at 12:23 a.m.

Christian Marquez Taylor, 19, who was a passenger of the U-Haul, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other two occupants of the U-Haul and the driver of the Silverado were transported to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.

The investigation by the sheriff's office and the Nebraska State Patrol is ongoing.

These are the highways in Nebraska with the most fatalities. These are the highways in Nebraska with the most fatalities.
Will it be Shivraj Singh Chouhan or Narendra Singh Tomar in Madhya Pradesh? Could it be Prahlad Singh Patel or even Jyotiraditya Scindia? Will Raman Singh be back in Chhattisgarh or Arun Sao will get the top post? Renuka Singh or may be O. P. Chaudhary?

After historic wins in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the suspense on the names of new BJP chief ministers for both the states is likely to be over soon. A week after the results; the meetings of the newly elected legislative parties for Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have been convened for December 10 and 11 respectively in the presence of central observers appointed by the party.

The Chhattisgarh BJP legislative party will meet at noon on Sunday at the Raipur BJP office in presence of observers  central ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbanand Sonowal and party national general secretary Dushyant Gautam. Party state election in-charge Om Mathur and co-in-charges Mansukh Mandaviya and Nitin Nabin would also be present at the meeting, a state BJP communique said.

Meanwhile, BJP sources confirmed that the Madhya Pradesh legislative party meeting will be held at 4 pm on December 11 at Bhopal. Central observers  Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC morcha national president K. Laxman and national secretary Asha Lakda, who is a tribal leader, will be present along with state BJP in-charges.

Long drawn suspense on CMs

Despite huge wins, the BJP is taking its time in naming new CMs in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The party took six days to appoint central observers  a key step in the selection process of CMs, though the formal action is to be taken by the legislative parties  meaning the group of newly elected MLAs.

As the CM selection process lingered for the week, media, political watchers and even common people had field day making speculations on the names. Despite it being well known that the final decision on selection for CM posts rests with the very top leadership of the BJP; a lot of assumptions were made.

For Madhya Pradesh  the top runners for the post remained the incumbent CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel who recently resigned from their membership of parliament and union ministry portfolios after being elected to state assembly, union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, state BJP president V.D. Sharma as well as national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

The fact that for the last two decades, the BJP never took this long a time to name the new CM after winning a majority in the house, gave the speculators more fuel.

In Chhattisgarh, the contenders for top post include ex-CM Raman Singh, state president Arun Sao, tribal leaders Renuka Singh (who resigned union ministry portfolio) and Ramvichar Netam and bureaucrat turned politician O.P. Chaudhary. There were a lot of talks that the BJP leadership might go for a tribal CM this time, but then the rumours died down. The name of senior leader and Maharashtra governor Ramesh Bais was also discussed in the process.

With the legislative party meetings scheduled now, the time for speculation will soon be over and the central Indian states will get their new CMs.
The tradition continues when University of Nebraska-Lincoln Opera presents two performances of the holiday classic Amahl and the Night Visitors today, Dec. 9.

Performances are at 1:30 and 3 p.m. in the Studio Theatre on the first floor of the Temple Building at 12th and R streets on UNLs city campus. Admission is free and open to the public.

Amahl and the Night Visitors tells the story of three mysterious kings who arrive at the home of a poor mother and her son. Its a heartwarming story of kindness, generosity and miracles for the entire family.

Commissioned for television broadcast in 1951, Gian Carlo Menottis opera was a great success, and for years, the opera was televised on Christmas Eve, said William Shomos, the Richard H. Larson Distinguished Professor of Music and Director of Opera in the Glenn Korff School of Music. Although the story of the opera involves the journey of the Three Wise Men, its message transcends religious boundaries with its message of the true spirit of giving.
A BJP leader was killed by Maoists in Narayanpur of insurgency-hit Bastar division on Saturday. This was eighth such murder of persons associated with the BJP this year; the party recorded a huge victory in the recently concluded assembly polls in the state.

Narayanpur police said in a statement that Komal Manjhi, a resident of Mundatikra under the Chhotedongar police station, was killed by unidentified Maoists while the deceased was returning home from Sheetla Mata Temple. Manjhi was reportedly waylaid by a group of half dozen Maoists in civilian clothes, about 2kms from the police station at around 11am on Saturday. He was taken to the forest and his throat was slit by the assailants, police said. His body was then thrown near the village along with a leaflet that accused Manjhi of illegal brokering in Amdai mines dealings. The leaflet, signed Communist Party of India (Maoist), also warned others against engaging in similar corruption.

The Narayanpur police said searches are being conducted along with ITBP forces in the nearby area.

Sources said that security was offered to Manjhi before and during the polls, but he had refused to accept it. He also refused to shift to a safe house with his family. About two dozen BJP leaders in Bastar were given security during the polls.

This year, Maoists have killed at least eight persons related to BJP. Ratan Dubey, Narayanpur district vice-president and district panchayat member, was killed during campaign in the Jhara police station area on November 4, just four days before the first phase of polling in the state. Before that, on October 20, Birju Tarem, a BJP worker was killed while going to a temple in Manpur-Mohla-Ambagarh district for Navratri celebrations. Arjun Kaka, President of the Bijapur district ST Morcha of BJP was killed on June 21 in Ursur tehsil. Ramji Dodi, a BJP leader, was killed on March 29 in Narayanpur.

Earlier, between February 5 and 11, three BJP leaders were killed. Neelkanth Kakem, mandal president of Awapalli unit of BJP was stabbed to death in Bijapur on February 5; Sagar Sahu, Vice-President of Narayanpur district BJP, was shot dead at his home on February 10 while Ramdhar Alami, BJP leader from Datewada was killed on February 11 when he was returning to his home in Hitameta village from Thultuli, a remote village in the district.
Infighting in the state unit, the high level of dissatisfaction against sitting MLAs and the BJP's polarising campaign came up for discussion as possible causes for the Congress' defeat in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan at a review meeting convened by party president Mallikarjun Kharge at the AICC headquarters today.

Amongst the issues that came up for discussion in the meeting, as per sources, were infighting and the impression of the state unit being a divided house. The BJP's polarising campaign and its efforts to turn the focus to nationally resonating issues were also discussed. It was also pointed out that there was a high level of dissatisfaction against many sitting MLAs who were given tickets again this time.

However, it was also pointed out by some leaders that the state has had a track record of voting out the incumbent MLAs as also the government.

The party high command was of the view that a greater cohesiveness of the state unit in the elections, as was seen in Karnataka, could have helped the party do better since it has a robust organisation on the ground.

The meeting was presided over by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Among those who attended the meeting included former party president Rahul Gandhi, general secretary in-charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal, party in-charge for the state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra and CWC member Sachin Pilot.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Randhawa said a detailed review of the results was undertaken and various issues were examined. He said a detailed analysis will now be undertaken on what the shortcomings that led to the defeat were and how to overcome them.

He pointed out that the performance of the party was not so bad as there was a very small difference in the vote share of the Congress and the BJP. In fact, the Congress' vote share had increased marginally over what it was in 2018, he said, adding that 8-9 MLAs had lost by a margin of just 300-500 votes. He said there was no discussion on resignation by any leader.

Randhawa said the rank and file of the party was already geared up for the general elections scheduled for next year. Like in the Assembly elections, the party will fight the parliamentary elections unitedly with full vigour and confidence, he asserted.

In response to a question, Randhawa said accountability will be fixed for any lapses that resulted in the party's defeat in the elections.

On whether there will be any changes in the leadership, he said there was no need for any changes when the party has not done badly.
Darshan Hiranandani is still a friend, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra told THE WEEK in an interview weeks before she was expelled from the Parliament. Her expulsion was based on an Ethics Committee report that found her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from Hiranandani, a businessman.



Pointing out that the central government is targeting her, she told the magazine in the November 26 issue: I have realised that Narendra Modi's government wants to make me radioactive. They want to make me into a person whose friends will not mix with her... You realise what lengths this government will go to, put a gun to his father's head, and put a gun to his head and say, please frame Mahua Moitra. You realise the desperation?

Denying the allegations that her questions on Adani were asked by Hiranandani, she said, This is the biggest lie. Hiranandani did not ask any questions. I have asked 61 questions over the past five years. There are only nine questions relating to Adani. And each of those nine questions is in public interest. Six of those questions are about the foreign portfolio investors coming into Adani Group, which are in public interest. One is about Dhamra. What is Hiranandani going to do with it? Today, Adani owns everything. Darshan did not write any questions. I had someone in his office type out my questions.

Explaining her claims that Hiranandani filed the affidavit under duress and it was dictated by the PMO, Moitra told THE WEEK, The story breaks on the 15th (of October). On the 16th, the Hiranandani Group puts out a disclaimer, saying we know nothing about this. Next day, they get to his father, Niranjan Hiranandani, put a gun to his head, said, 'we put the CBI against you, we put the ED against you, you need to give us something to fix Mahua Moitra ASAP'. They first give him a white paper thing, which he signs and they float it around. And then I raised the question about it.

The next day, they made him fly down to Bombay for one day and sit with his father and do this. He flew back and they put a gun to his head, so that tomorrow morning, go to the Dubai office and sign this. It's a 12 paragraph affidavit. Darshan is an educated man with a master's degree, he is an engineer, he runs a huge company. Eleven paragraphs of that thing is singing songs to Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani. If he is Gautam Adani's competitor, why would he write 11 pages of how great Gautam Adani is? Does he say he's a competitor of Adani and wanted to get him? He says Mahua wanted to get famous, hence she was targeting Adani. Do you see the language there? Was he an idiot then that he was helping me? I am an opposition MP. How can I help him? she added.

Pointing out the lack of logic and legalese in the affidavit, Mahua said, Where are his businesses? In Uttar Pradesh, in Gujarat, in Maharashtra, all BJP-owned states. In paragraph 12, if he is a bribe giver, he should be writing down. There are no details. On what basis have you hung me? I want to know. Some ex-boyfriend's ridiculous made up fairy tale and Nishikant Dubey being used as a post office? Where is the proof? Where is one rupee? The only reason you know that he gave me a Hermes scarf is because I said so. He has written 'support for renovation of bungalow'. What is support? You could have got me bamboo for the guy to climb up on the scaffolding. Travel expense can be a bus ticket. Is this how an affidavit is written? The BJP has dumbed us down. There is no logic left. There is no reason left. There is no legalese left.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra garnered unwavering support from her party supremo Mamata Banerjee and opposition parties on Friday after she was expelled from Lok Sabha over the cash-for-query allegations.

The move came after the House adopted an Ethics Committee report that found her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

Mamata slammed Moitra's expulsion as murder of democracy in the country. "It is a disgrace to parliamentary democracy. We condemn the expulsion of Mahua Moitra; the party stands firmly with her. Unable to defeat us in elections, the BJP has resorted to vendetta politics. Today marks a sad day and a betrayal of Indian parliamentary democracy," Banerjee said during a press conference.

"I fail to comprehend how members can thoroughly review 500 pages within 30 minutes. How can all speakers reach a decision? I condemn the way democracy has been undermined. Despite having a two-thirds majority in the assembly, we refrain from expelling anyone arbitrarily," the West Bengal chief minister added.

In a warning to the BJP, Mamata said, "Nevertheless, she (Moitra) will return to Parliament with a stronger mandate. The BJP believes it can act with impunity due to its overwhelming majority. They should bear in mind that a day may come when they are no longer in power."

The fresh show of support from Mamata substantiates Moitra's earlier remarks that the party and the CM stood by her. In an interview with THE WEEK, Moitra had said, The BJP put this story out saying that, oh, Mamata Banerjee put her under the bus. There were all these stories that Mamata has done a deal with the BJP to save her nephew. But this is the usual right wing propaganda. They have written my obituary in the TMC 20 times over, right?

Pointing out why her party and its supremo delayed its response on the issue, Moitra said, Initially, because it was in the Ethics Committee, even I didn't talk about it for the first ten days. And then we found that the BJP wanted to run a media trial. My party didn't obviously want to be part of that media trial. And they thought 'let the Ethics Committee do something, and then we will react'. So, it was only when I realised, around October 26, that this was actually a media trial, and I am facing character assassination, that I fought back and came out myself.

Mamata Banerjee is not going to comment on something frivolous. So when the Ethics Committee came out, and they did this entire kangaroo court, is when the party came out and said the right process was not followed, she added.
Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have taken a proactive stance in maintaining law and order ahead of the impending Supreme Court ruling on Article 370. The court is poised to announce its decision on December 11, a pivotal moment in this contentious issue.

Under the leadership of Additional Director General of Police Vijay Kumar, a crucial meeting convened top police and administrative officials, signalling a comprehensive strategy to ensure stability. The focus remained on preemptive measures aimed at preserving peace.

Officials expressed concerns about potential social media misuse and emphasised the possibility of punitive measures against those involved. The meeting, attended by district magistrates, senior police officers, and intelligence officials, highlighted a concerted effort to evaluate the current law and order scenario and prepare for potential disruptions post-verdict.

Issued directives stressed the urgency of vigilance and prompt action by district authorities to forestall any disturbances to peace.

The legal challenge against the Centre's decision to revoke Article 370 and downgrade Jammu and Kashmir to a Union Territory was brought forth by various petitioners, including the National Conference and J&K High Court Bar (Kashmir).

The Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, had reserved judgment on September 5, following an extensive 16-day hearing. The petitioners also contested the J&K Reorganisation Act, leading to the state's bifurcation into Union Territories.

The hearings extensively debated the unique relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and India, challenging interpretations of the Maharaja's sovereignty, the post-dissolution permanence of Article 370, concerns regarding Article 356 misuse, and the validity of Article 370's amendment through Article 367. Moreover, discussions delved into the unprecedented conversion of an entire state into a Union Territory via Article 3 of the Indian Constitution.

The Centre defended its decision to remove Article 370, citing its temporary nature and arguing that it had fostered a dual mentality among some. They presented it as a political compromise amid the circumstances prevailing in 1947 when India gained independence and princely states merged with the Dominion of India.

The apex court's decision will carry significant implications for Jammu and Kashmir and regional parties, considering the sweeping changes made by the Centre post the Article 370 amendment.




































A police constable was injured after militants fired at him in Hamdaniya Colony, Bemina, Srinagar on Saturday evening.

Hafiz Ahmed, a resident of Hamdaniya Colony, sustained injuries on his right arm and abdomen and has been transported to SKIMS Bemina, reportedly in stable condition.

Following the attack, security forces swiftly cordoned off the area to apprehend the attackers.

Recent years have seen militants targeting policemen, reflecting a concerning trend.

The incident follows the recent directive from the police, urging adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by all officers and ranks during duty or leave.

The directive aims to prevent occurrences similar to the attack on police inspector Masroor Ahmed Wani on October 29 in Eidgah, Srinagar. Wani, who battled for 39 days, succumbed to a head injury at AIIMS on Thursday.

During his wreath-laying ceremony, ADGP Law and Order J&K Vijay Kumar stressed the importance of strict adherence to SoPs. He underscored the need for all personnel to rigorously follow these procedures while on leave or during duty to mitigate the risk of becoming targets.

The funeral of the slain police inspector was attended by senior police officers and a substantial gathering of mourners.
Newly elected legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party boycotted the oath-taking ceremony in Telangana Assembly on Saturday, opposing the appointment of AIMIM Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro-tem Speaker of the House. All eight legislators of the party skipped the event.



Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath and appointed Akbaruddin Owaisi as pro-tem speaker of the House at an event held at Raj Bhavan on Saturday.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was the first to take the oath, followed by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

Telangana BJP chief G. Kishan Reddy said, "BJP is against the appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro-tem Speaker (of Telangana Assembly). This is against the tradition of appointing senior MLAs to the post. BJP MLAs will boycott taking oath before this Pro-tem Speaker. Our MLAs will take oath after a Speaker is appointed. We will never ally with such a party (AIMIM). We will go to the Governor on this."

In a video released on Friday, BJP MLA-elect Raja Singh said he would never take oath in front of an AIMIM member. Raja Singh, in a video release, asserted that he would never take oath "as long as he is alive" in front of AIMIM. Can I take oath in front of a person (Akbaruddin Owaisi) who made anti-Hindu comments in the past?, asked Raja Singh. He recalled that he did not take oath as an MLA when a member of AIMIM was the pro-tem Speaker in 2018.

BJP legislators met Kishan Reddy on Saturday morning and they later offered prayers at the Goddess Bhagya Lakshmi temple at Charminar.

Is Congress extending an olive branch to AIMIM?

Owaisi was a surprise pick as Congress backed the candidature of the six-time MLA and one of the senior-most members of the Assembly. However, former Chief Minister and BRS President K. Chandrashekar Rao supersedes him as he is an eight-time MLA. There are other seniors in the Assembly too like Srinivas Yadav and Danam Nagender (BRS), Uttam Kumar Reddy and Tummala Nageshwara Rao (Congress), who have won their seats six times and also are elder to Owaisi in experience and age.

But the Congress decided to go for Owaisi Jr. despite the grand old partys sustained election campaign accusing AIMIM of being in cohort with the BJP. The Congress has overlooked BRS senior members to pick Owaisi which is being seen as extending a hand of friendship to the party which has been an unofficial ally of the BRS for close to a decade. It looks like Congress has initiated the process of weakening the BRS with the latest appointment, which may be aimed at weening away AIMIM and minorities from the BRS, who used to form a reliable vote bank of the BRS. It may be recalled that AIMIM and Congress enjoyed close ties between 2004 and 2014 when Congress was in power in the state.

The BJP argues that the Congress which has only 4 MLAs more than the magic figure of 60 is trying to strengthen its position in the Assembly with AIMIMs help whereas the AIMIM is ready to join hands with the Congress to control power in the old city.

The notification for the election of the speaker will be issued in the Assembly soon and after a regular speaker is elected, the BJP legislators are expected to enter the Assembly and take oath. The choice of a regular speaker is expected to be unanimous and it has been learnt that the Congress has already decided on the candidate.

- With inputs from Rahul Devulapalli.
The seizure of unaccounted cash to the tune of more than Rs 300 crore during a series of raids by the Income Tax department at an Odisha-based distillery group and its associated entities has led to a political controversy after premises linked to Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, a Congresss Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, was also covered in the searches.

The I-T sleuths searched the corporate office of Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd at Palasapalli in Bhubaneswar, the houses of some company officials, the company's factory and office in Boudh and the Ranisati Rice Mill.

Searches were also conducted at Sambalpur and Sundargarh in Odisha, Bokaro and Ranchi in Jharkhand and Kolkata.

Huge stacks of cashmostly denominations of Rs 500, Rs 200 and Rs 100were found stashed in at least nine almirahs during the IT raids.

The seized amount was so huge that the money counting machines of the I-T officials got jammed at times. As per reports, the seized notes were taken to bank in 157 bags. The raids continue even today.

Two brothersSanjay and Deepakwho led the company business are absconding, reports said.

Links to Dhiraj Sahu

The Sahu family and Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd are popular names in Odisha's excise circle. It is reported that they have been in the business for the last forty years.

They mostly deal with country liquor and are known for keeping controversies away. The familys political involvement in Bihar and Jharkhand, too, had courted any controversy so far. But, perhaps for the first time, they are in the news for the wrong reasons, after the Income Tax raids.

The Sahus country liquor business are focused in three western districts of Boudh, Bolangir and Sambalpur, besides southern district of Raygada. They also run some Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) shops.

One of the places where the I-T sleuths conducted searches was the Bolangir office of Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd, a group company of Boudh Distillery. According to reports, Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd is linked to Dhiraj Sahu.

Dhiraj is the son of Baldev Sahu and brother of former Ranchi MP late Shibprasad Sahu. The businessman cum politician has been a member of Rajya Sabha on a Congress ticket since 2010.

Dhiraj had earlier unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections twice from Chatra of Jharkhand.

Political war of words

Unsurprisingly, the big cash haul has led to a political blame game. The BJP has targeted both the ruling BJD in Odisha and the Congress over the issue.

BJP spokesperson Manoj Mohapatra has demanded a CBI inquiry, saying the money seized might have been meant for political use by the BJD. He wondered how the Sahus with an annual turnover of Rs 120 crore could keep Rs 500 crore in cash.

BJD spokesperson Ipsita Sahu said while the BJP leaders at the Centre and in Jharkhand were pinning the blame on the Congress party, the Odisha BJP leaders were speaking contradictory and ridiculous things.

The Congress is a poor third in Odisha Assembly, but the controversy is unlikely to die down any time soon as the assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls are just a few months away.
After facing backlash over her disastrous testimony, Harvard president Claudine Gay apologised for her response on antisemitism. The apology comes just days after Gay, the president of the University of Pennsylvania and the president of MIT testified at a House committee hearing focused on antisemitism on campus.

Gay had failed to give a direct answer when asked about whether calls for "genocide" against Jews would violate Harvard's code of conduct.

"I am sorry...When words amplify distress and pain, I dont know how you could feel anything but regret," said Gay in an interview published in the Harvard Crimson.

Later Gay said that she would have conveyed that calls for violence against Jewish community have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged.

"Substantively, I failed to convey what is my truth," she added.

Over perceived inaction against rising antisemitism on their campuses, universities including Harvard, UPenn and MIT have come under fire in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

At UPenn, President Liz Magill has been under immense pressure to resign for weeks, as major donors and others say they have lost confidence in her ability to lose the school.

Harvard is also among 14 colleges under investigation by the Department of Education for discrimination involving shared ancestry since the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The testimonies had drawn a lot of criticism from many including donors, politicians, alumini and business leaders. UPenn's Magill faces a donor rebellion as well.

70 US lawmakers sent a letter to board members of all three univeristies, demanding the dismissal of Gay and presidents of UPenn and MIT.

Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses, the lawmakers wrote.

The university presidents responses to questions aimed at addressing the growing trend of antisemitism on college and university campuses were abhorrent, the bipartisan group added.
After United States had vetoed the UN resolution calling for immediate Gaza ceasefire, Israel has intensified its attacks even in those places where they had told the civilians to flee.

Fuming at USs action, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Is this justice? Erdogan also called for United Nations Security Councils reformation. Despite Gaza receiving a huge support from other countries, US vetoed the ceasefire proposal, he pointed out.

While delivering a speech in Istanbul, Erdogan said all values relating to humanity "are being murdered in Gaza".

"From now on, humanity wont think the USA supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said Erdogan.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States' veto made it complicit in what he described as war crimes against Palestinians.

Abbas also held the US responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and the elderly in the Gaza Strip.

Amid the intensifying attacks, the Arab-Islamic Summit ministerial committee met with US secretary of state, Antony Blinken in Washington. The committee members called on the US to pressure Israel into a ceasefire.

A release by the Qatars ministry of foreign affairs said that the members of the committee expressed their disappointment at the failure of the UNSC to vote on immediate ceasefire for the second time.

Members of the ministerial committee stressed their call for the United States to play a broader role in pressuring the Israeli occupation for an immediate ceasefire, expressing their disappointment at the failure of the UN security council, for the second time, to vote on a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for humanitarian reasons, after the United States used its veto power, the statement read.

Israeli hostage killed in Gaza

Sahar Baruch, 25, one among the 240 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 attacks is reportedly killed in captivity. A joint statement from Kibbutz Beeri, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced the report.

It is with great sadness and a broken heart that we announce the murder of Sahar Baruch who was kidnapped from his home by Hamas terrorists to Gaza on Black Saturday and murdered there. His brother Idan was murdered by Hamas on October 7. We share in the unbearable grief of his parents, Tami and Roni, his brother, Guy and Niv, his family and all his loved ones. We will demand the return of his body as part of any hostage return deal. We will not stop until everyone is at home.

Earlier, Hamas had released a video depicting Baruch's hair shaven, saying he had been held hostage for 40 days. Hamas has claimed Baruchs death was caused by Israeli Defence Forces.

We consider the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for the safety of the abductees and anticipate that it will continue to try to use psychological terror against the citizens of Israel and the world through the distribution of such documents, for its murderous purposes," the army statement read.
MONDAYAl-Anon: 8 p.m., Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 3350 Lathrop Ave.

Retired Involved Nurses Group: 11:30 a.m., Crystal Bay, 3900 N. Main St. Lunch is at noon. The cost of membership is $15 and lunch is $15. A business meeting will follow. For more information or reservations, call Marge Orth, secretary, 262-884-0742.

WEDNESDAYCaledonia Senior Card Club: Sheepshead, for ages 55 and older, noon to 3 p.m., Franksville Memorial Park, 9614 Northwestern Ave., Franksville. For more information, call 414-856-9550.

Kiwanis Club of West of Racine: 7:30 a.m., in-person at Living Faith Lutheran Church, 2915 Wright Ave. Kiwanis is an international organization dedicated to serving the children of the world. To attend a meeting, contact Shirley Meyer, membership chair, at 262-260-8101 or email aquashirl4@yahoo.com.

FRIDAYRacine Founders Rotary Club: 7 a.m., Racine Country Club, 2401 Northwestern Ave.

DAILY/OTHERSCaledonia Historical Society Meeting: 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at Franksville Park, 9614 Northwestern Ave. The meeting is open to the public. There will be no meetings December through March. https://caledoniahistoricalsociety.org.

Overeaters Anonymous: 7 p.m. Monday and Thursday, Living Faith Lutheran Church, 2915 Wright Ave., a free fellowship group for all eating disorders using the 12 steps and 12 traditions. For more information call 262-652-5635.

Racine Duplicate Bridge Club: Each week two ACBL-sanctioned duplicate bridge games are played in Racine  at 12:15 p.m. Monday and Friday at The Lanes, 6501 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant. People must have proof of COVID-19 vaccination to play. Call Henry Kensler, club manager, at 262-652-6173 for reservations. Recent winners are:

Dec. 1 (299): Kathryn Schneider and Patti Gross, first place; Katie Patzke and Wayne Hejny, second place; Pete Christensen and Rose Christensen, third place.

Dec. 1 (Open): George Urquhart and Janet Urquhart, first place; Richard Arneson and Gloria Arneson, second place; Mary Matthews and Marilyn Wescott, third place.

Dec. 4: George Urquhart and Janet Urquhart, first place; Mary Matthews and Donald Urquhart, second place; Daniele Langer and Mark Langer tied with Evelyn Gerum and Dennis Dragan, third place.

Lighthouse Quilters Guild: Open to quilters of all skill levels, 7 p.m., on the last Monday of each month at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 322 Ohio St. For more information, lighthousequiltersguild.com.

Ladies New Heart Luncheon: The Ladies New Heart Luncheon is scheduled for noon, Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Parkway Chateau, 12304 75th St., Kenosha. The speaker is Sue Childers, who will discuss G-L-O for Jesus. The cost is $14 and no child care is provided. To register, call Nancy 262-914-1801 or Kathy 262-653-0503.

Racine Welcome Club: Drop in coffee 9-11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 15, at Panera Bread, 5304 Washington Ave. The group is open to women interested in making new friends, learning about community resources, and being involved in philanthropic and social activities. Call 262-994-0957 for more information.

Racine Art Guild: The Racine Art Guild will meet from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 14 at Wustum Museum, 2519 Northwestern Ave. The meeting is a pot luck dinner and will include a special presentation by artist Sue Horton, the winner of this years Juried Show.

Racine NAACP: A membership is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 23. at the Dr. John Bryant Center, 601 Caron Butler Drive, Racine.
Mumbai, Dec 9 (PTI) The Screenwriters Association (SWA) on Saturday said it will be holding talks with leading Indian studios, producers and OTT platforms next month to discuss the grievances of writers in Bollywood and regional film industries.









While writers in Hollywood had to go on a strike to press their demands earlier this year, the writer community here hopes it would not have to resort to such a step.









In a press statement, SWA -- which has about 65,000 members -- said more than 100 writers from Bollywood attended a meeting called by it on December 7. Among those present were acclaimed writers-filmmakers Sriram Raghavan, Sujoy Ghosh and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.









Veteran screenwriter Anjum Rajabali, best known for Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Raajneeti, said they will leave no stone unturned to fight for the rights of writers in Bollywood and other film industries.







The agenda of the meeting was to share our complaints about one-sided contracts, and to work out a way to bring about a change because frustration is building up across the writers' community. Every writer who was present at the meeting complained about how contracts are unfair," Rajabali, who is also the chairperson of the contracts committee of SWA, told PTI.









Sumit Aroraa, best known for the recent blockbuster Jawaan, Harshvardhan Kulkarni of Badhaai Do fame, Sudeep Sharma of Pataal Lok fame, Abbas Tyrewala and Shridhar Raghavan, well-known for Pathaan, and many others spoke at the meeting.







According to SWA, complaints centred around how average remuneration is shrinking, credit is given at the discretion of producers, termination can be arbitrary, and how writers are forced to indemnify producers if there is a socio-political backlash to the film.







Besides, stringent agreements force writers to waive their moral rights as well as their right to receive royalty, both of which are guaranteed by the Indian copyright law, it said.







It was decided that SWA will hold meetings with the studios, producers and streaming platforms to resolve the issues.







SWA will represent the writing community and we will begin negotiations with the studios, platforms and producers to bring about a change, to make contracts more balanced and fair. The negotiations will begin next month, Rajabali said.







Our work deserves its due commercial value, and the writers their dignity. To get that, we have to break the existing mindset towards our profession, he added.







The Writers Guild of America (WGA) was in news recently for its 148-day strike that brought Hollywood to a standstill, winning the writers an important victory.











When asked if SWA will go on strike like the WGA, Rajabali said, "We are confident that it will never come to that. However, we are not going to step back, because the determination within the writing community about the need for change is solid."
Manila, Dec 9 (AP) The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, separately condemned a high-seas assault on Saturday by the Chinese coast guard together with suspected militia ships that repeatedly blasted water cannons to block three Philippine fisheries vessels from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The noontime assault by China's ships off the Scarborough Shoal, one of the most aggressive this year, caused significant damage to the communication and navigation equipment of one of the three Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships of the Philippines, Filipino officials said.

They said without elaborating that suspected militia vessels accompanying Chinese coast guard ships used a long-range acoustic device that could impair hearing causing severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew".

It's the latest flare out of the long-seething territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a flashpoint in Asia that has put the US and China on a collision course. China claims virtually the entire strategic waterway, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also pressed their separate claims.

Territorial standoffs between China and the Philippines over a number of disputed offshore areas, including the Scarborough and the Second Thomas shoals, have been particularly heated this year.

The US has warned that it's obligated to defend the Philippines, its longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, aircraft and ships come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

China has warned the US to stay away from what it calls a purely Asian dispute. It has deployed ships and aircraft to closely shadow US Navy ships and aircraft which periodically undertake freedom of navigation and overflight patrols in one of the world's most hotly disputed seas.

A Philippine government task force that deals with the long-seething territorial disputes said Saturday it vehemently condemns the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese coast guard and Chinese maritime militia against the civilian Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels".

US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson condemned the People's Republic of China's aggressive, illegal actions against the Philippine BFAR vessels lawfully operating in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone".

This PRC behaviour violates international law and endangers lives and livelihood, Carlson said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. We stand with our Philippine friends, partners, allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

There was no immediate reaction from Chinese officials.

The Philippine fisheries bureau's ships sailed to the Scarborough Shoal to provide humanitarian aid, mainly free fuel and Christmas grocery packs, to poor Filipino fishermen onboard nearly 30 boats in the rich but far-flung fishing area, Philippine officials said.

The swarm of Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships took dangerously aggressive actions, including the use of water cannons at least eight times, as the Philippine government ships approached about 2.6 kilometers to 3.5 kilometers (1.6 to 2 miles) from Scarborough Shoal, Philippine officials said.

They added that the Chinese coast guard installed a floating barrier at an entrance to the vast fishing lagoon of Scarborough Shoal and deployed personnel aboard small motor boats to drive away Filipino fishermen waiting for the distribution of fuel and food supplies at sea.

"To prevent the distribution of humanitarian support is not only illegal but also inhumane, the Philippine government task force said.

In past faceoffs in the high seas off disputed shoals, the Chinese coast guard has used a military-grade laser that caused Filipino crewmen temporary blindness and resorted to dangerous blocking and shadowing maneuvers, including one that caused minor collisions.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has allowed a larger US military presence in local military bases under a 2014 defense pact partly to strengthen territorial defence amid China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters.

China has strongly opposed and expressed alarm over increasing deployments of US forces, warning that it would threaten regional peace and stability.

The Philippines has also launched joint sea and air patrols separately with the US and Australia and plans to expand this to a multilateral patrol, possibly including Japan and other like-minded nations to deter aggression in the South China Sea, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano told reporters last week. (AP) PY

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Beijing/Kunming, Dec 9 (PTI) The second meeting of the China-sponsored China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation (CIORF) has proposed to launch the climate information and early warning system project and carry out small yet smart" livelihood projects in the countries of the strategically vital region.

China, which is seeking to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean region, the backyard of India, had held the second meeting of CIORF, under the aegis of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), an organisation that is part of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Leadership Group on December 7 and 8 at Kunming in southern China.

CIDCA is headed by Luo Zhaohui, former Vice Foreign Minister and Ambassador to India.

CIDCA announced ahead of the meeting that the event would see the attendance of around 300 Chinese and foreign guests from over 20 countries and international organisations but did not release the list of countries that attended the meeting.

India was not invited to last year's meeting and officials here say they are not aware of any invite this year either.

A joint statement issued by CIDCA after the meeting said the Forum, themed Boosting Sustainable Blue Economy to Build Together a Maritime Community with a Shared Future, discussed the development cooperation of the blue economy between China and countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

All parties noted the positive progress made in delivering the outcomes of the first Forum, namely, establishing a China-Indian Ocean Region Marine Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Cooperation Mechanism, building a China-Indian Ocean Region blue economy think tank network, and setting up a China-Africa Cooperation Centre on Satellite Remote Sensing Application, it said.

The list of deliverables mentioned in the joint statement included the launch of the climate information and early warning system project in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and carrying out 200 small yet smart livelihood projects for countries in the IOR.

China will also train 20,000 professionals in various fields for countries in the Indian Ocean region, while carrying out 100 special training programmes covering green development, climate change response, ocean planning, fishery development, etc, it said.

On why China chose to host a Forum on the Indian Ocean despite not being a country of the region, Luo said, China is holding the meeting on the Indian Ocean as a member of the United Nations.

In his address at the welcome dinner for the guests attending the forum on December 7, he said, Someone may ask, China is not an Indian Ocean country. Why does China host such a Blue Economy Forum in the Indian Ocean region?

First, China is a member country of the UN (and) to implement the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Decade of Science for Sustainable Development is our joint obligation, he said.

Second, China is a dialogue partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation. There are 23 member countries and 10 dialogue partners in this Association. We have our obligation to do something for the blue cooperation, he said according to a CIDA release.

Third, China is pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the Maritime Silkway. We have expanded multi-field and all-round cooperation with the regional countries bilaterally and multilaterally, Luo said.

We are facing a very uncertain world. Big powers' competition and regional conflicts are going on, he said.

Prominent participants in this years forum included the new Vice President of Maldives, Hussain Mohamed Latheef, who in his speech on Friday said cooperation in the Indian Ocean must include all countries in the region and avoid factionalism to bring about development among the ocean communities in the area.

Cooperation in the Indian Ocean must be inclusive, without discrimination and must include all countries in the region, he said.

Inclusivity would alleviate factionalism and contribute to the development and cooperation of our ocean communities in this region, which has historically been peaceful, Latheef said.

He acknowledged that Chinas infrastructural projects played a pivotal role in his country, but significantly did not refer to the BRI under which most of the Maldives' infrastructure projects were built.

Latheefs speech is being viewed with interest here as he is the first high-level official of the new Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu to visit China, which gained prominence in the strategically located archipelago nation with major investments under former President Abdulla Yameen's regime.

The Chinese forum is apparently aimed at countering India's strong influence in the Indian Ocean region where India-backed organisations like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which has a membership of 23 countries, have taken strong roots.

Besides the IORA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-initiated Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) in 2015 for active cooperation among the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean region.

The Indian Navy-backed Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) seeks to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the region.
Istanbul, Dec 9 (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a speech on human rights on Saturday to accuse the West of barbarism for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia.

Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity, Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

All the values relating to humanity are being murdered in Gaza. In the face of such brutality, international institutions and human rights organisations are not taking any concrete steps to prevent such violations," the Turkish leader said.

The human rights declaration, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, enshrines a standard for human rights and freedoms for all people.

Referring to Friday's US veto of a United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, Erdogan said a fairer world was possible but not with America because the USA stands with Israel.  From now on, humanity won't think the USA supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Turkiye's human rights record during Erdogan's two decades in power has come under frequent criticism over the targeting of government critics and political opponents, the undermining of judicial independence and the weakening of democratic institutions.

Turkiye withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on preventing and violence against women and has failed to implement European Court of Human Rights judgments.

On Saturday, the president defined Islamophobia and xenophobia, which he said engulf Western societies like poison ivy, as the greatest threats to human rights.

He told the cheering audience that the only value the West holds on to is its barbarism. We have seen this example of the West's barbarism in all those unfortunate events that they either supported or perpetrated.

Erdogan cited the 2019 attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a gunman killed 51 people, as an Islamophobic attack that was legitimised and even encouraged by the West.

According to their understanding, non-Westerners don't have the right to enjoy those universal human rights  they overlook Islamophobic attacks and they show the twisted perception and mentality of the West, he said.

In October, Erdogan told a massive protest crowd in Istanbul that his government was preparing to declare Israel a war criminal due to its actions in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government said in response that it would reassess its diplomatic relations with Turkiye. (AP) PY

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Jerusalem, Dec 9 (AP) Israel has designated a safe zone in southern Gaza, but its widening air and ground offensive has left Palestinians packed together in dire humanitarian conditions.

Aid groups are severely limited by fighting and restrictions placed by the military. The United Nations estimates 1.9 million people have been displaced and new military evacuation orders are squeezing people into ever-smaller areas. Most lack food, water and medicine.

The United States on Friday vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The vote came after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the first time invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which enables a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of an "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas' October 7 attack that triggered the war. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 17,400, with more than 46,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70 per cent of the dead were women and children.

Currently:

 Six Palestinians are killed in the Israeli military's latest West Bank raid, health officials say

 Palestinians try to survive war's new chapter in southern Gaza.

 Israel designates a safe zone in Gaza. Palestinians and aid groups say it offers little relief.



Here's what's happening in the war:



ROCKET FIRED FROM GAZA LANDS IN TEL AVIV

TEL AVIV, Israeli  A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in central Tel Aviv on Friday, causing damage to a parked car.

Police and forensic teams were on the site to clear the road from debris and any remnants of the rocket. There were no reports of injuries.

Hamas militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel during the two-month war. The rocket fire has continued, despite a fierce Israeli ground offensive inside Gaza.

The rocket barrages have displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Israel from their homes and set off air-raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv, some 80 kilometers north of Gaza.



ISRAEL SAYS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE HOSTAGES FAILED

JERUSALEM  The Israeli military says two soldiers have been seriously wounded in a failed attempt to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The military said Friday that it killed numerous militants in the overnight operation, but was unable to rescue any hostages.

Earlier Friday, Hamas said its fighters had stopped a rescue attempt and clashed with Israeli special forces. It claimed an Israeli soldier who was being held hostage was killed by Israeli air fire meant to protect the withdrawing forces. Israel's military had no comment on the claim.

Hamas is believed to be holding some 137 hostages who were captured in the October 7 cross-border attack that triggered the war.



4 KILLED IN ISRAELI DRONE STRIKE IN SYRIA

DAMASCUS, Syria  An Israeli drone strike hit a car in southern Syria on Friday, killing four people, two Syrian pro-government media outlets reported.

A Hezbollah official in Beirut said three of the dead were members of the Lebanese militant group. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the group usually does not announce where its fighters were killed.

Hezbollah has deployed fighters in different parts of Syria over the past decade alongside government forces in the country's conflict, now in its 13th year.

The latest deaths raise to 93 the number of Hezbollah fighters killed during battles with Israeli troops since the Israel-Hamas war started two months ago. There was no comment from Israel.

The newspaper Al-Watan and Sham FM radio said the strike targeted a car in the southern town of Baath, and that the bodies were taken to a hospital in the Syrian town of Quneitra on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel captured the Golan Heights during the 1967 Mideast war. It annexed the strategic territory overlooking northern Israel in 1981, a move not recognized by most of the international community.



US SAYS IT DOES NOT SUPPORT IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE

UNITED NATIONS  The United States is reiterating its opposition to a cease-fire in Gaza, saying it would leave Hamas in charge of the territory still holding over 100 Israeli hostages.

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood's statement to an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday was a strong signal that the United States will veto a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The resolution is backed by Arab and Islamic nations, the UN secretary-general and many other countries.

The council has scheduled a vote for later Friday. The resolution is sponsored by the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the council.

Wood said the US does not believe that an immediate cease-fire would lead to durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security because Hamas would remain in charge. A halt to military action would only plant the seeds for the next war" he said, "because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution.

He also called the Security Council's failure to condemn Hamas' cross-border attack in southern Israel on October 7 "a serious moral failure." (AP) CK
Dubai, Dec 9 (AP) Veteran negotiators at the United Nations climate talks Saturday said that the push to wean the world from dirty fossil fuels had gained so much momentum that they had poked a powerful enemy: the oil industry.

Late Friday, multiple news sources reported that the leader of OPEC, the powerful oil cartel, wrote to member countries earlier this week urging them to block any language that would phase out or phase down fossil fuels. The news had the effect of a thunderclap, shinning a light on host and petrostate United Arab Emirates, which clearly has oil interests but also wants to show the world that it can lead the conference toward a substantive result.

Environmental activists, still smarting after decades of soft power from oil interests keeping such discussions from seeing the light of day, smirked at signs that the mighty cartel was circling the wagons.

I think they're panicking, said Alden Meyer, an analyst with climate think tank E3G Maybe the Saudis can't do on their own what they've been doing for 30 years and block the process.

Former Ireland President Mary Robinson said, They're scared. I think they're worried.

Robinson, co-chair of the retired leaders group The Elders, is now a prominent climate campaigner. She said that OPEC is concerned gives me hope. Last month she clashed publicly with the president of the COP28 negotiations, Sultan al-Jaber, who is also CEO of the Emirates' national oil company.

China's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua called this year's climate conference the most difficult of his long career. He said the contentious phase-out issue could be solved in one or two days.

Germany's climate envoy, Jennifer Morgan, suggested any call for blocking a deal would be felt most by small countries vulnerable of sea level rise caused by global warming.

Right now, countries here are fighting for their lives. The small islands, and most countries here, are engaging very actively on this discussion in a real way, she said in an interview. And I think it is obviously not responsible to have a position that could mean  would mean  the life and death of many million people.

But not all developing countries felt the same way.

The development of our countries depends, in fact, on the use of fossil fuels," said Niger's Issifi Boureima, who's executive secretary of the Sahel Region Climate Commission. It's not easy for countries like ours to accept a text that agrees to end fossils fuels today. It's not easy, because what do we do after that?

"I think that in the dynamic of multilateral diplomacy, we need to avoid egoism, egoism of the north towards the south.

COP28 Director General Majid al-Suwaidi downplayed the OPEC letter, saying the UAE team running the climate conference has been meeting with negotiators to get an ambitious deal. The oil cartel has no formal link to the climate negotiations.

I feel confident that we're going to get a good result you're going to be surprised about, Suwaidi told The Associated Press.

OPEC didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Protestors Saturday in a flash mob briefly blocked the OPEC exhibit at climate talks, calling for an immediate phase-out of fossil fuels.

As discussions were happening about the letter and how to transition from fossil fuels, the world inched closer to deciding where next year's climate conference will be held, a third state petrostate. Azerbijian announced it would host COP29 in Baku, where one of history's first oil fields sprung up. But U.N. officials said it wasn't quite a done deal because the proper paperwork hasn't been submitted.

The conference presidency has been crowing about deal after deal, many of them involving hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars of pledges, but they've more nibbled the edges of the key issue of cutting emissions. When it comes to reducing the gases that cause climate change, a key group of scientists who analyze pledges, actions and potential temperature increases said in a report on Saturday that all the action hadn't amounted to much.

The COP28 Presidency has made a very big deal about a whole lot of voluntary initiatives, while adopting an ambiguous and weak position on the central issue of a fossil fuel phaseout, Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare, co-author of the report, said.

Saturday's firestorm of controversy came as protests at the conference center in Dubai ramped up, with a Global Day of Action urging nations to move decisively to stop climate change and officials from various countries talked increasingly urgently at the official meetings. The OPEC letter has added fuel to their fury.

With current policies, the planet is on track to a 2.9 (degree Celsius, 5.2 degree Fahrenheit above pre-industrial temperature) future. We cannot adapt to temperature rise that high; the loss and damage will be incalculable. It will be our death sentence, Marshall Islands natural resources minister John Silk said.

We will not go silently to our graves, he said.

A speedy phase-out of fossil fuels has shaped up as the central issue at the talks as they head into their final days. Activists and experts have warned that the world must quickly reduce use of the oil, gas and coal that is causing dangerous warming.

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, called the Dec. 6 letter from OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais shameful and said the writing is on the wall for dirty energy.

Negotiators are fleshing out language in a key document called the Global Stocktake. It will say how much progress the world had made since the 2015 Paris agreement  where nations agreed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times  and what it has to do next.

New proposed language on how to curb warming released Friday afternoon strengthened the options for a phase-out of fossil fuels that negotiators could choose from. Four of the five options call for some version of a rapid phase-out.

Negotiators are taking stock of where consultations are at on Saturday evening.

This is also a good opportunity for countries hopefully to try and find the landing zones that we so desperately need, said Danish environment minister Dan Jrgensen.

Asked if he was nervous about the outcome of the session, he replied: Very nervous. (AP) AMS
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Dec 9 (AP)  Israel said Friday that the military was rounding up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation, searching for Hamas militants, while desperate Palestinians in the south crowded into an ever-shrinking area, and the UN warned that its aid operation is "in tatters."

The detentions pointed to Israeli efforts to secure the military's hold on northern Gaza as the war entered its third month. Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underscoring Hamas' heavy resistance, and tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area six weeks after troops and tanks rolled in.

The first images of mass detentions emerged Thursday from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, showing dozens of men kneeling or sitting in the streets, stripped down to their underwear, their hands bound behind their backs. Some had their heads bowed. UN monitors said Israeli troops reportedly detained men and boys from the age of 15 in a school-turned-shelter.

In other developments, the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1 with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres told the council that Gaza is at a breaking point and there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system."

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the group's Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Israel's air and ground campaign initially focused on the northern third of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south. A week ago, Israel expanded its ground assault into central and south Gaza, where nearly the territory's entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded, many of them cut off from humanitarian supplies.

In central Gaza, Israeli planes on Friday dropped leaflets on the refugee camps of Nuseirat and Maghazi with a message for Hamas officials.

"To Hamas leaders: A life for a life, an eye for an eye and whoever started is to blame. If you punish, then punish with the like of that with which you were afflicted," the leaflet read, cobbling together a popular Arabic saying with a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

The leaflet left out the rest of the verse, which says it is better to patiently endure afflictions without retaliating.

Hours later, a strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.



HUNDREDS ROUNDED UP



Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said Friday that those detained in northern Gaza were "military-aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago." Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in the past 48 hours, some 200 people have been detained. Dozens have been taken to Israel for interrogation, including Hamas commanders, he said.

Authorities were questioning the detainees to determine whether they were members of the militant group, Levy said, indicating there would be more such sweeps as troops move from north to south.

The London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed, or The New Arab, said one of the men seen in the images of the detainees is its Gaza correspondent Diaa al-Kahlout, and that he was rounded up with other civilians.

The Israeli assault has obliterated much of Gaza City and surrounding areas in the north. Still, tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain there, though the UN says it cannot confirm exact numbers. Some are unable to move, others refuse to leave their homes, saying the south is no safer or fearing they will not be allowed to return.

Heavy fighting has been underway for days in Jabaliya refugee camp and the Gaza City district of Shujaiya. The UN said Jabaliya's Al Awda Hospital  one of two hospitals still operating in the north  was surrounded by Israeli forces and sustained damage from Israeli shelling. It said Israeli sniper fire into the hospital has also been reported.

On Thursday in Shujaiya, a prominent poet and English professor, Refaat Alareer, was killed, along with his brother, sister and her four children, when Israeli shelling hit the house they were staying in, according to colleagues at "We Are Not Numbers," a nonprofit he helped found.

Days earlier, Alareer wrote on X that his walls were shaking from bombing, shelling and gunfire. The last poem he wrote and shared on social media read, "If I must die/ let it bring hope/ let it be a tale."

The military says it makes every effort to spare civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields as the militants fight in dense residential areas.

Early Friday, Israeli troops made an unsuccessful attempt to free Israeli hostages at a location in Gaza. In the ensuing clash with militants, two soldiers were seriously wounded, and no hostages were freed. the military said. Hamas said its fighters fended off the attempt.

Israel says 137 hostages are still in captivity out of the roughly 240 abducted by militants during the October 7 attack.

There has also been a dramatic surge in deadly military raids and an increase in restrictions on Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.

Israeli forces stormed into a refugee camp Friday in the West Bank to arrest suspected Palestinian militants, unleashing fighting with local gunmen in which six Palestinians were killed, health officials said. (AP) CK
The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan called on Saturday for a stronger international push to suppress North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles and its military cooperation with other countries amid concerns about its alleged arms transfers to Russia.

The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral security cooperation in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

In a joint news conference after the meeting, Cho said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Korea's obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its denuclearization and bans any weapons trade with other countries.

We agreed to strengthen a coordination among the three countries to secure the international community's strict implementation" of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, Cho said.

Cho said the three also highly praised South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia announcing their own sanctions on North Korea over its spy satellite launch last month. North Korea argues it the right to launch spy satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhance the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

Following the meeting, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defense cooperation. He said they also seek to improve response to North Korean missile testing and space launch activities, including a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches that the countries plan to start in December.

Sullivan said the countries will also respond to North Korean cybercrimes, cryptocurrency money laundering and other efforts to bypass U.S.-led international sanctions aimed at choking off funds going to its nuclear weapons and missile program.

When it comes to the DPRK, we are keeping our eye on the ball, because it continues to represent a threat to international peace and security and regional peace and security, Sullivan said, using the initials of North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Sullivan held separate bilateral talks Friday with South Korea's national security office director, Cho Tae-yong, and Japan's national security secretariat secretary general, Takeo Akiba.

Sullivan also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

At a dinner reception for Sullivan and Akiba on Friday, Yoon said it is critical the three countries continue to build on his August summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David, where they vowed to deepen security and economic cooperation.

South Korea's presidential office said Sullivan expressed support for the South's recent decision to partially suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on reducing border tensions, which had established border buffers and no-fly zones, to strengthen front-line surveillance of the North.

At their one-on-one meeting Friday, Cho and Akiba discussed building broader international solidarity in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile program. They said it poses a threat not only to the Korean Peninsula, but also to the regional and international community as a whole, Seoul said.

The U.S., South Korean and Japanese national security advisers last held a trilateral meeting in June in Tokyo.

The discussions between the national security advisers in Seoul came after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese nuclear envoys met in Tokyo for separate talks on North Korea.

The nuclear envoys shared their assessments about North Korea's recent satellite launch and weapons development and discussed ways to more effectively respond to North Korea's cyber theft activities and other illicit efforts to evade U.S.-led international sanctions and finance its weapons program, the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministries said.

South Korean intelligence officials have said the Russians likely provided technology support for North Korea's successful satellite launch in November, which followed two failed launches.

North Korea has said its spy satellite transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the U.S. and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasn't released any of those satellite photos. Many outside experts question whether the North's satellite is sophisticated enough to send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

Kim has vowed to launch more satellites, saying his military needs to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

South Korean intelligence and military officials have said North Korea may have shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia beginning in August, weeks before Kim traveled to Russia's Far East for a rare summit with Putin that sparked international concerns about a potential arms deal. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied U.S. and South Korean claims about the alleged arms transfers. (AP)

NSA

NSA
Narayanpur, Dec 9 (PTI) A man was hacked to death with an axe allegedly by Naxalites in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, a police official said.

The victim, identified as Komal Manjhi, was attacked by unidentified Naxalites when he was returning home after performing rituals at a goddess temple in Chhotedongar village, a senior police official said.

Manjhi was a nephew of a popular 'vaidyaraj' (traditional healer) of Chhotedongar. He and his uncle had received death threats from Naxalites in the past, he said.

During last month's assembly elections, some people from interior pockets of the district were shifted to Narayanpur headquarter and kept under protection in view of their safety with Manjhi and his uncle being among them, he said.

After the second phase of voting concluded, the duo had returned to their village and refused to avail protection, he said.

Soon after being alerted about the incident of attack on Manjhi, a police team was sent to the spot and his body was moved to a government hospital for post-mortem, he said.

A hand-written note purportedly written by Maoists was recovered from the spot, in which they accused Manjhi of acting as agent for Aamdai Ghati iron ore mine and making huge money, the official said.

A search operation has been launched in the area to trace the assailants, he added.
Mumbai, Dec 9 (PTI) Four women students of a private institute drowned in the sea at Devgad in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Saturday afternoon while a male student was missing, police said.

The deceased were part of a group of 35 students of Sainik Academy, a training institute in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, said an official.

The group was visiting the coastal town, around 500 km south of Mumbai, for picnic. The incident took place when some of them entered the water around 3 pm, said the official.

The deceased women students were identified as Prerna Dongre, Ankita Gaalte, Anisha Padwal and Payal Bansode. The bodies have been kept at the nearby rural hospital.

Police registered an Accidental Death Report and further investigation was underway, the official said.
AURORA OFFERS CLASSES

BURLINGTON  Aurora Health Care is offering the following programs:

Free Blood Pressure Clinic  8 a.m. to noon and 1-4:30 p.m. every Wednesday. To make an appointment, call 262-767-8000.

Childbirth and Beyond  Get ready for a new addition through free, ongoing classes, including Preparing for Labor and Birth, Bringing Baby Home, Breastfeeding Basics and Infant CPR & Safety. Learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/ALMCchildbirth.

Movement and Music  This free class for people with Parkinsons disease incorporates stretches, strength training, posture, balance and walking drills, as well as vocal exercises. Manage Parkinsons symptoms and improve quality of daily life while having fun. Modifications will be provided to ensure a safe and effective setting for all participants. Caregivers are also welcome. Register at mail@wiparkinson.org or 414-312-6990.

Stroke Support Group  This group provides emotional support through opportunities to interact with others who have experienced a stroke. Informational programs also will be provided about stroke/brain attack. The group welcomes individuals newly diagnosed, those with a history of stroke and caregivers. Learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/ALMCstroke.

Memory Cafe  Memory Cafe is a comfortable, free social gathering that allows people experiencing memory loss and a loved one to connect and build new support networks at the Aurora Wellness Center, Classroom C. For information, or first-time attendees, contact Chad at 262-212-3596 or csutkay@touchinghearts.com.

Walk with a Doc  Get out, get active and enjoy good conversation on the third Saturday of the month at Burlington High School, 400 McCanna Parkway. Learn about a current health topic, then spend the rest of the hour enjoying a walk at your own pace and distance with a medical provider. The program is free, and no registration is required. Meet at the front entrance vestibule by the flagpole.

Art Therapy Open Studio  Open Studio is an art group designed to aid in self-expression relaxation, and personal growth. Open Studio is open to current and past cancer patients, companions and caretakers. Each session is facilitated by a credentialed art therapist and will include a featured project. All supplies provided. Learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/AMCBarttherapy.

For more information about Aurora Health Care programs, www.aurorahealthcare.org/classes-events/ or call 800-499-5736.l

SPECTRUM OFFERS CLASSES

RACINE  Spectrum School of the Arts and Community Gallery, located in the East Building of the DeKoven Center, 2000 Wisconsin Ave., is offering winter fine arts classes for adults and high school students. All classes are small (between four and 10 students per class) and are highly instructional according to the individuals needs, goals and abilities. All levels of experience are welcome.

Drawing and/or Painting: 9 a.m. to noon, flexible scheduling Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays from Jan. 8 through March 13. Individualized instruction for all levels. Instructor: Denise Zingg. Five classes: $150; 10 classes: $250.00.

Beginning Digital SLR Photography: 6:308:30 p.m., Mondays from Jan. 15 through Feb. 12. Learn the controls of you SLR (not for point-and-shoot cameras) and take excellent photographs. Bring your camera and instruction manual. Instructor: Denise Zingg. Five weeks: $125.

Ceramics: 9:30 a.m. to noon, Saturdays from Feb. 3 through March 23. Learn how to work clay with creative hand-building or throwing pots on the wheel. Includes 25 pounds of clay, use of equipment, firings and glazes, plus extra studio time. Instructor: Mark Hyde. $200.

Intro to Black and White Film and Darkroom Photography: 6:309 p.m. Wednesdays from Feb. 21 through March 20. Learn all about the fundamentals of photography in this classic medium and create stunning black and white prints in the darkroom. Two rolls of film, chemicals and extra darkroom time included. Camera rentals available. Five weeks: $175.

Customized classes and workshops are provided for three or more adults, children or family combination. Private art and music lessons for adults and children also are available. Half-hour lessons are $30, or $1 per minute.

Traditional darkrooms, a matting and framing room, and ceramics studios are available for individual work. The cost is $65 each per month or $180 for a three-month pass. (Ceramics studios include firings; darkrooms include chemicals.)

Call 262-634-4345 to register. Space is limited to 10 students. Material lists are available at www.spectrumschoolandgallery.org.
Guwahati, Dec 9 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has hit back at lawyer Kapil Sibal for saying the state was once a part of Myanmar.

Leader of the opposition in Assam assembly, Debabrata Saikia, wrote to Sibal asking him to withdraw the statement.

Sibal, while appearing before the Supreme Court earlier this week during a hearing on the citizenship issue, said Assam was a part of Myanmar and it was handed over to the British in 1824 after the latter conquered part of the territory.

Reacting to the statement, Sarma had on Friday said Assam was never a part of Myanmar, except a brief period of occupation.

"Assam was never part of Myanmar. It is true that people from there (Myanmar) had clashed with our people during Ahom rule. And for a brief period of around one-two months, we were under an occupation-like situation of Myanmar," the chief minister said.

"Those who do not have any knowledge about history, they should refrain from commenting," Sarma said.

Saikia, in a letter to Sibal on Saturday, claimed that this "incorrect representation of Assam history is very unfortunate and it has hurt the pride and prestige of Assam."

"It seems the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and AAMSU might have provided you with incorrect information about Assam history and your team has failed to cross check the data before presentation," he said.

The Congress leader said the history of Assam is that of a confluence of the Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Tai and Indo-Aryan cultures.

Assam was ruled by the Ahom for six centuries and though invaded over time, it was never a vassal or a colony to an external power until the third Burmese invasion in 1821, and subsequently the British ingress into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War, he said.

Saikia has urged Sibal to "withdraw the statement and render a public apology before the public of Assam for mis-representation of Assam's glorious history".
Kolkata, Dec 9 (PTI) BJP's West Bengal unit will organise demonstrations in all the blocks of the state on December 11 to support farmers who are allegedly facing economic stress due to crop loss.

Talking to reporters at Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur district on Saturday, party's state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar alleged there farmers don't have crop insurance in Bengal.

He claimed farmers were ending their lives in South Bengal districts as their crops were getting destroyed because of natural calamities and unavailability of fertilisers, while the administration looked the other way.

Majumdar said the "inhuman attitude of the state towards the plight of farmers became explicit during a recent road blockade at Goghat in Hooghly district when a policeman misbehaved with the demonstrators and got away with it."

"Fifty per cent of farmers, traditionally relying on cultivation, are being forced to become migrant labourers. The protest by the party's kishan morcha will highlight their plight," he added.

TMC deputy chief whip Tapas Roy said the BJP is making wild allegations for political gains.

"The state is doing whatever possible to mitigate crop losses of farmers and offering them all kinds of support," he added.

Roy claimed that farmers are covered by crop insurance.
New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on her 77th birthday.

"Best wishes to Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji on her birthday. May she be blessed with a long and healthy life," he said on X.

Sonia Gandhi, the longest serving Congress president, has taken a back seat from active politics in the last few years for health reasons, with her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra playing a key role in the party.
New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) Delhi's iconic Red Fort, which is otherwise closed on Monday, will remain open for visitors on December 11, officials said on Saturday.

The Red Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which draws a large number of tourists from across India and abroad.

The 17th-century monument was closed for general visitors for three days due to preparations for the India Art, Architecture and Design Biennale (IAADB). However, this coming Monday, the Red Fort will remain open for visitors even though the it is closed on Mondays, a senior ASI official told PTI.

"The Red Fort was closed for general visitors from December 6-8. This was in view of preparations being made for the India Biennale," the Archaeological Survey of India official said.

The maiden India Art, Architecture and Design Biennale (IAADB) celebrating the country's artistic and cultural heritage is being hosted at the historic Red Fort complex.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the biennale on Friday. Seven "specially curated" thematic pavilions have been set up in the three British-era barracks that have been refurbished for the event.

The seven-day IAADB, helmed by the Union Culture Ministry, opened to the public from December 9. While the biennale will end on December 15, exhibitions related to it will continue till March 31 next year.

On Friday afternoon many tourists, Indian and foreign, could not enter the monument as the Red Fort complex entrance was barricaded and only those with passes for the biennale were allowed to enter.

An order for closure of the monument from December 6-8 was issued on December 5 but several visitors on Friday said they were not aware of it, the official said.

"I like visiting Red Fort, and so I came here today along with few family members. But the police personnel on duty said it was closed for general visitors today. So, we are going back home," said Shah Rukh Khan, a Delhi resident.

Red Fort, commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, is considered an architectural marvel and a veritable landmark and symbol of Delhi.
New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a man for allegedly creating fake social media accounts and posting pictures of a 20-year-old female acquaintance with derogatory comments, a senior officer said on Saturday.

The arrest came in response to a complaint received at the Cyber North Police Station through NCRP Portal, he said.

The victim in her complaint told police that she had met a person on Instagram in 2018 and started chatting with him, but with time, the man started harassing her and forcing her for an interfaith marriage.

"When the victim stopped talking to him, the accused made two different profiles using her picture. He posted some indecent material with obscene comments. He also shared her mobile number on those profiles due to which she faced a lot of problems," Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Manoj Kumar Meena said.

Gopal Karaliya, the accused, was arrested from Pune on Monday, police said.

During interrogation, Karaliya revealed that he had come in contact with the woman in 2018 and befriended her. He even asked her for marriage, but it could not come to a pass because the two were from different religions, police said.

"The accused could not accept this rejection. He created fake social media profiles and started posting derogatory remarks on her pictures to defame her," said the DCP.
Justin Gutmann is the former head of research and insight at Citizens Advice. As a consumer champion, he has previously undertaken class legal actions against Apple and UK train operators. Below, he explains how he is taking on the telecoms giants.

There's nothing wrong with taking out credit. We all do it to pay for big purchases, whether that's buying a home or a car.

We enter into contracts, take possession of the item and once we've paid it off, we aren't charged any more money. But there's one big exception - mobile phone contracts.

Justin Gutmann: The consumer champion is taking on the telecoms giants

For decades, the UK's biggest mobile network operators have been selling us contracts made up of a mobile phone and airtime services like data, calls, and minutes.

When it comes to the end of the contract, we've already paid for the phone. Yet companies like Vodafone, EE, Three, and O2 kept charging us the same price.

This is what's called a 'loyalty penalty'. Existing customers are charged for something they have already paid for.

My claim is that overpayments to Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 come to a total of over 3billion pounds in extra charges.

And last Friday, I launched a class action to try to get that money back on behalf of millions of their customers.

Three billion pounds may sound like a lot of money - the amount people have been overpaying quickly adds up.

Say you took out a two-year contract, paying 25 for the phone and 25 for the airtime services.

After the two years were up you kept paying the extra 25 a month for the phone.

That's 300 in just a year. In a cost-of-living crisis, that money can be the difference between paying your bills or falling into debt.

Extra charges: Consumer champion Justin Gutmann says consumers may be owed 3billion

Examples like this were widespread.

At one point, Ofcom found almost all of Vodafone's customers who were beyond their minimum contract term were overpaying and that 70 per cent of EE's and O2's customers were too.

This behaviour was exploitative. Together they control approximately 87 per cent of the market  customers have few other options.

I'm not the first to complain, although my campaigning on behalf of consumers goes back over a decade to when I was Head of Research at Citizens Advice.

Both Ofcom and The Competition and Markets Authority have run major investigations and criticised the behaviour of mobile phone companies, with the latter saying that consumers 'rightly feel ripped off, let down and frustrated' and that loyalty penalties were 'unfair and must be stopped'.

Sadly, these companies have done little to change their behaviour.

Perhaps this is because for most, the costs and time involved in going to court is too high.

By launching a class action, a relatively new way of accessing justice in the UK, everyone who has paid the loyalty penalty is included in the claim for free unless they follow specific steps to opt out.

I've always tried to be a champion for consumers and to stand up when companies use their monopoly powers to exploit their customers.

We hope that everyone who has paid the loyalty penalty to one of these companies will sign up to our website to be kept updated on the progress of the claim.

My ultimate goal is that it will finally stop the practice of charging loyalty penalties. People should get back what they have paid. It's only fair.
StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT  Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, B. Riley reduced their target price on Chatham Lodging Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Monday, August 7th.

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Chatham Lodging Trust Stock Performance

Chatham Lodging Trust Announces Dividend

Shares of NYSE CLDT opened at $10.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Chatham Lodging Trust has a 12 month low of $8.92 and a 12 month high of $14.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.77 and a 200-day moving average of $9.62. The company has a market capitalization of $496.90 million, a P/E ratio of 254.25 and a beta of 1.73.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 29th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 28th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Chatham Lodging Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 700.00%.

Institutional Trading of Chatham Lodging Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,471,592 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $99,357,000 after acquiring an additional 874,031 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 300.8% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,009,894 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $10,594,000 after acquiring an additional 757,955 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 275.5% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 890,825 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $9,309,000 after acquiring an additional 653,584 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 85.8% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 965,283 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $13,311,000 after acquiring an additional 445,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 84.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 598,455 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $5,602,000 after acquiring an additional 274,018 shares in the last quarter. 92.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Chatham Lodging Trust

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Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns 39 hotels totaling 5,915 rooms/suites in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

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National Bankshares set a C$135.00 price objective on Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY  Free Report) (NYSE:RY) in a research report released on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services providers stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$129.00 to C$128.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. CSFB set a C$138.00 price target on Royal Bank of Canada and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$124.00 to C$126.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Sunday, August 27th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$138.00 to C$139.00 in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Finally, Morningstar cut Royal Bank of Canada from a buy rating to a hold rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$129.00 to C$130.00 in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of C$133.21.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.8 %

TSE:RY opened at C$125.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of C$176.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 0.79. The companys 50 day moving average price is C$116.53 and its 200-day moving average price is C$121.74. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of C$107.92 and a 52 week high of C$140.18.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY  Get Free Report) (NYSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 30th. The financial services provider reported C$2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$2.64 by C$0.14. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 27.69%. The firm had revenue of C$13.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$12.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 11.6863118 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 25th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 24th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canadas previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Royal Bank of Canadas payout ratio is currently 52.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 4,131 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$111.32, for a total value of C$459,862.92.

About Royal Bank of Canada

(Get Free Report)

Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses.

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1. Yes. More than 70% of the downtown buildings are occupied; the area is thriving now.

2. Yes. With the new E-Center , a brewery and the county annex moving in, its on the rise.

3. No. There may be a lot of new businesses, but foot traffic is still slow on most days.

4. No. Its improving, but the issues of crime and homelessness are still major obstacles.

5. Unsure. The area seems to be rebounding, but its hard to say if the trend will continue.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from $3.10 to $2.65 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 30th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a neutral rating to a sell rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $3.30 to $3.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $4.04.

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Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Price Performance

Shares of GOL opened at $3.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.56. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has a 1-year low of $2.00 and a 1-year high of $5.59. The stock has a market cap of $859.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.07 and a beta of 1.70.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $956.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $974.37 million.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a  dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.0115 per share. This is a positive change from Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentess previous  dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOL. Creative Planning acquired a new position in Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,236 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 4,848 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,101 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 0.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA provides scheduled and non-scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo; and maintenance services for aircrafts and components in Brazil and internationally. The company offers Smiles, a frequent-flyer programs to approximately 20.5 million members, allowing clients to accumulate and redeem miles.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of China Pharma (NYSE:CPHI  Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

China Pharma Stock Performance

NYSE:CPHI opened at $0.12 on Wednesday. China Pharma has a 52 week low of $0.08 and a 52 week high of $1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $0.11 and a 200 day moving average of $0.22.

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China Pharma (NYSE:CPHI  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter. China Pharma had a negative net margin of 39.99% and a negative return on equity of 64.09%. The business had revenue of $1.80 million for the quarter.

China Pharma Company Profile

China Pharma Holdings, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets generic and branded pharmaceutical, and biochemical products primarily to hospitals and private retailers in the People's Republic of China. The company offers products in the form of dry powder injectables, liquid injectables, tablets, capsules, and cephalosporin oral solutions.

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StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $84.50.

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Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $96.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.94 and a 200 day moving average of $99.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Novartis has a 1-year low of $79.98 and a 1-year high of $105.61.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.27%. The firm had revenue of $11.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 49.5% in the second quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 299 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,267 shares of the companys stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 6,398 shares of the companys stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the companys stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 2,959 shares of the companys stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.00% of the companys stock.

Novartis Company Profile

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Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.

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Shares of Eldorado Gold Co. (TSE:ELD  Get Free Report) (NYSE:EGO) have been given a consensus rating of Moderate Buy by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$17.10.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ELD. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Eldorado Gold from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$15.50 to C$16.50 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Cormark dropped their price objective on shares of Eldorado Gold from C$22.50 to C$20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Eldorado Gold from C$18.00 to C$19.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Eldorado Gold from C$16.00 to C$17.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Eldorado Gold from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th.

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Insider Activity

Eldorado Gold Trading Down 2.5 %

In related news, Senior Officer Lisa Marie Ower sold 39,621 shares of Eldorado Gold stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.50, for a total transaction of C$614,125.50. In other news, Senior Officer Lisa Marie Ower sold 39,621 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.50, for a total value of C$614,125.50. Also, Senior Officer Mehmet Yilmaz sold 10,195 shares of Eldorado Gold stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.63, for a total transaction of C$179,737.85. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,813 shares of company stock valued at $996,636. Company insiders own 0.71% of the companys stock.

TSE ELD opened at C$16.98 on Friday. Eldorado Gold has a 52-week low of C$10.69 and a 52-week high of C$18.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.04. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.45, a P/E/G ratio of 56.20 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$14.71 and a 200 day moving average price of C$13.68.

Eldorado Gold (TSE:ELD  Get Free Report) (NYSE:EGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported C$0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of C$0.02 by C$0.21. Eldorado Gold had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 1.70%. The company had revenue of C$329.04 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Eldorado Gold will post 0.7177585 EPS for the current year.

Eldorado Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru gold mines located in western Turkey; Lamaque gold mines located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania.

Further Reading

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Tembo Gold Corp. (CVE:TEM  Get Free Report) traded up 5.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$0.18 and last traded at C$0.18. 10,500 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 65,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.17.

Tembo Gold Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$0.17 and a 200 day moving average of C$0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of C$18.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.69.

About Tembo Gold

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Tembo Gold Corp., a junior mineral exploration company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Tanzania. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its flagship project is the Tembo gold property covering an area of 32 square kilometers located in the Lake Victoria goldfield district in northwest Tanzania.

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State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of SolarWinds Co. (NYSE:SWI  Free Report) by 80.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,735 shares of the software makers stock after acquiring an additional 15,899 shares during the quarter. State of Wyomings holdings in SolarWinds were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of SolarWinds in the second quarter worth approximately $218,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in SolarWinds by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 115,125 shares of the software makers stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 27,400 shares in the last quarter. HarbourVest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SolarWinds during the 1st quarter valued at $31,989,000. American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SolarWinds by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 24,528 shares of the software makers stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of SolarWinds by 42.9% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 168,341 shares of the software makers stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 50,521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.18% of the companys stock.

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SolarWinds Stock Up 0.3 %

SolarWinds stock opened at $11.63 on Friday. SolarWinds Co. has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $12.22. The businesss fifty day moving average is $10.40 and its 200 day moving average is $10.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

About SolarWinds

SolarWinds ( NYSE:SWI Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The software maker reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.11. SolarWinds had a negative net margin of 2.53% and a positive return on equity of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $189.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.09 million. Equities analysts anticipate that SolarWinds Co. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

(Free Report)

SolarWinds Corporation provides information technology (IT) management software products in the United States and internationally. The company offers a portfolio of solutions to technology professionals for monitoring, managing, and optimizing networks, systems, desktops, applications, storage, databases, website infrastructures, and IT service desks.

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Shares of TELUS International (Cda) Inc. (TSE:TIXT  Get Free Report) were up 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$10.15 and last traded at C$9.99. Approximately 141,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 207,846 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$9.91.

TELUS International (Cda) Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$754.80 million, a PE ratio of 39.23 and a beta of 0.78. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$9.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$13.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 90.14.

TELUS International (Cda) Company Profile

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TELUS International (Cda) Inc design, builds, and delivers digital solutions for customer experience (CX) in Europe, North America, the Asia-Pacific, and the Central America. The company provides digital experience solutions, such as AI and bots, omnichannel CX, enterprise mobility solutions, cloud contact center, big data analytics, platform transformation, and UX/UI design; and customer experience solutions, including work anywhere/work from home, contact center outsourcing, technical support, sales growth and customer retention, healthcare/patient experience, and debt collection.

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Alithya Group Inc. (TSE:ALYA  Get Free Report)s share price was down 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as C$1.40 and last traded at C$1.41. Approximately 47,222 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 31,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$1.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on Alithya Group from C$2.75 to C$2.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a C$3.50 price objective on Alithya Group and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Cormark lowered their price objective on Alithya Group from C$3.50 to C$2.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Finally, Desjardins cut their target price on shares of Alithya Group from C$3.15 to C$2.70 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th.

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Alithya Group Stock Performance

About Alithya Group

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.83. The company has a market capitalization of C$122.83 million, a PE ratio of -3.16, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$1.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$2.19.

(Get Free Report)

Alithya Group Inc provides strategy and digital technology services in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company's business strategy services include strategic consulting, digital transformation, organizational performance, and enterprise architecture services. It also provides application services, such as digital applications DevOps, legacy systems modernization, control and software engineering, cloud infrastructure, quality assurance, and automated testing; enterprise solutions comprising enterprise resource planning, corporate performance management, customer relationship management, and human capital management; and data and analytics solutions, including business intelligence, data management, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, as well as internet of things.

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United Capital Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF (NYSEARCA:FNDC  Free Report) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 797,121 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 7,555 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLCs holdings in Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF were worth $26,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF by 9.2% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,921 shares of the companys stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC raised its stake in shares of Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF by 1,175.4% in the first quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 358,914 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,891,000 after buying an additional 330,773 shares during the period. OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF in the first quarter valued at $2,283,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,570 shares of the companys stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period.

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Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:FNDC opened at $33.03 on Friday. Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF has a 52-week low of $30.11 and a 52-week high of $34.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.92. The businesss fifty day moving average is $32.05 and its 200 day moving average is $32.93.

About Schwab Fundamental International Small Cap Company Index ETF

The Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index ETF (FNDC) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in small-cap stocks. The fund tracks a fundamentally-selected and -weighted Russell index of small firms in developed ex-US markets based on adjusted sales, retained operational cash flow, and dividends\u002Fbuybacks.

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United Capital Financial Advisers LLC decreased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,715 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 36,734 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLCs holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $23,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Miller Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 142 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $249.65 on Friday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $234.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $264.19. The firm has a market cap of $75.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

Illinois Tool Works ( NYSE:ITW Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 95.68%. Illinois Tool Workss revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 29th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 28th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Workss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ITW. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $235.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $238.25.

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Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.

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Glenmede Trust Co. NA reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX  Free Report) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,154 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA owned about 0.11% of Quest Diagnostics worth $17,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 189 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $37,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.76% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $142.00 to $130.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $136.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $145.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $135.91 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $158.34. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 analysts expectations of $2.27 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 16th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Quest Diagnosticss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.64%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

(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.

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Lumature Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LHX  Free Report) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,316 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. L3Harris Technologies comprises about 0.9% of Lumature Wealth Partners LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Lumature Wealth Partners LLCs holdings in L3Harris Technologies were worth $1,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of L3Harris Technologies by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 230 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of L3Harris Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,925 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of L3Harris Technologies by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the companys stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of L3Harris Technologies by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC now owns 14,635 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,865,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in L3Harris Technologies by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 6,236 shares of the companys stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 81.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

LHX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded L3Harris Technologies from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on L3Harris Technologies from $211.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of L3Harris Technologies in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on L3Harris Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. They set a hold rating and a $192.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on L3Harris Technologies in a research note on Monday, September 11th. They set a buy rating and a $193.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $223.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other L3Harris Technologies news, insider Edward J. Zoiss sold 4,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $900,980.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,183 shares in the company, valued at $5,164,770. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the companys stock.

L3Harris Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LHX opened at $195.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.09. L3Harris Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.25 and a 1-year high of $221.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.13. L3Harris Technologies had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 7.96%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. L3Harris Technologiess revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that L3Harris Technologies, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

L3Harris Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. L3Harris Technologiess dividend payout ratio is currently 58.61%.

L3Harris Technologies Company Profile

(Free Report)

L3Harris Technologies, Inc, an aerospace and defense technology company, provides mission-critical solutions for government and commercial customers worldwide. The company's Integrated Mission Systems segment provides multi-mission intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems; and communication systems, as well as fleet management support, sensor development, modification, and periodic depot maintenance services for ISR and airborne missions.

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Stephens Inc. AR decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,709 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 7,878 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. ARs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $131,000. United Bank grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $96,257,000 after purchasing an additional 15,521 shares during the period. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% in the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.70% of the companys stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $104.51 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $97.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.36. The firm has a market cap of $181.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.82 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.15% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 13th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 12th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is 69.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.05, for a total value of $4,702,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,725,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $632,515,969.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $116.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. TheStreet cut Abbott Laboratories from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $117.47.

View Our Latest Analysis on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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B. Riley Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG  Free Report) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 485,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock after acquiring an additional 29,986 shares during the quarter. Vishay Precision Group accounts for 6.6% of B. Riley Asset Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. B. Riley Asset Management LLC owned 3.57% of Vishay Precision Group worth $18,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 962,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $40,205,000 after acquiring an additional 14,118 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 962,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $40,193,000 after acquiring an additional 38,948 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 615,503 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $22,866,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 613,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $22,785,000 after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 604,989 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $19,451,000 after buying an additional 4,189 shares during the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VPG shares. TheStreet cut shares of Vishay Precision Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Vishay Precision Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Vishay Precision Group from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th.

Vishay Precision Group Stock Performance

Shares of Vishay Precision Group stock opened at $30.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 4.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Vishay Precision Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.93 and a twelve month high of $45.69. The stock has a market cap of $415.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.24. The companys fifty day moving average is $31.01 and its 200 day moving average is $34.18.

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.09). Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $85.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vishay Precision Group, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Vishay Precision Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems.

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B. Riley Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,457,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 52.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,057,346 shares of the companys stock valued at $813,147,000 after buying an additional 4,133,786 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 60.7% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,103,159 shares of the companys stock valued at $209,277,000 after buying an additional 1,172,525 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 0.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,648,057 shares of the companys stock valued at $178,585,000 after buying an additional 23,455 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 24.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,647,717 shares of the companys stock valued at $178,562,000 after buying an additional 523,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 35.3% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,517,230 shares of the companys stock worth $169,762,000 after purchasing an additional 657,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.53% of the companys stock.

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Planet Fitness Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Planet Fitness stock opened at $67.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.36. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.13 and a 52 week high of $85.90. The firms 50 day moving average is $58.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Planet Fitness ( NYSE:PLNT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $277.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.18 million. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 12.80% and a negative return on equity of 102.85%. The firms revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PLNT has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Planet Fitness from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Planet Fitness from $66.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 12th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Planet Fitness from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Planet Fitness from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.88.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Planet Fitness

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Fitness

In other news, Director Christopher Rondeau sold 1,000,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.55, for a total transaction of $66,550,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Planet Fitness

(Free Report)

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The Franchise segment is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.

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Lumature Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK  Free Report) by 43.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,194 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLCs holdings in Duke Energy were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 21.2% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 4,565 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $118,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,760 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 191,379 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $17,174,000 after buying an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 4,925 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.68% of the companys stock.

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Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $94.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $106.43.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

Duke Energy ( NYSE:DUK Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.13 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 4.47%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. Duke Energys payout ratio is presently 261.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $109.00 to $96.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Duke Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $98.55.

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About Duke Energy

(Free Report)

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity.

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Slagle Financial LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT  Free Report) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 27,732 shares of the medical technology companys stock, valued at approximately $2,443,000. Medtronic comprises about 1.5% of Slagle Financial LLCs holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 307.2% in the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 119,389 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $10,518,000 after buying an additional 90,068 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Medtronic by 109.0% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 802,643 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $64,674,000 after acquiring an additional 418,648 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 20.6% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 17,220 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Viawealth LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 3.3% during the first quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 12,085 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 5.0% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 40,743 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. 80.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT opened at $79.34 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $74.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.73. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $68.84 and a one year high of $92.02.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

Medtronic ( NYSE:MDT Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 20th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 19th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Medtronics payout ratio is 89.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Medtronic from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Medtronic from $104.00 to $98.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $93.33.

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Medtronic Company Profile

(Free Report)

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.

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Slagle Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HTRB  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,413 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HTRB. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 4.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 210,767 shares of the companys stock worth $7,166,000 after purchasing an additional 8,930 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 88.8% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,690 shares of the companys stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF during the second quarter worth $2,994,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 294,434 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC increased its holdings in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 19,790 shares of the companys stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter.

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Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Stock Performance

Shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF stock opened at $33.21 on Friday. Hartford Total Return Bond ETF has a one year low of $31.16 and a one year high of $34.71. The stocks 50-day moving average is $32.19 and its 200-day moving average is $32.81.

Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Profile

The Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (HTRB) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond index. The fund is an actively managed fund that invests in a wide array of global fixed income instruments considered attractive from a total-return perspective, with current income as a secondary goal.

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Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL  Free Report) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,732,486 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 132,492 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises about 20.7% of Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.89% of Delta Air Lines worth $272,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DAL. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 85.8% during the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3,355.6% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 933 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.29% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Raymond James lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $44.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $54.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, Director David S. Taylor acquired 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.09 per share, for a total transaction of $330,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,470 shares of the companys stock, valued at $578,082.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Delta Air Lines news, Director David S. Taylor bought 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.09 per share, for a total transaction of $330,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,470 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $578,082.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,030 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $100,868.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,362 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,174,600.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the companys stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $40.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.39. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $49.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.87.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 12th. The transportation company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.08. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 54.95%. The company had revenue of $15.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Delta Air Liness quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 11th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Delta Air Liness dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

(Free Report)

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Seoul-Incheon.

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Keebeck Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK  Free Report) by 14.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,796 shares of the medical technology companys stock after buying an additional 2,311 shares during the quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Stryker were worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Stryker in the 1st quarter worth $3,257,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Stryker by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 400,767 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $114,412,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its holdings in Stryker by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 30,422 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $9,281,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Stryker by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 4,451 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.24% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at Stryker

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 56,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.91, for a total transaction of $16,262,020.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,034 shares of the companys stock, valued at $23,330,498.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 56,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.91, for a total transaction of $16,262,020.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,034 shares of the companys stock, valued at $23,330,498.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Srikant M. Datar sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.57, for a total transaction of $215,677.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,528,722.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,306 shares of company stock valued at $16,791,134. Company insiders own 5.90% of the companys stock.

Stryker Trading Down 0.1 %

Stryker stock opened at $289.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $276.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.90, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.94. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $235.81 and a 52-week high of $306.93.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The medical technology company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 10.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 29th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Strykers previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 28th. Strykers dividend payout ratio is currently 44.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SYK. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Stryker from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Stryker from $342.00 to $330.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Stryker from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $312.17.

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Stryker Company Profile

(Free Report)

Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in hip and knee joint replacements, and trauma and extremities surgeries. This segment also offers spinal implant products comprising cervical, thoracolumbar, and interbody systems that are used in spinal injury, deformity, and degenerative therapies.

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KEARNEY  As it is every Christmas season, Hoovers Jewelers at 2106 Central Avenue is twinkling with Christmas lights.

But this year, a closing sign is posted on the front door. After 25 years at its current location and 35 years in Kearney, the store will close in early 2024. Its owners are retiring.

We never thought about selling it. New owners might change it, Linda Griffiths said. She has owned the store with her husband Randy ever since it opened at Hilltop Mall in 1988.

I love the store, the business, the people I work with, everything, she said. Everything we do here is a celebration of a life or an occasion. Jewelry is given to another person because someone loves someone.

Hoovers Jewelers was founded by Herb and Bunny Hoover in North Platte in 1930. Griffiths father Bonny worked for them and became proficient as a watchmaker and a bench jeweler.

He eventually became a partner in the business, and when the Hoovers retired, Bonny bought the store. He retrained the Hoovers Jewelers name because it was so well-known in North Platte. At the time, two Hoovers stores were located there.

Like her siblings, Griffiths grew up in the industry. She worked at the store as a teenager, but did not expect to make it her career. After graduating from high school, she briefly attended Kearney State College.

I didnt know what I wanted to do, so I left college, went home and went to beauty school. I did hair for a brief time, but I knew that wasnt what I wanted to do, either, she said.

She resumed working in her parents store. I loved doing jewelry, she said, so she went to Santa Monica, California, to earned a gemology degree at the Gemological Institute of America.

After studying watch repair in Paris, Texas, she returned to California to study jewelry arts and learned the process of making jewelry.

When she and Randy moved to Kearney, they opened Hoovers at Hilltop Mall in 1988. Ten years later, they moved the store to Central Avenue downtown. Linda works there full-time. The couples grown daughter, their only child, helps out part-time. Randy owns and operates Griffiths Construction.

This is a fun business, Griffiths said. Some of her pieces are designed here, but she buys others at annual jewelry markets or from vendors. She can also help customers design custom pieces.

Griffiths has watched the jewelry business change over the last 35 years. Jewelry stores no longer sell class rings. Schools do that instead.

Colored diamonds are growing in popularity. Some people like colors better than white diamonds, she said.

Her best sellers are anything with diamonds. Many diamonds now are grown in a lab rather than dug out of a mine.

As she posts store closing signs, she nostalgically recalls many memorable customers, like the older couple, each widowed, who married after a whirlwind romance. It was very unique and exciting, she said.

Another longtime customer and his wife have been married nearly 40 years, and he adores her. He enjoys spoiling her after all these years. You wish every husband was that way with his wife, she said.

Griffiths enjoys younger customers, too, like students from the University of Nebraska at Kearney she has come to know. They often leave town after they graduate, but when they return to see friends or family, they stop in.

Looking back, she appreciates her education in the basics of making and repairing jewelry. She knew her talents lay in other parts of the business, but You have to know how to fix it. Thats important, she said.

Estimating the cost of repairs is part of the day-to-day business in a jewelry store. The hardest part of the industry is doing repairs. You have to look at a piece and think ahead, to what it should look like afterward.

Repairs make up between 30 and 40 percent of their business. Griffiths can do minor repairs, but she leaves that to expert employees. Her staff includes two full-time employees and several part-time workers.

She knows she will miss everything about the shop and the business after she retires, but I will try to get my house in order, she said.

It will be the end of the line for Hoovers Jewelers. Both North Platte stores are now closed.

In the meantime, shes busy with Christmas customers, who flock to Hoovers this time of year seeking gifts and engagement rings. When Hoovers Jewelers store was at Hilltop Mall, she sometimes worked from 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. in a single day during the holidays.

Griffiths has loved the downtown location, not only for more convenient hours  no evenings or Sundays  but because downtown is thriving.

Downtown is very strong. Kearney is lucky to have a good, strong downtown, she said.

When she and Randy stop for a gallon of milk at the grocery store, the people we see are our customers and friends. That type of uniquely wonderful experience cant be found just anywhere. We have really loved being part of the Kearney community.
Keebeck Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSEARCA:IGM  Free Report) by 134.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,237 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares during the quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLCs holdings in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF by 137.1% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 83 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC acquired a new stake in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF during the second quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF during the second quarter worth about $73,000.

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iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF Stock Up 0.8 %

IGM opened at $427.12 on Friday. iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF has a fifty-two week low of $272.47 and a fifty-two week high of $428.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 1.18. The companys 50-day moving average price is $401.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $394.56.

About iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF

iShares North American Tech ETF, formerly iShares S&P North American Technology Sector Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, of the United States-traded technology companies, as represented by the S&P North American Technology Sector Index (the Index).

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Abdiel Capital Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST  Free Report) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,789,837 shares of the companys stock after selling 213,625 shares during the period. Toast makes up 9.3% of Abdiel Capital Advisors LPs portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Abdiel Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 2.03% of Toast worth $243,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Toast by 99,668.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 36,462,253 shares of the companys stock valued at $822,953,000 after acquiring an additional 36,425,706 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Toast by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,883,270 shares of the companys stock valued at $512,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956,535 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Toast by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,413,189 shares of the companys stock valued at $458,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,232,858 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Toast by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,305,137 shares of the companys stock valued at $526,000,000 after acquiring an additional 6,655,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Toast by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,546,558 shares of the companys stock valued at $418,596,000 after acquiring an additional 3,907,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.29% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 1,486 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $26,019.86. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 378,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,629,583.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 1,812 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total transaction of $31,021.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,199 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,605,646.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 1,486 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total value of $26,019.86. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 378,617 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,629,583.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 460,322 shares of company stock worth $8,825,672 in the last ninety days. 13.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on TOST shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Toast from $31.00 to $20.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird raised Toast from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Toast from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Toast from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Toast from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $20.32.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on TOST

Toast Stock Performance

NYSE:TOST opened at $15.35 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.79. The company has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.35 and a beta of 1.56. Toast, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.77 and a fifty-two week high of $27.00.

Toast (NYSE:TOST  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.02. Toast had a negative return on equity of 27.94% and a negative net margin of 8.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. The companys revenue was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Toast, Inc. will post -0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toast Profile

(Free Report)

Toast, Inc operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States and Ireland. The company offers Toast POS, a software module that integrates payment processing with point of sale functionality; Toast Invoicing that allows restaurants to send invoices and collect payment; Toast Mobile Order & Pay, which allows guests to scan a QR code to browse the menu, order, and pay from mobile; Kitchen Display System software that connects the house with the kitchen staff; and Multi-Location Management, a tool to manage operations and configure menus across multiple locations and channels.

Further Reading

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Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Free Report) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,096,274 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after selling 4,771 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned about 0.19% of EOG Resources worth $125,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EOG. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of EOG Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $147.05.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $118.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.10. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.52 and a 1-year high of $137.95. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $125.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.39.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The energy exploration company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.91 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.80%. Research analysts expect that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 12.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 16th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from EOG Resourcess previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.52%.

EOG Resources Profile

(Free Report)

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.

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Affinity Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET  Free Report) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,342 shares of the pipeline companys stock after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 100.0% during the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 133.3% during the second quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. 33.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.3 %

Energy Transfer stock opened at $13.30 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average is $13.56 and its 200-day moving average is $13.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.05. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $11.37 and a 1 year high of $14.15. The company has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 1.62.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

Energy Transfer ( NYSE:ET Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $20.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.68 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 11.98%. On average, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 30th were paid a dividend of $0.313 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfers previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 27th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.42%. Energy Transfers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ET shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a neutral rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. They issued an outperform rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $16.57.

Get Our Latest Analysis on ET

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.53 per share, with a total value of $13,530,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 65,578,477 shares in the company, valued at $887,276,793.81. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Energy Transfer news, EVP Thomas P. Mason acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.33 per share, with a total value of $99,975.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,707,720 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $22,763,907.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.53 per share, with a total value of $13,530,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 65,578,477 shares of the companys stock, valued at $887,276,793.81. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Energy Transfer

(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.

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Slagle Financial LLC bought a new stake in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,733 shares of the aircraft producers stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BA. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Boeing by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 36,819,108 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $7,774,723,000 after acquiring an additional 868,582 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Boeing by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,416,857 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $5,578,184,000 after purchasing an additional 392,811 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Boeing by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,306,455 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $3,865,614,000 after purchasing an additional 863,026 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Boeing by 109,667.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,055,730 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $3,058,456,000 after purchasing an additional 16,041,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Boeing by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,115,353 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $2,347,119,000 after acquiring an additional 185,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.33% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BA. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Boeing in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Boeing from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Boeing in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Boeing from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Boeing from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $253.61.

Boeing Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BA opened at $244.45 on Friday. The Boeing Company has a 52-week low of $176.25 and a 52-week high of $244.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $201.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.10.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The aircraft producer reported ($3.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($3.21) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $18.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.01 billion. Boeings revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($6.18) EPS. Analysts forecast that The Boeing Company will post -5.93 EPS for the current year.

Boeing Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital.

Further Reading

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Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX  Free Report) by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 638,469 shares of the natural resource companys stock after buying an additional 184,469 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for 1.2% of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $25,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth $26,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 626.5% in the 2nd quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the natural resource companys stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 77.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $38.15 on Friday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $35.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $46.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78 and a beta of 2.02.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

Freeport-McMoRan ( NYSE:FCX Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The natural resource company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.43 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 9.50%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 12th. Freeport-McMoRans payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They set a neutral rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eight Capital set a $55.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five 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 target price of $43.38.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Freeport-McMoRan

About Freeport-McMoRan

(Free Report)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals, as well as oil and gas. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Tyrone and Chino in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

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Aspen Grove Capital LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,565 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Aspen Grove Capital LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the companys stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter worth $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter worth $561,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $673.00 to $722.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a $710.00 target price (up from $612.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $570.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 670 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.10, for a total transaction of $382,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,708 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,688,738.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 215,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.44, for a total value of $130,169,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,768,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at $60,404,028,326.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 670 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.10, for a total value of $382,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,688,738.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 216,818 shares of company stock worth $131,230,682 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $598.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $585.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $525.33. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $309.20 and a 52-week high of $629.97. The firm has a market cap of $567.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.34, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.33.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.88 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 48.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.88%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Perritt Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 22.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,841 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.6% in the second quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 49,112 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.2% in the second quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 8,973 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Security Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 20.3% in the first quarter. Security Asset Management now owns 9,230 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Architects LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 8,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 69.6% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. 74.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $50.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $52.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.34. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $48.25 and a 52-week high of $80.67.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.96 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 51.59% and a net margin of 18.44%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 5th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $51.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $80.00 to $66.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $81.00 to $69.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a hold rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $63.59.

Read Our Latest Report on Bristol-Myers Squibb

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, CEO Christopher S. Boerner acquired 3,071 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.86 per share, with a total value of $150,049.06. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 79,384 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,878,702.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 8,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.81 per share, with a total value of $423,385.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 35,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher S. Boerner purchased 3,071 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.86 per share, with a total value of $150,049.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 79,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,878,702.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 13,571 shares of company stock worth $672,994. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 142.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,737 shares of the retailers stock after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Walmart by 48.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 336,534 shares of the retailers stock worth $52,897,000 after acquiring an additional 110,078 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4,392.0% in the second quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 151,427 shares of the retailers stock worth $27,310,000 after acquiring an additional 148,056 shares during the period. Affinity Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.4% in the second quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,860 shares of the retailers stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Slagle Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Aspen Grove Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the second quarter worth $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.18% of the companys stock.

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Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of WMT traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $150.86. 11,356,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,443,014. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.09 and a 52 week high of $169.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The companys 50 day moving average is $159.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.16. The company has a market capitalization of $406.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.48.

Insider Activity at Walmart

Walmart ( NYSE:WMT Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.53. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 2.55%. The business had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 221 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.80, for a total transaction of $34,431.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 231,379,740 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,048,963,492. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 221 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.80, for a total transaction of $34,431.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 231,379,740 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,048,963,492. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 90,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.90, for a total value of $14,098,972.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 234,917,525 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,623,642,147.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,990,310 shares of company stock valued at $466,515,037 over the last quarter. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $169.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.44.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WMT

Walmart Profile

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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Cynosure Management LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWF  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 41,414 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $11,396,000. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF comprises 3.4% of Cynosure Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 300,000 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $73,299,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,612,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,778,000. Simplex Trading LLC increased its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 1,715.0% during the 2nd quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 27,969 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $7,696,000 after purchasing an additional 26,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Affiance Financial LLC boosted its position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $3,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA:IWF traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $294.10. 965,836 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,737. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has a twelve month low of $209.27 and a twelve month high of $294.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $277.85 and a 200 day moving average of $274.63. The stock has a market cap of $75.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 1.08.

About iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of equity securities of Russell 1000 index issuers with relatively higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth.

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KEARNEY  Ray Longoria will step down as CEO of the Kearney Family YMCA in January and return to his previous position as the Y's program director.

He has held the top position at the Y since late 2020.

My decision to step down wasnt easy, Longoria said. I remain committed to the YMCA mission and will continue to offer full leadership support in the interim as well as to the new leader.

Im grateful that I will be able to work even closer with our community through the Ys many programs, he added.

Longoria, a native of Scottsbluff, started working at the Y on Nov. 9, 2010, as the program manager. In 2012, he was promoted to program director. He became senior program director in 2017, and succeeded Denny Placzek as CEO on Oct. 30, 2020.

Jaci Pohl, president of the Ys board of directors, noted Longorias leadership during the recent $12.8 million expansion and other achievements.

Rays passion for this community and YMCAs programs is a perfect fit for his new role, she said.

An earlier version of this story said a YMCA employee would take over as interim director, per information provided through the organization's public relations firm. After digital publication, The Hub was informed that information was incorrect.
Keebeck Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,505 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Keebeck Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 97,996.2% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,101,555,797 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $229,111,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,099,413,455 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 137,153,545 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $14,952,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,552 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the second quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 77,225,258 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $8,419,032,000 after acquiring an additional 820,369 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,817,109 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $8,156,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,889 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% during the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,178,607 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $6,451,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747,652 shares during the period. 73.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.05, for a total transaction of $4,702,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,725,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,515,969.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. TheStreet lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Monday, October 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $117.47.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $104.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $115.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.36. The company has a market cap of $181.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.82 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 20.15%. The businesss revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 13th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 12th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.39%.

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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United Capital Financial Advisers LLC lowered its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 492,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 37,372 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLCs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $31,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 69.5% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 42,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 17,255 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 6.8% during the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 10,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the second quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 12.6% during the second quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.98% of the companys stock.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

NYSE:BMY opened at $50.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $102.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.34. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $48.25 and a 12 month high of $80.67. The businesss 50-day moving average is $52.75 and its 200 day moving average is $59.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 51.59% and a net margin of 18.44%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 5th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.81 per share, with a total value of $423,385.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,768,255. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher S. Boerner acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.78 per share, with a total value of $99,560.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,672 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,115,412.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $49.81 per share, with a total value of $423,385.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,255. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 13,571 shares of company stock valued at $672,994 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $68.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. William Blair lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, November 9th. They set a hold rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $81.00 to $69.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $63.59.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BMY

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

Further Reading

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Keebeck Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report) by 15.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,695 shares of the credit services providers stock after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Keebeck Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $268,923,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 75.8% during the 2nd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 109 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 74.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $475.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday. HSBC began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They issued a hold rating and a $424.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Mastercard from $479.00 to $470.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $496.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $451.09.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $412.04 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $336.43 and a 12 month high of $418.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $386.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $396.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $394.31.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The credit services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $6.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.83% and a net margin of 44.85%. Mastercards revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.16 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Mastercards previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 8th. Mastercards dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.86%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.88, for a total value of $1,655,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.88, for a total transaction of $1,655,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,580,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.45, for a total value of $47,489,249.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 98,424,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,150,222,216.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 520,776 shares of company stock valued at $200,842,951 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

(Free Report)

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report).

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The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) kicked off in Dubai with two pivotal announcements - World Industrial Day and Climate Action Initiative - in collaboration with UAE-based venture capital firm,VentureSouq.

The announcement was made at the GMIS Special Event held at the UAE Pavilion within the Blue Zone of COP28 to lead talks to decarbonise industries and advance climate action.

Namir Hourani, Managing Director of the GMIS, opened the day with two pivotal announcements of World Industrial Day and Climate Action Initiative, in the presence of Gerd Muller, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Omar Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

Emphasising the significance of these initiatives, Hourani said: "The summit has been a committed advocate for harnessing the power of innovation to accelerate the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) and promote global good. World Industrial Day and Climate Action Initiative, mark a significant step towards building a better future during this critical decade that demands bold climate action."

"As we navigate COP28, let us unite in our commitment to turn ambitions into action, pledges into purposeful progress, and innovation into scalable solutions. And together lets build a greener and sustainable future for all," he stated.

The GMIS Special Event drew the participation of high-profile delegates from the Blue Zone including leaders, from governments, the private sector, academia, and international organistaion.

Held under COP28 UAEs thematic day for Energy and Industry, Just Transition, and Indigenous People, the event was held on December 5 at the UAE Pavilion within the Blue Zone of COP28 UAE.

The Climate Action Initiative aims to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation, delivering sustainable impact at scale.

Unido will play a crucial role in identifying overarching global challenges while the GMIS will invite start-ups from around the world to find innovative and sustainable solutions to these challenges.

In collaboration with incubators and accelerators, the summit will provide mentorship and support to the most promising innovators, while Venture Souq will aid in the development, scaling and deployment of these solutions.

Furthermore, the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the UNIDO International Technology and Promotion Offices will help commercialise and deploy these solutions where they are needed most.

Sonia Weymuller, Founding Partner at VentureSouq, said: "Our collaboration with the Climate Action Initiative alongside the GMIS underscores the transformative power of innovation and the critical role of startups in driving climate action.

"By collaborating on this groundbreaking endeavour, we aim to empower these startups to scale their impactful solutions, paving the way for a sustainable future that addresses global challenges," he noted.

The GMIS Special Event featured insightful discussions with Dorothy McAuliffe, Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the United States Department of State, highlighting the pivotal role of public-private partnerships in driving sustainable industrial development during a fireside chat with Danny Sebright, President of the US-UAE Business Council.

Special Representative McAuliffe said: "Governments need the private sector's expertise, technological innovation and resources. Similarly, the private sector needs the government's ability to implement relevant policies that catalyse sustainable manufacturing and development and facilitate collaboration to bring private and public financing instruments together."

Roger Martella, Chief Sustainability Officer of General Electric and Michael Train, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Emerson, was joined by Lorena Dellagiovanna, Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer and CDEIO of Hitachi and Jillian Evanlko, President, CEO and Director of Chart Industries on a panel titled Powering the Future: Innovations in Renewable Energy to explore the challenges and opportunities of integrating renewable energy into the manufacturing sector.

Speaking on behalf of Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Fatima Elsheikh, Strategic Advisor of BADEA, kicked off the second panel on Advancing the Climate Agenda: The Role of the 5IR in Transforming Industries, with a keynote speech.

Moderated by Mattie Yeta, Chief Sustainability Officer of CGI, the session analysed the potential of the 5th Industrial Revolution to transform hard-to-abate sectors, featuring insights from Alessandro Bresciani, Senior Vice President for Climate Technology Solutions at Baker Hughes; James Dorris, CEO of Odys Aviation, Omar Al Mahmoud, Chief Executive Officer of ICT Fund; and Prof. Dr. Estelle L.A. Herlyn, Member of the Board for Global Energy Solutions.

Weixi Gong, Chief, Division of Investment and Technology Promotion Offices & Institutional Partnerships for UNIDO, delivered closing remarks, wrapping up a high-impact event supporting COP28s Climate Action Agenda.-TradeArabia News Service
Kearney is blessed with very caring, selfless, generous people. Look no farther than the $1.93 million raised in the 11th annual Give Where You Live Thursday. Alas, even perfection has a flaw or two.

A few weeks ago, I headed to the World Theatre to see King Coal, a documentary on the declining coal industry in Appalachia. I wanted to explore my roots.

My grandparents were born in Beattyville, Kentucky. My grandfather worked as a coal miner for a year or two, but he hated working underground, so with his young wife, a baby and a cow and a sow, he headed north to Ohio for a better life.

At a family reunion in Kentucky 35 years ago, we piled into cars and wound deep into the mountains to find our roots. The frame house where my grandmother was born and raised burned down long ago, but we found the well, along with a rusting car from the 1950s.

That afternoon, we scrambled up a little ravine seeking the hidden graves of Milton Rhodes Boone and Patty Akers, my great-great grandparents, and my great-grandmother Ella Eva Boone and others. (Yes, Boone, as in Daniel. Hes a great uncle of generations ago.) Their humble headstones were hidden under ivy.

I went to the World to be transported back to Appalachia for an hour or two.

I parked in front of MONA, but as soon as I opened the car door, I was assaulted by shrieking music with a country swagger. It rushed in like thunder.

As I regained my senses, I wondered where it was coming from. MONA is closed for renovations, and nearby stores and the tattoo parlor were closed. Nothing was open except the World Theatre.

Then I remembered that the city had decided to blast music down Central Avenue day and night. As that music blared, I got angry. Whats the purpose of this racket? Friday nights at the World, especially in the winter, have a magic all their own. That music is like turning on a jackhammer amidst the peace and quiet.

Frowning, I began thinking about those colored lights that change hues every few minutes on Kearneys water towers, too. Whats wrong with ordinary white lights? This costume change every few minutes is a waste of money. Yes, money. My money  and yours, too. We pay the taxes to finance those lights.

Who cares about a color wheel on water towers, anyway, especially this time of year? Its cold at night, and nobody is outside except motorists and dog-walkers this time of year anyway.

Back to that downtown music. At Christmas, some cities pipe carols in their shopping districts. Walking down Central Avenue this time of year and hearing Michael Buble and Bing Crosby crooning holiday tunes doesnt bother me. But not at night, please, especially in parts of downtown that get only a handful of visitors after dark.

Alas, we are prisoners of noise everywhere. Airports, shopping centers, grocery stores, discount stores, restaurants, medical offices. You name it, theres music. Its so prevalent that some people in Gen Z cant tolerate silence and require white noise to fall asleep.

Background music belongs politely in the background, but at restaurants and wedding receptions, its shoved to the front. At wedding receptions, that darn music thunders so loud that we guests have to lean close and shout into each others ears to converse. Its no fun.

Once I asked a venue owner why the music was so loud and he just looked at me. He couldnt think of a reason. Finally, he muttered, Its what people want. I suspect he just cant hear the requests to turn it down.

Now so-called background music has shoved its way to the front in Kearney, too. If individual stores choose to play music inside, fine, but we dont need it outside. Kearney has a thriving downtown. Its the shops, not music or lack thereof, that bring people downtown.

Which brings me back to the movie at The World. There were just nine of us in the theater that night, but the film gave me lots to ponder. When it ended, my head still spinning, I zipped up my jacket and headed back out to Central Avenue. That screeching music slammed me like a splat of mud in the face. Really, Kearney? Our city is better than that.
It is possible a storm could be named by weather chiefs at Met Eireann before making landfall in Ireland on Saturday, weather models suggest.

The country looks set to endure a brutal weekend of weather with storm force winds and rain sweeping over the country on Saturday before more unsettled weather on Sunday.

Forecaster Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather suggests the weather system responsible could be named by Met Eireann in the coming hours as he predicted some strong winds.

He said: "The UK Met Office have issued some wind warnings for tomorrow but still none from Met Eireann at 10:45am Friday. Possibly trying to decide if to name the storm or not? A risk of some very strong winds tomorrow either way. Stay up to date as I expect they will issue warnings."

He added: "Latest weather models showing a risk of damaging winds in the Northwest tomorrow [Saturday] as nasty little low system hits. Likely to see warnings issued. A very windy day across the country Saturday and also some heavy rain in Northern areas."

The only warning so far issued by Met Eireann is a Status Yellow gale warning from Mizen Head to Erris Head to Belfast Lough from 5am Saturday to 2am on Sunday.

"Westerly winds will increase to gale force 8 or higher," Met Eireann warned.

In their general outlook for Saturday, Met Eireann said: "Becoming very windy on Saturday. On Saturday morning, rain will continue to push northeastwards over Ireland, becoming confined to north Ulster by the afternoon. Sunny spells and blustery showers will follow across the rest of the country, some of the showers will be heavy and with hail.

"Showers may merge to give longer spells of rain, especially across the northern half of the country. Maximum temperatures of 7 to 11 degrees in strong and gusty southwest winds, which will veer westerly during the day, reaching gale force at the coast.

"Winds will gradually ease on Saturday night as showers become isolated and mostly restricted to north Ulster. However, later in the night, a further spell of rain will push in across Munster and Connacht, extending across the rest of the country by dawn on Sunday. Lowest temperatures of 4 to 7 degrees with fresh and gusty westerly winds, backing southerly and moderating."
[December 08, 2023] MCCANN WORLDGROUP NAMED EPICA AWARDS 2023 NETWORK OF THE YEAR Tweet

McCann Worldgroup Europe Awarded Agency Network of the Year at Effie,

Following Agency of the Year at the Campaign US BIG Awards for McCann New York NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- McCann Worldgroup is closing the year with strong creative momentum, having been named 2023 Network of the Year by the Epica Awards, the sixth time the network has been awarded this coveted distinction in the last seven years and the latest in a string of top industry honors, including 2023 Effie Europe Agency Network of the Year and Agency of the Year at the Campaign US BIG Awards for McCann New York. The network dominated Epica's Grand Prix honors this year, the only award show judged by journalists, with McCann New York winning: 2023 Agency of the Year , the second time the agency took home the award.

, the second time the agency took home the award. The PR Grand Prix for Chick-Fil-A's "The Brake Room"  a much-needed rest hub for New York delivery workers.

for Chick-Fil-A's "The Brake Room"  a much-needed rest hub for delivery workers. The Design Grand Prix for Microsoft's ADLaM project, which digitized Pulaar, the West African language of the Fulani people and made it accessible across Microsoft 365. In addition, McCann New York and McCann Poland took home the Digital Grand Prix for Mastercard's "Where to Settle," which aggregated job and real estate data and anonymous Mastercard spending insights to help refugees in Poland find a fresh start outside of the major cities. The network also won 5 Gold, 10 Silver, and 11 Bronze awards across its agencies. Commenting on the recognition, McCann Worldgroup and McCann's Global Chief Creative OfficerJavier Campopiano said, "What's particularly gratifying about these honors is that they showcase how our creative craft in its finest form builds enduring brands, grows businesses, and enriches lives. Together with our clients, we are showcasing how 'Truth Well Told'  our core philosophy for over 100 years  is as powerful a force as ever in a world where truth is constantly under attack."



McCann Worldgroup has recently garnered a host of industry recognition. Earlier this week, the network was named Effie Europe Agency Network of The Year for the eighth time, and the much-heralded "Kevin vs. John" work for Aldi was awarded the coveted Grand Effie. The network took home an additional four gold and three silver trophies for its work with IKEA, Aldi UK & Ireland, Vodafone and Getlini EKO. In addition, the Aldi campaign was named the Global Grand Effie winner in the Sustained Success Services category  one of the most competitive and prestigious awards to win. At the recent Campaign US Big Awards, McCann New York won Agency of the Year, "ADLaM" for Microsoft was named Campaign of the Year and "Best Purpose Driven Campaign," and took top honors in the tech category, Chick-fil-A's "The Brake Room" was recognized for "Best Brand Experience" and Lysol's "The World's Stinkiest Sock" won in the "Consumer Packaged Goods" category.

At Campaign Asia's Agency of the Year 2023 awards, McCann Worldgroup Singapore took Gold as Southeast Asia Integrated Marketing Agency of the Year and MRM Singapore won Gold as Southeast Asia B2B Marketing Agency of the Year. Prasoon Joshi, CEO & CCO at McCann Worldgroup India and Chairman, Asia Pacific, was named Southeast Asia Creative Leader of the Year. McCann Worldgroup Global CEO Daryl Lee concluded, "We are incredibly proud to see the enduring success of McCann Worldgroup in winning, year after year, the awards that recognize groundbreaking creative work that activates all the flavors of creativity in the world. I am grateful for the trust our clients place in us and the relentless hustle and excellence of our teams. I look forward to sustaining this success in 2024 and beyond." About McCann Worldgroup

McCann Worldgroup, part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), is a leading global creative solutions company. The company has more than 15,000 employees and is united across 100+ countries by a mission to help brands earn a meaningful role in people's lives. Our McCann Worldgroup network is comprised of McCann, MRM, CRAFT, FutureBrand and RafterOne and we partner with Momentum Worldwide, Weber Shandwick and UM to deliver solutions across the entire marketing communications spectrum. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mccann-worldgroup-named-epica-awards-2023-network-of-the-year-302010513.html SOURCE McCann Worldgroup

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[December 09, 2023] Neusoft Education Technology Group was Selected into the "2023 Typical Cases of Brand Credit Construction" by Xinhua News Agency Tweet

HONG KONG, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- By the riverside of Wanquan, a forum was held in Boao. From 2nd of December to 5th of December 2023, the 2023 Boao Forum for Chinese Entrepreneurs under the theme of "Embracing the Innovation with a Focus on Quality" organized by Xinhua News Agency, the People's Government of Hainan Province and the China Council for Brand Development was held in Boao, Hainan Province, with more than 3,500 guests from the Fortune Global 500, Top 500 Enterprises of China and industry-leading enterprises gathered together. At the "2023 Xinhua Brand Credit Construction Forum" held on 4th of December, the list of "2023 Typical Cases of Brand Credit Construction" was released for the first time. Neusoft Education Technology Group was successfully selected with its brand construction case, which is a full recognition for its demonstration and leading role in the "China Digital Talent Education Service Brand" industry and the achievements of its distinctive brand construction practices. Credit is the lifeblood of a brand, and the high-quality development of Chinese brands relies on the brand credit construction by enterprises. In March 2022, the Opinions on Promoting the Construction of a Social Credit System with High-quality Development and Promoting the Formation of a New Development Landscape issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council proposed the promotion of quality and brand credit construction. Based on this background, to better construct the corporate brand credit system, enhance the value o enterprise brand credit, and support the cultivation of a large number of exemplary enterprises that operate with integrity and fulfill their commitments, Xinhua News Agency launched the activity of "2023 Collection of Typical Cases of Brand Credit Construction", aiming to exert the demonstration and leading effects of advanced models, drive the collective creation, construction and sharing of a brand credit system throughout society, empower enterprises to develop with high quality, and serve the strategy for a strong brand nation.



As a leading IT higher education technology group and digital talent education service provider in China, Neusoft Education Technology Group focuses on the field of "IT + Health technology", forming a business development ecosystem consisting of higher education, education resources and continuing education services, known as the "One Fundamental Business and Two Strategic Businesses" model. Leveraging its strong industrial advantages and accumulated experience in academic education, and guided by the characteristic TOPCARES education methodology and talent training model, Neusoft developed an innovative "4S" System (CaaS - Content as a Service, SaaS - Software as a Service, PaaS - Platform as a Service, DaaS - Data as a Service) product service system, in a bid to empower comprehensive and three-dimensional connotation construction of education and teaching as well as reform and innovation in colleges and universities. So far, Neusoft Education provides high-quality educational resources, products and services to over 550 colleges and universities in China. In addition, in terms of continuing education services, To B training business has expanded to 24 provinces and cities across the country, and To C training business attracted more than 15,000 trainees annually. The above-mentioned data performance and educational service achievements serve as strong evidence of the industry influence, brand appeal and social credibility of Neusoft Education Technology Group. Looking ahead, Neusoft Education Technology Group will seize this award as an opportunity to actively play an exemplary role in the industry in digital education service brand, and continuously promote sustainable and high-quality development of the brand, making contributions to the construction of a digital China and the cultivation of digital talents.

Media Contact: Lin Wei

[email protected]

+852 69969328 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/neusoft-education-technology-group-was-selected-into-the-2023-typical-cases-of-brand-credit-construction-by-xinhua-news-agency-302010623.html SOURCE Neusoft Education Technology Co. Limited

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[December 09, 2023] AJAX TAKES A STAND AGAINST SOCIAL HATE Tweet

Today Ajax's men's and women's teams will play without names on the back of their jerseys. Three dots will be printed on their jersey instead. AMSTERDAM, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Every month, players from Ajax Amsterdam's men's and women's teams receive more than 1,500 hate messages on social media. This figure is based on research data provided by the club. Unfortunately, they are not the only people to experience this kind of online hate. Social hate is a growing trend, affecting millions of people. This weekend, in an effort to silence social hate, Ajax's men's and women's teams will play with three white dots instead of the usual names on their jerseys. The three dots are a globally recognised symbol representing silence. They also represent the menu icon you select to report hate messages and associated accounts. Social problem

Social hate is a major social problem, impacting millions of people on a global scale. Research shows that 82% of Dutch people are affected by reading hate messages or offensive comments on social media. These include threats, discrimination, harassment and other forms of aggression directed specifically at an individual or posted on another person's timeline. However, only 25% of social media users take action to stop it. This means that social media users unknowingly contribute to an environment in which social hate i becoming increasingly normalised. With its #SilenceSocialHate initiative, Ajax wants to start a discussion on the impact of social hate and how we can silence it together.



What can you do?

Social hate will continue to exist for as long as we allow it to. By ensuring that hate messages are reported more often, it increases the pressure on social media platforms to remove the offensive content and improve their response to social hate. Establishing and reinforcing these boundaries, results in making social media a better place for current and future generations. Reporting social hate is easy and anonymous. Select the menu icon (...) in your timeline and click on 'report'. The post or message and the associated account will now be up for review by the social media platform, as stated in their reporting policy: Facebook , Instagram , X , YouTube and TikTok .

More info ajax.nl/socialhate Images of the matches will be available later today via the press kit . Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek-DLpkYYIQ

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP8k4WW05NM

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2296653/Brian_Brobbey.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ajax-takes-a-stand-against-social-hate-302010355.html

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[December 09, 2023] Savory & Partners: Digital Nomad Visas Sparking a Migration Boom Tweet

DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The simplicity and lax requirements of digital nomad visas have made them easily accessible, and countries like Portugal and Spain, which have excellent infrastructure, great internet connection, and an outstanding standard of living, draw in more digital nomads by the day, according to experts at Dubai-headquartered citizenship and residency by investment advisors Savory and Partners. A recent research quoted by the company estimates that there are 16.9 million digital nomads roaming the globe. This is a whopping 162% increase from 2019, just four years earlier. As soon as Portugal introduced its digital nomad visa in October of 2022, the applications started pouring in. While the government hasn't announced the number of applications it has received, Portugal's Labour Minister did announce that the country approved 550 applications within the first six months. Two months after launching its visa in September of 2021, Greece received 2,918 applications, approving an astonishing 1,693 applicants. The government is yet to release any new statistics, but going off that outstanding start it is safe to assume it is still garnering massive attention. Germany als boasts impressive numbers, having issued a total of 3,638 visas in just one year since the introduction of its visa in 2018.



According to Residency Malta, the government branch responsible for the digital nomad visa, it has issued 1,041 visas to date, with an average approval rate of 78%. Croatia, one of the first countries to introduce a pure digital nomad visa in early 2021 as a response to the rise in remote workers, has approved 680 applications, while 672 are still pending approval.

Not just Europe "It's not just Europe but even Barbados' digital nomad visa, dubbed the Welcome Stamp, has been doing outstandingly well, receiving a total of 3,511 applications between 2020 and 2022", a digital nomad specialist at Savory & Partners reports. While digital nomads typically use visa-free access or visas to stay in countries for a few months at a time before moving on to the next, digital nomad visas provide a sense of comfort and stability that aligns perfectly with their lifestyle, giving them ample time to enjoy the country they are in before moving on to the next. Unsurprising demand The rapid growth in application numbers and the surging demand for digital nomad visas isn't surprising. They are extremely simple to apply to, have fast processing times ranging from a few days to a couple of months, and they do not require any business establishment or investment. Portugal's digital nomad visa, for example, only requires applicants to prove a monthly income of 3,040 per month, while Spain's visa has a lower threshold of just 2,160 per month. Savory & Partners?is?an?accredited agent?for?multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered. The company has coverage in over 20 jurisdictions, including Europe and was the first firm to obtain all five authorised agent licenses for the governments of the Caribbean Islands. It has processed second passports for over 4,000 citizens with a 100 per cent success rate. With a presence in 3 continents and 7 countries and more than 60 experts worldwide, the company's multinational staff comprises advisors who guide?clients in English, Arabic, Farsi, French, Spanish and Hindi. To know more about Savory & Partners, visit www.savoryandpartners.com. For more information, please send an email to [email protected].You can also call +971 04 430 1717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738007/3747594/Savory_and_Partners_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/savory--partners-digital-nomad-visas-sparking-a-migration-boom-302010292.html

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[December 09, 2023] Revolutionizing Water Stewardship - The City of Dire Dawa and Nedamco Africa Unveil Cutting-Edge Water Management Platform Initiative at COP28 | December 9th 2023 | COP28UAE Press Center Tweet

Today, at COP28 in the UAE, the city of Dire Dawa (Ethiopia) Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DDWSSA) and Nedamco Africa together with its partners Microsoft, Deltares, Hulo.ai and Isle Utilities announced the launch of the "Nedamco Catchment-City-Waste Water Management" (CCW) project for the city of Dire Dawa. The CCW solution by Nedamco Africa and its partners Microsoft, Deltares and Hulo.ai is an integrated technology platform that directly addresses the critical challenges of water losses and inefficient management, prevalent in rapidly urbanizing regions like Dire Dawa. It embodies a holistic approach to water management by harnessing digital twin technology, AI/ML, and satellite imagery to deliver comprehensive monitoring of water infrastructures, detect leakages, and make climate impact predictions with the goal to provide more access to water, more water availability as well as improved water quality. With the deployment of the CCW platform Dire Dawa envisions a transformative shift in water resource stewardship, fostering a sustainable, resilient future for the inhabitants of Dire Dawa. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231209358320/en/ Dire Dawa Water Authority CEO and Nedamco Ethiopia CEO signing the agreement (Photo: Business Wire) "We are proud to announce a pivotal project in partnership with Nedamco Africa that addresses Dire Dawa's water challenges. Through cutting-edge technology, we're ensuring accurate, verifiable improvements in water management that will significantly enhance the quality of life for our city's residents by providing more water. This initiative is not just about innovation - it's about securing a sustainable future for Dire Dawa, opening doors to new financing for vital water infrastructure, and supporting our community in meeting the critical demands of water conservation aligned with SDG6," said Mohammed Mussie, CEO of Dire Dawa Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. A leap towards sustainable climate action financing - he innovative approach involves integrating advanced technologies with meticulous (near) real-time data collection and analysis, enabling the accurate measurement of the environmental benefits derived from water conservation efforts. In this process, Nedamco Africa utilizes cutting-edge tools from global technology leaders, leverages AI and ML models, high-resolution satellite imagery, and blockchain technologies. These tools facilitate a reliable, real-time tracking of water management and improvements, ensuring that the generated water data is not only verifiable but also transparent and scalable. Nedamco Africa leverages this approach to creating water certificates that employ the Volumetric Water Benefits Accounting (VWBA) 2.0 methodology, which allows for a comprehensive and quantifiable assessment of water management projects. By adhering to rigorous standards Nedamco Africa can guarantee the created certificates reflect genuine improvements in water management, offering an asset in the global efforts to promote sustainable water usage and management. The approach not only aids DDWSSA in effective water resource management but also opens new avenues for DDWSSA to attract innovative financing in water network development and community support, aligning closely with global sustainability goals like SDG6.



"This initiative has a huge potential to impact the lives of many. When water distribution systems become smart, they present an opportunity to market the digital proof of reduced losses from the system to companies that want to pay to compensate their water use, and in this way facilitate investment in utilities and their networks. I will keep supporting this initiative in Ethiopia where a pilot will take place in Dire Dawa and, we're tapping into a completely new market. This will accelerate private investments in the true spirit of the Water Action Agenda of UN23 to help reach SDG6 in time. We take pride in the Netherlands' legacy of water management, transforming water challenges into opportunities for sustainable development," said Jelmer van Veen, First Secretary for Water Affairs at Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ethiopia. This public-private partnership (PPP) initiative exemplifies the transformative potential of public-private partnerships, leveraging collective expertise, resources, and innovation to foster a green economy. By blending state-led environmental programs with private sector dynamism and international climate finance mechanisms.

"We see the Dire Dawa collaboration as a cornerstone for climate resilience, marking a significant Public-Private Partnership that will lead the way for cities globally to embrace similar strategies. This key initiative showcases the practical application of advanced technologies in combating daily climate challenges, especially in water-stressed regions. It's a testament to Nedamco Africa's commitment to not only address water scarcity but also enhance biodiversity. Our work in Dire Dawa is paving the path for more cities to join this battle against climate change, ensuring sustainable environments for future generations," stated Michael Kogeler, CEO of Nedamco Africa. Microsoft is a pivotal partner and contributors to the initiative, providing the technological backbone and innovative solutions critical to the success of the system. Microsoft's cutting-edge cloud computing platforms and AI capabilities enable the robust processing and analysis of vast environmental data sets. Together, the collaborative efforts of the partners and DDWSSA are not only enhancing the precision of water management but are also setting a new standard in data-driven conservation and sustainable water practices on a global scale. "We are immensely proud to be at the forefront of this transformative journey with DDWSSA and Nedamco Africa," said Anke den Ouden, CEO of Microsoft Netherlands. "By leveraging Microsoft's advanced cloud and AI technologies, we are setting a new paradigm in environmental stewardship. Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond our products; it's about empowering our partners to achieve a greener future. This collaboration is a testament to the power of technology in making a substantial impact on our planet's health and the well-being of communities across Africa." Building local expertise in Ethiopia - The Nedamco Academy in Ethiopia stands as a cornerstone of the collaborative agreement, serving as a vital hub for water capacity building and education. The Nedamco Academy is on a mission to empower DDWSSA professionals with cutting-edge knowledge and skills in technology and water management. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231209358320/en/

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Local developer and amateur karaoke genius Butch Rigby continues his mission to honor the cowtown origins of an international corporate "creative" juggernaut.

Sure, old man Disney hated unions and wrongfully acknowledged the talent & skill of Nazi movie-makers BUT there's no denying the impact he had on the world.

Here's a peek at the money raised so far . . . And a sign that they're better and making movies than restoring crusty old buildings . . .



Things are starting to look up. In February 2023, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver presented the organization with $2 million dollars in federal funding from the $40 million Cleaver secured for community projects for his district. Thats the first big money weve seen in 20 years, Thank You Walt Disney current president Dan Viets says.



So far, Thank You Walt Disney has received $3 million from various organizations and donors, and momentum seems to be building.



A recent $5,000 grant from the Missouri Humanities Council to develop a short film chronicling the history and importance of the Laugh-O-Gram Studio and a matching grant by local arts enthusiast Richard E. Fagerberg has given the nonprofit $10,000 to move forward with the film project.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

KC MAG: The KC nonprofit trying to restore Walt Disneys first animation studio is on its way to making its dream a reality.

Developing . . .


More credit to TKC READERS for picking out the more interesting passages that were BURIED in a suburbanite pay-walled report.

Here are the fair use quotes . . . We'll start with the premise of the debate . . .



"(Sheriff) Haydens first budget ask was to renegotiate a contract with Axon Enterprises, Inc., in order to buy more body cameras, Tasers, interview rooms cameras, fleet cameras and unlimited video storage.



"No board action was taken on a second budget item, which was an update of the sheriffs offices contingency funds."



A juicy tidbit that offers a glimpse into the drama . . .



"The budget items ostensibly had nothing to do with Haydens remarks made last month at the 'Determined Patriotism' Conference in Kansas City, Kansas, in which he called Commission Chairman Mike Kelly 'comrade Kelly' and Commissioner Janee Hanzlick a 'communist,' among other things.



" 'Our county commissioners dont like me and I dont like them,' he told the largely right-wing audience at the event, which also featured MyPillow executive Mike Lindell and former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn."



Check the showdown . . .



"On Thursday, Commissioner Jeff Meyers asked for an explanation of those comments during Haydens appearance before the board.



" 'I really feel troubled that (the comments) were totally unprofessional and Id like to hear a response, Meyers said, later adding, "You say you want to be professional, Im asking you to please be professional.' "



"Hayden answered that he was at Thursdays meeting to discuss budgets and did not want to get into a political discussion."



For now . . . It looks like the Commish backed off from playing too much with public safety funds. A wise choice given the uptick in Johnson County Crime . . .



"Commissioners ultimately voted to table until next week a request to use $4.99 million in general fund reserves to expand and upgrade equipment such as body cameras and Tasers.



"Later in the meeting, Hayden and his offices budget director Brian Seidler presented a separate item, updating the commission that the sheriffs office would likely need to spend all $2.5 million it is allowed for contingencies from general fund reserves because of higher than expected expenses this year."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
The weekend starts with more news of deadly local violence and the tragic progression toward another record breaking year for KCMO homicides.

Kansas City is now mere single digits away from a new homicide record with most of December still ahead of us.

Again we're outpacing 2020 - The deadliest year on record.

Here's the latest report and more info from local news as well . . .



Homicide Independence Ave and Cleveland

(At) About 9:20pm officers were called to the 3700 block of Independence Ave. on a shooting call.



On arrival officers located an adult male and an adult female shooting victim.



The adult male was conscious and the adult female was unresponsive. Officers rendered aid and summoned EMS to the scene. EMS transported the male victim to the hospital for treatment of what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries. EMS declared the female victim deceased at the scene.



While officers were investigating the shooting they were notified by dispatch of a third victim, an adult male, that arrived a short time after the shooting at 14th and Bennington. He told officers that he had been shot at the 3700 block of Independence Ave location. That third victim was transported to the hospital for treatment of what is thought to be non-life threatening injuries.



Preliminary investigation indicates the male victim located at the scene had an interaction with an unknown suspect on the sidewalk near the street there. That interaction escalated and the suspect fired shots striking all 3 victims. There is no additional suspect information at this time.



Detectives are canvassing for witnesses and any surveillance video, and crime scene investigators are processing the scene for evidence.



If anyone has any information, or witnessed the shooting, they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.



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.

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Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Police respond to deadly shooting Friday night in Kansas City's Lykins Neighborhood Police in Kansas City, Missouri, responded to a deadly shooting Friday night in the city's Lykins Neighborhood.

Triple shooting on Independence Avenue in Kansas City leaves one dead, 2 hurt The shooting happened at Independence Avenue and Cleveland Avenue shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Friday night.

KCPD investigating fatal shooting near Independence Ave. and Cleveland The shooting happened just after 9:20 p.m. according to KCPD.

Developing . . .


Right now we share a collection of EXCEPTIONAL CRIME REPORTING from across the metro that offers insight on worsening violence, court cases, public safety threats and just a bit of hope toward the end of the compilation.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Man shot, killed in KCK overnight The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department is investigating the city's latest homicide overnight. An adult male was shot and killed.

Man charged in deadly shooting at east Kansas City apartment Kequan O. Herring has been charged in the shooting and killing Calvin Boyles inside his Kansas City residence on Nov. 28.

Accelerated trial date set for Overland Park pediatric neurologist accused of filming children An Overland Park pediatric neurologist was arraigned in federal court on Thursday afternoon.

Overland Park man sentenced to 14 months in prison for fleeing police A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 14 months in prison, on Thursday, after attempting to elude and flee police officers.

Sources: KBI seeks out of state help regarding Marion newsroom raid Multiple sources confirm an outside law enforcement agency has joined Kansas Bureau of Investigation's probe into the events surrounding the raid on Marion County Record newspaper.

Opioid epidemic continues to grow in Missouri according to state and local data - ABC17NEWS A Columbia man was charged Thursday with felony second-degree murder for two October fentanyl overdoses.

Kansas lawmakers discuss reform of civil asset forfeiture law - The Sentinel The civil asset forfeiture law currently allows law enforcement officers to seize property without charges being filed or a conviction.

Man charged with second-degree murder in November near 19th Street and Park Tower Drive Nearly two dozen shell casings were found outside the home where the shooting happened.

Denver man convicted of drug-trafficking through Kansas City A Denver man was convicted of transporting fentanyl and methamphetamine through Kansas City while aboard a bus.

White supremacist gang member sentenced for role in Lansing prison stabbing An inmate with ties to white supremacist groups has been sentenced for his role in a 2019 prison stabbing inside the Lansing Correctional Facility.

Lansing to offer chance to go into prison, but not to stay There will soon be a way to step into a solitary confinement prison cell without being a convicted criminal.

Kansas City woman shares story to educate on domestic violence, disability A traumatic experience changed a Northland woman's life forever nearly four years ago.

Developing . . .
At a time when Europe & the Far East are quickly moving to make high speed rail a reality.



Here's the Kansas Guv celebrating some federal free money to study a mode of transit that most people gladly abandoned about 80 years ago . . .



As part of $8.2 billion in federal funding for passenger rail, the Kansas Department of Transportation is receiving $500,000 through the Federal Rail Administrations Corridor Identification and Development (ID) Program that will support the service development plan for the Heartland Flyer Extension.



The proposed corridor would include new station stops in Edmond, Perry and Ponca City, Okla. and Arkansas City, Wichita and Newton, in Kansas.



The extension of the Heartland Flyer Passenger Rail would further connect Kansans to Oklahoma City and North Central Texas, unlocking business, educational, and cultural opportunities to Kansans and enabling our neighbors to the south to add to the Kansas economy, Governor Laura Kelly said. One of Kansas greatest assets is that we are in the center of the country, which is why my administration has supported rail projects like this to build on that strength.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Passenger rail connection from Dallas to south-central Kansas draws closer to reality The hope of passenger rail service expanding between Oklahoma City and Newton becomes closer to reality.

With boost from federal dollars, Kansas passenger train route set to become reality - Kansas Reflector An influx of federal infrastructure dollars will allow Kansas cities to join a long-running train route between Oklahoma and Texas.

Related . . .

$500K would study Amtrak River Runner extension between Kansas City, St. Joseph The United States Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration earmarked $500,000 for a study that would connect Kansas City and St. Joseph with passenger rail service.

Developing . . .
If Missouri Republicans wonder WHY they're losing the current polling on this issue . . . Recent policy ides from the boondocks might provide some indication . . .



"The bills, sponsored by Representative Bob Titus (R-Christian County) and Senator Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove), would each give an unborn child the same rights as someone already born. If either bill survives the lengthy legislative process, those who undergo abortions could face criminal charges if they receive an abortion in Missouri."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Abortions Would Lead to Murder Charges Under 2 Missouri Bills Mike Moon is at it again

Missouri lawmakers propose allowing homicide charges for women who have abortions Some Republican Missouri lawmakers are renewing their call to allow homicide charges against women who have abortions.

Prefiled bills would authorize murder charges against women who get abortions - Missourinet Women in Missouri could be charged with murder if they get an abortion under two bills pre-filed in the Missouri legislature. The "Abolition of Abortion in Missouri Act" is sponsored by State Rep. Bob Titus, R, Billings, in the House and State Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, in the Senate.

Related and a glmipse at disorgnaization on the Democratic Party side as well . . .

Missouri abortion-rights amendments face 'torturous' process to make it to 2024 ballot * Missouri Independent Two coalitions are trying to put abortion on the 2024 ballot in Missouri. The time and cost of running successful campaigns is substantial.

Developing . . .
To be fair . . .

Swifties ruin EVERYTHING.

Nevertheless, check the newspaper fawning over the pop diva yet again . . .



Kelces girlfriend, Taylor Swift, is expected to spend some downtime there. Shes on break until February from her Eras Tour, but that doesnt mean her schedule is empty.



She was at the Chiefs game in Green Bay, Wisconsin, last weekend, returned to Kansas City, then jetted to her home in New York ahead of Time magazine naming her Person of the Year on Wednesday. Later that night she attended the premiere of gal pal Emma Stones new movie, Poor Things.



Swift celebrates her 34th birthday next Wednesday, raising speculation  and the hopes of local Swifties  that she might spend her big day here.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Toronto Police Services are reporting that four people have been arrested following an alleged stabbing at Don Mills subway station.

At around 3:30 p.m., Toronto police say they had received numerous reports of teens with knives at the subway station.

When they arrived on scene, they located a victim with a serious injury from a stab wound. They were rushed to a hospital.

Trains will not be stopping at Don Mills subway station and there may be delays in the area.
Animal shelters in Toronto and Peel Region are currently experiencing high capacity numbers and are calling on anyone looking for a pet to adopt a new furry friend.

Below is a rundown of the situation by city:

Brampton

Brampton Animal Services (BAS) is currently over capacity, especially for dogs. That means that BAS is keeping dogs in kennels that are not meant for long-term housing.

BAS is currently home to 40 dogs, with 16 of them available for adoption right now. The remaining 24 may have just recently come into the shelter and are waiting to get spayed or neutered before they can be adopted, have medical issues that need to be addressed before adoption, or are being cared for on behalf of residents who are experiencing a temporary emergency.

BAS is also caring for 57 cats and 19 smaller animals, including birds, rabbits and guinea pigs.

The rising cost of dog care combined with the increased cost of living has resulted in an increased number of surrendered or abandoned dogs while also decreasing the number of adopters looking to take on a new responsibility, BAS said in a statement.

BAS asks anyone interested in adding a pet to their family to consider adopting an animal before purchasing one and to do their homework to ensure that their prospective pets' behaviour and energy level match that of their family so that there are no surprises once their puppy gets older.

The longest resident at BAS is Houston, a three-year-old neutered male American Bulldog who has been at the shelter for 513 days (as of Dec. 6). Houston has a lot of energy and needs a home with no young children and someone who is willing to exercise him regularly and train him.

He responds positively to food and toy-based training and has twice participated in York Regional Police K9 candidate testing, where K9 officer candidates demonstrate their ability to work with shelter dogs for a week before being assigned a police dog.

Mississauga

Mississaugas Animal Services shelter is also currently at capacity, with some capacity reserved for pets that are found as strays or come into the shelter for a number of other reasons. Animal Services usually sees an uptick in surrenders this time of year and leading into January.

The shelter is currently housing 25 cats and 25 dogs with additional dogs and cats currently being fostered. There are also 11 pocket pets, such as rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc. that are currently available for adoption.

Mopsey, a giant lop-eared rabbit, has been at the shelter since May 2. Bella, an American bulldog, has been at the shelter since May 18 and several other dogs who deserve a home have been at the shelter since late in the spring.

Animal Services works with fosters and rescues to help move animals out of the shelter where possible. Longer stays of animals in the shelter pose additional strain on staff, resources and the animals. The requirement for veterinary services has also been increasing due the nature/state of the animals being received and requiring behavioural and veterinary care, which we treat in advance of efforts to adopt the animals, said Mississauga Animal Services.

Mississauga Animal Services has worked with the pet rehoming service Home-to-Home since June 2022, and this partnership has helped significantly in mitigating the number of animals being surrendered to the shelter since that time.

Home-to-Home is a free online platform that lets residents proactively rehome their pets when they can no longer keep them. It is a direct-to-adopter program for rehoming animals without surrendering them to a shelter.

Caledon

The Caledon Animal Services shelter is currently at capacity for dogs, but not for cats.

They are always at cat capacity from spring through the fall when they have kittens, with winter being a slower time of year for cats. Currently, there are 12 dogs, 14 cats/kittens, and one livestock animal. There are also dogs, cats and a chicken in their care at a local farm.

Bessie, a dog, is the shelters longest resident at 10 months, Waffles at 4 months, and Goldie at 3 months. The Town of Caledon does have a pet adoption program.

Adopting a pet has many advantages, Caledon Animal Services said. You're helping an abandoned animal find a forever home, we offer low adoption fees, you can get a pet that is already spayed or neutered, (and) our pets will already have a microchip identification.

Toronto

Toronto Animal Services is currently operating close to capacity for dogs and small mammals. Capacity for care is monitored closely in our animal shelters. Toronto Animal Services also works closely with volunteer fosters and various rescue organizations to help animals in the city.

Staff focuses on prepping shelter animals for adoption or transfer to rescue organizations or for a quick return to owners, to minimize the length of stay for all of their animals.

Currently, we have dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs available for adoption from our shelters. The longest tenured animal is Zeke, a two-year-old male, neutered Collie mix who has been at our shelter since June and is ready to find his forever home." You can view Zekes profile at https://24petconnect.com/TorontoAdoptablePets/Details/TRNT2/A945195.

View other animals available for adoption at https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/animals-pets/adopt-a-pet/.
A Toronto woman has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a three-year-old boy.

The child was pronounced dead on Sunday, Dec. 3 at a home in the Dawes Road and Chapman Avenue area of East York after Toronto police received a medical distress call at a residence.

In a news release issued late Friday afternoon, police said the child was left in the care of a woman  who was not related to him  on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The boy and woman then visited a location in the Yonge and Bloor streets area where the victim and woman entered the washroom of an organization in the area.

Police said that the boy was assaulted inside the washroom. Later, the woman and boy left the area and returned to the woman's residence in the Dawes Road and Chapman Avenue area.

The woman called police the next day, the news release said, and officers attended for the medical distress call that resulted in the child being pronounced dead at the scene.

Shardanae Cousins-Emily, 22, of Toronto has been charged with second-degree murder. She appeared at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
Barcelona, Spain, is a great place to visit for anyone who loves tasty food. This city by the sea offers many traditional Catalan dishes and new culinary treats. When you get to Barcelona, you will quickly notice the lively feel and the delicious smells of local places to eat.

Barcelona's food scene has a lot of variety. You can find everything from seafood paella to tapas, which are small, tasty dishes perfect for sharing. Make sure to try 'patatas bravas' - spicy potatoes that everyone in Barcelona loves. Also, because Barcelona is near the coast, the seafood here is always fresh.

Exploring the food in Barcelona is also fun. The city has many restaurants and cafes, each with its way of making Spanish food. Dining in Barcelona often means eating in exciting places, surrounded by the city's old charm.

Here are the go-to spots in Barcelona, Spain, if you are craving Spanish delicacies.

Local Markets

Start your food adventure in Barcelona at the local markets. La Boqueria is a famous spot and a must-see. This market is full of life and offers various foods, from fresh fruit to tasty seafood. Make sure to try the hand-cut Iberian ham and fresh oysters.

Another great market is Mercat de Santa Caterina. Its modern look is eye-catching and full of great local food. The tapas and paella here are more than just food. They are delicious and flavorful.

Must-Visit Restaurants

Barcelona's streets are lined with many great restaurants. Can Culleretes, the city's oldest restaurant, is a great place to try traditional Catalan food. Dishes like escudella i carn d'olla give you a taste of the city's rich food history.

For a modern dining experience, check out Tickets. This restaurant takes tapas to a new level, combining great taste with stunning presentation. It's very popular, so you should book in advance.

Seafood lovers should visit La Paradeta. It's different because you pick your seafood, and they cook it just for you. It's a fresh and fun way to enjoy a meal.

Read Also: Thinking of a Romantic Break With Your Partner? Here Are the Perfect Spots in Edinburgh

Street Food and Snacks

The streets of Barcelona are full of delicious snacks. Look out for street food vendors for a real taste of Catalan snacks. Churros dipped in hot chocolate and fresh bocadillos are perfect for a quick bite.

Don't miss the bakeries in Barcelona. They have various pastries and bread, including local specialties like 'coca de forner.' These are not just snacks but part of Barcelona's food tradition.

Off-the-Beaten-Path Eats: Hidden Spots

Away from the popular places, Barcelona has many hidden spots that are worth checking out. You will find small cafes and family-owned restaurants with authentic local food in the quieter areas. These places may not be famous, but their food is a big part of Barcelona's food culture.

Savor Barcelona's Flavors

As your food tour in Barcelona ends, think about all the great flavors and experiences the city has offered. Each place adds something special to Barcelona's food scene, from lively markets to cozy cafes. This city celebrates food and culture.

Barcelona, Spain, is a great destination for food lovers. So enjoy each meal, try new things, and let the city's wonderful food charm you.

Related Article: How Can You Experience Limerick's Vibrant Cultural Scene?
Jeff Kersten of the Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection will be at the Onalaska Public Library to present information on landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities under Wisconsin law.

The program, which will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, will cover what to know before you rent, how to avoid common problems and how to settle disputes. Landlord and tenant resources will also be available. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Call the library at 608-781-9568 for more information.
Memories of souls in a winter birch forest

Photo by Alyssa Enriquez

Three birch trees stand in a field at the University of Alaska Fairbanks during a recent celebration for three scientists killed in a helicopter crash in July 2023. From left, the trees honor Tori Moore, Ronnie Daanen and Justin Germann.

On a recent afternoon, middle Alaska slipped into darkness.

But a few hours after the 3:17 p.m. sunset, a golden light appeared in a field cleared of trees by a farmer more than a century ago.

People had gathered there with candle lanterns on the quiet acreage of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus to remember souls lost in July 2023. Thats when a helicopter crash in far-north Alaska took the lives of pilot Tony Higdon and the scientists accompanying him: Justin Germann, Tori Moore and Ronnie Daanen.

Inside a plot of poplar and birch trees on the old farm field was a young woman. She wore mukluks, a quilted black skirt, a red jacket and a red hat. Her name is Annemarie Timling. Ronnie Daanen was her father.

Annemarie was standing on the snow that evening with her twin brother Tane and her mother Ina Timling, as well as a few dozen others who lost friends or family members on that July day.

Ronnie (Ronald) Daanen was born in the Netherlands. With his wife and young twins, he moved to Alaska in 2004.

Here, he became intrigued with  among many other things  giant blobs of earth and trees and rock that flow downhill toward the Dalton Highway. He starred in goofy rap videos about those mysterious frozen debris lobes of the Brooks Range with his UAF colleague Margaret Darrow. She remembers driving more than 30,000 cumulative miles together to their far-north field sites over the years. Darrow misses her friend and cherishes the memories of them laughing at ourselves so hard that we cried.

Photo by Margaret Darrow

Ronnie Daanen measures the movement of a frozen debris lobe off the Dalton Highway north of Coldfoot in 2014.

Back at the candlelit remembrance beneath the branches, Daanens 24-year-old daughter Annemarie helped choose a tree there in memory of her father, who stood well over 6 feet tall.

I gravitated to this tree very quickly, because it is one of the tallest trees in the plot, she said.

She gestured to a tree that  somewhat unusual for a birch here  has branches that extend straight outward from the trunk.

I kind of felt like I was walking into a hug.

That sentence hit this observer right in the heart.

She pointed out that the birch tree representing her father stands between trees chosen for Moore and Germann.

We were like, Oh, how fitting is that? The branches are reaching into the other two trees, Annemarie said. My dad took a lot of pride in his mentorship of Justin and Tori.

Daanen, 51, Germann, 27, and Moore, 26, all worked for the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

The birch trees chosen in their memory are boundary trees. UAFs Jan Dawe and others planted them on the old UAF hay field  now part of the universitys Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station  to protect other birch trees that are part of a long-term experiment.

There are 130 birch trees in the 1/3-acre study plot, part of the OneTree Alaska project that Dawe oversees. Researchers are using the trees to see how a longer growing season is affecting Interior Alaska birch trees.

Long before he journeyed across the Atlantic and into the Arctic to study permafrost, Daanen studied arboriculture, or as he fondly called it, being a tree nurse.

I really like the idea of my dad kind of being a guardian to the future of science, to the trees inside, Annemarie said.

Photo by Ned Rozell

Annemarie Timling stands near a birch tree she helped choose to honor her father Ronnie Daanen, who died in a helicopter crash in July 2023.

Annemarie said that while her twin brother Tane excels in the creative realm, she enjoys the sciences.

After graduating this summer from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., Annemarie entered a summer research program with Woodwell Climate Research Center in Massachusetts.

With them, she visited the Yukon-Kuskokwim river delta and became intrigued by the different colors of some of the more than 100,000 lakes in the region. Some are bright green, some brown, some white and some blue. She wants to find out why they are different.

But first, she said, she is taking time just to be with her mother and brother. A pause before making any big life decisions.

When the time comes for Annemarie to perhaps become a scientist like both her father and mother (who studies soil microbes in the Arctic), she will know what to wear.

Her father often sported a wide-brimmed hat. As a child, to Annemarie the hat represented her dads wisdom, strength, lighthearted humor and an understated coolness.

When she was 12, Annemarie begged her father to find her a similar hat. He did.

Someday, when she is ready, Annemarie will step onto squishy wet Alaska carrying a curiosity similar to her fathers. She will wear rubber boots and her own wide-brimmed hat.

Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute.
Ukraine has managed to return 387 of the nearly 20,000 children illegally taken by the Russian Federation, and each return is not just statistics, but a unique international special operation.

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Russia does not make direct contact with us. That's why children are returned home through third countries, with the mediation of many caring people. Thus, the global cooperation is important. And thats why I am so hopeful about the coalition for the return of abducted children, the creation of which was proposed by Canada a month ago and which is to start working soon," she said.

According to the First Lady, the whole country was following the fate of 17-year-old Bohdan Yermokhin, an orphan boy taken by Russians. "He turned eighteen in captivity and was about to receive a Russian draft notice. The aggressor's cynicism is of the highest degree: to kidnap a minor and then force him to fight for himself. Bohdan was fighting  he escaped, was caught and returned. It was only through his own willpower and the efforts of many people from different countries that he is now in Ukraine," she added.

Olena Zelenska said that Bohdan told his own story at the special event dedicated to the issue of reintegration of illegally deported children after their return to Ukraine, which was held at the initiative of Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets at the Child Rights Protection Center.

According the First Lady, the event was not only about saving children, but also about reviving their sense of home. It is important that today's heroes have opportunities for learning and self-realization, that children receive psychological help after their experiences, and that children and their guardians receive financial and social support at the community level.

"And finally, the most painful thing: a significant number of abducted children are orphans or deprived of parental care. They are taken to Russia as whole orphanages, as was the case with Bohdan. Therefore, our principled position should be that upon returning home, they should be met by their families. Let it be a foster family, but a real one," the First Lady emphasized.

Read also: Zelensky calls for urgent action at meeting of International Coalition for Return of Ukrainian Children

According to her, it is necessary to make sure "that every child has no doubt that he or she will return home, where they are very much awaited. And that everyone returns."

As reported, according to Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, the deportation of more than 19,500 Ukrainian children has been officially confirmed.
| By Alex Likowski

Newspaper headlines this fall told the story of a serious challenge facing the nursing profession: staffing shortages. In the largest health care strike in history, a coalition of 11 unions representing 85,000 Kaiser Permanente employees walked out for three days in October. The president of one of those unions, based in Maryland, said staffing levels have put patient care in crisis at some facilities.

Part of the reason is that staffing levels that were decimated during the COVID-19 pandemic have been slow to improve. Another is demographics. According to a study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the average age of registered nurses in the U.S. is 46, down from 52 in 2020. Many older, more experienced nurses have retired or left the profession.

Another recent survey, Nurse.orgs 2023 State of Nursing report, also pointed to staffing shortages as a major problem, with nine out of 10 polled saying the shortage is getting worse. Solving that problem, and the associated problem of low staffing ratios, was cited as more important than improving pay.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States will need to fill 190,000 nursing positions in each of the next 10 years to keep up the countrys health care needs. Schools of nursing also will face challenges preparing the nursing workforce for the changing demands on the job.

Telemedicine exploded during the pandemic and remains largely popular (and insurable). And an aging population with increased need for home health care likely will add impetus to that trend. The ascendancy of artificial intelligence in health care is expected to impact not only nursing informatics, but also administration, research, and even clinical care. And improvements in virtual simulation technology may bolster the demand for online nurse education.

Although many schools of nursing around the U.S. report difficulties recruiting students, the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) is doing just fine.

I think Jane [Kirschling] left us in a really good place, said Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, who succeeded Kirschling as the Bill and Joanne Conway dean of UMSON in July. Ive been going around all over the country, and schools are reporting low enrollment, but were growing here. Ogbolu, appearing on the online program Virtual Face to Face, explained that the student body isnt just growing, its also becoming more diverse.

Were over 50 percent underrepresented minorities in Baltimore, and over 80 percent at [the Universities at] Shady Grove. And thats a big deal in nursing. Because nursing is not a diversified profession, Ogbolu said. Many schools are really fighting to get diverse nurses. We want them to match the American population as theyre providing care in the health system.

Ogbolu added that 11 percent of students enrolled are now men, two or three times more than were enrolled when she began working at UMSON 13 years ago.

Now in her fifth month as UMSON dean, Ogbolus experience includes 25 years of clinical practice caring for critically ill newborns before entering academia in 2010.

It seems to me, one of the challenges that we have in the professional schools is we dont have a lot of educators, said the programs host, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS. We have a lot of people who are nurses or physicians or pharmacists or dentists or whatever, and all of them are trained in their specialty, but not so many are trained in the art of education. Tell what your thinking is on that and how that applies to nursing.

Were really fortunate here in the School of Nursing, because we have the Institute of Educators, Ogbolu replied. The Institute of Educators has been around for over 15 years and was really designed to teach nurses how to teach. And so, were really excited about the work that theyre doing to support our faculty. But really, theyve been supporting faculty all over the state, teaching clinical educators how to precept our students in practice. And now, with some new foundation funds that weve received, were starting our innovation grant that is going to be able to have a fellowship for nurses that will be coming into academia to begin teaching.

Part of this is making the connection with clinical arenas, and I know youve had a rich relationship with the [University of Maryland] medical center. So, hows that going? Jarrell asked. And what do you foresee in that relationship for the future?

We partner with them on several programs to help nurses transition out, Ogbolu said. Things like the Nurse Residency Program, the academic clinical education program, and the one that I really love is what we call P-3.

P-3, the Practicum to Practice Program, is a partnership between UMSON and the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). The program creates a path for students in their senior practicum experience  required for all fourth-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students  to a registered nurse position at an UMMS hospital. Upon accepting a nurse graduate position on a unit at a UMMS hospital, P-3 participants complete their senior practicum on that unit, serving as a nurse graduate following graduation. Once the graduate successfully completes exam and licensure requirements, they transfer to a Clinical Nurse I position. Ogbolu explained that over 200 nurses have already gone through the P-3 program, and UMMS hospitals have retained over 70 percent of them.

It allows nursing students to identify a practice environment that they want to work in, do their practicum in their last semester, see if they really like it, if its a good fit for the medical center, and also if its a good fit for the students, and then if theyre successful, they go, they are automatically offered the position there. So thats really exciting, Ogbolu said.

Thats a good bet, and a good investment, too, Jarrell agreed.

After their discussion, Ogbolu and Jarrell fielded a wave of questions from within the UMSON community, and many from without.

I was wondering about what were doing to get high schoolers interested in nursing, asked Valli Meeks, DDS, MS, RDH, director of the University of Maryland School of Dentistrys PLUS Clinic. Back in the 60s and 70s, when I was in high school, many students that were interested in nursing would go to the vocational technical school. Many of the students that wanted a career in nursing would go to the school first and upon graduating went directly into nursing schools associated with hospitals.

It was still happening when I was in high school. That Carver Vocational High School, if you finished that high school, you were a licensed practical nurse, when you finish that, Ogbolu said. One of the things weve learned over time is that as the educational status increases to the BSN level, we have better patient outcomes. We have less errors, and we have safer care.

Ogbolu added, So, there should be a trajectory from high school all the way through the community college to coming to places like the University of Maryland to get that bachelors degree, and we have a masters program, a Doctorate of Nursing Practice, and a PhD.

In response to an audience question regarding steps faculty and school administration can take to prepare to more effectively engage students, Ogbolu offered an interesting insight.

People have heard me talk about the social determinants of health, but many of the social determinants that impact our community also impact students here, she said. A few years ago, I did a conference with students around hunger, and it was a global health conference, and I thought, were going to be talking about global hunger. And the students started saying, Well, Im hungry, too. You know, my food runs out. And so, I think its really important for us to understand that if a student is hungry, its really difficult for them to learn if theyre worried about housing, and so many of our students do have to work because there are families that they have to take care of.

Ogbolu explained that UMSON has a student emergency fund students can draw upon when they need support to obtain additional resources.

Again, a lot of times when we think about diversity, were thinking about race and ethnicity, she said. But are we helping students that are parents? Are we helping students that are military? Are we thinking more broadly about our students and what they might need to really be successful? And then just really making sure that we develop those meaningful relationships with students so that they trust us and they can come to us and they know we want them to be successful.

Watch the entire Virtual Face to Face program by clicking the video link at the top of the page.
| By UMSOM Public Affairs

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, will join prominent scientists and government health officials this week at a symposium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss new treatments for sickle cell disease (SCD). The disease, which afflicts 20 million people around the world, notably affects the Black community, reducing their average lifespan by 22 years.

Gladwin is heading a randomized multicenter clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health that is being conducted across 22 sites in Brazil, France, and the United States. It is the largest clinical trial of its kind to test the effectiveness of a technique called red cell exchange transfusion in prolonging life and slowing or reversing end-organ damage.

Dr. Claudio Mello and Dr. Mark Gladwin

At the symposium, taking place at HEMORIO, a hematology research and transfusion center in Rio De Janeiro, Gladwin will provide a medical overview of pulmonary hypertension in SCD and an update on enrollment in the clinical trial, called Sickle Cell Disease and CardiovAscular Risk-Red Cell Exchange Trial (SCD-CARRE), to date.

Gladwin will be joined by Claudia Mello, MD, the Rio De Janeiro state secretary of health, along with Joice Aragao, the national coordinator of the Brazilian Blood Program. Other presenters will include Luiz Amorim, general director at HEMORIO; Clarisse Lobo, PhD, clinical research specialist at HEMORIO; and Darrell Triulzi, MD, and Jude Jonassaint, RN, from the University of Pittsburgh.

In the SCD-CARRE trial, 150 patients at high risk of dying from their sickle cell disease will be randomly assigned to receive either the standard of care alone or in combination with monthly red blood cell exchange treatments for one year. While blood transfusions are commonly used to treat acute complications in sickle cell disease, they can cause iron toxicity due to the presence of excessive red blood cells. In red cell exchange transfusion, the sickled red blood cells are removed and replaced with normal red blood cells, but the process is longer, more expensive, and requires more donor blood.

Approximately 30 percent of patients with sickle cell disease develop serious organ damage, such as cardiopulmonary complications, and kidney or liver failure, with the risks steadily increasing with age, said Gladwin, who also is the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, UMSOM, and vice president for medical affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, The goal of the study is to determine whether red cell exchange can lower deaths, reduce hospitalizations, and slow down or reverse the development of major end-stage organ damage.

Overall, Gladwins scientific work is focused on translational biochemistry and vascular biology, with a particular emphasis on nitrite and nitric oxide-hemoglobin interactions. With an active federally funded research laboratory, Gladwin is engaged in studies and clinical trials centered on nitric oxide, nitrite, and vascular biology. Gladwin has extensively studied a novel disease mechanism known as hemolysis-associated endothelial dysfunction. This groundbreaking research has identified a state of nitric oxide resistance in patients with conditions such as sickle cell disease, malaria, transfusion of aged blood, and other hemolytic disorders. This resistance is caused by the scavenging of nitric oxide by hemoglobin released into the plasma during hemolysis. Gladwins studies have translated into clinical and epidemiological insights, leading to the recognition of a human disease syndrome called hemolysis-associated pulmonary hypertension, which is highly prevalent in individuals with sickle cell anemia.

Gladwins contributions in the fields of vascular biology, nitric oxide, and nitrite research have had a profound impact on the medical community. His work has not only advanced our understanding of the intricate mechanisms underlying blood flow regulation and the role of reactive nitrogen molecules, but it also has translated into tangible therapeutic advancements. The development of intravenous, oral, and inhaled nitrite as potential therapies represents a significant milestone in the treatment of various conditions, including those related to hypoxia and hemolysis. These innovative therapeutic approaches offer promising avenues for improving patient outcomes and enhancing quality of life.
As a new wave of college students embarks on their higher education journey, the emotions of excitement and potential blend with the challenges faced by the "First and Onlys" - those pioneering their family's journey into higher education.

National First-Generation College Celebration Day on November 8 serves as a reminder of the unique hurdles faced by this significant demographic, constituting one-third of all U.S. college students.

The author shares a personal narrative from their freshman orientation in 1997, highlighting the overwhelming experience of being the first in the family to attend college. The absence of a familial blueprint and the lack of preparation for the emotional toll of navigating higher education underscore the struggles faced by millions of first-generation students.

Disparities in Criteria of Defining First-Generation

The article sheds light on the diverse criteria used to define first-generation students, with discrepancies among institutions even within the same state. While the University of California system considers those without a parent with a bachelor's degree as first-gen, community colleges in California take a broader stance, including those whose parents never attended college.

A recent report from CalMatters emphasizes the need for a more uniform and inclusive definition, as varying interpretations can impact institutions' ability to provide meaningful support.

READ ALSO: Clash Between Politics And Education At Indiana University Threatens Academic Freedom

The Emotional Cost of Social and Economic Mobility

Drawing on personal experiences and insights from the book "FIRST GEN," the author discusses the emotional toll associated with being a first-generation student. The term "Trailblazer Toll" encapsulates the emotional cost of social and economic mobility, a facet often overlooked amid the pride of breaking barriers.

A national poll commissioned by the author reveals the isolating and traumatizing aspects of the first-gen student experience. A staggering 65% of respondents acknowledge a negative impact on their emotional and mental health during the college journey, with financial trauma and loneliness identified as major contributors.

Challenges Beyond Imposter Syndrome

Contrary to common assumptions about imposter syndrome, the primary challenges faced by first-generation students extend beyond self-doubt. Financial trauma emerges as a significant concern, affecting 33% of respondents, followed by loneliness or isolation, impacting 23%. The survey emphasizes the financial insecurities faced by first-gen students, with nearly half coming from households earning less than $50,000 annually, and 82% juggling part- or full-time jobs while in college.

The Importance of Mental Health Support

The article advocates for a more comprehensive approach to supporting first-generation students, focusing on mental health resources as a crucial component. The survey reveals that mental health support is prioritized over academic assistance by first-gen students. The prevalence of financial insecurity and isolation underscores the need for integrated and culturally competent therapeutic support within higher education institutions.

A Call for Holistic Support Programs

The author encourages the establishment of first-gen programs that go beyond traditional retention initiatives. Recognizing the multifaceted challenges faced by these students, the article calls for access to dedicated mental health resources, culturally competent therapeutic support, and guidance on practical skills like resume building and interview preparation.

Reflecting on personal experiences, the author highlights the potential impact of easily accessible mental health resources on easing the transition into college and improving graduation rates for first-generation students.

Rethinking Success for First and Onlys

The article challenges the conventional notion of success for first-generation students. It emphasizes that getting into a prestigious college is not the ultimate measure of success; staying there and overcoming the emotional toll of being a trailblazer defines success for the "First and Onlys." The call to better support first-gen students extends beyond the academic realm, urging a holistic approach that addresses financial trauma, isolation, and mental health challenges. As the nation grapples with issues of equity and inclusivity, investing in the economic mobility of first-generation students emerges as a crucial step in shrinking the wealth gap.







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The college admissions process is a dynamic and evolving landscape, with the weight of standardized tests like the SAT often at the forefront. However, a paradigm shift is occurring as more colleges move towards test-optional policies, placing greater emphasis on other factors such as GPA, course rigor, extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation.

Despite this shift, many admissions experts still advocate for taking the SAT if a school accepts scores, considering it a positive addition to an application. In light of this, we delve into the top 10 universities with the highest average SAT scores for fall 2022 entrants, examining their testing policies and U.S. News rankings.

Universities with the Highest SAT Scores

1. Middlebury College (VT)

Average SAT Score: 1467

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 11 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Noteworthy: Middlebury College embraces a holistic approach to admissions, acknowledging that standardized tests are just one facet of a student's academic journey.

2. Washington and Lee University (VA)

Average SAT Score: 1470

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 21 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Insight: Washington and Lee University recognizes the limitations of standardized tests and aims for a comprehensive evaluation that considers a candidate's overall academic and personal profile.

READ ALSO: 10 Most Expensive Colleges In The US And Their Hidden Costs

3. Wellesley College (MA)

Average SAT Score: 1475

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 4 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Notable: Wellesley College places a premium on a diverse and inclusive learning environment, valuing qualities that go beyond what can be measured by standardized tests.

4. Carleton College (MN)

Average SAT Score: 1477

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 9 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Insight: Carleton College underscores the importance of a comprehensive review process, acknowledging that a student's potential can't be fully captured by test scores alone.

5. Hamilton College (NY)

Average SAT Score: 1477

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 16 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Noteworthy: Hamilton College seeks to build a community of scholars who contribute to the campus in unique ways, recognizing the limitations of standardized testing in capturing individuality.

6. Vassar College (NY)

Average SAT Score: 1477

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 16 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Insight: Vassar College values academic excellence but also prioritizes the qualities that make each applicant distinct, fostering an environment of diverse perspectives.

7. Boston College (MA)

Average SAT Score: 1481

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 39, National Universities

Notable: Boston College's commitment to a holistic admissions process emphasizes the importance of considering a candidate's entire profile rather than relying solely on standardized test scores.

8. Colby College (ME)

Average SAT Score: 1485

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 25 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Insight: Colby College places a strong emphasis on the diversity of experiences and perspectives, recognizing that standardized tests may not fully capture the richness of a student's background.

9. Wesleyan University (CT)

Average SAT Score: 1485

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank: 11 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges

Noteworthy: Wesleyan University seeks intellectually curious students and values a holistic approach, considering factors beyond standardized testing in its admissions process.

10. Northeastern University (MA)

Average SAT Score: 1487

Testing Policy: Test-optional

U.S. News Rank 53 (tie), National Universities

Insight Northeastern University's commitment to experiential learning aligns with its holistic admissions approach, recognizing the value of a diverse student body beyond standardized test scores.

Ranking the universities with the highest average SAT scores reveals a diverse range of institutions that share a common understanding of the limitations of standardized testing in capturing the full essence of a student. As the admissions landscape evolves towards a more holistic approach, these universities stand as beacons, emphasizing the importance of diverse experiences, unique perspectives, and intellectual curiosity. For prospective students, it's essential to recognize that while the SAT is a valuable component, the overall fit with a university's ethos and educational philosophy plays a pivotal role in the pursuit of a fulfilling college experience.







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ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Director General National Accountability Bureau ( NAB) Mirza Muhammad Irfan Baig Saturday said that his institution was working on a three-pronged strategy to curb corruption from the country.

Addressing an event organized by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) to observe the International Anti-Corruption Day, he said that the strategy included creating better awareness among the people about the harmful effects of corruption, taking preventive measures against corruption and improving the NAB laws to ensure their strong enforcement.

The situation of corruption in Pakistan is not as bad as it is highlighted, he said adding that the majority of officers in Pakistan wanted to avoid corruption, while a few officers benefit from it. As a whole, Pakistani society is not corrupt, which is promising, said a press release issued here.

He said that NAB was reaching out to the students, teachers, members of the business community and civil society to sensitize them about corruption. Messages on anti-corruption were delivered in the sermons of last Friday prayers across the country, he added.

He said that necessary amendments were being made to the Cooperative Act to eliminate corruption in private housing societies. He resolved that NAB would continue to work with all stakeholders to eliminate corruption from the society.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI said corruption always keeps countries underdeveloped, so corruption has to be eradicated to make Pakistan a developed, prosperous and great country.

He urged the business community to always discourage speed money, adding that societies invested in corruption cannot attract investment, so to make Pakistan an attractive country for investment, corruption must be eradicated.

He said that together with NAB, the ICCI was ready to start a campaign against corruption from Islamabad, which could be extended to other parts of the country later on. He assured that ICCI would cooperate with NAB to end corruption from the society.

Director NAB Captain (R) Muhammad Faheem Qureshi said that it was easy to criticize NAB, but this agency had collected 600 to 800 billion rupees and deposited it in the national treasury. The NAB will continue its efforts to eradicate corruption from the society for which it needs the support of all stakeholders, he expressed.

Engineer Azharul islam Zafar,Vice President ICCI said if the society boycotts corrupt people, it can be discouraged in the country. He said that more seminars and awareness programs should be organized to sensitize the society about the harmful consequences of corruption.

Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG Pakistan said that one of the reasons for the spread of corruption was that people do not hate corruption.

He said that the development and prosperity of Pakistan was related to the elimination of corruption, therefore the NAB should conduct awareness campaigns about corruption in collaboration with the important chambers of commerce of the country to eliminate it from the society and put Pakistan on the path of rapid development.
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Anwaarul Haq Kakar expresses confidence that the current hindrances to the Organization's smooth functioning will be removed.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Dec 9th, 2023) Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar has reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the SAARC process.

In his message on the 39th SAARC Charter Day, he expressed the confidence that the current hindrances to the Organization's smooth functioning will be removed, thus, enabling its member states to forge ahead on the path of mutually-beneficial regional cooperation.

The Prime Minister said the SAARC charter day reminds us of the responsibility placed on our shoulders by our peoples, to address the common challenges of poverty, illiteracy, disease and under-development.

Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said Pakistan, as one of the founding member states of SAARC, has consistently shown its commitment to the Organization's objectives.

It has actively participated in the SAARC processes and activities.

He said Pakistan is a firm believer in the strength and potential of regional cooperation for national and regional development. It further believes that result-oriented regional cooperation can be achieved only by adhering to the cardinal principles of sovereign equality and mutual respect, as enshrined in the SAARC Charter.

The Prime Minister emphasized for collective efforts to realize the true potential of the region for the benefit of South Asia and the rest of the world.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that the Government of Pakistan would continue its efforts to promote and safeguard human rights, both domestically and internationally.

He reiterated Pakistans unflinching resolve to further advance respect for and protection of the rights and freedoms of all our citizens as enshrined in the Constitution as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Pakistan has consistently demonstrated its commitment to this cause, evident through various initiatives and policies aimed at protecting the dignity and rights of its citizens, the caretaker prime minister said in a message on the occasion of International Human Rights Day being observed on December 10.

The prime minister said that this years theme Freedom, Equality and Justice for All was very apt and relevant. Pakistan joined the international community in commemorating the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

The historic declaration enshrined the inalienable rights to which all individuals were entitled - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The prime minister said that some key initiatives taken by the government of Pakistan included ratification of core human rights conventions, incorporation of fundamental rights in the constitution of Pakistan, enactment of human rights laws and establishment of institutions for prevention and protection of rights.

Special laws have been enacted for the protection of the rights of vulnerable population including women, children, minorities, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and transgenders, he added.

To ensure implementation of these laws, the prime minister said the government had established the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) with the power to take cognizance of the violation of human rights, the National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) with the mandate to inquire into violations of women rights, and the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) with the mandate to take all necessary measures for protection of child rights including inquiry into cases of violation.

The Family Protection and Rehabilitation Centre in Islamabad provided temporary shelter and psycho-social counseling to victims of violence, he said, adding similarly, the establishment of Zainab Alert Response & Recovery Authority (ZARRA) and Transgender Protection Center, Islamabad were also important human rights related initiatives of the government.

The caretaker prime minister said despite visible progress in the field of human rights, several challenges remain in achieving the desired milestones.

In this regard, collaborative efforts, both at the national and international level, were vital to address the complexities involved in dealing with issues related to human rights, he further stressed.

Prime Minister Kakar said Pakistan also remained deeply concerned by the status of human rights in other parts of the world.

In South Asia, India is violating all norms and conventions of human rights in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The illegal actions of 5 August 2019, aimed at demographic change and disenfranchising the Kashmiris from exercising their right to self-determination have further aggravated the scale of oppression and suppression of Kashmiri peoples basic rights, identity and fundamental freedoms, PM Office Media Wing, in a press release, quoted the prime minister as saying.

He said Pakistan reiterated its call for ending egregious human rights abuses in IIOJK and reaffirmed to continue moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle against Indias tyranny, occupation and oppression.

We urge the international community to press India to grant Kashmiris their fundamental rights including the right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions, he reiterated.

The caretaker prime minister said that another pressing human rights situation had emerged in Palestine where Israel was egregiously violating human rights in Gaza, resulting in thousands of causalities, including innocent women and children. Israels purposeful, indiscriminate, and disproportionate targeting of people violated all standards of human rights and constituted a clear breach of international law.

He urged the international community to redouble efforts for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and asked Israel to end its brutal occupation of Palestine and grant the Palestinian people their inalienable right to decide their own future.

The prime minister further emphasized upon working together to build a world where the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family were recognized and upheld.
Former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser was re-arrested after securing bail from the district and sessions court in Mardan on Saturday, a private news channel reported

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser was re-arrested after securing bail from the district and sessions court in Mardan on Saturday, a private news channel reported.

On Saturday, the district and sessions court in Mardan granted him bail in the May 9 case against surety bonds of Rs 90,000.

However, following his release, Swabi police re-arrested him under MPO.

Qaiser, who is accused of corruption in the procurement of equipment for Gajju Khan Medical College, was arrested from Bani Gala, Islamabad, on November 3.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Caretaker Health Minister Punjab Professor Dr. Javed Akram Saturday highlighted the crucial role of hard work and continuous effort in establishing a reputable name in the medical field.

He urged medical students and young doctors to focus on their education and engage in day-to-day research to become qualified and adept health professionals.

Addressing the annual dinner of Ameer-Uddin Medical College/PGMI, he commended Principal AMC/LGH Professor Muhammad Al-Fareed Zafar over his exemplary services, especially during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Ayesha Shaukat was appreciated for her outstanding efforts in raising awareness about breast cancer and was presented with the "Ministerial Award for Excellence in Healthcare". The minister also appreciated Prof. Ayesha over her role in establishing "Breast Clinics" for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

The event also saw distribution of Lifetime Achievement Awards, Pride of Performance, and medals to medical teachers, who excelled in their respective fields.

Principal PGMI Prof. Al-Fareed Zafar praised the Punjab government's commitment to modernise the health sector, acknowledging Caretaker CM Punjab Mohsin Naqvi's efforts in establishing and upgrading teaching hospitals across the province. Professors and medical personalities present at the ceremony expressed confidence in the hardworking and capable young generation of Pakistan, especially the graduates of Ameer-Uddin Medical College, who are contributing significantly to medical education and healthcare.

The ceremony was also attended by Provincial Minister for Primary Healthcare Dr. Jamal Nasir, vice chancellors of medical universities, principals of medical colleges, President PMA Prof. Ashraf Nizami, Dr. Mian Tariq, students, and young doctors. The collective dedication to advancing medical education and providing quality healthcare was a central theme throughout the event.
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DG KHAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has raided and disposed off 2000 liters adulterated milk on Saturday.

According to PFA spokesperson, the food safety team has raided at Gaider bypass and checked the milk carrying vehicle.

The adulteration of water, urea and formalin was found in the milk during test through latest Lactoscan machine.

The adulterated milk was being used to supply at various shops in DG Khan.

APP/hus-sak

1530 hrs
Scholars, intellectuals, and writers Describing Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, a poet of humanity and custodian of language, stressed the need for preserving language to transform Shah Abdul Latif Bhitais message of peace, brotherhood, and humanity into a young generation

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Scholars, intellectuals, and writers Describing Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, a poet of humanity and custodian of language, stressed the need for preserving language to transform Shah Abdul Latif Bhitais message of peace, brotherhood, and humanity into a young generation.

They expressed these views while addressing the two-day Shah Latif Festival for Children organised by the Sindhi Language Authority on Saturday.

The festival started with the vaai of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, narrated by the students of Gul Ursani school. Secretary Sindhi Language Authority Dr. Ahsan Danish said in his welcome address that Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a great thinker and poet of all segments of society.

Famous writer Dr. Manoj Kumar said that the purpose of organising a children's festival is to present tableaus, paintings, speech competitions, and introduce Shah Abdul Latif and his poetry and message to children.

Caretaker Sindh Minister Ahmed Shah, addressing the event, said that in the 17th century, very great poets were born, including Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Shah Hussain, Bhule Shah, and Khushal Khan Khatak, who were poets of the people and did not represent the elite class.

He said that Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai had presented women as Soormis in his poetry, like Marvi, Noori, Sasui, He said that thinkers like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai were much needed in this critical time.

Caretaker Culture Minister Syed Junaid Ali Shah said that Sindh was highly rich in culture and historical heritage but unfortunately has not yet given its due status to our culture, civilization, history, and poets like Shah Abdul Latif as well. He said that the message of Latif was not only for Sindh but for entire humanity, which should be spread throughout the whole world.

He said that the Culture Department has published Shah Latifs poetry in English, French, and urdu, and the Culture Department would assist every institution, including the Sindhi Language Authority, who would make efforts to disseminate our heritage sites, culture and message of Shah Latif. Chairman Sindhi Language Authority Dr. Ishaq Samejo, addressing the maiden session, said that Shah Latif constructed the new Sindh through his poetry in such a beautiful way that it could last for thousands of years.

Emnent writer Taj Joyo said that Latif was not only our poet but was a great poet of the world and had command over several languages, but he narrated poetry in his mother tongue, Sindhi. Famous poets Ayaz Gul and Mukhtiar Malik also spoke on the occasion.
Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid to call for a ceasefire in the two-month war

Gaza Strip, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid to call for a ceasefire in the two-month war.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority swiftly condemned the US veto as the Hamas-run health ministry put the latest death toll in Gaza at 17,487 people, mostly women and children.

An Israeli strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis killed six people, while five others died in a separate attack in Rafah, the ministry said Saturday.

Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas over its unprecedented attack on October 7 when militants broke through Gaza's militarised border to kill around 1,200 people and seize hostages, 138 of whom remain captive, according to Israeli figures.

Vast areas of Gaza have been reduced to rubble and the UN says about 80 percent of the population has been displaced, with dire shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine reported.

"It's so cold, and the tent is so small. All I have are the clothes I wear, I still don't know what the next step will be," said Mahmud Abu Rayan, displaced from Beit Lahia in the north.

A UN Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire was vetoed by the United States on Friday.

US envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground".

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the ceasefire "would prevent the collapse of the Hamas terrorist organization, which is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and would enable it to continue ruling the Gaza Strip".

Hamas slammed on Saturday the US rejection of the ceasefire bid as "a direct participation of the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing".

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said it was "a disgrace and another blank cheque given to the occupying state to massacre, destroy and displace".

The veto was swiftly condemned by humanitarian groups, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) saying the Security Council was "complicit in the ongoing slaughter".

Israel's military said Friday it had struck 450 targets in Gaza over 24 hours, showing footage of strikes from naval vessels in the Mediterranean.

The Hamas health ministry reported 40 dead near Gaza City in the north, and dozens more in Jabalia and the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

Following two months of conflict and bombardment, UN chief Antonio Guterres said Friday "the people of Gaza are looking into the abyss".

"People are desperate, fearful and angry," he said.

"All this takes place amid a spiralling humanitarian nightmare."

Many of the 1.9 million Gazans who have been displaced by the war have headed south, turning Rafah near the Egyptian border into a vast camp.

With the death toll of medical workers in the conflict mounting, more than a dozen World Health Organization member states submitted a draft resolution on Friday that urged Israel to respect its obligations under international law to protect humanitarians in Gaza.

They called for Israel to "respect and protect" medical and humanitarian workers exclusively involved in carrying out medical duties, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities.

Only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were functioning in any capacity, according to United Nations' humanitarian agency OCHA.

With the civilian toll mounting, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that Washington believes Israel needs to do more to protect civilians in the conflict.

"We certainly all recognize more can be done to... reduce civilian casualties. And we're going to keep working with our Israeli counterparts to that end," he said.

The death toll also rose in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot dead six Palestinians on Friday, the territory's health ministry said.

Israel said Friday it has lost 91 soldiers in Gaza.

It said two others were wounded in a failed bid to rescue hostages overnight, and that "numerous terrorists" were killed in the operation.

Hamas claimed a hostage was killed in the operation, and released a video purporting to show the body, which could not be independently verified.

Hamas rocket parts, launchers and other weapons as well as a one-kilometre tunnel were found at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City, the army said, as it warned residents to move west.

An attack on the US embassy in Iraq on Friday deepened fears of wider regional conflict.

Salvoes of rockets were launched against the mission in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, adding to dozens of recent rocket and drone strikes by pro-Iran groups against American or coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

Separately, three Hezbollah fighters and a Syrian were killed on Friday in an Israeli drone strike on their car in the south of Syria, a war monitor said.

"A Syrian and three Lebanese Hezbollah fighters from the surveillance and missile-launching unit were killed in the Israeli drone strike on their rented car" in Madinat al-Baath town in the province of Quneitra, close to the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The previous day the Observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, reported that Israel hit sites close to Damascus with eight missiles, as well as a "regime military post in the province of Quneitra", without causing any casualties.

The strikes were a response to the bombardment of the Golan Heights, the monitor said.

bur-mca/leg
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday denounced the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the 'Israel protection council'

Istanbul, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday denounced the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the 'Israel protection council'.

"Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defence council," Erdogan said.

The United States on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Washington thus dashed a growing clamour for a halt to fighting that had been led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.

"Is this justice?" asked Erdogan, adding that "the world is bigger than five," a reference to the five veto-wielding nations in the UN Security Council.

"Another world is possible, but without America," the Turkish leader said.

"The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that?" he added.

"Every day the Declaration of Human Rights is violated in Gaza", he said, as the world this weekend celebrates the 75th anniversary of the declaration.

The UN resolution for a ceasefire was submitted more than two months after the start of the war in Gaza. Hamas has put the death toll in Gaza at 17,490, mostly women and children.
Warning that Gazans are looking into the abyss, the United Nations chief Friday called on the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but the 15-member body delayed action on a resolution to achieve that objective until after a planned meeting between Arab ministers and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2023) Warning that Gazans are looking into the abyss, the United Nations chief Friday called on the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but the 15-member body delayed action on a resolution to achieve that objective until after a planned meeting between Arab ministers and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

I urge the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, recalling also the importance of the two-state solution, based on UN resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security.

The United States - a veto-wielding power on the council - has said it does not currently support further action by the Security Council on the conflict between its ally Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

For that reason," US Deputy Abassador Robert Wood said, "while the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire.

"This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-State solution, he claimed.

The council last month called for pauses in the deadly Israeli bombardments to allow aid access.

The Security Council will now vote on the resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates at 5.30 pm local time Friday (Editor: 3:30 am pst Saturday) - just after Blinken meets in Washington DC with ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority and Turkiye.

"Today this council will vote, it will have an opportunity to respond to the deafening calls across the world to bring this violence to an end," Deputy UAE Ambassador to the UN Mohamed Abushahab told the council.

To be adopted, a Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France or the United Kingdom.

While the vote was delayed, the council still convened on Friday morning to hear a briefing by the UN Secretary-General, after he made a rare move under Article 99 of the UN Charter on Wednesday to formally warn of a global threat from the war.

"There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences, he said.

The UN chief said public order could completely break down, increasing pressure for mass displacement across the border into Egypt.

I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region, he said, adding that the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, had already been drawn into the conflict to varying degrees.

There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.

He said more than 130 of his colleagues had already been killed: "this is the largest single loss of life in the history of this Organization. Some of our staff take their children to work so they know they will live or die together."

With most Gazans displaced and unable to access any aid, hospitals overrun and food running out, the main UN agency there said society was "on the verge of a full-blown collapse" and its ability to protect people there was "reducing fast".

Residents and the Israeli military both reported intensified fighting in both northern areas, where Israel had previously said its troops had largely completed their tasks last month, and in the south where they mounted a new assault this week.

Gaza's health ministry reported 350 people killed on Thursday, bringing the death toll from Israel's two-month campaign in Gaza to 17,487, with thousands more missing and presumed buried under rubble.

More strikes were reported on Friday morning in Khan Younis in the south, the Nusseirat camp in the centre and Gaza City in the north.

An Israeli commander, Brigadier General Dan Goldfuss, said in a video message recorded in Khan Younis that his forces were fighting house to house and "shaft to shaft," a reference to Israel's claims of tunnel shafts in the enclave.

APP/ift
Famed for its turquoise waters, lush beaches and breathtaking views, iconic Brazilian tourism destination Copacabana is reeling from violent crime, leading residents to launch vigilante groups  worrying authorities and rights activists.

The upscale Rio de Janeiro neighborhood has been making headlines for the wrong reasons in recent weeks: a tourist in town for a Taylor Swift concert stabbed to death on the beach; a man punched unconscious in a brutal mugging; a young woman raped by a homeless man.

The social media-fueled reaction has generated yet more headlines, as locals have organized vigilante groups and taken to the streets with bats, brass knuckles and other weapons to stalk alleged criminals.

Viral videos show large groups of young men dressed in black, their faces covered, patrolling the neighborhood and violently beating those they accuse of committing crimes.

In deeply unequal Brazil, the vigilantes face accusations of racism in pursuing their "suspects."

"It's clear who's a 'criminal' to these vigilantes: poor black men," musician and black-rights activist Tas MC wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Fault lines exposed

The situation has exposed the fault lines of a Brazil still divided by last year's elections between far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the leftist who narrowly defeated him  and who faces accusations from conservatives of being soft on crime.

Rio is no stranger to violent crime, or violent reactions to it.

Five years ago, then-President Michel Temer deployed the army to take over security in the city for 10 months, saying organized crime had become a "cancer" in Rio.

The 2016 Olympics host city is a frequent scene of bloody battles between heavily armed drug gangs and police, typically in poor "favela" neighborhoods.

And it has struggled for decades with militias that initially formed as neighborhood anti-crime committees, then evolved into organized criminal groups themselves.

But Copacabana's latest spike in violence is affecting the identity of a neighborhood known for its laid-back, carefree vibe, where residents are used to strolling the streets in swimsuits and flip-flops.

"Copacabana is sad," said 42-year-old businessman Thiago Nogueira, sporting a tank top stamped "Rio de Janeiro." "The violence is really bad  and it's getting worse."

Local businesses are also worried over the impact on tourism.

The president of hotel association HoteisRio urged tougher punishments for criminals to stop repeat offenders.

'The system has collapsed'

Robberies in Copacabana are up 25% this year from the same period last year, and theft from pedestrians up 56%, according to news site G1, citing figures from Brazil's Public Security Institute.

Authorities have announced the deployment of 1,000 police and a "security cordon" on nights and weekends.

After holding a crisis meeting Thursday, Rio security officials announced they would increase the visibility of patrols and the number of police stops to counter the violence.

They also urged residents to leave policing to the police.

"Vigilantes commit crimes saying they're preventing other crimes. In reality, they're criminals, too," said Victor Santos, the Rio state security secretary  a post re-created last month by right-wing Governor Claudio Castro to tackle rising crime.

Residents' exasperation is fueled by a sense the justice system is broken.

According to Brazilian media reports, two of the suspected robbers accused of killing the 25-year-old Taylor Swift fan on November 19 had been arrested the day before for stealing chocolate from a department store.

They were granted conditional release at their custody hearing. In all, the three suspects arrested in the case had previously been stopped by police 108 times.

Meanwhile, the mugger who knocked a man unconscious on the sidewalk on December 2 was "well-known to the authorities, with nine entries on his criminal record," the lead investigator on the case told a news conference Thursday.

"The system has collapsed," journalist Octavio Guedes wrote in a column for G1. "When the message that 'the police arrest them, the courts free them' gets lodged in people's heads, it gives rise to another kind of barbarity: vigilante groups."
Canada is broadening a probe of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and freezing its participation in the multilateral organization indefinitely, the government said Friday.

Ottawa had temporarily suspended its involvement in the AIIB in June after a whistleblower asserted that China's ruling party pulls the strings at the bank.

The AIIB, a project pushed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, was launched in 2016 to counter Western dominance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It has 106 global members, including Australia, Canada, France and Germany.

"In consultation with some of our closest international partners, Canada is expanding its review of the AIIB," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement, adding that its participation in the bank would remain indefinitely suspended.

The probe will include an analysis of AIIB investments, as well as its governance and management frameworks, and an assessment of management's response to concerns raised by a former executive.

Bob Pickard, a Canadian who was the bank's communications chief, resigned in June and alleged that the organization is dominated by members of the Chinese Communist Party and primarily funds projects of interest to Beijing.

Ottawa said it has raised those concerns with Australia, Britain, Germany and Sweden on the sidelines of a recent IMF meeting.

The AIIB and China's foreign ministry have rejected Pickard's explosive claims, saying the bank operates with "openness, meritocracy and transparency."
China lodged a protest Saturday after calls at the U.N. climate talks in Dubai to include Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by Beijing.

Two of the dwindling number of countries that recognize Taiwan  Guatemala and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru  both hailed support from Taipei in addresses at the COP28 conference.

"I would take this opportunity to make special reference to the government of Taiwan, a friendly country which has contributed via international cooperation to development projects to bolster adaptation and resilience projects on climate change," said Marco Vinicio Ochoa, a vice minister from the Central American country.

"Therefore, we call for them to be able to participate in this important forum," he said.

A representative from Beijing exercised a right to respond to raise objections.

"A handful of countries ignored the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and made noises about the participation by the Taiwan authorities," she said. "In fact, the Taiwan region can contribute to the global climate change fight through existing arrangements."

The United Nations booted out Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, in 1971 and Beijing in recent years has stepped up pressure on countries to refuse even a semblance of recognition to Taiwan.

Taiwan has nonetheless submitted an action plan to curb climate change to the U.N. climate body in line with the 2015 accord and in Dubai took out advertisements in public places to highlight its activities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Vietnam next week, his third to Hanoi after a six-year break and as Beijing and Washington jostle for influence.

The visit, on Tuesday and Wednesday, will coincide with the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a "comprehensive strategic partnership" between the nominally communist one-party, authoritarian states.

It also will come just three months after Vietnam upgraded its relationship with the United States to that same partnership level. U.S. President Joe Biden's September visit to Vietnam put Washington on an equal footing with Beijing in Hanoi's diplomatic hierarchy.

But unlike their relationships with the U.S., China and Vietnam share a high degree of ideological convergence, with leaders of both countries often describing their bilateral relationship as "comrades and brothers."

Since Xi became general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phu Trong, has visited China three times, in 2015, 2017 and 2022. He was the first foreign dignitary to visit after Xi secured his unprecedented third term as leader.

Xi also visited Vietnam in 2015 and 2017 but stopped traveling for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trade

Over the past decade, economic and trade relations between China and Vietnam have become increasingly close. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner and second-largest export market, and it is now a major source of foreign investment in Vietnam. Vietnam is China's top trading partner among countries in ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China's General Administration of Customs says trade between China and Vietnam exceeded $200 billion for the first time in 2021, reaching $230.2 billion  a year-on-year increase of 19.7%.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says trade between the U.S. and Vietnam in 2022 totaled $142 billion, with U.S. exports since 2021 up 3% and imports up 25%.

Despite close political and economic ties between China and Vietnam, the two countries have a decades-long sovereignty dispute over large parts of the South China Sea. Beijing's aggressive assertion of its claims has pushed Hanoi closer to Washington.

China's placement of an oil rig near the Paracel Islands in 2014 led to a standoff and collision with a Vietnamese fishing vessel that sparked anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam.

Tensions flared again in 2020 after a Vietnamese fishing boat and Chinese vessel collided near the Paracel Islands, sinking the Vietnamese one.

China's militarization over the past decade of the Spratly Islands, where it has deployed anti-ship cruise missiles and long-range surface-to-air missiles, has also triggered serious concern in Vietnam.

Vietnam has responded with reclamation and expansion projects on islands under its control.

Popular perception

While most Vietnamese have come to terms with the Vietnam War that ended when the U.S. withdrew its troops in 1975, many still look warily at China  a giant neighbor with whom they fought a brief war in 1979. Beijing launched a three-week attack on Vietnam to punish Hanoi for invading Cambodia to oust the Khmer Rouge, and the two sides had occasional border skirmishes in the years that followed.

A survey published in February by Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute showed that while a majority of Vietnamese views on U.S. influence were positive, a growing majority saw Chinese influence as negative.

The survey showed most Vietnamese were not confident that China would do the right thing in terms of global peace, security, prosperity and governance, while 65% believed that Beijing's economic and military power could be used to threaten their own country's interests and sovereignty.
Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, was named in a nine-count indictment charging him with various tax crimes this week, raising the possibility that he could be on trial in two separate federal jurisdictions during his father's reelection campaign next year.

The indictment, filed in federal court in California, alleges that Biden committed three felonies and six misdemeanors as part of an effort to avoid paying federal taxes between 2016 and 2020. During that time period, according to the 56-page indictment, Biden took in more than $7 million, and should have paid some $1.4 million in federal taxes.

However, the indictment alleges, Biden instead "spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes."

The indictment is the product of a long-running investigation headed by special counsel David Weiss, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware, which began during the Trump administration. When President Biden entered the White House, he asked that Weiss stay on.

Political burden

Charlie Cook, a political analyst and founder of the Cook Political Report, told VOA that the indictments of his son add yet another burden to the Democratic president, whose reelection campaign is facing many obstacles.

"The president is already facing a lot of headwinds, and this is just one more that makes the challenge of reelection just that much harder," Cook told VOA. "Concerns about his age and health  either now or five years from now  poor poll numbers in terms of his handling of the economy and just about every other issue area. All these things are drags on his reelection campaign.

"Then, you throw in a nine-count indictment and trials next year, and it's hard to see how this doesn't hurt."

Distraction for president

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, agreed that the indictment and potential trials of his son will be a political headache for Biden, though he said he doubted that the indictment itself would actually cost Biden many votes in 2024.

"It isn't helpful to President Biden, obviously, if for no other reason than he's going to be distracted by at least one trial and possibly two, during the election year," Sabato told VOA.

However, Hunter Biden's legal troubles have been very public for years, and Sabato said public trials are, at this point, unlikely to change many voters' attitude toward his father.

"The only votes that are affected by this are already committed to the eventual Republican nominee," he said. "People who base their vote on what a president's very adult son has done  without any real proof that the president himself has had some kind of illegal role in it  are few and far between. It's just not going to happen with independents, Democrats and even moderate anti-Trump Republicans."

Financial details

The indictment goes into detail about the sources of the younger Biden's income, noting that during the time frame in question, he made about $2.3 million from his association with the Ukrainian industrial conglomerate Burisma Holdings, and several million more from other business ventures, including a Chinese energy firm called CEFC China Energy.

Hunter Biden also received a total of $1.2 million in financial support from a personal friend, including $200,000 used to rent what the indictment refers to as a "lavish house on a canal in Venice, California" and $11,000 in payments related to a Porsche.

The indictment also charges that Biden used a line of credit obtained by his company, Owasco, to illicitly pay for a wide array of personal expenses. Among other things, the document lists payments to luxury hotels, a high-fashion clothing manufacturer, a strip club, a pornographic website, apartment rent for one of his daughters, and other services. It alleges that he then attempted to classify those payments as deductible business expenses on his tax filings.

Plea deal fell apart

The indictment, sometimes scathing in its description of Biden's behavior, is all the more remarkable because, only a few months ago, the special counsel appeared ready to allow the president's son to evade prosecution.

Court papers filed in June revealed that Biden had struck a preliminary agreement with Weiss to plead guilty to two minor tax misdemeanors and to admit that he was illegally in possession of a handgun in 2018.

However, in August the deal collapsed after Biden's attorneys and the prosecutor's team were unable to agree on whether the guilty plea would immunize Biden against prosecution on different tax charges.

With the deal off the table, Weiss requested that Attorney General Merrick Garland grant him the status of special counsel, which allowed him to file charges in federal courts outside his jurisdiction of Delaware.

The gun-related charges were brought in an indictment in Delaware in September, which charged Biden with both illegal possession of a firearm and with falsifying a document that he submitted to the federal government in connection with the purchase of the weapon.

In statements to the news media, Abbe Lowell, Biden's attorney, said that his client has refiled amended tax returns for the years in question, and has paid what he owed the government in full. Lowell suggested that another American, under the same set of circumstances, would not have been indicted.

"Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought," he said.
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock discussed the fate of Germans held in Iran Friday with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian, her ministry said.

The two ministers held a telephone call with a "particular focus... on German consular cases," the ministry wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen of Iranian descent, was abducted in late July 2020 by the Iranian authorities and sentenced earlier this year to be hanged for "corruption on earth."

Iran's Supreme Court in April confirmed the death penalty.

German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi, in her late 60s, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail in August 2021 after being arrested at her Tehran apartment in October 2020.

Taghavi was convicted on national security charges.

Germany came under pressure over its Iran policy last week after a prominent women's rights campaigner stormed out of a government meeting and accused officials of helping Tehran "silence dissidents."

Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad said she had walked out of the meeting at the German foreign ministry after she was told the talks had to be "kept secret."

Sharmahd's daughter, Gazelle Sharmahd, wrote a post on X in support of Alinejad.

The families of German prisoners in Iran have been told by the German government for three years that "talks behind closed doors are better because publicity endangers the hostages," she wrote.

"But what has this public silence and confidential dialogue brought us?"

A spokesperson for the foreign ministry responded that Germany's "stance toward the Iranian regime is very clear and we condemn where it violates human rights."

Baerbock and Amirabdollahian on Friday also discussed "their different perspectives on regional issues," the foreign ministry said.

Baerbock "called on Iran to contribute to de-escalation," it added.
Lootah Biofuels, a pioneer in the circular economy that produces biofuels from used cooking oil (UCO), and FatHopes Energy, a Malaysian leader in developing sustainable fats, oils, and grease solutions for advanced biofuel production, have signed a MoU aimed at pioneering advancements in the production and distribution of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the Mena and Southeast Asia region.

The MoU delineates the collaborative roadmap that encompasses diverse initiatives and engagements towards SAF development through cutting-edge technologies and opportunities in setting a practical supply chain, said a statement .

The agreement was signed by CEO Yousif bin Saeed Lootah and FatHopes Energy CEO Vinesh Sinha in the presence of Mariam AlMheiri, UAE Minister for Climate Change and Environment and Tuan Nik Nazmi Bin Nik Ahmad, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change of Malaysia on the sidelines of COP28.

The global aviation sector has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. It currently accounts for around 3% of the worlds carbon footprint, and this is likely to fall rapidly with the use of SAF, which promises to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% and have the advantage over other alternative fuels of being drop-in fuels.

The Middle East being a global hub for travel, as well as UAE and GCCs major airlines enthusiastically adopting SAF and effective resource management to fulfil their carbon reduction strategy, the demand for SAF is expected to increase further.

In response to this, both companies will explore possibilities for the establishment of a feedstock aggregation storage terminal and SAF refinery at strategic locations in Malaysia and the UAE.

The planned 200,000 sq m capacity liquid waste and residual feedstock aggregation storage terminal in a suitable seaport in Southeast Asia is expected to act as a consolidation hub for the purpose of securing consistent feedstock supply for the refinery strategically located in the UAE.

Furthermore, the partnership will explore franchising opportunities for FatHopes Energys technologies, data and entrepreneurship programmes across Mena in order to secure ample feedstock supply.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lootahs said the strategic alliance marks a pivotal moment in its commitment to developing sustainable aviation solutions contributing to NetZero targets set by the aviation sector and aligns with UAE leaderships sustainability goals.

"Our partnership is more than just collaboration in business. It is the next step in developing the sector beyond borders and exploring opportunities to mobilise the next generation through knowledge initiatives," he noted.

"By leveraging FHEs expertise and technologies, we are poised to drive substantial progress in the production and distribution of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, catering to the burgeoning aviation sector in the UAE and beyond," he added.

Sinha pointed out that this collaboration aligns perfectly with its mission to promote sustainable practices and technological innovation.

"Together with Lootah Biofuels, we aim to contribute to emission reduction in the aviation industry by establishing a robust infrastructure for the production and distribution of SAF, ensuring a greener and more environmentally responsible future," he noted.

The MoU signifies a significant step towards creating a strategic framework for both entities to explore the feasibility and commercial viability of these ambitious projects.

This collaboration underscores the shared commitment of LBF and FHE towards fostering sustainability, technological advancement, and environmental stewardship, serving as a beacon of innovation in the global aviation industry.-TradeArabia News Service
As the year 2023 comes to a close, English language dictionary publishers are announcing their choices for word of the year. The words usually come from popular usage, news events, or things that are on peoples minds.

AI

Collins, a British publisher, has named AI as its word of the year for 2023. AI, short for artificial intelligence, is a term that describes the modeling of human mental functions by computer programs.

AI is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life. Just this year, the Beatles released a song with help from AI. The American toy company Mattel now uses AI to design new toy cars. A Kuwaiti news organization used AI to create Fedha, a female presenter to read the news. AI has also been used to identify an asteroid that could one day present a threat to Earth.

One of the best-known AI programs is ChatGPT. The program can have a discussion with people, write books, and create images. The program learns from a large database of books, online materials, and other media.

It can produce human-like writing. But, sometimes, its writings are not correct or do not make sense. When artificial intelligence produces such information, people say that the program has hallucinated.

Hallucinate

The British dictionary publisher Cambridge chose hallucinate as its word of the year. It says the word gets to the heart of why people are talking about AI.

To hallucinate means to seem to see, hear, feel, or smell something that does not exist. But when used in connection to AI, it means to produce false information.

Cambridge says, generative AI is a powerful tool but one that were all still learning how to interact with safely and effectively. The publisher adds that AI hallucinations remind us that humans still need to bring their critical thinking skills to use these tools.

Authentic

The American publisher Merriam-Webster chose authentic as its word of the year.

Merriam-Webster says it has seen a major rise in searches for authentic in 2023. The publisher says the searches are driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.

Authentic has several meanings, including not false, true to ones own personality and made or done the same way as an original.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, Merriam-Webster says the line between real and fake has become increasingly unclear.

Other words Merriam-Webster considered include deepfake, coronation, indict and rizz.

Rizz

The editors of the Oxford dictionary left the selection for Word of the Year to language lovers.

Over 30,000 people voted and selected four finalists for word of the year. They were Swiftie (fans of Taylor Swift), situationship (an informal romantic or sexual relationship), prompt (an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program), and rizz.

If you are not familiar with rizz, it is time to learn its meaning. It is Oxfords word of the year. Rizz is believed to come from the word charisma. Oxford says it means having style, charm or attractiveness. It can also mean the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner. The word is popular among Generation Z -- people born during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Rizz can be used as a verb, too. To rizz up means to attract, seduce, or chat up (a person).

Oxford editors said they chose rizz as an interesting example of how language can be formed, shaped, and shared within communities, before being picked up more widely in society.

Im Anna Matteo.

Hai Do wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

________________________________________________

Words in This Story

asteroid  n. any of the small rocky celestial bodies found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

celebrity  n. a famous or celebrated person

original  adj. relating to or being the origin or beginning

coronation  n. accession to the highest office

indict  v. to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury (such as a grand jury) in due form of law

seduce  v. to persuade to do wrong : to persuade to have sexual intercourse
An Iranian court has begun the trial of a Swedish national employed by the European Union who was detained last year, Sweden's foreign minister said Saturday.

"I have been informed that the trial of Johan Floderus has begun in Tehran," Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish news agency TT.

"The Swedish charge d'affaires was at the court but was refused the right to participate in the trial. Sweden has  requested the right to be present when the trial resumes."

Floderus was detained in April 2022 while on holiday in Iran for what his family said was alleged spying. Billstrom did not specify what Floderus had been charged with.



Floderus' family has said he was detained "without any justifiable cause or due process."

Rights groups and Western governments have accused the Islamic Republic of trying to extract political concessions from other countries through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up. Tehran says such arrests are based on its criminal code and denies holding people for political reasons.

Relations between Sweden and Iran have been tense since 2019, when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his part in the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s. Hamid Noury was sentenced to life in prison last year, prompting Iran to recall its envoy to Sweden in protest.

In May, Iran executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident convicted of leading an Arab separatist group Tehran blames for a number of attacks including one on a military parade in 2018 that killed 25 people.
The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire as Israel ramps up strikes in Gaza. Hospitals in Gaza are barely functional, well speak to a physician with Doctors Without Borders who describes medical personnel without the ability to provide the desperate care needed as hospitals become non-functional. And the father of a young man still being held hostage by Hamas describes the agony of not hearing any word from his son since October 7. And as Russias war on Ukraine continues, U.S. military aid hangs in the balance. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara brings us details.
The United Nations Security Council took no immediate action at a closed emergency meeting late Friday requested by Guyana after Venezuelas referendum claiming the vast oil- and mineral-rich Essequibo region that makes up a large part of its neighbor.

But diplomats said the widespread view of the 15 council members was that international law must be respected, including the U.N. Charters requirement that all member nations respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every other nation  and for the parties to respect the International Court of Justices orders and its role as an arbiter.

A possible press statement was circulated to council members, and some said they needed to check with capitals, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the consultations were private.

At the start of Fridays meeting, the diplomats said U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the council on the dispute.

In a letter to the Security Council president requesting the emergency meeting, Guyana Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd accused Venezuela of violating the U.N. Charter by attempting to take its territory.

The letter recounted the arbitration between then-British Guiana and Venezuela in 1899 and the formal demarcation of their border in a 1905 agreement. For over 60 years, he said, Venezuela accepted the boundary, but in 1962 it challenged the 1899 arbitration that set the border.

The diplomatic fight over the Essequibo region has flared since then, but it intensified in 2015 after ExxonMobil announced it had found vast amounts of oil off its coast.

The dispute escalated as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro held a referendum Sunday in which Venezuelans approved his claim of sovereignty over Essequibo.

Venezuelan voters were asked whether they support establishing a state in the disputed territory, granting citizenship to current and future area residents and rejecting the jurisdiction of the United Nations top court in settling the disagreement between the South American countries. Maduro has since ordered Venezuelas state-owned companies to immediately begin exploration in the disputed region.

The 159,500-square-kilometer (61,600-square-mile) area accounts for two-thirds of Guyana. But Venezuela, which has the worlds largest proven oil reserves, has always considered Essequibo as its own because the region was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period.

In an Associated Press interview Wednesday, Guyanan President Irfaan Ali accused Venezuela of defying a December 1 ruling by the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.

It ordered Venezuela not to take any action until the court rules on the countries competing claims, a process expected to take years.

Venezuelas government condemned Alis statement, accusing Guyana of acting irresponsibly and alleging it has given the U.S. militarys Southern Command a green light to enter Essequibo.
North Korea is determined to launch more spy satellites soon to collect information on the military activities of its enemies, a commentary carried by state news agency KCNA said Saturday.

The satellites will be modeled after the Malligyong-1 satellite that Pyongyang launched in November, which governments in the United States, South Korea and Japan said violated United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"If necessary, they will perfectly execute the job of guiding and leading us towards a super strong strike," the anonymous commentary said while defending space development as its right to defend itself.

The national security advisers of the U.S., South Korea and Japan are set to hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Saturday to discuss North Korea and other global issues.

In a separate article on KCNA, Ro Ju Hyon, who the agency described as an international affairs analyst, criticized South Korea for "reckless military aid to Ukraine."

It cited an article from The Washington Post this week that reported that South Korea's indirect provision of 155mm shells made it a "larger supplier of artillery ammunition for Ukraine than all European nations combined."

"This is the top-class pro-U.S. act to put even the West, steeped in anti-Russia policy, into the shade," Ro said.

North Korea has been criticized over its ties with Russia by South Korea, Japan and the U.S., who say Pyongyang is providing arms support to Moscow in return for help advancing its military capabilities.

Last month, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. had information that indicated North Korea was covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells for its war in Ukraine.
Prosecutors in Guatemala asked a court Friday to strip President-elect Bernardo Arevalo of his immunity, saying there could be enough irregularities to annul the election results, a move the Organization of American States called part of "a coup attempt."

It was the third time prosecutors have sought to lift Arevalo's immunity since he won election in August, and the OAS said prosecutors were seeking to subvert "the will of the people."

Arevalo is scheduled to take office on January 14, and it was unclear whether the prosecutors' continued targeting of him and his party could interfere with the inauguration.

The most recent request from prosecutors cites alleged irregularities in the way Arevalo's Seed Movement party gathered signatures to register years earlier, something previously raised by prosecutors just before electoral authorities confirmed Arevalo's spot in the runoff after a first round of voting.

Vote tallies questioned

At a news conference Friday, prosecutors said there were alleged irregularities in some precinct vote tallies that could lead to the election results being annulled.

Rafael Curruchiche, special prosecutor against impunity, said the Supreme Electoral Tribunal would have to resolve the situation. "All of the political parties and all of the candidates in all of the elections were affected here," he said.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal responded almost immediately that the election results were inalterable.

"The results are valid, certified, and the people [who won their races] are necessarily accredited and must take office January 14. If not, it would be a rupture of the constitutional order," tribunal President Blanca Alfaro said.

Authorities arrested a number of Seed Movement members in recent weeks. They previously requested stripping Arevalo of immunity over alleged mishandling of party funds and requested that he and his vice president-elect lose their immunity for allegedly making supportive comments on social media about the takeover of a public university last year.

Charges of 'political fraud'

In a statement, the OAS said it "condemns the coup attempt by Guatemalan prosecutors" and urged Guatemala's courts and congress not to allow it.

"The attempt to nullify this year's general elections represents the worst form of breaking with democracy and consolidating a political fraud against the will of the people," the OAS wrote.

Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government, has faced months of protests and calls for her resignation as well as international condemnation for her office's interference. Porras, as well as outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei, have denied any intent to meddle in the election results.

Arevalo had not been polling among the top candidates headed into the first round of voting in June but secured the second spot in the runoff with his promise to crack down on Guatemala's endemic corruption. In the final vote in August, he won by a wide margin over former first lady Sandra Torres.
Thousands of tons of dead sardines have washed up on a beach in northern Japan for unknown reasons, officials said Friday.

The sardines and some mackerel washed ashore in Hakodate on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, creating a silver blanket along a stretch of beach about a kilometer long.

Residents said they have never seen anything like it. Some gathered the fish to sell or eat.

The town, in a notice posted on its website, urged residents not to consume the fish.

Takashi Fujioka, a Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute researcher, said he has heard of similar phenomena before, but it was his first time to see it.

He said the fish may have been chased by larger fish, become exhausted due to a lack of oxygen while moving in a densely packed school, and were washed up by the waves.

The fish also may have suddenly entered cold waters during their migration, he said.

The decomposing fish could lower oxygen levels in the water and affect the marine environment, he said.

"We don't know for sure under what circumstances these fish were washed up, so I do not recommend" eating them, Fujioka said.
Finlands supreme court on Friday blocked the extradition of a Russian neo-Nazi to Ukraine, where he is wanted on terrorism charges.

Jan Petrovsky is suspected of participating in a terrorist organization in Ukraine.

The Finnish court blocked his extradition because it believed he would be subject to degrading conditions in a Ukraine prison.

Petrovsky, a former Wagner Group mercenary, was released from the Finnish prison, but he was taken into custody by the Finnish Border Guard.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Friday that there was a missile strike on the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions Friday morning, but a significant portion of Russian missiles were successfully intercepted. He said one person was killed.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine continues to evacuate its citizens from Israel. Almost 40 Ukrainian citizens are now safe, he said.

Energy infrastructure targeted

Russian airstrikes, shelling and bad weather have damaged Ukraines energy infrastructure, leaving 500 settlements in intermittent energy blackouts.

Ukraines grid operator, Ukrenergo, reported that energy consumption hovered near record highs on Friday, straining the already fragile power grid.

For a second winter, Russia is targeting the countrys electric infrastructure, sending dozens of drones on an almost nightly basis to hit power-generating facilities and distribution networks across the country.

Ukrenergo said a thermal power plant in the east was again damaged by systematic and prolonged shelling, and elsewhere a power facility was shut down for emergency repairs.

Meanwhile Ukrenergo urged residents to economize on the use of electricity in the face of continued Russian attacks.

"This morning Ukrenergo again recorded a high level of consumption, which is almost equal to yesterday's record," the grid operator said in a statement, adding that consumption was at its highest levels so far this heating season.

Ukraine, an energy exporter before Russia's invasion last year, was forced to turn to emergency power imports from neighboring Romania and Poland this week to meet demand, Ukrenergo said.

"The power system remains in a difficult situation. For now, there is no free capacity at power plants," it said.

EU aid debate

The European Union will find ways to provide financial aid to Ukraine despite Hungarys threat to veto EU assistance, a senior official said Friday. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to block the $53 billion budget proposal to assist Kyiv through 2027.

A senior EU official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said if Hungary does veto the aid package, the EU could allocate a smaller amount of money to Ukraine for a shorter time, or the other 26 EU countries could extend their national contributions bilaterally to Kyiv.

"We know how existential it is. European leaders are responsible people  at least 26," said the official, who is involved in an EU summit scheduled for next week.

Ukraine depends on economic aid from the West to keep its defenses against Russia going.

A senior EU diplomat, also speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, expressed hope that a compromise might be reached, as happened last year when Orban objected to the EUs $18 billion financial package aid to Ukraine but ultimately approved it after securing concessions from the EU for his country.

Hungary is also planning to block EU membership talks for Ukraine at next weeks summit.

The EU is due to consider a legal proposal on Tuesday allowing the use of sanctioned Russian frozen assets to help Ukraine. However, EU officials say Ukraine might not see the money anytime soon because EU members are bickering over the amounts pledged for Ukraine.

The EU executive said some $30 billion worth of private Russian assets and a further $223 billion of the Russian central bank's funds have been confiscated.

Some $135 billion of the latter sum is held by Belgian company Euroclear. Belgium estimated it would collect $2.5 billion in taxes on that in 2023 and 2024. It said it would use those proceeds for Ukraine.

Putin presidency 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday announced his candidacy in March's presidential election after a Kremlin award ceremony during which war veterans and others pleaded with him to seek reelection in what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called spontaneous remarks.

Putin, who was handed the presidency by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has already served as president for longer than any other ruler of Russia since Josef Stalin.

For Putin, 71, the election is a formality: with the support of the state, the state-run media and almost no mainstream public dissent, he is certain to win. He has no discernable successor.

About 80% of Russians approve of Putin's performance, according to the independent pollster Levada Center. But it is not clear if that support is genuine or the result of Putins oppressive regime, which cracks down on any opposition.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors Friday on the fast-escalating row between South American neighbors Venezuela and Guyana over a disputed oil-rich region.

Delegates left the meeting  which took place at Guyana's request  with roses offered by Ecuador, which chairs the Council this month. None made statements to reporters.

Guyana says Caracas' move on the oil-rich Essequibo region, disputed for more than a century, "threatens international peace and security."

World leaders called for calm as Venezuela decried joint U.S.-Guyana military exercises as a "provocation" and vowed to push ahead with the "recovery" of the region, which both neighbors claim as their own.

Fears of the conflict blowing up have deepened after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government held a controversial referendum Sunday on the fate of Essequibo.

The region has been administered by Guyana for more than a century and is the subject of border litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

It makes up about two-thirds of Guyanese territory and is home to 125,000 of the country's 800,000 citizens, but it is also claimed by Venezuela.

Controversy has simmered since 2015 when U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, operating under licenses from Guyana, discovered vast oil reserves in the area.

"Guyana and ExxonMobil will have to sit down with us face-to-face sooner rather than later," Maduro said Friday during a ceremony in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, where he showed a map of Venezuela that included Essequibo as official territory.

Washington provoked an angry response from Caracas on Thursday by announcing via the embassy in Georgetown that it would hold joint "flight operations within Guyana" as part of "routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership" with its ally.

"This unfortunate provocation by the United States in favor ... of ExxonMobil in Guyana is another step in the wrong direction," Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on X, formerly Twitter.

In response, Guyanese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Venezuela "is not going to succeed, now or ever" at taking the region.

"Every single movement that Venezuelans make, particularly in the proximity of our borders, is tracked, every single one of them," he said.

'Unwavering support'

In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced "growing concern" Thursday about the tensions on his country's northern border.

Lula told a summit of South America's Mercosur bloc: "If there's one thing we don't want here in South America, it's war."

The Brazilian army said Wednesday it was reinforcing its presence in two northern cities.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also warned Venezuela not to take "unilateral action" in the dispute. Guyana is an English-speaking former colony of Britain and the Netherlands.

Russia, a close ally of Venezuela's Maduro, added its voice Friday, urging a "peaceful solution."

"We call on the parties to refrain from any actions that could unbalance the situation and cause mutual harm," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Guyana insists Essequibo's frontier was determined by an arbitration panel in 1899.

But Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the region's east forms a natural border recognized as far back as 1777.

In Sunday's plebiscite, voters were asked whether citizenship should be granted to the English-speaking people of a new "Guyana Esequiba State" and "consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory."

Officials in Caracas said 95% of voters supported the measures.

Analysts say the referendum and the rise in nationalist rhetoric is an attempt to distract attention ahead of elections in 2024 when Maduro will seek a new term amid economic crises and dwindling oil production at home.

"It was like a kind of trial balloon ahead of the presidential elections" to measure the "capacity to mobilize and try to fine-tune their strategy for 2024," said Mariano de Alba, an adviser to the International Crisis Group.

Two days after the vote, Maduro proposed a bill to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region.
Following a five-year legal battle, the settlement of a class action lawsuit concerning the practice of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border has been approved, and, importantly, it bars the use of a similar policy for the next eight years.

The American Civil Liberties Union brought the lawsuit in 2018 to stop the forcible separation of children from their parents after they illegally crossed the border into the United States.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in the Southern District of California approved the settlement Friday.

"When we brought this lawsuit, no one thought it would involve thousands of children, take us to so many countries searching for families, or last for years," Lee Gelernt, the lead ACLU attorney on the case, wrote in a statement.

"While no one would ever claim that this settlement can wholly fix the harm intentionally caused to these little children, it is an essential beginning," the statement continued.

The policy resulted in immigration agents separating more than 4,000 children from their parents and only became known after audio of scores of sobbing children screaming for their parents emerged from a U.S. federal detention facility.

About 4,500-5,000 children and their parents will be covered under this settlement. The government is expected to continue to identify families that were separated.

Though news of the separations came to light in 2018, a pilot program began in 2017 in the El Paso, Texas, area.

The policy sparked widespread bipartisan outrage and eventually pushed then-President Donald Trump to sign an executive order ending the practice. Many of the parents were deported from the United States without their children, some of whom were in foster care or with relatives they had never known before.

The settlement offers resources to help families address the trauma they suffered under the policy, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an October statement.

"The Department of Homeland Security has taken steps to ensure that the prior practice of separating families does not happen again, and we are continuing the work of reuniting children with their parents," his statement said.

However, former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has said he could reinstitute the family separation policy if he's reelected.

"If a family hears that they're going to be separated  they love their family  they don't come. I know it sounds harsh," Trump said during a town hall in May.

But Gelernt, the ACLU attorney who represented the separated families, told VOA in an email that, "If a future administration tries to reinstate the family separation practice, the settlement allows us to go back to court to get an order stopping it."

The order

The 46-page settlement does not offer money to families who were separated, but it does allow them to apply for temporary legal status for three years and a work permit. They can receive some help finding housing, and aid for initial rent payments such as first and last months rent. And the federal government must cover co-payments for medical and behavioral health services.

Families can also apply for asylum, even if they were denied it during their time in the U.S.

It also prohibits U.S. immigration officials from using the accusation that migrants entered the U.S. illegally as a reason to separate parents and their children. Agents at the border must prove child abuse or serious crimes before separating families and also record the charges, evidence and where each child is sent in a shared government database. Under the settlement, if families are separated, the ACLU lawyers must be informed so they can dispute the separations.

The Biden administration created a task force to continue to reunite separated families. According to a September report by the task force, 3,126 children have been reunited with their parents or legal guardians. The task force is still working with nonprofit and nongovernment organizations to reunite 1,073 children with their parents.

Of those, 81 children have no valid contact information for their parents or other relatives.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, child psychology experts, and other child welfare groups have spoken out against separating children from their parents. They say it can have long-lasting effects on childrens emotional growth and cognitive development.

The ACLU has settled hundreds of lawsuits in its 103-year history, its executive director, Anthony D. Romero, wrote in an email to the media.

"None more important than this one  but as welcomed as it is, the damage inflicted on these families will forever be tragic and irreversible," he added.
The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, separately condemned a high-seas assault Saturday by the Chinese coast guard together with suspected militia ships that repeatedly blasted water cannons to block three Philippine fisheries vessels from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The noontime assault by Chinese ships off the Scarborough Shoal, one of the most aggressive this year, caused "significant damage" to the communication and navigation equipment of one of the three Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships, Filipino officials said.

They said without elaborating that suspected militia vessels accompanying Chinese coast guard ships used a long-range acoustic device that could impair hearing, causing "severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew."

'Aggressive, illegal actions'

It's the latest flare-up of the long-seething territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a flashpoint in Asia that has put the U.S. and China on a collision course. China claims virtually the entire strategic waterway, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have pressed their separate claims.

Territorial standoffs between China and the Philippines over a number of disputed offshore areas, including the Scarborough and the Second Thomas shoals, have been particularly heated this year. The U.S. has warned that it's obligated to defend the Philippines, its longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, aircraft or ships come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

China has warned the U.S. to stay away from what it calls a purely Asian dispute. It has deployed ships and aircraft to closely shadow U.S. Navy ships and aircraft, which periodically undertake freedom of navigation and overflight patrols in one of the world's most hotly disputed seas.

A Philippine government task force that deals with the territorial disputes said Saturday it "vehemently condemns the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese coast guard and Chinese maritime militia against the civilian Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels."

"We demand that the Chinese government take immediate action to halt these aggressive activities and uphold the principles of international law and desist from actions that would infringe on Philippine sovereignty and endanger the lives and livelihood of Filipino fishermen," it said.

U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson condemned China's "aggressive, illegal actions."

"This (Chinese) behavior violates international law and endangers lives and livelihood," Carlson said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "We stand with our Philippine friends, partners, allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Coast guard 'implemented control measures'

The Chinese coast guard said in a single sentence announcement on its website that it "implemented control measures in line with the law" Saturday against three BFAR vessels that "intruded into waters adjacent to Huangyan Island," the Chinese name for the Shoal.

The Philippine fisheries bureau's ships sailed to the Scarborough Shoal to provide humanitarian aid  mainly free fuel and Christmas grocery packs  to poor Filipino fishermen aboard nearly 30 boats in the rich but far-flung fishing area, Philippine officials said.

They said the swarm of Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships took dangerously aggressive actions, including the use of water cannons at least eight times, as the Philippine government ships approached about 2.6 kilometers to 3.5 kilometers (1.6 to 2 miles) from Scarborough Shoal.

They added that the Chinese coast guard installed a floating barrier at an entrance to the vast fishing lagoon of Scarborough Shoal and deployed personnel aboard small motorboats to drive away Filipino fishermen waiting for the distribution of fuel and food supplies at sea.

"To prevent the distribution of humanitarian support is not only illegal but also inhumane," the Philippine government task force said.

In past faceoffs in the high seas off disputed shoals, the Chinese coast guard has used a military-grade laser that caused Filipino crewmen temporary blindness, and resorted to dangerous blocking and shadowing maneuvers, including one that caused minor collisions.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has allowed a larger U.S. military presence in local military bases under a 2014 defense pact partly to strengthen territorial defense amid China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters. China has strongly opposed and expressed alarm over increasing deployments of U.S. forces, warning that it would threaten regional peace and stability.

The Philippines also has launched joint sea and air patrols separately with the U.S. and Australia, and plans to expand this to a multilateral patrol, possibly including Japan and other like-minded nations to deter aggression in the South China Sea, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano told reporters last week.
In the spirit of giving back to the community, Plum Creek Market Place in Lexington is hosting an annual food drive to assist local residents in need.

The idea for the food pantry was created by Pat Tysdal, a former Lexington Clipper-Herald advertising representative. Over the past several years, she has collaborated with Plum Creek Market Place as the drop-off point for donations from community members.

Carl Hays of Plum Creek Market Place expressed gratitude for the partnership, highlighting the stores role as the middle man in this community-driven initiative. Each year, Hays seeks out recipients of the donated goods, including the Baptist and Presbyterian churches and Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska.

When asked about the types of items commonly donated, Hays mentioned staples like noodles, pasta, sauce and canned vegetables. These items, he noted, are versatile for creating multiple nutritious meals.

The food drive typically concludes shortly after Christmas. Hays described the logistics of the operation, explaining that as the donation cart fills up, he transports the goods to the designated food pantry. Subsequently, an empty cart is returned to the store, ready to be filled again.

I think that our community knows that there are people that need stuff here, Hays said. You never know what people are going through. A little bit of help goes a long way. Giving food to things like this is going to feed somebody that doesnt have food. And I think people realize that and understand how scary thatd be if you didnt have food, but an extra can goes a long way.

The shopping cart to drop off food donations will be located inside the front of Plum Creek Market Place at 1411 Plum Creek Parkway.

For any questions relating to the food drive, call Plum Creek Market Place at 308-324-2327.
A man with dual U.S.-Russian nationality has been placed in pre-trial custody in St. Petersburg for "rehabilitating Nazism" in posts on social media, the city's court service said Saturday.

Yuri Malev was charged over posts in which he was alleged to have denigrated the St. George's ribbon, a symbol of Russian military valor. One contained obscene language and the other showed a picture of a corpse wearing the ribbon.

The court service said this showed disrespect for society and insulted the memory of the Great Patriotic War, as Russians refer to World War II.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported detention but had no further comment on the case. Representatives for Malev could not be immediately reached.

'Partially admitted guilt'

The court service statement said Malev, who was detained in St. Petersburg on Friday, had "partially admitted guilt," but did not elaborate. He was placed in custody until February 7.

Several Americans and dual citizens are being held in Russia, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich. Earlier this week, the State Department said Russia had rejected a substantial proposal to release both men, who have been charged with spying, an allegation the United States has denied.

Last week, a Russian court extended the pre-trial detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent," an offense that carries up to five years in prison.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council Friday that two months into Israels war with Hamas we are at a breaking point, and urged them to push for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, but the United States used its veto to prevent the council from demanding one.

The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss, Guterres said. The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal.

The war was triggered by Hamas October 7 terror attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people. Palestinians living in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are living in increasingly dire conditions. More than 17,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed according to Gazas health ministry. Thousands more are injured or missing under the rubble.

The 15-nation Security Council met Friday morning after Guterres wrote to them Wednesday invoking Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which empowers him to bring to the council any matter he believes may threaten international peace and security.

It is the first time Guterres has invoked the clause in his nearly seven-year-long, crisis-plagued tenure. The last time it was directly invoked was in 1971, during fighting that led to the creation of Bangladesh and its separation from Pakistan.

While the Security Council has been discussing the Gaza conflict, internal divisions have largely prevented it from taking any meaningful action. Guterres invocation of Article 99 is a way for him to press for the need for immediate action.

Israels envoy questioned why, when there are so many conflicts in the world, including in Ukraine, Yemen and Syria  where chemical weapons were used  that Article 99 was not invoked until now.

Despite the immense global impact of other conflicts and far more pressing threats to international peace and security, Israels defensive war against Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, was the catalyst for activating Article 99, Ambassador Gilad Erdan said.

He said calls for a cease-fire were misguided and should be directed at Hamas leadership, not Israels.

The Security Council reconvened later Friday to vote on a draft resolution circulated by the United Arab Emirates on behalf of a group of Arab and Muslim nations. Nearly a hundred U.N. member states co-sponsored the short text. It called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the release of all hostages and humanitarian access.

The Palestinian envoy made an impassioned appeal to council members to support it.

There is no role more important for this council than to save civilian lives  2.3 million Palestinians are fighting for their lives as we speak every single day, Ambassador Riyad Mansour said. Save them! Tell them! Show them help is on the way!

US veto

But the United States used its veto to block the measure. Britain abstained. The councils other 13 members supported the text, but it failed due to the U.S. veto.

Hamas condemned the U.S. veto against the draft resolution, describing it as unethical and inhumane.

The United States, Israels closest ally, has been clear in saying it does not think the time is right for a cease-fire.

Perhaps most unrealistically, this resolution retains a call for an unconditional cease-fire, said Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood. I explained in my remarks this morning why this is not only unrealistic but dangerous: It would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on October 7.

He said Washington strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, not a cease-fire that would only plant the seeds for the next war.

The Biden administration has said it would support extended pauses, like the seven-day pause in November that allowed for the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas and some 300 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The United States and Israel blame Hamas refusal to release young women civilian hostages for the breakdown in that pause.

British Ambassador Barbara Woodward called the suffering of Palestinians terrible and heart-wrenching and said more and longer pauses are necessary to get aid in and hostages released.

But we cannot vote in favor of a resolution which does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on the 7th of October, she said. Calling for a cease-fire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage.

UAE Deputy Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said it was regrettable that in the face of untold misery, the council was unable to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.

Let me be clear: Against the backdrop of the secretary-generals grave warnings, the appeals by humanitarian actors, the worlds public opinion  this council grows isolated, he said.

Palestinian envoy Mansour said the councils failure to demand a cease-fire would have dangerous consequences.

Hundreds of people will be killed by this time tomorrow. Then hundreds more. And then thousands, Mansour said. Children will be killed. Orphaned. Wounded. Disabled for life.

Israels envoy thanked the United States for its support and said a cease-fire would only be possible with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas.

Aid organizations and human rights groups criticized Washington.

The U.S. administration standing alone to veto a cease-fire, puts another nail in the coffin for U.S. credibility on matters of human rights, said Abby Maxman, Oxfam America's president and CEO.

Once again the U.S. used its veto to prevent the Security Council from making some of the calls the U.S. itself has been demanding of Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including compliance with international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and releasing all civilians held hostage, said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch.

By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the U.S. risks complicity in war crimes," he warned.
Israel intensified its attacks across Gaza Saturday and expanded its evacuation orders in southern Gaza, a day after the United Nations Security Council failed to pass a proposed resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the war between Israel and the U.S.-designated terror group Hamas.

Israel ordered residents Saturday to evacuate the center of Gaza's main southern city, Khan Younis, while the dead and wounded are piling up at the overwhelmed Nasser hospital there.

So far, the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents already have been forced from their homes, many fleeing several times. With fighting raging across the length of the territory, residents and U.N. agencies say there is effectively nowhere safe to go now. Israel disputes this.

The World Health Organization's executive board is scheduled to meet Sunday to discuss the health situation in Gaza.

More than a dozen WHO member states already have expressed "grave concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the enclave. Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday.

"The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss," Guterres said. "The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal."

U.S. veto

Israels expanded military operations come on the heels of Washingtons veto of the proposed Security Council resolution Friday, diplomatically isolating it from the rest of the group.

Turkey's ministry of foreign affairs called the impasse a "complete disappointment."

"Our friends once again expressed that America is now alone on this issue, especially in the voting held at the United Nations today," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview Friday with state broadcaster TRT, after he and his counterparts from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.

Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of the international rights advocacy group Amnesty International also disagreed with the U.S. veto, calling it morally indefensible and a dereliction of the U.S. duty to prevent atrocity crimes and uphold international law.

The U.S. reasoning against a cease-fire is that it would allow Hamas to regroup and carry out fresh incursions. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by the militants during the October 7 terror attack on Israel.

Israeli hostages

Several hundreds of families, friends and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza rallied Saturday in Tel Aviv at the "Hostages Plaza," calling on the Israeli government to secure the hostages release.

Signs of trauma are evident in the small children who were among the hostages released by Hamas.

They looked like shadows of children, said Dr. Efrat Bron-Harlev of Schneider Childrens Medical Center in suburban Tel Aviv, who helped treat more than two dozen former captives, most of them youngsters.

Some had not been allowed to bathe during the entirety of their captivity. Many had lost up to 15% of their total weight but were reluctant to eat the food they were served.

Asked why, the answer came in whispers: Because we have to keep it for later.

One 13-year-old girl recounted how shed spent the entirety of captivity believing that her family had abandoned her, a message reinforced by her kidnappers, Bron-Harlev said.

Hamas tunnels

Also Friday, Israel said it had discovered a new tunnel, weapons and Hamas facilities under Gaza  evidence, it says, that Hamas, carries out military operations through an extensive network running underneath civilian infrastructure.

The military did not provide video or photo evidence of the kilometer-long tunnel extending from the campus of Al-Azhar University in Gaza to a nearby school, but it released photos of weapons soldiers allegedly found at the university, including explosives and rocket parts.

The military said it also found a Hamas control room with cameras, phones, walkie-talkies and weapons near a hospital in northern Gaza, as well as an additional tunnel entrance. A photo released by the military showed an opening to an underground passageway with a ladder stretching downward.

Israel said such discoveries show that Hamas is entrenched in civilian areas  a claim central to its justification for intensifying its attacks on the enclave and calling for more mass evacuations on civilian areas there.

Meanwhile, Israel rounded up Palestinian men in northern Gaza for interrogation, the military said Friday. Video has emerged of the apprehended men in the town of Beit Lahiya, dressed only in their underwear and sitting on the ground.

The Middle East has been a tinderbox since Iranian-backed Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,200 people while taking about 240 people hostage, Israel said. Israel's retaliatory strikes and ground offensive have killed more than 17,700 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Thousands more are missing and presumed buried under rubble. Seventy percent of the victims are women and children, according to the health ministry.

Ninety-four Israeli soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza since its ground invasion of the enclave began, according to the Israeli military.

US ammunitions

Secretary of State Blinken has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of 120 mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer tank cartridges and related equipment for an estimated cost of $106.5 million, according to a statement.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Friday.

The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives, the statement said. The ammunition would come from U.S. inventory.

The Biden administration asked Congress Friday to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israels Merkava tanks in the offensive against Hamas, according to a current U.S. official and a former U.S. official.

Washingtons request for tank shells has added to growing concerns about the supply of U.S. weapons in a war that has killed thousands of civilians in the Palestinian enclave since Hamas terror attack on Israel two months ago.

VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this story. Some information for this article was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Wyoming's governor and other top leaders decided Thursday to hold off on auctioning a big chunk of state-owned land within Grand Teton National Park, choosing instead to continue negotiations with the U.S. government on a purchase or land swap for the pristine and valuable property.

Depending on how those talks go, the state Board of Land Commissioners made up of Governor Mark Gordon and the state's other four statewide elected officials, all of whom are Republicans, might revisit the unpopular proposal next fall.

"Thank you very much," Grand Teton Superintendent Palmer "Chip" Jenkins Jr. told the board members after their 5-0 vote against auction for now.

Park employees understand that revenue from such state lands funds education  they, too, have kids in Wyoming's public schools  but are concerned about development in "inappropriate places," Jenkins added.

An auction, recommended by State Lands Director Jenifer Scoggin to comply with a legal mandate to raise as much money for schools as possible, would have happened as soon as January. The land is appraised at $62.4 million.

Scoggin had suggested a minimum $80 million bid, investment of which would yield millions of dollars a year compared with the $2,800 a year now realized from grazing leases and recreation permits.

State lands staff speculated in a report for the board that a luxury home developer who subdivided the property into lots no smaller than 35 acres (14 hectares) would pay the most at auction.

Even compared with Wyoming officials' previous threats to auction state-owned parcels within the park to prod the U.S. government to step in and pay millions to conserve the properties, the reaction was noteworthy for the lack of support for the proposal. In public hearings and letters since October, thousands of people opposed an auction.

"This area should not be destroyed by the construction of luxury houses and other development," read a form statement for submission to the state on the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund website. "Too much development has already encroached on critical winter habitat near the park."

As of Thursday, a counter showed more than 12,500 submissions of the form.

Located on the park's eastern edge, the square-mile (2.6 square-kilometer) Kelly Parcel is undeveloped except for a road through it and offers an unobstructed, head-on view of the famously spectacular Teton Range. The land is prime habitat for moose, elk, deer and other wildlife typical of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Wyoming has owned the land since statehood and it has existed within  but is technically not part of  Grand Teton since a park expansion in 1950.

Previous sales of state mineral rights and 86 acres (34.8 hectares) of state land in the park in 2012, followed by the sale of a different square-mile (2.6 square-kilometer) parcel in 2016, have netted Wyoming over $62 million. State officials and the Interior Department originally agreed the federal government would buy the Kelly Parcel for $46 million no later than early 2015, but negotiations broke down and have dragged on ever since.

Gordon raised the issue with Interior officials in a meeting of the Western Governors Association in Jackson Hole last month, according to spokesman Michael Pearlman.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, a member of the state land board, made Thursday's motion to delay a possible auction, saying that $2,800 a year is "not an acceptable rate of return" but lands like the Kelly Parcel are essential to Wyoming's character. Other options, such as a land swap, should be attainable through negotiations, she said.

"However, I do not think the answer is a sweetheart deal with the federal government," Degenfelder said. "Our land and our education are worth more than that."
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The European Union has voiced concerns about a surge in migration from Africa after Niger repealed a law that criminalized the transport of migrants in the country. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
Gazans sought refuge in bombed-out hospitals as Israel vowed to "press harder" in its war with Hamas on Saturday, a day after the United States blocked a ceasefire bid at the United Nations.

Aid groups say Gaza faces an "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation and is on the verge of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.

At least 17,700 people, mostly women and children, have died in two months of fighting in the narrow strip of territory, according to the latest figures from Gaza's health ministry.

Washington vetoed a UN resolution that would have called for a ceasefire on Friday, a move strongly condemned by Palestinian and humanitarian groups.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he appreciated "the correct stance the US took" and vowed to "continue our just war to eliminate Hamas".

Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas after its unprecedented attacks on October 7, when militants broke through Gaza's militarised border, killed about 1,200 people and seized hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel on Saturday said 137 captives remain in the Palestinian territory.

An AFP journalist said thousands of Gazans were sheltering in the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, which is no longer functioning and partly destroyed following an Israeli raid last month.

Hundreds of makeshift tents fashioned from scraps of fabric and plastic filled the hospital's courtyards and garden amid collapsed walls.

Suheil Abu Dalfa, 56, from the city's Shejaiya district, said he fled heavy bombardment by Israeli planes and tanks.

"It was madness. A shell hit the house and wounded my 20-year-old son," he told AFP.

"We fled to the Old City, everything was just strikes and destruction... we didn't know where to go," he said. "We don't know if they will storm the hospital again."

- 'Without anaesthetic' -

Hamas health authorities said 71 dead arrived at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah over 24 hours, and 62 at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

An AFP correspondent in Nasser hospital saw a child on a makeshift stretcher and others waiting for care on the floor, while firefighters outside tried to douse a burning building hit by an Israeli strike.

Alexandra Saieh, of Save the Children, spoke of "maggots being picked from wounds and children undergoing amputations without anaesthetic".

The situation "is not just a catastrophe, it's apocalyptic," added Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam.

Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said it needed to "press harder" in its campaign in Gaza.

"We're seeing more and more terrorists killed, more and more terrorists wounded, and in recent days we're seeing terrorists surrendering -- this is a sign their network's falling apart," he said at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi told Israeli TV that 7,000 "terrorists" had been killed, without elaborating on the source of the figure.

In Tel Aviv, some Israelis held a pro-peace demonstration.

Hundreds of others gathered in what has come to be known as Hostages Square, calling for action to save the captives held by Hamas with signs bearing messages such as "They trust us to get them out of hell".

The Israeli army says it has lost 93 soldiers in the campaign, with two others injured in a failed bid to rescue hostages on Thursday night.

Hamas said a hostage, 25-year-old Sahar Baruch, was killed in the operation, later confirmed by his kibbutz community in Beeri, one of the worst-hit on October 7.

- 'Israel protection council' -

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called a rare Security Council vote on a ceasefire on Friday.

But it was vetoed by the US, whose envoy Robert Wood said it was "divorced from reality" and would leave Hamas in power in Gaza.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said he "holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people" after the veto.

Avril Benoit, head of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity, described the US veto as a "sharp contrast to the values it professes to uphold".

There was anger, too, in a residential area of Rafah decimated by an Israeli strike.

"What resolution did the Security Council ever approve and was implemented for our cause and Palestinian people?" local resident Mohammed al-Khatib said amid the rubble.

Iran, which backs Hamas, warned it could lead to an "uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region", while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the UN body as the "Israel protection council".

- 'Weapons in school' -

An estimated 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced.

Blocked from leaving the narrow territory, they have turned Rafah near the crossing with Egypt into a vast camp.

With air, naval and ground combat continuing, Israel's military said they found weapons in a school in Gaza City and were fired upon from an UN agency school and mosque.

Hamas's armed wing said it fired rockets towards Reim in southern Israel -- the site of the Supernova music festival where 364 people were killed on October 7, according to Israeli figures.

There are fears of a wider regional conflict, with regular exchanges between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

Israel's army said it retaliated on Saturday after unspecified "launches" from Lebanon, including with fighter jets.

Violence has also surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where the health ministry said three people were killed on Saturday.

The military earlier said it has arrested 2,200 people in the West Bank, 1,800 of them Hamas members, since the Israel-Hamas war began.

bur-er/jsa
Longtime inmate Ed Poindexter died in prison Thursday at the age of 79, according to a prison spokeswoman.

The man considered a political prisoner by some and a killer by others had been serving a life sentence for the 1970 killing of Omaha Police Officer Larry Minard at the Reception and Treatment Center.

A year ago, his niece and a community activist in Omaha sought compassionate release for Poindexter, who had advanced kidney disease and had been diagnosed with Parkinsons.

They publicly called for then-Gov. elect Jim Pillen to convene the Nebraska Board of Pardons to commute his life sentence for murder.

By then, Poindexter had been in prison for more than 50 years after being convicted, along with David Rice.

From the start, both maintained their innocence in the booby-trap bombing death of Minard on Aug. 17, 1970. Some believe they were framed by federal and local law enforcement officials eager to get convictions for the killing for the married father of five killed three days before his 30th birthday.

Many, including the global human rights organization Amnesty International, considered them political prisoners, easy targets for police because of their ties to the Black Panther Party during a turbulent time.

Poindexter told the Journal Star he had become frustrated at the racism he saw when he served in the Vietnam War and when he got home. He turned to the party and wrote of taking up arms against police.

"I have some regrets about it. But it can't be undone now," Poindexter said in a visiting-room interview at the State Penitentiary in 2016.

Earlier that year, Rice, who had taken the name Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa, died in the infirmary at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, denying until the end that he had anything to do with Minard's death.

Poindexter, then more than 45 years into his life sentence, continued to claim his innocence as well, despite knowing that a show of remorse might help his chances at being set free.

Over the years, there had been a number of legal challenges and other efforts to release them.

In 1974, U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom overturned their convictions, ruling that police had illegally searched Rices home. But on appeal their convictions were reinstated.

In 1993, the State Board of Parole recommended that Rices life sentence be commuted by the Pardons Board to a number of years, in order to make him eligible for parole. But the Pardons Board refused.

In 2009, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected the most recent legal challenge, a request for a new trial, finding no merit to Poindexter's claims of misconduct by prosecutors, ineffective defense and errors made during his trial, which hinged largely on the testimony of a then-16-year-old who told the jury he was acting at the direction of Rice and Poindexter when he loaded a suitcase with dynamite, planted it in a vacant North Omaha house and called police to say there was a woman there screaming.

A voice expert who analyzed a tape of the phone call in 2007 said it was highly probable that the deep voice on the call was not Duane Peak, who was 15 at the time of the crime and granted immunity for his testimony.

A grand jury will be called to review his death as they do in all cases of in-custody deaths.

The inmates on Nebraskas death row and their crimes Jorge Galindo Erick F. Vela Jeffrey Hessler John L. Lotter Roy L. Ellis Marco E. Torres Jr. Anthony Garcia Nikko Jenkins Patrick Schroeder Aubrey Trail
2020 ELECTION

An attorney central to former President Donald Trump's plan to overturn the 2020 election is reportedly cooperating with Wisconsin state investigators probing the scheme, according to a CNN report.

The CNN report about attorney Kenneth Chesebro's alleged cooperation with investigators in an attempt to avoid criminal charges is the first indication that the Wisconsin Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the plan to send elector certificates to Washington, D.C., falsely stating Trump won Wisconsin.

News of the investigation comes just days after the 10 Republicans who signed the fake elector documents settled a civil lawsuit and admitted both that President Joe Biden won Wisconsin and that their actions furthered a scheme to illegally overturn the election.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has repeatedly declined to confirm or deny the investigation, and he did the same Friday through spokesperson Gillian Drummond.

"Attorney General Kaul strongly believes that those who committed crimes in an effort to unlawfully subvert the outcome of an election should be held accountable," Drummond said.

Legal experts have said Kaul has more than enough evidence to hold the electors and their attorneys criminally liable.

Charges have been filed in fake elector cases in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, and investigations are ongoing in Arizona and New Mexico.

Chesebro struck a deal in Georgia last month with Fulton County prosecutors that have charged Trump and over a dozen allies with seeking to overturn the 2020 election. Chesebro pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents and agreed to testify in the upcoming trial.

The Wisconsin slate of Republican electors gathered at the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign documents declaring Trump the winner on the same day Democratic electors cast the state's actual Electoral College votes for Joe Biden.

The gathering came after Chese bro and other Trump attorneys circulated documents outlining the effort to circumvent the Electoral College process in several states, including Wisconsin, after the 2020 election, despite recounts and court decisions affirming that Biden defeated Trump in the battleground state by almost 21,000 votes.

Those who signed the false documents in Wisconsin asserting Trump won are: former state GOP chair Andrew Hitt; Robert Spindell, a Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission; 8th Congressional District GOP chair Kelly Ruh; former 1st Congressional District GOP vice chair Carol Brunner; former Dane County Republican Party chair Scott Grabins; 3rd Congressional District GOP chair Bill Feehan; second vice chair of the state GOP Kathy Kiernan; former 6th Congressional District GOP chair Darryl Carlson; former 7th Congressional District GOP vice chair Pam Travis; and Mary Buestrin, former member of the Republican National Committee.

State Republicans have said the meeting took place on the advice of attorneys and was based on precedent  specifically, when Hawaii electors from both parties convened in public regarding a genuine dispute over the 1960 presidential election in that state.

The legal settlement in the civil lawsuit included hundreds of text messages and emails between the electors and their attorneys outlining the plot, photographs of the electors signing the document and text messages in which some expressed doubts about signing the documents.
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Dingoes are in an extinction vortex in Victoria, with as few as 30 breeding adults left in one of two remaining packs in the state.

But farmers, hunters and Parks Victoria employees will be allowed to shoot, trap and poison dingoes on all private land in Victoria for the next year  and on public land within 3 km of any private land boundary in vast tracts of the state. This follows a Victorian government decision to extend a declaration making dingoes an unprotected species.

Dingoes are apex predators who play a critical role in keeping ecosystems in balance. Once they are gone, they are not coming back. Credit: Jason South

Animals Australia has launched a Supreme Court challenge to the order, which was made on the recommendation of former environment minister Ingrid Stitt, former agriculture minister Gayle Tierney, and former outdoor recreation minister Sonya Kilkenny (before the October cabinet reshuffle).

The organisations legal counsel, Shatha Hamade, said the very survival of dingoes as a species was now in question.
In Morocco and Jordan, thousands have rallied to demand their countries cut ties with Israel. In Cairo, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Tahrir Square, where Egypts Arab Spring uprising began, and revived a revolutionary cry for bread, freedom and social justice. And in Bahrain, protesters said that in addition to feeling a deep sense of shared Arab and Islamic identity, they saw connections between Palestinian liberation and their own liberation from political repression. I look forward for us to be free people, said Fatima Jumua, a 22-year-old Bahraini woman who attended the protest in Manama. Our existence and freedom is connected to the existence and freedom of Palestine. A member of international humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders holds a placard during a protest called for an end to the war in Gaza and for an immediate cease-fire, at Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday. Credit: AP For decades, most Arab governments refused to establish ties with Israel before the creation of a Palestinian state. But that calculus shifted in the years before the war as authoritarian leaders weighed negative public opinion towards Israel against the economic and security benefits of a relationship  and the concessions they might extract from the US, Israels top ally.

Bahrains government wants to be seen as a voice of moderation in the United States, and it is increasingly using its new relationship with Israel to shape this perception in Washington, said Elham Fakhro, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a think-tank. But at home, it is having a different effect. In 2020, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco established relations with Israel in deals brokered by the Trump administration and known as the Abraham Accords, joining Egypt and Jordan, which have had peace agreements with Israel for decades. The deals were celebrated by the Western governments that have long supported the regions royal families, and in September, the Bahraini government signed a comprehensive security pact with the Biden administration. Palestinians in Gaza burn pictures of then US president Donald Trump, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, to protest the UAE and Bahraini normalisation pact with Israel in 2020. Credit: AP But polls showed that most ordinary Arab citizens increasingly view the establishment of ties with Israel dimly.

In Bahrain  with its Sunni Muslim royal family and majority-Shiite Muslim population  officials declared that the accords encouraged tolerance and coexistence. But that rang hollow to many citizens as the government continued to crack down on domestic dissent. The Palestinian cause and opposition to Israel unite Bahrainis across sectarian and political lines  Sunnis and Shiites, secular leftists and conservative Islamists, young and old. Asked in a poll before the war what impact the Abraham Accords would have on the region, 76 per cent of Bahrainis said a negative one. Loading The accords were forced against the will of the people, said Abdulnabi Alekry, a 60-year-old Bahraini human rights activist. Fakhro said Bahrain had been on edge for many years because of tensions between the government and opposition movements. This crisis is further widening that rift, she said.

Bahrain crushed an Arab Spring uprising in 2011 with help of Saudi and Emirati forces. It also hosts one of the regions most important US military bases. Bahraini protesters said they view Israel as a colonial-style occupying power and a Western-backed project designed to dominate the region. Some said Israel should not even exist. Loading Jumua said the Palestinians and the rest of the regions people all live under the sway of Western powers. Until now, we see that we cant move without American approval, she said.

Back at the Ritz-Carlton hotel the morning after the protest, senior Arab and American officials returned to the glitzy ballroom to debate a path forward for Gaza. Asked about negative public opinion towards the Abraham Accords, Brett McGurk, a top White House official for the Middle East, said he was focused on the immediate crisis. But beyond that, he said, US policymakers remained committed to integration of Israel and its neighbours. Before the war, the White House had been holding talks with Saudi Arabia about a complex deal in which the kingdom, the most powerful Arab country, would recognise Israel. Loading We cannot allow what Hamas did on October 7 to knock that permanently off path, McGurk said.

But some Palestinians feared that a Saudi-Israel deal would have further undermined their struggle for statehood. A senior Bahraini official said that his government believed Israel was here to stay and that the regions peoples must coexist. Bahrain is concerned about the war fuelling anger and extremism, he added, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. The Abraham Accords should be protected as a tool to bring peace, he said. Loading But when asked about the gap between Arab leaders and public opinion, the official did not directly address the question. Instead, he said that Bahrain believed the situation in Gaza was catastrophic and was doing everything it could to foster peace. The most scathing indictments of Israel at the conference came from the foreign minister of Jordan  where much of the population is of Palestinian origin  and a senior Saudi royal, Prince Turki al- Faisal, who called for sanctions on Israel.

Prince Turki  a former Saudi intelligence chief  dismissed the notion that building ties among Arab states and Israel would bring peace, calling it an Israeli, American and European illusion. As Prince Turki spoke, another protest was gathering steam about 10 kilometres away, stretching for blocks through the narrow streets of Muharraq  a town of low-rise buildings in shades of white and beige. The air smelled of petrol from idling cars as streams of people blocked traffic, waving Palestinian flags and carrying children on their shoulders. Loading Freedom of association and assembly remain highly restricted in Bahrain. But many of the recent protests received government permits  providing a semi-sanctioned space to let off steam. Thousands of marchers shouted in English and Arabic until they grew hoarse.

Down, down, Israel! America is the head of the snake! Some chanted in support of Hamas, urging it to bomb Tel Aviv, Israel. In his speech the day before, Bahrains crown prince had lamented Gazas constant bombardment, calling it an intolerable situation. But he stopped short of threatening a diplomatic break with Israel and called the US indispensable to any peace process. When he finished, his guests dined on saffron-poached peaches and chicken breasts stuffed with ratatouille. Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Bahraini officials told participants they were determined to protect their deal with Israel.
A judge ordered probation Friday for a man convicted of felony murder for the 2020 death of another man at a homeless encampment at an East Washington Avenue park, but he added the certainty of a prison term should the probation ever be revoked.

Circuit Judge John Hyland said that even though a death resulted from a blow delivered on Sept. 12, 2020, to Tyrone A. Flood by Iven D. Henry at Reindahl Park, he did not believe the action, which happened during a fight between the two men, warranted a prison term.

Im viewing this through the lens of Mr. Henrys actions, Hyland said. I dont think his actions warrant a prison sentence.

Instead, Hyland ordered Henry, 34, of Madison, to serve 4 years of probation. But he structured the sentence so that if Henrys probation is ever revoked by the state Department of Corrections, Henry would immediately begin serving three years in prison followed by three years of extended supervision.

Henry pleaded no contest Friday to felony murder for Floods death.

Initially, Henry and another man, Clarence L. Bell, were charged with substantial battery for the fight that led to Floods death. Later, the Dane County Medical Examiner ruled that Flood, 54, died from a heart attack and that he suffered from other serious health conditions but that his death was a homicide because of the beating he received.

That led to an added felony murder charge. Felony murder is charged when a death occurs during the commission of another crime. Initially, that crime was felony battery. But under a plea agreement Henry reached with prosecutors, the underlying charge was misdemeanor battery.

The maximum Henry faced under the agreement was nine months in jail for the battery, with up to 15 years of combined prison and extended supervision added for felony murder.

Assistant District Attorney Tim Verhoff asked for a sentence of three years in prison followed by three years of extended supervision. Henrys attorney, Yolanda Woodard, asked for probation.

Woodard said Henry could have taken the case to trial, but instead he gave a statement to police in which he took the blame for the battery to Flood. Woodard said Flood was in a dispute over drugs with Henrys girlfriend and punched Henry in the face when Henry tried to intervene. In turn, Henry struck Flood on the head with a crate.

In his statement to police, Henry exonerated Bell, telling police Bell wasnt even there. Charges against Bell were dismissed in July.

Floods mother, in an emotional telephone statement in court, told Henry that she feels the loss of her son every day, now that she no longer receives daily phone calls from him.

Tyrone was someone special, very special to our family, she said. She said his death was for no reason, for no good reason.

In court, Henry apologized and said that day completely changed his life. He said he was pleading with Floods family for forgiveness.

If only I would have walked away sooner, he said.
A new Spanish immersion day care and preschool has opened on Madisons West Side, offering children the chance to learn Spanish at the same time as English, starting when theyre infants and toddlers.

At Casa de Corazon, children are immersed in a Spanish-speaking environment and have extended contact with a community of fluent speakers. According to the schools website, this method is shown to be one of the most effective approaches to language teaching, because it duplicates the conditions under which children learn their first language.

There are benefits to those synapses in your brain having two different concepts, two different words for everything that you encounter, owner and operator Heather Reekie said. Learning a second language also develops your ability to value cultural identity and that cultural differences actually enrich everyones life.

The newly renovated space at 6 Odana Court on the West Side opened its doors to families Nov. 15. It includes 11 classrooms, an indoor and outdoor playground, and a kitchen on site.

When Kevin Julka and his family were searching for child care before welcoming their first child, they considered many options, from traditional day cares to in-home nannies. But Casa de Corazon felt like the best option for his son, Luca, who is now nearly 3 months old.

My wife is Mexican American, her grandmothers Spanish speaking, her mom is fully bilingual and thats one thing that I think my wife values, keeping in touch with her cultural heritage through language, Julka said. So, for our son to have a jumpstart on that and be truly raised in it is pretty awesome.

The same goes for Jen Fronczak and her 2-year-old son, Benny. She said the Spanish immersion component of the preschool called to her, for both the cultural aspect and the benefits of learning multiple languages.

Its interesting to see how his language has exploded in just the last few weeks, Fronczak said. Its great to get exposure to other peoples way of talking.

Casa de Corazon has a capacity of 144 children. Reekie said the focus is on preschool-age and younger at the moment, but the facility is licensed to care for children all the way up to 18 years old. Expanding to older kids is a goal down the line, she said.

Most of the spots are still open at Casa de Corazon. Reekie said shes in the process of hiring more staff and moving interested families through the application process.

This location joins seven other Casa de Corazon sites around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Reekies sister, Natalie, started the franchise more than two decades ago after she couldnt find a Spanish immersion or a bilingual preschool program for her own child.

When she was growing up, Reekie said, her family fostered pre-adoptive newborns, and she continued working with children as a speech language pathologist. But she calls Casa de Corazon her passion project.

I just always loved having babies in my life, Reekie said. And now I get to do it again.

Many of the teachers and teaching assistants at Casa de Corazon are native Spanish speakers. The child care center and preschool also provide almost entirely organic and locally sourced meals.

Although it came with a slightly higher cost, these benefits are what attracted Fronczak to Casa de Corazon when her family was looking for new child care for her son.

The teachers also just feel so appreciated here, Fronczak said.

With the child care system in the United States under increasing strain, as low wages for workers and limited availability drive up tuition costs, Reekie said shes excited to be offering another option for families in Madison. Casa de Corazon is in the middle of the road when it comes to cost, Reekie said, but offers tuition discounts for siblings and for any union member.

I love offering that professional, loving environment for kids to just realize their full potential as young learners, Reekie said. I think the Spanish immersion is the icing on the cake.

Casa de Corazon joins several other Spanish immersion and bilingual child care offerings in the area and dual language programs available in some public schools, such as the Madison School Districts Nuestro Mundo charter school.

Casa de Corazon will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday at its new facility, sponsored by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.
Anyone who watched last Mondays (November 27) heartbreaking and eye-opening documentary, broadcast for all to see on RTE One, called Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost, would have to agree with me that it was a heart-catching and moving piece. Patrick McDonagh, at the age of 12, died by suicide due to bullying and discrimination projected upon him on social media for being his own self, a Traveller. Patrick was a kind, bubbly, smart, talented and a happy child. Hatred of Travellers and the discrimination put onto Travellers has a 12-year-old Traveller's life on their hands.

Being an Irish Traveller, I wasnt shocked with the level of discrimination that was discussed in the documentary, nor by the statistics shown or the impact discrimination is having on our community. The community has had an epidemic and crisis of suicide on its hands for years.

A report by the Irish Traveller Movement, of which I am part through the Youth Forum, showed that in 2010 suicide was the cause of eleven percent of all Traveller deaths; in the last thirteen years that has only increased. Suicide is six times higher for Traveller women and seven times higher for Traveller men compared to members of the settled community. If you are of the mindset that Travellers bring it on themselves, ask yourself what Patrick brought on himself, what crime did he commit?

Myself, I see accepted discrimination every day against the community. Derogatory terms against the community are used in everyday language and conversation. Severe discrimination, exclusion and bullying is seen day in and day out on social media platforms. If a Traveller does something amazing, still negative, dehumanising and discriminative terms will appear in the comments on social media. In fact, posts about the documentary itself on social media last week drew negative comments beneath them which showcased that even an innocent child losing his life due to exactly this, wasnt enough for a change to be brought.

Patrick McDonagh was only 12-years-old when he took his own life.

Change is needed. We need a national Traveller mental health strategy; organisations such as the Irish Traveller Movement and Pavee Point have been calling on this for years  and it is in the programme of the government  but it has not been put into place. We need accountability and real action, we need national Traveller policy implemented. We need allies to challenge discrimination against Travellers, we need Traveller culture and history embedded in the school curriculum, we need the Yellow Flag Programme, which ensures teachers and students the learning of identity information and belonging, similarity and difference, discrimination and equality and managing intercultural conflicts. Hate crime and speech legislation must also protect Irish Travellers. Traveller racism online needs to be moderated properly, reports addressed and racists held accountable.

People would call me an activist for many things and it was activism that has led me to want to run in the elections for Dail Eireann in the coming years. To me, we should all come together as one. At the end of the day, we are all human and there is good and bad in every nationality, ethnic group and culture. I hope if you watched the documentary  and if you haven't, that you do  that you see the change that is needed. Patrick had his entire life ahead of him  and a good one at that, where he would have brought a real difference. But Michelle and Pat McDonagh, his parents, have been left without their little boy.

Michelle said in the documentary: I wanted him for more than 12 year. I wanted him forever. Michelle would still have her Patrick if we lived in a society that embraced everyone and didnt exclude and bully due to differences. I hope our community never have to lose another Patrick.
READING, Pa. - The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) made it official on Friday.

The plan to restore passenger train service between Reading and Philadelphia has taken a big step after being accepted into the FRA's corridor ID program.

Officials say they're now a little closer to having passengers return to the railroad lines in Reading.

"We want long term sustainable passenger rail service and that's what made us look at Amtrak compared to a commuter rail service," said Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach.

The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority's (SRPRA) acceptance into the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program means the authority has access to federal funds to advance the project.

"The money that's being utilized for these projects that have been identified is out of the bipartisan infrastructure bill," explained Leinbach. "It's already been allocated and approved by the federal government."

Now the authority will enter phase 1 of the planning. Commissioner Leinbach says it doesn't involve a study, but rather things like working with Norfolk Southern. It's also not about building all new railroad tracks, since the tracks are already there, but working to develop stations along the route.

"Berks County already has a Franklin Street Station working group that involves the city, involves the county, involves the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance. We are responsible for costs relative to the station," Leinbach said.

Additionally, Commissioner Leinbach says Jim Gerlach, as he moves into retirement, will resign from the rail authority later this month and be replaced by David Hunter. Reading Mayor Eddie Moran will also be reappointed to authority, mirroring the other counties who have mayors in the same position.

"I believe it is very possibly in the next six years or so we should see the restoration of passenger rail service. Is it automatic? No. Nothing is automatic," added Leinbach.

The next rail authority meeting is slated for December 18th.
Wanted for eluding a peace officer and failure to appear and probation violation on the original charges of possession of parapernalia, DUI and reckless driving NO BOND

The Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office asks that anyone with information please call 208-735-1911 or Crime Stoppers at 208-343-2677, where they can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tips can be made at www.343cops.com or download P3 Tips on your mobile phone.
Truist Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN  Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $88.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AMN. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on AMN Healthcare Services from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. They issued a neutral rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark downgraded AMN Healthcare Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $97.67.

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AMN Healthcare Services Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AMN stock opened at $68.69 on Tuesday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $71.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.34. AMN Healthcare Services has a twelve month low of $57.80 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.33. AMN Healthcare Services had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company had revenue of $853.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.20 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. The companys revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AMN Healthcare Services will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AMN Healthcare Services

In other news, insider Mark Christopher Hagan sold 16,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.92, for a total value of $1,086,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,018 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,291,702.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMN Healthcare Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 155,452 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,241,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 13.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 177,151 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,090,000 after purchasing an additional 20,510 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 1.6% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 159,342 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of AMN Healthcare Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 17,739 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in AMN Healthcare Services during the third quarter valued at about $546,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.23% of the companys stock.

About AMN Healthcare Services

(Get Free Report)

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc provides healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services to hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States. It operates through three segments: Nurse and Allied Solutions, Physician and Leadership Solutions, and Technology and Workforce Solutions. The Nurse and Allied Solutions segment offers travel nurse staffing, rapid response nurse staffing and labor disruption, allied staffing, local staffing, and revenue cycle solutions.

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Aspen Grove Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM  Free Report) by 11.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,435 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Aspen Grove Capital LLCs holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Horizons Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 214.6% in the 2nd quarter. Horizons Wealth Management now owns 453 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.5% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,414 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $6,844,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 41.0% in the second quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 64,171 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $6,882,000 after buying an additional 18,664 shares during the period. WMS Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.1% in the first quarter. WMS Partners LLC now owns 45,054 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $4,941,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,963,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.53% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben sold 2,077,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.06, for a total transaction of $216,132,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,780. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben bought 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $105.97 per share, with a total value of $26,492,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,077,000 shares in the company, valued at $220,099,690. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben sold 2,077,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.06, for a total value of $216,132,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,352,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on XOM shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $127.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $143.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $129.30.

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Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $99.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.26 and a 200-day moving average of $107.64. The company has a market cap of $394.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $98.02 and a 1-year high of $120.70.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The oil and gas company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.09). Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 20.72% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $90.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.45 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. This is a boost from Exxon Mobils previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Exxon Mobils dividend payout ratio is 37.74%.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

(Free Report)

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.

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B. Riley Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG  Free Report) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 485,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock after purchasing an additional 29,986 shares during the period. Vishay Precision Group comprises about 6.6% of B. Riley Asset Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. B. Riley Asset Management LLCs holdings in Vishay Precision Group were worth $18,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 962,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $40,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,118 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 962,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $40,193,000 after acquiring an additional 38,948 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 615,503 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $22,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 613,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $22,785,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 604,989 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $19,451,000 after acquiring an additional 4,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.13% of the companys stock.

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Vishay Precision Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VPG opened at $30.74 on Friday. Vishay Precision Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.93 and a 1 year high of $45.69. The stock has a market cap of $415.91 million, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.01 and a 200 day moving average of $34.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 4.35 and a quick ratio of 2.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Vishay Precision Group ( NYSE:VPG Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $85.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $90.11 million. Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 8.38%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vishay Precision Group, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VPG. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Vishay Precision Group from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. TheStreet cut shares of Vishay Precision Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Vishay Precision Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, November 10th.

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Vishay Precision Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Badger Meter from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.67.

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Badger Meter Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of BMI opened at $150.72 on Wednesday. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $103.93 and a 12-month high of $170.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.46.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $186.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.06 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The businesss revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 22nd. Badger Meters dividend payout ratio is currently 37.24%.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,991,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $497,681,000 after buying an additional 28,050 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,485,626 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $322,037,000 after acquiring an additional 52,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,097,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $193,750,000 after acquiring an additional 26,896 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.3% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,045,682 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $126,737,000 after purchasing an additional 42,700 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $147,367,000 after purchasing an additional 80,979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.81% of the companys stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, and internationally. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities.

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Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP  Free Report) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HPP. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. They issued an outperform rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research raised shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from a sell rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the stock from $5.50 to $6.25 in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.84.

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Hudson Pacific Properties Price Performance

Shares of HPP opened at $7.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 1.23. Hudson Pacific Properties has a twelve month low of $4.05 and a twelve month high of $12.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.67.

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $231.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.37 million. Hudson Pacific Properties had a negative net margin of 10.00% and a negative return on equity of 3.07%. As a group, analysts predict that Hudson Pacific Properties will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HPP. Group One Trading L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties during the first quarter worth $149,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hudson Pacific Properties by 3.4% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,542 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Hudson Pacific Properties by 76.5% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 36,550 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hudson Pacific Properties by 33.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 98,525 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,734,000 after buying an additional 24,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Hudson Pacific Properties by 10.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 55,882 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,551,000 after buying an additional 5,328 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.58% of the companys stock.

Hudson Pacific Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) is a real estate investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth industries. Hudson Pacific's unique and high-barrier tech and media focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and sustainable office and studio space.

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PH boats damaged, Filipino crew hurt in attack

Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia attacked three Philippine government boats conducting a supply mission near Bajo De Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea on Saturday.

The Chinese Coast Guard vessel used water cannons on Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources boats Datu Sanday, Datu Bankaw, and Datu Tamblot that were on a humanitarian mission to provide oil and grocery packs to Filipino fishermen.

Chinas illegal exercise of maritime law enforcement powers, interference with Philippine vessels, harassment and intimidation of Filipino fisherfolk, or any other activity that infringes upon the Philippines sovereignty and jurisdiction in Bajo de Masinloc are violations of international law, particularly UNCLOS and the Arbitral Award, the National Task Force WPS said in a statement.

We firmly insist that these Chinese vessels leave Bajo de Masinloc immediately.

Washington and Tokyo immediately condemned the attack.

We condemn PRCs aggressive, illegal actions against PH BFAR vessels lawfully operating in the PH EEZ (exclusive economic zone), US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said on X.

Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko, said he was seriously concerned by Chinas dangerous actions.

Following the attack, the Philippine Coast Guard cautioned the Christmas convoy bound for the West Philippine Sea to avoid a confrontation with China during their journey.

We will listen to the PCG. We will not go to areas where the situation is tense. The intention of this journey is not to play patintero with China. Our goal is to spread Christmas cheer, ATIN ITO Coalition co-convenor Rafaela David said..

There are areas that you head toward, and China would shadow you. We will not try to reach that kind of situation, she added.

The ATIN ITO volunteers were aboard a 150-capacity civilian marine vessel carrying donations and supplies and will leave El Nido in Palawan for the Kalayaan Island Group today (Sunday).

As this developed, Beijing denounced a resolution of the House of Representatives criticizing its illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea.

The resolution adopted by the House of Representatives of the Philippines groundlessly criticized, misrepresented, and smeared China. We firmly reject it, said Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

But House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro on Saturday reminded China it is alone in believing its ten-dash-line claim over the entire South China Sea.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling on the South China Sea Arbitration is the one recognized by the world. It is Chinas claim that is illegal, null and void, Castro said.
Raymond James began coverage on shares of Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY  Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Crescent Energy in a research note on Friday, December 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Crescent Energy from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Crescent Energy from $12.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Crescent Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. They issued an overweight rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Crescent Energy from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $16.88.

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Crescent Energy Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRGY opened at $11.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.60 and a 200-day moving average of $11.58. Crescent Energy has a one year low of $9.17 and a one year high of $14.22.

Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $642.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $590.00 million. Crescent Energy had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 17.35%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Crescent Energy will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crescent Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 20th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 17th. Crescent Energys dividend payout ratio is 55.81%.

Insider Transactions at Crescent Energy

In other Crescent Energy news, insider Brandi Kendall purchased 9,333 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.71 per share, with a total value of $99,956.43. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,502 shares of the companys stock, valued at $208,866.42. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Crescent Energy news, insider Brandi Kendall acquired 9,333 shares of Crescent Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.71 per share, for a total transaction of $99,956.43. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $208,866.42. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Rockecharlie acquired 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.29 per share, with a total value of $30,725.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $645,225. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 44,091 shares of company stock valued at $495,215 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.20% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crescent Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Crescent Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $101,055,000. Northwestern University acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,789,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crescent Energy by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,201,580 shares of the companys stock worth $43,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,961 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Crescent Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,320,000. Finally, Monashee Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Crescent Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,625,000. Institutional investors own 53.31% of the companys stock.

Crescent Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Crescent Energy Company, an energy company, acquires, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) reserves. The company holds a portfolio of oil and natural gas assets in key proven basins, including the Eagle Ford, Rockies, Barnett, Permian, and Mid-Con in the United States.

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Mizuho lowered shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP  Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $185.00 target price on the real estate investment trusts stock.

EGP has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, October 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Truist Financial reissued a hold rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $165.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $177.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $186.08.

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EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.0 %

Insider Activity at EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties stock opened at $173.09 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $167.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.10. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.95. EastGroup Properties has a 12 month low of $144.40 and a 12 month high of $188.85.

In other EastGroup Properties news, EVP John F. Coleman sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.05, for a total value of $173,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 90,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,627,280.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,172,033 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,254,651,000 after purchasing an additional 133,344 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,016,343 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $870,837,000 after purchasing an additional 198,578 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,412,188 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $492,949,000 after purchasing an additional 248,538 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 544.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,044,292 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $302,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,276,420 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $211,018,000 after purchasing an additional 15,667 shares during the last quarter. 90.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.

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Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL  Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $213.00 target price on the basic materials companys stock.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $207.00 to $187.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $187.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, November 30th. They set an outperform rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $195.67.

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Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $192.12 on Tuesday. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $193.72. The company has a market capitalization of $54.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firms fifty day moving average price is $175.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.40.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.99 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Ecolabs previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 18th. Ecolabs payout ratio is presently 49.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 800 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $191.53 per share, with a total value of $153,224.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 16,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,077,887.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $191.53 per share, for a total transaction of $153,224.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,077,887.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Laurie M. Marsh sold 11,917 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.41, for a total transaction of $2,281,032.97. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,538 shares in the company, valued at $3,931,178.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2,145,367.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 184,660,374 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $34,474,245,000 after purchasing an additional 184,651,767 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,118,829 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $3,661,330,000 after purchasing an additional 883,380 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,327,373 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,875,020,000 after buying an additional 96,475 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,229,633 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,864,760,000 after buying an additional 141,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Ecolab by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,510,224 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $802,069,000 after buying an additional 2,023,685 shares in the last quarter. 73.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Company Profile

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Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.

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Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 143,767 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,637,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Coterra Energy during the second quarter valued at $684,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Coterra Energy by 692.6% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,967 shares of the companys stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 6,088 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Coterra Energy during the second quarter valued at $32,611,000. Cipher Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Coterra Energy during the second quarter valued at $1,604,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coterra Energy by 18.0% during the second quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 125,868 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 19,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.54% of the companys stock.

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Coterra Energy Stock Performance

CTRA stock opened at $24.70 on Friday. Coterra Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.25 and a twelve month high of $29.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $27.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.65. The firm has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.30.

Coterra Energy Dividend Announcement

Coterra Energy ( NYSE:CTRA Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.03. Coterra Energy had a return on equity of 17.14% and a net margin of 33.97%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Analysts predict that Coterra Energy Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 15th. Coterra Energys payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho restated a buy rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Coterra Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 19th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Coterra Energy from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Coterra Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coterra Energy from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Coterra Energy from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.93.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Coterra Energy

Insider Activity at Coterra Energy

In related news, Director Dan O. Dinges sold 68,275 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.22, for a total transaction of $1,858,445.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,152,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at $85,808,110.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Dan O. Dinges sold 68,275 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.22, for a total transaction of $1,858,445.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,152,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at $85,808,110.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dan O. Dinges sold 400,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $10,640,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,302,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $87,843,627.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Coterra Energy

(Free Report)

Coterra Energy Inc, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the development, exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company primarily focuses on the Marcellus Shale with approximately 183,000 net acres in the dry gas window of the play located in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Free Report) had its price objective raised by Evercore ISI from $226.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services providers stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $178.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $185.57.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BR opened at $191.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 0.99. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1-year low of $131.83 and a 1-year high of $196.52. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $180.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 42.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Broadridge Financial Solutionss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.84%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, President Christopher John Perry sold 20,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.94, for a total value of $3,647,441.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 56,738 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,039,221.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Keir D. Gumbs sold 3,771 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.61, for a total value of $665,996.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,543,713.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 20,614 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.94, for a total transaction of $3,647,441.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 56,738 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,039,221.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 195 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 56.4% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services providers stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.36% of the companys stock.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

(Get Free Report)

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions.

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Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC cut its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS  Free Report) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,062 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLCs holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UPS. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 216.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.45% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $177.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 28th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $173.00 to $160.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $188.91.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $156.30 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.47. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.68 and a 52 week high of $197.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The transportation company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 43.46%. The firm had revenue of $21.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 10th. United Parcel Services dividend payout ratio is currently 65.59%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

(Free Report)

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.

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Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC cut its position in CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE  Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,051,976 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 18,000 shares during the quarter. CBRE Group accounts for 6.5% of Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLCs holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.34% of CBRE Group worth $84,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in 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 valued at $17,830,686,000 after acquiring an additional 220,698,040 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CBRE Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,189,800 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $522,405,000 after buying an additional 148,971 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in CBRE Group by 4.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,926,297 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $478,311,000 after buying an additional 226,861 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CBRE Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,726,008 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $462,146,000 after buying an additional 112,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of CBRE Group by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,529,232 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $446,264,000 after acquiring an additional 454,779 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.71% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other CBRE Group news, CFO Emma E. Giamartino sold 1,064 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.53, for a total transaction of $81,427.92. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CBRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on CBRE Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 11th. Citigroup restated a buy rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of CBRE Group in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Raymond James cut their target price on CBRE Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on CBRE Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on CBRE Group from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $90.43.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CBRE

CBRE Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CBRE opened at $82.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.18 billion, a PE ratio of 44.18 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. CBRE Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.63 and a 1-year high of $89.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.79.

CBRE Group (NYSE:CBRE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. CBRE Group had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $7.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CBRE Group, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

About CBRE Group

(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.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

GOL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup downgraded Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a neutral rating to a sell rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $3.30 to $3.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from $3.10 to $2.65 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $4.04.

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Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes stock opened at $3.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.20 and a 200 day moving average of $3.56. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has a 12 month low of $2.00 and a 12 month high of $5.59. The firm has a market cap of $859.56 million, a PE ratio of 49.07 and a beta of 1.70.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $956.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.37 million.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a  dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 21st were issued a $0.0115 dividend. This is an increase from Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentess previous  dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes during the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 80,371 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,333 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 263.5% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 179,475 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 130,100 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new position in Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes during the 2nd quarter worth $57,000. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes

(Get Free Report)

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA provides scheduled and non-scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo; and maintenance services for aircrafts and components in Brazil and internationally. The company offers Smiles, a frequent-flyer programs to approximately 20.5 million members, allowing clients to accumulate and redeem miles.

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GM Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in iShares Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:IAU  Free Report) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,110,956 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 100,739 shares during the period. iShares Gold Trust accounts for about 6.4% of GM Advisory Group Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. GM Advisory Group Inc.s holdings in iShares Gold Trust were worth $76,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IAU. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in iShares Gold Trust by 72,670.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 689,886,989 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $25,104,988,000 after purchasing an additional 688,938,957 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in iShares Gold Trust by 413,629.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,998,294 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,003,051,000 after acquiring an additional 28,991,285 shares during the period. Gateway Advisory LLC lifted its stake in iShares Gold Trust by 5,751.9% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 6,551,529 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $6,552,000 after acquiring an additional 6,439,573 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. lifted its stake in iShares Gold Trust by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 8,000,000 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $291,120,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in iShares Gold Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $175,383,000. 58.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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iShares Gold Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA IAU opened at $37.91 on Friday. iShares Gold Trust has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $39.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.78.

iShares Gold Trust Profile

iShares Gold Trust (the Trust) is to own gold transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (Shares). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the net assets of the Trust. The assets of the Trust consist of gold held by the Trusts custodian on behalf of the Trust.

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Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,200 shares of the medical research companys stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 10.9% in the second quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 59,295.3% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 57,650,851 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $12,958,182,000 after buying an additional 57,553,788 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 6.8% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,793 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,977,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in IQVIA by 3.8% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 83,491 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $18,766,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in IQVIA by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 112,697 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $22,414,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. 86.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 13,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.03, for a total value of $2,807,431.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,572,478.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Constantinos Panagos sold 27,317 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.67, for a total transaction of $5,700,238.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,250 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,973,547.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 13,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.03, for a total transaction of $2,807,431.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,572,478.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQVIA stock opened at $215.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.44. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.42 and a 12-month high of $241.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The medical research company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.08. IQVIA had a return on equity of 29.60% and a net margin of 7.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.78 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IQV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on IQVIA from $262.00 to $239.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird downgraded IQVIA from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $248.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $253.00 to $220.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $235.46.

View Our Latest Research Report on IQV

IQVIA Profile

(Free Report)

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.

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An uptown church is bringing a unique performance to Martinsville in the form of an opera by a local cast.

First United Methodist Church in uptown Martinsville will hold a performance of Amahl and the Night Visitors at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 and at 5 p.m. Jan. 21 in the church sanctuary, 146 East Main St.

The opera was composed by Gian Carlo Menotti. He was commissioned by NBC and the production was first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on Dec. 24, 1951, in New York where it was broadcast on television.

This made it the first opera specifically composed for television in the United States.

The story of the play follows Amahl, a boy who can only walk with a crutch. His family home is visited by the three kings, or wise men, on the way to see the birth of Jesus.

By the visit of these wise men, a miracle happens, Gardner said. Its a very special miracle of healing faith and believing.

It celebrates the light of Christ coming into the world, but it celebrates also specifically the visit of the wise men to see the Christ child, First United Methodist Church Director of Ministries, Organist and Producer of the show Jill Gardner said.

The show is around an hour long and Gardner said she hopes the shorter show time will help the audience get used to a type of show they may not have seen before and make them want to see more performances of this type in the future.

What Im excited about in producing this is that this opera has not been produced in this area in over 60 years, Gardner said.

This is all new, particularly to this area, she added. It was performed one other time at Starling Avenue Baptist Church in the 1960s but outside cast was brought in to perform it, whereas this performance will be a local cast.

Which was always my goal, she added. First United Methodist is an uptown church and so were very excited to be a part of the uptown development initiative.

Gardner has been in her role at the church for around five and half years, but before she worked professionally in the opera industry for almost 25 years.

My experience in that industry is also why I am producing this opera in Martinsville, she said. Its been a goal of mine to start presenting this kind of programming using our newly renovated sanctuary  to serve the community.

She has performed in this piece in the past in other areas and chose it for the debut performance at the church because of the timeliness of the story and because of its intergenerational cast which allows for a variety of age groups to participate.

The cast includes: Gates DeVault as Amahl, Jill Gardner as Mother, Parker Gunn as King Kaspar, Jeff Stegall as King Melchior, Terrence Taylor as King Balthazar and Spencer Koger as Page.

There will also be a 13-seat orchestra, three ballet dancers and the church chorus accompanying the performance. Local carpenter Burr Fox built the set and completed renovations to the sanctuary during the pandemic, which was done to allow for programming like this show.

This will be the first production of this kind held in the newly renovated sanctuary outside of concerts or other standard church programming.

This type of programming can serve the community, not only through the arts but also by utilizing local talents, Gardner said.

Attendance is free but an offering will be taken at the end and proceeds will support future programing like this opera in the area.
QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS  Get Free Report) insider Michael O. Mccarthy III sold 44,848 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.04, for a total value of $315,729.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 748,854 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,271,932.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

QuantumScape Price Performance

QuantumScape stock opened at $6.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 24.57, a current ratio of 24.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firms fifty day moving average price is $6.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.17. QuantumScape Co. has a 1-year low of $4.99 and a 1-year high of $13.86.

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QuantumScape (NYSE:QS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Research analysts expect that QuantumScape Co. will post -0.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of QuantumScape by 2.0% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 588,700 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,704,000 after purchasing an additional 11,700 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,735 shares of the companys stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 21.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 321,469 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,569,000 after acquiring an additional 57,492 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of QuantumScape by 3.7% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 57,414 shares of the companys stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in QuantumScape by 3.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 338,351 shares of the companys stock worth $2,703,000 after acquiring an additional 11,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.22% of the companys stock.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on QS shares. HSBC began coverage on QuantumScape in a report on Monday, December 4th. They set a reduce rating and a $4.70 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Monday, September 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of QuantumScape from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on QuantumScape from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.96.

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About QuantumScape

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QuantumScape Corporation, a development stage company, focuses on the development and commercialization of solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. QuantumScape Corporation was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of Science Applications International (NYSE:SAIC  Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SAIC. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Science Applications International in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Science Applications International from $116.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Science Applications International from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Science Applications International from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $123.71.

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Science Applications International Price Performance

SAIC opened at $127.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 0.72. Science Applications International has a 1 year low of $95.43 and a 1 year high of $136.05.

Science Applications International (NYSE:SAIC  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 4th. The information technology services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.58. Science Applications International had a return on equity of 25.76% and a net margin of 6.49%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Science Applications Internationals revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Science Applications International will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Science Applications International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 12th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 11th. Science Applications Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert S. Genter sold 3,557 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.79, for a total value of $390,523.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at $6,275,047.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Science Applications International news, EVP Michelle A. Ohara sold 2,004 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.87, for a total transaction of $228,195.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,238 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,443,201.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert S. Genter sold 3,557 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.79, for a total value of $390,523.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,275,047.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,061 shares of company stock worth $778,169 over the last three months. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Science Applications International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAIC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Science Applications International in the 4th quarter valued at $60,582,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Science Applications International by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,699,458 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $525,321,000 after acquiring an additional 491,167 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Science Applications International by 2,399.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 418,074 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 401,348 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Science Applications International by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,823,285 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $297,969,000 after acquiring an additional 328,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Science Applications International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,919,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.31% of the companys stock.

About Science Applications International

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Science Applications International Corporation provides technical, engineering, and enterprise information technology (IT) services primarily in the United States. The company's offerings include engineering; technology integration; IT modernization; maintenance of ground and maritime systems; logistics; training and simulation; operation and program support services; and end-to-end services, such as design, development, integration, deployment, management and operations, sustainment, and security of its customers' IT infrastructure, as well as cloud migration, managed services, infrastructure modernization, and enterprise IT-as-a-service solutions; and data management platform solutions.

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Slagle Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:FDVV  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 37,348 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000. Slagle Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Fidelity High Dividend ETF at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 208.7% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 493,786 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,418,000 after buying an additional 333,824 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 52.6% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 462,886 shares of the companys stock worth $18,395,000 after purchasing an additional 159,494 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 827.1% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 173,773 shares of the companys stock worth $7,234,000 after purchasing an additional 155,030 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 316.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,165 shares of the companys stock worth $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,271,197 shares of the companys stock worth $50,517,000 after purchasing an additional 86,447 shares in the last quarter.

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Fidelity High Dividend ETF Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF stock opened at $40.72 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.01. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has a 52 week low of $36.08 and a 52 week high of $41.75.

Fidelity High Dividend ETF Profile

The Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Fidelity High Dividend index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap companies that exhibit positive dividend characteristics, with overweights to sectors that exhibit higher dividend yield. FDVV was launched on Sep 12, 2016 and is managed by Fidelity.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:AMPE  Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the stock.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AMPE opened at $1.90 on Wednesday. The companys fifty day moving average is $2.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.04. The company has a market cap of $1.58 million, a P/E ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 2.36. Ampio Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $1.86 and a 12-month high of $8.30.

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Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:AMPE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 14th. The company reported ($1.53) earnings per share for the quarter.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ampio Pharmaceuticals

About Ampio Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HRT Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 1,399.2% in the 1st quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 217,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 202,574 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 432,216 shares of the companys stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 325,300 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,954,092 shares of the companys stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 1,662,127 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 394,100 shares of the companys stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 166,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 998.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,035,413 shares of the companys stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.10% of the companys stock.

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Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies for the treatment of osteoarthritis-related pain. It focuses on the preclinical development of AR-300, a novel proprietary, small molecule formulation for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. The company is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

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His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has launched the urban design for the city of Qiddiya and Qiddiyas brand.

A one-of-a-kind destination located on the outskirts of Riyadh, Qiddiya features 60,000 buildings in an overall area of 360 sq km. On completion, it will be home to over 600,000 residents, reported SPA.

Located 40 minutes from Riyadh centre and overlooking the stunning cliffs of the formidable Tuwaiq mountains, Qiddiya City will be a home of the first gaming and e-sports district, a speed park track, golf courses, a massive water theme park, and Six Flags Qiddiya.

In addition, the city will also host a stadium which will feature the worlds largest Olympic museum.

Unveiling the design, Prince Mohammad bin Salman said the city of Qiddiya will become, in the near future, the foremost global destination in the fields of entertainment, sports, and culture.

"This will have a positive impact on the Kingdom's economy and its international standing, enhancing Riyadh's strategic position and contributing to its economic growth. It aims to improve the quality of life, making Riyadh one of the top 10 economies globally," he stated.

"This qualitative investment in the city of Qiddiya is a cornerstone of the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Kingdoms economy, creating thousands of job opportunities for the ambitious Saudi youth," he added.

Qiddiya philosophy of Play is based on decades of research that has proven that play is a vital element for human cognitive development, emotional expression, social skills, creativity, and physical health.

Studies have also shown the positive effects of recreational activities on society, their ability to bridge differences between individuals, and enhance empathy and social cohesion, said the SPA report.

Qiddiya's offering will be Qiddiya City, a one-of-a-kind destination located on the outskirts of Riyadh, that promises endless fun and excitement for its residents and visitors through unrivalled offerings in entertainment, sports, culture, and urban living.

Construction is progressing with contracts worth SAR10 billion ($2.6 billion) already awarded, stated the report.

Qiddiya City is expected to create over 325,000 job opportunities, yielding nominal GDP of SAR135 billion ($36 billion) per annum. Additionally, Qiddiya City expects to attract an anticipated 48 million visits per year with its never-built-before array of world-class attractions and venues.

Its unparalleled proximity and concentration of sports, culture and entertainment experiences in one place will make it a globally unique destination. Qiddiya plans to launch its first assets over the next two years, it added.
A Bassett man is in the Patrick County Jail on charges of attempted murder and arson.

At 3:40 a.m. Thursday, surveillance video captured a man with a gasoline can at 23 Mills School Road in Claudville and the residence at the address igniting in flames, a release stated.

Shortly after 4 a.m., Daniel Shields Reynolds, 39, crashed his vehicle about 12 miles from the Claudville home that had caught fire. The release did not make clear exactly where Reynolds crashed his vehicle, but did say that the Virginia State Police charged him with driving under the influence as a result of the crash.

Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith said the resident had called his office Thursday afternoon and reported having discovered smoldering melted siding and other burn material on the home. Smith noted that Reynolds had been released from the Patrick County Jail just prior to the call being received about the alleged arson, and the resident and Smith had been involved in a relationship.

The fact that the home did not become fully engulfed in flames is a miracle, otherwise we would most likely be dealing with a loss of life, Smith said in the release.

Reynolds is back in the Patrick County jail under no bond for arson and attempted murder. His arraignment, scheduled for Friday, has been continued until Jan. 30.

Smith thanked the Henry County Sheriffs Office for assisting in locating and arresting Reynolds.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who are in China for the 24th China-EU Summit, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 7, 2023. [Xinhua/Huang Jingwen]

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who were in China for the 24th China-EU Summit.

Xi underscored that China-EU relations not only hold strategic significance but also have a worldwide impact, carrying implications for global peace, stability, and prosperity, amid the increasingly turbulent international situation.

Why did Xi emphasize the strategic significance and global impact of the China-EU relationship?

Upholding Apt Description of Partnership

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the China-EU Summit mechanism. Xi called on both parties to draw on history, acknowledge the trend of the day, and uphold the apt description of their relationship as a comprehensive strategic partnership.

China always recognizes the EU as a strategic force in the international landscape and takes nurturing China-EU ties as a foreign policy priority. Xi's repeated advocacy of the China-EU partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization distinctly displays China's consistent stand.

China and the EU are partners, not adversaries  they offer each other opportunities, rather than threats, with their mutual benefits far outweighing differences.

Since the end of last year, Xi has held multiple meetings with leaders of the EU and its member states. Under their strategic guidance, high-level dialogues in areas such as strategy, trade and commerce, green development, and digital affairs have yielded substantial outcomes, reinforcing positive momentum in China-EU ties.

Indeed, differences in historical and cultural backgrounds, levels of development, and ideologies do exist between China and the EU. Nevertheless, as Xi stated, "We should not view each other as rivals just because our systems are different, reduce cooperation because competition exists, or engage in confrontation because there are disagreements."

Tightening Bond of Shared Interests

At present, China and the EU have established a framework for multifaceted, multi-layered, and broad-spectrum exchanges and cooperation. This is particularly evident within the economic sphere where their relationship exhibits a high level of complementarity.

During the meeting, Xi emphasized that the two sides should do more to enhance the breadth and depth of cooperation and strengthen the bond built on shared interests.

Xi proposed "three partners": key partners for economic and trade cooperation, preferred partners for scientific and technological cooperation, and trustworthy partners for industrial and supply chain cooperation.

These three elements  "key," "preferred," and "trustworthy"  paint an optimistic vision for the coexistence of the Chinese and EU economies. They underscore China's positive intentions and sincerity in pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation with the EU.

Amid the slow recovery of the global economy, bilateral trade between China and the EU reached a record high last year, totaling 847.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 2.4 percent year on year. This year, German automaker Volkswagen announced a 1-billion-euro investment in China to establish a new center for development, innovation, and procurement for fully connected electric cars. Furthermore, Spanish grinding machine manufacturer Danobat Group established its sixth-largest experience center in Shanghai this year, accelerating its localization strategy in China.

China is currently pursuing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. "Chinese modernization and European integration are strategic choices that China and Europe have made respectively with the future in mind. The two sides should respect and support each other, and leverage the complementarity of their development strategies for common progress," Xi said, pointing out the direction for China-EU cooperation.

Providing Greater Stability for World

Xi views China and Europe as two major forces, markets, and civilizations on the world stage. In this meeting, Xi further explained this perspective, describing them as "two major forces advancing multipolarity," "two major markets in support of globalization," and "two major civilizations championing diversity."

The decisions made by China and the EU, respectively as the largest developing country and the largest union of developed countries, are of global importance. Their advocacies, oppositions, and cooperation on various issues carry significant implications, especially in the midst of major changes unseen in a century.

It can be said that if both China and the EU choose dialogue and cooperation, bloc confrontation can be avoided; if they both opt for peace and stability, a new Cold War can be prevented; if they both embrace openness and win-win cooperation, global development and prosperity can have greater hope.

In today's world, when it comes to peacefully settling international and regional hotspot issues and properly addressing major global issues that concern the future of humanity, such as climate change and artificial intelligence, both China and the EU need to practice true multilateralism. This entails engaging in dialogue and cooperation, as well as strengthening communication and coordination in multilateral platforms such as the United Nations.

"It is incumbent on both sides to provide greater stability for the world and stronger impetus for development," Xi said.

(Source: Xinhua)


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Weather Alert

...Very active weather and dangerous cold forecast for the next week... A very strong storm system will move through the region Friday. Very strong winds are expected and a wind advisory has been issued for the entire region for 40-50 mph wind gusts. Stronger winds are possible. Widespread rain may lead to localized flooding in areas where thunderstorms form with up to 2 inches of rain possible in those areas. Severe thunderstorms are not currently expected but there is a small potential over the southern Pennyrile region of Kentucky Friday morning. A change to sleet and snow is forecast at the end of the day but accumulations are still not anticipated. If temperatures do not rise above freezing Saturday it is expected to mark the first of 5 to 6 days where temperatures will not rise above freezing. Lows Saturday through Tuesday night are forecast to fall into or near the single digits. Below zero wind chills are likely most of Monday and Tuesday. This extended cold snap will be dangerous to those without adequate shelter and will likely challenge plumbing and other cold-sensitive infrastructure. Accumulating snow remains possible Monday but forecast amounts have trended a little lower, and will remain subject to change for the next few days as more data becomes available.

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM CST /7 AM EST/ FRIDAY TO MIDNIGHT CST /1 AM EST/ FRIDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected. * WHERE...Portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From 6 AM CST /7 AM EST/ Friday to midnight CST /1 AM EST/ Friday night. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Wet ground may result in some trees being uprooted, and tree limbs will be blown down. A few power outages are likely. High profile vehicles will have difficulty. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...A corridor of stronger winds, with gusts up to 60 mph is possible over the Pennyrile region of west Kentucky ahead of the front, and across the entire quad-state behind the front. If that begins to appear likely a high wind warning will be issued. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects. &&
RALEIGH  How can the Democratic Party hope to win North Carolinas 16 electoral votes for president next year?

Yes, North Carolina has been actively contested since 2008, when it went for Barack Obama by less than a percentage point. Since then, North Carolinians have opted for Republican candidates, albeit by narrow margins: two points in 2012, 3.7 points in 2016, and 1.3 points in 2020.

Still, Joe Biden is extremely unpopular here. In a new John Locke Foundation poll, 59% of likely voters disapprove of his job performance while only 36% approve. Among unaffiliated North Carolinians, hes under water by 29% to 66%.

Other surveys conducted last month show similar results. In a Meredith College poll of registered N.C. voters, Biden was at 42% approval to 56% approval. In a High Point University poll, the ratio was 34% to 55%. In a Morning Consult/Bloomberg News poll, 39% of N.C. voters expressed a favorable view of Biden and 59% expressed an unfavorable one.

These are dismal numbers for an incumbent president. North Carolinians now know Joe Biden well. Most dont think hes done a good job so far, and other polls confirm that most voters think hes too old to be running for reelection. So, if Biden is the Democratic nominee next year, the outcome  at least here in North Carolina  would seem to be a foregone conclusion.

Except that it isnt. Remember that North Carolinas state motto is esse quam videri. Taken from the ancient Roman statesman Ciceros famous essay On Friendship, it means to be rather than to seem.

Biden is unpopular. But so is Donald Trump, though hes currently leading his GOP rivals for the 2024 nomination. In that same Morning Consult/Bloomberg News poll, completed in early November, 53% of registered N.C. voters had an unfavorable view of Trump and 44% a favorable one.

As Ive observed before, North Carolinians appear to want someone other than Biden or Trump to be the next president. Quite a few Democratic-leaning independents, and perhaps even some registered Democrats, would choose a GOP nominee over Biden if that nominee isnt Trump. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, for example, currently leads Biden by four percentage points in the RealClearPolitics average of recent national surveys.

Similarly, quite a few Republican-leaning independents, and perhaps even some registered Republicans, would choose a Democratic nominee over Trump if that nominee isnt Biden (or Vice President Kamala Harris).

I know these are only hypotheticals. Right now, Biden and Trump seem destined to win their respective partys nominations. I return again to esse quam videri.

Several savvy political operatives I know, from across the political spectrum, tell me they wouldnt be shocked to see Biden wait until most or all of the Democratic primaries and caucuses are over and then announce, probably for health reasons, that hes decided it would be in the best interest of his family and his country to end his service at one term. Perhaps Biden endorses a successor and urges the delegates committed to him to endorse that successor at the Democratic National Convention. Or perhaps he stays entirely neutral. Ive heard the scenario described both ways.

Moreover, remember that interspersed among the GOP primaries and causes next year will be trials or other court appearances at which Donald Trumps various legal, ethical, and personal vulnerabilities will receive copious media attention. Anyone who tells you they knew precisely how these events will affect the Trump candidacy is either fibbing or fantasizing.

So, heres how I answer my initial question. How can the Democratic Party hope to win North Carolinas 16 electoral votes for their presidential candidate next year? If the race pits Joe Biden against Donald Trump, they can hope late-deciding voters are thinking more about the latters foibles than the formers fumbles. If the race pits a fresh Democratic face against Donald Trump, their prospects for success soar.

And if its Biden vs. Haley, they can just forget the whole thing.
Australian school students walked out of classrooms to protest Israels genocide against Gaza on Thursday. There were school strikes in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Wollongong and Adelaide.

International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) campaigners spoke with students at the protests in Melbourne and Sydney. The IYSSE was the only group advancing a socialist program to fight against genocide and war. Read the IYSSEs coverage of the demonstrations here.

In Sydney, Zainab, a university student studying psychology and marketing, said: Its very important for young people in Australia to show their support for Palestine. To show the Australian government we care about what is happening. War crimes are being committed, which is nothing new, but this is on a whole other scale. It is genocide and theyre doing it openly. They are not trying to hide it.

They are not going after Hamas. Theyre still trying to convince the world that all Palestinians in Gaza are Hamas, which is obviously not true. Theyve just killed these people.

Zainab said the coverage of the previous school strike was disgusting. They thought they could scare students, but they dont realise that were seeing kids, our own age, being blown up. Were seeing schools blown up. We dont see it as fair that we can continue to go to school safely, whereas our government is openly supporting Israel blowing up schools and students.

On the revelations that Israeli intelligence had prior warning of the October 7th uprising and facilitated it being carried out, she said, Ive seen that. It shows Netanyahu and his government dont even care about their own people. They care about power and land. Thats their main goal. Theyre like happy to sacrifice their people if it means that they can continue their brutalization of Palestinians.

Theyre calling October 7th Israels 9/11. They are using it as an excuse to commit this violence. I dont think anything was a good enough excuse for Americas invasion of Iraq and killing two million innocent Iraqis. Israel is just repeating what their friends in America have done.

The governments all around the world are not for the people. It is disheartening to see thousands coming out into the streets in Australia, but the government doesnt listen. I have seen comments on Penny Wong and Albaneses Instagrams, telling them people dont want their tax money going towards killing kids in the Middle East.

The IYSSE member raised the call by the Palestinian Trade Unions for workers to stop sending military arms to Israel she said, I agree with that, it shows that people do have some power. It shows us that we can do something and were not hopeless.
On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their two-week projections for the proportions of each SARS-CoV-2 variant spreading across the United States. They estimated that over the past two weeks JN.1, a descendant of the highly-mutated Omicron BA.2.86 subvariant (nicknamed Pirola) which carries the L455S mutation on the spike protein, suddenly accounted for almost a quarter of all genetically sequenced cases, fast outpacing even HV.1 whose ancestor is the EG.5.1 (XBB) lineage.

The sudden emergence of JN.1 as its own distinct variant, accounting for 21.4 percent of all infections and set to become dominant over the next week, marks the fourth time that the CDC has deliberately concealed the emergence of a new, dangerous variant, following the previous cover-ups of BQ.1, XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.6.

Each cover-up has been in violation of the agencys own reporting guidelines, which stipulate that whenever a subvariant surpasses 1 percent of sequenced cases, it must be delineated in the Variant Proportions tracker. This evidently took place with JN.1 nearly a month ago, during the week ending November 11.

On November 27, 2023, the CDC wrote, In these estimates and projections, offshoots of BA.2.86, including JN.1, are grouped with BA.2.86. JN.1 is still below the one percent threshold in weighted estimates, which is why it is shown grouped with BA.2.86.

This was a clear and obvious lie.

Yesterday, Jay Weiland, in response to this obfuscation, wrote on his social media, I think it is time for the CDC and CDC Director to speak openly and honestly about JN.1 (Pirola). Just stick to the facts. Its growing quickly, it is contributing to increases in cases and hospitalizations, and it will accelerate in coming weeks. Despite the CDC suggesting that JN.1 was not contributing to hospitalizations, his data indicate otherwise.

While Pirola was first discovered in August and was climbing steadily, Dave McNally, a UK data scientist, caught the first glimpse of JN.1 in September. Shortly after, another US based data scientist, Jay Weiland, began tracking JN.1 in France over several weeks, demonstrating this new variant had a more significant growth advantage than its parent.

True to form, rather than heeding these concerning developments, the CDC once more delayed updating crucial data on their COVID dashboard, waiting until after the massive Thanksgiving holiday travels had ended and then only after experts in the field had begun to criticize them for not taking account of JN.1s rapid rise to global dominance.

The CDCs latest cover-up coincides with the growing eighth wave of mass infection across the US, as shown in the latest data from Biobot Analytics on Sars-CoV-2 wastewater levels. Community transmission has doubled since mid-October and accelerated since the Thanksgiving holidays. While the Midwest and Eastern regions are rapidly climbing, the South and West are also seeing a steady rise in levels.

Dr. Mike Hoerger who has been modeling the wastewater data to estimates of community infection said on December 4 that the US surge was worsening faster than anticipated. According to his calculations, current daily infection rates are as high as 1.2 million cases per day, and he expects the figure to climb to 1.8 million by the New Year.

The rise in infections has seen a corresponding jump in hospitalizations for COVID-19. For the week ending December 2, 2023, the number of hospitalized patients is 22,513, up nearly 20 percent from the previous week and up 50 percent from the previous month. Statistics on deaths are delayed and the latest figures from the week ending on November 11 showed that 1,291 people died that week, with that trend also climbing.

Variant tracker Ryan Hisner, who has been following JN.1 across several European countries and the United States, has been warning of JN.1s rapid growth. He recently commented on the worrisome trends in wastewater in Europe, writing, This is crazy. SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels in Austria. Have we ever seen anything like this? Levels in Ludesch are quadruple what they were at the peak of the BA.1/BA.2 wave (when Omicron first appeared in November 2021). Ludesch is an outlier, but most other regions have also surpassed their previous all-time peaks. Wild.

He wrote on December 4, If a new variant is going to cause an increase in infections or hospitalizations, we usually dont see any indication of that until its surpassed 50 percent of cases. With JN.1, some European countries are about there. But the UK, Sweden, the US and Asia are weeks behind.

This has become a common theme for the CDC: evasion and concealment. With respect to time sensitive and critical public health information they have in possession which needs to be communicated clearly and urgently to the population, these delays means infecting millions of people, hospitalizing tens of thousands, and sending thousands to an earlier grave.

Pirola has more than 40 mutations, with 34 of these just on its spike protein which enhances its affinity to binding to the ACE2 receptors of its hosts. The L455S mutation appears to promote even further evasion to humans immune response. Even with more than 40 percent growth advantage over its predecessors, signals of further evolution are already occurring and will enhance its characteristics further.

In particular, Jay Weiland recently noted, Pretty interesting, BA.2.86 (Pirola) has increased infectivity toward CaLu-3 cells than any Omicron. (CaLu-3 are cancerous lung cells that are used for a lot of testing). I dont know how this translates to typical lung tissue, but not the result I was hoping for.

Dr. Raj Rajnarayana recently summarized the experience with Omicron, stating that there have already been more than 2,083 sub-lineages of this variant, 1,037 non-recombinant lineages and 1,046 recombinant lineages with at least one Omicron partner.

On news of rising COVID hospitalization rates, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News, COVID has not disappeared, although it may have gone from many peoples minds and the top of their attention. Im afraid the COVID virus is still very much with us. These Omicron variants and subvariants are highly contagious. Theyre causing lots of milder illness that does not require hospitalizations. However, there are substantial hospitalizations across the country.

Mask usage is now nonexistent even in health systems, where nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections are ubiquitous and often deadly. Uptake of the latest COVID booster shot remains abysmal, with only 16 percent of Americans having received it so far. Meanwhile, the virus is spreading into every corner of the country, impacting the elderly and the youngest most severely. All of this is occurring alongside the rapid rise in Influenza A and RSV wastewater levels.

Biobot warned:

Respiratory illness season is in full swing and has not yet peaked. With the holiday season also underwaywhere we travel to gather and celebrate with loved onesit is a good time to think about taking steps, like staying home if you are sick or getting vaccinated, to keep yourself and loved ones healthy.

It must be understood that the immune dysregulation caused by COVID as well as co-infection with COVID and other pathogens can make people more susceptible to becoming infected and developing more severe disease.

However, the fact that the population is not taking the necessary precautions is not their fault. There has been a concerted effort on the part of the government and media to ensure the risks posed by COVID-19 are dismissed and forgotten about. While Trump spearheaded the murderous herd immunity strategy in 2020, the Biden administration has overseen its full realization and the scrapping of the entire edifice of public health, creating ominous conditions for the rapidly-evolving virus to take an even deadlier turn.
On Thursday afternoon, Joe Kishore, national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in the US, addressed a well-attended public meeting at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka.

SEP (US) National Secretary Joe Kishore addressing University of Peradeniya meeting in Sri Lanka, December 7, 2023.

Over 70 students, workers and academics attended the meeting, which was sponsored by the universitys Political Science Association. A delegation of Tamil-speaking plantation workers travelled from the Hatton area in the islands main plantation region, to participate in the meeting. Kishores speech was delivered in English and translated into Sinhala from the podium, with the text translated into Tamil displayed on a video screen.

Kishore is currently in Sri Lanka to speak at public meetings titled Leon Trotsky and the Struggle for Socialism in the 21st Century. Organised by the SEP and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), Kishore will address another meeting on the same theme at the New Town Hall in Colombo at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 10.

Kishore began his address on Thursday by commenting on the current international situation and emphasised the critical importance for workers and youth to base their struggles on an international perspective.

It is impossible to develop an orientation in any particular country based on the national peculiarities of that country, he told the meeting. A national orientation, he explained will lead to opportunist and bankrupt conclusions because we live and fight within the framework of a global capitalist system, and workers and young people at every point confront global issues.

Kishore detailed the ongoing genocidal attacks against Palestinians in Gaza by Israels right-wing Netanyahu regime with the active support of US and its NATO allies. The Gaza war and the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine, he stressed, are two fronts in a rapidly escalating world war.

The speaker elaborated on the rapidly increasing shift by the ruling classes around world towards dictatorial forms of rule and the utter rottenness of bourgeois democracy.

The most significant factor in the present situation is the resurgence of the most basic and powerful of all social forces, the working class, he said, and explained the emergence of working-class struggles and strikes internationally, particularly in the US and Europe.

Everywhere workers and youth are confronted with a situation that raises the necessity for revolutionary solutions, on a global scale, Kishore said. This necessarily raises fundamental political and historical questions. What is socialism? What happened in the 20th century? Was there an alternative to Stalinism?

Kishore elaborated on the 100-year struggle waged by Trotskyist movement for the perspective and program of international socialism, starting with the founding of the Left Opposition under the leadership of Leon Trotsky in October 1923, the establishment of the Fourth International in 1938 and the formation of the International Committee of the Fourth International in 1953 to fight the liquidationist Pabloite tendency that had emerged in the Fourth International.

The World Socialist Web Site will publish a detailed report on the Peradeniya University meeting next week.

A section of the University of Peradeniya meeting in Sri Lanka, December 7, 2023.

SEP/IYSSE teams have campaigned widely for the meetings, including at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts and the Moratuwa and Jayawardenepura universities, and at several workplaces. Teams distributed Sinhala- and Tamil-language copies of WSWS articles SEP (US) national secretary to visit Sri Lanka to speak on the centenary of Trotskyism and On the Founding of the Left Opposition.

A Colombo University political science student told campaigners that he knew about Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin and that the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 was the result of Stalins theory of socialism in one country. He admitted, however, that he did not know much about the Trotskyist movement and its struggle against the Stalinist bureaucracy.

The reason such an important figure like Trotsky is not known by many people, he said, is because he was not allowed to be known. We dont know about the history of the Trotskyist movement because we are not taught about these things, even at university, he added.

Sudila, who is studying International Relations at Colombo university, said, Socialism is necessary, but it is not allowed by those who control the economy.

Commenting on the US economy and the international war drive, he said, The US is selling weapons [to instigate wars]. Iraq was devastated on the basis of bogus claims [of weapons of mass destruction] to support the US economy.

After campaigners explained the underlying reasons for the deepening crisis of the US and world economy, Sudila said: I understand that there is no remedy under capitalism. The US economy has collapsed, and economic crises are occurring repeatedly. The economy cannot be saved under capitalism.

Referring to the Gaza genocide, he added: Many lives, including children, are being lost and just recently a university was totally destroyed. This is a game plan, mainly used by America, that is being implemented.

To stop all of this socialism must be established, as you explain, he said, but we are not taught in schools about such things as the Russian Revolution. We understand that we are being dragged along the wrong path, but Id not heard of the Russian working class taking power.

SEP/IYSSE campaigners spoke with Colombo port workers at Bloemanthal Harbour accommodation quarters. A female worker, who wished to be anonymous because of the repressive situation at the Colombo port, said that she wondered about the dissolution of the USSR.

At that time, I thought there was socialism there but then it was broken apart. I was surprised that this could happen to such a large state. My father used to bring home Soviet magazines, and I used to read them, and so I wondered why this [dissolution] happened.

After hearing an explanation of Trotskys political fight, beginning in 1923, against rise of Stalinism, the port worker said, that if Trotsky had been victorious against Stalin, the USSR would not have been dissolved in 1991 [and] I believe that people like Hitler would not come into power and the Second World War would not have happened.

If Trotskyism had triumphed, the Gaza issue that we see today would not have arisen and even America would not have been so powerful, she said.

A young Ceylon Electricity Board worker from Bandarawela, 200 km from Colombo, said: Ive heard about Lenin but not read his work and Ive never heard of Trotsky and Stalinism. Why arent we told about this history? If socialism is the only solution to solve all the peoples problems, then we need to understand this.

R. Sundaram, a plantation worker from the Malvatta division of Eslaby Estate in Bandarawela, said, The SEP is the only party that talks about socialism. In order to build a better future, you have to learn history. I used to read Tholilalar Pathei [the Tamil newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist League, the predecessor of the SEP]. I sometimes read the Tamil section of the WSWS, which is how I got to know about the war in Gaza.

The trade union leaders do not explain anything about this to us. The unions are helping the companies by increasing our work burdens and thus working to increase company profits. Im against wars and if people are educated, then people will come forward to build socialism and create peace, he said.

M. A Suriyarachchi, a university student who lives at Bandarawela, said, Ive just heard about Trotskyism from you for the first time in my life. Who can explain this history like you do? People are deceived because they dont know history and they get really bored with politics if they only watch the Sri Lankan news, she said.

Referring to Israels brutal military attacks against Palestinians in Gaza, she added, No one agrees with Israels genocide. We live in a world where people are seen as animals. That must be changed.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was charged with nine counts of tax violations in California in a federal indictment handed down by a grand jury on Thursday.

The new charges against the younger Biden include three felonies and six misdemeanors in connection with his failure to file and pay his taxes and the filing of false tax returns. These charges, which were filed by Special Counsel David Weiss in US Court in the Central District of California, are serious. If he is found guilty, the presidents son could receive a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.

Hunter Biden before the start of the vice presidential debate, at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, October 11, 2012. [AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais]

The 56-page indictment states in paragraph four of the section titled Introductory Allegations:

The Defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.

The indictment states that Biden subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC, by withdrawing funds from the firm in an illegal manner. It asserts that he spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills; that he stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015, despite having access to funds to pay the government; that he willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 taxes on time; and that he willfully failed to file his 2017 and 2018 tax returns on time.

The charges were filed in California, the state where Hunter Biden lives. The indictment against the 53-year-old son of the president details his spending on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes.

The indictment provides an accounting of Bidens alleged fleecing of Owascos finances, including a total of $1.6 million in ATM cash withdrawals for purchasing $400,000 in clothing and accessories, $750,000 for restaurants, health and beauty products, groceries and other retail purchases as well as $683,212 for payments  various women.

The younger Biden has acknowledged his dissolute lifestyle during this period, which he attributes to a drug addiction.

The new charges are now added to a previous indictment against Hunter Biden secured by the special counsel on September 14, in which Weiss brought three felony charges against him in a Delaware court in connection with his illegal purchase of a revolver in 2018.

At the time, Hunter Biden was a recovering drug addict, who had struggled with his addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine, and it was illegal for him to purchase a weapon. He lied on his application, saying he was not a recovering drug addict to skirt the law. In that indictment, Weiss wrote that Biden possessed a firearm while knowing he was an unlawful user of or addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance, in violation of federal law.

The new indictment against Hunter Biden further complicates the legal problems facing the family of President Biden just as the campaign for the 2024 presidential election gets under way in earnest. Supporters of the fascist Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are seeking to use the charges against Bidens son as a means of undermining the senior Bidens campaign for reelection, claiming that Hunter Bidens alleged tax violations are part of a broader range of corrupt business practices in which the current president is implicated. There are, in fact, aspects of the case that point to possible, if not likely, corruption and influence-peddling linked to Joe Bidens political operations.

In any event, the latest indictment and the likelihood of criminal trials of Hunter Biden in the midst of the 2024 presidential election campaign call into question the viability of Joe Bidens bid for a second term. It coincides with plummeting poll numbers for the 81-year-old incumbent, including a collapse in support among younger voters that is driven by opposition to the genocide in Gaza.

In Ukraine, Hunter Biden had a well paid position on the board of directors of Burisma, a large energy company, even though he had no apparent qualifications for the post other than the fact that he was the son of the then-US Vice President. Joe Biden had been named by President Obama to head US efforts in Ukraine after the Maidan coup of 2014, in which fascist groups drove out the pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, and replaced him with a pro-NATO puppet.

After Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016, Hunter Biden shifted his business focus to China, working on a deal with CEFC China Energy. While he claimed he made little money, a subsequent report by the Washington Post said the firm paid $4.8 million in fees as part of a consulting agreement signed by the younger Biden.

As a Trump-appointed US attorney for the state of Delaware prior to his elevation to federal special counsel, David Weiss had charged Hunter Biden with misdemeanor tax violations and gun law violations.

The Biden administration worked out a plea bargain between Weiss and Hunter Bidens attorneys in June 2023 and hoped it would put an end to the younger Bidens legal problems. Under the deal, he was to plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax counts and accept a diversion agreement on the gun charge, thereby avoiding prison time.

President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance, Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Delaware. [AP Photo/Julio Cortez]

However, in July, Judge Maryellen Noreika, also a Trump appointee, refused to approve the agreement, an unusual occurrence in a plea deal involving misdemeanor charges. She did so after Weiss stated that his investigation of Hunter Bidens business relations would continue, prompting Biden to plead not guilty to the tax charges.

One factor in the prosecution of Hunter Biden is the desire of the Trump camp to divert attention from the multiple federal and state trials he is facing for his own criminal business practices and his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election by means of fascist mob violence.

Responding to the indictment on Thursday, Hunter Bidens defense attorney Abbe Lowell accused Weiss of bowing to Republican pressure in the case. Lowell said, Based on the facts and the law, if Hunters last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought.

Meanwhile, House Republicans are seeking to exploit the new charges against Hunter Biden to push their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden.

The indictments against Hunter Biden, the ongoing and pending trials of Donald Trump and the impeachment probe of President Biden in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election are expressions of a massive crisis of the entire US political system. With the fascist Trump as the Republican Party front-runner and the incumbent Democrat Biden identified as Genocide Joe for his complicity in the murderous Israeli onslaught on Gaza, the 2024 elections will be held under unprecedented conditions of crisis of the entire capitalist system.
A section of the Sydney school strike on December 7, 2023

On Thursday, hundreds of Australian school students walked out of classrooms to protest Israels genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza following the first strikes a fortnight ago.

More than 300 attended in Melbourne and 200 in Sydney. Smaller rallies were held in Adelaide, Canberra and Wollongong.

The events are part of the international movement that has erupted in opposition to the imperialist-backed onslaught. Students and youth are closely following the unfolding slaughter through social media, bypassing the complicit corporate press.

Anger over the genocide is intersecting with broader hostility to the climate catastrophe, a deepening crisis of social and living standards and war, fuelling a developing political radicalisation of the younger generations. There is a widespread sense that on every front, things are getting worse and are not going to get better any time soon.

At Thursdays strikes, as at the previous walkouts, anger was directed particularly at the federal Labor government, which has given a complete greenlight to the unfolding mass murder. Albanese, blood on your hands! was one of the chants, referencing Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The issue that is emerging from the situation itself, though, is how the fight against genocide can be taken forward. Protests have occurred for more than two months now, but the Israeli regime and the imperialist governments backing it have not only defied the mass sentiment, they have escalated their brazen criminality.

The mass opposition, in other words, has reached something of an impasse or a fork in the road.

In that context, it was notable that Thursdays strikes were substantially smaller than those held two weeks ago when the Melbourne event alone was attended by 1,000 students or more. Various factors could be at play, but it seems likely that one of them was a developing sense that protesting is not going to end the genocide or fundamentally alter the situation.

Students who addressed the strikes in Sydney and Melbourne spoke movingly and passionately against the genocide.

It was, however, striking that much of what was raised was the same as at the previous event. The question of what to do next was largely not answered or even posed, except for there to be further protests.

Responsibility for that rests entirely with the pseudo-left organisations that have largely organised the strikes, including Socialist Alternative and Socialist Alliance.

These groups have done everything they can to keep the discussion at the lowest level, to limit the horizons of those who participate to protests and appeals directed to the powers-that-be and to prevent any consideration of the broader context within which the genocide is occurring. No assessment is made from one event to the next, and nothing is analysed or explained.

This is not an accident. Despite their occasional rhetoric, the pseudo-left has nothing to do with the fight for socialism and the interests of the working class, in fact, opposing both. They represent an affluent layer of the upper middle class that advances its privileges within the profit system, especially through the use of various forms of identity politics based on race, gender and sexuality, not class.

The pseudo-left is itself tied to the political establishment by a thousand strings, particularly through its close connections to the Labor-aligned trade union bureaucracy, which has done nothing to oppose the genocide.

A section of the Melbourne school strike

A socialist perspective to fight the genocide must be based on an understanding of its root causes and what it signifies for world politics. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party, has explained that the mass murder in Gaza is part of an eruption of imperialist militarism stemming from a breakdown of the capitalist system on a global scale.

The major powers are defending Israels atrocities because the Zionist state is a linchpin of the whole imperialist nation-state system, not only in the Middle East but internationally. The genocide is the most barbarous manifestation of an explosion of war internationally, including US and Israeli threats of a regional war targeting Lebanon, Syria and Iran, a US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and Washingtons preparations for conflict against China in the Indo-Pacific.

As in the 1930s, the capitalist ruling elites are tobogganing to the abyss, with the mass slaughter of Gazans a warning of what imperialism has in store for the entire worlds population.

The pseudo-left says nothing about this broader development. One reason is that in line with their class character and rightward trajectory, the pseudo-left groups have increasingly embraced imperialist war.

In the Socialist Alliances case, that included backing for Australian military intervention in East Timor in 1999, in an imperialist operation aimed at securing the tiny nations oil, gas and other resources.

Socialist Alternative supported the NATO war against Libya, and then for years campaigned in support of a similar CIA regime-change operation in Syria. Both those operations were also backed by the Zionist regime.

More recently, all of the pseudo-left organisations have promoted the US-NATO proxy war against Russia. They have repeated the lies used by Washington and its allies to justify a war that is aimed at inflicting a defeat on Russia, as part of American imperialisms drive to control the Eurasian landmass, including expressing support for the Ukrainian regime, despite its domination by fascistic forces.

The IYSSE alone, as part of the world Trotskyist movement, has opposed the Ukraine war, sheeting home responsibility to the US and NATO while giving no support to the Russian government, which represents a nationalist oligarchy created through the restoration of capitalism by the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union.

By decoupling the horror in Gaza from the issue of imperialist war, the pseudo-left peddles the fraud that protest alone may end the mass murder. The perspective, whether implied or spelled out, is that capitalist governments can be pressured to change course.

This was outlined in a December 1 article on Socialist Alternatives publication Redflag, which stated: The scale of the horrors of the war and revulsion at the actions of our government are driving people onto the streets, in defiance of our leaders.

The war continues nevertheless. But rather than despair, we must keep protesting for Palestine. And we need to do what we can to build a bigger movement that can one day challenge this horror, and that ultimately can bring down the whole system that causes it.

The reference to the whole system at the end is a throwaway and political cover. The fight for a socialist perspective, which is not even explicitly mentioned, is relegated to the far-off future, i.e., never, with no immediate connection at all to the struggle to end the Gaza genocide.

RedFlag calls for endless protests to pressure capitalist governments, even as it acknowledges they are steadfast in their support for the mass murder. Notwithstanding the warning against despair, this is a perspective designed to sow demoralisation.

As the IYSSE has insisted, there is a force that can end the genocide and the system that has caused it. That is the international working class. Because of its role in the productive process, and its international character, the working class is the revolutionary force in modern society. That is where students and youth should turn to, not appeals to parliament and the government.

There must be a fight to mobilise workers to block supplies to the Israeli war machine, including through strikes. The chief obstacle to that is the union bureaucracies, which have blocked any industrial action while being defended by the pseudo-left.

But above all, the genocide underscores the urgency of a socialist and revolutionary perspective. Capitalism has nothing to offer young people except mass murder, poverty, climate catastrophe and the threat of nuclear annihilation. The alternative is the struggle for socialism, a world based on peace and social equality. That is possible, as evidenced by the reemergence of the class struggle and the mass opposition that has emerged, but it has to be fought for.

Contact the IYSSE to discuss this perspective and join the fight.

Email: iysseaus@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/IYSSEaustralia

Twitter: @IysseA

Instagram: @iysse.aus
Since the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza began in October, numerous protests have taken place throughout the Philippines opposing this barbaric crime. At times clashing with police, demonstrators have denounced not only Israel, but the roles of both United States imperialism and the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila.

Protesters march in support of the Palestinian people and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City on Thursday Nov. 22, 2023. [AP Photo/Aaron Favila]

Demonstrators gathered in Quezon City, Metro Manila on November 29, marking the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Protesters held signs demanding Israel Stop the bombings. Free Palestine. They also drew attention to the large number of women and children who have been killed since Israels slaughter began.

Rallies were also held the previous weekend, with marchers in Manila on November 25 denouncing Israels genocide. Demonstrators chanted Free, free Palestine, and US, Israel Terrorists and headed to the US Embassy before police forcibly diverted them from their planned, and supposedly government-approved, route. The protesters have been mostly youth, students, and large contingents from the Muslim Filipino minority. Thousands too marched on the Philippines southern island of Mindanao, where most of the countrys minority Muslim population lives.

Since the Palestinian uprising on October 7, more than 15,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces. When the missing are factored in, the death toll surpasses 20,000. Over the past weekend alone, more than 1,000 people were killed. Nearly the entire population has been internally displaced.

Horrified by the unfolding genocide, Filippino protesters have participated in the global anti-war movement, which the bourgeois media has attempted to ignore. In Southeast Asia alone, tens of thousands have repeatedly demonstrated in Malaysia, including demonstrations at the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur. In Indonesia, over two million converged on National Monument Square in Jakarta on November 4 alone in support of the Palestinian struggle.

Parroting US imperialism, which is backing Israel, the Marcos government in Manila has supported the Israeli genocide on the bogus pretext that the Zionist state has the right to self-defense. In reality, the Palestinian uprising of October 7 was sparked by endless provocations from the fascistic Netanyahu regime, which had turned Gaza into a large open-air prison. The Israeli government then seized upon the revolt to carry out long-prepared plans for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.

On October 27, even as the death toll in Gaza surpassed 7,000 Palestinians, over half of whom were children, the Philippine government abstained, along with 44 other countries, in a United Nations General Assembly vote for a non-binding resolution calling for a an immediate, lasting, and long-term humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The resolution passed with 120 countries in support and 13 countries opposing, including the US and Israel. By abstaining, Manila effectively put its stamp of approval on the genocide taking place.

The Philippine capitalist elite are longstanding supporters of the Zionist state. In 1947, it was the only Asian country to vote with 33 other countries approving UN Resolution 181 that partitioned Palestine and established Israel. In the 1970s, Israel trained and armed the death squads of the brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, the father of the current president.

In 2018, then President Rodrigo Duterte visited Israel, meeting with Netanyahu at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center, dubbed the washing machine for far-right figures. An Israeli daily Haaretz columnist, Anshel Pfeffer, wrote: Politicians who are historically tainted with their partys past associations with fascist and neo-Nazi roots can get Israels kashrut [kosher] stamp by visiting the Western Wall and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Duterte pledged to support Israels repression of Palestine, joining Netanyahus coterie of fascistic supporters like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Indias Narendra Modi, and Steve Bannon, the advisor to former US President Trump.

By 2022, the Philippines had purchased Israeli military equipment amounting to nearly $US500 million, making it the third biggest of Israels customers. Major purchases included ten coastal defense fast gun boats costing a total of $US176.6 million, 20 tanks, including support vehicles, costing a total of $US172 million and two long-range patrol plans costing a total of $US114 million.

Manilas support for Israel is also bound up with its alignment with the US-led war drive against China. The right to self-defense will no doubt similarly be trotted out for the Philippines in the event that a US-orchestrated provocation in the South China Sea provokes a clash with Beijing. Washington and Manila recently conducted just such an operation around the Second Thomas Shoal, located in the South China Sea. Within the past year, the Marcos regime has also agreed to expand the US military presence in the Philippines while also drawing closer to other imperialist powers in the region, namely Japan.

While the protests in the Philippines show that there is widespread public opposition to war, the organizers of the rallies are seeking to derail both the pro-Palestinian demonstrations and opposition to war more broadly. The organizers include petty-bourgeois layers grouped around Muslim politicians, so-called civic organizations, and the Maoist-aligned Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN). These layers are directing anti-war sentiment into impotent appeals to the administration in Manila and to US and European imperialist governments, Israels primary supporters.

The Maoists, in fact, are preparing to openly back the Marcos regime. On November 28, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, a front organization for the Maoists, agreed to begin peace talks with the government, with both sides citing in a joint statement foreign security threats facing the countrythat is, Chinamaking it necessary to unite as a nation. In other words, as the Maoists falsely posture as opponents of US imperialism in the Middle East, they are openly moving to back US imperialism and its stooge Marcos in the Indo-Pacific.

These are not the layers that will lead an anti-war movement. Only an independent political movement of the international working class can put an end to the danger of war and its cause, capitalism. The protest movement, which includes thousands of sincere youth and students appalled by the genocide of the Palestinians, should turn to the working class and build a genuine Marxist leadership and a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International in the Philippines.
Princess Lalla Hasnaa, Chair of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, stressed, on Friday in Dubai, the importance of investing in education, in the age of new technologies and artificial intelligence, to shape younger generations into global citizens, proactive in protecting their planet, insisting that all goodwill is needed to meet todays challenges.

Princess Lalla Hasnaa made her plea during the first annual high-level meeting of the Greening Education Partnership initiative, organized by UNESCO and the UAE Ministry of Education as part of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28).

In her address at the opening of the meeting, Princess Lalla Hasna called for greater global solidarity, particularly from developed countries towards the developing world, at a time when the widespread adoption of new technologies widens the gap between North and South, not least in terms of access to data and artificial intelligence in education.

To offset such inequalities, Princess Lalla Hasnaa underlined the urgency of practical measures to simplify international funding procedures and improve access to resources to enable full inclusion.

She shared the Foundations practical, ongoing and productive action on Education for Sustainable Development through the programs it has run for 20 years, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool Learning and Sports.

She likewise emphasized the Foundations actions to mobilize and unite Africas young people through its African Youth Climate Hub and African Green Universities and Youth Education Network initiatives. A host of network members from these initiatives joined the Foundation and its partners at COP 28 to convey the voice of the South.

Referring to the African Youth Climate Hub, Princess Lalla Hasnaa said that this Hub is now boasting more than 18,000 members from 9 countries across Africa, and that the first edition spawned 10 projects, now generating $500,000 in monthly revenue.

The leaders of these projects also sealed over 20 partnerships, creating 15 jobs in barely six months. The second call for projects, which closed on October 15, 2023, drew 245 project submissions.

Princess Lalla Hasnaa made an inspirational appeal to young people, calling on them to express their creativity and challenge inertia in protecting the planet from the effects of climate change and encouraged young people to draw on the wisdom of their elders, for inspiration in adjusting to present difficulties, and building a more sustainable future for all.
Auto workers at work inside a Toyota auto plant. [Photo by Bertel Schmitt / CC BY-SA 3.0

Workers were evacuated from a building on the future site of the Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC) in Liberty, North Carolina on Thanksgiving morning when they were overcome by fumes in one of two completed buildings at the site. The complex will have a total of 15 buildings when completed.

According to Que Pasa Media, a Spanish-language newspaper from North Carolina and the only media outlet to report on the incident, up to 2,000 contractors were at work in the building whose ventilation system was not yet operational.

Initially reported as a gas leak, it was later found that fumes from an epoxy being used to seal the cement floors in the building caused workers to become ill. A worker told Que Pasa that at least three people were hospitalized from the effects of the fumes, while a Toyota representative denied any workers were sent to the hospital.

Que Pasa reported that workers were given the choice to return to work in the building, although there was no one on site qualified to reopen the building.

Workers on the job site related a far more chilling account of events to the World Socialist Web Site. Speaking to the WSWS, an employee of one of the subcontractors reported that the incident on Thanksgiving actually began the night before during the second shift on November 22. According to the employee, the building was evacuated at 11 p.m. after contractors began getting sick due to a strong odor in the building. The fire department was called, and though the source of the smell was not identified, workers were sent home several hours later.

When contractors reported to work the next morning at 6:30 a.m., only a few hours after second shift workers were sent home, they were not informed of the incident on the previous evening. After about two hours, workers began reporting dizziness, headaches, chest pains and difficulty breathing. Some workers began vomiting. The building was evacuated a second time at 8:45 a.m.

Eyewitnesses reported that one worker was vomiting uncontrollably and unable to stand. The worker was taken off the site in an ambulance.

Initially, the general contractor, Kajima Building and Design Group (KBDG), announced that workers could return to work in the building later in the afternoon of November 30 but then instructed all workers to go home. The WSWS was told that Toyota officials at the site were upset that workers were sent home until it was discovered that the order had come from someone higher up in the Toyota organization.

The building was to have been ventilated for two days following the evacuations over Thanksgiving. However, workers were evacuated for a third time on Saturday, December 2, due to carbon dioxide buildup from the machines being operated in the building. WSWS learned that safety personnel on site warned KBDG that there were too many construction machines being operated in the confined space. The warning was ignored and workers were kept on the job until they began getting sick, at which point they were evacuated and the building was ventilated.

Nearly two weeks after the incident, a supervisor and a worker who were on the second shift crew on Thanksgiving eve, when the building was evacuated for the first time, have both reported developing pneumonia. The safety director of the subcontractor who hired the workers reported that the pneumonia may have been induced by the workers prolonged exposure to the floor sealant. Workers affected by the fumes are attempting to have their absences from work and doctor visits covered by workers comp, but Toyota has not responded to the workers requests.

Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC) is located in central North Carolina, about 30-minutes southeast of Greensboro. Toyota announced plans for its first and only battery plant in the United States in 2021. At the end of October 2023, Toyota announced a further investment of $8 billion in the facility in response to the market shift to electric vehicles (EVs).

As reported by the WSWS, sales of EVs nearly quadrupled from 3 million worldwide in 2020 to over 10 million in 2022. The International Energy Agency predicts global sales will more than triple, to over 35 million, by 2030.

Incidents like those over Thanksgiving are not uncommon on the Liberty, North Carolina worksite, which is plagued by safety violations and exploitative labor practices due to the chaotic supervision of the project. Workers must often contend with contradictory safety information from Toyota, KBDG, the subcontractor that hires them, and the temp agencies that recruit them.

The employee on the site told the WSWS that the sealant used on the cement floors that sickened workers was one of 87 unapproved chemicals at use on the site. According to the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) provided by the manufacturer of the sealant, respirators must be worn when using the product. Workers from the subcontractor hired to apply the epoxy were observed only wearing disposable N-95 masks. The contractors who were later evacuated from the building who were employed by a different subcontractor were not instructed to wear any personal protective equipment against the fumes.

Among the slew of hazards workers face on the Liberty, North Carolina job site, the handling of dangerous chemicals stands out. When asked how 87 unapproved chemicals can be at use on the site, the employee said that while the general contractor may have approved the use of the chemicals, Toyota has not yet approved them, though the request has been pending for a year.

Workers and safety managers have raised concerns over the presence on site of electrolytes, a highly dangerous solvent used in the manufacturing of lithium ion batteries, while the plant is still under construction and is not scheduled to go online until 2025. According to the SDS for electrolytes, a single exposure to the substance can cause damage to the central nervous system. Other hazards include reproductive toxicity, inhalation toxicity and organ damage.

Barrels of electrolytes are being stored on the worksite with little more than a swag of red caution tape between the deadly chemicals and the contractors working around them. Workers who handle the chemical wear hazmat suits. The construction crews working in the building do not wear them and sometimes find themselves working shoulder to shoulder with workers in hazmat suits.

The employee told the WSWS that the containers are moved frequently because of ongoing construction and that spills are commonplace. According to the employee on site, workers once reported a spill from one of the barrels containing electrolytes. An employee of the general contractor responded, I dont work in that building. Nothing was done about the spill.

Workers concerns about safety on the job site are often ignored or result in immediate termination by Toyota, the general contractor, or their subcontractor. Electricians on the site report that Toyota implemented its own version of a lockout/tagout (LOTO) system used to protect workers from electrocution. OSHAs LOTO system is the industry standard and is the system almost universally used by electricians on construction sites.

Contractors received little or no instruction on Toyotas LOTO system, and when asked by the electricians safety director for documentation of their system, Toyota refused to provide it. Toyotas insistence on the use of their system has created chaos in the LOTO zone. The familiar padlocks and labels used on breakers are now a confusion of variations of Toyotas and OSHAs systems. Electricians who are found to have made a mistake are immediately dismissed.

Contractors hours are not monitored, aggravating already dangerous conditions on a construction site with heavy machinery and highly toxic chemicals. Workers are already working 10-hour days with only a 45-minute break for lunch. According to the employee on the site, it is not unusual for workers to clock 85 hours per week for weeks on end. The employee told the WSWS that one contractor worked 300 hours in a month.

It is the unwritten rule of the subcontractors that workers are expected to work overtime. Workers who will not work overtime are more likely to be terminated.

The subcontractor employee told the WSWS that conditions on the site are so hazardous that two safety directors have recently resigned. Often, when the safety directors raised concerns with representatives of KBDG and Toyota about the conditions on the worksite, the discussions were contentious and numerous threats were made against their jobs.

Workers at the TBMNC site have spontaneously organized against the harsh conditions in which they must work. When a supervisor refused to bus a work crew to the parking lot a few minutes early, the workers walked to the parking lot, blocking construction vehicles as they did. Some workers have petitioned for amenities like microwaves to heat their food.

Spontaneous actions by workers against their bosses alone will not yield long-term changes in their working conditions and may lead to victimizations. Contractors of all trades at the TBMNC site must band together to form a rank-and-file committee to organize a united counteroffensive against the dangerous and inhumane working conditions enabled by their subcontractors, KBDG and Toyota.
On December 7 Wayne State University students and supporters held a picket and rally outside the offices of the WSU Board of Governors to demand the university take up a Student Senate resolution calling for divestment in companies complicit in the genocide in Gaza.

The action, organized by the WSU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, drew nearly 100 people. The spirited protest took up chants denouncing the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinians living in Gaza and the Biden administration, which has made the onslaught possible. The demonstrators also called out the WSU Board of Governors, which refused to place the Student Senate resolution on Gaza on its agenda.

The Board of Governors is comprised of leading figures in the states civil rights, trade union and Democratic Party establishment. It is chaired by Mark Gaffney, former president of the Michigan AFL-CIO and a member of the Teamsters union. Vice Chair Shirley Stancato was former president and chief executive officer of New Detroit and a bank executive. The board also includes a former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Marilyn Kelly, and former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Land.

Wayne State University students protest Gaza genocide December 7, 2023

After assembling on campus and marching to the WSU Board of Governors office, protesters were told that would not be allowed inside the building. Campus police were stationed at the entrance.

On November 30 police had blocked WSU students from entering a publicly accessible building, where they had planned to quietly protest Israels genocide in Gaza. The group of several dozen students included members of the campus student organizations Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) and members of the Student Senate.

A Wayne State student who participated in this weeks protest said he felt outraged by the claim that opposition to Israel was equivalent to antisemitism. Asked by a World Socialist Web Site reporter what he thought about the call of the IYSSE for the developing a movement in the working class against war, he said, The war should be stopped. Its terrible that everything is built to slaughter people.

Weve done so maybe shady things in US history. That is why I am here today, to try to do something against it.

A spokesman for the Students for Justice for Palestine addressed the rally first. She described the horrible images she had seen of the devastation and loss of life caused by the continuing Israeli onslaught on Gaza.

We are here today to say that Wayne State University should divest in war profiteering companies that are killing, harming our children. We will be heard, Arabs, Muslims and our allies, by the Board of Governors since they dont want to listen to us, we have come to the steps of their meeting today.

Lets not forget that last week, when we did our sit-in, they walked us out of the faculty administration building at Wayne State University. We were just going in there to remind them that we exist. We were not doing anything, just sitting in to remind them that we are Palestinians and our allies. Instead they locked us out, even though it was a public building during open hours. We will not allow this.

Wayne State University police block the entrance to the Board of Governors meeting on December 8, 2023. (WSWS Media)

World Socialist Web Site Labor Editor Jerry White was invited to address the protest and rally on behalf of the Socialist Equality Party and its campus youth organization, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE).

The entire world is witnessing in real time the greatest war crime of the 21st century, White stated. With the full support of the Biden administration and the European imperialist powers, Israel is conducting a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, killing over 16,000 people, wounding at least another 41,000, with the majority victims being women and children.

He continued, The purpose of the Israeli military operations has become increasingly clear: to drive the entire population of Gaza across the Egyptian border into the Sinai Desert, emptying Gaza and making it available for Israeli settlers. It is no exaggeration to say that Netanyahu and his fascistic government are implementing their final solution to the Palestinian problem.

The claims by the Biden administration that it is pressuring Israel to limit civilian casualties are cynical lies. The US has given Israel 15,000 bombs, including 2,000-pound bunker busters and 57,000 artillery shells. The Democrats and Republicans, and the entire US media, have defended these war crimes, claiming that Israel has the right to defend itself. At the same time, the US propaganda machine slanders anyone opposing this genocide, including Jewish protesters themselves, as antisemitic.

World Socialist Web Site Labor Editor Jerry White speaks to rally protesting Gaza genocide at Wayne State University December 8, 2023 (Photo WSWS)

On Tuesday, the US House Education Committee held hearings where the university presidents from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pledged to work with both parties, the FBI and the Anti-Defamation League to crackdown on anti-genocide protests. For all of their protests against alleged antisemitism, Democrats at the hearing had no problem joining right-wing Republican members of Congress and Trump supporters who are working with neo-Nazis, including the ones who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, chanting Sieg Heil and Jews will not replace us.

He placed the genocide in Gaza in the context of an expanding world war launched by the US. From Gaza to Ukraine to China, American capitalism is in the deepest economic crisis in its history. He continued, There is rising anger over inequality, wars and endless budget cuts to finance these wars. There are growing strikes in America and around the world.

White called for students to turn to the working class, as the only social force that can put an end to war. Appealing to the Democrats and Republicans to halt the genocide is fruitless, White warned. Workers are angered and horrified by what is happening in Gaza, White explained. Young people must turn to the working class to build a powerful anti-war movement independent of both big business parties and the trade union bureaucracies directed against war and its cause, the capitalist system, he concluded.

Following the protest, WSU IYSSE members and others who attended the protest met in the Student Center to discuss a strategy to oppose the ongoing genocide. Students discussed the objective roots of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, the broader development of war in Europe and Asia, and the role of the Biden administration and other imperialist leaders.

IYSSE members discussed the necessity of students turning to the working class and the need for an internationalist program and perspective, including the fact that crackdowns on protests and the stifling of free speech are happening across the globe.

The meeting also discussed the recent attack on socialists in Sri Lanka. Wayne State IYSSE members are writing letters of support for Dehin Wasantha and Lakshman Fernando at the University of Moratuwa, who were assaulted by right-wing thugs while building for a meeting against the Israeli genocide in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
The sadistic, psychopathic character of the Netanyahu-Biden campaign of mass extermination in Gaza emerges more clearly and horribly with every passing day. In the face of the outrage of hundreds of millions, the murderers continuously outdo themselves. No crime is beyond these forces.

The social and moral global divide between the ruling classes, on the one hand, and the mass of the population, on the other, has become absolutely unbridgeable. Rosa Luxemburgs watchword socialism or barbarism has never been this urgent and irrefutable.

In Guernica, in northern Spain, on Friday, several thousand people formed an enormous mosaic with their bodies, depicting, as one commentator explained, the pain of the victims of Israeli attacks on Gaza and the Palestinian flag. The representation included a reference to Pablo Picassos famed anti-war painting, Guernica, as did the poster advertising the event.

The event was organized by the Guernica-Palestine Citizens Initiative, which includes trade union and various political organizations. It was staged in the Basque towns market square, where in April 1937, planes sent by Hitlers Germany and Mussolinis Italy bombed civilians, killing hundreds, in support of Gen. Franco and his fascist forces during the Spanish Civil War.

The attack was considered to be the first large-scale military air assault against defenseless civilians, and it horrified world public opinion. Never before in modern warfare had noncombatants been slaughtered in such numbers, and by such means, wrote one commentator.

Picassos work was only one of many artistic responses to an event that provided the world an indication of the horrors to come.

In 2003, UN officials made history of a sort by covering up a tapestry reproduction of Picassos work, which hung outside the Security Council chamber at UN headquarters in New York, during US Secretary of State Colin Powells February 5 presentation of the American case for war against Iraq.

Powells intervention, which he later admitted was nothing but a pack of lies, served as justification for the subsequent bloody, neo-colonial invasion and occupation of the Middle Eastern country. As the council gathered to hear Powell on Wednesday, workers placed a blue curtain and flags of the councils member countries in front of the tapestry, we commented at the time.

Aside from its general evocation of anti-war sentiment, the WSWS pointed out,

Picassos painting threatened to speak to historical parallels that the Bush administration and UN officials were clearly determined that the media or the public should not make. For an entire generation the bombing of Guernica and Picassos interpretation of the event signified the barbarity of fascism and the widespread determination to resist its violence and brutality.

In its statement regarding the December 8 human mosaic-protest, the Guernica-Palestine Citizens Initiative insisted that the world and history must not accept a new Guernica and that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. The Initiative called on the international community to share the suffering of the Palestinian people and stop the massacre.

Gaza-Guernica poster

In 1937, British journalist George Steer wrote this account of the bombing of Guernica for the Times:

Guernica, the most ancient town of the Basques and the centre of their cultural tradition, was completely destroyed yesterday afternoon by insurgent air raiders. The bombardment of this open town far behind the lines occupied precisely three hours and a quarter, during which a powerful fleet of aeroplanes consisting of three German types, Junkers and Heinkel bombers and Heinkel fighters, did not cease unloading on the town bombs weighing from 1,000lb. downwards and, it is calculated, more than 3,000 two-pounder aluminium incendiary projectiles. The fighters, meanwhile, plunged low from above the centre of the town to machine-gun those of the civilian population who had taken refuge in the fields. 

Steer went on:

At 2 am today when I visited the town the whole of it was a horrible sight, flaming from end to end. The reflection of the flames could be seen in the clouds of smoke above the mountains from 10 miles away. Throughout the night houses were falling until the streets became long heaps of red impenetrable debris.

The journalist added these details about the bombing:

Monday was the customary market day in Guernica for the country round. At 4.30 pm, when the market was full and peasants were still coming in, the church bell rang the alarm for approaching aeroplanes  Five minutes later a single German bomber appeared, circled over the town at a low altitude, and then dropped six heavy bombs, apparently aiming for the station. The bombs with a shower of grenades fell on a former institute and on houses and streets surrounding it. The aeroplane then went away. In another five minutes came a second bomber, which threw the same number of bombs into the middle of the town. About a quarter of an hour later three Junkers arrived to continue the work of demolition, and thenceforward the bombing grew in intensity and was continuous, ceasing only with the approach of dusk at 7.45. The whole town of 7,000 inhabitants, plus 3,000 refugees, was slowly and systematically pounded to pieces. 

Steer described the tactics of the bombers

...which may be of interest to students of the new military science  First, small parties of aeroplanes threw heavy bombs and hand grenades all over the town, choosing area after area in orderly fashion. Next came fighting machines which swooped low to machine-gun those who ran in panic from dugouts, some of which had already been penetrated by 1,000lb bombs, which make a hole 25ft. deep. Many of these people were killed as they ran.   next as many as 12 bombers appeared at a time dropping heavy and incendiary bombs upon the ruins. The rhythm of this bombing of an open town was, therefore, a logical one: first, hand grenades and heavy bombs to stampede the population, then machine-gunning to drive them below, next heavy and incendiary bombs to wreck the houses and burn them on top of their victims.

Changing what needs to be changed, including the far more lethal character of the Israeli weapons of mass destruction, provided by the US and the other democratic powers, one might be describing the mass homicide in Gaza.

Guernica is one of those place names that carries a terrible historical resonance, along with others such as Lidice, Babi Yar, the Warsaw ghetto, My Lai, Sabra and Shatila, and, more recently, Fallujah and Mosul, a list to which the Gaza Strip must now be added.
Dr. Refaat al-Ar'eer [Photo: Dr. Refaat al-Areer]

The December 6 targeted assassination of gifted English teacher, author, translator and Palestinian rights advocate Dr. Refaat al-Areer in Gaza by the US-backed Israel Defense Forces has provoked mass outrage across the globe. Dr. al-Areer, a professor at the Islamic University in Gaza, which has since been destroyed by the IDF, is one of over 17,400 Palestinians who have been murdered by the IDF in the last two months.

The assassination of al-Areer is one of the more heinous atrocities carried out by the Israeli government as part of its campaign to suppress all those who speak out against the genocide. According to human rights group Euro-Med Monitor, al-Areer, along with his brother, sister and four of their children, was killed on Wednesday when an Israeli airstrike surgically targeted the apartment in Gaza where he was staying.



A gifted and beloved academic, the voice of Gaza inspired thousands of Palestinians to learn English, read Shakespeare and see the humanity in Jewish people, in spite of the occupation. Prior to his killing, al-Areer edited two books, Gaza Writes Back and Gaza Unsilenced, and contributed to several others, including 2022s Light in Gaza: Writing Born of Fire. A regular contributor to Palestinian and left-wing news sites, including Electronic Intifada, al-Areer also co-founded the organization We Are Not Numbers, following Israels 2014 military campaign Operation Protective Edge in order to help young Palestinians who survived not only cope but explain to the world the story of military occupation.



Refaat in Gaza was one of many Palestinians, including photojournalist Motaz Azaiza and filmmaker Bisan Owda, who have become known to workers and youth all over the world for posting on-the-ground updates from Gaza that not only cut through the lies of the capitalist press, but also expose the reality of Israels war crimes.



Refaats final posts on X/Twitter include a poem written last month and a statement condemning the role of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party in the slaughter. Collectively, as of this writing, these posts have garnered over 35 million views and been retweeted over 145,000 times, a reflection of the mass grief and anger al-Areers assassination has provoked.

It has become clear that the IDF is deliberately killing Palestinian journalists and academics as part of its genocidal operations.

Four days before Dr. al-Areer was killed, Professor Sufian Tayeh, a leading researcher in physical and applied mathematics and the president of the Islamic University of Gaza, where al-Areer taught, was killed, along with his family, in an Israeli airstrike.



Al-Areers and Tayehs murders followed the end of the misnamed humanitarian pause and coincided with the release of a joint report on an October 13 Israeli military strike that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others. The joint report by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters and Agence France-Presse concluded that the strike was the result of deliberate Israeli tank fire. As of December 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists has confirmed the deaths of 63 journalists, overwhelmingly Palestinian, since October 7.

While millions of people around the world are mourning the killing of al-Areer, the Voice of Gaza, the mainstream Western press, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Timesmore than 36 hours after his death was made publichave yet to write an article. Their silence on his assassination and the targeted killing of Palestinian journalists, healthcare workers and academics over the last two months exposes them as nothing more than stenographers for the US government and its policy of genocide against the Palestinians.

The assassination of al-Areer, carried out by the fascistic regime of Benjamin Netanyahu, with the direct complicity of the Biden administration and the NATO powers, is not only a war crime, but a serious warning to opponents of genocide around the world. Terrified of the global mass movement against the war and unable to stampede public opinion with ahistorical lies that Zionism is synonymous with Judaism and the efforts of capitalist governments to criminalize anti-war opposition as antisemitic, the Israeli ruling class, Americas strongest ally in the Middle East, is resorting to murdering its political opponents and even those who provide objective reporting.

The murderous rampage by the Israeli government, backed by US imperialism, is a warning to workers and youth around the world: under conditions of mass opposition to inequality, war and genocide, capitalist governments are increasingly adopting genocide and the targeted assassination of unarmed political opponents and their family members as state policy.

The killing of al-Areer represents an escalation in the global attack on democratic rights, which has been spearheaded by the United States, with its prosecution of courageous WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, currently imprisoned in UKs Belmarsh Prison awaiting extradition. Similar measures to those employed against al-Areer and Assange are being discussed at the highest levels of government in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Tel Aviv for suppressing domestic political opposition. These authoritarian measures have the support of the entire political establishment in the US and internationally.

The crimes committed by the US and its Zionist ally are a harbinger of even worse ones to come. At the same time, the adoption of genocide and targeted assassination against the Palestinians by Israel and its imperialist allies underscores the futility of appeals to these very governments and politicians.

For over two months, millions of people around the world have taken to the streets and school campuses to demand an end to the genocide and for societys resources to be redirected to improving social conditions, not enriching war profiteers. In the US, Biden and the Democratic Party have rejected these calls, downplayed the Palestinian death toll, whitewashed IDF war crimes, and passed multiple resolutions declaring their fulsome support for the Zionist project.

Under conditions of a growing strike wave, and unable to reverse the decline of American capitalism in relation to its competitors, particularly China, the US ruling class is using the Gaza genocide as a springboard to future war crimes and attacks on democratic rights.

The bourgeoisie the world over is encouraging the growth of fascistic and far-right forces to be used as bludgeons against the growing mass anti-war movement.

The growing anti-war movement must not be oriented toward appealing to the war criminals. Rather, it must be based on the mobilization of the international working class, the only social force capable of stopping the war and overthrowing the capitalist system, the source of war, poverty and fascism.
We are publishing here the tribute to Helen Halyard given by Marianne Arens, a longstanding member of the Trotskyist movement in Germany and member of the National Committee of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party). Comrade Arens spoke at a memorial meeting for Helen held by the Socialist Equality Party (US) and the International Committee of the Fourth International on December 3.

Dear David, Sheila, Larry and all the comrades of the Socialist Equality Party,

It is with great sadness that we come together here to remember Helen Halyard. I speak on behalf of the many comrades of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei in Germany who knew her and appreciated her very much. She was not only an outstanding Trotskyist, she was a fine human being.

Peter Schwarz wrote in his condolence letter: For many of us, she was the face of American socialismthe embodiment of the fact that America is not only imperialism, but that there is also a fighting working class in the US that is receptive to a socialist perspective.

From left: Marianne Arens, Helen Halyard, Sheila Brehm, Elizabeth Zimmerman and Roseanna Donatello, in 2018

Just as Patrick Martin described her in his obituary, so we experienced heralways clear, unambiguous and full of strength, optimism and also great warmth. She was convincing as a socialist not only through her clear words, but also through her own example.

I first met Helen at the international school in Parwich, UK at the end of 1981, and met her again several times after that. In the spring of 1988, I spent four weeks in the US to support the presidential election campaign of Ed Winn. At the time, she led a team to Pennsylvania and to the miners in West Virginia, and I was part of this team. Before that, she had just come from Alabama, and I think that was the partys first political intervention in the southern states.

From left: Linda Tenenbaum, Marianne Arens and Helen Halyard, in Australia, 1997

I experienced her as a straightforward and principled comrade who never tired of explaining our aims to younger members, and who kept her sense of humor even in difficult situations. From Helen I learned a lot, especially about the committed and long-standing relationship between our section in the US, then called the Workers League, and the American working class.

I met Helen again at international educational schools, for example in Australia in 1997, and at other party events. In November 1991, when our movement organized the Berlin World Conference of Workers Against Imperialist War and Colonialism, she was part of the American delegation. The GDR [East Germany] was already history, and the bureaucracy in Moscow was preparing to dissolve the Soviet Union. US imperialism had already launched the horrific first Gulf War. Our conference was a strong answer by the ICFI to this development.

ICFI conference against war and colonialism, Berlin, 1991

Helen was among the international leaders who took part. She had great interest in the history of the German working class, its tragic experiences, its betrayal by Social Democracy and Stalinism. And all that could still be felt in Berlin. Helen visited, among other things, the place where Rosa Luxemburg was murdered.

In memory, it is sometimes the small things that are precious and are not forgotten. After the conference, there came a cold onset of winter, similar to one we are experiencing right now. The comrades from southern countries, Sri Lanka in particular, were freezing miserably. Helen spontaneously gave her beret to a comrade, and afterwards this beret remained with me. I cherished it for a long time and remembered Helens generosity every time I put it on. Generosity and empathysuch important qualities that the ruling classes are trying to eradicate with their war policy.

When in 1992 Helen was the Workers League candidate for US president, she led an international campaign, seeking to build not just the Trotskyist party in America, but the International Committee as a whole. As part of her election campaign, she visited women workers in a free trade zone in Sri Lanka. And she visited the Ruhr area in Germany, where she discussed with our members and with German workers who still today remember her very well.

Even more recently, when I was at the SEP Congress in 2018 as part of the German delegation, Helen looked after us and didnt miss the opportunity to show Elli and me around Detroit, including the legendary place where Motown music came from. That was really good!

Helen left far too soon. We will never forget her, and we will make sure that her name remains unforgotten for party members and all socialist workers.

Thank you.
Demonstrating their utter contempt for democratic rights, Labor governments in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales have threatened public school teachers with disciplinary action if they express in their workplaces any solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The Labor governments, their Departments of Education, Zionist organisations and the corporate media have worked together to whip up a frenzied atmosphere of intimidation, including through false allegations of antisemitism.

Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll [Photo: Facebook/Ben Carroll MP]

On November 27, the Victorian Labor governments deputy premier and education minister Ben Carroll organised a press conference to issue provocative threats against teachers. The pretext for this was the organisation by a group of teachers of a week of action, involving limited initiatives such as wearing kufiyahs and Palestine flag pins to schools.

Carroll thundered: This action is divisive and inflammatory and I condemn it. We do not support this action, we do not support this flyer [promoting the week of action], and were asking teachers to teach the curriculum. He invoked a government code of conduct. In response to a question as to whether teachers would be sacked, he said: We are hoping we dont have to get to that, but there are a range of actions in terms of reprimand.

The governments threat was relayed later that day by Department of Education deputy secretary David Howes, who sent an email to public school teachers, reminding them of obligations under the Victorian Public Sector Code of Conduct and the Victorian Institute of Teachings Code of Conduct. He directly warned against any participation in the week of action.

This represented a thinly-veiled threat to end teachers careers. The Victorian Institute of Teaching can revoke teachers registrations, making it impossible to work in any school.

Howes said teachers should not use their privileged position in the classroom and the school community to advocate particular views on political topics. He added: While staff have the right to freedom of expression, this is subject to lawful restrictions such as protecting public order.

These positions are grossly hypocritical. Within schools, teachers are frequently encouraged to advocate particular views on political topicswhen these views and topics are right-wing and pro-establishment, such as the promotion of Anzac Day militarism.

The edict against any discussion of Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank came amid several reports of teachers being wrongly disciplined within schools.

At a vigil event organised in central Melbourne last week by the Teachers and School Staff For Palestine group, Louisa, a maths and science teacher with 15 years experience, explained: I was sent home from work for handing out flyers to my colleagues. The flyers promoted a week of action, where we visibly show our support for the people of Palestine.

She explained that discussion within the classroom, allows students to find common ground with each other, to better understand and empathise with each other, and ultimately to see the humanity in each other.

It should be concerning that this is not allowed to happen in our classrooms with respect to Palestine and Israel. We need to be able to support our students to do this because we cannot leave them to only have these conversations on social media or in the schoolyard. This will further polarise them, and that is harmful to our school communities.

Teachers and School Staff For Palestine, within which members of pseudo-left organisations are active, have organised various such protest actions while promoting the illusion that passing resolutions at union branch and regional meetings, and organising school protests, will pressure the Australian Education Union (AEU) leadership to oppose the atrocities in Gaza.

Pseudo-left organisations such as Solidarity aim to contain teachers outrage within the framework of the political establishment and trade unionismcovering up the union bureaucracys complicity in what is taking place.

At different events, the Greens have been promoted as means through which to pressure the federal Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The entire Australian parliamentary establishment is in reality working in lockstep with US imperialism. This includes active complicity in the genocidal onslaught in Gaza. Military assistance and intelligence gathered via the US-Australian Pine Gap base, near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, is playing an important role in operations against the Palestinian people.

The state Labor government in New South Wales (NSW) soon joined its Victorian counterpart in threatening teachers. On November 30, deputy premier and education minister Prue Car declared in state parliament that teachers displaying pro-Palestinian posters or banners in schools was inappropriate. She said: People will be dealt with in accordance with the code of conduct if they breach it.

The Labor governments denunciations of teachers were coordinated with an ongoing media propaganda blitz.

The Murdoch-owned Herald Sun in Melbourne published a cartoon portraying a classroom teacher as a terrorist. Every major outlet published without criticism the inflammatory and defamatory comments on the week of action in Victoria by Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, who said: This is a declaration of war against Jewish students and the Jewish community.

The public campaign against teachers immediately followed the political and media establishments denunciation of school student strikes and protests held November 23-24.

The World Socialist Web Site noted last month : The venomous response of the establishment to the protests was as significant as the events themselves. There is no recent parallel to relatively small political events of young people being attacked as stridently and aggressively as over the past few days. It is an extraordinary condemnation of official society and its institutions that youth had to fight for their right to protest the mass murder of infants and children in Gaza, more than 5,500 of whom have been slaughtered over the past six weeks.

The latest attacks on the democratic rights of public school workers, have been facilitated by the AEU bureaucracy, which said nothing as governments threatened sackings and disciplinary measures.

When Carroll issued his warning to teachers, he explained that he had earlier spoken on the telephone with AEU state president Meredith Peace (annual salary and benefits $247,000). Carroll said Peace assured him that the union did not support any Palestine solidarity actions.

Three days later, Peace emailed teacher reps in school sub-branches, writing: The AEU has not endorsed members participating in specific school-based advocacy activities in relation to the conflict.

Peace added: The codes of conduct do not prevent AEU members from discussing and advancing views about issues that are the subject of community debate. When engaging in legitimate workplace discussions with colleagues about the conflict in Palestine, members are advised to do so in a respectful way that takes into account the heightened tensions and strength of feeling some may have in relation to the issues.

The union chief addressed neither Carrolls public statements nor the associated media frenzy, let alone condemned them. Nor was there any commitment to defend any teacher victimised as a result of allegations associated with Palestine.

These silences form part of the Australian trade union apparatuses complicity in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. The union bureaucrats remain the loyal partner of the Labor Party, at the federal and state levels, which is providing active support for the murderous war against the Palestinian people. The Maritime Union of Australia, which is in a position to heed Palestinian union calls for a blockade of military shipments to Israel, has done nothing to actually stop such ships.

Workers in every sector need to develop internationally unified solidarity actions with Palestine, including preparing for political general strikes to stop the genocide.

This can develop only through the building of rank-and-file committees in every workplace, independent of the union apparatuses. Within the schools and education sector, the Committee for Public Education (CFPE) has alone advanced this perspective. CFPE members have moved resolutions in schools and teachers union meetings opposing the onslaught against the Palestinian people and defending the rights of all teachers engaged in solidarity actions, opposing the anti-democratic government threats against school workers.
WASHINGTON  Harvard University's president apologized as pressure mounted for the University of Pennsylvania's president to resign over their testimony at a congressional hearing on antisemitism that critics from the White House on down say failed to demonstrate they would stand up to antisemitism on campus.

In an interview Thursday with The Crimson student newspaper, Harvard President Claudine Gay said she got caught up in a heated exchange at the House committee hearing and failed to properly denounce threats of violence against Jewish students.

Meanwhile, lawyers for a major donor to Penn, Ross Stevens, wrote to Penn's general counsel Thursday to threaten to withdraw a gift valued at $100 million because of the university's "stance on antisemitism on campus" unless Penn President Liz Magill is replaced.

Gay's and Magill's testimony drew intense national backlash, as have similar responses from the president of MIT who also testified before the Republican-led House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday. Donors, alumni and members of Congress in both parties called for their resignations.

At issue was a line of questioning that asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the universities' code of conduct. At the Tuesday hearing, Gay said it depended on the context, adding that when "speech crosses into conduct, that violates our policies."

Gay told The Crimson she was sorry, saying she "got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures."

"What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community  threats to our Jewish students  have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged," Gay said.

Magill walked back some of her comments Wednesday, saying she would consider a call for the genocide of Jewish people as harassment or intimidation. She also said she would launch a review of Penn's policies, saying they have long been guided by the U.S. Constitution but need to be "clarified and evaluated."

Universities across the U.S. have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid reports of growing antisemitism following the the militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The three presidents were called before the committee to answer those accusations, but their lawyerly answers drew renewed blowback from opponents.

The White House joined the criticism of Gay, Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, with a spokesperson saying calls for genocide are "monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, also called Magill's testimony "unacceptable" and urged trustees there to consider Magill's job. On Thursday night, he joined Jewish students at Penn to mark the start of Hanukkah with a menorah lighting on campus.

Penn's trustees remained quiet about Magill's future, though they were scheduled to meet this weekend, Shapiro said Friday.

The episode marred Gay's early tenure at Harvard  she became president in July  and sowed discord at the Ivy League campus.

On Thursday, Rabbi David Wolpe resigned from a new committee on antisemitism created by Gay.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Wolpe said, "events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped."

A statement from Gay thanked Wolpe for his work, saying he helped deepen her understanding "of the unacceptable presence of antisemitism here at Harvard."

The Republican-led House committee announced Thursday it will investigate the policies and disciplinary procedures at Harvard, MIT and Penn. Separate federal civil rights investigations were previously opened at Harvard, Penn and several other universities in response to complaints submitted to the U.S. Education Department.

At Penn, some donors and alumni were critical of the university's response to antisemitic acts on campus  including a swastika drawn inside the design school building and vandalism at the Hillel chapter there  that happened before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The gift from Stevens  shares of his Stone Ridge Holdings Group  were given in 2017 to underwrite the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance. However, in the letter, his lawyers said Penn's "permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination" likely violate the donor agreement.

The letter said Stevens and Stone Ridge are open to giving Penn a chance to fix the violations "if, and when, there is a new university president in place."

Online college enrollment is on the rise: What brings students to virtual campuses? Online college enrollment is on the rise: What brings students to virtual campuses? Remote learning was already on the rise before COVID-19 New career opportunities are on most online students' minds
When students at Hillcrest Elementary School left for Thanksgiving break on Nov. 21, they came back to a big surprise.

The halls were decorated in their best Christmas decorations, but that wasnt what caused eyes to widen and jaws to drop.

Next to a Christmas tree in the schools lobby stood a large, rectangular package all wrapped up with a couple of bows.

School staff let the anticipation build, said Hillcrest Media Coordinator Star Baughman.

When teachers polled their classes about what they thought could be in the mysterious and unexpected gift. Guesses ranged from snack and claw machines to a time machine and arcade game.

But Thursday afternoon, the jig was up. The schools classrooms joined in through a video conference call as school leaders and a group of students met in the lobby for the grand reveal: Hillcrest Elementary got the school districts first book vending machine.

I really tried to hype up the kids just because Im so excited about reading and I want them to know what a great benefit this is, Baughman said. Not just, oh, weve got this, but our kids. This is for you guys because you work so hard. We have very little behavior problems here. The kids are always working, theyre reaching their goals.

Our babies work so hard and I want them to get every benefit they can, so that has been my vision from the first time I stepped into the school, was to create every single opportunity I could for these students.

The vending machine isnt the typical style. Instead of depositing quarters or dollar bills, students have to earn special golden coins to spend in the vending machine.

Baughman said they want to differentiate the goals so every student has a chance to earn one.

Students all have learning differences, learning needs, Baughman said. I dont want it tied to one specific thing. We are going to use this as positive behavior support in some cases, for our friends who are working to meet an attendance goal, or maybe that friend who needs a reading goal or a math goal, or maybe youre a first grader or a third grader and youve been struggling with tying your shoes and you finally learned how. I want it to be something that we celebrate because everyone has different learning need.

They first heard about book vending machines from third-grade teacher Penny Wiseman, whose granddaughter goes to a school in Georgia that has a book vending machine.

School staff got to work finding local businesses to fund the project, and managed to collect about $2,500 from local businesses to help cover the costs. Alumni Nancy VanNoppen and Jean Patton of VanNoppen Marketing helped cover the rest of the cost.

Its awesome, said Nancy VanNoppen. We went to Hillcrest, we love Hillcrest, its very near and dear to our hearts and were so excited that they get to have the first book vending machine in the county.
While most of Monday nights meeting of the Morganton City Council centered on Bethel Park, the council did have to spend some money to pay a property owner for utility easements as construction continues on a major convenience store.

The catch? The easements have been in place for more than 60 years, according to city officials.

Construction is well underway on a Sheetz convenience store at the corner of Independence Boulevard and Carbon City Road. But during the permitting and planning stages of the project, officials discovered a snag: the citys easements for utilities in the area arent defined, said City Attorney Louis Vinay.

We have had utilities in that area for 60-plus years, said City Manager Sally Sandy. But in working it all out, the property owner felt like we needed to transfer some dollars for the value of those easements.

Property records show ERNO LLC owns the property, which has an address of 400 Carbon City Road. Jerry Norvell is the registered agent for that LLC.

Council members approved transferring a total of $25,000 for the electric and water easements on the property.

The council also was briefed on a delay to the sale of some city property and the development of apartments and townhomes in downtown Morganton.

The buyer, 400 Meeting Street LLC, has hopes to build about 70 different housing units in the 400-block of East Meeting Street, according to discussions from the councils November meeting.

The property has been under contract, with a sale price of $425,000, since the end of 2022, and the sale was expected to be finalized last month.

But after an attorney performed a title search on the property, they discovered an issue with the description of one of the six parcels that make up the property, Vinay said.

Its nothing that anyone missed because its been the same deed description since 1946, Vinay said. But their title searching attorney and their title insurance company felt that this was a problem that had to be dealt with.

The city agreed to sign an indemnity agreement with the title company, but Vinay said investors supporting the project wanted something more concrete. He said the only other solution is litigation, which could take five or six months if things go smoothly.

The project still is underway, Vinay said. The buyers have already deposited the full purchase price with their lawyer.

Just for perspective, were talking about a $25 to $30 million project, Sandy said. Were not talking about a $150,000 project across the street, so there are a lot of steps and a lot of hoops and a lot of things. In talking with all of them, I dont think we feel that we are in any jeopardy at all of losing the project, and quite frankly, we dont have any money for the property today. So our risk at this point is time.

Council members decided to preemptively approve a budget amendment to transfer the money from the sale to the citys capital reserve fund once the sale is finished.

The council also accepted more funding for the Bost Road sewer project.

Dogwood Trust already had awarded the city $1.7 million in grant funding for the project, but the project still came in over budget after negotiations with the contractor.

The city was able to bridge the gap with American Rescue Plan Act and money from the wastewater fund to pay for what was left. City staff also asked Dogwood if the organization had any funds, and the organization said it would see what was left at the end of the year.

As it turns out, Dogwood was able to provide another $350,000, bringing their investment in the project up to more than $2 million. With that money, the city will no longer have to use any dollars from its wastewater fund, and some of the ARPA dollars will be freed up for other uses.

Bethel Park was another star of the show at Monday nights meeting.

Council members approved multiple motions in regards to the parks renovation, which Sandy said officials hope to see start in March.

First up was awarding a contract worth just under $1.6 million to Baker Grading and Landscaping, of Old Fort, for restoration of East Prong Hunting Creek and Fiddlers Run Creek on the parks property, along with repaving about .71 miles of asphalt walking trails.

The council also approved a memorandum of understanding to accept a $150,000 environmental enhancement grant for the project.

Council members voted to contract worth $149,531 with Wildlands Engineering Inc. for construction administration services.

The park will need to be closed for about a year while the renovation takes place, Sandy said. She said staff will try to keep the park open for as long as possible before the renovation begins.

In other good news, the city received a clean bill of financial health from Allen Thompson with Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co. PA.

Also during the meeting, council members voted to keep Councilwoman Wendy Cato as mayor pro tem again for the next year, and recently re-elected council members Butch McSwain, Chris Jernigan and Mayor Ronnie Thompson were sworn in to office.

Other items approved by the council were:

Minutes from the November meeting

Tax releases

A change order for the Silver Creek Pump Station project

A contract for engineering services for an electric project

An insurance reimbursement

The council will have a joint meeting with the planning and zoning commission on Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the citys next masterplan. Council members do not expect to take any action at this meeting.
WENTWORTH  A 48-year-old Eden man faces 40 years in prison after he was found guilty by a Rockingham County District Court jury on Thursday of sex crimes against children and attempting to hire a hit man to kill a witness.

The jury found Scottie Eanes, who was arrested in November 2022, guilty of first-degree sex offense against a child, two counts of indecent liberties with a child, and solicitation to commit murder. One of Eanes' accusers claimed he had assaulted her during her childhood more than 20 years ago, according to information from the Rockingham County District Attorney's office.

Superior Court Judge David Hall sentenced Eanes to three consecutive prison terms with a minimum of 478 months, which equals 39 years and 10 months, in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

Eanes will be required to serve at least the full sentence before he is eligible for release, according to state law. If ever released, he will remain on the public sex-offender registry for the duration of his life.

Testimony at the emotional trial revealed that on Nov. 11, 2022, Eden Police Detective David Stepps got a tip that more than a decade earlier, Eanes had allegedly molested a young child in his home.

The victim subsequently met with Stepps, and warrants were issued against Eanes.

Attempt to hire hitman

On Dec. 6, 2022, Eanes' cellmate at the Rockingham County Detention Facility asked to meet with Stepps, according to court testimony.

The cellmate told Stepps that Eanes, believing the cellmate would soon return to society, had offered him $10,000 to find and murder one of Eanes' accusers. The cellmate told Stepps that Eanes had shared the accuser's name and other details to help him locate her, prosecutors outlined.

Ultimately Detective Ryan Burns of the Rockingham County Sheriffs Office took over the investigation of the cellmate's allegations and found evidence to corroborate his story and bring charges against Eanes.

I am truly amazed by the tremendous bravery of the victim in this case. I am filled with gratitude that she was literally willing to risk her life by coming forward and revealing the unspeakably disgusting things that Scottie Eanes did to her,'' Rockingham County District Attorney Jason Ramey said after the conviction.

"I also am in awe of another victim of Scottie Eanes' who came forward and demonstrated incredible courage by testifying about an equally despicable crime that Scottie Eanes had committed against her over 20 years ago. Together, these two survivors have ensured that Scottie Eanes will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars and will never be able to harm another child. I commend the jury for being the voice of the community and holding Scottie Eanes accountable for his monstrous crimes.
The holidays bring different emotions to everyone, ranging from pure exhilaration to nostalgia. The Christmas season has the potential to foster unity, deepen relationships, inspire generosity and so much more, if you let it.

The following five holiday commercials from Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Apple, Macys and Tesco display different aspects of what makes Christmas time so special  and theyre just fun to watch.

5 best holiday commercials of 2023

5. A Holiday to Remember  Chevrolet

Chevrolet released this holiday ad in partnership with the Alzheimers Association. The commercial, which feels like a five-minute short film, shows a teenager driving her grandmother around her childhood town in the familys 1972 Chevy Suburban.

John Denvers Sunshine On My Shoulders plays in the car as the grandmother begins to come back to herself.

The commercial seems to have struck a chord with people this holiday season, as one woman wrote in an X post, So crazy, I was just at a Cinema yesterday and saw this, got teary eyed, and then CHEVROLET ran across the movie screen. She added, They got me, I really thought it was a trailer for a movie.

4. The World Needs More Santas  Coca-Cola

Coca-Colas 2023 Christmas film portrays a city where hundreds of Santas walk the streets. Over the course of the film, we see the many Santas helping and supporting others, building to the understanding that, in this world full of Santas, we see a world full of kindness, per the videos description on YouTube.

This commercial advocates for everyones inner Santa and closes with the line, The world needs more Santas.

3. Fuzzy Feelings  Apple

Apple captioned its commercial on YouTube, Creativity has the power to change the way we see each other, and the world. Sometimes, seeing things through a new lens can make all the difference. You make the holidays.

This commercial for the iPhone 15 Pro Max shows a young woman working under her grumpy boss in New York City. She deals with her stress by creating stop-motion projects where hes the main character. When seeing him alone in a restaurant for dinner, the woman begins to see her boss more as another person than an evil character in her life.

The film closes with the text, You make the holidays.

2. Hey, Santa  Macys

Macys describes the creative process for coming up with this heartwarming holiday ad on YouTube. Macys writes, This year, we wanted to surprise Santa with a little something special by telling the magical story of a selfless little boy on a secret mission, sampling fragrances and flipping frying pans as he searches for the perfect gift; because Macys has the perfect gift for everyone on your list  even Santa.

While this ad has aroused some frustration among parents on X, claiming it hurt their childrens belief in Santa, it contains the message that Christmas is a time for giving, not receiving.

1. Become More Christmas  Tesco

When a father and his son visit a Tesco Express (a U.K. grocery store), the dad samples a Christmas panettone. Instantly, he bursts into a tree, and the more he partakes in the Christmas spirit, the more decorated he becomes.

The son rolls his eyes as the people around him become cheerier and cheerier, but eventually he sprouts into a little Christmas tree himself.

Christmas is a strange time, a creative director at the company that produced the ad, Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, said. Whether you love it from the minute Halloween ends, or the hour before Christmas dinner, the one thing we know is true, is that eventually everyone gets into it. Its infectious, per Creative Review.
The Great British Baking Show: Holidays premiered its sixth season on Netflix on Friday, bringing back several alumni bakers and welcoming a few newcomers to practice their festive baking.

The holiday baking competition is a spinoff of beloved baking competition show The Great British Baking Show, originally called The Great British Bake Off in its native United Kingdom. The holiday edition welcomes back contestants from previous seasons of The Great British Baking Show and often includes special guests, such as the cast of Derry Girls and Its a Sin.

In honor of the premiere of the sixth season, here are some of the most memorable bakes from previous years and similar recipes so you can try your hand at some holiday baking. (To clarify, this is a completely subjective list based off my own experience as a GBBO fan and avid home baker, so feel free to share your own top recipes in the comments.)

5 holiday bakes from The Great British Baking Show

1. Pauls Nutty about Christmas Yule log

The very first episode of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays kicked off with former contestants baking a Yule log, a Swiss roll decorated to look like a tree log in honor of the fires burned at the winter solstice. Paul Jaggers chocolate cake with chestnut buttercream impressed the judges and helped him win the title of Christmas Star Baker.

Although the show does not always publish the recipes contestants use, judge Prue Leith has shared her own chocolate Yule log recipe. Feel free to make it your own or imitate Jaggers by adding chestnut or other flavors to the buttercream or switching up the toppings.

2. Candices cinnamon and apple stollen

Stollen is a German Christmas bread filled with spices, marzipan and dried fruit. Candice Browns version featured a two-layer cinnamon bun stollen with dried apple, and she has shared her exact recipe on the Great British Bake Off website.

Candice also rolled out and colored marzipan to look like miniature apples, so if youre feeling fancy, give her decoration a try as well.

3. Jamie-Lees chocolate orange trifle

The third season of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays welcomed the cast of Derry Girls to the baking tent to try their hand at holiday recipes, and several left the judges remarkably impressed. Although Jamie-Lee ODonnell said she didnt have much experience baking, notoriously scrupulous judge Paul Hollywood said her trifle tasted amazing.

Her recipe has not been shared publicly, but this chocolate orange trifle from Janes Patisserie seems just as tasty and makes a show-stopping holiday centerpiece.

4. Rahuls plum, blackberry and ginger crumble

Rahul Mandal won Season 9 of The Great British Baking Show, and he returned to defend his title for the fourth season of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays. Hollywood called Mandals crumble beautiful, although he did note the ginger was fairly strong. I think a spicy, gingery treat is perfect for the holidays, so give Rahuls recipe a try.

5. Hermines apricot custard crumble buns

Season 5 of the holiday competition tasked bakers with making breakfast buns, and Hermines apricot custard crumble buns are the perfect treat to enjoy on a cold winter morning. She was known on her season for her French-inspired bakes, although this recipe actually uses an Italian method for pre-fermenting the dough known as a biga.
Omen is the official submission from Belgium for the International Feature Oscar category and comes from multi-hyphenate interdisciplinary artist Baloji, who makes his feature directing debut. The film had its world premiere in Cannes Un Certain Regard section this year where it won the New Voice Prize, before going on to play myriad festivals. Utopia is the North American distributor.

Omen uses magical realism to examine the intricacies of identity, culture and belief systems. It kicks off with, and often returns to, the story of Koffi (Marc Zinga), a young Congolese man who has spent years living in Belgium. With his pregnant wife in tow, he returns to his birthplace of Kinshasa to confront his family and homeland culture. But secrecy and sorcery erupt when a nosebleed is mistaken for a curse.

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His family includes independent spirit sister Tshala played by Eliane Umuhire, and mother Mama Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua). Along with street kid Paco (Marcel Otete Kabeya), a quartet of mirrored characters emerges.

The films modern narrative employs four main characters to reach back to the past and look into the future. I didnt want to make a movie about Koffi, I didnt want to make a movie about going home, Baloji said during a panel alongside Umuhire at Deadlines Contenders Film: International. Koffi is part of the privilege, he has a passport, he can go back to Europe even if its difficult for him. He has a wife and hes about to become a parent which is not the case for his mom.

Mama Mujila doesnt know that she has the freedom to make decisions for herself, and I thought it was interesting that we think that shes the mean person, but at the end of the day we understand that shes the first victim and what I tried to do is have mirrors So you have Koffi who is mirrored by Paco the street kid There is one who feels almost religious guilt which is Koffi, and Paco is basically telling everybody, If you treat me like a dog, I will bite you like a dog, and he embraces the fact that people take him as a sorcerer.

Tshala, on the other hand, is considered by society as a witch because she doesnt want to give brith, she decides to have a different way of dealing with relationships, with intimacy  and what is interesting is that Mama Mujila is mirroring her and she doesnt know that she has that freedom as well because shes so trapped in these misogynistic rules that she doesnt allow herself to think on her own.

At one point Umuhires Tshala goes to a witch doctor to treat an STD. Said Umuhire, Even though shes modern and emancipated, there is a part of her that is still spiritual and still respects her culture.

RELATED: Deadlines Contenders International  Full Coverage

When working on the character, Umuhire thought, Yes of course she is into the modernity, she is emancipated she is working on her future and how she projects herself in the future but in the same time she keeps her feet in the culture, she doesnt push away everything she doesnt judge everyone.

Baloji also recorded four albums of music for the characters, though this does not appear in the film. Explaining his reasoning, he said, Shooting the film I thought if we add all this music it will be overwhelming, too much information, too much layers But I have to say that the music was a companion for the cast and for all the departments.

Umuhire had goosebumps when she heard the separate music. It explained more about Tshalas view and her mothers view, and also helped grasp the place that Baloji puts himself into putting himself into the place of a woman, really feeling what it is being a woman with all of the subjects that we deal with on an everyday life.

Check out the panel video above.

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Following her film, Their Algeria, documentarian Lina Soualem returns to her family once again for an in-depth look at its rich history. With Bye Bye Tiberias, Soualem focuses on several generations of women in her family, beginning with her mother, Succession star Hiam Abbass, who, as a young woman, left her home country of Palestine for France, where she still lives today. While Their Algeria followed the story of Soualems grandparents who decided to divorce after 62 years, Bye Bye Tiberias looks at what it means to leave your family and culture behind and the generational thread between women.

DEADLINE: Hiam, how did you feel when Lina first floated the idea of you being the subject of her film?

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HIAM ABBASS: No way! But in the beginning, of course, Lina wasnt very clear about what she wanted herself. She knew she wanted to do a movie, she knew she wanted to speak about the women in my family, the four generations, the transmissions between them, the way they each had survived, the difficulties she had to live in order to fulfill her life as a woman and as a mother, as a transmitter somehow.

But this wasnt enough to convince me into going into my personal life in a way and just opening up really to the camera.It was the fact that I trusted her cinematographic vision and her engagement, her political engagement, her social engagement, the way she really wanted to tell this story, that brought me to yes, to finally see the camera as Linas eyes, and like I was talking to Lina somehow. I was talking to someone who is from my body and whos from my blood. Once I opened up, I felt like Im part of this narration, part of this importance in telling this story.

Soualem on her mothers lap with her grandmother in Bye Bye Tiberias.

DEADLINE: Was there undiscovered pain in you, connected to your having left home that was difficult to look at?

ABBASS: Yeah, I think so. I think youre right to ask that question. I think once things happen to you and your past is your past and whatever it is, painful, joyful, whatever, its just always even the effort of going back to visit the past is not a natural thing really, because in order to continue in life and in order to get wherever you want to get, you just look forward.

I left because it was too painful. So even just thinking about having left is already something that is not easy to think of. We are made to be in families and to be in communities and to have that belonging. So just displacing yourself from there, whether its a personal choice or a forced choice on you, is a very complicated thing really to live with.

DEADLINE: Lina, you had home videos as source material that your father had made from when your mom would take you back to her homeland?

LINA SOUALEM: When I first thought of the film, I went to look back at the home movies that I had at home that we always looked at when I was younger, but really as souvenirs of happy times, of vacation. And it was the first time that I was seeing them as an adult. And I was seeing things that I had never seen before. First of all, the presence of women, that was really striking. The fact that they were dealing and administrating everything. The fact that I realized how much they influenced me and my childhood and the way I grew up. I was seeing all that and I discovered that in some of the images, my mother didnt feel so much at ease in these places when it was also supposed to be home. So, I started questioning again the fact that she had left, and that she never really told me about her past, nor about the reasons that she left. I was trying to understand what her exile meant for her. And what did she carry from the mountains of Galilee all the way to France?

How does a woman find her place in the world, especially when shes caught between worlds? How all the women of my family that I was seeing were actually women that have been exiled, that have suffered from forced displacement, that didnt have always the freedom and independence to choose their own path, but they have managed, from what I knew, to raise their children to transmit values of love and forgiveness. And they had managed to take their destiny into their hands.

DEADLINE: Hiam, how did watching the film affect your view of yourself? It must be very different from watching yourself act.

ABBASS: I really have to admit that whenever I am playing a part, I never see myself, but I really see the part, I see the character that Im playing. And I refer to that person as she and never like myself in a way. This time, I didnt look at myself as myself, but I looked at the ensemble of the women as part of the narration, as part of what Lina wanted to say about the story. And the first time I watched that movie, I felt very comfortable, contrary to every time I watched myself playing a part.

DEADLINE: Lina, your co-writers are women, as are your cinematographer and your editor. Was that partly about going into spaces where it would feel more appropriate to have women behind the camera?

SOUALEM: I think it was a natural choice because I was telling the story of all the women of the family that I worked with. Not only women, but also women from Arab descent, Middle Eastern, that would understand the language, understand the culture, and understand the subtext, because silences mean something. Some expressions mean something. And I needed to work with people that would understand things, and to whom I didnt have to explain things. Also, I needed to be surrounded by people that were close to me because it was a very hard film to make emotionally, and its still very hard when we see the political context that surrounds the reality of our stories.

Read the digital edition of Deadlines Oscar Preview issue here.

DEADLINE: Given the current political situation, has it changed what you hope people take from the film?

SOUALEM: Whats important for me is for these stories to be able to exist in the public space, for these women to be visible-ized and recognized in their full humanity. I have always spoken about dehumanization  women having to start everything anew many times again and again, having to leave everything behind. And what we are seeing today is the same thing happening: the fear of losing your home, your land, your family, your story. The risk and the fear of being erased or not being connected to your history anymore because its not recognized. And I think thats something that has always accompanied me as I studied history and political science, and Ive always cared a lot about what it means for a human being to live in societies in which youre not fully recognized in your history.

ABBASS: With all the violence that is going on and unfortunately still going on, I think this movie for me is just like a tender caress. A positive, hopeful way of looking at things. And its contagious. And I hope it will really contaminate the whole humanity in a way, because this is what we need. We need this tenderness, we need this hope, we need this positiveness in life right now. And its really beautiful to know that this is part of my past and this is part of my life.

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December may traditionally signal the end of the calendar year, but for Masicka, the twelfth month of the year houses plenty of new beginnings. The dancehall superstar opened the month with the release of Generation of Kings last Friday (Dec. 1), his sophomore studio album and first full-length release since signing to Def Jam in February. The 17-song set comes on the heels of his summer hit Tyrant, which sat alongside Byron Messias Talibans and Chronic Law & Ireland Boss V6 among this summers defining crossover dancehall hits.

Upon Masickas signing to Def Jam, CEO Tunji Balogun said, via a press release, Def Jam has always been the home for great artists across the wide spectrum of Black music, and Masicka is very much emblematic of that vision. That may seem like a catch-all corporate platitude, but Masicka truly does embody the ever-evolving spectrum of Black music. Hailing from Portmore, Jamaica, Masicka grew up listening to not just dancehall and reggae, but also rap music. As Hip-Hop 50 has acknowledged, the relationship between dancehall and hip-hop is as storied as it is symbiotic, and Masicka continues that legacy with a stage name partially derived from his favorite blockbuster 50 Cent album.

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Across Generation of Kings, Masicka infuses his trap dancehall foundation with flourishes of R&B (Wet) and Afrobeats (Fight For Us), calling on a globe-spanning collection of collaborators to bring his vision of collective royalty to life. Equally introspective and biting, Masickas lyrics  which explore everything from settling beef to reflections on his childhood  perfectly complement his penchant for lush melodic lines and reverb-drenched harmonies. With such a strong ear, its no surprise that, despite dancehalls current Stateside commercial stagnancy, Masicka has been able to truly break through.

438, his debut album which also won dancehall album of the year at the 2023 Caribbean Music Awards, has earned over 50,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. since its Dec. 3, 2021 release, according to Luminate, and his overall catalog has collected over 258.8 million on-demand streams. Upon release, Generation of Kings looks poised to explode those numbers. In just over a week, the album has hit No. 1 on Apple Music in 16 countries, scored the eighth biggest album debut on Spotify U.K. for the period Dec. 1-3 and reached No. 11 on U.S. Apple Music. Furthermore, with Generation of Kings, Masicka became the first artist in history to simultaneously occupy the top 17 on Apple Music in Jamaica  and he even surpassed Bob Marley & the Wailers unmoveable Legend compilation for the No. 1 spot on both U.S. iTunes and Apple Musics reggae albums charts.

Still basking in the glow of the immediate success of Generation of Kings, Masicka stopped by the Billboard offices to chat about his future as a Def Jam recording artist, his formative musical influences and 50 Cents influence in Jamaica.

Lets talk about Generation of Kings. Where was your head while making this album? What were you drawing inspiration from?

After the first album [438], mi feel like mi cement myself inna di dancehall space with a great body at work. So, with Generation of Kings, mi just feel like its my time. The whole era, the whole music, the whole feel, just how everythings going.

How did you go about assembling the tracklist?

I think that was the hardest part, being we had quite a number of great tracks on the album. So, you kind of get them fi tell a storyline. Mi went back in the studio a couple of times, link up with di team, we decipher a likkle bit and then we think what we choose was more of the songs that were what people can relate to. Theyre like the motivational songs you can get a positive vibration from.

So, what exactly was the storyline you envisioned for the record?

Triumph. Just transitioning and taking a greater step towards fulfilling your dreams. This album was basically telling the people dem that Im ready.

You have some fire collaborations on the album  Popcaan, Spice and Fridayy, to name a few  tell me about bringing those artists into your vision.

The most anticipated collab was the Chronic Law [track], hes a lyricist from Jamaican and people always wan us fi do a song together. That song also features Lila Ike too  bad upcoming female artist. Mi think di people dem really resonate with that collab. The song with Fridayy, its different, the one with Fave too. But I think all of the collabs went exceptionally well.

Did you reach out to Fridayy or did he reach out to you?

Tunji [Balogun] set that up! When I heard di track, I was like, Yo, this dope, and Fridayy connected right as his album dropped  mi love di album, its crazy.

Speaking of Tunji, you signed to Def Jam earlier this year, so congratulations! Why Def Jam? What drew you to them in particular?

The direction and empowerment for artists culture they have. Mi like how dem work. Mi like Tunji vision more than anything else. We spoke probably about a year and a half before [I] actually signed. Mi also like the humbleness. Mi think we share the same work ethic and vision all in one. Anythings a risk, but mi think this a good risk.

Why did now feel like the time for you to sign to an international label?

I think, personally, mi cover a lot of ground throughout the Caribbean. I feel like Ive done everything I needed to in the Caribbean. Ive traveled the Caribbean like 6-7 times already, over and over again, and its just trying to get a greater reach. They see the talent, they see the creativity. Its just trying fi expand the content and mek di ting grow and just build it. Nuh sense fi have all this talent and you remain on the same level.

There are a lot of hip-hop influences on Generations of Kings and the genre has a rich relationship with dancehall. Are there any rappers youd like to get on a remix of one of these tracks?

Probably Lil Baby. Lil Baby dope. Jay-Z. 50 Cent.

Compare your headspace from the release of 438 to the release of Generation of Kings.

Mi think mi more mature. Mi think mi have more control in terms of how mi want di music fi sound. The ting before it was just di tip of di iceberg. Mi had just started to venture out into creating albums and creating projects. Mi think 438 was dope, just like Generation of Kings. But mentally, mi more mature, more settled, and the music a likkle bit more polished and direct.

What song on Generation of Kings took the longest to finish?

Mi think Limelight. Mi record Limelight and then leave it for like a month and then mi other verse come. Most of the time mi do something like that. Mi a just go inna di studio and spit something out. With Limelight, di riddim is different so mi actually do the chorus and then the verses.

Why did you decide to make Limelight a single?

Mi think di vibe  it was a likkle bit after summer, so you know everybody needs to be pumped. Mi think the vibe and the energy and the whole feeling of the song just felt victorious. Mi just feel like we had Tyrant, so mi haffi come with again with something sick. After the Tyrant success, mi just say, Alright then, let mi listen through everything. What does it feel like? Limelight was the next thing. Its showing that its our space and were here.

Obviously, were in the Social Media Age  how has that been an effective tool for you as you continue to navigate your career?

Social media is the Golden Age, man. It mek it a lot easier and mek people from all over di world see your music. It helps a lot. It help to promote, it help to grow the fan base. Social media is one of the key things right now for musicians. They can just pick up the phone and see somebody in Guatemala and somebody one million miles away. We have a better advantage now than the generation of artists before us, so we just haffi make use of that.

What else do you have on the horizon to promote Generation of Kings?

Mi a shoot alla di music videos! Nuff video, nuff promo, mi already started working on a deluxe. Mi have some songs recorded. Mi think I have some sick collabs on it, itll be just as crazy as the album.

What do you listen for in new beats and riddims?

The thing is, you know, the beat dont matter. Its the once mi get the beat and mi feel a vibe, mi will record. The beat is a surface problem. For me to get a beat and really write to it, mi like pianos, beats with guitar, percussion. Mi like live songs that have a soulful feeling to it.

How do you approach songwriting? Are you more of a freestyler?

Normally, mi go inna di studio, play di beat for like 2-3 hours, and vibe it, vibe it, vibe it, vibe it, vibe it. Mi cyan write just sitting down. Mi write if mi haffi write, but mi like freestyle. Mi think the music better when mi freestyle. So mi would freestyle it and then go back inside, listen, see where we can make some more arrangements and stuff like that. Thats how mi create music. Mi have a studio at home, so mi inna di studio everyday majority of the time.

Sometimes its just the melody alone mi have, I just go inna di studio and mumble it. And throughout the day, when Im playing a game or something, I just think about it subconsciously, and I finish it like that. Mi nuh have no songbook. Ive never had a songbook.

Sonya Stephens recently praised you as an amazing songwriter, with a lot of that you can teach older generations of dance artists. I also spoke with Beenie Man few months ago about sharing knowledge across generations of dancehall. What do you think you and your peers can learn from your dancehall elders and vice versa?

Mi think we can definitely study the longevity of the artists dem before. All of them have amazing careers and dem stood the test of time, like Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. Mi think the difference is modern dancehall just gets five minutes of fame. Mi think them nuh love di craft. I think its more about getting out there than mastering the craft.

Bounty and Beenie Man start from when they was small, so dem actually really love di music, so they never had any other options. Now we have too much choices. Theres no appreciation for the music, so everybody feel like dem can just be a part of the music and just call themselves anything.

Definitely, mi think they can learn to take more risks, cause mi think we take a lotta risks, the younger generation. They could take more risks and pave more way for di yutes because dem have the opportunity and dem could do way more.

There were a number of global dancehall crossover hits this year, Tyrant among them. How do you think that momentum can be maintained?

We just have to realize its a bigger market out there. People with different ears, you know, so we just haffi try stuff. We just haffi try to be appealing, try the different music  but at the end of the day, keep originality and keep authenticity. We just haffi try and merge it with the Afrobeats  theyre on that level now. Dancehall was on that level, and it can be on that level again. It will, Imma speak it into being. I just think we need fi come together as people and push di music.

Do you feel that theres any division thats preventing that from happening?

Yeah, definitely. Dancehall is known for segregation, and that hinders the growth of the music a lot. Mi think once you have that togetherness and that unity mi think thats happening now. Yuh see di yutes dem now? I think the mindset is different, and mi think the yutes just work and take more risks. I venture to say that is why you have so many labels looking to the Jamaican market right now  because mi think theres a change coming.

And I think that risk-taking, especially in terms of blending genres, is whats really helping modern dancehall right now. Where do you think your courage to try new sounds comes from? Who were your main musical influences?

Mi love dancehall, but mi started off listening to rap. So, 50 Cent, Eminem, alla dem tings. Get Rich Or Die Tryin, Massacre. Mi love music. Mi love dancehall, Im a dancehall artist, but mi love music. Adele a one of my favorite artists of all time, mi listen to Lukas Graham, mi listen to so many different kinds of artists, so mi think with experimenting, it comes from feeling comfortable and mastering the craft and practicing every day. So, if mi get a beat, mi just look at miself like an instrument instead of just a dancehall artist. If I get a beat a need to sing in Spanish, then mi need fi guh learn Spanish! [Laughs.]

We only have one life, so why not experiment and why cage yourself into a box? Grow and try different stuff! Mi just think di music can be so big and diverse, you know?

You had a show in New York recently for your birthday, how was that?

Crazy, crazy. It was my birthday celebration. Di people dem love me out there. They love me in New York, so I always bring the energy. It was a crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy vibe.

Do you have any plans to tour soon?

I have a couple of shows, one in Miami. I have a show in Jamaica soon. And then we start off next year fresh. Right now, mi just a focus on GOK, and getting out there and pushing it.

So, I take it youll get some downtime with the family for the holidays.

Yeah, man, just spending some time. Family is big to me, so mi love fi get a likkle time fi spend with my family. I gotta take a break man. After next week, Def Jam cyan get to me! [Laughs.] Just kidding!

Looking out towards the next five years, what are some benchmarks that you want to hit?

In five years time, I really love fi become a fully established artist in the U.S. A fully established dancehall artist selling hundreds of thousands of records, start performing in stadiums, and sign some artists.

When it comes to signing artists, what you be looking and listening for?

Typically the same thing what mi have inna miself. Versatility, the love for di music first. You can have the talent, but if you dont love it nah guh fully work. So them haffi have di love and di drive for it first.

Are there any notes you think the Jamaican recording industry can take from the American and African ones as you continue to work with international labels?

The professionalism. 100% the professionalism and the business behind the music. Mi think that is why the African industry is advancing now and booming like that. Mi think thats what we lack, but were getting back there, right? Once we get back to that disciplinary level within di yutes and within di music, then we will have investors interested in working with dancehall artists cause youre committed to your words and your work.

Before we go, I heard theres a dope story behind your name.

You know, actually, it was 50 Cents album, The Massacre. Back in high school time, my auntie bought me the album. Initially mi never wan become an artist from di time mi was young, young, young. Mi coulda write songs mi nuh wan turn that.

What did you want to be?

A lawyer, mi was young! I still started my music career young, like 17, 18. But mi get the CD and I kept playing it. My friends dem used to call me Sicka, and then mi just decide say, Yo, Masicka, this is it.

50 Cent influence inna Jamaica is massive. You have the G-Unit tank tops, everybody loves Young Buck, Lloyd Banks  I think G-Unit was one of the crew that everybody inna Jamaica was just crazy about. You have other groups thats mad talented, but the gangster thing, the aggressive thing just resonate with our culture.

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President Joe Biden privately met with students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas after the tragic shootings that occurred this week.

Anthony Polito, a 67-year-old college professor, who died on the scene following the shooting, was named as the suspect shortly after the tragedy occurred. The investigation indicates Polito fired at police first, before law enforcement shot and killed him.

Three people were killed on site, with a fourth individual left with serious injuries during the attack on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus.

Authorities have determined that the victims who were killed in the shooting were faculty or staff -- not students.

Joe Biden's Private Message To UNLV Students On Shooting

MEGA

The President of the United States delivered a speech, addressing the UNLV shooting, on Friday.

This is not normal and we can never let it become normal," the President stated. Im grateful to the law enforcement officers who risked their lives. We join people across the country praying for the families of those killed whose hearts have been broken by yet another horrific gun violence.

The President then brought up the 2017 Las Vegas Strip shooting -- a tragic event that is still in the minds of so many people and that left nearly 60 people dead.

Folks, we got to get smart. There have been over 600 mass shootings in America this year alone, plus daily acts of gun violence that dont even make the national news. This is not normal and we can never let it become normal, Biden said, adding, People have the right to feel safe  be safe.

President Joe Biden Calls On Capitol Hill

MEGA

Biden then called on Capitol Hill to step up, reiterating his stance on gun control, demanding Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, pass national red flag laws  require safe storage, [and] enact universal background checks and other common-sense measures to save lives.

After the Maine mass shooting, which occurred in October 2023, President Joe Biden stated that Republicans should fulfill their obligation to keep the American people safe, but until that day comes, I will continue to do everything in my power to end this gun violence epidemic.

Robert Card, the main suspect in the mass shootings that occurred in Lewiston, Maine, was committed to a mental hospital involuntarily just months before the tragic events. It was previously reported that the 40-year-old army veteran stated he was hearing voices, and had allegedly threatened to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco. Reports also stated he was then committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer.

Biden, at the time, added, The Lewiston community  and all Americans  deserve nothing less.

Las Vegas Suspect Sends Suspicious Letters

Melanie VanDerveer

Anthony Polito, the main suspect in the Las Vegas shooting, is reported to have sent 22 letters to various University personnel across the country with no return address prior to the attack. The first letter, which contained an unknown white powder was intercepted by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). They urged anyone who had received mail similar to the intercepted letter to contact authorities.

Polito had applied for a teaching job in 2020 but was not hired, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.

A specific motive for the UNLV shooting is still under investigation.
Oxford High School Shooter Ethan Crumbley Attends Court Hearing - Credit: Getty Images

The teenager who killed four of his classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan in 2021 was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday, the New York Times reported.

Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 years old at the time of the shooting, also injured seven others. The victims who died were Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling, Tate Myre, and Hana St. Juliana; all were between the ages of 14 and 17. Crumbley pleaded guilty to all of the charges leveled against him, including murder and terrorism. He shot the students with a handgun his father, James Crumbley, had purchased for him less than a week earlier.

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Nov. 30, 2021, is a day that has forever changed my life,  Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of one of the four students killed, said in court, according to the Times. Its a feeling that no parent should ever feel. It burns into my body like a cigarette burn.

I dont wish death upon you, that would be too easy, she told Crumbley. I hope the thoughts consume you and they replay over and over in your head, she said. I hope the screams keep you up at night.

St. Julianas father, Steve St. Juliana, said, per the publication: There is utterly nothing that he could ever do to contribute to society that would make up for the lives that he has so ruthlessly taken.

In October, a Michigan Supreme Court ruled that James Crumbley and his wife Jennifer Crumbley would also face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges over the shooting. The Crumbleys lawyers have argued that they couldnt foresee their sons actions, while the prosecution said Ethans parents should have paid more attention to their son and his issues.

I am a really bad person. I have done terrible things that no one should ever do, their son told the court before his sentencing on Friday, according to CNN. I do plan to be better

As Rolling Stone previously reported, James and Jennifer Crumbley are the first parents to face a trial over their role in a school shooting, and have spent the past two years in jail fighting the charges and seeking a dismissal.

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Inside the remarkable journey of Hamna Zafar, who chose to put her dreams first

U.S. Air Force courtesy photo by Hamna Zafar; U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Karissa Dick Hamna Zafar, 23, escaped an arranged marriage and now serves in the U.S. Air Force

At 19, Hamna Zafar knew she would lose her family unless she agreed to an arranged marriage with her cousin in Pakistan. However, as she was unwilling to give up her American dream of building her own life, the dutiful daughter rebelled and opted to escape to a future that led to serving in the U.S. Air Force.

I always thought about my parents. I always thought about my family. I always thought about my sisters, Zafar, 23, tells PEOPLE. But that night I thought about me.

She knew that by taking that step, she would lose her extended family in Pakistan and that her parents would never forgive her  and deny her contact with her two beloved younger sisters.

It was a route that Zafar, who grew up in Maryland in an immigrant family, never thought she would have to take. An obedient child who made good grades, Zafar  who now spends her days protecting the base as an Air Force Security Defender  says she stayed close to home, cared for her sister with autism and planned on starting a career after college.

Related: To Honor Her Late Father Who Served in WWII, Woman Makes Veterans' Wishes Come True

As a child, Zafar says, her parents didnt mind her getting an education, but insisted that she would eventually settle down as a wife and mother with a husband chosen by them.

I was just expecting my family to kind of get used to the culture in the United States, she says. Growing up, they never really mentioned arranged marriage.

That all changed when the college freshman went to visit Pakistan for a family trip in 2019, only to discover she was there for her own engagement party.

U.S. Air Force courtesy photo by Hamna Zafar Hamna Zafar not long after she immigrated from Pakistan as a child

I thought it was a normal family trip to Pakistan. Then I saw the jewelry, the dresses, Zafar says. I was stepping into my 20s, and they wanted to make sure I knew I was engaged and not laying eyes on other guys.

While her cousin seemed quite happy about their engagement, she shares that she slipped into a fog during the entire ordeal and barely spoke to her intended husband.

I was trying to swallow that pill, Zafar says. I was trying to comprehend what was really happening to me.

Related: In Honor of the Service Dog Who Saved His Life, This Veteran Funds Care to Keep Others' Service Dogs Healthy

After the festivities and visit, the family returned to the U.S., where Zafar tried to reason with her mom.

My parents are very traditional and never adapted to American culture, Zafar says. Thats why they took me to Pakistan to get me engaged.

When her parents learned of her plan to join the military to escape her fate, Zafar panicked.

I was completely dependent on them, Zafar says. But I knew I had to leave.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Karissa Dick Airman Zafar on duty in New Mexico

She escaped with the help of a Navy recruiter and went to a cheap hotel to hold out until she could join. But the COVID pandemic and other concerns made her second-guess herself.

Zafar says she was tired, broke and almost ready to concede to her parents' wishes when her college friend Austin suggested she come and live with him and his family. She stayed with the family until after she earned her associate degree, finally deciding to enlist in 2022.

Shes so petite and humble, you cant help but want to protect her, says Claudia Barrera, the woman Zafar now calls mom after she took her in. When we dropped her off at basic training, she looked so tiny, and I started crying. [My husband] said, Shes tiny, but shes strong."

U.S. Air Force courtesy photo by Hamna Zafar Airman Zafar after basic training with her adopted parents Oscar Abarca and his wife Claudia Barrera

Zafar shares that she faced a culture shock when she started training for the Air Force.

I didnt have any idea of what boot camp was going to look like. I watched a few videos to give myself an image of what was going to happen, Zafar says. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

No one had ever yelled at her before, and she kept thinking she had done something horribly wrong.

Related: Army Veteran Who Lost His Sight in Bombing Gets a Smart Home Renovation, Paid-Off Mortgage: 'Hope for the Future'

They are literally getting paid to yell at you, so that was really hard, Zafar says. You are trying to adjust to a different environment and being told what to do 24/7. It was definitely scary.

Zafar, who's 5-foot-2-inches tall, admits the physical demands were equally hard, as she constantly faced challenges to her bodies' endurance. She marched endlessly, crawled in mud and pushed her body to the limit, she says: Your body gets used to the physical activities. Your mind gives up before your body does."

"You need to control your mindset," she says of the lesson she learned, "because your mind is always stronger than your body.

Related: Indiana Family of Eight Fosters Three Veterans Who Are Disabled: 'We're One Big Family Now'

Now Zafar finds strength in the bonds she has formed with her colleagues.

Sgt. Robert Stewart began working with Zafar earlier this year at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. He said he was incredibly touched by her story and is impressed with how far she has come.

I told her she just needed someone to believe in you, says Stewart, 39, whose wife also helps provide support to Zafar. Shes not like any other airman. Her demeanor and her story  she's like a gem.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Karissa Dick Airman Hamna Zafar on duty at Kirtland Air Force base in New Mexico

The most difficult point for her was when she graduated from basic training and wanted her family to see her and all that she had accomplished. She says she has tried to contact her family many times, but they have not responded.

I wanted them to be proud of me for who I am and share that with them, Zafar says. I really wanted them to see that their daughter has so much potential in her.

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But she still had people who cared for her there: The Barrera-Abarca family showed up to express their pride.

I hope they realize the mistake they are making by pushing their child aside, Berrera says of Zafar's family. Hamna is going to be what Hamna wants to be. And thats the beauty of the USA  that you get to choose who you want to marry and what kind of life you want to live.

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We asked industry insiders where to go for that perfect pick-me-up  and our A-List experts delivered recommendations around the globe.

Courtesy of Hotel Sacher The decadent Blaue Bar, at Hotel Sacher Vienna, is furnished with crystal chandeliers and brocade walls.

Each year, we ask our A-List travel advisors about their favorite destinations, growing trends in the industry, and lesser-known tips for creating the best vacation possible.



When it comes to choosing the best hotel bars  havens of food, drink, and local flavor  these experts have scouted far and wide and shared their intel below. From Kathmandu to New York City, bookmark these spots for your next trips.



Viran de Silva/Courtesy of Dwarika's Hotel Kathmandu, Nepal The poolside Fusion Bar at Dwarika's Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Fusion Bar in Kathmandu

"There are so many great bars across the Indian subcontinent. For me and many of my clients, Fusion Bar at Dwarika's Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, is one of my all-time favorites. This former cottage of the hotel's curator has been converted into a wonderful place to relax that serves world-class cocktails, local beers, and Nepali snacks such as momos, or meat dumplings. A superb place to unwind on a hot day by the pool, [relax] after a long flight, or share travel tales after an exciting journey through the Himalayas."  Niall Causer, Audley Travel



Gerry O'Leary/Courtesy of Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas Evening at the Sunset Pool Bar at Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas.

Sunset Pool Bar in the Seychelles

"Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas' Sunset Pool Bar overlooks a perfectly situated lagoon."  Cherri Briggs, Explore, Inc.

Tyson Sadlo/Courtesy of Belmond Mixing a cocktail at Bar Timeo, in Sicily.

Bar Timeo in Sicily

"Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel in Taormina, Sicily, has one of the most enchanting views in the world. Imagine sipping an Aperol spritz or a Negroni at Bar Timeo while watching Mt. Etna smoldering in the distance."  Gary Portuesi, Authentic Explorations

Adriaan Louw Photography/Courtesy of Singita

Wine Cellar at Singita Boulders Lodge

"While it may not be considered a traditional hotel bar, the wine cellar at Singita Boulders Lodge is a cant-miss for wine lovers on safari. Located in South Africas Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, the cellar has been built around the multiple massive boulders that gave the camp its name. You can count on a perfectly curated wine experience  which isn't surprising, seeing that Singita has the largest collection of South African wine in the entire Southern Hemisphere."  Craig Beal, Travel Beyond

Courtesy of Hotel Lutetia The cozy Bar Aristide in Paris hosts electronic music dj sets every Thursday evening.

Bar Aristide in Paris

"Bar Aristide, a jazz club/cigar bar at Hotel Lutetia on Paris' Rive Gauche, is a cozy throwback, helmed by an Italian bartender. They've created a cocktail menu inspired by alternative music albums from the last 30 years."  Jennifer Schwartz, Authentic Explorations

Courtesy of The Hotel Britomart Inside the Lounge, one of the private spaces of The Libraries at Hotel Britomart.

Check in With T+L at Our Favorite Hotels

The Libraries in Auckland

"Newcomer alert: The Libraries at Aucklands Hotel Britomart offer private dining and drinking spaces, each with their own personality. One of the rooms, the Chefs Library, is perfect for private dinners for up to eight guests  it's adjacent to the kitchen, which allows for conversation with the chefs as each course is served. Meanwhile, the loft-like Wine Library, with its high shelves filled with bottles from around the globe, is ideal for personalized wine tastings at the central kauri-wood table, lit by an artisan-made chandelier."  Sarah Farag, Southern Crossings

Blaue Bar in Vienna

"Go to Blaue Bar at Hotel Sacher Vienna. Everyone is there  politicians, movie stars, dignitaries, and hotel guests!"  Gwen Kozlowski, Exeter International

Filipa Scarpa/Courtesy of Hotel Verride PalAcio Santa Catarina A view from The Rooftop at Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina, in Lisbon.

Rooftop in Lisbon

"In Lisbon, the Rooftop at Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina overlooks the Tajo river and the city's beautiful skyline."  Danilo Cerqueira, TempoVip



Jahawi Bertolli/Courtesy of Peponi Hotel Lamu The alfresco bar at Peponi Hotel, on Lamu Island in Kenya.

Peponi Hotel Bar in Lamu, Kenya

"The bar at Peponi Hotel, located on the tiny island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya, is one of my all-time favorites. The Old Pal cocktail is a must  it's a mix of of vodka, lime, bitters, and soda. Take a sip and enjoy the cool breeze blowing in from the Indian Ocean."  Sandy Cunningham, Uncharted

Courtesy of The Connaught Inside The Connaught Bar, in London.

The Sunken Lounge in New York City

"Nothing compares to a martini made with homegrown lavender bitters and served from a trolley at London's beloved The Connaught. Stateside, at JFK airport, I love TWA Hotel's Sunken Lounge, which boast retro, '60s-inspired drinks. A vintage Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation airplane is parked outside the original terminal."  John Clifford, International Travel Management

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A documentary about Dino Maglio, who used the website Couchsurfing to lure his victims to his home, will be available to watch on Sky Documentaries and NOW

When 20-year-old Kate set off on a solo backpacking trip around Europe in the spring of 2013, the prospect of exploring the continent felt joyous. Having spent the happiest year of my life at the University of Oxford (on an exchange from Princeton University), travelling around the likes of France, Germany, Austria and Italy could only be the icing on the cake.

She could never have known that, after signing up to the Couchsurfing website  set up a decade earlier, where users open up their front rooms to backpackers for free  that she would find herself at the home of its most notorious predator.

Kate speaks out about her brush with Leonardo in Bad Host: the Couchsurfing Predator  a new three-part Sky documentary series. It is the first time that his victims have spoken out together publicly about a case that saw him  real name Dino Maglio  ensnare 230 women at his home under the guise of hosting them over the course of two years.

Kate wasnt concerned about staying alone at a strangers home; female friends who had used the site before vouched for how safe it was. So when she received a message from a policeman in Padua with more than 60 positive reviews on his profile, it seemed a no-brainer.

The man who arrived seemed to match the profile: early thirties, friendly, tanned with tattoos on his upper arms. At the outset of her stay, Maglio offered to drive Kate to Verona on a day trip with his friend, which reassured her that everything was above board. But on the journey back, he began telling her how beautiful her eyes were; that he was in love with her.

At home, he gave her a cup of tea, and immediately, I couldnt stay awake, she recalls. When she came to, he was next to her in bed; she stood up and almost fell over. I felt like I had no control over my body. Everything felt wrong.

Kate, now 31, recalls that testifying was one of the most terrifying moments of her life - Sky/Lightbox

Overcome by inexplicable exhaustion, she went back to sleep, waking the next day to Maglio coming into her room. Her body was still near-paralysed as he removed Kates clothes, and he raped me. And I remember nearly all of it.

Kate had a singular thought: she had to get out. She travelled to a friends house in Lichfield, Staffordshire, who urged her to go to the police, where she provided a full statement and took a rape kit  a procedure carried out by a man, who at no stage asked if she was ready, or told her what was about to happen, in spite of the fact she just been sexually assaulted. The police called Couchsurfing and told them to take Maglios profile down.

But Maglio did not stop there, going on to make more profiles under different names in order to lure young women into his home, drug them and, in some cases, sexually assault them. Anna, a Minnesotan student backpacking through Europe in the spring of 2013 while studying in the UK, now believes she was among the first women he would try to manipulate. From the moment they met, I cant exactly put words to it, but there was something just in my gut that felt like maybe there was something a bit weird], she remembers.

Maglio said that hed made a mistake with the bookings, and that six people  all young women  would in fact be staying in his small apartment. On the night Anna and the friend she was backpacking with were due to leave, Maglio insisted that she try his homemade wine. Unwell, but not wanting to be impolite, she had one glass, before Maglio suggested she take some cough medicine.

The next memory she has is feeling an overwhelming need to sleep, so she laid out her sleeping bag in the hallway, the only space available. Maglio grabbed her hand, urging that shed be more comfortable in his room, and at that point, something came up out of nowhereI remember pulling my hand away, before passing out on the floor.

Anna, from Minnesota, believes she was among the first women Dino Maglio tried to manipulate - Features Scans

Anna woke up in the same place, but everything else is a fog: getting down the stairs to street level, the taxi, flying to Rome, the next stop on their trip  she recalls nothing. All of that is just, like, blank.

Blaming herself for mixing medication with alcohol, she and her friend left a positive review on Maglios profile. Anna became increasingly wracked with guilt and confusion over the 10 months that followed, until her friend received a Facebook message from a woman named Maria, whose story shared disturbing similarities. She passed it on to Anna  and when she learned that it wasnt just me that this had happened to, I was in disbelief.

Maria had traced Annas friend via the review left on Maglios profile, along with 13 others he drugged, assaulted or both. Anna has come to assume that she was among the first; she was not sexually assaulted, or doesnt remember it.

Perhaps this mind blank is, in a way, a means of protection, she wonders. The things that he did were so horrific and so horrible  having this belief that I fell asleep and didnt do anything feels better. Still, hearing the extent of Maglios crimes triggered something: I now have a more guarded view of the world.

In early 2014, Maria contacted the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI), hoping that, in the absence of the authorities or Couchsurfing bringing Maglio to justice, they could.

Everybody was underestimating the risks of this thing, Giulio Rubino, one of the journalists who investigated the womens story, says of Couchsurfing in the documentary. Men in Sydney and New York have been charged with raping guests they met through the site. The more we read [the womens stories], the more we realised  clearly, these things can happen.

The case would take its first major turn in 2015, when an Australian mother of two teenagers awoke in Maglios apartment at 5am to find that her 16-year-old was not in their bed  but in his, unconscious and unresponsive, without underwear.

She reported the incident to the police, and Maglios home was raided that night  a used condom, child pornography and benzodiazepines (heavy sedatives) were recovered. In custody, he denied that the sex had not been consensual, but admitted to drugging the young woman and was placed under house arrest.

When police later visited his home, two new Couchsurfing guests were there  one of whom was found to have drugs in her system. To continue, to persevere like that, it leaves you stunned, speechless, Antonio Bonazzi, a Padua police inspector, says in the documentary. It truly was something shocking.

Maglio was given the option to have a fast-tracked trial (which would use only evidence already collected, and yield a reduced punishment)  and when his story went public, that changed everything, Rubino tells the documentary.

The womens stories had been released in newspapers around the world by the time Maglio was convicted of rape in April 2015, and sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. Just months later, he was returned to house arrest, where he began setting up fake social media profiles, contacting his accusers pretending to be a journalist interested in their story, and threatening them to retract their claims.

The documentary shows how women tried to report Dino Maglio without any success - Sky/Lightbox

It was around this time that Kate would be added to the Facebook survivors group, writing to the other women that it breaks my heart to think that if my case had been recognised, you would not have shared my experience.

She had never been contacted about her rape kit by UK police, and at one stage was told to contact the Italian consulate in New York to record an official statement, as British authorities said they could not help.

A large portion of my story has involved facing a legal system that does not serve us survivors in any capacity, she says. It felt very much, for a long time, like I was shouting across the ocean, and no one was listening.

Her statement never reached the prosecutors office in Padua; the rape kit has never been found.

In 2017, Kate hired a lawyer, who found that Maglio had contravened the terms of his house arrest. The momentum, along with IRPIs investigation, helped pressure the Italian authorities to take Maglio back to trial the following year  where the women would be required to testify.

In the courtroom Maglio, in lieu of remorse, told the judge: This is a sham theyve orchestrated. Really, is this a joke, Your Honour?  You cant turn me into a monster because Im not one.

He feigned not to remember Anna; of Kate, he told the court: I categorically did not touch the girl. Waiving her right to anonymity, Kate came out from behind the screen to point out her attacker to the judges (there was no jury). It didnt feel like a victory, she reflects. There was a very real risk the court would not convict him.

The following summer, six years after Maria first emailed IRPI journalists, Maglio was sentenced to 12 years and eight months for 15 counts of drugging, five counts of aggravated assault, and four charges of abusing his position of power.(This was lowered to nine years and eight months in 2020.)

Maria and Kate had travelled back to Italy to hear the verdict, and were absolutely ecstatic; embracing outside the courtroom before going for a celebratory gelato.

Her elation was a far cry from the majority of the last decade, in which I have been carrying within me a very dark story. I didnt share that with many people, and so one can imagine how much that impacts ones mental health.

Through therapy, and a tremendous amount of healing, Kate now feels like an advocate, and not a victim, she says. Its changed me forever. However, it doesnt define me.

Kate and Anna, both 31, are still in touch online; Anna, who now lives in Berlin, also visited one of Maglios Polish victims at her family home. Without the support of the other women, she likely never would have spoken out, she thinks  even though testifying to this day is still probably one of the most terrifying moments of my life.

The courtroom also left her with another, less expected emotion: sadness, as strange as this sounds, for Dino himself. Not because of the verdict, or the sentence. But I think Im still wondering, what actually is going on in this guys mind that makes him think [what hes done is] okay?

The women have received no updates about his case, nor potential appeals. Last year, Anna says that she found Maglios Facebook and TikTok accounts, in which he appeared to be under house arrest again, posting about his girlfriend and his dog.

This failure of retribution means the matter feels unresolved for me, she admits, though she has since ceased checking his online presence, as I realised that it was not doing great things for my mental health. (The documentary producers were told in September that Maglio was in a military prison.)

The women remain dismayed too at the lack of engagement from Couchsurfing (who did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this article). Their official response to the documentary team stated that Couchsurfing member safety is a top priority  we stand in solidarity with all the victims of these crimes, and that Couchsurfing employs a comprehensive range of tools tailored to protect our members.

What safety measures, if any, that they put in place after the trial remains unknown. The site is still active, with users said to number 14 million (up from around 11 million a decade ago).

For Kate, the verdict has finally afforded her the chance to enjoy life outside of this story, because for so long, it felt like all that I was. Until recently, I felt uncomfortable with the notion of thousands of strangers knowing my story  [but] its not about the victimhood anymore. For me, the power of my story really comes from knowing how insurmountable many of our obstacles were in this case, and how we overcame them together, she smiles.

Knowing that Maglio will one day be released doesnt stop her from living her life, Kate adds; following the trial, she has told him all she needs to. Closure is something that I think happens crumb by crumb; year by year, she mulls. But I can say that I definitely have arrived at my own peace.

Bad Host: Hunting the Couchsurfing Predator is available on Sky Documentaries and NOW from December 9 at 9pm

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We were invited to attend the meeting of Pamlico Partners for Democracy, a group concerned about current threats to democracy.

Those present included a retired judge, two retired ministers, a small business owner and former county commissioner, a financial planner, two retired teachers, an equipment manufacturer, a former school principal, a pediatrician, retired law enforcement officer and a former traffic engineer. Many had retired and moved to Pamlico County. We were informed the group also includes other members, but it is obviously quite diverse and there was a good split of self-identified Republicans and Democrats.

As each took turns speaking, there was almost unanimous consensus that Donald Trump was the biggest threat to democracy any had known in their lifetime. Listening to the statements, Trumps public statements causes you to believe we might lose the way of life we have long enjoyed. One voice expressed that Joe Biden also was a threat, however the group overwhelmingly agreed Biden is not an equivalent concern.

After more than an hour of lively discussion, the retired school principal stated that he felt like most were just rehashing the same sentiments. He opined that the group needed to decide what should be done to protect democracy. The history teacher said that any message needed to be succinct and best expressed by bullet points. Although all agreed a plan of action was needed, no such plan was proposed before adjournment.

It was comforting to hear those at Pamlico Partners for Democracy. We believe there are large numbers of others in our state who feel similarly, wondering what they can do. It occurred to me that a good starting point in devising a plan would be to first identify what we believe are the principles of democracy. After some extensive research, I have condensed what I have found into nine principles.

Principles of Democracy

Worth, value and rights of every person regardless of race, sex, age or origin.

Guarantees included in the Bill of Rights, notably freedoms of assembly, speech, the press, religion, right to bear arms, and trial by jury of peers.

Economic freedom, with reasonable laws and regulations, encouraging personal and corporate enterprise.

Representative governance with an ethic of tolerance, respect and compromise to reach agreements serving the common good.

A transparent, effective, accountable and apolitical government doing those things we cannot or will not do ourselves as citizens.

An independent judiciary adhering to the Rule of Law in dispensing equal justice.

Free and fair elections involving pluralistic parties and impartial election integrity that guarantees all eligible citizens the opportunity to vote, then accepts election outcomes.

Separation of powers among three branches of government to assure adequate checks and balances.

A military that does not represent any political viewpoint but exists and is trained to protect the nation and freedoms of its people.

Others can and should look at these statements to make them better, but this is a good start.

Next is determining a plan of action. As a student of history, I thought it might be instructive to examine what colonists did when they felt threatened by a dictatorial King and Parliament.

From the site NCPedia.org, I learned the first steps toward independence were taken in our state in December 1773, where a Wilmington meeting established The North Carolina Committee of Correspondence. Josiah Quincy from Massachusetts spent the night at the home of Cornelius Harnett and drew plans first to identify others with similar feelings, then communicate events, statements and positions to them and other colonies. Quincy later dubbed Harnett, chairman of the committee, the Samuel Adams of North Carolina. Also on this committee was Joseph Hewes and William Hooper (two of N.C.s signers of the Declaration), Samuel Johnston, Richard Caswell, John Ashe, John Harvey, Robert Howe and Edward Vail.

Action followed. The First Provincial Congress to be held in America in open defiance of royal authority was held in New Bern in August 1774. The New Bern Resolves saw 71 delegates from 30 of the 36 counties and six of nine boroughs in North Carolina draft resolves listing their grievances against taxes and laws imposed on them. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, in May 1775, was the first declaring residents to be free and independent people. And the Halifax Resolves in April 1776 instructed North Carolina delegates to the second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to seek and vote for independence from Great Britain. These and other actions led to the breakdown of royal government in North Carolina, forcing royal governor Josiah Martin to flee the state on the warship Cruizer.

Our state has a rich heritage seeking and supporting democracy. We played an important role in independence. Is it time for history to repeat itself? Other groups like Pamlico Partners for Democracy should form and initiate action.

Democracy is at a crisis point. North Carolina can once again lead. What shall we do?
Brazil native Cintia Dicker is an SI Swimsuit OG. The model was photographed in five consecutive issues, making her debut in 2009, when she traveled to Canary Islands, Spain, with photographer Steve Erle.

She went to Portugal for her sophomore photoshoot with the brand and worked with Warwick Saint in Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands in 11. The following year, the 37-year-old, who celebrated her birthday on Dec. 6, was captured in Livingstone, Zambia, and her most recent feature with the brand was with visual artist Kayt Jones in Namibia.

The mom of one, who shares daughter Aurora with her husband, Pedro Scooby Vianna, moved to New York City at the age of 15 to start seriously pursuing modeling. She has since graced the covers of numerous magazines, including Marie Claire France, Elle and Glamour Italy. The longtime LOreal Paris ambassador has also walked the runway of major fashion labels like Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabanna, Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent.

In a 2013 interview with SI Swimsuit, she revealed that someday she hoped to marry and to have children and start her own bikini line. Just two years later, she launched Dicker Swimwears debut collection of gorgeous colorful bikinis with flattering silhouettes and plunging necklines.

Below are five of our favorite photos from her SI Swimsuit debut in Spain. Were totally obsessed with the variety of bikini prints, styles and colors from this rookie feature.

Steve Erle/Sports Illustrated

Steve Erle/Sports Illustrated

Steve Erle/Sports Illustrated

Steve Erle/Sports Illustrated

Steve Erle/Sports Illustrated

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Footwear News may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Katie Holmes was spotted walking out and about in Friday in New York.

More from Footwear News

For her stroll, Holmes stepped out in a pair of Partlows Abigail white leather Western boot with metallic cutouts. The booties were made of patent leather, hence the footwears glossy appearance. The Batman Begins stars footwear was very reminiscent of a western-inspired boot, thanks in part to the block heels and elongated composition.

Katie Holmes is seen on Dec. 08, 2023 in New York. GC Images

A go-to shoe style for many, Holmes included, ankle boots make for an extremely versatile addition to any wardrobe. The footwear style offers the wearer a neutral and often walkable base, perfect for just about every occasion. The style of shoe is most often worn during the fall and winter seasons because of its heat-insulating properties.

Partlows Abigail boots. Paltrow

During her city excursion, Holmes sported a tan wool jacket fitted with contrasting black buttons. The cozy outerwear was worn overtop dark gray knitwear, a plain white tee and light wash distressed denim, all closet staples. Rounding out her look, the Miss Meadows star toted a black leather bag and wore tinted aviator sunglasses. Adding interest to her look, Holmes wore gold jewelry. The thespians dark brown tresses were windswept in waves.

A closer look at Katie Holmes shoes. GC Images

Holmes is best known for her classic everywoman style, often re-wearing beloved pieces year-round. On the footwear front, the All We Had director keeps her selections classic with Veja and Adidas sneakers, Gucci loafers, and Bottega Veneta mules.

Katie Holmes is seen on Dec. 08, 2023 in New York. GC Images

Beyond her sharp off-duty shoes, Holmes ties to the fashion industry have also earned her an Olay brand ambassador title, as well as starring in campaigns for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Miu Miu, and Ann Taylor. Additionally, Holmes was the co-founder of the fashion line Holmes & Yang, launched with her then-stylist Jeanne Yang, from 2011 to 2014.

About the Author

Amina Ayoud is an Assistant Digital Editor for Footwear News, where she writes stories about everything from celebrity style to breaking fashion and shoe releases. Ayoud cultivated a love of all things fashion early in life thanks to a deep love of fashion history and the luxury industry. In her free time, Ayoud is a self-proclaimed fashion nerd and thriftaholic.

Gigi Hadid Gigi Hadid out and about, New York, USA - 01 Jun 2018Gigi Hadid on set as a cowgirl WEARING LOUIS VUITTON SAME OUTFIT AS CATWALK MODEL *9444759e BOOTS BY FENDI

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Nothing beats getting your film developed after an undeniably idyllic trip. Somehow, the grainy aesthetic of the pic just makes the snap all the more surreal. At least, that was the case with model Kelly Gales latest trio of film photos.

The 28-year-old brought her film camera on her recent trip to a gorgeous, but undisclosed location. In an Instagram post on Nov. 6, the Sweden native shared three sneak peeks from the getaway, and we are absolutely enamored. In the first snap, Gale sat in a wooden hut on the edge of the water, wrapped in a big white robe. The other two featured the model donning her best bikini for a dip in the water.

, the one-time SI Swimsuit model simply captioned the trio.

Soo beautiful you are! one follower gushed in the comment section.

Gorgeous, another added.

Beautiful human being ! one sweetly wrote.

so good! , a fan said of the post, and we completely agree.

While they would have been perfectly beautiful without the added filmy effect, the grainy appearance of the photographs gave a certain moodiness to them that made them all the more incredible. Much like her followers, we simply cant get enough.

Gales recent trip lineup has us wishing for warmth. The model traveled from California to Turks and Caicos, reveling in continued warmth and enjoying her time under the December sun. Heres to hoping the scenic trips will produce more film photos in the near future.

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Few snacks offer densely-packed satiation quite like dried meat. Take the ever-popular beef jerky: It's high in protein and other nutrients and has been a way of preserving precious meat for centuries. Its long shelf life and dry composition have made it a brilliant snack for travelers from across history.

In the U.S., many renditions other than beef fall under the jerky umbrella, from pork to elk, even including fungi jerky. Abroad, many jerky-style options exist, from Thailand's dried pork snack, moo dad deaw, to Mexico's shredded beef machaca, but Southern Africa has a stand-out example in biltong. This dried meat originated from several countries in the region, and, although it would be easy to mistake it for U.S. jerky, biltong is prepared in a particular way, giving it a distinctive flavor, taste, and composition. It's now becoming increasingly popular in international markets, too. So do add it to your snack drawer. But first, let's discover what makes it different from the beef jerky commonly found on American shelves.

Read more: The Best Meat For Your Charcuterie Board Isn't One You'd Expect

What Is Biltong?

biltong drying on wooden sticks - Ihor Bondarenko/Shutterstock

Biltong is a dried meat product that hails from Africa. It's been consumed in the area around South Africa, including the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe and Botswana, since the early 1600s. Beef is the most common protein source, but like with jerky, various meat types can be turned into biltong. Common ones include venison, kudu, springbok, and ostrich, with fish versions being less standard.

Biltong employs a vinegar and salt base, both for flavoring and curing processes. Then, for additional aroma, it's filled out with spices that vary with different producers, but may well include coriander, cloves, curry, black pepper, and chilies. The food's flavor often fuses Malay tastes, which are commonly utilized in South Africa.

Unlike jerky, biltong relies on a completely air-dried process, which lends it a meatier consistency. Biltong is found in varying textures, ranging from still moist to crisper meats, depending on how long it's cured and dried for. As a result, it encompasses a considerable range of variations.

What Is Beef Jerky?

sliced beef jerky strips - Bhofack2/Getty Images

Beef jerky emerged from a multitude of techniques used in the Americas since pre-Columbian times. Its name hails from a Quechan word, ch'arki, which means dried and salted meat. In addition to preparation in the Northern Andes, similar dried meat recipes were also crafted by Native Americans in North America. Although recipes varied in their protein base -- llama, buffalo, and elk were all used -- none were crafted with beef in the early days. Cows only arrived in the Americas with the Spanish.

For over a century after the colonial arrival, the technique was referred to as charqui. The first anglicized reference to the word jerky occurred in 1612 in Virginia. Settlers fused centuries-old techniques with newly arrived cattle. Later, the popularity of cowboys further embedded it into American culture.

Today, beef jerky comes in all sorts of flavors and styles. From teriyaki to chipotle, coffee, and bourbon, the food has taken on a dizzying amount of flavors. Yet, at its core, beef jerky is most usually noted for its smokey taste, thinner slices, and sweet notes. And its key distinction is in the preparation process -- external heat is utilized. Let's dive into the details.

Beef Jerky Needs External Heat, While Biltong Is Air-Dried

beef jerky loaded onto dehydrator - alisafarov/Shutterstock

The two dried meats exhibit differences in the way they are made. Biltong is a cured, and naturally air-dried product. To dry the meat, it's simply hung in the air for several days, somewhere between 5 and 10, depending on the climate, situation, and what result the maker is looking for. Indoors, the food can be home-dried using a box with fans, lightbulbs, and other homemade contraptions -- but of course, different producers have their own processes.

Conversely, beef jerky is a much quicker-to-make dried product, which lends it a different texture. It's manufactured using a dehydrator or other external heat source, which is kept at a lower temperature. Unlike the prolonged production of biltong, jerky can be made in only three hours, utilizing a more dehydrating process. Plus, the meat product is oftentimes smoked at the same time. However, not all jerky is cured, although much of it does spend time in a marinade, just like biltong. Varying techniques, paired with unique flavorings, result in differing outcomes.

Biltong Boasts A Meatier, More Aromatic Flavor

slicing biltong - Drbouz/Getty Images

Although both biltong and beef jerky can be made with an expansive selection of seasonings applied as a marinade before drying, the two meat products lean to distinct palates. Biltong employs vinegar for curing, a principal difference that leads to a more tangy taste. Its less dehydrated consistency preserves a more traditionally meaty flavor, complemented by a chewier mouthfeel with more fat content, and it's made without any sugar.

Conversely, jerky relies more heavily on salt and sugar for preservation, as well as heat-induced caramelization. Plus, the meat is usually infused with a smokey flavor, which can come from traditional wood smoking, or sometimes from additives. This part is absent when making biltong. Jerky also has a more brittle, cracked consistency that's accentuated by the thinner slices into which it's usually cut.

While beef jerky's popularity has created flavors with far-reaching inspiration, classic recipes always boast a salty undertone, with notes of sugar and smoke. On the other hand, biltong has a much bolder, spiced flavor palate. However, in both styles, there's an abundance of variation based on the producer, which makes trying a new variety of both an adventure, until you find the one that's just right for your palate.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
BROCKTON  The Brockton man wanted by police in connection with the fatal shooting of a Connecticut woman on Friday has been hospitalized with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, prosecutors said.

Gelson Fernandes, 29, had been sought by authorities who obtained an arrest warrant charging him with murder in the death of 22-year-old Stephanie Beatty, of Norwich, Connecticut.

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office said early Saturday morning that Fernandes "has been found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."

"He was transported to a Boston hospital where he remains for treatment," the DA's office said in a written statement on X, formerly Twitter.

More: Police seek Brockton man in fatal shooting of 22-year-old Connecticut woman

More: Brockton man, 35, dies in hospital after Tuesday shooting

Brockton police investigate after a man was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound near 46 Nason St. on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.

Fernandes was located on Nason Street Friday night, a few hundred feet from where Beatty was fatally shot while sitting inside a car early Friday morning.

Officers initially responded to the area of 17 Nason St. about 12:22 a.m. Friday after receiving a call that a person was shot.

"Upon arrival at the address, police located a female victim inside a parked motor vehicle suffering from an apparent gunshot," the DA's office said.

The victim, identified as Beatty, was pronounced dead at the scene, the DA's office said.

As a result of the investigation by Brockton police and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth County DA's office, detectives sought and obtained an arrest warrant for Fernandes, charging him with murder, the DA's office said.

"The victim and Fernandes were previously acquainted," the DA's office said in the statement.

Beatty's murder was the second fatal shooting in Brockton within the week.

Marvin Hill, 35, of Brockton, was shot near 28 Lexington St. on Tuesday evening and died in a Boston hospital the next day. No arrests have been made in that incident.

Enterprise senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached by email at cshepard@enterprisenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton murder: Gelson Fernandes found with self-inflicted gunshot
NEW YORK  A majority of New York City voters believe Mayor Eric Adams should resign if he is indicted in an FBI probe targeting his 2021 campaign, according to a new poll released Saturday.

And if Adams were to leave office prematurely, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo  who stepped down in 2021 amid a series of sexual harassment allegations  would lead the pack of potential successors, according to a survey conducted by the political consulting firm Slingshot Strategies and shared with POLITICO.

As POLITICO first reported, Cuomo is mulling a run for mayor as he eyes a political comeback.

In a hypothetical, nonpartisan special election, Cuomo would receive 22 percent of the vote, with city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a progressive, capturing 15 percent of the 600 registered city voters surveyed this month. Kathryn Garcia, who nearly won the mayoralty in 2021 and now works for Gov. Kathy Hochul, ranked third with 12 percent in Slingshots poll. (Cuomo, who hails from a political family, has by far the highest name recognition of the group.)

A plurality of voters  35 percent  were undecided when presented with 12 candidates. Former GOP mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, who plans to run again, garnered 9 percent as the only Republican in the Slingshot matchup.

For now, these scenarios are all a bit of fan fiction: Adams has vigorously defended himself and his campaign and is raising money for a 2025 reelection bid.

Another day, another misleading poll, but this one by the same pollster who got the 2021 mayoral race completely wrong," Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy said, referring to Slingshot's work polling on behalf of Andrew Yang's losing mayoral campaign. "Lets stop spreading false narratives by want-to-be candidates who are not going to be on the ballot. Crime is down and jobs are up, and thats because Mayor Adams continues to deliver for the working people of this city every day, but attempting to tear down the citys second Black mayor for blatant political purposes is shameful.

Cuomo, who has a 46-42 approval rating, would lead Williams by six points in the first round of one imagined ranked-choice ballot  a system put in place two years ago that allows New Yorkers to select up to five candidates. In another, with fewer contenders, he would beat Williams in the first round by 11 points.

The former governor resigned from office after the harassment allegations, which he denies, were memorialized in a report from state Attorney General Letitia James. The erstwhile executive is still very much focused on vindicating himself  waging a taxpayer-funded legal campaign to cast doubt on his accusers and portray himself as a victim.

The poll was the second this week to deliver devastating news for Adams.

After a Quinnipiac University poll found him receiving a record-low approval rating of 28 percent, Slingshot found the mayor had a 37-56 job approval rating.

Despite the bruising numbers, Adams base of Black voters was far more sympathetic to him amid the FBI investigation. Half said the citys second Black mayor should not resign if he is indicted and should instead wait for the legal process to play out. A majority of every other racial group felt otherwise. (Adams has said his campaign followed the law and that he is cooperating with the probe.)

While Adams approval numbers are better than the Quinnipiac poll earlier this week, the results from Slingshot reflect similar findings  undercutting attempts from City Hall to paint the Quinnipiac results as misleading.

Slingshot, for example, found a low job approval rating among Hispanic voters, who were crucial to the mayors 2021 coalition. Only 35 percent of those surveyed approved of the job the mayor was doing, compared to 55 percent who disapproved.

Those numbers were on par with white voters and those who identified as other.

Half of Hispanic voters also said Adams should be removed from office by the governor if he is indicted  the only racial subgroup to tilt toward expulsion.

Meanwhile, just 29 percent of Asian voters  another group heavily wooed by the Adams camp ahead of his successful 2021 win  approved of his job performance, compared to 62 percent who disapproved.

Adams also had low support with voters age 55 and older  a crucial demographic within the Democratic Party.

A Slingshot representative said no one commissioned the private survey. Last month, Slingshots Evan Roth Smith made waves when he flagged on X a different poll assessing Cuomos chances in a mayoral run. He wrote he was "highly confident" that Cuomo had ordered the survey.

The news comes as Adams grapples with the federal probe.

FBI agents conducted a series of raids and interviews Nov. 2 searching for evidence the mayors 2021 campaign colluded with the Turkish government and accepted illicit foreign donations.

No one has been charged in the probe. But that has not stopped his political opponents from marshaling forces in response to what they perceive as a weakened executive being dogged by stories about his ties to Turkey, coupled with New Yorkers growing dissatisfaction over proposed budget cuts and housing costs.
Spend more money to build stuff, says former Gov. Jerry Brown, because the state and country need more forward-looking innovations such as Californias bullet-train line.

The state is facing a $68 billion budget gap and the federal governments fiscal 2024 deficit is projected to be more than $1.6 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

But Brown, in a conference call with reporters and other state officials Friday, urged looking at a bigger picture.

America is not going to be a leading factor in the world if you cant build stuff. Yeah Its gonna cost some money. You cant predict it exactly, said Brown, 85, who served as governor from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019.

The officials were touting the $3.1 billion grant from the Biden administration for the high-speed rail project announced earlier this week.

Think of projects such as the high-speed train as investments, and important steps to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, the former governor suggested.

There are a lot of carpers and complainers who try to stop it, said Brown, who has been an advocate of the project for decades. The fact that the president and all these experts have found it appropriate to put up billions of dollars, thats a big vote of confidence.

This is a question of can America make it or not. And I say we can and this project is gonna lead us on our way, said Brown.

Officials on the call hailed the federal grant as crucial to getting the project built.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, called it a game changer, and Biden senior adviser Mitch Landrieu predicted the grant is really going to supercharge this.

Help for building the line

The money is expected to go toward planning and construction of the bullet-train line through Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. It will include extensions to Merced and Bakersfield.

About $2.8 billion of the allotment, which comes from the 2021 federal infrastructure legislation, will help with construction now taking place in the Valley.

The states High-Speed Rail Authority detailed earlier this year how it would use the money.

It plans to purchase six high-speed, electric-powered train sets for testing and eventual passenger service on its initial operating segment from downtown Merced, through Fresno and on to downtown Bakersfield. The funds will finance a second set of tracks, instead of just one, on the 119-mile stretch now under construction from north of Madera to Shafter.

The money will also help build a new high-speed rail station in downtown Fresno at Mariposa Street between G and H streets, and finish pre-construction work, including engineering and right-of-way acquisition, to extend the Valley line north from Madera into Merced and south from Shafter into Bakersfield.

The project has had an up-and-down history with the federal government. Democratic administrations have been friendly; Republicans have not.

The Obama administration gave the project about $3.5 billion from its recession recovery package more than 10 years ago. Other sources have contributed, including cap and trade funds raised for Californias greenhouse gas reduction program and $9.9 billion from a bond initiative that state voters approved in 2008.

But there have been delays and higher than expected costs.

In 2019, the Trump administration canceled a billion dollar contract, and Trump tweeted that California has wasted billions of dollars on their out of control Fast Train, with no hope of completion.

The project is estimated to cost between $29.8 billion and $32.9 billion for completion of the Merced-Bakersfield line, and begin operating between 2030 and 2032, California High-Speed Rail Authority Chief Executive Officer Brian Kelly said Friday.







The Fresno Bees Tim Sheehan contributed to this story.






A Jewish man was attacked on a Brooklyn street by a bigot who beat and robbed him and derided him as a dirty Jew on the first day of Hanukkah, police said Friday.

Joshua Merenfeld, 40, had stepped out of his Crown Heights home on Eastern Parkway near Albany Ave to enjoy a cigarette around 7:35 p.m. on Thursday when he was sucker punched from behind.

I didnt realize what was going on until the second punch. I think he was hitting me with something. Maybe it was my phone, Merenfeld said.

The married father of five and 20-year New York City resident said he quickly went to the hospital to get stitches so that his children wouldnt see the worst of his injuries.

I got my face split open.

Theyre all very upset. Theyre scared, Merenfeld added.

He beat me up for a minute, which is a long time when you are getting beaten. I have bruises all over.

The unknown attacker stole Merenfelds phone and fled the scene, but not before wishing him a Good Shabbos.

This person needs to be arrested. This needs as much attention as possible so no one else gets hurt, Merenfeld said.

Police released surveillance photos of Merenfelds attacker to the media, and was still being sought Friday.

The suspect was last seen entering the subway station less than two blocks away at Eastern Parkway and Kingston Ave, police said.

The latest antisemitic incident comes amid a surge that started with the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas in Israel.

Last month, antisemitic incidents jumped 32% to 62 compared to 47 last November. There were seven crimes against Muslims last month, compared to zero last November, and there were five incidents labeled as ethnic, which includes victims thought to be Palestinian, compared to one last November.

Anyone with information about the Thursday assault and robbery is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal.

Dec. 12, 1936, Wilmington Morning News

Edward starts exile after adieu to realm; George VI begins rule

Edward David Windsor of England sailed today into exile after bidding a dramatic farewell to the empire he renounced for the woman I love.

Twelve hours after becoming a private citizen, the former monarch dashed to Portsmouth from Belvedere where he had gone following his radio farewell.

Front page of the Wilmington Morning News from Dec. 12, 1936.

Edward, with the Queen Mother Mary and the new king at his side, broadcast his address to the half billion people in the realm he once ruled, now in the hands of his brother, King George VI.

Edward told the world he lay down the scepter of his forefathers only because he could not carry on without the woman I love, the American-born, twice-divorced Wallis Warfield Simpson.

He sought to dispel for all time the last vestige of reports of bitterness between himself and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, the man who told his king he must not marry Mrs. Simpson and keep his crown 

Dec. 12, 1978, Evening Journal

$5 million robbery went like clockwork

NEW YORK  Armed bandits who stole up to $5 million cash from Kennedy Airport in what may be the nations biggest currency theft ever should have no difficulty spending the money, mostly in old, unmarked bills, authorities said.

It went off like clockwork, said one official. It was well-planned, well-organized and well-executed.

Front page of the Evening Journal from Dec. 12, 1978.

The bandits  said to number five by police but put at seven by some witnesses  breached security at a Lufthansa Airline cargo hold early yesterday and made off in a black van with jewels and sacks of foreign and U.S. currency that had been flown from Frankfurt, Germany for transfer to the Chase Manhattan Bank and the Federal Reserve.

Karl Koepcke, a Lufthansa spokesman, put the value of the jewels at $300,000.

If the $5 million figure is confirmed, it would be the largest cash theft in U.S. history, topping the $4.3 million loss at Purolator Security in Chicago in October 1974 

The thieves overpowered and handcuffed 10 workers in making their way into the vault of the German airline without tripping an alarm 

One official at Chase Manhattan Bank said the theft appears to be an inside job.

Recent crime news: Spree of daylight armed robberies at Delaware banks leads to suspect in New Jersey

Dec. 14, 2000, The News Journal

A presidential winner at last; Gore concedes to Bush

After 36 days of waiting, George W. Bush at last laid claim to the presidency last night with a pledge to seize this moment and deliver reconciliation and unity to a nation divided 

Al Gore exited the tortuously close race, exhorting the nation to put aside partisan rancor and support its new chief executive 

Front page of The News Journal from Dec. 14, 2000.

In a televised address that lasted less than 10 minutes, Gore mixed words of unity with the unmistakable message that he felt wronged by the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that stopped the Florida recount and prompted his concession.

While I strongly disagree with the courts decision, I accept it, he said 

Gore topped his GOP rival by more than 300,000 votes out of 103 million ballots cast nationwide. But Floridas 25 electoral votes, to be cast Dec. 18 and counted Jan. 6, will give Bush a total of 271 needed to win the presidency. And thus closed an election for the history books, the closest in 124 years 

Catch up on history: Coal and rail strikes, Live Aid concerts: The News Journal archives, week of July 9

Dec. 15, 2012, The News Journal

27 massacred in Connecticut shooting

A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire yesterday inside a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school, killing 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom.

The 20-year-old killer, carrying at least two handguns, committed suicide at the school, bringing the death toll to 28.

Front page of The News Journal from Dec. 15, 2012.

Panicked parents looking for their children raced to Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, a prosperous New England community of about 27,000 people 60 miles northeast of New York City 

Children at the kindergarten-through-fourth-grade school  some crying  were escorted by police from the school through a parking lot in a line, hands on each others shoulders 

The rampage, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, was the nations second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre that claimed 33 lives in 2007.

Our hearts are broken today, a tearful President Barack Obama said, struggling to maintain his composure. He called for meaningful action to prevent such shootings. As a country, we have been through this too many times.

Police shed no light on the motive for the attack. The gunman, Adam Lanza, was believed to suffer from personality disorder and lived with his mother.

Investigators believe Lanza attended the school several years ago but appeared to have no recent connection. At least one parent said Lanzas mother was a substitute teacher there, but her name did not appear on a staff list .

Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: King gives up throne, $5 million heist: News Journal archives, Dec. 10
Christmas came a bit early this year for East Middle School and its students, and the gifts came by the dozens.

More than 200 books were delivered Friday morning thanks to a collaboration between East Middle School staff and Amanda Curtis, president of Montanas largest labor union, the Montana Federation of Public Employees.

Putting books in the hands of children is one of the most important things we can do, said Curtis, who is an avid reader as well.

The book titles were as numerous as the genres  fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, sci-fi, and even some comic books.

Robin Cranney, a 7th grade English teacher at East, was thrilled not only for the school, but for the students, too.

This is life-changing for us and for the kids, said Cranney. There is something for everyone.

Cranney met Curtis this past October at the annual Montana Federation of Public Employees Educator Conference in Billings. The two women got to talking and Curtis learned that the Butte middle school was in need of books for its library.

Curtis had a solution and it wouldnt cost anything thanks to grant money the former Butte legislator acquired through the American Federation of Teachers and First Book, a non-profit organization which provides reading material through its marketplace website.

All Cranney had to do was build a wish list, which she did with the help of her coworkers, including Jami Fabatz, 8th grade English teacher.

Fabatz welcomed the task.

Reading opens students minds to new possibilities, said Fabatz.

According to Cranney, theres another positive side to reading.

Kids are reading complete thoughts and seeing how sentences are punctuated, she said.

Even with the weekend looming, reading teacher Edie McClafferty was all ready to dive in and get the books into the school library.

By Tuesday I will have them ready for the kids, said McClafferty. They have been so excited.

East Middle School was not Curtis first stop, nor will it be her last. Shes been all over Montana and had other places to be in Butte, including Child & Family Services, and then she and her books would head off to Anaconda and Dillon.

This is the fun part of the job, she said.
The state of Massachusetts has hit the neo-Nazi group NSC-131 with a raft of charges including civil rights violations, trespass, and conspiracy. The 26-page, five-charge complaint is the most aggressive effort yet to blunt the belligerent actions of the hate group, which seeks to turn New England into a whites-only ethnostate.

The charges brought by state attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell are civil, not criminal. But they seek to block NSC-131 and top leaders from engaging in what the state calls violent and unlawful conduct  including campaigns to disrupt and shut down drag queen story hours, as well harassment of Boston-area hotels that temporarily house asylum seekers. The complaint also seeks significant financial penalties that could hobble the white supremacist organization.

NSC-131 has engaged in a concerted campaign to target and terrorize people across Massachusetts and interfere with their rights, the attorney general said Thursday, announcing the action. Our complaint is the first step in holding this neo-Nazi group and its leaders accountable. (NSC-131 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

Many specifics from the attorney generals complaint track with a 300-page dossier that the veteran-run, anti-fascist research group Task Force Butler developed as a roadmap for prosecutors earlier this year. Its clear that our research was used in this, founder Kris Goldsmith tells Rolling Stone, with an air of triumph. We fucking got these guys.

The NSC-131 acronym stands for Nationalist Social Club-Anti-Communist Action. (The digits 1 and 3 map to the positions of A and C in the alphabet.) The Anti-Defamation League classifies NSC-131 as a neo-Nazi group that views itself at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race.

These neo-Nazis intimidate the public by marching, masked, in dark clothing, chanting hateful slogans, sometimes holding up flares or hoisting banners with slogans like INVADERS: GO HOME. The marches frequently degenerate into scuffles with members of the public. Goldsmith calls NSC-131 the most violent neo-Nazi organization operating in the country today.

In addition to generating fear, the group also seeks to blackbill more-mainstream bigots from the MAGA movement, publishing materials that read, for example: We remind our people that it is Nazism  to oppose Drag Queen Story Hour and Critical Race Theory. The group also has a political arm, the Peoples Initiative of New England, or PINE, which advocates for New England to separate from the United States to form a whites-only nation.

The Massachusetts complaint alleges that NSC-131 has violated the states civil rights act and public accommodations law. It also accuses NSC leaders Chris Hood and Liam McNeil of trespass, conspiracy, and public nuisance. The complaint decries NSC actions that unlawfully target and disrupt LGBTQ+ events; unlawfully target immigrants based on race and national origin; unlawfully attack members of the public; and disrupt public peace and safety.

Such exploits are hardly secret. NSC-131 even has a Telegram channel where it posts videos of its hateful, illicit acts. As described in the complaint, NSC social media posts indicate its members carry dangerous weapons during patrols, including knives and telescoping riot batons. Despite such evidence, group members have largely skirted successful criminal prosecution.

The attorney generals complaint details numerous actions in which NSC-131 members disrupted drag story hours, including one in the city of Fall River, where uniformed NSC members in front of the library displayed a banner that read DRAG QUEENS ARE PEDOPHILES, and began loudly chanting F*****ts and other antiLGBTQ+ slogans.

More recently, the complaint alleges, NSC-131 members have stormed the parking lots of hotels where recently arrived asylum seekers and other immigrants have been offered temporary housing. The neo-Nazi group, the complaint alleges, has trespassed onto the property of such hotels, blasting the new arrivals as INVADERS and conspiratorially denouncing their presence in the country as part of a campaign of WHITE REPLACEMENT.

Goldsmith is enthusiastic that Massachusetts authorities have taken action against NSC-131, but he believes stronger legal remedies could be pursued. We were encouraging them to go further, he tells Rolling Stone. Do a RICO investigation. Theyve got a pattern and practice of going after private businesses, these hotels, week after week, with the explicit intent to get these migrants out of the hotel.

Nonetheless, Goldsmith is confident thatMassachusetts will be able to prove its case and secure injunctions against NSC-131s favored tactics. That means the next time that they do it, the punishment is much more severe, he says. And thats when the consequences start to snowball.

More from Rolling Stone

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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona  A remote desert region along the southern border has become a makeshift international arrivals area for thousands of migrants from Africa, Asia and Latin America hoping to work and reunite with family members in the U.S.

Over the past few days, large groups of migrant men, women and some families with children have spent the night in a makeshift staging ground in this rugged section of the U.S.-Mexico border, waiting for overtaxed border officials to process them. Many expect to be released into the U.S. after being vetted by local Border Patrol agents, who lack the resources and manpower to screen everyone in a timely manner.

Most of the migrant men hailed from African countries, including Guinea, Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal, as well as some nations in Asia like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Syria. Some men had left their hometowns in Ecuador and other parts of Latin America. The families traveling with children were predominantly Mexican and Central American.

The migrants set up fires at night and in the early morning hours to keep warm amid dropping temperatures. Many of them brought blankets to sleep next to the border wall. Without restrooms, they relieved themselves near the cacti that adorn the picturesque landscape of this national monument, located two hours away from the closest U.S. city.

Migrants huddle around fires for warmth along the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. / Credit: Camilo Montoya-Galvez/CBS News

The wait to be processed was so long in recent days that Mexican families and merchants traveled regularly to the staging ground to sell drinks and food, hoping to convince the desperate newcomers to buy their burritos, tamales and cups of coffee from the other side of the border wall.

Daniela Segura Salgado, 31, spent the night near the border wall with her four young children: a 1-year-old baby, her 3- and 9-year-old girls and an 11-year-old boy. The Mexican mother shivered as she carried her youngest, who was covered by blankets.

"We didn't sleep like we should," Segura Salgado said in Spanish, referencing the dropping temperatures overnight. "But sleep would win me over at times because I'm really tired from a lot of walking with my children. My son in my arms and my daughter up on my shoulders."

The chaotic and striking scenes at the outdoor staging area in the middle of the Arizona desert illustrate the dire humanitarian implications of the crisis along the southern border, where migrants have been arriving in greater numbers and from more countries than ever before in U.S. history.

For only the second time ever, Border Patrol apprehended more than 2 million migrants who entered the U.S. illegally in fiscal year 2023. Defying historical seasonal trends, illegal border crossings have spiked this month. Over the past several days, Border Patrol has processed near-record levels of migrants, making roughly 10,000 apprehensions every 24 hours, up from the 6,000 daily average in October, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.

"I've been working in this sector of the border for almost 20 years, and we've never seen anything like this," said Dan Abbott, a local volunteer with the group Humane Borders, which distributes water and food inside the Organ Pipe National Monument, hoping to prevent migrants from perishing in the treacherous terrain.

"Something better"

Some of the African and Ecuadorian men who were lined up waiting to be taken into custody by Border Patrol said they had embarked on days and weeks-long journeys across Latin America to find better opportunities in the U.S. They cited the deteriorating economic and security conditions in their homelands. Some mentioned they had family members in different states like New York and Texas.

Migrants wait along the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona. / Credit: Camilo Montoya-Galvez/CBS News

Economic misfortune and a desire to reunite with relatives are not grounds for U.S. asylum, which can only be granted to migrants fleeing persecution based on certain factors, such as their race, religion or political views.

Over the past few years, however, the U.S. asylum system has become a proxy process for migrants to stay and work in America, irrespective of whether they have valid claims or not. A mounting backlog of roughly 3 million pending cases has crippled the federal immigration court system's ability to adjudicate claims in a timely fashion.

Most migrants are not screened for asylum at the southern border anyway, federal statistics show, since the government does not have sufficient asylum officers, holding facilities and other resources to interview asylum-seekers under a process known as expedited removal. Consequently, most of those who are not deported are generally released with court cases that typically take years to complete.

Some migrants braving the elements in the Arizona desert said they were escaping dangerous situations.

Segura Salgado, the migrant mother from Mexico, said she came to the U.S. due to the violence in the Mexican state of Guerrero, a region plagued by violent crime and drug trafficking. She said a relative was recently killed there.

Daniela Segura Salgado waits along the wall separating the U.S. and Mexico near Lukeville, Arizona, on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. / Credit: Camilo Montoya-Galvez/CBS News

"I am fighting as much as I can so my children can have something better. A warm bed where they can sleep without having to hear a gunshot," Segura Salgado said.

A daily battle against smugglers

The spike in migrant crossings comes as Congress debates an overhaul of the asylum system.

Republicans have capitalized on the unprecedented levels of border crossings to demand sweeping asylum restrictions as part of ongoing negotiations over President Biden's multi-billion-dollar national security funding request, which includes aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. GOP lawmakers have said they will not support additional assistance to Ukraine unless the bill includes asylum restrictions.

The dynamic could pave the way for the first overhaul of the U.S. immigration system since 1996. But the talks could also meet the same fate of previous failed immigration reform efforts over the past two decades.

Over the past year, the Biden administration has sought to manage migration at the southern border through a strategy that pairs stricter asylum rules for those who enter the country illegally with expanded channels for migrants to come legally, including by launching an app that allows them to get appointments to be processed at ports of entry.

While officials credited the strategy for a two-year low in illegal border crossings in June, unauthorized migration has increased sharply since then, frustrating Republican lawmakers and Democrats in communities struggling to house the new arrivals, such as New York City and Chicago.

In a statement, Customs and Border Protection said it was surging staff and resources to the Arizona desert and targeting transportation companies used by smuggling organizations to shuffle migrants near the U.S. border.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent asks immigrants to sit in a queue of those awaiting transport from the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec, 6, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. / Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

Border Patrol agents battle those smuggling organizations every day. In the Organ Pipe National Monument, for example, the movement of migrants is rarely organic. It's typically organized by a network of smugglers in Mexico who cut parts of the border wall to let groups of migrants into the U.S.

Just a few miles away from the outdoor staging area, dozens of migrants streamed through a small breach in the border wall. They started running after the suspected smugglers told them that reporters were filming the scene. The last to make their way through the breach were parents traveling with young children. The children smiled as they ran.

"They're filming!" one of the suspected smugglers said before running away and disappearing across a nearby Mexican highway.

The scene was not an anomaly. Border agents and contractors repair wall breaches on a daily basis, but they struggle to keep up with the smugglers.

Right next to the part of the wall that had just been breached was a bollard with a label indicating that it had been repaired earlier in the day.

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Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Those words are stuck in my head after a few recent forced marches through departments stores. The ear worm rang out again as I prepared for the annual lighting of the pilot for our gas fireplace, and it made me wonder: Does anyone do that? Roast chestnuts on an open fire?

I recall seeing someone do that once in more than six decades  at an outdoor holiday festival of some sort  and I remember eating them once. My folks took my sisters and me to New York City for one of the most memorable Christmas presents ever, and chestnuts were involved.

Dad bought some from a street vendor and shared them with the family.

I was 12 or so at the time, and the extent of my memory of what looked like junior-size buckeyes is that they were mealy and tasted like smoke. I figured I could go another five decades or so before trying them again. That day has not yet come.

More: Old House Handyman: Lamenting the lost art of listening to nature

I will enjoy many open fires, however. We have the gas fireplace in the living room of our central Ohio home, which we installed in 2005 after the Great Ice Storm of 2004, swearing with Scarlett OHara-style fortitude that With God as my witness, I will never be freezing cold in my own house on Christmas Eve again!

We also bought a portable generator in 2005 to allow us to run our gas furnace without AEPs power, so the gas fireplace is a backup to our backup  and it provides some nice ambience on a snowy evening. (And this is a reminder that I need to pull the generator out of hibernation and check its fluids and make sure its tires are aired up, in case we need it this winter.)

Alan D. Miller

We have a chiminea on the patio, in which I sometimes light juniper wood for a cozy evening outdoors  which I am known to do even in very cold, snowy weather. Its very calming. And it can be entertaining: Juniper pops and crackles with gusto, and it has a wonderful spice scent. It also smells a little like gin, so if only we had a chestnut tree nearby, I could have gin-flavored, roasted nuts.

One other open fire available to us is a relatively new wood fireplace insert in Dads house at the family farm. Its a Vermont Castings insert with a blower, glass doors and a design that keeps the heat in the house and burns so efficiently that its difficult to smell the wood smoke outside the house. It replaced an open fireplace that looked beautiful but sent a lot of smoke and most of the heat right up the chimney.

After splitting firewood on a frosty day, its a great place to sit with a warm beverage and contemplate memories of that trip to New York more than 50 years ago.

That day started like most Christmas mornings. We three kids raced into the living room full of hope for a big haul from Santas toy bag. And thats where tradition ended. There were scarcely any presents under the tree.

More: Old House Handyman: Reflecting on the dad-daughter ritual of painting the old barn

We three kids put on good faces, thinking Mom and Dad must be having a tough time with the finances. We each smiled politely after opening our two or three presents, but doggone-it, this was shaping up to be the worst Christmas ever.

Then Mom and Dad broke out in big smiles and said, Go pack your bags. Were going to New York!

They probably did break the bank that Christmas. They had meticulously planned a transportation-themed trip, which was an amazing adventure for three small-town kids in the early 1970s. We took an Amtrak train from Canton to New York. We rode in a taxi, on the subway, in a horse-drawn carriage, on the deck of a ferry boat, and for the return to Ohio, we flew in a jet plane.

We were over the moon, just with all the rides! But in between, we saw the Rockettes, the then-new movie 1776, Rockefeller Centers Christmas tree, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Central Park.

Even the chestnuts roasting on a street vendors charcoal fire added to a Christmas memory of a lifetime.

Alan D. Miller is a former Dispatch editor who teaches journalism at Denison University and writes about old house repair and historic preservation based on personal experiences and questions from readers.

youroldhouse1@gmail.com

@youroldhouse

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Old House Handyman: An open fire. chestnuts bring back fond memories
Vladimir Putin has said that his alliance with Iran has turned the tide of the war in Ukraine, with Tehrans support giving his forces momentum.

Steady supplies of Iranian kamikaze drones, artillery shells and bullets have arrived in Russia since the invasion began, with Tehran quickly becoming one of the Kremlins closest military allies as both countries attempt to weather the impact of sanctions.

Our relations are developing very well. Please convey my best wishes to leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei, Putin told Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president, in Tehran on Thursday.

Thanks to the Iranian head of state, Putin said, we have gained good momentum over the past year.

Russian forces are now on the attack again after holding back Ukraines much-heralded counter-offensive, leaving the war effectively in a stalemate as winter sets in.

The Russian president has been travelling between capitals across the Gulf to raise his countrys profile as a regional power broker.

Putin received a warm welcome in the UAE, but appeared embarrassed during a press conference with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who interrupted him after he said that the Gulf nation had won its independence.

Saudi Arabia never won its independence from anyone. It was reunified. Saudi Arabia was never colonised, the Crown Prince said.

Putin told the Iranian president: 'Our relations are developing very well.' - SPUTNIK/VIA REUTERS

It came as Ukraine announced that it had signed agreements with two American companies to jointly produce vital 155mm artillery shells.

We have agreements with two leading American companies to jointly produce, in Ukraine, 155-calibre ammunition, Alexander Kamyshin, the Ukrainian minister for strategic industries, said on Thursday, adding that the implementation of the deals would take years.

To produce 155-calibre, the process takes a minimum of two years, a maximum of three. And to start this production, we need technologies that our partners own. Ukraine has never produced this calibre, he said.

Demand for 155mm rounds has skyrocketed following Russias full-scale invasion, with the United States and allies sending Kyiv more than two million shells and aiming to increase production to refill rapidly depleting stocks.

Kyiv is also ramping up efforts to produce its own weapons, amid concerns that supplies from the West might be faltering.

The European Union has already said that it will miss its target of producing a million rounds a year by March  and the consequences could be severe.

On Thursday, a top defence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute argued that Europe only has a few years left to boost its production and shore up its defences, to deter Russia from exploiting a possible clash between the United States and China to seize more territory on the continent.

Prof Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the think tank, wrote that in the event of a conflict between the United States and China, Europe will be left vulnerable to concurrent military aggression by Russia.

With the notable exception of Poland, many national commitments to significant additional defence spending have either not yet materialised or are not slated to take effect for several years, he wrote.

He singled out Germany for failing to deliver on its pledges to rebuild the Bundeswehr and spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

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 Pennsylvania school bus aide was arrested for attacking a 6-year-old passenger.

MacArthur Wilson was charged with attempted simple assault, strangulation, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment in relation to the Oct. 16 incident, according to the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office.

The boys parents informed local police that their son darted off the bus when he got dropped off from school and was visibly upset, officials said. The child, who had marks on his neck, claimed that the 72-year-old choked him.

MacArthur Wilson is facing multiple charges after being accused of choking a 6-year-old. (Montgomery County District Attorney)

During their investigation, police discovered that the incident was captured on the surveillance cameras inside the bus. The driver saw what happened and immediately reported it to her boss. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Wilson was instructed to sit with the child who has ADHD.

A few minutes later, the defendant can be seen in surveillance video struggling with the boys seatbelt, then putting his hands around the boys neck for seven seconds, officials said. The assault happened about one minute from the boys bus stop

The footage revealed that Wilson allegedly asked the boy, Do you want me to choke you out? multiple times, per the outlet. The bus driver also reportedly explained to investigators that the aide claimed the boy hit him, so he had to teach him a lesson or he would be under the impression that the behavior was acceptable.

Wilson turned himself into police custody on Tuesday, Dec 5., was given a $5,000 unsecured bail, and was later released. His next appearance is set for Jan 9. North Penn School District issued a statement stating that the bus driver had stepped in.

When the alleged act occurred, the bus driver intervened immediately and then reported the matter to NPSD administration, the district told Fox 29. Parents and the authorities were contacted immediately. The bus assistant involved was also contacted that day, and he resigned immediately.

Bus officials throughout the country have come under fire for their actions. In Louisiana, a driver was charged with simple battery for slapping and choking a student. An Oklahoma school driver faced backlash for refusing to let children off the bus. He was fired from his job and charged with kidnapping and child abuse.
The Colorado Supreme Court is mulling over whether to keep Donald Trump off its state ballots ahead of the impending 2024 presidential election due to a 55-year-old ruling involving a former Black Panther leader, which could set a precedent for several other states.

A district court judge already ruled that Trump engaged in insurrection in direct violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That clause bars anyone from hold(ing) any office, civil or military, under the United States if they have previously taken an oath  as an officer of the United States to support the Constitution, and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion.

Former President Donald Trump (left) and former Black Panther Leader Eldridge Cleaver in 1968 (right) (Left photo: Getty Images, Right photo: YouTube/Hoover Institution Library and Archives)

That clause was heavily exercised in the period after the Civil War against former Confederate soldiers but might be employed again because of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Last year, a New Mexico court removed a GOP county commissioner from office who had participated in the attack.

That lower court ruling comes just a few months ahead of a trial Trump will face after he was criminally indicted in connection to the insurrection. Federal prosecutors will have to prove whether Trump purposely tried to overturn President Joe Bidens electoral victory by inciting rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol.

For now, justices for Colorados highest court are hearing arguments on whether to ban Trump from the state ballot in 2024 because of that lower court ruling.

According to Newsweek, Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, highlighted several instances in a court briefing in which presidential candidates were disqualified from the ballot because they were deemed ineligible under the U.S. Constitution.

One of those cases features Eldridge Cleaver, a former Black Panther leader who ran for president in 1968 under the Peace and Freedom Party. Cleaver, who was 33 at the time, was excluded from the ballot in California because he didnt reach the minimum age requirement to become president, which is 35.

Cleaver was the 33-year-old nominee of the Peace and Freedom Party. He challenged the exclusion in state court, which rejected his challenge. Cleaver petitioned for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. Without comment, the Court rejected the petition, Muller wrote.

Muller wrote in the briefing that Cleavers case demonstrates the fact that a state did exclude a candidate from the ballot for failure to meet the qualifications for office. And intriguingly, California excluded Cleaver even though Cleaver would become eligible during the four-year [presidential] term of office.

Biden handily won Colorado in 2020, earning 55 percent of the vote to Trumps 41 percent and nine electoral votes. If Trump is disqualified, it would undercut his chances to win a key battleground state where he is reportedly gaining popularity.

In October, an Emerson College poll discovered that Biden led Trump by 42 percent to 38 percent in voter favorability in Colorado. Thats compared to a poll Emerson College conducted in September that gave Biden a 10-point lead at 46 percent to Trumps 36 percent.

Muller also told Newsweek that the likelihood is low that the Colorado Supreme Court could disallow Trumps name from appearing on the ballot. Thats because its unclear whether the Section 3 clause applies to presidents. Typically, states faced with 14th Amendment challenges either reject them or hand them over to Congress because judges have ruled in the past that states shouldnt make the decisions to disqualify.

Judges in Minnesota and Michigan already have rejected similar 14th Amendment challenges to keep Trump off the ballots in their states.
One day (my grandmother was) sittin out on the porch. I said, Granny, how old does a woman have to be before she dont want no more boyfriends? She was about 106 then. She said, I dont know, honey, you gonna have to ask somebody older than me!

This joke was a standard for the popular actor and comedian who performed stand-up routines as Moms Mabley, a young-man chasing, old-man hating elderly woman, who wore flowered housedresses, droopy stockings and oversized shoes. One of her favorite lines was, There aint nothing an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young one.

Moms arrived in Asheville near the end of October 1971 to perform at City Auditorium. Though she had been in show business for more than half a century, this was her first time performing in Western North Carolina, just 40 miles from where she was born and raised in Brevard.

Photos of Moms Mabley appeared in the Oct. 22, 1971, edition of the Asheville Citizen Times.

She spent the morning before her Asheville show reminiscing about her childhood in the mountains with Eagle Street business owner Al Hutchinson. Much of the interview was published the following day in an article by Bob Terrell in the Asheville Citizen. The interview revealed many of the ways in which her early years in Western North Carolina were formative to her later success as a performer.

In 1971, as Moms traveled up the mountain into Asheville, she cried. I couldnt keep the tears back. My secretary said, Whats the matter, Moms? and I said, Oh, Lord, what a beautiful place God picked out for me to be born in.

Born in Brevard

One of eight children, Loretta Mary Aiken, who would later adopt the stage name Jackie Moms Mabley, was born March 19, 1897 in Brevard to Jim and Mary Aiken.

Jim had been born into slavery in 1861 to Mary Jane Aiken. As children, Loretta, her siblings, and her cousins always wondered about (Jims) light skin. One of Lorettas cousins, Selena Robinson, remembered asking her grandmother, How come Uncle Jim is so light and Daddy is so dark? Mary Jane told her grandchildren that she would explain when they were old enough.

Selena recalled that years later, she sat us down and told us that (Jim) was born by her boss (her enslaver, Benjamin Franklin Aiken), and that you couldnt do anything about it then. You had to do what the boss said. Mary Jane also told her grandchildren, They let me keep my child and that made me so glad. And they never did beat me.

Though little is currently known about Jims upbringing, by the time Loretta was born, Jim had become a well-known, well-liked, and very successful businessman in Brevard.

Despite discrimination and segregationist policies, Jim owned a large building on Brevards Main Street, which contained a cafe, barbershop and mercantile store. He ran a bakery and dray service, delivered mail, sold caskets and rented rooms in the Aiken family home to boarders. Because Brevards Black population was small, the majority of those who patronized Jims businesses were white.

Jim was also civic minded. He chartered the Mountain Lily chapter of the Masonic Order in 1905, held meetings above his store for the United Order of Odd Fellows, served on the committee governing the areas school for Black children and volunteered as a firefighter.

More: WNC History: Bettie Sims was not a typical moonshiner

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Loretta certainly picked up at least some of her sense of humor from her father. Jim ran numerous ads for his businesses in the local paper, many that illustrated the folksy, non-threatening sense of humor that Loretta would later employ in her act.

One 1904 ad stated, looking costs nothing. Examine my goods all you like  the more you investigate, the more youll buy. In a 1905 shoe ad that ran during the Russo-Japanese war, Jim joked, Shoe news and new shoes at Jim Aikens. While the  Jap is fiercely fighting the  Russian in the Far East, I am just as bravely battling for shoe supremacy. As Moms Mabley, Loretta would also use humor to comment on current social, political, and international issues.

An ad promoting Jim Aiken's Brevard store appeared in the April 15, 1904, edition of Brevard News. Aiken was the father of Moms Mabley.

Due to her fathers success, Loretta grew up in relative privilege. But, when she was 12 years old, a town firetruck exploded, killing her father. So many people, both Black and white, attended Jims funeral that it had to be moved to one of Brevards large white churches.

Staying in WNC

After her husbands death, Lorettas mother Mary had to petition to claim his property, and though she was eventually able to take ownership of their house and store, the familys social and economic standing in the community was much diminished. Lorettas mother did her best to keep the family afloat, but in the following years, Mary remarried and the couple moved north, looking for a better life along with six million other Black southerners during the Great Migration. Before she left, Lorettas mother told her, Youre too much like me not to be something.

For the next few years, Loretta stayed in Western North Carolina. As a teenager, she was the victim of two sexual assaults that resulted in pregnancies. Her grandmother, Mary Jane, who had been raped by her enslaver, advised, No matter what anybody does to you, dont you ever hate them because hate will destroy you.

Loretta later recalled sitting on Mary Janes front porch in Brevard, thinking that where the mountains met the sky  was the end of the world. That day, her grandmother encouraged her to see beyond the mountains. Loretta recalled her grandmother saying, Theres a world out there. ... I want you to go out in it. I never had the chance  but I want you to go. Put God in front  and go ahead.

Loretta did as her grandmother said. And, in 1971, remarked, Im still doing what she said. I put God in front and I went ahead. Thats my motto.

During her first pregnancy, Loretta left Brevard for Asheville. At 14 years old, Loretta began serving as a wet nurse for an Asheville family. She later spoke about having to deny milk to her own baby, Lucretia, in order to feed her employers child, Lois. Loretta stayed in Asheville for about four years until being raped again, this time by a white sheriff.

With little money to support a child, Loretta planned to travel to Detroit for an abortion. She recalled, Now I was brought up in a very Christian family and I wasnt taught to throw away children, but I was going to  something told me not to. ... I got down on my knees and asked God to open up a way for me to make me and this child a living. Suddenly a voice came to me  and it said, Go on the stage. So rather than continue to Detroit, Loretta stopped to stay with her mother in Cleveland and make a plan.

It did not take long for her prayers to be answered. According to Loretta, her mother was boarding with a couple, Reverend Speaks and Mrs. Speaks. When Loretta arrived, she found that next door to the Speaks was a house where show business people went to eat.

Breaking into show business

One night, Loretta was invited over for dinner. She recalled, Bonnie Belle Drew from Chicago was there at the head of a show and she asked me if I was a stage girl. I said no, but that I used to have the funny parts in the little plays we did in church, and she asked me if I wanted a job.

I thought about the dream, telling me to go on stage, and I said yeah, and she said they were leaving the next day and I said, Oh Lord, Reverend Speaks would have a fit if he knew I was going on stage. She told me to throw my clothes over the back fence and she would put them in her truck, so I throwed what few I had over the fence and next morning left there.

Soon she was in Pittsburgh and on the stage. I could always dance, but I was pregnant, and they put me to doing a comedy part in a play called The Rich Aunt From Utah. She traveled and performed with that show until she gave birth. (Though stories vary about what happened to her first two children, they were either given away as infants or left in the care of a woman who disappeared with them. Loretta would later go on to raise three more daughters and an adopted son.)

Moms Mabley arrives at the Metro Airport on March 2, 1973. She was a presenter in the 15th annual Grammy Awards show at the Tennessee Theater in Nashville.

Lorettas ties to her family continued to influence her throughout her career; she took the stage name Jackie Mabley when her oldest brother told her she was a disgrace to the Aiken name because (she) went on the stage  (and) that stage women wasnt nothing but prostitutes. The real Jackie Mabley had been her fiance at one time. She joked to Ebony magazine in a 1970s interview that the male Jackie had taken so much from her, it was the least she could do to take his name.

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As her popularity grew, she was able to find enough work in New York City to stop traveling the Chitlin Circuit (venues around the country where Black performers played to Black audiences). Now in the city permanently, Loretta as Jackie Mabley became part of the Harlem Renaissance. Contrary to her adopted persona of a dirty old lady chasing after younger men, she came out as lesbian in the late 1920s and was often seen around town with attractive younger women.

Until the 1960s, Moms Mabley played almost exclusively to Black audiences, beginning her act with the catch phrase, I got somethin to tell you. Then in 1962, she played Carnegie Hall to her first all-white audience. They loved her. She began appearing on TV variety shows  Flip Wilson, Ed Sullivan, and Merv Griffin, among others  reaching new audiences that had never heard her before.

At the same time, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum across the United States. Moms act became more and more political. White audiences listened. Her accessible and non-threatening persona allowed her to cover topics like ageism, sexuality, gender and racism without alienating her audience.

One popular Moms joke of the era went, One of them big cops came running over to me and said, Hey woman, dont you know you went through a red light? I said, I seen all you white folks going on the green light; I thought the red light was for us!

Her success continued into the 1970s. Shortly after the premiere of her first major movie ("Amazing Grace") in 1975, she began to think about making a movie about her own life, which she described as one that I saw live, that nobody dont know but me. But on May 23, 1975, Moms died.

As the first female African American stand-up comedian, Moms opened doors for and inspired those who came after her. She often said in interviews, Theres not a comedian in show business that hasnt stole material from Moms. Not white or black. As fast as they steal em, God gives me some more.

Despite her tremendous nationwide influence as a performer and activist, Moms Mableys ties to Western North Carolina are little known. In 1997, on what would have been her 100th birthday, the town of Brevard named the street she grew up on after Moms Mabley but quickly switched it back when the streets residents complained about the unexpected change.

Finally, on Oct. 20, 2023, the NC Highway Historical Marker Program placed a marker recognizing Moms Mabley on Brevards Main Street identifying her not only as a pioneering Black comedian, but also as a social and civil rights activist.

Anne Chesky is the author of a number of local history books, including "Murder at Asheville's Battery Park Hotel: The Search for Helen Clevenger's Killer," which was a finalist for the 2022 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC History: 'Moms' Mabley, from Brevard to Asheville to the stage
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In advance of a Cascade County commission vote that could strip her of election management duties, Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant has used the election department page on the county website to argue the action would amount to overthrowing her 2022 election victory and jeopardize residents right to vote.

The three-member county commission plans to vote this coming Tuesday, Dec. 12, on a resolution that would remove Merchants election management duties and place them in the hands of a county-appointed election administrator.

In response to the proposal, Merchant posted a notice in red font on the Cascade County elections departments website Thursday morning accusing two commissioners of attempting to nullify the 14,000+ votes cast for her in the 2022 general election. Merchants post encouraged voters to contact the commission and let them know if you want your vote to count. In an email to Montana Free Press Friday, Merchant said she posted the notice to inform voters of the danger that is posed by this move.

I believe it is wrong to disenfranchise voters who elected someone to office, Merchant wrote. Over 14,000 people voted for me, and two Commissioners have decided they dont like that decision, so they have chosen to overthrow that election and appoint the person they want to run elections. The votes of the people dont count in their opinion.

Commissioner Jim Larson told MTFP Friday that it certainly is not the case that he is attempting to nullify the results of the 2022 clerk and recorder race. If the resolution does pass, Larson said Merchant will still hold that office and continue performing her other duties.

We have every right to do this, and were not taking away the vote because this clerk and recorder will still be there doing her other jobs, Larson said. She just wont have elections.

Merchant said she will continue to serve Cascade County as clerk and recorder if the resolution passes. The county, which has a population of 85,000, includes Great Falls, Montanas third-largest city.

Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki told MTFP that Merchants post did not contain any factually inaccurate information about the resolution and was not unlawful. Racki said the countys elected officials maintain their own sections of the county website with pretty free rein, noting the county has never had any issues with that policy in the past.

Merchant, a Republican, defeated 16-year Democratic incumbent Rina Moore last fall by fewer than 40 votes  a margin close enough that a hand recount of the race was conducted at Moores request.

State law allows the governing body of a county to appoint an individual other than the clerk and recorder to administer its elections. The resolution to do so in Cascade County, placed on next weeks agenda by Larson and fellow Republican commissioner Joe Briggs, lists a number of inciting incidents for the proposal. Among them are Moores failing to recuse herself, as a candidate seeking reelection, from overseeing the 2022 election despite public concern and criticism, as well as an 11-month tenure by Merchant that has seen the county sued multiple times for irregularities and technical errors in the elections she has thus far conducted.

Briggs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But he informed MTFP last month of his intent to take action on reassigning election duties to a non-elected county administrator. Briggs said hed broached the idea with fellow commissioners twice before, including during Moores tenure as clerk and recorder, out of a belief that Cascade Countys elections should be overseen by a nonpartisan, non-elected individual.

In recent months, critics of Merchants handling of elections throughout 2023 have increasingly called for such a move, citing, among other concerns, a lawsuit alleging Merchant mismanaged two special water district elections. Cascade County also missed a state-mandated deadline to certify last months municipal elections. Commission Chair Rae Grulkowski, an ally of Merchants, told MTFP the situation was due to staffing issues at the commissioners office that delayed the post-election canvass  the last step in verifying the results of the election. Briggs has laid responsibility for the missed deadline at Merchants feet.

The commission will vote on the resolution reassigning Merchants election oversight duties during their meeting Dec. 12, which begins at 9:30 a.m.
Leading travel management company musafir.com has officially launched its operations in Saudi Arabia, with the opening of an office in Riyadh that will deliver tailored travel solutions, seamless booking experiences, and support to meet the unique needs of businesses in the kingdom.

The new office, located in Al Olaya, was inaugurated by the company founders Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Thani and Sachin Gadoya in the presence of senior industry professionals.

The company targets corporate clients, contributing to the kingdom's flourishing tourism and corporate travel sectors.

Saudi Arabia has experienced an extraordinary surge in tourism revenue, surpassing 37 billion Saudi riyals in the first quarter of 2023. This exemplifies the kingdom's commitment to diversify its economy beyond oil, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Thani said.

Aligned with this momentum, our new corporate office in KSA is an integral part of our regional expansion strategy, poised to meet the escalating travel demand of our discerning customers. Since our inception in 2007, musafir.com has consistently grown, and this new office propels us toward long-term success, he said.

The new office premises is centrally and strategically located in the capital and includes a state-of-the-art, multilingual contact centre, which will offer musafir.coms customers dedicated 24x7 support.

As part of musafir.com's growth strategy, the company recently unveiled a new logo, symbolising a fresh phase of innovation and customer-centric travel services.

The redesigned logo underscores musafir.com's commitment to staying at the forefront of the ever-evolving travel industry.

Gadoya said the companys entry into Riyadh indicates a significant milestone for musafir.com.

With an unwavering commitment to our corporate clientele, we are eager to contribute to the growth and efficiency of travel management for businesses in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the leisure sector will soon benefit from musafirs innovative offerings, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
On my congressional listening tour, I spent a full day in Butte meeting with individuals and groups, including a public meeting in Centerville. I kept hearing Whos side is EPA on? And theyre always for BP/Arco and against the people of Butte.

Thats an important concern given the 100-year history of unregulated mining and the environmental devastation left by The Company. Under Superfund, cleaning up the pollution should help lead to health and prosperity, but many folks in the Mining City think the EPA serves BP/Arco, not the people. Grandparents worry about their grandkids health.

Sadly, this is not just Butte. Across western Montana. people tell me about EPAs pattern of siding with polluting corporations rather than serving the needs of Montana communities that want  and deserve  a more protective and rigorous cleanup. An example is EPAs blind adherence to the scientifically dubious waste in place strategy where the community is forced to accept the pollution forever (think: Arrowstone Park in Deer Lodge, Copper Mountain in Butte, Smurfit-Stone near Missoula, CFAC in Columbia Falls, the town of Opportunity, and the dirty dirt in the Silver Bow Creek corridor).

When confronted with questions and evidence, the EPA becomes defensive, shoots the messenger and spends more time spinning the situation, protecting bad decisions, than addressing real issues. EPA even joined in personal attacks on citizens and scientists. This agency is clearly off course.

I hear about promises made and not kept; flowery platitudes followed by nothing; bait and switch on pollution solutions  selling the community on one thing then later changing things to benefit the polluting corporations. These behaviors are not acceptable.

Western Montana needs a leader who will look below the surface and have hard conversations about how our government (in this case the federal EPA) is serving the people. In Congress I will immediately pursue answers to these situations:

The Butte, Anaconda and Clark Fork Superfund sites, among the largest and most complex in the nation, deserve attention and capabilities commensurate with their size and complexity. Do the EPAs actions at these sites adhere to the agencys practices and standards used on comparable sites in the nation? Are other Montana communities like Frenchtown and Columbia Falls faced with a lowered bar as a result of past errors? And overall, why?

Is the EPAs waste in place approach science-based and the best cleanup strategy possible? If not, why allow it? If so, what are the parameters for its use and is it being correctly utilized in Montana? What other options should be considered?

In addition, Ill hold the EPAs administrator accountable and ensure EPAs activities in Montana are truly transparent. Just saying openness and transparency is not good enough. The EPAs agreement to run an open meeting experiment in Butte until the end of the year meant that only three meetings were open for the public to listen in. And they couldnt talk. Butte folks are not fooled by such a transparent effort to placate the public without truly being open.

No spin, no paid facilitators; anything the EPA does in Montana needs to be open face-to-face meetings, hearing Montanans and listening to their concerns. The EPA must follow through on its obligation to serve our communities that have generated so much wealth for the country and the world.

Butte, after all its sacrifices for the nation, deserves the best cleanup possible and must not be held back by concern for BP/Arcos wallet. Across Montana, EPA must live by our constitutional standards of openness and participation. It's time for the EPA to work for us  the people.
Today

Some clouds early. Mostly sunny skies along with windy conditions this afternoon. High 63F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low 37F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

A mainly sunny sky. High 62F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Un fotbalist zice ca s-a nascut in 1990, dar mama lui a murit in 1985

In fotbal intalnim tot felul de situatii ciudate, iar fotbalistii incearca, mai ales in perioada junioratului sa declare varste mai mici. Acesta este si cazul unui fotbalist din Gabon, care in acte apare nascut in 1990, asta desi mama lui a decedat in 1985.Federatia [citeste mai departe]
New Delhi: After the historic success of 'Gadar 2', Bollywood actor Sunny Deol will be next teaming up with actor Ayushmann for 'Border 2'. The film's shooting is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024, said producer and writer Nidhi Dutta, daughter of J.P. Dutta.

All set to enthrall the audience again, Sunny Deol played an important role in 'Border'. The 'Gadar 2' actor will once again play the lead role in this film, which is said to be based on the historical backdrop of the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The remaining cast will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

A source said, "Nidhi Dutta, who also wrote the script, considers 'Border 2' to be the biggest war film ever made in this country." Unlike its predecessor, the film aims to showcase the joint efforts of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and provide a comprehensive view of the 1971 war. The story is expected to blend personal stories of war heroes and martyrs to add a human touch to the grand spectacle of war.

The groundwork for the film began in 2022, involving multiple trips to Delhi to obtain necessary permissions from the Defence Ministry for shooting in real locations and using authentic names, ensuring an authentic representation of historical events. J.P. Dutta was adamant about creating a story that would do justice to the legacy of Border.

The film not only pays tribute to the historical events of the 1971 war but also explores the human stories that unfolded on the battlefield.

Recently, Sunny Deol left his fans worried after a video of him walking on a street in Mumbai while looking drunk went viral on the internet. In the clip, Sunny, who appeared not in senses, could be seen taking the help of an autorickshaw at night.

Reacting to the particular video, a social media user commented, "Is Sunny Deol alcoholic?"

Another one wrote, "What? Hope he is fine." Hours later, Sunny took to X and clarified that the particular video was from the shoot of his upcoming film 'Safar'."Afwaahon ka 'Safar' bas yahin tak (the journey of rumours ends here) #Shooting #BTS," he wrote along with folded hands emojis.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today said that it has suspended the party's Amroha Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali with immediate effect for his involvement in anti-party activities. In a press statement, BSP said, "Danish Ali, BSP Lok Sabha MP from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, has been suspended from the party due to his anti-party activities with effect from 09.12.2023."

In a letter sent to Danish Ali, the BSP said, "You have been verbally warned multiple times to not make statements against the party's policies, ideology and discipline but you have been involved in anti-party activities despite that....You were given a BSP ticket from Amroha at the request of HD Deve Gowda. Before the party's decision to field you from the seat, Deve Gowda Ji himself assured that you will follow the direction and policies of the BSP. You also repeatedly promised to follow BSP's policies..However, you have forgotten your promise and have been involved in anti-party activities."

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) suspends its MP Danish Ali for indulging in anti-party activities: BSP pic.twitter.com/BKHHuVbStw  ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2023

Reacting to the suspension, Danish Ali said that the decision is unfortunate as he has always worked hard to strengthen the BSP. "Her (BSP chief Mayawati) decision is unfortunate. I have never engaged in any kind of anti-party activities. The people of my Amroha are witness to this. I have opposed the anti-people policies of the BJP's government and will continue to do so...If doing this is a crime, then I have committed this crime, and I am ready to face the punishment for it," said Ali.

#WATCH | On his suspension from the Bahujan Samaj Party, MP Danish Ali says, "...Her (BSP chief Mayawati) decision is unfortunate. I have never engaged in any kind of anti-party activities. The people of my Amroha are witness to this. I have opposed the anti-people policies of https://t.co/7YbNQTdBt9 pic.twitter.com/ksUapXKvGm  ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2023

Danish Ali recently shot into the headline after being involved in bitter banter with BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri inside Parliament. A political row erupted over Bidhuri's remarks during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in September this year. A few BJP members had also accused Danish Ali of making a running commentary during his speech. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had accused the BSP MP of instigating Bidhuri and making "derogatory remark" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a big action against terror networks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today carried out raids at 44 locations across Karnataka and Maharashtra. The raids were carried out in connection to an ISIS terror conspiracy case. The case pertains to a criminal conspiracy hatched by accused persons and their associates, who had pledged to the violent extremist ideology of proscribed terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda and ISIS and had formed a terrorist gang.

According to reports, the raids started early this morning and are largely being held in Maharashtra. The NIA has arrested 13 people from Pune in connection with the case.

Of the total 44 locations, the NIA sleuths searched one place in Karnataka, two in Pune, 31 in Thane Rural, nine in Thane city and one in Bhayander.

The anti-terror agency sleuths raided these locations in close coordination with the police forces of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The terrorist organizations had recruited like-minded youth into their fold besides conducting religious classes to wage violent jihad to establish Islamic rule in India.
Kerala Lottery Results Monday 11-12-2023 Live: The lottery department will announce the Kerala lottery "Win Win W 747" Result on behalf of the Keralan government. Today, December 11, 2023, at Gorky Bhavan Near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala Lottery Result 2023 for Kerala lottery "Win Win W 747" will be drawn. The department of Kerala State Lotteries publishes the lottery in 12 series, and the series can change. Every week, 108 lakh tickets were made available for purchase. The first-place winner receive bumper 75 Lakh Rupees. Those who are anticipating today's draw can view the Win Win W 747 outcome from December 11, 2023, right here. Stay updated on this website to avoid missing the Kerala Lottery Win Win W 747 Results live today.

Kerala Lottery Result 11-12-2023 Dec: FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR WIN WIN W-747 LOTTERY

LUCKY NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 75 LAKH IS: WS 633441

LUCKY NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 5 LAKH IS: WR 670156

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1,00,000 ARE: WN 222017 WO 484754 WP 420309 WR 975167 WS 848271 WT 171197 WU 875283 WV 478505 WW 920617 WX 901079 WY 227822 WZ 571947

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE: WN 633441 WO 633441 WP 633441 WR 633441 WT 633441 WU 633441 WV 633441 WW 633441 WX 633441 WY 633441 WZ 633441

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE: 1351 1663 1881 3524 3841 3902 4070 4147 4151 4185 4361 5335 5365 5669 9226 9590 9612 9938

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE OF RS 2,000 ARE: 1351 1663 1881 3524 3841 3902 4070 4147 4151 4185 4361 5335 5365 5669 9226 9590 9612 9938

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE: 1168 1540 3923 4413 4592 5127 6566 8943 9083 9229

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE: 0354 0513 0569 0742 1128 1298 1340 1347 1368 1449 1453 1469 1578 1639 1683 1836 2028 2084 2242 2290 2322 2428 2467 2566 2780 2947 3122 3299 3309 3460 3749 3829 3871 4078 4134 4244 4249 4430 4516 4694 4813 4912 5192 5389 5464 5698 5790 5923 5986 6054 6113 6141 6215 6353 6646 6913 7274 7285 7327 7376 7491 7633 7737 7847 7890 8036 8432 8470 8756 8921 9199 9281 9289 9438 9450 9457 9650 9745 9776 9829 9959 9966

LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 8TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE: 2251 3837 1797 3789 2255 9912 7481 3845 3608 0003 3802 3311 6135 5493 4227 6218 3753 5358 3214 1884 1738 2763 3936 5697 5263 6620 3813 5077 9845 4807 5036 0356 7350 2835 6906 3975 9735 0957 6308 2183 3054 1986 3078 9632 6694 9523 3978 6394 2749 6049 8605 3016 9711 1351 7224 5478 0244 8693 8590 5376 9148 0983 7857 0087 1029 2892 9590 1600 3314 2399 2119 0236 0924 7972 9051 6447 0669 8529 7310 5839 8880 5926 9397 2492 1694 8949 6958 5723 7010 0348 3211 2612 1224 4522 9920 8648 6210 0747 0227 9596 6433 2405 8187 9771 5560 8557 0371 1980 8394 9240 7146 1232 3038 8590 6044 1181 6069 4415 0298 8711 2372 2863 8517

KERALA LOTTERY RESULT 11-12-2023 DECEMBER TODAY: Win Win W 747 LOTTERY PRIZE DETAILS

1st Prize: Rs 75 Lakhs

2nd Prize: Rs. 5 lakh

3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh

4th Prize: Rs. 5,000

5th Prize: Rs. 2,000

6th Prize: Rs. 1,000

7th Prize: Rs. 500

8th Prize: Rs 100

Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000

(NOTE: Lottery can be addictive and should be played responsibly. The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.  A two-year experimental feeding program for starving Florida manatees will not immediately resume this winter as conditions have improved for the threatened marine mammals and the seagrass on which they depend, wildlife officials said.

Thousands of pounds of lettuce were fed to manatees that typically gather in winter months near the warm-water discharge of a power plant on Florida's east coast. State and federal wildlife officials launched the program after pollution killed off vast seagrass beds, leading to a record of over 1,100 manatee deaths in 2021.

This season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined the seagrass has started to recover in key winter foraging areas on the east coast, and that there appear to be fewer manatees in poor physical condition going into the stressful colder months.

After careful consideration, the agencies are not providing manatees with a supplemental food source at the beginning of the winter season, the FWC said in a notice on its website. However, staff developed a contingency plan which they will implement if needed.

Last year, more than 400,000 pounds of lettuce, most of it donated, was fed to manatees near the power plant in Cocoa, Florida.

Manatees are gentle, round-tailed giants sometimes known as sea cows that weigh as much as 1,200 pounds and can live as long as 65 years. Manatees are Floridas official state marine mammal but are listed as a threatened species, also facing peril from boat strikes and toxic red tide algae outbreaks along the states Gulf coast. Their closest living relative is the elephant.

The starvation problem  something the wildlife agencies call an unusual mortality event  has been traced to nitrogen, phosphorus and sewage pollution from agriculture, urban runoff and other sources that trigger algae blooms, which in turn kill off the seagrass that manatees and other sea creatures rely upon.

Millions of state and federal dollars are being poured into dozens of projects ranging from stormwater treatment upgrades to filter systems that remove harmful nitrates from water that goes into the Indian River Lagoon, the huge east coast estuary where manatees congregate in winter. Seagrass beds have been replanted.

There have been 505 manatee deaths recorded between Jan. 1 and Nov. 24 this year. That compares with 748 over the same time frame in 2022 and 1,027 the year before that, according to the wildlife commission. The Florida manatee overall population is estimated at between 8,350 and 11,730 animals.

The agencies are not ready to declare the starvation problem solved and intend to closely monitor manatees and their environment to decide whether feeding or other steps are needed.

Feeding wild animals is a temporary emergency intervention and conservation measures like habitat restoration, improving habitat access, and increasing capacity for rehabilitation are considered long-term solutions, the Florida wildlife agency said in its notice.

Meanwhile, environmental groups are pushing to have the manatee again listed as an endangered species, a higher classification than threatened that provides greater protections. A petition seeking the change filed with the Fish and Wildlife Service contends it was an error to take manatees off the endangered list in 2017, where they had been since 1973.

The service made an initial finding in October that placing the manatee back on the endangered list may be warranted, an interim step that requires further review. Environmental groups say the move is encouraging.

"This is the right call for manatees and everyone who cares about these charming creatures, said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. I applaud the Fish and Wildlife Service for taking the next step toward increased safeguards. Manatees need every ounce of protection they can get.
India has witnessing one of its most significant cash recoveries in income tax raids, with a staggering sum of at least Rs 300 crore seized in hard cash across three states since December 6. The raids ended today after four days. According to reports, this amount is expected to increase as more cash is yet to be counted, and authorities have received intelligence pointing to additional locations where cash has been concealed. The tax officials have also recovered a bag full of gold jewellery which has been seized.

The raids targeted the Boudh Distillery and its affiliated offices, Baldev Sahu Infra (a company linked to Boudh Distillery), and a rice mill owned by the same distillery. Apart from these searches, significant amounts of cash were also uncovered from the properties belonging to Congress MP Dheeraj Kumar Sahu in Jharkhand.

The tax department also carried out a raid at the company's manager Bunty Sahu from whose home Rs 100 crore was recovered reportedly.

The tax department conducted raids at establishments associated with an Odisha-based distillery situated in Jharkhand and West Bengal. Officials revealed that several rooms and nine lockers across these locations remain unchecked. The recovered cash was discovered hidden within cupboards and various furniture items. Furthermore, authorities have received tips about other potential locations holding more cash and valuable jewellery.

Zee News reporter from Odisha's Sambalpur said that Baldev Sahu's firm has a massive retail network where alcohol is sold in cash and the company has allegedly been duping the government by not paying taxes for years.

Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu entered politics in 1977 and even went to jail during 'Jail Bharo Andolan' in 1978. He became a Rajya Sabha MP for the first time in 2009. He had fought the Lok Sabha elections twice but could not win. His net worth was Rs 34 crore in 2018. The recovery of hundreds of crore in cash now raises a question mark on his election affidavit as well.

Meanwhile, the BJP has sharpened its attack on Congress over the massive seizure. Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at Congress questioning the silence of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. "The biggest question is why Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi always speak against demonetisation. In Jharkhand, from Congress leader Dheeraj Sahu's place, Rs 200 crores were recovered. Congress, corruption, and cash are three things that move together," said Anurag Thakur.
In Telangana, the appointment of AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi as Protem speaker sparked a row after BJP MLAs not only opposed the move but refused to take oath under his chair. Firebrand BJP MLA T Raja Singh said that party MLAs won't take oath by Owaisi. Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy said that the election of new speaker should not happen under Owaisi.

"Can I take oath in front of a person (Akbaruddin Owaisi) who made anti-Hindu comments in the past," asked Singh who won from the Goshmahal assembly seat. He further said, "Our MLAs will take oath after a Speaker is appointed. We will never ally with such a party (AIMIM). We will go to the Governor on this."

T Raja Singh alleged that Congress Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is scared of the AIMIM just like his predecessor K Chandrashekar Rao.

AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi took oath taken oath as Protem Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly in Raj Bhawan, Hyderabad today. The oath was administered by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. Owaisi was appointed Protem speaker on the recommendation of the ruling Congress government, said the BJP.

Being the senior most member of the Assembly, the AIMIM legislator has been appointed as the protem Speaker. He was elected from Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad for a sixth consecutive term in the election held last month.

"We have won 8 seats and reached 14% vote percentage in the state...There is a ritual of appointing a senior leader as pro-tem Speaker. However, Congress has appointed Akbaruddin Owaisi to the post due to their understanding with AIMIM. We object to this. We demand that the election of the Assembly Speaker should not happen with this Pro-tem Speaker. We will tell the same to the State Governor," said Kishan Reddy.
New Delhi: An incredible tale of how an Apple Watch was instrumental in saving the life of a Northern Kentucky pregnant woman has surfaced online. In a new incident, an Apple Watch proved to be more than just a smart accessory for Veronica Williams from Kentucky. The wearable device played a pivotal role in saving both her life and the life of her unborn baby.

Veronica, who was pregnant at the time, shared her harrowing experience, highlighting how her Apple Watch detected a dangerously high heart rate and promptly sent her vital notifications. (Also Read: Highest Paid Indian CEOs And Their Educational Qualification - Check)

Disturbed by the alerts and feeling increasingly out of breath, Veronica wasted no time in reaching out to her doctor for assistance. (Also Read: Top Gaming Smartphones Under Rs 20,000: Check Price, Battery Power, Features, And More)

What unfolded next was a life-saving sequence of events. Veronica revealed that multiple alerts from her Apple Watch coincided with her deteriorating health. Sensing the urgency, she rushed to the emergency room, unaware of the critical situation she was in.

Soon after she arrived at the hospital, medical professionals informed her that an emergency C-section was imperative to ensure the safety of both mother and child. Veronica consented, and the medical team swiftly carried out the procedure.

Veronica woke up at the University of Cincinnati to the news that her baby had been safely delivered. However, her battle was not over. Doctors diagnosed her with a rare form of Myocarditis, wherein her immune system had mistakenly targeted her own heart. Her doctor explained that her immune system had been deceived into treating her heart as an external threat.

This incident adds to the growing list of instances where Apple Watch features have played a crucial role in emergencies. Earlier this year, another user's Apple Watch automatically dialed 911 after detecting no movement when she collapsed due to a ruptured aorta.
The Napa Valley Unified School District announced Friday that it has been awarded a grant of more than $755,000 to help fund its new Agricultural Science Innovation Center at Vintage High School, for which it plans to break ground next year.

The announcement comes after the Napa City Council approved the sale of the previous Vintage High School farm site at 1185 Sierra Ave. to Davidon Homes in November. At the public hearing, NVUSDs chief business officer, Rabinder (Rob) Mangewala, said that the sale will free up funds necessary to begin work on the new student farm.

The Agricultural Science and Innovation Center, to be located closer to Vintage High at 1130 Trower Ave., will serve as a working farm for the school district, as well as a technology test bed in agriculture and related fields. It will feature a working vineyard and classroom space, the city's utilities director Phil Brun said last month.

The grant, provided by the Bay Area Community College Consortium, will also help fund upgrades to three of the districts related Career Technical Education pathways  Agriscience, Culinary and Hospitality, and Animal Science  as well as a new pathway, AgTech.

Students studying AgTech will work with industry partners to address farming concerns through technology. They will have access to Apple Inc.s SWIFT iOS programming, which will be used to teach farmworkers to run farms via mobile phone solutions, drones, robotics, and through app development and design, according to a news release.

In addition, funding will be used to increase dual-enrollment opportunities for NVUSD students and facilitate student transitions to Napa Valley College in Agriculture and Natural Resource Pathways.

In its statement, the school district said it will envision how its agriculture center can serve students from the elementary grades into high school in the coming years.

NVUSD is embracing the world-class industry all around us through our new Agricultural Science Innovation Center at Vintage High School, said Superintendent Rosanna Mucetti. We believe this center will allow us to continue to prepare our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in school, careers, and life.

Flashback Friday: 24 photos to get you excited about Napa's Christmas parade
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Gerapetritis to Pashinyan: Greece government ready to support Armenia in all possible directions

FM: Greece clearly supports preservation of Christian sites in Karabakh

George Gerapetritis: Armenia's prosperity is possible only with Europe

Ararat Mirzoyan: Armenia should be able to make use of Azerbaijan railway

Greece official on South Caucasus situation: We rule out use of force, aggression

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Armenia lawmaker: Peace treaty can be signed when Azerbaijan accepts our principles

About $70M allocated to programs for persons forcibly displaced from Karabakh to Armenia, minister says

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Armenia ruling force MP: Azerbaijan statements about bilateral negotiations are just statements

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MFA: Matter of Armenia driver's licenses recognition in Russia is on bilateral discussions agenda

Armenia soldier found dead, with gunshot wound, in combat position

Bitcoin exceeds $47,000 for first time since March 2022

China researchers develop electronic skin

PM: Armenia foreign policys highest goal is to ensure country's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity

Newspaper: Yerevan mayor unaware that Karabakh has been de-Armenianized?

US embassy in Baku: Louis Bono holds regular talks to support Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process

Armenia economy minister to go on business trip to India

Armenia Security Council chief: We have no expectations from CSTO any longer

Armenia Security Council head: Contractual obligations with Russia regarding weapons not fulfilled

Armen Grigoryan. There is agreement that Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation commissions will meet in late January

Ararat Mirzoyan and Louis Bono discussed regional security issues

Tourism Committee chair: 50% of tourists arriving in Armenia are from Russia

Quake hits Turkey

One of French spies arrested in Azerbaijan identified

Armenia unemployment rate dropped sharply over last 3 years, economy minister says

Economy minister: US is for first time on list of Armenia's largest trade partners

Pope Francis expresses concern about Armenia-Azerbaijan disagreements

Kanaani: Iran has clear positions regarding situation in South Caucasus

Armenian National Committee member: Heavy equipment removed from Jerusalem Armenian Quarter Cows Garden

Zangezur is crucial route for north-south and east-west directions, Thomas de Waal says

Stratfor: Armenia will probably accept Azerbaijan's demands

de Waal strongly doubts EU, NATO will invest in Armenia army

Armenia Security Council chief meets with OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair

Thomas de Waal: Karabakh de-Armenianization is price of Armenian politicians maximalism, wrong actions as well
Storm Elin and Storm Fergus will bring gale force winds to parts of Ireland as the Eireann Meteorological Service has issued a number of weather warnings, PA Media reports.

Storm Elin is forecast to cause disruptions beginning Saturday, and Storm Fergus, which will immediately follow, is forecast to produce very strong onshore winds combined with high waves and high tides on Sunday.

Storm Elin is forecast to produce gale-force west-northwest winds and strong gusts, causing disruptions and travel difficulties on Saturday.

Yellow wind warnings have also been issued for Clare, Tipperary, Cavan, and Monaghan.

In Northern Ireland, the UK Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for Antrim, Down, Tyrone and Londonderry.

The yellow rain warnings indicate that heavy rain will create a risk of localized flooding and some disruption to traffic.

The Met Office also warns that high winds could cause some disruption to transport as waterlogged roads could increase travel times in affected areas.

Several homes and businesses may also be flooded, as well as some disruptions to power and other services.
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Islamophobia and xenophobia, which have swept over Western societies like poison ivy, are one of the main threats to human rights. This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the program "Face of Humanity" dedicated to World Human Rights Day, Anadolu reports.

According to the Turkish president, contrary to the fact that World Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10, human rights are trampled in many parts of the world.

"The segments of Muslims, who make up the majority of migrants, are undoubtedly the ones who suffer the most from the manifestation of xenophobic, racist, discriminatory and fascist practices," Erdogan noted.

Erdogan said the rise in provocations against Muslims and migrants has been observed in many parts of the world, from Canada to the United States, from Europe to Asian countries.

"Western countries legitimized, approved and encouraged anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim actions under the pretext of freedom of thought," Erdogan noted.

The Turkish president said that today the place where the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is grossly violated has become the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.

"The Israeli authorities, enjoying unlimited support from the West, are committing brutal atrocities and massacres in Gaza, which will make all mankind "blush"," Erdogan said.

At the same time, the Turkish president believes that a just peace is actually possible, but not with the U.S. "Because America is on the side of Israel," he said.
Mumbai Airport has achieved the distinction of being the best in the Asia Pacific region for services, as per the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) rankings, announced Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group which runs Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). "Adani's #MumbaiAirport is redefining excellence in aviation! It's now the best in Asia Pacific for Services according to ASQ, in the 40M+ passenger category. With the remarkable feat of handling 1,032 flights in a single day on one runway, we are also leading in Sustainability. We proudly operate on 100% green energy, making us an entirely sustainable airport. Moreover, we are 3rd in Asia Pacific to reach Level 4+ 'Transition' of the ACA Program of ACI, aligning our CO2 management with global climate objectives. Our next goal? Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2029! @CSMIA_Official #COP28," Adani posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. This accolade is a testament to the airport's commitment to providing exceptional services to passengers and enhancing their overall airport experience. The ASQ rankings, widely recognized in the aviation industry, measure various aspects of airport services, including cleanliness, security, efficiency, and passenger satisfaction. This feat underscores the airport's operational efficiency and capability to manage a high volume of flights, contributing to its standing as a key aviation hub in the region. The emphasis on sustainability is a cornerstone of Adani's approach to airport management. In addition to these achievements, Adani's Mumbai Airport has reached Level 4+ 'Transition' of the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Program of the Airports Council International (ACI). The ACA Program assesses airports' efforts in managing and reducing carbon emissions, promoting responsible environmental practices within the aviation sector. Adani's Mumbai Airport's achievement of Level 4+ 'Transition' reflects its dedication to effective carbon management and its contribution to global climate goals. The announcement comes when the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) is being held in Dubai, UAE, where global discussions on climate action and sustainability are at the forefront. Adani's Mumbai Airport's commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2029 aligns with the spirit of COP28, reinforcing the aviation industry's role in addressing climate change challenges. Adani's Mumbai Airport's achievements and future commitments position it as a leading force in the aviation sector, setting new standards for service excellence, operational efficiency, and environmental sustainability in the Asia Pacific region. (ANI)
PRNewswire Dubai [UAE], December 9: At COP 28, the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Agribusiness Task Force announced the launch of a new blended finance framework that could unlock trillions of dollars for regenerative agriculture. A task force of companies including Mars, McCain Foods, McDonald's, Mondelez International, PepsiCo and Waitrose, unveil a plan to make regenerative farming financially viable and scalable; explore implementation projects in India, the UK and the US; welcome Lloyds Banking Group to boost cross-industry support, and call for policy changes to help support its implementation. The global food system currently creates ~30% of human produced GHG emissions[1] and is the greatest driver to nature loss. Embracing regenerative farming globally could help provide a third of the land-based climate action needed by 2030[2], but as the Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Task Force found last year, the economics do not work for most farmers. The Task Force including Bayer, Indigo Ag and Olam Agri, today outlines a four-lever framework to accelerate the scaling of regenerative farming, built on: * New funding and sourcing models; * Introduction of common metrics; * Suggested government policy changes; and * A plan to create new revenue streams for farmers. "New funding and sourcing models" is a first-of-its-kind blended finance model combining philanthropic support, catalytic capital from asset managers, commercial capital offered at preferential rates from banks, longer-term contract commitments from food businesses to source sustainable commodities, and crop insurance from insurance companies helping de-risk farming operations. A "plan to create new revenue streams for farmers" proposes a way to create more revenue for farmers by allowing them to capture carbon credits during a field's entire rotation, not just when it is in-use. Titled the Ecosystem Services Market, the approach means when a field is farmed to supply a buyer, regenerative practices can help the buyer's Scope 3 footprint; then during a year when the farmer is resting the field to recover soil health and biodiversity, the farmer can continue selling carbon credits to other buyers outside of their value chain. Complementing solutions to make regenerative farming financially viable, are proposals to make it scalable. The Task Force suggests the "introduction of common metrics", which would give regenerative farming a universally understood and scalable approach, and 10 "suggested government policy changes" which could help unlock USD 1.2 trillion that regenerative agriculture can add to the worldwide economy[3]. Policy recommendations include financial advice and training support to farmers implementing regenerative farming, and those carrying out Research and Development; promoting regenerative farming terms in trade agreements; and creating incentives for landowners to encourage regenerative techniques by tenants. The Task Force reveals it is exploring at least four farming projects to prove its concept. These include rice in India, involving Bayer and Olam; canola and wheat projects in Poland, involving Mars, PepsiCo and ADM; wheat projects in the US, involving Mondelez and Indigo AG; and potatoes and other crops in the UK, involving McCain, McDonald's, Waitrose, PepsiCo, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest. Grant Reid, former CEO of Mars, Inc., and Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Agribusiness Task Force said: "Taking farming back to its roots through regenerative practices isn't a choice; it's one of the only ways we can guarantee farming and global food supply chains can survive for generations to come. "That's why our plan, proving that regenerative farming could be economically viable, rewarding, and scalable, could be transformational to the world. But we need to prove it, which is why we're eagerly putting into practice our theory by launching implementation projects across the world. "And while I'm so proud of the cross-industry group we've built to-date, with merely five harvests left until 2030, it needs to grow even more. That's why I call upon those with influence, from food and finance leaders, to governments, NGOs, to join us in this transformative journey." The Task Force's full plan, published in its report Scaling Regenerative Farming: Levers for Implementation, can be viewed on the Agribusiness Task Force webpage. NOTES TO EDITORS Task Force members Chaired by Grant F. Reid, former CEO of Mars Incorporated, Task Force members include: * Bayer* HowGood* Indigo Ag* Lloyds Banking Group* Mars Incorporated* McCain Foods* McDonald's* Mondelez International* Olam* PepsiCo* Sustainable Food Trust* Waitrose* Yara International 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 [1] UN Environment Programme; Our global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss [2] Griscom, B., Adams, J., Ellis, P., et al. Natural Climate Solutions (2017). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114 [3] The Food and Land Use Coalition, Growing Better: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food & Land Use Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2296540/Sustainable_Markets_Initiative.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
Actor Mouni Roy, who is currently seen on the Indian version of the American dating reality series 'Temptation Island', said that it is better to talk to your partner rather than physical confrontation on the recent episode of the show. At the start of the show, it was revealed that the contestant Cheshta Bhagat had slapped her boyfriend Arjun Aneja after discovering his feelings for someone else. In prior episodes, Cheshta's friend Nikhil Mehta disclosed that Cheshta had also experienced physical aggression from Arjun's side. Mouni, who is a love expert on the show, referred to as 'Queen of Hearts' addressed the situation and expressed her thoughts. She said, "Galtiyaan sab se hoti hai. We all agree, but haath uthana galat hai! Whether it's a boy or a girl, what is wrong is wrong! We understand that every action has a certain reaction, but often your reactions are bigger than the action! If you had expressed your feelings instead of resorting to physical confrontation with your partner, you would have been in the right! The moment you resort to violence, you may stand wrong after that! Your actions define and say a lot about you." Talking about the challenges on the island, Mouni added, "On this island, I am pretty sure that expressing your concerns about your 12-year-long relationship is very difficult! This is probably the most challenging situation any human can go through. _Respect ka daaira chala jata hai to relationship nahi tikta! _ (If the circle of respect is breached, the relationship won't sustain!) It's a sensitive topic, and we should deal with it sensibly." 'Temptation Island India' streams on JioCinema. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on launching the 'House of Himalayas' brand during the Global Investors Summit in the state on Thursday. Speaking during the main event of Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit-2023 today, PM Modi said that the 'House of Himalayas' brand strengthens the concept of 'Vocal for Local and Local for Global.' Highlighting the 'Vocal for Local and Local for Global' campaign, PM Modi said, "India's special development has happened in the last few years. There was a population of the country that was deprived of everything. Now, due to the government's schemes, more than 13 crore people have come out of poverty in just 5 years. All these have given a boost to the economy. Today the country's consumption-based economy is moving forward rapidly. We have to become 'Vocal for local and local for global." He further said that the major development projects in the state have opened the doors for every investor. "Today in Uttarakhand, work on village roads is going on at a very fast pace. That day is not far when the Delhi-Dehradun expressway travel time is about to be two hours. The rail line here is about to be strengthened. All these paths have brought golden opportunities for every investor," he said. "Areas that have lagged in development are being brought forward, which means Uttarakhand has unmatched potential for every investor to reap maximum benefits. The state is going to emerge as a new brand of empowerment. There are possibilities here like nature, culture, heritage, Ayurveda, Yoga," PM Modi said. He asserted that the third decade of the 21st century is the decade of Uttarakhand and all of you are also getting a huge opportunity to join this development journey of the state. PM Modi also emphasized, "In my 3rd term as PM of the country, India will be listed in the top 3 economies in the world." Before inaugurating the summit, PM Modi held a roadshow in Dehradun and also inspected an exhibition at the venue of the Global Investors Summit 2023 in Dehradun. He also stressed that the land of Uttarakhand, full of potential, is going to open many doors of investment for everyone. (ANI)
This crucial phase of the project holds significance for the state's transportation infrastructure, aiming to enhance connectivity between Motera and Gandhinagar.

Accompanied by Chief Advisor Hasmukh Adhia, Chairman of Metro Rail Corporation SS Rathore, and other senior secretaries, CM Patel meticulously examined various aspects of the railway route and stations currently under construction.

During the inspection, the Chief Minister's visit covered a span from Bhaijipura to Ch-2, focusing on key areas including Dholakuwa, Randesan, Gift City, and other strategic locations along the route.

In addition to assessing the Metro Rail developments, CM Patel extended his scrutiny to the construction work underway on the Visat to Narmada to Koba Circle road.

The Chief Minister engaged with project stakeholders, obtaining technical insights into the ongoing construction activities.

The Metro Rail Phase-2 project is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping Gujarat's modernised and interconnected urban landscape. (ANI)
According to the official release, the BSF intercepted the movement of the suspected drone near Maboke Village on December 8, 2023, at about 10:10 pm. The BSF troops, as per the laid down drill, immediately reacted and fired on the drone to intercept it.

Further, during the search on the morning of December 9, the BSF troops recovered a small drone along with one hold and release mechanism from the farming field adjacent to Rohilla Hazi village.

As per the information from the press note, the recovered drone is a Quadcopter (Model - DJI Mavic 3 Classic, made in China).

This is not the first instance where attempts have been made to smuggle arms or narcotics into Indian territory from across the border with the help of drones. This has especially been a severe problem in the state of Punjab where frequent smuggling attempts are made with the help of drones by cross-border smugglers.

Earlier this week, the BSF, in a joint operation with the Punjab Police, recovered a Pakistani drone in the Amritsar sector.

According to officials, the drone was recovered from the farming field adjacent to Dhanoe Kalan village in Amritsar.

The recovered drone was a Quadcopter (Model-DJI Mavic 3 Classic, made in China), the BSF said in a statement.

"On specific intelligence input, @BSF_Punjab and @PunjabPoliceInd (@AmritsarRPolice) launched a joint search operation and recovered a Pakistani #drone (Quadcopter - DJI Mavic 3 Classic-MADE IN CHINA), from a field near Village Dhanoe Kalan, District Amritsar, Punjab," the BSF Punjab Frontier posted on X. (ANI)
According to police, the arrested individuals, identified as Anish and a 15-year-old juvenile, were allegedly on their way to carry out an extortion-related firing near a renowned 5-star hotel in South Delhi, when they were caught.

According to the police, the duo was apprehended based on specific intelligence inputs. As they neared the target location on a motorcycle, the police intercepted them, leading to a brief exchange of fire.

While a total of five rounds were fired by the accused, the police retaliated with two rounds in self-defence, and no injuries happened, according to the police.

Two sophisticated pistols with four live cartridges and the motorcycle used in the crime have been seized.

A case under relevant sections 186/353/307/34 IPC of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Arms Act has been registered at the Special Cell police station.

Police investigations revealed that Anish has a prior history of involvement in six criminal cases, including armed robbery, violating the Arms Act, and assault, all within Rohtak district.

The juvenile was also found to have been involved in an earlier armed robbery case in Rohtak.

Further investigation is underway, officials added. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that Uttarakhand has made the most progress due to double engine government of the BJP and it will set a strong example across the world for associating itself with trade without compromising with its natural beauty. Amit Shah, while attending the concluding session of Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023 said "Uttarakhand has itself earned the honour of a policy-driven state by rolling out more than 30 policies in six years". "This event is an opportunity to mark the beginning of a new Uttarakhand. Now Uttarakhand will become a strong example across the world that it could associate itself with trade and commerce without compromising its natural beauty and by following eco-friendly ways," the Minister said. "Under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttarakhand has made most of its progress so far," he added. Shah also congratulated the Chief Minister on Rs 3.5 lakh crore worth MoUs signed by the state administration. "I asked Pushkar Dhami (Uttarakhand Chief Minister) about the target and he said Rs 2 lakh crore but today MoUs worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore have been concluded. I would like to congratulate the state's administration under the leadership of Dhami for this," Shah said. Earlier on Thursday, while inaugurating the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country must focus now on Vocal for local and Local for Global. Speaking at the event, PM Modi said "India's special development has happened in the last few years. There was a population of the country that was deprived of everything. Now, due to the government's schemes, more than 13 crore people have come out of poverty in just 5 years. All these have given a boost to the economy. Today the country's consumption-based economy is moving forward rapidly. We have to become 'Vocal for local and local for global." He further said that the major development works in the state have opened the doors for every investor. "Today in Uttarakhand, work on village roads is going on at a very fast pace. That day is not far when the Delhi-Dehradun expressway travel time is about to be two hours. The rail line here is about to be strengthened. All these paths have brought golden opportunities for every investor. Areas that have lagged behind in development are being brought forward which means Uttarakhand has unmatched potential for every investor to reap maximum benefits. The state is going to emerge as a new brand of empowerment. There are possibilities here like nature, culture, heritage, Ayurveda, Yoga," PM Modi said. He asserted that the third decade of the 21st century is the decade of Uttarakhand and all of you are also getting a huge opportunity to join this development journey of the state. (ANI)
As the Supreme Court is set to announce its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah expressed his hope that the decision would be pronounced in the "favour of people" of the regions. Speaking to the reporters here, the NC leader further said that he will not comment on the issue until the apex court pronounces its verdict on the pleas related to Article 370. "No one can say with surety that they know what will happen. I have no machinery that would tell me what the ice judges might be thinking or what they've written in the judgement. I can only hope and pray that the decision is in our favour...Let the verdict be given; I will comment only after that," Omar said. The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on December 11 will pronounce its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories. A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant will pass the judgement on Monday. The Constitution Bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories. Several petitions were filed in the top court, including those of private individuals, lawyers, activists, politicians and political parties challenging the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which splits Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. On August 5, 2019, the Central government announced the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370 and split the region into two union territories. On September 5, the apex court reserved the judgement after hearing the arguments for 16 days. The central government had defended its decision to abrogate Article 370, saying there was no "constitutional fraud" in repealing the provision that accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for Centre. The Centre had told the bench that Jammu and Kashmir was not the only state whose accession to India was through instruments of accession, but many other princely states that too had joined India post-independence in 1947, with conditionalities and after their merger, their sovereignty was subsumed in the sovereignty of India. At the time of independence in 1947, the majority of the 565 princely states were in Gujarat and many had conditions relating to taxes, land acquisition and other issues, the central government told the bench. The Centre had also submitted that the status of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory is only temporary and it will be restored to statehood; however, Ladakh would remain a Union Territory. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, had opened the arguments, saying Article 370 was no longer a "temporary provision" and had assumed permanence post the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. He had contended that the Parliament could not have declared itself to be the legislature of J-K in order to facilitate the abrogation of Article 370, as Article 354 of the Constitution does not authorise such an exercise of power. Highlighting that the express terms of clause 3 of Article 370 show that a recommendation from the Constituent Assembly was essential to removing Article 370, Sibal had argued that in the wake of the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, whose recommendation was required to abrogate Article 370, the provision could not be revoked. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association had told the Supreme Court that while acceding to India, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to his sovereignty over the territory of the state but not his sovereign power to rule and govern the state. The accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was territorial and except for defence, external affairs and communication, all the powers were retained with the state to make laws and govern, said senior advocate ZA Zafar, appearing for the J-K High Court Bar Association. The Central government had defended its decision to abolish Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that after the changes, street violence, which was engineered and orchestrated by terrorists and secessionist networks, has now become a thing of the past. (ANI)
After a relentless four-year pursuit, Delhi Police have successfully apprehended Rohit, a key member of the notorious Tyagi-Gauri gang from the Tilak Nagar area. A semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with three live cartridges was also recovered from his possession, officials said on Saturday. Police said that the accused was caught with arms and was attempting to revive the gang's activities under Salman Tyagi and Saddam Gauri. The arrested accused, Rohit, was involved in seven criminal cases and was wanted in a case under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) at Police Station Hari Nagar, Delhi. According to the police, the accused had been absconding for more than four years in a case under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) registered against him and his associates. He was nabbed in the evening hours of Thursday from Chaukhandi and Tilak Nagar, and one semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with three live cartridges was recovered from his possession. He is a key member of the Salman Tyagi-Saddam Gauri Gang, and the members of this gang are closely associated with the Neeraj Bawana gang, police said. There was information with the Special Cell/SR about the movements of absconding criminal Rohit in the West Delhi area, and teams were deployed to track him as the accused was frequently changing his hideouts in Delhi and UP to evade his arrest. However, the incessant efforts of the team paid off when specific information regarding the presence of accused Rohit near Dargah Chaukhandi, Tilak Nagar, Delhi, was received by the team of Inspector Karamvir Singh. Subsequently, a team headed by SI Sumit was immediately sent to Tilak Nagar, and at about 03:35 PM, Rohit was found walking towards Dargah Chaukhandi, Tilak Nagar, Delhi, from Kali Mata Mandir side. "He was asked to stop and surrender by the police team, but he tried to escape from there. However, the police team showed exemplary courage and nabbed the accused. One semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with three live cartridges was recovered from his possession. A case under appropriate sections of law was registered at the PS Special Cell in this regard," police said. Rohit is a member of the notorious Salman Tyagi-Saddam Gauri gang. They also have a close association with the Neeraj Bawana gang. The accused is involved in seven criminal cases of assault on police teams, robbery, extortion, the Excise Act, etc., in Delhi. Keeping in view the criminal activities of the members of this group, a case under the MCOCA Act was also registered against the syndicate at PS Hari Nagar in 2019, and he has been absconding since then. On November 18, 2023, a non-bailable warrant was also issued against him by a Tis Hazari Court. The accused was reviving the gang by collecting funds at the behest of Salman Tyagi and Saddam Gauri, the police added. (ANI)
After Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote to NCP rival faction chief and fellow Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, opposing Nawab Malik's induction into the ruling alliance in the state, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has raised the question if it was done based on Malik's religion. Chavan also questioned the need for Fadnavis to communicate his opposition through a widely circulated letter on social media instead of directly conveying it to NCP leader Ajit Pawar. "It can be understood that Devendra Fadnavis has the complete right to decide whether Nawab Malik should be taken into the cabinet but couldn't he convey this small piece of information to Ajit Pawar directly? But you (Devendra Fadnavis) wrote a letter, and it was circulated nationwide through social media. Was this done because of Nawab Malik's religion?" said Chavan. "Allegations against Nawab Malik have not been proven yet. But still, he has not got a fair chance to prove his stand as it is not known whether the allegations are true or not," he added. He also said that Fadnavis has taken other leaders into the cabinet who have corruption allegations against them, even such leaders against whom allegations have been made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been included, so the reason that Malik was not taken because of corruption does not make any sense. Fadnavis on Thursday wrote to his cabinet colleague and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, expressing opposition to the induction of Malik in the ruling 'Maha Yuti' or grand alliance in the state. "Given that he is an accused (in a money laundering case), we are of the opinion that it would not be proper to induct him into the ruling alliance. Power comes and goes but the country is paramount," Fadnavis had said. "We agree that it is your prerogative (to decide) who should be inducted in your party. But every constituent (in the Maha Yuti) has to think as to whether it would harm the alliance," Fadnavis said, adding, "Hence, we are opposed to this." Earlier, NCP leader Ajit Pawar responded and said he would present his point after Nawab Malik made his stand official. "I received Fadnavis' letter. First, I will present my point after coming to know what the official stand of Nawab Malik is, I do not decide who sits where in the Assembly, the speaker makes that decision," said Ajit Pawar. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi termed Devendra Fadnavis's letter as 'hypocrisy". "This is hypocrisy. There is a vast difference between their words and actions. This hypocrisy is because they are drunk on power. The public can see the compromises that the BJP made in Maharashtra for power. The public can see the betrayal that Eknath Shinde did to his party. The public can see all that Ajit Pawar did to give himself a clean chit. So, this letter is hypocrisy," Priyanka Chaturvedi said. Meanwhile, Jayant Patil of the Sharad Pawar faction claimed the letter by Deputy CM Fadnavis was only a way to inform the people that Nawab Malik had become part of the alliance. "He (Nawab Malik) came to Vidhan Sabha and was sitting on the ruling party's side. So, the BJP wrote this letter as a way of offering an explanation to the people (for the split in the NCP). Instead of sending a letter to Ajit Pawar, he (Fadnavis) could have just called and informed him. I think this letter was the government's way of giving an explanation of Malik's induction to the ruling alliance to the people of Maharashtra," Patil told reporters in Nagpur. Malik is currently out on medical bail after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in February 2022 in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Malik was a cabinet minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government at the time of his arrest. Malik attended the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly here for the first time since his bail on Thursday. He sat on the last bench in the assembly, next to the MLAs of the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party. (ANI)
Objecting to the appointment of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's Akbaruddin Owaisi as a pro-tem Speaker of the assembly, Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party chief and Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday that BJP decided to boycott the oath-taking event, alleging violation of assembly rules in the appointment of pro-tem Speaker. G Kishan Reddy further said that the BJP will go to the Governor on the issue of pro-tem Speaker. "BJP is against the appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro-tem Speaker (of Telangana Assembly). This is against the tradition of appointing senior MLAs to the post.The BJP MLAs will boycott taking oaths before this pro-tem Speaker", he said. "Our MLAs will take oath after a Speaker is appointed. We will never ally with such a party (AIMIM). We will go to the Governor on this," he added. The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress government of 'neglecting' the senior candidates for the post and of defying the existing tradition of the House. Citing violation of assembly rules in the appointment of pro-tem Speaker, he said, "There is a tradition of appointing senior leaders as the pro-tem speakers. However, they (Congress) have appointed Akbaruddin Owaisi due to their understanding with AIMIM. We object to this." "The Congress only has a slight majority. Thus, they have made Akbaruddin Owaisi the pro-tem speaker. We want a different pro-tem speaker to conduct the Speaker elections. We will tell the same to the Governor now," he added. Earlier on Friday, AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi took oath as Protem Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly in Raj Bhawan, Hyderabad. The oath was administered by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also present on the occasion. The Governor appointed Akbaruddin Owaisi as the pro-tem Speaker of the state assembly on Friday. The first session of the third Telangana State Legislative Assembly began today. The pro-tem Speaker serves a temporary role, officiating the assembly session until the newly-elected members are sworn in and a speaker is elected. Earlier on Thursday, twelve MLAs took oaths as ministers in a fresh cabinet in Telangana, along with new Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad. Revanth Reddy became the first Congress Chief Minister of the youngest state in India. Congress won an absolute majority in Telangana for the first time, winning 64 of 119 seats. Telangana Congress President Revanth Reddy won by a margin of 32,532 votes in Kodangal against BRS's Patnam Narender Reddy. Meanwhile, the Telangana BJP took to 'X' and criticised the new Congress government over the appointment of the AIMIM MLA as the pro-tem speaker. "The Congress government in Telangana is like a nose that blows when it sneezes. That is why Telangana state BJP President and Union Minister @kishanreddybjp has expressed his opposition to the decision of the Congress to write off the tradition of the Legislative Assembly by assigning the post of Protem Speaker to Akbaruddin Owaisi to tame the Majlis Party and not the seniors in the Assembly", said the party in a post on 'X'. (ANI)
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday highlighted the central government's commitment to the development of Railways in Andhra Pradesh, adding that Rs 8,406 crores have been sanctioned for the state. "The funding for Andhra Pradesh will not stop. It is Rs 8,406 crore, so our commitment to the development of Railways in Andhra is reflected in the budget. I always see sincere support and cooperation from the state government. As Modiji always says, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas," Vaishnaw said while addressing a public gathering in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. Speaking on projects in the state, the Union Minister said, "I want to share that Rs 4,000 crores have been sanctioned for 4G and 5G towers in Andhra Pradesh. The construction work is going on. Most of the towers are located in the north Andhra district, where connectivity is not there". "Honourable Modiji is very committed to creation in the South Coast Zone. For that, already Rs 106 crore has been sanctioned and we are working with the state government to get the land for it. The first piece of land that we identified for the project is 52 acres in the Vutsarlova village areas. Additional CS is regularly monitoring it. Once we get the land, we will start the construction soon. Visakhapattnam is an IT hub. We have to create a building that is in tune with the aspirations of Visakhapattnam. That is why a very modern building design has been proposed," he added. Vaishnaw further said, "Our aim is to make India a developed country by 2047. Almost every week, one Vande Bharat train is being manufactured." He is on a visit to the southern state. Earlier in the day, the Union Minister offered prayers at Shri Laxmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Visakhapatnam. "I had an excellent 'Darshan' and I prayed to the almighty for everybody's health and everybody's welfare. I am also very happy to say that under the 'PRASHAD' scheme, this temple will be developed with an investment of about Rs 60 crore and this will be another link in the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi is developing the cultural heritage of our country," Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme was launched in 2014-15 under the Ministry of Tourism. It aims at developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India to enrich the religious tourism experience. (ANI)
Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha on Saturday called for collective efforts from all stakeholders to pass on the knowledge system of Sanskrit, one of the oldest living languages of the world, to the younger generation. Further, the Lt Governor said, "Sanskrit is our priceless cultural heritage, which is now being looked upon with admiration across the world. It is the greatest treasure of knowledge in science, medicine, botany, Literature and many other subjects." "Lieutenant Governor Sinha said this while addressing the 11th Foundation Day function of Shri Kailakh Jyotish and Vedic Sansthan Trust on Saturday," as per a press release from the Lieutenant Governor's office. "The inter-disciplinary approach and voluminous work in Sanskrit on different subjects can contribute to the growth of the knowledge economy, develop values, ideals and utilise them for the well being of society," the Lt Governor said. "The Lieutenant Governor congratulated the Trustees, President and all the members of Shri Kailakh Jyotish and Vedic Sansthan Trust on the occasion. He commended the organisation for tirelessly working for the promotion of Sanskrit and for its firm commitment to the idea of selfless service to the needy," the release stated. At the foundation day function, the Lt Governor shared the key initiatives of the UT Administration for the promotion of Sanskrit and value-based education in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the vacant posts for Hindi, Sanskrit and Indian philosophy in universities in Jammu and Kashmir have been filled. Today, Indian philosophy is being taught in universities of the UT. This is a testimony to our commitment to promote cultural and linguistic traditions in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. "On the occasion, the Lt Governor felicitated international mountaineer Col Ranbir Singh Jamwal and renowned surgeon Dr Sanjay Sharma for their significant contributions in their respective fields," as per the release. Students from Chudamani Sanskrit Sansthan, Basohli, presented the Vedic Manglacharan. "Professor BN Tripathi, Vice-Chancellor SKUAST-Jammu; Sham Lal Sharma, former Minister; Mahant Rohit Shastri, President, Shri Kailakh Jyotish & Vedic Sansthan Trust, were present on the occasion. The event was also attended by Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Shri Adhokshajanand Devtirth Ji Maharaj," the release stated. (ANI)
CPC leadership holds meeting on 2024 economic work, anti-corruption work, Party discipline

Xinhua) 16:15, December 08, 2023

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Friday held a meeting to analyze and study the economic work of 2024, arrange Party conduct and anti-corruption work, and review regulations on the CPC's disciplinary action.

The meeting was chaired by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

Noting that Chinese economy has achieved a recovery this year and the country's high-quality development has made solid progress, the meeting emphasized measures to effectively enhance economic vitality, prevent and defuse risks, improve social expectations, and consolidate and enhance the positive momentum of economic upturn in the economic work of 2024.

The meeting urged efforts to pursue progress while ensuring stability, consolidate stability through progress, and establish the new before abolishing the old regarding the economic work next year.

The country should strengthen counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments of macro policies and continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy.

The proactive fiscal policy should be appropriately intensified and improved in quality and efficiency, while the prudent monetary policy should be flexible, appropriate, targeted and effective, according to the meeting.

It also stressed efforts to lead the development of a modern industrial system through scientific and technological innovations, and improve the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.

Work should be done to increase domestic demand and form a virtuous circle in which consumption and investment promote each other. Reform should be deepened in key areas to constantly inject strong momentum into high-quality development.

The meeting also emphasized expanding high-standard opening up and consolidating the overall performance of foreign trade and foreign investment.

The country should continuously and effectively prevent and defuse risks in key areas and resolutely safeguard the bottom line against systemic risks.

Measures should also be taken to promote urban-rural integrated development and coordinated regional development, further advance ecological progress and green and low-carbon growth, and ensure and improve people's well-being, according to the meeting.

The meeting stressed the high-quality implementation of the CPC Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements for economic work, while underscoring efforts to ensure market supply and stable prices of essential goods during New Year's Day and the Spring Festival and ensure full and timely payments of migrant workers' wages.

Since the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022, new progress and achievements have been made in advancing the high-quality development of discipline inspection and supervision, the meeting said.

Discipline inspection and supervision organs should promote the Party's full and rigorous self-governance and make unremitting efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline and combat corruption, it noted.

Efforts should be made to tighten political oversight, advance the fight against corruption, deal a heavy blow to pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance, make oversight more effective, and develop a team of discipline inspection and supervision personnel who are high-caliber and professional, the meeting said.

Prior to this meeting, Xi had chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, during which a briefing was given on the work of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Commission of Supervision in 2023 and preparation for the third plenary session of the 20th CCDI of the CPC.

The meeting agreed that the plenary session is scheduled for Jan. 8 to 10 next year.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC has made three rounds of revisions to its regulations on disciplinary action in order to constantly strengthen its capability to purify, improve, reform and excel itself, the meeting noted.

The meeting stressed further efforts to enforce strict political discipline and rules, and promote the publicity and implementation of the regulations to enhance the Party's creativity, cohesiveness and capacity to take on challenges.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan)
Facing heat after crores of rupees were unearthed from premises linked to their Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu, Congress on Saturday said that the party is in no way connected with the businesses of the former and that the lawmaker from Jharkhand should explain the matter. Taking to social media platform, X, the Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh said that only Dhiraj Sahu can explain the huge amounts of cash, reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties. "The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," the Congress leader wrote on X. Income Tax sleuths have recovered more than Rs 200 crore cash from several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand during their raids against Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and entities linked to it. The residences of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu were also searched. The episode has provided fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is leaving no stone unturned to attack the opposition Congress over the incident. Union Minister Smriti Irani has questioned the grand old party and said that the Gandhi family must tell the country for which Congress leader, the Rajya Sabha MP, was working as an 'ATM'. "Rs 200 crore has been recovered from the premises of their party MP, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu and the counting is still going on. Mohabbat Ki Dukaan Mein Corruption Ka Karobaar Chal Raha Hai (a business of corruption is being run in Mohabbat Ki Dukaan). The Congress high command, (means) the Gandhi family, will have to tell the country that for which Congress leader of the Gandhi family he was working as an ATM," she said on Friday while speaking to ANI. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his X handle, tagging a news report about the I-T department recovering Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Sahu, took a swipe at the opposition party. "Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," PM Modi said in a post with several emojis. (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday conferred 23 gold medals to the meritorious students of Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan district. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla also presided over the 12th convocation of Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan district. CM Sukhu was present as Chief Guest on the occasion and the Governor in the presence of the Chief Minister awarded merit certificates to 773 students. Apart from this, 1305 students were awarded BSc Horticulture and BSc Forestry, BTech Bio-Technology, MBA/ABM, MSc and PhD degrees in horticulture and forestry. The Chief Minister conferred 23 gold medals to the meritorious students out of which 20 gold medals have been awarded to girl students on the occasion. The Governor also conferred an honorary degree to Chief Managing Director, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited Nand Lal Sharma and Deputy Director General, Education, Indian Agriculture Research Council Rakesh Chand Aggarwal. On the occasion, the Governor appealed to the youth to benefit society by using the various startups run by the Government of India and the State Government. He said that they should move towards self-employment and need to become a job provider. Congratulating the gold medal winners and the students who received degrees, the Governor appealed to them to contribute towards nation-building. He expressed happiness that female students got maximum degrees and gold medals. He said that they should take their research work to the fields so that farmers could benefit from it. "Until the research done by scientists comes out of the laboratories and books and reaches the fields practically, research is useless," he said and added that it was the duty of young scientists to solve farmers' problems in their farms and also the solution should be delivered to them on time. Shukla said that only youth could bring change into the society. The knowledge from textbooks could be practical only when it can be put to use by society. "A degree does not only mean employment but there is a need to think about how the knowledge acquired can be used for society," said the Governor. Emphasizing the need to reduce farmers' dependence on various chemical pesticides, he said that it was possible only when farmers were motivated towards natural farming. He expressed contentment that the university has initiated many important steps towards adopting a natural farming system. The Governor stressed the need for further improvement in the performance of Nauni University in the ranking. Currently, it is placed 17th in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ranking. He expressed happiness that the University has introduced the Academic Management System. "This system will help the university to follow best academic practices in education and digitization and create a data bank of academic records," he added. Shukla also stressed promoting interdisciplinary studies and international collaboration. "Only by sharing research and innovation, the challenges facing the country and the world can be faced," he said. He described intensive research as the need of the hour and stressed the use of information technology to bring speed and quality to work in the changing perspective. He said that for this, there was a need to pay more attention to e-education and technical discussions. On the occasion, CM Sukhu congratulated all the gold medal winners and announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for each gold medalist. He expressed well wishes for a bright future for all the students and emphasized that challenges are inevitable, but success comes through resilience. He also encouraged the youth to recognize and preserve India's rich cultural heritage."Girls are shining in every field and have been proved today as 20 out of 23 students receiving gold medals were girls. The state government is committed to empowering women, with women holding key decision-making roles and working as DCs and SPs in many districts," said the Chief Minister. He reiterated that a 30 per cent reservation in police recruitment would be provided to women by the state government. A committee has been formed to consider raising the legal age of marriage of girls from 18 to 21 years, emphasizing the importance of women's involvement in societal progress. Sharing memories of his college days, the Chief Minister said he spent memorable years of his life at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla and afterwards entered into active politics. He said that youth was the future of Himachal. CM Sukhu highlighted the challenging economic situation of the state, emphasizing the government's focus on improving the quality of education. He expressed concern about the high individual debt exceeding Rs 1 lakh per person and the unsustainable reliance on continuous borrowing. He said that the state government was committed to making tough decisions to ensure future generations' benefit, despite the Union Government having reduced the borrowing limit to Rs 6600 crore. "Despite limited resources, the government aims to revitalize the state's economy over the next decade and is actively working towards System Revamp," he said. The State Government has adopted 4000 orphans as 'Children of the State' and by enacting a law, making it the responsibility of the State Government to take care of them for upto 27 years, he reiterated. Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Aashraya Yojana ensures full state support until the age of 27 years, covering their care, higher education, and hostel expenses, and providing Rs 4000 as pocket money. Orphans receive financial aid of Rs 2 lakh for a startup, three Biswa land for housing, Rs 3 lakh financial assistance for home construction, and Rs 2 lakh for marriage. Emphasizing the need for youth to embrace self-employment, he said that given the geographical conditions of Himachal, the upcoming budget would prioritize and promote natural farming. "The state government aims to boost farmers' income by introducing new provisions in the upcoming budget to ensure a stable revenue stream. Plans include connecting families in each assembly constituency to natural farming, with the state government committed to purchasing products and offering lucrative rates for those produced through natural farming practices," said CM Sukhu. The state government has launched the first phase of the Rs 680 crore Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Start-Up Scheme, offering 500 permits for e-taxi to the youth, said the Chief Minister and added that a 50 per cent subsidy was being offered for the purchase of e-taxis. The government aims to promote solar energy projects, offering financial aid and a 25-year commitment to purchase generated electricity. Additionally, self-employment initiatives in the agriculture and horticulture sectors are also in the pipeline. He congratulated CMD SJVN, Nand Lal Sharma and Deputy Director General ICAR, RC Aggarwal who received honorary degrees as well. Vice Chancellor, Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Rajeshwar Chandel detailed various achievements and other activities of the University. He said that the University has focussed more on research activities. He thanked the state government for providing financial assistance of rupees four crore for research in natural farming and development. He disclosed that graduation and post-graduation courses in natural farming were being started at the university from the next academic session. "The state government has provided Rs 2.50 crore for pursuing research work in the university which would be allocated to the different departments through 41 projects," he added. Registrar of the University Narender Chauhan proposed a vote of thanks. Later, the Governor and the Chief Minister inaugurated a Rs 1.16 crore Skill Development Hostel and Rs 40 lakh Vivekananda Yoga and Meditation Center. (ANI)
Sweden's Ambassador to India, Jan Thesleff, said that India and Sweden want to work together to do things that are "smarter and more sustainable." He noted that the bond between India and Sweden dates back to independence. In his address at the celebration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and India, Thesleff recalled the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai. Jan Thesleff said, "Exactly one week ago, on Friday, our two Prime Ministers, Honourable Prime Minister Modi and the Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson, met in Dubai and they met to launch the leadership groups for industry transition at COP28." "And the new great initiative by India on green credits. So this is the freshest example of our sambandh (bond), actually. Together, India and Sweden want to do things smarter and more sustainable. We co-create and our motto has been for this year, Swedish innovation made in India." Highlighting the ties between the two nations, he said that five Indian Presidents have visited Sweden and four Swedish Prime Ministers have travelled to India. Thesleff noted,"There's been a sambandh between Sweden and India that goes back to independence. We've had five visits by Indian Presidents, Prime ministers to Sweden. We have four Swedish Prime Ministers coming to this beautiful, lovely, fantastic country. Our Kings and Queens have come three times to India. And only this year, 20 per cent of the Swedish government made their way to India in one year." He recalled that Rabindranath Tagore 110 years ago wrote the lyrics for the national anthem and won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature. Jan Thesleff noted that since then, nine prominent laureates of Indian descent have won that same prize. Congratulating India on the Chandrayaan-3 landing, he said, "I want to congratulate India on the amazing Chandrayaan-3 moon landing. I think that achievement shows that through innovation and innovation is at the core of what we do, we can pioneer the possible." Jan Thesleff hosted a gala reception at his residence on Friday to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sweden. The ties between India and Sweden were established in 1948 and have steadily strengthened over the decades, according to the Indian Embassy in Sweden. On December 1, Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that the Green Credits initiative is a promising additional tool to enhance climate action at a time when there is urgency and opportunities for climate transition in our societies. In his address at the high-level event on the Green Credits Programme at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit, the Swedish Prime Minister also thanked India for the invitation to this event on enhancing climate action. "We would like to thank our hosts and dear colleagues in India for the invitation to this event on enhancing climate action. Indeed, there are a large number of organisations, corporate entities and individuals who want to contribute to securing our future environment," he said. "In light of the urgency and opportunities of climate transition in our societies, we see the Green Credits initiative as a promising additional tool to enhance climate action," Kristersson added. As he further went on to address the event, Kristersson underlined that the Green Credit initiative could lower the threshold and how concrete actions can be taken. During the high-level event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson, President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and European Council President Charles Michel, launched the web portal of the Green Credits Programme at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit in Dubai. (ANI)
Pakistan Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that any Afghan living legally in the country if found involved in political activities will face deportation, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. While addressing a press conference on Friday, Bugti said that the Pakistan caretaker government had created a new policy for legal Afghan residents and refugees with Afghan citizen cards or other relevant identification. Sarfraz Bugti said, "They cannot participate in any political activity in Pakistan, they have nothing to do with Pakistan's politics. Around 10 people have been identified initially, and the number is growing [of those] involved in political activities and they are being deported." He said that policy will be implemented against all categories of Afghans with legal documentation, including those with business or tourist visas. He further said that "visa holders from other countries or those on a business visa or any other visa or with any other status" will be expelled if they engage in political activities. Bugti said that such individuals will be deported at the earliest. He said the Pakistan caretaker government was searching for such individuals and added that he would provide an updated count within a week. He said, "Pakistanis have to engage in politics, we have the right to politics and we will carry it out while remaining within the Constitution," according to Dawn report. He announced that 482,845 people have left Pakistan through various borders under the Pakistan government's deportation drive, with 90 per cent or more returning voluntarily. Sarfraz Bugti stated that the first phase of the deportation drive was being conducted and added that "ultimately everyone has to go back in the second stage [...] Finally, the time is coming when only Pakistanis will live in Pakistan." He said those who wished to come to Pakistan will have to do so legally. Earlier in November, the Pakistan caretaker government initiated a nationwide campaign to deport illegal foreign nationals, the majority of whom are Afghans. Pakistan's decision prompted criticism from Afghanistan and several other nations, Dawn reported. Of the more than four million Afghans living in Pakistan, the Pakistan government estimates that 1.7 million Afghans do not have documents. So far, thousands of Afghans have headed back to Afghanistan through the Torkham and Chaman border crossings. Earlier in November, the United Nations voiced concern about the welfare of Afghan citizens who have arrived in Afghanistan amid Pakistan's deportation of Afghan refugees and called for the suspension of the expulsion of Afghan refugees, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. UN called on the Pakistan government to halt the expulsion of more than one million Afghan refugees, at least during the winter season. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stressed that Pakistan should halt the expulsion of Afghan refugees. According to the Khaama Press report, the UN has raised concerns as Pakistani authorities have announced their intention to continue the expulsion of one million illegal refugees residing in Pakistan. (ANI)
In a diplomatic stride, Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), embarked on a crucial visit to Liechtenstein and Switzerland from December 7-8 which included exploring untapped avenues of cooperation in Liechtenstein and sustaining the momentum of bilateral exchanges through the FOC with Switzerland. During his visit to Liechtenstein on December 7, the Secretary (West) met Ambassador Martin Frick, Director, Office of Foreign Affairs for bilateral discussions, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release. Both sides appreciated the completion of 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Liechtenstein and agreed that there is scope to enhance overall ties. Sectors, including industrial innovation, digitalisation, medical science and R&D in niche technologies, were highlighted as potential areas of cooperation, the release also said. Discussions were held on the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership (TEPA), India's G20 Presidency, and global and regional issues of mutual interest. The Secretary (West) invited a business delegation from Liechtenstein to India. Secretary (West) also visited the industrial facility of Hilti Corporation, a world leader in construction solutions across value chains. Hilti employs around 2000 people in India, it added. In Switzerland, Verma co-chaired the 12th round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) along with Alexandre Fasel, State Secretary at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Berne on December 8, 2023. The last round of FOC took place on August 2, 2022, in New Delhi. During the FOC, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of their bilateral relations. The two sides acknowledged that bilateral relations have grown significantly and are dynamic. Discussions were held on political engagements, bilateral trade and investments, digitalisation, innovation, S&T, mobility and skill development. Both sides appreciated the ongoing discussions on the India-EFTA TEPA and the investment treaty between India and Switzerland. Views were also exchanged on gender empowerment, India's G20 presidency, and multilateral issues, including UNSC reforms and cooperation at the UN. Global and regional issues of mutual interest, including the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and the situation in West Asia were also discussed. Both sides agreed to hold the next round of FOC in New Delhi on mutually convenient dates, according to MEA. Verma also called on Guy Parmelin, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) of Switzerland. While the visit of the Secretary (West) to Liechtenstein provided an opportunity to explore new areas of cooperation, the FOC with Switzerland continued the momentum of bilateral exchanges. India and Switzerland are celebrating 75 years of the India-Switzerland Friendship Treaty in 2023. There are more than 320 Swiss companies present in India and around 140 Indian companies are present in Switzerland. Bilateral trade stands at above USD 17 billion. Switzerland is the 12th largest investor in India, with an overall investment of approximately USD 10 billion, the release said. (ANI)
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, Arab News reported. The meeting involved a comprehensive review of bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States. "During the meeting, bilateral relations between the Kingdom and the United States were reviewed, and developments in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings were discussed, as well as regional issues of common interest," according to a statement on SPA news agency, Arab News reported. The officials discussed "all possible efforts to reduce the pace of escalation and ensure that the violence does not expand to avoid its dangerous repercussions on international peace and security," the statement added. Prince Faisal emphasised the necessity of creating conditions conducive to stability and the restoration of the peace process. He stressed the importance of ensuring that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights. Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, was present at the meeting. In addition to the diplomatic discussions, Prince Faisal also gave an interview to American channel PBS. The interview covered the situation in Gaza, exploring potential paths forward from the violence, and highlighted Saudi Arabia's role in the region, Arab News reported. The US on Friday (local time) vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The resolution was put forward by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. Thirteen members of the UNSC voted in favour of the resolution, while the UK abstained from voting. The US Deputy Representative at the UN, Robert Wood, stressed that the resolution is "divorced from reality" and "would not have moved the needle forward on the ground." "Unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored. And the result of this rushed process was an imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality and that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way. And so, we regretfully could not support it," he said. At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the revised official death toll stands at about 1,147, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)
Pashteen, a prominent Pashtun leader, was arrested by the police in Pakistan's Balochistan province on December 4. He was produced before the anti-terrorism court, which handed him over to the police for seven days of physical remand.

It was learned that Manzoor Pashteen announced a joint movement with Baloch activists against the Pakistani military's atrocities. He was arrested while he was going to participate in a rally from Quetta to Turbat.

The PTM has been organising a series of protests not only in Pakistan but in other parts of the world, including Germany, the United States, Austria and France.

On Friday (Dec. 11), a massive protest rally was organised in Frankfurt, Germany and Belgium, in which a large number of Pashtun activists participated.

They shouted slogans like "Pakistan is killing, the world is watching," "Stop the Pashtun Genocide," and "Free free Manzoor Pashteen".

Similarly, many Pashtun political activists gathered in front of the White House in Washington, DC with banners reading "Terrorist State Pakistan" to condemn the arrest of Manzoor Pashteen.

In London, a delegation of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement submitted a memorandum at the UK Prime Minister's House at 10 Downing Street about Manzoor Pashteen's detention by Pakistani security agencies.

Pashteen, who belongs to the South Waziristan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, remains critical to Pakistani security agencies. His social movement, the Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement, has been protecting the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan against state atrocities.

PTM has been raising its voice against the enforced disappearances, torture and killings by the security agencies and also by terrorists like the Pakistani Taliban. (ANI)
Russia criticized the United States after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, CNN reported. Russia's UN Ambassador accused the US of authorizing a ground offensive in Gaza by Israel. In a statement to the council, Russia's diplomat accused Washington of being "complicit in Israel's brutal massacre." "Our American colleagues have condemned thousands - if not tens of thousands - more civilians in Palestine and Israel, including women and children, to death, along with the UN workers who are trying to help them," said the Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky. The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire, saying it would benefit Hamas. Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in response to the militants' deadly Oct. 7 cross-border rampage. The United States was the only country to vote against a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. "One can say many beautiful but empty words about democracy, human rights, peace, security, some rules and order, but today, we learned the true value of these words as two members of the UN Security Council preferred to remain complicit in Israel's brutal massacre," the diplomat also said, in an apparent allusion to the US and the UK, which abstained from voting. Russia and 13 other countries voted in favour of the draft resolution on Gaza, which demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and humanitarian access to the strip, according to CNN. Russia has time and again vetoed UN Security Council draft resolutions calling for the end of its on-going attack on Ukraine. Friday's vote followed mounting international pressure for an end to the fighting in Gaza and more aid for the enclave, where the UN has said the humanitarian support system is on the edge of collapse. After the vote, the US said the resolution was "divorced from reality," and "would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat" the attacks it committed against Israel on October 7. The United Arab Emirates, which tabled the resolution, criticised the council's inability to demand a ceasefire, asking: "What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" China too expressed its "great disappointment and regret" that the US vetoed the draft, with its UN ambassador saying "any negative attitude" toward a ceasefire was "untenable" and justification against it "remains feeble." "It needs to be pointed out that condoning the continuation of fighting while claiming to care about the lives and safety of the people in Gaza and the humanitarian needs there is self-contradictory," CNN quoted Ambassador Zhang Jun as saying. "All this shows once again what double standard is," he added. France said it did "not see any contradiction in the fight against terrorism and the protection of civilians," and added that with a lack of unity in the council, the crisis in Gaza is "getting worse and... runs the risk of extending," CNN reported. (ANI)
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, on Saturday departed for his visit to Sikkim and West Bengal, where he is scheduled to give teachings from December 12 to 14. This visit has heightened diplomatic discussions regarding the ongoing border tension between India and China. During his tour, Dalai Lama will give teachings in Gangtok, which is just about 50 kilometres away from the China border. He will give teachings on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo's 37 practices of a Boddhisattva (leklen sodunma) in the morning at Paljor Stadium at the request of the Sikkim State Government. After this, he will leave for teachings in West Bengal's Salugara on December 14. He will give a general teaching followed by the Ceremony for Generation of Bodhicitta (semkye) at Sed-Gyued Monastery. Dalai Lama's secretary, Chimi Rigzin said, "His Holiness is going to Sikkim at the invitation of the State Government of Sikkim and CM Prem Singh Tamang and he will be there for two days during which he will give teachings at Paljor Stadium, which is a public teaching and the next day there is a state banquet for his holiness and then on the 14th morning he goes to Salugara and he will give a public teaching there." "Sikkim is a very important state and in fact, it was Sikkim that his holiness first came to India in 1956 to attend the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha Jayanti, so he has since then visited Sikkim quite a few times and he said he became quite sentimental when he goes to Sikkim whenever he goes there because when he first arrived in Sikkim in 1956, as I said earlier, he sort of felt very sentimental about it. Well, Sikkim is a state of government of India so China has no reason to be annoyed because China also recognises Sikkim as a state of India," Dalai Lama's secretary added. (ANI)
Harvard University President Claudine Gay apologized for her response during a congressional hearing where she failed to 'explicitly condemn' calls for genocide against the Jewish people, CNN reported. "I am sorry," Harvard University president Claudine Gay said in an interview with the school's student newspaper 'The Harvard Crimson' on Thursday. "Words matter." The apology came just days after Claudine Gay along with the president of the University of Pennsylvania and MIT testified at a House committee hearing focused on antisemitism on campus to address widespread criticism that "they have not done enough" to ensure the safety of Jewish students and others at their respective schools. Notably, Harvard, UPenn and MIT have all come under fire - along with other US academic institutions - over perceived inaction against antisemitism on their campuses, especially in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel and the subsequent war, CNN reported. At UPenn, President Liz Magill has been under pressure to resign for weeks, as major donors and others say they have lost confidence in her ability to run the school. Harvard is also among 14 colleges under investigation by the US Department of Education "for discrimination involving shared ancestry" since the October 7 attacks. During the House hearing on December 5, Gay, along with the UPenn and MIT presidents, did not explicitly say that calling for the genocide of Jews would necessarily violate their code of conduct on bullying or harassment. Instead, they explained it would depend on the "circumstances and conduct", CNN reported. Gay told the Harvard student paper that she regretted what she said. "When words amplify distress and pain, I don't know how you could feel anything but regret," she said to The Crimson. "I got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures". "What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community -- threats to our Jewish students -- have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged," CNN quoted her as saying. "Substantively, I failed to convey what is my truth," she added. The Harvard president told the paper that she has heard about how much pain students are in over the past few months. "To contemplate that something I said amplified that pain -- that's really difficult," Gay said to The Crimson. "It makes me sad." This comes after gay faced several calls to resign, most notably from Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman -- a Harvard graduate who has been a vocal critic of how universities have addressed antisemitism on campus -- who said "they must all resign in disgrace", CNN reported. Underscoring the anger at the three university presidents' testimony, on Friday a bipartisan group of more than 70 US lawmakers sent a letter to board members of all three universities, demanding the dismissal of Gay and the presidents of UPenn and MIT. Magill, like Gay, clarified her remarks on Wednesday. She said in a short video that she should have been more forceful in her condemnation of hate speech, particularly calls for genocide. She, however, unlike Magill, has not apologized for her testimony, CNN reported. "I was not focused on - but I should have been - the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It's evil. Plain, and simple," Magill said in a video posted on X. "I want to be clear: A call for genocide of Jewish people...would be harassment or intimidation," she added. (ANI)
Mayor Brandon Johnsons administration has quietly begun filing lawsuits over what it has described as rogue buses transporting migrants, an escalation the mayor has coupled with an attempt to further crack down on the transportation companies.

The stepped-up enforcement is the Johnson administrations latest effort to address the influx of new arrivals, which has become one of the mayors most vexing challenges. The care of more than 24,400 migrants who have arrived in Chicago since August 2022 has taken on heightened urgency as winter sets in, and tested the limits of how welcoming the city can be.

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The city has filed 55 lawsuits since it implemented new rules about when and where buses can arrive in mid-November, the Law Department said. The lawsuits address 77 total buses accused of violating the rules, and public records show at least some cases are seeking fines against the bus companies.

Mayors office spokesman Cassio Mendoza in a statement characterized rogue, uncoordinated buses as endangering the lives of newly arriving migrants, and said bus companies should be held accountable.

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Chicago continues to welcome asylum-seekers but the city cannot safely and efficiently shelter migrants when bus companies, contracted by the State of Texas, flagrantly violate all safety measures that the city has put in place, he said.

The city announced it would crack down on buses in mid-November, laying out rules for when and where buses could drop off migrants. Buses were capped at two per hour, and limited to drop-offs between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The rules also require intercity buses to apply for approval from the city to drop off passengers. The Chicago Department of Transportation said it has not received any applications.

The mayors office is now seeking the ability to impound buses that dont follow the rules and fine owners up to $3,000. Chicago police would write the citation, Jeffrey Levine, deputy corporation counsel for the city, told aldermen at a committee meeting Friday. The city could also cite companies by mail, if the bus information is captured on camera.

The city approval process was designed to create predictability and orderliness as far as when such buses would be arriving in the city, Levine said. Adding harsher penalties is intended to encourage better compliance.

Aldermen advanced the harsher penalties Friday, and they are pending final approval by the City Council.

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Since May, 463 buses have arrived in Chicago, according to figures provided by the city. Five buses arrived Thursday, and buses were also expected Friday. Recent buses have dropped off passengers outside the city, in places like Schiller Park, Rosemont and Cicero, and around OHare International Airport, the mayors office said.

The mid-November rules reflected the citys fast-dwindling capacity for its thousands of new arrivals. City officials also said they would begin issuing notices to migrants at city-run shelters to vacate the premises within 60 days and that they would boost personnel at initial bus landing spots to help asylum-seekers relocate out of the city, if they so choose.

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Johnson had begun efforts to build a camp to house migrants in heated winter tents on a controversial Southwest Side lot, but Gov. J.B. Pritzkers administration moved to scrap that plan Tuesday as tensions between Springfield and City Hall escalate.

Pritzkers office said an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency review of a city environmental report of the site indicated concerns related to insufficient soil sampling and remediation, and it would take too long to do additional testing and remediation so the state would not proceed with the camp.

The search for another camp site to house migrants continues.

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com

ayin@chicagotribune.com
It reported that the district and sessions court in Mardan granted him bail in the May 9 case against a surety bond of Pakistan rupees (PKR) 90000 but rearrested by Swabi police under MPO.

However, following his release, Swabi police rearrested him under MPO.

Earlier, a district and sessions court in Mardan sent Asad Qaiser to jail on judicial remand in a case related to protests that erupted in Pakistan on May 9 following the arrest of former PTI chairman Imran Khan.

Qaiser, who is accused of corruption in the procurement of equipment for Gajju Khan Medical College, was arrested in Bani Gala, Islamabad, on November 3.

The ACE booked Qaiser over his alleged corruption in the purchase of medical equipment for Swabi's Gajju Khan Medical College. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Saturday. Jaishankar reiterated India's long-standing position on Palestine. During the telephonic conversation, Mohammad Shtayyeh expressed deep concern on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch. Taking to X, Jaishankar stated, "Spoke to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh this evening. He expressed deep concern on the situation in both Gaza and the West Bank. Reiterated India's long-standing position on Palestine. Agreed to remain in touch." India's position regarding the Palestine issue has been "longstanding and consistent," Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said in a press briefing on October 12. Arindam Bagchi said, "India has always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine living within secure and recognised borders side by side at peace with Israel. That position remains the same." Earlier in October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas and expressed his condolences over the loss of lives at Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. PM Modi also reaffirmed India's commitment to provide the Palestinian people with humanitarian assistance while reiterating India's long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue. "Spoke to the President of the Palestinian Authority H.E. Mahmoud Abbas. Conveyed my condolences at the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. We will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people," posted PM Modi on X. Notably, the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues, as the Israel Defence Forces said its 98th Division continues to fight with Hamas in Gaza's Khan Younis. The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on the sites of the terror group, The Times of Israel reported. According to the IDF, troops of the Golani Infantry Brigade's 12th Battalion raided a mosque in the Khan Younis area, where Hamas operatives were present, according to The Times of Israel report. The IDF said an explosive device was detonated near the forces and soldiers directed an attack helicopter to carry out a strike against Hamas operatives on the roof of the mosque. The IDF said that an IAF fighter jet destroyed the mosque along with the tunnel infrastructure under it. Meanwhile, the elite Maglan unit identified three Hamas operatives coming out of a tunnel shaft in central Khan Younis and firing RPGs at the troops, according to IDF. The IDF said Maglan troops also conducted drone strikes on additional Hamas operatives and tunnel shafts in the area. The IDF said that the elite Duvdevan unit found a Hamas command room, which was used by terrorists to attack soldiers, according to The Times of Israel report. According to IDF, the Duvdevan soldiers conducted an assault on the building, and an IAF fighter jet conducted strikes on another Hamas cell in the area. The IDF said troops of the Givati Infantry Brigade killed a number of Hamas operatives and found numerous tunnel shafts in southern Gaza. (ANI)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  One person was seriously injured after they were shot in Donelson late Friday night.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the shooting happened around 10:50 p.m. in the 700 block of McGavock Pike, near the popular takeover spot at the intersection with Century Boulevard.

2 known street racers sought by Metro police

One adult victim was critically injured in the shooting and no suspects have been taken into custody.

The intersection of McGavock Pike and Century Boulevard. (Photo: WKRN)

Recently, Metro police were sent to the intersection of McGavock Pike and Century Boulevard around 1 a.m. on Nov. 19 to respond to a takeover event. Officers observed more than 60 vehicles engaging in the takeover, performing donuts and closing the intersection.

Four men were arrested in connection with that street racing takeover.

It is not known if the shooting is related to any street racing activity.

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 Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee.

This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
One man died and another was injured in a Friday night shooting in Phoenix, police said.

At about 10:15 p.m. on Friday, police responded to an apartment complex located at 5020 W. Thunderbird Road in regards to a shooting, Phoenix police said in a news release. Upon arrival, officers found a man identified as Omari King, 40, with at least one gunshot wound, police said. King died on the scene.

Another man was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to police.

No arrests had been made as of Saturday morning, police said.

An active investigation is underway, according to police. Police said anyone with information is asked to call 480-WITNESS (948-6377), 480-TESTIGO (837-8446) for Spanish speakers, or 1-800-343-TIPS (8477). Anonymous tips may be made through silentwitness.org.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Omari King killed, 1 injured in Phoenix shooting
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY)  Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert for a missing 2-year-old girl they believe to be in extreme danger.

Courtesy: Virginia Beach Police Department

Courtesy: Virginia Beach Police Department

According to police, Zuri Dorsey was abducted from her bed by her estranged father Deandre Alante Dorsey at her home on the 1300 block of Sapphire Drive in Virginia Beach Saturday morning.

Zuri is 2-feet tall and weighs about 34 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing red and white striped pajamas, but may have been changed into green with Santa Claus print pajamas,

Deandre is wanted for six outstanding warrants in Virginia Beach. He suffers from Type 1 diabetes, and it is unknown if he has his medication with him.

Courtesy: Virginia Beach Police Department

The 27-year-old man is 5 foot 11 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing blue sweatpants with writing on the side of the legs and a black hoodie.

Police believe he could be headed towards Lawrenceville, Va. or Lewiston Woodville, N.C.

Virginia State police (VSP) issued an Amber Alert for Zuri just before 1 p.m. According to VSP, Deandre may be driving a red Honda Accord with North Carolina tags, RAZ9972.

Anyone with information about Zuri or Deandres whereabouts should contact VBPD missing persons detective at 757-385-4401.

Keep up to date with the latest news on WAVY.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
COOPERSVILLE, Mich. (WOOD)  Two teenagers were arrested after breaking into a vape store in Coopersville Friday night.

Around 10:45 p.m., deputies with the Ottawa County Sheriffs Office were sent to Psycle Sams Heady Glass, located at 25 N. 68th Ave., for a burglary alarm.

Responding deputies found evidence that the business had been broken into. Additional deputies and a police dog were called to the scene.

The sheriffs office said witnesses provided suspect information. The two teenagers along with the stolen property were found nearby shortly after.

Both of the teens were arrested and released to their parents pending charges. The sheriffs office said they did confess to breaking into the business.

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The break-in remains under investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
A woman was killed and two men were injured in a shooting Friday night outside a stretch of business on Independence Avenue in Kansas Citys Scarritt Point neighborhood, according to police.

Officers were dispatched around 9:20 p.m. to Independence and Cleveland avenues on a reported shooting, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a department spokesman.

Two of the gunshot victims were found near a vehicle parked on the north side of the street, Becchina said. The woman was declared dead at the scene and a man was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, Becchina said.

A third gunshot victim who had left the immediate area seeking help was found near 14th Street and Bennington Avenue, Becchina said. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital with a gunshot wound that was not believed to be life threatening.

Police had yet to identify a suspect Friday night. Detectives were canvassing the area in search of any witnesses, Becchina said, and were hopeful the shooting may have been captured on surveillance video.

Right now, if anybody was out here and they did hear or see anything, detectives could really use that information. Especially since the suspect has left the scene and we dont have much information to go on, as of right now, as far as who that suspect is, Becchina said.

Early findings of the investigation were that the unknown suspect had some type of interaction with one of the gunshot victims and then started shooting, Becchina said.

The killing Friday comes as Kansas City has already exceeded the number of homicides seen in 2022, which was the second-deadliest in its history. There have been 177 homicides so far in 2023, according to data maintained by The Star.

The city is also on pace to potentially break the record of homicides set in 2020, when 182 people were killed.

Kansas City police were asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or call the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
Naoko Takemaru was an artistic triple threat who inspired her students in Japanese language and her colleagues with her spirit. Patricia Navarro-Velez was an accounting expert with a larger-than-life personality. And Jerry Chang loved research so much that he had decided to donate his body to science.

That was how friends and colleagues at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, remembered the three faculty members fatally shot by a gunman Wednesday in an attack on the campus.

Takemaru, 69, was identified Friday as the third victim killed in the shooting that erupted at around 11:45 a.m. A fourth person, a visiting professor, was wounded, police said.

The gunman was shot and killed by university police who rushed to the scene at Beam Hall.

Naoko Takemaru

There was no kinder, gentler soul than Naoko. Every interaction I had with Naoko was special. It is a devastating loss for her family, her students, and our department, Deborah Arteaga, who is a professor of Spanish and linguistics at UNLV, told NBC News in an interview.

Arteaga, who sheltered in place with students for several hours during the shooting, added, Our department cannot begin to process such a senseless, violent end for Naoko.

Takemaru was an associate professor of Japanese studies who was hired by the university in 2003 to develop its Japanese language program, colleague Margaret Harp, associate professor of French, said at a news conference Friday.

Naoko was a triple-threat artist, Harp said. She was a professional concert pianist who left that career due to physical disabilities. She embroidered beautifully, creating her own designs. And every holiday season, she brought us her homemade chocolates.

Takemarus neighbors Mario Reyes, 58, and April Reyes, 56, said they met her in 2020 when they moved into the neighborhood.

Quickly we became not just neighbors but friends.  She had a beautiful sense of humor. She was very soft-spoken, very intelligent, said April Reyes, who added that the last time the couple saw Takemaru was last week when they helped fix her garage door.

She gave my husband the tightest, longest hug because she was so grateful for their assistance, Reyes said. She used to call my husband Super Mario  because he was so handy.

Cha-Jan Jerry Chang

Professor Cha-Jan Jerry Chang, 64, who taught management information systems at the Lee Business School, leaves behind a wife and two children, whom he loved, friend and colleague Keah-Choon Tan said at the news conference.

Chang came to the university in 2001, and he and Tan would take their children fishing together. He recalled that during one trip each man was driving a separate car.

Got a speeding ticket each  at the same place, by the same trooper, Tan said, to laughter. We learned our lesson.

Chang was a rigorous researcher and dedicated teacher who previously decided that when he died he wanted his body donated to research at the university, Tan said. UNLVs medical school does not take such donations, but his body will be donated to another institution for medical study, he said.

It is a true testament of how much he loved teaching, research, UNLV and higher education, Tan said.

Patricia Navarro-Velez

Patricia Navarro-Velez, 39, an assistant professor of accounting originally from Puerto Rico, was a pioneer who worked her way through three universities into a challenging job at one of the largest public accounting firms in the world, said Jason Smith, professor and chair of the accounting department.

Navarro-Velez joined the department at UNLV in 2019. Her research zeroed in on cybersecurity disclosures and assurance, internal control weakness disclosure, and data analytics, the school said.

Pat immediately made a positive impact in the lives of students and her colleagues, Smith said Friday. She had a larger-than-life personality, an infectious smile, and a genuine kindness that made everyone around her feel like family.

All three were in Beam Hall when they were killed, UNLV Director of Police Services Adam Garcia said. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the shooting.

University President Keith Whitfield said Friday that the shooting Wednesday was the university's darkest day, and life-changing for everyone involved.

Its going to be awhile before we get to whatever we can consider normal. But you know something, thats OK, Whitfield said.

Its OK in part because we are a community. Were a community at this university, were a community within this incredible city, and this incredible state, he said. And I think were here for each other, to take care of each other. And with that were going to be able to move forward.

CORRECTION (Dec. 9, 2023, 3:50 p.m. ET): A previous version of this story misspelled one of the victims last names. It is Jerry Chang, not Chan.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Palestinian woman holds her child after an Israeli strike on her neighborhood in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (Fatima Shbair/AP)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  Israeli warplanes on Saturday struck parts of southern Gaza it had described as safe zones when telling Palestinians to evacuate, while displaced residents said the constant bombardment left many families without food and sleeping outside in the cold.

Frustration was growing with the United States after it vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, despite wide international support, and approved the emergency sale of tank ammunition worth more than $100 million to Israel.

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Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the vote.

Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide.

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A day after Israel confirmed it was rounding up Palestinian men for interrogation, some told The Associated Press they had been badly treated.

Osama Oula, one of a group of 10 boys and men dropped off at a hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah after being freed, said Israeli forces bound him and others with zip ties, beat them for several days and gave them little water to drink. Some were not allowed out to use the toilet. Once freed, barefoot and in their underwear, they were told to walk south, he said.

Another man, Ahmad Nimr Salman, showed his marked and swollen hands from the zip ties. He said his 17-year-old son, Amjad, was still held. They used to ask us, Are you with Hamas? We say no, then they would slap us or kick us, he said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the alleged abuse.

With the war in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages.

Hamas said Saturday that it continued its rocket fire into Israel.

In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area where the Israeli army had told civilians to go. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high childrens tables were strewn with rubble.

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We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights, said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib.

In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold, despite heavy resistance from Hamas. The military said it found weapons inside a school in Shujaiyah, a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, and in a separate incident, fighters shot at troops from a U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

More than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military said Hamas killed him.

With no new cease-fire in sight and humanitarian aid reaching little of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages. Nine of 10 people in northern Gaza reported spending at least one full day and night without food, according to a World Food Program assessment during the truce. Two of three people in the south said the same. The WFP called the situation alarming.

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I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient.

While adults can cope, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because they are hungry, he said.

Israelis who had been taken hostage also saw the food situation deteriorate, the recently freed Adina Moshe told a rally in Tel Aviv seeking the rapid return of all. We ended up eating only rice, said Moshe, who was held for 49 days.

On Saturday, 100 trucks carrying unspecified aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. That is still well below the daily average before the war.

Despite growing international pressure, President Joe Bidens administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel.

The administration has approved the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million, the State Department said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale in the U.S. national security interest, meaning the purchase will bypass required congressional review. Such determinations are rare.

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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas.

Blinken continued to speak with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere amid open criticism of the U.S. stance.

From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech.

Protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire, despite restrictions on demonstrations.

Amid concerns about a wider conflict, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to prevent any ship heading to Israeli ports from passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea until food and medicine can enter Gaza freely. Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a speech that all ships heading to Israel, no matter their nationality, will be a target.

In southern Gaza, thousands were on the run after what residents called a night of heavy gunfire and shelling.

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Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren southern coastline, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and no toilets. They faced an overnight temperature of around 52 degrees (11 degrees Celsius).

I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing, said Soad Qarmoot, who described herself as a cancer patient forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

As she spoke, her children huddled around a fire.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee in Washington; Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; and Cara Anna in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
KANE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  Kane County Sheriffs deputies seized more than 22 pounds of fentanyl in a traffic stop on Friday  an amount estimated to be more than 100,000 pills  and arrested four people who were also in possession of a machete and traveling with a toddler.

Alexis Archuleta Rivas was arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (first-degree felony), endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult (third-degree felony), category I restricted person transaction of a dangerous weapon with unlawful purpose (third-degree felony), as well as multiple traffic violations.

On Dec. 8, a Kane County deputy was sitting stationary on US-89 Westbound at mile post 58.

Most amazing place: Post Malone shares his love for Cottonwood Heights in new video

The deputy saw a black Ford Fusion heading west, and upon running its license plate, learned that there was a warrant out for the vehicle. The deputy then noticed the driver traveling 40 mph in a 65 mph zone, before making a sharp right turn and cutting the corner.

According to the affidavit, Rivas, the driver, pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven and the deputy approached the car.

The deputy found four adults and one toddler in the car. The front passenger, Tomas, reportedly told the deputy that the car belonged to his mother. None of the individuals in the car had a drivers license, according to the affidavit.

After being asked to exit the car, Rivas told the deputy that they had gone on a trip to Arizona to see the female passengers family. The affidavit states that Rivas appeared very nervous and could not remember the name of the motel where they allegedly stayed.

A canine then conducted a search of the car and alerted to the rear passenger seat. Upon searching the car, deputies found a black backpack in the trunk containing several packages of blue pills, the affidavit states.

Deputies reportedly also found a black machete knife between the drivers seat and center console, as well as two more packages of pills in the glove box. Deputies then found a bundle of cash wrapped in rubber bands in the female passengers purse.

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All individuals in the car were arrested, and the toddler was taken to St. George to a shelter.

Tomas and Alexis allegedly admitted to possession of the fentanyl, as well as to selling the drug, giving addresses of where they intended to do drop-offs. Upon weighing the nine packages of fentanyl pills seized, deputies found the total weight to be 22.4 pounds. There was estimated to be more than 100,000 pills in the packages.

All four adults in the car were booked into the Kane County Jail.

No further information is available at this time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
A five-year-old boy who spent weeks in a hospital after being hit by a truck while trick-or-treating is back home in Monroe.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

Graylen Massey and his 10-year-old sister, Journey, were struck on Lancaster Avenue near Branch Street.

Journey recovered quickly but Graylen spent three weeks in the ICU with a broken collarbone, and fractured skull and there was bleeding on his brain.

Graylen Massey, 5, was hospitalized for several weeks after being hit by a truck while trick-or-treating.

Despite the odds, his mother never doubted that he would recover.

Because I knew it, said Lashonda Brooks, mother. I had to keep my faith. I had to think positive. That was the only way to think anyway. Think negative? No. Because I cant imagine my life without my kids.

Graylen Massey, 5, is getting back to being a kid again after he was struck by a truck while trick-or-treating in Monroe. He was hospitalized for several weeks.

>> In the video at the top of this webpage, his mom talks about his miraculous recovery.

VIDEO: Young trick-or-treater hit by truck out of ICU




Former Speaker Kevin McCarthys (R-Calif.) announcement that he is leaving Congress didnt come as a shock  but his departure will have ripple effects for the House and the Republican conference.

McCarthy is departing after a 17 year run in the House that took him to the highest levels of congressional power  only to be toppled by a group of Republican rabble-rousers, leaving him without a defined place in the GOP conference and at odds with the conservatives who spearheaded his ejection.

Still, his departure marks a significant moment for the House GOP conference  of which McCarthy has been a key figure for years during his rise through the leadership ranks  and spells trouble ahead for the razor-thin GOP majority.

Here are five takeaways on McCarthys exit from Congress.

End of Young Guns era

McCarthys exit from Congress means all three Young Guns are officially on the bench.

McCarthy teamed up with Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.) after starting his congressional tenure in 2007, establishing a trio of rising Republicans looking to shake up the status quo in the GOP.

The group  which published a book in 2010 titled Young Guns  sought to bring the party back to its conservative foundation, with an eye towards economic freedom and limited government, after growing annoyed with ethics scandals of past years and the surge in government spending under the George W. Bush administration.

They recruited hard-line conservatives, which helped shepherd in the House GOPs 2010 victory, flipping the chamber in their control after four years in the minority.

But some of those recruits came back to haunt them. Taking a more hard-line conservative perspective  in line with the anti-establishment Tea Party  the new lawmakers looked to knock out the Young Guns when they sought leadership positions themselves.

The trio eventually fell one by one. Cantor, who was the majority leader at the time, lost his primary bid for reelection in 2014 against conservative former Rep. Dave Brat (Va.). Ryan, as Speaker, announced his retirement in 2019 after being squeezed by his right flank. And now McCarthy, the former Speaker deposed in embarrassing fashion by Democrats and a band of eight Republicans, says he is calling it quits.

Narrowing House GOP majority places more pressure on Johnson

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)

McCarthys resignation further slims the already narrow House GOP majority, an ominous sign for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as the chamber barrels towards a series of high-stakes legislative fights.

With McCarthy gone, and former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) expelled, the makeup of the House will be 220 Republicans to 213 Democrats, meaning Republicans will only be able to lose three votes on any party-line bill, assuming all members are in attendance.

That margin wouldnt change were McCarthy to remain in Congress. But the landscape could get worse for Republicans in the months to come.

Voters in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District are scheduled to select a Santos replacement on Feb. 13, and the area could flip to Democratic control. The district broke for President Biden in the 2020 election by roughly 8 percentage points, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the special election a toss-up.

If Santoss seat flips blue with McCarthy gone, Republicans would only be able to lose two votes on any party-line referendum.

There are also some wildcards in the House math conundrum. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) is set to retire in February to run Sheas Performing Arts Center, and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) said he plans to leave before mid-March to become president of Youngstown State University, two resignations that could end up being a wash for both parties. Additionally, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) is in a runoff election Saturday for Houston mayor.

Reopened motion to vacate wounds

McCarthys announcement quickly reopened wounds from Octobers motion to vacate vote, which ended the California Republicans run as Speaker  and laid the foundation for his impending departure.

The eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy  led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)  took a ton of conservative heat after the GOP leaders historic ejection, receiving sharp criticism and insults from their colleagues on the right.

With McCarthy now headed for the exits, those raw feelings are rising back to the surface.

While commenting on the narrowing House GOP majority, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) pinned the blame on Gaetz, writing on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the dynamics in the chamber were a direct result of @RepMattGaetz inability to think further into the future than a tweet.

Gaetz, however, is shielding himself from the blame: 434 members are willing to serve in the House without being Speaker. Its my fault Kevin isnt one of them? he responded to Van Orden in a post on X.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also aimed her fire at the members who deposed McCarthy and voted to oust Santos in a post on X: Congratulations Freedom Caucus for one and 105 Rep who expel our own for the other. I can assure you Republican voters didnt give us the majority to crash the ship. Hopefully no one dies.

Shift in the GOP

Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)

McCarthy is the latest in a growing list of House GOP veterans running for the exits, a trend that highlights the shift in the Republican Party from the traditional, Chamber of Commerce conservatism that defined the GOP in previous decades to the America-first dogma ushered in by the Tea Party movement and accelerated under former President Trump.

McCarthy is resigning by the end of the year, marking the third straight House GOP leader nudged into early retirement by right-wing agitators over the last decade. And Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and Kay Granger (R-Texas), the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, have both said they will not run for reelection next year, depriving the House of roughly 60 years of combined experience when including McCarthy.

As longtime House lawmakers flee the Capitol, more firebrand conservatives are taking their spots  and, with that, changing the disposition of the House GOP conference.

The conference, for example, has grown more isolationist on foreign policy issues  the matter of Ukraine, for one  and has used hard-line tactics more often to push for various demands, like leveraging shutdowns for spending cuts.

Gaetz, a close ally of Trump and a rabble-rouser in the House GOP conference, said he hopes the Establishment Exodus leads to the arrival of a new crop of firebrand conservatives willing to adopt his take-no-prisoners tactics.

Theres an Establishment Exodus from the House Republican Conference. Its my hope that we backfill these establishment entities with folks who are willing to fight for the America First agenda, he wrote on X in response to McCarthys resignation announcement.

Replacing McCarthy in California; whats next for the former Speaker?

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Once McCarthy officially retires from Congress  he said he will leave at the end of this year  California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will have 14 days to set a special election, according to state law. That election would have to take place between 126 and 140 days later.

If McCarthy, however, happens to resign after Jan. 3, 2024, Newsom would have the option of calling a special election, or waiting until the November general election to fill the seat permanently.

Regardless, Californias 20th Congressional District is expected to remain red: The area broke for former President Trump over President Biden by roughly 24 percentage points in 2020.

But if Newsom, a Democrat, opts to leave the seat empty for a year, it could have further implications for the GOPs majority.

As for McCarthy, the former Speaker says he will not be leaving politics despite departing the House. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, which broke the news of his resignation, McCarthy said, I know my work is only getting started.

I will continue to recruit our countrys best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A bipartisan group of more than 70 lawmakers is pressing for the removal of the presidents at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as campuses across the U.S. have seen a perceived rise in antisemitism since the onset of the war between Israel and militant group Hamas.

Jewish students should have found comfort on their campuses, reads a letter to the school boards, signed by 74 lawmakers. Instead, many Jewish and Israeli students have faced an increasingly hostile educational environment, in the form of targeted harassment, protesters calling for the elimination of the Jewish state, and even acts of violence.

According to a recent survey by ADL and Hillel International, 73% of Jewish college students surveyed have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism on campus since the beginning of the school year, continued the letter, led by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.). This is unacceptable. Antisemitism has been allowed to fester on campuses for years, and in the wake of the October 7 attack, the world is witnessing the consequences.

The demand comes after a fiery hearing earlier this week where University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill suggested context matters on whether comments calling for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment. Magill, and her counterparts at Harvard and MIT, said the remarks would one investigated.

The viral clip has sparked bipartisan criticism, including from Capitol Hill and the White House, and their attempts to clean up the situation have been largely unsuccessful.

Lawmakers claim in their letter that the backlash is merely a consequence of failed leadership at the universities  and illuminated problematic double standards.

The university presidents responses to questions aimed at addressing the growing trend of antisemitism on college and university campuses were abhorrent, they wrote. When pushed on whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates university policies on bullying or harassment, Presidents Gay (Harvard), Kornbluth (MIT), and Magill (Penn) were evasive and dismissive, failing to simply condemn such action. This should have been an easy and resounding yes.'

The bipartisan coalition said the only solution was to immediately remove the presidents and provide a plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses.

Anything less than these steps will be seen as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture, they wrote.

The world is watching  you can stand with your Jewish students and faculty, or you can choose the side of dangerous antisemitism, the lawmakers concluded.

Their push comes as donors, students and faculty have revolted against the presidents in the wake of their response. Six Pennsylvania state representatives also called for Magill to be ousted.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Mutima Jackson-Anderson was the caregiver for her mom Ruby Neeson in the last few years of her life.

Neeson had a distinguished career in Atlanta, having worked for the Department of Parks and Recreation and later as a teacher and freelance writer.

But even with all her hard work, Neeson struggled to get health insurance, and often couldnt afford the lifesaving insulin she needed to treat her type 2 diabetes.

It wasnt enough to cover her healthcare costs, insulin and the additional supplies that she needed, said Jackson-Anderson.

That meant Neeson often went without insulin  a dangerous risk for someone with diabetes.

Neeson died in 2006 from diabetes complications.

She definitely absolutely did not take her insulin a lot of times and I know that contributed to her premature passing, said Jackson-Anderson.

Her moms experiences led Jackson-Anderson to form a diabetes awareness organization named after her mother.

Now, 17 years after her moms death, access to insulin still remains a barrier for millions of Americans.

A new bipartisan Senate report led by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) reveals there are 813 U.S. counties considered to be insulin deserts.

These are areas with both high rates of uninsured people and people with diabetes.

The report shows the insulin deserts are most concentrated in the south and southeastern parts of the country.

In Insulin Deserts, the average prevalence rate of diabetes is 10.2% compared to 8.4% in non-Deserts. Among non-elderly individuals, 16.1% of those in Insulin Deserts are uninsured, compared to 8.3% in non-Deserts, the report said.

One in five Americans taking insulin pay more than $70 a month for insulin, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

For the uninsured, the cost can be several hundred dollars a month.

Ive met people like that who are literally meeting folks in parking lots, getting insulin from friends whose relatives had died, Warnock told our Washington News Bureau.

We spoke with Warnock about the findings and about a bipartisan bill hes leading with Kennedy that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for both the uninsured and people with private insurance.

It comes after Congress passed a $35 a month cap on insulin for seniors on Medicare last year.

This is a common-sense achievable solution, said Warnock. When you talk about unmanaged diabetes, youre talking about the leading causes of blindness. Youre talking about kidney disease and people going on dialysis. Youre talking about amputations.

Insulin doesnt cost that much to make, and I dont begrudge the companies who sell insulin, said Kennedy. I dont begrudge them making a profit, but it is bone-deep-down-to-the-marrow stupid for us to allow someone, whose diabetes can be managed by taking insulin, not to take that insulin because they cant afford it. Thats immoral, and that makes no sense in terms of dollars and cents costs to the rest of the American people.

Its a measure Jackson-Anderson believes can help save people like her mom.

I think she would still be here if she could afford her medications, specifically the insulin she needed, said Jackson-Anderson.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The 911 calls released Friday give some insight into the moments after an active shooter opened fire and killed three people on UNLVs campus.

The sentences uttered in many of the calls portrayed understandable fear and panic.

Identities of 2 UNLV officers released after deadly campus shooting

911 emergency? the operator said. Theres a shooter at UNLV, one caller answered.

Hello, Im at UNLV, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, another caller uttered frantically to the 911 operator. Theres an active shooter on the fourth floor of Beam Hall.

That active shooter brought the campus and all of Las Vegas to a standstill when he opened fire just before noon on Wednesday.

Students being evacuated from UNLV. (Photo credit: Karina Meliksetyan)

How long ago did you hear the shots? a 911 operator asked a caller. Theyre happening right now, the caller answered.

How many shots have you heard? the operator continued. Like five, the caller said while crying. Im hiding under my desk. I closed the door, its locked.

What did you hear? a 911 operator asked another frantic caller. A lot of shots and then screaming, the person replied.

Professor Cha Jan Jerry Chang, 64, of Henderson; Asst. Professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, of Las Vegas; and Associate Professor 69-year-old Naoko Takemaru, of Las Vegas, all lost their lives on Wednesday, Dec. 6, county officials said.

Students told 8 News Now that they are still traumatized, trying to make sense of what happened.

It affects everybody, a UNLV student said. Everybody who was there, everybody who wasnt there.

UNLV President Dr. Keith Whitfield, Ph.D. echoed that sentiment of shock during a news conference Friday.

One moment people are fine, Dr. Whitfield said of students and faculty. And another moment it feels like they are being knocked down by a tidal wave of grief and pain.

Authorities said they are thankful to two University Police officers for their efforts to stop the shooter without hesitation.

UNLV Police Chief Adam Garcia said Detective Nathaniel Drum and Officer Damien Garcia showed exceptional courage when they shot and killed the suspect.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, the department leading the shooting investigation, said the gunman was armed with a handgun and 11 magazines at the time of the shooting. Nine of those magazines were found on him, according to officers.

The immediate threat may be gone, but the sights and sounds of such a traumatic day will stay with those affected in Las Vegas.

When did you last see the shooter, he was in a classroom? a 911 operator asked a person calling to report the shooting Wednesday. Yes, he was in the hallway, the person answered.

Community hearts continue to break for those lost, with many students sharing their grief with 8 News Now.

They didnt think that was their final day, UNLV student Eva Lamonte said of the victims. They didnt kiss their families goodbye knowing it was going to be their last morning.

This is as those hurting focus on the strength of unity and power to be Vegas Strong.

We have to come together as a community after a tragedy, Lamonte concluded.

Police said a 38-year-old man was also taken to the hospital after the shooting Wednesday. As of Friday, he was listed as stable.

Both officers involved in the shootout with the suspect were placed on administrative leave pending a review, which is standard in these situations.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
CNN anchor Abby Phillip will address Bowie State University graduates at their winter 2023 commencement, the university announced. On Thursday, Dec. 21, Phillip will speak at the Leonidas S. James Physical Education Complex to more than 400 Bowie State graduates and their families, according to Clutch Points.

As a Bowie High School graduate, Phillip understands the impact of the university in her city, so her presence here serves as a sort of reunion. As a result of her studies, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University. Upon graduation, she returned to the area and began working at Politico, which led to a reporting position at The Washington Post. At first, she covered Hillary Clintons presidential campaign and then Trumps administration for the Post as a general assignment reporter, according to The Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Phillip is working on a book about Reverend Jesse Jacksons 1988 race for the Democratic presidential nomination and his legacy on American politics. Phillip joined CNN in 2017 to cover the Trump Administration again as CNNs senior political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday. Additionally, she worked as a White House correspondent until 2019.

Her previous experience covers various aspects of politics and presidential campaigns at The Washington Post, ABC News and Politico. In addition to hosting CNN News Night, she also hosts a radio show on the network.
In March 2022, I flew to Dubai on an Emirates plane packed with sunseekers, most of whom were more interested in cocktails on the beach than politics.

My trip, paid for by the Dubai tourist board, was intended as an investigation into the Jewish community in the emirate. The Abraham Accords had recently been signed, heralding new normalised relations with Israel.

Direct flights to and from Tel Aviv had launched, and I had seen footage of significant endorsement of Jewish symbols, such as a massive menorah at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, and even the singing of Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem, when the Israeli president Isaac Herzog had visited earlier in the year.

I was impressed by what I found. The Jews of Dubai, a community of just a few hundred, seemed happy. Some among the more visibly religious said they actually felt safer in the Emirates than in Brooklyn, where their religious garb had begun to attract regular street harassment.

I also heard excited talk about the giant new synagogue being built in Abu Dhabi. An emblem of expensive high-design, the Moses Ben Maimon synagogue, part of the Abrahamic Family House faith complex, was completed a little under a year later.

We ate, drank and were merry. I went home feeling broadly positive about Jews in Dubai.

At the same time, I felt safe in the knowledge that had I wanted to write something deeply critical in a British newspaper, or wanted to publish an investigation revealing some sort of mistreatment of other minorities, I could have written up my findings without impediment. There was a good chance I would even have been praised by my editor for doing so.

I fear that this may cease to be the case if the takeover of The Telegraph by a fund backed by Dubais neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi goes through.

To the shock and consternation of many, including myself, this looks dangerously likely. The Government only acted to pause the deal and inquire into its implications for press freedom after a great deal of money had already changed hands.

The Abu Dhabi-backed fund RedBird IMI has already enabled the paying off of the debts owed to Lloyds Bank by the current owners of The Telegraph through a complex loan arrangement.

Fellow female Telegraph columnists have written about what the new ownership could mean for them, not just as journalists reliant on Western standards of press freedom, but also specifically as female journalists.

Their concerns are understandable. As a cluster of authoritarian Islamic monarchies, the United Arab Emirates has a clearly and indisputably sub-Western framework for dealing with matters concerned with gender, sex and sexuality.

My colleagues worry about their standing at the paper as outspoken female columnists, as well as their ability to write freely about the sort of gender-related issues they may wish to cover.

My concerns build on these. As a writer with a keen personal and journalistic interest in anti-Semitism, anti-Westernism and misogyny in the Middle East, it is unclear to me whether I will be able to fully explore these concerns in a paper owned by Abu Dhabi.

Will its owners be happy for me, a Zionist Jewish woman, to write pieces criticising the foul and violent rhetoric coming from too many mosques since October 7?

Will I be able  even encouraged, as I have been so far  to interview brave women such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Yasmine Mohammed, staunch critics of the religion into which they were born, and clearsighted about anti-Semitism and the troublesome nature of the dominant version of the pro-Palestine cause?

Sure, RedBird is fronted by Jeff Zucker, a former president of CNN, who insists that press freedom will be protected. Thats all very well, but its difficult to feel confident that this can be achieved. How would it work in messy practice?

Who would ensure it? What mechanisms would be put in place? Zucker has already apparently ruled out restructuring, or bringing in new investors to appease regulators.

How could we be assured that content criticising the UAE  over, for instance, its lavish welcome for the Russian president Vladimir Putin  would be free to run?

State ownership of newspapers brings with it a unique and deeply troubling set of questions. The Telegraph and The Spectator are very expensive. They have already cost RedBird a pretty penny. It is only logical to assume that Abu Dhabi wants something in return, and it will probably take a little more than diversifying revenue sources away from the hundreds of billions of dollars made from oil and gas to make it worthwhile. It seems most likely that the motivation is influence. And if the paper is being used for influence, that raises the ugly prospect of editorial interference.

Some leopards can change their spots. I never thought Id hear Hatikva sung in an Arab land. The Abraham Accords are a fine achievement. But when it comes to the ownership of The Telegraph, we are not talking about a leopard-sized problem. We are discussing a state-backed investment vehicle, and its agenda for this newspaper. Against this, the freedom of the press and the British Government itself appear to be flailing.

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Actor Ryan O'Neal speaks at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, during a ceremony where objects from the private collection of Farrah Fawcett's estate were donated. ONeal, who was nominated for an Oscar for the tear-jerker Love Story and played opposite his precocious daughter Tatum in Paper Moon, has died. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

He emerged as a heartthrob on televisions Peyton Place in the 1960s and arrived as a movie star in the sentimental 1970 box-office hit Love Story. Yet Ryan ONeal achieved his most enduring fame off-screen, as the longtime companion of actress Farrah Fawcett and father of four whose turbulent family drama often landed in the headlines.

After ONeal was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying a preppy, star-crossed lover in Love Story, Bob Hope introduced him at the Oscars as Hollywoods leading boy, a reference to ONeals clean-cut good looks and relative youth. He was not quite 30.

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When major long-term success eluded him, agent Sue Mengers theorized that her clients romance with sex symbol Fawcett had helped sink his acting career: Together they were too Hollywood, too perfect, Barbie dolls who took your breath away. Others suggested his volatile nature was to blame.

Once ONeal and Fawcett started dating in 1979, their stormy on-again, off-again relationship spanned the rest of her life. She returned to ONeals side in 2001 when he was diagnosed with leukemia, and he was there for Fawcett during her three-year cancer battle that ended with her death at 62 in 2009.

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Never fully out from under her shadow, ONeal died Friday, his son Patrick said in an Instagram post. Ryan ONeal had announced that he had prostate cancer in 2012. He was 82.

My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us, the actor and sportscaster wrote Friday. No cause of death was given.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is representing the National Rifle Association in a free speech case against New Yorks Department of Financial Services.

Were representing the NRA at the Supreme Court in their case against New Yorks Department of Financial Services for abusing its regulatory power to violate the NRAs First Amendment rights, the ACLU said in a post in Saturday thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The government cant blacklist an advocacy group because of its viewpoint.

Despite their representation of the gun rights group, the ACLU said it does not support the NRAs mission or its viewpoints on gun rights, and we dont agree with their goals, strategies, or tactics in another post in the thread.

But we both know that government officials cant punish organizations because they disapprove of their views, the ACLU continued.

Back in November, the Supreme Court said it would hear the NRAs case against a former New York regulator, alleging she infringed on the gun rights groups speech by way of discouraging banks and insurers from working with them.

Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, pushed banks and insurers to consider the reputational risks of collaborating with the NRA in the wake of the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, according to court filings.

The NRA then filed its suit against Vullo and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.), saying it had suffered tens of millions of dollars in damages because of officials blacklisting of the group, which they said violated its First Amendment rights.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
DUBAI (Reuters) - A small group of demonstrators staged a very rare protest in Dubai on Saturday in the COP28 U.N. climate summit site to demand the release of pro-democracy activists imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

About 25 activists took part in the protest, holding up pictures of Emirati prisoners Ahmed Mansoor and Mohamed al-Siddiq and Egyptian-British political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.

Human Rights Watch described the protest as historic for taking place in the UAE, which tolerates little public dissent and bans organised groups such as political parties and labour unions.

As a condition of hosting COP28, the UAE had agreed to allow protests to take place there under U.N. guidelines that require any demonstrations to be approved in advance and limited to the summit site.

Most protests have taken place within the summit's "blue zone" area which is under U.N. control and where local laws do not apply.

"In the spirit of inclusivity, peaceful assemblies in designated areas have been and continue to be welcomed," an Emirati official said.

"The UAE does not comment on individual cases following judicial sentences," the official added.

Unlike at past U.N. climate talks that sparked huge protest rallies, including 2021's COP26 in Glasgow and 2015's COP21 in Paris, there have been no demonstrations outside the venue.

"These names (of political prisoners) have never been said out loud in the UAE, and the release has never been publicly demanded in this way," Saudi Arabia and UAE researcher at HRW Joey Shea said.

Siddiq was jailed in the UAE in 2013 along with 68 others on charges of plotting to overthrow the government after a trial that rights group Amnesty International described as grossly unfair.

An Emirati court sentenced Mansoor to 10 years in prison in 2018 after being charged with crimes including using social media to harm national unity and social harmony and damage the country's reputation.

Abdel Fattah, who has been repeatedly detained in Egypt since the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising, was most recently sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 on charges of spreading fake news.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Angus McDowall; editing by David Evans)
About half of Americans believe that the United States has provided an adequate (29% of respondents) or insufficient (18%) level of support for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Pew Research Center revealed on Dec. 8.

These findings are based on a survey conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, 2023, among 5,203 members of the Centers nationally representative American Trends Panel.

However, about three in ten Americans (31%) still feel that the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine.

Read also: UKs Cameron urges focus on Ukraine despite unfolding events in Middle East

The share of Americans who believe that the United States is too strongly supporting Ukraine has been steadily increasing throughout the war, especially among Republicans.

A total of 48% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the United States is giving too much aid to Ukraine. In June, 44% of respondents expressed this opinion. The center notes that this share is currently significantly higher than at previous stages of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Read also: If you think the price is high now  Kirby outlines price U.S. will pay if Ukraine loses war

Only 16% of Democrats in the United States believe that the current level of U.S. aid is excessive. Around four in ten Democrats (39%) say the United States is providing the right amount of aid, while around a quarter (24%) say the United States is not providing enough assistance.

The Pew Research Center says that recently, divisions between parties regarding aid to Ukraine have grown wider.

Republicans were only 4% more likely than Democrats to say the United States was providing too much aid to Ukraine (9% vs. 5%) in the first weeks of the war. Today, Republicans are 32% likely to say this.

It is also reported that public attention to the Russian-Ukrainian war has changed little in recent months.

Six in ten Americans, including similar shares of Republicans (62%) and Democrats (61%), say they follow news about the invasion at least somewhat closely.

Read also: U.S. invested around $27 billion to produce critical capabilities for Ukraine

A third of Americans say Russias invasion of Ukraine is a major threat to U.S. interests, while another 34% believe it is a "minor threat," and 10% do not see it as a threat to the country at all. This opinion is more supported by Democrats (40% vs. 27% of Republicans).

Around four in ten U.S. adults (39%) say they approve of the Biden administrations response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, while a similar share (41%) disapprove. The rest say they are not sure.

Disapproval of the administrations response has increased slightly (from 35% to 41%) since June, the survey says.

At the same time, most Democrats support Biden's reaction to Russian aggression.

A majority of Democrats (59%) approve of the administrations response, while 22% disapprove. In contrast, a slightly larger majority of Republicans (63%) disapprove of the administrations response, while 21% approve.

In June, dissatisfaction with the reaction of the White House was among 57% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats.

United States aid to Ukraine:

The White House requested nearly $106 billion from Congress for global security on Oct. 20, with over $61 billion of that amount earmarked for Ukraine.

The Biden Administration urged Congress on the need to approve tens of billions of dollars for military and economic aid to Ukraine on Dec. 4.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate introduced a $111 billion national security package, including aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as funding for security for the southern border on Dec. 6.

However, the bill was blocked in a procedural vote by Republicans on Dec. 7.

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
Amazon filed a motion on Friday in the Western Washington district court asking a judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) antitrust lawsuit against it. The FTC along with 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon in September , alleging the company uses monopolistic practices that are unfair to both its competitors and consumers. Amazon is now arguing that the FTC did not provide evidence that its practices have driven up prices or harmed consumers, according to Bloomberg .

The FTCs lawsuit claims Amazon uses illegal tactics to crush its competition  like punishing sellers who list their products for better prices elsewhere by burying them in search results, and coercing sellers into using Amazons own fulfillment service by tying it to Prime eligibility. It also accuses Amazon of inflating prices from 2016-2018 using an algorithmic tool codenamed Project Nessie. These increases added up to more than $1 billion, according to the suit.

In Amazons motion for dismissal, per AP , Amazon said its only engaging in common retail practices that benefit consumers and are the essence of competition. Amazon attorney Heidi Hubbard wrote that the suit implausibly, and illogically, assumes that Amazons efforts to keep featured prices low on Amazon somehow raised consumer prices across the whole economy, according to Bloomberg.
A nearly four-decade moratorium on the construction of nuclear plants in Illinois will end next year under a measure signed Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who vetoed an earlier version of the bill.

Legislators passed a new iteration of the bill last month that addressed concerns Pritzker raised in an August veto message about the size of nuclear plants that would be allowed under the initial legislation.

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With Pritzkers signature, Illinois joins a number of other states that recently have rescinded similar bans as policymakers are taking a fresh look at nuclear power as another alternative to generate energy without increasing carbon output.

The revamped measure, which takes effect June 1, sets limits on the size of new nuclear plants that would be allowed and focuses on small modular reactors, a new generation of technology that supporters argue could be an important tool to help the state reach its goal of carbon-free power generation by midcentury.

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The proposal to lift the moratorium exposed a rift between two core groups within the Democratic Party coalition, with labor unions lining up in support and environmental groups standing in opposition. Environmentalists argued that allowing new nuclear power generation could be an expensive distraction from developing more renewable power sources in the state.

Pritzker surprised some supporters with his veto of the original proposal after previously expressing an openness to nuclear power continuing to be a part of the states energy mix.

But in his veto message, Pritzker said he believed the original language would have left the door open to the development of new large-scale plants like the six that already exist in Illinois, which he did not support.

The measure Pritzker signed Friday was the result of negotiations between lawmakers in both parties, labor unions, manufacturers and environmental groups. In limiting the size of new nuclear reactors, it aligns the state with the federal definition of a small modular reactor.

The measure also authorizes a study to identify any potential gaps in the states regulations for nuclear power.

In addition to swaying Pritzker, the changes were enough to convince some legislators who opposed the original proposal to support the revamped version.

Some environmental groups, however, remained opposed.

Its unclear whether or how quickly the new law, which lifts a ban thats been in place since Sept. 11, 1987, will lead to the construction of nuclear power plants in the state.

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Experts who spoke with the Tribune this summer said a variety of economic factors and policy decisions at the federal level ultimately will determine whether a new nuclear power boom happens in Illinois or elsewhere in the U.S.

Theres no one waiting here to start building a nuclear power plant as soon as the law changes, Robert Rosner, a theoretical physicist and founding co-director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, told the Tribune at the time.

A spokesman for Constellation Energy, which operates 11 nuclear reactors at six plants that provide about half of the states power, said that while the company is interested in the new technology it has no plans to build new nuclear plants in Illinois.

Pritzker on Friday also signed into a law a measure that would boost the pensions for some Chicago police officers.

Cost-of-living increases will now be on par with the Chicago firefighters pensions, which were adjusted through a measure passed by the legislature in 2021. Instead of having different annual pension hikes based on birth date, all officers will get the same 3% annual increase. The law also eliminates the 30% limit on increases during a pensioners lifetime.

Before the changes were made for firefighters and now for police officers, Chicago officials came to the legislature every few years to push the cutoff birth date forward to allow more first responders to get their full increases  while continuing to base the citys pension contributions on the amount of money that would be needed if the old restrictions remained in place. This has led to perpetual underfunding of the pension system, said state Sen. Robert Martwick, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the pension legislation.

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The pension changes will, however, cost the city millions of dollars.

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com

jgorner@chicagotribune.com
A group of local artists gathered at Art Basel Miami Beach Friday afternoon. They werent there to sell art.

Outside the art fair, the group unfurled a massive banner: Let Palestine Live.

About 100 people rallied in front of the Miami Beach Convention Center waving Palestinian flags and holding signs that read Divest from death to call for a permanent ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

The artists who organized the protest condemned Israels bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and criticized Miami-Dade County government for investing $76 million in Israeli bonds. Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping 240. In response, Israel has repeatedly bombed Gaza and recently invaded the area. Over 17,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed as international aid agencies warn of a worsening humanitarian disaster, Reuters reported.

Local artists protest against the war in Gaza outside of Art Basel Miami Beach.

Monica Uszerowicz, a local arts writer, artist and protest organizer, said the art world should reckon with its silence around global socio-political issues. As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, displacement and genocide are very deep issues to me, she said.

It felt really important to us, especially as local artists who are part of this community and represent it, to be vocal about our values, which is human life, Uszerowicz said.

Jewish Voice for Peace South Florida, a local branch of a Jewish-led organization that advocates for Palestinian rights, and South Florida Coalition for Palestine, a coalition of local groups, were also in attendance.

At the same time, a group of 120 pilots on either side of the convention center protested against NetJets, a private jet charter company, for better pay and working conditions, said pilot union president Pedro Leroux. Pilots dressed in uniform held signs that read Overworked. Underpaid.

Netjets pilots picketing for better contracts in front of Art Basel Miami Beach.

While the pro-Palestinian protest itself was non-violent, there were some tense moments between Miami Beach police and demonstrators.

Police arrested two protesters and charged one with resisting without violence and the other with resisting without violence and disorderly conduct, said Officer Christopher Bess. A video of the arrests taken by another protester show a young male demonstrator exchanging words with an officer who then immediately grabbed him. Several officers pushed him and a young woman against the building and arrested them.

Miami Beach Police keeping pro-Palestine protesters away from the Miami Beach Convention Center doors at a protest during Art Basel.

Alan Levine, a civil rights attorney and JVP member, said the demonstrators who were arrested were 17 and 20.

This has been an incredibly peaceful demonstration, and theyve been incredibly cooperative with police, Levine said. Police were giving people a hard time without provocation.

Heated arguments broke out as some passersby approached demonstrators. One woman filmed demonstrators on her phone and told them to, Take it up with Hamas. Another man yelled that the protesters were not Jewish and were spreading terror. Another man yelled asesinos at the group. Another quickly walked past the group and said, Get a f----- life. Some demonstrators yelled back and gave critics the middle finger. Other demonstrators did not engage.

Michael Firestone, 84, didnt mind the protest at all. Im down with it, he said.

Firestone, who is Jewish, lives in Canada but visits Miami in the winter. He said he was happy to see young people protesting because a protest like this couldnt have ever happened in my time. Hes hopeful for a positive outcome for both Israelis and Palestinians, he said.

I see whats happening now, and Im embarrassed for my heritage, he said. A Jew is different from a Zionist.

Kris Z., who was visiting Miami from New York, saw the protest happening as she left the convention center. Kris, who declined to give her last name, said it was interesting to see two different protests outside of the same event. She said she was supportive of both groups of protesters and noted that police and passersby appeared to treat the pilot demonstrators with more deference than the pro-Palestinian group.

Pro-Palestine protesters outside of Art Basel Miami Beach.

When youre at an art event, the personal is political, she said. Life is real. Its happening constantly. Its not going to take a break for an art fair.

Kristen Soller, a local artist and protest organizer, said she has been extremely concerned about the number of casualties in Gaza. Art should not be depoliticized, and artists should not let it be business as usual, she said. Along with a ceasefire, Soller said she hopes for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.

Art is a reflection of our time. Artists are on the pulse of life. This affects us all, Soller said. We want the violence to end.

Demonstrators voices boomed down Convention Center Drive as they chanted From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free and Ceasefire now. During the protest, a demonstrator read a list of names of Palestinians who have been killed, followed by a short prayer in Arabic: May God protect them.

Among the individuals who spoke during the demonstration was Mar Sublaban, a Palestinian-American interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Miami. Lately, Sublaban said she has been worried about her family members who live in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Right now is the best time to do this, Sublaban said. All eyes are on Miami for Art Week.

Sublaban said it feels great to be seen and heard. Artists have an important role to play in society, especially in difficult times, she said.

In newspaper articles, youre reading about numbers. Its sterile. Its cold and unfeeling, she said. But artists show you the truth of it, the emotions behind it, the soul behind human beings.

During the protest, Sublaban read a poem she wrote:

My people have loved and loved and loved again; For hundreds of years to have me stand where I am now. So I will love and love and love again; Against those who only aim to dim this light of love.

This story was produced with financial support from The Perez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Sep 21, 2023; Athens, Ohio, United States; Students walk on the Ohio University Campus on College Green in Athens, Ohio.

Steve Patterson is the Mayor of Athens.

Like most non-urban communities, my hometown of Athens in Ohios Appalachian foothills is not the most inviting place for electric vehicles.

Drivers have access to just six public EV charging stations in the city. Only one is high speed.

Were not alone.

The U.S. only has 63,000 charging stations, nearly half of them concentrated in just five states. A survey by the Energy Policy Institute found nearly four out of five consumers say scarcity of chargers is an obstacle to buying an electric vehicle.

To meet that challenge, the two-year-old federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $7.5 billion for a nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers. Our governor, Mike DeWine, has put Ohio at the forefront of this electric infrastructure future.

To us, that spells opportunity.

A bill to improve our lives: Infrastructure law will help grow businesses, improve our lives, COTA president says

Yet its easy to have high hopes; much harder to make them real. We dont have the teams of lawyers, grant writers, and in-house experts our big city competitors can deploy.

What we in rural southeast Ohio need is the capacity to navigate the process and deliver on these ambitions.

Thankfully, initiated by Bloomberg Philanthropies, a coalition of philanthropies and non-profit groups have responded to that call. Theyve brought together funders including the Ballmer Group, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, The Kresge Foundation and specialists like the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to create the Local Infrastructure Hub: guiding more than 1,200 small and medium-sized cities and towns, including mine, through the intricacies of federal grant programs.

I took office with a simple vision.

I wanted more economic opportunities. I wanted to see we were improving our infrastructure. I wanted more outdoor recreational spaces. I also wanted to be the best city we could be in our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Our view: Investment in infrastructure would move Ohio and America forward

Can Ohio Democrats win statewide? Can Ohio Democrats win statewide offices? They can't even field a Statehouse farm team

When we decided to seek funding for EV charging stations, we envisioned a service for our residents, pass-through drivers, and for visitors who value our region as a destination.

Athens County boasts the growing Baileys Trail System; the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, Ohios newly designated UNESCO World Heritage site, will attract tourists from around the globe.

We enrolled in a months-long Local Infrastructure Hub Bootcamp because we chose to aim higher.

We heard from like-minded participants and received tailored advice from seasoned grant writers and urban policy experts. The federal government, they told us, wanted a bigger impact than just a handful of stations in a small community.

We had experience creating regional partnerships, so we took that guidance and ran with it.

We partnered with a regional electricity aggregator, the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council, to spearhead an effort involving 19 disadvantaged communities. Our $17.5 million federal grant application seeks funds for 58 EV charging stations consisting of 224 medium-speed and 66 high-speed charging ports, stretching from Athens to Dayton.

At the dawn of the automobile era, drivers who wanted to travel any great distance had to strap fuel containers to the running boards of their cars. Gas stations changed that, and from 1910 to 1918, automobile use in the U.S. rose from half a million to more than 6 million.

Theres a lesson in that history. Today, the Biden administration wants 50 percent of all new cars and trucks sold to be electric by 2030. Its a tall order. Consumers want a reliable network of modern, inexpensive filling stations before making the leap.

As we await word on our application, we know we could not have gotten this far alone.

It is critical more towns tap into these expert supports and networks. Its the only way Washingtons  and Ohios  infrastructure goals will be realizedwhere they are needed most.

Steve Patterson is the Mayor of Athens.

Steve Patterson, Mayor, Athens, OH

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why is matters that small towns like Athens, Ohio have EV charging
Barbra Streisand and other celebrities have paid tribute to Ryan ONeal, following the actors death at the age of 82.

ONeal, the celebrated but complicated star of films such as Love Story, Barry Lyndon and Paper Moon, appeared opposite Streisand in the 1972 screwball comedy Whats Up, Doc? and 1979s The Main Event.

Ryans son Patrick ONeal announced news of his death on Instagram. The actor had been diagnosed with chronic leukaemia in 2001 and prostate cancer in 2012.

As a human being, my father was as generous as they come, Patrick wrote. And the funniest person in any room. And the most handsome clearly, but also the most charming. Lethal combo.

He loved to make people laugh. Its pretty much his goal. Didnt matter the situation, if there was a joke to be found, he nailed it. He really wanted us laughing. And we did all laugh. Every time. We had fun. Fun in the sun.

Patrick is one of four children ONeal had from three relationships, along with Griffin ONeal, Redmond James Fawcett ONeal, and Tatum ONeal, who acted as a child alongside her father in Paper Moon.

In a tribute shared on social media, Streisand hailed her former collaborator, writing: So sad to hear the news of Ryan ONeals passing. We made two films together, Whats Up, Doc? and The Main Event. He was funny and charming, and he will be remembered.

Star Trek star William Shatner also shared a tribute to ONeal, writing: Condolences to the family of Ryan ONeal. A wonderfully talented actor and Twitter friend.

ONeal and Streisand in Whats Up Doc?' (Moviestore/Shutterstock)

Journalist and former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan commented: RIP Ryan ONeal, 82. His performance in Love Story alone was iconic. Superb actor, proper movie star, complex guy.

While he is being remembered for his contributions to several of the best films of the 1970s, ONeal enjoyed an unsavoury legacy, rocked by fraught personal relationships and abuse allegations.

His relationships with his children, except Patrick, faced staunch criticism down the years.

In 2007, ONeal was arrested for shooting a firearm at Griffin, though he claimed it had been in self-defence, and the charges were eventually dropped.

In her autobiography A Paper Life, Tatum detailed the physical and emotional abuse she had allegedly endured at the hands of her father. A particularly notorious incident occurred at the funeral of Griffins mother and ONeals long-term partner, the actor Farrah Fawcett, in 2009: ONeal attempted to make a romantic advance on Tatum, not recognising the estranged star as his own daughter.

Ryan and Tatum ONeal in Paper Moon' (Paramount Pictures)

ONeal struggled with drug addiction for many years, with Tatum and Griffin both linking their own childhood drug use to their fathers infuence.

Actor Anjelica Huston, who dated ONeal for a period, claimed in her 2014 memoir that she broke up with him after he violently assaulted her.

As well as his long on-again, off-again relationship with Fawcett, ONeal was married twice, to Joanna Moore in 1963 and to Leigh Taylor-Young in 1967.
Holland Elementary School third-grader Abby Scheinert tells Santa Claus what she wants for Christmas at Bass Pro Shops on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. From 9-11:30 a.m., an American Sign Language-fluent Santa was available for photos with deaf and hard-of hearing children.

Friday morning was gray and dreary but the vibrant energy inside of Bass Pro Shops was contagious.

More than 200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students from across southwest Missouri visited Bass Pro's flagship store on Friday for the opportunity to visit and get photos with an American Sign Language-fluent Santa Claus. This is the eighth or ninth year that Bass Pro has hosted its Signing Santa event, which is in collaboration with the Deaf Awareness Group of Southwest Missouri, also known as DAG.

Springfield Public Schools Teacher of the Deaf Lexi Camplejohn has attended the Signing Santa event at Bass Pro for the past three years with her students.

"This is so important for our kiddos just because our kids are in the minority of the world; the majority of the world is hearing," Camplejohn said. "They get a chance to meet with somebody who knows their language and communicates with them one-on-one, instead of having an interpreter to bridge that gap. It's super special and vital for their self-esteem to keep them feeling good about themselves and their deafness and seeing all of the kids who also look like them, sound like them, have the same implications as them."

Jarrett Middle School seventh-grader Robin Kuehne tells Santa Claus what she wants for Christmas at Bass Pro Shops on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. From 9-11:30 a.m., an American Sign Language-fluent Santa was available for photos with deaf and hard-of hearing children.

As a teacher of the deaf at SPS, Camplejohn said she works with seven deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Parkview High School and five students at Jarrett Middle School. What her curriculum looks like varies with each student.

For some of the older students, Camplejohn pulls them out of class and works with them for about 30 to 60 minutes each week, talking about the transition after high school and how they can be most successful. With other students, Camplejohn teaches English Language Arts, which is a designated class, or strategies, where students learn study skills and academic vocabulary.

After getting their photos with Santa, Parkview and Jarrett students enjoyed a field trip at the Wonders Of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium.

For other students, like those from Willard School District, attending the Signing Santa event was their first outing as a group.

More: Santa Claus is comin' to town. Here are 15 places to see Santa in Springfield this month

Crystal Six, teacher of the deaf at the Willard School District, said she works with 12 deaf and hard-of-hearing students independently across the entire district. She said events like the one at Bass Pro are important in reminding the students that they are not alone.

Willard School District deaf and hard-of-hearing students talk with Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shops on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. From 9-11:30 a.m., an American Sign Language-fluent Santa was available for photos with deaf and hard-of hearing children.

Founded in 2005, DAG assists the deaf and hard-of-hearing community through social and education events with their friends and family. There is not an official membership process for the group. Rather, interested individuals can join the "Deaf Awareness Group" on Facebook, which has about 1,400 members.

DAG co-founder Leslie Cockrum said prior to the group's establishment, there weren't many ways for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to engage with each other, especially in rural settings. DAG is the longest-running group for the community in the area.

In addition to the Signing Santa event, DAG also hosts spring and fall picnics for members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in southwest Missouri.

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

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 200+ students flock Bass Pro for photos with ASL-fluent Santa Claus
From the Boiling Frogs on The Dispatch

There are two Republican primaries happening, not one, wrote Tim Miller of The Bulwark this past summer. Theres the fantasy primary in which right-wing donors and conservative legacy media obsess over whether Ron DeSantis is outpolling Nikki Haley, or vice versa, and how the latest Potemkin debate might affect that.

And then theres reality, in which Trump leads by 48.3 points.

Its embarrassing that a fantasy primary would exist in parallel to a real one, but that fantasy serves a purpose, Miller noted. It reassures traditional Republicans that theres still a place for their kind in a party now led by capital-A Authoritarians and populated by the lowercase-A variety. Normies may be a minority on the right in 2023, but their continued support is crucial. The GOP cant win without them.

One can view Kevin McCarthys elevation to the speakership as a fantasy in the same vein. If youre the sort of voter who worries about the party becoming something qualitatively different and ominous under Trump, all you had to do for the past five years was remind yourself that a guy on the cover of Young Guns was nominally a leader of the GOP.

The modern Republican coalition has always required a healthy fantasy life to hold itself together. Those 20-plus women whove accused Trump of sexual conduct? Liars, all of them. The 90-plus felony charges that have been filed against him? Baseless, all of them.

The weirder Trump gets, the more robust the fantasies need to be in order to soothe normies and keep them in the fold. What else are the moronic conspiracy theories around January 6it was a false flag by antifa or the FBI, or by antifa and the FBIbut an attempt to sow doubt among voters so that they wont hold the insurrection against Trump next fall?

The latest hard reality for right-wing media is a raft of inconvenient reporting about Trumps illiberal plans for a second term. He craves retribution against his enemies; his cronies are recruiting yes-men for important government positions to exact that retribution; even rumblings about using the military in, shall we say, unconventional ways have been heard. This is all from his own mouth and/or from his close allies or his advisers, the New York Times Maggie Haberman recently stressed. Its not left-wing fanfic, in case the occasional public vows from the candidate to root out vermin havent made that clear.

Traditional Republicans wont be comfortable voting for a man whose autocratic ambitions are overt. Even lowercase-A authoritarians, nagged by a vestigial sense that such things are un-American, might pause at the prospect. The task for right-wing media between now and next November will be to construct a new fantasy for those voters that the talk about Trump wanting to be a dictator is much ado about nothing.

Its already begun.

The parallel reality of the presidential primary reflects a parallel reality in right-wing media. There are respectable outlets aimed at mainstream America that seek to reassure average voters that the GOP is still a normal party, or at least more normal than the Democrats are. Fox News and the Wall Street Journal (any Murdoch property, really) are obvious examples.

Then there are the post-liberal populist outlets that seek to reassure the grassroots that the GOP isnt the normal party that it was before Trump. Tucker, Steve Bannons podcast, Gateway Pundit: Thats where you go for war talk and conspiratorial fantasies that Fox refuses to provide. (Well, usually.)

The dichotomy between the two isnt so much wine track versus beer track as beer track versus meth track. And as you might imagine, the two tracks approach the topic of a potential Trump autocracy differently.

The meth track is all-in:

Kash Patel says as Trumps next CIA Director he will lead patriots appointed by Trump in an all-out effort to prosecute and jail people in government and the media: We will find the conspirators in govt and the media. Yes, we are going to come after the people in the media. pic.twitter.com/NuLyqOIKWO  Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 5, 2023

Im down for a Trump dictatorship, Grace Chong, the COO of Bannons War Room outfit, recently declared. That will be the unspoken ethos of the meth track throughout the campaign, no doubt, although as the election nears I expect theyll become more circumspect about admitting it publicly. Capital-A Authoritarians understand how chatter like that risks going viral and spooking the lowercase-A cohort. Team Trump has been keen to distance him from the sinister plotting that New Right institutions have undertaken in his name and Bannon lately has sounded grumpy about Trump being asked to address the subject in interviews.

Therell be plenty of time to talk openly about a Trump dictatorship once hes been reelected and returned to office; its easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, as the saying goes. Until then, broadcasters and publishers in the meth track will wink at the idea and speak in fashy euphemisms about knowing what time it is and doing what must be done or whatever. They wont deny their autocratic intentionstheir audience wouldnt like thatbut neither will they confirm them too visibly.

The more respectable commentators of the beer track will happily deny having autocratic intentions of their own. More importantly, theyll deny that Trump has autocratic intentionsor, if he does, that he stands any realistic chance of acting on them successfully. Again, the point of the beer track is to soothe normie voters about the state of the Republican Party. From now until Election Day, their task will be to persuade the persuadables that a second Trump term would be less dangerous to America than a second Biden term.

And theyre not waiting for him to clinch the nomination before starting that project.

I dont think in a second term Trump would have much luck even if he tried to drive the country toward dictatorship, Brit Hume said earlier this week on (where else?) Fox News. Hes more likely to drive the Republican Party into defeat at the hands of Joe Biden than he is to drive the country toward dictatorship.

Another Foxie, Bret Baier, conceded in an interview with Hugh Hewitt that Trump has said troubling things on the stump this year. But no worries: We saw four years of Donald Trump. Were there issues that crossed lines? Yes, they raised all kinds of questions. But did people for the most part live their lives and were there checks and balances? Yes, there were.

On Thursday Baier repaid the favor by hosting Hugh Hewitt as a panelist on his Fox News evening show. When the subject of a Trump dictatorship came up, Hewitt scoffed. Hysteria has broken out among our friends in the Beltway media on the left, he sneered, referencing the reporting on what Trump is planning. There wont be a dictatorship. Breaking news. It wont be a tyranny.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board chipped in its own reassurances in a piece published Thursday titled The Real Trump Risk to Republicans. The real risk turns out not to be power grabs or invoking the Insurrection Act or contriving an excuse to remain in office when his term runs out in 2029, it might surprise you to learn. The real risk is that he wont keep his promises on cutting spending:

Mr. Christie chided his Republican rivals for failing to take on the former President directly, which is true to some extent. But the former New Jersey Governors warnings that Mr. Trump is a threat to the republic wont persuade GOP voters who remember Democrats saying the same in 2016. The more potent attacks during the debate were on his record as President. Ms. Haley gamely noted that he added $9 trillion to the national debt in four years, and were all paying the price of that. Mr. Trump spent like a Democrat on domestic programs, and theres little reason to think he would show spending restraint during a second term.

We think American institutions are strong enough to contain whatever designs Mr. Trump has to abuse presidential power, the editorial breezily concludes, blissfully oblivious to the fact that a motivated coterie of proto-fascists have anticipated that problem and are working very hard to solve it in advance.

Its not just Murdoch media thats rushing to soothe jittery voters as major news organizations go about exposing Trumps plans. At The Messenger, Joe Concha assured readers on Thursday that hysteria about a Trump autocracy is old wine in new bottles, little more than scare tactics from the left to blunt the decline in Joe Bidens pitiful polling. Were told democracy is at stake. Its the most overplayed song on the political dial, he confidently declared.

It cant happen here. Ignore the fact that Trump tried to make it happen here less than three years ago.

Many of the themes of the coming campaign in respectable right-wing media to convince Americans that Trump poses no threat are apparent in the quotes above. Well see them in print and on the air many times before Election Day.

Its all academic because he cant win. He can, though. If the election were held today, national polling indicates he would.

Democrats have cried wolf about a Trump autocracy before. Thats true, and its also true of Never Trump conservatives like me. Guess what: The wolf was real. If Mike Pence had capitulated to pressure from Trump on January 6, its anyones guess what America would look like today. In beer-track conservative media, the insurrection essentially doesnt exist. Insofar as it does, theres no information to be gleaned from it about how Trump might behave in a second term.

Our institutions will hold next time because they held last time. Again, Trumps lackeys have already begun preparing to hollow out those institutions and then to co-opt them after he returns to power. They learned a hard lesson in 2020 that coup attempts are as successful as the willingness of apparatchiks in key positions to assist them. Somehow, the people currently minimizing the threat he poses failed to learn the same lesson.

He wont be a literal dictator. This is also true, strictly speaking. Even a pessimist as staunch as me finds it hard to imagine Congress being dissolved and Trump promulgating new laws in the form of dank memes on Truth Social.

But so what? Theres a solid chance that his party will control both houses of Congress in 2025. If they do, he wont need dictatorial power. Cowardly Republican lawmakers will rubber-stamp his plans as needed. And if they cant muster the votes for him in certain situations, hell act on his own and claim dubious extant legal authority to get his way.

Our friend David French recently pointed out that Trump could shatter the norm that prevents presidents from using soldiers to keep order in American cities while remaining well within the bounds of federal law. If tanks roll on Broadway, his right-wing apologists will remind us that Congress gave him that power via the Insurrection Act, and theyll be right. Would it make you feel better in that moment to know that Trumps actions werent dictatorial in the technical sense of the word?

The core fallacy in all of these rationalizations about the allegedly low risk of a second Trump term is that hes the same guy as he was in his first term. He didnt do anything too nutty policy-wise back then. Why would we think hed do something nutty policy-wise next time?

The answer: Because hes not precisely the same guy as he was in his first term.

By and large, he is that same guy. Thats how Democrats and Never Trumpers were able to see the wolf coming the first time. Trump is Trump is Trump. You dont need a degree in political history to recognize his type.

But hes worse now than he was then. Hes old, and age takes away some self-restraint. Hes terrified about going to prison and enraged at those trying to send him there. Hes gorged himself for years on lavish right-wing propaganda about his own greatness and the depravity of his enemies. Hes cocooned in a thick bubble of slavish yes-men who treat him like a king. Hes en route to a much more decisive primary victory than he enjoyed in his first run and presides over a party in which theres no longer any meaningful dissent to his leadership.

In 2016, Trump had an actual political program. In this cycle, his program is personal revenge. Implicitly and eventually explicitly, the highest purpose of his presidential campaign will simply be to place him beyond the reach of the law. If he wins on those terms, hell interpret it as a mandate from the people to indulge his retribution instincts. A country willing to hand him a get out of jail free card is willing to let him do anything, hell reasonnot unreasonably.

And because hell be term-limited as president (in theory!), he wont care if it turns out that he misunderstood that mandate.

Take it from those of us who spotted the wolf approaching once before: Its rabid this time.

To which the beer-track conservative media replies, Wolf? What wolf?

Years ago the conservative writer Rod Dreher proposed something he called The Law of Merited Impossibility. It described left-wingers propensity to deny any adverse consequences from their culture-war policiesand then, if those consequences appeared, to turn on a dime and insist that their political enemies had it coming. In Drehers formulation: It will never happen, and when it does, you bigots will deserve it.

If Trump becomes president again, were destined to get an extended demonstration of The Law of Merited Impossibility from beer-track conservative media: A Trump dictatorship will never happen, but when it does, the rights enemies will deserve it.

When, not if, he lives down to the expectations Ive set for him in this newsletter, not one of the pollyannas mentioned earlier will admit they were wrong to have downplayed the threat he posed. They didnt do it after his first term; why would they start now? None will say theyre sorry because, truthfully, they wont be. The core conviction of right-wing media is that the worst Republican is preferable to the best Democrat. If Trump ends up behaving in the way Ive described, thatll still seem better to them than having an ancient generic liberal as president.

For the beer-track types like Hume and Hewitt, covering his second term will be an exercise in rationalizing why the latest hair-raising action taken by the White House isnt technically dictatorial, isnt all that different from something some Democrat once did if you squint hard, and/or is lamentably justified morally because its for the good of the country. No matter what he does, be it deploying the military against protesters, ignoring court rulings, or making Stephen Miller emperor of California or whatever, the fact that hell be acting in the rights interests against the left in each case will temper their outrage. Theyll never regret that he defeated Biden.

And the meth-track types will be thrilled with all of it, which is no small thing in an industry like right-wing media. You know how it goes by now: Whatever The People are adamantly for, the propagandists who serve them must not be against. That includes Fox, also needless to say.

You know what the most interesting thing is, though, about mainstream conservative media types asserting that Trump wont try to seize power? None of them insist that it would be an unthinkable break with character for him to do so, as they assuredly would have for any Republican president in American history to this point.

No one claims that hes learned his lesson from January 6 and has since reformed. How could they? He babbles about the rigged election of 2020 to this day. Hes promised to pardon a large portion of the insurrectionists if he returns to office.

Respectable right-wing media personalities are so fanatic in their partisanship that they cant resist defending a candidate whom even they dont presume to be too civic-minded to try to end the American experiment if given the chance. Eventually all of their reassurances to voters that it cant happen here will be in the vein of he wont succeed, not that he wont try.

Something like 80 million people, if not more, will end up voting for that. Given the option of an underwhelming but sane Democrat, theyll roll the dice instead on a guy who plainly prefers to govern like a fascist and has shown some serious intent of purpose in the recent past but mightmightnot be able to build the institutional muscle to make it happen next time.

This is who we are now, to borrow a point from a memorable essay by Mark Leibovich. Why shouldnt the influential figures in our media be as contemptible as we are?

Read more at The Dispatch

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Democratic officials and strategists are growing worried that President Joe Bidens reelection campaign has been too slow in building out its campaign infrastructure in key states, potentially undermining his bid against likely GOP nominee Donald Trump.

In the swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, the Biden team has not announced any staff, lagging months behind Trumps pace in 2019 when he was running for a second term. By May of that year, Trumps reelection team had named nine regional directors in addition to other state directors.

Bidens campaign is also trailing Barack Obamas reelection effort. By October of 2011, then-President Obama had paid staff in at least 38 states and opened offices in at least 15.

Interviews with more than 20 Democratic elected officials and strategists in battleground states, many of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely, reveal concerns that Bidens comparatively sluggish rate of staffing up will make it more challenging for him to activate key voters, including African-Americans and Latinos. They also said it has left swing states without a clear point of contact in the Biden campaign for organizing travel and resource distribution, while also slowing voter protection plans and delaying other in-state hires.

Theyve got to build a serious infrastructure in the battleground states, and they dont have it right now, said Pete Giangreco, a longtime Democratic strategist whos worked on multiple presidential campaigns. You have to build an infrastructure to drive [the] message and deliver votes. Its not something you do just on paid communications.

Theres still time, but time is the one thing you can never get back in a campaign, Giangreco said.

The worries reflect a larger anxiety that Democratic officials have about the relatively slow ramp-up of the campaign and Bidens weak polling in these states. But they also point to a more philosophical divide within the party over whether to make early investments in an on-the-ground presence or on ads and online organizing. Its a debate accelerated in the pandemic era, when in-person campaigning largely halted among Democrats and political operations adapted by developing their tools online.

The Biden campaign argued that Democrats fears are overblown and ignore the groundwork already laid by the Democratic National Committee and Democratic state parties  entities that aides said are far stronger and better-resourced than in previous cycles.

We are incredibly well-positioned to win up and down the ballot next year thanks to the presidents work to unite and strengthen the Democratic Party since his first day in office, Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. Every cycle, anonymous sources and pundits vent to reporters, but make no mistake: this campaign is building strategically and aggressively to earn every vote and to win what will be a competitive election.

But the Biden campaign has also deliberately taken a different approach than other presidential campaigns. Unlike Obama, who oversaw a weakened DNC in the 2012 election, Biden has built up and leaned heavily on the national party apparatus this year. The campaign prioritized early TV advertising, plowing more than $13 million into ads airing in battleground states, according to ad-tracking firm Ad Impact. Thats an unprecedented sum for a presidential campaign in an off year, as is the spending focused directly on Black and Latino voters, particularly through radio and digital ads.



These moves, which have allowed the campaign to save money, are often missed by fearful Democrats, said Sam Cornale, the DNCs executive director, who added that the party is trying to innovate around how campaigns are run for the first time in a generation.

Among those innovations, the DNC is running pilot organizing programs in Wisconsin and Arizona to test ways to reach voters in a post-pandemic cycle. The national party has doubled its staff since 2017, while maintaining a 250,000-person national volunteer program. Theyve also placed communications staffers in the four early Republican primary states and Florida.

People are presenting this as a choice of  either youre on the ground, two years out, to do traditional field [organizing], or youre only going to do digital and paid media campaign, Cornale said. Were saying were [going to do] all of it, and were going to make it smarter, more efficient and, ultimately, more effective.

Jim Messina, who managed Obamas 2012 campaign, said in a statement: Anyone who mistakes headcount as a stand-in metric for communicating with voters doesnt know much about the realities of the modern election cycle  or running a campaign built to win in one. Instead of using an outdated model burning through resources this early in the 2024 cycle, Democrats are being smart about when, where and how to invest in a ground game.

Still, worries in the battleground states persist. More than a dozen Democrats said that the absence of top in-state staff had clogged up the rest of the campaign machinery  slowing down everything from building out a coordinated organizing program with state parties, to planning for voter protection programs, to hiring more staff.

One Democratic strategist in a western state called for more urgency, noting its taking a long time to get things moving, both at [headquarters] and in the battlegrounds.

People are waiting for marching orders that have not been handed down yet, said an Arizona operative.

They are trying to save money, but what would a state director or deputy state director cost them for an extra three or four months to really get organized? said a Pennsylvania Democratic strategist, who also added that state directors are better positioned than national staffers to advocate for Biden to travel to specific areas in states that are critical for swing voters.

Others stressed that by waiting to invest in formal campaign infrastructure, the Biden campaign was putting itself behind in engaging Black and Latino voters. LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, noted that those communities are more responsive to sustained engagement year-round by campaigns and advocacy groups rather than last-minute outreach.

Theyre looking at it like, we have a year, Brown said. But what theyre underestimating is how much damage is being done now  with massive disinformation campaigns.



Over the course of the week that POLITICO reported on these concerns, several Democrats said that they detected heightened activity from the campaign to finalize filling slots.

On Thursday, the Biden campaign announced Ed Duggan, the son of Detroits mayor and a former adviser to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as its state director in Michigan, which came as a relief to Democrats in the state. In addition, Democratic officials and strategists in other swing states said that they expect the campaign to announce additional staff in their battlegrounds in the coming weeks.

For months, there has been a states program being built out across departments (as evidenced by our hires this week) and we will share specifics, including names of hires, when we are ready to, Munoz said in a statement.

In Pennsylvania, the Biden campaign is in the process of identifying key staff. Some people who are being considered for top jobs there include Nikkilia Lu, chief-of-staff at the Labor Departments Womens Bureau and Bidens 2020 Pennsylvania deputy state director; Kellan White, senior adviser for the reelection campaign for Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.); and Kunal Atit, former campaign manager for Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), said the Democratic sources.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison met with Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Sharif Street on Thursday, according to two people familiar with their plans.

Until those hires are formalized, however, Bidens campaign will continue to lean on the DNC and state parties.

Technically there arent Biden-Harris staff on the ground in these states yet, but the state parties and DNC infrastructure is there and stronger than 2011, said Dan Kanninen, a Democratic strategist who served as a regional state director during Obamas 2012 campaign. Theyre tactically doing the same sort of capacity-building that Obama staff would have been doing in late 2011 or early 2012.

While that arrangement has stoked panic in places  theyre being slow everywhere, said one senior Michigan Democratic elected official  others are urging calm.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said that Bidens off-year strategy of partnering with state parties rather than to staff up heavily on the campaign was working.

In just one weekend this fall, a year out, we knocked on the doors and called the phones of 100,000 voters, Wikler continued. All of that builds the operation that will be the ground game for Biden [in Wisconsin], while Republicans have nothing like it.
Dean Phillips has said he is the best man to beat Biden  and Donald Trump - Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Joe Bidens main Democratic challenger has accused the party of suppressing the presidents opposition by trying to keep him off the ballot.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Dean Phillips, a Minnesota congressman, vowed to fight on after what he called a Herculean effort to overcome the obstacles imposed by party chiefs.

Party officials in Florida, North Carolina and New Hampshire have only submitted Mr Bidens name for the nomination.

They have refused to hold a competitive primary in which voters would have the opportunity to vote for Mr Phillips or Mr Bidens other Democratic challenger, self-help guru Marianne Williamson.

Mr Phillips decision to enter the race has rattled the partys hierarchy which hoped Mr Biden would sail serenely to the nomination.

What we are seeing is Democrats suppressing Democrats, he told The Telegraph during a campaign stop at a retirement home in Exeter, New Hampshire.

The 54-year-old was the first Democrat to publicly sound the alarm over the 81-year-old Mr Bidens re-election bid, calling on the president to pass the torch onto a new generation.

Mr Phillips met voters at a campaign town hall meeting in New Hampshire, which will be the first state to hold a primary - REUTERS

But potential big-hitters have refused to throw their hats into the ring.

Gretchen Whitmer, the popular governor of Michigan, a critical swing state, and JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois, refused to take Mr Phillips call when he rang to urge them to run.

From being a stalking horse candidate, Mr Phillips is now in it to win it.

He said: If I wasnt in it to win it, I would not be spending huge sums of my own resources simply to get on the ballots in states well beyond New Hampshire.

Despite the efforts to suppress and prevent and resist and impede, I want to demonstrate that it is still possible to practice democracy.

Mr Phillips hit out at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for declining to host debates, and making it almost impossible to get his name on the ballot in some states.

You can call it what you will, he said. I call it an affront to the foundations of democracy which involve three things: access for the voters to express themselves; access for the candidates to offer themselves and debate among candidates for voters to make their decisions.

And it is quite clear that so far in this primary the Democratic National Committee has tried to suppress all three.

However, he added: I believe we will be on 40 ballots because of our Herculean effort that cost me millions of dollars.

Mr Phillips said he has entered the race because he believes Mr Biden will lose to Donald Trump.

He pointed to polling showing widespread concern among both Democrats and Republicans over Mr Bidens fitness for the job.

The data says they have lost faith in this president as evidenced by his 37 per cent, almost historically low, approval number  lower than even Donald Trump in the same stage of his presidency, he said.

He pointed to recent polls indicating that Mr Biden would lose to Mr Trump, while a generic Democrat would win.

Mr Phillips says he is the man for the job, the other guy able to take on, and beat, Mr Trump.

He has centred his campaign in New Hampshire, historically the first state to hold a primary.

The DNC attempted to change the rules this year to put South Carolina  the state that salvaged the presidents 2020 bid  in first place.

But Republican-led New Hampshire thwarted the attempt by refusing to comply, and, as a result of the spat, Mr Bidens name is not even on the ballot there.

Here in New Hampshire they have said to these Democratic voters who will still be voting in the primary, that their delegates will not be seated, because the president of the United States did not want this to be the first in the nation primary, Mr Phillips added.

While symbolic, Mr Phillips victory in the Granite State would be an embarrassing defeat for the president and could encourage others to enter the race after all.

Inherited business empire

Mr Phillips was only six months old when his father, Artie Pfefer, was killed in the Vietnam war.

He took the name of his stepfather, Eddie Phillips, and inherited the family business empire, the Phillips Distilling Company.

Graduating from Brown University, he worked for a bicycle equipment company for two years before ultimately running the family business.

He then ran Talenti Gelato, which was sold to Unilever before starting Pennys Coffee, a Minnesota-based chain.

As a moderate, pro-business Democrat, he entered Congress after flipping a safe conservative district in 2018, and has increased the Democrat vote share in successive elections.

A member of the bipartisan centrist Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, Mr Phillips was set for a successful career on Capitol Hill.

Taking on Mr Biden has, in Mr Phillips own words, torpedoed his career in Congress.

He announced he will not seek re-election after facing a stiff Democratic primary challenge of his own.

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 South Chicago Heights police Chief Clinton Wagner said he looks forward to leading the department and getting back to basics of community policing following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wagner, sworn in Nov. 20, said he spent a few weeks training with former Chief William Joyce, who retired Dec. 1 after nearly 50 years in law enforcement. Wagners first day official day was Dec. 4, he said.

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South Chicago Heights police Chief Clinton Wagner (Clinton Wagner)

Wagner, 48, grew up in South Chicago Heights and graduated from Bloom Trail High School in 1994. He said he looks forward to serving the community where he grew up.

Its a great little town. Theyre home rule, very progressive. Its diverse. Theres a lot of potential, Wagner said. It just feels like a hometown community feel where everybody gets together. If somebodys in need, everybody jumps in and helps each other out.

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He said he has wanted to be a police officer since he was 18, after talking with his cousin, a South Chicago Heights police officer. His cousin told him Sauk Village had a police cadet program he should consider, Wagner said.

In 1994, right out of high school, Wagner became a cadet in Sauk Village, and was hired as an officer there in 1997. A year later, he was hired by South Chicago Heights.

Wagner, who has a masters degree in public safety administration from Calumet College of St. Joseph, said he was a South Chicago Heights officer until 2001, and then worked for the Flossmoor Police Department through 2022, leaving as a deputy chief.

In 2022, Wagner said he took a remote position with the Illinois Department of Transportation as an internal affairs investigator. But Wagner said he realized he missed working in-person and policing.

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Joyce said Wagner, who he has known for 15 years, was selected out of 18 applicants.

I watched him rise through the ranks, Joyce said. He has so much police and administrative experience.

Wagner said being chief in South Chicago Heights is more than an a desk job. He said he will have the opportunity to patrol and be out in the community.

I missed that. Thats really want drew me to this versus a larger community, where I would just be behind a desk and be a complete administrator, Wagner said. I still like that feel of getting out and talking with people and being on the street.

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Wagner said hed like the department to go back to the basics of policing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wagner said police officers had fewer interactions with community members.

I want to bring back a little more proactive policing, especially community policing, where were out and about more and talking with people, Wagner said. Thats my big thing. Lets get back out with community.

akukulka@chicagotribune.com
President Biden arrives at Santa Monica Airport on Friday, where he's greeted by a group including Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), third from left, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)

President Biden's arrival in Los Angeles for a weekend of campaign fundraising was greeted not just by well-heeled supporters, but hundreds of protesters who gathered outside a glitzy Westside fundraiser to demand a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

The Friday night fundraiser was held at the Holmby Hills home of James Costos, the U.S. ambassador to Spain under President Obama, and designer Michael Smith, the White House interior decorator during the Obama administration.

The star-studded event, headlined by musician Lenny Kravitz and co-hosted by filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner, was Biden's first in Southern California since the end of the writers' and actors' strikes and the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

Read more: Biden-Harris reelection campaign ramps up political fundraising in Hollywood

In an 11-minute speech to Democratic donors and elected officials, Biden did not address the Gaza conflict, instead focusing on the threat he said Donald Trump poses to democracy.

"The future of American democracy is at stake  literally," Biden said. "It all is at stake. Let me be clear: Donald Trump poses many threats to the country, from the right to choose to civil rights to voting rights to America's standing in the world. But the greatest threat Trump poses is to our democracy, because if we lose that, we lose everything."

In a lush backyard surrounded by tall hedges, several hundred guests listened to live jazz, sipped cocktails and ate organic hot dogs made from grass-fed beef. Many guests had jackets or white pashmina shawls to guard against the 55-degree night.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather near President Biden's fundraising event in Holmby Hills. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Hours before the event, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators began gathering in a public park across the street, calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and for the United States to end financial and military aid to Israel.

As guests dressed in suits, ties and cocktail attire walked toward the fundraiser, protesters chanted at them, "Shame on you!" and, "What we want is total freedom."

Some demonstrators carried signs that read, End all U.S. aid to Israel, America, dont let your tax $ fund killing babies and come November well remember. They wore clothing symbolizing their cause, including the black-and-white keffiyeh; and bore banners, balloons and Palestinian flags.

Police declared an unlawful assembly at about 5:45 p.m, but the park wasnt abandoned for another hour, when protesters spilled onto adjacent streets  marching near entrances to the Los Angeles Country Club on Comstock Avenue near Wilshire Boulevard.

While some officers said they were hit with eggs and water by demonstrators, there were no reported injuries or arrests. Some walls along Wilshire were tagged with graffiti, and protesters blocked and delayed traffic at various points along the thoroughfare.

Much of the crowd had abated by the time the fundraiser's programming began in earnest, but helicopters continued to fly overhead. During brief comments by First Lady Jill Biden and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the crowd heard the faint but unmistakable sound of air horns.

More than 300 people were expected at the fundraiser, some of whom were flying in from Texas, Washington, Boston and other parts of the country, Costos said in an interview with The Times.

"This isn't just Hollywood glitterati, you know, this is really like a rally," he said, as Kravitz could be heard doing a sound check in the background.

Read more: Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather outside Biden fundraiser

Biden landed at Los Angeles International Airport about 5 p.m. and flew to Santa Monica Airport on Marine One, where he was greeted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other local elected officials. The presidential motorcade briefly shut down the 405 Freeway as it headed north to the fundraiser.

President Biden arrives at Santa Monica airport before attending a fundraising event in Los Angeles. (Laura Nelson/Los Angeles Times)

Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that targeted Jews in Israel, and Israel's airstrikes in Gaza in the days since, have revealed a dramatic divide among Democrats over a war that has already left thousands of people dead, mostly Palestinians.

A Pew Research Center poll released Friday found that the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza has been far less popular with young Democrats. The poll, conducted last week, found that 21% of voting-age Democrats under the age of 30 approve of Biden's handling of the war, compared with 74% of Democrats ages 65 and older.

Overall, about 1 in 3 Americans approved of Biden's response to the war, 4 in 10 disapproved, and about 1 in 4 were not sure, the poll found.

Read more: U.S. college campuses have embraced the Palestinian cause like never before. The story began decades ago

Campaign officials say that party divisions over Biden's handling of the conflict have not hindered fundraising efforts  and in some cases, have motivated donors to cut heftier checks.

The tensions over the war are a "snapshot of a moment in time," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, a co-founder of DreamWorks Pictures and a Biden campaign co-chair who has played a central figure in the president's reelection effort.

"These things are ongoing every single day, and the emotions around them are going to change," Katzenberg said. "To try and be predictive of how young people are going to act or react or what they're going to do when they go to the polls 10 months from now is a crazy exercise in futility."

The president and first lady attended six events  a mix of private and public fundraisers and meetings  between them during their 36-hour visit to Los Angeles. Biden also made time to attend a shiva to mourn legendary producer Norman Lear, who died Tuesday at age 101.

The trip was part of an end-of-year fundraising blitz aimed at boosting Biden's fourth-quarter haul to a target of around $67 million, according to a source familiar with the campaign figures.

Read more: Why Hollywood political donations are due to spike

Biden's day-and-a-half jaunt raked in more than $15 million, Katzenberg told the Times. The record-setting figure for L.A.'s Democratic donor base is matched only by then-President Obama's 2012 campaign reception at actor George Clooneys house, during which he raised nearly $15 million but after the primary season, "which was quite a different fundraising time in the cycle," Katzenberg said.

To attend Friday night's event, donors could contribute up to $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that supports the president's reelection campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties.

Star-studded Hollywood fundraisers are a staple of Democratic candidates who rely on California donors to fund their campaigns. But those types of glitzy events have been on hold for most of the year during the dual strikes of the actors and writers guilds. Writers were on strike for 148 days and actors for 118 days between May and November during disputes over pay, benefits, streaming revenue and the use of artificial intelligence. Biden is expected to make another L.A. fundraising visit during the first quarter of 2024, according to organizers.

"I think there's pent-up interest, excitement and enthusiasm to actually have President Biden in person," Katzenberg said. "It's not lost on anybody how important and effective his leadership has been."

The other co-hosts of Friday's star-studded event included producers Shonda Rhimes and Peter Chernin, businessman and former L.A. mayoral candidate Rick Caruso and several former U.S. ambassadors.

Times staff writers James Rainey, Jeremy Childs and Andrew J. Campa contributed to this story.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Semafor Signals

NEWS

COP28 is days away from wrapping up, with observers unsure whether any meaningful resolution will come from the worlds most important climate summit.

From fossil fuel controversies to geopolitical tensions, weve gathered some of the biggest takeaways from the Dubai conference over the last week.

SIGNALS

Semafor Signals: Global insights on today's biggest stories.

The central debate among countries is whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels. Despite their known impact on climate change, debates on the future of fossil fuels only became a fixture at the summit at COP26 in Glasgow two years ago. The issue has become more contentious under the UAE Presidency, with the state oil company chief allegedly using this years summit to strike oil deals with foreign dignitaries. While regions like the EU have already pledged to support a phase out agenda, the head of OPEC on Friday rallied members to oppose any resolution with the phase out wording.

COP28 marks the first time the summit debated food systems, with more than 130 countries signing a resolution acknowledging the impact of meat production in greenhouse gas emissions. The resolution also called on wealthier countries to encourage citizens to eat less meat. Despite the long overdue conversation, as one expert said, its unlikely that developed nations like the U.S. will actually implement the recommendations. Other observers argued the proposals ignore the complexity of food systems, including issues like power imbalances, industrial food production, and climate changes disproportionate effect on the Global South.

The next climate summit is already shrouded in geopolitical controversy. Per UN rules, COP29 should take place in Eastern Europe, but Russia has been blocking all EU member bids over their opposition to the war in Ukraine. The frontrunner is now Azerbaijan, but critics say that a Baku summit will only be another win for petrostates. And as Azerbaijan builds stronger ties with Russia, many are worried that Moscows own energy goals will dominate the conference.
Bill S6528A could make way for more hair texture inclusion in New Yorks hair industry and beyond.

Democratic New York Senator Jamaal Bailey understands firsthand how challenging it is to find a hair stylist trained in his hair texture.

He told Allure magazine he often runs into scenarios where hes not in his neighborhood but in need of a quick tape-up or shape-up  and left debating who around him might be qualified.

The struggle is real, he said.

This is partly why, in April, he introduced Bill S6528A, a new law in New York state that will require all hair stylists to be trained in all textures.

Its not only common sense; [its] the right thing to do, Sen. Bailey told Allure when speaking about the new law. He added, Its personal.

Bill S6528A is a new law in New York state that will require all hair stylists to be trained in all textures. (Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

The bill, which passed the New York Assembly by a 56-2 vote and was officially signed into law on Nov. 17 by Governor Kathy Hochul, would require cosmetologists and natural hair stylists to, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the secretary of state, complete certain training, as well as include questions on license examinations, regarding the provision of services to individuals with all hair types  including, but not limited to, various curl and wave patterns, hair strand thicknesses, and volumes of hair  as a condition of licensure, per the laws official language.

In action, the bill increases inclusion in cosmetology schools. Students seeking to learn how to work with textured hair wont necessarily have to pay for extra or specialized classes because they will be included in more curriculums. The new law also adds steam to the CROWN Acts efforts and could prove as a potential model for other states to replicate.

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It is Sen. Baileys hope that at the very least, the new law will lead to those with textured hair  particularly Black and brown people  to feel more comfortable when seeking out professional haircare services.

When we talk about mental health and how we feel, I think that we should understand that hair care and personal care are a part of that overall feeling of wellness, he said.

However, as Sen. Bailey explained to Allure, the bill wont be a cure-all.

Theres no one state law or any law that [can] solve societal ills, he said. But when people that are not necessarily of your culture take the time out to learn something, I think it is looked upon favorably. [However,] if you feel more comfortable with your Black stylist, you should continue to go see a Black stylist. If you feel comfortable going to someone else, by all means.

Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter.

The post A new bill in New York requires hairstylists to be trained in all hair textures appeared first on TheGrio.
Home Depot co-founder and billionaire Ken Langone put his support behind GOP hopeful Nikki Haley on Friday, calling her approach to the 2024 election smart.

I think shes just what we need right now. I think her approach is smart. I think shes clarified herself on some issues which is very important, Langone, who is seen as a GOP mega-donor, said in an interview with Fox Newss Neil Cavuto. And more importantly, I think the American people need this kind of leadership, statesman-like, elegant.

When you think of where weve been in the last six or seven or eight years, its not good, Neil. Its not good at all, he added.

The backing from Langone, who endorsed former President Trump in his 2016 White House campaign, comes after Haley secured an endorsement from another top donor: the Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action. The organization announced their support late last month, marking the first time a deep-pocketed group has endorsed a GOP candidate in a presidential primary.

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, the group said at the time.

In Fridays interview, the one-time Trump supporter said he couldnt support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis because his numbers arent moving.

Langone added that he believes the former presidents time had come and gone, while pointing to the last few months of his tenure in the White House, as reasons why he wouldnt back Trump.

What Trump put this country through for the last three months of his presidency was disgraceful. Im sorry. And I think, frankly, that to me, ruined his chances to succeed himself at some point, he told Cavuto. So, you know, I think what happened on January 6th, all I had to say was, Please go home. You made known your feelings. Now go home.'

He sat in a room and watched it for three hours, did nothing about it. So America is better than that, Langone added. America deserves  better than that.

Haleys endorsements have given her a leg up on DeSantis, who was long seen as Trumps biggest rival in the race. But, despite her best efforts and donors, skepticism remains over whether she can truly overtake Trump, who is in the lead by double digits in national polling.

Still, candidates are rushing to bring in support as the Iowa caucuses, the first real test for the candidates, inches closer. The voting will begin on Jan. 15.

The former president mocked Haley for the boost she gained from AFPs endorsement, while calling it a minor hit for DeSantis.

I was never in the running because Im all about Making America, not the outside World, Great Again! These losers have fought me from 2016 to the present, he wrote on Truth Social following the news. They are bad for our Country, and so is a very weak and ineffective Birdbrain, who still says that President Trump was a GREAT President, I will never run against him.

Shes down 50 Points, she better start running FAST! the former president added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Billionaire Ken Langone on Friday endorsed Nikki Haleys presidential bid in the latest sign of the Republican moneyed class rallying behind her as the main alternative to Donald Trump in the GOP primary.

I think she is just what we need right now. I think her approach is smart. I think shes qualified, Langone said on Fox News. More importantly, I think the American people need this kind of leadership  statesmanlike, elegant. Just think of  where we have been in the last six or seven or eight years. It is not good at all.

Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot, is the latest in a growing list of wealthy donors to back the former South Carolina governor. The network associated with billionaire Charles Koch announced its support for her last week, as did North Carolina retail magnate Art Pope. Earlier this week, LinkedIn co-founder and billionaire Democratic donor Reid Hoffman gave $250,000 to support her campaign.

Langone said that while he likes GOP contender Ron DeSantis, the Florida governors numbers arent moving.

The writing is on the wall, Langone told Fox News. On the other hand, Nikki Haley has had a substantial upswing. The one thing Im committed to is we have to beat Joe Biden. If Joe Biden is going to be the nominee, we have to beat him. We cant take any more of this mayhem.

Asked why he didnt endorse Trump, Langone said the former presidents time has come and gone and condemned his actions toward the end of his White House tenure.

What Trump put this country through the last three months of his presidency was disgraceful, Langone said.

I think what happened on January 6  all he had to say is Please go home.  But he sat in a room and watched it for three hours and did nothing about it and America deserves better than that, he added.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration, captured this image of the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy M87 and its shadow. .

Feeding black holes lurking at the center of most galaxies gulp nearby stars, gas and dust the same way irrespective of how hungry they are, new research suggests.

Until now, there appeared to be an order to these massacres. The hungriest of black holes , which also beam out very powerful radiation, were thought to "eat" one star about the size of our sun every year. Astronomers think matter collapses into disks around these very hungry cosmic beasts, which are then fed in a somewhat organized way. By contrast, less hungry black holes were thought to take something like 10 million years to consume a sun-sized star and are thought to be surrounded by chaotic streams of matter rather than neat disks.

However, astronomers now say both systems are more similar than currently appreciated.

Related: James Webb Space Telescope spies a newborn star in its cosmic crib

The chaotic process typically associated only with the latter systems, the less bright black holes, might in fact play an important role in the way the brightest black holes feed, study lead author Ilaria Ruffa of Cardiff University told Space.com in an email.

"This result was totally unexpected and can thus completely change our understanding of the physical processes through which different types of active black holes 'eat' the surrounding material," she said. "This is really puzzling and exciting at the same time."

To arrive at their conclusions, Ruffa and her colleagues studied 136 black holes, millions of times more massive than our sun, that sit billions of light-years away from us. This included voids sitting in about 30 nearby galaxies studied by the powerful ALMA telescopes in Chile. The team found that light detected from all feeding black holes, especially in the microwave radiation region, is actually coming from disordered streams of matter.

This is "changing our view on how these systems consume matter, and grow to be the cosmic monsters we see today," Ruffa said in a statement .

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It also appears, the team says, that the matter tightly bound around the black holes shone the same way in both microwave and X-ray wavelengths, hinting that for highly luminous black holes, the observed glow is "incompatible with an ordered flow of matter," said Ruffa.

Studying this light may also offer a new indirect method to estimate black hole masses, a crucial parameter to understand how these beasts, colossal in their own right but "tiny" when compared to an entire galaxy, "manage to affect  sometimes, in a dramatic way  the life of the host galaxy itself," said Ruffa.

This research is described in a paper published Dec. 5 (Monday) in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The historic Willard Scott House at 101 N. Washington St. in Naperville is up for sale. The asking price for 156-year-old downtown property is $1,025,000. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

A 156-year-old downtown property with ties to one of Napervilles earliest families is up for sale.

Its owners say they want to find a buyer who will be committed to upholding the structures integrity, but local preservationists worry a private sale will open the door to possible alterations  or demolition.

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The Willard Scott House was built in 1867, located at the northwest corner of Washington and Franklin streets. Through the decades, the brick building has cycled through generations, families, even uses.

About six months ago, a for sale sign went up on the front lawn, the asking price $1,025,000.

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Theres definitely been some interest, co-owner Robert Heap said. Weve had some offers that didnt go through, but theres interest.

Heap said he and three other owners are looking for a buyer who will maintain the property and wont tear it down (or) change it so you cant recognize it afterward.

Still, while owners intent is to conserve their Reconstruction Era property, the move to sell has flagged the attention of those who dont want to see the city lose more of its historic buildings.

The (sale) sign is kind of hard to miss, said Jane Burke with Naperville Preservation Inc.

A "for sale" sign sits in the front yard of Napervilles historic Willard Scott House, which has stood at northwest corner of Washington and Franklin streets since 1867. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)

Formed in 2017, Naperville Preservation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting and protecting places historically notable to Naperville. The Willard Scott House fits the bill.

I think our group naturally wants to preserve this very important landmark, Burke said.

Though constructed a century and a half ago, the house has origins that predate even Naperville itself.

Before the Hobsons and the Napers, there was the Scott family.

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Willard Scott Sr., left, is pictured here with some of his family members. He and his wife were the first people to settle in the area that would become Naperville, and he would go on to build a hotel, a general store and a bank in the city during his lifetime. (HANDOUT)

While Joseph Naper is credited with founding Naperville along the DuPage River in 1831, Willard and Caroline Scott arrived in the area a year before, making them the regions first Euro-American homesteaders.

By 1838, Willard and Caroline were actively involved in Napers burgeoning settlement. That first year, Scott built a three-story hotel in what is downtown Naperville today. Eight years later, he started a general store called Willard Scott and Co. and followed that a few years later with a bank.

Scott died in 1892, but his name has lived on with his 101 N. Washington St. house.

Once known as the red brick mansion, the two-story house was designed in the Italianate-style, which was popular between the 1850s and the 1880s and is known for its symmetry, flat roofs and round-arched windows.

This is the dining room of the Willard Scott House in Naperville, which was built at Washington and Franklin streets in 1867. A family home for more than a century, the house was converted for office use in 1975. (HANDOUT)

Willard lived in the house, built by a man named William Beidelman, until his death. While he and his wife had five children and several grandchildren, the property was sold to the Beidelman family in 1919 to keep it in familiar hands.

Thats how it stayed for more than five decades, until a law firm took over the space and converted it for office use.

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From 1975 to 2016, the property served as the home to Fawell, James & Brooks, the private law practice of former state senator and U.S. Rep. Harris Fawell. Even after his firm relocated eight years ago, Fawell continued to retain part ownership in the house with his wife, Ruth.

Heap, Fawells son-in-law, purchased half the property with his wife and moved his own law practice  Kuhn, Heap & Monson  into the building. When Harris Fawell died in 2021, followed by Ruth Fawell in 2022, their half of the Scott house went to other heirs.

After the last change, Heap and the owners resolved it was time to sell.

There was a transfer of ownership and, as a group, (we) came to the conclusion to put it on the market, he said.

Asked if any alternatives to selling were considered  landmarking, for example  Heap said, We looked at everything.

As things stand right now, there are no protections that would prevent future owners from altering or tearing down the house. Its location is just outside of the Naperville Historic District, where regulations dictate standards for exterior home improvements. It is part of a federal historic district, but their rules is not nearly as restrictive, according to the Illinois Historic Preservation Office.

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Preservation is possible were it to be made a city landmark, a process open to any Naperville property over 50 years old, but that requires the recommendation of the Naperville Historic Preservation Commission and the approval of the Naperville City Council.

There are only four historic landmarks in Naperville.

The Italiante-style house built by Willard Scott in Naperville was ornate, as this Naperville Heritage Society photo shows. Scott was a successful businessman who built a hotel, general store and bank during the time he lived in the city. (HANDOUT)

Heap said he and his fellow co-owners are keeping options open but acknowledges the houses future will hinge on who its sold to. That also goes for whether Heaps law practice stays on as tenants.

Were still looking into (different options), but its about what a potential buyer would rather have us do.  Everything is on the table, he said.

Naperville Preservation members say they understand the path property owners are pursuing and hope the building ends up going to the right successor.

The owners have kept great care of the house and are really proud of it, said Bill Simon, Naperville Preservation president. We understand the situation that the family is in, with them feeling like they need to sell. But we are very concerned that it may be torn down.  We think that its a house that needs to have a place in Naperville.

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The Willard Scott House has many of the criteria that would make it an excellent landmark for Naperville but its owners would need to bring that idea to fruition. Nonowners are allowed to put up a building for landmarking but they need preauthorization from elected officials before the review process can begin.

We would support (landmarking) if the owners were interested. Were glad to help. But we dont want to force landmarking on anyone, Simon said.

Outside of working with property owners, Simon said Naperville Preservation is hopeful the city might get involved to help preserve it in some way.

Thats not likely, city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said.

Its a private sale, she said. If someone submits an application for a local landmark, that kicks in the city. Or someone submitted a building permit, that would kick in the building department. Everything with the city has to be initiated.

For now, Simon said, I think the future is one big question mark.

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tkenny@chicagotribune.com
Doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta, a Palestinian-British plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. Abu Sitta who spent weeks in the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war in the enclave as part of a Doctors Without Borders medical team said he has given testimony to a British war crimes investigation unit. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

BEIRUT (AP)  A British Palestinian surgeon who spent weeks in the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war as part of a Doctors Without Borders medical team said he has given testimony to a British war crimes investigation unit.

Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, has volunteered with medical teams in multiple conflicts in Gaza, beginning as a medical student in the late 1980s during the the first Palestinian uprising. He has also worked in other conflict zones, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Abu Sitta crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Oct. 9, two days after the war began and remained in the besieged enclave for 43 days, working mainly in the al-Ahli and Shifa hospitals in northern Gaza.

The war was triggered by a deadly Hamas-led incursion on Oct. 7 into southern Israel in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Since then, Israel has launched a punishing air and ground campaign that has killed more than 17,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Abu Sitta told The Associated Press in an interview during a visit to the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut on Saturday that the intensity of other conflicts he experienced and the war in Gaza is like the difference between a flood and a tsunami. Apart from the staggering numbers of killed and injured, he said, the health system itself has been targeted and destroyed in Gaza.

The worst thing was initially the running out of morphine and proper strong analgesics and then later on running out of anesthetic medication, which meant that you would have to do painful procedures with no anesthetic, Abu Sitta said.

He said that when he returned to the UK, he was asked by the war crimes unit at the Metropolitan Police to give evidence in a possible war crimes investigation, and did so.

The police had issued a call for people returning from Israel or the Palestinian territories who have witnessed or been a victim of terrorism, war crimes or crimes against humanity to come forward.

Abu Sitta said much of his testimony related to attacks on health facilities.

He was working in al-Ahli hospital in northern Gaza on Oct. 17 when a deadly blast struck the hospitals courtyard, which had become a shelter for displaced people, killing hundreds. Israeli authorities, along with U.S. and French intelligence agencies, have said the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Hamas maintained that it was an Israeli strike. Abu Sitta said many of the injuries he saw were more consistent with damage caused by an Israeli Hellfire missile which he said disintegrates into shards of metal that cause amputations."

The international group Human Rights Watch said the fragmentation pattern around the impact crater lacked the pattern typical of the Hellfire missile or others used by Israel.

Abu Sitta said while in Gaza he also treated patients who had burn wounds consistent with white phosphorus shelling, which he had also seen during the 2009 war.

Phosphorus shells cause a chemical burn that ... bursts into the deep structures of the body rather than a thermal burn, which starts at the outside and (covers a) much larger surface area, he said.

Human rights groups have alleged that Israeli forces have dropped shells containing white phosphorus on densely populated residential areas in Gaza and Lebanon during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israel maintains it uses the incendiaries only as a smokescreen and not to target civilians.

Abu Sitta, who rotated between al-Ahli and Shifa hospital, had left Shifa when Israeli forces encircled the hospital, eventually storming it in search of what they described as a Hamas command center. Israeli officials released visuals of an underground tunnel and rooms that they said were used by Hamas, but have not provided further evidence.

Abu Sitta, like other medical workers in the hospital, denied the allegations.

He said he had complete access to Shifa and there was never, ever even any military presence. He said policemen whose job was to control the crowds in front of the emergency department only carried truncheons.

The physician said he hopes the UK war crimes investigation will lead to prosecutions, locally or internationally.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said after a visit to the West Bank and Israel last week that a probe by the court into possible crimes by both Hamas militants and Israeli forces is a priority for his office.

___

Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
BEREA, Ohio (AP) Denzel Ward will not play Sunday because hes still dealing with a shoulder injury and Cleveland Browns rookie right tackle Dawand Jones will also miss the game against Jacksonville with a knee injury, a blow to the Browns who are trying to stay in the AFC playoff hunt.

Mentor group helps keep retired K9 partners together

Jones has played exceptionally well after moving into the starting lineup in Week 1, when Jack Conklin suffered a season-ending knee injury.

While Browns wait to announce starter, they let QB go

A fourth-round pick from Ohio State, Jones was downgraded from questionable to out on Saturdaya significant loss as the Browns (7-5) host the (8-4) Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at 1 p.m. at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
With Kevin McCarthy heading for the exits , his Republican colleagues are bracing for a falloff in campaign support and loss of granular institutional knowledge that could leave them at a disadvantage heading into next falls elections.

The fight for control of the closely divided House will likely be decided in California, the ex-speaker's home state. Five of the states 12 Republicans  Young Kim of Anaheim Hills, David Valadao of Hanford, Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita, Michelle Steel of Seal Beach and John Duarte of Modesto  hold districts President Biden won in 2020. A sixth Golden State Republican, Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona, also faces a competitive race .

But McCarthys announcement that hell leave Congress at the end of the year means the GOP will be without the man who convinced many of them to run for office in the first place  not to mention one of the most prolific fundraisers in party history. That complicates Republicans path to maintaining their historically narrow majority. His replacement, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), is a neophyte at political leadership with a long history of hard-line social conservative stances that might not play well in the districts that will determine House control.

Its terrible. Theres nothing good about losing McCarthy, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) told The Times.

McCarthys greatest strength as a politician has been his political capability. Hes a campaign animal, more interested in and adept at recruiting candidates and raising money than crafting policy.

Read more: Kevin McCarthy uses PAC to lavish cash on high-end resorts, private jets and fine dining

He played a key role in building out the House GOPs super PAC efforts over the past decade-plus beginning in 2010, has deep ties to megadonors and K Street lobbyists, and his close relationships with swing-district lawmakers  many of whom he personally recruited to run for office  helped propel him to the speakership.

Now, hes on the way out. And Johnson, his replacement, is learning on the fly what it means to be in charge of the partys campaign efforts.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), a close McCarthy ally, said he was worried about the steep learning curve his home-state colleague faces as he settles into the speakership, as well as the loss of connections and institutional knowledge that are leaving with McCarthy.

He called Johnson very smart, but said theres a lot to learn.

Obviously, the fundraising stuff is something that he doesn't have the background on. But I think that there's an apparatus thats in place that McCarthy put together that is amazing, and I think that's gonna give him a big head start, Graves said.

Johnson has never spent much time fundraising  he hails from a safe seat and hasnt done much campaigning for others in past years. Before he became speaker, Johnson had raised just over $5 million in his six-plus years in Congress. Hed brought in just over a half-million dollars in the first three quarters of 2023, compared to $15 million for McCarthy, who helped the National Republican Congressional Committee raise more than $40 million last cycle alone.

Republican lawmakers and campaign aides say Johnson is working hard to introduce himself to key donors and getting help from McCarthy in his circle  but concede that he starts at a disadvantage.

Look, theres going to be less money, Im sure. How much, I dont know, Crenshaw said.

Read more: McCarthy and Johnson are both conservative Christians. Only one is on the 'front lines of the culture war'

On top of that, McCarthy comes from California and knows the Golden State well. His exit means there are no GOP House leaders from either of the two states that strategists of both parties think will determine House control next fall. Six of the GOPs 22 most vulnerable House seats in the Cook Political Reports analysis are in California, while five are in New York. McCarthys deep understanding of California politics has been replaced by a man who built his career in the religious right and represents a deeply conservative Deep South district in northern Louisiana. Thats not good news for vulnerable California Republicans.

House GOP strategists acknowledge that McCarthys California expertise would have been invaluable, but say that his exit isnt going to change their plans to heavily spend in the state.

You look at the map, and the majority is won or lost in California and New York. Were not going to throw out the baby with the bathwater, said one House GOP advisor granted anonymity to give a candid assessment of the partys strategy.

McCarthy has pledged to stay involved and help the GOP retain its House majority.

I will continue to recruit our countrys best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders, he wrote in his Wall Street Journal op-ed announcing his retirement.

He chaired a recent fundraising dinner for the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), and has helped introduce Johnson to some donors.

But hes clearly taking a step back. McCarthy did not bother showing up to vote on a series of measures on Wednesday and Thursday following his announcement that hed retire.

Johnson hasnt looked to make waves with the GOPs campaign apparatus. He kept in place the entire infrastructure of the CLF and American Action Network (AAN), the major outside groups that McCarthy and his predecessors have used to funnel large donations into campaign spending. Hes done the same with the National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans official campaign arm, and has brought on NRCC Chairman Richard Hudsons (R-N.C.) former chief of staff as his new political director. His first major D.C. fundraiser last week brought in $4 million, and House Republicans online fundraising has ticked up from its nadir during the speakership fight.

Speaker Mike Johnson showed an immediate commitment to growing the majority when was handed the gavel, and we are thankful that his hard work is already delivering results, said NRCC Communications Director Jack Pandol.

Johnsons political team didnt respond to an interview request.

Read more: Kevin McCarthy will retire from Congress at end of year

The CLF and AAN raised a combined total of $16 million in the first 10 days of Johnsons speakership. (Theyd brought in $80 million combined in the nine months before McCarthys ouster, outpacing their 2022 fundraising through September by $20 million; they raised $645 million total during McCarthys five years as the top House Republican).

Crenshaw said that major GOP donors have stepped up in recent weeks to make a show of force and signal that this is not going to be a disaster for Republicans.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a prodigious fundraiser herself, has stuck around since stepping down from House leadership to help the new generation of Democratic leaders through the transition  and has helped the party avoid a dropoff in fundraising. The 83-year-old is running for another term, and will still be there after the 58-year-old McCarthy departs.

Did she ever think shed outlast her Republican colleague in the House? "I didnt think about him at all. Period. Zero, she told The Times. Once youre gone from here, youre gone from here.

She declined to further discuss the potential impact McCarthys exit would have on the fight for House control.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a conservative firebrand who emerged as one of McCarthys closest allies during his speakership fights, said she was frustrated with how Johnson is running the House so far.

Anybody thats paying attention should be noticing that theres literally no change and if not things are worse, Greene told reporters on Thursday.

But she didnt think that losing McCarthy would have much impact on which party will win the House next year.

Not at all, she said when The Times asked whether McCarthys exit would hurt the GOPs chances. Trumps going to drag everybody across the line. Youre going to see voter turnout like youve never seen before, so Im not worried about that.

Read more: Kevin McCarthy isn't the only Californian who is miserable in Congress

Greene is likely at least partly correct. The presidential race will increase turnout in 2024, and control of the House, which appears to be on the knifes edge, could well be determined much more by how voters feel about Trump and President Biden than by specific House candidates or fundraising.

Johnsons hard-right views, especially on social issues, so far havent kept swing-district Republicans from wanting to campaign with him. He recently appeared at in-district fundraisers for a trio of vulnerable freshman Republicans from suburban New York.

But he raised eyebrows with a recent fundraising email. The email, which the NRCC sent out under his name, was steeped in hard-right Christian rhetoric and warned that God might take vengeance on America for its depraved culture if the U.S. doesnt change course fast.

I fear America may be beyond redemption, he wrote, citing the rise in the number of teenagers who identify as something other than straight.

America needs to recognize that we have much to repent for if we want to avoid the judgment we so clearly deserve, but that starts with returning America to Gods good graces once again, Johnson declared in the fundraising email.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who has won a series of close races in his Omaha-based swing district, said hed be happy to have Johnson come in and campaign for him.

But he said that the chaos of October hurt us, and McCarthys political acumen is irreplaceable.

God made that guy to be a political maven. He does things nobody even thinks about, Bacon said.

Read more: Kevin McCarthy isn't the only Californian who is miserable in Congress

Bacon met McCarthy years before he ran for office, and said that McCarthy identified him as a possible House recruit long before hed ever thought about running. McCarthy was also so astute at reading his colleagues that he intuited that Bacon might vote against Ohio Rep. Jim Jordans attempt to become speaker because he was so pissed about McCarthys ouster. As McCarthy delivered a floor speech, Bacon was stewing in his seat  until he got a text from his wife that McCarthys wife had called her to have her relay a message: I know Dons mad right now, tell him we love him, and please dont be too mad.

We lost a talent, he said. Nobody can campaign like this guy. And nobody can raise money like this guy. And he recruits really good recruits. I think Mike Johnson can get there. But let's be honest: McCarthy has worked this for like two decades. This guy has built this machine. So it's a loss, he said. McCarthy is one of a kind.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In video after video, jurors in Ed Burkes federal corruption trial have gotten an unfiltered view of a Chicago powerhouse.

Burke, pink-faced and impeccably dressed, swears and swaggers and schmoozes. He waxes eloquent about Chicago history. And, federal authorities allege, he speaks about extracting private law business from people with issues at City Hall as casually as if its the weather.

Daniel Solis, the man wearing the hidden camera, is seen only in flashes: jittery close-up views of his wristwatch, his fidgety fingers, the zipper of his jacket.

But next week, jurors could finally meet him.

Burkes own attorneys could call the alderman-turned-FBI mole as a witness as early as Monday. The crucial decision to put him on the stand will shape the rest of Burkes landmark racketeering trial.

It would be a chance to try to undermine Solis credibility, and by extension the highly damaging recordings he made. But that strategy could blow back on Burke just as easily, experts told the Tribune.

Its a bit of a chess game, said Nancy DePodesta, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice. The government made the first move and decided not to call Solis  If the defense doesnt call Solis then theyre left with the tapes, (and) you dont get to cross-examine the tapes.

Its obviously risky, and it could backfire that theyre calling Solis, she continued. But on the other hand, maybe its a bit of a Hail Mary.

Prosecutors decided months ago not to put Solis on the stand, apparently betting that the recordings would speak for themselves. While Burkes attorneys told U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall last month they planned to call Solis, during the subsequent opening statements they conspicuously avoided telling jurors they would be hearing from him. That left the door open for the defense lawyers to change their minds, and many observers figured they would not take the risk of calling him after all.

But in court Thursday, Burke attorney Chris Gair was adamant that Solis would be their marquee witness.

He plans to question Solis for hours about the recordings alone, he said, and will elicit details about Solis nigh-unprecedented deal with the U.S. attorneys office. That deal will ultimately leave him without a criminal conviction and still collecting his $100,000 annual pension.

I can guarantee you, judge, anything about what deal he got and what crimes he committed, that is going to come (out) at the end, Gair told Kendall.

In a filing Saturday, prosecutors reiterated that the defense cannot call a witness in a thinly-veiled effort to attack the governments case by attempting to criticize the government for using such an individual as a cooperator  that is, they arent allowed to put him on the stand just to smear him.

They want Kendall to strictly limit the kinds of questions Burkes attorneys can ask Solis, and suggest that defense attorneys should offer a more complete preview of what they expect him to say.

The defense also should not be allowed to ask Solis about the details of his cooperation deal, either, prosecutors wrote. But if they are, prosecutors want to elicit testimony that Solis cooperation extended beyond just Burke, to show that he had other bargaining chips to play in negotiating his deferred-prosecution agreement.

In calling Solis, experts told the Tribune, Burkes defense is playing a wild card.

It really sets the table for the government to emphasize that the things Burke said on the recordings  were the product of his own volition and mindset, said Dylan Smith, a former federal prosecutor who works in white-collar criminal defense. To the extent the defense calls Solis to try to dirty him up, that could blow back on Burke as much as on the governments case.

The 14-count racketeering case alleges that Burke used his significant City Hall power to try to get business for his private law firm from developers of the Old Post Office, owners of a Burger King in his Southwest Side 14th Ward and a developer desperate to install a sign for a Binnys Beverage Depot on the Northwest Side.

He is also accused of threatening to block an admission fee increase at the Field Museum to retaliate against officials who failed to give a paid internship to a daughter of one of his longtime City Council allies.

The Solis recordings are related only to the alleged Old Post Office scheme, which was the longest-running and potentially the most lucrative  though Burkes attorneys have emphasized that, in the end, Burkes firm never actually got a dime from the developers he is accused of trying to extort.

The recordings have Burke saying lines that have surely stuck in jurors minds: He was not motivated to help the developers, he said, since the cash register has not rung yet. When the developers dragged their feet, he told Solis as far as Im concerned they can go (expletive) themselves. And perhaps most memorably, he asked Solis on a wiretapped call: So did we land the, uh, the tuna?

But long before Burke was charged, the FBI had their eyes on Solis.

Or, more accurately, their ears: They had been listening to his phone calls for months, and they had heard the alderman solicit everything from campaign donations to sexual services at a massage parlor.

Then on the morning of June 1, 2016, two agents showed up at his door with the proof. He agreed to cooperate shortly afterward, eventually becoming one of the most prolific FBI moles in Chicago history.

He helped build cases not only against Burke but also against ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who faces his own racketeering trial in the spring. The videos Solis recorded of Burke provided some of the strongest evidence of prosecutors allegations that the alderman abused his power in order to get business for his private law firm.

In exchange, Solis got a remarkable deal. The U.S. attorneys office agreed to a deferred-prosecution deal, meaning Solis will see his single charge dropped in 2025 if his cooperation continues.

The scandalous details that led Solis to flip, as well as the sweet deal he got afterward, left Burkes attorneys eager to question his motives.

We dont deserve to be defense lawyers if we cant get Danny Solis to say that his motivation for making these tapes was to save his own skin, Burke attorney Gair told the judge last month.

And in opening statements, Gair told jurors that Solis was Exhibit A in the world of people who are corrupt and untruthful.

The government told him what to say and then he spit it back at Ed Burke, a whole pack of lies, and he did it for two years with one object in mind: keep himself from going to prison, Gair said.

The defense might want to question Solis in a strategic attempt to smear his credibility, and in that sort of intangible way, try to taint the government, Smith recently told the Tribune.

Burkes attorneys also could call Solis as part of developing this overarching theme of the government being overzealous, Smith said. The defense might try to argue that it reflects a single-minded determination to get Burke.

Solis certainly comes with a lot of baggage, DePodesta told the Tribune. They can dirty him up.

But, both DePodesta and Smith said, smearing Solis is risky when it is so obvious that he and Burke were close. Any claims about a cooperating witnesss flaws are almost inevitably followed by the classic prosecution response: Well, we didnt choose him, the defendant did.

It was the defendant who chose Danny Solis, it was his colleague, DePodesta said the prosecution could argue. Because thats who the defendant surrounded himself with, thats who the defendant confided in.

In opening statements, Burkes attorneys painted Solis as a scheming manipulator, stringing Burke along with promises of a payday.

But by now it is obvious to jurors that Burke had significant power. The idea that Burke was led around by the nose by Solis may be a little difficult to sell to the jury, Smith said.

The defense could call Solis in hopes that he provides context to the recordings that might paint Burke in a better light. Solis had the unusual power to stop and start the recording equipment he was wearing, according to an FBI special agent who testified earlier in the trial. Putting Solis on the stand could give the defense a chance to probe what happened while the camera was turned off.

That still could leave them with answers they dont like  answers that highlight or reinforce the quid-pro-quo version of Burke that prosecutors have highlighted on the videos.

And Solis is an experienced politician, having spent more than two decades on the City Council before announcing his retirement in 2018, before news of his cooperation erupted into public view.

While he might not come off as likable, given his significant baggage, he is no stranger to hard questions or public speaking, DePodesta said.

He has the ability to be convincing and charming, absolutely, she said. Convincing, charming, and presumably credible.

The Solis matter looms as Burkes trial enters its sixth week. Prosecutors are expected to rest their case in chief on Monday or Tuesday, at which point the defense will have a chance to put on witnesses.

Defense attorneys often wait until after prosecutors have rested to decide which witnesses to present. If they feel they have made all their points during cross-examination of government witnesses, they might not call any at all.

Still, Burke and his co-defendants are expected to have at least a day or two of witnesses besides Solis, who could be on the stand for days. Calling him means the trial could stretch past Christmas.

Burke, 79, who served 54 years as alderman before leaving the City Council in May, is charged with 14 counts including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.

Co-defendant Peter J. Andrews, 73, is a longtime Burke confidant accused in the Burger King matter. He is charged with one count of attempted extortion, one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.

A third defendant, Lake Forest developer Charles Cui, 52, is charged related to the alleged pole sign scheme. He faces one count of federal program bribery, three counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.

Solis, meanwhile, is still getting his government pension. And his deal in exchange for cooperating is perhaps unprecedented. He was charged in a one-count criminal information with corruptly soliciting campaign donations from a real estate developer in exchange for zoning changes in 2015, when Solis was head of the City Councils zoning committee. That charge will be dropped in 2025 if Solis continues to cooperate.

In going undercover, Solis had become only the second sitting alderman believed to have worn a wire for prosecutors in a corruption investigation.

The first, Ald. Allan Streeter, was the dean of the councils Black Caucus when he agreed to wear a wire for the FBI as part of the Silver Shovel probe in the 1990s.

Streeter, as in Solis case, flipped only after he was confronted by federal investigators with damning tape recordings. In addition to wearing a wire, Streeter provided authorities with details of questionable activities of other public officials and valuable insight into the workings of the City Council, prosecutors said at the time.

Whether or not Solis is called in Burkes trial, his work is not done. His recordings are expected to play a significant role in Chicagos next major public corruption trial: Ex-Speaker Madigan is scheduled for trial in April.

Madigan was, in fact, the governments intended target at the time Solis agreed to cooperate.

In late July 2016, the FBI traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where Solis was a delegate, according to testimony last month from FBI Special Agent Ryan McDonald.

While Solis did not record Burke at the convention, McDonald testified he told them in one of the debriefings that Burke had approached him at a caucus breakfast and asked about a local contractor, Heneghan Wrecking, possibly getting some of the post office project demolition work.

McDonald testified that after the convention, agents directed Solis to keep the conversation about Heneghan going. That led to the first recorded call involving the Burke probe  just days after they returned to Chicago.

That ballooned into a plethora of evidence about the alleged Old Post Office scheme. And Solis continued cooperating for months after that, against both Burke and the even bigger target, Madigan.

In the spring, federal prosecutors  and perhaps Madigans attorneys  will also have to decide whether to call Solis as a witness. If he hits the stand in Burkes case, they will surely be watching.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

rlong@chicagotribune.com
Lord Camerons appointment as Foreign Secretary is a win for the United Arab Emirates and its influence in Britain, a British academic who was tortured in the country has said.

Matthew Hedges, who was imprisoned for six months there, said the UK would absolutely enjoy warmer relations with the Emiratis during Lord Camerons tenure.

Its a win for the UAE and its influence in the UK, he told The Telegraph. Hes been working for them, he has those strong ties.

Mr Hedges was falsely accused of spying for MI6 and sentenced to life in jail in November 2018 after being arrested at Dubai airport as he tried to leave. He was eventually released later that month under the terms of a presidential pardon.

Since he resigned as prime minister, Lord Cameron has enjoyed close ties with the Emirates.

In April this year, the former prime minister was the headline speaker at the Arabian Business Leadership Summit in Dubai.

At the time, he told Arabian Business: I very much look forward to sharing my own thoughts and experiences with business leaders from across the region in June, and to returning to the UAE  a country I have spent considerable time in before, adding that it was somewhere I always enjoy visiting.

Lord Cameron also had a job teaching politics at the New York University Abu Dhabi in January this year.

Earlier this year, he wrote in The National, a UAE-owned newspaper, that he had been bowled over by the countrys physical transformation.

He said that one of the questions asked on his university course is whether states and governments are capable of long-term thinking and delivering major projects that can transform their nations prospects.

He wrote: There is little doubt that when it comes to the UAE, the answer is a solid yes,

Lord Cameron - Win McNamee/Getty Images North America

Mr Hedges also warned that the takeover of The Telegraph titles by an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund was a national security risk, calling the bid insane.

He said: This is completely a national security risk because it impacts and it infects our democracy.

Ownership of The Telegraph and its titles is set to pass to RedBird IMI, an investment fund led by Jeff Zucker, the former CNN boss, and backed by Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the UAEs royal family.

Mr Hedges, who has written a book on the power dynamics of the UAE, said the country doesnt give media freedoms, [and is] potentially working with hostile actors to undermine our state.

He added: Why on earth would this be allowed? Its incredible, its insane..

An Ofcom team is investigating the impact of the proposed RedBird IMI takeover on the public interest in free expression and the accurate presentation of news.

It is due to deliver a report to Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, by January 26 with advice on how to proceed. She will then decide whether to allow the takeover, negotiate remedies to protect press freedom with RedBird IMI, or refer the bid to the Competition and Markets Authority for deeper scrutiny.

The UAE government has denied that Mr Hedges was tortured while in custody.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: We recognise that Mr Hedges and his familys experience was a distressing one that has had a profound impact.

Helping British nationals abroad is a top priority and we offer advice and support at any time of day or night, helping over 20,000 British people and their families every year.

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By Wa Lone

TORONTO (Reuters) - The dream of making it big in Canada is turning into a battle for survival for many immigrants due to the high cost of living and rental shortages, as rising emigration numbers hint at newcomers being forced to turn their back on a country that they chose to make their adopted home.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made immigration his main weapon to blunt Canada's big challenge of an aging and slowing population, and it has also helped fuel economic growth. That drove Canada's population up at its fastest clip in more than six decades this year, Statistics Canada said.

But now a reversal of that trend is gradually taking hold. In the first six months of 2023 some 42,000 individuals departed Canada, adding to 93,818 people who left in 2022 and 85,927 exits in 2021, official data show.

The rate of immigrants leaving Canada hit a two-decade high in 2019, according to a recent report from the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), an immigration advocacy group. While the numbers went down during pandemic lockdowns, Statistics Canada data shows it is once again rising.

While that is a fraction of the 263,000 who came to the country over the same period, a steady rise in emigration is making some observers wary.

For a nation built on immigrants, a rising trend of people leaving Canada risks undermining one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau government's signature policies, which granted permanent residency to a record 2.5 million people in just eight years.

Reuters spoke with a half a dozen people who have either left the country or are preparing to do so, because of the high cost of living.

Cara, 25, who came to Canada in 2022 as a refugee from Hong Kong, now pays C$650 ($474) in monthly rent for a single-room basement apartment in Scarborough in eastern Toronto, which is about 30% of her monthly take-home salary.

"I never realized that living in a Western country, you can only afford renting a room in the basement," she said. She declined to give her real name because she fled Hong Kong after participating in the 2019 protests triggered by a now-abandoned extradition bill.

Cara works three part-time jobs, making Ontario's minimum wage of C$16.55 per hour, and goes to an adult learning school to earn university credits.

"I almost use every single penny," she said, while in Hong Kong she was able to save about a third of her monthly salary.

To be sure, emigration as a percentage of Canada's overall population touched a high of 0.2% in the mid 1990s, and currently stands at about 0.09%, according to official government data.

While the numbers are small now, lawyers and immigration consultants warn that a pick-up could cast a shroud over Canada's appeal as the one of the favoured destinations for newcomers.

"There's a real importance in creating positive experiences in those early years" so that people decide to stay, said Daniel Bernhard, CEO of ICC.

Immigrants blame the sky-rocketing housing costs as the biggest reason for their decision to consider a new country.

On average in Canada about 60% of household income would be needed to cover home ownership costs, a figure that rises to about 98% for Vancouver and 80% for Toronto, RBC said in a September report.

Myo Maung, 55, migrated to Canada from Myanmar over three decades ago and made a successful career as a real estate agent and a restaurateur. But he plans to retire in a country like Thailand since he cannot see himself maintaining his living standard in Canada on his retirement income.

Phil Triadafilopoulos, a political science professor specializing in immigration at the University of Toronto (UofT), said rapid immigration is exacerbating the housing shortage.

"It's not surprising then that people who have options... either go to another country or go back home having had a taste of the situation in Canada," Triadafilopoulos said.

Last month Trudeau's government capped its target for new residents at a half million per year from 2025 onwards to ease pressure on the housing market.

But for some it is too little too late.

Justinas Stankus, 38, who came to Canada from Lithuania in 2019 to pursue a doctorate in political science at the UofT is considering relocating to Southeast Asia where the cost of living is lower and where he could still pursue his research.

Stankus, who pays C$2,000, including utilities, for a one-bedroom apartment, said increasing living expenses has made it difficult to afford basic necessities.

"With a graduate student's budget, it is not sustainable," Stankus said.

Cara from Hong Kong says she feels trapped and wants to go. "Whenever I get a chance to leave, I will take the chance."

($1 = 1.3718 Canadian dollars)

(This story has been corrected to address Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by his full name and title, and to add that Scarborough is part of Toronto in paragraph 9)

(Reporting by Wa Lone, editing by Steve Scherer and Josie Kao)
NHS patients are missing out on life-saving drugs because of restrictions on who is allowed to benefit from them.

Britons face more access barriers to new medicines than people in France, Germany and the USA, a damning new report by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has found.

Cancer drugs in particular have seriously restricted access by the NHS watchdog, it said.

More than twice as many cancer patients in Germany and France are able to access cutting-edge treatments than in Britain.

For every 17,000 people in the UK taking a newly approved cancer drug, there were 36,000 in France, 39,000 in Germany and 234,000 in the USA, the analysis found, which included an adjustment to account for different population sizes.

The Governments Office for Life Sciences own analysis backs up the claims, revealing that just two thirds of the 168 medicines approved for use in Europe between 2018 and 2021 were approved in England, down from 72 per cent in the previous three years..

The PhRMA report assessed all new drugs between 2017 and 2022, and revealed that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) approved just 13 per cent without restrictions. A further 26 per cent were approved with eligibility criteria that limited the number of patients who could benefit.

It means two thirds of drugs licensed for NHS use had limits on who could access them, such as requiring patients to have tried other treatments first without success or have an illness or disease that has progressed and become more serious.

While France also approved 39 per cent of new drugs, 23 per cent had no restrictions.

Germany approved 62 per cent of the drugs, 61 per cent without any access restrictions, while the USA gave the green light to 85 per cent, of which just 0.5 per cent had restrictions.

David Watson, director of patient access at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: The Governments own data also shows that some patients here are missing out on new medicines available in other countries.

Women with incurable cancer could get two extra years

The solutions to this lie in having flexibility in how new medicines are valued in the UK, and having all parts of the NHS follow Nice guidelines. We continue to work with Nice to help more people get the medicines they need.

The watchdog, Nice, assesses the cost effectiveness of treatments and decides if they represent good value for money to the taxpayer before agreeing they can be used to treat NHS patients.

Less than three months ago, Nice rejected the life-extending drug Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for breast cancer patients, which is already available in the US and Europe.

It would have given about 1,000 women with incurable cancer up to two extra years of life, and could still be approved at a future date.

Last year Nice rejected extending the licence of an existing drug, Lynparza (olaparib), to men with advanced prostate cancer. It was approved seven months later, in April 2023, following a commercial arrangement between NHS England and the manufacturer, AstraZeneca.

Another drug for prostate cancer, abiraterone, is available as a first treatment option for men across Europe, including in Scotland and Wales, but not in England or Northern Ireland, despite being developed at The Institute of Cancer Research in London.

It was first available on the NHS for advanced forms of prostate cancer in 2012 but its access to most Brits remains limited.

Other patients have also been affected. Last month, Nice said life-saving cystic fibrosis drugs were no longer affordable in a provisional change to the guidance, having been available for children as young as six from 2020, as reported by The Telegraph.

Nice approach is fairest and most robust in the world

Anyone already taking the drugs will be allowed to continue the treatment, while the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has also licensed the drugs, Kaftrio and Kalydeco, for children from the age of two.

A final decision is due this month.

A Nice spokesman said: Nices approach to making recommendations for healthcare technologies is widely regarded as the fairest and most robust in the world.

Only a small number of drugs receive a negative recommendation. Our approach allows us to focus on the topics that have the biggest impact on improving health and care outcomes and allows us to offer flexibility when appraising drugs which treat severe conditions.

In other countries there are often local decisions by payers or specific hospitals about which medicines will be reimbursed; in England, a decision by Nice means that the medicine is accompanied by a national funding mandate.

Within Nice, we are continuing our focus on getting the best care to patients fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer. We are doing so in partnership with our partners in government, the NHS, and in industry.

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Colorado Supreme Court Justice Monica M. Marquez, front, questions an attorney as Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright listens during a hearing before the court on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Denver. Oral arguments before the court were held after both sides appealed a ruling by a Denver district judge on whether to allow former President Donald Trump to be included on the state's general election ballot. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool) (David Zalubowski/AP)

Lawyers who represent the government in federal court face a never-ending supply of 1st and 14th Amendment cases filed by creative plaintiffs. Like overcooked spaghetti flung on a wall, most Constitutional claims dont stick. They hit a well-oiled wall of federal case law and slide right off.

Applying the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment to bar Trumps 2024 candidacy presents the opposite scenario, with virtually no prior cases to follow. Critics who reject Trumps disqualification under the 14th Amendment lean almost entirely on this lack of legal precedent, but in over 150 years following the amendments adoption, there was never a set of similar facts that could have triggered the insurrectionist clause.

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Lack of precedent is irrelevant

Lack of prior similar cases doesnt render Section 3 of the 14th Amendment any less potent, or its historical imperative any less compelling. If anything, its application is even more urgent as the same violent insurrectionist forces that tore the nation apart in the Civil War are back at it today.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states plainly that, No person shall  hold (federal) office  who, having previously taken an oath  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 

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Its true that despite its passage more than 150 years ago, it has never been used to bar a candidate seeking the presidency, but this is a specious legal argument. Anyone professing an informed opinion on the 14th Amendment also understands the case and controversy requirement, which would have made such a case legally impossible in the absence of an insurrectionist actively seeking the presidency.

Written into the Constitutions early structure, Article III prohibits courts from hearing anything except actual cases and controversies. Art. III requires cases between opposing interests over a dispute that is real, factual, and concrete; cases cannot be hypothetical. Courts require real cases in controversy in part because ruling on hypotheticals is tantamount to setting policy, a violation of separation of powers as established in 1790.

Trumps counsel argues that his candidacy cant be barred based on a Constitutional clause that has been used only a handful of times in 150 years, emphasizing that, (Challengers) are asking this court to do something thats never been done in the history of the United States. It bears repeating that since the 14th Amendments adoption in 1866, a defeated president has never fomented a violent insurrection against the U.S. capital to impede the counting of electoral votes, or pressured state officials to violate the Constitution by lying about the election results, nor, before Trump, has any major party candidate seeking the presidency openly embraced political violence against government officials.

In result, a prior, similar 14th Amendment challenge could not have been brought because without an actual insurrectionist actually seeking the presidency, there was no Art. III case in controversy. Section 3 of the 14th Amendments silence for the past 150 years is therefore a testament to its strength, not its weakness, as no violent insurrectionist dared seek the presidency after its passage. Until Trump.

Originalists on the high court should love this

Multiple cases challenging Trumps candidacy under the 14th Amendment are winding their way through the courts. In a recent Colorado case, the presiding judge concluded from the evidence that Trump had, indeed, engaged in insurrection as that term was originally understood, when he assembled and incited the Jan. 6 mob that attacked the U.S. capital.

Although the judge punted on the applicability of the 14th Amendment, her evidentiary ruling finding insurrection is most significant, because it will both guide the case on appeal, and be referenced as a judicial finding in similar cases.

When the case gets to SCOTUS, the originalist majority should salivate over the chance to illuminate the historical context in which the 14th Amendment was adopted.

After the Civil War, despite their loss, former slave owners continued to brutalize and terrify emancipated Black Americans. They engaged in horrific political violence, and did whatever they could to keep freedmen from exercising their new rights. Even after losing the war, wealthy white Southerners  many of them enslavers  claimed the right to freely elect former Confederate leaders who would advance their immoral interests.

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Setting aside the amnesty period, the 14th Amendment sought to protect a raw and reeling democracy by prohibiting politically violent agitators  insurrectionists  from holding federal office. Disqualifying insurrectionists was a practical way to keep wealthy agitators from fomenting some variation of war all over again.

The constitutional disqualification of government officials who violate their oath of office is common sense; if they dont uphold the Constitution, to what or to whom are they sworn? Then, as now, disqualification was key to electing ethical candidates who can be trusted to uphold the Constitution rather than divide the nation for personal gain, which brings us back to Trump.

Section 3 meets its intended nemesis

Orchestration of violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was, at its core, Trumps effort to disenfranchise the more than 81 million Americans who voted for Joe Biden.

Trumps legal pleadings argue that he is immune from prosecution for official actions he took while in office, and that everything he did, including Jan. 6, was an official action. A wizard at projection, he calls 14th Amendment challenges election interference. Trump claims that all the various criminal charges against him, including the classified federal documents case, the Jan. 6 insurrection case, and the find me 11,000 votes in Georgia case, are election interference. If the war in Ukraine somehow breaks to Bidens credit, that will be election interference as well.

George Washington warned us that, cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men (who) subvert the power of the people and usurp for themselves the reins of government could be fatal to the nation if not checked.

Section 3 has lain silent and watchful, its potency simmering for 150 years, waiting for the beast it was meant to slay to raise his ugly head.

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Sabrina Haake is a Chicago attorney and Gary resident. She writes the Substack newsletter The Haake Take.
Jonathan Majors stands accused of assault and harassment in New York City.

But so far, it seems prosecutors may struggle to get a conviction, legal experts say.

Domestic violence cases are notoriously difficult to prove.

Prosecutors have their work cut out for them in the Marvel actor Jonathan Majors' assault trial, according to legal experts.

Former prosecutors and attorneys told Business Insider that at this point after four days of testimony from Majors' accuser, the case is far from a slam-dunk conviction.

Domestic violence cases, they said, are notoriously hard to prove because there could be limited evidence and limited witnesses.

The allegations against Jonathan Majors

Majors' domestic assault trial has been playing out in a Manhattan courtroom.

The "Creed III" actor's accuser and ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, finished testifying on Friday after four days on the witness stand where she broke down in tears multiple times and recounted the alleged March 25 attack by Majors in the back seat of a chauffeured car in New York City.

While on the stand, Jabbari, a dance instructor from the UK who met Majors in 2021 on the set of Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," also testified about Majors' alleged explosive and controlling behavior.

Jabbari says that the assault unfolded after she spotted a text message on Majors' phone from another woman and snatched the device from his hand for a closer look.

Majors flipped out, Jabbari testified, twisting her arm behind her back to get the phone back and hitting her in the back of the head so hard that she bled behind her right ear.

Majors, 34, faces four charges of misdemeanor assault and harassment in connection to the alleged assault incident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has said he's innocent and accused Jabbari of being violent toward him.

His defense attorneys claim Jabbari scratched his face and ripped his jacket, while prosecutors allege Majors broke Jabbari's finger during the incident.

No video footage exists of the alleged assault, but the jury in the trial has been shown surveillance footage that prosecutors say shows Majors picking up Jabbari and throwing her "like a football" back into the car after the alleged incident.

The jury has also seen photos of Jabbari's swollen finger and bloodied head, but Majors' defense team has suggested that Jabbari's wounds could have been from a fall after she returned to her apartment that night after partying until past 3 a.m.

Jonathan Majors; Grace Jabbari. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews; AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

A challenge for prosecutors

Neama Rahmani, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, told Business Insider, "It's hard to get a unanimous jury to convict unless you have something more" than the testimony of one accuser.

"It can be challenging. These cases are tough without some sort of corroborating evidence," said Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers who has prosecuted many domestic violence cases. "I'm not saying the prosecution can't get there, but it's certainly far from a slam dunk."

Mark Bederow, a criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor, echoed those remarks, saying "it's never ideal" to have a case rely so heavily on one witness.

"You can find someone guilty on one witness and a judge can even instruct a jury that one witness is enough, but it's never ideal," Bederow said.

Both Bederow and Rahmani said that they could potentially see the case resulting in a hung jury or an acquittal unless additional evidence comes into play as the trial continues.

The judge overseeing the Majors trial said during jury selection that jurors can convict on the basis of one witness.

Jonathan Majors' ex-girlfriend accused him of a pattern of controlling and abusive behavior. Jeff Kravitz / Contributor / Getty Images

Meanwhile, the driver of the chauffeured car in which the alleged assault occurred is expected to testify in the trial, but he's not expected to testify that he saw the fight, according to Majors' attorney, Priya Chaudhry.

Majors' defense team has said the driver described Jabbari as a "psycho girl."

Why domestic violence cases are difficult to prove

"Domestic violence cases are tough to prove because the violence usually happens behind closed doors and the evidence is usually a 'he said, she said' situation," Rahmani said in an interview.

Rahmani explained: "Independent witnesses or contemporaneous reports to law enforcement and medical personnel are helpful in these cases, especially if the relationship is over and the abuser is arguing that the victim is just a disgruntled ex."

Victims' rights attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel told Business Insider that domestic violence cases "can be complex as communications between the victim and abuser are often difficult for both judges and juries to interpret."

"However, physical injuries, statements, other corroborating witnesses, or prior situations between the two parties where similar conduct occurred can help lend strength to the evidence and support the victim's allegations," she said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Yes, you have to be an Iowan to caucus.

The Republican Party of Iowa posted that reminder on X, the social media site, on Friday shortly after Casey DeSantis encouraged mothers and grandmothers from across the country to come to Iowa in support of her husband, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in an interview on Fox News.

"We're asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come, from wherever it might be  North Carolina, South Carolina  and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus. Because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus," she said.

Remember: you must be a legal resident of Iowa and the precinct you live in and bring photo ID with you to participate in the #iacaucus!



Read more on our caucus site: https://t.co/gfwU3Wt44v https://t.co/lRVLBIS2aW  Iowa GOP (@IowaGOP) December 8, 2023

Florida's first lady later clarified on X that yes, you have to be a registered voter in Iowa to actually caucus. She said she's encouraging people to participate by volunteering for her husband's campaign in Iowa.

At a campaign event in West Des Moines on Friday evening, Casey DeSantis again clarified she's asking supporters of her Mamas for DeSantis coalition to volunteer for the campaign in Iowa.

More: Everything you need to know about the Iowa caucuses ahead of the 2024 presidential race

"We really appreciate Casey and everything she's doing, as well as with Governor Reynolds, they are launching nationwide recruitment for people to come from the Mamas movement to volunteer for the caucus," Gov. DeSantis told reporters after the event. "Obviously, you can't vote in the caucus, but you can help with it. They even let people go and speak on behalf of candidates ..."

In a statement Saturday morning, the Trump campaign accused the Desantises of "purposefully spreading false information" and called on Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has endorsed DeSantis, to clarify the rules of the caucus.

So, who can caucus in Iowa?

You can caucus if you meet the following requirements:

You must be eligible to vote in the state of Iowa.

You must live in the precinct where your caucus site is.

You will be 18 years old by Nov. 5, 2024. That means if you're 17 and turn 18 between the date of the caucuses and the general election, you can caucus.

You must be registered as a Republican to participate in the Republican caucus or as a Democrat to participate in the Democratic caucus. If you're registered under a third party or no party, you won't be able to caucus, unless you change your registration to Republican or Democrat, which you can do on caucus night.

You must have proof of identification to caucus.

More: Where do I caucus? Republicans release Iowa Caucus sites for presidential nominations

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Casey DeSantis said anyone can caucus. Do you have to be an Iowan?
Casey DeSantis, the wife of Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, has upset party officials in Iowa by urging her husbands supporters from around the US to descend on the state and illegally take part in next months caucuses.

The former television news reporter, who has become the Florida governors chief supporter on the campaign trail, made the faux-pas during an appearance with him on Fox News on Friday, in which she wrongly stated it was legal for out-of-state residents to participate.

Were asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come from wherever it might be, North Carolina, South Carolina and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus, she said, citing a Mamas for DeSantis coalition of 1.1 million mothers and grandmothers she said was influential in Florida during his 2022 re-election.

Related: Republican presidential candidates clash with personal attacks in debate

You do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus. So moms and grandmas are going to be able to come and be a part and let their voice be heard and support Ron.

Unfortunately for Ron DeSantis, who has made clamping down on perceived election fraud a central plank of his second term in the Florida governors mansion, they cannot. Iowa law, as the states Republican party was forced to point out in a tweet, restricts caucus voting to legal residents of the state with photo ID, and Iowa students living out of state who can choose where they register.

The episode drew much mockery and criticism online of Casey DeSantis, who in turn engaged in some hasty damage limitation. A tweet on her own X account dated Friday night, several hours after the TV appearance, acknowledged voting was limited to registered voters in Iowa but insisted there were other ways to participate, including to come from all over the country to volunteer in support of Ron DeSantis.

The video of her specifically stating outsiders were allowed to be a part of the caucus, however, remained.

Michael McDonald, an elections specialist and professor of political science at the University of Florida, was among those pointing out that non-Iowans who tried to do so would be breaking the law.

Just Casey DeSantis encouraging people to cross a border and vote illegally in Iowa, he wrote in a tweet.

Others focused on her husbands clampdown in Florida, which included a new office dedicated to the investigation of election crimes despite little evidence of voter fraud, and the prosecution of formerly incarcerated people who voted illegally despite being told by the state that they could. Courts have dismissed many of those cases.

I just found some election fraud, independent journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X alongside the clip of Casey DeSantiss remarks.

The campaign of Donald Trump, the former president and runaway leader in the chase for the 2024 Republican nomination, also seized the opportunity to capitalize on the mistake.

Casey DeSantis embrace of voter fraud to salvage her husbands failing campaign is not just wrong, it risks compromising the integrity of the Iowa caucus, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

This type of irresponsible and desperate rhetoric must be addressed by both Ron DeSantis and [Iowa] Governor Kim Reynolds, who campaigned for election integrity and was elected to protect the votes of Iowans. Both governors DeSantis and Reynolds must reject and condemn these comments and apologize to the great people of Iowa.

Trump leads the polling for the Iowa caucuses, which take place on 15 January, by some distance. He has 43.7% support, according to the RCP average of polls, with DeSantis a distant second at 18.7%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people who are traveling to the Baja California region of Mexico to watch out for ticks that could spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

The travel advisory, issued Friday, comes after a person from San Diego died from the disease. The person had traveled to Baja California before becoming sick, according to San Diego County public health officials. No other information is known about the patient. The last time someone died in San Diego from the tick-borne disease was in 2014, officials said.

In its notice posted online, the CDC said it has received reports of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in travelers to the U.S. from Baja California, though it was unclear how many people have been sickened. The travel notice did not recommend that Americans avoid traveling to Mexico or reconsider plans to travel to the area.

While several types of ticks can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever in different parts of the country, the brown dog tick is responsible for the illness in the southwestern U.S. and in Mexico and is found there year-round. Dogs often carry the infected ticks.

Other types of ticks around the nation may also be active during the winter because of warming global temperatures. Ticks can also spread Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome, which causes an allergy to red meat.

Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever include:

High fever

Severe headache

Muscle pain

Nausea or vomiting

Swelling around the eyes or on the back of hands

Small, flat, reddish spots may pop up on the arms and legs before spreading to the trunk. The rash is not known to be itchy.

It is not spread from person to person.

Quick treatment is critical. The CDC said that the disease can kill within five days after the tick bite unless its treated with antibiotics.

Health officials in San Diego recommend using insect repellent and checking for ticks, including pets, after outdoor activities.

"If a person develops a rash or fever after being bitten, they should see a doctor, tell them about the tick bite, when they were bitten, and where they think it happened," the officials wrote online.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning about new cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, usually borne by ticks, after five U.S. residents came down with the disease since July. Photo by Peterwchen/Wikimedia Commons

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an alert for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever after at least five U.S. residents have contracted the disease since July following travels to Mexico.

The CDC described RMSF in an alert issued Friday as "a severe, rapidly progressive, and often deadly disease transmitted by the bit of infected ticks."

The health agency says that while the disease is commonly associated with tick-born transmission, many of those infected do not recall being bitten.

"RMSF is endemic across northern Mexico and areas of the southwestern United States," the CDC said.

All of the patients had either travelled to, or previously resided in, the Tecate area of the Mexican state of Baja California, within two weeks of manifesting symptoms.

All five U.S. cases were identified in southern California and all but one of the patients were minors. Three of the people who fell ill with the sickness died, according to the CDC.

The agency is advising people to check themselves, as well as their pets and children, for ticks.

The CDC urged health care providers to administer treatment with the antibiotic Doxycycline and for doctors to consider an RMSF diagnosis in patients who have recently traveled to northern Mexico if they develop "unexplained severe febrile illness.

"Consider initiating Doxycycline based on presumptive clinical and epidemiologic findings, and do not delay treatment pending the result of a confirmatory laboratory test," the CDC said. adding, "Early treatment with Doxycycline saves lives."
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a travel advisory for Mexico Friday, citing reports of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

There have been reports of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in people traveling to the United States from Tecate, in the state of Baja California, Mexico, the CDC said in its advisory.

The CDC said the disease has been found in urban areas in some states in northern Mexico like Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, but is not exclusive to them. The agency also noted ticks spread the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever and that dogs can carry those ticks, but the disease is not spread from person to person.

The agency said people can protect themselves from the disease by using insect repellents, checking for ticks on ones body and clothing, using tick-preventatives on dogs when traveling with them and getting medical attention if you or a family member has traveled to Tecate or another city in northern Mexico and develops symptoms during travel or within 2 weeks of returning to the United States.

The disease has symptoms like fever, headache and rash, according to the CDC. The agency said that rash can appear two to four days after onset of symptoms, however, some patients never develop a rash.

The disease can rapidly progress and be deadly if not treated early with the recommended antibiotic, the CDC said. Children younger than 10 years old are five times more likely than adults to die from RMSF.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning travelers to Baja California, Mexico, about Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a potentially fatal bacterial disease that spreads through the bite of an infected brown dog tick, which can be carried by pets.

The warning comes after a San Diego, California, resident who traveled to Baja California died last month after contracting the disease, San Diego County Public Health Services reported.

In addition to Baja California, RMSF has been found in the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon.

In the level 1 travel advisory issued Friday, the CDC urged travelers who develop symptoms of RMSF during travel, or within two weeks of returning to the U.S., to seek medical attention.

Symptoms of RMSF include fever, headache, and rash, which can develop two to four days after the onset of symptoms, according to the CDC.

The disease can progress quickly in infected patients and can become deadly if not treated early with the antibiotic doxycycline. Children under 10 years of age are five times more likely to die from RMSF, the CDC said.

San Diego County public health officials said the last time someone from San Diego died from RMSF was in 2014.

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I watched Omid Scobies appearance on Newsnight the other day (so you dont have to) as the wretched scribbler lamented the way that the PR had gone awry at the publication of his book Endgame; his latest assault on the Royal family. Rather than wallowing in unfettered praise at his investigating prowess  of fresh revelations, of explosive new insights  the narrative was side-tracked by the question of how a Dutch version of the book contained the names of two senior royals who had apparently wondered about the skin colour of Harry and Meghans first-born child Archie.

Scobie talked of a book I was extremely proud of now completely overshadowed by an event that has caused me a lot of frustration. The sweet irony, of course, being that the poor little lamb might now get some proper insight into what its like being a royal with people fishing round at the edges, attempting to milk gossip from any willing source.

Now Scobie may in fact get an inkling of what it must be like, to be, say, the King; of the frustration of scandalous diversions bagging the airtime, his team are taking calls on it, while hes trying to fulfil duties arranged long in advance. Or of the frustration of any member of the Royal family as they visit a disability centre in Camberley or host a reception at Buckingham Palace for the Diplomatic Corps or visit a womens refuge in Leytonstone, a Coptic church in Stevenage, a new surgical unit at a childrens hospital by Waterloo and so on and on and on. And all the while looking cheerful and smiling and knowing that if you ever uttered so much as a cross word to a stranger that they would tell their friends, and their family and that moment would echo down through the generations. Scobie cant even oversee the publication of a poxy book without all hell breaking loose and then moaning and groaning about it across the media landscape.

But then the royals, the King, in his telling, deserve it. The King is, after all, as Scobie often points out, and repeated again on Newsnight, a publicly-funded official. The incident must be investigated and those who were party to it held to account because, he says, this was a conversation that happened behind private doors that was had by publicly-funded officials. He continued that they should be scrutinised like we do politicians, like any other publicly-funded officials.

And hes egged on by republicans, with cheerleaders like Yasmin Alibhai-Brown shrieking on X, formerly Twitter, that we pay for this lot. The idea being that because the Royal family are part-funded by the Sovereign Grant, raised from taxes, agreed by the Government, they are fair game: in front of, behind, above and below those private doors. All utterances, behaviours and actions, trivial or not, are ours to dissect and opine upon.

So Kate can get it in the neck from Scobie because she fell in love with and married William. She made a choice, in marrying a publicly-funded official, to become one. She then gave birth to three publicly-funded officials (age being no barrier) and, no doubt, uses it as a stick to beat the children when theyre behaving badly: Louis, give Charlotte her yellow digger back. That is NOT how a publicly-funded official behaves.

That this approach is dehumanising and cruel is no matter. We pay for them, we own them. We can do what we will with them. Indeed Peter Morgan, creator of The Crown, doesnt even feel the need to offer a justification for his fictional portrayals of living royals, which most people watch and believe is a sort of nice-looking documentary.

Dramatists are born to write about kings and queens. Thats what we do, he once said. And his buddy, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, actually ventured of The Crown that it humanised them. These folks who are by design not relatable, [Morgan] made them relatable. And thus The Crown depicts even (or rather especially) the most private of moments. And depicts them as  or at least they are interpreted as  facts. Even though the series is little more than red-top tittle-tattle dressed up, decorated, styled and acted with great taste, skill and precision. I wonder if the actors ever ponder beyond their performances. Can those who portray the most private moments in a living royals life expect that then they should also be immune from unfair, inaccurate or downright invented stories?

If we, as republicans would wish, manage to destroy the monarchy, rip it to shreds and cast it into the bin of historical anachronism, then what? One can only assume the head of state that follows (corruptible merely by dint of actually wanting to do the damn job) will be a publicly-funded official along with their entourage who will similarly attract endless assault until that institution is finished.

Except that an elected head of state would expect that. Politicians court criticism, it goes with the territory. They give up a private life, they cant complain about (legal) media scrutiny. They are schooled, surely, on the treacherous paths of political life. As they sit around the Cabinet table, they know that most of their high-profile colleagues will do a book at some point in which they will endeavour to stitch up their fellow ministers. And if they dont do it, one of their crafty wives will.

Its thus surprising when they commit highly personal, abusive or indiscreet thoughts to WhatsApp. And thus not surprising that having made such an error they then, er, manage to, er somehow, sort of lose all those incriminating messages when the, er, blasted phone thingy sort of shut down then re-booted and all the, er, messages had been (for the first time in IT history) deleted.

In a functioning democracy, politicians invite and encourage media criticism. But the Royal family, as the embodiment and backbone of our traditions, cultures and values  who work for, represent, encourage and champion so many good and important ventures  deserve better. Better than Scobies gossip-mongering dressed up as vital debate on the future of constitutional monarchy.

Particularly when it comes to digging up and dusting down that old accusation of racism as was implicit in Meghans original revelation to Oprah Winfrey. Youll recall she said that there were concerns and conversations about how dark [Archies] skin might be when hes born. Except, of course, says Scobie (and Prince Harry) that wasnt racism it was unconscious bias. I once swerved a course on that subject at a firm I worked at. I didnt feel the need to have my instincts corrected. If you think a person might be wrong for a particular task because they strike you as an annoying, lazy git, youre probably right.

Now Scobie complains about facing backlashes from what he sees as misreporting of himself and his book. The very thing his book does to the royals. Perhaps the King should persuade Princess Anne to marry him. Thereby subjecting him to daily terror and enabling the rest of us to tear him to shreds!

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Gary Mayor-elect Eddie Melton has formally thrown his support behind Gary Councilman Mark Spencer to replace him in his now vacant 3rd District Senate seat.

Melton resigned his post effective Dec. 5 after a successful bid for the Gary mayors office. He sent a letter this week to members of the Democratic Precinct Organization in support of Spencer.

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Eight years ago, I was elected to serve as State Senator for Indianas 3rd District and it has been an honor to serve in this role. I am truly proud of what Ive been able to accomplish for our community, from leading the fight to increase teacher pay, to helping to strengthen our economy by bringing the Hard Rock Casino and a potential Lake County Convention Center, Melton wrote in the letter.

Mark Spencer, Gary Councilman at Large was outside the building at 6:30am to be the first in line on the first day of candidates filing for municipal elections. Candidates started lining up at 8:30 am at the Lake County Voter Registration office in the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

As Melton transitions to the office of Mayor of Gary, he said it is important to him the 3rd District continues to be served by a candidate who has the deeply embedded value of a servant leader that can reach across the aisle to get things done for the people.

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I have talked with several qualified candidates, and they all have great qualities, but there is one person that I believe embodies the leadership style and passion to succeed in the Indiana General Assembly, and that is Gary City Councilman-At-Large Mark Spencer, Melton said. Mark is a living example of someone who has put service to the community first throughout his life. I have witnessed his upstanding character and outstanding work ethic for many years, and this is why I have personally asked Mark to take on the task to run for Indiana Senate District 3.

Spencer has yet to serve a day of the term he was elected to serve in November. He was appointed to the council by caucus in October to replace Councilwoman Lori Latham, who moved from an at-large seat to the 1st District to replace former Council President William Godwin, who resigned in August after he was selected for a White House Fellowship.

Spencer successfully ran for one of three at-large seats in the May primary, defeating Godwin, who sought the at-large seat over his 1st District post. The three Democratic candidates defeated the lone Republican running for a spot in the General Election.

Latham successfully ran in the May primary for the 1st District seat and was unopposed in November.

Spencer, who is a graduate of Garys Emerson High School, has worked as an educator for more than 30 years in the Gary Community School Corp., served as the Director of the West Side Theatre Guild, and is a long-standing member of the Gary Teachers Union Local No. 4.

He told the Post-Tribune that if selected in the caucus, he hopes to build on Meltons success with Senate Enrolled Act 434, which lays the groundwork for a potential new convention center provides funding for blight elimination in Gary and allows state resources to be used for the revitalization of Gary Metro Center.

Im very concerned about the convention center for our community, he said, as well as the transit hubs that are being erected as we speak and just making sure that we have the economic drive and development that will be led by those efforts. Its important that none of those initiatives stall.

Melton said he is very aware that Spencer was recently selected as a new council member and he would have enjoyed working along with him and his fellow council colleagues as Mayor. He said he truly believes that having Spencer in the Indiana Senate would be a tremendous value to Gary and all of the communities in Senate District 3.

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So, as a member of our local Democratic Precinct Organization, I am respectfully asking you to vote for Mark Spencer as your next Indiana State Senator for District 3 in the upcoming caucus to replace me, Melton said.

While Spencer acknowledged his limited experience with public office, he said that his decades of work in education have made him a savvy problem-solver and a capable advocate for his community.

It is of particular interest to me to make sure that we have a voice that is both devoted to the community as well as to the issues of education and health, he said.

Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wieser said the caucus for the state seat works the same way as a caucus for the local except it is initiated by the Mike Schmuhl, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. Schmuhl will set the date of the caucus.

Wieser said on Friday that he had not yet been notified of a day. He said Schmuhl has appointed him chair of the caucus when it occurs. The caucus cannot take place until 10 days after Meltons resignation from the seat and cant be later than Jan. 4. Notice will be sent to all precinct committee people in the Senate district. Potential candidates can submit their intention to run until 72 hours prior to the caucus.

I dont know exactly when it is going to be. Its kind of a practical problem now, Wieser said. The goal is to set a date and location that will maximize turnout given the holiday schedule.

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Wieser said so far, no one has come forward to seek the seat other than Spencer. There were some candidates interested in the seat after Melton became the Democratic nominee for Gary mayor, but expects a wider field of candidates to run in the May primary.

Kimberly Robinson, chairman of Garys Democratic Party, said she is throwing her support behind the candidate Melton supports.

Im for him and whoever he chooses, Im OK with that. He knows who could do the best job in replacing him. If he wants Mark, congratulations and good luck to him, Robinson said.

Robinson said a lot of people do not realize the district encompasses more than Gary and includes parts of Hobart, Lake Station and Merrillville.

An endorsement of Spencer by Melton and Robinson will be difficult to overcome in a caucus when about half of the precincts voting are in Gary.

Deputy Mayor Trent McCain said the current administration is not supporting a candidate in the caucus. Mayor Jerome Prince, his wife DeAnna and his son, along with McCain and his wife Akilia, resigned their positions as precinct committee people. Robinson replaced Prince as the local partys chair.

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Tramel Raggs, an attorney and the son of Gary City Clerk Suzette Raggs, expressed interest in Meltons state Senate seat shortly after the mayor-elects primary victory in a letter that was circulated among local Democratic Party leadership.

Raggs told the Post-Tribune on Tuesday that he would not comment on whether he plans to run against Spencer in the caucus.

adalton@chicagotribune.com

cnapoleon@chicagotribune.com
Baroness Mone says she has been keeping a low profile because of the hate directed at her in the last two years

For more than two years, Baroness Mone has lived a reclusive life as she has endured repeated death threats over accusations her family illegally profited by selling unusable PPE equipment during the Covid pandemic.

The Ultimo bra entrepreneur and her husband Doug Barrowman have maintained their silence after coming under criminal investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), with a separate civil case launched by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Now, however, the couple say they have decided enough is enough. They are beginning a public fightback in which they insist they are entirely innocent and make a series of startling counter-claims against the DHSC and its representatives.

Lady Mone and Mr Barrowman say it is the DHSC, not Mr Barrowmans firm PPE MedPro, which is at fault, and that the PPE gowns and masks they delivered met Government specifications and were sold at well below average prices in an inflated global market.

They also claim that an individual described only as a DHSC negotiator suggested in a phone call that they could make both the civil and the criminal case disappear if they were prepared to pay a big enough out-of-court settlement.

Recording crucial to documentary

In a recording that forms the centrepiece of a documentary about the case released on YouTube on Sunday, an official involved in mediating the civil case says they have not offered enough money to call the dogs off but a bigger pot might be there to satisfy both elements.

Mr Barrowman claims that in another call he was asked: Would you pay more for the other matter to go away?

Lady Mone, ennobled by David Cameron as an exemplar of rags-to-riches aspiration, feels bitterly betrayed by the Conservative Party she once supported. She believes it is now using her as a scapegoat for its own failings in the multi-billion PPE procurement scandal.

I am ashamed of being a Conservative peer given what this Government has done to us, she told The Telegraph.

She says her husbands firm is the only one of the 51 companies that secured PPE contracts through the so-called VIP lane to face a criminal investigation, despite clear similarities. PPE Medpro is also the only one out of 24 firms who supplied sterile gowns in single-wrapping to face litigation, even though the other firms were also accused of the same failure.

In all, 4 billion was spent on unusable PPE. Storage costs alone for the disputed PPE Medpro items are running at 3.2 million a year.

None of the other suppliers, though, has as high a profile as Mr Barrowman has through his marriage to Lady Mone. There has also been media interest in the pair over the accusation that an Isle of Man trust of which the peer and her adult children are beneficiaries received 29 million as a result of the 203 million in PPE contracts awarded to PPE Medpro.

We will win because we have done nothing wrong, Lady Mone tells Mark Williams-Thomas, the investigative journalist and former detective, in the documentary. Its cruel and its nasty, but we will win.

Baroness Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman

Lady Mone and Mr Barrowman believe the DHSC is guilty of criminal behaviour, which they describe as an abuse of power.

She adds: I think everyone feels that because we have been silent that we are guilty. The whole thing has been so scary, but you just dont know what to do. Doug and I look at one another. We think, No, today we are going to come out and we are going to respond to them and respond to that message that they said, you know, put her in jail, orange jumpsuits, and were going to throw acid over her and everything else.

The documentary is funded by PPE Medpro but Williams-Thomas, who is best known for his ITV documentary that exposed Jimmy Savile as a paedophile, retained full editorial independence.

It discloses new details of what the couple are accused of. At the height of the Covid pandemic the Government, desperately short of PPE, asked private companies for help in procuring gowns, masks and other equipment. A so-called VIP lane was set up for ministers to fast-track applications from personal contacts they could vouch for.

Among them was Mr Barrowman, who formed a consortium to procure PPE using an extensive network of business contacts and suppliers. The firm, which he called PPE Medpro, won a 122 million contract for 25 million surgical gowns and an 80.85 million contract for 210 million facemasks.

Despite being delivered and paid for, the gowns were never used in the NHS. The DHSC claims they were not fit for purpose and is suing in the High Court for breach of contract. The lawsuit seeks a full refund and a further 11.6 million in costs.

In May 2021, the NCA opened an investigation into suspected fraud and bribery relating to both contracts, alleging that Lady Mone was not transparent about her involvement in a procurement process that her family benefited from financially.

In Sept 2021, Mr Barrowman entered a process of mediation with the DHSC. He says he was prepared to make a payment to the DHSC only because the legal costs of fighting the civil case would likely be higher than settling.

It was during this process that he alleges a DHSC negotiator suggested the criminal case might go away if he paid a big enough sum.

He says he was gobsmacked when the negotiator allegedly asked if he would pay more for the other matter to go away, by which he assumed the negotiator meant the criminal investigation. His lawyers advised him to call the negotiator back and record the call.

In the recording, the negotiator tells him: Obviously we understand youve made an offer and its a sizeable sum of money. Were just trying to piece together and thinking through and I think our view at the moment, and where we stand, is it is probably not likely to be enough to call the dogs off.

So, I just had it in my mind, and the reason I asked it, because I can completely understand, you know, and what effectively happens if, if on the NCA side and I know youre gonna obviously fight that very hard, and you dont agree with it but I was just trying to work through in my mind, thinking, is Doug sort of thinking here that you know theres athat he has to hold a bit of what he might be willing to pay back because hes unsure of whats happening over there?

Mr Barrowman replied: You know my belief. I believe that somewhere up the food chain the two matters are joined. Both the civil and the criminal matter. And I believe that you felt, you know, that maybe the criminal matter was an extra leverage on me to make a settlement on the civil. And this was raised for the first time by you yesterday, and I was just intrigued and I thought about it, and I was just keen to find out more and that was all because that can be very relevant. Very relevant.

The negotiator responded: Yeah. No, and obviously we, unfortunately theres, from our perspective theres, you know, we said a number of times, we dont have any responsibility, we dont have any meaningful contact there, so theres nothing we can reasonably do. It was purely just whether, you know whether, theres a bigger pot if you like, that is there to satisfy both elements.

A spokesman for the NCA told The Telegraph: The NCA is operationally independent of government, and our investigations are intelligence-led.

I was upfront with officials

Lady Mone says it is 100 per cent a lie to suggest she was not up-front with officials, saying there are more than 1,400 emails and communications on WhatsApp and phone calls in which her personal connection to Mr Barrowman is explicit.

Mr Barrowman, 58, says there was absolutely nothing wrong with the gowns  and that they can prove it.

One of the issues the claim is focused on is that PPEMedPro produced gowns that were only delivered in one layer of protective wrapping, when the NHS needed them double-wrapped.

Mr Barrowman says he has documents that show the contract specified single-wrap only, and it was only after health officials realised their mistake in Sept 2020 that they began contacting suppliers, including PPE MedPro. He says others supplied single-wrapped gowns too but none are being pursued through the courts.

The lawsuit also alleges that PPE MedPro did not correctly certify their gowns were sterile, but Mr Barrowman insists the certification they provided was fully compliant, a claim which will be tested in court.

The DHSC also claims in the lawsuit that 92 per cent of the 60 PPE Medpro gowns tested by the government were found not to be sterile.

But the couple say there is a three-week gap in the Governments account of what happened to the gowns after they were taken away for testing, rendering the results invalid. They also say the tested gowns were taken from just two of 524 containers supplied by PPE Medpro and that all of them were sterilised at the same facility, even though seven sterilisation facilities were used, meaning the sample was not representative.

Mr Barrowman says his firm actually saved the Government 100 million by undercutting other firms that were charging vastly more.

In the documentary, a tearful Baroness Mone is asked how she thinks people see her. I think they probably see me as a horrible person, she says. A liar, a cheat, a thief. And I think theyve just made up their minds.

The couple claim she has received more than 450 threats on social media, and they have kept the lowest possible profile since allegations first surfaced in 2021.

Lady Mone, born Michelle Allan in Glasgows East End, grew up in poverty and left school at 15 with no qualifications but had a talent for marketing which she used to launch her own lingerie and beauty brands.

She says she is a very, very strong woman but the investigation has taken its toll.

Asked how she feels, she replies: On a scale of 10 being the worst  12. Im seeing a doctor and on medication and everything else.

Anyone would have a nightmare

Lady Mone, 52, claims to be haunted by visions of NCA investigators raiding the couples Isle of Man mansion.

I think anyone would have a nightmare, she says. And seeing them over my bed... Its horrific.

Lady Mone admits that she has made mistakes in her response to the newspaper reports of the controversy, in particular in an initial denial that she had any involvement with PPE Medpro.

I made an error in what I said to the Press, she says in the film. I regret not saying to the Press straight away, Yes, I am involved. And the Government knew I was involved.

In the documentary she also insists that the 65 million in profits that PPE Medpro made from the Government contracts is not my money and that who benefits from it is at her husbands discretion, a claim that will seem confusing to most married couples, even without the knowledge of the 28.8 million that went into a family trust.

A DHSC spokesman told The Telegraph that it does not comment on leaks, that its staff adhere to all laws and regulations, and: We do not comment on ongoing legal cases.

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.
Clarksville Councilwoman Karen Reynolds announced Friday that she intends to run for Tennessee Senate in 2024.

Reynolds, a Democrat who represents ward 9, said she'll run for the District 22 senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Sen. Bill Powers.

"I am committed to transparency, accountability, and genuine representation. I believe in active engagement, listening intently to residents concerns, and transforming those concerns into actionable initiatives," Reynolds said in a press release announcing her candidacy. She also noted in the release that she envisions a "future for Tennessee marked by equality.

Clarksville City councilperson Karen Reynolds has announced her bid for Tennessee Senate representing District 22.

I'm running because I refuse to stand by as politicians trample on people's freedoms. Advocating for equity, embracing diversity, and championing human rights defines my philosophya commitment to a Tennessee where every individual thrives," she said.

A retired Army master sergeant, Reynolds served for 21 years before she moved to Clarksville in 2001 with her husband to raise her sons.

She has worked as a veteran service representative for Veteran Affairs and then as a project manager in Healthcare Informatics at Blanchfield Army Hospital.

Reynolds received her Master's degree in Adult Education from East Carolina University. She is a graduate of Leadership Clarksville and the Leadership Clarksville-Montgomery County School System.

During her time on city council, Reynolds has supported the need for a parking garage downtown and expressed concern by listening to constituents discuss overcrowding in Clarksville. She also had concerns with a planned juvenile center in Montgomery County.

"She has proven to be a fighter for all members of the community, advocating for affordable housing, walkability, and sustainable infrastructure," her press release said. "She is committed to advocating for reproductive freedom and accessible healthcare, fighting for well-funded public schools, and addressing the ongoing issue of gun violence."

Reynolds will be considered an underdog candidate next year. Montgomery County votes heavily Republican in elections, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State's election results data.

Donald Trump won the Presidential election in 2016 by about 11,000 votes in Montgomery County, and he won by more than 9,000 votes during the 2020 election, though his overall campaign was unsuccessful. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee won Montgomery County by about 5,000 votes in the gubernatorial race in 2018 and he secured re-election in 2022 by about 10,000 votes.

Leaf-Chronicle reporter Kenya Anderson can be reached at kanderson@nashvill.gannett.com or on X at KenyaAnderson32.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville councilmember Karen Reynolds to run for Tennessee senate
(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for the Green Daily newsletter for comprehensive coverage of the climate summit right in your inbox.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Indigenous people from every continent dressed in traditional clothes, young climate advocates and seasoned activists marched in the biggest demonstration yet at the COP28 climate talks on Saturday, an unusual sight in the United Arab Emirates where any form of protest is severely restricted.

Hundreds gathered inside the COPs Blue Zone  officially United Nations territory for the two week of negotiations  alternating between the war in Gaza and climate change, shouting ceasefire now and climate justice now as they approached the building where country negotiators are debating global climate policy.

Im not anticipating well get the outcome we want given we are in a state that supports fossil fuels, said Lorraine Chiponda, a Zimbabwean climate activist with the Dont Gas Africa campaign. This COP started going in the right direction with the loss and damage fund, but we need more.

Read More: What Is COP28 and Why Is It Important?

The approval by the 198 countries participating in the talks of the rules for a fund to help poor countries recover from climate disasters on the first day of COP28 was an early victory for negotiators at the summit. But over the past few days old tensions have reemerged, with over 100 countries calling for the final text to include a reference to the phase out of all fossil fuels  and others opposing it.

Chilean climate and gender activist Karin Watson was hopeful global leaders would agree on language to phase out fossil fuels. But campaigners have been disappointed before as COP decisions are reached by consensus and that often leads to final outcomes including just the minimum common denominator, she said.

It would be terrible that the decision was delayed by another year because we cant wait, said the 26-year-old. Last year we had a bit of hope and it didnt happen and this year we are a bit more hopeful  itll be hard, but we think it can happen.

Activists waved large banners, carried a large plastic pipeline, chanted and danced hoping to put some pressure on country delegates negotiating on climate  but on other issues too. Protesters held a sit-down to mark the more than 17,000 people killed in Gaza since the conflict started on Oct. 7, including about 5,500 children, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures. They staged a moment of silence as they held a banner featuring names of people killed. Across the march, banners calling for climate justice featured the colors red, black and green present in the Palestinian flag.

Protests at COP28 have been more restricted than in previous climate meetings, said Katharina Rall, a researcher with Human Rights Watch. Free speech, demonstrations and other freedoms are severely restricted in the United Arab Emirates, the country presiding and hosting COP28. But protest has proven difficult even in the Blue Zone because the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the agency overseeing the meeting imposes restrictions.

Were spending many hours negotiating with the UNFCCC secretariat, and thats keeping us from doing actual work, Rall said. Just this week just 30 minutes before a protest was supposed to start we were forced to cover the names in banners of some human rights defenders behind bars even if the action had been previously been approved.

The UNFCCC is committed to ensure everyones perspectives are heard, a spokesperson said in an emailed comment. The agency said it has been working to ensure its code of conduct is followed in a small number of specific cases.

Protesters used the Saturday march to lay out their claims including the need for finance to fund loss and damage and developing nations adaptation to a warming planet. Pacific islanders carried a giant banner that read We are not drowning, we are fighting, while a Ugandan group called for the cancellation of the countrys debt.

Nicole Hutton, a Gorawa indigenous woman from Australias Northern Territory held a black box carrying a petition signed by 46,000 people to kick fossil fuel lobbyists out of COP. Oil and gas industry representatives at the conference outnumber indigenous national delegates, she said.

There is no climate justice without human rights and first nations, she said. Were here because we cant let these conversations happen without us.

(Corrects language on one of the protest banners)

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Activists called for a cease-fire in Gaza, marching through the site of the UN climate summit on Saturday.

Protests are rare in the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic state that tightly controls speech.

Activists say there can be no climate justice without human rights.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Hundreds of climate activists joined the global protests calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war on Saturday, marching through the site of the ongoing UN climate summit in Dubai.

People wore the black and white checkered keffiyeh and held up watermelon signs, both symbols of Palestine, while chanting, "Cease-fire now!" and "Climate justice is a right, not just for the rich and white!" Signs saying "End the occupation" rose above Indigenous groups wearing colorful feather headdresses and drumming.

It was a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic country of seven sheikdoms led by one ruler in Abu Dhabi. Speech is tightly restricted and dozens of dissidents have been jailed, according to human rights groups . The media is largely state-owned. One local reporter told Business Insider that they could have their work visa revoked for printing anything critical of the government.

Ahead of the climate summit in Dubai, known as COP28, the United Nations and the UAE agreed that free expression would be allowed. But protesters on Saturday said authorities still placed limits on what activists could say during the march.

"From the river to the sea," for example, was banned, Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt & Development, told Business Insider. Nacpil helped organize the pro-Palestinian march, which involved a coalition of more than 350 climate justice and human rights groups from 75 countries.

The phrase is controversial, especially after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent months-long bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The phrase refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, or historical Palestine, which now is broken up into Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators say it's a call for freedom from oppression. But Israel and its supporters say it's a call for their destruction.

Nacpil said protesters risked losing their badges and getting kicked out of COP28 if they chanted the phrase.

"It doesn't violate any UN rules," Nacpil said. "This decision was made for political reasons. They should acknowledge that."

A COP28 spokesperson said in an email that the organization is committed to an inclusive event with dedicated spaces for all voices to be heard. People are assembling peacefully across the venue, the spokesperson said.

Nacpil said there is no climate justice without human rights and called the United States and Europe hypocritical for "using the human rights card" against other countries while being "complicit" in Israel's war on Gaza.

Hamas and other Palestinian fighters killed about 1,200 people during its attacks on Israel on October 7. Israel has responded with a now two-month-long air and ground campaign that has killed more than 17,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians and many of them children.

Kevin Buckland, an artist and activist with the Artivist Network, which advocates for climate action and human rights, described himself as a Jew from the United States who could no longer stay silent about the atrocities in Gaza.

Speaking through tears during a press conference ahead of the march, Buckland said Israel uses the Jewish identity to enforce an apartheid regime.

Kevin Buckland of the Artivist Network. Catherine Boudreau/Business Insider

The protest wasn't the first time the Israel-Hamas war spilled into the COP28 summit.

During the first few days, the Iranian delegation left Dubai in protest of Israel's presence and world leaders, including Jordanian King Abdullah II, used their speeches to the United Nations to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Following meetings with Arab leaders in Dubai, Vice President Kamala Harris said that too many Palestinians were being killed and urged Israel to do more to protect civilians, but also reiterated that the United States supports Israel's "legitimate military objectives to eliminate the threat of Hamas."

On Friday, the United States  for the third time  blocked a resolution at the 15-member UN Security Council calling for a humanitarian cease-fire. The United States was the sole veto, while the UK abstained and 13 other countries voted in favor.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood called the resolution "imbalanced," the AP reported, because it didn't condemn Hamas' attack on Israel or acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Outside the theater that premiered Paul King's "Wonka" on Dec. 3 in Beijing, there were chocolate-themed decorations galore, immersing visitors and audiences in a fantastic, sweet, and playful world reminiscent of the enchanting creations of Willy Wonka himself.

Chocolate-themed decorations create a fantastic and immersive atmosphere at the "Wonka" premiere in Beijing, Dec. 3, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures]

The film, released in China on Dec. 8, tells the story of a young chocolatier who, armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time. It stars Timothee Chalamet in the title role, affectionately known as "Sweet Tea" in China, along with an ensemble cast of Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, and Olivia Colman, as well as iconic veteran actors Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant.

Based on the extraordinary but enigmatic character at the heart of Roald Dahl's 1964 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," one of the best-selling children's books of all time, this vivid fairytale and inventive big-screen spectacle introduces audiences to a young Willy Wonka as he embarks on a journey to become the world's greatest inventor, magician, and chocolate-maker. With dreams of opening a shop in a city renowned for its chocolate, a young and poor Wonka discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers.

"I think he's a great optimist. Our story is set 25 years before the events of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' So he's a young man taking his first steps into the world, and he hopes for great things. The world is not the kind of gracious, warm, welcoming place that we might hope it is, but Willy Wonka sort of won't take 'no' for an answer and sets out to change things just as they should be," director Paul King said.

A still image from "Wonka." [Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures]

Chalamet, the wildly popular Oscar-nominated actor best known for his roles in "Call Me By Your Name" and "Dune," said he had been enamored by King's work prior, particularly the "Paddington" films. He added that he was daunted by the idea of playing Willy Wonka because he's a beloved character. "But within five pages of reading the script, I saw how clever Paul's take was on the story of how Willy became the Wonka we know."

King cast Timothee Chalamet based on his performance in the school project rap video titled "Lil Timmy Tim: Statistics (Ms. Lawton)" from 2013. Later, King was in awe of Chalamet's talent and praised his exceptional performance: "It feels like he captures the essence of that sort of otherworldly magical character completely perfectly. [He has] this combination of strange and slightly unknowable energy, and sincerity and humor and eccentricity. He ultimately became a true creative partner in the movie."

Development of the film began after Warner Bros. Pictures, which had previously released its own adaptation, Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," starring Johnny Depp in 2005, acquired the rights to the titular character in October 2016. Principal photography commenced in the United Kingdom in September 2021.

The film also pays tribute to Mel Stuart's "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," starring Gene Wilder in 1971. This includes the design of the Oompa Loompas and renditions of the songs "Pure Imagination" and the Oompa Loompa song from the 1971 film.

Additionally, Neil Hannon, frontman of the Northern Irish chamber pop band The Divine Comedy, wrote six original songs for the film, while Christopher Gatelli ("Hail, Caesar!") oversaw the choreography. Chalamet, who grew up surrounded by dancers, including his sister, mother, and grandmother, had prior experience in musicals at his performing arts high school. However, he underwent months of training specifically for the large-scale dance numbers in "Wonka."

Chalamet believes "Wonka" is a dose of light and joy for a world that is in desperate need of it. "As a young actor, the things that were most attractive to me are the things that are the most emotionally challenging," he said.

The Chinese poster for "Wonka." [Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures]

"When I read 'Wonka,' I did feel the classic thespian challenge  the singing, the dancing. But when I think about the main theme of this movie, when I think about its raison d'etre  it is to bring joy into the world. It's to encourage dreaming; to encourage the dreamers to continue dreaming; to encourage declaring yourself as you are, who you are, without question. It's to declare that to share in kindness and enthusiasm is to paint a way forward, not only for yourself but for those around you. It's about community, and it's about community surviving in spaces of erosion. It's about light and love. I'm so proud to have been a part of that," the actor said.

King pointed out the prequel is really about family and "the sort of lasting impression that our families, our birth families, leave with us, and the kind of families we make along the way. And you know, Willy comes to a town where he knows no one and manages to assemble a group of friends who do something quite extraordinary, and I think it's a film best enjoyed with the family, and I hope it brings people closer together."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department late Friday defended its hiring practices after two former employees alleged in a radio interview the department cut corners and hired lower-quality employees.

The interview with WBT Radios Brett Jensen prompted a response from CMPD that it posted to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

For years, CMPDs hiring qualifications were significantly higher than what the State of North Carolina required for law enforcement certification, the department said in the statement. We continuously evaluate our standards so that they meet or exceed state standards while ensuring we recruit the most qualified individuals.

Some standards have changed in recent years, but all qualifications still meet or exceed state standards, the department said. In North Carolina, those state standards include completing Basic Law Enforcement Training, being at least 20 years old and having a high school diploma or its equivalent and not having committed a felony crime, among other things.

CMPDs criteria says applicants cannot have a serious misdemeanor or a DWI on their record in the prior five years. Criteria on its recruitment website also references passing an extensive background investigation, including psychological examination, polygraph examination, etc.

The hiring dispute comes shortly after CMPD celebrated its largest recruit class of 81 officers and during a shortage of hundreds of officers, The Charlotte Observer reported.

But its not alone. Police departments across the country have struggled to hire and keep officers in recent years.

Among them: The Asheville Police Department has long wrestled with a staffing shortage, which hovered around 40% of its positions for months. The challenge of recruiting and retaining officers was so severe that APD hired a company to advertise its job openings on various websites.

Polygraph tests failed

The two people identified in the radio interview as former CMPD employees raised concerns to WBT about apparent changes to the departments hiring processes, describing CMPD as rushing in new officers who shouldnt be there.

At particular issue: Polygraph tests.

I think they have a lot of pressure to bring in recruits because the numbers are so low, said Lauren Frazier, who said she conducted polygraph tests on police recruits. So, theyre putting a lot of funding and energy into recruiting people. Because of that, theres a lot of pressure on both recruits and polygraphs to get people through that process as easily as possible.

Frazier said she was concerned when she was asked to conduct a polygraph on someone who had just come out of a physical fitness test and a recruiting interview.

She raised those concerns, and wound up in internal affairs, she said.

CMPDs polygraph exams are just one part of the application process, the department said.

Other concerns

Officers are being hired based on lower standards  some with notable criminal histories  former Police Officer Shannon Finis told WBT. The pair of former CMPD employees also made allegations about officers landing jobs because of nepotism, including when prospective officers failed a polygraph.

When Frazier raised concerns about rules being broken, CMPD changed those rules, she said.

The department said it changed its policies after consulting the North Carolina Polygraph Association.

We seek to hire the most qualified candidate regardless of their affiliation or relationship with a current or former employee, it added. At no point are employment decisions based on an applicants personal relationship with a current employee.

CMPD spokesperson Lt. Kevin Pietrus said the department would not confirm former employee information without a public records request.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) has a new conspiracy theory about Hunter Biden, but he couldnt get CNNs Jake Tapper to take it seriously during an interview Friday.

In fact, Tapper mocked the Kentucky congressman to his face.

The presidents son was indicted Thursday on nine tax charges in California, and Comer, the House Oversight Committee chair, appeared on CNN the next day to discuss the matter.

Although Biden could face serious time behind bars if convicted, Comer dubiously claimed the criminal charges were actually part of a cover-up designed to throw off his investigation into unproven allegations around the Biden familys supposedly shady financial dealings.

Comer said none of the crimes that Hunter Biden was accused of dealt with things his committee is investigating, and then suggested that special counsel David Weiss indicted the presidents son to protect him from having to be deposed in the House Oversight Committee [next week].

Tappers eyebrows raised over that theory, and he couldnt help but mock it to Comer directly.

He indicted him to protect him? Tapper asked, before sarcastically adding, The classic rubric, I got it.

Comer said the whole Biden story has been about a cover-up, but Tapper went back to Comers previous, somewhat contradictory statement.

Thats why [Weiss] indicted him, to protect him? To cover it up? Tapper asked incredulously.

Comer responded, Look, you indict him on the least little thing, the gun charge and not paying taxes, before Tapper pointed out why the theory sounded ridiculous.

[Bidens] facing like 17 additional years in prison! These are felonies! Tapper said.

Yeah, but look at what hes done! Anybody else in America would already be in prison, Comer said.

You can see their exchange  and Tappers reaction  in the video below.

Comer: My concern is that he indicted Hunter Biden to protect him



Tapper: Ahh yes, he indicted him to protect him



Comer: This whole thing has been about a coverup



Tapper: He indicted him to cover it up? pic.twitter.com/ws5XIRwes1  Acyn (@Acyn) December 8, 2023

Tappers snark continued when he grilled Comer on why he wont let Biden testify before his committee in public, an offer he made previously.

Why not just jump at the opportunity to grill Hunter Biden on national television? Tapper asked. Heres your chance, you know? Youre the dog that caught the bus. Here it is!

Comer claimed his investigation wasnt about politics or theater, to which Tapper chuckled.

The CNN anchors reaction to Comers very dubious theory didnt go unnoticed on X, formerly known as Twitter.

What makes this even funnier is that Comer doesnt seem to sense Jake Tappers sarcasm at all https://t.co/wk7HG7SHD3  Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) December 8, 2023

He indicted him to protect him.



The look on @jaketappers face is priceless. https://t.co/MVub8OGNPg  Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 8, 2023

Here's confirmation: Republicans have stopped making sense https://t.co/I9NXAHXg3V  Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) December 8, 2023

James Comer. Not just a serial liar; not just corrupt. Dumb as a post. https://t.co/REQGOmuqNX  Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) December 8, 2023

Comer has had weeks to come up with a better story and this is the best he can do, sad! https://t.co/RK1BtQUSbu  Sarah Rumpf  (@rumpfshaker) December 9, 2023

Best to watch with the sound off. Tappers expressions - side smile, head nods, guffaws, utter disbelief - are gold. https://t.co/XAMi4hGFXm  Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) December 8, 2023

Some commented that Comer probably wasnt used to being fact-checked, since he tends to only do interviews with conservative media.

Im amazed Comer ventured out of the safe cocoon of Fox and Newsmax interviews. Hes too damned dumb to take questions from actual media. https://t.co/N7qVsbqa2D  Michael Freeman (@michaelpfreeman) December 8, 2023

This is a lot different than the 573 interviews Ive watched of Comer on Maria Bartiromos show. https://t.co/eHweNKm3f8  Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 8, 2023

One woman couldnt help but take Comers theory that the indictment was good for Biden and apply it to former President Donald Trump.

So why arent they happy about Trumps 91 indictments since by their logic, it protects him? https://t.co/q7NIC4d45e  Kaylan_TX (@Kaylan_TX) December 9, 2023

Related...
Pictured (from left) are Brad Somers of the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, Christine Hitch, CFNEM Marketing Communications Director, and Patrick Heraghty, CFNEM Executive Director.

ALPENA  In its ninth year of providing the platform for local nonprofits to participate in the global Giving Tuesday movement, the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) helped 62 nonprofit organizations to raise a grand total of $336,643 on Nov. 28.

The community foundation held a virtual Zoom and Facebook Live event on Wednesday, Dec. 6 to announce the final totals, and totals raised for each individual organization.

The generosity of northeast Michigan and those who care about it shouldnt surprise us anymore, yet we are always amazed at it, said CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty. It is great to see our community show up with such incredible support for the nonprofits tirelessly serving northeast Michigan. Everyone who donated on Giving Tuesday should take pride in knowing they are part of this movement.

Subscribe: Check out our offers and read the local news that matters to you.

Sixty-two nonprofits from Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties participated in the event through the community foundation and its three affiliate foundations. Every penny of each donation received went directly to the organization chosen by the donor.

Grant, the Giving Tuesday Golden Goose, was presented to the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena for raising the most funds  at a total of $32,665  during the 24-hour giving event.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Foundation helps raise over $336K for northeast Michigan nonprofits
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, gives an update on the plan to deal with illegal migration, at a press conference in Downing Street - JAMES MANNING/PA

Rishi Sunaks Conservatives could record the worst outcome in the partys history at the next election by collapsing to as few as 130 seats, Sir John Curtice has said.

The polling expert said that divisions within the party over immigration were exacerbating the situation, meaning that Tory MPs opposing the Prime Ministers Rwanda bill are potentially playing with fire.

Writing for this newspaper, the professor of politics at Strathclyde University said that Mr Sunak had experienced a frustrating autumn because multiple attempts to reset his premiership had all failed to improve the polls.

In the middle of September before Mr Sunak announced changes to net zero policies  including delaying the ban on new petrol cars from 2030 to 2035 and pushing back the ban on new oil boiler sales from 2026 to 2035  the Tories were polling 26 per cent on average.

Labour were 18 points ahead on 44 per cent.

Since then, as well as the watering down of net zero measures Mr Sunak has had a string of set-piece political events in which he has sought to regain momentum.

Scrap HS2s northern leg

In October, he used his party conference speech to scrap HS2s northern leg from Birmingham to Manchester and promised a change from a political system which he said had been broken for 30 years.

Last month, he unveiled the Governments legislative agenda in the Kings Speech, carried out a Cabinet reshuffle which included the eye-catching appointment of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary, and delivered a 2 per cent cut to the rate of National Insurance in the Autumn Statement.

However, Sir John said that immediately prior to the announcement of new policies on immigration last week the Tories were still on just 26 per cent in the polls, with Labour enjoying a 17 point lead which was only down a point on mid-September because Labours own tally had slipped a point to 43 per cent.

He said that if the voting patterns continued to the next election the Tories would be lucky to win much more than 200 seats and could fare considerably worse.

If these patterns were to be replicated in a general election, the outcome for the Conservatives could be bleak indeed  maybe as few as 130 seats, the worst outcome in the partys history, he said.

Such a result would be below the 165 Conservative MPs returned by John Major in 1997, when Tony Blair achieved a landslide which elected 418 Labour MPs and gave his government a 179-seat majority.

It would also be a spectacular reversal of the 2019 election, when Boris Johnson won 365 seats.

Sir John warned that the public seemed to have stopped listening to what the Tories had to say.

He also said that Mr Sunaks recent focus on immigration had not gone well and risked making things worse, with a chance that the Rwanda bill could divide the party just as [Theresa] Mays ill-fated Brexit deal did in 2019.

Even though the polls have repeatedly indicated that the governments Rwanda policy is relatively popular  at least among those who voted Conservative in 2019  the first polls since this weeks developments suggest they also are unlikely to move the electoral dial, he said.

We should not be surprised. Although many 2019 Conservative voters are unhappy about the level of legal and illegal immigration, those who feel that immigration has gone up a lot are not especially likely to say they will not vote Conservative again. Surprising as it may seem, the issue has played relatively little role in bringing about the decline in Conservative fortunes.

In contrast, he said that 2019 Tory voters who think that the economy is doing badly or that the NHS has got worse are especially likely to have stopped supporting the party.

He said last weeks events, including the resignation of Robert Jenrick as immigration minister, would cement the perception of the Conservatives as a divided party. Divided parties rarely prosper at the polls, he said.

Sir John added: In pursuing their disagreements with Mr Sunak over immigration, Tory MPs should realise they are potentially playing with fire.

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2023 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exposition opens in C China's Hunan

People's Daily Online) 17:52, December 08, 2023

The 2023 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exposition opened in Zhuzhou city, central China's Hunan Province, on Dec. 8, 2023.

The expo, themed "Smart Rail Links to the Future," is co-hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the provincial government of Hunan.

With a total exhibition area of more than 60,000 square meters, the expo is being attended by over 600 enterprises online and offline. It includes a series of side events such as parallel forums, business negotiations, technical exchanges, a talent summit, professional competitions, site visits and open days.

The 2023 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exposition opens in Zhuzhou city, central China's Hunan Province, on Dec. 8, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Liu Bin)

CCPIT president Ren Hongbin said the CCPIT fully supports Hunan's commitment to achieving high-level opening-up and high-quality development.

CCPIT will give full play to its role as a facilitator between governments and enterprises, between domestic and international markets, and between supply and demand, Ren said.

The 2023 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exposition opens in Zhuzhou city, central China's Hunan Province, on Dec. 8, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Liu Bin)

Zhuzhou has established the most comprehensive industrial chain system in the country for the rail transit and equipment manufacturing industry.

Chen Yun, chairman of China Railway Group Limited (CREC), noted that CREC, as the main force and a pioneer driving the development of China's rail transit industry, enjoys a solid foundation for cooperation with Hunan Province.

He said CREC will further expand its presence in the province and make its contribution to Hunan's high-quality development.

Photo shows trains on display during the opening ceremony of the 2023 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exposition. (People's Daily Online/Liu Bin)

Following the opening ceremony, the World Rail Transit Xiangjiang Forum opened. Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, including Lu Chunfang and Ding Rongjun, deputy head of the China Association of Metros Ding Shukui, deputy director of the China Center for Information Industry Development Liu Wenqiang, president at Wabtec China Cui Yao, and commercial counselor with the Colombian Embassy in China Oscar Felipe Rueda Plata, delivered keynote speeches.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
You are here: China

The State Council announced the appointment and removal of several officials on Saturday.

According to the announcement, Miao Deyu was appointed assistant minister of foreign affairs.

Zhu Hexin was appointed deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Hu Jinglin was appointed director of the State Taxation Administration, replacing Wang Jun. He will no longer hold the position as head of the National Healthcare Security Administration.

Yang Weiqun was appointed vice chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency, and Zhao Rui was appointed vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Also, Yao Li was appointed deputy head of the National Administration of State Secrets Protection.

Pan Gongsheng was removed from the post of head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
After several interviews and an internal investigation, Metro Nashville police announced Friday they were unable to identify those responsible for leaking documents connected to the Covenant School shooting.

Chief John Drake said in a media release that the department had exhausted all available investigative avenues to identify the source behind the leaked photographs, which he confirmed in the release showed pages from the Covenant shooter's journals and were taken by detectives on the scene of the school shooting March 27.

The pictures were leaked to a conservative media personality in November. They showed three pages of writings, taken from the journals.

Metro Police issued the Friday release at 5:01 p.m.

The department initially placed seven police officers on administrative assignment after the photos were released publicly on Nov. 6. Four of the officers returned to full-time duty on Nov. 17.

Metro's Friday release said investigators tried to interview a former detective who had the images at one time, but the detective declined the interview request and is no longer working in law enforcement.

Police did not name the former employee.

"The department does not have the ability to compel statements or cooperation from former employees," the release said.

During the investigation into the source of the pictures, the police department's Office of Professional Accountability determined that the three cell phone photographs were taken at The Covenant School immediately after the shooter's journals were discovered.

Two detectives assigned to the Specialized Investigations Division took them as a way to learn more about the shooter and determine whether anyone else was involved in the case, the release noted. One of the detectives took two of the pictures, while the other detective took the third, it said.

The Metro Police Department has forwarded the case to the District Attorney's office for review.

"The investigation has not identified current MNPD employees, or employees of any partner agency, as engaging in the unauthorized release of the images. Persons placed on administrative assignment for certain periods during the pendency of the investigation have returned to their regular duties," the release said.

Tennessean reporters requested several records within days of The Covenant School shooting, when the shooter, a former Covenant student, entered the school and killed six people, including three children.

Several groups, including The Tennessean, sued Metro Nashville after those records requests were denied. The school, church and Covenant families are intervening in the lawsuit and seeking to prevent the city from releasing the records.

The case is currently pending in the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The Tennessean has no plans to publish the writings verbatim and has sought to center coverage on public policy, the victims and the community.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville police unable to find source of Covenant shooter writings leak
Crime of the Week: Two men recorded using stolen credit card

Crime Stoppers of El Paso and the El Paso Police Department are asking for your help in identifying two men who were recorded using a stolen credit card from a vehicle burglary.

Police say that on the evening of Monday, November 6, and the early morning of Tuesday, November 7, several vehicles were burglarized on the streets of Inca Dove, Cloud Ridge, and Dakota Ridge.

According to police, a handgun was among the property stolen in the burglaries. Two men used a credit card stolen in the burglaries. The men were recorded at the Speedway located at 7001 South Desert Blvd.

alleged suspect of burglary

alleged suspect of burglary

Suspects were seen in a single-cab Ford Ranger Pickup truck with a flare-side bed.

The alleged suspects are described as African-American males in their 20s. They were in a single-cab Ford Ranger Pickup truck with a flare-side bed.

Anyone with any information on this hit-and-run crash should call Crime Stoppers of El Paso immediately at (915) 566-8477 (TIPS) or online: www.crimestoppersofelpaso.org.

You will remain anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you may qualify for a cash reward.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
An illustration of a bright galaxy surrounded by a blueish halo. The background of space takes up a large portion of the image.

A new theory that suggests dark matter is made up of particles that strongly interact with each other via a so-called "dark force." If true, this may finally explain the extreme densities we see in dark matter haloes surrounding galaxies.

The existence of particles called self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) acts as an alternative to cold dark matter theories which suggest the elusive stuff is made up of massive, slow-moving (and thus cold), weakly interacting particles that dont collide. The problem with those cold dark matter models is that they struggle to explain two puzzles surrounding what are known as dark matter haloes.

"The first is a high-density dark matter halo in a massive elliptical galaxy. The halo was detected through observations of strong gravitational lensing, and its density is so high that it is extremely unlikely in the prevailing cold dark matter theory," Hai-Bo Yu, team leader and a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Riverside, said in a statement.

"The second," he continued, "is that dark matter halos of ultra-diffuse galaxies have extremely low densities, and they are difficult to explain by the cold dark matter theory."

Related: Dark matter may be hiding in the Large Hadron Colliders particle jets

The haloes

Dark matter presents a major conundrum for scientists because, despite making up around 85% of the matter in the cosmos, it does not interact with light and therefore remains virtually invisible to us. This tells researchers that dark matter can't just be unseen conglomerations of matter made up of electrons, protons and neutrons  so-called baryonic matter that comprises stars, planets, our bodies and pretty much everything we see around us on a day-to-day basis. No, dark matter has to be made of something else.

The only way that researchers can infer the existence of dark matter at all, in fact, is because it has mass and thus interacts with gravity. This effect can be "felt" by baryonic matter we can indeed see and by light, which astronomers are definitely able to observe.

More specifically, when light travels past these dark matter-wrapped galaxies from background sources, the substance's influence on the fabric of space diverts the light's path and, in turn, makes the background sources appear "shifted" to new locations in space.

This effect, dubbed gravitational lensing, is what originally allowed scientists to determine that most, if not all, galaxies are surrounded by haloes of dark matter in the first place. And these haloes are believed to extend far beyond the limits of those galaxies' visible matter objects like stars, gas and dust. Gravitational lensing has also allowed astronomers to measure the density of dark matter haloes. Denser haloes are responsible for stronger lensing than less dense haloes around ultra-diffuse galaxies  low-brightness galaxies with scattered gas and stars. However, researchers have struggled to explain the extremes of dark matter halo densities.

Enter, artificial intelligence

To tackle this puzzle, Yu and colleagues, including the University of Southern California postdoctoral researchers Ethan Nadler and Daneng Yang, constructed high-resolution simulations of cosmic structures that are based on actual astronomical observations.

They factored into these simulations strong dark matter self-interactions on mass scales relating to strong lensing haloes and ultra-diffuse galaxies.

"These self-interactions lead to heat transfer in the halo, which diversifies the halo density in the central regions of galaxies," Nadler explained. "In other words, some halos have higher central densities, and others have lower central densities, compared to their cold dark matter counterparts, with details depending on the cosmic evolution history and environment of individual halos."

The team concluded that SIDM interacting through a "dark force," just as baryonic particles interact through the force of electromagnetism and via the strong and weak nuclear forces, could offer a solution that cold dark matter theories dont deliver.

"Cold dark matter is challenged to explain these puzzles. SIDM is arguably the compelling candidate to reconcile the two opposite extremes," Yang added. "Now there is an intriguing possibility that dark matter may be more complex and vibrant than we expected."

Related Stories:

 We still don't know what dark matter is, but here's what it's not

 Astronomers weigh ancient galaxies' dark matter haloes for 1st time

 Could a 'supervoid' solve an unrelenting debate over the universe's expansion rate?

The team thinks their research also provides an example of the analytical power of uniting real observations of the universe, which grow in detail with each new generation of telescope, with the burgeoning power of artificial intelligence.

"We hope our work encourages more studies in this promising research area," Yu said. "It will be a particularly timely development given the expected influx of data in the near future from astronomical observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope and upcoming Rubin Observatory."

The teams research was published in November in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
UC Davis history professor Baki Tezcan knows firsthand how an authoritative governments iron fist can stifle academic freedom  he was detained and accused of spreading terrorist propaganda in Turkey after signing a petition during a research trip saying the countrys army massacred Kurdish residents.

Drawing upon these experiences, Tezcan said alarm bells sounded when University of California President Michael Drake spoke at a Nov. 15 UC Regents meeting promising $2 million to teach faculty about antisemitism, Islamophobia, how to recognize and combat extremism and a viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East. Drake issued his comments to address campus safety after violent acts and doxxing incidents unfolded on campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war that broke out in early October.

The UC system hasnt become like Turkey, Tezcan said, but Drakes words raised red flags, prompting the professor to strongly push back against the comments.

Tezcan, who was acquitted in Turkish court, and 17 other UC Davis professors signed a Nov. 20 letter raising concern about Drakes desire to teach viewpoint-neutral history and called for him to rescind such language. UC Davis educators  who spoke out recently regarding their decision to sign the letter  along with more than 150 UC faculty said Drakes comments undermine facultys autonomy in the classroom and undercuts their internationally renowned work.

I welcome more resources from the UC system to do our job, but what I reject is any kind of external political or administrative influence on the professional choices I make in the classroom, Keith David Watenpaugh, a tenured professor of human rights and historian, wrote in an email to The Sacramento Bee.

Drakes office issued a clarification on Nov. 30 about his Nov. 15 comments, saying the UC system of 10 campuses remains deeply committed to shared governance and academic freedom of faculty. His office is working with campuses to pinpoint how funds should be distributed, the statement said.

These additional initiatives do not restrict or compel faculty activities in any way; they are optional and will be implemented in a way that reflects community input, the statement said.

Multiple UC Davis historians said they already present multiple perspectives for students and help them navigate each conflicting sources.

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 and the many others engaged in teaching topics that might be considered controversial or divisive, like climate change, the history of racism, and genocide and mass atrocity, the letter said.

Without contextualizing events, history would simply be teaching students a timeline, said Stacy Fahrenthold, an associate professor of history, who has tenure.

The impact of Drakes comments trickled down into the classroom.

Fahrenthold recalled her students hearing of Drakes comments in November. She said she told them its unrealistic to have a neutral viewpoint of the Middle East. A viewpoint-neutral approach suggests a historians job isnt to teach or interpret the region, but to avoid doing the work of interpretation or understanding, she said.

Fahrenthold said she has an ethical duty to contextualize, explain and help students understand history without fearing reprisal from her employer. Many faculty, such as lecturers and adjunct instructors, arent afforded the similar protections offered to tenure faculty.

It frustrated me deeply, Fahrenthold added.

The letter also said adopting policies espousing a viewpoint neutral history have been used against scholars whose research may be at odds with a particular political agenda across the country.

We remind you that in Florida, the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis has undermined discussions of structural racism by calling for opposing viewpoints on the enslavement of African Americans, the letter said.

UC Davis art history professor Heghnar Watenpaugh, who is married to Keith Watenpaugh and who also has tenure, questioned Drakes plan to fund an alternative pedagogy. She wondered who will control the programming and if senate faculty members will be consulted on the alternative policies.

Will this programming be peer-reviewed and vetted for academic standards in the way UC faculty research and publication are vetted? Heghnar Watenpaugh asked rhetorically in her emailed responses to questions.

UC Davis history professors pointed out there have been retirements in the history department that would teach the very content to which Drake seeks to devote $2 million and havent yet been replaced. That money should instead be reinvested in faculty, educators said.

Programs offering study abroad opportunities for students have also been cut in recent years, Heghnar Watenpaugh said. Funneling money into those measures would ensure students are exposed to many viewpoints and be trained in historical methods to find and evaluate evidence, she said.

Fahrenthold said it appeared Drake didnt understand the discipline of history with his comments.

What I also wonder is why is only Middle East History being singled out among the many different topics we teach for this new confusing standard? Whats next: viewpoint-neutral American History? Keith Wahtenpaugh wrote. I teach the history of genocide and the Holocaust, how would viewpoint neutrality work in that context?
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks to reporters after delivering a speech on the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's interrogation techniques in the U.S. Capitol on December 9, 2014. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1907, the first Christmas Seals to raise money to fight tuberculosis went on sale in the post office in Wilmington, Del.

In 1955, two weeks of bloody student uprisings against President Fulgencio Batista appeared to follow the pattern of the student riots that deposed Cuban Dictator Gerardo Machado 22 years ago. Batista would remain in power four more years before losing power to Fidel Castro.

In 1974, White House aide John Ehrlichman's Watergate trial began in which he testified that U.S. President Richard Nixon was responsible for a coverup.

UPI File Photo

On December 9, 2008, federal agents arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges in a scheme involving the sale of Illinois' open Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI

In 1987, the First Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians protested and rioted after an Israeli Defense Forces truck struck a civilian vehicle, killing four Palestinians.

In 1990, Lech Walesa won Poland's first direct presidential vote.

On December 9, 1992, British Prime Minister John Major announced the formal separation of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. UPI File Photo

In 1992, British Prime Minister John Major announced the formal separation of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

In 1992, some 1,700 U.S. Marines landed in Somalia to secure the airfield, port and U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu and restore order to the conflict- and famine-stricken country.

United Press International correspondent Matthew Kenny (L) interviews ousted Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. On December 9, 1955, two weeks of bloody student uprisings against Batista appeared to follow the pattern of the student riots that deposed Cuban Dictator Gerardo Machado 22 years ago. Batista would remain in power four more years before losing power to Fidel Castro. UPI File Photo

In 2002, United Airlines, which said it was losing $22 million a day, filed for bankruptcy.

File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI

Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa examines the crack in the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on November 19, 1989. On December 9, 1990, Walesa won Poland's first direct presidential vote. UPI File Photo

In 2008, federal agents arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges in a scheme involving the sale of Illinois' open Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

In 2014, a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report said the CIA's interrogation of terror suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was more brutal than it told the White House or public. The so-called "CIA torture report" called CIA tactics "deeply flawed."

U.S. President Bill Clinton walks with a group of U.S. troops just back from Somalia at a ceremony to honor them on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 5, 1993. On December 9, 1992, some 1,700 U.S. Marines landed in Somalia to secure the airfield, port and U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu and restore order to the conflict- and famine-stricken country. UPI File Photo

In 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that the country's forces completely liberated the nation from the Islamic State militant group.

In 2019, the volcano on New Zealand's Whakaari Island -- also known as White Island -- erupted, killing 22 people and injuring another 25.

In 2021, former reality TV star Josh Duggar, who found fame with a TLC series about his large family, 19 Kids and Counting, was convicted on two criminal counts for receiving and possessing child pornography. In May 2022, he was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

File Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriffs Office
Come Christmas Eve, it will be three years since my wife passed away. I knew her time on Earth was coming to a close, as her breathing the night before was labored, her small body struggling. All I could do was suggest to the woman Id loved for decades that it was OK to let go and, in the night, she did. So it may come as no surprise that I havent done much celebrating around Christmas, until this year.

In a small nod to the season, I pulled out a hand-carved wooden creche, a simple thing reminding me of birth, not death. I recall the day some years back when we purchased it on a cold December day in a Christmas Market in Munich, Germany just off the pedestrian street Neuhauser Strasse near the city hall at Marienplatz. One of the things that attracted us to the depiction of the Nativity was its simplicity, as well as the fact that we were speaking to the woman who carved it.

Out here, the season for shooting deer with shotguns has opened. Since early summer a doe and her twins have been making my neck of the woods their home, and its been delightful watching the little ones grow, now almost as big as their mother. One day I saw the young ones, alone, without mom. I worry. I know, I know, with all of the crap going on in the world today, it seems a little silly worrying about some wild creature that may or may not still be alive. Cant help it.

A Nativity at Kurt Ullrich's home

Just the sight of wild creatures calms me. A week or so ago, out by my garage at night there was a quick glimpse of a red fox scampering around the corner. Every day I see red-tailed hawks, American bald eagles, and crows, many crows, like perhaps Hitchcock is out here shooting a film. There is comfort in birds, keeping me in temper, in peace. Its not a feeling I enjoy in town. The only downside this time of year is stepping outside and hearing gunfire. Its a little disconcerting. There were no guns 2,000 years ago, so we have no way of knowing where the child who threw the moneylenders out of a temple might have stood on the issue.

Not long ago U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor passed away. She was the first woman to become a member of the Supreme Court, a heavy burden by any measure. My wife (Bobbi Alpers) was the first female in the state of Iowa to be named chief judge of a judicial district, and her burden, too, was heavy. She brought work home every night, and heres why: She didnt wish to fail in any way, didnt want anyone to be able to say, See what happens when you put a woman in charge. Accepting that kind of weight was more than I could have endured. I adore strong women.

Both Justice and Judge passed from complications of Alzheimers and both died in December. Thus Im fully aware that Christmas is a tough season for many, not just for me. I cannot selfishly make any solo claim to the ineffable sadness that belongs to this season, this time when memory takes over, this time when we all hope to meet again across the years. And this year that hope begins with a small thing, a hand-carved Nativity sitting on a table by the front windows depicting Biblical characters Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and a character not quite so biblical, a little cat lying by the cradle, a cat with the same colorings as the one curled up on my lap.

Kurt Ullrich lives in rural Jackson County. His book "The Iowa State Fair" is available from the University of Iowa Press.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Remembering my wife, her burden, and Sandra Day O'Connor
Keep an eye out for a new bridge mural working to connect Delaware's communities.

The mural, which aims to show the state's regard for service members, is on display on the Sr. Airman Elizabeth Loncki Bridge over Route 1 near the entrance to the Dover Air Force Base.

"This mural is the department's way of showing our appreciation to our service members past and present and honoring the life of Elizabeth Loncki, for whom the bridge was dedicated to in 2018," Delaware Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski said. "On behalf of the department, we thank all who served (and) wish all a happy Veterans Day."

The patriotic mural, with the message "All Gave Some ... Some Gave All," was painted on a bridge commemorating 23-year-old Loncki  a New Castle native who died on Jan. 7, 2007, after her explosive ordnance disposal team was targeted by a car bomber near Baghdad.

More: First Delaware woman killed during Iraq war gets bridge named in her honor

The Delaware Department of Transportation's first mural along Route 1 is on the Senior Airman Elizabeth Loncki Bridge near Dover Air Force Base. The bridge is named after a New Castle native who died in 2007 after her team was targeted by a car bomber in Iraq.

The mural idea came from the Delaware Department of Transportation's bridge team as it was planning to award a bridge painting contract for maintenance on bridges along Route 1.

This mural was a unique opportunity for the department to show its appreciation to service members and honor Loncki's life, for whom the bridge was dedicated in 2018 as she was the first female Delawarean killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, said C.R. McLeod, a DelDOT spokesperson.

"We have also seen fantastic murals done on bridges in Wilmington led by Sarah Lester and the West Side Grows coalition," McLeod said. "We all know the history of how I-95 divided the city with its construction and DelDOT has supported efforts to enhance what is otherwise uninspiring infrastructure subject to graffiti with murals that bring color, personality and pride to the local community."

Value in public art

In Wilmington, community groups such as United Neighbors, West Side Grows Together and Cornerstone West have been creating murals to not only beautify but also help bring people together.

Several bridges over a section of I-95 that cuts through Wilmington have been painted with murals, which include animals, trees, flowers and people. The artwork is an attempt to bring together Wilmingtonians who were separated when more than 300 homes were demolished between Adams and Jackson Streets in 1959 to make way for the interstate  the project was opposed by West Side homeowners who fought against the decision but were handed a loss by Delaware's Chancery Court.

"Our effort was established thinking about the history of 95 and thinking about how we move forward to reconnect that division that was both physical, emotional, cultural, all the things," Sarah Lester, the president and CEO of Cornerstone West CDC.

Wilmington's murals, Lester said, have a lot of real deep meaning behind them as the group worked with hundreds of residents to paint them, as well as working with local artists.

She also said that once there's a mural, one begins to think of what other improvements can be made to the area  especially when you involve area residents.

"It's just like a catalyst," she said. "A conversation starter to something kind of bigger around improvements in the community.

"I think that can be true anywhere and definitely down along Route 1."

More: New mural aims to lift community, reconnect Wilmington neighborhoods divided by I-95

Route 1 mural

The only Route 1 bridge to receive a mural is the bridge linking Old Lebanon Road to the Air Force base.

The project is part of an $8 million contract, which includes painting 20 bridges in New Castle and Kent counties. That work, funded by the state's Capital Transportation Program, includes the removal of the old paint and repainting the steel girders, as well as painting the concrete abutments.

The muralist used for this project, Chris Kanienberg, was also used for one of the murals in Wilmington.

"There has been a ton of positive public reaction to this," said Kanienberg, who works on large-scale murals and creative projects all over the country.

DelDOT also said they've received a significant amount of positive feedback on the new mural both from current and former members of the armed forces, as well as regular people who are taking pride in it and appreciating the important role that Dover Air Force Base has in the state and military.

"We have also received inquiries from a few towns around the country, as far away as California, about the logistics of the project," McLeod said.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Route 1 bridge near Dover Air Force Base honors fallen service member
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Its called a win-win.

Borderland residents in need of dental care can get free screenings and cleanings and dental students at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso get some hands-on experience.

Students with the Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic will offer free services on Monday, Dec.11 and Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 222 Rick Francis St. The clinic will be open from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. both days.

The Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic is the clinical practice of the Hunt School of Dental Medicine and offers students hands-on training and an introduction to early clinical experiences among a diverse population, a rare opportunity among dental schools, according to a news release that was sent out.

According to Texas Tech, only 50 percent of El Paso residents visited a dentist in 2017.

Access to low-cost dental care at the Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic helps Borderplex residents establish routine dental care which benefits their overall health. Since opening in 2021, the clinic has provided more than 20,000 hours of reduced-cost dental care for over 3,500 patients from the region, according to the news release.

Limited appointments are available for this special event. El Paso residents interested are asked to call (915) 215-6700 for an appointment.

The Hunt School of Dental Medicine opened in 2021 and is the only dental school on the U.S.-Mexico border, and the first in Texas to open in more than 50 years.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
A Port St. Lucie resort that illegally hacked about 944 mangrove trees and filled wetlands to create a beach may have to pay a $110,395 fine, replant 2,780 trees and be monitored for five years.

That would be "one of the largest proposed mangrove alteration penalties in state history," the Florida Department of Environmental Protection told TCPalm Friday.

Sandpiper Bay Resort in May cleared nearly a half-acre of shoreline along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River  a swath equal to the 951-foot-long Caribbean Princess cruise ship  then covered the nubs with sand, some of which washed into the water, state records show.

The property owner and the resort owner who leases the property initially had until Dec. 7 to respond to DEP's proposed punishment, but the state agency granted their requested extension. The new deadline is Dec. 15, a DEP spokesperson said. Once DEP issues its final order, the resort will have 30 days to pay the fine and 90 days to begin planting the mangrove trees, according to a Nov. 9 order.

Sandpiper Bay Resort: DEP investigates hacked mangroves at Port St. Lucie resort

Wakeup call: Hacked mangroves shows need for greater environmental responsibility

Store Capital Acquisitions LLC owns the property and leases it to Altitude Hospitality LLC, which bought the former Club Med in 2022, according to DEP and county records. Neither owner has responded to TCPalms multiple calls or emails seeking comment since May.

The resort previously told DEP it didnt know Florida law protects mangroves or that it needed a permit or professional trimmer to cut them, DEP reports say.

DEP cracks down on resort for cutting mangroves

DEP found healthy mangrove branches in dump trucks off Sandpiper Bay Resort on May 10.

DEP's proposed punishment aims to restore the destroyed mangrove canopy.

In addition to the fine, the resort must pay to plant red, white and black mangrove saplings ranging from 2-7 feet and maintain an 80% survival rate of the 2,780 saplings it must plant, DEP records show. That means it must replace trees that die to ensure there are at least 2,224 living trees.

The resort also must remove all invasive vegetation before planting the mangrove trees and use barriers, such as containment booms, to keep sand from running into the river, DEP records show.

It could take 10-15 years for the ecosystem to fully recover, said Lorae Simpson, chief scientist at the Florida Oceanographic Society, an environmental nonprofit in Stuart.

DEP will inspect the restored area quarterly for the first year and then semiannually for four years.

David Cox of Cox Pinson Environmental Solutions, a DEP-approved professional mangrove trimmer that developed the resort's restoration plan, said he suspects the agency will monitor it for longer.

I think from a legal basis, (five years) is whats required, Cox told TCPalm. I think DEP will be watching a lot longer than that period of time.

Sandpiper Bay Resort in Port St. Lucie

Sandpiper Bay Resort illegally cleared the North Fork of the St. Lucie River shoreline to create a beach, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

DEP's crackdown came after a six-month investigation, sparked by a May 8 complaint from angler Jim Dirks, who told TCPalm he has fished in that area every week for 44 years.

On May 10, DEP investigators found healthy red and black mangroves in resort dumpsters and sand unloaded over the roots, with no barrier to keep the fill from washing into the river.

The 15- to 26-foot tall mangrove trees had climbed halfway up a fence near the hotel windows, pool and volleyball court, Dirks told TCPalm.DEP said it measured high turbidity in the water, which can block sunlight and kill seagrasses  the main food source of starving manatees.

The resort blamed a tornado for yanking out the trees, DEP reports say; however, the National Weather Service told TCPalm there was no twister. At worst, a tornado more likely would have removed the trees leaves, not entirely knocked down nearly 1,000 trees, Simpson said.

Why are mangroves important to the environment?

DEP regulates mangrove trimming because the deep-rooted trees are essential to a healthy environment. They filter water pollutants, provide wildlife habitat and stabilize shorelines to protect homes, businesses and other structures from storms.

People may trim mangroves that are 10 feet or shorter without a permit. Only DEP-approved professionals may trim mangroves that are 16 feet or taller. Only professionals with a permit may trim mangroves that are 24 feet or taller.

No one can cut mangroves to be shorter than 6 feet tall.

Hundreds of mangrove roots are seen along the shoreline of the St. Lucie River at the Sandpiper Bay Resort after the trees, protected by the state Department of Environmental Protection, were hacked down, Now, there's an open view of the river from the resort, as seen on Tuesday June 20, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. An estimated 951 feet of mangroves were cut along the 3,394-foot shoreline. The choppers had cut a swath 15 to 26 feet deep in some areas.

DEP hasnt explained how it calculated the fine, but it's not enough to deter others from hacking mangroves, Simpson said.

I would love to see the fee be bigger because $110,000 for some of these big corporations, that's literally nothing, she said. It's so important to protect these (trees). We can't have people just go and chop these down and get a slap on their wrist for 100 grand.

Dirks agreed, and suggested fines go to environmental nonprofits. He said the resort ruined his honey hole, where fish never even bite on his line anymore.

"(The owners) should be monitored for the next 20 years, fund the Indian Riverkeepers salary for the next 10 years and spend $10,000 a year on the River Kidz," Dirks said. "They need to make restitution. They didn't just kill mangroves. They killed crab, shrimp, snapper and grouper.

Katie Delk is an environmental reporter for TCPalm. Contact her at katie.delk@tcpalm.com or 772-408-5301. Check for updates at @katie_delk.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: DEP fines Sandpiper Bay Resort in Port St. Lucie for cutting mangroves
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks with reporters during a campaign stop at Elevate Business and Events Center on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in West Des Moines.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa  Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis says he's "skeptical" about what motivated the U.S. Department of Justice to indict Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, on charges he failed to pay taxes.

"I think it may be being done as a way for them to feign that they're apolitical, when in reality they've advanced some very highly politicized prosecutions, including against the former president," DeSantis told reporters at an event in West Des Moines on Friday evening.

The indictment against Biden, the Justice Department announced on Thursday, alleges he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed taxes from 2016 through 2019, and also evaded tax assessment for 2018 when he filed false returns.

From 2016 to 2020, Biden spent money "on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes," according to the indictment.

The announcement came months after a plea deal over tax and gun charges collapsed. Under the agreement, which a federal judge rejected, Hunter Biden was set to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018.

The Justice Department also is pursuing four criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. DeSantis suggested Friday that the indictment was a way for the Justice Department to appear "apolitical."

"I wonder whether this is something where they're going to be able to point to and say, See? You can't say that they're going after Trump, because they're even going after the presidents son.'" DeSantis said.

DeSantis speculated that President Biden would pardon his son "the day after the (November) election."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday the president would not use his presidential authority to pardon Hunter Biden.

Lawyers for Hunter Biden suggested the president's son was being unfairly targeted.

"Based on the facts and the law, if Hunters last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought," Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said in a statement.

"Now, after five years of investigating with no new evidence  and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full  the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors," Lowell said.

USA Today contributed reporting.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: In Iowa, Ron DeSantis questions motivation behind Hunter Biden charges
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is looking to seize on the momentum from his strong performance at the fourth debate as he aims to solidify his place as the No. 2 Republican in the primary.

Unlike his past presidential debates, DeSantis avoided fading into the background Wednesday in Alabama and went on offense against Nikki Haley, his most formidable non-Trump rival. A post-debate Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed a plurality of voters saying DeSantis won the debate. DeSantiss campaign manager celebrated the governors debate performance in a statement on Wednesday, calling him the only strong conservative on stage.

But questions still loom about how DeSantis will be able to capitalize on that momentum, with Iowa less than 6 weeks away and Trump still the clear front-runner.

He did have a good debate, theres no doubt about that, said David Kochel, an Iowa-based Republican strategist. There is still time in Iowa. He has an organization for sure.

DeSantiss campaign and its allies have made Iowa a top priority. Earlier this month, the Florida governor completed the final stop of his tour of all of Iowas 99 counties, also known as the Full Grassley, in honor of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Along the way, the Florida governor has garnered endorsements from the states Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) and prominent Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.

According to AdImpact, the newest pro-DeSantis super PAC Fight Right has spent over $1.7 million on television advertisements, including $1.5 million in Iowa markets. The other major pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, spent $4 million from Oct. 1 to Nov. 14, according to AdImpact. DeSantis has also wrapped up 42 state legislative endorsements in the state.

No one else is close, DeSantiss communication director Andrew Romeo told The Hill on Wednesday following the debate. Thats the type of grassroots support you need to win an Iowa caucus.

The state was also the governors first stop following debate, with a meet-and-greet hosted by Never Back Down in Cedar Rapids.

Hes doing all of the things hes supposed to be doing, Kochel said. The question is, can he get close enough to Trump to get momentum? Iowa is often a place for upsets.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) notably surged from polling in the single digits in November 2011 to winning the Iowa caucus in January 2012. Four years earlier, in 2008, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who was virtually unknown before that particular presidential cycle, won the Iowa caucuses. That same year, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) pulled off a major upset against then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) in the Democratic Iowa Caucuses.

Still, DeSantis and Haley dont have much time to close the gap with former President Trump in the polls. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average of the Iowa Republican caucus, Trump leads with 47.3 percent support, while DeSantis trails at 18.7 percent support. Haley comes in with 15.7 percent support.

Additionally, Iowa has a mixed track record of predicting who ultimately wins presidential nominations.

In 1980, then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan (R) lost in Iowa to George H.W. Bush, but it was Reagan who later went on to become the nominee, with Bush serving as a his vice president. Reagan won the caucus four years earlier but lost the Republican primary to former President Gerald Ford, who ended up losing his reelection bid. Former President George W. Bush was the last Republican to win the caucuses and go on to secure the nomination.

And there are questions as to how DeSantis will be able to make the hard pivot from Iowa, a bastion of cultural conservatism, to New Hampshire, which is arguably more libertarian.

Romeo said the momentum the campaign would have coming out of Iowa, if they were to win the caucus, would be enough for them to surge in New Hampshire.

Thats why the governor continues to campaign there and spend time there as well, Romeo said, referring to the Granite State.

DeSantis supporters in New Hampshire also note that the differences between Iowa and New Hampshires GOP electorates wont make a difference when it comes to candidates.

I still dont think that cultural conservatism is a problem. Thats not something that New Hampshire voters vote on, said New Hampshire state House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R), who is supporting DeSantis. They can take it or leave it but theyre not opposed to it. What they care about is he is the guy who delivers results, he gets st done and hes the guy that can fix Washington.

But before the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, DeSantis and the other candidates will likely participate in at least two more debates. On Thursday, CNN announced it would host two debates in Iowa and New Hampshire. Additionally, DeSantis is slated to take part in a CNN town hall in Des Moines on Tuesday.

Republicans say that these forums matter because undecided voters are tuning in.

It mattered, Kochel said, referring to Wednesdays debate. I think the Iowa debate in particular on Jan. 10 will matter.

It is quite possible that a majority of Iowans will still not have completely made up their minds by that time, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A scathing new report documents the horrifying deterioration of higher education in Florida.

It should be required reading for every college student  and come to think of it, every taxpayer, too.

For the first time, the report lays out in disturbing detail the extent of the damage done to a once-great system by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Legislature and their allies in the higher education bureaucracy, which has been politicized to unprecedented levels, with disastrous results. As much as anything, this will be the destructive legacy DeSantis leaves behind when he eventually leaves office.

What has happened in Floridas colleges and universities over the past couple of years is a tragedy for Florida students and their families, said Irene Mulvey, a mathematics professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut and president of AAUP, the American Association of University Professors, which compiled the report.

Using news accounts, public records and interviews with dozens of educators, AAUP paints an exceedingly dark picture.

Its all there: the brutal takeover of New College in Sarasota; secrecy over university presidential searches; attacks on teacher tenure, labor unions and accrediting agencies; rampant cronyism in presidential choices and on university trustee boards, including appointing out-of-state ideologues with no ties to Florida; restrictions on teaching race and sexual orientation; and blocking professors from testifying about their subject matter expertise in court.

It shouldnt be overlooked that DeSantis wanted to go further and give university trustees  political appointees, hacks in some cases, chosen for connections, money and school loyalties, not for their education expertise  control over hiring and firing faculty members.

Even the presidential search at Florida Atlantic University, tainted by Tallahassee partisan politics, made it into the report.

The authors say that the sense of fear and thought control is so intense on Florida campuses that many faculty members did not want their names to appear in the report for fear of retribution. That alone tells you plenty about the condition of academic freedom in Florida.

They want to create an atmosphere of fear that results in self-censorship and will chill free speech, and their tactics are working, said Matthew Lata, a Florida State University music professor.

Lata said faculty members are fleeing Florida in record numbers, and its becoming harder to fill vacant teaching jobs.

Historical context matters, too. AAUPs report compares todays conditions to those of the Legislatures notorious anti-communist and homophobic Johns Committee of the 1950s and 60s, which terrorized professors, civil rights activists, journalists, teachers and students. (The committee was named for state Sen. Charley Johns of Starke, its chairman).

For five years, the AAUP report recalled, Johns Committee agents monitored lavatory stalls and private bedrooms. The University of Florida was the first academic target.

A DeSantis spokesman dismissed the AAUP report as a hoax, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, who supported DeSantis changes to higher education, also disagreed with the report.

Our institutions should be institutions of learning. They should not be institutions of indoctrination, Passidomo said. (Was she indoctrinated in college? No, she said).

As the professors noted, higher education should be a wonderful journey of the intellect. But DeSantis and his allies want to erect barriers and decide how young people can think.

Learning new stuff is one of the joys of being human, Mulvey said. College students should have the right to learn the subjects they want to study, taught by professors who are experienced in those subjects, and those professors get to determine the methods of instruction  But your governors agenda is to limit opportunities, and his policies are driving high-quality faculty to flee Florida.

One faculty member who was not shy about being quoted by name in the AAUP report was LeRoy Pernell, a law professor at Florida A&M University.

We cant run away from what is happening in Florida, Pernell said. Bullies depend on their victims running away and hiding. On their silence. We cant run away and hide. We cant be silent.

Hes right. DeSantis & Co. have done catastrophic damage to Floridas higher education system.

Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the South Florida Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @stevebousquet.
 Flash

Four Hezbollah fighters and two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement were killed on Friday in confrontations on the Lebanese-Israeli borders, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that four Lebanese civilians and two Lebanese army soldiers were wounded due to the Israeli bombing targeting border areas in southern Lebanon.

The sources explained that the four Hezbollah fighters were killed in two separate Israeli raids, one targeting valleys in southwest Lebanon and the other targeting a village in the central sector.

The two PIJ members were killed in an Israeli raid that targeted a forested area in southwest Lebanon.

The sources added that the four Lebanese civilians were injured in Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the villages of Rachaya Al-Fakhar and Al-Adaysseh in southeast Lebanon.

They noted that the two Lebanese army members suffered from suffocation from fires that broke out as a result of Israeli artillery shelling that targeted their center in the vicinity of Aita Al-Shaab village and were transported to a hospital for medical care.

Military sources told Xinhua that Israeli heavy artillery bombed 26 towns and villages in the southwest and 15 in the southeast of Lebanon.

Also, Israeli warplanes and drones carried out nine airstrikes that targeted homes and empty areas in the eastern and western sectors, destroying three houses and causing damage to 16 others.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out attacks on seven Israeli sites, killing one and injuring another.

The Lebanon-Israel border witnessed increased tension since Oct. 8 after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Shebaa Farms in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel the previous day, prompting the Israeli forces to respond by firing heavy artillery toward several areas in southeastern Lebanon.

The confrontations have killed 143 on the Lebanese side, including 98 Hezbollah members, a Lebanese army soldier, one member of the Amal Movement, 16 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and 27 civilians, according to security sources.
Donate coats at the annual Boston 25 Cares Coat Drop-off Day in support of the Coats For Kids and Families Drive.

The Boston 25 Weather Team will be accepting warm winter coats that are brand new or in good condition on Saturday, December 9th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Jordans Furniture in Natick. All sizes are needed for kids and adults.

The goal of the drive is to collect over 40,000 warm winter coats for local families in need this season.

Since the program began in 1995, Coats for Kids and Families has collected, cleaned, and distributed over one million coats.

All collected coats stay local! Once coats are collected, Antons Cleaners cleans the coats and works with over 90 local distribution partners in Massachusetts to get them to families in need.

Distribution partners include schools, nonprofits, social service agencies, and other approved partners who ensure coats get to families in need, free of charge.

Coats will be collected through January 7 at all Antons Cleaners, Enterprise Bank, and Jordans furniture locations.

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
Hundreds of people gathered in Uptown Charlotte in support of Palestine.

ALSO READ: Palestine supporters call for city resolution; Council takes no action

HAPPENING NOW: Pro Palestine Protesters are marching in uptown. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/uDuMk0zZj0  Coleman Montgomery (@colemanreports) December 9, 2023

Protesters walked through the streets of Uptown, calling for an end to the bombing of Gaza by Israeli forces.

The rally began at Romare Bearden Park on South Church Street.

Streetcars will be operating between Sunnyside and CTC stations and a bus bridge will be in place between French and CTC stations. https://t.co/KF3b8ZfPAc  Charlotte Area Transit System (@CATSRideTransit) December 9, 2023

According to the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), the Gold Line was temporarily blocked by police because of the protest.

(WATCH BELOW: Dozens gather in Uptown park in support of Israel)




A man from Duvall was sentenced to ten years in prison Friday for attempted enticement of a minor, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

Thirty-seven-year-old Steven Michael Burke was awaiting sentencing for having and distributing images of child sexual abuse, when officials say he used a chat site to search for sexually explicit images of an 11-year-old child.

Burke pleaded guilty in September and admitted to contacting the 11-year-old child while seeking sexually explicit images.

Burke also sent the child similar images. The crime was discovered after Burke was sentenced to probation for earlier crimes.

During the sentencing, Judge Ricardo S. Martinez imposed twenty years of supervision after Burke was released from prison.

One of [a judges] primary concerns is community protection the protection of children I hold at the highest level of all, said Martinez.

Burke has been in custody since May 4.
Clyde Lee's airplane initially had an Oshkosh BGosh paint scheme, but switched to the Barre, VT Granite paint scheme after the sponsorship with Oshkosh BGosh failed to materialize.

OSHKOSH  The journey Oshkoshs Clyde Lee took in August 1932 will be the focus of an EAA Aviation Museum webinar at 7 p.m. Dec. 12.

Lee departed the U.S. in his airplane aiming to be the first pilot to fly from America to Oslo, Norway. He would win a $10,000 cash prize for the feat.

Lee was lost during the attempt, and fellow Oshkosh native Earl Iverson was Lees flight manager and preserved many photographs that are now part of the EAA Museums collection.

The webinar will feature those photos and is hosted by Chris Henry, museum manager, and Amelia Anderson, museum collections curator.

The presentation is free, but registration is required as seating is limited.

The webinar is part of EAAs monthly series that showcases unique aviation personalities. A schedule of upcoming webinars is available at EAA.org/Webinars.

ThedaCare pharmacy: 24-hour pharmacy on the horizon at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah

Welcome to your weekly dose.Here is more news from throughout Winnebago County.

Father Carr's offers free Christmas Day dinner

Father Carrs Place 2B will once again serve its annual Christmas Day dinner.

Dinner will include baked ham, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and a dessert. Meals will be delivered between 10:30 a.m. and noon Dec. 25. Orders are being taken now. To have a meal delivered, call 920-231-2378.

Those who prefer to dine in can do so at the Saint Mother Teresa Center at Father Carrs at 1062 N. Koeller St. Dinner will be served noon to 1:30 p.m. Reservations are not needed and all are welcome.

Red Cross seeks blood, platelet donors

Winter is a difficult time to keep blood and platelets available and you can help by making a donation to the American Red Cross.

To donate, individuals must be 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health. A blood donor card or drivers license or two other forms of identification will be required at check-in.

The next local drive is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Oshkosh Community YMCA, 3303 W. 20th Ave.

Schedule an appointment through the Red Cross Blood Donor App, online at RedCrossBlood.org or call 800-733-2767.

Oshkosh Parks has moved into new building on Witzel Avenue

The Oshkosh Parks Department has moved into its new building at 805 Witzel Ave. The move allows the operations and administration staff to be under one roof.

The new building replaces the aging, inefficient 1960s building. In late spring 2024, an open house for the public will be held.

Oshkosh Aurora recognized for maternity care

Aurora Medical Center  Oshkosh is one of eight Aurora hospitals to be recognized for maternity care. The hospitals were named high performing, the highest level, by U.S. News & World Report in its annual list.

According to a news release, to be recognized, hospitals must excel in multiple quality metrics, including C-section rates, newborn complication rates, breast milk feeding rates and early elective delivery rates. Hospitals must have C-section rates that are 26% lower and newborn complication rates that are 37% lower than unrecognized hospitals.

Canadian Snowbirds to make stop at EAA AirVenture 2024

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds have added EAA AirVenture to its 2024 schedule. This military aerial demonstration team was last at AirVenture in 2016.

The 71st annual EAA fly-in will take place July 22-28, 2024, at Wittman Regional Airport. Advance admission, camping credentials and more are available now.

The Snowbirds are one of the worlds finest military aerobatic flight teams, so their presence at Oshkosh in 2024 is a wonderful addition to AirVenture week as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Rick Larsen, EAAs vice president of communities and member programs, said in a news release.

The Snowbirds are scheduled to have a public practice session over the grounds July 26 with full performances during the daily afternoon air show July 27 and 28. Team members typically fly their Canadair CT-114 Tutor jets in around 60 air shows each year. The nine aircraft used in the performances are piloted by experienced team members from the Royal Canadian Air Force. During the show, the pilots fly at speeds ranging from 110 to 465 mph and in formation with distances as close as 4 feet of wing overlap.

Oshkosh nonprofits awarded Otto Bremer grants

Two Oshkosh nonprofit organizations have been awarded grants by the Otto Bremer Trust.

Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services Inc. was awarded $300,000 for a capital campaign to renovate a new facility to increase capacity to serve victims of domestic violence; and the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry Inc. was awarded $60,000 for general operations to eliminate food insecurity in southern Winnebago County.

The Otto Bremer Trust is a private charitable trust based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Created in 1944 by business and community leader Otto Bremer, it supports quality of life programs for residents of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

For more information, visit ottobremer.org.

Attorney Slagter joins Oshkosh law firm

Attorney Todd A. Slagter has joined the law firm of Reff, Baivier, Lim, Muza & Dunham, S.C.

Slagter has more than 23 years of legal experience, both as an attorney in private practice and as in-house counsel for a local financial institution. He practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, probate, real estate and corporate/business transactions.

Slagter is taking over the law practice of Attorney Russell Reff who is retiring, but will remain affiliated with the law firm. As of Dec. 1 the firms name is Reff, Baivier, Lim, Muza & Slagter, S.C. They remain at 217 Ceape Ave.

For more information, visit reff-law.com.

Drug arrests: Oshkosh police arrest 7 men suspected of dealing drugs from Walnut Street residence

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This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: EAA Aviation Museum program to highlight Oshkosh pilot Clyde Lee
The Huntington High School High Steppers drill team stands at attention at the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pumping Unit lighting ceremony in downtown Lufkin on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Credit:

LUFKIN  As families and communities nationwide set up their Christmas trees, Nativity scenes and other holiday decorations, Lufkin residents earlier this month stopped downtown to celebrate the lighting of a 45-foot tall Mark 640 pumping unit, festively named Rudolph.

The modern counter-balance pumping unit, also known as a pumpjack, was invented by Lufkin resident Walter Trout in 1952 to bring oil to the surface. The unit looks like a large horse. The head, which sits at the end of a long spine, moves up and down thanks to a walking beam connected to a large rotor.

And on Dec. 1, thousands of East Texans joined in the celebration, heads adorned with red foam antlers and balancing hot chocolate and cookies with their children, to watch the hundreds of lights adorning Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pumping Unit light up. Fake snow and Christmas music filled the air, hiding from pictures that it was, in fact, 62 degrees outside.

Rudolph isnt just a symbol of holiday cheer in this East Texas town of 34,000 people. It is a reminder of the towns legacy in both oil and manufacturing, the collective heartache the community felt as its leading company all but shuttered, and how the town has begun to reinvent itself.

Though Lufkins economy grows each year, many older Lufkin residents hesitate to release the anger they adopted as the citys industries failed them.

Thousands of East Texans joined the millions of Americans who lost their livelihoods in the early 1990s due to a recession, the savings and loan collapse and job cutbacks caused by lower defense spending. Thousands more, many of whom were employed by Lufkin Industries, the company Trout worked for when he invented the pump unit, went on to lose their jobs amid the 2008 Great Recession and after.

Even as new businesses have laid their foundations here during the last decade, those old enough to remember Lufkins loss watch distrustfully from the sidelines.

It didn't just hurt the families that lost jobs, said Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce CEO Tara Watson-Watkins of the economic fallout. It hurt the soul of the community.

Putting Lufkin on the map

Rudolph was the creative byproduct of workers at Lufkin Industries, formerly known as the Lufkin Foundry and Machine Company. The manufacturing company saw a meteoric rise in business from when it was founded in 1902 by a group of five East Texans, according to the Texas Historical Association.

The founder, Joseph H. Kurth Sr., and four others built the company from scratch with the help of 35 employees. Walter C. Trout joined the company in 1905 and it remained stable even through the 20th Century. Originally known for making repairs to sawmill machinery, the company made a play in the oil and gas industry.

Trout is credited with the invention of the modern pumpjack, a piece of equipment used internationally today, putting the foundry  and Lufkin  on the map. Lufkins impact on the oil industry grew with the discovery of the East Texas oil field, which kept the small towns economy up through the Great Depression.

In 1966, a group of employees began decorating one of the pumpjacks as Rudolph using a small red nose and some lights. Employees began putting him outside the shop where the rest of the community could see him, and he quickly grew in popularity.

Whether he represented the 3,800 Lufkin Industries employees in the 1980s, or the 36 who remain after years of layoffs, Rudolph stands tall for the Lufkin community.

In the mid-2000s, Lufkin Industries joined the ranks of manufacturers that left the area and laid off its workforce. The catalyst was the companys acquisition by General Electric and later, a merger with Baker Hughes.

In 2020, Baker Hughes sold the oil field group and Lufkin Industries was renamed LUFKIN.

Today, LUFKIN employs just three dozen people in Angelina County, though operations have expanded into other cities, states and countries, the companys general counsel Keith Gee said. Lufkins name can be seen on pump jacks across the globe, including on the side of Rudolph.

We're still very, very proud of the Lufkin name, he said.

Tradition holds as town evolves

Former Lufkin Industries employee Tim Crawford has helped erect and decorate Rudolph, which now sits in a parking lot off Lufkins downtown main street during the holidays, for years.

He was one of the few whose jobs were saved in the layoffs. He saw firsthand how his friends' and colleagues' lives changed in an instant. Now an employee for Lufkin Gears, he believes community leadership wants to turn Lufkin into a retirement community  a sentiment shared by numerous community members at the downtown celebration.

This mindset could not be further from the truth, however, community leaders say.

It is a battle many communities impacted by the flight of manufacturing plants overseas have undertaken.

Cities in the Rust Belt and Midwest have tried to redefine themselves following the collapse of industry. The cities that have been successful have had a focus on alleviating poverty, building up the arts and tourism and revitalizing downtowns.

Cleveland, for example, found success in focusing on the arts, according to the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. While it did not bring back the jobs the city saw in the height of the industrial age, it did redefine the quality of life for residents as the economy diversified. Lufkin hopes for a similar success, with organizations such as Impact Lufkin, Lufkin Forward and Lufkin Creative working to show that the town is more than just manufacturing.

Compared to 30 years ago when some form of manufacturer employed most residents, residents can now find jobs in a variety of fields including health care  which is the largest employer, manufacturing, education, retail, food and more, according to DATA USA.

Angelina County Judge Keith Wright, the former Lufkin city manager, said the city rebuilt itself by refocusing on smaller employers, companies that would employ 50-100 people, so if one company went down the city didnt suddenly have 2,000 - 3,000 unemployed workers.

The local economy is strong, Lufkin Economic Development Corporation director Bob Samford said. Were seeing a substantial influx of new retail businesses coming to the area, which is indicative of a strong future.

He is also fiercely proud of the diverse workforce, opportunities for training and growth offered by Angelina College, and the Angelina County Airport which provides significant opportunities for economic development.

Lufkin is more than its economy

Justin Forrest, a 7-foot-tall man living with an intellectual disability, is Rudolphs biggest fan. The pumpjack is painted red and white, with eyes, antlers and a nose adorning each side. Lights scale the edges of the large machine and the whole attraction brings vibrancy to an otherwise empty parking lot.

Its Rudolph, Forrest yelled. He goes up and down.

He typically goes downtown to watch the trains, but in late November he watches anxiously each morning as crews contracted by Lufkin Industries set up the unit. He even tested the lights one morning to ensure they worked perfectly.

Luther Rains, a contractor who has overseen Rudolphs assembly for the last 20 years, said the best part is the community interaction when hes setting up. He particularly enjoys Forrests excitement and says it is the same with most people who stop to say hello while he works.

The pumpjack has become a vital part of Lufkins fabric and the kickoff into the holiday season alongside the annual Rotary Club Waffle Bake and nighttime Light Up Lufkin Christmas Parade.

It's as much of a Christmas tradition to me as Santa's coming on Christmas Eve, Watson-Watkins said.

For Lufkins kids, the Rudolph tradition is just starting. Joseph Hughes, 8, was among hundreds of children filling the downtown area  he was forced to go by his parents, he said. His mom, Marie, has been attending since she was a child. The unit used to be visible from Lufkins loop, but that changed in 2019 when he was moved downtown, a move that frustrated many Lufkinites.

I can remember, when it was at the mall, we would drive by and see it every day and it just kind of brought us joy, she said.

Now, it gives them a good reason to visit downtown where once vacant storefronts play host to vibrant retail displays, doctors offices, a coffee shop, a bakery, a yoga studio and several locally owned restaurants.

Karen Walker loves that Rudolph has returned to Lufkins heart. Lufkin Industries started her career, and even gave her a scholarship to build her life on. She loves to share Rudolph with her grandchildren each holiday season.

(The move) brought it back, close to its home, she said. Lufkin Industries started right over there  just a few blocks over.

Disclosure: Angelina College has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: A 45-foot tall oil pump is a holiday symbol and connection to the past
Camarillo resident Peter Christiano fells a Christmas tree in 2019 at Hagle Tree Farm in Somis. Several factors play into the environmental costs of real and artificial holiday trees.

A normally dry and serious website full of tools for calculations has added an alarming but whimsical banner to its page comparing the environmental costs of real Christmas trees to artificial ones.

Amidst peer-reviewed articles written by computational experts with doctorates in physics, a warning says Santa Claus home is in danger. The North Pole is melting! the website banner shouts, asking readers to see what you can do to keep Santas home cold.

Quickly reverting to its tone of objectivity and scientific specificity, the Omni Calculator website immediately clarifies in technical terms, A (Christmas) tree in a landfill will decompose to form CH4, a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

For most people, this citation of molecular structures requires more of an explanation than the website provides. CH4 is methane gas, which is generated when previously living things are buried in the absence of oxygen, such as when a used Christmas tree is buried in a landfill. Since methane is far more potent as a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide, the second molecule mentioned, and since world leaders set so many policies and spend so much money to battle carbon dioxide emissions, it makes sense to avoid creating methane gas.

Fortunately, in Ventura County, the alternative to an artificial tree is not a tree destined for a landfill. After Christmas, used trees may be cut apart and recycled along with yard clippings, food scraps and lumber in curbside yard waste carts. Several drop off sites will also be available for businesses and others who do not have curbside yard waste service.

Last year, when the Omni Calculators Christmas tree comparison page was first promoted, the calculator had no tab to reflect this reality. As with this years page, users could indicate how many miles they must drive to buy a real or an artificial tree, the year of the engine in the vehicle used to make the drive, the size of the tree and other factors. However, the tab for recycled reflected an international norm for management of used trees, not the greener reality of Ventura County. Through correspondence with Poland-based Omni Calculator staff, I found recycled meant burned for energy recovery.

Now, the choices include both burned for energy and used for compost or mulch. Oddly, another choice is fed to elephants. I can only speculate Omni Calculator received input from a very different part of the world when the staff decided to add that option.

So, how green is your Christmas tree?

Inputting numbers I considered typical for Ventura County, the Omni Calculator determined 23 reuses of a Chinese-manufactured artificial tree would be necessary to bring its carbon footprint down to the environmental impact of an Oregon-grown pine tree, such as a Douglas fir. The term carbon footprint is still used, even when the primary emissions reduced are not carbon; climate changing gases are typically measured in metric tons of carbon emission equivalents.

The improved figures do not factor in the additional environmental benefits of the compost and mulch produced from a recycled tree. For example, compost and mulch reduce evaporation of moisture from soil, reducing water pumping and further cutting carbon emissions.

Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents companies selling artificial trees, responded by email to my notification about Omni Calculator results. She pointed out: The great part about artificial Christmas trees is that they can also be donated or re-gifted to friends and family ... making it a sustainable choice for those who love to reuse and recycle.

Warner recommended maintenance to help artificial trees last as long as possible. Use a dense fiber duster or a clean, dry cloth to dust your tree before decorating and before storage. Don't spray soap, vinegar, or other cleaning agents on it. Place the artificial tree in a durable bag when storing and store in a cool, dry location.

Last year, following our email exchange in which Maria Kluziak, the Poland-based lead author of the Omni Calculators Christmas tree page agreed to modify the calculator to incorporate mulching and composting of Christmas trees, she asked if I had any other questions or comments. I attempted a joke, which seldom works well across language barriers.

I asked her, Do you know the ethnicity of Santa Claus?

After waiting a day without a reply, I sent the answer.

He is North Polish, I joked. She did not respond.

David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Eco-tip: How green is your Christmas tree?
 Flash

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday urged the Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes between the two countries, and work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

When asked to comment on reports at a daily press briefing that the House of Representatives of the Philippines recently adopted a resolution regarding issues of the South China Sea, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the resolution groundlessly criticized, misrepresented and smeared China, and China firmly rejects it.

"First of all, China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, consisting of Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao and Nansha Qundao, and their adjacent waters, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters," Wang said, adding that China's sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in history and the law.

"Second, the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration violated the principle of state consent, exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and rendered an award in disregard of the law. This is a grave violation of UNCLOS and general international law. The award is illegal, null and void," Wang said, adding that China does not accept or recognize it, and will never accept any claim or action based on the award. This is firmly grounded in international law. China's sovereignty and rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by the illegal award. Any attempt to impose the illegal award on China is in violation of international law.

Third, China's construction and deployment of necessary defense facilities on its own territory in Nansha Qundao, and the patrols by Chinese military and Coast Guard ships, the scientific research activities by relevant Chinese departments, and the fishing activities by Chinese fishing boats in waters under China's jurisdiction are all legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach, according to Wang.

Fourth, Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao. The Philippines illegally grounded a warship there and frequently sent vessels to illegally intrude into the reef's adjacent waters to deliver construction materials in an attempt to reinforce the grounded warship, Wang said. "This amounts to grave infringement on China's sovereignty. China will continue to do what is necessary to firmly safeguard its sovereignty in accordance with domestic and international law."

Fifth, China's summer fishing moratorium in the South China Sea is a normal measure aimed at protecting marine biological resources in waters under its jurisdiction and a concrete step in fulfilling its obligations under international law including UNCLOS. The Philippine side should not make wanton remarks about this, Wang said.

Sixth, for some time, the Philippines has been sending people to Tiexian Jiao and other uninhabited islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands and sending aircraft and vessels to intrude into adjacent waters and airspace of China's Nansha Islands and Huangyan Dao, according to the spokesperson. "These moves severely violate China's sovereignty, endanger China's security, go against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea. China has made serious demarches for nearly 100 times and officially expressed our protest to the Philippines."

"We once again urge the Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, and stop its infringement of China's sovereignty and provocation at sea," Wang said, adding that the Philippines should return to the right track of resolving maritime disputes through negotiation and consultation as soon as possible, and work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.
(Bloomberg) -- The European Investment Bank will have an increasingly important role in financing the reconstruction of Ukraine and the green transition, as well as projects that strengthen the regions economy, according to the institutions next head.

Most Read from Bloomberg

As soon as I get to the bank we will just continue the work which is ongoing to support the rebuilding and the infrastructure investments that are necessary for Ukraine, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino told Bloomberg Television on Friday.

This is not something that starts at the end of the war, she added. It is a matter of also preserving the necessary infrastructure for Ukrainian citizens to continue to have as normal a life as possible.

Calvino spoke just hours after getting the nod to take over the worlds biggest multilateral lender in January. Established at the birth of the European Union in 1958, the EIB is the funding arm of the 27-nation bloc, disbursing hundreds of billions of euros for development projects. Its goals include the climate and environment, cohesion, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The EU aims to move ahead with a proposal to tax profits from more than 200 billion ($215 billion) of frozen Russian central bank assets to aid Ukraines reconstruction. The blocs leaders are due to discuss whether to open membership talks with Kyiv at a summit next week.

--With assistance from Max Ramsay.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Emergency crews responded to a house fire near NE 44th Street and N Prospect Avenue on Friday night.

The Oklahoma City Fire Department says there were heavy flames at the back side of the home and the attic was heavily charred when they arrived on scene.

All of the residents had exited the home when firefighters arrived, according to OKCFD. One resident was transported to the hospital for minor injuries described as possible smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
In the end, whatever mental illness Ethan Crumbley may have, the judge concluded it did not interfere with the teen's ability to plan and carry out the deadliest school shooting in Michigan's history.

Rather, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwame Rowe said in locking up the teenage killer forever, Crumbley has an obsession with violence, planned the massacre for weeks in advance, carried it out  and chose to stay alive so that he could witness the suffering and enjoy the notoriety he desired.

Mental illness, the judge noted, didn't interfere with any of that.

This started with him asking for a better gun to carry out the school shooting," Rowe said of the killer, who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole Friday for the 2021 massacre that killed four Oxford High School students and injured seven others, including a teacher.

'Nobody's fault but his own'

He could have changed his mind (after shooting his first victim)," Rowe said in handing down the sentence. But he didnt. He continued to walk through the school picking and choosing who was going to die.

"As the defendant said in his own words," Rowe said, noting Crumbley's comments to the court, "this is nobodys fault but his own."

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald hugs Nicole Beausoleil, mother of Madisyn Baldwin, after Nicole's victim impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether Ethan Crumbley, a teenager, will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021.

Crumbley's punishment was handed down after a day of gut-wrenching statements from grieving parents, victims who survived and traumatized students whose sense of security has forever been shattered, including a 16-year-old student who looked at the killer in court and said: "Today I want you to look at me.

Crumbley, who kept his head down nearly the entire hearing, briefly glanced up to look at the girl.

Many openly wept as they recounted the horror of Nov. 30, 2021, when then 15-year-old Crumbley emerged from a bathroom and opened fire with his brand-new gun.

Just four days earlier, his father had taken him on a Black Friday shopping trip, and bought him the 9mm handgun that he had been begging for, using his son's money to pay for it.

Crumbley's actions would claim the lives of 16-year-old Tate Myre; 17-year-olds Madisyn Baldwin and Justin Shilling; and 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana.

Oxford High School students Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16, at top, and Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were killed in a school shooting on Nov. 30.

Were all cried out," said Buck Myre, whose son Tate was killed in the shooting.

'We need to find a way to find forgiveness'

Struggling at times to compose himself, Myre told the judge about the night he got a call from his wife, telling him there was a shooting, and how the two rushed to a Meijer parking lot where the fleeing students had gathered, and started looking for their son.

But the unimaginable had happened. They were summoned to a managers office and got the news that Tate wasnt with us anymore.

The thing that stands out to me is what my wife said. She put her head in her hands and she said, Not my baby boy, Myre said through tears.

Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, wipes his eyes as he gives his victim impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether Ethan Crumbley, a teenager, will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021.

Two years later, the pain still clings like a heavy coat, he said. But they are trying to move on, to honor their son.

"We need to find a way to find forgiveness  forgiveness to you, forgiveness to your parents, forgiveness to the school, what other choice do we have?" Myre said.

Craig Shilling, whose son Justin was shot execution-style in a bathroom stall after being ordered to his knees, was not fixated on forgiveness as he addressed the court.

'My son doesn't get a second chance, and neither should he'

The grieving father who said he still waits up at night for his son to come home, to walk through the door, wanted vengeance.

His son was Crumbley's final victim before he surrendered to police.

"It's unbearable to know that he's never going to walk through that door," said Shilling, who implored the judge to lock the shooter up forever, never mentioning his name.

Craig Shilling, father of the late Justin Shilling, who was killed in the Oxford High School shooting in 2021, takes a break in the hallway outside of the courtroom of Judge Kwame Rowe as Ethan Crumbley, the shooter, is set to be sentenced at the Oakland County Courthouse Friday, Dec. 08, 2023.

"I'm going to ask you to lock this son of a bitch up for the rest of his pathetic life," Shilling said. "My son doesn't get a second chance, and neither should he."

Justin's mother, Jill Soave, pleaded for the same.

"No mother should have to put her child in the ground," Soave said, before directing her words to the killer. "You may have caused the pain and terror you intended to, but you have not destroyed us  I don't focus on hating you, but I also don't feel a drop of pity to you  you're nothing to me  while you rot in jail, we will push on  and we will spread love and kindness in honor of our angels."

During the hearing, the judge spoke gently to every victim who provided a statement, apologized for their loss, thanked them for having the courage to speak and told the parents he couldn't begin to imagine their pain.

'I was not allowed to hold her hand'

Madisyn's mom in particular left many in the courtroom in tears, as she recounted the horror of looking for her daughter at the parking lot, "dropping to the floor" after learning she was dead, hearing her younger daughter scream in terror after telling her the news, then being denied the opportunity to see her until the following day at the coroner's office, where she had to identify her beautiful girl through a window.

"I couldnt move my feet," said Nicole Beausoleil. "I looked through the glass  my scream should have shattered it ... that was not my daughter. Madisyn was far from lifeless ... As I banged on the door and demanded to touch her, I was not allowed to hold her hand ... I was dragged away screaming like a toddler."

Reina St. Juliana, sister of Hana St. Juliana, delivers an impact statement on Dec. 8, 2023 in an Oakland County courtroom.

The judge also heard from a grieving sister: Reina St. Juliana, who read a statement from their mom, who called Hana the perfect version of her, a caring child who always did the dishes and came up with all the Christmas presents for everyone because she knew what everyone in the family liked.

Reina St. Juliana also expressed her pain in moving forward without her sister. She thought they would speak at each others weddings.

Instead of speaking at her wedding, I spoke at her funeral, Reina said.

And instead of fishtailing her hair for homecoming, she said, "I curled her hair in a casket."

Like others before him, Hana's father also pleaded with the judge to hand down the stiffest punishment.

There can be no forgiveness, Steve St. Juliana said. There can be no rehabilitation.

The killer calls himself a bad person, seeks no favor

The last person to speak before the judge announced the punishment was Crumbley, who spoke publicly Friday for the first time.

"We are all here because of me today, what I did ... because of what I chose to do. I could not stop myself," Crumbley said, adding: "My parents did not know what I planned to do, they are not at fault."

Ethan Crumbly stands and addresses the court before being sentenced, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Crumbly was sentenced to life in prison for killing four students, wounding more, and terrorizing Michigan's Oxford High School in 2021. A judge Friday rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.

He did not ask for leniency, but asked the judge to honor the victims' wishes.

"Any sentence that they ask for, I ask that you impose it on me," Crumbley said. "I want them to be happy, I want them to feel secure and safe. I dont want them to worry another day."

He also apologized, and called himself "a really bad person."

"I have lied. I've hurt many people," he said, adding "I do plan to be better. I will change. I am trying, and all I want is for the people I hurt to have a final sense ... that justice has been served."

Victims' trauma surpasses what they said in court, prosecutor says

In pushing for the harshest punishment possible, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald argued Crumbley's crimes triggered a tsunami of trauma for scores of students, parents and an entire community.

All of it could have been avoided, she said, but the teen chose to keep his plan a secret.

"He could have disclosed that he had a gun and was planning to shoot up his school, but he did not," McDonald said.

"Today was about victims. We heard their voices," the prosecutor said.

But the trauma was far more severe than what was heard in court, she said, noting the parents suffered far more than what they discussed Friday.

Madisyn's father didn't talk about picking out a casket, and how he hoped that his daughter wasn't in fear when she was shot.

How another victim's father didn't talk about how he sat in silence after first meeting with prosecutors, and could barely utter a word.

Justin Shilling's mom didn't talk about what it felt like when just a few months ago, she was finally given the sweatshirt her son was wearing on the day of the shooting, still bloodstained.

'He can be rehabilitated. He is redeemable,' advocate says

Defense lawyers, meanwhile, urged the judge to spare Crumbley a life forever behind bars, maintaining he is too young to be denied a chance to turn his life around.

Perhaps most notably, the defense argued, Crumbley was on the "precipice" of a crisis and spiraling out of control, with no one to help him.

"Ethan has never bragged about what he did," his lawyer, Paulette Michel Loftin told the judge, stressing he has changed from the "broken, sad" kid she first met two years ago.

"He is a different person, and he is remorseful," Loftin said. "He sees the wrongs in his actions. He sees hope for the first time."

A guardian ad litem assigned to Crumbley echoed similar concerns.

"He can be rehabilitated. He is redeemable," said Deborah McKelvy, choking up at times. "The Ethan I met two years ago is not the Ethan sitting here today at sentencing. That's not to say he doesn't have a ways to go, because he does. But he's demonstrated that he can change himself for the better."

She stressed: "His life is salvageable."

Students describe their loss

But the flood of victims' emotions prevailed.

Olivia McMillan said she feared school shootings since she was 13, when the Parkland shooting in Florida rattled her sense of security in 2018.

Then tragedy struck at her school in 2021, robbing her of her best friend, Justin Shilling, the boy she met in middle school, the one with the big smile, round cheeks and crooked teeth.

"He was such a light to be around," she told the judge.

When the shooting first broke out, she thought it was a senior prank, someone banging on lockers. But her teacher locked the door in the classroom. A shooting was confirmed. And so she sent a group chat to her closest friends.

Justin was in that group chat.

"Are you OK?" she recalled asking him. "The response we got still makes me sick to my stomach."

Justin, she would learn, was in the bathroom with the shooter. He responded to his friends: "I love you guys."

"I dream of what could have been," she told the judge. "I try to lay down at night and escape  but I can't."

Madeline Johnson, Madisyn's best friend, also pleaded for a life sentence, saying anything else "would be a slap in the face" to the victims, their families, the students and the Oxford community. She told Rowe about the last time she saw her friend, how the two parted ways in a hallway while going to their separate classes, how gunshots then rang out and how she learned from another student's Snapchat story that Madisyn died that day.

However, the reality of losing her best friend did not kick in until weeks later, when students returned to school for the first time.

The students who witnessed classmates' deaths

"I sat in our ceramics class. I waited for her to come sit at her seat next to me, and I waited and waited, and I finally realized she was never coming," Madeline Johnson said through tears, stressing the blame for the tragedy lies with one person.

"It lies with that monster sitting over there who can't even look at me," Madeline said.

Survivor guilt was raised numerous times at the hearing, though few have experienced it like Keegan Gregory, who hid in a bathroom with Justin Shilling on the day of the shooting and managed to escape.

He was there when Shilling was fatally shot, and was texting his family the horrific details.

It was and always will be the most terrifying moment of my life, he said of being cornered in the bathroom with the gunman, with no option but to run to save his life.

Like Gregory, Kylie Ossege also spoke of the horrors of witnessing death. The Oxford student, who herself had been shot in the leg, was on the ground lying next to Hana, caressing her hair, urging her "a thousand times" to keep breathing, and promising help was on the way.

Ossege said she repeated her mothers phone number and created math problems in her head and solved them to make sure she wasnt dying. She said she lay there for 15 minutes.

I will continue and live on for those that weve lost, Ossege said.

Then pointing her finger at the shooter, she said: "No one is ever going to stop me from living my life to the fullest."

Molly Darnell, the teacher who was struck by Crumbley's bullets, echoed the girl's sentiments.

Oxford High School teacher Molly Darnell (facing) cries as she receives a hug in the hallway after giving a witness statement in the courtroom of Judge Kwame Rowe as Ethan Crumbley, the Oxford High School shooter is set to be sentenced at the Oakland County Courthouse Friday, Dec. 08, 2023.

It is easier for me to see you as a monster, Darnell said to the shooter, stressing she still carries love, joy and hope in her heart. "I am the writer of my own story, she said. You may not be glancing my way today, but I know you can hear me.

Crumbley pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges last year, admitting he planned and carried out the shooting, and meant to cause panic and fear in the school that day.

In September, Rowe determined that Crumbley was eligible for a sentence of life without parole following a lengthy and emotional Miller hearing, a mandatory proceeding that helps judges decide whether juveniles should spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Meanwhile, his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, continue to maintain their innocence in the unprecedented case as the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting. They are accused of ignoring their son's mental health troubles and buying him a gun instead of getting him help  the same gun he used in the November 2021 massacre.

The parents maintain they had no way of knowing their son would shoot up his school, and that the gun was safely stored.

They will face separate trials in January on involuntary manslaughter charges.

Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oxford High School shooter will never leave prison, judge rules
The European Union reached a deal Friday on the worlds first regulations for artificial intelligence (AI), paving the way for legal oversight of the popular technology used in services like OpenAIs ChatGPT.

The European Parliament and its 27 member countries had to overcome major differences on a number of sticking points, including generative AI and facial recognition. There were also disagreements on how and whether to regulate the foundation models of chatbot software such as ChatGPT and Googles Bard, according to the Associated Press.

In addition, EU lawmakers weighed full bans on AI-powered facial recognition systems due to concerns about privacy, putting them at odds with member countries who want to use the systems for law enforcement. As a result, talks were paused Thursday after 22 hours of negotiation left them at a stalemate.

The talks began Wednesday in Brussels and resumed on Friday morning.

Europe took the lead in the race to develop rules around AI in 2021, which has spurred concerns about the risks the advanced technology could pose to privacy, jobs and copyright protection.

The deal will still need to be voted on by the European Parliament early next year, but Italian lawmaker Brando Benifei, who helped lead negotiations, told AP that is seen as a formality.

The deal will require foundation models, including ChatGPT and other general purpose AI systems, to comply with transparency obligations before they are on the market, according to Reuters.

Obligations include:

Drawing up technical documentation

Complying with EU copyright law

Disseminating detailed summaries about training content.

The deal also requires foundation models with a high impact and systemic risk to do more, including:

Conducting model evaluations

Assessing and mitigating systemic risks

Conducting adversarial training

Guaranteeing cybersecurity

Reporting on energy efficiency

Reporting to the European Commission on serious incidents

As far as surveillance, governments can use real-time biometric surveillance, but only in public spaces for victims of certain crimes, to prevent present or foreseeable threats, including terrorist attacks and to conduct searches on those suspected of the most serious of crimes, per Reuters.

The agreement also bans cognitive behavioral manipulation, scrapping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage and scoring and biometric systems that infer religious, political, philosophical beliefs, along with race and sexual orientation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
European Commissioner for Climate Action of the European Union Wopke Hoekstra poses for a portrait after an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai

By Kate Abnett and Mohammed Benmansour

DUBAI (Reuters) - The European Union's climate chief on Saturday heavily criticised an attempt by OPEC to derail a COP28 deal on phasing out fossil fuels, calling the move by the oil producers' club "unhelpful" and "out of whack".

Nearly 200 countries meeting in Dubai for the U.N.'s COP28 climate summit are debating whether to agree, for the first time, to eventually end the world's use of fossil fuels, the main cause of climate change.

In an unusual intervention, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais this week urged countries in the OPEC+ group to reject any COP28 deal targeting fossil fuels, in a letter seen by Reuters.

"By many, including by me, that has been seen as out of whack, as unhelpful, as not in tune with where the world stands in terms of the very dramatic situation of our climate," EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said of the OPEC letter.

"We're here not to basically pay attention to our narrowly defined national or financial interests ... we're here to do what is right for the future of the world," Hoekstra told Reuters in an interview.

At least 80 countries including the 27-member EU, the United States and climate-vulnerable island nations are demanding a COP28 deal to phase out fossil fuels, as scientists urge ambitious action to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

"This should be the beginning of the end of fossil, and we all have to acknowledge this, whether we produce oil, consume oil, or not," Hoekstra said.

He said it would be a "scandal" if COP28 failed to produce a deal that would give the world a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius - the limit scientists say would avoid its most disastrous impacts.

A former Dutch foreign affairs minister, Hoekstra began his own career with a three-year stint at oil major Shell.

Observers and negotiators at COP28 said countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia - members of OPEC and OPEC+, respectively - have been the strongest opponents of a fossil fuel phase-out deal at COP28.

Coal, oil and gas account for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which are fuelling worsening climate impacts including fatal heat, drought and rising sea levels.

Burning fossil fuels has served as the engine of modern life, and developing countries at the U.N. climate talks are demanding far more financial support to help them invest in clean energy.

Even with the growth of renewables, fossil fuels produce around 80% of the world's energy.

Alden Meyer, a COP28 delegate with think-tank E3G, said it was the first time OPEC's Secretariat has intervened in U.N. climate talks with a letter like the one it sent this week. "It indicates a whiff of panic," he said.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Mohammed Benmansour; additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Katy Daigle and Conor Humphries)
A group of European Parliament members called on Polands President Andrzej Duda and EU leaders to act decisively" to end the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border.

Lithuanian MEP Andrius Kubilius published the joint statement signed by 18 more European Parliament members on X on Dec. 9.

Polish protesters have been blocking the movement of cargo trucks at four border checkpoints since November, mainly in protest of the liberalization of EU transport rules for Ukrainian trucks prompted by Russias full-scale invasion last year.

As drivers remain stranded in freezing temperatures and impacts on Ukraine's economy mount, negotiations between Kyiv and Warsaw have failed to bring a lasting solution so far.

MEPs emphasized that the blockade is weakening Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression as military equipment and components for its manufacture are imported across the border.

The New York Times published a story on Dec. 7 in which a Ukrainian soldier, known only as Oleksandr, said that the blockade had prevented his unit from receiving much-needed night vision devices.

Polish Vice Minister of National Defense Marcin Ociepa denied such accusations on Dec. 8, saying that vehicles with military aid are escorted by military police and cross the border in a completely different way.

Trucker protests: Unraveling the standoff between Polish and Ukrainian haulers As Polish protests blocking three major Poland-Ukraine border crossings stretch into their third week, negotiations to bring an end to the blockade have all but failed. Exhausted drivers are stuck in massive lines on both sides of the border, with expected waiting times reaching over one month at t The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell

Similarly, the actions of Polish protesters complicate the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid from European volunteers, reads the MEPs statement.

The protesters have said that humanitarian aid and essential goods would not be subject to the blockade, but representatives of Ukrainian trucking companies have complained they were prevented from transporting medical equipment and other non-commercial goods.

The ongoing blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border crossings similar to that of Russia against Ukraine and the failure of the Polish government to take measures to end it is, in fact, denigrating the people of the whole European Union, including Poland, who are staunch supporters of Ukraine, the MEPs wrote.

Such a situation is completely unacceptable: it serves only the interests of the Kremlin and seriously damages the reputation not only of Poland but of the European Union as a whole.

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 say they are at a severe disadvantage because their Ukrainian counterparts do not need to purchase expensive permits to enter the EU.

The MEPs argued that since it was the EU that allowed Ukrainian truckers to cross into Poland without permits, "it should therefore be an EU-level action to ensure the compliance with the EU decision."

Anger and disappointment in endless lines of Ukrainian trucks at Polish border As Polish haulers blockade of border checkpoints with Ukraine stretches into its second month, thousands of Ukrainian truckers remain stranded in huge lines waiting to cross into their homeland. They say theyre losing patience. Though the estimated waiting time has somewhat dropped since the star The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova

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The European Union has reached a hard-fought agreement on a stricter, comprehensive regulation of artificial intelligence, news agency Bloomberg reported on Dec. 8.

Read also: Artificial intelligence enslaves world exchanges, and Soros - Turkey

"We have spent a great deal of time finding the right balance between maximizing the potential of A.I. to support law enforcement while protecting the fundamental rights of our citizens," Thierry Breton, the bloc's internal market chief, said, adding that members of the bloc do not want "mass surveillance" in Europe.

After more than 37 hours of negotiations held this week, delegates from the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the 27 member states agreed on a set of controls for generative artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT from OpenAI Inc. and Bard from Google, capable of generating data after receiving the appropriate command.

Read also: Ukraines tech innovations born of war

The negotiators agreed to allow partial facial scanning in real-time, but with safeguards and exceptions, Breton said.

The agreement also bans biometric scanning that classifies people based on sensitive characteristics such as political or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or race. Officials noted this as one of the most complex and delicate issues in the negotiations.

Bloomberg reports that the proposed law imposes financial sanctions on companies that violate the rules, with fines of up to EUR 35 million (approximately $37 million), or 7% of global turnover, depending on the violation and the size of the company.

The bill still needs official approval from the EU member states and the EU parliament. Despite this, the agreement marks a significant step towards a landmark A.I. policy that, in the absence of significant action from the U.S. Congress, will set the tone for the regulation of the rapidly developing technology.

Read also: Ukrainian Global Teacher Prize 2023 finalist on new approaches in education  interview

The EU aims to introduce the first sustainable restrictions on A.I. outside of Asia. Politicians reportedly have been working for months to complete the formulation of the Artificial Intelligence Act and adopt it before the European elections in June 2024. This will lead to the creation of a new composition of the European Commission and the European Parliament, potentially introducing additional changes.

The decision was made at a session on Dec. 8, following a nearly 24-hour meeting that spanned from Dec. 6 to Dec. 7. During the initial meeting, some negotiators dozed off in the hall, while others discussed restrictions on real-time facial scanning in public before finally agreeing to suspend the negotiations.

Bloomberg notes that these lengthy discussions highlight how controversial the debate over artificial intelligence regulation has become, dividing world leaders and tech executives as the popularity of generative tools continues to grow.

Read also: Artificial intelligence draws animals threatened with extinction due to the war in Ukraine

The EU, like other governments, including the United States and the United Kingdom, has been trying to find a balance between the need to protect its own artificial intelligence startups, such as French Mistral A.I. and German Aleph Alpha, from potential societal risks. This proved to be a key stumbling block in the negotiations, as some countries, including France and Germany, opposed rules that they believed would harm local companies.

Some details will still be worked out by government officials in the coming weeks, but negotiators largely agreed to establish rules around generative A.I., which include basic transparency requirements for the developer of a large language model. It is noted that those who pose a systemic risk must sign a voluntary code of conduct to work with the commission to reduce risks.

Last spring, the parliament voted for a complete ban on biometric identification, but EU countries insisted on exceptions for national security and law enforcement. In the end, the parties agreed to restrict the use of the technology in public places using additional barriers.

Both the European Parliament and the European Council, which includes the 27 EU member states, must approve this agreement.

The United Kingdom, the United States, the EU, Australia, and China signed a joint declaration on Nov. 2, in which they recognized that artificial intelligence poses a potentially catastrophic risk to humanity.

Then, 28 governments of countries signed the Bletchley Declaration at the Artificial Intelligence Security Summit organized by the UK government.

Read also: Zelenskyy to join online G7 summit hosted by Japan

The countries agreed to work together on artificial intelligence security research.

The UKs Guardian newspaper noted that South Korea agreed to hold another such summit in half a year, and France in a year. However, it was noted that there is no international agreement on what a "set of rules" for artificial intelligence could look like or who should develop them.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop on Dec. 8, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday held talks with Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, vowing enhanced cooperation with Mali in education, training, medical care, and agriculture.

Noting the China-Mali friendship was forged by the older generations of leaders of the two countries, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China fully understands and respects the independent choice of the Malian people and never interferes in other nations' internal affairs, adding China believes that Mali has the wisdom and ability to solve temporary difficulties, grasp the destiny of national development and progress in its own hands, and realize lasting peace and tranquility.

China is willing to work with Mali to firmly support each other, jointly protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, Wang said.

In recent years, a number of practical cooperation projects between China and Mali have been successfully implemented, bringing benefits to the Malian people, said Wang, expressing the hope that the Malian side can continue to take concrete and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel in the country.

Noting Mali and China enjoy a long history of friendship and share similar positions on significant issues of principle, Diop said China is a reliable friend and partner of Mali. He added Mali abides by the one-China principle and hopes to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China and learn from China's successful development experience.
Of all of the freeze-dried, thermostablized and off-the-shelf food items that she helped send into space, Vickie Kloeris' personal favorite was the cherry-blueberry cobbler.



A food scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for 34 years, Kloeris not only enjoyed the cobbler, but helped to develop it.



"During the shuttle program, we really weren't doing any product development. All we were doing was, if a product went away, we would find a commercial product to replace it," she said in an interview with collectSPACE.com. "It wasn't until we got into the International Space Station [program] that we finally got the funding to develop some products, and the first thing that came up was desserts."



More than just a desire to satisfy astronauts' sweet tooths, Kloeris and her team in the Space Food Systems Laboratory felt there were benefits to adding desserts to the crew members' menus.



"We really thought that, from the psychological perspective, having a dessert that you could warm up would be great. And they were; they were highly accepted."



Plus, the cherry-blueberry cobbler was just "really, really good."

Related: Food in space: What do astronauts eat?

a woman in a white lab coat stands in front of three people in dark shirts seated at a white table with food and drinks.

Kloeris shares more details about the desserts' development and more anecdotes from her NASA career in her newly released memoir, "Space Bites: Reflections of a NASA Food Scientist," published by Ballast Books.



collectSPACE spoke with Kloeris about the book, space food and the challenges facing her successors as commercial spaceflight expands and astronauts embark on longer space missions. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.



collectSPACE (cS): So we know what was your favorite, but what was your least favorite food item that you sent into space?



Vickie Kloeris: I guess for me, just personally, it was the split pea soup. I'm not a pea person.



The thing about the split pea soup  it was in a pouch. And because it was in a pouch, it had to have a certain level of viscosity. It had to be pretty thick. And so not only was it peas, which I didn't like, but it was really thick. So that was my least favorite.

closeup of a white tab with a bar code on it.

cS: As you explain in "Space Bites," some foods are just not a good match for the microgravity environment of space. You write about why tortillas are the perfect bread for spaceflight, which is the same reason potato chips are not a good idea  crumbs (or the lack thereof). But when you mention an attempt at flying chips in cans, you refer to them generically, rather than as Pringles. Is that just a force of habit, given NASA's aversion to referring to foods by their brand names?



Kloeris: It was definitely Pringles that I was talking about, but, yeah, it was a force of habit that I didn't identify the brand name.



We used to joke about it. The fact that M&M's are called "candy coated chocolates" goes back to before my tenure, but more than once I got asked, "Do you erase all the little m's off the candy?" [No.] But for most of my career with NASA, "commercialization" was a dirty word. Now the pendulum has swung far in the opposite direction.



Now the agency's overall goal is, how can we commercialize? And it is interesting to see that has not yet drifted down to the food system. For instance, Axiom Space's third private mission to the space station is about to fly a Thai product, and that was done through an agreement between three different companies. NASA still is not in a position where it would consider something like that.

Related: Private space station: How Axiom Space plans to build its orbital outpost

a tan glob floats above a silver pouch aboard the international space station.

cS: You recall in "Space Bites" about how, early in your career, you were tasked with cleaning out a closet and discovering all this leftover food  space food cubes  from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. You not only cleaned it out, but tasted some of them. Was that the oldest example of space food you've eaten?



Kloeris: The cubes were probably the oldest space food I ate, and they were pretty awful.

cS: There are space food packages that you prepared that are now in private and museum collections. Would you recommend someone trying to eat them?



Kloeris: It depends on how and where it was stored, because the pouch material that NASA has been using for freeze-dried foods is not totally impervious to moisture. We used an overwrap with a foil layer to keep the moisture out aboard the space station. But if you had a freeze-dried package that had been sitting out on display for a long period of time, in theory, it could pick up moisture, and the freeze-dried foods are not sterile; there is bacteria in there.



We tested the cube packages before eating them to make sure there were no pathogens.

a variety of pouched and bagged foods sit on a white table.

RELATED STORIES:

 What will astronauts on deep space missions eat? 'Neurogastronomy' may have the answer.

 Space food: Why Mars astronauts wont have to hold the fries (video)

 NASA serves up $750,000 to Deep Space Food Challenge winners in cook-off for astronaut eats

cS: Is bacteria or pathogens a concern for future, longer-duration missions, such as when we send astronauts to Mars?



Kloeris: What's interesting about NASA's Artemis program is the food system is actually going to be a step backwards. This could change, but the latest that I've heard is that they will not have the capacity to heat food on the Artemis vehicles.



But for Mars, shelf life is definitely the biggest challenge. I touch on this in the last chapter of the book, but having to most likely pre-position the food for a Mars mission  having to produce it, put it on a cargo rocket and send it Mars  by the time the crew eats it, it is going to be really old. It could be anything from five to seven years old, potentially, depending on how they pre-position the food and when they pre-position.



We can make food that is safe to eat for that length of time. The challenge is going to be what kind of nutritional content it will still have, because while freeze-drying and thermostabilization controls microbial growth, it cannot really stop the chemical changes in the food. Over time, chemical changes are going to cause the nutrition to decline, especially with certain nutrients.



And quality degrades. So color, flavor and texture. After a while, if the quality is poor enough, the astronauts will eat only enough to survive and not really enough to thrive. So that's a challenge, because NASA wants high-performing crew members throughout a three-year Mars mission or however long it's going to wind up being. That's the biggest challenge.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2023 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
A former Thompson School District paraprofessional has been accused of possessing child sexual abuse images, the Larimer County Sheriffs Office said Friday in a news release.

Joseph Major, 27, of Loveland was arrested Thursday on accusations he possessed multiple video and photographic images of children, the sheriffs office said. Investigators executed a search warrant of Majors home Nov. 29, the news release said. Major, who had worked for the Thompson School District since August 2015 at four different schools, resigned that day, a school district spokesperson said in an email.

Major was in the Larimer County Jail and appeared virtually at an advisement hearing Friday afternoon, where his bond was set at $100,000 by Larimer County Magistrate Jeffrey Schwartz with stipulations that he avoid contact with all children under the age of 18, not possess any devices that allow him to access the internet and prohibit his use of drugs or alcohol. Schwartz referred to two felony counts of sexual exploitation of children during the advisement hearing. Formal charges against Major did not yet appear in online court records.

His next court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 20 before 8th Judicial District Chief Judge Susan Blanco at the Larimer County Justice Center.

The investigation is ongoing, the sheriffs office said, and investigators are asking anyone with information about inappropriate or concerning behavior involving Major to contact Larimer County Sheriffs Office Investigator Justin Atwood at 970-498-5143. Those wishing to remain anonymous can also report tips through Crime Stoppers of Larimer County at 970-221-6868 or www.stopcriminals.org, the news release said.

Joseph Major

Major was working at Peakview Academy at Conrad Ball in Loveland, a school serving students from preschool through eighth grade, this fall. His job responsibility was to provide support for social emotional learning, the school district spokesperson said. Major previously worked at Thompson School District's Sarah Milner Elementary School from 2016-2019, Garfield Elementary School from 2019-2020 and Monroe Elementary School from 2021 through spring 2023.

School District officials have offered their full support and cooperation in the case, the sheriff's office said in the news release.

These kinds of cases arent easy, from a technological or emotional standpoint, Sheriff John Feyen said in the release. Im grateful for our investigators who work in this challenging space to protect children and prevent future harm.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Former Thompson School District paraprofessional arrested
On a recent road trip across the American West, I made a stop at The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town.

The ghost town is part of the mining town of Haynes, Arizona.

Today, visitors can explore an impressive collection of old buildings, antiques, and automobiles.

I will never turn down a visit to a ghost town.

These places fascinate me. Whether it's exploring an abandoned castle in the Australian jungle or opening the door to an old miner's cabin in my home state of Colorado, the deserted destinations feel like traveling back in time.

So on a recent road trip across the American West, I had a few ghost towns I was eager to visit.

Some were deserted  like an abandoned water park in the desert of California. Others were bustling with tourists eager to dive into history.

On that latter list was The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town, a former mining town where visitors can explore a handful of abandoned buildings, mining machinery, and antiques.

I arrived in Jerome, Arizona, and while a charming downtown lured me, The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town, a site with abandoned buildings, antiques, automobiles, and even a few farm animals, was what enticed me to stay.

The entrance to The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

The ghost town is dotted with old buildings. Some are original to the site, while others came from nearby towns.

The exterior of an old dentist's office. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

It's only a 5-minute drive from downtown Jerome, but the abandoned mining town is technically located in the town of Haynes, Arizona.

A screenshot of the town of Jerome, Arizona, and the location of The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Google Maps

I knew I was getting close to the ghost town as I spotted dozens of old abandoned vehicles.

Abandoned cars on the drive to the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Finally, I arrived at the entrance filled with visitors and paid $12 for my ticket.

A sign outlines the cost for visitors of the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

I was handed a brochure with a town map and history. But I wanted to go deeper and tracked down Jay Harshman, the self-proclaimed main guy" to learn about the ghost town's origins.

A view of The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Harshman told me he grew up in the region, and after a stint in the corporate world, returned to central Arizona, where hes worked at the ghost town for the last two years.

A wood barn at The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Harshman said he is a jack of all trades. He tinkers with old machinery, takes care of the property's farm animals, cuts wood, restores old buildings, and shares the town's history with anyone willing to listen.

A three-cylinder generator that Harshman is working to get up and running again. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

There's a lot that we do every day, and every day is not the same, he told me. Thats why I fell in love with it.

Jay Harshman shows a visitor how to pan for gold. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Harshman said the old mining town of Haynes was active between 1890 and 1938. Gold, silver, iron, and platinum could be found in the mines, but the main commodity was copper.

A sign for Haynes, Arizona. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Haynes was small, Harshman said. The average population of Haynes was 300 with a height of 504 residents. Compare that to Jerome, which had an average population of 2,000 that reached 15,000 people during the same period.

A group of people on a balcony of the St Charles Hotel in Jerome, Arizona, circa 1895. Herbert and Dorothy McLaughlin Historical Collection/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images

As we walked through the ghost town, Harshman said the area where we were standing wasn't where people lived. It was where the mining happened.

A sign depicting the former entrance to a mine. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Above us, on the side of the mountain, was where 305 structures and the town of Haynes formerly stood.

Residents would have lived on the hillside in Haynes, Arizona. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Today, The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town are filled with structures, old vehicles, machinery, and antiques, but Harshman said not all of it was original to Haynes.

A former laundromat. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

A mine's elevator shaft and headframe were part of the original town, he said.

Parts of the ghost town that are original to Haynes, Arizona. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

A nearby boarding house was also an original building in Haynes. So were the assay office and jail bars that can be spotted in the ghost town.

An abandoned house in the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

These structures, and so many more, exist at the site today thanks to a man named Don Robertson, Harshman said.

Don Robertson, the owner and founder of the historic Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images

Robertson grew up in Iowa and came out to the West in the 1960s. According to Harshman, he fell in love with Wild West culture and started collecting things.

A table of old tools Don Robertson collected. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

When Robertson had gathered too much, Harshman said he searched for a place to store his collection.

A view of the Gold Mine King and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Thats when he found The Gold King Mine.

Don Robertson in his workshop. Wolfgang Kaehler/Getty Images

Robertson came to Haynes in 1978 and made a 100-year leasing deal with the two corporations that continue to own the land today.

The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Combined with the standing mining machinery and structures, Robertson brought his belongings, and in 1982, opened it up to visitors.

A handful of old automobiles at The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town site. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

His whole purpose of revitalizing this town was to show people what kind of things people were working with and living with back in the day, Harshman said.

Don Robertson at The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town in 2019. Wolfgang Kaehler/Getty Images

Beyond an automobile collection and antiques, Robertson also preserved historical buildings from nearby towns.

The exterior of an old dentist's office. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

The outhouse, for example, came from Wickenburg, Arizona.

The outhouse at The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Visitors can step inside a schoolhouse moved from Perkinsville, Arizona, which is filled with its original desks.

The exterior of the schoolhouse. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

In another area of the ghost town is a dentist's office. Harshman said it was where Jerome's first dentists, Joseph and Raymond Pecharich, worked. Inside, the chair, equipment, and paperwork are all part of the original building.

Side-by-side images of the interior of the dentist's office. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Elsewhere, a service station was relocated from Cottonwood, Arizona, once known as Clemenceau.

The old service station at The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

And there is also a shoe repair store from Wickenburg, Arizona.

Images of the exterior and interior of the shoe repair store. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Today, Harshman is helping continue Robertson's mission by helping to restore Mas Kitchen, which was named by Robertson. It's original frame and floors were once part of a communal kitchen for miners in Haynes.

The interior of Ma's Kitchen. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Harshman took me inside where I spotted an old pie safe, a dated telephone, and a decades-old jar of vaporizing ointment.

Two items inside Ma's Kitchen. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

As we continued to explore the property, I spotted more old automobiles and interesting antiques.

The interior of the laundromat at the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

I walked by farm ducks, said hello to friendly goats named Bonnie and Clyde, and overheard visitors amazed by the items in each building.

Farm ducks at the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

A lot of people are cooped up in apartments or cities, especially people our age, and don't know what half this stuff does or that everything here was used for purpose, Harshman said. Nothing is a prop.

Two automobiles in the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

I agreed. Walking through The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town felt like stepping back in time  an experience I don't encounter all too often in my normal city life.

The author at the ghost town. Monica Humphries/Business Insider

Read the original article on Business Insider
FILE PHOTO: Military vehicles of U.S. soldiers are seen at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Timour Azhari

(Reuters) -Approximately seven mortar rounds landed in the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad during an attack early on Friday, a U.S. military official told Reuters, in what appeared to be the largest attack of its kind in recent memory.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria were also targeted with rockets and drones at least five more times on Friday; three times at separate bases in Syria, and twice at the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad, a different U.S. defense official said.

The attacks were the most recorded against U.S. forces in the region in a single day since mid-October, when Iran-aligned militias started targeting U.S. assets in Iraq and Syria over Washington's backing of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a call with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, condemned the attacks and singled out Iran-aligned armed groups Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba for the recent targetting of U.S. personnel.

"The United States reserves the right to respond decisively against those groups," Austin told Sudani, according to a Pentagon statement summarizing the call.

The embassy attack marked the first time it had been fired on in more than a year, apparently widening the range of targets. Dozens of military bases housing U.S. forces have been attacked, increasing fears of a broadening regional conflict.

No group claimed responsibility, but previous attacks against U.S. forces have been carried out by Iran-aligned militias operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

The U.S. military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, left open the possibility that more projectiles were fired at the embassy compound but did not land within it.

The U.S. officials said Friday's attacks caused no injuries, and the embassy attack caused very minor damage.

Reuters was first to report the number of mortars that hit the embassy compound.

Explosions were heard near the embassy, in the centre of Baghdad, at about 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Friday. Sirens calling on people to take cover were activated.

State media said the attack damaged the headquarters of an Iraqi security agency.

Sheikh Ali Damoush, a senior official in the Lebanese group Hezbollah, said in a Friday sermon that attacks by Iran-aligned groups across the Middle East aim to apply pressure for a halt to Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. He did not refer specifically to Friday's attack.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 84 times since Oct. 17, the defense official said.

The U.S. has responded with a series of strikes that have killed at least 15 militants in Iraq and up to seven in Syria.

The State Department called on the Iraqi security forces to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators.

"The many Iran-aligned militias that operate freely in Iraq threaten the security and stability of Iraq, our personnel, and our partners in the region," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

"The Iraqi government has repeatedly committed to protect diplomatic missions as well as U.S. military personnel, who are present in the country at Iraqs invitation. This is non-negotiable, as is our right to self-defense," Miller added.

'ACTS OF TERRORISM'

The attacks pose a challenge for Sudani, who has pledged to protect foreign missions and capitalize on fragile stability to focus on the economy and court foreign investment, including from the United States.

Sudani directed security agencies to pursue the perpetrators, describing them as "unruly, lawless groups that do not in any way represent the will of the Iraqi people," a statement from his office said.

He also said that undermining Iraq's stability, reputation and targeting places Iraq has committed to protect were acts of terrorism.

The head of militia Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, one of the main factions that has been targeting U.S. forces in the region, said in a social media post that he rejected "stopping or easing operations" while "Zionist crimes continue in Gaza."

Aside from its diplomatic staff in Iraq, the United States has about 2,500 troops in the country on a mission it says aims to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both Iraq and Syria before being defeated.

Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have been firing at Israel and ships in the Red Sea in a campaign they say aims to support the Palestinians. U.S. warships have shot down several of their projectiles.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari in Baghdad and Phil Stewart in Washington and Idrees Ali in Karachi; Writing by Timour Azhari; Editing by Marguerita Choy, David Gregorio, Grant McCool, Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman)
The FBI is seeking further information regarding the disappearance of Cynthia Acevedo, 44, who has been missing since 2019.

According to the FBI's press release, Acevedo is believed to be last seen on or about Aug. 15, 2019, walking near Laveen.

On August 31, Acevedo's mother reported her missing to the Gila River Police Department, as she had not been heard from for approximately two weeks, which was considered unusual. Investigators find the circumstances surrounding Acevedo's disappearance and potential death to be suspicious.

The FBI is providing a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the indictment, arrest, and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the disappearance and potential death of Acevedo, as stated in the news release.

Acevedo, as described in the news release, is a Native American woman standing at 5 feet 4 inches. She has brown hair, brown eyes, and a scar on her left cheek.

The FBI is urging anyone with information about Acevedo's disappearance to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Missing persons: As NAU mourns loss of forestry school director, volunteer search for husband ends

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: FBI seeking further information about Arizona woman's disapearance
PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN)  A man faces a felony assault charge after authorities say he chased another man in a bout of road rage and attacked him with a hatchet in August.

Joseph K. Chastain, 32, was charged with second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon after a four-month investigation led to his arrest on Dec. 7.

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Officials say Chastain attacked the man on Saturday, Aug. 12 around 10:38 p.m. and left in a white Mazda pickup truck. When police arrived at 4819 Southeast Boise Street, they found an adult male victim with a severe laceration to his left leg.

According to Portland police, the victim had been driving southbound on Southeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Powell Boulevard when he was cut off by Chastain and honked his horn to avoid getting hit.

When Chastain got out of his car, the victim also got out and grabbed a hatchet because he was fearful for his life. He reportedly told Chastain to leave him alone.

Authorities say Chastain ran toward the victim, pushed him to the ground, took the hatchet from the him and assaulted him

Dispute between 2 drivers, shots fired, result in street closures in North Portland: PPB

After applying a tourniquet to the mans leg to control the bleeding, he was taken to a hospital for treatment. Although officers searched for a suspect, no arrests were initially made.

Before Chastains arrest, detectives served a search warrant at his home and found the hatchet.

Police ask anyone with additional information about this case to contact crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov. Reference Case No. 23-211975.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN)  A federal court convicted Friday a Round Rock man of wire fraud, sentencing him to two years in prison.

Daniel Akira Mills, 22, participated in a wire fraud conspiracy that involved SIM card swaps and defrauding people of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A SIM card swap attack involves a perpetrator gaining control of a victims mobile phone, which allows the actor to access accounts linked to their phone number, according to the United States Department of Justice.

The actors in this case were accused of posting messages to victims social media accounts, disseminating private photographs taken from celebrities accounts, and stealing over $600,00 in cryptocurrency from dozens around the country, according to the DOJ.

We now run much of our lives through smartphones. From social media to managing our finances, they have become essential tools. This can be very helpful, but also comes with many risks, said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas in a press release.

By SIM swapping, or stealing the phone numbers of victims to assume their identities, Mills and his cohorts defrauded innocent members of society and caused great harm. My office will not hesitate to hold fraudsters like Mills accountable for their irresponsible destructive actions, he continued.

The federal court that sentenced Mills to 2 years in prison also ordered him to pay more than $530,000 in restitution to the victims.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
A federal judge on Friday blocked the federal government from separating families solely as part of border enforcement policy for the next eight years, stopping any potential return to the short-lived zero tolerance policy of 2018.

The decision came as part of a settlement between families who were separated during that period and the Justice Department.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented the families, celebrated the decision made by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, the same judge who first blocked the policy.

While this settlement alone cant fix the unfathomable damage done to these children, it does provide hope and support that didnt exist before, Lee Gelernt, a spokesperson and litigator for the ACLU, said in a statement. But there remains enormous work ahead to implement this settlement, including reuniting the hundreds of children who are still separated from their loved ones after all these years.

No family should be forced to go through this nightmare and tragedy ever again, he added.

Though the exact number of children and families affected is not known, its estimated that the settlement will cover between 4,500 and 5,000 children.

The deal will allow families who were subjected to the policy to seek work authorization in the United States, and to receive certain housing, legal and medical benefits.

It also forces the federal government to continue reunification efforts, and to open avenues for affected families to request asylum.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials will be barred from executing family separations for eight years, except in specific circumstances outlined by the settlement.

Exceptions include national security or public safety risks; a parent or guardians participation in other law enforcement operations in such a way that threatens the safety of the child; if the parent or guardian presents a threat to the child, hospitalizations, and warrants outstanding against the parents or guardians.

Officials will also be allowed to separate families when the parents or guardians are charged with a felony, unless the charge is related to immigration. CBP is also barred from referring parents for prosecution for immigration-related offenses unless the child is traveling with another guardian.

The protections in the settlement agreement will not apply to parents or guardians who are apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the interior of the United States.

The settlement also forces federal officials to keep a database of any families who are separated, in an attempt to prevent the chaos that ensued after the Trump administration enforced its zero-tolerance policy.

That chaos has continued into the Biden administration, as officials have struggled to enumerate, find and reunite all the families affected by the policy.

This settlement is a critical step toward closing one of the darkest chapters of the Trump administration, Gelernt said. Babies and toddlers were literally ripped from their parents arms under this horrific practice. Thousands of families were torn apart.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Bitwise co-founders Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. walk out of the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse in Fresno following their first court appearance on Nov. 9, 2023, on criminal allegations of wire fraud.

A federal magistrate tightened the conditions of release for former Bitwise co-founders Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin, who are facing fraud charges involving the collapse of their Fresno-based company.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe ordered that Soberal and Olguin, who appeared in court Friday, must advise their attorneys before changing their residences or their phone number.

They are also restricted from traveling outside of specific federal court areas, including the eastern district, the central district, northern district and the district of Oregon without approval from pre-trial services.

Attorneys Daniel Olmos, who represents Olguin, and Eric MacMichael, who represents Soberal, agreed to the modifications.

Prosecutor Joseph Barton, with the U.S. Attorneys Office, also did not object.

An officer with the courts pretrial services said Soberal and Olguin have not been under court-ordered supervision given their lack of criminal history. And while McAuliffe agreed they didnt need supervision, she said a little supervision could go a long way.

After Fridays hearing, the defendants were required to report to the pre-trial services department to review the court-ordered conditions of their release.

As part of being allowed to remain free before their trial, Olguin and Soberal are also required to post a property bond to be secured by their private residences.

Olguin is using her mothers house as collateral and Soberal is using his Fresno home.

The judge wanted to make sure that Soberals wife, who is on the homes deed, was aware the property could be become the governments if Soberal fails to comply with the conditions of his release.

The pre-trial officer said she will be informed.

Olguin and Soberal are charged with a federal charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud.

The tech entrepreneurs laid off their entire workforce of 900 people on May 29 after the company collapsed from millions of dollars of debt.

Court records show Olguin and Soberal admitted to deceiving board members, investors, lenders, and others about Bitwises finances to obtain investment money and loans.

If convicted, Olguin and Soberal each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Soberal and Olguin return to federal court on Jan. 25, 2024.
The Department of Transportation announced more than $6 billion in grant funding for high-speed rail projects this week. The money comes amid ongoing support for a technology that has also encountered concerns about its costs.

Brightline West, an affiliate of Floridas Brightline intercity rail service, was awarded $3 billion in federal funds for its proposed line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which would zoom passengers between the cities in two hours.

The California High-Speed-Rail Authority was awarded $3.1 billion to continue work on its system, which will ultimately connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours.

Definitions of high-speed rail vary, but it typically refers to passenger trains that travel at least 125 mph and can reach more than 220 mph.

The technology has been around since the 1960s, when Japan inaugurated its Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Osaka. Since then, high-speed rail projects have sprung up around the world, with China having built a network of almost 25,000 miles.

The U.S. has been slower to adopt the technology. It doesnt currently operate any high-speed rail lines, although Amtraks Acela in the Northeast sometimes reaches speeds of 150 mph.

Thats despite a growing choir of experts and activists who support what they see as a technology with urgent benefits, as well as public support for high-speed rail.

Passengers board a Brightline train to West Palm Beach, Fla., at the Fort Lauderdale station on Feb. 27, 2023. (Carline Jean / South Florida Sun Sentinel via Getty Images)

A 2022 survey from the University of California Berkeley and The Los Angeles Times found 56% of registered voters supported continuing the states project versus 35% against.

I think once Californias system opens, people will say, Wow, this is actually really helpful and useful, said transportation engineer and public-transit activist Hayden Clarkin.

So were waiting with bated breath for these systems to open up.

The grant money announced this week will primarily fund construction of that system in the Central Valley, according to a press release from the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

That portion of the project will connect Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield sometime between 2030-33. Once thats complete, the project will extend into the Bay Area and eventually Los Angeles.

So far, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has laid 119 miles of track in the Central Valley and created more than 12,000 jobs at a cost of $11.2 billion. The total expense is estimated to land between $88 billion and $128 billion, which has drawn concerns about whether the project is worth the cost.

Brian P. Kelly, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, dismissed those concerns.

For me the narrative is a little tired, he told NBC.

Kelly said the original $9 billion authorization approved in 2008 was never meant to cover the total expense, and added that things cost more now than in 2008.

A lot of time has gone by, Kelly said. A loaf of bread or gallon of milk doesnt cost in 2023 what it cost in 2008.

He said the tab remains in line with costs internationally to build high-speed rail, and that if the state were to expand highways to match the carrying capacity of this rail system, it would cost about double.

From a mobility, environmental and economic perspective, he said, this project is a no-brainer.

Other advocates agree.

Architect Adam Paul Susaneck recently designed a hypothetical high-speed rail route that made the rounds online, connecting Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Montreal.

The design, he admits, is purposely provocative and maximalist. But he said he hopes it will spark progress on more feasible high-speed rail projects.

What inspired me was the desire that a lot of people have, which is to see a functioning high-speed rail system, Susaneck told NBC News.

He thinks a competent system, like the one being built in California, would revolutionize commercial and economic activity.

Susaneck  whose personal project @Segregation_by_Design studies the extent to which the United States used transportation and housing policy to segregate cities by race and class  also thinks high-speed rail could help heal cities whose downtowns were obliterated by urban renewal undertakings in the mid-20th century.

He says it would help curb climate change, too, noting that one of the best ways to reduce emissions is to get people out of cars and into trains.

Clarkin, who has amassed more than 112,000 followers on the social media platform X with posts about public transit, put it more succinctly.

Im just trying to train-pill people, he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Following backlash to a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, over the past week, including one of a Drakeposting meme discussing sexual violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) backtracked Friday, saying his message had created confusion and deserves clarification. On Thursday, he quoted an article from The Philadelphia Inquirer about Sabra hummus products getting vandalized with stickers that read, Boycott Israeli Goods, a reference to Sabra being owned by an Israeli company. In response, Fetterman shared a photo of the rapper Drake showing an aversion toward protest[ing] the rape of Israeli women + girls but liking the protest [of] hummus. This sparked controversy, with Prem Thakker, a reporter at The Intercept, writing, A US Senator posted a meme about sexual violence (with a celebrity [Drake] whos called for a ceasefire) right after the IDF called discourse about female hostages irresponsible & inaccurate, and on the same day Israeli forces detained & stripped Palestinians (including a journalist). Fetterman did not respond to a request for comment from Newsweek on Friday.

We decided to withdraw then reissue that tweet.



The same message will remain but we removed the ubiquitous meme because it created confusion and deserves clarification.  Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) December 8, 2023

Read it at Newsweek

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Saturday night in Houston's closely-watched mayoral race, according to the Associated Press.

As of Saturday evening, Whitmire was leading by a resounding margin of 65.27% to 34.73%.

As the city of Houston headed into the final week before the runoff election for mayor, an ad for Jackson Lee, had urged city residents to "vote on or before December 7th." There was one problem: The runoff election was on Saturday, and the early voting period ended on Dec. 5.

Jackson Lee's office quickly pulled the ad, telling Houston Public Media that it debuted Saturday and ran on the local ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates but had been created by an outside ad agency, not the campaign.

The erroneous ad and even the lack of knowledge about the date of the election seemed to sum up everything happening so far in the mayoral race in America's fourth-largest city  limping ahead to a low turnout outcome in what is the last major election of 2023.

Going into Saturday night, Jackson Lee, a 30-year veteran of Congress, was trailing in polls to Whitmire, who has had more than 50 years in public service. The two were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 7 general election, which had 17 candidates on the ballot and a write-in candidate. Whitmire, 74, received 43% of the vote to 36% for Jackson Lee, 73. About 21% of Houston's 1.2 million registered voters cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election, according to The Associated Press. The current mayor, Sylvester Turner, is term-limited.

In this photo combination, U.S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, and at right, Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire. / Credit: AP

"It's been a pretty sleepy race so far," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston. "We've seen mayor's races in the past that have had a lot more fireworks, a lot more partisanship. This has been a race that frankly hasn't really caught the voters' attention."

Since the November election, the numbers hadn't moved much. A SurveyUSA Research poll on behalf of the University of Houston conducted in mid-November found Whitmire leading Jackson Lee 42% to 35%.

The race was considered nonpartisan, but both Whitmire and Jackson Lee are Democrats. Jackson Lee pulled out major endorsements, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. But, as Rottinghaus pointed out, the big-time endorsements hadn't managed to move the needle.

Whitmire, meanwhile, boasted of some big-time local support, including Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, former Houston City Councilman Jack Christie, who ran as a Republican in the first round, and Republican megadonor Tilman Fertitta.

Houston is considered America's most diverse large city, so winning the mayor's office means winning a coalition of voters.

Turner's victory in 2015 by just two points over a conservative businessman was driven in large part by Black voters and get-out-the-vote efforts, according to the Houston Chronicle. Jackson Lee, who, if elected, would be the city's first Black female mayor, has not managed to galvanize Black voters the same way, Rottinghaus said. In the precincts with high numbers of Black voters, the voting numbers are way down, Rottinghaus said.

Although Whitmire touted his Democratic party credentials, he also courted Republican support and had multiple large GOP donors backing him. The University of Houston poll showed him with a 56-point advantage among Republicans. While Houston leans Democratic, the city is not as much a Democratic stronghold as other large U.S. cities, and the Republican vote could be crucial to winning. Republicans also have complete control over the state government, with a GOP governor and majorities in both the Legislature and state Senate.

Whitmire, who is White, has also courted the Latino vote, and the University of Houston poll showed him with a 20-point advantage among Latino voters, who make up roughly 45% of the city's population.

Although Houston is a young city, the average age of the Houstonian voter is 62, according to Rottinghaus. The major local issue has been crime, and both candidates said in the final debate on Monday that they would keep Police Chief Troy Finner.

With the two candidates so close on many of the issues, the race had some slugfests.

Two weeks before the general election, audio was leaked where Jackson Lee appeared to berate a staffer with profanity.

"I know I am not perfect," she said in a statement in response.

As Rottinghaus noted, they added a poll question in November about the leaked audio, and while most people said it didn't make a difference, a "sizeable percentage" said it did. Those people tended to be younger and in particular, younger women  two groups that Jackson Lee needed to win.

In addition to the leaked audio, Jackson Lee went into the runoff election with high unfavorables. An October poll from the Hobby School at the University of Houston found that 43% said they would never vote for her compared to 15% who said they would never vote for Whitmire. In the same poll, 41% said they had a "very unfavorable" view of Jackson Lee with 28% having a "very favorable" view, compared to 13% reporting a "very unfavorable" view of Whitmire while 27% said they had a "very favorable" view.

But Whitmire has been dogged by allegations of conflict of interest as a state senator. According to the Houston Chronicle, Whitmire has been accused of blurring the line between public and private roles. Whitmire has maintained that the Legislature is part-time and has a salary of $7,200 a year, making avoiding conflicts of interest impossible.

"The major difference is when I'm mayor, I'll be a full-time mayor. I won't have a law practice," Whitmire said at the debate earlier this week. "A bunch of the Chronicle issues I could dispute but it's not necessary. It involved the practice of law. Most of those allegations arrived in previous campaigns. We make $600 a month as a senator.  You have to have civilian jobs, that's where most of that was arrived at."

Harris County, which includes Houston, has been targeted with state audits in 2022 and 2023 over voting and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law this year that removed Harris County's elections administrator and transferred the responsibility to other local officials. This election has been the first election with the new system.

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Family and friends grieve for First Sergeant Major Gal Meir Eisenkot (aged 25) at the burial site during his funeral in the Herzliya cemetery on December 8, 2023 in Herzliya, Israel. The Israel Defense Forces said the 25-year-old major, son of the cabinet minister and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, died on Thursday in Gaza. Credit - Dima VazinovichMiddle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

The fog of war currently shrouding Hamas and Israel is not the only fog obscuring a path forward in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While each sides worst trauma has been triggered by Hamass depraved mass slaughter and Israels scorched-earth counter-attackfor Jews the Holocaust, for Palestinians, the Nakbathe fighting has also exposed a fundamental divide between two sets of grievances: what I call 1948when the modern state of Israel was established; and 1967when the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip began.

1948 challenges Israels right to exist as a sovereign state; 1967 challenges the Palestinians right to self-determination.

Both rights are legitimateIsrael has a right to statehood and Palestinians have a right to self-determinationbut only one can be negotiated.

You cant ask Israel to commit national suicide, though you can demand it recognize Palestinian rights.

By conflating two sets of grievances represented by 1948 and 1967, Israelis and Palestinians have been able to valorize their own victimization and deny the others legitimacy. But once we disentangle the two claims, we can separate extremists who wont be satisfied until one side is eradicated from moderates who understand both sides must find a way to coexist peacefully.

This sorting allows us to see the need for dismantling both the murderous Jihadist-Islamist Hamas (and its ilk) and the disastrous government and policies of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Theres zero equivalence between a democratically elected leader and a genocidal terror groupeven if each has benefitted from, and indirectly abetted, the otherbut both Hamas and Netanyahu have relentlessly crushed moderates to forestall any compromise over the past 30 years.

Both must go to break a vicious and tragic cycle.

Those who think the problem is 1948.

Opponents who denounce the founding of the Jewish state in 1948 are trying to subvert history and claim that all Palestine is occupied from the river to the sea, and Israel has no right to exist.

This is an annihilationist position and has no basis in fact or law. It ignores Israels 140 years of nation building in Palestine, its 75 years of national sovereignty, and all the norms of international law. It also denies the Jewish peoples originsthe word Jew means from the kingdom of Judahand the inconvenient fact that Jews have maintained an unbroken presence in Palestine for 3000 years.

Read More: The Israelis and Palestinians Who Stepped Up After Oct. 7

In the 1880s, desperate European Jews seeking refuge from pogroms and rising anti-Semitism chose to return to their ancestral homeland where they had reigned across a millennium but since dwindled to a minority.

Zionists began immigrating in large numbers to Palestine, where they bought land and farmed, periodically clashing with native Arabs.

In 1947, when the United Nations approved a Partition Plan for a Jewish state and an Arab state, 1.1 million Arabs and 600,000 Jews lived in Palestine. Although each felt shortchanged, the Jews accepted the Partition Plan and the Palestinians rejected it, joining five Arab nations to attack the nascent Jewish state.

Protesters gather in central Ramallah, a primarily Palestinian city, following Friday prayers to denounce Israel and the war in Gaza on December 08, 2023 in Ramallah. Israel's war against Hamas that was sparked by the Oct. 7 attacks has also made life more volatile in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israeli forces here have stepped up raids on alleged militants, police have clashed with protesters, and there has been a rise in violent attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers. Last month, Hamas also claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting in Jerusalem by two brothers from the eastern part of the city. Spencer Platt-Getty Images

The Arabs unexpectedly lost the war while Israel expanded its U.N.-allotted territory.

This defeat and the flight or expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians is called al-Nakba, The Catastrophe, by Palestinians. After the 1949 Armistice, Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt occupied Gaza and the new State of Israel was admitted to the United Nations.

Israel has been a sovereign nation since.

Recognizing the historical Jewish connection to Palestine and Israels lawful statehood does not mean negating Palestinian claims to indigeneity or justice. This is their homeland too, they have a long, rich, and undeniable history and a deep attachment to the land from which many were uprooted. The Nakba is a national wound that the Jewish state must acknowledge.

Jewish fundamentalists who insist Arabs are an intrusion on Biblical land God promised Jews are denying Palestinian history and practicing the same ugly eliminationism as Islamic fundamentalists. Arguing that Israel absorbed 700,000 Jews expelled from Arab lands or that 22 Arab states numbering 475 million Arabs surround one Jewish state with seven million Jews is not exculpatory.

Israel cannot deny 1948, the way no nation can ignore its own bloody birth and the injustices created in its wake; but Israel can only acknowledge this within the context of its own historic claims, its hard-fought sovereignty and future survival.

Those who think the problem is 1967.

This position centers on the Six Day War when Israel captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. 1967 brought over five million Palestinians under Israeli military control and has led to a stifling 56-year occupation and international censure.

The term occupied territories, and Israels obligation to withdraw from them, was first used in U.N. Resolution 242 after the 1967 war. It refers to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. While Israel calls these disputed territories, its policies have indisputably led to dispossession, settler violence, creeping annexation, and charges of apartheid in the West Bank.

Read More: How Shabbat Brings Israel Together

Israels overwhelming victory in the Six Day War also unleashed a messianic movement for Greater Israel.

The 1967 occupation can only end with Israeli relinquishing control of the West Bank and Gaza in exchange for security and resolving all outstanding issues. But its a high-stakes risk that Israelis under Netanyahua territorial maximalist who rose to power as Yitzhak Rabins fierce anti-Oslo opponenthave deliberately undermined.

As Ive written elsewhere, Netanyahu is the only Israeli prime minister since the 1970s who never pursued a peace agreement or any accommodation with the Palestinians. He bolstered Hamas, a terrorist organization committed to Israels destruction, so he wouldnt have to negotiate with the more moderate if flawed Palestinian Authority and so he could ignore Palestinian aspirations.

Netanyahu has long led Israel down a self-deluding path, well before his current ultra-nationalist and ultra-religious government and disastrous security failure of 10/7. But just when Israelis were awakening to his authoritarian, jail-avoidant dismantling of the liberal secular state, the horrific Hamas attacks unified the nation.

One cannot exaggerate the murderous scale and shocking depravity of the 10/7 massacre for Israelis. In U.S. terms, its as if 110,000 armed Islamic terroristsnot the 19 unarmed terrorists of 9/11had poured across the southern U.S. border and brutally murdered 44,000 Americans, wounded 200,000 more and kidnapped 9,000 hostages in one day. And not just gunned down innocent American civilians, but sadistically tortured, raped, mutilated, burned, and beheaded babies, children, young girls and old people in their homes.

How would the U.S., or any civilized nation, respond?

Hamas not only filmed its atrocities, it promised to repeat them until all Jews were obliterated from the land. This is the textbook definition of genocide, the 1948 annihilationism that informs Hamass Islamist charter.

Israel has no alternative but to destroy the fanatical jihadist enemy on its border before Hamas mounts another murderous rampage and invites other armed Islamists and Iranian proxies that encircle Israel and smell blood to join in.

Inarguably, Israels retaliation must be as measured as possible while achieving its war aims. Even if the evidence is now clear that Hamas stored weapons and terrorists under Al Shifra Hospital and that an errant Islamic Jihad rocket, not Israel, killed hundreds at Al Ahli Hospital.

Yet whose heart does not weep at the devastation and human suffering in Gaza? It is sickening to behold.

But why wont the world admit Gaza is now hostage to Hamas, which started this war and could end it instantly by surrendering and releasing all hostages?

Israel must do more to minimize civilian casualties and maximize humanitarian aid, despite pursuing terrorists who cravenly hide in infrastructure and use civilians as human shields, a war crime.

Once Hamas is vanquished, Israel needs to replace Netanyahu and honor its overdue obligation to the Palestinian people and to its own people and their long-term security.

Israel must find a new leader brave and forceful enough to end the occupation of 1967 and enable the Palestinians to rule themselves. And Palestinians must find a new leader brave and forceful enough to accept Israels 1948 statehood and enforce a lasting peace.

Maybe the indescribable pain and fathomless suffering of both societies will jolt them into a new paradigm, so that together, they can find a way to share the land between the river and the sea and recognize each others common humanity, if not their kinship.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
WARREN COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  A 48-year-old McMinnville man was taken into custody Thursday after a drug search warrant was executed in Warren County.

The McMinnville Police Department said its officers, along with Warren County Sheriffs Office deputies and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents, executed the search warrant Thursday at a home on Molly Lane in McMinnville. The warrant was for suspect Timothy Trainer.

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Police reported a search of Trainers vehicle revealed four pistols and approximately six grams of meth, and he had approximately $250 in cash on him.

(Courtesy: McMinnville Police Department)

According to authorities, a search of the property revealed approximately 377 grams of meth, 322 hydrocodone pills, nine oxycodone pills, 44 suboxone pills, four long guns, scales, numerous baggies and more than $11,000 in cash.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Timothy Trainer (Courtesy: McMinnville Police Department)

Trainer was booked into the Warren County jail on multiple charges. His bond was set at $66,000.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A Florida man has been charged with making threats to commit a mass shooting in the New York City subway over Thanksgiving weekend, federal prosecutors say.

Robert Trout III, 19, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was arrested on Nov. 22 and has been charged with "knowingly transmitting in interstate commerce a true threat," U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced Friday.

Authorities say Trout had made threatening statements on social media suggesting he wanted to commit a mass shooting over Thanksgiving weekend.

"According to the complaint, Trout posted a video on Instagram making threats to go to New York City and 'cause havoc on the subway' by shooting 'anybody' that Trout sees," DOJ officials said. "Trout further threatened that this shooting would occur on the evening of Thanksgiving."

An arrest report obtained by WFLA-TV indicates authorities were anonymously tipped on Trout's alleged threats.

According to the Justice Department, Trout said "if you're from New York City, do not take the train on Thursday evening," and bragged about having two weapons with extended clips.

"That's sixty shots -- that's sixty people dead," Trout said, according to the Justice Department.

He appeared in a Tampa courtroom Thursday and was ordered detained pending further proceedings, authorities said.
An incredibly rare, all-white alligator was just born at Gatorland, a theme park in Florida.

The gator has Leucism, a condition that causes stark-white coloring.

Gatorland has taken to social media to crowdsource a name for the white alligator and her brother.

What would you name an all-white alligator, given the chance?

Social media users can do just that after the birth of a rare white gator on Thursday at the Gatorland theme park in Orlando. According to a press release shared with Business Insider, the baby gator has Leucism, a condition that causes stark-white coloring.

"This is beyond 'rare,'" Mark McHugh, Gatorland's president and CEO said in the press release. "It is absolutely extraordinary."

Gatorland is now asking its followers to help name the tiny gator, who was born alongside her brother, who has more typical alligator coloring.

So far, hundreds of social media users have offered their input on a name for the white gator and her brother. Some of the most-requested names, shared to Facebook, were Pearl, Marshmallow, Fluffy, and Snowball. Lucy  a play on Leucism  was another popular request.

Other suggestions included Blanche Gatoreaux, Smiley, Grits, Gumbo, and Florida Dog.

According to Gatorland, leucistic alligators are the "rarest genetic variation in the American alligator." The condition is different from albinism in that albino alligators have pink eyes, whereas leucistic gators have vibrant blue eyes. Leucistic gators also often have patches of regular coloration, whereas albino alligators do not.

The leucistic gator and her brother were born to parents Jeyan and Ashley, the press release said. Their father, Jeyan, is leucistic, and their mother, Ashely, has normal coloration.

"These are incredibly special animals in the reptile world, and we are being very careful with their safety and security," McHugh added. "We plan to have them on display early next year so guests can see them, learn about them, and fall in love with them like we have."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Samuel Haskell IV, the Tarzana man accused of killing his wife and in-laws and then dismembering at least one of their bodies, made his first court appearance Friday, although his arraignment will take place next month.

Haskell, the son of a Hollywood executive whose name he shares, stood shirtless in court Friday morning where he was informed that he was going to continue to be held without bail.

Originally expected to be an arraignment hearing in which the 35-year-old would be officially informed of his charges, his arraignment was instead postponed to Jan. 12, 2024.

Samuel Haskell IV stands shirtless in a Los Angeles County courtroom during a hearing on Dec. 8, 2023. Haskell is accused of killing his wife and her parents and dismembering at least one body. (KTLA)

Haskell did not enter a plea and his attorney requested a continuance of the hearing. According to the Los Angeles Times, Haskell has made an abrupt change to his defense, replacing his previous attorney with a new one.

Haskell was arrested last month and charged with murder in the deaths of his wife, Mei Haskell, 27, her mother, Yanxiang Wang, 64, and her stepfather, Gaoshan Li, 72.

On Nov. 7, Haskell allegedly hired four day laborers to haul off several heavy black plastic trash bags from the six-bedroom Tarzana home on the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace that he shared with his wife, their children and his in-laws.

Mei Haskell's parents, Yanxiang Wang (left) and Gaoshen Li (right) are seen in photos provided by the Los Angeles Police Department.

One of the laborers opened one of the bags and allegedly observed human body parts, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office. They called 911 and reported the incident.

Those bags disappeared before police arrived, officials said.

That same day, he was reportedly seen and photographed approximately five miles from his home in the 4100 block of Coldstream Terrace placing a large trash bag in a dumpster off Ventura Boulevard in Encino.

A woman's torso was found in a dumpster in Encino on Nov. 8, 2023. (KTLA)

On Nov. 8, a man looking through that dumpster found a womans torso in a duffel bag and called 911.

Police returned to the Tarzana home where they said they found evidence consistent with a killing and dismemberment. Haskell was arrested at the Topanga Mall later that morning on suspicion of murder.

Investigators believe the body parts found in the dumpster were of Haskells wife. The bodies of her parents have yet to be located.

Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 35, is suspected of killing his wife, Mei Haskell, 37, after a torso was found in a dumpster in Encino on Nov. 8, 2023. (Samuel Haskell/Los Angeles Police Department)

The couples children are currently in the custody of relatives.

Haskell made his first appearance in court last month. If convicted on all three counts of murder, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

Haskell is the son of a former high-powered Hollywood talent agent whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney and Whoopi Goldberg.

Josh DuBose contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned on Dec. 9 the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The ministry said in a statement that it had warned the IOC and international partners about the risks of such a decision as "Belarusian and especially Russian athletes quite often represent sports organizations related to the Russian Armed Forces."

Some of them serve in the Russian military, others wear symbols of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine on their sports uniforms, reads the ministry's statement.

"The IOC plans to give the international sports arena to athletes who not only sympathize with the murders of Ukrainian women and children but are also probably directly involved in these terrible crimes."

The IOC announced on Dec. 8 that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN). The decision came months after the IOC said it would not invite Russia and Belarus to the Games.

Opinion: Its time to ban Russian athletes from the 2024 Olympic Games The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Oct. 12 that it would suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after it incorporated the regional sports organizations from four territories illegally annexed from Ukraine. In its statement, the IOC said the ROCs inclusion of Donetsk, Luhan The Kyiv IndependentMark Temnycky

Under the IOC's rules, competitors from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to display their national flags or participate as teams.

The IOC also pledged that athletes or support personnel who have openly supported the war will not be allowed, as will anyone who has served or is affiliated with either the military or security organizations of Russia or Belarus.

Ukrainian officials and athletes, who have consistently campaigned for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be banned altogether, reacted with public disappointment at the IOC's decision. The foreign ministers of Estonia and Lithuania also condemned the move.

"Moscow will not raise white neutral flags at the competition as the IOC presents it but will demonstrate the triumph of its ability to avoid responsibility for starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since WWII," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry wrote.

The members of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee who made this decision are responsible for encouraging Russia and Belarus to continue armed aggression against Ukraine."

Ukraines sports minister: As Russia kills our athletes, its not the time to allow Russians back to international sports Editors Note: This interview was recorded before the International Olympics Committees announcement on allowing some Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in Olympic qualification tournaments. Following the executive board meeting on March 28, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) rec The Kyiv IndependentAnastasiya Gordiychuk

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A former southeast Kansas police officer was stripped of his law enforcement certification after pleading no contest to shoplifting merchandise from a Walmart in Oklahoma.

Christopher Corbit worked off and on for the Galena Police Department from February 2001 to November 2022, according to a summary order of revocation from the Kansas Commission Peace Officers Standards and Training, also known as KS-CPOST.

In October 2018, Corbit was named the school resource officer for the Galena School district, according to a social media post from the Galena Kansas Police Department.

Attempts to reach a phone number associated with Corbit were unsuccessful. He also did not respond to a social media message seeking comment.

The summary order of revocation gave this account:

A Walmart loss prevention employee documented instances of Corbit shoplifting at a store in Miami, Oklahoma. The employee documented eight shoplifting incidents between September and November 2022 that amounted to a loss of $543.09.

The summary order described Corbit stacking items on the self-checkout machine so that only one item would scan, covering bar codes with his hand so they would not be scanned and holding items in his arm to hand to his wife or place them directly into a bag without scanning them.

Corbit was criminally charged in municipal court in Miami, Oklahoma with eight counts of larceny by shoplifting. He entered a no contest plea on three counts, received a suspended sentence on four counts and had one count dismissed after paying court costs.

Corbit was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 21, 2022 and fired from the Galena Police Department the next day, TV station KSN 16 reported.

The KS-CPOST commission repeatedly attempted to contact Corbit for an in-person interview to determine if he was still eligible to be a law enforcement officer. The commission did not hear back from Corbit and he did not show up for the interview.

Galena is 181 miles southeast of Wichita in Cherokee County.
Robert Jenrick has warned that Britain must stand by Israel as he criticised the disappointing decision to abstain in a UN vote calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The UK chose not to join the US in voting against a Security Council resolution, submitted by the United Arab Emirates, to halt fighting in Gaza.

On Saturday, Mr Jenrick, who quit his role as immigration minister last week, tweeted: Disappointing that the UK abstained on this resolution at the UN last night.

Allies matter. The fight against Hamas and terrorism matters. We should stand with Israel.

Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, also criticised the decision and described the UN resolution as hypocritical.

She said: Thank you USA for supporting Israels right to defend herself. The UKs abstention was very disappointing.

The UN Security Council voted on a ceasefire after Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, triggered the rarely-used Article 99 to bring the humanitarian situation in Gaza to the councils attention.

The vote had been delayed by several hours to give Arab leaders more time to try to persuade the United States, which holds a veto, to abstain.

But Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, warned: The undeniable reality is if Israel laid down its arms today, Hamas would continue to hold hostages.

That is not a threat that any of our governments would continue to allow.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he appreciated the USs veto.

Other countries must also understand that its impossible to support the elimination of Hamas on one side, and on the other to call for the end of the war, which will prevent the elimination of Hamas, Mr Netanyahu said.

Therefore Israel will continue our just war to eliminate Hamas and achieve the wars other objectives that we set.

Hamas condemned the US decision to veto the motion, describing it as unethical and inhumane.

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of the groups political bureau, said: The US obstruction of the ceasefire resolution is a direct participation with the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing.,

Robert Jenrick criticised decision to abstain on UN vote - HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP

In a statement, the UKs mission to the UN set out its objections to the resolution but failed to explain why it chose to abstain rather than vote against.

The statement said: We are gravely concerned about the desperate situation in Gaza. The scale of civilian deaths and displacement in Gaza cannot continue.

We welcomed the extended humanitarian pause last month and the release of hostages and humanitarian aid deliveries that took place during it. We call for further and longer pauses to get aid to Palestinians and allow space for further hostage releases.

But we cannot vote in favour of a resolution which does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on the 7th of October. Calling for a ceasefire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage.

Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law, so that such an attack can never be carried out again. And so that we can work meaningfully towards a two-state solution, which delivers statehood for the Palestinians, security for Israel, and peace for people on both sides.

Thats why we abstained on this resolution.

After the vote, the United Arab Emirates deputy ambassador Mohamed Abushahab claimed that the Security Council was growing isolated and appears untethered from its mandate to ensure international peace and security.

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Sandra Day O'Connor made a difference. She and I were from different generations, belonged to different political parties, and served in different branches of the federal government.

Still, I related to her because we were both children of Far West Texas. she was from El Paso; I was from down the road in Alpine.

As the first woman to serve on the U.S Supreme Court, she had the courage to break barriers. Her example inspired me when, long before my stint in Congress, I worked to become the first Latino to represent my region in the Texas Legislature.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, shown in this Dec. 5, 2003 photo. (Credit: Tim Dillon/USA TODAY).

As people honor and remember her extraordinary life and public service, I hope they remember Justice OConnors courage, passion and commitment to the educational benefits of diversity. As many of her conservative brethren tried so hard to end the consideration of race in college admissions, OConnor, a Ronald Reagan appointee, played a vital role  the pivotal role  in upholding affirmative action in admissions.

It was a Far West Texan, Justice OConnor, who wrote the majority opinion in the Supreme Court's narrow 5-4 decision in 2003 that allowed the continued use of race as one factor for colleges to consider when reviewing applications.

In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity, OConnor wrote in the Grutter case, ruling that the University of Michigan Law School did not violate the 14th Amendment by considering race in admissions.

I was serving in the Texas Legislature at the time as chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC), which celebrated that decision as a huge win.

In the Legislature, MALC consistently sought to improve educational opportunities for people of color. Many Texas property-poor school districts that served mostly students of color raised just one percent of the revenue as their property-wealthy counterparts who served a majority of Anglo students.

I represented several property-poor school districts along the Texas -Mexico border, including Eagle Pass, Del Rio and Presidio. I saw that when wealthy districts invest 100 times more to educate their students, those students will do better competing for slots at prestigious colleges, universities and graduate schools.

For me, it was all about educational opportunity. Kids who grew up as I did  all they needed was a chance; a shot at the American Dream.

Justice OConnors decision gave them that chance.

Education had been my path to opportunity in the 1970s and 1980s. Justice OConnors ruling guaranteed the same for other generations of students until the Supreme Court tragically overturned its precedent and outlawed affirmative action in admissions earlier year.

My admiration and respect for Justice OConnor hearkens back to an earlier day in politics when people could disagree without being disagreeable, and policy outcomes mattered more than pure politics. You could respect those on the other side  whether lawmaker or jurist  because you recognized their sincerity, commitment and approach, even if you didnt necessarily agree with their position.

Sandra Day OConnors death is a loss for our nation. But her courage and example live on.

Gallego was the U.S. representative for Texas' 23rd congressional district from 2013 to 2015. A Democrat, he previously served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Gallego: Justice OConnor was a West Texan who kept diversity alive. She inspired me.
There are expected to be three Republican presidential debates in January, but which of the major candidates will actually show up, or even make the stages, is far from clear at this point.

A CNN debate will be hosted in Iowa, which has the first Republican caucus, while CNN and ABC/WMUR are set to have separate debates in New Hampshire, which is home to the first presidential primary. The debates give the candidates trailing former president Donald Trump by large margins a chance to make their pitch on a national stage before voters head to the polls.

Candidates' ability to participate will hinge on meeting requirements laid out by each organization hosting the debates. But as of Friday evening, Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign was the only one to tell CBS News that the Ohio entrepreneur intends to be at each of the upcoming trio of debates, which were announced earlier this week.

"More debate and free speech is better than less! We're in," Ramaswamy's press secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, told CBS News.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also taken to social media to say he's looking forward to the debate in Iowa and the ABC debate in New Hampshire.

(From L) Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy participate in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Dec. 6, 2023. / Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking to reporters after a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, DeSantis said he would like to see Trump at the Iowa debate.

"I think he has a lot to say on his keyboard but he should get on stage and stand up there for two hours and take the questions that everybody else does, I think would be useful. And I know a lot of voters here will expect that because they take this process very seriously," DeSantis said.

Trump has not attended any of the previous four Republican debates. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment about whether he would participate in the upcoming January debates.

The campaign for Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, declined to comment and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asa Hutchinson told CBS News he would participate, but the former Arkansas governor has not met participation requirements since the first debate that was held in August.

What are the requirements for the next Republican debates?

The Iowa debate will take place on Jan. 10, just five days before voters caucus in the Hawkeye State. According to CNN, participants in that debate will have to agree to the rules and format in addition to getting "at least 10% (without rounding) in three separate national and/or Iowa polls of Republican caucusgoers or primary voters that meet CNN's standards for reporting." The standard is also that "one of the three qualifying polls must be an approved poll of Iowa likely Republican caucusgoers."

The New Hampshire CNN debate is scheduled for Jan. 21 at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

The top three candidates in the Iowa caucuses will be invited to the CNN New Hampshire debate. The requirements include a 10% support threshold in three polls, one of which must be "an approved poll of New Hampshire Republican likely primary voters."

ABC News announced this week plans to partner with WMUR-TV to host a debate at St. Anselm on Jan. 18. That debate has been sponsored by the New Hampshire Republican Party.

New Hampshire GOP chair Chris Ager said that the CNN New Hampshire debate was planned without the state party's backing, and on Friday he posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the only debate backed by the New Hampshire GOP would be the ABC/WMUR debate.

Ager told CBS News earlier this week that the state party had been planning contingencies in case the Republican National Committee backed out of sponsoring debates.

The RNC, which sanctioned the first four debates with polling and donation requirements, will not be involved in any of the upcoming debates. According to two sources close to the RNC, there is a widespread belief within the party that Trump will be the nominee and that further debates will have limited value.

"It is now time for Republican primary voters to decide who will be our next President and candidates are free to use any forum or format to communicate to voters as they see fit," the RNC Committee told CBS News in a statement on Friday.

Journalists in the CBS News Political Unit contributed to this report.

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Republican candidates in states that will determine control of the U.S. Senate next year have quietly shifted their stances on abortion rights in an attempt to combat Democrats' success running on the issue.

In key 2024 battleground states, some GOP Senate hopefuls have subtly begun to place more emphasis on situations in which abortion should be legal, while others have made clear they oppose a federal ban on the procedure.

The shift in focus comes as Democrats have continued to win elections across the country by forcefully emphasizing their support for abortion rights in the 18 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Republican strategists have urged their candidates to oppose a national ban, while party leaders have simultaneously implored them to address the issue head-on.

Democrats say Republicans are trying to soften stances that may have been deeply unpopular with a majority of voters.

On the record and on video, Republican Senate candidates have already staked out dangerous positions that would make abortion illegal without exceptions  and well make sure voters see and hear them in their own words. said Nora Keefe, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the partys Senate campaign arm.

These are the declared Republican candidates in five battleground Senate states who have notably shifted how they publicly discuss the issue in recent months.

Arizona: Kari Lake

Kari Lake politician senate arizona run (Alex Brandon / AP file)

Lake  who could end up in a three-way general election against independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Democratic challenger Ruben Gallego  was one of the first and most prominent Republicans to shift her position on the abortion issue.

During her unsuccessful 2022 run for governor in Arizona, Lake said she supported an 1864 law banning almost all abortions in the state  she called it "a great law thats already on the books"  that briefly snapped back into effect after the Supreme Courts Dobbs decision.

She now offers a more nuanced position: opposing a federal ban and acknowledging that her own views regarding state policy conflict with some voters preferences.

In a statement on her campaign website published earlier this fall, Lake said that while she wants to do everything she can to help women choose life, to choose to bring that blessing into their own existence, she also recognizes that a majority of people in this country and in the State of Arizona hold the view that abortion should be legal with restrictions.

Arizonas law currently allows abortions up to 15 weeks, and Kari does not support a federal ban on abortion. Abortion is, as the courts decided, an issue for states to decide, not the federal government, her website says. (Lakes campaign, asked by NBC News to clarify her position, referred to her website.)

Pennsylvania: Dave McCormick

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick and his wife, Dina Powell McCormick, greet supporters during a primary election night event in Pittsburgh in 2022. (Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)

McCormick, who faces little opposition for the chance to run against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, said at a Republican primary debate during his unsuccessful run for Senate last year that life begins at conception and that "in very rare instances, there should be exceptions for the life of the mother."

Democrats began running ads against McCormick in Pennsylvania featuring those statements this July  two months before hed even entered the race  prompting his campaign to spend much of its first several weeks clarifying that he had also said that hed supported exceptions for abortion care in cases of rape, incest and saving the life of the mother.

As Dave has said numerous times last cycle and more recently, he is pro-life and supports exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother, said McCormick campaign spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory.

Nevada: Sam Brown

Nevada GOP Senate Candidate Sam Brown Votes And Holds Election Night Event (Josh Edelson / Getty Images file)

Brown, who is vying to run against Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, has described himself as pro-life and opposed to any bill that pushes for federal funding of abortion, late term abortions, or abortion without parental notification and supportive of federal judges who understand the importance of protecting life.

But during his unsuccessful Senate campaign in Nevada last year, he did not rule out supporting a national abortion ban.

This is something as it stands that would be currently left to the states, he said during a 2022 GOP primary debate against eventual nominee Adam Laxalt. But once again, I am pro-life, and if there were any sort of legislation that would come forward Id want to see that specific language.

He also declined, as recently as July, to weigh in on whether he would support a national abortion ban.

Responding to requests to clarify his position, however, Brown said that he opposed a prospective federal abortion ban and that any restrictions against care should include exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

I have consistently maintained that this issue should be decided at the state level, and the people of Nevada have made their decision, he said in a statement. I am personally pro-life, and I believe there should be exceptions for the tragic situations of rape, incest, and where the life of the mother is at risk.

Ohio: Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, Matt Dolan

GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Delaware, Ohio on April 23, 2022. (Joe Maiorana / AP)

Businessman Bernie Moreno, one of three Republican candidates seeking to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, has bounced around on the abortion issue.

Moreno has said that Republicans should never back down from their belief that life begins at conception and that abortion is the murder of an innocent baby. Earlier this year, in an attempt to define his views on a ballot measure that voters passed in Ohio last month to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution, he falsely claimed that the measure would let a rapist force a woman to get an abortion.

More recently, Moreno has offered more nuance about his position on the issue at the national level. He said in October that he supports a federal 15-week abortion ban that would include exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother  but would also want to allow states to issue additional restrictions.

Morenos two competitors for the GOP Senate nomination  Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan  have also made their opposition to abortion clear, but dont appear to have yet backed away from any prior comments.

In August, LaRose told NBC News that if a pro-life measure comes before the Senate, then I would vote as a pro-life American.

As a state senator in 2018, he voted for a six-week abortion ban that snapped into effect (but currently remains blocked by a judge) after Roe was overturned. The law does not contain exceptions for rape and incest.

LaRose attracted criticism from abortion rights supporters earlier this year when he acknowledged that an August special election was 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution. And last month, LaRose  who as the states top election official had final say over the language of the November ballot measure  went even further, admitting that hed consulted with three anti-abortion groups when drafting the ballot language to describe the measure.

In a statement, LaRose campaign spokesperson Ben Kindel said that LaRose will always fight for the rights of the unborn and healthcare for women.

Dolan, for his part, had slammed the Issue 1 ballot measure as extreme and has said abortion policy should be left to the states  but has also appeared to leave the door open for supporting federal abortion restrictions.

The pro-life movement has worked hard to get it back to the states, Dolan told the Columbus Dispatch in October. Its back there, and I would prefer states to deal with it on a state-by-state basis.

He has also said he wouldnt support any anti-abortion legislation that doesnt contain exceptions for rape and incest.

Dolan, however, has said in multiple interviews that he would consider national abortion restrictions if there were an increase in successful efforts, similar to Issue 1, that enshrine abortion rights in state constitutions.

Michigan: Mike Rogers, Peter Meijer, James Craig

Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., attends a news conference at the Capitol on May 12, 2022. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images file)

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is one of several Republicans running for an open Senate seat, has suggested he would not support any federal abortion restrictions if elected.

Will I go to Washington, D.C., and try to undo what the citizens of Michigan voted for? I will not, he told the Detroit News in September. Last year, Michigan voters passed a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion.

But abortion rights supporters have pointed out that Rogers, during his 14 years in Congress, voted at least twice for federal abortion restrictions. That included supporting a bill in 2012 that would have banned almost all abortions (and did not include any exceptions for rape or incest) and a bill in 2013 that that would have criminalized most abortion care in the United States.

Similarly, former Rep. Peter Meijer  who as a member of Congress repeatedly voted against expanding abortion rights  said recently that while he was proud of his record of protecting life, he acknowledged that were clearly in a different world today after Roe has gone away.

I do not support federal bans on abortion, period, full stop, Meijer told the Detroit Free Press last week, adding that abortion restrictions will be decided at the state level.

Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who before the Supreme Courts 2022 ruling had repeatedly said he supported a since-repealed 1931 abortion ban in the state, told the Detroit News in October that he was opposed to a federal abortion ban.

I think a heartbeat of a child matters. But Im also sensitive to it being realistic and something that should stay with the states, he said.

Spokespersons for the Rogers, Craig and Meijer campaigns didnt respond to questions.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
CHICAGO  A nearly four-decade moratorium on the construction of nuclear plants in Illinois will end next year under a measure signed Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who vetoed an earlier version of the bill.

Legislators passed a new iteration of the bill last month that addressed concerns Pritzker raised in an August veto message about the size of nuclear plants that would be allowed under the initial legislation.

With Pritzkers signature, Illinois joins a number of other states that recently have rescinded similar bans as policymakers are taking a fresh look at nuclear power as another alternative to generate energy without increasing carbon output.

The revamped measure, which takes effect June 1, sets limits on the size of new nuclear plants that would be allowed and focuses on small modular reactors, a new generation of technology that supporters argue could be an important tool to help the state reach its goal of carbon-free power generation by midcentury.

The proposal to lift the moratorium exposed a rift between two core groups within the Democratic Party coalition, with labor unions lining up in support and environmental groups standing in opposition. Environmentalists argued that allowing new nuclear power generation could be an expensive distraction from developing more renewable power sources in the state.

Pritzker surprised some supporters with his veto of the original proposal after previously expressing an openness to nuclear power continuing to be a part of the states energy mix.

But in his veto message, Pritzker said he believed the original language would have left the door open to the development of new large-scale plants like the six that already exist in Illinois, which he did not support.

The measure Pritzker signed Friday was the result of negotiations between lawmakers in both parties, labor unions, manufacturers and environmental groups. In limiting the size of new nuclear reactors, it aligns the state with the federal definition of a small modular reactor.

The measure also authorizes a study to identify any potential gaps in the states regulations for nuclear power.

In addition to swaying Pritzker, the changes were enough to convince some legislators who opposed the original proposal to support the revamped version.

Some environmental groups, however, remained opposed.

Its unclear whether or how quickly the new law, which lifts a ban thats been in place since Sept. 11, 1987, will lead to the construction of nuclear power plants in the state.

Experts who spoke with the Chicago Tribune this summer said a variety of economic factors and policy decisions at the federal level ultimately will determine whether a new nuclear power boom happens in Illinois or elsewhere in the U.S.

Theres no one waiting here to start building a nuclear power plant as soon as the law changes, Robert Rosner, a theoretical physicist and founding co-director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, told the Tribune at the time.

A spokesman for Constellation Energy, which operates 11 nuclear reactors at six plants that provide about half of the states power, said that while the company is interested in the new technology it has no plans to build new nuclear plants in Illinois.

Pritzker on Friday also signed into a law a measure that would boost the pensions for some Chicago police officers.

Cost-of-living increases will now be on par with the Chicago firefighters pensions, which were adjusted through a measure passed by the legislature in 2021. Instead of having different annual pension hikes based on birth date, all officers will get the same 3% annual increase. The law also eliminates the 30% limit on increases during a pensioners lifetime.

Before the changes were made for firefighters and now for police officers, Chicago officials came to the legislature every few years to push the cutoff birth date forward to allow more first responders to get their full increases  while continuing to base the citys pension contributions on the amount of money that would be needed if the old restrictions remained in place. This has led to perpetual underfunding of the pension system, said state Sen. Robert Martwick, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the pension legislation.

The pension changes will, however, cost the city millions of dollars.

_____
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG)  Over 100 first and second-year University of South Alabama medical students watched as Gov. Kay Ivey broke ground along with several local leaders and donors on a $200 million facility to house the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine.

One of the many goals of the project, according to university leaders, is to combat the rural healthcare crisis in Alabama. Ivey said that of the 3,000 physicians that the university has produced, 90% of them stayed in Alabama post-graduation.

Cailee Knight murder suspects held without bond, Mobile County DA says

Thats a statistic I like to see, Ivey said.

The current College of Medicine building restricted the number of first-year medical students to 80. According to USA President Jo Bonner, the new building will allow that number to increase to 100 first-year medical students with the capability of capping off at 120 in the future.

Theres very few other medical schools in the nation that provide more providers, train more providers that go out and actually practice medicine in rural areas, Bonner said.

The new, state-of-the-art building is drafted to be 250,000 square feet. It will bring the total size of the universitys healthcare facilities to 500,000 square feet.

Teachers are vital: Governor Kay Ivey announces next pay raise for teachers

Bonner said the building will be the newest medical school in the country.

The university raised $165 million to go towards the $200 million project. Sen. Richard Shelby, who was not in attendance, gave the university $60 million in federal funds. Ivey contributed $50 million to the project. The USA Foundation raised $30 million for the project.

On a local level, the City of Mobile agreed to pitch in $1 million per year for the next 10 years while the Mobile County Commission pledges $5 million.

Other significant contributions came from Alabama Power, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Bedsole Foundation, and Daniel Foundation.

USA Health unveils new operating rooms at University Hospital

This whole region and city should be proud of this day, Dr. John Marymont, Dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine, said.

Dr. Marymont said USA provides $100 million per year in uncompensated healthcare. An amount he said will likely rise with the completion of the new building.

The building will be finished in 2026. When the transition from the old building to the new building is complete, Bonner said the old building will be demolished to make way for a parking lot.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
Gaza is in ruins, with Israeli forces laying siege to the entire strip and leveling swaths of the enclave. An estimated 80% of its population of 2.2 million has been displaced  the majority now trapped in the south, increasingly pressed toward the Rafah border with Egypt.

Palestinians in Gaza say life has become a cruel choice between death and displacement. Yet an urgent question persists: What will Gazas future be after this war ends?

Several experts told NBC News that options being discussed by diplomats and officials range from workaround solutions, which ignore long-standing failures, to the catastrophic.

In one scenario, the Palestinian Authority, which runs the occupied West Bank and is increasingly unpopular, would reassume control of the territory. In another, Arab Gulf countries would fund efforts to rebuild Gaza and an international peacekeeping force would retain oversight. In a third, Palestinians would be displaced to Egypt or other countries  a path raised by Israeli lawmakers even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war in Gaza is aimed at crushing Hamas, not expelling Palestinians.

In the shorter term, it is unclear whether the estimated 1.9 million Palestinians who fled to southern parts of Gaza will ever be able to return to learn if their homes are now rubble. Humanitarian relief groups will probably be the only entities providing basic necessities in a decimated landscape that will require decades of rebuilding.

Heavy urban combat raged in and around Gaza's biggest cities on December 7 as the bloodiest ever war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas entered its third month since the October 7 attacks. (Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images)

They will live in tents, thats how they will be, said Randa Slim, director of conflict resolution at the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. There will be no water, no electricity, no health care delivery. Gaza becomes a tent city.

Regional experts are wary of forecasting Gazas future, given the volatile situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, making the exercise all the more unpredictable.

What is Israel hoping to achieve in Gaza?

Predicting outcomes of this war are challenging because Israels goals are still vaguely defined, said Nathan Brown, a nonresident senior fellow of the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

What is clear, Brown said, is that they are defined in such a way that they suggest that Israel will have an ongoing security presence in Gaza. So this isnt about designing how Gaza will be governed when the Israelis withdraw  because theyre not talking about withdrawing, he said.

There has been mixed messaging on the global stage. While some Israeli officials have said they have no desire to govern Gaza, other former Israeli officials have told NBC News of their intentions of carving out a heavily fortified buffer zone in northern Gaza to protect Israel from any future attacks.

Brown said that Israeli officials are being slightly diplomatic with messaging that focuses on guaranteeing Israels security, but he believes there are no legitimate alternatives that would be acceptable to Israel that dont entail their boots on the ground.

So youre really talking about an Israeli occupation, he said, adding that this would likely be less intrusive than that of the West Bank.

IDF inside Khan Younis (AFP - Getty Images)

Gaza has not been occupied by Israels military since 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew its security forces and 21 illegal Israeli settlements after growing international pressure. But as Israeli forces continue their ground invasion of Gaza  parts of which are already a wasteland  Brown said postwar Gaza would likely have military checkpoints to monitor the movement of goods and people living there and periodic raids by soldiers.

Meanwhile a growing number of far-right Israeli politicians have made loud calls for the mass displacement of Palestinians into Egypts Sinai desert or to other countries in what would be seen by many as a new Nakba  the expulsion of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians from their homes when Israel was created in 1948.

I dont think weve heard the last of the efforts to physically displace people across the Egypt border, said Daniel Levy, a former official Israeli peace negotiator at Oslo and Taba. Many Israeli government ministers make no bones about this being their goal.

Egyptian officials have remained steadfast in their opposition to even consider such a plan, and Bidens administration has been more vigorously pushing back on the idea of forced relocation recently  but the increasingly hostile rhetoric shouldnt be dismissed, some experts warn.

We need to take them seriously, said Mairav Zonszein, who is based in Tel Aviv and a senior Israel-Palestine analyst at the think tank Crisis Group. Theyre in positions of power and they have a very large base.

Will the Palestinian Authority take control of Gaza?

Many are dubious that Israel will be successful in eliminating Hamas, which has been the de facto governing body in Gaza since 2007. Others say that the Oct. 7 attack shows that Hamas never intended to retain administrative power.

They of course had every intention of remaining the overwhelming military force inside Gaza, but not the governing force, said Levy, who is also president of the U.S./Middle East Project, an independent policy institute.

Instead, some U.S. and former Israeli officials have suggested the Palestinian Authority could govern Gaza.

Image: Mahmoud Abbas Antony Blinken (Nasser Nasser / AP)

But a recent poll found 80% of Palestinians are calling for its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to resign. Experts on the Middle East doubt locals would accept such a proposition since Palestinians broadly view Abbas party as corrupt and ineffective in securing an independent state.

People in the West Bank already think of them as complicit through security cooperation with the Israelis, without having gotten anything in return, Slim, of the Middle East Institute, said.

For its part, the Palestinian Authority likely wouldnt agree to returning to power with Israels backing because that would give it little credibility to govern, she added.

Any arrangement negotiated for Gaza  if such an agreement is, despite the odds, negotiated  would likely involve Palestinians only in a pro forma way, Brown said.

And the future of Palestinians, who view this as a war with several fronts, extends beyond Gaza.

In a sharp escalation of violence since Oct. 7, more than 240 people have been killed, 3,300 injured and 1,000 people already forcibly displaced in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations.

Were seeing skyrocketing violence in the West Bank, attacks by far-right Israeli settlers who are backed and protected by the Israeli military, said Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a U.S. policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, an independent Palestinian policy think tank. He added that settlers are egged on by leaders from Israels conservative Likud party.

Israel's prison authority said that 33 Palestinian prisoners had been released

If there is no de-escalation in Gaza or the West Bank soon, Levy said, there could be a dramatic shift towards a Palestinian assertion of the refugee right of return, where Palestinians are able to form a new leadership and disrupt the Palestinian Authoritys administrative governance.

He added that he doesnt expect to see extended periods of relative calm in this conflict anymore if there is no addressing Israels occupation.

But peace of any kind has long been elusive for Palestinians, who have a history marred by continuous displacement, oppression and occupation. The current war only adds to that.

It has become undeniable that Israel is not only at war with Hamas, it is at war with the Palestinian people, said Kenney-Shawa, referring to what he believes is the indiscriminate nature of Israels military campaign.

How will Gaza be rebuilt and who will rebuild it?

Another very real piece of the puzzle lies in the sheer destruction wrought on the landscape of Gaza. Theres going to be no Gaza to return to, Kenney-Shawa said.

The United Nations estimates that so far two-thirds of Gazans wont have homes to return to once the violence stops. Experts said the reconstruction estimates are unfathomable at this stage given the unrelenting scope of Israeli bombardment, which has surpassed all previous conflicts in Gaza.

Even prior to this war, reconstruction efforts in Gaza were already choked with challenges and far from complete, despite billions in aid pledges and distribution aid, according to Yara Asi, a fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Funders often pledge more than they end up giving, and due to Israeli import restrictions, getting the material for reconstruction into Gaza is incredibly difficult and time-consuming.

Asi and others estimated it will take decades to rebuild Gaza, and she added that there is a real possibility that the literal geography of Gaza may change based on territorial ambitions stated by the Israeli military and far-right politicians.

Israeli attacks on Gaza continue (Ashraf Amra / Anadolu via Getty Images)

There is no aspect of civilian infrastructure that has been untouched, she added, listing medical equipment, road construction materials and housing materials as goods needed to rebuild, but which must be approved for import and could emerge as major stumbling blocks.

Power asymmetries in this conflict mean Israel will have an outsize role in determining whether Gazans will be allowed to return to northern areas, experts said. As it is, there are no real guarantees they will.

Slim said that Western powers will undoubtedly call on wealthy Arab Gulf nations  namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  to do the rebuilding, but they have little appetite for it.

These countries now are saying, We are not going to rebuild something and put billions of dollars in it today, when tomorrow, this thing will repeat itself and we will waste all this money, she said.

The same goes for peacekeeping efforts.

I do not see anyone being dumb enough to position themselves as the security arm of the Israelis in Gaza, Levy said.

That leaves the provision of basic necessities to humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies to just try and keep these people alive, sheltered, fed, he added.

Meanwhile, those in Gaza have long borne the brunt of this protracted conflict, making them excruciatingly aware that their wishes will factor little in any potential resolution. Seeing their neighborhoods reduced to rubble underlines the difficulties still ahead  even in the hard-to-imagine day when daily suffering and death finally end.

We dont have a choice in our life. We are forced to die, forced to starve, forced to be hungry, Dr. Ebraheem Matar, 27, told NBC News by telephone from Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza.

As we say, the real war starts after the end of the war.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Sir Richard Dearlove is "completely opposed" to the deal, even if the would-be owners say they will guarantee complete editorial freedom - LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS/REUTERS

The planned Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of The Telegraph poses a profound security concern to the UK which should be blocked by ministers, a former head of MI6 has said.

Sir Richard Dearlove said that the proposed deal was completely unacceptable as a matter of principle and urged the Government to put a peg in the ground and say no way.

Both The Telegraph and The Spectator are currently subject to a takeover bid by RedBird IMI, a fund backed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates.

The takeover has raised concerns about the editorial independence of both titles, with the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer ordering a public interest investigation into the acquisition.

Sir Richard, who served as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service from 1999 until 2004, said he was completely opposed to the deal.

Its completely inappropriate for an autocratic state - even at arms length - to be the owner of The Telegraph and The Spectator, he told The Sunday Telegraph.

Its just really I think completely unacceptable as a matter of principle, even if theyre saying they will guarantee complete editorial freedom.

Negative or mocking commentary

Jeff Zucker, the former head of CNN who is leading the takeover, has insisted that The Telegraphs independence would be guaranteed.

But Sir Richard said such assurances could not be taken at face value, suggesting for example that negative or mocking commentary about UAE leaders would likely be met with unbridled fury.

I just cannot believe that there arent instances where they would interfere because its just in their nature not to let these things go, he said.

As well as risking the independence of The Telegraph, Sir Richard said that an authoritarian state acquiring an influential British newspaper had much wider implications, because it could try to use the title to influence public debate on UK foreign policy - including in relation to China.

He said: The other thing that is slightly worrying is the extent to which the Gulf states are developing their relations with the Chinese and trying to be much more independent in terms of their foreign policy despite the fact that they are an ally of the UK.

As well as China cosying up to the Gulf states by exercising more influence in the region, he pointed out that Russia was also trying to woo the states, with Vladimir Putin making a rare foreign trip to the UAE and Saudi Arabia last week.

Sir Richard joins a chorus of high-profile figures warning against the deal.

Last week, the former cabinet minister David Davis said The Telegraph should not be foreign-owned because it exerts massive influence in elections and in Conservative leadership contests.

National security grounds

More than a dozen Tory MPs have also written to the Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, asking him to intervene on national security grounds.

Asked whether he had concerns about the national security implications of the deal, Sir Richard said: In the broadest sense, given the influence of The Telegraph in particular, yeah.

I think its not a specific security threat, but I would say its a security concern and quite a profound one.

The former spy urged ministers to stop the acquisition going ahead.

Im basically completely opposed to the concept, he said. I think the symbolism is totally unacceptable. I mean can you imagine the French government allowing, let us say Le Figaro or Le Canard enchaine, to be owned by a Chinese printing house or something like that?

I know that the UK has a laissez-faire attitude towards foreign ownership but there are points at which you have to put a peg in the ground and say no way. And I think the Government should intervene to say this is inappropriate.

He added: Autocratic ownership, even arms length, is not on.

They may be benign despots, but theyre despots.

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 Spanish government is allocating 1.4 billion euros (about $1.5 billion, as of early December) to protect Donana National Park from intensifying drought, as Euronews and other sources reported.

The park is under severe strain, ecologists say, from both agriculture and tourism. Rising temperatures and a lengthy drought, which have both been amplified by human-caused air pollution, have exacerbated the problem, making it vital for the Spanish government to intervene.

Part of the money will go toward offering farmers incentives to use less water. The farmers will be paid to stop cultivating land in and around 14 towns close to Donana National Park, per Euronews, and to instead reforest that land.

The region is the worlds largest exporter of strawberries. However, the cultivation of these fruits, coupled with the drought, has greatly taxed the areas aquifers.

The Donana reserve is slowly dying under the effects of prolonged drought, aggravated by the overexploitation of groundwater for the intensive production of strawberries, Le Monde wrote earlier this year. A significant portion of this farming has been done using illegal wells, the outlet reported.

Donana National Park covers 74,000 hectares (around 183,000 acres) on Spains southern coast, according to Euronews. In an additional effort to help it survive, the region of Andalusia recently announced a plan to purchase and annex 7,500 hectares (around 18,500 acres) of it from a private owner for 70 million euros (around $75.5 million).

The Andalusian regional government will also cancel its much-criticized plans to expand irrigation near Donana and give amnesty to those using illegal wells, per Le Monde.

This is an agreement with which we put an end to pressure on a natural treasure the likes of which there are few in the world, Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said, as quoted by Euronews.

Spain has taken other drastic measures recently to save its natural environment from the effects of human-caused pollution. Last year, Spains Congress ratified a measure to grant legal personhood to a saltwater lagoon, giving it rights to conservation, restoration, and protection.

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My Grandma Betty was not a fan of wine.

She tolerated her husbands occasional glass of wine at dinner  it was usually a tumbler of Pisenti poured from a screw-top gallon jug. Grandpa Lionel was not a wine snob.

Grandma Betty did not stock a wine cellar or grow wine grapes.

Perhaps part of her antipathy came from the notoriety that her grandfather achieved for wine making, not always legally.

The story I recall from family dinners was that Gustave Renkert was busted during Prohibition for having a few bottles of wine at his Tassajara Canyon ranch.

The story shared was that he refused to take a plea bargain and when it came time for trial, all the evidence  brought to town for safekeeping  had somehow evaporated from the evidence storage.

Without evidence the charges also evaporated.

Undated circa 1910s photo in an unidentified San Luis Obispo saloon photo printed from a glass plate. Cigars labeled San Luis Perfectos are under a bowler hat at the left. A bottle cap calendar on the wall shows this was a day in a leap year February. Gas lamps are lit, electric lamps are not. Dignified women were rarely seen in bars before prohibition.

On Dec. 5 America marked the 90th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition that forbade transport, sale or making of alcoholic beverages.

The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment. The 18th was the only constitutional amendment in American history to be repealed and the only amendment written to remove rights rather than define or expand them.

The political and social intersections that led to Prohibition are fascinating, as well as the changes that came to society as a result.

For a deeper dive check out the book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent.

In a search via Newspapers.com, I was able to find the original story of Gustaves arrest in the Daily Telegram.

The Telegram was founded as an anti-alcohol newspaper in 1905. The office was in the Andrews Building on Osos Street in San Luis Obispo. It did not accept advertising from bars or liquor companies and almost went bankrupt. In 1912, a new editor modernized the news coverage but upset prohibitionists.

The Telegram had been founded as an anti-liquor, Prohibition newspaper, though in later years under other owners it was less strident. There was also an anti-German bias that came during and after World War I. Liquor busts were treated as front-page news along with the usual 20 or so other stories.

It was more complicated tale than the story told at the dinner table  but interestingly Ive so far been unable to find a follow-up story about the result of a trial.

Newspaper stories a few years later in the paper show Gustave at home, continuing living a normal life, so perhaps charges were dismissed or reduced.

A three-paragraph story was published Jan. 15, 1924, saying that after two different raids Mrs. A. Pieri and Gustave Renkert were charged with unlawful possession of intoxicating liquors.

It said the raid was far up in Tassajara Canyon, and the evidence was difficult to get out, but officers brought it to San Luis Obispo for safe-keeping.

An earlier story from Jan. 10, 1924, had more detail. This version corrects typos.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs deputies dispose of illegal beer and Canadian whiskey in front of the courthouse, after a Prohibition raid circa 1921. Crates labeled Falstaff and Anheuser-Busch are on sidewalk as the gutter fills with suds.

Officers find two big stills at Tassajara

Two stills, one of which is said to have been in actual operation, 23 barrels, or nearly 1,200 gallons of wine, and a quantity of prune brandy are claimed to have been taken in two raids in the Tassajara section near Santa Margarita yesterday by Investigator C.H. Wheeler, working out to the office of District Attorney Charles R. Nelson, and Deputy Sheriff Ray Evans.

Gustave Renkert is charged with unlawful possession of intoxicating liquors, while George Miller, said to be Renkerts son-in-law, is facing three charges, unlawful possession of a still, unlawful possession of intoxicating liquor, and unlawful manufacture of intoxicating liquor.

Investigator Wheeler was working on information sent to the district attorney in a letter signed Mrs. Renkert, purporting to tell of alleged bootlegging activities of another woman in the district, when he found clues which led him to the Renkert place and also to the Miller place, these two ranches being connected by a well-beaten path, it is said.

A 1911 editorial in the Daily Telegram urged citizens to vote to ban liquor in San Luis Obispo County under a state law at the time. Nine years later, a national prohibition was passed.

This path is believed by officers to indicate that Renkert and Miller probably were working together.

At the Renkert place, a still which was not in working condition, is said to have been found. In addition, 23 barrels of wine, part of which was cached in an old chrome mine, is said to have been located.

At the Miller place, Wheeler is said to have found a still in operation, with the alleged moonshine prune brandy running from the spout. A large number of prune pits, said by officers to indicate that the still had probably been used for some time, was also located.
Its Hanukkah and the FBI is warning of an increase in hate crimes during the Jewish holiday.

News Center 7s Kayla McDermott talked to the Jewish community in Centerville about the growing violence thats been happening since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel.

>> Man arrested in connection to shooting that left 1 dead, another critically injured

Rabbi Nochum Mangel said it is troubling to be confronted with this level of hate.

We have been seeing increased fear, despair, hopelessness, and isolation, Tara Finer, Executive Director of Jewish Family Services, said.

Theyve also seen the violence across the county from a shooting in New York to three Palestinian students shot in Vermont, and several protests on college campuses.

Mangel held a lighting of the menorah to kick off the first day of Hanukkah, but something was different this holiday.

(It was) the first time in 32 years that I had to call the local police to let them know we are having an event outside, he said, noting it was also the first time he had to enlist a security guard.

>> She didnt deserve to die; Family of woman killed in hit-and-run holding out hope for answers

The rabbi said hes seeing more and more Jewish community members take precautions, including purchasing guns.

We need greater protection, Mangel said.

But antisemitism is nothing new for the Jewish community.

This is the continuation of traumatic events over time, from the Holocaust to the establishment of Israel, Finer said.

While there is hate out there, Mangel said people in Dayton have been supportive.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  As Lincoln Countys latest winter shelter program settles into its third month of operation, officials say they are seeing an uptick in homeless seniors seeking shelter.

The Community Shelter and Resource Center initially operated out of St. Stephens Episcopal and First Presbyterian churches before opening its Seventh Street location in late November. The shelter offers 75 beds, two meals a day, and is open seven nights per week from October to March  unlike the countys other winter shelters which open in weather emergencies.

Officials hope to expand the shelters capacity and services in order to connect guests with housing and health care amid concerns over homelessness among older people.

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The first two months of operation have also disproven a widely held stereotype  that most homelessness is due to substance abuse and/or mental illness, Lincoln County said in a press release announcing the shelters opening.

Karen Rockwell, director of the Housing Authority of Lincoln County, explains, What were really seeing is an aging population that cant afford housing costs on the coast and who are facing health issues.

In the first 61 days of the shelters operation, the county served 87 people, 40 of whom are seniors, according to shelter coordinator Chantelle Estess. Officials said more than half of the shelter guests are at least 55 years old, and the oldest guest theyve served is 80.

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Dr. Paula Carder, director of the Institute of Aging at Portland State University, says Oregon is mirroring national trends when it comes to homelessness among older adults.

According to Carder, homeless older adults make up a smaller population among homeless people. However, she says they are the fastest-growing homeless population.

The Portland metro area is also seeing increases in senior homelessness.

Washington County officials said they are seeing an increase in seniors who are experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness, noting fixed incomes are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living. The county says they are seeing an increase in shelter and housing program referrals.

Washington County highlights its hotel-based shelters in which they prioritize medically fragile adults, who are oftentimes seniors. The county is also adding more affordable senior housing to its roster with the recent opening of Alongside Apartments.

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Clackamas County officials told KOIN 6 News they are seeing many seniors who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, which the county said is tied to the housing affordability crisis and health care costs.

Clackamas County coordinated housing access supervisor, Lauren Decker, told KOIN 6 News she recently helped a 72-year-old resident with employment, food, and utility assistance after his rent increased to $1,150, noting he receives a monthly income of about $1,200 for Social Security Disability Insurance.

Multnomah County and the City of Portlands Joint Office of Homeless Services say senior homelessness in the area has remained steady, but says it is a growing problem.

In 2023, 17% of people between 55 and 69 years old were newly enrolled in shelters compared to 18.6% in 2022 and 18.9% in 2021.

JOHS noted they are seeing slight increases among people 70 years old and older, noting 2.2% of sheltered people were at least 70 years old in fiscal year 2023.

Homelessness among older adults is a growing problem, as indicated in Multnomah Countys Point In Time Counts. In the 2013 Point In Time Count, 13% of residents experiencing homelessness were 55 to 69 years old. In the 2022 Point In Time Count, that rate had grown to 22.5%., JOHS said.

Multnomah County highlights its housing navigation programs for older adults, noting families with older adult heads of households are one of the priority populations to receive permanent supportive housing.

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Carder explains there are several reasons for the increase in senior homelessness, including some people aging into homelessness after experiencing housing instability on and off for years. She noted theres another group of people 55 years old and older who are becoming homeless for the first time.

Increases in senior homelessness also comes as the average annual per person cost of nursing home care is more than $108,000 a year in a private room in the United States, according to AARPs Long-term Services and Supports 2023 State Scorecard Report.

The AARP report also ranks Oregon 44th and 40th in the U.S. for home care and nursing home costs respectively. Overall, the report ranked Oregon 25 for affordability and access.

Carder says seniors are also more likely to experience a disability compared to other age groups, noting some shelters may not be accessible to some seniors who need mobility accommodations.

A recent point-in-time count, and this is just people who are unsheltered, 78% of them reported a disability. So, you think of people living outside who have a self-reported disability of some sort, that could be a mobility limitation as well as possibly a mental illness. Its bad enough to be outside, but to be outside with a disability is particularly challenging, Carder said.

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Carder notes Oregon is one of the few states that has committed significant Medicaid dollars for low-income older adults and people with disabilities to live in assisted living and adult foster homes if they need nursing home level of care. But thats kind of a high barnursing home level of care means they need assistance with at least two or three personal care activities like bathing, or brushing teeth, grooming, walking, taking medications.

She added, [In] Oregon, about 40% of assisted living and residential care residents receive Medicaid support, and nationally, its closer to 20%.

The issue is that we dont have enough affordable housing for the significant numbers of people who just cant afford to pay rent, arent property owners, and thats people who are 50 and older who they dont have savings. Their income level does not allow them to pay market rates for rent, Carder said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Parents are raising alarm about a man with a long gun reportedly seen walking around several schools in North Austin this week during class drop-off and dismissal periods.

Though people in Texas are legally allowed to carry guns in public  such as sidewalks near schools  the man seen with a firearm by campuses has sparked anxiety in parents who are already on edge after police say a gunman on Tuesday shot an Austin school district police officer and killed six people in a series of shootings in Austin and San Antonio.

Holly Milch, whose daughter attends St. Francis School, said she was startled to see a man with firearms walking on a sidewalk near the private school on Huntland Drive.

He had a pistol and a gun, Milch said. He had the nerve to cross over Huntland using the school crosswalk to be closer to the school.

The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act prohibits anyone from carrying a firearm in schools or within 1,000 feet of a campus, though there are exceptions, such as for police or anyone authorized to have a gun in the facility. Similarly to federal law, state rules also prohibit people from having guns in schools. A 2021 Texas law, however, allows people to openly carry a firearm without a license in public spaces.

Other parents have also reported seeing a man carrying at least one firearm while walking near Austin school district campuses. The district confirmed to the American-Statesman that officials are aware of the situation.

The Austin Police Department also responded to multiple calls in the area and made contact with the person involved, spokeswoman Anna Sabana said.

"In light of recent events, we encourage parents, school administration, and community members to remain vigilant," Sabana said. "If you see something suspicious, say something or call 911."

Milch said she first saw the man last week carrying firearms near her daughter's private school and Webb Middle School, an Austin district school, but she has continued seeing him around campuses this week. And though Milch said she and other parents have called St. Francis and police to complain about the man, they were told hes allowed to carry firearms if hes on a public sidewalk.

Multiple Austin district, charter and private schools are within walking distance of each other in this area of town.

I was pretty much a wreck the entire day, Milch said. St. Francis declined to comment on the incidents.

Eva Noyola, who has children attending Lamar Middle School and Reilly Elementary School, is also concerned about the man carrying a gun near schools.

She said though the district is aware of the person and is taking security precautions, such as placing a campus in a secure state as needed, his presence near schools still worries her.

My fear is that this one incident breeds complacency, and if we see anybody with a weapon, we will think, Its another one of those, Noyola said.

Jennifer Szimanski, public affairs director for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said though Texas law allows people to openly carry a gun in public spaces, anyone who is concerned by that act should report it to authorities.

Just because it is legal on a sidewalk next to a school doesn't preclude anyone from calling in suspicious activity and getting law enforcement to check on suspicious activity or suspicious behavior, Szimanski said.

Police can stop a person who is openly carrying a gun near a school to make sure they can legally have the weapon, she and other law enforcement experts said.

However, Greg Fremin, a Sam Houston State University criminal justice professor, said that if police detain someone and verify they're not violating any laws, theres not much officers can do to stop someone from openly carrying a gun in public in Texas.

Fremin, who is a retired Houston police captain, said he understands why parents are alarmed by seeing someone carrying a gun near schools.

He's looking for a confrontation with law enforcement, Fremin said. He's looking to file a lawsuit. Most people of rational mentality don't take time out of their day to go walk in front of a school with a long gun.

District response

The Austin district on Dec. 1 placed Webb Middle School in a secure state, which means no one can enter or leave the campus, because of a man seen with a firearm walking nearby, according to a letter to parents from Principal Michael Coyle.

The secure state was called out of an abundance of caution while police monitored a Second Amendment demonstration in the neighborhood, the letter said.

District police also kept an eye on the man until he moved away from the school, officials said.

Though Texas law allows people to openly carry guns near schools, it's concerning, said state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, who has been communicating with the schools.

"Here we are in a state where it's perfectly legal to terrorize a couple schools by your mere presence, with your prominently displayed weaponry," Eckhardt said.

The senator doesn't think only having 1,000-foot gun-free buffer zones around schools is enough to protect students, considering the availability of long-range weapons, she said.

"Were looking for whats effective, and I dont know you could effectively create a safe display radius," Eckhardt said.

Instead, she said, the state should create policies that promote responsible gun ownership and require people to have a license to carry a gun.

School district officials are encouraging anyone who sees suspicious behavior to report it to 512-414-1703.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas gun laws: People can legally open carry; Austin parents rattled
Nikki Haley is seeking to rebound after a debate performance in Alabama that drew a mixed reception from Republicans a little more than a month out from the Iowa caucuses.

Haley went into the debate, which was hosted by The Hills sister news organization NewsNation, with high expectations after several strong debate performances gave her a burst of momentum in recent months. It was immediately clear during the Wednesday night event that the former U.N. ambassador was the candidate to take on, with rivals  including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)  hurling attacks at her right out of the gate as they vie to be the main alternative to former President Trump in the Republican presidential primary.

While observers said Haley didnt have a terrible showing in Tuscaloosa, Ala., many said she failed to stand out like she did in previous debates, potentially threatening her standing as she and DeSantis look to shore up the most support among Republican voters wanting to move on from Trump.

Republican strategist Rina Shah said the Wednesday night debate was Haleys weakest of the four and didnt tell us anything or significantly move the needle for any candidate.

The race is still a coin toss heading into Iowa, Shah argued.

DeSantis had long been seen as the partys best Trump alternative, but Haley has surged in recent weeks, threatening the Florida governors runner-up status. Haley has been gaining on DeSantis in Iowa and has far surpassed him in New Hampshire, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages of each state.

Thats why some were looking to the fourth debate as a moment of truth for Haley, but even strategists who thought she did well in Tuscaloosa argued she didnt notch any huge gains. The debate wasnt seen as a major moment for any of her rivals, either.

This is a debate getting closer and closer to the Iowa caucuses, and Nikki Haley didnt have her best debate. She didnt have a very good debate at all, said Brian Darling, a GOP strategist and former Senate aide.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said Haley didnt score any major wins but wasnt hemorrhaging, either.

Haleys campaign maintained she left the event in a strong position, pointing to a CNN focus group of Iowa voters that voted Haley as the winner. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Haley was the most searched-for candidate on Google during the debate.

With another winning debate performance under her belt, were continuing to build on Nikkis momentum, a campaign spokesperson told The Hill. Nikki is in second place in all three early states and the only candidate on the debate stage who is on the rise.

On Wednesday night, Haley was a frequent target of her rivals on stage, which Bonjean said was a clear indicator they viewed her as the front-runner among them. And the former South Carolina governor did have her memorable moments.

I love all the attention, fellas. Thank you for that, Haley quipped at one point during the ongoing attacks.

In another viral moment, entrepreneur and frequent Haley antagonist Vivek Ramaswamy held up a notepad with NIKKI = CORRUPT written on it. Haley didnt take the bait.

Its not worth my time to respond to him, she said.

But Haley also faded into the background more than she had in the previous debates. In perhaps the most talked-about moment of the Tuscaloosa event, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) spoke up in defense of Haley as Ramaswamy attacked her, calling the entrepreneur the most obnoxious blowhard in America.

Strategists were split on whether disengaging worked in Haleys favor.

Republican strategist Alex Conant said the move was smart. Though Haley appeared to benefit from spats with Ramaswamy in earlier debates, Conant noted, she has nothing to gain by engaging at this point in the race.

She came into this debate with a huge bullseye on her back, which wasnt there in the previous debates, Conant said. Its very different being the underdog attacking a front-runner, than being center stage and taking all incoming.

Bonjean said it seemed like Haley was trying to look more like a leader by not stooping to Ramaswamys level, but he argued aggressiveness helped Haley in previous debates.

A more reserved stance is a great strategy when you truly are the front-runner. But shes not. Shes a front-runner of the second tier, Bonjean said.

But he also argued Haley wasnt hurt by the exchange.

Would it have been great to have had her knock it out of the park with some really crisp and clear sound bites? he said. Yes. But there isnt much damage done either, especially in an environment where Trump is still 30 points ahead.

Shah said she was expecting Haley to keep up her attack dog status from the first three debates.

She did not bring the attack dog  and that was disappointing for me because I think she could have punched back instead of saying hes not worth my time and staying silent, Shah said.

Darling said he thought Haleys decision to just let it go was a big mistake.

A 538-Washington Post-Ipsos poll of potential Republican primary and caucusgoers who watched the debate found most thought DeSantis performed best Wednesday night, with 30 percent. Haley was 7 points behind, with 23 percent picking her as the fourth debates winner.

Thats essentially a swap from the last debate, when 34 percent of the Republican debate watchers thought Haley did best and only 23 percent picked DeSantis.

Post-debate reports from The Guardian, Fox News and NewsNation, which hosted the debate, found no clear consensus on the winner. The New York Timess columnists and contributors, who had rated Haley best in the previous debates, favored Christie this time around.

In recent weeks, Haley has scored backing from Americans for Prosperity Action, the conservative network led by billionaire Charles Koch, and a donation from Democratic billionaire Reid Hoffman.

Shah noted Haleys new donors and heightened expectations after her surges from prior debates likely heaped pressure on her.

How do you keep the momentum going? Shah asked.

Bonjean also stressed the difficulty of gaining ground in a field where Trump still holds a commanding lead, and said Haley is the only candidate with a prayer of really mixing it up with the former president.

Haley and DeSantis both would benefit from candidates like Ramaswamy and Christie to start dropping out, strategists noted.

Many in the party have particularly questioned why Christie, lagging in the polls, is staying in the race. Hes brushed off suggestions that voters consolidate their support behind either his campaign or Haleys  though many are hoping the field will winnow quickly so that support can build behind a top Trump challenger and make the race more competitive.

The race for second is important, Mackowiak, one of the GOP strategists, said. I dont think there are going to be three tickets out of Iowa this time; I think there are going to be two. And so who finishes second between Haley and DeSantis is going to be important.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Metro Phoenix police departments were warning Arizonans to be on the lookout for porch pirates this holiday season.

Online shopping can help make the holidays easier, but not when packages get stolen off your porch before you can wrap them up. The term "porch pirates" references people taking packages from homes that are not their own.

"Please be mindful of steps you can take to reduce the chances of encountering grinches," Chandler police said on Facebook.

Here is what you can do to make sure your packages get into the right hands.

How often are packages stolen during the holiday season?

Emma Huenneke, a spokesperson for the Chandler Police Department, said package theft happens throughout the year, but because of the popularity of online shopping during the holidays, there can be an increase in stolen packages.

"We are seeing an increase in people using online retailers, purchasing things that will now have a package delivered at your door," Huenneke said. "So, our goal to remind the public to maintain their vigilance, to utilize the safety tips when they are receiving packages at their houses, this is a yearround reminder."

Fake gift cards seized in Arizona: How to avoid gift card cloning scams

Huenneke said she did not have the statistics about package theft available.

"Our push is not to tell the public we have seen an increase in theft, it's to remind people not to become victims of the theft," Huenneke said.

How to protect your packages

Huenneke gave the following advice for keeping your packages safe.

Track your package and know when it will arrive.

Do not let your package sit at your door once it arrives.

Coordinate deliveries with neighbors if you can not pick it up yourself.

Install a Ring camera or security camera if possible.

How to report package theft

Huenneke said victims can report package theft to the non-emergency police number or file a report online.

What is the consequence for stealing packages?

Huenneke said someone who has been identified stealing packages would face theft charges which are a misdemeanor. Huenneke said the punishment for the charge would be determined by the judge.

Other holiday crimes

Huenneke said the department sees a rise in credit card theft and theft of an individual's belongings that occur when shopping.

"We always want to remind shoppers when they are out to keep an eye on their purses," Huenneke said. "We have seen an increase in distracted shopping cases where someone is very intentionally distracting the citizen while someone else goes behind their back and accesses their personal belongings like in a purse or a backpack."

Car theft is rising in metro Phoenix: Why are Kia and Hyundai vehicles being targeted?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Holiday theft: Metro Phoenix police share tips to stay safe
Thurston County residents heading to mountain passes or the east side of Washington this weekend should be prepared for heavy snow and a possibly icy mix of snow and rain in the Cascade Mountains.

A winter weather advisory is issued for Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascades from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday.

The National Weather Service predicts 5 to 9 inches of new snow Saturday at the pass before warming weather Saturday night turns precipitation into a potentially icy mix of rain and snow.

By early Sunday morning, precipitation is forecast to be falling as rain. A half to three-quarter of an inch of rain is forecast Sunday at Snoqualmie Pass.

I-90 was closed eastbound at Snoqualmie Pass Thursday evening because of multiple collisions and vehicles blocking traffic. Chains were required.

White Pass, the South Sounds other option for heading east, is likely to be treacherous. Precipitation is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, but highs will only reach 38 degrees on Saturday, and lows will dip to the mid 20s, so wet pavement will turn icy as the temperatures pass the freezing mark.

It will be warmer there Sunday, so it will be rainy, but roads will be less slippery.

Olympia forecast





Olympia can expect rain and clouds this weekend with an 90% chance of rain Saturday, dropping to a 60% chance of rain Sunday. Highs will reach the mid 40s, but lows will dip nearly to freezing Saturday, when a low of 34 is predicted.

The coming work week should be cloudy and drier.
ENID, Okla. (KFOR)  A lawsuit has been filed against the operators of the Robert M. Greer Center  Liberty of Oklahoma  and several staff members after reports of abuse at the facility in Enid.

The Defendants named in this lawsuit include:

Liberty of Oklahoma Corporation

Liberty Healthcare Corporation

Anthony Huhman (Greer Center Administrator)

Marc Tatro (Unit Program Manager)

Hugh Sage (Greer Center Administrator)

Oklahoma Disability Law Center investigating Greer Center abuse allegations

The Robert M. Greer Center is a full-time, residential facility for adults diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and co-occurring mental illness and/or behavioral challenges.

The lawsuit only involved one resident by the name of John Doe who has lived in the west wing of the center since May 2020.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has confirmed two victims with KFOR as of Friday afternoon.

The Greer Center was John Does long-term permanent residence, according to court records.

The lawsuit alleges Greer Center employees, on multiple occasions, would take either bed sheets or wet towels and wrap them around a residents neck to strangle them until they passed out.

After the resident lost consciousness, the staff members wold then strike the victim in the chest and abdomen repeatedly until [Joe Doe] woke up. One witness said the staff would play this choke-and-revive game multiple times during their shift. John Doe was a target of this abuse on several occasions, court records read.

The lawsuit claims another resident is believed to have been the victim of this sick game at least 40 times.

During one choke-and-revive session, the staff allegedly became worried they may have killed a resident because the victim was not waking up after being strangled.

The lawsuit claims Greer Center staff then grabbed the resident by the back of his head/neck and threw him headfirst into a nearby door, after which he regained consciousness. That resident is said to have an intellectual disability that gives him the mental functioning of a 4-year-old.

Oklahoma DHS reveals new information on investigation into abuse allegations at Enid facility

Greer Center employees are also accused of waterboarding and beating residents in the facilitys showers. The John Doe in the case is an alleged victim of this as well.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims Greer Center employees would use food from outside the facility to bribe residents into fighting each other.

Ive been doing this for over ten years now. Its some of the worst conduct, most depraved conduct I think Ive ever seen, given the type of facility were talking about, the vulnerability of the residents there. Some of them cant talk, cant communicate. Theyre non-verbal. They cant even report whats happening to them. And you combine that with what seems to be a coordinated effort amongst the caretakers of this facility to keep this all hidden, said one of the attorneys representing John Doe, Ross Leonoudikis. Were not talking about one bad apple that got away with it. Were talking about a whole wing of bad apples.

According to court records, at least one Greer Center staff member would serve as a lookout as the abuse was happening.

The abuse would happen after 5 p.m. when the second-shift was present, said court documents.

Greer Center staff would also allegedly intimidate residents to prevent them from reporting abuse, including by lurking close by and threatening residents when they were talking to loved ones over the phone.

The lawsuit indicates there have been several DHS investigations into the Greer Center, but because victims were non-verbal, severely developmentally disabled, or both, the complaints could not be substantiated. It also claims Greer Center employees would not cooperate with DHS investigators.

DHS confirms there have been prior investigations, adding, Traditional verbal communication is a challenge for some residents at the Greer Center, which may add complexity to any investigation. Our investigative staff also employ the use of forensic interviewing techniques and behavioral analysis to aid in these complex investigations. It is now clear that there was a pattern of deception by the alleged perpetrators in their interviews. This deception made it difficult to gain a full understanding of the allegations and corroborate reports.

DHS External Communications and Media Relations Administrator, Casey White told KFOR previous complaints against the Greer Center are being reopened.

The overall investigation into Greer is ongoing and new information is coming in each day that either adds to or modifies the currently ongoing/open investigations, stated White.

A former employee claims to have also repeatedly reported the abuse to Greer Center Unit Program Manager, Marc Tatro, but the complaint was allegedly ignored.

Greer Center employees retaliated against other caretakers for reporting the abuse, according to court documents.

Court documents reveal months of abuse by Enid caretakers

There are six alleged abusers as of Friday afternoon who worked for the Greer Center.

Everybody was watching this go on and helping conceal it, said Leonoudikis. We have employees saying caretakers conspired about how they were going to hide their conduct and keep it quiet. It is a systemic, coordinated effort to abuse these most vulnerable residents and keep that abuse hidden. Its truly sickening and really heartbreaking.

He told KFOR some residents are working on transferring to another facility while others have no options.

Some of them are still living in the very place they were abused and theyre scared. They feel unsafe, they feel unprotected. Some of them dont have, you know, not only our client, but others dont even have family members right now they can go to. Some of them are very, very, very vulnerable and they need protection, said Leonoudikis. Many of them dont have anywhere to go right now, maybe in the process of transferring. But as we all know, that can be a slow moving process.

Liberty of Oklahoma Corporation has managed and operated the Greer Center for the last 23 years.

Records show DHS has paid Liberty of Oklahoma Corporation $35,941,760.33 since 2009 for professional services.

A 2021 audit shows the State paid an additional $24,307,035 for that year for the management of facility for State of Oklahoma.

However, that $24M+ does not appear in online state documents as of Friday afternoon.

What were going to have to investigate is the relationship between Liberty and the state. We do not need the state as a defendant in this lawsuit because as far as were aware right now, Liberty is the one whos been in charge of it, said Leonoudikis.

News 4 reached out to the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services with a list of questions including how long the states contract is with Liberty, how much Liberty is being paid on an annual basis to manage the Greer Center, and if the state could potentially receive a refund for services because of this case.

OMES said only DHS does business with Liberty, not the state.

The agency was unable to locate records showing the $24M+ paid for the management of facility for State of Oklahoma.

One Greer Center mother emailed News 4 Thursday night asking for answers.

My son is currently at the Robert Greer Center [and] has been for almost a year now. He was court ordered to go there [because] of [an] incident that happened. He is autistic. I am not able to get any information on his case, how long he has to be there, any kind of plan for his sentencing. He has been no trouble the whole time hes been there. [The] last couple of times he was almost in tears wanting to know when he can come home. As a mother, its the hardest thing not to have an answer for [my] son!! He says he was involved in the abuse but it worries me. Why cant they give us answers on what to expect? she wrote.

DHS said it has notified all known potential victims families and has offered counseling and other resources to support them.

We have also notified the family members or guardians of residents who are not believed to be victims, said White. Oklahoma Human Services investigations into abuse or neglect at residential treatment facilities include interviews with any victims, witnesses and collateral contacts to ensure a complete picture of any incidents may be obtained. In addition to the agencys ongoing investigations, which are being conducted in cooperation with the Enid Police Department and others, Oklahoma Human Services continues to examine processes, policies and statutes and is taking every action within our power to prevent this from happening again.

If family members or guardians believe their loved one was a victim of abuse or if they have information about these allegations, DHS urges them to call 800-522-3511.

If the family members or guardians have questions about this situation, they may contact DHS at telldds@okdhs.org.

Liberty Healthcare Chief Operating Officer, Sue Nayda said, We are aware of the lawsuit and it is our practice to not comment on pending litigation.

So far, six former Greer Center employees have been arrested, eight staff members have been fired, and the facility manager has resigned.

Leonoudikis and his co-counsel, Cameron Spradling have demanded a jury trial in this case.

Thats part of the system, you know, getting us in front of a jury of your peers and and explaining to them what has happened here to a loved one, said Leonoudikis. Nobody was looking out for anybody. We think its important for a jury to hear that. We think its important for a jury to consider the conduct of the defendants in this case. Punitive damages are at issue here, and I dont think that I could describe a more appropriate case for that.

He believes he and his co-counsel will win this case.

The next step in this lawsuit is the discovery phase.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
SoCal Hello Kitty fans are in for a purr-fect treat as the Hello Kitty Cafe truck is returning to Plaza West Covina on Saturday. The fan-favorite pink cafe truck will be located by DXL and Golds Gym from 10 a.m.  7 p.m.

The truck will have several merchandise pieces for sale including t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more. Fans can also purchase light sweet treats from the cafe on wheels during their visit.

Hello Kitty Hoodie (Sanrio)

Hello Kitty Cafe truck coming to Southern California. (Sanrio)

The success of its first cafe truck, launched in 2014, led to the opening of additional pop-ups and mini cafe sets in malls and lifestyle centers across California.

To get a full cafe experience, fans can visit the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe in Irvine to enjoy a wide selection of cookies, cakes, and handmade hot and iced drinks.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
China promotes green transportation under BRI

People's Daily Online) 14:39, December 08, 2023

China is actively promoting the sharing of green and low-carbon technologies and experiences in the transportation industry, helping countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) enhance their capacity to reduce emissions in the sector, while better delivering the benefits of green transportation to people across the world.

Photo taken on Nov. 23, 2022 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Yuanjiang bridge of the China-Laos Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

China has remained committed to green transportation and environmental protection in terms of transportation infrastructure cooperation, and integrated these concepts into the whole construction process of cooperation projects.

The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of high-quality BRI cooperation, has become a golden logistics channel. The railway had been operating for 23 months as of Nov. 3. During that period, it handled over 23 million passengers and transported more than 27.8 million tonnes of cargo, including 5.7 million tonnes of cross-border cargo covering BRI partner countries like Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

Green was a defining feature of the China-Laos Railway throughout its construction process: route planning, construction management, operation and maintenance.

To minimize disruption to wildlife and damage to vegetation, developers of the railway built bridges and tunnels to bypass forest areas as much as possible.

As the China-Laos Railway crosses areas of the activities of wild Asian elephants, developers set up culverts along the animals migration paths, as well as sound barriers and protective fences to minimize the project's impact on the environment.

Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the Lao National Assembly, hailed the China-Laos Railway as a green railway.

A freight train is to leave the China-Europe freight train (Shenyang) marshaling yard in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Sept. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)

In Africa, during the construction of the new container terminal in Ghana's Tema, China Communications Construction Company Limited established a sea turtle hatchery and released baby turtles into the ocean to protect the vulnerable species. The project has not only injected new impetus into the economic and trade of Ghana and nearby countries but also protected biodiversity.

he Green Silk Road is an important tool that can help us all pull us out of the dead ends of the past and set us on a new pathway that benefits people and planet alike, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

China has also attached great importance to the promotion and application of green, energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies in terms of transportation services under the BRI.

Thanks to advantages such as all-weather operations, large capacity, and great efficiency and convenience, China-Europe freight trains have built a green and low-carbon logistics corridor that promotes connectivity and mutual benefit in BRI partner countries.

Statistics show that the China-Europe freight train service only costs one-fifth of air transportation and takes a quarter of the time required by shipping. The service boasts of high stability, thus remaining a reliable choice for meeting specific logistics needs that prioritize factors such as high value-added services and strict adherence to delivery timelines.

Not only that, the average carbon emissions of China-Europe freight trains is one-fifteenth of air transportation, and one-seventh of land transportation. This plays a positive role in responding to global climate change and achieving sustainable transportation development.

Photo shows the Yangpu Port in south China's Hainan Province. (Photo/Yuan Chen)

Aside from rail transportation, China has emphasized green concepts in sea and air transportation.

Yangpu Port in south China's Hainan Province, sitting at the critical junction of the golden waterway of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, is one of the ports along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. In recent years, Yangpu Port has made every effort to turn into a green and low-carbon international shipping hub. In May 2023, the Yangpu International Container Terminal was rated as the first "four-star" green port in the Hainan Free Trade Port.

The Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province is an important hub along the Air Silk Road. In June 2023, a freighter using sustainable aviation fuel provided by China National Aviation Fuel Group Limited for the first time travelled from Zhengzhou to Luxembourg.

China's advanced technologies and successful experiences in new energy vehicles (NEVs) are also part of its achievements in green transportation. The opportunities brought by the BRI have led to exports of the country's NEVs to more markets around the world.

China's exports of NEVs soared 99.1 percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2023, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Green products, such as NEVs, have gradually replaced traditional cargos of machinery as the main exports of the Chang'an China-Europe freight train service, said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd.

The Chang'an China-Europe freight trains transporting NEVs were launched in September last year, delivering autos of Chinese NEV brands like BYD, NIO and Xpeng to overseas markets.

The past decade witnessed both BRI cooperation and the transformation and upgrading toward the high-end, green and smart development of China's NEV industry, said an executive of the BYD Group.

Chinese NEV companies have also set up factories in BRI partner countries. This has brought advanced technologies to these countries, driven local economic growth and employment, and helped them achieve their green transition and sustainable development.

For example, JAC Motors has set up 15 overseas assembly plants in BRI partner countries. SAIC Motor has established factories in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Pakistan, and built over 2,000 overseas marketing and service networks. In September 2022, BYD announced it would build a wholly invested passenger car factory in Thailand, and the plant is expected to start operations in 2024 with an annual capacity of about 150,000 units.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Finnish presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto talks to members of the media before DJ-ing in Helsinki

Finnish presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto talks to members of the media before DJ-ing in Helsinki

By Anne Kauranen and Attila Cser

HELSINKI (Reuters) - As Finland's foreign minister for the past four years, Pekka Haavisto helped overturn decades of neutrality to bring Finns into NATO. Now, as 'DJ Pexi', he is spinning records to get them onto the dancefloor - and win an election to be president.

On Friday night in a trendy Helsinki neighbourhood, Haavisto drew some 200 students to a club. The 65-year-old centre-left Liberal Green frontrunner got the young crowd up on its feet with an unapologetically old school playlist, mostly of hits from his own generation, like the Beatles jaded political anthem "Revolution".

"Well, this is an opportunity for me, of course, to meet young people, and for some reason my DJ performance has become now quite popular, particularly among the students," Haavisto told Reuters. "It's a nice feeling when you see the audience waving and moving there according to your favourite music, which comes from the 60s or from the 70s."

Haavisto, who stepped down as foreign minister in June, is hoping to succeed Sauli Niinisto, a conservative stalwart in office for more than a decade, in an election on Jan 28.

Finland's president supervises foreign and security policy, including the new role of representing the country at meetings of NATO, the Western military alliance it joined in April in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Haavisto, who was runner-up to Niinisto in 2018 and 2012, is now the frontrunner in most polls, although one poll last month had him trailing conservative former prime minister Alexander Stubb.

Though Finland's left was historically more wary of NATO than the conservatives, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has largely swept such scepticism aside. Haavisto said that as president "my Finland would be an active member of NATO".

To win, he needs young voters. Those at Friday's dance party seemed happy.

"I don't think there's a lot of negative to say about him. I think everybody has only positive things to say," said one of the organisers, who gave his name as Henry.

If elected, Haavisto would become Finland's first openly gay president. His Ecuadorian partner Antonio Flores, 45, whom he met at a Colombian disco in the 1990s when travelling in South America, is no fan of his old fashioned playlist.

"I couldn't play this music at home. There is only one song that he accepts, it's a Latin merengue music song, but otherwise he hates this music," Haavisto said.

(Reporting by Anne Kauranen and Attila Cser)
Misty LaBean spent her whole life wondering why her mother left her family when she was only a year old.

Connie Christensens disappearance 40 years ago from Wisconsin wasnt out of the blue for the rest of her relatives: She had left before, running away when she was a teenager and even doing a stint at a carnival.

After my own kids were born, I was like, how could she have left me like that? LaBean told CNN. I would never do that to my kids.

Her whole life, LaBean only heard whispers about her mother. The rest of her family was hurt and reluctant even to talk about Christensen, believing shed chosen to walk away at just 20 years old.

All that time, though, there was something else LaBean didnt know: Strangers hundreds of miles away were hunting answers to the very same mystery.

Their key to unlocking it  with her help  would be time, along with the inexorable advance of science. Eventually, those seeking the truth would connect. And a grown daughter would understand why her moms leaving may not have been her choice.

Hunters in the woods  and in the lab

It was a sketch artist who first used a clay bust to try to recreate the face of the remains found in December 1982 in east-central Indiana, said the chief deputy coroner of Wayne County Coroners Office, Lauren Ogden.

Hunters had found them near Martindale Creek in a rural area mainly used for hunting and farming, she said. But due to flooding, the remains were damaged beyond recognition, and they ended up at the University of Indianapolis for storage.

But the coroners office never stopped trying to figure out their identity.

And over those years, science was improving. Within two generations, investigators had vaulted from relying on drawings to try to identify the missing and the slain to mining the evidence itself for tiny, delicate strands that could pinpoint exactly who somebody was.

The technology had gotten so good, in fact, that in 2021, the Wayne County Coroners Office went back to the evidence found near Martindale Creek to see if it could extract any DNA to figure out who the remains belonged to, Ogden told CNN.

The first attempt failed: There wasnt enough genetic material to generate a usable DNA profile, she said.

They tried a second DNA extraction.

Another failure.

Then, she explained, Ogden and her team tried a DNA extraction from a bone in the foot.

A critical link, waiting to be found

Around that same time, someone in Christensens family had taken up an interest in genealogy and was encouraging her relatives to submit DNA records to public sources that help people build out family trees, Ogden said.

Lauded as a way to explore personal history and connect with previously unknown kin, DNA matching also has been used to link victims to criminals such as the Happy Face Killer, who murdered at least eight women. It helped lead police to the Golden State Killer, suspected of a dozen homicides and over 50 rapes.

Authorities in the Golden State case used the free genealogy and DNA database GEDmatch to link crime-scene DNA with a pool of possible suspects created using DNA profiles or genealogical data from public services like Ancestry  the kind Christensens relative had encouraged her family to use.

GEDmatch is also used by the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit that uses investigative genetic genealogy to identify anonymous remains.

Working with that group  and DNA from the foot bone of the Martindale Creek remains  the Wayne County Coroners Office tried to craft a potential family tree for the person the hunters found back in 1982, Ogden said.

Within 24 hours, they had a strong lead, the DNA Doe Projects Lori Flowers told CNN.

The non-profit had narrowed GEDmatchs pool of possible DNA links to the Martindale Creek remains to the Christensen siblings, she said. Then, combing through family social media posts and relatives obituaries, investigators noticed something: Connie Christensen had disappeared from her familys public record.

But they still had to confirm it.

Ogden reached out to the missing womans child, LaBean.

Misty LaBean - Courtesy Misty LaBean

Being on the ground floor, Ogden recalled, I was the one that called her daughter and said, Im a complete stranger, can I come  swab your cheek?

Reclaiming her own mothers identity

The match was her mother.

Beyond Christensens identity, the coroners office also shared a discovery its team had made about how LaBeans mother had died, Ogden said: a gunshot wound.

The grim detail let loose a tangle of new questions: What was Christensen doing in Indiana? Who killed her? And why?

LaBean went to the spot near Martindale Creek where her mothers remains had been found, she said, and wondered how the killer had gotten Christensen so far away from the nearest bus line.

In some ways, it makes me feel a little bit better, LaBean said of learning the real story of her moms absence. But it also makes me angry because I could have had the chance to know her, and somebody took that chance away from me.

Maybe publicity about the case will help her family find more answers, LaBean said.

Even without that, though, knowing what happened to Christensen released the throttle her family had held so tightly on her memory  a gift to the child whod wondered for so long why shed been abandoned.

The biggest thing is Ive always loved animals, LaBean said. And then I found out that she really liked cats. Thats kind of something I got from her.

LaBean also reclaimed the opal ring her mother was wearing when she died, a nod to her own childhood, when some of the first jewelry pieces she held dear were opals, she said. The gold band with two diamonds and an opal hangs on a chain around the neck of the grown daughter  now a mother herself.

Its really come full circle, Ogden said. Shes wearing the ring that was found there 40 years ago, and its mind-blowing to think that your DNA is able to provide that closure.

Meanwhile, Christensens remains were laid to rest in April among her relatives, including her parents, her obituary read. We were able to get her family back to the site where her mom was found so they could leave flowers and have some quiet moments out there, Ogden said.

Some yearnings will remain unrequited, like how LaBean wished her mom could have done her hair before her first middle school dance the way she was said to have done her own sisters, she told CNN.

Still, the grown daughter  with her whole family  is now eager to bring the lost, young mother back into an embrace multiplied over decades as they finally grieve all they truly lost.

If Connie would still be here with us, she would have been surrounded by all of her nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, and many cousins from both sides of the family, her obituary read. Connie would have been an amazing mother to her only daughter, Misty, and her husband, Dan LaBean. She never had the chance to be a great and loving grandmother.

CNNs Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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Joseph Mele was back before Honesdale Council at the Nov. 27 meeting asking about a stop sign he had recommended back in June. The council agreed to investigate the matter at that time out of concern for public safety on Ridge Street where it is met at a blind corner by Vine Street.

Mele said he had checked with borough hall every other month and took it upon himself to canvass neighbors. He said the people he spoke with agreed with the need for a stop sign.

"I had no knowledge of anything going on, I have not seen anyone there ... I don't see anyone checking the speed limit," he said. Ridge Street is on a hill, a direct route from the high school down toward Main. Vine Street meets Ridge about halfway down.

Exasperated, Mele said, "I put up a sign I had painted myself, I took it down ... I was going to buy a sign and do it myself, but I learned I needed to go through the proper channels."

Joe Mele returned before Honesdale Borough Council, Nov. 27, 2023, asking for an update on a stop sign he requested the previous June for Ridge Street where it meets Vine Street. He complained of the lack of progress on the matter.

"It's for the safety of the people of the area, we have children, we have adults, we have seniors who walk that street," he noted. "...For the safety of the people, the pedestrians, the children, it's a stop sign. I am not asking for anything more or less."

Previously: Honesdale committees to consider stop sign on Ridge Street

Council President Michael Augello noted that although Ridge is a borough street, a stop sign must be cleared by the Pennsylvania Department Of Transportation, which involves an engineering study for sight distances. He apologized on behalf of the borough that the wrong intersection was investigated, which they only recently discovered.

The president welcomed Mele to call the borough hall and check for progress. "It still must go through state bureaucracy before they approve it or disapprove it," Augello said. "It is not a situation where the borough can just put a stop sign in place. It does not work that way."

Michael Augello, Honesdale Borough Council president, at the Nov. 27 meeting. He stressed that PennDOT will need to do the engineering and approve the request before a stop sign can be erected, even though Ridge Street is a borough street.

Councilor James Hamill interjected, "I think this is very indicative of some of the dysfunction we have had... We have committees that meet monthly and should go through those agenda items that are brought to us by members of the pubic ... and those committees are not alwaysand I take the blame for the committees I serve on tooas forthright and top of the ball as they need to be. You deserve better from us," he said, speaking to Mele. "This thing needs to go up yesterday and we need to find a way to say 'yes,' even if that is determined by a process through PennDOT or anybody else, we should expedite that process."

Hamill advised having a plan for Mele by the next day and letting him know.

"This can go on for months," Augello cautioned. "We can do our homework and report to PennDOT, and it takes them four to six months to respond to us." He said they will need the neighbors to agree to any changes. He said that the process to install a caution light would be controlled by PennDOT as well.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale man wants stop sign on Ridge at Vine; PennDOT must OK
By Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Three Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were arrested on Sunday, just before voting began in a "patriots only" district election that has marginalised formerly popular opposition figures in the city amid a national security clampdown.

The pro-China government has been seeking to boost turnout, as some observers see large numbers spurning the polls, in contrast to the last council elections in 2019, during Hong Kong's mass pro-democracy protests, which drew a record 71% turnout and a landslide victory for the democratic camp.

Police arrested three members of the "League of Social Democrats" in the Central business district, the group said. It had planned to protest against the "birdcage election" that it said lacked any democratic scope, given vetting requirements by authorities that have effectively barred all democrats from running.

"Hong Kong people's right to vote and to be elected seems to be absent," the group said in a statement, adding that they had been followed since leaving home in the morning.

Police said in a statement that they had arrested three people on suspicion of "attempting to incite others to carry out acts that disrupt district council election". The three were detained for investigation.

Regulations introduced in July slashed the directly elected district council seats by nearly 80% from four years ago.

All candidates must now undergo national security background checks and secure nominations from pro-government committees. At least three pro-democracy groups, including moderates, and even some pro-Beijing figures failed to secure enough nominations.

'HARD TO TALK ABOUT DEMOCRACY'

The changes further narrow electoral freedoms in the former colony that Britain returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The crackdown under a 2020 China-imposed national security law has led to the arrests of former district councillors and the disbandment of major opposition parties.

"It is the last piece of the puzzle for us to implement the principles of patriots governing Hong Kong," Hong Kong leader John Lee said while casting his ballot with his wife, claiming that the previous poll in 2019 had been used to sabotage governance and endanger national security.

Security was tight around many polling stations with over ten thousand police deployed to maintain order.

While some western governments say the China-imposed national security law has been used to crack down on dissent, China says it has brought stability to the financial hub after the protracted pro-democracy protests of 2019.

For weeks the major pro-Beijing and pro-government parties have been out in force, campaigning and festooning streets with posters and flyers in a bid to bolster turnout. On Saturday night, a harbourfront carnival featuring fireworks and patriotic pop singers made last-minute appeals for people to vote.

Some were not convinced.

"The broad political spectrum of voices that we saw four years has all gone," said Tang, a 27-year-old who said she would boycott the vote, asking to be identified only by her family name.

Turnout was 15.47% at 2:30 p.m. (0630 GMT), down from 42% at the same time in the previous election.

"It's very hard to talk about democracy or democratisation anymore in today's Hong Kong," said Kenneth Chan, a political scientist at Hong Kong's Baptist University and a former pro-democracy lawmaker.

"What they're doing now is the installation of the so-called patriots-only governance structure."

(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Joyce Zhou, Dorothy Kam and Edward Cho; Editing by James Pomfret and William Mallard)
Hospitals have been ordered to send around 10,000 patients home, ahead of doctors strikes.

Health officials have also ordered NHS trusts in England to do as much time-critical activity as they can before the walkouts amid fears that fresh strikes by junior doctors before and after Christmas will cripple the health service.

The timing of the strikes, with the first starting on Dec 20, has sparked concern that it will mean thousands of patients get stuck in hospital because there are too few staff to discharge them.

Englands director of NHS resilience has now written to every hospital chief executive with instructions to cut bed occupancy dramatically now, in an attempt to prevent the system grinding to a halt.

Trusts are being told to get occupancy down to 85 per cent from the current figure of around 95 per cent. This means around 10,000 patients being sent home as a matter of urgency.

Very challenging time

In the letter Stephen Groves said: We know that the new rounds of action announced this week come at an already very challenging time for the system alongside winter pressures such as flu, Covid and norovirus.

Over previous periods of industrial action, we have seen not just a significant impact on patients waiting for elective care but also an increased risk to patients who need time-critical care too. We are grateful for the significant amount of work being undertaken already to prepare for this disruption, which comes at the most challenging and pressured time for frontline staff.

The missive, sent on Friday night says: We recognise the NHS and partners are already working hard to discharge patients who are clinically fit and reduce occupancy levels as much as possible ahead of Christmas and New Year.

This will ensure organisations have sufficient headroom to safely manage the normal rise in occupied beds in the two weeks following Christmas. It will be particularly important that trusts are able to maximise the impact of the normal working days between Christmas Day and 3 January to ensure occupancy is as low as possible, ahead of the second period of industrial action.

This will support the effective functioning of urgent and emergency care on strike days and is even more important in the context of the period of disruption brought on by this industrial action.

Review and optimise waiting lists

Trusts have been told to use the next few days to review and optimise waiting lists to ensure time-critical surgery is undertaken where possible ahead of the strikes.

At the same time they have been instructed to dramatically reduce the number of patients taking up hospital beds.

The letter gives hospitals two weeks to decant thousands of patients - mainly elderly - to care homes and their own homes, in an effort similar to the attempt to protect the NHS at the start of the Covid pandemic.

In the instructions Mr Groves says: W/c 18 December  prepare and manage industrial action, including the action on occupancy levels and discharge set out above with the aim of reducing acute trust occupancy to 85 per cent or below, as far as possible.

The strikes, announced earlier this week, will include the longest strikes in NHS history, with a three-day walk-out before Christmas followed by six days of strikes in the New Year.

Nurses threaten to ballot

The BMA announced the plan after accusing the Government of failing to present a credible offer for a payrise. The offer under discussion involved extra investment of 3 per cent, on top of an average increase of 8.8 per cent.

Last week nurses threatened to ballot on future strikes, after consultants were offered a much larger increase.

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, attacked the Governments approach, saying nurses should not have been given a smaller rise. Mr Streeting said ministers had got their priorities completely wrong in offering consultants a bigger percentage pay rise  and said he could see why the deal felt like a slap in the face to nurses.

Last week Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, announced a pay offer to consultants that will mean a rise of up to 12.8 per cent (or around 20,000 for the best paid).

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On Wednesday, Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly served as a moderator for the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, presenting questions to candidates Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis. The outcome of the GOP grudge match was plentiful in terms of soundbites and pull-quotes, but a real highlight came later via a hot mic slip-up courtesy of a panelist on her special SiriusXM wrap-up show.

In a newly circulated clip from that show, which can be heard below, an unidentified male voice from the panel comments on DeSantis' appearance after running back footage of him preparing to answer a question from Kelly about his poll numbers, saying, Look at that face. He looks like he shot his dog."

So @megynkelly and @RealClearNews were mocking Ron DeSantis physical appearance in the post-debate spin room. They didnt know their mics were still on. (h/t @theredhombre) #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/9Y65cCpxxr  Defiant Baptist (@DefiantBaptist) December 7, 2023

As of Friday evening, Kelly's panelists for the show in question  NewsNation politics editor Chris Stirewalt, The Fifth Column podcast host Michael Moynihan, RealClearPolitics co-founder and publisher Tom Bevan and Emily Jashinsky of the Federalist  have not fessed up as to who made the comment but, as The Independent points out, whoever said it is certainly not the first to find humor in DeSantis' awkwardness.
Sen. John Whitmire speaks to supporters during a campaign watch party during Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in downtown Houston. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

State Sen. John Whitmire has defeated U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in a landslide victory to serve as the next mayor of Houston  the largest city in Texas and the fourth most populous in the country.

The Associated Press called the election for Whitmire at 7:24 p.m. Saturday, less than half an hour after polls closed. With 85 of 450 voting centers reporting, Whitmire led with more than 65% of the vote.

He will succeed Mayor Sylvester Turner, who is term-limited. The office is nonpartisan, though Whitmire has served in the Senate as a Democrat since 1983, making him the chambers most senior member.

Whitmire ran on a platform of increasing public safety, fixing streets and reducing cronyism at City Hall. He also promised to improve the relationship between Houston and the Republican-led Legislature in Austin. In his victory speech Saturday, Whitmire promised to expand the city's police force and tackle infrastructure issues with roads and water systems.

"Day one, we will have have a council meeting, and then I invite each and every one of you and bring your friends and neighbors," he said. "Your mayor will meet you at the front door to City Hall to open the door for you."

Though Jackson Lee also focused on bread-and-butter issues throughout the campaign, she sought to position herself as a more reliable Democrat who would stand up to MAGA extremists. She garnered support from Turner, who dropped his neutrality in the runoff, and national Democratic figures such as Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.

But it was still not enough to beat Whitmire, who had long been seen as the frontrunner for the office. Thanks to his long time in the Senate, he brought a massive warchest to the campaign and outraised Jackson Lee 4-to-1  and outspent her 10-to-1  on the latest campaign finance reports from Oct. 29 through Nov. 29.

Conceding the race Saturday night, Jackson Lee said she is committed to collaborating with Whitmire to serve Houston. Though she did not indicate whether she will run again for her U.S. House seat, the congresswoman said her work is "not completed." The filing deadline for next years primaries is Monday evening.

"Being a public servant, I've never stopped working," she said. "I hope you will allow me to continue to work and serve you as I have done in the past because that is what I will do.

While Jackson Lee won national Democratic support, Whitmire relied heavily on local endorsements from State Sen. Carol Alvarado and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia throughout his campaign. At Whitmire's election night event Saturday, Garcia said he would put "Houston on the map for all the right reasons."

"Let me assure you all that if he strays in any way, I will be the first one to call him on it," she added.

Leading up the runoff, he also led in every public poll of the contest. A Nov. 27 survey found him leading Jackson Lee, 42% to 35%, with 22% undecided  indicating Jackson Lee had been unable to gain much momentum after winning 36% of the vote in the Nov. 7 election, to Whitmires 43%.

In October, Jackson Lees campaign also faced a hit after the release of an audio recording showing her berating staffers with profanity. In an apparent nod to the incident Saturday, Whitmire said, "People want to go to work for me because we respect people. We don't bully people."

Whitmires win came amid fresh questions about his ethics in office. The Houston Chronicle recently published a story outlining Whitmires history of blurring lines between his public and private roles.

He leaves behind an open state senate seat ahead of the March primary.
Hunter Bidens attorney decried the new charges against his client Friday, asserting that the presidents son was receiving unfair treatment over late taxes.

[W]heres the fairness, justice and decency in this? Abbe Lowell said in an interview with CNN. The charges in this new tax indictment talk about a period where Hunter was at the lowest ebb of his addiction. And like people in that regard, and I know everybody in America either has somebody in their family or friends who suffer from addiction, he certainly did things that hes not proud of.

But wait, what happened since? Lowell continued. He got himself sober in 2019. And he paid all the taxes that are owed in this indictment more than two years ago with interest and penalties. Nobody in that position would be charged the way he was yesterday, nobody.

Lowell made the comments one day after the younger Biden was indicted on new charges related tax crimes in California. The charges include three felony tax charges related to evasion and filing a false return and six misdemeanor charges for failure to pay taxes between 2016 and 2019.

Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns, prosecutors wrote in a Thursday night press release.

The presidents son is already facing misdemeanor charges over his failure to pay taxes. A plea deal agreement fell through earlier this year where he would have pleaded guilty to those charges and entered a diversion program in connection with a gun crime.

He faces up to 17 years in prison upon conviction.

The new charges also come as President Biden and his familys business dealings are under the microscope in the House.

Hunter Biden and his uncle, James Biden, were subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee last month. The committee is seeking depositions from Biden family members as it nears a vote on launching a formal impeachment inquiry into the president.

The House Oversight Committee made an attempt to get a closed-door deposition set for next week, but Lowell noted in a letter to committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), his concerns about how Republicans could manipulate the situation and proposed a public hearing for his client.

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. If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hunter Biden has launched a blistering attack on Elon Musk, claiming the Tesla CEO is indifferent to free speech, democracy and labelling him the worlds dumbest smart person.

President Joe Bidens son also blamed Mr Musk for spreading misinformation about him, and described the X owner as a very damaged human being in an interview for the Moby Podcast.

In a post on X, Mr Musk responded by mocking Hunter Biden over the infamous, sordid videos that were recovered from a laptop he left at a computer repair shop in Delaware in 2019.

Exactly what misinformation is he talking about? Mr Musk asked.

The dude made so many videos of himself doing crime that he should get an award for cinematography!

Hunter Biden outside a court in Wilmington, Delaware, on 3 October 2023 (REUTERS)

The 80-miniute interview with musician-turned-podcaster Moby was held in Hunter Bidens art studio and aired on Friday, but its unclear when it was recorded. Mr Biden was charged with nine new federal tax-related charges late on Thursday.

In the interview, Mr Biden raged that the SpaceX CEO was a hypocritic and completely ignorant of the US political system.

Elon Musk doesnt care about the goddamn First Amendment. He doesn't care about anybody but himself, Mr Biden said.

Elon Musk doesnt care about democracy, Elon Musk doesnt care about our freedom to vote.

Is there any time that you ever saw anything from him that has any rational defence of democracy, of what weve created here as Americans, of his adopted country, this incredible experiment that weve engaged in here?

Elon Musk said Hunter should get an award for cinematography (REUTERS)

Mr Biden is facing two separate criminal indictments from David Weiss, a special counsel appointed in August to investigate his business dealings.

In September, Mr Biden pleaded not guilty to a three-count federal indictment in Delaware alleging he purchased and possessed a firearm while using narcotics.

In a dramatic development on Thursday, he was charged with engaging in a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4m in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle.

His attorney Abbe Lowell accused the Trump-appointed prosecutor of carrying out a political errand at the behest of the Republican Party.

Mr Biden met Moby while they both were in addiction recovery and the musician attended a 2021 art show hosted by Mr Biden, according to a Vanity Fair report.

In the podcast interview, he also accused the Republicans of going after him to try to destroy his fathers presidency.

Its not about me, and in their most base way, what theyre trying to do is theyre trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle, he said.

The second part of the interview is scheduled to be released next week.
WASHINGTON  Hunter Biden said in a rare interview released Friday that Republicans are trying to "kill" him, suggesting that his critics are engaging in a public campaign to lure him into a substance abuse relapse in an effort to damage his father's presidency.

"They are trying to, in their most illegitimate ... but rational way, theyre trying to destroy a presidency," Hunter Biden said on the podcast "Moby Pod," hosted by the musician Moby.

What theyre trying to do is, theyre trying to kill me knowing it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle," Hunter Biden said. "I realized that its not about me. And then the second thing that I realized is that these people are just sad. Very, very sick people that have most likely just faced traumas in their lives."

The president's son insisted that hes going to survive the public campaign against him. Im gonna survive it clean and sober, is because I am not gonna let these motherf------, OK, use me as just another example of why people in recovery are never gonna be OK, never to be trusted, theyre all degenerates  Im just not gonna let that happen, he said.

Moby and his co-host, Lindsay Hicks, interviewed Biden at his painting studio in Malibu, California. The musician said that he and Biden have been friends for several years, meeting through their efforts to recover from addiction.

The interview was recorded before federal prosecutors charged Biden with nine tax-related charges on Thursday, including three felony counts. The additional charges were part of a federal probe that has drawn the attention of congressional Republicans, who have used Biden's legal issues to attack his father's re-election campaign.

After they subpoenaed Hunter Biden in November, House Republicans this week unveiled a resolution to authorize their ongoing impeachment inquiry into the president and his family's business dealings. Multiple House leaders have said a vote is expected next week on the resolution, which would help congressional Republicans enforce subpoenas in their probe into the Biden family.

In the podcast interview, Biden argued that his father has campaigned for president three times before, but it's only now, during his fourth presidential campaign, that he's being vilified. Without naming former President Donald Trump directly, he suggested that his father's predecessor gave people license to spew feelings of rage.

Biden also said that he wants to help people of all backgrounds gain access to and take advantage of rehab facilities.

"I dont want to spend my time doing anything other than being of service to people," he said. "And if my voice is not an additive to that, then I dont want to be a part of this, of this clown show. I dont want to engage on social media, just for the sake that maybe I will burnish my poll numbers a little bit. Screw that. Because No. 1, nobodys voting for my dad because of me or not. Thats the goddamn truth."

Hunter Biden is facing several legal woes. In addition to the new tax charges, he was indicted in September on federal charges of possessing a gun while using narcotics.

The Justice Department announced on June 20 that Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to charges related to his business and tax dealings. But after the plea deal broke down, the president's son pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Abbe Lowell, Bidens lawyer, said Friday in an interview on MSNBC that politics was the reason the plea deal collapsed.

People should ask, what changed between June 20 and yesterday? And the answer is politics, Lowell said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A city of Brookfield resident says he feels emotionally distraught after Brookfield police misidentified him as a suspect, tased him and handcuffed him on his street.

Sean Star, 33, and his partner Carla Jones had just unloaded couches into their new Brookfield townhouse north of Greenfield Avenue when they got into their truck to leave their street on the night of Nov. 3.

Around the same time, officers with the Brookfield Police Department arrived at the same street to look for a suspect in a report of physical abuse of a child, Brookfield Assistant Police Chief Chris Garcia told the Journal Sentinel. Officers believed the suspect to be armed with a knife, Garcia said.

In about a minute and a half, Star went from being in his car talking to officers to being taken to the ground by three officers, tased and handcuffed, a video taken by Jones and body camera footage reviewed by the Journal Sentinel at the Brookfield Police Department shows.

But Star wasn't the guy police were looking for.

About 15 to 20 minutes passed before a lieutenant confirmed to Jones that Star resembled the man they were looking for, but was not the correct person.

"He looks exactly like the gentleman that we're looking for," Lieutenant Karl Turek told Jones in the police body camera video.

If he simply would have gotten out and cooperated with us, he wouldn't be in this situation, Turek told Jones, who sat in the car asking why the police tased Star.

Star was arrested for resisting/obstructing" and was placed in Waukesha County Jail for three hours until Jones paid $300 bail and Star was released. Star has not been charged, according to Jones.

The couple went to file a complaint at the Brookfield Police Department on Nov. 4, the day after Star was arrested. They said a lieutenant told them they'd hear from the department, but they haven't.

Garcia confirmed that Brookfield police later arrested the correct suspect in the physical abuse of a child case. The Journal Sentinel could not immediately verify the time the Brookfield Police Department secured and detained the correct suspect.

Garcia said officers' actions were 'objectively reasonable'

The department said it takes all situations of use of force by its officers seriously and have initiated a review to ensure compliance with both department and professional standards per protocol. Although the review is ongoing, Garcia said the officers' actions were "objectively reasonable" based on what they knew at the time and dictated by Star's actions and decision-making.

"When our officers perform their duties in a professional manner, within the confines of the objective reasonableness standard, and in accordance with the department's mission, service standards and values, we will fully support them and their efforts, as we do in this incident involving Mr. Star," Garcia said in an email.

Star feels traumatized from the situation.

All I did was show up to a crappy place at a crappy time, Star said. And that's what the officers want to chalk it up to, but then stand behind their actions. That to me is powerless and a shameful way to operate in the color of law."

'Step out or youre going to get tased'

Star was driving the truck toward a stop sign to leave his Brookfield street on Nov. 3 when he and Jones say someone tapped on the driver's side window with what they believe was a police officer's flashlight.

"What's your name?" an officer is heard asking Star in the body camera video of another officer who is walking up to join about three other officers at Star's truck. Jones, who sat in the passenger seat, is heard asking officers, "What are you doing?"

Star sat with his hands on the steering wheel and said that he didnt have his ID to prove his name. The officer continues to ask for his name.

"With the way you're treating me, you won't believe a word I'm (expletive) saying," Star said.

"What's your first name?" the officer asked again. "Sean," Star replied. "Sean what?" the officer asked.

Another officer asks Star twice to step out of the car.

Step out or youre going to get tased," the officer said.

Within about 15 seconds, an officer grabs Star's arms which are on the steering wheel, Star steps out of the vehicle, and three officers take Star down to the ground where they held him and tased him, the videos show. Star said he had to put the car in park before being taken down to the ground.

In the cellphone video, two officers seem to try and hold Star's arms while another officer had his arms all the way around Star's waist from behind him. An officer then says "get on the ground," Star is taken to the ground with his hands in front of him and he is tased.

Garcia said the officers had objective reason to use force because of what they knew at the time about the suspect they were looking for and Star's actions, including Star gripping the steering wheel and emerging from the truck in a sudden way that was "aggressive" and looked like pre-attack posturing."

Star said in his fear and confusion, his body and mind went into "fight-or-flight" mode when leaving the car.

ACLU Board president calls the incident 'disturbing and illegal behavior' by police

The Brookfield Police Department's use of force policy states officers may use force "to achieve and maintain control of resistive subjects" and only use force that is "reasonably necessary to effectively bring an incident under control, while protecting the lives of the officer and others."

Garcia told the Journal Sentinel Star was actively engaging in resistance when officers asked him to get out of the car.

William F. Sulton, an attorney with the Sulton Law Firm and the president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Board of Directors, thinks the video captured by Jones' cellphone shows Star being the opposite of resistant, calling the footage "disturbing and illegal behavior by the police."

"They used substantial force on what from my perspective is a non-resistant person, but even if he was passively resisting by refusing to give his arms and placing them behind the back, you still can't tase him."

City of Brookfield Police officers utilize electronic control devices, like the taser used on Star, "to overcome active resistance or its threat," according to its use of force policy. Use of a taser is a "control alternative" in the third level of intervention options officers should follow, which start with the presence of an officer and dialogue to verbally persuade individuals to comply with an officer's directive.

Sulton also questioned the officers' decision around the takedown of Star. Even if police did follow procedures, Sulton said he's surprised by the department's lack of apology to Star for misidentifying him as the suspect they were searching for.

"I have no idea why there's no apology to this man," Sulton said.

The Brookfield couple hopes for accountability and healing

Following the incident, Star went to see a doctor. He has some lingering back pain, but the incident has left more than physical pain.

"I'm emotionally distraught," Star said. "I have zero desire to go back out in the world and try to do things for this society if this is how I'm going to get treated."

The couple is considering moving their family of five out of Brookfield even though they just moved to the city in October.

Jones said the situation has "opened her eyes" to the trauma those who have experienced law enforcement violence can feel. She said she decided to seek out mental health help for both her and Star after she started having flashbacks to the incident. Because she is Native American, she found she and Star could be seen at the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, however, there is a waitlist to have an appointment with a professional.

Along with healing from the encounter, Star wants the Brookfield police to be held accountable for mistaking his identity and tasing him and to explore requiring police officers to undergo sensitivity training. Jones wants there to be some recourse that other people can take if they are misidentified as suspects by police and have a negative experience.

Most people it seems like just go on with their lives and they're traumatized, Jones said. And they don't trust the police and they have this broken relationship because of it.

Star agrees.

"That's the kind of mindset you've put me in now where I can't even trust the police. Like, who else? Like, who am I going to trust?"

You can reach Bridget Fogarty at bfogarty@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brookfield man tased and arrested by police. But he wasn't the suspect
The five Russians waited for Vladimir Putin in the blazing Abu Dhabi sunshine for about an hour, holding their smartphones at the ready hoping to catch a glimpse of their pariah president.

After another five Russians arrived on bicycles, Putins convoy flew past and Emirati jets roared overhead, trailing smoke in the colours of the Russian flag.

The small welcome committee was a sign of how many Russians have flocked to the UAE since Putin launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Russians can relax amid the towering skyscrapers and cavernous shopping malls of desert city playgrounds like Dubai, safe from the judgement, restrictions and taxes they would face in Europe.

They can also shelter their wealth from Western sanctions, while spending it on caviar and vodka at high-end restaurants as they enjoy a welcome they would not receive in the West, where direct flights from Russia are banned in the UK and EU.

UAE top destination

The UAE became the top destination for private flights out of Russia in the weeks after the invasion. Russians are now the second largest group of visitors, behind India.

Back in Russia, a number one chart hit celebrated the lifestyle with lyrics including Im in Dubai, Im chilling... Yeah, Im rich, and I dont hide it.

The number of Russian tourists visiting Dubai almost doubled between the January to July period in 2022 and 2023, according to Dubais Department of Energy and Tourism, rising from 348,000 to 673,000.

Many more Russians have come here since the war, one cab driver told the Telegraph as he drove to the marina where the super-rich can hire luxury yachts for pleasure trips.

Some bring their own. Last year, a sanctioned Russian billionaire MP caused a stir when he docked his six-suite superyacht, complete with helipad, at a Dubai port.

Here it is easy if you have money

Here it is easy if you have money, said Galina, a regular traveller to Dubai and a Russian national.

There are a lot of Russians here. It is easy, not like Europe, to do business, she added as she enjoyed a drink in one of Dubais myriad five star hotels.

President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi - REUTERS

Even far away from Russia, she admitted it was risky to speak to a British newspaper, which is why the Telegraph has changed her name.

Was it true that, as well as tourists and oligarchs, many Russians had fled to the UAE to avoid being drafted into the army to fight in Ukraine?

Lets say you are lucky to live where you live and do the job you do. Thats the safe answer, Galina said.

In the Dubai Mall, which sprawls close to the Burj Khalifa, one Russian family watched sharks and stingrays circle endlessly in the towering tank of the gigantic multi-storey aquarium at its heart.

Russian was often heard in the rows of luxury shops, including Marks and Spencer, Tom Baker and Waitrose, offering Western goods out of reach in Russia.

Putin needs UAE as much as any other oligarch

Putin needs the UAE just as much as any other Russian oligarch, as he seeks to counter his international isolation by bolstering alliance with the oil-rich gulf states.

Russia is part of the Opec+ group of oil-producing nations and needs trade with the UAE more than ever after Europe reduced its dependence on Russian gas.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vladimir Putin inspect the UAE Honour Guard during a state visit reception. - REUTERS

In 2021, the UAE imports from Russia were valued at 3.7 billion. Within the year, as Russia invaded Ukraine, direct trade more than doubled to 8.2 billion, according to Telegraph analysis of UN Trade figures.

This wealth was mainly made up of diamond and other precious stones imports, which more than tripled to 7.1 billion, as well as fuel (283 million) and raw materials and foodstuffs.

While the UAEs figures show a slight dip in exports to Russia over the period, exports of electronics and parts have more than doubled to 1.7 billion.

Communication and dialogue

Russian direct investment in the UAE saw a stark increase throughout the first three quarters of 2021, doubling the long term average to reach just over 2 billion US dollars by Q3, according to the Bank of Russia. Direct investment has fallen slightly since, but remains at a historically high level.

Little wonder Putin told UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan their relationship had reached unprecedented levels as he was greeted with a 21 gun salute in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE defended its welcome of the Russian president, who has an international warrant against him for the abduction of Ukrainian children, saying it would help the prospects of peace in Ukraine through communication and dialogue.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Vladimir Putin during a state visit reception at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi. - Shutterstock

But the West has identified this Russian oasis as a problem. As Putin touched down, the UK imposed sanctions on four Emirati shipping companies, accusing them of helping to fuel the Russian war machine by hiding Moscows oil exports.

Firms based in the UAE can legally buy and sell Russian oil at any price, as long as they are using non-European shipping and financial services providers.

UAE prime destination for Russian money

Neither the Russian Business Council nor the Russian Emirates magazine for expats replied to the Telegraphs requests for comment for this article.

But the Russian community in the UAE may not be completely safe from the fallout of Putins disastrous war.

James Nixey, the director of Chatham Houses Russia and Eurasia programme, said: The UAE is now a prime destination for Russian money - and the holders of that money - now that the West is no longer a safe space for it or for them.

But even if the West cant freeze it there, the cash-strapped Russian state may still require access to it, even if it nominally resides in private hands, he told the Sunday Telegraph.

How safe is a Russian billionaire from the reaches of the Kremlin in UAE?

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Governor Ron DeSantis proposed budget includes $430 million in tax cuts that aim to lower insurance premiums for homeowners, but the actual savings homeowners might see from the proposal are likely to be minimal, as reported by our sister station Action News JAX.

The governors plan would waive fees and taxes on property insurance premiums for one year and permanently waive those costs for flood insurance policies.

So, thatll go up to housing values of $750,000, said DeSantis.

Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute argued any effort by lawmakers to ease the burden on Floridians wallets in the insurance realm is a positive.

Read: Senators sound alarms about a Citizens bailout in federal probe

So, the fact that these are featured in the proposed budget, we like seeing that, said Friedlander.

But Friedlander cautioned, the expected savings for homeowners would be minimal.

On a property insurance policy equal to the state average of $6,000 a year combined with the average $950 flood insurance policy, homeowners could expect to save about $417 a year or about $35 a month.

Read: Floridas ongoing property insurance crisis leading to spikes in HOA fees

For those with property insurance alone, the savings are closer to $240 a year on average, equating to $20 a month.

So, not a big amount, especially if youre looking at a $6,000 average, said Friedlander.

Friedlander noted reforms passed in recent years have generated positive momentum in the Florida insurance market.

Six new companies have been approved to write policies in the state and roughly 200,000 policyholders have left Citizens, the state-back insurer of last resort, and returned to the private market.

Read: New report: Florida Property Insurance Premiums wont drop

But he added consumers should still expect double-digit rate hikes again next year.

That means even with the proposed savings, bills are likely to go up.

So, we just want to paint a realistic picture for consumers that, yeah theyre gonna cut some money that youre paying now, but most likely youre still gonna see an increase overall because the premium averages are gonna go up again, said Friedlander.

The Governor is also proposing an additional $107 million for the My Safe Florida Home program, which helps homeowners cover the cost of hardening their homes.

Friedlander said that program is saving participating homeowners an average of $1,000 a year on their policies.

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Keanu Reeves attends the premiere of the film "John Wick: Chapter 4" on March 20 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

Keanu Reeves Hollywood Hills home was once again broken into Wednesday night, according to authorities and reports.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a reported burglary at Reeves' property on Thrasher Avenue around 7 p.m., officials told The Times on Friday.

"Suspects entered the property through the backyard and broke a rear window to gain access," said Officer Norma Eisenman, an LAPD spokesperson.

Officers searched the area but found no suspects.

Police reportedly returned to the residence around 1 a.m. Thursday after an alarm on the property sounded, according to TMZ. Officers then reviewed security footage, which reportedly showed intruders wearing ski masks smashing a window and entering the house, according to the outlet. The LAPD did not confirm the second incident to The Times.

Reeves was not home at the time, but burglars reportedly stole a firearm before escaping, according to TMZ.

Read more: Keanu Reeves gets restraining order against alleged stalker who said he'd sign over his 'rights' to the actor

The John Wick stars home has been broken into several times over the years.

Earlier this year, Reeves filed for a temporary restraining order against a man who allegedly trespassed on the actors property at least six times between November 2022 and January.

In one such intrusion, the alleged stalker left behind a backpack containing a DNA testing kit, which he had intended to use on Reeves to show they were somehow related, according to the application for the order.

Reeves' home was also the scene of back-to-back break-ins in 2014. Reeves confronted one intruder in his library, while cleaners found the other in his pool days later.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An intoxicated, armed 19-year-old man boarded a Boise school bus in part because of overcrowding on the bus that caused confusion and the bus stops close proximity to a city bus route, an investigation by the Boise School District found.

The districts human resources director Jason Hutchison and the transportation company, Durham School Services, found areas of concern after investigating last months incident and recommended several changes, including new drop-off and pickup locations for the school bus route and reducing the number of students on each route, according to a Friday news release from the district.

At around 7:30 a.m. in early November, a Meridian man boarded a school bus near downtown Boise that was headed to North Junior High School and Boise High School, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. Police said they discovered he had a stolen gun and drugs in his backpack.

Police said the man was under the influence or drugs or alcohol and boarded the bus attempting to get a ride to an unknown location. He was charged with several felonies and is currently being held at the Ada County Jail.

Several students that morning had entered and then exited the bus when they realized the bus was full, creating confusion, and evidence indicated the man believed he was boarding a city bus, according to the districts release.

The investigation determined that, while the bus driver, North administrators and Boise police all performed admirably, there are areas of concern that will be addressed both in the short and long term, the news release said.

The district is exploring new drop-off and pickup locations for the bus route to avoid a crossover between school bus stops and Valley Regional Transit routes, according to the release. The district also plans to reassign bus routes to reduce the number of students on each route. All students who currently ride the bus are still expected to receive transportation, the release added.

The district said its still investigating whether it should require passengers on the school bus to show identification. The district plans to form a committee to consider mandatory student identification, though the district cited concerns such a policy would cause students to be left behind at bus stops.

The district also plans to improve training for bus drivers and have encouraged students to report suspicious behavior.
A probe into the leak of pages from the journal of the Covenant School shooter who killed six people earlier this year has come back inconclusive, after Nashville Police exhausted all available investigative avenues.

The police announced the results in an email to media late Friday amid an ongoing battle over whether the writings, originally leaked to right-wing commentator Stephen Crowder, should be released as public records, according to the Associated Press.

The investigation was launched by Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnell early last month, after Crowder posted the images online, claiming they were from the shooters manifesto.

Law enforcement interviewed officers who were on the scene and examined their electronic devices. Three cell phone pictures of the journals were taken after being found in the shooters vehicle by detectives, according to investigators.

The department does not have the ability to compel statements or cooperation from former employees, the police statement reads, per the AP.

Seven Nashville police officers were placed on administrative assignment in the wake of the mayors orders last month. Those officers have since returned to regular duties, according to the police.

I am greatly disturbed by todays unauthorized release of three pages of writings from the Covenant shooter, Nashville Police Chief John Drake said last month in a statement. This police department is extremely serious about the investigation to identify the person responsible.

This action showed a total disregard for Covenant families, as well as the court system, which has control of the shooters journals at the present time due to litigation filed earlier this year, he added.

According to court filings, the shooter left behind 20 journals at minimum, alongside a suicide note and a memoir.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Since the start of Israels war in Gaza nearly two months ago, outraged young Americans have been at the forefront of a growing Palestinian solidarity movement.

They have led protests in Washington and across the country to demand a permanent ceasefire and to voice their disapproval of Joe Bidens support for Israels military campaign, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children, and plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Related: Muslim leaders in swing states pledge to abandon Biden over his refusal to call for ceasefire

A generational divide on the conflict is shifting the terms of the foreign policy debate in Washington, where support for Israel has long been bipartisan and near-unanimous. And, ahead of an already contentious election year, there are signs the issue could pose a threat to Bidens prospects of winning re-election in 2024.

Theres something profound taking place in the way young Americans, particularly Democrats, think about the issue, said Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland, who has studied American public sentiment on the Israeli-Palestine conflict for decades.

Shifting attitudes

There was a surge of support for Israel in the wake of the 7 October attack, when gunmen killed at least 1,200 people, roughly two-thirds of whom were civilians, and seized as many as 240 hostages, more than 100 of whom have been freed so far. But attitudes have evolved in the two months since, especially among young Americans, thousands of whom have taken to the streets in protest of Israels air and ground offensive, which has killed at least 17,000 Palestinians and displaced more than three-quarters of the enclaves 2.3 million residents.

Americans overall continue to sympathize with Israel, but surveys show stark divides by party affiliation and age. Young Americans are far more likely than older Americans to express sympathy for Palestinians and to disagree with Bidens response and strategy, a trend that is especially pronounced among Democrats.

It is the deepest shift in a short period of time that Ive seen Shibley Telhami

A pair of University of Maryland Critical Issues Polls, the first taken shortly after 7 October and the second taken four weeks after the attack, found that the number of young Democrats who said Biden was too pro-Israeli had doubled while the percentage who said they were less likely to support him in 2024 based on his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue more than doubled.

It is the deepest shift in a short period of time that Ive seen, said Telhami, who is the director of the Critical Issues Poll. While public attitudes often evolve during the course of a war, he said such a significant swing suggests this isnt episodic.

Among voters 18-34, a majority  52%  said they were more sympathetic to Palestinians than Israelis, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released in mid-November. It marked a sharp reversal from the survey taken the previous month, after the 7 October assault, when 41% of young people said their sympathies lay with the Israelis, compared with 26% who said the Palestinians.

The poll also found young people were about equally divided between those who believe supporting Israel is in the USs national interest  47%  and those who dont  45%  compared with older cohorts who overwhelmingly said it was.

According to a recent NBC poll, a striking 70% of voters ages 18 to 34 say they disapprove of Bidens handling of the Israel-Hamas war. A Pew poll published this week charted a similar trend, with just 19% of Americans under 30 approving of the presidents response.

Watching a young, multiracial coalition champion Palestinian rights has been a glimmer of hope amid the horrors of war in Gaza and a rise in Islamophobia in the US, said Nihad Awad, executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair).

We hope to see a break with the past, said Awad, who is Palestinian American, and a shift not only in the public opinion among young people but hopefully among the general public, ultimately towards a policy that reflects universal values of justice and freedom for all.

What moral standing is there?

Many Americans of Bidens generation can remember Israel as a young, left-leaning democracy founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust  a vulnerable country in a hostile region and a place the 81-year-old president has described as an indispensable haven for Jews. Biden, who was five at the time of Israels founding, has said: If there werent an Israel, wed have to invent one.

Younger Democrats, by contrast, have mostly known Israel as a military power led by the rightwing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has aligned himself closely with Republicans in the United States and is accused of undermining democratic institutions in Israel.

Those generational tensions have roiled the party, pitting young staffers against their bosses at the White House and at agencies across the administration, on Capitol Hill and at the Democratic National Committee. In letters, cables and in some cases, resignations, they have expressed their concern over the administrations policy toward Israel.

Polling shows Bidens support deteriorating among the nations youngest voters, considered a key part of the Democrats electoral coalition. In 2020, Biden won voters under 30 by more than 20 percentage points, according to exit polls. Recent surveys show the president competitive with or in some cases trailing Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, among young people.

What moral standing is there when you allow for more than 6,000 children to be killed? Zohran Mamdani

Last month, a coalition of youth-centered progressive organizations signed an open letter calling on Biden to support a ceasefire, which he has resisted, and warning that his approach to the war in Gaza risks millions of young voters staying home or voting third party next year. Unless he changes course, they cautioned that Democrats would probably struggle to recruit the often young volunteers, organizers and staffers to work on Democratic campaigns.

Biden ran on a promise to restore Americas moral standing in the world. What moral standing is there when you allow for more than 6,000 children to be killed? said Zohran Mamdani, a 32-year-old Democratic state lawmaker from New York who staged a five-day hunger strike outside of the White House to protest against Bidens handling of the war. If the fabric of your coalition was built on promises that you are betraying, you cannot be surprised if that coalition cannot be reactivated once more.

In the days after 7 October, Biden condemned Hamass attack on Israel as sheer evil and offered his administrations unwavering support for Israel. The White House has argued that Bidens strategy of standing by Israel as it wages war in Gaza has allowed his administration to push for diplomatic breakthroughs. The president has earned some praise for his administrations efforts to restart the flow of desperately needed aid into the besieged region and to secure a week-long truce last month that saw the release of more than a hundred hostages held by Hamas.

Amid global outrage at the scale of the death and destruction in Gaza, the president and his administration have become more blunt in expressing their concern over Israels military campaign as well as Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.

I have consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons: to accelerate and expand the humanitarian assistance going into Gaza and, two, to facilitate the release of hostages, Biden said recently.

Many young activists, especially young Arab and Muslim Americans, say the presidents support for Israel is abetting a war that is already outpacing the bloodiest conflicts of the 21st century. They have been alarmed by some of his rhetoric, particularly his comments questioning the veracity of the casualty figures kept by health officials in the Hamas-run enclave, which struck many as dehumanizing. And they say the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian boy and the shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont underscore the threat facing Arab and Muslim American communities.

No amount of time will erase the last two months from our memory, said Munir Atalla, 30, of the Palestinian Youth Movement.

Why its happening

Political scientists, activists and lawmakers on both sides of the debate say a range of factors are shaping the way young people perceive Israels war against Hamas. Social media, where young people have watched the horror of war unfold in real time on their cellphones, is one.

About a third of American adults under 30 say they regularly get their news from TikTok, where videos discussing the war have racked up billions of views.

Nerdeen Kiswani, 29, co-founder and leader of Within Our Lifetime, a Palestinian-led community organization that staged a peace protest near the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Times Square, New York, last month, said young people distrust traditional media. Instead, she said they rely on social media to hear directly from Palestinian civilians and journalists in Gaza.

They can see with their own eyes, she said. Social media now has really democratized what news comes out there.

But young peoples interest in Israel-Palestine  and the USs approach to the conflict  is not new and the conversation is not only happening online, said Rachel Janfaza, the founder of the Up and Up newsletter that explores gen Z political culture.

While social media is one element of where young people are getting their news and information about whats going on between Israel and Hamas, she said, theres also a robust campus conversation about the conflict that predates the existence of TikTok.

Many leftwing activists have embraced the Palestinian cause as an extension of the racial justice movement that mobilized following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. For them, the fight for Palestinian rights is linked to domestic causes like police brutality and climate justice.

When I go to marches, when I go to rallies, when I go on hunger strike and I look around, these are the same people that I was marching with for Black Lives Matter, said Mamdani. That solidarity is at the crux of why so many young people are able to stand up for justice wherever it applies.

A searing conversation over Palestinian rights has swept college campuses and even high schools, where educators are struggling to foster civil discourse as they confront a rise in bias attacks against Arab, Muslim and Jewish students.

At protests, pro-Palestinian activists describe Israel as a colonial power and an oppressive, occupying force. Behind claims of anti-Israel bias, they see an effort to silence any criticism of the Israeli government, which many activists now charge with perpetrating a genocide against the Palestinian people.

Supporters of Israel have argued that viewing the Israel-Palestinian conflict through a lens of power and privilege often flattens the complex roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict and ignores Jewish peoples history of persecution. They say some of the slogans and rhetoric used by pro-Palestinian activists cross a line into antisemitism and denialism of the atrocities of the 7 October attacks.

Its one thing to criticize Netanyahu, his policies, said Tyler Gregory, 35, CEO of the Bay Areas Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). Its another thing to demonize Israel in the same way that Jews have been demonized for millennia, as being the source of the worlds problems.

Young Jewish people

Israels military campaign in Gaza has also divided young American Jews, a group that tends to be politically liberal and secular.

A survey by the Jewish Electorate Institute conducted a month after the war began revealed a significant generational split among American Jews that mirrored the US population as a whole.

While nearly three-quarters of American Jews said they approve of Bidens response to the conflict, it found that Jewish voters aged 18 to 35 were far more likely than their older counterparts to disapprove.

With chants of not in our name, young progressive Jewish activists have led several of the major ceasefire protests, some of which have drawn rebukes from prominent Jewish advocacy groups.

Meanwhile, young Jews were among the tens of thousands of demonstrators who gathered in Washington last month to show solidarity with Israel and voice support for its war against Hamas as calls for a ceasefire grow.

You cannot bomb your way to peace. Thats what young people are saying in the streets right now Eva Borgwardt

Joe Vogel, a 26-year-old Maryland state delegate running for Congress, said it had been deeply worrying to see attempts from some on the left to justify the violence on 7 October.

The only way that were really going to secure peace and justice for everyone in Israel and Palestine is if we move away from the binary thinking, said Vogel, who is Jewish and describes himself as a pro-Israel progressive. We have to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian. We have to be pro-Jewish and pro-Muslim.

In 2020, Eva Borgwardt worked as a Democratic field director to help elect Biden in Arizona. Now the 27-year-old is helping to lead protests against him as the national spokesperson of IfNotNow, a leftwing Jewish group demanding the president back a permanent ceasefire.

We know that the only way this horrific violence will end is with a ceasefire. You cannot bomb your way to peace, she said. Thats what young people are saying in the streets right now.

Audra Heinrichs contributed to this report from New York
Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, pictured here in 2019, has been closely monitored by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency. Credit - ATTA KENAREGetty Images

When Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad invaded Israel on Oct.7, they didnt just perpetrate the most deadly attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The Iran-trained and supported terrorists also helped divert the worlds attention away from how Iran is quietly, but quickly, marching towards nuclear breakout. In February, top Biden Administration official Colin Kahl, the then-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, admitted that Iran could soon assemble a crude nuclear device in days.

Understandably, the U.S. and its allies are now focused on urgent, immediate regional crisesnamely the IDFs military operation to eliminate Hamas from Gaza and dealing with the ever-growing threat of militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. But a nuclear Iran remains the gravest long-term regional security threat facing Israel, the Middle East, and the United States, and it is not too late to stop Irans pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

The diplomatic backdrop has already changed considerably for Irans nuclear aspirations. In the weeks and months before the Oct. 7 attack, Israel and Saudi Arabia were close to completing a normalization agreement, building off the Abraham Accords, which were originally conceived by its architect Jared Kushner and which both of us were involved in advising and negotiating.

The imminent addition of Saudi Arabiahome of Mecca, the spiritual center of Islamto the Abraham Accords likely motivated Hamas attacks on Israel. Saudi-Israel normalization would have been disastrous for Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans terrorist proxies, and the Iranian regimes stated goal of destroying Israel. The more that the people of the region accept Israels existence, the harder it becomes for Tehran to obliterate the Jewish state and assert dominance over the Middle East.

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We remain confident Saudi Arabia will eventually recognize Israels existence, but not right now. The scenes of Israeli fighters marching through Gaza broadcast throughout the Middle East threaten to inflame a pre-existing hatred of Israel that makes normalization politically untenable at this time, even for Gulf monarchies not beholden to voting publics.

We firmly judge this derailment of the next phase of the Abraham Accords as the great geopolitical casualty of the Oct. 7 attack. Even more importantly, the Ayatollah seems to believe the West is now further distracted and perhaps more deterred from confronting Iran over its nuclear program, as full-fledged nuclear weapons creep ever closer to fruition.

The strides Iran has made in its nuclear program over the last few years have flown under the radar. Today, Tehran has enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear weapon in only 12 days according to data collected from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).



Iran is essentially a nuclear threshold state given their stockpile of uranium, with estimated enrichment levels as high as 84%. For context, 90% is the benchmark for full breakout capability. International sanctions on the regimes ballistic missile program have also been allowed to expire, giving the regime carte blanche to further develop and proliferate the delivery vehicles necessary for a potential strike with the ability to reach Tel Aviv, Haifa, or even a European capital.

Provided by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Adam Boehler

The potential destructive power of an Iranian nuclear weapon is obvious, but even the mere threat of a nuclear Iran is a potent weapon for the Ayatollah right now. He has surely seen how Vladimir Putins nuclear threats seemingly deterred the U.S. from fully supporting Ukraine, according to experts including former American diplomat John E. Herbst. The Ayatollah may feel emboldened to run the same playbook now, especially if Israel reoccupies Gaza for the long-term or Hezbollah aggression compels the Israeli military to enter Lebanon in the months ahead.

The U.S. has repeatedly backed down from even minor confrontation with Iran in the interests of avoiding a wider regional war, including responding rather timidly to attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq by Iran-backed militias in recent weeks. As 60 Minutes detailed in November, the regimes assassination campaigns on U.S. soil against U.S. officials and dissidents also continue apace.

It seems conceivable that the Ayatollah may continue to scale the escalation ladder with increasingly potent nuclear threats. U.S. and Israeli officials have messaged resolve not to let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, but whether Israel and the U.S. actually have the political will to destroy the Iranian bomb-making program remains to be seen.

Provided by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Adam Boehler

Even with Iran entrenched as a nuclear threshold state, it is not too late to stop the West Asia country from obtaining nuclear weapons. The U.S. should be galvanized by the current conflict to restore deterrence against Iranbeginning with stronger enforcement of sanctions designed to cut off the regimes number one source of income: oil revenues. The money generated from its petroleum exports funds Irans nuclear program and terrorist proxies alike, with windfall profits from increased oil exports, as weve discussed previously.

As Secretary of State in 2016, John Kerry proudly proclaimed that the world was safer thanks to the nuclear deal he engineered, which released $150 billion in sanctions relief to Iran. In hindsight, Kerrys sheepish admission that some of that money might go towards terrorism has proven sadly prescient, and we should hit pause on this spigot immediately.

Additionally, the U.S. must continue to pressure the IAEA to conduct rigorous inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities and hold the regime accountable when it does not abide by its commitments. An IAEA report released on Sept. 4 stated: Irans decision to remove all of the agencys equipment previously installed in Iran for JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring activities has also had detrimental implications for the agencys ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program.

To deter nuclear escalation, the world must impose new, tougher costs on Iran when it skirts IAEA regulations, stopping the country in its tracks before it progresses any further towards an actual nuclear weapon. Failure to do so makes it increasingly likely that Iran asserts control on the escalation ladder through nuclear threats, whether in the crisis in Israel or with increasing support for its terrorist proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and beyond.

American policy makers are rightly seized with the urgent and important work of supporting Israels counter-offensive efforts against terrorists in Gaza. We should not, however, lose sight of the fact that the current crisis is inextricably tied to the strategic imperative of stopping Irans march to the bomb.

Should we fail to urgently address and counter Irans nuclear program, todays conflicts in the Middle East will likely become far worse.

With research assistance by Steven Tian.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Palestinian firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a house after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2023. - REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Israel has urged residents of six more areas of the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis to leave urgently, amid heavy fighting along the length of the enclave.

Israels Arabic-language spokesperson posted a map on Twitter highlighting six numbered blocks of the city, including areas of its centre that had not been subject to such orders before.

Aid organisations have emphasised that there is no safe place in Gaza and that the safe zones are being bombed as well, with deliveries of food and other humanitarian aid almost entirely cut off.

Khan Younis, Gazas second city, is surrounded by Israeli tanks on two sides. The Israeli military has said that it is fighting house to house and shaft to shaft through Hamas tunnel network.

05:00 PM GMT

Today's live blog is now closed

Thats all from us for today. We will be back tomorrow with all of the latest developments on the war between Israel and Hamas. Here is a roundup of the most significant news from today:

Israel has issued more evacuation orders in Khan Younis, as the amount of territory left for Palestinians to flee shrinks to an even smaller sliver of territory. As Palestinians run out of places to shelter from the relentless bombing and ground invasion, hunger and disease are gripping the entire of the strip with almost all aid deliveries ceased.

The US used its veto power to shut down a UN Security Council resolution, that was backed by the UAE, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The UK abstained from voting, while the rest of the council voted in favour. The US and UK faced backlash from aid organisations and Arab allies.

Medics in Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis have said that the hospital is so overwhelmed with Israels ground and air attacks that they have lost control with infections spiralling.

Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels have promised to step up their attacks on global shipping in support of Hamas. The militia group has been attacking ships with perceived links to Israel in the Red Sea. Now it promises to attack ships of any nationality that plans to enter Israel, unless it is taking aid to Gaza.

Half of the population of Gaza is starving, a senior UN aid official has said. Half of the population are starving, nine out of 10 are not eating every day, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme.

Kibbutz Beeri has announced that resident Sahar Baruch, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, has died while in captivity. Yesterday, Hamas said that Israeli special forces tried to rescue IDF soldier Baruch and that he was killed in the ensuing clashes.

Irans top diplomat today warned of an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the Middle East after the US used its veto power to block a ceasefire in Gaza. As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) and the continuation of the war... there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

04:53 PM GMT

Gaza death toll rises to at least 17,700

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Saturday the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war had risen to at least 17,700 in the Palestinian territory.

The crimes and genocide against the people of Gaza are beyond any description... Ending Palestinian existence with American and European support is inhuman, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, adding that 48,780 people had also been wounded in the war.

It has become more difficult for the Gaza health ministry to report numbers since the ground invasion began as ambulances cannot bring bodies to the hospitals. Thousands are estimated to be stuck in the rubble.

04:49 PM GMT

Israel accuses Hamas of using schools and mosque to launch attacks

The Israeli military said it had battled Hamas terrorists who attacked troops from schools in Beit Hanoun on the strips northern edge and the Shejaiya district of Gaza City.

The Israeli military released footage that it says shows Hamas terrorists firing on its forces from inside a UN-run school in Gazas Beit Hanoun, which is then followed by an Israeli air strike.

Other footage shows Israeli troops operating in what appears to be a deserted school in Shejaiya, Gaza City, and responding to fire, though no Hamas militants are seen in the video.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops found a Hamas cell within a school compound in Shejaiya that attempted to draw Israeli forces into a deadly ambush. The Hamas terrorists there were then eliminated, it said.

The Telegraph could not verify details of the account.

Other footage shows Israels elite Lotar forces firing inside the school in Shejaiya, which appears to be deserted, as it continues its battle against Hamas in the north and south of Gaza. The Israeli military later claimed to have found a Hamas tunnel inside one of the classrooms, saying that it connected to a nearby mosque.

04:24 PM GMT

Pro-Palestine demonstrators march through central London

HAPPENING NOW Central London



"VICTORY TO THE INTIFADA" pic.twitter.com/cbLCmQ5gDv  Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) December 9, 2023

04:22 PM GMT

Half of Gaza's population is starving, UN says

Half of the population of Gaza is starving, a senior UN aid official has said.

There is a question for how long this can continue, because the humanitarian operation is collapsing, Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme said in an interview with Reuters.

Half of the population are starving, nine out of 10 are not eating every day. Obviously the needs are massive.

The intensity of Israeli bombing and the spread of forces on the ground has rendered almost all aid deliveries impossible.

04:08 PM GMT

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels vow to step up attacks in the Red Sea

Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels have vowed to step up their attacks in the Red Sea in support of Hamas.

The militia has been targeting vessels that they perceive to have Israeli links, but is now promising to attack ships of any nationality that are heading toward Israel, unless they are taking aid into Gaza.

Their attacks on global shipping have raised international concern raised as high as the G7.

Out of concern for the safety of maritime navigation, we warn all ships and companies against dealing with Israeli ports, a statement from the Houthis military spokesman said.

03:54 PM GMT

Arrests made over placards at pro-Palestine demonstrations in London

Police said as the march began that officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.

He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, officers said in a social media post.

A further arrest was also made for an offensive placard as the as the march reached Parliament Square.

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday 9 December 2023, after the UK abstained from a ceasefire vote at the UN Security Council.

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday 9 December 2023, after the UK abstained from a ceasefire vote at the UN Security Council.

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday 9 December 2023, after the UK abstained from a ceasefire vote at the UN Security Council.

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday 9 December 2023, after the UK abstained from a ceasefire vote at the UN Security Council.

03:46 PM GMT

US gives green light to potential sale of tank cartridges to Israel

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of tank cartridges and related equipment to Israel for an estimated $106.5 million, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

The sale will be from US Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment, the Pentagon said in a statement.

03:40 PM GMT

85% of Gaza has been forced from their homes, according to the UN

A man holding a tray of cigarette boxes gestures while walking with women and a child near tents erected by Palestinians displaced by intense Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip in open areas near the Egyptian border in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave on December 9, 2023. - SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

03:23 PM GMT

Hezbollah and Israel continue to exchange fire

Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire throughout the day.

Israel just released a statement saying that it hit a Hezbollah operational command center in Lebanon. Hezbollah on the other hand said that it achieved a direct hit on Israels Naqoura naval base. Earlier in the day Hezbollah also said that it hit an Israeli barracks.

03:13 PM GMT

Hamas and Israel clash in Jabalia refugee camp

The IDF and Hamas have put out statements that both describe heavy fighting in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza today, which has the been site of several massive Israeli air strikes during this war.

Hamas had set up an ambush in the same area, preparing to attack our forces as they passed through the central traffic route, the IDF said in a statement. The forces flanked the enemy through one of the alleys, surprising them and firing at the terrorists. The terrorists fired back at our forces and threw grenades. The firefight continued until the terrorists were eliminated.

The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas said that since this morning, our mujahideen have been waging fierce battles from zero distance with the enemy forces penetrating west of the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

It is not immediately clear how many casualties there were on each side.

03:05 PM GMT

Israel bolsters forces in Shejaiya

Israel continues to deploy soldiers, tanks, military aircraft and armoured vehicles near the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza after Israeli attacks, as smoke rises in Gaza as seen from Nahal Oz, Israel - Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images

02:51 PM GMT

Londoners call for a ceasefire in pro-Palestine marches

One hand drawn placard showed a star of David, symbol of the state of Israel, being pushed into the sea, with around it the words The Final Solution? - in what was a clear reference to the Holocaust, Patrick Sawer and Steve Bird write.

Another placard stated: Israels Gaza Holocaust, while nearby a woman held one with the words One holocaust does not justify another.

By contrast, a group of Jewish people on the Embankment were seen holding up placards stating This Jew wants a ceasefire now as some of the passing protesters applauded.

The main chant from demonstrators, many of whom had brought their children, was ceasefire now.

02:49 PM GMT

Nasser medical complex in southern Gaza 'loses control'

The director-general of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis has said that the number of dead and injured arriving at the hospital has caused it to lose control.

There are injuries that have been waiting for days for surgery, said Dr Atef al Hout. We lost control in the face of the large number of infections hitting the complex.

02:30 PM GMT

Inside London's pro-Palestine demonstrations

People on the march held signs reading Free Palestine and End the siege while others chanted: One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state, Patrick Sawer and Steve Bird write.

Before the march began police arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

Scotland Yard said: As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany,.

He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

02:26 PM GMT

'From London to Gaza, Globalise the intifada!' heard in London marches

Cries of From London to Gaza, Globalise the intifada! rang out as tens of thousands of pro-Palestine activists marched through the capital on Saturday, Patrick Sawer and Steve Bird write.

As the crowd wound its way from Bank in the City of London to Whitehall sections also chanted From the River to the Sea/Palestine Must Be Free - regarded by many Jews as being a hate call for the destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state - along with Ceasefire Now.

Among those leading the march in protest at the continued Israeli attacks on Gaza was the independent MP Claudia Webbe, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2021 after being convicted of harassment of a woman who was having an affair with her then-partner.

The march - the latest in a series of weekly protests in London and around the country called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition and other groups - came after the UK abstained on a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza - a motion that was vetoed by the US.

Previous marches have seen openly anti-Semitic placards and banners held by sections of the crowd, prompting criticism of the motives of some activists and a pledge by the police to crack down on any expressions of support for terror groups.

Ahead of Saturdays march the Metropolitan Police tweeted saying: There is [] an exclusion zone in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling in the area around the Israeli Embassy, shown on the map below.

We will keep the need for further powers and conditions under review. Officers will again be distributing leaflets to those taking part in the protest.

Our message is clear - keep on the right side of the law and report those who dont.

02:14 PM GMT

Two more Palestinians killed in the West Bank

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank on Saturday and another succumbed to his wounds from an Israeli raid the day before, the AP reports.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the 25-year-old man who succumbed to his wounds today had been shot during an arrest raid in the Faraa refugee camp on Friday. Seven had been killed in this raid, among them a local commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.

A total of 274 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of the conflict two months ago  most were killed during shootouts that the Israeli military says began during operations to arrest suspected militants.

02:07 PM GMT

Putin thanks Sisi for help in releasing Russian hostages from Gaza

Russian president, Vladimir Putin, thanked his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, for his help in evacuating Russian citizens from Gaza in a call today where he wished him well on the eve of the Egyptian election, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin said Putin updated Sisi on his talks this week with leaders from Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Reuters reports. Putin announced on Friday that he too would seek another term in March, in an election where there will be little question about the result.

Putin has repeatedly blamed the Israel-Hamas war on the failure of years of US diplomacy in the Middle East, while aiming to position Russia as an important player in the region.

01:51 PM GMT

UKs abstention from ceasefire vote incomprehensible, Humza Yousaf says

Scotlands First Minister Humza Yousaf has called the UKs abstention from the UN Security Council vote calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza last night incomprehensible.

I agree with @savechildrenuk



I find it incomprehensible that the UK did not vote for a ceasefire. How can you choose to be complicit in the killing of thousands of children?



Shame on the UK Government & Keir Starmer's Labour Party who refuse to back a #CeasefireNow https://t.co/TXLSZiwIKI  Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) December 9, 2023

01:12 PM GMT

London's pro-Palestine march begins

Pro-Palestinian protestors march in central London on Saturday 9 December, 2023. - Heathcliff O'Malley

Pro-Palestinian protestors march in central London on Saturday 9 December, 2023 - Heathcliff O'Malley

Pro-Palestinian protestors march in central London on Saturday 9 December, 2023. - Heathcliff O'Malley

12:53 PM GMT

The UN Security Council needs to be reformed, says Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the United Nations Security Council to be reformed, decrying the fact that the United States could veto a ceasefire proposal for Gaza despite huge support from other countries.

The United Nations Security Council demand for ceasefire is rejected only by US veto. Is this justice?, Erdogan said in a human rights conference in Istanbul.

The U.N. Security Council needs to be reformed, he added.

12:13 PM GMT

Kibbutz Beeri announces death of 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch

Kibbutz Beeri has announced that resident Sahar Baruch, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, has died while in captivity.

The statement does not detail how and when the 25-year-old died, but says he was killed in Gaza.

Yesterday, Hamas said that Israeli special forces tried to rescue IDF soldier Baruch and that he was killed in the ensuing clashes.

We demand the return of his body as part of any hostage deal. We wont stop until everyone is home, the kibbutz says.

Sahar Baruch was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Be'eri.

12:05 PM GMT

Pro-Palestine protest calling for ceasefire to march through central London

A pro-Palestine protest calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war will march through the streets of central London today.

The march will start at Bank Junction at midday and finish in Parliament Square, with an exclusion zone prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli Embassy.

Previous weekends have seen thousands of protesters and counter-protesters converging on the capital.

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement: A protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will take place tomorrow, beginning at Bank junction in the City of London from midday.

Conditions in place under Sec 12 of the Public Order Act require protesters to stick to the agreed route as shown in the map below.

Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm.

11:54 AM GMT

Pictured: Airstrikes in Khan Yunis

A Palestinian firefighter works to extinguish a fire in a house after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2023 - REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

11:51 AM GMT

Gaza aid checks at Kerem Shalom being tested, crossing not open - UN official

A new process for inspecting aid for Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing is being tested, but efforts to get permission for trucks to enter through the crossing and ramp up relief are still ongoing, a senior UN official told Reuters on Saturday.

Under the new system, trucks would come to the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel, Gaza and Egypt for the first time from Jordan, before entering Gaza from Rafah, about 3 km (1.86 miles) away.

But the trucks would need to be allowed to enter Gaza directly through Kerem Shalom to alleviate an increasingly desperate situation in the coastal enclave, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme.

Israel has so far rebuffed pleas from the United Nations and others to open Kerem Shalom, but they both signalled on Thursday that Kerem Shalom could soon help process delivery of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Until now, limited quantities of aid have been delivered from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which is ill-equipped to process large numbers of trucks.

Trucks have been driving more than 40 km (24.85 miles) south to Egypts border with Israel before returning to Rafah, leading to bottlenecks and delays.

A process to test the inspection system at Kerem Shalom for trucks arriving from Jordan is underway, said Skau, who visited Gaza on Friday.

11:49 AM GMT

UK has missed critical opportunity to vote to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, says ActionAid

It is devastating to see the UK miss this critical opportunity to vote to call for a permanent ceasefire and end the unbearable suffering of 2.3million people in Gaza, said Ziad Issa, head of humanitarian policy at ActionAid UK. The fact that the rare step of invoking article 99 was taken for the first time in decades to make this vote happen underlines the enormous gravity of the situation.



With aid operations no longer able to meaningfully function anywhere in the territory and infrastructure on the brink of collapse, now is the moment for international action. The scenes in Gaza have rightfully been described as apocalyptic. How much more death and destruction will it take before leaders put humanity first and decide enough is enough?



After two months of violence, it is women and children in Gaza who are suffering the most. By abstaining in this vote, the UK is failing in its obligations to protect them and jeopardising its reputation as a champion and defender of human rights on the world stage. A ceasefire is the only way to prevent more deaths and ensure enough humanitarian aid can reach those who need it.

Barbara Woodward, the UKs permanent representative to the UN, criticised the fact that the resolution did not condemn Hamas for its October 7 atrocities. Calling for a ceasefire ignores the fact that Hamas has committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage, she said.

She said the UK is gravely concerned about the situation in Gaza and warned the scale of civilian deaths cannot continue, but said further and longer humanitarian pauses are the solution so that Israel can defend itself.

11:18 AM GMT

Palestinian Authority president says US veto makes it complicit in Israeli 'war crimes'

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the Washingtons veto of a UN Security Council resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza made it complicit in what he described as war crimes against Palestinians.

Abbas also said he held the US responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and the elderly in the Gaza Strip, a statement released by the presidency said.

11:16 AM GMT

Fire from Lebanon into Israel

A short while ago, a number of launches from Lebanon toward the area of Kibbutz Misgav Am in northern Israel were identified, no injuries were reported, the statement said. The IDF responded with fire toward the sources of the fire.

Tensions across the Lebanese border have sharply risen in the past few days. Hamas has called on Palestinians in Lebanon to take up arms and join the fight.

11:07 AM GMT

Further displacement in Khan Yunis

Residents of Khan Yunis said on Saturday that Israeli forces were ordering people out of another district just west of positions the Israelis stormed earlier this week, Reuters is reporting, suggesting a further assault could be imminent.

Zainab Khalil, 57, displaced with 30 of her relatives and friends in Khan Yunis west of the Israeli positions, said troops had ordered people in nearby Jalal street to leave, so it might be a matter of time before they act against our area too. We have been hearing bombing all night.

We dont sleep at night, we stay awake, we try to put the children to sleep and we stay up fearing the place would be bombed and well have to run carrying the children out. During the day begins another tragedy, and that is: how to feed the children?

11:01 AM GMT

Pictured: Israeli air strike in Rafah, where Gazans have been told to flee

A ball of fire rises above a building during an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 9, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

10:54 AM GMT

WFP describes the impossibility of humanitarian work in Gaza

Carl Skau, the World Food Programmes Deputy Executive Director, has released a statement after visiting Gaza yesterday.

We visited Gaza today and nothing quite prepared me for the fear, the chaos, and the despair we encountered. Confusion at warehouses, distribution points with thousands of desperate hungry people, supermarkets with bare shelves, and overcrowded shelters with bursting bathrooms. The dull thud of bombs was the soundtrack for our day. At a food distribution, one woman told me she lived with nine other families in one apartment. They take turns sleeping at night because not all could lay down at the same time. Later, we drove by a cemetery with people gathered for what seemed like a burial. Looking more closely we saw they were cutting down trees in the cemetery to use as firewood.

With law and order breaking down, any meaningful humanitarian operation is impossible, he added. With just a fraction of the needed food supplies coming in, a fatal absence of fuel, interruptions to communications systems and no security for our staff or for the people we serve at food distributions, we cannot do our job.

10:28 AM GMT

Iran warns of 'uncontrollable explosion' in the Middle East

Irans top diplomat today warned of an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the Middle East after the US used its veto power to block a ceasefire in Gaza.

As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) and the continuation of the war... there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a phone call, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Abdollahian has regularly issued warnings that Irans proxy forces in the region, who are already carrying out attacks on Israeli and US interests, will step up their fight if the war doesnt end soon. Israel has made clear that it has no interest in ending the war before Hamas is destroyed.

US support for Israel has made it difficult to achieve a lasting ceasefire, Abdollahian told Guterres.

10:18 AM GMT

The view of Gaza this morning

A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 9, 2023, shows smoke rising above buildings during an Israeli strike in Gaza, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas - JACK GUEZ / AFP

10:05 AM GMT

Hamas slams US blocking Gaza ceasefire 'unethical and inhumane'

In a statement Hamas strongly condemns the Biden administration over the use of its veto power to block a ceasefire on Gaza.

We consider the US administration to be an accomplice in the killing of our people through its political and military support for the occupation to continue its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, it read.

Ezzat El Reshiq, a member of the groups political bureau, said: The US obstruction of the issuance of a ceasefire resolution is a direct participation with the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing. He added that Hamas considers Washingtons decision unethical and inhumane.

The undeniable reality is if Israel laid down its arms today, Hamas would continue to hold hostages, Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, said ahead of the vote.

09:52 AM GMT

Rescue operation to free Israeli hostages fails

A rescue operation to free Israeli hostages has failed, the Israeli military said, leaving two soldiers seriously wounded.

Two IDF soldiers were seriously injured tonight, during an operation in the Gaza Strip to rescue hostages from Hamas, said IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari. The forces raided a Hamas location and eliminated terrorists who took part in the kidnapping and holding of the hostages. No hostages were rescued in this operation.

Earlier yesterday, Hamas said its fighters had stopped a rescue attempt and clashed with Israeli special forces.

They claimed an Israeli soldier who was being held hostage was killed by Israeli air fire in the clashes.

09:44 AM GMT

Amnesty International responds to US block of Gaza ceasefire

With this veto, the US government is shamefully turning its back on immense civilian suffering, staggering death toll, and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. And civilians are paying the price with their lives. https://t.co/n9gL03O6uL  Paul O'Brien (@dpaulobrien) December 9, 2023

09:39 AM GMT

After US vetoed ceasefire, Gaza faced another night of relentless airstrikes

Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip overnight into Saturday in relentless bombardments, including some of the dwindling slivers of land Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the territorys south.

Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said before a UN security council vote for a ceasefire last night that was blocked by the US. Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.

On Saturday, Gaza residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the northern part of the strip as well as in the south, including the city of Rafah, where the Israeli army had ordered civilians to evacuate to.

The main hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central part of Gaza, received the bodies of 71 people killed in bombings in the area over the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday morning. The hospital also received 160 wounded, according to the ministry. In the southern city of Khan Yunis, the bodies of 62 people and another 99 wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital over the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

09:33 AM GMT

UAE 'deeply disappointed' by US veto of ceasefire deal

The United Arab Emirates has said it is deeply disappointed that the US blocked its demand for a ceasefire in Gaza at the United Nations Security Council last night, as Israeli warplanes continued to strike the Gaza Strip.

Let me be clear - against the backdrop of the secretary-generals grave warnings, the appeals by humanitarian actors, the worlds public opinion, this council grows isolated, the UAEs representative said after Washington used its veto power to block the deal.

There were 13 votes in favour of the text demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and one abstention by the UK.

Human Rights Watch said the US risked complicity in war crimes by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover despite the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land that Israel had described as safe zones when telling Palestinians in the south to evacuate.

Frustration was growing with the United States after it vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, despite wide support, and approved the emergency sale of tank ammunition worth more than $100 million to Israel.

Gaza residents are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the vote.

Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory 25 miles long by about 7 miles wide.

A day after Israel confirmed it was rounding up Palestinian men for interrogation, some told The Associated Press they had been badly treated.

Osama Oula, one of a group of 10 boys and men dropped off at a hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah after being freed, said Israeli forces bound him and others with zip ties, beat them for several days and gave them little water to drink. Some were not allowed out to use the toilet. Once freed, barefoot and in their underwear, they were told to walk south, he said.

Another man, Ahmad Nimr Salman, showed his marked and swollen hands from the zip ties. He said his 17-year-old son, Amjad, was still held. They used to ask us, Are you with Hamas? We say no, then they would slap us or kick us, he said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the alleged abuse.

With the war now in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas deadly Oct. 7 raid in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. About 240 hostages were taken.

Hamas said Saturday that it continued its rocket fire into Israel.

In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area the Israeli army had told civilians to go. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high childrens tables were strewn with rubble.

We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights, said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib.

In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold, despite heavy resistance from Hamas. The military said it found weapons inside a school in Shujaiyah, a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, and in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from a U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

More than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but more than 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military only confirmed that two soldiers were seriously wounded in an attempted rescue and no hostages were freed.

With no new cease-fire in sight and humanitarian aid reaching few parts of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages. Nine of 10 people in northern Gaza reported spending at least one full day and night without food, according to a World Food Program assessment during the truce. Two of three people in the south said the same. The WFP called the situation alarming.

I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient.

While adults can cope, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because they are hungry, he said.

On Saturday, 100 trucks carrying unspecified aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. That is still well below the daily average before the war.

Despite growing international pressure, President Joe Bidens administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel.

The administration has approved the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million, the State Department said Saturday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale of the munitions in the U.S. national security interest, meaning the purchase will bypass the congressional review requirement. Such determinations are rare but not unprecedented.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas.

Blinken continued to speak with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere amid open criticism of the U.S. stance.

From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday.

Protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire, despite restrictions on demonstrations.

In southern Gaza, thousands were on the run after what residents called a night of heavy gunfire and shelling.

Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren southern coastline, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and no toilets.

I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing, said Soad Qarmoot, who described herself as a cancer patient forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. Now her children huddle around a fire.

Imad al-Talateeny, who fled Gaza City, said Muwasi cant accommodate the growing number of displaced families.

I lack everything to feel (like) a human, he said.
A Palestinian woman holds her child after an Israeli strike on her neighborhood in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)  Israel's military pushed ahead with its punishing air and ground offensive in Gaza on Saturday, bolstered by a U.S. veto derailing U.N. Security Council efforts to end the war and word that an emergency sale of $106 million worth of tank ammunition had been approved by Washington.

Unable to leave Gaza, a territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide, more than 2 million Palestinians faced more bombardment Saturday, even in areas that Israel had described as safe zones.

The sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition was announced a day after the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, a measure that had wide international support. The U.S. said Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that an emergency exists in the national interest requiring the immediate sale, meaning it bypasses congressional review. Such a determination is rare.

A day after Israel confirmed it was rounding up Palestinian men for interrogation, some men released Saturday told The Associated Press they had been treated badly, providing the first accounts of the conditions from the detentions.

Osama Oula said Israeli troops had pulled men out of a building in the Shujaiyah area of Gaza City, ordering them to the street in their underwear. Oula said Israeli forces bound him and others with zip ties, beat them for several days and gave them little water to drink.

Ahmad Nimr Salman showed his hands, marked and swollen from the zip ties, and said older men with diabetes or high blood pressure were ignored when they asked soldiers to remove their ties.

He said the troops asked, Are you with Hamas? We say no, then they would slap us or kick us." He said his 17-year-old son Amjad is still held by the troops.

The group was released after five days and told to walk south. Ten freed detainees arrived at a hospital in Deir al-Balah on Saturday after flagging down an ambulance.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the alleged abuse.

With the war in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday.

Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages.

Hamas said Saturday that it continued its rocket fire into Israel.

In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border  one area where the Israeli army had told civilians to go. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high children's tables were strewn with rubble.

We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights," said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib.

In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold, despite heavy resistance from Hamas. The military said that it found weapons inside a school in Shujaiyah, a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, and that, in a separate incident, militants shot at troops from a U.N.-run school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

More than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Dec. 1 collapse of a weeklong truce, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The truce saw hostages and Palestinian prisoners released, but Israel says 137 hostages remain in Gaza.

On Saturday, a kibbutz that came under attack on Oct. 7 said 25-year-old hostage Sahar Baruch had died in captivity. His captors said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue mission by Israeli forces Friday. The Israeli military said Hamas killed him.

With no new cease-fire in sight and humanitarian aid reaching little of Gaza, residents reported severe food shortages. Nine of 10 people in northern Gaza reported spending at least one full day and night without food, according to a World Food Program assessment during the truce. Two of three people in the south said the same. The WFP called the situation alarming.

I am very hungry, said Mustafa al-Najjar, sheltering in a U.N.-run school in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp in the north. We are living on canned food and biscuits and this is not sufficient.

While adults can cope, its extremely difficult and painful when you see your young son or daughter crying because they are hungry, he said.

Israelis who had been taken hostage also saw the food situation deteriorate, the recently freed Adina Moshe told a rally of thousands of people in Tel Aviv seeking the rapid return of all. "We ended up eating only rice, said Moshe, who was held for 49 days.

The rally speakers accused Israel's government of not doing enough to bring loved ones home. "How can I sleep at night? How can I protect my daughter? asked Eli Albag, the father of 18-year-old hostage Liri Albag.

On Saturday, 100 trucks carrying unspecified aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. That is still well below the daily average before the war.

Despite growing international pressure, President Joe Biden's administration remains opposed to an open-ended cease-fire, arguing it would enable Hamas to continue posing a threat to Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has argued that a cease-fire is handing a prize to Hamas."

Blinken continued to speak with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and elsewhere amid open criticism of the U.S. stance.

From now on, humanity wont think the U.S.A. supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech.

Protesters at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai called for a cease-fire, despite restrictions on demonstrations.

Amid concerns about a wider conflict, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to prevent any ship heading to Israeli ports from passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea until food and medicine can enter Gaza freely. Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a speech that all ships heading to Israel, no matter their nationality, will be a target.

The French navy said the frigate Languedoc in the Red Sea shot down two drones Saturday night coming straight toward it from a Houthi-held port city. The statement did not say whether the French navy assessed its frigate was the target of the drones.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group claimed responsibility for nine attacks on Saturday, saying one targeted an Israeli post near the town of Metula. The Israeli army said one of its fighter jets struck a Hezbollah operational command center in Lebanon. The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said the tower of one of its bases along the border with Israel was hit during the skirmishes, with no injuries.

In southern Gaza, thousands were on the run after what residents called a night of heavy gunfire and shelling.

Israel has designated a narrow patch of barren southern coastline, Muwasi, as a safe zone. But Palestinians described desperately overcrowded conditions with scant shelter and no toilets. They faced an overnight temperature of around 11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit).

I am sleeping on the sand. Its freezing, said Soad Qarmoot, who described herself as a cancer patient forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

As she spoke, her children huddled around a fire.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee in Washington; Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; and Cara Anna in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.

___

Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Members of the Israeli army's infantry 6th brigade take part in an assault coordination exercise - Getty/Jalaa Marey

An Israeli hostage held in Gaza has been killed, his kibbutz community said, after Hamas claimed he had died in a failed rescue mission.

Sahar Baruch, 25, is the latest confirmed fatality among hundreds of Israelis and foreigners taken captive during Hamass Oct 7 attacks on southern Israel.

It is with deep sorrow and a broken heart that we announce the murder of Sahar Baruch, Kibbutz Beeri and the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

The announcement came after the Israeli military said two special forces soldiers had been severely wounded in an attempted hostage rescue operation on Friday night.

During the operation, numerous terrorists who took part in the abducting and holding of hostages were killed, it claimed. No hostages were rescued in this activity.

Hamass Al-Qassam brigades said it had thwarted the attempted hostage rescue, claiming that a battle ended with one Israeli hostage being killed.

A fierce gunfight broke out between the Al-Qassam fighters and the Israeli special forces, leaving many soldiers wounded while the captive Israeli... was announced killed, Hamas said in an English-language statement.

Sahar Baruch, 25, is the latest confirmed fatality among hundreds of Israelis and foreigners taken captive during Hamass Oct 7 attacks - Times of Israel

A two-minute video released by the terror group showed Baruch in captivity, speaking on camera. The clip then cuts to footage showing him lying still on the floor, likely dead, with bloodstains on his face.

The video also shows what appeared to be Israeli body-armour vests and other equipment Hamas said it had seized. The Telegraph was unable to verify its authenticity.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) did not confirm or deny the Hamas statement.

We are not going to comment on psychological warfare that Hamas continues to wage against the people of Israel, said Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson, when asked about the militarys failed raid.

We hold Hamas fully responsible for the safety and wellbeing of these hostages, he said.

Kibbutz Beeri, one of the communities targeted by Hamas in its initial October attack, said: We will demand the return of Sahars body as part of any hostage exchange agreement.

Tensions are rising between hostage families and the Israeli government, which has been accused of putting the destruction of Hamas before the return of the captives.

Raz Ben-Ami, 57, who was taken hostage and released during the truce, was so angry at the lack of action to assist her husband, Ohad, who remains in captivity, that she walked out in the middle of a meeting, recounted Ayelet Hakim, Ms Ben-Amis sister.

It changed my sister completely, said Ms Hakim, 55, a resident of Kibbutz Beeri. All she wants now is her husband back.

First thing she said when she came out was: Now we are going to bring Ohad back. Thats what shes been doing since then.

Heavy fighting begins

Israel on Saturday urged residents of six areas of the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis to leave urgently, amid heavy fighting along the length of the enclave.

Israels Arabic-language spokesperson posted a map on Twitter highlighting six numbered blocks of the city, including areas of its centre that had not been subject to such orders before.

Aid organisations have emphasised that there is no safe place in Gaza and that the safe zones are being bombed as well, with deliveries of food and other humanitarian aid almost entirely cut off.

Khan Younis, Gazas second city, is surrounded on two sides by Israeli tanks. The Israeli military has said that it is fighting house to house and shaft to shaft through Hamass tunnel network.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Irans foreign minister, on Saturday warned of an uncontrollable explosion in the Middle East if the war continues.

Yemens Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday said they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.

The Houthis have attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and its Bab al-Mandab strait, a sea lane through which much of the worlds oil is shipped, and fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel.

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Anucha Angkaew, who was abducted by Hamas and spent 50 days in captivity in Gaza, on the phone on Friday at his family home in Don Pila village in Udon, Thani province, Thailand - DEVJYOT GHOSHAL/REUTERS

Israeli hostages were singled out for especially brutal treatment by their Hamas captors, Thai farm workers freed by the terror group have said.

Anucha Angkaew was captured during the October 7 attacks. He is one of the few survivors of Hamas captivity to have spoken in detail about their ordeal.

After witnessing one of his friends being executed in front of his eyes, he was taken into Gaza along with five of his countrymen.

Once inside the enclave, the Thais were handed over to a small group of men who led them to an abandoned house and tied their hands behind their backs.

There they were joined by a terrified 18-year-old Israeli, a man Anucha said he knew from Kibbutz Reim, where he worked on an avocado farm. Then the beatings began.

We shouted Thailand, Thailand, Anucha, 28, told Reuters, helping to ease the intensity of the blows. But the young Israeli wasnt spared.

Anucha Angkaew's drawing of the property where he was held prisoner in Israel - DEVJYOT GHOSHAL/REUTERS

An hour later, the group were driven to a small building that led into a tunnel. Near its entrance, they were beaten again and photographed, Anucha said, before walking through a dark passage to a small room.

In this windowless space, which measured around five feet by five feet and was lit by a bulb, the group were joined by another Israeli man.

The militants continued kicking and punching the captives for two days, Anucha said. After that, they continued with another two days of beatings for the Israelis, who were lashed using electrical wires.

The Israeli hostages had it worse, said Manee Jirachat, another of the Thai hostages who survived 50 days in Hamas captivity.

Their Hamas guards would shout at the Israelis while the Thai hostages received medication, he told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

The group spent their first days in captivity tied up on a plastic sheet. Only after it was established that they were Thai citizens were they untied and allowed to take short walks in the tunnels each day, he said.

More than 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas as the terror group rampaged across southern Israel on October 7. Among them were Israelis, as well as dozens of migrant workers from a range of countries, including Thailand, the Philippines, Tanzania and Nepal.

War playing out above ground

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas that led to a short pause in fighting saw 110 of those hostages freed.

While in captivity, Anucha and the others had no idea of the war playing out above ground between Hamas and the Israeli military.

At one point, a guard left behind a pen, which helped the men to pass their time, marking their days in captivity, drawing tattoos and sketching out a chessboard on the plastic sheet that also served as their bedding.

On day 35, a man in black arrived for an inspection. The hostages believed he was a senior leader, given how he acted and how the guards responded.

I didnt think I would get released, Anucha said.

But suddenly, one day, a guard showed up and said: Thailand, go home.

Female Israeli hostages

Anucha and three other Thais in his group were then led through tunnels for about two hours before arriving at a Hamas facility. There, they found a group of female Israeli hostages also waiting.

Eleven hours later, they were handed over to the Red Cross, which drove them out of Gaza on Nov 25.

It was like I was reborn, he said.

Anucha was not seriously injured, but weeks after his release from captivity, his wrists still bear marks from the restraints.

The hardest part was still what he witnessed on October 7. I lost my friend in front of my eyes, he said.

More than 130 people are still being held as hostages, including eight Thais.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the United States decision to veto a proposed United Nations resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israel and Hamas war.

In a video statement on Saturday, Netanyahu  speaking in Hebrew  called the U.S.s stance on the matter correct, saying that other countries too need to understand that it is impossible to support the elimination of Hamas on one hand, and on the other hand call for the halting of the war, which would prevent the elimination of Hamas.

Israel will continue our justified war aimed at eliminating Hamas and at achieving the rest of the war goals that we have set, Netanyahu said in his statement, according to the Times of Israel.

The United States used its veto power within the UN Security Council to block a proposed resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. The resolution would have required Israel to halt its war with militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Thirteen members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, as the United Kingdom declined to vote on the resolution.

In remarks to the Security Council on the matter, Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs Robert Wood said the reason the U.S. opposed the drafted resolution is due to the text being divorced from reality.

We still cannot comprehend why the resolutions authors declined to include language condemning Hamas horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, Wood said, also adding that other recommended provisions raised by the U.S. were ignored.

This comes as pressure has increased on Israel over its military operation against Hamas in the militant-governed territory, which has resulted in an immense humanitarian toll, as over 17,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently invoked Article 99 of the United Nations Charter on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The move was made to raise the alarm to the Security Council of a matter that threatens international peace and security.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Avdiivka and confirmed their advance by seizing Avdiivka's sewage treatment plant on 8 December.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Geolocation footage released on 8 December shows that Russian troops advanced towards the sewage treatment plant south of Krasnohorivka (5 kilometres north-west of Avdiivka).

ISW also reported, citing Russian sources, that Russian troops advanced towards Novokalynove (13 kilometres north-east of Avdiivka), to the outskirts of the Avdiivka Coke Plant north-west of Avdiivka and in an industrial area south-east of Avdiivka on 7 and 8 December.

In addition, Russian military bloggers claimed on 8 December that Russian troops were reinforcing their positions in Stepove (3 kilometres northwest of Avdiivka) and carrying out a mop-up operation in the settlement, while another Russian military blogger claimed that Russian troops were holding positions on the eastern outskirts of Stepove.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian forces unsuccessfully attacked east of Novobakhmutivka (9 kilometres northwest of Avdiivka); south of Tonenke (5 kilometres west of Avdiivka); and near Stepove, Avdiivka and Pervomaiske (10 kilometres southwest of Avdiivka).

Russian sources also claimed on 7 and 8 December that Russian troops had conducted attacks north of the Avdiivka Coke Plant and near Ocheretyne (15 kilometres northwest of Avdiivka), Novokalynove and Sieverne (6 kilometres west of Avdiivka and the industrial zone).

Positional fighting continued on 8 December near the settlements of Vodiane (7 kilometres southwest of Avdiivka) and Tonenke.

Meanwhile, a Russian source stated that difficult weather conditions had slowed down the pace of Russian and Ukrainian operations near Avdiivka.

Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, Spokesperson for the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Group, said that more than 40,000 Russian troops are fighting on the Avdiivka front and that Russian troops are redeploying reserves of Storm-Z units and conscripted personnel who lack training and food to make up for their losses.

MAP: isw

Russian troops continued their offensive in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and advanced there on 8 December. Geolocation footage released on 7 December showed Russian troops advancing south of Robotyne towards Novoprokopivka (2 kilometres south of Robotyne).

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on 8 December that Ukrainian troops had repelled Russian ground attacks near Robotyne and west of Verbove. Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets stated that Russian troops are taking advantage of the reduced pace of Ukrainian offensives in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to reorganise their force grouping and create operational reserves, but noted that Russian troops are currently unable to allocate significant resources to these reserves.

To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 8 December:

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his presidential bid for 2024 on 8 December in an obviously staged effort to seem that he was running at the request of Russian servicemen.

Putins announcement of his presidential bid in a military setting indicates that his campaign may focus on Russias war in Ukraine more than ISW previously assessed, although the extent of this focus is unclear at this time.

Russian forces conducted a series of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of 7-8 December.

Imprisoned ardent nationalist and former Russian officer Igor Girkin forecasted on 7 December that there will be "no agreement" between Russia and Ukraine to end the war and "no freeze" of the frontlines in Ukraine.

The Russian military has reportedly banned the use of civilian cars for military purposes likely as part of ongoing formalisation efforts, sparking criticisms from Russian milbloggers.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is expanding its ability to guard Russian officials and entities abroad likely to better surveil Russian and international actors outside of Russian territory.

Russian occupation officials continue efforts to artificially alter the demographic composition of occupied Ukraine.

Ukraines partners continued to announce military and financial aid packages to Ukraine recently.

Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, near Avdiivka, west and southwest of Donetsk City, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Udmurt Republic Head Alexander Brechalov announced on 7 December that the region formed and will soon deploy four new units to fight in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on 8 December that Russia is trying to destroy Ukrainian childrens connection to Ukraine and that swift intervention is necessary to maintain this connection during a speech at the first meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

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Waters of Grand Canal turned green after a protest by 'Extinction Rebellion' climate activists in Venice

Waters of Grand Canal turned green after a protest by 'Extinction Rebellion' climate activists in Venice

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Italian environmentalists used a dye to turn Venice's Grand Canal green on Saturday in protest at what they said was a lack of progress at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

The protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group, dangling from the Rialto Bridge over the canal with the aid of climbing ropes, also displayed a banner that read: "COP28: While the government talks, we are hanging by a thread."

Small stretches of rivers and canals in Italian cities, from the Po in Turin in the north to Rome's Tiber in the south, were also turned green in similar protests.

"In a few hours, these waters will be back to what they were before," Extinction Rebellion said.

"In the meantime, while governments talk, we count the damage and the victims from constant floods and fires," it added in a statement.

The group said that the visual effect was created by a fluorescein dye that was harmless and used in industry to trace items in water.

However, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro denounced what he called "eco-vandals" and called on the Italian authorities to punish them.

Boat traffic on the Grand Canal was halted on Saturday during the protest, and the canal water and the recently restored columns on the Rialto Bridge had to be checked on safety grounds, the mayor said.

"Venice is a fragile city, one that is to be loved and respected! Enough is enough," he added.

(Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Conor Humphries)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to replace Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and ruling party policy chief Koichi Hagiuda amid a political funding scandal, the Asahi newspaper reported on Sunday, citing several government sources.

The top government spokesperson is also to be replaced, it said.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party faces mounting scrutiny after allegations that some lawmakers may have failed to report political funds properly.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Nick Macfie)
A Jewish man was attacked inside a lower Manhattan Duane Reade store when an innocent bumping erupted into a full-blown hate crime, police said Saturday.

The Tuesday morning beating comes as antisemitic incidents across the city have skyrocketed while the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza continues.

The 66-year-old victim was leaving the Duane Reade on John St. near Broadway about 9:30 a.m. when he accidentally bumped into a 40-year-old man in a purple and black North Face jacket.

F Jew! the outraged stranger said as he turned around and punched the victim in the head, cops said.

The victim suffered a head injury in the split-second attack but refused medical attention.

His attacker left the store and remained at large Saturday. Members of the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force are investigating the incident.

Tuesdays attack was just one of a handful of antisemitic crimes to occur this week as Jews across New York celebrated the beginning of Chanukah.

On Thursday, the first night of the Jewish holiday, a man fired a shotgun outside the Temple Israel Synagogue in Albany, officials said. The FBI quickly arrested Mufid Fawaz Alkhader.

That same day in Brooklyn vandals damaged a public menorah display at 44th St. and Sixth Ave. in Sunset Park, cops said. A few hours later, a thief stole the menorah from Chabad Sunset Parks center lawn.

The hate-fueled crimes continued in Crown Heights, where Joshua Merenfeld was beaten, robbed and derided as a dirty Jew also on Thursday.

Merenfeld, 40, had just stepped out of his Crown Heights home on Eastern Parkway near Albany Ave. for a quick cigarette when he was sucker punched from behind.

I didnt realize what was going on until the second punch. I think he was hitting me with something. Maybe it was my phone, Merenfeld told the Daily News.

Police have seen an uptick in hate crimes against Jews since the beginning of the Israeli-Hamas war on Oct. 7.

In November, antisemitic incidents tracked by the NYPD jumped 32% to 62 compared to 47 in November 2022. There were also seven crimes against Muslims last month, compared to zero in the same month last year.

As of Dec. 3, cops had investigated 284 hate crimes against Jews, which ranged from assaults, to swastikas being left on Jewish institutions to bomb threats being made at city synagogues  a 5% jump from the 270 hate crimes investigated on the same date last year.

Nearly half of the antisemitic attacks investigated this year have occurred in the last two months since the beginning of the Israeli-Hamas conflict, cops said.

On Friday, Mayor Adams gathered with dozens of faith leaders, calling for an end to hate crimes that can cascade throughout our entire city, our state and in our country.

I want to be clear: Everyone in our city, in this state, in this country has a right to practice their faith in peace, Adams said.

The man wanted in Tuesdays Duane Reade assault is described as Black and bald with a beard. Hes about 5-foot-7, 170 pounds and was last seen in the North Face jacket, a yellow polo shirt and dark pants.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Chad Daybells trial is not moving back to eastern Idaho.

Judge Steven Boyce denied Friday a motion from prosecutors to relocate the trial to back Fremont County, East Idaho News reports.

The trial, which is set to begin April 1, will remain in Ada County, where Boise is located.

Prosecutors had called for a change of venue to bring the case closer to where the bodies of 7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan were found on Daybells property.

PREVIOUS STORY: Prosecutors in Chad Daybell case ask judge to move trial back to east Idaho

They also argued that it would be less expensive to hold the trial outside of the capital city.

In his order, Boyce wrote that while the expense of conducting trial in Boise is immense, it is still less expensive than attempting, and failing, to seat a jury in Fremont County, only to thereafter return to Ada County.

Daybells wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, was tried and convicted in Boise for her role in the deaths of two of her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and Chad Daybells former wife, Tammy Daybell.

Chad Daybell is facing a first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges in the deaths of the children and that of his ex-wife.

Last week, Lori Vallow Daybell was extradited to Arizona on two conspiracy to commit murder charges in the deaths of her previous husband and former nephew-in-law, East Idaho News reports.

She pleaded not guilty to those charges. Her trial there is scheduled to start April 4.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
MUNCIE, Ind.  A Delaware Circuit Court 3 jury on Friday found a Muncie man guilty of murder in a February 2021 shotgun slaying.

After about three hours of deliberations, the panel also found 31-year-old Brandon C. Hodge guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice.

Brandon Hodge

He was accused of killing 33-year-old Robert Eugene "Trey" Scott III near the victim's westside home on Feb 28, 2021.

During this week's trial, Prosecutors Zach Craig and Maricel Driscoll said Hodge killed Scott with three blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun, the last one fired into the victim's back.

In May, a co-defendant  29-year-old Morgan Bell, who was Scott's former girlfriend  was found guilty of aiding, inducing or causing murder, and obstruction of justice. She was later sentenced to 57 years in prison.

In his closing remarks to jurors on Friday, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Craig suggested defense attorney John Quirk had unfairly focused on allegations of domestic violence in Scott's relationship with Bell.

"(Scott) had his faults," Craig said. "But no one deserves the execution that he received. ... We are not allowed to go out and execute people."

Quirk maintained when his client fired the shotgun blasts, he believed Scott was armed with a gun and intended to shoot him.

"He was in fear for his life," said Quirk, suggesting that a friend of the victim removed a firearm from the scene of the shooting before police arrived.

Quirk called the shooting "a classic case of self-defense."

His client did not take the stand during this week's trial.

Judge Doug Mawhorr set sentencing for Hodge for Jan. 5.

In Indiana, a murder conviction carries a maximum 65-year sentence. Conspiracy to commit murder is a Level 1 felony with a maximum 40-year sentence, while obstruction of justice is a Level 6 felony, carrying up to 30 months in prison.

In a post-conviction proceeding, the jury also found Hodge was eligible to receive a sentence enhancement over his use of a firearm.

After Friday's verdicts were returned, Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said, "Another violent felon has been taken off the streets."

On Monday, a Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury found Jason De'Andre Harris, a 34-year-old Muncie man, guilty of murder and other charges stemming from a February 2022 homicide.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man convicted of murder in shotgun slaying
When your states chief law-enforcement official is also one of the nations leading advocates for sketchy arms dealers, I guess all you can do is shake your head and say, Thats Kansas.

Today, I have in my e-mail box a press release from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach congratulating himself for leading opposition to new rules, proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, that aim at narrowing the loopholes that allow widespread selling of guns without the benefit of background checks that legitimate dealers have to do before they can complete a sale.

The proposed rules have Kobach on his soapbox shouting about the 2nd Amendment, which is his third-favorite thing to do after telling scary fairy tales about election fraud and open borders.

His contention that the proposed ATF rules violate the constitution is spurious. They do nothing of the sort.

What they would do is crack down on unregulated sales of guns to all comers at gun shows, and require a dealers license for those who routinely flip firearms online for profit.

Kobachs beef with ATF not only misses the target, its not even on the paper.

For as long as this country has existed, individual law-abiding Americans have sold firearms to friends and family, his press release solemnly claims. Doing so would become extremely difficult if this regulation were to take effect.

Thats sheer hyperbole. There are clear carve-outs for the occasional friends-and-family sale, as well as transactions among legitimate collectors and hobbyists.

So nobodys going to come to arrest you if you sell Grandpappys shotgun to Cousin Claude or neighbor Mike to go hunt birds with.

The new rules are part of the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed by Congress last year.

They were announced on the fourth anniversary of the Midland-Odessa shooting rampage in Texas. In that case, Seth Aaron Ator, disgruntled over being fired from his trucking job, murdered seven people and wounded another 25 with an AR-15-clone assault rifle. He bought it through a private sale after failing a background check at a local sporting goods store.

The new rules are narrowly focused on requiring licensure for those who repeatedly trade in firearms as a profit-making enterprise  which is essentially the definition of a gun dealer.

I think most Americans  including gun owners like myself  can agree that its a clear and present danger when a seller can set up a card table at a gun show and peddle firearms to any gang banger or militia wannabe with cash in hand. Or, when someone buys and sells guns repeatedly online to make money, claiming they dont need to run background checks because theyre selling from their personal collection.

Kobach has a clear conflict of interest here. Ten years ago, he helped write a state law purporting to exempt guns and accessories from federal law if they were made in Kansas and didnt leave the state.

A few months after, he partnered with a metal fabricator and a gunpowder maker to form a company called Minuteman Defense LLC., the stated aim of which was to make federally exempt assault rifles for the Kansas market.

I dont know whether they actually did that or not, but the company remains active according to state business registration records and holds a federal firearms license.

Meanwhile, it didnt go well for the notion that Kansas could exempt homemade firearms and accessories from federal law.

A Chanute gun dealer was convicted of making and selling illegal weapons and gear, and one of his customers was convicted for buying a silencer from him. They could have gone to prison, but the judge went easy, because theyd been so grossly misled by Kobach and the Legislature.

The truly stunning part of Kobachs crusade against the new ATF rules is that hes gotten 24 other states attorneys general and the Arizona Legislature to climb on board with him.

Youd think with his track record, theyd know better.
Authorities in Kyiv have begun dismantling a statue of Red Army commander Mykola Shchors located on one of the main streets in the center of the capital, the Kyiv City State Administration announced on Dec. 9.

Ukraine's parliament outlawed most Soviet and communist symbols, street names, and monuments as part of a decommunization process in 2015. A number of statues commemorating Soviet or Russian figures have come down since then.

Shchors was a Ukrainian communist who fought with the Soviet Red Army during the Ukrainian War of Independence following the 1917 Russian Revolution. He is known for leading troops in the fight against the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic, established in 1917, and other anti-communist forces.

The Shchors monument on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard in central Kyiv has long been largely neglected and covered in graffiti, even before the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Earlier in August, the Soviet hammer and sickle emblazoned on Kyiv's Motherland monument, the tallest statue in Ukraine, was removed and replaced with Ukraine's coat of arms, the trident.

President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed a law in April 2023 prohibiting naming geographic sites in Ukraine after Russian figures or historical events associated with Russian aggression.

Titled "On Geographical Names," the law aims to address the "decolonization of toponymy" and to regulate the use of place names in Ukraine, according to the text of the law.

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Another poll on street renaming has been completed in Kyiv Digital

A majority of respondents using the Kyiv Digital app have expressed support for renaming Surykov Street and Air Fleet Avenue in Kyiv, according to the latest survey conducted by the Kyiv Digital, which concluded on Dec. 8.

In the Solomianskyi district, 66% of participants backed the proposal to rename Surykov Street in honor of the late Denys Monastyrskyi, former Interior Minister. Monastyrskyi tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash in Brovary on Jan. 18, 2023. Conversely, 34% opposed the change. The total number of participants in this survey was 28,805.

Read also: Kyiv City Council renames People's Friendship Arch, says mayor

Ninety percent of respondents also supported renaming Air Fleet Avenue (name given during a Soviet era) to Air Force Avenue, while an additional 5% advocated for renaming it to European Union Avenue. The survey attracted the participation of over 38,000 individuals.

Read also: Over half of Ukraines adult population use Diia for online government services, 70% from their cellphones

This follows earlier efforts by MPs who gathered signatures under an appeal to city authorities, suggesting the naming of a city toponym in honor of the late Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi. The appeal received signatures from 150 lawmakers.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The dismantling of the monument to Bolshevik officer Mykola Shchors, located on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard near the Universytet metro station, began in Kyiv on Dec. 9, the Kyiv City State Administration has reported.

Prior to that, the monument's protected status was removed.

Read also: Another monument to Russian poet Pushkin taken down in Kyiv

During the dismantling of the structure, a temporary partial blockage of traffic on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard is possible, the authorities warned.

/Telegram

/Telegram

The Kyiv City State Administration said that the monument would in future be stored in the O. K. Antonov State Museum of Aviation of Ukraine.

 

 

 

 

Earlier, the Kyiv authorities stated that they were unable to dismantle a number of memorials that still have the status of a monument of national importance, as only the Cabinet of Ministers can remove this status.

At the time, the monument to Shchors, Russian writer Alexander Pushkin, the crew of the Tarashchanets armored train, and others were among them.

Mykola Shchors was one of the Bolshevik military leaders during the Soviet-Ukrainian War. In the 1930s, Soviet propaganda began to actively use the image of Shchors.

In Kyiv, a monument to the Soviet leader was erected on April 30, 1954, at the intersection of Symon Petliura Street and Taras Shevchenko Boulevard on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Agreement.

Read also: Ukrainian artist Serhiy Zhadan cheers as Pushkin monuments fall across Ukraine

After the Revolution of Dignity, the authorities planned to dismantle the monument as part of decommunization, and for some time the monument was covered with fabric shields of national colors on all sides.

Members of patriotic organizations tried to dismantle the monument on Aug. 24, 2016, and in March 2017, unknown persons damaged one of the legs of the horse on which Shchors is sitting.

Activists left numerous inscriptions on the monument, such as "Executioner", "Demolish me completely", "Dismantle me at last", etc.

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
Minnesota State Rep. Leigh Finke on Thursday called anti-trans violence an epidemic after a transgender woman was found dead by a Minneapolis light rail station, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Damarean Bible, 25, was charged with second-degree murder following the Nov. 29 discovery of slain 38-year-old Savannah Williams, according to jail records reviewed by HuffPost.

Savannah Williams, via GoFundMe.

Savannah Williams, via GoFundMe.

A probable cause statement obtained by HuffPost said that Minneapolis police had responded to a report of an unresponsive person in a courtyard.

Witnesses told police that they heard shooting at around 5:45 a.m. Surveillance footage showed Williams and man later identified as Bible near the area just before the shooting took place, according to police.

Bible was seen walking out of the courtyard alone, police added.

He was arrested at his apartment and taken to jail, where he called his father and allegedly confessed to killing Williams.

He stated he felt sorry for killing victim and knew he wasnt God, but he had to do it, the probable cause statement said.

According to police, Bible told officers that he met Williams while walking past a bus shelter, where she asked him if he wanted to engage in a sex act.

Bible told officers he agreed but that as Williams performed oral sex on him, he felt suspicious of her and shot her in the head, the probable cause statement said.

Bible is set to appear in court on Jan. 9, according to jail records.

At a Thursday press conference, Finke, the first openly trans state legislator to serve in Minnesota, said passing bills is not enough to address what she called the epidemic of anti-trans violence.

Our communities will not be safe until every one of our neighbors sees our humanity, celebrates our individuality, and embraces this beautiful community that loves and is worthy of love, she said.

Also at the press conference, Gabrielle Stillday, Williams sister, said that she did not believe her sister deserved to be killed.

Stillday said her sisters gender, past and criminal record were not the reasons why she was slain. On a GoFundMe page to raise money for a funeral, Stillday said that her sister, a two-spirit trans woman, was the victim of a hate crime.

The Minnesota Houses Queer Legislative Caucus, which includes Finke as a member, said in a statement that Williams death highlights the dangers and discrimination faced by transgender individuals.

Savannahs death cannot be treated as an isolated incident, it said. It is a consequence of a society that dehumanizes and marginalizes transgender people throughout their lives, even in the face of unspeakable loss.

According to data from the Human Rights Campaign, at least 33 transgender and gender nonconforming people were killed over the past year, with 69.7% being transgender women.

Related...
The Fisher Fine Arts Library of the University of Pennsylvania is shown in this photo from November. UPenn President Liz Magill submitted her resignation on Saturday in the wake of controversy over anti-Semitism on college campuses across the country. File Photo by AttaleianAnatolian/Wikimedia Commons

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill has resigned from her post amid harsh criticism in the wake of her congressional testimony last week about anti-Semitic harassment on campus.

UPenn Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok also stepped down from his job on Saturday as pressure mounted on Magill, Harvard President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth after their testimony before a contentious House of Representatives hearing called by Republicans.

Magill has "voluntarily tendered her resignation" as president of the University of Pennsylvania but will remain a tenured faculty member at the university's law school, according to a statement issued by Bok.

"It has been my privilege to serve as president of this remarkable institution," Magill said. "It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn's vital missions."

Bok also has stepped down as chairman of the University of Pennsylvania's Board of Trustees, the board's executive committee announced Saturday.

Harvard University president Claudine Gay is among three academic leaders under pressure after their testimony this week in front of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. File Photo by Will Oliver/EPA-EFE

Magill, Kornbluth and Gay stirred controversy after they testified Tuesday in front of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce at a hearing entitled "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Anti-Semitism."

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., asked all three presidents during the contentious hearing if they considered rallies calling for genocide against Jewish people to be harassment worthy of action.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. (pictured), and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., sent a joint letter Friday to the members of the governing boards of all three institutions. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

In her testimony, Gay said the answer wasn't cut-and-dried and depended on context, such as if the speech is "targeted at an individual."

Magill, meanwhile, said it could be a violation of school policy if it was followed up by certain conduct, while Kornbluth such calls for genocide would be "investigated as harassment if pervasive and severe."

The presidents faced mounting pressure over the weekend after video of their equivocal answers to the question drew harsh bipartisan criticism.

On Friday, a group of 72 mainly Republican U.S. House members called for three presidents to be fired or resign.

Stefanik joined Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., in sending a joint letter to the members of the governing boards of all three institutions. The letter was signed by 70 House Republicans while Moskowitz and Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey were the only Democrats to lend their names.

"Jewish students should have found comfort on their campuses. Instead, many Jewish and Israeli students have faced an increasingly hostile educational environment, in the form of targeted harassment, protesters calling for the elimination of the Jewish state, and even acts of violence," the letter reads.

"This is a clear result of the failure of university leadership. To hold universities accountable, Congress held a hearing on confronting campus anti-Semitism. Testimony provided by presidents of your institutions showed a complete absence of moral clarity and illuminated the problematic double standards and dehumanization of the Jewish communities that your university presidents enabled."

It calls for the immediate dismissal of the trio of collegiate leaders.

"The university presidents' responses to questions aimed at addressing the growing trend of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses were abhorrent," the lawmakers assert, adding that all three "were evasive and dismissive, failing to simply condemn such action."

Following Tuesday's hearing, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School board sent an open letter to Magill, insisting she clarify her position.

Harvard's education department said at the end of November it was investigating a complaint of antisemitism on campus.

The university was also added to a list of 57 educational institutions, including elementary and secondary schools, that are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for "discrimination involving shared ancestry."

Unrest and protests have blanketed school campuses across the United States since Israel first began its current war with Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
More than 70 lawmakers are calling on the leaders of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania to resign.

In a letter, led by Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), lawmakers urged the institutions' governing board members to immediately remove Harvard President Claudine Gay, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Penn President Liz Magill from their posts. They also want the boards to provide an action plan to ensure the safety of Jewish and Israeli students on campus.

Anything less than these steps will be seen as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture, they wrote. The world is watching  you can stand with your Jewish students and faculty, or you can choose the side of dangerous antisemitism.

Two other Democrats joined the letter in addition to Moskowitz: Reps. Joe Courtney of Connecticut and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

About a dozen other Democrats had a separate response. They urged the governing boards to update their codes of conduct, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Given this moment of crisis, we ask you to review and update your school policies and codes of conduct to ensure that they protect students from hate, and detail what action steps you are taking to combat antisemitism and to ensure Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and faculty are safe on your campuses, lawmakers wrote. This problem is urgent and we request a swift and comprehensive response.

Key context

The letters come as the scrutiny of the college leaders intensifies after a more than five-hour hearing on their response to antisemitism on campus. But most of the public outcry has been over the leaders refusal to say whether calls for Jewish genocide violate their codes of conduct around bullying or harassment.

Gay and Magill have since apologized for their testimonies, where they said they personally did not agree with the rhetoric used by those students and were committed to preserving free speech on campus.

Magill released a video statement, which has been viewed more than 38 million times on X.

I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate, she said.

Here are some other updates on the presidents:

Magill faces the toughest scrutiny

Magill has faced the worst criticism from top Democrats in her state and other lawmakers, though they were not a part the letter asking for the university to update its code of conduct and many have stopped short of calling for her resignation.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) called Magills comments offensive, and said calling for the genocide of Jews is antisemitic and harassment, full stop. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Magills testimony was embarrassing for a venerable Pennsylvania university. And Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, also slammed Magills testimony as a failure of leadership.

On top of that, the school stands to lose millions of dollars from donors who are threatening to pull their donations if Magill doesnt step down. Hundreds of Penn alumni, donors and students have also called on Magill to resign. The Wharton Board of Advisors on Thursday called for new university leadership, according to a letter obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian.

And the University of Pennsylvania board of trustees is scheduled to meet via phone at 5 p.m. on Sunday to discuss next steps, the Inquirer reported.

Kornbluth has support

Before the letter was sent, MITs governing board on Thursday said they support Kornbluth.

The MIT Corporation chose Sally to be our president for her outstanding academic leadership, her judgment, her integrity, her moral compass, and her ability to unite our community around MITs core values, the board said in a statement. She has done excellent work in leading our community, including in addressing antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate, which we reject utterly at MIT. She has our full and unreserved support.

Gay apologized

Gay apologized in an interview Friday with The Crimson, saying: When words amplify distress and pain, I dont know how you could feel anything but regret.

The House Education Committee announced Thursday that it will investigate Harvard, MIT and Penn over their responses to antisemitism.

Harvards work to combat antisemitism in our community is advancing with the highest commitment and attention from University leaders, a university spokesperson said Thursday. The University looks forward to sharing information with the Committee as it pursues its inquiry.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of a Black Muslim Arab American teacher in Maryland, who was placed on administrative leave for her email signature, which included a controversial phrase supporting Palestinian rights.

Hajur El-Haggan, a middle school math teacher employed by the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) since 2015, was informed November 20 by the principal at Argyle Middle School the county was placing her on immediate leave because her email signature expressed political and personal views, says the complaint filed Wednesday.

El-Haggans email signature included the phrase From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, according to the complaint, which described it as a call for Palestinian freedom, dignity, and self-determination. That means the ability to exist and move within the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.

The slogan refers to Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza being restricted by Israel in their movements from city to city, entering Israel, and visiting Jerusalems holy sites, the complaint says.

The Anti-Defamation League and other mainstream Jewish groups have accused the slogan of being antisemitic and a rallying cry (that) has long been used by anti-Israel voices, including supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas.

The phrase has come under recent scrutiny for its use at pro-Palestinian rallies amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, and at least one US House member has been heavily criticized by colleagues for saying it.

The school districts policy for email best practices and other digital communications is posted on its website and asks employees to maintain professional email signatures and abstain from special stationery, quotations or sayings as part of or following an employees email signature.

The complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says, Ms. El-Haggan was informed that including any political or non-political quotes in an email signature was against the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, yet this policy was never enforced against any of Ms. El-Haggans colleagues who participated in similar conduct.

The complaint includes photos and screenshots of other email signatures from teachers at the school, including political and social justice quotes and links in support of topics such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ rights.

CAIR held a news conference in front of the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education with El-Haggan to announce the filing of the complaint.

It is clear that Ms. El-Haggan was treated very different from her non-Muslim, non-Arab colleagues who engage in the same conduct, Rawda Fawaz, El-Haggans attorney, said Friday.

El-Haggan said during the news conference she offered to remove the saying from her signature, but the county denied the offer and said her administrative leave was still in effect.

She says the county still has not reached out to her, after 18 days, even though she was told someone from the county would contact her.

MCPS told CNN by email Friday El-Haggan remains on administrative leave pending an investigation and characterized the situation only as a personnel matter, according to district communications director Christopher Cram.

Every moment I am not in the classroom, it breaks my heart

At Fridays news conference, El-Haggan spoke while wearing a keffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf, and pins depicting the Palestinian flag while a group of people stood behind her holding signs reading, protect our teachers and defend free speech.

With the recent events in Gaza and in Palestine, I have become an advocate for their (Palestinians) peace and for their freedom, El-Haggan said. It is intrinsically tied to the core of who I am as a Muslim and as an Arab, as it is for many Muslims and Arabs.

El-Haggan was referring to the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza where  in response to Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people  Israel has launched a siege and war that has killed over 17,000 Palestinians, 70% of whom are women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.

Evie Frankl, a member of pro-Palestinian organization Jewish Voice for Peace, spoke at the news conference and said El-Haggan is being discriminated against for expressing support for Palestinians, who are suffering a devastating ongoing war that is haunting every sentient being in the world who is paying attention.

Frankl, who says she is a daughter of Holocaust refugees and granddaughter of people murdered in concentration camps, also questioned why support for Palestinian lives (is) more controversial than support for Black lives, Jewish lives, womens lives?

El-Haggan said her administration team, co-workers, and school have been so incredibly supportive and claims the discrimination is coming from the county.

I have spent and given my entire life to be an educator. Every morning I wake up excited to have the opportunity to help my students feel seen, to feel loved, heard and appreciated. I help them feel safe, and I help them know that they belong. Every moment I am not in the classroom, it breaks my heart, El-Haggan said, her voice breaking.

The complaint says El-Haggan was discriminated against on the basis of her race and religion, among other factors, and says the countys actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act.

The complaint also states, until the present situation with Ms. El-Haggan, MCPS had never taken adverse action against any other employee who chose to include political speech in their email signature. Ms. El-Haggan was informed that including any political or non-political quotes in an email signature was against the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, yet this policy was never enforced against any of Ms. El-Haggans colleagues who participated in similar conduct.

CAIR says they have received more than 200 bias incident reports from Muslims and Arabs in Maryland since October 7, with many of the incidents involving discrimination against people voicing support for Palestinians.

El-Haggan said, Im asking the county to take steps to ensure that Arab and Muslim educators like myself, are protected from discrimination. But most importantly, Im asking the county to allow me to go back to teaching my students because thats what a teacher ever wants to do.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described CAIRs filing. It was an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint.

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Timucuan Parks Foundation (TPF), a prominent land conservation organization in Jacksonville, has announced a significant leadership transition.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Mayda Velez, with over a decade of experience at the foundation, has been appointed as the new interim executive director. Velez, formerly the foundations operations and communications director, steps into the role following the departure of the current executive director, Mark Middlebrook, who will continue his association with the foundation as Senior Advisor/Preservation Project.

The changes were officially approved by the Foundation board in November and took effect on December 1.

Velez, who has been part of TPF since 2013, began as a volunteer before assuming various roles within the organization. She has played a pivotal role in operations, administration, and communication efforts, leveraging her background in graphic design to advance the foundations community and conservation programs.

I look forward to serving as the interim executive director and helping to continue to grow the organization and its supporters, said Velez. I am completely dedicated to the mission of the organization to preserve, promote and enhance our citys natural areas. I love introducing our community to these green spacesthey are absolute jewels for everyone to enjoy.

TPF Chairman Bob Hays expressed confidence in Velez, stating, The board and I have the utmost confidence in Velez as she takes over this interim role. She has been a major asset to this organization, and I am sure she will continue to be so. She is a great choice to lead the organization as the board conducts our search for a new executive director.

Mark Middlebrook, who has served as the executive director since 2016, will transition into the role of Senior Advisor/Preservation Project. Middlebrook has dedicated his career to protecting Northeast Floridas natural landscapes, contributing significantly to the establishment and growth of Jacksonvilles urban park and preserve system.

It has been an honor to work with the City, the National Park Service, and the Florida Parks and our nonprofit partners to build one of the largest urban parks and preserve systems in the nation, Middlebrook said. I can only hope that I can help the foundation achieve its goal to provide vast open space opportunities for Jacksonville residents.

Middlebrook, who plans to retire in 2024, emphasized his gratitude for the opportunity to continue working on the Preservation Project and expressed a desire to spend more time with his family, particularly his five grandchildren.

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About Timucuan Parks Foundation:

Timucuan Parks Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and enhancing Jacksonvilles natural areas through community engagement, education, and enjoyment. Originating in 1999 as the Preservation Project Jacksonville, Inc., the foundation has played a crucial role in acquiring and preserving environmentally sensitive lands, creating the largest urban park system in the United States.

TPF collaborates with park partners such as the National Park Service, Florida State Parks, and the City of Jacksonville, promoting environmental stewardship and fostering an appreciation for Jacksonvilles unique outdoor spaces.

For more information, visit timucuanparks.org or follow @timucuanparks.

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We've all heard of human rights and civil rights, but what about the rights of nature? A growing global movement is working to give plants, animals and ecosystems some of the same legal protections as humans, and in some countries, it's leading to new legislation.

Panama is one of the only nations in the world with a country-wide rights of nature law. The legislation was just used to help shut down one of the largest copper mines in the world.

Callie Veelenturf was the driving force behind the law. The 31-year-old Massachusetts native is a marine biologist who has been studying sea turtles for almost a decade. Veelenturf is a National Geographic explorer who founded the Leatherback Project, which tracks and protects the giant but endangered turtle species. The leatherbacks are threatened by fishing nets, rising seas that erode their nesting beaches and plastic pollution.

Veelenturf has made it her life's work to protect these creatures, but that work took an unexpected turn in 2018, when she took legal action to protect herself from sexual harassment.

Panama. / Credit: CBS Saturday Morning

"I realized that we can't defend the rights of nature as I had just defended my rights, because nature largely has no rights in our legal systems," Veelenturf explained.

Veelenturf said she "Googled rights of nature" and found a book about saving the world by giving nature rights gave her life a new purpose. The book, "The Rights of Nature: A Legal Revolution That Could Save the World," was published by the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature winner David Boyd in 2017. The concept is that, like humans, all living things and ecosystems have the fundamental right to exist and thrive and that nature's rights, like humans, can be defended in court.

"I was like, 'This is a mission of mine. I have to do what I can to advance this concept,'" Veelenturf said. "I think it's important that this concept not become radicalized because it's based in factual, scientific need."

The concept isn't about protecting an individual tree or sea turtle, but about defending an entire ecosystem, like the Amazon rainforest or blocking development that would decimate wildlife populations.

It's a bolder approach than environmental protections, which limit how much humans can exploit nature, instead of granting that nature has a right not to be exploited.

"It prioritizes the needs of the ecosystems and not the needs of humanity," Veelenturf explained.

Veelenturf proposed the idea to Panama's first lady and members of the country's parliament.

"It was immediately something everybody latched onto, and that was so encouraging to me, because it was the opposite of what I was expecting really," Veelenturf said.

Congressman Juan Diego Vasquez helped pass the legislation. Panama now joins Ecuador and Bolivia as the only countries in the world that recognize the rights of nature on a national level.

"Every Panamanian citizen, every human, can use this bill, go to court, and make sure that we defend the rights of nature," Vasquez said. "This will not be a bill that it's gonna be left in a cabinet. It's going to be used when it needs to be used."

Just last week, Panama's Supreme Court used the new law to effectively shut down a $10 billion coller mine that opponents said threatened tropical jungles and water supplies.

In Ecuador, another copper mine was blocked because it violated the rights of a nearby forest. While India does not have a nationwide law, a court in the country has recognized the rights of the Ganges River, ruling that polluting it is like harming a person.

Similar movements are underway in the United States, where dozens of local communities in 10 states have some laws recognizing nature's legal rights. Seattle recently recognized the rights of salmon to pass through its dams, while North Carolina is considering giving rights to the Haw River ecosystem, according to the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights.

"It's just exciting every time. It never gets old," Veelenturf said. "What we're doing now is obviously not working, and so this provides a different way of interacting with nature. I think we're at a point now where it's worth a shot."

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SIR  I do not often disagree with David Frost, but I must take issue with the premise of his article, A Labour win will be a disaster. Too many Tories dont care (Comment, December 8).

It is not that Tories do not care; it is that too many in the Conservative parliamentary party are not true Conservatives.

The parliamentary party is completely disconnected from ordinary party members and those who would normally vote Tory. I agree that a Labour win will be a disaster  but so would another term in power for the current Conservative Government.

At least if we remove this Government, the party will have a chance to start again. It would be forced to reconnect with the electorate and might be worth voting for in subsequent elections.

Phil Coutie

Exeter, Devon

SIR  I am not opposed to Robert Jenricks position on immigration (report, December 7), but how can any minister resign at such a desperate time for the Government, and with an election coming?

He may be a good politician but he certainly lacks common sense, as do any other Tory ministers or MPs who arE considering a rebellion against the Prime Minister.

All Labour has to do now is keep quiet and watch the Tories self-destruct.

Alan Belk

Leatherhead, Surrey

SIR  It is time to stop wasting taxpayers money on the Rwanda scheme (UK hands Rwanda extra 100m this year on top of 140m, report, December 8).

The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are taking the public for fools. There must be better solutions. Increasing the Border Force budget would surely help.

Nick Smith

Penarth, Glamorgan

The law on dying

SIR  Accounts of suffering experienced by terminally ill patients and those close to them are deeply moving, as I know, having been a volunteer hospice chaplain. But hard cases really do make bad law.

Apart from the philosophical arguments and the urgent priority of making good palliative care generally available, there is, as John ODonnell suggests (Letters, December 8), the profound difficulty of putting in place effective safeguards. In this respect, the Assisted Dying Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Lords in 2021, may be said to be a triumph of form over substance.

The Bill  which, if enacted, would enable terminally ill adults to request specified assistance to end their own life  puts a great deal of trust in doctors, some of whom are strongly in favour of assisted suicide. But the certifying doctors, who may never have met the patient, simply cannot carry out the inquiries necessary to establish that a patients decision to end their life has been made without coercion or duress: such issues are not primarily medical. Doctors do not have the resources or expertise to conduct forensic investigations. Where, for example, is the border between a decision made under duress and one made under influence?

As a protection, the consent of the High Court is a chimera. The courts are already overburdened. Applications could become one-sided, box-ticking procedures. Even if there were some sort of formal, live hearing, who would be present and what would happen? The Bill does not allow for the involvement, at any stage, of the patients loved ones. No provision is made for opposition, nor even for entitling anyone (who?) to give notice of an application. Unless there were some obvious procedural flaw, in reality applications would be granted as a matter of course.

His Honour Charles Wide KC

Peterborough

SIR  In the early 1990s, for the law and medical ethics part of my degree, I had to write a dissertation on assisted death.

While gathering material, I came across a letter in the press from a retired GP. He stated that, for the whole of his career, he was resolutely against any form of intervention in end-of-life cases. Then his wife died of cancer, and he changed his mind.

Jack Crawford

Solihull

Campus anti-Semitism

SIR  I could not agree more with both Douglas Murray (Comment, December 8) and your Leading Article on the same day regarding anti-Semitism on campus.

It is extremely alarming, though equally unsurprising, that the presidents of three top American universities  MIT, Harvard and UPenn  joined forces in their refusal to condemn students calling for a genocide of Jews.

As Mr Murray points out, elite American universities are far from alone in their ability to strike fear into the hearts of their Jewish students  and care not a jot about doing so. This sorry situation underlines the glaring truth behind the notion that Jews dont count. Jews and Jews alone are  time and time again  fair game for all sorts of racist abuse and reprehensible bigotry. This is the mentality of the modern Left, and it is truly reprehensible.

Sebastian Monblat

Surbiton, Surrey

Boris in the dock

SIR  You published a letter (December 8) very hostile to Boris Johnsons performance at the Covid Inquiry, between others more sympathetic to the enormous task he faced.

I very much incline to the latter view. It is clear that his critics have no conception of either the pressures on a head of government in ordinary circumstances or the impossible challenges of dealing with a pandemic that no one understood.

It is also clear that, unlike those who took and take a simplistic view of what needed to be done, Mr Johnson was trying to balance the competing claims of public health, public finances and public liberties.

This seems to me entirely admirable in a prime minister, whatever other mistakes he may in hindsight have made.

Roger White

Sherborne, Dorset

SIR  David Harris (Letters, December 8) cannot understand why some people dislike Boris Johnson so much.

Perhaps they cannot forget his dishonesty, hypocrisy and incompetence. A few tears of self-pity at the Covid Inquiry are unlikely to erase the memory of lies to the Commons, parties in Downing Street and so many broken promises.

Adrian Charles

Enfield, Middlesex

Francis Bown

London E3

Value of the BBC

SIR  The BBC (Letters, December 8) is a beacon of quality, professionalism and trustworthiness.

It is also tremendous value for money, with a weekly cost equivalent to one shop-bought cup of coffee. We meddle with this world-beating service at our peril.

Kevin Liles

Southampton

SIR  If the BBC had advertised Young Chorister of the Year more widely, it would have won many plaudits. The choristers and music were excellent.

Fiona Davies

Tenterden, Kent

Sir Galahads fate

SIR  Jeremy Larken (Comment, November 3) is wrong about the destination of the Sir Galahad, sunk during the Falklands War. Its captain sent a signal at 12.15 on the night of June 7-8 1982, saying that he wasnt sailing until the following night because of delays in loading equipment.

Here is what the official inquiry says in Annex E5 about the orders issued to him 37 minutes later: This was discussed by the staffs of both Commanders [General Moores and Commodore Clapps] and [name redacted under FoI Section 40] advised the Duty Officer that Sir Galahad be instructed to sail in accordance with earlier instructions; by this he meant to Bluff Cove.

There appears to have been considerable confusion over the destination of Sir Galahad and this is covered in Annex E8. The result, however, was that Sir Galahad was instructed to sail to Fitzroy.

This shows the error made that night by Commodore Clapps staff in the signals transmission. Unarguably, Sir Galahad was sent to Port Pleasant (the harbour off Fitzroy Settlement) when it should have been sent to Bluff Cove (the next bay along, closer to Port Stanley), where the first half of the Welsh Guards had been dropped the previous day.

Crispin Black

Shaftesbury, Dorset

What would Napoleon snack on at the cinema?

General consumption: Napoleon on the label of le Briennois cheese, France (1950) - Bridgeman Images/Bridgeman Images

SIR  Would it be apt if, during cinema screenings of the new Napoleon film, Epoisses cheese snacks were served instead of sweets and popcorn? This was Napoleons favourite cheese.

The stench would certainly give an authentic atmosphere, as it is one of the smelliest cheeses France has to offer.

Tony Hall

Oulton, Norfolk

Talking turkey

SIR  Having cooked the main Christmas meal for many years, I have found that the perfect turkey (Letters, December 8) is one where you gently loosen the skin on the breast, then slide a good sausage meat stuffing in, being careful not to tear the skin. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly beforehand and remove any rings.

Put the turkey, turned upside down and with a glass of wine poured into the tin, into a very hot oven for 30 minutes. Then  if, like me, you have an Aga  place it at the bottom and leave overnight. If you dont have an Aga, turn the oven down low.

In the morning, when the aroma of turkey permeates the house, remove it, turn the turkey over and lay streaky bacon over the breast. Then put it in the top Aga oven, or turn up the heat on a regular one, and cook until the bacon is ready to put between slices of a good white loaf. One beautifully cooked turkey  plus breakfast.

Strain out the majority of the fat, which makes for perfect roast potatoes. To the liquid left behind add pepper, a tablespoon of flour, a dollop of redcurrant sauce and a small glass of port, stirring over heat until it boils. Theres your gravy.

After the turkey has rested for an hour or two, carve it and put what is required for the day on a platter.

Sandra Crawley

Shanklin, Isle of Wight

SIR  Why do so many people persist in trying to find ways to make this most miserable of foods vaguely edible, when so many wonderful alternatives are readily available?

If turkey was any good, it would appear on tables all year round.

Vincent Hearne

Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France

SIR  What is happening to retail? Where has all the stock gone? Time and again, when trying to buy Christmas presents, I have been told: No, we dont have it in store, but you can do it online. I want it now. I am shopping in a physical store so I can see it, buy it and take it away.

I did order one present online from a chain store. It was click-and-collect, with next day delivery. A customer ahead of me in the collections queue was given two large bags. She said she would be opening them in the store as she would be returning most of the items. What a costly exercise.

Sue Flack

Cambridge

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The Ambassador of Qatar to the Russian Federation with Ukrainian children and their families before their departure to Ukraine within the framework of the agreement concluded with the mediation of Qatar, December 5, 2023

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is calling on the international community to seek the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, Lithuanian national television and radio company LRT reported on Dec. 8.

"It is the duty of the entire international community to help Ukraine achieve victory by providing it with military and financial support, because only if Russia is defeated will it be possible to return the abducted children as soon as possible," the Lithuanian leader said.

Read also: Russian National Guard targeting children in occupied Ukraine in disgusting propaganda campaign

He was speaking in a video address to the participants of the meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children, LRT writes.

But the return of children is only "the first step," said Nauseda, stressing that it is equally important to ensure that individuals are held legally responsible for the illegal abduction of children. Lithuania will contribute to international efforts to ensure justice, the president stated.

Nauseda also reiterated that Lithuania "strongly supports" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace plan as a way to establish a just and lasting peace.

Read also: Russias Hitler Youth - Russian occupiers in Crimea organize military training for children

Zelenskyy presented a 10-point peace formula in November 2022, including the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all captives, a tribunal for those responsible for aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

"For centuries, Ukraine has successfully resisted Russia's numerous attempts to deny and suppress its history, culture, and identity," Gitanas Nauseda said.

Today, Im confident that it will overcome this aggression as well.

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska reported on Dec. 8 that only 387 of the nearly 20,000 children abducted by Russia had been returned. Russia does not make direct contact on this issue, so the children have to be returned home through third countries  "with the mediation of many caring people," Zelenska said.

Zelenska said she is pinning her hopes on "a coalition to rescue abducted children, which Canada proposed to create a month ago and which should start working soon."

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe reported on Nov. 27 that it had set up a special committee on the violation of the rights of Ukrainian children by Russians.

The first meeting of the committee will be held on Dec. 15 in Paris. It will deal with issues of violations of children's rights by the Russian Federation, as well as the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Read also: Russia prepares new lists of Ukrainian children for deportation, says NRC

The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued on March 17 an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of committing war crimes in connection with the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted on April 27 a resolution recognizing the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide.

According to the Ukrainian state platform Children of War, as of Sept. 27, at least 19,546 children have been deported or forcibly transferred by Russia.

In total, according to the European Parliament, the number of Ukrainian children illegally abducted to Russia may reach 300,000. MEPs believe that Russians started taking Ukrainian children back in 2014, after the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

The Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova admitted on Nov. 9 that 380 Ukrainian children are "under care and custody" across 15 regions of Russia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
*The above video is a recent story about FOX 8s Lou Maglio being honored for his years of support for veterans across Northeast Ohio*

LORAIN, Ohio (WJW)  A Lorain County organization called Honor Wreaths paid tribute by laying thousands of wreaths at the final resting places of veterans across the area Saturday.

The program honors the service of veterans who have died in service or after.

See how these local retired police dogs are rewarded

The event was started by the Wreaths Across America program, which lays wreaths at the sites of veterans memorials around the holidays.

What to do in Cleveland this Christmas season

Lorain County natives killed in combat between World War I and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were honored.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) warned about a potential round two of a Donald Trump White House after the ex-president said hed act like a dictator only on day one if he returns to the Oval Office.

I think we have to take everything that Donald Trump says literally and seriously, Cheney said in a Friday preview for an upcoming episode of ABC News This Week.

And I think that we saw, frankly, what he was willing to do already after the 2020 election, in the lead-up to Jan. 6, after Jan. 6, she told interviewer Jonathan Karl, referring to Trumps connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The comments from Cheney  a staunch Trump critic  arrive days after she told the Today show that a dictatorship is a very, very real threat and concern if Trump is reelected in 2024.

Those remarks aired before Trump participated in a town hall event with Fox News Sean Hannity on Tuesday.

During that televised event, Hannity asked Trump if hed promise America that hed never abuse power as retribution against anybody.

Except for day one, replied Trump.

Cheney, elsewhere in her interview with Karl, said Trump expected hed remain president when he woke up on the day of the 2021 Capitol riot.

We saw the extent to which he was willing to attempt to seize power when he lost an election, said Cheney, the former vice chair of a House committee tasked with investigating the riot.

Cheney, who is on a media tour for a new book she released, also pointed to the wishful thinking of people who suggest that Trump will now abide by the rulings of the courts or be stopped by the guardrails of our democracy.

The former congresswoman, when asked by Karl why a Trump presidency would be worse on another go, explained that Trump now has practice.

And because those people who were around him who actually did stop the worst that he was trying to do would not be around him again, she added.

I mean, our institutions dont protect themselves. Its the people who do.

Cheneys This Week interview is set to air Sunday.

NEW: Former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, who is warning about the potential dangers of a second Trump presidency, tells @jonkarl Americans should take his recent dictator remark "literally and seriously." See the interview SUNDAY on This Week. https://t.co/odWftxazWmpic.twitter.com/ibHDqLstaL  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 9, 2023

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 9)  China rejected the Philippine House of Representatives' resolution condemning its actions in contested waters, saying it "groundlessly" smeared its name, as Beijing again accused Manila of "hyping up" their maritime dispute.

"The resolution adopted by the House of Representatives of the Philippines groundlessly criticized, misrepresented and smeared China. We firmly reject it," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.

Earlier this week, Philippine lawmakers approved the resolution which denounced China's actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), including laser-pointing, water cannon use, and other forms of harassment against Philippine vessels.

Among the more recent incidents is the collision of Philippine and Chinese ships in October due to the latters "dangerous blocking maneuvers" that imperiled the Filipino crew onboard.

But the East Asian power claimed it is Manila that is stepping out of line and infringing on its sovereignty.

We once again urge the Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, stop its infringement of China's sovereignty and provocation at sea, return to the right track of resolving maritime disputes through negotiation and consultation as soon as possible and work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, Wang said.

This is despite the 2016 arbitral award that invalidated Beijing's sweeping claims over the South China Sea and recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in areas within its exclusive economic zone.

China continues to reject the landmark ruling, insisting it has "indisputable sovereignty" over relevant waters.

It also maintained that its actions in the WPSincluding the building of structures which Manila denounced as illegalare all legitimate.
An audio sleuth who spends his days listening to old tapes has discovered a lost Hancocks Half Hour episode  the only one to feature both Hancock and Harry Secombe.

Fans of The Lad Himself are delighted that the half hour has emerged, especially because they consider it one of the most important because it features the Goon.

Richard Harrison, a former teacher, buys old reel-to-reel tapes in the hope of finding missing programmes that were not kept by the broadcaster and are missing.

The 47-year-old from Lowestoft in Suffolk has uncovered numerous important programmes over the years including some lost Desert Island Discs episodes, including one with Kenneth Williams.

And in 2022 he found another of the missing Hancocks Half Hours  The Marriage Bureau  which was broadcast by the BBC.

The latest discovery, called A Visit to Swansea, was the fourth episode of the second series that began in April 1955. There are now 21 missing episodes.

Tape is the only one to feature both Hancock and comic Harry Secombe

Richard said: In essence I go through lots and lots of tapes and every now and then I hit the jackpot.

This new episode was from the same collection as The Marriage Bureau and was unlabelled. It had been recorded by the same person.

When I first began listening to it, I thought it sounded like a different episode called Back From Holiday.

But I thought Id check the end credits and heard that Harry Secombe was in it, and this meant it was one of the missing ones.

I couldnt believe I had found another one. Things from the mid-50s are like gold dust. It was a great moment.

The BBC remade it years later and I listened to it to check the scripts matched, and they did. It is a good quality recording with just a couple of minutes missing from the start.

I am a member of the Radio Circle which is a collaboration of enthusiasts and one member has cleaned up the tape. We just need to persuade the BBC to run it.

As well as having the skills to digitise old reels and put them on to CD, Richard has the all-round knowledge of early radio to identify the missing programmes.

Tony Hancock took his own life in Australia in 1968 - Hulton Archive/Associated Rediffusion Production

Tim Elms, archivist and membership secretary of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society, said: We are absolutely thrilled that this has been found.

It was the only episode that featured Hancock and Harry Secombe and it follows the discovery of The Marriage Bureau that featured Peter Sellers.

The first series was such a success that the second followed shortly afterwards but before recording began, Hancock disappeared.

He had been appearing in a long-running show called Talk of the Town with Jimmy Edwards and things got too much and he had a bit of a breakdown and went to Italy.

The producers had to find a replacement and Harry Secombe was obviously available and he was a great friend of Hancock.

So Secombe played Hancock in the first three episodes.

Then Hancock returned and writers Galton and Simpson quickly wrote the script for the fourth half hour of the series.

In it Hancock searches for Secombe to thank him for filling in and finally locates him down a coal mine in Swansea, which was where he was from.

There was only a cameo from Secombe in this episode, and Hancock recorded the rest of the series.

In those days the BBC didnt keep all the recordings  people treated radio like the theatre; youd watch it, talk about it for half an hour then forget it. Nobody thought that 70 years later fans would still be wanting to hear the shows.

There were over 100 Hancocks Half Hours and many that survive do so because the

Transcription Service put the recordings onto vinyl and sent them to a number of overseas

countries who had bought the rights to air them.

They were supposed to destroy the records after a certain time, but of course many didnt.

Others were recorded by amateurs and the further back you go the less likely people were to have tape recorders.

A Visit to Swansea includes regulars Sid James, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams and is the earliest recording we have of Andree Melly, who plays the love interest.

It is the centenary of Hancocks birth next year so maybe the BBC will broadcast it then. If Richard finds another one, we might have two to celebrate with.

Tony Hancock, whose hugely successful radio show moved onto television and gave an outlet for his astonishing range of facial expressions, took his own life in Australia in 1968, aged 44.

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A Texas A&M University-Kingsville team will help South Texas farmers and ranchers take advantage of a federal grant program to promote renewable energy projects.

The university received a $250,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to help agricultural producers apply for Rural Energy for America Program grants or loans.

The REAP program offers eligible agricultural producers and rural small businesses grants covering up to half of project costs or loans for up to 75% of project costs for renewable energy projects or to make energy efficiency improvements.

"Especially in Texas, there aren't many applications for this program," professor Hua Li said. "So the USDA decided to offer the grant to the university and other entities so that we can provide technical support to farmers or ranch owners who are interested and help them to fill out the application.

The A&M-Kingsville team will promote the program, helping agricultural producers and small businesses with renewable energy assessments, energy efficiency assessments, energy audits and the REAP grant or loan application.

Though the university won't participate in construction, it can help REAP recipients identify possible construction companies or contractors in the area.

Li said that potential benefits of renewable energy projects for farmers are reduced utility costs, having a dependable source of energy and reducing carbon emissions.

REAP funds can be used for the purchase and installation of biomass, geothermal, hydropower, hydrogen, wind, solar or ocean projects, as well as for the purchase, installation and construction of energy efficiency improvements such as high efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning, insulation, lighting, cooling or refrigeration, doors and windows, electric, solar or gravity pumps for sprinkler pivots, switching to electric irrigation motor or replacing energy-inefficient equipment.

Li said that solar panel installation is one project farmers in South Texas have expressed interest in.

For example, some farmers use aging, difficult to repair windmill systems to power water pumps, Li said.

"Many of them are considering switching to solar-energy-powered water pumps," Li said. "That would be a perfect project for this grant." It's small-scale  they would probably cost."

South Texas agricultural producers and rural small business owners interested in assistance from the team for energy assessments or preparing USDA REAP grant or loan applications can contact the team online at https://www.renewableenergysources.us/home.

Texas A&M Kingsville researchers aim to decrease environmental impact of cattle

'Someone should take care of them': Volunteers preserve Nueces County farmworker cemetery

Nearly 8,000-acre ranch gifted to Texas A&M University-Kingsville Foundation

Texas A&M University-Kingsville eyes nursing program, community health hub

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: A&M-Kingsville team focuses on helping farmers with renewable energy
A man is facing charges after police say he stabbed his neighbor following an argument in Westmoreland County.

Police say the attack happened on Seventh Street in Trafford Borough on Thursday.

When officers arrived, they learned a victim had been stabbed in the neck and head. That person was taken to Forbes Hospital.

Bystanders told police that Anthony Salvadore, 48, punched a woman and stabbed the victim after an argument with the neighbors.

Officers went to Salvadores house and said they found him lying on the couch with a bloody folding knife nearby.

When they tried to take him into custody, Salvadore refused to comply to commands, authorities say. Officers from surrounding police departments had to assist in the arrest.

Salvadore is facing charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A 21-year-old man was arrested early Saturday morning after he reportedly threw a beer can from the rooftop of a Lower Broadway honky tonk.

The Metro Nashville Police Department reported the incident happened around 1:45 a.m. in the 300 block of Broadway.

Man wanted for throwing beer onto Metro officers from Broadway rooftop

Officers were standing outside the honky tonk when they saw the beer can thrown from the rooftop, according to arrest documents. Police notified the venues security, who then reportedly reviewed surveillance footage to identify the patron who threw the can.

According to authorities, security pointed the man out to officers as he left the bar.

He allegedly made spontaneous statements that he threw an alcoholic beverage off the rooftop. The man apologized and asked the officers what his charge would be.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

He was taken into custody and booked into the Metro jail, but he has since bonded out, officials said. He was charged with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

Metro police are currently working to identify a man who threw beer onto officers from a rooftop bar in the 300 block of Broadway on Nov. 12. That suspect is wanted for assaulting a first responder.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  A southern Utah man is accused of abusing his girlfriends 20-month-old child, leaving the toddler with several broken ribs, a fractured skull and brain bleeding.

Colton Grange, 28, was charged via warrant Thursday with one count of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, court documents filed in Piute County show.

West Davis highway set to open in January  months ahead of schedule

According to investigators, Grange moved into his girlfriends home in Marysvale in October, and not long after the womans young daughter started to appear sick. Grange is not the father of the child.

Doctors initially thought it might be an ear infection, but the girl still seemed to be in pain a month later. The mother told investigators that her daughter acted as though her skin hurt when she picked her up, the court documents state.

On Nov. 21, the mother took her daughter to the emergency room after Grange brought her on an errand to pick up hay. The mother told investigators that the girl came back from the trip lethargic and ice cold.

Doctors at the hospital found that she was hypothermic. Early the next morning, a medical helicopter flew the child to Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake City, where she remained for two days.

When the mother returned with the girl to southern Utah, the child started vomiting just days later. The girl also began to pull her hair and rub her face in concerning ways, the mother told investigators. The child then went limp and unresponsive.

When the mother told Grange the girl needed to go back to the hospital, Grange became enraged, the court documents state. Again, a medical helicopter flew the girl to Primary Childrens Hospital.

A comprehensive examination of the child showed she had a brain hemorrhage, a skull fracture, several spinal injuries, a sternum fracture, and multiple broken ribs in various stages of healing, the court documents state. The skull fracture had happened in between the two visits to the Salt Lake City hospital.

When the mother told Grange about the extent of the girls injuries, he allegedly said, Im going to prison. He claimed not to know what shaken baby syndrome was, the mother told investigators.

In interviews with police, Grange said that the girls wounds were the result of her trying to walk and falling all the time, the court documents state. He said he felt the child was unlucky.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
A man has been convicted for the armed robbery of a Canton jewelry store ten years ago.

On Friday, Dec. 8, a Cherokee County jury convicted Erin Stephon Arms, 39, of stealing more than $50,000 worth of jewelry from the Cartersville Jewelry Exchange.

According to the Cherokee County District Attorneys Office, Arms entered the store on Nov. 22, 2013, wearing a mask, gloves, and a red Alabama sweatshirt.

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Inside the store, the DAs Office said Arms pointed a gun at two employees and ordered them to get on the floor.

They said he then drove away in a Ford truck with more than $50,000 worth of jewelry.

The DAs Office said Arms tossed his sweatshirt and gloves away on an on-ramp to Interstate 575.

A good Samaritan reported the discarded items to police, who collected them for DNA evidence.

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A gun was also recovered near where the truck was abandoned before Arms drove away in another vehicle.

The case was solved thanks to DNA from those items matching DNA from Arms.

During the trial, 12 witnesses testified and more than 80 exhibits were presented including DNA evidence, the gun used in the robbery, and surveillance video from the store.

Arms will be sentenced in the future.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 9)  In another move that drew global condemnation, Chinese ships on Saturday repeatedly used water cannons against Philippine vessels which were on their way to deliver aid to Filipino fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) condemned the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia against civilian vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that are conducting the regular humanitarian and support mission.

It said BFAR ships Datu Sanday, Datu Bankaw, and Datu Tamblot were around 1.4 to 1.9 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc  also known as Scarborough Shoal  to deliver oil subsidy and grocery packs to over 30 Filipino fishing vessels when the attack happened.

China had used its water cannons at least eight times, the task force said.

Its maritime militia also reportedly engaged in dangerous maneuvers and deployed a "Long-range Acoustic Device against BFAR vessels, causing severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew."

Meanwhile, the communication and navigation equipment of Datu Tamblot suffered significant damage, as it was directly and deliberately targeted, the NTF-WPS added.

Philippine authorities also said China deployed rigid hull inflatable boats to disperse and drive away the Filipino fishing vessels waiting for the aid from BFAR.

To prevent the distribution of humanitarian support is not only illegal but also inhumane, the task force wrote in its statement.

It added that local fishermen have documented the CCG deploying a small boat in the morning to illegally install a floating barrier at the southeast entrance of Bajo de Masinloc, thus hindering the entry of BFAR vessels.

The shoal in the WPS is being claimed by both Manila and Beijing.

The Philippines exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the shoal and its territorial sea, the NTF-WPS stressed. The 2016 Arbitral Award has also clarified that Filipinos have traditional fishing rights in the water of Bajo de Masinloc protected by international law.

It demanded that the Chinese government immediately stops activities that would infringe on Philippine sovereignty.

We firmly insist that these Chinese vessels leave Bajo de Masinloc immediately, the task force further stated.

Global backlash

A number of officials from other countries have expressed concern and denounced the water cannon attack which was not the first from China this year.

In at least three instances in August and November, CCG ships fired water cannons at Philippine Coast Guard vessels on their way to bring food and supplies to military troops on Ayungin Shoal.

United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko, and British Ambassador Laure Beaufils said Chinas behavior not only violates international law but also endangers lives and livelihoods.

Canadian Ambassador David Hartman also condemned Beijings dangerous and escalatory actions, as he reaffirmed his countrys support for the arbitral award that recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in areas within its exclusive economic zone in the WPS.

Meanwhile, European Union envoy Luc Veron cited the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dispute settlement mechanisms in maintaining the rule of law.

The 2016 UNCLOS Tribunal Award is legally binding and useful for peacefully resolving disputes. Water cannons arent! Veron wrote in a statement, which German Ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke separately said his country fully supports.

German Ambassador to the Philippines Andreas Pfaffernoschke, French Ambassador Marie Fontanel, Australian Ambassador HK Yu called on China to respect the UNCLOS.

Beaufils and Yu said that Chinas repeated harassment of Philippine vessels threatened peace and stability in the region.

China, meanwhile, maintained that it has indisputable sovereignty over the contested waters.

Beijing insisted that it is the Philippines that is intruding in its territory, and continued to reject the landmark ruling which invalidated its sweeping claims over virtually the entire South China Sea.

CNN Philippines' Celine Serquina contributed to this report.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY)  Devonte Burress pleaded guilty on Dec. 7 after being arrested in connection to an attempted robbery and shooting on Nov. 16, 2021.

Previous Coverage: Man and juvenile facing charges in connection to Virginia Beach shooting

Burress was 19 years old when he was arrested, and was one of two arrested in connection to the incident, the other one being a juvenile. Both were arrested on Nov. 23, 2021. Burress was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony.

He pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and use of a firearm. He received a suspended 8 year sentence for attempted robbery and three years for use of a firearm.

Keep up to date with the latest news on WAVY.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN)  A 72-year-old man was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on Thursday after sexually abusing two children, according to the Washington County District Attorneys Office.

Timothy Irwin Meeker pleaded guilty to the three counts of first-degree sexual abuse on Nov. 3 after the victims reported their interactions with him years prior.

TIMELINE: Second atmospheric river of the week impacts the PNW

The first victim was abused multiple times over a span of several years. This came to light in 2018 after the defendant molested the second victim, who reported the actions to her mother, the DAs office said in a press release.

However, the girl could not provide details of the abuse due to her age. Meeker reportedly denied any wrongdoing, leaving prosecutors unable to press charges.

Fearful for his life: Man accused of attacking driver with hatchet in August road rage incident

When the first victim revealed Meekers abuse in 2022, her family members confronted him, and he admitted to it. He will now serve his 100-month sentence at Oregon Department of Corrections.

The Washington County District Attorneys Office commends these victims for their bravery throughout this process, the office said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Channel 11 is learning new details after an agent with the Attorney Generals Office shot a man at the Downtown Pittsburgh Greyhound Station.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Man shot by Attorney General agents after fight at Pittsburgh Greyhound station, police say

Rayshon Mason, 32, is facing aggravated assault and attempted homicide charges. He was the man shot by agents.

According to a criminal complaint, the incident began on the bus. The victim told police Mason had been taking pictures of his family. The two began arguing after getting off the bus. It then turned physical.

The complaint goes on to say that security footage showed the two grappling with one another, eventually falling to the ground.

Soon after, police say Mason pulled out what appeared to be a knife and swung it at the victim.

Thats when two agents, who were nearby conducting a drug investigation, ordered Mason to drop the knife. Police say he didnt. Thats when agents fired shots, hitting Mason in his chest and stomach.

The victim was not stabbed but was treated for a head injury and released.

Mason remains in critical condition.

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VISTA, Calif.  A man suspected of driving erratically in a Vista movie theater parking lot and pointing a gun at several people was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.

Authorities received a call about the suspect around 11 p.m. at 25 Main Street, Sgt. Michael Hanks with the San Diego County Sheriffs Department said in a news release Friday.

When deputies arrived at the scene, the suspect, who was driving in the parking lot behind the movie theater, got out of the vehicle and ran from law enforcement.

San Diego police sergeant injured, suspect killed after shootout in 4S Ranch

The suspect was later found and arrested about a mile away in the 800 block of Eucalyptus Ave, Hanks said. Authorities found a loaded ghost gun modified to shoot automatic gunfire, a high-capacity magazine and ammunition in his vehicle.

Jeremy Fuerte, 26, was booked into Vista Detention Facility and faces multiple felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and illegally possessing a ghost gun.

The Vista Gang Enforcement Team has confiscated 17 ghost guns thus far in 2023, according to the sheriffs department.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  Parents of students at two north Austin schools told KXAN they are terrified after seeing a man with a long rife walk the path in front of their childrens schools for several days, sometimes twice a day, in December.

The Austin Police Department confirmed to KXAN that Isaiah Smith, 28, who walked in front of St. Francis School and Webb Middle School with weapons, has also been seen downtown at the Austin Public Library. He was arrested Friday on unrelated charges, according to police.

Isaiah Smith, 28, carries a long rifle in front of an Austin school (Photo Courtesy E.Johnson)

Weve seen the individual. He has come in to take care of Library business  he checked out a book. But this is a public place, and this is an open-carry state, unfortunately. So theres no way we can keep them out at the moment, said Roosevelt Weeks, Director of the Austin Public Library.

[People] feel the library is a safe and welcoming place, Weeks continued. With someone with a long rifle, thats kind of upsetting for a lot of people. That doesnt present a safe environment for a lot of people, he said.

Smith has also gotten the attention of public and state officials. District 4 Council Member Chito Vela said parents have been very worried for their childrens safety.

He has showed up in multiple places, essentially parading around with some kind of semi-automatic rifle and just scaring people, intimidating people, really causing a lot of fear and honestly panic in the community, Vela said.

Vela said Texas laws surrounding open carry make it difficult to take any action against this individual.

The parents feel terrorized, Vela said. [The children] have been forced to interact with him. And this is just unacceptable. My heart goes out to the parents. And I just want to say that we want to put a stop to this as soon as possible, he continued.

While reporting on this story, KXAN learned the man, Isaiah Smith, 28, was arrested Friday on indecency with a child charges.

Austin ISD Police arrest Smith

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Smith is contracted by the Austin Independent School District to provide tutoring services that prepare students for college.

Smith is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student in October during a tutoring session at an Austin high school. Austin ISD Police Officers arrested Smith on these charges Friday, according to police documents.

Austin ISD Police confirmed with KXAN that Smith is the same person some parents were concerned about walking in front of their schools with the firearm.

Is this legal?

In Texas, a person is able to legally openly carry handguns, long guns, shotguns and rifles in public without a permit, said Emily Taylor, a criminal defense attorney with a firearms and self-defense practice.

What controls both long guns and handguns is that you cannot carry in a manner calculated to alarm, Taylor said. Alarm, as according to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is something that you have to evaluate on a reasonable person standard. So would a reasonable person be alarmed at the manner in which you are displaying a firearm or a deadly weapon? Obviously, the answer to that could potentially be different right in front of the school, as opposed to on your hunting lease.

If a person causes alarm, they could be arrested on disorderly conduct charges. The person then could be taken to a trial by jury, which would be responsible for determining whether the alarm was reasonable.

This specific crime is a Class B misdemeanor, and its punishable by up to six months in the county jail, up to a $2,000 fine or both. More commonly than not, its punished by probation, Taylor said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 9)  The cremated remains of the two Filipinos executed in China for drug trafficking arrived in the Philippines on Friday, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega confirmed in a message to CNN Philippines on Saturday that Philippine Consulate officials have brought home the cremains of the Filipinos put to death on Nov. 24.

"They were turned over to the families yesterday and today," he said.

Two other Filipinos are on death row in China, with their cases still being appealed, the DFA earlier said.

It reported that including the recent executions, a total of 92 Filipino death penalty cases have been recorded in the East Asian country.

These include two cases which have been reduced to life imprisonment, while 86 have been commuted to fixed-term, it added

In a statement earlier this week, China said it deals with all criminals fairly and "in strict accordance with law," as it stressed the gravity of drug-related crimes.
(Bloomberg) -- Once a year on her birthday, Alice Weidel sits down with her wife over a glass of red wine. The couple ask themselves: Is it all worth it? The hatred, the anonymous threats, the public exposure.

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At Weidels next birthday  it will be her 45th  she will have plenty to show for these pains. Things are going pretty well for the co-head of Germanys noisiest party, the so-called Alternative for Germany, usually known as the AfD.

Outpolling Chancellor Olaf Scholzs Social Democrats, the party now ranks second of the six main parties with 20% support nationwide. In former East Germany it does even better.

Weidel herself is likely to be named the AfDs first ever candidate for chancellor in the next federal election, scheduled for September 2025. If she succeeds in that unlikely ambition, the Goldman Sachs alum would be the first far-right politician to lead Germany since the end of the Nazi era.

The AfD wants to tear up Europes relationship to its biggest economy, putting an end to both the common currency and free movement across its borders. That would mean, in turn, dismantling the principles that bind Europe itself.

Founded in 2013 on a narrowly anti-euro platform, the party has been prone to infighting ever since. Most of its earlier leaders were toppled by members of the AfD's more extremist faction, who forged their anti-immigrant politics out of hostility to former chancellor Angela Merkels welcoming stance toward refugees.

Weidels path to prominence has been cleared by the likes of Italys Giorgia Meloni, the Netherlands Geert Wilders and Frances Marine Le Pen who, tapping into grievances about economic security, have polished a once-taboo style of identitarian politics to take it mainstream.

But in Germany, the AfDs plans  like Weidels own designs on the chancellery  are constrained by the fact that rivals have ruled out cooperation.

Weidel herself remains unruffled, having doubled her partys support with voters nationwide since the 2021 election. The crazy thing is that right now we dont have to do much. The government already does everything to destroy itself, a cheerful Weidel said in an interview with Bloomberg.

From her office on the sixth floor of the German parliament, she has a perfect view of the Reichstag. Here, in recent months, the AfD has turned itself into one of the most vituperative critics of Scholzs government.

The governing coalition has done much to justify its naysayers. Its tying itself in knots over a budget crisis which erupted after the countrys top court ruled its spending plans unconstitutional. With speculation growing over how much longer the three-way governing alliance will hold, Weidel could be fighting for the top job sooner than expected.

Last September, Weidel and the partys co-leader Tino Chrupalla, who is from East Germany and trained as a house painter, presented a 10-point government program in Berlin. Even after it won its first Bundestag seats in 2017 the AfD had been seen as a party of protest. Suddenly, they were talking about governing.

The first thing they would do if they came to power would be to close Germanys borders, Weidel told Bloomberg. Illegal migrants will have to leave immediately, she said, adding convicted criminals without German passports to the list.

Denying the existence of anthropogenic climate change, the AfD says it would abandon the countrys 2050 net-zero emissions target. Asked about the windmills that have been key to the transition off fossil fuels, I would tear them down, Weidel said with a smile.

The economics of wind energy dont make sense, she argued. That defies the findings of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which reported in July that the German government was attracting record bids from offshore developers. Defiance is a comfortable mode for Weidel.

Scholz himself initially dismissed the AfD as just a bad mood party. He changed his tune after their strong showing at state elections in October: This is about defending our democracy, he said, upping the urgency. But identifying the far rights electoral gains as a problem is different to knowing what to do about it.

In the East German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and  as of this week  Saxony, the AfDs regional branches are officially classified as right-wing extremist, which means authorities face fewer legal obstacles to surveiling them.

But that hasnt stopped the AfDs leader in Thuringia, Bjoern Hoecke, who likes to employ thinly veiled references to Nazi ideology, from attracting enough support that polls show him on course to win an outright majority in state elections next year.

The recent election result in the Netherlands, where others attempting to cannibalize Geert Wilders anti-migrant talking points ended up legitimizing the far-right lawmaker, have underlined the challenge for mainstream parties.

Weidel has her detractors (Economy Minister Robert Habeck: The AfD is partly conspiracy theorist and partly fascist.). She has her supporters (Steve Bannon: If Germany has young leaders like her and people who I think represent them so well, who seem to be so well-articulated, so smart, then the party will do pretty well.)

Before politics, she worked as a consultant for Goldman Sachs and Allianz Global Investors. She wrote her dissertation on the Chinese pension system and lived in Beijing. Today she lives abroad with her two sons and her wife, who is a filmmaker from Sri Lanka, in a small town in Switzerland. These so-called contradictions are quite obvious, Weidel says.

Her background and family life puts her alongside other high-profile rightwingers  Wilders and Nigel Farage, the UKs self-styled answer to Donald Trump, among them  in being far more diverse than the countries they say they want to build.

So too, like many right-wing populists, she leans frequently on ideas of fake news and media conspiracy. In Weidels case, thats also how she explains the labeling of her as right-wing. We see ourselves standing in the middle of society, she says.

Increasingly she may not, analysts are saying, be too far wrong: We have to be careful where the middle of society is going, said Jackson Janes, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC. Her professional and academic background might look unusual, but fact is that a number of people with a similar intellectual and social background have become attracted by right-wing ideology.

Weidel herself rejects the widespread understanding of the AfD as inheritors of the extremist strain of German politics that had been taboo for most of the post-war period. Even if its a wrong narrative, if you repeat it often enough, people will start to believe it, she says.

Merkel is responsible for the destruction of this country, is one of the things Weidel herself is fond of repeating. Sure enough this line has traction with her base, who are motivated as much by distrust of the former chancellor as by distrust of foreigners.

Merkel started the practice of excluding everyone who thinks differently, Weidel says of Merkel's border policy  only by this she means excluding those who disagreed with it from the conversation.

In 2015, the former chancellor famously said of the migration crisis, We will manage this, and turned her country into one of Europes most welcoming for refugees.

Weidels own political career bears some similarities with that of Merkel, who like her entered male-dominated world of German politics from the outside. She even claims her as an inspiration, of sorts.

During my first term in the Bundestag, I had to think of Angela Merkel because I had such hard time building up this parliamentarian group, Weidel says. Then I thought: How did she do that, leading such a big party and finding her way around this male-dominated machinery?

By contrast with Merkel, whose stance toward those fleeing war-torn Syria involved fronting up to those in her party who wanted it to be less generous, Weidel is reluctant to take a stand against her colleagues extremist views. Instead, it seems like she has adapted herself to them.

She managed to sideline all the male conservatives and to introduce a policy which was diametrically opposed to the partys program, Weidel says of the former chancellor. If I did something similar, my own party would kick me out.

Weidel credits her approach to her upringing in an affluent, middle-class household where she would answer the phone for her father business during his lunch break. I learnt to be client-oriented.

She describes her job as channeling the emotions of frustrated voters. Alice is the one who expresses the truth for them.

Early on in her career, she distanced herself from figures like Hoecke, the most prominent member of the AfDs far-right fringe, and even supported an initiative for his expulsion from the party. Today, she seems to have made her peace with him, although she says she still doesnt share Hoeckes extreme views.

"Not all AfD voters are anti-democratic or extremely right wing, said Sudha David-Wilp, Berlin office director of the German Marshall Fund. But certain figures in the party have used language that harks back to a darker time in Germany.

"The big problem is that Hitler is portrayed as absolutely evil," Hoecke said in a 2017 interview with the Wall Street Journal. In parliament, Weidel has herself spoken of the Muslims who number more than five million of her countrys population as headscarfed girls and state-funded knife-men.

That language fuels the suspicion of immigrant communities that is dividing Germany society. And yet Weidel insists her supporters are the victims.

Germany, she laments, has become so polarized.

--With assistance from Christoph Rauwald, Ben Sills, Iain Rogers and Steven Arons.

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MARYLAND (DC News Now)  Maryland State Police (MSP) was looking for a man who it says ran from a crash in Montgomery County on Friday afternoon. He was last spotted in Prince Georges County.

MSP said that it was called to a crash near the ramp from Route 650 to the inner loop of I-495 shortly after 1:30 p.m.

While troopers were responding, the driver of one of the involved cars ran away on foot. Officials said that the man was reportedly walking along the inner loop of I-495 in Prince Georges County and possibly armed.

Man arrested for indecent exposure cases after person recognizes him from sketch, Fairfax County police say

A trooper saw him near Riggs Road along I-495 and tried to stop him, but the man jumped over a neighborhood fence near the 900 block of Muskogee Pl. in Adelphi.

Police were still looking for him early Friday evening. MSP described him as an African American man with an afro hairstyle wearing a white tee shirt and believed to be in his early thirties.

Anyone with any information should call MSP at 301-345-3101.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
BOSTONMassachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is cracking down on junk fees with new proposals that would prohibit hidden and surprise fees in the Bay State.

Theyre very annoying and theyre very frustrating, Campbell said.

Most consumers would agree. Junk fees cost American families tens of billions of dollars every year, according to federal regulators, and now Campbell wants to ban the practice in Massachusetts. The Federal Trade Commission proposed similar regulations in October.

According to the Mass. AGs Office, the proposed regulations would require businesses:

 Clearly disclose the total price of a product at the time it is presented to consumers

 provide clear and accessible information on whether fees are optional or required

 simplify the process for canceling trial offers and recurring charges

The AGs Office will hold a public hearing and comment session on the proposed regulations on December 20. Campbell said the proposals could go into effect soon after.

We have strong progressive consumer protection laws here in Massachusetts so were pursuing these regulations under those laws, Campbell said.

Like many unfair and deceptive practices, Campbell said junk fees hurt low and middle-income consumers the most. They also make it harder for consumers to compare prices when they shop.

Especially when we have so many residents operating under a tight budget. [Maybe] they want to bring their children to a concert, they go through the process and at the end, they have a service fee or a convenience fee tacked on to the advertised prices which raises the price significantly, Campbell said.

Boston resident Patti Burris applauded the effort to get rid of junk fees.

I love that and I think thats probably something Massachusetts will be leading the charge and other states will follow, Burris said.

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Pregnant and postpartum MassHealth members are slated to gain access to doula coverage this spring as state officials aim to tackle worsening maternal health outcomes.

Doula coverage will be offered during labor and delivery, as well as for visits throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced Friday.

Doulas who meet the states eligibility requirements, including completing MassHealth doula training, can now apply to become MassHealth providers. Applications should be processed within 60 days, according to a state webpage.

MassHealth is committed to addressing maternal health disparities and doula services have been shown to improve outcomes for low-income families and families of color, Assistant Secretary for MassHealth Mike Levine said in a statement. Ensuring that members have access to the care they need during pregnancy and through the 12-month postpartum period is a critical component of our plan to meet this goal.

The Special Commission on Racial Inequities in Maternal Health last year recommended expanding access to doulas, who serve as non-medical companions providing emotional and physical support in a culturally competent way. Most Bay Staters, including Black people, are unable to afford doula care, which can cost from $800 to $2,000, according to the commissions report.

Doula care is linked to positive outcomes such as lower rates of preterm birth and lower risk of C-sections, the report said.

MassHealth said it is working to implement other maternal health services, including expanding access to midwifery care, outlined in a recent Department of Public Health report. Gov. Maura Healey had ordered a statewide review of maternal health care following the controversial closure of Leominster Hospitals maternity ward.

Our administration is committed to ensuring access to high-quality health care, including safe and equitable maternal care, Healey said in a statement. Covering doula services for MassHealth members is just one step in improving health equity and outcomes for all people across the state.





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

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  How does 40-50 days of vacation sound? Its possible in 2024 if youre strategic with your time off.

Even if you only get 10-15 paid days off, you can make the most of it for more relaxation, travel or family time.

List shows all 2024 federal holidays to manage time off

John Liang, who goes by JohnsFinanceTips on TikTok, lays out exactly how you can do it  and hes not the only one researching all the best PTO times.

Its important to note that youre not actually getting more paid days off from your employer by following any of this advice. Youre simply taking advantage of long weekends and holidays to get optimum time away from work.

And of course, these recommendations are contingent upon working a traditional Monday through Friday schedule and getting these holidays off. Not everyone works weekdays, and not every employer observes days like Presidents Day.

But if you do, here are some PTO suggestions to help fill 2024 with extended vacations.

January

First, you can start the year off on a good note with a four-day weekend. Use one day of PTO on Jan. 2 for a four-day weekend from Dec. 30 through Jan. 2.

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In a similar scenario, Liang notes you can take off Jan. 16, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. You could also take off Jan. 12. Either way, it only uses one day of vacation time, but gives you a four-day weekend.

Make sure to put these time-off requests in soon since the new year is quickly approaching.

February

With Presidents Day also on a Monday, its another chance to extend your weekend.

Take the Friday before the holiday, Feb. 16, or the Tuesday after, Feb. 20, for a nice four-day weekend.

May

Youll have to wait a few months before theres another maximized vacation time. But when Memorial Day arrives, the popular holiday weekend is perfect time to take advantage.

Liang recommends taking one day of PTO on May 24 for a four-day weekend.

June

To celebrate Juneteenth, take two days off before the new federal holiday, June 17-18, and then two days off after, June 20-21.

Can you answer these US immigration test questions?

Those four days of PTO will result in nine consecutive days off work, perfect for a long vacation or plenty of time for all your Juneteenth festivities.

July

With the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday this year, it seems like a no-brainer to use a vacation day on July 5.

That one day of paid time off will get you a five-day weekend.

September

With another Monday holiday, Liang recommends once again taking a day of PTO to get a four-day weekend.

You could take a day off on Friday, Aug. 30 or Tuesday, Sept. 3 to enjoy the long weekend.

October

You dont have to use any time off to potentially enjoy a three-day weekend in October.

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If youre employer recognizes Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day, youll get Monday, Oct. 14, off for a long weekend.

November

In the first half of the month, well recognize Veterans Day on Nov. 11. Its on a Monday this year, which will result in a three-day weekend  no PTO time needed.

Save that vacation time for another November holiday: Thanksgiving.

Take the day after Thanksgiving  Friday, Nov. 29  off so you can enjoy a four-day weekend with family.

December

Finally, Christmas this year is on a Wednesday, so if you need some time off before or after the holiday, Liang recommends taking Dec. 23-24 and Dec. 26-27 for four days of PTO.

That will work out to nine consecutive days away from work, a great way to wrap up the year.

If you took all these recommendations, that would be 15 paid days off work  but youd have seven long weekends and still get two full weeks off.

Including holidays, weekends and vacation days, youd get over 45

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
In

In "May December," Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton) are protected by the community after a child sexual abuse scandal.

Theres a lot to unpack in May December, the critically acclaimed new Netflix movie by director Todd Haynes. Theres the way it explores the weaponization of white womanhood, the trippy ways it plays with camp and drama, and the statement it makes about our complicity as a society in tabloid stories and sensationalism. (Though not by any means a play-by-play, the movie is a fictionalization of the 1997 sexual abuse scandal involving teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and her student Vili Fualaau, who was 12 at the time.)

Then theres the deft way May December handles the subject of sexual grooming  specifically the ways in which, culturally, we tend to let women abusers off the hook.

The film is set in the years after Gracie (the Letourneau surrogate played by Julianne Moore) is released from prison, where she was sentenced for sexually assaulting an underaged teen, Joe, played by Charles Melton.

Now, Gracie and Joe are married and live a quiet life in a beach house with their three children, now teens themselves. At least, things are quiet until actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) comes to visit. Elizabeth is in town to learn about the family before she portrays Gracie in a movie. The couple reluctantly agree to tell their story.

K.L. Randis, an author and sexual abuse survivor, told HuffPost that what struck her most about the movie was its exploration of grooming and the aftermath of child rape, although words as lurid as those are never used. Instead, what happened years ago between Gracie and Joe is delicately referred to as the affair.

A woman seducing, raping and issuing power over a child is just accepted in the film, based on her pregnancy, Randis said.

In fact, the whole town is in collusion with the couple.

Gracies ex-husband said they seemed happy, Randis said. Her lawyer seemed proud to be part of something that brought him notoriety in the media, opposed to condemning her actions because of how genuine and in love Gracie has played her role over the years.

Thats not the only thing the film gets right about the insidious way grooming works. Below, Randis and experts on child abuse talk about what May December has to say about the repercussions of child sexual abuse. (Spoilers for the movie ahead.)

Sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman is seen as less severe.

Female-perpetrated sexual abuse isnt in the news as much as male-perpetrated abuse. Thats likely because its an underreported crime, according to Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and the author of Sexual Grooming: Integrating Research, Prevention, Practice and Policy.

While about 2% of all convicted sex offenders are female, self-reported studies suggest that up to 14% of all perpetrators of child sexual abuse are female, Jeglic told HuffPost. Its estimated that 40% of men who experience child sexual abuse are abused by a woman.

Research has found that those who have been sexually abused by women may have the same or even greater negative consequences as individuals abused by males, Jeglic said. The abuse is rarely revealed by the victim, as they believe that they are in a relationship with the adult, as was the case in May December. There is this sense of confusion.

Theres a societal stereotype of women being caring and nurturing, which in turn makes many people believe that sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman is less severe. If a male adult abused a sixth grader, wed have no qualms about calling it an abusive situation, Jeglic said.

With the Mary Kay Letourneau case, the press repeatedly referred to it as an affair, like we see here in the movie, Jeglic said. In her interview with [her], Barbara Walters asked Mary Kay if it was romantic? Mary Kay also talks about how it was Vili who pursued her. Remember, again, this was a young boy and she was an adult woman.

Theres an idea that sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman somehow is less severe, a dynamic dramatized in

Theres an idea that sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman somehow is less severe, a dynamic dramatized in "May December."

When a boy is abused by a woman, its assumed he wanted it, too.

For Stefani Goerlich, a clinical social worker and certified sex therapist, one of the most striking things about the movie was the way Gracie shifted the blame to Joe for their illicit, illegal romance.

As a former first response advocate and domestic violence and sexual assault therapist, Goerlich said shes seen that happen many times.

When the perpetrator sexualizes their younger victim, they come to see their behavior  even normal, age-appropriate behavior  as sexual, Goerlich said. This can lead them to see seduction where none is intended, and to infer desire that the youthful victim might not feel.

As a result, its easy for abusers to create a narrative where the victim has flirted with them, signaling a romantic or sexual interest that the perpetrator had no choice but to acknowledge.

When Joe finally confronts Gracie about who was responsible for their relationship beginning, a shocked Gracie shifts the blame to him. Who was the boss? Who was in charge? she asks.

On social media, many have noted that scene is eerily similar to a clip from a 2018 Australian interview with Fualaau and Letourneau, where the former teacher badgered her husband to admit he was the boss.

Adolescent boys are also often socialized to think of being seduced by the hot, sophisticated, older woman as desirable, or as evidence of their own maturity.

Both of these perspectives are horribly flawed, and fail to recognize the harm that these relationships can cause, Goerlich said.

Not all age-imbalanced relationships are predatory, she said, but culturally, we need to have a genuine conversation about the fetishization of youth.

We need to talk about the way that stereotypes of masculinity and femininity can be weaponized to undermine, or even erase, the trauma that these relationships can cause, she said.

One of the most striking things about the movie to Stefani Goerlich, a clinical social worker and certified sex therapist, is the way Gracie shifts the blame for their romance to Joe.

One of the most striking things about the movie to Stefani Goerlich, a clinical social worker and certified sex therapist, is the way Gracie shifts the blame for their romance to Joe.

The community sometimes protects the abuser.

When abuse happens over decades  and the abused sticks with the abuser  Randis thinks people will justify or excuse behaviors that are predatory, because why would anyone put up with that for so long if they didnt want or enjoy it?

But because Gracie is a woman, her actions arent just condoned; shes cloistered by the community. They buy cakes from her, which gives her an income. Theyre terse with outsiders who question the origins of the relationship. At one point, a protective friend asks Elizabeth to be kind to the couple in the film, telling her: It really feels like things just settled down. And now yall are making a movie.

In the years since the scandal, Gracie has worked hard to reframe her abuse as something positive, and her community is all too willing to play along to avoid any awkwardness.

I found the film to be a great jumping-off point to discuss all that hasnt been said, said Aniss Benelmouffok, manager of public affairs at the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse, an international nonprofit organization.

There is a scene where Elizabeth, the actress, and Joe are walking in the marshland near the house, and you can really feel that Elizabeth has a strong desire to act as an engaged bystander  unlike the community, Benelmouffok told HuffPost.

Walking beside Joe, her body language screams that she wants to say something about his experience of child sexual abuse, but she doesnt know how or cant get herself to do it, he said.

Early on in the film, actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) acts as a proxy for the audience, trying to understand why Joe stays with Gracie.

Early on in the film, actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) acts as a proxy for the audience, trying to understand why Joe stays with Gracie.

It can take years to realize you were abused and address what hasnt been said.

Samy Burch, the screenwriter of May December, told Vogue recently that its relevant that the film is set around graduation. (Gracie and Joes twins are graduating high school; their oldest daughter is already off at college.)

The seed was realizing that [Letourneau and Vili Fualaaus] kids were college age, Burch told Vogue. That was the spark for me  this idea of a man who hadnt gotten to process everything that happened and the media blitz and forced fatherhood. Setting the film right before a high school graduation was the first sentence of the idea, with Joe about to be an empty nester and looking at all that hasnt been said.

Joe watching his kids complete their childhood allows him to finally grapple with what happened in his: how Gracie stole it from him and effectively sidelined any life he had planned for himself. The movie ends on a somewhat ambiguous note: Will Joe leave Gracie like Fualaau left Letourneau in real life? Either way, theres a sense that something has irrevocably changed in Joe and his perception of what hes been through.

Joe finally starts to question his reality with her, Randis said. No longer is he the caregiver for Gracie. Hes voicing his observations from remembering things from his past.

Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website.

Related...
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he is endorsing former President Trump for reelection in 2024, weighing in after months of not formally declaring support for a candidate.

McCarthy said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning that will air on Sunday that he expects Trump will be the GOP nominee in 2024 and that he will support him.

I will support the president. I will support President Trump, McCarthy said.

He said he also expects that if President Biden is the Democratic nominee, Trump will win reelection and Republicans will increase their number of seats in the House and win control of the Senate next year.

Robert Costa, CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent, asked McCarthy in the interview if he would be willing to serve in a Cabinet for Trump, which McCarthy replied that he would.

In the right position. Look, if Im the best person for the job, yes. I worked with President Trump on a lot of policies. We worked together to win the majority, but we also have a relationship where were very honest with one another, McCarthy said.

McCarthys endorsement comes after the former Speaker announced on Wednesday that he will leave his House seat by the end of the year to serve America in new ways. He vowed in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal to continue to recruit our countrys best and brightest to run for elected office.

The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders, he said.

McCarthy became the first House Speaker to be removed in the history of the chamber in October, holding the speakers gavel for about nine months. Speculation arose after McCarthys removal whether he would run for reelection to his seat that he has held since 2007 or possibly resign.

McCarthy has regularly been a close supporter of the former president, including backing up Trumps false claims of the 2020 presidential election being stolen. The two split over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, with McCarthy saying on the House floor that Trump bears responsibility for the attack and not calling off the mob of rioters.

But McCarthy increased his ties to Trump in the weeks following the attack, visiting him at Mar-a-Lago and later saying that Trump did not provoke the attack. He also supported removing former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her position in House GOP leadership over her condemnation of Trumps claims.

Trump and McCarthy still reportedly had tense moments, including during McCarthys ouster. The Washington Post reported last week that McCarthy cursed at Trump after the former president refused to intervene and denounce removing him.

The Post reported that Trumps frustrations with McCarthy included McCarthy not endorsing him and the House not voting to expunge his two impeachments.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Python Cowboy Mike Kimmel and Python Huntress Amy Siewe are just two of the legendary characters trying to keep the rising population of Burmese pythons in check in Florida's Everglades. Both were once snake killers for hire for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) but now work as professional snake hunting guides.

"I was a state contractor for four years," says Siewe. "I couldn't make enough money to pay my bills. So I decided to become a full-time python hunting guide in January." She averages three hunts per week.

Siewe's biggest catch so far was a 17-foot-3-inch monster that she killed in July 2021. Two years later, Kimmel slew a 16-foot-long female and was surprised to find over 60 eggs inside her. Of the 7,330 pythons killed by SFWMD contractors since March 2017, only 651 (9 percent) have been 10 feet or longer. (In July, 22-year-old amateur python hunter Jake Waleri captured a world record 19-foot Burmese python at Big Cypress National Preserve.)

The cadre of around 100 contracted snake hunters earn between $13 and $18 hourly for up to 10 hours a day, plus an incentive payment of $50 for each python measuring up to 4 feet and another $25 for each foot measured above 4 feet. Hunters also get paid $200 for each verified active python nest they remove.

Both Kimmel and Siewe not only earn cash as python hunt guides but also from selling itemsApple Watch bands, bi-fold walletsmade of python leather. "The thing I like as a guide is that I get to take people out and teach them about the problems that the pythons are causing," says Siewe. "They get a chance to help save Florida's ecosystems. It's a really cool thing that I get to do." Private guides like Siewe are clearly an important supplement to state-contracted hunting.

At the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Python Action Team Removing Invasive Constrictors (PATRIC) program pays the same fees to its own contracted snake hunters. Since both programs were established in 2017, over 18,000 pythons have been caught and killed; contracted snake hunters have been responsible for the majority of the catches.

But this has barely made a dent in Florida's python population.

Besides contracting with professional snake hunters, the FWC launched its now annual Florida Python Challenge in 2013. During that first four-week challenge, the snake hunters competed to capture and kill as many pythons as possible. Then as now, contestants paid a $25 fee and took an online training course on how to safely capture and humanely kill the serpents.

In that first contest, the grand prize was $1,500 for the most number of snakes killed and $1,000 for the longest one. That year, the roughly 1,600 contestants managed to bag just 68 pythons. In the 2022 challenge, by contrast, 19-year-old Matthew Concepcion beat nearly 1,000 competitors and won a $10,000 grand prize by capturing 28 pythons; the contest as a whole killed 231 of the snakes. The prize money is now supplied by private foundations and companies.

The 2023 challenge, which ran August 413 this year, had 1,050 participants. This batch of contestants didn't do quite as well as 2022'sthey nabbed 209 of the reptiles, with champion Paul Hobbs netting 20 of thembut they landed in the same general vicinity.

Anyone may kill a Burmese python at any time on private land and on certain listed FWC-managed lands. There is no need for a license, nor is there a bag limit. But the FWC does not offer any compensation for pythons except to contracted hunters or during the Florida Python Challenge.

Could bounties produce a "cobra effect"? The British colonial government in India once offered sufficiently high bounties for dead cobras that it perversely incentivized enterprising residents to breed cobras at home. Any such tales about illicit python ranching in Florida are unlikely to be true. For one thing, it costs $100$200 to feed a hatchling python enough to grow it to four or five feet in a year. The python hunters would get only $50 to $75 for such a snake.

Why kill these beautiful reptiles? "Burmese pythons in southern Florida represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe," according to a January 2023 analysis by U.S. Geological Survey population ecologist Jacquelyn Guzy and her team of researchers. The number of Burmese pythons now living in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem could be anywhere from 150,000 to a million very hungry snakes. (Ironically, the Burmese python is assessed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Speciespopulations in its Asian home ranges had declined during the prior 10 years by 30 percent when it was last evaluated in 2011.)

Burmese pythons were likely established in southern Florida through accidental and intentional releases by pet owners who became overwhelmed with taking care of their 8- to 12-foot-long reptiles. (The animal's owners are generally advised to "always have a second person present when handling or feeding pythons longer than 8 feet. It doesn't take long for a full-grown Burmese python to overpower a person.") While the first Burmese python identified in the Everglades was roadkill way back in 1979, wildlife officials became aware they were breeding in the swamps of South Florida in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

As apex predators, Burmese pythons are ambush hunters; they have ravaged mid-sized mammal populations in the Everglades. A 2012 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study found that populations of raccoons had dropped 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent, and bobcats 87.5 percent since 1997. Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes had effectively disappeared.

In a 2022 article for the journal Biological Conservation, biologists Alexander Pyron and Arne Mooers pointed out that the snakes' prey are "among the most widespread and abundant and so secure species in North America." So why, they ask, should we worry so much about their declines in the relatively small Everglades region? Pyron and Mooers acknowledge that pythons may also be having an impact on rare Everglades denizens that are difficult to observe. The constrictors also eat amphibians, alligators, white-tailed deer, wild pigs, birds, and other snakes.

The news for native species from the Everglades is not all dire. In a 2023 report for the U.S. Geological Survey, biologist Andrea Currylow and her colleagues cite evidence that some "natives bite back." Specifically, alligators, cottonmouth and indigo snakes, bobcats, and bears have been detected preying on juvenile Burmese pythons. "Although much more work is needed," they write, "our observations contribute to limited but growing indications of native species' resilience in southern Florida's Greater Everglades Ecosystem."

Guzy's team notes that the "unique combination of inaccessible habitat with the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that do very well in the subtropical environment of southern Florida" renders them "extremely difficult to detect." In other words, it's hard to find well-camouflaged snakes in a roadless swamp. "The detection capacity for pythons is very low. I've seen estimates of 100 to 1,000 other pythons for every one python we see1,000 being the extreme high end," Everglades Foundation Chief Science Officer Steve Davis told Newsweek in 2022.

Besides contracting with snake killers and holding the annual python roundup, researchers have tried using dogs to sniff them out, using "scout" snakes carrying radio transmitters to betray their fellows during breeding season, and testing various traps. All these methods are expensive and labor-intensive, and they have resulted in few, if any, captures. Guzy and company conclude that eradicating the snake from the area "is not possible with any existing tools, whether applied singly or in combination."

So what might work to eradicate Burmese pythons from Florida? Guzy's team suggests that genetic biocontrol using gene drives could be deployed in the future. Genes normally have a 5050 chance of being inherited, but using gene drive systems increases the chances of inheriting targeted bioengineered genes to nearly 100 percent. Specifically, the researchers suggest targeting and destroying the female-determining X chromosome during spermatogenesis. As bioengineered male snakes interbreed with wild females, only male pythons would be born, leading ultimately to population collapse. In 2019, a team of biologists at the University of Georgia validated this process for reptiles by installing gene drives into brown anole lizards.

Until then, the Python Cowboy and Python Huntress and their clients will have plenty of snakes to pursue.

The post Meet Florida's Python Bounty Hunters appeared first on Reason.com.
China urges Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes

Xinhua) 09:39, December 09, 2023

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday urged the Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes between the two countries, and work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

When asked to comment on reports at a daily press briefing that the House of Representatives of the Philippines recently adopted a resolution regarding issues of the South China Sea, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the resolution groundlessly criticized, misrepresented and smeared China, and China firmly rejects it.

"First of all, China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, consisting of Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao and Nansha Qundao, and their adjacent waters, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters," Wang said, adding that China's sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in history and the law.

"Second, the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration violated the principle of state consent, exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and rendered an award in disregard of the law. This is a grave violation of UNCLOS and general international law. The award is illegal, null and void," Wang said, adding that China does not accept or recognize it, and will never accept any claim or action based on the award. This is firmly grounded in international law. China's sovereignty and rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by the illegal award. Any attempt to impose the illegal award on China is in violation of international law.

Third, China's construction and deployment of necessary defense facilities on its own territory in Nansha Qundao, and the patrols by Chinese military and Coast Guard ships, the scientific research activities by relevant Chinese departments, and the fishing activities by Chinese fishing boats in waters under China's jurisdiction are all legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach, according to Wang.

Fourth, Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao. The Philippines illegally grounded a warship there and frequently sent vessels to illegally intrude into the reef's adjacent waters to deliver construction materials in an attempt to reinforce the grounded warship, Wang said. "This amounts to grave infringement on China's sovereignty. China will continue to do what is necessary to firmly safeguard its sovereignty in accordance with domestic and international law."

Fifth, China's summer fishing moratorium in the South China Sea is a normal measure aimed at protecting marine biological resources in waters under its jurisdiction and a concrete step in fulfilling its obligations under international law including UNCLOS. The Philippine side should not make wanton remarks about this, Wang said.

Sixth, for some time, the Philippines has been sending people to Tiexian Jiao and other uninhabited islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands and sending aircraft and vessels to intrude into adjacent waters and airspace of China's Nansha Islands and Huangyan Dao, according to the spokesperson. "These moves severely violate China's sovereignty, endanger China's security, go against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea. China has made serious demarches for nearly 100 times and officially expressed our protest to the Philippines."

"We once again urge the Philippines to stop hyping up maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, and stop its infringement of China's sovereignty and provocation at sea," Wang said, adding that the Philippines should return to the right track of resolving maritime disputes through negotiation and consultation as soon as possible, and work with China to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 9)  Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Ablaos on Saturday offered a 500,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the murderers of a barangay captain in Pangasinan.

Barangay Poblacion Captain Melinda "Tonet" Morillo was fatally shot while she was driving home on Dec. 7. Authorities have yet to identify the gunmen. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=919573686204743&set=pb.100044563590623.-2207520000

Abalos, who visited Morillo's wake, urged the public to offer support to the bereaved family and reveal information on the suspects.

"I am, therefore, offering a 500,000 reward for any information that will lead to the immediate arrest of the persons behind her murder," Abalos said in a statement.

He said the reward is meant to encourage Pangasinenses to "step forward and be instruments of justice."

"Your support is also a clear stand and statement against criminals that we will never condone these senseless killings in our country," the secretary said.

"While this is an isolated incident, I remind other punong barangays and our local officials to promptly report to the local police any concerns regarding their safety," Abalos added.
Megyn Kelly called in to Glenn Becks radio program Thursday, saying that while the media was focused on Joe Bidens gaffes, Donald Trumps are largely ignored. She said Trump has lost multiple steps mentally since 2016. This is what happens when youre 77 years old! she said. Kelly said Trump has repeatedly confused Biden and Barack Obama. Any of us could have a slip of the tongue, but its happening to him repeatedly, she said. Kelly said she would still take Trump over Biden any day of the week. If its between Trump and Biden, I dont think theres any question whos more fit and more capable, she said. But are we really going to pretend that Donald Trump is just as vibrant and mentally sharp as he was in 16?

Read it at Glenn Beck

Read more at The Daily Beast.
A showdown in Texas over one womans right to terminate a non-viable pregnancy could keep abortion at the center of the 2024 election and change the trajectory of legal challenges to state bans.

The case underscores the legal and ethical gray areas physicians have faced since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And it has amplified a debate over who is exempt from strict abortion bans, who has legal standing to challenge the bans and the liabilities doctors risk in interpreting vague laws with stiff penalties as they help patients navigate time-sensitive medical crises.

Legal experts say the Texas cases implications stretch far beyond the states borders and highlight the defects of a post-Roe legal regime in which a patchwork of state laws is open to clashing interpretations. Several states have vaguely worded exemptions to their abortion bans that rely on the judgment of medical providers to decide who is sick enough to qualify. And those doctors risk losing their license, and can face steep fines or years in prison if a jury disagrees with their call.

All of this confusion is revealing that Dobbs is not itself workable, said Greer Donley, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, referring to the case that overturned Roe. Dobbs is premised on the distinction between elective and therapeutic abortions, that  you can ban one while protecting the other. Were learning in real time that thats not possible."

Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Dallas-area mother of two who is about 20 weeks pregnant, was recently informed by her medical team that her fetus has the likely fatal condition Trisomy 18 and that continuing the pregnancy would put her at high risk of hypertension, gestational diabetes and infection. But her doctors, afraid of prosecution or losing their medical licenses under the states near-total ban, said they would not provide an abortion until the fetus died.

Cox took the case to court, and a state judge ruled Thursday that she could obtain an abortion and that the doctor performing it could not be criminally charged. Hours later, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned Coxs doctor and the hospitals where she practices that they could still be prosecuted if they go forward with the procedure. The court injunction, he argued, only blocks his office from bringing criminal charges, but doesnt prohibit local prosecutors from doing so or stop state residents from filing civil charges.

Paxton added that with the state expected to appeal the ruling, the physicians wont be protected from criminal charges should the lower court order be overturned.

The [temporary restraining order] will expire long before the statute of limitations for violating Texas abortion laws expires, he warned.

Democrats have since seized on the case and Paxton's decision to intervene and appeal it to the state's supreme court, believing it highlights two of their central arguments: womens rights are in jeopardy under a GOP-controlled government and the system of checks and balances is under attack.

Biden officials focused on reproductive rights have been monitoring Coxs case. But Paxtons threat Thursday elevated the issue among those in President Joe Biden's orbit, alarming allies who saw it as a direct attack on Cox and her doctors in defiance of a court order. The move also raised concerns that it could further confuse a medical establishment still struggling to manage the fallout of last years Dobbs decision.

Bidens reelection campaign plans to argue the case is a prime example of the existential threat posed to womens reproductive rights if Republicans return to power in 2024.

Ken Paxton is doing a great job of expressing for thousands of women in Texas the horror of having the state in charge of your pregnancy," said Cecile Richards, the former CEO of Planned Parenthood and current co-chair of Democratic Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. "These are peoples lives that are at stake, and its only going to get worse."

The campaign on Friday repeatedly highlighted coverage of Paxtons statement. It also sought to use the legal standoff to target GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, portraying the case as a direct result of the former presidents actions  from appointing three justices to the Supreme Court to backing policies aimed at limiting reproductive rights.

"This story is shocking, it's horrifying, and it's heartbreaking  it's also becoming all too commonplace in America because of Donald Trump," Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), a Biden campaign co-chair, said in a statement. "The American people should know that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans won't stop here."

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Doctors have warned since the fall of Roe last year that vague and unscientific language in state abortion bans leaves them unsure of when theyre able to intervene, even when patients have life-threatening complications.

Texas ban, for instance, has no exemptions for rape, incest or fatal fetal anomalies, but allows abortions to take place when the patient is in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function."

Donley said that uncertainty about what that means  coupled with the threat of incarceration, bankruptcy and the end of their careers  is having a chilling effect on doctors.

Think of all the words in there: What is serious? What is a substantial impairment? What is a major bodily function? Every one of those terms is a pressure point, subject to interpretation, she said. Its understandable that hospitals are interpreting those exemptions in the most narrow way possible to protect themselves.

Anti-abortion groups in Texas are rallying behind Paxton and characterizing Coxs lawsuit as an attempt to undermine and ultimately get rid of the states ban. Both Texas Alliance for Life and Texas Right to Life told POLITICO they are unconvinced that Cox qualifies for a medical exemption and said she should carry the pregnancy to term even if the baby does not survive.

When a child is aborted, theyre robbed of any length of life they might have had, and the family is robbed of the chance to hold and grieve that child. That is not the compassionate option for that family or child, Amy ODonnell, the spokesperson for Texas Alliance for Life, said in an interview.

John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life, said he agrees with critics of the ban that its exemptions arent speaking the exact language doctors do. But he argued its the responsibility of the states medical board and private medical associations to educate doctors about when to apply those exemptions.

They have failed in their job to explain to doctors and hospital ethics committees and attorneys what the law is, he said. Medical associations need to do their job and educate physicians on the front lines.

Both Coxs case and another filed Friday in Kentucky by an anonymous pregnant woman represent a new chapter in the legal battles over abortion post-Roe. Until now, most cases have been brought by doctors and advocacy groups challenging bans on behalf of their pregnant patients, because pregnancy and abortion are so medically precarious and time-sensitive compared to the slow pace of court proceedings.

GOP officials have argued in court in Texas, Kentucky and other states that those doctors and groups have no standing because they arent the ones harmed if a pregnancy continues, and interests arent always aligned between doctors and patients. Now that pregnant people are filing challenges, it will test who, if anyone, conservative-leaning judges allow to bring a lawsuit.

There must be a way into the courthouse doors, said Brigitte Amiri, the deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project who is working on the Kentucky case. They cant say theres no third-party standing for doctors, then say we cant have a pregnant person bringing this case for other reasons. You have to allow citizens to challenge laws.

Coxs legal team stressed that its not feasible for most people in her situation  or most people seeking an abortion in general  to have the time, courage and resources to bring legal challenges.

Health care doesn't work this way, said Molly Duane, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. I certainly wouldn't want my doctors waiting around for a court to decide whether or not she could save my life.
The inmate accused of stabbing ex-Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin revealed to FBI investigators the potential motive behind the incident. Chauvin is currently going federal time in the killing of George Floyd back in 2020.



Ex-Mexican Mafia member John Turscak was identified by Tuscon, Ariz. federal corrections officers as the person who attacked Chauvin the day after Thanksgiving leaving him with 22 stab wounds. Prosecutors say if the guards didnt break up the altercation, Chauvin wouldve died. According to the criminal complaint, Turscak told FBI investigators Turscak had been thinking about the assault for a month prior to the incident.

Read more

He told investigators he chose Black Friday  the day after Thanksgiving when shops bring sale events  for his attack because it was symbolic with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Hand symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia criminal organization, according to FBI agents who interviewed him on Nov. 26

This revelation is quite surprising considering the Mexican Mafias relationship with Black people, historically, isnt the best. Sam Quinones and Peter Kiefer from LA Magazine wrote the gang was born in the 50s behind the prison bars and consistently went toe-to-toe with Black gangs.

They alsoand this is keywent to war with Black gangs throughout the prison system. When they werent battling one another, the Brown and Black inmates maintained an almost Jim Crow-like segregation, using separate water fountains, separate showers, and separate telephones, not so much as bumming a cigarette from one another, they wrote.

That racial rivalry soon poured out into the streets and created decades of Black vs Brown violence across Southern California. All that to say, before your gears start turning about the BLM bit, its up in the air whether Turscak is for the people, you feel me?

Anyways, hes facing charges of attempted murder, assault with the intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in bodily injury. Hes already serving a 30-year-sentence for crimes during his run as an FBI informant, court documents show.

As for Chauvin, authorities say hes alive and stable.



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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 9)  A local police chief caught on video while drunkenly brandishing his gun around the town plaza of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental has been relieved from his post.

The provincial police office sacked Tagoloan Police Chief Enqirue Francisco Dungog after the video of the incident went viral on social media.

An investigation into the incident is underway.

"MORPPO (Misamis Oriental Regional Police Provincial Office) strongly condemns the wrongdoing of our men. We guarantee that there will be no whitewash in the investigation," Provincial Director PCol Cholijun Caduyac said in a statement.

"Any infractions and misconduct perpetrated by our policemen will be dealt with accordingly and will never be tolerated," he added.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)Police are warning people to be cautious, after arresting a man in connection to four robberies linked to a social media platform.

According to Commander Sylvan Altieri, 19-year-old Elijah Porter was arrested for robbery.

Porter is accused of posing as both a buyer and seller on Facebook Marketplace, a social media platform where people can list items for sale. Hed then arrange to meet to make the exchange on the 1300 block of Orren Street Northeast. When the person arrived, police allege Porter would rob them.

DC man sentenced to 15 years in connection to 2 armed robberies

Officials are now encouraging people to take advantage of their safe exchange zones when meeting a stranger to exchange goods.

Wed rather you do it safely than become a victim, said Altieri.

Safe exchange zones include all seven police precincts, which are open 24 hours a day. The commander said people can choose to meet inside the station or outside in the parking lot.

Even if you dont feel comfortable with law enforcement, even if you dont want to be around police you can still use our facilities, explained Altieri. You dont have to talk to us, you dont even need to come in.

Safe Exchange Zones can be found at the following locations:

MPD Safe Exchange Zone locations:

First District Station: 101 M Street SW

Second District Station: 3320 Idaho Avenue NW

Third District Station: 1620 V Street NW

Fourth District Station: 6001 Georgia Avenue NW

Fifth District Station: 1805 Bladensburg Road NE

Sixth District Station: 5002 Hayes Street NE

Seventh District Station: 2455 Alabama Avenue SE

Special Operations Divisions Harbor Patrol: 550 Water Street SW

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
On Tuesday, the House of Commons will debate the Safety of Rwanda Bill, the Governments response to the Supreme Court ruling against the plan to remove those arriving illegally on small boats to the east African country. MPs should back the Bill, rather than let the best be the enemy of the good.

The Bill deems Rwanda a safe place to send those arriving illegally. It disapplies the key provisions of the Human Rights Act. It prevents the UK courts from relying on interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg as grounds for blocking removal.

Could it be more robust? There is always a measure of risk that the judiciary will find the means to frustrate legislation, and the Bill leaves open the possibility that the individual circumstances of a case could render a migrant at particular risk, even though Rwanda is generally regarded as safe. The Bill would, however, put the Supreme Court in a deeply uncomfortable position if it sought to rely on such narrow grounds. The trend of the current Supreme Court has been far less creative and interventionist than its predecessors. I suspect that it would need truly exceptional circumstances to bar removal.

If MPs wish to tighten up the drafting, the time to do so is at the Committee Stage of the Bill, not at Second Reading on Tuesday. Equally, I doubt the kind of belt and braces ouster clauses being mooted will be as effective as some think. Ousting the effect of international treaties is pointless, unless Parliament also ousts all the legislative and common law prohibitions on torture which underpin them  which would be wrong, and haemorrhage support for the Bill.

So, I urge colleagues to back the Bill. The former Supreme Court justice, Lord Sumption, says that the UK courts would have to give effect to the Bill. However, he doubts the Strasbourg Court would let it stand. Im not so sure, but in any case it is the right dialogue to have with Strasbourg, and when we are reasonable and resolute  as we were over prisoner voting  Parliaments view has prevailed.

We are making wider progress on this issue of huge importance to the public. Small boat crossings by Albanians are down by 90 per cent on last year. Other countries, including Denmark and Italy, are looking to copy the UK model. If we can get the first flights to Rwanda in the air with this legislation, it would give the strategy a fillip  demonstrating progress in the face of every obstacle thrown in the Governments way. This is a challenge that will be overcome with incremental strides, not in one fell swoop, so keeping up momentum is critical.

The Rwanda plan can only be one element of an effective strategy to tackle the small boats, not least because the Rwandan government is unlikely to be willing to take more than a few thousand illegal migrants each year  and 44,000 arrived in the year ending June 2023. Detaining every illegal migrant in indefinite administrative detention would be wrong, and quickly become unviable.

So, we need more partnership agreements with other countries, and additional operational measures, to establish a meaningful deterrent. For all the tough political talk on removals, there has been a striking lack of imagination and resolve when it comes to prevention. The use of drone technology to identify small boats before they leave France, coupled with improved bilateral enforcement cooperation, would make a big difference.

If France wont raise its game, the UK should consider using technology, the Navy and mobile barriers to prevent small boats crossing the median line of the Channel, while offering to take those on small boats back to the French coast in safety  to avoid claims the UK is rendering them in distress contrary to international maritime law.

Finally, the politics of this are clear. The Conservatives can unite behind the Prime Minister, show the public we are determined to turn the tide on small boats, and demonstrate that Labour lacks the will to tackle them. Or we can fight among ourselves, fail the public, and put a big, fat, smile on Keir Starmers face.

Dominic Raab MP is a former deputy prime minister, justice secretary and foreign secretary

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Our most-read science stories this week contain a few timeless life lessons. One, dont go into an MRI room carrying metal, particularly if that metal is a loaded gun. Two, dont cross a killer whale, even if youre a great white shark. And finally, never judge a sea cucumber by its coverno matter how repulsive that cover appears to be. - Rose Pastore

Image: nimon (Shutterstock)

A womans medical exam turned into a literal pain in the butt, thanks to a poorly placed firearm. An adverse event report sent to the Food and Drug Administration details an alleged incident in which the woman was shot in the right buttock by her own gun that was activated by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. - Ed Cara Read More

Read more

Betelgeuse, as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on August 13, 2020.



Betelgeuse, as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on August 13, 2020.

The bright star Betelgeuse, a prominent member of the Orion constellation, is set to be occulted by the asteroid Leona on December 11. This occurrence, expected to last no more than 10 seconds, will cause the star to temporarily vanish from sight, a phenomenon visible along a narrow path on Earth. - George Dvorsky Read More





An orca whale spotted in Canadas Johnstone Strait, British Columbia.



An orca whale spotted in Canadas Johnstone Strait, British Columbia.

A great white shark that washed up near Portland, Australia, in October was killed and eaten by orcas, according to researchers who studied the fishs remains. - Isaac Schultz Read More





The sample return capsule on the ground in Utah.

Inconsistent labels in the OSIRIS-REx landing plans are what caused the out-of-order parachute deployment during the return capsules descent to Earth on September 24, NASA says. - Isaac Schultz Read More





Image: Photo: Shutterstock Graphics: Vicky Leta

Every few months, a math problem goes viral on social media. This weeks puzzle comes from a real problem on a math test given to students in Singapore, and it went viral for causing rifts among solvers. Its a tricky exercise in logic unlike any exam problem from my school days. - Jack Murtagh Read More





Image: Sergey Neanderthalec (Shutterstock)

Magnesium supplements might be able to blunt a well-known side effect of the painkiller acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, new research suggests. The study found evidence in lab animals that oral magnesium can prevent acetaminophen-related liver damage by affecting the gut microbiome. - Ed Cara Read More





Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms.



Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms.

Researchers in Australia analyzed the genomes of over 100 commercial and wild-grown varieties of Psilocybe cubensis, a psychoactive fungi known as the magic mushroom. The findings may eventually help growers develop designer shrooms that have their own unique health benefits, the team says. - Ed Cara Read More





Image: photo-denver (Shutterstock)

Panera Bread is once again being blamed for causing someones death with its highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade energy drink. The family of 46-year-old Dennis Brown filed a wrongful death suit against the chain this week, alleging that Browns heart-related death in early October was caused by the drink. Its the second such claim made against the company this year, but Panera has denied responsibility for either death. - Ed Cara Read More





A Stichopus c.f. horrens specimen collected from plastic pens inside the Bolinao Marine lab at the UP Marine Science Institute.



A Stichopus c.f. horrens specimen collected from plastic pens inside the Bolinao Marine lab at the UP Marine Science Institute.

Great things can come in small, slightly repulsive packages. Scientists in the Philippines have detailed the molecular secrets of Stichopus cf. horrens, a sea cucumber species that bears more than a passing resemblance to something else. Their findings indicate that these animals contain several compounds that could have potential medical benefits in humans, including anti-cancer agents. - Ed Cara Read More





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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  After a months-long investigation, Multnomah County Sheriffs Deputies served search warrants at locations in Portland and Oregon City Thursday morning, resulting in one of the largest illegal fentanyl busts in Oregon history, officials said.

In Portland, deputies reported finding more than 52 pounds of fentanyl powder and in Oregon City, one pound of fentanyl powder and over 8,000 fentanyl pills were discovered.

Additionally, thousands of dollars in cash and multiple firearms were seized.

OLCCs new program will regulate third-party home alcohol deliveries

The MCSO Dangerous Drugs Team, a grant-funded task force that took the lead in this case, estimates that the more than 50 pounds of fentanyl powder seized would have yielded 11 million individual doses.

As a result of the search and seizure, officals said three people were booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center: 23-year-old Luis Funez, 21-year-old Gerson Isaac Hernandez Betancurt and 37-year-old Dezirae Ann Torset.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Every hour of every day of the last two months, aid agencies have pleaded for deliveries of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip. We have been placed in the intolerable position of requesting permission to do lifesaving work.

Earlier this week, I wrote to the president of the United Nations General Assembly to inform him that the United Nations Relief and Works Agencys ability to continue delivering its mandate in Gaza has become very limited. In my 35 years of work in complex emergencies, I would never have expected to write such a letter, which predicted the killing of my staff and the collapse of the mandate I am expected to fulfill.

Civilians in this war are pawns, and yet humanitarian aid has been made conditional. Humanitarian assistance is withheld or delivered according to political and military agendas to which the United Nations is not privy. Food, water and fuel are being systematically used as weapons of war in Gaza, as is disinformation. Attacking and trying to discredit humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is yet another means of waging war and compromising the humanitarian response, further weakening the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Read more: Opinion: As a Gaza teen, I used to dream of college. Now I feel sentenced to death by Israel's bombings

Hamas has absolved itself of any responsibility toward the civilian population. It has shamefully stated that full responsibility for humanitarian assistance toward civilians lies with the U.N. Israel has imposed a near-total siege on Gaza  inflicting collective punishment on more than 2 million people, half of whom are children. The meager supplies that Israel has been allowing into Gaza have little effect in the face of the overwhelming needs of an entire population.

Since the beginning of the war, Israel has forcibly moved more than 1.8 million Gazans from their homes , especially from the northern parts of the Gaza Strip. This is the largest forced displacement of Palestinians since 1948.

More than 270 people sheltering in UNRWA facilities have since been killed, and nearly 1,000 injured. Most of these shelters were located in the middle and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, which were thought to be safer. The sad reality is that Gazans are not safe anywhere: not at home, not in a hospital, not under the U.N. flag, not in the north, middle or south.

Now that the humanitarian pause has ended, what will be the fate of more than 2 million Palestinians besieged and holed up in a tiny area in southern Gaza?

Read more: Opinion: Gazans have no good options. Here's the least bad of the bad

The United Nations and several member states, including the U.S., have firmly rejected forcibly displacing Gazans out of the Gaza Strip. But the developments we are witnessing point to attempts to move Palestinians into Egypt, regardless of whether they stay there or are resettled elsewhere.

The decimation of northern Gaza and the displacement of millions of Gazans to the south is the first stage of such a scenario, and it is already complete. The next stage is underway  forcing people out of the urban center in Khan Yunis and closer to the Egyptian border.

Bombardment and a tight siege are again creating conditions under which nothing more than mere survival is possible. The deprivation of humanitarian aid is key to this plan. After the destruction of the north, the destruction of the south is ongoing, except this time, people have nowhere to go.

Read more: Does Israel's treatment of Palestinians rise to the level of apartheid?

Humanitarian agencies are again being asked to provide tents in designated deconflicted or safe areas in the south. But the reality is that unilaterally designating an area a safe zone in a war situation will not make it safer.

For many Palestinians the only option for a better future is to leave Gaza altogether. Judging by policy and humanitarian discussions underway, it is hard to believe that the Palestinians of Gaza who are displaced today will be allowed  or even willing  to return to their destroyed homes any time soon.

If this path continues, leading to what many are already calling a second Nakba, Gaza will not be a land for Palestinians anymore.

Read more: How the U.S. has fueled Israel's decades-long war on Palestinians

A different trajectory can still be pursued, starting with a steady humanitarian cease-fire that leads to the release of all hostages, firm compliance with international humanitarian law by all parties, a freeze of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and a genuine discussion about the future with a negotiated political solution, including a Palestinian state that encompasses the occupied Palestinian territory.

In parallel, there must be justice and accountability for both the atrocities of Oct. 7, including the taking of hostages, and the disproportionate killing of civilians and the destruction of Gaza. Without this there will not be peace and stability. The International Criminal Court should investigate and adjudicate evidence of alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Governments around the world should act decisively. Otherwise international humanitarian law will become simply the law of the strongest. We must hold accountable those who deliberately infringe it, weaponize humanitarian aid and defame humanitarian organizations with the aim of weakening assistance and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Read more: Opinion: Here's what the mass violence in Gaza looks like to a scholar of genocide

The original purpose of international humanitarian aid, a concept conceived after the First World War, was to alleviate the suffering of civilians during wars and conflicts. Today, however, humanitarian aid is a strategic dimension of foreign policy and diplomatic competition  an instrument of power and war.

In Gaza, humanitarian assistance is being manipulated to serve political and military objectives, another breach among many in this war. Humanitarian aid must be kept independent and impartial. To do so, we must remain focused on the principle of alleviating the suffering of civilians, whoever and wherever they are.

Philippe Lazzarini is the commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides assistance and protection for Palestinian refugees in the Near East.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
N.J. man sentenced to 8 years in prison after video showed him harassing Black neighbors with racial slurs

A white New Jersey man who was captured in a viral video in 2021 harassing his Black neighbors and hurling racial slurs was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison.

Edward C. Mathews, 47, was ordered to serve at least four years before he is eligible for parole, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In October, he pleaded guilty to four counts of bias intimidation and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute. The charges stem from a 2021 incident in which footage showed him repeatedly calling his neighbors the N-word and another offensive slur outside a home in Mount Laurel.

Our office is committed to combatting bias crimes and sending a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated in our community, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a statement Friday. Nobody should have to endure what these victims experienced.

A crowd forms in front of the house of Edward Mathews, which is blocked by police. (Jim Walsh / Courier-Post via USA TODAY NETWORK)

One resident in the area filed a harassment complaint against Mathews with the Mount Laurel Police Department on July 2, 2021, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office said in a news release. That same day, police received a report about a man who needed to be removed from the area.

When officers arrived, they found Mathews using racial slurs while engaged in a verbal altercation with four residents, prosecutors said. During a search of Mathews home, police found numerous psilocin mushrooms, which are known for their hallucinogenic effect, according to prosecutors.

Bradshaw said Mathews had a pattern of terrorizing his Black neighbors, including a time when he allegedly left a threatening note on one of their vehicles. He was also accused of stalking, smearing feces on his neighbors windows and damaging their cars, NBC Philadelphia reported.

He apologized for his behavior during his sentencing.

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future, he told the judge, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. I want to commit to rebuild the community.

He said he accepted responsibility and said he was sorry for my insensitive and disrespectful words in the past.

Mathews, who has been in custody since his arrest, will get credit for the time hes already served and will be eligible for parole in about 16 months, according to the Inquirer.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says it has exhausted all possible investigative avenues in its efforts to track down the person responsible for leaking three photos of writings from the killer of three children and three adults at a private school in March.

The department announced the update in a Friday news release.

Police conducted interviews and examined electronic devices as part of their month-long investigation, which did not identify any current employees of the department or its partner agencies as having engaged in the unauthorized release of the images, the release says.

Images of the 28-year-old shooters writings were released online by a conservative political commentator in November, eight months after the deadly attack at Covenant School. The shooter was killed by police at the scene.

The leak of the images came amid an intense legal battle among groups who want evidence  including the shooters writings  released by authorities and parents of victims who said their release would cause further trauma.

The images show hate-filled language directed toward the Covenant School and children and include what seems to be a timeline of events leading up to the shooting.

The police department made attempts last month to interview a former detective who had images of the writings as part of his official duties, but he declined, according to the release. The department said it cannot compel statements or cooperation from former employees.

Police department employees previously placed on administrative leave pending the investigation have returned to their normal roles, the release added.

Two detectives from the departments Specialized Investigations Unit took photos of the writings immediately after finding journals in the Covenant School shooters vehicle to gather information about the shooter, the investigation found. One detective took two of the photos while the other took one, according to the release.

The department will advance the investigation upon any new or undiscovered information, the release says.

Steven Crowder, the American-Canadian conservative commentator who released the images, previously told CNN affiliate WSMV that he did not regret sharing them online. Crowder, who has been accused of using homophobic and racist slurs in the past, said he released the pages for more transparency in the case.

The March 27 massacre triggered an intense monthslong legal battle. Both gun rights advocates and news organizations have sought the release of the shooters writings, which might shed light on the motive for the attack  and could include the shooters journals and a suicide note.

Those petitioning to have the writings released  including The Tennessean newspaper  say the documents are public records and that the First Amendment and the Tennessee Constitution grant public access to the records.

Alternately, the National Police Association and the Tennessee Firearms Association, who are also suing for the records, have argued lessons gleaned from the writings could benefit public safety by shedding light on the killers thinking.

But the parents of two of the three children who were killed have asked the court to deny Freedom of Information Act requests for the release of the shooters writings.

The church that runs the school also sought to prevent the records from being released, alongside many parents of students who fear the release could inspire copycat attacks, CNN has previously reported.

CNNs Isabel Rosales, Devon M. Sayers and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.

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(CNN)  Israeli tank fire killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured six other international journalists in a double strike in southern Lebanon on October 13, forensic analysis by CNN suggests, confirming reports by two news organizations and two human rights groups.

On Thursday, Reuters, AFP, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released investigations into the circumstances of the deadly strike. AFP and HRW claimed the strike was a deliberate, targeted attack by Israel on the journalists. In a statement to Reuters, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Richard Hecht said: We dont target journalists. He did not provide further comment, the news agency reported.

The Israel Defense Forces on Friday said that the October incident in which a Reuters journalist was killed is still under review.

AFP photographer Christina Assi had her leg amputated and remains in the hospital as a result of the strike, according to AFP.

Eylon Levy, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, said Thursday that he was not familiar with the new reports. The guiding principle in Israels campaign against Hamas is we uphold the principles of international law regarding proportionality, necessity, distinction, he said. We target Hamas, we do not target civilians.

CNNs forensic analysis of multiple videos, including a live AFP video feed from the time and place of the attack, has determined that the two strikes  37 seconds apart  which hit the journalists was a supersonic event that came from the direction of Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah were engaged in intense crossfire across the Lebanon-Israel border at the time.

CNN has also seen a photo from the scene of the attack showing the tail fin of a 120 mm tank shell. The photo was verified by a source familiar with the investigation.

Neither the Lebanese army nor the Iran-backed Hezbollah are known to have such ammunition in their arsenal.

That is a 120mm high explosive tank shell. Very clearly high explosive and not a different type of shell, said Marc Garlasco, a former defense intelligence analyst and UN war crimes investigator, who saw the photo obtained by CNN as well as video of the aftermath of the attack. (Aftermath video is) very indicative of a direct fire munition and matches with the 120 fragments.

The shooter should have seen the journalists from the tank, he added.

British weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith said the photograph of the remnants of the shell clearly showed an expended tank round.

Two projectiles hit the area of the media crews and from the damage to the wall, the location where Issams body ended up and from an analysis of the second crater, I believe the shots came from the area of the high ground just over the border, said Cobb-Smith, referring to a foot-high wall seen in aftermath video near Abdallahs body. Cobb-Smith said his analysis of the damage left by the projectile suggested that the attack came from a southeasterly direction.

CNN also consulted with audio expert Robert Maher, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Montana State University.

Maher determined that the attack was likely a supersonic event due to the absence of an approaching whoosh or whine, as you might see with artillery fire.

Cobb-Smiths theory that the shells travelled from the southeast would be consistent of the findings of the investigations released Thursday.

Hours after the attack on October 13, CNN reported that the journalists attacked were wearing clearly labelled press flak jackets. It also reported that an Israeli Apache helicopter was seen over the site of the attack around the time of the attack, according to a Lebanese security source, which would have given Israeli forces added visibility over the journalists.

Israeli surveillance towers are seen in video of the attack, raising further doubt that Israel had not realized the tank crew was attacking journalists.

In its statement Friday, the IDF said, On October 13, 2023, the terrorist organization Hezbollah launched an attack on multiple targets within Israeli territory along the Lebanese border, the IDF said in a statement. One incident involved the firing of an anti-tank missile, which struck the border fence near the village Hanita.

CNN reported that exchange of fire at the time of the incident.

Following the launch of the anti-tank missile, concerns arose over the potential infiltration of terrorists into Israeli territory. In response, the IDF used artillery and tank fire to prevent the infiltration. The IDF is aware of the claim that journalists who were in the area were killed, the statement continued.

The area is an active combat zone, where active fire takes place and being in this area is dangerous. The incident is currently under review, the IDF said.

IDF spokesperson Richard Hecht on October 14 called Abdallahs death a tragic thing, without naming him directly or acknowledging Israels involvement. The same day, the IDF said: A report was received that during the incident, journalists were injured in the area. The incident is under review.

Al Jazeera has accused Israels military of deliberately targeting the journalists to silence the media, saying the attacks are a part of a pattern of repeated atrocities against journalists.

Amnesty Internationals investigation did not find any indication that there were any fighters or military objectives at the site of the strikes.

Israeli forces had observation towers, ground elements, and air assets deployed to closely monitor the border. All of this should have provided sufficient information to Israeli forces that these were journalists and civilians and not a military target, Amnesty said in its report.

Our investigation into the incident uncovers chilling evidence pointing to an attack on a group of international journalists who were carrying out their work by reporting on hostilities. Direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks are absolutely prohibited by international humanitarian law and can amount to war crimes, said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

The strikes were deliberate and targeted, AFP said in its report. AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd said in the report, AFP has been very clear that we will take all judicial avenues that we deem relevant and possible to ensure that we can get justice for Christina and Issam.

Speaking Thursday in Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Abdallahs death should be investigated. Blinken said it was his understanding that Israel had begun such an investigation and stressed the importance of seeing it through.

A Pentagon spokeswoman said earlier that the agency had not conducted its own assessment of Abdallahs death but it continued to urge Israel to protect innocent civilians, including members of the press.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Israeli tank fire killed Reuters journalist in October attack, CNN analysis suggests"
Vernette Kountz had given birth to four children in hospitals  including a set of surrogate twins  before deciding she was ready for a different experience.

Kountz said while her previous deliveries had all been healthy and smooth, she felt her hospital and medical office visits were rushed, routine and impersonal.

When youre in this medical model, you feel kind of shuffled around, told what to do, you have all of these assessments and ultrasounds, Kountz said. It feels more so transactional and less intimate.

So, in 2021, when Kountz found out she was pregnant with her fifth child, she decided to have the baby at the Atlanta Birth Center. The facility, she said, provided the holistic, personal and intimate care she had longed for as a mother and she had a water birth to deliver her son, Hudson.

Kountz said she valued the experience so much shes preparing to deliver her sixth baby at the same birth center in January.

Its more than just treating a mom thats pregnant, she told CNN during a mid-November appointment at the center. Its like there is space for all parts of her. It creates a level of intimacy that youre not really getting from a traditional medical office.

A birthing pool is available in all birthing rooms at the Atlanta Birth Center. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

Kountz is among a small but growing number of women of color who are choosing birth centers over traditional medical facilities for prenatal, childbirth and postpartum care.

While the majority of births in the US still happen in a hospital setting, in 2020 nearly 2% of people chose to give birth in a community birth setting such as a birth center or home birth, according to the most recent data from the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit that tracked these trends based on birth certificate data.

Between 2019 and 2020, there was a 30% increase in Black women opting to give birth in those settings, and a 26% increase for Native American women, according to the nonprofit. The number of Hispanic women choosing to give birth in those settings increased by 24% and 18% for White as well as Asian women.

The decision by some families to move away from traditional hospital birth settings comes as the nation battles a maternal health crisis in which Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than White women, according to the CDC.

Birth centers are often home-like facilities that offer clients longer appointments and more freedom and autonomy in their birth experience. They are designed to care for those with low-risk pregnancies and state regulations prohibit them from performing c-sections, according to the American Association of Birth Centers.

Atlanta Birth Center Executive Director Tamara Taitt said if a client has complications beyond the scope of care such as elevated blood pressure, a breeched baby, or if the babys weight is smaller than its gestational age  they are transferred to a local hospital. The birth center also does not offer epidurals, or medications to induce labor, she added.

Birth centers also generally have risk assessment criteria that helps them to determine whether its safe for someone to give birth at their facility or if they need to be transferred to a hospital, Taitt said.

Literature about conceiving, birthing and raising a baby are available for patients to check out at the Atlanta Birth Center. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

Stethoscopes hang on a wall inside a birthing room. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

The pivot to birth centers also comes as maternity wards across the nation are closing, with many citing low birth rates and insufficient funds as key reasons for shuttering.

The Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, California  a majority Black and Hispanic city  closed its maternity unit in October. A statement released by the hospital said, the demand for maternal health services at Centinela has significantly declined over the last several years, with fewer than two deliveries a day.

Leseliey Welch, co-founder and co-director of Birth Center Equity, said birth centers are often focused on showing respect, building trust and bonding with families  something women of color across the country desire, especially those who have experienced trauma or racism in health care.

According to a report released in November by the National Partnership For Women & Families, Black women are twice as likely as White women to report that a medical professional ignored them, refused a request for help, or failed to respond to requests for help in a reasonable amount of time

Welch said she feels the disparity in maternal mortality rates is yet another example of the legacy of systemic racism in America.

This whole country has operated in a hierarchy of human value based on race, Welch said. Our hospitals and health systems are no exception. Survival should be the least we expect in birth care. Thats the least we can do for so many families in this country.

Fueled by a desire to address those inequalities, Welch said she plans to open Birth Detroit in 2024, the citys first free-standing birth center led by Black women.

Kountz, left, speaks with midwife Anjli Hinman, during a visit in November. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

A more tailored experience

Many birth centers are designed to provide families with the comforts of home. The delivery rooms at the Atlanta Birth Center, for example, resemble bedrooms with queen size beds, lamps, paintings on the walls and changing tables for babies.

On a recent Friday, Kountz eased herself into a light blue velvet chair in a dimly lit room across from her midwife, Anjli Hinman.

How is your body feeling these days? Hinman asked.

Kountz, who was 32 weeks pregnant, cupped the side of her belly and explained to Hinman that today had been a good day  she didnt have much pelvic floor dysfunction and she was able to walk up and down the stairs at home without help.

They chatted for 30 minutes about everything from Kountz mental health state and her job as a chiropractor, to her family life, water intake and sleep routines. When they were done, Hinman took Kountz blood pressure and used a fetal Doppler to listen to the babys heartbeat.

I see them moving, Hinman said, as she moved her hand around Kountz stomach.

Hinman examines Kountz during her November appointment. Kountz is due to have her sixth baby in January. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

Its these interpersonal moments, Kountz told CNN, that make appointments at the Atlanta Birth Center, feel so unique. The staff, she added, is fully invested in her physical, mental and emotional health.

Joia Crear-Perry, president and founder of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, said she thinks birth centers are rising in popularity because women want to interact with providers who understand their cultural needs.

Crear-Perry said many women of color also choose to deliver at a birth center to combat the racial bias they say they often experience in traditional health care facilities.

The Breath of My Heart Birthplace has served the Indigenous community of rural northern New Mexico since 2010. Founder Beata Tsosie-Pena said the facility currently handles about eight childbirths a month, with half of those being Native American families. According to the CDC, American Indian and Alaska Native women are two times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than White women.

Tsosie-Pena said she opened the center because she felt people in the community needed a place that embraced cultural traditions around childbirth with bilingual staff.

Families who deliver at the center are allowed to have ceremonies around the babys birth with music, fire, food, herbal medicines and special clothing. A lot of these practices, she noted, might be limited in a hospital setting.

There are a lot of things that different cultures hold around birthing  and its so special and unique, Tsosie-Pena said. I think it really focuses on the needs of the client.

Atlanta Birth Center birth nurse Retta Sola, center, speaks with student nurse midwife Shanti Moore, left, and midwife Hannah Walters, at their work station while waiting for a patient to give birth in November. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

A life-changing time

Back in Atlanta, Kountz, said she is looking forward to giving birth in the Atlanta Birth Centers Fire Room. Its one of three nature-themed birthing rooms at the facility.

The Fire Room boasts an orange and black painting of a tree on the wall, a queen size bed topped with a soft orange and blue comforter, a rocking chair and a canvas that reads, Some women fear the fire and some women simply become it.

It accommodates that desire to feel home and safe and grounded and protected, Kountz said. They have aromatherapy, they have music, tapestries, words of affirmation hung up. They are promoting pain coping skills versus narcotics.

Hinman, Kountzs midwife, said she believes birth centers are part of the solution to the maternal health crisis facing Black women because of their holistic approach.

Staff members, she said, are closely monitoring their clients even during the postpartum period when many face life-threatening complications and depression.

According to a study published in the journal JBI Evidence Synthesis, while nearly half of maternal deaths occur on the first day of birth; 24% occur between days two and seven; and 25% between days eight and 42.

Simply checking in with a client, Hinman said, can save their life.

It feels like family, Hinman said. This is a life-changing time for people.

CNNs Rikki Klaus contributed to this report.

Words of encouragement and affirmations are displayed throughout the Atlanta Birth Center. - Alyssa Pointer for CNN

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
An American power company announced this week that it disconnected Chinese-manufactured batteries from Camp Lejeune after lawmakers raised concerns to the Pentagon about security.

On Friday, Duke Energy told Military.com that it disconnected the lithium batteries produced by the company CATL from the North Carolina installation's energy infrastructure after "some concerns about this project" were raised -- mostly by Republican lawmakers, but co-signed by at least one Democrat as well.

Earlier this month, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., penned a letter with nearly 30 other lawmakers addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking the Pentagon to "immediately reverse the decision to install CATL batteries at Camp Lejeune, as well as conduct a full assessment on all installations."

Read Next: Army Set to Retire Online Training System, Leaving Soldiers with 2-Week Gap in Access

Chinese infrastructure in the U.S. has come under intense scrutiny by lawmakers, experts and defense officials over concerns that Beijing-backed systems might contain spyware or other means to conduct espionage on America.

Within a week, Duke Energy said it had disconnected the batteries over those concerns, though it also said in a statement that the batteries were not connected to Lejeune's systems or networks and that it made the change due to concerns from inside the Capital Beltway.

"In safeguarding our national security, decisive actions must be taken to eliminate potential threats," Rubio told Military.com in a statement Friday in response to the disconnection.

"Disconnecting systems supported by the Chinese Communist Party is common sense, especially when it comes to securing our military bases," he said. "It is important that we as a nation take proactive, not reactive, measures to protect ourselves from our adversaries."

Reuters was first to report the disconnection this week. The publication reached out to CATL, the Chinese company that manufactures the batteries, which said that the accusations were "false and misleading."

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, D.C., told Reuters that Beijing "always opposes the U.S. side politicizing trade and investment cooperation."

Military.com reached out to Camp Lejeune for comment, asking if the disconnection of the batteries would affect the installation.

"Operations are not impacted at Camp Lejeune, and there is no impact to training or readiness," Nat Fahy, a Marine Corps spokesperson, said.

In March, Duke Energy touted Camp Lejeune's battery storage as the largest in North Carolina and that its expanding capabilities would improve the installation's efficiency. It did not say in the press release if the batteries were produced in Beijing.

"Through an enhanced use lease [EUL] and strategic partnership with Duke Energy Progress, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune has been able to make an important investment in the pursuit of energy security inside the fence-line," Cmdr. Ross Campbell, director of Public Works at Lejeune, said at the time in the press release.

Concerns over Chinese infrastructure in the U.S. have only increased as tensions between the two countries have played out in the Pacific and around the world. The U.S. has been particularly wary of Beijing's influence stateside, to include concerns over infrastructure, but also in cyber and human intelligence.

"China almost certainly is capable of launching cyber attacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services within the United States, including against oil and gas pipelines, and rail systems," according to the U.S. Intelligence Community's 2023 Annual Threat Assessment.

Last year, CNN reported that the FBI determined that Chinese-backed infrastructure could disrupt American nuclear assets. Defense officials also have said that service members are being targeted by China for insider information.

Related: 'Hundreds' of Service Members Are Being Solicited by China for Insider Info, Air Force Says
The Hammerhead crane at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton on April 14.

The Navy received more than 80 responses in a month after asking the public for information about properties near Naval Base Kitsap that could be leased to support military operations as the shipyard in Bremerton is scheduled for upgrades in the next decade.

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Northwest, the Navy's arm to provide engineering and acquisition services, issued a Request for Information (RFI) on Oct. 26 to seek information regarding properties within a distance of approximately 40 travel miles from the base. The initial request asked for properties that could be available for 14 different operations, ranging from office space to warehouses or even outdoor sites.

"All responses were acknowledged as received," NAVFAC Northwest spokesperson Sarah Lincoln told the Kitsap Sun in an email on Thursday. "The Navy is currently reviewing responses and will tailor an acquisition strategy for leases based on further evaluation."

The responses the Navy received before its Nov. 24 deadline are primarily within the range identified in the request, Lincoln said.

If there are viable leasing options per the information requested in the RFI, the Navy may publish a Request for Proposal (RFP) that best meets its needs, Lincoln said.

What's the difference between a Request for Information (RFI) and a Request for Proposal (RFP)?

According to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), a Request for Information (RFI) is used when a government agency wants to obtain price, delivery and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to RFIs aren't offers and can't be accepted by the government to form a binding contract.

A Request for Proposal, however, is used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals, according to NRL.

"The RFI was a tool for market research, not to determine which properties the Navy is interested in leasing. No determination has been made as to which properties the Navy is or is not interested in leasing," Lincoln said.

"If the Navy moves forward with actual procurement of leases, Requests for Proposal will be posted on the SAM.gov website," Lincoln said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Naval Base Kitsap reviewing responses about properties to lease
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN)  The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said Sunday night officials have found a missing girl who was the center of an Amber Alert that began Saturday morning in Virginia.

Authorities issued the Amber Alert in North Carolina around 4 p.m. Saturday after the Virginia State Police said Zuri Dorsey was believed to be in extreme danger. The alert was canceled just after 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Zuri Dorsey in photos from Virginia Beach Police.

Zuri, 2, was abducted from her bed at 7:15 a.m. Saturday by her estranged father Deandre Alante Dorsey at her Virginia Beach home in the 1300 block of Sapphire Drive, Virginia Beach Police said in a news release.

North Carolina officials said the suspect may be en route to North Carolina, the Amber Alert said.

Sunday night, Zuri Dorsey was found safe near Charlotte and Deandre Dorsey is in custody, according to a report from WAVY-TV in Virginia Beach.

While she was still missing on Saturday Virginia State Police said the child is believed to be in extreme danger.

Deandre Dorsey was already wanted for six outstanding warrants in Virginia Beach.

Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert for Zuri just before 1 p.m. Virginia Beach Police issued a news release about Zuri around 11:45 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com.
Formal plans for a 24/7 shelter for more than 200 men experiencing homelessness are working their way through the city's development review process even as residents of the city's north side have planned a public meeting to get more answers about the project.

Fort Collins Rescue Mission, which currently operates a shelter at the corner of Linden and Jefferson streets, submitted formal development plans to build a 40,000 square-foot facility west of the intersection of North College Avenue and Hibdon Court. That facility would double the space it has to serve men experiencing homelessness.

The proposed building has two wings around a vestibule and entry, an industrial feel with corrugated metal and a slanted roof. The southern wing will be for day use with a cafeteria, administrative offices and designated area for volunteers. The northern wing will have a second story and house the overnight shelter. The outdoor area on the west side of the building will be surrounded by a secure 6-foot-tall fence.

"The situation for those experiencing homelessness now in Fort Collins is serious," said Seth Forwood, senior director of Fort Collins Rescue Mission. "Even though we've opened our 70-bed seasonal overflow shelter and have 89 beds at our original location, we have already had to turn away a couple men simply because we didn't have any space for them."

Rendering of proposed 24/7 shelter at 1311 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, for men experiencing homelessness

The site, one of two recommended by the city's Homelessness Advisory Committee in 2021 is close to other services for unhoused people including the Murphy Center for Hope, Food Bank for Larimer County, Catholic Charities and others.

The committee reviewed several sites and Fort Collins Rescue Mission ultimately decided the current site was the best option, notably because the land is being donated by Fort Collins philanthropist Pat Stryker's Bohemian Foundation and was available immediately, reducing the time and money it will take to get the facility up and running.

Fort Collins Rescue Mission is still determining the project costs and continuing to raise funds, Forwood said. Larimer County has pledged $1.5 million, and the city of Fort Collins and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Transformational Homelessness Response Grant will each contribute $1 million. The Rescue Mission plans to use $4.5 million in capital funds, Forwood said.

The proximity to various services, transit and business "allows for those living there to have the best chances of success," according to the development application. The shelter "fulfills the first ladder rung in the housing spectrum and is a much needed steppingstone to help people transition from being houseless and getting access to much needed services," it states.

Residents of Hickory Village mobile home park have organized a public meeting scheduled Monday, Dec. 11, at the Northside Aztlan Community Center, 112 Willow St. "We feel as residents that will be directly affected by this proposal that we need to have a larger discussion with all stakeholders; this includes neighboring communities, businesses, city, county and state leaders as well as those overseeing and funding the proposed men's 24/7 shelter," according to the email.

The email was sent to city leaders, Larimer County Commissioners Jody Shadduck-McNally, Kristen Stephens and John Kefalas; Fort Collins' Reps. Andrew Boesenecker and Cathy Kipp; Sen. Joann Ginal and Forwood.

"There are many questions that remain unanswered and there have been several barriers faced when we have attempted the discussions through the traditional routes normally offered to non-marginalized communities," said the email signed by Rebecca Mendoza of the Hickory Village Resident Association. "Your insight on this discussion would be immensely valuable and a strong message to the North College communities."

The meeting will include translation for the non-Spanish speaking participants.

Forwood said Fort Collins Rescue Mission will not be at the meeting, "but we are committed to hearing the feedback of Hickory Village, other neighbors and the larger community. We hope to continue to work closely with them, as well as in collaboration with other service providers, to explore solutions for what they are experiencing currently and to address the life-and-death dilemma for those experiencing homelessness in our community."

The shelter's location has long rankled North Fort Collins Business Association, which has said the north side is saturated with other services for people experiencing homelessness and adding an overnight shelter for more than 200 men would exacerbate issues already plaguing businesses in the area, including drug use and loitering.

Hickory Village residents have been voicing their concerns at monthly North Fort Collins Business Association meetings, citing disruptive behavior and safety concerns for their children, some of which may be caused by people experiencing homelessness.

The shelter is an approved use within its zoning district.

Bohemian's property is adjacent to land owned by the city of Fort Collins. Both parties have been negotiating a land swap that would help create more buffer between the shelter and homes to the west and create an area for stormwater retention.

The proposed shelter "provides a critical social safety net for those displaced from other housing options," the application states. "As equal members of our community, the future guests of FCRM deserve to be treated equitably and with acceptance, inclusion and respect. Providing shelter to meet their most basic needs is a small way our community can do that."

Interested?

The meeting organized by Hickory Village residents will be from 6-8 p.m., Monday, Dec. 11, at Northside Aztlan Community Center, 112 Willow St.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins Rescue Mission submits development plans for 24/7 shelter
(CNN)  The commander of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia is vowing more attacks on US interests in Iraq after the US Embassy in Baghdad came under mortar fire.

On Friday morning local time, a multi-mortar attack was launched against the US Embassy compound in Iraq, a US official told CNN. There were no injuries or infrastructure damage reported. Hours later, US and coalition forces came under attack three more times  once in Syria, and twice in Iraq  in a mix of rocket and drone attacks.

The commander of the Iraqi Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Abu Alaa al-Walae, did not claim responsibility for the attacks, but said later Friday that they reject talk about stopping or easing operations as long as Zionist crimes continue in Gaza and the American occupation continues in Iraq.

Last month, the US Department of State designated Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and its secretary general as specially designated global terrorists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government will pursue the perpetrators of the attack and bring them to justice.

In a statement released by his office on Friday, al-Sudani stressed that targeting diplomatic missions is something that cannot be justified and cannot be accepted, under any circumstances and regardless of the allegations and illusions behind these shameful acts.

The US called on Iraqi Security Forces to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators of the attack.

The many Iran-aligned militias that operate freely in Iraq threaten the security and stability of Iraq, our personnel, and our partners in the region, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Friday.

Prime Minister Sudani rightly called these attacks acts of terrorism, Miller noted.

The Iraqi Government has repeatedly committed to protect diplomatic missions as well as US military personnel, who are present in the country at Iraqs invitation. This is non-negotiable, as is our right to self-defense, he said.

As of Friday morning, US and coalition forces have come under attack at least 82 times in Iraq and Syria since October 17. The attacks on Friday included multi-rocket attacks on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq and Mission Support Site Euphrates in Syria, as well as a one-way drone attack on Al-Asad.

Attacks on US interests in the region have significantly increased since Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, as the US bolstered its military presence as a sign of deterrence aimed at stopping the Israel-Hamas conflict spilling out into the region. Despite the regular attacks, the Pentagon has maintained that the message of deterrence is working.

[W]hat we are focused on is preventing the crisis in Israel, as it relates to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, from expanding into the broader region, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said this week. So far, its our assessment that that has been contained.

From CNNs Jennifer Hansler, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Benjamin Brown and Aqeel Najim contributed reporting.
Jay Baldwin lost both his legs in a bomb ambush in Afghanistan that nearly killed him - DAVID ROSE FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Health chiefs have agreed to fund an operation which will allow a British soldier who lost both legs fighting in Afghanistan to walk again.

Jay Baldwin, 38, a former Army sergeant, claimed last week he had been abandoned by the NHS after it refused to pay for a procedure called osseointegration to allow him to lead a relatively normal life.

But after The Telegraph revealed the former soldiers treatment by the NHS, he was told his surgery will now be paid for by the Government.

Mr Baldwin said: Im absolutely delighted that Im finally going to get the operation I need. Id like to thank The Telegraph for highlighting my situation. Id also like to thank the hundreds of readers who left supportive comments on the article.

Whilst Im happy that Im going to get my operation, I am staggered by the fact that wounded veterans have to go to these lengths to get the treatment we deserve.

Jay Baldwin as a young soldier on active service



I, like thousands of other soldiers, fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the belief that if I was wounded I would be looked after.

Well, I lived up to my side of that bargain. Now the Government needs to do the same. Not just for me, but for all wounded veterans.

Mr Baldwin, a father of three, almost died when he stood on an improvised explosive device in Helmand in Jan 2012. He had already completed two tours of Iraq and one in Afghanistan when he was wounded on his second deployment.

After numerous operations and months of rehabilitation, he underwent revolutionary implant surgery in Australia that allowed him to walk again.

Mr Baldwin, who also has three stepchildren, now needs to have the operation again to enable him to lead a normal life without the use of a wheelchair.

Warned of years-long wait

Until last week, he had been told by the NHS that he might have to wait years before he will get the surgery that will allow him to walk again.

In 2015, the procedure was only available in Australia and the 110,000 cost of the operation was paid for by his former regiment. But in 2019 he developed lymphoma and had to undergo chemotherapy.

While he was receiving treatment, he developed a serious infection and he faced losing the remainder of his leg and potentially his life.

It meant he needed a repeat of the operation to enable him to use prosthetics again, but the NHS refused to fund it.

However, last week Mr Baldwin received a letter from Maria Caulfield, the health minister, saying that was no longer the case.

In the letter, the minister said: I recognise the sacrifice you have made in defending your country and the personal challenges you have and continue to experience as a result of your injuries incurred in service.

I hope this letter gives you confidence that NHS England will look after you.

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Health officials have been accused of refusing to take any action to ensure patients can make a GP appointment over the phone.

The contract for family doctors states that every patient should have a range of ways to make an appointment  including by telephone, or in person.

But polling by a campaign group for the elderly has found that one in six practices are in flagrant breach of the terms by deploying systems that require all bookings to be made online.

Experts said the situation was leaving vulnerable people locked out of the healthcare system unless they could navigate technology.

Campaign group Silver Voices urged NHS England to get a grip on the problem and introduce sanctions for practices that are failing their patients.

Since the group for the over 60s released its polling last month it has repeatedly asked NHS England and the Department of Health of Social Care what action it will take to enforce the NHS rules.

Flagrant breaches

The right to make an appointment over the phone is contained in the GP contract as well as in NHS England guidance.

Asked what health officials were doing to enforce this rule, in the face of flagrant and widespread breaches, NHS England provided no answer.

Instead, health officials told the campaign group patients could try complaining to the practice manager, or a practice patient group if one existed.

NHS England added: Alternatively, they can contact, or raise a complaint with, the Integrated Care Board which is responsible for the commissioning and contract management of general practice services locally.

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices said: This is an astonishing state of affairs. Many hundreds of GP practices are ignoring the GP contract and government guidance, and disadvantaging older patients by insisting on them applying for appointments through online means only.

Vulnerable older people who walk into receptions or who ring the practice are being told that they can only get an appointment if they fill in an online form, which often involves a complex questionnaire.

People without computer literacy or no internet access are being told that they have to get someone to help them. Little wonder that so many give up and present to A&E.

The worst indictment, however, is that it seems NHS England is doing nothing to enforce the contract and allowing, by default, these systems to flourish. We urge NHS England to get a grip and introduce sanctions for breach of contract if practices do not withdraw these discriminatory systems.

Plan to upgrade telephone systems

NHS England guidance states every practice must offer face-to-face as well as telephone and on-line appointments in line with the GP contract.

Health officials said plans to upgrade telephone systems should help practices to meet their obligations.

An NHS England spokesman said: NHS guidance is clear that patient preference must be considered alongside clinical need when people contact their GP practice  both for the type of appointment they require and how they contact their practice.

He said that a primary access recovery plan published earlier this year commits to giving patients a range of options for how to contact their practice by upgrading telephone systems, and should be in place by April next year.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Nicolas Cage onstage at the Red Sea Film Festival (Getty Images for The Red Sea Int)

A host of Hollywood A-listers, including Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow and Andrew Garfield, were among the stars attending the third Red Sea Film Festival this week.

Held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the 10-day event ran from 30 November to 9 December, and showcased an array of films, from big-name auteur projects to international indies.

Elvis director Baz Luhrmann headed the juries for this years event, with Joel Kinnaman, Freida Pinto, Amina Khalil and Paz Vega serving on the Features panel. The main competition strand featured 17 films from across Asia, Africa, and the Arab world.

Taking home the top trophy at the festival  and the prize of $100,000 (79,700)  was Pakistani-Canadian horror film In Flames, directed by Zarrar Kahn. The film was produced on a budget of just $300,000.

The director said that the indie movie was shot for just $300,000  the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.

Also in contention for the award were Saudia Arabian drama Norah, the first production shot entirely in the countrys AlUla region, dance drama Backstage, Imogen Poots-starring West Bank production The Teacher,and Amjad Al Rasheeds Cannes Critics Week film Inshallah A Boy.

Nicolas Cage and Andrew Garfield at the closing ceremony of RSFF (Red Sea Film Festival/AFP via Getty)

Cage received an honourary prize for his contributions to cinema. Accepting the honour, he said: Thank you to the Red Sea International Film Festival for this thoughtful recognition. We are here to celebrate film as we should because no other artform can reach so many people around the world. Cinema is a mirror that reflects all of our stories, reminding us of how human we all are.

I remember I was in San Francisco and Jean Luc Godard was giving a seminar, and he told me that movies are like a medicine. That made me think about all of the characters I identified with in movies, and how they made me feel less lonely and gave me strength and guidance.

Mohammed Al Turki, Nicolas Cage and jury member Joel Kinnaman pose with the Honourary Award (Getty Images for The Red Sea Int)

Cage went on to say that he was blessed to be attending the festival, adding: Inshallah, I shall be with you again.

Also present at the festivals glitzy opening and closing events were Catherine Deneuve, Sharon Stone, Michelle Williams, Zoe Saldana, Diane Kruger, Michelle Rodriguez, Naomi Campbell, and Catherine Martin.

Gwyneth Paltrow at the RSFF closing ceremony (Red Sea Film Festival/AFP via Getty)

Jeanne du Barry, the historical romance that opened the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year  and which has attracted no small amount of controversy due to its casting of Johnny Depp  was given a special screening at the festival.

Other films were also shown outside of competition, including The Boy and the Heron, the acclaimed new film from animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, and Ferrari, Michael Manns new motorsport biopic starring Adam Driver.

Palestinian film director Farah Nabulsi poses with 'Best Actor' award on behalf of actor Saleh Bakri for his role in her film 'The Teacher' (Red Sea Film Festival/AFP via Getty)

The Jury Award was issued to British-Palestinian director and human rights activist Farah Nabulsi, for The Teacher, which was shot a few years ago in Palestine. In her acceptance speech, she addressed the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, prompting cheers from the audience.

To not address the current devastation [in Gaza] would be no less than shameful for me, she told the crowd. The words that come to mind  from the late, long deceased British philosopher, Bertrand Russell  who said this in the 1970s, and he was referring to Palestine, are how much longer is the world going to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty?

Sharon Stone at the 2023 Red Sea Film Festival (Getty Images for The Red Sea Int)

The Shorts competition, judged by Hana Alomair, Assaad Bouab and Fatih Akin, awarded the top prize to Suitcase by Saman Hosseinpuor and Ako Zanhkarim.

Other winners at the end of the festival included director Shokir Kholikov for Sunday, Mouna Hawa, who took home the best actor trophy for Inshallah a Boy, and Kim Chang-Hoon for Hopeless in the best international film category.

Adrien Brody was also among the attendees (Getty Images for The Red Sea Int)

Multi-disciplinary artis Baloji won the prize for best cinematic contribution, for Omen, whileKarim Bensalah and Jamal Belmahi won best screenplay for Six Feet Over.

In the documentary field, Kauother Ben Hanias Four Daughters was awarded the top honours. The film follows two professional actors who step in after the two daughters of a Tunisian mother disappear.

A Women In Cinema Dinner event was also held during the festival, to celebrate womens voices in film. Oscar-winningstar Halle Berry delivered a masterclass at the festival, discussing her own experiences and career.

Halle Berry at the Red Sea Film Festival (Red Sea Film Festival/AFP via Ge)

Ill say this honestly, that because I was a Black woman, the treatment that I suffered [on that film], the things I had to go through, were unconscionable, Berry told audiences, while speaking about her 2021 directorial debut Brusied. And I truly believe that if I had been a white man, or even a Black man, the experience would have been much easier.

Jomana-Al Rashid, the chair of the Red Sea Film Foundation, noted that the Red Sea Film Festival had platformed 126 films from 77 countries in over 47 languages from talented directors, actors, producers, and filmmakers from every corner of the globe.

At the Red Sea Film Foundation, we believe film is a transformative force and were committed to empowering filmmakers. Our Festival exists to provide a platform for stories that can change the world, she added.
(Bloomberg) -- A super political action committee with close ties to billionaire donor Charles Koch has spent $4 million on Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, with more spending planned in the coming weeks.

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The money has gone to canvassing in early voting states and advertising in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia, according to Americans for Prosperity Action spokesman Bill Riggs. The Koch-backed political group said in late November it would help Haley in her bid to defeat frontrunner Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

The group hasnt said how much in total it could spend on efforts to boost Haley, and Riggs didnt provide a figure for future expenditures. So far, the amount comes close to matching the $5.7 million her campaign has spent on advertising, according to AdImpact, which tracks political ad spending.

The resources come at a critical time for Haley, who has kept a lean campaign in Iowa, the first contest in the Republican nomination process. The surge of money from Americans for Prosperity, plus endorsements from other notable business figures including JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jamie Dimon, have given her campaign new momentum weeks ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses.

Earlier: Nikki Haley Backed by Charles Koch-Tied PAC in Bid to Beat Trump

The former United Nations Ambassador has increased her standing in the polls in recent months, but still trails Trump by roughly 30 percentage points in the early voting states. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, her closest rival in the polls, has concentrated his efforts in Iowa, and has little presence in states that vote later.

Waning support for DeSantis, who was once seen as the main Trump alternative, and Trumps strong lead has prompted prominent political donors to give Haley a second look. Citadels Ken Griffin, a major GOP donor, has said hes considering contributing to her, and billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who has traditionally given to Democrats, said hes interested in her candidacy.

Americans for Prosperity Action is also building its volunteer base to do voter outreach. In recent weeks, they have contacted 180,000 voters on Haleys behalf, Riggs said.

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How much does GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley hate unions?

The former South Carolina governor once devoted more than three minutes of her State of the State address to a diatribe against organized labor, boasting about her states low unionization rate. We dont have unions in South Carolina because we dont need unions in South Carolina, she said.

She waged a years-long personal crusade against a union organizing a Charleston-area factory, putting an anti-union lawyer in her administration expressly to help her fight the campaign. She later lent her voice to radio ads urging factory workers to reject the union effort.

And she once declared that she didnt want jobs coming to her state at all if they were going to be union jobs. We dont want to taint the water, she said.

Haley has been on the rise in Republican presidential polls recently, buoyed by her performances in Donald Trump-free debates. She appears to be edging out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place. Although the entire field trails Trump by double digits, GOP donors may be coalescing around Haley as the favored alternative to a guy facing multiple felony indictments.

Should Haley topple Trump and his other challengers, Republicans would be putting forth a presidential nominee with a virulently anti-union past, even by the standards of the modern-day Republican Party.

And they would be doing so as the general publics support for labor unions hovers near its highest point in more than half a century. More than two-thirds of Americans now approve of organized labor, including 79% of independents and nearly half of Republicans, according to a Gallup survey released in August.

Haley once remarked that she would rather jobs didn't come to her state at all if they were going to be union jobs.

A Haley campaign spokesperson did not respond to HuffPosts request to comment on whether the candidate still harbors the same views about unions as she did while governor and whether she would pursue federal policies to weaken collective bargaining if elected president.

But so far on the campaign trail, there havent been any signs that Haleys antipathy toward unions has moderated. During a September interview on Fox News, she said United Auto Workers members were being greedy in their historic strike against the Big Three, even though industry wages had fallen nearly 20% since the Great Recession.

When you have a president thats constantly saying go union, go union, this is what you get: The unions get emboldened, Haley said disapprovingly of President Joe Biden.

She added she was proud of her time fighting unions in South Carolina.

I was a union buster, she said. I didnt want to bring in companies that were unionized simply because I didnt want to have that change the environment in our state.

South Carolina has historically had one of the lowest rates of union membership in the country. Last year, it had the lowest of all, with just 1.7% of the states workers belonging to a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The next-lowest state was North Carolina, at 2.8%. By comparison, union-dense New York stood at 21%, and Hawaii at 22%.

I was a union-buster.Nikki Haley in a recent Fox News interview

Plenty of Southern governors pitch employers on their states right-to-work status as an assurance of lower wages and fewer unions. Workers under right-to-work laws cant be required to pay union dues even if they enjoy the benefits of a union contract. Its far rarer for governors to insert themselves directly into a union drive the way Haley did at Boeing while governor.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, was trying to organize the companys newly acquired North Charleston facility, which would assemble the 787 Dreamliner airplane. The IAM had represented workers at the same plant until Boeing purchased it and workers decertified the union in 2009.

Before she was inaugurated in 2011, Haley announced that she was tapping a union avoidance lawyer to run the states labor agency and help her fight the IAM and other unions.

The IAM filed a federal lawsuit arguing that Haleys comments violated workers protected rights and asked the court to order her to remain neutral in a union organizing drive. Their complaint was dismissed, with the judge ruling Haley was free to air her expression of political animosity toward unions.

Nikki Haley, now a GOP candidate for president, inserted herself into a union campaign in South Carolina as governor, urging workers to reject the union.

Nikki Haley, now a GOP candidate for president, inserted herself into a union campaign in South Carolina as governor, urging workers to reject the union.

Haley attacked unions early in her tenure, pursuing policies that lawmakers in her state said were redundant or unnecessary. She signed an executive order barring striking workers from collecting unemployment benefits  something state law already forbade. Officials couldnt remember the last time theyd heard about a strike in South Carolina, The Associated Press reported at the time.

I dont understand the point, one Democratic lawmaker told the outlet. Most of whats included in here is already in state law. How many times do we have to say we dont want unions?

While governor, Haley appeared to relish the anti-union reputation she was building. When a South Carolina labor leader was criticized for bashing a Haley pinata at a party in 2012, Haley said she found the incident creepy  but she seemed to enjoy the metaphor of a physical fight.

All it does is it makes my heels taller, my heels sharper so that I can kick harder, she told Fox News Greta Van Susteren in 2012.

Haley went on to distribute a video of the pinata smackdown in a fundraising appeal.

Meanwhile, her feud with the IAM carried on for years.

Haley relished her battles with unions: 'All it does is it makes my heels taller, my heels sharper so that I can kick harder,' she said.

In 2011, the IAM filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Boeing of transferring the Dreamliner work to South Carolina in retaliation for union workers in Washington state going on strike. NLRB prosecutors found merit in the unions claims and brought a complaint against the company, citing public comments made by a Boeing executive that strikes were an overriding factor in the decision to go to South Carolina.

Haley publicly ripped the union as well as the Obama administration over the complaint. The case was dropped after the union reached a new contract with Boeing in Washington.

When the IAM renewed its push to organize the North Charleston plant in 2015, Haley accepted an invitation from Boeing to appear in radio ads to discourage workers from forming a union. [T]he IAM is back, and they want to take away a piece of your success. Please dont let them, Haley said.

The IAM decided to delay the vote, citing an atmosphere of threats, harassment and unprecedented political interference that had intimidated workers to the point we dont believe a free and fair election is possible. The union said two organizers had been threatened at gunpoint while visiting workers at home.

The IAM ultimately lost an election at the North Charleston plant in 2017 by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. Haley accepted a seat on Boeings board of directors in 2019, after her time as governor and her stint as Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. Boeing paid her $256,322, including $135,000 in stock, according to Boeings 2020 proxy statement. She resigned from the board in 2020, citing her opposition to a pandemic-era bailout of the airline industry.

Haley ended up on the board of Boeing after helping the company fight a union effort in North Charleston.

Plenty of other Republicans have burnished their images in the party by battling unions on their home turf. In a similar fashion, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, also a candidate in the 2024 race, raised his profile nationally by picking a fight with his states teachers unions. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker made his name by gutting collective-bargaining rights for public-sector workers in the Badger State.

But bashing unions and union workers has become less fashionable for a new subset of the party that claims to be concerned with corporate Americas power. First-term GOP Sens. Josh Hawley (Missouri) and J.D. Vance (Ohio) both visited picket lines this fall and said they supported United Auto Workers members.

If Haley were to secure the GOP nomination, it might benefit her to soften some of her anti-union rhetoric for a general election. After all, recent polling consistently shows Americans taking the side of striking workers over the corporations theyre squaring off with. But then Haley would have to explain why shes walking away from past commitments.

As she told Fox News during that 2012 interview, Im not going to stop beating up on the unions.

Related...
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is determined to launch more spy satellites in the near future to collect information on the military activities of its enemies, a commentary carried by state news agency KCNA said on Saturday.

The satellites will be modeled after the Malligyong-1 satellite that Pyongyang launched in November, which governments in the United States, South Korea and Japan said violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"If necessary, they will perfectly execute the job of guiding and leading us towards a super strong strike," the anonymous commentary said while defending space development as its right to defend itself.

The national security advisers of the U.S., South Korea and Japan are set to hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Saturday to discuss North Korea and other global issues.

In a separate article on KCNA, Ro Ju Hyon, who the agency described as an international affairs analyst, criticized South Korea for "reckless military aid to Ukraine."

It cited a Washington Post article from earlier this week which reported that South Korea's indirect provision of 155mm shells made it a "larger supplier of artillery ammunition for Ukraine than all European nations combined."

"This is the top-class pro-U.S. act to put even the West, steeped in anti-Russia policy, into the shade," Ro said.

North Korea has been criticized over its ties with Russia by South Korea, Japan and the U.S., who say Pyongyang is providing arms support to Moscow in return for help advancing its military capabilities.

Last month, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. had information that indicated North Korea was covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells for its war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  A survey conducted by the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration shows over 100 school districts have yet to receive final approval from the State Department of Education on federal program funding.

We need to really assess, you know, whats going on in schools, said Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) Executive Director, Pam Deering.

The survey was issued last month and 184 school districts responded.

Summary-of-the-Federal-Programs-School-Leader-SurveyDownload

The focus of the survey was to identify application and claim statuses in Title Program Grants and ESSER III.

The federal government has issued three rounds of relief funding to states in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent allocation, created by the American Rescue Plan and referred to as ARP ESSER III, is the largest to date with $1.5 billion available to Oklahoma school districts.

Title Program funding covers improving basic programs, prevention and intervention programs for students, student support, and more.

Oklahoma schools are getting $224,661,041 in Title 1 Part A funding. Thats a $12M increase from last years numbers.

Question 1: Have you had FY24 federal program grant (ESSER and Title programs) applications that have received final approval?

45% of districts who responded claim to have some grants that have received final approval. The other 55% say they have no grants that have received final approval.

Sample of comments received from school districts who responded:

Districts commented the application process was particularly frustrating and slow this year. Even those who now have final approval for some applications expressed the same frustration.

Comments ranged up to six weeks with no response, applications not reviewed. One district received a comment that simply said HVAC with no indication of what should be corrected.

It seems that each of the applications are reviewed by three reviewers. The final review on all applications seems to be going through one person. Since each district has six to 10 applications, all going through one person is not efficient.

Oklahoma State Department of Education Director of Communications Dan Isett told KFOR as of December 7, 93% of all Consolidated Applications for Title funds are in either final approved or pre-approved status. 47% of all applications have been final approved.

46% are in pre-approved status, meaning that these applications have been through the first round of review and are awaiting either the second review or final approval, added Isett.

Fool me once? Legislators frustrated with lack of OSDE transparency and cooperation

Question 2: Have you had FY24 federal program formula grant (ESSER and Title programs) applications that have been denied?

72% of districts who responded claim they have applications that have been denied. The other 28% have no application that has been denied.

Sample of comments received from school districts who responded:

District has waited over a month for a corrected application to be reviewed again.

The guidance given to one district is found to be completely different than what another district was told.

Items that have been approved for 20+ years in Title I are being rejected.

OSDE does not and cannot deny federal program grants to school districts, and claims can only be paid once the school district has submitted an acceptable application, the application has been reviewed, and the district has submitted a claim, said Isett.

Question 3: Have you had FY24 federal program formula grant (ESSER and Title

programs) claims that have been paid?

28% of districts who responded reported having at least one claim that has been paid. The other 72% say they have zero claims that have been paid.

Sample of comments received from school districts who responded:

My claim has been sitting for several weeks without being opened by the OSDE.

No claims have been paid to our district because we cant even get an application approved in order to file a claim.

We are going on months now of not being able to file a claim because the applications are not approved, back and forth for months.

Question 4: Have you had FY24 federal program grant (ESSER and Title programs)

claims that have been returned?

24% of districts who responded say theyve had claims returned. The other 76% report having no claims returned. 72% of that have allegedly not been allowed to file a claim due to the application not being approved.

Sample of comments received from school districts who responded:

Many districts expressed having claims returned for documentation that had never been required to be attached to a claim before.

My claims were returned to change the coding on some items that have been purchased using the same codes for 10 years. In one case, the change was made, and it was sent back to be changed again.

Claims and applications returned because of a problem in SPR which took forever to resolve. Now SPR is fixed, but no one has reviewed the application or claim to push it on through.

Potential accreditation downgrade for OK school districts with less than 50% of students passing at basic level

Question 5: Are you in a position that requires issuing non-payable warrants to cover

federally funded staff salaries?

4% of districts who responded say yes while the remaining 96% answered no.

Question 6: If you answered No to question 5, is issuing a non-payable warrant a

future possibility for you if FY24 federal programs and ESSER claims are unpaid?

67% of districts who responded answered no while 33% said yes.

Sample of comments received from school districts who responded:

One district mentioned having to use non-payable warrants as early as December for federally funded employees.

Question 7: Have you experienced any unusual delays in payments or correspondence from OSDE? Or have received conflicting information from the OSDE on your federal grants?

67% of districts answered yes. The other 33% said no.

Sample of comments received from school districts who responded:

It has been difficult to navigate this school year. There are individuals who are very willing to assist at the state level, but some of our angst has been due to staff turnover at the state level.

We have experienced extreme delays up to a month without even answering emails. This is very frustrating because we are always expected to meet deadlines or we received points on the risk assessment. But these delays  it affects our funding.

The primary issue is the lack of staff or changes to staff. Those working in federal programs are trying their best, but when one person is covering the workload for five people, the process is not going to go fast.

Weve been hearing for a few months the concerns about schools and their frustrations with their Title One of their federal programs. We listened and were going, Okay, what can we do? And the frustrations continue to grow and grow, said Deering.

Deering said Oklahoma legislators requested CCOSA conduct the survey.

It is not surprising that the most liberal education group only polled a third of [local educational agencies], presumably the most left-leaning. Regardless, their snapshot of data does not come close to encompassing the entirety of the state and must be recognized as such, said Isett. Superintendent Walters is focused on transparency and accountability in our schools, especially the efficient, effective use of taxpayer dollars. To that end, OSDE adopted a multi-tiered system of application review for the 2023-2024 school year to carefully analyze every dollar of taxpayer money being spent in our schools. We are scrutinizing spending on wasteful programs that include material like DEI and radical gender theory to fully focus taxpayer resources on student academic outcomes.

News 4 sent Deering OSDEs statement to which she responded the survey was never meant to be political, but just business.

That would be our goal, that schools just get paid and that kids, you know, continue to be served as we want them to be, added Deering.

Deering said the 184 school districts who responded to the survey are widespread, not just in the metro or rural.

CCOSA plans to follow up with school districts again in January.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Juvenile offenders play basketball in the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Newport. Two nurses who worked at the facility allege administrators tried to cover of reports of sexual abuse.

Two nurses who worked in Northern Kentuckys only juvenile detention center are suing over allegations that officials at the facility tried to cover up reports of sexual abuse.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 20 in federal court in Covington and names the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice and officials in charge of the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

Michelle Ratliff and Betty Tucker were both contracted by the juvenile justice department earlier this year to provide nursing services to youth at the facility. Ratliff started in February and Tucker in May.

In their suit, the nurses said they received information about abuse of underage girls detained at the facility and reported the misconduct to higher-ups.

Even after detention center administrators learned that a male corrections officer had an inappropriate relationship with at least one detainee in late April or early May, the suit states, they concealed or did not otherwise immediately disclose the misconduct to authorities.

By the numbers: Who are the Kentucky kids in juvenile detention and how did they get there?

Instead, the nurses claim, the facility's management allowed the officer to continue working and have access to the juveniles until he was suspended at the end of May.

The nurses say that in the months that followed, they alerted the Kentucky State Police, FBI, media outlets and others to the administrators failure to report misconduct at the facility, adding that the FBI launched an investigation into the alleged cover-up in July.

A spokesperson with the FBIs field office in Louisville said the agency could neither confirm nor deny the existence of such an investigation, per U.S. Department of Justice policy.

Shortly after news articles were published in August about alleged misconduct and mismanagement at the detention center, the facilitys management began retaliating against the nurses, according to the lawsuit.

The retaliation began with comments to other staff members warning them that (Ratliff and Tucker) were not to be trusted or otherwise getting staff to cease communications with (Ratliff and Tucker), the document says.

Tucker was removed from her position at the detention center on Aug. 30. The same was done to Ratliff on Sept. 5.

The nurses say their removal was in direct response to their disclosure of information regarding abuse and mismanagement at the facility.

When higher-ups in the department became aware of the sexual abuse allegations at Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center, they took immediate action to terminate the employee, Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice spokesperson Morgan Hall said in an emailed statement.

DJJ does not retaliate against employees, youth or contract staff, for reporting misconduct. Department policy requires misconduct to be reported, Hall added.

While the lawsuit doesnt name the officer, both the Lexington Herald Leader and WAVE-TV in Louisville reported earlier this year that corrections officer Neil Moorman was fired after allegations surfaced he had inappropriate contact with one or more girls at the facility.

Moormans personnel file, obtained by The Enquirer through a Kentucky Open Records Act request, confirms he was fired June 6.

The documents also show that Moorman began working at the detention center on April 16 and was subjected to background checks before the start of his employment.

State and federal court records do not show that he was ever charged with a crime.

Ratliff and Tucker are seeking to have their case heard before a jury in hopes theyll be awarded compensatory and punitive damages, as well as court costs and attorneys fees.

The nurses claim that the juvenile justice department and officials at the facility violated the Kentucky Whistleblower Act, deprived them of First Amendment protections and interfered with their business relationship with the nursing agency that the department contracted them through.

The 35-bed juvenile facility in Newport began operating as the state's sole all-girl detention center in December. That decision was part of a statewide effort to improve safety within the juvenile justice system and followed riots at centers in Adair and Warren counties.

Just five months later, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced a partial and temporary closure of the facility because of a "crisis" in staffing levels  a decision local police officials denounced, citing the hardships of getting juveniles to detention facilities hours away.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lawsuit alleges cover-up of abuse at NKY juvenile detention center
(CNN)  Israels relations with the United Nations have sunk to a historic low after a spat between the two escalated this week.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday invoked a rarely used but powerful tool in his determined push for a ceasefire in Gaza, causing outrage among Israeli diplomats.

Article 99 of the UN charter allows the UN chief to raise to the Security Councils attention any issue that may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security. Guterres, in a letter to the 15-member council, used that diplomatic tool and urged for the body to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and unite in a call for a full humanitarian ceasefire.

Israel has strongly opposed calls for a ceasefire, arguing that it needs to press on with its offensive in Gaza to eliminate Hamas after its militants attacked the country on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages. Israels campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 16,000 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, which compiles its reports with data from medical sources in Hamas-run Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen lashed out at the secretary-general for his letter, saying the UN chiefs tenure was a danger to world peace and that his call for a ceasefire in Gaza amounted to supporting Hamas and the October 7 attack.

Guterres letter was the seventh time in the UNs 78-year history in which Article 99 had been invoked, and the first time it was used since 1989, when then Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar urged the Security Council to call for a ceasefire during the Lebanese civil war, according to Daniel Forti, a senior UN analyst at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.

It was a symbolic punch, Forti told CNN of Guterres move. An urgent plea for diplomatic action to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza from crossing a point of no return.

The Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis at 10 a.m. local time Friday in New York. The UAE on Thursday submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire, saying it has the support of Arab and Islamic nations.

Forti said Guterres letter was unlikely to shift political dynamics inside the Security Council, but that it could create more urgency for diplomatic action. Because this tool is used so rarely, it does have a moral impact, he said.

Guterres had already faced intense criticism by Israel, which has long felt the UN is biased against it, and multiple Israeli officials have publicly called for his resignation. The UN chief has repeatedly condemned Hamas October 7 attack, including in the letter in which he invoked Article 99.

Gabriela Shalev, who served as Israels ambassador to the UN from 2008 to 2010, said Israel-UN relations are at a historic low now, noting that ties had become strained soon after Israel was established following a UN General Assembly resolution in 1947.

I think it is a very low point in relations between Israel and the UN a very low point in our relations with the world, except for the United States, Shalev, who is also an emeritus professor at the Hebrew Universitys Faculty of Law, told CNN. We have the feeling that organizations of the UN all over the world dont understand that Israel is now at war for its existence as a Jewish and democratic state, it is (facing) an existential threat from all sides.

The UN Security Council has failed to agree on how to respond to the Hamas attacks and Israels subsequent war with the Palestinian militant group, with rival camps within the body, particularly the United States and Russia, clashing. A resolution calling for the immediate release of all hostages by Hamas, as well as the adoption of urgent and extended humanitarian pauses, passed on November 15. Israel has decried the councils failure to condemn the October 7 attack.

Israeli diplomats have used their platforms at the UN to denounce the world body since the war began. Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, and his staff have been wearing yellow Stars of David to protest the UNs alleged inaction on the Hamas attack, evoking memories of Nazi-era persecution of Jews.

He and Cohen, the foreign minister, have been at the center of Israels attempts to discredit the UN and its chief.

On October 24, Guterres delivered an address to the Security Council in which he unequivocally condemned Hamas attack but said that it didnt happen in a vacuum, and that the Palestinians had been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation by Israel.

That caused fury among Israeli diplomats. In response, Erdan called on the secretary-general to resign and said his country would block visas for UN officials to teach them a lesson. He noted that Hamas officials were citing his address as justification for their attack, and accused the UN of antisemitism, calling for its funding to be stopped.

Cohen has refused to meet Guterres since then, saying there is no place for a balanced approach to the October 7 attack, and has repeatedly called on him to resign.

Shalev, the former Israeli ambassador, said the way Israeli diplomats have been addressing the conflict with the UN is not the right way, particularly calls for the secretary-generals resignation. Disregarding the opinions of the UN or leaving the organization wouldnt help Israel, she added.

The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly and the only body that can fire him or force him to retire is the General Assembly, she said.

Quarrel goes beyond the secretary-general

Israels quarrel with the UN has gone beyond the secretary-general. Israeli officials have also criticized the World Health Organization, UN Women and the UNs Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese.

Meanwhile, more than 100 UN staffers have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began, the largest loss in the world bodys history. UNRWA employs more than 10,000 people in Gaza. UN offices across the world observed a minute of silence and flew their flags at half-staff last month to pay tribute to them. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) last month said it had recorded collateral and direct damage to more than 60 of its facilities, most of which were schools sheltering thousands of civilians.

UNRWA has been a major target of Israeli criticism. The organization was founded by the UN a year after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, to provide relief to displaced Palestinians. It defines Palestinian refugees as those who were dispossessed from their homes during Israels creation in 1948 as well as their descendants, which qualifies them to return to their ancestral homes in what is now Israel. Those who fit that definition now number 5.9 million. Israel has rejected the notion that they could return, arguing that the move would nullify its Jewish character.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of anti-Israeli incitement, which UNRWA has repeatedly denied, and in 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to dismantle the UN body, saying it should be merged with the main UN refugee agency.

Since the October 7 attack, Israeli journalists and news outlets have refocused their attention on UNRWA and have amplified stories questioning its role in the war.

Last month, an Israeli journalist claimed on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that one of the hostage takers in Gaza was a teacher at an UNRWA-run school. That report was picked up by Israeli news outlets, prompting the UN agency to issue a statement calling for an immediate stop to the spreading of unsubstantiated claims about the organization, saying they amounted to misinformation.

Another story widely picked up by Israeli media claimed that the Israeli military found weapons in Gaza stored below UNRWA boxes, suggesting that the UN agency could be complicit in Hamas militancy. Erdan, Israels UN ambassador, said the video proved that the UN had become an accomplice to terror.

Albanese has been the subject of a fierce campaign of Israeli criticism. The official was recently accused by an Israel government spokesman of being a shameless Hamas-complicit official who exercises disgusting Holocaust inversion.

The next day, Albanese wrote that anyone working on Israel or the Palestinian territories is accused of supporting terror or being antisemitic.

The most shameful attacks directed at the UN are the ones against UNRWA, which represents the UN at critical times of war, including with lifeline support, Albanese added.

Articles in the Israeli media have also questioned UNRWAs credibility and called for a rethink of the organization.

Shalev said there was little Israeli trust in UNRWA.

Where does the humanitarian help that goes to Gaza go to? Does it go to the population or to Hamas?

UNRWA has repeatedly denied allegations that its aid is being diverted and that it teaches hatred in its schools, and has questioned the motivation of those who make such claims, through large advocacy campaigns. It has condemned the Hamas attack as abhorrent.

Despite the longstanding distrust, Shalev said that anti-UN rhetoric was not the best way for Israelis to respond.

We have to show the world what really happened on October 7, she said, adding that Israel doesnt have to act emotionally or make all these empty declarations to pursue that goal.
Rising numbers of migrant arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border may force southern Arizona authorities to release people onto border community streets without shelter as soon as this weekend.

Unsheltered migrant street releases in Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties may be imminent as humanitarian infrastructure buckles under an unprecedented increase of arrivals in the state, Mark Evans, Pima County communications director, warned Friday.

We are very close to street releases, Evans said. If we don't have them this weekend I would be quite surprised.

Migrants board a Pima County-funded bus headed for Phoenix after being released by Border Patrol into Nogales on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

If unsheltered releases were to occur in Pima County, authorities will prioritize sheltering the most vulnerable people first. Children and family units will take priority before single adults, Evans said.

We don't want anybody on the streets, Evans said.

By the end of the year, the southern Arizona sheltering system will have helped more than 350,000 migrants since Pima County first began assisting in 2019, according to a Dec. 5 memo sent by Jan Lesher, Pima County administrator, to the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Migrants board a Pima County-funded bus headed for Phoenix after being released by Border Patrol into Nogales on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

About 3,800 migrants were released into the Pima County sheltering system Wednesday and Thursday, straining the available space and resources available. If release rates hold, unsheltered street releases in Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties are likely.

The system should have collapsed under that, Evans said.

The fact that we've handled 3,800 releases in two days and didn't have a significant humanitarian crisis of people on the street by the hundreds is just amazing to me.

Alejandra Ceballos, health equity coordinator with Santa Cruz County Public Health Services, helps migrants board a Pima County-funded bus headed for Phoenix after being released by Border Patrol into Nogales on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

The sheltering system was exhausted when they were seeing 1,300 daily releases, a number that has long been passed. If unsheltered releases are going to happen, theyll happen this weekend, Evans said.

'Heroic efforts': How Arizona counties, nonprofits are responding to migrant street releases

The speed at which people are processed through the sheltering system is a significant factor in determining if unsheltered releases will occur. Additionally, weekends are more difficult for churches to house migrants, given that they must hold services.

Coordinated Border Patrol releases have been happening since May with Pima County and Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs buses transporting migrants from rural border communities to larger cities, such as Tucson and Phoenix.

Migrants and asylum seekers are guided into vans to be transported for processing by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the U.S.-Mexico border about a mile west of Lukeville, Ariz., on Dec. 4, 2023. The Lukeville Port of Entry was closed indefinitely by officials Dec. 4.

In September, the Border Patrol reached a point of overcapacity in their facilities that they stopped waiting for state- and county-funded buses before releasing migrants into border communities. Street releases first began in Bisbee, Douglas, Naco, Nogales and Casa Grande from sunrise to sunset with many local officials being given short to no notice about the releases.

The shift led to handfuls of migrants being erratically released every few hours with little information about next steps.

Since then, Pima County has been leading the humanitarian response to street releases in southern Arizona with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agencys Emergency Food and Shelter Program for the majority of the year.

U.S. Border Patrol transfers a few dozen migrants to a state-run charter bus headed toward Phoenix from the Douglas Visitor's Center parking lot on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

Coordinated street releases are happening in Nogales and Douglas. Migrants are dropped off by the Border Patrol and immediately transferred to buses that will take them to Tucson or Phoenix shelters where they can then catch flights to their final destinations elsewhere in the country.

Border funding questions: Federal funding process for humanitarian aid at border comes under scrutiny

The EFSP funding, which was expected to last through the end of the year, has already been depleted as Pima County burns through roughly $4 million in expenses each month, as of November. The burn rate is double what was expected.

The county is now undergoing a transition to the new federal Shelter and Services Program funding model. The new model imposes more stringent restrictions on what nonprofits and governments can use the funds for.

Migrants and asylum seekers wait to be picked up and processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the U.S.-Mexico border about a mile west of Lukeville, Ariz., on Dec. 4, 2023. The Lukeville Port of Entry was closed indefinitely by officials Dec. 4.

The SSP funding limits the amount of hotel rooms that can be reimbursed and the amount of transportation resources available.

SSP Funding: Arizona nonprofits get $2.3 million more to provide humanitarian aid to migrants

The new funding model will reduce the number of migrants who can be helped each day by 30%, according to Lesher. The number of migrants the system can accommodate will be reduced from roughly 1,100 per day to 750 under SSP.

The new funding will only support 64 hotel or motel rooms per night, as opposed to the 380 that were previously covered under EFSP. Pima County was previously providing three meals a day to all migrants but the SSP funding will only cover 950 people fed per meal each day.

Migrants and asylum seekers wait to be picked up and processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the U.S.-Mexico border about a mile west of Lukeville, Ariz., on Dec. 4, 2023. The Lukeville Port of Entry was closed indefinitely by officials Dec. 4.

Lesher warned that, if the daily release rate of more than 1,000 holds, there will be unsheltered migrant street releases in one or more southern Arizona counties possibly every day.

However, if the number of releases falls below 750 a day, the system will continue to prevent unsheltered street releases, she added in the Dec. 5 memo. Still, Pima County is projected to run out of SSP funds in February 2024.

There will be a massive humanitarian crisis If Congress doesnt appropriate more SSP funding to Pima County by February, Evans said.

It's not going to matter how many people get released because we're not going to have a shelter for them, Evans added.

The Pima County transportation, housing and food costs have skyrocketed from June to October. Food costs increased by 293% while transportation surged by 95% in the four-month span, according to Pima County data.

Lesher has asked all Pima County departments overseeing migrant sheltering services to explore every possible option to cut costs, according to a Thursday memo Lesher sent to the board of supervisors.

One cost-cutting option being explored is distributing ready-to-eat meals, known as MREs, to migrants in the sheltering system, given that they are cheaper than their current food service.

Lesher announced that she will be convening a committee, composed of Pima County staff and nongovernmental organizations, to come up with a plan to minimize the effects of unsheltered releases on communities if and when the funding runs out.

The contingency plan will try to mitigate the effects at the lowest possible cost to local government budgets.

Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @joseicastaneda.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Migrant street releases may begin this weekend in southern Arizona
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Ohio is the first state in the U.S. to take a major step in an infrastructure program encouraging electric vehicles.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Friday that Ohios first electric vehicle (EV) charger, funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, is now online. This makes Ohio the first state in the nation to activate a NEVI charger.

NEVI, from the U.S. Department of Transportations Federal Highway Administration, is a program intended to provide funding to states to strategically deploy EV charging stations and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.

The newly-active NEVI charging station is located at the Pilot Travel Center along Interstate 70 at U.S. Route 42 in Madison County. The station comes with fast chargers installed by EVGo, capable of providing up to 350 kW when charging a single vehicle.

(Courtesy Photo/Ohio Department of Transportation)

(Courtesy Photo/Ohio Department of Transportation)

(Courtesy Photo/Ohio Department of Transportation)

(Courtesy Photo/Ohio Department of Transportation)

In his announcement, DeWine expressed his excitement for what this project means for the future of transportation in Ohio.

Any industry that focuses on innovations for the future is a priority for Ohio, DeWine said in a press release. Electric vehicles are the future of transportation, and we want drivers in Ohio to have access to this technology today.

This charger activation marks the latest in a series of EV advancements made by Ohio in recent years.

Americas first new charging station puts us one step closer to making travel easier for EV drivers, Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks added in the release.

Soon, construction is expected to begin on 24 fast charging stations funded by NEVI across the state.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW)  A woman was taken into custody Saturday after her grandchild was shot, the Butler County Sheriffs Office reported.

Deputies were called to residence in Liberty Township (between Dayton and Cincinnati) just before 2 a.m. for reports of a shooting. Once on scene they found a 6-month-old baby in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. The child was taken to UC West Chester Hospital.

Mentor group helps keep retired K-9 partners together

The sheriffs office said the suspected shooter, the childs grandmother Mia Harris, was no longer at the home when they arrived, but she was found and taken into custody soon after.

Witnesses told deputies Harris had shot at various family members at the residence before shooting the child.

Deputies said Harris is being charged with three counts of felonious assault but that those could change.

The infant is reportedly still in critical condition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
HAMILTON, Ohio (WCMH)  An Ohio grandmother has been arrested after the area sheriffs office said she shot her six-month-old grandchild.

Deputies took Mia Desiree Harris, 43, into custody on Saturday. They first went around 1:50 a.m. to the 6800 block of Dutch View Court in Liberty Township on a report of an infant being shot, according to Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. Deputies found the six-month-old suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, and then transported the infant to University of Cincinnati West Chester Hospital in critical condition.

Mia Desiree Harris, 43. (Courtesy Photo/Butler County Sheriffs Office)

Witnesses identified Harris, the grandmother of the child, as the shooter, Jones said. She fled the scene before the deputies arrived, but they located and arrested her a short time later. During the incident, Jones said Harris shot at several family members before intentionally shooting the child.

The grandmother has been charged with three counts of felonious assault. Jones said the infant remains in critical condition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
An Ohio woman who threw her freshly made Chipotle burrito bowl in the face of the employee who made it for her is about to learn a lesson in customer service.

Rosemary Hayne, 39, was originally sentenced to 180 days in jail at a Nov. 28 hearing that occurred after the video of her hurling her food at the employee went viral.

Parma Municipal Court Judge Timothy P. Gilligan then suspended 90 of those days and gave Hayne an interesting option for the remainder of the 90-day sentence.

She could spend 60 fewer days in jail if she spent those two months working at a fast-food restaurant for 20 hours a week, he said.

You didnt get your burrito bowl the way you like it and this is how you respond? Gilligan said during sentencing, Cleveland station WJW reported. This is not 'Real Housewives of Parma.' This behavior is not acceptable.

Hayne agreed to the deal, prompting Gilligan to delay her jail time until March 12, 2024, so Hayne has enough time to secure a job and complete the agreed-upon hours.

"Do you want to walk in her shoes for two months and learn how people should treat people or do you want to do your jail time?" Gilligan asked Hayne, according to video from court reported by WJW.

"I'd like to walk in her shoes," Hayne responded.

After apologizing to the employee, 17-year-old Emily Russell, in court, Hayne told the judge she acted that way because she didn't like the look of her burrito bowl.

If I showed you how my food looked and how my food looked a week later from that same restaurant, its disgusting looking, Hayne said, according to WJW.

I bet you wont be happy with the food you are going to get in the jail, the judge shot back, WJW reported.

The video of incident, captured by cellphone at the Chipotle in the Cleveland suburb of Parma, shows Hayne appearing to yell at Russell, who appeared to give Hayne her burrito bowl at the register.

Hayne then threw the hot food right back at Russell, who appears shocked, before storming out of the store.

A bystander appears to try to stop Hayne from exiting the store, with the pair erupting into a screaming match by the restaurant's front door.

Russell told NBC News affiliate in Cleveland, WKYC, that she thinks Gilligan's decision is fair and she wants Hayne to experience what working in fast food is really like.

Russell ended up quitting her job at Chipotle because she was traumatized by the event, she told WJW, adding that she supported the judge's sentence.

"She's going to get what she deserves," Russell told WJW. "She's going to learn how to work in fast food and hopefully it will be good."

Gilligan told WJW he wanted to teach Hayne a lesson in her sentencing.

"So I thought, why should the city taxpayers pay for her and feed her for 90 days in jail if I can teach her a sense of empathy," he said.

Hayne was also ordered to serve two months of probation and refrain from having contact with the victim.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and I discussed her first year in office and the tension between goal-setting and responding to crises, she was interrupted with an update from an aide: The Los Angeles Police Department was analyzing a string of recent murders, and officials suspected that a serial murderer might be responsible.

At that moment, the issue was revealed: Bass spent most of her first year in the very hard struggle to house this citys enormous population of homeless people. Thats difficult enough, but the city never lets up. Crime, strikes, struggling businesses  even a hurricane  pulled Bass from her central mission time and again.

And yet, she ends the year as she began it on Dec. 12, 2022: waging a daily campaign to improve life for those without a place to live.

I do not have to act impulsively, Bass said of the jobs competing demands that tug at her time. Experience working in emergency rooms helped her to appreciate that, she added. If somebody is actively bleeding or not breathing, Im OK  I can be calm.

That has served her well, but how should one evaluate the work of a mayor? By grace under pressure? By the capacity to stay the course? Or by the effectiveness of responding to crises? And how does one gauge progress on homelessness, a problem that hardly seems solvable in one year under one mayor.

To explore those questions, I sought out the wisdom of two of Los Angeles most experienced leaders. Robin Kramer, chief of staff for mayors Richard Riordan and Antonio Villaraigosa, told me L.A. chief executives historically considered it a victory to be able to spend half their time on their agenda, with the other half spent responding to the issue of the day.

By that measure, Bass has been admirable, Kramer said.

Zev Yaroslavsky, who was first elected to the City Council in 1975 and later served on the Board of Supervisors until he termed out in 2014, echoed her appreciation for Bass steadfastness  both for the tenacity of her campaign to tackle homelessness as well as for her courage in taking it on. He noted that Bass first official act, declaring a state of emergency on homelessness, gave her access to additional tools for responding  and even bigger symbolic ones.

Bass put her reputation on the line, Yaroslavsky said, announcing that Im in charge, and hold me accountable for the results.

Thats what leaders do, he added. They lead.

Bass both claims credit and acknowledges frustrations in her pursuit to put roofs over the heads of her citys most desperate residents. External inputs  the expiration of eviction bans enacted during COVID, Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts busing asylum seekers to Los Angeles and elsewhere  have put new pressure on an already overwhelmed system.

The result is that the overall number of unhoused people in Los Angeles  roughly 46,000  may be larger today than it was a year ago, Bass efforts notwithstanding.

Permanent housing for a few hundred people is hardly the long-term answer to Los Angeles overwhelming issue of homelessness, but the elimination of some encampments has been noticed, and some see glimmers of hope.

Knocking down barriers has been more feasible, Bass said. She and her staff knew, for instance, that some homeless people were not receiving benefits because they lacked social security numbers or addresses, but they did not appreciate the rippling effects. Having discovered that wrinkle, Bass appealed to federal officials to waive the requirements, and she secured an agreement.

But homelessness, of course, was one of many demands on her attention and focus.

And then there is crime. In Los Angeles, violent crime has declined in 2023 by about 4.6%. Property crime has ticked up slightly, increasing by 2.1%.

Thats not exactly cause for rejoicing, but its hardly a crime wave. Complicating the numbers, however, was the eruption of smash-and-grab robberies, which  while rare  nevertheless capture attention and instill fear.

It doesnt matter what the data says, Bass said. Whether people feel it is another matter.

Though she declined to blame any person or strategy for the persistence of property crime or the publics fear of it, Bass did note that she does not plan to endorse in the district attorney race. Thats a telling change. Bass supported George Gascon when he won the job four years ago.

For Los Angeles, though, there is no crisis like a traffic crisis, and Bass first year closed with an opportunity to shine. When a fire just after Thanksgiving threatened the structural integrity of Interstate 10 in the downtown area, Bass was quick, decisive and effective. A project initially estimated to take three to five weeks was completed in eight days.

The freeway was, in one sense, a perfect problem for Bass. It required relationships with officials in Sacramento and Washington D.C., places where she has served. It required a cool head, which her background has equipped her for. And it served her well to be not just a doer but a listener, a quality not all mayors  or elected officials at any level  possess.

Indeed, it is that last factor that may set Bass furthest apart from some of her predecessors. That allows her not just to govern but to learn, and 2023 has been, for Bass, a year of declarations and programs, of cajoling, directing and responding but also of learning.

Theres no metric for listening, Kramer said, but it is vital. As Bass enters her second year, Kramer predicted that the lessons of the first will help the mayor structure the most important and underappreciated aspect of her work: the daily decision about where to apply her attention.

What is the most valuable resource of a mayor? Kramer asked rhetorically. Her time.

Jim Newton is a veteran journalist, best-selling author and teacher. He worked at the Los Angeles Times for 25 years as a reporter, editor, bureau chief and columnist, covering government and politics.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: After one year, focus remains for Mayor Karen Bass: tackle L.A. homelessness
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  One person was taken to the hospital Friday night after being shot during an armed robbery in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kansas City police officers responded to the business off E. Truman Road and Askew Avenue around 6:15 for a reported shooting.

Prosecutor working with Plaza stores to crack down on shoplifters

When officers arrived on the scene they found the victim behind a counter with an apparent gunshot wound.

Police learned a suspect had entered the business, demanded money and fired a gun, striking the victim.

The suspect left the scene on foot before police arrived.

Police said the victim was taken by EMS to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

At this time, no suspect is in custody.

Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android

The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone with information can call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Jerusalem (CNN)  Images from Gaza circulating on social media Thursday showed a mass detention by the Israeli military of men who were made to strip to their underwear, kneel on the street, wear blindfolds, and pack into the cargo bed of a military vehicle.

The exact circumstances and dates of the detentions are unclear, but some of the detainees identities were confirmed by colleagues or family members.

Both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas responded Friday to the images.

IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told CNN the men pictured were Hamas members and suspect Hamas members. He said they were without clothes in order to make sure theyre not carrying explosives.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas political office, accused Israel in a statement of kidnapping, invasive searches and disrobing what he said was a group of displaced Palestinian civilians. He called it a reprehensible crime and urged human rights organizations to intervene.

At least some of the men are civilians with no known affiliation to militant groups, according to a CNN interview with one of their relatives and a statement by one of their employers, a news network.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor posted an image of one detainment and said in a statement on its website Thursday that the Israeli army detained and severely abused dozens of Palestinian civilians.

Euro-Med Monitor received reports that Israeli forces launched random and arbitrary arrest campaigns against displaced people, including doctors, academics, journalists, and elderly men, it said.

CNN has geo-located some of the images to Beit Lahia, north of Gaza City.

The Israeli media, without indicating a source, has portrayed the images as the surrender of Hamas members. A journalist asked IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari about the images during a news conference on Thursday, saying, Weve seen images of many captives, Hamas terrorists, that the IDF arrested during the ground maneuvering.

Hagari said that, in fighting Hamas, those left in the area gradually come out.

We investigate and check who has ties to Hamas, and who does not, he said. We arrest them all and question them. We will continue dismantling each one of those strongholds until we are done.

On Friday, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy told CNN that men depicted in images of mass detentions in Gaza were all suspected terrorists.

Israeli forces were apprehending military-age men in areas of Gaza where they had been urging evacuation for more than a month, according to Levy, describing these areas as Hamas strongholds. Those who were not terrorists would be released, he said.

In an interview with CNN on Friday, Hani Almadhoun, director of philanthropy for the US arm of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA USA) said he knew a dozen people pictured in circulating images, including his brother.

Theyre neither fighters, theyre not surrendering, theyre just civilians who were there with their families trying to survive this, Almadhoun told CNNs Pamela Brown.

Almadhoun said the men he knew from his family had since been released, but described the situation as baffling to see his brother, a father and a shopkeeper, dragged from his home as a suspected Hamas combatant.

My brother has seizures and they had him naked in the street and they put him on the beach in the winter, naked taking pictures of him, verifying who he is, and then they released him after they roughed him up a little bit, he said.

There is a lot of trauma from this for anybody who is watching, especially for my mom who has lost her son, he said after describing how another brother and his family had recently been killed in an air strike. You dont recover from this. This is not just about justice, this feels like more about revenge.

His family remained in northern Gaza instead of evacuating because they had nowhere to go in the south and had a family member killed in a safe zone, he added.

In a statement Thursday, news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said that one of its correspondents and several members of his family were among those detained as part of the incident portrayed in the images.

It reported that Diaa Al-Kahlout was arrested by Israeli troops at gunpoint and forced to leave his disabled daughter behind, before he was allegedly stripped and beaten.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation army arrested the journalist and the director of The New Arab office in Gaza, our colleague Diaa Al-Kahlot, from Market Street in Beit Lahia, along with a group of his brothers, relatives, and other civilians, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed wrote.

The occupation deliberately forced Gazans to take off their clothes, searched them, and humiliated them when they were arrested before taking them to an unknown destination, according to what the people there told us. Pictures and video clips spread showing soldiers arresting dozens of Gazans using criminal and humiliating method.

Hussam Kanafani, the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed editor-in-chief, said in the statement that Al-Kahlot and his family were still missing.

We will make every effort possible, in cooperation with international institutions and organizations concerned with the rights and freedom of journalists in the world, to determine the whereabouts of our colleague Diaa and release him as soon as possible, Kanafani said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was concerned by reports of Al-Kahlouts arrest and called for his release.

The Israeli army should disclose his location, release him immediately, and take steps to ensure the safety of all journalists covering this war, especially those in Gaza who face imminent harm, CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said in a statement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Pacific Northwest lawmakers are leading the charge to prohibit hedge funds from owning residential homes during the nations ongoing housing crisis.

The End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023, introduced by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Washington Rep. Adam Smith, would force hedge funds to sell at least 10% of the single-family homes they own for the next 10 years. After 10 years, investors would be fully banned from acquiring single-family residences.

Salem to reduce library hours due to staffing shortages, potential budget cuts

According to Sen. Merkleys Office, hedge funds and private equity firms history of taking over residential housing dates back to the 2008 financial crisis  when many investors took advantage of the foreclosed homes on the market.

The state official reported that no single firm or hedge fund owned more than 1,000 single-family rentals in 2011. But by June 2022, the Urban Institute projected that major hedge funds and investors owned around 574,000 units.

In a statement, Rep. Smith added that his father was able to buy a $15,000 home with his baggage handler salary in 1971 and that same home would cost almost $500,000 in the modern-day market.

Were really concerned: Domestic violence calls have spiked since Vancouver murder-suicide claimed 5 lives

The housing in our neighborhoods should be homes for people, not profit centers for Wall Street, Sen. Merkley added. Its time for Congress to put in place commonsense guardrails that ensure all families have a fair chance to buy or rent a decent home in their community at a price they can afford.

A number of national organizations, including the National Housing Law Project and the National Housing Resource Center, and the Center for Popular Democracy, have backed the bicameral act.

In 2021, Merkley also introduced the Affordable Housing Opportunities Made Equitable Act.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden claims governments are spying on smartphone users via push notifications

The senator said that the act would reduce housing costs, develop an emergency housing program and address the countrys historically racist federal housing policies.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR)  The Oklahoma State University Police Department is investigating an alleged on-campus sexual assault, according to an alert sent out by the university on Friday afternoon.

Police say the incident reportedly occurred at around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday at an on-campus residence.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, OColly editor-in-chief Luisa Clausen shared an image of the Cowboy Alert email.

In the email, police describe the suspect as a 54 Hispanic male with a thin build and pale complexion. The suspect is also said to have dirty blonde hair and no facial hair.

OSUPD encourages anyone with information to call their non-emergency line at (405) 744-6523.

For updates and safety resources, visit safety.okstate.edu.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
William Robertson, left, and Daniel Griffin leave U.S. District Court in Worcester on Tuesday.

WORCESTER - A state trooper who admitted to stealing federal overtime three years ago is still being paid by Massachusetts taxpayers while on suspension, testimony Friday in U.S. District Court shows.

Timothy Weldon, a state trooper from Taunton, told a federal jury Friday that hes been on paid leave since November 2020, around the time he received a target letter from federal prosecutors regarding overtime theft.

Weldon is one of several troopers granted immunity to testify against their supervisors, Lt. Daniel J. Griffin and Sgt. William R. Robertson, in connection with allegations they coordinated the theft of $135,000 in federal overtime programs from 2015 to 2017.

Griffin and Robertson have been on trial the past two weeks in Worcester regarding the alleged thefts.

While all the other troopers accused of fraud retired, Weldon  who testified he was too junior to be eligible for a pension in 2020  was placed on paid suspension.

Weldon testified Friday that he told a grand jury in December 2020 that he, at Griffins direction, improperly accepted overtime for hours he did not work.

State payroll records show Weldon has been paid $297,000 while on paid leave. According to a repository of state police disciplinary records compiled by independent journalist Andrew Quemere, state police opened an internal affairs investigation into Weldon in November 2020.

The Telegram & Gazette asked state police Friday why the internal investigation has not concluded, why Weldon is on paid leave rather than unpaid leave, when state police learned of his admissions to federal prosecutors and whether his statements concerned Interim Col. John E. Mawn Jr.

David Procopio, communications director for state police, responded in an email that the department has open internal affairs probes into all the troopers involved and is waiting until the criminal proceedings close so we may consider evidence elicited at trial when reaching our findings.

Procopio said state police have instituted widespread reforms to its time and attendance monitoring systems in recent years to safeguard against misconduct, including the type alleged against the two former members currently on trial.

Procopio did not say when state police learned of Weldons admissions, or what Mawn thought of them.

Due to the ongoing federal prosecution and open Internal Affairs cases, the Department cannot comment further on the allegations at this time, he wrote.

Final day of evidence

Weldons testimony capped the ninth and final day of evidence against Griffin and Robertson, both of whom face charges of conspiracy to steal federal funds, aiding and abetting theft of federal funds and aiding and abetting wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors have alleged the pair directed their small traffic troop to start late and end early a number of federal traffic programs in violation of federal law. Defense lawyers have argued their clients actions were in line with agency culture, and that nothing in collective bargaining agreements prevented what they did.

After prosecutors rested their case Friday morning, Griffin elected not to put on a defense, and Robertson called Weldon as his sole witness.

Under questioning from defense lawyers, Weldon confirmed testimony from former State Police Col. Kerry Gilpin Thursday regarding many state troopers leaving headquarters early.

But Weldon also, under questioning from both the defense and prosecution, made clear that he was aware he was not entitled to the overtime he claimed.

Weldon testified that Griffin was the person who told him to claim the time. He said that, after sobriety checkpoints wrapped up earlier than expected, Griffin directed them to take a slow ride home  code for improperly reporting he worked the whole shift.

As Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao, chief of the Massachusetts DOJ offices Public Corruption Unit, displayed cruiser tracking information on screen for jurors, Weldon confirmed getting home hours before he reported wrapping up on paperwork that determined his paycheck.

Weldon also confirmed testimony another trooper, Dennis Kelley, gave last week about Robertson ordering Kelley to shred paperwork related to the alleged fraud.

Weldon recalled that the order came when television reports started about investigations into overtime fraud from now-disbanded State Police Troop E.

Inflated number of tickets alleged

Earlier in the day Friday, Robertsons lawyer, Stanley W. Norkunas, was allowed to recall a special agent who testified Wednesday regarding allegations that Robertson inflated the number of tickets he reported issuing on federally funded overtime shifts.

Robertson had, the morning after the agents testimony, given prosecutors citations he said contradicted the claim. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman, out of earshot of the jury, agreed with Chao that the disclosure amounted to a discovery violation, because the materials should have been turned over long ago.

Surprise evidence  doesnt happen, the judge said. She issued a finding that Robertson, but not Norkunas, had violated the courts rules of discovery.

Guzman said it appeared that the evidence Robertson was now offering should have been disclosed years ago, when it became clear to Robertson that citations issued during his federal overtime shifts were at issue.

She said it appeared that Robertson was now, on the eve of jury deliberations, offering up the tickets as personal property that wasnt his to withhold.

This evidence didnt belong to him, Guzman said of the newly offered citations, adding that Robertson, while allowed the presumption of innocence, isnt allowed tomfoolery.

Guzman on Friday allowed Norkunas some line of questioning in front of jurors regarding the citations with the special agent, though the purported evidence Robertson had brought to court Thursday was not allowed.

The agent, Tanya Chavez of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, agreed that some of the documents her office acquired indicated Robertson reported issuing tickets that shed noted Wednesday were missing from other records state police had turned over.

Chavez noted the documents Norkunas referenced only showed that Robertson had reported issuing the tickets, however, and did not contain copies of the tickets themselves.

After the close of evidence Friday, Guzman denied standard defense motions asking for the charges to be dismissed prior to deliberations.

Guzman ruled the government had met its required legal burden and that the case was ripe for jury deliberations.

Deliberations are expected to begin Monday after closing statements and jury instructions.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Trooper who admitted OT fraud in 2020 on paid leave from state police
Four Overland Park officers who were the subject of an investigation into the misuse of police charity funds have resigned, a city spokesperson said on Friday.

The officers  Sgt. Brandon Faber, Officer Brad Heater, Sgt. Rachel Scattergood and Sgt. Tim Tinnin  served as board members for the Overland Park Police Officers Foundation, a charity with the stated mission of helping police officers and their families recover after cases of catastrophic injury or death.

The charity and the officers became subjects of controversy amid allegations that the officers improperly received questionable monetary benefits while in charge of its finances. All four have been on paid administrative leave since May 2022.

The resignations came Friday as the city was still investigating whether the officers had violated Overland Park employee policies, Meg Ralph, a city spokeswoman, said in a statement. No settlements or resignation agreements were made, Ralph said, and they were not accepted in lieu of termination.

The allegations first came to light last year after a new crop of board members took the reins of the foundation. An audit was commissioned that found unauthorized payments to the four officers, while they had previously served as board members, that were cast as theft under state law.

Alleged misconduct discovered in the audit included educational scholarships granted to board members in violation of the charitys bylaws. Money went directly into two of the members pockets instead of the academic institutions, a move auditors found suspicious.

Board members received other payments, earmarked for assisting families in financial distress following catastrophic injury or death, and used them for dental and veterinarian bills, the audit found.

The audit, which was publicly released by the Overland Park Police Officers Foundation in October, found the officers had received $27,000 for their own benefit.

Findings of the audit were first submitted to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howes office in spring 2022.

Eighteen months after the officers were put on leave, Howe announced in October that his office would not pursue criminal charges. Despite clear evidence the officers violated charitys bylaws concerning self-dealing and self-enrichment, Howe said he could not prove the officers knowingly collected money for unauthorized expenses or misused funds on purpose.

Howes investigation found the four officers, all leaders of the charity, directly received about $15,540 from the foundation.

The officers wiped their electronic devices clean of any data, according to the district attorneys office. Howe said the four officers lawyers also prevented them from being interviewed by prosecutors.

We didnt say there wasnt shadowy behavior, because there was, Howe said at the time. There was behavior that, as we indicated in our conclusion, really does not hold those officers of the foundation in a good light.

Current board members of the Overland Park Police Officers Foundation have voiced disappointment with the outcome in the criminal investigation.

In a scathing statement in October, Vanessa Riebli, the foundations attorney, said the decision not to criminally charge the officers should cause concern for all Johnson County charitable organizations and businesses if that is the new standard of review by his office for this type of crime.

Reached by phone late Friday afternoon, Ralph, the Overland Park spokeswoman, said the citys next step would be the submission of information to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training.

The state commission is responsible for reviewing allegations of misconduct and making determinations on the licensure of police officers in the state.

The Stars Katie Moore contributed to this report.
My partner is from Peru, and I'm from the US. Our 'Spanish-only' days bring us closer together.

The author and his partner. Courtesy of the author

When I first met my boyfriend on Tinder, I saw he was bilingual so I messaged him in Spanish.

We've been together for a year and a half; now we have special days where we only speak in Spanish.

Making language errors helps me embrace imperfection and strengthens our relationship.

My first conversation with Renzo was bilingual. We were on Tinder; I'd seen that he was a language lover, and I wanted to flex my linguistic muscles.

"What languages do you know?" I asked in Spanish. So far, so good, I thought.

Then I got too confident and started to ask about quantum physics before realizing that I didn't know how to say "quantum" or "physics," or  and this was suddenly relevant  "Oh my God, what have I done." So, I just gave up, switched to English, and hoped I'd still get laid anyway. We've been together for a year and a half.

We have Spanish-only days now

These days, I can now say things like "Oh my God, what have I done?" with aplomb. Moreover, the bilingualism of our first exchange is now a cornerstone of our relationship. Thanks to the help of my iTalki tutor, I've improved my Spanish to the point where I can have regular "Spanish days" with Renzo. Since Renzo is Peruvian, and Spanish is his first language, it makes sense that we should communicate in his preferred tongue sometimes.

That said, Renzo's English is still better than my Spanish  he watched "Friends" a lot during his childhood  so our "Spanish Days" are far less frequent than our English Days. (We don't even call them English Days, actually; they're just "days.") But this makes our Spanish Days all the more special.

In addition to pushing me further along on my Spanish language journey, they improved my ability to communicate with Renzo's loved ones in Lima  his hometown. His mom and I can complain about more than the weather now; we can also complain about the neighbors. Of course, I'm not fluent yet; for instance, I couldn't remember the word for "spoons" recently and called them "the little eating things." Nevertheless, Spanish Days have worked.

Spanish Days are a lesson in staying humble

These Spanish Days are more than just linguistic workouts, however. They're also opportunities to humble myself and add a new dimension to our relationship.

In becoming the type of person who calls spoons "little eating things," I dispense of my ego and natural Type A personality, embracing my mistakes as commonplace. This doesn't mean I don't get frustrated from time to time; I especially get flustered when I'm telling a story, and I don't know enough colloquial expressions to sound cool. Ultimately, I've emerged from these experiences as a gringo who doesn't take himself too seriously. It's for this reason that I think the American education system could put more emphasis on learning foreign languages. The learning process, in addition to making someone smarter, can make them a better person.

Language sharing adds a new dynamic to our relationship

But then there's Renzo. In those moments when I lose my cool, he helps me regain my footing. We laugh at my malapropisms and skate by my botched prepositions, spinning them all into joke fodder for another day. The experience flips our dynamic on its head, rendering me vulnerable while allowing Renzo to teach me about his language and culture. Consequently, we often have moments of discovery in which we realize that "so and so" doesn't have an exact translation in Spanish, or vice versa. We expand our minds simply by discussing our days.

Perhaps, one day, we'll reach the point where we don't need Spanish Days, and we can vacillate between English and Spanish on a dime.

In the meantime, I'll continue to gleefully call spoons "little eating things" and randomly shout, "Oh my God, what have I done?" It's just my personality now.

Read the original article on Business Insider
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned Saturday after she faced a chorus of calls to step down over her congressional testimony on antisemitism, including from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a Penn graduate and donor.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Magill stepped down after her comments at a committee hearing this week led to a congressional investigation of Penn. Magill was just one of several college presidents who spoke at the hearing, and she faced particular criticism over her answer to a question about genocide.

During the House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., asked Magill, Specifically calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment?

If it is directed and severe and pervasive, it is harassment, Magill answered.

Stefanik then asked, So the answer is yes?

It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman, Magill replied.

The backlash to Magills comments were bipartisan. Pennsylvanias Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called her testimony shameful, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It should not be hard to condemn genocide, he said.

Related

Jon Huntsman Jr. called for Magills ouster

Several donors, including Huntsman, had already announced they would close their checkbooks to the university over its response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. The university was at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in donations.

On Thursday, Huntsman went a step further by issuing a call for Magills ouster, according to a statement he made to CNN.

Lets make this great institution shine once again, Huntsman said. We are anchored to the past until the trustees step up and completely cut ties with current leadership. Full stop.

At this point its not even debatable, Huntsman said, per CNN. Just a simple IQ test.

Huntsman is a 1987 graduate of Penn, and he and his family are major donors to the university.

Related

In October, Huntsman, who also served as a U.S. ambassador to Russia and China, sent an email to Magill where he wrote the university had become deeply adrift in ways that make it almost unrecognizable.

The Universitys silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel (when the only response should be outright condemnation) is a new low, he wrote.

Consequently, Huntsman Foundation will close its checkbook on all future giving to Penn  something that has been a source of enormous pride for now three generations of graduates. My siblings join me in this rebuke.

Presidents of Harvard, MIT also rebuked for testimony

Magill isnt the only university president who was criticized after the hearing. Calls were also issued for the ouster of Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth over their testimonies.

Harvard President Claudine Gay issued an apology for her remarks over her response to a question on whether calls for genocide against Jews would violate Harvards code of conduct, according to The Associated Press. She said it depended on the context.

What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community  threats to our Jewish students  have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged, Gay said.
Washington (CNN)  US officials are discussing post-war Gaza governance plans with the Palestinian Authority along with regional US allies  making it a key focus as they try to look beyond the immediate conflict.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday afternoon with a delegation of Arab counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority, where the topic of Gaza after the Israeli offensive was expected to be a main point of discussion.

Shortly before the meeting began, the US vetoed a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

A draft version of the resolution, presented by the United Arab Emirates, had called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian access, according to a draft copy.

The US was the lone veto. The UK abstained because the resolution did not condemn the October 7 Hamas attack.

When the war is over, US officials have said they ultimately envision both Gaza and the West Bank being ruled by a unified government led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who initially rebuffed the idea of the PA ruling Gaza on the heels of the Israeli offensive, has shifted his position. Still, many questions remain about the immediate day after for Gaza once the war ends. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday that the US understands that there will be some kind of transition period in which Israeli forces remain in Gaza after the end of combat operations, but that cannot be permanent.

A Western diplomat told CNN that in past conversations the Arab delegation has made clear that they are not eager to be involved with an international force to provide security in Gaza after the war. The ministers have also said that if the world wants Arab states to play a role in reconstruction and support of the PA, there must be a path towards a Palestinian state.

At a press conference in Washington, DC, Friday, the delegation underscored that they were not willing to discuss the day after solely in the context of Gaza, but rather in the context of a Palestinian state.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi suggested on CNN they would not play a role in an international peacekeeping force, and condemned Israels offensive.

All of us are losing our credibility, he told Jim Sciutto on CNN Newsroom on Max.

We are losing credibility in front of our people because our own people are looking at us and saying, Okay, youre demanding that Israel stop. Its not. The whole international community has failed to act in any meaningful manner to stop the massacre, he said. So. Everybodys losing credibility. Moderation is losing credibility. The camp of peace is losing credibility. So that is a danger with which we were going to have to reckon at some point or the other.

The delegation reiterated their call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and cast aspersions on members of the international community  like the US  for failing to advocate for one.

A senior administration official said that privately there is some consternation within the administration over the US Arab allies reluctance to play any role in a post-war international peacekeeping force, since they have been among the loudest in condemning Israels assault on Gaza. One Arab ambassador told CNN that their country would absolutely not place any of its own forces in Gaza after the war. Part of that is because the Arab states do not want to be seen as subjugating the Palestinians, the ambassador explained.

The Biden administration has consistently advocated for a two-state solution. Last month, Blinken laid out the administrations terms for durable peace and security in Gaza after the war, which include no Israeli re-occupation and no reduction in territory. As such, the US is opposed to the establishment of an Israeli security buffer zone within Gaza after the war.

Vice President Kamala Harris also raised post-conflict Gaza in multiple meetings and calls with Arab leaders last weekend when in Dubai, telling reporters that she shared what expectations the US will have with regard to post-conflict planning.

Specifically, I proposed three areas of focus, Harris said, citing reconstruction of infrastructure in Gaza, reinforcing Palestinian Authority security and revitalizing PA governance. Harris also reiterated that a two-state solution is the best path forward.

Blinken met with Abbas in Ramallah last week. Harris national security adviser, Phil Gordon, held additional meetings in the West Bank this week.

He underscored our commitment to the future establishment of a Palestinian state and made clear that the Palestinian people must have a hopeful political horizon. To that end, Dr. Gordon discussed the revitalization of the Palestinian Authority, according to a White House readout.

Its an extension of what US national security officials have telegraphed as it relates to Gaza and the PA.

Leadership choices  these are, of course, up to the Palestinian people and Palestinians themselves. But there are a number of things that we think would be critical to making sure that, again, the Palestinian Authority can be effective in helping to advance the aspirations and the needs of its people, Blinken said last week.

Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said last month that the PA will have to be part of any future governing solution in both the West Bank and Gaza following the current hostilities  a prospect that Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly opposed.

The senior administration official told CNN that the apparent disagreement between the US and Israel over a future role for the PA is overstated. The US agrees that the Palestinian Authority in its current, weakened state would be unlikely to be able to govern Gaza, but that a revitalized PA  including potentially with new leadership entirely  is a plausible solution.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told Bloomberg that he sees a role for Hamas in future Gaza governance  a prospect that would also be firmly rejected by Israel, whose stated goal is to eliminate the group. US officials have said there cannot be a return to the status quo before October 7. The Western diplomat told CNN that privately, many of the Arab partners also do not want Hamas to remain in control in Gaza.

Its not clear that such an arrangement is even possible, given the long history of enmity between Hamas in Gaza and its bitter political rival Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The two sides have tried  and failed  multiple times to reach an agreement to unite the two separate Palestinian territories under one governance structure.

Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo in October 2017 under pressure from the Arab states, led by Egypt. Under the deal, a new unity government was supposed to take administrative control of Gaza two months later, ending a decade of rivalry that began when Hamas violently evicted the Palestinian Authority from Gaza in 2007.

But the deals lofty aspirations quickly collapsed. When Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah visited Gaza in March 2018, he was the target of an assassination attempt when a bomb detonated near his convoy. Hamdallahs Fatah party immediately blamed Hamas for the attack.

CNNs Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.
A man who was killed in Phoenix on Sunday has been identified as Robert Potter, 60, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to reports of unknown trouble near 27th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. When police arrived, they found Potter, who was suffering trauma to his body. Potter was then taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.

Details about what led up to the incident is part of the ongoing investigation, police said.

Police advises anyone with information regarding the incident to call Silent Witness at 480(WITNESS) or 480(TESTGO).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police identifies man killed in homicide
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Police responded to a local hospital on Friday night after report of a walk-in gunshot wound victim.

Third lawsuit alleging sexual abuse filed against Ohio high school wrestling coach, wife

Authorities were dispatched to the unnamed hospital at 8:48 p.m. on Friday and spoke with the adult victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the lower body, according to the Columbus Division of Police. After investigating, police revealed the incident occurred in the 2000 block of Bairsford Drive.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Police said the victim is expected to survive the injury, but are asking anyone with information to call 614-645-4141.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Police have located a 65-year-old Des Moines man with medical issues who was reported missing early Saturday morning.

Jeffrey Wayne Drayton was located in Osceola and was safely reunited with his family according to a statement from Des Moines Police Department.

The Osceola Police Department assisted the Des Moines Police Department in the investigation.

As previously reported by the Register, Drayton was reported missing from his home in the 800 block of 17th Street. He was believed to be driving a white 2008 Land Rover LR3.

Biong M. Biong is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at bbiong@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines police say Jeffrey Wayne Drayton was located in Osceola.
Ukrainian truck drivers wait to cross from Poland back into Ukraine in Korczowa, Poland, on Thursday Dec. 7, 2023. Ukrainian charities and companies supplying the countrys military warn that problems are growing as Polish truck drivers show no sign of ending a monthlong border blockade. (AP Photo/Karl Ritter)

KORCZOWA, Poland (AP)  Pickup trucks and tourniquets bound for Ukraines battlefield are among items stuck in a mileslong line at the border with Poland. Components to build drones to fight off Russian forces are facing weeks of delays.

Ukrainian charities and companies supplying the war-torn country's military warn that problems are growing as Polish truck drivers show no sign of ending a border blockade that has stretched past a month. The Polish protesters argue that their livelihoods are at stake after the European Union relaxed some transport rules and Ukrainian truckers undercut their business.

While drones will make it to the front line, they're delayed by two to three weeks, said Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, operational director of the KOLO foundation, which helps the Ukrainian army with battlefield tech, including drones and communications equipment.

This means that the Russian army will have the ability to kill Ukrainian soldiers and terrorize civilians for several weeks longer, he said.

Truck drivers in Poland have blocked access roads to border crossings since Nov. 6, creating lines that stretch for more than 30 kilometers (19 miles) and last up to three weeks in freezing temperatures. The protesters insist that they're not stopping military transports or humanitarian aid into Ukraine.

This is very puzzling to me, even hard to believe because everybody knows  those who order, those who expedite and those who do the transport  that aid for the military passes through without having to wait at all, said Waldemar Jaszczur, a protest organizer.

The Polish truckers, meanwhile, say their Ukrainian counterparts are offering lower prices to haul everything from fish to luxury goods across the European Union since getting a temporary waiver on the 27-nation bloc's transport rules after Russias invasion in 2022.

Despite Poland and other nearby countries being some of Ukraines biggest supporters in the war, resentment has built from truckers and farmers who are losing business to lower-cost Ukrainian goods and services flowing into the worlds biggest trading bloc. It underscores the challenges of integrating Ukraine into the EU if approved.

Now, the commercial clash is spilling over to the battlefield, the Ukrainian charities say.

About 200 pickup trucks needed to transport ammunition and evacuate the wounded from the front line are blocked at the border because deliveries have practically stopped, said Ivan Poberzhniak, head of procurement and logistics for Come Back Alive, Ukraines largest charitable organization providing the military with equipment.

The pickup trucks are easy targets for Russia, so it's impossible to deliver enough of them even normally, he said.

When drivers show documents to the Polish truckers saying the vehicles are for Ukraine's military, it does not have a significant impact on the protesters, Poberzhniak said.

We must understand that during wartime, supply is needed on a daily basis in all directions, he said.

Come Back Alive says 3,000 tourniquets also are stuck at the border. It's been able to deliver drones, generators and batteries from what it has in stock, but that reserve is running out, Poberzhniak said.

The group is exploring alternative supply routes, he says, but there are few options, and the military's unfulfilled requests for equipment are building up.

The protesting truckers assert that not all deliveries declared as military aid are really that. They are urging the EU to reinstate the limits on the number of Ukrainian trucks that can enter the bloc.

Jaszczur, the organizer, said Ukrainian truckers have been doing unauthorized transport services across Europe. They are asking glaringly low prices  35% lower than what Polish truckers charge  and are driving us out of the market, he said.

The same thing is happening in other countries like Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, he said. Some Slovak truckers staged a protest of their own in recent days at the Ukrainian border.

Jaszczur says many Polish transport companies are going under because of the pressure from Ukrainian competition.

While there is no quick resolution in sight, a change of leadership in Warsaw offers hope.

The new government is expected to be in place in the next week and almost certainly will be led by the pro-EU centrist Donald Tusk. He has criticized the outgoing governments inaction, offering hope to businesses hurt by the blockade but also to the protesters.

We will look for solutions that should satisfy Polish transporters, but we will not tolerate any events that threaten Polish security. Who inspired or initiated them? Tusk said Friday, stressing that Ukraine is a strategic point for Poland as it fights Russias invasion.

Ukrainian truck driver Ivan Itchenko is one of those eagerly awaiting a resolution. He has been waiting in Poland for days with hundreds of others, trying to stay warm at a highway rest stop until he can bring his load of salmon and herring to Ukrainian supermarkets.

I clean the truck, clear the snow. Polish customs officers come and ask for documents three times a day, Itchenko said Thursday.

The 61-year-old hoped his turn to drive through the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing would come Saturday.

I live in Chernihiv (region), near Russia. Every day there are attacks. Now I am stuck at the Polish border. What do they want?

With temperatures falling, drivers are experiencing difficult conditions, choosing not to heat their trucks to save fuel and facing limited access to food and bathrooms, Ukrainian media say.

Polish and Ukrainian officials are negotiating with help from the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, but the protest has only expanded.

We do not see any light in the tunnel, we do not see any authorities, any government or the EU Commission really giving attention to this, said Dariusz Matulewicz, head of the truckers' association in Szczecin, a city in western Poland.

Poland's outgoing government has nothing against supporting Ukraine" but it "must not allow the aid activity to be done at the expense of Polish firms, deputy minister for infrastructure, Rafal Weber, said Monday in Brussels.

The EU has pressed Warsaw to find a way to end the blockade but stood by its deal with Kyiv. It's beneficial to the European market, to Ukraine and to Moldova," said Adina Valean, EU transport commissioner who also threatened sanctions against Poland.

Ukrainian officials say the truckers' protest adds more stress to their economy and only serves Russias interests.

Ukrainian exports have dropped by 40% through the four blocked border crossings, and the state budget has lost some 9.3 billion hryvnias ($254 million) due to the shortfall in customs payments, said Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the finance and tax committee in Ukraine's parliament.

Undoubtedly, this is a powerful blow to our economy and our exports, Hetmantsev said Tuesday on state TV.

___

AP journalists Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.
(CNN)  Vladimir Putin says he will run for president again in Russias elections in March 2024, in a move that could see him retain power until at least 2030.

Putin made the announcement Friday after a ceremony at the Kremlin, the official residence of the Russian president.

Putin will bid for his fifth presidential term at the elections, set to take place on March 17, 2024, as he aims to solidify his continuous hold on power as head of state or prime minister for more than two decades.

The upcoming elections will also mark the first time that residents of the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, annexed by Russia during the conflict, will participate in the presidential elections.

Russias Central Election Commission said it would organize house-to-house voting in those four regions over three consecutive days on March 15, 16 and 17.

The international community previously condemned local elections in these regions, organized by Russian-backed officials, as a sham.

Putin became acting prime minister of Russia in August 1999, before unexpectedly being handed the presidency by then-President Boris Yeltsin on New Years Eve of that year.

He served two four-year terms as president before stepping aside in 2008, as he was not constitutionally permitted to run for another presidential term. He endorsed Dmitry Medvedev, who replaced him as president, while Putin took the role of prime minister for a second time.

But he regained the presidency in 2012 and has not relinquished his grip on power since. After winning re-election in 2018, Putin then signed a law in 2021 which paved the way for him to run for two more six-year terms.

The changes to the law means that Putin, 71, could potentially extend his rule until 2036, by which time he will be in his mid-80s and his rule will be well into its third decade.

Putin is expected to face no more than token opposition in March. Under his authoritarian rule, opposition politicians have met similar fates: Exile, imprisonment or death in suspicious circumstances.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who posed one of the most serious political challenges to Putin during his rule, was sentenced in August to 19 years in prison on extremism charges. Navalny and his supporters claim his arrest was politically motivated, intended to silence his criticism of Putin.

Navalny was immediately detained upon returning to Russia in 2021. He had been taken from Russian to Germany in 2020, after he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny arrived comatose at a hospital in Berlin, following a medical evacuation flight from the Siberian city of Omsk. A joint investigation by CNN and the group Bellingcat implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in Navalnys poisoning.

Russia denies involvement in Navalnys poisoning. Putin said in December 2020 that if Russian security services had wanted to kill Navalny, they would have finished the job.

Putins war in Ukraine, initially expected by Russia to last just a few weeks, will likely have entered its second year by the time presidential elections are held in March. While accurately gauging public opinion in Russia is difficult, the war is still thought to command broad support among the public, despite the costs it has placed on Russian society.

The Kremlin tries to keep the Russian population isolated from the worst of the conflict, but Ukraine has repeatedly attempted to bring the war home to Russia, launching its own strikes on cities across the country  including on the Kremlin itself.

Russia has kept the casualty numbers from its war in Ukraine shrouded in secrecy. In September 2022, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 5,937 troops had been killed in the war. The ministry has not published an update since.

But western intelligence assessments put the toll much higher. Western intelligence assessments put the toll much higher. The United Kingdom defense ministry said in October it is likely that Russia has suffered between 150,000 and 190,000 permanent casualties, meaning killed or permanently wounded, since February 2022.

Earlier this month, Russia announced it would increase its number of troops by 170,000, continuing to draw on its population as its invasion of Ukraine enters its 22nd month.
At the age of four, Ali Rahmani realized his family would never lead an ordinary life.

He remembers the Iranian Revolutionary Guard arresting his father. Since then, he and his twin sister Kianas lives have been a series of arrests, separation and exile. If one parent is present, the other is in prison.

Now aged 17, the two will be accepting the Nobel peace prize this Sunday on behalf of their jailed mother, renowned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi. Together they will deliver her Nobel lecture that was smuggled out of the notorious Evin prison.

Standing here, Im trying to visualize the crowd. Well be standing right there giving the speech, Kiana tells CNN as they tour the Oslo City Hall in which the prestigious ceremony will be held.

They walk through the minimalistic seating arrangement under the towering murals towards the stage. Standing next to a portrait of their mother girdled by panels of purple orchids, Kiana says, We will have to live up to all this. A lot of important people will be here. This is mental preparation really.

The two have not seen their mother since they were eight years old and havent spoken to her in nearly two years due to increasing restrictions on communication that got even more severe ahead of the ceremony. For her activism, campaigning for human rights, in support of political prisoners and against the death penalty, Mohammadi and her family have paid a hefty price.

She has been arrested 13 times, convicted for five and sentenced to a total of 31 years and 154 lashes.

We are extremely proud of all that she has done. What really saddens us today is that she is not here, because we should not be the ones being interviewed. Thats my mothers right but well do our best to be her voice and represent what is happening in Iran, Ali says.

Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou/CNN

The responsibility of being the voice of not just their mother but their people weighs on them.

We are not just here for us or our family, but for freedom and democracy and for the Woman Life Freedom movement, Kiana says, referring to the nationwide protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jhina Amini in the custody of Irans morality police in 2022.

Its a road they dont have to walk alone. In Oslo, they are continuously greeted by members of the Iranian diaspora who like their parents have paid for their dissent with years in prison or exile.

Disney mom

They say they understand and accept the sacrifice, despite the impact it has had on their lives. Theyve lived with their father in self exile in France since 2015.

Of course, at times in my life I wanted my mother by my side, Kiana tells CNN. At puberty, your body changes, thats the kind of question you would ask your mom. I had no one to ask so I learned by myself. I would have loved it if she could have taken me shopping, taught me how to wear makeup and how to handle my body.

She cherishes the childhood memories of her mother. Id describe her a bit like a Disney mom, a bit like in the movies, Kiana says. If we were hungry, we could eat as much ice cream as we wanted. If we wanted to help ourselves to more food, we always could. She did everything she could so that we would be comfortable and have stability in our lives. She played both roles really well just like my father does now.

They last hugged her on the day of her arrest, when they were not yet nine years old. She made them breakfast, sent them to school and when they returned, she was gone.

Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou/CNN

Both Ali and Kiana find solace in a simple realization. Despite their growing concerns about their mothers deteriorating health, they believe the international recognition and pressure on Iran could save her life.

Ali notes how tormenting the news of executions of political prisoners have been, in addition to hundreds of others killed during protests. A lot of our countrymen have lost their fathers, their mothers and their siblings, he says.

Frankly Im just glad that shes alive, because others have lost their loved ones and I cant even imagine what that feels like, Kiana says.

On Saturday, a day before the ceremony they announced that Mohammadi will start yet another hunger strike in protest of human rights violations in Iran and violations of the civil rights of the Bahais, a religious minority in Iran.

Recognition

In their pre-ceremony tour, they meet Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of Norwegian Nobel Committee, who recognized Mohammadis struggle against systematic discrimination and oppression as she announced her Nobel win on October 6.

She called on the Iranian government to release Mohammadi.

I feel very sad and I feel it is a disgrace for Iran to keep in prison a person who has been recognized and found worthy of the peace prize. I think about her all the time and that she will not have the chance to experience this grand event, Reiss-Andersen tells CNN after meeting the twins. But I also feel she is very well represented by her children and her husband, she adds.

The two get a glimpse into the exhibition honoring their mothers activism at the Nobel Peace Center.

Since the 1990s, Mohammadi has advocated for women rights and democracy and worked with the banned Defenders of Human Rights Center, founded by 2003 Peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, whose picture is also featured in the exhibition.

Narges Mohammadi in Tehran, Iran, in 2021 - Reihane Taravati/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

The walls of the museum are lined with photos from the siblings childhood and the rare occasions the small family was intact, together and smiling. Ali and Kiana count the steps in a corner meant to recreate the solitary confinement both of their parents had endured. Ali recounts how their father, Tagi Rahmani a political prisoner for 14 years, used to keep sane by walking back and forth, finding solace in the engravings on the walls left by previous prisoners.

Its a type of white torture their mother documented in agonizing detail in a book she wrote in prison, also featured in the museum.

Prison has not silenced Mohammadi. She did not get to see the streets of Iran convulse with mass protests in 2022 against the theocratical regime. Yet, in audio recordings smuggled out of prison and shared with CNN, shes heard leading her fellow inmates in the iconic Women, Life, Freedom chant of the protests.

She also continues to work tirelessly to expose sexual assault against political detainees, including in a written interview with CNN this summer facilitated by intermediaries. Her prison sentences keep increasing, for charges of conspiring against national security and spreading false propaganda, among others.

Shes vowed to never stop even it means spending the rest of her life in prison.

Im really not very optimistic about ever seeing [my mother] again. My mom has a 10-year sentence left and every time she does something, like sending out the speech we will read out at the ceremony, that adds to her sentence, Kiana says. She will always be in my heart, and I accept that because the struggle, the movement, Woman Life Freedom, is worth it. Freedom and democracy are priceless. Its all worth the sacrifice.

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President Joe Biden joined elected officials from Nevada and California on Friday to formally announce $3 billion in funding for Brightline Wests Southern California to Las Vegas high-speed rail project.

President Joe Biden joined elected officials from Nevada and California to announce $3 billion in funding for Brightline Wests Southern California to Las Vegas high-speed rail project.

On Friday, Biden said the Nevada Department of Transportation has received the funds from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program.

The funds will help pay for the $12 billion project, which includes main stations in Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley, and Las Vegas, as well as a passenger stop in Hesperia, the Daily Press reported.

Biden visited the Carpenter International Training Center to showcase a total of $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including the Brightline West project.

Brightline officials are hoping to get the California and Nevada high-speed rail project up and running in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

First high-speed rail project

With speeds reaching up to 200 mph, the Las Vegas to Southern California project will be the nations first true high-speed rail system, company officials said.

The project will also be the first to be built with American union labor. The fully-electric, zero-emission system will become one of the greenest forms of transportation in the U.S.

Brightline Wests modern, eco-friendly system will redefine train travel in America and connect two of the most iconic destinations: Las Vegas and Southern California.

The 218-mile passenger rail service will have no grade crossings and the alignment is within the median of the Interstate-15.

"It is going to reduce the number of cars on the I-15 and anyone who has driven on the I-15 on the weekends knows what that means," said Sen. Rosen.

Biden, whose nickname is Amtrak Joe after commuting by train for decades between Delaware and Washington, D.C., particularly praised the Brightline West project, the New York Times reported.

We are deeply honored to receive a federal grant from @POTUS to help build the nation's first high speed rail project in partnership with @nevadadot. We are ready to get to work, connecting communities and redefining the future of transportation. #BrightlineWest #highspeedrail pic.twitter.com/hG1ziSI5y9  Brightline West (@BrightlineWest) December 8, 2023

Las Vegas, Rancho Cucamonga stations

The Las Vegas station will include mobility connections and easy access to the Las Vegas Strip, the Raiders Allegiant Stadium and the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The flagship Las Vegas station will be on 110 acres at the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard.

Brightline Wests station in Rancho Cucamonga will have direct connectivity via California Metrolink to key points in Los Angeles, such as Union Station.

Economic impact

Brightline Wests project will bring widespread benefits including more than $10 billion in economic impact to Nevada and California.

Economic studies show the project will create more than 35,000 direct and indirect jobs including 10,000 direct union construction jobs and nearly 1,000 permanent jobs for operations and maintenance.

Brightline Wests investment also includes more than $800 million in roadway improvements to the I-15 corridor. Brightline West has agreements in place with several unions for the use of highly skilled union labor in critical jobs required to build, operate and maintain the project.

President Joe Biden joined elected officials from Nevada and California on Friday to formally announce $3 billion in funding for Brightline Wests Southern California to Las Vegas high-speed rail project.

Climate-friendly

The projects environmental benefits are designed to support Nevada and Californias climate strategies by promoting a no-emission mobility option that lowers greenhouse gasses by more than 400,000 tons of CO2 each year.

The diversion of people from auto and air travel to Brightline Wests high-speed rail system reduces vehicle miles traveled by more than 700 million each year and 16,000 short-haul flights annually.

The $3 billion grant award marks the largest in NDOTs history and is the culmination of more than two decades of planning and coordination to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California.

NDOT, as the grant administrator, will continue to play an important oversight role as Brightline West constructs the rail system.

Additionally, NDOT will be responsible for the design, construction, and oversight of any NDOT infrastructure that requires modification as a result of Brightline Wests work.

Brightline is currently operating its first passenger rail system in South Florida connecting Central and South Florida with stations in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando.

For more information, visit brightlinewest.com.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: President Biden visits Las Vegas to discuss Brightline West project
WASHINGTON  Pressure is intensifying on two Ivy League universities and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after a heated congressional hearing earlier this week on combating the rise of antisemitism on U.S. campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel.

A group of 13 House Democrats sent a letter Friday to the leaders of Harvard University, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania seeking policy changes to combat antisemitism on campus.

The letter led by Rep. Kathy Manning, D-N.C., comes days after Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York had a viral exchange with the three university presidents about campus policies to address antisemitism. At a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing, the presidents spoke about an increase in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attacks since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza.

Stefanik led a separate letter on Friday of more than 70 lawmakers, primarily Republican, calling for the universities to remove their presidents in response to the hearing.

Claudine Gay of Harvard, Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of MIT condemned hatred against both groups and spoke about efforts to improve campus security.

Stefanik asked the presidents whether "calling for the genocide of Jews" would violate their codes of conduct. Gay said antisemitic speech would violate university policies when it "crosses into conduct," and Magill similarly said it would be harassment if "speech becomes conduct." Kornbluth said it would be "investigated as harassment if pervasive and severe."

Choosing a college is hard. The Israel-Hamas war is making it harder

The comments drew immediate blowback, including from the White House. "Its unbelievable that this needs to be said: Calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

The group of primarily moderate Democrats led by Manning joined that chorus Friday, saying in the letter addressed to each university's governing board that the testimony "did nothing to assuage our concerns" about antisemitic incidents on college campuses.

"Instead, the presidents unwillingness to answer questions clearly or fully acknowledge appalling and unacceptable behavior  behavior that would not have been tolerated against other groups  illuminated the problematic double standards and dehumanization of the Jewish communities at your universities," they wrote. "The lack of moral clarity these presidents displayed is simply unacceptable."

There is NO context in which calls for the genocide of Jews is acceptable rhetoric.



I called on the governing boards of @Harvard, @Penn, & @MIT to reexamine their codes of conduct and protect Jewish students from calls for the genocide of Jews on campus. pic.twitter.com/vCCM27NMIc  Congresswoman Kathy Manning (@RepKManning) December 8, 2023

They called upon the universities to update their codes of conduct to ensure students are protected and to outline actions taken to protect Jewish and Israeli students and staff.

Hamas militants entered Israeli towns near the Gaza strip on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,200 people and taking almost 200 civilian hostages. Following the attack, Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza in what have been weeks of destructive attacks. Nearly 17,500 people have been killed and more than 56,000 wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ongoing conflict has roiled college campuses, including some violent clashes amid demonstrations. Students who align with both sides have raised concerns about their safety as tensions remain high.

Harvard President Claudine Gay, left, speaks as University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill listens, during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill this week.

The university presidents' testimony prompted calls for their resignation and outcry from faculty, policymakers and others concerned that the elite institutions would not adequately protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus. Gay and Magill have publicly apologized for their statements at the hearing.

"I got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures, Gay said in an interview with the Harvard Crimson. What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community  threats to our Jewish students  have no place at Harvard and will never go unchallenged."

Columbia University declined invite to testify

Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia University, a selective Ivy League school in New York City, previously declined to attend the raucous hearing Tuesday citing scheduling conflicts, according to committee spokesperson Nick Barley.

Like the other presidents, her first year on the job has been largely overshadowed by disruptive campus protests and scandals stemming from disagreements about the Israel-Hamas war, which have struck the campuses of selective schools in the northeast particularly hard.

Israel-Hamas war: Free-speech battles roar across US colleges

Feds probe antisemitism, Islamophobia on campuses

Columbia, like Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, is currently under a federal civil rights investigation. The probe was opened in November, and though its unclear what type of discrimination was alleged in the complaint to the Education Department, the agency confirmed last month that the investigation at Columbia was one of seven explicitly identified at the time as related to antisemitic or anti-Muslim harassment.

In recent weeks, the university also came under scrutiny for suspending two anti-Zionist student groups, Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. Administrators claimed that the clubs had violated event policies. However, those policies had been quietly changed a few weeks before the groups were suspended, according to the campus newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator.

CONTRIBUTING: Michael Collins.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harvard, MIT, UPenn leaders asked to quit after congressional testimony
Mayor Quinton Lucas held a Fentanyl Summit Friday afternoon at the Kansas City Health Department to raise awareness on the citys fentanyl and opioid crisis.

Health officials, law enforcement and families had a public discussion to tackle the epidemic of opioid and fentanyl related-deaths.

During a press conference after the event, the mayor categorized the issue of drug overdoses in the city as an epidemic driven by fentanyl.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported there were 109,698 overdose deaths in 2022. As previously reported by The Star, Kansas City saw a nearly 1,000% increase in overdose deaths from 2017 to 2021. The Star reported that since 2018, more than 850 people in the city died from fentanyl.

While the mayor spoke on the rise of drug-related deaths in the city, he stressed the importance of remembering the humanity behind the statistics that attest to this crisis in America.

The numbers are important, Lucas said. But what does that nearly 1000% percent increase mean? It means that there are hundreds of families in Kansas City who have been touched by this epidemic. There are hundreds of friends, schools and neighborhoods that are touched by this epidemic and were committed to fighting it.

Community members attend a Fentanyl Summit at the Kansas City Health Department on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Kansas City. Local officials addressed the overdose epidemic, discussing ongoing efforts, including a public education campaign and an ordinance mandating prompt overdose reporting.

The mayor referenced his recent visit with North Kansas City high school students who presented their efforts to reduce opioid overdoses in the city. While there, the mayor realized youth want public officials to be present and care about the issues that affect them.

The first thing I took from the youth the other day is they want us to speak with them, Lucas said.

It turns out having voices that say we are here for you and care about you surviving, are the things were working hard to do.

As he discussed the youth, the mayor addressed the issue of young people dying from preventable deaths at a high rate.

A problem with Kansas City this year is youth are dying too young from preventable deathsshootings, fentanyl and suicides, the mayor said.

The number of things that we are addressing now with our youth, shows that we need to find a way to get our voices to them more fully.

After Lucas, the Kansas City Health Departments Director, Dr. Marvia Jones, explained the departments role in helping to fight the drug crisis in the city.

Some people ask why is public health involved with this (fentanyl and opioid issue) and what do we offer? One of the things public health is looked to, is the ability to identify where each individual sector has a role, Jones said.

Jones said public healths responsibility is to provide and analyze data used to make decisions and find solutions.

According to the mayor, there will be more conversations to raise awareness on the issue of fentanyl and opioid-related deaths, until its not a problem anymore.

After officials spoke, Holly Yocum, whose daughter Jaden Anderson, 21, died in July 2022, after taking drugs laced with fentanyl, told her story.

Yocum said her daughter was a beautiful spirit who experienced struggles, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Yocum said Anderson sometimes felt discomfort from the way her prescribed medication would make her feel.

Anyone who has children or a loved one with bipolar disorder knows that they dont always like their medication and so they search for other avenues, Yocum said.

Unfortunately that is what happened to my daughter and it can happen to yours, Yocum said.

This discomfort, according to Yocum, led her daughter to search for other avenues in pursuit of relief that ultimately led to her death.

While still grieving, Yocum praised the summit, and wants the community to be informed on the rising issue of drug-related deaths, so others can avoid the pain she endures.

Im so grateful for the people that came together today because I dont want this to happen to you, Yocum said, holding back tears.

I dont want you to live like this... and remember every day.
Activists brandished placards making sickening comparisons between the Gaza conflict and the Holocaust as tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through London on Saturday.

Several placards making the comparison, which many regard as anti-Semitic and offensive, were held aloft as protestors made their way from the City to Westminster.

One hand-drawn placard showed a star of David, symbol of the state of Israel, being used to push Palestinians into the sea, and around it were written the words The Final Solution?, an offensive reference to the Holocaust.

Another placard stated: Israels Gaza Holocaust, with one declaring: Zionism = white supremacy.

Others compared Israels bombing of Gaza to genocide, with one man holding a placard reading: May Israeli genocidaires burn in hell.

Jewish groups condemned the use of Holocaust and genocide comparisons as historically inaccurate and deliberately anti-Semitic.

Scotland Yard said that 13 arrests had been made by late afternoon, mostly for offensive placards, but some for other offences, including possession of drugs and obstruction.

Before the march had even begun, police arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, after officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.

The Metropolitan Police said it was investigating the wording of a number of similar signs on the march, including one showing a photograph of victims of the Holocaust alongside one of Palestinians killed in the current conflict.

In response to one such placard being brought to their attention, Scotland Yard said: Thank you for making us aware of this, our public order crime team are investigating.

In one potential flashpoint, police were filmed being asked to act over a banner showing naked Holocaust victims next to a photograph of naked Palestinian men in Gaza being detained by Israeli soldiers.

One officer appears to reply that the crowd would swarm us if police intervened.

One hand-drawn placard showed a star of David, symbol of the state of Israel, being pushed into the sea, and around it the words The Final Solution? - X/Twitter

As the march wound its way from Bank tube station in the City of London to Whitehall, sections of the crowd chanted From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free  regarded by many as being a call for the destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state  along with Ceasefire now.

There were also chants of From London to Gaza, globalise the intifada!, interpreted by some as a call for the violence against Israel to be widened and which some Jewish groups say is a deliberate attempt to intimidate members of their community.

Pro-Palestine activists argue the slogan is simply a call for people around the world to show solidarity with people in Gaza and the West Bank against what they regard as aggression by Israel.

People on the march also held signs reading Free Palestine and End the siege, while others chanted: One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.

By contrast, a group of Jewish people on the Embankment held up placards stating This Jew wants a ceasefire now, prompting some of the passing protesters to applaud.

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: Yet again we see anti-Semitic posters and rhetoric spewed on our streets at supposedly peaceful marches. Signs comparing Israel  the Jewish state  to the Nazis, signs referencing the Final Solution, the Nazi euphemism for the industrialised murder of six-million Jewish men, women and children, are alongside the now typical calls of From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free  a genocidal call for the eradication of Israel.

These marches continue to make London a no-go zone for Jewish people, week after week. These offensive and sickening signs and slogans have no place on our streets.

Thousands of demonstrators wound their way from Bank in the City of London to Whitehall - Telegraph/Heathcliff O'Malley

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: Comparisons between Israel and Nazis or the policies of the Jewish state and the Holocaust are clear breaches of the international definition of anti-Semitism.

They show a woeful ignorance of history, insult the victims of the Holocaust and their descendants, diminish and trivialise the genocide of the Jews, and demonise the Jewish state. They are blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric and underscore just how unpeaceful these weekly anti-Israel demonstrations have been.

It is shameful that those Londoners brave enough to enter the centre of town during these marches have to bear witness to openly racist signage on their streets.

Among those leading the march in protest at the continued Israeli attacks on Gaza was the independent MP Claudia Webbe, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2021 after being convicted of harassment of a woman who was having an affair with her then-partner.

The march is the latest in a series of weekly protests called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition and other groups, with this one coming immediately after the UK abstained on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza  a motion vetoed by the US.

People on the march said they were right to protest against Israels bombardment of Gaza.

Nadim Hussami, 44, a Lebanese-American, said that the Government should demand a ceasefire.

They should ask for an immediate ceasefire and not veto or abstain from UN Security Council resolutions, he said.

Jocelyn Cruywagen, from South Africa, said: We were oppressed by white people, as black South Africans we had to fight for our freedoms, we are still not entirely free, she said. It takes so much time. The words of Mandela are, if the Palestinians are not free, we cannot be free, the world cannot be free.

One man held a placard reading: May Israeli genocidaires burn in hell - X/Twitter

Kelly Hunter, 60, from London, said she felt helpless watching the news.

I have come on every single one. I am a Londoner, she added. I feel helpless, I cant sleep at night. I am watching this genocide. I will do everything I can in my power to march against it.

Previous protests have also seen openly anti-Semitic placards and banners held by sections of the crowd, prompting criticism of the motives of some activists and a pledge by the police to crack down on any expressions of support for terror groups.

An exclusion zone was put in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.

There was also a heavy police presence along Whitehall with officers protecting key monuments and The Cenotaph as thousands of protesters filed passed towards Westminster.

At one point, a breakaway group of about 30 protesters was cut off by police on horseback as it targeted Canada House, the High Commission of Canada, just west of Trafalgar Square.

The group, which was shouting Israel is a terror state, was surrounded by officers and allowed to carry on its protest, but not enter the building.

As the protest reached Parliament, dozens of police officers positioned themselves around the statue of Winston Churchill.

A minutes silence was held and Jeremy Corbyn, former Labour leader, and John McDonnell, former shadow chancellor, were among those speaking in support of a ceasefire.

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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  The Biden administration plans to take on a new strategy to try and lower the price of prescription drugs.



Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says the proposal would allow the federal government to open the door to cheaper generic drugs if major drug makers refuse to lower prices.



Its a fancy term called march in rights. When taxpayers have helped fund the invention of a particular medicine and therefore its on the market because taxpayers make it available, we have the right to march in and say this isnt correct this is not fair to the American taxpayer, Becerra said.



Becerra would not name any specific drugs or drug makers the administration plans to target.

Opponents are already pushing back.



A spokesperson with PhRMA which represents the countrys leading pharmaceutical companies argues the march in rule is being misused and will stifle the creation of future lifesaving drugs.



Statement attributable to Megan Van Etten, PhRMA spokesperson:

This would be yet another loss for American patients who rely on public-private sector collaboration to advance new treatments and cures. The Administration is sending us back to a time when government research sat on a shelf, not benefitting anyone.



Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, disagrees.



This is potentially a very broad check on pharmaceutical monopoly power and price abuse, Peter Maybarduk, the Public Citizen Access to Medicines Director said.



Maybarduk says he is concerned the framework does not go far enough to tackle the majority of high-priced drugs on the market.



The framework that the administration has issued is somewhat narrower and indicates that it would only be used in an extreme circumstance, said Maybarduk.

He says his organization will petition for a broader effort during the public comment session.



Once proposed, the rule must undergo a 60-day public review process, before the government can take action.



For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
(Bloomberg) -- Vladimir Putin said hell run for a fifth term in Russian presidential elections, kicking off a widely expected campaign in which the Kremlin seeks to show he retains broad popular support for his war in Ukraine.

Most Read from Bloomberg

He made the announcement Friday to participants at a military awards ceremony in the Kremlin after a separatist official in Russian-occupied Ukraine urged him to take part in the vote.

I will run for the position of president of the Russian Federation, Putin told battalion commander Artyom Zhoga, according to footage broadcast on state television. Today there is no other choice.

Others at the ceremony repeated the appeal for him to remain as president. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later claimed Putins reply had been spontaneous, the state-run Tass news service reported.

Putin, 71, is certain to win the tightly-controlled election on March 17 to gain another six-year term and extend his nearly quarter-century rule. The Kremlin is determined to deliver an overwhelming majority in a high turnout to portray the vote as public endorsement of his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and cast Putin as defending Russia in a broader confrontation with the US and its NATO allies.

Putins candidacy aims to protect Russia in the current difficult time of challenges and threats, Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, wrote on Telegram.

The campaign takes place as the war has hit a stalemate, with Moscows forces stalled and Kyiv struggling to regain occupied territory amid doubts over the future of US military aid. Russias economy is laboring under the impact of sweeping international sanctions imposed in response to the war.

The Kremlin also wants to demonstrate that Putin has regained his authority after the mutiny in June by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin that spiraled into the most serious challenge to his rule. Prigozhin died in a plane crash two months later.

Read more: Putin to Seek Reelection as Kremlin Culture War Rallies Voters

Officials are rallying public support for Putin by pitching him as the defender of traditional Russian values against the liberal West. That has translated into harsher persecution of LGBT people, growing calls for restrictions on abortion, pressure on women to focus on childbirth instead of careers and efforts to boost patriotic education in schools.

Putins decision to run reflects popular demand, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house of parliament, said on Telegram. Russians clearly understand that the current unique cohesion, trust and civil peace in society are formed precisely around the president, she said.

The Kremlin has waged a relentless crackdown on opposition activists, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine, to crush any prospect of protests against his rule. Putin garnered a record 77% support to win a fourth term in 2018 after barely campaigning before the election in which he faced no real challenger.

His decision to announce his candidacy at a military awards ceremony for soldiers involved in the fighting in Ukraine shows how Putin has recast himself as a wartime leader, said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the political consultancy R.Politik and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

Putin chose war and war chooses Putin, she said on Telegram.

Read more: Putin Turns to Ruble and Ballot to Shore Up Shaken Authority

Putin has ruled Russia as president and for one term as prime minister since December 1999, when the countrys first post-Soviet leader, Boris Yeltsin, stepped down. Already the longest-serving Kremlin ruler since Soviet leader Josef Stalin, he could remain as president until 2036 after revising the constitution to allow himself two more terms.

(An earlier version of this story corrected the date of the Wagner mutiny in the eighth paragraph)

(Updates with Volodin comment in sixth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
We need to talk about Ukraine. While the worlds attention has been focused on the war between Israel and Hamas, grim tremors have been shaking that rich, black soil. Ukraines counteroffensive has failed  or, in Volodymyr Zelenskys words, did not achieve the desired results.

As exhausted Ukrainians fall back from Russias ramparts and minefields, the initiative is swinging to the invaders. Russia is advancing through the skeletal remains of what used to be Marinka, a city in Donetsk, perhaps of greater psychological than strategic importance. Missiles are again hitting Kyiv. Ukraines first lady, Olena Zelenska, has taken to the BBC to warn that her country is in mortal danger.

Now, it is the Ukrainians turn to dig in, to try to hold what they have. As in 1914, a fortified line runs the length of the front, from the Dnieper delta to the Russian border. And, as then, military technology favours the defender, so that tiny gains are bought at terrible cost.

The First World War eventually ended in part because the Allies had greater manpower. Brutally, they were able, especially after America had fully mobilised by the beginning of 1918, to throw more men at the front lines than the Central Powers.

This time, the demographic advantage is with Russia, whose population is three-and-a-quarter times the size of Ukraines. Russia has switched a third of its pre-war civilian production to weapons and ammunition, and may now have the edge when it comes to drones  that modern equivalent of the barbed wire and machine guns that gave the defending side such a lethal advantage in the Flanders mud.

The long-term costs to the Russian people of this shift to a wartime economy are dreadful. Vladimir Putin has condemned his long-suffering muzhiks to years of penury and hunger. But, for now, it has done the trick. Russia has made it through to winter without a Ukrainian breakthrough.

We are all prone to hindsight bias, and there will no doubt be articles about how it was always going to be tough to unseat entrenched defenders. But this stalemate was far from predictable when the counteroffensive was launched in June.

I was one of those who expected Ukraine to break through to the Sea of Azov, a move that might well have ended the war. During 2022, Ukraine had demonstrated that Russia could not resupply Crimea across the Kerch Strait. Breaking the land bridge would have left the Russian garrison on the peninsula cut off. Ukraine could have turned off its electricity and food, and a negotiating space would have opened.

Why did I get it wrong? I had been talking not only to Ukrainians, but to British military observers with direct knowledge of the battlefield. They had watched the extraordinary Ukrainian gains in Kharkiv and Kherson in 2022  gains that had emboldened the West to offer the kinds of materiel that they had previously held back from sending, lest it fall into enemy hands.

Ukraine now had long-range missiles, mine-clearing kit and modern tanks. At the same time, the Prigozhin mutiny had shown how soft Russia was behind the hard shell of its front lines.

But the invaders had learnt from their earlier mistakes. While Ukraine rushed to train its men in how to operate their new weapons last spring, Russia seeded mile after mile of landmines, built fortifications, dug trenches and amassed drones.

Putin needs only to hang on for another 12 months. Even if Donald Trump is not elected  the former president makes no secret of his admiration for the Russian tyrant, once going so far as to declare that he trusted Putin before the US security services  Republican congressmen have turned against the war. Last week, they blocked President Bidens 88 billion aid package to Ukraine.

Their concern is supposedly financial, but a bigger motive may be their partisan dislike of Biden, the same ignoble impulse that led an earlier generation of Republican congressmen to oppose Harry Trumans war in Korea. For the MAGA wing, there is also a lingering resentment of the cameo role that Ukraine played in the Trump impeachment drama.

You cant have missed the spring in Putins step. For a long time, he was too scared to stray beyond Russias borders. Quite apart from an international arrest warrant, he had a well-founded fear of assassination. His only foreign ventures were to former Soviet states, and two friendly dictatorships: Iran and China.

But, this week, he visited two neutral dictatorships  the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The footage shows beyond doubt that it was the despot in person, not a body double. What gave him confidence to travel to places that have security links with the West? Is it possible that some tentative entente has been reached? Might the Saudis have been asked to sound him out, discretely and deniably, as a possible prelude to peace talks?

If so, we risk a Suez-level disaster for the Western democracies. Any deal that rewards Russian aggression will signal to the rest of the world that Nato, with all its collective wealth and weaponry, could not succeed in the minimal goal of rescuing a country that its two most powerful members, the US and the UK, had undertaken to protect.

The case for intervention in Ukraine is not that it is a liberal democracy. Sure, it is vastly more liberal than Russia, but it falls well short of our standards. Russophile parties have been banned, and there is a worry that the crackdown might extend to pro-Western opposition politicians, too. This week, I was at a meeting of global Centre-Right parties at which Petro Poroshenko, the former president, was meant to speak. At the last minute, he and two of his MPs were banned from leaving Ukraine  and though Poroshenko patriotically declined to make a fuss, it left me wondering, not for the first time, why Zelensky refuses to draw other parties into a wartime coalition.

Then again, Poland was run by an authoritarian government in 1939. That did not alter the fact that it was attacked without provocation after we had guaranteed its independence  just as we guaranteed Ukraines independence in 1994 when it surrendered its nuclear arsenal.

While we are not ourselves at war this time, we are so invested in the Ukrainian cause that a Russian victory  and absorbing conquered territory is a Russian victory, present it how you will  would mean a catastrophic loss of prestige for the West and the ideas associated with it: personal freedom, democracy and human rights.

Conflicts will spread as regimes that never cared for liberal values in the first place realise that there is no longer a policeman on the corner. Venezuelas outrageous claims against Commonwealth Guyana are just the start of this process.

The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion... but rather by its superiority in applying organised violence, wrote Samuel Huntington. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.

But this is not yet over. Ukraine has driven Russia out of the western Black Sea, which is open again to international shipping. We should be on our guard against the tendency that George Orwell observed during the Second World War, whereby intellectuals over-interpret each new military development  a tendency, he believed, not shared by ordinary people. Just as there was excessive pessimism immediately after Russia invaded, and excessive euphoria when Kherson was retaken, so we should not infer too much from this setback.

It is still possible to imagine a peace deal that does not overtly reward aggression. Perhaps the eastern oblasts could win autonomy under loose Ukrainian suzerainty; perhaps an internationally supervised referendum might be held in a demilitarised Crimea.

But if Russia ends up annexing land by force, it is not just the West that will lose; it is the entire post-1945 international order.

The world is getting colder. The nights are drawing in.

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Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN)  Russia fired a barrage of cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine early Friday morning after a nearly 80-day pause, Ukrainian officials said.

The air raid in Kyiv lasted almost two hours but all missiles heading towards the Ukrainian capital were destroyed by air defenses, according to Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.

Some homes were damaged in Kyiv as a result of falling debris from downed enemy targets, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.

But a missile that hit the city of Pavlohrad in Ukraines central Dnipropetrovsk region killed one and injured four others, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

In the eastern Kharkiv region, one person was killed and several others injured in overnight strikes, Klymenko said. A five-story residential building was damaged in Kupiansk district, while at least seven apartment buildings and more than 20 cars were damaged in the city of Kharkiv.

Russia struck Kharkiv with six S-300 missiles, the head of Kharkiv regions military administration Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. The Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals office said it had launched an investigation into the strike.

The barrage of 19 missiles across Ukraine was the first such attack in more than two months, as Western intelligence assessments warned Russia is likely to expand its bombardment of civilian infrastructure during the winter.

Of the 19 missiles fired, 14 were destroyed in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command.

After a long pause of 79 days, the enemy resumed attacks with cruise missiles launched by Tu-95MS strategic aircraft. Preliminarily, approximately 10 bomber missile carriers fired cruise missiles of the Kh-101/555/55 type from the Engels city area, Saratov region, Popko wrote on Telegram Friday.

The latest major cruise missile attack on Ukraine was on September 21, with 43 missiles launched and 36 intercepted, according to data from the Air Force Commands official Telegram account.

On November 25, Russia launched what Ukrainian officials said was the biggest drone attack since the start of the full-scale invasion, targeting Ukraine with 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones.

And on Wednesday, a further 48 Shaheds were launched, according to the Air Force Command data.

The deputy chief of Ukraines Defense Intelligence Vadym Skibitsky said in November that Russia would likely use a combination of missiles and drones to attack Ukrainian infrastructure this winter.

Last year, with limited Ukrainian air defenses in operation, Russia was able to target Ukraines energy grid in an attempt to break Ukrainian resilience with punishing blackouts.

This winter, defense and energy officials say Ukraine is better prepared. But Skibitsky warned Russias strikes will definitely not be such primitive attacks as last year.
FILE - Participants watch Russian President Vladimir Putin's addressing a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2022. Most Russian opposition figures are either in prison at home or are in exile abroad. But they vow that they will still put up a fight against President Vladimir Putin as he seeks yet another term in office in an election scheduled for March. (AP Photo, File)

TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  Behind bars in penal colonies or in self-exile abroad, Russian opposition figures vow they will still put up a fight against President Vladimir Putin as he seeks yet another term in office in an election in March.

Although they believe Putin will be declared the winner no matter how voters cast their ballots, they say they hope to undermine the widespread public support he enjoys, turn popular opinion against the devastating war he unleashed on Ukraine, and show those who oppose it already that they are not alone.

No one but us will step into this battle for the hearts and the minds of our fellow citizens. So we need to do it and win, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said in an online statement relayed from behind bars.

Putin, 71, announced Friday that he will run for president again, to pile another six years onto his two dozen in power. He could even run again in 2030.

The vote is scheduled for March 15-17, with his victory all but assured. The vast majority of opposition figures are either imprisoned or have fled the country, almost all independent news outlets have been blocked, and any criticism has been muted by a slew of repressive laws adopted over the last decade.

This is, basically, a guarantee that (the Kremlin) can declare any result whatsoever, said Nikolay Petrov, visiting researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in an interview with The Associated Press.

Some activists agree there is no point in trying to influence the election's outcome. They say they will take advantage of the election campaign to press their views about Putin and his government  a time when Russians will be more politically active than usual, according to Leonid Volkov, Navalny's top strategist and chief of staff.

Our task is to make sure that the issues we will be able to raise and bring into the public agenda in January, February, March stick  stick with Russians even after the election, said Volkov, who left Russia several years ago.

To that end, Volkov and his team launched a project called Navalnys Campaigning Machine. The idea is simple  talk to as many Russians as possible, either by phone or online, and convince them to turn against the candidates we hate: candidate Putin and candidate War, as Navalny himself put it in an online post announcing the project in June.

In late October, the project already had about 170 volunteers making the calls, Volkov said, and was conducting a survey to figure out the specific grievances and needs of people in order to tailor talking points they would use in future phone calls.

Volkov said that out of the thousands of calls already made, only a handful of people said they were completely content with everything happening in Russia and beyond.

Others had at least one complaint. Someone is discontented over the war, someone is discontented with the economic situation, someone is unhappy with the health care system, social justice  lots of things, Volkov said.

There are questions that the authorities cant answer, and by raising them with the Russians, the team hopes to cause political problems for the Kremlin, Volkov said. The authorities' inability to address these issues "will elicit frustration and pain, political problems for Putin that will only grow, he added.

On the eve of Putin's announcement, the team placed a number of billboards  in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other Russian cities  that read Russia and Happy New Year, with links and QR codes leading to a website titled "Russia without Putin. The website urges people to convince at least 10 people to act against Putin and talks about various ways to campaign.

The Anti-War Committee  another opposition force that unites prominent activists in exile such as former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chess legend Garry Kasparov and former lawmakers turned opposition politicians Gennady Gudkov and his son, Dmitry Gudkov  also plans a campaign called No to Putin!

Gennady Gudkov told AP that the general goal of the campaign is to explain to Russians what the future could be like without Putin  no war, no repressions, with the government focusing on things like the economy, science and education.

A possible election day tactic, Gudkov said, could be to urge Putin critics to go to the polls at a specified time so that long lines form to show how many people oppose him: If the country, the elites, the world will see long queues of people who clearly disagree with Putins policies, it will be enough.

One group, however, believes there is mileage in putting forward candidates to challenge Putin at the polls. A project called Our Headquarters, launched by several activists helping those fleeing Russia to settle abroad, promises to support democratic candidates with an antiwar position.

Project coordinator Andrei Davydov told AP that they can offer help to prospective candidates with the campaign and the procedural side of things, like assembling a group of 500 people required by law to put forward an independent candidate, or with gathering and verifying 300,000 signatures needed to register on the ballot.

To get support from Our Headquarters, a candidate must oppose the war and be willing to release political prisoners and implement democratic reforms in Russia, Davydov said. The project has already endorsed one candidate: Yekaterina Duntsova, a journalist and lawyer from the Tver region north of Moscow, who once was a member of local legislature. Davydov said they were in talks with a few others.

We need to give people hope, to give people a chance to speak out. There are no other legal possibilities (to speak out) in Russia these days, other than by supporting an antiwar candidate, he said. The minimum task is (get) people to understand that there are many of them, and they need to act, to defend their position."

A more ambitious goal is to register an opposition candidate to challenge Putin on the ballot, Davydov said. We will work toward a result, a victory, and see what happens, he added.

Navalny urged his supporters in an online statement to go to the polls on election day and vote "for any other candidate"  a strategy akin to the one he proposed in 2012, when Putin ran for president after a four-year hiatus as prime minister due to presidential term limits. That balloting, as well as an election for parliament months earlier, brought out huge protests that spooked the Kremlin and led to a crackdown on dissent.

Then, in 2018, Navalny called for a boycott of the balloting after he was barred from the race.

Since then, Navalny's team organized a voting strategy of promoting local candidates with the best chance to defeat those backed by the Kremlin's United Russia party. It has not yet been used in a presidential election.

Navalny's ally Ivan Zhdanov told AP the team will propose some other actions on election day, but refused to give details.

Maria Pevchikh, head of the board of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation, urged the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom to make Putins reelection more painful by promising sanctions against any celebrities endorsing him.

Its one thing to change your profile picture and say you are on the Putin Team. Its a completely different thing to actually lose everything, including your bank accounts, for participating in Putins election campaign. We must increase the cost of such a decision, she said. Governments have not responded publicly to her proposal.

Petrov, the researcher, believes the Kremlin's biggest fear from the election would be that Putin's image might be damaged.

The election must happen quietly, calmly and show that the people accept the authorities the way they are. And in this respect, it is very important to the Kremlin to avoid any hiccups, scandals, that may cast doubt on the result that will be declared, Petrov said.

___

Emma Burrows in London contributed.
PwC has told its senior staff to stop flying business class as it looks to reach its net zero target by the end of the decade.

The Big Four accountancy reportedly told senior staff in October that only those travelling on long-haul night flights or flying for business critical reasons would be allowed to sit in business class.

The new rules apply to partners, directors and other staff who accompany them on trips. Previous guidance allowed staff to travel in business class for flights that were at least five hours long.

PwC has pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Business travel is the single biggest source of carbon pollution at the UK branch.

Marissa Thomas, a partner at PwC UK, said that the company was encouraging staff to prolong their business trips to reduce their number of visits.

She said: Flights account for the majority of our carbon emissions so were only going to meet our net zero target if our people take a really thoughtful approach to air travel.

Given a business-class seat is roughly 50pc more carbon-intensive than one in premium economy, were asking partners and directors to think carefully about if they need one.

Business class seats on flights are regarded as more carbon intensive because they take up more room on a plane and are more likely to be empty.

PwCs annual environment report found that its business travel emissions were 49pc lower than pre-pandemic levels but still remained above its target for 2030. Air travel accounted for more than two-thirds of its business travel emissions.

The move is also likely to help the company cut costs.

Last month PwC announced plans to axe up to 600 jobs in a voluntary redundancy scheme, as demand slows for its advisory services business.

It follows similar moves by other Big Four accountants, which have also cut British jobs after years of rampant hiring to keep up with the boom in M&A activity.

Last month it emerged that rival EY was in talks to abandon its headquarters near London Bridge.

The 10-storey building has been the headquarters of EYs UK and Ireland business since 2003 and hosts around 9,000 staff, including its global executive team.

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The Food Establishment Inspection Report is a weekly report that appears Sundays. Information is taken from reports provided by the Environmental Health Department, and individual reports can be viewed at its web site, http://amarillo.gov/departments/community-services/environmental-health/foodinspections. A numerical grading system is now being used, with a score of 100 points being equivalent to zero demerits.

100 points  No major violation at the time of inspection

85 points  Considered an average score

70 points or below  Requires re-inspection within 24 hours

COS  Corrected on site during inspection

These points correspond to the following letter grades:

A  90 to 100

B  80 to 89

C  70 to 79

F  69 and below

The following establishments had a score of A/100 during a routine inspection:

Amarillo Collegiate Academy, 6000 S. Georgia St.

Ascension Academy, 9301 Ascension Parkway.

Bushland High School, 1201 S. FM 2381, Bushland.

Bushland ISD Junior High, 20101 25th St., Bushland.

Forest Hills Elementary, 3515 E. Amarillo Blvd.

Landergin Elementary, 3209 S. Taylor St.

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle School, 2801 N. Coulter St.

Rolling Hills Elementary, 2800 W. Cherry Ave.

The 806-FIX, 2628 E. Amarillo Blvd.

United Supermarket #533 Gas, 3400 River Road.

Western Plateau Elementary, 4927 Shawnee Trail.

The following establishments had a score of A/100 during a follow-up inspection:

Bowie 6th Grade Campus, 2901 Tee Anchor Blvd.

CISD-Culinary Arts, 1401 23rd St., Canyon.

Dominos, 5985 S. Georgia St.

El Manantial, 3823 E. Amarillo Blvd.

Highland Park School, 3801 N. FM 1912.

Kathys Kitchen, 4517 St. Highway 136.

Midway Alternative High School, 1401 23rd St., Canyon.

Mr. Clamaron, 1104 E. Amarillo Blvd.

Papi Qs Tacos, 7701 W. I-40.

Pizza Hut, 5611 Gem Lake Road, Suite 100.

Toot N Totum #94, 2151 S.E. 34th Ave.

United Supermarket #522, 4701 S. Washington St.

Volcano Korean BBQ, 8518 W. I-40.

These establishments received the following scores for being out of compliance as stated:

(A/98) Austin Middle School, 1808 Wimberly Road. Mens restroom door in kitchen propped open with mop bucket (repeat violation). COS. Ceiling tiles missing or beginning to fall off must be replaced. Correct by 08/12/2024.

(A/97) Bushland ISD Elementary, 1001 S. Blessen Road. Dishwasher solution at improper temperature. Correct by 12/14. Easily cleanable ceiling must be installed above mop sink. Correct by 08/31/2024.

(A/97) Bushland ISD Intermediate, 2400 Wells St., Bushland. Box of moldy green peppers in walk-in cooler. COS.

(B/81) Chicken Express, 7301 W. I-40. Walk-in meat cooler not holding at proper temperature; multiple employees without food handler/manager certifications; employees with lack of knowledge of safe food handling practices; employee did not wash hands when moving from working with raw food to cooked food. COS. Buckets of food not date marked. Correct by 12/10. Build-up on soda machine nozzles; handle of scoop stored incorrectly; heavy dirt/dust build-up and accumulation on and around cooler fans; heavy dust build-up on vents; lights out across kitchen and dining room areas; drywall exposed in dry storage area (repeat violation); water heater attached to raw wood with no type of seal (repeat violation); moisture under floor mats of walk-in cooler (repeat violation); permit and Certified Food Manager certification not posted for public view. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/94) Continental, 1300 S. Jackson St. Chemical spray bottle stored above dishes sink and next to tea products. COS. Employee wearing arm brace on site (arm brace cannot be properly washed and can harbor bacteria, therefore cannot be used while in kitchen); condensate dripping onto food products in both walk-in freezers; dust on ceilings and fans in walk-in coolers; food debris on door handles. Correct by 03/01/2024.

(A/97) Executive Inn & Suites, 2100 S. Coulter St. Popcorn ceilings and dry wall exposed in mop sink area (repeat violation); bathroom door does not completely close; residential fridge used for consumer items must be replaced with commercial unit. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/98) Garrison Food Mart #12, 7301 W. I-40. Residential hood system above pizza oven must be replaced with commercial vent hood. Correct by 01/02/2024. Stand-up residential freezer used for consumer items must be replaced with commercial unit. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/98) Hamlet Elementary, 705 Sycamore St. Broken reach-in cooler still in kitchen (repeat violation). Correct by 01/08/2024. Absorbent ceiling tiles in kitchen must be replaced with smooth, durable, nonabsorbent and easily cleanable tiles. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/97) Holiday Inn Express, 2806 Wolflin Ave. No sanitizer test strips. Correct by 12/08. Floor tiles under three-compartment sink loose and coming off the ground; large hole in wall behind door for kitchen covered by cardboard. Correct by 05/27/2024.

(A/98) Lamar Elementary, 3800 S. Lipscomb St. Tubing from ice machine draining into hand sink. COS.

(A/99) LuLus Mexican Food, 3414 S. Georgia St. Household refrigerator must be replaced with a commercial unit or a household chest freezer. Correct by 06/04/2024.

(B/87) Macaroni Joes, 1619 S. Kentucky St., D-1500. Packaged raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat in reach-in cooler in front of grill; chlorine sanitizing solution at improper concentration; food debris on knives behind bar; ROP (reduced oxygen packaged) fish thawing in sealed bag. COS. A three-compartment sink is needed. Correct by 01/05/2024. Employees preparing food without proper hair restraints; dust build-up on top of equipment and on monitor on prep line; floor drains dirty and need to be kept clean; vinyl coated wall above hand sink in wine room coming off wall and needs to be repaired; door to restroom near front door needs to be tight fitting and self-closing. Correct by 03/04/2024.

(A/99) Mesa Verde Elementary, 4001 Beaver Drive. Ceiling tiles in kitchen and bathroom must be nonabsorbent; missing tile in bathroom must be replaced (repeat violation). Correct by 01/03/2024.

(A/99) Papis Tacos, 1309 E. Amarillo Blvd. A written agreement needs to be obtained from a commercial location to be able to dump waste water into a grease trap. Correct by 03/03/2024.

(A/99) Paramount Terrace Elementary, 3906 Cougar Drive. Dust on top of equipment. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/97) Park Hills Elementary, 119 N.E. 15th Ave. Dust on ceilings/walls and on vent above walk-in freezer; light bulb missing from reach-in cooler; light not working in another reach-in cooler; wood in chemical room near mop sink must be sealed. Correct by 02/04/2024.

(A/99) Pleasant Valley Elementary, 4413 River Road. No shield on light bulb in large freezer. Correct by 02/04/2024.

(A/99) Plum Creek Place, 6800 Plum Creek Drive. Dust on fans in reach-in cooler; old food debris in microwave. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/96) River Road High School, 101 W. Mobley St. Sausage links in reach-in cooler at improper temperature. COS. Mouse droppings on can rack; mold inside top of ice machine. Correct by 03/04/2024.

(A/99) River Road Middle School, 9500 N. UH 287. Knives, forks and spoons not pre-wrapped must be presented so that only handles are touched by employees and consumers if consumer self-service is provided. Correct by 03/04/2024.

(A/99) St Marys, 1200 S. Washington St. Lights must be shielded in dry stock area. Correct by 03/04/2024.

(A/95) Sonic Drive In, 2707 S. Georgia St. Employee food, drinks and phone on table while food being portioned/prepared. COS. Hand sink in beverage area leaking onto floor. Correct by 12/18. Grease build-up on several surfaces of equipment; food debris and dust inside and on top of coolers and beverage dispensers; dust on fan guards in walk-in cooler; broken floor tiles under soft serve machine; coving missing near mop sink; several areas in establishment need to be cleaned. Correct by 03/03/2024.

(A/99) Tacos Nayarit, 5215 S. Travis St. Several surfaces in need of cleaning, including floor and shelves. Correct by 03/04/2024.

(B/89) Taqueria El Tapatio, 5630 W. Amarillo Blvd. Grocery bags used for food storage in kitchen; tortillas stored in ice chest with hand towel lining bottom of container. COS. Soup cooling on counter; frozen food without dates. Correct by 12/11. Employee items must be stored in a designated area; multiple items without lids or other form of covering; clean dishes stacked wet; many surfaces, such as ceilings and walls, dirty with dust and food debris. Correct by 04/05/2024.

(A/91) Taste of Thai, 1900 S.E. 34th Ave., Suite 1100. Small household refrigerator storing cooked TCS (time/temperature control for safety) foods at improper temperature; wet cloths must be stored in sanitizer solution between uses; ice scoop stored in container pooling water (repeat violation). COS. Items in coolers and on storage racks without lids (repeat violation); debris on racks storing clean wares; ceiling vents above food prep stations and above dishwashing area beginning to rust and accumulating dust/debris; damaged ceiling tiles near walk-in cooler; gap in corner wall of mop sink must be sealed; unfinished wood in kitchen and under dishwasher must be sealed; two household refrigerators must be replaced with commercial units. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/96) United Supermarket #532, 201 N. 23rd St., Canyon. Fried chicken in hot hold unit at improper temperature. COS. Dust build-up on fans in walk-in cooler and freezer. Correct by 02/28/2024.

(A/94) United Supermarket #533, 3400 River Road. Multiple dented cans on shelf for sale. Correct by 12/08. Build-up on soda nozzles in deli; dishes stacked wet in deli; build-up on blower in produce walkin cooler. Correct by 03/04/2024.

(A/99) Whittier Elementary, 2004 N. Marrs St. Dishes stacked wet (repeat violation). Correct by 02/28/2024.

(B/89) Youngbloods Cafe & Catering Co., 620 S.W. 16th Ave. Food sitting out at room temperature; no quaternary sanitizer in three-compartment sink; slime on outside and mold growth internally of detergent and sanitizer hoses; tubing breaking off at ends. Correct by 12/11. Weather stripping needed at bottom of back door; employee items must be stored in a designated area (repeat violation); many food items without lids; sliced potatoes, in use, in bucket stored on the floor; dishes and utensils stacked wet; dust and old food debris on walls, ceilings, vents, piping in walk-in cooler and fans in reach-in cooler (repeat violation); light bulb not working in reach-in cooler by salad area. Correct by 03/05/2024.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Food Establishment Inspection Report for Dec. 10, 2023
There was disappointing news for British homeowners last month, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting house prices to fall by 4.7pc in 2024. But taking a longer term view, where should buyers look for the best chance of price rises over the next decade?

With London having priced itself out for many investors, many have turned their attention to Britains other major cities.

Using the economic and demographic drivers that will likely underpin price growth, analysts at CBRE, a global commercial real estate company, ranked 50 towns and cities by sector, including office space, retail, leisure, tourism, student accommodation and housing supply.

Here, Telegraph Money reveals the 10 cities to watch.

Manchester

Topping many of CBREs metrics, but also taking first place in a separate Big Six cities report by estate agency JLL, Manchesters economy has grown 32pc over the past decade.

Top for office space and student accommodation growth, Manchester has one of the biggest science graduate populations, and the citys new innovation district ID-Manchester, will occupy a nine-hectare site near Piccadilly Station and include 1,350 new homes.

A new two-bedroom flat in Meadowside near Ancoats, Manchester is priced at 342,750 - Rightmove/Manchester Savills

Manchester is also ranked top for potential growth of multi-family homes in 2030. In the centre, Ancoats, New Islington and East Piccadilly areas still have room to grow, says Martin Moston of agent Jordan Fishwick.

In Ancoats, an average two-bed, two-bath apartment will cost 220,000 to 260,000 and rent out for 1,200-1,500, giving a good return.

He reports interest in Sale, Greater Manchester, for its schools from overseas buyers, with family houses bought for 380,000-500,000. Other agents tip Fallowfield and Salford for the best rental yields.

Birmingham

Population growth and the largest rental market of the cities surveyed gives Birmingham the biggest family home market in five years time, according to CBRE.

Look for areas with good connectivity, says Ian Crampton of agent Ferndown Estates. Chelmsley Wood, next to the pricier Marston Green near Birmingham airport, is popular with investors.

Three-bedroom houses are being bought for 175,000 and converted into HMO rentals for students and young professionals paying 650 a month.

It takes 13 minutes by train from Marston Green into the city centre. Nearby Kitts Green and Stechford are in the B33 postcode, which had one of the highest average price increases in 2022, according to OnTheMarket portal.

Although Selly Oak is a go-to for student lets, Northfield is a good rental investment, says Raj Bedi of Martin & Co.

Three-bedroom houses for 200,000 are being bought then rented out for 1,100 a month.

Bristol

Scoring highly across CBREs metrics, Bristol is among the top three for employment growth, affordable housing delivery and leisure expansion.

New-build projects in Bristol's city centre and Harbourside are attracting buy-to-let investors - Savills

From its universities and tech SMEs, Bristols young and diverse population has been attracted to apartments in the redeveloped port area, says Shelley West at City & Country, a developer.

Employment growth underpins the fact that first-time buyers have been 60pc of sales at Factory No.1, [the conversion of a former tobacco factory] in Bedminster.

New-build projects in the city centre and Harbourside attract buy-to-let investors as yields of 5pc can be achieved, says Charlotte Strang of Strang & Co Property Search.

Also of interest is the Temple Quarter regeneration area, surrounding Temple Meads Station, and new residential neighbourhoods outside the city such as Filton [on a former airfield].

Apartments at The Dials, a new community, start at 199,000 (brabazon.co.uk).

Edinburgh

Hotels, offices and student accommodation are major growth sectors for Scotlands capital. Savills reports that Haymarket, Roseburn and Dalry are all benefiting from the recent office-led development. The average property sale in these areas reached 334,268 in the 12 months to September 2023  24pc more than the 10-year average.

Leith benefited from the extension of the tram network there in June, says Ben Fox of Savills Edinburgh, yet with the average price still 13pc behind the Edinburgh City average of 313,102, it shows room for further growth, he added.

While the Georgian houses and beach access makes Portobello hugely popular post pandemic, new-build regeneration projects in Canonmills, ideally located next to New Town, are attracting young professionals. New-build apartments start from 270,000 at 67 St Bernards, a new scheme there.

Liverpool

Theres a rekindled buzz on Merseyside that has been building since it was European City of Culture in 2008, through to this summers hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Much of this is centred around the docks where major regeneration is taking place including Everton FCs 500m new stadium and a cruise ship terminal. Nearby Ten Streets is one of the UKs fastest growing digi-tech clusters.

The latest Zoopla data reveals that Liverpool is the fastest moving market in England, with the typical seller agreeing an offer within 17 days  half the UK average.

Properties at Liverpools Tobacco Warehouse at Stanley Dock cost from 265,000 - Tobacco Warehouse

In a vast former Tobacco Warehouse in Stanley Dock, new flats cost from 265,000, but other areas on the up include Waterloo, Aigburth, Sefton Park, Toxteth and Anfield, where the average terraced house  popular with investors for 7pc yields  sells for 106,979, according to Rightmove.

Glasgow

With over 92,000 students in higher education, Glasgow continues to evolve into a knowledge city. The average property price has risen from 108,221 in 2013 to its current 208,557, according to Rightmove.

Some of the best rises are being seen in the regenerating areas south of the Clyde, such as New Gorbals, Pollokshields, Strathbungo and Newlands.

Considerable growth has been seen in Finnieston where new-build energy-efficient developments now sit alongside Glasgows traditional tenements.

Some of Glasgows biggest employers are close by, such as Barclays, BBC, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, says Carole Mackie, head of residential development for Savills Scotland. Financial companies employ 37,000 in the city  and this is growing. Virgin Money has a new HQ there.

Leeds

Retail growth and student housing are major drivers for Leeds, a vibrant city with a diverse economy. Its 60,000 students make up 13pc of the citys population.

Says Lois Power at Carter Jonas: With rental demand and population growth currently at seven times the rate of London, Leeds is attracting investors, with rental yields of 7-10pc.

While Hyde Park, Headingley, Burley, Woodhouse or the city centre remain sought-for lets to students, first-time buyers are more likely to head to Holbeck and Beeston, an easy commute to the city centre.

The average property in Holbeck is 109,494, according to Rightmove, while for families, Roundhay remains popular (average price 358,324).

Southampton

Tourism is the big driver in Southampton. According to CBRE, domestic travel is forecast to increase 36pc by 2030 with Brighton, Southampton, and Glasgow forecast to be the biggest destinations for domestic visitors.

The top UK port for cruise passengers, Southampton has a high score of 82/100 as a short-term rentals location (demand and revenue potential) for would-be investors, according to the market analyst, AirDNA.

The suburb of Woolston is one to watch, says Barney Brander of Lets Rent estate agents. Values are lower than across the river [Itchen] and with development around Centenary Quay [a former shipyard] its popular with investors, he says.

The average house price in Woolston is 245,347 (Rightmove), and two-bedroom starter homes cost 230,000 to 250,000, and rent for 1,100 to 1,200 per month, according to Brander. Average yields in the city are 5.57 to 6pc.

Brighton

Tourism is also a big driver for Brighton. Along with Belfast and Bristol, it is expected to experience the biggest growth in consumer spending, retail and leisure, says CBRE  something the new branch of Ikea opening on Churchill Square will hope to tap into.

With the average property price at 515,871, according to Rightmove, buy-to-let yields are not tempting, and buyers looking for more growth are looking at nearby Worthing and Eastbourne instead.

A two-bedroom house in Brightons Victoria Street is priced at 875,000 - Winkworth

Yet some pockets of Brighton, including its iconic squares, tend to be immune from downturn price wobbles, says Toby Powell of agent Winkworth.

Seven Dials, Hove Park, Poets Corner, the New Church Road area and North Laine remain popular with young families, he says.

Cambridge

Life sciences, affordable housing delivery and office growth are the big three for Cambridge, a city whose GDP is expected to grow by 15.9pc over the next decade, according to CBRE.

A three-bedroom house in Aylestone Road, Cambridge is priced at 725,000 - Carter Jonas

Yet with the average price of 579,786, according to Rightmove, 13.7 times median local incomes, buyers are looking to the suburbs.

Major development around the Cambridge North Railway station including 4,000 new homes, has drawn buyers to suburbs such as Chesterton and Arbury and the villages of Histon and Girton.

This is set to continue with Cambridge Science Park North planned near Impington and the A14, says Jack Johnson of Carter Jonas.

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Russia's intelligence services may have been receiving video footage from thousands of Ukrainian surveillance cameras installed with a Russian software program, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Schemes project reported on Dec. 7.

Video cameras that use Russian TRASSIR software operate in Ukraine's public and private sectors, and are used by ordinary Ukrainians for personal security purposes. The TRASSIR video surveillance system not only records the movements of people and vehicles, but also recognizes faces and license plates.

A Schemes investigation found that footage from these cameras goes directly to servers in Moscow before its transmitted to consumers' phones or computers. According to Schemes, those servers in Moscow have ties to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

Schemes received a tip from experts in the video surveillance field that TRASSIR cameras were routing video footage to Moscow servers. Investigators then carried out an experiment with analysts from the Computer Forensics Laboratory and the Digital Security Laboratory.

The experiment found that when TRASSIR cameras were connected to the internet, their data was transmitted to Russian servers.

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"We can see that this camera is making requests to the subdomain of the website of the manufacturer of these cameras, TRASSIR  m30.ru.cloudtrassir.com," Natalia Onyshchenko, a web security specialist at the Digital Security Laboratory, told RFE/RL.

"We can see that this domain name corresponds to an IP address that is defined as a Russian IP address with a geolocation in Moscow."

The investigation identified several such IP addresses. A service that connects the IP addresses to a physical address showed that the servers are located in Moscow.

Investigators identified two companies that own these servers: the telecommunications company Digital Network, whose clients include Yandex, Russia's largest search engine, and VK, which owns the email service Mail.ru and the Russian social network Odnoklassniki.

Both companies have ties to the FSB and the Russian Interior Ministry.

The TRASSIR brand was created by the Russian company DSSL, which was founded 20 years ago by the Russian businessman Igor Oliynyk. TRASSIR cameras have been operating in Ukraine since at least 2011.

TRASSIR cameras have been installed in critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, including the Ukrainain Sea Port Authority, the Poltava city council, and the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

Ukraine's State Special Communications Service told RFE/RL that it had examined TRASSIR equipment and software in 2019, but did not report its findings. In May 2022, the agency warned that TRASSIR/DSSL was cooperating with Russian federal ministries and security services.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also said it could not share details related to its counterintelligence activities.

According to Schemes, Ukraine began to abandon Russian software in 2022, following the full-scale invasion.

A representative from the Chornobyl plant told Schemes that the TRASSIR cameras were removed in 2023.

Ukraine may be winning worlds first cyberwar For Ukraines main cybersecurity agency, Russias full-scale war began over a month before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine from all directions  with a large cyber attack on Jan. 14, 2022. It all started with an attack on state authorities, it was the largest attack in 17 years, says Yurii Shch The Kyiv IndependentOleksiy Sorokin













Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ricky Gervais wasnt impressed by Jamie Olivers Christmas turkey hack, which he showed off on the latest episode of The Graham Norton Show.

Gervais and Oliver were joined on the famous big red sofa Friday (8 December) by actors Paapa Essiedu and Julianne Moore.

During one segment, Norton showed the audience a teaser from Olivers forthcoming TV special, Jamies Christmas Shortcuts.

The short clip shows the chef securing a bay leaf to a clementine using a clove to stab the fruit. Oliver then microwaves the clementine until piping hot before placing it inside his raw turkeys cavity.

After the snippet ended, Norton responded enthusiastically, saying: I mean, were doing that; were all doing that!

Gervais, however, was less impressed. Sorry, how is that a recipe? the comic asked. Stick an orange, up a turkeys arse. How is that a recipe?

Jamie Oliver (left) and Ricky Gervais on The Graham Norton Show (BBC)

Oliver and Gervais began laughing together with the latter asking: Was that an outtake?

Defending himself, Oliver explained: Basically, when youre roasting a turkey, which is quite a hard thing to cook... Its always about hot airflow to make it cook nicely. So, if you get a nice citrus  what is the citrus of Christmas? Clementine. Bit of clove and bay  in the microwave, up the jacksie, then youre cooking in the inside and the outside. And its spritzing it with the scent of Christmas.

Gervais didnt seem to be convinced, though, bursting into another fit of laughter.

Im just turning into a cartoon of myself, Oliver said, sounding defeated.

Elsewhere in the episode, Oliver admitted he found it difficult to watch actors pretending to be chefs on film or television.

Ive got to get back into The Bear, Oliver said of Hulus popular kitchen drama starring Jeremy Allen White as chef Carmy who inherits his familys Chicago sandwich shop.

I watched the first two [episodes]  and I know its brilliant, everyone keeps telling me how brilliant it is  but I watched the first two and Im like, He cant chop.

They just jump cut it and cut around it, the celebrity chef continued. And they often get extras in the background that are actors not chefs, even though theyve got no lines. But theyre just touching it all wrong and sort of bashing it all wrong... Yeah, it does wind me up.

It has previously been reported that White spent 10 days training at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in preparation for taking on the role of Carmy.

Jamies Christmas Shortcuts is a two-part series and will air on Channel 4 with the first episode out Monday 11 December at 8pm followed by the second on Monday 18 December, also at 8pm.
TULLAHOMA, Tenn. (WKRN)  When Governor Bill Lee announced his plan to expand the current pilot program for school vouchers statewide, it was met with mixed reviews.

Advocates for student choice lauded the measure as a step in the right direction to boost their childs educational experience. Critics said it would further drain public education in favor of taxpayer-subsidized religious indoctrination and further attacks on public schools and teachers.

Currently, the Education Savings Account pilot program only operates in Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby countiesthree of the largest counties with the most urban cities in the state. After first saying the vouchers would not happen in rural districts when the pilot program was first announced, state lawmakers in some counties now support the measure statewide. But there are concerns on the local level for how the expanded program would look.

Tullahoma City Schools is one of three school districts in Coffee County. It gets nearly 50% of its budget from state tax dollars. In the 2022-2023 school year, the district received more than $19 million from the states Basic Education Program, the previous state funding model for public school districts that was replaced by the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) model in the 2023-2024 school year.

Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens told News 2 while she is a firm advocate of public school and parental choice in education, the current proposal from Gov. Bill Lee essentially takes dollars that could go to funding public schools and directs that money toward private schooling with little to no oversight.

RELATED: Homeschool organization cautions accepting TN school voucher money

I believe fully in public education. Here at Tullahoma City Schools, our students thrive because of the wide range of educational opportunities that are available to them, couple with first-rate teachers and staff, from the beginning of kindergarten through 12th grade, she said. With that said, I also believe that parents should have a choice regarding their students education, whether that be public or private.

Stephens main issue came from the lack of accountability private schools in Tennessee face compared to public schools, saying public school districts like hers are held to higher standards than private schools, as well as harsher punishments for students and teachers.

Currently, public schools are held to a higher standard in the educational process than private schools. If public schools must retain students in third grade and have multiple provisions in place to meet these students needs based on the ELA portion of the TCAP results, so should private schools, she said. If public schools receive letter grades based on various measures, so should private schools. This proposed statewide voucher plan should require any school that accepts funds that could go to public schools to be held to the same exact standards to ensure accountability.

The funding question is shared by one of her counterparts in Coffee County, Dr. Charles Lawson. As the director of Coffee County Schools in Manchester, he said the local impact may not be as large, but the overall effect would be the same: less funding for public schools across Tennessee.

Gov. Lee announces statewide expansion of school voucher program

The final language in the legislation will determine how much of an impact it will have on Coffee County Schools, he told News 2. While it may not have as much of an impact on our district as some others, this legislation will effectively reduce funding available to all public school districts throughout Tennessee, including Coffee County Schools.

Before this legislation is passed, I hope there will be extensive conversations regarding its impact; most notable, there must be a provision that states that public and private schools are held to the exact same standards when receiving state tax dollars, Stephens said.

According to state documents, if passed the Education Freedom Scholarship Act would give scholarships to 20,000 students on a rolling first-come, first-served basis. The governors office said in a release that 10,000 of them would be available for students who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, have a disability or are eligible for the existing ESA pilot program, starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The other 10,000 will be available to a universal pool of students entitled to attend a public school.

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year and continuing in perpetuity, there would be universal eligibility for students in public school to apply for the scholarships, with priority given to lower income, public-school and returning scholarships students if applications exceed available funding.

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

Current estimates of the coming legislation state the vouchers would give around $7,000 per studentwhich would be around $140,000,000 total for 20,000 scholarships in state funding to private schools in the first year.

The pilot program currently gives around $9,000 to students in Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby counties, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

News 2 has reached out to multiple Middle Tennessee school districts regarding the expanded voucher proposal. We will continue to update this story as we receive their responses.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Russia has recruited over 100,000 prisoners for its 'human wave' assaults against Ukraine since the war began, reports say

Four Ukrainian army soldiers of the 22nd Mechanized Brigade training with a tank in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on October 29, 2023. Anadolu Agency

Russia is believed to have recruited more than 100,000 prisoners to fight in Ukraine, says Newsweek.

The practise of recruiting prisoners was started by the Wagner Group and continued by the Kremlin.

Russia's prison population has dropped from around 420,000 before the war to about 266,000 now.

Russia is believed to have recruited over 100,000 prisoners to fight in Ukraine since the war began, according to various rights advocacy groups.

The estimated figures were provided to Newsweek by Russian dissident-in-exile Vladimir Osechkin, who heads the Gulagu.net anti-corruption project, based on sources in Russia's prison system.

He said that every week, more than 1,000 of the convict recruits are killed in the war and that, in some cases, older men past retirement age have been recruited to fight.

The Washington Post previously reported that the Russian prison population had dropped from 420,000 before the war to a historic low of about 266,000 , per Deputy Justice Minister Vsevolod Vukolov.

"This is a shocking number," Olga Romanova, the director of the Russia Behind Bars human rights organization, said about Vukolov's revelation, per The Post.

Prisoners were first recruited to join the fight in Ukraine last summer by the now-deceased Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The firebrand mercenary leader promised prisoners pardons and lured them with financial incentives if they joined up.

Rights groups note that Prigozhin recruited about 50,000 prisoners, and it appears that the Russian Defense Ministry has continued with the practice.

"This means that the Defense Ministry has likely recruited around 100,000 people for the war there," she Romanova, noting that the numbers far exceed the Wagner recruits.

Her group has also documented cases in which defendants were recruited to join the war before their cases even went to trial.

There has also been controversy as former convicts finish their service in Ukraine, as two men convicted of murder and cannibalism were recently released after they fought.

Russia has been suffering heavy casualties in Ukraine, estimated by the West to be about 300,000.

War analysts have noted that the Russian military has often appeared to rely on human wave tactics , throwing poorly trained troops into massive assaults.

To combat manpower shortages in Ukraine, Russia has sent in prisoners, called up military reservists, and recruited ethnic minorities to fight.

Russia's military appears to be able to reinforce with recruits continuously , the think tank the Institute for the Study of War said.

The think tank noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin can keep bringing in recruits as long as he is willing to suffer the domestic consequences.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russia is trying to copy Ukraines sophisticated and deadly naval drones, Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies have revealed.

Ukrainian military intelligence said that it had observed Russian forces collecting fragments of destroyed naval drones for Russian engineers to examine and attempt to reverse-engineer.

Military spokesman Andrii Yusov said: They are working on this and are carefully collecting wreckage.

They are trying as much as possible to collect something that will work from the remains, and try to set up production.

Ukraines fleet of naval drones is regarded as one of the most advanced in the world and certainly the most battle-tested. It has been able to attack and harass Russias navy in harbours across the Black Sea, forcing it to retreat to increasingly distant bases.

Russias naval drone programme has been considered far more rudimentary, although it appears to be catching up.

Ukrainian military intelligence has said that the Kremlin has now ordered 10 advanced larger naval drones from one of its arms suppliers. These will have a top speed of 50mph, a range of about 120 miles and an explosive payload of more than half a ton.

President Vladimir Putin has realigned the Russian economy towards his military needs over the past year, rearming and rebuilding his military after nearly 22 months of tough fighting in Ukraine.

This rebuild has focused on tank and artillery shell production, as well as recruiting soldiers, and also on the Russian navy which has been battered by Ukrainian naval drones.

British Military Intelligence confirmed the Russian order for large naval drones and also said that Ukraines naval drones were now a key capability in the battle for control of the Black Sea.

It said: The Russian defence industry is moving to close the capability gap with Ukraine in the development of one-way attack uncrewed surface vehicles.

Ukrainian naval drones have struck the 12-mile bridge that connects occupied Crimea and mainland Russia, hit Russian ships at harbour in Sevastopol, its main Black Sea base, and also in Novorossiysk, 250 miles away.

So nervous has the Kremlin become of Ukrainian naval drone capability and reach that it has even announced plans to build a new Black Sea Fleet base in Abkhazia, a pro-Russia rebel region of Georgia that lies on the Black Sea but is 600 miles from Crimea.

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Residents of the Russian port city of Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, reported hearing explosions and gunfire on Dec. 9, along with observations of a fire in the bay, Russian Telegram channel ASTRA has reported, citing eyewitnesses in the city.

Read also: Russia claims Ukrainian drones attacked oil, gas enterprises in two oblasts

Around 11:55 a.m., there were explosions, said an eyewitness.

They stopped around 12:20 p.m., but then automatic gunfire started, and now on the opposite shore of the bay there is something very similar to a fire. The fire is only just starting to spread.

Read also:

In response, city authorities informed local media that training exercises were allegedly taking place near the Novorossiysk Naval Base, and these exercises are now planned to be held every Saturday.

Residents of the city were not given prior warning about the exercises, the channel wrote.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Governments Rwanda Bill is aimed at stopping illegal migrants making the perilous crossing of the Channel. That is a reasonable and praiseworthy ambition. While this country should always be a place of safety for genuine refugees from persecution, it is essential that we end the people-smuggling trade that is putting an unbearable economic and social strain on our country.

Brexit restored the sovereignty of the United Kingdoms Parliament. Under our constitutional arrangements, Parliament has the power it needs to make the necessary laws to deter people from crossing the Channel, provided in particular the wording of those sovereign laws is clear and unambiguous.

The Rwanda Bill must be read in the context of the recent Supreme Court judgment in which it was held that the Governments policy of transferring migrants to Rwanda was unlawful, because there were substantial grounds to believe that they would face the risk of refoulement, or being transferred to their country of origin or another third country, from Rwanda.

In the judgment, the Court cited a number of international obligations to which the United Kingdom is party, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the Refugee Convention, as constraining the freedom of the Government to deal with the migrants as it proposed.

The Rwanda Bill is the Governments response to the Supreme Court judgment and is aimed at disapplying those international arrangements that are frustrating our ability to decide who should and should not enter and remain in our country. The Government has itself admitted that the European Convention and the Human Rights Act do not work for us in this context.

The essential question is whether Parliament has the power to legislate for the disapplication of those arrangements, or whether, some 70 years after we entered into them, we are to continue to be bound by obligations that were suited to the immediate postwar world but are manifestly not suited to the age of internationally organised people-smuggling rackets.

The answer to that question is clear and was famously articulated in the 2002 House of Lords case of R -v- Lyons, in which Lord Hoffman quoted with approval the statement of Lord Rose in the Court of Appeal that the will of Parliament trumps any international obligation.

Lord Hoffman explained: If Parliament has plainly laid down the law, it is the duty of the courts to apply it, whether it would involve the Crown in breach of an international treaty or not. Hoffmans statement was endorsed by Lord Reed in the recent Supreme Court judgment, in which he stated: The principle of legality does not permit a court to disregard an unambiguous expression of Parliaments intention. He dismissed a claim of one of the parties, ASM, as inconsistent with clear statutory repeal.

In other words, the sovereign United Kingdom Parliament can legislate to override the provisions of international treaties provided it does so in such clear and unambiguous terms that its intention cannot be misunderstood. In such circumstances, the courts will follow the explicit legislation to the letter.

We should be glad that our flexible, unwritten constitution allows us, through Parliament, to take such steps as are necessary to protect our borders at a time when mass illegal migration is proving such a global challenge.

The European Union, in particular, is feeling the heat from its southern borders. Its developing immigration and asylum pact imposes quotas and fines by majority vote, thereby creating fury from some member states. If the post-Brexit British Government is smart, it will avoid the internal acrimony that many EU member states now face and achieve a massive Brexit dividend because we are out of EU jurisdiction.

The Rwanda Bill, if clearly and unambiguously drawn, will ensure that the Governments policy of removing illegal migrants, so as to deter others, will work and will not be frustrated by spurious, if ingenious, applications to the courts. I chair the European Research Groups legal panel, informally known as the Star Chamber, which includes external immigration lawyers, and which is currently considering the Rwanda Bill with a view to deciding if its wording is sufficiently watertight to meet the Governments policy objectives. At present it does not. We will be reporting in full before the Bill is considered on Second Reading this Tuesday.

Our report, I hope, will be helpful to the Government in deciding whether the Bill in its current form is fit for purpose or will require further amendment, even by the Government itself.

I trust that the Government will work respectfully with Parliamentary colleagues on both sides of the international obligations versus sovereignty debate to ensure that the final legislation is consistent with the duty of the courts to follow clearly the intentions and express words of Parliament so that the flights to Rwanda will not be aborted when the aircraft are standing on the runway waiting to take off.

The Government fully understands the importance of this issue. It is essential that not only the policy, but its delivery through clear and unambiguous words in the Act, should be a success. Achieving that goal will be hugely welcomed by the people we represent and restore trust.

Bill Cash is MP for Stone

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Why were discs of bread that were prepared for the Mass stamped in relief with letters such as IC XC NI KA? That is a question which a once-popular theologian Honorius of Autun attempted to answer in the early 12th century in his commentary on the symbolism of the liturgy.

It was, he suggested, because Christ was the denarius or coin give to the labourers in the vineyard (Matthew, chapter 20). So it was fitting for the host to be stamped with his name just as a coin is stamped with that of the Emperor.

Historically, Honorius got it round the wrong way. Leavened bread prepared for the liturgy in Eastern Christendom had since the 5th century been stamped with those Greek letters, standing for Jesus Christ Conquers. This monogram on the bread to be used in the liturgy, was then adopted on coinage. Such coins continued in circulation in the West in areas under Byzantine influence, such as the Norman kingdom of Sicily. In the West, the practice then went full circle, with the monogram copied from coinage and stamped on hosts of unleavened bread.

This scrap of learning from the byways of sigillography appears in a classic study by Ernst Kantorowicz called Laudes Regiae, published in 1946 after delays brought on by the author having to flee the German Nazis. I consulted this book because I was fascinated by the origin of the church chant, Christus vincit. Christus regnat. Christus imperat, Christ has conquered. Christ reigns. Christ rules. It is the Latin equivalent of the Greek Iesous Christos Nika expressed as IC XC NIKA.

The Latin chant is used at Easter and at the modern feast of Christ the King, but it also fits the theme of the coming Kingdom of God, which is explored in the present season of Advent. As the Lords Prayer says: Adveniat regnum tuum, Thy kingdom come.

I had no idea until this year that Christus vincit. Christus regnat. Christus imperat was so old. It was certainly in use before the coronation of Charlemagne, which every schoolboy can tell us was on Christmas Day in the year 800.

The chant, known as the Laudes Regi, was used at the coronation of William the Conquerors wife Matilda as Queen in 1068. It stayed part of the English coronation tradition until the Reformation, and indeed there is an echo of it still in the coronation acclamation Vivat! That interpolation in Psalm 122 (I was glad) has been made by boys of Westminster School since the coronation of James II. But on the title page of Cranmers Bible of 1539, Henry VIII hands the Bible to the Archbishop while the people around cry Vivat Rex! (The captions are all in Latin on this frontispiece of the Bible in English.) That hope or prayer for a long life for the sovereign was present in some medieval texts of the Laudes Regiae. in the form Vita (such as Gelasius vita!)

The Laudes Regiae was far more often in use on great feast days such as Easter, Christmas, the Epiphany or the Ascension than at infrequent coronations. Indeed it as been suggested that coronations picked up the use of the hymn because they often took place on holy days such as Christmas or the Epiphany.

IN structure the hymn is a kind of litany. In other words it calls on God to bless the pope, king, bishop and clergy, and sometimes the army, and it calls on the names of a succession of saints to pray for them. Formally the invocations were sung out and a choir responded.

Fundamentally, the hymn, introduced to England by the Normans, praises God as King.

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SAN DIEGO  San Diego city officials issued a warning to smoke shops that may have certain hemp products with dangerous intoxicating synthetics amid an ongoing countywide effort to crack down on retailers unlawfully selling cannabis products.

The citys Development Services Department Cannabis Business Division issued the warning in an open letter addressed to sellers of hemp-based products that contain synthetic cannabinoids on Dec. 1, directly addressing those who may illegally have it on their shelves.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic cannabinoids are various manmade chemicals  typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) that are often viewed as an alternative to marijuana with the same intoxicating effect, but can be more dangerous for the user than traditional cannabis.

Cannabis users to be protected from workplace discrimination in California

Some products sold at smoke shops that are marketed as hemp-based contain these chemicals and, unlike the kinds of hemp products available at a grocery or drug store, require a cannabis retailer license to sell under state law.

In the letter, DSD officials instructed stores to either surrender or discard any products in their inventory that may contain synthetic components within 30 days.

The city added that it has reason to believe that businesses may be selling such products to minors as young as those ages 16 to 17, and will take enforcement action after the month is up.

This notice comes after the San Diego police department and other law enforcement agencies in the county have made multiple arrests and seized hundreds of pounds of unlawful hemp products after carrying out search warrants at non-cannabis tobacco shops.

The unlawful distribution of these products is something the City takes very seriously, DSD Cannabis Business Division Deputy Director Lara Gates said in a statement Friday. They represent a danger not just to businesses but to the health and well-being of our communities.

Our goal is to ensure both customers and dispensaries are safe and in compliance with all necessary regulations, and to protect against those whod operate outside of them, she continued.

As opposed to natural hemp which only contains trace amounts, synthetic cannabinoid products often have higher portions of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or the component of marijuana that causes intoxication.

Federal health officials warn that synthetic versions of these compounds  like Delta-8 THC or Delta-10 THC  found in types of hemp-based or CBD products have serious health risks, as it has been linked with numerous hospitalizations and deaths nationwide each year.

This is in part caused by manufacturing processes for the synthetic versions of naturally-occurring components. According to the Federal Drug Administration, manufacturers will often turn to potentially harmful chemicals to make higher concentrations of cannabinoids in their final products.

100 pounds of cannabis stolen at gunpoint in California dispensary, police say

In 2021, California lawmakers sought to clarify how existing regulations on cannabis apply to hemp products with a bill that allowed for general sale of certain products that contain an insignificant amount  less than 0.3%  of THC.

Assembly Bill 45, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, revised the definition of THC products that would be regulated by existing cannabis laws to include synthetic isomers like Delta-8 THC, Delta-10 THC and any others state health officials determine cause intoxication. The law also banned the manufacturing or sale of inhalable hemp products.

San Diego city officials say the instructions provided in the letter and other enforcement actions taken in recent weeks have been part of efforts to ensure local businesses are compliant with this law.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
A state-mandated recount of ballots in three close San Juan County races has confirmed the original results, San Juan County Clerk Tanya Shelby says, and a subsequent audit of ballots from seven precincts scattered throughout the county did not turn up any discrepancies.

The recounts and audits were conducted last week in the wake of the Tuesday, Nov. 7 election. A trio of races  the District 5 seat on the San Juan College Board of Trustees, the District 2 seat on the Central Consolidated School District Board of Education and the mill levy question for the Aztec Municipal School District  were close enough to trigger an automatic recount, as ordered by the New Mexico State Canvass Board on Nov. 28.

Shelby said Dec. 7 the ballot recounts her staff conducted earlier in the week of the three close races showed there were no discrepancies between those tallies and the ones compiled in the immediate aftermath of the election, meaning the initial results withstood scrutiny. The new results will be sent to the State Canvass Board, which will meet on Dec. 12 to verify the results of all the recounted races in the state, she said.

Tanya Shelby

According to the original results and the recounts, Beverly Taylor, with 866 votes, edged Judy Hale, who had 859 votes, in the San Juan College Board race. Taylor said Dec. 8 she was glad the process was over and that she looks forward to joining the institutions governing body.

Im elated that the (seven) votes survived and thrilled to be able to serve San Juan College, she said.

Taylor, the wife of former Farmington mayor and state lawmaker Tom Taylor, said one thing struck her about the college when she was campaigning for the position.

I found so many people whose lives had been changed by San Juan College or their childrens lives had been changed, she said. And every response from them was positive, which has to remind us all how important that college is to our community.

In the CCSD school board race, the original and recounted results show incumbent Gary Montoya defeated challenger Hoskie Benally Jr. 357 votes to 355 votes.

Knowing how this process occurs and as close as it was, I really wasnt too concerned, Montoya said of the recount. I didnt think they were going to expect to find any discrepancies. It was a matter of just waiting on the process to occur.

Montoya said he was pleased with the results.

I just appreciate the constituents of the second district to give me another opportunity, no matter how close it was, whether it was two votes or 10 or 100, he said.

The recount also confirmed the original result of the Aztec schools mill levy question, which was defeated by a margin of 701 votes against and 697 votes in favor.

Shelby said representatives of the candidates in the two board races were on hand to observe the recounts. The candidates and Aztec school board officials were notified of the results when the recounts were completed.

An audit of the seven randomly chosen San Juan County precincts ordered by a contractor for the New Mexico Secretary of States Office began on the morning of Dec. 7 and was completed that afternoon, Shelby said. Those results also confirmed the original results, she said.

All the tally sheets and other materials used in the recounts and audits will be forwarded to state officials, Shelby said. She said the fact that no discrepancies were found during the recount and audit processes was a positive reflection on the reliability of elections in San Juan County.

Its our staff, and its our system and its our poll workers, Shelby said.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Bev Taylor, Gary Montoya win in San Juan County election recount
SantaCon  that horrific event in which thousands of drunkards dress like Kris Kringle and descend upon New York City's bars in a boozy and ostensibly charitable push  may not be so philanthropic after all.

In an investigation, Gothamist found that over the past decade, less than a fifth of the $1.4 million the money the event's organizers have raised have gone to registered nonprofits. More than a third of those cumulative funds, meanwhile, have gone to Burning Man-affiliated organizations and individuals  and in a strange tech twist, more's even gone to questionable cryptocurrency investments.

What began as an anti-consumerist protest in San Francisco in 1994 has morphed into something far more boorish in recent years, as the NYC metropolitan area's normiest and most alcohol-oriented denizens take Manhattan to wreak havoc in red velvet. If you'd forgotten or never knew in the first place that the whole debacle is supposed to be about quote-unquote "raising money for charity," you'd be forgiven.

As the SantaCon NYC website exclaims, the proceeds from revelers' $15 tickets "will be split between the various charities listed on this page, as well as charities in line with Santas mission." Other than a second off-handed reference to the org's "charitable mission" on the event's press page, the website itself doesn't explicate what that mission is supposed to be.

As Gothamist reports, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that undergirds SantaCon, known as Participatory Safety, Inc., does have a mission statement: "to bring art to underserved communities." In remarks to the website, Stefan Pildes, Participatory Safety's founder and director, echoed as much.

"Our mission is to bring more art out into the world," Pildes said. "I want to continue to see more creative outlets and opportunities and more people in costume and more cheer being spread."

To that end, its largest named recipient, the makers of a documentary about unconscious or nonconsensual pelvic exams, received $66,340.

That figure pales in comparison, though, to the more than $832,000 that was nearly 60 percent of the funds SantaCon has raised since 2014, going to business expenses. According to Pildes, that figure has covered all manner of bills, from venue rentals and temporary staff fees to permits for street closures and DJs.

"Its not a small undertaking," Piles told Gothamist.

And speaking of not-insignificant undertakings: in 2018, per the website's analysis, someone at SantaCon lost $17,498 in cryptocurrency investments, which equaled a third of its so-called charitable giving for the year. There's no telling how many shitty DJs or mediocre street vendors organizers could have paid for with that much dough.

As for the Burning Man-adjacent expenditures, Pildes had an explanation for that too. While admitting that SantaCon and Participatory Safety had spent money on multiple Burn-related art projects, he insisted that some of that cash was spent in the form of loans that were repaid.

The same year SantaCon lost so big on crypto, for instance, its nonprofit parent org spent $60,000 to rent out four floors for a post-Burn party. That was apparently a zero-interest loan, per Pildes, and saying it was repaid with a swiftness.

While legal experts Gothamist interviewed said they don't believe SantaCon or its not-for-profit parent company spent money illegally, its "charitable" nature seems fuzzy at best.

"Charities play fast and loose with how they account these things all the time," Lloyd Mayer, a Notre Dame law professor who specializes in nonprofits, told Gothamist.

More on nonprofits: There Are Now Zero Women on OpenAI's Board
UN chief urges countries to do everything possible to end Gazans' ordeal

Xinhua) 09:40, December 09, 2023

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a high-level meeting of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, Nov. 29, 2023. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that there is "a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences."

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged the international community to make every possible effort to bring an end to the suffering of the people in Gaza.

"The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss. The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal," the UN chief told the Security Council's emergency meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

The top UN official said that there is "a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences."

Guterres warned that "there is no effective protection of civilians."

He said that more than 17,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the start of Israel's military operations, including more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children. Tens of thousands are reported to have been injured, and many are missing, presumably under the rubble.

"Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread. So far, they have reportedly hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 healthcare facilities, 88 mosques and three churches," he said.

Over 60 percent of Gaza's housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged - some 300,000 houses and apartments. Some 85 percent of the population have been forced from their homes, according to the secretary-general.

Guterres also warned that Gazans are running out of food.

He cited the World Food Programme as saying that there is "a serious risk of starvation and famine."

In northern Gaza, 97 percent of households are not eating enough. In the south, the figure among displaced people is 83 percent. Half the people of the north and more than one third of displaced people in the south are simply starving, he said.

Children are seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Dec. 8, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

The UN chief said that "Gaza's health system is collapsing while needs are escalating."

At least 286 health workers have been killed, he said. "Hospitals have suffered heavy bombardment. Just 14 out of 36 are still functioning. Of these, three are providing basic first aid, while the others are delivering partial services."

The UN chief pointed out that "we are all aware that Israel began its military operation in response to the brutal terror attacks unleashed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Oct. 7."

"I unreservedly condemn those attacks. I am appalled by the reports of sexual violence," he stressed.

"There is no possible justification for deliberately killing some 1,200 people, including 33 children, injuring thousands more, and taking hundreds of hostages," Guterres continued, referring to what Hamas did.

"Some 130 hostages are still held captive. I call for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as their humane treatment and visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross until they are free," he said, obviously sending a clear message to Hamas.

However, the UN chief said that "the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

"The laws of war also demand that civilians' essential needs must be met, including by facilitating the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief," he said.

"International humanitarian law cannot be applied selectively. It is binding on all parties equally at all times, and the obligation to observe it does not depend on reciprocity," said the secretary-general.

"I urge the (Security) Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid," the secretary-general said.

"This is vital for Israelis, Palestinians, and for international peace and security," said the UN chief.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Wu Chaolan)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has affirmed unwavering support for Ukraine, assuring continued assistance despite potential reductions from other nations, during a conference of his party, the SPD, on Dec. 9, according to the German publication n-tv.

We must be able to stand in solidarity with Ukraine, Scholz declared, emphasizing the importance of Germany making a greater contribution.

The German Chancellor also sent a clear message to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, stating, He should not and cannot count on us giving in.

Read also: No decision on Taurus missiles yet  Chancellor Scholz

He underscored that this pertains to both financial and military aid, even if it poses a significant financial challenge for Germany, requiring them to do more.

Additionally, Scholz expressed skepticism about the war ending soon, saying, This war probably wont end as quickly as we all would like it to.

Read also: German Chancellor says support for Kyiv of 'existential importance' to Europe

Scholz highlighted his governments success in overcoming energy price crises and rallying Western unity against Russia.

The Russian president stopped gas supplies through an undamaged pipeline. Germany endured this winter, Scholz stated.

Previously, the German Chancellor asserted that military and financial support for Ukraine has existential significance for Europe, and Germany will continue to help as long as necessary.

Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska also voiced concern about the slowing down of Western aid, stating that Ukraine faces deadly danger if support ceases.

Read also: Scholz unveils Germany's commitment to arm Ukraine

According to a study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Ukraines support dynamics have slowed down, with assistance from partners reaching a new minimum from August to October 2023, dropping nearly 90% compared to the same period last year.

Ukraine is increasingly relying on assistance from the United States, Germany, and countries in Northern and Eastern Europe, providing both financial aid and crucial weaponry, including F-16 fighters.

Meanwhile, the United States remains the largest military donorwith total commitments of 44 billion ($47 billion), but Germany is quickly catching up with over 17 billion ($18 billion).

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
St Hadrian was offered the chance to become Archbishop of Canterbury by the Pope after arriving in Britain from north Africa

Schoolchildren have been taught that St Hadrian was black despite there being no evidence for the claim.

The Dark Age abbot St Hadrian of Canterbury has been referred to as a black scholar in primary school teaching material, despite the holy man being of north African origin and not black.

The seventh-century abbot has been included in numerous overviews of black British history, including those provided by charities and local councils.

One black British history presentation, devised for KS2 pupils and seen by The Telegraph, states that in 670 a black scholar becomes abbot of an abbey in Canterbury.

The material adds: Abbot Hadrian, who was an African-born scholar and noted teacher, became abbot of the monastery of St Peter and St Paul.

Hadrian, who was offered the chance to become Archbishop of Canterbury by the Pope after moving to Britain, was believed to have been born in the region of Cyrenaica in what is now modern-day Libya, making him possibly of Berber descent.

The claim that he was a black scholar appears in a black British history presentation distributed by Twinkl, a UK company which produces educational material for teachers by teachers, and The Telegraph understands it has been used in schools.

Another Twinkl resource used in schools, a timeline for KS2 pupils covering The Black History of Britain, includes Hadrian as its second entry.

Historian Dr Zareer Masani says it's 'absurd that wokedom is reaching across millennia to claim people of colour' - Jamie Lorriman

Hadrian has also been included in a black British history teaching resource for secondary school provided by HFL Education, an educational support service part-owned by Hertfordshire Council, and a similar timeline created by the Surrey borough council of Spelthorne.

He also features in an online teaching resource provided by English Heritage titled Black Lives in Britain. Elsewhere, the charity makes clear he was born in what is now Libya.

The claims that Hadrian was black and his inclusion in black history resources has been criticised by historian Dr Zareer Masani, who said it was absurd that wokedom is reaching across millennia to claim people of colour.

Dr Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert, an author and director of the race relations group Dont Divide Us, has voiced her concerns about the approach being taken to educating young people about British history.

She said: The compulsive search for lost black Britons is not only embarrassing, but it weakens and distorts the truth value of the claim being made.

This is bad enough for content aimed at adults. For school purposes, where the main aim is to educate the young, it is unconscionable.

What kind of society is so casual about curriculum content, that it either thinks political interests supersede educational ones, or it cant tell the difference anymore?

The branding of Hadrian as a black historical figure follows a similar approach taken to the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, who died near what is now York in 211 AD.

The African-born ruler of Middle Eastern and Italian descent appears on numerous lists of black Britons despite not being black, and the Museum of Cambridge recently hosted black history lectures that included a talk on the ancient ruler.

Twinkl has been contacted for comment.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A car crash has left ten people injured and some in critical condition on 81st Street in Kansas City Friday night.

Around 10:14 p.m., officers were called to the crash and discovered how it unfolded.

The driver of a silver Chevy Malibu was going south on Prospect Avenue with passengers inside.

When they came up to a curve in the road, the driver drove straight over the grassy median onto 81st Street near the Hickman Mills and Prospect intersections.

The car then crashed head-on into a Dodge Caravan that had seven people inside including five children.

Everyone within the van was taken to the hospital with some injuries not being serious, and others left in critical condition, authorities say.

Three inside the Chevy were also taken to the hospital, two with serious injuries, according to police.

KCPD is investigating if the driver of the Chevy was impaired during the crash.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A woman is accused of shooting her 6-month-old grandchild early Saturday morning in Liberty Township, officials said.

Mia Desiree Harris, 43, is facing three counts of felonious assault in connection with the shooting, the Butler County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputies responded around 1:50 a.m. to the 6800 block of Dutchview Court in Liberty Township after receiving a report that an infant was shot, officials said. They arrived to find the 6-month-old had been shot in the head.

The child survived the shooting and was rushed to the University of Cincinnati West Chester Hospital where they remain in critical condition.

Harris fled the scene before deputies got there but she was apprehended a short time later, officials said, adding she was identified by witnesses as the shooter.

Harris allegedly shot at several family members before intentionally shooting the child.

Jail records show she was booked into the Butler County Jail later that morning.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio woman accused of intentionally shooting infant grandchild in head
Six teenagers have been convicted with connection in the beheading of their teacher Samuel Paty, who was killed in 2020 after showing his class caricatures of the prophet Muhammad to talk about freedom of expression. One girl, who was 13 at the time, was convicted of making false accusations and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. She had wrongly said that Paty, her 47-year-old history teacher, asked Muslim students to identify themselves and leave the classroom before he showed the caricatures of Muhammad. She later confessed she wasnt in the class that day. The five other teens, who had been aged between 14 and 15, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy with intent to cause violence. They helped point out Paty to Abdoullakh Anzorov, a radicalized 18-year-old who who arrived in France aged six with his Chechen parents, and stabbed and then decapitated the teacher. Four of the teens were given suspended sentences but one, who had initially shown Anzorov who Paty was, received a six-month prison sentence which may be served electronic surveillance.

Read more at The Daily Beast.
New Mexico was ground zero for the world's first atom bomb explosion, but the "downwinder" farmers and ranchers living near the Trinity test site, and the Navajo miners who dug the uranium used in the blast, have once again been shut out for fallout compensation by Congress.

The Senate and House Armed Services Committees' voluminous conference report released Thursday on the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act stripped out an amendment that would have for the first time included eligible New Mexicans for relief under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA.

The amendment to extend and expand RECA coverage will now sunset in 2024 unless the House and Senate find time to reverse course, which is considered unlikely given the current congressional impasse over Ukraine and Israel aid, and southern border security issues.

Read Next: Army Set to Retire Online Training System, Leaving Soldiers with 2-Week Gap in Access

For RECA advocates in New Mexico, the failure of Congress to include the amendment in the NDAA fit a pattern of neglect and deceit by their government going back generations during the development of nuclear weapons.

The lying began just hours after the Manhattan Project device called the "gadget," assembled atop a 100-foot tower in the Tularosa Basin by J. Robert Oppenheimer and his band of fractious scientists, went off in the early morning of July 16, 1945, in a blinding fireball that lit up the early morning skies 160 miles away.

The farmers and ranchers, some of whom lived just 13 miles from the blast site, were never warned of what was about to happen and then were given a not-to-worry statement from the commanding officer of the Alamogordo Army Air Field:

"Several inquiries have been received concerning a heavy explosion which occurred on the Alamogordo air base reservation this morning," the statement said. "A remotely located ammunition magazine containing a considerable amount of high explosives and pyrotechnics exploded. There was no loss of life or injury to anyone, and the property damage outside of the explosives magazine was negligible."

New Mexicans and the entire nation were not told that the nuclear weapons age had begun in the Jornada del Muerto desert until after the B-29 Superfortress named the Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

Once the Oppenheimer crew set off the "gadget," radioactive fallout descended to the northeast over an area about 250 miles long and 200 miles wide. Scientists tracked part of the fallout pattern as far as the Atlantic Ocean, according to a National Park Service release from the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in New Mexico.

In New Mexico, "radiation landed on vegetables and cattle and contaminated the water supply. Many people in rural New Mexico lacked running water and collected rainwater that ran off of roofs in large cisterns, or holding tanks," the NPS said. "Most locals also grew most of their own food and raised livestock for meat. Eating foods with high levels of radiation has been linked to cancer, stillbirth and birth defects."

Phil Harrison, who followed his father into the uranium mines in Arizona and Colorado and now lives in New Mexico, said there was little doubt that the Manhattan Project scientists knew of the dangers from the fallout of a nuclear test, and he called the failure to extend and expand RECA "a slap in the face by the federal government."

"We were all real excited" when the amendment to the NDAA was introduced, Harrison said in a phone interview. "All we were asking from the government was to correct the wrongs of the past."

His father, who died of lung cancer, was never told of the hazards of working in the uranium mines or the need for masks and other safety equipment, and neither was he, said Harrison, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and a founder of the Navajo Uranium Radiation Victims Committee. Harrison said all he was told by the boss when he was hired to work in the mines was, "Boy, here's a shovel."

By stripping the amendment from the NDAA, the nation was showing that "we don't have the political will to do the right thing," Tina Cordova, executive director of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, said in a phone interview. "This is not our country's finest hour."

"We were the first people exposed to the atom bomb and we were left out" of the compensation packages available to other victims of the more than 200 above-ground nuclear tests conducted by the U.S., mostly in Nevada, Cordova said.

"It's just mind-blowing; it's beyond belief," she said.

In a statement Thursday, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who introduced the RECA amendment in July and won a 61-vote Senate majority, said that, "Generations of New Mexicans and their families have gotten sick and died from the radiation exposure and the lasting impacts of the Trinity Test. For New Mexico to have been ground zero for the first nuclear weapon, and left out of the original RECA program, is an injustice."

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., backed the Lujan amendment to include expanded coverage for the St. Louis area following collaborative reports by The Associated Press, The Missouri Independent and the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock on nuclear waste dumping in the St. Louis area dating back to the atomic tests of the 1940s.

In a Senate floor speech Thursday, Hawley said that the amendment amounted to a recognition of responsibility and "an apology to those who were exposed to contamination" from the nuclear waste dumped in Missouri from the "government's Oppenheimer-era nuclear program."

"Congress is effectively rescinding that apology" by stripping the amendment from the NDAA, Hawley said. "Those who should be compensated will now get nothing."

Both Lujan and Hawley said they would continue to press for the extension and expansion of the RECA legislation, but it was not clear what avenues were open to them.

"Despite bipartisan support, Republican leadership blocked the inclusion of this critical provision in the NDAA," Lujan said in his statement. "But I am not giving up on justice for New Mexicans and all those deeply impacted by radiation exposure and nuclear testing. Over the course of this process, our support has only grown and the fight doesn't end here."

Related: Pentagon Abortion, Transgender Policies Safe, But Diversity Programs Take a Hit in Compromise Defense Bill
Months after a Nipomo man allegedly broke through locked doors and set a blaze that activated fire sprinklers, soaking a Santa Maria courtroom, its back in use with new furnishings.

At 9:12 p.m. Feb. 18, personnel from the Santa Maria police and fire departments were dispatched to an incident in Building G in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court facility at the corner of Cook and Miller streets.

The incident began after a man received a notice about an upcoming hearing and went on a Saturday night to the court complex to see where he had to show up, according to Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker.

After learning the location, the man ignored a security guards order to leave and instead broke the two locked doors with large glass windows at the entrance to the criminal court building.

Once inside, he forcefully entered the Department 8 courtroom, pulling the locked doors so hard that he broke the wood frames.

The man then allegedly started a fire on the defense counsels chair, which spread to the table and carpet.

The fire generated enough heat that it melted the lights in the ceiling, activating sprinklers.

While the sprinklers extinguished the fire, they dumped so much water that it was 2 inches deep at some points.

Water also infiltrated the courtrooms adjacent holding cells, but it spared the judges chambers and court clerk offices.

In the following days, work crews ripped everything out of the courtroom for eventual replacement.

Everything is brand-new in there. It was gutted down to the studs, Parker said.

Instead of stadium seating with cloth seats, the courtroom now has wood benches, the preferred option by the California Judicial Council. The nonfabric surface also can be sanitized and kept clean easier.

Initial plans called for placing the railing, which divides attorneys and court staff from the audience, on wheels to allow flexibility for multiple defendant cases.

However, that feature would have added at least six months because of engineering and architect requirements, so court officials scrapped that plan.

Instead, a U-shaped area has been added to accommodate additional defendants and attorneys, if needed.

Insurance reportedly covered most of the repairs for the construction contract that topped $621,504, according to a report to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

New seats for jurors are part of the renovated courtroom in Superior Court in Santa Maria in the aftermath of vandalism.

Nipomo man faces felony charges

Meanwhile, 32-year-old Eric Spies of Nipomo was arrested and charged with felony arson and burglary in addition to the original misdemeanor vandalism charge.

The criminal cases have been transferred to San Luis Obispo County since the Santa Barbara County Superior Court is the victim in the new allegations against Spies.

Criminal proceedings were paused earlier this year after a judge determined that Spies could not assist in his defense. However, he has returned to San Luis Obispo County Jail after state mental health officials determined Spies was now competent to stand trial.

The case against Spies continues to make its way through San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.

It marked the second unplanned construction project at the Santa Maria Court Complex.

In July 2018, a broken hot water pipe flooded two courtrooms  Departments 1 and 2  in an older building. Instead of weeks, the renovation encountered delays that stretched for months and saw the court install two modular buildings. They finally reopened more than a year later.

A long-planned construction project for a brand-new criminal courts building in Santa Barbara remains elusive.

After ranking higher, the new Santa Barbara building now is listed as the 13th on a Judicial Council list of 80 projects and funding for what had been estimated as a $216 million project could come during the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Nathan Hunt served two tours in Afghanistan despite a struggle with his mental health

The father of a British soldier who served with Prince Harry in Afghanistan claims his son was sent to war despite being diagnosed with mental health problems.

Derek Hunt believes the Army failed in its duty of care towards his son Nathan, who took his own life after struggling with PTSD and depression for several years.

Mr Hunt is campaigning to have his sons name added to the memorial wall at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire but defence chiefs have refused, claiming that his death was not linked to his Army service.

Mr Hunt, himself a former Army sergeant, has recently been sent over 200 pages of military medical documents which he says show that his son had serious mental health issues after serving in Iraq, four years before he was sent to Afghanistan in 2008 and again in 2009.

Nathan Hunt was a warrant officer in the Royal Engineers and served with Prince Harry in Afghanistan in 2008, as part of a Household Cavalry unit.

He earned a Mention In Dispatches for locating roadside bombs, potentially saving many soldiers lives, including Prince Harry. Nathan was 39 years old and divorced with a child when he died from suicide in 2018.

Nathan Hunt, bottom right, with soldiers in Helmand, Afghanistan, including Prince Harry, pictured above Mr Hunt - John Stillwell/PA Wire

Prince Harry wrote to the family a week after Nathans death, saying that he was deeply saddened.

He wrote: The work we were engaged in was made easier and safe thanks to the challenging work Nathan undertook.

The family later had a private meeting with both Harry and Meghan.

Both the late Queen and King Charles expressed sympathy for Mr Hunt after he wrote to them as part of his campaign.

The new medical documents obtained by Mr Hunt reveal that Nathans mental health issues began to emerge after his return from Iraq in 2003, where his unit was attacked by a US combat jet.

Army medical reports from 2005, two years after he returned from Iraq, reveal that he was suicidal, drinking to excess, and had suffered from low mood swings and depression.

In the same year, a different report stated that Nathan had intermittent thoughts of self harm and suicide in response to recent life stresses and had been found with superficial cuts to his wrist.

Another report shows that in 2008, just months before Nathan would be sent to Afghanistan for a second tour, he was again referred to a psychiatrist for help after suffering what were described as stressful incidents in which he was blown up three times while on operations a year earlier

Symptoms of PTSD

In 2010, he was assessed by a clinical psychiatric nurse at an Army mental health centre where he was said to be exhibiting symptoms of PTSD, depression and low mood.

One letter from 2010 noted: He (Nathan) finds he thinks about his time in Afghanistan all of the time. He did find that loud bangs were starting to affect him increasingly towards the end of the tour. He started to react even to explosive charges that he had laid and detonated himself, which worries him as a professional engineer. His father suffers from depression and PTSD from his service in Northern Ireland. He sees a lot of himself in his fathers behaviour.

Mr Hunt, from Lincolnshire, said: I have been campaigning for almost five years to have my sons name added to the memorial at the national arboretum but for some reason the Ministry of Defence are refusing to allow it. Other soldiers who died after taking their own lives have had their names added to the memorial. I have ample evidence to show the MoD that Nathans mental health issues were caused by his military service.

I now have proof that as far back as 2003, Nathan was traumatised by the effects of war when he was involved in a friendly fire incident in Iraq. He was then sent to Afghanistan in 2008 with Prince Harry where he experienced more trauma. He was blown up three times and witnessed Afghan soldiers being blown to pieces. He was sent back to Afghanistan less than a year later but as far as the MoD are concerned this didnt have any impact on him.

An Army spokesman said: Every suicide is a tragedy and is felt deeply within the Armed Forces community. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of WO2 Nathan Hunt.

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Smoke rises over Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Malta want EU leaders to debate the situation in Gaza next week and jointly call for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that would end the conflict, a letter to the chairman of EU summits showed.

Leaders of the 27 EU countries will meet on Dec. 14-15 in Brussels to discuss help for Ukraine, fighting off Russian aggression, and a revision of the EU's long-term budget. The situation in the Middle East is on the agenda as well.

The letter from the four prime ministers, addressed to European Council President Charles Michel who chairs EU summits, stressed the seriousness of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the possibility of the conflict escalating throughout the region.

A summary of the letter, seen by Reuters, said EU leaders should reach a common position to "urgently ask the parties to declare a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that can lead to the end of hostilities" and ask for measures to immediately protect Gaza civilians.

The four countries, which have criticised Israel for its handling of the conflict before, called for an international peace conference on Gaza as soon as possible to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The four countries also said that to prevent the violence from spreading into the West Bank, the assets of violent Israeli settlers who are attacking displaced Palestinian communities should be frozen.

The United States on Friday vetoed a proposed United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington.

Thirteen other members voted in favour of a brief draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained. The vote came after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare move on Wednesday to formally warn the 15-member council of a global threat from the war.

(Reporting by Graham Keeley and Belen Carreno; writing by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Nick Macfie)
FREEHOLD  A woman, too frightened to reveal her name in public, stood before a judge Friday and explained how she and her children had to leave their home and couch-surf at the houses of loved ones for months until they could find somewhere to permanently relocate, all because they didn't feel safe.

She said she was threatened, her car was keyed, her four tires were slashed and her home-security system disabled after she broke up with a man with whom she had a nine-week relationship, the woman said.

Melanie Falco, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, said Erich A. Bennett, a 20-year veteran of the Sea Bright police force, told the woman after the breakup that he was "going to cut off her clitoris and slash her face.''

After the woman blocked him on social media, Bennett created a fake Facebook profile and used it to call her a pig, and worse, Falco said.

The victim, who would only identify herself by her initials, told the judge the cost of repairing her car and relocating her family paled in comparison to the toll Bennett's actions took on her family's sense of security.

"The greatest impact has been the fear we feel every day,'' she told Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.

At Falco's urging, Oxley sentenced the former police officer to five years in prison.

"We all tell our kids from a very young age that police officers, they're the good guys and they're supposed to protect us and keep us safe,'' Falco told the judge.

"This defendant was supposed to protect us from people like him,'' the assistant prosecutor said.

In addition to serving the prison term, Bennett has permanently forfeited his job and right to own firearms and is permanently forbidden to have any contact with the victim, Oxley said.

Former Sea Bright police officer Erich Bennett is sentenced to 5 years in state prison for stalking

Bennett, 47, pleaded guilty in September to stalking, criminal mischief, hindering his own apprehension and computer theft. The computer theft was related to his unauthorized use of police computers while on duty to look up information on his ex-girlfriend's friends and family, including men he was jealous of, Falco said.

Bennett contacted one of those men on the guise of wanting to buy a motorcycle helmet from him, in order to try to find out where he lived, Falco said.

Bennett sat in the jury box in the courtroom, dressed in a yellow jail jumpsuit. He looked away from the victim when she spoke.

When it was his turn to address the judge, Bennett said, "When I met her, I just felt on top of the world. She made me happy. I really felt I found my soulmate.

"When she broke it off with me, I just couldn't handle it,'' he said.

Bennett told the judge he has struggled with depression and anxiety for most of his life.

"I literally had a mental breakdown last January,'' he said.

Bennett was arrested and jailed in January, after he had been brought to Monmouth Medical Center for crisis treatment, and a Little Silver police officer earlier reported seeing him on duty, driving past the victim's house in that borough in a Sea Bright patrol car.

The prosecutor's office later agreed to let Bennett out of jail so he could attend a rehabilitation program in Florida.

Bennett was allowed to remain free when he got out of rehab, until he slipped up and violated one of the most important terms of his release - not to have any contact with the victim.

In July, Bennett signed on to the victim's YouTube channel, a move that led not only to his being returned to jail, but to the prosecutor taking back a lucrative plea offer in which he would not have had to go to prison.

"He never should have done it,'' defense attorney Mitchell Ansell said of Bennett signing on to the YouTube channel.

Despite that, Ansell said the almost six months Bennett has spent in jail is sufficient punishment for his crimes. He noted Bennett had an exemplary career and clean record up until that point.

"Respectfully, I believe that is enough,'' Ansell said of the time Bennett has been jailed.

Oxley disagreed.

"I don't know if he's done enough to address those issues, his demons,'' Oxley said, adding he's not confident Bennett won't reoffend.

"This was a violation of the public trust,'' the judge said.

Oxley ordered Bennett to pay $4,780 in restitution to the victim, to compensate her for the damage he did to her property.

"That will be compensation for the physical damage,'' Oxley said.

"I don't think any amount of money could possibly contemplate compensating this victim for the terror that ensued over the long, protracted period of time,'' the judge said. "There's no compensation that is going to be able to bring her back to where she was before this whole nightmare started to unfold and there's nothing that this court can say to give her that peace of mind that she had before this whole unfortunate thing started to unfold.''

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sea Bright ex-cop Erich A. Bennett goes to prison for stalking
WASHINGTON (AP)  Going around Congress, the Biden administration said Saturday it has approved the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million as Israel intensifies its military operations in the southern Gaza Strip.

The move comes as President Joe Biden's request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security is languishing in Congress, caught up in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security. Some Democratic lawmakers have spoken of making the proposed $14.3 billion in American assistance to its Mideast ally contingent on concrete steps by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza during the war with Hamas.

The State Department said it had notified Congress of the sale late Friday after Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale of the munitions in the U.S. national security interest.

That means the purchase will bypass the congressional review requirement for foreign military sales. Such determinations are rare, but not unprecedented, when administrations see an urgent need for weapons to be delivered without waiting for lawmakers' approval.

The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives, the department said in a statement. Israel will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense.

The sale is worth $106.5 million and includes 13,981 120 mm High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer tank cartridges as well as U.S. support, engineering and logistics. The materiel will come from Army inventory.

Bypassing Congress with emergency determinations for arms sales is an unusual step that has in the past met resistance from lawmakers, who normally have a period of time to weigh on proposed weapons transfers and, in some cases, block them.

In May, 2019, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an emergency determination for an $8.1 billion sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan after it became clear that the Trump administration would have trouble overcoming lawmakers concerns about the Saudi- UAE-led war in Yemen.

Pompeo came under heavy criticism for the move, which some believed may have violated the law because many of the weapons involved had yet to be built and could not be delivered urgently. But he was cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation.

At least four administrations have used the authority since 1979. President George H.W. Bush's administration used it during the Gulf War to get arms quickly to Saudi Arabia.
From the G-File on The Dispatch

Dear Reader (excluding any of you who cant see the irony in ceasefire menorahs),

Lest you think Ive had some sort of epiphany or brain injury, let me roughly paraphrase Mark Antony and declare at the outset that I come not to praise Donald Trump, but to bury, well something.

Lets set aside the more sober musings on the possibility that Trump would be a dictator in his second term, and instead focus on one of the more enjoyable moments in partisan, sycophantic, journalism in recent memory.

At a town hall earlier this week, Sean Hannity, as is his wont, set out to do vital comms work for the former president.

They want to call you a dictator, Hannity said in a reference to those aforementioned sober musings. To be clear, do you in any way have any plans whatsoever, if reelected president, to abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people?

You mean like theyre using right now, Trump shot back before airing his familiar grievances.

Undeterred in his desire to help Trump, Hannity returned to his campaign work. He asked again, Under no circumstances  you are promising America tonight. You would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?

To which Donald Trump responded:

Except for Day 1.

Except, what? Hannity asked, clearly flustered that Trump wasnt going to help Hannity help him.

Trump enjoyed Hannitys consternation. Turning to the audience while pointing at Hannity, he said, Hes going crazy. Except for Day 1.

Meaning? Hannity asked.

I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill, Trump responded.

Thats not retribution, Hannity said.

I love this guy, Trump said, again talking to the audience as he relished making Hannitys water-carrying more burdensome. He says, Youre not going to be a dictator are you? I said, No, no, no, other than Day 1. Were closing the border and were drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, Im not a dictator.

Call me old-fashioned, but I dont think any president, ex-president, or presidential candidate should ever say they plan on being a dictator, even for a day.

Moreover, I have no objection to the press making a big deal about a former president who routinely lavished praise on dictators and often talks like hed like to be one, saying that he will be a dictator on Day 1. The fact that Hannity pitched his softball like a loving dad standing 3 feet away, hoping his asthmatic kid would knock the stuffing out of it, makes it all the more grotesque that he refused to take the issue seriously. Theres just something fundamentally, recklessly unpatriotic about responding to widespreadand well-foundedconcerns about your authoritarian tendencies that, in fact, you will be a dictator on the first day of your presidency. Whether you think its just cutesy trolling or not, this is not the way American leaders are supposed to talk, which is why I also think its dumb politics. But here we are.

All that said, theres something to appreciate about the answer.

In my gunnysack of mewling pet peeves, one of the biggest is the habit of presidential candidates to promise all sorts of outlandish things that they will do on Day 1 of their presidencies. My objections to this habit have more facets than a disco ball. But Ill focus on just a few. First, the underlying assumption seems to be that we elect a monarch or, to be more charitable, a prime minister in some sort of parliamentary system. Kings and queens can do what they want, obviously. But prime ministers also have enormous power because, depending on the specific system, they combine both the executive and legislative powers. We dont do that. In short, there are all sorts of things a prime minister (or monarch) can do on Day 1 that presidents cannot do.

This has gotten muddied over the years because the executive branch has grown so large and the administrative state so intrusive, that presidents can do all sorts of things by executive order. And, because of hyper-partisanship and the self-gelding of the legislative branch, members of the presidents party invariably hail these executive orders and members of the opposing party decry them as undemocratic and even, on occasion, dictatorial. Putting the palpable hypocrisy aside, the parties out of power are usually right. More on that in a moment. But first, let me offer a small smattering of examples of what I am talking about.

In the second debate of the 2020 Democratic primaries, Kamala Harris said, And on Day 1, I will repeal that tax bill that benefits the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations in America. In the third debate, she said, I plan on shutting down for-profit prisons on Day 1.

In the final debate, between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator said, And furthermore, on Day 1 as president, I would restore the legal status of the 1.8 million young people.

Tom Steyer (remember him?) told Vox that, On my first day in office, I will declare the climate crisis a national emergency and use the emergency powers of the presidency to implement a plan to build a safer, more sustainable world, with or without Congress. He said it again in several debates.

Republicans have been guilty of this stuff, too, but to a lesser extent from what I can tell. In 2016, Scott Walker said hed repeal Obamacare on Day 1. But most of their 2016 Day 1 talk was about ripping up the Iran deal, just as the most ubiquitous Democratic Day 1 promise was to reenter the Paris Climate Accord.

Of course, the annoying thing about both the Iran deal and the Paris Accord is that these were de facto treaties designed to avoid Senate approval as the Constitution requires. Again, Congress has made itself a constitutional court eunuch on so many fronts. But even the most hackish partisans and congressional geldings understand that the president cannot repeal legislation on the first day in officeor any day after.

Now, I really could go on. But I think you get the point. This leaves out countless Day 1 promises that at least acknowledged the would-be president would first try to get Congress to do X or Y. But many of them, particularly Kamala Harris, said that if they couldnt get the legislation they demanded in their first 100 days, theyd just go ahead and issue executive orders to get it done.

Just to be very clear: If a president cant get Congress to agree to a major policy change, he or she is not supposed to just do it anyway by executive order. Again, its possible to write some executive orders to make them lawful, regardless of how offensive they are to our constitutional system. But as we saw with Trumps attempt to illegally fund the border wall or Bidens repeated attempts to forgive student loan debt, or suspend evictions, the causality is often all messed up. They issue a lawless executive order, and then hope they can sneak it over the plate of the courts. If they succeed, Yay! If they lose, vote for my party to get good judges who care about you on the court.

From the vantage point of a constitutionalist, Donald Trumps vow to be a dictator on Day 1 in order to close the border and drill, drill, drill really doesnt look very different than any of this other stuff. You may not like the policy or the language, but on the substance, if a president has the power to stop drilling on Day 1, the president has the power to start drilling on Day 1.

Ideally, the response to Trumps Dictator-for-a-Day soundbite would cause people to realize this. It cant be that Trumps idea is outrageous because he admitted its dictatorial but all of these other ideas arent dictatorial so long as you dont describe them that way.

At the height of Watergate in 1973, then-Sen. Alan Cranston of California had a bit of an epiphany: Those who tried to warn us back at the beginning of the New Deal of the dangers of one-man rule that lay ahead on the path we were taking toward strong, centralized government may not have been so wrong. Would that Democrats today were capable of a similar insight.

You know what would be really useful in keeping Trump from acting like a dictator? A real consensus about the limits of executive power. That consensus is impossible when each party thinks those limits are legitimate and valuable only for when the other party is in power.

Dictatorial musings.

So what about the larger question of whether Trump would be a dictator? I have to say Im torn about the whole debate. I agree with many of the concerns voiced by Robert Kagan in the Washington Post and the various writers in The Atlantic. But I worry that the dictator-talkfrom the sincere and cerebral to the cynical and sensationalsuits Trumps purposes. Politics isnt perfectlyor, sometimes, remotely rational. If you took a survey of liberal and left-wing America in 1997, it would be reasonable to think that if a sitting president got caught playing Baron-and-the-Milkmaid with an intern, the Democratic Party would turn on Bill Clinton thanks to the demands of consistency. In, say, 2015 if you surveyed conservative America, you would think theyd never go for Donald Trump.

If on January 6, 2020, a year before the Capitol riot, you had 100 percent accurately predicted how Trump would handle the election and its aftermath, nearly all of his biggest fans would say you were suffering from Trump derangement syndrome. But if you said to them, Hypothetically, lets say Im right. What would your reaction be? I suspect a great many of them would say, Obviously, thatd be the last straw. Theyd favor impeachment or at least never voting for him again. But then it happened and they reacted very differently. Similarly, if you predicted that Trump would mishandle classified information the way he did, many of the people most passionately defending Trump would have had a very different reaction to the hypothetical.

Heck, if you surveyed conservatives today, youd be hard-pressed to understand why so many love Donald Trump. Conservatives still talk about how much they love the Constitution and traditional values; what many of them are blind to is how Trump and Trumpism is antithetical to such convictions. So when you talk about him being a potential dictator, it sounds super-persuasive to the people who are already persuaded. But for a lot of other people it sounds like a desperate effort to change the subject from Bidens failings. Im not saying thats necessarily correctthough its obviously true to some extent for some people. Im saying I dont think this conversation is likely to yield the results those most committed to having it desire. Rhetorically, its analogous to the various legal campaigns against Trump. I think Trump is guilty of most of the charges against himputting aside for the moment whether the prosecutors can prove every one of them. But its indisputable that Trump has benefited politically from these prosecutions. Thats not an argument for not prosecuting him on any of the charges, its merely an observation that in politics unintended consequences are common.

In other words, I am very much open to (some of) the arguments that he could be a dictator. Moreover, I dont think you have to be remotely certain about itIm not by any stretch. I have enough faith in this country and some of its institutionsthe courts and the military chief among themthat I think his path would be far steeper than many suggest. But if you think theres a 50 percent chanceor a 10 percent chancethat alone is a good enough reason not to nominate him. Jeez, I think if theres no chance he becomes a dictator theres plenty of reasons not to nominate him. If he tried and utterly failed to be one, that would be terrible for America, conservatism, and a lot of other things. Or even if he didnt try, and he just amped up his abuses and demagoguery, thats ample reason. Look, I have so many reasons to pelt this guy from the public stage I dont need to even discuss the word dictator because when it comes to my view of Trump the tator is silent.

From where I sit the real problem isnt Trump so much as the connection that Trump has with his fans and with the larger universe of conservative institutions and the way Democrats think they have no obligation to deal with that problem other than to shout dictator and threat to our democracy.

On the first point, I highly recommend Nick Cattogios newsletter on the difference between big-A and little-a authoritarians, a subject Ill be returning to Im sure. Trump has plenty of capital-A authoritarians in his orbit. They love to go on niche podcasts and cable shows and talk about rounding up the vermin and arresting the whole Biden Regime and dismantling the Deep State and talk about how they know what time it is. But most Republicans, even the most ardent Trumpists, dont process this talk the way the rest of us do. They either dismiss it as entertaining chatter or they have such unassailable faith in Trump that they assume hed never do such things, or only do them when warranted. They dont want authoritarianism but they have a hard time seeing anything that would make them worry about it. And Nick is right, that capital-A authoritarians fail without the support of the lowercase ones. People forget that fascism was very, very, popular. That doesnt mean everyone who loved Mussolini agreed with all the doctrines of Italian fascism (not least because there were so many and they kept changing). They just loved Mussolini. When Il Duce asked for help from Italians after the country was sanctioned for its invasion of Ethiopia, millions of women sent him their wedding rings to be melted down, a quarter-million from Rome alone.

On the second point, Ill just refer you back to the beginning of this newsletter. If you want to keep authoritarianism at bay, you need to take care of the institutions of government in such a way that you dont provide permission for the other side to take advantage of the precedents you set. If Democrats dont want Republicans to use executive orders like fascist diktats, dont use executive orders like fascist diktats yourself. If you dont want white Christians to get drunk on illiberal identity politics, dont create a massive identity politics industrial complex that makes white Christians feel like they have to play the same dumb game. I agree entirely that Trump is primarily a problem of the right, but the rights problemsjust like the leftsare not self-contained. They are American problems. When one side talks about segments of America as sinister internal enemiesas the left has for decadesyou shouldnt be surprised when the right does the same thing (which in fairness it has a long history of doing as well). Because the rhetoric always gets ratcheted upward.

I detested the way Trump referred to his political enemies as vermin, but the far more dangerous rhetoric preceded his use of the word when he said, the threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within. I could agree with that if Trump were talking about ideas. But he doesnt care about ideas. He was talking about people. The threat from within for him is always about people and institutions that stand in his way. And no one running for president should talk about classes of people that way, because presidents are supposed to serve all Americans, not just the ones whod consider melting down their wedding rings for him.

Various & Sundry

Canine update: Kirsten took a great pic of Z&P with some friends and I asked (X)Twitter followers to title the album cover. We got some fantastic replies. I particularly liked Quadrupedia. Also, the artwork for The Bark Rangers is just fantastic. Zoe has been in a perpetually good mood since recovering from her dental surgery, which makes me incredibly happy (weve even found new treats, Stella and Chewysthanks to a Dispatch readerthat she can chew/inhale). Pippas demands for belly rubs in exchange for going out in the dark have only intensified, but as luck would have it, I overslept this morning and she was ready to go, full of vim and vigor. Another trend that has intensified is her determination to roll in foulness as a form of protest for being bathed, which of course invites more bathing. Its a vicious cycle. One consequence of this is that the Dingo gets overtaken with schadenfreude about this cycle. For some reason, people like to point out that the girls get more excited to see TFJ than me. This is true. I have never denied it. Ive occasionally resented it. But it is what it is.

An additional note: At the request of many, particularly David French, Im trying to get the hang of Threads. I will try to use links to that site more in the future. Some habits are hard to break, and a lot of folks still appreciate the dog content on that other site.

ICYMI

Last Fridays paranoid G-File

Last weekends idealistic Ruminant

Congress takes a small step toward seriousness

The Remnant transforms into a dating podcast with Sarah Isgur

On Jew hatred as a symptom, not the disease

The Remnant with Francis Dearnley on the making of Ukraine: The Latest

The Dispatch Podcast on another pointless GOP debate

And now, the weird stuff

Car trouble

All you can eat

Private joke

Real Housewives of Parma

Baby genius

A bigger bowl

Sticky fingers

Read more at The Dispatch

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Weather experts are forecasting a movement of heavy rain, wind and snow on the Eastern U.S. this weekend.

Areas in New York and Massachusetts are under storm watches, as of Saturday afternoon. The National Weather Service predicted wind could reach up to 40 mph in the Boston and Nantucket regions throughout the weekend into Monday, according to alerts.

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will pool along the boundary on Sunday, producing heavy rain over parts of the Northeast, the service said Saturday in an alert slight risk of excessive rainfall over New England.

The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, and small streams the most vulnerable, they added. In addition, showers and thunderstorms will develop along and ahead of the front over parts of the Mid-Atlantic to the Southeast and Central Gulf Coast.

The service also warded against using boats on the water, claiming that strong winds could cause hazardous seas that could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.

The NWS issued early alerts on Thursday, warning of accumulating snowfall.

A storm system moving through the Eastern U.S. this weekend may bring a period of heavy rain and gusty winds to much of the East, the NWS Weather Prediction Center posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Accumulating snowfall is possible as well as across parts of the Central Appalachians into Upstate New York, they added.

Earlier in the week, a portion of the Pacific Northwest faced flood warnings in the wake of an atmospheric river dumping record-breaking rain on the area.

The NWS issued warnings for areas in western Washington, featuring cities to the north and east of Seattle  and a large part of the Olympic Peninsula, per The Associated Press. The atmospheric river, also known as a Pineapple Express, is a lengthy and narrow band of water vapor that can take warm subtropical moisture over the Pacific from around Hawaii.

Conditions in Washington caused the closure of passenger rail stations, schools and roads. The Evergreen State also saw the breaking of daily rainfall and temperature records.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Nelly Anaya-Mena, a housekeeper at the Beverly Hilton, picketed outside the hotel after she and co-workers walked off the job in a rolling strike on July 24. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

After five months of on-and-off strikes by Southern California hotel workers, there are signs of progress toward a resolution.

On Friday, Unite Here Local 11 announced it had reached a tentative contract agreement with the Beverly Hilton covering more than 500 unionized workers.

The union struck deals Saturday with two other properties managed by Hilton: for some 300 workers at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, and about 800 workers at the Hilton Anaheim.

Unite Here Local 11 also nailed down a tentative agreement Saturday with Hilton Costa Mesa, a property that carries the Hilton name but is operated independently. The Costa Mesa deal covers about 200 workers, union spokesperson Rachel Sulkes said.

In total, nine hotels have reached tentative contract agreements with Unite Here Local 11.

Read more: Take your union and shove it. When your L.A. hotel stay comes with a strike picket line

The union has declined to give specifics on wages and other economic details of the agreements it has reached thus far, and the contracts have not yet been put to a vote by workers. Union spokesperson Maria Hernandez has said that the contracts  once ratified by workers at the various hotels  will raise wages, strengthen pensions and increase investments in healthcare.

The nine hotels represent a small portion of the some 60 hotel sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties hit by a series of sporadic strikes after contracts covering more than 15,000 housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, and front desk workers expired June 30.

But momentum to settle the strike appears to be building as winter holidays and the Hollywood awards season pick up. Three of the four hotels reaching contract agreements in recent days had been part of a coordinated bargaining group said to represent owners and operators of more than 40 Southern California properties, Sulkes said.

"Our hope is that [negotiations] are starting to move," she said.

The Beverly Hilton, longtime host of the annual Golden Globe Awards, was the sixth property to reach a deal with the union. The Friday evening announcement of the deal came mere days before the unveiling of Golden Globe nominations Monday morning at the hotel, averting potential picket lines.

Striking Southern California hotel workers protest in front of the Beverly Hilton on July 24. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

"The hotel and union are pleased to announce their deal just before what promises to be an especially celebratory awards season on the heels of the actors and writers own labor disputes," the union said in an emailed statement Friday regarding the Beverly Hilton contract.

Unite Here Local 11 co-President Kurt Petersen praised the hotel as "a leader in Beverly Hills" and urged the city's other hotels targeted by the strike  the Fairmont Century Plaza and the Beverly Wilshire  to "quickly follow suit."

Hotel workers at the Beverly Hilton are eager to kick off the awards season now that Hollywood is back in full swing because they have a contract with a living wage, Petersen said in the statement.

Hilton spokesperson Karla Visconti said in an emailed statement Saturday: We are pleased to have reached a new labor agreement with Unite Here Local 11 for our valued Team Members at the Beverly Hilton, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and Hilton Anaheim. Hilton Team Members are at the heart of everything we do and we look forward to continuing to welcome our guests with our signature hospitality.

Sulkes, the union spokesperson, said that a picket line the union originally planned to set up outside of the Beverly Hilton on Monday morning will shift to the Beverly Wilshire. She said the union plans to set up the Monday protest as a meal, complete with tables and serving of food, mimicking Hollywood awards banquets.

Peter Hillan, a spokesperson for the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said the trade group couldn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Keith Grossman, an attorney representing the coordinated group of hotel owners and operators in talks with the union, did not respond to a request for comment. In early July, Grossman had said that the group consisted of 44 L.A. and Orange county hotels; he did not immediately respond to questions clarifying how many hotels remained in the group.

The Beverly Hilton, Waldorf Astoria and Hilton Anaheim had been members of the negotiating group, Sulkes said. The Hilton Costa Mesa, however, was not part of the bargaining group, she said.

The heated labor dispute has persisted for months. Noisy early morning picket lines, with hotel workers in red union shirts banging drums and blowing horns, have become a familiar scene at many L.A.-area hotels.

Read more: House Democrats urge probe of L.A. hotels for 'potentially predatory behavior' toward migrant workers

Local trade associations representing hotels have criticized the strike as damaging to the regional tourism economy. Workers say they can't afford to live near their jobs anymore in Southern California's overheated housing market.

Unite Here Local 11 had escalated worker protests on Wednesday morning. Housekeepers, cooks and other workers, as well as staff organizers with Unite Here Local 11, set up camp outside two hotels on Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport early Wednesday morning.

Dozens of tents lined the sidewalk outside the Sheraton Gateway and Four Points Sheraton LAX; over the tents dangled string lights and clotheslines festooned with laundry, including lacy lingerie and baby onesies. In front of the Sheraton Gateway hung a large yellow banner reading "Occupy."

Workers protested in shifts, with some sleeping there overnight. The union hauled in portable toilets for protesting workers, and at night when the temperature dropped, union staffers helped shivering and bundled-up workers light heat lamps.

Housekeepers interviewed Thursday night said they are frustrated by months of tense negotiations and years of what they describe as heavier workloads for wages that are unlivable.

Sheraton Gateway housekeepers said they make a $19.80 hourly wage. Unite Here Local 11 spokesperson Maria Teresa Kamel said that of the hotels in talks with the union, workers near LAX tend to have some of the most depressed wages.

The protest wrapped after four days and three nights, with workers and union staff packing up the tents Saturday evening.









This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio (WJW)  A Strongsville City Schools employee was placed on leave amid an ongoing investigation.

In a letter sent to parents, obtained by the FOX 8 I-Team, the district said a staff member at Strongsville High School is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student while working in another district.

Deer culling to begin tonight in Parma

Ensuring the health and safety of our students is the top priority for the Strongsville City School District, the letter said. Although the allegation does not involve any current or former Strongsville students, we take all allegations of inappropriate behavior seriously and investigate them thoroughly.

The employee was placed on paid administrative leave.

Video: Thieves break into Westlake jewelry store

An internal investigation is underway and the Strongsville Police Department was made aware of the allegations, the letter said.

The district went on to say that the staff member isnt allowed on school district property during the investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
VIRGINIA (WAVY)  According to a new study, Virginia is spending over $283,000 a year due to police misconduct.

High Rise Financial, a pre-settlement legal funding company, conducted the research. The firm looked at the number of police misconduct cases processed between Oct. 2009 and July 2023 to uncover how much each state has spent on litigation settlements.

Since 2009, the Commonwealth has spent over $3.3 million in police settlements. The study shows the U.S. has seen more than $2.3 billion spent on litigation settlements caused by police misconduct, due to violations like an excessive use of force, discrimination and bias, unlawful arrests and detentions, and abuse of power.

The following 10 states paid the most in police misconduct settlements:

New York, $1,094,427,000

California, $332,455,000

Illinois, $330,105,000

Maryland, $81,279,000

Pennsylvania, $59,192,000

Colorado, $51,630,000

Massachusetts, $39,249,997

Minnesota, $37,087,900

Ohio, $33,700,000

District of Columbia, $32,100,000

A spokesperson from High Rise Financial said, Some states are paying huge amounts due to mistakes made by their own police force. While this expenditure can be extremely high, its important that there are financial repercussions for police misconduct in order to ensure accountability and victim compensation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
An end to round-the-clock telephone calls requesting approval for intelligence-service operations might seem a happy by-product of being suddenly ousted as home secretary. But, says Suella Braverman, as a parent of a two-year-old, that has not necessarily meant more sleep. My daughter still wakes up at 3am, she sighs. But, yes, I dont need to worry about the national-security issues.

Braverman, 43, describes the responsibilities of home secretary  which include signing off on MI5 surveillance warrants  as a heavy burden. [Officials] do call at any time and youve got to be able to respond immediately, she says. However, it isnt just the national-security element of the role that the former attorney general has found to weigh heavily.

Now freed from the restrictions of collective responsibility, Braverman reveals that she has been fighting a series of behind-the-scenes battles on key policies since her appointment in the autumn of 2022  and not only those directly relating to the work of the Home Office. She has been at the forefront of arguments to take the toughest approach to extremism  and connects her concerns about what she terms hate marches in London relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict to her insistence on the need to tackle rising levels of migration.

The former home secretary refers back to a controversial speech in September to highlight the anti-Semitic slogans that have emerged during pro-Palestine protests in central London as a reflection of the failure of multiculturalism. Braverman has been attempting to hold Rishi Sunak to account for a series of commitments she says he made in exchange for her support following Liz Trusss demise as leader last year  on issues from cutting EU red tape to issuing guidance to schools on trans matters.

At the heart of the commitments Braverman sought were meaningful reforms to bring down levels of migration. Sitting in the kitchen of her Hertfordshire home, once again a backbench MP, Braverman sets out why she believes Rishi Sunaks Rwanda Bill to get deportation flights up and running is not fit for purpose due to the gaping holes she believes it leaves open for legal challenges. Braverman also says that she was pushing to introduce sweeping restrictions on legal migration as early as last autumn, but was blocked by Downing Street as the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to meet her to discuss the issue over the course of a year.

Suella Braverman, December 2023: 'Extremism on the streets has been allowed to get out of control' - Paul Grover/Paul Grover

She now fears that the changes announced last week will fail to have any impact on official figures until mid-2025  after a general election at which the Conservatives are, on current course, likely to be punished for failing to deliver on promises to cut levels of migration. Elsewhere, Braverman reveals that she was privately opposing plans by Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, to scrap prison sentences of less than a year for most criminals, to help tackle the prison-overcrowding crisis. The solution is not to let criminals off the hook  it is to build more prisons, and quickly.

That Braverman, a standard-bearer of the Tory Right and a former head of the European Research Group of MPs that now threatens to block Mr Sunaks Rwanda law, should have ended up a disillusioned member of Sunaks government is perhaps one of the less surprising political developments of recent years, given the Conservative Partys deep splits.

The pair were unlikely allies when Braverman, then a possible leadership contender herself, announced on October 23 2022 that she had decided to back Sunaks second attempt to become Tory leader last year, having lost to Liz Truss in the summer. The move appeared to all-but guarantee Sunaks path to No 10.

When it became clear that Lizs time was coming to an end, the [now] Prime Minister did approach me, and he asked for my support, says Braverman, whose own leadership pledges on migration and cutting tax forced several of her rivals further to the Right last summer. By the time Sunak approached her, Braverman had quit as Trusss home secretary after sending an official document from her personal email address.

I supported Liz because I thought that on illegal migration primarily, she was very robust from the outset. So, Rishi spoke to me, we had several conversations and eventually I decided to support him, on very firm assurances that he gave me, an agreement that we made, that if I were to support him, he would take particular specific steps on several very discrete policy areas [including] illegal migration, legal migration.

The agreement included raising the minimum salary threshold required for foreign skilled workers from 26,000 to 40,000  a proposal almost exactly adopted by Mr Sunak only a couple of weeks after sacking Braverman. Braverman drew up a physical document that Mr Sunak then agreed to in front of witnesses, she says. In person, a document was considered by both of us, we went through it in a lot of detail and he agreed to it  with other people in the room.

Braverman delivers a statement to the House of Commons following her departure from the Cabinet - Maria Unger/UK Parliament/PA Wire/PA

On Mr Sunaks part, while Braverman was appointed to run the Home Office, the Prime Ministers close ally Robert Jenrick was installed as a Cabinet-level immigration minister, whom some journalists were told was there to keep an eye on the home secretary. But the arrangement was somewhat painless for Braverman, who says that she and Jenrick had been friends for decades, having been contemporaries at Cambridge University.

We were partners at the Home Office, says Braverman of Jenrick, who quit last week having failed to persuade Mr Sunak to introduce a tougher Rwanda Bill. That alliance may now prove deadly for the Prime Ministers legislation as the two former ministers team up to warn their party that it will not stop the flow of boats crossing the Channel.

Braverman makes clear that she feels let down. While in September her public assessment of Sunak was that he was doing a very, very hard job very well, she restricts herself now to saying that the Prime Minister is doing a very, very hard job. Primarily, she insists that the bill due to be debated on Tuesday  which is intended to overcome a Supreme Court ruling blocking deportation flights to Rwanda  fails to deliver on Sunaks promise to do whatever it takes to get the scheme up and running as a deterrent to help stop the passage of small boats carrying migrants across the Channel.

Ultimately, hes not stopped the boats. He made the promise at the beginning of the year. Hes not fulfilled the promise. I want him to fulfil the promise. We are not there yet and I want him to do whatever it takes. He said he will do whatever it takes. He needs to prove it now. The bill does have some commendable elements to it, she says. She welcomes the inclusion of a notwithstanding clause that disapplies parts of the Human Rights Act. But, like Jenrick, she fears that it is used in an extremely narrow way that could still leave plenty of room for legal challenges.

Braverman believes that the Conservatives should campaign on a platform to leave the European Convention on Human Rights at the next election, saying that the treaty is far too elastically interpreted, it has operated to thwart our ability to control our borders, control our national security, and properly take back control. But she concedes: This Government wont do it, and it is a debate for another day.

Her other concerns about the bill include a clause that allows individuals to make claims that they cannot be sent to Rwanda  a measure Braverman believes could add on six months to the wait for any deportation flights. There will be individual claims brought by every person who is put on the first flight to Rwanda. Thats what happened in June 2022 [when flights were grounded by an order of the European Court of Human Rights]. It took six months for those individual claims to get a decision from the High Court. So clause four of this bill basically adds on a minimum of six months to any scheme that is built by this legislation.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman at a press conference in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda in March 2023 - AP/AP

Braverman, who practised as a barrister before becoming MP for Fareham, Hampshire, in 2015, suggests that the provision is likely to be gamed by migrants, with the bar set at a requirement for individuals to produce compelling evidence if they wish to argue that Rwanda is an unsafe country for them. In all of the claims that weve dealt with... pretty much all of the claimants were able to adduce medical evidence from a doctor, which said, Yes, this person will commit suicide if they move to Rwanda; yes, this person will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder if they move to Rwanda.

Another concern is the absence of an automatic block on so-called pyjama injunctions, or interim Rule 39 orders, from the Strasbourg court, one of which was used to ground flights last year. In the bill, it clearly states that ministers decide whether to use the Rule 39 block or not. I know that our attorney general has advised that to ignore a Rule 39 injunction would be a breach of international law, so therefore, as it stands, Rule 39s will block flights.

Couple that with the Prime Ministers rather strange claim that Rwanda doesnt want us to breach international law, despite there being a clear argument ignoring Rule 39s isnt a breach, and it follows that Strasbourg will be able to effectively stop any flights taking off. The rather strange claim is Mr Sunaks declaration in recent days that he was unable to pursue a full-fat version of the legislation  blocking off individual claims under human rights laws  because the Rwandan government insisted that it would not tolerate the UK reneging on its international legal obligations. She finds this unconvincing.

Vincent Biruta, the Rwandan foreign minister who released a statement supporting Mr Sunaks claim, never mentioned such concerns in his discussions with Braverman, she says. Bravermans remarks speak to a lack of trust that developed at the top of the Government.

On legal migration, she says, I worked out the proposals, I wrote officially to the Prime Minister. I asked for meetings to discuss the matter with him. I was never granted a meeting in 12 months by the Prime Minister on this subject. And so I was left to do it through official correspondence. It was about six times that I put in a request through myself or officials to talk about the plan on legal migration.

Braverman says her only one-to-one time with Mr Sunak discussing possible measures to restrict legal migration was five minutes during a meeting on the Rwanda scheme. Braverman suggests that the apparent uninterest in significantly reducing legal migration was not exclusive to Downing Street and that, supported by Jenrick, she was the only Cabinet minister arguing forcefully for [reducing] net migration.

Braverman argues that the Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility only calculate the estimated economic benefits of increased migration and not the costs, including its impact on the NHS, schools and the housing market.

Its a real pressure on resources: GP places, school places, house prices, she says. The sector is now coming out and saying increased migration is pushing up house prices. And yet, the OBR and the various economic departments do not see it that way. They say more people coming into the country, taken at face value, is a good thing for the economy. They ignore the cost that those people will bring with them, particularly when so many of them are bringing in more than one dependant.

Were not building enough houses, were not creating enough school places or GP places to support this rapid increase in migration. Its also straining community cohesion, and parts of our country are changing very rapidly. And that affects issues like the social fabric of our country. And that goes to the point that Ive made previously about multiculturalism.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman: , December 2023: 'Ultimately, the PM has not stopped the boats. He made the promise at the beginning of the year. He's not fulfilled the promise' - Paul Grover/Paul Grover

In September, weeks before the October 7 attacks by Hamas and subsequent pro-Palestine protests in London, Braverman drew controversy for a speech in which she suggested that multiculturalism had failed. Now she says that events since then have proved her point.

I think it has utterly failed in parts of our country, where communities are not integrating, theyre not learning the language, they have values totally at odds with British values. I think thats been borne out by some of the hate marches that weve seen since October 7. [It is] astonishing, staggering, shocking and shameful that, on the streets of Britain in the 21st century, hundreds of thousands of people are jubilant about what Hamas did, glorifying, celebrating, in a way which is horrific to see and has intimidated, harassed and been racist towards the Jewish community. And I think that is a reflection of the failure of multiculturalism.

Braverman adds: Extremism on the streets has been allowed to get out of control. I think these marches represent the highest risk of extremism and terrorism that weve seen for 20 years since 9/11. There is radicalisation going on around our country, in mosques, in schools in communities around the country, where violence is being preached, hatred is being preached, and anti-Semitism is being normalised.

While a month ago, Braverman might have been conducting such an interview at the Home Office rather than in her own kitchen, a lighthearted reminder of the realities of post-ministerial life arrives in the form of her husband, Rael, a finance manager for Mercedes, returning home for lunch. He jokes: I dont want a photo, I dont want to be asked a question. Braverman has previously spoken about how their household is run on spreadsheets that dictate which parent or grandparent is responsible for nursery and school drop-offs, dinners and bedtimes on any given day. The couple have a four-year-old son, George, as well as a two-year-old daughter called Gabriella.

After four years in Cabinet, theres been a lot of rejigging of the household spreadsheets. Im doing a few more pick-ups and dinners. But there is no sign of Braverman considering herself removed from the crisis she believes is facing the Conservative Party, potentially the country, over migration.

Addressing Mr Sunaks decision to take a middle way on the illegal-migration issue, she says: I think populist parties will gain support on the back of this. And the far Right, Im afraid. This is why its so essential for the moderates, and the centre-Right party, the Conservative Party, to deal robustly and compassionately with the issue of migration. Because if we dont, then far-Right political parties will gain increasing support.

Asked, amid a growing backlash against Mr Sunaks leadership, whether the party could really stomach yet another contest, Braverman insists: No one wants a leadership contest for a very, very long time. However, she does not entirely rule out a future attempt to run the party herself, simply insisting: Its not about that and Im not thinking about it at all. I want the Prime Minister to succeed, and that means bringing forward a bill that will actually work and get flights off to Rwanda. We cant afford to fail again and let down the British people.

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Keeping up with Donald Trumps court schedule is a dizzying task, since he faces two federal trials, a criminal trial in Georgia, and two separate civil and criminal trials in New York. (Oh, and hes running for president.) To make things easier, well be recapping the biggest Trump trial news at the end of each week.

An appeals court upheld the gag order on Trump in his election interference case, though the court modified it so its easier for the former president to publicly comment on people involved. In the meantime, Trump is doubling down on his attempts to argue that he cant be tried for interfering in the 2020 election because of presidential immunity, while Jack Smith is drawing on Trumps history of making baseless voter fraud claims to build his case. Heres what you might have missed this week.

An appeals court ruled on Friday that significant portions of Judge Tanya Chutkans gag ordershes overseeing the Department of Justices election interference caseon Trump could stay in place, while some parts needed to be pulled back. Thats because the panel felt Chutkans order sweeps in more protected speech than is necessary.

The three-judge panel upheld the part of the order that banned Trump from publicly commenting on any known or potential witnesses, but tweaked it so that the order only applied if Trump was commenting about their participation in the DOJs case. Chutkan had also banned Trump from publicly criticizing special counsel Jack Smith, which the appeals court struck down. Now, Trump will be allowed to speak freely about Smith in public and criticize his indictment.

Lastly, the appeals court ruled Trump is only banned from publicly commenting on members of Smiths team, relatives of lawyers involved in the DOJs case, or court staff, if those statements are likely to materially interfere with the DOJs work in the election interference trialthat may sound familiar: Judge Arthur Engoron, overseeing Trumps New York civil fraud trial, also issued a gag order that banned Trump from attacking his court staff.

Trumps lawyers are expected to again appeal this new decision all the way up to the Supreme Court, but it remains to be seen whether theyll decide to take it up. Writing for Slate, Robert Katzberg argues its a golden opportunity for the court to recover some of its soiled reputation.

Speaking of the Supreme Courtthere was a new development this week in another matter that Trumps team has vowed to pursue all the way to the nations highest court, if need be.

Trumps legal team has been trying to get Jack Smiths election interference case dismissed on the grounds that, as president at the time, Trump had absolute immunity from prosecution for actions committed in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 election. His lawyers filed an appeal arguing as much, which the judge in that trial firmly rejected last week. Just because he was president at the time, Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote, that position does not confer a lifelong get-out-of-jail-free pass. But Trump isnt leaving it therehis lawyers filed a request to put the proceedings on hold while they appeal Chutkans decision.

It can take significant time for an appeal to work its way up through the courts, and this could delay the start of the federal election interference trial. That trial had been scheduled to start on March 4obviously not great timing for Trump, since its in the middle of primary season, just one day before Super Tuesday.

The next step is for a three-judge appeals court panel to be named, at which time a new date will be set for the appeals process to move forward. Its unclear how long the panel will take to weigh in, since theyll be considering a pretty weighty question: Can a former president be shielded from criminal prosecution, even if hes no longer in office? If they side with Chutkan, and Trumps team appeals that, thats when the Supreme Court could decide to get involved. Trumps lawyers have already signaled theyre planning to take this all the way to the highest court, though its always possible the justices will decide to sit this one out.

The high court considered a similar question under Republican President Richard Nixon, when they considered whether presidents could be shielded through executive privilege when responding to subpoenas. (The court ultimately decided that they cant be.) Well be keeping an eye on that three-judge panel!

Mike Pence is on the witness list for the Georgia election interference case, CNN reported, citing multiple people whove viewed the list. In the lead-up to this indictment, Georgia prosecutors didnt interview Pence, but he did cooperate with the Department of Justice in its similar election interference case.

Pence has not been charged in any of the cases Trump is facing, but in the weeks following the 2020 election, Trumps lawyers and advisers tried to convince him to play a key role in the fake electors scheme: They wanted him to refuse to certify the results of the 2020 election. During those meetings, Pence took contemporaneous notes, which he ended up handing over to the DOJ, and they reportedly showed the former vice president gently trying to shut down Trumps plan.

Georgia prosecutors witness list names almost 200 people, including Trumps ex-Attorney General Bill Barr, former Justice Department officials Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Donoghue, and former aide Steven Bannon.

The special counsels office filed fresh court documents in their election interference case, offering a sneak peek into their strategy. Smith wants to prove Trump has a history of spreading lies about U.S. elections, pointing at old tweets he made that suggested there was voter fraud during the 2012 and 2016 presidential electionseven though he won in 2016.

As early as November 2012, the defendant issued a public tweet making baseless claims that voting machines had switched from then-candidate Romney to then-candidate Obama, wrote Molly Gaston, senior assistant to the special counsel. During the 2016 presidential campaign, the defendant claimed repeatedly, with no basis, that there was widespread voter fraud.

Smith is arguing that this proves Trump had a common plan to claim fraud whenever he didnt like the outcome of an election and serves as a motive for his fake electors scheme.

To further make his point, Smith also noted Trumps history of being noncommittal on a peaceful transfer of power. During a news conference in September 2020, two months before the presidential election, Trump famously refused to agree to a peaceful transfer of power and began sowing doubt about mail-in ballots. We want to haveget rid of the ballots and youll have a very transwell have a very peacefulthere wont be a transfer, frankly; therell be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it, said Trump.

Similarly in 2016, during a presidential debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton, when Trump was asked whether he would accept the results of that election, he only said he would look at it at the time.

The defense has been presenting its case in the former presidents New York civil fraud trial. This week, Eli Bartov, an accounting professor at New York Universitys Stern School of Business, testified that, based on his evaluation of Trumps financial documents, There is no evidence whatsoever for any accounting fraud.

Bartov acknowledged there were errors in those documents, including an overinflated valuation of Trumps apartment in Trump Tower between 2011 and 2012, but that difference did not amount to fraud. There is no evidence here of concealment, said Bartov. Its true this is an error. But it is no fraud. Instead, Bartov said it was a calculation error that should be blamed on Trumps external accounting firm for not catching it. Eric Trump, the former presidents second son, was also scheduled to testify this week, but the defense decided to cut his testimony.

Next week, Trump is expected to take the witness stand again in this case, this time testifying for his defense.
A suspect is in custody after a SWAT situation in Pittsburgh.

Units were called to the 300 block of Winston Street in Hazelwood at 6:18 p.m. on Friday.

Pittsburgh Police said they were helping Pennsylvania State Police execute an arrest warrant at a house. The suspect barricaded himself inside as authorities arrived.

SWAT was called to help.

The male inside the house eventually surrendered. Officials have not specified how old the suspect was.

Channel 11 has reached out to Pennsylvania State Police for more information and is waiting to hear back.

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The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating a fatal shooting by a Newberry County sheriffs deputy.

The shooting took place around 9 p.m. Thursday when the deputy was responding to a 911 call of an individual firing a weapon and attempting to break into a home near Whitmire, according to a statement released by the sheriffs office.

The Newberry County Coroner identified the man killed as David Michael Kitchens, 35.

This is an unfortunate incident and we regret loss of life, however, Deputies must protect themselves from harm, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said in a statement.

Deputies say that at 9:18 p.m., a 911 call was made by a resident of Little Egypt Road, saying that an individual was in their yard beating on their home and firing a weapon.

With 911 on the line, the caller said the individual was on the back porch trying to break open a door. The man then shot into the house, according a statement from the sheriffs office. At some point before deputies arrived, the intruder, whose name was reportedly known to the caller but was not specified in the statement, fled to his nearby home.

A speeding citation from 2008 lists Kitchens home address as 54 Kitchens Drive, Whitmire, which is just off of Little Egypt Road.

When a deputy approached Kitchens house, Kitchens was standing in the doorway with a rifle, according to the statement. The Newberry County Sheriffs Office said the deputy told Kitchens to drop the firearm, but Kitchens pointed the weapon at the Deputy.

The deputy, whose name has not been released, then shot Kitchens. In the statement, the sheriffs office said the deputy called for medical assistance and immediately began performing life saving measures.

When Whitmire Rescue Squad and Newberry County EMS arrived, they determined there were no vital signs, according to the sheriffs office.

The deputy, who was not injured, was placed on administrative leave per office policy. Foster said he immediately requested SLED investigate the shooting, which is also office policy.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  The Metro Nashville Police Department is working to identify a suspect who assaulted a locksmith at a Donelson apartment complex Friday night.

The incident happened outside Sheffield Heights Apartments on Airways Circle.

(Courtesy: Metro Nashville Police Department)

Metro police reported the suspect, who is likely a teenager, probably assaulted the locksmith while attempting to rob them.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Investigators believe the locksmith fired a weapon at the suspect, possibly wounding them.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.

No additional information was immediately released.

 Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go.

 Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.

 Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee.

This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Robert Pattinson and his pregnant girlfriend, Suki Waterhouse, had quite the night out with Taylor Swift.

On Dec. 6, the couple stepped out in New York City together with Swift and this was Pattinson and Waterhouse's first joint appearance together since Waterhouse revealed she was pregnant in November.

For the outing, Waterhouse wore a sheer white top and long silky pants underneath a black coat, while Pattinson dressed down for the occasion and opted to wear a gray t-shirt underneath an unbuttoned red and white striped shirt and a pair of black jeans.

As for Swift, she sported a long black dress and her signature red lipstick.

Suki Waterhouse, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Swift (Gotham / GC Images)

In photos that were taken of the trio that night, you can see Swift walking in front of Pattinson and Waterhouse as they departed a screening of Emma Stone's new movie, "Poor Things," at DGA theatre.

Once the screening was over, the trio then headed to an afterparty for the movie, according to People.

In November, Waterhouse revealed she was pregnant when she performed at the Corona Capital Music Festival in Mexico City.

As soon as she stepped on stage in a skintight pink dress that sparkled, fans noticed she had a baby bump.

I decided to wear something particularly sparkly today because I thought it might distract you from something else thats going on, Waterhouse said to her fans in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

As the "Daisy Jones & the Six star turned to the side to show off her pregnant belly, she said, Im not sure if its working," which made the audience cheer for her even louder.

Waterhouse and Pattinson have been together for five years. In December 2022, they made their red carpet debut when they attended the Dior Pre-Fall 2023 menswear show in Giza, Egypt together.

Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson attend the Dior Fall 2023 Menswear Show on December 03, 2022 in Giza, Egypt. (Stephane Cardinale / Corbis via Getty Images)

In February, Waterhouse opened up about her relationship with Pattinson and said shes shocked to have been in such a happy relationship for so long.

Im shocked that Im so happy with someone for nearly five years, she told The Sunday Times in an interview.

Im always incredibly excited when I see his name pop up (on my phone) or even a text, and I think he feels the same about me. Weve always got so much to say, and I find him hilarious, she added.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
TULARE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  A Mission Oak High School student is receiving praise from the Tulare Police Department for seeing something and saying something, the Tulare Police Department announced.

Police say, that the four simple words see something say something can make a difference to someone in need of help.

High school student, Alayana De La Rosa took that literally. Police say when she was on her way to school De La Rosa observed a fellow student who appeared to be in distress.

According to police, the student was planning to end their life after school, De La Rosa reported the incident to Mission Oak Staff.

Police say they were able to work with TUJHS, Psychologists, Hope Horizon Mental Health and Child Welfare Services to provide all available resources to the student in need, ultimately ensuring a safe outcome.

The Tulare Police Department presented a Challenge Coin to De La Rosa, they say its to show their heartfelt appreciation for her willingness to help someone in need.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
The Texas Historical Commission has removed around two dozen race-related books from the gift shops of two former slave plantations because one person complained, according to Texas Monthly.

The magazine reported this week that Michelle Haas, a white amateur historian, began emailing a commission board member after visiting the Varner-Hogg plantation last year.

Titles reportedly removed included: Remembering the Days of Sorrow, a book of slave narratives; Invisible Man, the Ralph Ellison novel on the Black experience; Stamped from the Beginning, a history of racist ideas by Ibram X. Kendi; and Roots, the Alex Haley novel famously adapted for television in the 1970s.

The Texas Historical Commission is a state agency overseeing the preservation of certain historical sites across the state. As such, they were required to respond to an open records request from the Texas Monthly asking for emails relating to the gift shop situation.

The magazine reported that Haas thought the Varner-Hogg plantation presented too much information about the enslaved Black people who worked the sugarcane fields and not enough about the white people who lived in the main house. She later reportedly emailed David Gravelle, a commissions board member, a list of titles she did not like that were available at another nearby historical site, the Levi Jordan plantation.

Haas is the author of a book of her own, titled 200 Years a Fraud, which takes the text of the 12 Years a Slave memoir and points out what she considers historical inaccuracies in the primary authors account of his own life.

Gravelle reportedly took up Haas complaints with the board, claiming he feared the Republican-controlled state legislature would be upset if lawmakers found out about the titles on offer.

A spokesperson for the commission pinned the change on a general reduction of inventory.

For more, head to Texas Monthly.

Related...
The Texas Supreme Court paused a ruling from a lower court allowing a pregnant woman to have an abortion.

On Friday, the court said it was staying a Thursday ruling from a district court that allowed 31-year-old Katie Cox to have an abortion. Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant, has a fetus that has been diagnosed with full trisomy, which is a condition that results in miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of the infant in the hours, days or weeks following the birth.

The petition for mandamus and motion for temporary relief remain pending before the Court, the Texas Supreme Court said in the ruling.

Coxs doctors have said have said carrying her pregnancy to term will force a cesarean section or induction that would result in serious injury. If labor is induced in Coxs case, she could face a uterine rupture due to previous C-sections. An additional C-section could also endanger her future fertility.

While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the states request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied, Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Cox in the case, said in a press release. We are talking about urgent medical care. Kate is already 20 weeks pregnant. This is why people should not need to beg for healthcare in a court of law.

The Lone Star state outlaws every abortion starting at fertilization. It also has a bounty law, which rewards private citizens who sue people who have assisted someone in obtaining an abortion.

Future criminal and civil proceedings cannot restore the life that is lost if Plaintiffs or their agents proceed to perform and procure an abortion in violation of Texas law, Texas Attorney General Paxtons office said to the court, per The AP.

The Hill has reached out to the Texas Attorney Generals office and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Memphis Police are looking for the suspect who reportedly charged thousands of dollars worth of purchases on stolen credit cards.

Memphis Police responded to a vehicle burglary at the Wolf River Greenway on Thursday, November 30.

According to police, between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, a man broke into a vehicle in the parking lot and stole the victims credit cards.

13 thieves burglarize City Gear store on Lamar

The suspect reportedly used the credit cards and charged more than $9,000 worth of merchandise and gift cards.

Memphis Police say the suspect was last seen wearing gray pants, a gray Nike ball cap, and a green Stall & Dean jacket.

Anyone with information on this burglary is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
A third arrest has been made in connection to the death of Crystal Rogers, the mother of five who vanished from the small town of Bardstown, Kentucky eight years ago.

Steve Lawson, who spoke with Ms Rogers former boyfriend Brooks Houck on the phone the night after her disappearance, has been indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in her case.

According to the indictment, Mr Lawson agreed to aid one or more persons in the planning or commission of the death of another and then destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence on 3 July 3 or 4 July 2015, when Ms Rogers vanished.

Her car was later found along the Bluegrass Parkway and inside were her keys, cell phone and purse. Ms Rogers body has never been found, but has been presumed dead since October 2015.

Mr Lawson is the third man to be arrested in the case after eight years of investigation. Within the last few months, his son Joseph Lawson, and Mr Houck have also been indicted.

Steve Lawson has been indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in Crystal Rogers case (Harrison County Sheriff's Department)

Brooks Houck, Ms Rogers former boyfriend, who has long been considered the main suspect in the case, was arrested in September. He has been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence, with a judge setting at bond at $10m.

Houck mentioned Steve Lawsons name in one of the very first police interviews between Houck and Nelson County Detective Jon Snow early in the investigation.

The name came up when the detective asked Houck who was on the other end of the line, during a late-night phone call, on the night Rogers disappeared.

Houck responded that Steve Lawson worked for him, but that he couldnt remember why Mr Lawson had called him so late. The recorded video of the police interview then shows Houck calling Mr Lawson from inside the interrogation room.

Brooks Houck (Hardin County Detention Center)

The other night you called me really, really late, Houck is heard saying. I cant remember what you were calling me about.

Mr Lawson responded that he had called him with a question about rental properties, to which Houck replied he had to ask Ms Rogers about it and would call him back.

So that begs the question in my mind  if shes in the truck next to you when she called, why would you need to call her? he asked, recalling a previous statement Houck had made about Rogers whereabouts at that time.

Multiple searches have been conducted at the Houck properties over the years while Houck has denied involvement with Ms Rogers disappearance.

Prior to Houcks arrest, another man was arrested in August on charges stemming from the disappearance.

Joseph L. Lawson, 32, has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death of Ms Rogers.

Joseph Lawson is charged in connection to the death of Kentucky mom Crystal Rogers, who went missing in 2015 (Nelson County Sheriffs Office)

Joseph Lawson is the son of Steve Lawson, his attorney Theodore Lavit confirmed to WDRB, telling the outlet that the elder Lawson always maintained his innocence and always revealed he would never hurt that lady. And he never did hurt that lady in any way whatsoever.

Mr Lawsons bond has been set at $500,000 cash. He is expected back in court on 21 December while his son is due back in court on 5 January. Houck is set to be in court on 8 February.

What happened to Crystal Rogers?

For years, the mystery of what happened to the 35-year-old has puzzled law enforcement, tortured her loved ones and haunted the small town of Bardstown, a place marred by a slew of unsolved killings in recent years.

Three months after Ms Rogers disappearance, Houck was named a suspect in the case. Investigators at the time said they believed she was dead. But her body has never been found.

Ms Rogers family never gave up the search for her and never stopped fighting for justice as her story continued to be shared on true crime podcasts and TV series.

Crystal Rogers (Nelson County Sheriffs Office)

Tommy Ballard looked for his daughter every day, creating the Team Crystal Facebook page to help spread the word.

But 16 months later, the dedicated father was preparing to go on a hunting trip when an unknown assailant approached him at his family property and shot him in the chest, killing him instantly. His case also remains unsolved.

Ms Rogers case is not the only unsolved mystery in Bardstown, Kentucky. There are also four unsolved murders that have thrust the small town into the headlines over the past few years. The FBI is investigating all four murders.
Another teenager, a 14-year-old, has been charged with murder after the deadly Charlotte shooting of Maurice Moore.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released the third arrest Friday night, stating officers arrested the teen on Thursday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

The other two suspects facing murder charges are 15 and 13 years old.

All three teens are accused of murder in connection with a deadly shooting that happened on Oct. 7 on Baltimore Avenue in south Charlotte.

None of the teens identities have been revealed due to their ages.

CMPD has not released a cause to the violence or if any others are suspected in the deadly shooting.

(WATCH: CMPD investigating shooting death in west Charlotte)
BUCYRUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Three people are facing charges after law enforcement recovered prescription narcotics and drug paraphernalia at two Bucyrus residences on Friday.

Deputies from the Crawford County Sheriffs Office and METRICH enforcement unit executed search warrants at two residences, located in the 700 block of Dudley Street and the 1700 block of Marion Road.

The sheriffs office said a large amount of prescription narcotics and drug paraphernalia were located at the residences.

(Photo Courtesy/Crawford County Sheriffs Office)

(Photo Courtesy/Crawford County Sheriffs Office)

(Photo Courtesy/Crawford County Sheriffs Office)

Car crashes into northeast Columbus apartment building

Both Matthew Carroll, 42, and David Adkins, 66, were arrested along with Jamie George-Carroll, 40, and a 64-year-old woman who was later released. Carroll, Adkins and George-Caroll are facing charges of trafficking in prescription medications. The Crawford County Prosecutors Office could file additional charges, according to the sheriffs office.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Bob Pardo, the Texas fighter-pilot who became an aviation legend by using his jet to push his wingmans crippled fighter-bomber to safety in the skies over North Vietnam, has died at 89.

Pardos daring maneuver, immortalized as Pardos Push, saved the lives of two crew members whose F-4 Phantom was gushing fuel after taking ground fire during a bombing raid against a North Vietnamese steel mill in 1967.

Pardo, whose own F-4 was damaged and leaking fuel  though not as badly  literally pushed the other Phantom from behind for nearly 90 miles until it reached Laotian airspace. Then crew members in both planes ejected. All four were rescued.

Pardos nerve and quick thinking attained mythic status. Depictions of the famous push can be found in Air Force squadron rooms, including one at the 12th Flying Training Wing on Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.

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In memory of Bob Pardo, were left with a stark truth: The skies demand more than skill; they demand innovation and resilience, said Maj. Gen. Clark Quinn, commander of the 19th Air Force at Randolph. The legacy of Pardos Push lives on as a call to keep moving forward, to fly through adversity and to navigate lifes challenges head-on.

Military aviators live by a creed of taking care of one another, and that act demonstrated that better than anything Ive ever seen or heard of in my life, said retired Air Force Gen. Gregory Speedy Martin, 75, of Colorado Springs.

Retired Gen. Ronald Fogleman, 81, of Durango, Colo., a former Air Force chief of staff, called Pardos Push a part of Air Force history and lore, and its kind of an endearing story of somebody looking out for somebody else and finding a way to (help) a couple of guys who were going to have to eject over enemy territory.

Pardos bravery, he added, stood for an enduring principle: You dont leave a wingman.

Pardo died Dec. 5 in College Station, his home. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station. The funeral will be held there at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

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Capt. Bob Pardo, left, with his backseater, 1st Lt. Steve Wayne. During the Vietnam War, they served in the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand. They conducted bombing raids over North Vietnam. Jerry Lara/Staff photographer

Birthday bombing run

John Robert Pardo was born in Waco and enrolled at the University of Houston in 1953. Life was good, he recalled many years later. He ran the switchboard and the billiard room at his dormitory, where he made a pretty good living shooting pool.

But Pardo quit school and went to work digging pipeline ditches for his father, a foreman for a gas company. His dad warned it would be hard, and it was. When a buddy told him the Air Force was accepting pilot candidates right out of high school, Pardo applied. He won his wings at Bryan AFB on May 15, 1955.

The mission that made him famous occurred on March 10, 1967, his birthday. He was with the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand. He and the other pilots carried out bombing raids, did escort duty or flew combat air patrols, depending on the day.

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On this day, the mission was to bomb the Thai Nguyen iron/steel works 35 miles north of Hanoi. It was the first time the Air Force had taken aim at one of the most important industrial sites in North Vietnam. It was defended by 1,000 anti-aircraft guns as well as surface-to-air missiles.

Pardos wingman, Capt. Earl Aman, was flying an F-4 with the radio call signal Cheetah 4. In the back seat was his weapons officer, 1st Lt. Robert Houghton.

Pardo and his backseater, 1st Lt. Steve Wayne, were in Cheetah 2.

As the Phantoms closed in on their target, Cheetah 4 was hit by anti-aircraft fire and began leaking fuel.

Refueling was not an option; no tankers flew so deep into enemy territory. The situation became desperate when one of Amans engines flamed out, leaving him with just one option  ejecting over North Vietnam, which meant certain capture and possible death.

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Pardos Phantom also had been hit and was losing fuel, but he had enough left to make it to a refueling tanker.

Pardo said he never considered it.

How can you fly off and leave someone you just fought a battle with? he said.

His fellow pilots saw Pardo as a hero for using his own jet to push his wingman's crippled fighter-bomber out of North Vietnamese airspace so the crew could bail out in friendly territory. But some in the Air Force considered the maneuver, known as Pardo's Push, excessively risky, and there was talk Pardo might be court-martialed. Jerry Lara/Staff photographer

Put the hook down

Pardos first idea was to fly underneath Cheetah 4 and give Aman a piggyback ride, Pardo once told the Express-News.

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It didnt work. We got within about a foot of his airplane, and the nose of mine started trying to come up, and I said, No, thats going to bang us into him and might break our canopy, and we might have a hell of a time getting out of this thing,' Pardo said.

As Pardo backed away from Amans plane, he caught sight of its tailhook and had another idea. I said, Well, weve got nothing to lose and were not going to hurt the airplanes  theyre both dead anyway  so I said, Put the hook down. He lowered the hook, and as they say, the rest is history.

Pardo maneuvered the nose of his F-4 so that Amans tailhook, a retractable device used to assist with landings, rested against a piece of metal near Pardos cockpit canopy. Aman had to cut his engines, but it worked. Pardo pushed, helping Amans plane maintain altitude. The two Phantoms limped along for 88 miles.

Once they were over Laos, Aman and Houghton ejected. Pardo and Wayne did the same soon after.

Combat search and rescue teams brought all four of them back to Thailand.

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In 1989, Bob Pardo was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry for the daring aerial rescue known as Pardo's Push. Above, he stands in a room dedicated to combat aviators at a Denny's restaurant in College Station. Jerry Lara/Staff photographer

Gallantry and devotion

An Air Force history described Pardos Push as a complicated ballet, but it was less a dance than repeated bumpy collisions between two 55,597-pound jets, both hemorrhaging fuel and at risk of blowing up.

Fifteen years earlier, in 1952, Air Force Brig. Gen. Robinson Risner, a longtime San Antonio resident and Korean War fighter ace, had done something similar, pushing a crippled F-86 out of enemy territory to open water 60 miles away. The pilot of the damaged plane, Lt. Joe Logan, bailed out but drowned when he became tangled in the lines of his parachute.

The Air Force would suppress that story. Something very similar happened after Pardos Push.

Back at the Thai air base, the word was out: Pardo and Wayne were heroes and would be decorated. The story was celebrated with whisky, beer and talk of medals.

Everybody thought it was just fine, Pardo recalled years later. They were already writing recommendations.

During an interview at his home in College Station, Texas on Monday, May 21, 2019, USAF retired fighter pilot Lt. Col. Bob Pardo talks about a maneuver he perform during the Vietnam War that would later be known as the "PardoOs Push." Jerry Lara/Staff photographer

But Pardo unknowingly had put himself on a collision course with an Air Force general who had earlier gained notoriety for criticizing the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of pioneering Black aviators who served with distinction during World War II.

Reports circulated that Lt. Gen. William Wallace Spike Momyer, commander of the 7th Air Force in Vietnam, wanted Pardo court-martialed for the risky maneuver.

Pardo was not court-martialed, but Momyer told Col. Robin Olds, Pardos wing commander, not to decorate him. That didnt bother Pardo.

I didnt do it to get a medal, he said.

Decades passed, but the Air Force finally honored Pardo for his feat. He and Wayne each received the Silver Star in 1989, as did Aman and Houghton a few years later.

Pardos Silver Star citation said that by his gallantry and devotion to duty, he reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

A print of the Pardos Push, hangs inside a room dedicated to members of the Been Shot At Career Aviation Veterans group at a Dennys in College Station, Texas, Monday, May 20, 2019. On March 10, 1967, then Capt. Bob Pardos F-4 and another flown by Capt. Earl Aman, were severely damaged by enemy fire when on a mission to destroy a steel mill in North Vietnam. Amans F-4 didnt have enough fuel to get out of enemy territory and he and his backseater would have to eject into enemy hands. Pardo decided to use the tailhook of Amans jet to push him over into Laos, friendly territory. Soon both planes crashed but not before pilots and backseaters were able to eject. Jerry Lara/Staff photographer

Friendship and camaraderie

The legend of Pardos Push has grown across the generations in the Air Force.

Im certain the pilots felt a sense of desperation in the moment, but the fear of ejecting over enemy territory and risking capture drove them to quickly improvise, said Col. Taylor Ferrell, commander of the 12th Flying Training Wing in San Antonio. Ive always believed that there is no problem a fighter pilot cant solve, and they courageously kept their composure when it mattered the most.

Gen. Gregory Speedy Martin, a former head of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, said he was just blown away by what I consider to be the selfless act that he accomplished. Martin noted that there were those that thought he ought to be court-martialed, and there were those that thought he should be celebrated as an aviation hero.

When all is said and done, he added, I think he has earned the celebration of an aviation hero.

Later in life, when Aman was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative condition also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease, Pardo started a foundation to take care of his old squadron mate.

Fogleman, the former Air Force chief of staff, said the Earl Aman Foundation became the Air Warrior Courage Foundation, a charitable arm of the River Rats, a nonprofit that assists the spouses and children of military personnel killed or missing in action. He sees it as part of Pardos legacy.
Senior civil servants are being encouraged to lead diversity and inclusion schemes in order to be awarded bonuses, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.

An official document setting out criteria for the performance management of members of the senior civil service (SCS) states that to be eligible for the highest score members of the SCS must demonstrate that they have made a significant corporate contribution beyond their core roles. This includes work at the cross government functional level, for example involving leadership of functional initiative on capability building or diversity and inclusion.

A Whitehall source said the criteria created perverse incentives for senior civil servants based on an ideological agenda.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Cabinet Office minister, said: This is a classic bureaucratic box-ticking exercise and is not the right way to be incentivising people. What we need to do, in terms of incentives, is to ensure that public services are being delivered efficiently.

The guidelines, drawn up earlier this year and issued in April, would mean that senior civil servants working on a particular set of policies, such as migration, would have to carry out work outside their Home Office directorate to be scored as exceeding in their performance reviews, which determine whether they receive annual bonuses.



Value for public money

As part of last months Autumn Statement, ministers signalled new restrictions on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) spending and activities in Whitehall - including streamlining EDI training and HR processes to ensure value for public money.

A document released alongside the financial statement said: Subject to further work, the Government is considering introducing a presumption against external EDI spending and increasing ministerial scrutiny of EDI spending while streamlining EDI training and HR processes with a view to getting value for the taxpayer. The Minister for the Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in due course.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: The Treasury is rightly currently reviewing spending on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

Objectives in senior civil servants annual appraisals cover various ways they can contribute to strengthening the work of Government - such as identifying cost savings, supporting staff recruitment and developing an excellent culture which retains talented officials.

To achieve the highest, exceeding rating in their performance reviews senior civil servants must also demonstrate that they went above what was expected of them in their core performance objectives.



Governments stated policy

A source added that other potential corporate contributions included identifying cost savings and supporting staff recruitment, adding that none ... is given a higher priority than others.

Mr Rees-Mogg added: The Government is slightly caught because of the terms of the Equality Act but nonetheless, this is not the Governments stated policy. The Governments stated policy is to deliver public services.

Last month, Rishi Sunak appointed Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary, as a new Cabinet Office minister billed by Downing Street as the minister for common sense. Philip Davies, her husband and former co-presenter on GB News, suggested that her work would involve restricting the amount of money spent on equality and diversity in Whitehall.

Theres a huge amount of taxpayers money wasted on this equality, diversity and inclusion thing, in national government and local government, he said. Theres no doubt shes got her work cut out, because theres a huge blob in there in government who are very keen on all that.

Last year research by Conservative Way Forward, a Tory think tank, found that one million days a year were spent on equality and diversity training in the public sector.

The time included 24 days a year spent by the Intellectual Property Office on a respect at work board game and almost 1,500 staff days spent by the London Fire Brigade on equality training.

The report stated that public sector organisations employ 10,000 members of staff to deal with EDI-related issues.

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Rishi Sunaks Conservatives could record the worst outcome in the partys history at the next election by collapsing to as few as 130 seats, Prof Sir John Curtice has said.

The polling expert said that divisions within the party over immigration were exacerbating the situation, meaning that Tory MPs opposing the Prime Ministers Rwanda Bill are potentially playing with fire.

Writing for The Telegraph, the professor of politics at Strathclyde University said that Mr Sunak had experienced a frustrating autumn because multiple attempts to reset his premiership had all failed to improve the polls.

In the middle of September, before Mr Sunak announced changes to net zero policies  including delaying the ban on new petrol cars from 2030 to 2035 and pushing back the ban on new oil boiler sales from 2026 to 2035  the Tories were polling 26 per cent on average.

Labour were 18 points ahead on 44 per cent.

Since then, as well as the watering down of net zero measures, Mr Sunak has had a string of set-piece political events in which he has sought to regain momentum.

In October, he used his party conference speech to scrap HS2s northern leg from Birmingham to Manchester and promised a change from a political system that he said had been broken for 30 years.

Last month, he unveiled the Governments legislative agenda in the Kings Speech, carried out a Cabinet reshuffle that included the eye-catching appointment of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary, and delivered a 2 per cent cut to the rate of National Insurance in the Autumn Statement.

Prof Sir John Curtice: ... the outcome for the Conservatives could be bleak indeed  maybe as few as 130 seats, the worst outcome in the partys history - I-Images/Mark Thomas

However, Sir John said that immediately prior to the announcement of new policies on immigration last week, the Tories were still on just 26 per cent in the polls, with Labour enjoying a 17-point lead that was only down a point on mid-September because Labours own tally had slipped a point to 43 per cent.

He said that if the voting patterns continued to the next election the Tories would be lucky to win much more than 200 seats and could fare considerably worse.

If these patterns were to be replicated in a general election, the outcome for the Conservatives could be bleak indeed  maybe as few as 130 seats, the worst outcome in the partys history, he said.

Such a result would be below the 165 Conservative MPs returned under the leadership of John Major in 1997, when Tony Blair achieved a landslide that elected 418 Labour MPs and gave his government a 179-seat majority.

It would also be a spectacular reversal of the 2019 election, when Boris Johnson won 365 seats.

In a speech on Tuesday to mark four years since that election, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is due to accuse the Tories of fighting like rats in a sack and presiding over a miserable chapter of decline.

Stopped listening

Sir John warned that the public seemed to have stopped listening to what the Tories had to say.

He also said that Mr Sunaks recent focus on immigration had not gone well and risked making things worse, with a chance that the Rwanda Bill could divide the party just as [Theresa] Mays ill-fated Brexit deal did in 2019.

Even though the polls have repeatedly indicated that the Governments Rwanda policy is relatively popular  at least among those who voted Conservative in 2019  the first polls since this weeks developments suggest they also are unlikely to move the electoral dial, he said.

We should not be surprised. Although many 2019 Conservative voters are unhappy about the level of legal and illegal immigration, those who feel that immigration has gone up a lot are not especially likely to say they will not vote Conservative again. Surprising as it may seem, the issue has played relatively little role in bringing about the decline in Conservative fortunes.

In contrast, he said that 2019 Tory voters who think that the economy is doing badly or that the NHS has got worse are especially likely to have stopped supporting the party.

He said last weeks events, including the resignation of Robert Jenrick as immigration minister, would cement the perception of the Conservatives as a divided party. Divided parties rarely prosper at the polls, he said.

Sir John added: In pursuing their disagreements with Mr Sunak over immigration, Tory MPs should realise they are potentially playing with fire.

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A star chamber of Conservative lawyers has concluded that Rishi Sunaks Rwanda deportation plans are not fit for purpose, The Telegraph can disclose.

The panel, whose advice was awaited by many MPs on the Right of the party, has decided that the legislation is insufficiently watertight to avoid protracted legal challenges by illegal migrants seeking to remain in the UK.

The verdict risks creating a major crisis for the Prime Minister after Robert Jenrick, his immigration minister, quit in the belief that the plans were too weak. Tory MPs are deciding whether to support the legislation on Tuesday.

Losing the vote would amount to a devastating blow to Mr Sunaks authority, with one backbencher saying the Prime Ministers position would be perilous.

The last time a government Bill was defeated at a similar stage  the second reading  was in 1986; however, only 29 Tory MPs would need to vote against the legislation to wipe out Mr Sunaks majority.

It came as Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, who clashed with Mr Sunak over migration, casts doubt on the Prime Ministers rather strange claim that if the legislation had gone further the Rwandan government would have collapsed the deal.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Mrs Braverman says: Ive been to Rwanda several times and I have spoken to the Rwandan government a lot. It never once raised any kind of concerns like this.

She also warned that the Governments past experience showed that the clause in the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill allowing legal challenges by individual migrants will add a minimum of six months to the wait for deportation flights to take off.

Mrs Braverman also said that the anti-Semitism that had emerged in weekly protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict was proof of her claim in a speech in September that multiculturalism had failed.

Another pro-Palestinian march took place in London on Saturday - Heathcliff OMalley

I think it has utterly failed in parts of our country, where communities are not integrating, theyre not learning the language, they have values totally at odds with British values. I think thats been borne out by some of the hate marches that weve seen since October 7, she said.

Separately, Mrs Braverman said she was pushing to introduce sweeping restrictions on legal migration as early as last autumn but was blocked by Downing Street as the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to meet her to discuss the issue over the course of a year.

PM warned Bill was self harm

Meanwhile, The Telegraph understands that Mr Jenrick privately warned Mr Sunak last week that proceeding with the Rwanda legislation in its current form would amount to an act of self harm.

Government legal advice stated that it stood only a 50 per cent chance of enabling flights to take off before a general election next year

The European Research Groups star chamber of legal advisers, chaired by Sir Bill Cash, has also come to the conclusion that the Bill will fail in its objectives.

The legislation is intended to provide the legal protections needed to allow deportation flights to take off for Rwanda, in a move that the Prime Minister believes would act as a deterrent to stop boats illegally crossing the Channel.

Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Bill Cash, who chairs the European Research Groups star chamber, says that at present the legislation is not sufficiently watertight to meet the Governments policy objectives.

In remarks that appear to advocate for a clearer disapplication of parts of the European Convention on Human Rights, Sir Bill insists that Parliament can legislate to override the provisions of international treaties provided it does so in such clear and unambiguous terms that its intention cannot be misunderstood.

In such circumstances, the courts will follow the explicit legislation to the letter.

Sir Bills panel is expected to circulate its full written conclusions to MPs on Monday. But Mrs Braverman and Mr Jenrick have argued that the Bill will allow individuals to concoct claims that would, at the least, help them to delay their removal.

The former ministers have also raised concerns that rather than categorically blocking the Strasbourg courts Rule 39 orders that grounded deportation flights last year, the decision over whether to use a new power to ignore such injunctions would be left with the Government.

Mrs Braverman said: I know that our Attorney General has advised that to ignore a Rule 39 injunction would be a breach of international law, so therefore as it stands Rule 39s will block flights.

Sunak stands firm

On Saturday, Mr Sunak vowed to press ahead with the legislation in the face of criticism from his former ministers. He said: The Conservatives are on the publics side  and we will push on with our plan to stop the boats.

In a speech on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to accuse the Conservatives of ignoring obligations to democracy, the rule of law and serving our country.

A senior Conservative MP said they believed it was highly likely that there will be votes against the Bill on Tuesday.

However, a Tory on the Right of the party said they would be counselling fellow rebels to bide your time in order to pressure the Government to amend the flawed Bill at a later stage. Such an approach could result in many abstentions.

The One Nation Group of centrist MPs is also considering the Bill. Damian Green, its chairman, said: The powers of ministers to take decisions on their own on individual cases, thats one of the questions thats been raised, and also the aspect of legislation asserting that Rwanda is safe. Those are two concerns we have.

A No 10 source insisted Mrs Braverman and Mr Sunak had almost fortnightly bilateral meetings at which she could raise what she wanted to raise. A source close to Mrs Braverman disputed the claim.

Addressing legal migration, the source added: The PM has to balance growing the economy with bringing down the levels of net migration, which he has been clear are far too high. Thats why in the spring he took the toughest action anyone had ever taken to bring down migration numbers. And its why just last week he took even tougher action to cut levels by another 300,000.

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Tensions rose on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing on the ongoing crisis of fentanyl  a deadly synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than morphine  in Indian Country.





The Dec. 6 hearing was a follow-up to last months oversight hearing that brought forth a Native perspective on addressing the ongoing crisis, including testimony from Tribal leaders across the country.

In 2021, American Indians and Alaska Natives experienced the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths among any racial or ethnic population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 1,300 Native lives were lost due to overdose that year.

This most recent hearing brought federal voices to the table, with a panel composed of Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy Adam W. Cohen; Indian Health Service Director Rosalyn Tso (Dine); U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Washington Vanessa Waldref; and Bureau Deputy Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Glen Melville (Makah Tribe).

Opioids in Indian Country

Much of the discussion centered around the gaping disparities in Tribal law enforcement resources and checkerboard jurisdictions that make Indian reservations ideal operating centers for drug traffickers. Lawmakers, who are responsible for funding the agencies that deliver resources to Indian Country, grilled the panelists on how effective their programs are in mitigating the fallout from the fentanyl crisis in Native communities.

An Interstate 5 traffic stop over the weekend resulted in detectives finding 200,000 fentanyl pills hidden inside the vehicle, Centralia Police announced Monday afternoon.

Before the hearing began, Committee Chairman Brian Schatz (D-HI) gave brief remarks, referring to the breadth of issues that leave Indian Country vulnerable to drug trafficking and opioid addiction: checkered jurisdiction, minimal data, barriers to healthcare resources, housing insecurity, and staffing.

The United States must live up to its trust and treaty responsibilities to promote the health and well-being of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, Schatz said. That responsibility includes responding to modern threats, including fentanyl.

During the hearing, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) brought attention to the crisis in eastern Washington, where tribes contend with heavy drug trafficking and high overdose rates.

According to the Washington State Department of Health, opioid overdose deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives has been climbing steadily in the state over recent years. There were 24 recorded deaths of this kind in 2020, 67 in 2021 and 92 in 2022.

The prevalence of drug trafficking and overdoses in eastern Washington led to a specialized task force across several agencies, the Southeast Washington Safe Streets Task Force. Between heightened efforts from the U.S. Attorneys Office and multi-agency responses, 2023 has had many reports of success in catching and prosecuting high-level distributors.

There are challenges in rural communities, said U.S. Attorney Waldref. And we have that throughout the Eastern District. There are rural communities that can be areas to hide those drugs. What we do to try and address that, and to effectively prosecute these cases, is having the most effective information sharing that we possibly can.

Drug prevalence in WA tribes

In September, The Lummi Nation, located in the Puget Sound region, saw four deadly overdoses in as many days, prompting the Tribe to take emergency measures such as enacting random traffic stops and condemning several properties known for drug activity.

Cantwell spoke of understaffed and underresourced tribal law enforcement. Earlier in the year, she said, federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement seized more than 100 pounds of fentanyl before it reached the Colville and Yakama Tribal communities, and just last week, officers seized 18,000 fentanyl pills outside of Spokane.

An oversight hearing to examine fentanyl in Native communities, focusing on the Federal response to the growing crisis. (Official U.S. Senate photo by David Rogowski)

So, make no mistake about it  the fentanyl crisis is a flood of poison entering Indian Country and communities, and it is not a crisis that our Tribes can face alone, Cantwell said. Weve heard [from] tribal leaders and their law enforcement agencies [about] how theyre chronically understaffed and underresourced. And in eastern Washington, just a handful of officers are responsible for patrolling thousands of square miles of tribal land, and they cant shoulder that burden alone.

For example, Yakama Nation Tribal Police is a small organization that often works with the Yakima Police Department and Yakima County Sheriffs Office on intense cases. Yet, the Yakama Nation Reservation is the largest Indian reservation in the state, stretching over 1.1 million acres.

Cantwell then posed a question to BIAs Melville, asking if the remote nature of Tribal nations, paired with the lack of law enforcement, make reservations ideal for drug traffickers to operate.

There is a well-known fact, in the Mexican cartels, that if you can go on to an Indian reservation and work your way into an Indian reservation  thats an area that they know that they can try to utilize and manipulate, Melville responded.

Trafficking, police presence in Indian Country

Federal funding for law enforcement in Tribal communities has long been inadequate, with many Tribal agencies being forced to make due with limited staff covering large rural areas, experts say. According to the most recent data, there were 3,834 full-time sworn officers in 234 tribal-operated law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Thats an average of about 16 officers per agency.

Generally, reservations include many rural areas. Across the country, there is an estimated 56.2 million acres of land on reservations  yet only 234 law enforcement agencies, most of them too small for their operating area.

Some Tribal Nations dont have their own law enforcement agencies and instead rely on agents from their regional BIA office, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) said. For the tribes without their own enforcement in border states such as Nevada, where the regional BIA office also covers Colorado and Arizona, that isnt enough, Masto told the committee.

Sen. Cantwell introduced legislation earlier this year, hoping to increase those numbers. By labeling tribal enforcement officers as federal law enforcement officers in certain aspects, the legislation would raise the retirement, pension, injury and death benefits to match federal officers.

Lawmakers at the hearing focused on the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, which provides special assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug trafficking regions.

There are 33 HIDTA regions across the U.S., including 14 that work directly with Tribal Nations. Within those 14 regions, the White Houses Cohen said, authorities have seized more than $414 million in assets over the past year. The HIDTA program has an annual budget of $290 million, with no dedicated budget set aside for Tribal Nations.

One of these regions is the Northwest HIDTA, headquartered in Seattle. It includes many counties in Washington state, from Whatcom County down to Clark County, and over through Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties.

Map of the Northwest HIDTA, or high-intensity drug trafficking area, as outlined by the Office of National Drug Control Policys HIDTA program.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), vice chair of the committee, asked Cohen if there should be a set-aside: Should there be, given the statistics, given what we know, given the impact on Indian Country, on Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians?

I think thats something worth considering, Cohen replied.

Opioid Reduction Task Force

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, spoke of the U.S. Department of the Interiors Opioid Reduction Task Force, launched in 2018 to crack down on drug trafficking in Indian Country. During the hearing, Mullin submitted to the record a 30-page report addressed by the task force to Congress, alleging that he hasnt heard anything from the current administration on the task forces findings.

I havent heard anything, not a word, Mullin said. I helped with this task force, I brought some reality to it ... I am at a loss.

BIAs Melville confirmed that the task force still needs to be followed up on.

Thats a problem, Mullin replied.

An oversight hearing to examine fentanyl in Native communities, focusing on the Federal response to the growing crisis. (Official U.S. Senate photo by David Rogowski)

This is our fault

With 20 minutes left in the hearing, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) posed a question that is emblematic of the federal governments failure to meet the stated needs of Indian Country in prosecuting drug offenders.

This has been a train wreck for a long time, through multiple administrations, regardless of which party has been in the White House, Tester said. A lot of this falls on us, making sure that the BIA has enough resources to be competitive.

This is not your fault. This is our fault, the folks on this side of the rostrum. Its not these folks that are the problem, every one of us here understands that we have got to have money in the budget to hire BIA officers, and if they dont have the budget ... its on us ... we have a lot of work to do.

This article was produced by Native News Online and republished in collaboration with McClatchy News.
Wednesday nights Republican presidential debate was bad politics and bad journalism, says GLAAD.

The debate did not include any substantive questions that address the safety and freedom of LGBTQ Americans and instead devolved into a competition between candidates  and between candidates and one moderator  as to who could prove the most transphobic, says a GLAAD analysis.

The debate, held at the University of Alabama and televised by NewsNation, featured Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. It was moderated by Megyn Kelly and Elizabeth Vargas of NewsNation and Eliana Johnson, editor in chief of The Washington Free Beacon.

Last nights debate was a failure of leadership and of journalism, full of unchecked disinformation about LGBTQ Americans and their families, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in the organizations release. In a few instances, a moderator was the one fueling the disinformation and egging on the candidates for shameful pile-ons of transgender people. GLAAD asked the moderators to ask questions about how to keep Americans safe, including LGBTQ Americans who are facing unprecedented violence and harassment. Moderator Megyn Kelly chose instead to grossly mischaracterize life-saving health care and bait candidates into outdoing one another in anti-transgender fear mongering. This debate was an embarrassment for the candidates, for the host, and for the American people looking for real answers to actual problems, not more bullying of vulnerable people and lying about who they are. Voters, responsible reporters, and viewers can take note of last night and all that it revealed about the desperate candidates and a grandstanding moderator and how they failed to deliver information that advances our democracy and the safety of all Americans.

The transphobia began with the candidates opening remarks, GLAAD notes, with DeSantis asserting that he stopped the gender mutilation of minors with a bill he signed banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. His language is an inflammatory and false characterization of health care backed by every major medical association, GLAAD points out. Doctors do not generally recommend genital surgery for minors, and DeSantis also claimed that the effects of puberty blockers are irreversible, which is not true, and called gender-affirming care child abuse.

Later, Kelly used similar language when asking Christie, who was less transphobic than the others onstage, about his positions on trans issues. You do not favor a ban on trans medical treatments for minors, saying its a parental rights issue, she said. The surgeries done on minors involve cutting off body parts at a time when these kids cannot even legally smoke a cigarette. Kids who go from puberty blockers to cross-sex hormones are at a much greater likelihood of winding up sterile. How is it that you think a parent should be able to OK these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and arent you way too out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?

Again, surgeries for minors are rare, and puberty blockers do not cause sterility, GLAAD emphasizes. Christie said he did not approve of these procedures for minors but added that he can make decisions only for his children, not for anyone elses.

Kelly then asked if he had undermined parental rights by signing a bill into law on guidelines for public schools in dealing with trans students. The guidelines advise schools to recognize students gender identity and do not require parental notification. Christie distanced himself from the matter, saying the guidelines took effect when he was no longer governor. He did sign a bill into law in 2017 requiring the New Jersey education commissioner to develop guidelines for treatment of trans students, but the guidelines werent issued until the following year, when he was out of office.

The debate also featured DeSantis claiming Haley opposed legislation that said, in his words, that men shouldnt go into girls bathrooms, something Haley denied. But in fact, transgender girls are not men, and there is no evidence that trans students are a threat to other students, GLAAD says. The organization further notes that trans students face danger when they dont have access to the restrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity.

Then there was Ramaswamys remark that transgenderism is a mental health disorder. However, the term transgenderism is used by anti-transgender activists to dehumanize transgender people and reduce who they are to a condition or a dangerous ideology and medical consensus states that being transgender is not a mental health condition, GLAAD comments.

GLAAD had submitted questions to the moderators, but none of them were used. These included asking DeSantis about the effects of Floridas dont say gay law on gay students and whether hed take the states anti-LGBTQ+ policies nationwide if he became president; Ramaswamy about his support for a national ban on gender-affirming care for minors, even though every major medical association supports this care; Christie about why he signed trans-supportive legislation; and Haley about where shes getting the information that led her to blame trans young people for teenage girls mental health crises. The organization also suggested asking all candidates about marriage equality, book banning, and how theyd support and protect LGBTQ+ people instead of politicizing them.

Pictured, from left: Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Kansas City, Missouri Police Department was called to a shooting that killed a woman and injured two men near the intersections of Independence, Cleveland and Monroe Avenues Friday evening.

At about 9:20 p.m. Friday evening, KCPD officers were called to a shooting that had occurred near a Mattress 4 Less store on Independence Avenue.

When they got there they found a man and a woman both with gunshot wounds. The man was still alive while the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

She has been identified by police as 20-year-old Savannah Stipek.

The man was taken to the hospital without critical injuries.

During the preliminary investigation, KCPD was notified of a third victim from the shooting that they found afterward at 14th Street and Bennington Avenue, not far from a KC Fire Department station.

He was taken to the hospital with what KCPD says are non-life threatening injuries.

KCPD say that the initial investigations show that the male victim found at the scene of the shooting had an interaction with an unknown suspect on the sidewalk.

That escalated and the suspect fired shots that hit all three victims, say police.

Detectives are searching for witnesses and surveillance video to help identify the suspect. They reportedly are making headway identifying a subject of interest in this case.

KCPD asks anyone with information to contact the Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.

This is the first Kansas City, Missouri homicide of the month.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A 41-year-old truck driver has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with a crash that killed a 15-year-old student in Texas this week. Photo Courtesy of Texas Department of Public Safety/X

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A truck driver alleged to have struck and killed a 15-year-old boy while he was exiting a school bus near Houston this week has been charged in connection with the incident, authorities say.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Friday announced the arrest of truck driver Gregory Jackson, 41, on charges of negligent homicide, according to KTRK-TV and USA Today.

Authorities said Jackson's 18-wheeler truck was travelling north on U.S. Hwy. 59 near Livingston, Texas, when it struck a Toyota that was behind the Livingston School District bus, then veered right, fatally striking the student.

The 15-year-old victim was identified by family members as Eduardo Romero Flores, KPRC-TV reported.

Troopers are investigating a fatal crash involving a Livingston ISD bus on US 59 north of Livingston. Sadly, we can confirm a 15-year-old student was struck and killed by an 18-wheeler as the child was leaving the bus. Investigators remain on the scene, gathering evidence. pic.twitter.com/rwtff97Bio TxDPS - Southeast Texas Region (@TxDPSSoutheast) December 8, 2023

According to authorities, the bus was pulled over with its lights on when the collision occurred.

"At times like this, we are reminded how precious life can be and how fragile each life truly is," Livingston school district officials said in a statement.

Texas authorities say Jackson is being held at the Polk County Jail.
Former president Donald Trump took aim at Casey DeSantis over her comments calling for out-of-state moms and grandmoms to participate in the Iowa caucus, with Trump characterizing the comments as a plot to rig the Caucus through fraud. DeSantis clarified the remarks on Friday, writing on X that her call was for volunteers, not out-of-state voters, to participate. Trump, unsatisfied by the explanation, accused the Florida first lady of election interference. We demand the Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds clarify what the rules are and that the instructions given by the DeSantises are flagrantly wrong that could further disenfranchise caucus-goers, Trumps campaign said in a statement to Politico. The Trump campaign strongly condemns their dirty and illegal tactics and implores all Trump supporters to be aware of the DeSantises openly stated plot to rig the Caucus through fraud.

Read it at Politico

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Attorney Gus Garcia, shown here in 1952, was involved in several cases defending the rights of Mexican Americans. Based first in San Antonio, he also practiced in Kingsville and McAllen. UTSA Special Collections

Nearly 60 years after his death, Gus Garcia (1915-1964) remains a controversial figure. A Nov. 25 column about the legendary civil rights attorney drew several reader responses with additional insight into his too-short life.

Throughout his life and beyond, there was good Gus (awards and honors, courtroom victories) and not-so-good Gus (erratic behavior and professional decline). Its not unusual for people to embrace one side of Garcias character to the exclusion of the other, though most readers who wrote took a more balanced view.

The previous column was prompted by a request from George Cisneros for help in identifying the men pictured with Garcia upon his arrival in San Antonio after winning a landmark Supreme Court decision, Hernandez v. Texas, that established Mexican Americans as a class apart  neither white nor Black, yet subject to discrimination and entitled to protection under the 14th Amendment.

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ALLEN ON GARCIA: San Antonio lawyer Gus Garcias career peaked with landmark Supreme Court victory

That photo is available with the earlier column and on the columns Facebook page. Readers have suggested that other members of the Hernandez legal team  working pro bono with expenses funded by donations  might be among the other seven men in the photo.

Among them was San Antonio attorney Carlos Cadena, two years younger than Garcia and a fellow University of Texas Law School graduate, who made the opening argument before the Supreme Court. Other attorneys involved included future Judge James de Anda and John J. Herrera, both from Houston, and Cristobal Alderete of Del Rio. Still more helped with legal writing and compiling statistics that proved lack of representation by Mexican Americans in Texas jury trials.

Some of these attorneys also were part of cases against school segregation for Mexican American students in Bastrop and Del Rio but are much less frequently mentioned than Garcia, who had indisputable star quality  movie-star good looks and outstanding oratorical talent.

Success came early and conspicuously to him and left in much the same way. An anonymous message suggests that Garcia was cursed by the evil eye or mal de ojo, by someone who cast an envious look at young Gus, in whom there was a lot to envy.

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His speaking style often was described as flamboyant; Maury Maverick Jr., himself a civil rights lawyer, called him the John Barrymore of the courtroom. Before the Supreme Court, Cadena said, he used every device in the lawyers bag of tricks, from easy facility of speech and legal sharpness to anger, sarcasm, the soft voice, dramatic pause and deft touch of humor, as quoted in an unattributed news clipping available on the Portal to Texas History website, texashistory.unt.edu.

In the transcript of the PBS American Experience documentary, A Class Apart, about the Hernandez suit, Garcias second wife, Eleanor Rodriguez Nora McCusker, remembers the impression he made: He was tall and he was slender, he had coal-black hair and those green penetrating eyes that in my view made him very handsome.

In all, Garcia had three marriages and the same number of divorces. Henry Flores, a retired St. Marys University law professor who met him in 1962, recalls that he proposed marriage to my mother, but she turned him down. When I asked her why, she replied, Because he drinks too much.

Thats what limited his achievements and shortened his life.

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San Antonio attorney Eduardo Juarez wrote to note that in the November column, there was no mention of Mr. Garcias alcohol addiction or mental illness. As a past chair of the Texas Lawyers Assistance Program for the Texas State Bar, Juarez said, I feel that being transparent about addiction and mental illness is an important part of any solutions to those challenges.

Flores describes Garcia as a functioning alcoholic and recounts the story of how his issues with alcohol figured in the Hernandez v. Texas decision. Cadena and another lawyer tried to ensure that Gus could not leave the hotel the night before they appeared before the court. However, Garcia somehow managed to sneak out and partied almost all night  When he came in drunk, his colleagues threw him in the showers (and) filled him with black coffee, until they were satisfied that he was sober enough to make the closing argument before the Supreme Court.

Garcias beginning remarks were lackadaisical at best, Flores said. But when Chief Justice Earl Warren asked, Who are Mexican Americans? The question woke Gus up from his stupor, and he began a lively rendition of the history of Mexican Americans in Texas that impressed Warren, who gave him an extra 16 minutes to argue.

Unfortunately, Garcia became less able to bounce back. Despite his formidable legal skills, his career dwindled precipitously, starting in the mid-1950s.

I wish I had known Gus when he looked like the handsome young attorney pictured in your article, wrote Clem Lyons. Unfortunately, I only knew him in his final years as a disheveled street person wandering around the Bexar County Courthouse.

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Civil rights attorney Gus Garcia died June 3, 1964, in the managers office at the Old Farmers Market, a one-story attachment that was demolished. This photo was taken circa 1970 before the mid-1970s redevelopment into whats now El Mercado/Market Square. UTSA Special Collections

When Garcia died June 3, 1964, there were rumors of foul play since he had been alone in the office of the Old Farmers Market (now El Mercado) for hours before his sudden death. There were multiple bruises and abrasions, some old and some recent on his body that might have suggested foul play.

Jim Barlow, then Bexar County district attorney, asked Lyons  a registered pharmacist as well as an attorney  and then-misdemeanor chief Gilbert Pompa to do an independent investigation of Garcias death.

We spent the next week tracking Gus activities leading up to the day of his death, Lyons said. They interviewed his personal friends and colleagues, including market manager Raul Acevedo; City Council Member Felix Trevino; Pete Tijerina, founder of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund or MALDEF; Hernandez colleague Cadena; attorney Henry Carillo; and Ruben Santos from the medical examiners office.

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We reported back to DA Barlow with our conclusion that Gus Garcias death was not due to any criminal mischief, but most certainly the result of chronic alcohol abuse.

The medical examiner concluded that the bruises were related to seizures Garcia had been experiencing as the result of his chronic alcohol abuse, Lyons said. Acute alcohol withdrawal can result in grand mal seizures, such as the one Garcia had just before his death.

Without exception, every friend and associate of Gus with whom we spoke expressed a deep sense of loss, said Lyons. They shared with Gil and me their deep sorrow at having witnessed Gus long, sad deterioration from civil rights advocate to dysfunctional alcoholic.

Garcias former colleague Cadena, as quoted in the unattributed clipping, summed up his duality: With all his faults and all of the things he did or was accused of doing, Gus Garcia was a pretty good guy and he did some pretty great things for the Mexican (American) people.
Polls continue to show Donald Trump with a massive lead over his competition for the Republican presidential nomination. Yet, many of his opponents continue to hold their fire against the former president. They may be doing so in hopes of eliminating all their non-Trump competition before taking on Trump himself.

The problem with this plan is that it wont work. Trumps rivals have to do something different to knock him off his perch. Unlike in 2016, when there were signs that he could be defeated in a one-on-one contest (which never actually happened), Trump holds major advantages this time around.

Hes up by more than 40 points nationally when polled against his closest rivals (Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley). More than that, he is pulling in greater than 60% of the Republican vote. Even if his rivals were able to consolidate into one super candidate, Trump would still win majority support.

This is very different from where we were at this point in the 2016 cycle. Trump was getting somewhere around 25% to 30% of the GOP vote nationally.

Additionally, its not at all clear that any of his 2024 rivals can unite the Republican primary voters not supporting Trump. Consider a Marquette University Law School poll from last month.

Trump corralled 57% of the vote in this national survey when matched up against all of his GOP competitors. When facing just DeSantis, Trumps support jumped to 65%. When matched up with just Haley, he got to 70% of the vote.

We didnt see such numbers in 2016, when Trump was on his way to locking up the GOP nomination. As late as March 2016, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found Trump trailing both Marco Rubio (51% to 45%) and Ted Cruz (54% to 41%) in hypothetical one-on-one polling.

That is, there was a legitimate argument back then for Trumps rivals hoping to become the last candidate standing against him. Today, it doesnt make much sense.

The same is true when we concentrate on the early-state polling, even though Trump is weaker there than he is nationally. Trump is the first or second choice of a majority of Republican caucusgoers or primary voters in both Iowa (55% in the most recent Des Moines Register poll) and New Hampshire (54% in the latest CNN/UNH poll).

The fact is that the depth of Trumps support among Republican voters is actually stronger than the horse-race numbers against his primary rivals would suggest. One of the best ways to gauge a candidates ceiling of support is to look at their favorable and very favorable ratings. The latter, especially, is important in a primary when most of the candidates share the same party label as the voters and are liked.

Trumps very favorable rating was 51% among Republicans in last months Marquette poll. His favorable rating has recently averaged 76% among Republicans nationally.

No other Republican candidate has a favorability rating that high among the party base. No other Republican has a very favorable rating that was even half as high as Trumps was in the Marquette survey.

These numbers hold in Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump has the best favorable ratings of any candidate among GOP voters. (In Iowa, he also has the best very favorable ratings. No poll asked about very favorable ratings in the Granite State.)

Trumps numbers were considerably weaker at this point in the 2016 cycle. His favorable ratings were 15 to 20 points lower, depending on the poll. His very favorable ratings were 20 to 30 points lower.

Its hard to believe, but a November 2015 Bloomberg survey showed numerous other Republican candidates and former President George W. Bush with stronger favorable and very favorable ratings among Republican voters. Trump even had worse favorable ratings than Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney.

At the most recent Republican primary debate  which Trump did not attend, like all previous ones  his 2024 Republican rivals, with the exception of Chris Christie, seemed more interested in going after each on another than taking on Trump. That has held true in all four GOP debates this year.

The result of which has been Trump solidifying his advantage nationally, with no signs of a movement away from the front-runner.

Now, its not clear that directly going after Trump would work for his top rivals. Christie, who has been consistently critical of Trump, has terrible favorability ratings among Republicans. This may be part of the reason Trumps opponents seem to be allowing him to cruise unscathed.

What is clear is that whatever Trumps competitors are doing now simply isnt working. They need to do something different.

With the Iowa caucuses a little more than a month away, time is running out for them to make up the gap with Trump.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Two men who were killed in separate shootings within 48 hours of one another earlier this week were identified Saturday by the Pueblo County coroner.

Christopher M. Trujillo, 19, died Dec. 5 of a gunshot wound and Thomas Maurriz Milian, 36, was shot and killed on Dec. 6, the coroner announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Christopher M. Trujillo, 19, of Pueblo was found unresponsive near the 1200 Blk of Acero on 12/4, the victim of an apparent gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to a COS hospital where he died the morning of 12/5. His Next-of-Kin has been notified. pic.twitter.com/v6trH4Kc1j  Pueblo County Coroner (@CoronerPueblo) December 9, 2023

Trujillo and Milians deaths marked the city of Pueblos 24th and 25th homicides of 2023.

Police were called to a report of a shooting near the intersection of West Northern and Acero avenues at approximately 7:22 p.m. on Dec. 4 and found Trujillo unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound in the 1300 block of Acero Avenue.

Trujillo was taken to a Pueblo hospital with serious injuries and later transported to another hospital in Colorado Springs where he died the following morning on Dec. 5.

Pueblo police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting at Rodeway Inn on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.

The following day on Dec. 6, police were called to the Rodeway Inn in the 900 block of U.S. Highway 50 West just before 9:30 a.m. where they found Milian with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where he later was declared dead.

No arrests have been announced in either case and police continue to investigate both incidents.

Anyone with information about the Dec. 4 shooting of Trujillo is asked by the Pueblo Police Department to contact Detective Jose Medina at 719-553-3296.

Anyone with information about either homicide may contact Pueblo PD dispatch at 719-553-2502.

To remain anonymous, contact Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 719-542-STOP (719-542-7867) or visit pueblocrimestoppers.com. Information that leads to a felony arrest could qualify its submitting party for a cash reward.

There have now been 25 homicides in the city of Pueblo this year, with 27 total homicides recorded county-wide. There were 27 homicides in the city of Pueblo reported in 2022, and 30 county-wide.

What we know about Pueblo County's 27 homicides so far in 2023

Pueblo police investigate the scene of an alleged homicide on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

Unnamed 2-year-old, Jan. 31 : Mythia Latka, 23, has been charged with child abuse causing the death of her 2-year-old child, who has not been publicly identified by the Chieftain because the child is a minor.

Heather Duran, Feb. 24 : Francisco Ruiz, 30, is accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of the 34-year-old Duran. Ruiz is scheduled for a jury trial in January after a judge found there was sufficient evidence to set the case for trial.

Fred Ettleman, Feb. 24 : Ettleman, 79, was killed in a shooting at King Soopers on Northern Avenue. Police have not publicly identified any suspects in Ettleman's death.

Joseph Vigil, March 4 : Vigil, 38, was killed in a late-night shooting. Police identified Pablo Carillo and Mario Valenzuela as suspects in the case. Carillo was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Valenzuela died on April 6, according to Pueblo PD. The county coroner stated that Valenzuela died in a "non-newsworthy manner" and declined to release Valenzuela's cause of death.

Sancho Xavier Sierra, April 3 : Sierra, 17, was killed in the 1000 block of East 11th Street, in an apparent shooting. Three women were also hospitalized with gunshot wounds in the same shooting. No suspects have yet been named in the case.

Scottie Sanders, April 24 : Sanders, 28, was found dead in the 2600 block of Orman Avenue after police responded to reports of an unconscious person. No suspects have been identified in the case and the coroner has not released Sanders' cause of death. No suspects have yet been named.

Daedriean Ortega-Brisco, May 9 : Police were dispatched to the 1500 block of East Second Street on a report that a person had been shot and found Ortega-Brisco, 19, dead at the scene with an apparent gunshot wound. No suspects have yet been named in the case.

Joshua Specht, May 22 : Specht, 42, was found dead in the yard of a residence on the 2600 block of Poplar Street by police, who were responding to a call of shots fired in the area and a motorcycle crash near Illinois Avenue and Poplar Street. No suspects have yet been named in the case.

Michael Anthony Sandoval, June 11 : Sandoval, 28, was found dead by police at approximately 6:35 p.m. after they were called to the 1100 block of Francisco Street on a report of a shooting. Police announced in early July that they'd issued an arrest warrant charging Edgar Earl Darden with murder. Darden was arrested on Aug. 27 by police.

Jordan Robinson, June 19 : Robinson was discovered dead in a vehicle in the 1000 block of East River Street, the victim of apparent gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a coroner investigator. No suspects have yet been named in the case.

Russel Edward Kuklies, June 27 : Kuklies, 40, was shot and killed at the Val-U-Stay Inn and Suites on North Hudson Avenue. Officers responded to the scene just after 8 p.m. the night of June 27 and found Kuklies deceased on scene. Police are seeking help identifying suspects in the homicide.

Marcos Colunga-Gaona, June 28: Colunga-Gaona, 25, was found unresponsive by police with a gunshot wound in the 1600 block of Lambert Avenue on the night of June 28 after neighbors in the area called police to report shots fired. Colunga-Gaona was pronounced dead by a coroner investigator. Police arrested a juvenile suspect and charged them with second-degree murder on Nov. 9.

Lazarus Vigil, June 28: Police were called to the scene of a car crash and fire in the 500 block of Mesa Avenue. When officers arrived, they found an adult male, identified later as Vigil, inside the vehicle with gunshot wounds. Vigil was taken to a local hospital but died from his injuries. A 13-year-old has been arrested in connection to Vigil's death, although the suspect has not been publicly named due to his age.

Sabino Loya-Armendariz, July 3: Loya-Armendariz, 25, was found dead by Pueblo County sheriffs deputies after suffering gunshot wounds in the 1300 block of Tampico Street. No arrest have been made.

Marcos Baca, July 4: Police were called to the 0-100 block of Amherst Avenue and arrived to find Baca, 29, dead at the scene. Pueblo police arrested Baca's uncle, William Montoya, and charged him with first-degree murder after he allegedly admitted to the shooting.

Vincent Smith, July 24 : Smith was shot and killed outside of his home on 2000 block of East Evans Avenue. Police arrested Russell Martinez in connection to Smith's death.

Unnamed teenager, July 25 : Less than eight hours after Smith's murder, Pueblo police were called to the skate park in City Park on another report of shots fired and found a teenager, who has not been publicly identified, dead. No arrests have been made.

Franklin Bruner, July 29: Bruner was shot and killed in the 1000 block of Berkley Avenue. His dog was also shot during the incident and had to be euthanized as a result of its injuries. The suspect in the case, Robert James Rudichar, was arrested in Las Vegas, New Mexico on July 31. He's been charged with first-degree murder.

Larry Derrick Maes, Aug. 4: Maes was found dead in a white SUV with a single gunshot wound after sheriffs deputies were called to a report of a vehicle wreck in the 1700 block of Tenderfoot Lane in Pueblo West. No suspects have been named in the case

Keith Quinn, Aug. 13: Quinn, 38, of Pueblo, was discovered dead in a parking lot near 45 Bonnymede Road. No suspects have been named in the case.

Jason Trujillo, Aug. 24: Trujillo was shot and killed during a multi-victim shooting in the 1200 block of Berwind Avenue. Three additional victims arrived at an area hospital via a private vehicle, according to Pueblo PD, two of whom were then transported to another hospital in Colorado Springs with life-threatening injuries, but survived. No suspects have been named.

Franky Montoya, Aug. 30 : Montoya, 34, died after being shot several times at a residence in the 1800 block of East 17th Street. No arrests have been made in the case.

Christopher Salazar , Sept. 21: Salazar, 29, was shot and killed, allegedly by Steven Vigil in an altercation outside of a liquor store on Sept. 21. Vigil has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

Oliveah Fransua, Nov. 1 : Fransua, 14, was shot and killed the night of Halloween, allegedly by her 15-year-old boyfriend, Fransua's mother told the Chieftain. A juvenile has been arrested in the case.

Angelo Isahia Rodgers , Nov 29: Rodgers, 22, was killed by gunshot wounds in the 0-100 block of Wheatridge Drive in the early morning hours of Nov. 29. No suspects have yet been identified in the case.

Christopher M. Trujillo, Dec. 5: Trujillo, 19, was shot the evening of Dec. 4 near the 1200 block of Acero Avenue and died of his injuries the following day. No suspects have been named in the case.

Thomas Maurriz Milian, Dec. 6: Milian, 36, was shot at the Rodeway Inn in the 900 block of U.S. Highway 50 West and transported to a local hospital where he later died. No suspects have been named.

Chieftain editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, at @ZachHillstrom. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo coroner identifies city's 24th and 25th homicide victims of 2023
Two men involved in an August 5th brawl on the riverfront dock in Montgomery, Alabama, pleaded guilty to harassment charges on Friday for their roles in the dispute, which garnered national headlines, according to court documents.

Allen Todd and Zachery Shipman each had a 60-day jail sentence suspended, pending their cooperation in performing their remaining duties, the Montgomery docket says. Both defendants will be required to complete 12 months of probation and 100 hours of community service. They will also have to enroll in and complete anger management training, and pay their individual court costs.

Video of the melee went viral as some believed the fracas was racially motivated. The dispute started when a cruise ship was trying to dock in its designated parking spot, but found a private boat was in its space, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert said in August. The dispute ended with the defendants  the occupants of the private boat  fighting Damien Pickett, the co-captain of the Harriott II cruise ship, when he confronted them about moving.

The riverboat, with 227 passengers, waited about 45 minutes as Pickett tried to reach the occupants of the docked boat using a PA system. But they were only responded to with obscene gestures, curse words and taunting, Albert said.

Pickett was then picked up by a young dockworker in another vessel and taken to the dock so he could try to speak with the boat occupants and get them to move, Albert said. There, the boat occupants confronted the captain in a very hostile manner, the chief said.

Pickett was attacked by several members of the private boat and was treated at a hospital that night, the chief said. Several Harriott II crew members came to Picketts defense, according to the chief.

In a widely circulated video of the incident, a man appears to come to Picketts aide, swinging a chair in the air. That man, identified by police as Reggie Ray, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, according to court records. He was given a 90-day suspended sentence on the condition that he complete 50 hours of community service, the records show.

The incident largely broke down along racial lines in a city with both a fraught history of racial violence and a proud place in the civil rights movement.

Police said Pickett, who is Black, and the 16-year-old White dockworker who ferried him over to speak with the owner of the private boat, were both assaulted.

Two other defendants charged in the case were sentenced in October after pleading guilty.

Mary Todd was sentenced to anger management classes after pleading guilty to harassment as part of a plea agreement.

Richard Roberts, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, was sentenced to 32 days, which he was set to serve on weekends over the course of four months, along with community service.

The two defendants each have a 30-day review scheduled; Jan. 8 for Shipman, and Jan. 9 for Todd.

CNNs Devon M. Sayers, Toni Odejimi, Holly Yan and Fabiana Chaparro contributed to this report.

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The U.S. is facing criticism from the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank, and other global leaders and organizations, after it vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The security council held an emergency meeting on Friday after U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99, a rare move to force a vote on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where two million people are displaced. The Hamas-run health ministry says 17,000 people have been killed under an Israeli campaign to eliminate the militant group after its Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and took an estimated 240 hostage. More than 100 remain in captivity.

The U.S. vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire put forward by the United Arab Emirates and backed by more than 90 Member States at a meeting in New York City. Compared to 13 council members votes in favor, the U.S. was the sole veto. The U.K. abstained.

The U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert A. Wood told the council he voted against an imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way.

He said the U.S. still could not understand why the authors declined to include language condemning Hamas horrific terrorist attack and specifically reports of sexual violence by militants. The resolution also failed to mention Israels right to defend itself, Wood said.

The U.S. proposed adding language about its role in diplomacy, increased opportunities for humanitarian aid, encouraging the release of hostages, the resumption of pauses in fighting and laying a foundation for peace, but Wood said nearly all of our recommendations were ignored.

Earlier in the day, Wood told the council the U.S. wants a two-state solution, but doesnt support an immediate ceasefire as this would only plant the seeds for the next warbecause Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution.

Israel is not a member of the U.N. Security Council. The countrys U.N. ambassador said in a statement after the vote that a ceasefire will be possible only with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that it strongly condemned the veto, adding we consider the U.S. administration to be an accomplice in the killing of our people through its political and military support for the occupation to continue its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads an entity U.S. President Joe Biden said should govern Gaza and the West Bank after the war, also said in a statement that the veto made the U.S. complicit in war crimes.

The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a flagrant violation of all humanitarian principles and values, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people in the Gaza Strip, the statement read.

Other countries ambassadors also criticized the U.S. veto. Chinas representative to the U.N., Zhang Jun, called out double standards, arguing it was self-contradictory to condone continued fighting while claiming to care about the lives and safety of people in Gaza.

The Russian representative to the U.N., Dmitry Polyanskiy, claimed our colleagues from the U.S. have literally before our eyes issued a death sentence to thousands if not tens of thousands more civilians in Palestine and Israel."

Nicolas de Riviere, the French ambassador to the U.N., said that by refusing to unify and commit to negotiations, the council was failing its mandate and the situation in Gaza would only worsen. Frances President Emmanuel Macron has previously called for a ceasefire.

A slew of global organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders similarly condemned the veto, saying it would allow death, destruction and a humanitarian disaster to continue.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Thursday. (Leo Correa / Associated Press)

As Israel widens its war in Gaza, now in its third deadly month, Biden administration officials are struggling to shore up support for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu even as it appears to ignore U.S. advice and Arab anger worldwide mounts.

In New York at the United Nations and in Washington, where a high-level delegation of six Arab states or entities held meetings with U.S. leaders, calls for a cease-fire sounded louder than ever on Friday, leaving the U.S. standing all but alone in its opposition.

That despite what U.S. officials now acknowledge is Israels reticence to heed repeated pleas from President Biden and others in his administration to minimize civilian casualties as Israeli tanks, troops and air power pound parts of southern Gaza, where more than a million Palestinians fleeing the north have taken precarious refuge.

In his most direct public criticism of Israel to date, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said there was a gap between what Israel pledged to do and its actions in southern Gaza, which have steadily increased the death toll.

"As we stand here almost a week into this campaign into the south, ... it remains imperative that Israel put a premium on civilian protection, Blinken said Thursday. And there does remain a gap between  the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we're seeing on the ground."

Blinken has made four trips to Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks that Hamas militants inflicted on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 mostly civilians, kidnapping another 250 and committing torture and other atrocities, according to Israeli officials.

Read more: U.S. pulling visas from Jewish Israeli settlers who attack West Bank Palestinians

Israels retaliation, with the stated goal of destroying Hamas, has leveled entire neighborhoods and killed more than 17,700 Palestinians, nearly three-quarters of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel said 97 of its soldiers had been killed in the fighting, Israel says.

Despite his intense and often rancorous talks with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, Blinken has been able to eke out only limited concessions. These have included the entry of some food, water and small amounts of fuel into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials also agreed to a brief humanitarian pause  not a cease-fire, which Israel maintains Hamas would use to regroup  and for a week, fighting stopped, aid entered and 100 hostages were freed. But it collapsed Dec. 1, with each side accusing the other of violating the agreement. The U.S. blames Hamas, saying it refused to release a last group of mostly young female hostages.

Blinkens most recent ask of the Israelis, delivered during meetings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem last week, was that the devastation of the northern section of Gaza not be repeated with the offensive in the south, and that Israel fulfill the requirement of international law to take better precautions to avoid civilian casualties.

His comments coincided with similar statements made by Vice President Kamala Harris in Dubai and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who warned that the killing of civilians only feeds militant groups.

Read more: With truce breakdown, Israel-Hamas war's deadly dynamic again takes hold

Biden telephoned Netanyahu on Thursday and stressed that much more assistance was urgently required in the Gaza Strip. He emphasized the critical need to protect civilians and separate them from Hamas through escape corridors and other means, the White House said.

Israel and the U.S. also disagree on the ultimate goal of the war. Israel wants to eradicate Hamas, a task some experts believe to be impossible, and Washington advocates removing Hamas as a governing force in the Gaza Strip so that it no longer poses a threat. The U.S. government also insists that any permanent resolution must include an independent, sovereign state for the Palestinians, which Netanyahu and many in his right-wing government reject.

At the U.N. on Friday, the United Arab Emirates presented a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The move came a day after U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres invoked a rarely used power by which he could convene the Security Council over an issue considered a threat to global peace. Israel objected, saying Guterres was taking the side of Hamas.

"There is no effective protection of civilians," Guterres told the Security Council on Friday. "The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs  ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival. But nowhere in Gaza is safe."

Thirteen countries in the 15-member body approved the measure, while Britain abstained. But the U.S. vetoed it.

Its not an issue about isolation, Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told reporters. "We can't just snap our fingers and the conflict stops.

In Washington, foreign ministers from countries belonging to the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation met with Blinken and other senior officials to again drive home their demand for a cease-fire and opposition to Israels actions.

Already Israel has suffered a strategic defeat, Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Jordan, said in a conference at the Wilson Center, a think tank in Washington. Israel is defying the whole world, even the United States.

And the United States, Safadi added, has not come to the right degree of saying, Enough!"

Jordan is a close ally of the United States and, until recently, one of only two countries in the Arab world that recognized Israel. Many such ties are now strained and may never return to their past cordiality.

Both Israel and the United States say preserving civilian life in Gaza is complicated because Hamas operates from inside neighborhoods and public institutions.

The Biden administration has fully endorsed Israels right to defend itself, but has added nuance to that message as the war drags on.

The question is how long Biden and his advisors can straddle the differences, particularly as not only Arab opposition grows, but so does domestic protest.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Cyntwanisha Marshall, mother of DeEarlvion Little Earl Whitley, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2017, leans back with emotion as she hears the guilty verdict at the murder trial of Quentin Phillips, 32, on Friday. A witness said Phillips organized and led the attack, aimed at the boys father. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News While testifying, Cyntwanisha Marshall, mother of DeEarlvion Little Earl Whitley, becomes overwhelmed with emotion Friday. Hours later, Quentin Phillips, 32, was found guilty of murder in the drive-by shooting death of the 4-year-old boy in 2017. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Law enforcement officers fill the back of the gallery ahead of the reading of the verdict in the murder trial of Quentin Phillips, 32. He was found guilty in the drive-by shooting death of a 4-year-old boy on the East Side in 2017. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Defense attorney Patrick Hancock raises his hand with an objection during contentious closing arguments in the murder trial of Quentin Phillips, 32, on Friday. Phillips was found guilty in the drive-by shooting death of a 4-year-old boy on the East Side in 2017. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

A jury took about 90 minutes to find Quentin Phillips, 32, guilty of murder Friday for the drive-by shooting that riddled a home on the East Side with bullets and killed a 4-year-old boy in 2017.

The verdict came after closing arguments that centered on the credibility of the key prosecution witness, a convicted drug dealer who testified that a group of his associates who included Phillips told him of the shooting after they returned from it.

Defense attorneys Patrick Hancock and Robbie Ward told jurors that the witness, Charles Lee Bethany, was an accomplice, not a bystander.

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This is a hard case. What happened is awful, and no one has denied that, Ward said in her closing argument.

Defense attorney Robbie Ward delivers closing arguments in the murder trial of Quentin Phillips, 32. on Friday. Phillips was found guilty in the drive-by shooting death of a 4-year-old boy on the East Side in 2017. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Bethany, she pointed out, was shown on FBI surveillance video at one of his stash houses collecting a pillowcase full of guns from Phillips and the others after the shooting.

Hes a snitch and hes the only one who is going to benefit from it. The only evidence comes from an accomplice witness, Ward said. Theres no evidence of murder at all,  The only evidence comes from the testimony of Charles Bethany.

Bethany testified that the boys father, Earl Whitley Jr., was the target of the raid on the house organized and led by Phillips, and that he rebuked Phillips when he found out about it after the fact.

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Quentin Phillips, 32, waits for the verdict in his murder trial Friday. He was found guilty of a drive-by shooting in 2017 that killed a 4-year-old boy as he played video games with his brother. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

DeEarlvion Little Earl Whitley was struck in the head by one of the 65 bullets fired at his house as he played video games with his older brother on the night of July 19, 2017.

The boys mother, Cyntwanisha Marshall, is no longer married to Earl Whitley Jr., who is now in prison for dealing crack cocaine. She cried on the witness stand earlier Friday as an autopsy photo of Little Earl was displayed in court.

Ward said prosecutors did not bring anyone else who could corroborate what Bethany said.

Phillips also was seen in the surveillance videos, including an earlier one that showed him getting into a car with an assault-style rifle along with three other men.

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In his closing argument, Hancock lamented that the jury had to watch Little Earls mother identify her deceased child by looking at his autopsy photo, which he said was designed to work on you a bit.

Defense attorney Patrick Hancock delivers closing arguments in the murder trial of Quentin Phillips, 32, on Friday. Phillips was found guilty in the drive-by shooting death of a 4-year-old boy on the East Side in 2017. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

He reminded the jury that when officers arrived, no one knew who did the shooting, there were no eyewitnesses, and no one saw the car or the people in it shooting at the house.

Only Charles Bethany knows what happened to the weapons, which investigators never recovered. Hancock told the panel.

Bethany testified Thursday that he hoped his cooperation with prosecutors would get him a lighter sentence in federal court, having pleaded guilty to drug offenses.

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In his closing, James Phillips, the prosecutor, who is not related to the defendant, said Bethany was not a perfect witness, but that his testimony combined with the surveillance video gave them all they needed to find Quentin Phillips guilty of murder.

They want you to gloss over all the video and the testimony, he told the panel. They want you to pretend it doesnt exist.

Phillips replayed key moments from video captured at two drug stash houses that Bethany ran, showing two groups of men getting into cars and returning within the time frame of when the shots were fired on the Whitley home on Hub Avenue.

On the videos, the men left at 11:47 p.m., and returned at 11:51 p.m. Both stash houses and the Whitley home are within minutes of each other.

Thats plenty of time for four people to drive to Hub, unload four different weapons in that house, and drive back and get out of the car, Phillips told the jury.

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Prosecutor Neal Cordero delivers closing arguments in the murder trial of Quentin Phillips, 32, on Friday. Phillips was found guilty in the drive-by shooting death of a 4-year-old boy on the East Side in 2017. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

An emotional closing statement by prosecutor Neal Cordero prompted both sides to erupt when defense attorneys objected to his rebuttal to their arguments about Bethany.

They brought you an argument that was not there, Cordero told the jury, referring to defense assertions that Quentin Phillips never was seen holding the pillow case full of weapons. Bethany was shown on video collecting the guns after the shooting, but Phillips later appeared at the other house, holding the bag.

At one point prosecutors and defense attorneys were yelling so loudly at each other that state District Judge Joel Perezs admonishments to both sides could not be heard.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the Security Council meeting on Friday during its debate over a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The resolution failed due to a veto by the United States. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Israeli to implement an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, producing a backlash from Arab states.

The resolution, introduced two days after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked the rarely-used Article 99 of the United Nations Charter, called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe that could have ramifications for peace and security in the region and beyond."

The push came after intense ground fighting between Israeli Defense Force and Hamas militants continued Friday in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where the IDF has encountered some of the toughest Hamas resistance yet and Palestinian health officials said the civilian death toll in the conflict has risen to more than 17,000.

The 15-member Security Council, however, failed to adopt the cease-fire resolution late on Friday due to a veto cast by the United States -- the only vote against it. The resolution was supported by 13 council members, including three permanent members (China, France and Russia), with another permanent member (Britain) abstaining.

Before the vote, U.S. representative Robert Wood argued the resolution was "unbalanced" in that it failed to acknowledge Israel's right to self-defense in accordance with international law, didn't address Israeli hostages held by Hamas and failed to condemn the Palestinian group's unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 Israelis died.

"The resolution retains a call for an unconditional cease-fire -- this is not only unrealistic but dangerous [and] it will simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on 7 October," Wood said. "As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, any cease-fire is at best temporary."

United Arab Emirates representative Mohamed Issa Abushahab, who tabled the resolution, spoke for nearly 100 international co-sponsors in calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza dire after 63 consecutive days of Israeli attacks.

"The imperative right now must supersede every other consideration," he said.

Guterres invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter for the first time in his seven-year tenure on Wednesday in a bid to bring the issue of the humanitarian cease-fire to the attention of the Security Council, saying the situation in Gaza is "making it impossible for meaningful humanitarian operations to be conducted."

On Friday he told the council there is a "high risk" of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in the Gaza Strip.

"The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs -- ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival -- but nowhere in Gaza is safe," he said, citing World Food Program assessments that the Palestinians are at serious risk of starvation and famine while health care is collapsing.

The U.S. veto quickly drew condemnation from Arab leaders.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the veto serves "as a new license for the Israeli occupation to continue its genocide of Palestinians" and called for the delivery of "desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, to restore the lifeline back to the Gaza Strip after two months of relentless Israeli aggression."

A delegation of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers meeting in Washington said after Friday's vote that an immediate cease-fire is needed in the Gaza Strip in order to protect "innocent civilians from the killing machine of the Israeli occupation forces," adding that any talk about the future of Gaza and the Palestinian question must come after the cease-fire and end of the "unjustified" military escalation.

A cease-fire, they said, is the top priority of Arab and Islamic states and "also must be a priority for the international community, especially the permanent members of the Security Council."
Ukrainian officials publicly denounced an upcoming election conducted by Russia in Kremlin-occupied territories next spring, referring to the planned elections as null and void.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine made its remarks on the matter in a statement Saturday.

Holding Russian elections on Ukrainian territories grossly violates the Constitution and legislation of Ukraine, the norms and principles of international law, in particular the UN Charter, the ministry said in its statement. Such an electoral process, like other similar propaganda activities in the past, will be null and void.

Inclusion of the votes cast in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will question the legitimacy of the overall result of the election of the president of the Russian Federation, the statement added.

The ministry also called on its international partners to publicly condemn Russias intentions to hold elections in the occupied territories, and asked them to impose sanctions on those involved in their organization and conduct.

We also call on foreign countries not to send their citizens as observers to these pseudo-elections, the statement reads. Those who partake will face criminal responsibility in line with the Ukrainian legislation.

Any election in Russia has nothing to do with democracy. They serve only as a tool to keep the Russian regime in power.

The ministrys remarks comes as a response to Russias decision to hold elections in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions in Spring 2024, according to The Associated Press. Russia illegally annexed the four territories in September 2022, eight months into its war with the sovereign country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced his intentions to run for reelection, as Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny predicted that the upcoming elections would be falsified and pushed for voters to oppose Putin.

For Putin, the 2024 elections are a referendum to approve his actions, to approve the war, Navalny said in an online statement, adding the country no longer needs Putin as a leader.

Lets disrupt his plans and make it happen so that no one on March 17 is interested in the rigged result, but that all of Russia saw and understood: the will of the majority is that Putin must leave.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The wife of actor and soldier Vasyl Kukharskyi, killed when fighting Russian invasion forces, , has announced on her Facebook page when and where the funeral would take place.

Kukharskyi died on Dec. 7 in a Kyiv hospital after being badly wounded in fighting against Russian invasion forces. He turned 42 on Dec. 2.

"On Sunday, Dec. 10, the farewell to Vasyl Kukharskyi will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the Theater on Podil," his wife, Natalia Hordiy-Kukharska, said in her post.

At 1.00 p.m., the funeral service will be held at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral. Come to honor a true warrior and a good, decent man. My Vasichka.

Read also:

Vasyl Kukharskyi was seriously injured at the front and was treated in a Kyiv hospital.

Filmmaker Oles Sanin raised funds for Kukharskyi, but doctors failed to save the defenders life.

Kukharskyi played the main parts in the films Maksym Osa: The Gold of Werewolf and Toloka, as well as in dozens of other films and performances.

Read also: No need to justify yourself, Ukrainian actor and soldier tells those who choose not to fight

He joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion.

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 first thing apparent about Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Parliament, is his imposing size.

Dressed in all-black, military-style fatigues, Stefanchuk was a towering figure this week standing next to American officials and lawmakers who barely reached his shoulders.

In his first trip to Washington this past week, Stefanchuk held meetings with the White House, the Pentagon and Capitol Hill as part of a senior Ukrainian delegation advocating for continued American support for Kyiv, and as he put it, looking the interlocutors in the eyes.

I came here to share Ukraines successes, and I came to say that Ukraine still needs the support and we cant stop halfway, he said in an interview with The Hill, speaking through a translator.

While Stefanchuk gives off the impression of a brick wall, he is a seasoned politician and quick to provide a smile and a handshake. He was elected chair of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines Parliament, in October 2021.

If Stefanchuk is whats in parliament, Id hate to go up against the guys on the battlefield! Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Hill.

Ruslan Stefanchuk (center) and senior Ukrainian officials meet with House lawmakers on Capitol Hill. If Stefanchuk is whats in parliament, Id hate to go up against the guys on the battlefield! Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Hill. (Vadym Sarakhan / Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine)

Stefanchuk is first in the line of succession should Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky be unable to serve, which seemed a distinct possibility in the early days of Russias full-scale invasion, when assassins reportedly stalked the streets of Kyiv to kill the president.

Biden officials have said they are supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes to resist Russian President Vladimir Putins goal of subsuming the country. But Zelenskys senior aides are facing tough questions in Washington about Ukraines military strategy for victory and its use of billions of dollars in advanced, Western-supplied armor and firepower  especially as their generals suggest the war is at a stalemate.

Stefanchuk was in Washington this past week alongside Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, and Ukraines Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, among other officials.

Ukraine is currently preparing a very detailed action plan that includes the timelines and that includes the financial resources to deliver the expected results, Stefanchuk said, amid warnings from Kyiv that it needs more and better weapons to shift the war.

We are getting ready to share this plan with our partners, he added, but he would not provide any more details.

Ruslan Stefanchuk (third from left) meets with Republican senators alongside a senior Ukrainian delegation in Washington, D.C. I came here to share Ukraines successes and I came to say that Ukraine still needs the support and we cant stop halfway, Stefanchuk said. (Vadym Sarakhan / Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine)

President Bidens request for an estimated $60 billion in military and other assistance for Ukraine has stalled on Capitol Hill, with Republicans demanding Democrats deliver on immigration reform before they agree on more aid for Kyiv.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has drawn a hard line with the White House, saying additional funding for Ukraine is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nations border security laws.

Stefanchuk, commenting on his meeting with Johnson at an event at the Atlantic Council on Thursday, said he is convinced the Speaker will do everything possible to enact the assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible.

The meeting with Speaker Johnson was very warm and quite friendly, and I want to thank Speaker Johnson for  we found some common ground in all matters, he told the Washington-based think tank.

We spoke about the most challenging questions regarding the assistance to Ukraine, he assured me that the matter of supporting Ukraine is a priority matter for the House of Representatives. I believe it was a very nice meeting.

Even as a majority of Republican lawmakers support funding for Ukraine, a handful of hard-line conservatives have earlier demonstrated they can freeze House business over their demands. If the Senate is able to hammer out a deal that links aid to Kyiv and border reforms, some Ukraine skeptics in the House have said a border bill would need to be passed first, before Ukraine aid.

In September, Zelensky left a meeting with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with a warning that his commitment to deliver aid for Ukraine would not be simple.

McCarthy was ousted from leadership in October over his cooperation with Democrats on a government funding bill, but hard-line GOP lawmakers also successfully blocked McCarthy from holding a vote on Bidens initial request of $14 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine.

Ukraines Republican supporters recognize the stakes as Congress heads toward Christmas vacation having yet to deliver on Bidens fiscal 2024 national security supplemental funding request. The entire request reaches nearly $111 billion, including priorities for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific and immigration.

We want to help Ukraine and Israel, but we have to have Democrats recognize that the trade here is, the deal is, we stop the open border, Sen Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Tuesday after storming out of a classified briefing on Ukraine.

Republicans are further split among those who support military assistance to Ukraine but balk at providing economic assistance to Kyiv.

Ive always been in favor of munitions and military equipment, but I am not in favor of continuing just blank financial support, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), the fourth-ranking Republican in the Senate, told The Hill in September.

I think our friends and allies in Europe can do that. Lets be the arsenal of democracy and provide what they need to win the war, but our friends and allies can step up with humanitarian aid.

The European Union has pledged more economic assistance than the U.S. ($83 billion compared to $25 billion) during the war, according to the Kiel Institute Ukraine Tracker, but the EU has only delivered 31 percent of the total commitments, compared to the U.S. delivering 87 percent of its commitments.

Amid partisan battles in the U.S. holding up more assistance for Ukraine, cracks within European solidarity are also threatening the delivery of more assistance.

Hungarys right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban is blocking EU efforts to follow through on a five-year economic commitment of 50 billion euros (about $54 billion).

As democracies struggle to deliver on continued support for Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated his ability to counter international sanctions aimed at bankrupting his economy and strangling his war machine.

Partnerships with China, Iran and North Korea and ties with Gulf nations part of the OPEC group of oil-producing nations have helped Putin survive.

And the death of mercenary group-head Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in August removed one of the few prominent and powerful domestic critics of Putins war.

Russia is dug in on Ukrainian territory in the east of the country, including territory it has held since 2014; the eastern provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk and the Crimean peninsula.

Ukrainian officials point to their success in pushing Russia off of an estimated 50 percent of territory since the start of the Kremlins full-scale invasion on Feb. 24.

But an analysis by the Washington Post found Ukraine had reclaimed about 200 square miles of territory during its summer counteroffensive, compared to 8,610 square miles reclaimed in 2022.

Kyivs slow and costly gains during the summer have raised the possibility that peace talks with Putin may have to occur with Russian forces entrenched on Ukrainian territory. Its a possibility Washington has reportedly, but not publicly, broached with Ukraine.

Theres even more uncertainty looking ahead to the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. Former President Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has boasted he could reach a peace deal between Putin and Zelensky within 24 hours. He has largely avoided questions about what Ukraine should give up.

Stefanchuk rejected that Ukraine would trade any territory as part of a peace deal with Russia.

Our position is absolutely clear, and as of now, the only diplomatic negotiations that can be held with Russia are the negotiations on the terms of Putins capitulation, he said.

Asked about the potential for a second Trump administration, Stefanhcuk pointed to the importance for Ukraine of maintaining strong U.S. support in general, across party lines.

When it comes to the elections in the United States, this is a domestic issue of the USA, and were not going to interfere in this question, and its totally up to the United States, he said.

Ukraine really appreciates the bipartisan support that it has been enjoying, and its really important that the U.S. continues to support us because Ukraines best sons and daughters are dying today protecting the democratic values.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ukraine said Saturday that Russia launched nearly 100 air attacks across the country in the space of 24 hours, as its first lady warned Ukraine was in mortal danger without Western military aid.

The enemy launched a total of 28 missiles and 27 airstrikes, firing 59 times from multiple launch rocket systems at Ukrainian military positions and populated areas, according to a social media post from the Ukrainian General Staff Saturday.

Multiple regions in the east were targeted, including Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk, which have seen some of the most intense fighting.

The strikes come a day after Ukrainian authorities said they intercepted cruise missiles for the first time in nearly 80 days, as Western intelligence assessments warned Russia is likely to expand its bombardment of civilian infrastructure during the winter.

At least one person was injured as a result of overnight shelling in Kharviv, one of the multiple regions in the east targeted, on Friday, the State Emergency Service said. - Sergey Kozlov/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Russian forces shelled Ukraines Kherson region alone 62 times, firing more than 300 shells from mortars, artillery, Grad, tanks, UAVs and aircraft, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the regions military administration.

At least one civilian was killed and another sustained shrapnel wounds after Russian forces dropped an explosive from a drone in the regions city of Beryslav on Saturday morning, local authorities said Saturday.

A 47-year-old woman in the city of Kherson is in a medical facility after being injured during an attack on Friday night in which critical infrastructure was damaged and residential buildings shelled, Prokudin said.

The Prosecutors Office in the Kherson region said a pre-trial investigation has been launched over violations of the laws and customs of war.

We really need the help

The latest Russian attacks came as Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska spoke to the BBC after Republicans in the US Senate blocked foreign aid from advancing.

We really need the help, said Zelenska. In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die.

And if the world gets tired, they will simply let us die, Zelenska added.

Fighting in Ukraine remains intense despite little movement along the frontlines.

Russia has been pressing hard to capture the eastern city of Avdiivka, where soldiers have described grinding trench warfare.

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska warned Saturday that Ukrainians are in mortal danger if the world gets tired of the situation in her country. - Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

During a trip to Washington, DC, on Thursday Britains Foreign Secretary David Cameron called the United States the lynchpin of the Western coalition backing Ukraines fight against Russia and urged US lawmakers to lift the morale of Ukraine by passing an aid package for Kyiv.

He added that the worst thing in the world would be to allow Putin a win in Ukraine.

It hurts us greatly to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help may fade, Zelenska told the BBC, adding: It is a matter of life for us. Therefore, it hurts to see that.

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The war in Ukraine has reached a stalemate, with even Ukrainian officials admitting the highly anticipated counteroffensive is unlikely to reach a breakthrough, putting Kyiv on what could be its toughest path yet in the war.

Ukraine is fighting two battles: convincing a growing, skeptical West to continue arming Ukrainian troops despite an obvious stalemate across the 600-mile eastern front, and progressing through a battlefield against entrenched Russian forces.

After nearly two years of war, Ukraine is confronting enormous challenges while Russian President Vladimir Putins strategy to hold as much territory as possible and wait for Western allies to crack appears to be working.

I have no doubt that we will certainly achieve all the goals we have set for ourselves, a confident Putin told Russian soldiers Friday at an event where he also announced his candidacy for the 2024 elections.

After Ukraines summer counteroffensive slowed down in the past couple months, the war has shifted to a two-pronged Russian attack in the northeastern Luhansk region and the eastern Donetsk.

Russia is suffering heavy losses trying to seize the rest of Luhansk. And the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk is mired in a bloody strategic stalemate.

Moscow is seeking to continuously apply pressure on Ukraine to exhaust its resources, said Federico Borsari, a defense fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). But he cautioned against giving Russia too much credit.

I dont think Russia is winning, Borsari said. It hasnt achieved any kind of strategic results so far. But at the same time [Russia] has somewhat resisted the shockwave of the failures we have seen in the past two years.

Borsari said that represents a huge problem because Russia can resort now to more subtle energies, strategies and tactics, like weakening Western support.

Russia is moving to lock Ukraine into a long war. Putin, who already oversees a much larger army than Ukraine, recently moved to increase the size by 170,000 to about 2.2 million.

Hes also signed into law a measure to increase the Russian military budget by 25 percent for the next three years.

Michael Allen, the managing director at Beacon Global Strategy, a U.S. national security advisory firm, said Putin is in a good position right now.

He has a lot of territory [and] is basically still sitting on what he had at the beginning of the counter-offensive, Allen said. Hes looking at us and we seem as divided as ever.

The next few months are unlikely to produce any surprising results, but Ukraine could hold its defensive positions, acquire new weapons and try another counteroffensive in the spring. That would depend largely on a new tranche of U.S. support, which is currently mired in Senate border talks.

Kathleen McInnis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it will be critical for Ukraine to receive more long-range artillery and demining equipment ahead of the next operation, but noted it would be difficult for any Western army to pierce through the thick lines of an army as large as Russias.

It takes some dedicated effort to figuring out how to get through some of those friction points, she said. This is not an uncommon problem in coalition warfare. Its just that the timeframes were so compressed before the summer counteroffensive.

McInnis also said it was important for Ukraine to reassess its strategy because the summer counteroffensive saw Ukrainian troops struggle to fight along three points of Russian lines  near the destroyed city of Bakhmut, the southern Zaporizhzhia region and southern Donetsk.

It would be absolutely prudent to reassess the strategy and figure out where there might be different vulnerabilities in the Russian lines that could be exploited and taken advantage of, she added.

The summer counteroffensive had sparked hopes of a major breakthrough, with Western allies betting Ukrainian forces could reach the Sea of Azov and cut off a major Russian land bridge connecting the mainland to the Crimean Peninsula.

That goal failed to materialize, and Russia has actually gained more ground this year than Ukraine, though both sides are just trading small tracts of land across the front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Associated Press his military did not achieve the desired results of the counteroffensive but argued troops did not get all the weapons they needed for the operation.

Zelensky said he was still satisfied with his military in its fight against one of the largest armies in the world.

We are not backing down, he added. We are confident in our actions.

Analysts say the counteroffensive failed because of a few factors: a massive Russian army that had time to entrench itself, a lack of Ukrainian air superiority, and a slow delivery of needed weapons from abroad.

Ukraine also struggled with more complicated war tactics, like combined arms maneuver training, which involves integrating infantry and armor, analysts say  an issue that could be improved in a new offensive. Other challenges include interoperability with a range of equipment from several different countries.

Ukraine is still hoping for major upgrades in its weaponry. Ukrainian pilots are training on F-16s, a long-sought fighter jet, which could be ready for a spring offensive. Bolstering air power was a major missing component in the last counteroffensive, and Ukraine also wants helicopters and other aircraft, according to Reuters.

Kyiv scored a major win this week when leaders signed a cooperation agreement with the U.S. on the co-production of critical weapons and the exchanging of data, which will help boost the construction of Ukrainian defense production facilities, laying the groundwork for Ukraine to meet its defense needs.

The Biden administration still maintains public confidence in Ukraines ability to resist Russia, though it has reportedly raised the prospect of a negotiated end to the war, and is seeking another $61 billion in emergency aid to keep the nation in the fight.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh declined to say whether the war is in a stalemate but said the U.S. is giving Ukraine everything it needs to win.

There is incremental progress. Thats important to remember, she said. But I would let the Ukrainian people speak to their own operations and characterize what they see as success on the battlefield.

President Bidens supplemental request for Ukraine faces significant hurdles in Congress.

Skeptical Republicans in the House have blocked Ukraine aid from advancing in recent months, despite rising pressure from Biden and Democrats. Russian state television has applauded their efforts and praised GOP Ukraine skeptics, along with conservative news host Tucker Carlson.

Senate talks on Ukraine funding collapsed this week after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the border.

Biden said Republicans are delivering Putin the greatest gift he could hope for, which he said is abandoning our global leadership not just to Ukraine, but beyond that. 

We cant let Putin win. Ill say it again: We cant let Putin win, Biden told reporters this week. Its in our overwhelming national interest and international interest of all our friends.

Ukraine relies heavily on the U.S. and will face a significant shortfall if Congress fails to act soon, with Europe unable to backfill the amount that Washington provides, analysts say. Europe is also showing cracks in support, with Poland and Slovakia ending arms deliveries to Ukraine this year.

Allen from Beacon Global Strategy said Putin is keeping an eye on the American political system heading into 2024. But he was hopeful the U.S. would ultimately back more Ukraine aid.

I think we can help them a lot, Allen said. Were exhausted, but for us to give up, or trying to [force] peace talks, is just leaving this problem for our children and grandchildren.

Republicans and other war skeptics are asking if the U.S. is funding a forever war or even a losing war. They also want to know what the endgame is for the conflict.

Michael OHanlon, director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, wrote in an analysis that the U.S. should fund Ukraines efforts through early 2025  and then consider an alternative if the Ukrainians cannot break through Russian lines.

If the war still remains largely stalemated at that point, the United States should seriously consider a plan B, OHanlon wrote. He said a strategy of providing mainly defensive weapons still gives Ukraine a fair chance to take back what has been stolen from it, without committing to a new forever war.

Steven Horrell, a nonresident senior fellow with CEPA, said a Ukrainian victory is still dependent on continued Western assistance.

Putin does feel that time is on his side, that a long war plays into his favor. Because he has always calculated that the West doesnt have the appetite to take losses or to bear costs that he feels Russia does, he said.

Time will tell if we in the West continue to stay strong.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Trucks stuck in queue border at crossing with Ukraine, as Polish truckers protest. KUBA STEZYCKI

A border blockade by Polish truck drivers is preventing essential equipment from reaching Ukraine.

The blockade is a protest against Ukrainian competitors who can offer lower prices.

One Ukrainian driver told the FT that it was "as if people forgot our war."

A month-long border blockade by Polish truck drivers is causing severe disruptions to crucial supplies for Ukraine's military, The Associated Press reported.

Ukrainian charities and companies are now warning that the situation could worsen as the blockade persists, as it is delaying the delivery of essential battlefield items such as pickup trucks, tourniquets, and parts for drones.

The blockade, which began on November 6, had already led to lines stretching over 18 miles at border crossings, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for the restoration of Ukraine, said, per Reuters.

"For over 10 days, Ukrainian drivers have been blocked at the Polish border. Thousands of people are forced to live in difficult conditions with limited food, water and fuel," Kubrakov wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on November 19.

The situation is now taking its toll on Ukraine's battlefield capabilities, with drone deliveries pushed back by two to three weeks, Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, a director at the KOLO foundation, which helps the Ukrainian army with tech, told The AP.

"This means that the Russian army will have the ability to kill Ukrainian soldiers and terrorize civilians for several weeks longer," he said.

Ivan Poberzhniak, the head of procurement and logistics for Come Back Alive, a charity that helps the Ukrainian military, said "deliveries have practically stopped" at the border, leaving around 200 pickup trucks  needed to carry injured soldiers or ammunition  and 3,000 tourniquets stranded.

The blockade started after Polish truck drivers took issue with Ukrainian truckers, who they say have been offering lower prices for deliveries around the European Union thanks to a temporary waiver they received on transport rules following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

One Ukrainian driver, Petro Darichuk, told the Financial Times that it was "as if people forgot our war and think again only about making more money."

A potential solution to the problem could come from Poland's new government, which is expected to be in office next week and will likely be led by the pro-EU centrist Donald Tusk. Many in Europe are hopeful that Tusk will reinvent Poland's relationship with the EU, which has faltered in recent years.

"We will look for solutions that should satisfy Polish transporters, but we will not tolerate any events that threaten Polish security. Who inspired or initiated them?" Tusk said, per The AP.

Read the original article on Business Insider
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Zelenskiy, Moldova's President Sandu and President of the European Council Michel attend a joint press conference in Kyiv

(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was travelling to Argentina on Saturday to attend the inauguration of new Argentine President Javier Milei, his first trip to Latin America.

Zelenskiy's trip, announced on the Telegram messaging app, will focus on Ukraine's longstanding bid to secure the support of countries in the Global South in Ukraine's 21-month-old war against Russia.

The Ukrainian president said he had met the prime minister of the West African country of Cape Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva, en route to Argentina and thanked him for "condemning Russian aggression" and supporting Ukrainian initiatives.

Zelenskiy hopes to convene a "global peace summit" and has promoted a peace plan rooted in the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and recognition of its post-Soviet borders of 1991.

Kyiv has been trying to build ties with African, Asian and Latin American governments, but has found its support for Israel at odds with the positions of some of those countries.

Ukrainian media speculated this week that Milei's inauguration could serve as a backdrop for a meeting between Zelenskiy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to resolve differences over Ukraine's bid for European Union membership.

An EU summit next week will decide on whether to start talks with Ukraine and neighbouring former Soviet republic Moldova -- as recommended by the EU Executive Commission -- on their bids to secure membership.

A decision must be taken unanimously and Orban has repeatedly voiced opposition to starting the talks now.

Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said this week that he was trying to arrange a suitable time for a meeting between the president and Orban.

Like the new Argentine president, Orban is an advocate of right-wing views. In a posting on Saturday on X, formerly Twitter, he said he had already met Milei. Orban hailed the electoral success of the right "not only in Europe but all around the world."

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
A Ukrainian soldier says he stopped shelling small Russian units, per The Times of London.

Sergeant Taras "Fizruk" told the newspaper his unit is running out of US-made artillery shells.

The US and NATO have struggled to keep pace with Ukraine's use of ammunition.

A Ukrainian soldier said he stopped shelling small Russian units because his brigade was running out of US-provided artillery ammunition, per The Times of London .

"When it's two or three soldiers, I'm not shooting any more; only when it's a critical situation, say, ten guys close to our infantry, we will work," Sergeant Taras "Fizruk" told the newspaper.

The 31-year-old mortar gunner said that he and his comrades from the 47th Mechanized Brigade "had ten times more ammunition over the summer." per the newspaper.

"American rounds come in batches of almost identical weights, which makes it easier to correct fire, with very few duds. Now we have shells from all over the world with different qualities, and we only get 15 for three days. Last week, we got a batch full of duds," said the soldier.

The lack of shells, Fizruk said, has hampered his unit's control over the northern flank of Avdviivka in eastern Ukraine and their ability to shoot at Russian troops.

"We should be controlling our sector from 4km away, so we can kill a few hundred Russian soldiers before they get to our infantry, and we only take a few wounded," he told the newspaper, adding: "But without ammunition, we can't."

Western supplies are at the 'bottom of the barrel'

Ukrainian soldiers fire with D-30 artillery at Russian positions in the direction of Klishchiivka as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on August 12, 2023. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The US and NATO allies have struggled to keep up with Ukraine's demands for artillery shells and ammunition, with Western ammunition stockpiles depleting.

Ukrainian forces have been burning through artillery shells and ammunition at a rate of about 7,000 rounds a day, according to figures from Estonia's defense ministry .

And Western supplies are now at the "bottom of the barrel," Admiral Rob Bauer of the Netherlands, who chairs NATO's Military Committee, said at a Warsaw Security Forum meeting in October.

"We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things  but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing," he said, per the BBC .

The issue has been compounded by Republicans in Congress, who are threatening to withhold crucial aid to Ukraine , including ammunition, a defining element in frontline combat.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said that Congress' delay in providing aid to Ukraine would "very likely make it impossible to continue liberating territory and create a high risk of losing the war," per The New Voice of Ukraine .

Newly committed aid to Ukraine reached a "new low" between August and October, with a 90% drop compared to the same period in 2022, according to a report compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

The Kiel Institute, which has tracked aid promised and sent to Ukraine, said in an update on Thursday that while the new US aid package was delayed to next year, the EU's promise to supply one million rounds of ammunition has stalled.

Israel's war with Hamas could also divert tens of thousands of artillery rounds initially slated for Ukraine, Axios reported in October.

Despite having German Leopard 2 tanks and American Bradley M1 fighting vehicles, Fizruk told The Times of London that his unit couldn't break through Russia's defensive lines without artillery shells.

To make up for the shortfall, Fizruk told the newspaper that his unit is now using unarmed drones to scare Russian troops away and fundraising for weapons they can buy.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Elf on the Shelf captured the hearts of so many families that it got its own float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Gary Hershorn/Corbis via Getty Images

Karnes City Primary students were surprised Thursday morning to find a life-sized Elf on the Shelf greeting them from the schools roof.

Principal Kevin Hans dressed up in the signature red outfit and hat, waving to students as they headed inside for the school day.

For those who arent versed in Elf on the Shelf traditions, elves visit childrens homes starting Nov. 23 and fly back to the North Pole every night to make last-minute reports to Santa Claus.

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Every day the elf chooses a new hiding spot, often getting into mischief in the process.

NEWS TO USE: Get Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox

They may look like fun to play with, but if anyone touches them their elvish magic disappears and they cant return to the North Pole.

Hans impersonation of the elf at Karnes City Primary garnered wide support from parents and social media users alike.

You really [do] go the extra mile for your students, Carolyn Martin Weth wrote on Facebook.
A new center in Jacksonville will expand the clinical capacity for the diagnostic evaluation, management, and treatment of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders.

It is among 10 new projects receiving strategic funding at the University of Florida, President Ben Sasse announced this week.

The funding initiative is designed to advance interdisciplinary scholarship and enhance the student experience.

Linda R. Edwards, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine in Jacksonville, is optimistic that the Precision Autism Center of Excellence will have a significant effect on healthcare outcomes.

We are thrilled to be receiving this opportunity to provide additional support to individuals with autism, Edwards said. As the number of children born with autism and related disorders continues to rise, our capacity to diagnose and offer treatment has been stretched. Even after diagnosis, access to needed services often gets delayed. Knowing that the center will enhance our capacity to offer care adds hope and excitement for the future.

Here is the full list of projects: https://news.ufl.edu/2023/11/third-strategic-funding/.

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who came under fire for her stance on antisemitism on campus, has resigned, the Ivy League school said on Saturday.

Magill was one of three top university presidents who were criticized after they testified at a congressional hearing on Tuesday about a rise in antisemitism on college campuses following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

She has agreed to stay on until an interim president is appointed, Scott Bok, chair of the Philadelphia-based university's board of trustees, said on Saturday in a statement posted on the university's website. Bok also stepped down.

"I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania," Bok said in the announcement released by the university. Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the university's law school, Bok said.

Magill, Harvard University President Claudine Gay, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Tuesday.

As they tried to walk a line that protected freedom of speech, they declined to give a definitive "yes" or "no" answer to Republican Representative Elise Stefanik's question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools' codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment.

Calls for Magill's and Gay's resignations in particular mounted in the days after that testimony. Magill released a video on Wednesday in which she expressed regret, Gay apologized on Friday.

Jewish students, families and alumni have accused the schools of tolerating antisemitism, especially in statements by pro-Palestinian demonstrators since the Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed around 1,200. That attack prompted a massive counterattack by Israel that has left over 17,700 Palestinians dead, according to the Gaza health ministry.

"One down. Two to go. This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most 'prestigious' higher education institutions in America," Stefanik said on social media site X after Penn's announcement.

She said Magill's resignation was the "bare minimum of what is required" and urged Harvard and MIT to take similar action.

David Magerman, co-founder at Differential Ventures, a venture capital fund specializing in artificial intelligence, previously posted in a Oct. 15 letter on his LinkedIn account that he was a Penn alumnus and a major donor but was "deeply ashamed" of his association with the university and "refuse to donate another dollar to Penn."

Magerman said late Saturday in an emailed response to a request for comment: "All of my philanthropy is going to support Israel in our war efforts and recovery. I will also be giving major gifts to Israeli universities and supporting education in Israel."

Antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen sharply in the U.S. and elsewhere since October.

Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose by about 400% in the two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said this week that in the two months after the war began, incidents motivated by Islamophobia and bias against Palestinians and Arabs rose by 172% compared to the same period last year.

Eyal Yakoby, a University of Pennsylvania student who has sued the school alleging insufficient response to antisemitism, said on CNN that Magill's resignation was one step toward a broader change at the university.

"This has been something that myself and many alumni and fellow students, parents been working on for a while ... (but) this is just the first domino in a culture for many leaders including Chairman Bok who have allowed this to happen," Yakoby said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting by Ismail Shakil, Susan Heavey, Carolina Mandl and Megan Davies; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)
The U.S. Army has officially introduced the first Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) into its arsenal, replacing the aging ATACMS, the U.S. Army's press service announced on Dec. 8.

The delivery of these highly accurate long-range missiles follows their successful testing in November at the White Sands testing range in New Mexico.

PrSM represents a new generation of ballistic missiles. Launched from highly mobile artillery rocket systems M142 and M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, they can engage targets at distances exceeding 400 kilometers.

Read also: How Ukraine could use US-supplied ATACMS missiles

"The Precision Strike Missile will provide the Joint Force commanders with a 24/7 ability to counter enemy maneuver and air defenses in any weather," stated Doug Bush, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology.

He added that the rapid development and deployment of this capability serve as a "shining example" of the U.S. Army's aggressive use of new procurement authorities granted by the U.S. Congress to swiftly acquire enhanced equipment for American soldiers.

The United States is to replace ATACMS missiles with PrSM, freeing up the ATACMS for other potential use, Colonel Roman Svytan, a retired Ukrainian Armed Forces officer and pilot instructor, previously noted in an interview with NV. He mentioned that the U.S. currently has over three thousand ATACMS in storage.

According to reports, Ukraine received "less than a dozen" ATACMS missiles from the United States, but was assured that it would continue to receive ATACMS missiles "on a regular basis."

Read also: Ukrainians show off firepower in rare video showcasing launch of salvo of 3 ATACMS missiles

The Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully used ATACMS to target airfields in the occupied cities of Berdyansk and Luhansk on the night of Oct. 17. Later, Special Operations Forces disclosed that nine helicopters and specialized military equipment were destroyed, along with ammunition depots.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine's successful strikes, marking the first use of U.S. ATACMS missiles with cassette (cluster bomb) warheads. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi published a video of the first launch.

Later, Russian propagandists claimed there had been another ATACMS attack on Luhansk, and the UK weekly news magazine the Economist reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched missiles at the occupied Crimea for the first time on Oct. 30.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A 70-year-old man was struck and killed by a vehicle late Friday after trying to walk across a major highway. mbbirdy/Getty Images

A 70-year-old man was struck and killed by a vehicle late Friday on the Southeast Side.

Police say the man was walking across US Highway 181 South around 9 p.m. to go to a convenient store when a vehicle hit him.

According to a preliminary report, the driver of a Ford Explorer that was traveling east on US Highway 181 struck the man. The driver stopped, called 911 and rendered aid.

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The man was not crossing the highway by using a crosswalk or designated crossing area. He was also wearing dark-colored clothing, the report states.

ALSO READ: Truck driver charged with killing of teen as he got off school bus in East Texas

The driver told police that she did not see the 70-year-old until the last moment. She said she attempted to swerve to avoid the man but was unable to.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:12 p.m. by the Medical Examiner.

Police evaluated the driver and found she was not intoxicated or impaired.

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By Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed new initiatives on Saturday to respond to North Korea's threats in cyberspace, including cryptocurrency abuses and space launches, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

The three countries' national security advisers met in Seoul as Pyongyang warned that it would deploy more spy satellites.

Sullivan said the meeting followed up on commitments set forth at a Camp David trilateral summit hosted by President Joe Biden in August, where leaders of the U.S. and its two key Asian allies pledged to deepen security and economic cooperation.

"We've also launched new trilateral initiatives to counter the threats posed by the DPRK, from its cybercrime and cryptocurrency money laundering to its reckless space and ballistic missile tests," Sullivan told reporters, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

His Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba said North Korea's "illicit cyber activities" had emerged as most recent challenges, calling them "a source of funds" for the isolated state's nuclear missile development.

The three countries' coordinated efforts will target potential threats of economic coercion, having completed work on a supply-chain early warning system, agreed to at Camp David, in critical minerals and rechargeable batteries, Sullivan said.

Biden met at Camp David with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to project unity in the face of China's growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea.

Sullivan said the nations "continue to stand up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation in the East and South China Seas".

Sullivan and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong co-chaired on Saturday the first Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Dialogue, a forum aimed at cooperation on chips and other critical technologies, the South Korean presidential office said.

NORTH KOREA-RUSSIA TIES

North Korean state media said on Saturday that Pyongyang was determined to launch more spy satellites soon, calling space development part of its right to defend itself as any other country has. It has also criticised South Korea for launching its own satellite, saying there is a double standard.

Sullivan disputed that claim, saying North Korea's satellite launch involves ballistic-missile technologies that violate United Nations resolutions, while South Korea's do not.

Sanctions monitors have accused North Korea of using cyberattacks to gather funds for its nuclear and missile programs, and a U.N. report said Pyongyang had stepped up its cryptocurrency theft last year, using sophisticated techniques to steal more in 2022 than any other year.

North Korea has denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks.

After talks with Sullivan and Akiba, South Korea's Cho said the three had also exchanged ideas on Ukraine and Middle East issues.

They discussed growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and all three were confident North Korea was supplying weapons for Russia in Ukraine war, Sullivan said.

Since the White House said in October North Korea had provided Russia with a shipment of weapons from a port in its border town of Rason, the port continues to display a high level of activity, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report published on Friday, citing satellite imagery analysis.

North Korea has denied it transfers arms to Moscow.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, Ju-min Park; Editing by Edmund Klamann, William Mallard and Neil Fullick)
FILE - This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what the country said is the launch of the Malligyong-1, a military spy satellite, into orbit on Nov. 21, 2023. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Saturday called for a stronger international push to suppress North Koreas development of nuclear weapons and missiles, its cybertheft activities and alleged arms transfers to Russia.

The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral partnership in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

Speaking after the meeting, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defense cooperation and improve its response to North Korean missile testing and space-launch activities, including a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches that the countries plan to start at an unspecified date in December.

He also said the countries have agreed to new initiatives to more effectively respond to North Korean efforts to bypass U.S.-led international sanctions that aim to choke off funds for its nuclear weapons and missile program.

This will be a new effort with respect to cryptocurrency and money laundering and how we disrupt North Koreas capacity to gain revenue from the hacking and stealing of cryptocurrency and then laundering it through exchanges, he said.

Sullivan declined to share detailed U.S. assessments on the types and volume of North Korean arms being shipped to Russia and didnt comment on the specifics of his discussions with South Korean and Japanese officials over the issue, but insisted that theres no daylight among us in terms of the types of weapons transfers that we are seeing. And those continue and they represent a grave concern for us.

South Korean intelligence and military officials have said North Korea may have shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia beginning in August, weeks before Kim traveled to Russias Far East for a rare summit with Putin that sparked international concerns about a potential arms deal. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied U.S. and South Korean claims.

In a joint news conference after Saturday's trilateral meeting, Cho Tae-yong, South Koreas national security office director, said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Koreas obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its denuclearization and ban any weapons trade with other countries, and agreed to strengthen coordination to ensure that is implemented.

Takeo Akiba, Japans national security secretariat secretary general, said the unprecedented frequency and patterns of North Korean ballistic missile launches necessitate a deeper and more effective partnership between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Australia have also announced their own sanctions on North Korea over its spy satellite launch last month. North Korea argues it the right to launch spy satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhance the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles.

During his conversation with reporters, Sullivan said the allies are preparing for the possibility that North Korea will up the ante of its weapons demonstrations and threats in 2024, possibly including the country's seventh nuclear test.

Direct military action is also a concern after the North recently announced it was abandoning a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on reducing border tensions after the South partially suspended the agreement, which had established border buffers and no-fly zones. Some experts say that has raised the risk of border-area shootings or clashes.

Look, when a country announces its intent to walk away from a set of measures that are designed to help reduce risk and increase stability, our concern for potential incidents, provocations has to go up, Sullivan said, though he said the full implications of the Norths announcement is not immediately clear.

Sullivan held separate bilateral talks Friday with Cho and Akiba and also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The U.S., South Korean and Japanese national security advisers last held a trilateral meeting in June in Tokyo.

South Korean intelligence officials have said the Russians likely provided technology support for North Koreas successful satellite launch in November, which followed two failed launches.

North Korea has said its spy satellite transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the U.S. and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasnt released any of those satellite photos. Many outside experts question whether the Norths satellite is sophisticated enough to send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

Kim has vowed to launch more satellites, saying his military needs to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

South Korean officials have also said North Korea-made rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons could have been used by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault on Israel and that the North could be considering selling weapons to militant groups in the Middle East.

Sullivan said that the United States has not seen any specific evidence of that, but remains vigilant about the possibility.

I think given North Koreas history of proliferation activities, including to reprehensible actors in other contexts across history, its a legitimate concern, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to the report.
FILE - In this April 25, 2014, file photo, Utah's Attorney General Sean Reyes waves during a rally at the Western Republican Leadership Conference in Sandy, Utah. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 he will not seek reelection in 2024 amid scrutiny for his decadelong friendship with the embattled founder of an anti-child-trafficking group and as bipartisan state lawmakers have cast doubt on his administrative practices..(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who is facing scrutiny for his decadelong friendship with the embattled founder of an anti-child-trafficking organization, announced Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2024.

The Republican had announced in September that he would seek a fourth term. Reyes is now backtracking on that decision and has pledged to dedicate his final year in office to investigating the sex abuse claims against his longtime friend, Tim Ballard.

Ballard, the now-ousted founder of nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad, has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women and is the subject of a criminal investigation. His organization rose to prominence last summer as a focal point of the film Sound of Freedom, which was widely praised by conservative moviegoers and included a producer credit for the attorney general.

In a video announcement, Reyes said he sat down with each person who had come forward with accusations to tell them that he believed them and was heartbroken for the trauma they had endured.

I apologized to each of them that my past friendship with Tim Ballard and past association with OUR contributed to an environment that made them feel powerless and without a voice for so many years, he said. "I cannot give them back those voiceless years, but I intend on spending my last year in office working together with these survivors and any others who come forward so that their voices are heard."

Suzette Rasmussen, an attorney representing the accusers, said her clients have accepted Reyes' apology and respect that he was the first and only person to accept responsibility for his role in supporting Ballard.

The SPEAR Fund, an organization that has been issuing statements on Ballards behalf, did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment on Reyes' remarks. Ballard has previously denied the sexual assault allegations.

Despite Reyes' recent attempts to distance himself from Ballard, a bipartisan group of more than two dozen Utah state lawmakers initiated an audit of his office last month, calling into question his administrative practices, spending and close ties to Ballard. The state is now investigating whether Reyes directed state resources to help Operation Underground Railroad or the film and whether he engaged with outside prosecutors investigating his friends organization.

Reyes is named as a defendant in a lawsuit against Ballard that alleges he abused his position as attorney general to try to silence a critic of the nonprofit.

Protecting children and other vulnerable Utahns from human trafficking and illegal drugs has been central to his platform as attorney general, Reyes said.

His office has sued insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers over the high cost of the hormone needed to treat diabetes. It also sued Meta  the parent company of Facebook and Instagram  alleging the companies violated Utah consumer protection laws by designing platforms that lead to children overusing them and causing severe mental health issues.

He has also stirred controversy in Utah over his strong support for former President Donald Trump.

Following the 2020 election, Reyes faced backlash from top Utah Republicans, including then-Gov. Larry Herbert, when he got involved in a Texas lawsuit that sought unsuccessfully to invalidate the results in the U.S. presidential race by challenging electoral votes in four battleground states won by Democrat Joe Biden.

He also signed on to several court documents, including an amicus brief opposing a gag order against Trump in the criminal case that alleges Trump plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Reyes signed onto another brief arguing government overreach in the search for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

State Democrats accused Reyes on Friday of using his position for political and personal gain and urged him to leave office before the end of his term.

While his decision not to run for reelection is good news for Utahns, who deserve a competent, ethical and accountable attorney general, he should resign instead of spending the next year continuing to abuse his position of authority and failing to do the work of the people," Party Chair Diane Lewis said.

___

Associated Press reporters Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.
The VAs breaking the law: Is the agencys health care data perfection or deception?

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) If a veteran waits longer than 20 days for a primary care appointment, the law requires U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to offer them a civilian doctor through its Community Care program.



But records obtained by 8 On Your Side reveal veterans locally and nationally rarely receive Primary Care through the program.



According to the records, during a recent period of nearly two years starting Jan. 1, 2022, there were nearly 12 million Community Care referrals across the country.

State asked to investigate judges in Tampa homestead fight that could impact other homeowners

Just over 145,000 involved Primary Care. That was about 1% of the total.

Darren Selnick, of Concerned Veterans for America, helped write the law.

Its almost statistically impossible, Selnick said. Its all about control so they can control the money, control the patients, control where they go. Its not about whats best for the veterans.

Bay Pines VAMC was even closer to perfect. Seventeen veterans in about two years, representing .014% of the total Community Care patients, went outside the VA for Primary Care.



Just over 1% of James Haley VAMC Community Care patients were referred to primary care during that time.

VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes credits improvements that have made VA Primary Care more available.

USF launches financial misconduct investigation, terminates employee

Thanks to these efforts, in many cases, VA Primary Care services are more accessible in terms of geography and wait times than non-VA Community Care, Hayes said. In many instances, Community Care Primary Care wait times exceed VA Primary Care wait times.

Selnick doesnt believe it, citing a statement he claims was made in a VA town hall meeting.



The under-secretary of health said stop hitting the Community Care button, Selnick said. That too many veterans are using CC and if they do Community Care then why do we need the VA and youll all lose your jobs.

(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)

8 On Your Side sent the new data to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio who previously reacted to similar records gathered for the previous two-year period that started in 2020.

After 8 On Your Sides initial report, Rubio and several other lawmakers sent a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough expressing serious concerns regarding the Veterans Healthcare Administrations refusal to provide adequate access to Community Care.

Crack, contraband smuggled in broad daylight from street into Sarasota County Jail

Selnick said his organization has heard from veterans around the country who claim they are still waiting too long for help.

Weve had veterans commit suicide because they couldnt get mental health. Weve had veterans die of cancer because they couldnt get appointments, Selnick said. Its got to stop. Theres no doubt the VAs breaking the law.

The VA has repeatedly denied the Community Care law is being broken.

The 2014 Choice Act created Community Care after several Phoenix, Arizona area veterans died while waiting for care on secret lists allegedly created to hide long wait times.

Critics claimed the VA was not properly calculating the wait times, prompting the 2018 Mission Act that stated the wait time calendar should start on the date the patient requests an appointment.

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation is suing the VA for allegedly failing to release information about wait times.

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